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Appearances of the

What cried the farmer, have you been raifing the devil by your conjuration? Is this the effect of your ftudy, Sir? No, father, faid the ftudent, I pretend to no fuch arts of magic or necromancy; but this day, as the boy can teftify, I had a folemn warning from one whom I take to be no demon, but a good angel. To him we all owe our lives. As to Peggy, according to his intimation, fhe has put poifon into the pot, for the purpofe of deftroying the whole family root and branch!-Here the girl fell into a fit, from which being with fome trouble recovered, fhe confeffed the whole of her deadly defign, and was fuffered to withdraw from the family and her native country. She was foon after executed at Newcastle upon Tyne, for the murder of her bastard child, again making ample confeffion of the above diabolical defign.

LORD MOHUN'S APPEARANCE TO HIS MISTRESS ON THE MORNING HE WAS MURDERED.

LORD Mohun was a fashionable young gentleman, in the days of king Charles the Firft. According to the cuftom of that time, his fenfe of honour led him to refent, in a fericus man ner, an affront, which had produced a quarrel between him and a perfon of the firft quality, though a foreigner in this kingdom. By appointment they met in Chelsea fields, near a place called Ebery-Farm, and where Lord Mohun was killed, but not without fufpicion of foul play.

At the fame time, Lord Mohun kept company with a certain lady, whoin he entertained in genteel lodgings in Jamesftreet, Covent-Garden. Lord Mohun was murdered about ten o'clock in the morning; and at that very time his mittrets being in bed, Taw him come to her bedfide, draw the curtains, look upon her, and go away :fhe called after him, but received no anfwer; fhe then rung for her maid, and asked for Lord Mohun; but the woman replied, the

Dead to the Living.

did not fee him, and had the key of the chamber door in her pocket. This account was attefted, by the lady and her maid, to Mr. Aubrey, who relates it in his Mifcellanies."

About the fame time, Mr. Brown, brother-in-law to Lord Coningsby, difcovered his being murdered to leveral of his friends. And Mr. Glanville relates that his apparition was fcen by his fifter and her mafter then dwelling in Fleetftreet, at the very hour and minute he was killed, in Herefordshire, which happened in 1692. This circumftance was much talked of at that time.

MISS PRINGLE'S APPEARANCE AT TWO PLACES AT THE SAME TIMΕ,

MRS. Jane Lowe, house-keeper to Mr. Pringle, in Clifton Park, in the fouth of Scotland, one morning in the fummer of 1745, beheld the apparition of a lady walking in the avenue, on the margin of a rivulet, which runs into Kale water. The form exactly refembled a daughter of her mafter, who had long been abfent from the family, at the diftance of above an hundred miles fouth of Paris. As Mrs. Lowe walked down the avenue and approached the rivulet, fhe grew more and more certain fof the fimilitude of the phantom to the idea in her mind of the Mifs Pringle; and feeing her mafter in an enclosure adjoining, the communicated to him what he had juft feen. Mr. Pringle laughed, and faid, "You fimple woman, that lady is Mifs Chattow of Moorebattle." However, Mrs. Lowe prevailed upon him to accompany her to the place; which they had nearly reached, when the apparition fprung into the water, and inftantly disappeared.

Mr. Pringle and Mrs. Lowe, on returning to the hall, apprifed' the family of the vifion, and for their pains were heartily laughed at. The Rev. Mr. Turnbull, minifler of Linton, happened to breakfast that morning with Mr. Pringle, his lady, and two young

daugh

Fortunate Intervention of an Apparition.

daughters, who joined in the ridicule. About three months after, the fame reverend gentleman honoured the family with his company; when ftanding at a window in the lower room, he oblerved a poor, ragged, lame, lean man, flowly approaching the houfe;" Here comes another apparition!" cried Mr Turn.bull, with a kind of contemptuous finile. This drew the immediate attention of all prefent, and Mr. Pringle quickly recognized the perfon to be his fecond fon, whom he had not seen before for above ten years.

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lecture in the city; where he had not been long prefent, when, by a fudden and unaccountable emotion in his mind, he imagined that all was not fafe at home. At first he paid but little regard to the intimation; but the idea of a robbery continuing to operate upon his fancy, he was prevailed upon to retire, and immediately returned home. On his arrival at the corner of New-ftrect, he difcovered the fhop door unbarred, and half open. On-rufhing into the fhop, two men ran past him with the utmost precipitation; he followed faft, crying top thief! and they were taken and conveyed to the watch-houfe. All the most valuable goods in the fhop, to the amount of feveral hundred pounds, were packed up, and feveral implements of houfebreaking were found on the thieves and in the fhop. They were committed, tried, convicted, and executed Juftice having been firft moved by an invifible agent, who, like the vapour in the brain of King Ahafuerus, the Perfian, would not faffer her that night to reft, till two old offenders were fast in her hands, the goods of the mercer happily faved, and the integrity of the fhopman vindicated.

On his arrival he foon convinced them he was no apparition, declaring that he had narrowly efcaped with his life from Tunis, in the vicinity of which he had been a flave to the Álgerines feven years, but had happily been ranfomed at the critical moment when he was ordered to be put to death for mutiny. He added, that on his return home through France, he called at the place where he had heard his fifter refided, and to his unfpeakable grief found that he died on the 25th of May, the fame fummer, about five o'clock in the morning, which he recollected to have been the precife time that he was faved from the jaws of death, and when he thought he beheld his fifter. Mrs. Lowe, who was prefent in the room, on hearing SPIRIT OF his declaration, broke forth into an acclamation, affirming that the day alluded to was that on which fhe had fhewn Mr. Pringle the apparition; and this was confirmed by the reverend divine, in whofe ftudy this ftory was found after his death.

THE FOLLOWING

FACT RECENTLY APPEARED ON THE EVIDENCE UPON OATH, OF A YOUTH AT THE SESSION OF THE OLD BAILEY.

THE young man being fervant to a filk-mercer in New-ftree:, Covent-Garden, was one Sunday entrusted with the fole care of the houfe. In the evening, having, as he thought, properly fecured the place, he ventured out to an evening

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A POOR MAN JUST DECEASED, APPEARING, 1 S THE MEANS OF A GENTLEMAN'S PRESERVATION.

MR. Wefton, of Old Swinford, in Worcestershire, was walking, one evening in the fummer of 1759, in the park of Lord Lyttleton at Hagley, and being overtaken by a fudden fhower, ran into a grotto, and flood under a spreading oak under whofe fhade feveral cattle were ftanding. He had not been above ten minutes in that fituation, before he faw the form of a man paffing over the brook almost close to the fhade. Suppofing it to be a poor peafant who had long worked for him, he called him by name; but received no anfwer, and the apparition quickly difappearing, he found his mind much agitated. Regardless of

the

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Apparitional Conjectures.

the ftorm, Mr. Wefton withdrew from the place where he had fought an alylum, and ran round a rifing hill, in order to discover the form which had prefented itself to him. That however had not the effect defired- but one abundantly more falutary it certainly had; for just as he had gained the fummit of the hill, on his return to the grotto, a tremendous flash of lightning darted its forked fury on the venerable oak, fhivered it to picces, and killed two of the cattle under its boughs.

On Mr. Wefton's return to Swinford, he found that the death of the labourer was just announced in the neighbourhood. He told the ftory to his friends, who, on the credit of his known veracity, could not well refufe it credit. He faw the body, at his own expence, decently interred, and afterwards contributed to the fupport of the widow, not only by remitting a year's rent for her cottage and piece of ground, but also by fettling a fmall annuity upon her till fhe fhould

marry.

We have told this tale fimply as it was related by Mr. Wefton, and leave the reader to make his own reflections on fo marvellous an interpofition of divine Providence, without deciding in this, or any fuch other cafe, whether the form that appeared was the foul of the deceafed, exerting its philanthropy in its flight to the unknown country, or the guardian angel of that foul returning to give up his charge, and produce his account at the bar of the Supreme. When Peter was redeemed from death, and freed from prifon by a miraculous power, he visited the affembled company of Chriftians, who at first could hardly believe their eyes that it was the apoftle, but faid, "It is his angel!" This proves that the notion of minifiring fpirits prevailed in the earlicft age of Christianity, a notion which not only accords with many paffages of the Old, but alfo of the New Tefta

ment.

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THE FARMER'S DREAM.

Ar a little village about fifty miles from London lived an honeft, but very poor farmer; he with much ado kept his wife and three children from starving; thus content, and even happy, in poverty, they lived; till the cruel avarice of their hard-hearted landlord was going to turn them out of their little cot for a quarter's rent, though he well knew the feafon had been very unfavourable for the induftrious hufbandman.

During this perplexity, he dreamed, if he would go to a certain place in London, he would hear of fomething to his advantage. He told his wife this, but he looked on it as the effect of an uneafy mind, and perfuaded him from it; till having dreamed it twice again, he determined to go, notwithstanding all the remonftrances of his wife: having therefore gathered as much money as he could, to fupport the family in his abfence, he one fine morning fet out on his long journey.

The length of the way was beguiled by the furprising fuccefs he should meet with on his arrival in the great metropolis; and though clothed in rags, and only twelve fhillings in his pocket, cheerfully profecuted his march for two days: at the expiration of which time he found himself on that magnificent building, called Weftminster-bridge.

He then enquired for the street that was to make his fortune for ever, and eafily found it. Now was he greatly furprised, to think in fo narrow a place, and fo mean inhabitants, that it would be poffible for him to attain his wifhedfor ends. However, he continued his walk, backwards and forwards, for the fpace of two days and a half, refolving, if poffible, not to go back without his errand, nor quit the fpot he had fo often vifited in his fleep.

About the clofe of the second day, a young fellow from a little hardwarefhop, afked him if he wanted any body

Good Effects of Dreams.

in that neighbourhood, for he had obferved him walking about a confiderable time; he long hefitated, but at last he told him, it was in confequence of a particular dream, that he fhould, on that fpot, hear of fomething to his advantage: the man liftened very attentively, and, at length, fmiling, affured him, there was nothing worth minding in dreams; for, continued he, if I had not known better, I might, by this time, have been digging in farmer Dent's ground, at a little village in Bucks, for a confiderable fum of money, that lies under a pear tree in the middle of the garden. This, my friend, fays he, I have dreamt three times over; but, as I have no faith in dreams, I fhall never trouble myself to ge in fearch of it.

Scarcely able to contain his joy at hearing his own name and place of abode mentioned, he thanked him kindly, and promifed to feek no longer the vain pursuits of an idle dream, but would haften to his anxious family, whom he fuppofed, by this time, miffed his daily labours.

Fully poffeffed that this was the grand advantage he was to meet with, you may readily imagine he loft no time to gain his little cot; but fo great was his prudence, that, when he arrived there, he did not, as many poor people would do, directly divulge the fecret, but feemed quite compofed and eafy, rather tired than otherwife, as may be imagined after fo long a walk.

However the children were no fooner in bed, and the neighbourhood quiet, than he told his wife the fuccefs of his journey, and his determination to try whether it was fo or no.

Accordingly they fallied forth with pick-axe and fpade, in fearch of this inestimable treasure: long time they dug in vain, till the spade feemed to be stop ped in its progrefs by fomething hard; this prefently revived their almoft dying hopes, and they with difficulty raifed a large pot, with a copper-plate over it, and an infcription in Latin, which, you may depend on, they did not understand; however, they preferved it for

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the inspection of fome scholars, who frequently came there to tafte the farmer's good ale. A fecond pot of the fame kind finished their fearch; and now, rejoicing in their riches, they both agreed there was fomething in dreams that fhould be obferved.

The good woman fpent the best part of the next day in cleaning the money they found, which confifted of old pieces in gold and filver: they then difcharged their inhuman landlord, and purchafed a farm well stocked; in which I will defy the greatest nobleman to enjoy more folid happiness.

One of the fcholars came foon after, and explained the meaning of the words on the plate, which was this:

When this is found, if you so will, Dig on, you'll find one better ftill.

REMARKABLE

DREAM OF AX ITALIAN MUSICIAN,

TARTINI, a celebrated musician, who was born at Pireno in Iftria, being much inclined to the fludy of mufic in his early youth, dreamed one night that he had made a compact with the devil, who promised to be at his fervice on all occafions; and during this vision every thing fucceeded according to his mind; his wifhes were prevented, and his de fires always furpaffed, by the affiftance of his new fervant. At laft, he ima gined that he prefented the devil with his violin, in order to discover what kind of a mufician he was; when, to his great aftonishment, he heard him play a folo fo fingularly beautiful, and which he executed with much fuperior tafte and precifion, that it furpaffed all the mufic which he had ever heard or conceived in his life. So great was his furprize, and fo exquifite was his delight upon this occafion, that it deprived him of the power of breathing. He awoke with the violence of his fenfation, and inftantly feized his fiddle, in hopes of expreffing what he had just heard, buť

in

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A Murder difcovered in an uncommon Manner.

in vain he, however, then compofed a
piece, which is, perhaps, the beft of all
his works; he called it THE DEVIL'S
SONATA, but it was fo far inferior to
what his fleep had produced, that he
declared he would have broken his in-
frument, and abandoned mufic for ever,
if he could have found any other means
of fubfiftence.

THE DEMON THAT ATTENDED THE LATE MR. JOHN WESLEY.

THE late reverend Mr. Badcock obferves, in an account of the family of the Wefleys, that there were "fome ftrange phænomena" perceived at the parfonage of Epworth, the place of Mr. Welley's birth, in Lincolnfhire. Some uncommon noises, he observes, were heard there, from time to time, which Mr. J. Welley was very curious and circumftantial in examining into, and very particular in relating. "I have no doubt," continues he, "but that he confidered himself as the chief object of this wonderful vifitation." -Indeed, Samuel Wefley's credulity was in fome degree affected by it; fince he collected all the evidences that tend to confirm the ftory, arranged them with fcrupulous exactnefs, in an MS. confifting of feveral fheets, and which is ftill in being. "I know not," faid Mr. Badcock, "what became of the ghost of Epworth; unless confidered as the prelude to the noife Mr. J. Welley made on a more ample ftage; for it ceafed to be heard when he began to act.”

A MURDERER DISCOVERED.

A Man was once taken up on fufpicion of murder, but when brought to the bar, the evidence appeared not ftrong enough to convict him. He behaved with great apparent boldnefs, for he knew there were no witneffes to the fact; and he had also taken all neceffary caution to prevent a discovery. But the judge obferved in the man's coun

tenance, a terror and confufion, which his pretended boldness could not hide, and therefore kept his eye fteadily fixed on him the whole time. As foon as the laft witness was difmiffed, the man afked if they had any more evidence against him, when the judge, looking fternly at him, asked him if he did not himfelf know of one more that could appear against him, whofe prefence would put the matter out of doubt? On which the man ftarted, and cried out My lord, he is not a legal witnefs! no man can fpeak in his own caufe; nor was the wound I gave him half fo large as what he fhews against me!" The judge prefently perceived by the man's ftarting, and the wildness and terror of his look, that he either faw the ghost of the murdered man, or that his imagination had from his guilty confcience, formed fuch an appearance; and therefore, making the proper answers from fuch a fuppofition, he foon brought the murderer to confefs the fact; for which he was condemned and h nged in chains, at the place where he declared the murder was committed. At his death he averred, that the ghoft of the murdered perfon had appeared before his eyes at the trial.

WITCHCRAFT.

WHEN Mr. Hale was a student at Oxford, he and fome other young gentlemen, his friends, being out on a shooting party, became much fatigued, and wanted fome refreshment; and meeting with a public-house, they agreed to go in and get fuch as it produced: but upon enquiry among one another, it appeared that none of the party had any money! Invention therefore was neceffary; and Mr. Hale feeing a miferable old trotting female fitting in the chimney-corner, he enquired the caufe of her condition? -She had been forely afflicted, the faid,. for more than a whole year, with the ague, which baffled all the fkill of the doctors. Mr. Hale immediately declared he would remove her complaint in ten

days

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