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turned, with the corpse of one of the boatmen.

MARTIN, who has given a very particular account of Seers, in the western Islands, mentions a young woman, who was troubled, during four or five years, with the constant appearance of her own image before her, the back being turned towards her. No event was connected with this spectral impression

But one of the most remarkable Seers on record, was JOHN BEAUMONT, who published a treatise of spirits, appari→ tions, witchcrafts, and other magical practices,' in 1705. He appears to have been a man of a hypochondriacal disposition, with a considerable degree of reading, but with a strong bias to credulity. His collections of stories are entertaining; but my business is with his visions, which shew in a most astonishing manner, how far the mind may be

deceived, without the occurrence of actual derangement. They will be detailed in the next chapter. Had this man, instead of irritating his mental disease, by the study of the Platonic philosophers, placed himself under the care of an intelligent physician, he would have regained his tranquillity, and the world would have lost a most extraordinary set of confessions.

CHAP. III.

Beaumont's Visions-Those of TassoKotter-Drabicius - Arise Evans

Bovet.

PHYSICIANS have sometimes occasion to regret the prolixity of the statements, which they receive from their patients. Beaumont has been rather more diffusive than usual; for his book, which may be considered as a narrative of his malady, contains four hundred pages, in octayo. It is, however very much to my purpose, for it exhibits the disease of spectral vision, in its full strength and permanency.

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Like Nicolai, he sometimes saw multitude of men and women about him,

both in the day and night. "So it was with myself," says he, "for I saw

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hundreds, though I never saw any in "the night-time, without a fire, or candle-light, or in the moonshine, and 66 the as mentioned (by Aubrey) person "had two particular spirits there named, "which constantly attended him, be"sides others without names, so it was with myself; two spirits constantly at

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tending me, night and day, for above "three months together; who called "each other by their names, and several spirits would often call at my chamber door, and ask whether such spirits "lived there, calling by their names, "and they would answer, they did. "As for, the other spirits that attended me, I heard none of their names men

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tioned, only I asked one spirit which came for some nights together, and

rung a little bell in my ear, what his

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name was, who answered Ariel. "find that one of the spirits, who "attended the second-sighted person,

appeared as a boy, the other as a girl; "but the two that constantly attended myself, appeared both in women's habit, they being of a brown com

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plexion, and about three foot in sta"ture; they had both black, loose net"work gowns, tyed with a black sash "about the middle, and within the net"work appeared a gown of a golden

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colour, with somewhat of a light strik

ing through it. Their heads were not "drest with top-knots, but they had "white linen caps on, with lace on "them, about three-fingers breadth, and "over it they had a black loose net-work "hood.

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"As the foresaid second-sighted persons, sitting by the fire, with others "in the winter-time, would see spirits "standing by, and often seem angry

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