of the octave, according to the propor

tion which the radius and diameter of a circle have respectively to the circumference. He had, in his youth, been the leader of a distinguished band of church-fingers; had a very delicate ear

GREAT

63

for mufic; and his experiments on found with a moft curious monochord of his own improvement, are reported to have been not lefs accurate than those he was engaged in for the menfuration of time.

FROM ANCIENT TO THE PRESENT TIME.

C

URIOSITY is a prevailing foible in almost every country, and the perfon who is capable of performing any wonderful exploit, feldom fails to excite the attention of the admiring multitude. The inhabitants of this kingdom have for fome years patt been endeavouring to raise this paflion by the fwiftnels of their horfes, and while some have lavished away their fortunes in pursuit of this pleasure, others have more prudently employed these useful animals, and rendered their speed of general fervice, by using them in bufinels where difpatch is neceffary. Hence it has become an univerfal practice to have recourse to them in matters of hafte and expedition, and men have therefore had few opportu. nities of fhewing their alertness. In England, indeed, from the goodness of the roads, the opportunities of fhifting horses, and their extraordinary speed for single ftages, fwiftnefs in man is of lefs confequence to us than it was to our ancestors, who kept in their fervice men of prodigious fleetness, termed running footmen, and ufed in all ineffages and affairs of dispatch.

Of the swiftnefs of horses, we have the two following very remarkable inftances, the first of which is recorded to have been done about a century and a half ago.

It is mentioned in Drayton's hif tory of York, that one John Leyton, groom to king James the First, rode between London and York in one day for fix days together. He fet out

from Alderfgate on the 20th of May 1606, and performed his journey each day before it was dark. The days at that time of the year are about 16 hours long, fo that he must have rode upwards of twelve miles an hour for Gixteen hours each day.

The fecond inftance we have of this kind, is that of Mr. Cooper Thornhill, mafter of the Bell inn at Stilton in Huntingdonshire, who, in the year 1745, rode between London and Stilton three times within twelve hours, the whole length of which journey being two hundred and twenty-two miles, he rode eighteen miles and a half an hour, for twelve hours together.

These are certainly very extraordinary performances; nor are the feveral ones here extracted from history lefs remarkable, as pedestrian expeditions.

Among the ancients, the following are the molt fingular.

Philippides, who was fent by the Athenians to implore the affiftance of the Spartans in the Perfian war, in the space of two days ran 170 Roman miles.

Euchides was fent from Athens, to get fome of the holy fire from Delphos; he went and returned the fame day, which is 125 Roman miles.

Henry V. king of England, was fo fwift in running, that he, with two of his lords, without bow or other engine, would take a wild buck or doe in a large park.

There were a fort of footmen, called the Piechi, who attended upon the Turkish emperors, and were ofcafionally dispatched with orders and

expreffes.

forfeit his depofit; he therefore imprudently preferred the fatigue of it, though at the hazard of his life, to fave chis depofit of only 20l.

Mr. Powell was born at Hores forth near Leeds in the county of York; he is now in the 51ft year of his age, and is clerk to an attorney in New Inn. He is about 5 feet 8 inches high, his body rather flim, but his legs and thighs are ftout, and well calculated for fuch a journey. He has performed feveral expeditions with great fwiftnefs, particularly from London to Maidenhead bridge and back

65

again (27 miles) in feven hours; and fome time ago, having occafion to go to York with fome leafes, he walked the whole journey, and returned to London in little more than fix days. Within these few weeks, he fet off on a walk from Canterbury to London and back, to be accomplished in four and twenty hours. A gentleman accompanied him on horfeback. Powell undertook the expedition folely for the honour of it; that he might, as he himself expreffed it, die mafter of the reputation which his former exertions have obtained him.

THE EXISTENCE OF INVISIBLE

FOREWARNERS OF EVENTS ASSER

J.

DATED LEIGH,

TED. IN A LETTER FROM COOK, M. D. SEPTEMBER 18, 1765. EVER fince I was three and twenty years of age, I have had an invisible being, or beings, attend me at times both at home and abroad, that has, by fome gentle token or other, given me warning and notice that I should shortly certainly lose a particular friend, or a patient. They began and continued from our marriage till the deceafe of my first wife, in May 1728, and her infant daughter, who lived with me but seven months, and but fix weeks after her mother, when they were very frequent and troublesome about my houfe, as was well known, and noticed by many of our friends and neighbours. After that they came feldom, but fo gentle, civil, and familiar, that I chose ra ther to have them about my houfe than not, and would not, if I was to fell it, part with the fame without fome extraordinary confideration upon that very account; and I really hope they will never leave me as long as I live; though my fpoufe wishes otherwife, to whom they are not fo agreeable.

I may
be reckoned by feveral to be
VOL. I.

a whimsical vifionary, or what not, but I know I am far from it, being neither fuperftitious, enthusiastic, nor timorous; and I am certain too, I am not deceived by others; we all having had many and various impreffions from invisible agents, and I myself by no fewer than three of my senses, and those so often repeated, that they became quite eafy and familiar, without any terror of amazement. I take the hint at once, and wait for the certain and infallible iffue. I have fpoke to them often, but never received any anfwer, and think I have courage enough to stand a private conference.

Sometimes we have had their hints frequent and clofe together; at other times but feldom, and at a great distance of time. But this I have observed, that rarely any patient, or friend that ĺ refpected, or that valued me, departs hence, but I have fome kind of fenfible notice, or warning of it; but yet fö difcreet and mild, as never to flutter, or frighten me. This notice, which is either by feeing, feeling, or hearing, is not fixed to any certain diftance of time previous to their deaths, but I have had it a week, a month, and more, before their decease, and once only three days.

At first, in 1728, I kept a book of account, where I entered every notice I

of

or warning, with the particular circumftances attending, and the event that fucceeded fuch notices, but they were then fo frequent and numerous, that I grew quite weary in writing them down, fo left off that method, refolving to take them for the future juft as they came. The very last hint I had was on Saturday night, the 6th of July 1765, in my chamber, about eleven o'clock, as I was walking to my bed, being from home attending a patient, I was that morning fent-for to, and which I loft on the 20th day of the fame month. For the first five days I faw no danger, yet I doubted the event, but when I have more than one patient dangerously ill at a time,, the iffue only determines the cafe, and though I lay no stress upon fuch notices, fo as to affect my practice, yet I fear the worft, and though the ufe of means is then to no purpofe, yet it renders me the more diligent, for confcience fake.

To relate the particular circumftances of the feveral notices intimated on this, or any other occafions, would be entirely ufelefs, as only affording matter of mirth to the light and unthinking, and those who know nothing of the matter. But this I again folemnly declare, that I have many times, even above a hundred I believe, been made fenfible of the exiftence of a different kind of beings from us, fubtile and volatile inhabitants, as I take it, of the air, who fee and know our worldly affairs here below, and have a concern for us and our welfare. Twice only have I seen spectres, but heard and felt them times innumerable.

Angels they cannot be. Those high and glorious beings, being too grand and noble for fuch low offices, and are much better employed above. Devils they are not, as owing no good fervice at all to the lapfed race of mankind, and departed fouls have no more bufinefs here, but are gone to their place.

That there are innumerable inferior fpiritual beings in cur atmosphere was the opinion of the ancients, of Milton and the moderns ; and I think they folve all difficulties attending this abftrufe fubject at once, and may remove the

foolish fears fo generally attending fuch odd ftories. As no created space is abfolutely void of all being, why should our grofs atmosphere be without fuch inhabitants as are moft fuitable to fuch an element, and may be, as it were, the loweft ftep of the fpiritual fcale, and the first gradation of a fuperior order.

All hiftories of this fort, both divine and prophane, by ancients, and by moderns alfo, cannot be without fome foun. dation; and the learned Whifton and Le Clerc both fay, the opinion of spectres is neither unreaforable nor unphilofophical, but may very well exift in the n turc of things.

What is more wonderful still, besides my feeing thefe aerial fhapes, in fuch vehicles, or fomething like them, which once I did in my own house at noon day, directed thereto by the barking of my little dog at the fame, who faw it first, I once heard one of them, I fay it again, pronounce very audibly and articulately but moft emphatically and pathetically, in my chamber, juft as I had put out my candle, and was lain down in my bed, thefe words: "I am gone!"

My fecond coufin, a vifitor, died on Monday morning following, the fourth day after, who was feemingly well till two days before her deceafe. My fpoufe was faft afleep by me, fo miffed being witnefs of that notice; though fhe of ten is, and fome of my fons too, and many others,

But fome will fay, cui bono, of what ufe is all this? Suppofe we could refolve the question? what then? Can we, poor, dull, finite beings of a day, pretend to account for all phenomena about us? Nay, can we exactly account for any? Yet I will humbly offer my thoughts about it, and tell to what good ufe you may apply them, and then their intimation may rot be altogether in vain.

Look, as I do, upon all fuch uncommon impreffions from invifible powers, as a fenfible proof, and manifeft demonftration, of another and future state of exiftence after this, and that the prefent is the firit and lowest of all we fuccefively pafs through.-Betake your

felf

felf earnestly to prayer for the perion this meffenger is waiting for, to convoy part of the way into the other world, and be you yourfelf upon your watch, that you also may be ready to follow (as we all very fhortly muft) thofe many that have already gone before us, to be either happy or otherwife, according as we have demeaned ourfelves here below; and let fuch fecret impreffions, items, and hints, be no longer matter of laughter, but of ferious meditation, ever adoring the great and Almighty God in all his wonderful works, that are various and infinite, to whom be all glory for ever.

TO THE EDITOR.

I HAVE with much pleasure read your firft Number.

In the future recitals of dreams, fupernatural appearances, &c. I hope your friends who intend to communicate fuch informations, will moft fcrupuloufly adhere to truth: the field will prove fufficiently extenfive, although confined by the pales of veracity.

I have had dreams that have been most minutely realized: yet I am convinced that events of this defcription never happen, but they may be accounted for, without the affiftance of fupernatural agency. Allow me to relate a ftory which I heard from the parties,

when in America.

I flopped one evening, (when travelling through the provinces) at an houfe fituated between Lancaster and Philadelphia. Moft of the houfes in America, although not abfolutely inns, receive paffengers; of this fort was the prefent houfe. I was furprifcd to find the owner of it, prefer this dwelling, to one immediately oppofite, which was well built with brick, but uninhabited. The house he lived in, although commodious, was built with logs, i. e. large bodies of trees, the interftices filled up with clay. The reason, he affured me, was, that the houfe had been haunted! that he believed it ftill was haunted, bus

67

that no perfon fhould ever again try "for," added be," a boy that rode post from Philadelphia to North Carolina, once ftopped here; the houfe was full, but being very much fatigued, he requefted to fleep in the haunted house! (for fo it was then called-the frequent noifes I had been disturbed with, having determined me to quit it) at the fame time ridiculing apparitions.

I confented, and made him a bed on the ground, where after having drank his glafs of toddy, he fell faft afleep. He had not been in bed any length of time, when he was awoke by a very handfome young woman, who, with much perfeverance, endeavoured to pull the fhects from him: the post-boy, concluding that he had fome intentions, more amorous than ghoftly, defired fhe would defift, as he was too fatigued to gratify them at this remark, fhe feemed irefully incenfed; her eyes sparkled fire; her features trembled, (for this, faid my landlord, was the boy's hiftory) the clenched her hand, and struck me on the face. I remained infenfible for fome time, and found, on the recovery of my fenfes, that I had loft the ufe of my right fide, was deaf, and almost deprived of fight."

Mr. Editor, I faw this lad myself; to me he related the ftory, as I have related it to you.

Qu-Might not his fatigue, with exceffive peripiration-going into damp fheets, produce his malady? Might not the impreflion of the haunted house be the caule of his dream? CHARLES.