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midst of the flames, on which we head a terrible noise too horrible to be described: Captain Barnaby then desired us to look at our watches, pen the time down in our pocketbooks, and enter it in our journals, which we accordingly did.

The

When we were laden, we all sailed for England, and arrived at Gravesend, on the 6th of October, 1687. Mrs. Barnaby and Mrs. Brian came to congratulate our safe arrival, and after some discourse, Captain Barnaby's wife said, My dear, I have got some news to tell you; old Booty is dead. He swore an oath, and said we all saw him run into "hell." Some time afterwards, Mrs. Barnaby met with a lady of her acquaintance in London, and told her what her husband had seen concerning Mr: Booty; it came to Mrs. Booty's ears; she arrested Captain Barnaby in £1000 action. He gave bail, and it came to trial at the Court of King's Bench, where Mr. Booty's clothes were brought into court. sexton of the parish, and the people that were with him when he died, swore to the time when he died, and we swore to our journals, and they agreed within two minutes: twelve of our men swore that the buttons of his coat were covered with the same grey cloth as his coat, and it appeared to be so the jury asked Mr. Spinks if he knew Mr. Booty in his lifetime; he said he never saw him till he saw him run by him into the burning mountain. The judge then said, Lord, grant that I may never see the sight that you have seen one, two, or three may be mistaken, but twenty or thirty cannot. So the widow lost the cause.

N.B. It is now in the records at Westminster.

James the Second, 1687,

Herbert, Chief Justice,
Wythens,

Holloway,

And Wright,

Justices.

THE APPARITION OF EDWARD AVON TO THOMAS GODDARD.

Thomas Goddard, of Marlborough, Wilts, weaver, made deposition the 23rd November, 1674. He saith, that on

Monday, the 9th instant, as he was going to Ogborn, at a stile on the highway near Mr. Goddard's ground, about nine in the morning, he met the apparition of his father-in-law, one Edward Avon, of this town, glover, who died in May last, having on, to his appearance, the same clothes, hat, stockings, and shoes he usually wore when he was living, standing by and leaning over that stile. When he came near, the apparition spoke to him with an audible voice those words, "Are you afraid?" To which he answered, “I am thinking on one who is dead and buried, whom you are like." To which the apparition replied with the like voice, "I am he that you were thinking on; I am Edward Avon, your father-in-law: come near to me, I will do you no harm." To which Goddard answered, "I trust in Him who hath bought my soul with his precious blood, you shall do me no harm." Then the apparition said, "How stand cases at home ?" Goddard asked, what cases? Then it asked, "How are William and Mary ?" meaning, as he conceived, his son William Avon, a shoemaker here, and Mary his daughter, the said Goddard's wife. Then it said, "What! Taylor is dead:" meaning, as he thought, one Taylor of London, who married his daughter Sarah, which Taylor died the Michaelmas before. Then the apparition held out its hand, and in it, as Goddard conceived, twenty or thirty shillings in silver, and then spake with a loud voice, “Take this money and send it to Sarah; for I shut up my bowels of compassion towards her in the time of my life, and now here is something for her." And then said," Mary (meaning his the said Goddard's wife as he conceived) is troubled for me; but tell her, God hath showed mercy to me contrary to my deserts." But the said Goddard answered, "In the name of Jesus Christ I refuse all such money." Then the apparition said, "I perceive you are afraid; I will meet you some other time." And immediately to his appearance it went up the lane, and he went over the same stile, but saw it no more that day.

He saith, the next night, about seven o'clock, it came and opened his shop-window, and stood in the same clothes, looked him in the face, but said nothing to him. And the next night after it appeared to him again in the same shape;

but he being in fear, ran into his house, and saw it no more then.

But he saith, that on Thursday, the 12th instant, as he came from Chilton, riding down the hill between the manorhouse and Axford-farm-field, he saw something like a hare cross his way, at which his horse startled, and threw him in the dirt. As soon as he could recover on his feet, the same apparition there met him again in the same habit, and standing about eight feet directly before him in the way, spoke again to him with a loud voice, "Source, (a word he commonly used when living) you have stayed long;" and then said to him, "Thomas, bid William Avon take the sword that he had of me, which is now in his house, and carry it to the wood as we go to Alton, to the upper end of the wood by the way-side; for with that sword I did wrong about thirty years ago, and he never prospered since he had that sword; and bid William Avon give his sister Sarah twenty shillings of the money which he had of me. And do you talk with Edward Lawrence, for I borrowed twenty shillings of him several years ago, and did say I had paid him, but I did not pay it him; and I would desire you to pay him twenty shillings out of the money which you had from James Elliot at two payments." Which money the said Goddard now saith was five pounds, which James Elliot, a baker, here owed the said Avon on bond, and which he, the said Goddard, had received from the said Elliot since Michaelmas, at two payments, viz.: 35s. at one time, and £3 5s. at another payment. And it farther said to him, "Tell Margaret (meaning his own wife, as he conceived) that I would desire her to deliver up the little which I gave to little Sarah Taylor, to the child, or to any one she will trust for it. But if she will not, speak to Edward Lawrence to persuade her. But if she will not then, tell her that I will see her very suddenly. And see that this be done within a twelvemonth and a day after my decease, and peace be with you." It then went away over the rails into the wood, and he saw it no more at that time. And he saith, that he paid the twenty shillings to Edward Lawrence of this town, who being present now doth remember he lent the said Avon twenty shillings about twenty years ago, which none

knew but himself and wife, and Avon and his wife; and was never paid it again before now by this Goddard.

And this said Goddard farther saith, that this very day, by the Mayor's order, he with his his brother-in-law, William Avon, went with the sword, and about nine o'clock in the morning they laid down the sword in the copse near the place the apparition had appointed Goddard to carry it, and then coming away thence Goddard looking back saw the same apparition again in the same habit as before. Whereupon he called to his brother-in-law and said, "Here is the apparition of our father;" who said, "I see nothing." Then Goddard fell on his knees, and said, "Lord, open his eyes that he may see it." But he replied, "Lord, grant I may not see it, if it be thy blessed will," and then the apparition, to Goddard's appearance, beckoned with his hand to him to come to it. And then Goddard said, "In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, what would you have me do ?" Then the apparition said to him, "Thomas, take up the sword, and follow me.' To which he said, "Should both of us come, or but one of us ?" To which it answered, "Thomas, do you take up the sword." And so he took up the sword and followed the apparition about ten lugs (that is, poles) farther into the copse, and then turning back, he stood still about a lug and a half from it, his brother-in-law staying behind at the place where they first laid down the sword. Then Goddard laying down the sword upon the ground, saw something stand by the apparition like a mastiff dog, of a brown colour. Then the apparition coming towards Goddard, he stepped back about two steps, and the apparition said to him, "I have a permission to you, and commission not to touch you;" and then it took up the sword, and went back to the place at which before it stood, with a mastiff dog by it as before, and pointed the top of the sword in the ground, and said, "In this place lies buried the body of him which I murdered in the year 1635, which is now rotten and turned to dust." Whereupon Goddard said, "I do adjure you in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, wherefore did you commit this murder ?" And it said, "I took money from the man, and he contended with me, and so I murdered him." Then Goddard asked him, who was confederate with him in the said murder?

and it said, "None but myself." Then Goddard said, "What would you have me do in this thing?" And the apparition said, "This is that the world may know that I murdered a man, and buried him in this place, in the year 1635."

Then the apparition laid down the sword on the bare ground, whereon nothing grew, but seemed to Goddard to be as a grave sunk in. The apparition then rushing further into the copse vanished, and he saw it no more. Whereupon Goddard, and his brother-in-law Avon, leaving the sword there, and coming away together, Avon told Goddard he heard his voice, and understood what he said, and heard other voices distinct from his, but could not understand a word of it, nor saw any apparition at all. Which he now also present affirmeth, and all which the said Goddard then attested under his hand, and affirmed, he will depose the same when he shall be thereto required.

In the presence of Christ. Lypyatt, Mayor, Rolf Bayly, Town Clerk, Joshua Sacheveral, Rector of St. Peter's, in Marlborough.

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OF A DUTCHMAN THAT COULD SEE GHOSTS, AND OF THE GHOST HE SAW IN THE TOWN OF WOODBRIDGE IN Suffolk.

Mr. Broom, the minister of Woodbridge in Suffolk, meeting one day, in a barber's shop in that town, a Dutch Lieutenant, (who was blown up with Opdam, and taken alive out of the water, and carried to that town, where he was a prisoner at large,) upon the occasion of some discourse was told by him that he could see ghosts, and that he had seen divers. Mr. Broom rebuking him for talking so idly, he persisted in it very stiffly. Some days after, lighting upon him again, he asked him whether he had seen any ghost since his coming to that town. To which he replied, No.

But not long after this, as they were walking together

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