The fellow was living,
1671. Another time, as he was in bed, he saw a basket come sailing in
the air, along by the valence of his bed; I think he said there was
fruit in the basket: it was a phantom. From himself.
When Sir Kichard Nepier, M.D. of London, was upon the road coming
from Bedfordshire, the chamberlain of the inn, shewed him his
chamber, the doctor saw a dead man lying upon the bed; he looked more
wistly and saw it was himself: he was then well enough in health. He
went forward on his journey to Mr. Steward's in Berkshire, and there
died. This account I have in a letter from Elias Ashmole, Esq. They
were intimate friends.
"In the Desarts of Africk, you shall meet oftentimes with fairies
appearing in the shape of men and women, but they vanish quite away
like phantastical delusions."*
* Pliny's Natural Hist. lib. 7, chap. 2.
I Captain Henry Bell, do hereby declare both to the present age and
to posterity, that being employed beyond the seas, in state affairs,
divers years together, both by King James, and also by the late King
Charles in Germany. I did hear and understand in all places great
bewailing and lamentation made, by reason of destroying and burning
of above fourscore thousand of Martin Luther's books, entituled, His
last Divine Discourses.+
+ This narrative is in the Preface of the translation of Mr.
Pages:
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113