power of speaking inwardly; hence the composition of the term, from venter and loqui.

By means of this singular quality, he possesses a peculiar art of forming his speech, and of molifying his voice, so as to proceed from any direction, or dis

tance.

One of the most eminent in this singular art, was Louis Brabant, valet-de-chambre to Francis the First of France; he possessed not only the talent of emitting a voice from any distance, or in any direction, but of counterfeiting the voices of those with whom he at any time conversed-Of this artist, the following deception is related :-

"Louis it seems had fallen in love with a handsome and rich heiress; but was rejected by the parents, as an unsuitable match for their daughter, on account of the lowness of his condition-The young lady's father dying, he made a visit to the widow, vho was totally ignorant of his singular.

talent; suddenly on his first arrival, in open day, in her own chamber, and in the presence of several persons, who were with her, she heard herself accosted in a voice, perfectly resembling that of her dead husband, and which seemed to proceed from above, exclaiming, "give my daughter in marriage to Louis Brabant; he is a man of great fortune, and of an excellent character ; I now endure the inexpressible torments of purgatory, for having refused her to him-If you obey this admonition, I shall soon be delivered from this place of torment: you will, at the sanie time, provide a worthy husband for your daughter, and procure everlasting repose for the soul of your poor husband."

The widow could not for a moment resist this dreadful order, which had not the most distant appearance of proceeding from Louis, whose countenance did not undergo any visible change, and whose lips were close and motionless during the delivery of it: Accordingly she consented

Louis's

to receive him for her son-in-law. finances however were at a low ebb, and the formalities attending the marriage-contract, rendered it necessary for him to exhibit some show of riches, and not to give the ghost the lie direct; he accordingly went to work upon a fresh subject. One Cornu, an old and rich banker at Lyons, who had accumulated immense wealth by usury and extortion, and was known to be haunted by remorse of conscience, on account of the manner in which he had acquired it. Passing over the preliminary steps and preparations; behold Louis Brabant, tete-a-tete with the old usurer, in his little back-parlour, preparing him, by artfully turning the conversation upon religious subjects, on demons and spectrés, the pains of purgatory, and the torments of hell-During an interval of silence between them, a voice was heard, which to the astonished banker, seemed to be that of his deceased father, complaining, as in the former case, of his dreadful situation in

t

purgatory, and calling upon him to deliver him instantly from thence, by putting into the hands of Louis Brabant, a large sum for the redemption of slaves, then in slavery amongst the Turks; threatening him, at the same time, with eternal punishment, if he did not take this method to expiate his crimes.

The reader will naturally suppose, that Louis Brabant, affected a due degree of astonishment upon the occasion; and further promoted the deception, by acknowledging his having devoted himself to the prosecution of the charitable design imputed to him by the ghost.

An old usurer is naturally suspicious; accordingly the wary banker made a second appointment with the ghost's delegate for the next day, and to render any design of imposing upon him abortive, took him into the open fields, where not a house or a tree, or even a bush or a pit were in sight, capable of screening any supposed confederate; this caution, excited Louis, on his

part, to exert all the powers of his art. Wherever the banker conducted him, at every step, his ears were saluted on all sides with the groans and complaints, not only of his father, but of all his deceased relations, imploring him, in the name of every saint in the calendar, to have mercy on his own soul, and theirs, by effectually seconding with his purse, the intention of his worthy companion. Cornu could no longer resist the supposed voice of Heaven, and accordingly, carried his guest home, and paid him down ten thousand crowns, with which the honest Louis returned to Paris, and married the lady.

Where dost thou, Memory, thy seat maintain?

In what recesses of the brain?

What corner of the mind? Amazing faculty! in vain we try, In vain, our mental pow'rs apply, Thy wond'rous source to find.