she brought him to that, she told him one day in a heat, that she hoped his ghost would one time or other appear to him, and tell him, that he was dead, and that he ought to do justice to his other children, for he should never come to claim the estate.

When he came, so much against his will, to consent >to shorten the time to one year, he told her, that he hoped his son's ghost, though he was not dead, would come to her, and tell her he was alive, before the time, expired; for why, says he, may not injured souls walk while embodied, as well as afterwards?

It happened one evening after this, that they had a most violent family quarrel upon this subject, when on a sudden a hand appeared at a casement, endeavouring to open it; but as all the iron casements, used in former times, opened outward, but hasped or fastened themselves in the inside; so the band seemed to try to open the Casement, but could not. The gentleman did not see it but his wife did, and she started up as if she was frighted; and, forgetting the quarrel they had upon their hands, Lord bless me! says she, there are theives in the garden. Her husband ran immediately to the door of the room they sat in, and opening it, looked out. There's nobody in the garden, says he; so he shut the door again, and came back.

I am sure, says she, I saw a man there.

It must be the devil then, says he; for I'm sure. theres nobody in the garden.

I'll swear, says she I saw a man put his hand up to

open

-open the casement; but finding it fast, and I suppose adds she, seeing us in the room, he walked off.

It is impossible he could be gone, says he; did not I run to the door immediately? and you know the garden walls on both sides hinder him from escaping.

Pry the, says she angrily, I am not drunk, nor in a dream; I know a man when I see him, and it is not dark, the sun is not quite down.

You are only frighted with shadows, very full of ill nature; folks generally are so haunted with an evil conscience; it may be devil.

says he,

that are

twas the

No, no, I'm not soon frightened, says she, if twas the devil,twas the ghost of your son; who perhaps may be come to tell you he was gone to the devil, and you might give your estate to your eldest bastard, since you wont settle it on the lawful heir.

If it was my son, says he, he is come to tell us he is alive, I warrant you; and to ask how you can be so much a devil to desire me to disinherit him; and with these words, "Alexander, says he aloud, repeating it twice, and starting up out of his chair, if you are alive, shew yourself, and dont let me be insulted thus every day with your being dead.

At those very words, the casement which the hand had been seen at by the mother, opened of itself, and his son ́Alexander looked in with a full face, and staring directly upon the mother with an angry countenance,

cried out, here; and then vanished in a moment.

The woman, who was so spirited before, shrieked out in a most dismal manner, so as to alarm the whole house; her maid ran into the parlour, to see what was the matter; but her mistress had fainted away in her chair.

Her husband ran immediately from the parlour into the garden, and from thence to two other doors which opened out of his garden, one into the stable yard, and another into the field beyond the garden, but found them all fast shut and barred; returning into the garden, he found his gardener and a boy drawing a rollingstone: he asked them if any body else had been in the garden, but they both solemnly affirmed, that no body had been there; and they were both rolling a gravel walk near the house.

Upon this, he came into the room, sat him down again, and said not one word for a good while; the woman and servants being busy all the while; and in a hurry, endeavouring to recover his wife.

After some time she came to herself so far as to speak, and the first words she said were,

Lord bless me ! what was it?

Nay, says her husband, 'twas Alexander to be sure. With that she fell into a fit, and screamed and shrieked out again most terribly.

Her husband, not thinking that would have affected her, did what he could to persuade her out of it again, but that would not do; and they were obliged to cata

ry her to bed, and get some help to her; but she continued very ill for several days after,

However, this put an end for some considerable time to her solicitations about his disinheriting her sonin-law.

But time, that hardens the mind in cases of a worse nature, wore this off also by degrees, and she began to revive the old cause again, though not at first so eagerly as before.

Nay, he used her a little severely upon it too, and if ever they had any words about it, he would bid her hold her tongue; or that, if she talked any more upon the subject, he would call Alexander again to open the

casement.

This aggravated things much; and though it terrified her a great while, yet at length she was so exaspcrated, that she told him she believed he dealt with the devil, and that he had sold himself to the devil, only to be able to frighten his wife.

He jested with her, and told her, any man would be beholden to the devil to hush a noisy woman, and that he was very glad he had found a way to do it, whatever it cost him.

She was so exasperated at this, that she threatened him, if he played any more of his hellish arts with her she would have him indicted for a wizard, and having a familiar spirit; and, she could prove it, she said, plain enough; for that he had raised the devil on purpos to Lighten his wife:

The

The fray parted that night with ill words, and ill nature enough: but he little thought she intended as she said, and the next day he had forgot it all, and was as good humoured as if nothing had happened.

But he found his wife chagrined and disturbed very much, full of resentment, and threatening him with what she resolved to do.

However, he little thought she intended him the mischief she had in her head, and offered to talk friendly to her, but she rejected it with scorn, and told him she would be as good as her word; for she would not live with a man that should bring the devil into the room whenever he thought proper, in order to murder his wife.

He strove to pacify her by fair werds, but she told him she was in earnest with him; and in a word she was in earnest, for she went away to a justice, and made an affidavit that her husband had a familiar spirit, and-that she went in danger of her life, so obtained a war◄ rant to apprehend him.

In short she brought home a warrant, shewed it her husband, and told him, she had not given it into the hands of an officer, because he should have the liberty to go voluntarily before the justice of the peace; and if he thought fit to let her know when he would he ready, she would be so too, and would get some of her own friends to go along with her.

He was surprized at this, for he little thought she had been in earnest with him, and endeavoured to pa city her by all possible means; she did this to frighten