CHAP. XI.

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That many naturall things are taken to be ghoasts.

T

Fayries of the earth.

Here happen daily many things by the ordinary course of nature, which diuers men, especially they that are timorous and fearefull, suppose to be visions or spirits. As for example, when they heare the crying of ratts, catts, weasels, martins, or any other beaste, or when they heare a horse beate his fÉete on the plankes in the stable at midnight, by and by they sweat for feare, supposing some bugges to walke in the dead of the night. Somtimes a bittour, or hearne (which birds are sildome sÉene with vs in Germany) or some other straunge birds, make a noise in the aire: many fooles straightwayes dreame, they haue heard I wotte not what. If a worme which fretteth wood, or that brÉedeth in trÉes, chaunce to gnawe a wall of waynescot, or other timber, many will iudge they heare one softly knocking vppon an anduill with a sledge: and sometimes they imagine they heare many hammers at one time. Simple foolish men hearing these things, imagine, I know not how, that there be certaine elues or fairies of the earth, and tell many straunge and maruellous tales of them, which they haue heard of their grandmothers and mothers, how they haue appeared vnto those of the house, haue done seruice, haue rocked the cradle, and (which is a signe of good lucke) do continually tarry in the house. If such dwarfes or elues haue bene sÉene at any time, surely they were euill spirits. For we reade that the Gentiles in time past, had their familiar or houshold gods, whome they worshipped with great deuotion, because (as they thought) they tooke care of their house, and defended their family: and vnto these men, euil spirits did sometimes appeare, thereby to confirme them the more in their blinde superstition.

Olaus Magnus.

Olaus Magnus Archbishop of Vpsalia, writeth in his history de Gentibus Septentrionalibus, that euen at this day also, there are spirits sÉene in these countries, which hauing the shape of men, do men seruice in the night, dressing their horse, and looking to their cattell. The winde in the night, ouerthroweth some thing, or shaketh a casement or lid of the window: many by and by thinke they sÉe a spirite, and can very hardly be brought from that vaine opinion.

Echo.

This thing is also according to nature, that when a man either crieth or speaketh in the woods, valies, or other hollow places, Echo wil resound the later word or sillable, so plainly many times, that a man would verily thinke some liuing bodie made him answere againe. Many would be afraide hereof at all times, but especially in the night season, except he knew very well it were a naturall thing.

Cardanus.

Cardanus in his booke de Subtilitate lib. 18. rehearseth a maruellous historie of one Comensis, who very late in the night, comming to a riuersside, not knowing where he might passe ouer, called out aloude for some bodie to shewe him the foorde, and when the Echo made him answere, hee supposing it to be a man, asked him if he might passe ouer here: to whom the Echo answered again in y? Italian tong, Here, here. But in y? place was a whirlpoole, and a great roring of the water: Therfore y? man douting, asketh once or twice againe, whether the riuer might be past ouer in the same place: to which the Echo answered stil that it might. In the end, when he had escaped y? passage without danger, he told his friends, how by the persuasio of the diuel, he had almost throwne himself hedlong into the riuer, and drowned himself. In the same place, he saith, that the great Hall at Ticinium in Italy, doth render sundry and manifold voyces, if one speake in it, and that the voyces as it were die and make an end much lyke a mans voyce, when he lyeth a dying, in so much that a man can scant be perswaded it is the noyse of Echo.

Things shyning by night.
Hector Boethius.

There are certain things which shine only in the night, as some precious stones doo, the eyes of certaine beastes, a Glowoorme, or Globard, as also some kinde of rotten wood, wherewith many times children so terrifie their play-fellowes, that they imagine with themselues, to sÉe euil spirites, or men all burning with fire. Hector Boethius writeth, that a certain King of Scots caused some of his men to be disguised in garments with bright shining scales, hauing in their hands rotten wood instÉed of staues, and so to appeare to his nobilitie and Lords in the night, exhorting them to fight couragiously with their enemies, and promising them to obtaine victorie. Whereby the noble men supposing they had sÉene angels, behaued themselues valiantly, and atchieued the victorie.

Burning lights.

Many times candles & small fires appeare in the night, and sÉeme to runne vp and downe. And as the yong men in Heluetia, who with their firebrands which they light, at the bonfires in Shroftide, sometime gather themselues togither, and then scatter abroad, and againe, mÉeting togither, march in a long rancke: euen so doo those fires sometime sÉeme to come togither, and by and by to be seuered & runne abroad, and at the last to vanish cleane away. Sometime these fires goe alone in the night season, and put such as sÉe them, as they trauell by night, in great feare. But these things, and many such lyke haue their naturall causes: and yet I will not deny, but that many times Diuels delude men in this maner.

Exhalatons.

Natural Philosophers write, that thicke exhilations aryse out of the earth, and are kindled. Mynes full of sulphur and brimstone, if the aire enter vnto it, as it lyeth in the holes and veines of the earth, will kindle on fier, and striue to get out. Sometimes fire bursteth out of the earth, as high as a tall trÉe, and is suddeinly put out againe. Which thing is to be thought to procÉede of fierie matter, sÉeking a vent to gush out. Wee reade of the mount Aetna in Cicilie, that in times past it burnt continually, day and night, casting forth flames of fire, fiery stones and ashes in great aboundance. The lyke is read also at Vesuuius a hill in Campaine, about a Germaine mile from Naples: The same hill in the time of Titus the Emperour, as S. Hierom reporteth, cast foorth of it so much fire, that it burnt the country, and cities, and people rounde about it, and filled the fieldes adioyning full of cinders and ashes. These two hilles, euen in our dayes boyling with great heate, haue very much indamaged the people inhabiting thereabout. In Iseland, as Olaus Magnus witnesseth, are found fiers which breake out of the earth. And as whole hilles and mountaines may burne, euen so may a litle fire be kindled in the earth, and yet wander very large. They which trauelling by the way, or by some other meanes chaunce to sÉe these things, and know not the naturall causes of them, imagin by reason of feare, that they haue sÉene men burning like fire, or some other straunge thing, which they haue heard other men talke of. And by means of their great feare, oftentimes they fall into great daungerous diseases.

Glasses.

The arte perspectiue doth also worke this wonderfull feate, that diuers and sundrie shapes will appeare in glasses, made and sette togither aftter a certeine artificial sorte: sometimes they will sÉeme to goe out of the doores, and resemble men of our familiar acquaintance. Many things in very dÉed are naturall, although we cannot finde any naturall reason for them.

And yet by the way, they shewe themselues too foolishe, which labour to bring all things to natural causes. Here I will say nothing of these men, which can beare plaine and rude people in hande, that they, or some other of their acquaintance, haue sÉene strange things, which they earnestly auouch to be true, when as indÉede there was no suche thing. How often I pray you, do we heare things affirmed as true, which afterward proue most false: as that one was caried away bodie and soule, that an other was put to death, and an infinit nomber of such like reports.


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