Part 26

SIR

I AM to give you the best satisfaction I can touching those fiery apparitions* (Corps Candles) which do as it were mark out the way for corpses to their {Greek text: Koimeterion} and sometimes before the parties themselves fall sick, and sometimes in their sickness. I could never hear in England of these, they are common in these three counties, viz. Cardigan, Carmarthen, and Pembroke, and as I hear in some other parts of Wales.**

* Mr. Baxter's Certainty of the Worlds of Spirits, p. 137. ** And Radnor.

These {Greek text: Phantasmata} in our language, we call Canhwyllan Cyrph, (i.e.) Corps Candles; and candles we call them, not that we see any thing besides the light; but because that light doth as much resemble a material candle-light as eggs do eggs, saving, that in their journey these candles be "modo apparentes, modo disparentes", especially, when one comes near them; and if one come in the way against them, unto whom they vanish; but presently appear behind and hold on their course. If it be a little candle pale or bluish, then follows the corps either of an abortive or some infant; if a big one, then the corps of some one come to age: if there be seen two, or three, or more, some big, some small together, then so many and such corpses together. If two candles come from divers places, and be seen to meet, the corpses will the like; if any of these candles are seen to turn, sometimes a little out of the way, or path, that leadeth to the church, the following corps will be forced to turn in that very place, for the avoiding some dirty lane or plash, &c. Now let us fall to evidence. Being about the age of fifteen, dwelling at Lanylar, late at night, some neighbour saw one of these candles hovering up and down along the river bank, until they were weary in beholding it, at last they left it so, and went to bed. A few weeks after came a proper damsel from Montgomeryshire, to see her friends, who dwelt on the other side of that river Istwith, and thought to ford the river at that very place where the light was seen; being dissuaded by some lookers on (some it is most likely of those that saw the light) to adventure on the water, which was high by reason of a flood: she walked up and down along the river bank, even where, and even as the aforesaid candle did, waiting for the falling of the water; which at last she took, but too soon for her, for she was drowned therein. Of late my sexton's wife, an aged understanding woman, saw from her bed, a little bluish candle on her tables-end; within two or three days after, came a fellow enquiring for her husband, and taking something from under his cloak, claped it down upon the tables-end; it was a dead born child.

Another time, the same woman saw such another candle upon the end of the self same table; within a few days after a weak child newly christened by me, was brought to the sexton's house, where presently he died: and when the sexton's wife, who was then abroad, came home, she found the child on the other end of the table, where she had seen the candle.

Some thirty or forty years since, my wife's sister, being nurse to Baronet Rudd's three eldest children, and (the Lady mistress being dead) the Lady comptroller of the house going late into the chamber where the maid servants lay, saw no less than five of these lights together. It happened a while after, that the chamber being newly plaistered, and a grate of coal fire therein kindled to hasten the drying of the plaister, that five of the maid servants went to bed as they were wont (but as it fell out) too soon; for in the morning they were all dead, being suffocated in their sleep with the steam of the new tempered lime and coal. This was at Langathen in Carmarthenshire. --- Jo. Davis. See more.---

Generglyn, March 1656.

To this account of Mr. Davis, I will subjoin what my worthy friend and neighbour Randal Caldicot, D.D. hath affirmed to me many years since, viz. When any Christian is drowned in the river Dee, there will appear over the water where the corps is, a light, by which means they do find the body: and it is therefore called the Holy Dee. The doctor's father was Mr. Caldicot, of Caldicot in Cheshire, which lies on the river.

ORACLES.

HIERONIMUS Cardanus, lib. 3, "Synesiorum Somniorum", cap. 15, treats of this subject, which see. Johannes Scotus Erigena, when he was in Greece, did go to an Oracle to enquire for a Treatise of Aristotle, and found it, by the response of the oracle. This he mentions in his works lately printed at Oxford; and is quoted by Mr. Anthony a Wood in his Antiquities of Oxon, in his life. He lived before the conquest, and taught Greek at the Abby in Malmesbury, where his scholars stabbed him with their penknives for his severity to them. Leland mentions that his statue was in the choir there.

ECSTACY.

Cardanus, lib. 2. Synes. Somniorum, cap. 8.

"IN Ecstasin multis modis dilabuntur homines, aut per Syncopen, aut animi deliquium, aut etiam proprie abducto omni sensu externo, absque alia Causa. Id vero contingit consuetis plerunque, & nimio affectu alicujus rei laborantibus; --- Ecstasis medium est inter vigiliam & somnium, sicut somnus inter mortem & vigiliam, seuvitam --- Visa in Ecstasi certiora insomniis: Clariora & evidentiora --- Ecstasi deprehensi audire possunt, qui dormiunt non possunt".

Men fall into an Ecstacy many ways, either by a syncope, by a vanishing and absence of the spirits, or else by the withdrawing of every external sense without any other cause. It most commonly happens to those who are over sollicitous or fix their whole minds upon doing any one particular thing. An Ecstacy is a kind of medium between sleeping and waking, as sleep is a kind of middle state between life and death. Things seen in an Ecstacy are more certain than those we behold in dreams: they are much more clear, and far more evident. Those seized with an Ecstacy can hear, those who sleep cannot.

Anno 1670, a poor widow's daughter in Herefordshire, went to service not far from Harwood (the seat of Sir John Hoskins, Bart. R.S.S.) She was aged near about twenty; fell very ill, even to the point of death; her mother was old and feeble, and her daughter was the comfort of her life; if she should die, she knew not what to do: she besought God upon her knees in prayer, that he would be pleased to spare her daughter's life, and take her to him: at this very time, the daughter fell into a trance, which continued about an hour: they thought she had been dead: when she recovered out of it, she declared the vision she had in this fit, viz. that one in black habit came to her, whose face was so bright and glorious she could not behold it; and also he had such brightness upon his breast, and (if I forget not) upon his arms. And told her, that her mother's prayers were heard, and that her mother should shortly die, and she should suddenly recover; and she did so, and her mother died. She hath the character of a modest, humble, virtuous maid. Had this been in some Catholick country, it would have made a great noise.

'Tis certain, there was one in the Strand, who lay in a trance a few hours before he departed. And in his trance had a vision of the death of King Charles II. It was at the very day of his apoplectick fit.

There is a sheet of paper printed 16 ... concerning Ecstacies, that James Usher, late Lord Primate of Ireland, once had: but I have been assured from my hon. friend James Tyrrell, Esq. (his Lordship's grandson) that this was not an ecstacy; but that his Lordship upon reading the 12, 13, 14, &c. chapters of the Revelation, and farther reflecting upon the great increase of the sectaries in England, supposed that they would let in popery, which consideration put him into a great transport, at the time when his daughter (the Lady Tyrrel) came into the room; when he discoursed to her divers things (tho' not all) contained in the said printed paper.

GLANCES OF LOVE AND MALICE.

"AMOR ex Oculo": Love is from the eye: but (as the Lord Bacon saith) more by glances than by full gazings; and so for envy and malice.

Tell me dearest, what is Love ? 'Tis a Lightning from above: 'Tis an Arrow, 'tis a Fire, 'Tis a Boy they call Desire.*

* Mr. Fletcher in Cupid's Revenge.

'Tis something divine and inexplicable. It is strange, that as one walks the streets sometimes one shall meet with an aspect (of male or female) that pleases our souls; and whose natural sweetness of nature, we could boldly rely upon. One never saw the other before, and so could neither oblige or disoblige each other. Gaze not on a maid, saith Ecclus. 9, 5.

The Glances of envy and malice do shoot also subtilly; the eye of the malicious person, does really infect and make sick the spirit of the other. The Lord Bacon saith it hath been observed, that after triumphs, the triumphants have been sick in spirit.

The chymist can draw subtile spirits, that will work upon one another at some distance, viz. spirits of alkalies and acids, e.g. spirits coelestial (sal armoniac and spirits of C. C. will work on each other at half a yard distance, and smoke;) but the spirits above mentioned are more subtile than they.

"Non amo te Sabati, nece possum dicere quare, Hoc tantum possum dicere, non amo te".

Fellow, I love thee not, I can't tell why, But this, I'll tell thee, I could sooner die.

But if an astrologer had their nativities, he would find a great disagreement in the schemes. These are hyper-physical opticks, and drawn from the heavens.

Infants are very sensible of these irradiations of the eyes. In Spain, France, &c. southern countries, the nurses and parents are very shy to let people look upon their young children, for fear of fascination. In Spain, they take it ill if one looks on a child, and make one say, God bless it. They talk of "mal de ojos". We usually say, witches have evil eyes.