The Sun.
London, England, 1810-08-27 00:00:00

" THE DEVOA3HIRE GHOST.

• Tihe -last 'fauvrn, Courier cont'Ainsl letter frcern a
reqedithle•c:lergyin .6 pa the ,utipi;,t or some invi-
Irgency ,- by which t hous% of 'a Mr. 'Cita.. e,
at Saini.iford, in Devonshire,. has_ been lately dis-
turbed. The particulars are thus related by him un-
der the sanction of a voinntary affidavit, made on
the 18th it),t.—

" And firstel depese solemnly, that, alter an at-
tendance of six -nights, (nut sq :cessive), at Mr.
Chave's house, in the village of Sawpford, and with
a mind perfectly unprejudiced, after the most minute
investigation, and .• closest inspection of all tee pre-
mises, I em. uttetly unable to account for any of the
phenomena I have there seen-aed tieard, and labour
at this moment under no-seeill perplexey, arising
from a determination not likely to admit of super-
natural inteiference, and an impossibility of hitherto
tracing these etfeets to any human- cause. I farther
depose, that in my, visits to iNfir. CoaveJs house, at
Saepfoid, I never had other motive, direct or
indi-
re,-t, avowed or cene,:aledeliut 311.4rnest, and I pre-
sutne not a culpable wish; to his' phenomena
to the title and legitimate cause,- Also, that I have
i et ery itist ince feund t, .e:peopfe' ef ;be house most
willing and ready, to contribute every thing in their
peve., and to co-operate with me in the dteetlion of
tlie,7-c4l.Pq.(iffhese unaccountable,,sihts, and violent
blows' and sounds., Also, that I ate so deeply con-
vinced ot the dirlicully of proving these:effects to bo,
human, that I s and engagtd to-f.n-teit a very consi-
derable sum to -the pour of my parish, when, ver this
.business now going oa at Sainpferd, shall be made
appear to have been produced by 'any human art or
ingenuity, colleCtively ur indiviouelly exerted. Also,
teat I have, in presence of many gentlemen, repeat-
edly.sworn the do.nestics to the etfeet, namely—that
they were not only utterly ignorant of the cause of
those'circumstanLes which then: astonished us, but
• also of the closes of many- ()tiler things equally un-
accountable, which we ourselves did not Dear or apps
but eoutnot which they also -swore, no less
than to' their petted ignorance of the means by
which they were produced. Also, that I have al-
fixed 'a seal with a crest 'to every door, c„vity, &c.
in the house, through which any Communications
could be carried on; that this..seal was applied to
each. end of sundry pieces of paper, in sucn a man-
ner that the slightest attempt to open such doors, or
to pass such cavities, must have broken these papers,
in which place my crest must have preveuted their
being replaced tviihout discovery that none of these
papers were deranged or broken ; and also, that the
phenomena of that night were as unaccountable as
ever. Also, that I hate examined`several women,
quite unconn.eded, with the family-of Mr. Chave
but who, same from) compasSion, nave slept in this
house—that many of theta-'elated 'the facts upon
oath—that all of them wished to be so examined, if
required ; and lastly, that they all agreed, without
one exception, in this particular that their night's .
rest was invariably destroyed by viblete bloWs trona
some invisible band—by an unaccountable drawing
and withdrawing of the curtains—by a suffo;.nting
and almost inexpressible weight, and by a repetition
of sounds, so loud, as at tiines to shake the whole
room.' Also, that there are more than twenty peo-
'pie of credibility, quite unconnected with the own(
or the pie,ela tenants of I his house in question, w hu
have ratted to me the most astonishing .c.reum-
stances they have seen and heard on these premises;
all of which they are ready to substantiate if called
upon, on oath. Also, that it-appears that this plot,
it it be a plot, bath been carried on for many -non' hi,
that it must be in the hands of more than 5o people,
. all of -whom are ready to perjnre.themselves, though
not one of them could possible gain any thing by it;
that the present,
,owner is, losing the value of his
house, the tenant, the custeiurs,ut.nils A nem
fear now preteirts•froin'Viiiiing it after sun-set, and
, that the domestics are losing their rest; arida!! terse
'evils are with most exerneleryepatience•estebeted
to,• without any objea but the. keeping of a ridicu-
.louS•secret—which, although so many are privy to
it, and many more interested- in diseoverino, hat h
not vet been divulged; although such a disclosure
would be -attended with circumstances highly ad.
vantageous and gratifying to any person who could
be induced to'cliscover it."

The above_ was sworn before Mr. B. Wood, a
Master in Chancery ; and the names of Mr. JOhn
Lovett, and Mr. Betty, surgeons; Mr. Pulling,
merchant ; and Mr. Quick, inn-holder, all of Ti-
verton; of Mr. Merson, surgeon, and John Cowl•
lag, Esq. of Stanford; and of Mr. Chave, of Mere,
are selected from a crowd of witnesses lb substan-
tiate faas, which, they declare, are to
.them per-
tealy inexplicable, and for Which 'they are utterly
unable to ak.count.

A tradesman at Chorley,. Price, was slim-
moiled on Tuesday-last as one of the members of a
Coioner's inquest, to !it on.the.body of a neighboX
who had drowned himself. During the inspeclion
of the body he appeared much aff.-cted, and while
th_. persons .wholoundille corpse were g'ving tan it
vidence, he retired. Being a')sent longer an
was expected, a messenger was dispatched to seek
him, when ne was dis(ove:ed lifeless in a room ~,.•
joining, having, it is supposed, strangled Jai.nsitif
wit i 1.1; handkerCilief.