The Sun.
London, England, 1810-10-20 00:00:00

SAMPFoRD

The following letter which we, have extratied
fr)m the Sherbourne Mercury, was written by situ
Clergyman who.has been so active in his etineavoor,
to it.:velope this mysteriousaffair, but hitherto with-
out ,tICCeSS _

To THE EDITOR OF THE SIIERBOURNE MER-
CURY.

SIR,

The moment lam able to give the publio any sa-
tistadory explanation of the phenomena still going
on at Samplord, I pledge myseif o take the earliest
opi.ortu,,ity of doing it, through the. channel of
your widely citculated n
paper. 1 am cotiaced
tt it yOu will feel no less happy to insert such Intel-
ligeoce than I shall to conmiunicate it. lam
sotry to say that the cluild of mystery that hangs
over this strange affair, at present seems, to thicken'.
I beard from an officer in that troop of yeomanry
in which Mr. CinA--e has been lung a serjeant, that.
he had informed him that on the nights ut liVednes-
da) and Thursday last, nis whole family had been
dreadfully alarmed. On last !friday night I went,
in consequence,of th's information, to Sampford,
accompanied by another witness, whom I took with
me from hence. The apartment (not that in which
these noises have most generally occurred), under-
went the strictest and most tutoute investigation.
Jane Hervey, a middle-aged woman, a fresh servant,
no new thing in that family, informed me she had
*libu4 a little more Than a week. In
Cee " presence of, the persist, r took with tne lroin
TiVertoi, I interrogated her in the most, serious
manner tt ith respect to tier opinion of the noise,
She had heard ant the blues "she had felt. This
woman swore most solemuly; tfiat it was her' firm:
Aid lull coutiction, if (to use her own expression)
ihe- was on her death-betbaliat th-se uoises and
knockings were notprodneed; ditc6ily a, indirectly,
-by any person or .per Sous in that leafse. She has
since ex:',erienceds.; rn,2re, and any' gentleman can
examine her on,the spot. .0., Fridainighithis wo=
man 'Wild •4111 *akh o;tfiqitty', prevailed upon to go
to bed azaiu'fn, the same Apartment,
,and INIr: Tay-
wifs placed in a satiation a.here he was, without
ititerfrossion, narrowly watched; and where I can
swear to tux ut peg ability of his acting. It can
he tritsb pfuvetl. that Mr. Dodge was "Ifni
near pretn!ses. Sally Case— was lnaced in the
`saute bed with Jane Harvey ,anti another fethsle,
Ilyt4-4n ininatu of t,.e house. To See this little,
106 or. rather child, is quite a,,stifficient refutation
Mahe •cldel t hat 'have Wen told concern-
:ing' her ; I have repeatedly trie=d tlie effect of lock-
,.
_fit • hi other apartWents;. butt-without pto-
Audaig the.sligntest ces,knion uf,ttl,e phenomena. On
oct;asion . she was ;plactl' in nett that 'slit
3.9,ald_neif4er move :'and or foot, without the
rilinov:eirge, of, both her bedlcflows. Arid it is
cif •Cibser9tion, 'that .Jane Hervey did bole gyzly
-swear on that saute
.that neither she, het'seo,
-4V .
or her bedtellOws, did diredly: or indirectly pro-
'ldUce thosephenotiiena, some at whose w ill how ut

• mat,:d.
-After,.the closest:sxaMinatibn - of' the preniiseS,
• e..'Ca'Zi not stint ourselves up in this apartment, five'
betoi e we, were thoroughly convince'd uy
must violot -blows upon the
.hed, and by so);
louder knocks upon the wooden head of a bed ad-
-1 • .
,in which no one.;stept, that this ryt)siertous
;'agent %as:actually in the nik.dle of the ilium.
person who accotnpanied me; stood within two feet
‘•, of the bi in- which the womeit were the'whole
time, but`could perceive.and feel nothing ; neither
ould we obServe any thing make its escape on the
sudden introdudion of the candle, which in conseL
quence of the tears and shrieks of the women was.
repeatedly 'done.' Ouserve, a candle was kept
• lighted fur this purpose on the outside' of the door,
and on these occasions. the room was eoustantly re-
examined, Mr.' Quick, landlord of the White
Horse, the person who accompaniedme, is a strong
athletic man, and can, swear that the blows he
heard given upon the bed, were louder than he
.eOuld'pruduco.with a closed fist. I have been in'
an adjoining apartment at night with others, when
the blows upon the bed's bead, might have been
heard tifty yards atleast from Lie house,, by a•per-
son-from w4l,;:lout. But we were justly„ and with
~the best reason more astonished by, some phenomena
that afterwrirds took place un that same eight, than
by all the • other.g.jr.ctimpta,nces which had PrLvicnisly,
occurred in that house put togetlit.::. 'there. are
man y 'Which, when explained would be
_quite satisfattory, vitiy.i.kavould be improper at pie-:
sent to enter into a earticular detail of the events
last allu,reltp.: -They are no 4ecret to'tnany here;
and shaft be made pV2lie.ip due.iime. I must can-
didly own the occurrences of last Friday night would
go tar to shake my scepticisrir on' this subjeti, were;
4-140,,t for tgo siokicious circumstances, that still itp-
p&t..s;n to this riifair.
,The,agent, be it what it may,
ceitaitily .dislikes•the•lightyand has not yet attaLked
_
tefer-those who wish for a partienlar account of
ttiat has hithertO taken place at Samplord, ti, my.
potavillet, and arpetioix, wherein 'they et,arly
e.e.l.iow grossly ethers haveattemoi ed-. to 4ecetve Lliu•
pUblic. 'I 'shalt keep my promise, and have the by-.
moot tdietn,lat,

;

Sir, your"s Truly,

'l'ivettoti; 0~2. to,

C: COLTON.

•-•,:,-;tArittteuvrt3nE.—Plas;ei,:of '!-Paris 'lg./116w used'iu
consi4or.able quantities,- and the kappiest
feets, upon. t.ild miserable boor in Maryland.—
It has a teildetiq to 'ceitient thelOoiie naturecol the
soil,- • and prevent troni• being,•bloWn or Washed
away irk-vioient or rains.. ..ft.likewise atitaets
moisture irotn tile. atmosphere, and is therefore.
very tietieficial in'liet or ory summers. The Arne.
mans use from one to' thretiYhtislieli in a siatute
. acre,_ iieatterittg.itAikq coy.t getrierally•upoti hilly
' land. It suits a louse g!.p.yejty, soil, Kith a substance
of clay. They use it ay year ih' the ;ring, in the
abovo soul t;ortioirs,, by.:,v6 hick the ,clover. is) kept
•in helrt a long Lone, .11 ia, equally beneficial to
grain and.

•

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