Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1846-01-30

unsuccessful. Now only, he disclosed tn
secret to one of his intimate friends, namely,
tina, on the preceding evening he had met
with white figure in the passage, which
nodded to him, and, in tho same moment, he
heard voice exclaiming,-"The day after
to- morrow, q, 9 o'clock in the morning, thou
nestle affairs, made his will, infinitely APP
pointed his funeral; and even desired his
friends 10 send for a clergyman, which re-
quest, however, was counteracted. Night
appeared and he began TO compute the hours
he had TO live, till the ominous next morning.
His anxiety evidently increased with the
striking of every clock within hearing. Dr..
Hufeland was not willionl apprehension,
when he recollec,ed instances in which mere
imagination had produced melancholy effects
but, Is every thing depended on procras-
,ina,ine, or rc,arding tina, hour in which the
event was predicted, and on appeasing the
tempest of a per,nrbcd Imagination, till rea-
son had again obtained the ascendancy, he
resolved upon the following expedient:-
Having complainant patient, who refused
no, to take the remedies prescribed for him,
| (hecausc he seemed conscious of the superior
agency Of his mind over that Of his body, }
DR.. Iiufrland had resource TO laudanun,,
combined with the extract of hen. bane
twenty drops of the former and two grains
of the latter, were given 10 the youth, with
such effect that he fell into profound sleep,
from which he did not awake till IL o'clock
on the next morning. Thus the prognosti-
Gated fatal hour elapsed and his friends,
waiting TO welcome the bashful patient, who
had agreeaby disappointed them, turned the
whole affair into ridicue. The first question
how ever, after recovering from this artificial
sleep, was-"What is the hour Of the mora.
ing3" On being informed that his presnge
had not heen verified by experience, he as.
sured the company that all these transaction,
appeared but dream. After that time, h,
enjoyed good state of health, and was
completely cured Of a morbid Imagination
Had this youth fallen into less sagacious
hands, the event would, it is more Than prob.
able, have answered to the prediction; and
the occurrence would have stood as irrefrag.
able evidence of that creed which imagine.
that the times have not long since passed o
individual ard immediate communication be.
tween the world of sense and the world o.
spirit. How the fancy originated. it is diff
cult to say; but it is not less difficult to ex.
plain the phenomena Of dreams.
In the Economic we met the following vel
authenticated tale, which has been verified
by Mr.. Wordsworth:
"a young farmer in Warwickshire, find
ing his hedges broken, and the sticks car
rird away during frosty season, determine
ed to watch for the thief lie lay many
cold hours under hay-siack, and a, length
an old woman, like witch IN a play, ap.
preached and began to pull up the hedge
he waited till she had tied her bundle OF
stick, and was carrying them of, that he
NIGH convict her Of the theft, and then
springing from his concealment, he seized
his prey with violent threats. After some
alteration. in which her load was left on
the ground, she knelt upon the bundle OF
sticks, and raising her arms to Heaven, be-
meath the bright moon then at The full, spoke
to the farmer, already shivering with the
cold, Heaven grant that thou mayest new
er know again the blessing to be warm u
lie complained of cold all the mex, day, ard
wore an upper coat, and in few day.
another, and in fortnight took to his bed
always saying that nothing made him warm
he covered himself with very many blankets
and had a sieve over Ills face as he lay; and
from this one insane idea he kept his bee
above twenty years, for fear Of the cold air
I'LL a, length he died."
"Sauvages relates similar incident, upor
the authority Of Zacuius Lucitanus, of ;
melancholic, who was always complaining
of invincible cold, till he was subjected by
arifice 10 quantity Of spirits of wine in a
state Of combustion; he was convinced from
his sensations during this experiment. that HI
was capable of feeling heat, and thenceforII
his cold left him. DR.. Haygarlh, it will b'
in the recollection Of many of our readers
operated very important changes in tn
bodily functions of several individuals VIII,
were, as they supposed, brought under tin
agency of Perkins tractors. in reality mere
ly acted upon by pieces ef rotten wood. u
rusty iron ;-under this supposi,,on. howev
er, several chronic maladirs. which, had re
fused To yield TO medicine, were material
miligaled, and II, last temporarily cured"