St. Mary's beacon., 1858-03-18
Legend Of the Supernatural.

| There Is u tale, reported by Lord LvttcIton.
1--WE mean, OF course, the younger Of that name }
which shows the tendency in the mintx of even
the shrewdcst men in the world to give a re-
Spcctful audience to the marvellous and s,,per-
natural. 1t may be found i'll the twenty-first
of Lord Lyttelton's letters:
He says that in the early part of the life of
-, one of his friends, lac attended hunt
ing club, when a well-rnvuntod stranger of
scnteel address, nined the club. and rnie with
Il courage add address that astOnished every
body. The animal he role is described as one
Of amazing powers and endurance; the hunts
man who was left far behind swore that the
rian and his horse were devils from hell. AZ
ter the sport, he was invited to dinner and as
tOnishcd the company as much by his CONVEX
sasional powers and by the elegance Of his man
ners, as by his equestrian powers.
he was, says Lord Lyttelton an orator, a
poet painter, musician, lawyer, a divine
in short, he was everything, and the magic of
his discourse kept the drOwsy sportsmen awake
long after the usual hour. At length they re-
tired, but had scarcely closed their eyes when
they were awakened by the most terrible sllrieks
resounding through the house. Inquiriny of
the servants, they were told that these horrid
sounds proceeded from the strangers chamber,
and on approaching his room, deeper creams
of despair, and slrillcr shrieks of agony, aston
ished and terrified them. After knocking at
the door, he answered them rs one inst awaked
frorasleep, declared he had heard no noise, and
in rather angry tones, desired not to he dis
turbed again.
The company accordingly retired, and scarce
IL begun to communicate their sentiments to
each other, when a repetition of the most hOr-
rid sounds broke in upon their conversation
yelAs, screams, shrieks, which. frunl the horror
of them, seemed to issue from the throats Of
damned and tortured spirits. They imnedi-
ately followed the sounds, and tract1, them 10
the strangers chamber. the door of which they
instantly burst open and found him on his
knees in bed, in the act Uf UfScnursing himself with
the most unrclenting severity, his body stream
ing with blood.
On their scizing his hand to stop the strokes,
he begged them in the most wringing tone OF
. voice, as an act OF mercy, that they would re-
tire, assuring them that the cause of their dis
turbance wa1 over, and that in the morning he
would acquaint them with the terrible cries they
had heard, and the melancholy sight they
saw. After 4 repetition Of entrcaties, thew
retired, and in kthe morning some OF them
went to his chamber, but he was not there
and ON examining the bed, they found it to lie
one gore Oh DtOO1- upon I!ftnef inquiry the
grOomsmau said, as soon as it was light the
gentleman came to his stable booted and spur
red desired his horse might be Immediately
saddled. and appeared to be extremely impa-
tient till it was done, when he vauited into his
saddle, and rode out Of the yard at full speed.
Servants were Immediately despatched to
every part of the surrounding country, but not
q single trace of him could be found; such a
person had not been seen by any one, nor has
been since heard of. -
a. Lord LyttletOn proceeds to state that the
circumstances Of this strange story were i'm
mediately committed to writing, and signed
by all who witnessed them, that the future
credibility of any enc, who should think pro-
per to relate them. might be duly supported.
AmOug those who witnessed il were some Of
the first men in England.
The charm of this marvellous narrative, IN
which Lord Lyttelton eyidently suspected
something supernatural, Is somewhat dispelled
by the fact, about the date Of the narrative, an
American gentleman, by the name Of Hugar,
of South CarOliuay visited England, who was
just such person as described above, as fine
q horscman,a a man Of very elegant manners
and splendid powers Of conversation, but who
had the ugly habit Of whipping himself in bis
siecfs precisely asldsrribaihy by Lord Lyttclton.
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