"Thus (said he) by degrees I grew very pensive, in so much that
it was taken notice of by all our family, whereupon, being
urg'd to it, I told my brother William of it, and he privately
acquainted my father and mother wth it, and they kept it to
themselves for sometime. Ye successe of this discovery was only
that they sometimes Laugh at me, sometimes elude me, but still
comanded me to keep my school and put such fageries out of my
head. I did accordingly go often to school, but always met ye
woman in ye way.
"This and much more to ye same purpose (yea as much as held a
Dialogue of near 2 hours) was our conference in ye orchard,
which ended wth my profer to him that (without makeing any
privy to our intent) I would next day walk wth him to ye place
abt 6 o'clock. He was even transported wth joy at ye mention of
it, and replyed, 'but will ye sure Sr, will ye sure Sr? Thank
God! now I hope I shall be beleived!' Upon this conclusion we
retired to ye hous. The gent, his wife, and Mr. S. were
impatient to know ye event, insomuch that they came out of ye
parlour into ye hall to meet us, and seeing ye Lad Look
chearfully ye first complement from ye old man was 'Come, Mr.
Ruddle! ye have talked with S. I hope now he will have more
wit, an idle boy, an idle boy.' At these words ye Lad ran up ye
stairs to his chamber without replying, and I soon stopt ye
curiosity of ye 3 expectants by telling them that I had
promised silence, and was resolved to be as good as my word;
but when things were riper they might know all, at prsent I
desired them to rest in my faithfull pmise that I would do my
utmost in their service and for ye good of their son. With this
they were silenced, I cannot say satisfyed.
"The next morning before 5 o'clock ye Lad was in my chamber and
very brisk. I arose and went with him. Ye field he Led me to I
guested to be abt 20 acres in an open country and abt 3
furlongs from any hous. We went into ye field, and had not gone
above a third parte before the Spectrum in ye shape of a woman
wth all ye circumstances he had described her to me in ye
orchard ye day before (as much as ye suddennesse of itts
appearance and evanition would prmit me to discover) met us and
passed by. I was a Little surprised at it, yet I had not ye
power, nor indeed durst I Look back, yet took care not to show
any fear to my pupil and guide, and therefore, only telling him
that I was satysfyed in ye truth of his complaint we walked to
ye end of ye field and returned, nor did ye Ghost meet us at yt
time above once. I perceved in ye young man a kind of boldnes
mixt wth astonismt, ye first caused by my prsence, and ye proof
he had given of his own relation, ye other by ye sight of his
prsecutor.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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