A curious example of this disposition is afforded, by the trial of Dr. Pordage, a Clergyman in Berkshire, which was published under the frightful title of ‘_Dæmonium Meridianum, or Satan at Noon-day_;’ among many charges brought against him, Dr. Pordage was accused of demoniacal visions, and of frequent apparitions in his house; one of which consisted in the representation of a coach and six, on a brick-chimney, in which the carriage and horses continued in constant motion for many weeks. It was said ‘that a great dragon came into his chamber, with a tail of eight yards long, four great teeth, and did spit fire at him. ‘That his own angel stood by him, in his own shape and fashion, the same shape, band and cuffs, and that he supported him in his combat with the dragon. ‘That Mrs. Pordage and Mrs. Flavel had their angels standing by them also; and that the spirits often came into the chamber, and drew the curtains when they were in bed.’ The developement of the story, which is not necessary for my purpose, exhibits the combined effects of mysticism, superstition and sensuality, which evidently produced a disordered state of the sensorium, and gave rise to the visions, which were admitted by the parties. It is indeed, an awful truth, well known to physicians who see many lunatics, that religious melancholy is one of the most frequent causes of the _Dæmonomania_. The subject of _latent lunacy_ is an untouched field, which would afford the richest harvest to a skilful and diligent observer. Cervantes has immortalized himself, by displaying the effect of one bad species of composition on the hero of his satire,[23] and Butler has delineated the evils of epidemic religious and political frenzy; but it remains as a task for some delicate pencil, to trace the miseries introduced into private families, by a state of mind, which “sees more devils than vast hell can hold,” and which yet affords no proof of derangement, sufficient to justify the seclusion of the unhappy invalid. This is a species of distress, on which no novelist has ever touched, though it is unfortunately increasing in real life; though it may be associated with worth, with genius, and with the most specious demonstrations (for a while) of general excellence. Addison has thrown out a few hints, on this subject, in one of the Spectators; it could not escape so critical an observer of human infirmities; and I have always supposed, that if the character of Sir Roger de Coverley had been left untouched by Steele, it would have exhibited some interesting traits of this nature. As it now appears, we see nothing more than occasional absence of mind; and the peculiarities of an humourist, contracted by retirement, and by the obsequiousness of his dependants.