Erasmus went to Richmond this morning with Polus (for so he Latinizes Reginald Pole, after his usual fashion), and some other of his friends. On his return, he made us laugh at y'e following. They had clomb y'e hill, and were admiring y'e prospect, when Pole, casting his eyes aloft, and beginning to make sundrie gesticulations, exclaimed, "What is it I beholde? May heaven avert y'e omen!" with such-like exclamations, which raised y'e curiositie of alle. "Don't you beholde," cries he, "that enormous dragon flying through y'e sky? his horns of fire? his curly tail?" "No," says Erasmus, "nothing like it. The sky is as cleare as unwritten paper." Howbeit, he continued to affirme and to stare, untill at lengthe, one after another, by dint of strayning theire eyes and theire imaginations, did admitt, first, that they saw something; nexte, that it mighte be a dragon; and last, that it was. Of course, on theire passage homeward, they c'd talk of little else--some made serious reflections; others, philosophical! speculations; and Pole waggishly triumphed in having beene y'e firste to discerne the spectacle. "And you trulie believe there was a signe in y'e heavens?" we inquired of Erasmus. "What know I?" returned he, smiling; "you know, Constantine saw a cross. Why shoulde Polus not see a dragon? We must judge by the event. Perhaps its mission may be to fly away with _him_. He swore to y'e curly tail." How difficulte it is to discerne y'e supernatural from y'e incredible! We laughe at Gillian's faith in our Latin; Erasmus laughs at Polus his dragon. Have we a righte to believe noughte but what we can see or prove? Nay, that will never doe. Father says a capacitie for reasoning increaseth a capacitie for believing. He believes there is such a thing as witchcraft, though not that poore olde Gammer Gurney is a witch; he believes that saints can work miracles, though not in alle y'e marvels reported of y'e Canterbury shrine. Had I beene justice of y'e peace, like y'e king's grandmother, I w'd have beene very jealous of accusations of witchcraft; and have taken infinite payns to sift out y'e causes of malice, jealousie, &c., which mighte have wroughte with y'e poore olde women's enemies. Holie Writ sayth, "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live;" but, questionlesse, manie have suffered hurte that were noe witches; and for my part, I have alwaies helde ducking to be a very uncertayn as well as very cruel teste.