civilized or Christian world who absolutely & positively deny this power of theirs as being absolutely impossible & at best but absurd & idle stories. Many of the things related of these Conjurings I acknowledge to be so; but at the same time I am as positive & as firmly persuaded of the truth of the assertion "that they have dealings with some supernatural spirit," as I am convinced that I live & breathe in air; unless, indeed, we chuse to acknow- ledge & believe a certain sect of Philosophers (of the last century I beleive) who _wish_ to tell us that we _only_imagine ourselves alive_. And I am by no means inclined to acknowledge myself as superstitious: I am convinced of this from reason, argument, comparison; in- -short from _analysis_. Let any one man, unless he be a headstrong brute who is _de- termined_ before hand not to be convinced, analyse their _discourses_ &c. &c. and I am confi- dent he will beleive as much as many, or have great doubts at least. To absolutely deny this, we must first deny that there is a Devil, & afterwards deny his pernicious power (42) and if we deny these points, we must descend to a third, & more fit for an atheistical wretch & a beast than a Christian, or even rational creature. I have heard some sensible & well informed Gentleman deny it on the plea of their _ignorance_; but this again is _a_ basis & very solid one. These people are still in a complete state of nature: their ideas of the true God are far from clear or correct: they acknowledge him indeed as the Supreme & absolute Master of all, but more or rather as a passive _Deity_ than as he really is; but their notions of their other Deities come far more near the truth. Their wants indeed are also few, but they are arbitrary & cannot be dispensed with, at least for any time; it is therefore very natural that they should em- ploy their whole thoughts & most of their time in procuring these means to warding off or averting their dangers. And I do not know of any method more adapted to this than the one they pursue, i. e. Fasting & Sleeping to dream; & they do dream too: & many of these dreams are so complicated, or compounded of so many different things that it is absolutely beyond the power of _their_ in- vention to fabricate them. Surely a man man beleive his senses. A man tied, wound up in a blanket, or skin equally soft: here he is held by one, two, or 3 men--he slips out of the blanket & presents himself before you free, leaving the cords &c. _untied_ in the blanket: you hear him Speak, & perhaps 20 other voices besides, all at the same: again he is bound as a criminal, rather indeed as a Pig, crumpled into a heap & thrust in to his _hut_--at the very instant of his entrance the hut shakes as if ten thousand devils were for pulling it to pieces: you enter this, find the man absent, hear a fluttering about your ears, or see a vast number of small lights resting on the hoops that hold the poles together: