nearly determined to call the parson; when somebody within lifting the latch and making a great noise, they again dispersed, terrified and speechless. One of the party, (whose name was Clemishaw) a son of the sexton, ran home, and in a desperate fright got into bed with his mother; all the rest, at the same time, making the best of their way. The cause of this panic was as follows:—An old lady, wife of Dr. Talbot, (who had for many years enjoyed the living of Spofforth) dying, and her relations, who lived at a great distance, being desirous to arrive before her interment, ordered the body to be kept; this being too long the case, and the neighbours perceiving a disagreeable smell, a request was sent to the Rev. Mr. Collins, who ordered the sexton to be called up to dig the grave in the church immediately: the sexton had lighted a great number of candles: so much for the supposition of the church being on fire; and the grave-digger was the person whose voice had so terrified the apple-merchants, when they knocked. Such, however, was the impression, that pranks of this nature were not repeated. About the year 1731, Metcalf being then fourteen years of age, a number of men and boys made a practice of swimming in the river Nidd, where there are many deeps convenient for that purpose.—Metcalf resolving to learn that art, joined the party, and became so very expert, that his companions did not chuse to come near him in the water, it being his custom to seize them, send them to the bottom, and swim over them by way of diversion. About this time, a soldier and another man were drowned in the above deeps: the former, it was supposed, was taken with the cramp; the latter could not swim. Metcalf was sent for to get up the bodies, and at the fourth time of diving succeeded in bringing up that of the soldier, which, when raised to the surface, other swimmers carried on shore; but life had quite left it. The other body could not then be found. There are very frequent floods in the river Nidd; and it is a remarkable fact, that in the deep places, there are eddies, or some other causes of attraction, which will draw to the bottom any substance, however light, which comes within their sphere of action. Large pieces of timber were often seen to be carried down by the floods; these, on coming over the deep places, were stopped for the space of a moment, and then sunk. Upon these occasions, Metcalf would go down and with the greatest ease fix ropes to the wood, which was drawn up by some persons purposely stationed on the banks.