196 SALMONIA. 



PoiET. — These, as well as the omens of 

 death-watches, dreams, &c., are for the most 

 part founded upon some accidental coin- 

 cidences ; but spilling of salt, on an uncom- 

 mon occasion, may, as I have known it, arise 

 from a disposition to apoplexy, shown by an 

 incipient numbness in the hand, and may be 

 a fatal symptom ; and persons, dispirited by 

 bad omens, sometimes prepare the way for 

 evil fortune; for confidence in success is a 

 great means of ensuring it. The dream of 

 Brutus, before the field of Philippi, probably 

 produced a species of irresolution and de- 

 spondency, which was the principal cause of 

 his losing the battle: and I have heard that 

 the illustrious sportsman, to whom you re- 

 ferred just now, was always observed to 

 shoot ill, because he shot carelessly, after 

 one of his dispiriting omens. 



Hal. — I have in life met with a few things, 

 which I found it impossible to explain, either 

 by chance coincidences or by natural con- 

 nections • and I have known minds of a very 

 superior class affected by them, — persons in 

 the habit of reasoning deeply and profoundly. 



