1 8o4. Account of Farmer Xlrejinus and /vV Enchantments » <§ i^ 



ready to attoil the fa£l, and Oiall leave my name with your pub- 

 liiher for a reference. But as I ilo not choofe to be troubled 

 with impertinent inquiries, I make this provifo, \\\m every pcrlon, 

 before recc'ving my name* and ckiignation from the PubIi{]K*rs, fhall 

 produce a certificate, ugned by at lealt three refpedVable farmers, 

 be'aripg that he has made a fair trial of the cliarm I am now about 

 to publifli, and that it has failed in his hands. 



Oiic thing I beg leave to ailure your readers of, that it is p^r- 

 fediy in.^.ocent. It may be ufed witli the utmoll fafety, as, like 

 die remedies mentioned above of the horfe flioc and roun-tree, 

 if it does no good, it will do no harm. It is likewife cheap. 

 Let me earneftly requefi: them, the i, to give it a fair trial, and, 

 perhaps, many a one who can talk very wifely about agriculture, 

 who reads, yea who writes on agriculture, m;iy come to blefs the 

 day on which he read this letter, anc^ complied with my requell:. 



I lliall now, without farther comment, kit you diould think 

 me tedious, give you the pailage alluded to above, tranflated, 

 from the origiiial, as it is written in a foreign tongue, of which 

 I have a fmattcring. It may be found in the iixth chanter of his 

 eighteenth book, and is as follows. 



One Crefnius was obferved to draw greater returns in cjrain 

 and fruit from a very fmall farm polfcfled by him, than his n»Mgh- 

 bours could do from much larger poileflions. He was naturally 

 fufpe£led- of employing magic, by which he was enabled to make 

 the corn defert his neighbours' fields, and come over to his own. 

 The neighbourhood, being alarmed, entered a complaint againft 

 him to a Juitice of the Peace, who ordered him to appear before 

 the quarter-fcilions \ which court, in that country, was held in 

 the market-place, and in-the open air. 



Farmer Crefmus, feeing that matters were like to go hard 

 with him, as the prefumptions of his guilt were very llrong, re- 

 folvedy that inltead of endeavouring to.protra<Sl the bufmefs, by 

 ufmg the ihifts and quirks of law, he would difcover his whole 

 fecret at once, and throw himfclf on the mercy of the court. 

 So, on the day appointed, he made his appearance with his only 

 daughter, who was an accomplice (a Itout, clever girl) ; he like- 

 wife brought all -his trumpery into court, con filling of ploughs, 

 harrows, fpades, mattocks, &c. ; ail of the belt materials and 

 woirkmanihip, and all his own workraanfliip too ; for in thefe 

 days every man was his own wright ^d fmith. He even brought 

 his working cattle (the court-room, being large, couM eafdy hold 

 them), all of them flrong and in good keeping. He then ad- 

 drefled his judges as follows: * Veneficia mca, ^ny'UeSy'h^a funt. 

 Nee pojfum vob'is ojlenderey out in forum odducere lucubrationcs 

 tneasy v'lgiliafque ac fudorcs, ' That is, * Thefe arc my fpells,' 

 Qentltmen 5 there is my magic. But T n^rot fliow you, or 



bring 



