Oh Popular IliuJionS, y'g 



W6 make of the evidence ? cry the fpedral phi- 

 lofophers. I would reply, that when men are 

 once perfuaded that fuch appearances may exifl:, 

 they are very ready to impofe on themfelves the 

 belief that they do exift. This may be fupported 

 by a fadl from the Duke of Berwick's Memoirs, of 

 no remote date, but which could not be received 

 on lefs authority than that of a great and good 

 man. A French army encamped before Sara- 

 golTa, in 1707, under the Command of the Duke 

 of Orleans; let us fee what followed, in the 

 words of our author, who was prefent. *' The 

 ** Count dc la Puebla, to retain the people of 

 '^ Arragon in fubjeftion as long as poffible, and 

 '^ by that means to retard the progrefs of the 

 " Duke of Orleans, perfuaded the inhabitants 

 <^' of Saragoffa, that the reports of the march of 

 " a frefh army, from Navarre, were falfe; and 

 *' even that the camp which they Jaw was ?tothing real, 

 *' but only a phantom produced hy magic-, in confe- 

 " qucnce of which, the clergy made a proceflion 

 ** on the ramparts, and from thence exorcijed the 

 ^^ pretended apparitions. It is aftonifhing that the 

 " people were fo credulous as to entertain this 

 " fancy, from which they were not undeceived 

 " till the next day, when the Duke of Orleans's 

 *' light horie having puflied a guard of horfe, 

 " of Puebla's, brilkly, to the very gates of the 

 ** city, cut offfeveral of their heads there. Then 

 ''indeed the citizens were alarmed, and the 



*^ masiftrates' 



