Chap. IV. ANTIENT METAPHYSICS. 217 



of perfons affected by certain difeafes, of which I have given one ex- 

 ample in the preceding Volume, which fell under my own obferva- 

 tion ; and I will here give another, which I had from very good 

 authority. It was communicated to me in a letter from the late Mr 

 Hans Stanley, a gentleman well known both to the learned and po- 

 litical world, who did me the honour to correfpond with me upon 

 -the fubjeft of my firft volume of metaphyfics. I will give it in the 

 ■words of that gentleman. He introduces it, by faying, that it is an 

 extraordinary fadl in the hiftory of Mind, Avhich he believes ftands 

 fingle, and for which he does not pretend to account : Then he 

 goes on to narrate it. * About fix and tvv^enty years ago, when I 



* was in France, I had an intimacy in the family of the late Ma- 



* rechal de Montmorenci de Laval. His fon, the Comte de Laval, 



* was married to Mademoifelle de Maupeaux, the daughter of a 



* Lieutenant General of that name, and the niece of tlie late Chan- 

 ' cellor. This gentleman was killed at the battle of Haftenbeck ; 

 ' his widow furvived him fome years, but is fince dead. 



* The following fadt comes from her own mouth. She has told 

 ' it me repeatedly. She was a woman of perfe£l veracity, and very 

 ' good fenfe. She appealed to her fervants and family for the truth : 

 ' Nor did fhe, indeed, feem to be fenfible that the matter was fo ex- 



* traordinary as it appeared to me. I wrote it down at the time j 



* and I have the memorandum among fome of my papers. 



* The Comtefle de Laval had been obferved, by fervants who fate 

 ' up with her on account of fome indifpofition, to talk in her fleep 



* a language that none of them underftood; nor were they fure, or, 



* indeed, herfelf able to guefs, upon the found's being repeated to 



* her, whether it was or was not gibberilh. 



* Upon lier lying in of one of her children, fhe was attended by 

 ' a nurfe, who was of the province of Brittany, and who imme- 



VoL. II. E e ♦ diately 



