40 LETTERS ON NATUEAL MAGIC. 



afterwards, she inquired why he called to her so 

 often, and where he was ; and she was, of course, 

 greatly surprised to learn that he had not been 

 near the house at the time. A similar illusion, 

 which excited no particular notice at the time, 

 occurred to Mrs. A. when residing at Florence 

 about ten years before, and when she was in 

 perfect health. When she was undressing after 

 a ball, she heard a voice call her repeatedly by 

 name, and she was at that time unable to account 

 for it. 



2. The next illusion which occurred to Mrs. 

 A. was of a more alarming character. On the 

 30th of December, about four o'clock in the 

 afternoon, Mrs. A. came down stairs into the 

 drawing-room, which she had quitted only a few 

 minutes before, and on entering the room she 

 saw her husband, as she supposed, standing with 

 his back to the fire. As he had gone out to take 

 a walk about half an hour before, she was sur- 

 prised to see him there, and asked him why he 

 had returned so soon. The figure looked fixedly 

 at her with a serious and thoughtful expression 

 of countenance, but did not speak. Supposing 

 that his mind was absorbed in thought, she sat 

 down in an arm-chair near the fire, and within 

 two feet at most of the figure, which she still 

 saw standing before her. As its eyes, however, 

 still continued to be fixed upon her, she said, 

 after the lapse of a few minutes, "Why don't 



you speak,] ?" The figure immediately moved 



off towards the window at the further end of the 

 room, with its eyes still gazing on her, and it 

 passed so very close to her in doing so, that she 

 was struck by the circumstance of hearing no 



