2l6 HISTORY OF HARTING. 



or Follower of the Celebrated Mesmer, and I wish 

 greatly to ascertain that point, as I have been given 

 to Understand that he ' could transfix immoveable a 

 Waggoner, Waggon, and 4 Horses, like to the Sun at 

 Ajalon.' I merely wish to Ascertain if he lived before 

 or after Mesmer. 



" I remain, Rev d - Sir, 



" Yours very respectfully, 

 " M. W. HARRISON, 



" A descendant of his Nephew, my G l - Grdfthr." 



Timothy Luff was chief tenant of John Caryll "the 

 Squire," and held the present Church Farm, and " old 

 Park," at South Harting. His monument is on the 

 north wall of the Chancel of Harting Church, and he 

 was buried June 27, 1727. 



With regard to the black arts, local tradition still 

 declares that hot flints were rained at East Harting 

 House (now Mrs. Luff'sJ in Squire Johnny Russell's 

 time by a fortune-teller. This lady was discoursing 

 to a servant girl about her destiny, when, being 

 summarily ejected by the mistress, she in retaliation 

 witched the girl, and broke all the windows by hot 

 flints rained from the Downs. 



Item, that old Mother Digby (;z/<? Mollen), who lived 

 at a house in Hog's Lane, East Harting, had the power 

 of witching herself into a hare, and was always, like 

 Hecate, attended by dogs. Squire Russell of Tye 

 Oak always lost his hare at the sink-hole of a drain 

 near by the old lady's house. One day the dogs 

 caught hold of the hare by its hind quarters, which 

 escaped down the drain ; and Squire Russell, instantly 

 opening the old beldame's door, found her rubbing 

 that identical part of her body in which the hound had 

 seized the hare ! 



With this queer tale we may compare an old im- 

 posture of 1726, when Mary Toft of Godalming 

 (doubtless a harmless maniac had she lived in these 



