1JQ OF THE PROLONGATION 



towards the end of the account of his converfation with 

 thefe dervifes : u I pafs over various other frill lefs 

 " credible matters, that he related to me in the very 

 <c fame tone of aiTurance." — Perhaps thefe frill lefs 

 credible things related to a point, on which the lilence 

 of the dervife may be agreeable to many of my readers : 

 namely, the intercourfe of the wife with the world of 

 fpirits, their friendfhip with fuperior beings, their au- 

 thority over evil daemons, their power of caufing the 

 dead to appear, and the like. Suppqfing, however, 

 that the dervife had mentioned not a word of all this, 

 yet the way in which he announces himfelf, as a real 

 adept, and how he explains himfelf on the nature and 

 ufe of the philofopher's ftone, is fully fufficient for de- 

 cidedly chara&eriling him as an adherent to the fana- 

 tical morofophy we have had occaflon fo frequently to 

 mention. 



There was, moreover, in the year 1705. a fee ret fo- 

 ciety of fuch adepts in the turkifh empire, who proba- 

 bly were known to have fome deiign that demanded fe- 

 crefy, wherein it likewife may have confifted, perhaps 

 too (as we may naturally conclude from their ccriftantly 

 travelling about, and from their knowledge of feveral 

 european languages) that they were in correfpondence 

 with others of their gang, and effected invilibly various 

 matters, the true motives whereof we profane people, 

 from what we have feen in the world, would little 

 dream of. But, as we muft needs think, that this 

 fecret fraternity at BrufTa (who in all probability had 

 not yet completed their thoufand years, and therefore 

 may be ftill alive), would take due care about the pro- 

 pagation of their order ; fo it is no lefs to be prefumed, 



that, 



