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furnifhed by a private perfon, the public take the 

 obligation of it upon themfeives, and even fhould 

 they be pbliged to go in queft of it five hundred 

 leagues, it muft be found, coft what it will ; and 

 when it has once been obtained, it is inconceivable 

 with what care it is preferved. If it happen to be 

 any inanimate thing, they are more at eafe ; but 

 if an animal, its death occafions a furprizing 

 anxiety. 



The affair becomes flill more ferious, fhould any 

 one take it into his head to dream that he cuts the 

 throat of another, for he will certainly accomplifh 

 it if he can ; but woe to him, in his turn, fhould 

 a third perfon dream that he revenges the dead. 

 They may, however, eafily extricate themfeives 

 from fuch difficulties, provided they have prefence 

 of mind immediately to oppofe to fuch a dream 

 another which contradicts it. " I plainly fee", 

 fays the firft dreamer, in that cafe, <c that your 

 M fpirit is ftronger than mine, fo let us mention 

 46 it no more." They are not all, however, fo ea- 

 fiiy brought to relinquifh their purpofe ; but 

 there are few who may not be fatisfited, or in other 

 words, have their genius appeafed by ibme fmall 

 prefent. 



I do not know whether religion has any mare in 

 what is commonly called the feftival of dr earns % 

 to which the Iroquois and fome others have with 

 more propriety, given the appellation of the turn- 

 ing of the head. This is a fort of Bacchanalian ce- 

 remony which commonly lads fifteen days, and 

 is celebrated towards the end of winter. There is 

 no fpecies of folly which is not then committed ; 

 every one running from cabbin to cabbin, difguifed 

 in a thoufand different fhapes, all of them equally 



ridiculous 



