MISCELLANEA 
649 
The brood mares sold for 9568 guineas, and the colt foals for 1471 guineas; the 
(illy foals for 1112 guineas, and the stallions and two half-bred colts for 3541 guineas: 
making, in the whole, 15,692 guineas. 
It will be seen that some of the best of the horses yet remain in our country. With 
the Oscar mare, Nanine, Scandal, Lady Emmeline, Delphine, and some other of the 
brood mares, and with all the youngsters, excepting one or two, and with The Colonel, 
there is sufficient stock for the preservation of our best breed ; and the sale of this 
certainly noble collection will ultimately do us no material mischief. But we are far 
transgressing our limits. 
Charlatanism. 
During the months of February and March, 1824, a sadly 
destructive enzootic prevailed amongt he lambs of a certain 
farmer in Magny. As every unusual calamity is attributed to 
supernatural causes, the farmer asserted that a spell was cast 
upon his lambs, — that they were bewitched, and so said all 
his neighbours. Fearful that they would all perish, he eagerly 
sought for a remedy — and of what kind? A certain individual 
had acquired celebrity of a peculiar kind, by certain acts of 
legerdemain (de passe passe) which were attributed to him — such 
as preventing certain youths from being drawn as conscripts, — 
marrying certain girls to the young fellows for whom they were 
dying of love, — curing horses of colic, See. 
It was easy to imagine that such a person would win the con- 
fidence of the credulous farmer. 
Towards the end of March, at an early hour in the morning, 
the farmer mounted a little pony, and galloped away to the 
residence of the sorcerer, to whom he unfolded all his troubles. 
The wise man consented to go with him, and ascertain the 
extent and the cause of the evil ; but it was necessary first to 
breakfast, for these operations will never succeed if undertaken 
on an empty stomach. 
This being despatched, they started. They visited every 
locality ; and, after carefully examining each, and pondering 
deeply, our doctor affirmed that the mortality of the lambs was 
the result of a spell that had been cast on the animals, and that 
the charm was probably deposited somewhere in the sheep- 
house, by a deadly enemy of the farmer — that by the power of 
his art he would discover the wretch, and, more than this, he 
would shew him to the farmer, if such was his pleasure — but 
that it was high time to break the charm, for the spell was of 
that kind, for as soon as the lambs were all dead, would come 
the turn of the farmer. This produced a strange effect through- 
