4Qi JUGG 
as the doors were all faft, and the keys in the cuftody of 
the commiflioners. It was therefore unanimoufly agreed, 
that the power who did this mifchief mult have entered 
the room at the key-hole. The night following, Sharp, the 
fecretary, with twoot the commiflioners' fervants, as they 
were in bed in the fame room, which room was contiguous 
to that were the cotnmiifioners lay, had their bed’s feet 
lifted up lo much higher than their heads, that they ex¬ 
pected to have their necks broken, and then they were let 
fall at once with fo much violence as fliook the whole 
houfe, and more than ever terrified the commiflioners. On 
the night of the 19th, as all were in bed in the fame room 
for greater fafety, and lights burning by them, the candles 
in an inftant went out with a fulphurous fmell, and that 
moment many trenchers of wood were hurled about the 
room, which next morning were found to be the fame 
their honours had eaten on the day before, which were all 
removed from the pantry, though not a lock was found 
opened in the whole houfe. The next night they fared 
Hill worfe the candles went out as before, the curtains of 
their honours’ beds were rattled to and fro with great vio¬ 
lence, their honours received many cruel blows and bruifes 
by eight great pewter dithes and a number of wooden 
trenchers being thrown on their beds, which, being heaved 
off, were heard rolling about the room, though in the morn¬ 
ing none of thefe were to be feen. This night likewife 
they were alarmed with the tumbling down of oaken bil¬ 
lets about their beds, and other frightful noifes ; but all 
was clear in the morning, as if no fuch things had hap¬ 
pened. The next night the keeper of the king’s houfe 
and his dog lay in the commiflioners’ room, and then they 
had no difturbance. But on the night of the xzd, though 
the dog lay in the room as before, yet the candles went 
out, a number of brick-bats fell from the chimney into the 
room, the dog howled piteouily, their bed-clothes were all 
ftripped off, and their terror increafed. On the 24th they 
thought all the wood of the king’s oak was violently 
thrown down by their bed-ftdes; they counted fixty-four 
billets that fell, and fome hit and fliook the beds in which 
they lay; but in the morning none were found there, nor 
bad the door been opened where the billet-wood was kept. 
The next night the candles were put out, the curtains rat¬ 
tled, and a dreadful crack like thunder was heard ; and one 
of the fervants, running to fee if his mafter were not kil¬ 
led, found three dozen trenchers laid fmoothly under the 
quilt by him. But all this was nothing to what lucceeded : 
the 29th, about midnight, the candles went out, fomething 
walked majeffically through the room, and opened and flint 
the windows ; great ffones were thrown violently into the 
room, fome of which fell on the beds, others on the floor; 
and, at about a quarter after one, a noife was heard as of 
forty cannons difcliarged together, and again repeated at 
about eight minutes diftance. This alarmed and railed all 
(the neighbourhood, who, coming into their honours’ room, 
gathered up the great ffones, fourfcore in number, and 
laid them by in the corner of a field, where, in Dr. Plot’s 
(time, who reports this ftory, they were to be feen. This 
noife, like the difcharge of cannon, was heard through all 
the country forfixteen miles round. During thefe noifes, 
which were heard in both rooms together, the conmiiflio- 
ners and their fervants gave one another over for loft, and 
cried out for help ; and Giles Sharp, fnatching up a fword, 
bad well-nigh killed one of their honours, miftaking him 
for the fpirit, as he came in his fliirt from liis own room 
to their’s. While they were together, the noife was con¬ 
tinued, and part of the tiling of the houfe was ftript off, 
and all the window's of an upper room were* taken away 
with it. On the 30th at midnight fomething waalked into 
the chamber, treading like a bear ; it walked many times 
, about, then threw the w'arming-pan violently on the floor; 
at the fame time a large quantity of broken glafs, accom¬ 
panied with great ftones and liorfes’ bones, dime pouring 
into the room with uncommon force; thefe were all found 
in the morning, to the aftonifhment and terror of the com- 
tuifliouers, who were yet determined to go on with their 
LING. 
buflnefs. But, on the firft of November, the moll dread¬ 
ful lcene of all enfued ; candles in every part of the room 
were lighted up, and a great fire made; at midnight, the 
candles all yet burning, a noife like the burft of a cannon 
was heard in the room, and the burning billets were tofled 
about by it even into their honours’ beds, who called 
Giles and his companions to their relief, otherwife the 
houfe had been burnt to the ground; about an hour af¬ 
ter, the candles went out as ufual, the crack as of many 
cannon was heard, and many pailfuls of green flunking 
water were thrown upon their honours’ beds ; great ftones 
were alfo thrown in as before, the bed-curtains and bed- 
fteads torn and broken, the windows fhattered, and the 
whole neighbourhood alarmed with the mod dreadful 
noifes; nay, the very rabbit-ftealers that were abroad that 
night in the warren were fo terrified, that they fled for 
fear, and left their ferrets behind them. One of their ho¬ 
nours this might fpoke, and, in the name of God, alked 
what it was, and why it difturbed them fo? No anfwer 
was given to this, but the noife ceafed for a while, when 
the fpirit came again, and, as they all agreed, brought with 
it feven devils worfe than itfelf. One of the fervants now 
lighted a large candle, and let it in the door-way, between 
the two chambers, to fee what palled 5 and, as he watched 
it, he plainly faw a hoof ftriking the candle and candle- 
flick into the middle of the room, and afterwards, making 
three fcrapes over the fnuff, fcraped it out. Upon this 
the fame perfon was fo bold as to draw a fword, but he 
had fcarcely got it out when he felt another invifible hand 
had hold of it too, and pulled with him for it, and, at 
length prevailing, ftruck him fo violently on the head 
with the pummel, that he fell down for dead with the 
blow. At this inftant was heard another burft like the 
difcharge of the broadfide of a fhip of war, and, at about 
a minute or two’s diftance each, no lefs than nineteen 
more fuch; thefe fliook the houfe fo violently, that they 
expefted every moment it would fall upon their heads. 
The neighbours on this, as has been faid, being all alarm¬ 
ed, flocked to the houfe in great numbers, and all joined 
in prayer and pfalm-flnging, during which the noife ftill 
continued in the other rooms, and the difcharge of can¬ 
nons was heard as from without, though no vilible agent 
was feen to difcharge them. But what was the moll alarm¬ 
ing of all, and put an end to their proceedings effeftually, 
happened the next day as they were all at dinner, when 
a paper, in which they had figned a mutual agreement 
to referve a part of the premifes out of the general furvey, 
and afterwards to (hare it equally amongft them, (which 
paper they had hid for the prefent under the earth in a 
pot in one corner of the room, and in which an orange- 
tree grew,) was confumed in a wonderful manner, by the 
earth’s taking fire with which the pot was filled, and burn¬ 
ing violently with a blue fume, and an intolerable flench, 
fo that they were all driven out of the houfe, to which 
they could never be again prevailed upon to return. 
This wonderful contrivance was all the invention of 
the memorable Jofeph Collins, of Oxford, otherwife called 
Funny Joe, who, having hired himfelf for fecretary, under 
the name of Giles Sharp, by knowing the private traps 
belonging to the houfe, and the help of pulvis fulminant, 
and other chemical preparations, and letting fome of his 
feilow-fervants into the fcheme, carried on the deceit, 
without difcovery, to the very laft ; infomuch that the late 
Dr. Plot, in his Natural Hiftory, relates the w'hole for faft, 
and concludes in this grave manner; “ That, though tricks 
have been often played in affairs of this kind, many of 
the things above related are not reconcileable with jug¬ 
gling ; fuch as, the loud noifes beyond the power of man 
to make, without fuch inftruments as were not there; the 
•tearing and breaking the beds; the throwing about the 
fire; the hoof treading out the candle; and the ftriving 
for the fword, and the blow the man received from the 
pummel of it.” 
2. In confequence of the extent to which the praftice 
of Animal Magnetism, as it was called by its inventor, 
M. Mefmer, 
