Page:A Book of the West (vol. 2).djvu/124

I hope I shall be beleived!' Upon this conclusion we retired to ye hous. The gent, his wife, and Mr. S. were impatient to know ye event, insomuch that they came out of ye parlour into ye hall to meet us, and seeing ye Lad Look chearfully ye first complement from ye old man was 'Come, Mr. Ruddle! ye have talked with S. I hope now he will have more wit, an idle boy, an idle boy.' At these words ye Lad ran up ye stairs to his chamber without replying, and I soon stopt ye curiosity of ye 3 expectants by telling them that I had promised silence, and was resolved to be as good as my word; but when things were riper they might know all, at prsent I desired them to rest in my faithfull pmise that I would do my utmost in their service and for ye good of their son. With this they were silenced, I cannot say satisfyed.
"The next morning before 5 o'clock ye Lad was in my chamber and very brisk. I arose and went with him. Ye field he Led me to I guested to be abt 20 acres in an open country and abt 3 furlongs from any hous. We went into ye field, and had not gone above a third parte before the Spectrum in ye shape of a woman wth all ye circumstances he had described her to me in ye orchard ye day before (as much as ye suddennesse of itts appearance and evanition would prmit me to discover) met us and passed by. I was a Little surprised at it, yet I had not ye power, nor indeed durst I Look back, yet took care not to show any fear to my pupil and guide, and therefore, only telling him that I was satysfyed in ye truth of his complaint we walked to ye end of ye field and returned, nor did ye Ghost meet us at yt time above once. I perceved in ye young man a kind of boldnes mixt wth astonismt, ye first caused by my prsence, and ye proof he had given of his own relation, ye other by ye sight of his prsecutor.
"In short he went home; I somewhat puzled, he much animated. At our return ye gentlewoman (whose in-