He called to him aloud, but he did not seem to hear him, and continued walking on. Mr. H. then quickened his pace for the purpose of overtaking him, but the other increased his also, as if to keep ahead of his pursuer, and proceeded at such a rate that Mr. H. found it impossible to make up to him. This continued for some time, till, on Mr. C. reaching a gate, he opened it and passed in, slamming it violently in Mr. H.’s face. Confounded at such treatment from a friend, the latter instantly opened the gate and looked down the long lane into which it led, where, to his astonishment, no one was to be seen. Determined to unravel the mystery, he then went to Mr. C.’s house, and his surprise was great to hear that he was confined to his bed, and had been so for several days. A week or two afterwards these gentlemen met at the house of a mutual friend, when Mr. H. related the circumstances, jocularly telling Mr. C. that, as he had seen his wraith, he of course could not live long. The person addressed laughed heartily, as did the rest of the party; but in a few days Mr. C. was attacked with putrid sore throat, and died; and within a short period of his death, Mr. H. was also in his grave.
In the biography of John Reinhard
