was occupied by the landlord, mankind was superstitious, education was confined to the few, and witchcraft was more or less believed in, and sometimes the delusion broke out in communities. In 1690 it spread to such an alarming extent in Salem, Massachusetts, that nineteen were executed, and hundreds imprisoned. In Boston, Springfield, Charlestown, and Dorchester, many were executed, merely for being suspected of witchcraft. Even in England, the learned men in that time believed in witchcraft. The learned Baxter, who flourished then in England, where the same notions on witchcraft prevailed, pronounced the unbeliever in witchcraft an obdurate Sadducee, and Sir Matthew Hale, one of the brightest ornaments of the English bench, repeatedly tried and condemned those as criminals who were accused of witchcraft. The human mind is prone to superstition, and it more or less prevailed in every country two centuries ago, and even in those countries which were civilized and refined, and upon which divine revelation had shed its light, the learned as well as the unlearned, were subject to the prevailing power of popular delusion, and the code of laws framed in Hartford, Windsor, and Wethersfield, in Connecticut, reads, as may be seen at the present day: "If any man or woman bee a witch, that is, hath or consulteth with a familiar spirritt, they shall bee put to death." The Rev. John Brown, one of the greatest divines of the age, who lived as late as 1787, says: “A witch is a woman, and a wizard is a man, that has dealings with Satan, if not actually entered into formal compact with him. That such persons are among men, is abundantly plain from Scripture, and that they

ought to be put to death." He then quotes passages from Scripture: Deuteronomy, 18th chapter, 10th verse, and Exodus, 22d chapter, 18th verse. He then proceeded to say: "It is plain, however, that great caution is necessary in detecting and punishing the guilty, lest the innocent suffer, as many instances in New England and other places show. To me it appears obvious that for one to regard with anything like fear, persons suspected of this infernal power, is nothing less than indirectly rendering homage to Satan." Thus, we think we have shown sufficient proof that in the most enlightened countries they believed in witchcraft less than a century ago. Can we wonder then that stories of ghosts even in the haunted tavern, as related in this narrative, were believed in ?

Dundee pursued his vocation, mingling little with society, and whatever he heard respecting ghosts being seen in his house while unoccupied, after the landlord's death, he said nothing. He had resided there about three months and had not seen anything to create in him any fear, and he concluded that the stories of robbery and murder perpetrated there were more or less exaggerated. Squires and Payne, who figured so conspicuously in this story, expected to hear some startling news from Dundee before this, that he had found some of the landlord's money secreted somewhere, or some ghost had appeared to him or his family, but not hearing of any such thing, they concluded to pay him a visit. They set out one morning for that purpose, and soon arrived at Dundee's. They found him in his barn busily employed unloading hay from off his cart and placing it in the mow. They introduced them

selves, and then explained the object of their visit, saying they expected to hear of his finding money ere this, as the house he had rented was occupied as a tavern for many years prior to his renting the premises, and the landlord was very penurious and his business lucrative, and it was believed he had buried large sums of money in the cellar or somewhere about the place, for they said that no doubt he had often robbed travelers when they put up there for the night, and stories, too, were circulated that murder had been perpetrated there. Dundee replied that he had not attempted to dig for money, nor allowed any one to search the premises, believing if he should allow any digging, they might find, instead of money, some one buried, and that would frighten his family, and he would have to vacate the farm at once. Dundee informed Squires and Payne that when he came there last Spring, he discovered an excavation that had been made in the cellar, and that he had made enquiries respecting who the parties were, but was unable to obtain any information, and the tools were left, and it appeared to him they must have been terribly frightened. The tools, he said, he had not used, and they were in the barn, at the same time showing them to his visitors, who saw their coats, one containing the flask of liquor; also their shovel, pickaxe and spade, the old iron candlestick, and tinder-box. Payne and Squires feigned ignorance as to how the tools came in the cellar of the old tavern, and carefully kept to themselves their adventure. Payne and Squires would not claim their property; choosing rather to lose it than let Dundee know they were the identical persons that owned the

coats and tools, and had made the excavation in the cellar of his house, and as Dundee had informed them that he would not allow any digging on his premises for money or anything else, they left for their homes rather disappointed. Dundee lived on the old tavern farm one year, and not seeing anything nor hearing of any ghosts, he leased the farm for a number of years, and lived there quiet till his death, without being alarmed about seeing any ghosts. The stories of the old tavern being haunted gradually died away, and the recollection of its early history as "The Haunted Tavern," is at the present day almost entirely forgotten.

WITCHCRAFT IN NEW HACKENSACK.

In 1786 witchcraft broke out in an adjacent neighborhood, in a family who then resided in New Hackensack, one of the most influential and wealthy in the town, living in a brick mansion known as the residence of Doctor Stephen Thorne. In the gable of the mansion was the name of the owner in large letters, and

the date of its erection. The Doctor and his wife, and one or two of the older children, were on a visit to a neighbor, leaving the smaller children home in charge of a domestic, who went to the cellar about eight o'clock, accompanied by one of the members of the family, a girl of fourteen years of age, to get a bowl of apples and some walnuts. While the domestic was

filling a small basket with walnuts, a fearful knocking commenced close by her, and so frightened were they, that both ran with all haste up the cellar stairs, the knockings following the domestic. The alarm increased, for the knockings continued in rapid succession. When the Doctor arrived, he found his family in the wildest state of excitement, and all were weeping. After enquiring the cause, he quickly perceived that a knocking was distinctly heard beneath the floor where the girl stood. The Doctor supposed that he could soon explain the cause, believing that some trick was performed by some person or persons, merely for amusement. He examined every room in the house. If he stood close by the girl, the knockings appeared beneath the floor; if he went into a lower room, the knockings sounded from above; if he went in an upper room, the knockings were distinctly heard below. The Doctor was not frightened, for he was one of the most eminent physicians of the age, and he had great experience in his practice and intercourse with mankind, but still he could not divine the cause, and he finally told her to retire for the night. The knockings followed her to her bedroom, and continued without intermission on the headboard where she lay. That night brought no sleep to the Doctor and his family, and the following morning the news spread rapidly through the neighborhood, that strange knockings were heard continually in the house of Doctor Thorne, following his domestic wherever she went, day and night. Hundreds came to see and hear, and were satisfied that it was not the work of man; that no stratagem of his could produce what they saw and heard. The news