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Show 1 ~ G o . I I PENSYLVANI A. U 1 1 ole though this province is exceedingly flou-pon t 1e w 1 ' · · d f ch as . (h. et there are certainly great abufes m It; an u ' ~~ ~:~· lreedily rectified, will be productive of bad conf~- quences. '11 d the cm·rency of The difference of exchange between bt s an Penfylvania, is about 7 5 per cent. . . h An occurrence 1u ppe ned to me at Philadelphia, wh. ich thong in itfelf of a trifling nature, I can not but take. notice .of, as,· a fingu 1a r 1. 1111u. ance of the firong poifeffion whtch an Ide. a \\iAll 1r omet·u nes t al"' e of the mind '· fo as totally to derange It. . lady from I')\.l1 0 d e- Ifi an d ' who lodged in the fame hou.f e Wi.t h my (el f , h a d an un f or t u nate brother in the infirma. ry, a 1unat1c. He was 1r upp01re d t o be nearly well ' and was permitted occafio.n - ally to 1r ee company. A few days before I was to. leave Phd-a d e 1p h 1. a , this }arty invited me to accompany her 111 on. e o. f her v·wr.. ts to h't m, a dd·I·ng · that on her inadvertently menti.O mng to him fome circumfiances relating to me, he had exprefied a moil: earneft defire to fee me. I flrongly objeCted to the pt:opofal, urging the impropriety of introdu.cing a flranger, or, _1ndeed, company of any fort, to a perfon 111 that unhap~y fituatwn ; as it might poffibly agitate hiS> mind, and retard h~s reco.very. I advifed her therefore not to take any further notice of 1 t; hopm. g h e mt· g ht forget ' or not mention. it any more. The next day {he renewed her application_, addtng, that her brother. was exceedingly difappointed; and mtreat~d m~ :~ attend h.er 111 fo preHing a manner, that I could ?ot w_nh CIVIlity refufe It. On entering the cell, a beam of fatisfaCtwn feemed to dart from his eye, not eafy to be ex prefied or conceived. I took ~im by the hand; and, [eating myfelf oppofite the bed to which he was chained, immediately took the lead in converfation, talking of indifferent matters, fuch as l thought, could not poffi-bly P E N S Y L V A N I A. bly tend to interefi or dill:urb his mind. I had not proceeded far when he fuddenly interrupted me; and propofed a quefiion, which at once convinced me that he was in a very unfit fiate to fee company. ] immediate} y therefore rofe up; and making an excufe that my engagements that day would not admit of my entering into fo curious a fu bject, de fired him to referve it for fome future converfation. He feemed greatly difconcerted; but being near the door which fiood open, I took my leave and retired. The next morning I left Philadelphia; nor did I think any more of this occurrence till I arrived at Rhode-IOand; where I was informed, that the chief, if not fole, inftances of infanity !hewn by this unhappy young man, were fome attempts which he had made to kill a clergyman of the churc:h of England. That he had been educated to be a teacher amongfl: the congregationJlifls, but had taken it into his head, that he could never gain heaven, or be happy, but by committing {o heroic and meritorious an action. The very evening of his confinement he was prevented from fulfilling his purpofe, in the infiant that he was raifing up his hand to plunge a knife into the back of a clergyman, who was reading the funeral fervice, in the prefence of a large congregation. What his intentions were in regard to myfelf, I cannot pretend to fay; he offered me no violence : but thofe at Rhode-Hland of his acquaintance, to whom I related this tranfadion, were fully perfuaded that he was far from being cured of his difiemper *. * Since my return to Europe, I have been informed of an inftance fimilar to this, which happened at Florence. A gentleman had taken it into his head that a very large diamond lay buried under a mouutain which fiood upon his eftate, and was near ruining himfelf and his family by Jigging for it. His friends, by fome contrivance or other, got him away to Florence, and placed him under the care of the late celebrated Dr. Cocchi. He there appeared per- I left 53 I 760. |