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in wch are fishes put according to the number of the Monks of that place. If any one of them happen to be sick, there is a fish seen to float and swim above water half dead, & if the monk shall dy, the fish a dew days before dieth. In some parts in Wales, death lights or corpse candles (as they call them) are seen in the night time going from the house where some body will shortly dy, & passing into the Churchyard. of this my dearly honoured & never to be forgotten friend Mr Richard Baxter (k) hath given an account in his book about witchcrafts lately published. What to make of such things, except they be the effects of some old inchantments, I know not. Nor what naturall reason to as sign for that which I find amongst the Observations of the Imperial Academy for the yeare 1687, viz. that in an orchard where there are choice Damascen plmbs, the Master of the family being sich of a Quartan Ague, whilst he continued very ill, four of his plumb trees in stead of Damascens brought forth a vile sort of yellow plumbs: but recovering his health, the next yeare the tree did (as formerly) bear Damascens again. but hen after that he fell into a fatall dropsy, on those trees were seen not damascens but another sort of fruit. the same Author (l) gives instances of wch he had the certain knowledge, concerning apple trees & pear trees, that the fruit of the would on a Sudden wither, as if they had been baked in an Oven, when the owners of them were mortally sick. It is no less strange (m) that in the Illustrious Electorall house of Brandenburg, before ye death of some one of the Family, feminine Spectres appear (n) And often in the houses of great men, voices & visions from ye invisble world have ben the harbingers of death. when any Heir in the worshipfull family of the Breretons in Cheshire is near his death, there are seen in a pool adjoyning bodyes of [ ] Swimming for certain days together. on which learned Cambden (o) hath this note. These & such like things are done either by the holy tutelar angells of men or else by the Devils who by Gods permission mightily thew their power in this inferiour world

(l) v. Germ. Ephem. An 16. p. 379 (m) Henkelius de [] p. 86 (n) Camerarius Cent. 1. c. 73 Cardan de vrm varietate lib. 16. cap. 93 (o) in his Brittannia p. 609

(k) p. 137.