e into so firm a belief of it, that one
fancied he saw it; and thus he came every day, making a strange hubbub,
considering it was so narrow a passage, till Bishopsgate clock struck
eleven; and then the ghost would seem to start, and, as if he were
called away, disappeared on a sudden.

I looked earnestly every way, and at the very moment that this man
directed, but could not see the least appearance of anything. But so
positive was this poor man that he gave them vapors[53] in abundance,
and sent them away trembling and frightened, till at length few people
that knew of it cared to go through that passage, and hardly anybody by
night on any account whatever.

This ghost, as the poor man affirmed, made signs to the houses and to
the ground and to the people, plainly intimating (or else they so
understanding it) that abundance of people should come to be buried in
that churchyard, as indeed happened. But then he saw such aspects I must
acknowledge I never believed, nor could I see anything of it myself,
though I looked most earnestly to see it if possible.

Some endeavors were used to suppress the printing of such books as
terrified the people, and to frighten the dispersers of them, some of
whom were taken up, but nothing done in it, as I am informed; the
government being unwilling to exasperate the people, who were, as I may
say, all out of their wits already.

Neither can I acquit those ministers that in their sermons rather sunk
than lifted up the hearts of their hearers. Many of them, I doubt not,
did it for the strengthening the resolution of the people, and
especially for quickening them to repentance; but it certainly answered
not their end, at least not in proportion to the injury it did another
way.

One mischief always introduces another. These terrors and apprehensions
of the people led them to a thousand weak, foolish, and wicked things,
which they wanted not a sort of people really wicked to encourage them
to; and this was running about to fortune tellers, cunning men,[54] and
astrologers, to know their fortunes, or, as it is vulgarly expressed, to
have their fortunes told them, their nativities[55] calculated, and the
like. And this folly presently made the town swarm with a wicked
generation of pretenders to magic, to the "black art," as they called
it, and I know not what, nay, to a thousand worse dealings with the
devil than they were really guilty of. And this trade grew so open and
so generally