to bed with this resolution, and with all the
circumstances of the case floating upon his mind, had a dream to the
following purpose. His father, who had been many years dead, appeared to
him, he thought, and asked him why he was disturbed in his mind. In dreams
men are not surprised at such apparitions. Mr. R----d thought that he had
informed his father of the cause of his distress, adding that the payment
of a considerable sum of money was the more unpleasant to him, because he
had a strong consciousness that it was not due, though he was unable to
recover any evidence in support of his belief. "You are right, my son,"
replied the paternal shade; "I did acquire right to these teinds, for
payment of which you are now prosecuted. The papers relating to the
transaction are in the hands of Mr. ----, a writer (or attorney,) who is
now retired from professional business, and resides at Inveresk, near
Edinburgh. He was a person whom I employed on that occasion for a
particular reason, but who never on any other occasion transacted business
on my account. It is very possible," pursued the vision, "that Mr. ----
may have forgotten a matter which is now of a very old date; but you may
call it to his recollection by this token, that when I came to pay his
account, there was difficulty in getting change for a Portugal piece of
gold, and that we were forced to drink out the balance at a tavern."
Mr. R----d awaked in the morning with all the words of the vision imprinted
on his mind, and thought it worth while to ride across the country to
Inveresk, instead of going straight to Edinburgh. When he came there, he
waited on the gentleman mentioned in the dream, a very old man; without
saying any thing of the vision, he inquired whether he remembered having
conducted such a matter for his deceased father. The old gentleman could
not at first bring the circumstance to his recollection, but on mention of
the Portugal piece of gold, the whole returned upon his memory; he made an
immediate search for the papers, and recovered them; so that Mr. R----d
carried to Edinburgh the documents necessary to gain the cause which he
was on the verge of losing. The author has often heard this story told by
persons who had the best access to know the facts, who were not likely
themselves to be deceived, and were certainly incapable of deception. He
cannot therefore refuse to give it credit, however extraordinary the
circumstances may appear. The circumsta