seventeenth century, when a boy, was taken much notice of by
Sir George Villiers, the Duke of Buckingham's father. The officer,
after he had reached manhood, was lying in bed one night, awake and in
good health, when he perceived a venerable form draw near his bed. The
apparition (for so it turned out to be) asked him if he knew who he
was. The frightened gentleman told the apparition that the figure of
the deceased Sir George Villiers stood before him. The apparition
replied that he was right, and that he (the gentleman) must go and
acquaint Sir George's son, that unless he ingratiated himself into the
good opinion of the people, he would soon be cut off. Next morning the
gentleman began to think his senses had deceived him, and therefore he
did not deliver the message. Next night the apparition appeared in a
terrible aspect, and told him that, unless he complied with his
commands, he could not expect peace of mind. A promise to obey was
promptly made. Again the gentleman tried to persuade himself that he
had been dreaming, and a second time broke his word. A third night the
spectre appeared, reproaching him with breach of promise, and, after
again requesting him to deliver the message to the duke, uttered
threats of fearful punishment in case of non-compliance. Delay seemed
dangerous, so the gentleman hastened to London, where the Court then
was, and entrusted Sir Ralph Freeman, who was married to a lady nearly
allied to the duke, with the message. Sir Ralph communicated with the
duke, who, however, could not receive the messenger, but sent him word
that next day he was going to hunt with the king, and that he would
meet him at Lambeth Bridge at five o'clock in the morning, where, if
the gentleman attended, he would speak to him. Sir Ralph, being
satisfied of the importance of having the message correctly delivered,
accompanied the gentleman to the appointed place of meeting. The
messenger and the duke spoke privately for nearly an hour. Neither Sir
Ralph nor his servants could hear what was said, but they observed
that several times the duke laboured under great emotion. The duke
rode off to meet the king, and the gentleman and Sir Ralph returned
together. The man told Sir Ralph that when he mentioned certain facts
to the duke, he swore that he could not have come to the knowledge of
them except through the devil, for the particulars he disclosed, as a
token of him being sent by his deceased father, were profound secr