ther James was heir
in tail, the children being bastards. These legal facts were
unknown both to James and Thomas. Thomas made a will, leaving James
his executor, and directing that the land should be sold, and the
money divided among his own children. James, when Thomas died, sold
the land, and, in drawing the conveyance, it was discovered that he
had no right to do so for Thomas, as it was held by Thomas in tail.
James then conveyed his right to the purchaser, and kept the money
as legal heir. Why James could sell, if Thomas could not, the
present writer is unable to explain. In two years, James died
intestate, and the children of Thomas brought a suit against James's
widow. Before James's death, the ghost of Thomas had appeared
frequently to one Briggs, an old soldier in the Colonial Revolt,
bidding James 'return the proceeds of the sale to the orphans'
court, and when James heard of this from Briggs he did go to the
orphans' court, and returned himself to the estate of his brother,
to the amount of the purchase money of the land'.

Now, before the jury were sworn, the counsel, Wright and Nicholson
for the plaintiffs, Scott and Earle for the defendant, privately
agreed that the money could not be recovered, for excellent legal
reasons. But they kept this to themselves, and let the suit go on,
merely for the pleasure of hearing Briggs, 'a man of character, of
firm, undaunted spirit,' swear to his ghost in a court of law. He
had been intimate with Thomas Harris from boyhood. It may be said
that he invented the ghost, in the interest of his friend's
children. He certainly mentioned it, however, some time before he
had any conversation with it.

Briggs's evidence may be condensed very much, as the learned Mrs.
Crowe quotes it correctly in her Night Side of Nature. In March,
1791, about nine a.m., Briggs was riding a horse that had belonged
to Harris. In a lane adjoining the field where Harris was buried,
the horse shied, looked into the field where the tomb was, and
'neighed very loud'. Briggs now saw Harris coming through the
field, in his usual dress, a blue coat. Harris vanished, and the
horse went on. As Briggs was ploughing, in June, Harris walked by
him for two hundred yards. A lad named Bailey, who came up, made no
remark, nor did Harris tell him about the hallucination. In August,
after dark, Harris came and laid his arms on Briggs's shoulder.
Briggs had already spoken to James Harris, 'brithe