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The Description of the French Window-Curtain, the engraving of which was given in No. LV. will be found this month under the head of Fushionable Furniture. The Proprietor begs leave to remind such of his Readers as have imperfect sets of the Repository, of the necessity of an early application for the deficiencies, in order to prevent disappointment. Those who chuse to return their Numbers to the Publisher, may have them exchanged for Volumes in a variety of bindings, at the rate of 5s. per Volume. THE Repository OF ARTS, LITERATURE, COMMERCE, CONVERSATIONS ON THE ARTS.-By JUNINUS. MISS K. Here are some witches | Deep in a gloomy grot, remote from day, by John Gilbert Cooper, from his Tomb of Shakspeare. Miss Eve. What are Cooper's dates? Miss K. He was son to a gentleman of family and fortune at Thurgarton, in Nottinghamshire. He married Miss Wright, daughter of the recorder of Leicester, settled at his family seat, and died of the stone in April 1769. The scene thus changed from this romantic land To a black waste by boundary unconfin'd, Where three swart sisters of the weird band Were mutt'ring curses to the troublous wind. Pale want had wither'd ev'ry furrow'd face, Bow'd was each carcase with the weight of years, And each sunk eye-ball from its hollow case Hors'd on three staves, they posted to the Of a drear island, where the pendant brow Where smiling Comfurt never shew'd her face, Where light ne'er enter'd, save one rueful ray, They held d mysteries with infernal state, Nor sign of living creature could be seen; green. Sudden I heard the whirlwind's hollow sound, Miss Eve. Shakspeare's witches are well known. He observes, or rather makes Macbeth say of them, Whither are they vanish'd? Into the air, and what seem'd corporal, melted As breath into the wind. Milton says, Nor uglier follows the night-hag, when call'd S Lur'd with the smell of infant blood, to dance moon Eclipses at her charms off, the man in black said somewhat to her softly, which the informant could not hear. A few days after, Ann Bishop, speaking about their I think Boss Breughel (called Hellish Breughel), Fritz, and Fu-going round the church, told the seli have excelled in painting witch-examinant, that now she might es and enchantments. have her desire, and what she could wish for; and shortly after the devil appeared to her in the shape of a man, promising that she should want nothing; and that if she cursed any thing with a por take it, she should have her purpose, in case she would give her soul to him, suffer him to suck her blood, keep her secrets, and be his instrument to do such mischief as he should set her about: all which, upon his second appearing to her, she yielded to; and the devil having pricked the fourth finger of her right hand, between the middle and upper joint, where the mark is yet to be she made a cross mark with her blood on paper or parchment, that the devil offered her for the confirmation of the agreement; which was done in the presence of Ann Bishop; and as soon as the exami Miss K. There has been a great deal of superstition in this country, even in the century before last, respecting witches. King James I. wrote a book to prove their existence. Some have been condemned and executed, who were tried on this account, in the 17th century, by the otherwise great Sir Matthew Hale. Not sixty years ago, an old woman, suspected of being a witch, was drowned at Tring, in Hertfordshire, by an ignorant mob, one of whom was hanged for the crime. Here is part of the evidence on the trial of an old woman thus accused, before Sir Matthew Hale:seen, gave her a pen, with which "Alice Duke, one of the witches of Wincaunton, in the county of Somerset, before Robert Hunt, justice of the peace, Jan. 27, 1664, confesses, that when she lived with Ann Bishop, of Wincaunton, about eleven or twelve years ago, Annnant had signed it, the devil gave Bishop persuaded her to go with her into the church-yard in the night-time; and being come thither, to go backwards round the church, which they did three times. In their first round, they met a man in black clothes, who went round the second time with them; and then they met a thing in the shape of a great black toad, which leaped up against the examinant's apron. In the third round they met somewhat in the shape of a rat, whichny of the descendants of Israel. I vanished away. After this, the examinant and Ann Bishop went home; but before Ann Bishop went her sixpence, and went away with the paper or parchment." Suppose I go on with this another time.--As you observe, though we do not believe such accounts, yet there is a romantic fancy in them. Miss Eve. About a week ago, I was in Essex, and there came to me a young gypsey-woman, with a child at her back, with dark hair and black sparkling eyes, like ma was walking near the garden, and considering them with attention,' they looked at me. She offered to tell me my fortune. I smiled, and I plied, that he was his relation. The told her I believed it was beyond duke enquired what relation; and her power, saying, "I have gold and the man answered, "A brother."-silver in my purse; tell me the pre-"A brother!" repeated his grace.cise quantity of money, and the "Yes," said the stranger, "we are pieces, and I will freely give them all brothers and sisters from Adam." to you." This she could not do. I "Very true," rejoined the duke talked to her till I brought her to smiling, "so we are. Here is a confess, that her art was all decep- penny-piece for you, and if all our tion. She said, that she was dri- brothers and sisters prove equally ven to the practice by imperious ne-liberal, you will be much richer than I am." cessity, that her brothers and sisters neglected her, &c. Nature, indeed, seemed to have endowed her with Here is a newspaper containing an account of a different sort of fortune-teller:-In consequence of a complaint from a number of respectable people, inhabitants of the neighbourhood of Hampstead, at the Public Office, Bow-strect, of their female servants and daughters being defrauded of their money by a woman in the neighbourhood pretending to tell their for something beyond cunning; she was an interesting young woman. By brothers and sisters, she meant that we were all brothers and sisters from Adam and Eve. The little mumper at her back, as if fearful that I would part with no money, pouted with her lip, and cast such a glance from her dark eyes as pierced my very soul. Some-tunes; and from a number of ridithing whispered to me,-Make a culous stories she had told them, lady of this child, by way of frolic. their minds being much disturbed, I said, "I wish to do you and your and much mischief likely to ensue child good: I am a Jewess, and from this prophetess, who, as an mistress of that seat; if ever you inducement to believe in her noncome this way, let it be ever so of- sense, caused it to be reported that ten, my pantry shall always be she dealt in witchcraft; a woman open to you and your little girl; was employed to go and have her but never fill the minds of the maids fortune told. She did so a few days with idle stories :-this is the agree- since, and yesterday the fortunement-and now and then let me see teller was brought before Sir Rimy little sister, and how she comes chard Ford, in the custody of Sayon."-There is great pleasure iners, the officer, who stated that he anticipating the good of others: the more we fly from self, the more self follows us. Miss K. You were more liberal than the Duke of Miss Eve. How was that? Miss K. A person applied to him for a sum of money. The duke asked on what ground he made this application; and he re apprehended her in a small house on the Hampstead-road. He described her residence to be of such a frightful and disgusting appearance as he never saw before. She had in the same room with her, two owls, a jackdaw, and a guinea-pig: these were supposed to strengthen the idea that she dealt in witchcraft. The woman who was employed, |