Revisit'st thus the glimpses of the moon."
So also in the play of "Macbeth," when the Ghost of Banquo rises, and takes a seat at the table, Macbeth says to the apparition—
"Never shake
Thy gory locks at me."
And further on he says—
"Thou hast no speculation in those eyes
Which thou dost glare with!"
Daniel de Foe also insists upon, and goes into the most minute details as to the person and dress of a Ghost; and in a work which he published upon apparitions,[1] ] we may see how careful and circumstantial the author is in his descriptions of apparitions, whose appearance he vouches for in his peculiar narrative and matter-of-fact style. One of these ghost stories is of some robbers who broke into a mansion in the country, and whilst ransacking one of the chambers, they saw, sitting in a chair, "a grave, ancient man, with a long full-bottomed wig and a rich brocaded gown," etc. One of the robbers threatened to tear off his "rich brocaded gown;" another hit at him with a fuzee, and was instantly alarmed at finding it passed through air; and then the old gentleman "changed into the most horrible monster that ever was seen, with eyes like two fiery daggers red hot." They then rushed into another room, and found the same "grave, ancient man" seated there! and so also in another chamber; and he was seen by different robbers in three different rooms at the same moment! Just at this time the servants, who were at the top of the house, threw some "hand grenades" down the chimneys of these rooms. The result altogether was that some of the thieves were badly wounded, the others driven away, and the mansion saved from being plundered. What a capital thing it would be surely, if the police could attach some of these spirits to their force!
Another case, a clergyman (the Rev. Dr. Scot) was seated in his library, with the door closed, when he suddenly saw "an ancient, grave gentleman, in a black velvet gown"—very particular, you observe, as to the material—"and a long wig." This ghost was an entire stranger to Dr. Scot, and came to ask the doctor to do him a favour—asking a favour under such circumstances of course amounts to a command—which was to go to another part of the country, to a house where the ghost's son resided, and point out to the son the place where an important family document was deposited. Dr. Scot complied with this request, and the family property was secured to the son of the ghost in the "black velvet gown and the long wig."
Now one naturally asks here, why did not this old ghost go and point the place out to his son himself? And so also with the well-authenticated story of the ghost of Sir George Villars, who wanted to give a warning to his son, the Duke of Buckingham; which warning, if properly delivered and properly acted upon, might have saved the duke's life; but instead of warning his son himself (take notice), he appeared to one of the duke's domestics, "in the very clothes he used to wear," and commissioned him to deliver the message. After all, this warning was of no use, so this ghost might have saved himself the trouble of coming; but spirits are indeed strange things, and of course act in strange ways.