would not suffer it; for if Cyrus did but offer to touch her, she
cried out, saying, he should not go unpunished for such actions. Cyrus
was herewith extreamly pleased; and when upon his offering to touch
her breast, she rose up, and would have run away, Cyrus much taken
with her native ingenuity which was not like the Persians, turning to
him that brought them, "This maid only saith he, of those which you
have brought me is free and pure; the rest are adulterate in face, but
much more in behaviour." Hereupon Cyrus loved her above all the women
he ever had. Afterwards there grew a mutual love between them, and
their friendship proceeded to such a height that it almost arrived at
parity, not differing from the concord and modesty of Grecian
marriage. Hereupon the fame of his affection to Aspasia was spread to
Ionia and throughout Greece; Peloponnesus also was filled with
discourses of the love betwixt Cyrus and her. The report went even to
the great King [of Persia,] for it was conceived that Cyrus, after his
acquaintance with her, kept company with no other woman. From these
things Aspasia recollected the remembrance of her old apparition, and
of the dove, and her words, and what the goddess foretold her. Hence
she conceived that she was from the very beginning particularly
regarded by her. She therefore offered sacrifice of thanks to Venus.
And first caused a great image of gold to be erected to her, which she
called the image of Venus, and by it placed the picture of a dove
beset with jewels, and every day implored the favour of the goddess
with sacrifice and prayer. She sent to Hermotimus her father many rich
presents, and made him wealthy. She lived continently all her life, as
both the Grecian and Persian women affirm. On a time a neck-lace was
sent as a present to Cyrus from Scopas the younger, which had been
sent to Scopas out of Sicily. The neck-lace was of extraordinary
workmanship, and variety. All therefore to whom Cyrus shewed it
admiring it, he was much taken with the jewel, and went immediately to
Aspasia, it being about noon, finding her asleep, he lay down gently
by her watching quietly while she slept. As soon as she awaked, and
saw Cyrus she embraced him after her usual manner. He taking the neck-
lace out of a box, said, "this is worthy either the daughter or the
mother of a King." To which she assenting; "I will give it you, said
he, for your own use, let me see your neck adorned with it." But she
received not the gift, prudently and discreetly answering, "How will
Parysatis your mother take it, this being a gift fit for her that bare
you ? send it to her, Cyrus, I will shew you a neck handsome enough
without it." Aspasia from the greatness of her mind acted contrary to
other royal Queens, who are excessively desirous of rich ornaments.
Cyrus being pleased with this answer, kissed Aspasia. All these
actions and speeches Cyrus writ in a letter which he sent together
with the chain to his mother; and Parysatis receiving the present was
no less delighted with the news than with the gold, for which she
requited Aspasia with great and royal gifts; for this pleased her
above all things, that though Aspasia were chiefly affected by her
son, yet in the love of Cyrus, she desired to be placed beneath his
mother. Aspasia praised the gifts, but said she had no need of them;
(for there was much money sent with the presents) but sent them to
Cyrus, saying, "To you who maintain many men this may be useful: for
me it is enough that you love me and are my ornament." With these
things, as it seemeth she much astonished Cyrus. And indeed the woman
was without dispute admirable for her personal beauty, but much more
for the nobleness of her mind. When Cyrus was slain in the fight
against his brother, and his army taken prisoners, with the rest of
the prey she was taken, not falling accidentally into the enemies
hands, but sought for with much diligence by King Artaxerxes, for he
had heard her fame and virtue. When they brought her bound, he was
angry, and cast those that did it into prison. He commanded that a
rich robe should be given her: which she hearing, intreated with
tears and lamentation that she might not put on the garment the King
appointed, for she mourned exceedingly for Cyrus. But when she had
put it on, she appeared the fairest of all women, and Artaxerxes was
immediately surprised and inflamed with love of her. He valued her
beyond all the rest of his women, respecting her infinitely. He
endeavoured to ingratiate himself into her favour, hoping to make her
forget Cyrus, and to love him no less than she had done his brother;
but it was long before he could compass it. For the affection of
Aspasia to Cyrus had taken so deep impression, that it could not
easily be rooted out. Long after this, Teridates, the Eunuch died, who
was the most beautiful youth in Asia. He had full surpassed childhood,
and was reckoned among the youths. The King was said to have loved
him exceedingly: he was infinitely grieved and troubled at his death, and
there was an universal mourning throughout Asia, every one
endeavouring to gratify the King herein; and none durst venture to
come to him and comfort him, for they thought his passion would not
admit any consolation. Three days being past, Aspasia taking a
mourning robe as the King was going to the bath, stood weeping, her
eyes cast on the ground. He seeing her, wondered, and demanded the
reason of her coming. She said, "I come, 0 King, to comfort your
grief and affliction, if you so please; otherwise I shall go back."
The Persian pleased with this care, commanded that she should retire
to her chamber, and wait his coming. As soon as he returned, he put
the vest of the Eunuch upon Aspasia, which did in a manner fit her;
and by this means her beauty appeared with greater splendour to the
King's eye, who much affected the youth. And being once pleased
herewith, he desired her to come always to him in that dress, until
the height of his grief were allayed: which to please him she did.
Thus more than all Hs other women, or his own son and kindred, she
comforted Artaxerxes, and relieved his sorrow; the King being pleased
with her care, and prudently admitting her consolation.

      **GEORGE BUCHANAN in his History of SCOTLAND, reciteth of one of
      their Kings, James IV. the following very remarkable Passages.

THE presence of this King being required to be with his army, whither
he was going, at Linlithgo, whilst he was at Vespers in the church,
there entered an old man, the hair of his head being red, inclining to
yellow, hanging down on his shoulders; his forehead sleek through
baldness, bare-headed, in a long coat of a russet colour, girt with a
linen girdle about his loins; in the rest of his aspect, he was very
venerable: he pressed through the crowd to come to the King: when he
came to him, he leaned upon the chair on which the King sat, with a
kind of rustic simplicity, and bespoke him thus; "0 King," said he, "I
am sent to warn thee, not to proceed in thy intended design;
and if thou neglectest this admonition, neither thou nor thy followers
shall prosper. I am also commanded to tell thee, that thou shouldest
not use the familiarity, intimacy, and council of women; which if thou
dost, it will redound to thy ignominy and loss." Having thus spoken,
he withdrew himself into the croud; and when the King inquired for
him, after prayers were ended, he could not be found which matter
seemed more strange, because none of those who stood next, and
observed him, as being desirous to put many questions to him, were
sensible how he disappeared; amongst them there was David Lindsey of
Mont, a man of approved worth and honesty, (and a great scholar too)
for in the whole course of his life, he abhorred lying; and if I had
not received this story from him as a certain truth, I had omitted it
as a romance of the vulgar.

On Tuesday, July 26, 1720, at a sale of the copies belonging to Mr.
Awnsham Churchill, of London, Book-seller, which were sold at the
Queen's Head tavern, in Pater Noster Row, there was among them a
printed copy of these Miscellanies, corrected for the press by Mr.
Aubrey, wherein were many very considerable alterations,
corrections, and additions, together with the following letter to Mr.
Churchill, written upon the first blank leaf, concerning the then
intended second edition.

MR. CHURCHILL,

THERE is a very pretty remark in the Athenian Mercury, concerning
Apparitions, which I would have inserted under this head, it is in
vol. 17, numb. 25. Tuesday, June 1695.

Mr. Dunton, at the Raven in Jewin-Street, will help you to this
Mercury, but yesterday he would not, his wife being newly departed.

J. A.

June 1, 1697.
      **The Passage referred to by Mr. AUBREY, in his Letter
      to Mr. CHURCHILL.*

* The passage referred to in this letter is now here inserted: the other
additions are incorporated in the text. Ed.

Two persons (Ladies) of quality, (both not being long since deceased,)
were intimate acquaintance, and loved each other entirely: it so fell
out, that one of them fell sick of the small-pox, and desired mightily
to see the other, who would not come, fearing the catching of them.
The afflicted at last dies of them, and had not been buried very long,
but appears at the other's house, in the dress of a widow, and asks
for her friend, who was then at cards, but sends down her woman to
know her business, who, in short, told her, "she must impart it to
none but her Lady", who, after she had received this answer, bid her
woman have her in a room, and desired her to stay while the game was
done, and she would wait on her. The game being done, down stairs she
came to the apparition, to know her business; "madam," says the
ghost, (turning up her veil, and her face appearing full of the small-
pox) "You know very well, that you and I, loved entirely; and your not
coming to see me, I took it so ill at your hands, that I could not
rest till I had seen you, and now I am come to tell you, that you have
not long to live, therefore prepare to die; and when you are at a
feast, and make the thirteenth person in number, then remember my
words" and so the apparition vanished.

To conclude, she was at a feast, where she made the thirteenth person
in number, and was afterwards asked by the deceased's brother,
"whether his sister did appear to her as was reported?" she made him
no answer, but fell a weeping, and died in a little time after. The
gentleman that told this story, says, that there is hardly any person
of quality but what knows it to be true. (From the Athenian Mercury.)


      APPENDIX.

      AN INTRODUCTION TO THE SURVEY AND
      NATURAL HISTORY OF THE NORTH DIVISION
      OF THE COUNTY OP WILTSHIRE.

      BY J. AUBREY, ESQ.

      **Printed in "Miscellanies on several curious subjects."
      London, E. Curll, 1714.

AT a meeting of gentlemen at the Devizes, for choosing of Knights of
the Shire in March 1659, it was wished by some, that this County
(wherein are many observable antiquities) was surveyed, in imitation
of Mr. Dugdale's illustration of Warwickshire; but it being too great
a task for one man, Mr. William Yorke (Councellor at Law, and a lover
of this kind of learning) advised to have the labour divided: he
himself would undertake the Middle Division; I would undertake the
North; T. Gore, Esq., Jeffrey Daniel, Esq., and Sir John Erneley would
be assistants. Judge Nicholas was the greatest antiquary, as to
evidences, that this County hath had in memory of man, and had taken
notes in his Adversariis of all the ancient deeds that came to his
hands. Mr. York had taken some memorandums in this kind too, both now
dead; 'tis pity those papers, falling into the hands of merciless
women, should be put under pies. I have since that occasionally made
this following Collection, which perhaps may some-time or other fall
into some antiquary's hands, to make a handsome Work of it. I hope my
worthy friend Mr. Anthony Wood of Oxford will be the man. I am
heartily sorry I did not set down the antiquities of these parts
sooner, for since the time aforesaid, many things are irrecoverably
lost.

In former days the churches and great houses hereabouts did so abound
with monuments and things remarkable, that it would have deterred an
antiquary from undertaking it. But as Pythagoras did guess at the
vastness of Hercules' stature by the length of his foot, so among
these ruins are remains enough left for a man to give a guess what
noble buildings, &c. were made by the piety, charity, and
magnanimity of our forefathers.

And as in prospects, we are there pleased most where something keeps
the eye from being lost, and leaves us room to guess; so here the eye
and mind is no less affected with these stately ruins, than they would
have been when standing and entire. They breed in generous minds a
kind of pity, and sets the thoughts a-work to make out their magnifice
as they were taken in perfection. These remains are "tanquam Tabulata
Naufragii", that after the revolution of so many years and
governments, have escaped the teeth of Time, and (which is more
dangerous) the hands of mistaken Zeal. So that the retrieving of these
forgotten things from oblivion, in some sort resembles that of a
conjurer, who make those walk and appear that have lain in their
graves many hundreds of years, and to represent, as it were to the
eye, the places, customs, and fashions that were of old time.

Let us imagine then what kind of country this was in the time of the
ancient Britains, by the nature of the soil, which is a soure,
woodsere land, very natural for the production of oaks especially;
one may conclude, that this North-Division was a shady, dismal wood;
and the inhabitants almost as salvage as the beasts, whose skins were
their only raiment. The language, British (which for the honour of it,
was in those days spoken from the Orcades to Italy and Spain). The
boats on the Avon (which signifies river) were baskets of twigs
covered with an ox-skin, which the poor people in Wales use to this
day, and call them curricles.

Within this shire I believe that there were several Reguli, which
often made war upon one another, and the great ditches which run on
the plains and elsewhere so many miles, were (not unlikely) their
boundaries, and withall served for defence against the incursion of
their enemies, as the Picts' Wall, Offa's Ditch, and that in China; to
compare small things to great. Their religion is at large described by
Csesar; their priests were the Druids. Some of their temples I pretend
to have restored; as Anbury, Stonehenge, &c., as also British
sepulchres. Their way of fighting is livelily set down by Caesar. Their
camps, with those of their antagonists, I have set down in another
place. They knew the use of iron; and about Hedington fields, Bromham,
Bowdon, &c. are still ploughed up cinders (i. e. the scoria of melted
iron). They were two or three degrees I suppose less salvage than the
Americans. Till King John's time wolves were in this island; and in
our grandfathers' days more foxes than now, and marterns (a beast of

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