in the room, the dog never takes his eyes off his face--you see he has
peculiar eyes--they're full of meaning; and out of doors he does the
same.'
"'Perhaps the dog has taken a fancy to him?' I suggested.
"'It does not seem to be that; no, I think he likes me and Mrs. C. and
my children a great deal better. I can't tell what it is; but if you
watch, you'll see it.'
"I did, and it was really remarkable, and evidently annoyed Mrs. X. very
much. The young man affected to laugh at it, but I don't think he liked
it altogether.
"Suddenly, one evening, Mrs. X.--whose visit was to have extended to
some weeks longer, announced that she should take her departure in a few
days. I suspected this move was occasioned by her desire to get away
from the dog, and so did my hostess--and we both thought it absurd.
"Mr. L. being obliged to return to London, we took our leave the morning
after this announcement was made; but we had scarcely arrived there,
when a letter from my friend followed, informing me that young Mr. X.
had been unfortunately drowned in the fish-pond, and that the dog had
never been seen since the accident, though they had made inquiries and
sought for him in every direction. Whence he came, or whither he went,
they were never able to discover.
"But," said Mrs. L., "as this is not a ghost story, I will tell you
another anecdote that belongs more legitimately to the subjects you are
treating of. Once, when we were travelling in the North, Mr. L. fell ill
of a fever at Paisley. This detained us there, and the minister called
on us. When Mr. L. recovered, we returned his visit; and, in the course
of conversation, some of the old customs of the Scotch fell under
discussion; amongst others the _cutty stool_, which we had heard still
subsisted.
"'Why don't you abolish it?' said Mr. L. 'It would be much better to
amend people by other influences than exposure.'
"'Well, sir,' said the good man, 'that was my opinion also; and I had
determined to do it. Before taking the step, however, I thought it
advisable to publish my reasons; and I was one day sitting at the table
writing on the subject, when I looked up, and beheld my father, who was
minister here before me, and died in this manse, sitting on the opposite
side of the table.'
"'Don't do any such thing, David,' said he; 'morality is loose enough;
don't make it looser.'"
ROUND THE FIRE.
SIXTH EVENING.
"The most interesting circumstance of the ghostly kind that I know, as
really authentic," said Madame S., "is what happened to the late Lord
C., when he was a young man--it is an old story, and you must have heard
of the _Radiant Boy_; but as I had it from a member of the family,
perhaps you will accept it as my contribution.
"Captain S., who was afterwards Lord C., when he was a young man,
happened to be quartered in Ireland. He was fond of sport; and one day
the pursuit of game carried him so far that he lost his way. The
weather, too, had become very rough, and in this strait he presented
himself at the door of a gentleman's house, and sending in his card,
requested shelter for the night. The hospitality of the Irish country
gentry is proverbial; the master of the house received him warmly, said
he feared he could not make him so comfortable as he could have wished,
his house being full of visitors already--added to which, some
strangers, driven by the inclemency of the night, had sought shelter
before him, but that such accommodation as he could give he was heartily
welcome to; whereupon he called his butler, and committing his guest to
his good offices, told him he must put him up somewhere, and do the best
he could for him. There was no lady, the gentleman being a widower.
"Captain S. found the house crammed, and a very jolly party it was. His
host invited him to stay, and promised him good shooting if he would
prolong his visit a few days; and, in fine, he thought himself extremely
fortunate to have fallen into such pleasant quarters.
"At length, after an agreeable evening, they all retired to bed, and the
butler conducted him to a large room, almost divested of furniture, but
with a blazing peat fire in the grate, and a shake down on the floor,
composed of cloaks and other heterogeneous materials.
"Nevertheless, to the tired limbs of Captain S., who had had a hard
day's shooting, it looked very inviting; but before he lay down, he
thought it advisable to take off some of the fire, which was blazing up
the chimney, in what he thought, an alarming manner. Having done this,
he stretched himself upon the couch, and soon fell asleep.
"He believed he had slept about a couple of hours when he awoke
suddenly, and was startled by such a vivid light in the room, that he
thought it was on fire, but on turning to look at the grate he saw the
fire was out, though it was from the chimney the light proceeded. He sat
up in bed, trying to discover what it was, when he perceived, gradually
disclosing itself, the form of a beautiful naked boy, surrounded by a
dazzling radiance. The boy looked at him earnestly, and then the vision
faded, and all was dark. Captain S., so far from supposing what he had
seen to be of a spiritual nature, had no doubt that the host, or the
visitors, had been amusing themselves at his expense, and trying to
frighten him. Accordingly he felt indignant at the liberty; and on the
following morning, when he appeared at breakfast, he took care to evince
his displeasure by the reserve of his demeanour, and by announcing his
intention to depart immediately. The host expostulated, reminding him
of his promise to stay and shoot. Captain S. coldly excused himself and,
at length, the gentleman seeing something was wrong, took him aside, and
pressed for an explanation; whereupon Captain S., without entering into
particulars, said that he had been made the victim of a sort of
practical joking that he thought quite unwarrantable with a stranger.
"The gentleman considered this not impossible amongst a parcel of
thoughtless young men, and appealed to them to make an apology; but one
and all, on honour, denied the impeachment. Suddenly, a thought seemed
to strike him; he clapt his hand to his forehead, uttered an
exclamation, and rang the bell.
"'Hamilton,' said he to the butler, 'where did Captain S. sleep last
night?'
"'Well, Sir,' replied the man, in an apologetic tone,' 'you know every
place was full--the gentlemen were lying on the floor, three or four in
a room--so I gave him the _Boy's Room_; but I lit a blazing fire to keep
him from coming out.'
"'You were very wrong,' said the host, 'you know I have positively
forbidden you to put any one there, and have taken the furniture out of
the room to ensure its not being occupied.' Then retiring with Captain
S., he informed him very gravely of the nature of the phenomenon he had
seen; and, at length, being pressed for further information, he
confessed that there existed a tradition in his family, that whoever the
_Radiant Boy_ appeared to will rise to the summit of power; and when he
had reached the climax, will die a violent death, and I must say, he
added, that the records that have been kept of his appearance go to
confirm this persuasion.
"I need not remind you," said Madam S., "what a remarkable confirmation
was afforded by the life and death of Lord C."
"I had never heard these particulars before; but I had heard the story
of Lord C.'s _Radiant Boy_ alluded to, apropos of the case of the Rev.
Mr. A., who saw a very similar apparition some years ago at C. Castle. I
have related this case in the 'Night Side of Nature.' I received the
particulars from a relation of Mr. A.'s, who was himself surviving at
the time I published it."
"It is curious," observed Mrs. E., "how many houses in the north of
England where I have been lately residing have something of this sort
attached to them. Some friends of mine not long ago heard of a very
pretty place to let, and finding the rent unusually moderate they took
it. They were delighted with their new residence; and often wondered
that the proprietor, with whom they were slightly acquainted, did not
either live there himself, or insist on more money for it.
"After they had been there some time, his brother, that is, the brother
of the proprietor, who did not live very far off, called one morning to
see them; and asked them how they liked the place. They expressed their
extreme satisfaction; adding, 'We wonder your brother does not live here
himself.'
"'There are reasons why it does not suit our family,' he answered.
"When he was going away, my friends proposed to walk through the grounds
with him; they had to cross a little brook not far from the house; and
as they did so, a hare sprang past them and they all stopt and turned
round to look at her, by which means they had a full view of the house.
"'Good Heavens!' exclaimed the visitor, 'there she is!'
"'Where?' enquired my friend, thinking he alluded to the hare.
"'Is any of your family ill?' asked the stranger.
"'No they answered;' and following the direction of his eyes, they
observed at one of the upper windows of the house, a female figure in
white, and enveloped in what looked like grave clothes.
"The visitor appearing much agitated, my friend rushed back and ran up
to the floor where the female had appeared; and not only was there no
one there, but he found that the window was that of a vestibule and much
too high from the ground for any one to reach.
"On returning to their visitor, he said 'one of us will die before this
year has expired; it is an unfailing omen in our family, and caused us
so much distress, that that is the real reason why we do not live here.
But it concerns nobody but ourselves; you will never be troubled by her
visitations.' The destiny fell on the seer himself this time; he was
dead before the year had expired.
"There is another house in the same part of the county, where sometime
ago a young friend of mine, one of three sisters, went on a visit for a
short time. The first night, after she got into bed, she was startled by
the most terrific screams she ever heard, which appeared close to her
door. She jumped up and opened it, but there was nobody there. The next
day she mentioned the circumstance, but the old lady she was visiting,
said her ears must have deceived her, and turned the conversation; but
she heard it again several times, and was quite sure there was no
mistake. When she went home she told her sisters, who laughed at her;
but each of them went to visit subsequently at the same house and heard
precisely the same thing; but as it was evidently an unpleasant subject
to their hostess, they could get no information on the subject."
"A near relation of mine," said Lord N., "is living in a place at
present, where there is very much the same annoyance, and three families
successively, had left the house in consequence of it. The building is
large, part of it very old, and it is surrounded by a fine park;
nevertheless, it has been found difficult to get a tenant--or, at least,
to keep one. My relation was warned of the inconvenience before he took
it. It is said that a lady was murdered there by her husband; at all
events, there is one room--one of the best in the house, shut up, and
never allowed to be opened. Whoever sleeps in the room under this, is
liable to be disturbed by extraordinary noises--footsteps and moving of
furniture, &c.; but the most strange thing is, that every now and then a
dreadful piercing scream is heard through the house, that brings any
strangers who happen to be there, out of their rooms, in terror, to
enquire what has occurred. The family who resided there before, met the
apparition of a lady occasionally, and left the place in consequence. My
relations have never seen anything; but everybody who stays there any
time hears the screams.
"Another relation of mine, a very religious person, and as she belongs
to the free church of Scotland, most opposed to the belief in ghosts,
went some time since to pay a visit at an old place belonging to our
family. On the morning after her arrival, she announced at breakfast
that she was going away. She gave no reason, but went, to the
consternation of her host. With much difficulty, he has since extracted
from her, that in the night an apparition appeared at the foot of her
bed--a man dressed in an old-fashioned brown suit. He spoke to her, and
some conversation passed--the subject of which she declares she will
never disclose; she says it was not a good spirit, and nothing would
induce her to visit the place again. This house has always been said to
be haunted, but this is the only instance I know of the family
themselves seeing anything of the sort; but no better evidence could be
adduced of such a phenomenon than that of the lady in question. Nobody
ever doubted her word, and a more confirmed disbeliever in ghosts never
existed.
"A rather curious thing happened to myself lately," continued Lord N. "I
went to visit some friends at the Lakes. As they had no vacant rooms, I
engaged apartments near them for myself and servant. The house was
small, quite modern, and as un-ghostly as possible. I always dined with
my friends, and went to my lodgings about twelve o'clock, and I had been
there five or six nights without anything unusual occurring. On the
fourth or fifth evening, I had returned home rather earlier than usual,
and instead of going to bed, I sat down to write a letter. While so
engaged, I heard what I thought was a boy cracking a whip close to the
drawing-room door. I paid no attention to it at first, though rather
wondering at the hour chosen for the amusement. However, as it continued
unintermittingly, and grew louder, I got up and opened the door, with
the intention of desiring the child to go away. There was no one there.
It then occurred to me that my ears must have deceived me, and that the
sound might have proceeded from some explosive substance in my bedroom
fire. The room was on the same floor, and the door shut; but when I
opened it, I found the fire almost out--certainly not in a state to
produce the noises I had heard. I went forward to stir it, and while
doing so, the whip was cracked over my shoulder. I turned round quickly,
but could see nothing, and I returned to the drawing-room, and had just
seated myself again, when I was amazed to see the table rise about a
foot perpendicularly into the air, and at the same moment, both the
candles that were on it went out, without being upset or even moved.
There was a fire, so that I was not quite in the dark, and I re-lighted
them; after which the whip began cracking again vigorously, and cracked
on till I went to bed and afterwards. I stayed in these apartments a
fortnight or three weeks longer; and once, again, I heard the whip, but
much fainter and for a shorter time; and one night there were distinct
rappings on the mantel-piece, and afterwards on the dressing-table.
"I could make no discovery in regard to these phenomena; and I leave it
to the company to decide whether they were of a spiritual nature or not.
The only other thing of the sort that ever happened to me was this:--I
was travelling on the Continent, and not being very well, was lying in
bed, when I suddenly saw the door open, and two of my brothers walk
through the room, dressed in deep mourning. I rang the bell furiously,
and the people came, but could in no way explain what had happened. I
shortly received letters, announcing that another brother had died at
that time.
"I will mention another instance that occurred in our family a few years
since. During my grandfather's last illness, all the family were
assembled at K. Castle, except my brother John, with whom he was not on
good terms. While we were living there, waiting to see what turn the
illness would take, John died very unexpectedly, but we resolved not to
mention the circumstance to Lord A., as it might affect him injuriously;
it was therefore kept a profound secret.
"One day, some little time afterwards, Lord A. had been asleep in his
arm-chair, and on waking, he suddenly exclaimed, 'I shall see John on
Thursday!' This was on a Monday, and he died on the Thursday following."
"A relation of mine," said Mrs. L., "had a friend with whom a great
intimacy had subsisted for many years, but a subject of difference arose
that embittered her feelings towards this lady to such a degree, that
she felt reconciliation impossible. They continued to live in the same
town, but all intercourse was at an end.
"One morning, lately, she was lying awake in her bed, when the door
opened, and this lady came in; approaching the bed side, she spoke in a
friendly manner, and entered into explanations with regard to the
misunderstanding. My relation was not frightened during this interview;
but when it was over, and she was gone, she suspected the nature of the
visit. When her maid came to her room, she enquired if there had been
any news of Miss ----. The servant answered, none; but presently
afterwards, a person called to mention the lady's death, which had taken
place that morning."
"For my part," said Sir A. C., "I am acquainted with a circumstance that
has settled entirely any doubts I might have entertained on the subject
of ghosts. Not many miles from my place in S--shire, there is a seat
belonging to some connexions of my own. At the time I am about to refer
to, an old lady was in possession, and it so happened, that a matter of
business arose regarding the heirs of the property, which made it
necessary to refer to the title deeds. To the surprise and dismay of the
family they could not be found. A vigorous search was instituted, in
vain; and the circumstance so preyed on my old relation's mind that she
at length committed suicide, under the impression that some one else
would lay claim to the estate.
"After her death people complained that they could not live there--the
place they said was haunted by this old lady, who, with her grey hair
dishevelled, and dressed exactly as she used to be in her life time,
they described as walking about the house, looking into drawers and
cupboards, and incessantly searching for her deeds. We, of course, did
not believe in the story, and were not even altogether convinced when
the house, after being let to several strangers in succession, who all
gave it up on the same plea, seemed destined to remain without an
inhabitant.
"It had stood empty two or three years, though offered at a very low
rent, when a lady and gentleman from the West Indies came into the
neighbourhood to visit some acquaintance, and being in want of a
residence, and hearing this was to be had on very reasonable terms, they
proposed to take it. Their friends told them of the objection made by
preceding tenants, but they laughed with scorn at the idea of losing so
good a house on account of a ghost; so they closed the bargain, took
possession of the place, and sent for their family to join them.
"The children, the youngest of whom was between three and four, and the
eldest about ten, were, as a temporary arrangement, placed on the first
night of their arrival to sleep in one room; but the next morning, when
their mother went at a very early hour to see how they were, to her
surprise, she found them all wide awake. They were looking pale and
weary, and began with one voice to complain that they had been kept
awake all night by such a disagreeable old lady, who would keep coming
into the room, and looking for something in the drawers. 'I told her I
wished she'd go away,' said the eldest, 'and then she did go; but she
came back; and we don't like her. Who is she, mamma? Is she to live with
us?'
"They then, on being questioned, described her appearance, which exactly
coincided with the account given by the former tenants. I can vouch for
the truth of these circumstances; and since these children had,
certainly, never heard a word on the subject of the apparition, and had,
indeed, no idea that it was one, 'I think the evidence,' said Sir A. C.,
'is quite unexceptionable.'
"I should say so, too, if it referred to any other question," said Mr.
E., a barrister, who happened to be present when the story was related;
"but on the subject of ghosts I cannot think any evidence sufficient."
"A state of mind by no means uncommon," I said, "and which it is, of
course, in vain to contend with. I can only wonder and admire the
confidence that can venture to prejudge so interesting and important a
subject of inquiry."
ROUND THE FIRE.
SEVENTH EVENING.
"My story will be a very short one," said Mrs. M.; "for I must tell you
that though, like every body else, I have heard a great many ghost
stories, and have met people who assured me they had seen such things, I
cannot, for my own part, bring myself to believe in them; but a
circumstance occurred when I was abroad, that you may perhaps consider
of a ghostly nature, though I cannot.
"I was travelling through Germany, with no one but my maid--it was
before the time of railways, and on my road from Leipsic to Dresden, I
stopt at an inn that appeared to have been long ago part of an
aristocratic residence--a castle in short; for there was a stone wall
and battlements, and a tower at one side; while the other was a
prosaic-looking, square building that had evidently been added in
modern times. The inn stood at one end of a small village, in which some
of the houses looked so antique that they might, I thought, be coeval
with the castle itself. There were a good many travellers, but the host
said he could accommodate me; and when I asked to see my room, he led me
up to the towers, and showed me a tolerably comfortable one. There were
only two apartments on each floor; so I asked him if I could have the
other for my maid, and he said yes, if no other traveller arrived. None
came, and she slept there.
"I supped at the table d'hote, and retired to bed early, as I had an
excursion to make on the following day; and I was sufficiently tired
with my journey to fall asleep directly.
"I don't know how long I had slept--but I think some hours, when I awoke
quite suddenly, almost with a start, and beheld near the foot of the
bed, the most hideous, dreadful-looking old woman, in an antique dress,
that imagination can conceive. She seemed to be approaching me--not as
if walking, but gliding, with her left arm and hand extended towards me.
"'Merciful God deliver me!' I exclaimed under my first impulse of
amazement; and as I said the words she disappeared."
"Then, though you don't believe in ghosts, you thought it was one when
you saw it," said I.
"I don't know what I thought--I admit I was a good deal frightened, and
it was a long time before I fell asleep again.
"In the morning," continued Mrs. M., "my maid knocked, and I told her to
come in; but the door was locked, and I had to get out of bed to admit
her--I thought I might have forgotten to fasten it. As soon as I was up,
I examined every part of the room, but I could find nothing to account
for this intrusion. There was neither trap or moving panell, or door
that I could see, except the one I had locked. However, I made up my
mind not to speak of the circumstance, for I fancied I must have been
deceived in supposing myself awake, and that it was only a dream; more
particularly as there was no light in my room, and I could not
comprehend how I could have seen this woman.
"I went out early, and was away the greater part of the day. When I
returned I found more travellers had arrived, and that they had given
the room next mine to a German lady and her daughter, who were at the
table d'hote. I therefore had a bed made up in my room for my maid; and
before I lay down, I searched thoroughly, that I might be sure nobody
was concealed there.
"In the middle of the night--I suppose about the same time I had been
disturbed on the preceding one--I and my maid were awakened by a
piercing scream; and I heard the voice of the German girl in the
adjoining room, exclaiming, 'Ach! meine mutter! meine mutter!'
"For some time afterwards I heard them talking, and then I fell
asleep--wondering, I confess, whether they had had a visit from the
frightful old woman. They left me in no doubt the next morning. They
came down to breakfast greatly excited--told everybody the
cause--described the old woman exactly as I had seen her, and departed
from the house incontinently, declaring they would not stay there
another hour."
"What did the host say to it?" we asked.