Chapter III: Part 3

We decided to walk in the avenue, and to explore "Scamp's Copse"
before dinner, in spite of the fact that we were expecting Mr.
MacP---- [a barrister], Mr. C---- [a solicitor], and Mr. W----
[an accountant] just about the time that we should be absent.
Miss Moore took the dog off in the opposite direction, and we
walked in silence to the plantation, Mr. L. F----, Mr. F----,
and I. It was quite dark, but the snow gleamed so white, that we
could see our way to the plantation. We went up among the trees,
young firs; the snow was deep and untrodden; and when we got
well off the road, we found that a burn comes down the brae
side. It is frozen hard, and we found it out only by the shining
of the ice.

We walked on in silence to the left of the burn, up the little
valley, along a small opening between the trees and the railing
which encloses them, Mr. L. F---- first, then I, then Mr.
F----.

In a few minutes I saw what made me stop. The men stopped too,
and we all stood leaning over the railings, and looking in
silence across the burn to the steep bank opposite. This was
white with snow, except to the left, where the boughs of a large
oak-tree had protected the ground.

Against the snow I saw a slight black figure, a woman, moving
slowly up the glen. She stopped, and turned and looked at me.
She was dressed as a nun. Her face looked pale. I saw her hand
in the folds of her habit. Then she moved on, as it seemed, on a
slope too steep for walking. When she came under the tree she
disappeared--perhaps because there was no snow to show her
outline. Beyond the tree she reappeared for a moment, where
there was again a white background, close by the burn. Then I
saw no more. I waited, and then, still in silence, we returned
to the avenue.

I described what I had seen. The others saw nothing. (This did
not surprise me, for though both have been for many years
concerned in psychical investigation, and have had unusual
opportunities, neither has ever had any "experience," so that
one may conclude that they are not by temperament likely to
experience either subjective phenomena or even
thought-transference.) It was proposed that we should ascend the
glen in her track on the other side of the burn. It was very
difficult walking, the snow very deep, and after two or three
efforts to descend the side of the bank we gave it up, and
followed to nearly her point of disappearance, keeping above the
tree, not below as she had done. We saw no more, and returned to
the house, agreeing not to describe what had occurred, merely to
say that as the factor (who looks about eighteen stone) is said
not to like the avenue at dark, we had been setting him and
others a good example.

In a letter to Lord Bute under date February 25th, Miss Freer describes this figure with some detail:--

"As you know, these figures do not appear before 6.30 at earliest, therefore there is little light upon their surface. Like other phantasms seen at dark, they show 'by their own light,' _i.e._ they appear to be outlined by a thread of light. It is therefore only when the face appears in profile that one can describe the features, and this is somewhat prevented by the nun's veil. 'Ishbel' appears to me to be slight, and of fair height. I am unable, of course, to see the colour of her hair, but I should describe her as dark. There is an intensity in her gaze which is rare in light-coloured eyes. The face, as I see it, is in mental pain, so that it is perhaps hardly fair to say that it seems lacking in that repose and gentleness that one looks for in the religious life. Her dress presents no peculiarities. The habit is black, with the usual white about the face, and I have thought that when walking she showed a lighter under-dress. She speaks upon rather a high note, with a quality of youth in her voice. Her weeping seemed to me passionate and unrestrained."

The appearance of a nun was entirely unexpected, as the name "Ishbel" had been associated rather with the portrait of the beautiful woman in an eighteenth-century dress in the library, and it was she whom the witnesses, had they expected anything at all, would have expected to see. Miss Freer, moreover, the first witness, had regarded the statements of "Ouija" with her habitual scepticism as to induced phenomena, more particularly those of automatic writing, in which, as in dreams, it is almost always difficult to disentangle the operations of the normal from those of the subconscious personality.

If the name "Ishbel" were really intended to apply to the nun, it becomes a very curious question who is the person meant. A Robert S---- of B---- married, as has been already mentioned, Isabella H----, who died in 1784, but we know of no reason for supposing that she ever became a nun.

The portrait may possibly have represented her, but it shows a much older woman than the phantom so often seen; on the other hand, the dates are not inconsistent, and a considerable distance of time is suggested by certain phrases which occurred in the automatic writing.

The person to whom the mind more naturally reverts is Miss Isabella S----, the sister, and apparently the favourite sister, of Major S----. As already mentioned, she professed as a nun under the name of Frances Helen in 1850, and died in 1880, aged sixty-six. She did not, therefore, enter her convent till the age of thirty-five, an age much greater than that shown by the phantom.

It is, moreover, interesting to note that this lady's name was Isabella _Margaret_, so that both names, as given automatically, may have really referred to her. In the seventh edition of "Burke's Landed Gentry," 1886, there appears for the first time this entry--

"_IV. Isabella Margaret, a nun, regular Canoness of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, d. 23 Feb. 1880._"

The editors have obtained from the Nunnery, where she lived and died, a photograph, representing the dress of the Community, and a description of herself, which is as follows:--

"She died 23rd February 1880, quickly, of an attack of pneumonia or acute bronchitis. She died a most edifying death, in perfect consciousness, assisted by the Confessor ... and the Community around her, and having received the last Sacraments only a few hours before she expired. As to her appearance, she was short, rather fair, not at all stout, but not extraordinarily thin.

"She entered the Community in April 1848, was clothed in May 1849, and professed May 1850. We do not know whether she could speak Gaelic. She was very fond of Scotland, and very particular about the pronunciation of Scotch names. She was a most entertaining companion, being full of natural wit."

The dress, which is dignified, is very peculiar and striking, and not the least like the very ordinary nun's attire in which the phantom appeared, while it would be difficult to imagine a greater contrast than that between the merry old lady of the description and the weeping girl so often seen.

There was, however, at least one very peculiar reason, which will be noticed presently, for supposing that this phantom was really intended to represent the late Rev. Mother Frances Helen, and that its inaccuracy was owing to the stupid, and rather melodramatic misconception in the mind which originally imagined it and transferred it to the witnesses at B----.

This is our arrangement for to-night:--

Room 1 (where we heard noises). Mr. F----.
" 2. Dressing-room communicating with Nos. 1 and 3; doors
opened between.
" 3. Mr. L. F---- (specially "haunted").
" 4. Mr. MacP----.
" 5. Mr. W----.
" 6. Dressing-room, Miss Moore.
" 7. Myself.
" 8. Mr. C----. (Sounds alleged, see evidence.)
_N.B._--Nothing is alleged against 4 and 5.

_February 7th, Sunday._--Miss Moore was awakened this morning
soon after one o'clock by a loud reverberating bang, which
seemed close to her bed. She lay awake for a long time
afterwards, but the sound was not repeated. The men heard
nothing. They report that they went to bed soon after eleven,
and very quietly.

My maid, who has had to give up her room, slept downstairs last
night. She was kept awake nearly all night by noises and
footsteps. The wing is not yet fit for use, as all the pipes are
frozen, and the only downstairs bedroom was insufficiently
aired; so I told her to use that for dressing, and make herself
up a bed on one of the sitting-room sofas, and she slept (or
rather, lay awake) in the drawing-room. She was not frightened,
as she thought all the noises were made by the gentlemen; but
they declare they made no noise.

I asked her as to the other servants. She says the maids are
still very nervous. I spoke to them for the first time about the
noises to-day. The butler's wife has heard sounds, but her
husband only scoffs. The upper housemaid thinks ghosts the
proper thing, and tolerates them along with the high families to
which she is accustomed. The under housemaid is very shy, is
Highland, and knows little English, and won't talk, but owns to
discomfort, and is scoffed at by the other servants, who think
it all part of her having been only a "general" till she came
here. The kitchenmaid goes home to sleep, but I believe some one
fetches her.

I have had a girl out of the village to make up the linen, and
she, we notice, is careful to go home before dark.

This morning we all went to churches of various sorts. When the
men came in to tea they reported that they had had a
conversation with an outdoor servant, who proved to have been
in the service of [Mr. F----'s father] Lord D----, and was
consequently the more communicative. I know him, and have found
him extremely intelligent.

He says that having heard from the H----s' butler (who slept on
the dining-room floor, in the room my maid is to occupy
to-night) that it was impossible to sleep in a room so noisy, he
induced him to allow him to share his room, that they heard
much, but they dared not show a light for fear of his admission
being discovered (the H----s being much on the alert), and they
saw nothing [_cf._ p. 40 for evidence of the H----s' butler].

We did not like to send for him on a Sunday, but decided to have
him in on Monday, and test him as to the intensity of the noise.

In the evening, while we were all chatting in the drawing-room,
Miss Moore came out into the hall, where she had been looking
after the dog. In spite of the noise we were all making, she
distinctly heard the clang noise upstairs. She had said the same
thing, though with less certainty, once before, and we agreed
that one night some one must sit up in the hall. (This was
afterwards done without result.)

_February 8th, Monday._--Last night my maid heard footsteps and
the sound of hands fumbling on her door; this she told us when
she came in with our early tea.

Miss Moore in the early morning, between one and two, heard
again the sharp, reverberating bang as before. We speculated at
breakfast as to whether the sound could have been made by the
men after we had gone upstairs, though they were all sure of
having been quite still before midnight. We made them rehearse
every sound they had in fact made, but nothing was in the least
like it, either in quality or quantity.

I had been disturbed about 5.30 A.M. by the sound (which we had
not heard hitherto) described by former witnesses as
"explosive." I know of nothing quite like it. I have heard the
Portsmouth guns when at a place eight miles away; the sound was
like that, but did not convey the same impression of distance. I
heard it, at intervals, during half-an-hour. Miss Moore is a
very light sleeper, but she did not awake. At six I got up and
went through my room to the dressing-room door (No. 6), after a
sound that seemed especially near. It was so near, that though I
thought it quite unlikely under the circumstances, I wanted to
satisfy myself that no one was playing jokes on Mr. C----, whose
room was close by. The house was deadly still. I could hear the
clocks ticking on the stairs. As I stood, the sound came again.
It might have been caused by a very heavy fall of snow from a
high roof--not sliding, but percussive. Miss Moore had wakened
up and heard it too.

(_N.B._--We afterwards found that, as the roof is flat, the snow
is cleared away daily.)

Mr. W----, an utter sceptic, he declares, left early; then we
all went for a walk. We spent the whole afternoon making
experiments. Miss Moore or my maid or I, as having heard the
noises, shut ourselves up in the room whence they were heard, or
stood in the right places on hall or staircase.

The experimental noises made were as follows:--

1. Banging with poker or shovel as hard as possible on every
part of the big iron stove in the hall; kicking it, hitting it
with sticks (as Miss Moore and I persisted that the first noise
was as of metal on wood, or _vice versâ_).

2. Trampling and banging in every part of the house, obvious and
obscure, in cupboards and cistern holes.

3. (On the hypothesis of tricks from outside.) Beating on
outside doors with shovels and pokers and wooden things, on the
walls and windows accessible; banging and clattering in outside
coal-cellars and in the sunk area round the house.
(_N.B._--Beating on the front door handle with a wooden racket,
was right in kind, but not nearly enough in degree.)

Miss Moore, who was familiar with the noise, did it rather well
by going into a coal-cellar (always locked at night, however)
outside and throwing big lumps of coal, from a distance, into a
big pail, but _it wasn't nearly loud enough_.

4. Finally the men climbed on to the roof, outside, while Miss
Moore and I shut ourselves into the proper places. They
clattered and walked and stamped and kicked and struck the
slates, but _they couldn't make noise enough_.

Then we had in the gardener they saw yesterday, and put him in
the butler's room, and the four men made hideous rows as before.
He was grateful and respectful, but contemptuous. _They couldn't
make noise enough._

We went out at dusk, having sent Mr. MacP---- and Mr. C---- to
pay a visit (as they had not been told of the brook scene),
intending that the same trio as before should go to the copse.
Mr. L---- F---- couldn't come, and as Mr. F---- and I went on
alone, we met Mr. MacP---- and Mr. C---- returning before they
were expected. On the spur of the moment I asked Mr. C---- to
come with me, leaving Mr. F---- and Mr. MacP---- in the avenue.
The snow had gone, and I saw less distinctly; but I saw the nun
again, and an older woman in grey, who talked earnestly with
her, she answering at intervals. I could hear no words; the ice
was giving, and the burn had begun to murmur. (I tried to
persuade myself that the murmur accounted for the voices, but
the sounds were entirely distinct, and different in quality and
amount.)

This older woman in grey afterwards became familiar. The name "Marget" was given to her at first half in fun and simply because this was one of the two names given by Ouija (_cf._ p. 98). She is apparently the grey woman referred to in the paper published by Mrs. G---- (_cf._ p. 64).

The fact of voices being heard by two persons, while one alone saw the figures, seems a clear proof that the figures were hallucinatory. It seems probable that the sounds also were hallucinatory, but were what is called in the vocabulary of the S.P.R. the "collective" hallucination of two persons. This seems to render it highly probable that in the case of each the hallucination had a cause external to both, although common to both; moreover, hallucinations are often contagious. _The Times_ correspondent states, that "the lady admitted that the apparition was purely subjective, but in regard to other matters was not willing to suppose that she might be the victim of hallucinations of hearing as well as of sight." On the contrary, as all readers of Miss Freer's published works are aware, she is entirely of opinion that such sights and sounds are pure sense-hallucinations, whatever may be their ultimate origin.

We rejoined the others in silence. Then Mr. MacP---- said to Mr.
C----, "Did you see anything?" "Nothing; I only heard voices."
"What sort of voices?" "Two women. The older voice talked most,
almost continuously. I heard a younger voice, a higher one, now
and then."

_Note by Mr. MacP----._

"I knew previously, though Mr. C---- did not, that Miss Freer
had seen something up the burn; and when waiting for her and Mr.
C----, Mr. F---- told me the whole story."

_February 9th, Tuesday._--Last night we--Miss Moore and I--heard
the "explosive" noises about 11.30 P.M., and speculated as to
the possibility of their being caused by the wind in the
chimney. There was a little wind last night--very little. It is
worth mentioning, that ever since we have been here the air has
been phenomenally still. One can go outside, as we do
frequently, to feed the birds and squirrels without hats and not
feel a hair stirred. Even when the snow was on the ground we
never felt the cold, owing to the absence of wind, and the thaw
has been imperceptible. Snow is still on the hills. I have
several times thrown open my bedroom window about dawn for an
hour to familiarise myself with the outside noises. There is
nothing human within a quarter of a mile. (_N.B._--The others,
who are much more likely to be accurate as to distance than I,
say the lodges are farther off.) The servants' houses are in a
group of buildings on the hill above the house, but are, I
believe, all empty. We found, and adopted, a deserted cat, whose
condition certainly testified to the nakedness of the land.
There are two inhabited lodges far out of hearing. A gardener
comes round to the houses about 10 or 10.30 P.M., but we have
watched him, and know exactly what sounds he creates.

_February 10th, Wednesday._--Mrs. W---- arrived this morning
from London; also Miss Langton, who is "sensitive," but wholly
inexperienced. In the evening, at 6 P.M., Colonel Taylor
arrived. He is in No. 8.

Miss Moore and I moved back into No. 1, and moved Mr. F---- into
No. 3, the room reported (by the H----s) as specially haunted,
where Colonel A---- and Major B---- had slept, and in our time
Mr. L---- F----, who left last night.

The wing is now ready for habitation, except that the pipes are
out of order, and the "set-basins" useless, also the bath.
(_N.B._--The fact that the pipes are all out of working order,
and not a drop of hot water is to be had except in the kitchen,
does away with a theory, which has been rather emphatically put
forward, that "it is all the hot-water pipes.")

We are anxious to test the wing. Only one story, Miss "B----'s,"
is connected with it, and if there has been any practical joking
anywhere, I personally incline to think that was the occasion.
The wing is new, built, they say, in 1883, and the "ghost"
showed human intelligence in selection of doors and victims.
(After my return to London I had a conversation with Mrs. G----,
which convinced me that I was mistaken in supposing that tricks
had been played upon Miss "B----." See p. 71.)

An old woman in the village asked Miss Moore to-day with
interest, "Hoo'll ye be liking B----?" She spoke of the
hauntings, and her husband insisted (the Highlander always
begins that way) that there were not any, and so on, and the old
woman explained that it was just the young gentlemen last year
that was having a lark. Later she admitted, "There's nae ghaists
at B----, but the old Major" (who died about twenty years ago);
"he'd just be saying to Gracie if she didn't do as she was told,
that he'd be coming back and belay the decks" (_cf._ p. 136).

_P.S._--_Monday 15th._--In the kirkyard to-day at L---- we were
shown the Major's grave. It is one of three, inclosed by a rough
stone wall. They have no headstones, and seem quite uncared for.
One is, we are informed, that of his housekeeper, Sarah N----.
The other is said to be that of a black man-servant.

Last night we slept as follows:--

Room 1 and 2. Myself and Miss Moore.
" 3. Mr. F----.
" 4. Miss Langton.
" 5. Mrs. W----.
" 6 and 7. Empty.
" 8. Colonel Taylor.

Miss Moore lay awake nearly the whole night. She heard, though
in less degree, the old noises; and in the early morning
(compare our first night) heard the sound of women's voices
talking. When I awoke, about 6 A.M., she told me she had been
disturbed, and said she feared that the others had also, as she
had heard Mrs. W---- talking in Miss Langton's room.

At breakfast Mrs. W---- reported that she had been awakened by
knockings, but had never moved. Miss Langton had heard nothing.

The Colonel reported that about, or just before, six he had
heard footsteps over his head. There is no room over No. 8,
which is mostly a built-out bow, and the servants had not moved
before 6.30. (If they moved then, it was contrary to their
habits!) We heard later that Hannah had gone, about 6.30, "in
her stocking-feet, only without her stockings," to ask the time
at the cook's door.

The Colonel (before our inquiries) had imitated the noise by
stamping heavily with striding steps across the library.

_February 11th, Thursday._--The Colonel moved down into "Miss
B----'s room" in the wing, and Mr. F---- into the room next to
him.

_February 12th, Friday._--No phenomena. The great business
to-day, which we had specially reserved for the Colonel's
arrival, was the making of sketches and measurements for the
plan of the house. We found no mysteries. The walls are
immensely thick, but all the space is accounted for.

_February 13th, Saturday._--Miss Moore slept very badly again
last night. She heard the noises at intervals between three and
five; she was awake before and after. They were loudest and most
frequent after four. At 5.30 I was awakened by a loud crash as
of something falling very heavily on the floor above. The maids
sleep there, but can give no account of any fall. Miss Moore, of
course, heard it as, and when, I did.

Mrs. W---- reports having heard loud raps. She thinks the noise
may have wakened her, but after she was awake enough to get a
light and look at her watch (3.40) she heard what she describes
as "a double knock."

_February 14th, Sunday._--Our first wet day. The weather so far
has been perfect. We all got very wet coming from church.

In the evening we did various experiments--thought-transference,
crystal gazing, &c.--but nothing came of it in regard to the
house.

_February 15th, Monday._--Mr. F---- left early.

We all walked to the Parish Church, and had some talk with the
sexton, and I had to listen to long yarns about the Major (see
under date February 9th). I was tired, and could not go to the
copse.

In the evening we played games, and were very lively. Miss
Langton came into my room for a few minutes, and was certainly
not in any nervous condition, nor did we speak of the hauntings.
But this morning (Tuesday) at breakfast she reported having
heard a loud crash almost directly after getting to her room. We
considered possible causes, but could not discover that any one
was moving in the house. The servants had gone to bed some time
earlier, and we had put out the lights ourselves in the hall and
on the stairs.

_February 16th, Tuesday._--I had an experience this morning
which may have been purely subjective, but which should be
recorded. About 10 A.M. I was writing in the library, face to
light, back to fire. Mrs. W---- was in the room, and addressed
me once or twice; but I was aware of not being responsive, as I
was much occupied. I wrote on, and presently felt a distinct,
but gentle, push against my chair. I thought it was the dog and
looked down, but he was not there. I went on writing, and in a
few minutes felt a push, firm and decided, against myself which
moved me on my chair. I thought it was Mrs. W----, who, having
spoken and obtained no answer, was reminding me of her presence.
I looked backward with an exclamation--the room was empty. She
came in directly, and called my attention to the dog, who was
gazing intently from the hearthrug at the place where I had
expected (before) to see him.

As the day began with the above, and I had had a quiet rest, I
went to the copse at dusk. The moon was bright, and the twilight
lingered. We waited about in the avenue to let it get darker,
but it was still far from dark when we made our way up the
glen--Miss Moore, Miss Langton, and myself.

I saw "Ishbel" and "Marget" in the old spot across the burn.
"Ishbel" was on her knees in the attitude of weeping, "Marget"
apparently reasoning with her in a low voice, to which "Ishbel"
replied very occasionally. I could not hear what was said for
the noise of the burn. We waited for perhaps ten or fifteen
minutes. They had appeared when I had been there perhaps three
or four.

When we regained the avenue (in silence) Miss Moore asked Miss
Langton, "What did you see?" (She had been told nothing, except
that the Colonel, who did not know details then, had said in
her presence something about "a couple of nuns".) She said, "I
saw nothing, but I heard a low talking." Questioned further, she
said it seemed close behind. The glen is so narrow, that this
might be quite consistent with what I saw and heard. Miss Moore
heard a murmuring voice, and is quite certain it was not the
burn. She is less suggestible than almost any one I know.

The dog ran up while we were there, pointed, and ran straight
for the two women. He afterwards left us, and we found him
barking in the glen. He is a dog who hardly ever barks. We went
up among the trees where he was, and could find no cause.

Miss Moore and I moved into No. 8 (dressing-room No. 6). It is a
"suspect" room, which I had not tried, and Miss Moore had
scarcely slept all the week in No. 1, and was looking so worn
out, that I decided to move.

_February 17th, Wednesday._--A most glorious day, still, bright,
and sunny.

Nothing happened till evening. The Colonel, Mrs. W----, Miss
Langton, Miss Moore, and I were in the drawing-room after
dinner. Some of us, certainly the last four, heard footsteps
overhead in No. 1, which is just now disused. I was lying on the
sofa, and could not get up quickly: but Mrs. W---- and Miss
Langton ran up at once, and found it empty and dark, and no one
about.

Later, about 10.30, we all five heard the clang noise with which
some of us are so familiar. The servants had gone to bed--or so
we presumed, as all lights were out, except on the upper floor.
It occurred four times. It is of course conceivable they may
have made it, but we do not hear it when we know them to be
about, and we do hear it when we know them not to be about.

The following quotation is from Miss Langton's private diary:--

"On the night of Wednesday, February 17th, I had a curious dream
or vision. I seemed to be standing outside the door of No. 4,
looking up the corridor to No. 2, when suddenly I saw a figure
with his back to the door of No. 2, and quite close to the door
which leads to No. 3. His face was quite distinct, and what
struck me most was the curious way in which his hair grew on his
temples. His eyes were very dark, keen, and deep-set; his face
was pale, and with a drawn, haggard expression. He looked about
thirty-nine years of age. His hair was dark and thick, and waved
back from his forehead, where it was slightly grey. It was a
most interesting and clever face, and one that would always, I
should think, attract attention. He was dressed in a long black
gown like a cassock, only with a short cape, barely reaching to
the elbows."

A further reference to this vision, which at the time seemed
irrelevant, will be found on page 225.

_February 18th, Thursday._--This morning's phenomenon is the
most incomprehensible I have yet known. I heard the banging
sounds after we were in bed last night. Early this morning,
about 5.30, I was awakened by them. They continued for nearly an
hour. Then another sound began _in_ the room. It might have been
made by a very lively kitten jumping and pouncing, or even by a
very large bird; there was a fluttering noise too. It was close,
exactly opposite the bed. Miss Moore woke up, and we heard it
going on till nearly eight o'clock. I drew up the blinds and
opened the window wide. I sought all over the room, looking
into cupboards and under furniture. We cannot guess at any
possible explanation.

Further experience of these curious hallucinatory sounds, combined with visual hallucination in the same room, taking also into consideration the interest which our own dogs always displayed in these phenomena, led us to the conclusion that our first deductions had been wrong, and that the sounds were those of a dog gambolling.

(The Rev.) Mr. "Q." (an English vicar), arrived. In the evening,
at 6.30, Miss Langton and I took him down to the glen. It was a
very light evening. I saw the figure of Ishbel, not very
distinctly, in conversation with the second figure, which was
barely defined. We remained in perfect silence as usual. On
regaining the avenue Miss L---- said she had heard voices, and
thought she had seen what might be the white parts of the nun's
dress. Mr. "Q." said he had seen a light under the big tree. The
figures were nearer the tree than usual. Miss Langton went up a
second time with the Colonel, and again heard voices.

It is worth remarking that Mr. "Q." has, doubtless from some idiosyncrasy, since developed a faculty of seeing lights where other people see phantasms.

_February 19th, Friday._--No phenomena last night. We have spent
the day in A----, the neighbouring town, where I had a fall and
hurt my foot, so that I was obliged to drive home, and could not
go to the glen. Miss Langton and Mr. "Q." went down about seven
o'clock. Mr. "Q." saw the outline of a figure of which he has
written the description. Miss Langton heard the usual voices on
the other side of the burn; they seemed to her to be interrupted
by a third voice, in deeper tones; and she also heard the
footsteps of a man passing behind her, a heavy tread, "not like
a gentleman."

The following, the account referred to, was contained in a private letter from Mr. "Q." to Lord Bute. The description of Ishbel in the Journal of February 26th, was, it will be observed, of later date, although before Miss Freer had seen the following:--

"_February 19th and 20th, 1897._--I had heard only that Miss Freer had seen two figures by the burn, one of which was that of a nun, the other a woman, before whom, on one occasion, the nun appeared to be kneeling. I had always pictured the nun as standing or kneeling with her back to the spectator.

"On February 19th, at about 6.45 P.M., I visited the burn with Miss Langton (_and not Miss Freer_). After looking a little I saw (_a_); the white was very plain, and the head clearly outlined, but the vision was for the fraction of a second. I was conscious of it indistinctly for a few minutes, and there seemed a good deal of movement. Suddenly I was again conscious of the figure as shown in (_b_), full-face, as though gazing at me; again the white part was very distinct, but I could distinguish no features."

_February 20th, Saturday._--This morning we went down to ---- and
had a little talk with the old servant who told us stories the
other day about the Major, and she repeated the story of his
threatened return. The same story was repeated independently this
afternoon by [a local tradesman], who opened conversation by
inquiring whether we had "seen the Major yet."

Miss Moore and I again this morning heard noises in No. 8, more
especially those of the pattering footsteps, just after
daylight, and a violent jump and scramble, which we thought was
our dog, until we found that he was sleeping peacefully as usual
on his rug at our feet.

In a letter to Lord Bute, dated February 21, 1897, Mr "Q." gives the following account:--

"On February 20th, at about 6.45 P.M., I visited the burn with Miss Freer and Miss Langton. I was very briefly conscious of the figure (_a_) on the bank of the burn, but saw no more till Miss Freer pointed to the hollow of a large tree, when I again saw (_b_). On each occasion of seeing (_b_) a curious sensation was noticeable, and I felt I was being looked at. On speaking afterwards to Miss Freer, I found her vision of the nun _under the tree_ to be the same as mine at (_b_), _i.e._ full face, as indeed Miss Freer had seen it on previous occasions. This is the second sketch I have drawn of the full face (_b_). The first I showed to Miss Freer, remarking to her, 'I have made the figure _too broad_' (being unaccustomed to drawing). 'Yes,' said Miss Freer, 'for the nun is very slight.'"

It was seen at the same moment also by Miss Freer and Miss Langton.

_February 21st, Sunday._--Again this morning we heard noises of
pattering in No. 8, and Scamp got up and sat apparently watching
something invisible to us, turning his head slowly as if
following the movements of some person or thing across the room
from west to east. During the night Miss Moore had heard
footsteps crossing the room, as of an old or invalid man
shuffling in slippers. We both heard a bang at the side of the
room about 6.20, some time before any sounds of moving were
heard from the servants above. The noise was muffled in quality,
and had no resonance, and seemed to come from behind a small
wardrobe on the east wall. The room (No. 7) on that side was
unoccupied. [This bang was heard at other times in the same
spot. Experiment showed that no noise made in No. 7 was audible
in No. 8, not even hammering with a poker on the wall, which is
curved at this point.]

This morning, on coming out of church, I received a letter from
Mr. F----, in which was the following passage:--

"... Miss H----, who slept, I believe, in the room occupied by
you when I left, heard sounds of footsteps going round her room,
footsteps with the most unmistakable limp in them. Shortly after
she heard stories connected with the former owner, who used to
go by the name of B----, an aged man [the Major]. She asked if
he could be described. 'No,' said her informant; 'the only thing
he could remember about him was that he had a most peculiar
limp,' and he forthwith gave an exhibition, which tallied
exactly with the limp around the bed."

In discussing this, Miss Moore and I agreed that, had Miss H----
slept in No. 8 instead of in No. 1, as Mr. F---- supposed, we
should have considered these limping sounds as probably
identical with those we ourselves had heard. After I had closed
my reply to Mr. F----, Miss Moore discovered Miss "B----'s" plan
of the house (in the packet of evidence of the H----s' tenancy,
see p. 96), which showed that in fact No. 8 _was_ the room
referred to. Hence it appears that the room in which Miss H----
heard the footsteps was the same as that in which _we_ heard
them. We had been misled by Mr. F---- speaking of "the room you
occupied when I left," a mistake on his part, as, though the
change had been spoken of, we had not left No. 1.

This afternoon Miss Langton experimented with Ouija at Mr.
"Q.'s" request.

Lord Bute had suggested various test-questions in relation to the phantasm of the nun, to be asked the next time the Ouija board was in operation, and answers to these were attempted at various times, with the usual result of showing the influence, conscious or sub-conscious, of the sitters, almost all statements as to matters not actually known to them being worthless. On this occasion, however, in reply to the question, "How old was Ishbel when she died?" answers were spelt out to the effect that she was still living, and that her age was fifty-nine.

This may perhaps be taken as throwing light upon the intended personality of Ishbel, and supplying a possible clue to the identity of the mind of which she seems to be an imaginary creation.

Fifty-nine was the age of the late Rev. Mother Frances Helen in the year 1873, when Sarah N---- died. They are not people who are at all likely to have met each other upon "the other side" any more than upon this.

It is a generally recognised fact that the conditions which we call "time and space" exist on in the world beyond in a form so very different from those in which they are conceived of by us, that from our point of view they can hardly be said to exist at all. It is natural, therefore, to seek the utterer of this remarkable statement in some person connected with B---- who did not know the late Mother Frances Helen (supposing her to be the person for whom Ishbel was intended), but had heard of her.

_February 22nd, Monday._--Mr. "Z----" _came_.

The whole matter of the inquiry had been made known to Mr. "Z----," the proprietor of a prominent Scottish newspaper, of course in the strictest confidence, which was carefully made a condition of the admission of any one to the house, a confidence which he most honourably observed. It was arranged that if anything occurred within the observation of himself or his son, the scientific value of which rendered it, in their judgment, desirable to publish a notice of it in _The ----_, the notice should be published under avowedly false names and geographical indications. Mr. "Z----" was unable to come himself, but his son arrived this day.

Mr. "Endell" (a Member of the S.P.R.) arrived while we were out,
and made a tour of inspection alone of the outside of the house
and the ground-floor rooms. He intuitively fixed on the window
of No. 3 as that of a "haunted" room, and has since, equally by
intuition, diagnosed the drawing-room and library as "creepy,"
and the dining-room as definitely cheerful. (This coincides with
our experience.)

My own experiences to-day were confined to ejection from a high
waggonette, while waiting at the station for Mr. "Z----," the
horse having bolted at the appearance of the train.

No phenomena. We are putting Mr. "Z----", at his own request, in
No. 3, the "ghost-room."

_February 23rd, Tuesday._--Pouring wet. No phenomena. Visit to
glen impossible.

Mr. and Mrs. R---- (local residents) came to lunch. Though in
great pain I was able to see them for a few minutes, and both
inquired whether we had had any experience of the reported
hauntings, of which, however, they could give us no details.

_February 24th, Wednesday._--Mr. "Z----" left early. (_N.B._--No
phenomena reported by any one during his visit; he himself slept
soundly in the "haunted" room, but does it the justice to
acknowledge that he "could sleep through an earthquake.")

Miss "N." (the daughter of a landowner of the district) arrived.

Mr. Garford (an old friend and excellent observer) came from
London. We sleep to-night as follows:--

In the wing, in the two rooms alleged by guests of the H----s
to be haunted, the Colonel and Mr. "Endell."

No. 1. Mr. Garford.
" 3. Mr. "Q." ("ghost-room"; he has just asked to be
removed from his former room in the wing).
" 4. Miss Langton.
" 5. Mrs. W----.
" 7. Miss "N."
" 8. Miss Moore, myself, and dog.

_February 25th, Thursday._--Mr. "Endell" reported this morning
having heard a sound he could in no way account for, which seems
to us to correspond with the "clanging" noise. We asked how he
would imitate it as to volume and quality, and he said that a
large iron kettle, about the size of the dinner-table (we are
dining eight), boiling violently, so that the lid was constantly
"wobbling," might produce it.

(_N.B._--Mr. "Endell's" opinion later is that a pavior's crowbar
heavily dropped, so as to produce a prolonged reverberation, is
a better illustration.)

Mr. Garford, who was not told that any sounds might be expected
in No. 1, says he was awakened by a violent banging at the door
of communication between Nos. 1 and 2 (No. 2 is empty). Mr.
"Endell," Mr. "Q.," and Miss Moore went up later in the day to
experiment on the door, and found that it would _open_ with the
slightest push. Mr. Garford had closed it on going to bed, and
found it closed in the morning. He had not been alarmed, and had
almost called out to his supposed visitors, before he remembered
supernormal possibilities. He described the sound as a muffled
bang, and in order to reproduce it to his satisfaction one of
the party held a thick rug on the inner side while another
hammered on the panels without.

Mr. "Q.'s" experiences in No. 3 will be reported by himself. The
groans which he heard coming from No. 2 some of our party
suggested might have been made in sleep by the occupant of No.
1, but on trying experiments it was found that no sounds of the
kind which he could make in his room were audible in No. 3.

Mr. "Q." left.

Miss Langton went up the glen with Mr. Garford, and was
perplexed by seeing the grey figure when looking for the nun;
she saw it but dimly, but later in the evening recovered it in
the crystal, more clearly and in greater detail.

The following is Mr. "Q.'s" account of his experience, written on February 24th and March 4th, in private letters to Lord Bute, but, in order to avoid the possibility of suggestion to others, not contributed at the time to this journal. The Editors have been permitted also to read another account written by Mr. "Q." of this and of his subsequent experience, written immediately after the occasion, which agrees with his letters to Lord Bute in every particular.

"_February 24th, 1897._--I slept in room No. 3. I knew it had a 'bad' reputation, also I had heard through Ouija of probable appearances and noises at 3 A.M. and 4.30 A.M. I noted the time of retiring in passing the clock on the staircase, _i.e._ 12.10.

"Before going to bed I sat in a chair with my back to a small mahogany cupboard, placed against the wall of the dressing-room, into which my room (No. 3) opens. About 1 A.M. I was much startled at hearing behind me very distinctly a loud groan, coming, apparently, from the dressing-room, in the direction of the mahogany cupboard. The sound was very distinct, and but for the fact of there being no one visible, I should have estimated its origin as _in_ the room, its distinctness being such that, coming from the next room, with the door closed, it would have sounded slightly muffled. So distinct was it that I heard what I can only describe as the throat vibration in the tone.

"I tried to ascribe it to the bubbling of the hot-water pipe of a washing basin fixed in the dressing-room, as I supposed, against the wall of the bedroom, but saw next day that the basin in question was fixed against the opposite wall of the dressing-room.

"The sound was a greatly magnified and humanised edition of what I have several times heard in the drawing-room below the dressing-room, and which has been heard by several of the party together."

And in a letter dated March 4.--"I went upstairs at 12.10. On shutting the door of my room I experienced a curiously cold sensation. I stood by the fire, which was burning brightly, and shivered to an extent that was quite phenomenal; the fire did not in the least remove the cold shudderings which ran from head to feet.

"I threw the feeling off as best I could, but not entirely. I read a little and then prayed. I read the office of compline and my private prayers, and praying according to my custom for all faithful departed, and especially for those who had previously lived in the house or been connected with it. After this I looked at my watch; it was just upon one o'clock, and I sat for a few minutes in the chair by the fire, when I heard the noise described, behind me.

"I changed my position and placed the chair with its back to a table and facing the door, the candle on the table, and took a book and read; my shuddering sensations had been worse than ever. Suddenly I looked up, and above the bed, _apparently_ on the wall, I got just a glimpse (like a flash) of a brown wood crucifix: the wall was quite bare, not a picture, nothing to make it explainable by imperfect light or reflection. From that time the sensation of cold and shuddering went away: I don't say immediately, but I was quite conscious of being reassured.

"About half-an-hour afterwards all feeling of distress of any sort had gone. I went to bed and to sleep. My own idea now is, that the sound I heard was an inarticulate cry for help, probably by means of prayer. The influence I feel was _bad_, but something overcame it."

It is desirable to add, as a question of evidence, for comparison of the dates of this and Miss Freer's subsequent account of the same phenomenon, that a letter from Mr. "Q." in Lord Bute's possession, dated March 16th, begins, "I have no objection to Miss Freer seeing my letter on the subject of the crucifix...."

Mr. "Q." also states that his delay in writing to Lord Bute about the crucifix was, that he thought it might be a mental reproduction of one which he sometimes sees in his own home, but that he found on examining the latter that it has a white figure, whereas that of the apparition has the figure of the same brown wood as the cross. In the private account above referred to Mr. "Q" writes, "I found that the crucifix at home _in no way_ resembles what I saw at B----". It will be remarked that this peculiar apparition was seen in the same room by the Rev. P. H---- in August 1892 (see p. 17), and it was again seen on March 6th by Miss Freer, who had not heard at all of his experiences, and only a bare mention, without detail or description, of that of Mr. "Q." A fourth vision in this connection--that of Miss Langton, who had heard of none of the other three, is described under date March 19.

_February 26th, Friday._--Nothing happened till I was in the
drawing-room in the evening, when I was, as usual since my
accident, taking my meal alone. A screen stood between my sofa
and the door, so that it was impossible to see who entered. I
saw the shadow of a woman on the wall, and supposed it to be a
maid come to see after the fire. Next, the figure of an old
woman emerged from behind the screen; she was of average height,
and stout; she wore a woollen cap, and her dress was that of a
superior servant indoors. Supposing her to be some servant's
visitor come to have a look at the drawing-room while the party
were at dinner, I moved to attract her attention, with no
result. She walked a few steps towards the middle of the room,
then disappeared. Her countenance was not pleasing, but
expressed no personal malevolence; her face may have been
coarsely handsome. Her dress was dark, and made in the fashion
which was worn in my childhood. When the dog came in later he
seemed to sight something from behind the screen and followed it
across the room, when he lay down under my couch, instead of on
the hearth as usual. He had done the same thing yesterday
morning, looking much frightened, and had then taken refuge
under Miss Langton's chair.

In connection with this it will be seen elsewhere that footsteps were constantly heard in the drawing-room, both at night and in daylight.

Mr. Garford, in No. 1, heard last night what seemed like the
detonating noise, which he describes as like a wheelbarrow on a
hard road, "a sharp, rapidly repeated knocking," at a distance.

_February 27th, Saturday._--Colonel C---- and Mr. MacP----
arrived.

To-night we sleep as follows:--

No. 1. Mr. Garford.
No. 2. Miss Langton.
No. 3. Colonel C---- (I had planned for him to go in the
wing, but the butler, an old soldier with two medals,
seemed to think it due to such a distinguished
officer to put him in the haunted room).
No. 4. Mr. MacP----.
Nos. 5, 7, and 8 as before.
The Colonel and Mr. "Endell" unchanged.

The glen was visited by Colonel C---- and Mr. MacP----, escorted
by Miss Langton.

_February 28th, Sunday._--All slept well. I assisted Miss
Langton with some Ouija experiments in the presence of, first,
Mr. "Endell," then Mr. MacP----, then of Colonel C---- and Miss
"N."

_March 1st, Monday._--Mr. MacP---- reported at breakfast that he
had awakened at 5.45, and almost immediately heard a loud
clanging sound in the north-west corner of his room; he was
fully awake, struck a light, saw nothing, and looked at his
watch. We tried later to reproduce this noise, which he
described as resembling a loud blow upon a washhand basin. I
shut myself into No. 1, and found this a fair, but too faint,
imitation of the sounds Miss Moore and I had heard there.

Colonel C---- and Mr. MacP---- left.

Miss M---- and the Colonel have to-day had some talk with ----
[who had an intimate knowledge of the S---- family. See under
dates Feb. 9th and 20th]. She repeated her former story of the
Major's promised "return," especially a statement made to an old
woman who worked in the garden, who had told him that at least
"he'd no get in there, she'd keep the gate locked," that he
"would come in below the deck" (_cf._ p. 114). He was described
as a short, broad man, with white hair and beard, "a'ful fond o'
dogs (of which he had many), and so noisy with them in the
morning, that when he and his housekeeper-body let them out, his
voice could be heard on the hill." She also said that on Major
S----'s return from India to assume the property he found a
tenant in possession, and had built himself a small house beyond
the grounds, which he afterwards let with the shooting. In the
late Mr. S----'s time this house was used as a retreat during
the summer for nuns (a statement which interests us greatly, as
affording a possible clue to the apparition).

The Major was greatly attached to the place, and had a great
dislike to the presence of strangers in it, or to its going out
of the old name. The estate, we hear, was much encumbered when
he succeeded to it, but he cleared off all debts in a few years,
and appears to have lived a somewhat eccentric and recluse life,
in the society of his dogs and dependants.