Part 7

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.

This is the first mention of the fact that nuns had ever lived at B----. Miss Freer had not been aware that the object of the Rev. P. H----'s visit in 1892 had been to give what is called a Spiritual Retreat to those who had been occupying the cottage. It is only fair to suggest that the phantasmal nun, to whom the name Ishbel had been given, may really have been the phantasm of one of these visitors, and that the dress of at least some of them was identical with or closely resembled hers, while it was totally unlike that worn by the community to which the late Mother Frances Helen belonged. At the same time, Ishbel's dress was of a kind so very common among nuns, that it would have been that with which she would, most naturally, have been clothed by the imagination of any one unacquainted with the very rare Order to which Mother Frances Helen belonged. To make further investigation into the history of all the Sisters who ever stayed at B---- through the kindness of the late Mr. S---- would have been a task impossible for its vastness, and almost certainly futile through the natural reticence of their communities with regard to any matters likely to occasion haunting.

_March 1st (continued), Monday._--I went up the burn for the first time since my accident on Saturday, February 20th. We had had a promise from Ouija on Sunday that if Mr. "Endell" were to visit the copse with me after 6.30 he would be touched on the left shoulder. He was told to go to the farther side of the burn, and to stand under the sapling, which is at some little distance from the spot where the phantasm usually appears. This we accordingly did. I was barely able in the dusk to distinguish the figure from my post on the west bank, but the phantasm appeared very near him, as I could distinguish the white pocket-handkerchief in his breast pocket. I saw her hand approach this, but could not positively say that it touched him. Mr. "Endell" saw nothing, and could not positively say that he felt a touch, though conscious of a sense of sudden chill, and agreed with me that had he certainly felt one, he would probably have considered it the effect of expectation. We stood there for perhaps ten minutes, and he was for a short time conscious of the subjective sensations which he commonly feels in the presence of phenomena. We returned simultaneously to the avenue, where we discussed the occurrence and the possibilities of making it evidential. The only thing we could think of was to send for Miss Langton, and without telling her anything of what we had seen or expected, ascertain whether she saw the phantasm in its usual position (high up on the bank), or a good deal farther to the left, and nearer the burn, as I had done. By the time she arrived it was much darker, but she saw the figure under the tree by the brook, and described it as "kneeling." She has better sight than I, and believed it to be behind Mr. "Endell." I should have judged her to be crouching or stooping in front of him, but judging from comparison of our normal sight, she is much more likely to be accurate than I.

Mr. "Endell's" separately recorded account, dated March 5, exactly agrees with this, but adds some additional touches to the latter part.

"At Miss Freer's suggestion, I fetched Miss Langton, telling her nothing of what had occurred, but merely that we were trying an experiment, and she was to report what she saw.

"I stood again under the sapling. This time I began to shudder almost immediately. It was so dark they told me that they could only see my collar though I was only ten yards from them.

"Miss Langton said that thirty seconds after I had taken up my position, the figure appeared behind me a little to my left, and seemed to raise its arm. Miss Freer said it was waiting for me, and touched me as before.

"I felt no touch throughout, only shiverings that seemed to coincide with appearances."

To-night Miss "N." wishes to sleep in No. 3, and Miss Langton will remain in No. 2; the door of communication can be opened between them.

_March 2nd, Tuesday._--This morning I was reading in bed by candlelight from 5.30 to 6 o'clock, and again heard the pattering sound which has become familiar to us in No. 8. Miss Moore was asleep, but happened to awake while the sound was specially distinct, and without speaking signified that she was giving it her attention. Shortly after six we heard the sound of a violent fall about the middle of the west wall, between the fireplace and window. Our first thought was that one of the maids upstairs must have fallen, till we remembered that there was no room above us. We have since inquired, and find that none of them moved till nearly seven o'clock, nor was anything heard either by them or by Mr. Garford, whose room (No. 1) joins our west wall.[D]

Miss "N." passed a very disturbed night. She went to bed about twelve o'clock; she is habitually an exceptionally good sleeper, and, moreover, has slept in many rooms alleged to be haunted without the slightest inconvenience, and has never had an "experience" of any sort. She lay awake in discomfort till 3 A.M., and then sought refuge with Miss Langton.

Miss "N." left. The following is the record of her impressions:--

"_March 4th._--You ask me to write exactly what I felt in No. 3 when I slept there on March 1st. Well, it is rather difficult to describe! I never felt frightened out of my wits at nothing before, if it _was_ nothing. I certainly saw no shadows or figures, and the only noise I heard was the thud twice, which sounded as if it came from the storey below. If I shut my eyes for a minute I felt as if I was struggling with something invisible (not indigestion, as I never have it!). I was so paralysed that I _dare_ not call out to Miss Langton, and lay awake from twelve to three without moving! In the morning, of course, I felt I had been a fool to be so silly, and I would go and sleep there again to-night if I had the chance."

Mrs. B. C---- came. She is an Associate S.P.R., is a Highlander, has been all her life interested in psychical matters, but has had no "experience."

Mr. "Endell," Miss Moore, and I sat up in No. 3 till about 2.30 in the dark, except for the firelight, and in silence, except when any one wished to draw the attention of the rest to sounds or sensations. There were no sounds for which, on reflection, we found it impossible to account. Mr. "Endell" suffered, as on previous occasions, from the sensation known as "cold-air," and very visibly shivered, though clearly not in the least nervous. He is keenly interested in psychical inquiry, but has never had any "experience" other than subjective sympathy with the psychic impressions of others, or a consciousness, such as he described on his arrival here, of an atmosphere other than normal. (This last has been of frequent occurrence, and seems to have been always veridical.)

The sole experience of any kind on this occasion was my own. Mr. "Endell," by way of reproducing the conditions of former occupants of the room, threw himself on the bed about twenty minutes to 2 A.M. Soon after he was seized by audible and visible shivers. We did not speak till he uttered some forcible ejaculation of complaint, when, looking towards him, I saw a hand holding a brown (probably wooden) crucifix, as by a person standing at the foot of the bed. He immediately said, "Now I'm better," or words to that effect.

We persisted in silence till perhaps 2.30, when we agreed to separate, and while we were having some refreshment over the fire, I told Miss Moore and Mr. "Endell" what I had seen. (_Cf._ under date February 25, p. 132.)

_March 3rd, Wednesday._--Mrs. W---- left.

This afternoon we had a call from Mrs. S---- and her daughter. The Colonel, Miss Moore, and I were in the room.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

_March 4th, Thursday._--Mr. "Endell" left.

Heavy snowstorm.

_March 5th, Friday._--Last night I was in bed and asleep before Miss Moore came in from her dressing-room. She did not light the candle for fear of waking me, but, while sitting by the fire reading, she heard the pattering noise just behind her, in the same place where we have heard it and the fall before, though never till then at night. It only lasted a few minutes, but there was apparently nothing to account for it, though of course she took every possible means to discover its cause.

Mrs. B. C---- left to-day. Miss Moore happened to mention at breakfast that the upper housemaid had told her that the maids had twice again on the last two nights heard the sound of monotonous reading, once as late as 2 A.M.

The theoretical hour for Mattins is midnight, which, however, is only observed in practice in certain very rigid monasteries; in others it begins at two. But it is easily conceivable that a priest, if wakeful at that time, would select it in preference to another.

Mrs. B. C---- at once said that she also had heard precisely that sound each night, and had spoken of it to her maid, and, like the servants, had concluded that Miss Moore was reading to me, although it was as late as twelve o'clock. She had also heard a bang on a door close to her own, but had supposed it was a late comer, possibly one of the gentlemen from the smoking-room, and had not been disturbed. She had been sleeping in No. 1, her maid in No. 2, and none of the gentlemen are on the same floor. Mr. Garford, who is now in the wing, remarked that he too had heard voices as of speaking or reading several times when sleeping in No. 1, but had assumed that they were normal. As a matter of fact, Miss Moore goes straight to her dressing-room on going upstairs, and I am always too tired to read or speak. No two persons sleep in any other room.

We tested this by getting Colonel Taylor to shut himself into No. 1 while I, in No. 8, read aloud at the top of my voice, Miss Langton remaining in the room with me. The Colonel could hear no sound less than direct banging on the wall with a poker.

The cook has been talking to-day of the various noises heard at night; she is not nervous, nor are the maids, but all speak of voices and bangs for which they cannot account; except the butler, who has heard nothing, but is obviously impressed with his wife's experience last night. Her story is that, not feeling well, she went up to bed early, before the servants' supper, the rest of the household being as usual in the drawing-room. While in bed, before ten o'clock, she distinctly heard the sound of voices talking, apparently below, but not far distant (her room is over No. 7, at present empty). She "wondered if it could be the servants in the servants' hall at supper"--an obvious impossibility, as their room is _not_ underneath, is two storeys away, and has no connection with the upper part of the house. She also heard bangs on the wall, behind her bed and to the side; there was no furniture there to crack, and it was mostly on the _outside_ wall, so she finally became uncomfortable, and buried her head in the clothes to deaden the sound. She "doesn't believe in ghosts," but thinks the house "very queer," and says that far and wide in the country round it is spoken of as "haunted," though no one seems to know of any story, as to the cause, except that, very improbable, about the murder of a priest by the wife of a former proprietor. It appears that a maid engaged in the village refused to sleep in the house, because when in service here once before she had been frightened by bangs at the door of her bedroom (in a room over No. 1); she had also heard the sounds of a rustling silk dress on the back-stairs, and had seen the bedroom door pushed open and a lady come in.... A maid, who came after this one had left, told the cook that she believed there was a story of a "priest murdered somewhere at the Reformation"; she had once been told it by Mrs. S---- in explanation of the noises, but had not heard whether the said murder was in the house or the grounds, and thought Mrs. S---- particularly did not wish the spot known. This maid has only been an occasional help in the house, but has lived for years in the district, and knows the place well by reputation.

To-day as we passed through the churchyard, [a resident in the neighbourhood] pointed out the desolate grave of the Major, with the remark that one could hardly be surprised at a man being said to "walk" who was expected to rest in such a place as that. He said that there had been a great deal of talk all over the neighbourhood as to the excitement during the H----s' stay at B----, and seemed to believe that practical joking might account in part for what had occurred. He did not, however, deny that stories had been told long before their coming to the place.