A Strange Story.

Thames Advertiser, Volume 3772, Issue XIII, 25 December 1880, Page 3 (Supplement)

A Strange Story.

By Frank Moreey,

'Eternal poises boat for evermore, And coamless teak upon' a tideloss shore; Wliero tune and space and matter eeemotb. naught; But all resolvos into I" .' ' ' —Wwetii<B:D«EorumN(ilwra, •

To those exceedingly practical people who j believe in nothing'but what they are pleased to call "facts" I would give one word of advice before commencing the perusalof this true story, and that is," don't." There are more things in heaveu and earth than are dreamt of in our philosophy, and doubting Thomases often miss a truth because, they refuse to believe what they, cannot understand. It is too much the fashion nowadays to submit everything to the rude and vulgar test of. weighing, measuring, and ohemioal analysis, forgetting that some of the'subtlest powers in nature are altogether beyond the ken of such grossmaohinery. 'Who can weigh a thought, or measure ''the molecular vibrations of the brain iV And yet a thought, whioh,;after all, is tho'most wonderful in creation, is nothing more than the vibration of the ultimate atoms of tho enoephalon. How are those vibrations produced, and, are they capable'of. being: propagated from one brain t6 another? are questions which are not easily answered; but science is every day throwing additional light upon the subjeot, and' the following story, or rathervhiatory, may perhaps assist the investigations.': ! The gentleman 'from whom I obtained/. rather, unwillingly; the following authentic, narrative,;was Captain B—-, of the 14th( Bengal Artillery: > ; '''•My cousin Jack and I, he began, had married twin who were very much' attached to each other, and were ouribusly alike in Borne things and unlike in : other things. .Physically, they bore a strong resemblance, but; there was not the slightest ohance of. mistaking the one Bister for thi other. My_ wife, Julia, was rather fairer than her sister Clara, and was of a more lively.disposition. Jack's wife had dark brown hair, and eyes of a colour it was impossible to define, but with an ocoasional look in them whioh give one tho idea of a somnambulist. But the sisters were more alike mentally,, than though, the likeness seemed sometimes not so muoh an identity as a harmony. It seemed.as if tho'.one sister were the co-relative of the other, so to speak, >nd that action 'of .one, called for a response from the other. Whatever may be the scientific'explanation of the 'fact, it is certain that they had some singular bond ofV union whioh aotcd at a distance, and inde- j pendently of matter, as commonly understood, i When theywere separated by distance their,, minds continued to.be en rapport, and any, j strong emotion, such as fear or trouble of any I kind, seemed to affect them simultaneously. I remember the oircumstance as if it were yesterday. The pioture of our surroundings is as diattnotly before my mind's eye as if it were a mental photograph, It was a lovely' Deoember night in 1 India, and, after a rather tiresome day'B work, I was enjoying a peaceful smoke. My wife 'and I were Bitting on tho-verandah, and our conversation was of anything but the supernatural. I had been for some time rather dissatisfied with my prospects in India, where promotion was slow, and, moreover, I feared that the olimate waß undermining my wife's health, although tho brave little woman never murmured, and would not acknowledge that she was ailing. It was Christmas Eve, and the moonwaß shedding a dear white light upon everything, and throwing the distant jungle into a darker shadow by,rearon of its brilliancy. We had oeased talking for a moment, and both of us were apparently absorbed by the quiet beauty of the soene, which recalled vividly to our recollection a description which Clara had given, in one of her letters, of the lovely summer' nights in Australia. -Suddenly I felt my wife's hand, which was clasped in mine, tighten convulsively, a tremor ran through her frame, and sho gave a slight soream. The emotion.passed away as rapidly as it oame;, but while it lasted she displayed all the symptoms of the mqst extreme terror. She could not explain ,with any sort of olearnessthe reason of her fear. Sho had seen nothing, sho had heard nothing, she had felt nothing.; but yet, for tho moment, she was possossed with a blind and unreasoning terror.,, It seomod,. all at once, as if a cold wind had suddenly sprung up, and at the same time a cloud of some kind,, whioh she could neither see nor identify by any other test, but which she, simply knew to be there, was pressing down upon her, and that she had an overwhelming feeling of some dreadful catastrophe being about to happen. I tried to reason, her out of.her imaginary terrors, but it was.somo time before she recovered her equanimity, and I notioed that every mail from Australia, was eagerly watched for letters from her sister. ,;

Jack and his wife'had sailed for Australia about the same time that we had embarked for India; and having aconsiderable capital, and a fair share of luck, he had made a good hit ! 'by purchasing a half share in a large station in Riverina., Ho had been fortunate enough to got a good partner, and a firstclass property. The wool'brought the highest price in the London market, and the improvements had been judiciously made, so that Jack_ had pretty good roason to be satisfied with his venture Ho had a villa at ;St. Kilda, and', ho was thus enabled to combine the charms'of the country with all the advantages of a city life. At,length, a lotter came from Clara, continued Captain B , as he lighted his second cigar, and, strange to say, it contained an account of an extraordinary dream rwhioh she had the very same night that my wife had felt the sensation of terror just related. Clara was living at St. Kilda, and Jack waß up country. About twelve o'olock at night she awoko and saw, or thought sho saw, Jaok sitting in an- arm-chair hoforo tho fire, which was all but out. The moon was shining in through the sido windows oi the door, which opened on

■ to the yora'ndab, ; :wheri| she imagined- ah I .saw a figure walk straight through the do'or ag if there were nothing-in the way, an< steal on tip-toe. up to the reclining, figure o Jack. The figuro, whoever it was, hac something in its hand ;which would gleam ii tho moonlight'occasionally, 1 ' arid, the. fact was vaguely familiar, though'where she;had aeon it bef orb she could not recall.. 'All this she imagined she saw in the drawing-room j although, when tho household,.alarmed by her ories, rushed-into ,her' room she,was found in bed, half-paralysed with terror. For some time she oould .hardly believe, but that her dream was a reality. ,'• V; It straok both-my [wife >and: myself, re-i spmed-the, oaptain,, after a ,as ~a' Bingular, coincidence .that; she and her sjster shouldhavebeenafieotedatthesametime,aup! : ;in The one was a vividdream, and the other only a presentiment of evil; but the difference makeß itatittie; •more likely that the mental abtibri of'the/orie was a reflex, impulse', as it. iwere,' frora'tbe .other./ Knowing, the', peculiar, sympathetic feeling between the aisterp/the oiroumstance' assumed another aspect 1 tb me than'that;,of a' simple coincidence;"' and ,J l i! was''not 1 unprepared for the exciting''events' "which followed; 'and whioh'bore an evident relation 1 ,tp the'spiritual impul& whioh had been 1 'the forerunner, so"to speak; of the fact'?'•' !l;lt ' : ' .. 'Some-timP after" 'this,' said-the'captain; iri continuation of his',nariatiYe', ! ' ; we''left India .to:'settle in 'AaßtraliaV-"-I • sold my commission; and had 'arr'anged"to 'join Jaok in a cattle station on the Diamehtiaa! i.Jabk, as I mentioned before;- had a' villa lt ; St.Kilda, and was a bit of ari'amateur gardener; besides being, as will appear-) further J dn,' no ,mean,,,artißti-.':His-gardener iwasi'aa

eccentric.kind of genius who.had:been, with' him.for.some' timfylandiappearedito, -be getting more, andfmorp ecc'entrio'bvery day* The one redeeming Jaok's eyes was that.hp was ;an excellent gard*enery,<andj in all his madness, nevprforgothis'lbusiness. "He hadn't been in- my, employment.half-an-hour," said Jaok.,to,me!one;,day,,| < when I discovered that hpjWas/apharaoter.;'. He had the, most profound contempt ; fqr o my knowledge of,plants, and, also, apparently, of niy knowledge N of anything else. The first day that he oame I happened to stroll .down

to; where he was vigorously, pruning, trees. For some time,he be unconscious of my ■' presence,[although'.'l know he.was taking 'atook of mb'all'fhe time. 'At length he turned (round and'said tome, abruptly-'What ass have'.you had oarving at;these .trees before,?, WHoevei;, he is, or was—for if he'.'isn'tidead he ought'to be—he knew no more about, pruning than a' pig does of astronomy.' .'['. "This was pretty rough -upon .me,", remarked Jack, in his quiet way, "as it was my prentice hand which had last manipulated the'pruning knife on, those yery. trees. However, I [did not |say anything, .but.-.let'

him go on grumbling and'swearing,'golto' voce,' at the 'idiotd who protended'to.be gardeners.'. After working, silently;about ten minutes he turned to me, and, poising the pruning knife 'in the' air, delivered himself in the following oraoular fashion ':— 'Do you understand arithmetic?', I told him I had a slight and feeble Braattbririg of the soience. 'Well, now,' said ho, 'I'll give you a question whioh willjako ydu some timo to answer.. When Fwas a boy at school the master gave mea sum--, it-was in-rhyme, arid ran'.something like this: v ■ ! ■'' "■'_■ '■ •" ' ,"AMdor, twenty feot in length, ' ' , Uprightagainßtawallj''' • ■» : - «' Moved from tte base ten feet, .■■•< ■, i ? jHowmnohwiU.thatladderfall?'", ~

; JjHe/lojDked;!at;mb triumphantly for a rjoment.and'then turned to his pruning, satisfied that XJvVas annihilated.: 1 • r my|elf, ' Herb it is again 1 Justmy'jiuok'!'.;Every gardener I get turns outtb;be.almiatiq!; ; i Isaid nothing^however,;but;went oirsraqpng, at thesEme time making a!;. [with the toe of my. boot iupoh^.the.pathway. ,tp assist,in' the marital solution of this wonderful sum. 'Presently he turned round again, and said: ' "'Well,-I suppose you give it upP' I apprehehd,;sir, you will confess your ignor. anoe.'■!,:'.':.-;■.";'.v.'- : -.-j '•' ' Ilsaidf; "notexadtly; "but I thought ydu were going to'give me' some-' thing [difficult'-.to dj>. That simple sum dependb forits[solution upon the demonstration laiddown in the forty-seventh' proposition 1 of '.thex-fkat, bdok of Euclid, whioh proyes;'thatj-'..in-any right-angled : triangle, 'the square['yrhibh is described upon the side subtending [the right angle is'equal to thesojuares desdrib'eq/jupon tho aide's which oonfealn.the right;'an : gle.', The ladder,' in this base, isthe-hypbtenusej and it ifl twenty feet in length is tenfeet, for is'the distance it.'ls removed [from .the'wall. The square of the hypbtenuse is 400,' arid the 'square, of the [base is 100; the difference between 1 -400; arid' 160 is• manifestly'.3oo.' If • you> now [eztrabtj the'square' roof of 300 .feet,'whioh;is roughly about' i7'4; you will' have the; jerperidioular, arid if you subtract 17'4 from twenty feet[''the original height of the ladder aa it stood against the waU/you will find-- that theladder will fall about £'B.>;This, you perceiVe,'i3''a very simple equation. As I went on;"'continued Jack, in relating; his'experience to me', "I oould.see hia mouth j and 'eye's"opening''at what--'appeared-to 'Mm l the" prodigious knowledge thus displayed. :l -[ ■'■'- '"And you did all thatby equatiensT gasped the gardener, after he recovered a bit'.

"Oh! yes," observed my couinri, lf 'oa're-[ lessly; "you oan do anything by equatibns, ; you kriow; but in this instance an equation was Hardly required. ' . "i .;>.,]. n

_'-' At this point," remarked Jaok['"'l' loft him; but I noticed that 'after this iisi:attitude towards me was slightly! more: respects fulj ,and. he 'made ino moro attempts 1 -to display his knowledge at the expense of ;my ignjoranoe. -1 There was one ithing, 1 however; 1 that struok me as rather peculiar, and that was his wonderful belief in the efficacy of equations, for: solving- all his,.subsequent difficulties. After this, he seemed to do everything by .equations;. and. brought out, certainly, the most wonderful results, by.the simple process, of making, what.he soalled an equation of the most commonplace names, by dividing the name, into syllable?, and giving, his; own .'interpretation of .the,,(meaning ,qf the'arrangement. He made',<|ufeby'equations that. he"'waß. that •I was.the King- seemed very much disgusted at^the 'dense ignorance and gross stupidity dispiayed.by'anyone.whb presumed to oast thesUghtest doubt upon the 1 efficacy of his mdttiod,' or tW value'bf his discoveries." " ■ .',''.•',,','' '~ ' As Old Burton;' format' wasi ; ttie ; name of Jaok'sgardenerj will playa'very consideri abhTpart in our dramaj'remarked'Captain B- I —, as he obntinu'ed; it' wilfbb as well to give you sbme little idea o'f'the'man.' ; ",' fie was'a tall, 1 thin, wiry.'mali; must have be'en, : at the date' of 'theseeve'nts',' about fifty to fifty-five years of age.. He was quite grey, but ; he : had''a : fr&h appeaiv ance,- and was' mari'who was capable' of going through S'greatamouiit of ■worL He was largely) imbued witi/semisocialistic ideas, but they were, i evidently more theoretical, thahipraotioal/asjhe knew theivalue of; his own labour to a nicety; and had,, moreover, a most.profbundV.obntempt forianyone who would not do. a'fair day's work. In knocking, about the world he had •pioked up a smattering of ; all,'kinda,iOf information, and the,manneriin which,he quoted Latin and Frenoh was,, at,, least, impressive, ■if not;,correct.;; 0ne,..0f hia weaknesses ,was that, of ,using. ; |jong fand sometimes obsolete words'/and some' of the men who occasionally helped ;him,in"the garden were under the firm conviction."thai he had swallowed, hot^bne,' but 'several dictionaries., , | '"' ' .. ',".' In fact, he considored.himself a'sort bi admirable Criohton; and when he discovered an unfortunate visitor" whom he' was able tc convict of ignorance 'in some controversj into whiohho had drawn him,'his triumpl was complete.' He'became thus, thougl otherwise apparently harmless, a bit of < bore.

Aftor tho arithmetical conundrum whioh he had propounded to Jack, he never tried

e to catqh Mm .again, but, on - Mcayo,d ahy, : inf o J witli\considerable veneration. |Among'q'ther,'"'t f peoiiliajitfes of'Burton',he'.^M ''J. 1 ??H? 'hik Pfi%P?/ \sp\ in ..driving.',r j I. migMoagiiy^ ; aquestion"whether Spiritual-"!■ i ism^aslfi'ej'causeor"cffeok'.of,'^.madness/•/_/ i Certain it is that, whenever he returnedfrom "'.'.. : a Bpmtist seance, he aeemed,fbr some.timo,'." tobe u madde>'j'than.usual.' ; ,'Onb'ddyj in the fj .garden,|.he 'had been bothering' Jack .about,'., • "into, ail' argnmen't,.bf r .'l somakind.,, .',', l I would stop ham,',' , , ' said Jack',? .by a lob ; cifi .jargon',,','.sb I(i tipommence<!^thus';:'', ~'T V. perceive, in,'.','';' thß|non-exist|n''op io pi •matter.: • ',t<}# draw a,?",] rdjstin'otipn'iletw'een'tjibego theV,pbjebti 1 ' f Thp,." firßt.'"a^o^^yott' > .(}ppaider' jjtjjj'KiTeV a D exißJencej, I jitter, M'j^n-pgo^'p^}^' : [ ( the material, you'con^idei;jas, nb'n:; ~f are'.-'J 'maaV.bf.'.' '.That tree,' fbrinstance,'. said' .Jack,;' „: p'ointiag. v ,t6,.^rl^uge.-^h!b^gum,'..tliat jfiad ,", teyery,, appearance ,' ; at' least', pt solid ; '! '' at all,'ouWo^e,pjE r '.tlib'' i senßation8 i 'whioliathas ' '.: tippn'.'yo!if,'peroep'tivjß!fapulliesJ/ r|pu thiiii;' t ', that, tree.i is/ .'i^is.'.iilie^ol"'',. j of faoultyit;,woi?ld ; '.np'£ be ,|;here.' ) ..^pur ;j senates'',,!'. 'convjpy■pertain sedation'sof .cplpur,.extenßipn^ iH ; density: to your sum 'total'pf, whibh,'" ■ y'oh.'Palljt,.treej"bu)j'that, putside.^f, your,'. ..' ithpught, there is ! 'nothing.', |,t could .see;,. thatsPppr.old Burton'djdinot^.exactly■ r ! qomV("" ,s ' prebend,what'i'was'.talkliig ab'dutj",Vflaid;,. 1 d.bjb.'t b!^ ;! bm, ( fpr.l ;^d'npt^ ; ; j i:quii^agr§e^' me, and'wflnt; on' witnhisV,,,, : iwori:in, a i^theVsub'dued'fashion.|',,'f/.,/.' r j '.''';;■ ' : It, r , appqar,; .howeyer,, rthat-,JapkV carelessj wprds, .turning from hadi the^ffept' : pf ,„.£ making, addition to hmprpying,thai'jie was Macbeth) ■.',

ahd.jthat' J[aok wajithe JEing Scotland Ke I( nowcbn^tantlyaMe^ 'noflrin'g^'aridj;jto 'make'|t J ;, r ' '-^.'jj"j^,,;';';,,.' .-:. Things h[ad gone on in tinie^.resuriied^ evening iwa,i,yere sitting, Jaik, ana myself, 'dis'ous3ing, r ' '* soijiep'ejitical q'destiph.wb'ioi' was. at'thd'timb'attracting'atteritio'ri.' ;l iiwasalovely''inoon--' :|l; light nightj'ahd the'whole scene was such'as "-'• reoallbd' to my 'mind the'hight in India when' I ''' 11 my wuV'experienced that'strange* p^esenti-' ! ' ; ;"' merit of qdinin'g'evil.','' : It w.asohristm'a8 i , E7e', ni v! and wheril mentioned tbe'subject : to ! he'/' 1 ' laughed, and asked'me if I'also'was'beco'ming ; ° ,l auctions': 1 !I! " " : \ ;'::«r-u.li JmiN..,!. 1 ~...[* Bhow'n[yb[uJth^ veryscene,"[..ft'-seemed, to, : me,such' ,a'g'qpd' '.[■'< suljjeot for a picture'that,l thought fjwould ,[, Boe',what I ( cpuld make of it,'.' Ijhav'b,'taken' I ,',','. oldißptdn for the ;would-bb murdere?,'jandT,''.. havelßi4 i tKe.B^e l in , fte,dra™g-K)|)m.', , i 'j •-'■■ We', went at'.,Ja'ok's J ,! sketchji which was.nbt' 6 i ui^.,fmishpd, i l)j|!i'it' f [' i | lad !ey.eryf:inaloation'of, ] 'b'eing l a pibticej, l 6f , considerable merit.'.J reohnirig, i ip.'the,.arm-bhair'.before the fire,,'',',''. whiongay;eout,'suffioisht'rlight.tq i; bring','Mß ; ,' ' head. 'put. of''the' ?urrqtmding,ihade,of ,khe|,' r not was .evidently: plimged into the prdfoundest",' ', was, bblirions of, eyeryibing, :,'. except',' his;.'own, thoughts.,',' Thei' ( room[.'jwaa. '..[ large, and, wbird:lobMng,j[with fitful; gleam's,,,,.i. of straymoonlight appearinghire jandthbre;. [.',[,', and B.er i yingtq / tllrqw..in.tb .deeper [darkness' ■~ the| remote./oprners,! whioh melted ;intq;the ..-:, blaokness of what appeared to' be, void Bpaoej : ,. t In loqkuig [at the'rqqin, .one [could not, help, ,- v , thinking,, of ..some. of the (descriptions', in,: ,'• Dante's'llnfernb,''- more bspeoiallyasa olbser,, ( ..;['. iwrlaptioa',,.showed j a' shadow^.'' figure, /[, apparently emerging from the "darkness, wiih'[.';.., r a knifej in its hand,,and;a, diabolioalexpres^, ~ Bion of.triumph andhatrcdupbnite.cbtmteii-,. ,: ance., lam not, much given, to sentiment, .... butj I must oonfeis,that. the .pioture lad a,,,'.',mostunpleasant.efEeotuponme,,andl.could' ,',•■• not'bardsh it., iWeroedifo be haunted withV, , a vague, presentiment,.of evil, in .which the,| ; '; pioture. bore a part. Ourcpnversatipn/iafter,,',.» the inspection- of. trip, picture';drifted away.,. j from:polities,.and ,we on.to,', ;, the j curious mental phenomena, displayed in ■■ .- the presentiment-of whioh (had affected ;'.., the two siaters.at the same time.! "lamnot ; „. , sceptical, as some people are, 1 ' ii: ■ obsdryed, Jack,, .thoughtfully, " about the theory. of ;brain waves.; That, there -is, a. , subtleether whiohj pervades all space, and , ~ penetrates, through the densest body, .with.., ; the pame ease that it passes through what is .. ; coramonlyjsalled a vacuum; there,oanbe no,;; doubt.,, .[what this ether is we .don'tknow;: : ' ■', I. but itis a highlyi'elastiobody, and itis to tho ■vibrations of,tMßMghlyelas.tiomedium, that..':' :;! wepwethe light of the most remote star.-. ..'.■" The lumirdferous ether of whiph we ar,e now :j :; Bpeaking is of .such extreme tenuity that its : ; . exiß'tenceiWas long unsuspected;?and,it,is ;. : even known .by somei delicate-i •: • experiments in speotrum analysis, Lit is this i; • ' ether which: fills ;'.'■ ir.l -.> A>..4 >■■* I .i-,\.'f )!>;i <.|' -.';■■'■',■.' ■ ;,;.i >;\i\''!:\ r. ■■■ ■ ■ 'Thaluoldlnterapaceofwotldandw'orld,,,, ~,, "-',. : ' :, ''NoreTorfaUatheleastwMte'Btar'Otßnow;' •'■'.'•'>'■'■ Vl •.Nor aver loweßt roll of thunder moans*:!; £-,«--;t ,;»'.»:!,• ,-,H6r,Boimdo£,human l ßf)rrojTmoimts,tomiu:,,,'; .■".-,.. The'sacre^everlMtiiiralm;'''."!;'.',--'' ',' ".' ,';'.'; Here;ttehyjwehave th'at ; per-' ■ '■}'" vades all BpacS,^it r finds riojmdre diffioultyin-' l > '•'■' penetrating' between -the' atoms of 'iron, or '■■■■"- '■'■' goldthanjfofiUing the-interapabe'of world r,r ''' arid;world';' r 'and to bw'the''' , ): -; translation 1 of : moleoulai inqtion'Mo"light.' ;: ' ■■•''' Ifi td i -thq l 'Mbratioriß' :i Of''thia '•'<'wonderful" -V\"

substance we We/the: light' of 1 Sirius,''it. ; ijj; w !: ' nbtitormuoti t'o;asßume r ffiat it 'is capable '•"' of transmitting thd : vibrationß"bf ~' to that of another whiohis tuned in sympathy . : -'; ,:il1 with it.' v/ And'the secret' of tiqns'-is .probably to" be. : discovered direotion ci'syfiipathy', whichbearslbmental- '■' r '■ phenomena somewhat the samel relation that' , : ;' '■ harmony does'to sound. ■'•' 'In; the' 1 experiences" -'■ of:Clara ! '&rid'your'wife/it;is vetyvbvidehjp' ":'■ thai their'lnihds abonil" i: ; i; ' : thei same time''ia 'much'. J the i: same.'! way; 5 ■'''■ ;:i ' > Mbwing :; i:or' tbe- , dMrenco'''inlpngitndej'.''".''' my jwife, l iri'Australia,"lia'd'Kef dreami;before' ■' u l"; your wife, in India, experienced her ; Beksa'"'' J),; .tion of terror. Onejwould' think-;that Buoh transmission, if it does tako place.from,one brain to would ;b;a;;instantan'eoiis. In (this case the."experiences., were" not absolutely synchronous, and, therefore, a.,,. great deal is taken; from' : tW but jit does not theory is'. 1 ,., upset. It may l>e^ttat\ ,^b! i 7ibratloMj'are''. l , 1 ' v ' more or less persistent, 1 being"once 'set'up'/' ; " 'an'djitwas only whenitheimental.conditibh>c - K} oi ! the recipient,war favourable"i&at fthe;. > manifestation appeared: •■ < hyou <-■ andv*<!!' herlßister were sitting>&.the verandah', cub Y India, on that Christmas jEye, .ypu -~-..; were not talking of.anythmg. i likelyjjtp , feelings of jmagijiary'' dangers/ "yJ3|,"'so j" f "._ r surroundings' werefiuob"" as" to^excite-. imagination of a sensitive woman; "and then it • was, probably,'' that; the 'dfeain 1 of' her •,;; • '* sister in Australia afieotedher 'in' the manner' - : 'desoribed.V" ; ''':; ■■•>»'>■ ;<A ww cwtA! w

;, iWe 8at r 'talking* thus ! untii'atoftfc 'twfelve'' o'clock, -when we had,!a.,niglit:oap:and.te"':V; tired; but, as far as I wasfconcerned,' con ?;; i • tbued CaptainJ-^fr-WPot.tOisleep.! jSlcep;..!!,';; seemed to] pimply,- ; impossible;,n,-.The.;;.) ; pipture ( wwch Jack had'sketched^haunted., - . me.! A' ! a^efy'/Beemed' ) 'ttf',| ■tek<j possession of posrible to<'rem'ain r laatjl lighted a cigar^an^stroUed'out'into ;! l .the garden.'.'. I'Kad'not: been' in'-th'e gard'erti■•.,:iX abpye five, minutes :when.;l;tho'ug]h'tiI t 6aT7fiiT the figure of a maniinoving.'backwards and. ]!i-tf forwards underi the! shadow! of !*a- rowi.of nT piiie'a; and, as this was ;! rather, an ;extra:, , ordinary time for anyone'.to be, about,-J.-V concluded to.make, a qloser,inspection., of '!. ,- himi K very mad with the fuU moon, and spouting Shakspearo: to' bis 1 content;' I did""' not disturb hunjbut'thotighi; I would just '■' watch the result of his sublunary' apostro- ' phies, whichhecontinued Bomewhat in thia ■

fashion:-"That thou art tho King, of Scotland I can provb. How? By equations. For example—" arid'here;, he'went into an equation on Jack's namo, whiohyfor obvious reasons, I cannot give you,'as I don't want tho real names' of the parties to be known. "And," continued Burt»ri',/' , ' , that/r'am Macbeth,' I know. Hdw? ; Beca'usp" the witches have revealed it. I live now' as Burton, the gardener. T lived then as Macbeth, tho murderer. Ha! 'what do I see before me! the Handle'toward my hand ? It is a dagger';' come,' let me oluton thee! ; All hail, Macbeth! Double, doublo, toil and trouble, 'fire' burn,.and cauldron bubble.' /Who Bays' I killed'Duncan?, 1 He is not 'dead..'/He only : sleeps'.' :, Ha!'wherd does ho : sleep?" In i 'a,'Btrairi' sornefching liko /'this/ Burton 'continued' ifoif'sorni time,' and/as it'got'a little monotonous,! thought I would take' a stroll down,' the garden and come'back"again; '.Wlien 'I carae'back' ( hp was gone [but T 'the shadpw'of a man''disappearing;;rd'urid' the'end,'of the house.," 1 !' rain' rapidly ./up,' /tttnMng'that Burton 'was'getting rather too'eCcentrid'tb be agreeable/bur/not liaving the least'idea of what le 'was' after. /When 1 I arrived at the' end ,'of the 'verandah, ''Burkni'.'Wai just passirig.thrOugb the' ddor into/the drawing: room';",. The' doors''wefo '.'generally'^left' unlocked/ and, therefore, all he had' to dO%as' to turn/ the, handle. Vl/knew/pr, at least, I thought/there ; was nobo/dy/m;.the r rpdrri'/ and I'lwos'mpre curioWto/watidh'B^on'B' moveinbnts than''to pre'vent'/the'm; "I 'thefeforo/'stoleup to the'■Adow/'aid,'coricealin'g myself as well' as,' I'.'cpulfl|| .•watched the/ movements of the garderior! / ! _,'/''.".' ;./ ''/ Th/d' light was rathty uncertain'; sA tho wide 1 vorahdah.did'npt allow 'much plthe-mo/oh* lighl'/Wipenetrate/into/'thd/roo^ hear'Biirtp'nstumbling'kbout in'/thp/room;) and : iit last', ,as 'my/'eye'g6t; : acoust6'rQed''tb the light, I could Bee objects 'pretty f airly'.' A All at once a r horrible' feeling oi something like' terror/came over, me/as I recognised, as in flash of lightning/the' whole/'Scene' of Jaok'spidtiire;' Ttier'e^as'the'same/rpom;' the same dark' BhVd6w8 f 'meltmg; r ' 'into/ a void'' of darkness; Burton '/appearing! put ,'of the gloom,'with/his face/hearing a peculiar expression of hatred and'revenge'; j and,' : 'great &dd!'he ; had i 'a ( knife''in;" his; uplifted hand. I glanced-with'a'feeUrig of: inexpressible horrofvat' the : 'chaif,' arid there I saw.'the 'reclining'figure or JaokJ"T was' rf fascinated 'and spell' bound' for a'rabmeht;' '; ■~!'■>■■, ■ ■■ .I-.-. .■■■•;:. ; '-n:. ,\. v:,i ~,i'i, J Burton.was stealing: put from, the .plapk, shadow .with his .uplifted knife. / J could not see Jaok!s face,, but he, was; clearly /quite, unconscious,of his..danger. |,I; ( might havp, called | out j.to warn /him, but,, tiat, would simply, have'preoipitated thejmurdejjer.uppn Mm. j Thej/lunatio/lfor.Buoh/he turned out to be) ~was now, ; within i a ; step. of. when I dashed through the wkdow/,;and,; with one well-directed him j reel-. ing'j'again'st/a sideboard; which damo'down with a'craih;' but'not before he'had plun'gt'd' his knife .deep'iritp/tbd hearfcqf the/reeluung:' figur'e'of.Jack, 5 who ./did' not/give 'a/ groan!,' Themania'c/'h/a'dlefttho''knife where,he had' plunged it';' and/now,; after recoyeririg'from' the shook" of my/ blow/ his' fury was turned in my grappled wiiieaoh; other, and."then/commenced 'a'struggle/for' life arid death! //I'wa's a ! /h,eavier'man •than him/' arid/ under ordinary' circumstances'/ [k much stronger man.; 'buitKe'iuteri'se nervous 1 excitement under ivhich | lends' an; additional 11 power 'to hi's| muscle's,* which 1 only those' who have u experienfced,'•' It can iinderstaridi /' He felt to'ari/automa'ton of Bteel arid 'I'got/'him'down' once or'twice,'but I could'ri'6'/more;h'old/him' than I'could'h'old an'del;":" ! Hb got/rri'e'undcr once;"audi with his hand upon my'thfoat'/I could pee'huri, looKripf' rourid' anxiously 'for tho knife'.'''; His atteiitidn'' being '/thus' l 'dis-, tracted, ,'I roado a tremeridbua/jeffor't'and released'myself/biit only tti'bi engaged in-a fresh; straggle. ' I felt myself gqltingweakpf/ whildthe madman was apparently 'increasing; m Btrcngth. Th^ero'was rip use o'alling "for help/as Jack' was dead,''arid'wdmeii c'diild beof'no use.' I felt his hands 1 grasping 'my throat',' the whole room; was swimmirigrdurid me, when, "suddenly; I felt him'relax'his grasp;'at'th'e'sa'motime'l wsb corifcidus 1 of the presdncb ; of • other people/ 'dud that' 'the; room'was lighted: up.' rha'd'ndt lost 1 ran-" sciousriess; so .that in a rripm'crit'l Wds!able to coiripreherid the'situation'. .The'first'mari I saw,'td ; my 'omazeraerit arid'dcliglit;/w'as' Jackj who had "evidently just turned but'6f bed. n lturne'dtothoarm-eh'air wheroThad seen himlast,'arid there Fsaw the''figure of a man'with' a knife ; plunged/up' to "the hilt in its'heart'.';Jack:;saw/my:'inquiring look, and'saidi i "That < was'a'riaiTOW escape for me, w'asn'li, ifc? ■ "If Ihad been' 1 there'instead 'of the lay'! figure;, which I used : in■ painting my picture,; it would' have been awkward." !;: <"' ll! ''' '' :)1 '

The' ■ crash 'of' thb : sideboard hid Wakened Jack, : who' armed himself ! v?ith'.the ,, first : thing'that came to • hand;-' 'which','happenedto be ! an'old'broadsword whioh' belonged to Mb great grandfather.' When' he"appeared at the open door, with a candle in one hand and a'broadsword'in the other;''Burton, ; who' had nearly got'the better 1 of me, was'so taken' aback by'the'eight'of the King of Scotland; whom, in'his character'of ;Haoheth, he had just murdered, that, muttering, gome incoherent exclamation, ho fell, .bapk. and began' spouting Shakspeare! .'.to ! the' ceiling. Weseouredpoorold.Birrtoniforthe night, and the next day wh'adhinv conveyed before a J.P.'preparatory to 1 hig.being Bent.to the Kew Asylum. When, he was asked, by the presiding'magistrate )What his motive; was in ; attempting: to; murder ihis master, he said that he had tiad.an ; argur: ment ;with him .the previous day; inwhioh he clearly .demonstrated 'jthai Jack was the King, of Scotland,, and that Jack ; did not apparently .believe'him,, and- so he .thought he would justcome in. and prove it to him. . "And;how do you prove that Mr. —-r is the,Kiiag. ; of Scotland?";said one of ;; the honorary,magistrates. •,': : ■;,,,..... Burton looked at him for. a moment with a smile of .sovereign contempt, and said, l',l prove it, sir, ,by equations; but possibly, air, you do not, understand.equations?'!,, -•:■;>-■: Poor old Burton .died in. the. asylum a few years:after, that. Housed,to : write; iOcoasionally to Jack and his wife, dated-Ms, letters from " Kew Palace." .He seemed; quite happy where ;he .was, but .hecontinued to do eveiythmg:by equations.to, the very last..,; .. ; ... ~,;,: • - ~.';; .