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.