Lord Bute records, however, that he twice read aloud the whole of the Office for the dead in its five sections (vespers, nocturns, and lauds) in different places, but neither he nor any one with him saw or heard anything, unless it were a sound of women talking and laughing while he was reading the Office about 10.30 P.M. in No. 8, and this he supposed was simply the maids going to bed, though in fact the room overhead was unoccupied.  He had, however, a most disagreeable impression, not in the places where he expected it, which were the glen, No. 3, and No. 8, but in No. 1.  The sensation was that of persons being present, and on the second occasion that of violent hatred and hostility.  He recorded “Went to No. 1 a third time, and again experienced the sensation of persons being present, but on this last occasion as though they were only morosely unfriendly.”

It is remarkable that this sensation of unseen presences is one which many other persons experienced in this room, and in this room only; but it is also remarkable that this was the first indication of the hostile or irreligious tone which was thenceforth apparent.  Until the sojourn of the party of members of the S.P.R. the tone had been plaintive and religious.

Mr. MacP——­, who is a Presbyterian, made a remark which struck Lord Bute as interesting, to the effect that the whole of the Office for the dead, with the frequent occurrence of the words Requiam eternam, &c., might be as irritating to Intelligences which desired to communicate, as would be the effect of saying merely “keep still,” or “be quiet,” to persons who wished to set forth their wrongs.  But this curious hypothesis would be insufficient to account for a sensation of absolute enmity.

A private letter, written by Lord Bute on April 29th to a distinguished ecclesiastic, repeats these statements, and adds one or two additional touches which it is desirable to quote:—­

“We returned yesterday after spending forty-eight hours at B——­, where we heard and saw nothing, but as my proceedings were mainly ecclesiastical, your Grace may like to know what happened.

“On the way I was shown the inclosure in the churchyard wherein lie, in unmarked graves, the late Major S——­, his ‘housekeeper,’ and his old Indian servant.  I would have gone and prayed there, but the place seemed to me too public....  B——­ is a remarkably beautiful place, and the day was splendid; were it not for the grandeur of the scenery, I should have called the landscape laughing, or at least smiling.  The house is remarkably bright and cheerful, and indeed luxurious.  There is a really nice set of family pictures from about the time of Charles II....  The place is a perfect aviary, and the sight of the innumerable birds, evidently encouraged by long kindness, building their nests was very pleasant, and has some psychological interest, since animals sometimes see these things when we do not, and there was evidently nothing to scare the