ed, as they
described it, the shadow seemed to have no sort of relation to the
position of the light, and appeared, as I have said, in manifest
defiance of the laws of optics.

I ought to mention that the housemaid was a particularly fearless sort
of person, as well as a very honest one; and her companion, the cook, a
scrupulously religious woman, and both agreed in every particular in
their relation of what occurred.

Meanwhile, the nursery was not without its annoyances, though as yet of
a comparatively trivial kind. Sometimes, at night, the handle of the
door was turned hurriedly as if by a person trying to come in, and at
others a knocking was made at it. These sounds occurred after the
children had settled to sleep, and while the nurse still remained awake.
Whenever she called to know "who is there," the sounds ceased; but
several times, and particularly at first, she was under the impression
that they were caused by her mistress, who had come to see the children,
and thus impressed she had got up and opened the door, expecting to see
her, but discovering only darkness, and receiving no answer to her
inquiries.

With respect to this nurse, I must mention that I believe no more
perfectly trustworthy servant was ever employed in her capacity; and, in
addition to her integrity, she was remarkably gifted with sound common
sense.

One morning, I think about three or four weeks after our arrival, I was
sitting at the parlour window which looked to the front, when I saw the
little iron door which admitted into the small garden that lay between
the window where I was sitting and the public road, pushed open by a
woman who so exactly answered the description given by Smith of the
woman who had visited his room on the night of his arrival as
instantaneously to impress me with the conviction that she must be the
identical person. She was a square, short woman, dressed in soiled and
tattered clothes, scarred and pitted with small-pox, and blind of an
eye. She stepped hurriedly into the little enclosure, and peered from a
distance of a few yards into the room where I was sitting. I felt that
now was the moment to clear the matter up; but there was something
stealthy in the manner and look of the woman which convinced me that I
must not appear to notice her until her retreat was fairly cut off.
Unfortunately, I was suffering from a lame foot, and could not reach the
bell as quickly as I wished. I made all the haste I could,