ehead, and hair brushed straight up so as almost to appear standing
on end. He wore the same long coat of green cloth and white waistcoat.
He seemed as if he had been standing listening to what we said, though
we had not seen him till this bright flash of lightning made him
manifest. You will remember that when I saw him at Oxford his eyes were
always cast down, so that I never knew their colour. This time they were
wide open; indeed he was looking full at us, and they were a light brown
and very brilliant."

I saw that my brother was exciting himself, and was still weak from his
recent swoon. I knew, too, that any ordinary person of strong mind would
say at once that his brain wandered, and yet I had a dreadful conviction
all the while that what he told me was the truth. All I could do was to
beg him to calm himself, and to reflect how vain such fancies must be.
"We must trust, dear John," I said, "in God. I am sure that so long as
we are not living in conscious sin, we shall never be given over to any
evil power; and I know my brother too well to think that he is doing
anything he knows to be evil. If there be evil spirits, as we are taught
there are, we are taught also that there are good spirits stronger than
they, who will protect us."

So I spoke with him a little while, until he grew calmer; and then we
talked of Constance and of his love for her. He was deeply pleased to
hear from me how she had shown such obvious, signs of interest in his
illness, and sincere affection for him. In any case, he made me promise
that I would never mention to her either what he had seen this night or
last summer at Oxford.

It had grown late, and the undulating beat of the dances, which had
been distinctly sensible in his room--even though we could not hear
any definite noise--had now ceased. Mrs. Temple knocked at the door as
she went to bed and inquired how he did, giving him at the same time
a kind message of sympathy from Constance, which afforded him much
gratification. After she had left I prepared also to retire; but before
going he begged me to take a prayer-book lying on the table, and to read
aloud a collect which he pointed out. It was that for the second Sunday
in Lent, and evidently well known to him. As I read it the words seemed
to bear a new and deeper significance, and my heart repeated with
fervour the petition for protection from those "evil thoughts which may
assault and hurt the soul." I bade him good night a