ward to inform the poor woman who had
been the occasion of its discovery that if she would come and reside in
his family she would be comfortably provided for during her remaining
days; or, if she did not choose to reside constantly with them, if she
would let them know when she wanted assistance, she would be liberally
supplied at his lordship's expense as long as she lived. And Mr Hampson
said it was a known fact in the neighbourhood that she had been supplied
from his lordship's family, from the time the affair was said to have
happened, and continued to be so at the time she gave Mr Hampson this
account. She told him that she was so often solicited by curious people
to relate the story that she was weary of repeating it; but, to oblige
him, she once more related the particulars, wishing now to have done
with it. Mr Hampson said she appeared to be a sensible, intelligent
person, and that he saw no reason to doubt her veracity. I know many
persons in the present day laugh at such stories, and affect very much
to doubt their reality, while others totally deny the possibility of
their existence. However, Scripture and many well-attested relations
seem to favour the idea, and the present story appeared so singular and
so well attested, and I had it so near the fountain-head, that I thought
it might perhaps be worth preserving, and I have therefore taken pains
to record it. Admitting it to be true, it should seem that the
consequence to the family of what the hidden box contained was the
formal cause of the spirit's disquiet, and of its disturbing the house
so much and so long, in order to bring about the discovery; but why the
departed spirit should concern itself in the affairs of this world after
it has left it--or why they should disquiet it so as to cause it to
reappear and make disturbances, in order to discover and have things
righted, as in the preceding case,--or why this should be done in some
cases of apparently less moment, while in other cases much greater
family injuries seem to be suffered, and no spirit appears to interest
itself in the case--are circumstances for which we can by no means
account. A cloud sits deep on futurity; and we are so little acquainted
with the laws of the spiritual world that we are perhaps incapable, in
our present state, of comprehending its nature or of giving any
satisfactory account of these matters.

XX

CROGLIN GRANGE

From ARCHDEACON HARE'S Autobiography[10]

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