f some one about the estate, who amuses
himself by occasionally--it is only occasionally that the more
remarkable noises are said to be heard--repeating their tricks. The
steward or factor on the estate concurs with the lawyer and the
minister in denying that the house had any reputation for being
haunted before the advent of the H---- family. Yet he is a Highlander,
and not without superstition; for he gave it as his opinion that _if_
there was anything in these noises, they must be due to Black Art.
Asked what Black Art might be, he said he could not tell, but he had
often heard about it, and had been told that when once set going it
would go on without the assistance of its authors. He was quite clear,
however that if there is Black Art, it came in with the H---- family."

Mr. H----'s rejoinder, which appeared in _The Times_, was dated June
10th:--

_To the Editor of "The Times"_

"SIR,--I must ask you to be good enough to publish, on behalf of the
tenant of B----, a few remarks on the article that appeared in your
paper of the 8th inst. with the heading 'On the Trail of a Ghost.' The
writer of that article finds a very easy solution to the mystery by
attacking a private family who happened to be tenants of B---- for a
short time, and making them a 'scapegoat' for his argument. I do not
quite understand if your correspondent pretends to assert that the
place had not the reputation of being haunted previous to my tenancy
for three months last year; probably he does not charge me with
originating such reports, as he mentions a story of the visit of a
Catholic Archbishop to the house to exorcise the ghost. This must have
happened some time ago, and proves that the house was then supposed to
be haunted. What your correspondent does state as a fact is, that the
younger members of my family played practical jokes, which have given
rise to Lord Bute's investigations. My object in writing to you is to
deny most emphatically this statement. The principal proof that is
brought forward to corroborate this slander is, that the doors are
marked by the blows struck to produce the noises heard. Surely no one
could be frightened after the cause and reason of the noises were once
ascertained by the boot-marks! But there were no such marks on the
doors when we left B----. Some of our guests were with us until very
shortly before my family left, and can testify to this, for the good
reason that in the endeavour to localise the ext