William Crookes, the present President of
the British Association and of the Society for Psychical Research, or
Mr. Arthur Smith, Treasurer of the S.P.R., was willing to take the
lease.

Having thus agreed to Lord Bute's proposal, Colonel Taylor at once
proceeded to make himself acquainted with the history of B---- House.
He naturally placed himself in communication with the late tenant,
assuming that that gentleman would be willing to assist in
investigating the phenomena by which his family and guests had been
annoyed. But the only information which Mr. H---- seemed disposed to
give was an admission that some members of his family had heard
noises, and that the house was locally reported to be haunted.

However, other sources of information as to the experiences of the
H---- establishment were fortunately available.

Captain S----'s agents made no scruple about letting the house to the
well-known expert. The Edinburgh agents, Messrs. Speedy, indeed
mentioned the haunting, and expressed the hope that Colonel Taylor
would not make it the subject of complaint, as had been done by the
H---- family, and they received the assurance that this was not a
score upon which he would give trouble. In regard to the letters of
Messrs. R.H. Moncrieff & Co., dated June 12, 1897, which appeared in
_The Times_, it can only be said that the impression which they were
likely to convey was, that Colonel Taylor was an imaginary being like
John Doe or Richard Roe. Their scepticism must have been of recent
origin, since none was manifested on receiving his rent. Their
position is in any case unfortunate, since, even if unclouded by doubt
as to the Colonel's personality, they appear to wish the public to
believe that they seriously thought that one well known as a
Spiritualist in England and America, a retired Professor of Military
Tactics, with a comfortable house at Cheltenham, a member of the
Junior United Service Club in London, a man who neither shoots nor
fishes, had been suddenly seized in his mature years with a desire to
hire an isolated country house in Perthshire, in the depths of winter,
for the purpose of trying his 'prentice hand upon rabbit-shooting on a
small scale.

Colonel Taylor, who is a widower without a daughter, was at this time
much occupied by the illness and death of a near relative, and was
unable for the moment to take up residence at B---- House. Lord Bute
accordingly expressed a hope that Miss Freer would und