my conviction. The influence of the departed
clings to roof, to walls, to floors, leans on the accustomed
window-seat, trembles by the bed-head, sits by the hearthstone, stands
invisible in the passage way. _To kill it one must destroy its home._ It
was my duty to kill it, therefore it was my duty to destroy the Manse.
This thought at length took complete possession of me, and, following
it, I strove in every imaginable way to oust Fraser from the house among
the sycamores. But he would not go. He loved the place, he said. He
stood by his lease and I was powerless.

Oh, God, I have, surely I have, my excuse for what I have done! I meant
to be a saviour, not a destroyer! I would have restored Fraser and my
poor Kate to their freedom of heart. That was what I meant. Ay, but the
grey traveller fought against me. Shut up here by night in my house, on
the verge of--that which I cannot, dare not speak of, I declare that I
am guiltless. Let him bear the burden, him alone! In these last moments,
before my deed is known, I write the truth that men may exonerate me.
This is the truth.

Overwhelmed with this idea that Carlounie must be rescued, that Hugh
Fraser and Kate must be rescued from this damnation that was preying
upon them, I determined, secretly, on the destruction of the Manse, in
which the spectre of the doctor stayed to work such evil. But, to do
this, I must first make sure that Hugh Fraser was at a distance, and
that his small household--he only kept two servants, hired from the
village--were away from the haunted dwelling. I, therefore, suggested to
Fraser that he should come and spend a week with me, and give his maids
a holiday. After a little demur, and drawn, I see now, by his hidden
passion for Kate, he accepted my invitation. He dismissed the maids to
their homes for a week, and moved over to us. When the minister knew of
it, he, no doubt, fully included me in his prayers for the damnation of
those who worked evil among his flock. Will he ever read these pages, I
wonder? Kate was now an avowed atheist, and she and Fraser were
continually together, glorying in their complete freedom from old
prejudices, and their new outlook upon life. They had, I heard them say,
broken through the ties that bound poor, terrified Christians; and, when
they said this, they smiled, the one upon the other. I did not then know
why. Meanwhile, I was preparing for my deed of redemption, as I called
it, and meant it to be. I was re