of the family saw the same apparition also. I believe there were further particulars; but I unfortunately lost this letter, with some others, in the confusion of changing my residence.
"The absence of eyes I take to be emblematical of moral blindness; for in the world of spirits there is no deceiving each other by false seemings; as we are, so we appear."
"Then," said Mrs. W. C., "the apparition—if it was an apparition—that two of my servants saw lately, must be in a very degraded state.
"There is a road, and on one side of it a path, just beyond my garden wall. Not long ago two of my servants were in the dusk of the evening walking up this path, when they saw a large, dark object coming towards them. At first, they thought it was an animal; and when it got close, one of them stretched out her hand to touch it; but she could feel nothing, and it passed on between her and the garden wall, although there was no space, the path being only wide enough for two; and on looking back, they saw it walking down the hill behind them. Three men were coming up on the path; and as the thing approached, they jumped off into the road.
"'Good heavens, what is that!' cried the women.
"'I don't know,' replied the men; 'I never saw such a thing as that before.'
"The women came home greatly agitated; and we have since heard there is a tradition that the spot is haunted by the ghost of a man who was killed in a quarry close by."
"I have travelled a great deal," said our next speaker, the Chevalier de La C. G.; and, certainly, I have never been in any country where instances of these spiritual appearances were not adduced on apparently credible authority. I have heard numerous stories of the sort, but the one that most readily occurs to me at present, was told to me not long ago, in Paris, by Count P.—the nephew of the celebrated Count P. whose name occurs in the history of the remarkable incidents connected with the death of the Emperor Paul.
"Count P., my authority for the following story, was attached to the Russian embassy; and he told me, one evening, when the conversation turned on the inconveniences of travelling in the East of Europe, that, on one occasion, when in Poland, he found himself about seven o'clock in an autumn evening on a forest road, where there was no possibility of finding a house of public entertainment within many miles. There was a frightful storm; the road, not good at the best, was almost impracticable from the weather, and his horses were completely knocked up. On consulting his people what was best to be done, they said, that to go back was as impossible as to go forward; but that by turning a little out of the main road, they should soon reach a castle where possibly shelter might be procured for the night. The count gladly consented, and it was not long before they found themselves at the gate of what appeared a building on a very splendid scale. The courier quickly alighted and rang at the bell, and while waiting for admission, he enquired who the castle belonged to, and was told that it was Count X's.
"It was some time before the bell was answered, but at length an elderly man appeared at a wicket, with a lantern, and peeped out. On perceiving the equipage, he came forward and stept up to the carriage, holding the light aloft to discover who was inside. Count P. handed him his card, and explained his distress.
"'There is no one here, my lord,' replied the man, 'but myself and my family; the castle is not inhabited.'
"'That's bad news,' said the count; 'but nevertheless, you can give me what I am most in need of, and that is—shelter for the night.'
"'Willingly,' said the man, 'if your lordship will put up with such accommodation as we can hastily prepare.'
"'So,' said the count, 'I alighted and walked in; and the old man unbarred the great gates to admit my carriages and people. We found ourselves in an immense couer, with the castle en face, and stables and offices on each side. As we had a fourgon with us, with provender for the cattle and provisions for ourselves, we wanted nothing but beds and a good fire; and as the only one lighted was in the old man's apartments, he first took us there. They consisted of a suite of small rooms in the left wing, that had probably been formerly occupied by the upper servants. They were comfortably furnished, and he and his large family appeared to be very well lodged. Besides the wife, there were three sons, with their wives and children, and two nieces; and in a part of the offices, where I saw a light, I was told there were labourers and women servants, for it was a valuable estate, with a fine forest, and the sons acted as gardes chasse.
"'Is there much game in the forest?' I asked.
"'A great deal of all sorts,' they answered.
"'Then I suppose during the season the family live here?'
"'Never,' they replied. 'None of the family ever reside here.'
"'Indeed!' I said; how is that? It seems a very fine place.'
"'Superb,' answered the wife of the custodian; 'but the castle is haunted.'
"She said this with a simple gravity that made me laugh; upon which they all stared at me with the most edifying amazement.
"'I beg your pardon,' I said; 'but you know, perhaps, in great cities, such as I usually inhabit, there are no ghosts.'
"'Indeed!' said they. 'No ghosts!'
"'At least,' I said, 'I never heard of any; and we don't believe in such things.'
"They looked at each other with surprise, but said nothing; not appearing to have any desire to convince me. 'But do you mean to say,' said I, 'that that is the reason the family don't live here, and that the castle is abandoned on that account?'
"'Yes,' they replied, 'that is the reason nobody has resided here for many years.'
"'But how can you live here then?'
"'We are never troubled in this part of the building,' said she. 'We hear noises, but we are used to that.'
"'Well, if there is a ghost, I hope I shall see it,' said I.
"'God forbid!' said the woman, crossing herself. 'But we shall guard against that; your seigneurie will sleep not far from this, where you will be quite safe.'
"'Oh! but,' said I, 'I am quite serious, if there is a ghost, I should particularly like to see him, and I should be much obliged to you to put me in the apartments he most frequents.'
"They opposed this proposition earnestly, and begged me not to think of if; besides, they said if any thing was to happen to my lord, how should they answer for it; but as I insisted, the women went to call the members of the family who were lighting fires and preparing beds in some rooms on the same floor as they occupied themselves. When they came they were as earnest against the indulgence of my wishes as the women had been. Still I insisted.
"'Are you afraid,' I said, 'to go yourselves in the haunted chambers?'
"'No,' they answered. 'We are the custodians of the castle and have to keep the rooms clean and well aired lest the furniture be spoiled—my lord talks always of removing it, but it has never been removed yet—but we would not sleep up there for all the world.'
"'Then it is the upper floors that are haunted?'
"'Yes, especially the long room, no one could pass a night there; the last that did is in a lunatic asylum now at Warsaw,' said the custodian.
"'What happened to him?'
"'I don't know,' said the man; 'he was
