Sin Epmunp Hornsy's plausibly written and circi ini account of the ghostly vi subject on the night of Janoary 19th, 1875, in Shanghai, has a very special interest for us here. Nothing could be more impressively plain and unadorned and Sir Edmond, who as a lawyer may be supposed to know the difference between good evidence and bad, is clearly convinced that the statement he makes la supported in the very strongest it come within our the accaraoy of ipal details given of Sic Edaand's own expe perience, that is, of lying in bed, hearing a knock at the duer, seel: Long enter the room, ordering him out, and eventually dictating to him a precis of his jadgmont in a Inwauit, Nobody else was there, according to Sir Edmund's version, excepting Lady Hornby, and she is stated to have been fast asleep. But there are just a fow carious points which ought to be cleared up. In the first place, the Courier was an evening paper, and the question naturally presents itself why the editor of a paper, which was not to be published before seven or eight o'clock the next evening, should desire the precis of a judgmont—the fall text of which lad already been written out for him—in the middle of the previous night Had the Courier been published in the morning there might have been r-off ponsibility that Mr, Long, suffering under disease and in a morbid state of mind, might so far have forgotten himself as to go roand to Sir Edmand's house behave in the extraordinary manner attributed to him.
was not the slightest..renson and taking into considera. tion the statement of the servants that the house was properly locked up, and that one door through which an intruder would have to pass actually bud no handle we may at once dismiss the hypothesis that the figure seen and conversed with by the Judge was that of Long himself. Secondly, there was no euch person as Lady Hornby in existence at the time in question, Sir Edmund's. second wife died on the 13th December, 1873, and Sic Edmund did not marry again till the 29th April, 1875—jast three months after his traordinary vision, What the Judge can mean by deliberately making such statement as this, and adding that it is "confirmed by Lady Horaby," is to a most profound mystery. Thirdly, Sir Edmund apeaks of the inquest on the body, and refers to what took place, Well, there was no inquest held, Fourthly, the Paisne Jadge, to whom Sir Eduund says he confided the story the came day, was not in Shanghai at all, but in Japan. Fifthly, no judg. ment was given by Sir Edmund for about ten days after Mr. Laug's death, Sixthly, the same fact which disproves Sir Edmund's statement about his wife being asleep daring the vision mast be held to dir-prove his statement that Lady Hornby confirmed the story the came day at tifin—namely, that Sir Edmund was at that time wifeless. And yet Sir Edmund has the unconscionable calness to say that he is a man of no imaginati Seventhly, the account of Mr. Long's death as given by Sir Edmond Hornby is inaccurate in more than one important detail. Sir Edmund, quot: ing the Clerk of the Court who told him of the editor's sudden death, writes, "It appears he went up to his room as asahi, at ten, to work at his paper." Now why, we may ask, should the editor of an evening paper, who has been working hard all day, begin to work again at teu o'clock at night The statement is incorrect; Mr. Long was not at home at ten.—His wife went up about twelve to ask him when he would be ready for bed. He anid, 'Ihave only the Judge's judgment to get ready, and then I have finished' As he did not come, she went in about a quarter to one, to his room, and peeped in, and thought she saw writing, bat she did not disturb him, At half-pnst one she again went to him and spoke to him at the door, As he did not answer, she thought he had fallen asleep, so she went up to arouse him, fo her horror ho was dead. On the floor was his note" book. She sent for the doctor, who arrived a little after. two, and said he had been dead about an hour." The ote-book contained the usual heading In the Sapreme Court, before the Chief Judge," and so on, followed by the words, "The Chief Judge gave judgment this morning to the following effect "—and then followed a few lines of indecipherable shorthand.' Now cor-tumly all this makes up a very wonderfal story. Th either that, whil Long was act of dying, his spirit was projected before tie perception of the Judge, and that the fugers of his body, then in the Foochow Road, actually took down the judgment from dictation going on in @ house upon the French Buud; or. else, that he died in the middle of a unsuccessful attempt to recall the judgment, and his spirit, unconscious of its release, thereupon flew off to Sir Edmund's bedroom to get an authentic version, Bat unfortauately for these and similar fanciful theories, the fact that Mr, Long wae is not dead when Sir Edmond believes he saw him; he was then alive and well, and did not die till between and nine o'clock on the same morning. Mr. Long had attended a Temperance Committee meeting the night before, and bad left about half-past ton in good health and excellent spirits, What happened daring the next few hours we do not know; but we may fool pretty sare that ho did not pay a nocturnal visit to Sir. Edmund's bedroom. He slept at home, rose shortly before eight, and visited his office to arrange some "matter" for that day's paper, He then returned to hia room to dress, and a few minutes afterwards was found dead upon the fluor, It is a pity that Sir Edmund should have been misinformed as to this very important point, as the
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.