class="ws">S—— family responded to this courteous and careful consideration for their possible feelings, was made manifest to the world by the tone which they adopted when, immediately on the appearance of the anonymous article in The Times, they rushed into the newspapers, and published everything concerning themselves, their family property, predecessors, and tenants, with all the proper names at full length. After that outburst it has, of course, been rendered impossible to keep the identity of the place and people any longer secret.

Out of deference to other members of the family who did not take part in this, the matter in the present volume remains in as private a form as the newspaper correspondence now leaves possible.

The names given in full are those mostly very indirectly concerned; other names, including that of the house, are given under the real initials, with the exception of a few of the less prominent, when the real initials would create confusion; and in these latter cases they are taken from letters of the alphabet not already used, and are placed in inverted commas; e.g. the real initial of a Mr. S—— is changed, in order to avoid confusion with the name of the S—— family themselves, the proprietors of B——.

The contents of the book are, except in one respect, arranged upon the simple chronological system. They commence with a short sketch of the history of the S—— family, based in its earlier part upon Douglas's "Baronage of Scotland"; and all information which the writers possess as to the phenomena which have occurred since the death of Major S—— in 1876, except that supplied by the S—— family, is set forth in succession.

The family of S—— date from the earlier part of the middle of the fifteenth century, and were settled upon the river T—— within that century, while they have possessed B—— at least since the earlier half of the century following.

A stone, carved with their arms, belonging to the old mansion-house, is built into the wall, and dated 1579. The present house is modern, and does not even occupy the site of the older one.

The particular proprietor whose arms are so represented, Patrick S——, married Elizabeth B——, who survived him and married a second time. James S——, his son, in 1586, married Mary C——, and after her death, in 1597, Elizabeth R——.

Robert S——, his son by his first marriage, married Margaret C——. John S——, son of Robert, was killed by the Cromwellians, leaving no issue, and was succeeded by his brother, Patrick S——, who married Elizabeth L——.

It is not obvious when they adopted the principles of the Reformation, but it is to be remarked that this Patrick stood high in the favour of James II. (and VII.).

Charles S——, son of the foregoing, married Anne D——, and was succeeded by his third son, another Charles, who married Grizell M——, and died in 1764.

Robert S——, his son, married Isabel H——. Charles S——, his eldest son, died unmarried in 1783.

H—— S——, second son of R—— S——, married Louisa M——, died in 1834, and had issue—Robert, two other sons, and six daughters.

Robert S——, born January 1806, in 1825 entered the military service of the East India Company, from which he retired with the rank of Major in 1850, i.e. sixteen years after succeeding to the property. He died in April 1876. His two brothers both died unmarried, and of his six sisters, three married, and a fourth, Isabella, entered a nunnery. She there professed under the name of "Frances Helen" in 1850, the year of her brother's return from India, and died February 23, 1880, aged sixty-six.

Major S——, by his will dated June 8, 1853, bequeathed B—— to the representatives of his married sister Mary, and on his death was accordingly succeeded by her second (but eldest surviving) son, John, who on succeeding assumed the name of S——.

Major S—— was a Protestant, but this John was a Roman Catholic, like his aunt Isabella. His eldest brother died without issue in 1867, but he had a younger brother, married, with issue, and two sisters, Louisa and Mary, whom Major S——, by a codicil of December 14, 1868, carefully excluded from all benefit under his will.

The register of the parish of L——, in which B—— House is situated, mentions under the date July 14, 1873, the death of Sarah N——, housekeeper of B—— House (single), aged twenty-seven years, daughter of John N——, farmer, and Helen R——. (In Scottish legal documents married women are described by their maiden name.) It is said that her last illness was very short, lasting only three days. Mrs. S—— had the great charity to attend her on her deathbed. It is mentioned in the register, that the official intimation of Sarah N——'s death was given, not by her parents nor by Major S——, but by her uncle, Neil N——.

Major S—— seems to have been somewhat eccentric, and was very fond of dogs, of which he kept a considerable number. He had very strong views upon psychical subjects. He was a believer in spirit-return, and many witnesses have attested that he frequently spoke of his own return after death. Among these psychic beliefs were two relating to animals; and as they are of a kind not very commonly discussed even among spiritualists, and enter, to some extent, into the following narrative, it is convenient here to state them at length. It is very commonly held that the soul or living personality of man, which will survive the change called by us "death," is capable of entering living bodies and making use of their organs. The form in which this belief is most commonly met with, is that of the alleged inspiration of trance mediums by the souls of the dead. Such a case is that of Mrs. Piper, said to have been animated by the soul of Dr. Phinuit and other personalities now disincarnated. It has naturally been argued that if it is possible for the disembodied spirit to occupy and animate the body of a human being, it would, a fortiori, be easy for it to do the same with the body of a beast, where the resistance of will would presumably be less.

This idea, coupled with the belief that the soul can be separated from the body during life, so producing a kind of temporary death, while leaving the body in such a state that it is capable of being again inhabited and animated, lies at the bottom of the numerous statements as to sorcerers and sorceresses changing themselves into hares, wolves, or cats, which are to be found in the records of witch trials.

That this was possible, at least after death, was evidently a strong belief upon the part of Major S——. We are informed that he frequently intimated his intention of entering the body of a particular