A Stable for Nightmares; or, Weird Tales by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu and Sir Charles L. Young
DOCTOR FEVERSHAM'S STORY.
"I have made a point all my life," said the doctor, "of believingnothing of the kind."
Much ghost-talk by firelight had been going on in the library atFordwick Chase, when Doctor Feversham made this remark.
"As much as to say," observed Amy Fordwick, "that you are afraid totackle the subject, because you pique yourself on being strong-minded,and are afraid of being convinced against your will."
"Not precisely, young lady. A man convinced against his will is in adifferent state of mind from mine in matters like these. But it is truethat cases in which the supernatural element appears at first sight toenter are so numerous in my profession, that I prefer accepting only thesolutions of science, so far as they go, to entering on any wildspeculations which it would require more time than I should care todevote to them to trace to their origin."
"But without entering fully into the why and wherefore, how can you besure that the proper treatment is observed in the numerous cases ofmental hallucination which must come under your notice?" inquiredLatimer Fordwick, who was studying for the Bar.
"I content myself, my young friend, with following the rules laid downfor such cases, and I generally find them successful," answered the oldDoctor.
"Then you admit that cases have occurred within your knowledge of whichthe easiest apparent solution could be one which involved a belief insupernatural agencies?" persisted Latimer, who was rather prolix andpedantic in his talk.
"I did not say so," said the Doctor.
"But of course he meant us to infer it," said Amy. "Now, my dear oldDoctor, do lay aside professional dignity, and give us one goodghost-story out of your personal experience. I believe you have beendying to tell one for the last hour, if you would only confess it."
"I would rather not help to fill that pretty little head with idlefancies, dear child," answered the old man, looking fondly at Amy, whowas his especial pet and darling.
"Nonsense! You know I am even painfully unimaginative andmatter-of-fact; and as for idle fancies, is it an idle fancy to thinkyou like to please me?" said Amy coaxingly.
"Well, after all, you have been frightening each other with so manythrilling tales for the last hour or two, that I don't suppose I shoulddo much harm by telling you a circumstance which happened to me when Iwas a young man, and has always rather puzzled me."
A murmur of approval ran round the party. All disposed themselves tolisten; and Doctor Feversham, after a prefatory pinch of snuff, began.
"In my youth I resided for some time with a family in the north ofEngland, in the double capacity of secretary and physician. While I wasgoing through the hospitals of Paris I became acquainted with myemployer, whom I will call Sir James Collingham, under rather peculiarcircumstances, which have nothing to do with my story. He had an onlydaughter, who was about sixteen when I first entered the family, and itwas on her account that Sir James wished to have some person with acompetent knowledge of medicine and physiology as one of his household.Miss Collingham was subject to fits of a very peculiar kind, which threwher into a sort of trance, lasting from half an hour to three or evenfour days, according to the severity of the visitation. During theseattacks she occasionally displayed that extraordinary phenomenon whichgoes by the name of clairvoyance. She saw scenes and persons who werefar distant, and described them with wonderful accuracy. Though quiteunconscious of all outward things, and apparently in a state of thedeepest insensibility, she would address remarks to those present whichbore reference to the thoughts then occupying their minds, though theyhad given them no outward expression; and her remarks showed an insightinto matters which had perhaps been carefully kept secret, which mighttruly be termed preternatural. Under these circumstances, Sir James wasvery unwilling to bring her into contact with strangers when it couldpossibly be avoided; and the events which first brought us together,having also led to my treating Miss Collingham rather successfully in asevere attack of her malady, induced her father to offer me a positionin his household which, as a young, friendless man, I was very willingto accept.
"Collingham-Westmore was a very ancient house of great extent, and butindifferently kept in repair. The country surrounding it is of greatnatural beauty, thinly inhabited, and, especially at the time I speakof, before railways had penetrated so far north, somewhat lonely andinaccessible. A group of small houses clustered round the village churchof Westmorton, distant about three miles from the mansion of theCollingham family; and a solitary posting-house, on what was then thegreat north road, could be reached by a horseman in about an hour,though the only practicable road for carriages was at least fifteenmiles from the highway to Collingham-Westmore. Wild and lovely in theeyes of an admirer of nature were the hills and 'cloughs' among which Ipursued my botanical studies for many a long, silent summer day. Myoccupations at the mansion--everybody called it the mansion, and I mustdo so from force of habit, though it sounds rather like a house-agent'sadvertisement--were few and light; the society was not particularly tomy taste, and the fine old library only attracted me on rainy days, ofwhich, truth to say, we had our full share.
"The Collingham family circle comprised a maiden aunt of Sir James, MissPatricia, a stern and awful specimen of the female sex in its fossilstate; her ward, Miss Henderson, who, having long passed her pupilage,remained at Collingham-Westmore in the capacity of gouvernante andcompanion to the young heiress; the heiress aforesaid, and myself. Apriest--did I say that the Collinghams still professed the oldreligion?--came on Sundays and holydays to celebrate mass in the gloomyold chapel; but neighbors there were none, and only about half-a-dozentimes during the four years I was an inmate of the mansion werestrangers introduced into the family party."
"How dreadfully dull it must have been!" exclaimed Amy sympathetically.
"It _was_ dull," answered the Doctor. "Even with my naturally cheerfuldisposition, and the course of study with which I methodically filled upall my leisure hours except those devoted to out-of-door exercise, thegloom of the old mansion weighed upon me till I sometimes felt that Imust give up my situation at all risks, and return to the world, thoughit were to struggle with poverty and friendlessness.
"There was no lack of dismal legends and superstitions connected withthe mansion, and every trifling circumstance that occurred was twistedinto an omen or presage, whether of good or evil, by the highly wroughtfancy of Miss Patricia. These absurdities, together with the pastgrandeur of their house, and the former glories of their religion,formed the staple subjects of conversation when the family wasassembled; and as I became more intimately acquainted with the state ofmy patient, I felt convinced that the atmosphere of gloomy superstitionin which she had been reared had fostered, even if it had not altogetherbeen the cause of, her morbid mental and bodily condition.
"Among the many legends connected with the mansion, one seemed to have apeculiar fascination for Miss Collingham, perhaps because it was themost ghastly and repulsive. One wing of the house was held to be hauntedby the spirit of an ancestress of the family, who appeared in the shapeof a tall woman, with one hand folded in her white robe and the otherpointing upward. It was said, that in a room at the end of the hauntedwing this lady had been foully murdered by her jealous husband. Thewindow of the apartment overhung the wild wooded side of one of the'cloughs' common in the country; and tradition averred that the victimwas thrown from this window by her murderer. As she caught hold of thesill in a last frantic struggle for life, he severed her hand at thewrist, and the mutilated body fell, with one fearful shriek, into thedepth below. Since then, a white shadowy form has forever been sittingat the fatal window, or wandering along the deserted passages of thehaunted wing with the bleeding stump folded in her robe; and in momentsof danger or approaching death to any member of the Collingham family,the same long, wild shriek rises slowly from the wooded cliff and pealsthrough the mansion; while to different individuals of the house, a palehand has now and then been visible, laid on themselves or some other ofthe family, a never-faili
"I need not tell you how false and foolish all this dreary superstitionappeared to me; and I exerted all my powers of persuasion to induce MissPatricia to dwell less on these and similar themes in the presence ofMiss Collingham. But there seemed to be something in the very air of thegloomy old mansion which fostered such delusions; for when I spoke toFather O'Connor the priest, and urged on him the pernicious effect whichwas thus produced on my patient's mind, I found him as fully imbued withthe spirit of credulity as the most hysterical housemaid of them all. Hesolemnly declared to me that he had himself repeatedly seen the palelady sitting at the fatal window, when on his way to and from his homebeyond the hills; and moreover, that on the death of Lady Collingham,which occurred at her daughter's birth, he had heard the long, shrilldeath-scream echo through the mansion while engaged in the last officesof the Church by the bedside of the dying lady.
"So I found it impossible to fight single-handed against these adverseinfluences, and could only endeavor to divert the mind of my patientinto more healthy channels of thought. In this I succeeded perfectly.She became an enthusiastic botanist, and our rambles in search of therare and lovely specimens which were to be found among the woods andmoors surrounding her dwelling did more for her health, both of body andmind, than all the medical skill I could bring to bear on her melancholycase.
"Four years had elapsed since I first took up my abode atCollingham-Westmore. Miss Collingham had grown from a sickly child intoa singularly graceful young woman, full of bright intelligence, eagerfor information, and with scarcely an outward trace remaining of herformer fragile health. Still those mysterious swoons occasionallyvisited her, forming an insurmountable obstacle to her mingling ingeneral society, which she was in all other respects so well fitted toadorn. They occurred without any warning or apparent cause; one momentshe would be engaged in animated conversation, and the next, white andrigid as a statue, she would fall back in her chair insensible to alloutward objects, but rapt and carried away into a world of her own,whose visions she would sometimes describe in glowing language, althoughshe retained no recollection whatever of them when she returned, assuddenly and at as uncertain a period, to her normal condition. On oneof these occasions we were sitting, after dinner, in a large apartmentcalled the summer dining-room. Fruit and wine were on the table, and thelast red beams of the setting sun lighted up the distant woods, whichwere in the first flush of their autumn glory. I turned to remark on thebeautiful effect of light to Miss Collingham, and at the very moment Idid so she fell back in one of her strange swoons. But instead of thedeath-like air which her features usually assumed, a lovely smilelighted them up, and an expression of ecstasy made her beauty appear forthe moment almost superhuman. Slowly she raised her right hand, andpointed in the direction of the setting sun. 'He is coming,' she said insoft, clear tones; 'life and light are coming with him,--life and lightand liberty!'
"Her hand fell gently by her side; the rapt expression faded from hercountenance, and the usual death-like blank overspread it. This trancepassed away like others, and by midnight the house was profoundly still.Soon after that hour a vociferous peal at the great hall-bell rousedmost of the inmates from sleep. My rooms were in a distant quarter ofthe house, and a door opposite to that of my bedroom led to the hauntedwing, but was always kept locked. I started up on hearing a second ring,and looked out, in hopes of seeing a servant pass, and ascertaining thecause of this unusual disturbance. I saw no one, and after listening fora while to the opening of the hall-door, and the sound of distantvoices, I made up my mind that I should be sent for if wanted, andre-entered my room. As I was closing the door, I was rather startled tosee a tall object, of grayish-white color and indistinct form, issuefrom the gallery whose door, as I said before, had always been locked inmy recollection. For a moment I felt as though rooted to the spot, and astrange sensation crept over me. The next, all trace of the appearancehad vanished, and I persuaded myself that what I had seen must have beensome effect of light from the open door of my room.
"The cause of the nightly disturbance appeared at breakfast on thefollowing morning in the shape of a remarkably handsome young man, whowas introduced by Sir James as his nephew, Don Luis de Cabral, the sonof an only sister long dead, who had married a Spaniard of high rank.Don Luis showed but little trace of his southern parentage. If I may soexpress it, all the depth and warmth of coloring in that portion of hisblood which he inherited from his Spanish ancestors came out in theraven-black hair and large lustrous dark eyes, which impressed you atonce with their uncommon beauty. For the rest, he was a fine well-grownyoung man, no darker in complexion than an Englishman might well be, andwith a careless, happy boyishness of manner, which won immediately onthe regard of strangers, and rendered his presence in the house likethat of a perpetual sunbeam. We all wondered, after a little while, whatwe had done before Luis came among us. He was as a son to Sir James;Miss Patricia softened to this new and pleasing interest in hercolorless existence as I could not have believed it was in herfossilized nature to do; Miss Henderson became animated, almost young,under the reviving influence of the youth and joyousness of our newinmate; and I own that I speedily attached myself with a warm andaffectionate regard to the happy, unselfish nature that seemed tobrighten all who came near it.
"But the most remarkable effect of the presence of Don Luis de Cabralamong us was visible in Miss Collingham. 'Love at first sight,' oftenconsidered as a mere phrase, was, in the case of these two youngcreatures, an unmistakable reality. From the moment of their firstmeeting, the cousins were mutually drawn toward each other; and seeingthe bright and wonderful change wrought by the presence of Don Luis inBlanche Collingham, I could not but remember, with the interest thatattaches to a curious psychological phenomenon, the words she uttered inher trance on the eve of his arrival. 'Life, light, and liberty,'indeed, appeared given to all that was best and brightest in her nature.Her health improved visibly, and her beauty, always touching, becameradiant in its full development. My duties toward her were now merelynominal; and when, about two months later, Sir James announced to me herapproaching marriage, and confessed that it was with this object he hadinvited Don Luis to come and make the acquaintance of his Englishrelations, the strong opinions I entertained against the marriage offirst cousins, and also on the especial inadvisability of any project ofmarriage in the case of Miss Collingham, could not prevent my heartyrejoicing in the fair prospect of happiness in which two persons whodeeply interested me were indulging.
"Winter set in early and severely that year among our northern hills,and with a view to Blanche's removal from its withering influence, whichI always considered prejudicial to her, the preparations for themarriage were hurried on, and the ceremony was fixed to take place aboutthe middle of December. The travelling-carriage which was to convey theyoung couple on their way southward was to arrive at the nearestrailway-station--then more than thirty miles distant--a week before themarriage; and as some important portions of the trousseau, together witha valuable package of jewels intended by Don Luis as presents for hisbride, were expected at the same time, the young man announced hisintention of riding across the hills to ----, in order to superintendthe conveyance of the carriage and its contents along the rough mountainroads that it must traverse.
"We were all sitting around the great fireplace in the winter parlor onthe evening before his departure. Miss Collingham had been languid anddepressed throughout the day, and often adverted to the long wintry ridehe was to undertake in a strain of apprehension at which Don Luislaughed gayly. To divert her mind, he recounted various adventureswhich had befallen him in foreign lands, with a vigorous simplicity ofdescription which enchained her attention and interested us all.
"Suddenly, so sitting, Miss Collingham leaned forward, and in a changed,eager voice exclaimed, 'Luis, take away your hand from your throat!'
"We looked. Luis' hands were lying one over the other on his knee in acareless attitude that was habitual to him.
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"Miss Collingham started to her feet as she uttered these words almostin a shriek, and then fell back rigid and senseless, her outstretchedhand still pointing to her betrothed.
"The fit was a severe one, but by morning it had yielded to remedies,and Luis set off early on his ride, to make the most of the shortdaylight, and intending to return with the carriage on the morrow. Allthat day Miss Collingham remained in a half-conscious state. It was adreary day of gloom, with a piercing north wind, and toward evening thesnow began to fall in those close, compact flakes which forebode a heavystorm. We were glad to think that Luis must have reached his destinationbefore it began; but when the next morning dawned on a wide expanse ofsnow, and the air was still thick with fast-falling flakes, it wasfeared that the state of the roads would preclude all hope of thearrival of the carriage on that day.
"My patient took no heed of the untoward state of the weather. She wasstill in a drowsy condition, very unlike that which usually succeededher attacks, and Miss Henderson, who had watched by her through thenight, told me she spoke more than once in a strange, excited manner, asthough carrying on a conversation with some one whom she appeared to seeby her bedside. As the good lady, however, could give but a veryimperfect and incoherent account of what had passed, I was left in somedoubt as to whether Miss Collingham had seen more or Miss Henderson lessthan there really was to be seen, as I had before had reason to believethat she was not a very vigilant nurse.
"So the hours went on, and night closed in. Sir James began to feel someuneasiness at the non-appearance, not only of Don Luis, but also of thepriest, who was to have arrived at Collingham-Westmore on that day.
"On questioning some of the servants who had been out of the house, theabsence of Father O'Connor at least was satisfactorily accounted for:they all declared that it would be quite impossible for those bestacquainted with the hills to find their way across them in the blindingdrifts which had never ceased throughout the day. We concluded thatFather O'Connor and Don Luis were alike storm-stayed, and had no remedybut patience.
"Late in the evening--it must have been near midnight--I was in MissCollingham's dressing-room with Miss Patricia, who intended to watch byher through the night. We were talking by the fire, of the snow-stormwhich still continued, and of the hindrance it might prove to themarriage--the day fixed for which was now less than a weekdistant--when we heard a voice in the adjoining room, where we imaginedthe object of our care to be sleeping. We went in. Miss Collingham wassitting up in bed, her eyes wide open, in one of her rigid fits. She wasspeaking rapidly in a low tone, unlike her usual voice.
"'You cannot get through all that snow,' she said. 'Get help; there aremen not far off with spades. Oh, be careful! You are off the road! Stop,stop! that is the way to Armstrong's Clough. Does not the postboy knowthe road? He is bewildered. I tell you it is madness to go on. See, oneof the horses has fallen; he kicks--he will hit you! Oh, how dark it is!And the snow covers your lantern, and you cannot see the edge. Now thehorse is up again, but he cannot go on. Do not beat him, Luis; it is nothis fault, poor beast; the snow is too thick, and you are on roughground. Now he rears--he backs--the other one backs also--the wheel ofthe carriage is over the edge--ah!'
"The scream with which these wild, hurried words ended seemed to betaken up and echoed from a distance. Miss Patricia stared at me with aghastly white face of horror, and I felt my blood curdle as that long,shrill, unearthly shriek pealed through the silent passages. It grewlouder and nearer, and seemed to sweep through the room, dying away inthe opposite direction. Miss Patricia fell forward without a word in adead faint.
"I looked at Miss Collingham; she had not moved, or shown any sign ofhearing or heeding that awful sound. In a few seconds the room wasfilled with terrified women, roused from their sleep by the weird crywhich rang through the house. Miss Patricia was conveyed by some of themto her own room, where, after much difficulty, we restored her toconsciousness. Her first act was to grasp me by the arm.
"'Mr. Feversham, for the love of the Holy Virgin do not leave me! I haveseen that which I cannot look upon and live.'
"I soothed her as best I might, and at last persuaded her to allow me toleave her with her own maid in order to visit my other patient,promising to return shortly.
"I found no change whatever in Miss Collingham. Sir James was in theroom trying to establish some degree of calmness and order among theterrified women. We succeeded in persuading most of them to take arestorative and return to bed, and leaving two of the mostself-possessed to watch beside Miss Collingham, who was still completelyinsensible, we went together to Miss Patricia's room.
"'Brother, I have seen her!' she exclaimed on Sir James' entrance.
"'Seen who, my dear Patricia?'
"'The pale lady--the spectre of our house,' she replied, shuddering fromhead to foot. 'She passed through the room, her hand upraised, and theblood-spots on her garment. Oh, James! my time is come, and FatherO'Connor is not here.'
"Sir James did not attempt to combat his sister's superstitious terrors,but appeared, on the contrary, almost as deeply impressed as herself,and questioned her closely about the apparition. Her answers led to somemention of the strange vision which Miss Collingham was describing inher trance just before the scream was heard. At Sir James' request I putdown in writing, as nearly as I could remember, all she had said, and sogreat was the impression it made on my mind that I believe I recalledher very words. Knowing all we did of her abnormal condition while in astate of trance, it was impossible not to fear that she might have beendescribing a scene that was actually occurring at the time; and SirJames determined to send out a party, as soon as daylight came, on theroad by which Don Luis must arrive.
"The morning dawned brightly, with a keen frost, and several men weresent off along the road to ---- with the first rays of light.
"Some hours afterward Father O'Connor arrived, having made his way withconsiderable difficulty across the hill. Miss Patricia claimed his firstattention, for my unhappy charge remained senseless and motionless asever.
"After a long conference, he came to me with grave looks.
"'She is at the window this day,' he said, shaking his head sorrowfully,when I had told him my share of the last night's singular experiences.'The pale lady is there; I saw her as I came by the bridge as plainly asnow I see you. We shall have evil tidings of that poor lad beforenightfall, or I am strangely mistaken.'
"Evil tidings indeed they were that reached us on the return of some ofthe exploring-party. They were first attracted from following as nearlyas they could the line of road, blocked as it was with drifts of snow byhearing the howling of a dog at some little distance, in the directionof the precipitous ravine which went by the name of 'Armstrong'sClough.' Following the sound, they came upon traces of wheels in thehill-side, where no carriage could have gone had it not been for thedeep snow which concealed and smoothed away the inequalities of theground. These marks were traced here and there till they led to theverge of the precipice, where a struggle had evidently taken place, andmasses of snow had been dislodged and fallen into the ravine.
"Looking below, the only thing they could see in the waste of snow was alittle dog, who was known to be in the habit of running with thepost-horses from ----, which was scraping wildly in the snow and fillingthe air with its dismal howlings. A considerable circuit had to be madebefore the bottom of the clough could be reached, and then the wholetragedy was revealed. There lay the broken carriage, the dead horses,and two stiffened corpses under the snow, that had drifted over andaround them.
"I need not pursue the melancholy story; I was an old fool for tellingit to you," said the Doctor.
"But Miss Collingham--what became of her?" asked an eager listener.
"Well, she did not recover," answered the Doctor with a slight tremblingin his voice. "It was a sad matter altogether; and within a short timeshe lay beside her betrothed in the family vault below the chapel. SirJames broke up
"And what did you do, Doctor?"
"I went to London, to seek my fortune as best I might; and I hope youmay all prosper as well, my young friends."
"And is it all really true?" asked Amy, who had listened with breathlessattention.
"That is the worst of it; it really is," said the Doctor.