Thomas fled! Some
few minutes later, at the appointed hour, Jenny arrived on the scene,
and no one was there. She dallied for some time, wondering whatever
could have happened to Thomas, and then returned, full of grave
apprehensions, to the house.

It was not until the next morning that the truth leaked out, and
Jenny, after indulging in a hearty laugh at her lover, who felt very
shamefaced now that it was daylight, sensibly forgave him, and raised
no obstacle when asked to fix a day for their marriage.

In after years, Jenny used to retail the story with many harrowing
allusions to "Pearlin' Jean," whom she somewhat foolishly made use of
as a bogey to frighten children into being good. A Mr. Sharpe, who
when he was a little boy was once placed in her charge, confesses that
he was dreadfully scared at her stories, and that he never ventured
down a passage in those days without thinking "Pearlin' Jean," with
her ghostly, blood-stained face, clawlike hands, and rustling lace
dress, was after him.

Nurse Jenny used to tell him that the Stuarts tried in vain to lay
Jean's spirit, actually going to the length of calling in seven
ministers to exorcise it. But all to no purpose; it still continued
its nocturnal peregrinations.

In the year 1790 the Stuarts let the house to strangers, who, when
they took it, had not the least idea that it was haunted. However,
they did not long remain in ignorance, for two ladies, who occupied
the same bedroom, were awakened in the night by hearing some one
walking across the floor. The "presence" did not suggest burglars, for
the intruder behaved in the most noisy manner, pacing restlessly and
apparently aimlessly backwards and forwards across the room, swishing
the floor (with what sounded like a long lace train) and breathing
heavily. They were both terrified, and so cold that they could hear
one another's teeth chatter. They were too frightened to call for
help; they could only lie still, hoping and praying it would not come
nearer to them. The sufferings of these two ladies were indescribable,
for the ghost remained in their room all night, moving restlessly
about until daybreak. It was not until some days later, when other
people in the house had experienced the phenomenon, that they were
told the story of the notorious "Pearlin' Jean."

But was the so-called "Pearlin' Jean" really the apparition of the
murdered French woman? To my mind, her identity with that of the
beautiful Sis