his face turned to the
window, with the room and the large wicker chair of which I have spoken
behind him. The _Gagliarda_ began with a bold and lively air, and as he
played the opening bars, he heard behind him a creaking of the wicker
chair. The sound was a perfectly familiar one--as of some person placing
a hand on either arm of the chair preparatory to lowering himself into
it, followed by another as of the same person being leisurely seated.
But for the tones of the violin, all was silent, and the creaking of the
chair was strangely distinct. The illusion was so complete that my
brother stopped playing suddenly, and turned round expecting that some
late friend of his had slipped in unawares, being attracted by the sound
of the violin, or that Mr. Gaskell himself had returned. With the
cessation of the music an absolute stillness fell upon all; the light of
the single candle scarcely reached the darker corners of the room, but
fell directly on the wicker chair and showed it to be perfectly empty.
Half amused, half vexed with himself at having without reason
interrupted his music, my brother returned to the _Gagliarda_; but some
impulse induced him to light the candles in the sconces, which gave an
illumination more adequate to the occasion. The _Gagliarda_ and the last
movement, a _Minuetto_, were finished, and John closed the book,
intending, as it was now late, to seek his bed. As he shut the pages a
creaking of the wicker chair again attracted his attention, and he heard
distinctly sounds such as would be made by a person raising himself from
a sitting posture. This time, being less surprised, he could more aptly
consider the probable causes of such a circumstance, and easily arrived
at the conclusion that there must be in the wicker chair osiers
responsive to certain notes of the violin, as panes of glass in church
windows are observed to vibrate in sympathy with certain tones of the
organ. But while this argument approved itself to his reason, his
imagination was but half convinced; and he could not but be impressed
with the fact that the second creaking of the chair had been coincident
with his shutting the music-book; and, unconsciously, pictured to
himself some strange visitor waiting until the termination of the music,
and then taking his departure.

His conjectures did not, however, either rob him of sleep or even
disturb it with dreams, and he woke the next morning with a cooler mind
and one less inclined