"For my part," said Sir A. C., "I am acquainted with a circumstance that has settled entirely any doubts I might have entertained on the subject of ghosts. Not many miles from my place in S--shire, there is a seat belonging to some connexions of my own. At the time I am about to refer to, an old lady was in possession, and it so happened, that a matter of business arose regarding the heirs of the property, which made it necessary to refer to the title deeds. To the surprise and dismay of the family they could not be found. A vigorous search was instituted, in vain; and the circumstance so preyed on my old relation's mind that she at length committed suicide, under the impression that some one else would lay claim to the estate. "After her death people complained that they could not live there--the place they said was haunted by this old lady, who, with her grey hair dishevelled, and dressed exactly as she used to be in her life time, they described as walking about the house, looking into drawers and cupboards, and incessantly searching for her deeds. We, of course, did not believe in the story, and were not even altogether convinced when the house, after being let to several strangers in succession, who all gave it up on the same plea, seemed destined to remain without an inhabitant. "It had stood empty two or three years, though offered at a very low rent, when a lady and gentleman from the West Indies came into the neighbourhood to visit some acquaintance, and being in want of a residence, and hearing this was to be had on very reasonable terms, they proposed to take it. Their friends told them of the objection made by preceding tenants, but they laughed with scorn at the idea of losing so good a house on account of a ghost; so they closed the bargain, took possession of the place, and sent for their family to join them. "The children, the youngest of whom was between three and four, and the eldest about ten, were, as a temporary arrangement, placed on the first night of their arrival to sleep in one room; but the next morning, when their mother went at a very early hour to see how they were, to her surprise, she found them all wide awake. They were looking pale and weary, and began with one voice to complain that they had been kept awake all night by such a disagreeable old lady, who would keep coming into the room, and looking for something in the drawers. 'I told her I wished she'd go away,' said the eldest, 'and then she did go; but she came back; and we don't like her. Who is she, mamma? Is she to live with us?' "They then, on being questioned, described her appearance, which exactly coincided with the account given by the former tenants. I can vouch for the truth of these circumstances; and since these children had, certainly, never heard a word on the subject of the apparition, and had, indeed, no idea that it was one, 'I think the evidence,' said Sir A. C., 'is quite unexceptionable.'