Which was all very well, and might be very true in a general way, but Miss Blake proved the exception to his rule. Of course she amused the jury, in fact, she amused everyone. To get her to give a straightforward answer to any question was simply impossible. Over and over again the judge explained to her that "yes" or "no" would be amply sufficient; but all in vain. She launched out at large in reply to our counsel, who, nevertheless, when he sat down, had gained his point. Miss Blake declared upon oath she had never seen anything worse than herself at River Hall, and did not believe anybody else ever had. She had never been there during Colonel Morris' tenancy, or she must certainly have seen something worse than a ghost, a man ready and anxious to "rob the orphan," and she was going to add the "widow" when peals of laughter stopped her utterance. Miss Blake had no faith in ghosts resident at River Hall, and if anybody was playing tricks about the house, she should have thought a "fighting gentleman by profession" capable of getting rid of them. "Unless he was afraid," added Miss Blake, with withering irony. Then up rose the opposition counsel, who approached her in an easy, conversational manner. "And so you do not believe in ghosts, Miss Blake?" he began. "Indeed and I don't," she answered. "But if we have not ghosts, what is to become of the literature of your country?" he inquired. "I don't know what you mean, by talking about my country," said Miss Blake, who was always proclaiming her nationality, and quarrelling with those who discovered it without such proclamation. "I mean," he explained, "that all the fanciful legends and beautiful stories for which Ireland is celebrated have their origin in the supernatural. There are, for instance, several old families who have their traditional banshee." "For that matter, we have one ourselves," agreed Miss Blake, with conscious pride. At this junction our counsel interposed with a suggestion that there was no insinuation about any banshee residing at River Hall. "No, the question is about a ghost, and I am coming to that. Different countries have different usages. In Ireland, as Miss Blake admits, there exists a very ladylike spirit, who announces the coming death of any member of certain families. In England, we have ghosts, who appear after the death of some members of some families. Now, Miss Blake, I want you to exercise your memory. Do you remember a night in the November after Mr. Elmsdale's death?" "I remember many nights in many months that I passed broken-hearted in that house," she answered, composedly; but she grew very pale; and feeling there was something unexpected behind both question and answer, our counsel looked at us, and we looked back at him, dismayed. "Your niece, being nervous, slept in the same room as that occupied by you?" continued the learned gentleman. "She did," said Miss Blake. Her answer was short enough, and direct enough, at last.