And he twinkled his eyes at me as much as to say, "I have shut _you_ up. You will not venture to describe any of the marvels you have seen to me after this." Of course the failure did not discompose me, nor shake my belief. I never believed spiritual beings to be omnipotent, omnipresent, nor omniscient. They had failed before, and doubtless they would fail again. But if an acrobatic performer fails to turn a double somersault on to another man's head two or three times, it does not falsify the fact that he succeeds on the fourth occasion. I was sorry that the test had been a failure, for Dr. H----'s sake, but I did not despair of seeing the box again. And at the end of a fortnight it was left at my house by Mr. Olive, with a note to say that it had been found that morning on the mantel-piece in Mr. Haxby's bedroom, and he lost no time in returning it to me. It was wrapt in the brown paper, tied and sealed, apparently just as we had carried it to the _séance_ in Ainger Terrace; and I wrote at once to Dr. H---- announcing its return, and asking him to come over and open it in my presence. He came, took the packet in his hand, and having stripped off the outer wrapper, examined it carefully. There were four tests, it may be remembered, applied to the packet. I. The arterial silk, procurable only from a medical man. II. The knots to be tied only by medical men. III. Dr. H----'s own crest, always kept on his watch chain, as a seal. IV. The lid of the cardboard box, glued all round to the bottom part. As the doctor scrutinized the silk, the knots, and the seals, I watched him narrowly. "Are you _quite sure_," I asked, "that it is the same paper in which you wrapt it?" "I am _quite sure_." "And the same silk?" "Quite sure." "Your knots have not been untied?" "I am positive that they have not." "Nor your seal been tampered with?" "Certainly not! It is just as I sealed it." "Be careful, Dr. H----," I continued. "Remember I shall write down all you say." "I am willing to swear to it in a court of justice," he replied. "Then will you open the packet?" Dr. H---- took the scissors and cut the silk at each seal and knot, then tore off the gummed white writing paper (which was as fresh as when he had put it on), and tried to pull open the card-board box. But as he could not do this in consequence of the lid being glued down, he took out his penknife and cut it all round. As he did so, he looked at me and said, "Mark my words. There will be nothing written on the paper. It is impossible!" He lifted the lid, and behold _the box was empty_! The half sheet of notepaper and the half cedar wood pencil had both _entirely disappeared_. Not a crumb of lead, nor a shred of paper remained behind. I looked at the doctor, and the doctor looked completely bewildered. "_Well!_" I said, interrogatively. He shifted about--grew red--and began to bluster. "What do you make of it?" I asked. "How do you account for it?"