Hast done to me much ill, Thou didst forsake me long ago, Bot I am constant still; For though I ligg in the woods sae cald, At rest I canna bee Until I sucks the gude lyfe blude Of the man that gart me dee.” Hee saw hir lipps were wet wi’ blude, And hee saw hir lufelesse eyne, And loud hee cry’d, “Get frae my syde, Thou vampyr corps encleane!” Bot no, hee is in hir magic boat, And on the wyde, wyde sea; And the vampyr suckis his gude lyfe blude, Sho suckis hym till hee dee. So now beware, whoe’er you are, That walkis in this lone wood: Beware of that deceitfull spright, The ghaist that suckis the blude. Mr Reginald Hodder, in _The Vampire_ (William Rider & Son, Ltd.), has developed a theory which is a novel one in the annals of vampirism. The principal character is a living woman, a member of a secret sisterhood, who is forced to exercise her powers as a vampire to prevent loss of vitality. This power, however, is exercised through the medium of a metallic talisman, and the main thread of the story turns on the struggle for the possession of this talisman. It is wrested ultimately from the hands of those who would use it for malignant purposes, but its recovery is only accomplished by means of a number of extraordinary—though who would dare say impossible?—occult phenomena. CHAPTER XII FACT OR FICTION? While some writers, belonging mainly to what is popularly known as the orthodox school of theology or professing a materialistic philosophy, have expressed an entire disbelief in the alleged phenomena, others, on the other hand, accepting generally the spiritistic or spiritualistic philosophy, have admitted the possibility of the phenomena, though not pledging their acceptance of all or any of the many stories told concerning the deeds, or rather the misdeeds, of the apparitions. Dr Pierart, the well-known French _savant_, maintained that “the facts of vampirism are as well attested by inquiries made as are the facts of catalepsy,” and that “the facts of vampirism are as old as the world,” and pointed to the fact that Tertullian and St Augustine spoke of them.