"'What! more bad dreams? This sort of thing must be put a stop to,' I
said; and I confess I was very angry with the young rascals. My wife was
fumbling for the match-box. 'Hush!' she whispered, 'there _is_ somebody
in the room.' And _I_, too, at that instant, felt the presence of some
creature besides ourselves and the children. The candle lighted, we
again reconnoitred--nothing to be seen in dressing-room, bed-room, or
_the drawing-room beyond_, the door of which was shut. But the curious
sense of a presence near us--stronger than any feeling of the kind I had
ever previously experienced--was gone. You have all felt the presence of
another person unseen. You may be writing--you have not heard the door
open, but though your back is towards the visitor, you know somehow that
he has entered."
"Quite true, Mr. Henniker--but there is nothing unnatural or unpleasant
in that sensation."
"Nothing, of course; I merely instance it to give you some idea of what
we felt on that occasion. We were astonished to find the sitting-room
untenanted. Meanwhile poor Hal, Jack and Lucy shrieked in chorus 'Oh,
the old woman in the black bonnet! Oh, take her away!'
"Poor Angela, trembling, hung over the cribs trying to soothe the
children.
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