[TO THE EDITOR OF THE "EPEOTATOR.1 SIR,—If you have space
to insert this, I think those of your readers who were startled by the extraordinary phenomenon quoted from Professor Barrett's paper in your last week's issue will find it interesting.
About two years ago, a lady, shortly after the death of her father-in-law, who had been living with her, was annoyed by constantly hearing a rapping in the upper rooms of her house. She immediately, incredulous though it may seem, concluded that some neighbours living five or six houses off, and who were not on very friendly terms with her, were playing a trick upon her. She thought that they crept along the roof, put something down the chimney, and rapped at the wall, and this she continued to believe, in spite of the facts that the rapping was kept up for several months, often for five or six hours at a time, and that the enemy managed to elude the police and men hired to watch.
The gentleman to whom I am indebted for my information happening to be there with his wife, asked permission to investi- gate the mystery, and went upstairs accompanied by the whole household. The noise was perfectly inexplicable, and conse- quently caused a great deal of amusement. The lady remarked that it would accompany a tune, and requested one of the ser- vants to sing. Some well-known. air was immediately started, and was as immediately acknowledged by the rapping, which followed the notes accurately to the end. The mystery remained a mystery. The rapping entirely ceased a little more than a year ago, and the lady, who is still living, accounts for it in the same way, while the gentleman mentioned above, until he read your article last week, was compelled to attribute it in some way or other to the servants.—I am, Sir, &c., Tome College, Torquay, October 3. H. M. BERNARD.
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