The Highland monthly - National Library of Scotland

A Ceilidh. 619
" It was that of a man whom I had never seen before
his wraith appeared to me. It was many years ago, about
thirty, I daresay. One fine sunny afternoon towards the
end of summer, I was sitting outside in front of the house
mending a fishing-rod. I happened to look up from my
work, and I perceived a well-dressed man coming in sight
at a turn in the road, and walking rapidly towards the
house. I watched him, wondering who he was, until he left
the main road and took the branch leading up to our door.
Thinking he had some business with me, I entered the
house and told my wife to tidy up the parlour for the
reception of a gentleman who was coming up the road, and
immediately I went out again to meet him, I wasn't more
than ten seconds inside, and what was my astonishment to
find that the stranger had disappeared. You know that
from my house the view is unbroken on all sides for the
distance of at least half-a-mile. I went round to the back
of the house and again entered and asked my wife if she
had seen the stranger. She looked at me in surprise and
said she hadn't, that she thought I had gone out to meet
him. I told her of his mysterious disappearance, and she
hinted that I must have been dreaming. This exasperated
me so much that to convince her I was never more awake
in my life, I minutely described the man's personal appearance,
and the manner in which he was dressed. He was
young and seemed to be slightly under the average height,
dark and rather good-looking, with side-whiskers and a
moustache. He was dressed in a grey knicker-bocker suit,
with cap and gaiters to match, and he carried a slender
black cane in his right hand. In a short time, however,
the incident was forgotten. About six weeks afterwards
our youngest girl, Nelly, then about three years old, one
night became suddenly ill. I despatched a messenger
early next morning to Lochoran for the doctor, a young
man who had come to the parish a {q.\v days before. About
noon the same day I was sitting outside the house waiting
impatiently for the doctor, when I observed a man dressed