- 2 days ago
1. The Three Notebooks
The Mist in the Mirror by Susan Hill
Episode 1 of 5 00:00
Some of the extraordinary events that occurred during his travels are revealed by Sir James Monmouth, at a gentleman's club...
Susan Hill's atmospheric and chilling ghost story.
Abridged in five parts by Oliver Reynolds.
Read by Gareth Armstrong
With John Moffatt as the Narrator.
Producer: Jocelyn Boxall
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 1994.
2. The Ragged Boy
The Mist in the Mirror by Susan Hill
Episode 2 of 5 14:49
Sir James Monmouth is obsessed by Conrad Vane.
As he continues his research into the explorer, mysterious events unfold as the mirror mists up...
Susan Hill's atmospheric and chilling ghost story.
Abridged by Oliver Reynolds.
Read by Gareth Armstrong
With John Moffatt as the Narrator.
Producer: Jocelyn Boxall
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 1994.
3. Close to Home
The Mist in the Mirror by Susan Hill
Episode 3 of 5 29:35
As he obsesses over explorer Conrad Vane, a startling connection comes to light for Sir James Monmouth...
Susan Hill's atmospheric and chilling ghost story.
Abridged by Oliver Reynolds.
Read by Gareth Armstrong
With John Moffatt as the Narrator.
Producer: Jocelyn Boxall
4. The Familiar Surroundings
The Mist in the Mirror by Susan Hill
Episode 4 of 5 44:11
Another eerie visitation leads Sir James Monmouth north to a grim appointment...
Susan Hill's atmospheric and chilling ghost story.
Abridged by Oliver Reynolds.
Read by Gareth Armstrong
With John Moffatt as the Narrator.
Producer: Jocelyn Boxall
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 1994.
5. Waves of Evil
The Mist in the Mirror by Susan Hill
Episode 5 of 5 58:58:05
Sir James Monmouth's eerie obsession reaches a terrifying conclusion, but is that the end of the story?
Conclusion of Susan Hill's atmospheric and chilling ghost story.
Abridged by Oliver Reynolds.
Read by Gareth Armstrong
With John Moffatt as the Narrator.
Producer: Jocelyn Boxall
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 1994.
Do you enjoy the variety on Oldtuberadio?
Like, Share and Subscribe to be notified of our new shows
#radio #crime #thriller #drama
To Support this channel please visit
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https://ko-fi.com/oldtuberadio98
https://www.patreon.com/oldtuberadio
https://locals.com/Oldtuberadio
The Mist in the Mirror by Susan Hill
Episode 1 of 5 00:00
Some of the extraordinary events that occurred during his travels are revealed by Sir James Monmouth, at a gentleman's club...
Susan Hill's atmospheric and chilling ghost story.
Abridged in five parts by Oliver Reynolds.
Read by Gareth Armstrong
With John Moffatt as the Narrator.
Producer: Jocelyn Boxall
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 1994.
2. The Ragged Boy
The Mist in the Mirror by Susan Hill
Episode 2 of 5 14:49
Sir James Monmouth is obsessed by Conrad Vane.
As he continues his research into the explorer, mysterious events unfold as the mirror mists up...
Susan Hill's atmospheric and chilling ghost story.
Abridged by Oliver Reynolds.
Read by Gareth Armstrong
With John Moffatt as the Narrator.
Producer: Jocelyn Boxall
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 1994.
3. Close to Home
The Mist in the Mirror by Susan Hill
Episode 3 of 5 29:35
As he obsesses over explorer Conrad Vane, a startling connection comes to light for Sir James Monmouth...
Susan Hill's atmospheric and chilling ghost story.
Abridged by Oliver Reynolds.
Read by Gareth Armstrong
With John Moffatt as the Narrator.
Producer: Jocelyn Boxall
4. The Familiar Surroundings
The Mist in the Mirror by Susan Hill
Episode 4 of 5 44:11
Another eerie visitation leads Sir James Monmouth north to a grim appointment...
Susan Hill's atmospheric and chilling ghost story.
Abridged by Oliver Reynolds.
Read by Gareth Armstrong
With John Moffatt as the Narrator.
Producer: Jocelyn Boxall
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 1994.
5. Waves of Evil
The Mist in the Mirror by Susan Hill
Episode 5 of 5 58:58:05
Sir James Monmouth's eerie obsession reaches a terrifying conclusion, but is that the end of the story?
Conclusion of Susan Hill's atmospheric and chilling ghost story.
Abridged by Oliver Reynolds.
Read by Gareth Armstrong
With John Moffatt as the Narrator.
Producer: Jocelyn Boxall
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 1994.
Do you enjoy the variety on Oldtuberadio?
Like, Share and Subscribe to be notified of our new shows
#radio #crime #thriller #drama
To Support this channel please visit
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/oldtuberadio
https://ko-fi.com/oldtuberadio98
https://www.patreon.com/oldtuberadio
https://locals.com/Oldtuberadio
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FunTranscript
00:00:00London, and the library of my club, towards the end of an afternoon in late November.
00:00:05The lamps were lit, and a good fire crackled in the great stone fireplace.
00:00:10I had a mind to drink a quiet pot of tea and glance at the early edition of the evening paper, content in my own company.
00:00:17Nevertheless, I responded readily enough to the nod of the man seated a little apart in one of the deep recesses between reading desks,
00:00:24for he always cut a melancholy figure, and my conscience was pricked by seeing him alone.
00:00:30Sir James Monmouth was a reserved, still handsome man, and what I knew of him, I liked.
00:00:36I said cheerfully as the tea arrived,
00:00:39I had an excellent walk. I confess to loving the streets of London, no matter the weather.
00:00:44Ah, Sir James said, the London streets. Yes, a man may walk for many an hour through them.
00:00:52You are generally here, Sir James?
00:00:55Yes, yes, generally here. I pray I may always be so.
00:00:59Oh, for this place is home to me now, and friends and family too.
00:01:05Something in his tone affected me, so that I felt a sudden unease.
00:01:11But a couple of my friends came across to join us, and the mood was lifted.
00:01:14The subject of ghosts was raised, as we sat in the smoking-room after dinner,
00:01:20and over glasses and pipes the story of the club ghost was told, and reckoned to be a feeble and unremarkable one.
00:01:27And so the subject was dropped, and we went on to talk of quite other matters.
00:01:31The party broke up just before midnight, and Sir James and I left together.
00:01:37I was sure he had not come out with me simply in order to stretch his legs after an evening seated indoors.
00:01:44His beak-nosed face was gaunt and skull-like beneath the thin hair.
00:01:49I realized that he was much older than I had supposed.
00:01:54I could not help but overhear your conversation in the smoking-room.
00:02:00Oh, that was idle enough talk, but you appeared more serious.
00:02:05I have a story which perhaps you might care to read.
00:02:11A true story or a fiction?
00:02:12You are an author, Sir James?
00:02:13No, no, no, it is merely an account of certain events.
00:02:21Just then footsteps began to be heard at the far end of the street.
00:02:24Sir James turned his head quickly and peered through the murk.
00:02:27Then, abruptly, his hand shot out and he clutched my arm.
00:02:31I beg you, he said, read it.
00:02:35It was several days before I was at the club again.
00:02:38I came in through the swing doors to be greeted by Sidom, the porter.
00:02:41Oh, one moment, if you please, sir, I have a package for you entrusted to my keeping, given to me by Sir James Monmouth.
00:02:48I put the packet with my coat and went in to enjoy a whisky and soda.
00:02:52I spoke to no one, and after a browse through a pile of sporting periodicals, my eyes felt heavy enough to prompt me to think of making for home.
00:03:00The walk through a very cold night stirred me fully awake again, and not wanting to turn in, I decided to glance at the first pages of what turned out to be a trio of quarto-sized notebooks bound in plain black leather.
00:03:19The manuscript was handwritten in a neat, elegant script.
00:03:23I suppose that I intended to read for an hour at most, but dawn, seeping in around the edges of the curtains, found me still in my armchair, the finished manuscript fallen into my lap, and I into a fitful, uneasy sleep.
00:03:44Rain. Rain. Rain all day, all evening. The back end of the year.
00:03:53There had been no such rain in Africa, India, the Far East, those countries in which I had spent as much of my life as I could remember.
00:04:00And now I was here, alone in that London rain, in the autumn of my fortieth year.
00:04:06My story up to that date may be told briefly enough.
00:04:10I knew only that I had been sent abroad from England when I was five years old, after the death of my parents, about whom I knew nothing.
00:04:18My past memories were all of life as a young boy in Africa, with the man who was my guardian, an old friend of my mother's family.
00:04:26He never spoke to me at all about my birth, early upbringing, home, or family.
00:04:32After some years we went to India, and thence to Ceylon, where it was proposed that I learn the tea trade.
00:04:39But secretly I began to plan for myself the life of a nomad, full of exploration and adventure.
00:04:46I had read in particular about the journeys and work of a man I came to regard as one of the greatest of all pioneering travellers.
00:04:53His name was Conrad Vane.
00:04:58When I was seventeen, my guardian was taken very suddenly ill, and as is the way with many a man who contracts one of the dreadful fevers,
00:05:06went from robust health to the point of death in barely twenty-four hours.
00:05:11For the next twenty years I had travelled, in India and all over Africa, and finally in the remotest areas of China.
00:05:19At first my travelling had been more or less without purpose.
00:05:23But soon I had begun to fulfil my ambition of following in the footsteps of Conrad Vane.
00:05:28It was a satisfying life.
00:05:30But it came to an abrupt end when I contracted a debilitating illness in Penang.
00:05:35I was a middle-aged man, and had undertaken virtually every journey Vane himself had made.
00:05:40I had occasionally met people from England.
00:05:45Now I conceived a longing to go back there.
00:05:49Above all, I wanted to discover more about the early life of Conrad Vane,
00:05:53before he had embarked upon his travels and begun to write about them.
00:05:56And I had some idea of paying my eventual tribute to him in a book.
00:06:00I sold most of my possessions, packed up the rest, and booked my passage.
00:06:06And now here I was, alone, in the London rain.
00:06:10I obtained from the shipping company offices a couple of addresses of inns at which I might put up.
00:06:19After taking some wrong turnings and having to retrace my steps,
00:06:22I came upon Key Pack Hyde Street, and almost by accident, the door of the Cross Keys.
00:06:28As I stood getting my bearings, my eye was caught by some slight movement, and I glimpsed a figure.
00:06:38It seemed to be that of a boy, some twelve or thirteen years old, thin, with a pale face above a dirty, collarless shirt.
00:06:48For a second, no more, I saw him look full at me, and then passed me quickly, as if anxious or afraid to meet my eye.
00:06:58When I looked back, the boy was gone.
00:07:04I turned and entered the inn.
00:07:07All was dark and silent, save for somewhere within the heavy ticking of a grandfather clock.
00:07:13And then, without warning, there came a sudden, terrible cry,
00:07:16a screech or scream like the cattle of some creature in its death throes.
00:07:19It came once, ripping into the quiet building, and then twice more, a dreadful noise that set my heart racing.
00:07:26The room was quite empty.
00:07:29And I was about to reach for the small bell on the bar top, when, glancing upwards, I saw a great oval brass cage.
00:07:36A parrot, with dull green, mouldy-looking feathers and a dreadful hook of a beak, sat there, perched on one leg.
00:07:44Its eye glittered, and it stared malevolently straight at me.
00:07:48I felt my blood run cold.
00:07:51Far, far at the back of my mind was some forgotten memory, I supposed from remotest childhood.
00:07:57What was it?
00:07:58Where had I seen such a bird, heard such a cry, and why did it so terrify me?
00:08:04I was rescued by the entrance of a heavy-jowled fellow.
00:08:10The room he showed me into was small but clean.
00:08:13I washed and made my way down to the bar, where I was served a plain, decent supper in a corner.
00:08:17I took a single glass of brandy and then returned to my room and went to sleep.
00:08:22When I awoke and turned up the lamp, my watch showed that it was not yet midnight.
00:08:26I was now so wide awake and full of a sudden restless energy, a desire for fresh air and movement, that I dressed and went back downstairs.
00:08:37The bar was empty and the dreadful parrot-cage covered over with a maroon shawl, but the landlord was still about, clearing pots, and he agreed curtly to leave the front door unlatched.
00:08:47I was to bar it on my return.
00:08:50I retraced the route by which I had come earlier in the day, and before long came to the River Thames.
00:08:56The moon was three-quarters full, riding high and giving enough pale light to see by.
00:09:03I should have felt uneasy or afraid, so strange was it all, but I did not.
00:09:09I had the odd sensation that I was following after someone, or that I was in quest of something, and very close to finding it around the next corner, or the next.
00:09:18A hundred yards or so ahead of me stood a great black railway arch, and beyond that, higher, more open ground.
00:09:28I was lost.
00:09:32I stood wondering what best I might do.
00:09:34When catching some slight movement a yard or two behind me, I turned, and again glimpsed the figure of the boy.
00:09:42He had been following me then, I was quite sure.
00:09:44I took a firm step in his direction, half raised my hand to stay him.
00:09:48At that moment a railway train came, roaring across the bridge in a great clatter and belch of smoke and livid flame, sparks showering upwards from its funnel.
00:09:57And then it was gone, and the smell of soot and steam drifted down to me upon the cold air.
00:10:03I turned back towards the boy, but he had slipped away, melting into the darkness, and I was left to try and make my way back alone.
00:10:15I spent the following week walking about London.
00:10:22Before embarking on my voyage to England, I had written two letters, the first to an antiquarian bookseller who had some interest in the voyages of Conrad Vane,
00:10:30and the second to the high master of a public school Vane had attended, some twenty miles up the river from London.
00:10:36I now arranged to meet the Reverend Archibald Votable, high master of Alton, at the Athenaeum Club in Pall Mall,
00:10:44but first to visit Mr. Theodore Beamish's bookshop and offices in the district of Hoban.
00:10:52A doorbell had jangled rather rustily as I entered the shop below.
00:10:55My footsteps had echoed on the bare floorboards, but no one came out to greet me or inquire my business.
00:11:00I looked along the shelves at random, until I came upon a book about that part of China in which I had travelled only a few years previously.
00:11:09As I began to turn the pages, I became aware of a strange, uncomfortable sensation, as if I were being watched.
00:11:17But there was no one, I was quite alone.
00:11:20I set the book carefully upon the shelf, and as I did so turned my head.
00:11:26In the street outside stood the boy.
00:11:28He was dressed in the same ragged, collarless shirt as before, but he looked even frailer.
00:11:34His mouth pinched, his eyes huge and hollow and bright, as if he had a fever.
00:11:39But it was his expression which struck me with such force, and awoke an immediate response from deep within me, and chilled and frightened me, too.
00:11:47It was one of such fear, and misery and desperation, a pleading, anguished look that he directed at me, so that I could do no other than plunge out of the shop to try and reach him, rescue him.
00:12:01I scarcely knew what.
00:12:02But as I flung open the door and hurtled down the steps, I was almost put on my back by a huge, gangling youth coming up to the shop door and colliding with me.
00:12:12In his arms was a broad, shallow basket covered in a cloth, from which a hot, savoury smell arose, and as I regaled backwards and tried to recover myself, he said,
00:12:22Mr. Monmouth, I take it, sir, and this one's yours and Mr. Beamish's dinner you had nearly spread across the street.
00:12:27Mr. Beamish attacked his food with complete and vigorous concentration, sucked down the dregs of his ale, and wiped his little pursed, pink mouth.
00:12:39What set you on to vain?
00:12:41He was looking at me closely.
00:12:43What do you know of him?
00:12:45What, that he first journeyed across—no, no, not where?
00:12:49Him.
00:12:51Beamish had arrived at once at the nub of my reason for being here.
00:12:55Precious little, I said at last.
00:12:57I'm hoping that you, among others, can tell me much more.
00:13:01Why?
00:13:02I blustered.
00:13:03He was making me feel uncommonly nervous and unsure of myself.
00:13:07I suppose.
00:13:09Well, it is simply a task that I have set myself.
00:13:12It attracts me.
00:13:14And I have nothing else to do.
00:13:16Then you should make it your business to find something.
00:13:19Leave be, Mr. James Monmouth.
00:13:21That's my advice to you.
00:13:22Leave be.
00:13:23You've travelled.
00:13:25You're safely returned.
00:13:26Your luck held.
00:13:27Don't tempt fate.
00:13:29Fate?
00:13:30How, here in England, in the safety of this snug little island?
00:13:34Here, he said, here will be the most perilous of all.
00:13:39It is evil of which I speak, Monmouth.
00:13:41Wickedness.
00:13:42Things best left concealed, undisturbed.
00:13:45Whoever is touched by vain, suffers.
00:13:47Mr. Beamish.
00:13:48Mr. Beamish.
00:13:49The man is dead.
00:13:51Ah, yes.
00:13:53Then of what do we speak?
00:13:55You may ask.
00:13:57You may ask.
00:13:58For a split second, then, looking into his face, hearing his voice in that gloomy room, I was gripped by a cold, dreadful fear.
00:14:09It entered like a splinter of ice going to my heart, and I now know that it never truly left me.
00:14:15However vague and odd the tales Beamish was concealing from me, there was some dark truth underlying them, some story of human depravity and misery.
00:14:24Perhaps I could have heeded his words then, and I am sure that it was not mere cussedness and strong will that influenced me.
00:14:34Yet the more he had spoken of vain, the more fascinated I had become.
00:14:40The Mist in the Mirror by Susan Hill was read by Gareth Armstrong and John Moffat, abridged by Oliver Reynolds and produced by Jocelyn Boxall.
00:14:49I had been in London for almost three weeks, and growing used to it.
00:14:54Once or twice, in the East and in India, I had visited a gentleman's club, and sat in bamboo chairs under a fan, so that I assumed that I would feel at home as well in the Athenaeum club pall-mall as anywhere.
00:15:07But at the sight of the vast marble hall and rising staircase, and the glimpses through open doors to formal panelled rooms beyond, I all but turned tail and fled.
00:15:19But before I had time to do so, I heard a strong Scots voice behind me.
00:15:23Mr. James Monmouth, I am sure.
00:15:26I spun round.
00:15:28The Reverend Archibald Votable was a man well over six feet tall, broad-shouldered, and dressed in clerical collar and black suit.
00:15:37When we were sitting over glasses of Madeira before a somewhat reluctant and smoky fire, I began to feel a little more assured and at ease with him.
00:15:45He was a man who invited confidence.
00:15:49What reason do you have for wanting to research into the life of this man?
00:15:55I noted that he did not speak the name.
00:15:59Vain exerts a peculiar fascination upon me.
00:16:03Be wary.
00:16:04But of what?
00:16:07Of some dreadful danger?
00:16:09What risk am I taking?
00:16:11No, no, no, no, he made to sound jovial, dismissive of my fears.
00:16:16There is nothing so definite.
00:16:20Then why make mention of it at all?
00:16:22Why warn me?
00:16:24Because you are honest, Mr. Monmouth.
00:16:28Honest and innocent.
00:16:30I left him on the steps of the building, an august, commanding figure.
00:16:38He had given me an introduction to the school archivist, and told me there was a set of guest rooms which I would be welcome to make use of.
00:16:46On another matter, he recalled my saying that I was seeking rooms in proximity to the river.
00:16:51He had heard of some which might be suitable at Prickett's Green, Chelsea, part of estates belonging to the school.
00:16:57Number seven, Prickett's Green, was at the end of the small row, looking west.
00:17:05The caretaker opened the door to me, and at the foot of the old staircase turned up the gas, which gave some dim illumination to our ascent.
00:17:13I take it the house is empty, I said, pausing to get my breath.
00:17:18Always except in the basement?
00:17:22In which you live?
00:17:24He nodded, but did not otherwise reply, and then unlocked a door and stood back to let me pass through.
00:17:30As I did so, I was unable to restrain my exclamation of surprise and pleasure.
00:17:35The room extended the whole length of the house, some thirty feet or so, and with three sets of tall windows, I stepped over to them.
00:17:44Below lay the river, almost completely dark now, but still just flushed over its surface by the last light from the sky.
00:17:53And as I looked, the lamps began to come on, one by one, along the embankment.
00:17:58And then I knew that when I looked downwards, I should see him, and knew precisely where he would be, huddled close under a lamp.
00:18:09I was not afraid on this occasion, though I began to be agitated.
00:18:15He stood pale, ragged, utterly still in a circle of lamplight, and as I stared directly at him, he raised his head,
00:18:24turned his face up to me, his eyes seeking mine out.
00:18:29And so we stayed, as if frozen in some other time and place,
00:18:34I, James Monmouth, in the dark upper room of the house,
00:18:37and the ghost of the boy in the cold street below.
00:18:44Two days later I had moved out from the Cross Keys Inn and into the rooms at No. 7, Prickett's Green.
00:18:49I did not see the boy again, and indeed with some curious extra sense I seemed to be developing,
00:18:55knew that I would not.
00:18:56All was open, cheerful, and unremarkable.
00:18:59I was too busy about my domestic matters to think much at all of Conrad Vane.
00:19:03But I planned to settle myself, and then to travel down to the school and spend some days there,
00:19:08making a start on my work.
00:19:11The fine weather changed on the morning of my departure.
00:19:15I arrived at Waterloo with scarcely a minute to spare,
00:19:18and was obliged to run along the platform and jump into the first available compartment.
00:19:21I found myself alone with a striking-looking woman,
00:19:25and I judged her from my covert glances to be in the prime of her middle years,
00:19:31wealthy and well-connected.
00:19:34Before long I turned away to read my newspaper.
00:19:36When I glanced up again, I saw that it had begun to snow.
00:19:42We stopped at a station, and then another, but no one got into our compartment.
00:19:47I became conscious that the woman opposite was regarding me steadily,
00:19:52and in the end was made uncomfortable by it, and would have spoken,
00:19:56had we not just then stopped at a small station.
00:19:59I looked out.
00:20:02The snow was like feathers flying about the sky.
00:20:07Go back.
00:20:09I spun round.
00:20:10She had spoken in a low but quite firm, clear tone.
00:20:14I beg your pardon.
00:20:17Her eyes were very blue and slightly widened,
00:20:19as though she was seeing not me but something beyond.
00:20:23You should not go.
00:20:25I sense it very strongly.
00:20:27Quite suddenly her expression changed.
00:20:31She came out of her trance-like state.
00:20:34I must apologise, but when it is so clear I cannot help myself.
00:20:40It comes without warning.
00:20:41From the moment you entered the compartment,
00:20:44my name is Viola Quincebridge.
00:20:46My husband is Sir Lionel, the judge.
00:20:49It is sometimes very awkward that I know,
00:20:53am told these things, am given warnings.
00:20:55I become so horribly aware of, oh, an imminent death, danger,
00:21:01of evil surrounding someone.
00:21:04And have these feelings ever proved correct?
00:21:07Oh, yes, always.
00:21:09When I know the outcome, that is.
00:21:12Of course, I very often do not.
00:21:15I do not choose.
00:21:19Then I found myself beginning to speak about myself,
00:21:23my plans for the future,
00:21:24and the work on Conrad Vane.
00:21:27I am on my way to his old school,
00:21:29where the library has papers, letters, and so forth.
00:21:32I intend to stay there for a few days and begin my researches.
00:21:35Her face remained thoughtful.
00:21:38And then?
00:21:40What will you do at Christmas, Mr. Monmouth?
00:21:43I confess I have given it no thought whatsoever.
00:21:46She opened her handbag and took out a card.
00:21:49That is our address.
00:21:51We are only a few miles or so from the school.
00:21:53Come to us.
00:21:54We shall be quite a large party.
00:21:55You will fit in perfectly.
00:21:57I can't think of your being alone in a strange country at Christmas.
00:22:00I felt a warmth and pleasure within me as a result of her invitation.
00:22:06Her odd warnings and forebodings I preferred to set quietly aside.
00:22:10When the train pulled into the riverside station at which I was to alight,
00:22:13she extended her hand.
00:22:15Now I shall expect to hear from you.
00:22:19The school porter who admitted me was a ruddy-faced man
00:22:22wearing a bowler hat and a greatcoat.
00:22:25He took my bag and led me into a great rectangular cobbled yard.
00:22:30We ascended a flight of steps and stopped in front of a door.
00:22:33The porter set down my bag.
00:22:35Here is your set, sir.
00:22:37Everything you should require.
00:22:39On pushing open the door,
00:22:41I found myself at once in a most comfortable sitting-room.
00:22:45The lamps were lit.
00:22:46A fire burned brightly in the grate.
00:22:48The rest of the set consisted of a small bathroom and a bedroom,
00:22:52adequately furnished,
00:22:53and containing a long, carved and gilded mirror,
00:22:57fixed to the wall opposite the window.
00:22:59The sight of it made me start.
00:23:02It was so familiar.
00:23:05I stared, puzzled,
00:23:07tracing over every scroll and curlicue,
00:23:09certain that I had done so many times before,
00:23:12searching in the depths of my memory.
00:23:14But I was forced to give up.
00:23:17I had no clue as to where I had previously seen it.
00:23:22I had always been a generally abstemious man,
00:23:24but that evening drank a glass more port than was sensible,
00:23:28half-dozing before the heat of the fire,
00:23:30so that when I stood to go to bed,
00:23:33I felt momentarily light-headed.
00:23:36But the bedroom was colder,
00:23:38and I opened the window wide.
00:23:40As I turned,
00:23:42a gleam of light struck the mirror on the opposite wall,
00:23:44and I looked up to face,
00:23:46as I thought,
00:23:47my own reflection.
00:23:47But there was none.
00:23:50There was nothing but a blurred, dark outline.
00:23:54Due, I suppose, to some trick of the atmosphere,
00:23:56the mirror was quite misted over.
00:23:59But, as I came up close to it,
00:24:03I saw quite clearly, through the blur,
00:24:05my own eyes,
00:24:06staring, glittering, wild,
00:24:08with the dread and alarm
00:24:09that I was quite unaware of feeling.
00:24:12I lay shivering and wide awake,
00:24:14and feeling nothing so much
00:24:16as a terrible sense of frustration and anger.
00:24:19I saw a pale, ragged boy,
00:24:21now here, now there,
00:24:22now following me,
00:24:22now a little ahead.
00:24:24The mirror had misted over.
00:24:27Were the incidents linked?
00:24:28Or quite random?
00:24:29Were the phantoms and warnings
00:24:31and fearful moments
00:24:32brought about by anything outside myself?
00:24:34Or was I losing my sanity?
00:24:37I drifted to sleep,
00:24:39a restless and fretful one,
00:24:41wound about with veils of weird dreams.
00:24:44When I awoke,
00:24:45I was certain that a singing or crying
00:24:48had filled the room,
00:24:50or filled my head.
00:24:53But there was only a sweet
00:24:54and peaceful stillness and silence,
00:24:56and beyond the half-drawn curtains,
00:24:59the falling snow.
00:25:01The clock chimed to.
00:25:04My mouth was dry.
00:25:06My throat sore.
00:25:07I wanted water,
00:25:09and knew that I would not easily sleep again.
00:25:11I went into the sitting-room.
00:25:13There was still a glow in the heart of the fire.
00:25:16For a while I sat close beside it,
00:25:18and gradually the last trails of nightmare
00:25:20dissolved away.
00:25:21Almost as if to prove to myself
00:25:25that I was man again,
00:25:26I decided to take a turn
00:25:28beyond my set of rooms
00:25:29to gain a better sense of my surroundings.
00:25:32I put on my coat,
00:25:34and went quietly out.
00:25:37I saw the door
00:25:38at the end of the second corridor,
00:25:40the old library,
00:25:42and at once
00:25:43made my way towards it.
00:25:45It was as I was a few paces
00:25:48from the door
00:25:48that I began to have the sensation
00:25:50of being watched
00:25:51and silently followed.
00:25:53I shone my torch behind me.
00:25:56There was no one.
00:25:57Impatient with my imaginings,
00:25:59I turned back
00:26:00and went again
00:26:00to the library door.
00:26:02I expected it to be locked,
00:26:04but it swung open
00:26:05slowly to my touch.
00:26:08Oak bookcases
00:26:09were lined on either side
00:26:10of the central aisle,
00:26:11with more bookstacks
00:26:12rising behind the gallery,
00:26:13up to which iron spiral
00:26:15staircases led at intervals.
00:26:17It was as I approached
00:26:19the last few bays
00:26:20that I heard
00:26:21what at first
00:26:21I took to be
00:26:22the soft closing of the door
00:26:23at the far end of the room,
00:26:25but which went on,
00:26:26even and regular,
00:26:28like the breathing
00:26:28of someone asleep.
00:26:30A sighing that seemed
00:26:31to come out of the air
00:26:32above my head.
00:26:34I glanced up at the gallery.
00:26:35Someone was there,
00:26:36I was certain of it.
00:26:37The wood creaked.
00:26:39I was as far from my way
00:26:40of escape as I could have been,
00:26:41trapped alone
00:26:42in this empty place
00:26:43with whom,
00:26:44what?
00:26:46With nothing,
00:26:47I said aloud,
00:26:48nothing,
00:26:49and went to the spiral staircase
00:26:50and began to climb.
00:26:52The gallery was dark.
00:26:54The soft breathing came again
00:26:56in the darkness
00:26:56just ahead of me.
00:26:57I wanted to run,
00:26:58but could not,
00:26:59and knew that this was
00:27:00what was intended,
00:27:01that I should be terrified
00:27:02by nothing,
00:27:04by my own fears,
00:27:05by soft breathing,
00:27:06by the very atmosphere
00:27:07which threatened me.
00:27:08As I returned to the corridor,
00:27:12closing the door
00:27:13of the library behind me,
00:27:15I caught sight of a light
00:27:16moving about
00:27:17irregularly on the opposite side,
00:27:19and as I rounded the corner
00:27:21I glimpsed a dark-coated figure
00:27:22walking slowly
00:27:23and holding up a lantern.
00:27:26The porter,
00:27:27I supposed,
00:27:27on his rounds,
00:27:28and felt a wave of relief
00:27:30so great
00:27:31that it all but felled me
00:27:32and took my breath,
00:27:33and I was forced
00:27:33to lean against the wall.
00:27:34He had gone off
00:27:37through the bay's door
00:27:38before I reached the bend
00:27:39in the corridor.
00:27:40I saw no more
00:27:41of his flickering light.
00:27:43All was quiet,
00:27:44and then I heard
00:27:45something else.
00:27:47It came from behind
00:27:48another door,
00:27:50an oak one
00:27:50set well back
00:27:51into the wall
00:27:52with a green curtain
00:27:53pulled half across
00:27:54and partially concealing it.
00:27:57What I heard
00:27:58was a boy
00:27:58weeping.
00:28:00It was a sound
00:28:01so desolate
00:28:03and of such loneliness
00:28:04and despair
00:28:05that I felt outrage
00:28:07and anger
00:28:08and the urge
00:28:09to rescue him.
00:28:10But the door
00:28:11was bolted and barred.
00:28:12I could not break
00:28:13my way in to reach him,
00:28:15but there was surely
00:28:15someone who would.
00:28:18The lodge was in darkness.
00:28:19I knocked urgently
00:28:20on the door,
00:28:20but then turned away
00:28:21and looked about me,
00:28:22trying to plan
00:28:23which way I should go.
00:28:24I had not paused
00:28:25to ask who the boy
00:28:26might be.
00:28:27I had only the urge
00:28:28to reach and comfort him,
00:28:30rescue him
00:28:31from I knew not what.
00:28:33I heard a bolt
00:28:34being drawn
00:28:34in the door behind me
00:28:35and turning,
00:28:36saw that the light
00:28:37had come on
00:28:38in the lodge.
00:28:39I stared.
00:28:40The porter stood before me,
00:28:42tousled and half awake.
00:28:44It was clear to me
00:28:45that he'd been asleep
00:28:45when I knocked.
00:28:47I'm sorry to disturb you
00:28:49when you've only
00:28:49just returned to bed.
00:28:51It's four o'clock
00:28:52in the morning.
00:28:53What did you think, sir?
00:28:55Think?
00:28:56That I should have
00:28:57only just gone to bed.
00:28:58Four o'clock, sir.
00:28:59I've been sound asleep
00:29:00these six hours past.
00:29:02As he spoke
00:29:04and I registered
00:29:05what he said,
00:29:07I turned and looked
00:29:08at the single line
00:29:09of footprints
00:29:09across the snow
00:29:10and realised
00:29:12that they were my own
00:29:13and that there were
00:29:14no others.
00:29:16No one else
00:29:16had come this way
00:29:17for hours.
00:29:19Certainly not the porter,
00:29:22going steadily
00:29:22on his night rounds,
00:29:24carrying a lamp.
00:29:25The Mist in the Mirror
00:29:29by Susan Hill
00:29:29was read by
00:29:30Gareth Armstrong
00:29:31and John Moffat.
00:29:32It was abridged
00:29:33by Oliver Reynolds
00:29:34and produced
00:29:34by Jocelyn Boxall.
00:29:35Dr. Valentine Dancer,
00:29:38the school archivist,
00:29:40was a man
00:29:40who matched his name.
00:29:42Moving about the room,
00:29:43darting to the window,
00:29:45he had suggested
00:29:45we go out
00:29:46for a tour
00:29:47of the school.
00:29:48He ended
00:29:49outside a row
00:29:50of houses
00:29:50behind Scholar's House.
00:29:52He flung open
00:29:53the front gate
00:29:54with a grand gesture.
00:29:56We married men
00:29:57live here.
00:29:58A door stood open
00:29:59and in the doorway
00:30:00a little huddle
00:30:01of solemn children.
00:30:03Behind them
00:30:03was a tall young woman
00:30:04carrying an infant.
00:30:06Hetty, my wife,
00:30:08he then extended
00:30:08his arm to the young ones,
00:30:10and Evelyn,
00:30:11Isaac,
00:30:12Jaffet,
00:30:13and Hector.
00:30:15I was ushered
00:30:16into his study.
00:30:17A young maid
00:30:18brought tea.
00:30:18The children
00:30:19were banished.
00:30:21Books lined the walls.
00:30:23His desk
00:30:24was piled high
00:30:24with papers.
00:30:26I have everything
00:30:27a man could wish for,
00:30:28and the best of all,
00:30:30Monmouth,
00:30:30is that I know it.
00:30:31I know it.
00:30:32Happy that man.
00:30:34You will stay
00:30:35to lunch,
00:30:35of course,
00:30:36though I fear
00:30:36it will be a bear garden.
00:30:39It's very good
00:30:39of you to be
00:30:40so hospitable,
00:30:41but I'm very anxious
00:30:42to be shown
00:30:43the vain papers
00:30:43so that I may
00:30:44begin work at once.
00:30:46Do you know
00:30:47what it is about him
00:30:48that so fascinates you?
00:30:50There is a power,
00:30:51an attraction
00:30:52exerted by evil.
00:30:54Oh, come!
00:30:55Yes, evil.
00:30:57Conrad Vane
00:30:58was an evil man,
00:30:59Monmouth,
00:31:00and he used
00:31:01the power of wickedness,
00:31:02a dreadful power,
00:31:03over others.
00:31:05He was cruelty
00:31:05personified.
00:31:08I am grateful
00:31:09to you,
00:31:09I said at last.
00:31:11I have received
00:31:12hints and veiled warnings.
00:31:13No one has begun
00:31:14to speak the truth
00:31:15until now.
00:31:17So I have
00:31:18deterred you,
00:31:19he said.
00:31:20Now you will stay
00:31:21to enjoy lunch.
00:31:23No, Dr. Dancer,
00:31:24you have not
00:31:25deterred me.
00:31:26My fascination
00:31:27is keener still.
00:31:30He shuddered suddenly
00:31:31and got up
00:31:32and began to pace
00:31:33about the room,
00:31:34rubbing his hands
00:31:35together in agitation.
00:31:37Whoever touches,
00:31:39explores,
00:31:40follows after Vane,
00:31:41will be run mad
00:31:43and will never
00:31:44afterwards rest his head
00:31:45or enjoy his peace
00:31:46or have a home.
00:31:48He will be haunted.
00:31:49He will be cursed.
00:31:52A door opened.
00:31:53I heard the infant
00:31:54laughing,
00:31:55a soft,
00:31:56innocent laugh.
00:31:57I looked at Dancer.
00:31:59But,
00:31:59I said at last
00:32:01and realized
00:32:01the stark truth
00:32:02even as I spoke it,
00:32:04unlike you,
00:32:05I have nothing
00:32:06to lose.
00:32:10Dancer took me
00:32:10back towards
00:32:11the cloisters.
00:32:13The library
00:32:13was ahead.
00:32:15I wanted to ask
00:32:16directly about
00:32:16the crying boy
00:32:17and dared not.
00:32:19As we came up to it,
00:32:20I could not restrain
00:32:20myself from looking
00:32:21at the recessed oak door
00:32:23behind which I had heard
00:32:24his desperate sobbing.
00:32:26It was not there.
00:32:28I stopped dead.
00:32:30Dancer was looking
00:32:30back at me
00:32:31with concern.
00:32:32He had taken out
00:32:33a bunch of keys
00:32:33and was sorting
00:32:34through them.
00:32:35Every other door
00:32:36was as I had recalled
00:32:38and seen it before.
00:32:39Only the dark door
00:32:40behind the half-drawn
00:32:41curtain was not.
00:32:43My dear man,
00:32:44are you unwell?
00:32:45You are deathly pale.
00:32:46I did not want
00:32:48to tell him anything.
00:32:50Oh, it's nothing.
00:32:51I'm subject to these
00:32:52moments of giddiness,
00:32:54a mild inherited weakness,
00:32:56I heard myself babbling on.
00:32:59He turned back
00:33:00to the library door,
00:33:01continuing to search
00:33:02through his keys.
00:33:04Perhaps,
00:33:04I said cautiously,
00:33:06the door will be unlocked.
00:33:08No, no,
00:33:09the library's never left open.
00:33:10Ah,
00:33:11he selected a key.
00:33:13Now he would find it open.
00:33:15There,
00:33:16it's always a little stiff
00:33:18when no one's been in
00:33:18for a day or two.
00:33:20I heard a click
00:33:21and the key turned.
00:33:24Dancer led me back
00:33:25down the room
00:33:25to the shelves
00:33:26I had begun to examine
00:33:27the night before.
00:33:28If indeed I had,
00:33:30if the door
00:33:31had indeed been open,
00:33:32if I had not been dreaming.
00:33:34But they were
00:33:35as I had seen them,
00:33:37the leather-bound
00:33:37school journals
00:33:38and records,
00:33:39row after dull row.
00:33:41I had been here.
00:33:43Dancer went about
00:33:44other bays
00:33:45and twice up to the stacks
00:33:46in the gallery,
00:33:47returning with piles
00:33:48in his arms,
00:33:49travel journals,
00:33:50letters,
00:33:51a history of the school.
00:33:52Anything by vein
00:33:54or which mentions him,
00:33:55it is all here.
00:33:57If there is anything else,
00:33:58you are to come to us,
00:33:59you must not hesitate.
00:34:00I do not want to think
00:34:01if you hear too much alone.
00:34:03I thanked him
00:34:04and he left me,
00:34:06his brisk steps
00:34:07going off
00:34:07down the corridor.
00:34:08It was after two o'clock
00:34:11by the time I came
00:34:12to the first hint
00:34:13of anything,
00:34:14a record of a senior
00:34:16school debate.
00:34:17It was upon the subject
00:34:19of voodoo and witchcraft
00:34:20and a prominent
00:34:22and vociferous speaker
00:34:23had been C.P.R.
00:34:26Bain.
00:34:27And then I came upon
00:34:29first the report
00:34:30in the school record
00:34:31and then the account
00:34:32taken from a newspaper
00:34:33of the death
00:34:34of a boy at Alton.
00:34:35His body had been found
00:34:37hanging from a beam
00:34:38in a locked room.
00:34:41He had been beaten
00:34:41and it was stated
00:34:43that when last seen
00:34:44and for some days previously
00:34:45he had appeared
00:34:46to be in a state of distress.
00:34:48He was thirteen years old
00:34:50and his family resided
00:34:51at Kittisgar Hall
00:34:52in a remote village
00:34:54of the same name
00:34:55in North Yorkshire.
00:34:57His name was
00:34:58George Edward Palantyre Monmouth.
00:35:02In the middle of the night
00:35:06I remembered
00:35:07the leather trunk
00:35:08which contained
00:35:08everything I had kept
00:35:09from the things
00:35:10in my guardian's bungalow
00:35:11in Africa.
00:35:13Now the trunk
00:35:13stood undisturbed
00:35:14together with the rest
00:35:15of my belongings
00:35:16that had been delivered
00:35:17to Prickett's Green.
00:35:19I did not know
00:35:20why it should now
00:35:21have come quite so vividly
00:35:22into my mind
00:35:23but I lay and thought
00:35:24about the trunk,
00:35:26looked at it
00:35:27as it were
00:35:27in my imagination,
00:35:29unstrapped it
00:35:30and lifted the lid.
00:35:30I knew that I had
00:35:32to sort through
00:35:33everything anew
00:35:34for I was even more
00:35:35desperate to find
00:35:36some trace
00:35:36of my former existence.
00:35:38George Edward Palantyre Monmouth
00:35:40Was it the purest
00:35:41and most bizarre coincidence
00:35:43that he bore my own surname?
00:35:45Was it his poor ghost
00:35:46that I had heard
00:35:47sobbing behind the door?
00:35:48Was he the pale boy?
00:35:51Had he been trying
00:35:51to attract my attention,
00:35:53haunting me
00:35:54in a desperate effort
00:35:54to seek my help?
00:35:56And what did he want?
00:35:57In beginning
00:36:00to find out
00:36:01about Vain
00:36:02I had apparently
00:36:03stumbled upon
00:36:04clues to my own history
00:36:06and I cared about
00:36:07this most passionately
00:36:09of all.
00:36:12I returned to London
00:36:13the following day.
00:36:15I had thrown my bag
00:36:16unopened upon the bed,
00:36:17dragged the old leather trunk
00:36:19out from its standing place
00:36:20in the passage
00:36:20and fumbled
00:36:21with the stiff clasps
00:36:22and locks
00:36:23that had been untouched
00:36:24for more than twenty years.
00:36:25I found no letter,
00:36:27no documents relating to me,
00:36:28no birth certificate,
00:36:30which surely my guardian
00:36:31must once have had.
00:36:32If there had been any papers,
00:36:34they had been destroyed.
00:36:37Lightheaded
00:36:37with disappointment
00:36:38and fatigue,
00:36:39I began to feel
00:36:40like a wraith myself.
00:36:41It was as though
00:36:41I had no substance,
00:36:43no real existence
00:36:43in this world at all.
00:36:46And then I came upon
00:36:47the prayer book.
00:36:49It was a small copy
00:36:50bound in soft black
00:36:51with wafer-thin pages.
00:36:53I riffled through it,
00:36:54shaking it.
00:36:55Nothing fell,
00:36:57but as I closed it,
00:36:58my eye caught the line
00:36:59of writing
00:37:00inside the front cover,
00:37:02still strong and clear,
00:37:03because it had not been
00:37:04exposed to the light.
00:37:06James Monmouth,
00:37:08his to remember,
00:37:09Old Nan,
00:37:10Kittis Carr.
00:37:12I stared at the careful
00:37:13old-fashioned handwriting,
00:37:15and as I stared,
00:37:16something deep within me
00:37:17stirred in response.
00:37:19Old Nan.
00:37:21Old Nan.
00:37:22I flung myself
00:37:23into the chair
00:37:24and remained there
00:37:25as the fire sank
00:37:25and slumped down
00:37:26upon itself,
00:37:27scouring every recess
00:37:28of my memory.
00:37:30Old Nan.
00:37:31There it was.
00:37:32Yes, I had it.
00:37:33There.
00:37:35No.
00:37:36A hint, then.
00:37:38A slight scent.
00:37:40Faintly in my nostrils.
00:37:41Then it was gone again.
00:37:43Old Nan.
00:37:44But I was satisfied
00:37:47in one respect.
00:37:48George Edward Palantyre Monmouth
00:37:50of Kittis Carr Hall,
00:37:52Kittis Carr.
00:37:53I had proved
00:37:54his connection with me.
00:37:57The following morning
00:37:58I received a letter
00:37:59from Lady Quincebridge,
00:38:01reminding me of my engagement
00:38:02to spend Christmas with them.
00:38:04She would have me met
00:38:05from the train at Hisley.
00:38:07I thought it likely
00:38:08that the house would be
00:38:09a grand one
00:38:09and the party smart,
00:38:11and that I should therefore
00:38:12need to get myself
00:38:12a few more clothes.
00:38:15A thaw set in
00:38:16just before Christmas Eve.
00:38:18The sky was overcast,
00:38:19the air foul,
00:38:20but I went for a walk
00:38:22among the stalls
00:38:22of Covent Garden Market.
00:38:25When I returned that night
00:38:26to pack my belongings,
00:38:27I thought that I might
00:38:28have caught a chill,
00:38:30but I took some powders
00:38:31with hot rum,
00:38:32slept well,
00:38:33and in the morning
00:38:34decided that I had succeeded
00:38:35in shaking it off.
00:38:37I dressed with some care
00:38:39and called a cab
00:38:40to take me to Waterloo.
00:38:41At the last minute
00:38:43I slipped the small
00:38:44black prayer book
00:38:45into my pocket.
00:38:47I realized that Conrad Vane
00:38:49and what I had discovered
00:38:50about him
00:38:51had ceased to dominate
00:38:53my thinking.
00:38:54It was the boy,
00:38:55George Edward Palantyre Monmouth,
00:38:58to whom I was now in thrall.
00:39:02At Hisley I was met by a car.
00:39:05I sat forward to look ahead
00:39:06for my first sight of pyre.
00:39:08It was indeed a magnificent
00:39:10and extraordinary place
00:39:11that rose before me,
00:39:12a soft grey stone house
00:39:14with a wing on either side.
00:39:16I saw a classical orangery
00:39:18and a slope descending out of sight
00:39:20towards the lake.
00:39:22Then we were stopped,
00:39:23and Lady Quincebridge
00:39:24was coming quickly
00:39:25down the steps to greet me,
00:39:26and I was swept up
00:39:27into the splendour
00:39:28of her world.
00:39:29The house was magnificent,
00:39:31with a great hall,
00:39:32dark wood panelling
00:39:33and old polished furniture
00:39:34gleaming in the blaze
00:39:35of the log fires
00:39:36that burned in every room.
00:39:38I was dazzled by it all.
00:39:40But at once
00:39:40Lady Quincebridge
00:39:41was at my side.
00:39:44You're looking tired,
00:39:45Mr Monmouth.
00:39:46There is something wrong.
00:39:47I can see it, sense it.
00:39:50Well, you are safe here.
00:39:52We will look after you.
00:39:55I made my first acquaintance
00:39:56with the rest of the house party,
00:39:58and Sir Lionel Quincebridge himself.
00:40:00His manner was welcoming
00:40:01and friendly without reserve,
00:40:03yet I detected a shrewdness
00:40:04in his eyes
00:40:05that told me that he acted
00:40:07as a balance and temper
00:40:08to any impetuosity
00:40:09on the part of his wife.
00:40:11The house and estate,
00:40:12he told me almost at once,
00:40:14had come to them
00:40:15through his wife's family.
00:40:17Lady Quincebridge
00:40:18was a woman
00:40:18of substantial means.
00:40:21It was as enjoyable
00:40:22and impressive an evening
00:40:23as I had ever spent
00:40:25in my life,
00:40:25the food excellent,
00:40:26the atmosphere convivial
00:40:27and festive.
00:40:29So thoroughly
00:40:30was I swept up
00:40:31into the company
00:40:31that I was able
00:40:32to ignore any reminders
00:40:33that I was unwell.
00:40:35From time to time
00:40:36during dinner
00:40:37I had felt my skin burn.
00:40:39At others I longed
00:40:40to creep close to the fire,
00:40:42and alone in my room
00:40:43gave way to a shivering fit
00:40:44and dosed myself with whiskey
00:40:46before getting gratefully
00:40:47into my bed.
00:40:50At last,
00:40:50though still feeling ill,
00:40:52I fell into a peaceful sleep
00:40:54and awoke,
00:40:55weak but in some measure
00:40:56restored,
00:40:57to the sound
00:40:58of the bells
00:40:59of Christmas morning.
00:41:01Just after ten
00:41:02I went down.
00:41:04In the hall
00:41:04Weston the butler
00:41:05met me
00:41:05and told me
00:41:07that the party
00:41:07had gone to church.
00:41:09There is a good fire
00:41:10in the morning room, sir,
00:41:12and you will find
00:41:12old Mr. Quincebridge there.
00:41:15I went across the hall
00:41:16to the morning room,
00:41:18and beside the fire,
00:41:19settled so deep
00:41:20in a winged chair
00:41:21that at first
00:41:21I did not see
00:41:22he was there at all,
00:41:23was the gentleman
00:41:24I took
00:41:25to be old Mr. Quincebridge.
00:41:26Take a seat,
00:41:28my dear sir.
00:41:29Take a seat.
00:41:31His eyes were huge
00:41:32and alert,
00:41:34gleaming from out
00:41:34of the parchment-coloured skull.
00:41:37His long legs
00:41:37snuck out
00:41:38from beneath the rug,
00:41:39and together
00:41:39with his stick-like arms
00:41:41and etiolated neck
00:41:42they gave him
00:41:43the appearance
00:41:43of a grasshopper
00:41:44folded up into the chair.
00:41:46I went to shake
00:41:47the hand he extended to me.
00:41:49It was like shaking
00:41:50a bunch of long,
00:41:51thin bones.
00:41:53Take a seat, sir.
00:41:55It is Christmas Day.
00:41:57This is my son's house,
00:41:58Lionel.
00:41:59He's my only son,
00:42:01though I had others.
00:42:03I saw that his eyes
00:42:04were closed.
00:42:06He seemed to have gone
00:42:07instantly to sleep.
00:42:09I waited,
00:42:10wondering what to do.
00:42:12He awoke again
00:42:13as abruptly
00:42:13as he had slept.
00:42:15Monmouth!
00:42:16Monmouth!
00:42:17I knew Monmouth.
00:42:18Where?
00:42:19Did I?
00:42:21I wonder,
00:42:22Monmouth?
00:42:22If you were to remember
00:42:25anything,
00:42:25I should like to hear it.
00:42:27He shuffled a little,
00:42:29rummaged his legs about.
00:42:30It is Christmas Day.
00:42:33I am particularly anxious
00:42:35to discover anything
00:42:36about my family,
00:42:38I said.
00:42:39I am certain
00:42:40there must be those
00:42:41who remember,
00:42:42who can give me
00:42:43some clue
00:42:43as to my parentage.
00:42:46All dead,
00:42:47he said.
00:42:47I am ninety-four.
00:42:51His eyes were closing again.
00:42:53He muttered my name
00:42:54in a vague,
00:42:55puzzled way
00:42:56once or twice,
00:42:57and then slept.
00:42:59I sat on
00:43:00opposite to him,
00:43:01my head aching,
00:43:02turning over
00:43:03what he had said.
00:43:06Sir Lionel
00:43:06had been at Alton.
00:43:08If old Mr. Quincebridge
00:43:10had been at the school,
00:43:11surely he would have been
00:43:12almost a contemporary
00:43:13of Vane,
00:43:14and therefore
00:43:15also of George Edward
00:43:17Palantyre Monmouth
00:43:18of Kittisgar.
00:43:20I wanted to shake him
00:43:21roughly to wake him,
00:43:22question him,
00:43:22force him to remember.
00:43:24But I could no more
00:43:25have broken into his sleep
00:43:26than into that of a baby.
00:43:29In the peace and quietness
00:43:30of that calm room,
00:43:31I too closed my eyes
00:43:33and slept a little,
00:43:34like another old tired man,
00:43:36and woke with some embarrassment
00:43:38as Lady Quincebridge
00:43:39came in to find us,
00:43:40followed by the rest
00:43:41of the party.
00:43:43And so
00:43:43we began to celebrate Christmas.
00:43:45I doing my best
00:43:47to conceal
00:43:47my increasing fever
00:43:49and sickness.
00:43:51I succeeded
00:43:51until evening,
00:43:52when I collapsed again,
00:43:54this time more seriously.
00:43:56A doctor was sent for,
00:43:57and for many days
00:43:58I was wretchedly ill,
00:43:59tossing with a fever
00:44:00and blinding headache,
00:44:02slipping down
00:44:02into the dark,
00:44:03swirling waters
00:44:04of delirium
00:44:04time and time again,
00:44:07unsure even who
00:44:08or where I was.
00:44:09I had been sleeping
00:44:14on and off for days.
00:44:16My sense of time
00:44:17had become blurred,
00:44:18but I remembered
00:44:19coming down the stairs
00:44:20for the first time
00:44:21since I'd been taken ill
00:44:22on Christmas Day.
00:44:24Even that small effort
00:44:25had exhausted me,
00:44:27but the doctor
00:44:27who'd been attending me
00:44:28insisted I was ready
00:44:30to make the first move
00:44:31out of the sick room.
00:44:32At his invitation,
00:44:35I took to spending
00:44:35the evenings
00:44:36in Sir Lionel's study,
00:44:38a shabby, comfortable room,
00:44:40book-lined,
00:44:40with deep armchairs,
00:44:42and the old
00:44:42black Labrador fennie
00:44:43stretched out
00:44:44on the hearthrug.
00:44:46Here, as we drank
00:44:47a glass of whiskey,
00:44:49our talk ranged
00:44:50over my travels
00:44:51and those countries
00:44:52I'd come to know
00:44:53so well.
00:44:54It was Sir Lionel
00:44:55who suggested
00:44:56that I should begin
00:44:57making a formal
00:44:58plan of work.
00:45:00Stay here with us
00:45:01for another week or two.
00:45:03Your strength
00:45:03has been greatly depleted.
00:45:05Why not get into
00:45:06some routine of work?
00:45:08Divide up your life
00:45:09and your travels.
00:45:10Take each part separately.
00:45:12Retrace your steps
00:45:13and remember
00:45:14everything you can.
00:45:16You must not let it
00:45:17all go to waste.
00:45:19And so I began
00:45:20on the following morning.
00:45:22I took down
00:45:23the World Atlas at first
00:45:24and sat looking through it,
00:45:26setting down places
00:45:27and dates,
00:45:28going over routes
00:45:29and listing them.
00:45:30And as I did so,
00:45:31I remembered faces,
00:45:33buildings,
00:45:34even talk.
00:45:36My past
00:45:36was not lost to me,
00:45:38and in retrieving it
00:45:39I began to recover
00:45:40my youth
00:45:41and some of the sense
00:45:42of my own identity
00:45:43which I had lost
00:45:44since arriving in England.
00:45:47Once or twice,
00:45:48as I went over
00:45:49the journeys
00:45:49I'd undertaken
00:45:50and remembered
00:45:51why I had ventured
00:45:52to this or that
00:45:53remote and obscure place,
00:45:55the name of Conrad Vane
00:45:56came to my mind.
00:45:58But I turned away
00:45:59from it,
00:46:00for now I was myself,
00:46:02James Monmouth.
00:46:03These had been my journeys,
00:46:05and the story
00:46:05I intended to tell
00:46:06was mine alone.
00:46:10I had been at work
00:46:11for a week
00:46:11when several friends
00:46:13and neighbours
00:46:13came to dine,
00:46:15and in the course
00:46:16of the general conversation
00:46:17a colleague of Sir Lionel's
00:46:18happened to mention
00:46:19a journey he had taken north
00:46:21the previous autumn.
00:46:21It was far from
00:46:24my usual beat,
00:46:25but I must admit
00:46:26that we had a superb
00:46:27day's shooting
00:46:27in glorious country.
00:46:29I defy anyone
00:46:30to paint me
00:46:31a grander prospect
00:46:32than the countryside
00:46:33spread out below
00:46:34Rook's Crag,
00:46:35looking over to Kittisgar.
00:46:36My fork clattered
00:46:37onto my plate.
00:46:38Kittisgar?
00:46:39Lady Quincebridge
00:46:40put her hand on my arm.
00:46:41Kittisgar,
00:46:41I beg you to tell me
00:46:42about it,
00:46:43to describe it.
00:46:43Tell me anything.
00:46:45I almost got to my feet then.
00:46:46I must know.
00:46:48We were seated
00:46:49around the table
00:46:50after the ladies
00:46:51had retired.
00:46:52The man who had spoken
00:46:53was the lean,
00:46:54sharp-featured lawyer
00:46:55Crawford Maythorne.
00:46:57It is rugged,
00:46:58fell country,
00:46:59with rounded hills
00:47:00and gentle slopes,
00:47:02shelving down
00:47:03to small villages.
00:47:04I tell you,
00:47:05to sit up there
00:47:06and watch the shadows
00:47:07chasing one another
00:47:08over the open hills,
00:47:10to see the sunlight
00:47:10catching on clusters
00:47:11of slate roofs
00:47:12far below,
00:47:13and hear nothing
00:47:14but the wind keening
00:47:15and the bleating
00:47:16of the sheep.
00:47:17He shook his head.
00:47:19I listened,
00:47:20seated,
00:47:20tense and straight
00:47:21in my chair.
00:47:23He had described
00:47:24a countryside I knew.
00:47:26As he spoke,
00:47:27I felt sure
00:47:27that it was familiar,
00:47:28and I had been there,
00:47:30seen these things.
00:47:31He had not told me
00:47:32about Kittisgar itself,
00:47:33but now he turned to me.
00:47:37I do not usually venture
00:47:38as far off the beaten track.
00:47:40Just once, though,
00:47:41I did go.
00:47:42I am afraid
00:47:43there is precious little
00:47:43I can tell you.
00:47:44Kittisgar is very small,
00:47:45a hamlet no more,
00:47:46with the usual
00:47:47grey stone cottages,
00:47:48a chapel.
00:47:49There is a hall,
00:47:51I believe.
00:47:52Yes,
00:47:52I remember seeing
00:47:53some sign or gate-post,
00:47:55but nothing
00:47:55of the place itself.
00:47:56The talk then turned
00:47:59to matters of sport.
00:48:01After another ten minutes
00:48:02or so,
00:48:03I made my excuses
00:48:04and went to bed.
00:48:05The description
00:48:06of the countryside
00:48:07by Kittisgar
00:48:07had awakened memories,
00:48:10but I turned away
00:48:11from them deliberately.
00:48:13They would swirl
00:48:13and drift about.
00:48:14I would half-glimpse them,
00:48:15only to lose them again,
00:48:17as I had lost
00:48:17my own reflection
00:48:18through the mist
00:48:19in the mirror
00:48:19at Alton.
00:48:20Two days later,
00:48:23I received a note.
00:48:25My dear Monmouth,
00:48:26by chance,
00:48:27I have had to make contact
00:48:28with my shooting companion
00:48:29on the trip to the north
00:48:30last year,
00:48:31and I mentioned to him
00:48:32your possible connection
00:48:33with the area.
00:48:35He tells me that
00:48:35Kittisgar Hall
00:48:36is lived in by a woman.
00:48:38She is elderly and alone,
00:48:39apart from the usual
00:48:40house staff.
00:48:41Her name is
00:48:42Miss Monmouth.
00:48:43I felt certain
00:48:44in view of her name
00:48:45that this information
00:48:46would be of some interest to you.
00:48:47Sincerely,
00:48:48Crawford Maythorn.
00:48:50Now, I thought,
00:48:52it is pursuing me.
00:48:54It is I who have tried
00:48:55to turn my back
00:48:56and am fleeing.
00:48:57I crushed the letter
00:48:58up in my hand
00:48:59and threw it in the fire.
00:49:02When I went to my desk
00:49:03the following morning,
00:49:04I intended to add
00:49:05several more pages
00:49:06to my African journal,
00:49:08but when I set pen to paper,
00:49:10it was as though
00:49:11I were taken over
00:49:11by a force
00:49:12quite outside myself.
00:49:14I began a letter.
00:49:16Dear Miss Monmouth,
00:49:17my name,
00:49:18as you will see below,
00:49:18is your name.
00:49:20I have in my possession
00:49:21a prayer book
00:49:21given to me as a child
00:49:22and inscribed as from
00:49:23Kittisgar Hall.
00:49:25Whether we are related,
00:49:26I do not know,
00:49:27but it seems most likely.
00:49:29What you know of me,
00:49:31if anything at all,
00:49:32I would very much
00:49:32wish to hear
00:49:33and have information
00:49:34about any other members
00:49:35of the family,
00:49:36living and dead.
00:49:37Sincerely,
00:49:38James Monmouth.
00:49:39A couple of days
00:49:42after I had written
00:49:43the letter,
00:49:43I took the dog,
00:49:44Fenny,
00:49:45and set off
00:49:46from the house
00:49:46in the early afternoon.
00:49:48We came down the slope
00:49:49and the lake lay before us,
00:49:51its gunmetal surface
00:49:52still and smooth,
00:49:53reflecting the winter sun.
00:49:55All around me,
00:49:56the banks were white
00:49:57with clumps of snowdrops,
00:49:59heads bent upon
00:49:59their delicate stems.
00:50:01I rested my back
00:50:02against one of the beaches
00:50:03to drink in the sight of them
00:50:05and try to imprint it
00:50:06upon my memory.
00:50:09Then I saw him.
00:50:11He had come a little way out
00:50:13from between the trees
00:50:14on the far side of the lake
00:50:15and was standing there,
00:50:17apparently looking down
00:50:18at the water.
00:50:20The boy.
00:50:22His head was bare.
00:50:23He wore the same torn
00:50:24white shirt and grey trousers.
00:50:26His face was as pale as ever,
00:50:28deathly pale.
00:50:29My heart was bursting
00:50:30within my chest.
00:50:31This was no ghost.
00:50:33This was a real living boy.
00:50:34If I went to him now,
00:50:36I would be able to touch him,
00:50:37speak to him.
00:50:37There was nothing shadowy
00:50:38or insubstantial about him.
00:50:41So he had followed me here,
00:50:44to Pyre.
00:50:45And then he looked up,
00:50:47deliberately,
00:50:47and we were face to face
00:50:48across the lake.
00:50:50His expression,
00:50:51distant, anxious, pleading,
00:50:53distressed me beyond bearing.
00:50:55Who are you?
00:50:56I called out then.
00:50:57Why have you come to me again?
00:50:59He stood motionless and silent,
00:51:01and his look sent a chill
00:51:03of fear and desperation
00:51:04through me.
00:51:05I began to move.
00:51:06Wait!
00:51:07I shouted.
00:51:08Wait there!
00:51:10But he turned away,
00:51:11slowly, sadly.
00:51:13He was further away
00:51:14than I'd thought.
00:51:16The path dipped down
00:51:17as it turned.
00:51:18I followed it,
00:51:18half running.
00:51:19When I came up the rise again,
00:51:21the boy had gone.
00:51:23But he remained in my mind.
00:51:26His pale face
00:51:27and ragged form,
00:51:28his air of desperate pleading,
00:51:30came before my eyes.
00:51:32I sat brooding about him,
00:51:34addressing him in my thoughts.
00:51:35Who are you?
00:51:36Where do you come from?
00:51:37What are you asking of me?
00:51:41But I knew who he was.
00:51:43I had known since Alton.
00:51:47After a quiet dinner,
00:51:49I asked for the fire
00:51:50to be made up in the library
00:51:51and settled down at my desk.
00:51:53I became deeply immersed
00:51:54in a particular account
00:51:55of a journey I'd made
00:51:56into the tribal heartland
00:51:57of Kenya.
00:51:58I wrote until my wrist ached
00:52:00and I was forced
00:52:00to set down my pen.
00:52:02The fire was smoking
00:52:03unpleasantly.
00:52:05But the chill I felt around me
00:52:07had to do with more than that.
00:52:09I felt a presence in the room.
00:52:12I was being watched
00:52:13with hating, hostile eyes.
00:52:16I sat terrified.
00:52:18Something was here.
00:52:20Evil and hatred,
00:52:21decay and cruelty
00:52:23were here and directed at me
00:52:25and I could not escape.
00:52:26I could neither move nor speak.
00:52:28It was as though
00:52:29I had been gripped
00:52:30by complete paralysis
00:52:31of the will and body,
00:52:32taken by an unseen,
00:52:33unknown presence and force.
00:52:36But it was not silent.
00:52:37I realized that now.
00:52:40For now I heard
00:52:41the soft, regular,
00:52:43sighing, breathing,
00:52:45and was unable
00:52:46even to lift my hands
00:52:47to block out the sound,
00:52:49bound tight by invisible cords
00:52:51and quite helpless.
00:52:52I did not faint or cry out.
00:52:54I did nothing
00:52:54except close my eyes
00:52:55and wait,
00:52:56completely possessed
00:52:57by fear
00:52:57and by the presence
00:52:58in the room.
00:53:01In the end,
00:53:03it simply left.
00:53:05I was loosened
00:53:06from my bonds.
00:53:08At last,
00:53:09I looked at my watch.
00:53:11I had set down my pen
00:53:12at a couple of minutes
00:53:13before ten.
00:53:14Hours had passed.
00:53:16Then the clock
00:53:18gathered itself
00:53:19and struck
00:53:19ten times.
00:53:24I could not remain here,
00:53:25or indeed anywhere now,
00:53:26or rest,
00:53:27until I had followed
00:53:28my instincts
00:53:28and attended to these things,
00:53:30whatever they were.
00:53:32For some reason
00:53:33that was quite unclear,
00:53:34I knew I must go
00:53:35to Kitty's car,
00:53:37indeed was being urged to go.
00:53:38I had an inner conviction
00:53:40that I had once
00:53:40belonged there,
00:53:42and perhaps still did so.
00:53:43Two days later,
00:53:46I returned to Prickett's Green.
00:53:48I hoped to find a letter
00:53:49from Miss Monmouth
00:53:49of Kitty's car,
00:53:50but there was none.
00:53:52I went out for my supper
00:53:53before going back
00:53:54to make some arrangements
00:53:54for a train
00:53:55that was to take me
00:53:56on the long journey north.
00:54:00Raw Mucklerby
00:54:01was a dull little village,
00:54:03enclosed by the moors
00:54:04that rose behind it,
00:54:05and which,
00:54:06when I arrived that morning,
00:54:07were in shadow.
00:54:08But the inn was comfortable
00:54:09and the landlord friendly.
00:54:11I took my leave
00:54:12of him cheerfully
00:54:12and began my walk
00:54:14to Kitty's car.
00:54:15This was a world
00:54:16in which I felt at home.
00:54:18These were places
00:54:18I knew in my bones.
00:54:20I saw a wooden signpost,
00:54:22Kitty's car half a mile,
00:54:23and went on slowly
00:54:24up the last slope
00:54:25towards the houses.
00:54:27Several times
00:54:28I stopped to stare
00:54:29at closed doors,
00:54:31at gates,
00:54:32at fences,
00:54:33willing the door
00:54:34to the past
00:54:34to swing open.
00:54:36I walked on
00:54:37up the steep slope
00:54:38of the village lane
00:54:39and came out beyond
00:54:40the last cottages
00:54:41and a farm.
00:54:41To my right
00:54:43was a path
00:54:43leading to an open gateway.
00:54:45On the gate,
00:54:46just discernible,
00:54:47though faded
00:54:47and half-worn away,
00:54:49was the name
00:54:49Kitty's car hall.
00:54:52My heart seemed
00:54:53to be squeezed
00:54:53tight within my chest
00:54:55as I looked
00:54:55at the old letters.
00:54:57And then the house
00:54:58was before me.
00:55:00A plain old country manor.
00:55:02It was large and dark
00:55:03and it was neglected.
00:55:05It seemed empty.
00:55:07The shutters closed
00:55:08in several
00:55:08of the upper windows,
00:55:09and the whole place
00:55:11silent.
00:55:13I had expected
00:55:14it to be familiar
00:55:14to me,
00:55:15to give a cry
00:55:16of recognition,
00:55:16but I did not.
00:55:18I might never
00:55:18have seen it before.
00:55:20I wandered
00:55:21along the side path
00:55:22that led into
00:55:22a derelict
00:55:23and empty garden.
00:55:24In the centre,
00:55:25on the overgrown grass,
00:55:26was a leaden statue.
00:55:28It was of a graceful boy
00:55:30raised on one foot
00:55:31with an arm outstretched.
00:55:32The forefinger,
00:55:33which pointed up,
00:55:34was broken off.
00:55:35And then another flash
00:55:38of clear memory
00:55:39came to me.
00:55:39I knew the statue,
00:55:40every curve and line of it.
00:55:42I had stood in that garden.
00:55:44I had woven stories
00:55:45to myself
00:55:46around the figure
00:55:47of that solitary
00:55:47leaden boy.
00:55:50I turned
00:55:50and looked back
00:55:51at the house,
00:55:52and then I saw
00:55:53that a thin plume
00:55:54of smoke
00:55:54rose from the chimney.
00:55:56Miss Monmouth
00:55:56must be at home.
00:55:58I made my way
00:55:58to the front door,
00:55:59pulled on the bell,
00:56:00and heard it echo within.
00:56:02I rang again,
00:56:03and eventually heard footsteps
00:56:05and the sound of bolts
00:56:06being drawn back.
00:56:08I stood my ground,
00:56:09but with rising apprehension,
00:56:11and the door
00:56:12of Kittisgar Hall
00:56:13was opened.
00:56:14I said,
00:56:15I have come to see
00:56:16Miss Monmouth.
00:56:18She nodded
00:56:19and moved back
00:56:20to indicate in silence
00:56:21that I should step
00:56:22into the hall.
00:56:24I stared in wonder
00:56:25at the heavy tapestries
00:56:26covering the stone walls
00:56:28and the dark pictures
00:56:29that loomed above me,
00:56:31at the oak doors
00:56:31and uneven flagged floor,
00:56:33the huge hearth
00:56:34with the coat of arms
00:56:35carved over it.
00:56:36And as I stood there,
00:56:38the gate swung wide
00:56:39at last,
00:56:40and the past came
00:56:41flooding towards me
00:56:42like a river
00:56:43so that I almost
00:56:44drowned in it.
00:56:46I was a small boy again,
00:56:47standing here,
00:56:48gazing about me
00:56:49in awe and apprehension,
00:56:50and clutching
00:56:51onto old Nan's hand.
00:56:54If you'd like to come
00:56:55this way
00:56:55and wait a few minutes,
00:56:56I will take you up directly.
00:56:58The woman was way-faced
00:56:59and soft-voiced,
00:57:01without the local accent.
00:57:02She'd seemed
00:57:03unsurprised
00:57:04by my appearance.
00:57:06It was likely
00:57:06that Miss Monmouth
00:57:07had spoken of my letter.
00:57:09The woman returned
00:57:10after some while
00:57:11and gestured
00:57:12towards the dark staircase.
00:57:14We reached the landing
00:57:15and turned,
00:57:15our steps sounding hollow
00:57:16on the bare oak boards,
00:57:18until we stopped
00:57:18outside a door.
00:57:21So,
00:57:21now I was at last
00:57:23to see Miss Monmouth,
00:57:24my only living relative.
00:57:26My mouth was dry,
00:57:27my heart beating hard
00:57:28in my chest.
00:57:29It was a bedroom,
00:57:31long and low-ceilinged.
00:57:33I hesitated,
00:57:34unable to see
00:57:35into the gloom,
00:57:36but the woman
00:57:36stepped across
00:57:37to the windows
00:57:37and folded the shutter back.
00:57:40Then she left the room,
00:57:42and I was alone
00:57:43with my relative.
00:57:45A carved oak bed
00:57:46stood opposite to me,
00:57:47without curtains or pillows,
00:57:48and I went forward quietly,
00:57:50preparing my first
00:57:51gentle greeting.
00:57:53She wore a bone-coloured
00:57:55cotton gown,
00:57:55and her grey hair
00:57:56was pulled back
00:57:57from her forehead
00:57:57and dressed in a thin
00:57:59little plait
00:57:59which rested
00:58:00in the crook of her neck.
00:58:01Her arms were folded,
00:58:02hands together
00:58:03on top of one another.
00:58:05Her eyes were closed,
00:58:06her skin was dull
00:58:07and waxen.
00:58:08Miss Monmouth was dead,
00:58:10and I,
00:58:11the visitor,
00:58:12had been allowed
00:58:12to view her corpse
00:58:13and pay it
00:58:15my first
00:58:15and last respects.
00:58:19In panic,
00:58:20I looked up
00:58:21from the dreadful
00:58:21still figure
00:58:22laid out before me,
00:58:23and my eyes
00:58:24found the wall
00:58:25behind the bed.
00:58:26On it
00:58:27was an elaborately
00:58:28carved mirror
00:58:29with faded
00:58:30and cracked gilding
00:58:31and dark streaked glass,
00:58:34the exact counterpart
00:58:35of the mirror
00:58:35that had been hanging
00:58:36in the bedroom
00:58:37at Alton,
00:58:38and as I stared
00:58:38into it,
00:58:39my own face,
00:58:40pale and with
00:58:41terrified haunted eyes,
00:58:43looked back at me
00:58:43dimly
00:58:44through a grey
00:58:46swirling mist.
00:58:47Miss Monmouth's funeral
00:59:00was a plain affair
00:59:02in a neat,
00:59:03well-kept little church.
00:59:04I exchanged
00:59:05some friendly words
00:59:06with the officiating
00:59:07clergyman,
00:59:08an old retired canon
00:59:09who had,
00:59:10he said,
00:59:10visited my relative
00:59:11occasionally
00:59:12in the past few years.
00:59:13And now,
00:59:15I said,
00:59:15I hope you will
00:59:17visit me.
00:59:18He frowned
00:59:19as if he had not
00:59:20understood.
00:59:21I am Miss Monmouth's
00:59:22air,
00:59:23the only member
00:59:24of the family left,
00:59:25or so I suppose.
00:59:26I shall return
00:59:27to London
00:59:28to clear my belongings
00:59:29and some few
00:59:29business matters there,
00:59:31but then I shall return
00:59:32and take over
00:59:32Kittisgar Hall.
00:59:35The man was looking
00:59:36distraught,
00:59:37his mouth working
00:59:38as if he were
00:59:39desperately trying
00:59:39to nerve himself
00:59:40to speak.
00:59:42Think hard,
00:59:43Mr. Monmouth.
00:59:44Think it over
00:59:45most carefully,
00:59:46I urge you.
00:59:47It is a lonely life here.
00:59:49Surely London
00:59:50will stimulate you more.
00:59:53London holds
00:59:54no interest
00:59:54at all for me.
00:59:56I have come home,
00:59:58and here I shall stay.
01:00:01I proffered my hand.
01:00:02My own grip was firm.
01:00:04His hand was trembling
01:00:06and uncertain in mine.
01:00:07He walked with me
01:00:10to the roadside
01:00:10and watched me leave.
01:00:12At the corner
01:00:13I glanced back.
01:00:14The wind was blowing
01:00:15bitterly cold
01:00:16off the moors
01:00:16and rippling through
01:00:17the branches
01:00:18of the yews
01:00:18in the graveyard.
01:00:21Underneath them,
01:00:22and looking away from me
01:00:23towards the freshly
01:00:24mounded earth
01:00:25of my relative's grave,
01:00:27stood the boy,
01:00:29ragged, pale,
01:00:31thin,
01:00:31and quite as clear,
01:00:33real,
01:00:34visible to me
01:00:35as he had always been.
01:00:38I averted my head
01:00:39before he could turn
01:00:40to look at me
01:00:41and quickened my step
01:00:42away from the place.
01:00:46Shortly after three
01:00:47that afternoon,
01:00:48I decided to go up again
01:00:49to Kittisgarh
01:00:50to look over the hall
01:00:51and begin to familiarise
01:00:53myself with it.
01:00:54I had wondered
01:00:55if the house might be empty,
01:00:56but the woman let me in
01:00:58almost as soon
01:00:58as my hand touched the bell,
01:01:00though she stared at me blankly
01:01:01and for a few seconds
01:01:02did not step back
01:01:03to let me in.
01:01:04I said,
01:01:05I am sorry it is
01:01:06a little late,
01:01:07but I have come again
01:01:08simply to go around
01:01:09the hall.
01:01:11As you wish.
01:01:12Of course it is yours
01:01:13to take away
01:01:14what you choose.
01:01:15Oh, I do not imagine
01:01:16I shall take anything away.
01:01:18I shall leave
01:01:19all the furnishings
01:01:20as they are,
01:01:20and I have little
01:01:21of my own to bring.
01:01:23She continued
01:01:24to stare at me,
01:01:25but now a look
01:01:26of almost horror
01:01:27crossed her features.
01:01:28You surely are not
01:01:30planning to live
01:01:31here at Kitty's car?
01:01:33Why, certainly I am.
01:01:34I am the heir
01:01:35to the house,
01:01:36am I not?
01:01:37But you cannot.
01:01:39Surely you will not.
01:01:41Why do you say so?
01:01:43Because,
01:01:44because you are
01:01:45a Monmouth
01:01:46and a man.
01:01:49I felt a clutching sensation
01:01:51in the pit of my stomach.
01:01:53Whatever was wrong,
01:01:55whatever I had been warned
01:01:56about in the past
01:01:57and again now
01:01:57had to do with
01:01:58Kitty's car Hall
01:01:59and the Monmouth family
01:02:01in reference
01:02:01to its male line.
01:02:04For a moment
01:02:05I wanted to have it out
01:02:06with her there and then,
01:02:07to hear the full truth.
01:02:10But I did not ask.
01:02:12I dismissed it.
01:02:15I went into every room
01:02:17at Kitty's car Hall
01:02:17that day,
01:02:19everywhere from attics
01:02:20to damp, unlit cellar,
01:02:21and down every passage,
01:02:23and I felt nothing
01:02:24in the slightest degree
01:02:25fearful or dreadful there.
01:02:28I saw no ghosts,
01:02:29heard no strange sounds.
01:02:32At last I returned
01:02:33to the attic,
01:02:34wondering if I might
01:02:35make these my own quarters.
01:02:38It was as I gazed
01:02:39through the grimy casement
01:02:40that I saw
01:02:41the grey stone walls
01:02:42of the building
01:02:43I had glimpsed
01:02:43on my first visit,
01:02:44and now I saw
01:02:46that the roof
01:02:46went to a point
01:02:47at the top of which
01:02:48was an old bell,
01:02:49and realised
01:02:50that I was looking
01:02:51onto the chapel
01:02:52belonging to the hall.
01:02:53The house was quite silent
01:02:56as I ran through it,
01:02:57and out at the side door
01:02:58to the overgrown grassy paths
01:02:59and shrubs
01:03:00at the back of the hall.
01:03:02Then I came out
01:03:02into a small clearing,
01:03:04and the chapel
01:03:04was immediately
01:03:04in front of me,
01:03:06dark, still,
01:03:07and silent,
01:03:08grim in the last
01:03:08of the light.
01:03:10I hesitated
01:03:11before the wooden door,
01:03:12feeling suddenly cold,
01:03:14and as though
01:03:15a shadow
01:03:15had fallen over me,
01:03:16and someone
01:03:17unseen but hostile
01:03:19was standing
01:03:20just a few feet away
01:03:21on my left side.
01:03:23But I steeled myself,
01:03:25summoning up
01:03:25every ounce
01:03:26of resolution
01:03:26I possessed.
01:03:28At last,
01:03:29taking a deep breath
01:03:30and muttering
01:03:30an impulsive prayer
01:03:31for protection,
01:03:32I put my hand
01:03:33to the iron ring
01:03:34that served as a handle.
01:03:36It turned easily.
01:03:38I hesitated
01:03:39before pushing open
01:03:40the wooden door.
01:03:42It was the smell
01:03:43that struck me first,
01:03:45a sour,
01:03:46penetrating smell
01:03:46of cold,
01:03:47damp stone and earth.
01:03:48The floor
01:03:50was cracked
01:03:50and sinking,
01:03:51and here and there
01:03:52bare earth
01:03:52showed through.
01:03:53The walls
01:03:54were stained
01:03:55with damp and mould,
01:03:56the pews unsteady,
01:03:57and in front of the altar
01:03:58the remains
01:03:59of a cloth
01:04:00that almost
01:04:00rotted away.
01:04:03Then I saw
01:04:04that the stones
01:04:04at my feet
01:04:05were engraved.
01:04:07Here lies
01:04:08Joshua Monmouth,
01:04:09born 1583,
01:04:11died 1613.
01:04:13Here lieth
01:04:13Digby Monmouth
01:04:14and his sons.
01:04:15Here lies,
01:04:16here lies,
01:04:17here lies.
01:04:17I traced out
01:04:18every name.
01:04:19My ancestors
01:04:20were at my feet,
01:04:21how many of them
01:04:22I could not tell.
01:04:24Then I came
01:04:25to a last stone,
01:04:26close to the steps,
01:04:27and bending down,
01:04:28for it was growing
01:04:28darker now,
01:04:29traced with my finger
01:04:30the outline
01:04:31of the words,
01:04:32Here lies
01:04:34George Edward
01:04:35Palantyre
01:04:36Monmouth.
01:04:38I stood,
01:04:40every tomb
01:04:41of every Monmouth
01:04:42of Kittisgar,
01:04:43every male,
01:04:44for there was
01:04:44no woman buried here.
01:04:45And then my eye
01:04:47was caught
01:04:47by a plaque
01:04:48let into the wall,
01:04:49altogether more
01:04:50elaborate and
01:04:50flourishing in style.
01:04:52I went closer
01:04:53and read it.
01:04:54This memorial
01:04:56erected to
01:04:57Conrad Vane
01:04:58of Kittisgar,
01:05:00Imperator.
01:05:02As I stood,
01:05:03trembling before it,
01:05:04horrified,
01:05:05confused,
01:05:06and yet somehow
01:05:06at last
01:05:07in dawning
01:05:07understanding,
01:05:08I heard a sound,
01:05:10and turning,
01:05:11saw the door
01:05:12of the chapel
01:05:12which I had left open
01:05:13begin slowly,
01:05:14softly,
01:05:15to close.
01:05:15I ran to it,
01:05:16reached out
01:05:17and grabbed the handle,
01:05:18but rattle it,
01:05:19twist and turn,
01:05:19and wrench it as I might.
01:05:20It would not yield to me.
01:05:22The door was not only
01:05:23closed,
01:05:24but locked,
01:05:25and I locked in by it,
01:05:27trapped in the darkening,
01:05:28empty chapel.
01:05:31I waited,
01:05:32trying to calm myself
01:05:32and to order my thoughts.
01:05:35Outside the door
01:05:36I had sensed
01:05:37a watcher,
01:05:39a presence
01:05:39at my shoulder.
01:05:41Now I felt it again,
01:05:44a looming,
01:05:45malevolent presence
01:05:46that had lured me here
01:05:47where I was intended
01:05:48finally to be,
01:05:51a Monmouth,
01:05:52among others,
01:05:53long dead
01:05:54and buried
01:05:54and decayed.
01:05:57He was standing
01:05:58at the open entrance
01:05:59to the crypt.
01:06:01I saw him,
01:06:02shadowy,
01:06:03hunched close
01:06:04to the wall,
01:06:05his body
01:06:05half-concealed
01:06:06by the dark,
01:06:07heavy clothes
01:06:08he wore,
01:06:08his face
01:06:09slightly averted.
01:06:11But I knew him,
01:06:14knew him
01:06:14for my tormentor
01:06:15and betrayer,
01:06:17as well as
01:06:17for the murderer
01:06:18of my young,
01:06:19innocent relative.
01:06:21And then I cried out,
01:06:22What do you want?
01:06:23What do you want of me?
01:06:24My voice rang
01:06:25round the stone walls
01:06:26and echoed mockingly
01:06:27back to me.
01:06:29And then I fell silent
01:06:30and bent forward,
01:06:31sobbing,
01:06:32my head in my hands,
01:06:33in fear and despair.
01:06:37When I'd gained control
01:06:38of myself again
01:06:39and raised my head,
01:06:40the place was pitch black
01:06:42and deathly silent.
01:06:44I peered forwards
01:06:45and saw nothing,
01:06:48sat still,
01:06:49straining my ears
01:06:50and heard nothing.
01:06:53He had gone.
01:06:54Then,
01:06:57from far away,
01:06:58from somewhere outside
01:06:58in the night,
01:07:00I heard the boy
01:07:01sobbing,
01:07:04sobbing in all his young
01:07:05loneliness and anguish
01:07:06and despair,
01:07:07the same that I now felt.
01:07:10I had been lured
01:07:11to Kitty's car
01:07:12and to my inheritance,
01:07:14the last surviving
01:07:16male member
01:07:16of my family,
01:07:18and was no more
01:07:19intended to go free
01:07:20than my pale,
01:07:21tormented boy.
01:07:22That night
01:07:25was the most terrible
01:07:26I'd ever spent,
01:07:28or pray to God
01:07:29I will ever spend.
01:07:31Waves of evil
01:07:32and malevolence
01:07:33crept towards me
01:07:33and receded again
01:07:34like waves
01:07:35of some sinister
01:07:36silent sea.
01:07:37Again and again
01:07:38I returned to hammer
01:07:39and rattle
01:07:39and bang up on the door
01:07:41and wrench in rage
01:07:42and impotence
01:07:42at the handle,
01:07:43but it was immovable,
01:07:45as if it had been
01:07:45locked and rusted
01:07:46for centuries.
01:07:49How I clung to life
01:07:50I do not know.
01:07:52By dawn
01:07:53I was indeed
01:07:54half dead,
01:07:55half mad.
01:07:56If the cannon
01:07:57had not ridden
01:07:57to seek me out,
01:07:58then I would have been
01:07:59very shortly
01:08:00beyond salvation.
01:08:04He found me
01:08:05on that fresh,
01:08:06cold,
01:08:06dew-filled morning,
01:08:08crouched on the floor
01:08:09of the chapel,
01:08:09my arms crossed
01:08:10over my head
01:08:11like a terrified animal.
01:08:13After he had turned
01:08:14the handle
01:08:14of the chapel door
01:08:15and finding it
01:08:16unlocked
01:08:16and easily opened
01:08:17at a touch,
01:08:18come cautiously in.
01:08:19It was many weeks
01:08:23before my mind
01:08:24began to heal
01:08:25and even now
01:08:26as I write this
01:08:27some forty years later
01:08:28I know the frailty
01:08:30of my sanity
01:08:31and health.
01:08:33I learned a very
01:08:34little more
01:08:35about Kittiscard,
01:08:36my family,
01:08:36and the curse
01:08:37that had been laid
01:08:38upon it centuries
01:08:38before by an ancestor
01:08:40of Conrad Vane,
01:08:42as evil as he
01:08:43and upon whom
01:08:44he seems to have
01:08:45modelled himself.
01:08:47Kittiscar,
01:08:48the hall,
01:08:48the village,
01:08:49and the land around
01:08:50had been wrenched
01:08:50from my family.
01:08:52The Vanes had triumphed
01:08:53and they had pursued
01:08:54and corrupted
01:08:54and hounded
01:08:55every male Monmouth,
01:08:56including my own father,
01:08:58as finally Conrad Vane
01:08:59had sought
01:09:00and lured
01:09:00and ensnared me,
01:09:02even from beyond
01:09:03the grave.
01:09:05All these things
01:09:06I learned
01:09:07or pieced together
01:09:08over many months,
01:09:10the canon being reluctant
01:09:11to tell what little
01:09:12he knew for fear
01:09:13of unhinging my mind again.
01:09:15He was a sterling
01:09:16friend to me.
01:09:17What strength
01:09:18and peace of mind
01:09:18I regained
01:09:19and now possess
01:09:20I owe to him
01:09:21and his unselfish,
01:09:22prayerful devotion.
01:09:25I was alive.
01:09:27The hauntings
01:09:28ceased altogether
01:09:28and have never returned.
01:09:31I only worried
01:09:32from time to time
01:09:34about the boy,
01:09:36whose distress
01:09:37and grief
01:09:37I felt I had not assuaged
01:09:39for all that he was
01:09:40now entirely absent
01:09:41and silent.
01:09:42But very gradually
01:09:43even he began
01:09:44to fade
01:09:45from the forefront
01:09:46of my mind
01:09:46and at last
01:09:48I ceased
01:09:48to think of him.
01:09:51Eventually
01:09:52I took up
01:09:53the study of law
01:09:53and that has been
01:09:55my satisfactory profession
01:09:56these past years.
01:09:58I never married
01:09:59and so I am
01:10:00the last
01:10:00of the Monmouths.
01:10:02The family dies
01:10:03when I die.
01:10:05The curse
01:10:05and the evil
01:10:06and the hauntings
01:10:07are certain
01:10:07to be at an end then
01:10:08and the world
01:10:09a better place
01:10:10in the absence
01:10:11of us all.
01:10:13I am quite alone now.
01:10:17I have lived
01:10:18the last forty years
01:10:19in fear
01:10:19and never told it.
01:10:22Only now
01:10:23at the last
01:10:23I move
01:10:24to right this
01:10:25and so lift
01:10:26the burden
01:10:26from my back
01:10:27and lay it down.
01:10:30But I was surely
01:10:31not meant to live
01:10:31so long
01:10:32nor ever
01:10:34in such comparative
01:10:35safety and contentment
01:10:36as have been granted
01:10:37to me
01:10:37and for which
01:10:39I heartily
01:10:40thank God.
01:10:43Sir James Monmouth's
01:10:45story remained
01:10:45vividly in my mind
01:10:47for the whole of the day
01:10:47after I had sat up
01:10:49reading it.
01:10:50I vowed
01:10:50that when I returned
01:10:51it to him
01:10:52I would sit
01:10:52and keep him
01:10:53company a little.
01:10:55I was never
01:10:56to do so.
01:10:58When I went
01:10:59to the club
01:10:59at the end
01:11:00of a tiring day
01:11:01I was greeted
01:11:02almost at once
01:11:03by the news
01:11:03which had been
01:11:04the talk of the place
01:11:05since the previous evening.
01:11:07Sir James Monmouth
01:11:08was dead.
01:11:10He had been found
01:11:11sitting in a chair
01:11:12in the corner
01:11:13of the library
01:11:14in the hour
01:11:14just before dawn
01:11:16an expression
01:11:17of what was said
01:11:18to have been
01:11:18amazement
01:11:19upon his face.
01:11:22There was another
01:11:23story too.
01:11:24There had been
01:11:25some sort of disturbance
01:11:26perhaps an intruder
01:11:27in the club.
01:11:29The night porter
01:11:29had surprised a boy
01:11:30a ragged urchin
01:11:32of twelve or so
01:11:33and chased him
01:11:34taking him
01:11:34to be a young thief
01:11:35or vandal.
01:11:37But on reaching
01:11:37the street outside
01:11:38and even after
01:11:39running some way
01:11:40down it in both
01:11:41directions
01:11:41he had been forced
01:11:42to return to the club.
01:11:45There had been
01:11:45no trace at all
01:11:46of any boy.
01:11:49At the time
01:11:50of Monmouth's death
01:11:50and after reading
01:11:51the story he had
01:11:52given me
01:11:53I confess that
01:11:54I was profoundly
01:11:54affected by it
01:11:55and by the events
01:11:56of the club.
01:11:57But my own life
01:11:58was not touched
01:11:59any more closely
01:12:00and so inevitably
01:12:01as the months
01:12:02and then years
01:12:03passed the whole
01:12:04matter receded
01:12:05from my mind
01:12:06altogether.
01:12:08Until very recently.
01:12:11My business
01:12:12has prospered.
01:12:13I have become
01:12:14very well established.
01:12:16Lately we have
01:12:17been looking at
01:12:17larger properties
01:12:18in the home counties
01:12:19and it was with
01:12:20some interest
01:12:21that I received
01:12:22particulars from
01:12:22one of the house
01:12:23agents of
01:12:24Pyre, Berkshire.
01:12:27Indeed I managed
01:12:28to find Sir James's
01:12:29manuscript and in it
01:12:30to re-read the
01:12:31description of the
01:12:32house I knew
01:12:32we must certainly
01:12:34visit.
01:12:36The exterior of Pyre
01:12:38was exactly as
01:12:39he had described it.
01:12:40The interior though
01:12:41was quite ruined,
01:12:43ghastly in its
01:12:44vulgar overornate
01:12:45furnishings and
01:12:46decorations.
01:12:47But we went on
01:12:48dutifully up the
01:12:49staircase.
01:12:52It was as we
01:12:53reached the end
01:12:54of a passage
01:12:54in the west wing
01:12:55that I saw
01:12:57the mirror.
01:12:57It was large
01:12:59in a handsome
01:13:01gilded frame
01:13:02of considerably
01:13:03finer and more
01:13:03classic design
01:13:04than any of the
01:13:05other furnishings,
01:13:06so much so that
01:13:07I paused in some
01:13:08surprise to admire
01:13:09it more closely.
01:13:11And as I looked
01:13:12into the slightly
01:13:13foxed and pitted
01:13:15glass, the surface
01:13:17seemed to blur and
01:13:19dissolve, as if it
01:13:21were misting over
01:13:22with a fine white
01:13:23vapour.
01:13:24I stared in
01:13:27dawning
01:13:27recollection and
01:13:28fear, for the
01:13:31face that I saw
01:13:32staring back at me
01:13:33through the mist
01:13:34was not my own,
01:13:36but that of
01:13:36another.
01:13:37A
01:13:49other
01:13:52separation
01:13:53of
01:13:54a
01:13:55a
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