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303
The Book of Dreams and Ghosts
·
Andrew Lang
229
In
about
a
month
"all,"
as
Mrs.
Nickleby's
lover
said,
"was
gas
and
gaiters".
The
furniture
either
flew
about,
or
broke
into
flames.
Worse,
certain
pieces
of
iron
placed
as
an
experiment
on
Esther's
lap
"became
too
hot
to
be
handled
with
comfort,"
and
then
flew
away.
Mr.
Hubbell
himself
now
came
on
the
scene,
and,
not
detecting
imposture,
thought
that
"there
was
money
in
it".
He
determined
to
"run"
Esther
as
a
powerful
attraction,
he
lecturing,
and
Esther
sitting
on
the
platform.
It
did
not
pay.
The
audience
hurled
things
at
Mr.
Hubbell,
and
these
were
the
only
volatile
objects.
Mr.
Hubbell
therefore
brought
Esther
back
to
her
family
at
Amherst,
where,
in
Esther's
absence,
his
umbrella
and
a
large
carving
knife
flew
at
him
with
every
appearance
of
malevolence.
A
great
arm-chair
next
charged
at
him
like
a
bull,
and
to
say
that
Mr.
Hubbell
was
awed
"would
indeed
seem
an
inadequate
expression
of
my
feelings".
The
ghosts
then
thrice
undressed
little
Willie
in
public,
in
derision
of
his
tears
and
outcries.
Fire-raising
followed,
and
that
would
be
a
hard
heart
which
could
read
the
tale
unmoved.
Here
it
is,
in
the
simple
eloquence
of
Mr.
Hubbell:--
"This
was
my
first
experience
with
Bob,
the
demon,
as
a
fire-fiend;
and
I
say,
candidly,
that
until
I
had
had
that
experience
I
never
fully
realised
what
an
awful
calamity
it
was
to
have
an
invisible
monster,
somewhere
within
the
atmosphere,
going
from
place
to
place
about
the
house,
gathering
up
old
newspapers
into
a
bundle
and
hiding
it
in
the
basket
of
soiled
linen
or
in
a
closet,
then
go
and
steal
matches
out
of
the
match-box
in
the
kitchen
or
somebody's
pocket,
as
he
did
out
of
mine,
and
after
kindling
a
fire
in
the
bundle,
tell
Esther
that
he
had
started
a
fire,
but
would
not
tell
where;
or
perhaps
not
tell
her
at
all,
in
which
case
the
first
intimation
we
would
have
was
the
smell
of
the
smoke
pouring
through
the
house,
and
then
the
most
intense
excitement,
everybody
running
with
buckets
of
water.
I
say
it
was
the
most
truly
awful
calamity
that
could
possible
befall
any
family,
infidel
or
Christian,
that
could
be
conceived
in
the
mind
of
man
or
ghost.
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