Lab
Library
Journal
Shop
Sign in
to keep
Share image
1
303
The Book of Dreams and Ghosts
·
Andrew Lang
94
IN
TAVISTOCK
PLACE
{93}
"In
the
latter
part
of
the
autumn
of
1878,
between
half-past
three
and
four
in
the
morning,
I
was
leisurely
walking
home
from
the
house
of
a
sick
friend.
A
middle-aged
woman,
apparently
a
nurse,
was
slowly
following,
going
in
the
same
direction.
We
crossed
Tavistock
Square
together,
and
emerged
simultaneously
into
Tavistock
Place.
The
streets
and
squares
were
deserted,
the
morning
bright
and
calm,
my
health
excellent,
nor
did
I
suffer
from
anxiety
or
fatigue.
A
man
suddenly
appeared,
striding
up
Tavistock
Place,
coming
towards
me,
and
going
in
a
direction
opposite
to
mine.
When
first
seen
he
was
standing
exactly
in
front
of
my
own
door
(5
Tavistock
Place).
Young
and
ghastly
pale,
he
was
dressed
in
evening
clothes,
evidently
made
by
a
foreign
tailor.
Tall
and
slim,
he
walked
with
long
measured
strides
noiselessly.
A
tall
white
hat,
covered
thickly
with
black
crape,
and
an
eyeglass,
completed
the
costume
of
this
strange
form.
The
moonbeams
falling
on
the
corpse-like
features
revealed
a
face
well
known
to
me,
that
of
a
friend
and
relative.
The
sole
and
only
person
in
the
street
beyond
myself
and
this
being
was
the
woman
already
alluded
to.
She
stopped
abruptly,
as
if
spell-bound,
then
rushing
towards
the
man,
she
gazed
intently
and
with
horror
unmistakable
on
his
face,
which
was
now
upturned
to
the
heavens
and
smiling
ghastly.
She
indulged
in
her
strange
contemplation
but
during
very
few
seconds,
then
with
extraordinary
and
unexpected
speed
for
her
weight
and
age
she
ran
away
with
a
terrific
shriek
and
yell.
This
woman
never
have
I
seen
or
heard
of
since,
and
but
for
her
presence
I
could
have
explained
the
incident:
called
it,
say,
subjection
of
the
mental
powers
to
the
domination
of
physical
reflex
action,
and
the
man's
presence
could
have
been
termed
a
false
impression
on
the
retina.
Marker
Marker
Fine marker
White-out
Fine white-out
Circle
Paint
Unmarker
Hand
Scalpel
Dice
Sieve
Purify
Undo
Redo
Start over
