Now, if the reader will kindly consider the matter, it must be an
extremely difficult thing to prove, in a court of law, that a house, by
reason solely of being haunted, is unsuitable for the residence of a
gentleman of position.
Smells, bad drainage, impure water, unhealthiness of situation,
dampness, the absence of advantages mentioned, the presence of small
game--more odious to tenants of furnished houses than ground game to
farmers--all these things had, we knew, been made pretexts for
repudiation of contracts, and often successfully, but we could find no
precedent for ghosts being held as just pleas upon which to relinquish a
tenancy; and we made sure of a favourable verdict accordingly.
To this day, I believe that our hopes would have been justified by the
result, had some demon of mischief not put it into the head of
Taylor--who had the management of the case--that it would be a good
thing to get Miss Blake into the witness-box.
"She will amuse the jury," he said, "and juries have always a kindly
feeling for any person who can amuse them."
Which was all very well, and might be very true in a general way, but
Miss Blake proved the exception to his rule.
Of course she amused the jury, in fact, she amused everyone.
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