World’s Akin.  The following narrative is quite unique in its way, and fortunately he was able to get it at first hand from the only living person present.  Here we have a ghost which not only strikes the first blow, hitting a man fair in the eye, but afterwards sets a ghostly dog upon his victim and then disappears.  The narrative was signed by Mr. James Durham as lately as December 5th, 1890.”  Mr. Stead then proceeds to quote the account which he had from Mr. Kendall, and which I append ad verbum from the Review of Reviews.  It is as follows:  “I was night watchman at the old Darlington and Stockton Station at the town of Darlington, a few yards from the first station that ever existed.  I was there fifteen years.  I used to go on duty about 8 p.m. and come off at 6 a.m.  I had been there a little while—­perhaps two or three years—­and about forty years ago.  One night during winter at about 12 o’clock or 12.30 I was feeling rather cold with standing here and there; I said to myself, ’I will away down and get something to eat.’  There was a porter’s cellar where a fire was kept on and a coal-house was connected with it.  So I went down the steps, took off my overcoat, and had just sat down on the bench opposite the fire and turned up the gas when a strange man came out of the coal-house, followed by a big black retriever.  As soon as he entered my eye was upon him, and his eye upon me, and we were intently watching each other as he moved on to the front of the fire.  There he stood looking at me, and a curious smile came over his countenance.  He had a stand-up collar and a cut-away coat with gilt buttons and a Scotch cap.  All at once he struck at me, and I had the impression that he hit me.  I up with my fist and struck back at him.  My fist seemed to go through him and struck against the stone above the fireplace, and knocked the skin off my knuckles.  The man seemed to be struck back into the fire, and uttered a strange, unearthly squeak.  Immediately the dog gripped me by the calf of my leg, and seemed to cause me pain.  The man recovered his position, called off the dog with a sort of click of the tongue, then went back into the coal-house, followed by the dog.  I lighted my dark lantern and looked into the coal-house, but there was neither dog nor man, and no outlet for them except the one by which they had entered.

“I was satisfied that what I had seen was ghostly, and it accounted for the fact that when the man had first come into the place where he sat I had not challenged him with any enquiry.  Next day, and for several weeks, my account caused quite a commotion, and a host of people spoke to me about it; among the rest old Edward Pease, father of railways, and his three sons, John, Joseph, and Henry.  Old Edward sent for me to his house and asked me all particulars.  He and others put this question to me:  “Are you sure you were not asleep and had the nightmare?” My answer was quite sure, for I had not been a minute