{"id":6002,"date":"2020-12-16T11:52:48","date_gmt":"2020-12-16T11:52:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stuartpoetry.art\/?p=6002"},"modified":"2020-12-16T12:06:34","modified_gmt":"2020-12-16T12:06:34","slug":"a-history-of-lincolnshire-in-blue-ink","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/2020\/12\/16\/a-history-of-lincolnshire-in-blue-ink\/","title":{"rendered":"A History of Lincolnshire in Blue Ink"},"content":{"rendered":"

I am not a coward<\/em><\/p>\n

I am a student of science<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>I even question the existence of God<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>There is a rational explanation to all things<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>The devils of my mind are troubling me<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>I had not kept a diary for many years but I found myself recording my thoughts in a small ledger book<\/p>\n

I knew it would help me make decisions<\/p>\n

And so it did<\/p>\n

I still heard the music coming from the eighth room and the occasional lights could still be seen in the mausoleum at night<\/p>\n

The piano keys were still soft to my touch<\/p>\n

Yet the visitations of the mysterious creature had ceased<\/p>\n

But I would not visit the mausoleum and I instructed workmen to enter the building and report back to me<\/p>\n

This they did and their account chilled me<\/p>\n

I had expected a report from Mr Jenkins noting that whilst the mausoleum was quite overgrown that its structure was in one piece and that only the organic decay had given it a sense of despair<\/em><\/p>\n

But when Jenkins and his men had tried to enter the building they had found that the door had been locked from the inside<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>I gave them permission to break the lock and this was probably the worst thing I could have done<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>As they found nothing<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>The coffins of my sister and my dear mama were on the shelves as they had been left on the day of their internment\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Nothing had changed<\/em><\/p>\n

And the vacant shelves where my father and I would one day rest were totally untouched apart from evidence of modest rodent activity<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>Mr Jenkins noted that the infestation of the small albino spiders had grown worse and that he and his men had had to rinse their hair many times with water during and after the visit<\/em><\/p>\n

It was recommended that I fumigate the mausoleum<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>It did not take me long to adopt this course of action and I decided that the ivy should be disposed of at the same time<\/p>\n

Although I did not enter the mausoleum I took a keen interest in the whole operation<\/p>\n

The coffins of my sister and mother was temporarily moved and for a few hours were to be found on the lawns near the drive<\/p>\n

It gave me a comfort to think that they might be enjoying the sun as the day was particularly fine<\/p>\n

Eternity and a Day<\/em><\/p>\n

This saying had always confused me as eternity was eternity so the day could not possible exist<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>But this was that day \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>The whole task took about two weeks and I was invited to visit the mausoleum upon its conclusion<\/p>\n

At first I refused noting that I as quite busy dealing with my fathers affairs as well as being engaged in my own studies<\/p>\n

But then I changed my mind after an incident that occurred when I was bathing<\/p>\n

I have always suffered from a dryness of the skin which necessitated the adoption of frequent bathing<\/p>\n

My physician had recommended a mixture of salts that seemed to control the condition<\/p>\n

On a normal day I would undress and soak in the bath for about ten minutes as advised<\/p>\n

But I did not sleep in the bath at all as I had better things to occupy my time<\/p>\n

The incident was not really an incident but a dream or so I thought<\/p>\n

I had returned from an evening with friends slightly inebriated and ignored my usual routine when retiring<\/p>\n

This prompted an unattractive condition the following morning as I found myself quite ill and because of this I dozed in the bath for a matter of minutes<\/p>\n

I was not dreaming or so I thought but I was sure that a delicate hand was caressing my face almost in the manner of a person without sight<\/em><\/p>\n

That was all<\/em><\/p>\n

There was no rational explanation and I put it down to an agreeable dream no doubt promoted by my trite indulgences of the previous evening<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>I contacted Jenkins and requested access to the mausoleum<\/p>\n

There was a distinct smell of disinfectant as I entered but the small spiders had been eradicated and if anything the final resting place of my mother and sister seemed less sinister<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0The removal of the ivy had revealed the beauty of Mr Knight\u2019s\u00a0 original creation which had been executed in a classical manner<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>I felt better<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>I felt better\u00a0<\/em>than I had for quite a while<\/em><\/p>\n

Nothing happened for a matter of weeks but then I received word that my father had requested my audience as he wanted to speak to me about things and did not feel that travel would benefit his condition<\/p>\n

I was getting ready for my departure when I heard fresh reports that a creature had been seen in the woods<\/p>\n

A gamekeeper from a nearby estate had also witnessed a movement on my wide lawns that he could not explain<\/p>\n

My dreams were returning as I bathed<\/p>\n

The mausoleum however had not suffered the mysterious illuminations of the previous weeks<\/p>\n

And the eighth room was quite silent<\/p>\n

Quite quite silent<\/p>\n

On the Sunday before my departure Richardson had paid me a surprise visit<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>We discussed many things as he was a man of science and had travelled widely even though he was only of tender years<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>At first I kept the incidents at bay but he had been informed by others of the unusual incidents that had occurred near the house<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>By the end of the evening he knew everything<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>He did not give a fig for the supernatural and like me thought that there was a rational explanation to all things<\/p>\n

Even if at first they appeared shrouded in mystery<\/p>\n

And it was he who suggested the opening<\/p>\n

The whole idea initially disgusted me as I did not want the memories of my beautiful mother and sister soiled<\/p>\n

A drastic compromise was reached on that fateful day<\/p>\n

I was due to travel to see my father and he asked permission to open the coffins in my absence<\/p>\n

He was friendly with Cuthbert a man of the cloth who was also a man with a probing scientific mind<\/p>\n

Richardson noted that apart from Cuthbert and myself nobody else would know and that the whole operation would be conducted with the upmost secrecy in mind<\/p>\n

I foolishly agreed and Richardson invited me to his home in Oxford so we might discuss his findings<\/p>\n

This would happen on my return<\/p>\n

As I left the house the evening was drawing in although the day had been quite fine<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>I was helping the coachman lift my trunks when I had occasion to look up at the window of the eighth room<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>A light that appeared to originate from a candle was flickering wildly<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>And then the music commenced<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>But it was not light music<\/em><\/p>\n

It seemed to be more Germanic in its origin and it appeared that the keys of the crimson piano were being struck with a certain force<\/em><\/p>\n

I asked the coachman whether he could hear the music but he could not and he confirmed to me that the room was not illuminated at all<\/em><\/p>\n

It was then that I felt a light movement in my right ear and when I probed I discovered the remains of a tiny albino spider<\/em><\/p>\n

Which I had crushed by accident<\/em><\/p>\n

I felt a nausea pass over me and excused myself<\/p>\n

The coachman who was a genial chap provided a welcome assistance and I explained that the whole episode was the result of an unwelcome indulgence<\/p>\n

The music and the illumination had by then ceased and I felt better<\/p>\n

I had foolishly reacted to a minute creature that might have attached itself to my person during hours distant<\/p>\n

We live in modern times but we are in the minority<\/em><\/p>\n

As my coach headed along the drive I did happen to look back and was sure that I saw a figure at the window of the eighth room<\/p>\n

It appeared to be that of a woman not yet of mature years<\/p>\n

She was dressed in a white gown but there was something very wrong in what I was witnessing<\/p>\n

However as my coach passed the lodge she vanished from view and I was unable to gather my thoughts no matter how hard I tried<\/p>\n

This was my only occupation until we finally reached Dover<\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I am not a coward I am a student of science \u00a0I even question the existence of God \u00a0There is a rational explanation to all things \u00a0The devils of my mind are troubling me \u00a0I had not kept a diary for many years but I found myself recording my thoughts in a small ledger book […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6002"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6002"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6002\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}