

Transcribed from the 1909 Rider and Co. edition by David Price, email
ccx074@pglaf.org





THE LADY OF THE SHROUD


                                    By
                               Bram Stoker

             Author of "Dracula," "The Jewel of Seven Stars,"
                      "The Mystery of the Sea," etc. London
                              Rider and Co. Printed in Great Britain

_Copyright_, _London_, 1909, _by Bram Stoker_
_All rights reserved_

                                    TO
                            MY DEAR OLD FRIEND
                         THE COMTESSE DE GUERBEL
                             (GENEVIEVE WARD)




FROM "THE JOURNAL OF OCCULTISM"
MID-JANUARY, 1907. A strange story comes from the Adriatic. It appears that on the night of
the 9th, as the Italia Steamship Company's vessel "Victorine" was passing
a little before midnight the point known as "the Spear of Ivan," on the
coast of the Blue Mountains, the attention of the Captain, then on the
bridge, was called by the look-out man to a tiny floating light close
inshore. It is the custom of some South-going ships to run close to the
Spear of Ivan in fine weather, as the water is deep, and there is no
settled current; also there are no outlying rocks. Indeed, some years
ago the local steamers had become accustomed to hug the shore here so
closely that an intimation was sent from Lloyd's that any mischance under
the circumstances would not be included in ordinary sea risks. Captain
Mirolani is one of those who insist on a wholesome distance from the
promontory being kept; but on his attention having been called to the
circumstance reported, he thought it well to investigate it, as it might
be some case of personal distress. Accordingly, he had the engines
slowed down, and edged cautiously in towards shore. He was joined on the
bridge by two of his officers, Signori Falamano and Destilia, and by one
passenger on board, Mr. Peter Caulfield, whose reports of Spiritual
Phenomena in remote places are well known to the readers of "The Journal
of Occultism." The following account of the strange occurrence written
by him, and attested by the signatures of Captain Mirolani and the other
gentleman named, has been sent to us.

" . . . It was eleven minutes before twelve midnight on Saturday, the 9th
day of January, 1907, when I saw the strange sight off the headland known
as the Spear of Ivan on the coast of the Land of the Blue Mountains. It
was a fine night, and I stood right on the bows of the ship, where there
was nothing to obstruct my view. We were some distance from the Spear of
Ivan, passing from northern to southern point of the wide bay into which
it projects. Captain Mirolani, the Master, is a very careful seaman, and
gives on his journeys a wide berth to the bay which is tabooed by
Lloyd's. But when he saw in the moonlight, though far off, a tiny white
figure of a woman drifting on some strange current in a small boat, on
the prow of which rested a faint light (to me it looked like a
corpse-candle! ), he thought it might be some person in distress, and
began to cautiously edge towards it. Two of his officers were with him
on the bridge--Signori Falamano and Destilia. All these three, as well
as myself, saw It. The rest of the crew and passengers were below. As
we got close the true inwardness of It became apparent to me; but the
mariners did not seem to realize till the very last. This is, after all,
not strange, for none of them had either knowledge or experience in
Occult matters, whereas for over thirty years I have made a special study
of this subject, and have gone to and fro over the earth investigating to
the nth all records of Spiritual Phenomena. As I could see from their
movements that the officers did not comprehend that which was so apparent
to myself, I took care not to enlighten them, lest such should result in
the changing of the vessel's course before I should be near enough to
make accurate observation. All turned out as I wished--at least, nearly
so--as shall be seen. Being in the bow, I had, of course, a better view
than from the bridge. Presently I made out that the boat, which had all
along seemed to be of a queer shape, was none other than a _Coffin_, and
that the woman standing up in it was clothed in a shroud. Her back was
towards us, and she had evidently not heard our approach. As we were
creeping along slowly, the engines were almost noiseless, and there was
hardly a ripple as our fore-foot cut the dark water. Suddenly there was
a wild cry from the bridge--Italians are certainly very excitable; hoarse
commands were given to the Quartermaster at the wheel; the engine-room
bell clanged. On the instant, as it seemed, the ship's head began to
swing round to starboard; full steam ahead was in action, and before one
could understand, the Apparition was fading in the distance. The last
thing I saw was the flash of a white face with dark, burning eyes as the
figure sank down into the coffin--just as mist or smoke disappears under
a breeze." BOOK I: THE WILL OF ROGER MELTON


The Reading of the Will of Roger Melton and all that Followed


Record made by Ernest Roger Halbard Melton, law-student of the Inner
Temple, eldest son of Ernest Halbard Melton, eldest son of Ernest Melton,
elder brother of the said Roger Melton and his next of kin. I consider it at least useful--perhaps necessary--to have a complete and
accurate record of all pertaining to the Will of my late grand-uncle
Roger Melton. To which end let me put down the various members of his family, and
explain some of their occupations and idiosyncrasies. My father, Ernest
Halbard Melton, was the only son of Ernest Melton, eldest son of Sir
Geoffrey Halbard Melton of Humcroft, in the shire of Salop, a Justice of
the Peace, and at one time Sheriff. My great-grandfather, Sir Geoffrey,
had inherited a small estate from his father, Roger Melton. In his time,
by the way, the name was spelled Milton; but my great-great-grandfather
changed the spelling to the later form, as he was a practical man not
given to sentiment, and feared lest he should in the public eye be
confused with others belonging to the family of a Radical person called
Milton, who wrote poetry and was some sort of official in the time of
Cromwell, whilst we are Conservatives. The same practical spirit which
originated the change in the spelling of the family name inclined him to
go into business. So he became, whilst still young, a tanner and
leather-dresser. He utilized for the purpose the ponds and streams, and
also the oak-woods on his estate--Torraby in Suffolk. He made a fine
business, and accumulated a considerable fortune, with a part of which he
purchased the Shropshire estate, which he entailed, and to which I am
therefore heir-apparent. Sir Geoffrey had, in addition to my grandfather, three sons and a
daughter, the latter being born twenty years after her youngest brother.