The Great God Pan | Page 9

story, and
continued in such evident distress that at last his father took him home,
hoping that his mother would be able to soothe him. For many weeks,
however, the boy gave his parents much anxiety; he became nervous
and strange in his manner, refusing to leave the cottage by himself, and
constantly alarming the household by waking in the night with cries of
"The man in the wood! father! father!"
In course of time, however, the impression seemed to have worn off,
and about three months later he accompanied his father to the home of
a gentleman in the neighborhood, for whom Joseph W. occasionally did
work. The man was shown into the study, and the little boy was left
sitting in the hall, and a few minutes later, while the gentleman was
giving W. his instructions, they were both horrified by a piercing shriek
and the sound of a fall, and rushing out they found the child lying
senseless on the floor, his face contorted with terror. The doctor was
immediately summoned, and after some examination he pronounced
the child to be suffering form a kind of fit, apparently produced by a
sudden shock. The boy was taken to one of the bedrooms, and after

some time recovered consciousness, but only to pass into a condition
described by the medical man as one of violent hysteria. The doctor
exhibited a strong sedative, and in the course of two hours pronounced
him fit to walk home, but in passing through the hall the paroxysms of
fright returned and with additional violence. The father perceived that
the child was pointing at some object, and heard the old cry, "The man
in the wood," and looking in the direction indicated saw a stone head of
grotesque appearance, which had been built into the wall above one of
the doors. It seems the owner of the house had recently made
alterations in his premises, and on digging the foundations for some
offices, the men had found a curious head, evidently of the Roman
period, which had been placed in the manner described. The head is
pronounced by the most experienced archaeologists of the district to be
that of a faun or satyr. [Dr. Phillips tells me that he has seen the head in
question, and assures me that he has never received such a vivid
presentment of intense evil.]
From whatever cause arising, this second shock seemed too severe for
the boy Trevor, and at the present date he suffers from a weakness of
intellect, which gives but little promise of amending. The matter caused
a good deal of sensation at the time, and the girl Helen was closely
questioned by Mr. R., but to no purpose, she steadfastly denying that
she had frightened or in any way molested Trevor.
The second event with which this girl's name is connected took place
about six years ago, and is of a still more extraordinary character.
At the beginning of the summer of 1882, Helen contracted a friendship
of a peculiarly intimate character with Rachel M., the daughter of a
prosperous farmer in the neighbourhood. This girl, who was a year
younger than Helen, was considered by most people to be the prettier of
the two, though Helen's features had to a great extent softened as she
became older. The two girls, who were together on every available
opportunity, presented a singular contrast, the one with her clear, olive
skin and almost Italian appearance, and the other of the proverbial red
and white of our rural districts. It must be stated that the payments
made to Mr. R. for the maintenance of Helen were known in the village

for their excessive liberality, and the impression was general that she
would one day inherit a large sum of money from her relative. The
parents of Rachel were therefore not averse from their daughter's
friendship with the girl, and even encouraged the intimacy, though they
now bitterly regret having done so. Helen still retained her
extraordinary fondness for the forest, and on several occasions Rachel
accompanied her, the two friends setting out early in the morning, and
remaining in the wood until dusk. Once or twice after these excursions
Mrs. M. thought her daughter's manner rather peculiar; she seemed
languid and dreamy, and as it has been expressed, "different from
herself," but these peculiarities seem to have been thought too trifling
for remark. One evening, however, after Rachel had come home, her
mother heard a noise which sounded like suppressed weeping in the
girl's room, and on going in found her lying, half undressed, upon the
bed, evidently in the greatest distress. As soon as she saw her mother,
she exclaimed, "Ah, mother, mother, why did you let me go to the
forest with Helen?" Mrs. M. was