{"product_id":"2940014206259","title":"THE LADY OF THE SHROUD","description":"FROM \"THE JOURNAL OF OCCULTISM\"\u003cbr\u003eMID-JANUARY, 1907.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA strange story comes from the Adriatic.  It appears that on the night of\u003cbr\u003ethe 9th, as the Italia Steamship Company's vessel \"Victorine\" was passing\u003cbr\u003ea little before midnight the point known as \"the Spear of Ivan,\" on the\u003cbr\u003ecoast of the Blue Mountains, the attention of the Captain, then on the\u003cbr\u003ebridge, was called by the look-out man to a tiny floating light close\u003cbr\u003einshore.  It is the custom of some South-going ships to run close to the\u003cbr\u003eSpear of Ivan in fine weather, as the water is deep, and there is no\u003cbr\u003esettled current; also there are no outlying rocks.  Indeed, some years\u003cbr\u003eago the local steamers had become accustomed to hug the shore here so\u003cbr\u003eclosely that an intimation was sent from Lloyd's that any mischance under\u003cbr\u003ethe circumstances would not be included in ordinary sea risks.  Captain\u003cbr\u003eMirolani is one of those who insist on a wholesome distance from the\u003cbr\u003epromontory being kept; but on his attention having been called to the\u003cbr\u003ecircumstance reported, he thought it well to investigate it, as it might\u003cbr\u003ebe some case of personal distress.  Accordingly, he had the engines\u003cbr\u003eslowed down, and edged cautiously in towards shore.  He was joined on the\u003cbr\u003ebridge by two of his officers, Signori Falamano and Destilia, and by one\u003cbr\u003epassenger on board, Mr. Peter Caulfield, whose reports of Spiritual\u003cbr\u003ePhenomena in remote places are well known to the readers of \"The Journal\u003cbr\u003eof Occultism.\"  The following account of the strange occurrence written\u003cbr\u003eby him, and attested by the signatures of Captain Mirolani and the other\u003cbr\u003egentleman named, has been sent to us.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\" . . . It was eleven minutes before twelve midnight on Saturday, the 9th\u003cbr\u003eday of January, 1907, when I saw the strange sight off the headland known\u003cbr\u003eas the Spear of Ivan on the coast of the Land of the Blue Mountains.  It\u003cbr\u003ewas a fine night, and I stood right on the bows of the ship, where there\u003cbr\u003ewas nothing to obstruct my view.  We were some distance from the Spear of\u003cbr\u003eIvan, passing from northern to southern point of the wide bay into which\u003cbr\u003eit projects.  Captain Mirolani, the Master, is a very careful seaman, and\u003cbr\u003egives on his journeys a wide berth to the bay which is tabooed by\u003cbr\u003eLloyd's.  But when he saw in the moonlight, though far off, a tiny white\u003cbr\u003efigure of a woman drifting on some strange current in a small boat, on\u003cbr\u003ethe prow of which rested a faint light (to me it looked like a\u003cbr\u003ecorpse-candle!), he thought it might be some person in distress, and\u003cbr\u003ebegan to cautiously edge towards it.  Two of his officers were with him\u003cbr\u003eon the bridge--Signori Falamano and Destilia.  All these three, as well\u003cbr\u003eas myself, saw It.  The rest of the crew and passengers were below.  As\u003cbr\u003ewe got close the true inwardness of It became apparent to me; but the\u003cbr\u003emariners did not seem to realize till the very last.  This is, after all,\u003cbr\u003enot strange, for none of them had either knowledge or experience in\u003cbr\u003eOccult matters, whereas for over thirty years I have made a special study\u003cbr\u003eof this subject, and have gone to and fro over the earth investigating to\u003cbr\u003ethe nth all records of Spiritual Phenomena.  As I could see from their\u003cbr\u003emovements that the officers did not comprehend that which was so apparent\u003cbr\u003eto myself, I took care not to enlighten them, lest such should result in\u003cbr\u003ethe changing of the vessel's course before I should be near enough to\u003cbr\u003emake accurate observation.  All turned out as I wished--at least, nearly\u003cbr\u003eso--as shall be seen.  Being in the bow, I had, of course, a better view\u003cbr\u003ethan from the bridge.   Presently I made out that the boat, which had all\u003cbr\u003ealong seemed to be of a queer shape, was none other than a _Coffin_, and\u003cbr\u003ethat the woman standing up in it was clothed in a shroud.  Her back was\u003cbr\u003etowards us, and she had evidently not heard our approach.  As we were\u003cbr\u003ecreeping along slowly, the engines were almost noiseless, and there was\u003cbr\u003ehardly a ripple as our fore-foot cut the dark water.  Suddenly there was\u003cbr\u003ea wild cry from the bridge--Italians are certainly very excitable; hoarse\u003cbr\u003ecommands were given to the Quartermaster at the wheel; the engine-room\u003cbr\u003ebell clanged.  On the instant, as it seemed, the ship's head began to\u003cbr\u003eswing round to starboard; full steam ahead was in action, and before one\u003cbr\u003ecould understand, the Apparition was fading in the distance.  The last\u003cbr\u003ething I saw was the flash of a white face with dark, burning eyes as the\u003cbr\u003efigure sank down into the coffin--just as mist or smoke disappears under\u003cbr\u003ea breeze.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBOOK I: THE WILL OF ROGER MELTON\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Reading of the Will of Roger Melton and all that Followed","brand":"SAP","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47080012873968,"sku":"2940014206259","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940014206259_p0.jpg?v=1763602971","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940014206259","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}