Mr. Pike is not an utter disbeliever in ghosts, and has had some
singular experiences himself:--for instance, he saw, one night, a
boy's face, as plainly as ever he saw anything in his life, gazing at
him. Another time--or, as I think, two or three other times--he saw
the figure of a man standing motionless for half an hour in Norman
Street, where the headless ghost is said to walk.

February 19. Mr. Pike is a shortish man, very stoutly built, with a
short neck--an apoplectic frame. His forehead is marked, but not
expansive, though large--I mean, it has not a broad, smooth quietude.
His face dark and sallow--ugly, but with a pleasant, kindly, as well
as strong and thoughtful expression. Stiff, black hair, which starts
bushy and almost erect from his forehead--a heavy, yet very
intelligent countenance. He is subject to the asthma, and moreover to
a sort of apoplectic fit, which compels [him] to sleep almost as erect
as he sits; and if he were to lie down horizontally in bed, he would
feel almost sure of one of these fits. When they seize him, he awakes
feeling as if [his] head were swelled to enormous size, and on the
point of bursting--with great pain. He has his perfect consciousness,
but is unable to call for assistance, or make any noise except by
blowing forcibly with his mouth, and unless this brings help, he must
die. When shaken violently, and lifted to a sitting posture, he
recovers. After a fit, he feels a great horror of going to bed again.
If one were to seize him at his boarding-house, his chance would be
bad, because if any heard his snortings, they would not probably know
what was the matter. These two afflictions might seem enough to make
one man miserable, yet he appears in pretty fair spirits.

He is a Methodist, has occasionally preached, and believes that he has