"It is not so, nor it was not so," said Mr. Fox.

"And then--and then I opened the door, and the room was filled with
bodies and skeletons of poor dead women, all stained with their
blood."

"It is not so, nor it was not so. And God forbid it should be so,"
said Mr. Fox.

"I then dreamed that I rushed down the gallery, and just as I was
going down the stairs, I saw you, Mr. Fox, coming up to the hall door,
dragging after you a poor young lady, rich and beautiful."

"It is not so, nor it was not so. And God forbid it should be so,"
said Mr. Fox.

"I rushed downstairs, just in time to hide myself behind a cask, when
you, Mr. Fox, came in dragging the young lady by the arm. And, as you
passed me, Mr. Fox, I thought I saw you try and get off her diamond
ring, and when you could not, Mr. Fox, it seemed to me in my dream,
that you out with your sword and hacked off the poor lady's hand to
get the ring."

"It is not so, nor it was not so. And God forbid it should be so,"
said Mr. Fox, and was going to say something else as he rose from his
seat, when Lady Mary cried out:

"But it is so, and it was so. Here's hand and ring I have to show,"
and pulled out the lady's hand from her dress, and pointed it straight
at Mr. Fox.