Fortunately, I was able to get his mind
back to the consideration of "Hesturnemysfear" before anything
worse happened than a few muttered remarks about the laughter of
fools, and want of reverence for sacred subjects being the sign of
a shallow mind.
We tried "He's stern," and "His turn," and the "fear of
Hesturnemy," and tried to think who "Hesturnemy" might be. Three
times we went over the whole thing again from the beginning, which
meant six hundred and six tiltings of the table, and then suddenly
the explanation struck me--"Eastern Hemisphere."
Whibley had asked it for any information it might possess
concerning his wife's uncle, from whom he had not heard for months,
and that apparently was its idea of an address.
The fame of Whibley's Spirit became noised abroad, with the result
that Whibley was able to command the willing service of more
congenial assistants, and Jobstock and myself were dismissed. But
we bore no malice.
Under these more favourable conditions the Spirit plucked up
wonderfully, and talked everybody's head off. It could never have
been a cheerful companion, however, for its conversation was
chiefly confined to warnings and prognostications of evil.
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