Crime & punishment > Whinny Park murder

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Lctham, and was passing Whinny Park about 11 o’clock.
On coming within about 300 yards of Millie’s property
and where the body (though Mr Espline did not know of
it) was then lying, he observed a dull glimmering light
near the end of the house; the circumstance did not at
first attract much of his attention, nor did he trouble
himself to think what might be its cause: but on pro¬
ceeding nearer he was struck by observing a much larger
Hash apparently from the same spot; this was of a bluish
appearance, and considerably fainter than the small light
he had noticed at first. As he went onwards, conjec¬
turing what might be the occasion for lights—apparently
out of doors—at this time of night, the smaller sparkles
continued almost without intermission : and when within
about 30 or 40 yards of Millie’s property, a flash of most
startling magnitude was again suddenly thrown up, so as
to render the surrounding objects distinctly visible^—the
gable of Millie’s house, the surrounding trees, and the park
wall of Melville, were exhibited in a kind of lurid bluish
light,whic!i wasat once unaccountable and ghastly. In the
intervals between the large flashes, the objects which had
been rendered visible by their light, seemed to recede
into tenfold darkness: and the gloom of the scene ap¬
peared absolutely terrible. Mr Espline describes his
sensations as unaccountable; for though he had no sus¬
picion of any thing being wrong about the place, and con¬
tinued to attribute the appearances to some light used
on the premises, he could by no means reconcile this idea
with the phenomena—particularly when on coming in
view of the back windows, he saw there were no lights in
the house. From observing too at the gate a cart load
ol coals still remaining and not carried into the house, he
saw that Millie was not at home, and that the place con¬
tinued solitary as he had left it in the morning. Mis ideas,
therefore on stopping# moment to look back at the place,
were in that kind of uneasy perplexity, which one feels
on being unpleasantly alarmed, without being able to sa¬
tisfy one’s self as to the cause. The circumstance occu¬
pied his mind so intensely that he thought of calling on
an acquaintance in his way, and returning with him to the
spot; but it was by this time past 11, and his friend’s
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