realise that this girl would never do such a thing. She was reliable, trustworthy, loyal and amiable. I have found that Irish girls are much better tempered than their Highland counterparts and there is also not always the same language difficulty. Nora was amongst the finest of her kind, an extremely pleasant girl and all of these characteristics were evident in her engaging looks.
Sadly she met with a fatal accident. Apparently, a troupe of itinerants discovered some remains next to a line of the railway track and reported their find to the first person they saw, who happened to be our foreman. He immediately recognised Nora (despite extensive damage to her person there was no mistaking her identity). The local village does not have a policeman but with the arrival of the constable from Smoller, the itinerants were arrested, briefly, but were released when our Dr McGregor-Robertson examined the scene and pronounced that Nora’s death was (of course!) caused not by her fellow countrymen but, without doubt, by a speeding train. This was confirmed a few days later when the rest of her body was discovered, further down the line, somewhere between here and the nearby town of Bathgate.
Our doctor informs me it is not known where exactly the collision took place, as her body could have been dragged any distance. No driver reported seeing anyone on the tracks. However, it seems clear that, at some point, the poor girl wandered onto the track and somehow failed to see a train approaching…
The funeral took place yesterday. I did not attend, being a little too upset and my husband did not think it wise. Of course, everyone is most shocked, myself especially since I was particularly fond of this girl. I felt that in Nora I had found (at last!) the ideal servant, always eager to please and well-liked by all who met her. Alas, she was with me for only six months…
Poor dear Nora! I fear I will never find another like her. In such cases, those who are not as close to the deceased have, of course, their own reactions to the death. For instance, my husband seems concerned in the main with potential scandal. He is horrified that such a tragedy should have happened on our land. I myself had the sorry task of packing up Nora’s few belongings and putting them away in the attic. As far as we are aware there is no family but I shall keep her few things and her paltry pair of thin, faded frocks just in case anyone should come asking for them. I had thus far managed to remain in control of my emotions, but I must confess that, as I folded away Nora’s clothing, I found myself shedding a tear or two.
At this point I paused in my reading of
The Observations
because an awful thought was forming in my mind. I stared down at the frock I had on. I must admit, I expected to see it fall in rotting shreds from my body and crumble to yellow dust on the floor but it was just the same as always, grey and a bit faded and too tight in the tit. Could missus possibly have give me clothes belonging to a dead girl? For that was what the “Great Tragedy‘ suggested. I could not countenance that my missus would do such a ghoulish thing but all the same it troubled me.
And then I remembered the words and hooting laughter of AP Henderson when he was asking about my predecessor.
“Did she go on the train?”
So that was his joke—a very grisly one.
I flicked back several pages.
Nora
Age 22 years
Smaller than average height
Bust 32
Waist 28
Hip 36
Arm 10 and 1/2 inches
Neck 12 and 1/4 inches
Skull 21 and 1/4 inches
Mouth 2 and 1/4 inches
Mouth to ear 5 and 1/4 inches
Nose 1 and 3/4 inches
Between the eyes 2 inches
By observation: brown hair, pleasant countenance, sparkling eyes, clear skin, one missing tooth (incisor), small frame, lively—darting—like a bird.
Nora has now been with us for five days and has proved to be most efficient and pleasant in carrying out her duties. She is Irish by origin and has been in this country for six
Sadly she met with a fatal accident. Apparently, a troupe of itinerants discovered some remains next to a line of the railway track and reported their find to the first person they saw, who happened to be our foreman. He immediately recognised Nora (despite extensive damage to her person there was no mistaking her identity). The local village does not have a policeman but with the arrival of the constable from Smoller, the itinerants were arrested, briefly, but were released when our Dr McGregor-Robertson examined the scene and pronounced that Nora’s death was (of course!) caused not by her fellow countrymen but, without doubt, by a speeding train. This was confirmed a few days later when the rest of her body was discovered, further down the line, somewhere between here and the nearby town of Bathgate.
Our doctor informs me it is not known where exactly the collision took place, as her body could have been dragged any distance. No driver reported seeing anyone on the tracks. However, it seems clear that, at some point, the poor girl wandered onto the track and somehow failed to see a train approaching…
The funeral took place yesterday. I did not attend, being a little too upset and my husband did not think it wise. Of course, everyone is most shocked, myself especially since I was particularly fond of this girl. I felt that in Nora I had found (at last!) the ideal servant, always eager to please and well-liked by all who met her. Alas, she was with me for only six months…
Poor dear Nora! I fear I will never find another like her. In such cases, those who are not as close to the deceased have, of course, their own reactions to the death. For instance, my husband seems concerned in the main with potential scandal. He is horrified that such a tragedy should have happened on our land. I myself had the sorry task of packing up Nora’s few belongings and putting them away in the attic. As far as we are aware there is no family but I shall keep her few things and her paltry pair of thin, faded frocks just in case anyone should come asking for them. I had thus far managed to remain in control of my emotions, but I must confess that, as I folded away Nora’s clothing, I found myself shedding a tear or two.
At this point I paused in my reading of
The Observations
because an awful thought was forming in my mind. I stared down at the frock I had on. I must admit, I expected to see it fall in rotting shreds from my body and crumble to yellow dust on the floor but it was just the same as always, grey and a bit faded and too tight in the tit. Could missus possibly have give me clothes belonging to a dead girl? For that was what the “Great Tragedy‘ suggested. I could not countenance that my missus would do such a ghoulish thing but all the same it troubled me.
And then I remembered the words and hooting laughter of AP Henderson when he was asking about my predecessor.
“Did she go on the train?”
So that was his joke—a very grisly one.
I flicked back several pages.
Nora
Age 22 years
Smaller than average height
Bust 32
Waist 28
Hip 36
Arm 10 and 1/2 inches
Neck 12 and 1/4 inches
Skull 21 and 1/4 inches
Mouth 2 and 1/4 inches
Mouth to ear 5 and 1/4 inches
Nose 1 and 3/4 inches
Between the eyes 2 inches
By observation: brown hair, pleasant countenance, sparkling eyes, clear skin, one missing tooth (incisor), small frame, lively—darting—like a bird.
Nora has now been with us for five days and has proved to be most efficient and pleasant in carrying out her duties. She is Irish by origin and has been in this country for six
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