The second signature is that of the sister who was present at the time.
Mr. Michael Petrovo-Solovovo, who sent us the case, writes:—
I have much pleasure in certifying that the fact of Countess Kapnist's vision was mentioned, among others, to myself before the news of Mr. P.'s death came to Petersburg. I well remember seeing an announcement of his demise in the papers.
VII. F. From Phantasms of the Living, vol. i. p. 522, footnote. The account was written down, a few months after the occurrence, from the dictation of the percipient—Sister Bertha, Superior of the House of Mercy at Bovey Tracy, Newton Abbot—who read it through on December 29th, 1885, pronounced it correct, and signed it.
On the night of the 10th of November, 1861 (I do not know the exact hour), I was up in my bed watching, because there was a person not quite well in the next room. I heard a voice, which I recognised at once as familiar to me, and at first thought of my sister. It said, in the brightest and most cheerful tone, "I am here with you." I answered, looking and seeing nothing, "Who are you?" The voice said, "You mustn't know yet." I heard nothing more, and saw nothing, and am certain that the door was not opened or shut. I was not in the least frightened, and felt convinced that it was Lucy's [Miss Lucy Gambier Parry's] voice. I have never doubted it from that moment. I had not heard of her being worse; the last account had been good, and I was expecting to hear that she was at Torquay. In the course of the next day (the 11th), mother told me that she had died on the morning of the 10th, rather more than twelve hours before I heard her voice.
The narrator informs us that she has never in her life experienced any other hallucination of the senses. Mrs. Gambier Parry, of Highnam Court, Gloucester, step-mother and cousin of the "Lucy" of the narrative, writes:—
Sister Bertha (her name is Bertha Foertsch) had been living for many years as German governess to Lucy Anna Gambier Parry, and was her dearest friend. She came to us at once on hearing of Lucy's death, and told me of the mysterious occurrence of the night before.
VII. G. The following case is in some respects one of the most remarkable and best authenticated instances of "haunting" on record, although, as will be seen, the evidence for the identity of the apparition is inconclusive. The case was fully described in a paper entitled "Record of a Haunted House," by Miss R. C. Morton, in Proceedings S.P.R., vol. viii. pp. 311-332. Besides the account of the principal percipient, Miss R. C. Morton, the paper contains independent first-hand statements from six other witnesses,—a friend, Miss Campbell, a sister and brother of Miss Morton's who lived in the house, a married sister who visited there, and two former servants; also plans of the whole house. For the full details I must refer the reader to the original paper; I have space here only for abbreviated extracts from Miss Morton's account.
An account of the case first came into my hands in December, 1884, and this with Miss Morton's letters to her friend, Miss Campbell, are the earliest written records. On May 1st, 1886, I called upon Captain Morton at the "haunted house," and afterwards visited him at intervals, and took notes of what he told me. I also saw Miss Morton and Miss E. Morton, and the two former servants whose accounts are given in Miss Morton's paper. The phenomena as seen or heard by all the witnesses were very uniform in character, even in the numerous instances where there had been no previous communication between the percipients. Miss Morton is a lady of scientific training, and was at the time her account was written (in April, 1892) preparing to be a physician. The name "Morton" is substituted for the real family name. With that exception the names and initials are the true ones.