0:00:02 > 0:00:06CHORISTER SINGS
0:00:11 > 0:00:14Imagine, if you will,
0:00:14 > 0:00:19Kings College, Cambridge, almost 100 years ago.
0:00:49 > 0:00:53BELL TOLLS
0:01:12 > 0:01:15Every Christmas Eve has its ritual.
0:01:17 > 0:01:23Those invited make their way for the appointed time...
0:01:24 > 0:01:30..out of the darkness, while the master waits.
0:01:40 > 0:01:45Montague Rhodes James, provost of Kings, scholar,
0:01:45 > 0:01:49antiquary...
0:01:49 > 0:01:52and writer of ghost stories.
0:01:59 > 0:02:06Recently, I was cataloguing the manuscripts of the library of a Cambridge college.
0:02:06 > 0:02:11I reached the end of the numbered volumes and asked the librarian
0:02:11 > 0:02:15if there were more papers which I ought to include.
0:02:15 > 0:02:20There was a tin box which was pulled out and dusted.
0:02:20 > 0:02:22Its label was faded
0:02:22 > 0:02:27and on it was inscribed, "Papers of the venerable Archdeacon Haynes,
0:02:27 > 0:02:32"bequeathed in 1834 by his sister, Miss Letitia Haynes."
0:02:32 > 0:02:38I knew the name. I'd read his obituary in a gentleman's magazine.
0:02:41 > 0:02:47Archdeacon Haynes... came to a very odd end at Barchester.
0:02:50 > 0:02:54Dr Haynes,
0:02:54 > 0:02:57already a mature man,
0:02:57 > 0:03:04moved to Barchester with his sister in the year 1810.
0:03:04 > 0:03:11The office of archdeacon had long been the object of his wishes, but his predecessor, Pulteney,
0:03:11 > 0:03:16refused to depart until he had attained the age of 92.
0:03:16 > 0:03:21A week after the celebrations of that 92nd birthday,
0:03:21 > 0:03:28Dr Haynes hurried cheerfully into his breakfast room, rubbing his hands, humming a tune.
0:03:28 > 0:03:34He was greeted by the sight of his sister, seated behind the tea urn,
0:03:34 > 0:03:39bowed forward and sobbing unrestrainedly into her handkerchief.
0:03:39 > 0:03:44"What is the matter? What bad news?" he began.
0:03:44 > 0:03:49"Oh, Johnny, you haven't heard. The poor, dear archdeacon."
0:03:49 > 0:03:52"The archdeacon? Yes?
0:03:52 > 0:03:55"What is it? Ill, is he?"
0:03:55 > 0:03:59"Oh, no, no. They found him
0:03:59 > 0:04:03"on the staircase this morning. It is so shocking."
0:04:03 > 0:04:07"Is this possible? Dear, dear!
0:04:07 > 0:04:10"Poor Pulteney!
0:04:10 > 0:04:13"Did he have a seizure?"
0:04:13 > 0:04:16"They don't think so," said Miss Haynes.
0:04:16 > 0:04:23"That's the worst thing about it. It seems to have been the fault of that stupid maid of theirs, Jane."
0:04:25 > 0:04:28Dr Haynes paused.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31"I don't quite understand, Letitia.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34"How was the maid at fault?"
0:04:34 > 0:04:41"As far as I can make out," Miss Haynes said, "there was a stair rod missing and she never mentioned it.
0:04:41 > 0:04:49"The poor archdeacon set his foot quite on the edge of the step - you know how slippery that oak is.
0:04:49 > 0:04:54"Oh, it seems he must have fallen almost the whole flight
0:04:54 > 0:04:57"and broken his neck."
0:05:04 > 0:05:09After standing in silence for some minutes, Dr Haynes left the room,
0:05:09 > 0:05:12and didn't appear again that morning.
0:05:12 > 0:05:18I need only add that the careless maid-servant was dismissed forthwith,
0:05:18 > 0:05:25but that the missing stair rod was very shortly afterwards found under the stair carpet.
0:05:25 > 0:05:29Additional proof, if any were needed,
0:05:29 > 0:05:34of extreme stupidity and carelessness on her part.
0:05:35 > 0:05:40For a good many years, Dr Haynes had been marked out by his ability -
0:05:40 > 0:05:45which, it seems, was considerable - as the likely successor of Pulteney,
0:05:45 > 0:05:48and he wasn't to be disappointed.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51He was duly installed
0:05:51 > 0:05:56and zealously gave himself over to the responsibilities of his position.
0:05:56 > 0:06:02Functions, as he discovered, sadly neglected by the late Archdeacon Pulteney.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05Look in Haynes' journals,
0:06:05 > 0:06:11he lists what Archdeacon Pulteney had failed to do -
0:06:11 > 0:06:14dues uncollected for 12 years,
0:06:14 > 0:06:17no visits for seven years,
0:06:17 > 0:06:21four churches in disrepair.
0:06:21 > 0:06:26His deputies nearly as incapable as himself.
0:06:30 > 0:06:38In his correspondence, Haynes calculates that a period of three years will just suffice
0:06:38 > 0:06:43to set the business of the archdeaconry upon a proper footing.
0:06:43 > 0:06:45And so it proved.
0:06:45 > 0:06:50He begins to take an interest in the fabric, the furniture, the music.
0:06:50 > 0:06:56There is a draft of a letter to Sylvanus Urban,
0:06:56 > 0:06:59which I do not think was ever sent,
0:06:59 > 0:07:02describing the stalls in the choir.
0:07:03 > 0:07:11"The prayer desk at the east end is carved with three small but remarkable statuettes
0:07:11 > 0:07:13"in the grotesque manner.
0:07:13 > 0:07:18"One is an exquisitely modelled figure of a cat.
0:07:18 > 0:07:24"Opposite to this stands a shape, muffled in a long mantle.
0:07:24 > 0:07:31"This might, at first sight, be mistaken for a monk or a friar,
0:07:31 > 0:07:36"for the head is cowled and a knotted cord hangs down from the waist.
0:07:36 > 0:07:42"A slight inspection, however, will lead to a very different conclusion.
0:07:42 > 0:07:47"The knotted cord is quickly seen to be a halter,
0:07:47 > 0:07:51"held by a hand all but concealed within the draperies,
0:07:51 > 0:07:55"while the sunken features and, horrid to relate,
0:07:55 > 0:08:01"the rent flesh upon the cheekbones proclaim the King of Terrors.
0:08:01 > 0:08:08"These figures are evidently the production of no unskilled chisel."
0:08:08 > 0:08:12"Some late researches among the Chapter accounts
0:08:12 > 0:08:19"have shown me that the carving of the stalls was not, as was usually reported, the work of Dutch artists,
0:08:19 > 0:08:25"but was executed by a native of this city or district named Austin.
0:08:25 > 0:08:30"The timber was procured from an oak copse in the vicinity,
0:08:30 > 0:08:36"the property of the dean and chapter known as Holywood."
0:08:38 > 0:08:41Upon a recent visit to the parish,
0:08:41 > 0:08:47Haynes writes, "I learned from an aged and respectable local
0:08:47 > 0:08:50"some of the history of the oaks employed
0:08:50 > 0:08:55"to furnish the cathedral with its stalls."
0:08:58 > 0:09:03"One tree in particular, which stood near the centre of the grove,
0:09:03 > 0:09:08"is remembered that it was known as the hanging oak."
0:09:14 > 0:09:19"A quantity of human bones was found in the soil."
0:09:28 > 0:09:35To return to his career, as it is to be gathered from his diaries,
0:09:35 > 0:09:40those of his first three years of hard and careful work
0:09:40 > 0:09:45show him throughout in high spirits and, doubtless, during this time,
0:09:45 > 0:09:52that reputation for hospitality and urbanity which is mentioned in his obituary notice...was well deserved.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55After that,
0:09:55 > 0:10:00as time goes on, I see a shadow coming over him
0:10:00 > 0:10:05destined to develop into utter blackness,
0:10:05 > 0:10:12which I can only think must have been reflected in his outward demeanour.
0:10:12 > 0:10:19He commits a good deal of his fears and troubles to his diary - there was no other outlet for them.
0:10:19 > 0:10:23He was not married, and his sister was not always with him.
0:10:23 > 0:10:28But I am much mistaken if he has told all that he might have told.
0:10:28 > 0:10:33I shall give you gentlemen some extracts.
0:10:35 > 0:10:38"August 30th 1816.
0:10:38 > 0:10:43"The days begin to draw in more perceptively than ever.
0:10:43 > 0:10:45"Now that the archdeaconry papers
0:10:45 > 0:10:47"are reduced to order,
0:10:47 > 0:10:53"I must find employment for the evening's hours of autumn and winter.
0:10:53 > 0:10:55"It is a great blow
0:10:55 > 0:11:00"that Letitia's health will not allow her to stay these months.
0:11:00 > 0:11:04"Why not go on with my Defence of Episcopacy?
0:11:05 > 0:11:08"It may be useful."
0:11:08 > 0:11:11"September 15th.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14"Letitia has left me for Brighton."
0:11:16 > 0:11:19"October 11th 1816.
0:11:19 > 0:11:25"Candles lit in the choir for the first time at evening prayers.
0:11:26 > 0:11:30"It came as a shock. I find that I absolutely...
0:11:30 > 0:11:34"shrink from the dark season."
0:11:37 > 0:11:40"November 17th 1816.
0:11:40 > 0:11:46"During the Magnificat I was, I regret, almost overcome with sleep.
0:11:46 > 0:11:51"My hand was resting on the back of the carved figure of a cat.
0:11:51 > 0:11:55"It was the nearest figure to me. I was not aware of this.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58"I was not looking in that direction
0:11:58 > 0:12:01"until I was startled by what seemed a...
0:12:01 > 0:12:08"softness...a feeling of rather rough and coarse fur,
0:12:08 > 0:12:10"and sudden movement
0:12:10 > 0:12:15"as if the creature were twisting round its head to bite me.
0:12:15 > 0:12:20"The impression of the unpleasant feeling was so strong
0:12:20 > 0:12:23"that I found myself rubbing my hand upon my surplice."
0:12:29 > 0:12:32"December 6th 1816.
0:12:33 > 0:12:37"I do, indeed, miss Letitia's company.
0:12:37 > 0:12:43"The evenings after I've worked as long as I can at my...my...
0:12:43 > 0:12:45"Defence of Episcopacy
0:12:45 > 0:12:47"are very trying.
0:12:47 > 0:12:52"This house is too large for a lonely man. Visitors are too rare.
0:12:52 > 0:12:56"I get an uncomfortable impression, going to my room, that...
0:12:56 > 0:13:01"there is...company of some kind.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07"The fact is - I may as well formulate it to myself -
0:13:07 > 0:13:09"that...I...
0:13:09 > 0:13:11"I hear voices.
0:13:14 > 0:13:19"This, I am well aware, is a symptom of incipient decay of the brain.
0:13:19 > 0:13:21"Work, diligent work
0:13:21 > 0:13:26"and punctual attention to duties that fall to me is my best remedy.
0:13:26 > 0:13:30"I have little doubt that it will prove efficacious."
0:13:30 > 0:13:32C-R-E-A-K
0:13:32 > 0:13:36"January 15th 1817.
0:13:38 > 0:13:45"I had occasion to come downstairs last night for my watch which I had inadvertently left on my table.
0:13:45 > 0:13:49"I was on the last flight when I had an impression
0:13:49 > 0:13:54"of a sharp whisper in my ear - 'Take...care!'
0:13:55 > 0:13:58"I clutched the banister and naturally looked round.
0:13:58 > 0:14:01"Of course, there was nothing.
0:14:01 > 0:14:07"After a moment, I went on. But I had, as nearly as possible, fallen.
0:14:07 > 0:14:12"A cat... A cat - a large one, by the feel of it -
0:14:12 > 0:14:16"slipped...between...my feet.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19"But, again, of course, I SAW nothing.
0:14:19 > 0:14:23"It... It may have been the kitchen cat but...
0:14:23 > 0:14:26"I do not think it was."
0:14:32 > 0:14:34Now,
0:14:34 > 0:14:39I digress to mention a document which, rightly or wrongly,
0:14:39 > 0:14:44I believe to have a bearing on the thread of my story.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47The account books of Dr Haynes show,
0:14:47 > 0:14:53from a date a little later from that of his institution as archdeacon,
0:14:53 > 0:14:58the quarterly payment of £25 to...JL.
0:14:59 > 0:15:04Nothing could have been made of this had it stood by itself.
0:15:04 > 0:15:08But I connect with it a very soiled and ill-written letter
0:15:08 > 0:15:12which was in a pocket in the cover of a diary.
0:15:14 > 0:15:19There's no date, no postmark, and deciphering is difficult.
0:15:19 > 0:15:22It appears to run:
0:15:22 > 0:15:27"Dear sir, I have been expecting to hear off you these last weeks
0:15:27 > 0:15:35"and must suppose you have not got mine which was saying how me and my man had met bad times this season.
0:15:35 > 0:15:39"All seems to go cross with us on the farm.
0:15:39 > 0:15:44"Which way to look for the rent, we have no knowledge of it.
0:15:44 > 0:15:46"This being the sad case with us,
0:15:46 > 0:15:54"if you would have the great..." "liberality" probably, but the exact spelling defies reproduction,
0:15:54 > 0:16:01"..to send £40, otherwise steps will have to be took which I should not wish.
0:16:01 > 0:16:04"As you was the means of me
0:16:04 > 0:16:07"losing my place with Dr Pulteney,
0:16:07 > 0:16:11"I think it is only just what I am asking.
0:16:11 > 0:16:16"And you know best what I could say if I was put to it.
0:16:16 > 0:16:20"Your OBEDIENT servant...
0:16:22 > 0:16:24"..Jane Lee."
0:16:24 > 0:16:30About the time at which I suppose this letter had been written,
0:16:30 > 0:16:36there is, in fact, a payment of £40 to JL.
0:16:38 > 0:16:40We return to the diary.
0:16:40 > 0:16:44"October 22nd 1817.
0:16:44 > 0:16:48"At evening prayers, during the psalms,
0:16:48 > 0:16:52"I had that same experience which I recollect from last year.
0:16:52 > 0:16:57"I was resting my hand on one of Austin's carved figures as before -
0:16:57 > 0:17:02"I usually avoid that of the cat now -
0:17:02 > 0:17:07"and I was going to have said a change came over it
0:17:07 > 0:17:13"but that seems to be making too much of what was a physical upset in myself.
0:17:13 > 0:17:18"At any rate, the wood seemed to become chilly...
0:17:18 > 0:17:21"and soft,
0:17:21 > 0:17:24"as if made of wet linen.
0:17:28 > 0:17:33"The whispering in my house was more persistent tonight.
0:17:33 > 0:17:36"I seemed not to be rid of it in my room.
0:17:36 > 0:17:41"A nervous man - which I am NOT, and hope I am not becoming -
0:17:41 > 0:17:45"would have been annoyed, if not alarmed, by it.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48"The cat was on the stairs tonight.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51"I think it sits there always.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57"There is no kitchen cat."
0:18:03 > 0:18:05"November 15th
0:18:05 > 0:18:06"1817.
0:18:06 > 0:18:11"Here, again, I must note a matter I do not understand.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14"I have been much troubled in my sleep.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17"No definite image presented itself
0:18:17 > 0:18:22"but I was pursued by the very vivid impression that...
0:18:22 > 0:18:26"wet lips were whispering into my ear -
0:18:26 > 0:18:29"very rapidly,
0:18:29 > 0:18:31"over and over.
0:18:34 > 0:18:39"After this, I fell asleep but I was awakened with a start...
0:18:39 > 0:18:43"by a feeling as if a hand were laid on my shoulder.
0:18:44 > 0:18:50"To my alarm I found myself standing at the top of the lowest flight of the staircase.
0:18:50 > 0:18:57"The moon was shining brightly enough through the window to let me see a large cat
0:18:57 > 0:19:00"upon the second or third step.
0:19:02 > 0:19:04"I can make no comment.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08"I crept up to bed again. I do NOT know how.
0:19:12 > 0:19:13"Yes.
0:19:13 > 0:19:17"Mine IS a heavy burden."
0:19:27 > 0:19:31Then follows a line or two which has been scratched out.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34I fancy I read something like:
0:19:34 > 0:19:36"Acted for the best."
0:19:36 > 0:19:42Soon after, it's evident to me that his firmness began to give way
0:19:42 > 0:19:45under pressure of these phenomena.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48I omit, as they are too painful,
0:19:48 > 0:19:52all the lamentations, the beseeching, the praying.
0:19:52 > 0:19:56Throughout this time, he's obstinate in clinging to his post.
0:19:56 > 0:20:01He tried to distract himself, inviting visitors to his house.
0:20:05 > 0:20:14"January 7th 1818. I've prevailed on my cousin, Alan, to give me a few days.
0:20:14 > 0:20:18"He's to occupy the chamber next to mine.
0:20:20 > 0:20:26"A still night. Alan slept well but complained of the noise of the wind.
0:20:26 > 0:20:29"My own experiences were as before -
0:20:29 > 0:20:32"still whispering, whispering.
0:20:32 > 0:20:37"What is it that he wants to SAY?"
0:20:37 > 0:20:40"January 9th.
0:20:40 > 0:20:44"Alan thinks this is a very noisy house.
0:20:44 > 0:20:49"He thinks, too, that my cat is an unusually large and fine specimen,
0:20:49 > 0:20:52"but very wild."
0:20:53 > 0:20:55"January 10th 1818.
0:20:57 > 0:21:00"Alan and I in the library until 11.
0:21:00 > 0:21:05"He left me twice to see what the maids were doing in the hall.
0:21:05 > 0:21:12"On the second time, he said he had seen one going through the door at the end of the passage and said
0:21:12 > 0:21:18"if his wife were here, she would soon get them into better order.
0:21:18 > 0:21:23"I asked him what coloured dress the maid wore.
0:21:23 > 0:21:25"He said,
0:21:25 > 0:21:29"grey...white.
0:21:33 > 0:21:35"I supposed it would be so."
0:21:37 > 0:21:40HE LETS OUT A SIGH
0:21:40 > 0:21:44"January 11th 1818.
0:21:46 > 0:21:49"Alan left me today."
0:21:53 > 0:21:56"January 15th.
0:21:56 > 0:22:00"I...must...be...firm."
0:22:02 > 0:22:05"January 20th. I must be firm.
0:22:05 > 0:22:09"I must be FIRM. I must be firm.
0:22:09 > 0:22:11"I must be firm. I MUST
0:22:11 > 0:22:13"BE FIRM."
0:22:18 > 0:22:24These words, "I must be firm", occur again and again
0:22:24 > 0:22:26on subsequent days.
0:22:26 > 0:22:29Sometimes, they're the only entry.
0:22:29 > 0:22:32They are in an unusually large hand.
0:22:32 > 0:22:35"I must be firm."
0:22:36 > 0:22:41Dug into the paper so it must have broken the pen that wrote them.
0:22:41 > 0:22:48The archdeacon's friends did not remark any change in his behaviour
0:22:48 > 0:22:53and this gives me a high idea of his courage and determination.
0:22:53 > 0:22:58The diary tells us nothing more than I have indicated
0:22:58 > 0:23:01of the last days of his life.
0:23:07 > 0:23:15The end of it all must be told in the polished language of the obituary notice.
0:23:17 > 0:23:24"The morning of the 26th of February was cold and tempestuous.
0:23:24 > 0:23:30"At an early hour, the servants had occasion to go into the front hall
0:23:30 > 0:23:36"of the residence occupied by the lamented subject of these lines.
0:23:36 > 0:23:43"What was their horror upon observing the form of their beloved and respected master
0:23:43 > 0:23:46"lying upon the landing of the principal staircase
0:23:46 > 0:23:51"in an attitude which inspired the gravest fears.
0:23:51 > 0:23:57"The vertebral column was fractured in more than one place.
0:23:57 > 0:24:01"This might have been the result of a fall.
0:24:06 > 0:24:13"It appeared that the stair carpet was loosened at one point.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16"But, in addition to this,
0:24:16 > 0:24:21"there were injuries inflicted upon the eyes, nose and mouth
0:24:21 > 0:24:25"as if by the agency of some savage animal
0:24:25 > 0:24:32"which, dreadful to relate, rendered those features
0:24:32 > 0:24:35"unrecognisable.
0:24:36 > 0:24:40"The vital spark was, it is needless to add,
0:24:40 > 0:24:44"completely extinct."
0:24:46 > 0:24:54I had already formed the conclusion that Dr Haynes was responsible for the death of Dr Pulteney.
0:24:54 > 0:24:59Haynes' ambition, the missing stair rod,
0:24:59 > 0:25:03the maid's dismissal, her demand for money
0:25:03 > 0:25:07all point to his guilty hand.
0:25:09 > 0:25:15But the incident connected with the carved figure of death on the archdeacon's stall
0:25:15 > 0:25:18was a very perplexing feature
0:25:19 > 0:25:22My conjecture
0:25:22 > 0:25:27was that it had been cut out of the wood of the hanging oak.
0:25:28 > 0:25:31That might have been obvious enough,
0:25:31 > 0:25:34but also impossible to substantiate.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37However, I paid a visit to Barchester -
0:25:37 > 0:25:44partly with a view of finding out whether there were any relics of the woodwork.
0:25:44 > 0:25:49I was introduced to the curator of the local museum.
0:25:49 > 0:25:56I told this gentleman of the description of certain carved figures formerly on the stalls,
0:25:56 > 0:25:59and asked whether any had survived.
0:25:59 > 0:26:06He was able to show me the arms of Dean West and some other fragments.
0:26:06 > 0:26:12These had been got from an old resident who'd once owned a figure,
0:26:12 > 0:26:16perhaps one of those which I was inquiring for.
0:26:16 > 0:26:20There was a very odd thing about that figure, he said.
0:26:20 > 0:26:26The old man who had it told him that he'd picked it up in a woodyard,
0:26:26 > 0:26:29where he'd obtained the other pieces,
0:26:29 > 0:26:32and had taken it home for his children.
0:26:33 > 0:26:38On the way home he was fiddling with it and it came in two in his hands.
0:26:38 > 0:26:41A bit of paper dropped out.
0:26:42 > 0:26:46This he picked up and mounted on a card.
0:26:47 > 0:26:51The paper was quite legibly inscribed
0:26:51 > 0:26:57in old-fashioned script, and this is what was on it.
0:26:59 > 0:27:04"When I grew in the wood, I was watered with blood.
0:27:04 > 0:27:08"Now, in the church I stand.
0:27:08 > 0:27:14"Who so touches me with his hand...
0:27:15 > 0:27:18"..if a bloody hand he bear
0:27:18 > 0:27:23"I counsel him...to beware...
0:27:25 > 0:27:30"..lest he be fetched away either by night or day...
0:27:31 > 0:27:35"..but chiefly when the wind blows high
0:27:35 > 0:27:38"on a night in February."
0:27:47 > 0:27:50"This I dreamt,
0:27:50 > 0:27:57"the 25th February, anno domini 1699.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01"John Austin."
0:28:07 > 0:28:09Oh!
0:28:10 > 0:28:18"I suppose it's a...charm or spell. Something of that sort," said the curator.
0:28:18 > 0:28:23"Yes," I said, as one might. "What became of the figure it was hidden inside?"
0:28:23 > 0:28:26"Oh, I forgot," said he.
0:28:27 > 0:28:30"The old man told me it was so ugly,
0:28:30 > 0:28:34"and frightened his children so much,
0:28:34 > 0:28:36"that he burnt it."
0:28:40 > 0:28:43LONE CHORISTER SINGS AND BELL TOLLS
0:28:51 > 0:28:55Subtitles by Hugo Allen and Fran Welland, BBC - 2000
0:28:55 > 0:28:59Email us at subtitling@bbc.co.uk