It would have been equally true to say of the Coptic texts, published at Lord Bute's expense by Mr. Budge of the British Museum, that Lord Bute wrote and published these books under the name of Budge.
Had Colonel Taylor been prevented by circumstances from becoming tenant of B---- House, Sir William Crookes, the present President of the British Association and of the Society for Psychical Research, or Mr. Arthur Smith, Treasurer of the S.P.R., was willing to take the lease.
Having thus agreed to Lord Bute's proposal, Colonel Taylor at once proceeded to make himself acquainted with the history of B---- House. He naturally placed himself in communication with the late tenant, assuming that that gentleman would be willing to assist in investigating the phenomena by which his family and guests had been annoyed. But the only information which Mr. H---- seemed disposed to give was an admission that some members of his family had heard noises, and that the house was locally reported to be haunted.
However, other sources of information as to the experiences of the H---- establishment were fortunately available.
Captain S----'s agents made no scruple about letting the house to the well-known expert. The Edinburgh agents, Messrs. Speedy, indeed mentioned the haunting, and expressed the hope that Colonel Taylor would not make it the subject of complaint, as had been done by the H---- family, and they received the assurance that this was not a score upon which he would give trouble. In regard to the letters of Messrs. R.H. Moncrieff & Co., dated June 12, 1897, which appeared in _The Times_, it can only be said that the impression which they were likely to convey was, that Colonel Taylor was an imaginary being like John Doe or Richard Roe. Their scepticism must have been of recent origin, since none was manifested on receiving his rent. Their position is in any case unfortunate, since, even if unclouded by doubt as to the Colonel's personality, they appear to wish the public to believe that they seriously thought that one well known as a Spiritualist in England and America, a retired Professor of Military Tactics, with a comfortable house at Cheltenham, a member of the Junior United Service Club in London, a man who neither shoots nor fishes, had been suddenly seized in his mature years with a desire to hire an isolated country house in Perthshire, in the depths of winter, for the purpose of trying his 'prentice hand upon rabbit-shooting on a small scale.