It was five o'clock in the afteron. There can be doubt whatever as to that. Old Agnes may say what she pleases-she has a habit of doing so-but I kw for certain (because I looked at my watch t ten minutes before it happened) that it was exactly five o'clock in the afteron when I received a most singular and every way remarkable visit-a visit which has left an indelible impression on my memory, as well it might; for, independent of its singularity and unexpectedness, one of its results was the series of strange adventures which are faithfully detailed in this volume.