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Show "Scaring the Conscience." Of all her curious customs London cannot boast of a more singular one than that formerly so strictly adhored to at Holland House, one of the most historic old mansions in the British capital. The last of the Lords Hollands Hol-lands shot himself during a fit of despondency; de-spondency; everything pointed to a clear case of self-murder, yet the Holland Hol-land family could never be dissuaded from the notion that the old man had been murdered by some . unknown assassin. Accordingly, every night for years it was the custom for one of the family to go to the rear of the house punctually at 11 o'clock and fire a gun; for the purpose, it is said, of "scaring the conscience" of the murderer. mur-derer. This curious practice is a relic of mediaeval days in continental Europe, Eu-rope, and the case to point is probably the only instance where it has been noticed since the days of the Crusades. |