1996A&A...311..393S

We reported previously the detection of broad wings of Hα emission at an off-nuclear position in the apparent Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 4388, which we attributed to scattered light originating in a hidden broad-line region in the nucleus of this source. The reality of Seyfert 1-like emission in NGC 4388 has subsequently been questioned on the grounds that the broad emission wings may stem from kinematic complexity seen in all of the emission features, rather than the Seyfert 1 signature of broad emission in the permitted lines alone. In this note we report the results of a more detailed examination of our original data. We find that a model for the Hα+[NII] feature derived from the [SII] doublet profiles does not reproduce the high-velocity wings associated with the former blend. The forbidden lines themselves show variations in widths, however, with some evidence of correlation between linewidth and critical density. We conclude that the extended wings on the Hα+[NII] feature are still best explained by our original scenario of scattered light from a hidden broad-line region, although a contribution from dense and high-velocity plasma in the narrow-line region cannot be entirely excluded.