nor had even a rumor been circulated that poison of any kind had been ever in his possession. Of the stopper which had been found, he disowned all knowledge; he de clared, most solemnly, that he had never seen it before it was produced in court; and he asked, could the fact of its being found in his house, only a few days ago, when hundreds of people had been there, produce upon an impartial mind even a momentary prejudice against him? One faet, and one only, had been proved, to which it was possible for him to give an answer, the fact of his having gone to the bedroom of his housekeeper on the night in question. He had been subject, for many years of his life, to sudden fits of ill ness; he had been seized with one on that occasion, and had gone to her to procure her assistance in lighting a fire. She had returned with him to his room for that pur pose, he having waited for a minute in the passage while she put on her clothes, which would account for the momentary disappear ance of the light; and after she had remained in his room for a few minutes, finding himself better, he had dismissed her, and retired again to bed, from which he had not risen when he was informed of the death of his guest. It had been said, that after his com mittal to prison, his housekeeper had disappeared. He avowed that, finding his enemies determined, if possible, to accom plish his ruin, he had thought it probable they might tamper with his servant; he had, therefore, kept her out of their way; but for what purpose? Not to prevent her testimony being given, for she was now under the care of his solicitor, and would instantly appear for the purpose of confirm ing, as far as she was concerned, the state ment which he had just made. Such was the prisoner's address, which produced a very powerful effect. It was delivered in a firm and impressive manner, and its simplicity and artlessness gave to it an appearance of truth. The housekeeper
was then put into the box, and examined by the counsel for the prisoner. According to the custom, at that time almost universal, of excluding witnesses from court until their testimony was required, she had been kept at a house near at hand, and had not heard a single word of the trial. There was noth ing remarkable in her manner or appear ance; she might be about thirty-five or a little more; with regular though not agreeable features, and an air entirely free from em barrassment. She repeated, almost in the prisoner's own words, the story that he had told of his having called her up, and her having accompanied him to his room, add ing that, after leaving him, she had retired to her own room, and been awakened by the man-servant in the morning, with an ac count of the traveler's death. She had now to undergo a cross-examination; and I may as well state here, that which, though not known to me till afterwards, will assist the reader in understanding the following scene : —The counsel for the prosecution had, in his Own mind, attached considerable importance to the circumstance mentioned by the witness who saw the light, that while the prisoner and the housekeeper were in the room of the former, something like a door had intervened between the candle and the window, which was totally irreconcilable with the appearance of the room when ex amined; and he had half-persuaded himself, that there most be a secret closet which had escaped the search of the officers of justice, the opening of which would account for the appearance alluded to, and the existence of which might discover the property which had so mysteriously disappeared. His ob ject, therefore, was to obtain from the house keeper (the only person except the pris oner who could give any clue to this) such information as he could get, without alarm ing her by any direct inquiry on the subject, which, as she could not help seeing its im portance, could have led her at once to a positive denial. He knew, moreover, that as
