rang, and I went to her room. My instructions were, never to enter her
room in the morning until she rang for me. There were two bell-ropes,
one on each side of the bed, so that on whichever side she was lying
one of them was within reach of her hand."
The Attorney-general. "Stop a moment. Did the prisoner and his wife
occupy one room?"
Witness. "No."
The Attorney-general. "For how long had this been the case?"
Witness. "For a good many months. Ever since things began to get worse
between them."
The Attorney-general. "Proceed. You heard your mistress's bell ring,
and you entered her room at ten o'clock."
Witness. "She said that she had passed a very bad night, that she had
had dreadful dreams, and that she was afraid something terrible was
going to happen to her. She asked me if her husband was up, and I
told her that he had just entered the breakfast-room, that I had met
him on the stairs, and that he inquired whether she were awake, as he
wished to speak to her before he went out. My mistress said that she
also wished to speak to him, and she asked me if I knew where he was
going. Of course I did not know, and I told her so. She often asked me
questions which she must have known very well were not possible for me
to answer. I washed her, and tidied up the room, and then she desired
me to go and tell my master to come to her. I knocked at the door of
the breakfast-room three or four times, and receiving no answer, I
opened it. My master was sitting at the table, and he started up when
I entered, just as if I had aroused him from a dream. His face was
very pale, and he held a letter in his hand. I noticed that he had not
touched the breakfast. I gave him my mistress's message. He nodded,
and went to her room at once. The moment he entered my poor mistress
began to talk, but he stopped her and ordered me out. 'Keep in the next
room,' my mistress said to me--'I may want you.' I went into the next
room, and remained there quite half an hour, until my mistress's bell
rang again. My master rushed past me as I opened the door, and I saw
that my mistress was dreadfully agitated. She was sitting up in bed,
and--"
The Attorney-general. "Stop! While you were in the adjoining room did
you hear anything?"
Witness. "Not distinctly."
The Attorney-general. "Do you mean by that that you could not
distinguish the words that were spoken by your master and mistress?"
Witness. "I could not distinguish the words. I could only hear their
voices when they spoke loudly."
The Attorney-general. "Did they speak loudly on this occasion?"
Witness. "Very loudly."
The Attorney-general. "In merriment?"
Witness. "Quite the contrary. They were quarrelling."
The Attorney-general. "That is your understanding of their voices?"
Witness. "I could not be mistaken. Nearly the whole of the time their
voices were raised to a high pitch."
The Attorney-general. "Which of the two voices made the stronger
impression upon you?"
Witness. "My master's. I am certain he was threatening her, as he had
done many times during the last few months."
The Attorney-general. "That is an improper remark for you to make.
Confine yourself strictly to the matter in hand, and to the time you
are giving evidence upon. When you entered your mistress's room she was
sitting up in bed, dreadfully agitated, and your master rushed past
you?"
Witness. "Yes, and she called out after him, 'Never, while I am alive!
You wish I were dead, don't you, so that you may be free to marry
again? But I sha'n't die yet, unless you kill me!"
The Attorney-general. "You are positive she made use of these words?"
Witness. "Quite positive."
The Attorney-general. "Did the prisoner make any reply?"
Witness. "None; and his silence appeared to infuriate my mistress. She
cried out after him, 'You are a villain! you are a villain!'"
The Attorney-general. "Did you see the prisoner again during the
morning?"
Witness. "No. In a few minutes I heard the street door open and close,
and my mistress told me to run and see whether it was her husband going
out. I went to the front-room window, and saw him enter the carriage
and drive away. I returned to my mistress and informed her of it. She
was in a furious state, and if she had had the strength she would have
dressed herself and followed him; but she was too weak, unassisted, to
get out of bed."
The Attorney-general. "Upon that point you are also positive?"
Witness. "Quite positive."
The Attorney-general. "Did your mistress make you acquainted with the
cause of the quarrel between her and the prisoner?"
Witness. "She told me a good deal. She said that when she married him
it was the worst day's work she had ever done, and that he had deceived
her from first to last. All he wanted was for her to die but although
he had treated her so vilely, she had him in her power."
The Attorney-general. "What did she mean by that? Did she explain?"
Witness. "Not clearly. She spoke vaguely about papers and acceptances
for money which she had, and which he wanted to get hold of. 'He should
have them, every one,' she said, 'and do whatever he liked, if he would
be true to me. But he is false, he is false, and I will be revenged
upon him!'"
The Attorney-general. "Did you acquire this knowledge all at one time?"
Witness. "No. My mistress spoke at odd times during the day, when I
went in and out of her room."
The Attorney-general. "Nothing else said?"
Witness. "Nothing that I can remember."
The Attorney-general. "Did the prisoner return to the house during the
day?"
Witness. "No."
The Attorney-general. "Did you leave the house during the day?"
Witness. "No."
The Attorney-general. "Or night?"
Witness. "No."
The Attorney-general. "You remained in attendance upon your mistress?"
Witness. "Yes."
The Attorney-general. "Did she make any inquiries about her husband?"
Witness. "Oh yes. In the afternoon and evening she asked me a dozen
times at least whether he had come home."
The Attorney-general. "At what time on the night of this day did you
cease attendance upon your mistress?"
Witness. "At nine o'clock. She told me I need not come into the room
again unless she rang."
The Attorney-general. "What then did you do?"
Witness. "I went to my own room to do some sewing."
The Attorney-general. "When you left your mistress's room was there a
table by her side?"
Witness. "Yes; it was always there."
The Attorney-general. "There were certain things upon it?"
Witness. "Yes."
The Attorney-general. "What things?"
Witness. "A decanter of water, a tumbler, and a bottle of lozenges."
The Attorney-general. "Was there a label on this bottle?"
Witness. "Yes; it was labelled 'poison.'"
The Attorney-general. "Were those the sleeping-lozenges your mistress
was in the habit of taking?"
Witness. "Yes."
The Attorney-general. "What was their color?"
Witness. "White."
The Attorney-general. "How many of the lozenges were in the bottle?"
Witness. "I am not sure. Ten or a dozen, I should say."
The Attorney-general. "Being labelled poison, it could not be mistaken
that they were dangerous to life?"
Witness. "There could be no mistake. My mistress had told me that if
a person took three or four of them at once he would go to sleep and
never wake again."
The Attorney-general. "Was it considered safe to leave such dangerous
narcotics within her reach?"
Witness. "She was a very prudent woman. She was fond of life; she
dreaded the idea of death."
The Attorney-general. "Were there any other articles on the table?"
Witness. "Pen, ink, and paper, and a book."
The Attorney-general. "At what time did you go to bed?"
Witness. "I can't be quite exact as to the time, but it was about
twelve o'clock."
The Attorney-general. "Where was your bedroom situated?"
Witness. "On the second floor."
The Attorney-general. "And your mistress's?"
Witness. "On the first floor."
The Attorney-general. "By going out of your bedroom door into the
passage and leaning over the balustrade, could you see down to the
ground-floor?"
Witness. "Yes, pretty clearly. It was a straight view."
The Attorney-general. "You went to bed, you say, at about twelve
o'clock. Before you retired had your master returned home?"
Witness. "Yes. I was undressing when I heard the street door open and
close. Then I heard a carriage drive away. I stepped out of my room
softly and looked over the balustrade to make sure that it was my
master. At the moment I looked down I saw him turning off the gas in
the hall."
The Attorney-general. "And you saw nothing more?"
Witness. "No."
The Attorney-general. "And heard nothing more?"
Witness. "Yes, I heard something. I remained in the passage on the
second floor, bending over the balustrade, and it seemed to me to be a
very long time before my master made any movement. I should say five
or six minutes passed before I heard him, very, very softly, ascend
the stairs to the first floor. Perhaps I was fanciful, through being
alone so long in my own room; but the silence in the house, and then
the sound of my master coming up the stairs much more quietly than was
usual with him, made me nervous, I don't know why. I fancied all sorts
of things."
The Attorney-general. "Never mind your fancies. Did you hear any other
footsteps besides those of your master?"
Witness. "I am not sure. I can't say. It never entered my mind that
anybody could be with him, and yet I could not help fancying things. To
speak the truth, I was so upset that I went into my own room and locked
the door. I listened with my ear at the bedroom door, and I heard the
handle of my mistress's room being turned."
The Attorney-general. "And then?"
Witness. "I was already partially undressed, and I went to bed."
The Attorney-general. "Did you sleep soundly?"
Witness. "No. I woke up suddenly with the idea that the street door had
been opened and closed again. I lay in bed, frightened, but hearing
nothing more, presently fell asleep again."
The Attorney-general. "There were no cries, no voices loudly raised?"
Witness. "I heard none."
The Attorney-general. "Did you sleep soundly after that?"
Witness. "No. I was dozing off and waking up the whole of the night--a
hundred times, it seemed to me. How I have reproached myself since that
when I saw my master put out the gas in the hall I did not have the
courage to go down to him!"
The Attorney-general. "At what time in the morning did you usually
rise?"
Witness. "At half-past seven, unless my mistress required me earlier."
The Attorney-general. "Was that the hour at which you rose on the
morning of the 26th of March?"
Witness. "No; I rose much earlier--at six or a quarter past six I can't
say exactly to a minute, because I did not look at my watch."
The Attorney-general. "Then, after dressing, did you go down-stairs?"
Witness. "Yes, with a candle in my hand It was dark."
The Attorney-general. "Any sound in the house?"
Witness. "None."
The Attorney-general. "Did you listen at your mistress's bedroom door?"
Witness. "I stood there for a moment, but I heard nothing."
The Attorney-general. "After that, what did you do?"
Witness. "I went down to the hall."
The Attorney-general. "To the street door?"
Witness. "Yes."
The Attorney-general. "On which side of the hall was the coat-rack?"
Witness. "On the left from the house, on the right from the street."
The Attorney-general. "Did you look at it?"
Witness. "Yes."
The Attorney-general. "What did you observe?"
Witness. "That my master's ulster was hanging up in its usual place."
The Attorney-general. "You are positive that it was in its usual place?"
Witness. "Yes."
The Attorney-general. "Would you recognize the ulster again?"
Witness. "Most certainly it is a coat of a very peculiar pattern."
The Attorney-general. "Is this it?" (Ulster produced.)
Witness. "Yes."
The Attorney-general. "Was the prisoner's hat hanging in its usual
place?"
Witness. "No, it was not there."
The Attorney-general. "Did you look at the street door?"
Witness. "Yes."
The Attorney-general. "Did you observe anything?"
Witness. "Yes, something surprising."
The Attorney-general. "What?"
Witness. "That the chain was not up, and that it was not locked, as was
always done by my master himself when he returned home late. On other
occasions it was done by a servant. Then, I thought, it could have been
no fancy of mine that I heard the street door open and shut in the
middle of the night."
The Attorney-general. "Proceed with an account of your movements after
the discovery."
Witness. "I was alarmed, and I considered for a little while what I
ought to do. Then it suddenly occurred to me that the door of the
bedroom my master occupied was not quite closed when I had passed it
on my way down-stairs. I went up quietly to convince myself, and I saw
it was not shut. I touched it with my hand very gently and timidly,
and it swung open. Thinking it my duty to acquaint my master with the
circumstance of the street door chain not being up, I ventured to step
into the bedroom and to call, 'Sir!' I held the candle above my head,
and to my astonishment saw that there was no one in the room, and that
the bed had not been occupied during the night. I went boldly into the
room and convinced myself. No one was there, no one had been there.
The bed was just as it had been made on the previous day. Now really
alarmed, I hurried to my mistress's bedroom, and knocked at her door.
There was no answer. I knocked again and again, and still there was
no answer. I opened the door and entered. My mistress was lying quite
still in bed. I stepped quietly to her side and bent over. My heart
almost stopped beating as I looked at her face, there was something
so awful in it. 'Madam! madam!' I cried, softly, and I ventured to
push her by the shoulder. She made no movement; she did not speak. I
cried to her again, and pushed her again, and then a suspicion of the
horrible truth flashed upon me. I raised her in my arms, and she fell
back upon the bed. I scarcely know what happened after that. I began to
scream, and I think I became hysterical. The next thing I remember was
the servants rushing into the room and me pointing to the dead body of
my mistress."
The Attorney-general. "Do you remember saying anything to the effect
that your master had murdered her?"
Witness. "I should not like to swear to it; but it may have been in my
mind because of the cruel life they had led together, and because of
what had passed between them on the previous morning."
The Attorney-general. "After a time you became calmer and more
collected?"
Witness. "Yes."
The Attorney-general. "Had one of the servants gone for a policeman?"
Witness. "Yes."
The Attorney-general. "Shortly afterwards a detective officer, Lumley
Rich, entered the room?"
Witness. "Yes."
The Attorney-general. "What was his first question when he had
convinced himself that your mistress was dead?"
Witness. "He asked if anything in the room had been touched or
disturbed, and I said, 'No, nothing had been touched or disturbed.'"
The Attorney-general. "In consequence of the officer's question upon
this point, was your attention directed to the table by the bedside?"
Witness. "Yes."
The Attorney-general. "Was everything upon the table as you had left it
at nine o'clock on the night before, when you ceased attendance upon
your mistress?"
Witness. "The pen, ink, and paper were there. The decanter was there,
with very little water in it, and I was horror-struck to see that the
bottle of sleeping-lozenges was quite empty. I made a remark to that
effect to the detective. Turning to the mantle-shelf, I saw upon it the
tumbler which, when I left my mistress's room the night before, had
been on the table by her side."
The Attorney-general. "You say that during the day of the 25th of March
your mistress spoke vaguely about papers and acceptances for money
which she held, and of which the prisoner desired to obtain possession.
Do you know anything further concerning those papers and acceptances?"
Witness. "Nothing."
The Attorney-general. "Do you know if any were found after your
mistress's death?"
Witness. "I do not know."
The Attorney-general. "You saw your master when he entered the house at
seven o'clock in the morning?"
Witness. "Yes."
The Attorney-general. "Was he wearing an overcoat on that occasion?"
Witness. "No."
The Attorney-general. "What was his appearance?"
Witness. "Very haggard; as though he had had no sleep--as though he had
passed a dreadful night."
The Attorney-general. "That will do."
(In accordance with the plan of defence which the prisoner seemed to
have laid down for himself, his cross-examination of this witness was
very brief.)
Prisoner. "You say that when you were in the room adjoining my wife's
bedroom, during my interview with her on the Morning of the 25th of
March, you heard our voices raised to a high pitch, and that of the two
voices mine made the stronger impression upon you?"
Witness. "Yes, I did say so."
Prisoner. "You mean, of course, by that, that I was speaking loudly and
violently?"
Witness. "Yes, I do mean it."
Prisoner. "Do you adhere to that statement?"
Witness. "Yes, I adhere to it."
Prisoner. "And to your conviction that I was threatening my wife?"
Witness. "Yes."
Prisoner. "As I had threatened her many times before?"
Witness. "Yes."
Prisoner. "You have heard me threaten her many times during the last
few months?"
Witness. "Yes."
Prisoner. "In as loud and violent a tone as you say I used on this
occasion?"
Witness. "No, not so loudly and violently as on this occasion; but that
did not make it less dreadful."
Mr. Justice Fenmore. "We do not want your opinions. Confine yourself to
the statement of facts."
Prisoner. "Are you aware that my life is at stake?"
Witness. "Yes."
Prisoner. "And that the evidence you have given is almost, if not
quite, fatal against me?"
Witness. "I do not know anything about that. I have said only what is
true."
Prisoner. "Is it not possible that, having a prejudice against me, you
may have allowed your imagination to warp your reason?"
Witness. "If by that you mean that I am inventing things against you,
it is not true. I have only told what I heard."
Prisoner. "And you heard my wife, when I left the room, call after me
the words you have already given in evidence, to the effect that she
believed I wished her dead, but that she would not die yet, unless I
killed her?"
Witness. "I heard her say so."
Prisoner. "And that she called after me that I was a villain?"
Witness. "I heard her say so."
Prisoner. "In the description you have given of your movements on the
night of this fatal day, you say that, upon hearing the street door
open and close, you came out of your bedroom, and leaning over the
balustrade, looked down into the hall?"
Witness. "Yes, that is true."
Prisoner. "And that you saw me putting out the gas in the hall?"
Witness. "Yes."
Prisoner. "You are certain it was I?"
Witness. "Yes. You had your ulster on, and as you had to stand on
tiptoe to put out the gas, your face was raised to the light, and I saw
it plainly."
Prisoner. "You saw my face plainly?"
Witness. "As plainly as I see it now."
Prisoner (with a movement of impatience). "I have no further questions
to ask you."
The Court then adjourned.
VI.
DESCRIPTION OF THE LAST DAY'S PROCEEDINGS--EXTRACTED FROM A DAILY PAPER.
"The trial of Edward Layton for the murder of his wife came to a
singular and unsatisfactory termination late last night. That the
public interest in the case had reached an almost unprecedented height
was proved by the large number of persons who were unable to obtain
admission to the court.
"On the previous evening the evidence for the prosecution had closed,
and there was a painful and eager expectancy in the minds of all
present as to the line of defence which the prisoner intended to adopt.
This line of defence--if, indeed, it can be called a defence--was as
surprising as it was brief.
"The prisoner, addressing the judge and the jury, intimated that it
was not his intention to call witnesses on his behalf. Most of the
witnesses for the prosecution, he said, had given their evidence
fairly, and if they had committed themselves to misstatements and
discrepancies, it was more because they were either misled or
mistaken--in the case of one witness, Ida White, because she was
strangely prejudiced against him--than that they had a desire to make
the case against him even blacker than it was. It had happened before,
and would doubtless happen again, that a man found himself thrust
into such an unhappy position as he himself stood through no fault
of his own, and that he was unable to say or do anything to prove
his innocence. Sometimes it was with such a man a matter of honor,
sometimes a matter of conscience. In his own case it sprung from both
his honor and his conscience that his lips were sealed, and the utmost
he could say for himself was that he was an innocent man, with so dark
an array of evidence against him as to almost incontestably prove him
to be guilty. All that he could do was to declare most solemnly that
the accusation upon which he was being tried was false, and that he
stood before them as unstained by crime as they were themselves. What
could be said truly in his favor was that his character, and to some
extent his blameless life, were a refutation of the charge. Evidence of
character was generally called in mitigation of impending punishment.
He did not intend to call such evidence, because, by so doing, it would
be a half-admission that he stood there a guilty instead of an innocent
man. He knew perfectly well how lame and impotent these weak words must
sound in the ears of those who were sitting in judgment upon him; but
this he could not help. It was but part of the fatal web in which he was
entangled. That he and his wife had lived unhappily together was not to
be disputed; but even in this most serious crisis of his life he denied
the right arrogated by the legal profession to rip open a man's private
affairs and expose to the vulgar gaze what he desired should be hidden
from it. The last thing he would do, even if he were in ten times the
peril in which he then stood, was to drag other persons into the case,
and to allow them to be blackened and vilified as he had been. 'I can
scarcely doubt,' said the prisoner, 'what your verdict will be. Were I
in your place, I should most likely decide as you will decide; but none
the less will it be a solemn fact that though you are legally right,
you are morally wrong. I must be content to let the case rest as it has
been presented to you, and to abide the issue, though it may cost me my
life.'
"Never in a criminal court, in the case of a man arraigned upon so
grave a charge, has there been heard a defence so weak and strange;
but it is nevertheless a fact that the prisoner's earnest and, to all
appearance, ingenuous manner produced a deep impression upon all who
heard him; and when he ceased speaking there was, in the murmurs of
astonishment that followed, an unmistakable note of sympathy.