"And now, my dear William," said Sir Sidney Delaware, as soon as Mr.
Tims had departed, and the rolling wheels of his post-chaise were no
longer heard grating down the western avenue--"and now, my dear
William, lay your angry spirit. Depend upon it, that man carries with
him a sufficient punishment in the disappointment he has suffered. He
is one of that class of rogues for whom the old Athenians, finding no
appropriate corporeal infliction, decreed the punishment of the Stela;
or, in other words, ordered their names and infamy to be engraved upon
a pillar, and thus held them up to shame forever."
"As our law has no such just award," replied Captain Delaware, "I
should certainly have had great pleasure in writing his shame on his
back with a horsewhip instead; but of course as you did not like it, I
forbore."
"NO, no, my dear boy!" said his father; "you would have degraded
yourself, gratified him, and had to pay a large sum for a small.
satisfaction. But now all that is past; explain to us the rest of the
business. How happened the money to arrive so apropos, and without the
accompaniment of the miser of Ryebury! Was Mr. Tims, senior, unwilling
to meet Mr. Tims, junior on a business, in regard to which it was
evident that the lawyer both wished and anticipated a different
result?"
"Strange enough to say, my dear sir," replied Captain Delaware, "you
are asking me questions which I can not at all answer. There is
Blanche smiling," he added, "because I told her the same, before I
came down, and she chose to be incredulous; though she knows that
there never was sailor or landsman yet so little given to romancing as
I am."
"But you can tell me when it was you received the money?" said Sir
Sidney, in some degree of surprise.
"Oh, certainly, sir!" answered his son. "It was this morning, not long
before Blanche came up to my room."
"Why, they told me you had not been out this morning," said his
father.
"Neither have I, my dear sir," replied Captain Delaware.
"In short, papa, he makes a mystery of the whole affair," said Blanche
"and will not say how or where he got it."
"You are wrong, my dear sister," rejoined her brother. "I am perfectly
willing to say how and where I got it; and in fact I told you before."
"Oh, but, William!" exclaimed his sister, "I saw very well that you
were only jesting. You did not, I am sure, intend me to give credence
to that story!"
"Well for you that you are not a man, my pretty Blanche," answered
Captain Delaware, shaking his hand at her, good-humoredly. "I will
repeat the same, word for word, to my father; and if he do not believe
me, I will swear to it, if he likes."
"Not I--not I, William!" said Sir Sidney. "Anything that you assert in
so solemn a manner, I will believe without any swearing, however
improbable it may be."
"Well, then, my dear sir," replied Captain Delaware, "the fact is
this: when I rose this morning, in looking about for something on my
dressing-table, I found a paper parcel with my name written upon it;
and, on opening it, saw the notes which I just now gave to that
blackguard. There was no one thing in or about the parcel that could
lead me to divine from whom or whence it came; but as it contained the
precise sum required, and was addressed to myself, I could not doubt
the purpose for which it was intended. I have a vague recollection,
indeed, of seeing it lying there last night; but I was out of humor,
and somewhat sick at heart, and took but little notice, of any thing.
However, it must have been there when I went to bed, for no one could
have come into my room without my hearing them."
"Hum!" said Sir Sidney Delaware, with a smile. "Hum!" and,
notwithstanding his promise of full faith in his son's account, it was
evident he did not give credit to a word of it. "Well, well, William,"
he said, "we will not press you hard; though your grave face almost
deserves that one should believe you."
"On my word, sir! On my honor!" reiterated Captain Delaware. "Every
word that I tell you is true. This is very hard indeed that I am not
to be believed, even when I pledge my honor."
"Nay, nay!" said Sir Sidney. "If you bring your honor into the scrape,
my dear boy, I suppose we must believe you. But you will not, I dare
say, deny that you have some shrewd guess at how the money came there,
or who sent it!"
"In regard to the person who sent it," answered Captain Delaware, a
good deal mortified at doubts which he felt he did not deserve, "I
have certainly a very strong suspicion, though I do not feel justified
in naming the friend to whom my mind turns; but, as to how it came
there, I am fully as ignorant as yourself or Blanche."
"Well, all I can say is, that the whole business is very
extraordinary," replied Sir Sidney Delaware, more gravely than he had
hitherto spoken. "Indeed, I know not which would seem the most
strange, that such a large sum should be left in your room without
your privity or knowledge; or that my son should so strongly assert,
even in jest, what is not strictly true."
"Sir, you are doing me injustice!" said Captain Delaware, with a
burning cheek and a quivering lip; "and, as it is so, I will soon
investigate, and, if possible, discover how it was that this took
place;" and, striding across the room, he rang the hell with a degree
of violence, which showed the pain it cost him to brook respectfully,
even from his father, the doubt that Sir Sidney's last words
insinuated. Blanche gently glided across the room; and, laying her
hand upon his arm, raised her beautiful eyes to his with a look half
imploring, half reproachful. Captain Delaware did not reply, but
turned away; and, walking to the window, looked out into the park till
the servant appeared.
"Who left a paper parcel on my dressing-table last night?" he
demanded abruptly, and somewhat sharply too, as the man entered.
The first reply was a stare of astonishment at the unwonted tone of
one usually so mild and kindly in his whole deportment. "I am sure I
do not know, sir!" answered the man, as soon as he had recovered. "I
did not!"
"William, you are heated," said Sir Sidney Delaware, interrupting his
son, as he was about to put another question to the servant. "I
perceive now, perhaps too plainly, that the matter is not a jest; and
therefore, of course, believe what you have said. The business,
however, must be investigated; as we can not lie under so great an
obligation to any one, without due acknowledgment and repayment. Did
you see any stranger about the house or near it during the course of
yesterday evening!" he continued, turning to the servant.
"No one, sir," replied the man. "That is to say, no one near the
house. In the lanes, at the back of the park, I met Harding, Mr.
Burrel's valet, loitering about with another young man toward dusk;
and now, I recollect, the housemaid declaring that she saw some one
just passing by the terrace at about eight or nine o'clock."
"Send the housemaid here!" said Sir Sidney; "and desire Mrs.
Williams"--the name of the old housekeeper--"and desire Mrs. Williams
to come with her."
The commands of Sir Sidney were immediately obeyed, and the
examination of the housemaid began in form. The footman, however, had
already told nearly as much as she could tell herself. When going
along one of the corridors, during the previous evening, to shut the
windows which looked out upon the western part of the park, she had
seen a gentleman, she said, walking along just below the terrace,
toward the wood. She could not tell who he was, for she only saw him
for a moment; and, as he was partly concealed by the raised terrace on
which the house stood, she only caught a sight of his head and
shoulders.
Here ended all information. The old housekeeper had seen no one, and
the housemaid declared that she neither could tell how tall the
gentleman was, nor could vouchsafe any other particulars in regard to
his personal appearance, except that he was a gentleman, she was sure;
for he walked like a gentleman. Sir Sidney would fain have forced her
into a definition of the walk of a gentleman; but the housemaid was
not to be caught, and took refuge in stupidity, as usual in such
cases.
By the time this was over, William Delaware's heat had evaporated, and
it was with a smile he asked his father, "Well, sir, who do you think
our _dear unknown friend is?_"
"Why, of course, William, I can not say who it positively is," replied
Sir Sidney; "but it would not surprise me, were I to find that it was
your admirable friend Burrel."
"Nor I either!" answered William Delaware. "What do you think,
Blanche!"
But Blanche was looking out of the window, with a very red tip to the
fair finely-turned ear that rested on the smooth glossy waves of her
rich brown hair. Perhaps she did not hear the question, but certainly
she did not answer it; and her brother, though he would fain have said
a word or two of kind malice, could he have known how far he might
venture without inflicting real pain, would not run the risk.
"I wish, William," said his father, "that you would go down to
Emberton, and see Mr. Burrel. The circumstances of the proposed
arrangement with Lord Ashborough were mentioned more than once in his
presence, and if he have heard by any chance of there being a delay on
the part of Mr. Tims, he may certainly have taken means to remedy that
inconvenience. In fact, I know of no other person at all likely to
perform such an act of liberality in this somewhat romantic manner."
Blanche glided out of the room, and her father went on. "Mrs.
Darlington, though a very good woman, and not without feeling, does
not perform such acts as this. Otherwise, as she came to Emberton, I
hear, yesterday, to meet Dr. Wilton and another magistrate about this
burning of her house, we might have supposed that she was the lender
of the money. Good Dr. Wilton himself could not, I know, command so
large a sum. I wish, therefore, you would go and visit Mr. Burrel, and
tell him that, while we accept the loan as an obligation, and
appreciate his conduct as it should be appreciated, we are desirous of
giving him a mortgage upon the property which he has released from so
great a burden."
"I will go down almost immediately, sir," replied Captain Delaware;
"but, in all the confusion of this morning, I have lost my breakfast,
for it seems that the surprise and wonderment of finding the packet
detained me till you and Blanche had finished."
The bell was rung, breakfast was again made, and Captain Delaware
proceeded somewhat quickly in the task of dispatching it, reflecting,
in the intervals of a broken conversation with his father, upon all
that he would have to say to Burrel--how he might best and most
delicately thank him for the kindness and promptitude of the service
he had rendered--how he might arrive-at the facts of his situation in
regard to Blanche; and whether he would be justified in communicating
at once to Sir Sidney his cousin's real name, without consulting
Beauchamp himself. In the mean while, the baronet walked backward and
forward--now looked out of the window--now talked with his son,
feeling that degree of pleasant perturbation, that sort of long swell,
which remains after some moment of peculiar agitation is happily over,
and the mind is settling down slowly into a calm.
Before his son had finished his breakfast, however, Sir Sidney
remarked that there seemed a great many people in the park. "I
suppose," he said, "the worthy lawyer has informed the good folks of
the town that we are rather more than a thousand a year richer than we
were in the morning; and therefore we may now expect the respectful
congratulations of all those who treated us with the greatest degree
of contempt while we were poor."
"I will go and kick them out, sir, directly," said Captain Delaware,
"if you will allow me to finish this piece of toast."
"I hope you may finish a great many, William," replied his father,
"before you begin kicking at all. But there really seems something
extraordinary here. There is a whole posse, and here is a chariot
driving up the avenue--Dr. Wilton's, I think."
Captain Delaware rose for a moment, looked out of the window, declared
the carriage to be certainly Dr. Wilton's, and the personages on foot
to be a set of blackguards, who had no business there; and then sat
down to his breakfast again, with the intention, as soon as he had
concluded, of going forth and sending the gentry, who had now
approached close to the house, back to the town without any very
flattering expression of regard. He was just depositing his coffee-cup
in the saucer, when Dr. Wilton entered the room unannounced,
accompanied by another magistrate, and followed by Mr. Peter Tims,
with two or three other persons, whose appearance in that place
greatly surprised both Sir Sidney and his son.
The baronet advanced, however, and shook his reverend friend by the
hand; and Captain Delaware exclaimed, laughing, "Why, my dear Doctor
Wilton, I never thought to see you with such a crew, headed by such a
rascally boatswain as that behind you. Why, you have got all the
constables of Emberton at your back! What is the matter?"
"I am sorry to say, my dear William, that I am come upon a very
serious business," replied Doctor Wilton; "Although, indeed, the part
that regards you, both our good friend here, Mr. Egerton, and myself,
look upon as quite ridiculous. Yet the matter is of so very horrible a
nature, that it does not admit of a jest; and this person--this
gentleman, urges a charge against you, so seriously and plausibly,
that we are forced to examine into the matter, though we doubt not
that you can clear yourself at once."
"The scoundrel does not pretend to say that I struck him!" cried
Captain Delaware, his cheek burning with anger; "I threatened, indeed,
and I wish I had put my threat--"
"The charge is a much more serious one than that," said Dr. Wilton,
interrupting him; and then, turning to his brother magistrate, he
said, in a low tone--"Remark his demeanor! I told you it was
ridiculous."
"Yon had better, however, have the warrant executed," replied the
other, in the same low tone. "We can hold the examination here; and if
it turn out as you expect, discharge it as soon as the business is
over."
"What is the matter, gentlemen?" asked Sir Sidney Delaware. "All this
seems very strange! Will you be kind enough to explain?"
"Captain Delaware," said Mr. Egerton, "we are here upon an unpleasant
duty. You are charged by this person, who is, I am told, Mr. Tims, a
lawyer of Clement's Inn, with a very serious crime; and although, from
your character and station, Dr. Wilton and myself do not for a moment
believe the accusation to originate in any thing but error, and are
willing to do all to spare your feelings; yet, in pursuit of the ends
of justice, we are bound to act toward you as we would toward any
other person in the same situation. A charge against you, then, having
been made before us, upon oath, we were bound to grant a warrant
against you, which must now be executed. The examination, however, can
as well take place here as elsewhere; and as this gentleman has
declared that he is ready to go into it immediately, we will instantly
proceed, not at all doubting that you can clear yourself at once."
Captain Delaware had listened at first with surprise and indignation;
but gradually, as the importance of the whole business became strongly
impressed upon his mind, he assumed a more serious aspect, and bowing
low in reply to Mr. Egerton's address, he said, gravely, but
frankly,--"Although I can not divine what charge that person is about
to bring--or rather has brought--against me, yet I thank you, sir, for
the courtesy with which you are inclined to treat me, and of course
surrender myself at once. Do not look so shocked, my dear father," he
added, turning toward Sir Sidney; "be assured that your son never did
an act that he was ashamed to acknowledge in the face of the whole
world., But I think you had better leave us, for this business seems
likely to be too painful for you."
"Never, never, my dear boy!" replied Sir Sidney. "Never! I am a
magistrate also, and should know something of these affairs; and
though, of course, I can not act in your case, I will not leave you
while I have life."
A tear rose in Doctor Wilton's eye; but Mr. Egerton beckoned forward
the officer charged with the warrant against Captain Delaware, to whom
the young gentleman surrendered immediately, merely requiring to be
informed of the nature of the crime with which he was charged. "I
object, I object!" cried Mr. Peter Tims. "I will not have the prisoner
put upon his guard!"
"You seem strangely ignorant of the fundamental principles of English
law, sir, for a person who follows it as a profession," replied Mr.
Egerton. "Captain Delaware, you are charged with the murder of a
person of the name of Tims, residing at Ryebury, in this
neighborhood."
"Good God!" exclaimed Captain Delaware, with unfeigned horror; "then,
that is the reason the poor fellow did not bring the money last
night."
"Put down that observation, clerk!" said Doctor Wilton to a young man
who had followed into the room with the constables, and two or three
other persons.
"Let us carry on the matter a little more formally, my dear sir," said
Mr. Egerton.--"Sir Sidney, with your permission, we will take our
seats here. Clerk, place yourself there. Constable, put a chair for
Captain Delaware at the bottom of the table--stand back yourself, and
keep those other persons back.--Captain Delaware, it is customary to
warn persons in your present situation against saying any thing that
may commit themselves. To you I have only to remark, that your
examination will of course be taken down, and may hereafter be brought
against you."
"You will understand, however," added Doctor Wilton, "that the present
investigation is merely instituted by us to ascertain whether this
person can bring forward sufficient evidence in support of the
accusation, to oblige us to remand you for further examination."
"I shall bring forward sufficient evidence to compel you to commit
him," cried Mr. Tims, "however prejudiced you may be in his favor."
"Do not be insolent, sir," said Mr. Egerton, "or I may find it
necessary to punish you in the first instance. Your charge is already
made, and we shall proceed with the examination as we judge most
expedient ourselves. Remember, Captain Delaware, you are warned
against committing yourself."
"I have nothing to conceal, sir, and therefore have no reason to fear
saying any thing that is true!" replied the young officer. "Pray,
proceed."
"Well, then, let me ask," said Mr. Egerton, "when and where you
happened to see Mr. Tims--generally known by the name of the miser of
Ryebury--for the last time?"
"It was yesterday morning," replied Captain Delaware. "I met him first
in the lanes leading to his own house; accompanied him home, and left
him there."
"Pray, did any high words pass between you and him on that occasion?"
demanded the magistrate; "and if so, what was the subject of dispute?
You are not compelled to answer, unless you like."
"I am sorry to say," replied Captain Delaware, "that there were high
words passed between myself and the poor old man. The cause of them
was simply that he had agreed to furnish a certain sum of money to pay
off an annuity which was pressing heavily upon this estate; and that
he failed to perform his promise at the time agreed upon."
"And to obtain which, whether he would or not, you murdered him!"
cried Mr. Peter Tims.
Captain Delaware started up, with the fire flashing from his eyes, but
instantly resumed his seat, saying, "Am I to be thus insulted,
gentlemen?"
"Mr. Peter Tims," Said Mr. Egerton, sternly, "if you again interrupt
the proceedings, I will have you removed from the room; and if you are
insolent," he added, seeing the other about to reply, "I shall equally
know how to deal with you."
The lawyer was silent, and Doctor Wilton demanded, "Will you state;
Captain Delaware, whether, on your last meeting with the unhappy man,
Mr. Tims, you threatened to strike him, or used any violent menaces
toward him?"
William Delaware reddened, but he replied at once, "Sorry I am to say,
my dear sir, that I did threaten to horsewhip him; but it was upon
severe provocation, from the cool insolence with which he informed me
that he was not able to keep the promise he had made--the performance
of which was of infinite consequence to my family."
"And are you certain, Captain Delaware," demanded Mr. Egerton, "that
that was the last time you ever saw this unhappy man?"
"Perfectly certain!" replied the young officer; and then added, after
a momentary pause, "I went to his house last night, in order to
ascertain whether the money had arrived, but could not obtain
admittance. I rang several times without effect."
Dr. Wilton and Mr. Egerton looked at each other, and the latter then
demanded--"Then, pray, Captain Delaware, where did you obtain the
money which you paid to Mr. Tims, here present, this morning?"
"I suppose, sir," replied Captain Delaware, with some degree of
haughtiness, "that, as the question is evidently intended to entangle
me, I might, according to the principle you have yourself laid down,
refuse to answer; but it is indeed unnecessary to do so; and if the
simple truth do not clear me, I can hope for nothing else." He then
circumstantially recapitulated the same story which he had that
morning related to his father, concerning the receipt of the money.
Mr. Tims laughed scornfully, and Mr. Egerton looked to Dr. Wilton,
who, in return, whispered something to him, which seemed to make an
immediate impression. "Captain Delaware," he said, "it is fit that I
should inform you, that a strong case is made out against you. In the
first place, there has been evidence on oath given before us, at the
house of this unfortunate man, Mr. Tims, that you were heard to
threaten him violently yesterday morning--clerk, hand me the minute of
Farmer Ritson's evidence--yes, those are the words. In the next place,
you were seen going toward his house last night, after sunset, and two
or three other persons unknown were observed proceeding in the same
direction. About that period, the deceased was evidently still alive,
as his servant, it appears, was sent to Emberton for bill-stamps, the
written description of which is before us, in his own hand. The man
has been found murdered, in the very room where he kept his money, as
if he had been killed in the act of taking out certain sums from his
iron chest. The body of the woman has not been discovered, but a long
track of blood down the stairs has pointed the direction in which it
was carried, and doubtless it will be found ere long."
Captain Delaware had listened attentively, but not without impatience;
for perfect innocence made him feel the charge utterly absurd, and at
length he broke forth--"And do you, sir!" he exclaimed, "call it a
strong case, that I was heard to threaten an old knavish miser with a
horsewhipping, and was seen somewhere in the neighborhood of his house
on the night that he was killed, without any other evidence whatever?"
"Not without any other evidence whatever, Captain Delaware," replied
Mr. Egerton, some what sharply; "but on a train of circumstantial
evidence, sir, very painful for as to contemplate. You mistake the
matter, Captain Delaware," he added, in a more kindly tone. "Your
previous high character induces us to put the most liberal
construction upon every thing, and to extend to your case the most
calm--nay, the most friendly--consideration that justice will admit,
before we even remand you to await the result of the coroner's
inquest. Besides the circumstances I have stated, you must remember
that you, yourself acknowledge that, up to a late hour last night, you
were not possessed of the sum required. By half-past nine this
morning, that sum is in your possession. One of the notes before me
bears the mark of a forefinger stained with blood; and in the bed-room
of the deceased a paper has been found, dated yesterday morning, in
which the dates and numbers of some of the notes paid by you this
morning, are marked as having been received by post that day. Your
account of the manner in which the money came into your hands is
somewhat extraordinary--nay, so much so, as to be highly improbable;
and I fear, that unless you can in some way explain these
circumstances, we shall be bound to commit you at once."
Sir Sidney Delaware hid his face in his handkerchief, and wept. Mr.
Tims rubbed his hands with a degree of glee, not at all diminished by
the loss of his uncle, and Captain Delaware gazed upon the two
magistrates, stupefied at finding himself suddenly placed in
circumstances so suspicious. There was innocence, however, in the
whole expression of his countenance; in the surprise, in the horror,
in the bewilderment it betrayed and Mr. Egerton, who was a shrewd and
observing, without being an unfeeling man, saw that such conduct could
not be affected, and believed that it could only proceed from a heart
devoid of guilt.
"Bethink yourself, my dear sir!" he said, after a short pause, during
which he awaited in vain Captain Delaware's answer. "However
improbable, I will not believe any thing that you have said to be
untrue."
"If you did, sir, I could pardon you," replied the young officer, with
a glowing cheek; "for long ere you appeared, I could scarcely prevail
upon my own family to believe the tale. How much more, then, might it
be doubted by a person who is nearly a stranger to me?"
"Well, but, my dear sir!" said Mr. Egerton, more convinced of the
prisoner's innocence, by this outbreak of feeling, than he had been
before, "can you not account for the fact of the money being so placed
in your bed-room?"
Captain Delaware related what had passed in the morning, and the
servants being called, recapitulated their tale; the footman declaring
that he had seen no one but Mr. Burrel's man, Harding, in the lanes at
the back of the park, and the housemaid swearing that she had seen a
stranger on the terrace just after nightfall. Dr. Wilton, at the first
sound of Burrel's name, sent off a messenger to his lodging at
Emberton, with orders to bring up the landlady, with Harding, and the
groom, if the two latter were still there; and, in the mean while, Mr.
Egerton continued the examination, evidently more with a view of
giving the prisoner every chance of explaining the suspicious
circumstances, than with a wish to find him guilty.
"Now, Captain Delaware," he said, "I am about to put a question to
you, which the circumstances I believe, fully justify. Do you, or do
you not, know any one who was likely to perform so extraordinary, and,
I must say, foolish an act as that of placing so large a sum in your
chamber, without giving you any notice of his so doing?--I say, have
you any suspicion as to who was the person who did so?"
"I certainly have, sir!" replied William Delaware. "And he was not a
man to do a foolish act. Circumstances unknown to you, sir, might
induce him to do, in the present instance, what he would not have done
upon any other motives."
"And pray, sir, who may he be?" demanded the magistrate.
Captain Delaware paused; but replied, after an instant's thought--"my
present situation, of course, compels me to be more explicit upon such
a subject than I otherwise should be. The person I suspect of having
placed the money in my room, is a gentleman who has lately been
residing at Emberton, under the name of Burrel, but who may now be
named as my cousin, Henry Beauchamp."
Sir Sidney Delaware started up off his chair, but immediately resumed
his seat again: and another look of intelligence passed between Mr.
Egerton and Dr. Wilton.
"I appeal to Dr. Wilton," added Captain Delaware, "if such a thing be
not probable."
"Most probable in his case," replied Dr. Wilton. "Indeed, more than
probable!"
"Pray, sir, are you now acting as a magistrate or as a witness?"
demanded Mr. Tims. "If as the latter, I would ask you, whether Mr.
Beauchamp did not pass the day at your house yesterday, which I hear
in the village that he did, beyond all doubt?"
"Then you have heard, sir, what was not the case!" replied Dr. Wilton.
"Pray, at what hour did he leave your house sir?" demanded Mr. Tims,
taking care to preserve so respectful a tone as to afford no excuse
for refusing an answer to his question.
"I should not hold myself bound to reply to you sir," said the
clergyman; "but a sense of justice must of course supersede every other
consideration, whether indignation at impudence, or contempt for low
cunning; and therefore I reply, that he left my house, I should
suppose, about three o'clock."
"I will presume to ask one question more, if I am permitted," said the
unruffled Mr. Peter Tims, bowing to Mr. Egerton, who was evidently
listening with interest. "At Mr. Beauchamp's departure, Dr. Wilton did
he tell you whither he was about to turn his steps?"
Dr. Wilton fidgeted on his seat; but truth was paramount, and he
answered, "He certainly implied that he was going to London."
"Did he take the road which leads in that direction?" asked Mr. Tims.
"He did!" replied the clergyman, and the interrogatory dropped by a
low bow on the part of the lawyer to both the magistrates.
The examination now paused for several minutes, till good Mrs. Wilson
who had been Beauchamp's landlady at Emberton was brought into the
room. Although the questions which were asked her were few, and of the
simplest kind, the poor woman gave her evidence in as wild and
confused a manner as if she had been charged with the murder herself.
The result, however, was, that she swore Mr. Burrel had left her house
early in the forenoon of the preceeding day, as she understood, for
London; that his groom, with the greater part of his luggage, had gone
by the coach that very morning, and that his gentleman, Mr. Harding,
had followed his master the night before. She could not say exactly at
what hour; but swore that it was between eight and ten.
This evidence was all that could be adduced at the time; and Mr. Tims,
upon the strength of the case he had made out, resumed a degree of his
former insolence, and demanded loudly, that Captain Delaware should be
committed.
A long conversation, which was carried on in so low a tone as to be
inaudible to any one but the two magistrates and the clerk, then
ensued between Dr. Wilton and Mr. Egerton; the latter of whom at
length said, to the surprise even of Captain Delaware himself, "I do
not think, Mr. Tims, that, all things considered, we should be
justified in committing the prisoner till after the coroner's jury
have sat upon the body. We have determined, sir, to remand him."
Mr. Tims stormed and raved, slapped the table with all the unction of
forensic eloquence, and demanded where the magistrates intended to
confine the prisoner in the mean time. There was no place of security
nearer than the county town, except the cage at Emberton; and he
doubted not--he added, with a sneer--that the friendship which the
worthy magistrates entertained for the prisoner would prevent him from
occupying that lodging.
"Our sense of decency and humanity will do so, at least," replied Mr.
Egerton, coolly. "In a word, sir, we do not think that there is
sufficient direct evidence before us to commit the accused till the
coroner's inquest has sat. The coroner has been already sent for, and
the inquest can be held immediately. The jury may themselves like to
examine the prisoner; and, therefore, it will be useless to send him
to the county town. In order to spare his feelings as much as
possible, which of course we wish to do, we have determined, if two of
our most active constables can find a room in this house which they
judge undoubtedly secure, to leave him here, under their custody. If
not, he must be removed to Emberton, and placed in the justice-room,
though the security of it is doubtful."
In vain the lawyer argued. The justices were determined; and the
officers, after spending some time in examining the house, returned,
declaring that no room in a prison could be more secure than the
prisoner's own bed-room, which was so high above the terrace, that no
escape could be effected from the window; and which had but one door
opening into an ante-room, where they could keep watch. Mr. Tims
himself was permitted to examine the room; and could not but
acknowledge that he was satisfied. The constables received every
injunction to be cautious, and Captain Delaware, having been asked
whether he had any thing farther to say, replied that he had not.
"Then you may remove the prisoner!" said Mr. Egerton. Sir Sidney
Delaware staggered up, and caught him in his arms. Captain Delaware
pressed his father for a moment to his heart; and saying, in a low but
firm voice, "Do not be afraid--I am as innocent as a child of the
charge they bring against me!" tore himself away, and quitted the
room.