第12章

"Thecircumstancesofthemomentadaptedthemselves，withafatalfacility，tothisidea。Theill—fatedwomanwhohadbecomeattachedtome（Heavenknows——withoutsomuchastheshadowofencouragementonmypart！）had，justatthattime，rashlyplacedherreputationatthemercyoftheworld。Itrestedwithmetosilencethescandaloustonguesthatreviledher。WithHelenalosttome，happinesswasnottobeexpected。Allwomenwereequallyindifferenttome。Agenerousactionwouldbethesalvationofthiswoman。Whynotperformit？Imarriedheronthatimpulse——marriedherjustasImighthavejumpedintothewaterandsavedherifshehadbeendrowning；justasImighthaveknockedamandownifIhadseenhimill—treatingherinthestreet！

"AndnowthewomanforwhomIhavemadethissacrificestandsbetweenmeandmyHelena——myHelena，freetopouroutallthetreasuresofherloveonthemanwhoadorestheearththatshetoucheswithherfoot！

"Fool！madman！Whydon’tIdashoutmybrainsagainstthewallthatIseeoppositetomewhileIwritetheselines？

"Mygunisthereinthecorner。Ihaveonlytotieastringtothetriggerandtoputthemuzzletomymouth——No！Mymotherisalive；mymother’sloveissacred。Ihavenorighttotakethelifewhichshegaveme。Imustsufferandsubmit。Oh，Helena！

Helena！"

Thethirdextract——oneamongmanysimilarpassages——hadbeenwrittenabouttwomonthsbeforethedeathoftheprisoner’swife。

"Morereproachesaddressedtome！Thereneverwassuchawomanforcomplaining；shelivesinaperfectatmosphereofill—temperanddiscontent。

"Mynewoffensesaretwoinnumber：Ineveraskhertoplaytomenow；andwhensheputsonanewdressexpresslytopleaseme，I

nevernoticeit。Noticeit！GoodHeavens！Theeffortofmylifeis_not_tonoticeherinanythingshedoesorsays。HowcouldI

keepmytemper，unlessIkeptasmuchaspossibleoutofthewayofprivateinterviewswithher？AndIdokeepmytemper。Iamneverhardonher；Ineveruseharshlanguagetoher。Shehasadoubleclaimonmyforbearance———sheisawoman，andthelawhasmadehermywife。Irememberthis；butIamhuman。ThelessIseeofher——exceptwhenvisitorsarepresent——themorecertainIcanfeelofpreservingmyself—control。

"Iwonderwhatitisthatmakeshersoutterlydistastefultome？

Sheisaplainwoman；butIhaveseenuglierwomenthanshewhosecaressesIcouldhaveenduredwithoutthesenseofshrinkingthatcomesovermewhenIamobligedtosubmitto_her_caresses。I

keepthefeelinghiddenfromher。Shelovesme，poorthing——andI

pityher。IwishIcoulddomore；IwishIcouldreturninthesmallestdegreethefeelingwithwhichsheregardsme。Butno——I

canonlypityher。Ifshewouldbecontenttoliveonfriendlytermswithme，andnevertoexactdemonstrationsoftenderness，wemightgetonprettywell。Butshewantslove。Unfortunatecreature，shewantslove！

"Oh，myHelena！Ihavenolovetogiveher。Myheartisyours。

"Idreamedlastnightthatthisunhappywifeofminewasdead。

ThedreamwassovividthatIactuallygotoutofmybedandopenedthedoorofherroomandlistened。

"Hercalm，regularbreathingwasdistinctlyaudibleinthestillnessofthenight。Shewasinadeepsleep：Iclosedthedooragainandlightedmycandleandread。Helenawasinallmythoughts；itwashardworktofixmyattentiononthebook。Butanythingwasbetterthangoingtobedagain，anddreamingperhapsforthesecondtimethatItoowasfree。

"Whatalifemineis！whatalifemywife’sis！Ifthehouseweretotakefire，IwonderwhetherIshouldmakeanefforttosavemyselfortosaveher？"

Thelasttwopassagesreadreferredtolaterdatesstill。

"Agleamofbrightnesshasshoneoverthisdismalexistenceofmineatlast。

"Helenaisnolongercondemnedtotheseclusionofwidowhood。

Timeenoughhaspassedtopermitofhermixingagaininsociety。

SheispayingvisitstofriendsinourpartofScotland；and，assheandIarecousins，itisuniversallyunderstoodthatshecannotleavetheNorthwithoutalsospendingafewdaysatmyhouse。Shewritesmewordthatthevisit，howeverembarrassingitmaybetousprivately，isneverthelessavisitthatmustbemadeforthesakeofappearances。Blessingsonappearances！Ishallseethisangelinmypurgatory——andallbecauseSocietyinMid—LothianwouldthinkitstrangethatmycousinshouldbevisitinginmypartofScotlandandnotvisitMe！

"Butwearetobeverycareful。Helenasays，insomanywords，’I

cometoseeyou，Eustace，asasister。Youmustreceivemeasabrother，ornotreceivemeatall。Ishallwritetoyourwifetoproposethedayformyvisit。Ishallnotforget——doyounotforget——thatitisbyyourwife’spermissionthatIenteryourhouse。’

"Onlyletmeseeher！Iwillsubmittoanythingtoobtaintheunutterablehappinessofseeingher！"

Thelastextractfollowed，andconsistedoftheselinesonly：

"Anewmisfortune！Mywifehasfallenill。Shehastakentoherbedwithabadrheumaticcold，justatthetimeappointedforHelena’svisittoGleninch。Butonthisoccasion（Igladlyownit！）shehasbehavedcharmingly。ShehaswrittentoHelenatosaythatherillnessisnotseriousenoughtorenderachangenecessaryinthearrangements，andtomakeitherparticularrequestthatmycousin’svisitshalltakeplaceuponthedayoriginallydecidedon。

"Thisisagreatsacrificemadetomeonmywife’spart。Jealousofeverywomanunderfortywhocomesnearme，sheis，ofcourse，jealousofHelena——andshecontrolsherself，andtrustsme！

"IamboundtoshowmygratitudeforthisandIwillshowit。

FromthisdayforthIvowtolivemoreaffectionatelywithmywife。Itenderlyembracedherthisverymorning，andIhope，poorsoul，shedidnotdiscovertheeffortthatitcostme。"

TherethereadingsfromtheDiarycametoanend。

ThemostunpleasantpagesinthewholeReportoftheTrialwere——tome——thepageswhichcontainedtheextractsfrommyhusband’sDiary。Therewereexpressionshereandtherewhichnotonlypainedme，butwhichalmostshookEustace’spositioninmyestimation。IthinkIwouldhavegiveneverythingIpossessedtohavehadthepowerofannihilatingcertainlinesintheDiary。AsforhispassionateexpressionsofloveforMrs。Beauly，everyoneofthemwentthroughmelikeasting。Hehadwhisperedwordsquiteaswarmintomyearsinthedaysofhiscourtship。Ihadnoreasontodoubtthathetrulyanddearlylovedme。Butthequestionwas，HadhejustastrulyanddearlylovedMrs。Beaulybeforeme？HadsheorI——wonthefirstloveofhisheart？Hehaddeclaredtomeoverandoveragainthathehadonlyfanciedhimselftobeinlovebeforethedaywhenwemet。Ihadbelievedhimthen。Ideterminedtobelievehimstill。Ididbelievehim。

ButIhatedMrs。Beauly！

AsforthepainfulimpressionproducedinCourtbythereadingsfromthelettersandtheDiary，itseemedtobeimpossibletoincreaseit。Neverthelessit_was_perceptiblyincreased。Inotherwords，itwasrenderedmoreunfavorablestilltowardtheprisonerbytheevidenceofthenextandlastwitnesscalledonthepartoftheprosecution。

WilliamEnzie，under—gardeneratGleninch，wassworn，anddeposedasfollows：

OnthetwentiethofOctober，ateleveno’clockintheforenoon，I

wassenttoworkintheshrubbery，onthesidenexttothegardencalledtheDutchGarden。Therewasasummer—houseintheDutchGarden，havingitsbacksettowardtheshrubbery。Thedaywaswonderfullyfineand——warmforthetimeofyear。

"Passingtomywork，Ipassedthebackofthesummer—house。I

heardvoicesinside——aman’svoiceandalady’svoice。Thelady’svoicewasstrangetome。Theman’svoiceIrecognizedasthevoiceofmymaster。Thegroundintheshrubberywassoft，andmycuriositywasexcited。Isteppeduptothebackofthesummer—housewithoutbeingheard，andIlistenedtowhatwasgoingoninside。

"ThefirstwordsIcoulddistinguishwerespokeninmymaster’svoice。Hesaid，’IfIcouldonlyhaveforeseenthatyoumightonedaybefree，whatahappymanImighthavebeen！’Thelady’svoiceanswered，’Hush！youmustnottalkso。’Mymastersaiduponthat，’Imusttalkofwhatisinmymind；itisalwaysinmymindthatIhavelostyou。’Hestoppedabitthere，andthenhesaidonasudden，’Domeonefavor，myangel！Promisemenottomarryagain。’Thelady’svoicespokeoutthereuponsharplyenough，’Whatdoyoumean？’Mymastersaid，’Iwishnoharmtotheunhappycreaturewhoisaburdenonmylife；butsuppose——’

’Supposenothing，’theladysaid；’comebacktothehouse。’

"Sheledthewayintothegarden，andturnedround，beckoningmymastertojoinher。InthatpositionIsawherfaceplainly，andIknewitforthefaceoftheyoungwidowladywhowasvisitingatthehouse。Shewaspointedouttomebythehead—gardenerwhenshefirstarrived，forthepurposeofwarningmethatIwasnottointerfereifIfoundherpickingtheflowers。ThegardensatGleninchwereshowntotouristsoncertaindays，andwemadeadifference，ofcourse，inthematteroftheflowersbetweenstrangersandguestsstayinginthehouse。Iamquitecertainoftheidentityoftheladywhowastalkingwithmymaster。Mrs。

Beaulywasacomelyperson——andtherewasnomistakingherforanyotherthanherself。Sheandmymasterwithdrewtogetheronthewaytothehouse。Iheardnothingmoreofwhatpassedbetweenthem。"

Thiswitnesswasseverelycross—examinedastothecorrectnessofhisrecollectionofthetalkinthesummer—house，andastohiscapacityforidentifyingboththespeakers。Oncertainminorpointshewasshaken。ButhefirmlyassertedhisaccurateremembranceofthelastwordsexchangedbetweenhismasterandMrs。Beauly；andhepersonallydescribedtheladyintermswhichprovedthathehadcorruptlyidentifiedher。

WiththistheanswertothethirdquestionraisedbytheTrial——thequestionoftheprisoner’smotiveforpoisoninghiswife——cametoanend。

Thestoryfortheprosecutionwasnowastorytold。ThestaunchestfriendsoftheprisonerinCourtwerecompelledtoacknowledgethattheevidencethusfarpointedclearlyandconclusivelyagainsthim。Heseemedtofeelthishimself。WhenhewithdrewatthecloseofthethirddayoftheTrialhewassodepressedandexhaustedthathewasobligedtoleanonthearmofthegovernorofthejail。

CHAPTERXIX。

THEEVIDENCEFORTHEDEFENSE。

THEfeelingofinterestexcitedbytheTrialwasprodigiouslyincreasedonthefourthday。Thewitnessesforthedefensewerenowtobeheard，andfirstandforemostamongthemappearedtheprisoner’smother。Shelookedathersonassheliftedherveiltotaketheoath。Heburstintotears。Atthatmomentthesympathyfeltforthemotherwasgenerallyextendedtotheunhappyson。

ExaminedbytheDeanofFaculty，Mrs。Macallantheeldergaveheranswerswithremarkabledignityandself—control。

Questionedastocertainprivateconversationswhichhadpassedbetweenherlatedaughter—in—lawandherself，shedeclaredthatMrs。EustaceMacallanwasmorbidlysensitiveonthesubjectofherpersonalappearance。Shewasdevotedlyattachedtoherhusband；thegreatanxietyofherlifewastomakeherselfasattractivetohimaspossible。Theimperfectionsinherpersonalappearance——andespeciallyinhercomplexion——weresubjectstoherofthebitterestregret。Thewitnesshadheardhersay，overandoveragain（referringtohercomplexion），thattherewasnoriskshewouldnotrun，andnopainshewouldnotsuffer，toimproveit。"Men"（shehadsaid）"areallcaughtbyoutwardappearances：myhusbandmightlovemebetterifIhadabettercolor。"

Beingaskednextifthepassagesfromherson’sDiaryweretobedependedonasevidence——thatistosay，iftheyfairlyrepresentedthepeculiaritiesinhischaracter，andhistruesentimentstowardhiswife——Mrs。Macallandenieditintheplainestandstrongestterms。

"Theextractsfrommyson’sDiaryarealibelonhischaracter，"

shesaid。"Andnotthelessalibelbecausetheyhappentobewrittenbyhimself。Speakingfromamother’sexperienceofhim，I

knowthathemusthavewrittenthepassagesproducedinmomentsofuncontrollabledepressionanddespair。Nojustpersonjudgeshastilyofamanbytherashwordswhichmayescapehiminhismoodyandmiserablemoments。Ismysontobesojudgedbecausehehappenstohavewritten_his_rashwords，insteadofspeakingthem？Hispenhasbeenhismostdeadlyenemy，inthiscase——ithaspresentedhimathisveryworst。Hewasnothappyinhismarriage——Iadmitthat。ButIsayatthesametimethathewasinvariablyconsideratetowardhiswife。Iwasimplicitlytrustedbybothofthem；Isawthemintheirmostprivatemoments。I

declare——inthefaceofwhatsheappearstohavewrittentoherfriendsandcorrespondents——thatmysonnevergavehiswifeanyjustcausetoassertthathetreatedherwithcrueltyorneglect。"

Thewords，firmlyandclearlyspoken，producedastrongimpression。TheLordAdvocate——evidentlyperceivingthatanyattempttoweakenthatimpressionwouldnotbelikelytosucceed——confinedhimself，incross—examination，totwosignificantquestions。

"Inspeakingtoyouofthedefectsinhercomplexion，"hesaid，"didyourdaughter—in—lawreferinanywaytotheuseofarsenicasaremedy？"

Theanswertothiswas，"No。"

TheLordAdvocateproceeded：

"Didyouyourselfeverrecommendarsenic，ormentionitcasually，inthecourseoftheprivateconversationswhichyouhavedescribed？"

Theanswertothiswas，"Never。"

TheLordAdvocateresumedhisseat。Mrs。Macallantheelderwithdrew。

Aninterestofanewkindwasexcitedbytheappearanceofthenextwitness。ThiswasnolessapersonthanMrs。Beaulyherself。

TheReportdescribesherasaremarkablyattractiveperson；

modestandlady—likeinhermanner，and，toallappearance，feelingsensitivelythepublicpositioninwhichshewasplaced。

Thefirstportionofherevidencewasalmostarecapitulationoftheevidencegivenbytheprisoner’smother——withthisdifference，thatMrs。Beaulyhadbeenactuallyquestionedbythedeceasedladyonthesubjectofcosmeticapplicationstothecomplexion。Mrs。EustaceMacallanhadcomplimentedheronthebeautyofhercomplexion，andhadaskedwhatartificialmeanssheusedtokeepitinsuchgoodorder。Usingnoartificialmeans，andknowingnothingwhateverofcosmetics，Mrs。Beaulyhadresentedthequestion，andatemporarycoolnessbetweenthetwoladieshadbeentheresult。

Interrogatedastoherrelationswiththeprisoner，Mrs。BeaulyindignantlydeniedthatsheorMr。Macallanhadevergiventhedeceasedladytheslightestcauseforjealousy。ItwasimpossibleforMrs。BeaulytoleaveScotland，aftervisitingatthehousesofhercousin’sneighbors，withoutalsovisitingathercousin’shouse。Totakeanyothercoursewouldhavebeenanactofdownrightrudeness，andwouldhaveexcitedremark。ShedidnotdenythatMr。Macallanhadadmiredherinthedayswhentheywerebothsinglepeople。Buttherewasnofurtherexpressionofthatfeelingwhenshehadmarriedanotherman，andwhenhehadmarriedanotherwoman。Fromthattimetheirintercoursewastheinnocentintercourseofabrotherandsister。Mr。Macallanwasagentleman：heknewwhatwasduetohiswifeandtoMrs。

Beauly——shewouldnothaveenteredthehouseifexperiencehadnotsatisfiedherofthat。Asfortheevidenceoftheunder—gardener，itwaslittlebetterthanpureinvention。Thegreaterpartoftheconversationwhichhehaddescribedhimselfasoverhearinghadnevertakenplace。Thelittlethatwasreallysaid（asthemanreportedit）wassaidjestingly；andshehadcheckeditimmediately——asthewitnesshadhimselfconfessed。Fortherest，Mr。Macallan’sbehaviortowardhiswifewasinvariablykindandconsiderate。Hewasconstantlydevisingmeanstoalleviatehersufferingsfromtherheumaticaffectionwhichconfinedhertoherbed；hehadspokenofher，notoncebutmanytimes，intermsofthesincerestsympathy。Whensheorderedherhusbandandwitnesstoleavetheroom，onthedayofherdeath，Mr。Macallansaidtowitnessafterward，"Wemustbearwithherjealousy，poorsoul：weknowthatwedon’tdeserveit。"Inthatpatientmannerhesubmittedtoherinfirmitiesoftemperfromfirsttolast。

Themaininterestinthecross—examinationofMrs。Beaulycenteredinaquestionwhichwasputattheend。Afterremindingherthatshehadgivenhername，onbeingsworn，as"HelenaBeauly，"theLordAdvocatesaid：

"Aletteraddressedtotheprisoner，andsigned’Helena，’hasbeenreadinCourt。Lookatit，ifyouplease。Areyouthewriterofthatletter？"

BeforethewitnesscouldreplytheDeanofFacultyprotestedagainstthequestion。TheJudgesallowedtheprotest，andrefusedtopermitthequestiontobeput。Mrs。Beaulythereuponwithdrew。

Shehadbetrayedaveryperceptibleagitationonhearingtheletterreferredto，andonhavingitplacedinherhands。Thisexhibitionoffeelingwasvariouslyinterpretedamongtheaudience。Uponthewhole，however，Mrs。Beauly’sevidencewasconsideredtohaveaidedtheimpressionwhichthemother’sevidencehadproducedintheprisoner’sfavor。

Thenextwitnesses——bothladies，andbothschoolfriendsofMrs。

EustaceMacallan——createdanewfeelingofinterestinCourt。

Theysuppliedthemissinglinkintheevidenceforthedefense。

ThefirstoftheladiesdeclaredthatshehadmentionedarsenicasameansofimprovingthecomplexioninconversationwithMrs。

EustaceMacallan。Shehadneveruseditherself，butshehadreadofthepracticeofeatingarsenicamongtheStyrianpeasantryforthepurposeofclearingthecolor，andofproducingageneralappearanceofplumpnessandgoodhealth。ShepositivelysworethatshehadrelatedthisresultofherreadingtothedeceasedladyexactlyasshenowrelateditinCourt。

Thesecondwitness，presentattheconversationalreadymentioned，corroboratedthefirstwitnessineveryparticular；

andaddedthatshehadprocuredthebookrelatingtothearsenic—eatingpracticesoftheStyrianpeasantry，andtheirresults，atMrs。EustaceMacallan’sownrequest。ThisbookshehadherselfdispatchedbyposttoMrs。EustaceMacallanatGleninch。

Therewasbutoneassailablepointinthisotherwiseconclusiveevidence。Thecross—examinationdiscoveredit。

Boththeladieswereasked，inturn，ifMrs。EustaceMacallanhadexpressedtothem，directlyorindirectly，anyintentionofobtainingarsenic，withaviewtotheimprovementofhercomplexion。Ineachcasetheanswertothatall—importantquestionwas，No。Mrs。EustaceMacallanhadheardoftheremedy，andhadreceivedthebook。Butofherownintentionsinthefutureshehadnotsaidoneword。Shehadbeggedboththeladiestoconsidertheconversationasstrictlyprivate——andthereithadended。

Itrequirednolawyer’seyetodiscernthefataldefectwhichwasnowrevealedintheevidenceforthedefense。Everyintelligentpersonpresentcouldseethattheprisoner’schanceofanhonorableacquittaldependedontracingthepoisontothepossessionofhiswife——oratleastonprovingherexpressedintentiontoobtainit。Ineitherofthesecasestheprisoner’sDeclarationofhisinnocencewouldclaimthesupportoftestimony，which，howeverindirectitmightbe，nohonestandintelligentmenwouldbelikelytoresist。Wasthattestimonyforthcoming？Wasthecounselforthedefensenotattheendofhisresourcesyet？

Thecrowdedaudiencewaitedinbreathlessexpectationfortheappearanceofthenextwitness。Awhisperwentroundamongcertainwell—instructedpersonsthattheCourtwasnowtoseeandheartheprisoner’soldfriend——alreadyoftenreferredtointhecourseoftheTrialas"Mr。Dexter。"

Afterabriefintervalofdelaytherewasasuddencommotionamongtheaudience，accompaniedbysuppressedexclamationsofcuriosityandsurprise。Atthesamemomentthecriersummonedthenewwitnessbytheextraordinarynameof"MISERRIMUSDEXTER"

CHAPTERXX。

THEENDOFTHETRIAL。

THEcallingofthenewwitnessprovokedaburstoflaughteramongtheaudienceduepartly，nodoubt，tothestrangenamebywhichhehadbeensummoned；partly，also，totheinstinctivedesireofallcrowdedassemblies，whentheirinterestispainfullyexcited，toseizeonanyreliefintheshapeofthefirstsubjectofmerrimentwhichmaypresentitself。AsevererebukefromtheBenchrestoredorderamongtheaudience。TheLordJusticeClerkdeclaredthathewould"cleartheCourt"iftheinterruptiontotheproceedingswererenewed。

Duringthesilencewhichfollowedthisannouncementthenewwitnessappeared。

Gliding，self—propelledinhischaironwheels，throughtheopeningmadeforhimamongthecrowd，astrangeandstartlingcreature——literallythehalfofaman——revealedhimselftothegeneralview。Acoverletwhichhadbeenthrownoverhischairhadfallenoffduringhisprogressthroughthethrong。Thelossofitexposedtothepubliccuriositythehead，thearms，andthetrunkofalivinghumanbeing：absolutelydeprivedofthelowerlimbs。

Tomakethisdeformityallthemorestrikingandallthemoreterrible，thevictimofitwas——astohisfaceandhisbody——anunusuallyhandsomeandanunusuallywell—mademan。Hislongsilkyhair，ofabrightandbeautifulchestnutcolor，fellovershouldersthatweretheperfectionofstrengthandgrace。Hisfacewasbrightwithvivacityandintelligence。Hislargeclearblueeyesandhislongdelicatewhitehandswereliketheeyesandhandsofabeautifulwoman。Hewouldhavelookedeffeminatebutforthemanlyproportionsofhisthroatandchest，aidedintheireffectbyhisflowingbeardandlongmustache，ofalighterchestnutshadethanthecolorofhishair。Neverhadamagnificentheadandbodybeenmorehopelesslyill—bestowedthaninthisinstance！NeverhadNaturecommittedamorecarelessoramorecruelmistakethaninthemakingofthisman！

Hewassworn，seated，ofcourse，inhischair。Havinggivenhisname，hebowedtotheJudgesandrequestedtheirpermissiontoprefacehisevidencewithawordofexplanation。

"PeoplegenerallylaughwhentheyfirsthearmystrangeChristianname，"hesaid，inalow，clear，resonantvoicewhichpenetratedtotheremotestcornersoftheCourt。"Imayinformthegoodpeopleherethatmanynames，stillcommonamongus，havetheirsignifications，andthatmineisoneofthem。’Alexander，’forinstance，means，intheGreek，’ahelperofmen。’’David’means，inHebrew，’well—beloved。’’Francis’means，inGerman，’free。’Myname，’Miserrimus，’means，inLatin，’mostunhappy。’Itwasgiventomebymyfather，inallusiontothedeformitywhichyouallsee——thedeformitywithwhichitwasmymisfortunetobeborn。

Youwon’tlaughat’Miserrimus’again，willyou？"HeturnedtotheDeanofFaculty，waitingtoexaminehimforthedefense。"Mr。

Dean。Iamatyourservice。Iapologizefordelaying，evenforamoment，theproceedingsoftheCourt。"

Hedeliveredhislittleaddresswithperfectgraceandgood—humor。ExaminedbytheDean，hegavehisevidenceclearly，withouttheslightestappearanceofhesitationorreserve。

"IwasstayingatGleninchasaguestinthehouseatthetimeofMrs。EustaceMacallan’sdeath，"hebegan。"DoctorJeromeandMr。

Galedesiredtoseemeataprivateinterview——theprisonerbeingtheninastateofprostrationwhichmadeitimpossibleforhimtoattendtohisdutiesasmasterofthehouse。AtthisinterviewthetwodoctorsastonishedandhorrifiedmebydeclaringthatMrs。EustaceMacallanhaddiedpoisoned。Theyleftittometocommunicatethedreadfulnewstoherhusband，andtheywarnedmethatapost—mortemexaminationmustbeheldonthebody。