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the purposes specified by the gardener and the cook。
〃I assert positively that I lived on friendly terms with my wife；
allowing； of course； for the little occasional disagreements and
misunderstandings of married life。 Any sense of disappointment in
connection with my marriage which I might have felt privately I
conceived it to be my duty as a husband and a gentleman to
conceal from my wife。 I was not only shocked and grieved by her
untimely deathI was filled with fear that I had not； with all
my care； behaved affectionately enough to her in her lifetime。
〃Furthermore； I solemnly declare that I know no more of how she
took the arsenic found in her body than the babe unborn。 I am
innocent even of the thought of harming that unhappy woman。 I
administered the composing draught exactly as I found it in the
bottle。 I afterward gave her the cup of tea exactly as I received
it from the under…housemaid's hand。 I never had access to the
arsenic after I placed the two packages in my wife's possession。
I am entirely ignorant of what she did with them or of where she
kept them。 I declare before God I am innocent of the horrible
crime with which I am charged。〃
With the reading of those true and touching words the proceedings
on the second day of the Trial came to an end。
So far； I must own； the effect on me of reading the Report was
to depress my spirits and to lower my hopes。 The whole weight of
the evidence at the close of the second day was against my
unhappy husband。 Woman as I was； and partisan as I was； I could
plainly see that。
The merciless Lord Advocate （I confess I hated him！） had proved
（1） that Eustace had bought the poison； （2） that the reason which
he had given to the druggists for buying the poison was not the
true reason； （3） that he had had two opportunities of secretly
administering the poison to his wife。 On the other side； what had
the Dean of Faculty proved？ As yetnothing。 The assertions in
the prisoner's Declaration of his innocence were still； as the
Lord Advocate had remarked； assertions not supported by proof。
Not one atom of evidence had been produced to show that it was
the wife who had secretly used the arsenic； and used it for her
complexion。
My one consolation was that the reading of the Trial had already
revealed to me the helpful figures of two friends on whose
sympathy I might surely rely。 The crippled Mr。 Dexter had
especially shown himself to be a thorough good ally of my
husband's。 My heart warmed to the man who had moved his chair
against the bedside tablethe man who had struggled to the last
to defend Eustace's papers from the wretches who had seized them。
I decided then and there that the first person to whom I would
confide my aspirations and my hopes should be Mr。 Dexter。 If he
felt any difficulty about advising me； I would then apply next to
the agent； Mr。 Playmorethe second good friend； who had formally
protested against the seizure of my husband's papers。
Fortified by this resolution； I turned the page； and read the
history of the third day of the Trial。
CHAPTER XVIII。
THIRD QUESTIONWHAT WAS HIS MOTIVE？
THE first question （Did the Woman Die Poisoned？） had been
answered； positively。 The second question （Who Poisoned Her？） had
been answered； apparently。 There now remained the third and final
questionWhat was His Motive？ The first evidence called in
answer to that inquiry was the evidence of relatives and friends
of the dead wife。
Lady Brydehaven； widow of Rear…Admiral Sir George Brydehaven；
examined by Mr。 Drew （counsel for the Crown with the Lord
Advocate）； gave evidence as follows：
〃The deceased lady （Mrs。 Eustace Macallan） was my niece。 She was
the only child of my sister； and she lived under my roof after
the time of her mother's death。 I objected to her marriage； on
grounds which were considered purely fanciful and sentimental by
her other friends。 It is extremely painful to me to state the
circumstances in public； but I am ready to make the sacrifice if
the ends of justice require it。
〃The prisoner at the bar； at the time of which I am now speaking；
was staying as a guest in my house。 He met with an accident while
he was out riding which caused a serious injury to one of his
legs。 The leg had been previously hurt while he was serving with
the army in India。 This circumstance tended greatly to aggravate
the injury received in the accident。 He was confined to a
recumbent position on a sofa for many weeks together； and the
ladies in the house took it in turns to sit with him； and while
away the weary time by reading to him and talking to him。 My
niece was foremost among these volunteer nurses。 She played
admirably on the piano； and the sick man happenedmost
unfortunately； as the event provedto be fond of music。
〃The consequences of the perfectly innocent intercourse thus
begun were deplorable consequences for my niece。 She became
passionately attached to Mr。 Eustace Macallan； without awakening
any corresponding affection on his side。
〃I did my best to interfere； delicately and usefully； while it
was still possible to interfere with advantage。 Unhappily； my
niece refused to place any confidence in me。 She persistently
denied that she was actuated by any warmer feeling toward Mr。
Macallan than a feeling of friendly interest。 This made it
impossible for me to separate them without openly acknowledging
my reason for doing so； and thus producing a scandal which might
have affected my niece's reputation。 My husband was alive at that
time； and the one thing I could do under the circumstances was
the thing I did。 I requested him to speak privately to Mr。
Macallan； and to appeal to his honor to help us out of the
difficulty without prejudice to my niece。
〃Mr。 Macallan behaved admirably。 He was still helpless。 But he
made an excuse for leaving us which it was impossible to dispute。
In two days after my husband had spoken to him he was removed
from the house。
〃The remedy was well intended； but it came too late； and it
utterly failed。 The mischief was done。 My niece pined away
visibly； neither medical help nor change of air and scene did
anything for her。 In course of timeafter Mr。 Macallan had
recovered from the effects of his accidentI found that she was
carrying on a clandestine correspondence with him by means of her
maid。 His letters； I am bound to say； were most considerately and
carefully written。 Nevertheless； I felt it my duty to stop the
correspondence。
〃My interferencewhat else could I do but interfere？brought
matters to a crisis。 One day my niece was missing at
breakfast…time。 The next day we discovered that the poor
infatuated creature had gone to Mr。 Macallan's chambers in
London； and had been found hidden in his bedroom by some bachelor
friends who came to visit him。
〃For this disaster Mr。 Macallan was in no respect to blame。
Hearing footsteps outside； he had only time to take measures for
saving her character by concealing her i n the nearest roomand
the nearest room happened to be his bedchamber。 The matter was
talked about； of course； and motives were misinterpreted in the
vilest manner。 My husband had another private conversation with
Mr。 Macallan。 He again behaved admirably。 He publicly declared
that my niece had visited him as his betrothed wife。 In a
fortnight from that time he silenced scandal in the one way that
was possiblehe married her。
〃I was alone in opposing the marriage。 I thought it at the time
what it has proved to be sincea fatal mistake。
〃It would have been sad enough if Mr。 Macallan had only married
her without a particle of love on his side。 But to make the
prospect more hopeless still； he was at that very time the victim
of a misplaced attachment to a lady who was engaged to another
man。 I am well aware that he compassionately denied this； just as
he compassionately affected to be in love with my niece when he
married her。 But his hopeless admiration of the lady whom I have
mentioned was a matter of fact notorious among his friends。 It
may not be amiss to add that _her_ marriage preceded _his_
marriage。 He had irretrievably lost the woman he really lovedhe
was without a hope or an aspiration in lifewhen he took pity on
my niece。
〃In conclusion； I can only repeat that no evil which could have
happened （if she had remained a single woman） would have been
comparable； in my opinion； to the evil of such a marriage as
this。 Never； I sincerely believe； were two more ill…assorted
persons united in the bonds of matrimony than the prisoner at the
bar and his deceased wife。〃
The evidence of this witness produced a strong sensation among
the audience； and had a marked effect on the minds of the jury。
Cross…examination forced Lady Brydehaven to modify some of her
opinions； and to acknowledge that the hopeless attachment of the
prisoner to another woman was a matter of rumor only。 But the
facts in her narrative remained unshaken； and； for that one
reason； they invested the crime charged against the prisoner with
an appearance of possibility； which it had entirely failed to
assume during the earlier part of the Trial。
Two other ladies （intimate friends of Mrs。 Eustace Macallan） were
called