pone her visit on account of the state of Mrs. Macallan's health. It was Mrs. Macallan herself-not her husbandwho decided that Mrs. Beauly should not be disappointed, and should pay her visit to Gleninch, then and there. Further, Mrs. Macallan (in spite of her temper) was popular with her friends, and popular with her servants. There was hardly a dry eye in the house when it was known she was dying. And, further still, in those little domestic disagreements at which the nurse had been present, Mr. Macallan had never lost his temper, and had never used harsh language; he seemed to be more sorry than angry when the quarrels took place.'— Moral for the Jury: Was this the sort of woman who would exasperate a man into poisoning her? And was this the sort of man who would be capable of poisoning his wife?

Having produced that salutary counter-impression, the Dean of Faculty sat down; and the medical witnesses were called next.

Here, the evidence was simply irresistible.

Doctor Jerome and Mr. Gale positively swore that the symptoms of the illness were the symptoms of poisoning by arsenic. The surgeon who had performed the post-mortem examination followed. He positively swore that the appearance of the internal organs proved Dr. Jerome and Mr. Gale to be right in declaring that their patient had died poisoned. Lastly, to complete this overwhelming testimony, two analytical chemists actually produced in Court the arsenic which they had found in the body, in a quantity admittedly sufficient to have killed two persons instead of one. In the face of such evidence as this, cross-examination was a mere form. The first Question raised by the Trial-Did the Woman Die Poisoned was answered in the affirmative, and answered beyond the possibility of doubt.

The next witnesses called were witnesses concerned with the question that now followed-the obscure and terrible question: Who Poisoned Her ?

CHAPTER XVII.

SECOND QUESTION-WHO POISONED HER?

THE evidence of the doctors and the chemists closed the proceedings, on the first day of the Trial.

On the second day, the evidence to be produced by the prosecution was anticipated with a general feeling of curiosity and interest. The Court was now to hear what had been seen and done by the persons officially appointed to verify such cases of suspected crime as the case which had occurred at Gleninch. The Procurator-Fiscal-being the person officially appointed to direct the preliminary investiga tions of the Law-was the first witness called, on the second day of the Trial.

Examined by the Lord Advocate, the Fiscal gave his evidence, as follows:

'On the twenty-sixth of October, I received a communication from Doctor Jerome of Edinburgh, and from Mr. Alexander Gale, medical practitioner, residing in the village or hamlet of Dingdovie, near Edinburgh. The communication related to the death, under circumstances of suspicion, of Mrs. Eustace Macallan, at her husband's house, hard by Dingdovie, called Gleninch. There was also forwarded to me, enclosed in the document just mentioned, two reports. One described the results of a post-mortem examination of the deceased lady; and the other stated the discoveries made, after a chemical analysis of certain of the interior organs of her body. The result, in both instances, proved to demonstration that Mrs. Eustace Macallan had died of poisoning by arsenic.

'Under these circumstances, I set in motion a search and

inquiry in the house at Gleninch, and elsewhere, simply for the purpose of throwing light on the circumstances which had attended the lady's death.

'No criminal charge, in connexion with the death, was made at my office against any person, either in the communication which I received from the medical men, or in any other form. The investigations at Gleninch, and elsewhere, beginning on the twenty-sixth of October, were not completed until the twenty-eighth. Upon this latter date-acting on certain discoveries which were reported to me, and on my own examination of letters and other documents brought to my office-I made a criminal charge against the prisoner; and obtained a warrant for his apprehension. He was examined before the Sheriff, on the twenty-ninth of October, and was committed for Trial before this Court.'

The Fiscal having made his statement, and having been cross-examined (on technical matters only), the persons employed in his office were called next. These men had a story of startling interest to tell. Theirs were the fatal discoveries which had justified the Fiscal in charging my husband with the murder of his wife. The first of the witnesses was a sheriff's officer. He gave his name as Isaiah Schoolcraft.

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Examined by Mr. Drew-Advocate-Depute, and counsel for the Crown with the Lord Advocate-Isaiah Schoolcraft said:

'I got a warrant on the twenty-sixth of October, to go to the country house near Edinburgh, called Gleninch. I took with me Robert Lorrie, Assistant to the Fiscal. We first examined the room in which Mrs. Eustace Macallan had died. On the bed, and on a movable table which was attached to it, we found books and writing materials, and a paper containing some unfinished verses in manuscript; afterwards identified as being in the handwriting of the deceased. We enclosed these articles in paper, and sealed them up.

'We next opened an Indian cabinet in the bedroom. Here

we found many more verses, on many more sheets of paper, in the same handwriting. We also discovered, first, some letters and next a crumpled piece of paper thrown aside in a corner of one of the shelves. On closer examination, a chemist's printed label was discovered on this morsel of paper. We also found in the folds of it a few scattered grains of some white powder. The paper and the letters were carefully enclosed, and sealed up as before.

'Further investigation in the room revealed nothing which could thrown any light on the purpose of our inquiry. We examined the clothes, jewellery, and books of the deceased. These we left under lock and key. We also found her dressing case, which we protected by seals, and took away with us to the Fiscal's office, along with all the other articles that we had discovered in the room.

'The next day we continued our examination in the house, having received, in the interval, fresh instructions from the Fiscal. We began our work in the bedroom communicating with the room in which Mrs. Macallan had died. It had been kept locked since the death. Finding nothing of any importance here, we went next to another room on the same floor, in which we were informed the prisoner was then lying, ill in bed.

'His illness was described to us as a nervous complaint, caused by the death of his wife, and by the proceedings which had followed it. He was reported to be quite incapable of exerting himself, and quite unfit to see strangers. We insisted nevertheless (in deference to our instructions) on obtaining admission to his room. He made no reply, when we inquired whether he had, or had not, removed anything from the sleeping-room next to his late wife's which he usually occupied, to the sleeping-room in which he now lay. All he did was to close his eyes, as if he was too feeble to speak to us or to notice us. Without further disturbing him, we began to examine the room and the different objects in it.

'While we were so employed, we were interrupted by a strange sound. We likened it to the rumbling of wheels in the corridor outside.

'The door opened, and there came swiftly in a gentlemana cripple-wheeling himself along in a chair. He wheeled his chair straight up to a little table which stood by the prisoner's bedside, and said something to him in a whisper too low to be overheard. The prisoner opened his eyes, and quickly answered by a sign. We informed the crippled gentleman, quite respectfully, that we could not allow him to be in the room at this time. He appeared to think nothing of what we said. He only answered, "My name is Dexter. I am one of Mr. Macallan's old friends. It is you who are intruding here; not I." We again notified to him that he must leave the room; and we pointed out particularly that he had got his chair in such a position against the bedsidetable as to prevent us from examining it. He only laughed. "Can't you see for yourselves," he said; "that it is a table, and nothing more?" In reply to this, we warned him that we were acting under a legal warrant, and that he might get into trouble if he obstructed us in the execution of our duty. Finding there was no moving him by fair means, I took his chair and pulled it away, while Robert Lorrie laid hold of the table and carried it to the other end of the room. The crippled gentleman flew into a furious rage with me for presuming to touch his chair. "My chair is Me," he said: "how dare you lay hands on Me?" I first opened the door; and then, by way of accommodating him, gave the chair a good push behind with my stick, instead of my hand-and so sent It, and him, safely and swiftly out of the room.

'Having locked the door, so as to prevent any further intrusion, I joined Robert Lorrie in examining the bedsidetable. It had one drawer in it, and that drawer we found secured.

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