CHAPTER 11.

Observer, Volume 1, Issue 11, 27 November 1880, Page 93

CHAPTER 11.

" The Superintendent did not give in entirely to our reasoning, and continued to observe Mrs. Hardcastle with attention.

" During this time we were making a minute examination of the study in which we Avere. " The girl Mary, the attendant or companion, assured us that nothing had been disturbed there by her or by her mistress. All the furniture was exactly as it was when they two had entered the room about half an hour previously. "The result of our examination is as follows: —

" Ist. Tlie two doors which communicate from the study to the drawing-room and bedchamber were open, and were so found. In the whole room the entrance door alone was shut, but not fastened from within. It may, therefore, be .assumed that the assassin passed through this room on leaving the premises, and contented himself with shutting the door on the top of the stairs.

" 2nd. A lounge and a chair overturned in

might impede us in our investigation, and that m her own interest she was bound to leave us entire freedom of action. She heard what we had to say with more calmness and 'sang-froid' than we had expected, and without replying, reseated herself on the sofa which she had" just quitted. This woman appears to be endued with wonderful energy, and, so far from being a hindrance to justice, may prove of great assistance. The Superintendent continued his scrutiny of her without intermission, but he seemed to have altered his opinion with regard to her.

"Subjoined is an account of the state in which we found the bedroom-

"To the left, on entering the room, a small piece of rosewood furniture, presenting no point of interest. At two paces from it, a large padded easy-chair stained throughout with blood ; stains of blood were also noticeable on the carpet in front of this chair. Here, no doubt, the victim was struck but not killed immediately, as he had had strength enough to drag himself along for a short space in order to call for help. The blood stains were continued to the side of the window looking out into the court-yard, and indicated in an unmistakeable manner the route taken by Maurice Hardcastle. l \ Having succeeded in gaining the window, stains of blood show that he had clung with one hand to the curtains, no doubt to raise himself up to reach the fastening, but in vain. Apparently he had then tried to break one of the squares of glass, which bears the marks of his closed fist, but here his strength failed him. At tills moment he had in all probability felt himself lost beyond recall, and he had but one thought, vengeance on his murderer. "Hardcastle must then have looked about for the means of writing, and seeing his memorandum book on a table near his bed, must have crawled to it. It was but a couple of yards, and it is easy to trace his course. ' ' His hand at first rested on the foot of the table, then reaching up bit by bit, leaving atrace of blood on a glass of water which by chance came in his way, he succeeded at last in grasping the memorandum book of Avhich he was in search. " Tli-n he commenced to write by the light of a candle which was on the table, but his eyes were dim. It seemed to him, no doubt, that the pencil would not mark, and after having dipped it in the blood that was welling from liis wound, he wrote these words —

" * Eleanor, avenge me — the assassin's name '

"He can do no more— the blood rushes to his heart, he is suffocating. His iiand lets fall the pencil and the book— he makes a supreme effort— he feels himself becoming powerless; he tries to fight against deatlu But all is over. His body, half raised, falls on the bed, and in this position we found him. "Such, sir, are the private notes which I have been able to make., and I have the honour to transmit them to you in accordance with your instructions. I forwarded yesterday to the judicial authorities, my official report." (Signed)

REPORT OF THE DOCTOK, OEDERED BY THE POLICE AUTHOKITIES TO EXAMINE THE BODY OF THE VICTIM.

"I- Maurice Hardcastle was struck with a sharp instrument. "2. One of those instruments, culled a dagger paperknife, found on one of the pieces of furniture in the study, where the murderer must have thrown it when his crime was accomplished, answers perfectly to the form of the wound. "3. The blow Avas mortal, having caused deep lesions in the upper clavicular region. Nevertheless, owing to the narrowness of the wound, the victim lived for some moments and succumbed only in consequence of internal hemorrhage. "4, ISo other wound is to be found on the body of Maurice sufficed W • Hanlcasfcle * One Wow alone bowSi fc xt must have been struck b y ii vei> y lent ten* A rm » or b^ a P ersou whom anger Ive v sfcreu S fch ' as the kuif e, which is in • + +r " ad statc > woul <l not have penetrated into tu e body except it had been impelled with great violence.

5. The death, to judge from the rigidity of the corpse, must have occurred about eleven or twelve hours before the fact was ascertained, which was at 9 35. a.m.

"6. The supposition that Maurice Hardcastle committed suicide, and endeavoured to disguise it by the device of certaiu words written in his memorandum book, cannot be seriously entertained for a moment, seeing that the blow was struck downwards, either by a person of taller stature than the victim, or at a moment when the latter was stooping. If he had killed himself, Maurice Hardcastle must have struck the blow either horizontally, or upwards; a vertical blow would have caused a greater laceration of the flesh, and would have been of more considerable extent." (Signed)