, the child she
held in her arms was cold and dead. The doctor shrugged his shoulders.
Want of food! And the jury returned their verdict, framed in a beautiful
and elaborate sentence, in accordance with the evidence.

The last case was a girl of twenty. She had been found in the Thames; a
bargee told how he saw a confused black mass floating on the water, and
he put a boat-hook in the skirt, tying the body up to the boat while he
called the police, he was so used to such things! In the girl's pocket
was found a pathetic little letter to the coroner, begging his pardon
for the trouble she was causing, saying she had been sent away from her
place, and was starving, and had resolved to put an end to her troubles
by throwing herself in the river. She was pregnant. The medical man
stated that there were signs on the body of very great privation, so the
jury returned a verdict that the deceased had committed suicide whilst
in a state of temporary insanity!

The coroner stretched his arms and blew his nose, and the jury went
their way.

But Mr Clinton stood outside the mortuary door, meditating, and the
coroner's officer remarked that it was a wet day.

'Could I 'ave another look at the bodies?' timidly asked the clerk,
stirring himself out of his contemplation.

The coroner's officer looked at him with surprise, and laughed.

'Yes, if you like.'

Mr Clinton looked through the glass windows at the bodies, and he
carefully examined their faces; he looked at them one after another
slowly, and it seemed as if he could not tear himself away. Finally he
turned round, his face was very pale, and it had quite a strange
expression on it; he felt very sick.

'Thank you!' he said to the coroner's officer, and walked away. But
after a few steps he turned back, touching the man on the arm. 'D'you
'ave many cases like that?' he asked.

'Why, you look quite upset,' said the coroner's officer, with amusement.
'I can see you're not used to such things. You'd better go to the pub.
opposite and 'ave three 'aporth of brandy.'

'They seemed rather painful cases,' said Mr Clinton, in a low voice.

'Oh, it was a slack day to-day. Nothing like what it is usually this
time of year.'

'They all died of starvation--starvation, and nothing else.'

'I suppose they did, more or less,' replied the officer.

'D'you 'ave many cases like that?'

'Starvation cases? Lor' bless you! on a 'eavy day we'll 'ave 'alf a
dozen, easy.'

'Oh!' said