ad resided at Baskerville Hall for a
comparatively short period his amiability of character and
extreme generosity had won the affection and respect of all who
had been brought into contact with him. In these days of _nouveaux
riches_ it is refreshing to find a case where the scion of an old
county family which has fallen upon evil days is able to make his
own fortune and to bring it back with him to restore the fallen
grandeur of his line. Sir Charles, as is well known, made large
sums of money in South African speculation. More wise than those
who go on until the wheel turns against them, he realized his
gains and returned to England with them. It is only two years
since he took up his residence at Baskerville Hall, and it is
common talk how large were those schemes of reconstruction and
improvement which have been interrupted by his death. Being
himself childless, it was his openly expressed desire that the
whole country-side should, within his own lifetime, profit by his
good fortune, and many will have personal reasons for bewailing
his untimely end. His generous donations to local and county
charities have been frequently chronicled in these columns.

"The circumstances connected with the death of Sir Charles
cannot be said to have been entirely cleared up by the inquest,
but at least enough has been done to dispose of those rumours to
which local superstition has given rise. There is no reason
whatever to suspect foul play, or to imagine that death could be
from any but natural causes. Sir Charles was a widower, and a man
who may be said to have been in some ways of an eccentric habit
of mind. In spite of his considerable wealth he was simple in his
personal tastes, and his indoor servants at Baskerville Hall
consisted of a married couple named Barrymore, the husband acting
as butler and the wife as housekeeper. Their evidence,
corroborated by that of several friends, tends to show that Sir
Charles's health has for some time been impaired, and points
especially to some affection of the heart, manifesting itself in
changes of colour, breathlessness, and acute attacks of nervous
depression. Dr. James Mortimer, the friend and medical attendant
of the deceased, has given evidence to the same effect.

"The facts of the case are simple. Sir Charles Baskerville was in
the habit every night before going to bed of walking down the
famous Yew Alley of Baskerville Hall. The evidence of the
Barrymores shows that this had