f his,
Malassis, a notary's clerk, as to the validity of a will made by a sick
man in favour of his medical attendant. He said that he had a patient
gravely ill who, not wishing to leave his money to his sister, whom he
disliked, intended to leave it to him. Malassis reassured him as to the
validity of such a will, and gave him the necessary instructions for
preparing it. On May 29 Castaing sent Malassis the will of Auguste
Ballet with the following note, "I send you the will of M. Ballets
examine it and keep it as his representative." The will was dated
December 1, 1822, and made Castaing sole legatee. On the same day
that the will was deposited with Malassis, Castaing and Auguste Ballet
started to-gether on a little two days' trip into the country. To his
friends Auguste seemed in the best of health and spirits; so much so
that his housekeeper remarked as he left how well he was looking, and
Castaing echoed her remark, saying that he looked like a prince!

During the afternoon the two friends visited Saint Germain, then
returned to Paris, and at seven o'clock in the evening arrived at the
Tete Noire Hotel at Saint Cloud, where they took a double-bedded room,
Castaing paying five francs in advance. They spent the following day,
Friday, May 30, in walking about the neighbourhood, dined at the hotel
at seven, went out again and returned about nine o'clock. Soon after
their return Castaing ordered some warmed wine to be sent up to the
bedroom. It was taken up by one of the maid-servants. Two glasses were
mixed with lemon and sugar which Castaing had brought with him. Both the
young men drank of the beverage. Auguste complained that it was sour,
and thought that he had put too much lemon in it. He gave his glass to
the servant to taste, who also found the drink sour. Shortly after
she left the room and went upstairs to the bedside of one of her
fellow-servants who was ill. Castaing, for no apparent reason, followed
her up and stayed in the room for about five minutes. Auguste spent a
bad night, suffering from internal pains, and in the morning his legs
were so swollen that he could not put on his boots.

Castaing got up at four o'clock that morning and asked one of the
servants to let him out. Two hours later he drove up in a cabriolet to
the door of a chemist in Paris, and asked for twelve grains of tartar
emetic, which he wanted to mix in a wash according to a prescription of
Dr. Castaing. But he did not tell the chemis