e from the room; it looked out, too, upon a kind of courtyard,
round which the old buildings stood, formerly accessible by a narrow
doorway and passage lying in the oldest side of the quadrangle, but
which had since been built up, so as to preclude all ingress or egress;
the room was also upon the second story, and the height of the window
considerable. Near the bed were found a pair of razors belonging to the
murdered man, one of them upon the ground, and both of them open. The
weapon which had inflicted the mortal wound was not to be found in
the room, nor were any footsteps or other traces of the murderer
discoverable.

At the suggestion of Sir Arthur himself, a coroner was instantly
summoned to attend, and an inquest was held; nothing, however, in any
degree conclusive was elicited; the walls, ceiling, and floor of
the room were carefully examined, in order to ascertain whether they
contained a trap-door or other concealed mode of entrance--but no such
thing appeared.

Such was the minuteness of investigation employed, that, although the
grate had contained a large fire during the night, they proceeded to
examine even the very chimney, in order to discover whether escape by
it were possible; but this attempt, too, was fruitless, for the chimney,
built in the old fashion, rose in a perfectly perpendicular line from
the hearth to a height of nearly fourteen feet above the roof, affording
in its interior scarcely the possibility of ascent, the flue being
smoothly plastered, and sloping towards the top like an inverted funnel,
promising, too, even if the summit were attained, owing to its great
height, but a precarious descent upon the sharp and steep-ridged roof;
the ashes, too, which lay in the grate, and the soot, as far as it
could be seen, were undisturbed, a circumstance almost conclusive of the
question.

Sir Arthur was of course examined; his evidence was given with clearness
and unreserve, which seemed calculated to silence all suspicion.
He stated that, up to the day and night immediately preceding the
catastrophe, he had lost to a heavy amount, but that, at their last
sitting, he had not only won back his original loss, but upwards of
four thousand pounds in addition; in evidence of which he produced
an acknowledgment of debt to that amount in the handwriting of the
deceased, and bearing the date of the fatal night. He had mentioned
the circumstance to his lady, and in presence of some of the domestics;
w