by calling for him, and taking him to the
inquest. The carriage stopped on the way, and a gentleman joined them,
who was introduced as Mr. Melton's legal adviser. He spoke to Amelius
about the inquest; stating, as his excuse for asking certain discreet
questions, that his object was to suppress any painful disclosures. On
reaching the house, Mr. Melton and his lawyer said a few words to the
coroner downstairs, while the jury were assembling on the floor above.

The first witness examined was the landlady.

After deposing to the date at which the late Mrs. Farnaby had hired
her lodgings, and verifying the statements which had appeared in
the newspapers, she was questioned about the life and habits of the
deceased. She described her late lodger as a respectable lady, punctual
in her payments, and quiet and orderly in her way of life: she received
letters, but saw no friends. On several occasions, an old woman was
admitted to speak with her; and these visits seemed to be anything but
agreeable to the deceased. Asked if she knew anything of the old woman,
or of what had passed at the interviews described, the witness answered
both questions in the negative. When the woman called, she always told
the servant to announce her as "the nurse."

Mr. Melton was next examined, to prove the identity of the deceased.

He declared that he was quite unable to explain why she had left her
husband's house under an assumed name. Asked if Mr. and Mrs. Farnaby had
lived together on affectionate terms, he acknowledged that he had
heard, at various times, of a want of harmony between them, but was not
acquainted with the cause. Mr. Farnaby's high character and position in
the commercial world spoke for themselves: the restraints of a gentleman
guided him in his relations with his wife. The medical certificate of
his illness in Paris was then put in; and Mr. Melton's examination came
to an end.

The chemist who had made up the prescription was the third witness. He
knew the woman who brought it to his shop to be in the service of the
first witness examined; an old customer of his, and a highly respected
resident in the neighbourhood. He made up all prescriptions himself in
which poisons were conspicuous ingredients; and he had affixed to the
bottle a slip of paper, bearing the word "Poison," printed in large
letters. The bottle was produced and identified; and the directions in
the prescription were shown to have been accurately copied on