appeared to me at the time, so let me present it here.

CHAPTER XVI. FIRST QUESTION--DID THE WOMAN DIE POISONED?

THE proceedings began at ten o'clock. The prisoner was placed at
the Bar, before the High Court of Justiciary, at Edinburgh. He bowed
respectfully to the Bench, and pleaded Not Guilty, in a low voice.

It was observed by every one present that the prisoner's face betrayed
traces of acute mental suffering. He was deadly pale. His eyes never
once wandered to the crowd in the Court. When certain witnesses appeared
against him, he looked at them with a momentary attention. At other
times he kept his eyes on the ground. When the evidence touched on his
wife's illness and death, he was deeply affected, and covered his face
with his hands. It was a subject of general remark and general surprise
that the prisoner, in this case (although a man), showed far less
self-possession than the last prisoner tried in that Court for murder--a
woman, who had been convicted on overwhelming evidence. There were
persons present (a small minority only) who considered this want
of composure on the part of the prisoner to be a sign in his favor.
Self-possession, in his dreadful position, signified, to their minds,
the stark insensibility of a heartless and shameless criminal, and
afforded in itself a presumption, not of innocence, but of guilt.

The first witness called was John Daviot, Esquire, Sheriff-Substitute
of Mid-Lothian. He was examined by the Lord Advocate (as counsel for the
prosecution); and said:

"The prisoner was brought before me on the present charge. He made
and subscribed a Declaration on the 29th of October. It was freely
and voluntarily made, the prisoner having been first duly warned and
admonished."

Having identified the Declaration, the Sheriff-Substitute--being
cross-examined by the Dean of Faculty (as counsel for the
defense)--continued his evidence in these words:

"The charge against the prisoner was Murder. This was communicated
to him before he made the Declaration. The questions addressed to
the prisoner were put partly by me, partly by another officer, the
procurator-fiscal. The answers were given distinctly, and, so far as
I could judge, without reserve. The statements put forward in
the Declaration were all made in answer to questions asked by the
procurator-fiscal or by myself."

A clerk in the Sheriff-Clerk's office then officially produced the
Declaration, and corroborated the evid