The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 322: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

TE eee eee ee eee. os eee ee oe COE ELE eee THE MYSTERIES OF THE COURT. which the double murder was ac. | weapons with eomph Pp” “I don’t think it was,’ answered Hawkshaw : “and indeed I should have fancied that it would have been useless.” “Not so useless as you would imagine,” said Mr. Denison. “ An assassin frequently flings away the weapon with which his foul deed has been per- petrated ; and your own memory must furnish you with several instances of crimes having been thus brought home to their authors.” “J have heard of knives, when stainod with blood, being thrown away in the manner you de- scribe,” responded the Squire: “ but pistola——” “And why not pistols?” asked Mr. Denison. “Is not one weapon as often gifted with a tell- tale tongue as another?—I mean in respect to its identification as belonging to same particular in- dividual. A murderer throws away his weapon under several influences :—first, in order that no- thing criminatory may be found upon him, if he be stopped, suspected, aud searched: secondly, in the sudden horror which eu es after the com- mission of the deed: thirdly, on being alarmed by the sounds of voices or of footsteps. And now that I bethink me, in the case of which we are talking, the murderer or murderers were thus alarmed : for our friend the Marquis of Eagledean and Mr. Deveril were almost instantaneously on the spot. Assuredly it was a great fault if the river was not y searched at the time.” “Well, I am almost sure that it was not,” vephed Mr. Hawkshaw: “for I was present at the inquest, and I heard the head-constable of Gains- give his evidence, stating all the measures he had adopted to discover some clue. The rain, you reeollect, fell in torrents that night; and all foot-marks were obliterated on the soft soil. Ho looked about for string or brown paper, to discover if possible a clue to the direction which had been taken by the author or authors of the crime after ite perpetration; and he found nothing. All these details do I recollect.” “Well then, it will perhaps be useful,” ob- served Mr. Denison, “to give the head-consteble a hint; and he may yet have the bed of the river. searched for the purpose I have described. You, my good man,” added the old gentleman, now addressing himeelf to the peasant, .“can tell him so from me: because the best thing you can do is to take this drees to the head-constable at once. You have acted judiciously and prudently in con- sulting magisterial authority ; and here is a guinea for you.” Mr. Hawkshaw added another; and the peasant took his departure, infinitely delighted with the presents he had thus reosived. He carried the dress away with him; and returning to his own home, communicated to his mother and sister all that had taken place. Although he had walked evening for to the residence of the head-constable, to whom he gave every exp likewise deli message from lanation, Mr. Denison to the effect that it would perhape be as well if the bed of the river were searched in the neighbourhood of the spot -where the crime was committed. The constable yromieed compliance with this suggestion, end assured the peasant that he would consider whether the 1; 319 the possession of the masquerade-apparel would in any way further the ends of justice. On the following morning the constable sent for the famale who had been charged at the time of the tragedy to disapparel the corpses of the mur- dered women; and he desired her to examine the dreas minutely, and inform him, to the best of her recollection, whether it would have fitted either the dancer or her servant? In respect to the latter, the woman at once gave a negative re- sponse,—the unfortunate abigail having been too alender in figure and too short in stature for such @ costume: nor indeed was it probable that she could have had euch a dress for her own wearing. The woman examined it for same time; and ulti- mately pronounced her opinion to the following ect :— “TI perfectly well remember the form and stature of the unfortunate ballet-dancer. She was tall enough to wear this dress, but not sufficiently atout. The costume wes evidently mado for a woman of considerable development of contours although the figure must have been of . The wearer of such a garb would be what is termed a very fine woman.” The next step which the head-constable at Gainsborough took, was to summon to his counsels the most experienced milliner in the town; and he demred her to give har opinion in respect to the raiment,—mentioning certain details on which he sought to be enlightened. The milliner, after minutely examining the dress, and likewise eon- sulting a book of postumes which she possessed, delivered hereelf in the ensuing manner :— “This is intended to represent a Spanish cos- tume, belonging to the Court of that country of about three hundred years ago. Soiled, faded, and ruined as it is, there is no ty in ascer- taining that it was of the richest materials, and that its trimmings and its embellishments were of che very costliest description. I have no hesitation in pronouncing that such a dress could only have been intended for 0 1RGy Of Tank, oF at least of great wealth; and furthermore my that it was made in London. T do not think that any provincial milliner could have turned out sach an exquisite piece of workmanship as this must undoubtedly have been. The for whom it was intended must have possessed a superb figure, of well developed proportions, but symmetry. COLL (C DOO CS (GO)