; but it may safely be said that among them all there
was not one which prepared the minds of the public for the
extraordinary sequel, which caused so much excitement upon the first
day of the trial, and came to a climax upon the second. The long files
of the Lancaster Weekly with their report of the case lie before me as
I write, but I must content myself with a synopsis of the case up to
the point when, upon the evening of the first day, the evidence of Miss
Frances Morton threw a singular light upon the case.

Mr. Porlock Carr, the counsel for the prosecution, had marshalled his
facts with his usual skill, and as the day wore on, it became more and
more evident how difficult was the task which Mr. Humphrey, who had
been retained for the defence, had before him. Several witnesses were
put up to swear to the intemperate expressions which the young squire
had been heard to utter about the doctor, and the fiery manner in which
he resented the alleged ill-treatment of his sister. Mrs. Madding
repeated her evidence as to the visit which had been paid late at night
by the prisoner to the deceased, and it was shown by another witness
that the prisoner was aware that the doctor was in the habit of sitting
up alone in this isolated wing of the house, and that he had chosen
this very late hour to call because he knew that his victim would then
be at his mercy. A servant at the squire's house was compelled to
admit that he had heard his master return about three that morning,
which corroborated Mrs. Madding's statement that she had seen him among
the laurel bushes near the gate upon the occasion of her second visit.
The muddy boots and an alleged similarity in the footprints were duly
dwelt upon, and it was felt when the case for the prosecution had been
presented that, however circumstantial it might be, it was none the
less so complete and so convincing, that the fate of the prisoner was
sealed, unless something quite unexpected should be disclosed by the
defence. It was three o'clock when the prosecution closed. At
half-past four, when the court rose, a new and unlooked-for development
had occurred. I extract the incident, or part of it, from the journal
which I have already mentioned, omitting the preliminary observations
of the counsel.

Considerable sensation was caused in the crowded court when the first
witness called for the defence proved to be Miss Frances Morton, the
sister of the prisoner. Our readers wil