sed, that having examined the body, he found no less
than three deep wounds, inflicted with some sharp instrument; two of them
had actually penetrated the heart, and were, of course, supposed to cause
instant death. Besides these, there were two contusions, one upon the
back of the head, the other upon the forehead, with a slight abrasion of
the eyebrow. There was a large lock of hair torn out by the roots at the
front of the head, and the palm and fingers of the right hand were cut.
This evidence having been taken, the jury once more repaired to the
chamber where the body lay, and proceeded with much minuteness to examine
the room, with a view to ascertain, if possible, more particularly the
exact circumstances of the murder.

The result of this elaborate scrutiny was as follows:--The deceased,
they conjectured, had fallen asleep in his easy chair, and, while he was
unconscious, the murderer had stolen into the room, and, before attacking
his victim, had secured the bedroom-door upon the inside. This was argued
from the non-discovery of blood upon the handle, or any other part of the
door. It was supposed that he had then approached Sir Wynston, with the
view either of robbing, or of murdering him while he slept, and that the
deceased had awakened just after he had reached him; that a brief and
desperate struggle had ensued, in which the assailant had struck his
victim with his fist upon the forehead, and having stunned him, had
hurriedly clutched him by the hair, and stabbed him with the dagger,
which lay close by upon the chimneypiece, forcing his head violently
against the back of the chair. This part of the conjecture was supported
by the circumstance of there being discovered a lock of hair upon the
ground at the spot, and a good deal of blood. The carpet, too, was
tumbled, and a water-decanter, which had stood upon the table close by,
was lying in fragments upon the floor. It was supposed that the murderer
had then dragged the half-lifeless body to the bed, where, having
substituted the knife, which he had probably brought to the room in the
same pocket from which the boy afterwards saw him take the dagger, he
dispatched him; and either hearing some alarm--perhaps the movement of
the valet in the adjoining room, or from some other cause--he dropped
the knife in the bed, and was not able to find it again. The wounds upon
the hand of the dead man indicated his having caught and struggled to
hold the blade of the wea