a noise
within. 'I saw a small curling wreath of smoke rise above his head, as
if the breath of a cigar; I saw him reel back against the ledge on the
inside of the door; I heard him exclaim: "O God!" or "O my God!" and
nothing more or longer (as reported by several witnesses), for even
that exclamation was faint; and then, making an impulsive rush, as it
were, to reach the entrance to the House on the opposite side for
safety, I saw him totter forward, not half way, and drop dead between
the four pillars which stood there in the centre of the space, with a
slight trace of blood issuing from his lips.

'All this took place ere, with moderate speed, you could count five!
Great confusion, and almost as immediately great alarm, ensued. Loud
cries were uttered, and rapidly conflicting orders and remarks on
every hand made a perfect Babel of the scene; for there were above a
score of people in the lobby, and on the instant no one seemed to know
what had been done or by whom. The corpse of Mr Perceval was lifted
up by Mr William Smith, the member for Norwich, assisted by Lord
Francis Osborne, a Mr Phillips, and several others, and borne into the
office of the Speaker's secretary, by the small passage on the left
hand, beyond and near the fireplace. Pallid and deadly, close by the
murderer, it must have been; for in a moment after, Mr Eastaff, one of
the clerks of the Vote Office at the last door on that side, pointed
him out, and called: "That is the murderer!" Bellingham moved slowly
to a bench on the hither side of the fireplace, near at hand, and sat
down. I had in the first instance run forward to render assistance to
Mr Perceval, but only witnessed the lifting of his body, followed the
direction of Mr Eastaff's hand, and seized the assassin by the collar,
but without violence on one side, or resistance on the other.
Comparatively speaking, a crowd now came up, and among the earliest Mr
Vincent Dowling, Mr John Norris, Sir Charles Long, Sir Charles
Burrell, Mr Henry Burgess, and, in a minute or two, General Gascoigne
from a committee-room up stairs, and Mr Hume, Mr Whitbread, Mr Pole,
and twelve or fifteen members from the House. Meanwhile, Bellingham's
neckcloth had been stripped off, his vest unbuttoned, and his chest
laid bare. The discharged pistol was found beside him, and its
companion was taken, loaded and primed, from his pocket. An
opera-glass, papers, and other articles, were also pulled forth,
principally by M