of
Mr. Topham? (where it appears that he was staying). For what--or for
whom--was he waiting? If he were in the park at the time of the murder,
how came it that he heard no cries, gave the unhappy gentleman no
assistance, and offers no suggestion or clue to the mystery beyond the
obstinate denial of his own guilt, though he confesses to having been in
the grounds during the whole time of the deadly struggle, and though he
was found alone with scratched hands and blood-stained clothes beside
the corpse of his avowed enemy? We leave these questions to the
consideration of our readers, as they will be for that of a
conscientious and impartial jury, not, we trust, blinded by the wealth
and position of the criminal to the hideous nature of the crime.

"The funeral is to take place to-morrow; George Manners is fully
committed to take his trial for wilful murder at the ensuing assizes."

The above condemning extract only too well represented the state of
public feeling. All Middlesex--nay, all England--was roused to
indignation, and poor Edmund's youth and infirmities made the crime
appear the more cowardly and detestable.

CHAPTER IV.

DRIFTING TO THE END.

My misery between the time of the murder and the trial was terrible from
many causes: my brother's death; George's position; the knowledge of his
sufferings, and my inability to see or soothe them--and, worst of all,
the firm conviction of his guilt in every one's mind, and Harriet's
ceaseless reproaches. I do not think that I should have lived through
it, but for Dr. Penn. That excellent and revered man's kindness will, I
trust, ever be remembered by me with due gratitude. He went up to town
constantly, at his own expense, and visited my dear George in Newgate,
administering all the consolations of his high office and long
experience, and being the bearer of our messages to each other. From him
also I gleaned all the news of which otherwise I should have been kept
in ignorance; how George's many friends were making every possible
exertion on his behalf, and how an excellent counsel was retained for
him. But far beyond all his great kindness, was to me the simple fact
that he shared my belief in George's innocence; for there were times
when the universal persuasion of his guilt almost shook, not my faith,
but my reason.

There were early prayers in our little church in the morning; too early,
Harriet said, for her to attend much, especially of late, when Dr.