Strona 357 z 483

Their first supposition was that it was the corpse of some person

who had been drowned and was thrown on shore by the waves, but on

examination they found that the clothes were not wet and even

that the body was not then cold. They instantly carried it to the

cottage of an old woman near the spot and endeavoured, but in

vain, to restore it to life. It appeared to be a handsome young

man, about five and twenty years of age. He had apparently been

strangled, for there was no sign of any violence except the black

mark of fingers on his neck.

The first part of this deposition did not in the least interest

me, but when the mark of the fingers was mentioned I remembered

the murder of my brother and felt myself extremely agitated; my

limbs trembled, and a mist came over my eyes, which obliged me to

lean on a chair for support. The magistrate observed me with a

keen eye and of course drew an unfavourable augury from my

manner.