‘And she was married on the Friday preceding her death?’ ‘She was, worse luck!’ ‘Was her marriage undertaken with your consent, Mr Crampton?’ At this question, the old man became violently agitated. ‘It was not, sir. She was stolen from me by a villain, who came to my house under the disguise of friendship, and--’ Some one in the jury remarked that this was quite irrelevant to the evidence on hand, but Mr Procter ordered him to be silent. ‘This poor gentleman has sustained a double injury,’ he said. ‘Let him tell his story in his own words.’ ‘I have not much more to say, gentlemen,’ resumed Mr Crampton. ‘This man, Frederick Walcheren, stole my daughter from me, and the next thing I hear is that she is dead. It is not a long story, but it is a very bitter one.’ ‘And you have the full sympathy of the jury for it, Mr Crampton. I believe your daughter was your heiress. Did you threaten to make any alteration in your will if she went against your wishes?’ ‘I did. I said that if she married this Walcheren, who is a Papist, she shouldn’t have a halfpenny.’ ‘Did you make the same intimation to Mr Walcheren?’ ‘I think not, at least personally, but I suppose she did, for they ran away together two days afterwards. And this is the end of it--this is the end.’ ‘You have recognised the deceased as your daughter?’ The father broke down. ‘Oh, yes, sir, I have recognised her only too well. My poor pretty darling. She was called the “Beauty of Hampstead,” sir, the “Beauty of Hampstead.”’ ‘Thank you, Mr Crampton, that will do. I am sorry to have troubled you so far, but it was necessary. You can retire, sir. Call Mr Henry Hindes.’ The witness entered the room, with a pallid face, compressed lips, as if resolved that nothing should make him betray himself, and a stolid demeanour which was wholly put on. The stakes were too high. He could not afford to think or fear. All he had to do was to believe things were _not so_, and to act accordingly. ‘You look ill, Mr Hindes. Do you wish for a chair?’ ‘Certainly not! But I am an old friend of the family. I have known the deceased from a child.’ ‘Ah! We will detain you as short a time as possible. You were in Dover, Mr Hindes, on Saturday last, I believe. Will you tell the jury why you came here?’ ‘I came at the instigation, and with the knowledge, of my old friends Mr and Mrs Crampton, to bring a message to their daughter, and to see if I could effect a reconciliation between them.’ ‘Between them and the young couple?’ ‘No, not with Mr Walcheren--they steadfastly refused to see or speak with Mr Walcheren--but with his wife, their daughter.’ ‘How could a reconciliation be effected with one and not with the other?’ ‘Because Miss Crampton--the deceased--had married without the consent of her people, and her father had cut her out of his will. But, as the marriage was somewhat irregular--’ ‘How was it irregular?’