Detective and mystery stories; English fiction -- 19th century
The fragment of newspaper preserved by Mrs. Brown has no date, nor
could I at first find any clue by which it might be determined. The
last paragraph, however, commences as follows:
SEASONABLE WEATHER!--The thermometer has, for the last four days, never
been lower than eighty degrees in the shade. We wonder what our friends
in England would say to singing their Ch... rols in such a....
The remainder is torn off, but the missing syllables are clearly
Ch_ristmas Ca_rols, and this shows clearly that the paper must have
been published after the departure of the James Baines on the 28th
November. Richard Brown must therefore have come home either in the
Lightning or the Emma, the earliest of which reached Liverpool on the
evening of the 24th March. The 25th of March therefore is the earliest
date from which our examination need commence.
2. From Mrs. Troubridge, mother of the young woman to whom Richard
Brown was married during his stay in England, I learned that the young
couple sailed for Sydney in the Maria Somes. Mrs. Brown was unable to
give me the date of this vessel's departure, but a search through the
file of the Times for April, 1856, shows that she left Gravesend on the
23rd of that month. The period to be analysed is therefore confined to
the interval between the 25th March and the 25th April, 1856.
3. During this period, as we learn from Mrs. Brown's statement, Richard
Brown was at home every day except Saturdays and Sundays. These were
respectively, 29th and 30th of March, and 5th, 6th, 12th, 13th, 19th,
and 20th of April.
4. Dr. Marsden, in his evidence, states most distinctly that he did not
see Madame R** until at least "one clear day" had elapsed after her
attack. Dr. Marsden's visits take place on the Monday and Friday of
each week. Madame R**'s seizure therefore did not occur on a Sunday.
This reduces the days on which it may have happened to the 29th March
and 5th, 12th, and 19th April.
5. From Mrs. Troubridge's evidence we learn that Mrs. Brown and the
whole party slept at Gravesend on the Saturday night previous to the
sailing of the Maria Somes. Mrs. Brown was therefore absent from town
on the 19th April. The issue is thus narrowed to the 29th March and the
5th and 12th April.
6. From Mrs. Brown's statement we learn that on the Saturday and Sunday
preceding the wedding her son's friend Aldridge slept at the house. The
wedding took place on the 14th April. On the 12th April, therefore,
Mrs. Brown was not alone. The only days, therefore, on which the
occurrence, as described, could have taken place are the 29th March and
5th April.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account