Coroner.—"Then you think the deceased took an overdose of poison?"
Witness (with bland reproof).—"I say he died from an overdose, but I am not prepared to say that he took it himself."
A Juryman.—"Then some one administered the dose?"
Witness.—"I can't say anything about that."
A Juryman.—"When do you think the deceased died?"
Witness.—"That is a very difficult question to answer. In most cases of poisoning by opium, death takes place within from six to twelve hours. I examined the body of the deceased between one and two o'clock the next day, and from all appearances he had been dead ten hours. According to the evidence of Miss Chickles, he went to bed at nine o'clock, so if he took the dose of opium then—as was most likely—he must have died about four o'clock in the morning."
Coroner.—"During his sleep?"
Witness.—"Presumably so, opium being a narcotic."
Coroner (prompted by London detective).—"Did his stomach look like that of an habitual opium-eater?"
Witness.—"No, not at all."