Charles Tyrrell; or, The Bitter Blood. Volumes I and II

by G. P. R. James

After he had concluded his own account, the coroner questioned him, as to whom he had seen in the garden or the park during the course of the day; and the only one of the family he had seen, had been his young master, who, about an hour before the body was discovered, had entered the garden by the door leading from the mansion, had looked about eagerly for a minute or two, and then crossing the garden had tried the opposite door, which was locked. The gardener who was at the other end of the ground, and saw this proceeding, advanced for the purpose of opening the door; but before he reached it, his young master was away among the apple-trees and other thick plants, and he did not see him any more.

These particulars it is to be remarked, were drawn forth by the questions of the coroner, and were evidently detailed unwillingly; and when the man had concluded, the coroner told him to quit the room; but not the house, as he might very probably be called upon again to give further evidence.

The other servants were then examined, and their testimony confirmed in all respects the gardener's account of the finding of the body. The only further fact of importance that was produced by their examination was, that the gun which had been found near Sir Francis Tyrrell, was one belonging to his son Charles, with which he had gone out that very morning. This immediately pointed suspicion, and the butler, who proved that the gun was the same which he had given to his young master, when he was going out, was ordered to remain.

The coroner then looked to the jury in silence, as if to see whether they would ask any further questions or not. No one spoke, however, and he himself paused and seemed to hesitate. At length, however, he murmured to himself, "It must be done!" and he began a series of questions addressed to the butler, calculated to elicit all the particulars of the quarrel between Sir Francis Tyrrell and his son in the morning.

Though the man softened the whole business as much as he could, without falsifying the facts, it became evident to the jury that Charles Tyrrell and his father had quarrelled severely, more so, indeed, than they had ever been known to do before; that the son had gone forth with his gun in his hand; that the father had followed him, and had never returned alive.

"Was the gun charged or not, when you gave it to your master!" demanded the coroner.

"I have always charged it for him since he was a boy, sir," replied the butler, "and did so yesterday morning also."

While this examination had been proceeding, Mr. Driesen had been in the room; but Charles Tyrrell had been voluntarily absent, and as the former had been mentioned several times by the servants, the coroner next proceeded to examine him.

He told as much as he knew of the quarrel between Sir Francis and his son in the morning, stating everything with his usual clear precision; and then he detailed how the servants had come to seek him, fearing some violence would take place on the part of Sir Francis toward his son. When he came down, he said, he found the baronet excited to a greater pitch than he had ever beheld, and he further stated, that on attempting to stop him from going after his son, Sir Francis had told him in a low voice, that it was his intention not only to deprive Charles of everything that he legally could, but to destroy the title deeds of his entailed estates rather than that his son should possess them. He had remonstrated, he said, and pointed out that it would be most ungentlemanly so to do; but that Sir Francis had broken away from him, intimating that his resolution was not to be shaken. He had followed him, he added, along the path he had taken in the wood till it had separated into two, and then not knowing which branch Sir Francis had pursued, and not seeing him upon either, he had returned to the house, trusting that either the father would not overtake the son, or that the quarrel between them, as had been frequently the case within his own knowledge before, would pass away and be forgotten.

He seemed inclined to pause here, but the coroner proceeded: "I think," he said, "one of the servants informed us, that you were the first person who notified to the present Sir Charles Tyrrell the awful event which had occurred in his family. Be so good as to detail what took place upon that occasion."