Coroner: "I will note it."
Evidence continued: "My uncle drank half the ale at a draught, shook his bead, and said: 'It is very bitter, to-night.' We neither made any remark upon it. He likewise took a biscuit and ate it. Soon afterward I rose to go. He would not say good-night to me. Hugh came to the door with me--the study-door--and whispered, 'I'll try to appease him and make it all right for you.' I went straight down-stairs and out of the house. I remember seeing my cousin's coat hanging in the hall; it was a brown-tweed waterproof one; but I did not touch it. The coachman came the following morning with the sad news to my chambers."
Mr. Merrivale: "Are you acting as sole executor, Mr. Wilmot?"
"I am; my cousin is aware of it."
Mr. Walker: "It is illegal to ask for any depositions about the deceased's will here."
Coroner: "I am the best judge of that, Mr. Walker. Anything which throws light upon what we have to find out must be received as evidence."
Mr. Merrivale: "Were you aware what the contents of your late uncle's will were before you opened it at Messrs. Smith and Walker's?"
"I was not; but both Hugh Atherton and myself were led to anticipate what the tenor of it would be."
"Have the results fulfilled your anticipations?"
"I don't consider myself warranted in answering such a question."