Varney the Vampire by Thomas Preskett Prest

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The landlord had his own misgivings concerning his guest, the baron, now
that something had occurred of such an awful and mysterious a nature to
one who was evidently known to him. It did not seem to be a pleasant
thing to have such an intimate friend of a man who had been murdered in
one's house, especially when it came to be considered that he was the
last person seen in his company, and that, consequently, he was
peculiarly called upon to give an explanation of how, and under what
circumstances, he had parted with him.

The baron was sitting smoking in the most unconcerned manner in the
world, when the landlord came to bring him this intelligence, and, when
he had heard him to an end, the remark he made was,--

"Really, you very much surprise me; but, perhaps, as you are better
acquainted with the town than I am, you can tell me who he was?"

"Why, sir, that is what we hoped you would be able to tell us."

"How should I tell you? He introduced himself to me as a Mr. Mitchell, a
surveyor, and he said that, hearing I talked of purchasing or renting
Anderbury-on-the-Mount, he came to tell me that the principal side wall,
that you could see from the beach, was off the perpendicular."

"Indeed, sir!"

"Yes; and as this was a very interesting circumstance to me, considering
that I really did contemplate such a purchase or renting, and do so
still, as it was a moonlight night, and he said he could show me in a
minute what he meant if I would accompany him, I did so; but when we got
there, and on the road, I heard quite enough of him to convince me that
he was a little out of his senses, and, consequently, I paid no more
attention to what he said, but walked home and left him on the beach."

"It's a most extraordinary circumstance, sir; there is no such person, I
assure you, as Mitchell, a surveyor, in the town; so I can't make it out
in the least."

"But, I tell you, I consider the man out of his senses, and perhaps that
may account for the whole affair."

"Oh, yes, sir, that would, certainly; but still, it's a very odd thing,
because we don't know of such a person at all, and it does seem so
extraordinary that he should have made his appearance, all of a sudden,
in this sort of way. I suppose, sir, that you will attend the inquest,
now, that's to be held upon him?"

"Oh, yes; I have no objection whatever to that; indeed, I feel myself
bound to do so, because I suppose mine is the latest evidence that can
be at all produced concerning him."

"Unquestionably, sir; our coroner is a very clever man, and you will be
glad to know him--very glad to know him, sir, and he will be glad to
know you, so I am sure it will be a mutual gratification. It's at four
o'clock the inquest is to be, and I dare say, sir, if you are there by
half-past, it will be time enough."

"No doubt of that; but I will be punctual."

We have already said the room in which the inquest was to be held was
crowded almost to suffocation, and not only was that the case, but the
lower part of the house was crammed with people likewise; and there can
be very little doubt but the baron would have shrunk from such an
investigation from a number of curious eyes, if he could have done so;
while the landlord of the house would have had no objection, as far as
his profit was concerned in the sale of a great quantity of beer and
spirits, to have had such an occurrence every day in the week, if
possible.

The body lay still in the shell where it had been originally placed.
After it had been viewed by the jury, and almost every one had remarked
upon the extraordinary fresh appearance it wore, they proceeded at once
to the inquiry, and the first witness who appeared was Mr. Leek, who
deposed to have been in company with some gentlemen viewing Anderbury
House, and to have found the body in one of the ice-wells of that
establishment.

This evidence was corroborated by that of Davis, who had so unexpectedly
jumped into the well, without being aware that it contained already so
disagreeable a visitor as it did in the person of the murdered man,
regarding the cause of whose death the present inquiry was instituted.

Then the landlord identified the body as that of a gentleman who had
come to his house on horseback, and who had afterwards walked out with
Baron Stolmuyer of Saltzburgh, who was one of his guests.

"Is that gentleman in attendance?" said the coroner.

"Yes, sir, he is; I told him about it, and he has kindly come forward to
give all the evidence in his power concerning it."

There was a general expression of interest and curiosity when the baron
stepped forward, attired in his magnificent coat, trimmed with fur, and
tendered his evidence to the coroner, which, of course, was precisely
the same as the statement he had made to the landlord of the house; for,
as he had made up such a well connected story, he was not likely to
prevaricate or to depart from it in the smallest particular.

He was listened to with breathless attention, and, when he had
concluded, the coroner, with a preparatory hem! said to him,

"And you have reason to suppose, sir, that this person was out of his
senses?"

"It seemed to me so; he talked wildly and incoherently, and in such a
manner as to fully induce such a belief."

"You left him on the beach?"

"I did. I found when I got there that it was only a very small portion,
indeed, of Anderbury House that was visible; and, although the moon
shone brightly, I must confess I did not see, myself, any signs of
deviation from the perpendicular; and, such being the case, I left the
spot at once, because I could have no further motive in staying; and,
moreover, it was not pleasant to be out at night with a man whom I
thought was deranged. I regretted, after making this discovery, that I
had come from home on such a fool's errand; but as, when one is going to
invest a considerable sum of money in any enterprise, one is naturally
anxious to know all about it, I went, little suspecting that the man was
insane."

"Did you see him after that?"

"Certainly not, until to-day, when I recognised in the body that has
been exhibited to me the same individual."

"Gentlemen," said the coroner to the jury, "it appears to me that this
is a most mysterious affair; the deceased person has a wound in his
throat, which, I have no doubt, you will hear from a medical witness has
been the cause of death; and the most singular part of the affair is,
how, if he inflicted it upon himself, he has managed to dispose of the
weapon with which he did the deed."

"The last person seen in his company," said one of the jury, "was the
baron, and I think he is bound to give some better explanation of the
affair."

"I am yet to discover," said the baron, "that the last person who
acknowledges to having been in the company of a man afterwards murdered,
must, of necessity, be the murderer?"

"Yes; but how do you account, sir, for there being no weapon found by
which the man could have done the deed himself?"

"I don't account for it at all--how do you?"

"This is irregular," said the coroner; "call the next witness."

This was a medical man, who briefly stated that he had seen the
deceased, and that the wound in his throat was amply sufficient to
account for his death; that it was inflicted with a sharp instrument
having an edge on each side.

This, then, seemed to conclude the case, and the coroner remarked,--

"Gentlemen of the jury,--I think this is one of those peculiar cases in
which an open verdict is necessary, or else an adjournment without date,
so that the matter can be resumed at any time, if fresh evidence can be
procured concerning it. There is no one accused of the offence, although
it appears to me impossible that the unhappy man could have committed
the act himself. We have no reason to throw the least shade of suspicion
or doubt upon the evidence of the Baron Stolmuyer of Saltzburgh; for as
far as we know anything of the matter, the murdered man may have been in
the company of a dozen people after the baron left him."

A desultory conversation ensued, which ended in an adjournment of the
inquest, without any future day being mentioned for its re-assembling,
and so the Baron Stolmuyer entirely escaped from what might have been a
very serious affair to him.

It did not, however, appear to shake him in his resolution of taking
Anderbury-on-the-Mount, although Mr. Leek very much feared it would; but
he announced to that gentleman his intention fully of doing so, and told
him to get the necessary papers drawn up forthwith.

"I hope," he said, "within a few weeks' time to be fairly installed in
that mansion, and then I will trouble you, Mr. Leek, to give me a list
of the names of all the best families in the neighbourhood; for I intend
giving an entertainment on a grand scale in the mansion and grounds."

"Sir," said Mr. Leek, "I shall, with the greatest pleasure, attend upon
you in every possible way in this affair. This is a very excellent
neighbourhood, and you will have no difficulty, I assure you, sir, in
getting together an extremely capital and creditable assemblage of
persons. There could not be a better plan devised for at once
introducing all the people who are worth knowing, to you."

"I thank you," said the baron; "I think the place will suit me well;
and, as the Baroness Stolmuyer of Saltzburgh is dead, I have some idea
of marrying again; and therefore it becomes necessary and desirable that
I should be well acquainted with the surrounding families of distinction
in this neighbourhood."

This was a hint not at all likely to be thrown away upon Mr. Leek, who
was the grand gossip-monger of the place, and he treasured it up in
order to see if he could not make something of it which would be
advantageous to himself.

He knew quite enough of the select and fashionable families in that
neighbourhood, to be fully aware that neither the baron's age nor his
ugliness would be any bar to his forming a matrimonial alliance.

"There is not one of them," he said to himself, "who would not marry the
very devil himself and be called the Countess Lucifer, or any name of
the kind, always provided there was plenty of money: and that the baron
has without doubt, so it is equally without doubt he may pick and choose
where he pleases."

This was quite correct of Mr. Leek, and showed his great knowledge of
human nature; and we entertain with him a candid opinion, that if the
Baron Stolmuyer of Saltzburgh had been ten times as ugly as he was, and
Heaven knows that was needless, he might pick and choose a wife almost
when he pleased.

This is a general rule; and as, of course, to all general rules there
are exceptions, this one cannot be supposed to be free from them. Under
all circumstances, and in all classes of society, there are
single-minded beings who consult the pure dictates of their own hearts,
and who, disdaining those things which make up the amount of the
ambition of meaner spirits, stand aloof as bright and memorable examples
to the rest of human nature.

Such a being was Flora Bannerworth. She would never have been found to
sacrifice herself to the fancied advantages of wealth and station, but
would have given her heart and hand to the true object of her affection,
although a sovereign prince had made the endeavour to wean her from it.