him there before?
Mrs Farley : No.
Foreman : I wonder you opened the door a second time.
Mrs Farley : I should not have done so if Mr Farley had not told me to. I was not afraid of him, because I could always manage him.
Having answered the question asked, she went on to give further explanation:
Mrs Farley : I read to Mr Farley a great deal in the evening, and said ‘I will just step down and see how that poor man is’. Once or twice he looked at me, and I felt afraid, but I looked at him firmly, and thought to myself, ‘I’ll not be afraid of you.’
Examination of the witness was now taken up by Mr Juby whose somewhat aggressive manner suggests that he felt the widow was taking the whole business far too calmly:
Mr Juby : It has been reported that you asked Mr Cooper when he entered the room what he had got in his other hand?
Mrs Farley : I did not. I never said anything to him except, ‘Go away; what are you doing here?’
Mr Juby : Had you a light when he came in?
Mrs Farley : I could not tell. I have thought since that I must have lighted the candle before I went to the door, but I can’t remember.
Mr Juby : You were not burning a light?
Mrs Farley : No.
Mr Juby : Did Mr Cooper leave his candle in your room?
Mrs Farley : No; he took it away with him.
Mr Juby : Did he set down the candle before he entered into conflict with your husband?
Mrs Farley : Anyone would think so, but I did not see him.
Mr Juby : How was it you did not feel yourself called upon to keep in the room?
Mrs Farley : I was in the room.
Mr Juby : Then how was it you did not see him in conflict with your husband?
Mrs Farley : I did not notice him. I did not go round to that side.
Mr Juby : How was it you did not keep in the room?
Mrs Farley : I tell you I was in the room.
Mr Juby : If you were suspicious it seems rather anomalous that you should leave the room?
Mrs Farley : I didn’t leave the room.
Mr Juby : Then you saw him do it?
Mrs Farley : I didn’t see him. I heard him say, ‘What do you mean? What do you mean?’
Mr Juby : Was he holding the candle all the time he was by the bedside?
Mrs Farley : I don’t know; I did not notice particularly. Perhaps I was putting on my dressing-gown. I had nothing on but my night-gown.
Mr Juby : Did Mr Farley say anything to him when he attacked him?
Mrs Farley : He only laughed, as much as to say, ‘Don’t be foolish; I am not afraid of you.’
Mr Juby : Did the prisoner say when he came into the room, ‘I shall not hurt you?’
Mrs Farley : He said so to me. I said, ‘What do you want?’ and he said, ‘I shall not hurt you.’
Coroner : Didn’t you think it was rather a curious expression?
Mrs Farley : I didn’t think anything about it. I wanted to know what he wanted, and he said, ‘I shall not hurt you; I want to come in.’ I thought he meant he would not do any of us any mischief.
Mr Stearn, the jury foreman turned again to the strangeness of the curate coming to a lady’s room at that hour and then wanted to know if Mrs Farley had suspected for some time that he might be dangerous. This she failed to answer directly, saying instead, ‘We liked him very much, both Mr Farley and myself. We had always treated him like our own child. If he had been my own son or younger brother I could not have behaved differently.’
Printed words are incapable of the nuances of uttered speech so we cannot possibly know, though we may try to guess, if Harriet Louisa paused between ‘son’ and ‘younger brother’. In carefully building up the picture of the boyish curate was she trying to disguise the fact that she was far too young to have been his mother, there being only thirteen years between them?
It was at this point that Mr Juby, full of righteous pomposity, introduced into the case what was quite obviously the village gossip. In looking for a motive for the murder of the vicar, the locals were pretty sure that they knew what it was.
Mr Juby : I feel it is a
Mrs Farley : No.
Foreman : I wonder you opened the door a second time.
Mrs Farley : I should not have done so if Mr Farley had not told me to. I was not afraid of him, because I could always manage him.
Having answered the question asked, she went on to give further explanation:
Mrs Farley : I read to Mr Farley a great deal in the evening, and said ‘I will just step down and see how that poor man is’. Once or twice he looked at me, and I felt afraid, but I looked at him firmly, and thought to myself, ‘I’ll not be afraid of you.’
Examination of the witness was now taken up by Mr Juby whose somewhat aggressive manner suggests that he felt the widow was taking the whole business far too calmly:
Mr Juby : It has been reported that you asked Mr Cooper when he entered the room what he had got in his other hand?
Mrs Farley : I did not. I never said anything to him except, ‘Go away; what are you doing here?’
Mr Juby : Had you a light when he came in?
Mrs Farley : I could not tell. I have thought since that I must have lighted the candle before I went to the door, but I can’t remember.
Mr Juby : You were not burning a light?
Mrs Farley : No.
Mr Juby : Did Mr Cooper leave his candle in your room?
Mrs Farley : No; he took it away with him.
Mr Juby : Did he set down the candle before he entered into conflict with your husband?
Mrs Farley : Anyone would think so, but I did not see him.
Mr Juby : How was it you did not feel yourself called upon to keep in the room?
Mrs Farley : I was in the room.
Mr Juby : Then how was it you did not see him in conflict with your husband?
Mrs Farley : I did not notice him. I did not go round to that side.
Mr Juby : How was it you did not keep in the room?
Mrs Farley : I tell you I was in the room.
Mr Juby : If you were suspicious it seems rather anomalous that you should leave the room?
Mrs Farley : I didn’t leave the room.
Mr Juby : Then you saw him do it?
Mrs Farley : I didn’t see him. I heard him say, ‘What do you mean? What do you mean?’
Mr Juby : Was he holding the candle all the time he was by the bedside?
Mrs Farley : I don’t know; I did not notice particularly. Perhaps I was putting on my dressing-gown. I had nothing on but my night-gown.
Mr Juby : Did Mr Farley say anything to him when he attacked him?
Mrs Farley : He only laughed, as much as to say, ‘Don’t be foolish; I am not afraid of you.’
Mr Juby : Did the prisoner say when he came into the room, ‘I shall not hurt you?’
Mrs Farley : He said so to me. I said, ‘What do you want?’ and he said, ‘I shall not hurt you.’
Coroner : Didn’t you think it was rather a curious expression?
Mrs Farley : I didn’t think anything about it. I wanted to know what he wanted, and he said, ‘I shall not hurt you; I want to come in.’ I thought he meant he would not do any of us any mischief.
Mr Stearn, the jury foreman turned again to the strangeness of the curate coming to a lady’s room at that hour and then wanted to know if Mrs Farley had suspected for some time that he might be dangerous. This she failed to answer directly, saying instead, ‘We liked him very much, both Mr Farley and myself. We had always treated him like our own child. If he had been my own son or younger brother I could not have behaved differently.’
Printed words are incapable of the nuances of uttered speech so we cannot possibly know, though we may try to guess, if Harriet Louisa paused between ‘son’ and ‘younger brother’. In carefully building up the picture of the boyish curate was she trying to disguise the fact that she was far too young to have been his mother, there being only thirteen years between them?
It was at this point that Mr Juby, full of righteous pomposity, introduced into the case what was quite obviously the village gossip. In looking for a motive for the murder of the vicar, the locals were pretty sure that they knew what it was.
Mr Juby : I feel it is a
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