Castaing; no trace of death by violence or poison had been
discovered.

The medical men declared death to be due to an inflammation of
the stomach, which could be attributed to natural causes; that
the inflammation had subsided; that it had been succeeded by
cerebral inflammation, which frequently follows inflammation of
the stomach, and may have been aggravated in this case by
exposure to the sun or by over-indulgence of any kind.


II

THE TRIAL OF DR. CASTAING


Castaing expected, as a result of the doctors' report, immediate
release. In this he was disappointed; he was placed under
stricter arrest and taken to Paris, where a preliminary
investigation commenced, lasting five months. During the early
part of his imprisonment Castaing feigned insanity, going to
disgusting lengths in the hope of convincing those about him of
the reality of his madness. But after three days of futile
effort he gave up the attempt, and turned his attention to more
practical means of defence. In the prison at Versailles, whither
he had been removed from Paris, he got on friendly terms with a
prisoner, one Goupil, who was awaiting trial for some unimportant
offence. To Goupil Castaing described the cruelty of his
position and the causes that had led to his wrongful arrest. He
admitted his unfortunate possession of the poison, and said that