. I believe that I have no enemy on earth, and none surely would have
been so wicked as to destroy me wantonly. Did the murderer place it there? I
know of no opportunity afforded him for so doing; or, if I had, why should he
have stolen the jewel, to part with it again so soon?
    I commit my cause to the justice of my judges, yet I see no room for hope. I
beg permission to have a few witnesses examined concerning my character; and if
their testimony shall not overweigh my supposed guilt, I must be condemned,
although I would pledge my salvation on my innocence.«
    Several witnesses were called, who had known her for many years, and they
spoke well of her; but fear, and hatred of the crime of which they supposed her
guilty, rendered them timorous, and unwilling to come forward. Elizabeth saw
even this last resource, her excellent dispositions and irreproachable conduct,
about to fail the accused, when, although violently agitated, she desired
permission to address the court.
    »I am,« said she, »the cousin of the unhappy child who was murdered, or
rather his sister, for I was educated by and have lived with his parents ever
since and even long before his birth. It may therefore be judged indecent in me
to come forward on this occasion; but when I see a fellow-creature about to
perish through the cowardice of her pretended friends, I wish to be allowed to
speak, that I may say what I know of her character. I am well acquainted with
the accused. I have lived in the same house with her, at one time for five, and
at another for nearly two years. During all that period she appeared to me the
most amiable and benevolent of human creatures. She nursed Madame Frankenstein,
my aunt, in her last illness, with the greatest affection and care; and
afterwards attended her own mother during a tedious illness, in a manner that
excited the admiration of all who knew her; after which she again lived in my
uncle's house, where she was beloved by all the family. She was warmly attached
to the child who is now dead, and acted towards him like a most affectionate
mother. For my own part, I do not hesitate to say, that, notwithstanding all the
evidence produced against her, I believe and rely on her perfect innocence. She
had no temptation for such an action: as to the bauble on which the chief proof
rests, if she had earnestly desired it, I should have willingly given it
