nine
at night
He now first thought of enquiring of Amelia by what means she had discovered the place of his confinement . Amelia , after gently rebuking him for not having himself acquainted her with it , informed him that it was known all over the country , and that she had traced the original of it to her sister ; who had spread the news with a malicious joy , and added a circumstance which would have frightened her to death , had not her knowledge of him made her give little credit to it , which was , that he was committed for murder . But , though she had discredited this part , she said the not hearing from him during several successive posts made her too apprehensive of the rest ; that she got a conveyance therefore for herself and children to Salisbury , from whence the stage coach had brought them to town ; and , having deposited the children at his lodging , of which he had sent her an account on his first arrival in town , she took a hack , and came directly to the prison where she heard he was , and where she found him . Booth excused himself , and with truth , as to his not having writ ; for , in fact , he had writ twice from the prison , though he had mentioned nothing of his confinement ; but , as he sent away his letters after nine at night , the fellow to whom they were entrusted had burnt them both for the sake of putting the twopence in his own pocket , or rather in the pocket of the keeper of the next gin-shop . As to the account which Amelia gave him , it served rather to raise than to satisfy his curiosity . He began to suspect that some person had seen both him and Miss Matthews together in the prison , and had confounded her case with his ; and this the circumstance of murder made the more probable . But who this person should be he could not guess .