Of course, the limited information given makes the murder, if there was one, something that took place any time between say 1870 and the late 1890s. The possibility is that the writer was not a young man at the time of writing, but was most likely a middle-aged man of some local respectability, and that point in time would fall largely within those years

Who was this man Swift? There are twenty Swifts listed in county records and indeed there is a Thomas Swift who died in 1901 (in March). This is the only candidate, and records have no statistic of a man called Swift who committed suicide.

Things begin to look more dubious when one considers that there are no available names in Coroners’ reports for Glanford for the period covering the date itself and the two years succeeding (as there was often a delay in the writing after the death).

Holmsian deduction also raises questions about the fact that the letter was under a floorboard. There seems to be no reason for that, as it would make discovery more than likely in a far distant time in the future. If the determination for self-killing were so resolute, why do this and then mention the vicar? Such a reference implies that the man wanted the fact known in the community.

Detectives might also question the appearance of the note. The red sealing wax and the formality might suggest a too high degree of ritual and rather showy procedure: was a hoaxer trying too hard to create a false trail? It seems so. In the context of Lincolnshire, from Glanford down to Boston, there have been well-to-do families of Swifts, but the only (very slender) connection to this man would have been the Thomas Swift who died in Belton in 1901.

The questions go on and on. It seems that the affair is a trick. But there is one nagging detail – the vocabulary is so apposite for the time and place. The motive for the killing is also convincing, given the ethics of the time and the absolute centrality of local reputation for a man of means. Maybe in time other facts will emerge and we will know if we really have two interesting deaths here: a suicide and a murder.