139 



Eev. E. C. BoLLES, of Salem, in some eloquent re- 

 miirks, spoke of the microscopic forms of life to be found 

 in Concord River, illustrating upon the blackboard, and 

 explaining some of the wonders of the simplest forms 

 and modes of growth of animal life. 



Judge Hoar called attention to the importance of accu- 

 rate observation, and to the difference between the obser- 

 ver of facts and mere theorists, illustrating his point by 

 a pertinent law case which once came before him. It was 

 the trial of a man for robbery. A form house had been 

 entered in the night, the door of the sleeping room se- 

 cured so that the occupants could not get out, a lamp lit, 

 and a desk rifled of quite a large sum of money. Sus- 

 picion rested on a man who had formerly worked on the 

 farm, and it was brought out in evidence that at about 

 that time he was seen to have a good deal of money, and 

 the tracks about the farm house, the morning after the 

 robbery, were made by a shoe the size of his, but all the 

 evidence was circumstantial, and Judge Hoar on the bench 

 and the jury in their box all thought that the government 

 would fail to convict the prisoner. At last the govern- 

 ment attorne}'^ called a neighbor who had visited the house 

 on the morning after the larceny, and asked him if he 

 found anything upon the floor of the room where the 

 lamp had been lit. Yes, he had found a match about 

 half burnt, evidently thrown down by the person who lit 

 the lamp. Turning to the officer who arrested the pris- 

 oner, he enquired what he had found on his person when 

 arrested, and among other things the oflacer produced 

 half a card of matches. Taking the burnt match found 

 upon the floor, and the half card found upon the prisoner, 

 the government attorney showed the court and jury that 

 the burnt match h»d manifestly been split from the card 



