THE STORY OF SEVENOAKS. 
87 
irregular way, crossing from side to side, the 
two indentations of the down-strokes of the 
en, but it will accompany irregularly the 
air-lines. I speak of this latter peculiarity 
with some doubt, as the instrument I use is 
not the best which science now has at its 
command for this purpose, though compe- 
tent under perfect conditions.” 
He paused, and then the forged signature 
appeared upon the wall. There was a uni- 
versal burst of admiration, and then all grew 
still, — as if those who had given way to their 
feeling were suddenly stricken with the con- 
sciousness that they were witnessing a drama 
in which divine forces were playing a part. 
There were the ragged, jagged edges of the 
letters; there was the supplementary line, 
traceable in every part of them. There was 
man’s lie— revealed, defined, convicted by 
God’s truth ! 
The letters lingered, and the room seemed 
almost sensibly to sink in the awful silence. 
Then the stillness was broken by a deep 
voice. What lips it came from no one 
knew, for all the borders of the room were as 
dark as night. It seemed, as it echoed from 
side to side, to come from every part of the 
house : “ Mene , mene, tekel , upharsin /” Such 
was the effect of these words upon the eager 
and excited, yet thoroughly solemnized 
crowd, that when the shutters were thrown 
open, they would hardly have been surprised 
to see the bar covered with golden goblets 
and bowls of wassail, surrounded by lordly 
revelers and half-nude women, with the 
stricken Belshazzar at the head of the feast. 
Certainly Belshazzar, on his night of doom, 
could hardly have presented a more pitiful 
front than Robert Belcher, as all eyes were 
turned upon him. His face was haggard, 
his chin had dropped upon his breast, and 
he declined in his chair like one on whom the 
plague had laid its withering hand. 
There stood Professor Timms in his tri- 
umph. His experiment had proved to be a 
brilliant success, and that was all he cared 
for. 
“ You have not shown us the other signa- 
tures,” said Mr. Balfour. 
“ False in one thing, false in all,” respond- 
ed the Professor, shrugging his shoulders. 
“ I can show you the others ; they would 
be like this ; you would throw away your 
time.” 
Mr. Cavendish did not look at the wit- 
ness, but pretended to write. 
“ Does the counsel for the defense wish to 
question the witness?” inquired Mr. Bal- 
four, turning to him. 
<fc No,” very sharply. 
“ You can step down,” said Mr. Balfour. 
As the witness passed him, he quietly grasped 
his hand and thanked him. A poorly sup- 
pressed cheer ran around the court-room as 
he resumed his seat. Jim Fenton, who had 
never before witnessed an experiment like 
that which, in the Professor’s hands, had 
been so successful, was anxious to make 
some personal demonstration of his admira- 
tion. Restrained from this by his surround- 
ings, he leaned over and whispered : 
“ Professor, you’ve did a big thing, but 
it’s the fust time I ever knowed any good to 
come from peekin’ through a key -hole.” 
“ Thank you,” and the Professor nodded 
sidewise, evidently desirous of shutting Jim 
off ; but the latter wanted further conversa- 
tion. 
“Was it you that said it was mean to 
tickle yer parson ?” inquired Jim. 
“ What ? ” said the astonished Professor, 
looking round in spite of himself. 
“ Didn’t you say it was mean to tickle 
yer parson ? It sounded more like a fur- 
riner,” said Jim. 
When the Professor realized the meaning 
that had been attached by Jim to the “ orig- 
inal Hebrew,” he was taken with what 
seemed to be a nasal hemorrhage that called 
for his immediate retirement from the court- 
room. 
What was to be done next? All eyes 
were turned upon the counsel, who were in 
earnest conversation. Too evidently the 
defense had broken down utterly. Mr. 
Cavendish was angry, and Mr. Belcher sat 
beside him like a man who expected every 
moment to be smitten in the face, and who 
would not be able to resent the blow. 
“ May it please the Court,” said Mr. 
Cavendish, “it is impossible, of course, for 
counsel to know what impression this testi- 
mony has made upon the Court and the 
jury. Dr. Barhydt, after a lapse of years, 
and dealings with thousands of patients, 
comes here and testifies to an occurrence 
which my client’s testimony makes impossi- 
ble ; a sneak discovers a letter which may 
have been written on the third or the fifth 
of May, i860 — it is very easy, to make a 
mistake in the figure, and this stolen letter, 
never legitimately delivered— possibly never 
intended to be delivered under any circum- 
stances — is produced here in evidence; and, 
to crown all, we have had the spectacular 
drama in a single act by a man who has 
appealed to the imaginations of us all, and 
who, by his skill in the management of an 
Botanical 
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