. noTAWCRt C V 
86 ' : THE -S^SY OF SEVENOAKS. 
between the signatures on the two papers, 
which is not apparent to the naked eye. 
The letters of the genuine autograph have 
smooth, unhesitating lines; those of the 
counterfeits present certain minute irregu- 
larities that are inseparable from painstaking 
and slow execution. Unless the Court and 
the jury are accustomed to the use of a glass, 
and to examinations of this particular char- 
acter, they will hardly be able to see just 
what I describe, but I have an experiment 
which will convince them that I am right.” 
“ Can you perform this experiment here, 
and now ? ” 
I can, sir, provided the Court will per- 
mit me to establish the necessary conditions. 
I must darken the room, and as I notice 
that the windows are all furnished with, 
shutters, the matter may be very quickly and 
easily accomplished.” 
“ Will you describe the nature of your ex- 
periment ? ” 
Well, sir, during the recess of the court 
I have had photographed upon glass all the 
signatures. These, with the aid of a solar 
microscope, I can project upon the wall be- 
hind the jury, immensely enlarged, so that 
the peculiarities I have described may be 
detected by every eye in the house, with 
others, probably, if the sun remains bright 
and strong, that I have not alluded to.” 
‘‘ The experiment will be permitted,” said 
the Judge, “ and the officers and the janitor 
will give the Professor all the assistance he 
needs.” 
“ Gradually, as the shutters were closed, 
the room grew dark, and the faces of Judge, 
jury, and the anxious-looking parties within 
the bar, grew weird and wan among the 
shadows. A strange silence and awe de- 
scended upon the crowd. The great sun in 
heaven was summoned as a witness, and the 
sun would not lie. A voice was to speak to 
them from a hundred millions of miles away 
— a hundred millions of miles near the realm 
toward which men looked when they dream- 
ed of the Great White Throne. 
They felt as a man might feel, were he 
conscious, in the darkness of the tomb, when 
waiting for the trump of the resurrection 
and the breaking of the everlasting day. 
Men heard their own hearts beat, like the 
tramp of trooping hosts ; yet there was one 
man who was glad of the darkness. To 
him the judgment day had come ; and the 
closing shutters were the rocks that covered 
him. He could see and not be seen. He 
could behold his own shame and not be con- 
scious that five hundred eyes were upon him. 
All attention was turned to the single pair 
of shutters not entirely closed. Outside of 
these the Professor had established his helio- 
stat, and then gradually, by the aid of 
drapery, he narrowed down the entrance 
of light to a little aperture where a single 
silver bar entered and pierced the darkness 
like a spear. Then this was closed by the 
insertion of his microscope, and, leaving his 
apparatus in the hands of an assistant, he 
felt his way back to his old position. 
“ May it please the Court, I am ready for 
the experiment,” he said. 
“The witness will proceed,” said the 
Judge. 
“ There will soon appear upon the wall, 
above the heads of the jury,” said Professor 
Timms, “ the genuine signature of Nicholas 
J ohnson, as it has been photographed from 
the autograph letter. I wish the Judge and 
jury to notice two things in this signature — 
the cleanly cut edges of the letters, and the 
two lines of indentation produced by the 
two prongs of the pen in its down-stroke. 
They will also notice that, in the up-stroke 
of the pen, there is no evidence of indenta- 
tion whatever. At the point where the up- 
stroke begins, and the down-stroke ends, 
the lines of indentation will come together 
and cease.” 
As he spoke the last word, the name swept 
through the darkness over an unseen track 
and appeared upon the wall within a halo 
of amber light. All eyes saw it, and all 
found the characteristics that had been pre- 
dicted. The Professor said not a word. 
There was not a whisper in the room. 
When a long minute had passed, the light 
was shut off. 
“ Now,” said the Professor, “ I will show 
you in the same place the name of Nicholas 
Johnson as it has been photographed from 
the signatures to the assignment. What I 
wish you to notice particularly in this signa- 
ture is, first, the rough and irregular edges 
of the lines which constitute the letters. 
They will be so much magnified as to pre- 
sent very much the appearance of a Virginia 
fence. Second, another peculiarity which 
ought to be shown in the experiment — one 
which has a decided bearing upon the char- 
acter of the signature. If the light continues 
strong, you will be able to detect it. The 
lines of indentation made by the two prongs 
of the pen will be evident, as in the real 
signature. I shall be disappointed if there 
does not also appear a third line, formed by 
the pencil which originally traced the letters, 
and this line will not only accompany, in an 
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 910 Missouri 
Botanical 
copyright reserved garden 
cm 
