New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1886-09-19
nuxoRk DALI TRIBUNE SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 1886 PAGES

| trusted in mo to-day, that l ask you 70 Ion'o
| to me and renew that trust and conndssn i",
guilty. Gratefully and earnestly was ine
promise made. and then she was gone, ycm eJ
and unknown as she had come. Owen io,in9
| Inspector Hodges in a state OF hl-coh'roi'o"
excitement
ave seen him, SIR he cried. 81 could
almost swear to him. There are few faces
like that about. All want is the photograph
to make certain. Is II ready !" ..,od
"Wherc did you scc him. Inspector askcu
the subordinate, and it was singular now
easily the latter had accepted the situation.
lin Rcgcnt-st: followed him. Tic Is
staying ut the Langham. One Of our men
is now his shadow
His name "
"Gustavc LAYER "
"Gu3tave Laycr," repeated Owen to him.
self. 'sThc name has familiar sound. An
/ have heard it from Hope. a new arrival
Inspector ?"
Yes. From somewhere abroad g.
Good That is our man. and owen
Smiled-a rcvcngcful, implacabc smile, su1n
as had never before been seen upon his n'ld
thoughtful features Then he ran, upstairs
returning in a few minutes with Pho oSraph
which he handed to Hodges. The inspector
took il TO the window, examined it Tor lew
moments attcntivcly, and then laid II upon
the table" ..,..
.. Now ! must go and see to his arrest Pals-
ing at the door he added with an envous ring
in his voice, doctor in few days you VIII
lie more talked about than any man IN Eng
land" ,.s o.on with =
view TO smoothing his friends feelings. :" Had
Won not given me permission to perform That
operation, Gustave LAYER might have escaped
and -,
"You mcan," interrupted Hodges with
burst of frankness, THAT | had been IDIOT
cuouph tn pprsist i'm refusing, might nave
hanged the wrong man.
From the dock to the wincss-box, 1t was
comfortable change for Ham, but he cx-
hihitcl no pronounced signs Of qualification
thereat. Tho poor fellow was doomed to
lifelong rcmorsc; the idea always ,cIung 10
him that, had he not given way to MS reset
ting weakness his masters life would not have
been sacrificed although Owen took some
pains to convince him that, in any case, ne
could not have returned home IN time to avert
the terrible catastrophe
The man who had taken Hams place was
GuS'ayc LAYER He was tal-nOt less than
six fcct-and spare, but evidently possessed
Of great strength and activity. His lean, hard,
,havcn facc-handsOmc in the abstract, uut
unpleasant to look upOn-was Sallow naturally
and tanned deeper in shade by southern suns
The thin lips were pcrpctually drawn IN a
smile snccring and sardonic, but Otherwise
unintcgbC The eyes expressed nothing
they were bright. but cold and steady; deep
eyes. some would have said shallow eyes.
others The hair. worn rather long was
black, slightly hcsprinklcd with gray. Inc
prisoner might have been young looking
fortv-fyc or an od-looiinG thliy-hvc. He
was dressed well, and ono Of the fingers o.
his long sincwy right hand bore a diamond 81
considerable price For the rest, he appeared
slightly interested in the procccdings-lhe m
tcrcst. not Of fear, but Of curiosity. Hams
evidence was unmpOrtant, except IN ono par
ticuiar He identified the prisoner as friend
i - Fam |. ttHn
and afcrwaid at Natal. Together they yis-
ir1 the diamond fields. and year later they
again met for the last time to Hams knowl-
edge, in Florence Had their relations always
teen friendly Yes, as far as the witness
was aware. Mr. Monctt had rescued the pris-
oncr from absolute want in Natal, and provided
him with money for some time. As Ham gave
his evidence the biting smile which lowered
about GuStavc LAYERS lips became more
marked. .
Good boy, Ham" he said, as the, black
stcrrcl from the witncss-boX. "Good boy
Always tell the truth"
The sensational crisis in the hearing was
reached when Owen. having made the same
dcpo,itons as he had when the black was
under accusation. handed to the bench small
Photograph. The magistrate examined 1T and
turned pale. The spectators were on the TYP
toe of curiosity. Every man in the court, IN
Guiding oven the prisoner, whose interest be-
gan to quicken. longcd to see that mysterious
pho OIraph.
What is this, Doctor Garth T.
ct Is a photograph Of the rctina Of the de- de-
ceased mans right eye. taken by me in the
presence Of Inspector Hodges, on the afternoon
If the dav following the murder
"This is the most extraordinary thing that
has over come within my experience, remarked
the mac StIac IN grave wonder. " must ask
you for a fuller explanation. Doctor can
scarce believe this possible
The theory has existed for many years
your worship but this, as far as my know
led 70 and reading extend, Is the first instance
in which it has been put into successful practice
ir the case Of a human subject. | have as
sisted, on the Continent, in experiments upon
rabbits, The object Of which was to establish
this truth. Those experiments were frequently
successful | once saw u photograph Of the re-
tina of calf said to have been taken few
homs after death 1t represented the butcher
-trawnY. barc-armCd. and axe in hand. our
worship that photograph you hold represents
the l;rsl picture Hope Mofett saw-thc picture
reversed, which the rctlna of the eye retained,
because it was followed by darkness. 1t repre-
scntS his murderer. standing before him IN the
light knife in one hand, the tapestry window
curtains graSpcd in the other
The excitement in the court at that moment
was intense. Owen was not looking at the
magistrate but at the prisoner, like an aveng-
inc spirit The spectators followed his gaze,
and every man that saw Gustave LAYERS face
then shuddcrcd.
diab0cal cruelty. elected to work in the dark
that he left a living picture of himself with his
deal victim" pursued Owen. in a manner and
with an unchecked license surely never before
exercised 6y witness ana 50 DV ,bs VEN,
and left his work in the light. the focused
image on the rctina would have faded. found
the curtains drawn, the room dark and the can
dies unused and then occurred TO me the idea
Of making the experiment which has proved SO
successful Inspector Hodges kindly gave me
the necessary permission. | removed the eye,
took it home, and stepped it in a chemical pre-.
partition. microscopic examination revealed
to me the picture You now see. Ten years con-
slant practice in the handmaidcn Of art and
science, photography, have made me expert.
The photograph is an cnlargcmcnt-about forty
times. Your worship, does not the man repre-