features than the eyes, and usually by their expression and color he remembers his man. It is a well-known fact, however, that those whose occupations should make them familiar with particular persons are singularly untrained in the matter of identification, such being the case with portrait-painters, a great many of whom are unable to retain an impression of a sitter five minutes after his departure, or to be able to paint the portrait in his absence.

UNRELIABILITY OF EVIDENCE.

The most astonishing examples of confident identification are found in books and the daily press, which often relate instances of individuals who were perfectly sure of the identity of another, but whose positive declarations were afterward proved to be valueless by the appearance of the real person. Such a condition of affairs occurred in the Tichborne case (see Identity and Survivorship), where Arthur Orton was recognized and whose cause was championed not only by the mother of the real heir, but by the old friends and servants of Sir Roger Tichborne.

It seems almost incredible, but women have lived upon the closest intimacy with men who have turned up long after the disappearance of their lawful spouses, firmly believing them to be their long-lost husbands.

"In one of the early criminal records of New York City we find the history of one Joseph Parker who was tried for bigamy in the year 1804 in the court of Oyer and Terminer, the indictment charging that on the 8th of May, though he was lawfully married to one Susan Fearon, who was still living, he had unlawfully, on the 25th of December, under the name of Thomas Hoag, contracted a second marriage with one Catherine Secor. The first marriage and the present existence of the first wife being admitted, three witnesses then testified that the defendant then in court before them was the Thomas Hoag who had come to Rockland County, thirty miles distant from New York City, in September, 1800, had lived there working as a laborer, had married Catherine Secor on Christmas Day, 1800, and in the following March had disappeared. One of these witnesses was the woman who claimed to be his wife; another, the judge who married them; and another was a man who had worked with him constantly for five months. They were positive the defendant was Thomas Hoag, and recognized him not only by his features, but by vari ous marks and scars on his person, and by a certain impediment in his speech. On the strength of this testimony, which must have seemed conclusive, the prosecution rested, and the defense called six witnesses who swore just as positively as the others that the defendant was Joseph Parker, that he was by occupation a rigger, and that he also served on the city watch. And they swore with equal positiveness that on Christmas Day, 1800, and before and after that date, he was in New York City following his usual occupation, and by no possibility could he have been at that time in Rockland County. With this testimony the defense rested, but the prosecution seems to have had other evidence in reserve. Seven additional witnesses were now called for the prosecution, each of whom in the most positive manner identified the defendant as Thomas Hoag, who had married Catherine Secor on Christmas Day, 1800. They swore to various marks on his face and neck, which the defendant plainly

had, but particularly a deep scar on the ball of his foot, occasioned by treading on a drawing-knife.

"The prosecution closing their case, the defense called two more witnesses, one of whom was the mother of his wife, who had known him for sixteen years, and swore positively that he had not been out of New York more than a week during that time; and the other swore to working with him on the particular Christmas Day in question. It was then agreed by the counsel that the defendant should show the soles of his feet to the jury, that they might ascertain whether the peculiar scar upon one of them, which had been sworn to by several of the witnesses for the prosecution, was visible. Upon exhibiting his feet no mark or scar could be seen upon either of them.

"The captain of the watch was then called, and after swearing positively that the defendant was Joseph Parker, whom he had known for many years, he produced his books, in which he kept a register of the watchmen and their times of service, and showed that from October, 1800, till March, 1801, defendant was on duty as a watchman in the city. The jury, without retiring, found a verdict of not guilty."

When it is borne in mind that the witnesses on both sides of this most astonishing case were persons of responsibility, and of such standing as to preclude all thought of perjury, it must be admitted that it presents one of the strangest examples of disputed identity ever known.

The similarity of two individuals some time ago induced a lawyer in the city of New York to resort to a ruse for the purpose of clearing his client, who had been accused of a serious crime. While the latter was seated out of range of vision of the witness in the box, who was very decided in his opinion of his own powers of observation and his certainty of the appearance of the assailant, the double of the man under trial was told to arise, when he was positively identified by the confident witness. His mistake, of course, led to the discharge of the prisoner.

ACCIDENTAL OR VOLUNTARY ALTERATIONS IN APPEARANCE.

In investigating the history and condition of the person whose identity is suspected, it is of the utmost importance that the examiner should give weight to two kinds of influences that may effect an alteration, viz. : 1. Those in which the changes are due to age, disease, and natural or accidental alteration;

2. Those in which the alterations are willfully produced.

To the former belong the organic and facial expression changes due to insanity, to trophic changes in which pigment bleaching or deposit takes place, to the loss of teeth or hair, or through cutaneous disease with pitting or other lesions. To this class belong the existence of accidentally produced cicatrices, the loss of limbs, deformities, etc., and the appearances due to manual or other labor.

In the second class we find changes voluntarily wrought which are sometimes willfully brought about for a purpose, or occasionally exist as evidences of former vanity. In this group we are presented with cases where we are required to determine whether the hair has been dyed, whether abrasions, wounds, or burns have been made for a purpose, and whether tattoo or other marks have been removed, or, on the other hand, executed

with the intention of counterfeiting the marks upon the body of some person who has disappeared or died, for the purpose of perpetrating a fraud. The determination of the indications of age is sometimes an issue, especially where a claimant presents himself; and we may divide the important periods of life into adolescence, which begins at the age of puberty and lasts until twenty-five, adult life, which is prolonged until the sixtieth year, and old age, which may be said to begin at sixty and last until eightyfive, when decrepitude commences.

It is only exceptionally that we are called upon to determine the age of children, but such may be necessary in cases of rape, the question of consent, or possibly where the applicability of the laws of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children is questioned; but there is usually little difficulty in closely approximating the period of infantile life.

The exact determination of the age of the adult is extremely difficult where it is necessary to be precise, and the same may be said to be the case with old age. Of course, in the latter the association of evidences of bodily decay must be more or less consistent and harmonious, for in men in their prime, so far as time is concerned, we often find indications of premature decay. We must take into account the nature and form of the inferior maxilla, the condition of the teeth, rigidity of articulation, possible existence of friable bones, coldness of the extremities, weakness of the genital apparatus, troubles of excretion and circulation, as well as that mental weakness which is manifested by loss of memory, and ultimately by childishness. In addition to these, the presence of the arcus senilis, weakness of vision, and alteration in gait and carriage may be recognized.

Change through the Effect of Disease.-As every one is aware, a notable facial change takes place as the result of many general diseases, so that sometimes what amounts to an almost complete loss of identity

-occurs. Those especially who are in the habit of examining the insane cannot fail to be impressed with what I mean. As an illustration, two

pictures may be presented of a young married woman who was indicted. for infanticide in a town in the northern part of New York (Figs. 36 and 37). But one year elapsed from the time the first picture was taken until commission of the crime, and it was during her incarceration in prison before the trial that the second photograph was made. Her insanity had not been recognized by her townspeople, and in fact, it was of a low order. So rapid a change in appearance can hardly be conceived, and I am sure under certain circumstances would lead to a mistake in identity. Certain atrophic affections of the nervous system, which are attended by loss of hair, discoloration of the skin, and various other metamorphoses, can produce a startling transformation.

The Teeth. The coloration of the teeth may have something to do with the determination of personal identity, and Tardieu has referred to the existence of erosion, separation, and other changes due to the habitual use of the pipe in smokers. It is the custom with most dentists to keep accurate records of the nature of the work done by them, and, when possible, such data should be consulted to ascertain the history of the person whose place has been usurped by the impostor.

Changes in the Hair. It is often a difficult matter to determine the identity by the color and condition of the hair. Criminals and others, for the purpose of disguise, have by means of dyes wrought a change in appearance which has been more or less effectual. Perhaps, after all, a knowledge of the configuration of the head and the natural growth of hair among people of different temperaments may guide the examiner as much as anything else; and, of course, the relation of head coloration to that of other regions will enable him to expose a fraud, for it is rare that any systematic and harmonious dyeing is resorted to. It is often necessary to bring the microscope to our aid, when it will be found that the imbibition of the dye does not extend throughout the hair-trunk, but there is a spot which presents normal and uniform color. This aid will also disclose the adherence of fatty particles which have followed the use of various pigments. Vibert has pointed out the fact that hair dyed with black presents under the micrcscope a coloration apparently everywhere uniform, which is never the case with that which has preserved its natural color. If the dyeing is imperfect there will be brusque changes in color and none of the gradations that belong to a normal condition. Blond tints, which are nearly always obtained by the use of peroxide of hydrogen, result in a discoloration of the pigment without destruction. In nearly every case where several days have elapsed between the last application of the dye and the time of examination there will be ordinarily no difficulty in detecting the change in growth.

Briand and Chaudé have written extensively upon this subject, and have given certain instructions for the examination of the hair of suspected persons. When lampblack combined with some fatty substance has been applied, it will be necessary to wash the hair in ether, which will rapidly remove the fatty substance, leaving the carbon in suspension in the liquid. Sometimes a mixture of litharge, chalk, and lime water is used, and the effect is produced after two or three hours. When the head is well washed with warm water and a small quantity of acid is added, the presence of these substances may be determined by the effervescence, and the subsequent addition of sulpho-hydric acid and oxide of ammonia indicates the existence of lead. Slow dyeing produces a much

more obstinate and less easily removable tint, and in such cases it is well to get some of the hair and treat it thoroughly with the above reagents. The salts of bismuth and sulphur are often used when it is desired to obtain a more rapid coloration, and ordinarily with the latter agent the hair is washed in ammoniated water, and afterward, while damp, saturated with metallic salt, and then put in contact with water containing hydrosulphuric acid or sulphur. Decoloration after dyeing with nitrate. of silver can usually be effected with cyanide of potash and pyrogallic acid, and sometimes a weak solution of hydrochloric acid will change the color of hair thus dyed from black to a more or less violet hue. Briand and Chaudé believe that the best means for recognizing the nature of a salt which has been used to color the hair is to burn a part of the hair and to treat the ashes by nitric acid evaporated to extreme concentration, and then afterward to apply the ordinary tests for silver or lead.

Orfila (Traité de Méd. Leg., T. i., p. 122 et. seq.) has stated that locks of black hair when plunged into chlorine water pass from a light chestnut color to deep blond, clear blond, and finally become entirely bleached. After a long immersion in chlorine water the hair preserves for a long time the odor of chlorine, and becomes brittle. Red and brown tints are obtained by means of saffron and the permanganate of potash.

We should not lose sight of the fact that at times it is necessary to determine the individual type so far as hair, features, etc., are concerned, and while, of course, such identification is not in itself a matter of certainty, anthropological aid may be unexpectedly suggestive. The abundance of hair in relation to race type is, according to many observers, very variable. The plate from Testut (Traité d'Anatomie Humaine, T. iii, Fas. I, Paris, 1892) (Fig. 38), taken in consideration with the researches of Hilgendorf, Withof, and others, may prove of service in determining the race characteristics in appropriate cases. The former counted in a square centimeter 272 hairs in a German, 252-286 in a Japanese, 214 being the average among the Ainos (the hairy tribe of northern Japan). Withof has found that the hairs are more numerous in blond subjects than among those of darker skin and coloring. He has counted 147 black hairs, 162 brown, and 182 blond in a quarter-inch.

The classification of hair, as agreed upon by Isidore Geoffrey, SaintHilaire, Huxley, and Haeckel, is as follows:

The finger-nails may be the seat of changes due to the particular work of the person, or to previous disease. Esbach (Modifications de la