Fiction and Reality.

Otago Witness, Issue 2006, 4 August 1892, Page 46

Fiction and Reality.

Some years ago a short story was published which had as its leading feature the mysterious killing of a Parisian artiit in his own studio. A web of circumstantial evidence led to the arrest of a model who had been in the habit of posing for him. But through a fortunate chain of circumstances the tragedy was found to have been caused by the discharge of a firearm through the force of capillary attraction. The firearm was used by the artist as a studio accessory, and was hung in such a manner that he was directly in line with it. Its discharge occurred when ho was alone in his studio.

This story, a vivid effort of the imagination, has recently found a parallel in fact. An American law journal tells of the arrest of a man upon the charge of killing his cousin The dead man was found lying upon a lounge with a rifle ball in his brain.

The cousin, who had an interest of 100,000 dollars iv his death, was alone with him in the house at the timo.

The discovery of the real cause of death was due to che lawyer of the accused, who took the rifle from which the ball had been fired, loaded and hung it upon the wall, and then marked the form of a man upon a white sheet and placed it upon the lounge where the man had been found. Then a heavy cut-class pitcher of water was placed upon a shelf above. The tomperaturo was 90deg in the shade. The pitcher of water acted as a sun glass, and the hot rays of the sun shining through the water were refracted directly upon the cartridge chamber of the rifle. Eight witnesses were in the room, and a few minutes after three o'clock there was a puff and a report, the ball struck the outlined form back of the ear, and the theory of circumstantial evidence was exploded.