statement, but nothing positive to connect either him or his master with
the murder. The evidence alluded to was my brother's report of his
examination of cloth, knife, and blood washed off his hand. Each of
these had been carefully examined chemically. Albumen, fibrin, and iron
were shown to be present. Thus the chemical tests agreed with and
confirmed the evidence afforded by the sensible tests--_i.e._, the
sight, the odour, and the taste. These were decisive as to the presence
of blood. But what blood? This was the question. Fortunately my brother
possessed a good Smith and Beck microscope, and by means of the
micrometer he adjusted precisely the magnifying power he employed. Then
placing on a thin slide a minute portion of the matter stated to be
_shark's_ blood, the rolls of circular discs like those of _human_ blood
were evident; their diameter was also like that of human blood. Still,
as the blood discs of some other animals resemble those of human blood
very closely, it was scarcely safe to pronounce absolutely that the
stains and clots were those of human blood. My brother simply stated
their close resemblance to those of human blood, while at the same time
he pronounced absolutely that they were not those of shark's blood. When
this report had been read, the native Sheristadar, an intelligent and
respectable Brahmin, asked permission of the Judge to inquire publicly
of my brother how he was able to pronounce so decisively that the
blood-stains were not those of the shark. In reply, my brother asked
permission of the Judge to go home and fetch his microscope. This was at
once granted. He also requested that during his absence a little shark's
blood might be procured, if possible. As this might not be procurable
until the next morning, it was arranged that my brother should be at the
Court on the morrow at 10 a.m., and that the Sheristadar with the
shark's tail, or any part from which a few drops of blood could be
obtained, should be there at that time. Mr. H. also promised to be
present shortly after the hour named. Next day, my brother with his
microscope, and the Sheristadar with two fishermen and a whole
shovel-nosed shark, were present in Court; and before my brother had set
up or arranged the instrument, Mr. H. appeared.
The breathless anxiety and curiosity of the natives--I may say of
everyone in Court--to see the microscopic experiment, can scarcely be
described. The great majority of the natives looked on the whole thing
as a kind of jadoo, or performance of magic; still, their curiosity was
extreme. As soon as my brother had found the right focus of the
instrument, he pulled out one of the hairs of his head, and placed it on
a slide in the feet of the instrument, and then made the Sheristadar and
one or two other natives in the Court observe it. Having thus convinced
them of the power of the apparatus, and excited their wonder, he placed
with the point of a needle on another slide a very minute portion of
shark's blood. This, when sufficiently attenuated, showed the form and
shape of the blood globules distinctly. My brother then requested the
Judge to look at them. He did so, and was much gratified at being able
to distinguish their form so clearly. After the Judge, the Sheristadar,
the head writer (Mr. Pereira), and two or three others, looked at the
shark's blood and saw the globules. All agreed that they were oval in
shape, and not round. Then a little human blood, shown in the same way,
was examined by the same persons, and all agreed that the globules were
round, and not oval; and all were extremely pleased and gratified. Then
a minute portion of the blood on the toddy knife was examined, and
everyone perceived that the discs were round, and in rolls, just like
the human blood that had been examined just before. The same opinion was
given of blood taken from the cloth, and from the hand. Thus it was
proved, beyond the possibility of doubt, that the statement of Kulmuck
was false; and that the blood on the knife, and on the cloth, and also
that from his hand, was not the blood of a shark. Mr. H. was delighted,
and, after some compliments to my brother, said, 'You have rendered us
an essential service.' The Sheristadar and all in Court were in a state
of excitement and exaltation that cannot well be described. They seemed
almost inclined to make a little deity of my brother, and their words
were those of extravagant praise.
Before my brother left the Court, while talking with Mr. H., he asked
him if he had examined the lady who, after all, seemed to be the cause
of this crime. He said he had not done so for several reasons. It was,
in the first place, unusual, and repugnant to the feelings of the
natives, to bring native ladies into a court of justice; and, secondly,
her dwelling was out of his district. 'Nevertheless,' returned my
brother, 'in a case of such importance, I would overrule the native
prejudices.' 'I will think it over,' said the Judge; and then they
parted. The next day the Zillah Judge drove over to the Circuit Judge's
house, and asked his opinion regarding the best course to be adopted
towards the widow of the murdered man, who, it was said, was a Persian
lady of good family, and who was, moreover, highly educated and
accomplished, understood several Oriental languages, spoke English
tolerably well, knew even something of French, and could read and write
the Persian, Arabic, and Hindustani. She was also said to excel in
music. 'If,' said Mr. V., 'this account be true, she must be a wonder;
and if her personal charms correspond to her mental attainments, she
must be a most bewitching creature, and quite equal to the far-famed
Nour Jehan.' 'I hear,' said Mr. H., 'from my Sheristadar, who knows one
of her female attendants, that she is surpassingly lovely, with a
faultless figure, and silken tresses that she can sit on; she has the
most beautiful eyes in the world.'
'Upon my word,' observed Mr. V., 'your informant has painted a most
enchanting picture. I feel quite envious and grieved that I'm not the
Zillah Judge. You cannot surely drag such a superlative creature into
Court; you will have to take your Court to her. Pray don't do it
personally, or perhaps Mrs. H. might not be pleased; but under any
circumstances you must write officially to have our permission in this
case of difficulty, and I am sure A. and H. will concur with me in the
precept for you to proceed to her house or castle, and to take down her
deposition, if she has anything to state.'
Mr. H. accordingly sent in the official letter asking the opinion of the
Circuit Judges, which was unanimous, and found expression in a precept
directing Mr. H. to proceed to the lady's house with as little delay as
possible. On receipt of the precept Mr. H. sent a mounted peon with a
letter to the widow of Lutchmon Sing, asking politely if it would be
convenient for her to make such statements as the ends of justice
demanded, or, if she had no statement to make, to answer such questions
as it might be needful to put to her in reference to her present
unhappy position, Mr. H. adding that, to save her feelings as much as
possible, he would not ask her to attend at the Court, but would
himself, with his writers and needful subordinates, attend at her house,
and there take down her deposition. In reply to this letter, Mr. H.
received a beautifully written note in Persian to the effect that Aminè,
the wife of the late Lutchmon Sing, would be ready to see the Zillah
Judge whenever he might think proper to pay her a visit, and would
answer any questions he might put to her. She moreover begged the Judge
to receive her grateful thanks for sparing her appearance in Court.
The next forenoon, about 10 a.m., Mr. H. and his subordinates, who had
left Tollicherry by 7 p.m. the evening previous, reached the lady's
house. They found a sumptuous breakfast prepared for them, both in the
European and native fashion, while the lady's butler attended to wait on
them with a dozen servants. Before the Judge sat down to table, a female
servant presented him with another note, begging him to excuse her
absence until the business of the Court called for it, her sorrow and
the Eastern customs being, she hoped, sufficient to extenuate any
apparent want of hospitality. She added that she had given strict orders
to her butler, and to all her people, to supply anything and everything
that might be called for. When the Judge had finished breakfast, and his
subordinates had done ample honour to an excellent collation of curries,
pillaus, etc., etc., Mr. H. was shown into a large apartment or hall,
with a paved courtyard and fountain which fell into a small tank or
basin. The whole space was well covered in, so that the sunbeams could
not directly penetrate, while open verandas all round gave abundance of
light. In this courtyard Mr. H. established his Court, and here, shortly
after he had announced that he was prepared, the lovely widow of poor
Lutchmon Sing made her appearance. An elegant cushion or settee had
already been placed opposite to that of the Judge for her accommodation.
As soon as she entered the hall she made a profound obeisance to the
Judge, crossing her arms on her bosom. The whole Court, including the
Judge, rose up on the lady's entrance, and he, returning her obeisance,
requested her to occupy the cushion prepared for her. She did so, at the
same time so arranging her veil that she only showed her face partially,
yet sufficiently to enable her to converse or reply to questions without
difficulty. Enough of the breathing picture was, however, disclosed to
excite profound admiration, and to charm everyone present. The
administration of the Mussulman oath, usual inquiries as to name,
station, dwelling-place, etc., having been answered in a sad though
sweet voice, Mr. H. asked if the witness knew of any circumstance that
could help him to fix the crime on any particular individual. The same
sad, sweet voice replied that a thick-set, powerfully made man, whom she
would recognise if she saw again, had on two occasions, when her husband
was absent, endeavoured to force an entrance into her house. This man
was at the head of a score or more armed men, and he would on both
occasions have obtained an entrance had not the noise and scuffle at the
outer gate given her servants time to secure the main entrance, every
other means of entering being always barred. On both attempts some shots
and sword-cuts were exchanged, but no lives were lost, though some men
on both sides were wounded. The leader, after the last attempt had
failed, had used the most horrid language, had threatened to have the
life blood of every man in the place, and particularly that of Lutchmon
Sing. She and several of her servants had heard these threats; she had,
though at some risk, seen the man who used these words, having observed
him through an iron grating, while her head and face were enveloped in
a dark cambly, so that she could not be known or scarcely seen by those
outside.
A day or two after these men had departed, her husband had returned, and
she had informed him of all that had happened in his absence. 'He knew
at once who it was that had attacked his house; he also told me the
object of it, and of the vile and singular customs obtaining amongst his
countrymen. I became dreadfully alarmed, and entreated him not to go
about alone. I foresaw what would be likely to happen, and told him that
such a desperate and determined ruffian as this man, whom he called Saul
Jan, would have him murdered, if he were not himself the murderer.' The
lady's statements were carefully taken down, and signed by herself and
the Judge; then several of the servants of the house were examined, and
their testimony confirmed that of the lady. They also said that they
should know the leader of the band--the man who had used the threats and
the bad language--if they saw him again. This evidence was also taken
down and signed and countersigned. Mr. H. prepared to then take his
departure. After many compliments, thanking the bereaved wife not merely
for her kindness and hospitality to himself and whole Court, but for the
clear and collected manner in which she had given her testimony, he
declared that under such painful conditions her conduct was truly
admirable. As he made his bow before getting into his palankeen he said:
'It is a pity that your husband did not take your advice.'
Aminè, now that the examination was over, had for a time yielded to her
sorrow: her head was bowed upon her bosom, her tears were falling fast,
and her women were doing what they could to soothe and console her; but
when she heard Mr. H.'s remark, she stood up at once, and said, 'Sir,
my husband was a brave man, and despised the threats of such a villain
as this Saul Jan. As he said himself, he would not be prevented from
going about for any man's threats; he was as brave and noble as the
other was cowardly and base. But,' clasping her hands and looking up to
heaven with her beautiful eyes streaming with tears, she said, 'Allah is
great, and what He ordains, we, His creatures, must endure.' She then,
with a queenly inclination of her head, retired to her own apartments.
Mr. H. thought he had never seen such a beautiful creature--so quiet, so
sensible, and so self-controlled while she had to give her evidence; so
sensitive, so full of grief, and yet so full of fire for him she had
loved and lost.
The reader may perhaps wish to know what eventually became of this
beautiful and unhappy lady. Her husband on his marriage had made her
heir, in case of his death, of all he possessed. As soon as she could
obtain purchasers for her lands and tenements, and various kinds of
property, she returned to Persia. From the time of her husband's murder,
up to the time of her departure for her own country, she never either
saw or spoke to any one of the numerous suitors who endeavoured in every
possible way to pay court and worship to her.
After her return to Persia, she so arranged her worldly possessions as
to leave herself but a third part of her income; the larger she expended
in charities to the sick and poor, whom she visited daily. A certain
portion of her means she expended in building a handsome tomb, standing
in an extensive garden of roses and other sweet-smelling flowers. By
means of reservoirs and basins, fountains were always throwing water;
and by means of marble conduits for irrigation, and a score of
gardeners, everything was preserved in the most perfect order.
Before she quitted Tollicherry, she had obtained possession of the
mangled remains of her husband, and had them embalmed, all but the
heart; this she had so burnt, under the guidance of an able chemist,
that the form of the organ only remained in the substance of a thin kind
of charcoal. The embalmed body she placed in a marble coffin or
sarcophagus, on which she placed, in an exquisitely carved marble vase
or urn, the representative atoms of her lover's heart. On the top of the
block of black marble that supported her husband's remains, and close
beside it, she placed an empty coffin and an empty vase. In this tomb
Aminè spent a large portion of her time, not only in prayer, nor even in
indulging her incurable sorrow, but in communing with her own soul, and
in striving, by reading and study, to school herself to suffer with
uncomplaining fortitude. Her garden and her flowers, when the heat would
permit, afforded her, morning and evening, some resource. Her large
charities, her embroidery with her maidens, and sometimes her lute,
enabled her to bear existence for some few years; but the shock she had
experienced had been more than she could long bear. She pined away
daily, and at last sunk down, without any special disease, to die. She
evidently rejoiced at her release from sorrow, and the last words she
breathed were, 'I shall now go to fill the vacant space beside my lord.'
She had, long before, repeatedly enjoined her people that, after burning
her heart without access of air, the charcoal left should be placed with
that of her husband, which injunction was held sacred, and was carried
out to the letter. She died equally beloved and lamented by all around
her, rich and poor, and was long remembered as the broken flower of
Persia. Around the tomb where lie the relics of this unhappy pair
innumerable small lamps are ever burning, and every day at sunrise young
Persian maidens deck the double urns with flowers.
We now return to Tollicherry, where Saul Jan and Kulmuck lie under
sentence of death. After the identification of Saul Jan as the leader of
the attacks on the distant house of Lutchmon Sing, the circumstantial
evidence was so strong, and so completely confirmatory of the previous
suspicions, that it may be said no one entertained the slightest moral
doubt as to the guilt of these two men.
Still, the one link in the evidence was wanting; the perpetration of the
murder was not actually brought home to these ruffians. This evidence
was obtained in rather a singular and unlooked-for way. One day, about 3
p.m., just after my brother had dined, he was called into his veranda to
attend to a low-caste Moplah man, who, in consequence of drinking, had
fallen from a toddy-tree, and had smashed the upper arm close up to the
joint. The destruction of the soft parts, and the splintering of the
bone, were so terrible that there could be no chance of saving the man's
life unless the limb was removed at the shoulder-joint. This was clear;
but how was it to be done? The practised operators at our hospitals in
England have trained and skilful assistants to control a large vessel or
take up a smaller one, or render aid in any way that can be wanted. My
brother had no one to assist him except a poor half caste Portuguese,
who had never seen an operation in his life. He was willing, but could
do no more than steady or support the crushed arm or hand as occasion
required. This being so, and the man having in a great measure been
sobered by the fright and the fall, and his nervous system not having
suffered as much as might have been expected, my brother determined to
operate at once. In order to secure the main artery (the brachial), my
brother first passed a curved needle, armed with strong silk thread,
from the anterior part of the wound close to that portion of the
splintered bone near to the socket, and carried the needle and the
ligature between the bone and the vessels and great nerves, and brought
out the point through the integument so as to include about
three-quarters of an inch in breadth. Over this, by means of the handle
and the point of the needle, the ligature was turned backward and
forwards, in the shape of a figure of eight, with sufficient firmness to
restrain hæmorrhage completely. This having been effected, my brother
rapidly removed the limb, having only to tie two vessels--the anterior
and posterior circumflex; but still he was in considerable difficulty as
to where he should get his covering--or, as it is termed professionally,
his _flap_--from. He had tied the main vessel _secundem artem_ before he
removed the temporary control, and had then completed the removal of the
limb. Then he cut from the severed limb a portion of the uninjured
muscular tissue and integument sufficient, with part of the deltoid
muscle and integument, to form the required covering. The case did well;
union by the first intention took place between the portions of the
deltoid and the piece cut from the inner and back part of the upper arm.
My brother kept the man in his own house for about a fortnight, and was
very kind to him. The rude creature felt this, and knew that my brother
had saved his life; so, before he was discharged, he asked to speak with
him privately. My brother turned the servants out of the room, and then
told him to speak freely.
'Nay, Saib; master has kept my life for me this time; but if I tell
master, will master save me again?'
At first my brother thought the man wanted to beg something, and it was
some time before he found out that his patient was really afraid to say
what he desired, unless protection could be assured to him. He
repeatedly said: 'Master no take care, those people kill me.'
'Nonsense,' said my brother, 'what are you afraid of? Those people, who
are those people?'
'My people, the Moplah people.'
A ray of light at once shot across my brother's mind. 'Then,' said he,
'you have something to tell me about Lutchmon Sing's murder?' The man
nodded his head, but did not speak.
'What, Timbuckjee, you don't mean, I hope, that you had anything to do
with that!'
'No, Saib, nothing at all; but I see something.'
'You see something! what do you mean? let me hear.'
'No, Saib, master never tell keep my life, how can I tell master?'
'I can't keep your life, but the Judge can if you give evidence that
will enable him to punish these bad men.'
'Nay, Saib, master promise, then I tell Master Judge. I not know him; he
perhaps no remember.'
'Well, Timbuckjee, I will see the Judge and get his promise, or I will
try to get it.'
'Master Judge give promise in writing, then he no forget. He give word
promise he perhaps no remember.'
My brother could not help smiling at the caution and cunning of Mr.
Timbuckjee; but as the matter was of such importance he wrote a note at
once to Mr. H., stating that he had reason to believe that the man who
had fallen from the toddy-tree, and had so crushed his arm, could say
something that would enable him to convict the murderers of Lutchmon
Sing; but that the man was in such fear of the Moplah people that he
refused to speak unless he, the Judge, would grant him a written promise
to protect him.
After some delay Mr. H. went to my brother's house and saw Timbuckjee.
But he seemed little inclined to make any statement of any value, till a
native vakeel was sent for, who, after a great deal of trouble, at last
made him understand that if he gave evidence to enable the law to act
the law would protect him.
At last Mr. H. said: 'If I give you a belt, and make you one of the
Zillah Court peons, will that content you?'
'Yes, Saib, that will keep my life. You give me belt, and make me peon
of your Court; they never kill me. Yes, I will tell.' He then went on to
say, that on the very day Lutchmon Sing was killed, he, Timbuckjee, was
following his business tapping palms, for which purpose he had climbed
up a lofty tree, and was engaged fastening an empty chatty to the part
which he had incised. When he had finished his work he was about to
descend, but he did not do so, having observed two men at some little
distance off, standing at the foot of another lofty palm, engaged in
earnest conversation. He soon recognised the men in question to be Saul
Jan and Kulmuck. Concealed as he was by the leaves and branches, and
remaining perfectly still, he himself remained wholly unobserved, while
he had a full opportunity of watching all that passed between the men
named. He was not near enough to hear anything, but judging from their
behaviour it seemed to him that Saul Jan was urging Kulmuck to accede to
some proposition that had previously been made to him, but to which he
steadily refused to consent. At last he seemed to yield, and then he
held out his hand, into which Saul Jan counted 20 Rs.; these Kulmuck
tied up, after again counting them, in a corner of his cloth, and then
parted from Saul Jan, who took the way to his own house, while Kulmuck
also went to his hut, where he remained about half an hour; then he left
it and returned to the jungle. Timbuckjee did not dare to follow Kulmuck
too nearly lest he should be discovered, but he kept him in sight till
he entered the path that led to Lutchmon Sing's dwelling. There he lost
sight of him. In about an hour he again saw Kulmuck, running in the
direction of the hut where he remained to drink, and where he was found
with his bloody cloth and knife. While he was running Timbuckjee
observed that his cloth was stained.
This statement, having been sworn to after the Moplah fashion, was taken
down, and Timbuckjee made to vouch for its truth by affixing his mark to
it. The Judge then countersigned it. Now as no money had been found on
Kulmuck's person when he was captured, it was clear that he must have
deposited it somewhere else, and if Timbuckjee's story was true, he had
been nowhere, after having received the blood-money from Saul Jan, but
to his own hut; consequently, then, the rupees should be found there.
To Kulmuck's hut therefore at once went the Judge, my brother, several
subordinates of the Court, a _posse_ of peons, and some coolies with
mattocks and picks. The whole floor of the hut was examined without
discovering any sign of earth having been recently turned up;
nevertheless it was dug up all over without avail. The whole of the
compound was then treated in the same way, still without finding
anything: doubt was beginning to attach to Timbuckjee's statement, when
someone said: 'Try the roof.' In less than two minutes afterwards there
was a shout, and one of the peons drew forth from the thatch a piece of
rag evidently containing rupees. The little parcel was immediately
handed to the Judge, who opened it before all present, and counted out
the number of rupees which Timbuckjee had seen Saul Jan count out to
Kulmuck.