Belcher bowed and smiled.
"I suppose, Mr. Belcher," said Mr. Balfour, "that it seems very strange
to you that the plaintiff should have forgotten his signature."
"Not at all, sir. On the contrary, I regard it as the most natural thing
in the world. I should suppose that a man who had lost his mind once
would naturally lose his memory of many things."
"That certainly seems reasonable, but how is it that he does not
recognize it, even if he does not remember the writing of it?"
"I don't know; a man's signature changes with changing habits, I
suppose," responded the witness.
"You don't suppose that any genuine signature of yours could pass under
your eye undetected, do you?" inquired Mr. Balfour.
"No, sir, I don't. I'll be frank with you, sir."
"Well, now, I'm going to test you. Perhaps other men, who have always
been sane, do sometimes forget their own signatures."
Mr. Balfour withdrew from his papers a note. Mr. Belcher saw it in the
distance, and made up his mind that it was the note he had written to
the lawyer before the beginning of the suit. The latter folded over the
signature so that it might be shown to the witness, independent of the
body of the letter, and then he stepped to him holding it in his hand,
and asked him to declare it either a genuine signature or a forgery.
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