r gave up hope until he knew
that the curtain had risen.

Finally Paine was run over by a cab in New York. He was taken to a
hospital, but made such a fuss about staying there that he was finally
removed to his garret home. He died there in a few days. Then a man
came forward with a power of attorney which he said Paine gave him in
1885 and which authorized him to take charge of Paine's interest in
the estate of his brother, Robert Treat Paine. The closing paragraph
empowered him to attend to all of Paine's business and to dispose of
his property without consulting anybody, in the event of anything
happening to him. Nothing was known then of Paine's possessions. Later
the French family with whom Paine lived opened an old hair trunk they
found in the garret. In this trunk they found nearly half a million
dollars in gold, bank notes, and securities. Chickering, the piano
man, came forward then and said that some years before Paine gave him
a package wrapped up in an old bandana handkerchief for safe keeping.
He had opened this package and found that it contained $300,000 in
bank notes. Other possessions of Paine's were found. Relatives came
forward and employing handwriting experts proved that the power of
attorney presented was a forgery and the estate went to the relations
of Paine. This was a celebrated case in its day and called attention
to the value of experts in this line.

Ovid, in his "Art of Love," teaches young women to deceive their
guardians by writing their love letters with new milk, and to make the
writing appear by rubbing coal dust over the paper. Any thick and
viscous fluid, such as the glutinous and colorless juices of plants,
aided by any colored powder, will answer the purpose equally well. A
quill pen should be used.

The most common method is to pen an epistle in ordinary ink,
interlined with the invisible words, which doubtless has given rise to
the expression, "reading between the lines," in order to discover the
true meaning of a communication. Letters written with a solution of
gold, silver, copper, tin, or mercury dissolved in aqua fortis, or
simpler still of iron or lead in vinegar, with water added until the
liquor does not stain white paper, will remain invisible for two or
three months if kept in the dark; but on exposure for some hours to
the open air will gradually acquire color, or will do so instantly on
being held before the fire. Each of these solutions gives its own
peculiar col