Haditbeenpossibletoadducefiftyinsteadoffiveexamplesofbodiesfoundfloatingattheendoftwoorthreedays，thesefiftyexamplescouldstillhavebeenproperlyregardedonlyasexceptionstoL’Etoile’srule，untilsuchtimeastheruleitselfshouldbeconfuted。Admittingtherule，andthisLeMoniteurdoesnotdeny，insistingmerelyuponitsexceptions，theargumentofL’Etoileissufferedtoremaininfullforce；forthisargumentdoesnotpretendtoinvolvemorethanaquestionoftheprobabilityofthebodyhavingrisentothesurfaceinlessthanthreedays；andthisprobabilitywillbeinfavorofL’Etoile’spositionuntiltheinstancessochildishlyadducedshallbesufficientinnumbertoestablishanantagonisticalrule。
“Youwillseeatoncethatallargumentuponthisheadshouldbeurged，ifatall，againsttheruleitself；andforthisendwemustexaminetherationaleoftherule。Nowthehumanbody，ingeneral，isneithermuchlighternormuchheavierthanthewateroftheSeine；
thatistosay，thespecificgravityofthehumanbody，initsnaturalcondition，isaboutequaltothebulkoffreshwaterwhichitdisplaces。Thebodiesoffatandfleshypersons，withsmallbones，andofwomengenerally，arelighterthanthoseoftheleanandlarge-boned，andofmen；andthespecificgravityofthewaterofariverissomewhatinfluencedbythepresenceofthetidefromsea。
But，leavingthistideoutofquestion，itmaybesaidthatveryfewhumanbodieswillsinkatall，eveninfreshwater，oftheirownaccord。Almostanyone，fallingintoariver，willbeenabledtofloat，ifhesufferthespecificgravityofthewaterfairlytobeadducedincomparisonwithhisown-thatistosay，ifhesufferhiswholepersontobeimmersed，withaslittleexceptionaspossible。
Theproperpositionforonewhocannotswim，istheuprightpositionofthewalkeronland，withtheheadthrownfullyback，andimmersed；
themouthandnostrilsaloneremainingabovethesurface。Thuscircumstanced，weshallfindthatwefloatwithoutdifficultyandwithoutexertion。Itisevident，however，thatthegravitiesofthebody，andofthebulkofwaterdisplaced，areverynicelybalanced，andthatatriflewillcauseeithertopreponderate。Anarm，forinstance，upliftedfromthewater，andthusdeprivedofitssupport，isanadditionalweightsufficienttoimmersethewholehead，whiletheaccidentalaidofthesmallestpieceoftimberwillenableustoelevatetheheadsoastolookabout。Now，inthestrugglesofoneunusedtoswimming，thearmsareinvariablythrownupwards，whileanattemptismadetokeeptheheadinitsusualperpendicularposition。
Theresultistheimmersionofthemouthandnostrils，andtheinception，duringeffortstobreathewhilebeneaththesurface，ofwaterintothelungs。Muchisalsoreceivedintothestomach，andthewholebodybecomesheavierbythedifferencebetweentheweightoftheairoriginallydistendingthesecavities，andthatofthefluidwhichnowfillsthem。Thisdifferenceissufficienttocausethebodytosink，asageneralrule；butisinsufficientinthecasesofindividualswithsmallbonesandanabnormalquantityofflaccidorfattymatter。Suchindividualsfloatevenafterdrowning。
“Thecorpse，being。supposedatthebottomoftheriver，willthereremainuntil，bysomemeans，itsspecificgravityagainbecomeslessthanthatofthebulkofwaterwhichitdisplaces。Thiseffectisbroughtaboutbydecomposition，orotherwise。Theresultofdecompositionisthegenerationofgas，distendingthecellulartissuesandallthecavities，andgivingthepuffedappearancewhichistohorrible。Whenthisdistensionhassofarprogressedthatthebulkofthecorpseismateriallyincreasedwith。outacorrespondingincreaseofmassorweight，itsspecificgravitybecomeslessthanthatofthewaterdisplaced，anditforthwithmakesitsappearanceatthesurface。Butdecompositionismodifiedbyinnumerablecircumstances-ishastenedorretardedbyinnumerableagencies；forexample，bytheheatorcoldoftheseason，bythemineralimpregnationorpurityofthewater，byitsdepthorshallowness，byitscurrencyorstagnation，bythetemperamentofthebody，byitsinfectionorfreedomfromdiseasebeforedeath。Thusitisevidentthatwecanassignnoperiod，withanythinglikeaccuracy，atwhichthecorpseshallrisethroughdecomposition。Undercertainconditionsthisresultwouldbebroughtaboutwithinanhour；underothers，itmightnottakeplaceatall。Therearechemicalinfusionsbywhichtheanimalframecanbepreservedforeverfromcorruption；theBi-chlorideofMercuryisone。But，apartfromdecomposition，theremaybe，andveryusuallyis，agenerationofgaswithinthestomach，fromtheacetousfermentationofvegetablematterorwithinothercavitiesfromothercausessufficienttoinduceadistensionwhichwillbringthebodytothesurface。Theeffectproducedbythefiringofacannonisthatofsimplevibration。Thismayeitherloosenthecorpsefromthesoftmudoroozeinwhichitisimbedded，thuspermittingittorisewhenotheragencieshavealreadyprepareditforsodoing；oritmayovercomethetenacityofsomeputrescentportionsofthecellulartissue；allowingthecavitiestodistendundertheinfluenceofthegas。
“Havingthusbeforeusthewholephilosophyofthissubject，wecaneasilytestbyittheassertionsofL’Etoile。’Allexperienceshows，’
saysthispaper，’thatdrownedbodies，orbodiesthrownintothewaterimmediatelyafterdeathbyviolence，requirefromsixtotendaysforsufficientdecompositiontotakeplacetobringthemtothetopofthewater。Evenwhenacannonisfiredoveracorpse，anditrisesbeforeatleastfiveorsixdays’immersion，itsinksagainifletalone。’
“Thewholeofthisparagraphmustnowappearatissueofinconsequenceandincoherence。Allexperiencedoesnotshowthat’drownedbodies’requirefromsixtotendaysforsufficientdecompositiontotakeplacetobringthemtothesurface。Bothscienceandexperienceshowthattheperiodoftheirrisingis，andnecessarilymustbe，indeterminate。If，moreover，abodyhasrisentothesurfacethroughfiringofcannon，itwillnot’sinkagainifletalone，’untildecompositionhassofarprogressedastopermittheescapeofthegeneratedgas。ButIwishtocallyourattentiontothedistinctionwhichismadebetween’drownedbodies，’and’bodiesthrownintothewaterimmediatelyafterdeathbyviolence。’Althoughthewriteradmitsthedistinction，heyetincludesthemallinthesamecategory。Ihaveshownhowitisthatthebodyofadrowningmanbecomesspecificallyheavierthanitsbulkofwater，andthathewouldnotsinkatall，exceptforthestrugglesbywhichheelevateshisarmsabovethesurface，andhisgaspsforbreathwhilebeneaththesurface-gaspswhichsupplybywatertheplaceoftheoriginalairinthelungs。Butthesestrugglesandthesegaspswouldnotoccurinthebody’thrownintothewaterimmediatelyafterdeathbyviolence。’Thus，inthelatterinstance，thebody，asageneralrule，wouldnotsinkatall-afactofwhichL’Etoileisevidentlyignorant。Whendecompositionhadproceededtoaverygreatextent-
whenthefleshhadinagreatmeasureleftthebones-then，indeed，butnottillthen，shouldwelosesightofthecorpse。
“Andnowwhatarewetomakeoftheargument，thatthebodyfoundcouldnotbethatofMarieRog阾，because，threedaysonlyhavingelapsed，thisbodywasfoundfloating？Ifdrowned，beingawoman，shemightneverhavesunk；orhavingsunk，mighthavereappearedintwenty-fourhours，orless。Butnoonesupposeshertohavebeendrowned；and，dyingbeforebeingthrownintotheriver，shemighthavebeenfoundfloatingatanyperiodafterwardswhatever。
“’But，’saysL’Etoile，’ifthebodyhadbeenkeptinitsmangledstateonshoreuntilTuesdaynight，sometracewouldbefoundonshoreofthemurderers。’Hereitisatfirstdifficulttoperceivetheintentionofthereasoner。Hemeanstoanticipatewhatheimagineswouldbeanobjectiontohistheory-viz：thatthebodywaskeptonshoretwodays，sufferingrapiddecomposition-morerapidthanifimmersedinwater。Hesupposesthat，hadthisbeenthecase，itmighthaveappearedatthesurfaceontheWednesday，andthinksthatonlyundersuchcircumstancesitcouldsohaveappeared。Heisaccordinglyinhastetoshowthatitwasnotkeptonshore；for，ifso，’sometracewouldbefoundonshoreofthemurderers。’Ipresumeyousmileatthesequitur。Youcannotbemadetoseehowthemeredurationofthecorpseontheshorecouldoperatetomultiplytracesoftheassassins。NorcanI。
“’Andfurthermoreitisexceedinglyimprobable，’continuesourjournal，’thatanyvillainswhohadcommittedsuchamurderasisheresupposed，wouldhavethrownthebodyinwithoutweighttosinkit，whensuchaprecautioncouldhavesoeasilybeentaken。’Observe，here，thelaughableconfusionofthought！Noone-notevenL’Etoile-disputesthemurdercommitted_onthebodyfound_。Themarksofviolencearetooobvious。Itisourreasoner’sobjectmerelytoshowthatthisbodyisnotMarie’s。HewishestoprovethatMarieisnotassassinated-notthatthecorpsewasnot。Yethisobservationprovesonlythelatterpoint。Hereisacorpsewithoutweightattached。Murderers，castingitin，wouldnothavefailedtoattachaweight。Thereforeitwasnotthrowninbymurderers。Thisisallwhichisproved，ifanythingis。Thequestionofidentityisnotevenapproached，andL’Etoilehasbeenatgreatpainsmerelytogainsaynowwhatithasadmittedonlyamomentbefore。’Weareperfectlyconvinced，’itsays，’thatthebodyfoundwasthatofamurderedfemale。’
“Noristhisthesoleinstance，eveninthisdivisionofhissubject，whereourreasonerunwittinglyreasonsagainsthimself。Hisevidentobject，Ihavealreadysaid，istoreduce，usmuchaspossible，theintervalbetweenMarie’sdisappearanceandthefindingofthecorpse。
Yetwefindhimurgingthepointthatnopersonsawthegirlfromthemomentofherleavinghermother’shouse。’Wehavenoevidence，’hesays，’thatMarieRog阾wasinthelandofthelivingafternineo’clockonSunday，Junethetwenty-second。’Ashisargumentisobviouslyanexparteone，heshould，atleast，haveleftthismatteroutofsight；forhadanyonebeenknowntoseeMarie，sayonMonday，oronTuesday，theintervalinquestionwouldhavebeenmuchreduced，and，byhisownratiocination，theprobabilitymuchdiminishedofthecorpsebeingthatofthegrisette。Itis，nevertheless，amusingtoobservethatL’Etoileinsistsuponitspointinthefullbeliefofitsfurtheringitsgeneralargument。
“ReperusenowthatportionofthisargumentwhichhasreferencetotheidentificationofthecorpsebyBeauvais。Inregardtothehairuponthearm，L’Etoilehasbeenobviouslydisingenuous。M。Beauvais，notbeinganidiot，couldneverhaveurged，inidentificationofthecorpse，simplyhairuponitsarm。Noarmiswithouthair。ThegeneralityoftheexpressionofL’Etoileisamereperversionofthewitness’phraseology。Hemusthavespokenofsomepeculiarityinthishair。Itmusthavebeenapeculiarityofcolor，ofquantity，oflength，orofsituation。
“’Herfoot，’saysthejournal，’wassmall-soarethousandsoffeet。Hergarterisnoproofwhatever-norishershoe-forshoesandgartersaresoldinpackages。Thesamemaybesaidoftheflowersinherhat。OnethinguponwhichM。Beauvaisstronglyinsistsis，thattheclasponthegarterfound，hadbeensetbacktotakeitin。
Thisamountstonothing；formostwomenfinditpropertotakeapairofgartershomeandfitthemtothesizeofthelimbstheyaretoencircle，ratherthantotrytheminthestorewheretheypurchase。’
Hereitisdifficulttosupposethereasonerinearnest。HadM。
Beauvais，inhissearchforthebodyofMarie，discoveredacorpsecorrespondingingeneralsizeandappearancetothemissinggirl，hewouldhavebeenwarrantedwithoutreferencetothequestionofhabilimentatallinforminganopinionthathissearchhadbeensuccessful。If，inadditiontothepointofgeneralsizeandcontour，hehadfounduponthearmapeculiarhairyappearancewhichhehadobserveduponthelivingMarie，hisopinionmighthavebeenjustlystrengthened；andtheincreaseofpositivenessmightwellhavebeenintheratioofthepeculiarity，orunusualness，ofthehairymark。
If，thefeetofMariebeingsmall，thoseofthecorpsewerealsosmall，theincreaseofprobabilitythatthebodywasthatofMariewouldnotbeanincreaseinaratiomerelyarithmetical，butinonehighlygeometrical，oraccumulative。Addtoallthisshoessuchasshehadbeenknowntowearuponthedayofherdisappearance，and，althoughtheseshoesmaybe’soldinpackages，’yousofaraugmenttheprobabilityastovergeuponthecertain。What，ofitself，wouldbenoevidenceofidentity，becomesthroughitscorroborativeposition，proofmostsure。Giveus，then，flowersinthehatcorrespondingtothosewornbythemissinggirl，andweseekfornothingfarther。Ifonlyoneflower，weseekfornothingfarther-