As a matter of fact I believe that it
would be impossible to do so.
When he had his sight he judged men as others judge them, and, making
full allowance for his genius for observation and analysis, he was no
doubt influenced to some extent by appearance, manners and associations.
But after he became blind and retired from contact with all men, except
a circle which cannot have exceeded a score in number, his judgment took
on a new measure of clearness and perspective.
As a natural weapon of self-defense he developed a system of searching
examination before which no subterfuge could stand. It was minute,
persistent, comprehensive and ingenious in the last degree. It might
begin to-day, reach an apparent conclusion, and be renewed after a
month's silence. In the meantime, while the whole matter was becoming
dim in your mind, inquiries had been made in a dozen directions in
regard to the points at issue; and when the subject was reopened you
were confronted not only with J. P.'s perfect memory of what you had
said but with a detailed knowledge of matters which you had passed by as
unimportant, or deliberately avoided for any one of a dozen perfectly
honest reasons.
J. P.'s questions covered names, places, dates, motives, the chain of
causation, what you said, what you did, what you felt, what you thought,
the reasons why you felt, thought, acted as you did, the reasons why
your thought and action had not been such-and-such, your opinion of your
own conduct, in looking back upon the episode, your opinion of the
thoughts, actions and feelings of everybody else concerned, your
conjectures as to THEIR motives, what you would do if you were again
faced with the same problem, why you would do it, why you had not done
it on the previous occasion.
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