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Prof VP. did not go near the remains; I requested Dr. Gay to attempt to
soothe the Professor
don't know what he said to him; at the arraignment of Prof. W. at the
Police Court, the prison-
er waived an examination.
Cross-examined-I sent to the Revere House the next day for the friends of
Prof W.
Ffty-eighth Witness.-JOHN M. CUMMINGS called and sworn.-Am Turnkey and
Keeper at
the Jail in Leverett street. On the night of Friday, the 30th November,
1849, Professor Web-
ster was brought to the jail by officers Spurr, Clapp and Starkweather ; he
was very much
agitated; he shortly after sat down on a settee, and when I took him by the
shoulder, he did not
appear to notice me; we lifted him into a bunk, and I left him; Mr. Parker,
the County Attor-
ney, soon after came down and said he wanted to see Professor Webster; I
went down and shook
him by the shoulder, and he cried out, °` Oh! I expected this!" Dr. Martin
Gay came down and
spoke to him, and he sprang out of the berth and threw his' arms around the
neck of Air Jones,
as though he was frightened; Dr. Gay asked him if he could not get up and
come up stairs; he
said he couldn't and we took him and carried him up; we afterwards put him
into a carriage
and carried him to the Medical College; we had to assist him into the
carriage; he was much
agitated still, and was covered with a cold sweat; complained of being
cold; the night was some-
what cold.
'When we arrived at the College, we assisted him out of the carriage; we
were obliged to carry
him up stairs; 'in the laboratory, while we were searching about we found a
coat, and he ex-
claimed, " that's the coat I lecture in;" and as the officers entered the
lecture room, he said, " 1
don't know what they want in there-they won't find anything there;" we had
to help him into
the coach again on the return to the Jail, and as we were riding along, I
noticed that his panta-
loons were quite wet, and when I came to take off his outer coat at the
Jail, I found his under-
coat wet through; we had to carry him to the cell; he appeared in great
distress all night ; I
went down to him twice, once at half past one o'clock, and once at half
past two o'clock ; next
morning he was in the same condition.
Cross-examination declined.
fifty-ninth Witness.-GVSTAVUs A. ANDREWS, Jailor, called.-Am Jailor of this
County;
remember the evening when Prof. W. was arrested; was not at the Jail when
he was brought in;,
I went to the Medical College through the shed; a number of gentlemen came
down stairs into
the lower laboratory where 1 was, and a gentleman, I think Samuel D.
Parker, called my attention
to the furnace; I looked into it and saw a piece of what I thought to be a
human skull and some
fragments of bone; I turned from these and saw Prof. W. within three feet
of the privy door;
he sat down on a settee, and braced himself up as it were; some time
afterwards I asked Mr.
S. D. Parker if he wanted anything more of Prof. W. He said, "I have
nothing to say." Soon
after this reply, I ordered two men to take him to the coach again through
the shed, :end carry
him to jail; he had to be assisted into the carriage; when there in the
carriage, the first thing
he said was, " why don't they ask Littlefield, he can explain this." When
he got down to jail
he was much agitated, and said, " Oh, my poor family, what will they say
because I don't come
home?" I said, " 1 am sorry for, and pity you." He said, " you are sorry
for, and pity me-
what for?" I said, " to see you so much agitated." He replied, " Oh, that's
it." On the next
morning he was somewhat calmer; he sat up, and as we mentioned the fact. of
the body having
been found at the College, he said, " it is no more Dr. P.'s body than it
is mine; I don't know
how in the world it came there." He afterwards said, " I never liked the
looks of Littlefield,
the Janitor; I opposed his coming there all I could."
Here a letter from Prof. W. to his daughter Mary Ann which was retained by
the Jailor, on
account of the directions it contained to Mrs. W., was read in Court. It
was as follows
BOSTON, Monday Evening.
".My Dearest Afary Ann:-I wrote Mamma yesterday, and Mr. C., who was here
this morn-
ing, told me he had sent it out. I had a good sleep last night, and dreamt
of you all. I got my
clothes off for the first time, and awoke in the horning quite hungry. It
was along time before
my first breakfast from Parker's came, and it relished, I can assure you.
At one o'clock I was
notified that I must appear at the Court-room. All was arranged with great
regard to my
comfort and avoidance of publicity, and this first ceremony went off better
than I anticipated.
On my return I had a bit of turkey and rice from Parker',s. They send much
more than I can
eat-and I have directed the steward to distribute the surplus to any poor
ones here. If yon
will send me a small canister of tea, I can make my own -a little pepper I
may want some day ;
you can put it up to come with some bundle. I would send the dirty clothes
but they were taken
to dry, and have not been returned. I send a kind note I received to-day,
from Air. Curtis.
Professors Pierce and Horsford called to-day. Half a dozen Rochelle powders
I should like. Tell
Mamma not to open the little bundle I gave her the other day, but to keep
it just as she received
it. Hope you will soon be cheered by receipt of letters from Fayal. With
many kisses to you
all, good night. From your affectionate father. My tongue troubles me yet
very much, and I
must have bitten it in my distress the other night. It is painful and
swollen, affecting my speech
somewhat. Had Mamma better send for Nancy? I think so, or Aunt Amelia.
Couple of colored
neckerchiefs, one mattrass."
Cross-examined.-I retained the letter because of the clause in the letter
directing Mrs. W. to
keep the little bundle of papers, just as she received it, and not to open
it.
Sixtieth Witness.-ELI C. KINGSLEY called.-Am postmaster of East Cambridge;
have seen
the letter now exhibited before ; [Here a letter was exhibited.] It was put
in my office, and bore
the post-mark Nov. 30th, and was directed to Air. Tukey, Boston; I brought
it to Boston, and'
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