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of them, could carry sledges away if he pleased, could use sledges,
and, if he found a ball of twine there, could tie it round the leg of a
human being. And therefore the twine and the hammer are ex-
plained, if at all, by the agency of the third person.
One or two words upon two or three other topics, before I come to
the main topic. Something was said about a $20 bill. Dr. Webster
came to Trenholm, and inquired abut the $20 bill which he had
heard of from the Marshal. Dr. Webster knew nothing about it,
and inquired. Mrs. Coleman testifies that Dr. Webster called on
her, and asked her if she saw Dr. Parkman on Friday. She said,
" No, it was on Thursday." He asked again'if it was not on Friday,
and she repeated her answer. Just as he was going out of the door,
he asked the third time. She seemed to indicate, by her manner,
that he had asked enough ; and she answered something sharply to
him. Everybody was inquiring, at that time, if any one had seen
Dr. Parkman. Dr. Webster was interested in everything that touched
public excitement; and he was as likely as anybody else to inquire
of any one whether they had seen Dr. Parkman. When passing
from the College to his home, he called on her, and, asked her if she
saw him on Friday. She says, 1° No, on Thursday." Now it hap-
pens that it was almost immediately afterwards that he was arrested.
It was on Friday that he called - on Friday, the day of the arrest,
when he was going on a voyage of discovery. He said to Mrs.
Coleman, °° I saw him on Friday."
Chief Justice Shaw. This is Mrs. Bent; and now is Mrs. Bent
Coleman.
Judge J7errick. She is the same person. She is now called Mrs.
Bent Coleman, and has probably made some addition to her name
since that time. I cannot but think that Dr. Webster must have
understood Mrs. Coleman differently, or he would not have asked
three policemen to hear her statement. There is no pretence that
Dr. Webster sought to induce her to make any representations upon
the subject. He did not persuade her, or attempt to persuade her;
but he simply asked for personal information; and having obtained
that, howsoever he understood it, he did not ask her to make false
representations. I shall leave that, with an assurance that it cannot
make an unfavorable effect upon the interests of my client, upon the
present trial.
There are two matters testified of by Mr. Littlefield, which would
better be disposed of with this class of miscellaneous testimony. I refer
to the blood, testified to by Mr. Littlefield, and to the inquiry of Dr.
Webster relative to the dissecting-vault.
In the first place, with respect to the blood, Dr. Webster was
entirely open in his communication with Mr. Littlefield upon the sub-
ject, asking biro to go to the Hospital, and saying that he wanted it
for his own lecture. There is no evidence as to the use intended to
be made on that occasion. Professor Horsford has said that it is not
unusual to use blood, in the course of chemical lectures. If the sub-
ject was proper, it might be used to advantage. There is a presump-
tion of law in reference to this, as to all parties --that the innocence is
presumed unless the contrary is shown. And unless it can be shown
that there was an inappropriateness of the use of blood in that lecture,
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