Dr. James W. Stone. Report of the Trial of
Professor John W. Webster ...
, 1850
,
Image No: 259
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Dr. James W. Stone. Report of the Trial of
Professor John W. Webster ...
, 1850
,
Image No: 259
   Enlarge and print image (56K)           << PREVIOUS  NEXT >>
250 Remember the testimony of all the witnesses who were at the Col. lege as early as Tuesday of that week that when the significant al- lusion was made to the privy on the first day, and to the privy-key on the second, that Littlefield, in a natural manner, stands up before the Professor, and says, '° That is Dr. Webster's private privy. He is the only person who has the key;" and Dr. Webster bows them po- litely out of the door. And when the, key was asked for again, on the second occasion-the Friday of the arrest-Mr. Littlefield said again, " Dr. Webster keeps that key." What, then, does Dr. Web- ster do, with respect to Littlefield ? This man, whose accus;ition against him is to strip him of name, reputation, perhaps life itself- what does he answer? °° He is dumb before the shearer. and opens not his mouth." When he gets to that dimly-lighted laboratory, standing off nine feet, at the nearest, from the body, he pronounces upon the identity of these remains; and yet, he does not hesitate, behind Mr. Littlefield's back, to charge him with conspiracy against him ! But before his face, what does he do ? What would an innocent man have done, when face to face with the man whom he says he always hated - although he began to manifest some kindly feelings on the Tuesday before, when he made him the first and only present he ever made, in an intimate in- tercourse of seven years ? When confronted there by him, as an inno- cent man, he would have said, °1 Why, Mr. Littlefield, you have had access to my rooms; you can explain this." But not a word !-not a word ! When the two men were together, there was foreshadowed what has since been followed up, and made clear to every eye. Lit- tlefield has spoken out everything ; - Dr. Webster has spoken out nothing. Now, through the breath of his Counsel, is this witness to be attacked before a Jurv and before the world, as not being entitled to credit and belief? No, Gentlemen! go down into your own hearts. and see what justice you would demand for yourselves, in a case like this; and what you would demand for yourselves, extend to him ! I ask no more. I should have added another thing that was unmistakable in thi- conduct of Littlefield -the conduct exhibited by him when those re- mains were found. He and his wife were examined here separately -apart from each other. What a field was thus opened to the de- fendant for detecting untruth and inconsistency, if any existed ! It was impossible for them to have imagined what questions would be asked them ; and, if there had been anything untrue in their answers, would not have Mrs. Littlefield crossed her husband's track, in a rig- orous cross-examination ? And yet there is not a particle of conflict. '° When he came up," says Mrs. Littlefield, in simple and truthful phrase, °° he bursted out a-crying." The Counsel talks about Mr. Little- field being the janitor of that College, and therefore familiar with sub- jects of dissection. True, Gentlemen ; but even he, familiar as he was with them, when that awful truth, which had been but first a vague suspicion, and bad kindled its flame in other minds grad qally along through that week, till he had been compelled, from his fear of what might happen to the College, to go into that vault,-when that ripened into the certainty that the remains of Dr. Parkman were there-that the founder and patron of the institution had had his mutilated and dishonored body thrown down under its basement-