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262 TRIAL OF JOHN W. WEBSTER.
sustain his character by counter testimony. If the counsel here had
undertaken that mode of attack, they knew very well, that, "like the
unskilful engineer," they would have been "hoisted by their own petard."
They knew that we could present ample evidence, both to corroborate
his statements, and to sustain his character for truth and veracity.
Another mode is, to impeach him by showing the conflict of his testi-
mony with that of other credible witnesses. No such conflict is found
here,-corroboration and confirmation rather. A third mode is, to show
the inconsistencies and discrepancies in his own testimony. This has
been attempted,-with what fairness or success we shall see, and you
are to judge.
I have another consideration to present, which, I think, is demanded
by a sense of justice to an humble and honest man. To him, and to his
wife and children, his reputation is as dear as that of a college-professor
is to him, and, in the eye of the law, is entitled to equal consideration.
When I remember the load of obloquy, which, coming originally from the
defendant's lips, has been borne by Mr. Littlefield; the imputations
which have been heaped upon him, so that, during the rest of his life,
abroad or at home, his name must ever be associated with this terrible
tragedy; when I remember that those children of his must hear it said,
that Dr. Webster and Dr. Webster's friends, and the reckless and thought-
less who sympathized with him at the risk of injustice to others, imputed
to their father, if not a murder, a most foul and unrighteous conspiracy;
when I remember, also, that he has been here upon this stand an entire
day upon his examination, and upon another day has beejl taken up in
cross-examination and subjected to the severest scrutiny and sifting
which he could undergo at the hands of those who rank with the ablest
cross-examining counsel in Massachusetts; when, if he were untrue, and
if he were open to contradiction, his falsehood must have been exposed;
-and when I reflect that he has gone bravely through it all, that he
has Come out of the fiery furnace of an ordeal like this, without a trace
of fire upon the garment of truth which he has worn; -l put it to you,
whether he shall longer continue to bear the imputation cast upon him
by this prisoner, and which, with a less directness of charge, his counsel
have now undertaken to impress upon you and upon the community! I
challenge your sense of justice, whether all question of the truthfulness
and integrity of Mr. Littlefield shall not be put to rest forever!
Gentlemen are we in a Christian court-room? If Mr. Littlefield had
contradicted himself, or been contradicted by others, if he had been
proved to have done anything which opened him to such an attack, I
should not, most certainly, stand here to defend him. But he is charged
with having told you an improbable story! We will see if he has done so,
in a moment. My present purpose is to show that injustice is done to
the man. If that is the case, there is no defence for Dr. Webster. For it
is certain, that these remains being there, it must have been known to
Littlefield or Webster. Indeed, it is impossible to believe that it could
have been known to Littlefield, without having been known to Webster.
I do not put Mr. Littlefield upon this stand as a man of culture,-of
nice, delicate moral sense; but I put him here as an honest man, who fills
reputably his position in life; -a useful, though an humble one; and who
in that position commands the confidence of those who know him best,
and are best able to judge of him. During all this period, when the keen,
sharp eyes of the police have been upon him; when, as Constable Clapp
and Mr. Kingsley tell you, every nook and corner and crevice,-every
pocket, every place on his premises,-has been searched; when they have
had their eyes upon himself, personally, scrutinizing him every moment;
-that nothing should have been discovered, and (what is of more
importance) that he should have been retained in his place, ever since,
by those very professors whose associate had been taken off to, the cells
of a prison upon his accusation,-entitles him, I say, to some expression
from the whole community, of its sense of justice, if there is any sense
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