Dr. James W. Stone. Report of the Trial of
Professor John W. Webster ...
, 1850
,
Image No: 26
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Dr. James W. Stone. Report of the Trial of
Professor John W. Webster ...
, 1850
,
Image No: 26
   Enlarge and print image (56K)           << PREVIOUS  NEXT >>
17 1 shall not forestal'. your judgment by statbig these facts more mi- nutely. I prefer that you take them from the witnesses. Substantially the statement is, that Dr. Parkman came to the Med- ical College by an appointment Dr. Webster had made with hirn on that day, under a promise to pay the note; that. he did come in ; that Dr. Webster paid it in the lecture-room, statin; the precise amount; that he immediately received it, and started to go out, with- out leaving any evidence of its having been paid ; that, on Dr. We~- ster's reminding him of this, he thereupon turned back, and dashed his pen over the signature of the note-over the signature, Gentle- men-telling Dr. Webster that. he would attend to the cancelling the mortgage at Cambridge; and that. Dr. Parkman left him there, going over the staircase two steps at a time ; that he had no recollection of the money which he gave him there, but at another time saying that among the notes was a $100 bill of the New England Bank. The statements of Dr. Webster are not consistent. He has stated to one Witness that there were two persons present, to others that there was no person present; to one witness that he did not know what the money was, to other witnesses that he did remember that there was a $100 bill of the New England Bank. And, throughout the whole of this transaction, it has been placed by him distinctly upon the ground that he did, from the proceeds of the tickets to that Course of lectures, pay to Dr. Parkman $483.64, which was the amount that was due to him. You will find that Dr. Webster's statements are irreconcilable. We shall produce evidence to show that his whole statement is a fable and a pretence: that he did not pay Dr. Parkman the money which he said he did; and that. he has not the recollection of the transactions which took place on that day, which he says he had: We shall show you, Gentlemen, that all the money for the sale of these tickets went elsewhere. Then, Gentlemen, you will have occasion, going on further in his conduct during that week, to examine a variety of facts like these That, you will remember, was Thanksgiving week. That Thursday, the 29th of November, was Thanksgiving day. It will appear that after Tuesday of that week there were no lectures at the College. It was a week of vacation, of leisure. Yet, Gentlemen, during that week, Dr. Webster is present at the College, at times constantly, which was unusual. It will be placed in evidence before you, that he wanted no fires made in his rooms that week; and yet, Gentlemen, we shall satisfy you that he had fires that week, built by himself, of a more intense heat than had ever been built there before. We shall show you, Gentlemen, that as early as Tuesday of that week he made a purchase of several large fish-hooks, which were found afterwards upon the premises, under certain circumstances, which the evidence will connect, probably, to some extent, with these remains; that on the Friday following, he purchased, or attempted to purchase, other fish-hooks ; but that, in point of fact, he did put. chase fish-hooks on Tuesday. It will be shown. to you, that there was found in the Medical C& r 1P iiii his apartments, a grapple, or grappling, as it was sometimes ele'd , made of fish-hooks; that the fish=hooks were fastened on to ti etaT by a peculiar species of twine; or marline, quite peculiar in itr 2