Dr. James W. Stone. Report of the Trial of
Professor John W. Webster ...
, 1850
,
Image No: 30
   Enlarge and print image (59K)           << PREVIOUS  NEXT >>
clear space clear space clear space white space


 

Dr. James W. Stone. Report of the Trial of
Professor John W. Webster ...
, 1850
,
Image No: 30
   Enlarge and print image (59K)           << PREVIOUS  NEXT >>
21 Littlefield, and then you will consider certain other evidence to whieh I might allude if I went into the detail, but which I do not intend to do. There is one fact, however, to which I will allude, because it will show the importance of these declarations of Dr. Webster, that, on Tuesday, when that tea-chest had the minerals in it, and undoubtedly the remains in it, when there had been a fire in that furnace which must have been known to Dr. Webster -for he was present there before it - that, at that time, he had a conversation with Littlefield, which resulted in what is not. dependent upon Littlefield's testimony, but on that of others - that he put to him the question, on Tuesday afternoon, whether he was a Freemason. Mr. Littlefield made a reply, which he will state to you. Dr. Webster then asked him if he had got his Thanksgiving turkey; and he will state that he answered him 1~ No'. he had not ;" that he then brought out a written order to a provision-dealer to give him a Thanksgiving turkey; the first time Dr. Webster had ever made him a present, and at a time when, according to- his subsequent. declarations, he had looked upon him with suspicin, and did not like the man. There will be other circumstances of perhaps no less importance. He was taken, upon his arrest, to the Medical College, when these remains were brought up from the vault into the room above. The circumstances which transpired there are important, and will be detailed to you. The object in this was, to give him an opportunity to be present when the further search was made of his apartment, which had not then been opened. He lead a private apartment, into which the police had not yet had access ; and Mr. Parker, with a dis- position to act with great fairness, gave him an opportunity to go and to explain anything -with the presumption that he was an innocent man-anything that he might find there. His appearance, his deportment, his remarks during that night, Gentlemen, will be in evi- dence before you, and they will be for you to judge of. There will also be such explanations as he or his counsel can give. That they will be important, you will judge. There were found pantaloons, which, on examination, had ,spots of blood on them, and were examined by a scientific person, who will testify to it. They were marked with Dr. Webster's name. There were found slippers and towels, nearly new,-probably newer used but for this purpose,-thrown into this vault, where the tide ebbed and flowed.. For this vault, I should have stated,~gave access and ingress to the sea, but not to any solid substance. These towels, with his initial, and some of them having the appear- ance of scarcely ever having been used, were there while this privy was -about to be opened. Dr. W ebster was asked where the key was. Mr. Littlefield had stated that it was Dr. Webster's apartment, and Webster kept the key. It was in that that these remains were found. He was asked where the key was. He pointed to a key, and said, ', There it is." It was tried, and found not to be the key. But a key was found in the prisoner's pocket, which was ascertained to be the key that fitted. There was found in his laboratory a large number of skeleton keys, which had been filed down at the edge. They were found to be keys which would fit every door, or nearly every door, in the College.