Dr. James W. Stone. Report of the Trial of
Professor John W. Webster ...
, 1850
,
Image No: 75
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Dr. James W. Stone. Report of the Trial of
Professor John W. Webster ...
, 1850
,
Image No: 75
   Enlarge and print image (51K)           << PREVIOUS  NEXT >>
66 ratory. The staircase brought me in contact with the wall; I put my hand upon it, and it was so hot I could not hold my hand on it long. I knew it proceeded from a furnace, where I had never known any fire, and never made any fire. I went into the store-room, of which I had a key. I put my key into the door of Dr. Webster's laboratory; it was not locked, but was bolted. Found the other cellar-door of the laboratory locked. Unlocked the door of his lecture-room, and went in, but found the door of the back room locked. I then went down into my cellar, and back of the building, to see if I could look in the window and see any fire. - I climbed up the wall to the double win- dow, having a light on each side, and got in. The first place I went to was the furnace. I had never made any fire there; did not seem to be much fire there. It was covered up by a soapstone cover, and the whole top of the range was covered over with pots of minerals, and an iron cylinder was lying on it. I did not move, anything. I then took up a broom, and went to where there were two hogs- heads full of water. I tried one of them with the broom-handle, and found the water was two-thirds out ; the other had a gasometer in it. I did not try the water with the broom, but it was low ; a spout was lying in one hogshead, leading to the sink. They were full on Fri- day ; there were also two barrels of pitch pine kindlings, which, on Friday, had been one full and the other two thirds full. The kin- d1ings were two thirds gone; I could not think what he had done with them. On the stairs I saw spots such as I had not seen before; they were much spattered. I reached down and tasted of one of the spat- ters ; it tasted like acid, The water was running; I noticed the running of the water that week, because I had set it running before, and he had stopped it. He said the noise disturbed him, and it spattered the floor. I did not see Dr. Webster that day. There were grape-cuttings, an empty box; and a bag of tan, left by the laboratory door on Monday. They stood there till Friday. I do not remember when the tan went in, but he took the grape-vines and the box in himself, on Friday; I tried to carry them into his room several times during the week, but could not get into his room. [Witness explained a mistake of dates made by him before the Cor- oner's Jury.] Thursday I did not see Dr. Webster all day. That day was Thanks. giving ; I went down to Hopkins' wharf, and got a piece of lime for Dr. Webster, which he had asked for on Tuesday, when he gave me the turkey. It was as big as my head; it was nothing unusual for me to get lime for him. Court adjourned until half past three o'clock. AFTERNOON. Examination of Mr. EPHRAI:VI LITTLEFIELD, resumed.-Tuesday morning, November 26th, after I left Dr. Webster's room and went out, saw Messrs. Clapp, Kingsley, Fuller and Rice, come in by the shed. Mr. Clapp said he wished to speak with me. Said he, '° We are going to search every foot of land in this neighborhood, and wish to search the College, so that people around may not object to having their houses searched." I told him I would show