The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1854-02-08
The suborned Witness.

The suborned Witness.
1t was quite little dinner party in
Dorchester. There was present, Daniel
Webster, Joseph T. Buckingham, then
of the Boston Gaiaay, Charles Tbatch-
cr, Samuel Upton, and Josiah Bradlee,
the three great merchants of Boston,
Edward Everett, and Andrew Dunlap.
afterwards United States District At
torney for Massachusetts,.
When it came Mr. Webster's turn to
speak, he told of his first case in Sails
bury, where an old man by the name of
Searlc had to defend himself against
charge of having set his shop on FIRE, for
the purpose of receiving his insurance
money. The case was turped upon the
testimony of Il witness for the prosccu-
tion by the name of +. Fisk, whom Mr..
Webster most solemnly believed to have
been suborned by warm personal enc
my Of old Scarle, named Emerling.
This man Fisk gave his story from the
witness stand as if it had been written
and studied for repetition. He used the
words the sail Searlo, the said Emer-
ling" quite out of his own natural way
of'speech, but from of his story no cross
examination of Webster could bring
him. He would 60 right back to it,
making use Of the same phrases, and no
buster moved him
The judge and jury began to be i'm
patient ; they had been led to believe,
from the strong asseveratious Of the
counsel for Scarlc, that he would come
off triumphant but the testimony of
Fisk, an ignorant and unlettered man.
was nevertheless so succiuct and 50 CON
sistcnt-saying nothing but about the
case, and full Of all facts necessary to
sustain it-that their minds were evi-
dentl y made up, and they were only
thinking of their dinner 1t was close
ON two o'clock, when the court usually
adjourned to dinner, and yet Mr.. Web
stcr continued his questions, with rcpc-
titions. which provoked rcproof from the
Court, but which, from the urbanc man
ner of Mr. Webster at last resulted in
an order for adjournment, to the after
noon session, with leave to Mr.. Web
ster to go on with his investigation then
to his hearts content.
Old Soarl9 seized the arm Of Mr..
Webster as the crowd left the court.
with all the agony of drowning man,
and whispered into his car with tremb.
ling accents, that Fisk was only telling
the lies which Emerlng had taught him
to repeat. The court and the bar went
to dine, the crowd separated. Mr.
Webster stood apart, and while he was
in despair i'll the fearful certainty of los
ing case which he believed ought not
to be lost, he saw the man Fisk retire
to an obscure place, and take from his
waistcoat pocket paper which he con-
suited with all apparent carncstuess.
The lips Of the man moved and his res.
lures were animated as he returned it
to his pocket and went to the tavern bar
room and drank glass of brandy and
water. Presently the court house. bell
rang and the witness was again upon
the stand
Uelstcr-"You say you never rcceiv,
cd any letter from Emerling p
lI'Hness-"Yes, The said Emcrling
never wrote to me"
licbStcr-"Do you know lis hand
writing !"
II<itncSS--"No, l never saw it."
Mr.. Webster rose as if to look at
book lying near the witness box, and
while the attention Of Fisk was drawn
to this movement, Mr. Webster sudden
ly thrust his hand into the waisteoat
pocket. where he had seen the paper
placed, which the witness was perusing
during the adjournment, and quietly re.
turned with it to the bar, in spite of The
quick convulsive clutch Of Fisk. which
was shaken of BY Mr. Webster, who af.
ter hasty perusal Of it said
IL hold here the whole written in.
structions of the man Emerling, to the
witness, Fisk, the story written out by
Emerling as it has been repeated by
Fisk, word for word. on that stand
He has just declared that he never re-
ceived letters from Emcrling, and did
not know lis hand writing. Mr. Fore
man, will you please be sworn, and see
if you know this writing to be that Of
Emcrling !"
1t was proved, it was read. it was
handed to the court and during all this
time you could have heard a cricket
chrp in that court room You should
have seen old Searle in these moments
as he stood behind Mr.. Webster. his
hands holding hard upon tie railing of
the bar, his chin quivcring like the
mouth of a rabbit, and big tears trick
ling down his lank dry cheeks. o, it
was happy freedom of truth from the
fangs of wrong There was not a word
of hesitation i'll the verdict and bench
warrants were forthwith issued against
Fisk for perjury, and against Emerliug
for the subordination of perjury
The cry of the crowd, as they dspcrs,
ed, was to the wonder, how that black.
eyed fellow, Daniel Webster, looked |
light into the waistcoat pocket of the
'ascal witness.