Washington sentinel., 1854-01-11
Wasbingtolt Sentinel,
The suborned witness.

Iuc SuOOTncu VltHCbss
It was quite little dinner party in Dor
chester. There were present, Daniel Webster,
Joseph T. Buckingham, then of the Boston
GALAXY, Charles Thatcher, Samuel Upton, and
Josiah Bradlee, the three great merchants Of
Boston; Edward Everett, and Andrew Dunlap,
afterwards United States district attorney for
Massachusetts.
When it came Mr.. Websters turn to speak,
he told of his first case in Salisbury where an
old man by the name of Searle had to defend
himself against charge of having set his shop
on fire, for the purpose of receiving his insur-
ance money. The case was turned upon the
testimony Of q witness for the prosecution by
the name of +. Fisk, whom Mr.. Webster most
solemnly believed to have been suborned by
warm personal enemy Of old Searle, named EN-
erling. 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 said Searle, the said Emerling," quite
out of his own natural way Of speech, but from
off 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 per-
suasion and no bluster moved him.
The judge and jury began to be impatient;
they had been led to- believe, from the strong
asseverations of the counsel for Searle, and from
come off triumphant; but the testimony Of Fisk,
an ignorant unlettered man, was nevertheless SO
succint and SO consistent -- saying nothing
but about the case, and full of all facts neces-
sary to sustain it-that their minds were evi-
IDENTIFY made up, and they were only thinking
of their dinner 1t was close on two o'clock,
when the court usually adjourned for dinner,
and yet Mr.. Webster continued his questions,
with repetitions, which provoked reproof from
the court, but which, from the urbane manner
of Mr.. Webster, at last resulted in an order for
an adjournment to the afternoon session, with
leave to Mr. Webster TO go ON with his investi-
cation then to his hearts content
Old Searle seized the arm Of Mr.. Webster as
the crowd left the court, with all the agony Of
drowning man, and whispered into his ear, with
trembling accents, that Fisk was only telling
the lies which Emerling had taught him to re-
peat. The court and the bar went to dine, the
crowd separated. Mr. Webster stood apart,
and while he was in despair in the fearful GER
tainty of losing case which he believed ought
not to be lost, he saw the man Fisk retire to
an obscure place and take from his waiscoat
pocket paper which he consulted with all APP
parent earnestness. The lips of the man
moved, and his gestures were animated as he
returned it to his pocket and went to the tavern
bar room and drank glaas of brandy and
water Presently the courthouse bell rang and
the witness was again upon the stand.
We6ster. r.--"Y You say you never received any
letter from Emerling?'
Witnesss--"Yes The said Emerling never
wrote to me-" t
Wehsfes--9 Do ynn know his hand writine?'
Witness-" No; never saw it,
Mr.. Webster rose as if to look at q book
lying near the witness box, and while the at
tention of Fisk was drawn to this movement,
Mr.. Webster suddenly thrust his hand into the
waistcoat pocket, where he had seen the paper
placed, which the witness was perusing during
the adjournpent and quietly returned with It
to the bar, in spite Of the quick convulsive
clutch of Fisk, which was shaken off by Mr..
Webster, who, after hasty perusal of it said
hold here the whole written instructions
of the man Emerling, to the witness, Fisk, the
repeated by Fisk, word for word, on that stand
He has Just declared that he never received
letters from Emerling, and did not know his
hand writing. Mr.. Foreman, will you please
be sworn, and see if you know this writing to
be that Of Emerling 2"
1t pas proved, it was read, it was handed to
the court; and during all this time you could
have heard a cricket chirp in that courtroom
You should have seen old Searle in these mo-
ments, as he stood behind Mr. Webster, his
hands holding hard upon the railing Of the bar,
his chin quiveting like the mouth Of rabbit,
and big tears trickling down his land dry cheeks.
Q, it was happy freedom Of truth from the
fangs Of wrong. There was not word of hesi-
tation in the verdict; and bench warrants were
forthwith issued against Fisk for perjury, and
against Emerling for the subornation Of per-
jury.
The cry of the crowd, as they dispersed, was
to the wonder, how that black-eyed fellow,
Daniel Webster, looked right into the waiscoat
pocket Of the rascal witness.