Litchfield enquirer., 1869-02-04

ecution would have us believe that, just here, he threw away all chances oe success. murdered his beautiful wife, and ruined his businessl No ingenuity of counsel has ever been able to suggest any motive for so extraordinary an act.
 All American women are feeble; but Mrs Green was peculiarly so. Sine was un we'll when the came to Cornwall; grew worse Dr. Sanford was called in, told Green she must die, could hardly live the summer out. She might die at any moment Un- der such circumstances what reason had the prisoner to hurry herl No suspicion was excited when she died Dr. Sanfor,l now testifies that when he was called in. and found her in convulsions, he thought she was poisoned. This is an after thought. He had no idea what was the matter. He did nothing, because he did not know what to do. Had he supposed her poisoned the natural thing to do would be, to try to get the poison out of her; yet there she lay six hours in agony without any attempt being made to save her life. Dr. Sanford is one of the kindest men and best nurses in the county; the room was full, and every one looking to him for counsel, yet all he could prescribe was-ice. am reminded of an incident, said to have occurred just af.t.r |, steamboat explosion. A man w,s brought in, transfixed on a crowbar. It had gone directly through his body and about half protruded on each side. The doctor felt his pulse, looked at his tongue, una com menced to inquire into the case. sare you in any pain'? "Yes.'' Shooting pains in the centre of the body?" Yes D Thought so. Can you lie on your back?'' NO "Can you lie on yonr face?" ''No. '' nj f. | |
 mp in d steamboat?" .'No." Was your grandfather ever blown up in a ste,,,nbaat?' "No. Were yow ever blown up in |. steamboat, hefore?" Never. II thought so, but am obliged to ask all these questions to make a correct diagnosis of your disease Now If remove that .cro wi,.r, you will .lir If I don't remove it,you will die; but will administer pill that may melt it where it is." Now in that case Dr.. Stafford woulI have prescribed-ice. n~
 At the preliminary examination, Dr.. Sau- ford did not at first satisfy Prof. B,rker that Mrs Green died of strychtlla but af- ter the Professor had testifie i, and told what the sy,nptoms of strychuia ought to be, the symptoms veereti around, so that now tho Professor is satisfied. We ci:,i m that no witness has ever been fonu,l who gould testify that Dr. Sanford suggested poison at the time of Mrs. Geeen's death. Then comes Prof. Barker, a young ehenii st from Yale College, who has his reputation to make ,and who, being called for the State, will Tn the nature of things favor the pros ecution. The first intimation' of poison came from A. Y. Smith It would have. required no great slight of hand on his part to have scattered a little of tine strycil- nla powder on the organs sent to New Ht- ven for examination. No precautions We're taken. He had abundant opportunity. Moreover, Mrs. Green was taking quack medicines, many of which contain strych- ma. her nervous system being enfeeble., regular practitioner mi yht have apprOpr- ateiy administered it. Admitting, there fore, that strychnia may have been found li thls woman stomacL, Is 1t proved that 1t caused her death Certainly not Ac- cordlng to the authorities, a ci.se of strych- mia poison usually terminates i'll one or two hours; If the patient Is weak, iu a shorter time. Prof. Barker has not been able tu
 ind slngle reported Case in which the patient lived over i've hours Mrs. Green lived six. There Is no sufficient evidence that her body was bent backwards in the shape of n bow, Us in cases uf strychni. poison. In such casea, the patient is con scious ln the intervals between spasms Mrs. Green Was unconscious, throughout ! The contraction of the muscles of the face
 called risus sardonicus, always marks cases of strychnia poison ao one noticed such ;, thing in Mrs. Greens case Dr. Watson, high medical authority, says that the ef- i fects of strychnine poison may be mistaken for tetotaus locked jaw Dr. Barker thinks not. Dr. North. practitioner of thirty years standing, Is not able to say, from all the evidence, that Mrs. Green died of poi son; Dr. Barker is more confident.
 We claim, further, that if Mrs. Green Was poisoned, there Is no sufficient evidence that the prisoner administered that poison.
 It might have been suicide. It might have been accident. Statistics show ten <. cases of poisoning by accident. to one by design. Ii 1t was intentional, Mrs. Marsh aud Mrs
 A. I. Smith, as we'll as the prisoner, had tine opportunity of administering it. No one, of course, would suspect the former
 No one could have less motive than the latter l~s
 But they say the prisoner has confessed. Tallmau admitted his perjury on the for
 mer trial; aud on this. he testifies twice :.s much as he did before twice as many lies. He has been posted up; he is u trained witness. rsa.r In nrnclnsinu, -gentiameu. you must fe- member that each one of you Is immeul,.te- ly responsible for this m,,ns death if he is convicted by your verdict. When twelve soldiers are detailed to execute the sen tence Of court martial, one musk ct has on ly a blank cartridge, and each may doubt | whether he has shed mans blood. Every one of your ballots, gentlemen, is loaded. We were unable to be present during
 tue argument of the States Attorney. but
 we hear it highly commended ,.s Il calm,
 candid aad able statement of the facts believed by the prosecution to be conclusive of the prisoners guilt. We en- tireIy coincide with the Generals contempt for that wonderful language, an uRaccoun- table compound of Latin, Greek, anu Rhn- barb, in which doctors always testify. They seem to take dead language, dissect it, and talk in the scattered tissues of it. just a, naturally as the rest of us talk in Eng fish. In justice to the profession, ,Lowever, we must admit that We heard spectator remark, after a three hours occupancy of those court room side benches, constructed in the dark ages of New Englaul architec- | i