Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1872-08-23
made to trace it to the prisoners possession, or

| stop the case. Upon this observation from the
| Judge the jury turned round for moment, and
| then intimated their acquiescence in bis lord
| SHIPS views of the evidence. The counsel folded
| up their briefs, and verdict of aequttal was
| about to be taken, when the prisoner addressed
| the court. He urged the Judge TO permit him
| TO state his case 10 the jury, and 10 call his
| housekeeper, with so much earnestness, and
was seconded so strongly by his counsel, that
Lord Mansfield, though very much against his
| inclination, and contrary to his usual habit,
| gave way and yielded 70 the request.
The prisoner then addressed the jury and en-
| treated their patience for a short time. He re-
peated TO them that he never could feel salts
| fled to be acquitted merely because the evidence
| was not conclusive, and pledged himself in a
/ very short time, by the few observations he
should make, to obtain their verdict upon much
| higher grounds-upon the impOSsibility of his
| being guilty Of the dreadful crime.
OF the stopper which had been found, he dis
| owned all knowledge; declared most sOlemnly
| that he had never seen it before ii was produced
in court and TeI asked, could the fact of its
being found in his house only few days ago,
| when hundreds of people had been there pro.
| duce upon an impartial mind even momeniary
| prejudice against him? One fact, and only one
| has been proved, to which il was possible for
| him TO give an answer-the fact of his having
| gone to the bedroom of his hOusekeeper on the
| night in question,
He had been subject for many years of his
life to sudden fits of illness; he had been seized
with one on that occasion, and had gone to her
TO procure her assistance in lighting fire. She
had returned with him to his room for that
purpose, lie having waited fer minute in the
passage while she put on her clothes, which
would account Tor the momentarY disappear
ance of the light; and after she had remained
IN his room for 4 few minutes, finding himself
better he had dismissed her. and retired again
to bed, from which he had not risen when he
was informed of the death of his guest. 1t had
| been said that, after his committal TO prison.
his houSekeeper had disappeared. He avOwed
that finding his enemies determined, if possible,
to accomplish his ruin, he had thought IL prob
able they might taniper With his servant; he
| had therefore kept her out of the way; but for
| what purpose2 Not to prevent her testimony
being given, for she was now under the care of
his solicitor, and would instantly appear for the
purpose of confirming, as far as she was con-
cerned, the statement Which he had lust made.
Such was the prisoners address, which pro-
duced powerful effect. 1t was delivered in a
| firm and impressive Manner and its simplicity
and artessnesS gave it an appearance of truth.
The houSekeeper was then put into Tie boz and
examined by the counsel for the prisoner. Ac-
c0rdlng to the custom, at that time almost uni
yersal, of excluding witnesses from court until
their testimony was REQUIRED, she had been
kept at house near al hdtld, and had not heard
single word of the trial. There was nothing
remarkable i'll her manner or appearance; she
might be about thirty-iYe or a little more, with
regular though not agreeable features, and an
air perfectly free from embarrassment.
She repeated, almost in the prisoners own
words, the story he had told of his having called
her up, and her having accompanied him to his
room, adding that, after leaving him, she had
retired to her own room and had been awakened
by the man servant in the morning with an ac-
count of the travellers DEATH
She had now to undergo a cross-eXamnation;
and may as well state here that which, though
not known to me till afterward, will assist the
reader in understanding the following scene.
The counsel for prosecution had, in his own
mind, attached considerable Importance to the
circumstances mentioned by the witness who
saw the light; that while the prisoner and the
housekeeper were in the room of the former,
something like door, had interviewed between
the candle and the window, which was totally
irreconcilable with the appearance of the room
when examined; and he half persuaded himself
that there must be a secret closet which had es-
capped the search of the officers of Justice, the
opening OF which would account for tile appear.
ance alluded to, and the existence of which
might discover the property which had so myS-
terously disappeared.
His object therefore, was to obtain from the
hOusekeeper (the only person except the prison
er who could give any clue to this) such infor.
nation as he could get without alarming her
by any direct inquiry on the subject which as
she could not help seeing its importance, would
have led her at once TO positive denial. He
knew, moreover, that as she had not been in
court, she could not know how much or how lit
tie the inquiry had brought to light; and by
himself treating the matter as immateria he
might lead her to consider it so, also, and by
that means unexpectedly draw forth all she
knew. After some unimpOrtant questions, he
asked her in a tone and manner calculated
rather to awaken confidence than TO excite dis
trust:
During the time you were in Mr. Smiths
room, you stated that the candle stood on the
table, in the center of the room2-Yes.
Was the closet, or cupboard, or whatever you
call 1t, opened once or twice, while 1t stood
there "A pause; no answer.
will call it to your recollection. After Mr..
Smith had taken the medicine out of the closet
did he shut the door, or did it remain Open?-
He shut it,
Then it was opened again for the purpose of
replacing the bottle, was it PIT was
Do you recollect how long it was open the last
time?-Not above minute.
The door, when open, would be exactly be-
tween the light and the window, would it not2-
1t would.
| forget whether you said the closet was on
the right or lett hand side of the window.-rhe
left.
Would the door of the closet make any noise
in opening it?-NOne.
Can you speak positively to the fact? Have
you ever opened it yourself or seen Mr.. Smith
open it'll never opened it myself
Did you never keep the keys Never.
Who didn't Smith, always.
AZ this moment the witness CHANGED TO turn
her eyes toward the spot where the prisoner
stood, and the effect was almost electrical A
cold, damp sweat stood upon his brow his face
had lost all its color; he appeared living image
of death. She no sooner saw him than she
shrieked and tainted. The consequences of her
answers flashed across her mind
She had been so thoroughly deceived by the
manner of the advocate and by the little i'm
portance he had seemed to attach to her state
ment, that she had been led on, by one question
to another, till she had told him all that he had
wanted to know.
During the interval (occasioned by her illness)
as to the proceedings, the solicitor for the prose-
cution left the court. 1t was between four and
five O'Clock when the judge resumed his seat
upon the bench, the prisoner his station at the
bar, and the hOusekeeper hers in the witness
box; the court i'll the interval had remained
crowded with spectators, scarce one of whom
had LETT his place, lest, during his absence, it
should be sliced by some one else.
The cross-eXamining counsel then addressed
the witness: | have very few more questions
TO ask Of you; but beware that you answer
them truly, for your own life depends upon a
thread.
Do you know this stopper2
/ do.
To whom does it belong2
To Mr. Smith.
When did you see it last?
On the night Of Mr.. Thompson's DEATH
AT this moment the solicitor for the prosecu.
ton entered the court, bringing with him, upon
a tray, watch, two money bags, jewel case,
pocket book, and a bottle Of the same manu-
facture as the stopper, and having no cork in
it: some other articles there were in it not ma
terial to my story. The tray was placed upon
the table in sight of the prisoner and the wit
ness, and from that moment not Il doubt re-
manned in the mind of any man of the guilt of
the prisoner.
A few words will bring my story to a close.
The house where the murder had been COM
mitted was between nine and ten miles distant
The solicitor, as soon rs the crOss-eXamination
had discovered the existence of the closet, and
its situation, had set off on horseback, with two
sherf's officers, and after pulling down part of
the wall of the house, had detected this place of
eoncealment.
The search was well rewarded; the whole of
the property belonging to Mr. Thompson was
found there, amounting in value TO several
thousand pounds; and to leave no doubt, bot
tie was discovered, which the medical men in
stantly pronounced to contain the very identical
poison which had caused the death of the UNI
fortunate Thompson. The result is too obvious
TO need explanation.
A VERY STRICT JUDGE.-Old Otsego county
boasts a justice of the peace who flashes out in
the annals of local fame as arraigning himself
for delinquency. The justice of the peace (no
matter about his name or where he belOnrs)
possesses the excellent attributes of integrity.
ability and worth, but on one occasion he forgot