Juniata sentinel. [volume] (Mifflintown, Pa.) 1846-1873, 1872-08-21
MISCELLANY.
a Contrast.
Justice in Massachusetts, Twenty-Five Years
Ago, xnl in New York To day-The
ParS-man Tragedy Recalled.

! ASiH'miH ITaScdy Recalled.
The death in Boston, on the 30th ult
of Z ,hraim Littl,.tilI, revives the mem
ory of the famous trial in which he was
The chief witness and that trial fur
nisnes such marked contract to the
Stokes # 'sco that a brief summary of
the facts may not only be interesting but
edifyiug.
DR.. John w. Webster WIS professor
OF chemistry in Harvard College lie
belonged to highly respectable family
he moved in the NEST aristocra'ic circles
of Boston and Cam bridge; his wife wis
the sister of William II Prescott, the
greatest of American histori,ns. and his
character for truh, honor and honesty
had never bee., impeacaed
One fault, or misfortune lie had
verj common one Then as now-he lived
beyond his means. Consequently he
was Obliged to borrow money, and ne
I s,otIauvu sH.an rr''n wnn Dr- UeOFge
/ parkman, d well known capitalist and
real estate owner of Bosici,, giving as Sc
curity mortgage ON Il cabinet of miner
ais. He could net meet lhe obligation
at maturity, and though repeatedly call
ed upoa prodEcct! no;liing but promises
which were never fulfilled larkmau
being strict aud rather sever, business
man, was annoyed AT The delay, and this
annoyance de"pcned into srger when he
accleu,ly asccrtained thst the cabinet
of minerals had been hypotheeated to
another party He followed Webster
up more shar;,ly than ever, and finally
went one day 10 his rooms in the Massa-
chusetts Hospital, and was never seen to
come cut again. The disappearance Of
of such a wealthy and p ointment citizen
created profound excitement, and a Wig
orous search. backed by The officers of
heavy rewards, was mi1e in every direc
ton, but all to no purpose
| Ephrain Liitle6eld was the jani;or OF
the hospital and resided in the building
What excited his suspicious has never
been satisfactorily explained, bit lie be.
gan a careful surveillance of Webster's
movements. and at last come to the con
clusion that he WAS the murderer of
| Parkman. TIE hospital had been thor
oughly searched by the officers, and
Webster's apartments, as it was thought,
closely scruiinized, but without finding
any traces of The crime. Liitlef-ld be-
ing satisfied in his own mind that the
deed of death was done there and no.
where else. resolved to push the search
at point which the off GERS had over
! looked.
Procuring the necessary implements.
and putting his wife on warch to guard
against interruption, he went to work one
night and broke hole through the wall
of the vault which communicated with
the water closet in Dr. Webster's. labora,
tory. He discovered there, mutila,ed
portions of human body. and giving the
information to the authorities. Webster
was Immediately arrested. The apart
ments of the latter were now examined
by keener eyes. and with most astonish
ing results. Concealed in a tea box
were found other remains evidently be-
longing to the same body and in the
furnace among the ashes were number
of small fragments of bone. and parti-
ally melted gold plate which had once be-
longed to set of false teeth.
On the trial it was proved that Web
ster had owed Packman money; that
the statements he had made in regard to
paying it were false, and that Parkman
had never been seen alive after going
into the hospital. This chain of circum
stan,ial evidence was riveted by the tes-
timony. of DR. Keep, dentist of Boston.
who swore positively that the gold plate
found in the furnace was made by him
for DR.. Parkman. Everything that
money and family influence could do to
save Webster was done. but notwith-
| standing all this. together with strong
public sympathy in his behalf, he was