St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1875-04-16
AN AFFECTING SCENE.


There was a decided sensation in the
court when Mr. Evarts called upou the
plaintiffs counsel to produce the letter
of February ), lS72. for many of those
present knew thai to he the date of the
document which has come to he known
as the ragged edge letter" and which
all have locked upon as probably the
most difficult to explain. Mr.. Reecher
began his task lay narrating the circum-
stances which, occurring on the pre-
>i"ns Saturday, had reduced him to Il
state of extraordinary but not unusual
! depression, tnr II seems. according to
his testimony, that the enthusiasm
which accompanies SUNDAYS work is
always followed by Il reaction on Mon
day, and that his spirits on that dav
are always low and his moods dcspond-
emt. But on this day he was still more
depressed from the fact that On the
previous saturday he had been re
proachcd by Mnultou in IL tone that WAS
very cutting for flilure To pay regard to
lilton> interests as he had promised. for
not fulfilling the understanding and the
common agreement to aid Iilton. In
the depressed mood which followed two
days later. Mr.. BeecI,er wrote this long
of what he had done during the past
Year foI Theodore.
Mr.. Beechcr'> manner in narrating
these circumstances was very emo
tional. and the whole audience list
emed hreathlcs>ly. But for the re
strictinnS of the Iules of evidence. Mr..
Bcechcr would. probably have made
his statement on this point elaborate.
I Ian h.. Ia
and not merely the laws of evidence.
for more than once the tears bubblcd
to his eyes and his voice choked
through excess of emotion.
Mr.. Evarts then took up the letter
and began to read. As he did So,
M"uit"n abandoned his seat hv the
side of Iilton and let1 the court room.
The incident was probably without sig
nltiram"e. but occurring ut this moment
of intense interest on the part of the
audience. all observed it, and there WAS
t"r Il moment Il buzz of comment. Mr..
Evarts continued without noticing the
interruption OF conversation, stop
ping only t" ask the witness to explain
tn" meaning of certain passages. Mr..
Beecher had Il copy of the letter i'll his
hand, and occasionally made corrections
III VII i'N 'il'N copy. w men lne most
passionate passages came to bc explain
ed. Mr.. BeccheI's emotion was again
stirred. teaIs came, and not only to his
eyes. hut to the eyes of many in the
audience he grew more fluent and ell
"Tncnt. and the plaintiffs counsel had
again To object i'll order to keep him
within the rules of evidence. Much of
sir. DeecIfer Cstu l,i,htiG,1 ~ 'tho
teusest degIce, was. of course, lost 10y
these interruptions. though it is not
probable that Mr.. Beach raised ohjcc-
tlonS for that purpose. for it ia appar-
cmt To all the spectators, and generally
acknowledged by tn, counsel for Beech
~. that ne has been very iniulgeut in
this regard.
Mr. Bccrhcr's declaration that, pre-
viouS t" this interview III the spring at
l-12 lir had never -een riltou's letter
81 J.nuLr, |. le7I, to MIR. Bowen. al
though NJ. Noultun testified that he
had read II /" him some time hefoIe
JANUARY ~. 1871, was made in the
most cmP':itir language and repeated
in iw" q. three, forms, and made a de
ciicd sensation in the cnuIr toI. OF
the rhrnr, of the plaintiff, and accord
iug to the testimony for 1IltuL. Mr..
lierchei Nj >upp"-ed rn have had full
kn"Wled9" of This document from the
first. The iS>lIr 0i Ncidclti between
tEi. defendant and Moulton on this
point Is vrIN direct