The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1879-01-12


woman is to be convicted, If she is convicted at all.
ard she is hanged she will be hanged because wes-
les Bishops wagon stopped ut her door ana chahee
circumstances connected her rate with his.
| BALANCING PROBABILITIES
Katie Cobb; but this bias the result solely Of Bsh
ops contradictory stories III he poisoned ms wife:
n1 mas eharssd upon Mr., asked
may not he also be the sole poisoner OF Charlie
Cobb" His opportunities of administering the
posons good hers He was Cobb's
friend Il have known Wesley Bishop longer than
YOU have" Charlie Cobb said to his mother
when she urged him to discard Bishops company.
They ate and drank together. Cobb's medicines
accessible to Bishop at all times If he did not
actually furnish them. He was pretender to some
medical knowledge and he had prediction toward
arsenical poisoning for before about the time Char
lie Cobb was first taken III with poisonous symptoms
he had tried it successfully on his wife and buried
her without suspicion. This is an important ele-
legal aspect In all that he has said about either
case-the poisoning OF his wife or the poisoning OF
t n ony oas es AND
his avowed infatuation for Katie Cobb That
y0wa furnishes Katie rSS shared lor tine he
alone is guilty in both cases and the evidence is far
from convincing this point as against her. She
apparently happy in her home aud to the last
secure in her husbands love- Bishops wife was her
intimate friend. In character in mental gifts
fatuaon her part has not been proved, to say the
least OF it, Indeed, there is no confederation OF
u.
J Although he says she wrote him many letters he
offers none in evidence, and the only scrap of her
%ns II ns Ss as on % fan
straight up and down handwriting, full of
character and comeliness Like everything else about
! the woman, ii prepossesses in her favor. Tho
letters would have been conclusive, aud in balancing
the chances it is more likely no would have pre-
but not those In view Of all this her explanations
are exceedingly natural-she never wrote him letter
in her life the poetry sent to Mrs. Bishop.
In the poem which the date occurs are the lines
Since have known her love was mine
In the first line the word "her'' is changed to "his
with pencil She says she did not make the changes,
and Inspection of the pencil marks does not show
by the same hand that wrote tue date. Even apart
from these considerations her explanation i'll regard
to the verses Is more natural than his; They They
to another, but not such verses Gabo-
rian's heroine would give, to her paramour.
In regard to the presents, too her story
acceptable than his. She gave him some trihing
presents but the pet was her husband the hand
mirror he bought for her. ana she thought it to
be paid for just the groceries paid for, and
the gold pencil she found. The clandestine meetings
and the Illicit relations she denies. On all these
told but story while he has contradicted himself
in regard to every essential fact
BISHOP ADAPTRR.
In view of all his assertions. of his many contra
dictions and of the uenials with which his stories
have been met, can only regard Bishop as very III
ferior novelist when he comes to work out his plot
IN hls confessions and in his testimony the plot of
|
Orcival'' 1t is surprising how like they are, and
have been almost tempted to believe that Emile Gabo
rian is Bishops favorte novelist. But he has of
Ciaboran's SKI in putting the flesh his skeletons
All his averments based upon suggested by
some actual Circumstance Bishops is not creative
mind. but, like the modern playwright, he shows the
adaptive faculty in remarkable degree. 1t is
when consider him in this regard that we begin
to see how he may have been led to impute both
crimes to Katie Cobb. He simply changed places
with her-placed the woman in the mans shoes
and cried out the world, 'Behold the fend who in
fatuated me by her devices, and then, when was
captive to her WILL made me the accomplice of her
crimes" do not know but that go too far in at
trbuting so cunning to Wesley Bishop, but
he undoubtedly supplied the groundwork for
such story. Another hand may have wrought
it out, given it form and rs far as possible, con-
sistency. To regard him o fool would be to fail
utterly in understanding him. His story is start
restrained Katie Cobb to have played the lead
ing part in i-and cannot shake OFF the feeling that
Wesley Bishop has been trying to exchange places
with her.
THE PRISONERS WITNESSES.
The demeanOr of the two prisoners, marked In
the early stages of the aud marvellous in the
changes which subsequently took place, was not less
apparent in the final struggle On the witness stand
Bishop always seemed to be feeling his way If look
ing out for the pitfalls which he himself had dug His
story had been carefully framed. thoroughly consid
cred in every particular and 1t told II II had
been rehearsed over and over again. He exhibited
of the groupings of forgetful actor fishing for
his lines. but on his cross-examnation he seemed
doubtful whether his drama point lace calico
Up to that time had never seen the man. 1
watched him carefully and as looked into his
clammy, hypocritical and angular face and followed
him in his furtive mannerisms and awkward ges-
lures recognized in the shutting witness the wful
murderer Then read his testimony ut the preiin-
mary examination and his confessions, and con-
trasted them with his latest story. The poetry was
new feature in the case, supplied, 1 believe, to
strengthen the story of the correspondence and the
illicit connections His account of his infauation
not as pronounced. but he increased the number
of the Illicit connections and was more mslevolent
than in blackening the character Of the
woman. occasionally he would smile, and whenever
he sprung fresh surprise upon the Court there
would be a merry twinkle IN his eyes. 1t Was spec
tacle more saddening than disgusting. All this
time Katie Cobb sat before the accuser calm, digni
fed, unmoved. Only once or twice did SHE deign to
ness stand. What she thought or felt no man could
tell, and 1t was just after Bishop had left the
stand for the last time that 1 followed her
House. accompanied by her counsel, and had the
conversation with her which ! have already de.
said Mr.. Wait to me, naming prominent politician
protested did not want to say, but he pressed me-
would watch him Would he make good hus-
band 2" asked the lawyer. II did not know you
We're speaking Of matters Of the heart" said Il
Mrs. Cobb laughed almost aloud, and / almost
wondered whether Mr.. Wait going to supply Mrs.
quitting her.
All day Thursday aud yesterday she was on the
witness stand, and she bore the ordeal well. Those
who expected her to break down were disappointed
She sef-contained on the stand as when she
sat under Bishops accusations, and all her
we're frank and straightforward. The impression she
made was excellent and her emotion when sho de-
scribed the deathbed Of her husband not
strained or overacted. The case Is not yet closed
but IL will be on Monday and then will follow the
arguments OF counsel, the charge of the Court and
the verdict OF the jury, which may perchsnce, be only
an antc-cmax preceding the Anal fall Of the curtain.
The trial was resumed ut nine clock this morning.
aud. occupying seat on the bench AZ visitor, was
Judge Hovey, who is taking rest after five weeks of
the Charter Oak Company case at Hartford
Tar THEORY OF ARsESIcAL POISONING.
The first witness called for the defence this morn
W n ALI
tor is heavy, dignihed gentleman, with iron gray
Inustache and mutton chop whiskers He brought
into court dozen medical works in which arsenicAl
poisoning was treated of. He testihed:-I have
been practitioner for forty years and have given
much attention to poisoning and have been engaged
In every of this kind in the New
Haven courts for many years arsenic poisoning
have often investigated; have no personal knowl-
edge Of arsenic eating In various parts of the world,
but know IL from the best authorities; In ..ead-