Pawtucket tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 1890-189?, 1893-06-08
THE DEFENSE AIDED
Testimony Of Miss SuIIi-
van in the Borden Case.
NO DOMESTIC TROUBLES,
Bits of Evidence Which Are in Favor
the Accused Woman.


Sullivan has told her story. Her evidence
Is complete. In less than four hours her
testimony was finished. Her very candor,
her evidence deftly drawn out by the per-
si,tent, smooth and adroit cross-examina-
tion has done more To help her accused
former mistress than injure her.
Governor Robinson has succeeded in
dealing pretty hard blow to the theory OF
the commonwealth that there was a quarrel
In this family; that the relations between
parents and daughters were strained; that
they did not live happily together.
Here is IA girl who on her own evidence
had lived in the close relation of the family
domestic for two years and nine months In
the Borden household.
What does she say on this pointi Why,
that her relations with Miss Emma and
Miss Lizzie Borden were so pleasant that
they gave her more pleasing pet name
than her own and called her Maggie, and
she liked It,
1T was not unpleasant" was her reply
to the governor. Mrs. Borden called her
by her right name.
They Never Had Any Trouble
there; she did not see any quarreling or
conflict; the daughters did not usually
come to the breakfast table with Mr.. and
Mrs. Borden; they did not get up as early;
they were there at dinner. There was no
trouble that morning; Bridget heard Liz
zie and her stepmother talking calmly to-
gether, the same as anybody would.
IL is Bridget Sullivan who says this on
her oath. And is Is of the first Importance
to the defense for its weight against the
commonwealth theory Of motive.
Then Bridget leaves that screen door
open from 9 o'clock to l0:45 very nearly
And when she went out, as she says, at O.
II Is perfectly clear, on all the evidence,
that Mrs Borden was alive.
She went to the barn and got her stick
and her water. But before she went to
washing her windows she went up to the
Kelly fence, and with her hack to the
house talked with Mrs. Kelly's hired girl
for how many minutes Bridget couldn't
say Mrs. Kelly's girl was out to wash
windows too
Now you weren't around there to look
at IL (referring to the screen door, were
you" asked Governor Robinson.
mo, l didn't think anything about it,"
said Bridget.
while you were talking that screen
door was unlocked all that timer" And
Bridget ~
Admitted That 1t Was.
"Can you tell of any reason why a per-
son could not have gone into that house
and you not see himf"
And the girl said, "Why, OF course he
could" And right here Governor Robin
son scored great point against the possi-
bility of exclusive opportunity.
What did Lizzie Borden want the screen
door open for, II she were going up stairs
TO chop up her step motheri Would she
do that with the possibility of persons
walking right in at any time,
Bridget told her that she would be COM
Ing in and out with her buckets She had
no reason to doubt it, and the screen door
was left unfastened, AZ it was found when
Bridget did come in to wash the inside Of
the dining room windows
But Bridget was talking to Mrs. Kelly's
girl over the backyard fence and wholly
oblivious to the open screen door out Of
her sight round the house behind her.
Another Very strong Point
was Bridget's contradiction of her direct
evidence that she hooked the screen door
after she had been out in the yard to vomit.
81 hooked it" said she. very glibly; but
two minutes afterward, when confronted
with her own testimony before the Fall
River police court, that she could not
remember whether she had not" she ad-
mitted that she could not now say whether
she hooked that door or not, and this Is a
very material point against the govern
ment's case.
Another very significant bit of evidence
came from Bridget. She couldn't remem.
Der what Lizzie wore on Tuesday, but on
Wednesday she wore a light blue blouse
waist or loose basque and skirt.
Lizzie was down at o o'clock and hung
around the house sick. She was in the
latter at IL o'clock.
Now, this was the very day before the
murder, and at the time when Eli Bence
and his young companions swear that
Lizzie Borden came into the drug store to
buy prussic acid. They say that she wore
q dark dress, but Bridget puts her into a
light blue species Of wrapper, apparently,
with loose blouse waist,
And mt Home Sick.
There is the evidence as to the locks on
the front door. Uncle John Morse settled
the question of the ease with which the
spring lock could be passed without key.
The material fact is that there Is nothing
TO show that Mrs. Borden herself locked
the door as she started to go up stairs. 1t
would have been the most natural thing
in the world for her to do, knowing that
Bridget was out and that Lizzie was up
stairs At any rate there Is nothing to
connect Lizzie Borden with the positive
locking Of this door. Bridget had nothing
TO do with this door or the front entry or
the rooms up stairs.
Bridget Goes Plump Through
Mr.. Moody's solid wall which, hedeclared,
existed up stairs, dividing the Borden
house. IL IN the claim of the common.
wealth that there was no opportunity to
pass from one end of the house to the
other without going down the front stairs
and up the back, but Lizzie, according to
Bridget, came down the back stairs.
Governor Robinson's cross-examination
was extremely fascinating to the observers
In the courtroom. His questions were so
searching, and yet his manner Of putting
them 20 mild and courteous.
Bridget Sullivan retired shortly before
o'clock, and In all the discussions down
town IL IN agreed that abe hos materially