Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-04-12
MADELINE A DELILAH.
Ben Butterworth Begins His Plea Tn the Coloners Behalf.
BRECKENRIDGE LIKENED TO A STAR
An Eloquent Speech, Full of Poetic Smiles and Polished Metaphors Which Got the Too Enthusiastic Spectators Into Trouble In the Courtroom.

| the finish of Col Phil Thompson's speech | in the Pollard Breckinridge trial and the beginning of plea by Major Ben Butter worth, both eX-members of congress. Be ginning is said advisedly, for although Major Butterw worth talked more than half of the day he progressed no further than the first relations between his client and Madeline Pollard back in 1881.
 His whole argument was devoted to the point that the young woman had not been the pure and unsophisticated girl of l8 when the silver haired colonel met her that she had represented herself to be. It was strong display of oratory. His speech was free from the vulgarities which Colonel Thompson dealt in; probably was as clean a presentation of such a case as could have been made and was approximately well received by the audience.
 There was an interesting incident during the morning when Judge Bradley carried into execution the threat he has several times made of clearing the room of spec tators. Mir. Butterworth had been paint ing glowingly the virtues of his client, whose friendship he had enjoyed for many years, and was declaring dramatically that no man to whom Ben Butterworth had been friend in Sis prosperous days would be deserted by him in adversity, when sev- eral men broke into applause
 Cleared the Courtroom.
 The judge immediately ordered all who were not members of the bar to leave the courtroom. Only small proportion of the spectators removed themselves in response to the order. Soon afterward the judge again took hand in the case, admonish- ing Mir Butterworth to confine himself to the evidence in the trial when the speaker was relating the comments that were be- ing made by the public appearance of the principals in court. It is probable that Mir. Butterworth will continue all of to- day in rounding out his plea, and Judge Wilson is expected to occupy not less than two days in his closing speech
 Mir. Butterworth said he himself had much at stake. He had daughter and a wife. He could not afford that justice should not be done. He was not there to eNtenuate the conduct of Colonel Breckin- ridge If he did, he knew the colonel would discharge him from the case. The country had been solicitous about 16- year-old schoolgirl, but there was no such person in the case. If she had been but 16, why had not her mother been called to prove it? If she had been but 16, she was as much skilled in lovemaking as any woman he had ever known.
 The other side had talked about the fas- cination of a silver tongue. He paid q lrlDule IO the bravery Ol COlOn0l ridge and declared that the jury knew that such man was not bad at heart. He was going on to describe how, if Colonel Breckinridge smiled, people said he was a monster; if he looked grave, they said he was shamming, but if Miss Pollard laugh ed they said, Behold, she smiles even through veil of tears" when Judge Bradley interposed saying: MT. Butter worth don't you think you had better con- fine yourself to the evidence in the case. This is all what you have heard outside and has no connection wish the case"
 Not at all nonplused, the attorney re piled:
 "Of course as a judicial officer these things would not affect your honor, but I want to show what things influence mems minds"
 Not an Unsophisticatcd Girl.
 He then told the jury that the case was for recovering for a specific act, and yer dict for Colonel Breckinridge would not mean that they condoned his conduct. After this he spent an hour reading Miss Pollard's early letters and discussing the testimony to show that when she met the Kentucky congressman she was not the unsophisticated country girl she had rep resented herself to be.
 Incidentally Mr. Butterworth paid a tribute to Mary Anderson as a Kentucky girl who, under the most adverse circum- stances, had acquired the greatest promi- nence Madeline Pollard, ha tsaid had twined her hand about star and was try ing to pull it down, the star being w. c. P. Breckinridge. What had taken place between them had occurred many times before and will many times again, al though it was to be regretted. Either that pivotal letter (the letter Miss Pollard al leges is a forgery, he asserted, had been written by Madeline Pollard, or William C. r. Breckinridge, the worthy successor of the Clays, the Becks, the Blackburns, save for one lapse, was forger.
 The chilling atmosphere which sur rounds a pure woman was painted with apostrophes to mothers, sisters, sweet hearts and wives, and then the occurrences in that first carriage ride was rehearsed The instinct of a virtuous woman would have led her to say. Get out, you leper!" MT. Butterworth shouted, rushing down the aisle toward his client fiercely. But no She had arranged to mee5 him the next day.
 He pounded one of the jurors on the knee as he reproduced with mixed meta phor the still small voice crying loudly in the. name of her mother to shrink back from this man. The next day the colonel had taken her to an assignation house.
 Mir. Butterworth ss!d that he was will ing to give Miss Pollard credit for being a great genius in certain lines, but the hard est part of her story to believe was that part of it that in that half hour alone, in the hovel of Sarah Guess, while the de fendant had gone home to his dinner she had thought over the whole matter; had given up life, honor, friends and future and had decided to enter into Colonel Breckinridge's life, and MT. Wilson would tell that to the jury as though he believ- ed it.
 Compared to Delilah.
 The speaker told some funny stories about his boyish escapades and went on to compare the plaintiff to Delilah, who had her hands in the hair of a Samson, and then had been willing to pull down the temple over herself to accomplish his ruin. Further on he declared that there was no moment of all these years of alleged affec- tion save that little willow basket so late ly handled by the fingers of his dead wife, brought into the case for no other purpose than to make his fault seem more abhor- rent w. c. P Breckinridge had never given to his mistress the possessions of his wife before her grave clothes had crumbled.
 II can forgive you anything else" said tho lawyer to the jury, but to say that in riding out with his mistress he talked to her of his dead wife" Everybody in Wash ington knew what u happy home he had in spite of those faults which his family knew. Yet such were the charges (mean- ing the references to Colonel Breckinridges dead wife) brought by this woman, who had forgotten her own children after they had been laid in her arms. The only way to make woman forget her children was to take them away from her. After she had once clasped them in her arms she would follow them through the gates of hell.
 Mr. Butterworth asked the court for an adjournment as he was greatly exhausted. JudOe Rradley acceded to the request and