The Portsmouth Inquirer, 1850-04-08

. From the Keepsake for 185t ;- . "' Tie Surgeon's Tale. ' 5 Verdict "Found Dead"'". About ten years ago, a paragraph appear appeared - ed appeared iq some of the daily newspapers, giving an account of an inquest held on the body pi a young woman, "found dead,", in some' ob obscure - scure obscure street or lane, in Iondon. The body was discovered, frigbfully emaciated, scan scantily - tily scantily clothed, and in a poor garret, which wis entirely destitute of every article of furniture comfort or otherwise, except a few ragged love-letters which she had preserved .through every privation.- According to the evidence, she" had been at one time a person of "con "considerable - siderable "considerable beauty, and had evidently died of hunger. ' ." , Twas on a dark December evening, Loud (he blast and bitter cold ; t ' '. Downward came the whirling waters " Deep and black the nver rolled ; Not a dog beneath the tempest- ' Not a beggar upon his beat j Wind and rain, and cold and darkness, Swept through every desert street. , Muffled to the teeth, that evening J 1 was struggling in the storm, . Through pestilent lanes and hungry' al alleys; - leys; alleys; ...:.. ; . Suddenly an ancient form Peered from out a gloomy doorway, , And with trembling croak, it said - "In the left hand empty garret i : You will find a woman desoT L "Never stepped a finer creature, '; When she was a simple maid ' But she did like many other , 1 " Loved a man and was betrayed. ; ' I have seen her in her carriage ' Riding, diamonds in ber hair ; And I've Seen her starving, (starving, ' f Do you hear ?) and now the'a thtriF. . Up the worn and slippery stair , V With a quickened pulse 1 sprung Famine, Filth and mean Despair ': Round about the darkness bung; ' No kind vision met my glances ' ' Friend or helper of the poor ; ' i So the crazy room I entered, ' And looked down upon the floor, There on the rough and naked boards, ' A long, gaunt, wasted figure lay, ; Murdered in its youth by Hunger, '' All its beauty crinkled clay. . Lifts poor wants had left her, nothing. Clothes not fuel food nor bed.; '"Nothing save eonie Tagged letters, . "'' Whereon lap the gasify head. ' "."'.r'"" ., . ;'. f'Nothingl" yet what more could Pity Ciave for one about to die. Than sweet words from one she worship worshipped, - ped, worshipped, .- (Sweet, though every word a lie ?) In the morning of her pleasure, In the midnight of her pain, ' ; They were all her wealth, her comfort, Treasured ay, and not in vain. And with her now they lie mouldering, . And a date upon a stone ; , Telleth where (to end the story) Love's poor outcast sleeps alone. alone.-Mourn - Mourn alone.-Mourn not ; for at length she sleepeth The soft slumber of the dead, Restiug on her loved love-letters-Last fit pillow for her head. '. 1 ' ; Baret Cornwall, iilfetcllantoud. From the Boston Post' Trial of Professor Webster. The Attorney General's; opening state statement - ment statement for the prosecution. Mr. Clifford proceeded to open the case for the prosecution. He said, that in entering upon their respective duties, in a case of sueh importance and interest as this, neither the jury nor himself needed anything like admonition to impress them with a sense of their responsibility,or anything like exhorta exhortation - tion exhortation to a conscientious fidelity in the dis discharge - charge discharge of them. . They were all here, engag engaged - ed engaged in a service, not of their own seeking, but imposed upon them by their various ob obligations - ligations obligations td the 'community, the common wealth,. and the prisoner at tne tmr. mey were painful duties laborious, end respon responsible,' - sible,' responsible,' but they were dutiea,. and that single word carried with it all that need to be ad dressed to right thinking, right feeling and conscientious men. Tbef could not bee- vaded or slighted, and all that all engaged could hope for was, by faithfully and pati ently addressing themselves to What was de devolved - volved devolved npon themiu their respeclhsBpheres. to bring the issue to a rigiiteous ana just result.'. "-' ' ,,- .: The crand-1urv of this county, after a pa tient and careful investigation, have, upon their oaths charged upon tbis prisoner tne commission ol the crime of wilful murder. The jury had been selected from among the mass o( their ie ow-cttizens. to near tne e- vidfnee npon which this charge was found ed, to listen to an tno explanation ana an. ewera which the erisoncr mav offer to re. ceite from this highest judicml ' tribunal of the Commonwealth suclt instructions as will enable them Intelligently to apply the rules of law to the evidence, . and then to nronounce' whether that charce is true this was their high and responsible duty the hiuhes! and most responsible that, nndtr our system' of eovernment, id confided to the citizen. . - ' '. His is of a different character; and the vie w thst he took of it, would be anxpla iu.iion of the modti in which it was his pur nnm in nnfii this cause, and nurociuce to (hem the evidence which. witll; the aid of his associate; it would be his duly to lay be- lore-tlietn.

clear, calml ?ght of the temple of justice, t seek for and to proclaim the truth : and the are to try this cause as they would any other wmcn they nan solemnly sworn to try,' by the evidence give them. In this view of the respective duties, he should confine himself, in the openisig of the case, to a plain, simple and concise state ment ot tne evidence which he expected to lay before them. He should endeavor not to preoccupy their minds, or forestall their judgements, by any comments upon, or in- terrences lrom, mat evidence ; nor should he indulge in any discussion of general top topics, - ics, topics, however naturally they might seem to be suggested by, or to grow out of, the facts uiai mrgni oe suDmuiea 10 mem in prooi ; but he should content himself with" such an outline of the facts as would faciliate. the in vestigation Oi them, and iodioofer to thejh the crounds upon which the erand-iury had made their presentiment against the prisoner. lhat presentment involved two proposi tions : 1. That George Parkman, the person named in the indictment, was murdered ; 2. That be was murdered by John W. Webster, the prisoner at the bar. . He proposed to eive an outline of the evl dence applicable, to these two propositions, independent of each other, and then to ask the consideration of the jury, under the ' di rectum of the honorable court, to the form in which they had been presented by the Srand jury, in the several counts of - the in. ictment, and the law applicable to them. Mr. Clifford proceeded to stile tho cvf dchce, upon which tho charge naihst the prisoner had been based. Dr. 'George Parkman, a well know.n nnd highly re spoctuble citizen of Boston, was alive, ii rood health, and sound of mind, and ir Jeerful spirits, on Eriduy forenoon, tho 93aof NovwrbwMristrtfenrar-iengfeV during the morning of that day, in his or diiiary business avocations, in various parts of the city, snd up tuabont ten or fifteen minutes oi two o'clock, when he was lav seen alive, about entering the Medical Col lege, in Grove street. lie was rcmirka rcmirka-bly - bly rcmirka-bly exact about being at home at the regu regular - lar regular hour; and if ho conld w t be t home, it wns his habit to apprise his family that he should be abrent. and where he was to be found. The last act known to have been done by him, was to purchase some lettuce to take homo for his sick daughter's dinner. lie was to take, that himself, hnv hnv-ing - ing hnv-ing purchased some groceries to be taken, home boy the shop by. lie then left tho shop, and proceeded toward the Medical, College. , IJo did not return to tne store nor was he seen to leave the col lego, l ho family became alarmed on Friday evening, and by Saturday morning thoir anxiety was 8uch, that a search was commenced, and advertisements publishad in tho papers. Rumors were afloat that he had been seen at East Cambridge, and various p irts of the city. . His friends, and the police, heard so many confident statements ot his having been seen in difleren t parts of the city, that in one of tho advcitisomonts he was rcproseqted as navmg neon seen in the southerly part of the city, in and near Washington street, about five o'ciock , on Friday afternoon. But nil- these rumors proved to be entirely unfounded, After trac tracing - ing tracing all these statements to their source, it was satisfactorily ascertained, that in everjr instance, where -a prompt- and tnorougn investigation was had, thejinrtics were mis mistaken - taken mistaken in respect to the time when ho was seen, or Iq the identity bf bis person . The failure of high rewards one set J,IH)U fnilod to procure any tidings of him, and even the hope that he had 'wandered -off, died away, till at length conjecture and apprehension deepened into certainty, tlwit his ditsppearnce was a nnat one irora me eyes of men. It was on Sunday tht.t his r-v tit .1 , Vx -k mmily , heard lrom ur.vv., tnaiur. r. had been in his company at tho Medicnl College, between one and two o'clock on Friday. The search was continued through thoVeek. East Boston, Comb'ridK Sulcm and other towns were visited, and the river drugged: . On Monday nnd Tucsday.Dr. WVrooms in the colloge were searched. Still honses, yards, cellars, and corners iu eveTy direction, were being searched. But on Fridav. November 30. it was deter mined to push through with an'exaniiuation of a vault under Dr. Webster's luboratory , nt the Mcdicul Colleen, and there were found ft belvie, n right thigh from the hip to the knee, n loft log from the knoe to the ancle, and ' towels market! with t'fio initials of lh prisoner. On that day, and next, veto also found in the furnace in the laboratory, fused in with the clos nnd cinders, a great number of fragments of bones, gold, and certain blocks of min

The prisoner (hen proceeded to the Medical .i College, and there had an interview with Mr. Pettee, who told bin) of Parkman's pro ceedings and threats. The prisoner replied "I have settled with him, and you wjll have no further trouble about it." From the be- " ginning to Uie end, he held out to all ac quainted with his affairs, that he intended to S pay JJr. Parkman out of the proceeds of the ' ticketB of his lectures. The check . he had received from Mr. Pettee. he had cashed st the .Charles Pi ver Bank, after he had told him he had settled with Dr. Parkman. . Passing from there financial affairs. Mr. Clifford approached the conduct of the pri prisoner, - soner, prisoner, from the disappearance of Dr'. Park- man, to the discovery of the remains under '. his laboratory a week afterwards. His : visit to the afflicted family on Sundav! his statement there, nnd his untrue statements . toothers; the fires kept up in his -room du du-fipg - fipg du-fipg the week, when not needed, in tho course of his duties. ; .The... uousal heat of the walls attracted observatbo...,-Tben . .-there - there .-there was the purchase of, large fish-hooka on Tuesday, and twiue on Fridny, and tho finding of grapples made of the fishrhooks; the ordering of a large tin box; the taking away of keys which he had been in the habit of leaving; the directions (o Sawin to leave the f.iggots outside; and the tan: his efforts to moke itnppenr I hut Dr. Parkman went lo vumbritltfe that afternoon: the no count he gave of his interview with Dr. faruman, wnerr ne paid hnr: iow he start eJ offi without giving up the note, and, when spoken to about it, turned round, seized a pen, nnd dashed it across the sign signature - ature signature on tho note. He had said there were ono or two witnesses present, and then" thut there was no ono ptesent; that one of the bills was 100 on the NewEntr- land Bank; and then that he did not know what kind of bills the $493,74 were oaid in. ...' ., ' . ', ,. . Rit,above all, was the extraordinary fact, that there was found ' upon hirni hV hi own hand-writing, two different ' versions of what had passed between ?him and Dr. Parkm m at that interview; . Mr. ' Clifford said it was utterly beyond the power of his imagination to conceive of any expla explanation - nation explanation of that extraordinary paper, which sltould relieve the pritcner from the terri terrible - ble terrible suspicions which it naturally gave rise to. . Then there was the privy key, " found in nis nocKnt, alter ho had said that it must nave been taken away; the bunch of skeleton keys, filed to fit every lock in the collose; his being at the collego at known to be before: when the officers vlni tod bis room the second time, his ' turning their attention to nnothor room; the .anon ymous letters, (which would be proved ' to be written by n sort of pen which would be produced,) tending to turn the attention of the searchers away from the collego build building. - ing. building. Then would enmo the array of blood on the pantaloons, on the slippers, on the towels, on tho stairs, sprinkled with nitrate of copper; his , sounding Littlefield - about being a i ree-Mason, "nnd subsequently denouncing liim as a conspirator;" the intercepted letter to his daughter to keep a certain package of papers closed, nnd the hnding among those i.niiors a note, with the interest cast on it, in his own hand writing. Of all these circumstances,' .he lind afforded no explanation; lie hadwaiv- 3d examination in the police court, but as ho acted under aavice of counsel, it woa not perhops necrwnry to, draw any deci sive conclusion from his withholding ex planation. . .. , r-' ; Mr. Clifford concluded M refemnir'to the various allegations contained in the in indictment, - dictment, indictment, which he said had - been tho thome of unmeasured ridicule In the news papers. If ho had beou at ' liberty to consult his own taste, he might perhaps have been content to allege the -offence in only two modes; bnt the grand-jury thought olhorwise. There W m some Appearance of a stab in the side, and also of a fracture of the skull, and there was proof that a sledge hammer had been taken info his

bv the prisoner. . ' ..:'( The inquiry , thus opened, would lca(Ltd the con.sitlf ration of facts anterior to the disappearance of Dr. Parkman., Evidence would be1 introduced, to show the relation subsisting between the prisoner and the de deceased; - ceased; deceased; but it would not be necessary to de detail - tail detail their connection till their intercourse since 1842, in regard to money loans. It would appear that, since that period, Dr Webster bad been always embarrassed in his financial affairs, and often reduced to great straits for money. On the other hand, Dr. Parkman was a large property, holder, accustomed lo making loans to others; and, although a liberal man in his donations, ex extremely - tremely extremely exact id all bis business dealings. A just man himself, he exacted scrupulous justice from others. Willing to be judged by a strict rule himself, he applied the same rule to his dealings with other men. In 1843, he loaned to the prisoner $400, and took his note. Tnis continued along unpaid until 1847 wbeu Dr. Parkman made one of a number to advance him a certain sum of money to meet pressing demands upon him. '. Arising out of, or connected with, these transactions. Dr. Parkman took from the prisoner a mortgage of all bis personal pro-1 pertv, including his household furniture, and a cabinet of minerals, to secure the payment of the advance which had been made to him by Dr, Parkman and others, and the balance due on the note oft 100, namely 318,83. In April, 1849, a friend of Dr. Webster (Mr. Cunnigham) had an intervew with Dr. Parkman, and subsequently furnished to Dr. Webster a statement that the amount then due to Dr. Parkman was 1156,29. . About this period, or shortly after. Dr. Parkman had received information that the property mortgaged to him bad been sold by Dr. Webster to Robert G. Shaw, to raise money. Dr. Parkman was incensed at this act of fraud on the part of the prisoner, and he avowed his determination to compel him to l 1 , . Y7 . ; a . l - ' . 11 pay DisaeDi. r ruin iuis perioa.uie jury wuuiu be satisfied that be constantly pursued the prisoner as an inexorable creditor, who felt that bis confidence had been violated, and who regarded his debtor as a fradulent and dishonest man. . ; ' - It would appear, that the prisoner prom promised - ised promised to pay the debt when he should receive the proceeds of the tickets for his chemical lectures at the Medical College. He re received - ceived received a considerable portion of these' fees, and did not pay them over as promised, but made, another-disposition of the money. Dr. " Parkman threatened to trustee -Mr. Pettee, the agent of the professors of the college, and requested that gentleman to be the bearer of a messnae to the prisoner, de nouncing bim ss V dishonest." : This was on the Hta ot JN uveai ber., . to get rid ot the inconvenience, if a trustee process, Mr. Pettee gave the prisoner a check for ninety dollars, understanding that he would apply It to Dr.-Parkman's debt- - It was not done,' Angry at bis repeated subterfuges, Dr. Park Park-man - man Park-man called upon him again on the 10th of. November, and declared, that something must be done. On .the 20th ha writes to the prisoner. t On tlie 22d he rode out to CamWdge to see hnn. , These were the re Unions of the parties on the fatal 23d of No vemkr. On that inoriinig lie called at Dt.

On Saturday morning, in ja remote cornorof the laboratory, in o place where it hud boon noticed but not , exam examined, - ined, examined, was overhauled: a tea-chest, om Iwdded in tan, nnd covered with minerals, and containing tho thorax or trunk, a left thigh, a hunting-knife, and some twino or marline, wound round a bono, which twino would bo found "to correspond exactly with some twine found In another pert of tho prisoner's premises. These remains were examined nnd put together by competent medical and scientific mon, and found to correspond in every ' particular with tho body of Dr. P. They indicated the nge of sixty,ind the form and certain pecu peculiarities - liarities peculiarities were equally clear. They were tho limbs of a man five feet and ten inches and a half in height, and in- his passport, found among his papers, this was stated to be the hoight of Dr. Parkman. Every frog ment diswwaixd. has boon ascertained to have been such ns might have belonged to the body of Dr. Pnrkmnn, and not one traarment has been found dissimilar. Not H duplicate bono has been found. The TiilntiM CtmnA ! V Aw.... - iuiihu iu wio tumuiu ure Buiii us belonged to the missing parts of the body. viragmont ot tne skull has been found, which shows a fracture, which, in the opinion of the examiners, was iuflictod prior to the action of fire. ' " . The block of mineral teeth, for the riaht lower ja w, being made to fit a peculiarcom peculiarcom-formation - formation peculiarcom-formation of the jaw will be sworn to by the Doctors Keep and Wymafl. Dr. Keep will say that he 6hould know them, if he met with them 'in Africa, for the set he made for Dr. Parkmen. And bevond tbis, a portion of the lower jaw, not wholly fused was tound in the lurnace and it corresponds with the mould Dr. Keep still " retains. It would also appear, that the teeth must nave been in the head when they were subjec subjected - ted subjected to the fire. This will appear from the manner of the fusing. The mould would be produced, and the jury would be enabled to make the proposed comparison them selves.- Two facts would be proved, showina that '.he psrson, parts of whose body had thus been found, bad died by violence the frac tured skull,' and a wound three inches deep, between the ribs, cutting off some of the membrane, and probably reaching the heart Then again, there had been some chemical application to the flesh, the appearance ., of n mui luuiuaicu uir auuimuj a strung B1H&11 That it was not a subject procured fordissec. tion was proved by the circumstance, that it had not been injected with any preservative fluid ; and all the subjects in the college had been accounted for, bv the demonstra tor of anatomy. The parts-had been severed by a person of some skill in dissecting, yet it had not been done in the manner used for anatomical purposes. If the jury should be utieQed thut a murder had been committed,

seen since tho disappearance of Dr. Park- man, lie then made some .general re re-marks - marks re-marks in relation to murder und man slaughter, concerning which, he . said, the instructions ol the bench, if such a ques question - tion question arose, would bo ample and clear, " ,'-.. Before calling any witnesses, he suggested to the court the "propriety of passinx an on der, that the jury should view the scene of the alleged murder, and the court according accordingly - ly accordingly ordered the view to be bad on Wednes- ilay morning, v '... i. ...i-v ... The inmatesof a boa rdinn house in Hones. dale (Pa.,) were kept awake all night late- ' ly by -continued kuockings quite as mysteri mysterious - ous mysterious as those of Rochester. ! The noises al ways eluded pursuit. , . .. . y , tJunsos River ftAiLROAD.-r-Sinoa the cotniilotion of lliis rend to Poughkoopsie, the passenger receipts arc said to be much -greater per mile than - tho corresponding1 . ' receipts on any other railway .evor, opened in tho United States. ' ' ; - ; 7 .-.History shows lis . that all great princi- pics, however nrdcutly osciusod for a time-, havo a"tcfi(Jeney,t,v fade into tr'auitlons, to lojr,cnorato into tg lioflow cant, to bocoma ' wds of littlo import,; and to remain for declamation whcii their Vital power is gone.. vl t':.;..