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THE WAYS OF THE HOUR
mysteries of that sacred and all – important master of the social relations, the law, we shall set forth the manner in which
justice is often bolstered, when its interests are cared for by
practitioners of the Timms’ and Williams’ school.
No sooner is it ascertained that a particular individual has
a knowledge of an awkward fact, than these worthies of the
bar set to work to extract the dangerous information from him.
This is commonly attempted, and often effected, by inducing
the witness to relate what he knows, and by leading him on to
make statements that, on being sworn to in court, will either
altogether invalidate his testimony, or throw so much doubt
on it as to leave it of very little value. As the agents employed
to attain this end are not very scrupulous, there is great danger
that their imaginations may supply the defects in the statements, and substitute words and thoughts that the party never
uttered. It is so easy to mistake another’s meaning, with even
the best intentions, that we are not to be surprised if this should
seriously happen when the disposition is to mislead. With the
parties to suits, this artifice is often quite successful, admissions
being obtained, or supposed to be obtained, that they never,
for an instant, intended to make. In the states where speculation has cornered men, and left them loaded with debt, these
devices of the eaves – droppers and suckers are so common,
as to render their testimony no immaterial feature in nearly
every cause of magnitude that is tried. In such a state of society
it is, indeed, unsafe for a suitor to open his lips on his affairs,
lest some one near him be employed to catch up his words, and
carry them into court with shades of meaning gathered from
his own imagination.
471
JAMES FENIMORE COOPER
At first, Timms was under the impression that the Burtons
were going to sustain the defence, and he was placing himself
on the most amiable footing with the females, three of whom
might very reasonably be placed within the category of matrimony with this rising lawyer; but, it was not long ere he ascertained that Williams was getting to be intimate, and had
proved to be a successful rival. Davis, the nephew and heir of
the Goodwins, was a single man, too, and it is probable that his
frequent visits to the dwelling of the Burtons had a beneficial
influence on his own interests. Let the cause be what it might,
the effect was clearly to seal the lips of the whole family, not
a member of which could be induced, by any art practised by
the agents of Timms, to utter a syllable on a subject that now
really seemed to be forbidden. When, therefore, Burton appeared on the stand, and was sworn, the two counsel for the
defence waited for him to open his lips, with a profound and
common interest.
Burton knew the deceased, had lived all his life near them,
was at home the night of the fire, went to assist the old people,
saw the two skeletons, had no doubt they were the remains of
Peter Goodwin and his wife, observed the effects of a heavy
blow across the foreheads of each, the same that was still to
be seen, inferred that this blow had destroyed them, or so far
stunned them as to leave them incapable of escaping from the
fire.
This witness was then questioned on the subject of the
stocking, and Mrs. Goodwin’s hoard of money. He had seen the
stocking but once, had often heard it mentioned by his sisters,
did not think his wife had ever alluded to it, did not know the
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THE WAYS OF THE HOUR
amount of the gold, but supposed it might be very considerable, saw the bureau examined, and knew that the stocking
could not be found. In a word, his testimony in chief went generally to sustain the impression that prevailed relative to the
murders, though it is unnecessary to repeat it in this form, as
the cross – examination will better explain his statements and
opinions.
“Mr. Burton,” said Dunscomb, “you knew the Goodwins
well?”
`Very well, sir. As well as near neighbours generally know
each other.” “Can you swear that those are the skeletons of
Peter and Dorothy Goodwin?” “I can swear that I believe them
to be such have no doubt of the fact.”
“Point out that which you suppose to be the skeleton of
Peter Goodwin.”
This request embarrassed the witness. In common with all
around him, he had no other clue to his facts than the circumstances under which these vestiges of mortality had been
found, and he did not know what ought to be his reply.
“I suppose the shortest of the skeletons to be Peter Goodwin’s, and the longest that of his wife,” he at length answered.
“Peter was not as tall as Dorothy.”
“Which is the shortest of these remains?”
“That I could not say, without measuring. I know that
Goodwin was not as tall as his wife by half an inch, for I have
seen them measure.”
“Then you would say that, in your opinion, the longest
of these two skeletons is that of Dorothy Goodwin, and the
shortest that of her husband?”
473
JAMES FENIMORE COOPER
“Yes, sir; that is my opinion formed to the best of my
knowledge. I have seen them measure.” “Was this measurement accurate?”
“Very much so. They used to dispute about their height,
and they measured several times, when I was by; generally in
their stocking feet, and once barefoot.”
“The difference being half an inch in favour of the wife?”
“Yes, sir, as near as could be; for I was umpire more than
once.” “Did Peter Goodwin and his wife live happily together?”
“Tolerable much as other married folks get along.”
“Explain what you mean by that.”
“Why, there’s ups and downs, I suppose, in all families. Dorothy was high – tempered, and Peter was sometimes cross –
grained.”
“Do you mean that they quarrelled?”
“They got r’iled with each other, now and then.” “Was Peter Goodwin a sober man?”
The witness now appeared to be bothered. He looked
around him, and meeting everywhere with countenances
which evidently reflected `yes,’ he had not the moral courage
to run counter to public opinion, and say `no.’ It is amazing
what a tyrant this concentration of minds gets to be over those
who are not very clear – headed themselves, and who are not
constituted, morally, to resist its influence. It almost possesses
a power to persuade these persons not to put faith in their own
senses, and disposes them to believe what they hear, rather
than what they have seen. Indeed, one effect is to cause them
to see with the eyes of others. As the `neighbours,’ those inquisitors who know so much of persons of their association
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THE WAYS OF THE HOUR
and intimacy, and so little of all others, very generally fancied
Peter a sober man, Burton scarce knew what to answer. Circumstances had made him acquainted with the delinquency
of the old man, but his allegations would not be sustained
were he to speak the whole truth, since Peter had succeeded in
keeping his infirmity from being generally known. To a man
like the witness, it was easier to sacrifice the truth than to face
a neighbourhood.
“I suppose he was much as others,” answered Burton, after
a delay that caused some surprise. “He was human, and had a
human natur’. Independence days, and other rejoicings, I’ve
known him give in more than the temperance people think is
quite right; but I shouldn’t say he was downright intemperate.”
“He drank to excess, then, on occasions?”
“Peter had a very weak head, which was his greatest difficulty.” “Did you ever count the money in Mrs. Goodwin’s
stocking?”
“I never did. There was gold and paper; but how much I do
not know.”
“Did you see any strangers in or about the house of the
Goodwins, the morning of the fire?”
“Yes; two strange men were there, and were active in helping the prisoner out of the window, and afterwards in getting
out the furniture. They were very particular in saving Mary
Monson’s property.”
“Were those strangers near the bureau?”
“Not that I know. I helped carry the bureau out myself; and
I was present afterwards in court when it was examined for the
money. We found none.”
475
JAMES FENIMORE COOPER
“What became of those strangers?”
“I cannot tell you. They were lost to me in the confusion.”
“Had you ever seen them before?”
“Never.” “Nor since?” “No, sir.” “Will you have the goodness to take that rod, and tell me what is the difference in
length between the two skeletons?”
“I trust, your honour, that this is testimony which will not
be received,” put in Williams. “The fact is before the jury, and
they can take cognizance of it for themselves.”
Dunscomb smiled as he answered
“The zeal of the learned gentleman runs ahead of his
knowledge of the rules of evidence. Does he expect the jury to
measure the remains; or are we to show the fact by means of
witnesses?”
“This is a cross – examination; and the question is one in
chief. The witness belongs to the defence, if the question is to
be put at all.”
“I think not, your honour. The witness has testified, in
chief, that he believes these remains to be those of Peter and
Dorothy Goodwin; he has further said, on his cross – examination, that Dorothy was half an inch taller than Peter; we
now wish to put to the test the accuracy of the first opinion,
by comparing the two facts his knowledge of the difference by
the former measurement as compared with the present. It has
been said that these two skeletons are very nearly of a length.
We wish the truth to be seen.”
“The witness will answer the question,” said the judge.
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THE WAYS OF THE HOUR
“I doubt the power of the court to compel a witness to obtain facts in this irregular mode,” observed the pertinacious
Williams.
“You can note your exceptions, brother Williams,” returned the judge, smiling; “although it is not easy to see with
what useful consequences. If the prisoner be acquitted, you can
hardly expect to try her again; and, if convicted, the prosecution will scarcely wish to press any objection.”
Williams, who was as much influenced by a bull – dog
tenacity, as by any other motive, now submitted; and Burton
took the rod and measured the skeletons, an office he might
have declined, most probably, had he seen fit. The spectators
observed surprise in his countenance; and he was seen to repeat the measurement, seemingly with more care.
“Well, sir, what is the difference in the length of those skeletons?” inquired Dunscomb.
“I make it about an inch and a half, if these marks are to be
relied on,” was the slow, cautious, well – considered reply.
“Do you now say that you believe these skeletons to be the
remains of Peter and Dorothy Goodwin?” “Whose else can
they be? They were found on the spot where the old couple
used to sleep.”
“I ask you to answer my question; I am not here to answer
yours. Do you still say that you believe these to be the skeletons of Peter and Dorothy Goodwin?”
“I am a good deal non – plussed by this measurementthough the flesh, and skin, and muscles, may have made a considerable difference in life.”
477
JAMES FENIMORE COOPER
“Certainly,” said Williams, with one of his withering sneers
sneers that had carried many a cause purely by their impudence and sarcasm “Every one knows how much more muscle
a man has than a woman. It causes the great difference in their
strength. A bunch of muscles, more or less in the heel, would
explain all this, and a great deal more.”
“How many persons dwelt in the house of Goodwin at the
time of the fire?” demanded Dunscomb.
“They tell me Mary Monson was there, and I saw her there
during the fire; but I never saw her there before.” “Do you
know of any other inmate besides the old couple and the prisoner?”
“I did see a strange woman about the house for a week or
two before the fire, but I never spoke to her. They tell me she
was High Dutch.”
“Never mind what they tell you, Mr. Burton” observed the
judge “testify only to what you know.” “Did you see this strange
woman at the fire, or after the fire?” continued Dunscomb.
“I can’t say that I did. I remember to have looked round for
her, too; but I did not find her.” “Was her absence spoken of in
the crowd at the time?”
“Something was said about it; but we were too much taken
up with the old couple to think a great deal of this stranger.”
This is an outline of Burton’s testimony; though the cross –
examination was continued for more than an hour, and Williams had him again examined in chief. That intrepid practitioner contended that the defence had made Burton its own
witness in all that related to the measurement of the skeletons;
and that he had a right to a cross – examination. After all this
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THE WAYS OF THE HOUR
contest, the only fact of any moment elicited from the witness
related to the difference in stature between Goodwin and his
wife, as has been stated already.
In the mean time, Timms ascertained that the last report set
on foot by his own agents, at the suggestion of Mary Monson
herself, was circulating freely; and, though it was directly opposed to the preceding rumour, which had found great favour
with the gossips, this extravagant tale was most greedily swallowed. We conceive that those persons who are so constituted,
morally, as to find pleasure in listening to the idle rumours
that float about society, are objects of pity; their morbid desire to talk of the affairs of others being a disease that presses
them down beneath the level they might otherwise occupy.
With such persons, the probabilities go for nothing; and they
are more inclined to give credit to a report that excites their
interest, by running counter to all the known laws of human
actions, than to give faith to its contradiction, when sustained
by every reason that experience sustains. Thus was it on the
present occasion. There was something so audacious in the
rumour that Mary Monson belonged to a gang of rogues in
town, and had been sent especially to rob the Goodwins, that
vulgar curiosity found great delight in it; the individual who
heard the report usually sending it on with additions of his
own, that had their authority purely in the workings of a dull
imagination. It is in that way that this great faculty of the mind
is made to perform a double duty; which in the one case is as
pure and ennobling, as in the other it is debasing and ignoble.
The man of a rich imagination, he who is capable of throwing
the charms of poetical feeling around the world in which we
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JAMES FENIMORE COOPER
dwell, is commonly a man of truth. The high faculty which
he possesses seems, in such cases, to be employed in ferreting
out facts which, on proper occasions, he produces distinctly,
manfully, and logically. On the other hand, there is a species
of subordinate imagination that is utterly incapable of embellishing life with charms of any sort, and which delights in the
false. This last is the imagination of the gossip. It obtains some
modicum of fact, mixes it with large quantities of stupid fiction, delights in the idol it has thus fashioned out of its own
head, and sends it abroad to find worshippers as dull, as vulgar – minded, and as uncharitable, as itself.
Timms grew frightened at the success of his client’s scheme,
and felt the necessity of commencing the reaction at once, if
the last were to have time in which to produce its effect. He had
been warmly opposed to the project in the commencement,
and had strenuously resisted its adoption; but Mary Monson
would not listen to his objections. She even threatened to employ another, should he fail her. The conceit seemed to have
taken a strong hold on her fancy; and all the wilfulness of her
character had come in aid of this strange scheme. The thing
was done; and it now remained to prevent its effecting the mischief it was so well adapted to produce.
All this time, the fair prisoner sat in perfectly composed
silence, listening attentively to everything that was said, and
occasionally taking a note. Timms ventured to suggest that it
might be better were she to abstain from doing the last, as it
gave her the air of knowing too much, and helped to deprive
her of the interesting character of an unprotected female; but
she turned a perfectly deaf ear to his admonitions, hints, and
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