ONE SIDE.
State Rests Upon Its Case.
Last Evidence for Prosecution.
Jennings in Defense of Lizzie Borden.
Her Life History an Answer to the Charge.
Mysterious Strangers Now Recalled.
Exclusive Opportunity Idea Is Rudely Disturbed.
Lemay's Man in the Woods Causes Contention.

 
NEW BEDFORD, June 15-Apropos of the effort to prove that Lizzie Borden endeavored to buy some prussic acid two days before the murder, Chief Justice Mason, in behalf of himself and Judges Blodgett and Dewey, said: "It Is the opinion of the court that the preliminary proceedings have not been sufficient; the evidence is excluded." 

This has been a hot day for the defense, but might have been a greater, as I shall endeavor to show.

It could not have been hotter and even now, when the shades of night prevail, water dries instantly when thrown upon the pavements. The atmosphere is supercharged with humidity, and there is not a comfortable individual in town.

For the first time since the beginning of these proceedings the prisoner's face has lighted up at the sight of a friendly female eye.

In the morning, accompanying banker Holmes of Fall River were several well appearing ladies, nicely dressed, with New England’s choicest cut and bearing who accosted Lizzie during the recess, forming a semi circle about her, laughing and chatting for several minutes in conversation cheerily participated by Lizzie herself.

Perhaps the most startling rumor of the day was that which attributed a full-orbed degree of wisdom to the counsel for the prisoner in that they intended to go to the jury without producing a particle of evidence pro or con.

That was too sensible to be true.

Had they done so, in my judgment before this time tomorrow night Miss Lizzie Borden.

Would be a Free Woman.

On Wednesday, when court adjourned, the bench had consented that certain agreed upon preliminary evidence should be presented, for the purpose of informing the mind or the court as to the rightful introduction of the prussic acid testimony.

At the beginning today, an immense crowd being outside, the city filled with Grand Army men, the hotels and boarding houses packed to their uttermost capacity, the vicinity of the quaint old court house filled as roads are during the holding of the county fair, every seat in the court room was occupied, and a day of extreme discomfort was anticipated.

Mr. Knowlton called a series of witnesses, druggists, furriers, chemists and the government medical witness, Dolan to testify as to the qualities, properties and uses to which prussic acid, in particular, and other poisons such as arsenic, and chloroform are put.

The jury, each armed with a palm leaf fan and as full of iced water as human corporosities can be, airing themselves in blissful ignorance in the outer room, waited patiently for the decision.

A brief recess was taken by the court at the close of which the jury returned, and the prosecution reoffered the testimony of the druggist from Fall River, in whose store Lizzie is said to have tried to purchase 10 cents worth of prussic acid.

Whereupon the chief justice said: "It is the opinion of the court that the preliminary proceedings have not been sufficient; the evidence is excluded."

Mr. Knowlton then put in evidence all the exhibits in the case, and at 10:30

The Commonwealth Rested.

 

Rested?

Yes, rested, without connecting the prisoner with ax, hatchet, blood, or anything whatever, save an unmotived opportunity to kill her stepmother, with whom, according to the evidence or the prosecution she had no quarrel or disagreement discernable to the quick eyes of Bridget Sullivan, during her service of nearly three years, and also of brutally assassinating- her father, with whom she had ever been on terms of affectionate intimacy.

Mayor Coughlin of Fall River, Mrs. S. S. Fessenden, president of the Woman 's termperance union, Mrs. Washburn, who has been an attentive student of the case from its beginning, now nearly a year ago, and the flower of New Bedford's yachting crew, were honored with particularly good seats and shared the general interest.

Mr. Jennings, who is so literally like Secretary of war Lamont as to be a constant text of provocation, has an admirable voice, which he uses.
 

With Great Effect.

He began by explaining that he had been counsel to the late Mr. Borden many years and that the intimacy engendered by that connection brought him in contact since her young girlhood with the defendant, as he styled the prisoner, concerning whom man or envious woman had been unable to coin even a suspicion of anything beyond the pale of upright, honest, Christian life down to the date of suspicion that the murdered not only her stepmother but her good old father with whom she had always been on terms of affection and regard.

After continuing at some length in this way, Mr. Jennings suggested that while it was undoubtedly the proper thing for the commonwealth to find out, if possible. Who killed the Borden’s, it was equally its duty to protect the innocent, and scored a specially good point when he insisted that the jury were empanelled so to answer the question, "Did Elizabeth A. Borden kill her father and stepmother in a certain way, at a certain time," and were not to be switched off into an investigation of a mysterious murder, in the hope that they might determine by whom it was done.  He defined a reasonable doubt as one for which you can give a reason.

Running rapidly along the line of the testimony, he insisted with a vigor that was all the more noticeable for its candor, that there was no direct testimony in the Case which even pretended to connect his client with any blood or weapon or anything joined to the murderous act, and insisted that the entire horizon of the investigation was covered by a consideration, first of motive, second of weapon, third of exclusive opportunity, and fourth the appearance of the defendant.

As to the motive, he argued that the prosecutions evidence showed distinctly that there was none, but that, even if inferetionally there was one in the case of Mrs. Borden it was an enormity to suggest that there was a shadow of motive that could induce this affectionate daughter in blood to murder her considerate father.

He ridiculed, with neat sarcasm, the futile efforts of the police, who have been compelled by stress of circumstances to put the axes out of the case, the claw headed hatchet out of the case, all the blood stains far as Lizzie Borden Is concerned out of the case, and strange to relate to find, after Prof Wood testified that there was no blood anywhere on anything this headless hatchet.  So that the defense defiantly challenged them to produce the weapon with which the murder was committed and in any way to connect the defendant with it.

As to the opportunity, he put it to one side with the remark, most significant that by a very multitude of witnesses the testimony of the police in general, and of officer Medley in particular, would be flatly contradicted showing that there was ample verge and scope for dozens of individuals to come and go unmolested and unobserved.

Everything, he insisted that his client had said from the moment, the murders were discovered down to the present time, her visit to the barn and her general doings, especially the burning of the dress which was done in broad daylight with police officers near her and in the presence of witnesses, was fully sustained and absolutely indorsed.

Mrs. Chagnon a typical French woman of the better class corroborated her daughter's story.

A painter said that when he was hired to paint Mr. Borden's house he was directed by the old gentleman to take his orders from Miss Lizzie, who told him to put his paint pots In the barn she going herself at the cheerful hour of 6 in the morning to consult with hint as to colors, and. to a certain extent supertintend the mixing of the paints for the experiments on the walls.

Mrs. Mary Durfee a familiar Fall River name, a nice looking old lady in black rather short, with enormous high bows in her hat wanted to tell that she saw a man on the steps of Mr. Borden's house one morning, but brother Mason thought the time was too remote and the little lady retired with a graceful bow embracing the court the jury and the learned brothers.

Mr. Charles Gifford and Mr. Uriah Kirby told of a strange man whom they found sitting on Mr. Kirby's doorsteps quite near the Borden house at 11 o'clock the night before the murder and when Mr. Kirby who id a venerable white-haired old gentleman of the frontier type was asked to point out his house and steps to the jury he stepped down to the rail in front of the jurymen, photograph in hand and much to the amusement of everyone in the room, entered into an animated conversation, punctuated with pointings and explanations from which he was with difficulty drawn by the laughter-convulsed counsel of both sides.

At this point the dinner hour was announced, the supreme being was invoked to save the commonwealth of Massachusetts, the deputies were sworn to keep the jurors in some convenient place and give them nothing to eat or drink without the order of the court.

It is pretty hard work to eat dinner at 1 o'clock under any circumstances, but to enjoy it at that hour, with a red hot sun broiling outside and hundreds of strangers sizzling inside, is something beyond my capacity but evidently as an eater I am not In it with the judges the learned brothers or the jurors, for everyone of them partook with zealous relish of their hearty noonday meal, and washed it down with coffee.

The afternoon session was bright, cheery and helpful.

Dr. Handy, a pleasant-faced physician from Fall River, testified that on the morning of the murder at 10:30, a medium-sized young man, unnaturally pale with his eyes fixed on the sidewalk, attracted his attention in front of the Borden house to such an extent that he turned in his buggy to get a second look at him.

Mrs. Manly also saw a young man about the same time, dressed like the one described by Dr Handy.

This and other evidence which the defense seeks to introduce may be very well from their point of view, when coupled with their proof of ample opportunity for others to do the murder.

A reporter by the name of Stevens was called to testify that he looked over the Borden fence the morning of the murder and went into the barn but was quite sure he could remember nothing that he did of any moment whereupon he was allowed to retire and did so.

A plumber and gasfitter, appropriately garbed, testified that he went into the barn where there were four others.

A pedler gave some unimportant testimony at great length the grain of wheat in the immensity of chaff being that that morning when he was on his ice cream route he saw Miss Lizzie Borden coming from the barn toward the house.

A cheeky but quick-witted lad by the name of Brown testified that shortly after 11 o'clock that day he and a party named Barnes went down to the Borden house, round the yard to the barn, and entered; that he went to the loft first the party with him being afraid lest some one might drop an ax on him. They were in search of the murderer.

Cross-examination very adroitly conducted by Mr. Knowlton, developed that in the barn and household they had breakfast at 7, dinner at 10:30, and supper at 5; that “Me” and “Brown" went into the barn thinking that the murderer might be in the hay loft and that they were looking for him and were not afraid of him.

Mark Chase, now a hostler and formerly a policeman, stands somewhere in the neighborhood of 6 feet 6 inches high and when he took the oath be elevated his arm and hand to their extremest length as though he would touch the ceiling sending another ripple of merriment through the audience.

In fact, I must chronicle that the entire day has been one of cheer, laughter, good-looking witnesses, bright sayings and general upliftment along the line of defense.

Several times the spontaneous outburst of snicker and a number of literal laughing roars stimulated brother Wright the sheriff into a condition of intensest activity sending  the red  hot  blood of indignation to the roots of his more or less auburn hair. 

Court adjourned promptly at 5 o’clock, when as the throng dispersed Miss Emma Borden made her first appearance and immediately the young women entered into sisterly confidences, over which the veil of record so far as I am concerned, is hereby drawn.

I wish the defense had gone to the jury without evidence.

 There is no reasonable expectancy of any verdict, save one of “not guilty” and a disappointment would mean disappointment to both sides, and a duplication of the enormous expense already fastened upon this
God-saved commonwealth of Massachusetts.