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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A63196	The tryal of Spencer Cowper, Esq, John Marson, Ellis Stevens, and William Rogers, gent. upon an indictment for the murther of Mrs. Sarah Stout, a Quaker before Mr. Baron Hatsell, at Hertford assizes, July 18, 1699 : of which they were acquitted : with the opinions of the eminent physicians and chyrurgeons on both sides, concerning drowned bodies, delivered in the tryal and the several letters produced in court.	Cowper, Spencer, 1669-1728, defendant.; Marson, John, defendant.; Stevens, Ellis, defendant.; Rogers, William, Gent, defendant.	1699 (1699)	Wing T2224; ESTC R18301	87,512	48

the Burrough of Southwark and has been my near Neighbour these Eight or Nine Years If you please Mr. Cox give an account what Reputation and Character I have in that place Mr. Cox My Lord I live in Southwark where Mr. Cowper lives I have lived by him 8 or 9 Years I know him to be a person of Integrity and Worth all the Neighbours court his company I take him to have as much Honour and Honesty as any Gentleman whatsoever and of all Men that I know he would be the last Man that I should suspect of such a Fact as this is I believe nothing in the World could move him to entertain the least thought of so foul a Fact Mr. Cowper Mr. Thompson I desire you would be pleas'd to give an account of what you know of me Mr. Thompson If you please my Lord the first acquaintance I had with Mr. Cowper was in our Childhood I had the honour to go to Westminster School with him I did not renew my acquaintance with him till about Five Years ago since that time I have been often with him and have several times had occasion to ask his advice in matters relating to his Profession and I think no Man more faithful in the service of his Clyent than he is and I am sure he is very deserving of the esteem of any Man and I believe he never entertain'd a thought of so fowl and barbarous a Fact as this of which he is accused Mr. B. Hatsell Mr. Marson you have heard the Evidence what do you say to it Mr. Marson My Lord our business at Hartford was this Mr. Ellis Stephens and I went down he is Clerk of the Papers of the King's Bench and Mr. Rogers is Steward of the King's Bench and it was their Duty to wait upon my Lord Chief Justice with the Marshal of the King's Bench out of Town and on Monday Morning we went to my Lord Chief Justice's House in Lincolns-Inn-Fields as we used to do and there set out but I being an Attorney of the Borough Court could not with any convenience go farther with them than to a place which I think is called Kingsland and therefore I returned to my Business in Southwark where I attended the Court as was customary and necessary for me to do and set forth from thence at past 4 in the Afternoon by the way as I remember about Waltham-Cross I met one Mr. Hanks a Clergyman of my acquaintance who had been likewise to attend my Lord Chief Justice to Hertford and was returning from thence with some perswasion I prevailed with him to go back again with me to Hertford telling him I did not know the way and we gallop'd every step of it because Night was coming on it was about 8 a Clock when we came in Mr. Hanks and I found the Marshal Mr. Stevens Mr. Rogers Mr. Rutkin and others of the Marshal's Acquaintance at the Coffee-House and truly when I came in I might for ought I know be in a Sweat with riding so hard as we did but even then I was not in such a Sweat as the Witness would have it My Lord we went from thence to the Glove and Dolphin and stayed there till about 11 a Clock Mr. Rogers and I had a Dispute who should lie with Mr. Stevens at the now Witness Mr. Gurry's at last it was agreed between us to go to Gurry's to see what Convenience he could make for us and Mr. Rutkin and Mr. Hanks went with us with design to drink a Glass of Wine at our Lodging but afterwards it came in Mr. Rutkin's Head that he was to lie with the Marshal and for that reason he said he would go back again and accordingly he went and Mr. Hanks with him after they had seen us into our Lodgings and Mr. Stevens and Mr. Rogers and I drank 3 Bottles of Wine together Mr. Gurry our Landlord was sent to fetch it and afterwards in jocular Conversation I believe Mr. Stevens might ask Mr. Gurry if he knew one Mrs. Sarah Stout and the reason why he ask'd that Question our Witnesses will explain I believe he might likewise ask what sort of Woman she was and possibly I might say the words My Friend may be in with her tho' I remember not I did say any thing like it but I say there is a possibility I might because I had heard she had deny'd Mr. Marshal's Suit and that might induce me to say my Friend may be in with her for all that I remember I confess Mr. Rogers ask'd me what Money I had got that Day meaning at the Borough Court I answer'd Fifty Shillings saith he we have been here a spending our Money I think you ought to treat us or to that purpose as for the Bundle mention'd I had no such except a pair of Sleeves and a Neckcloth As to the Evidence which goes to words spoken the Witnesses have fruitful Inventions and as they have wrested and improved the Instances I have been particular in so have the rest or otherwise forged them out of their own Heads Mr. Bar. Hatsell Mr Rogers what do you say to it Mr. Rogers We came down with the Marshal of the King's Bench it rained every step of the way so that my Spatter-dashers and Shoes were fai●… to be dried and it raining so hard we did not think Mr. Marson would have come that day and therefore we provided but one Bed tho' otherwise we should have provided two and were to give a Crown for our Nights Lodging we went from the Coffee-house to the Tavern as Mr. Marson has said and from the Tavern the next way to our Lodging where there was some merry and open Discourse of this Gentlewoman but I never saw her in my life nor heard of her Name before she was mention'd there Mr. Stevens We never stirr'd from one another but went along with the Marshal of the Kings-Bench to accompany my Lord Chief Justice out of Town as is usual Mr. Bar. Hatsell I thought it had been usual to for him go but half of the way with my Lord Chief Justice Mr. Rogers They generally return back after they have gone half the way but some of the head Officers go throughout Mr. Stevens It was the first Circuit after the Marshal came into his Office and that 's the reason the Marshal went the whole way Mr. Bar. Hatsell Did not you talk of her Courting-days being over Prisoners Not one word of it we absolutely deny it Mr. Stevens I never saw her Mr. Iones Mr. Marson did you ride in Boots Mr. Marson Yes Mr. Iones How came your Shooes to be wet Mr. Marson I had none Call Mr. Heath Mr. Hunt and Mr. Foster Mr. Marson Mr. Hunt will you please to acquaint my Lord and the Jury with what Discourse we had on Sunday Night before the Assizes at the Old Devil Tavern at Temple Barr. Mr. Hunt On Sunday night I happened to be in company with Mr. Marson and 3

driven into the Ground cross the River to prevent Weeds and Trampery from running into the Mill stand as the Witnesses have already said about a Foot distance from one another and are set with their Feet from the Mill and their Heads inclining towards the Mill with the Stream Now my Lord every one knows that though a drowned Body will at first sink yet it is buoyant and does not go down-right and rest in one place like Lead for a humane Body is seldom or never in a Stream found to lie where it was drowned a Body drowned at Chelsea has been often found by Fishermen at London and that before it came to float above Water Now if a Body is so buoyant as that it is driven down by the impellant force of the Current though it do not float above Water it seems a Consequence that when it comes to be stopp'd and resisted by the Stakes which lie with their Heads downwards inclining with the Stream the Stream bearing the Body against the Stakes must needs ●…ise it upwards to find another Passage if possible when the Ordinary and Natural is obstructed I have seen I remember that where Weeds have been driven down a River and have been rooled along at the bottom when they have come down to a Board or Stakes of a Wyer or Turnpike they have been by the force of the Water raised up against those Boards or Stakes and forc'd over them though without such Obstruction they had undoubtedly continued to rool along under the Water I don't know of any other Symptom they pretend too of her not being drowned from any thing observed of her in the Water Then as to the flatness of her Belly when she was put into her Coffin I shall shew it is a common and natural Accident sometimes drowned Bodies are swelled more sometimes less sometimes not at all I think it hardly deserves a Physician to prove that a Body may be drowned with very little Water that a Man may be drowned by Strangling or Suffocation caused by a little Water in the Lungs without any great quantity or Water received in the Body is a certain and establish'd Truth for I am told that when Respiration ceases the Party dies and can receive no more Water after that so that nothing i●… to be inferred from a Body's having more or less Water found in it especially if your Lordship will give me leave to observe this distinction where a Body is voluntarily drowned and where it is drowned by Accident for People that fall in by Accident do struggle and strive as long as they can every time they rise they drink some Water into the Stomach to prevent its passing into the Lungs and are drowned no sooner than needs must but Persons that voluntarily drown themselves to be sure desperately plunge into the Water to dispatch a miserable Life as soon as they can and so that little quantity in the Lungs which causes Death may be the sooner taken in after which no more is received And I hope by Physicians it will appear there is good Ground for this Difference The next is the Evidence that the Chvrurgeons have given on the other part relating to the taking this Gentlewoman out of her Grave after she had been buried six Weeks whether this ought to have been given in Evidence for the Reasons I hinted at in a Criminal Case I submit to your Lordship But as it is I have no reason to apprehend it being able to make appear that the Gentlemen who spoke to this Point have delivered themselves in that manner either out of extreme Malice or a most profound Ignorance this will be so very plain upon my Evidence that I must take the liberty to impute one or both of those Causes to the Gentlemen that have argued from their Observations upon that Matter And now if your Lordship will but please to consider the Circumstances under which they would accuse me of this horrid Action I don t think they will pretend to say that in the whole course of my Life I have been guilty of any mean or indirect Action and I will put it upon the worst Enemy I have in the World to say it Now for a Man in the Condition I was in of some Fortune in Possession related to a better in a good Employment thriving in my Profession living within my Income never in Debt I may truly say not five Pounds at any one time these eight Years past having no possibility of making any Advantage by her Death void of all Malice and as appears by her own Evidence in perfect Amity and Friendship with this Gentlewoman to be guilty of the murthering her to begin at the top of all Baseness and Wickedness certainly is incredible My Lord in this Prosecution my Enemies seeing the necessity of Assigning some Cause have been so Malicious to suggest before though not now when I have this Opportunity of Vindicating my self publickly that I have been concerned in the Receipt of Money 's for this Gentlewoman had her Securities by me and sometimes that I had been her Guardian or her Trustee and I know not what I now see the Contrivers and Promoters of that Scandal and they know it to be Base False and Malicious I never was concerned in Interest with her directly or indirectly and so I told them when I was before my Lord Chief Justice 't is true it was then just suggested by the Prosecutors I then denied it and I deny it still I thank God I have not been used nor have I needed to deny the Truth My Lord you find the Prosecutors have nothing to say to me upon this Head after all the Slanders and Stories they have Published against me of my having Money in my Hands which belonged to the Deceased But though they do not stir it I will and and give your Lordship a full Account of all that ever was in that Matter When I lo'g dat Hartford some time since she desired me to recommend to her a Security for ●…oo l. if it came in my way my Lord when I came to Town I understood that one Mrs. Puller a Client of mine had a Mortgage formerly made to her by one Mr. Loftus of Lambeth in Surrey for the like Summ and that she was willing to have in her Money I wrote to this Gentlewoman the Deceased to acquaint her of the Security she thereupon did send up 200 l. and some odd Pounds for Interest the Account of which I produced to my Lord Chief Justice this Money was sent to me by Mr. Cramfield as I have been informed and by him given to Mr. Toller's Clark and by him brought publickly to me my Lord this Mortgage I immediately Transferr'd by Assignment Indors'd on the back of it and Mrs. Habberfield a Trustee for Mrs. Puller Signed and Sealed it and that very 200 l. and Interest due was at one and the same time paid to Mrs. Puller and by her the

Principal was paid to her Daughter in part of her Portion All this was Transacted the beginning of December last and she was not drowned till the 13th of March following And my Lord these People that are now the Prosecutors did own before my Lord Chief Justice that they had found this Mortgage amongst the Deceased●… Writings in her Cabinet at the time of her Death Now my Lord I say that saving this one Service I did her as I said in December last I never was otherwise concerned with her in the receiving or disposing of any of her Money nor had I ever any of her Securities for Money in my keeping and I defie any Adversary I have to shew the contrary My Lord as there appears no Malice no Interest so they have prov'd for me that there was no Concealment of Shame to induce me to commit so Barbarous an Action otherwise perhaps now they find they can assign no other Cause they would content themselves to give that reason and fling that Scandal at me And though I take it by the Experience I have had of them they did not design to do me any Favour yet I thank 'em in endeavouring to vindicate her Honour they have secured my Reputation against that Calumny and though I am satisfied as I said they did not intend me Kindness yet I thank God they have given me a just Opportunity to take advantage of their Cunning for the clearing my Innocence in that Particular Then my Lord not to rest it here but to satisfie the Jury and the World how this Gentlewoman came to destroy her self I shall give the clearest Evidence that was ever given in any Court that she murther'd her self when I enter upon this Proof I must of necessity trespass upon the Character of this Gentlewoman that is dead I confess this is a tender Point 't is a thing I would willingly be excus'd from and 't is not without a great deal of Reluctancy and Compulsion forc'd from me That she was melancholly the Prosecutors themselves have prov'd but I must of necessity show you the Occasion and Reasons of it and the Witnesses will tell your Lordship what desperate Resolutions she had been under formerly and that will lead me to near the time of her Death to show why and upon what Accidents she made away her self I will not innumerate Particulars by way of opening only I must tell your Lordship that some Letters of hers must of necessity be produced which truly as I said I should not meddle with if I had not these innocent Gentlemen here to defend as well as my self perhaps it may be said that in Honour I ought to conceal the Weakness of this Gentlewoman but then in Honour and Justice to these Gentlemen that are falsly accused with me I cannot do it I hope this one reason will excuse me to the World for I have no other that could have obliged me to bring these Letters upon the Stage I solemnly protest if I stood here singly in the Case of my own Life upon the Evidence given against me I take it to be so inconsiderable I would not do it but I must do it to show that these Gentlemen also are innocent and to preserve them because I am satisfied in my own mind they are so My Lord when I have done that I shall show your Lordship in the next place that it is utterly impossible I could be concern'd in this Fact if I had had all the motives and provocations in the World to have done it I shall show your Lordship in point of time it could not be The Maid Sarah Walker who is the single Witness I take it that says any thing in the least relating to me said but now the Clock had struck 11 before she carried up the Coals and about a quarter of an hour after while she was warming the Bed above stalis she heard the Door clap and sometime after that she dame down and found that I and her Mistress were gone Now in point of time I shall prove it utterly impossible I could be guilty of the Fact I am accused of being seen to come into the Glove Inn as the Town Clock struck eleven and staying there more than a quarter of an hour was after several things done at my lodging in bed before twelve a Clock and went no more out that night as I shall prove As for that little circumstance of sending for my Horse which they have made use of all along to back this prosecution ●…neir very telling me of that matter shews how they are put to their shlfes to justifie their accusing me I say in prudence I ought to have done what I did I sent for him on the Tuesday but as their Witness saith I told him at the time I bid him setch my Horse not to use then nor till by the course of the Circuit I was to go into Essex with the Judges the next Morning and till then the Prosecutors Witness who is the Ostler of the Glove Inn was ordered to set him up there to litter him down and to take care of him and feed him and that he should be ready for me to go to Chelmsford on the morrow whither I went with the other Councel the next Morning being Wednesday and this my Lord is the whole of that matter My Lord this Business slept near Two Months after the Coroners Inquest before I heard of it or imagined my self to be concerned in it and was never stirr'd till two Parties differing on all other occasions had laid their Heads together I beg leave to let your Lordship a little into that matter to show you how this Prosecution came to be managed with so much noise and violence as it hath been I can make it appear that one of the greatest of the Quakers Mr. Mead by name has very much and indirectly too concerned himself in this matter it seems they fancy the Reputation of their Sect is concern'd in it for they think it a wonderful thing nay absolutely impossible however other People may be lyable to such resolutions that one who was by her Education intituled to the Light within her should run headlong into the Water as if she had been possest with the Devil of this they think their Sect is to be clear'd though byspilling the Blood of Four Innocent Men. The other sort of People that concur with the Quakers in this Prosecution I shall mention now I come to observe what the Witnesses are that have been produced against me some of them I have nothing to object to but that they are extreme Indigent and Poor and have been helped by the Prosecutor those that are so say nothing as to me others who live in this Town and give their Opinions of the manner of her Death are possess with much prejudice against me upon Feuds that have risen at the Elections of my Father and Brother in this Town and these with the Quakers have wholly

THE TRYAL OF Spencer Cowper Esq Iohn Marson Ellis Stevens and William Rogers Gent. Upon an Indictment for the Murther of Mrs SARAH STOUT a Quaker Before Mr Baron Hatsell at Hertford Assizes Iuly 18. 1699. Of which they were Acquitted With the Opinions of the Eminent Physicians and Chyrurgeons on both sides concerning Drowned Bodies delivered in the Tryal AND The several Letters produced in Court LONDON Printed for Isaac Cleave in Chancery-lane Matt. Wotton in Fleetstreet and Iohn Bullord 1699. I Do appoint Isaac Cleave Matthew Wotton and Iohn Bullord to Print the Tryal of Spencer Cowper Iohn Marson Ellis Stevens and William Rogers And that no other person presume to Print the same Hen. Hatsell The Tryal of Spencer Cowper Esq c. Die Mercurii 16 Iulii 1699. Proclamation was made for all persons concerned to attend Cl. of Arr. YOu good men that are empanell'd to enquire c. answer to your names and save your Fines Then Ellis Stephens William Rogers and Iohn Marson being upon Bail Proclamation was made for them to attend which they accordingly did and Mr Cowper was brought into Court by the Under-Sheriff Cl. of Arr. Spencer Cowper hold up thy hand which he did Iohn Marson hold up thy hand which he did Ellis Stevens hold up thy hand which he did William Rogers hold up thy hand which he did You stand Indicted by the names of Spencer Cowper late of the Parish of St Iohns in the Town of Hertford in the County of Hertford Esq Iohn Marson late of the Parish aforesaid in the County aforesaid Gent. Ellis Stevens late of the Parish aforesaid in the County aforesaid Gent. and VVilliam Rogers late of the Parish aforesaid in the County aforesaid Gent. For that you not having God before your eyes but being moved and seduced by the instigation of the Devil on the thirteenth day of March in the eleventh year of the Reign of his present Majesty by force and arms c. at the Parish aforesaid in the County aforesaid in and upon one Sarah Stout Spinster in the peace of God and our Soveraign Lord the King then and there being violently feloniously voluntarily and of your malice aforethought did make an assault and that you the aforesaid Spencer Cowper Iohn Marson Ellis Stevens and VVilliam Rogers a certain Rope of no value about the neck of the said Sarah then and there feloniously voluntarily and of your malice aforethought did put place fix and bind and the neck and throat of the said Sarah then and there with the hands of you the said Spencer Cowper Iohn Marson Ellis Stevens and William Rogers feloniously voluntarily and of your malice aforethought did hold squeeze and gripe And that you the said Spencer Cowper Iohn Marson Ellis Stevens and VVilliam Rogers with the aforesaid Rope by you the said Spencer Cowper Iohn Marson Ellis Stevens and VVilliam Rogers then as aforesaid about the neck of the aforesaid Sarah Stout put placed fixed bound and by the squeezing and griping of the neck and throat of the said Sarah with the hands of you the said Spencer Cowper Iohn Marson Ellis Stevens and William Rogers as aforesaid the said Sarah Stout then and there by force and arms c. feloniously voluntarily and of your malice aforethought did choak and strangle by reason of which choaking and strangling of her the said Sarah Stout by you the aforesaid Spencer Cowper Iohn Marson Ellis Stevens and VVilliam Rogers with the said Rope about the neck of the said Sarah Stout as aforesaid placed fixed and bound and by the squeezing and griping of the neck and throat of the said Sarah with the hands of you the said Spencer Cowper Iohn Marson Ellis Stevens and VVilliam Rogers as aforesaid the said Sarah then and there instantly dyed And so you the said Spencer Cowper Iohn Marson Ellis Stevens and VVilliam Rogers the said Sarah Stout on the thirteenth day of March in the year aforesaid in the Parish aforesaid in the County aforesaid in manner and form aforesaid feloniously voluntarily and of your malice aforethought did kill and murder and the said Sarah Stout as aforesaid by you the said Spencer Cowper Iohn Marson Ellis Stevens and VVilliam Rogers feloniously voluntarily and out of your malice aforethought choaked and strangled into a certain River there being called the Priory River then secretly and maliciously did put and cast to conceal and hide the said Sarah Stout so murdered against the peace of our Soveraign Lord the King his Crown and Dignity c. How sayst thou Spencer Cowper art thou Guilty of the Felony and Murder whereof thou standst Indicted or Not Guilty Mr Cowper Not Guilty Cl. of Arr. Culprit How wilt thou be tried Mr Cowper By God and my Country Cl. of Arr. God send you a good deliverance Then the other three pleaded likewise Not Guilty and put themselves upon their Country in manner aforesaid Then Proclamation was made for Information Cl. of Arr. You the Prisoners at the ●…ar These men that you shall hear call'd and personally appear are to pass between our Soveraign Lord the King and you upon Trial of your several lives and deaths Therefore if you will challenge 'em or any of 'em your time to speak is as they come to the Book to be Sworn before they be Sworn Then the pannel was called over Cl. of Arr. Do you design to ioyn in your Challenges or to Challenge separately Mr Cowper If we should Challenge separately there must be so many separate Tryals and therefore to prevent the trouble of the Court I am willing there should be but one Challenge for all Cl. of Arr. Gentlemen Do you all agree to that Prisoners Yes yes Then after some Challenges as well on the part of the King as of the Prisoners there not being a full Jury of the principal Pannel Mr Cowper IF your Lordship please the Pannel is now gone through I desire they may shew some legal Cause for their Challenges Mr Iones I conceive we that are retain'd for the King are not bound to shew any Cause or the Cause is sufficient if we say they are not Good for the King and that is allow'd to be a good Cause of Challenge for what other Cause can we shew in this Case You are not to shew your Cause you Challenge peremptorily so in this Case the King does Mr Cowper My Lord I stand at the Bar with some disadvantage to encounter a Gentleman that hath no Concernment but however I do take it for Law that there must be a Cause shew'd and that Cause must be a legal one and what that Cause is they must certainly make out I do think it ought to appear that there is some relation or some notorious affection or friendship or something of that sort or otherwise it is not a legal Cause of Challenge and if there seem to be any difficulty in this particular I hope your Lordship will assign me Councel to argue it with the Kings

should come wet shod from a Tavern where he had been sitting Four or Five Hours together Then the Examination of Mr. John Marson was read Mr. Iones All that I observe from it is this that he had been 5 hours in Town and when he came to his Lodging he came in wet and hot and said he was just come from London Mr. Marson I had rid 40 Miles that day and could not be soon cold Mr. Bar. Hatsell They have done now for the King come Mr. Cowper what do you say to it Mr. Iones If your Lorship please we will call one Witness more Mary Richardson Mrs. Richardson Do you know Mr. Marson or any of these Gentlemen Mrs. Richardson They came on Tuesday night to the Bell at Hodesdon and lay there and one of the Gentlemen when I was warming of the Sheets ask'd me if I knew Mrs. Sarah Stout and I said yes he ask'd me if I knew which way she came to her end and I told him I could not tell Mr. Iones Is that all what did they say more Mrs. Richardson They did desire and wish it might be found out how it came about and one Gentleman took no notice of her at all they had a little Bundle but what was in it I can't tell but there I see it bound up in some colour'd Stuff or other but what it was I can't tell Mr. Iones Is that all that you can say Mrs. Richardson Yes that 's all Mr. Iones Then we have done Mr. Bar. Hatsell Come Mr. Cowper what do you say to it Mr. Cowper Now they have done on the part of the King my Lord and you Gentlemen of my Jury I must beg your Patience for my Defence I confess it was an unfortunate Accident for me as Mr. Iones calls it that I hapned to be the last Person for ought appears in the Company of a melancholy Woman The Discourse occasioned by this Accident had been a sufficient Misfortune to me without any thing else to aggravate it but I did not in the least imagine that so little so Trivial an Evidence as here is could possibly have affected me to so great a degree as to bring me to this place to answer for the worst Fact that the worst of Men can be guilty of My Lord your Lordship did just now observe that I have appear'd at the Bar for my Clients but I must say too that I never appear'd for my self under this or the like Circumstances as a Criminal for any Offence whatsoever Mr. Jones very well said when he spoke on the part of the King that if this Gentlewoman was Murther'd the Crime was Villanous Base Barbarous and Cruel and for my part I think so too the Crime would be so great that it could never sufficiently be Condemned But at the same time I may averr that to suppose a Murther without good Grounds for it and afterwards to charge innocent Men with it knowingly and maliciously is to a Trifle as Base and Barbarous as the Murther it self could be My Lord I speak for my own part I know not at what Price other Men may value their Lives but I had much rather my self was Murther'd then my Reputation which yet I am sensible hath suffer'd greatly hitherto by the Malice and Artifice of some Men who have gone pretty far in making this Fact as Barbarous as it is to be Credited of me And therefore I must beg your Lordship's and the Jury's Patience while I not only defend my Life but justifie my self also from these things that have uniustly aspers'd me by the Conspiracy and Artifice of my Accusers My Lord in all the Evidence that hath been given I must observe there is no positive Evidence with Submission to induce the Jury or any one to believe the General that this Gentlewoman was Murthered but they go upon Suppositions and Inferences which are contradicted by other Circumstances in the very Evidence of the Prosecutor that make full as strong to prove she was not Murther'd as that she was so that as it stands it can amount only to a bare Suppositions that she was Murther'd by any body Then as to the Evidence that particularly relates to my self on the Gentlemen who stand with me at the Bar that they or I were concerned in it if she was Murther'd there is not one Syllable of Proof at most it amounts but to make us suspect of a Murther not proved but only suspected this I observe upon the Evidence as it now stands without Answer as it has been given on the King's Part and how far in the Case of Life Men shall be affected with Evidence of this Nature which neither proves the Murther in General nor that they did it in particular though no Defence was made or any further Answer given I must submit to your Lordship's and the Jury's Judgment But my Lord I do not doubt but I shall be able to wipe away even that remorse Suspicion by my Defence they have been long in their Evidence for the King and therefore I must beg your Patience while I give a particular Answer to every part of it in as good a Method as I am able and I will wast as little time as may consist with the justifying of my Reputation for which I know your Lordship will have as tender a regard to see it doth not suffer unjustly as for my Life it self And I promise your Lordship I shall trouble you with no Evidence which is not express and plain no Inuendo's or Suspicions but I shall prove fully and clearly in the first place that there was no Ground at all in this Case to suppose she was murther'd by any one but her self The first Fact that they insisted upon to inset a murther from it was that the Body was found floating now my Lord that Fact I am able by the Evidence I have as well as from that of the Prosecutor to deny for the Fact was directly otherwise that is she was not found floating And whereas the Prosecutor's Witnesses who have been produced to this Point are obscure and poor Men and your Lordship observes have been taught to say generally that she floated which when they are required to explain and describe how she lay they contradict themselves in by shewing she lay sideways between the Stakes and almost all under Water Now I shall give your Lordship and the Jury a full and particular Account and Description from the Parish Officers Men employ'd by the Coroner to take the Body out of the Water of the very Manner and Posture in which it was first found which they are much better able to do than the Prosecutor's Witnesses having seen her before all or most of those People and these Officers clearly agree that her Body was under Water when found except some small appearance of her Petticoats near or on the surface of the Water which may be very easily accounted for because the Stakes the Witnesses mention and which are

as you Gentlemen of the Long-Robe quote Cook upon Littlet●…n in others but I shall not trouble the Court long I shall only insist upon what Ambrose Parey relates in his Chapter of Remunciations He was chief Surgeon to Francis the First imploy'd by him in most of his Sieges and Battles against the Emperor Charles the Fifth and consequently must observe and could not be ignorant of such like Casualties in such great Bodies of Men. He tells us that the certain sign of a Mans being drown'd is an appearance of Froth about his Nostrils and Month. Now my Lord I think that every one of the King's Evidences observ'd it in the present Case and a Woman swore that she saw her purge at the Nose which could not be as he declares if the Person had been Strangled or otherwise killed before As to the quantity of Water requisire●…ro drown a Person I believe that three Ounces or less is enough to wit as much as will fill the Wind-pipe and so stop the breathing of the Person drowning I am not now to descant upon matter of Fact whether she drown'd her self but my firm Opinion is That she was drown'd for tho' sometimes not always there is Water found in the Bodies of such Persons yet wherever it be besides the Lungs it is ●…upersluons as to this end and accidental upon violent struglings Mr. Cowper I desire Mr. Harriot may be ask'd what Observations he hath made concerning this Matter Mr. Harriot My Lord when I was a Surgeon in the Fleet I made it always my Observation when we threw Men over-board that were kill'd some of them swam and some sunk and I remember particularly when the Sandwich was burnt we saw abundance leap off from on Board and they sunk directly but in a little time I observ'd some swim again Mr. Bar. Hatsell When a dead Body is thrown over-board does it sink or swim Mr. Harriot I always observ'd that it did sink when we were in the Channel and in time of Peace we never threw any over-board but we put some weight to them but it was not to make them sink but for decency sake that they might not be driven to Shore when they began to float Mr. Cowper I desire that Mr. Bartlet may be ask'd to the same purpose Mr. Bartlet I have been in several of the King's Ships of War that have been disabled and fore'd ro lye by in several Ingagements between the French and English and I never saw any Bodies float either of the Men that were killed in our Ship or in the Ships that have been near us I have not seen a Body upon the Surface of the Water Mr. Bar. Hatsell Another Witness said that after an Engagement he saw them swiming Mr. Bartlet I can't tell what he saw my Lord but what I say I am ready to make Oath of Mr. Cowper Dr. Camlin will you please to give my Lord and the Jury an Account whether you were employ'd by the Coroners Inquest to view the Body of Mrs. Stout after she was drowned and the Marks upon it and tell my Lord your Opinion of it Mr. Camlin I was sent for by the Coroner and Jury that sat upon the Body of Mrs. Sarah Stout the Coroner being then at her Mothers House and the Coroner desired Mr. Dimsdale and me to go and take notice of the marks upon her Neck and upon her Breast we view'd all about and perceiv'd a mark under her●…left Ear. we look'd to see if there was any Contusion and we perceiv'd a settlement of Blood upon her Breast and another upon her Arm and when we came back Mr. Dimsdale made the Report I stood by him at that time That it was only a common Settlement Mr. Cowper Pray Mr. Camlin was the Spot above or below the Collar-bone Mr. Camlin Below the Collar-bone Mr. Cowper What did Mr. Iohn Dimsdale say then concerning this Matter Mr. Camlin I understood that he was of Opinion that it was only a common Stagnation of Blood that happens in the Case of drowned People Mr. Bar. Hatsell Did he say so to the Jury Mr Camlin Mr. Dimsdale spake for us both and I understood him that it was a Stagnation that did commonly happen to drowned People and that was my Opinion of it too Mr. Cowper And that you agreed to be your Report Mr. Camlin Yes Mr. Cowper Pray Mr. Camlin was you present when the Child which was drowned in the same place was taken up Mr. Camlin Yes it was taken up some time after near the same place as I was told and there was more and greater signs of the Stagnation of Blood on the Body of this Child than on the Body of Mrs. Stout the Childs Face was black and discolour'd Mr. Bar. Hatsell How old was the Child Mr. Camlin Between 10 and 11 as near as I could guess Mr. Bar. Hatsell Had Mrs. Stout any signs of being strangled when you saw her first Mr. Camlin Nothing at all that I could discern Mr. Cowper My Lord I will give you no more trouble upon this Head I shall go now to the next thing I opened and shall prove substantially that this Gentlewoman is not only more to be suspected to have Murder'd her self than to be Murder'd by any body but 't is almost a certainty that she was the cause of her own Death Mr. Firmin I would begin withal if he be here But he not presently appearing Mr. Cowper Then my Lord if you please I will desire Mr. Bowd in the mean time to give your Lordship an Account of what he knows of the Melancholy of this Gentlewoman Mr. Bowd 'T was much about this time twelve month I had some Business in London and she sent to me to know when I should go to London and I waited upon her before I went and she desired me to do some Business for her and when I return'd I acquainted her with what I had done and Sitting together in the Hall I ask'd her what 's the matter with you Saith I there is something more than ordinary you seem'd to be Melancholy Saith she you are come from London and you have heard something or other Said I I believe you are in Love In Love said she Yes saith I Cupid that little Boy hath struck you home She took me by the Hand truly saith she I must confess it but I did think I should never be Guilty of such a Folly and I answered again I admire that should make you uneasy If the Person be not of that Fortune as you are you may if you love him make him happy and your self easy That can't be saith she the World shall not say I change my Religion for a Husband and sometime after I had been at London having bought some India Goods She came to my Shop and bought some of me for a Gown and afterwards she came to Pay me for it and I asked her how do you like it have you made it up No said she and

or 4 more of Clifford's Inn and there was a Discourse of the Marshall's attending my Lord Chief Justice out of Town to Hertford and Mr. Marson said It may be the Mar shal may require my waiting upon him too and the whole Company being known to Mr. Marshall and there being a Discourse of Mr. Marsholl's courting of Mrs. Stout saith one of the Company If you do go to Hertford pray enqu●…re after Mr. Marshall's Mistress and bring us an account of her Mr. Iones Who was in company Mr. Hunt There was Mr. Heath Mr. Foster Mr. Marson Mr. Stevens Mr. Bevor and Mr. Marshall Mr. Marson Now it was this Discourse that gave us occasion to talk of this Woman at Gurreys House which we did openly and harmlessly Mr. Foster Do you remember any thing of our talking of this Gentlewoman on Sunday Night Mr. Foster Yes I and they were talking that they should go to Hertford the next Day to wait on the Marshall in compliment to my Lord Chief Justice and go as far as Hertford and there being a Report that Mr. Marshall courted this Woman we put it in a jesting way Pray enquire after Mr. Marshall's Mistress how the Match goes on for there was some Wagers between him and the Company who should be married first and so in a jocular way it went about and Mr. Marson or Mr. Stevens said They would do their endeavour and they would enquire after the Lady and give as good an account of her as they could Mr. Stevens If you please my Lord we will call another to this purpose Mr. Bar. Hatsell No I think you need not for it seems not material Then Mr. Hanks was call'd Mr. Hanks I came as far as Waltham's Cross to wait upon my Lord Chief Justice I staid there till about 4 or 5 a Clock and then set out for London and I met with Mr. Marson who importun'd me to go back with him to Hertford and accordingly I did so and we came in about 7 or 8 at Night and we enquired after the Marshal of the King's Bench and where he had set up his Horses and we found him in the Coffee-House just by the Court and we went and set up our Horses and came again to him from thence we went to the Glove and Dolphin Tavern these 3 Gentlemen and the Marshall and one Mr. Rudkin came afterwards to us and we staid till about 11 at the Glove and Dolphin Mr. Marson Do you remember how we rid Mr. Hanks Yes very hard Mr. Bar. Hatsell What time did you come in to the Tavern Mr. Hanks Between 7 and 8 as I remember Mr. Bar. Hatsell And did you stay there till past 11 Mr. Hanks Till about 11 little more of less we went away together in order to drink a Glass of Wine with them at their Lodging but Mr. Rutkin considering that he was to drink a Glass of Wine and lye with the Marshall thought it would disturb the Marshall so faith he I will not go in but we saw them go into their Lodgings and returned to the Bull where we eat part of a Fowl and I was never out of Mr. Marson's company all that time Mr. Marson When you took your leave of me don't you remember that the Door was clapt too Mr. Hanks I can't remember that Mr. Marson Mr. Gurry saith I never went out after I came home Mr. Rutkin pray give an account to my Lord and the Gentlemen of the Jury of what you know of my coming to Hertford Mr. Rutkin My Lord I came to wait on the Marshal of the King's Bench to Hertford and when we were come to Hertford we put up our Horses at the Bull and made ourselves a little clean we went to Church and din'd at the Bull and then we walk'd in and about the Court and diverted our selves till about 7 a Clock and between 7 and 8 a Clock came Mr. Marson and Dr. Hanks to Town and then we agreed to go to the Dolphin and Glove to drink a Glass of Wine the Marshall went to see an ancient Gentleman and we went to the Dolphin and Glove and staid there till past 10 a Clock and after the Reckoning was paid we went with them to their Lodging with a Design to take a Glass of Wine but then I consider'd I was to lie with the Marshal and for that reason I resolv d not to go in but came away and went to the Bull Inn and after I drank part of a Pint of Wine and afterwards I went to the next Door to the Bull Inn where I lay with the Marshall Mr. Iones What time did the Gentlemen go to their Lodging Mr. Rutkin I am not positive as to that but I believe it was about 11 a Clock Mr. Marson If your Lordship pleases now I 'll call some Persons to give an Account of me Mr. Cox Mr. Cox I have known Mr. Marson a long time and had always a good Opinion of him I don t believe 5000l would tempt him to do such a Fact Mr. Marson Capt. Wise I desire you would please to speak what you know of me Mr. Cowper My Lord because these Gentlemen are Strangers in the Country I think if in taking an account of any Evidence for my self there is any thing occurs to me that they may have a just advantage of I think I ought not to conceal it for I am as much concern'd to justifie their Innocence as my own The principal Witness against them is one Gurrey and I will prove to you that since he appear'd in this Court and gave his Evidence he went out in a triumphant manner and boasted that he by his management had done more against these Gentlemen than all the Prosecutors Witnesses could do besides to add to that I have another piece of Evidence that I have been just acquainted with My Lord it is the Widow Davis Gurrey's Wives Sister that I would call Major Lane My Lord I have known Mr. Marson ever since he was two years old and never saw him but a civiliz d Man in my life he was well bred up among us and I never saw him given to Debauchery in all my life Mr. Bar. Hatsell Where do you live Major Lane In Southwark my Lord. Mr. Bar. Hatsell Well what do you say Mrs. Davis Mrs. Davis I came to the House where these Gentlemen lodg'd I was in about half an Hour and my Sister ask'd me to air two or three Pair of Sheets when I had air'd the Sheets she ask'd me to go up and help to lay them on and before I had laid them on these Gentlemen came into the Room Mr. Bar. Hatsell What Hour Mrs. Davis By the time of my going out again I believe it might be about to or something better and they drank three Quarts of Wine and they had some Bread and Butter and Cheese carried up and so they went to Bed and after my Brother went to fetch Mr. Gape that lay at his House