ought by Concord farmers that their children
might enjoy the blessings of an impartial administration of
justice under the law, he said that it was unlikely that Wyman
could have abstracted large sums from the bank and no trace
of the money be found in his possession. He was a man of
small property, living simply and plainly, without extravagant
habits or anything which would have been likely to tempt him
to such crime. When Huntington came to reply he said, very
roughly: "They want to know what's become of the money.
I can tell you what's become of the money. Five thousand
dollars to one counsel, three thousand dollars to another,
two thousand to another," waving his hand in succession toward
Webster and Choate and Dexter. Such fees, though common enough
now, seemed enormous in those days. Choate smiled in his
peculiar fashion, and said nothing; Franklin Dexter looked
up from a newspaper he was reading, and exclaimed: "This is
beneath our notice"; but Mr. Webster rose to his feet and
said with great indignation: "Am I to sit here to hear myself
charged with sharing the spoils with a thief?" The presiding
judge said: "The counsel for the Government will confine
himself to the evidence." That was all. But Mr. Webster
was deeply incensed. The jury disagreed. Mr. Webster came
to the next trial prepared with an attack on Huntington, in
writing, covering many pages, denouncing his method and conduct.
This he read to my brother. But Huntington who, as I have
said, adored Webster, was unwilling to have another encounter--
not in the least from any dread of his antagonist, but solely
from his dislike to have a quarrel with the man on earth he
most reverenced. Accordingly, Mr. Wells, the District Attorney
of Greenfield, was called in, who conducted the trial at Lowell
and succeeded in getting a conviction. My brother, who was
very fond of Huntington, took an occasion some time afterward
to tell Mr. Webster how much Huntington regretted the transaction,
and how great was his feeling of reverence and attachment
for him. Mr. Webster was placated, and afterward, when an
edition of his speeches was published, sent a copy to Huntington
with an inscription testifying to his respect.

The general reader may not care for the legal history of
the trial, but it may have a certain interest for lawyers. Mr.
Wyman was indicted for embezzlement of the funds of the bank
under the Revised Statutes of Massachusetts, which provi