The Colonel looked about him loftily, as if casting in his mind what would be the proper occupation of a person of such multifarious interests and then said with dignity:
“A gentleman, sir. My father used to always say, sir”—
“Capt. Sellers, did you ever see this man, this supposed father?”
“No, Sir. But upon one occasion, old Senator Thompson said to me, its my opinion, Colonel Sellers”—
“Did you ever see any body who had seen him?”
“No, sir: It was reported around at one time, that”—
“That is all.”
The defense then spent a day in the examination of medical experts in insanity who testified, on the evidence heard, that sufficient causes had occurred to produce an insane mind in the prisoner. Numerous cases were cited to sustain this opinion. There was such a thing as momentary insanity, in which the person, otherwise rational to all appearances, was for the time actually bereft of reason, and not responsible for his acts. The causes of this momentary possession could often be found in the person’s life. [It afterwards came out that the chief expert for the defense, was paid a thousand dollars for looking into the case.]
The prosecution consumed another day in the examination of experts refuting the notion of insanity. These causes might have produced insanity, but there was no evidence that they have produced it in this case, or that the prisoner was not at the time of the commission of the crime in full possession of her ordinary faculties.
The trial had now lasted two weeks. It required four days now for the lawyers to “sum up.” These arguments of the counsel were very important to their friends, and greatly enhanced their reputation at the bar but they have small interest to us. Mr. Braham in his closing speech surpassed himself; his effort is still remembered as the greatest in the criminal annals of New York.