His most famous work, the "Confessions," was published after his death.
We took our next objection when the confessions were produced in evidence.
For the first of these, secrecy; it is indeed the virtue of a confessor. And assuredly, the secret man heareth many confessions.
We declared that they had been extorted by terror, or by undue influence; and we pointed out certain minor particulars in which the two confessions failed to corroborate each other.
He charged, in relation to the confessions, that no weight should be attached to a confession incited by hope or fear; and he left it to the jury to determine whether the confessions in this case had been so influenced.
"I admit," he said, "that this expedition has already been a wonderfully good thing for me. These confessions have made me look into all sorts of things--squarely. But--I'm not used to talking about myself or even thinking directly about myself.
We had vainly trusted to the evidence on these two points to induce the court to reject the confessions: and we were destined to be once more disappointed in anticipating that the same evidence would influence the verdict of the jury on the side of mercy.