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Show Fales Henry Newhall. portry will w ave them jn the f'ame garland. B mlrn mnde mistak rs, - he ~·aw them him 'elf' when too la t <',-great, grave mistake , but thry we re mistakes of the head not of the h ' nrt.* Jijs hem·t was true to Goll and man through nll. And, thcr fore, I r ejoice to believe that bctwe n cl ven and twelve o'clock la t Fritlny for enoon be h 'ard from the Judge of' all fl esh the .words, ""\Veil done I good aud fitithful servant." I wo11hl now say ·omcthiug of J ohn llrowu's charact r as a man and as a Chri ·tian; for it i in the light oC that character that we ~:: ee the mortal conflict of which I have spoken between Chri ' tianity and American Slavery. The broad blaze of that character, lustrous in the glory of Chri tinnity, suddenly falls upon this abomination, draws thither the gaze of aU the world, ami at a fia h r eveal every h orrid limb n.nd feature, from the foot planted in the depths of hell, to the head that "dares afTi·ont the throne of God." This grim, gri~ly l\foloch hnd lain in the dark, wallowing in the blood of his victims ; J ohn 13rown passe by, and hi cha racter i~tll' on the monster in a flash of radiance, and at the ame instant the whole panic-strick en South, in its spasm of terror, unwittingly : houts to the world, "Look there I behold our Gou !" It i unnecessary for me to attempt to dclinen.te his chnractcr at length- you all know i t, for it is transparent. A few months ago most of us thought of him as a bold, rough, reckless outlaw, imbitter ed by the loss of his property, and the lo s of his sons in ICansas. Ilad he been shot down in the engine-hou. e at Harper's F erry, that would have been our mental daguerreotype of old Osawatomie. But God did not allow that cowardly United State lie utenant, who could smite a man disarmed and prostrate, to take his life ; he would :fir t show his face to the land and to the world. And all who I ~ave * 'rhnt is to flny, in not regarding every white Virg inian us nn on c.my, for wllom no sympntlly wus to l>o felt. Ho should not hnvo " rognnlcd tho feolings of their families" when ho nrrrstcd his prisoners; ho should only h two r omoml>crcd their crimes ngain st hnnmnit.y. Had ho dono so llo would h a ve ucou living o.n<l o. con queror to-day. 1t is o. misto.ko tllnt iii not likely to bo mauo again. J. R. .. Fales I-Icnry N cwhall. 207 lookr ll on thnt face, friend or fo , hnvc look ed with n.we and admirati on. Ilow . trang ! how sublime is .John Brown's victor!/ at ll arpc r'~ 11"'el'l'y l lie <'Onque r •d all thnt looked upon hin fttee. liow nll nrou11d dwnrle<l in to in ·ignificance in the presence of thn.t ohl wounded p ri:oner, doomcu to a felon':-3 death! \Vlmt man in a lll illioa could have won such a Yictory ? lie , toou like a born pr ince among tb ·m ; ev ry wonl, look, and g '. ture :-;!towed him to l>e of the r oyal line. lie ~ee m ·d prede;-;tinn.tetl for the . pot by •ducatioo, associa-ti o n ~, aml nne •stry,- fo rcon1aine<l for the hour. · Th 'rc i ::; in hi :-~ <:h:tnu·tcr such a b au tif'ul Himplicity, that every word and act op "ns n. window i11 hi. ho:om til rough which you sec the man to th ' v<' ry cor<'. lnflcxible purpose and S partan courage wne wr itten on eve ry lineament of his face, while yet a childlik artle~s n e:3:-; pl:ty(·d ov r c,·ery feature, aml lof'ty Chri:-<tian fa ith b lend •d wi th tl1e lig htning dec i:-:~ i on that flashed from hi::; eye. J Ie wn:-: of' the old Puritn.n ~ t oelc ; hi ~ fi f'th anct•stor was P eter Hrown, of the 1\fayf!ower and of Plymouth Rock. T he ~ piri t of Dun bar nnrl Ta~·why had come throbl.Jjng through tJH'sc :mcc tors to h is sou l. II is gmndfather ·:+:· \·vas a captain in th Revolution, nu<.l he hinl :-;<•lf, when a boy, stood by h i5 fttthcr to witness Gen ·ral HuH':; ~ urre nd er. Thus did he draw in with his mother's mi lk the Jove of Frc dom and the ~ ·:n· of God. lli.- soul was steep ed in r eYolutionary memories, and his chil<li: lt imngination was peopled with the martyrs of r eligion, and the martyrs of freedom, side by s ide. A. Hannibal, when a child, swore upon the altar eternal hatred to R ome, his country's enemy, so he, in hi very cltildhood, vowed to hate and fight through lifo his country's fi erce t mor tal foe - Am rican Slavery. E arly in life he learned to fear and love the God of his fathers ; solemnly devoted his head, heart, and hand to God, and took upon him elf the holy vows of the Christian life anu the Chris .. * lii!l gmmlfat ltors a uLI gmu!l undo all officers in tho Hovolut ionnry str ug~l o. J . R. |
