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Show Henry Ward Beech r. look for A BETTER 'VA Y; to !-ltnnd and S<'areh for the old way, th right way, and to walk in it! I JH' 'tl not stop to point out the r rmarkable p rtin ·nc·e which these things have, in many n'SfH'ct;-;, to our nation in the pa:-;t, and to our times in the pre~ nt. I avail myself, this evening, aft r a long silence upon this subj ect., in your mi<l:·;t, of the state of the pul>lic mind, to utt r some words of in. trueLion on the present state of our land. The surpri ·e of the whole nation, at a recent event, is itself the best evidence of the isolation of that event. A burning fragm nt struck the earth near Ila.rper's F e rry I f the fragm •nt uf an exploding a ·rolite hml f~tllen down out of the air, while the meteor , wept on, it would not kn·o been more suduen, ot· less apparently connected eith •r with a ca.u, e or an effect! Seventeen men, white men, 'vithout a military ba:e, without suppli •s, without artillery, without organization more thnn a ·quad of militin, attacked a State, and undert ook to r elease and lead away an ·n8lav d race ! 'I'ht>y do not appear to have been ·allcll l>y the sufferers, nor to ha ve been welcomed by them. They volunteered a grace, nnu Rougllt to enforce its acceptnncc. cv nte n white men lllTOtlllded two thousand, ami held them in durc . They barri ·ade<l t I1cm. elves and wait d until the troop of two Htat :, tl1e rnployee:-; of' ~: great railway, and a portion of the fore . oC the I~"'ed c ml Govern~cnt could, travelling uri kly night :mel d:1y, r each them. Then, at one dash, they were snuffed out! . , I d.o not ~'onder that Virginian feel a great deal of mortt1Ieatwn ! 1~ very body is sympathetically ashamed for thrm ! It is quite natural that every effort . hould be made to enlar,.,.e the proportions of' tl~i:; e capn<lc, that they may hide tltc~r weakness ana incompetency behind a smartly npblown horl'O l'! . No one doubts the bravery of' Virginian~. It, needs no prn t sJ~lg. But even brave men have panic·. Courage is sometHncs caught at un.a. wares · Cei't.". m. I y, h., s t n' k~ cs us, at a Henry Ward Be chcr. 2 )9 di stance, as a rrmarkahle thing, that pri ·oncrs thr c to ono more than th 'ir c: tpt or~ , and two thouRan<l citizens, ;o;hould ha Ye n •mained <.lays an<l uights und ' l' the fear :111<l conlrol of s ·v ·nt een white men. North rn courage lm.' b ·en at a discount in the outh hitherto. It ought hcrcaJt r to ri:;e in vn.1u ' - at l ast in Virginia. The diligence which i.· now Rhown, on the part of mnny public presse , to inflame the public mind, and jufcct it with ft•ar, iR quite foolish. The ino •ulation will not take. The North may not be courageous, hut it certain1y is not silly. T'here is an e1 ·ment, of the ltulicron in this tra.n action whi ·h I think will cm·ctually top all panic. Seventc n men ten·ifi ·u two thou:-;ancl brave Virginians into two days' submiss ion- tltat cannot be got o\·er! The common . <'11. e of common people will not f:til to :ec through all attempt. to hitle a natural shame by a l>ungling mnkobeli<' Ye that the danger wa , r 'ally greater than it wa. ! The danger was nothing, and the fear v •ry grent, and the courage none at all. And nothing can now change the fa ct ' ! All the uewspapcrs on earth will not make t hi::1 (':\. · nppenr any better. Do what you please; mn!:' tCt' a CI'O\\'d of suppo:-\ed confederate:-:, call the roll of conspirator:--, and indud' the nol>lest m •n in tit ·. e S tntef-;, ~tnd exhibit this imaginary army before the people, nnd in the end it will appear that sevr.nt<·<·n white m ·n o\· ·raw 'd a town of t,wo thousand l>ravc Vir~ inianc;, aml held them enptivcs until the un had gone, laughing, twice round the globe ! And the attempt to hide the fear of the. e SUJTounded mr n by awaking a larger fear, will never do. It js too lit ·ral a fulfilm ent, not exactly of Prophecy, but of E able- not or I aiah, hut JEsop. A fox, having been caught jn a trn.p, escaped with the lo::<s of l1is tnil. llc immediately went to his brother foxes to persu: H1e lhl'tn that they would aU look better if they, too, would cut ofl' their caudal nppcndagcs. They <leclincd. Aud our |
