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Show William A. Phillips. larJy eonstitnte<l authorities" who took his life. IIumbly he knelt to his God, anti then laid his head on the block. Trembli ng, as he gazed on that noble form, the executioner hc·itnted, and a ked, - " ' Vill you rise again ? " "Nut till the final re:=;uJTection - strike on." Thus were slain A lgernon Sydney aml John llrown. Bot.h of them disregai'tlctl "con:5 tituted authori t ies." Both of them knew that the vitality of theit· race wa ' a Protest against wrong, and both scaled their Protes ts with their }i,·e:. How little we know of the infinite wi dom and merr.y of the God of the UniYcrse. If there is one who doubts of his guidiwr l1and in all our present atf<tir:::, let him look to the C\'ent: of the past two months. I wa ' in Le~wcnworth when the telegraph brought the strange news of " Insurrec tion at IIarpcr's l~""eny !" Then came the sad intelligence to Kansas, that ,John Brown of O:'awatomie, l~a~i, Steph en~, Thompson, Anderson, and the others were of the party, and <.l 'ad, or dy ing. Lying wounded and Lloody iu the han<.ls of the Virginians, . orne of whom had similarly attaekcd u:; - u: , uot similarly, for they came to plant Shn·c ry, and he went to proclaim Frceuom. Then, when we hcm·d that all were Hot yet <lead, although dreadfully wounded, we pray ed that tl1ey might die as befitted b1·ave soldier~, and not that they should be exhibit ed on an ignominiou gibbet. Ah, my fri<•nd~, we had but little faith in God, or humanity. IIow unerringly grand the finger that g uidecl all these events ! L ook to J ohn Brown, surYiving tl1at d '.' pera tc charge, covered "ith wounds and yet recovering, and e~ca ping lhe f11ry of the Virginians aftc1· he wa di~armcd and helpless. ' Vhy was it ? lie was spared to write tlw ·e g rancl letters. To utter those simple but solemn P1·otcs ts against the crime of Shn-ery. To stand as thP, r epresentative of the Anti-=-- lavcry sentiment. Hated because he wa:::;. To Protest ao-ainst the 0 William A. Phillips. wrong with his life, and to meet suclt a death undismayed. Two month ago re pcctable paper. were fain to sti o-matizc him, tha t they might Jwply e cape the u picion of ~ ympathizing with llim. Now, no re pectable paper would like to do such a thing. Then, honorable members of Congress compared him to a highwayman, who now trace the mainsprings of his nction to (Jefferson, Clu·istianity, and God. The time is coming, when an impartial posterity will calmly review the career of John BrO\vn, - the cause for which he died, and the men who remorselessly took his life ; and looking from this generation to his sacrifice, will r ecoo-- nize in them the A GE and the l\lAN. 0 |