OCR Text |
Show Letters ti·otn Northern Men. " Tl1e J,ord kerp thef' and bles.~ thee. Tlu• Lord make His face to Jhine ttpon thee, a?ld be .'lracious u11to thre. 'l_'lw Lord l(ft up /lis countenance upon thee, rmd git;e tl1ce peace," i the dmly prayer of Your sincere friend and brother, I. H. C. "GOOD-BY'S LETTER."* N o'rem ber 26th. M Dear l\1r Drown i have been Gocing to send you a few lines for t~is last three weeks but Owing to my work i could not find the time as i am a Poor l\fan and have to work very hard but i colltl not re -t without writting as a little Comfort to you as a young Com·crt on my way to heaven i have felt & shed tears. for you from the bottom of my heart i have thought of you often m the. dead hours of Night God bless you as been my Pra~ers and he will bless you fori expct you will ware a bright crown m heaven yes Glory be to God tharc is a l~lace Prepared for you in that better & happy land whare we will meet to part no more God bless you Goon DYE. FROM AN OLD FRIEND. YouxosviLI.E, \VAltREN Co., PENN., Nov. 26. ... I have always held you in grateful remembrance, as the best friend I ever had, and to whom I owe every thing for whatever I am or may be; for ·which I shall always bear you in mind; and any thing I can do for any of your family hereafter, will be most cheerfully done .•.. l\fy wife sends her best respects to you and.yot~s; believing that your mind is fully made up to put your trust m God, who works all things after the counsel of his own ·will, and for the best possible good. Yours truly, JAMEs FoRMAN.t FROM .AN OHIO CLEUGYl\IAN. CINCINNATI, Onro, Nov. 26. My Dear Christian Brother : I hope you will not consider it impertinent or intrusive in me to write you. I am only a stranger to you i but, as a minister of Christ, I feel anxious to send you some word of encouragement and consolation at this trying moment of your life, standing as you do under the very shadow of approaching doom. T~1e ex.e~utors of penal law, under which you arc held, manifest no d1spostt10n to relent or mitigate the rigors of the penalty pronounced upon you. I theref..>re feel that in coming to you by this epistle I am intruding upon * So labcllod by John Brown. t See roply-" Public Life," p. 368. ! .. etters fro1n Northern Me n. :199 you in the mid-;t of reflection!'~ uncl ~;olemnitics inconceivably momentous and sacred. Of the brief nnd waning period allowed you by your captors, only six days now remain, ancl by the time this f<hall meet your eye this meagre frngment of spnec will have dwindled to !lours, nnd tl1e gloomy clcath~pngeant preparing to encircle your execution will be about ready for the gaze of eager thousands, 'rhom Rympnthy, curio~ity, or hatred will gather together. I long to say something to you that may in :;orne way breathe consolation nnd inf<pire frc~h anti holy outgoings of hope, courage nnd confidence in God. And yet I know God is with you, nnd his pre!'irncc and favor nrc infinitely better nnd dearer than any sympathy and condoll'nce of your brethren in Christ. And yet I know that a snd yet hopeful, n painful yet prayerful, remcml>rnnte of you by tho~e who nrc in tipirit with you, while widl'ly separated from you, "·ill not bc painful to you nor unacceptable to Uod. I most ferwntly pray that you may find, through Divine Grace, that however severe t1te trial that approaches, and howevt'r sad all that is now passing upon you may be, "according to your dny so shall your strength he." God exercise:; His govemment in wisdom, love, and mercy, and he docs and will overrule nll thing-; for IIi:; glory and the final goocl and Ralvation of all that put their tru~t in Him. !''ear not; God will gird thee with strength, und gi vc a mcetncss and n divine readiness for your great trinls; and may hr turn your captivity and death, if you must die, to His glory and the 1inal deliverance of all the oppressed of this land. 11 Faithful is Ilc that hath cnlled you, who also will do it.'' The events thnt have been brought about recently through your agency have convulsed the nation, and stirred the popular heart to its utmost depth, and the minions of oppression have been made to quake with fear. \Vhat is to be the result God only knows, but this, I think, is already apparent, the cause of J·)·eedom is immeasurably stronger than it was before you struck your blow at Harper's Ferry, and were permitted to stand forth a captive among slaveholders and doomed to die. I herewith inclo. e you a few lines which I have penned almost involuntarily upon one of the most heroic sentences that have been pronounced in modern times, ·which the public prints record as yours. This alone is enough to give glory to your captivity; and the spirit that could give utterance to it will make your death a triumph, both for yourself and fmff'cring humanity. Very truly and sympathetically, Your brother in Chri t, n. K. ::\1. P. S. Shoultl time and your dying condition permit, write merely |