as did Paul when soundly converted, there would not be power enough in all the military force of Virginia to hang John Brown. But enough of this. I have never believed that Virginia, for her own honor, would hang you; but she may, (my heart is too full, my tears flow too fast to write,) if she does, such a funeral as the sun never saw before, will follow. Keep up good courage; a few more rising and setting suns, and the struggle will be over; and the thrice welcome words will reach your ears, "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you." I have been a resident of Washington County for thirty-eight years; left Fort Edward, New York, May, 1858, and am sure I have met you, but cannot tell where; but if faithful to the grace already given, I am sure I shall meet you again, and I know where. Praise the Lord, on that blissful shore, where the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are forever at rest. You will not be permitted, like Moses, to return after forty years to engage afresh in the struggle for freedom: but God will raise up others, in his own good time, to carry forward the work. Farewell, till we meet in Heaven; for, when we reach the landing place, - "In the realms of endless light We'll bid this world of noise and show We'll stem the storm," &c. Your unworthy friend and brother in the Lord, J. M. B. Ellenville, New York, Nov. 25. Dear Brother: We are personally strangers, but we cherish for God and Humanity the same love and trust. Permit me, then, a brother in bonds with the bound, to extend to you my Christian sympathy and prayer in this hour of your trial. Be assured, my dear brother, that the heart of the nation is with you; that whatever the difference in the mode of our operation, our purpose, "to break every fetter," is the same. I am grateful that God and your own heart sustain you in your journey" Home." You and I do "worship the same God," — the God of righteousness and justice, who weigheth motives; and though acts are defeated, will not fail to reward good intentions. I trust there is upon your mind no doubt of your acceptance with God through the merits of our Lord Jesus Christ. The little I have read of your confident avowal of the Divine Mercy towards you, cheer me with the hope that though men kill the body, God will nourish the spirit — the man — under His own pavilion of light forever. I trust you will esteem it no reproach that wicked men plot against you, and put you to death on the gibbet. The gibbet, and the cross, and the fagot, have often been honored by men of whom the world was not worthy. Had you been successful, men would have called you a hero; but because defeated — I forbear the rest. My heart sickens at the thought that conscience, and divine trust, and self-sacrificing benevolence must lie in a cell and await a cruel death. But we now build monuments for those whom others murdered, and God shall yet build yours, not perhaps in bronze or marble shaft, but in a nation of free and happy men, who shall rise up and call you the Moses of their Redemption. You need not fear that your family will suffer want; God and the good will succor them. And now, my dear brother, will you not indulge me with at least a short reply. I shall cherish it long, and gather inspiration from its sight for other conflicts in behalf of religion and liberty. I too have a family of children, and I desire that they should live for the oppressed; and, if such is God's will, die fighting their battles. I will surely swear them at God's altar to eternal hatred of American and every other Slavery. I shall pray fervently every day until you depart, that God may be with you and comfort you. . . ... I am very sincerely your brother in the cause of religion and right, J. P. Pastor of the M. E. Church, Ellenville, Ulster Co., N. Y. New York, November 25. My Dear Friend: I rejoice in the strength and courage vouchsafed to you in your present emergency. Our good Father is on your side, and this fact places you in the majority. Good men, every where, will ever revere your name. Unselfish integrity has made that name immortal. God bless you! Farewell, N. S. New York, November 26, 1859. Dear Sir: Will you favor me with your autograph, which I will highly prize as the best memento of one who is about to sacrifice his life in a great and noble cause. Pardon my intrusion upon your last moments for that which may seem to you of little moment or consequence; but I assure you that it will be ever retained by me with that respect which is due the name of a man who makes so great a sacrifice. May He who is no respecter of persons, guide and sustain you in these the last moments of your existence, and safely lead you to that home which awaits you, is the humble prayer of your obedient servant, E. T. New York, Thursday, November 24. My Dear Friend: The writer of this letter to you may be personally unknown, but is a deep sympathizer, in connection with thousands of others, whose hearts are engaged in prayer for you and your fellow prisoners, who are now under sentence of death in the prison of Virginia, for entertaining the principles of Freedom and Liberty to the captive in bonds, as though in bonds with him. Your cause is a good one. Bear up, brave warrior! under the approaching trial and the day that you will be called upon to seal the truth with your blood! These are the days that try men's souls, and are like the days of old in which the martyrs fought, bled, and died. No doubt but on the day of execution, millions of prayers will be offered up to the God of Heaven and earth in your behalf, from Christian hearts, who feel with you and for you; and of this you may have the fullest assurance in the hour of trial. Ever yours in truth and friendship, L. W. T. FROM A "LOVER OF JUSTICE." Philadelphia, November 29. Dear Sir: Feeling a true, and I trust, a sincere sympathy for your being under bonds, and with desire your punishment may be commuted to imprisonment, and that thereby your life may be spared, I have implored his Excellency Gov. Wise in your behalf several times, and I trust it may be done. My dear old man, I have no doubt you have acted agreeably to what you considered a duty; but sound sense and the law of the land, show evidently you acted wrong, and have been guilty of a great folly in judgment, and I trust those who may have the power will think so, — that it was an error of judgment and not of principle; and that they may be influenced by a principle of mercy, instilled by Him who is the author of all good, to show you and those who are with you mercy, and thereby allay, in a great measure, the hostile feelings in the North, that your execution will produce. If you have to suffer this severe penalty, you will be for. ever immortalized as a true martyr of Liberty, and be the cause without doubt of laying a foundation stone of the Liberty party of the North, South, East, and West, that will not rest until the fabric of the Institution of Slavery shall be shaken unto its foundations. But it must be done constitutionally, and not by violence that would produce a greater evil than the one you attempted to eradicate, pro ducing bloodshed and revolution, and all its horrors; and it would be trampling upon the rights of your fellow-citizens, as you did. It is a work of time. God in his own time will bring it about; fear not. I sincerely trust your life may be spared. If not, trust in the loving power of God Almighty, and He will sustain you and give you a seat among the righteous martyrs who have gone before you. Your family, no doubt, will be well taken care of, and may the Lord in His Infinite Mercy be with you in life or death, is my most earnest prayer. You are generally believed to be an honest and upright man, but a very deluded one on the subject of Slavery; and it being a delusion of judgment and not of principles, I pray you may have mercy extended to you and your associates. Yours truly, A Lover of Justice. "Needs no reply," is the comment written on this letter by John Brown himself. TO JOHN BROWN. FROM MARCUS SPRING. EAGLESWOOD, Nov. 28, 1859. My Dear and Venerated Sir: Ever since my dear wife and son's visit of sympathy to you, and your excellent wife's short sojourn with us, I have felt a strong desire to write to you some words of cheering and strengthening sympathy. But I could say nothing, of this kind, that is not better said in the two hymns I here send you, which have been blessings to me, and many others, in times of trial. With the most earnest wish and prayer that God may be with you to the last, and that in surrendering your life as an offering in behalf of the oppressed, you may also be enabled to feel, towards all who have misunderstood you, "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do," and "incline the hearts of this people to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly before God," as the only course of true safety, and solid national prosperity and peace, I remain, sincerely your friend, Marcus pri g. Co rage a d Hope. Awake, our souls; away our fears; True 'tis a strait and thorny road, But they forget the mighty God, Who feeds the strength of every saint; Though like the wanderer, the sun gone down, Darkness be over me, my rest a stone; Yet in my dreams I'd be "Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee." There let the way appear steps unto heaven ; All that thou sendest me in mercy given; Angels to beckon me "Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee." Then with my waking thoughts bright with thy praise, Out of my stony griefs Bethel I'll raise : So by my Woes to be "Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee." Or, if on joyful wing, cleaving the sky, Sun, moon, and stars forgot, upward I fly, Still all my song shall be, "Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee." S. F. Adams. |