Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1851-01-31

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that the egsft hesitated y let the ease pro
coed andes is management.
has TSlEr name heenentared on thesrelIs
q me StA demanded the Judge suspi.
caously. - ~
~ EnatsIal about my names being
entered your srolls. # answered the stran-
ger nls thlp bloodless lips curling up into q
hendish snfer / may Be allowed to appes
once, by e8 courtesy, Of the Court aud bar
u ere Is E license from the highest tribu-
nal 10 Atlsfleaf and he banded Judge
Mills bod parchmenta
The tlis lnmediately went on.
In dissemination Of witnesses, the stran-
ger sElnqs but Little iaseauity, As WIS com
monty tbV0ght He Suffered each one to
tell his eNn story without interruption,
though hejeontriyed to make each of them
tell it cyPI.tRo or three times, He put few
cross, queatons, which, with keen witnesses
only serYeAo correct mistakes; and he made
no notes. Which in mighty memories, always
tend to etabarrass The examination being
ended az sunsel for the plaintiff he had a
right to 'the opening speech, as well as the
close butato the astonisAmeht sf every one
he declined the former, and allowed the de-
fence TOT bad of Then a'shadow might
have beee observed to<fit across the fine fea.
lures Of Pie, and 70 darken even the bright
eyes of PAntiss They saw that they had
caught Tartar but who ii was, or how it
happened, Il was immpossible to guess
Colonel "A shley, spoke first He dealtthe
jury dish of that close, dry logic, which,
years afterwards, rendered him famous in
the Senatesoft the United States
frba us,.A Alhart p;Ea f,lIa--al .-:.L
rich yeinsd wit, and hail-torrent Of caustic
ridieule, agIwhich you may be sure neither
the plaineH nor the plaintiffs ragged attor-
ney was either forgotten or spared
The gfsat Preutiss concluded for the de-
PENDANT, nth glow Of gorgeous words,
brilliant aashowers of fallingstars, and with
final bnft of oratory that brought the
house do&R in cheers, in (which the sworn
jury themselves, Joined, Notwithstanding the
stern ofdsr order I Of the bench Thus
wonderfully susceptible are the Southwestern
people tos BARNS of impassioned eloqueuce
1t was Ben the strangers turn He had
remained apparently distracted during all
the prevnGs speeches. Still, and straight
aud motiepless in his scat, his pale, smooth
forehead Shooting up high like mountain
cone of snow but for the. eternal twitch,
that cauiesand went perpetually in his shall
low cheeks, you would have taken him for
mere maj pf marble, or human form carved
in ice, Even his dim, dreamy eyes were IN
visible beHeath those gray shaggy eye brows
But NOV at last he rises before the bar
railing, ID. behind it-and SO near to the
wonderfsls;ury that he might touch the fore
man Widths long, bony fuger With eyes
fstill halt slint, and standing rigid as "a pillar
of IRON ds thindips curl as it in measureless
forth At first, it was Tow and and sweet, ihsins
uating ilseff through the brain, as an artles$
tune, wildtpg its way into the deepest heart,
like thalnlelody Of magic ineantation-
while tln speaker proceeds, without gesture
FOR the leisst sign of excitement, to tearin pie
ces the asgament of Ashley. which melts a
way at biz touch as frost before the sun,
beam. livery one looked surprised His
logic wasAt once so brief, and SO UNANIMOUSLY
clear, tlat the rudest peasant could eompre-
bend it Without effort
AnoB he came to the dazzling wit of the
poet-lawyEf, Pike. Then the curl of his lip
grew sharper-his sallow face kindled up
and his ayes began to open, dim and dreamy
globes, and glaring like twin meteors. The
/ WuOte s@M1 WIS III LUG S5c--tue luI1 nGlTk
streameaI out on the face In five minutes
Pixies win seemed the foam of folly, aud his
| finest s4tire horrible profanity, when com
pared With the inimitable sallies and exter
minating sareasms Of the stranger, inter
! spersed with Jest and anecdote, that filled
| the forum with roars of laughter,
Theus without 50 much as bestowihg an
| ailusiosfbn Prentiss, he turned short on the
I perjurea witnesses of Hopkins, tore their
testimony into atoms, and hurled in their ia
ces such terrible inyectives, that all trembled
as with an ague, and two Of them actually
/ fed distnayed from the Court House.
/ The excitement of the crowd WAS becom-
| ing Tremendous !. Their united life and soul
appeared 10 hang on the burning tongue Of
the strhnger He inspired them with the
| powershd his own passions He saturated
them With the poison Of his own malicious
feelings He seemed to have stolen natures
| long Hidden secret Of attraction He was
! thessutl to the sea, of all thought and emo
ton, which rose and fell and boiled in BIZ
lows as he chose, Buthis greatest triumph
/ was to sceme
/ His eye began to glare furtively at the as
| sassin. Hopkins, as his lean, taper fingers
heinme8 THE wretch around with a circum-
| vallatienEpf strong evidence and inipregga-
bic argument. cutting off all hope of escape
! He piled up huge bastions Of insurmoanta-
bic facts He dug beneath the murderer and
| slanleEes's feet bitches ofIdilemmas, such as
| no sophistry could oyerleap, and no stretch
\ Of ipgenpity evade, and having thus, as one
might say, inpounded the victim. and grit
/ him aliopa like scorpion in circle Of fire
he stripped himself to the work Of massacre
0h.Fthen but it was vision both glori4
| Gus aud dreadful to behold the orator. His
action, before graceful as the waFesef a COL
/ den Hili1w in the breeze, grew impetuous az
| the ua0tsen of an oak IN the hurricane His
| voice became a trumpet filed with wild
1 whirIwiads, deafening the ear with crashes
ofpoveEs aud yet 'ntermingled all the while
with alsMeet undersoug ofthe sOfiest cadence.
He s.aekwas red as a drankard's his fore
| head .eIbwed like a heated furnace-his
caunta Iauce looked haggard ike that of .
nraniac and ever and anon he flung his long,
bony arms on high, as if grasping after thna-
der.baits2 He painted the slanderer 50
i Hack. Eat the sun seemed dark at noon-day
when sLfnins on such an accursed monster
and ibcn he fixed both portraits On the
shrinkisTg brow Of HOpSins, and he nailed
X thesn taere forever. The agitation Of the
auIieti& nearly amounted to madness
An III once the speaker descended from
h;s narSlous height His yeice walled out
for sthk shurdered dead, ard described The
sorrasks cf tho widowed llylng-the beaatl
ful:Mafy more beautiful every moment = z,