Volcano weekly ledger. (Volcano, Amador County, Cal.) 1855-1857, 1856-07-19

itself through the brain, as an artless tune
winding its way into the deepest heart, like
the melody of a magic incarnation while
the speaker proceeds without gesture or
the least sign of excitement, to tear in pieces
the argument of Ashley, which melts away
at his touch as frost before the sunbeam
Every one looked surprised His logic was
at once so brief and uminously clear, that the
rudestcould comprehend it without effort.
Anon he came to the dazzeling wit OF the
poet lawyer, Pike. The curl of his lip grew
shorp-hs swallow face kindled up-and his
eyes began to open, dim and dreamy no long
er, but vivid as lightning, red as fire globes,
and glarng like twin meteors. The whole
soul was in his eyes-thc full heart streamed
out on the face In five minutes Pixies wit
seemed the foam of folly and his finest satire
horrible profanity, when compared with the
inimitable sales and exterminating sarcasms
of the stranger, interspersed with jest and
anecdote that filed the forum with roars of
laughter
Then without so much as bestowing an al
fusion on Prentiss, he turned short ON the per-
jured witness of Hopkins, tore their testimo-
ny into atoms, and hurled in their faces such
terrible invectives that all trembled as with
ague, and two of them actually fed dismay-
ed from the court house.
The excitement of the crowd was becoming
tremendous Their united life and soul APP
pcared to hang on the burning tongue of the
stranger. He inspired them with the power
Of his passions. He saturated them with the
poisons of his own malicious feelings. He
seemed to have stolen natur's long hidden
secret of attraction He was the sun to the
sea of all thought and emotion, which rose
and fell and boiled in pillows as he chose
But his greatest triumph had not yet come.
His eyes began to glare furtively at the
assassin-1Iopkins,a as his lean, taper fingers
slowly assumed the same direction. lie
hemmed the wretch around with circumval-
ation of strong evidence and impregnable ar
gument, cutting off all hopes of escape. He
piled up huge bastion and insurmountable
facts. He dug beneath the murderer and
slanderer's feet bitches Of diIemmas, such asno
sophistry could overlap, and no stretch Of
ingenuity evade, and having thus, as one might
say impounded the VICTIM and girt him about
like a scorpion in the circle Of fire, he striped
himsrlf to the work of massacre?
o then, but it was vision both glorious
and dreadful to behold the orator His ac-
tions, before graceful the wave of golden
willow on the breeze, grew impetuous us the
motion of an oak in the hurricane. His
voice became trumpet filed with wild whirl-
winds, deafening the ear with crashes Of pow
err, and yet intermingled all the while with
the sweet under song Of the softest cadence.
His face was red as drunkard's, his counte-
nance looked haggard like that of a maniac
and ever and anon he flung his bony arms on
high, as if grasping after thunder bolts i
He drew a picture Of the murder in such
horrid and appalling colors, that in compari-
son, hell itself might be considered beautiful
lie painted the sIandcrcr so black that tire
sun seemed dark at noon day when shining
on such an accursed monster-and then he
fixed both portraits on the shining brow OF
Hopkins and he nailed them forever. The
agitation of the audience nearly amounted to
madness.
All at once the speaker descends from
his perilous height. His voice walled out for
murdered DEAD, and described sorrows of the
widowed IIvISG-the beautiful Mary, more
beautiful every moment, as her tears flowed
faster-till men wept, lovely women sobbcd
like children.
He closed by strange exhortation to the
jury and through them to the bystanders. He
entreated the panel, after they should bring
in their verdict for the plaintiff, not to offer
violence to the defendant, however richly he
might deserve it, in other words mot to lynch
the william Hopkins, buteave his punishment
TO God"
This was the most artful trick of all, and
the best calculated to ensure vengence.
The jury rendered verdict for fifty thous.
and dollars, and thenight afterwards Hopkins
was taken out of bead by lynchers, and bea-
ten almost to death.
As the court adjourned, the stranger made
known his name, and called attention to the
announcement" John Taylor will preach
here this evening at early candle light p
The crowd of course all turned out, and
Taylor's sermon equalled, if it did not sur
pass, the spendor of his forensic effort. This
is no exaggeraton. | have listened to Clay,
Webster and California Dewey, Ting and
Bascom, and have never heard anything in
the form of sublime words even remotely APP
proximating the eloquencc of John Taylor
massive as "a mountain, wildly rushing as a
cateract at fire. And this is the opinion OF
all who have heard this marvellous man.
any dear" said an aifectionate wife to her
husband, who had been sick for several days
"when you were we'll you were in the nabit
of eating twelve appe-dumplings; now that
Won are sick, how many shall | make your"
'"Well," replied the husband, II reckon YOU
may make eleven to day; but be particular
and make them a little larger than usual"