The weekly Columbian. [volume] (Columbia, Tuolumne Co., Cal.) 1856-1???, 1856-09-06

| and the voice comes forth. At first it is low
| and sweet, insinuating itself through the brain
| a. an artless tune. winding its way into the
deepest heart like the melody of magic incan-
tation: while the speaker proceeds without
gesture or the least sign Of excitement to tear
| to peices 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 so LUMINOSITY clear, that the
rudest peasant could comprehend it without an
effort.
Anon he came to the dazzling wit of the poet
! lawyer, Pike. Then the curl OF his lip grew
sharper; his sallow face kindled up. and his eyes
began to open, dim and dreamy no longer. but
vivid as lightning red as fire globes and glaring
| like twin meteOrs. The whole foul was in the
eye-the full heart streamed out on the face
| In five minutes Pixies wit seemed the foam OF
| folly. and his finest satire horrible profanity.
when contrasted with the inimitable sallies and
extermnating sarcasms of the stranger, inter-
spersed with jests and anecdotes that filled the
forum with roars of laughter.
! Then without as much as bestowing an alu-
sion to Preutss he turned short on the perjur-
ed witnesses of Hopkins, tore their testimony
into atoms and hurled in their faces such terri
BILE invective that all trembled as with an ague.
and two of them actually fed from the court
house.
The excitement of the crowd was becoming
tremendous. Their united life and soul appear
ed to hang on the burning tongue of the stran-
ger. He inspired them with the powers of his
own passions. He saturated them with the
poison of his own malicious feelings. He SEEM
ed to have stolen natures long hidden secret o.!
attraction. He was the sun to the sea OF all
thoughts and emotions, which rose and fell and
rolled in pillows as he chose. But his greatest
triumph was to come.
His eve began to glare furtively at the assas-
sin Hopkins. as his lean, taper fingers assumed
the same direction. He hemmed the wretch
around with decentralization of strong evil
dence and impregnabe argument, cutting off all
hope of escape. He piled up huge bastions of
insurmountablc facts. He dug beneath the
murderer and slanderer's feet bitches of diem
ma, such as no sophistry could overlap and no
stretch of Ingenuity evade; and having thus, as
one might say, impounded the victim and grit
him about like scorpion in circle of fire, he
stripped himself to the work of massacre.
O! then. but it was vision both glorious and
dreadful to behold the orator. His action, be-
| fore graceful as the wave ola golden willow in
| the breeze, grew impetuous as the motion of an
oak in the hurricane. His voice became a
trumpet filled with wild whirlwind, deafening
| the ear with crashes of power, and yet inter-
minging all the while with sweet cadence
His face was as red as drunkard's-his fore
head glowed like heated furnace-his coun-
tenance looked haggard like that of a maniac;
and ever and anon he flung his long and bony
arms on high, as if grasping thunder-bolts: He
drew picture of murder in such appalling col
ors that, in comparison. hell itself might be con-
sdered beautiful. He painted the slanderer so
black that the sun seemed dark at monday
when shining on such an accursed monster;
4. L. loxL s%r chrspl
ing brow of Hopkins, and he nailed them there
forever. The agitation of the audience nearly
amounted to madness.
| All of once the speaker descended from his
| perilous hight. His voice walled out for the
murdered dead and described the sorrows of the
widowed Hri,,g-the beautiful Mary, more beau
| tiful every moment, as her tears flowed faster
till men wept, and lovely women sobbed like
children.
He closed by strange exhortation TO the ju-
ry, and through them to the bystanders He
entreated the panel, after they should bring in
their verdict for the plaintiff. not to offer vio-
lence to the defendant. however richly he might
deserve tin other words, not to lynch the vii
lain Hopkins but leave his punishment to God.
This was the most artful trick of ALL and best
calculated to insure vengeance.
The Jury rendered a verdict of fifty thousand
dollars. and the night afterwards Hopkins was
taken out of his bed by lynchers and almost
beaten to death.
As the court adjourned, the stranger made
known his name and called attention Of the peo-
pie with the announcement John Taylor will
preach here this evening at early candle-lght.'
The crowd, of course, all turned out, and Tay-
lor's sermon equaled, if it did not surpass the
splendor of his forensic effort. This is no ex-
aggeration. / have listened to Clay, Webster
and Calhoun-to Dewes Tying and Bascom-
but we never heard anything in the form of sub
lime words even remotely approXlmating the
eloquence of John Taylor-massve as noun
tain and wildly rushing as cataract of fire.
And this is the opinion of all who have heard
the marvellous man.