Staunton vindicator and general advertiser. (Staunton, Augusta County, Va.) 1858-1860, 1858-11-27

of the Defence, he did not answer till afte
several calls, and then only by a. look re
minding one of the fixed stare Of los
being, His dog, before lying at his feet
erected himself, and kept that position. I
was full five minutes or more that Greer
stood thus gazing and mute, when in ;
voice that was too sweet and musical for it,
source, he commenced his speech It was
at first, no argument, but plea. prayer
for mercy. Low and plaintively he plead
sadly, and Oh how sadly he mplored thai
a living being might not be destroyed, q
marked the word) and then as he closed the
last sentence, his voice changed into trem-
bling wall, like the cry Of child fol
nourishment, without any distinct articula-
ton; and the dog BY. his side, from his
blood-red mouth, seat forth with him a
howl as of pain and anguish. The scene
{ itself was eloquent, un meaning and indiscri-
bable. It called forth more than one tear.
Splendid tragic acting ever has this effect,
and such may have been the reason now;
but | thought there was something there
hidden from mortal gaze, something spirit
ual at work, appreciated, yet unseen. and
the advocate himself seemed to be fallen
angel, pleading that human being might
be saved what he knew, and even then felt.
Almighty God what sceneit was. No
inattention then from jury and Judge
Each man leaned himself forward to get a
nearer view, whilst the more timid with pal
lid face, peered into that Of his neighbor,
as if to find him friend in the crisis that
all felt was approaching. F.
Suddenly the scene changed the voice
Of the speaker no longer timid and tremu-
lous, now burst out in all the splendor Of
conscious superiority his lip curled with
scorn On the mortality before him, and his
body swayed to and fro worked with pas
sion 81 trust may never witness such a
scene again. His words were grand, yet
those If insanity, and his imagery splendid,
but that imagery spoke Of a spirit land and
trod ~ no other foot, and the Imagination
was lost in its own conceptions. He spoke
Of things earthly and unearthly-o demon,
ghost, and the place Of departed spirits. =
1t was evident that he believed not in a
heavenly rest, and used again and again
the word destroyed, in proof Of his belief.
He would, at times, talk Of fires burning
deep in the centre Of the earth; and then
diverging again suddenly yet as brilliantly
as the meteor's flight, he would without any
apparent jar to the thread of his sentence,
speak Of triangles, algebra, the solar syste m
and planetary world-he sawed the air
with his description Of the steam engine and
the electric power, awhile when he would
again soar upward into the ethereal realms,
his hands would cover his eyes as if to shut
out the glory of his unknoaon God above
him. Wilder and yet wilder grew his
words and his questions, his dog Of times
joining in with his howl Of agony, when
suddenly, once more, "a change came Ger
the spirit of his dream His pale face
became as red as blood itself-his eyes roll
led wildly, and like a log, he fell to the
floor with the foaming saliva gurg ling from
his tight aclenched lips.
Is Itwas sometime before we found power
to act, but at last we were grouped around
him. I was sort Of quasi medical man
there, druggists in such places frequently
practising as regular physicians. / thought,
at once of poison, and sent man for a
stomach-pump, whilst I bled him freely -
[ then rose for the purpose Of making lig-
allure of my neck handkerchief, leaving an
attendant with his thumb tightly pressed
upon it to prevent loss Of blood. It was
we'll for me that did SO, for with a spasmod-
ic movement, he threw himself upon this
man, making his teeth meet in his hand, the
bystanders narrowly escaping the same fate,
and the foam from his mouth flying in all
directions. A H 3if
At last death, with tardy steps, put an end
to this painful scene. The commissions grad
ually subsidized, and finally ceased altogeth-
er, and George Green laid a corpse on the
Court House floor. But one word more and
/ am done. The man who held hls arm
was Blacksmith named Joseph Winters
forsome years afterward he followed his av-
ocation as usual, but the stranger who visits
the little graveyard Of H, is struck BY
a stone, with singular inscription, it runs
thus 1911 tGe @a
Sacred to the memory of Joseph Winters
aged la native Of Culpepper County Va
He died Of Hydrophobi0 Has