The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1859-11-17
ADDITIONS TO THE DOCUMENTARY
HISTORY.
LYDIA MARIA Child AND GOV. WISE.


In his Brooklyn speech, Mr.. Wendell Phillips
alluded to correspondence which had passed
between Mrs. Lydia Maria Child and Governor
Wise. The Richmond Enquirer, of Saturday,
publishes this correspondence, as follows:
Letter from Mrs. Child to Coz. Wise
WAYLAND, Mass, Oct. &c, 1859.
Gov. WISE: have heard that you were a
man of chivalrous sentiments, and L know you
were opposed to the Ubiquitous attempt to force
upon Kansas a Constitution abhorrent to the
moral sense of her people. Relying upon these
indications of honor and justice in your charac-
ter, venture to ask a favor of you. Enclosed
is letter to Capt. John Brown. Will you have
the kindness after reading it yourself, to trans.
NIT it to the prisoner?
/, and all my large circle of Abolition ac-
quaintances, were taken by surprise when news
came of Capt. Browns recent attempt; nor do
| know of a single person who would have APP
proved of it, had they been apprised of his in
tentions. But |, and thousands of others, feel a
natural impulse of sympathy for the brave and
suffering man. Perhaps God, who sees the in
most OF our souls, perceives some such senti-
ment in your heart also. He needs mother or
sister to dress his wounds and speak soothingly
to him. Will you allow me to preform that
mission of humanity? If you will, may God
bless you for the generous deedl
| have been for years an uncompromising
Abolitionist, and / should scorn to deny it, or
apologize for it, as much as John Brown him
self would do. Believing in peace principles,
| deeply regret the step that the old veteran
has taken, while / honor his humanity toward
those who became his prisoners. But, because
it is my habit to be as open as the daylight, l
will also say, that if / believed our religion lust
fled men in fighting for freedom, should con-
slider the enslaved everywhere as best entitled
to that right. Such an avowal is a simple, frank
expression of my sense of natural Justice But
[ should despise myself utterly, if any circum-
stances could tempt me to seek to advance
these opinions, in any way, directly or indirect
ly after your permission to visit Virginia had
been obtained on the plea of sisterly sympathy
with brave and suffering man. | give you
my word of honor, which was never broken,
that l would use such permission solely and
singly for the purpose of nursing your prisoner,
and for no other purpose whatsoever.
Yours, respectfully, L. MARIA CHILD.
Letter from Mrs. Child TO John Broom.
WAYLAND, MASS, Oct. 26, 1859.
DEAR CAPT Brown: Though personally I'M
known to you, you will recognise in my name an
earnest friend of Kansas, when circumstances
made that Territory the battle ground between
the antagonistic principles of Slavery and Free
dom, which politicians so vainly strive to recon
Gle in the Government of the United States.
Believing in peace principles, l cannot sym
pathize with the method you chose to advance
the cause of Freedom. But honor your gen.
erous intentions. | admire your courage, moral
and physical. l reverence you for the human
ity which tempered your zeal. / sympathize
with your cruel bereavements your sufferinps,
and your wrongs. In brief, l love you and
bless you.
Thousands of hearts are thobbing with SYM
pathy as warm as mine. l think of you night
and day, bleeding in prison, surrounded by
hostile faces, sustained only by trust in God,
and your own strong heart. l long to nurse
you, to speak to you sisterly words of sympathy
and consolation. l have asked permission of
Gov. Wise to do so. If the request is not
granted, l cherish the hope that these few words
may at least reach your hands, and afford you
some little solace. May you be strengthened
by the conviction that no honest man ever
sheds blood for Freedom in vain, however much
he may be mistaken in his efforts. Nav God
sustain you, and carry you through whatsoever
may be in store for you,
Yours, with heartfelt respect sympathy, and
affection. L. MARIA CHfLD.
Coz. Wise's Reply to Mrs. Child.
RICHMOND, Va, Oct. 20, 1859.
MADAM: Yours of the 18th was received bv
me yesterday, and, at my earliest leisure, I re-
specially reply to it, that l will forward the
letter for John Brown, a prisoner under our
laws, arraigned at the bar of the Circuit Court
for the county of Jefferson, at Charlestown. Va.
for the crimes of murder, robbery, and treason,
which you ask me to transmit to him. | will
comply with your request, in the only way which
seems to me proper, by enclosing it to the Com
monweath's attorney, with the request that he
will ask the permission of the court to hand it
to the prisoner. Brown, the prisoner, is now
in the hands of the Judiciary, not of the Exec
utve, of this Commonwealth.
You ask me, further, to allow you to perform
the mission of mother or sister-to dress his
wounds and speak soothingly to him." By this,
of course, you mean to be allowed to visit him
in his cell, and to minister to him in the Offices
of humanity. Why should you not be so al
tOaced, madam? Virginia and Massachusetts,
are incotred an no ciUtL lcar, and the Constitu.
ton which unites them in one Confederacy
guarantees to you the privileges and immuni-
ties of citizen of the United States in the
State of Virginia. That Constitution | am
sworn to support, and am therefore bound to
protect your privileges and immunities as a
citizen of Massachusetts coming into Virginia
for any lawful and peaceful purpose. Coming,
as you propose, to minister to the captive in
prison, you will be met, doubtless, by all our
people, not only in chvalrous, but in Chris
tan spirit You haze a right to ols1 Charles
torn, Va, madam, and yo,r mission, being
mercfm and humane, ,ciU not only be alloared.
bat be respected, If not ,ceIcomed
A few unenlghtened and inconsiderate per-
sons, tanatical in their modes of thought and
action, to maintain justice and right, might mo-
lest you, or be disposed to do So and this might
suggest to you the imprudence of risking any
experiment upon the peace of society very
much excited by the crimes with whose chief
author you seem to sympathize so much but
still, repeat, your motives and avowed purpose
are lawful and peaceful, and l aOiu, as far as 1
am concerned, do my duty IN projecting your
rights an our limits. Virginia and her author
tiles would be weak, indeed-weak in point of
folly and weak in point of power-if her State
faith and constitutional obligations cannot be
in her own limits to the letter of mo-
raity as well as of law, and if her chivalry can
not courteousy receive lady's visit to a pris
ener.
Every arm which guards Brown from rescue
on the one hand, and from Lynch law on the
other, will be ready to guard your person in
Virginia. l could not permit an insult even
to woman in her walk of charity among us,
though it be to one who whetted knives of
butchery for our mothers, sisters" daughters,
and babes. We have no sympathy with your
sentiments of sympathy with Brown, and are
surprised that you were taken by surprise
when news came of Capt. Browns recent at
tempt" His attempt was a natural conse-
quence of your sympathy, and the error of that
sympathy ought to make you doubt its virtue,
from the effect on his conduct. But it is not
of this | should speak. When you arrive at
Nhorl Il = L IL