Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1859-11-25


To him law was nothing, the Union was
nothing, peace and welfare of the country
were nothing, the lives Of the citizens of
Virginia were nothing Though red
sea Of blood rolled before him, yet he
lifted up his hands and cried forward e
Shall we now shrinkifom his prominence
aud attempt to shriseE back to the grades
of his recruits and spjalterns =? Shall he
deny his bad pre-emnence and shy that
he did not incite the revolt which has in
volved his followers to ruin? Shall he
stand before this court and before the
country and deny that he was the master
spirit, and gathered together the young
men who tSollowed him to the death in
| this Md expedition No! his owr
hand s~As hitcH ra.,,ssg ~ "a
chief" and shows the proper distinction
which should be made between himself
and the men who, in an evil moment,
obeyed his orders. Now turn to the con
trast again and behold the prisoner. -
Young and new to the rough ways of
life, his uusandaled foot tender and I'M
used to the journey before him, and un-
fortunately endowed with that fearful
! gift which causes one to walk as in a
dream through all the vicissitudes of a
lifetime; severed and wandering from
the sustaining and protecting ties of kim
drcd, he gave, without knowing his des-
tination or purpose, a pledge of military
obedience to John Brown Commander
in-chief +"
Gentlemen of the jury, there is one
character which, in the economy Of God
Providence. has been placed upon the
earth, but perhaps has never been fully
drawn, and is most difficult to draw. 1t
is the character of him who glides down
the stream Of life in trance, dreams as
he floats along, and sees visions on either
shore. Realities exist in this world no
doubt. Practical views arc certainly the
best. But that impalpable, airy, and un.
substantial creations of the busy imagi-
nations como now and then and lure the
children Of men to chase the "Will-o'the
Wisp' over the dangerous morass of life,
is as true as that we have our allotted
pilgrimage Of three-score years and ten
Who has not beheld the young man of
strict moral culture, impressed with high
principles of right, and gifted with good
intellect, start out upon the dusty and
well-beaten highway which millions have
trod before him, only to turn aside at the
irst inviting grove of pleasure, the first
call Of some fancifui wood nymph, or to
follow over the falls Of ruin and death
some meandgrinc stream whose beautiful
| surface caught his eyer To such a one
right and wrong are utter distractions
and have no relations whatever to things
that exist. Give TO such a mind Il prom
Use, however false, and from it will spring
castle IN the air with proportions as
true and Just as the most faultlcss archi-
lecture ever framed by mathematical skill
Some lay ;hc foundation Of their actions
on the rock and are never overtbrown
Some build upon the shifting sand, and
fall when the storm comes Bat in each
instance the building may be the same
in its symmetry. SO with the deductions
of the mind. All depends, not upon
the reasoning, but upon the basis on
which thought rests, and which supports
the odiiice of our conclusions. The ethu-
siast and visionary takes his stand point,
and fixes the premises Of bis conduct
from caprice aud the circumstances which
have obtained the ascendancy over his
mind. That such has been the character
and such the conduct Of the prisoner,
without one spark of malignity of heart,
or single impulse of deprayty, all the
evidence in this case clearly establishes
Some general ideas gilded over by the
alluring title Of freedom were held out
to him by Brown and formed the basis Of
what seemed to him duty and honor .-
If ever man charged with crime was lift
ed up by the evidence of his case above
the ignoblo traits Of the ordinary felon,
the prisoner is thus distinguished. In
stead Of the eager and willing bandit,
anxious to join hoary leader bent on
mischief instead Of the outlaw in mind
and character gloomily and fercely pom
dering revenge against his fcllow-men
for fancied or real injuries--wc see from
the evidence kind though hayward
heart. a cheerful, obliging, though Wis
ionary mind. With children everywhere
he has been fayoritc; and since little
children crept upon the knee OF the Sa-
viour eighteen hundred years ago, they
have been the most infallible judges Of a
gentle and aifectionate heart. Amiabil-
ity and sweetness Of temper he has car
ried with him through the world and
be brings that trait nov here before you
TO show that strong inducements and
powerful incentives must have been
brought to bear in order 10 engage him
in an enterprise so desperate as that for
which bis life il now so sadly imperilled
What motive controlled him TO this action?
A crime without motive cannot exist
Was il the motive Of bloodshed? His
character forbids the thought. Was it
the motive Of disloyaty 70 a Government
cemented by the blood Of his ancestors,
and defended by all who arc near 10 him
by the tics Of kindred? Not syllable
Of proof warrants s1ch conclusion.
Was his motive robbery and unholy gain ?
Other fields are more inviting to the land
pirate; but the thought Of plunder never
crossed mind like bis. One answer.
and one alone, is to be given TO all these
questions. John Brown was the des-
potic leader, and John r.. Cook was 40
Inflated follower OF an enterprise whose
horror be now realizes and deplores. ]
defy tho man here or elsewhere who has