Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1859-11-22

every HheFa ho has been . koror1fm A. sta1X ~
se children e.ep. spsa Ne IN "a. s1Isea
most iafaliihie judges OF . ssatl@ lsct Sat
heart. Amiah,lity and s~AtntF oes1smpSr b
has carried with him through The world, and b.
brings that trait now here before you 10 SHOW
that strong ENDORSEMENTS and powerful incentive
masshars hesn hssaGhAt ~ bsaf n order 70 eneag.
him in an enterprise 80 despseNts % that for which
his life is now ~ sadly i,apsrlsd. What motive con
motive senast exisA Was Il the motive Of blood
shed. His character fshida the thsaght. Vas
it the motive ofdiaoyalty toA govsroinsnt cenen-
ted by the bleed Of bis a~ncestofs, aud defended BY
all who are near to him By the ties OF kindrsd.-
NotA ssilahie Of prof warranta such . conelu.,oa,
Was his motive robbery and saAey sa,ni oth
er fields are more isvitisg 70 TIA land pirate but
the Thought IL plander never crossed . m nd like
i.is. Oae answer, and OPS AlsAA, is 10 be given to
all these questions. .yoha Bfvwp was the despotic
leader. and John K. Cock was an III. fated follow
er 81 an enterprise whose horror be now realizes
and ~deplores. ! defy tho man. hero or elsewhere.
who has ever known John +. Cook, who has ever
Locked once fully into his face and learned any
thing ~ his history, 70 lay his hand on his heart
and say that he believes him guilty of the origin
or the results Of the outbreak At Harper's Ferry.
Here, then are tie two chnracters whom You
are thinking IN punish alike. Can it DO that n jury
Of Christian men viii and no discrimination should
lie made betwce them: Are the tern pier and the
tempted the same In your eyes, Is the beguilod
youth to die the same ss the old offender who has
pondcred his crime FIR thirty years. Are there
no grades in your estimination ofgailt Is each
one without respect to age or CIRCUMSTANCE.
to be beaten with the same number of strip -
Such is not the Jaw human or divine. We are
al to be rewarded according to our works wheih-
er in punishment fot evil or blessing for good
that we have done. You are here to do juAtice
"a ~. L. IT, 40
befAli Cook that befalls Brown, ! know
nothing Of her rules, and do not care
to learn. They ara as widely asunder in all Tint
constitutes guilt AZ the poles Of tho earth. and
should be dealt With accordingly. 1t is in our
power to do so, and ly tho principles by which
You yourselves are willing to be judged hereafter
l inplorc you to do IL.
Come with me. however, gentlemen. and let
us approach the spot where the tragedy Of the
18th Of October occurred, and %analyze the conduct
Of the prisoner there. 1t is not true that he came
Us a citiscn to your State, and gained n home in
vonr midst TO betray you. Ho was ordered to
lake his position at Harpcr's Ferry in advance Of
his party, for the sole purpose Of aSeeftaining
whether Col. Forbes, Of Now York, had diyul.cd
The plan. This order came from John Brown. tho
commander in-chiof.' and was, douhtless.a matter
Of "a much interest to others OF prominent station
as to himself Cook simply oLeycd-no more. =
There 10 not . particle Of evidence that lie INN.
pers' with your slaves during his Temporary resi-
1ence. % The CONTRARY. il is admitted ON all
bands that he did not. His position there is we'll
iefned. Nor was he from usder the cold. stern
Of his leader. From the top Of the :. ,nlnin
lis chief looked down uoon him, and behcld ...!,
$ within a charmed circle. Would Cook have
q day had he tried to break the mc.hcs which ,
nvironsd him. Happy the hour in which he had
made the attempt, even lad be persisted: but. in
king the measure Of his guilt, the circumstances
y which he wns surrounded must ell be weighed.
1t every step We see him as the i%nstrumcn. ia he
lands OF other men, and not. as originating or de-
ising anything. His conduct towards tie elegant
md excellent gentleman. Colonel Washington, is
matter Of sore regret to his friends and al-a to
himself. IL is the one act most difficult ei all
theirs to reconcile with the well known character
4 the man. But even there his oiFense is ralljat-
d by the dictatorship which governed hin. At
irst glance 70 see a high-toned gentleman hos.
abused. This has been used to agsrata;c
lis acknowledged offences. But the truth Is, that
Cook first visited Col. Washinston's house.
md received from him various act- of kindness.
he thought that soon he was 10 be ordered hack
that threshold, in a hostile manner. had new
" entered his brain, The act was not Cook'f, but
Browns. The mere soldier 10 ncvor punished for
the outrages Of his commander. And when YOU
allow that the prisoners great error was his en-
listment under the leadership Of Brown in tho
hrst place, then you must admit that everything
else has followed in logical sequence. Obedience
and fidelity to a leader in q false and pcrniciuus
cause are entitled TO offset. iu some measure, ut
least, the evil that has flowed from t,en. But tho
prisoner took certain weapons. hAllowed by great
and sacred associations, from The possession Of
Col. Washington. All! in this he is once moro
c ,nsistent with the visionary and dreamy cast Of
lis mind. The act was not plumber, for he plcdg-
cd their safe return 70 their owner, and has faith.
fully kent that nIedna N fha full avtnrt IT IL, .r.,
er. Bat his hayward fancy was caught with tho
idea that a spell Of encbantment hung around
them. aud that. like the relics of saint. they
would bless and prosper any cause in when they
were myoked. The sword Of Frederick the Great
and the pistols Of Lafayette linked to the name
and family of Washington. With VIVA, a charm
snch associations would strike the poetic icmpcra-
ment Of q young enthusias embarked in AN enter
prise presenting to his perverted imagination the
incentives. Of danger and glory; and If a new order
OF things was to be inaugurated, and storm und
revolution were to shake the country and tho
world, like the heart Of tho Bruce or he eagles OF
NAPOLEON, these warlike incentives q. heroes were
to fascinute and allure followers, mn hallow the
battles in which they were 1ited. The mind Of
the prisoner is fully capab!s Of dreaming such
creams and nursing such Visions"
Up to this point / have follow cd tho prisoner,
and traced his immediate connection with this sad
affair. You have everything befarc you. You
have heard ms own account Of his strange and in
fatuated wanderings up and down the earth with
John Brown and his coadj ators how like q fe,io,
1t all seems, and yet how lamentab!y true; how
real 70 minds like ours; how like the fever-drean
OF a mind warped and u sordcrcd 10 the borders 0
insanity does the part which the prisoner ba
played seem to every practic1Hadgmsnt. Il thor
nothing Id it all that affords you tho dearest priv
lege which man has ON earth-the privilege Of be
ing nsrcifuli Why. the vsry thief ON the eros,
for 9 single momenfs repentance over his crimc'
received absOiote forgiveness and was rewarde
with paradise. Bat. gFshssasn, IL es.imatins tn
n.zn;.uds Of this yosnx snkj;',s guilt, ,oere is on
fact which'is proven IN BIZ .t&hsif By the currsn
history 7fthe day which, yonScAnnot fail to col
slider. Shall john Cd6ks. perish, and the re,