The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1859-12-21
nodA OF lohn nr.wn.

EHtlani Y T., 10 clgrnncS
Thoucws that thc widow Of ohm Brown
had arrived with the body Of her husband
spread like wild fire Soon the hotel was
crowded by leading citizens Of the place,
who came to express their respect and
sympathy. Carriages were provided in
which to convey the body and the party
accompanying it to the lake shore, A
procession was formed in front, noiseeSsly
and IN very short space Of time, and,
when the hour came to start, all moved
forward amid the tolling of solemn bells
Arrived at the bridge over Otter Greek,
distance of about third Of mile, the
gentlemen who formed the procession
halted, and, forming themselves into
double line and mcovering their heads
allowed the body, with the stricken widow
and her friends, to pass through and
thus they took their leave. 1t was a
spontaneous tribute, and an affecting sight.
The small company proceeded and at
last approached the House OF Mrs. Brown.
Slowly they climbed the mountain pass,
and as slowly decended en- the other side.
The sun had set by the time they reached
North Elba, and it was after night when
they approached the house TO which they
were destined As they drew nigh they
saw moving lights, which, on their nearer
approach, proved to be lanterns in the
hands of men who had come out to meet
them. BY these they were conducted in
silence TO the house Not a word was
spoken These friends had beeu waiting
all the afternoon in anxious expectation,
and, unable to bear the suspense any
longer had come out to ascertain if posi-
bic, the cause of the delay. The carriage
which bore Mrs. Brown stopped at the
door She alighted with difficulty, being
much agitated. Instantly there was 4
sharp, low cry of Mother y and in au-
swer, another in the same tone of mingled
agony and tenderness, 90! Annie :,
and the mother and daughter were locked
IN long, convusiee embrace. Then fol-
lowed the same scene with the next daugh-
ter, Sarah and then Ellen, the little girl
Of five, was brought, and another burst of
daughter-in-law, divers widow, and
Watsons, and there went up wall be-
fore which flint itself would have softened
1t was a scene entirely beyond descrip-
tion.
But soon all was composed. The
strangers had been introduced. Emotion
was put under restraint--a task which all
true people know well how to perform
and all was quiet. The evening meal had
been ready for some time, and the family
and guests who by this time had received
some accessons to their number, took
their seats. Supper was soon dispatched !;
no one, cold and wearisome as had been
the days travel, was much disposed to
eat.
The writer gives the following sketch
of Johns Browns homestead
The next morning | had an opportunity,
for the first time, OF seeing the place as it
appeared IN daylight, and Of beholJing
the surrounding country. On opening
the front door, glorious sight saluted me.
Directly in front, apparently-perhaps
from the thiDness Of the atmosphere
within two or three miles, but really much
further off looms up rugged chain of
The Adirondacks broken, Jagged, mas
sive, and wonderfully picturesque. Of
the left, stands in solitary grandeur, the
towering pyramid called white Face"
deriving its name from the color of the
rock, on its summit. The Saranac and
Ausable flow at each side of it, and Just
at its base, they tell US, is Lake Placid, a
sheet of water famed through all this
country of fine lakes for its exquisite
beauty. On the right is to be seen, in
the distance, the peak of McCreay and
on the right ofthat again, and still further
on, Mcintyre. the loftiest pinnacle of the
Adirondack range, rases his towering crest.
Just the country, my first thought was,
for the heroic soul of John Brown, and
proper place, too, be the receptacle of his
ashes.
Mr.. Brown had expressed a desire that
his body should be laid in the shadow of
a great rock, not far from his house.
This rock, after the more striking features
of the scene just named, was the first OBJ
ject to arrest my attention. 1t stands
about fifty feet from the house, is about
eight feet in hight, and from fifteen to
twenty feet square. 1t is very striking
and picturesque object, and the recolec-
tion OF it would not unnaturally suggest to
the mind of Mr.. Brown a place for the
interment Of his body.
The Brown farm at North Elba is on
the highest arabic spot of land in the
State, il, indeed, soil so hard and sterile
can be called arabic. The question was
asked in my hearing, why Mr.. Brown
should have chosen spot 30 difficult of
cultivation, and yielding so poor IA re-
quital to labor and the answer was. that
he bad come there in pursuance of the
great purpose of his life This land for
merly belonged to Gerrit Smith. and lies
near to those large tracts which Mr. Smith
had presented as a free gift to certain
colored people; and il was to aid these
colored people, and through them to bene-
fit their race, that he had originally come
to place so unpromising to the agricul-
turist
Extract from the closing part of fu-
nora! oratiou, delivered by Wendell
Phillips over the body of John Brown, at