Weekly Trinity journal., 1860-01-07
WEAVERyILLE. CALIFORNIA SATURDAY. JANUARY T. 1860.

continued twitch that came and went perp1 1tually
in his face, you would have taken him for mere
man Of marble, or a human form carved in ice.
Even his dim, dreary eyes were invisible beneath
those gray, shaggy eyebrows.
But now at last he rises-hefore the bar, not
behind it--and 50 near the wondering jury that
he might touch the foreman with his long hony
fingers. with eyes half shut and standing rigid
as a pillar of iron, his thin lips curling as if in
measureless scorn, slightly apart, and the sound
came forth.
A first it was low and sweet nsinuating itself t
into the brain, as ar artless tune winding its way
into the deepest recesses of the heart like the
melody of magic incantation, while the speaker
proceeds without gesture or the least signal of
excitement to tear TO pieces the argument of
Ashley, which melts away as his touch like frost
before the sunbeam. Every one looked surprised.
His logic was at once brief, and so lumnously
clear that the rudest peasant could comprehend
il without an effort,
Anon he came to the dazzling wit of .he poet
lawyer, Pike. Then the curl of his lips grew
sharper, his smooth face began to kindle mp, and
his eyes to open--dim and dreury no longer but
vivid as lightning, red as fire globes as glaring
i rs twin mctcors. The whole soul was in his eye,
and the fall heart stream"d ont Of his face. In
five minutes Pixies wit seemed like foam of folly,
and his finest satire horrible profanity when com,
pared with the inimiable salies and eXtermina
ting sarcasm Of the stranger, intersporsed with
jests and anecdotes that filed the iorum with
laughter
Then without as much as bcstowing an alu4ion
upon rrcntiss h turned round short at the per.
iGred witnesses of Hopkins, tore their testimony
into atoms and hurled into their faces such in
Vcctives that all tremhcd as with ague, and two
of them actually fed in dsmay from the court
house.
The excitement of the crowd was becoming
tremendous, Their united life aud soul seemed
to hang upon the burning tongue of the stranger
He inspired them with the power Of his own pas
sions. He saturated them with the poison of his
own malicious feelings. lie seemed to have sto
len natures long hidden secret of attraction
He was the sun to the sea of all thought and
emotion, which rose and tell, and toilcd in the
billows as he chose. But his greatest triumph
was to como.
Ills eyes began to glance furtively Mt the as
sassin Hopkins, as his lean taper fingers assumed
the same direction. lie hcmncd the wretch with
II decentralization of strong evidence ani imprcg
nabc argument, cutting oil all hope Of escape.
He piled up large bastons of insurmountable
facts. He dug beneath the murderer and Sian
derer's feet bitches of dilemmas, snoh as no
sophistry could overlap, and no secrets OF nge
nuity cvadc: and thus having, rs one might say
impoundcd his victim, aud girt him about like II
scorpion in circle Of fire, he stripped himself TO
the work Of massacre.
On then it was vision both glorious and
dreadful to behold the orator. His actions, be-
fore graceful the waves of golden willow in
the lrcrzp, grew impctuous as the motion of an
oak in hurricane
His voice heoame a trumpet filled with wild
whirpools, dcafcning the ear VITA the crashes of
power, and vet intermingled all the while with
sweet undprsong Of the sortest cadence. Ills fac
was as red rs drunknrd 's-his forehead gloweu
like a heated furnace his counteunnce was hag-
gard like that of mouiac and ever and anon
he flung his long and bony arms ON high, as it
graepinm after thundcrbOlts.
lie drew picture of murder in such appalling
coors, that in comparison he'll itself might be
considered beautiful He painted the slandcrcr
so black that the sun seemed dark at MONDAY,
when shining such an accursed monster, and
then fixing both portraits on the shrinking Hop
kins he fastened them there forever. The agita-
tiOn Of the audience amounted almost TO mad
ness.
All at once the speaker dcsGcndcd from his
perl0us height His voice walled out for the
murdered dead, and liying--the beautiful Mary.
more beautiful every moment as her tears flowed
iastcr--till all wept and sobbed like children.
He closed by n strange eXhOratOn to the jury,
and through them to the bystandcrs. He advised
the panel after they should bring in verdict for
the plaintiff not to offer any violence to the de-
fcndant, however richly he might deserve it, in
other words not to lynch the villain, but leave
his punishment with God.
This was the most artIul trick of all, and the
best calculated To insure vengeance.
The Jury rendered verdict Of twenty thou
sand dollars, and the night afterwards Hopkins
was taken out Of his bed by lyuc'ers, and beaten
almost to death.
As the court adjourned the stranger made
known his name, and called the attention Of the
public with the annoUnccment--Ioh Taylur will
preach this evening at carly candle light
The crowd all turned out, and Taylors sermon
cquaed if it did not surpass the spendor Of his
forensic effort This is not eXaggeratiOn. !
Lu Vn list n nd al Ia
Dewey, Tying and Bascom-but never heard any
thing in the form Of sublime words even remotely
approXimating to the eloqnencc Of John Taylor
massive as mountain--and wildly rushing as
a cataract Of fire, And this is the opinion of all
who have heard this marvellous man.
Crazy FOR a SfxPENcB.--James Truesdell
gentleman Of some seventy years, living in Lib. /
erty, Penn, has been for twelve years past in
dustriously engaged, when the weather would
permit. in digging over small plot of ground
near his dwelling, and carrying dirt and stones
to pile. He has thus labored, taking one stone
or a little dirt at a time, until the mound has
reached height Of thirty Or forty feet, and is
much larger than his house. lie gives as Il rea-
son for hi1 tabor that he is searching FOR six
pence he once lost in bis garden When offered
assistance he always refuses very decidedly, aud
digs on alone. He is a well-educated man, and
perfectly sane ON every other question but this
siXpeHee.
BEAUTIFUL TmoUGmT.-lt was touching qucs-
tion asked by title boy when he saw the con
tinu"d sorrow Of his mother over the death of
her husband. He came softly to her side placed
his little hands in hers, and asked" Mother,
mother, is God dead ~ Soft as the gentle whis /
per OF an angel did the simple accents of the
dear boy fall upon the ear Of the disconsolate /
and almost broken hearted mother gleam Of
heavenly radiance lighted up her pale features, |
and she remembered that He who tempers the |
wind had promised to be husband to the widow :
and father to the iatherleSs..
Ny mother" said Mr.. Benton, not long be- /
fore he died. " asked me never TO drink liquor, /
and never did. She sired me at another time I
to avoid gaming and never knew card. She I
hoped would not use tobacco, and it never
passed my lips"