The semi-weekly mountain Democrat., 1860-10-20
L., Ch.rIty Begin AZ Home.

many OF our readers, that during the eX
citement consequent upon the raid o.
John Brown and his posse upon Virginia
many letters found in possession of thC
insurgents were published to the world
Among the number of such publications
was one very touching letter found upon
the person Of Mr.. LemAn, ore Of the in
surgemts, written by his sister in HallOwell'
Maine. From that letter, which we laid
aside as an illustrative record Of the fanat-
icism of the times, VIC re-publish the fol-
lowing paragraph, which is a suggestive
one:
"WouId vou come home il you had the mo-
ney to come withg Tell me what it would cost.
Oh. would be unspeakably happy if it were in
nv power 10 send you money, but We have
been very poor this winter. have not earned
q half dollar this winter. Matte has had u
very good place, where she has had seventy
five cents week she has not spent any OF 1t
in the family, only very little for mother.
| Father has had very small pay, but think he
has more now; be is watchman on the Eastern
Queen, that runs from here to Boston,"
Now this family is but one Of the many
thousands similarly circumstancedin New
England. Only think ofit-one daughter
considers it Every good place" where
she can, by hard work, get scventy-tive
cents week another can not, for love
or labor, earn fifty cents during the whole
winter!-yet, in the place of this wretch
cd state of domestic affairs, we see son
and brother, whom God intended should
be staff and protection to his mother
and sisters-who, though all Every poor,
evidently entertained for him the most
sincere filial affection and maternal love-
we say We see this son and brother desert
ing that household in the day of its cx.
tremity, and going off upon the fool-hardy
errand Of libcrating class of people not
one ofwhom ever knew the want to which
his own family were subjected, or who
would not look with contempt upon such
remuneration as the sister of this poor
fanatic deemed the height of good fortune.
And yet, when We reflect seriously upon
the matter, great as was the crime Of John
Brown and his followers, it sinks into in
| significance to that Of the basr.hcarted
wrctches who, by their incendiary teach
ings and promises Of assistance, inflalncd
their minds and hearts to the commission
Of the wicked deed, and then cowardly
deserted them in the hour of disaster.
The young man above alluded to should
have remembered that charity begins at
home. lie should have learned from his
Bible, that he who provides not for his
own household is worse than heather,
and should have acted in accordance with
the declaration. lie would then have had
it in his power to have saved his sisters
and his mother from starvation, and him
self from disgrace. But doubtless like
many other young men at the North, he
had been taught from infancy VI, by
those around the fireside, at school and
from the pulpit, that his first duty was
not to serve his family, his State or his
country, but to assist in redecming bleed
ing Africa from her calling bonds. He
had been taught, doubtless, to regard the
whole South as an earthly hcll-all slave
holders as devils incarnate, and the negro
population race Of angelic and exalted
creatures, held in bondage by their
tormentors against the Divine will
lie had learned from Garrison that the
American Union was lie, a covenant with
hell and an agreement with death, because
it tolerated slavery. lie had read the in
flammatory speech Of Giddings, wherein
he declared that he would hail the day as
political millcnnial when the black man,
armed with British bayonets, and led on
by British officers, would assert his free.
dom and wage a war Of determination
against his master. He had seen pre-
scribed by Redpath rs the only infal!ible
remedy against the evils Of slavery, the
fomenting Of scrvilc insurrection among
the slaves. lie had seen and heard all
this, and very naturally concluded to risk
his life to relieve the poor slave from his
CALLING bonds was doing God service-yea,
would be an action in the highest degree
heroic, saint.like, god-like. Paul perse-
cuted the early Christians, the carly Chris
tians broiled Jews, John Brown and VIM.
Lemam murdered their fcllow-citizcns and
committed high treason for Gods sake
Yepowers above, to what extreme lengths
of madness will not bigotry and fanat.
iciSm drive the crring sons of men Paul,
however, rcpcntcd and became preacher
of righteousness. John Brown and his
followers expiated their guilt in igno-
mineous death; but Seward and Sumner
and Garrison and Giddings and Burlin.
game and Smith and Hale and Phillips.
Sages Of AbolitioniSm-.fals tleCting, per-
jured traitorS-falSe to those who acted
upon the principles they taught but feared
to put in practice-falSc to their country,
to the Constitution Of our fathers, and to
the sacred ties of brotherhood live
to propagate their hcllish doctrines and
insult humanity by their existence Oh!
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