Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1860-05-02
THE GAZETTE.
WEDNESDAY MORNING. MAY 2, 1860.
ANECDOTE OF PATRICK HENRY.

ANECIOIh OT .fa1h I1h4'Ni.
Three Baptist preachers were brought to
trial in about ITS for preaching. The IN
dictment brought against them was ior
preaching the Gospel of the Son OF uoo
contrary to the statute in that case proVluee,u,
and therefore disturbers Of the peace. Inc
clerk was reading the Indictment III $40"
and formal manner, and he pronounced the
crime with emphasis, "for preaching the
Gosnel of the Son of God" when plainly
dressed man dismounted from his horse,
entered the courthouse, and took his seat
within the bar. He was known to the court
and LAWYERS. but \ stranger to the mass OF
snectators who had gathered on the occasion
This was Patrick Henry, who on hearing OF
this prosecution, had rode some fifty or sixty
miles from his residence in Hanover county,
10 volunteer his services In the defencc OF
the prisoners. He listened to the further
reading of the indictment with marked at
tention the first sentence ofwhich that had
caught his ear was "fcr preaching the Cos
pel of the Son of God" When the indlct-
inent had been read, and the prosecuting at
torney had submitted few remarks, Henry
arose, stretched out his hand and received
the paper, and then addressed the court:
May it please your worshlps: | THINK l
heard read by the prosecutor as entered
this house, the paper now hold IN my hand
If have rightly understood, the hlngs at
torney Of this colony has formed an 'ndlct-
ment for the purpose of arralgnlng ana pun
ishing by imprisonment, three inofensive
pprs ms before the bar Of this court, tor CRIME
OF great magnitude disturberS OF the
peace May it please the court, what ala
/ hear read? Did | hear it distinctly, or
was it mistake Of my own? Did
hear an expression, as if crime, that these
men, whom your worships are about to try
for misdemeanor, are charged with-what?"
and, continuing in low, solemn, heavy tone,
For preaching the Gospel of the Son OF
Cod" Pausing, amidst the most profound
silence and breathless establishment OF his
hearers. he slowly waved the paper three
times around his head then, lifting up his
hands and eyes to heaven with extraordinary
and impressive energy, he exclaimed, Great
God,' The exclamation, the action, the
burst of feeling from the audience. were all
oyerpowering. Mr.. Henry resumed:
May it please your worshlps: In a day
like this, when truth is about to burst her
fetters-when mankind are about to be ralS-
ed to claim their natural and inalienable
righ1s-when the yoke of oppression which
has reached the wilderness OF America, anu
the unnatural alliance Of ecclesiastical and
civil power is about to be dissevered-at
such a period when liberty-liberty OF con-
science-is about to awake from her slum-
behring's and inquire into the reason of such
charges as | find exhibited here to-day in
this Indictment" Another fearful pause,
while the speaker alternately cast his sharp,
piercing eyes on the court and the prisoners,
and resumed: If am not deceived, ac-
cordinr to the contents Of the paper now
hold in my hand, these men are accused of
preaching the Gospel of the Son Of God. =
Great Cod" Another long pause, during
which he again waved the indictment around
his head, while deeper impression was
made on the auditory. Resumlng his speech.
May it please your worships: There are
periods in the history of man when corrup-
tion and deprayty have so long debased the
human character, that man SINKS under the
weight of the oppressor's hand and becomes
his Seryile-his AFFECT slave; he licks the hand
that strikes him; he bows IN passive obedl-
ence to the mandates of the despot, and In
this state of seryility he receives his letters
of perpetual bondage. But, mayiS please
your worships, such a day has passed away.
From the period when our fathers left the
land Of their nativity for settlement IN these
American wilds-ior Liberty-tor civil and
religious liberty--ior liberty Of consclenee-to
worship their Creator according to their con-
ceptions of Heavens revealed will; from the
moment they placed their feet on the Amerl-
can continent, and in the deeply-em5edded for
ests sought an asylum from persecution and
tyranny-from that moment despotlsln was
crushed. her letters Of darkness were broken,
and Heaven decreed that man should be tree
free to worship God according to the b bic.
Were ii not for this, III vain have been taken
the Efforts and sacrifices of the cOlonlsts; IN
vain were all their suiferlngs and bloodshed
to subjugate this New World. if we, their
offspring, must still be oppressed and perse-
cuted. But, may it please your worships,
permit me to inquire once more for what are
these men about to he tried? This paper
says. For preaching the Gospel of the Son OF
Cod Great God. for preaching the Saviour
TO Adam fallen race
After another pause, in tones OF thunder
he inquired, What law have they violated"
Then, for the third time, in slow, dignltied
manner, he lifted his eyes to Heaven, and
waved the Indictment around his head. The
court and the audience were now wrought
up to the most intense pitch of excitement.
The face of the prosecuting attorney was
pale and CHASTITY, and he appear ed uncon-
sciOus that his whole frame was agtated with
alarm: and the judge, in q tremulons voice,
put an end to the scene, now becoming eX-
tremely painful, by the authoritative com
mand, Sheriff, discharge those men,