The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1869-01-23

AT Inc SOUND OF the voice many SthTteu
lit was so earthly, sweet and mournful.
The first sensation was changed into
laughter when tall, gaunt spectral figure
elbowed his way through the crowd, and
placed himself within the bar His clothes
looked so shabby that the court hesitated
to let the case proceed under his manage
ment.
"Has your name been entered on the
rolls of the Slater" demanded the Judge.
1T is immaterial," answered the strang.
er, his thin, hloodlesslips curling up with
q sneer ua
"Here is my license from the highest
tribunal in Americal" /" and he handed the
Judge broad parchment.
The trial went on.
He suffered the witnesses to tell their
own story, and he allowed the defense to
lead off Ashley spoke first, followed by
Pike and Prentlss. TIE latter brought
the house down In cheers, in which the
jury joined.
II was now the strangers turn. He
rose before the bar, not behind it, and 80
near the wondering jury that he might
touch the foreman with his long bony
finger. He proceeded to tear to pieces the
arguments Of Ashley, which melted away
at his touch like frost before sunbeam.
Every one looked surprised. Anon he
came to the dazzling wit of the poet law
yer Pike. Then the curl of his lip grew
sharper, his smooth face began to kindle
up and his eyes to open, dim and dreary
no longer, but vivid as lightning, red as
fire globes, and glaring as twin meteors.
The whole soul was in the eye the full
heart streamed out of his face. Then
without bestoWing an sllusion to Prentiss,
he turned short around on the periured
witnesses of Hopkins, tore their testimony
into threads, and hurled in their faces such
terrible invectives that all trembled like
aspens, and two of them fed from the
court house. The excitement of the
crowd was becoming tremendous Their
united life and soul seemed to hang upon
the burning tongue of the stranger, and
he inspired them with the power Of his
passions He seemed TO have stolen ma
ture's long hidden secret of attraction,
But his greatest triumph was to come.
His eyes began to glance at the assassin
Hopkins, ashis lean, taper fingers assumed
the same direction. He hemmed the
wretch within wall of strong evidence
and impregnable argument, cutting off all
hope Of escape. He dub beneath the mur
derer's feet bitches Of dilemmas, and held
up the SANDER to the scorn and contempt
Of the populace. Having thus girt him
about with a circle Of fire, he stripped
himself to the work of massacre.
Oil then it was a vision both glorious
and dreadful to behold the orator His &C
ton became as impetuous as the motion
Of an oak in a hurricane His voice be
came trumpet filed with wild whirl
pools, deafening the ears with crashes O.
power, and yet intermingled all the whilC
with q sweet undersong Of the softest cs
dence, His forehead gloWed like heateC
furnace, his countenance was haggard
like that Of almanac, and ever and anOl
he flung his long, bony arm on high as
grasping after thundeTbolts.
he drew picture Of murder in sucl
appalling eolors, that, IN comparison, hel
itself might seem beautiful he painte,
the slanderer 30 black that the sun SCENE,
dark at MONDAY, when shining on such
monster. And then fixing both portrd'
on the shrinking Hopkins, fastened then
there forever. The agitation Of the audi
ence amounted almost to madness.
All at once the speaker descended from
the perilous height His voice walled ou
for the murdered dead and iving-th
beautiful Mary, more beautiful every mo
ment as her tears flowed faster and faster
till men wept and sobbed like children.
He closed by strange exhortation 7
the jury, and through them TO the bystand
ers; he advised the panel, after they shoul
bring in verdict for the plaintiff, not
offer violence 10 the denfendant, howeve
richly he might deserve it in other word
"not to lynch the villain, but to leave hi
punishment with God.n This was the mos
artful trick of all, and the best calculate
to insure yengence.
The jury rendered q verdict Of fit
thousand dollars; and the night afterWsr
Hopkins was taken out Of his bed b
I lynchers, and beaten almost to death. A
the court adjourned, the stranger said /:
John Taylor will preach here th
: evening at early candle light
I he did preach, and the house was crowC
/ cd. have listened to Clay, Webster an
. Calhoun--to Dwight, Bascom and Beecht
3 but never heard anything in the for
! of sublime words even approximating
/ the eloquence Of John Taylor rnassiY
] as a mountain, and wildly rushing as
| cataract Of fire.