The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1873-09-11
TRIBUNE.
rIfn. Thursday I've. sepi. 11th, Is1s
JOHN BEOWN.
An Unpublished Letter from the Mar
tyr OF HarPeF's Ferry.

The following letter. written By
John Brown just before his execution
in Virginia, TO the Rev. Luther Hum
phrey, brother Of the Rev. Zephaniah
NJ. Humphrey, pastor of the Calvary
Church of Philadelphia, has lately
been made public:
CHARLBsTowN, Jefferson Co. Va
November I3, 1859.
The ReU. Luther Humphrey:
MY DEAR FRIEND-Your kind let
ter of the 18th inst. is now before me.
So far as my knowledge goes as to
our mutual kindred, I suppose / am
the first since the landing of the May
flower that has either been Sentenced
to imprisonment or to the paIIows.
But, my dear old friend, let not that
fact alone grieye you You can not
haYe forgotten how and where our
grandfather Capt. John Brownl fell
in 17T6, and that he too might have
perished on the seefold had eircum-
stances been but very little different.
The fact that a man dies under the
hand of an executioner Tor otherwise)
has but little to do with his true
character, as L suppose. John Rog-
ers perished at the stake a great and
good man, as l suppose, but his being
so does not prove that any other man
who has died in the same way was
good or otherwise. Whether / have
any reason to "be of good cheer,D or
not in view Of my end, / can assure
you that l feel so; and that / am TO-
tally blinded if do not really expert
ence that Strengthening and consola-
ton you so faithfully impIore in my
behalf God of our fathers, reward
your fidelity 1 neither feel Idorti-
fed, degraded, nor in the least
ashamed OF my Imprisonment my
chains, or my near prospect of death
by hanging. l feel assured "that not
one hair shall fall from my head
without my Heavenly Father" |
also feel that / have long been en-
deavoring to hold exactly 'such a
part as God has chosen" See the
passage in Isaiah which you have
quoted. No part of my life las been
more happily spent than that I have
spent here, and I humbly trust that
no part has been spent to better pur-
pose. l would not say this boasting-
ly, but "thanks be unto God who
giveth us the vietosy through infinite
graceD / should. be sixty years old
were / to live till May 8, 1850. l have
enjoyed much of life as it is, and have
been remarkably prosperous-having
early learned to regard the welfare
and prosperity Of others IS my own.
/ have never, since I can remember,
required great amount of sleep, so
that conclude that. 1 have already
enjoyed full an average of waking
hours with those who reach their
'three score years and ten." l have
not, as yet, been driven to the use of
glasses, but can still see to read and
write quite comfortably. But more
than that, I have enjoyed remarkably
good health. might go on recount
unnumbered and unmerited blessings,
among which would be some very
severe afflictions, and those the most
needed blessings of all. And row,
when think how easily / might be
left to spoil all have done or suffered
in the cause of freedom, hardly dare
risk another voyage, if even had the
opportunity. 1t is a long time since
we met, but we shall now come to-
gether in our" Fathers house,"I trust.
'sLet US hold fast that we already
have,p remembering that we shall
reap if we faint not" Thanks be ever
unto God, who giveth us the victory,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. And,
now my warm hearted friend, good
byeI
Your affectionate cousin,
JOHN BROWN"