The daily citizen. [volume] (Asheville, N.C.) 1889-1890, 1889-12-25
A RESPONSE TO DIR. NELSON.
"a Little Child Shall Lead
Them"

ana SReptlCS say OF his writings, that
they were no prophesies, but written
after the event, so Christ-like are they
in their character.
1t is not my purpose to argue their
date. As a christian believe them to
be authentic; that they are inspired, l do
not doubt, but pray that they may in
spire me with love of Him, whose coming
they foretold, whose birthday we cele-
brate this day.
"a little child shall lead them" said
the prophet referring to the wild beasts,
who should be brought to love one an
other, contrary to their natural tastes
and instincts, and these words came
over my heart with wonderful force at
sight which delighted my eyes on Sunday
morning.
The taste may be a strange one, but
to me nothing adds such zest to the en-
joyment Of the Lords day, as a morning
call at the jail not to preach, not to
pray; must leave these duties to better
men but to carry a few CITIZENS, and
Pucks and Judges and Harpers and
such like, TO enable my unfortunate
brethren to make this a day of rest, by
giving occupation to the brain, which
when slothful is most fatigued; hoping
to draw off their thoughts from their
sad surroundings, and on this, which
should be the day Of happiness, to help
them in some slight degree to that hap
piness, which believe my elder
Brother" wished all mankind to enjoy.
Did receive any reward for this little
act? Yes indeed, thousand fold more
than it deserved. A little two year old
daughter of the kind jailor, joined me at
the door; she could scramble up the
stairs; she was not yet too wise to love
the poor prisoners; she was SO foolish as
to stretch her little arm through the
grating; she could touch their pale faces,
she could stand back with womanly dig
nifty, and with an infants grace, throw
a kiss to those whom her lips coull
reach. What sight! this pure
lovingly gazing upon Wilson! who anx-
iously asks me, have you heard what
day the governor has appointed? ?" Ap-
pointed tor what do you suppose breth-
rem? We hesitate to ask, we know too
well, too well. Our eyes droop before
the gaze of the condemned man, my
brother; they rest upon what, the sweet
child by my side, her eyes full of love for
the wicked murderer, herpratling tongue
possibly reminding him of one of his own
little ones; her gentle inquiry how do ?"
oh! how l, wicked man that l am,
Ionged to hear for answer, worse, much
worse in health" and that the answer
may be true and mcrciful death soon
! he his portion, and thus North Carolina
be spared the disgrace of his legal taking
off.
"Say no more against capital punish
ment, )" said wise friend. "Your heart
is right, your head is wrong" but we
do not believe that the heart can go SO
far away from the brain. The same God
created both. The heart says "let this
little child lead you to love this muir
derer," the brain says, what will most
diminish crime, the severity, or the GER
tainty of punishment ?" Heart and
brain unite in the reply, the certainty. A
murderer will often be found guilty if the
sentence is life Imprisonment, and will be
acquitted if the sentence is death. So it
should be, because in the one case an er-
ror may be corrected, in the latter, never.
Dear christian friends, may we not fol-
low the lead of this little child, and find
love for this man at this season of peace,
good will" "Oh! he is too wicked, he is
a murderer" Yes perhaps he is too
wicked to die. "He is a murderer" Am
not 1? "Who so hateth his brother is a
murderer" Must die?
Many and great are the Inconsistencies
of life; none greater than these two:
First, Skeptics say there was no Isa-
iah, there was no Christ" Yet almost
to a man they plead against the inhu-
manity of capital punishment, and urge
that it is contrary to the spirit Of Christs
teaching. Christians say Isaiah was a
prophet, and Christ was a real man, and
at the same time was God. Yet nine.
tenths of the christians of Asheville cry
aloud AN eye for an eye, a tooth for
a tooth, life for a life"
Second, While hope am christian,
and to the full power of my weak brain,
believe every word of the apostles creed
including everlasting life, not death, u
and believe every word of the Nicene
creed, looking for the life" not the
death of the world to come" In short
do not believe in eternal damnation,
vet would spend this happy, merry
Christmas on my knees before Governor
Fowe to induce him to allow this pris
oner all the time that God sees fit to al
low him, to prepare his wicked soul
which have permitted to become black
with crime, through the influence o
whiskey, and make it ready to meet that
merciful Father, who is of purer eye:
than to behold iniquity." While hun
dreds of excellent christian men will
call out to the Governor: "Heec
not, be firm, fix an early day
let this man know that at sucI
an hour his life will be choked out of him