The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1898-04-13

MI. uIlbWUlu b1iu W uhuAs Hhi' DhV"hJ
this is Mr.. Brackett, sculptor, who
wishes to measure your head for bust"
"NOnsensep' slid Brown, 81 want no
bust and will have nOne." But said
GriswOld, "yOur work will become mat
ter Of history, and pOsterity will wish to
know how you look"
1T makes no difference to pOsterity
how look" said Brown, "let them hon
or the principles for which l am to die,
hut my looks are of no consequence eth
er to them or to the cause"
Mr.. GriswOld pleaded the expense to
which the artist had been in coming,
and Brown replied, "Money wasted.
They should have given it to the poor"
Mr.. GriswOld crossed to the door and
said, "Mr. Brackett, Mr.. Brown refuses.
as you have heard" MIR. Brackett replied,
Say to Mr.. Brown that | have come at
the request of Mrs. Stearns, of MedfOrd,
who has paid my expenses here, and who
will be greatly disappointed if l fail to
carry out her wishes"
Brown had resumed his reading, but
heard the remark. He dropped his book
and said to GriswOld, Whatever Mr..
or Mrs. Stearns ask shall be done"
Mr.. Brackett then gave directions,
standing in the door with the jailer, Avis,
while Mr.. GriswOld made the measure
ments, and the artist photographed upon
his memory the impression made upon
him by the face and carriage of Brown.
The measurements and the photographs
of Brown at hand proved adequate, and
Mr.. Bracket, well known for his pOr-
trait-busts of Washington, AllstOn, Bry
ant, Longfellow, Phillips, Garrison, and
Butler, produced what was considered by
the best judges to be an admirable bust
of John Brown at his best. Charles Sum-
npr said Of If that it vas like Michael
Angeles "MOseI," and 1hr papers at the
time contained many enthusiastic n'ti-
ces of the work.
Some months afterward, Mrs. Brown
visited the Stearns' home, and ignorant
Of the fact that a bust of her husband had
been made, was taken by Mrs. Stearns to
the athenaeum where the bust was then
on exhibition. Mrs. Brown. knew little
of art. She was interested in Stuart's
washington" and AllstOn's unfinished
picture of "Belshazzar's Feast" but
passed listlessly by the statuary, until
with cry she saw and instantly recOg-
nized her husband. "Yes," she sobbed,
''It is he. He could look like that. He
did not always look so, but he could, and
at times he did,"
The bust was placed on sale at large
price, for the artist had devoted long
time to his labor. But most of the
friends of the anti-slavery cause were too
poor to buy so expensive work of art.
At length, Mrs. Stearns said to her hus-
band: you have some railroad stock
that belongs to me, want to buy that
bust" So the bust was bought, and TAX
en- to the Stearns' home. It was a ilOta.
BILE occasion when it was unveiled. Gar
rison, Phillips, Emerson, Julia Ward
Howe, and all the ii0ted friends Of Brown,
in and afoahd Boston were present. For
more than thirty years, it has stood in
the home where Brown himself in life
was a welcome guest.
1t is fitting that cast Of this bust
should go to Wellington. Here occurred,
and here failed, the last attempt TO en-
force the Fugitive Slave law in the north
west. Here, noble men of Wellington
and 0berlin put in operation their theO-
ries Of the "higher law" in a manner
that showed their respect for the law of
the land, even while they seemed to dis
regard it, and went to Jail for their prin-
ciples Here lived and died John Browns
sister, Mrs. Marion Hand, loved and hon
ored by all who knew her. The bust,
most ftly bestowed and gratefully ac
cepted, will be remembered in cOnnec'
tion with people and events which the
town cherishes.
The bust exhibits John Brown at his
best. The benevolent qualities, the he
rOic, the tender, the intellectual are al
in that high brow, and in those features
mild but firm. 1t is neither John Brown
the martyr, nor John Brown, the avtn
ger, but John Brown, the hero, who live'
in the sculptOr's work.
John Brown wrote his last letter to hi
sisters on the Sunday before he died.
copy of this letter in the handwriting o
his sister, Marion, (Mrs. Hand, with JOhI
Browns own signature attached is befOrO
the writer. In it are the words: "Say Il
all my friends that | am waiting cheer
fully and patiently the days Of my ap
pointed time, fully believing that for m
to die will be to me an infinite gain, ant
of untold benefit to the cause we love
Wherefore, be Of good cheer, and let no
your hearts be troubled. TO him tina
OvercOIheth will | grant to sit down witt
me in my throne, even as I also Overcam
and am set down with my Father in Hi
throne wish my friends could know
little of the opportunities | now get 70