Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-08-31
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THE LIBRARY TABLE
BY the B00kloper

ana Gne scene OF JONI 6EOWnS Edlu
know that John Brown is buried far
farm in the heart of the Adirondacks
in New York State? Alfred L. Donald
son in his History of the Adirondacks'
devotes q chapter to the story Of John
Brown. In 1849 John Brown settled
in the town Of North Elba, small
inhabited clearing in the widest part
Of the North Woods, only few miles
from what is now the popular resort
of Lake Placid. THE surrounding
ness" To North Elba he brought his
wife and younger children, reasoning
that there they could live cheaply and
safely, while he pursued his dangerous
occupation Of fighting slavery. The
family and household goods were
moved to the mountains. from Ohio, in
an ox-cart. one of whose wheels is
preserved at the Lake Placid Club. The
first home was house of three rooms
and an attic and here lived a family
OF nine and one or two colored helpers
Browns remained here for two years,
during which John Brown spent much
OF the time with his family. After that
his visits were short and infrequent
THE scenic beauty surrounding his
Adirondack home made a deep appeal
to Brown. Lying in the center OF a
wide plateau, it commanded a piano.
ramic view Of distant mountains, trench
ing the horizon. The mountains have
always been symbol of freedom, and
their lofty message probably never went
Stralghter home than to the lofty soul
of this lone man: Who shall gage the
part they played in the meditative
pauses that alternated with periods of
aggressive action? That 1t was not
negligible there is ample proof, and his
growing love for the spot eliminated in
the desire to be buried there" In 1851
John Brown took his family back to
Ohio, parity because of the failure of his
plan for Negro colony at North Elba
and partly because of lawsuits in Ohio.
In 1855 there was another hegira, back
To North Elba. and the family moved
into an unfinished house provided by
the husband Of one OF the daughters who
had married All early settler of North
Elba. This house is the present me-
morla. building. over which floats the
United States flag. From this time the
life of John Brown became that of a
rowing and restless agitator in a right
eous cause" He took prominent part
in the border skirmishes in Kansas
which eliminated in the fight at Osa-
Watomie. Returning for a brief visit
to North Elba in the Spring of 1857.
he brought with him from a family
burying ground at Canton, Conn, an
old tombstone belonging to his grand
father. This he placed beside a huge
granite boulder near the house and on
the boulder he cut the letters -. B." 1t
was on this spot that he was later
buried.
The story of the removal of the
body Of John Brown from Charles Town.
Va, where he was executed, to North
Elba. as told by Donaldson, is a dra-
matte one. The execution took place
December g. 1859. and the body was
shortly afterward delivered to the widow
and some friends at Harpers Ferry. On
the journey north a riot was feared at
Philadelphia. so permission was refused
the escort to remain over Sunday and
the body was hurried on to New York.
where 1t was embalmed. Sympathy
increased as the party went farther
nrorth-through Troy, N: Y; Rutland,
VT, and Vergennes, Vt, on Lake
Champlain. Here a boat was waiting
which by special arrangement landed
the party at Westport. across the lake
From there they proceeded at once
to Eliza BEETHOVEN, 10 miles away. Here
the night was spent. The courthouse
was offered as resting place for the
body. and six volunteers spent the
night with 1t as a guard of honor
The next day. Wednesday. Dectmber Z.
the last and hardest stage of the jour-
nev was completed-the long. rough
ride over the mountains and through
Keene Valley to the North Elba home
The next day. Thursday. December g.
1859. the funeral took place. and this
leads to the strangest part of the
story" Rev. Joshua Young, Uni
tartan minister at Burlington, VT. him.
self an abolitionist. was urged by an
abolitionist friend to attend the funeral
of John Brown. The two fastened
by an old Scow ferry. at the end of
a northeast storm, and by relays of
horses through the night and the
cold and the horrible roads to their
destination" They we're just in time
for the funeral. and Wendell Phillips
came to. DR.. Young and asked him to
take charge of the service. DR.. Young
did so. but on his return to his home
in Burlington found that six of his
twealthiest parishioners had left his
church and that he himself was being
"infidel," "blasphemer' and vile as
sociate Of Garrison and Phillips" Dr.
Young never told the fact that his
participation in the funeral was acct
dental until shortly before his death.
In 1870. when the John Brown farm
was for sale, Miss Kate Field or
gained the John Brown Association,
which purchased the farm in order
to keep it as historical monument
New York State. In 1899 the bones
of 10 of John Browns followers were
brought to North Elba and buried be-
side the leader Rev. Joshua Young
conducted the ceremonies on this occa-
sion also and Bishop Potter and White
law Reid made addresses.
X x X
E. Darlington, who makes a speciality
of fictioniZing the lives of naughty.
charming women and egotistic, conquer
ing men of history, has a new novel,
THE Laughing Queen" which gives a
revised version of Cleopatra. Ambition
is the dynamo of Cleopatras character,
not love. For ambition she yields in
turn to Caesar and Antony. She is rep
resented as barely tolerating the conceit
and senSuality of Antony, because he
seems likely to be the tyrant at Rome.
She takes her own life when there is
nothing further to hope for on the road
to glory.
Andre Maurois tells of his biographi-
cal theories in his book, a collection of
six lectures delivered at Trinity College,
Cambridge, Aspects of Biography"
M. Maurois sees no excuse for the
panegyric biography and finds the
purely scientific biography dull. The
personal life of a man seems to him
more important than his contribution
to general affairs. tWhy not both?)
He believes that the biographer is justi-
fed in using his material for self-ex-
preston as we'll as for portrayal of his
subject. In both Shelley and Disraeli
he found traits which appealed to him
personally which he could interpret with
unusual sympathy. as well as others,
like Shelley's romanticism, which
aroused his irony.
u X \ \
AS a result of his appointment as