On the whole, my respect for my fellow-men, except as one may outweigh
a million, is not being increased these days. I have noticed the
cold-blooded way in which newspaper writers and men generally speak
of this event, as if an ordinary malefactor, though one of unusual
"pluck,"--as the Governor of Virginia is reported to have said, using
the language of the cock-pit, "the gamest man he ever saw,"--had
been caught, and were about to be hung. He was not dreaming of his
foes when the governor thought he looked so brave. It turns what
sweetness I have to gall, to hear, or hear of, the remarks of some
of my neighbors. When we heard at first that he was dead, one of my
townsmen observed that "he died as the fool dieth"; which, pardon
me, for an instant suggested a likeness in him dying to my neighbor
living. Others, craven-hearted, said disparagingly, that "he
threw his life away," because he resisted the government. Which
way have they thrown their lives, pray?--such as would praise a man
for attacking singly an ordinary band of thieves or murderers. I
hear another ask, Yankee-like, "What will he gain by it?" as if he
expected to fill his pockets by this enterprise. Such a one has
no idea of gain but in this worldly sense. If it does not lead to
a "surprise" party, if he does not get a new pair of boots, or a
vote of thanks, it must be a failure. "But he won't gain anything
by it." Well, no, I don't suppose he could get four-and-sixpence
a day for being hung, take the year round; but then he stands a chance
to save a considerable part of his soul,--and such a soul!--when
you do not. No doubt you can get more in your market for a quart
of milk than for a quart of blood, but that is not the market that
heroes carry their blood to.

Such do not know that like the seed is the fruit, and that, in the
moral world, when good seed is planted, good fruit is inevitable,