the clamorous people, the
prosecution and the counsel appointed for the defense. But he also knew
that the mob mind to whom he was appealing would not believe that he
knew this. In appeals to the crowd he was a past master. In this appeal
he knew that facts would count for nothing--beliefs, illusions for
everything.

He played each opportunity for all it was worth.

When the Court opened the following morning, his counsel, Mr. Botts,
amazed the prisoner and the prosecution by reading a telegram from Ohio
asking a delay on the ground that important affidavits were on the way
to prove legally that John Brown was insane. Before the old man could
stop him he gave to the Court the substance of these sworn statements.

His friends and relatives in Ohio had sworn that Brown had been always
a monomaniac and had been intermittently insane for twenty years. One
swore that he had been plainly insane for a quarter of a century. On the
family record of insanity the affidavits all agreed. His grandmother was
hopelessly insane for six years and died insane. His uncles and aunts,
two sons and two daughters had been intermittently insane for years,
while one of his daughters had died a hopeless maniac. His only sister,
her daughter and one of his brothers were insane at intervals. Two of
his first cousins were occasionally mad. Two had been committed to the
State Insane Asylum repeatedly and two others were at that time in close
restraint.

Brown refused to allow this plea to be entered. He bitterly denounced
the counsel assigned to him as traitors, and at their request the
following day they were allowed to withdraw from the case. No sooner had
he finished his denunciation of his counsel than Hoyt, the young alleged
attorney, sent by Higginson to defend him, sprang to his feet and asked
a delay, as he was unprepared to proceed without assistance.

The Judge adjourned the Court until the following morning at ten
o'clock.

The young spy knew nothing of law but he bluffed it through until the
arrival of two able attorneys, Samuel Chilton of Washington, and Hiram
Grismer of Cleveland.

Botts, the dismissed counsel, who had sought to save Brown's life by the
plea of insanity, put his notes and his office at the disposal of Hoyt
and sat up all night with him preparing his work for the following day.

When the new lawyers appeared the old man made another play at illness
to gain delay. The Court ordered him to be brought in on his co