New York, Oct. 25, 1859.
There having appeared in yesterday's “Tribune” a false and malicious
attack upon me, I shall, after the trial of John Brown, publish the
correspondence between himself, his friends, and myself, which correspondence
commenced about two years ago, and was continued during the spring of 1859.
Some Abolitionists of good judgment insisted strongly that I should make Brown
desist from his projects, which they considered would prove fatal to the
antislavery cause ; and as there were sundry persons in the free States
interested, copies of most of the letters were furnished to each of them and to
Brown. I could not myself take all the copies, therefore some friends
occasionally copied for me. I feel sure that none of these letters were
suffered to be seen by the Secretary of War: first, because I have faith in the
reliability of those who had them in their hands: and, secondly, because it is
absolutely impossible that, had such authentic evidence been placed before him,
he could have been taken so by surprise as he was at Harper's Ferry.
H. Forbes.
SOURCE: Franklin B. Sanborn, The Life and Letters of
John Brown, p. 426
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