'
Had he known how to sell wool as well as he knew how to test it;
had he known how to sell his sheep as well as he knew hundreds of
sheep faces apart, and like a diviner could interpret their
inarticulate language; had he been as apt upon the market as he
was upon the farm, he might have made money. As it was, there
was never more than enough for the wants of a severely plain
household life.
But this business record was (and herefrom its frequent
misfortune may have largely proceeded) in no wise the history of
John Brown. We must catch, if we can, indications of the
unfolding of his soul, and of the inward preparation for what he
felt was his divine destiny; and these may best be gathered as we
watch the simple home life of the family. At an early age, while
residing at Hudson, Ohio, he married his first wife, Dianthe
Lusk; and though he was but twenty years of age, his was no rash
choice. A description by one who had been brought up with her
may be fitly quoted: 'Plain but attractive, because of a quiet
amiable disposition, sang beautifully, almost always sacred
music; she had a place in the wood not far from the house where
she used to go alone to pray.' John Brown, servant as he already
accounted himself of the Invisible Powers, is drawn to one who
thus communes with the Unseen.
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