The pilot and transcript. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1840-1841, 1840-08-04

lOl llbtAsI II Is pd1Ilut W INT " 49,
exposures, and useless to comment OH them.
Before l pass to the purely personal part oil
your letter, let us settle matter which IN SO
many ways, you have endeavored to work up to
the furtherance of your purposes. allude to
the case of DIR. Horwitz, Dr. Morris and myself
The facts are few and simple DIR. Horwltz
wished to publish an article in vindication of
his views of the Cosmogony of Moses: which
views differed materially from those of DIR. Nor
ris; and conceded with my own. l declined
publishing his article without such alterations
my respect and friendship for DIR. M. prompted;
these were agreed to, as far as then considered
necessary, and the article published during my
absence in the west, in our December number
for 1889. When read the article, in Kentucky,
found it contained expressions in regard to Dr.
M, which gave me great pain; and immediate
ly wrote for publication, and addressed to him
letter which was "entirely satisfactory" to him; ;
all which was published over his signature and
my own, in our number for February, above
month before you abused NE so grossly, pretend
ing falsely to do it on the account of DIR. M
Now to show you the true posture of this matter
notwithstanding all your well meant efforts to
entangle it; let say to you, that have bafora
me, letter from DIR. M. post-marlzed two DAYS
before my trial began, and therefore Just two
days before your unbridled public villification of
me commenced; couched in terms of friendship
and sympathy most honorable to my character
and grateful to my heart; and in terms of COM
mendation, which modesty forbIds me to repeat.
Sir, you are as utterly incapable of appreciat-
ing the character and conduct of Dr. Merits as
you are of graphing with the learning and abil-
tiles of DIR. HorwitZ. When you force the public
to contrast you with the one, you run the risk of
making yourself odious when with the other,
ridiculous.
There is another point which had perhaps bet
ter be settled here, also l said in the note on
page 253 of our Magazine, which has furnished
the occasion for your last attack, that YOU had
made such publication, as to render it necessa
ry, publicly to explain away portions of it, or
give up your eldership; and that you had done
the former, $50 far as regarded portion of your
printed praises eff papal priests and papism in
general" You devote three paragraphs, making
together third of column OF newspaper, to
this particular matter. You say, ethis is new to
me-" What is new9 Not that you printed
praises eof papal priests and papism in general?o
The whole city knows this is true; and you do
not deny it. Not that most serioas, extensive
and decided spirit of dissatisfaction was mani
tested at these EFprinted praises in the CON
gregation to which you belong? For know,
and presume you also know, on unquestionable
authority, that this was the fact. Not that you
did really make public explanation of those
tprinted praises'-as you had before found it
necessary to do, of a misstatement in regard to
the editor of the Patriot another part of these
same general attacks on me9 For your expla-
nation has been published with your signature
attached. Not new, to you surely, that an elder
can lay aside his Office without having charges
brought against HIM before the church courts?
For there is file with the session clerk of the
Second Presbyterian church, written evidence
of no recent date, that you at least think he can
What is it, then, that is new? | will tell you,
sir, what IS bran new to me, in this whole case
1t is, that man writing himself Christian or
gentleman, should solen1nly, deliberately, and
with all the sanctions of public covenant with
God and man, declare his sincere reception and
adoption of Confession of Faith, which expli-
citely declares the Pope of Rome to he Anti
christ, the man of sin, the of perdition, and
which, by an irresistible implication, pronounces
the church of Rome synagogue of Satan; and
then should publicly speak and write both as to
time, manner, and matter, in such wayithat all
men who hear and read without knowing the
secrets of his position and designs, understand
him to "praise papal priests and papism in gen
eral" Yea, so that his own defence of himself,
goes only to this that he is neutral, or at least
moderate, on these very questions! This sir, is
rsew. And sincerely hope that it may remain
entirely unparalleled, at least as it regards the
ruling elders of our ancient and upright church.
In matter SO grave as this, into which your
unsparing bitterness has driven me, it seems to
me that all attempts at pretending diction and
ornament of style, are worse than idle; they
are contemptible-alm wicked. l do not ac-
cuse you OF having made them; and am ready
to suppose, that your elegant leisure has been
filed up with the study of the H1tnanities, as
they call them in Scotland, where you inform us
you have had such advantages; and that the
habits OF refined society and literary effort, make
quotation such second nature with you-that
the aptest thoughts in the best terms, suggest
themselves so forcibly as not to bear rejection.
There is deep and living instinct in the breast
OF man, which oft-times leads us to do marvel
lous strange things. Even without the force of
habit, and doubly with its aid, he who does a
noble action, is msst likely to recall some noble
parallel, and speak perhaps the sentiments, per-
haps the very words of some great and yirtuous
man: while he who is about to do some deed of
triple baseness, would just as naturally recall
from the stores of his memory, CORRESPONDING
deeds and words to match. Dare l saw. Sir.
that one OF the oldest things in your whole case,
is, that when you were in the very act of accom-
piishlng what you intended should be the murder
oil my good name, you should quote the very
words winch the very worst character conceived
in English literature, uses on an occasion nre-
ciseiy similar? ssHonest, honest Iago,o preach
es the value of "good name'-and stabs his
victim with both hands, Yos, Sir, by a strange
fatality of instinct, quote his words with almost
his ewn conviction and sincerity-and then per-
form his Office of deliberate ranceur, with nearly
Inc same cooi eHrontery. Si7onest, honest IGgo"
thought like yourself, that men sswill as ten
DERBY be lei by the nose, as asses are.n
Let me now turn to that espertion of this dis
CUSTOM" which you say is |smuch more disa
greeable;" viz, to that part which, as you say
again, "is altogether personal" Now, Sir,
whose fault is it---frst, that we have any ssper-
sonal discussions" and secondly that it should
be conducted publicly l will state the facts,
as understand them, and let the public Judge.
For more than five years before the publica-
ton of our Magazine for December, 1899, I can
not remember that we had any private inter
course, beyond the occasional and most general
civiiities of life except on single occasion,
when carried letter for you to your brother
whom you expected would meet at one of our
Synods ; and when came back to Baltimore,
you allowed yourself to write me an insulting
note demanding the letter back, under pre-
tenee that you thought, as had brought back no
answer, | must have neglected to deliver it
w hen after Deceuher 1920 md IL, rn.,l.r t, on