True American. [volume] (Steubenville [Ohio]) 1855-1861, 1855-03-22

guard the purity of our common schools as
the fountains Of our nations hope, and
the citadels of our oouutry's strength and
safety, while the Catholicity, which Mr.
Wise is defending and eulogizing, denoun-
ces these same schools as nurseries of
pollution" as "instruments of the devil
But Mr.. Wise, himself a complication of
contradictions, pauses before no common
paradox,
DismisSing these various topics, the
speaker now charged furiously, with horse,
foot and dragons, upon the "Invincibles." 4"
The ferceness of his onslaught was equal
ed only by the careless courage of the enc
my. The latter, calmly conscious of safe
ty seemed to enjoy the desperate valor of
this captain of a torlorn hpe, and only
drove him to wilder fury by an occasion
al hearty "hurra" for their young Gener-
the "invisible," ubiquitous, all-conquer-
ing "SAM," victor of thousand battles.
That the blows Mr. Wise dealt AT "Know
Nothingism" were heavy there can be no
dispute, but the question remains, "did
they hit?" The blind giant Polyphemus
dealt crushing blows, and would have been
terrible in the darkness of his strength,
only his blindness saved the objects of his
passion unharmed. Mr.. Wise used the
pretended ritual of the new Order as Civ
en- in the ridiculous "expose" of the
Richmond Enquirer. This precious "dis-
cOvery'' was Invented by party demagogues
for political effect, yet he claimed it as au-
thentic and directed all his artillery against
Know Nothingism as there expounded.
He declared he held in his hand "the Bi-
BILE" of that Order and proceeded to de-
nounce it for its heresies. A large part Of
his audience seemed infinitely amused at
seeing him thus set up his imaginary tar
get But Mr. Wise is not alone in this
absurd credulity. We see men constant
ly who have been gulled by some pretend
ed expose of the secrets of this mysteri-
GUS order. But according to their own
showing, on what authority do they rest?
On that Of perjury alone. From whom
do they claim to have received their in
sight? From some outcaSt apostate of the
Order, whom neither pride nor honor could
bind, and who now comes forth to sport
with the weak credulity of dupes. Why
should he speak the truth NOW, with no
obligation but that of his fabulous honor,
when the terrible "oaths" of which you
speak could not bind him? Why should
you reject the authority of honest men
and accept that of him who comes to you
the perjurer of solemn obligations, with a
conscience washed in its own atrocities and
calls on you to accredit "a testimony blast
ed by his own accusation"
Taking such authority for the principles
of the Order, Mr.. Wise arranged his OBJ
jections to it, under no less than twenty
heads. First and foremost it was can't.
Slavery, in disguise, coming South with
the Bible in its hand" This startling
announcement failed to horrify an audi
ence of Westrm Virginians They live
too near Ohio to believe in the blessings
of Slavery. They have been too long
chained to its purifying corpse, as it lays
decaying on the "Eastern shore" to love
it. They know too well what has turned
the fertile fields of their own State int
desolation, and what has covered thei
nearest sister States with harvests of abun
dance, and teeming millions of toiling, bu
independent freemen. But as proof tina
it was heretical here, is Mr.. Wise's mos
veracious romance of the origin of Know
Nothingism. He says "it was born NOR,
than twenty-five years ago, in England
caught up at Exeter Hall, and sent over t,
Fanueil Hall, where Theodore Parker sci
zed it, in order to divide the Union w-
But even worse than all this, it wa
drought to Virginia expressly to defeat
Henry A. Wise as candidate for Cover
, nor. Imagine all this to be true, shoul
! not Mr.. Wise's passion for foreigners max
him welcome this stranger too? Bu
what are the facts? The Order was
|, quiet but triumphant operation in Virgin
y long before he was thought of for Cove
- nor, and it is surely reach of vanity
assume that so great work should
planned for so small purpose. Agai
Theodore Parker has opposed it from ii
% first, and only few weeks ago, in h
great speech, at the Tabernacle in Ne
u York, said he "was no Know Nothing
!, though he gave the party credit for I'll
u good they had done. Certainly, M
i Wise's talents are more those of the GOV
Il list than the historian. But to an imae
~ native mind, the images of an affright'
ie fancy or a coward conscience often ha
10 the force of reality.