Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1858-01-27
For the Shirt of the. Acc

Mr.. EDIroR: ~ the 10Th No. Of the Age,
Mr.. " En- Ami comes down upon me like a
hawk upon a chicken, because Of some re-
marks | made about " nardshellism," in a
communication which appears i'll the 10th
No. Of your paper.
Were | one Of the fathered tribe, or had |
ever been enveloped ina Shelf Of any
kind, / might fear his dreadful, flesh-tearing
talons but as | anne into being through an
entirely different process, / am invulnerable.
/ fear not his ci1trs.
That gentleman has entirely mistaken my
object in that communication. lie seems to
think that | am at war with the Baptist
Church and all the pious ones who have liv-
ed and died in that communion. I do most
emphatically declare this to be untrue. /
have been raised among the people of that
persuasion have attended their churches
from earliest recollection, and yet have | new,
or given offence to one of them, though my
opinions have ever been different from theirs.
The ism" against which | incidentally
and by way of legitimate conclusion, had the
mpudence to use my pen, is one, which be-
yOnd the possibility Of n successful contra
diction, has ever been AMI still is, a CURSE
to the people Of this vicinity. I, therefore,
shall not take back one word / have written,
but stand ready, whenever called upon, to
substantiate any assertion, with positive
proof
l suppose Incognito has read his Bible az
often as " En- Amir has md that he is as
much governed by its holy precepts as that
distinguished gentleman but it by no means
follows, that he is to hold his tongue, when
an " ism" Of any kind is damning the souls
Of his fellow men, and subverting the grand
designs Of Heaven, simply for fear of arous.
ing the indignation of a few mistaken per-
sons, and bringing a war of words upon him
self The most successful plan, sometimes,
of conquering the devil, is, to make him mad.
lie is very apt to shoot breach foremost and
kill himself
II does not legitimately follow that, be
cause the Hardshells are honest in their opin
ions, that they arc right. What class of PEG
pie were greater sticklers for forms and cere
monies than the Scribes and Pharisees anC
yet, our Lord saw the dangerous results o
their doctrines and practice, and calls then
"a generation Of vipcrs v "a cage of uncleaI
birds y "whited scpulchres y ~'hypocrites
&c" Why is not our Lord charged with in
temperance in words by En- Amig
| need nothing more than the simple con
fcssion Of En- Ami himself, to prove tina
HardShellism has been a curse to him.
He tells US, II belong to no christian dc
nomination" Why not? Is he not a grow
up man What has kept him from attend
ing to the most important of all duties, tn
salvation of his soul? The duty, which OH
Lord commands us to attend to first of all
l answer, IL is the Ism to aohich he is dttdcheC
Go and examine every neighborhood wher
the Hardshells abound, and you will fin
them opposed to internal improvements
Sabbath Scholastic Missionary undertaking
to Temperance Associations while Ignt
rance, Intemperance, Bigotry and wicked
ness of almost every species abound to a
alarming extent. If these Developments
human danraw.4-A-wOc UStOhen u CURSE
the root. / do net understand human action
And now, Mr.. "En Ami" ] am done for IL
present. Ishould not have noticed your con
munication, had you not intimated in yo'
conclusion that, if dared to open my mou'
YOU would hoist the cudgel again.
am ready to prove your tavorite Ism
curse, whenever you demand it and shi
be with you whenever you show your face
public. Upon the wholesir, | nm of the OPT
ion, IL some one could give you a few go
ticks with the sledge hammer of truth up
the right end, so that you could PIP and col
out. YOU would make a pretty clever 6trd.
AS TO my beinga Door Temperance ma
Ileave that for the Editor ofthe Age and tho
who know me, to say.