The weekly Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1854-1861, 1860-06-20
A ScOGer KeDI1kCd.

A few winters Ogo, while travelling South,
I halted late one evening at village in
North Alabama 10 spend the night. Quite
a company of travellers and village gossips
were seated around the glowing fire in the
bar room, when made my entry. | was
soon seated in the midst of the motley as
sembly, and during the interval employed
by niae host, in making certain demands
on his larder for my especial benefit, | lis
tened to their cht.c chat. A vauntipg, self,
important disciple oil Blackstone was holding
for ip an eloquent (D TRADE against rcl'
gion and Christianity in general. The cir
cumstance was somewhat similar to one
which happened to Judge Marshall, of Vir-
ginia, while travelling through the western
portion of the "Old Dominion" l had been
seated but few minutes, when the attorney
wound up with the following:
eyes, gentlemen, the whole system OF
religion is one grand humbug, and its vota.
ries are either monomaniacs or poor, litter.
ate, deluded beings. 1t is the poor and un-
learned alone who are the most numerous oI
its disciples. Why is it, ask, that the poor
is more susceptible than the rich man tc
religious Influences One hundred pool
men become converts to the theory to ter
wealthy. Would you have proof? Look
around you. Why is it! | ask. Whu
say you, stranger, in answer to this interrog
utory!' said the attorney, turning abrsptl
to an elderly, and rather dislinguishe
looking gentleman, who sat quietly smokin!
his pipe, in far corner OF the room, ant
, who had arrived at the inn but an hour o.
two before me.
"What is the reason, you osk! Why i
, is simply because the wealthy are too mucf
, occupied with the business, the cares ant
pleasures OF life to give thou! ht to religion
They won't take time to give the subject ,
serious thought. One said: He had
yoke of oxen, and that he wished to prov
! them, therefore he prayed to be excused
another, piece of land &c. The mind
Of the poor are not thus absorbed with tn,
trash of the earth. to the exclusi On of tha
which is priceless. True, God has chose
the weak and foolish to confound the stron
! and the wise, in many instances;yet, believ
t me, it is not the illiterate alone who ar
. so blessed as to be the recipients of h
q grace and mercies! The wisest men Ii
Q world has ever seen have acknowledged h
e supremacy and power with willing kne'
s Where is an unbelever, now, in this enligh
i ened country, where the majesty and good
;. ness and glory of God have been manifest
q ed, so often and SO clearly demonstrated
r but that he is weak, vain upstart! III
8, world from superstition, aye from chaos, ha
d been changed by the same religion, whic
q vou anon, reviled, to be almost Paradise
The dark places of the earth have bee
ID lighted up, III, dominion ofthe devil has bee
e subverted, and civilization, through its in
IS strumentality, now blooms where feroci,
!. once reigned, and the sound Of the Gospe
% is now heard among men where scene
were once enacted too dark and revolsin
for gentle ears; and nations which were ono
e mantled with superstition, and whose stream
IL were ever tinged with human gore. an
e stained. even, with the blood Of martyrs an
/. Of innocence, now wait In peace the glor
% Gus banner Of the crOss. Beware, your
-!l man, how you sneer at that which, to secul