The Portland daily press., 1866-01-19
A Pleasant Confession,

A Democratic paper in this city, in its long
notice of Rev. Henry Ward Beecher's admira-
bic lecture before the Mercantile Library AS
ISOLATION, takes occasion to say:
The lecture was listened to throughout with the
greatest interest and to all except the extreme fadi-
Gals, 1t gave the greatest satisfaction.
We are glad to hear this confession. 1t af-
fords ground for hope that the Democrats
may yet improve 1t is said that when the in
yeterate sinner sees and realizes his utterly
lost condition, there is ground for hope. He
must come to this before he win put forth eff
fort to rise, or accept the gracious aid proffer-
ed to him. We trust our Democratic friends,
politically, have got as far as this first STEP
The language of the Advertiser, considered in
connection with what Mr.. Beecher actually
said, indicates that at least one poor Demo-
cratic sinner-the writer OF the above-has
gained this starting point in the way of prog
ress. 3a sc
Mr. Beecher had occasion to speak of our
Democratic institutions. After doing SO he
paused, and then remarked, II use the word
in its respectable sense" II do hope" he
continued, 1.-THE time mag come when an non
est man may say I am Democrat WITHOUT
BLUSH NG AND FEELING ASHAMED OF the
confessionr And he continued In this strain
at some length, the large audience evidently
enjoying the keen shafts of his polished wit,
and showing their appreciation by the most
uproarious applause. II eola ig,-l-s ~
In another connection, he said he had
good deal of sympathy for the people of the
South. When he considered their training,
the institutions under which they had been
born and grown up, and the prejudices natu-
rally begotten and fostered by those institu-
tions, he did not feel like visiting them with
unmixed calamity he felt disposed to forgive,
and not be too exac.ing in the conditions on
which his forgiveness should be extended
eff" said he, "there are any people that tax
my forbearance, and for whom my forgiveness
isinsufficent, and upon whom I would visit
the utmost indignation, they are not of the
South they are those men In the North who,
knowing what liberty is and enjoying it them
selves, would wrest it from others, and who
have sympathized with armed rebellion
agdlIlSJ tu6 0ONGTuueuI VI buclr rdtnefS'
We are glad to learn that our Democratic
friends slistened" to such remarks 3with the
greatest interest,"" that they afforded them
"the greatest satisfaction" Their being pleas
ed with such an excoriation, however, reminds
us of case oncetsaid to occur on the Kenne-
bee, at the State Capital There was living
in that locality regular "fish woman" a no.
torious character, vile, foulmouthed and de-
graded. She offended neghbor, and by way
of retribution he gave her his opinion of her
merits. He called her all the vile names he
could think Of, pouring upon her head all sorts
Of opprobious epithets, representing her as
lewd, profane, obscene, grossly vulgar, and dis
solute beyond his power to describe. She "lis-
tened throughout with the greatest interest,""
and when he was done,-when his torrent of
inyective ceased to flow from sheer exhaus-
ton, she courtesied politely, and, as she turn
ed to leave him, blandly replied: ~ thas,k goa,
s5r; indeed, you fatter mel" .ar8