The Fremont weekly journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County, Ohio) 1867-1877, 1869-02-19
A Lie wen stuck 10.
IBy Henry Ward Bescher-l

A Lie Well Stack To.
IBy Henry Ward Beecher.l
In the nursery time Of our life, lies
of small magnitude were called stories,
and We have sadly learned since that
stories are very often lies; and a grOtss-
que story-an odd or funny One--is
destined, if one may say so, 10 q short
immortality
Many stories, that have been walking
up and down the earth since the food,
are told to-day Of living public men, As
undoubted and Veritable history. Many
standing jokes are traeeabls to the Mid
die Ages, they re-sppear in Roman his
tory; any may be found again in old
Greek anthologies, and probably the
Greeks borrowed them from yet older
people, and they from the antediluYians.
It adds to the relish Of these primitive
Joe Aillers to hear them reciled by
some innocent friend, with a guarantee,
4 kROsO that this story is true, for it
happened to Deacon Blossom, IN my
native town, and was present.
And hear arises a very curious quss-
ton, which Professor Porter, in his re-
cent admirable treatise on Mental Phil
osophy, seems to hsys investigated in
manner not worthy Of his usual
thoroughness-tLs question, we mean,
whether a man can remember a thing
which never happened to himl
At first sight any one win say be can
not But such q judgment viii force
great many good men and women into
the gulf of TBS. Either people can dis
tinctly remember what never happened
to them, or else the standard and staple
jokes of society are sustained by false
witnesses.
We draw back from such an unchar-
table construction, and ayoW our be-
hef that under peculiar conditions a
man may remember, distinctly, not ou-
lY what never happened to him, but
thing that never happened at all
A case of our own history shall illus
trate this matter. Some eighteen o..
nineteen years ago, soon after our com
ing to Brooklyn, We heard the follow
ing story told Of the now venerable Dr..
Samuel Cox, the father Of many bril-
liant sayings, as well as Of Bishop Cox
Of Western New York. The story ran
thus: "On a Sunday morning in
August, Dr. Cox, rising to the sermon,
without warning, or prefix, began, st
is d-d hot Looking around in
calm and pious way, he wiped bis fore
head, and again said, 1t is ID hot
Waiting till he thought the words had
burnt in, he proceeded, These words,
my brethren, l heard from the lips Of
a profane young man as l entered the
doors of the church. ThereupOu, the
story goes, he proceeded to give an ed
flying discourse on the sin and folly Of
profane SWEARING
When we first heard it we recognized
the story. 1t was an old acquaintance.
It had been doing service in England.
It was told of Rev. Rowland Hill, only
in his case. the topic was not the
1gsatseT, but the tbeateT, on which the
young mans profanity was expended.
But stock stories, Ike couriers, ike to
change horses. Before We knew It the
saddle was settled to our back, nor have
we ever been able to shake it of. We
ave,,deniedit, twice By print, many times
by letter, and hundred times in con-
Versatiou, all in vain. The saddle sticks,
and every month we find a new fool
riding in it. It turns up in newspapers
periodically. Il runs the rounds Of
Some people are de-
lighted with the smartness Of it and
would walk fifty miles to hear that man
preach; and others are shocked at such
mpiety, and mOurnfully shaking their
heads. declare that It would be break
ng Sunday to hear suOh a fellow
preach
The story was sent to Us from Eng
and, our name and all We saw It in
i California paper. It has been travel
ng and swearing in France and in Ger
nany-though we don't understand a
'rOfane word in either language-and
f that Yankee-O OhinamaD, Mr. Burlin-
-ame, would only tell the truth, we be-
ieve that he has seen the very story,
ny name and all, crooked up and grim
ing in those celestial hieroglyphics
which adorn tea chests and Chinese
,ictures. Indeed, it is ike to be the
hief memorial of our life. We are in
Ormed that in outermost places, on
earirg our name, men say, sAh, yes,
le know himl That's the man that
aid Its id hotP
What is to be donel Here is a mild
nd well behaving minister, with
tory fixed on him that he can't IN
uckls nor cut nor unite, nor rub of.
LAS is this the punishment Of some
{ our boyish freaks Of mischiefl We
,ar ! Once, when annoyed BY a neigh
or's flock Of geese, we fed them corn,
} certain kernels Of which short strings
'ere tied with bits Of paper attached.
Ehen the grain was swallowed the pa
or, with each movement Of the goose,
obbsd up behind him and at him. IN
few minutes the flock were racing and
ying and sqnaking each with his pa
sr Whirling close behind him. Is this
ory Whizzing behind us in = Ike nan
Or and for punishment
It is not however, the slor, thatssf.
cts Us. L IS shs piOus afaicso3 VI
BOD people, who every year ~ Two,
ave 3 1t Of correspondence cone over
EN-, a. d ply as with letters Of inquiry,
grisf Of holy indignation, Of rxnor-
ton and instruction. One u tBss.
'riods seems just setting in nov. Here
3 letter come to hand yesterday. Civ
CoSCLUDEn ON FOURTH PAGE.