The Fremont weekly journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County, Ohio) 1867-1877, 1869-04-23
rFor the Journal.l
WILLIAM THE SILENT. "

Sn:-l thank you for sending the extract
from your paper and for your letter, written
iu'the spirit Offair play, kindly Offering me
space in yoaF coldmns for a reply to a crit
cism made upon my lecture entitled wi
Lam The Silent by Mr.. 8. Bower, Pastor
of st, JOseph's Catholic Church, Fremont,
Ohio. Though have failed 10 perceive
anything in that somewhat labOred criticism,
imperatively demanding or strongly merit
ing either notice, denial or ex plsnati6nlfrom
me, and though ! dislike to depart from my
usual course Ofs'ying my say, and leaving
the. newspapers unquestioned for ANYTHING
they utter in the way of criticism upon my
lectures, Twill, ia Tbs instance, partly be-
cause Of ny respet8Dr NJ Bowel and.psrt-
ly toshOw my appreciation Of your generous
offer of space for reply, venture to send you
few lines, iu answer to that part Of Mr..
Bowers criticism in which he not only at
tncks my manners but ny honesty.
Ist. AS to good taste; Mr.. Bower vas
displsased-his friebds were offended
Mixed audience Catholics being listen.
ers. Game to pay and honor him.. ButI
carnOt stay TO repeat. all the sggravatipg cir
cumstaqceg. In answer make only one
general staaemeut: = Azsa y 49,
No man at all connversant with the
history of Catholic percecutiSp, under Span
ish rule, three bdDdsed years ago, and Vho
POSSESSES ordinary knowledge of human
nature, will deem it strarge or surprising
that any sincere Catholic, like the Iious and
learned Psstor St. Joseph's sbOn.d be an
noyed and highly displease by any effort of
mine, however feeble, 'eulogi,ing William of
Nassau making an apothecses ofhim, dc.
I should as soon think Of pleasing Henry a
Wise, by Tr.i'ing John Brown; pleasing
Lee, by praisipg Grsp'; pleasing New Or
lesns, by praising ButltF; or johnson, by
praising Congress- as to ihiuk Of pleasing
Catholics by pOr,rsyirg the vntues of Will
liam of Orange. With all respect. Mr..
Bower demands loo much, He might as
well ask me to go into the water, without
getting wet as to ask me to unfold the hor-
rors of Catholic persecutieHs without giving
pain to the seusibilitiCs of devoted Catholics,
in our day. Tine, and the onward march
of liberal. ideas, have wrought wonders, and
the end is not yet. Deeds of glory have
been, by these potent agt nts, converted into
deeds of shame. The slavetrader was once
a respectable character; we now hang him at
the yard arm as pirate. To burn heretcs
WIS once religious duty, now it is an set of
murder. Time, ard the growing enlighten-
ment of Psnkind, have wrought these
changes. 1t is no fault of mine that even
Rome-the eternal eity-uust tremble, and
that tie church known BY its name, must bend
or break down iu sccordInce With the ire
sistabIe forces of advancing ideas, and the
silent mutations Of time, Afteriooming GEM
erations will find, in many of the practices
now deemed honorable by christian men,
the same cause for regret and shame, that
the Catholic now feels for the acts of his an
cient brethern. fe4-aA
10 my lecture, my aim was to bring be-
fore my hearers the lesson which history |
teaches, against blind, arrogant, presump-
tious bigotry. 1 think / did this with impair
tiality, if not with ability. 1 accorded to |
Catholics sincerity, and fully ascribed their
to the darkp.ess of ths age. I |
condemned intolerance and pen ecution as
practiced by Protesfanty,S as when the same /
were practiced BY Catbolic4 It is no fault
Of mine that The record Of the latter is blscker
aud bloodier than that of the former, ID
Cd. Bat the Pope did not bless the assas-
Iips of William of Nassau. Here are Mr.. /
Bowers words: There is no authsutication
If such cOuduc. of the Pope No honorable
historian whites anything of the kind
WillismTellhy the hand of BalthsEer Gerard.
who was baited on BY Iucre., SO fell the
good Lincoln by the hand of Bootb'a viii
not say that Mr. DOuglasslied Nef he only /
Dsbbled after another - Z aI
Well, 1 viii show myself as generous and
asgenilemanly as Mr.. Bower has shown him.
,elf will neither gay that be lied, nor
hat be- lbahbIed aAsf snother, for such i
hiDgs are easily said and might implY7only /
Ihe bad temper Of those who utter them; but
his will say, that my respected critic hiss