Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1870-10-13

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MisqaOting the Bible.
THE eloquent Bishop of Oxford, famil-
iarly known in England by the somewhat
disrespectful sobriquet of "Soapy SAM"
conferred upon him by Punch, tells q
good story of an old woman who, having
adopted little girl from the workhouse,
| and brought her up till she was is years
of age, was then forsaken by her protege
whom = neighboring farm house enticed
away to "better herself" On being con-
doled with on this ungrateful abandon
ment by sympathizing friends, the old
woman meekly answered that Scripture
warned US that such things must happen.
"You know 1t is said there, Train up q
child and away he do co."
There are accomplished men of letters
and scholars whose quota ions OF Scripture,
or indirect reference to 1t, though hsrdly
20 ludicrous, are not very much more &C.
curate than that of Bishop Wilberforce's
ancient dame. One scarcely knows what
to make of Horace Walpoles confusion Of
Cain and Samson, in one OF his letters to
q clerical friend, too, panegy rizing Ger,
tain noble, but childless couple, IN their
Eden. like existence at Nuneham: Il do
L 4
to it, with its Adam and Eve; who may
| comfort themselves with having no chill.
! dren, when they recollect that the first.
born committed murder wiM the jaubone
| of an ass, a deadly weapon l am sure"
| The italics-whatever they may be worth
are Walpole's own.
"What says Timothy?" Is the query OF
the great English lawyer, john Fon.
| hlanque, in introducing The words OF st.
| Paul, " Having food and raiment, let US
be herewith content"
"He VINO iempers the wind TO the
shorn lamb" sounds so purely Scriptural
that the distinguished American lawyer
and statesman, Daniel Webster, may per-
| haps be pardoned for depfivipg Laurence
Sterne, the originator OF good old Uncle
| Toby, OF its authorship, and ascribing 1t TO
the Scriptures. There are, perhaps, many
unbelieyers who, upon reading this stale
ment, will search their Bible under the
same hallucination which confused tie
great orator, but their researches Will be
a fruitless labor.
The editor Of a well known English
journal con plimented Lord Chesterfield
Tor his sensiuie remark that "evil COM
munications corrupt good manners :
while q primitive Methodist, ciscoarSing
in chfpel in this city, took occasion to
mention the many trials and difficulties
which often had besct his path, But"
said he, Gin the midst of all my difficult
ties, I am led TO persevere in the good
work by the following passage OF Scrip
ture coming into my mind Faint heart
never won fair lady"
The we'll known essayist and critic,
William Hszit, ascribes TO "the Safnari-
tan "-whoever that may be-the publ
cans prayer, " hich nc linus verbally mis-
quotes, "Lord be nercitnl TO me, Sin
ner."
Leigh Hunt tells US of Shelley, tina.
"he was student of the book Of job,
and that for his Christianity he went TO
the gospel of St James;" and.Thackeray
writes Of Amelia Osborne and her boy,
that the fond mother had made some
little shirts for him." when he Jeff home
TO stay with his rich grandfather, but
when her Eli came TO see the widow, they
were replaced by much finer linen"
The versatile and vivacious Charles
Dickens also stumbles in his Scriptursl
sllusions DR.. Blimber, the schoolmaster
Of Brighton, TO whose tender mercies
Paul Dombey Is consigned, having oc-
casion to set an imposition, does 30 In
these terms: "Johnson will repeat to
me to. morrow morning, before break.
fast without book, and from the
Greek Teyta ment, the First Epistle
Of St. Paul to the Ephesians." Rather
hard upon johnson, but 1t would have
been sill more difficult II DR.. Blimber
had imposed upon him the Second Epistle,
| for where In the world could johnson
have procured copy. In an earlier fc-
| ton by the same distinguished author oc-
ours the following curious passage: "The
only Scripiural sdmonition that Ralph
Nlcklsby needed, in the letter. was know
M. Philsrete Chasles, whose reputation
for scholarship Is not inconsidcreblc, per
mi,s himself, in one OF his autobiography
cal souvenirs Of travels in England, 70
make Norihumbrisn Puritan, who
yearned TO convert him, refer 70 koJab,
Dsthan, and Abiram as the favored three
upon whom the fiery furnace had no
| power.
Another accomplished French writer
| n, de ga mt Benve, whom SATURDAY Re
c5eUer has pronounced the frst OF living
| critics ---speaks Of Cowper's attention be-
ing fixed by averse 10 saint fsufs THIRD
EpIstIe TO the Romans "-Applst0ns Jour-
nal. -
| HENRY CLAY used 70 say that there
were three classes Of people with whom
| il was never safe TO quarrel. First-Miu-
isters; for the reason that they could de-
nounce me from the pulpit, and / had
none through which 70 reply. Second
! Editors; for they had the most powerful
| engines from which they could every day
| hurl wrath and fury upon me, and ! had
none through which 70 reply. And,
| finally, with women, for they would have
| the last word anyhow.
| Nh. q. vas most invsterats punster.
Living very Ill Of cholera, his nurse pro-
posed 70 prepare young, tender chicken.
kHsdn't you better take a old hem" nid
| a.. IN Q low Whispef-lOr he was too III
10 peak louder-a Tor abe would be moro
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