The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1872-12-13
SHIELD Us. SOMEBODY. DO!

The Catholic Sentinel is after us with
two daggers. We wish we had space for
the column of stupid spleen and ex-
ploded nonsense, which that head-hid-
den scribbler thrusts at us with these
az f." We'd like to give the public an
opportunity to behold the frightened
antics of the stirred-up priesthood. But
we cannot refrain from presenting just
one paragraph, and just to show that
our hidden reviler has unsheated his
daggers to fight that concerning which |
his own imagination has befogged him,
we give the following specimen of his
incoherent babbling:
Catholic ladies have a higher sense Of the |
beautiful and refuse to accept the admiration
OF lOa1ers and the dregs OF society who run TO
hear a hippant woman either vllifying or dab
bling in Bible questions. Mesdamcs De Stael
and Montague did not court the unsavOry COM
pany OF those who nave mo particular place OF
worship They cultivated the higher walks of
literature; and elevated their fellow beings by
kindness and not by abuse and rude words.
That allusion to ''the dregs Of society,"
is a fine compliment to the best and
purest of our Portland people, who flock
TO our lectures in such numbers that it
is little wonder that the priests are
scared; and that thrust at the 'unsavory
company of those "who have no par
tieular place of worship is lame at
tempt to fiatter "CathOlic ladies' into
believing it TO be beneath their "higher
sense of the beautiful to exercise a lit
tie Of their own good judgment. Such a
conglomeration of detraction and but
tered soft sawder cannot be thrust down
the throats Of people of brains even by
the daggers Of anonymous prescription
lists. Let him of the daggers console
himself with the reflection that just so
long rs five hundred eager listeners from
all churches are ready and willing to
wait upon our humble efforts, just so
long we are ready TO do the very best we
can for them, Roman bulls and Protest
ant anathemas to the contrary notwith-
standing. We make no war upon any,
body's religion, sect or creed. We are
after truth and truth only, and we prefer
to receive it from the great Fountain of
all good, before it has been filtered
through the stupid brains Of fat curates
or the silly dogmas OF self-righteous ac-
cusers who seek TO frighten US by in
vidious comparisons or pharisaical walls
Of affected modesty. If we had feared
such dog-in-the-manger snarlings, we
should have never dared to undertake
our work, and now, as the fangs of
vituperation are diverted of their power
to harm us, we are fully determined TO
continue our talks TO the many "gOod
Catholics" whose smiling faces never
fail to greet us in the lecture room, as
well as to the hundreds of others who
flock TO hear US. We are perfectly will
ing to declare that We know little about
theology so-called. We can read the
Bible and draw our own conclusions; can
study the beautiful face Of nature and
read many Of her throbbing mysteries;
can see the evil that runs riot i'm society
and the cure for it; the good that might
be done and is not, and the necessity
that all who have light shall place it,
"not under bushel, but on a candle
stick;n and the crowds that come 10 ouI
lectures give encouraging evidence that
we can tell Of that we know and testify
of that which we have seen; so come on,
friends, and the SeHtiHers daggers shall
not harm you. But shield us, some
body, do!