, 1876-10-09
BOB INGERSOLL.
Sketch OF the Life Of the Illinois
Orator.
His Political, Military, and Legal
Career.
A Portraiturs Of Happy Home...
Fratornal Devotion,

EIatcr0Al U6V0Gl0u.
G,rrsspAntsncs Hiooni1afan P.inlayrapA,
Ell FAso, Oct. 5.-Whon promised to give
you sketch of tho early ltta Of Robert g. In
Hcrsoll, tho orator par excellence, had no Idea
that tho task Of gathering materials would be
difficult. Great men arc tleually willing enough
to lend an car to tho scribe who gives tu the
world tho lntnut!e Of their lives. Nay, they
themselves In most instances, Will furn[sh tho
data from vhlcl, tho sketch can Ire written. Ms.
lnEorsoll Is, however, 30 llttlc an cgot,st that
not only fus lc on all occasiuns refused to give
any memoranda for this purpose, but he will
not oven talk on tue subject to his best friends.
Many ot attempt has bocn made to obtain tic
materials for an artlcleut to all the biography,
hunters he has invariably responded with solso
question that led to M anccdotc, and from that
TO unc Of Ills own innitablo ta,ks that begnt1cd
tho listener, md insonsibly led min uway from
tho main point until he forgot the object OF bis
visit,
The reason for thls rctlecncc, Lc has himself
confessed, Is that
1lls CHILDHOOD WAS nAnp AND OTTER,
and he never liked to recall It, cye,, to his own
memory. Ills father was Congregational
minister, and 10 him we're born i've children
John, Ruth, Mary, Clark, and Robert. The
youngest VI the family. he waa born H., Drcsdcn,
q small town in Northern New York, mn tho
18th Of August, 1858; consequently lie is now a
little oycr 40 years OF ugc. Ills 1asl.cr seems
to have been more poripascttc than even tho
majority OF Ills class Robert wnB baptized
when slc was years old In u theatre in Ncw
York City. His father was then preaching In
the city aud 10 this theatre, Ills church having
been destroyed by the great fire. Ills father,
it seems, inclined towards liberalism, aud Ills
strlfes and the Annoyancea he was subjected to
from tho nnrrow belief Of his huck early EN-.
Uttered the prccuclous youth and tlllcd him
with the utm5st hatred OF tho gloomy spirit Of
Calvlnfsn1.
Tho father dlod in 1850, but when Robert
uttered that famous lecture on A." Hcretics aud
11crcstce," md III which occurs
THAT 0RApn1O IICTuRR OF JOIN CALVIN,
he said, when Lc returned to Ills home, " Fa-
thcr, Hvc pnid back another Of tho Insults they
hcapcd upon you" The elder brother, john,
was dsssis'cd for tue ministry. lie WAS sent u
Yale College, and from there to Theological
seminary. lie y now physician in Wisconsin,
He "a dcvout Old School believer THIS seems
to llayo 9x'suustcd tho nloans Of the household,
ana le ClarS ali.i NobSTt seeeycd ouly coa,mon-
school education. This Must have bcen n.eAgrc,
because they taovel abuut good deal W1csl
1'ohcrt was 10 thoy curno West. III Il year Or
two they moved BACK. Then they rcturl,ed to
tho West, and settled 4, Wisconsin. md, in \
Of Illinois, ,eat, 4 not in, Shawncetown.
ROBERT wAs rfEcocloUs, nor.
liz ~ was y, great render, and At thls period Of
liz Ind committed the works Of TINT pocl 10
memory, nnl Il Is probable that It was from this
fountain tisAt lt nFHt imbibed that glowing,
uery l'atc tor tyranny, and cnntemps 1or sham
ot every aort, that f9rns such IN elective part
Ut Ills character. lie anl his brother Clark
wero llsuparnbu. Tho luttur ia soine two ycars'
tue cldor, a,d, though hc ilaa been oycrsllalow-
cd by the commanding genius OF 1lobert, they
arc tast In much tho same mold. Between
1 thetn there exists
| WARM AFFECTION
| that has been manifested on moro than one oc-
casIon. Robert refused to ta]te any oiil:o in tho
district when Clark was runng Tor Congress,
and when he was talked Of for Governor md Ills
el,Anccs looked bright, he went to Chicago and
lad d personal altercatlon With Horace White,
of TnI CHICAGO Tribune, on aecouut Of nj
article tlat appeared IN relation TO Clarl:'s
restra!n him, bit lo told The Tribune maua,
gers that ho would rather rctna!, private ln1l-
vi,lual and have tho privilege Of eaylng what lo
thought, than to b1 Governor Of Illinois, lie
would allow nesing to manage Ills appoint.
menta. uo proudly said, "No man, Hcsng
nor White, nor Aicdil1, nor anybody else, could
run him, !" and he let tho G0ycrnorshp 90 ruth
time It seemed to him to be ruin Of nll his pot-
teal hopes Thcrc arc several errors III tht
above paragraph. We do not believe that Mr..
l
III Whttr. wc "cr+n +n,piv nnre, hcnri ~ y hn
fre RI" n.xt stn,".nnn, th,t ..I,a .vn. "ss,,ro1
thnt al mfrEt Il" sr,.,ssi If +" wtsIM oi,Su 1iSs
in~ tn ~ mnnn~c III onoofnt"nta !; - a,,,u =,
sutIiv ns M'1i ~ ,,,s,,.,.t o,snrinn X
is r,,r5,s how sucj, Mopsrnsi'"I atnsics III, re-,
.tcttni and AM nrn,,n,e ~. ,ntr nv sr.r,
v"asir rrnwfnT iornnr ~ ft'av ,l1o1hl ~ % mi Ia
SS1r;n. Hs,,rn nf,snri ,rtth ,,rn En TI,n,,,u r
1Vnnn f2nhori w,ns afi1 ,n1nena., Hn hai etni,o1
Inv hecn si,,ntIetl ~ ~ 'nr o,, hr onH rinr1
haI wv" aN'''''A W wv ''9' ''eA "o A'" o''A
''A" orrvrn .u ovv,,u ,v a,,.vrrr1owv
Thcv yrrrr hnth ncmnrrnis IN rn,.13rn with
arMly,oSv so rh ro,,1', , ~ eotIo rnn ,,ia
ton IF sbaMnco, MN n Hit a Inv fnuy XIX IL
to also tnan to ssurInk wi,,ssy and ,o,nm mn In In
,,t,1n, ~" no., Ln,a ~. t5,, 4u 1ns n.
aiS snrc5v hcsonc adsrs 1r ,'y nd %e'c ar l wa
sent ' ns R d Rvnroscnta,iye ' to tho u 1eetsature
tMvy gu ,!nr' nsso , ~. ssyg ycas' W. " ~ Nv"
CIdrH iii n Iovc Win ynne, no a INV N n TIL
). a,,t IA, a,,1 w. ~ ~ ''T ~, in,iar",
~. M ,n, ,,t, s.,, Ia. ' -. t,or,, III
nnis M"c M tss, ,rntE,sa III - ,',osn9 In..
~ r,,ts nt,es ~ u1 ia ~.
t,,nM ri. % 'Sa,oona ,Sar. ia-' na1' ,... III
o acc ~ md nw nsHr "S'u ~ tho Iraant "it st