Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1878-06-27
Beecher on Lying.

an artlcle bv Henry Ward Beecher
in which be discussed the question
whether men can remember what
never happened. He showed that
such stretch of memory is possible
by one or two instances. If he were
to write on the same subject now he
might have one or two more i'm
stances at hand. We extract part
of that article:
Some eighteen or nineteen years
ago soon after coming to Brooklyn.
l heard the following story told of
the now venerable DIR. Samuel Cox.
the father of many brilliant sayings.
as well as OF Bishop Cox, of w estern
New York. The story ran thus On
q Sunday morning in August, DIR.
Cox, rising TO the sermon, without
warming or prefix, began, Its d-n
hot Looking around in a calm and
pious way, he wiped his forehead,
and again said, sit is d-n hot. wait
ing till he thought the words had
burnt in, he proceeded. These words
my brethren, | heard from the lips
OF profane young man as entered
the doors of the church. Therenp-
on, the story goes, he proceeded TO
| give an editing discourse on the sin
and folly of profane swearing.
When | first heard it, recognized
the story. 1t was an old acquaint-
ance. 1t had been doing service in
England. 1t was told by Rev. Row
land Hill, only in his case the topic
was not the weather, but the theatre
on which the young mans profanity
was expended. But stock stories,
like couriers, like to change horses.
Before | knew it the saddle was
shifted TO my back, nor have | ever
been able to shake it off. / have
denied it twice in print, many times
by letter, and hundred times in
conversation, but all in vain.
Denying one of these stories is
like fighting Canada thistles. If you
cut thcm up ten more will sprout
from each root, and if you let them
alone millions will spring from the
seed. The only way to exserminate
the Canada thistle is to plant it for
a crop and propose to make money
out of it. Then worms will gnaw it,
bugs will bite it, beetles will bore it,
aphides will suck it, birds will peck
it, heat will scorch it. rains will
drown it, mildew and blight will ride
it. All nature helps weeds and runs
down crops. We are afraid to deny
it. 1t would start off awalkinc like
| Weston. A new batch of letters
would come moaning and inqulring
at our door. Fresh vigor would be
given to it's withered limbs, and like
the wandering Jew, it would 90
tramping up and down creation till
the last day. No, for ssfety's sake,
we do not propose TO deny it any
morel II would be the ruin of inno-
cent souls, as this narrative which /
now shall give will prove.
And the narration of this incident
brings mo back to the question
whether one can remember what
never happened. 1t will be seen
that he can.
Sitting at friends table one even
ing, | was telling an incident that
betel me-in this wise.
"A young man from Buffalo called
to see me to-day. He said that he
had heard young lady, in large
company, relating the story of my
beginning sermon with the phrase,
'It is id hot, He at once contra
dicted it. She affirmed it positively.
He replied, i have lately read pub
lished denial of the story from Mr..
Beecher himself She answered !:
i'Why, | was present myself at his
church and heard it with my own
ears Of course be could not say
what he thought, but replied, Il am
going to New York, and | will my.
self call and ask Mr.. Beecher.
The case seems so fragrant that
said to him: when you go back, /
wish you would take occasion, be-
fore witnesses, to say to the lady,
from me, shat she lies and that she
kno,os that she lies, and that she
knows that | know that she lies
This was very improper language,
but | was angry, and, besides, had
been reading the Tribune.
When | had got thus far, sweet
young girl, who sat opposite me-
brought IN under me, almost from
the cradles and as incapable of know
ingly telling falschood as rose
bud would be of committing bur-
garly-this innocent and charming
child of fifteen looked over at me,
| and said
Bat you did say 40, didn't you
Mr.. Beecher? | heard you
For moment there was silence.
Then came crash and laughter
from the whole company Confused
and blushing scarlet she said why
| always thought that | had heard
you say it
For the first time | then believed
that person might distinctly re-
member what never took place. l
tako back the message to the Baf.
falo lady, and humbly apologize for
supposing that one could not recall
a thing which never happened.