The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1879-07-16
THE LATE REy. ALEX. cLARK.
Bob InEsrsoll Lays a Flower on HIS
Grave.

Bob IngersOlI Lays Flower on HI
Grave.
Pittsburgh Commercial Of yesterday.
Col, Robert G. Ingersoll writes from
Washington, under date Of July 10, Al
follows:
Upon the grave OF the Rev. Alex. CLARK
l wish TO place one flower.
Utterly destitute Of cold dogmatic pride
that often passes for the love OF God, with.
out the arrogance OF the "eleCt"-simple,
free and kind-this earnest man made me
his friend by being mine. / forgot that
he was q Christian, and he seemed to for.
get that | wasnot, while each remembered
that the other was man.
Frank, candid and sincere, he practiced
what he preached, and looked with the
holy eyes OF charity upon the failings and
mistakes OF men. He believed III the
power OF kindness. and SPAWNED with
divine sympathy the hideous gull that
separated the fallen from the pure.
Giving freely to others the rights that
be claimed for himself, 1t never occurred 10
him that his God hated brave and honest
unbelieVer. He remembered that even
an inidel has rights that love respects;
that hatred has no saving power, and that,
in order to be Christian, 1t is not neces.
sary to become less than man. He
knew that no one can be maligned into
kindness; that epithets cannot convince;
that curses are not arguments, and that
the finger OF scorn never points towards
Heaven. With the generosity OF an
honest man, he accorded to all the fullest
liberty thought, as he did, that in the
realm Of mind, chain is but curse.
For this man entertained the pro-
foundest respect. In spite OF the taunts
and jeerS Of his brethren, he publicly pro-
claimed that he would treat intidels with
fairness and respect; that he would en-
deayor to convince them by argument and
win them with love. He insisted that the
God be worshiped loved the well being
even OF an atheist. In this grand position
he stood almost alone. Tender, Just and
loving where others were harsh, vindic-
tive and cruel, he challenged the respect
and admiration Of every honest man. A
lew more such.clergymen' might drive ca
lumny from the hips of faith and render
the pulpit worthy OF respect.
The heartiness and kindness with which
this generous man treated me can never be
excelled. He admitted that l had not lost
and could not lose single right by the ex.
preston Of my honest thoughts. Neither
did he believe that servant could win the
respect OF generous master by persecut-
ing and maligning those whom the master
would willingly forgive.
While this good man was living his
brethren blamed him for having treated
nae with fairness. But / trust, now that he
has left the shore touched by the mysteri-
Gus sea that never yet has borne on any
wave the image of homewart sail, this
crime will be forgiven him by those who
still remain to preach the love OF God.
His sympathies were not confined with
in theprison ofacreed, butran out and over
the walls like vines, hiding the cruel rocks
and rusted bars with leaf and flower. He
could not echo with his heart the fiendish
sentence OF eternal fire. In spite OF book
and creed, he Tread between the lines"
the words Of tenderness and love, With
promises for all the world. Above, be-
yond the dogmas Of his ehurch-humane
even to the verge OF heresy-causing some
to doubt his love Of God because he failed
to hate his unbelieving fellow-men-he Ia
bored for the welfare oil mankind, and to
his work gave up his life with all his heart.
ROBERT 6. 1SGERsoLL,