The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1884-06-18
skopHcnl Wits

Anybody who has ever had a board
ing-house experience knows the type Of
skeptical young man who revcls In the
sensation of shocking the ladies at table
with his audacious jokes at things which
the majority treat with respect, if not
reverence. Another familiar figure is
the skeptical wit of the village grocery,
who likes to tackle the deacon, OF even
the the minister, as he comes in for his
mail, before the crowd of sitters on the
sugar-barrels, and corner hin with
Safeguarding argument on some
scripturaI or doctrinal mystery, IL
must be admitted that the chuckles of
ways on the side of the smart black
guard in such an encounter. Weak
human nature sneakingly enjoys mis-
chief and wantOn sport. Not many
want to be in The business them
selves, but the many laugh as
the thing goes on. Colonel "Bob"
Ingerson, in his immensely popular
Sunday evening theater entertainments,
combines the bumptiOus young man of
the boarding-hOuse table and the hero
of the village store or tavern. It is a
pretty good business when the old audi
ence on the iOur-barrels is multiplied
by one thousand and each idler pays a
dollar OF two to see the fun. Only let
it be understood that iJ is nothing else
but business for Ingerson and fun for
the boys. 1t has no serious side or
wholesome public purpose. lngersOu
is doing neither a brave thing nor
useful thing, He threshes old straw
with tremendous comic show of CRAP
pling some terrible monster. tbs side
splitting to those who can stand it all.
He is undoubtedly a huBO theological
lecturer OF the first order. But let no
body mistake his brutality for heroism.
He risks nothing, he has nothing to
lose; he makes about a thousand dol
lars a night out of it.
He understands all the tricks and
manners by which a lecturer puts an
audience in perfect sympathy with
himself He begins by tickling the, al
ready abundant self-cOnceit of the class
who flock to hear him. Men OF brains,
he says, do not believe in the Orthodox
religion. The stupidest Of his hearers
is quite quick enough to catch the infer
ence. This method of arrogating all
the intellect of the world to their side
of q controversy is a favOrite with the
school of which IngersoA is the MAS
ter" It illustrates the shallOwness of
the man and his methods No one of
intelligence, no person of education, no
unbeliever of ordinary fair-mindedness,
will deny that many uphOlders of
Orthodoxy in its pristine severity have
been men of most pronounced intellect
while its preachers of to-day can not be
stigmatized as lacking brains. Was
not LOyOla a man of brainsP Was not
Luther? Calvin has been deemed
man of great logical aCumen
by men scarcely less radical than
Ingersoll. John Knox was never
pronounced fool by any critic
competent to form an estimate of his
mind and character. jonathan Ed
wards was one of the finest examples
of pure intellect America has ever pro
duced; at least such is the critical esti-
mate of many who, disagreeing with
his conclusions, yet admire the skill
and ingenuity with which he links
cause and effect. The most pronounced
radical who has not lost his mental ball
ance will not deny such men as Arch
bishop Williams, or Prof. Tucker or
Canon LiddOn, or Bishop Potter the
possession of the ordinary share of
brains. To the casual observer of men
apart from their vocatiOns, these theO-
logians seem gifted with great mental
powers. The ready answer Of IngersOn
and his ilk is that these distinguished
divines are hypocrites who do not be-
lieve what they preach, and preach
simply because they make "a good
thing'' of it, This is an answer ever
ready because it is ever erunsuscePtible Of
proof -ROStOn Transcript.