The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1898-03-08


- happened that ,e>;on K Gales. tile
young North Carolina Evangelist who
evangcliZcs for Cod ami not for Nam
mon. spoke in Savannah the >amy
night that Robert G.. InGcr>olI delivered
Il lecture there He had Il great crowd
who came 10 hear sensational stuff an
atracn. il might have been hoped, upon
the brilliant agnu>tic who WAS tallin.
almost within 4 stones throw The
congregation got 4 plain gospel sermon.
they came To consider. they praised tho
young man in their minds for that he
had pursued the way Of simplicity. strip
ped OF tanglc. AFTER the manner Of the
Master. il WAS all we'll enough The
cargo Of sinners in thi~ weeping world
is heavy enough for christianity 10 carry
without weighing il down with these
latter-'lay "cvangeliSt' whose cloqucncc
rings best To the accompanying ring OF
the coin they crave.
Robert c. InecrSoll is as interesting
as he is wrong. | once heard him SAY
speaking Of the word wrong, Il have
10 clay patriotism: ii my State is right
I'm fer her; if she is wrong. | am
against her. II WAS in Il drawing
room Of !, home in Chicago. during the
coffee, after dinner 1T which chanced
to be one OF the guests. \ young man.
even in the midst OF the cffulgent flow
OF words. to which all were listening in
tensly. with some trepi.lation, interrupted
him just at this point.
no m n
you use the words right and wrong.
you have no right to use the word
right unless You believe in the cN1S-
tence of moral law and moral RESPONSE
hility The word right is dynamic With
every claim that is made by even the
NEST ardent defender of Christianity.
Mr. Ingcrsoll paused long enough al
most to eectrify those present with
the dangerous smile Of disdain and
shock. II smile. remember, keen with
Il ga atls.ring CLINT, and then the smile
softcned and broahcned into the quality
OF pity fer the agitated youth.
There was but one escape for Mr.. In
ecrsou and he took ii, the beaten track
of S0ciologistS that honesty. for example
was oxacte.l among the savages, even.
Eecause society in Gt> simplest form.
could not exist, If one man were :
lowed with inrpunity 10 take another
mans ownings The ten comma ndments
are, treated by these Socioiogists from 4
similar view point And so 1t comes to
Ec said even among the heathcll that
it IS not right TO steal, &c Mr.. lnger-
soil followed this line With delightful
ana sugges tive flow but With a flow that
did not carry conviction 10 the yonth
ani 10 u few other friends of his who
We're there.
had never hcaru this point made
before and it slept during the years
since that evening until one night at one
Cf he Mission services conducted here
some months ago by Dean Bradley at
the Church Of the Good Shepherd, this
claim startlin@ly formed the theme Of
the discourse. Under the treatment or
Dean Bradley the pOstulatc laid down
by the youth seemed TO get complete
confirmation from the trained mind of 4
thcol0gian. and it was. therefore, re-
frc>hin@ to listen 10 the exposition.
| do not suppose Mr.. IngerSoll has
been South often; he had never beco
South at that time but de wanted tG
come. Turning to me who was sitting
next to him and who he knew was from
the South. he asked:
"Ilave YOU got any young lnhdrl>
down South:
| hcsitatngly replied that | did not
think the young men had advanced any
furner than Herbert Spencer, but that
his platform IOwers were well known
in the South and that he could draw 4
crowd. l ycnturcd moreover. to ask
him why could he not speak on som"
other subject than religion.
.'\o - said bn ..if I cant IN
that subject, | will not speak at all.
NJ. 1ngerSoll was then ont on Il lee
turc tour: he said 1T the open table that
his money had given out and that the
odd woman had sent him out 10 get
some more. And just here he explained
his manner Of domestic financicring. He
sald he had 81 box. and all the money
was put in there. and wife and children
and he helped themselves until it was all
gone. and then he went out to get some
more. 1t was the same way with his
law partnership as | was told by Judge
PuterDaugh with whom he once pra ctic.d
law in Iowa. They kept no books AMI
put the money in Il strong box to which
each had Il key and they helped them
selves I'd llbi'un until there was none
left. These are lights among the ehad-
Cws that luIk in the marvellous mind Of
cause | once heard assigned of his ag-
nosticism Rev. DIR. Ivey in the Central
church in this city stated in the course
Of 4 serm on 1ha. tie mother OF Mr. In
gerSoll was reading Tom Paine previous
TO the appearance upon the stage Of NJ
lngerSoll | do not know anything Il
hont these deeper mysteries. but | have
heard that the learned physicians see
nothing impossible in prenatal imprss-
sIol.s. And the strange part Of II III
was. his father was an orthodox Presby-
tellan clergyman. But all this aside il
would be we'll everytine Mr. IngersolI
speaks III Southern town, to baye Il
man Of Weston X. GaleS'S quality and
character talking near by just as he
in Savannah
These torpedo boats we hear so much