The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-12-10
MRS. lNGERSoLL'S ATHEISM.
MANY ARE TRYING TO CONVERT
THE WIDOW OF THE GREAT
AGNOSTIC.


Her Husband Wns-FIoOds oi
Tracts and Appeals seat by Believ-
ers-spiritunIists who Claim to
Have Had Messages From the De-
parted.
Copyright. 1899. by the S. 5. Mcclure Co.
New York. Dec. s.-When col Roaert
C. lneerson died a peculiar ques ion
was asked by hundreds throughout
the country, a question which Gle r.
ly showed that Trey had no concep-
ton Of the real state of affairs in the In
gersol household.
It was. is MIS-. Ing5rsoll really an ag-
nostic also?"
or: do his wife and family share his
views?" win they not change now2'
Ever since the Colonies death letters
have poured in from all parts of the earth.
from well-meanins people who write 70
inquire concerning the religious faith Of
the family and 10 urge upon them com
monty accepted religion of Jhe Cnris ian
woSld, a religion long since rejected by
every one of Col Ingersols near house
hold, his wife his daughters. Mrs. Brown
and Miss Maude. his broIher-in-.aw, Mr..
Farrall, and his, son-in-law, Mr. Walls on
Brown. How many thousand OF these
letters, tracts. charms. amulets and uni
Identified religious bric-a-brac have ar
rived it is impossible to estimate.
Here are some extracts from the letters;
Are you converted nOw?'
"Do you now see The folly of your late
husbands agnosticism2'
although your husband is now in hen
there is yet time for you 10 escape from
the wrath to come Renounce his PERM
~to,rg doctrine before 1T is forever 100
late"
you are now punished for being the
wife Of an unberiever. He must suffer
eternal damnatln for the doctrines he
preached and you viii endure the same
fate unless you accept the Bib and turn
away from the damable theory of Inger-
solism."
Thousands upon thousands Of tracts
have come in. A few simple copies taken
at random are tilted: Gods Word to the
RereaVed Unbeliever." THE Fate Of the
Damned" "A Thousand Years in He'll"
Where viii You Spend Eternity" Fin
ger Posts to Heaven" 1.-THE UnbeheVers
Death Bed" "Iugersollism Fraud
''What Is the Soul, p" What Say The
Scriptures About Hell?" Tom In
Hell" Hope for the Intidel," Come 20
Jesus" "Why Ingersoll Was Wrong"
1.-THE Plan of the Ages" why lmmor-
tally Is True" 1.-The Fallacies Of the
Skeptic"
Charms and Relics.
Catholics have sent charms, bits Of con-
secrated relics, amulets OF saints, scapu-
las and other articles and spirituaiists IN
countless hordes send assurance that they
have received the only authenticated mes
sage sent by Col Ingersoll from the spirit
world. They ask for a sitting. None has
been received, and but few Of these latter
are answered at all.
A comparatively small proportion Of the
letters come from well-meaning people,
who in their own way attempt 90 comfort
the family. One of the latter which hap
pens to present a novel view Of Col. In
gersoPs reception in the hereafter, was
written by q well-known society woman
of Atlanta, Ga, who lives on Peachtree
street, and part of which reads as fol-
lows:
my Dear Mrs. Ingersoll-The cry of
your grief-stricken heart has come TO me
and / desire, oh, so much, to contribute
my grain of comfort. Dear one, can you
not believe that your beloved is still with
you at your side constant though silent
DO take this comfort to your
heart you VINO knew the breath of soul.
the largeness of heart the noble nature
of your husband, so much more intimate
ly than any one else could, can you not
believe that these graces of heart and life
Father within him? Can you not believe,
with me that this same loving Father
welcomed His son, running to meet him,
falling upon his neck, kissing him and
crying, This Is My son. Robert, who has
not recognized Me these many years but
whom ! have been LOVING all the time.
This, My son, who was dead, but is alive
again, has come back 20 his Fathers
house And there was JOY in heavenl
Take rq lra
to yourself this assurance this hope, this
comfort offered you from the fuliness Of a
loving sympathetic heart. He may not
return to you, but you shall go to him"
Some Queer Letters.
The percentage of illiteracy in the let
tiers is something astonishing. one reads:
mis- Maud IngeTsol:
Dear Mad: enclose you a tract, what
Is the Soul. and hope reading same may
Convert you from the evil of your Ways.
hope you viii write me your Opinion Of
The avalanche which has poured in upon
the family has taxed their utmost re-
sources 70 sort out what little wheat there
was from the chaff and to send replies
10 all who deserved it. SO far as has been
possible, they have sent courteous replies
TO all really sympathetic and sensible let
tiers.
Three large bureau drawers have now
been set aside for the reception of future
and they are respectively
labeled, well meaning" "Spirltualistic''
and "Idiotic
Up TO the present writing Mr.. Farran
and Mr.. Brown are stocked with enough
tracts and general religious literature TO
III out half the Sunday schools and mis-
sions in our new colonies.
Most Of the writer's seem to doubt Mrs.
lngersolfs agnosticism. She could scarce
" be anything other.
Mrs. IngersOII's Ancestry.
History has fashion Of alluding to ''the
pioneer mothers Of the com
Perhaps most of them. The
mothers Of the commonwealth. But there
was al least one OF that early band TO
whom such a description could not apply,
and that one was Sarah Buchanan Parker.
the grandmother of Eva Parker Inger-
soil. the widow Of the late Col Inger-
soil
Mrs Parker was the wife Of wealthy
5hlpowner of Boston, and, after her hus-
bands death she, with her two sons.
George and Benjamin, crossed the coun-