The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1899-08-03
Philadelphia Record }

Its sccrets-if the crave be not The
mortal end are now known to his
spirit, ferried over the Stvx: but of
the realities of the hereafter, about
which the departed had so much to
say, we who vet live know no more
than did the lSraclites in the DAYS of
Moses Whatever may have been
',The mistakes Of Moses" according
TO Col Ingersoll, and whatever NAV
have been lngersolls own mistakes,
controversy keeps solemn silence now
above the dead orators coffin. That
charity which he practiced in his
daily life and that gospel of human
ity which he preached from the lee
turer's platform are now to be eXer-
cised by all in the presence Of death.
Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes hv his
unrcicnting attacks upon New Eng
land Calvani>m might have filled
othordoN opinion with horror equal
t" that inspired by Bob" Ingcr>oIt'>
denial of Il hell" But the genial
..Autocrat" was otherwise revealed =;
and lngcrsoll's life, to those who knew
him intimately, was also demon
Stration OF nature highly euduwd
with human tenderness and greatness
aS well as with polemical intensity
and oratorical brilliancy. The n:tho-
doN church of today has accepted
some Of what might be termed lnycr-
soils Garlic" "higher criticism.@ What
has most affected public opinion in his
writings and lectures has been their
almost al thri>tical and utterly matcri-
aIi~tic trend This son of Congre-
GatinnaI clergyman echoed the
-'EightS of Man and Age of Reason
"f Ton" Paine, and was styled "a
little Tom Paine as Paine had been
in his dav called "a little Noltaire.' y
.Hcvrri hclesS. Colonel IngersOll was
rather an agnostic than an atheist.
One will readily recall the closing
lines Of his beautiful address above
his brother Eben's grave. in which he
spoke of Faith hearing in the dark
ness the rustic of an angel wing and
| catching 4 glimpse of the shining of a
star. After his eloquent tribute to
! thc good gray poet" at Walt Whit
man, funeral, in Harleigh Cemetery,
| Camden, in March, 1892, while the
coffin wa, being placed in the Etrus-
can-likc tomb, Colonel Ingersoll lean
ed against the mausoleum and wept.
| The writer Of this was standing at his
| elbow. and heard him eNclaim: ~
cannot help these tears, although |
feel that, like an escaped prisoner, he
has quilted life"
Whitman and Ingersol had~ fire.
| puent conversations concerning the
| mystery of death: and, although they
differed from each other. each respect
ed the others personal force and
truth of character. PoSterity will
remember Inger>oll as a great orator:
one Of the most eloquent speakers OF
| his dav. At the bar, as on the plat
| form. hc was most effective, aud his
| political speeches We're mastery ef'
| forts 1t was he, for instance, who
| chri James q. Blaine at the
convention of 1876 as the ''Plumed
| knirht" But along with his gift o.
oratory should be remembered his
true greatness of heart, and on his
tombstone might be fttingly inscrib
ed the praise of Abou Ben Adhem
..Write me * one who loved his fcl
low men"
coll lNGEKSoLL'S CAREER.
Despite all the studied consistenc.
with which Colonel Ingersoll ques
toned the generally accepted author
tiles on the Immortality of the sou
and other tenets of the Christian
faith. there were few conspiciOu:
departures on his part from that .lin'
of diSputatous doctrine. Notable
among these exceptions to his life
| rule were three occasions Whcn ht
was called upon to say the final word:
of comforts to those who mourne'
departed dear ones.
All ChristcndOm noted with e>pec
ial interest and surprise Colonel In
mcrsoil'S oration. about twenty year,
AGO. beside the bier of his brother
The gifted orator said. in his closin:
sentence on that occasion:
Hope sees beyond a shining star
faith hears i'll the darkness the rustl
Of an angels wing"
Again. at the funeral OF Walt Whit
man, 1.-The good gray poet at Cam
den. in 1892. one Of Colonel lngersoll'
most impressive utterances, As h
looked upon the repo>eful features O
the dead poet was: Odd friend, "
two shall meet again, We know tha
after all life is death, and that out o
death comes m"rh of that which w
call life"
But it was beside the open grave q
4 dear friends little child that Cole
mel InrerSoll'> most significant que>
ton a to immortality was propound
ed. thus:
..Nho knows but the evening c
I this little life may yet resolve itseI
| somewhere else into glorious. golde
| dawn of immortality.
Perhaps the most notable inStanc
| in which Colonel Ingersolls marve
ous eloquence attracted to him an
most universal admiration was whel
: ut the Republican National Conye'
ton in 1876. he first nominated ia
\ G. Blaine for the presidency, an
characterized him as the ''Plume
Knight" comparing him to ths
j matchless leader, Henry Nevarr'
: Colonel IngerSoll III that speech ele'
!. triticd the country, and it was the
- that his star as an orator rose IN II
:. first rare brilliancy.
III Robert G. Inger>oll. lawyer, autho