Year: 1878

body will not ostracise the Rev. AleXan-
der Clark, editor of the Methodist Re-
corder. for his kindly words about the
Philistine giant whom the religious pa
pers have been throwing pebbles at so
long, without getting his sword by the
handle. 1t is really quite breezy to read
such an article as the following:


ga few days ago we chanced to meet
Robert G. Ingersoll, and enjoyed the
interview. Don't be alarmed, timid
reader! But it is fact. Each wished
the other well, to begin with, and better
going further on. There is something
about the mans big round face and
hearty hand-shake and straightout
words that wins respect He was quite
ready to talk upon religious questions.
although neither obtruded them upon
the other. He was courteous, frank,
and evidently willing to hear opinions
expressed, however diverse from his own
He claims to be ready for truth from any
side. He said in substance, among other
things: If there is Heaven, it must
begin now. If there is a He'll, it is
already kindled He said that many
poor, unknown men and women, by their
patience in hard toll, by overcoming bad
dependent upon them, and by the un-
noticed struggles of life were really
achieving as grand victories as the leaders
Of armies. He said there was as much
downright goodness in these lowly people
as among the great teachers of theology.


"All of which. we admitted, of course.
Christianity teaches just those things
when its teachers get their mouths right
ly opened. Heaven does begin here, and
so does the other pl-. When Mr.. In
gersoll gets rid of his if he will see
clearly how these very principles he ad-
mires are explained by the Gospel he
now rejects.


1--WE do like Ingersoll Now, please
don't frown, and slap down the paper,
and threaten to discontinue, and stamp
your foot, so, and begin to lecture the
editor for blunderhead. We must do
one of two things: either like Ingersoll
or get him killed. 1t is impossible to be
Indifferent toward such man. and it
would be unscriptural to hate him. If
he is to be hated to our credit, we must
hire hater, and get the hating done by
proxy. Are there not few professional
haters hiring out now?


"Ingersoll has already overcome some
oppositions in himself-which commends
his courage. He has steady nerve,
clear eye, clean skin, and manly
strength. He is temperate, candid, in
dustrious, and, SO far as the devil will let
him, he minds his own business. And
that is about as much as some Methodists
get done. He is not a brute, nor de
mon, nor monster. He is rather better
looking than the average preacher, and
that is admitting great deal, under the
circumstances. He bears close inspec-
ton. He wears clean clothes. His home
is one of the brightest in the land and his
for, a han Ia hn
herently and essentially irredeemable.
He is not SO bad a greenback as that
Where the outward shows something of
purity there is hope OF a man. True, he
has gone to such an extreme in his asser-
tions of human independence that his
influence has been counted on the side of
some very mean sins; for example, the
circulation of pernicious literature. Such
books and papers as would poison the
purest home might, without the whole
some restraints Of law, ruin his own.
The best remedy for poisonous reptiles is
to smash their heads. Some vices are so
dreadful that they deserve no more pro
lection than mad dogs. And Ingersoll
made a mistake, surely, in advocating the
right of every body to send anything in
the United States mails. 1t was not that
he believed in such literature; perhaps he





it. But the point illustrates the danger
of lawlessness. There must be curb on
human passions. If men themselves do
not practice wholesome restraints, the
| law must practice upon them and for
their own and others good. The same
philosophy which makes lngersoll q law
yer ought to make him a Christian for
he admits the necessity of law and makes
his living as an attorney. Therefore, he
should raise no question of rights with
the theologian, nor of authority with
the Almighty.


But we merely wished at the outstart
to say that we cannot help liking Inger-
soil There, now! Please don't smite US
to the earth with that ponderous theo-
logical fist. Does not the Saviour tell us
to loUe-that is a stronger word than Ike
even our enemies? 1ngersolls errors
we do not like, nor his way of promul-
eating them His lectures and his books,
however, do him injustice He is not so
rough of speech in private conversation.
Some men are all honey in pulpit, and
on platform, and all poetry in the press;
but they are vinegar and mustard at
home. They scowl at their wives, and
storm like thunder at their children, and
strike like banditti among the skulls of
supposed heretics. Ingersoll is seen at
his best in his own household Is not
that something to build on? We hope
some day to accept his kind invitation to
spend awhile with him at his home. We
propose to eat with that Republican and
sinner. Wonder whether he is ever in
vted to break bread in the homes of
Christians? Many believers have talked
about him. but few have talked acHh him