that I have_, you should not get mad at me,
but get mad at the _facts_. If a man lends a helping hand in removing a
_dead dog_ from the yard, it is not the man that is indecent, _it is the
dead dog_. The man shows his decency and kindness by condescending to
give aid in removing the stench from the premises, and no one but a
contemptible _snipe dude_ would stand off and turn up his nose and call
the man indecent and vulgar. If I am wrong, I rejoice to know that I am
in the best company on earth, for the whole religious world, with a
_few_ exceptions, regards dancing as an enemy to good morals, and as
_destructive to all spirituality_, because it is productive of so much
evil and NO GOOD. Who upon all the earth has the opportunity of knowing
the true inwardness of dancing like the Catholic priests and bishops?
Who ever held and used such a _probing instrument_ as the CONFESSIONAL?
Who on this earth can come as near knowing all the acts and deeds, yea,
and the very _thoughts_, that do pass through the minds and hearts of
men, women, boys and girls, as the Catholic priests and bishops can know
of and concerning those under their charge? Arch-Bishop J. Henry William
Elder, Co-Adjutor to the Arch-Bishop of Cincinnati, has issued a
circular letter to the clergy in his Diocese, from which I take this
very significant clipping:
"THERE MUST BE NO ROUND DANCING AT ANY TIME, AND NO DANCING OF ANY KIND
AFTER DARK."
What meaneth then this blating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing
of the oxen which I hear? Why does Arch-Bishop Elder inhibit the round
dance even in _day-light_? Mr. and Mrs. ECHO and their girls and boys
will please answer _why_? And why has he inhibited _all kinds_ of
dancing after dark? Will some member of the same family please rise and
explain?
"Oh wad some power the giftie gie us,
To see oursels as ithers see us."
While this circular letter has an existence upon earth, let all
_so-called_ Protestants and their friends, who say "_There is no harm in
dancing_," and who participate in dancing of _any kind at any time or
place_, or who simply attend such places, or who remain at a place after
it has been turned into a dance, (for the aiders and abettors of crime
are just as guilty as their principals), hang their heads for very
shame, as poor old dog Tray hangeth his head when caught in company with
sheep-killing dogs, and especially when some wool is found in his teeth.
Paul was present when Ste
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