dition to his doctrine.

But allow me to say that, in my judgment, Mr. Beecher is doing
great good. He may not convince many people that he is right, but
he will certainly convince a great many people that Christianity
is wrong.

_Question_. In what estimation do you hold Charles Watts and Samuel
Putnam, and what do you think of their labors in the cause of
Freethought?

_Answer_. Mr. Watts is an extremely logical man, with a direct
and straightforward manner and mind. He has paid great attention
to what is called "Secularism." He thoroughly understands
organization, and he is undoubtedly one of the strongest debaters
in the field. He has had great experience. He has demolished more
divines than any man of my acquaintance. I have read several of
his debates. In discussion he is quick, pertinent, logical, and,
above all, good natured.

There is not in all he says a touch of malice. He can afford to
be generous to his antagonists, because he is always the victor,
and is always sure of the victory. Last winter wherever I went,
I heard the most favorable accounts of Mr. Watts. All who heard
him were delighted.

Mr. Putnam is one of the most thorough believers in intellectual
liberty in the world. He believes with all his heart, is full of
enthusiasm, ready to make any sacrifice, and to endure any hardship.
Had he lived a few years ago, he would have been a martyr. He has
written some of the most stirring appeals to the Liberals of this
country that I have ever read. He believes that Freethought has
a future; that the time is coming when the superstitions of the
world will either be forgotten, or remembered--some of them with
smiles--most of them with tears. Mr. Putnam, although endowed with
a poetic nature, with poetic insight, clings to the known, builds
upon the experience of man, and believes in fancies only when they
are used as the wings of a fact. I have never met a man who appeared
to be more thoroughly devoted to the great cause of mental freedom.
I have read his books with great interest, and find in them many
pages filled with philosophy and pathos. I have met him often and
I never heard him utter a harsh word about any human being. His
good nature is as unfailing as the air. His abilities are of the
highest order. It is a positive pleasure to meet him. He is so
enthusiastic, so unselfish, so natural, so appreciative of others,
so thoughtful for the cause, and so careless of himself,