and
the little stone that rolled down the hill--tired of the mud man
and the rib woman--tired of the flood of Noah, of the astronomy of
Joshua, the geology of Moses--tired of Kings and Chronicles and
Lamentations--tired of the lachrymose Jeremiah--tired of the
monstrous, the malicious, and the miraculous. In short, they are
beginning to think. They have bowed their necks to the yoke of
ignorance and fear and impudence and superstition, until they are
weary. They long to be free. They are tired of the services--
tired of the meaningless prayers--tired of hearing each other say,
"Hear us, good Lord"--tired of the texts, tired of the sermons,
tired of the lies about spontaneous combustion as a punishment for
blasphemy, tired of the bells, and they long to hear the doxology
of superstition. They long to have Common Sense lift its hands in
benediction and dismiss the congregation.

--_Brooklyn Citizen_, April, 1886.

TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO ANARCHISTS.

_Question_. What do you think of the trial of the Chicago Anarchists
and their chances for a new trial?

_Answer_. I have paid some attention to the evidence and to the
rulings of the court, and I have read the opinion of the Supreme
Court of Illinois, in which the conviction is affirmed. Of course
these men were tried during a period of great excitement--tried
when the press demanded their conviction--when it was asserted that
society was on the edge of destruction unless these men were hanged.
Under such circumstances, it is not easy to have a fair and impartial
trial. A judge should either sit beyond the reach of prejudice,
in some calm that storms cannot invade, or he should be a kind of
oak that before any blast he would stand erect. It is hard to find
such a place as I have suggested and not easy to find such a man.
We are all influenced more or less by our surroundings, by the
demands and opinions and feelings and prejudices of our fellow-
citizens. There is a personality made up of many individuals known
as society. This personality has prejudices like an individual.
It often becomes enraged, acts without the slightest sense, and
repents at its leisure. It is hard to reason with a mob whether
organized or disorganized, whether acting in the name of the law
or of simple brute force. But in any case, where people refuse to
be governed by reason, they become a mob.

_Question_. Do you not think that these men had a fair trial?

_Answer_. I have no