in common, we believe in the liberty
of thought.

My principal objections to orthodox religion are two--slavery here
and hell hereafter. I do not believe that Mr. Beecher on these
points can disagree with me. The real difference between us is--
he says God, I say Nature. The real agreement between us is--we
both say--Liberty.

_Question_. What is his forte?

_Answer_. He is of a wonderfully poetic temperament. In pursuing
any course of thought his mind is like a stream flowing through
the scenery of fairyland. The stream murmurs and laughs while the
banks grow green and the vines blossom.

His brain is controlled by his heart. He thinks in pictures. With
him logic means mental melody. The discordant is the absurd.

For years he has endeavored to hide the dungeon of orthodoxy with
the ivy of imagination. Now and then he pulls for a moment the
leafy curtain aside and is horrified to see the lizards, snakes,
basilisks and abnormal monsters of the orthodox age, and then he
utters a great cry, the protest of a loving, throbbing heart.

He is a great thinker, a marvelous orator, and, in my judgment,
greater and grander than any creed of any church.

Besides all this, he treated me like a king. Manhood is his forte,
and I expect to live and die his friend.

BEECHER ON INGERSOLL.

_Question_. What is your opinion of Colonel Ingersoll?

_Answer_. I do not think there should be any misconception as to
my motive for indorsing Mr. Ingersoll. I never saw him before that
night, when I clasped his hand in the presence of an assemblage of
citizens. Yet I regard him as one of the greatest men of this age.

_Question_. Is his influence upon the world good or otherwise?

_Answer_. I am an ordained clergyman and believe in revealed
religion. I am, therefore, bound to regard all persons who do not
believe in revealed religion as in error. But on the broad platform
of human liberty and progress I was bound to give him the right
hand of fellowship. I would do it a thousand times over. I do
not know Colonel Ingersoll's religious views precisely, but I have
a general knowledge of them. He has the same right to free thought
and free speech that I have. I am not that kind of a coward who
has to kick a man before he shakes hands with him. If I did so I
would have to kick the Methodists, Roman Catholics and all other
creeds. I will not pitch into any man's religion as an excuse for
giving him my hand. I a