dredweight, I should
say. And if in the legislative assembly his shells all explode, not a
man of them will be left alive."

Till thought this witticism so good that he set up a loud roar of
laughter, that could be heard above the general uproar.

Stimulated by these marks of appreciation, Shund waxed still more
eloquent. "Gentlemen," cried he, "no body of men is more savagely
opposed to science and culture than a conventicle of so-called servants
of God. Were you to repeat the multiplication table several times over,
there would be as much prayer and sense in it as in what is designated
the Apostles' Creed."

More cheering and boundless enthusiasm. "Gentlemen!" exclaimed the
speaker, with thundering emphasis and a hideous expression of hatred on
his face, "the significance of religious dogmas is simply a sort of
hom[oe]opathic concoction to which every succeeding age contributes
some drops of fanaticism. Subjected to the microscope of science, the
whole basis of the Christian church evaporates into thin mist. We must
shield our children against religious fables. Away with dogmas and saws
from the Bible; away with the Trinity; the divinity and humanity of
Jesus, and other such stuff! Away with apothegms such as this: _Christ
is my life, my death, and my gain._ Such things are opposed to nature.
Children's minds are thereby warped to untruthfulness and hyprocrisy.
In this manner the child is deprived of the power of thinking; loses
all interest in intellectual pursuits, and ceases to feel the need of
further culture. The times are favorable for a reformation. Our
imperial and royal rulers have at length realized that minds must be
set free. For this end it was as unavoidable for them to break with the
church and priesthood as it is necessary for us. If we cherish our
fatherland and the people, we must take the initiative. We are not
striving to effect a revolution; we want intellectual development,
profounder knowledge, and healthier morality.

"Shall peace be seen beneath our skies,
The spirit's freedom first must rise,"

concluded the orator poetically, and he came down amidst a very
hurricane of applause.

There followed a lull. In the audience, heads protruded and necks were
stretched that their possessors might obtain a glimpse of the great
Shund. In the chancel, the chiefs and leaders crowded around him,
smiling, bowing, and shaking his hand in admiration.

"You have won the laurels," smirked a