was the address he delivered on
the occasion of Ebon's funeral. He stood at the head of the casket
and once or twice nearly broke down. It was in that address,
standing there in the presence of death, that he expressed some
doubts as to the truth of his own teaching and intimated the
possibility of some life beyond the grave. This was the only public
occasion of which I have any knowledge in which Robert G. Ingersoll
seemed to falter in his course.

We were very intimate, and it is a real pleasure to me to pay him
here a tribute. He was a man of extraordinary talent and ability,
one of the most lovable natures, and a man of the cleanest, most
delightful home life. In many respects, I regard him as one of
the greatest men of his day; certainly he was the greatest agnostic
of his time, if not of all time. No one has taken his place. The
very name, Agnostic, is now rarely heard. And why? Because Robert
G. Ingersoll mercilessly tore down. He did not create, or build
anything; he attempted to take away the beliefs in all religion,
and he offered nothing in return. Hence it is that his teachings
have practically died with him.

Another member of the Illinois delegation in the Thirty-ninth
Congress, a well-known citizen of the State, was Anthony Thornton.
He had been a member of the Supreme Court of the State, was a fine
lawyer of the best type of manhood, and he enjoyed the confidence
and respect of the members of the House. He resided in Shelbyville,
but after retiring from Congress he decided to go to Decatur, where
there was more business for a lawyer, and better opportunities.
He did not succeed very well, however, because it was too late in
his life to make a change and enter new fields.

A little incident connected with him occurred while I was Governor
of the State. A young boy, whose parents the Judge knew, committed
a burglary and was sent to the penitentiary. The parents of the
boy were naturally anxious to get him out, and appealed to Judge
Thornton to assist in securing his pardon. The Judge and I had
served in Congress together, and, naturally, any plea bearing his
endorsement would have great weight with me. Believing that the
boy had been influenced by bad companions, he yielded and came to
Springfield to see me. I looked the case over and finally said:

"Judge Thornton, you are an older man than I am; you were in Congress
with me; you have been a Judge of the Supreme Court of the State;