p. 516 | BEECHER AND INGERSOLL

Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Nov 18, 1880

BEECHER AND INGERSOLL

On the evening of Oct. 30, at a Republican rally in Brooklyn, it is reported that Henry Ward Beecher and Robert Ingersoll spoke from the same platform. The atheistic principles of the latter being so well known, also the prominent position of the former, the following notice of the occasion as given by the New York Sun may be of interest to some:—

"Albert Dagget was called upon to preside, but he gave way to Henry Ward Beecher, who said: 'The man who is to speak to you to-night is not to speak in a conventicle or church, but he is one who has done valuable things for the right without variableness or shadow of turning. In the name of common humanity and true faith and true liberty I give him the right hand of fellowship.'"

Mr. Beecher turned to Mr. Ingersoll, took his hand and both bowed, while the audience applauded the tableau. Then Mr. Beecher said that Mr. Ingersoll was the most brilliant speaker of the English tongue in any land on the globe. As underneath the brilliancy of the flame are solid coals of fire, so underneath the lambent fire of his wit there are imperishable living coals of soundest truth.

"Ingersoll felt awkward, apparently, at such a gushing stream of praise from the Plymouth pastor, and as he arose he seemed to meditate revenge. He worked his lips, wiped the beads of perspiration off his brow, and seeming to wink at the reporters, said: 'The world waited thousands of years for Henry Ward Beecher, and the world will wait a long time for another.'"

Then Mr. Ingersoll dashed off into a speech. Later on Mr. Ingersoll, turning to Mr. Beecher, said: 'I want to thank you that your intellectual horizon is large enough, your sky broad enough and studded with stars enough to enable you to grasp the hand of a man in the cause of humanity, however much he disagrees with you.' Upon this there was another tableau and great cheering. At the close of the love feast Mr. Beecher obtained a vote of thanks for Ingersoll, and Ingersoll got three cheers for Beecher."