,,the ,,lost ,,faith1      ,,and        
,,difficulties ,,of ,,the ,,bible ,,as  
,,tested    ,,by ,,the ,,laws ,,of      
,,evidence4      ,,by    ,t4 ,s4        
,,childs1 ,d4 ,d4        ,,philadelphia3
      ,,presbyterian ,,board ,,of       
,,publication    ,,and                  
,,sabbath-,,school ,,work1      ,no4    
#accd ,,chestnut ,,street               
,,copyright1 #ahhh1 ,,by    ,,the       
,,trustees ,,of ,,the    ,,presbyterian 
,,board ,,of ,,publication    ,,and     
,,sabbath-,,school ,,work4        ,,all 
,,rights ,,reserved4        ,,westcott  
,,thomson1    ,stereotypers and         
,electrotypers1 ,philada4          ,some
 of the most pathetic cases of the      
spiritual unrest and  skepticism of the 
day are found among the children of     
,christian  parents4 ,they have been    
brought up to believe the ,bible1 but   
under  the influences that have met them
 as they have gone out from the  old    
home into the world their early faith   
has been shaken1 and not  unfrequently  

destroyed4 ,to such as these1 and1      
beyond these1 to all  who have come to  
believe that our age has passed beyond  
the ,bible1 it  is hoped that the       
incidents and arguments of this little  
book may be  of service4                
,,washington1 ,d4 ,c41 ,june1 #ahhh4    
,,the ,,lost ,,faith4          ,,letter 
,i4      ,,my ,,dear ,c----3 ,it is     
useless for you to write to me on the   
subject of  your last letter4 ,i        
appreciate your motives1 but with me the
 question  is settled4 ,i have given up 
the beliefs of my childhood2 they had   
long been a burden to me1 and the       
writings and lectures of ,mr4 ----  did 
the rest4 ,have you heard him8 ,can he  
be fairly answered8 ,i am  not1 indeed1 
as confident as he is that there is no  
personal ,god1  though ,i do not believe
 it can be proved1 and ,i entirely agree
 with  him in abhorring and rejecting   
the doctrine of future suffering4 ,this 
was the horrible nightmare of my        
childhood1 and you cannot conceive  the 

relief that the rejection of the        
doctrine has given me4 ,i am  frank to  
say1 from my own experience and that of 
others1 that this is  the point that    
gives ,mr4 ---- his hold on so many4    
,the doctrine of  endless suffering for 
the sins of this life is abhorrent to   
them1 and  they welcome his views almost
 as a first truth of reason4 ,this1 at  
least1 is my position4 ,the existence of
 ,god cannot be proved1 nor can  any    
immortality for man except in the       
influence he may leave behind  him4 ,but
 a truce to this4 ,come to me soon if   
you are not afraid of  my infidelity1   
and let us live over the days of our    
boyhood4 ,most  of the dear old friends 
are gone2 we are nearly alone1 and ,i am
 not  inclined to drop the last links of
 brighter1 and perhaps better1 days     
than these now upon us4 ,yours1 truly1  
,a----4           99       99       99  
99       99    ,,my ,,dear ,a----3 ,your
 letter has moved me deeply4 ,yes1 we   
are  almost alone4 ,of all the dear     

group that used to gather in the  old   
school-house1 and play upon the common1 
and stroll along the  river-banks in    
summer and skate upon its solid surface 
in winter1 you  and ,i are nearly all   
that remain4 ,the ,southern sea has poor
 ,h----2  ,w----1 the leader of our     
sports1 fell 7under another name1 ,i    
think7  with ,custer's band in the wild 
tragedy of ,montana2 ,b---- and ,s----  
won their honors1 and were buried with  
them1 on the battlefield2  ,k---- lives 
a wreck in mind and body4 ,the rest are 
scattered4 ,the old  homes are all      
changed2 the inmates are gone from them 
for ever4    ,and you are changed4 ,no  
recollections of the past that your     
letter  has called up have impressed me 
more sadly than the change you speak  of
 in yourself4 ,you have lost the faith  
of your childhood4 ,it is true  you do  
not speak of it as a loss3 you think you
 have gained by it4  ,your early beliefs
 oppressed you1 and you have escaped the
 burden by  rejecting belief in ,god and

 in a future life4    ,let me claim the 
liberty of an old friend--it may be for 
the last  time1 for we shall soon both  
be away--and ask if you are sure of     
your ground4 ,the questions are too     
momentous1 the interests involved  are  
too great and too lasting1 to be risked 
on an uncertainty4 ,you  are not1       
indeed1 sure that there is no ,god1 but 
you are sure that no  man can prove that
 there is2 and you are equally certain  
that there  can be no future state of   
suffering for any4 ,your final          
conclusions  you have reached through   
the influence of ,mr4 ----1 and you     
admit  that his hold on you and on      
others has come largely through his     
passionate denials of the doctrine of   
future retribution4 ,i have no  doubt   
this is so4 ,but1 after all1 is this    
decisive8 ,are ,mr4 ----'s  doubts and  
denials more to be relied on than the   
positive beliefs  of as intelligent and 
good men as the world has ever seen8 ,i 
do not  press this as proof one way or  

the other1 but it is something worth    
thinking of before you give up for ever 
your respect for ,christianity  and the 
,bible4    ,your letter has called up   
memories that will not down at the      
bidding4  ,you remember your mother2 you
 remember her life2 you remember her    
death4 ,the day after her burial we were
 sitting1 you and ,i1 under the  old    
willow on the bank of the river--it is  
all before me now--and you  told me how 
she died with her hand on your head1 and
 how before she  died you promised to   
meet her again4 ,was it all a delusion8 
,did she  go out in final darkness8 ,and
 was your promise the folly of          
childhood8    ,will you bear with me if 
,i recall another and a later scene8    
,the  days of childhood were behind us4 
,we had drifted apart4 ,you remained    
among the old home-scenes2 ,i was making
 my way among strangers4 ,then  one went
 from you who had become dearer to you  
than a mother4 ,i  have before me a     
letter that came to me out of the       

shadows of that  bitter trial2 ,i know  
you will not misjudge me if ,i quote its
 words  now4 ,thus you wrote3 ,i am sure
 such a life cannot have ended2 the     
possibilities of it cannot yet be       
finished4 ,that soul1 with all its      
sweetness and beauty and brightness1    
cannot have been quenched like  a spark 
on the ocean4444 ,her last words were1  
',i go with ,him who has  brought life  
and immortality to light1 and who has   
opened the kingdom  of heaven to all    
believers4' ,i would not recall these   
early views  and faiths unkindly4 ,if   
they were wrong1 of course you are right
 in  parting with them2 but is it       
certain they were wrong8 ,and in giving 
them up have you found something better 
and more sure to take their  place8     
,one important point ,i presume you have
 not overlooked3 whatever  doubts there 
may be as to the existence of ,god1     
atheism can never be  proved4 ,no man   
can ever be sure that there is not a    
,god2 he may  deny that the proof of    

divine existence satisfies him1 but that
 is  all he can do4 ,somewhere in the   
universe1 after all1 ,god may be4 ,no   
man has explored all its recesses2 none 
has pierced its limitless  heights2 none
 has threaded all its dark abysses and  
found that in it  all there is no ,god4 
,a man must himself have the attributes 
of ,god to  know that there is no ,god4 
,and suppose ,i cannot prove that there 
is a  ,god8 ,if ,i live as if there were
 one and it should happen that there  is
 not1 ,i am safe2 ,i lose nothing4 ,but 
if ,i live as if there were no  ,god and
 it should come to pass at last that    
there is1 where am ,i8 ,of  two         
untraveled paths1 it is wisest to take  
that which is known to  be safe4    ,but
 suppose it to be a question of         
probabilities4 ,suppose you have  to    
choose between an endless succession of 
finite causes1 as a man1  an oak1 a     
flower1 a dewdrop--not one of which is  
adequate to its own  existence--and one 
infinite1 eternal self-existent1        

almighty and  allwise ,cause of all     
things 7and some such choice sooner or  
later you  must make71 which is the     
better8 ,which is the more reasonable8  
,if you  think through these questions  
at all1 either you must at last admit a 
,god or you must make something for     
yourself that will do the work of  ,god2
 and the ,god you make must do what     
actually is done now2 what  he will do  
hereafter1 who can say8 ,your friend1   
,mr4 ----1 tells you  that all there is 
is all the ,god there is--that the      
universe is  all there is or was or will
 be4 ,this is pantheistic atheism2 it is
 a  mere assertion without a particle of
 proof2 and if true1 it can give  us no 
relief for the future1 as ,i hope to    
satisfy you4    ,by the side of this    
utterance of ,mr4 ---- let me put the   
words of  that king in the realm of     
science1 ,professor ,joseph ,henry4     
,they are  found in the last letter that
 he ever wrote1 and may be taken as the 
final summing up of all those vast      

researches that have made his  name the 
heritage of the world4 ,they are        
entitled to some weight  as against the 
statements of men who1 if they can      
follow in his  footsteps at all1 must   
follow afar off4 ,these are his words3  
,after  all our speculations and an     
attempt to grapple with the problem of  
the universe1 the simplest conception   
which explains and connects  the        
phenomena is that of the existence of   
one spiritual ,being  infinite in       
wisdom1 in power and all divine         
perfections4 ,that is1  the simplest and
 the best explanation of the facts of   
the universe  is found in the existence 
of ,god4 ,this is testimony accepted by 
the  highest scientific authority both  
in this country and in ,europe4 ,i  do  
not say that it proves there is a ,god1 
but it does prove that  belief in ,god  
is consistent with the highest          
intellectual power4 ,to  disbelieve is  
no proof of a great mind4    ,mr4 ----  
eulogizes ,thomas ,paine as one of the  

greatest and best men  of his age--a man
 whose writings carry conviction to the 
dullest4  ,now1 ,paine1 though a bitter 
enough infidel1 as we all know1 never so
  parted from his reason or his         
reverence as to deny the existence of   
,god4 ,he says with a force that1       
according to ,mr4 ----1 must carry      
conviction to the dullest3 ,i know ,i   
did not make myself1 and yet  ,i have   
existence2 and by searching into the    
nature of other things  ,i find no other
 thing could make itself1 and yet       
millions of other  things exist2        
therefore it is that ,i know by positive
 conclusions  resulting from this search
 that there is a power superior to all  
these things1 and that power is ,god4   
,paine believed in ,god2 he  believed in
 a future life2 he believed in the      
person of ,christ1 of  whom ,mr4 ---- so
 far takes leave of all historic        
judgment1 and even  of all respectable  
infidel judgments1 as to say we do not  
know that  he ever existed6    ,this    

suggests a word in regard to your       
questions whether ,i have heard  ,mr4   
---- and whether he can be fairly       
answered4 ,i have never heard  him on   
the subjects of which you speak1 but ,i 
have read enough1 ,i  think1 to judge   
him fairly4 ,i recognize his brilliant  
gifts1 his  wit1 his rhetorical power1  
but ,i am surprised that one of your    
natural clearness of mind should not see
 that he deals most unfairly  with the  
questions of religion4 ,his             
representation of ,christianity  is a   
caricature1 and it takes great charity  
not to believe it is  an intentional    
caricature4 ,his treatment of the       
,scriptures is  inexcusably unfair4 ,if 
a ,christian were to deal with an       
infidel book  as ,mr4 ---- deals with   
the ,bible1 there would be no bound to  
the  charges of outrageous              
misrepresentation and perversion4 ,his  
abuse  of ,christians and ,christianity 
is often more like the raving of a      
madman than like the calm judgment of a 

fair-minded reasoner4 ,what  are we to  
think of a man who can sit down and     
deliberately write  and send out to the 
world such words as these8--,hundreds1  
and  thousands1 and millions1 have lost 
their reason in contemplating the       
monstrous falsehoods of ,christianity2  
,nine-tenths of the people in  the      
penitentiaries are believers2 ,the      
orthodox ,christian says that  if he can
 only save his little soul1 if he can   
barely squeeze into  heaven1 444 it     
matters not to him what becomes of      
brother or sister1  father or mother1   
wife or child4 ,he is willing that they 
should burn  if he can sing4 ,this is   
enough4 ,but what shall be said of such 
ravings8 ,suppose ,mr4 ---- finds       
imperfections in the ,church2 suppose   
he finds a multitude of professed       
,christians that are not what they      
should be1 just as ,christ has given us 
reason to expect1--does that  settle the
 real nature of ,christianity8 ,suppose 
nine-tenths of the  people in the       

penitentiaries were ,american           
citizens1--does that  prove that        
,american citizenship is a bad thing or 
make it worth while  for a man to spend 
his life in denouncing our              
,constitution8 ,mr4 ----  knows there is
 a very different kind of citizen1 and  
he knows that  these men are in the     
penitentiary1 not because they have kept
 the  laws of their country1 but because
 they have broken them4 ,so1 even if    
the monstrous assertion were true that  
nine-tenths of the occupants  of the    
penitentiaries are ,christian           
professors1 they are there1 not  on     
account of ,christianity1 but in spite  
of it4 ,true ,christianity  never sent  
them there1 and every honest man knows  
that4 ,christianity  is founded on      
,christ1 and the required fruit of it is
 holiness1  rectitude with man and      
purity before ,god4 ,this is a fact that
 any man  who wants to know the truth   
can understand by an hour's study of    
the teachings of ,christ and his        

apostles4    ,to your question whether  
,mr4 ---- can be answered1 ,i say       
deliberately  he has been answered a    
hundred times4 ,i do not think that in  
all  his assaults on the ,bible he has  
advanced a respectable argument or      
objection that has not been urged and   
answered again and again long  before he
 was born4 ,the ,christian ,church has  
not the least fear for  herself from his
 attacks2 indeed1 she understands them  
so well1 and  has repelled them so      
often1 that she is perhaps too          
indifferent to  anything he may say4    
,the danger is not to the ,church1 but  
to those  who want to be convinced that 
the ,bible is not true1 and who want  to
 be assured that1 however they may live 
in this life1 they have  nothing to fear
 in a life to come4    ,indulge me in   
another letter1 and believe me          
,yours1 truly1    ,c----4               
,,letter ,,ii4      ,,my ,,dear ,a----3 
,the two questions that press upon every
 mind1 and  that ,mr4 ---- has shown    

again and again1 with wonderful pathos1 
by  dying beds and at open graves1 are  
pressing upon his1 are these3  ,is there
 a ,god8 ,is there a future state of    
existence8 ,to these  questions the best
 answer ,mr4 ---- has to give is1 ,we do
 not know4  ,he seems confident that    
there is no personal ,god1 and we cannot
  say whether death is a wall or a door1
 the beginning or the end of  a day1 the
 spreading of pinions to soar or the    
folding for ever of  wings1 the rise or 
the set of a sun4 ,with all this        
uncertainty1 he  is absolutely sure that
 there is no future state of suffering  
for  evil-doers4 ,he does not know      
whether there is any future at all1 but 
he does know that there is no future of 
sorrow4 ,he is profoundly  ignorant as  
to the fact of a future1 but has        
decisive knowledge as  to the nature of 
the future1 if there is one4 ,rather    
than that  this doctrine of endless     
punishment should be true1 he says1 ,i  
would gladly see the fabric of our      

civilization1 crumbling1 fall to        
unmeaning chaos and to formless dust1   
where oblivion broods and even  memory  
forgets4    ,now1 it may be quite true  
that ,mr4 ---- has this preference1 yet 
this does not settle the case4 ,we can  
fully understand how any man  should    
shrink from the terrible possibility of 
future suffering4  ,orthodoxy has no    
more delight in it than has infidelity4 
,but it is  not a question of           
preference3 it is a question of fact2   
and the  point ,i submit for your       
reflection is this--whether ,mr4 ----1  
on his  own ground1 is authorized to    
affirm that there is no future state  of
 suffering for any4 ,he says we do not  
know whether there is any  future state4
 ,very well4 ,then1 certainly1 we do not
 know what kind  of a future state there
 may be1 if there is one4 ,if ,mr4 ---- 
is not  able to assure us that there is 
no future for us at all1 he surely  has 
not the ground to assure us of any kind 
of a future1 good or bad4  ,there may be

 a future of joy1 there may be a future 
of suffering2  there may be both4 ,mr4  
---- is too good a lawyer to undertake  
to  prove anything by mere negative     
evidence4 ,he leaves the dead with      
,nature1 the mother of all1 and ,nature1
 as to any sure utterance  upon the     
future1 is as silent as are the lips of 
the dead themselves4    ,mr4 ---- does  
not believe in a personal ,god4 ,you are
 not sure  whether there is one or not4 
,there may be2 there may be none4 ,if   
there is1 we cannot know it4 ,let us see
 what we gain on either  supposition4   
,suppose there is a ,god1 though ,i     
cannot know it or ,i cannot know him4   
,then1 clearly1 ,i cannot know what he  
is2 ,i cannot know what he may  do4 ,it 
is quite possible that this unknown ,god
 may be a ,god who hates  what we call  
sin1 and who will punish it1 and who    
will punish it just  as long as it      
stands an offence in the moral universe1
 whether it  be in this world or in the 
world to come4 ,no agnosticism can deny 

this conclusion4 ,the darkest as well as
 the most radiant scenes that           
,christian faith brings within our view 
may be eternally true4 ,i may  be       
immortal1 and it may be an immortality  
of joy or of sighing for  me as ,i use  
this life and the truth that ,god has   
made known to me in  this life4    ,let 
us take the other hypothesis4 ,suppose  
there is no ,god2 suppose  ,mr4 ---- has
 satisfied me that there is no          
supernatural revelation1  and no        
personal ,god to make one4 ,has he made 
it well for me  hereafter8 ,has he      
delivered me from all fear for the      
future8 ,has  he saved me beyond        
question from the serpent of eternal    
pain8 ,if  there is no ,god1 does that  
make it certain that there will be no   
future suffering for any man8 ,let us   
see4 ,we are here in a world of         
suffering4 ,how came we here8 and how   
did suffering come here8 ,if we  came   
without a ,god1 who will prove that     
without a ,god we may not go  elsewhere1

 and that suffering may not go with us8 
,here we are--by  natural law1 by       
evolution1 by chance--as part and       
particle of the  one eternal unity2     
however it may be1 we are here1 and we  
suffer4  ,we know what pain of body and 
pain of mind are4 ,we have felt the     
sting of death1 and no law of nature1 no
 power of evolution1 has  ever lighted  
up for us the darkness of the grave4    
,now1 the question  we want answered is 
this3 ,if ,nature has brought us into   
this state  where there is so much of   
what we call sin1 and so much bound with
  it that we call suffering1 how do we  
know that the same ,nature may  not     
continue the same facts hereafter8 ,nay1
 what assurance can ,mr4  ---- give us  
that ,nature is not a power that may in 
some future  frenzy cast us into a state
 far worse than the present8 ,is he so  
far possessed of all the secrets of     
,nature that he knows the time  will    
never come when she may strike us with a
 force more terrible  than any          

retributive judgment of ,god8 ,if       
,nature works now in storm  and fire1 in
 earthquake and pestilence1 in disease  
and torture and  death1 in the sorrows  
of memory1 the horrors of remorse and   
dread  forebodings of coming woe1 how do
 you know that she may not manifest     
herself thus hereafter and through the  
ages to come8    ,if ,nature is1 as ,mr4
 ---- says1 the mother of us all1 there 
are times  when she manifests her       
motherhood appallingly4 ,and when are   
these  manifestations to end and how are
 they to end8 ,if under her regal  sway 
we find that1 as a fact1 sin and        
suffering are connected here1  can any  
man prove that it may not be a law of   
,nature herself that  sin and suffering 
shall be connected eternally8 ,if in the
 imperial  reign of the mother of us all
 there are chains and scourges1  prisons
 and scaffolds1 thunderbolts and flames1
 cyclones and famines  and ocean-graves1
 will any man prove that somewhere in   
the darkness  and mystery of the future 

there may not be1 in the long outworking
 of  this reign1 something worse than a 
hell1 worse than an undying worm1  worse
 than a quenchless fire8    ,it is1 ,i  
admit1 a fearful thing to fall          
unprepared into the hands of  the living
 ,god2 but if ,i must choose1 give me   
that1 a thousand times1  rather than the
 terrific possibilities that overhang us
 all if we are  to be eternally at the  
disposal of a blind1 inexorable1        
soulless1  merciless ,nature4 ,the      
,judge of all the earth will do right2  
at the  worst we shall receive no more  
at his hands than we deserve2 but no    
created being can tell us what we shall 
receive at the hands of an              
irresponsible1 pitiless ,nature though  
she be the mother of us  all4 ,there is 
nothing so dark and terrible in all the 
woes of the  ,bible as the possibilities
 that ,mr4 ---- offers us in his gospel2
 and  there is this difference3 the     
,bible opens wide a door of hope for all
  who care to enter it2 ,mr4 ---- leads 

us out into the outer darkness  and     
leaves us there4 ,is it worth while for 
any man to spend his life  in persuading
 us to make this exchange of despair8   
,and is it worth  our while--yours or   
mine--to make it8      ,truly yours1    
,c----4          ,,letter ,,iii4        
,,my ,,dear ,a----3 ,in the note in     
which you kindly acknowledge my former  
communications you say that1 whatever   
,christianity may be to me1 you  cannot 
see it as ,i do2 its excellences1 as    
they appear to my mind1  do not impress 
you at all1 and as long as they do not  
you cannot be  expected to accept it4 ,i
 admit the conclusion3 you cannot       
receive as  good and true what does not 
seem to be so4 ,but does it follow that 
a  thing is not good and true because   
you do not see it8 ,the question  still 
comes1 ,is the cause in the thing or in 
you8    ,you remember the ,beethoven    
concert we once attended together in    
,b----8 ,to you it was an occasion of   
exquisite enjoyment2 to me it  was      

nothing4 ,the difference was not in the 
music3 it was in us4 ,you  have a       
musical taste2 ,i have not4 ,i          
tried--not very sincerely1  perhaps--to 
persuade you that there was nothing     
beautiful in it2 you  smiled1 but       
attempted no argument4 ,you were wise4  
,you knew the music  was beautiful1 for 
you had experienced it2 you had felt its
 power4  ,if ,i chose to deny it because
 ,i had not felt it1 so it must be2 you 
could only pity me4    ,now1 is it not  
possible that there may be something    
like this in  religion8 ,may it not be a
 reality--a supreme reality--though you 
do  not see it or feel it8 ,may ,i not  
know it to be real because ,i have  felt
 its power8 ,and if there are thousands 
and tens of thousands as  intelligent   
men and women as the world has ever seen
 who are as ready  to testify that they 
have felt the power and experienced the 
reality  of the ,christian religion as  
you are to testify that you have felt   
the power and know the sweetness of     

music1 are you wise to dismiss  its     
claims because you have not felt the    
force of them8 ,you must  see this4 ,i  
leave it to your candor4 ,christianity  
may be true though  you have not felt   
its truth4 ,a cloud of witnesses stand  
ready to  testify to you its truth from 
personal experience4 ,they may not argue
  with you3 multitudes of them could not
 argue with you2 but1 after  all1 they  
have a proof of the reality of their    
religion1 of the  power of ,christ to   
satisfy and bless men1 which no         
arguments in the  world can shake4 ,if  
all this were a new thing1 or if the    
witnesses  were only ignorant and       
superstitious men1 you might well enough
  hesitate to receive the testimony2 but
 when you reflect that it is  the       
accumulated testimony of nearly nineteen
 centuries1 that it comes  from all     
countries and all classes1 from the     
prince on the throne and  the beggar at 
his gate1 from the philosopher in his   
study and the  sailor in the forecastle1

 from the statesman in the cabinet and  
the  ploughman in the furrow1 ,i submit 
it cannot with wisdom or reason be  set 
aside4 ,it is no answer to say that many
 great men and learned men  and         
ploughmen can be brought who have had no
 such experience and give  no such      
testimony4 ,this is true1 but it is one 
of the first laws of  evidence that no  
amount of merely negative testimony can 
overthrow  the explicit evidence of     
honest1 intelligent1 trustworthy        
witnesses4  ,fifty men who did not see a
 murder could not set aside the clear   
testimony of two who did see it4 ,few of
 the race have ever seen the  moons of  
,mars1 or even of ,jupiter2 this does   
not disturb the witness  of the few who 
have3 the satellites are there4    ,i   
have just been reading--not for the     
first time--,peter ,harvey's  account of
 his visit1 with ,daniel ,webster1 to   
,john ,colby4 ,you will  find it in     
,harvey's ,reminiscences of ,webster2   
and if you have not  read it1 it is     

worth your reading4 ,colby had married  
,webster's oldest  sister when ,webster 
was a mere boy4 ,it was in some respects
 a strange  marriage4 ,she was a godly1 
,christian woman1 while ,colby was a    
wild1  reckless1 ungodly man--the       
wickedest man in the neighborhood1      
,webster believed1 as far as swearing   
and impiety went4 ,he seems to  have    
been the terror of ,webster's boyhood4  
,singularly enough for ,new  ,england1  
though a man of strong natural powers1  
he never learned to  read till he was   
over eighty years of age4 ,his wife died
 early1 and  the families drifted apart4
 ,webster had not seen ,colby for over  
forty  years1 but he heard that a great 
change had taken place with him1 and  he
 visited him to judge for himself4 ,i   
should mar the story of the  interview  
if ,i undertook to condense it4 ,let me 
give the essential  parts of it in ,mr4 
,harvey's own words4 ,long as it is1 ,i 
think you  would be sorry to have it    
shorter4    ,webster and ,harvey had    

driven to ,andover1 and were directed to
 ,mr4  ,colby's house4 ,the door was    
open4444 ,sitting in the middle of the  
room was a striking figure who proved to
 be ,john ,colby4 ,he sat facing  the   
door1 in a very comfortably furnished   
farmhouse room1 with a  little table--or
 what perhaps would be called a         
light-stand--before  him4 ,upon it was a
 large1 old-fashioned ,scott's ,family  
,bible in very  large print1 and1 of    
course1 a heavy volume4 ,it lay open1   
and he  had evidently been reading it   
attentively4 ,as we entered he took off 
his spectacles and laid them upon the   
page of the book1 and looked  up at us  
as we approached1 ,mr4 ,webster in      
front4 ,he was a man1 ,i  should think1 
over six feet in height1 and he retained
 in a wonderful  degree his erect and   
manly form1 although he was eighty-five 
or six  years old4 ,his frame was that  
of a once powerful1 athletic man4 ,his  
head was covered with very heavy1 thick1
 bushy hair1 and it was as  white as    

wool1 which added very much to the      
picturesqueness of his  appearance4 ,as 
,i looked in at the door ,i thought ,i  
never saw a more  striking figure4 ,he  
straightened himself up1 but said       
nothing till  just as we appeared at the
 door1 when he greeted us with--        
',walk in1 gentlemen4'    ,mr4          
,webster's first salutation was--       
',this is ,mr4 ,colby--,mr4 ,john       
,colby--is it not8'    ',that is my     
name1 sir1' was the reply4    ',i       
suppose you don't know me8' said ,mr4   
,webster4    ',no1 sir1 ,i don't know   
you2 and ,i should like to know how you 
know  me4'    ',i have seen you before1 
,mr4 ,colby1' replied ,mr4 ,webster4    
',seen me before6' said he2 'pray1 when 
and where8'    ',have you no            
recollection of me8' asked ,mr4         
,webster4    ',no1 sir1 not the         
slightest2' and he looked by ,mr4       
,webster toward  me1 as if trying to    
remember if he had seen me4    ,mr4     
,webster remarked1    ',i think you     

never saw this gentleman before1 but you
 have seen me4'    ,colby put the       
question again1    ',when and where8'   
',you married my oldest sister1' replied
 ,mr4 ,webster1 calling her by  name4   
',i married your oldest sister6'        
exclaimed ,colby4 ',who are you8'    ',i
 am little ,dan1' was the reply4    ,it 
certainly would be impossible to        
describe the expression of  wonder1     
astonishment and half incredulity that  
came over ,colby's face4    ',you       
,daniel ,webster6' said he2 and he      
started to rise from his  chair4 ,as he 
did so he stammered out some words of   
surprise4 ',is it  possible that this is
 the little black lad that used to ride 
the  horse to water8 ,well1 ,i cannot   
realize it6'    ,mr4 ,webster approached
 him4 ,they embraced each other1 and    
both wept4    ',is it possible1' said   
,mr4 ,colby1 when the embarrassment of  
the  first shock of recognition was     
past1 'that you have come up here  to   
see me8 ,is this ,daniel8 ,why6 why6'   

said he1 ',i cannot believe  my senses4 
,now1 sit down4 ,i am glad--oh1 ,i am so
 glad to see you1  ,daniel4 ,i never    
expected to see you again4 ,i don't know
 what to  say4 ,i am so glad that my    
life has been spared that ,i might see  
you4 ,why1 ,daniel1 ,i read about you   
and hear about you in all ways4         
,sometimes some members of the family   
come and tell us about you1 and  the    
newspapers tell us a great deal about   
you1 too4 ,your name seems  to be       
constantly in the newspapers4 ,they say 
that you are a great  man--that you are 
a famous man--and you can't tell how    
delighted ,i  am when ,i hear such      
things4 ,but1 ,daniel1 the time is      
short2 you will  not stay here long3 ,i 
want to ask you one important question4 
,you  may be a great man3 are you a good
 man8 ,are you a ,christian man8  ,do   
you love the ,lord ,jesus ,christ8 ,that
 is the only question that is  worth    
asking or answering8 ,are you a         
,christian8 ,you know1 ,daniel1  what ,i

 have been3 ,i have been one of the     
wickedest of men4 ,your poor  sister1   
who is now in heaven1 knows that4 ,but  
the ,spirit of ,christ  and of almighty 
,god has come down and plucked me as a  
brand from the  everlasting burning4 ,i 
am here now1 a monument to his grace4   
,oh1  ,daniel1 ,i would not give what is
 contained within the covers of  this   
book for all the honors that have been  
conferred upon men from  the creation of
 the world until now4 ,for what good    
would it do8 ,it  is all nothing1 and   
less than nothing1 if you are not a     
,christian1  if you are not repentant4  
,if you do not love the ,lord ,jesus    
,christ  in sincerity and truth1 all    
your worldly honors will sink to utter  
nothingness4 ,are you a ,christian8 ,do 
you love ,christ8 ,you have not         
answered me4'    ,all this was said in  
the most earnest and even vehement      
manner4    ',john ,colby1' replied ,mr4 
,webster1 'you have asked me a very     
important question1 and one which should

 not be answered lightly4 ,i  intend to 
give you an answer1 and one that is     
truthful1 or ,i will  not give you any4 
,i hope that ,i am a ,christian4 ,i     
profess to be a  ,christian4 ,but1 while
 ,i say that1 ,i wish to add--and ,i say
 it with  shame and confusion of        
face--that ,i am not such a ,christian  
as ,i wish  ,i were4 ,i have lived in   
the world1 surrounded by its honors and 
its  temptations1 and ,i am afraid1     
,john ,colby1 that ,i am not so good a  
,christian as ,i ought to be4 ,i am     
afraid ,i have not your faith and  your 
hopes2 but still ,i hope and trust that 
,i am a ,christian1 and  that the same  
grace which has converted you and made  
you an heir of  salvation will do the   
same for me4 ,i trust it1 and ,i also   
trust1 ,john  ,colby--and it will not be
 long before our summons will come--that
 we  shall meet in a better world1 and  
meet those who have gone before us  whom
 we knew1 and who trusted in that same  
divine free grace4 ,it will  not be     

long4 ,you cannot tell1 ,john ,colby1   
how much delight it gave me  to hear of 
your conversion4 ,the hearing of that is
 what has led me  here to-day4 ,i came  
here to see with my own eyes and hear   
with my own  ears the story from a man  
that ,i know and remember so well4 ,what
 a  wicked man you used to be6'    ',oh1
 ,daniel1' exclaimed ,john ,colby1 'you 
don't remember how wicked ,i  was1 how  
ungrateful ,i was1 how unthankful ,i    
was4 ,i never thought of  ,god2 ,i never
 cared for ,god2 ,i was worse than a    
heathen4 ,living in a  ,christian land  
with the light shining all around me and
 the blessings  of ,sabbath teachings   
everywhere about me1 ,i was worse than a
 heathen  until ,i was arrested by the  
grace of ,christ and made to see my     
sinfulness and to hear the voice of my  
,saviour4 ,now ,i am only waiting  to go
 home to him1 and to meet your sainted  
sister1 my poor wife4 ,and  ,i wish1    
,daniel1 that you might be a prayerful  
,christian2 and ,i trust  you are4      

,daniel1' he added1 with deep           
earnestness of voice1 ',will you  pray  
with me8'    ,we knelt down1 and ,mr4   
,webster offered a most touching prayer4
 ,as  soon as he had pronounced the     
',amen1' ,mr4 ,colby followed in a most 
pathetic1 stirring appeal to ,god4 ,he  
prayed for the family1 for me  and for  
everybody4 ,then we rose1 and he seemed 
to feel a serene  happiness in having   
thus joined his spirit with that of ,mr4
 ,webster  in prayer4444    ,the        
brothers-in-law took an affectionate    
leave of each other1 and  we left4 ,mr4 
,webster could hardly restrain his      
tears4 ,when we got  into the wagon1 he 
began to moralize3    ',i should like1' 
said he1 'to know what the enemies of   
religion  would say to ,john ,colby's   
conversion4 ,there was a man as         
unlikely1  humanly speaking1 to become a
 ,christian as any man ,i ever saw4 ,he 
was  reckless1 heedless1 impious--never 
attended church1 never experienced  the 
good influence of associating with      

religious people--and here he  has been 
living on in that reckless way until he 
has got to be an old  man1 until a      
period of life when you naturally would 
not expect his  habits to change1 and   
yet he has been brought into the        
condition in  which we have seen him    
to-day1 a penitent1 trusting1 humble    
believer4  ,whatever people may say1'   
added ,mr4 ,webster1 'nothing can       
convince  me that anything short of the 
grace of almighty ,god could make such  
a change as ,i with my own eyes have    
witnessed in the life of ,john  ,colby4'
    ,mr4 ,colby was eighty-four years   
old at the time of his conversion4  ,at 
that age he learned to read for the     
single purpose of reading the  ,bible1  
and it was the only book he ever did    
read4 ,he lived for three  years after  
this1 and to the end gave the clearest  
evidences of a  change that to ,mr4     
,webster's judicial mind could be       
explained only by  the supposition of a 
divine interposition2 it was a divine   

reality4  ,the last intelligible words  
of the once terrible blasphemer were1   
,jesus6 glory6    ,changing the details1
 the experience of ,john ,colby has been
 the  experience of thousands upon      
thousands4 ,and--,i put it to you in all
  candor--is it all a lie8 ,was         
,webster--one of the grandest intellects
  of this or of any age--was he a       
fanatic or a fool to believe in the     
reality of the religion that ,john      
,colby had experienced8 ,was he a       
weakling to put his faith where ,john   
,colby had put his1 and to trust  that  
when the summons of both should come--as
 it soon did come--they  might meet each
 other and those who had gone before    
them trusting in  the same divine1 free 
grace8    ,you may criticise the ,bible1
 you may criticise ,christians1 but1    
after  all1 there is something in       
,christianity that cannot be explained  
away as a superstition or a delusion2   
there is something that cannot  be      
dismissed by a scoff or with            

indifference4 ,somewhere and at some    
time it will have the final word1 and it
 will be heard4 ,i commend  it to your  
honest and earnest judgment now4 ,try   
it2 ,i ask no more4  ,settle the great  
questions that press on every heart as  
the ,bible  opens the way of settlement 
to you1 and wait the issue4 ,you can    
lose  nothing2 you may gain everything4 
,the fact is as remarkable as it  is    
familiar that no man in the last hour   
here--the hour1 often1 of  supernal     
light--ever wanted to take back or to   
change his faith in  the ,man of        
,nazareth as the ,son of ,god and the   
,saviour of men4 ,when  the shadows are 
melting in the great realities1 and the 
mysteries of  life are about to be      
finished and the verities of the future 
are to  be proved1 no man has yet been  
found to mourn that in the face of all  
difficulty and doubt and denial here he 
was a ,christian4 ,can that1 or         
anything approaching it1 be said of any 
form of atheism or infidelity  or       

unbelief8      ,as ever1 yours1         
,c----4          ,,letter ,,iv4         
,,my ,,dear ,a----3 ,i had supposed my  
last letter would end our               
correspondence4 ,your kind reply has    
gratified me more than ,i can  express4 
,without further words1 let me take up  
at once the question  that you put1 ,i  
am sure1 sincerely4 ,you ask1 ,what is  
'the way of  settlement that the ,bible 
opens to the great questions that press 
us8'    ,the questions of supreme       
interest are few and simple4 ,is there a
  ,god8 ,is there a future existence for
 us8 ,how can that existence be  made a 
safe and satisfying one8 ,if you are    
willing to allow any  authority to the  
,bible at all1 there can be no doubt as 
to the first  two questions4 ,there is a
 ,god by whom we were created and to    
whom we  are responsible2 there is a    
future existence4 ,those two questions  
are  settled1 if the ,bible can settle  
anything4 ,and they are settled1  let me
 add1 in harmony with the profoundest   

instincts and the most  imperative      
demands of our nature4 ,whatever a few  
souls in their  struggling              
dissatisfaction and sad unrest may      
persuade themselves1  the great yearning
 heart of humanity will quiet itself on 
nothing  less than ,god and immortality4
 ,even your former guide1 ,mr4 ---- 7let
  me hope ,i may speak of him now as    
only your former guide71 cries  out in  
the presence of the dead and before the 
awful silence of the  grave1            
,immortality is a word that hope through
 all the ages has  been whispering to   
love4 ,all wish for happiness beyond    
this life2 all  hope to meet again the  
loved and lost4 ,yes1 there are hours   
when  the most hopeless are glad to turn
 to the hope that the ,bible alone      
gives1 when the bitterest rejecters of  
,god and his word long for the          
consolation that only the rejected word 
affords4    ,let us turn to the other   
question4 ,if1 when we are through with 
this  life--as we soon shall be through 

with it--we are not through with        
existence--if there is a life beyond the
 present not measured by  years or      
ages1--how can it be made worth having8 
,is there any way  in which our         
immortality can be assured to us as an  
immortal good8  ,after all the doubts   
and darkness1 the mystery and suffering1
 the  bitterness and disappointment1 of 
this life1 may it in any way be  found a
 great and a good thing1 after all1 that
 we have lived8 ,to  answer these       
questions we must come back to the old  
truth--the truth  of your childhood4    
,the advanced thought of our day has    
discovered  nothing to change the fact  
that men are out of the way1 they are   
not  what they should be4 ,every man    
knows this4 ,the ,bible expresses it  in
 a very plain way by saying they are    
sinners4 ,as such it deals  with them2  
to such alone it opens its door of hope4
 ,the ,bible is of  no use to you unless
 you are a sinner4 ,if you call this    
cant1 ,i am  sorry for it1 but ,i cannot

 help it2 ,i cannot change it4 ,the only
 men  for whom ,god is dealing here for 
good1 for whom he is making possible  an
 immortality of honor and happiness1 are
 the sinful4 ,and is not  this well for 
us8 ,does it not at once bring hope to  
you--a hope as  great as it is          
mysterious8 ,you know that life has not 
been to you  an unstained thing any more
 than it has been to any of us4 ,to know
  this is to know sin1 the one appalling
 fact of the universe1 the one          
unspeakable woe of our being4    ,in the
 simplest way1 then1 my dear ,a----1 let
 me say that the first  step in your    
coming right with ,god1 and so right    
with the future1 is  to know and to feel
 that you are wrong4 ,the ,bible closes 
the door of  hope for ever on the man   
who comes claiming the brightness and   
the  good of a life beyond the grave    
because he is worthy of it4 ,these      
words were once familiar to you3 ,by the
 deeds of the law there shall  no flesh 
be justified4 ,rom4 iii4 #bj4    ,can he

 who is wrong make himself right8 ,can  
he be all he ought to be8  ,can he do   
all he ought to do8 ,can you set right  
all the wrong and all  the failure of   
the past8 ,can you make the future      
without error8 ,to  ask these questions 
is to answer them to every honest       
conscience4    ,for one who is wrong    
there must be the consequences of wrong1
  and these must be as fearful and as   
far-reaching as sin itself4  ,whatsoever
 a man soweth1 that shall he also reap1 
and evermore  and everywhere the harvest
 is greater than the seed4 ,the coming  
tribulation and anguish of the unsaved  
souls that do evil is a law  of nature  
as well as of revelation4 ,the wages of 
sin is death4 ,you  know this4 ,you have
 felt it in its measure4 ,you have seen 
it in the  unhappiness1 the misery1 the 
woe1 the despair and death with which   
sin reigns everywhere around us4 ,take  
the brightest view of life  that you    
can1 and the darkness in which it ends  
is terrible4 ,to  go out of it without  

,god is to go out without hope4 ,am ,i  
wrong in  believing that you need no    
argument here1 that no conviction is    
more  sorrowfully intense with you than 
this8    ,will you go now a step        
farther8 ,standing in your wrong and    
your  weakness and your unrest1 with the
 heavy shadows of the future  falling   
upon you1 are you willing to draw near  
to the open portal of  a better life8   
,are you willing to look up and read    
over it--,god so  loved the world that  
he gave his only-begotten ,son1 that    
whosoever  believeth in him should not  
perish1 but have everlasting life8 ,john
  iii4 #af4 ,are you willing to submit  
your faith to the mystery--beyond  all  
depth except the love of ,god--that the 
,son of ,god in our nature  has borne   
our sins in his own body on the         
tree--that he has died  for us1 the     
,just for the unjust8 ,in other words1  
are you willing to  receive the kingdom 
of heaven as a little child--to be      
saved1 if  saved you may be1 in ,god's  

own way8    ,in a former letter ,i spoke
 of the testimony of ,webster to the    
reality  of the ,christian religion2    
and1 though it is true that             
,christianity  does not depend upon the 
patronage of any man1 it is well to know
  that greater intellects than those    
that would persuade you to reject  it   
have bowed before it and found their    
supreme hope in it4 ,let me  give you1  
then1 another testimony from this       
greatest of ,american  statesmen and    
jurists4 ,it was his last night on      
earth2 that life of  extraordinary      
influence and honor was closing4 ,as his
 family and  friends stood around his   
bed his physician repeated the immortal 
hymn  of ,cowper3        ,there is a    
fountain filled with blood        ,drawn
 from ,immanuel's veins1      ,and      
sinners1 plunged beneath that flood1    
,lose all their guilty stains4    ,as   
upon the night-air died away the final  
stanza--        ,then in a nobler1      
sweeter song        ,i'll sing thy power

 to save      ,when this poor1 lisping1 
stammering tongue        ,lies silent in
 the grave1    the majestic voice that  
had thrilled courts and senates1 was    
heard  in a clear thrice-repeated ,amen6
 ,amen6 ,amen6 ,and so he passed1 let   
us hope1 to have part in that final     
song4 ,pity1 infinite pity1 that  he had
 not made more of that magnificent      
intellect for the ,giver of  it6 ,but at
 least he was too great a man to deny   
the ,love and the  ,sacrifice by which  
alone the life of the greatest as well  
as the  feeblest can be saved from being
 an eternal tragedy4    ,i know1 my dear
 ,a----1 the derision with which all    
this may be  received1 but my hope is   
that you have passed beyond that point  
of  intellectual self-conceit and moral 
self-murder4 ,at all events1 this  is   
the only ground of a safe immortality   
that the ,bible holds out1  and beyond  
the ,bible there is no ground4 ,if you  
ever settle safely  the solemn questions
 of the future1 you will settle them    

here4 ,if you  ever find the rest for   
which ,i know you are weary1 you will   
find it  at the cross and in the        
presence of ,him who hung upon it1 and  
whose  words are to-day1 as of old1     
,come unto me1 and ,i will give you     
rest4    ,in all this ,i know there is  
nothing new to you4 ,i had nothing new  
to  say2 ,i wished simply to make a plea
 for the faith of your earlier  years4  
,it is easy to put it aside1 but1 after 
all1 it is a faith  that will stand4    
,the evidence of nineteen centuries from
 millions  of honest and intelligent    
witnesses1 of all ranks and conditions1 
living and dying1 to the power of this  
faith to sustain in the most  solemn    
crises of life1 when flesh and heart are
 failing1 and when  the darkness and    
anguish and mystery of death are rocking
 the soul  to its foundations1 cannot   
wisely be dismissed as a delusion3 there
  must be a reality behind it4 ,the     
lights that have gone out from your  own
 home and heart you were right in       

believing have not gone out in          
darkness1 but you will not forget that  
as they went into purer light  they went
 with ,him who has brought life and     
immortality to light1 who  is the       
,resurrection and the ,life1 in whom    
believing1 though we were  dead1 yet    
shall we live4    ,here ,i must rest4 ,i
 can only commend you to ,god and to the
 word of  his grace--to the written word
 and to the incarnate ,word1 to the     
,bible and to ,christ4 ,i am as certain 
as ,i am of my own existence  that if   
you will give yourself up to the        
guidance of these you  will be satisfied
 and you will be saved4 ,if you will    
only take the  ,bible and follow it1 you
 will find an assurance of its truth    
that  cannot be shaken2 you will find   
rest1 for you will find ,christ4 ,and   
surely it is not too much to ask that in
 a matter of such infinite  importance  
you make a fair1 honest and thorough    
trial of that which  no man ever yet    
made trial of to be disappointed4       

,yet let me not fail to impress as a    
final thought that this result of  good 
and of peace will come only by the power
 of the ,holy ,spirit4  ,it is his to   
take of the things of ,christ and show  
them to us2 unless  he does this1 we    
cannot see them4 ,my last word of       
entreaty1 then1  is--and ,i would make  
it as earnestly as conviction and       
feeling and  language can make it--yield
 to the ,spirit of ,god4 ,the end you   
want  is too great for your own         
strength4 ,you have proved this4 ,you   
have  struggled on long enough in your  
own plans and your own way1 seeking     
rest1 and you are as far from rest as   
ever4 ,try now another way4 ,take  hold 
of a higher strength4 ,ask1 and ye shall
 receive2 seek1 and ye  shall find4 ,i  
plead with you by all the memories of   
the past and by  all the hopes of the   
future4 ,you have sinned1 and ,i would  
not heal  the hurt slightly4 ,no one    
knows better than you that if the ,bible
 is  true you have a long and dark      

account against you--if not of open and 
flagrant sin1 yet to the ,mind that     
makes no mistakes of that which  is     
perhaps far worse1 of calm1 deliberate1 
persistent rejection of  ,christ and of 
his ,spirit4 ,it would be faithlessness 
and cruelty to  hide the fact that by   
all the verities of ,god you are in     
peril--in  fearful peril4 ,to stand in  
darkness where no light is is sad       
enough2  but when ,light is come into   
the world and men stand in darkness1    
there is sin that seals its own doom4   
,as the case is now1 the very  unrest of
 your soul--its dark gropings1 its      
unsatisfied yearnings1  its sighs of    
despair--all this is the living witness 
of your danger1  the prophecy of a      
deeper gloom and woe to come4    ,but as
 yet it is also the voice of ,god's     
mercy2 it is the plea of  his ,spirit   
calling you to the only rest that the   
universe has for  the erring and the    
sinful4 ,the ,spirit of ,god is very    
pitiful4 ,every  thought of good is from

 him2 every desire for a better life is 
his  inspiration2 every penitent sigh is
 his breath4 ,i believe he is not  far  
from you2 ,i believe1 therefore1 you are
 not far from the kingdom  of heaven4   
,quench not the ,spirit4 ,do not go down
 in darkness in sight  of the ,city of  
,light4    ,you remember the            
circumstances of our return from ,europe
 in the fall  of #ah--4 ,we were young  
then1 but the events are still vivid in 
my  memory1 as they are no doubt in     
yours4 ,for two days we were delayed  in
 ,liverpool by a fearful storm4 ,in that
 storm the ,royal ,charter was  coming  
in1 having made successfully the voyage 
of the world4 ,she  had been signaled1  
and was already in the ,channel2 her    
arrival was  looked for every hour4     
,dear friends of those we were leaving  
were on  board4 ,the fires were lighted 
on the hearth1 and the table was spread 
for the long-absent ones1 and glad      
hearts were waiting impatiently to  give
 them joyful welcome4 ,but they never   

came2 in sight of the harbor  and of the
 lights of home they went down--the four
 hundred of that  doomed ship4 ,the next
 day we passed the silent wreck as we   
came out1  and ,i am sure you thought1  
as ,i did1 how unutterably sad and      
pathetic  is such an end1 to perish in  
sight of home4    ,our voyage1 dear     
,a----1 is almost over4 ,the harbor is  
near2 the  lights of the eternal home   
are in sight2 the table is spread1  and 
dear ones--yours and mine--are waiting  
there to give us glad  and everlasting  
welcome4 ,do not make wreck of life and 
hope and  immortality in the very sight 
of home4      ,yours1 in the bonds of   
early years1    ,c----4    ,since these 
letters were written1 he to whom they   
were addressed  has gone where human    
arguments and pleadings cannot reach    
him4 ,in a  moment1 in the twinkling of 
an eye1 he passed from the scenes of a  
busy1 honored and prosperous life into  
the solemn mysteries that lie  beyond   
our horizon4 ,on his desk was found the 

following unfinished  letter1 written   
the night before his death3      ,,my   
,,dear ,c----3    ,i have not           
misapprehended the spirit and motive of 
your letters4  ,i have read them--more  
than once--with care and1 ,i believe1   
with candor4 ,when a man stands in the  
shadow of a great and  awful change--and
 my physician warns me that my lifework 
may end  suddenly--he is a fool who     
deals any other way than seriously and  
honestly with the questions you discuss4
 ,if ,i cannot say that your  reasoning 
removes all my doubts1 ,i can most      
sincerely say this1 even  though it may 
be1 in your judgment1 at the cost of my 
consistency3 ,i  would give the world to
 have your faith and hope4 ,while ,i    
have  been glad to have the arguments of
 ,mr4 ---- to support my own faith  or  
want of faith1 ,i will be candid and say
 that ,i have not been at  rest4 ,life  
has been terribly empty and hopeless    
since ,i felt1 with  ,professor         
,clifford1 that the ,great ,companion is

 dead4 ,i have had  success1 as the     
world goes1 but what of it8 ,what does  
it amount to8  ,what is to be the end of
 it all8 ,no ,god6 ,no immortality6     
,nothing  beyond this little circle     
whose utmost limit ,i seem to be even   
now  touching6 ,is it so8    ,i am      
writing at midnight--an hour when these 
questions often come  to me with the    
pressure of despair4 ,oh to be a child  
again with a  child's faith1 a child's  
peace6 ,my mother--           99        
99       99       99       99    ,here  
the letter ended4 ,did the thought of   
his mother open the door  of his aching 
heart to his mother's ,god and his      
mother's ,christ8 ,so  let us hope4     
,there is a mercy that is from          
everlasting to everlasting  upon them   
that fear ,god1 and a righteousness that
 is unto children's  children to such as
 keep his covenant4    ,lying upon the  
letter was the following slip1 cut from 
a newspaper4  ,it was stained apparently
 with tears1 and was probably the last  

thing  that my friend read4 ,it could   
hardly be the expression of any heart   
to whom the hand of mercy was not       
already opening the wicket-gate3        
',mid the fast-falling shadows1         
,weary and worn and late1      ,a timid1
 doubting pilgrim1        ,i reach the  
wicket-gate4      ,where crowds have    
stood before me        ,i stand alone   
to-night1      ,and in the deepening    
darkness        ,pray for one gleam of  
light4        ,from the foul sloughs and
 marshes        ,i've gathered many a   
stain2      ,i've heard old voices      
calling        ,from far across the     
plain4      ,now1 in my wretched        
weakness1        ,fearful and sad ,i    
wait1      ,and every refuge fails me1  
,here at the wicket-gate4        ,and   
will the portals open        ,to me who 
roamed so long      ,filthy and vile and
 burdened        ,with this great weight
 of wrong8      ,hark6 a glad voice of  
welcome        ,bids my wild fears      
abate4      ,look6 for a hand of mercy  

,opens the wicket-gate4        ,on1 to  
the palace ,beautiful        ,and the   
bright room called ,peace6      ,down1  
to the silent river1        ,where thou 
shalt find release6      ,up1 to the    
radiant city1        ,where shining ones
 await6      ,on6 for the way of glory  
,lies through the wicket-gate4          
,,difficulties ,,of ,,the ,,bible4      
,,difficulties ,,of ,,the ,,bible ,,as  
,,tested ,,by ,,the ,,laws ,,of         
,,evidence4#a    #a ,the substance of   
this essay was given as an address      
before the  ,bible ,conference in       
,philadelphia in ,november1 #ahhg4 ,it  
has1 however1  been revised and         
considerably changed with reference to  
its present  use4--,t4 ,s4 ,c4      ,one
 has to breathe but little of the       
atmosphere of popular thought  to-day to
 find how full it is of religious doubt4
 ,parental faiths  count for little4    
,the beliefs of childhood1 the teachings
 of the  sainted dead1 the hopes that   
once brightened the darkness and        

mysteries and griefs of life with the   
light of a cloudless future1  are to    
multitudes no more4 ,the eclipse of     
faith has come1 and souls  are drifting 
out upon the starless1 shoreless sea of 
unbelief4 ,they  see the spring sun     
shining out of an empty heaven to light 
up a  soulless earth4 ,they take up the 
wail of despair3 ,we are all to  be     
swept away in the final ruin of the     
earth4 ,this is the deep1  pathetic     
undertone of the sighing of a thousand  
hearts to-day4    ,has life anything    
real8 ,is it worth living8 ,when the    
little play is  over1 and the hour's    
music is ended1 and the lights are out1 
and  we go forth into the darkness of   
the final night--what then8 ,is it      
darkness for ever8 or is there the light
 of an eternal day8 ,who  knows8 ,is    
anything certain8 ,must nations and men 
and the evening-moth  alike go down and 
perish for ever under the crush of an   
inexorable  fate8 ,is there no rift in  
this cloud8 ,have we no anchor that will

  hold as the storm drives us on through
 the blinding mists and gloom  to the   
eternal shore8 ,have we no sure word of 
promise to which we can  cling when     
everything else around us and under our 
feet is giving  way8    ,is the ,bible  
true8 ,that is the simple but momentous 
question2 it  settles all other         
questions of most concern to men4 ,to   
it1 therefore1  we find the most intense
 thought of thoughtful men converging4  
,that  from this there should emerge    
questions not easily solved is not to   
be wondered at3 they emerge in every    
inquiry of human thought4 ,the  only    
thing to be asked is that these         
questions be dealt with candidly  and   
fairly4    ,to many minds the ,bible is 
still on trial2 it is only just that in 
its trial those rules and principles    
shall be observed which men  everywhere 
expect and demand shall be observed for 
themselves when  they or their interests
 are to be tried4    ,this is the point 
of this essay4 ,it is not1 indeed1 a    

discussion from  the highest ground of  
inspiration2 it does not claim to be4   
,it simply  deals with a certain        
class--a very large class1 however--of  
alleged  difficulties of the ,bible1 and
 it appeals to the candid reader to     
deal with them as fairly and by the same
 rules as he would have his  fellow-men 
deal with him in a matter of life or    
death1 or of any  worldly interest4     
,for this object only a few of the      
common rules of evidence have  been     
taken4 ,it is believed1 however1 that   
their application will  cover a very    
large portion of the popular objections 
to the alleged  inconsistencies and     
contradictions of the ,bible4           
,undoubtedly1 there are difficulties in 
the ,bible2 the question is  whether    
these prove that it is not the work and 
word of ,god4 ,on the  other hand1 it   
may be suggested whether they do not    
confirm it as the  work of ,god1 for    
they at once put it in harmony with all 
his other  works4 ,if the ,bible were   

without difficulties1 it would1 for us1 
be out of the line with everything else 
that ,god has made or done4  ,nature and
 ,providence are full of difficulties4  
,there is nothing in  the ,bible harder 
of explanation and reconciliation than  
are the facts  that meet us everywhere  
in ,god's creative and providential     
realms4 ,if  these difficulties do not  
prove that ,nature and ,providence are  
not1  from beginning to end1 the works  
of ,god1 they do not on the face of     
them prove that the ,bible is not such4 
,in dealing with the difficulties of the
 ,scriptures1 therefore1 we  have not   
the least idea that they will all be    
removed3 difficulties  will remain4 ,the
 ,lord of hosts himself is a stone of   
stumbling and a  rock of offence upon   
which many stumble and fall and are     
broken4 ,isa4  viii4 #ad1 #ae4 ,if a man
 is determined to commit suicide1 he can
 do  it by the very means that ,god has 
created to preserve life--by fire  or by
 water4 ,spiritual self-destruction is  

quite possible through  the word of life
 itself4 ,at the same time1 no man has a
 right to put  needless difficulties in 
the ,bible or to make difficulties where
  none exist4 ,more than this1 every man
 is bound to deal as fairly at  least   
with the ,bible as he deals with his    
fellow-men in the ordinary  relations of
 life4 ,that which would give him no    
trouble as a judge  upon the bench or a 
juror in the box ought not to be urged  
as a fatal  objection to the            
,scriptures4    ,in testing at this time
 some of the difficulties of the ,bible 
by the  accepted rules of evidence1     
hardly more can be done than to present 
a  few of these rules as applicable to  
these difficulties4 ,but the rules  are 
of the widest application2 the solution 
of one difficulty by them  is the       
solution of a hundred4    ,looking upon 
the ,bible as a whole1 we may refer for 
a moment to the  familiar precept that  
every man is to be presumed innocent    
until he  is proved guilty4 ,this is    

emphatically true of a man of good      
general  reputation4 ,the rule would    
seem as applicable to a book as to a    
man4 ,now1 the ,bible is not a new book2
 it has been before the world  for ages4
 ,it has a character4 ,that it is on the
 whole a good book  the bitterest       
opposers of its plenary inspiration not 
only admit1  but assert4 ,it is conceded
 that it is entitled to its name--the   
,bible1 the ,book4 ,it claims to be a   
truthful book2 by every fair  principle 
this claim must be allowed until it is  
shown to be false4  ,bancroft's ,history
 of the ,united ,states claims to be a  
reliable  work2 the claim is generally  
admitted4 ,if a man now comes forward   
and asserts that it is false in whole or
 in details1 by universal  judgment he  
must prove his assertion1 and obviously 
his proofs must  be stronger than the   
evidences of the truth of the history4  
,if this  is so in reference to a book  
that has not stood the test of half a   
century1 emphatically is it true of a   

book whose character has been           
established through the searching       
scrutiny of friends and foes for        
fifteen centuries--ay1 for twice fifteen
 centuries4 ,if a man now  affirms the  
,bible to be false1 wholly or in part1  
it rests upon  him in all fairness to   
prove his position1 and his evidence    
must  be stronger than that which       
supports the book4 ,for three thousand  
years a growing mass of testimony to the
 truth of the ,bible has been  rolling  
up in the face of every objection that  
ingenuity1 learning  and the bitterest  
hostility could present4 ,account for it
 as we may1  that is the fact4 ,there   
is1 therefore1 a reasonable presumption 
in  its favor1 and in favor of any      
specific statement that it makes4  ,if1 
then1 we find in it a positive statement
 in regard to any fact1  and that       
statement is now confronted by another  
and a contradictory  one1 the two do not
 stand on the same level4 ,the new      
claimant must  prove his position1 and  

to prove it he must disprove the truth  
of  the ,scripture record4 ,it is not   
enough to show that his proposition     
might be true if we had no other        
information on the subject3 he must     
show that the ,scripture1 with its mass 
of supporting and cumulative  evidence1 
is false2 and he must support his new   
proposition by a body  of evidence      
stronger than this manifold evidence of 
ages by which the  ,scriptures are      
sustained4    ,the application of this  
principle is obvious1 yet nothing is    
more  common than its violation4 ,an    
hypothesis with certain analogies       
perhaps in its favor1 but admittedly    
without a solitary positive  proof to   
sustain it1 is put forward as an        
established truth without  regard to the
 fact that the ,bible1 with its general 
character of  veracity behind it1 gives 
another and an entirely different       
account  of the matter4 ,we will not say
 this is irreverent3 it is unfair and   
unreasonable4    ,the character of the  

,bible may justly claim to sustain its  
record  till it is proved false4 ,deal  
with it as fairly as you deal with the  
red-handed anarchist3 let the book be   
innocent till proved guilty2  and if    
innocent1 the written word1 like the    
incarnate ,word1 stands a  true witness 
in all things for ever4 ,condemned1     
crucified1 buried1 it  will rise again4 
,it is a perilous thing to condemn the  
guiltless4    ,let us pass to another   
rule of law2 it is this3 ,the testimony 
of  a single witness1 where there is no 
ground for suspecting either  his       
ability or integrity1 is a sufficient   
legal ground for belief  7,starkie on   
,ev41 i4 #eej74 ,the mere silence of one
 witness or of  many witnesses cannot   
set aside the clear1 positive testimony 
of a  single trustworthy witness4 ,that 
,josephus does not mention events  which
 ,moses records does not affect the     
truth of the ,mosaic record1  and his   
silence as to the ,bethlehem            
massacre--even if no reason could  be   

suggested for it1 as there can          
be--cannot1 under this rule of  law1    
affect the positive testimony of        
,matthew that there was such a          
massacre4    ,the courts go farther than
 this4 ,they say1 ,if a witness swear   
positively that he saw or heard a fact1 
and another who was present  that he did
 not see or hear it1 and the witnesses  
are equally  faithworthy1 the           
affirmative witness is to be believed   
7,decisions  of the ,supreme ,court of  
,errors of the ,state of ,connecticut1  
vol4  vi4 p4 #ahh74 ,in the case        
referred to in that decision the court  
set aside a verdict that had been       
rendered by the lower court on  the     
negative testimony of eleven witnesses  
against the positive  testimony of      
three4 ,the principle recognized by that
 decision1 and  which is universally    
accepted as law1 is that the negative   
testimony  of witnesses present at any  
given transaction cannot set aside the  
positive testimony of a far less number 

of witnesses1 or even of a  single      
reliable witness4    ,the silence of any
 of the evangelists in reference to an  
incident  or event at which they may    
have been present1 but which possibly   
they may not have noticed or which they 
do not record1 does not  contradict in  
the least the testimony of one who says 
such an  incident occurred4 ,the fact of
 the marriage in ,cana is not at all    
disturbed because ,john is the only     
witness who testifies to it4 ,so  if one
 writer states a part of an incident or 
of a discourse which  another writer    
omits1 while the latter gives a part    
which the first  omits1 there is no     
contradiction4 ,matthew 7xx4 #bj7 says  
the mother of  ,zebedee's children made 
a certain request which ,mark 7x4 #ce7  
says the  children themselves made4 ,but
 this is not inconsistent3 the children 
united with the mother in the request4  
,matthew calls attention to one  party2 
,mark1 to another4 ,nothing can be more 
unreasonable than the  cavil that       

stumbles at such difficulties4    ,the  
rule before us applies to that          
extraordinary doubt of modern           
criticism--whether the ,israelites were 
ever in ,egypt1 because1 as  affirmed1  
the monuments do not record their       
presence nor their flight  nor the      
destruction of the ,egyptian host at the
 ,red ,sea4 ,now1 leaving  out of the   
argument the strong probability that the
 monuments do  refer to their presence  
in ,egypt1 and the further probability  
that  the ,egyptians would not be likely
 to preserve on their monuments  the    
record of their own ignominy and        
overthrow1 the objection could  not     
stand for a moment in any court of      
justice in the presence of  the positive
 testimony of the record to the history 
in ,egypt--all  the more as this        
testimony is sustained by an            
extraordinary weight  of incidental     
corroborative evidence1 and is involved 
in the whole  subsequent history of the 
nation4    ,grant1 if you will1 that    

there are improbabilities in parts of   
the history2 still1 the courts rule that
 mere improbability can  rarely supply a
 sufficient ground for disbelieving     
direct and  unexceptionable witnesses of
 the fact where there was no room for   
mistake 7,starkie1 i4 #eeh2 see also    
,greenleaf on ,ev41 i4 #a1  #ad1 #ae74  
,that canon1 fairly applied1 sweeps away
 no inconsiderable  portion of the      
objections to the ,scripture histories4 
,take the great  decisive fact of the   
resurrection of ,christ--a fact that    
carries with  it the whole ,christian   
system and the verity of the whole      
,christian  revelation4 ,it is a fact of
 testimony--of the testimony of many    
witnesses1 under a great variety of     
circumstances1 at many times  and       
places1 and extending through so long a 
period as to preclude  all reasonable or
 admissible supposition of mistake4 ,no 
fact of  ancient history can be proved  
by testimony if the resurrection of     
,christ cannot be4 ,the proof stands by 

itself1 positive1 direct1               
unexceptionable as to the character and 
capacity of the witnesses4  ,it is proof
 that the law declares cannot be set    
aside by mere  improbability2 and if    
this fact is established1 everything    
essential  to ,christianity is          
established4 ,the seal of the risen     
,christ is  on the ,old ,testament2 his 
blood is on the ,new ,testament4 ,it is1
  throughout1 the living book of the    
slain and living ,lord4    ,another very
 important rule of law is this3 ,in     
cases of conflicting  evidence1 the     
first step in the process of inquiry    
must naturally  and obviously be to     
ascertain whether the apparent          
inconsistencies  and incongruities which
 it presents may not without violence be
  reconciled 7,starkie1 i4 #egh74 ,where
 there is an apparent  inconsistency or 
contradiction in the testimony of       
witnesses1 such  construction shall be  
put upon it as to make it agree if      
possible1  for perjury is not to be     

presumed 7#f ,conn4 #ahi74 ,nothing is  
more  remarkable than the constant      
violation of this rule by many of the   
critics of the ,bible2 their effort is  
to see1 not if the testimony  can be    
made to agree1 but if by any possibility
 it can be forced to  appear            
contradictory4 ,it is hardly putting it 
too strongly to say  that many of these 
efforts would not be considered         
respectable1 and  would not be tolerated
 by the critics themselves1 if they     
concerned  any other book than the      
,bible and any other subject than       
,christianity4    ,the courts take even 
stronger ground on the obligation of    
harmonizing  apparently conflicting     
evidence4 ,if the elements of           
reconciliation  are not found in the    
evidence itself1 they insist on the     
admission of  any reasonable supposition
 that will explain the difficulty4      
,where doubt arises1 says ,starkie 7,ev4
 i4 #ehf71 from  circumstances of an    
apparently opposite and conflicting     

tendency1 the  first step in the natural
 order of inquiry is to ascertain       
whether  they be not in reality         
reconcilable1 especially when           
circumstances  cannot be rejected       
without imputing perjury to a witness2  
for perjury  is not to be presumed1 and 
in the absence of all suspicion that    
hypothesis is to be adopted which       
consists with and reconciles all  the   
circumstances which the case supplies4  
7,see also ,starkie1 i4  #egh1 #ehb47   
,take the familiar case of the taxing   
when ,cyrenius was governor of  ,syria4 
,luke ii4 #b4 ,everybody knows how      
confidently it was asserted  that ,luke 
was in error because ,cyrenius'         
government of ,syria was  several years 
later than ,luke makes it2 equally1     
every one knows  how that difficulty was
 met by the supposition1 made almost a  
certainty1 that ,cyrenius was twice     
governor of ,syria--once at the  time in
 question1 and once later4 ,even if the 
supposition were  not as probable as it 

is1 if there were no other way of       
solving  the difficulty1 we should be   
justified by the principle of law in    
assuming it rather than to assume that a
 witness as intelligent as  ,luke1 and  
with his opportunities of knowledge and 
with no motive  for misstatement1 should
 either wilfully or carelessly have made
 so  gross an error4 ,here the rule fits
 perfectly3 ,in the absence of all      
suspicion1 that hypothesis is to be     
adopted which consists with and         
reconciles all the circumstances which  
the case supplies4    ,in regard to     
certain objections to the ,mosaic       
record--for  example1 the improbability 
of the desert sustaining the host of    
the ,israelites3 we select this as an   
example of a mass of like               
objections--,dean ,stanley1 while       
holding in general to the historic      
fact1 says the recorded miracles do not 
meet the difficulty and we  have no     
right to add to them2 for if we have no 
warrant to take  away1 we have no       

warrant to add4 ,if by this he meant we 
have no  right to add to the inspired   
word as a part of it what is not in  it1
 he is quite correct2 but if he meant1  
as he evidently did1 that  we have no   
right to make a reasonable supposition  
to explain an  apparent difficulty of   
the word1 no utterance can be more      
groundless4  ,he might as well object   
that ,moses could not possibly have led 
the  ,israelites through the desert     
forty years because no man could do     
that without sleeping1 and the record   
does not say that ,moses slept  during  
all that time1 and we have no warrant to
 add to the record4    ,the same        
difficulty is urged by others from the  
present barrenness  of the desert1 which
 it is contended is substantially as it 
was in  the time of the ,exodus4 ,this  
is to be met not so much by hypothesis  
as by the facts--7#a7 that the condition
 of the desert was very  different then 
from its condition now4 ,because the    
country around  ,philadelphia cannot now

 support a tribe of ,indians by hunting 
and  fishing1 it does not follow that it
 could not do this two hundred  years   
ago4 7#b7 ,god had undertaken to bring  
the nation out4 ,if every  miracle      
necessary to accomplish this end is not 
recorded1 it does not  prove that it was
 not wrought4 ,as in the life of our    
,lord1 so in the  deliverance of        
,israel1 many miracles may have been    
wrought of which  no account has come   
down to us4    ,this suggests an obvious
 and a very important consideration3    
facts  may now be missing which were    
perfectly well known at the time of  the
 event1 but the record of which has not 
been preserved4 ,hence1 if  a difficulty
 can be removed by a reasonable         
supposition1 or even by  any admissible 
supposition1 of a missing fact1 we are  
entitled to  make that supposition4     
,webster 7,works1 vol4 vi4 p4 #fd7 in   
his address to the jury on the          
celebrated trial of the ,knapps for the 
murder of ,captain ,white of  ,salem1   

,massachusetts1 says3 ,in explaining    
circumstances of evidence  which are    
apparently irreconcilable or            
unaccountable1 if a fact be  suggested  
which at once accounts for all and      
reconciles all1 by  whomsoever it may be
 stated1 it is still difficult not to   
believe  that such fact is the true fact
 belonging to the case4 ,the missing    
fact that was wanted in this case to    
show a motive for the murder  was the   
stealing of a will1 or the purpose to   
steal a will1 and this  proved the true 
hypothesis4    ,to illustrate by a      
familiar incident of the ,old ,testament
 history4  ,the prophets ,jeremiah and  
,ezekiel foretell the fate of the last  
king  of ,judah1 ,zedekiah4 ,jer4       
xxxii42 ,ezek4 xii4 ,they declare that  
he  shall be taken captive by the king  
of ,babylon1 that he shall go to        
,babylon and that he shall die in       
,babylon2 yet ,ezekiel expressly says   
that he shall not see ,babylon4 ,now1   
here is apparently as gross a           

contradiction as there can be2 and if   
our information stopped here1  it would 
be impossible to reconcile it4          
,fortunately1 however1 the  explanation 
is given in the history4 ,from #b ,kings
 xxv4 we learn that  the king of        
,babylon1 when ,zedekiah was brought    
into his presence at  ,riblah1 ordered  
his eyes to be put out and sent him     
blind to ,babylon2  so that he saw the  
king of ,babylon1 he went to ,babylon1  
he died in  ,babylon1 and yet he never  
saw ,babylon4 ,but--and this is the     
point of  this familiar case--if this   
unexpected and extraordinary fact had   
not  been stated1 how absolutely        
impossible it would have been to give   
any  satisfactory solution of the       
difficulty6 ,it may be doubted whether  
any supposition as violent as this needs
 to be made to reconcile  every alleged 
contradiction of the ,bible4    ,a      
remarkable illustration of the power of 
a missing fact occurs  in the history of
 the overthrow of ,babylon itself4 ,the 

,scripture  account 7,dan4 v47 says that
 ,belshazzar was king of ,babylon1 that 
he  was in the city1 engaged in a feast1
 at the time of its capture1  and that  
he was slain4 ,reliable secular         
historians give the name of  the king as
 ,nabonnedus or ,labynetus1 and state   
that he was not in  the city when it was
 captured1 that he was not killed1 but  
taken  prisoner1 kindly treated and     
allowed to retire to private life4      
,these  different accounts were not only
 eagerly seized upon by skeptics as     
proofs of the error of the ,scriptures1 
but even biblical scholars  admitted    
them to be incapable of reconciliation4 
,no longer ago  than when the writer was
 in the theological seminary that prince
  of biblical students1 ,addison        
,alexander1 said that no solution of    
the difficulty was known2 he was too    
wise a man to say that no  solution was 
possible4 ,kitto1 in his ,cyclopedia1   
declared that no  hypothesis could      
harmonize the accounts4 ,yet the        

reconciliation  was perfectly simple4 ,a
 cylinder of historic records discovered
 by  ,sir ,henry ,rawlinson in the ruins
 of ,lower ,babylon showed that there   
were at this time two kings of ,babylon1
 a father and a son4 ,one was  occupying
 a stronghold near the city1 the other  
was defending the  city itself2 the     
latter was taken and slain1 the former  
was spared4  ,thus1 by the providential 
bringing to light of a fact buried for  
centuries1 that which had seemed to be1 
and which had repeatedly and            
triumphantly been proclaimed to be1 and 
which had been given up as  being1 an   
irreconcilable contradiction1 was shown 
to be perfectly  harmonious4 ,yet if the
 hypothesis of two kings had been       
suggested as  an explanation before the 
discovery of the fact1 it would have    
been  hissed out of court by the whole  
skeptical school4    ,the two accounts  
of the death of ,judas have not passed  
out of the  field of popular objection4 
,matthew 7xxvii4 #e7 says he committed  

suicide2 ,luke 7,acts i4 #ah7 says he   
fell headlong and burst asunder4  ,he   
does not say where he fell from or what 
were the circumstances of  the fall1 and
 it is certainly not impossible1 or even
 improbable1  that both accounts are    
true4 ,the traitor hung himself1        
possibly1  on the verge of a            
precipice--the supposed spot furnishes  
all the  conditions for this--and       
afterward 7how long is not said7 the    
rope  or the limb of the tree gave way1 
and he fell1 striking first on the      
rocks at the foot of the tree and then  
plunging over the precipice  with the   
result described by ,luke4    ,the case 
is not without a parallel4 ,a few weeks 
since the papers  noticed the death of a
 gentleman in one of our ,western       
,states4  ,according to one account1 he 
perished in a railroad disaster2        
according to another1 he committed      
suicide--a contradiction almost  exactly
 like that in the case of ,judas4 ,yet  
there was no real  discrepancy4 ,with   

his wife and child he was on the fatal  
train that  met its doom at ,chatsworth4
 ,his child was killed2 he and his wife 
were taken from the ruins terribly      
injured4 ,the wife soon died2 in        
despair1 and with no hope of his own    
life1 he drew his pistol and  sent the  
ball through his own head4 ,he perished 
in the ,chatsworth  disaster1 and he    
committed suicide4    ,the application  
of these principles of law--the         
admission of  any reasonable hypothesis1
 or of an hypothesis that may seem      
improbable1 if it removes the           
difficulty1 the supposition of  missing 
facts known at the time1 but now        
lost--principles of  constant           
application in our courts of            
justice1--releases at once the  pressure
 from a large part of the objections to 
the inspired record4  ,the accounts of  
the healing of the blind men at ,jericho
 and the  resurrection of ,christ--two  
of the most difficult of full           
explanation  in the ,new                

,testament--require no more than this4  
,it is not hard to  present reasonable  
hypotheses to meet the cases as they    
stand2 and  if all the facts were known 
to us we believe the harmony would be   
as complete and as simple as that of the
 histories of the siege and  capture of 
,babylon4    ,we draw the discussion to 
a close with the words of the eminent   
,american jurist and legal authority1   
,professor ,greenleaf3 ,all that        
,christianity or the ,bible asks of men 
on this subject is that  they would be  
consistent with themselves1 that they   
would treat its  evidence as they treat 
the evidence of other things1 and that  
they  would try and judge its actors and
 witnesses as they deal with their      
fellow-men when testifying to human     
affairs and actions in human  tribunals4
    ,this1 as we have said1 is not the  
highest claim that we can make  for the 
,bible2 but if men will go as far as    
this1 and deal with the  alleged        
contradictions of the book honestly by  

the common rules of  evidence1 the vast 
majority of all the difficulties to     
which these  rules apply will disappear4
 ,in the mean time1 if there are those  
that do not yield to present knowledge1 
we can afford to wait4 ,many  objections
 once supposed to be unanswerable have  
been answered1 and  the process is going
 on4 ,god is very patient1 but we may be
 assured  that ,he who just as the      
occasion has demanded has summoned up   
the  silent witnesses to his word from  
the valley of the ,nile1 from the       
stormy cliffs of ,sinai1 from the plains
 of ,mesopotamia and from the  sullen   
shores of the ,dead ,sea1 will not fail 
in the future to give  all the          
confirmation of his truth that the faith
 of his ,church may  need4              
,,washington1 ,d4 ,c41 #ahhh4      ,,the
 ,,end4             99       99       99
       99       99    ,transcriber's    
note3    ,text enclosed by underscores  
is in italics 7italics74    ,small      
capital text has been replaced with all 

capitals4    ,variations in spelling1   
punctuation and hyphenation have been   
retained except in obvious cases of     
typographical error4    ,missing page   
numbers are page numbers that were not  
shown in  the original text4    ,the    
cover for the e,book version of this    
book was created by the  transcriber and
 is placed in the public domain4