The Morning Post of Tuesday last, noticing our paper on
"Ancient Martyrs and Modern Saints," complains of a want of courtesy in the style of our remarks. We are most willing to cultivate the urbanities in newspaper discussion : at the same time, may we remind the Post, that the charge of irreligious motive, which it ventured to level at us for our plain-speaking on Church abuses, is one not calculated to engender the mild and milky behaviour for which it stipulates. It would not do in private life, to say to a gentleman, " Sir, you're an infidel !" and then to proceed, "Now be mild—softly there !" We told the Post, and we take the liberty of repeating the observation sotto voce, that calling of names was a somewhat decayed flower of wit, hardly worth revival, and that argument was now in so much esteem as to be held necessary to persuasion. The Post, with its ardour in theology and quickness in discovering a suitable name for its adversary, puts us in mind of an anecdote. At a table, where a fierce theological dispute was going forward to the great prejudice of the dinner, there sat one gentleman who persevered in maintaining a suspicious silence, taking no part with the divines on the one side or with the " infidels " on the other. At length, a clergyman who sat next to him, and who began to be quite as much incensed by his silence as by the contention of the other parties, turned 'round sharp upon him, and demanded, "And you, Sir, what are you, pray ? eh ? An Atheist, or a Deist ?"—" Sir," stammered the frightened individual," I—I'm —a dentist!"
The Post imposes no necessity upon us for fortifying our former arguments, as it does not offer to oppugn thm. Its article is entirely confined to deprecations of oar rudeness, and (must we say it ?) repetitions of its own. With respect to the tone of ridicule into which we fell in speaking of the delinquent Church, there is not much fear of seeing it over-done or longcontinued at any time : the natural language is one much less to be coveted by the Church.
• Sketches and Essays.
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