to
show that he is wrong are only whispered to me behind a fan, or in the
strict seclusion of a letter marked "private and personal."

The arguments I have given against the prevailing Christian dogmas and
usages, which you uphold, are neither private nor personal, nor shall I
allow them to take that phase. Life is too short for me to spend hours
day after day in sustaining, in private, a public argument which has
never been (and, in my opinion, never will be), refuted. And it would
do no good to the thousands whom you are pleased to say you fear will
be led astray by my position. You have a magnificent opportunity to lead
them back again by honest public letters, or lectures, or sermons, not
by an afternoon's chat with me.

And, while I recognize the courtesy of your pressing requests (made,
without exception, in the most gentlemanly terms) to permit you to meet
me personally and refute my arguments, I feel compelled to say that,
unless you are willing to show the courage of your convictions, _and
the quality of your defense_, to the public, I fear they would have no
weight with me, and I should have wasted your precious time as well as
my own, which I should feel I had no right to do, nor to allow you to
do, without this frank statement of the case.

Now, do not suppose that I have the slightest objection to meeting the
clergy personally and socially. Upon the contrary, many of my friends
are clergymen--even bishops--but candor compels me to state that up to
the present time not one of them has (either privately or otherwise)
been able to answer either of the first two lectures in that little
book, and as to the third one, no one of them, in my opinion, will ever
try to answer it.

Time will show whether I am right in this.

In the mean time accept my thanks for your interest, and believe me,

Sincerely,

Helen H. Gardener.

LETTER TO THE CLEVELAND CONGRESS OF FREETHINKERS, OCTOBER, 1885.

I send my greetings to the Congress of Freethinkers assembled at
Cleveland, and regret, more than I can express, that I am unable to
be there and hear all the good things you will hear, and see all the
earnest workers you will see.

The Freethinkers of America ought to be a very proud and enthusiastic
body, when they have in their presidential chair the ablest orator
of modern times, and the broadest, bravest, and most comprehensive
intellect that has ever been called "Mr. President" in this land of
bravery and pr