at all acquainted with the relations that existed between Mr.
Bradlaugh and his brother, the last clause of Mr. Rees's statement is
sufficient to stamp the whole of it as false and absurd. Without going
into details, it is enough to say that Mr. Bradlaugh simply _could not_
speak of his brother in this manner; it is absolutely beyond the bounds
of possibility; and, as Sir Isaac Holden is the authority throughout,
the entire passage about Mr. Bradlaugh would have to be dismissed with
contempt.

Mr. Standring sent Mr. Rees a marked copy of the _Freethinker_, and
intimated that space would probably be afforded him for a correction or
an explanation. Mrs. Bradlaugh Bonner was also communicated with, and
she immediately wrote to Mr. Rees on the subject. The reverend gentleman
replied that he had made "no positive statements" as to any change of
view on the part of Mr. Bradlaugh. He had "nothing to add" and "nothing
to retract." But to prevent a misunderstanding he enclosed a verbatim
copy of the passage in his sermon to which she referred. It ran as
follows:--

"As a rule, men who profess Atheism do not become stronger in their
belief as time goes on. I think I may almost say that this was true of
Mr. Bradlaugh. Sir Isaac Holden has told me that he frequently conversed
with Mr. Bradlaugh on religious subjects. The conversion of his brother
deeply affected him, and on one occasion he said to him: 'I wish I
were half as good as my brother.' It was the unreality of much of the
Christianity with which in early life Mr. Bradlaugh was associated and
the worldliness and uncharitableness of religious professors, which made
an Atheist of Mr. Bradlaugh, as it has done of many others."

This is a precious sample of clerical logic, composition, and veracity.
Mr. Rees must have been very ignorant of Mr Bradlaugh's writings
and intellectual character, or else he was deliberately inventing or
trusting to mere hearsay, when he stated that Mr. Bradlaugh was made an
Atheist by the bigotry or selfishness of certain Christians. "I think
I may almost say" is a strange expression. What is it to "almost say"
a thing? Is it almost said when you have said it? And what a jumble of
"hims" in the fourth sentence! It would really disgrace a schoolboy.

Mrs. Bradlaugh Bonner replied to Mr. Rees, hoping that his "sense of
honor" would impel him to acknowledge his mistake. She told him that
her father's convictions never wavered on his death-bed; that M