"No," she answered, "I do not know him, and I do not wish to make his acquaintance."
"May I ask why?" I said.
She replied:
"Simply because I am told it is impossible to know him without admiring and loving him."
"Well?"
"Well, I don't want to admire or love him."
I had the honour of making his acquaintance, and, like all those who have approached and known him, I soon loved and admired him.
He is one of the greatest figures of his great country. In a book on contemporary America one must needs speak of this celebrated advocate. He is a personality apart. He has little in common with the rest of his countrymen but the title of Colonel.
Once more I say it: in this book of jottings I do not sit in judgment, I merely describe impressions of what I have seen and heard. It is not necessary to endorse a man's theories in order to enjoy his society; and this is especially true in the case of Colonel Ingersoll, who is many-sided in his powers, and who charms theologians and agnostics alike when religion is not on the tapis.