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(The Occident vol. XIII).
To the Editor of the Occident:
Painful as it is to obtain hatred instead of love, contempt in lieu of friendship,
painful as it is to have uselessly spent the best of friendship on one who was unworthy of
the same: the more terrible is the discovery when all this happens in a quarter where we
had the least cause to expect it. You may perhaps care little for my friendship: still I
must say that I doubt whether you have in this widely extended land a second friend who
has loved you and esteemed you with the same warmth and sincerity. Whenever I spoke of
you, I mentioned your name with such a respect as though it were a prophet of whom I
spoke. But far different was you conduct towards me, and was not to be expectd from a man
of honor.
I did not come to the conference at Cleveland, because I was afraid to be a' or
overwhelmed by the majority. But I was bound, as I had signed the call, to justify my
absence at the meeting. Whereupon you attempted to show what a deceiver Dr. Illowy is, by
referring to a letter received from him, in which he advised you not to attend the
conference; and thus what a friend communicated to a supposed friend in confidence, was
published to his adversaries, to brand him as unstrustworthy. In the whole western country
people say, that when Dr. Illowy's letter addressed to the Cleveland conference, full of
terms of praise, was read, Mr. Leeser asserted that he had another from the same which
contained words of quite another import. It is painful to be betrayed by one whom we love
and esteem, even if it were just. But when falsehood is superadded, it is doubly so. Was
then my letter to the conference in contradiction to the one addressed to you? Or did I
pretend to entertain other sentiments in my letter to the conference than those I had so
often expressed openly? Assuredly not. I send you herewith an exact copy of my letter to
the conference, and I ask of you, if you have yet a spark of feeling of justice, to
publish the cause of my absence, in my justification, as also the letter itself; that the
world may judge whether I am a deceiver or not; whether this letter stands in
contradiction to the one addressed to you, because I counseled you not to attend. And only
by this means can you repair the injury done to my honor. In the expectation that you will
not hesitate to insert the above in your next number, I append a correct copy of my
letter.
St. Louis, Dec. 2d, '55.
"Rev. Dr. Wise;
Respected Friend - You will perceive from these lines that I shall take no part in the
conference at Cleveland, not to withhold my mite from the good cause, but because a sudden
change of circumstances prevents me from hastening hither, as I so earnestly desire. I beg
you, therefore, to convey my heartfelt brotherly greeting to all my colleagues, as also
the delegates there present; and, as it is once so decreed by my G-d that I must remain at
home, I have to invoke Him that He may cause those who agree with me in opinion to come
forth victoriously out of the contest; and to those who hold the opposite views I would
say, as my earnest petition 'Touch not my anointed ones, and to you no evil to my
prophets.’
I request of you to communicate this excuse to the honored assembly, and remain, with
respect and brotherly love.
Dr. B. Illowy.
St. Louis, Oct. 15th, 1855.
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