Republican Vindicator

The Ironism.—The Knickerbocker tells an excellent story of Burchard, the revivalist: not of him exactly, either, but what happened at the close of one of his meetings. He was in the habit of addressing his congregation after this fashion:

"I am going to pray, and I want all that desire to be prayed for, or have their friends who are absent prayed for, to send up their names on a piece of paper."

On the occasion to which we refer, there was at once sent up to the desk quite a number of little slips of paper, with the names of persons on whose behalf he was to "wrestle," as he said, "with the Almighty." A pause soon ensued, when he said, "Send 'em up! If you haven't any paper get up and name the friend that you want prayed for." At this stage of the proceedings, a man whom we shall call Oziel Biggs, a stalwart person of six feet and a half in his stockings, a notorious unbeliever and a confirmed wag to boot, rose in the midst of the congregation, a mark for all, and amidst the winks and blinks and smiles of the auditory said:

"Mr. Burchard, I want you to pray for Jim Thompson."

The reverend petitioner saw from the excitement in the audience, that Oziel was a "hard case."

"What is your name, and who is Mr. Thompson?"

"It's Jim Thompson; he keeps a tavern down in Thompsonsville, and I keep a public house a little below him. He is an infernal scoundrel, and I want you to give him a lift."

"But," said Burchard, "have you faith in the efficacy of prayer? Do you believe in the power of petition?"

"That's neither here nor there," responded Oziel, taking his seat, "I want you to try it on him!"