Flowers of Freethought (Second Series)Foote, G. W. (George William)
Religion
Flowers of Freethought (Second Series)
Foote, G. W. (George William)
Free thought
RAIN DOCTORS.
The prolonged drought has already inflicted serious injury on the
farmers. They are, as a rule, a loyal class of men, but their loyalty
will probably be shaken when they realise that the Lord has spoiled
their crops to provide Queen's weather for the Jubilee. An occasional
shower might wet the Queen's parasol or ruffle the plumage of the
princes and princelings in her train. Occasional showers, however, are
just what the farmers want. The Lord was therefore in a fix. Though the
Bible says that with him nothing is impossible, he was unable to please
both sides; so he favored the one he loved best, gave royalty unlimited
sunshine, and played the deuce with the agricultural interest.
Possibly the Lord knows better than we do, but we venture to suggest
that a slight exercise of intelligence, though we admit it may have
been a strain upon his slumbrous brain, would have surmounted the
difficulty. The windows of heaven might have been opened from two till
four in the morning. That would have been sufficient for a proper supply
of rain, and the whole of the day could have been devoted to "blazing"
without injuring anyone. Or, if the early morning rain would have
damaged the decorations, the celestial turnkey might have kept us a week
without water giving us an extra supply beforehand. On the whole, if
we may hazard so profane an observation, the powers above are singularly
behind the age. Their affairs are frightfully mixed, and the result is
that capital and labor are both in a state of uncertainty. The celestial
dynasty will have to improve, or its imperial power will be questioned,
and there will be a demand for Home Rule with regard to the weather. It
is a perfect nuisance, with respect to a matter which vitally affects
us, not to be able to know what a day will bring forth.
Meanwhile we turn to the clergy, and inquire why they do not perform
their professional duties in this emergency. There is a form of prayer
for such cases in the Prayer-book. Why has it not been used? Do the
clergy think the Lord is growing deaf with old age? Have they a secret
suspicion that praying for a change of weather is as useful as whistling
for the wind? Or has the spirit of this sceptical age invaded the
clerical ranks so thoroughly as to make them ashamed of their printed
doctrines? When a parish clerk was told by the parson one morning that
the prayer for rain would be read, he replied, "Why, sir, what's the
use of praying for rain with the wind in that quarter?" We fancy that
parish clerk must have a good many sympathisers in the pulpit.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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