Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1847-10-29

fully.
Elijah and the Carmeliie or the Evils
of Rain.
The sins of Israel had found them OUT
The terrible scourge toretold Ivy Moses was
upon them "Thy Heaven that is over thy
head shall be brass, aud the earth that is uI-
der thee shalt be IRON. The Lord shall make
the rain of thy land powder and dust" The
brooks were dried up aud the streams Of the
| rivers had failed for three years and six
mouths there had been no rain upon the earth.
The fowls of heaven and lucks aud herds OF
the field were crowded in meagre and famish-
ing muIlitudes along the dry channel in starch
Of water, or. painting and recling over the dns-
ty PLAIN, were dying under the action OF In
tolprable thirst. In the city the moan OF tie
starving moth, was answered by the scream
of starving childrei-thrre was no water,
there was no bread. The green earth was
| faded, the flowers were withered and gone.
The fields. once beautiful with rising corn,
now appeared scorched and desolate, and even
the tail forest trees, on The sides and summit
Of Mount Carmel. stood leafless and dTeary,
as The prophet Of God went up from the place
of sacrifice TO the top Of The mountain to pray
for rain. He cast himself dow upon the
earth, and cried to the Lord God Of Israel to
have mercy on his people and send them the
showers of Heaven, that they might live aud
not die. lie fel, deeply for those who Were
peri>hing. He knew that none but God could
help, and he prayed with that earnestnesS and
importantly that takes no denial.
While Elijah was thus engaged, he was
approached by one who had long dwelt in a
cave in the side OF Mt. Carmel: he was a
tall, lean, hard featured figure, whose visage
was strongly marked with expressions Of fret
fulness and fault-inding; one OF those "mur-
murers and complainers" who habitually
overlook the good in the kingdom of nature
and the kingdom Of grace, and fix their minds
only on what they consider the evils. lnet-
fcient and worthless himself, as 10 any use
ful enterprise. the labors of his life had been
to decry AID hinder the usefulness of others.
He had evidently been "A SUITE rer during the
long and destructive famine, for he appeared
slrivellrd and shrlnken in soul and body
both, but his suffrTings had not produced in
his heart reimbursement toward God, nor had
they awakened emotions OF kind ness and com-
passion for wretched dying men. AS Elijah
| now paused in his PRAYER, aud babe his ser
want go and look coward the sea-" if there
are any evidences Of a cloud rising, he was
thus addressed by the old Carmelite:-
sProphet Of God. | find you are praying
earnestly for rain; now am a friend of rain.
| approve OF rain; that is, when rain comes
as it ought to come, and as it might come.
But | have known many sore evils connected
with rain in this country. Yea, evils at the
, very thought of which my heart is in agony.
And you, prophet, should be very cautious
aud prudent how you pray for rain. lest these
distressing evils should again befhll u.s."
Ehjah.-The evils Of rain certainly your
fears have taken a strange direction; you had
better be deprecaiing the evils of drought
Don't you see how the earth is scorched with
~intaRse heat! Every green thing is burned
up. the animals dead and dying. while ia
mine is stalking ghaslly and grIrn, from house
to house, and from city to city nothing but
the mercy of God, speedily granting the show
ers of heaven. can arrest the des0Ialion, and
prevent the universal extinction Of life and
yet you are narrowing up your mind with
, horrible apprehensions of the evils of rain.
Here r ijth turned away from The old mar
in anguish Of spirit, and threw himself pros.
trate before the Lord, and his urgent PRAYER
that the awful judgment might he turned
away from Israel, was continued ill his ser
want came back from looking toward the sea
and said, "There is nothing" go again.
. oh'h blJIH' HC fiNdI went, anu The OH
CarmrIite resumed his discourse.
"Prophet Of God, ! wish you to understan,
me. ! am decidedly in favor of rain; | thai
highly OF it; in fact. | wish we might hav
more rain than we do; that is, rain of tn
right kind, such, for example, as they had il
the good old daye Of our fathers, when rain
were of d much better description than the
have been of late. Indeed, in the early pal
of my own life | have seen rains that wer
far preferable TO the rains we have had durin
tie last fifteen or twenty years. And, propi
oil, this is a subject on which ! have a riot
to be heard, T | have been prosecuted b
the people of the land. While ] have bee
warning them against the evils Of rain, the
C, have taken up an opinion that | am oppose
to rain altogether. This | consider dow
right persecution"
#, Elijah Warning them against the evi
oh OF rain! Surely you have not been thus e
gagged during the last three years and s
In months!
C0rmehie.-Surely ! have. Why, prop
'ut ell, there were so many deploring the prev
40 lence Of drought, and expressing aniety
zen rain, thai ] saw there was danger of their n
ies being sufficiently cautious and prudent, a
to while | heartily approve Of genuine rail-
those, | mean, thai are under nronar rarn'
,nr- tons and rightly conducted, | wish to put (
ke, people on their guard against rains that :
he spurious, and do more harm than rood.
tor have turned my attention, therefore, with u
not tlcular interest 10 the evils with which 1
rains Of Israel for some years back have be
not attended.
10 EhJah.-Wonderfu infatuationl Carra
lite, Interrupt mo no more.