New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1860-09-05
THE pRoFaNlTlKs OF PRAYER.

birth. or from very early years, who was reS'o,eu
"a fnll soundness of limb in answer 10 prayer i's
suaeripes from his ipfrmity hsd grown so gres.
that he had consulted an eminent surgeon, ana
made I'D hi, mind to submit to painful oPeration,
when il occurred to him to try first the emcacy Vi
prayer for the cure or alienation OF his distress.
And so successful was his application that IN the
deep sleep which fell upon him Immediately 'nere-
after. he saw the eminent surgeon aforesaid enteI
,ccompanied by the Savior of Mankind, who pro-
ceeded 70 operate on his diseased limb and with
such effect that he found himself the next morning.
entirely restored to its wholesome use. Inc legs
of the lame were no more unequal, but ne couio
walk and run and leap, after very brief exercise
of his long Impractical muscles. The story was
told with entire gravity, and without aoy apparent
sense Of absurdity or indecorum, or OF the rldi-
Guile which was likely to attach because OF H. la
unthinkips minds, to an Office held in such pro-
found yeneration by universal Chrstendom.
Whatever may be thought of the aesurdity OF
the blssphemy of this story, the purpose OF tue
miracle of healing which it relates was at least hui
name and benefcent, aud in accordance with the
| benipnity of the wonderful works recorded in the
| Gospels. Not So however, with the marvel wh'ch
was wrought in Boston, according to the authentic
ASSURANCE of The Congregational Herald, in answer
to devout supplicaton. 1t seems that the late
lamented Theodore Parker did not die natural
death through the ordinary processes of disease,
a, has generally been supp Jsed, but that he was
prayed to death by "a praying circle OF ladies', neid
" in the parlOr of a prominent citizen OF Boston.
These godly danes made the case of this celebrated
heresiarch the subject of special prayer. They
sprayed earnestly that he might be stopped in his
preaching of ruinous errors" AT one OF their
meetings, the glad tidings were announced to them
| that on the previous Sabbath Mr.. Parker had been
prevented from preaching because Frustrated by
sickness They recognized the hand of the Lord
in this dspensation, and perceived that " He was
" about to answer their prayers, though in DIFF
g ferent way from what they had expected" And
The Congregational Herald goes on to recite, " as
" facts worthy of notice and record" that Mr..
| Parker's voice was virtually silenced from that
time forwards that be preached only once or twice
afterwards; and that disease seized upon him
(which took him from his congregation aud his
81 country, and into eternity" Upon which state
of facts this orthodox organ Of the Congregational
| ISIS exclams with holy fervOr: 60 Was not this one
among the numerous answers which God gives
a" to secret prayer J"
We think, five are to take this oracle as an au-
thentc expounder of the ways of God to man, that
it becomes matter Of very general interest to
know whether these honorable and degOut women
of Boston have been encouraged by this signal sue
cess to continue their operations for the Kidding OF
the world of persons whom they may esteem mis-
cbieyous to it. The knowledge of the existence OF
such secret society ofDestroyDgA ,one would
| think, must excite no small uneasiness in the Ath-
ems of our country. For though, as in Athens Of
old the inhabitants are fond Of hearing and telling
of some new thing, cannot conceive that 1t could
be an agreeable novelty to learn that such prac
tees may be going on pryily against mems lives
Indeed, who of us all is safe How do we know
that praying circle of ladies' is not at this moment
wearing Heaven for the destruction of THE TRTB-
| UNE. and an epidemic extirpation of all the
| persons whom it employs in the public service
| II is dreadful to think Of We know that certain
women in Massachusetts,, in former times, were
accused of practicing against mems lives by secret
arts. These sOrceresses would make waXen i'm
ages of such as they wished to remove from the
world, and, by sticking pics into these would tor
ment the flesh of those they stood for and by slowly
melting them before the fire would cause their cor
relatives to pine away and die. But these adept;
were branded as the worst of criminals, and were
banged or burned without mercy; whereas the
more fatal sisterhood of our later days are ex
allied above all other women as excelllng in Chris
tian graces and in the favor of Almighty God.
The extent to which the dangers of such Hoy
Alliance as this might reach is something alarming
If it should be settled thing that these Fatal Sis
tiers can indeed doom any one to death by the crue
might of their simple intercesSion, who can say
that they would stay their ayenging hands wher
they had freed the world from the theological
monsters that lay it waste! Disagreeabe hus
bands, Representatives,, superannuated unces aud
bedridden aunts mightbe disposed ofby the easya aud
edifying process of a prayer meeting. The vulgar
appliances of the dagger and the bowl by which az
iicted ladies have sometimes disposed of the burdens
of their lives would beutterly superseded. Amere
note asking an interest 10 the prayers Of these de
vout ladies that such or such an impenitent sinner
might be stopped in the course of his wickedness,
would probably be all that would be necessary to
secure his being removed out of the way. Strych.
nine arsenic and prussic acid would become drugs
in the market as well as in the apohecaries shope
Such coarse and vulgar vehicles with which to con-
yey marital, parental or ayuncular Inconvenience
to another world, would become obsolete Lucre-
tia Borgia, Maria Brinvilliers, Madame La Voisin,
| Miss Blandy the Yelled Murderess and all tba