Litchfield enquirer., 1872-11-21

York; and he is son of the wealthy old merchant. , James M Riley, who has been such a generous donor to all good works. As for Lis being a lunatic, you shall hear his conversation"
 II should be very poor judge of it, ii he always speaks in his unknown tongues
 English English he talks English as good as your own. A more gentlemanly person, more intelligent mind, meeker and more believing spirit, have not met this many day. He is still here, and he is my right hand in the work shall soon have the pleasure of making you acquain- ted with him."
 ssThank you shall be delighted, " said | ''Only be good enough to hint to him that like to understand what is said to me. 1t he comes at me with unknown tongues, shall wish him in unknown parts. can't stand mysteries. I am a geo.ogist, and beliye that thereare rocks all the way down, and that we had much better stand on them than wriggle in mere chaotic space Good morning, Doctor. shall come again soon shall keep lookout on you"
 Good morning. he replied, kindly. 'I hope to see you in better frame before many days"
 Hurried back to my hotel, and aues- tiOned the landlord about this revival of the age of miracles. He gave me a long account of the affair, and then every neighbor who strolled in gave me another until by dinner-time had heard wonders and absurdities enough to make a new "Book of Mormon" The lunacies of this Riley had entered into Dr. Potter and his pensioners, like the legion of devils into the heard of swine. and driven them head long into the sea of folly. There had been more tongues spoken during the past month in this little Yankee city than would have sufficed for stellar system. Blockheads who were not troubled with an idea once fortnight, and who could neither write nor speak their mother En- glish deoently, had undertaken to expound things which never happened in dialects which nobody understood. People who hitherto had been chiefly remarkable for their ignorance of the past and the slow ness of their comprehension of the pres ent fell to foretelffng the future, with a ghbness which made Isaiah and Ezekiel appear like minor prophets, and a de- structiveness which nothing would satisfy but the immediate of the gnal confiagra- tion- Gouty brothers whose own toes were burden to them, and dropsical sis ters with swelled legs, hobbled from street to street, laying would-be miraculous hands on each other, on teething children, on the dumb and blind, on foundered horses and mangy dogs even, or whatso- ever other sickly creature happened to get under their silly noses The doctors lost half their practice in consequence of the reliance of the people on these spirit ual methods of physicking. Children were taken out of school in order that they might attend the prophesyings and get all knowledge by supernatural intui- tion. Logic and other worldly methods of arriving at truth were suppressed by dreams, dlscernlngs of spirits, and simi- lar irrational processes. The public mad ness was immense, tewbestuous, and un- equalied by anything of the kind since the jerks" which appeared in the early part of this century under the laundering minlstrations of Peter Cartwright. That nothing might be lacking to make the movement fact in history, it had acquir- ed 2 naRe: As it's disciples used the word "dispensation freely, the public called them Dispensationists, and their faith Dlspensationism, while their meetings re- ceived the whimsical title of Dispensaries.
 Amid this clamor of daft delusion. Dr. Potter congratulated his people on the resurrection of the age of miracles. and preached in futherance of the work with a fervid sincerity and eloquence rarely surpassed by men who support the claims of true religion and right reason. Had he brought the same zeal to bear against mathematics, 1t seems to me he might have shaken the popular faith in the mul- tlphcation-table. The wonders transact ing in his church being noised abroad, the town was soon crowded with curious strangers, mostly laymen, but several clergymen, some anxious to believe, 'oth- CTS ready to sheer, but all resolute to see. AS might have heen expected, the nature ot the excitement alarmed the wiser pas- tors of the vicinity for the cause of Ortho- doxy. They saw that several of the asser- ted miracles were simply hoaxes or de- lusions; they suspected that the unknown tongues might be nothing but the sense- less bubbling of overheated brain-pans !: they preceiyed that the Docter in his en- thpsiaatle flights was soaring clear into the murky clouds of Spiritnalism: and they dreaded lest the scofing world should make weapon out of these absurdities for an attack upon the Christian faith. They began to preach against the fanati- cism and, of course, my friend denounc- ed them as infdels. High war ensued among the principalities and powers of theology in all that portion of Yankeedom.
 The reaction reused by the unbelieving clergymen reached the Doctors congrega- tion, and emboldened all the sensible mem bers to combine into an antimiracle party. At a meeting of these persons a committee was appointed to wait upon the pastor and respectfully request him to dismiss Riley, to cease his efforts after the super- natural, ,and to return to his former profit able manner of ministration. Dr. Potter was indignant he replied, that he should preach the truth as it was revealed to him. self he secuted the dictation of the con- mittee, and fell back upon the solemn du- ty of his office; he ended by informing the gentlemen that they were unhelieyers and materialists, Naturally the dissent CTS grew all the more fractious for this currying, and held another meeting. in which the reaction kicked up higher than ever. Being resolved now to proceed to extremities, and, if necessary, to form & new congregation, they drew up the fol- lowing Feoantation and sent it to Dr. Pot ter.-not with any hope that he would put his name to it, but for the purpose of rid ieulng his infatuation and driving him to resign his pulpit. .sA.-
 q, the undersigned, pastor of the First Chuch in Troubleton, having been led far from the truth by the absurdities of mod ern miracleism and spiritualism, and hay ing seen the error of my ways, do peni- tently subscribe to the accompanying ar- ticles.
 '.1st. I promise to cease all intercourse with blasphemous blockhead named John M. Riley, who has been the human cause of my downfall,
 ''2d. l promise to avoid in future all rhapsodies, ecstasies, frenzies, and whim- seys which throw ridieule on true religion by caricaturing it's influences.
 '3d. I promise to regard with the pro- foundest contempt and indifference both my own dreams or somnambulisms and those of other people.
 "4th. promise not to unyeil the se- cret things of Infnity, nor to encourage others to unveil them. but to mind my %1ah hr,c x~ z,