Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1877-10-26

meant by his talk. Says Isaac,
'Oh, nothing particular; only can
they pray down fire from heaven
on an altar? 1t amt much, may
be, your majesty, only can they do
it? That's the idea So the king
was a good deal disturbed, and he
went to the prophets of Baal, and
they said, pretty airy, that if he
had an altar ready, they were
ready; and they intimated he better
get it insured, too.
$50 next morning all the chill
dren OF Israel and their parents,
and the other people, gathered
themselves together. Well, here
was that great crowd of prophets
of Baal packed together on one
side, and Isaac walking up and
down all alone on the other, put
up his job. When time was called,
Isaac let on to be comfortable and
Indifferent; told the other teams to
take the first innings. So they
went at it, the whole $50, praying
around the altar, very hopeful, and
doing their level best. They prayed
an hour-two bours-three hours
and so on, plumb till noon. It
'twan't any use; they hadn't took a
trick. OF course they felt kind of
ashamed before all those people,
and we'll they might. Now, what
would a magnanimous man do?
Keep still, wouldn't he? OF course.
What did Isaac do? He graveled
the prophets of Baal every way he
could think of. Says he, You
don't speak loud enough, or may be
he's taking walk; you want to
holler, you know'--or words to that
effect; don't recollect the exact
language. Mind, l don't apologize
for Isaac; he had his faults.
Well, the prophets of Baal
prayed along the best they knew
how all the afternoon, and never
raised spark. At last, about sun
down, they were all tuckered out,
and they owned up and quit.
"What does Isaac do, now? He
steps up and says to some friends
of his there, Pour four barrels of
water on the altar = Everybody
was astonished, for the other side
had prayed at it dry, you know, and
got whitewashed. They poured it
on. Says he, 'Heave on four more
barrels Then he says, Heave on
four more Twelve barrels, You
see, altogether. The water ran all
over the altar, and down the sides,
and filled up a trench around it
that would hold a couple of hogs
heads measures it says; / reck-
on it means about a hogshead.
Some of the people were going to
put on their things and go, for they
allowed he was crazy. They didn't
know Isaac. Isaac knelt down and
began to pray; he strung along and
strung along, about the heather in
distant lands, and about the sister
churches, and about the State and
country at large, and about those
that's in authority in the govern
ment, and all the usual programme,
you know, till everybody had got
tired and gone to thinking about
something else, and then, all of a
sudden, when nobody was noticing,
he outs with a match and rakes It
on the under side of his leg, and
pf! up the whole thing blazes like
a house afre. Twelve barrels of
water? Petroleum, sir, petroleum..
that's what it was p
Petroleum, Captain ?"
" Yes sir; the country was full
of it. Isaac knew all about that.
You read the bible. Don't you
worry about the tough places. They
amt tough when you come to think
them out and throw light on them.
There amt thing in the bible but
what is true all you want is to 90
prayerfully to work and cipher out
how t was done"