The weekly Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 1882-188?, 1886-11-04
A BLAsPHEAER.s doom.


In recent sermon the Rev DIR. Tai
mage discussed biasphemy and its con-
sequences He drew from ancien. and
modern history for instances Of the sud
den and awful punishment inflicted b.
divine power upon biasphemers and
warned his hearers to avoid the sin IS
one that brings them into special dan
ger from al offended Providence His
most striking illustration was an Incl
dent that be declared happened on asst
August. He gives To a AuH reporter the
following corrected version of his nara
tive
So common has blaspheny become
that the public mind and tie public ear
have got used TO it, and Il blasplemer
goes up and down iLis country in his
lectures defying the plain law agains:
| blasphemy. and there is not Mayor in
| America that has backbone enough L.
| interfere with him save one and that
| the Mayor of Toronto. Profanity j.
| worse than theft. or arson. or murder,
! for these crimes are attacks on human
! ity. That is an attack on God. This
country is pre-eminent for blaspheuy.
The crime is multiplying in intensity.
| of it, but for the most part the fatality
Is hushed up. give you fact that is
| proved By scores of witnesses. T4is
last August OF 1886 man got provoked
at the continued drought aud the Iuin
OF his crops, and in the presence OF his
neighb0rs cursed God, saying that be
would cut His heart out if He wo Id
come. calling him a liar and os~&eS-.
and flashing knife. And while he was
speaking his lower jaw dropped, smoke
issued from mouth and nostrils, and
| the heat of his body was go intense it
| drove back those who would come near
Scores of people visited the scene and
saw the blasphemer in the awful pro
cess OF expiring. DO not think that
AOd has been silent of your case, -,
profane swearer. that He is dead. Is
there nothing now in the peculiar feel
ing OF your tongue or nothing in the
numbness of your brain that indicates
that God will come to avcnge your bias
phcmies or is already avcnging them
There are hundreds OF such cases Fam
lilies keep them still to avoid the horn
bic conspicuitv. Physicians suppress
them through professional confidence.
III was dSNCti loi "a Ilituiii-
stantial account of the blasphemer who
was miraculously burned to death. HIS
response was as follows: Il aDpre ciate
the desire Tor further details in this
matter, but purpos ely avoided locating
the event, and the reasons that actuated
me then impel me now to keep the af-
fair from the public. Such an event is
a terrible thing for the family and
friends of the man who was punished,
and 1t was out of consideration for them
that | omitted to state where the scene
was laid That it is strictly true, how
ever, | have Conclusive evidence. | for
get just how 1t was brought to my at
tention. l heard it reported by some
body or got my first information By pri
vate letter. | cannot say which, but
am INCLINED to think it was the latter.
But no matter. | asked trusted friend
to investigate for me, and he did SO.
Some correspondence ensued, which he
turned over to me, and from it | am as
sured that the affair did actually and
exactly take place as l describe it
have the correspondence still, but
think l had better keep it to myself"