The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1903-01-30

come of the battle is wi Thee. But We
need not fash yerself WI wee Willie, for
1 haze him here, an I'm cawpable O. look
ing after him mysel."
A pastor of small congregation of
dissenters in the west of Scotland, who in
prayer, often employed terms of famil-
iarity toward the great Being whom he
addressed was uttering his petition in
the season of an apparently doubtful
harvest, asking that such weather as was
necessary for ripening and gathering III
the fruits of the ground be granted,
when, suddenly, he added: "But, why
need | talk? When | was up at Shots
the other day everything was as green
as leeks."
In the tales of the Ettrick Shepherd,
we are told that the prayers of the
Scotch herders of generation ago are
notable for their originality, sometimes
for rude eloquence and pathos, at other
times for nondescript sort of pomp,
and not unfrequently for plain and
somewhat unbecoming familiarity. From
the specimens which are given, we may
well believe it.
Here are two quotations from the
family prayers of Adam Scott, of Up
per Dagliesh; "We particularly thank
Thee for the great goodness to Meg, and
that it ever came into your head to take
any thought of sic useless banwan as
her" This was a little girl who had
been somewhat miracuously saved from
drowning. )-'Dinna forget poor Jamie.
who i s far away frae us amang the
night. Keep thy arm o. power about
him, and oh, l wish We wad endow him
with a like spunk smeddum to act for
himself For if We dinna, he'll be but a
bauchle in this world, and backsitter
in the neist."
A prayer recorded by this same au-
thor eXcels in pathos and simple faith
in Gods wisdom any that l have ever
read elsewhere. An old man had bur-
! led his only son, and, upon the even
| ing of the day when the funeral took
place, he gave voice to his sorrow in the
words which [ quote: 'Thou hast seen
meet, in Thy wise providence to remove
/, the staff out of my right hand, at the
very time, when to us poor sand blind
mortals, it appeared that l stood maist
+, in need OF. But oh, it was sicker ane
and a sure ane, and a dear ane to my
heart! And how I'll climb the steep hill
o. aud age and sorrow without it, Thou
mayst ken, but | dinna."
/ There was, perhaps, no irreverence
meant in many of these petitions; they
sprang from the soil of vanity and of
misconceptions of God 1t seemed to
Burns that narrowness of mind, bigotry
the dogma of theology comprised es,
sential hypocrisy, and, as he hated
nothing so bitterly as sham and pre-.
, tense, he fought the religionists of his
day with an uncompromising and some
times rude and indicate satire. He
drew line, or rather | should say. he
emphasized the distinction already exist,
ing between the true and the false. And
in this matter he performed valuable
service for the church, in lifting the
character of pure Christianity from the
mire of inspired burlesque.
The Lords Supper, for instance, was
administered twice a year in the country
districts in the open air. In the morn
ing they broke bread, in the afternoon
discussed each others frailities, and in
the evening got hopelessly and helplessly
drunk. Hence, that dreadful production
called ''The Holy Fair"
! Rev. Andrew w. Cross, writing in The
Arena some years ago, upon the ''Relig,
| ion in Burns Poems," refers to the
poets daring in drawing caricatures OF
Ireligionists. The Scottish Presbyterian
| church, he says, strong now in her tire.
mendous organization, stronger than we
can imagine, was no paltry antagonist
before whom to throw the gauntlet OF
defiance. Her terrible anathema oft.
! times brought the wolf of poverty tc
the door, and paralyzed with terror even
the ministering angel of pity. The Bard
of Ayr perceived this and expressed il
in the cunning lines:
| 81 own twas rash an rather hardy,
That [ a simple country bardie,
| Should NEEDLE VII pack sac sturdy
Wha, if they ken me,
Can easy, WI single wordie
| LOwse hell upon me-"
Mr.. Cross declares: "The pen OF
| Robert Burns wrote the death warrant
of Scotia's Calvinistic God. The dogma
of election has since that day been re-
ceding from the forefront of Scottish
theology"
| Whittier, Americas Quaker poet, gives
uttefance to a similar opinion: "The
world has never known truer singer
They know little of Burns who regard
I