A distinguished divine was called upon to offer prayer in a
mixed company, when in accordance with the custom of the times,
he included in his petition to the Almighty a large measure of
anathema, as “We beseech thee, O Lord! to overwhelm the tyrant!
We beseech thee to overwhelm and to pull down the oppressor! We
beseech thee to overwhelm and pull down the Papist!” And then
opening his eyes, and seeing that a Roman Catholic archbishop
and his secretary were present, he saw he must change the
current of his petitions if he would be courteous to his
audience, and said vehemently, “We beseech thee, O Lord! we
beseech thee--we beseech thee--we beseech thee to pull down
and overwhelm the Hottentot!” Said some one to him when the
prayer was over, “My dear brother, why were you so hard upon
the Hottentot?” “Well,” said he, “the fact is, when I opened my
eyes and looked around, between the paragraphs in the prayer, at
the assembled guests, I found that the Hottentots were the only
people who had not some friends among the company.”--HENRY
CODMAN POTTER.
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