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Howdy everybody, this is CJ in November

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of 2023, and I'm going to share with you here a

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bonus episode I made all the

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way back in I believe 2017,

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which is tragically more

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relevant today even than it was back

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then.

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So this is an episode which normally lives

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behind the paywall in Patreon

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and Subscribestar for supporters of

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my work there,

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but I'm going to share it on the public feed for a limited time

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just because I feel that

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it is so timely like I was alluding to a

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moment ago.

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So this is going to be Mark

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Twain's War Prayer. This is one

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of the shorter bonus episodes I've ever made, but

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I did just want to take the opportunity here

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to remind you that if

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you enjoy and value the work that I do

0:49

here on the Dangerous History Podcast,

0:52

and if you'd like access to all kinds of stuff

0:54

not available to the general public normally,

0:57

please consider supporting my work via

0:59

Patreon or Subscribestar, and

1:02

depending on your level of

1:04

contribution, the goodies,

1:06

the kickbacks, the rewards you get

1:08

will

1:08

include things like access to

1:11

the first 52 episodes of the podcast,

1:13

which are no longer available to the public,

1:15

what I call vintage DHP,

1:17

as well as special bonus

1:19

episodes not available to the public like this one,

1:22

but many others as well, including some fairly long and

1:24

dense ones.

1:25

You can also potentially get access to live

1:28

streams with me, and even

1:30

the DHP Book Club,

1:32

which we conduct over Zoom.

1:35

So all of those perks and more are

1:37

available to you, should you sign up

1:39

to support my work via Patreon or Subscribestar,

1:42

and of course depending on your level of contribution.

1:45

And I'm also going to re-issue this episode

1:48

to the Patreon and Subscribestar supporters

1:50

as well, just because there's a lot of people I'm

1:53

sure who are supporters now who

1:55

were not back in 2017,

1:57

and I know not everybody goes through the

1:59

whole back catalog. and whatever. So even

2:01

if let's say you've been a supporter of mine for a few

2:03

years via patreon or subscribe

2:05

star there's a good chance you may not have gone

2:08

back and listened to all of the old bonus episodes

2:10

you may not have listened to this one from 2017.

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So I'm reissuing

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this for supporting listeners as

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well just to throw it at the top of the feed for them

2:19

so that they have a chance to hear it if they've never heard it

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before or if you know they're a longtime supporter

2:23

and haven't listened to it since it came out in 2017. Because

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again looking around at the world right now

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it is disturbingly timely this

2:31

episode and it seems

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like a lot of the people who didn't fall

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for the Ukraine war propaganda

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you know in the US are

2:40

now falling wholeheartedly for the

2:42

Israeli war propaganda in the US and

2:45

of course there's also a fair number of people

2:48

that are both that were you know war hawks

2:50

on the Ukraine thing and wanted America to do more and

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now feel the exact same way about the Israel

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thing and to protect

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my own mental health what you

3:00

know to cling to my mental health

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as I rebuild it from rubble I'm

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trying to be very very careful about

3:08

how much news I consume and

3:10

about how much time I spend on social media

3:13

because both the news and social media

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are cesspools of vitriolic

3:19

hatred and war propaganda right

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now and I can only take so much of it

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in my fragile state that I'm still in.

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Hi everybody CJ here welcome to this

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what will end up being a relatively short

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I think patreon bonus episode

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and just something I wanted to share

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with you prior to my

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upcoming bonus episodes on

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the naval aspects of the not-so-civil which

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by the way I think within

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just a few days I'll be able to record the first

4:05

part of that it'll end up being a two-part series

4:09

I'm gonna do one episode about all

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aspects of the naval

4:13

not so civil war other than the blockade

4:16

and how the Confederates tried

4:18

to cope with it and its effects and so on and

4:20

then that'll be part two covering the blockade

4:22

and its effects and so on but for

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this little episode I just wanted to share

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with you and to read you because it's old

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enough that it's in the public domain one

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of Mark Twain's lesser known pieces

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a piece that he wrote

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in 1905 so only five years before his death

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during a

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period where he was particularly concerned

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with America's increasingly

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imperial turn he had been an outspoken

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anti-imperialist ever since the days of

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the Spanish American and Philippines wars

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and he was bothered by how imperialistic the

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country was going and how much the general

4:59

public seem to be being just whipped up

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into war and imperialist fever

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into militarism and jingoism as they would

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have called it back then and so

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he wrote this piece in 1905 some

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of you may have heard of it some

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of you may have read it before I'm hoping

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some of you haven't it'll be new to you and I'm hoping that

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even those of you who are familiar with this

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piece will enjoy hearing my reading

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of it it's called the war prayer

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it was written in 1905 and

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yet it was not published until 1923 which

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was actually 13 years

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after the death of Mark Twain and

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according to several people who

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were close to him he decided

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to not publish it under

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pressure from a bunch of close people including

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family members and and you

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know business associates who basically

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said this is too radical and controversial

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and so it was not published until 13 years

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after his death mark Twain's

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illustrator Dan Beard said

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that He asked Twain about whether he

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was going to publish this piece or not, and

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that Twain replied, No, I have

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told the whole truth in that, and only dead

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men can tell the truth in this world. It

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can be published after I'm dead. And

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it was not published until 1923 in

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an anthology entitled Europe and Elsewhere. I

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share with you now the war prayer

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by Mark Twain.

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It was a time of great and exalting

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excitement. The country was up in arms, the

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war was on, and every breast burned

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the holy fire of patriotism. The

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drums were beating, the bands playing,

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the toy pistols popping, the bunched

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firecrackers hissing and spluttering. On

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every hand and far down the receding

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and fading spread of roofs and balconies,

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a fluttering wilderness of flags

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flashed in the sun. Daily,

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the young volunteers marched down

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the wide avenue, gay and fine in

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their new uniforms, the proud fathers

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and mothers and sisters and sweethearts cheering

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then with voices chocked

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with happy emotion as they swung by.

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Nightly, the packed mass meetings listened,

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panting to Patriot Oratory,

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which stirred the deepest

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deeps of their hearts and

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which they interrupted at briefest intervals

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with cyclones of applause, the

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tears running down their cheeks the while.

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In the churches, the pastors preached

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devotion to flag and country and

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invoked the god of battles, beseeching his

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aid in our good. cause in

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outpourings of fervid eloquence

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which moved every listener.

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It was indeed a glad

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and gracious time, and the half-dozen

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rash spirits that ventured to

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disapprove of the war and cast doubt

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upon its righteousness straightaway

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got such a stern and angry

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warning that for their personal safety's

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sake they quickly shrank out of sight and

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offended no more in that way. Sunday

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morning came, next day the battalions

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would leave for the front. The church

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was filled, the volunteers were there,

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their young faces alight with marshal

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dreams. Visions of

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the stern advance, the gathering

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momentum, the rushing charge, the flashing

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sabres, the flight of the foe, the

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tumult, the enveloping smoke, the

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fierce pursuit, the surrender, then home from

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the war, bronzed heroes, welcomed,

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adored, submerged in golden seas of

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glory. If the volunteers

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sat their dear ones, proud, happy, and envied

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by the neighbors and friends who had no sons,

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and brothers to send forth to the field

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of honor, there to win for the flag or failing,

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die the noblest deaths. The

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services proceeded. A war

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chapter from the Old Testament was read.

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The first prayer was said. It

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was followed by an organ burst that

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shook the building, and with one impulse the

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house rose, with glowing eyes

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and beating hearts, and poured out that tremendous

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invocation. God, the all-terrible,

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thou who ordainest, thunder thy

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clarion and lightning thy sword. Then

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came the long prayer. None

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could remember the like of it for passionate

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pleading and moving and beautiful

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language. The burden of its supplication

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was that the ever-merciful and

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benignant father of us all would

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watch over our noble young soldier and

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aid comfort and encourage them in

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their patriotic work. Bless

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them. Shield them in the day of battle

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and the hour of peril. Bear them in

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his mighty hand make them strong and confident

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Invincible in the bloody onset help

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them to crush the foe grant to them and their

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flag and country imperishable

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honor and glory An

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aged stranger entered and moved

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with slow and noiseless step up

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the main aisle His eyes fixed

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upon the minister his long body

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clothed in a robe that reached to

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his feet his head bare His

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white hair descending in a frothy cataract

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to his shoulders his seemingly

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face unnaturally pale pale

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even to ghastliness With

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all eyes following him and wondering he made

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his silent way Without pausing

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he ascended to the preacher's side and

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stood there waiting with shut

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lids the preacher Unconscious of his

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presence continued his moving prayer

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and at last finished it with words uttered

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in fervent appeal Bless

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our arms grant us the victory Oh Lord our God

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father and protector of our land and flag The

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stranger touched his arm motion him

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to step aside which the startled

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minister did and took his place During

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some moments he surveyed the spellbound

11:11

audience with solemn

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eyes in which burned an uncanny light Then

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in a deep voice he said I Come

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from the throne bearing a message from

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Almighty God The words

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smote the house with a shock if

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the stranger perceived it he gave it no attention He

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has heard the prayer of his servant

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your shepherd and will grant it if

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such be your desire after I his messenger

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Shall have explained to you its import

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that is to say it's full import

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For it is like unto many to the prayers

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of men in that it asks for

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more than he who utters it is aware of Except

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he pause and think God's

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servant and yours has prayed his prayer

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has he paused and taken thought Is

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it one prayer? No, it is

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two. One uttered, the

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other not. Both

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have reached the ear of him who

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heareth all supplications, the

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spoken and the unspoken. Ponder

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this, keep it in mind. If

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you would beseech a blessing upon yourself,

12:22

beware. Lest without intent

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you invoke a curse upon a neighbor at the same

12:26

time. If you pray

12:28

for the blessing of rain upon your

12:31

crop which needs it, by that act

12:33

you are possibly praying for a curse

12:36

upon some neighbor's crop which may

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not need rain and can be injured by it. You

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have heard your servant's prayer, the

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uttered part of it. I am commissioned

12:45

of God to put into words the

12:47

other part of it, the part which the

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pastor and also you

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in your hearts fervently

12:54

prayed silently. And

12:57

ignorantly and unthinkingly God grant

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that it was so. You have heard

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these words, grant us the victory O Lord

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our God. That is sufficient. The

13:06

whole of the uttered prayer is compact

13:09

into those pregnant words. Elaborations

13:12

were not necessary. When

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you have prayed for victory you

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have prayed for many unmentioned

13:19

results which follow victory, must

13:22

follow it, cannot help but follow

13:24

it. Upon the listening spirit

13:26

of God the Father fell also the unspoken

13:28

part. He commandeth to

13:31

put it into words. Listen.

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O Lord our Father our young patriots, idols

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of our hearts go forth to battle. Be

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thou near them, with them in spirit.

13:42

We also go forth from the sweet

13:44

peace of our beloved firesides to

13:47

smite the foe. O Lord

13:49

our God help us to tear their soldiers

13:51

to bloody shreds with our shells.

13:55

Help us to cover their smiling fields

13:57

with the pale forms of their patriots.

14:01

help us to drown the thunder of the

14:03

guns with the shrieks of their wounded, writhing in pain.

14:07

Help us to lay waste their

14:10

humble homes with a hurricane of fire.

14:13

Help us

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to wring the hearts of their

14:16

unoffending widows with unavailing

14:18

grief. Help us to

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turn them out ruthless with

14:23

their little children to wander unfriended

14:26

the wastes of their desolated land

14:28

in rags and hunger and thirst,

14:31

sports of the sun, flames of summer,

14:34

and the icy winds of winter. Broken

14:37

in spirit, worn with travail

14:39

imploring thee for the refuge

14:41

of the grave and denied it. For

14:44

our sakes who adore thee, Lord, blast

14:47

their hopes, blight their lives, protract

14:50

their bitter pilgrimage, make heavy

14:52

their steps, water their way with tears,

14:55

stain the white snow with the blood of their

14:57

wounded feet. We ask it in

14:59

the spirit of love of Him who

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is the source of love, and who is the

15:04

ever faithful refuge and friend

15:06

of all that are sore, beset

15:09

and seek His aid with humble

15:11

and contrite hearts. Amen.

15:13

Ye have prayed

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it. If ye still desire

15:18

it, speak. The

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messenger of the Most High waits. It

15:23

was believed afterwards that the

15:26

man was a lunatic because

15:28

there was no sense in what he said.

15:50

Amen.

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I am so happy. I

17:10

am so happy. I

17:16

am

17:18

so happy. I

17:21

am so happy.

17:28

I am so happy. I

17:38

am so happy.

17:41

I

17:41

am so happy.

17:48

I am so happy. I

17:55

am so happy.

18:32

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