Emphasis Preaching Journal

The acclaimed U.S. writer, Bret Harte, who lived in the late 19th century, once attended a lecture in Richmond, Virginia. All the while he was tortured with a miserable headache. Afterward, to clear his head, he took a walk with a friend who was a resident of the city. The friend extolled Richmond's wholesome air and location. He bragged that the city's mortality statistics reflected only one death per day.

Still in agony, Harte moaned, "Let's hope today's candidate is already dead."