THE MAN WHO COULD WORK MIRACLES

George McWhirter Fotheringay was not the kind of man anyone would expect to possess miraculous powers. He was small, with bright red hair, freckles, sharp brown eyes, and a habit of twisting the ends of his moustache when arguing. He worked as a clerk at Gomshott’s and enjoyed proving people wrong. Until the age of thirty, he did not believe in miracles at all. In fact, he strongly argued that miracles were impossible. His strange discovery happened one evening while he was debating the subject in the bar of the Long Dragon.

That night, he was arguing with a man named Toddy Beamish. Beamish kept replying calmly, “So you say,” which irritated Fotheringay greatly. Fotheringay explained that a miracle was something against the natural order, something done purely by will. To prove his point, he pointed at a hanging lamp and said that if he commanded it to turn upside down and continue burning, that would be a miracle. In frustration, he shouted at the lamp to turn upside down and keep burning.

To everyone’s shock, the lamp lifted into the air and turned upside down while still burning. It hung there steadily. The room fell silent. Miss Maybridge screamed. The cyclist jumped away. Fotheringay stared in horror. After a few seconds, unable to control it, he cried out and the lamp fell, smashed on the floor, and went out. The landlord angrily called him a fool, and everyone accused him of playing a trick. Confused and embarrassed, Fotheringay left the bar and went home.

Alone in his bedroom, he thought deeply about what had happened. He wondered if he had somehow willed the lamp to move without realizing it. To test the idea, he ordered his candle to rise into the air. It did so briefly before falling. Then, wishing for a match in his hand, he suddenly found one there. Slowly, it became clear to him: he could perform miracles by willpower alone.

Excited but nervous, he experimented carefully. He lit candles by command, changed water into different colors, and even created small objects. He realized his power was extraordinary but dangerous. That night, instead of undressing normally, he simply ordered himself into bed and asleep. In the morning, he doubted it all might have been a dream, but he soon tested it again by magically creating a fresh goose egg for breakfast.

Throughout the next day at work, he could hardly concentrate. He briefly created diamond studs but quickly destroyed them, fearing suspicion. That evening, he went into a quiet lane to practice. He made his walking stick bloom with roses, but when a constable named Winch approached, Fotheringay tried to reverse the miracle hastily. The stick flew backward and struck the constable.

The constable accused him of assault. In panic and anger, Fotheringay shouted, “Go to Hades!” Instantly, the constable disappeared. Horrified at what he had done, Fotheringay quickly transferred Winch to San Francisco instead. He realized his powers were far more serious than he had imagined. Troubled and unsure, he decided to seek advice from the local minister, Mr. Maydig.

Mr. Maydig listened carefully as Fotheringay explained everything. To prove it, Fotheringay turned a tobacco jar into a bowl of violets, then into a glass bowl of goldfish, then into a pigeon. The minister was amazed. Instead of warning him, Mr. Maydig grew excited about the possibilities. He believed Fotheringay’s powers could be used for great good.

Encouraged by the minister, Fotheringay began performing larger miracles. They improved local problems—reforming drunkards, fixing roads, improving soil, and even correcting small moral faults in people. They felt powerful and important. Their confidence grew. Mr. Maydig suggested even greater miracles, believing nothing was impossible for them now.

Late that night, as they walked under the moon, Mr. Maydig suddenly proposed something bold: stopping the rotation of the earth to gain more time. At first, Fotheringay hesitated, but eventually he agreed. He commanded the earth to stop spinning.

Immediately, disaster struck. Everything not fixed to the earth’s core was hurled forward at enormous speed. Buildings, trees, people—everything was violently destroyed. Fotheringay himself was flung through the air but managed to will himself safe. When he looked around, the world was in ruins. Storms raged, floods approached, and chaos filled the land. He realized his careless miracle had destroyed everything.

Terrified and filled with regret, Fotheringay understood that his power was too dangerous. He shouted commands to pause all action. Then he made one final decision. He ordered that everything return to the moment before he first performed a miracle. He also ordered that he lose his miraculous powers forever. Once he finished speaking, he said firmly, “Off!”

Suddenly, he was back in the Long Dragon bar, arguing with Beamish as before. Everything was normal. The lamp hung peacefully. Fotheringay remembered nothing of what had happened. He once again insisted that miracles were impossible and prepared to prove it. His powers were gone, and the world was safe.