The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1866-12-15
.;cenc /, islvmouth Church.

duty, whose presence WAS cSscnllai ioT
the maintenance Of OF ier among the
throngs Of hackmcn and private coach
men, whose vehicles blocked up the
surrounding streets. In front OF the
church were u large number ofhospila-
ble notices to strangers. Prohibiting
them in the strongest terms from oc'
cupying the seats until the pcw-holders
were comfortably provided for. AS ii
was my misfortune not to possess Il
single acquaintance among the regular
worshippcrs in Mr.. Bceclcr's church, !
ook my place in forlorn squad OF
strangers, and watched the gradual I'LL
ing M Of the body Of the church,
There was much in t!csccnc to remind
A locker on Of the manner in which an
opera houscis packed upont the occasion
of the appearance Of . great performer
like Ristori. There were at least
twenty nskcrs hard at work dispoaine
ofthe regular worshipors. ] expected
each moment to hear thesc ushors bawl
ing out, Family circle seat No. 49,
'Dreas circle seat 25,' or "Orchestra
stall No. H." But they performed
their work with deXtcrity and polite
ness, and when the congregation was
seated, they commenced packing the
far of corners and The extremely back
benches in the remote galleries with
strangers. A small, bald headed usher,
with u red crayat and Il flashing breast
pin, took me in charge, and told me
~thatthcrc was n "vacAnt seat where yen
see that tall chap in the white oyorcOat,
standing up" made a dash at the
designated seat, and was within FIVE
feet Oft when another stranger, escort
ed by a rival usher, bolted into in with
Il look Of triumph. A solemn-looking
Puritan, whose heart was visited by a
timely feeling Of compassion for me,
then grimly beckoned Inc to his pew,
and my troubles were at an end.
Half an hour in advance Of the APP
pearance of Mr.. Beecher the church
was packed more density than lever re.
member to have seen any edifice pack
!, ed before. The ushers had filled every
place where there we're no benches with
J ~cuairs, and the hum orloud and animal
/ cd conversation filled the vast building
The conversation was not Ola religious
+ character. The seyere.looking Radi
cal who gave ne 4 share Of his pew
was engaged in a most earnest CONVEX,
- sation with a Eriend from Iowa, with re
ference to the fate Of Il certain $4,000
# which he had invested in q whiskey dis.
tillory in that State, and which had beer
c s%hockingly mismanagcd, and the recita
n Of his losses and the rascality of hi
agent made him so wrathy that he char
S acterized the aforesaid agent as u I'd
mean swindling cuss"
t Similar conversation seemed to ht
|, going on in all directions, and they wcr,
e kept up unit! suddenly out Of 4 con
cealcd door in the rear Of n modest
h plain-looking pulpit, emerged a stout
midd!e-oged, plainly dressed gentle
d man, about So years OF age. lie tool
his seat ard looked quietly before him
iicechcr bears Il very close resemblance
to Dir. Il, a well known physician
70 Of Richmond, but has Il more learned
face and wears his hair very long
IS somewhat after the fashion OF u bril-
If liant Virginia editor, lawyer and poll
-~t.cian now residing in New York. Hi
o face is one Of great intellect, iirmnes.
d kindness and camestness, while in per
n son Becchcr is awkward, thicksot an,
Il common place. As 5Oonas he entered
# the organ commenced playing, and m'
al attention was diverted from the famou
re divine to the almost equally iamou
r. organ of the "Church OF the Puritana
N 1t is The most superb instrument in tn
e.. country cost $4,000, and is rs larg
AS Il small two st0riod wooden cottage
The religious exercises preliminary t.
~ Mr.. becchor's crmon were very sin
~ pie. 4 brief prayer, a hymn, a chal
il ter from the Old Testament (Which W.
very well ready, and another longer al
III more eloquent prayer, were all.
v He then placed Il few sheets Of MAI
T. uscript in the Bible in front Of hin
and commenced his sermon. The fir,
.e part Of it was an able, well reasoned
clearly expressed and striking thcoloo
m ical discourse. Suddenly, however. h
in dropped the close logical style, and ell
~ tered upon that portion Of his sermo
N which he called the "application' O
. what had gone before. At this wor
ii there was Il murmur Of anticipated fl
~ and cntcrtainmeDtwhich assembled froi
the vast congregation. The irequel
tiers OF the establishment knew that til
curtain was about to rise and the rev
crcnl comedian was marshaling til
happy hits Of the inyariable aitcrpiect
81 Mr.. Beechcr's duplication OF tn
5 foregoing consisted of a large an,
varied assortment Of lirst-cl as ahec
J. dotes, happy hits, humorous sallies an
pulpit pungencies, which would hav
!, made the fortune of q tirst-class STUMP
II speaker. The Puritans grimly grinned
It smiled moroscly, and sometimes laugh
/. ed outright. The young people tittere'
II and ''sniggered' at an awful rate. Th
dccorum OF the vast assemblagc, how
ever, was upset by a large, red-iaced
good-looking gentleman, who sat Il fey
p feet from me. and looked very like
II Southern man. He laughed until til
@ tears rolled from his eyes. but manage
generally tc prevent any very loud eN
h ~plosion Of mcrriment. MIR. Beechc
% waited for the merriment to subsid'
n and let off u number Of other funn
a things. The comic part of the enter
q tainment lasted for at least thirty mir
e utcs, and was intensely enjoyed. Ever
one felt that Mr.. Beecher had done
! IL -..l 4I.n.. l., .rntiinr IN 4, Iinrt nlur