Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1867-06-06
THE CRAZY PREACHER.
a True Story.

It travelling through Central L
}. llnois one fine autumn, a numbe
= OF years ago, at the end of tn
week | found myself in the ittl
! village Of S. / make it a rul
never to travel on the Sabbatl
/ when it can be avoided, and find
, ing a neat room procurable in en-
of the cosiest and most comfort
: able new country taverns it ha
ever been my good fortune t,
} find, | was, you may be sure
pleased to order my horse to /;
comfortable stable, and to place
my name on the two-quire reg
lister.
eyer jist in time to tend tc
I'Sociation tomorrow" said the
landlord. "The towns full of
big preachers from most every
direction, and | reckon thar'll be
a great time 'mong the meetin'
folks"
The prospect of hearing a
passable sermon on the morrow
was not at all displeasing to me,
and | began to think myself pc
Iculiarly fortunate in the chance
that had brought me to S.,
to spend the Sabbath. / had to
share my bed that night with a
stranger. But then | was used
to that, for in those early days in
Illinois one seldom in travelling
secured a room for his sole occu-
pancy.
My bed-fellow was a tall, dark
compleXioned man, with a high
square forehead, and an eye as
sharp, black, and piercing as any
eye have ever seen.
1t seemed to me that there
was a strange, weird, almost un-
earthly light in that eye; an ex-
preston which haunts me even
yet. The owner of the eye was
quiet, modest and entirely gentle
manly in his department, and I
gathered from the manner of his
evening devotions before retiring
that he was a minister.
We had very little conversa-
ton before retiring, yet enough
to reveal to me voice of singular
pathos and power-a voice which
seemed to thrill me like the con-
tact of magnetic battery.
The next morning my COM
panion rose much earlier than |,
and l did not see him again until
we met at breakfast. He bowed
as took my seat at the table
him, and we entered in
to conversation. | found him to
be a remarkable conversational
ist, and able to draw information
from the ample store he had in
reserve.
At eleven o'clock / repaired to
the place of meeting. 1t was in
a lovely spot, in grove ofstraight
young maple trees, with sward
of rich thick June grass, or blue
grass. Here a pulpit had been
improvised, and seats arranged,
enough to accommodate a large
of people. J.,
The people were already assem-
bling-coming from all directions,
in all sorts of odd and primitive
looking vehicles, on horseback
and on foot.
Presently l noticed my bed
fellow of the previous night ar
rive, and proceeding straight up
the main aisle he entered the en-
closure, where the ministers, some
dozen in number, were seated.
1t occurred to me that my eagle
eyed preacher did not meet a
very warm reception from the
assembled ministers, and | was
just entering into a debate with
myself whether or not jealousy
was not at work even among these
plain, primitive preachers, when
an incident occurred which fur
nished me with an explanation,
and a most perplexing one indeed,
but still no explanation of the
whole affair.
A white haired old minister,
dressed in home-spun, rose to his
feet, and in a slow, earnest and
sad tone, preferred charges against
Brother j. His list of char
ges was appalling. He had mar