Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1870-07-18
Praying Under Dimeulties-A Con-
federntc story of the War.

u rayfug Under Dimeul lties-A Con-
federntc story OF the War.
From the louisville Courier-Journal.l
1t was in the golden prime of the
An gust of 1862. 1t was at Chattanooga.
It,yas under the guardianship of that
bea utiful brown peak from whose falr
lool 1-out not note, save notes OF love,
had yet been sent 1t was on the banks
of that great stream whose silver, many
multi, ,lying horseshoe had never known
a host lie pontoon bridge. 1t was day
of thar ,ksgiving, for we thought we had
someth ing to be thankful about. Nay,
in thos days we were easy to please,
and. wi, hal, somewhat genial, if not Jo-
cose. in our dealings with Providence.
Be this it may, it was day of thanks
giving, a nd a great number of officers
and soldi. RS had come up from the front
to do Ii tile church-going and little
courting, a nd more especially, after this
combina alto n of piety and sentiment. to
hear the f lmous DR.. Palmer, OF New
Orleans.
The churc h was crowded. Not pew
was vacant, not seat unoccupied, and
chairs h. I'D been placed up and down the
aisles. Gold lace and cooked hats and
cavalry boots and prettily mounted sabers
were mi xed up indiscriminately with RIB
bons an d muslns and the profuse whim-
sizes, jnn-cracks and fal-lals that enter
into the mysterious and ambitious finery
of wo,nan's, of many women's summer
dressing. 1t was, Of o truth, sight to
see. Without, five ha&dred horses
hitched ca relessly to trees, and dusty
streets and quiet pastured lands tianked
round about by the picturesque Iennes'
see hills. Within, a tropical flower gar.
den, quite pc aceful in its loveliness and
warlike in its .splendor. Be sure the per-
fidious thought of the hated Yankee per
ished before it entered there. Be sure
there was not il the mind Of all that mul.
titude SO much a the echo of the idea OF
an advance of the enemy.
| DR.. Palmer wa,3 in the pulpit. The
congregation had been looking and lis
tening with curious attention when he
read some announcements and gave out
hymn The hymn was sung stentorl'
ously, and then bega n the long prayer
everybody standing, and not the rustic
of a frock nor the cIank of spur dis
turbing the serenity of the moment.
"Oh, Lord" the good man was saying
give us grace in the midst of war, to dc
Gods service on earth of peace and good
will to men; make us, amid the tumult
and rack of arms, as still and fixed In
the service of God as the everlasting h
(bangl)-hills n-(whewD It was the
ringing report of a cannoa, and 1t came
, from over the river, fetching twelve
pound shrapnel with it. This 1t deposit
! ed in the centre of group who were
watching the horses and carriages. IwC
more followed before the preacher had
Time to complete his sentence. He did
. complete it, however, in very meas
ured and solemn way. But the spirit
y of the Lord could not wholly and
on the instant subdue the impulse
of poor, weak human nature. Inc
CONSERVATION was immediate and in
tense, and yet, strange to say not
: noisy. There was a single cry. Of
alarm. A number of officers, who had
posts of duty to fill, quilted the place;
two or three ladies approached the door
hut DR.. Palmer did not bulge a muscle
nor alter his tone He proceeded with
his prayer as the shells came faster and
the din grew louder. There was just
never such prayer prayed out OF pull
pit. The man stood up there glowing In
the summer light, and answering every
hostile shot with message of Christian
love, and the noise, great.as it was, did
not drown a word. He prayed for every
thing and for everybody. AT one time
it seemed that he was about to turn his
attention to the gentlemen on the other
side of the water and pray for their poor
souls, too. 1t was, indeed, q. long
prayer." As the leaden devils came
, whizzing over the roof and cracking
. through the trees-the ungodly rascals
had got the range of the church exactly
AS they buried themselves sullenly in
the ground under the windows or ex-
: ploded frightfully among the beams or
AGAINST the stonework, the hearers might
have thought the preacher would never
I come to an end.
Finally, after exhausting the catalogue,
after stretching the long prayer to Its
longest, after praying for all sorts and
conditions of men, beasts, BIRDS and
; things, the preacher sounded the ready
words And the grace of our Lord, and
/, the love OF God, and the fellowship OF
!. the Holy Ghost, be With you all, now and
! forever. Amen" Then, quietly de-
: seendine from the pulpit, he added
: HThe congregation is dismissed and
. the people moved out of the church, and
/ thence out of the range of danger, amid
! a raking FIRE that sontinued TO pour
: across the river. IA was an advance oi
? the enemy's cavalry outpost, with bat
; tsry of four pieces Of light artillery, The
paftT had ofspt in under Brsgg elbow,
which was very long and slmost always
e akimbo. and il glided back pnpgnished