Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1871-09-19
RAMSGATE.
Scenes mt Famous English Water
ing PIace-SOme Queer Fellows
Preaching and Drinking.

Ing Place-SOme Queer Fellows
Preaching and Drinking.
From Rev. NJ. d. Conway's Letter to Cincin-
natl COmmercial.l
One of the drollest figures which has
appeared on the sands this is his first
year, is preacher. He brings down to
the beach on his shoulders a small and
hoarse harmonium. He is followed by
small procession of sharp-featured spin
sters and seedy men in dingy black, and
there beside the roar of the sea they lift
up their cracked voices in nasal psalm
tune. The preacher accompanies them
ON his harmonium. He is u diminutiye
fellow, somewhat under forty with dusky
countenance, keen, little eyes, sleek
creased black half and a very lean and
hungry look. When they have done
piping their hymn (which usually at
tracts crowd of ragged children at
least) he opens big bethumbed Bible
and proceeds to his sermon. The bur-
den Of his discourse is that the people
before him are speedily to exchange the
cool bath in the pleasant waves for one
in certain fiery lake which will not be
as comfortable. When last heard this
sermonizer, there were negro minstrels
to the right of him, and canary bird man
to the left of him. My de-ah friends"
said he, why will ye die?" {" Shoe fly,
don't bodder me, was the reply from the
Christy men). Will you go on c fresh
buns henjoying her pleasure and sin
G donke-e-eys han never reflect hon
your heternal 60 Hi, Mary, no, Mary,
why will you be so contrary?") and so
on goes the motley rush of voices. The
sermonizer is keenly alive to the impor-
tance Of ha'pence. Once when he be-
gun sermon of unusual warmth, and
had got as far as "willeth not the death
of any, but rather that all, he extended
his arm in gesture, but it was just in
time to catch a penny tossed to him
from the crowd, whereupon the text
ended in thank you, sir, and the ami
mated gesture terminated in the breeches
pocket. On another occasion some wag
was cruel enough to toss toward the
preacher a bright sixpence when he was
in the ardor Of prayer. The eyes that
seemed closed peeped little and were
fixed on the sixpence. The coin was in
perilons proximity to some drchins on
the sand. The poor fellow seeing the
sixpence suddenly broke his prayer, and
with startling " through Jesus Christ
our Lord, had his grasp upon the coin
simultaneously with his Amen" This
produced some laughter, and he removed
to another part of the beach.
Nearly every day some Sunday-school
or little Mission" or other religious
fraternity, comes down from London,
on its annual pious frolic They sing
hymns in the third-class carriages all
the way. They come from the station
headed by their beloved Chadband or
Stiggins. Ard they fll the whole town
with scandals. They draw the whole
town and the crowd on the sands by their
halfnaked splashings along the edge of
the water. The children land they |
seem TO think childhood lasts long |
time) rush about in nudity They |
drink--and drink--and drink-until all
are boozy, and many drunk. The Revs.
Chadbands aud Stiggins are as boozy as
their brother Peeksniff was when he
prayed for Chuzzleweit. There was
even temperance mission that came
here few days ago for picnic, of
which at least half got drunk.