Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1874-09-26
.NIaHF MEETIN,y-

OCIfiOO d6otH SO-uiShS - Sohiy -
delight, and tomorrow morning at
ten o'clock. Come out, friends. re-
member the hour, early candle-light-.
For the present, well be dismissed"
IF the the reader has never been 10
a country region. among whose chief
social events are the annual "protracted
efforts of the various denominations,
no words of mine can make him ade-
quately understand what the above
quoted announcement means to dwell
lers therein, or give him any save the
shadowiest Of conceptions of the salts
faction that thrills from down east eye
lids across the aisle during the bene-
diction. 81 5ai Hs ysg
From careful and extended observa-
ton of ''big meetin's" have deduced
these facts, whose record | hope may
be duly set to my credit, to-wit that
as to time they have sublime disre-
gard of crops, being usually held in
the farmers busiest season and, gene
rally, on the dark of the moon. and
that to have the ghost of chance Of
success, they must begin of a Saturday.
Nobody will go that day save the most
straitest of the members and church
officials, and the meeting will have a
quasi business character, but then, If
ever, ground is broken and the corner
stone laid that gives strength and So
lidity to the after-structure. Sunday
is, of course, allotted to the display of
the greatest gun among the visiting
brethren who have come among our
modern Macedonians, and the most re-
splendent toilettes which a ten-mile ra-
dius can furnish. Sunday night there
is call for "mourners," perhaps fee
bly, responded to, natheless the breth
rem resolve to continue" and con-
gregation more respectable in position
than in number, at the close of Mon
days eleven o'clock sermon hears, well
pleased the announcement of mi ght
meetin'." 1910
The benedictiou seems a charm to
break the spell of silence that has
bound the people throughout the SER
vice. The reaction from devotion is
| to sociability, which just now seems the
uppermost element OF each individual.
Everybody asks everybody home with
him to dinner, and rival claimants of
the same guest wage hot yet amicable
warfare over them, which is generally
settled by some third party's statement
of who lives furthest from the church
| or has the worst road to it, matters Of
weight and moment to all-and they
are large majority-who intend to
''come back to night meetin'."
The summer day wanes apace, and
in The surrounding country many sup
per is eaten just after the going down
of the sun, after which many and va
ried groups pass by highway and byway
| dark and devious to the central rally
ing point Stand here in shadow by
the church door and note them as they
come in We shall see them all, never
fear, for each vehicle drives to the
steps, and not twenty PAGES off is the
horseback" where the equestrians
will dismount Here comes Brother
Nearby with tie sinews of war, in the
shape of hymn books and candies
See the dusky building begins to glow
with smoky glimmers, as he and his
assistants light up. The next arrival
! is Mr.. Gamut, famed singing master
who comes thus early to get ahead Of
1 his cross-country rival, Roundnote, and
truly he is not over cautious, for to his
intense disgust, that gentleman puts il
an appearance ere Gamut has been
asked by his staunch partisan, Nearby
to lead the singin',' y and now, Of
course, the invitation must include
both. am much mistaken if there
will not be good deal of the "harmo
ny not understood" called discord, il
to-night's music. Here rehalf doz-
en- of the old sisters who get happy in
the amen corner" quaint of garb anG
speech, with silver hair and faces toll
worn and time-scarred, yet wearing
spite of all, the marvellous serenity Of
that peace which passeth all under
standing. Next come their counter
parts among the brethren, and after
them a family group, husband, wife
and one, two-actually three children
under five years old Never mind, they
will sleep through it all, unless the al
tar should be unusually tumultuous
In the, gathering dusk up dashes ;
county Adonis, whose appearance il
all points bespeaks care and atten
ton generally given toilet for a spe
cifc purpose. just in front of us ht
pauses and scans carefully each new
arrival of the thick coming crowd
What a clatter of hoofs and wheels
A wo-horse wagon with half dozeI
outriders comes up at rapid trot. L
is the young folks from Col. Reed S
They can afford to ride in wagon, be
sides. the Col. would never risk hi,
carriage over the rocks, stumps anC
gullies that make up the road from hi:
house to church. A woman's voice
not loud, but with a clear, high breC
intonation, says: Mind, John, dom
drive over any one, )" and at its sound
our friend starts slightly, then hurrie'
forward to help from the wagon the
speaker, a slender, lissom girl with the
springy tread that tells of perfec
health and entire self-possession. TAKE
care, my good fellow, the level slantins
light from the door lets me see her ex
ceeding loveliness, but am much mis-
taken if there be not world of co
). quetry in the heavy-fringed eyes tina
just now look with such appealing trus
into your own honest and adOring orbs
Now comes cavalcade of a dozen al
| loost "A I'll r;d;no douhla Trulv