Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1875-04-23


men was turned away from one another.
As these ceremonies anteccdent 70 the sup
per had reached until after Q, the Advent
lists were pretty hungry, and fell to with
good will. Little children who had fallen
asleep during the foregoing exercises
awOke, and betOOk themselves to active
exertiOn, and the assembly put on picnic
appearance.
Under the nineteenth head-"SOme in
teresting conversation with those who love
Jesus" each, beginning with the man sit
ting to the left Of Elder Thurman, rose,
and made some remarks. They were all
characterized by a tone Of depression and
a nervous assertion Of continued faith.
When it came to
THURMAN's TINE
it was not yet y O'Clock, but despair was
was visible on his face, and his voice was
deep and solemn. He began BY speaking
of the ardent lOngings he had cherished
for the coming Of Christ. Even if he him
self were lost he wanted to see Gods elect.
His voice fell into the measured sing-sOng
in which he intOnes his prayers, and be-
came ineXpTessibly mOurnful as he went on.
81 confess that begin to feel sad, and
lily uCaAH aAAlA1 WAlAAAAA AAAEa AAaAFG AO LlLLAE
fixed at which l expect to see the Lord, ex-
cept midnight. But 1 did expect that He
would appear at Jerusalem when it was 4
o'clock in the afternoon here, and then
expected the sign Of the Son of Man.
will not despair to the rising sun, but how
can extend the prophetic dates longer
than midnight, cannot see. IL has been
my study for thiTty-twO years, and, again
and again, and yet again, have I examined
all the prophecies 70 see whether there
could be any mistake, but 1 could 6nd
none. The same prophecies that show
that Jesus is indeed the Christ point 20 His
second advent tonight. 81. Paul says:
But We, brethren, are not left in darkness,
that that day should evertake You as q
thief Yet, ifthis night fails, 1 am una
bic 20 see for my life, after much mature
deliberatiOn, how mortal man can ever
find it out. / have not followed the traii-
tiOns Of men. I have prOred by chronOlO-
gv, BY astronomical observation. I am
quite unable to see how 1 have been mis-
taken.
IF, after all, have deceived you, will
you pardon me? VIII you forgive me?
have done the best I could, God knows.
i have finished my course. / have Kept
the faith thank my God for that. l
have done what 1 could, can do no mora.
I have felt the burden Of yOl upon my
heart, for l felt that / carried You IN the
arms of my admOnitiOn. [Here his voice
faltered and trembled.I 1 wanted 20 pre-
sent yOu 70 Jesus. / can bear the burden
no more. i leave You in the hands Of
Cod
While he was speaking, sohs and g-oans
went up continually from the aSsemblage,
Many Of the women were weeping bitterly.
Most Of the little ones, Wearied with the
prOtracted vigil, were asleep lying on the
shaWlS and Wrappiugs that had been placed
in the corner. The men looked WistfUl
and sad. but it was not yet i, ami some
hope still lay in the narrow circuit that The
minute hand Of the clock had yet to tray
erse. A tall, gray haired man began 10
speak in a tone of encouragement, and eX-
pressing the love and veneratiOn which they
all cherished for Brother Thurman. Thur
man, who, in his desolation, still kept on
BY sheer inertia in the groove in which he
had moved along, announced mechanical
ly-"And when they had sung a hymn"
thus indicating the time when it was nee
essary to sing in order to initiate the Last
CNNNEL u NLlL l54s 4 1T IN lAALf A4DAla- " 2 &c
been waiting for Christ to cOme,' was then
sung in a dOlOrOus way. The clock still
lacked a minute or two Of Il, and it was
watched as a criminal might watch the ap-
prOach Of the hour Of his execution.
THE MINUTE HAND TOUCHED TWELVE,
and a deep g-Oau ran through the assembly.
The disappointment seemed 20 strike into
Thurman's heart far too deep for tears.
There was a seIEabasemeut in his manner
as he rose, and in the same mCnOtOnOus in
tOnatiOn. but with a tremulOUs voice, said:
"Brethren, lean on my arm no longer.
Ny reckoning is all up. 1 leave you in the
hands Of God. Il is as much as l can do to
struggle on for myself. 1 win try to do the
best can. If there IS any more light to
be had. l viii search for it. l bid you fare
WE'LL
Then followed a pitiful scene. Women
wrung their handsin bitter anguish; strong
men buried their faces and wept aud
grOanel. The violent descent from ecstatic
Joy to terrible disappointment bruised and
crushed their spirits. Thurman sat still
and murmuring as if dazed and stUpeiied
with the greatness Of his calamity. The
work Of his lifetime had fallen to nothing
ness. The firm footing Of his faith had
suddenly slipped from under him, and the
horrors Of darkness encOmpassed him. Of
different aalibre from his followers, his
grief could not find vent in demonstration
of feeling, and nothing assUaged the bitter
ness Of disappointment. Some Of them
tried to say kind and comforting things to
him, but he seemed to heed nothing. Still
adhering TO the programme as the fixed
thing that yet remained to him, he rose 10
pronounce
THE BENEDICTION.
Continuing with a tremendous voice he
said: Oh Lord, we came according to Thy
word. Hast Thou not said that In tue
time appointed the end shall be| . Hoiy
Parent, hear the prayers Of Thy people.
Come. o Lord Jesus, come quickly. All
will come to desOlatiOn unless Thou re-
turn again. We have taken Thy word IN
al the simplicity Of little children. We
have tried to do our duty. o Jesus, Ihou
knowest our hearts, that we have tried TO
do Thy will. We can do no more. We
give ourselves into Thy hands saying
Lord save or l perish.
He then sat down again in moody silence,
while his followers went on grOaning and
weeping. The Tribune representative ap-
preached him, and, after making some ex-
preston Of the respect which Elder Thur
mans conduct had excited in him, asked
the Elder concerning his future plans. Il
have none said he, "my course is run"
Reporter-WOn't you continue the pub
licatiOn Of your paper?
Thurman Slowly and mOurniully)-
"There is nothing to publish il for; my
work is done. DO not know what l shall
do. where 1 shall 90. /. was the harmony
of those dates that convinced me that
Jesus was the Christ, and now l do not
know what to believe
THE SCENES
attendant upon the breakup Of the meet
inc battle description. Some t-ied to cheer
the more broken-spirited by suggesting va
rious possibilities Of the prophetic dates eX-
tending for some time longer. toyen
whose JOY and happiness in anticipation
had been bOundless, stool up and SAID, Do
a voice broken with s0bs:
sit is no use. It is no use. we are
either disappointed or we are not dlsap
pointed, and if we are not disappointed
then we did expect Jesus with faith