Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1875-09-25
We have been lunable to- 10 igadtbssrr

| or, formerly, some predisposition t
cerebral disorders in his family. On
thing is well known-that in ever
case of So called spiritualists this tain
exists in the Immediate kindred. ]
the case of the subject of this motto
he had no evidence of unusual power
until after mis- youth. Then after ma 7
4 riage he had a severe attack Of feye
with congestion of the brain, and larg
quantities of quinine were used.
/ SO soon as recovery took place thi
condition began He is familiarl
known as the sleeping preacher" AM
great curiosity is felt wherever he goe
to witness one of these sleeping per
formances. ,Wecannot better describ'
this peculiarity than repeat graphs
description given of a sermon heard b,
our informant--one of the leadin,
ministers of the Cumberland Presby
terian Church, and resident of Vii
hanson county:
Il and my wife were in Mooresville
Ala, at protracted meeting. and Mr.
" came to assist. We all felt grea
curiosity to see and hear him, having
heard so much about him. He stopped
at DIR. Thack's, we at Miss Walton s
We made pr. Thack agree to let III
know if he got into one of his spells
MIR. - preached at night very fail
sermon, but nothing unusual, and hi,
voice was rather harsh and grating
After the congregation dispersed, VIZ
were sitting in the front portico o.
Miss Walton's house, when a negro
came running toward us, saying the
Doctor had sent for US to hear MIR
. We rushed over, entered the
parlor, and Mr.. - was sitting in O
rocking chair apparently sound asleep
eyes closed, and head resting back on
the chair. He. however, was singing
IN low semitone of voice hymn, and
while he sang the room gradually filled
up until not an inch of space was un-
occupied. His voice had altogether
changed from its usual loud, harsh
character, and was low, softand musical
to degree [ never heard surpassed.
In fact, itreminded me ofangels' whisp-
ers. And then it had tone of mex
pressible melancholD about it that
reached the hearts of every one pre-
sent, and when he ceased to sing there
was scarcely dry eye in the room.
At the conclusion of his song he be-
gan one of the most feeling, earnest
prayers | ever heard, and in so piteous,
beseechlng a manner that nothing
could resist him. This prepared us to
expect some rare treat, and we were
not disappointed. He took his text
from Pauls letter on faith, and you
know [ have heard good preaching,
but never did | hear his sermon sur
passed. 1t may have been the peculiar
circumstances under which it was de-
livered, and the charm that would
naturally cluster around one in his
condition that added interest to it. but
certainly l never saw greater effect
produced. 1t fell as gentle and pure
as the snow. Still, in the same me-
lodious voice, and the only gesture was
a cluck of the fingers when he wished
to emphasize point. To say it was
eloquent does not express it. 1t was
simply glorious, chaste and intellect
ual. He described faith as a golden
chain connecting Earth to Heaven, and
man to his God. He preached thus
for about thirty minutes, when at once
his face, hitherto calm and unruffied,
became perfectly livid, his brew cor
rugated, until you could have laid your
finger in the depression, and he clutch
ed his left side with his right hand as
if a violent pain had assailed him.
This paroxysm lasted several minutes.
when gradually it began to abate, and
he exclaimed, oh what are all my
sufferings here, if. Lord, thou fnd'st
me meetY And then his brow relaxed,
his form again assumed its easy pos
ture.a sweetsmile passed over his face,
and he slept on quietly and calmly,
and the crowd quietly withdrew
from the presence of the unconscious
preacher" .
When questioned about these SOM
nambulistic sermons, he knows moth
ing about them; not even dream of
it has left its shadowy trace behind.
This is not the only result of his sleep.
If he is sitting by a table writing when
this spell" comes on, he continues to
write, but net on the subject that en-
gagged his thoughts, and he awakes to
find sometimes the strangest revela-
tiOns, one or two of which we have ap-
pended. sf , rq
DIR. Blake, of our city, has little
daughter to whom her grandmother
had presented a golden eagle and re-
quested her to have a ring made of it
and wear for her memory, which the
Doctor attended to; but the ring be-.
ing too large, it was worn temporarily
by her mother. On one occasion, in
assisting her cook, she laid the ring
down in the kitchen, and on returning
for it an hour or so afterward, it was
gone. Of course all were distressed,
and diligent search was made for it at
every possible place, but no ring could
be found. A few days afterwards,
while the family we're assembled at
breakfast, and the cook, whom, by the
way, all suspected, was in waiting, DR..
B., knowing the great superstition of
negroes, said to his wife he intended
to write to Mr.. -, OF Alabama, who
had the power of finding stolen things,
and related several very striking in
cidents. The negro listened intently,
and at last, seeming to be impressed
with new idea, she turned to her lit
tie son, and told him to look under the
window where Mrs. b. was in the habit
of sitting. The boy went away aud
soon came back with the ring.
A day or so after, DIR. B. visited
Alabama on business, and at depot
he met with Mr.. -. After greeting,
Mr.. B. said: Brother -, | made
use of your name to some good purpose
the other day" "Yes," says Mr.. -,
Il heard you And then be related
to the astonished DIR. Blake the whole
who gave the ring, who
made it, the inscription on it, its loss
and manner of recovery, even to the
complete conversation at the table.
He also told DIR. Blake the whole
transaction was on paper, and had been
written by him while in trance. DIR.
Blake having never spoken of the cir
cumstances to any one, was Of course
wonderfully astonished. This looks
like clairvoyance, only the mind of
the clairvoyant usually does no more
than interpret the thoughts of those
present, and this might have been ac-
counted for here. but that it was
written out. He visited DR.. Thach, of
Mooresville, a good deal. who will
corroborate all these statements and
give more.
One dark, drizzly night, DIR. Thach
noticed him while asleep put his hand
to his eye, making a telescope of it. and
appear to look through it at some far