Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1875-03-25
THE GnNPEL ON WHEELS.

las helHaFAADAS AuEM-Out II oAog
no Objeet-Vyhat Sort OF Sensation
ae Made.
The attention Of great many people
was arrested on the streets yesterday by the
presence Of a characteT so strikingly origin
al that no being outside Of the creations OF
Dicke ems probably ever equalled him. de
drew crowds around more eager to gaze
upon him than if he had been the strangesl
animal from the most distant
cline. he resembled nothing we
ever saw or read Of, but
was suggestive Of various noted char
acters Of history and fiction. 70 one he
called to mind Peter the Hermit, to another
Don Ouixote, and TO one enthusiastic small
bov, Rip Van Wrinkle, There was no
sirnintude, however, between him and any
Of these. His name, as our reporter was
told by himself, was Edward U. Blake, and
he was from Maryland. He had travelled
extensively through the South, and claimed
10 be on the singular and rare mission OF
sdoing good to his feliow-man," ana
nothing else.
Mr. Blake occupied a small, riczety old
barouche, drawn by small, rickety OLD
mare. He was so enclosed in the vehicle
as not to be seen fIOm every side by any
means. and would not have attracted such
crowds but for the inscriptions with which
| the whole outfit was covered. These are
| all of a biblical character and most Of them
as solemn as those on a grave stone. First,
| on the brow-band Of the bride by which
/ the animal is guided are inscribed the
words. WHoliness unto the Lord" Then,
on tie front of the carriage, "WithOut
holiness no man shall see the Lord, !"
/ and ga Christian present for
vou.e The presents had possibly
| all given out, as the inmate did not dis
/ tribute any. On one side Of the barouche
was: sThe Word of God. As live, saith
the Lord God, have no pleasure IN the
i death of the wicked, but that the wicked
turn from his way and live" On the back:
Sword Of God. Thou God seest me. He
that formed the eye, shall he not see? The
eyes of the Lord are in every place behold
ing the evil and the good" On the other
side: "The Word of God. Whose des-
piseth the word shall be destroyed. Thus
saith the Lord, put away the evil OF your
doings from before mine eyes," Again:
| "a Missionary Of the Second Coming.
| Word Of God. Two books: The Sacred
! Roll and the Divine Book Of Holy and
| Eternal Wisdop-abOut 1000 pages Of
Gods holy inspired word, which is the
Lords second coming. Praise the Lord.
Be We also ready with the Lord"
These external matters are sufficient to
| Get together an audience. But on closer
! Inspection several others are described in
the interior. All the space inside except
| sitting room for the occupant was taken
! I'D with boxes and carpet bags. On one
| Of the boxes is seen "a Christian trying to
| DO Good" On the end Of another,
glove to Man, on the top Of the same,
| "AIy natural food; mush and sugar, fruit
| and water-please accommodate me-" On
the inside Of same, Chou God seest me.
Trust in the Lord and do good"
| The notices did not stop here. The Oc-
| cupant was an aged person Of slight, feeble
| form, thin-yisaged, and with long white
/ hair brushing his shoulders, and long
white whiskers all tinged with yellow.
| His look was gentle and meek. and his ap-
/ parel Indifferent. His hat was covered
/ with oil cloth and inscriptions. The lat
ter were, eGiOTy 70 God in the Highest,
| Peace and Good viii toward Men, etc.
| On his back was piece o. oil cloth, with
| the words, SIN the Lord have l Righteous
ness and Strength"
| He stopped at various places IN the midst
| Of crowds so large and dense as 20 blockade
the street. He held a sort Of service
wherever he halted, consisting Of the sing
| ing Of a sacred hymn and a familiar talk
on the subject Of doing good in the world
and eleyatiug humanity. Before COM
mencing 2 song he took book containing
! the words, together with a tuning FORK,
from one Of his curiosity boxes.
Striking the keynote with the
| fork and catching it up by
gentle Whistling three or four notes, the
old man would begin TO sing in voice OF
| considerable melody. Finishing this, he
would begin his hOmily, which he delivered
in an easy, natural and connected manner.
It turned chiefly upon the duty OF
beneEoleuce, but contained the requisite
personal explanation. lie had Travelled
from Maryland, where he had farm
rented out, through Georgia and Alabama,
and was now on his way to Indiana and
Ohio. The same animal had brought him all
the way in the same vehicle. His
sole object had been, and was, to talk to
the people and try to do good 10 his fellow
man. This was his way Of serving God.
There were many surmises as to his mis-
sion. Some supposed be had something to
sell, but this he mildly but positively dis
avOWed. Money was not his object; he
was on q purely benevolent tour. Many
supposed him crazy, and he is probably a
mOnomaniac. his arrangement, however,
is full of method and contains nothing in
the least repulsive. He is hardly
more than an extreme Oddity, and
a contribution to the variety Of humanity.
He stopped before noon on Church,
Cherry and Union streets, but was COM
hvrHl rar ifal 20 ar-afn
blocking I'D the streets. He drove to the
clothing store of II. Metz * Co., on Market
street. and purchased a pair Of pantalOOns
in preparation for a visit 20 the Howard
School. He handed in q s. note for the
garment and on the back Of
this a lengthy scriptural motto was
found. In one of his addresses /
he stated that he had petition with 50 or |
80 signatures, and a likelihood Of a thou |
sand more, asking the President Of the |
United States 10 have a sacred motto on |
all currency bills. His idea was doubtless |
based on the theory that money is the root |
Of all evil, and that it is best to strike at |
the root of a thing when you want to ex-
terminate it.
The old wanderer made il a specially, he |
said, to visit schools. When provided with |
his new unmentiOnables he drove TO How |
ard School and walked in, singing in the |
most innocent manner, to the uncOntrOlla- |
bic merriment Of the school. In the after l
noon he drove his tabernacle to the Public /
Square and delivered another lecture 10 a /
considerable c0ncouTse.
He is the same individual that spent /
some days IN Columbia about six weeks |
ago. His illusions to the people of that |
section are Of the most kindly character. |
He says he was never better treated than |
when in their midst. Some idea may be |
formed of his rate Of speed, when it is con- |
sideled that he has been several weeks |
coming from Columbia 10 Nashville. He |
is a harmless mOnomaniac that may do |
some good before he gets 10 his journeys |
end if he continues to 60 slow.
Another Representative Gained.
Hon. Holmes Cummins, was presented |
with an elegant gold headed cane after the