The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1875-07-15
CRUDE CHRISTIANITY.
A sunday Evenings Service by ColOred
congregation I'm Florida-Idiosyncra
tie Music-A Sample Sermon.

amusement as does The worship OF LnlS
simpie-hearted people.
Except three hymns lined from the one
hymn book and sung with mnumerable
grace notes, the tunes are those learned on
the plantations, and, with their much
repeated choruses, are called spiritual
hymns" They begin with
1.-The gospel trains comm (recitative).
Chorus: Oh get on board loft repeated;
Oh get on board, little children,
There's room for many more"
Another hymn, the refrain of which is
very sweet and plaintive. begins:
"Ole Satan want to know Of me
Eff was de one dat Christ sot free"
Refrain: Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. He died on
the cross"
.Oh yes, tole him, was de one,
just come up from Jordan Run"
Refrain.
Here am, behold who will,
Sure / am a Christian STILL"
lRefrain.
"Gw.ne up, gwine up, gwine up high;
Gwine where pleasure never die"
Refrain.
In the uark face of the minister who now
rises you may notice look of long suffer-
ing. patience, aud of cheerful triumph
over affection and trials. Tue wide, 1ull
forehead and large, sad eyes beam with
goodwill rs he invites a lay brother to offer
prayer. With no feeling of irreverence
We recall a fe expressions:
Almighty and everlastin' Godi We
know we have sinned against you in
Heaven and in earth! But you has prom
lsed to your chillen that you would be
II rock in weary land, shelter in storm.
We come as empty pitchers to a 1owin'
fountain. The strange chanting tone and
frequent responses from the brethern call
out an audible laugh from about the door. }
Blessed Jesus b mercy on de game
makers! Have mercy on dose who come
here to make game Of Gods word. l axe
you God that you would put them in de
reform pot and shake dem ever hell, but
forbid that they fall in. ScOrch all our
hearts as John scorched Jerusalem with a
igh.ed candle"
Before the prayer is concluded many of
the responses are made by white people
who fill all the standing room about the
door, outside and within.
The text is from the gospel by St. John,
third chapter, l4th and 10Th verses.
After begging the prayerful aid of all
Christians, the preacher says: These be
the words of de Lord; and there's nothin'
to hesitate you from getting to Heaven.
wisest in the letter; but it is de one dat
take up the Truth in earnest and ask the
deer Father TO help him."
The preacher fancies that the deacons
beneath the pulpit are viii i>pering and he
pauses To say Don't you talk else can't
say nothing" whereupOn, like boys in a
school, they declare they were not talking.
MY dear and afftctionate bretherings,
when Moses lifted up the braZen serpent
! in the wilderness he showed the people
desc cerlaIn sympathies. They must look
up, and trust, and obey the Lord. And
we can certify these by leffen de world,
and pick up de heavy cross and go en- TO
heaven. God gave His only son that thrO'
his sutierment the world might be saved.
Recollect this little small sympathy
| Look upon Jesus. He gave himself to
| be lIfed up that we all mi ht look and
live. Pick up the heavy cross. Hard TO do
it sometime, S before the game-makers. But
the day is comm VIII n ebery one by him
self must cross over JOrdan-can'E wade
over, too deep; can't jump over, too
wide. In that hour, when your pulse is
beelin' few and fast, and the doctor give
up. then YOU will need hand to help you
over Jordan. No one can cross for you
no friend can help. Then you'll want the
blessed Jesus. / want you TO We the
faith of 10 hua, patience of Job, and cour
age of Daniel in The lions den. Iwant 10
live SO Ii die in peace with all mauhlnd
| hopes to meet you al in heaven.
wants to meet all my enemies there.
wants to meet old maSsar and de hard ole
slave driver, and be at peace wild all man
kind. The blessed Jesus has been lifted
up, and begs you, dear brethring, every
one, to look and live ~
From the same text | heard another
preacher once say, in giving the history
of Mo.es, that his mother put him in S
Lbox 1.-THE ark, ''called in the Hebrew {
buIrush," d" but the minister of whom an
speaking made no ''cl lIssical illusions"
during the taking of the usual cOilec-
ton and the counting of the sums obtain
ed, more of the spiritual hymns are sung
II feel like Ise on my journey home, !" anC
..Git over Jordan and write me letter
1.-Two dollars" is announced. "Mak'
il six" says voice, and the hats arr
passed again, while the parson says, ''Sinl
Something, brethrings.' More than tn
sum is Obtained, but TO continue the en-
tertainment some call out, Pass rOun(
the hatlr Speedily the hats are forth
coming. One of the brethren, thinking
him ,eif addressed in the invitation to sing
prepares to sing by Bit of speech:
Now this is Big Dean. An | an
ewine to give We good song. Last weel
has been dreadful discouragin' (very rainy
and
"Don't you talk-sing!' Completely ex
tinguished, Big Dean shuts his crater of
mouth and sits down very decidedly
OH rs may do the singing.
The collections amount now to elgn
! dollars "Make it ten," says blond
, youth near the door.
- got long patience, gentlemens,
cheerily responds the parson; ''Sing some
thing, brudderingsv'
So we have a succession of those hym
tunes that with their plaintive mino
melodies never fail to fascinate the Iii
tener.
: Finding the singers wholly untaugt
, we wonder at such harmony as they glV'
: Here and there we single out voice for
, certain part. Such one must sing tenol
, From beneath that tidy turban OF blue an
/ white check must come the alto. Th'
/ portly whiskered man sustains the bas
I But, listening carefully, we find our mi
: take. The melody alone is well define
/ part. Besides this, in the chorus, eac
one nils in part at pleasure, edcI VI
: finding intuitively S" me place in the chor'
a tenor voice Is often heard striving II
the ascendancy with the treble; again
g strain of alto is heard away above eithe
! 4 tenor voice of remarkable comma
e sings alto through most Of one tune. Wi
5 h-ad, hand, and body swaying to mark q
e rnythm, they soar away in rapturous
r light as free of all conventional reglste
: and prOgressiens as the birds that slr
n among the evergreen oaks. And there
n no more of discord among them.
= But l am forgetting to mention that q
d hats have gathered a sum total OF 81
). Besides this a Confederate note OF III
a has been dropped in by some mischleVo'
d hand, and the indignant steward nous
: up. 81 am very sorry" speaks out ge
}. erous heart from amid Scotia's hIlls,
n journing in our Italy, "'tis shame
n should nav, happened; here's dollar
4. place of il" Heartfelt thanks are retur
It ed Benediction is given after prom
,. for a more commodious church for Mort
erners to visit next year.