Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1879-10-29

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furtive chances and heightened color the
approach of neighbor lads, and the old
chatted cheerfully of the meeting, the
weather, or of the good crops, as friends
meet friends with gladdened looks, and
the soft breeze stirred the green leaves
overhead, it was hard to imagine much
more cheerful and welcome scene under
the broad canopy of the heavens.
The dinner over, and the very hounds
in attendance embarrassed with the
richness of the feast, let any one mag
inc, if they can, congregation in bet
ter mood to be thankful for the
Almighty's best gifts. I noticed always
at the afternoon service, however, kind
of sedate departments subdued pla-
! cidity not common at other periods of
! the twenty-four hours; a condition so
resolved into kind of worldly and re-
igious complacincy that it was hard to
disturb for, whatever the preacher might
say, there was apparently conviction
stamped on almost every face that the
earth is the Lords, and the fullness
thereof" and that, moreover-as was
said to have been concluded upon GER
tain time by the old Puritans- the good
things are "for the Lord's people," The
very preacher himself, at this time of
day, would generally evince compare
lively subdued manner, as if he too was
conscious that he had yet to digest a
good dinner; and so the afternoon
service was apt to 60 off rather drowsily,
compared to that of the other two
divisionsof the day and night.
But look out for the evening, or
night service! With an early and COM
paratively light supper, all would mus
ter at the "great tent"-an immense
open shed-allin sober earnest to make
the occasion and exercises tell. With
the ablest or at least most magnetic
pulpit orator of the half dozen or more
in attendance to hold forth, an abund-
ance of fresh straw among the mourn
ers' benches" for those who were ex-
pected to kneel or PROSTATE themselves
in contrition and anguish of soul; and,
with the whole tent and grounds all
ablaze with light, it would be but a
tame Or spiritless evening that did not
witness twenty or thirty wrestling with
their strong convictions of sin, as they
would come forward to be prayed for in
response to the pleadings ofthe preacher
and of earnest friends and relatives
around.
And then If the colored element,
always present in considerable force,
had no preacher of their own to get up
stir out on one side for their particu-
lar behoof, it was something interesting
to watch crowd, so sympathetic and
impressible, lowering around in the out
skirts, to participate, at least in spirit,
in the soul-stirring appeals, hymns in
full chorus, prayers, loud "amens," and
all else that was going on and varying
the exercises. While, of course, it
would not do to have them inside the
"circle of mourners" lit would have
been a sight to have seen one of them
taking the road to 'bliss" that way),
there was usually much more considera
ton evinced on these occasions for their
spiritual weL-being than could occur
under almost any other circumstances;
for, while it was true that they must in
general sense be recognized as fellow
Christians, it was considered at the
same time that some little distinction
ought to be kept up, even when ap-
preaching the throne of the Omnipo-
tent, who makes no distinctions between
his creatures as to color at least. And
so, as have said, they would hover
about, approaching closer and closer,
with eyes shining with excitement and
subdued ordinations of interest anus
ing to hear.
On one of these occasions a stout
girl of this class, grown, had gradually
gotten nearer and nearer, until she at
last mounted bench to the rear of and
at one side of the stand" a position
on the edge of the wood which over
looked the mourners' benches" then
the center of excitement. Close be-
hind her was dark belt of faces, emo
tional, all alive with sympathetic and
religious inspiration. So she COM
menced, as these people will sometimes
do when over-excited, to dance-turn-
ing round and round, and bobbing up
and down, with her hands on her hips
and, to give in her experience" she
exclaimed, at the top of her voice:
"I don't fear def; don't fear fire and
birthstone; don't fear de aebbel; don't
fear nofin, nofin, nofiip---cept snakesp
Here she ended he: experience by
making misstep and tumbling off the
bench into the straw, in a way that
made one or two solemn preachers at
my elbow turn away to conceal the
laughter they could not control. Lily
ing in snake country, and happening
TO remember that she really did have a
mortal fear of them. she was thoughtful
enough and Conscientious enough to
own up.
The occurrence of really great and
popular camp-meeting always consti-
tuted "good time" especially, and in
more ways than one, for hardly-worked
and self-denying class who, as I have
already shown, were not infrequently
doomed to unpleasant associations and
poor ra ions.
One of these, stationed in one of the
harde t and most remote of outlying
distri IT'S on the head-waters of the Big
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