The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1880-06-17
Sunday I'm Richmond.
THE RELIGION OF THE c0LoRED PEoPLE-JA
PER,S POPULARITY.

PER's POPULARITY.
lRichmond Letter In Springfield Republican,
Rev. John Jasper is the popular negro
preacher OF Richmond OF the old-time sort,
and he holds his great congregation with
magic power. IL is a power, TOO, OF no
common sort. He Is tall, Iank, angular,
wiry, pure black, Of powerful frame,
which he twists and comforts into every
possible groteSque attitude and gesture. To
Il keeniy sbrewd expression he adds stem
torian voice, which becomes terribly i'm
pressYe when he gets to sucking the breath
into his capacious chest with leonine roar
between his impassioned utterances; and
yet 1t is well modulated and conversational
as he works up the narrative. We were po-
litely ushered up The aisle, the men on one
side in a dense mass OF black and eager faces,
and the women on the other, looking like
patch OF sun-1owcrs, to the seat Of honor,
the sofa behind the pulpit, flanked by two
venerable colored brethren. Several OF our
ladies, through the unwIsdom OF their mo-
desty, missed the rare opportunity and re-
lapsed into the common congregation; but
one, a Westfield neighbor, stood by your
correspondent and had her reward in beng
personally addressed by the reverend
preacher, who ever and anon turned square
around and administered to her some OF bis
most eloquent passages. There was GER
tain power OF rude and native eloquence
which lifted hun quite above the contempt
OF ridicule. Ii was funeral occasion,
little coffin, decked with flowers,
being placed before the pulpit. From
the text, "Thy Brother Shall Rise Again."
he described in colloqual and graphic
terms the interview Of Jesus with Martha
and Mary. He extended their conyersa-
tion in his own way, pictured each scene in
its homeliest details, and explained the mo.
tiyes Of Jesus for not coming at once 10
heal Lazarus: "He was not disposed to do
so. lie could have did il, but he had rather
not, because he calculated that the curing
Of Lazarus would be the running OF many
Others spiritually. And I'm glad he didn't
20. I've learned something by it. 1 per-
ceive that he could have got there very
handy, for Jerusalem was nigh unto Betha-
ny, two miles lacking 200 yards "-diverg-
ing here little upon the subject OF FUR
longs, as he did afterwards upon the
physiological matter Of 208 bores in the
body. And, indeed, through all his dis
course there appeared certain jealousy lest
his accuracy of knowledge might be
doubted, and particularly his accuracy OF
quotations from the Bible, which were nu-
merous and triumphant. He fingered not 4
moment too long at the temb OF Lazarus,
but rapidly shifted the scene TO Samson's
breaking so easily the seven green withes,
of which the binding Of Lazarus reminded
him, and then to Jairus and his little sick
daughter, whose aiiDg symptoms he de.
scribed, aud the reason why Jesus couldn't
immediately come in that case because
He was engaged in eXpelling two thousand
devils out OF man named Legion"
This mans case was graphically described,
and also that OF the wcll-to-do woman who
spent so much on so many doctors that she
| became " financially poor" when she
| learned of this great doctor, Jesus. And
he piled up the instances OF the saviour
healing power, and compared the failures
and limitations OF other DOCTORS. "Ob,
what power, what unqualified power! y
The whole impression was very real, life
like. and dramatic. 1t was something more
! than mere noise and fury. The imagina
ton OF his hearers was spell-bound be-
| fore he wrought upon their weaker
passions. The appeal to the mourner'
for "little George Nicolas Robinson
whom the Lord had called after
nine months stay to come over TO the othel
side OF Jordan into the everlasting future
Of fnturlty, where little George are gone tC
1
bathe in the sunshine OF God, where he cam
he sick no more, and where there's NJ
grave-diggers to dig graves" was terrlfcal
| ly militant end iucongruous. lie got III tn'
] scoffers who came in TO pick at the rudl'
ments Of bis grammar, and the copperhead
and the Philistines, and formed them al
into marching order bellward. This ina
tornado OF fearful rhetoric which miXet
together thunder and lightning, baii-storn
and earthquake, and made John Jasper re
semble "Legon" himself in his worst con
vulsions, seemed to be demanded as bt
ting climax needfuI to sustain the preacher
reputation. And even then some OF th'
brethren felt called upon to explain to III
that il was by no means one OF his bes
efforts. We ought to hear him, they said
preach from the Revelations, where 1t tool
him TO explain the things not SO easy. w
we're told that he gave one OF bis maste
? sermons on Daniel the previous Sunday 10
the special benefit OF DR.. and Mrs. Terhune
and our felow-citizen Mr.. Wilkinson.