Daily Los Angeles herald., 1880-09-04

figures whether q camp meeting
had been successful or not. Then
the camps we're rough, erected for
for a temporary purpose, ana
Abandoned when the protracleu
meeting was over; now the So
called camp meeting is a fashiona'
BILE Methodist resort chosen by
hillside or seaside for Its advant.
ages In picknicking rather than in
piety, occupied In permanent build
inrs. and surrounded by Summer
cottages aud by ,hotelsS- where the
stranger who wishes to attend the
meetings, and haply to be con-
verted, must pay high price for
accommodations.
Among the most famous camp
held this year at the East
are those Of Sing-Sing, Ocean
Grove, Round Lake, Chautauqua,
Pitman. Grove, Camp Tabor. Thou
sand Islands, Sea Cliff. Jamesport,
Merrick, Shelter Island, Plainville
and Martha's Vineyard. Besides
these there are smaller camp meet
ings at various poiats; and last
year, In the Eastern and Middle
States, about forty were held.
Some people makes q poiut4of. tray
cling from camp to camp; they are
religious FOUNDERS. The quantity
Of labor imposed on these persons
may be judged from the distance OF
the camps from one another, and
the number of them.
The great meeting now at Ocean
Grove is the annual camp meeting;
but 1t had been preceded by many
others: The Womsn's Christian
Temperance Union. July Is 10 is;
the jubilee of sacred song, July 81
to rs; the Ocean Grove sannivess-
ary, July 81; BIble-readipg meet
ings, Aug 3 to 8; a second Woman's
Christian Temperance Union, Aug.
9 and 10; and q Women's Foreign
Missionary meetipg,-sAag. l3 tol5.
There have been also regular moru-
ing meetings for promoting holi-
ness, under DR.. and Mrs Palmer.
Perhaps the actuafvarieiy ofthese
has not been quite as
great as their titles miehtindicate,
since the same people are often
in several series, and
express themselves in very much
the same way. Still, the modern
of programme is very
marked.
But the most striking example Of
of subjects is the one
given by the Chautauqua camp
1t offered seventeen sue
cessive courses: (D A School of
Languages; (2) National Teachers
Association; (3) Teachers Retreat;
(4) Foreign Missionary Institute;
(5) Seventh Assembly, (6) Congre-
gational and other Denominational
School Congresses; (7) Sec
ond Anniversary 9. l.. y. G.; (S)
Dedication, st. Paul's Grove; (9)
National Day; (l0) Children's Day;
ny Temperance Day; (l2) Chris
tian Commission Reunion Day;
(13) Young Mems Christian Associ-
alton Day; (l4) Procession Day; (15)
Raikes's Centennial Day; (l6j Ear
ly Morning Lectures by Eminent
Divines; (l7) Lecture Lessons in
Philosophy. The two last mum bers
on the seasons programme extend.
ed through many days, from Aug.
4; but taken as whole, there was
al appetiztng variety Of attractions
offered from day to day.
1t is plain, therefore, that the
modern camp meeting ground is
to support q whole season
Of religious and semi-religious
services and ceremonies. This Is q
result of the modern change in the
purpose and the plan of camp meet
lngs. The sites are chosen largely
with q view to their desirabillty as
places. Instead of rude
''camps" in the woods, as the old
name indicated, permanent viii
lagos of substantial and sometimes
costly aud elegant houses are
founded, hotels are constructed, and
the camp meeting region does q
business all Summer.
Hence prolonged series of meet
ings Is contrived, TO keep up the
original idea, and also, perhaps, to
attrac6lVisitors.
Experience having told that
camp meetings proper cannot be
kept up with characteristic fervor
for months together, the various
collateral gatherings already spok-
en- of have had to be added. To
these fantastically pompous names
are given, just as rocks, roads,
paths, puddles, and trees around
the camp meeting are burdened
with poetic or historic appellations
demanding lively imagination
to detect their fitness. We hear of
Congresses, Parliaments, Insti-
tutes, Esthetic Conferences, and
Univerties in these camp meet
ings. An "Ecumenical camp meet
ing" is just now going OH at Old
Orchard. One announcement was
that "the Lakeside Camp Meeting
Summer Schools of Art, Science,
and Language will begin July 9th
and continue until July 16th," the
amount of art, science, and lam
guage that could be acquired by
the camp meeting goer in that Pc
riod obviously not being extraor-
binary. And we have already
noted one Training College, whose
yearly sessions last five days.
This harmless dabtling with art
languages, philosophy, and social
science tells pretty plainly how the
modern camp meeting has driftec
away from its original model; ant
even the camp meetings proper dc
not set so much store by statistics
of conversions as did the older ones
Sometimes meetings are held fol
days together without u single au.
thentic conversion, and yet they
are not regarded as failures. The
truth is that with the many mod
ern additions to camp meetings.
the outside diversions of boating,
fishing, dancing, billiards,
and whole round of Summer en-
would be unreasonable
to expect the same proportion OF
purely religious devotion as of old.
But the camp meetings do give to
those attending them healthful
and change from ordin-