Daily Republican., 1882-08-14
THE MOUNTAIN EVANGELIST.
Pom sketch OF the Ecce nitric Ko N
IucEy ReVlyal1st, George owen
BaFnes.

tucEy 4ev1VAA1Ss, George owen
BaFlAes.
For the REPUBLICAN.
DAYTON, Ohio, August 10, 1882.
To-day Dayton is excited over the ad
vent and preaching of the noted Ken.
lucky revivalist, and, thinking that a
short sketch Of this remarkable man
would be interesting to many of your
readers, proceed to fill one out.
Proceeding to the great skating rink
on North Main street, we enter the i'm
mense structure familiar to Daytoni-
ans with its great arching beams and
roof, and where we have Joined the
merry throng of skaters to the time Of
the music produced by our celebrated
Fourth Regiment Band, but tonight
tie scene is changed. The hard compo
sition Ia boarded over and the arene is
filled with chairs, facing the grand
stand, which has been changed tempo
rarily into pulpit, back Of which at a
slight elevation, rises q small platform,
upon which rests the organ, presided
over by the evangelist's pretty daugh-
ter, Miss Marie, who performs aud sings
as charmingly as q nightengale, with
voice so powerful as to be distinctly
heard throughout the entire hall.
With the exception of her fathers oc-
casional assistance, she does all the
singing-a la Sankey.
At the opening of the service, we oh.
tain good view of the subject of our
sketch, Rev. Geo. Owen Barnes, who
proceeds to conduct the services. Mr..
Barnes is about six feet high, is slim
aud blithe as an indian, and active
as a gymnast; he has keen black eye
that seems to look the!person through
on whom he fixes his gaze; his hair is
thick and black, and thrown back Ovec
the head like Oscar Wilde, only not
parted in the middle, indeed has no
part at all only where he runs 1t
through with his fingers when passing
through one of his eloquent impassion.
ed outbursts of oratory, his face is close
ly shaved with the exception of good
sized mustache, and is adorned with
very sharp nose, too small though to be
Roman; he alluded to it the other night
''aS this crooked nose upon my mug"
it is because of these oddities of ex-
pressions and peculiar appearance that
he has been made the recipient Of the
appellation eccentric"
While in Kentucky laboring among
the lower classes, Mr.. Barnes contract
ed the prevelant slang of the middle
class of the "bloody ground, "and cou.
plilg the gospel with 1t, he was emil
nently successful in reaching the mas
Ses, his conversions there numbering
about twenty five thousand, and many
of his most recent being large fish;
Governor Luke Blackburn and the Sec.
retary of State being among the num-
Der, and whose conversion at the time
caused quite stir throughout the coun-
try. Mr.. Barnes came direct to Day
ton, from these scenes of triumph, and
we find him as above stated preaching
necessarily twice day, and the whole
town talking about him.
His theology is somewhat peculiar,
differing from the creed in which he
was brought up. He believes that sin
did not enter the world by Adam, but
by Eve. He urges that confession be
made with the mouth" without wait
ing for it "in the life." He draws the
difference between "Christians" and
"good Christians" very plainly, hold
ing that those " no live in close spiritual
alliance with the Saviour are far in ad
vance OF the formal professor. He also
holds and teaches that the millennium
is af: er the second coming of Christ, in.
stead Of before as popularly accept. !
ed.
Although Mr.. Barnes suffered some
what in support of the preachers and
laity by reason of his coarsness of ex-
pressionS, yet he has been wonderfully |
successful, the number of converts |
being in the neighborhood of two hun
dred and sixty. III tone ne is as win
ming as Moody, and full of tenderness
in expressi on, and that rare faculty
Of touching the heart and sensibilitiees
by his appeals and arguments, and
taking this in conjunction with the
high spiritual plane he occupies, we no
doubt have the secret of his success.
He closes his laborers here to morrow,
and will proceed direct to indianapolis,
from there toChicago and will stir New
York's religious circles during the
winter. Yours truly, II L. P.