Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1884-08-29
WASHINGTON GROVE CAMP.

This is a very pretty forest of oak lying on
the Metropolitan Branch of the 3. & o. r.
r., twenty miles from Washington. 1t is
owned by corporation and held by them
for the purposes of place Of summer resort
and for camp meeting under the control
of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In
the centre is a Tabernacle" well rooted
and Hoored and furnished with platform,
organ and easy seats. The tabernacle is
open on the sides. Outside the tabernacle
under the dense foliage of trees other seats
are placed so that with the extra chairs
generally brought by worshippers congre-
CATION of 500 can be accommodated AT
two other points on the ground sands and
seats are provided for "overllow meetings"
on Sundays and other extra occasions.
The country people come from great dis
tances from all the neighboring counties Of
Maryland ana from Loudoun county, Va.
There is q hotel and several boarding
houses which feed and sleep large numbers,
though the larger proportion occupy cot
tages or tents of their own, or lunch III their
conveyances. The camp is surrounded by
pumps, which furnish the best of water in
abundance. There are six avenues that ra-
date from the circle which contains the
tabernacle, which are lined with cottages
and tents. Some of the former are elabo
rate and artistic and their occupants come
here early in hot weather and remain till
the cold weather comes. No prettier sight
is often seen than I saw this morning rs
sat in the rear of a quiet well dressed audi
ence filling the tabernacle as the sun broke
through the mists and clouds shimmering
through the tree-tops upon the Gothic fronts
of the little cottages that nearly surround
the circle, and Oh the white tents that
stretch down the avenues. And yet think
another sight more weird and striking ap-
pears to me every night as lie in my ham
mock and look up into the great banks Of
trembling leaves lit up by the gas jets that
furnish light to the entire encampment,
while through the waving tree-tops peep
the brilliant stars Of heaven, and a confused
murmur of katydids in the oaks and the
laughter of happy children, and the quiet
conversation of the throngs OH the avenues
mingle with the incense of praise that al
most continually is ascending from some
part of the camp.
The Association is under the control of
leading ministers and laymen Of the Metho-
dist Church of Washington. The Presiding
Elder Rev. DIR. Deale seems to be the lead
ing spirit of the religious exercises, and
Mai. Thos. p. Morgan, ex.commisaion of
tho District and President Of the Washing
ton Grove Association seems to lead in the
temporal arrangements. Mr.. f. F. Simpson
secretary of the Association is a native of
Fairfax near Clifton and Mr.. L. w. Worth
iugton, one tfthe trustees, and one of the old
est Methodis,s Of the District is native Of
Loudoun. near Uppervile l think. Rev.
John +. Edwards, of Alexandria and Rev.
VIM H. Forsythe, of Manassas have been
active and welcome assistants in the spri-
tual work of the meeting. Rev. DIR. Cox, of
the Mount Vernon Methodist Episcopal
Church, South, preached one Of the best
sermons of the encampment on yesterday
morning. fiud that the worshippers here
are by no means confined to the denonlna-
ton having special charge of the meeting.
Several Southern Methodists, Protestant
Methodists and Presby terians are ell.
camped on the same avenue with me
and l have met here several Bap-
list preachers of my acquaintance. The
meeting has been kept up for two weeks
and closes to-day. The principal day be-
sides the two Sundays was the Centennial
Day" in honor of the hundred years since
the organization of the Methodist Episcopal
Church. The camp was finely decorated
with evergreens and banners and inscrip-
tiohs illustrative Of the occasion. The
figures '17S4 1882 appeared on nearly
every tent and cottage. On one saw re-
ference to the Baltimore Christina confer
euce of December, l7S4, itch organized
the church, and underneath is mountain
Of evergreens surmounted by an ear of corn
referring evidently TO prophetic passag e
Of Scripture quoted by Rev. DR.. Naylor in
his centennial address, There shall be
handful of corn in the earth upon the top
of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall
shake like Lebanon"
The "Children's meetings" every day ut
2 o'clock were very interesting occasions
for the little ones and temperance meetings
We're held on two different days, addresses
by II. B. Moulton, Presidence of the Dis
trict of Columbia Temperance Alliance,
Rev. Mr.. McKenny, Charlie Nye J. c. Lee
and others.
A meeting has been held also every day
specially for the ladies under the special
charge of Mrs. Burrows and Mrs. Roach, of
Washington.
The most interesting service to me was
the sermon of Rev. Dennis Osborne, ma
tive Hindoo and convert to Christianity
and a delegate from the South India con-
ference to the late general conference of the
church. In brain power, in the proper use
of the English language, in eloquence and
in the subtle power TO reach the human
heart, he was the peer of any speaker
have heard for years. His text was from
Isaiah, Beauty for ashes" and was full of H.
Illustrations from his native land of intense
interest. The audience gave him colec-
ton of 5000 for church he is building in
India.
The encampment has been very quiet
and orderly. l have seen but one man
whose talk and appearance betokened in
toxication. and l suppose there have been
over ten thousand on the ground at one
time. This county Montgomery is a
local option county, having adopted it by
800 majority. met twice, Col. William
Kilgour, late of Alexandria, the editor of
the democrtic sheet at Rockville, the county
seat He tells me that the law could not
be repealed in the county; that if submitted
to vote again it would receive larger