Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1885-02-28
In THE SOUTH.

The SPower,s-A Curious Marriage
Taking Up a Conectfon-A Sermon.
| ATLANTA, Ga, Feb. II.
To the EDITOR Of the JOURNAL AND COURIER:
During my sojourn in the South had at
| tended many "colored" church services prior
| to last Sunday, but up to that time had not
witnessed q genuine descent of the ''power." !"
Of course had heard much about the mani
fsstations of the power however, and was
curious to witness it. On the Sunday in
question set out to attend the afternoon
| services of the Zion (Hardshe1D Baptist
church in this city, hoping yet scarce ex-
pecting to witness the strange spectacle re-
ferred to. It is more particularly at camp
| meetings and in revival times that the sspow-
err is conferred; and then its influence is
felt on a vast scale. Sometimes fifteen or
twenty women are affected by the strange
spell which has been thus defined as a be-
stowal of the power; and they will jump
and flop, and writhe about until completely
exhausted, when they will fall to the floor in
dead faint. do not know that men are
ever affected in this manner, although they
will stamp and clap hands in an extraordina-
ry way. The women are usually left ON the
floor in the church over night. There have
been instances in this city of women lying
thus in totally unconscious state for three
days and three nights. 1t is one of the pain
full facts in the problem of negro christiani
zation that these experiences, more or less
remarkable, are looked upon as essential to
conversion by the great mass of illiterate
colored men and women. There are many
| instances of refusal to receive Christians into
|. fellowship unless they have some extraordi-
nary experience to relate; and this fact is
not calculated to promote strict adherence to
the literal truth on the part of candidates
for church membership. l know a consci
entious young colored girl here, who, after
praying and struggling for long time to be
Christian, gave the contest over because
her pastor and her mother assured her that
only as she went through an extraordinary
exercise of soul could she dare to profess
conversion. And it took much argument on
the part of university friends to convince her
of the real simplicity of conversion.
found the Zion church in question to be
large barny structure, with boarded interi-
or galleries all around and plain wooden
benches with backs. The pulpit presented
the appearance of high 'back-stop" such
as is found in baseball park, the front of
it being papered and furnishing sharp con-
trast to the plain board walls. The stove
was located forward Of the center of the
rounded with dense phalanxes of men, wo-
men with shakers and large and small
children. The characteristic preliminary
prayer-meeting was in operation when l en-
tered and there were perhaps thirty or forty
people present People kept stringing in for
an hour and half afterwards, in the char
acteristic negro fashion, until the large build
ing was almost full up stairs and down.
Several of the Hardshell elders were up
front, below the pulpit, conducting the exer-
cises The music surprised me by it's shrill,
inharmonious character 1t was almost as
unpleasant as had found the untutored Of
forts of my Oriental friends in the far East
The trouble was that the church was cursed
with q musical leader whose voice was as
loud as the b1are of fish-horn and as un-
musical as the bray of a Jerusalem donkey.
AS listened to the prayers and exhorta-
tions I realized that one does not need to go
into the country to find the aboriginal negro
He may be found in the heart of the city,
dwelling under the very shadow of such in
stitutions as this Atlanta university. The
negro race is ever following on to know the
Lord" feeling after him if happily they may
find him But alas, the race know him and
find him but very imperfectly, according to
our notions.
This Hardshell Baptist church has just dis
carded the feet-washing exercise, however
The new pastor is opposed to it, and although
most of the 'Esisterin" very anxious that
the custom should be revived, one has
ventured to insist upon it since the present
minister came. It is, by the way, most
rious spectacle to witness when two or three
hundred men and women whip out their
eject pans" and begin each one to cleanse the
right foot of his or her neighbor.
The first prayer that was uttered was real
" beautiful. It was delivered in the pecu-
liarly fervent African style, but the language
picturesque and the intonlng on the
part Of the praying brother and the Groom
ing of the strongly emotional audience SO
weirdly impressive, that it little hard
even for me not to yield to the spiritual in
fection which seemed to lurk in the very air
had never heard the African pra2er-chant-
ing executed with such thrilling effect be-
fore. There was something indescribably
pretty and touching in the low grooming of
the worshippers during the prayer. The
speaker would pause every now and then to
interpolate oh Lord" or ooh my
Lord" plaintively chanted; while the people
softly hummed the same words after
him with the same intonatlon.
Here are some of the sentences of the
prayer, with the words repeated in parenthe-
sis that were chanted by the speaker and re-
chanted by the people:
"Oh Lord, we hasn't come hyar cause we's
holy, oh no! (oh noD We'se all vile an
not down, oh Lord, to Gains despair (de-
spair), but open a frien'ly window i'll
heaven lin heayen.) Whet dy sword upon
dy thigh an go marching wild us thro' dis
howlin' wilderness (wil-der-ness.) Ride
among de sisterin and de brederin to-day,
movin' de load OBJ sin off from all our hearts
(all our hearts.) Heah us oh our father for
Jesus sake, amen (amen.'0
Then another man took up the plaintive
strain and prayed, after invoking God
the God of Jonah, Daniel, Noah and the rest:
ssSome oh US is goin' down to hell as fas as
= IL, 11, /oI1
Lord.) Oh show US dat de harder de cross,
de brighter de crown, an knowledge now
as dy Jewels las dy jewels.) Oh we'se goin'
home whar' dar'll be no mo- lynn, no mo-
thievin', no mo- back-bitin' aw slanderin'
(s1an- -der-in'.) Farewell, farewell sinful
worl, farewell fare -well) Ws'se got our
tickets all countersigned an no mistake, fare
we'll sinnahs farewell sinnahs.) Amen
(amen.O
During these prayers as during the exhor-
tations, endorsement was given to the words
of the speaker by raps on the floor.
At this point it was announced to be the
time for the real service to begin, and the
pastor, a regular Jack-1n-the jumped up
from the seat behind the formidable pulpit
danced down to the front of benches
and sprung this extraordinary proclamation
upon the audience: 'Dars to be weddin',
bretheringl' Before I could recover my
breath the same nervous, hoighty -toighty in
dlE1dual continued: Stan up now, you
hyar, and you right hyar.n Thereupon
portly negro, with his fat hands squeezed in
to pair of white kid gloves, arose from the
front bench, while a woman arose at his side
letting fall her shawl SO as to reveal the spot
less white polonaise beneath. The pastor
opened book to the marriage service, the
while continuing to teeter up and down and
both back and forth after an inimitable fash
ion. That knot was tied in leas than three
minutes. It was al SO like flash that can
only remember three or four things about the
the service. The minister began, ssI am au-
thorized to marry this lady and gentleman.
Forasmuch as all marriages contrary to Gods
will are lawful and right" Then lost the
thread of the service, for was SO Mortified at
that appalling mistake, I don't know what
service was used, but feel sure the mistake
(which no one else noticedl copsiated in leav-
ing out the negative s:nota before contrary
When recovered somewhat, he was asking
the lady if she would be 'afectionary" to her
husband.
'tspeak out, sab, speak out." he remarked
to the groom.
"Shut upin cried voice at my left; but it
was only the injunction of small girl to the
restless big baby that sat in her lap, and was
net addressed to the contracting parties
The minister in reading the service read |