The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1885-10-07
LIFE "IN THE BRUSH. !"
A CHRISTIAN COMMISSION DELEGATE
IN THE BAcKWoODS.
A Dependent Church Member - The
''Ile" Of PatmOs-Primitive Religious
CustOms-ImpassiOned Negro Mel
Odiss-Jubnee Singers.
REV. h W. Pierson in Christian Union.l

tor, made visit TO the army as a delegate
of the United States Christian commits
sion. Having occasion to call upon a
family near the scene of his labors, he in
troduced himself as clergyman, and ex
planned the object Of his visit to the army
At once he was piled with the ever recur.
ring questions as to the cause of the war,
its probable continuance, results, etc,
etc. After giving his own views from the
northern standpoint, he took occasion to
draw out the opinion of his question
ers. which were substantially as follows:
He had thought upon the question long
time, and was decidedly of the opinion
that God had sent the war upon the coun-
try for their pride; that was the great sin
in the churches, especially among the sis
tiers. NOncet they spun wove and dyed
In butternut their own jeans and made
their own dresses, which were good
enough to wear to big meetings bar
becues, or weddings; but now they want
store dresses. Once't every man car
ried his hides to the tanner to make
leather for the family, and they were glad
enough TO get good heavy pair of shoes
made by free niger Jim. Now they
must have store shoes. Once't they made
their own bonnets which kept the sun
from burning their faces and blistering
their necks, with no such thing as a rib,
bon on them Now they are ashamed of
these. and will hardly go to church unless
they have store bonnet all covered over
with ribbons and pOsies And they do
say that when Sister Mason went to the
city with her husband to attend the big
secession meetin', she got some new store
teeth My old woman here wanted store
shoes and store dresses just as much as
the rest of the sisters. "
After this jeremiah had gone through
with his wall, he proposed that they
should pray together. They knelt. and
at the conclusion of the prayer offered by
the Delegate of the nited States Chris
tian commission, his address to the
Deity was in the same sad strain in which
he had so long talked He was burdened
with the sins of others, especially the sins
OF his old woman, and very free and
yoluble in eonfessing them. "Oh, Lord"
he said; "here is my old woman. She is
very proud. Proud as a worldlin'. oh.
Lord, make her more humble. Make her
willing to bow low down at thy feet
Oh, Lord, lie her knee iints, and make
her bend and bow low. (Then with in
tense earnestness and emotion he con-
cluded) "Oh, LOrdl lie her knee jints
with the very lie OF Patmos.
To those familiar with the people in the
brush. as have described them all these
incidents are as simple and natural as is
the sight of an omnibus in Broadway to a
dWeller In New York In the vast army
Of Iliterate adult whites, and in the com
munities in which they chiefly live, there
are hundreds of thousands who have
never read or heard of but a single kind
of sile
Those familiar with their religious and
especially with their revival services are
aware how long and h9w earnestly their
preachers will exhort, urge, and plead
with the whole congregation to kneel to
bow low before God Usually the church
members respond at once; and then came
IL. IN
One would judge from their earnestness
and persistence in this matter that they
deemed their hearers well-nigh saved when
they induced them thus to kneeL
] recall an occasion Of this kind when
young lady from New England, teacher,
was for the first time present at such a
meeting It was near the home OF the
owner of the Rev. Nathan Board, the
slave preacher As soon as l saw her in
the audience l knew that she was a
stranger in strange land She looked
appalled,, Mortified, at the sounds and
scenes around her. She did not kneel
There were puddles of tobacco juice all
around her. She was proud. Her knees
had not been Amounted with the "Ile of
Patmos Thoroughly familiar with the
people and all their ways of thinking, as
/ had been for so many years, / was sure
she was all unaware how largely the long
continued appeals were addressed to her,
or how conspieuously the irreligion of
New England was illustrated by her stub
born pride. her refusal to bow low.
The same = bit was almost universal
among the colored preachers, with the adj
dition that their urgent appeals were sap
plemented with the most tender aud i'm
FASHIONED negro melodies Some thirty
years ago / dropped into the principal
hotel In Richmond. a., and looking over
the register sew the name of George b.
CheeYer. He was on his return from
Europe, had landed at a southern port
and was slowly taking his way north. l
sent up my card, and on calling found
him absorbed in writing his w anderiDgs
Of a Pilgrim etc informed several
of my friends of his presence in the city,
soon after invited to spend the evening
with pleasant company at the home
Of the pastor of one of the largest
churches in the city. At the conclu-
sion of this pleasant social gathering the
family servants were called in, as usual,
TO the evening worship They united
with The company in singing the hymn
selected, and after the prayer sang several
of their own beautiful melodies
I have never forgotten the pleasure and
interest with which DR.. Cheever listened
TO one of these songs, which was of the
character | have just described. ike all
their songs. it was chiefly chorus, and the
chorus was only repetition OF the
words,
sBow low, bow low, bow low"
1Lat the preachers bow low" Chorus
@Lat tie brothers bow low" Chorus.
"Let the sisters bow low" Chorus.
"L.et the mournerS bow low" Chorus.
Let the sinner bow low" Choru'.
Although the long drawn-out song was
little else but a repetition of the words
sboW low, the voices were so rich, so
mel ow and full of emotion. and the
music so weird, impassioued and wonder
fuI, that, with others l was completely
entranced by it l remember that as |
peated. over and over, to himself: Bow
low. bow low, bow low :" / only wish
that the Jubilee Singers might reproduce
that. and others that 1 have heard on
hundreds of plantations.
81 fders' Senses.