The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1885-05-28
Jones. the Evangelist.

I
| hear and see for myself and form the
DRY right or wrong, of my own, TO
reach conclusion, if possible, as to the
mystery of his influence. l heard him
at 10 o'clock on the l4th May and again
at night. ] soon discovered that the
vast assembly were en- rapport with the
| speaker, the hand OF the magician was
upon them and 1 unconscious of the
cause felt myself willing captive.
What was it? There must be some
cause for such an effect. Is this man
so earnest, so sincere, so free from
! sham, so foreign TO fraud, so sublime
| in courage, so bold in utterance, so I'M
pretentiOus in styles this man de-
| fusion? Nosthat is more Incompetent
! sible than that there should be real,
a substantial vital force whence springs
| these results, 1t must then be his pecul-
lar mental condition. He has passed the
| limits of faith, he no longer believes of
what concerns his religion, but he kROSos
it-iaith has ceased to be, it is supplant-
| ed by knowledge. His mental condi-
tions have excluded ali impressions, all
| beliefs, all localities, the mind has
| reached it's summit, the real-that is,
knowledge. He lives in the midst of
his convictions without the shadow Of
the remotest doubt. His intense men
tai vision takes in things immortal as
real as the natural eye takes in the
varied landscape.
He has ceased to believe that Christ Is
divine, that there is a heaven or hell,
that the soul is immortal. He kn0l0S
it, 1t is the spirit OF Job, "FOr L know
that my Redeemer liVeth, and that he
shall stand at the latter day upon the
earth."- "a nd though after my skin,
worms destroy this body, yet in my
flesh / shall see God" The mental
condition of Job is knowledge, not
faith.
The evangelist does not hope to go to
heaven but is going there, and is indif-
erent as to the hour of his departure
and you are forced to believe him. He is
eager to see his father and mother and
his wife after life's trials shall pass will
meet and shake hands withthem beneath
the shadow of the tree OF everlasting
life and an angel will come bearing up
on its wing his little Mary "whO We
have trained in the ways of eternal
life" and another angel will come bear
ing his little lisping Annie, whose an
gel face is bright as mornidg and so all
the nestlings of Ahi5 household G0HL be
gathered together to live on and on in
enduring bliss forever. This is the
very poetry of convic ton, not of faith,
not the ideal, but to his mental condi-
ton it is the real.
Now let US analyze the man who
stands among his fellows with undispu-
ted sway, eminent divines yield ready
Obeisance to his mastery, che is the rid
er of the winds, the stirrer of the storm,
and seIi-poised and calm directs the
whirl-wind as will power and genius
IN revolution wins the leadership. He
has a voice OF rare power with metallic
intonation that reaches the distant, the
courage of conviction, the severity OF
truthful utterance, his knowledge
of human nature is clear, Obser-
want, thorough and incisiYe; he
dissects with a skilled hand ;he sees with
precision the social and moral maladies
and like q trained physician applies
with heroic nerve desperate remedies
for desperate diseases; vice ne strikes
with an iron and relentless hand the
social virtues he lauds, not as meritorl-
Gus, but as stern duties he sees in the
individual and aggregate conduct o
mankind the elimination of social
events that tend with certainty either
to good or to evil. Yet his manner of
speaking at times is tame even TO awk-
Wardness, his style as simple as the lam
guage of the fisherman upon the banks
OF the sea OF Galilee except when he
occasionally rises to the grandeur OF
true elOquence, then his style is as pure
as ShenstOne's, as classic and elegant as
AddisOn's and impressive as Muncy 6,
but even in its grandeur it never loses
its severe simplicity, he iss not blessed
with t TIC hhigner graces of rhetoric nor
the majesty OF an imposing presence,
his thoughts do not leap out like living
lightnings, but .come like sheet light
ming with wide spread illuminating
power deep from the bosom of the storm
cloud cleaning as if some Genie were
struggling to hold back The thunder
bolt ;but his thoughts come full tiedged
and whether eagles or wrens their
plumage is intact, whether diamonds or
pebbles are clear cut and rounded, |
thTobbing with the impulse of life, his |
sentences are clustered Thoughts in |
bloom nd whether roses or tennels |
they are ripe-leaved and full blown,
His anecdotes are apt, pointed, illus
tratiVe-arguments within themselves
gathered from life's daily experiences. |
His wit sparkles like sunshine upon the
crystal lake and his humor is like the |
waves touched by gentle winds
He deals with the mysteries oflife in the |
same spirit as with the activities, now
like Byron "laying his hand on old !
oceans name and playing familiar with
his hOary locks" and then with easy
grace and careless air but with dead |
ly thrust he impales the sins and foibles |
of society with his trenchant blade, or
with light and wanton manner toys
with the whims and crudiLies of human
life. Yet he has the indomitable spirit
and perseverance of a TefoTmer. But all
these traits of character are inadequate
to account for his startling influence
and the mystic power of his ministry,
for these traits are common to many
other men. He must have generated a
force phenomenal. There must be some
other cause, force behind all these like
the force that drives the elements that
is mightier than the tempest for it can
hold it in restraint or send it on upon its
fearful mission. Intense mental con-
victiou eYoking the powerful emotions
OF the human heart. A mind crystaIiz-
ed into truth and knowledge passing
beyond "the substance OF things hoped |
for and the essence of things not
SEEN" He has passed the night OF doubt |
and morning twilight of faith into the
open day where truth spreads her radi- |
ance. This position is not anomalous, |
for when that ancient dweller in the
garden did eat of the fruit of the tree of
knowledge the mysteries of life and |
death vanished and he stood in the pres !
ence Of his Creator, the world real and |
naked before him. knowledge had sup |
planted faith.
Then whence is the mystery of his !
power? This mastery over others? It |
is that his hearers hear his utterances !
In the same spirit he utters them, with |
the earnestness OF his convictions, his |
audience is in unconscious sympathy. |
They have permitted him to think for
them and this mutual union and kind |
red impulse sways his vast assembly |
as a common force moves the tides OF
the sea. The whole tenor of his preach |
ing is consistent with this theory. He
tells us theology is sham, logic snare
to doubt is inidelity, but religion is
knowledge reality, and while all !
other things may be delusive, he
'sknows the spirit of Christ is within
him and that his destination is
heaven"
Such are my hurrygraph views of
this Titan OF the pulpit, who like the
grand old master draws seeming rude |