The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-06-23
QUEER LORENZO DOW.
SCRAPS FROM THE DIARY OF THE
ITINERANT REVlVALlST.

Peculiar Methods Which He Employed
In His Career as 4 Travelling Preacher
His Marriage to PegSy-Concludins
Entries in His Diary.
Such mass of exaggerated and insignif-
cant anecdotes have Leen told of tits great
and eccentric missionary revivalst that it
IS hard to imagine OF discover him just as
he was. Yet there are safe sources through
which picture OF him may lie obtained.
That lie was no humbug every point in his
life and character goes to show. He was
earnest to the very verge OF fanatlc!sn.
Tho at:nosphere in which he was raised was
one of extreme religious fervor, and he
showed signs OF its elect from his earliest
years.
One evening when he had houseful of
young men he PLACED his back against tho
door so none of them could escape, and
preached to them with such tervor that
some cried aloud for mercy. \ young
woman with whom he was talking suddenly
broke away from Kim and ran. He fol-
lowed her to the house OF neigbbor, ana
sitting down in O door, would not let her
or Satan for q fortnight Sho choss the
latter, saying l can't keep tho other"
Lorenzo solemnly called on God 10 witness,
and added "I'll pray God that you may
be taken sick before tho fortnight's up"
Before night she grew uneasy, soon broke
her promise, and became convert and q
member of the church.
OFFENDED 3Y PLAIN PREACHING.
A man whom'he had offended by plain
preaching camo into church and trie1 10
pull his nose. Dow dodged, whereupon the
women arose en- nlaSss Gn1 put tie intruder
out of doors In his diary Lorenzo sets
down many incidents which show the pecu-
liar bent of his mind and the tenor of his
belief In illustration: "A reprobation
preacher sought to 90 us harm when pub
licly besought Col, if he was true minister
to bless his labors and make it manifest: but
if he had jumped presumptuously into the
work that God would remove him, SO that
he should not hurt the people. Shortly
after he fell into scaudalous sin, and so
his influence was lost . '' = AS l en-
tered the meeting house, having an old bor-
rowed greatcoat on and two hats, the peo-
pie were alarmed, and thought it singular
that did not bow to every pew as l went
toward the pulpit, which was ths custom
there My hat being taken from me with
out my consent and two Others forced upon
me, was carrying one to give young
man besought Gol in public that some
thing awful might happen in the ncighbor-
hood, if nothing else would Go to alarm tho
people. A company Of young people going
to q tavern one of them said, Il will ride
there as Christ rode into Jerusalem. In
stantly his horse started, and threw him
against log. lie spoke no more until he
died, which was next morning"
Lorenzo had determined to marry no
woman who would object to his travelling,
and when he came to his courtship it was
pursued after his own peculiar plan. One
S. NJ, of Western, kept a house tor preach
ers, or Methodist tavern" as it was called
by the people. When Dow preached in that
neighborhood Il. asked him to como to his
house, and added MY daughter will he glad
10 see you Lorenzo remained there all
night, but not word passed between him
and Peggy, who was all adopted child. lie
went to his appointment, and while he was
preaching he felt IAN uncommon exercise"
TO run through his mind He pondered or
it, and before evening he asked n. if he
would object to Loren4o's talking with the
girl about matrimony. The reply was, II
have nothing to say only J have requested
her, if she has any regard for me, not to
marry so as to leave my house"
HIS MARRIAGE TO PEGGY.
On reaching the house Low abruptly
asked the wife what they had been doing
in his absence. She toll him, and added
that Peggy was resolved that she would
never marry, except to preacher, and that
he must keep on travelling Just then Peggy
came into the room. Loren.o o repeated this
remark, and asked her if she had made it
She answered in the affirmative, whereupon
Lorenzo said: do you think You could &C.
capt of such an object as me-" She made
no answer, but retired from the room. He
went away, but returned IN few days,
when he told her he would be bac.; again
"in year and half or So" and receive
her answer. After he had been south some
time the family removed to that section,
and he was quietly married to Peggy in tho
fall of 1S0i
During the closing months of that year
and the early ones Of 1SU5, he crossed Ohio
and went into the Mississippi valley, preach
ing at Pitts5urg Steubenviile, and Wheeling
on the way. He maxes this entry: IL have
Ceen III eaCu Ol Lue seventeen StaGeS ol IIo
union" OF Chillicothe, then the capital Of
Ohio, he writes: Stayed with the gov
ernor two days. No slavery can he intro
duced here There are lands laid OH for
schools in great magnitude" Once he trev-
eled all night, until 10 o'clock on the follow
ing morning, stopped at place called
Bethel, finished his sermon, stepped from his
pulpit to an open window, jumped out,
mounted his borse rode seventeen miles,
making nearly eighty mile: of travel and
tive meetings without sleep.
The concluding entries in his dairy are as
follows: I'm a few weeks / expect to start
for the west again, but where l may be this
time twelvemonth is very uncertain to me;
whether in. England, Sierra Leone, in Af-
rica; West Indies, or New England, or eter-
nifty; but the controversyiwith the nations is
not over, nor will it lie until the divine gov
ernmenJ bo reverentially acknowledged Gy
the human family" His troubled and re-
markable career came to all end at Wash
ington, D. G., on Feb. =. 1S54-Cor. New
York Times
An Iceland Lass in Dakota.
While q railroad train was rattling