The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1886-09-30
ARp,s LETTER.
The Deserted Tabernacle at Cartersville-
Sam Jones' Career and What no has Ac-
complished,

Akf'S LEIlEhs
The Deserted Tabernacle at Cartersville-
Sam Jones Career and What no has Ac-
complished.
The big meeting is over. The great
tabernacle stands lonely upon its emil
nence. There is a sad and solemn still
ness about deserted mansion-a shelter
that shelters no one-a freside with no
family circle-a piazza with vines and
flowers that greet no one with welcome
no dog to bark-no rooster to crow or
hens to cluck around. Even churches
have weird, dead look, as they stand
with doors and windows closed during
week days, but here is tabernacle, q
sanctuary that is to sleep for year-a
whole year. 1t is open all around, but
empty, strangely empty. The spacious
platform is deserted, the place where the
preachers stood and prayed and dis.
pensed the oracles of God and Mingled
warning with good cheer-where the
singers sang the songs of Zion and made
music, sweet music, that came DER our
softened souls, like the sweet south wind
that breatbes upon bank of violets.
Those silent vacant seats must wait now
wait for the seasons to come and go
and the shaky earth to make its annual
pilgrimage around the sun. Then the
tabernacle will come to life again and the
people will gather there and worship and
from year to year it will be trusting
place for those who love peace and hope
for heaven. But some will be missing,
for old Father Time will cut down some.
He takes his toll. He tithes the people
and not always content with the old and
weary he plucks here and there bud or
bloom or full blown flower for his
bouquet. We love these yearly meetings.
They give us social religion and bring
the people together upon basis of com.
mon interest and common peril and com.
mon security. They smother for q sea-
son the leanings to bigotry and prejudice.
They broaden our charities and as Sam
Jones says t.ey loosen the hide and open
the pores and promote healthy circula-
tion.
Sam Jones has been throwing rocks
again as usual. It don't matter what
kind of house man lives in Sam will
hit him if he has to smash q window
pane to do it. He rocks everybody and
keeps us dodgiug all the time. The fun
Of it and the pity Of it is that We are all
willing to take our chances at dodging If
he will give sockdologer to our nabors.
''That's nabor Munford he's after now"
thought i. ''That's nabor Freeman he
hit Just then and didn't he sock it to
him." and in few minutes he hit me a
crosseyed lick that stunned me and I
wilted. Every time Sam hits the marx
he runs his fingers through his back hair
with smile of satisfaction and says,
"That's it." Humanity is his hunting
ground and he loves to rest his old mus
ket upon rail aud take crack. Some.
times the wounded fight back and fight
hard but Sam stands square to his gun
and says, "It's the hit dog that yelps."
Sometimes he gets hard shot himself
and it hurts and he yelps little too, but
he loads up quick and fires again. Ec.
centric, electric and sometimes cratic, he
still fights on maintaining his position OF
else advancing, but never retreating from
the enemy. When the church will not
back him in his assaults he shows no
white flag but goes it alone. In vain his
cautions conservative brethren remon.
strate and advise. In vain the press de.
nounces. In vain the critics make sport.
he still fights on his own line and with
the same old weapons, and has made
more havoc single handed than any
soldier of the church militant during the
last half century. For awhile he was
called a fraud. For awhile he was
likened to rocket that went up with a
blaze of noisy light, and they said he
would explode and come down like q
stick. But nobody cries fraud or rocket
now. His star is still bright. Long may
he live to wrestle with iniquity in high
places, for that is his fort. His favorite
game moves in the circles of polite
society. Hypocrisy, vanity and selfish.
ness are his targets. Brave, watchfal and
self.possessed, he is always ready and his
magazine is full of reaources. As l SUE.
veyed the great tabernacle and its crowd.
ed audience, I said to myself, who would,
who could have built this house but him
who would, who could have raised a
thousand dollars here to-day in few
minutes wherewith to beautify and i'm.
prove the grounds. BE has more grit,
more snap, more assurance than all the
preachers. He is success in his line
and it is good line for the times. Re.
form is the watchword now and he is
reformer. About some things he is cranky
and has a touch of fanaticism, but this
does not matter. Let him be so. 50 was
Luther and Wesley and John Knox.
Reformers are always extremists. The
pendulum is obliged to swing or the clock
will stop. Sam Jones sees the young
man wrecked at the gaming table and so
he denounces social game of whist at
the family dreside. He sees young
girl in libertine's company at ball
and denounces dancing in any form or
any place. But let him thunder against
cards and dancing and baseball and any
thing else that is carried to excess.
There is intemperance in most every.
thing. Boys can play at marbles too
much and hunt too much. Girls can