Daily Republican., 1889-08-26
THE BIG QUARTERLY.
FIVE THousANp coLoREp
PEOPLE ATTEND iT.
scenes and Incidents-Good Beha yIor
OF the Colored PeopIc-The
Religious Exercises At
tending 1t.

| <t-sNiaJ bcShu 10 pour 4
, the city from all directions on saturda
night, every train arriving from o o'cloc
10 the everi Ing until midnight bringing 4
large numbeis. French street from Sal
urday evening until late on Sunday even
lng was the principal tLoroughfare OF tn
colorei visitors and 1t required no iellin
thht something unusual was going on
Booths were opened In every ayailab
lot and alley off from the building line
where fruit and other eatables and so
Drinks were dispensed to q hungry an,
thirsty crowd. say
Built vas on Sunday forenoon tba
tue crowds began TO pour In. The ar
rival oil steamboat, from Salem, Philaael
nhia, Chester, pennsgrove and othe,
river towns brought Thousands Of dusky
visitors, while the morning trains sweiled
the crowds 70 thousands more. The
crowd poured into French street and for
sometime the street became a'most i'm
pa'tabie. Many were the hearty greet.
inge between the visisors from Phiisdel.
phia, Chester and from Salem, Delaware
City, Dover, Smyrna, Baltimore, Hayre
de Sraca and Elkton. These annual
gatnering give chance that no ether op
poftunity oners FOR renewing the vows oi
friendship made at some previous meet.
Ing Of the same sort. Thc most crowde,I
train OF the day was that which came
from Philadelphia at 10 o'clock, in two
sections The booth-keepers did a big
business, as the great crowd hungry and
dry had no other resource for something
10 eat and drink than these booih..
| All hotels, saloons, restaurants and
boarding houses are practically cosed to
4 eoiored people, unless it was supplied to
them Dy come back door ARRANGEMENTS.
Large numbers of the visitors took the
electric line and went out to the colored
hivcrView camp me, ting, spending a
good part Of the day there. but ioyel
AID gay French street presented by far
the 6 T, ater attractions.
What was particularly noticeable and
also gratifying, was the almost en- 'iro alb
sence oil intorication, fighting and ruff
hanism. Out Of the grest throng not
more 'han half dozeu men were seen
the worse for liquor, aud they belonged
mere In Wilmington. The visitors seemed
70 sct as u they were on their good be.
naV,or and that 1t was expected OF them
70 snow That their race was advancing 10
character and all that pertains to good
citizenship.
The crowd was q happy one, and full of
pleasant Eurprite., as friends who have
not seen each her came suddenly face
W lace. No white belle OF Wilmington
could appear in haDdsomer aud more
ccsuy dreBs than may of the dusky
neautits from the down country towns.
IL may have taken a year or more Of hard
labor to procure euch coetly outfits, but
they had them all tho tafno and ri hi
well did they know It.
but tie co.orei people were not the
only ones who thronged French street
yesterday. The sidewalks We're lined
with white lockers on. Tney were also
MS general rule we'll behaved. Here and
there was clump OF hoydenish white
young men who would indul.e in in
shifting remarks, which icted only a
coDtemptuous silence. The colored people
were not TO be drawn Into 4 fight by The
insolehce OF these white rowdies who
COAST OF having no "nigger blood" I'm
were insulted had made rse Of tho game
remarks they would have instantly been
attacked.
The A. U. NJ. P. Church, on French
street between Eighth and Ninth, was
the great centre OF religious attra ton,
Inside and outside Of 1t the crowd sway |
ell all day. Serviccs commenced In the |
church early In the morning by an ex-
peiience meeting and love feast, At
1850 O'Clock Rev. Lorenzo Dow Block
som, OF Raleigh, North Carolina, preach. |
ed sermon which would have been a |
credit TO the most eloquent white diyines,
troln the text: "Ths blood of Jesus
Christ cleansoth from all sin"
In tpeakirg Of the provision by the !
Almighty for saving the human race, tho |
eloquent Ircaeher led his iuspirited au-
deuce up Into the walks of entire for
giveLess Of all s'ns. Catching tho In
spifation OF. the preacher, his sentences
wers met with loud shouts OF praise and
hearty ''anens."
Athr tho morning services an in.crmis.
sion was taken for dinner, but a large
number OF the congregation being in the
spirit, let dinuer go and joir ed in prayer
aud experience meetings which were
kept up all the afternoon.
Tho tent Ia the rear of the church
caught the overflow until 1t was jammed
with mass of sweltering humauity.
here services, consisting of short exhor.
iations, prayer and experience meetings,
were held, and at the came time meetings
were carried Oh In the main auditorium
aud lie basement of tie church. These
people were intensely In earnest. When
my wanted 10 get up an interesting
meeting some eight or ten of them would
gather In group and one OF the number
would start up an air, the words partly
'upplied for the occasion. As the tide
-is,s more gather into the group, aud ;
,oon hands are clapping en- the knee and
eet are keeping time to tho intonattons
md reflections OF the tune.
Some yet very happy and jump up with
houts OF glory rising above the confu-
ioD. These group meetitgs were not
'ntire.y confined to the church and tent, {
'ut broke out here and there among the Z
'rowd collected around the church and l
N the street. 6
In the evening Rev. Daniel Russell,
r., preached powerful and effective I
ermon, and It was not until after II q
'clcak that the religious services In and
round the church cloeed.
At 1880 o'clock lest night the greater
lumber OF the visitors had left the city,
specially those who came on steamboats,,
ut hundreds remained and left on the 9
,idniRht trains. Thus closed another q
Big Quarterly" and the most orderly Z
any that had been held for many l
ears. +
Wilmington Commercial College a
b