The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-07-14

the country sWeils from nelghborln ; villages; young girls and women wit babies were there, and ofl~the bac
 row was crowd of tittering boys. wh
 hardly knew whether to take the whol performance seriouslsv-or to consider as huge joke. '-7sN.
 Leader Eastman was the central fig
 ure of the meeting, He Is man o
 medium height, whose thin, pale face
 lighted by black eyes of singular Jus
 tre, would parallel a description of Sa
 vonarola, the Florentlne monk. HI
 voice Is strong, but sympathetic. Hi
 gestures are earnest, and, standint
 With his right arm raised In denuncia
 ton. his whole bearing is peculiarl.
 impressive. He spoke vigorously a
 sundays meeting. What strikes on
 most forcibly is the wonderful intensi
 " Of the man and his personal mag
 netism.
 He held his hearers breathless iron
 the beginning of his address to the end
 except when some allusion to things o1
 the unseen world caused them to break
 iorth with exclamations of "Glory!'
 Glory!' Thank heaven we art
 saved!" and the like.
 When Eastman finished there was a
 song' no musical instruments being
 used, but the voices of old and young
 blending with considerable harmony
 Ihen came an exhortation from a
 inemoer of the congregation, an old
 man whose palsied hand trembled as
 ne raised 1t aloft. This prayer was
 !ohs. He was interrupted by shout
 ing during its entire length At times
 the voice Of the man exhorting could
 not De detected, but he went right on. | women threw their cloaks from their ! shoulders, men hurled their caps to the top or the tent in their delirium. It was religious intoxication. Self was forgotten.
 Hell is the dominant note in tha Holy Rollers belief-a he'll of real br,nstone burning with flames which eternalIv ! torture but never consums tba hod,ss ul the damned. For this hell is des- .iheu every one who does not accept the ralth. Yet 1t is possible to check .ne course m Che river of death, even on the brink of the awful gulf. To- ward this river of death run thousands or trloutar1es the vices and weakness es or humanity depicted In a. chart which the Holy Rollers distribute in great numbers
 This strange sect has been operating In ontario county for some time They have been the wonder of the com munity, yet not wholly without good Storles or men reclaimed from drunk enness and vice are many. Children nave been cared for, and those who have been converted are acknowledged to lead upright lives. Of the total en- rolment in the country, all are recent converts except Eastman and Misc Chase, who came from the southern part of the state.
 The hold, which the Holy Rotlar faith has taken on the people of Ontario county Is scarcely conceivable. They come from far and near to the services and all fairly worship Eastman One enthusiast two weeks ago broueht his cows and pastuHed them in field near the tent. This was so he would have no necessity Of withdrawing until that series of services swas at an end. Many Of the people sleep in their wag- ons or on blankets on the ground. in- patient for the sun to rise so that the glorifioation may begin.
 strange stories of the doings of these zealots circulate about the region. 4 meeting of especial fervor was held the night before 'gThe Union" representa- tive arrived. It began early in tbe evening and continued with growine, excitement until one of the women leaping to her feet in the ecstasy of spiritual emotion, fell to the ground in a trance. The preacher explained that she had the power
 Don't profane her by your toucho, he shrieked as some of the uninitiatad l bent over the prostrate figure So sha was left unconscious, with eyes staring sacantly and limbs rigid as in death.
 some time after midnight the woman | 'ecovered. She did not appear to have harm from the five hours stu DOT. Others lapsed into unconscious- less for few minutes at a time at in- ervals throughout the evening. No tttention was paid to them. When hey came to" they took up the halle- ujah with the chorus.
 Semi-lapses were common. This eemed to be a paralysis of certain 'arts of the body. One man raised his rm in supplication, stretching to his ull height. He gazed for moment to- pard the sky. He shouted and called n God to save him. Then his arm rev rigid. A sacrilegious spectator ried to pull 1t down. It might hava cen broken, but the muscles would not leld. This seemed nothing more tban
 case or mesmerism although tbose Tho saw it attributed it to divine DOW q r.
 On this same night there was a ban sHl III Canandaigua Lake. The can- ldates were stripped and immersed hey d1d not seem to feel the chilly ater in the least.
 One effect of the promiscuous con- ersion to the Holy Rollers is in inc lsturbance of domestic relations One an adopted the faith and left his wife ho was among the thsayed. He 'uld not live with her for fear of con animation.
 Yet all who Join the Holy Rollers do ot remain steadfast. At one of tbe eetings last week Eastman was 'eaching of what might be done bv 1th. T myself could part water and ad my followers as well as Moses, said. At this juncture one of the fold whose 'uots had begun to take violent form outed: T don't believe it." The preacher looked at the backsli- r, "I can j1e ,.nrootod at . l.,