The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-12-01

They went by the way of the hollow
tree, and Mamie deposited there her
daily loaf, adding a great wedge of
her mothers camp-meeting cake and a
half-dozen doughnuts of her own manu-
facture.
"They'll taste good to him, I hope,
poor fellow" she said patiently.
"Course they will, said Samanthy.
"Poor feller,' indeed! Sh'd think
he'd git the r'umatiz sleepin' out these
awful damp nights. I've felt 'em all
day jest from bein' out to meetin' las
night. Idon't s'pose I'd orter be out
tonight. But, land! I don't see how
cd stay tn hum with everybody else
goin'; 80 I've took my chance O. gittin'
laid up. T got out the arnicky bottle
afore started, SOS to hev handy when
I git hum; an mebbe ef I rub it in
we'll, I'll feel all right to-morrer."
"Lots of nights I can't sleep, just
for thinking Of poor Dick, "eaid Nan
ME, tears coming into her eyes. Her
remorseful conscience made her
thoughts of Dick very tender ones just
now.
The forest resounded with the
shouts of newly awakened souls, the
singing of devout. attendants, who
hoped by. their songs to cheer on those
who were wavering between good and
evil, and the lusty exhortations Of, the
ministers. One could hear the camp
meeting farther than one could see it.
"I s'pose it's all right" said Sa-
manthy, in tone that meant that she
thought it was all wrong. "But fer
my part I don't b'leeve in hollerin' an
shoutin'. I'm a regular hard-shell
Baptis'; all my folks was; an we never
took no stock in sanctifcation an git
tin the power an the high mount O.
holiness an sich, as the Methods
folks tell about. I don't fellership it
myself, an none of our folks could.
Sprinklin', tu! T sh'd feel g eff I
want more'n half converted ef I
didn't git right down into the water.
Ye needn't tell me! 1t don't stan tn
reason that a boly can be immersed
by throwin' few drops O. water on
him; an the Bible says jest as plain as
can be that immersion g right, an I
90 by what that says more'n do by
mans say-so. When I go in fer any
thing, I b'leeve in bein' thurrer, an
sprinklin' amt thurrer enough to suit
me-"
They passed on to the edge of the
grounds and observed the congrega-
ton. Deacon Snyder was in the mid
die of a most powerful exhortation to
group of young men, who were list
ening with great interest, apparently,
and look on their faces that gave good
grounds for the belief that they might
be penitent before the exhortation was
over.
In another part of the grounds old
Mrs. Green was singing that quaint
old piece of religious doggerel which
most persons who have attended an
old-fashioned camp-meeting, or have
known an old-time revival, must re-
member:
20, the sisters want religionl
The brothers want religion!
We've got to have religion
Glory to the Lambl'
The zeal with which she was singing
it rendered her wholly oblivious of all
things earthly, but it could not pre-
vent her from being very comical fig
ure as she swayed to and fro, her
hands olasped, her eyes closed, and
her old poke-boDnet tipped over on
her shoulders, and hanging by its
strings, making the worldly-minded
and irreverent think of a small mortar
aimed skyward, ready to fire off the
good old lady's head at the moon.
Bill Green was among the penitents,
kneeling at the anxious-seat. The
minister had said some things that
frightened his cowardly heart, because
they told the truth about him, and he
could not, at such time as this, deny
it, and the excitement of the occasion
had contagion in it which natures
like his are very susceptible to, and it
had fastened upon him, and here he
was, among the "seekers," groaning
and writhing as if the devil hated to
let 90 his hold upon him.
So the struggle between good and
evil went on to the accompaniment of
strange sights and sounds which made
the scene seem fantastic and unreal
enough, to the looker-on who took no
active part in it, to be fragment from
q dream.
Dear sus day!" cried Samanthy,
in the middle of a hymn, greatly to the
surprise of Mamie, who felt sure from
the nature and the time of the eiacula.
tion that her companion was about to
"get the power" 80 my days!"
whats the matter?" asked Nan.
ME.
Samanthy answered with a smoth-
cred groan, for she had enveloped the
lower part of her face in q shawl.
care you getting the power?" asked
Mamie.
"Wus'n that" answered Samanthy,
in sepulchral tone, from the depths OF
her shawl. cts the jumpin' tooth
ache. O Lord! When it jumps, I
can't keep my mouth shet. Oh! Ohw
Hadn't we better 90 home?" asked
Mamie. "It will be likely to keep
on aching if we stay out in this damp
air."
eyes, I reckon we'd BETTER" said
Samanthy. "Oh, my goodness!'- !'-with
frantic grab at her jaw, as the refrac.
tory tooth gave another excruciating
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