The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1900-01-03
THE WATCHMAN AND SOUTHRON, JANUARY 3. 1900.

i LINZ AN AN - 0NIO L i.
! so.ne Lost htGle nonor. wat CO you
think. -aIr. Maxwell? Will be guided
by vour Judgment in the matter. aln
sure that whatever you and Miss Page
think is best viii be right.
q feel as you do. replied Nr. Max
well '.Jnaer most circumstances |
have g creass d:steaste for what seems
like disa2ay ct such tines. but ti,is
seems dii1ere:,t. The people at the Rec
taneie VIII not cone here TO g service.
/ t:.::2ls the most CHRISTIAN thing viii
be 70 1t them have tae service at the
tent. Do You thi2k so, Virginia 2
..Yes. sad Iirsillis. sadly. Poor
soul, leo rot know but that some time
shall know size gave her lie for nline
We certainly cannot and viii not Use
the occasion for v,7-.lggar display. Let
her friends be allowed the srat;dcstion
of their wishes. see no harm in IT.
So the arrangements We're made with
some difficulty for the service at the
tent, and Virginia, with her uncle and
Rollin. accompanied by Henry Max
well. Rachel President Marsh and the
quartet from the First church, went
down and witnessed one Of the strange
scenes of their lives. 1t happened that
that afternoon a noted newspaper cor
respondent was passing through Ray
mend on his way to an editorial con-
vention in a neighboring city. He heard
Of the contemplated service at the tent
and was present that afternoon. His
description Of it was written in graph
ic style that caught tho attention Of
very many readers tho next day. "A
fragment of his account belongs to this
part of the history of Raymond:
"There was very unique and IN
usual funeral service held here this aft
ernoon at the tent Of an evangelist.
Rev. John Gray, down in the slu1a dis
trict known as the Rectangle. The &C
casion was caused by the killing oE
woman during an election riot las Sat
urday night. 1t seems she had been re-
Gently converted during the evane.a;lst's $
meetings and was killed while retuIn-
ing from one Of the meetings IN col1-
panv with other converts and some OF
her friends. She was Q common street
drunkard, and yet the services at TIE
tent were as impressive as any ever
witnessed in metropolitan church over
the most istirguished citizen.
.sIn the first place, q most c-zG1ls;ee
anthem was sang by Q trained choir. II
struck me- OF course, being & stranger
to the place, with considerable astonish-
mont to hear voices like those o.1e MT
urally expects to hear only in s-eat
churches or concerts at such 9 meeting
as this, but tho most remarkable part
of the music was solo sung By a s:.l.iil---
insly beautiful young woman, a Miss
Winslow. whc. if I remember rightly,
is the young singer who was sought for
by Crandal, the manager OF Natlona!
Opera, and who for some reason refused
to accept his offer to go en- the stage
She had a most wonderful manner III
singing, and everybody was weeping
before she had sung g dozen words
That, of course. is not so strange an
effect to be produced at q funeral seTv-
ice. but the voice Itself was one OF ten
thousand. I understand Miss NiIalow'
sings in the First church a12j; co'.!d
probably command almost any s. 1a.:5- IS
a puo:ic singer. She vii! probably be
heard from soon Such g voice coald
win its way anywhere.
'.The service aside from tae singing.
was peculiar. The evangelist, a l2an OF
apparently very simple, unsssn,n;ng
style. spoke q few words, and he was
followed hy "a fine looking mar. the Rev.
Henry Maxwell, pastor CT the First
church of Raymond Il. Maxwell
spoke OF the fact that the Gead woman
had been fully prepared to so. bu1 he
spoke in a peculiarly sensitive manner
of the eject Of tie liquor business on
the lives of 1scn and women like this
one. Raymond. Of course. being q rail
road town and the center of the great
packing interests for this region. is full
of saloons. l caught from the minister s
remarks that he had only recently
changed his views in regard to license.
He certainly made q very striking and
yet it was in no sense an inappropriate
address for a funeral.
"Then followed what was perhaps
the queer part of this strange service
The women in the tent, at least large
part of them up near the coffin, began
to sing in a soft. fearful way. I was
wandering sheep.
"Then, while the singing was going
on, one row Of women stood up and
walked slowly past the casket, and as
they went by each one placed flower
Of some kind on it. Then they sat down,
and another row fled past, leaving
their flowers All the time the singing
continued softly like rain on a tent
cover when the wind is gentle 1t was
one OF the simplest aud ct the same
time one OF the most impressive sights
I ever witnessed. The sides OF the tent
were Cp. and hundreds Of people who