Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1900-01-25

boulevard. The opportunities for doin'
so were not frequent. Gray and his
wife We're besieged by inquiries as to
what LOreen's friends and acquaint-
ances were expected TO do in paying
their last respects 20 her, for her &C
quaintance was large, and many of the
recent converts were among her friends
So that i how it happened Monday
afternoon at the tent that the funeTa,
service Of Loreen was held before al
immense audience that choked the tent
and overhoTei beyond all previous
bounds. Gray had gone to Virginia,
and after talking it over with her and
Henry Maxwell the arrangements had
been made
Il am and always have been opposed
to large public funerals, said Gray,
whose complete, wholesome simplicity
Of character was one of its great sources
Of strength. "but the cry of the poor
creatures who knew Loreen is so earnest
that ! do not know how to refuse their
desire to sec her and pay her poor body
some last little honor. What do you
think, Mr. Maxwell? l will be guided
by your judgmcnt in the matter. I am
sure that whatever you and Miss Page
think is best Will be right
Il feel as you do, " replied Mr.. Max
we'll Under most circumstances l
have a great distaste for what seems
like display at such times, but this
seems different. The people at tho Rec
tangle will not come here to a service.
I think the most Christian thing will
be to lei them have the service at the
tent Do you think so, Virginia2''
Eyes, said Virginia sadly. Poor
soull Ido not know but that some time
l shall know she gave her life for mine.
We certainly cannot and will not use
the occasion for vulgar display. Let
her friends be allowed the gratifca tion
Of their wishes. l see no harm in it. -
SO the arrangements were 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 noted newspaper cor
respondent was passing through Ray
mond 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 the attention of
very many readers the next day. A
fragment Of his account belongs to this
part Of the history Of Raymond:
''There was very unique and un-
usual funeral service held here this aft
ernoon at the tent Of an evangelist
Rev. John Gray, down in the slum dis
trict known as the Rectangle. The oc-
casion was caused by the killing of
woman during an election riot last Sat
uTdGy nTgcu. IJ seems srG n&d been re-
Gently converted during the evangelist's
and was killed while return
ing from one of the meetings in COM
pany with other converts and some of
her friends. She was d common street
drunkard, and yet the services at the
tent were as impressive as any l ever
witnessed in metropolitan church over
tho most distinguished citizen.
''In the first place, a most exquisite
anthem was sung by Il trained choir. 1t
struck me, of course, being a stranger
to the place with considerable astonish-
ment to hear voices like those one nat
urally expects to hear only in great
churches or concerts at such meeting
as this, but the most remarkable part
Of the music was a solo sung by strik-
ingly beautiful young woman, a Miss
who, if l remember rightly,
is the young singer who was sought for
by Crandal, the manager OF National
Opera, and who for some reason refused
to accept his offer to go On the stage.
She had most wonderful manner in
singing, and everybody was weeping
before she had sung q dozen words.
That, of course, is not so strange an
effect to be produced at funeral serv-
ice, but the voice itself was one of ten
thousand. l understand Miss Winslow
sings in the First church and could
command almost any salary as
a public singer She will probably be
heard from soon. Such q voice could
win its way anywhere.
1.-THE service, aside from the singing,
was peculiar. The evangelist, a man of
very simple, unassuming
style, spoke few words and he was
by fine looking man, the Rev.
Henry Maxwell, pastor of the First
church of Raymond Mr.. Maxwell
spoke of the fact that the dead woman
had been fully prepared to go, but he
spoke in a peculiarly sensitive manner
Of the effect of the liquor business on
the lives of men and women like this
one. Raymond, of course, being rail
road town and the center of the great
packing interests for this region, is full
Of saloons | caught from the minister s
remarks that he had only recently
his views in regard to license.
He certainly made a very striking and
yet it was in no sense an inappropriate
address for n funeral.
"Then followed what was perhaps
the queer part of this strange service.
The women in the tent, at least a large
part of them up near the coffin, began
to sing in a soft, fearful way, i was
a 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 a flower
Of some kind ON it Then they sat down,
and another row filed past, leaving
their flowers. All the time the singing
continued softly, like rain on tent
cover when the wind is gentle. 1t was
one of the simplest and at the same
time one of the most impressive sights
[ ever witnessed. The sides of the tent
were up, and hundreds of people who
could not get in stood outside, all as
still as death, with wonderful sadness
and solemnity for such rough looking
people. There must have been hun
dred of these women, and l was told
many Of them had been converted at
the meetings just recently. l cannot de-
scribe the effect of that singing. Not a
man sang d note, all women $ voices,
and so soft and yet SO distinct that the
effect was startling.
The service closed with another solo
by Miss Winslow, who sang There
were ninety and nine, and then the
evangelist asked them all to bow their
heads while he prayed. 1 was obliged,
In order to catch my train, to leave
during the prayer, and the last view |
caught of the scene as the train went
by the shops was sight of the great
crowd pouring ont of the tent and
forming in open ranks while the coffin
was borne out by six Of the women. 1t
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