The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-02-15

pious men. and they had their effect in a harvest of redeemed souls. See the most hardened sinner on a puncheon bench for an hour where he must face a preacher with eyes in fierce frenzy rolling" while in stentorian voice he pictures such horrible scenes and If 1t don't fetch him to the mourner's bench he is surely goner. When one of those old-time preachers took off his coat, un buttoned his collar and got down to bus mess in this strain, he usually made the dry bones of sinners rattle. Strong men groaned. the women and children shrieked in agony of fright.
 Death-bed scenes were favorite themes with the Pioneer Preacher, and here, too, he was an artist, the joys, the exquisite delights of the departure from the cor rupt body of the soul of the Christian; the despair. the agony the terror. the consternation of the dying sinner! They were awful pictures!
 Heaven was pictured as the reverse of hell, but possibly more souls were in- duced to flee the wrath to come through fear of torment than through hope of Paradise. The Pioneer Preacher was en- dowed by nature with powerful lungs and he preached his sermons loud enough to make the women cry and to bring a so- norous and hearty "amen" from the male side of the house. for. be 1t remembered, the two sexes did not mingle indiscrimi- nately in places of worship at that day. The women sat on one side of the house and the men on the other; the sheep were divided from the goats.
 It was not considered bad form for worshiper to light his cob pipe and en- iov a smoke with the sermon; nor for ha tnral food
 Many amusing incidents might be re- lated of these meetings, but l will for bear. The Christians at that day were earnest and devout; they believed in the good book" if 1t wasn't in the Bible 1t wasn't so. They hated cards and had a contempt for fine clothes; "hddler' occupied but a low place in the soclal scale Silk dresses and broadcloth were deemed as worldly, and a piled shirt was looked upon with suspicion. The preacher was usually a muscular man, and he sometimes found 1t necessary to enforce respect by muscular energy. He was not a college-bred man; his sermons were delivered in pioneer English with out frills or Latin quotations. Ills dress was of homespun, though on state occa- sions he donned an antique suit or broad cloth, well worn and threadbare, greasy, and with brass buttons on the coat, which was cut with a forked tail, and had an enormous collar With this suit he wore a hat of uncertain age. prooa ply inherited from a remote ancestor. It was very tall, made of fur, and was the wonder and the admiration of all beholders. The gestures of the preacher were vigorous and violent; he would squat very low, then suddenly. like a jack-in-the-oox, rise on tiptoes, fling his arms, roll his eyes heavenward and shout loud enough to be heard a mile or more. No mortal could have doubted his sincerity and earnest ness There was good deal of hyperbole in his discourse. but he was in dead earn est. He wrestled with the Lord for the salvation of sinners. and made the devil take to tall cane
 He didn't know whether the world was round or fiat. and he didn't care, it was only a place of temporary abode where weary souls were prepared for better or for worse after the judgment. He knew that Heaven was above and that hell was below, and that was enough. He was absolutely sure that the world was made about 5000 years ago out of noth- ing: the Bible said so and no Christian could doubt 1t and be saved. Previous to that period the space where the earth had its orbit was an aching void.
 In those days the dogs were regular attendants at divine services, and they often disputed with each other while the good preacher was warning sinners to flee from the wrath to come. Crying ba- bies did not interfere with devotional ex- ercises. other than to stimulate the preacher to renewed exertion.