Something of Men I Have Known: With Some Papers of a General Nature, Political, Historical, and RetrospectiveStevenson, Adlai E. (Adlai Ewing)
History
Something of Men I Have Known: With Some Papers of a General Nature, Political, Historical, and Retrospective
Stevenson, Adlai E. (Adlai Ewing)
United States -- Biography; United States -- Politics and government -- 1865-1933
It need hardly be added that these scenes, of which but feeble
description has been given, marked the hour of triumph of the truly
gifted of the revival preachers of camp-meeting times. The echoes
will never awake to the sound of such eloquence again. The orator
and the occasion here met and embraced. In very truth, the joys
of the redeemed, and the horrors of lost souls, were depicted in
colors that only lips "touched with a live coal from the altar"
could adequately describe. In the presence of such lurid imagery,
even the inspired revelation of the apocalyptic vision seems but
sober narrative of commonplace events.
With camp-meetings and their thrilling incidents of two generations
ago in our Western country, the name of Peter Cartwright is
inseparably associated. He was the born leader; _par excellence,_
the unrivalled orator. Since the passing of Whitefield and Asbury
a greater than he had not appeared. To those who have never attended
an old-time camp-meeting the following quotation from Mr.
Cartwright's autobiography may be of interest:
"The meeting was protracted for weeks and was kept up day and night.
Thousands heard of the mighty work, and came on foot, on horseback,
and in wagons. It was supposed that there were in attendance at
different times from twelve to twenty-five thousand. Hundreds fell
prostrate under the mighty power of God, as men slain in battle;
and it was supposed that between one and two thousand souls were
happily and powerfully converted to God during the meetings. It
was not unusual for as many as seven preachers to be addressing
the listening thousands at a time, from different stands. At times,
more than a thousand persons broke out into loud shouting, all at
once, and the shouts could be heard for miles around."
Strange as the following may sound to the present generation, it
is one of the many experiences recorded by Cartwright:
"The camp-meeting was lighted up, the trumpet blown, I rose in the
stand and required every soul to leave the tents and come into the
congregation. There was a general rush to the stand. I requested
the brethren, if ever they prayed in their lives, to pray now. My
voice was strong and clear, and my preaching was more of an
exhortation than anything else. My text was: 'The gates of
hell shall not prevail.' In about thirty minutes the power of God
fell upon the congregation in such a manner as is seldom seen; the
people fell in every direction, right and left, front and rear.
It was supposed that not less than three hundred fell like dead
men in mighty battle; and there was no need of calling mourners,
for they were strewed all over the camp ground. Loud wailings went
up to Heaven from sinners for mercy, and a general shout from
Christians so that the noise was hear afar off."
That it was by no means an unusual occurrence for those who came
to scoff to remain to pray will appear from the same book:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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