North Carolina Newspapers

VOL XXVIII- irO. 9 THE ORGAN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA CONFERENCE OF THE M. E. CHURCH, SOUTH. ESTABLISHED 1855 lVtf. 5v Editors. - OLK VI MUNI A CORRESPONDENCE. F,V REV. JOHN E. EDWARDS, D. D. CENTRE CAMP-GROUND. In recalling some of the incidents con nected with my early life, in North Caro lina, I recur to the camp-meetings I attend ed in rny boyhood at the oM Centre camp ground in Guilford county. The first cum w;i on the North side of the Reedy Fork, and not far from where Centre Church stood fifty years ago. At a later neriod the camp was established at a point south of the Reedy Fork, and within two ,u- three miles of old Martinsville. I go hack to camp-meetings, held full fifty-five years ao,at tne ?camp-ground.This camp was near a Brother Shelton's, and at a dis tance of a half a mile or so, East of the main road running Northward from old Martinsville, and, as before stated, a mile or two North of the Reedy Fork. There is scarcely anything of which I have a more vived recollection than of this first camp-meeting I attended in my boyhood. In the S3 days there was far more of excite ment in the way of shouting, connected with violent muscular exercises, and boisterous demonstration than is witnessed, among the Methodists, in these latter days. There is no exaggeration in saying that there was a prevalent notion that shouting was the mark of conversion, and that it was the sign and expression of a high state of re ligious enjoyment. Anything short of the shouting point marked a comparatively low state of experimental religion. To such an extent did this notion prevail that a heavy discount was put upon a profession of religion that was not attended by shouting. Some of the best and most exemplary Christians I ever knew, in those old times, were often in unutterable distress, and were led seriously to question their conversion because they did not, and could not shout, as they saw others do. 1 nis is no over statement of the case. . . INTERESTINGJLNXIDENTS.. .. ' . There is scarcely anything connected with my recollections of the first camp meeting that I attended that interested me more than the religious exercises of two very handsome, and tastefully dressed voung ladies. They were from Virginia, and their names are still remembered, but are ,w mntprial tn this reminiscence. At the close of nearly even- sermon, when the in vitation hymn was sung, and the penitents were cal'ed forward to the "a' tar," these two young ladies, in their reigious ecsta- cies, would get up, each on a bench, and trip from end to end on it, singing, and praising God shouting, and exhorting the people. Their faces were radiant with joy Their voices were sweet and soft, and the effect of their tender appeals and entreaties to sinners to fly to Jesus for refuge were perfectly thrilling. Tear bedewed faces were around them, and many were led to seek the Savior by their appeals, and by the happiness which religion seemed to af ford them. These exercises interested me more than the sermons. A notab'e case of quite another sort is still remembered by me. It was ludicious in the extreme. The times tolerated much in those days that would be strongly re probated now. Even then the case to which I al'ude was deemed extravagant, if not inexcusable. There was a young man at this meeting who was very warm in his first love. He afterwards became a preacher, and I could give his name, but this is not necessary. Under his religious excite ment, he would shout and tumble on the ground, until he was perfectly exhausted by his "bodily exercise." As ridiculous as it mav seem, it is nevertheless true he wore a loose, calico gown, made in the simplest, conceivab'e style. On the oc casion to which I now refer, he was jump ing, "and leaping and praising God." In one of his ground tumbles he got the back skirt of his long gown over his head, and by an unfortunate mishap he got his feet upon it; and the texture being thin and frail, it required but little pressure to pop his head through the back, and through it came. It would be difficult to describe the grotesque and comical figure the yoi n j man cut in this laughable plight. Nothing abashed he continued his exercises,to the no small amusement of "the uncircumcised in heart and lips." The scene was funny enough to shake the sides of the most devout old saint on the ground. Now, I sincerely hope that nobody wifl be pained by the record of these incidents, which oc curred more than fifty-five years ago. JThe RALEIGH, N. actors, most probably, are all safe "over in the promised land." NEW CENTRE CAMP-GROUND. Hallowed memories linger around the New Centre camp-ground. That was lo cated, as before intimated, two or three miles farther South, directly on the West side of the road, between old Martinsville, and the Reedy Fork. In all probability the ground where the camp stood there in he woods has long since been cleared and tilled, and may now be most probably is a broom-grass old field, turned out to waste, if not covered wiih thf inpvitnVilp growth of old field pines. At this camp ground I first saw the Rev. Thomas S. Campbell, then a young man, and I re member to this day the text on which T leard him preach on that camp-ground in l833now nearly fifty years ago. At that meet ing I saw for the first time the Rev. Alfred Norman, then a vigorous, strong young man that year, on the Randolph Circuit. He was a perfect thunder bolt in the pulpit, and was singularly gifted in prayer. At that camp-ground I was converted, at a meeting held in September 1832. The spot is sacred to my memory. The Rev. Peter Doub wasPresidingElder in 1832, and I was consciously converted while he was preaching. The Rev. Stephen Winburne, of blessed memory, was also at that meet ing. The preachers are gone, but the work abides. ABIDING FRUITS. Who can tell the good that resulted from these camp-meetings at Centre camp ground ? How many were converted at these meetings who became Dreachers ? Who can tell? A young man by the name of yohn Duncan was con verted at the meeting held at Centre camp in 1833. He went to Georgia entered the ministry became a member of the Georgia Conference was a great singer good preacher greatly beioved-was instrumental in the conversion of many souls became blind, and died only a little more than a year ago, and went singing to glory. In the writing up, at the last, it will be said, "this, and that man was born 'here." Speaking of yohn Duncan I am reminded of the circumstances connected with his conversion. They have never been recorded. I saw a notice of his death, with a short biographical sketch, in the Wesleyan Advocate last year, which was at fault in several particu'ars. At the time of his conversion, young Duncan was studying law with Mr. James Morehead, in Greensboro. He was one of the most pro fane and godless young men I ever knew. He came to the camp-meeting oh Sunday. He was dressed in a suit of faultless white linen. The last thing that occurred to John Duncan's mind in coming to the meeting was his own conversion. His mother lived a short distance from the camp, and he came expecting to remain over Sunday night. He became interest ed on the subject of religion,evidently con trary to his own expectations, bunday night he went up to be prayed for. The weather was hot. He rolled and agonized as if he were in the clutch of a demon. Late at night he was powerfully converted. His linen suit was in sad plight. But he rejoiced and praised God after the old Methodist fashion. In his transports he said : "let us pray." He got on his knees, and finding he did not know how to pray, he looked around, and seeing a Christian gentleman whom he recognized, he said : "Mr. Donald, pray for us." Two or three of us took him to a tent to change his clothes, which were not presentable; and, shall I say it ? Still rejoicing in his happy conversion, he said: "I'll be ,boys, if I ever felt as happy before in my life." He, of course, was not aware of having used a word of terrible profanity. But, if anybody in this world was ever soundly converted, yohn Duncan was; and his whole after life proved it. John Duncan and I commenced holding meetings together at private houses in the country. ; I was still at school. One night we had a meeting at Mrs. Lamar's, about three miles from Greensboro. I was late getting to the meeting, having to ride about five miles after getting home from school. When I reached the meeting John Duncan was preaching his subject was the divinity of Christ, and he was descanting learnedly on the Divine Zogos, when I entered. He stopped suddenly, and said : "Here is brother ohn Edwards, and he knows more C, WEDNESDAY, about the subject than I do." The reader will excuse this rambling reference to John Duncan. But it came up. from what I was saying about the fruits of camp-meetings. As I look back, to-night, over the lapse of fifty years, intervening objects and events seem to stand aside, and lose themselves in the back ground, and Centre camp-meet-' ing comes out as the one object that fills the contracting angle of vision, awav back on the verge of my boyhood. I hear again, or, seem to hear, the old songs that rang out in the tented grove. Bright faces peer amid the flickering lights. The prayers of penitence, and the shouts of rap ture, salute the ear. Days and nights pass by. Tents are stuck; the camp fires smoulder into ashes; the vrbrshippers dis perse, and silence comes over the deserted grounds. But who can gather up and gauge the influences for . good that have gone out far and wide frorn that voiceless spot in the silent woods ? The actors are dead; the ploughshare has been driven over the sacred soil, but the moral influ ences, like Autumn seeds, carried afar by the passing winds, still live, aind are to-day bringing "fruits after their kind." Petersburg, Va., Feb. 15th, 1883. For the Advocate. LETTER FROM BISHOP WILSON. The weather amply sustains the claims of the ground hog. Two weeks have pass ed since the glory of the sun - for a few hours made glad the eyes and hearts that had grown weary of cloud and storm, and in that fortnight not a cloudless day has been granted. A few, faint glimmerings, through a translucent medium a" few star lit nights, a pae moon, withVits storm portending circle, and, for the Test, rain, snow, hail, sleet, gloom and all the other repressive and oppressive agencies and conditions of nature. Our. Western,-neigh bors have suffered - largely vuom excessaof rains. Damaging lrQctya.CTtl Kentucky and elsewhere are reported. , I hprA hcivp hppn Hpetnirtinn nt nrnnArfir Hie. wjrjw ucaa anu 1.33 ui jhc. -iiuc is icai kjl ur , , f . rT. . crease of the floods, as the rains continue, and heavy ac'd.tionstothe losses already in- curred. It is comforting to us who belive the old Book to know that the earth shall no more be destroyed by dehige. The God of the covenant is indeed, the only "refuge and strength," of man, confronted by these terrible, destructive, resistless for- ces. If we come not into the covenant with Him, then we may look out for the fires. I was invited the other day into the parlor of a parsonage in Virginia and, ac- cepting the invitation, forced myself in the midst of about thirty children, gathered for Missionary purposes. It was not a pub;ic mission and threaten our people with law enterprise, not a Sunday-school Society : suits and annoy them. Not content with it was simply a vontary association of lit- this, they bring false accusations against tie ones called by the preacher's wife, un- them, charging them with aggression in der pressure of her longing to do some- this line. I am glad to say that in no thing for Missions and for the children, single instance have any of ours attempted The children earn their money and bring directly, or indirectly, to disturb the sett'e it every Saturday afternoon to the parson- ment made by the commission at Cape age. borne 01 tnem nave recitations, in prose or poetry, to make at each meeting, all of them sing some Missionary hymn, accompanied by the organ, and have pleas- ant, informal talk with their leader and then go off for another weel endeavor. I had some quiet chat with them did not make a speech shook the hand of each one and left them to the wiser care and . .-- . . guidance 01 that taithtul Christian, woman. That little band has sent twenty-five dol- lars to Dr. Alien s College, alter some two or three months of work, and have some more in hand. In connection with this, two things may be said neither of them new, but both worth repeating. First, how much the children are doing and what a blessed training they are receiving through these Missionary Associations. The amount they bring into the Missionary Treasury is wonderful, considering that they have not the capital of the country at their command and have not "pin money" and "market money" to save from. The withdrawal of the supplies from that source would, I imagine, be an appreciable loss to the forr eign work. It is a capital feature of the children's work that they should furnish funds. earned in some wav bv themselves, Let them offer that which costs them some j j thing. There are many things that a boy, or girl, can do to earn a few cents and by philosophy of iaith, but urged its lmmeoi the labor he acauires a conscious right of ate exercise. He exhorted the people, property which makes it worth more FEB. 28, 1883, him than the careless gifts of parents or friends. To give his own, his own by right of labor, is sacrifice. Train the chil dren to do this and in another generation the miserable, obstructive and destructive avarice of the present will give way to a true Christian liberality which will make possible to the Church undertakings that now seem visionary and impracticable. The other remark I proposed in this con nection is that a good woman can do im mense good if she should happen to be too modest to make a public appearance. My friend, this pastor's wife can not be induced to make a speech on any platform; she wiTl not debate, nor lift up her voice in the streets ; but she is as true to her Lord as any other and, does what she can. In truth, that sort of quiet, unostentatious discharge of the duty lying nearest at hand is characteristic of that household and there are few more successful, or influential men than he, few more useful, devoted wo men thaw she. They never fail in any station. It is a house which the Lord blesses. Many women, on a larger or smaller scale, can imitate her. They can find children, more, or less, in their neighbor hoods, bring them together, teach them about missions and how to help them, read to them, sing with them in short, bring them up, as far as Missions are concerned, in the way they should go. The women ought to do this. They are the proper guides and instructors of the children. Let them set about it everywhere as they have opportunity, and we shall soon have a good report from them. I am glad to see that the Life of Bishop Andrew, by Rev. G. G. Smith, is well re ceived and circulating widely. It must have been a keen delight to search through theecords of such a life and follow it in its development and course to the blessed issue.. The work is lovingly done and with much tact. Those who knew the -a ... j life wiu find a deep ieret in tracing th uiuawvc dim cuuwuug . uuu, wuiui wuu 1 J : - : ... 1, : U 1 mwi td mm rnrotin me earner I periods of his history. It was a stormy life with a broad and deep basis of unbroken peace. All Southern Methodists ought to read the book ; and it will not hurt others. The preachers in these parts are prepar- mg for Conference. The old Baltimore win meet on the 14th of March at Charles- town, W. Va. It is a vigorous body, do- ng good work under heavy pressure, There are indications of a good return for labor bestowed in all the Districts. In some localities there is still a remnant ot the old vexation. Some of our brethren of the other part are not willing to submit to the adjudications of the Cape May Corn- May. I suppose onences 01 tnat sore win come until humanity shall, in the resurrec- tion, be reconstituted ; but the Church oueht not to harbor the offenders. On the whole we live in peace and the word Gf God grows and prevails. We may all indorse Bishop Pierce's call for a general revival a revival in every charge. That is the best antidote to all I 0 our evils and a sure guarantee 01 prosperi ty. May the Lord revive his work. A. W. Wilson. Baltimore, Md. REVIVAL PREACHING. How shall we preach to promote revi- vals ? We wouia answer, picou. uuui,, directly and earnestly the saving truths of the Gospel. Preach repentance. Don't preach about repentance, to analyze it as an intellectual i 1 I.. or moral process, to consider u aowatuy. But preach that men ought to repent; that they must repent or perish, that the duty is imperative and the time is short. Seek to help sinners to repent oy snoring mem dreadful character and results of sin, and the goodness ol Cod, wmcn sin aespibcs and insults, and so arouse tne ieeiing uiu aid repentance. Preach faith as you preach - - ... ,- - repentance. Peter made snort wont 01 11 1 ... ..11 1 1 at Pentecost. He did not taiK aoouime to I saying, "Save yourselves from this unto-; H. X. HUDSON, I. !., Cor.Editor ward generation." They knew the way of salvation. He urged them to immediate action. The men who claim to be in doubt and confusion in regard to the very way of life do not need argument. They saw the way when -they were children; they understood it then. Their doubts have arisen under our constant preaching, but they have arisen from neglect of duty, neg lect of salvation. The bewilderment of the mind has come from the death of the sou?, the moral nature is becoming deadened, and ceasing more and more to respond to the Divine truth. Urge those to act who feel and confess that they ought to act. It is sheer neglect to do what men are con vinced that at last leads to doubt and dark ness, when God has taken away the light which they will not follow. Do not suppose that revival preaching should be different from preaching on or dinary occasions. Revivals are not to be promoted by special arrangements, a change of programme, studied manipula tion. A certain writer has said, "Some churches revive only when they are stirred up. The life of their members is a menag erie life. They are kept caged for exhibi tion when they would like to be roaming in lawlessness. There they lie, all nerveless, listless and forlorn, until some gay-robed exhibitor, some fancy preacher, steps jaun tily into the ring to stir them up; and then the dismal spot resounds with dismal life, and this they call a revival." But the stir ring up of a church is no revival, and the preacher that needs to change the manner of his preaching and his work in ordinary to promote a revival in his church, is but stirring up. He may be a shrewd manipu lator; he is no revivalist. A change in the manner of preaching may be very essential, but that change will have to represent the work of God's Spirit in the preacher's heart, and not a merctemporal expedient. There may be much good revival preach ing and.nqmanifestrs j. r, i r v. Wp..; i- ; !,. : ' ' , . , . - ... ! VVU JLWJ. -i-..-y- A-J . A fc - UlUUli ng, and no true minister of the Gospel ought to find it necessary to ch'ange his preaching, or call in other aid to promote a revival. South-western Methodist. CLERICAL INFLUENCE. The following selection from a lecture of Professor Austin Phelps will be relished by many who may not have the privilege of reading in his most suggestive and in structive volume, "The Theory of Preach ing " : "Real power in a clergyman is essenti a'ly solemn and affectionate. Those ele ments in a man's ministry which appeal to conscience and the sense of kindness are the chief sources of the strength of his pul pit. Without these he may gain notoriety, but not influence. Such influence as he may seem to gain is not clerical in its na ture. Therefore, to him it is worse than none. A man who establishes a reputa tion for personality, oddity, or buffoonery in the pulpit, does just so much against his reputation, and therefore against his useful ness as a Christian preacher. He estab lishes a kind of influence of which he can not but feel ashamed when he is cthed and in his right mind and begins to aim at the conversion of souls. By his buffoonery he has done a work which he must undo, before he can successfu'ly approach men who are inquiring what they must do to b saved, or men who are in affliction, or men who are on a death-bed. Yet these are among the classes of our congregations whose instincts about a preacher are the most unerring test of his'clerical influence. It is a curse to a minister to have a repu tation, founded on qualities which are re pellant to the sympathies of . such minds. No preacher can afford to support the re pution of having more grit than grace. A clergyman was once settled in one of our cities of whom an intelligent lawyer, not a Christian, used substantially this language : "I admire my pastor. He is a ting' ing preacher, witty, eloquent, severe. He is riot afraid of a laugh in his audience. I am willing to pay largely to sustain him, and so are we all. But if I were in afflic tion, or were about to die, he is the last man I should then want to see." Such a criticism, if well founded, should annihilate a pastor. What must the Savior think of him? We cannot too earnestly remind ourselves that clerical influence may easily sacrificed to clerical notoriety. And no two things are more unlike."