A barbecue, with political speaking, was held at the village ten miles away. The family started at sunrise. The day was an event in the lives of every man, woman and child within a radius1 of twenty miles. Many came as far as thirty miles and walked the whole distance. Before nine o'clock a crowd of two thousand had gathered.
The dark, lithe2 young mother who led her boy by the hand down the crowded aisle3 of the improvised4 brush arbor5 that day performed a deed which was destined6 to change the history of the world.
The speaker who held the crowd spellbound for two hours was Henry Clay. The Boy not only heard an eloquent7 orator8. His spirit entered for all time into fellowship with a great human soul.
In words that throbbed9 with passion, he pictured the coming glory of a mighty10 nation whose shores would be washed by two oceans, whose wealth and manhood would be the hope and inspiration of the world. Never before had words been given such wings. The ringing tones found the Boy's soul and set his brain on fire. A big idea was born within his breast. This was his country. His feet pressed its soil. Its hills and plains, its rivers and seas were his. His hands would help to build this vision of a great spirit into the living thing. He breathed softly and his eyes sparkled. When the crowd cheered, he leaped to his feet, swung his little cap into the air and shouted with all his might. When the last glowing picture of the peroration11 faded into a silence that could be felt, and the tumult12 had died away, he saw men and women crowding around the orator to shake his hand.
"Take me, Ma!" he whispered. "I want to see him close!"
The mother lifted him in her arms above the crowd, pressed forward, and the Boy's shining eyes caught those of the brilliant statesman. Over the heads of the men by his side the orator extended his hand and grasped the trembling outstretched fingers.
He smiled and nodded, that was all. The Boy understood. From that moment he had an ideal leader whose words were inspired.
The mother's dark face was lit for a moment with tender pride. She made no effort to reach the orator's side. It was enough that she had seen the flash from her Boy's eyes. She was content. The day was filled with a great joy.
The summer camp meetings began the following week. The grounds were located a mile from the straggling little village which was the center of the county's activities. All religious denominations13 used the spacious14 auditorium15 for their services. The Methodists camped there an entire month. The Baptists stayed but two weeks. The Baptist temperament16 frowned on the social frivolities which were inseparable from these long intimate associations at close quarters. The more volatile17 temperament of the Methodists revelled18 in them, and Methodism grew with astounding19 rapidity under the system.
The auditorium was simply a huge quadrangular shed with board roof uphold by cedar20 posts. At one end of the shed stood the platform on which was built the pulpit, a square box-like structure about four feet high. The seats were made of rough-hewn half logs set on pegs21 driven in augur22 holes. There were no backs to them. A single wide aisle led from the end facing the pulpit, and two narrow ones intersected the main aisle at the centre.
In front of the pulpit were placed the mourner's benches facing the three sides of the space left for the free movement of the mourners under the stress of religious emotion.
The Boy's mother and father were devout23 members of the Baptist Church, but they were not demonstrative. They modestly and reverently24 took their seats in an inconspicuous position about midway the building, entering from one of the small aisles25 on the side. The Boy had often been to a regular church service before, but this was his first camp meeting.
Four preachers sat in grim silence behind the pulpit's solid box front. The Boy could just see the tops of their heads over the board that held the big gilt-edged Bible.
The entire first two days and nights were given to a series of terrific sermons on Death, Hell, and the Judgment26, with a brief glimpse of the pearly gates of Heaven and a few strains from the golden harps27 inside for the damned to hear by way of contrast. The first purpose of the preachers was to arouse a deep under-current of religious emotional excitement that at the proper moment would explode and sweep the crowd with resistless fire. Usually the fuse was timed to explode on the morning of the third day. Sometimes, when sermons of extraordinary power had followed each other in rapid succession, the fire broke out by a sort of spontaneous combustion28 on the night of the second day.
It did so this time. The mother had no trouble in keeping the Boy by her side through these first two days. He felt instinctively30 the growing emotional tension about him, and knew in his bones that something would break loose soon. He was keyed to a high pitch of interest to see just what it would be like.
The storm broke in the middle of the second sermon on the second night. The preacher had worked himself into a frenzy31 of emotional excitement. His arms were waving over his head, his eyes blazing, his feet stamping, his voice screaming in anguish32 as he described the agony of a soul lost forever in the seething33 cauldron of eternal hell fire!
A tremulous startled moan, half-wail34, half-scream came from a girl just in front of the Boy, as she dropped her head in her hands.
"What's the matter with her?" he whispered. "Has she got a pain?"
His mother pressed his hand:
"Sh!"
And then the storm broke. From every direction came the startled cries of long pent terror and anguish. The girl staggered to her feet and started stumbling down the aisle to the mourners' bench without invitation, and from every row of seats they tumbled, crowding on her heels, sobbing35, wailing36, screaming, groaning37.
The preacher ceased to talk and, in a high tremulous voice, that rang through the excited crowd as the peal38 of the Archangel's trumpet39, began to sing:
"Come humble40 sinners in whose breasts
A thousand thoughts revolve41!"
The crowd rose instinctively and all who were not mourning, joined in the half-savage, terror-stricken wail of the song. The sinners that hadn't given up at the first break of the storm could not resist the thrill of this wild music. One by one they pushed their way through the crowd, found the aisle and staggered blindly to the front.
The Boy noticed curiously42 that it seemed to be the rule for them to completely cover their streaming eyes with a handkerchief or with the bare hands and go it blindly for the mourners' benches. If they missed the way and butted43 into anything, a church member kindly44 took them by the arm and guided them to a vacant place where they dropped on their knees.
The Boy had leaped on the bench and stood beside his mother to get a better view of the turmoil45. He couldn't keep his eyes off a tall, red-headed, thick-bearded man just across the aisle three rows behind who kept twitching46 his face, looking toward the door and struggling against the impulse to follow the mourners. Presently he broke down with a loud cry:
"Lord, have mercy!"
He placed his hands over his face and started on a run to the front.
The Boy giggled47, and his mother pinched him.
"Did ye see that red-headed feller, Ma," he whispered. "He didn't do fair. He peeked48 through his fingers—I saw his eyes!"
"Sh!"
The preachers had come down from the pulpit now and stood over the wailing prostrated49 mourners and exhorted50 them to repent51 and believe before it was forever and eternally too late. Three of them were talking at the same time to different groups of mourners. The louder they exhorted the louder the sinners cried. The fourth preacher walked down the aisle searching for those who were yet hardening their hearts and stiffening52 their necks. He paused beside a prim53 little old maid who had lately arrived from Tidewater Virginia. Her bright eyes were dry.
"Dear lady, are you a child of God?" the preacher cried.
The prim figured stiffened54 indignantly:
"No, sir! I'm an Episcopalian!"
The preacher groaned55 and passed on and the Boy stuffed his fist in his mouth.
For half an hour the roar of the conflict was incessant56, and its violence indescribable. It was broken now and then by a kindly soul among the elderly women raising a sweet old-fashioned hymn57.
Suddenly an exhorter58 threw his hands above his head and, in a voice that soared above the roar of mourners and their attendants, cried:
"Behold59 the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world!"
Quick as a flash came an answering shout from the red-headed man who leaped to his feet and with wide staring eyes looked up at the roof.
"I see him! I see Jesus up a tree!"
A fat woman lifted her head and shouted:
"Hold him till I get there!"
And she started for the red-headed man. There was a single moment of strange silence and the Boy laughed aloud.
His mother caught and shook him violently. He crammed60 his little fist again into his mouth, but the stopper wouldn't hold.
He dropped to his seat to keep the people from seeing him, buried his face in his hands and laughed in smothered61 giggles62 in spite of all his mother could do.
At last he whispered:
"Take me out quick! I'm goin' to bust29—I'll bust wide open I tell ye!"
She rose sternly, seized his arm and led him a half mile into the woods. He kept looking back and laughing softly.
She gazed at him sorrowfully:
"I'm ashamed of you, Boy! How could you do such a thing!"
"I just couldn't help it!"
He sat down on a stone and laughed again.
"What makes the fools holler so?" he asked through his tears.
"They are praying God to forgive their sins."
"But why holler so loud? He ain't deaf—is He? You said that God's in the sun and wind and dew and rain—in the breath we breathe. Ain't He everywhere then? Why do they holler at Him?"
The mother turned away to hide a smile she couldn't keep back, and a cloud overspread her dark face. Surely this was an evil sign—this spirit of irreverent levity63 in the mind of a child so young. What could it mean? She had forgotten that she had been teaching him to think, and didn't know, perhaps, that he who thinks must laugh or die.
After that she let him spend long hours at the spring playing with boys and girls of his age. He didn't go into the meetings again. But he enjoyed the season. The watermelons, muskmelons, and ginger64 cakes were the best he had ever eaten.
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1
radius
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| n.半径，半径范围；有效航程，范围，界限 | |
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2
lithe
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| adj.(指人、身体)柔软的，易弯的 | |
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aisle
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| n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道 | |
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improvised
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| a.即席而作的,即兴的 | |
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arbor
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| n.凉亭；树木 | |
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destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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7
eloquent
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| adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的 | |
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orator
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| n.演说者，演讲者，雄辩家 | |
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9
throbbed
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| 抽痛( throb的过去式和过去分词 )； （心脏、脉搏等）跳动 | |
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10
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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peroration
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| n.（演说等之）结论 | |
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tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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13
denominations
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| n.宗派( denomination的名词复数 )；教派；面额；名称 | |
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spacious
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| adj.广阔的，宽敞的 | |
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auditorium
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| n.观众席，听众席；会堂，礼堂 | |
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16
temperament
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| n.气质，性格，性情 | |
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17
volatile
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| adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质 | |
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18
revelled
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| v.作乐( revel的过去式和过去分词 )；狂欢；着迷；陶醉 | |
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19
astounding
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| adj.使人震惊的vt.使震惊，使大吃一惊astound的现在分词) | |
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20
cedar
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| n.雪松，香柏(木) | |
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21
pegs
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| n.衣夹( peg的名词复数 )；挂钉；系帐篷的桩；弦钮v.用夹子或钉子固定( peg的第三人称单数 )；使固定在某水平 | |
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22
augur
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| n.占卦师；v.占卦 | |
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23
devout
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| adj.虔诚的，虔敬的，衷心的 (n.devoutness) | |
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24
reverently
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| adv.虔诚地 | |
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25
aisles
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| n. (席位间的)通道, 侧廊 | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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27
harps
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| abbr.harpsichord 拨弦古钢琴n.竖琴( harp的名词复数 ) | |
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28
combustion
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| n.燃烧；氧化；骚动 | |
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29
bust
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| vt.打破；vi.爆裂；n.半身像；胸部 | |
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30
instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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31
frenzy
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| n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动 | |
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32
anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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33
seething
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| 沸腾的，火热的 | |
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34
wail
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| vt./vi.大声哀号，恸哭；呼啸，尖啸 | |
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35
sobbing
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| <主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的 | |
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36
wailing
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| v.哭叫，哀号( wail的现在分词 )；沱 | |
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37
groaning
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| adj. 呜咽的, 呻吟的 动词groan的现在分词形式 | |
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38
peal
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| n.钟声；v.鸣响 | |
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39
trumpet
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| n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘 | |
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40
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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41
revolve
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| vi.(使)旋转；循环出现 | |
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42
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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43
butted
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| 对接的 | |
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44
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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45
turmoil
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| n.骚乱，混乱，动乱 | |
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46
twitching
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| n.颤搐 | |
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47
giggled
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| v.咯咯地笑( giggle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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48
peeked
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| v.很快地看( peek的过去式和过去分词 )；偷看；窥视；微露出 | |
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49
prostrated
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| v.使俯伏，使拜倒( prostrate的过去式和过去分词 )；（指疾病、天气等）使某人无能为力 | |
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50
exhorted
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| v.劝告，劝说( exhort的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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51
repent
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| v.悔悟，悔改，忏悔，后悔 | |
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52
stiffening
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| n. (使衣服等)变硬的材料, 硬化 动词stiffen的现在分词形式 | |
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53
prim
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| adj.拘泥形式的，一本正经的；n.循规蹈矩，整洁；adv.循规蹈矩地，整洁地 | |
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54
stiffened
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| 加强的 | |
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55
groaned
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| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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56
incessant
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| adj.不停的，连续的 | |
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57
hymn
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| n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌 | |
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58
exhorter
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| n.劝勉者，告诫者，提倡者 | |
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59
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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60
crammed
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| adj.塞满的，挤满的；大口地吃；快速贪婪地吃v.把…塞满；填入；临时抱佛脚( cram的过去式) | |
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61
smothered
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| （使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制 | |
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62
giggles
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| n.咯咯的笑( giggle的名词复数 )；傻笑；玩笑；the giggles 止不住的格格笑v.咯咯地笑( giggle的第三人称单数 ) | |
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63
levity
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| n.轻率，轻浮，不稳定，多变 | |
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64
ginger
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| n.姜，精力，淡赤黄色；adj.淡赤黄色的；vt.使活泼，使有生气 | |
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