It was in the course of this summer that I found the opportunity I had long wished for, of attending a camp-meeting, and I gladly accepted the invitation of an English lady and gentleman to accompany them in their carriage to the spot where it is held; this was in a wild district on the confines of Indiana.
The prospect2 of passing a night in the back woods of Indiana was by no means agreeable, but I screwed my courage to the proper pitch, and set forth3 determined4 to see with my own eyes, and hear with my own ears, what a camp-meeting really was. I had heard it said that being at a camp-meeting was like standing5 at the gate of heaven, and seeing it opening before you; I had heard it said, that being at a camp-meeting was like finding yourself within the gates of hell; in either case there must be something to gratify curiosity, and compensate6 one for the fatigue7 of a long rumbling8 ride and a sleepless9 night.
We reached the ground about an hour before midnight, and the approach to it was highly picturesque10. The spot chosen was the verge11 of an unbroken forest, where a space of about twenty acres appeared to have been partially12 cleared for the purpose. Tents of different sizes were pitched very near together in a circle round the cleared space; behind them were ranged an exterior13 circle of carriages of every description, and at the back of each were fastened the horses which had drawn14 them thither15. Through this triple circle of defence we distinguished16 numerous fires burning brightly within it; and still more numerous lights flickering17 from the trees that were left in the enclosure. The moon was in meridian18 splendour above our heads.
We left the carriage to the care of a servant, who was to prepare a bed in it for Mrs. B. and me, and entered the inner circle. The first glance reminded me of Vauxhall, from the effect of the lights among the trees, and the moving crowd below them; but the second shewed a scene totally unlike any thing I had ever witnessed. Four high frames, constructed in the form of altars, were placed at the four corners of the enclosure; on these were supported layers of earth and sod, on which burned immense fires of blazing pinewood. On one side a rude platform was erected20 to accommodate the preachers, fifteen of whom attended this meeting, and with very short intervals21 for necessary refreshment23 and private devotion, preached in rotation24, day and night, from Tuesday to Saturday.
When we arrived, the preachers were silent; but we heard issuing from nearly every tent mingled25 sounds of praying, preaching, singing, and lamentation26. The curtains in front of each tent were dropped, and the faint light that gleamed through the white drapery, backed as it was by the dark forest, had a beautiful and mysterious effect, that set the imagination at work; and had the sounds which vibrated around us been less discordant27, harsh, and unnatural28, I should have enjoyed it; but listening at the corner of a tent, which poured forth more than its proportion of clamour, in a few moments chased every feeling derived29 from imagination, and furnished realities that could neither be mistaken or forgotten.
Great numbers of persons were walking about the ground, who appeared like ourselves to be present only as spectators; some of these very unceremoniously contrived30 to raise the drapery of this tent, at one comer, so as to afford us a perfect view of the interior.
The floor was covered with straw, which round the sides was heaped in masses, that might serve as seats, but which at that moment were used to support the heads and the arms of the close-packed circle of men and women who kneeled on the floor.
Out of about thirty persons thus placed, perhaps half a dozen were men. One of these, a handsome looking youth of eighteen or twenty, kneeled just below the opening through which I looked. His arm was encircling the neck of a young girl who knelt beside him, with her hair hanging dishevelled upon her shoulders, and her features working with the most violent agitation31; soon after they both fell forward on the straw, as if unable to endure in any other attitude the burning eloquence32 of a tall grim figure in black, who, standing erect19 in the centre, was uttering with incredible vehemence33 an oration34 that seemed to hover35 between praying and preaching; his arms hung stiff and immoveable by his side, and he looked like an ill-constructed machine, set in action by a movement so violent, as to threaten its own destruction, so jerkingly, painfully, yet rapidly, did his words tumble out; the kneeling circle ceasing not to call in every variety of tone on the name of Jesus; accompanied with sobs36, groans37, and a sort of low howling inexpressibly painful to listen to. But my attention was speedily withdrawn38 from the preacher, and the circle round him, by a figure which knelt alone at some distance; it was a living image of Scott’s Macbriar, as young, as wild, and as terrible. His thin arms tossed above his head, had forced themselves so far out of the sleeves, that they were bare to the elbow; his large eyes glared frightfully, and he continued to scream without an instant’s intermission the word “Glory!” with a violence that seemed to swell39 every vein40 to bursting. It was too dreadful to look upon long, and we turned away shuddering41.
We made the circuit of the tents, pausing where attention was particularly excited by sounds more vehement43 than ordinary. We contrived to look into many; all were strewed44 with straw, and the distorted figures that we saw kneeling, sitting, and lying amongst it, joined to the woeful and convulsive cries, gave to each, the air of a cell in Bedlam46.
One tent was occupied exclusively by Negroes. They were all full-dressed, and looked exactly as if they were performing a scene on the stage. One woman wore a dress of pink gauze trimmed with silver lace; another was dressed in pale yellow silk; one or two had splendid turbans; and all wore a profusion47 of ornaments48. The men were in snow white pantaloons, with gay coloured linen49 jackets. One of these, a youth of coal-black comeliness50, was preaching with the most violent gesticulations, frequently springing high from the ground, and clapping his hands over his head. Could our missionary51 societies have heard the trash he uttered, by way of an address to the Deity52, they might perhaps have doubted whether his conversion53 had much enlightened his mind.
At midnight a horn sounded through the camp, which, we were told, was to call the people from private to public worship; and we presently saw them flocking from all sides to the front of the preachers’ stand. Mrs. B. and I contrived to place ourselves with our backs supported against the lower part of this structure, and we were thus enabled to witness the scene which followed without personal danger. There were about two thousand persons assembled.
One of the preachers began in a low nasal tone, and, like all other Methodist preachers, assured us of the enormous depravity of man as he comes from the hands of his Maker54, and of his perfect sanctification after he had wrestled56 sufficiently57 with the Lord to get hold of him, et cetera. The admiration58 of the crowd was evinced by almost constant cries of “Amen! Amen!” “Jesus! Jesus!” “Glory! Glory!” and the like. But this comparative tranquility did not last long: the preacher told them that “this night was the time fixed59 upon for anxious sinners to wrestle55 with the Lord;” that he and his brethren “were at hand to help them,” and that such as needed their help were to come forward into “the pen.” The phrase forcibly recalled Milton’s lines —
“Blind mouths! that scarce themselves know how to hold
A sheep-hook, or have learned aught else, the least
That to the faithful herdsman’s art belongs!
— But when they list their lean and flashy songs,
Grate on their scrannel pipes of wretched straw; —
The hungry sheep look up, and are not fed!
But swoln with wind, and the rank mist they draw,
Rot inwardly — and foul60 contagion61 spread.”
“The pen” was the space immediately below the preachers’ stand; we were therefore placed on the edge of it, and were enabled to see and hear all that took place in the very centre of this extraordinary exhibition.
The crowd fell back at the mention of the pen, and for some minutes there was a vacant space before us. The preachers came down from their stand and placed themselves in the midst of it, beginning to sing a hymn62, calling upon the penitents63 to come forth. As they sung they kept turning themselves round to every part of the crowd and, by degrees, the voices of the whole multitude joined in chorus. This was the only moment at which I perceived any thing like the solemn and beautiful effect, which I had heard ascribed to this woodland worship. It is certain that the combined voices of such a multitude, heard at dead of night, from the depths of their eternal forests, the many fair young faces turned upward, and looking paler and lovelier as they met the moon-beams, the dark figures of the officials in the middle of the circle, the lurid64 glare thrown by the altar-fires on the woods beyond, did altogether produce a fine and solemn effect, that I shall not easily forget; but ere I had well enjoyed it, the scene changed, and sublimity65 gave place to horror and disgust.
The exhortation66 nearly resembled that which I had heard at “the Revival,” but the result was very different; for, instead of the few hysterical67 women who had distinguished themselves on that occasion, above a hundred persons,, nearly all females, came forward, uttering howlings and groans, so terrible that I shall never cease to shudder42 when I recall them. They appeared to drag each other forward, and on the word being given, “let us pray,” they all fell on their knees; but this posture68 was soon changed for others that permitted greater scope for the convulsive movements of their limbs; and they were soon all lying on the ground in an indescribable confusion of heads and legs. They threw about their limbs with such incessant69 and violent motions, that I was every instant expecting some serious accident to occur.
But how am I to describe the sounds that proceeded from this strange mass of human beings? I know no words which can convey an idea of it. Hysterical sobbings, convulsive groans, shrieks71 and screams the most appalling72, burst forth on all sides. I felt sick with horror. As if their hoarse73 and over strained voices failed to make noise enough, they soon began to clap their hands violently. The scene described by Dante was before me:-
“Quivi sospiri, pianti, ed alti guai
Risonavon per l’aere —
— Orribili favelle
Parole di dolore, accenti d’ira
Voci alti e floche, e suon di man con1 elle.”
Many of these wretched creatures were beautiful young females. The preachers moved about among them, at once exciting and soothing74 their agonies. I heard the muttered “Sister! dear sister!” I saw the insidious75 lips approach the cheeks of the unhappy girls; I heard the murmured confessions76 of the poor victims, and I watched their tormentors, breathing into their ears consolations77 that tinged78 the pale cheek with red. Had I been a man, I am sure I should have been guilty of some rash act of interference; nor do I believe that such a scene could have been acted in the presence of Englishmen without instant punishment being inflicted79; not to mention the salutary discipline of the treadmill80, which, beyond all question, would, in England, have been applied81 to check so turbulent and so vicious a scene.
After the first wild burst that followed their prostration82, the meanings, in many instances, became loudly articulate; and I then experienced a strange vibration83 between tragic84 and comic feeling.
A very pretty girl, who was kneeling in the attitude of Canova’s Magdalene immediately before us, amongst an immense quantity of jargon85, broke out thus: “Woe45! woe to the backsliders! hear it, hear it Jesus! when I was fifteen my mother died, and I backslided, oh Jesus, I backslided! take me home to my mother, Jesus! take me home to her, for I am weary! Oh John Mitchel! John Mitchel!” and after sobbing70 piteously behind her raised hands, she lifted her sweet face again, which was as pale as death, and said, “Shall I sit on the sunny bank of salvation86 with my mother? my own dear mother? oh Jesus, take me home, take me home!” Who could refuse a tear to this earnest wish for death in one so young and so lovely? But I saw her, ere I left the ground, with her hand fast locked, and her head supported by a man who looked very much as Don Juan might, when sent back to earth as too bad for the regions below.
One woman near us continued to “call on the Lord,” as it is termed, in the loudest possible tone, and without a moment’s interval22, for the two hours that we kept our dreadful station. She became frightfully hoarse, and her face so red as to make me expect she would burst a blood-vessel. Among the rest of her rant87, she said, “I will hold fast to Jesus, I never will let him go; if they take me to hell, I will still hold him fast, fast, fast!”
The stunning88 noise was sometimes varied89 by the preachers beginning to sing; but the convulsive movements of the poor maniacs90 only became more violent. At length the atrocious wickedness of this horrible scene increased to a degree of grossness, that drove us from our station; we returned to the carriage at about three o’clock in the morning, and passed the remainder of the night in listening to the ever increasing tumult91 at the pen. To sleep was impossible. At daybreak the horn again sounded, to send them to private devotion; and in about an hour afterwards I saw the whole camp as joyously92 and eagerly employed in preparing and devouring93 their most substantial breakfasts as if the night had been passed in dancing; and I marked many a fair but pale face, that I recognised as a demoniac of the night, simpering beside a swain, to whom she carefully administered hot coffee and eggs. The preaching saint and the howling sinner seemed alike to relish94 this mode of recruiting their strength.
After enjoying abundance of strong tea, which proved a delightful95 restorative after a night so strangely spent, I wandered alone into the forest, and I never remember to have found perfect quiet more delightful.
We soon after left the ground; but before our departure we learnt that a very satisfactory collection had been made by the preachers, for Bibles, Tracts96, and all other religious purposes.
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con
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| n.反对的观点，反对者，反对票，肺病；vt.精读，学习，默记；adv.反对地，从反面；adj.欺诈的 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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compensate
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| vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消 | |
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fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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rumbling
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| n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词 | |
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sleepless
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| adj.不睡眠的，睡不著的，不休息的 | |
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picturesque
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| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
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verge
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| n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临 | |
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12
partially
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| adv.部分地，从某些方面讲 | |
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exterior
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| adj.外部的，外在的；表面的 | |
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14
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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15
thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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16
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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17
flickering
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| adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的 | |
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meridian
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| adj.子午线的；全盛期的 | |
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erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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ERECTED
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| adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立 | |
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21
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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23
refreshment
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| n.恢复，精神爽快，提神之事物；（复数）refreshments:点心，茶点 | |
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24
rotation
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| n.旋转；循环，轮流 | |
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25
mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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26
lamentation
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| n.悲叹，哀悼 | |
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discordant
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| adj.不调和的 | |
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28
unnatural
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| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
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29
derived
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| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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30
contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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31
agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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32
eloquence
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| n.雄辩；口才，修辞 | |
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33
vehemence
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| n.热切；激烈；愤怒 | |
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34
oration
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| n.演说，致辞，叙述法 | |
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35
hover
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| vi.翱翔，盘旋；徘徊；彷徨，犹豫 | |
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36
sobs
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| 啜泣（声），呜咽（声）( sob的名词复数 ) | |
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37
groans
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| n.呻吟，叹息( groan的名词复数 )；呻吟般的声音v.呻吟( groan的第三人称单数 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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38
withdrawn
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| vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出 | |
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39
swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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40
vein
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| n.血管，静脉；叶脉，纹理；情绪；vt.使成脉络 | |
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41
shuddering
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| v.战栗( shudder的现在分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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42
shudder
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| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
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43
vehement
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| adj.感情强烈的；热烈的；(人)有强烈感情的 | |
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44
strewed
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| v.撒在…上( strew的过去式和过去分词 )；散落于；点缀；撒满 | |
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45
woe
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| n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌 | |
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46
bedlam
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| n.混乱，骚乱；疯人院 | |
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profusion
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| n.挥霍；丰富 | |
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48
ornaments
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| n.装饰( ornament的名词复数 )；点缀；装饰品；首饰v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的第三人称单数 ) | |
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49
linen
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| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
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50
comeliness
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| n. 清秀, 美丽, 合宜 | |
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51
missionary
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| adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士 | |
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deity
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| n.神，神性；被奉若神明的人(或物) | |
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conversion
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| n.转化，转换，转变 | |
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maker
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| n.制造者，制造商 | |
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55
wrestle
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| vi.摔跤，角力；搏斗；全力对付 | |
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wrestled
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| v.（与某人）搏斗( wrestle的过去式和过去分词 )；扭成一团；扭打；（与…）摔跤 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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contagion
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| n.(通过接触的疾病)传染；蔓延 | |
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hymn
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| n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌 | |
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penitents
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| n.后悔者( penitent的名词复数 )；忏悔者 | |
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lurid
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| adj.可怕的；血红的；苍白的 | |
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sublimity
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| 崇高，庄严，气质高尚 | |
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exhortation
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| n.劝告，规劝 | |
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hysterical
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| adj.情绪异常激动的，歇斯底里般的 | |
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posture
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| n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势 | |
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incessant
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| adj.不停的，连续的 | |
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sobbing
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| <主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的 | |
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71
shrieks
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| n.尖叫声( shriek的名词复数 )v.尖叫( shriek的第三人称单数 ) | |
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appalling
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| adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的 | |
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hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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soothing
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| adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的 | |
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insidious
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| adj.阴险的，隐匿的，暗中为害的，（疾病）不知不觉之间加剧 | |
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confessions
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| n.承认( confession的名词复数 )；自首；声明；（向神父的）忏悔 | |
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consolations
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| n.安慰，慰问( consolation的名词复数 )；起安慰作用的人（或事物） | |
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tinged
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| v.（使）发丁丁声( ting的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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inflicted
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| 把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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treadmill
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| n.踏车；单调的工作 | |
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applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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prostration
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| n. 平伏, 跪倒, 疲劳 | |
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vibration
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| n.颤动，振动；摆动 | |
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tragic
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| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
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jargon
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| n.术语，行话 | |
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salvation
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| n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困 | |
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rant
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| v.咆哮；怒吼；n.大话；粗野的话 | |
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stunning
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| adj.极好的；使人晕倒的 | |
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varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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maniacs
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| n.疯子（maniac的复数形式） | |
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tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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joyously
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| ad.快乐地, 高兴地 | |
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devouring
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| 吞没( devour的现在分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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relish
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| n.滋味，享受，爱好，调味品；vt.加调味料，享受，品味；vi.有滋味 | |
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delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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tracts
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| 大片土地( tract的名词复数 )； 地带； （体内的）道； （尤指宣扬宗教、伦理或政治的）短文 | |
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