Chapter 3

The meetings were held for a special purpose. They were for the salvation of the students of the College. Students and church members, teachers, professors, president and pastor--we all felt this truth. But when every member of the College who felt that he was not a Christian, was asked to write his or her name on a slip of paper, and put it into the contribution basket at the chapel door when coming into the first meeting--and lest any should fail, from any cause, to give us his own name, every student was asked to furnish the name of any unsaved fellow-student of whom he knew--the real object sought in the meetings was brought home to every member of the College and Church. When we had the list of names (with hardly an exception they furnished their own names), we were vividly reminded of the individuals for whom we were working and praying, and they knew, every one, that we were definitely working and praying for them. This gave a feeling of practical, concentrated work, such as seldom attends such meetings.

Excepting this, there were no unusual means employed. The truth was very earnestly and simply preached. Immediate decision for Christ was pressed. Personal efforts were conscientiously made by teachers and students. Little prayer meetings, where from two to a dozen met for special prayer, were frequent, and the Lord blessed all the means used.

Since the close of the protracted meeting, each Sabbath-school class has had its own weekly prayer meeting--a means of great good. Also a general young Christians' prayer meeting has been held weekly. In it effort has been made, not only to lead these new converts to take part in prayer and conference, but to instruct them upon some points too often neglected. Those who on this day united with the church could each, I think, give an intelligent statement of reasons why they should unite with the church; and, in so uniting, why they gave public assent to a confession of faith, and why they joined in covenant with God and his people.

MASON NOBLE.

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LETTER FROM REV. J. H. PARR, AUSTIN, TEXAS.

Marked revivals have been in progress in all the colored churches of the city. With all the noise and superstition, we cannot doubt that there are not a few genuine conversions. And yet, while our students attend these meetings only to a limited extent, the influence upon them tends to interfere with our religious work.

Last week it was my privilege to attend the meeting of the North Texas Association, held at Cleburne. Tillotson church, on application, was cordially admitted to membership. The same cordiality and courtesy were extended to Brother McLean, late of Talladega College, who applied for membership in his own behalf. Rev. J. W. Roberts, representing the colored church of Dallas, was also present. The dignified, scholarly bearing of both these brethren won for them golden opinions from all who listened to their reports and remarks. Not a few of those who were present at the various sessions were Southerners, but apparently none the less interested on that account. It was my fortune to be entertained by an ex-slaveholder, who served in the Confederate army through the war, but who nevertheless is a warm friend of the Congregational church in his town, and contributes to its support.

The moderator and scribe of the association, seated side by side through the meetings, presented a striking contrast. The first was a business man, born in New England, quick, keen, decisive and energetic, an officer in the Union army through the war, since that time engaged in business in Texas, now the possessor of a large fortune, and thoroughly identified with, and enthusiastic concerning, the material and spiritual interests of his adopted State.

The second was the pastor of the leading Congregational Church of the State, born in the South, educated for the law, a soldier in the Confederate army, for a time almost a wreck morally and physically, but now, by the grace of God, "clothed and in his right mind," dignified, magnetic, an earnest, reverent student of the Bible, an able preacher and a beloved pastor.

Thus, with representatives of the North and the South, the East and the West, the white race and the black, America, Sweden and Ireland, we had at least one marked feature of the Pentecost. But aside from that, the manifest presence of the Spirit, and the consequent harmony and good-fellowship, rendered our meeting in a still more important degree like that season which was the beginning of such a wonderful regeneration in the history of the world. It may be accepted, I doubt not, as one of the signs of the regeneration that is going on in the South, which is less wonderful only in the fact of being local rather than world-wide.

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THE OLD COMMISSARY BUILDING.

We held a series of revival meetings at South Williamsburgh, in the old commissary building. Wish some of the good people of the North, who meet in churches and chapels, plastered and nicely warmed, and comfortably seated, could have dropped in upon us and spent an hour. Of course, they would have had the back-ache and cold feet, and, perhaps, carried away a flea or two, even in March, but they would have gone home saying, "If people can meet in such a place, some refined, intelligent ladies even, and continue to go night after night, I ought to be very, very willing to go to my church whenever the Lord calls a meeting and my presence and voice are necessary." But that you may appreciate the contrast with your pleasant place of meeting, let me take you to the old commissary building.

It's a _box-house_; that is, it's made of boards set upright and nailed at the bottom and middle and top to joists. Over this crazy structure sets a roof made of long oaken shingles hewn with the broad axe. Step inside of the building, which will hold 125 people, and see the whole construction. Rough boards with the curve of the circular saw on them and now dingy with smoke, make the sides; oaken shingles black with smoke, slope above.

A "cannon stove" sends most of its smoke through a rusty pipe up through a piece of sheet iron to the air. The sparks, and now and then a star, shine through about the pipe. Newspapers pasted over the widest cracks on the sides of the room keep out the heaviest drafts. I remember one night when it was snowing (even here, in March), a flurry of wind brought down a glistening shower on the shoulders of the congregation. The roof usually turns water, however.

Please stand here by the door and talk to the people. Feet get cold? I don't wonder. The door was made an inch and a half too short. You ask "why in the name of health don't you fix it?" Well, just sit there against the wall. You sit down, and a projecting horizontal joist takes you right in the back of the neck and makes you crane your head forward in a most uncomfortable way. Poor place to get asleep; one would pitch right forward on the floor. You see, if we commenced to "fix up," we wouldn't know where to begin, for one lack is as great as another. One night we held a meeting in that building, and before morning the thermometer fell to zero. We need a good stove; that one is full of cracks in front, so we always left a boy to watch after meeting till the fire died out. We just make the house do; strips have been laid on the floor, paper pasted over the wall gaps, seats of rough boards set in the building, windows tightened, and there we gathered. God's Spirit met us in spite of cold and dinginess and needs. I believe ten or twelve rose for prayers during those two weeks. Since warm weather Brother Myers has continued the meetings, and I trust a score or more have given their hearts to the Lord.

JAS. T. FORD.

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STUDENT'S LETTER.

TALLADEGA COLLEGE, Talladega, Ala., April, 1885.

It is wonderful to notice how many and what interesting changes may take place during the few years of one's life. The first eleven years of my life I spent as a slave, but I have lived to see these glorious days of freedom. I was born upon my master's plantation in Monroe County, Ala., where I lived till 1865, when I was set at liberty with the rest of my unfortunate brethren.

While living upon that plantation I saw many of the horrors of slavery with my own eyes. One of the mean and degrading things I remember was the way the slaves had to live, crowded together in one house. There were three or four different families, consisting of twelve or fifteen persons, all living in the same room. There was only one house for colored people, and it had only one room.

Although my master did not have so many slaves and was not so mean as some other slave-holders about him, still, the treatment which his slaves received was shockingly cruel. I remember very distinctly the paddling block, the paddle, and the great whip used upon that place. There comes very vividly before my mind the whipping of a hired man. I know just how every rag of clothes was taken off, and how he was tied down in the front yard between the gate and the house, so that he could not move hand or foot, and how the master would whip him a while and walk about and smoke his pipe a while, as the poor hired slave lay upon the ground and cried for mercy, but there was none to help him.

Whenever my thoughts go back to those dark days, I recollect the time when my own brother ran away because he was not willing to take the whipping which the master wanted to give him late one afternoon. I think of how the bloodhounds came, and how they chased him, while mother, brothers, and fellow-slaves stood trembling, and how glad all were when we learned that the dogs could not catch him.

If I could forget all other heart-rending scenes of those dark days, I could not erase from my memory the cruel treatment which I saw my own mother receive. Though I was small, I think of how I used to see her work hard, and how she was scolded and cursed as she was driven about like a dog. I saw her laid upon that paddling-block, and I heard her distressing cries, but, like the rest of her children, I could do nothing.

I love to contrast my present condition with what it was a few years ago, and as I do so I do not forget the A. M. A., whose workers found me in the lowest depths of ignorance and helped me up. When liberated, soon after the surrender, I could not read a word and did not know a letter. I do not remember that I had ever seen the inside of a book of any kind. It was in 1867 that I learnt the alphabet upon the plantation by the light of pine knots. During the years 1868 and 1869 I was a rag-picker in the streets of Mobile. God has led me on, and now I am a student in Talladega College, and expect soon to have finished a course of study which will enable me to go forth to lead men to Christ and to teach them better methods of living. I speak of this contrast not boastfully, but humbly and with deep gratitude to God, who took me from the woes and degradation of slavery and has given me a double freedom. I am so glad for the schools the A. M. A. has in the South; I am so glad for what they have done for me. Through one of these schools I was led to Christ. Soon after that I felt called to the ministry; and in Talladega College I am permitted to finish a course of study, and to some degree equip myself for the work of life. All praise to an organization that seeks for poor, ignorant and sinful men, leads them to Christ, instructs them, and then sends them out to bless the world.

A STUDENT.

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OBITUARY.

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MRS. H. M. STEVENS.

Another veteran teacher of the A. M. A. has been called home to her rest. On the morning of May 7, at her home in St. Albans, Vt., Mrs. H. M. Stevens, known to A. M. A. workers as Miss E. M. Barnes, of Bakersfield, Vt., fell asleep after a severe and painful sickness of several mouths.

Miss Barnes entered the service of the Association in 1865 and left it in 1882, to minister to her devoted friend and fellow laborer, Miss Sarah A. G. Stevens, in her last sickness. When released from this service of love her own health prevented her return to the Southern work. Her first year was spent at Arlington, Va. She spent six years in the Lewis High School, Macon, Ga., four years in the Le Moyne Institute, Memphis, Tenn., and her last six in Fisk University--seventeen years of devoted, earnest and fruitful labor in behalf of the colored youth in the South.

Since leaving the South her life has been a pleasant and useful one as Mrs. Stevens, the wife of a devoted husband and an earnest and zealous Christian woman in the city and the church where her lot was cast. The testimony to her nobility and earnestness of character was manifested in signal ways by the church and people during her sickness, and she has evidently left behind a precious memory of her short life in St. Albans. I have before me a letter written to a teacher in Fisk University less than three weeks before her death, and it will interest her friends to learn how the years of her life which she spent in the work of giving help to the struggling colored youth of the South looked to her as she lay upon her dying bed in her pleasant home surrounded by the friends that loved her so well.

She wrote: "I thank the Lord for the years He gave me in that Southern land. Those seventeen years were the hardest, happiest and most satisfying of my life. I have ever thanked God for giving me a place among that noble band of workers. I have arranged to establish a permanent scholarship at Fisk, so that my influence will still live there after I am gone. I loved the work there more than any other I have ever done. In all my weakness I am resting in the Everlasting Arms, and find there strength sufficient to support, trusting entirely to the blood that cleanseth from all sin and saves unto the uttermost."

The news of Mrs. Stevens' death was telegraphed to Fisk University, and on the Sunday night following, an impressive memorial service was held in the chapel of Livingstone Hall. The story of her life and labors, as told by those who knew her well, produced a deep impression upon the students, and will bear in their lives fruit in greater consecration and the spirit of self-sacrifice. The testimony borne by several of the young men who were about to graduate, and one who had already graduated, to the influence exerted on their lives and character by Mrs. Stevens was the highest tribute that could have been paid to the gentleness, nobility and spirituality of her character. To her counsel, encouragement and sympathy they felt they were indebted for their best inspiration. Her influence lives in the world, and will continue to increase through the lives and labors of others whom she led to the feet of their Lord, and to consecration to the uplifting of their race. May the spirit of Mrs. Stevens continue to be the spirit of those who represent the A. M. A. in its work for the uplifting of a depressed but struggling race!

E. M. CRAVATH.

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MISS O. E. GOODRIDGE.

Died, at Talladega, Ala., May 25, 1885, Miss O. E. Goodridge, of Saratoga Springs, N. Y.

Miss Goodridge was born in St. Lawrence County, N. Y., of a godly and New England ancestry. She became a Christian in her earliest years and joined the church when but a child. From the beginning she was instructed in the Scriptures, which can make wise unto salvation, and her nature, less rugged than that of some, was well perfected by grace. Seeking usefulness in needy fields, she offered herself to the A. M. A., and last year began her work in Talladega, where she proved herself a devoted and successful teacher, a woman of great refinement and goodness, and a faithful servant of Christ. Herself a disciple sitting at Jesus' feet, she never forgot her Master in her teaching, while her unconscious influence was powerful for good. Her illness was but of a few days' duration, nor was it considered fatal until within a few hours of the end. Winning in person and of rare beauty of character, she has greatly endeared herself to her associates and to all who knew her. Though death came suddenly it did not find her unprepared. Her hope was in Christ, and her end was a peaceful falling asleep.

H. S. DE FOREST.

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BUREAU OF WOMAN'S WORK.

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MISS D. E. EMERSON, SECRETARY.

We are glad to report a movement in favor of State organizations for woman's work in our own country in co-operation with the Am. Home Miss. Soc., the Am. Miss. Assoc., the New West Ed. Com., etc. At a special meeting called at Saratoga on June 4, action was taken by the representatives of the several Woman's Missionary Societies, advocating the formation of State societies, whose object should be to co-operate with the established societies of the Congregational order, in raising funds and increasing intelligence respecting missionary work in this country.

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Two years ago the ladies of Vermont pledged the support of one teacher at McIntosh, Ga., but increased their contributions until they assumed the entire support of the school. A year ago they undertook the expense of an addition to the school building, to be called the "Vermont School." In connection with the State Association, at Bellows Falls, a ladies' meeting was held on Wednesday morning, June 10, in behalf of the American Missionary Association, addressed by their teacher, Miss Plimpton, and by Miss Emerson, Secretary of the Woman's Bureau. The following report was submitted by the State Committee:

The committee re-appointed by the convention held at St. Albans last June, to raise money for the school for the freedmen in McIntosh, Ga., desires to present the following report for the year:

FOR THE YEAR ENDING MAY 31, 1885.

Total contributions $848.86 Expenses of postage and printing 11.16

Remitted to H. W. Hubbard 837.70 Add balance on hand May, 1884 259.28 ---------- Total $1,096.98

Estimated expense of school this year $856.00 To apply on new building 240.98 -------- $1,096.98

Acknowledgment was also made for barrels and boxes of clothing, papers, books, toys and materials for sewing school, with money sent to pay freight. Additional contributions are expected before Sept. 30, to apply on the new school building.

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At the recent meeting of the State Association of Illinois, held in Rockford, the ladies organized the "Illinois Home Miss. Union." The constitution adopted embraces all home causes as embodied in the following form:

ARTICLE 1. This Society shall be called the Woman's Home Missionary Union of the State of ----. Its object shall be to promote missionary and evangelistic work in all parts of our land by forming auxiliaries in the churches of the State, and through them collecting money for the various existing societies of the Congregational order.

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A TRUE INCIDENT.

At a little junction in Wisconsin, a score of passengers alighting from a train were told that the one they wished to take was four hours behind time. A big washout had swept away a bridge or embankment. There were a few exclamations of dismay and impatience, as that four hours delay meant the losing of other connections, the failure of many plans and appointments. It was a cold, rainy day, with a raw, penetrating east wind that speedily drove them all into the close, dismal waiting room. One woman, taking writing materials from a satchel, which she contrived to use for a desk, became utterly oblivious to everything as her pencil flew over the letter that would carry comfort and cheer to a far-off loved one. Suddenly she became conscious that a score of people were sitting in complete silence around her, with not a book or paper to read, looking as forlorn and miserable as possible. Laying aside her writing, she said, "My husband and I are missionaries among the colored people in Alabama. I am now on my way back to the work. Perhaps you might be interested to hear something about it, and if you care to ask any questions, I will be very happy to answer them."

An old lady sitting near, bounced up in a great rage. "_I_ don't want to hear a _word_ about the niggers." The rest of her muttered exclamations were lost as she rushed out, slamming the door behind her.

The missionary began to tell them about the climate, the tropical luxuriance of fruit and flowers, and of the great cotton fields. By that time questions began to pour in thick and fast, and in less than five minutes she had an eager audience listening to every word. She went on to tell of the condition of the colored people at the close of the war; ignorant, utterly destitute, with no more knowledge than a baby of how to shift for themselves; of the hard struggle it had been and still was for many of them to live; of the miserable pittance they generally received for their labor; of their home life, their peculiarities, and other things of interest.

About that time the irate woman, unable longer to endure the discomfort of the weather outside, came quietly in, looking rather disgusted at the prospect of being obliged, after all, to hear something about "the niggers."

The recital of some special incidents of peculiar trial and hardship which had come under the missionary's own observation brought tears of sympathy to many eyes; but best of all was the sudden conversion of our wrathful woman, who exclaimed: "I declare that's too bad! What makes them stand it? Why don't they all come North, where they could have a fair chance?" As she was told "the reason why," she grew full of sympathy and interest, and was even more eager than the others in suggestions and inquiries. But when they were told of what had already been done by the American Missionary Association and others toward establishing and maintaining schools and churches among them, of the devoted missionaries and teachers that had carried already so much of comfort and help into their sad lives, of the steady upward progress they were making in knowledge and intelligence, in the acquirement of homes and ability to care for themselves, all seemed to appreciate as never before the importance of the work that is being done in the South.

The distant whistle of the train surprised them all, and as they crowded about the missionary to take her hand and bid her God speed in her blessed work, one woman said: "I used to give pennies to the work of the A. M. A., but they shall be dollars now."

MRS. A. W. C.

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CHILDREN'S PAGE.

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THE LITTLE BLACK GIRL'S SACRIFICE.

BY MRS. M. E. SANGSTER

Little Ida had been invited to attend a party made by white children at the school house. To her mother's mind the question of her going turned on her having a scarlet sash to wear. By the kindness of a child in the family where Ida and her mother, who figures in our story as "Aunt Chloe," had their home, the want was finally met.

Now for the story of the scarlet sash, after it became Ida's property. She wore it to the party, where she laughed and sang, and played games, and looked like a poppy among the roses. She behaved very politely, too, like a well-trained child whose mother had lived in the "fust families."

After that, she wore it in church and to Sunday-school. It looped itself beautifully over her best, brown striped dress, and gave her the sense of being equal in appearance with the other children.