THE TWO DAYS' MEETING.
Sometime in June, 1864, the writer had an appointment for a two-days'
meeting, fourteen miles away, at a place called U---- H----, Saturday
and Sunday. On the morning of the sixth day of the week, the splendid
clay-bank saddle-horse was brought out, young and vigorous, and the
preacher placing himself in the Spanish saddle, was on his way to the
religious meeting, reaching there two hours before the time. Preached
at eleven o'clock A. M. to a large week-day audience in a neat house of
worship situated in a beautiful grove on a hill which was the highest
land-point in the county. He was the invited guest of a local preacher,
at whose instance the appointment had originally been made.
In the afternoon, a self-resolved committee of three gentlemen called
on the preacher to know if the report were true, which was current
there, they said, that, on the 12th of April previous, he had held
a feast at his house, to which all the Yankees in the neighborhood
were invited guests, and that, too, in _express_ opposition to the
proclamation of President Davis, making that a day of fasting and
prayer, calling upon the people to resort to their places of public
worship, and pray for the success of the Confederacy. If not true they
desired to suggest that the preacher had better notice the report
in the public meeting that night. His local preacher friend opposed
giving any such undue prominence to the report. But he disposed of the
committee by remarking: "I will follow my best impressions at the time."
The evening came on, the audience assembled, and after preliminaries
he arose to announce text and subject, but before doing so said to
the hearers: "I understand you have a grievous report about me here,
the scene of which is laid in B----m. I heard the report myself some
time ago there, but it bore such evidence of instigation by the cloven
tongue of prejudice and slander that I thought little of it, and it
had passed from my mind." The preacher then gave a brief recital as
they had it. "But," said he, "the report in B----m had one item that
you have not here. That at the close of the feast I was at the head
of the table and drank off a toast to the name of Abraham Lincoln.
Furthermore," said he, "I will now give you another fact not contained
in either report. It is this: The Confederate Brigadier-general M.,
with three members of his staff, were present at my table that day.
One of his staff officers is a Baptist clergyman, and was the only
minister present at the public services that day, and officiated in his
clerical capacity, coming from church to my house. This important fact
was evidently left out of the report, because if included it would have
damaged the plausibility of it and defeated the purpose of the intended
slander, which was to injure your humble servant, and no one else."
The preacher continued: "We had two meals that day at our
house--breakfast at the usual hour of eight o'clock in the morning,
and our bill of fare contained no extras on account of the day; nor do
I remember that the bill was reduced or modified either in quality or
quantity to suit any preconceived notions as to what would and would
not be proper to eat or abstain from eating on that proclamation-day
of fasting and prayer. We had dinner at four o'clock in the afternoon,
and having fasted four hours beyond the usual hour for that meal,
we thought it not a serious breach of the letter or spirit of the
proclamation-text to crowd a little more into the dinner hour at four
P. M. My wife is a splendid cook herself, and what with that fact,
and her supervision of three or four colored assistants, and the
inspiration all were under to do their best because of the coming
presence of the aforesaid military dignitaries, we _did_ have about as
good, and delicious, and sociable a meal as the times and the state of
the market would permit. I will not so far dignify the report as to
deny the evil animus of it, but call the attention of the audience to
two facts, and leave you to draw your own conclusion: the _toast_ and
the presence at our table of a Confederate Brigadier-general, with his
staff, reconcile them who can."
Here leaving the matter, he announced his text: "But the Scripture
hath concluded all under sin." And as he was in the mood of a holy
indignation at that hour, he evolved from his text the topic of "_sin_:
wherein it consists," and "_its bitter fruits_: wherein do they
consist." And he gave them, to the best of his ability, a sermon that
savored of brimstone and the hot place below!
Sunday morning the preacher gave them "faith, hope, and charity," and
felt victory his, as seen in the increasing numbers and interest of
the meetings.
General M. was his personal and accepted friend, and a Union man at
heart, and accepted the garb of a brigadier-general of State militia
to hold his political popularity in the State, for he had aspirations
toward the gubernatorial chair, and hoped some day to do his State
better service in a civil capacity.