THURSDAY, January 26. This night, says the Diary, a very wonderful
display of the Aurora borealis was witnessed. The sky was all over a
bright red, with white streaks streaming up from the north. The sight
was wonderfully grand. As to the cause of this sublimely beautiful
phenomenon various opinions have been held, and various theories
launched upon the waves of scientific thought; but none, as yet, to my
knowledge, have covered the ground of a satisfactory solution. Let the
cause be what it may, there seems to be no good reason for fearing any
harm to the earth or its inhabitants from its occasional appearance.
I have since learned, however, that many people were frightened at
the sight, and feared that the last day was at hand. One sister in
particular, not far from here, wrung her hands screaming almost
spasmodically, fearing in her soul that the next thing would be the
sound of "the last trumpet."
Some may smile at this; but suppose the trumpet had then sounded!
Would those who now smile, or perhaps laugh, have been able to hear
the thunder of its voice with a steadier nerve than she? Her faith was
strong; nay, too strong for the weakness of her feeble body. She
believed every word of Divine Truth. She believed in a final judgment,
than which nothing is more positively declared in the sacred
Scriptures. But because she had never seen such a sight before, and as
no one could account for it, the conclusion was quickly reached that
it was supernatural and sent as a herald of the coming Lord.
But he will come, and every eye shall see him. But "who shall abide
the day of his coming?" Only they who shelter under the almighty wings
of Jesus. "How often"--said he to Jerusalem, and now to every one
else--"would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen doth
gather her chickens under her wings." To those who laugh at sacred
things now, it may _then_ be said what follows in the above
connection: "Behold, your house is left unto you desolate."
"Hide me, O my Savior, hide;
'Neath the shadow of thy wing."
The above phenomenon lasted till midnight.
SUNDAY, February 12. "Peter Nead was with me at the Plains to-day."
Whether Brother Kline saw or heard something in Peter Nead to-day that
especially wrought upon his attention, he does not say; but this
follows in the entry: "Brother Nead gives promise of becoming a very
able speaker and a very useful man. May the Lord prosper him in all he
sets his heart and hand to in his service." The church now knows the
singular correctness of Brother Kline's estimate of the man, written
over sixty years ago.
Brother Nead, like many other good and live men, may have had some
apparent eccentricities in the direction of practical conservatism and
the like; but, take him through and through, it is questionable if the
church has ever been favored with a purer or sounder man.
THURSDAY, May 4. Preparations are being made to-day for the Annual
Meeting. The brethren and sisters are all alive with desire to make
all the visiting brethren and sisters as comfortable as possible
during the meeting.
The Diary reports the arrival, during the next week, of brethren from
Tennessee, Pennsylvania and Ohio. Among those named are John and
Joseph Bowman, Henry Kurtz, George Hoke and Brother Yant.
THURSDAY, May 11. Brother Beachley arrived. Brother Kline reports
something like a heavenly feeling permeating the heart at the sight of
the arrival of those beloved brethren. They all stopped with Brother
Kline, whose house and heart both were large enough for their
reception and entertainment.
As editor of this book, what would I not give for an exact report of
the heart-refreshing conversations and sweet interchanges of thought
and sentiment enjoyed by this group of heavenly-minded brethren,
during their sojourn here! As a relief, however, to this thought
another comes to mind, that this same group are again together, not
for a "Yearly Meeting," but for an eternal meeting. The last one has
been called to glory. The cross then; the crown now.
The interviews of brethren with each other fifty or sixty years ago
present a striking contrast when placed side by side with those of
the present day. The native simplicity, the artless manners, and the
honest motives of all betokened a purity of heart and life that was
truly charming. We mourn the absence of these marks of genuine piety,
when at the present day, we see artistic display, formality, stiffness,
and a "putting on" of studied courtesies and civilities on the part of
many. The exterior of the hive is more ornamental now than it was
then, and the swarm may have the appearance of better order in some of
its workings, but it is a question whether there is as much pure honey
inside. The _robe_ may be more showy, but there is less wool in the
"_nap_."
FRIDAY, May 12, and SATURDAY, May 13, were spent at the meetinghouse
preparing to have everything in order.