Christian Messenger. (Bonham, Tex.), Vol. 8, No. 22, Ed. 1 Wednesday, June 14, 1882 Page: 2 of 8
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Fannin County Area Newspaper Collection and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Bonham Public Library.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Wf;
£*• .
wmmmi
j3 ,ts
m-fi
ag£i
f. ,
CHRISTIAN MESSENGER.
i- .i-
—
T T
•F R caped from the consequent contor-
tiom. .
Greeks even the ploughmen and known as “intoning,” bat “more
herdsmen take up graceful afcti- honored in the breach than in the
rB
*qjf;
m
5PUBGE0N.
.
ordeal iudeed:
tb.u atUdnde h
excit
mm
There can be no doubt that
men are made awkward
ough fear. It ismot the man's
: nature, nor. his pulpit, but bis ner-
nass, which makes a guy of
him. To some it is a display of
'great c ourage even to stand before
an audience; and to speak is an
indeed: no wonder that
is constrained, for
are twitching and trembling
Fvery nerve is in a state
t, and their whole
is tremulous with fear. Ea-
ly are they perplexed what
> with their hands, and- they
meaningless manner ; if
'could have them strapped
to tbeir sides they might re-
in the deliverance. One of
clergy cf the church of Eng-
land, in pleading for the use of the
of the re-
t that a nervous
iving to turn over the
hie discourse, thus keeps
occupied ; whereas, if
HI ,,€
paper before him, he
t know what jto do with
<V'' '** ■- ’
r “
p.i>
■ EsaE
ill wind that blows no
and it must be a
i, indeed, which
some remote and oocssion-
Eor nervousness,
there must be a more ef-
ent: the preacher
mquer the evil rath-
I practice,
antages.
SET
its out
ice is a
jfc >••«?•£? r
,
han look for a mode of con-
ird manifestations.
I remedy, and
m God is a stiH more pcftent
When the minister becomes
, ed to the people, he
^^irJbecause he is
at home, and as to
legs, or any other
person, he has no
he goes to work with all
and drops into the posi*
natural to an earnest
man, and these are the most ap-
Unstudied gestures, to
‘"you never turned your
part -of ;
thoughts £or a moment, are the
- Very beat, and the highest result
of art is to-teaufc art, and W*Te
A ^ the man as free to
the gazelle among the mountains.
Occasional oddities of posture
gesture may arise * from the
of finding the next word,
ican observer some years
id : - “ It is interesting some-
paneg to see the different-ways in
which different individuals get out
of the same dilemma. Mr^Cal-
a loss for a
Americ
Bri
•>v-.
houn is not often at
word, but occasionally one sticks
in hie throat, in the pronunciation,
like Macbeth's amen. In such a
case he gives a petulant twitch or
two at his shirt cdil&r, and runs
his bony fiagers through his long
gray hair till it fairly bristles
again. Webster, when bothered
fora word, or snarled up in a sen-
tence, almost invariably scratches
the inner oorner of his loft eye
wtb the third finger of, his right
hand. Failing in this, he rubs bis
nose quite fiercely with the bent
knnekle of his thumb. As a der-
be springs his knees
■ legs resemble an
in plunging his hands
his pockets, he throws
section of his body for-
tho word is ‘bound to
,$p&/" A man ought to be for*
for what he does whan he is
but it would be a great
from
and so es-
14 18£2. Habit also frequently leads
iw- -■ spjsakers into very singular move-
ments, and to these they became
so wedded that they can not speak
without them. Tugging at a but-
ton at the back of th* coat, or
twiddling the lingers, will be often
seen, not as a part of the preach-
er’s oratory, but as a sort of free
accompaniment to it. Addison, in
the Spectator, relates an amusing
incident of this kind : “I remem-
ber, when I wfis a young man, and
used to frequent Westminster Hall,
there was a counselor pho never
pleaded without a piece of pack-,
thread in hie hand, which he used
to twist about a thumb or a finger
all the while ha was speaking: the
wags of those days used to call it
thp thread of iiis discourse, for he
was not able to utter a word with-
-
out it. One of his clients, who
was more merry than wise, stole it
from him one day in the midst of
his pleading but he had better
left it alona, for he lost his cause
by hi* jest.” Gentlemen who are
y^t free from such little peculiar-
ities should be upon their guard,
lest they should gradually yield to
them ; but so long as they ere
mere trifles, observed only by the
few and not injurious to the
preacher’s efforts, nq great stress
need be laid upon them-
The posture of the minister
should be natural, but his nature
must not be of a coarse type; it
should*be graceful, educated na-
ture. He should avoid, especially,
those positions which are unnatu-
ral to a speaker, because they ham-
per the organs of utterance or
cramp his lungs. -.He should use
his common sense, and not make
it difficult for him to speak by
leaning forward over the Bible or
book-board. Bending over as if
you were speaking confidentially
to persqas immediately below
may be tolerated Occasionally, but
as a customary position it is as in-
jurious as it is ungraceful. Who
thinks of stooping when he speaks
in the parlor ! What killing work
it would be to conduct a long con-
versation "while pressing the
breathiug apparatus against the
edgeof a table! Stand upright,
get a firm position, and then speak
like a man. A few orators Oven
err in the other direction, and
throw their heads far back, as
though they were addressing the
angels, or saw a handwriting upon
the ceiling. This also cometh of
evil, and unless the occasional sub-
lime apostrophe requires it, is by
no means to be practiced. John
Wesley well says, “The head ought
not to be held too high, nor clown-
ishly thrust too forward, neither
to be cast down and hang, as it
were, on the breast; nor to lean
always on one side, but to be kept
modestly and decently npright, is
its natural state and position] Fur-
ther, itis neither to be kept immov-
able, as a statue, nor to be contin
tudes without any idea that they
are doing so. I think it also true
observance/'
For myself, I lia^e no theory
of the Italians; for wherever I that fully satisfies my mind on
have seen a Roman man or wo-
man—no matter whether they are
the subject, and I am heartily
glad that this, like ‘ annual calls,”
sleeping upon, the Spagna steps or^ and anti-mission and anti-temper-
sitting upon the fragment of the ance tirades, are matters of histo
Baths of Caracalla, or carrying a
bundle on their head, or riding a
mule, they always look like studios
for an artist; yet this is the la9t
thing which ever crosses their
minds. Those picturesque peas-,
ants have never taken lessons in
calisthenics, nor do they trouble
their heads as to how they appear
to the foreigner ; pure nature, de-
livered from mannerism, primness
and affectation, molds their habits
ry only.
I once heard a reverend brother
preach, who'v^s an expert in this
tone, and no doubt
for a Baptist ch
one near by, went
tor, an old-time
invited these p
cise” for him, and
that Dr. W. should p:
Dr. B. “follow.”| The firft
preached a charming sermt-
lone of his best—full^of
and eloquence, delivered in most
chaste language, for which he was
f 1
famous; and the plain mountain,
he wasted! eers, not used to such “straight^.
enough breath, to rtm an old- forward talking, just like a man
fashioned wind-mill, and pro- was sitting down in a chair, talfc-
nounced that “er-er” often enough
to fence in a moderate-sized cow-
pen ©r turnip patch. I can't do
justice on paper to this man and
liig style, for, to be appreciated, it
must be heard; but I will try to
into gracefulness. We should not give a sentence or two. “My
i _ r__1 - i i -_r\ „_i__; . * . ,, T . , •
be foolish to imitate Gxeeks or
Italians, except in their freedom
from all imitation, but it were well
if we copy their unconstrained
and natural action. There is no
reason why a Christian should be
a clown, and there are a great
many reasons why a minister
should not be a boor.
SING-SONG SERMONS.
BY AN OLD TIME BAPTIST MINISTER.
'
A young sister some time ago
went north, and while there went
around to hear the “pulpit celeb-
rities,” and was much pleased
with the preaching of the leading
ministers of New* York and Bos-
* ♦ ‘ _ 'pi'
ton. She visited me after her re-
turn, and told me of Lorimer,
Talmage, Hall and others, and
was particular in describing the
worship, in a certain church, of
which a Dr. De Raven was pas-
tor. His expression, intonation
and emphasis were new to her—
a solemn, serious, holy tone.
“They call it intoning,” she said.
It was jnuch admired by the peo-
ple generally. After hearing her
description of it, and getting her
to imitate his tones, I was satis-
fied that it was an old custoln re-
vived and given a new name,
which is done in church matters
as well as in other things. I then
told my young sister that in my
young days that solemn, peculiar
style in the pulpit was common
and was known by the irreverent
name of the “Holy Whine,” or
“Whang Doodle Style.”
I have dften heard it> and have
as often puzzled myself to discov-
er its origin, but without satisfac-
tory results. My grand-fat her, who
fought under Washington ai
Trenton and Yorktown, who was
familiar with the “Jerks” <yud
other peculiarities of that day;
told me that in his childhood he
heard but little of the “whang-
doodle preaching;” but that, when
a youth, a famous Mr. Robinson
rose up as a great preacher—a
very “Saul among, the prophets.
This R. had an impediment in his
speech, and at times his “mouth
wouldn't go off” promptly, and
ually moving and throwing itseljlfeo, while hung up on a word, he
about. To avoid both extremes, it
should be turned gently, as occa-
sion is* sometimes one way,'some-
times the other, and at other times
remain looking straight forward,
to the middle of the auditory.’
Too many men assume a slouch-
ing attitnde, lolling and sprawling
as if they were lounging on the
parapet of a bridge and chatting
with somebody down in a boat on
the river. We do not go into the
pulpit to slouch about, and to look
free andeasy,butwego there upon
very solemn business, and our pos-
ture should be such as becomes
our mission* A reverent aud ear-
nest spirit will not be indicated by
a sluggish lounge or & careless
would keep trying to utter it,
and an er-er-er-rerh would be the
result. For illustration: “My be-
loved breethren, I propose to-day
er-ereh te discuss the er-rer-rerb
y
doctrine of wke-er-rer Melchiz-e-
dek was.” Now, this Bro. R., be-
ing a famous preacher “for the
times,” and a great favor-ite, (Ac-
cent on the lost syllable,) he was
“patterned after” by younger men,
and they cultivated this “hum-
ming and hawing” between their
words, to be like Bro. Robinson.
This is my worthy grand-
father’s theory, aud, while it must
be of. local application, yet it may
contain a principle that is of uni-
versal application, and may ac-
slouch. It is said that among the count for that peculiarity of style
breeth-ring-er, I stand before you
er to-day-er^ speak-er of
deatli-er and hell-er and judg-
ment-er. My -lovely, dying con-
gregation, we are all one foot in
the grave-er and the other all but-
er,” etc.
The wicked, uncircumcised ears
would listen for' anything ludi-
crous and amusing, and so they
caught at the last sentence and
said they “liked the other foot
best, as it was all butter.”
Another noted• divine (?) was
one day preaching from the text,
“Marvel not,” and. was confound-
ing his text* with the innocent
game pi marbles that the boys
played at. Said he, as he warmed
to his subject: “Breeth-ring and
siSter-ing, Christ said inarvei not,
and therefore we shoald not mar-
vel.” And he continued: “Mar-
veling leads-er to iyibg-er, tot, as
I,‘rid’* along to-er my appoint-i
meut-er to-day-er, I passed by-er
a squad of men-er marveling, an<J
one said, ‘Thar! I’m fatter!’, and,
my breeth-ring-er, he was the
leanest and lankest-er man in the
crowd-^er. So you see-ej that
marveling-er leads to lying-er.”
Sometimes this suffix was sound-
ed as ah, and each sentence was
profusely interlarded with ah! and
ah! and ah!
It was used in reading Scrip-
ture and sacred poetry, and was
regarded os a necessary part in
worship and prayer. Often have
I heard the ministry of that day
read the hymns introducing these
“grace-notes” according to teste
or habit :
“Awake, my soul, stretch every nerve,
And press with vigor on-ah;
A lieavenlv race demands thy zeal
And an immortal crown-ah.”
Then there was a sing-song ca-
dence in the voice that was very
acceptable to the hearers, which
can no more be described on pa-
per than could the sound of the
wind; (it was moetly wind;) and
P^Uss my young readers will pay
me a visit," they must lose this
part, or draw on their imagination
for it.
To persons (mostly primitive
and ignorant ones) this stylo of
preaching had a charm that made
it more prized and appreciated
than the best sermons of our
most learned and eminent divines.
If one of the latter preached for
them, ’ they invariably went fast
to sleep and didn't appreciate the
effort at all; but when “tbeir men”
preached, they listened, “rapt, in-
spired,” and cams so into sympa-
thy that they would sway their
bodies to and fro, and shout and
.give expressions like this: “Glory!”
“Amen!” “Bless the Lord!”
I have heard a story of a D. D.
who once went up into the mount-
ains about Cesar's Head, in his
flight from the mosquitoes and
“yellow jack,” of Charleston, and
took another D. D. from Green-
ville along with him. As they
■pent Sunday there, they inquired
ing to his neighbors,” all went to
sleep before he had gotten through
with his introduction, and slept
on till he had finished his “final-
ly, my brethren.”
Dr. B., who was remarkable for
*
his keen, practical, good, hard
horse-sense, as well as theology,
saw the situation, , and-rose and
read out a hymn in the “holy
whine” style: •
“Amazin’ grace, how sweet the
That saved a wretch, like ir'
I once was lost, hut now Fro
Was blind, bat now I **-ah.”
This woke up the people;
laying down the book, t
down, opened at the
proceeded to exhort
“My _ breethring-ah, as
along-ah to meetin’ this
I heard a dog-ah a
and, as I looked down
I saw a rabbit-ak
the road-ah and the
- ..-<2
*
SJpW.5
him-ab; and 1 [here Ip
spit on the floor of the
scraped it with his
and looked-ah. Th
the rahbit-ah, as I
ah, and the dog-ah was
on the rabbit-ah fast-ah.
then I forgot it u
and I slapped my
said,- ‘sick ’im-ab;' a
him right thar-ah.” By this
the audience was in
pathy with the speaki
in his description,
hands, an
up and clapped
shouted voeifereuo*j. ,
ry! glory!”
In tbos# days'
for the preach
to pull off his
rail of -the
at it” in
As he
grew warm
JH
ths feulpit, scrape it.
ding his hands and
pound the Bible
sometimes spit in
rub them, and
shirt-sleeves, and 1
and grow more i
and noisy, till
people in
with the
sound; and the
ways come by a
and audible exp
bation and enjoy
Courier.
and
m
■‘3m
Philosophy has
gotten God ae a great
er did. The
last centiwy did not uprooi
tianityj because it lb
hearts of millions,
that infidelity
Christianity never lived
hearts of so many miliic
this moment—[Bancroft/
There was no Ji
Marys and M|
selected as
was crucified
women did not
to his v
morning, an
incredulous
fcion. ______
.-1.
Mi
►ST
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Burnett, Thomas R. Christian Messenger. (Bonham, Tex.), Vol. 8, No. 22, Ed. 1 Wednesday, June 14, 1882, newspaper, June 14, 1882; Bonham, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth913913/m1/2/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Bonham Public Library.