A REVIVAL MEETING.

Press, Volume LXIV, Issue 13009, 10 January 1908, Page 9

A REVIVAL MEETING.

__ « EXTRAORDINARY SCENES.

FRENZIED WOMEN ROLLING ON * THE FLOOR.

(JJLOU OCR OTO COBBKSPONTJEJfT.) j LONDON. November 29. Seldom hnv© there be-on beheld rorirei sceiuai in the least like tliose vitn«6&ed Jatc on Monday night in a minion tent an hour's drive out of ishre-»i>t>ury. The "Mission,"' is being conducted by Mr J. Wesley Baker, who set "P in loat rmd waggon sonic time ago to convert the gip&ies, end wh<*e preaching, wye v Bhre\veun . c o: respondent, acted upon the impressionable villagers in. an. amazing -Yesterday," to says, "I attended tie night meeting, as Mr Baker told mo the .Spirit moved the peopjo better at- that time. Wi>at 1 s«w becomes almost impossible to write about in the clear light, of duy. lam tempted to describe it as an orgie of revivalism. Tho tent wat full to discomfort long before S o'clock, end as the might wore "ii 'ho heat became oppressive, eliiiough out*ide it was bitterly and you could not see. ton jUiead ior driving; sleet end 6now. Tho congregation was of all sorts end conditions. Gipsies occupied the H'hole of the Ironit row; the middle was well filled with well-dressed, sober folk, and the back seemed to be mainly crowded with, curiosity-mon-gers- At the other end was Mr Uaker, hue cominussioner, Mr Foster, half - a - dozen comfortable - looking women, three or four frock-coated, elderly gentlemen, and, lying in. fronit of the lire, some cats and a dog. Hymns, Bible readings, and prayers nwdo up tho quiet and ordinary curly part of tho service; the interest of ctiriosity-mongere was not aroused until a woir.en stepped forward to announce tihat she was saved. A 6eoond followed, and then a third. ■•■\Yith the advent of tho Mr Baker jumped joyfully and cried, •Glorj-, the Trinity!' Briefly, the third women told how 6he was forced to speak out by -a big lump on her ja-w which made her do it. "Then' Mr Baker introduced Brother Bert to the meeting ac 'The worst man in tho district.' Brother Bert was a big, ungainly man, with mutton-chop whiskers, who, as he etepped to the front trod on the cats. Hβ dad not spnro himself. He called, himself a wretched unrm. eaid ho had done everything that was devilish, and finally told how he had been to ©net himself down on tho floor and ory for mercy. Hβ referred to 5Lr Baker as tho Second Peter of a now Perotecost. It was after Brother Bert had stumbled back to bis knees, for the whole congregation, was now preying, that a strange new something crept over the meeting. It 6oamed to start with some peculiar Querulous moans whidh proceeded from two of the women by Tho moans increased. Other women took them up, and then, with awful cuddennese and distinctness, one of the women slipped on to her bods and begin to cry out, in an incessant port of chatter, sounds like this, Tanappa, Parappa,' as hard as she could. "At onoe Mr Baker jumped to his feet, and advancing to the front row and extending his hands forward cried out, with. tremendous fervency, 'Breathe the coming Power! Breatlhe the ooxnine Power 1 Breathe the oonring Power I' Again, again, and again he cried it with terrible intantnees, and you naturalfly felt as you sat there a eort of-,hjßteria surging over the meeting like a tidal wave. As 3lr Baker continued his invocation, which became- almost hypnotic in its energy and iteration, men and women on all sides began to chatter and gibber and cry out in, strange tongues. Anythinc more uncanny 1 have not heard. I can omly say tihat it is incredible to any but those xrho have hoard, it. I tried-to put down, some feeble imitation of what they were gabbling, b'lt it merely looks foolish, and, as they uttered it, it was anything but foolish at the time. One woman's cry was almost an exact imitation of a dog that hod been trodden on. AnotOier woman was quacking Hke a duck. The din was deafening. 'Three women were now on their backs waving tjheir arms like people in a fit and shrieking out at the same time this insane chatter. One of their cries I had no difficulty in taking down. It was just: "Ip, Ip, Ip, Ip"— unceasingly. Over one of the women Mr Baker bent for a moment. Then he turned to the meeting, and in a ringing voice called out, 'The fifteenth' of Luke; that is the interpretation.' Then ho bent over another woman and cried out again, 'Lay it down!' That is what she says, 'Lay it downl* Someone must lay down his or her sin; God says you must!' As he cried it he clapped his hands vigorously. Then another woman -flopped down on the floor and instantly started to rant: 'La, la, la, la, la'—which changed to 1)e do didum , —without intermission. I am not trying to be oheoiply funny or exaggerate; this is exactly wh/»it she said. "By this time, what with fhe heat of the tent, tiho fury of the etorm outside, and tho strange' scenes ineide, some of the congregation seemed to bo getting, not unnaturally, a bit uneasy. Mr Baker saw this, for lie instantly cried out, It's all right; don't be nervous; don't take any notice! They were making the Word of God a living thing. You cannot get beyond this. Tho Holy Ghost is here. You can now well imagine" why people are amazod. . At this moment, without the slightest warning, tho woman who wias sitting exiotJy infront of mc fell off hter seat on to the floors She fell without a eound, and there lay, unlike the others,, without a sound. All that she did was to Etare (horribly at the ceiling. Frankly, I was frightened, and as sne appeared to bo iit some sort of fit, another man and myself were stooping to see if we could do anything for hor. Then Mr Baker called out: 'Do not touch her! Let her alone. She will get through all risht!' Ho removed her hat and hatpins, however, and presently she broke out into big, convulsive cobs. Almost immediately » ■woman about two rows behind began '•eating s. sort of tattoo on the seat in front of her. and ih<sn rolled off on to the floor. -'Moke room for her! Let W lie on hor back! Hooray! , cried Mr Baker. As he was speaking another woman fell down at his fec-t, and Mr Baker himself removed her hat. "Then th*> Spirit suddenly moved mother Bert, and he roso nnd began to pray in a terrible voice and with extreme fervency. The door was opened to admit some air. and a rain- ! eoddened dog crept in.-to be instantly thrown out by a worshipper. Then, although it was now half-past ten, <i-bout a sooro of hobHlehoys ijid lioieyfooking youths crowded in. Mr Baker eyed them sternly and said. Please remember you aro in a place of worship, and I am not going to allow any nonsense.' .—, "J", 'ho courso of time, although P>© singing, and gibberish, and moaning never diminished, the prostrate women began to pot up in -i dazed Taj- and put their hats on again. The end came when Mr Baker said, This meeting is now through so far as 1 understand it.' But even as ho spoke another woman slipped to the floor, and another behind mo started to beat her breast. 'Mother and daughter,' ! *aid Mr Baker. What time the meet- i Wf jra* really over 1 don't know." |