ONE DAY AT THE DANVERS TENT.
By Stephen N. Haskell
Yesterday I spent with the tent company at Danvers. So many interesting things occurred during the time, that I am sure the brethren generally will be interested with a short account of the day. Danvers is a quiet little town of about five thousand inhabitants. It is four miles from the large city of Salem, and nineteen miles from Boston, and large cities and little villages are thick on every side; but Danvers itself is rather a rural town, and very beautiful. Withal, it is a temperance town—not having a licensed rum-seller in the place. Coming into town, we found the tent pitched in a very conspicuous place. Everybody who passes through town must see it. It is in a large, vacant lot, well sodded over with green grass. The brethren have two family tents, one 16x24, tastefully arranged, divided off into bed-rooms and a sitting-room, well furnished with carpet, chairs, table, and other conveniences. Then they have a kitchen tent, 12x16, conveniently furnished with stove, cupboards, tables, etc., all of which give the company a very comfortable and cheerful appearance. In the morning, the brethren began by repitching the big tent. I soon saw that it makes a great difference in the looks of a tent how it is pitched. Now, it sets as solid as a house, and as trim and neat as a tight-fitting boot; while before it looked loose and shiftless. As they need every foot of room for their audience, the stand and all the seats were arranged in the closest possible manner, so as yet to leave room to get around. And, by the way, I like the looks of their stand very much. The platform is broad, and neatly made. The stand extends the whole length in front, but is only twenty inches high. It is covered with a marble oil-cloth, instead of the usual black one which looks so somber. Then the elder has a neat little box large enough for his Bible and lamp. In the center, at each end of the stand, a post is driven down, on which a lamp rests. At evening, I noticed that everything looked light and cheerful. Instead of an ugly-looking board hung upon the center pole, they have four iron rods, each about four feet long, held by staples driven into the center pole. Then there were four more posts driven up in proper places in the tent, on each of which was a large lamp; so there were ten lamps, in all, in the sixty-foot tent. Every lamp was as clean and bright as a new silver dollar. This lights the tent as it should be. We have frequently seen tents with only a couple of little lamps on the stand, and two from the center pole. Of course, everything was dark and gloomy. What a contrast to the neat appearance here presented! Then the seating. Every seat has a back to it; and it is made in so cheap and simple a manner that we wonder that all our tent companies do not have them. A board about thirteen inches wide is set up for the back, and pieces of hoop iron, one at each end and one in the middle, are fastened just over the top of the back and under the bottom of the seat. This holds them securely. One man can put backs to all the seats in a tent in a day, at a trifling cost. The comfort is worth more than enough to pay the expense. As to the interest, Eld. Canright says that in all his labors he has never seen so great an interest as this, and I should judge that this was so. Soon after breakfast, a gentleman came in with six quarts of rich, fresh milk, just from the farm, five miles away. He said that was his little offering; and what is better, he proposes to visit them every day with some of the same substance. Soon after, another farm wagon drove up, and a gentleman said he had a little something for the tent folks. It was a fine lot of potatoes. A friendly neighbor sent in some nice green corn. Soon after, another good-hearted neighbor sent over four pounds of sugar as his token of interest. The next thing was a lot of berries from another interested hearer; and close following this was a mammoth loaf of the most relishable home-made bread. I believe the last offering of the kind came at evening. A gentleman drove up from a place eight miles distant, said he had a little gift for the folks, and emptied into their kitchen a bushel of early rose potatoes, the nicest of the season. Well, I thought and said, there was no danger of our brethren starving in this section, if this was a sample of the way they fare. I noticed several ladies called through the day, so that sisters Canright and Lamson were kept busy in entertaining them. One lady said, “Four of you must come to our house to dinner to-morrow.” By and by another lady came, and said, “We want your whole company to come to our house the next day.” About noon, a reporter came in, and said that he wanted a column of matter about our meetings for a large, weekly paper, which has an extensive circulation in all this region; but he had no time to write it. Would not the brethren write it for him? Certainly, that was just what they were anxious to do. Prof. Stone was soon seated at his table, and in two hours had a very racy, readable article ready for the printer. Another reporter called and wanted something good for three Boston papers. Eld. Canright took that job, and soon had an article which the reporter pronounced, “All right.” A man who is the head of a shoe firm told me that he employed over forty hands, and that every one of them was in the tent every night. He said that the tent and the doctrine there preached was the whole subject of conversation in his shop. Nothing else was talked about. Though the meeting was appointed at eight o’clock, yet as early as seven the people began to come in, in order, as they said, to get a good seat. By half past seven there were two hundred in the tent. Prof. Stone took his place at the organ, and entertained them with some sweet music and appropriate hymns; while sister Canright, sister Lamson, and the elder were busy talking with this one and that one, and getting acquainted with the people. Ten minutes later, the crowd began to come. I stood on an eminence, and looked up and down the streets each way. There was just one continuous stream of people till the streets were lined. They came afoot, in single carriages, in double buggies, in farm wagons, in hacks, etc. We inquired from whence they came, and were astonished to learn that some were here from cities four miles away, some six, some eight, and others as far as fourteen miles. Every region of country is represented, I should judge. At a quarter to eight every seat was full, and Eld. Canright went through the audience and urged them to sit as close as possible. City officers were in attendance, and aided in seating the audience. I learn that all classes of people, from every church, and every society, and every creed were represented in the audience. Ministers, deacons, and Sunday-School superintendents were there. The singing was sweet and rich. Occasionally a hymn was chosen in which all the audience would join. At just eight, the Elder began his discourse on the two-horned beast. As I looked over that grand audience of so many hundreds of people, drawn together in this manner to hear the present truth in this old State where some thought little could be done, I felt that it was a token from God that times were changing, and that New England is yet to be awakened by the third angel’s message. For an hour and ten minutes the audience scarcely took their eyes from the speaker once. Not a man slept, and not the least disturbance. Everything was solemn and quiet as a funeral. At the close of the discourse the books were advertised, as they had been every time before. Now what a rush. They crowded around the stand, reached out their hands with money, and for a quarter of an hour or more Bro. Canright, Stone, and Mead were all busy as they could be handing out books and making change. And it was astonishing to see how some of them bought. One man called for a pamphlet, handed out twice as much as it cost, and would take nothing back. Another man bought a five-cent tract, handed out a dollar bill, then turned and walked away. They called after him, but he said it was all right. Another man wanted a little pamphlet. He put his hand into his pocket, drew out a whole handful of silver pieces, handed them to Eld. Canright, and walked off. Bro. C. called to him; but he said, No: he had got more than his money’s worth. The ladies crowded around the sisters, expressing deep interest and sympathy. Well, we said, thank God for what we have seen at the tent to-day. We believe that God has heard our prayers in New England, and that we shall see fruit of our sacrifices.