USA > Massachusetts > Dukes County > Marthas Vineyard > Martha's Vineyard, summer resort, 1835-1935 > Part 4
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intense interest and apparent pleasure; and as mere spectators of that glorious scene, we fear, are even many of our own people, who dare not approach the table to commemorate the death of Him through whose grace they hope to be saved."
As for the parting, it comes upon the final hour of praise and victory. The campers gather together, forming a procession "two and two, around the area within the circle of tents, singing at the same time some appropriate hymn, and finally all halting, and then each passing by every other one, taking them by the hand and bidding them farewell. The scene is often most affecting. Christian ministers. and brethren who have been together here in the tented grove, mingling their prayers and praises to Jehovah, and laboring together for the same object, the salvation of undying souls, now separating, some of them never to meet again until the great day of final judg- ment, of which day, a camp meeting, as has often been remarked, more strikingly and impressively reminds one than any other scene on earth. This is truly a ceremony on which multitudes of spectators look with the deepest emotion. Hard and stoical must be the indi- vidual who could feel otherwise, and from whose eye would not steal the tear of sympathy, if not that of penitence or of joy." God be with you until we meet again!
Foolish is he who camps at the grove and thinks that he will not be moved, or who witnesses the meetings by the cool horizontal light of dawn, during the bright ruffled day or at the aftermath of starlight and shadow, and thinks that he may ever forget. "The cry for a clean heart becomes general, and the Lord answers in the full salvation of many souls. Numbers who are not easily excited are shorn of their strength, and lie for hours without the power either to speak or move. Some who have doubted the reality of such exercises look on in amazement, and exclaim with the Psalmist, 'This is the Lord's doing; it is marvellous in our eyes.' "
Such in their own language are the spiritual adventures, the mem- orable experiences of the campers in the grove. But what words can tell the ultimate sensations produced in this place, not alone by the uprush of religion invoked in assemblage by exhortation and mutual impulse, but as well by the manifold touches of nature? The grace of God is not so present in the preaching or prayers, which must
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begin and cease at some finite moment, as in the feeling of the soft air, the eternal awakening of a summer morning in the open sea- shore, the blended coolness and warmth, the awareness of life in the great oaks and the winds, the marvelous scents of the evening and the strange spell of a dim, perfumed August night, all of which yield and blend into one another, but never end. The camper is embraced by the most ingratiating gestures in all nature; in his quest at camp meeting he and his pastors walk not alone.
Nor are strange experiences limited to the scene of the meeting itself. A Presbyterian clergyman, for instance, is on his way to the grove by road, driving through narrow openings between the endless scrub oak thickets which run into the Vineyard's Great Plain. Twigs and branches lash the carriage; and where the oaks become larger, the way is sometimes hard to make. As the minister looks ahead, he sees a strange apparition in the dusty roadway; an angry figure seems to be striking enormous blows with a glistening sword. Odd fancies fly into the Presbyterian mind, and he thinks of Biblical visions. But this is no vision. Again and again the deadly blade flashes in the sun, rising and falling with rhythmic force. Presently the minister is near enough to see a Negro of gigantic stature striking off protruding branches from the trees with a war sword. The man is, it proves, a servant of Captain Cleaveland of West Tisbury, a retired whaling master, brought to the Vineyard from Valparaiso, and he is using a blade of the captain's.
"Has the milennium come"? exclaims the minister. "I see you are using a spear for a pruning hook. I wish no sword was ever worse employed."
The Negro smiles, showing his white teeth, and the minister drives on toward the grove.
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VIII
"How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and Thy Tabernacles, O Israel."
The growth of the camp meeting was amazing. At the second meeting there were brethren and society tents from New Bedford, Falmouth, Nantucket, South Yarmouth, Sandwich, Fall River, Bristol, and several other places. In 1842 there were forty tents, sheltering 1,189 persons; but the congregation on Sunday numbered about 2,500 persons. A suitable name for the ground had been agreed upon in 1840-Wesleyan Grove-and there were unmistakable signs that Wesleyan Grove was to flourish. Year by year its fame spread and its converts rendered praise.
But the lease of the ground ran out in 1844, and, although to many campers it seemed a sacrilege to abandon the meeting place, a convocation of preachers and tent-masters-most of them from the mainland-voted to make new arrangements. It was not that these leaders lacked appreciation of Wesleyan Grove or of what had been accomplished there, but they felt that nine years was enough to make the spot an old story. Perhaps, they said, removal to a fresh ground would stir up new spiritual activity.
It occurred to one brother that, "although an old story, the unusual- ly full attendance, the deep concern manifested, and the glorious results, have demonstrated that the age of the story has not very materially lessened the interest felt in it, after all." The event proved that this Islander saw truly.
The fixtures were sold for what they would bring, and the parting was stirred by deeper emotion even than usual. In a scene of some distress, tents were struck, teamsters removed baggage and other goods, and the preachers' tent and stand were put up by an auctioneer. Wesleyan Grove was left bare. The following year, 1845, the meeting convened near Westport Point, on the mainland. But this was no Wesleyan Grove; the brethren looked about for yet another place, and as they hesitated and disagreed, the presiding elder cast his influence in favor of returning to the Vineyard.
Thirteen societies came to Wesleyan Grove in 1846. New lumber had been purchased, a new well had been dug, and a new lease signed.
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The expense of establishing the meeting once again in its rightful setting came to about $175, a sum which remained as a debt against the brethren for three years, due to the difficulty of raising the neces- sary funds.
By 1849 the number of tents had increased to fifty. By 1851 there were a full hundred, and "by estimation" between 3,500 and 4,000 persons were in the congregation on Sunday of camp meeting week. Sixty ministers were present, and thirty-four persons professed con- version, among them an aged sea captain.
Still the meetings grew. Behind the main circle of society tents there were other circles. The grove had become a tented community, with paths and ways, and an organized life. The white canvas among the trees was a rare sight by day, and by night, with a lantern burning in each tent under the rules of the encampment, the scene was even more strangely beautiful. In 1855 there were two hundred tents, in 1858 more than three hundred and twenty.
The increase now was due to the new practice of establishing family tents, for the sake of greater domesticity. As a result, some of the society tents seemed relatively deserted, many of the most faithful members of some flocks having taken up individual habi- tations. This was pleasanter for the families, since they cooked, ate and slept by themselves, but sometimes the result was not so favor- able for prayer meetings appointed for the society tents. Families might forget to appear. A rule was adopted that no man could pitch a family tent unless he presented a letter from the pastor of his home church; and, still later, it was required that every family tent should bear on its exterior the name of the owner, and the name of the home church. The church was held responsible for the earnestness and behavior of all tents deriving from it.
Such was the demand for straw for the tents, that Sirson P. Coffin, agent of the meeting, was prompted to advertise for a greater supply. It was well that he did, for the convocation of 1858 sur- passed all anticipations. Not only private citizens but the governors of states appeared at the grove. On camp meeting Sunday a single well supplied water for eight or ten thousand persons and three hundred horses. "It was truly providential," Hebron Vincent wrote, "that no accident befell it."
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With the meeting swelling to such proportions, there were new problems of administration, and, moreover, new expenses to be met. In 1856, for the first time, a tax of fifty cents had been assessed against each tent, and the treasury was nourished; but this was just a beginning. The ground rent was thirty dollars a year, no great item; but now there was a community to be watched, protected, lighted, and safeguarded in health.
There was more likely to be annoyance from without. Hebron Vincent wrote, "Notwithstanding it is so generally known that a strict supervision is exercised here, and that groups of evil-minded strangers who may come and take up quarters in the neighboring woods to revel with their bottles, are very likely to be detected, or to have their treasures found and cared for, still some do, occasionally, try to see how well they can elude the vigilance of officers of the meeting."
Already, in a few cases, small wooden buildings had taken the place of tents, and many tents had floors and uprights of 'wood which were left at the grove from year to year. Following the large meeting of 1858, the camp meeting itself made plans for a head- quarters structure which was completed in readiness for the next year. It was a little distance from the main circle and stood two and a half stories high. In one corner a postoffice could be kept, there was an office, room for storage, a place for oils and lanterns; up- stairs the agent could lodge, the finance committee could meet, and the tent-masters could assemble; the attic might be used for lodging for strangers, or for storage during the winter. The cost of this building, which measured twenty-four by forty feet, was less than a thousand dollars.
In the rear of the main circle of large tents, an avenue forty feet in width was laid out, encompassing the whole arc; for there was no longer a semi-circle, but an enormous circle surrounding the preachers' stand. Soon the stand was rebuilt, with five sides of an octagon and a straight back; it could accommodate thirty or forty persons. The usual arrangements were made in front for the singers and for penitents, but on a larger scale than before. The stand was latticed and painted. It cost five hundred dollars.
New seating was provided for the congregation as well; seating
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on a grand scale, with backs, instead of the old rough boards. Fixed accommodations were thus provided for from 3,000 to 4,000 per- sons. But on one of the Big Sundays "ten thousand people might find convenient positions, either sitting or standing, and listen to the word of life uttered from the stand." The cost of seating, which was completed in 1861, did not fall much short of $2,000. These were incredible sums for the meeting which, in 1846, had needed three years to retire a debt of $175. And still Wesleyan Grove was growing.
In the early years there had been no fixed time for beginning or ending the yearly meetings; in particular it was a question whether to extend them over Sunday, or to complete the series between Monday morning and Saturday night. Gradually the custom of con- tinuing over Sunday became established, and the final Sunday became the climax of the meeting. On this day the greatest crowds poured in, from steamer and from carriages; one soon spoke of Camp Meeting Sunday, Big Sunday or High Sunday, and any of the three phrases conveyed the meaning of a mighty gathering and a scene of excitement.
In August, 1859, the steamer Eagle's Wing brought 15,000 persons to the camp ground. In 1860 there were 12,000 at the grove for Big Sunday alone. The Eagle's Wing brought 1,200 passengers on that day, and the Island Home brought 1,400. There were as many as thirty-six prayer meetings in progress at once in the society tents or out of doors.
"Who can consider the rapid strides of the wisdom of God in man?" inquired Sirson P. Coffin, making his report as agent of the meeting.
The main avenue around the circle was named Asbury Avenue, after the bishop; but common usage soon changed the designation to Broadway. Was this a sign of a new and profane age? At any · rate, the name today is Trinity Park. A bell was provided for the preachers' stand, and at a given signal the encampment retired to rest or rose to labor; the bell was rung also to proclaim the hours of service.
"Why," exclaimed the Rev. Dr. Parks, from the state of New York, "this is the largest camp meeting in the world!"
Campers at Wesleyan Grove had been coming to this opinion
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Old views courtesy of Dukes County Historical Society Hoop skirts and silk hats kept Wesleyan Grove at the height of fashion. Note the croquet mallets in the left center picture. Herein is a pageant of tent and cottage life in the great days.
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themselves, not without gratification. Perhaps Dr. Parks was the more impressed because he saw, with his own eyes, the frames for forty new tents brought to the grove by a single steamer in one day.
Growth meant some sacrifices : it was no longer possible to hold an old fashioned march around the circle at Parting, for instance; and the large assemblage of ministers could not be counted on to produce sermons of the true camp meeting stamp. Yet sinners con- tinued to profess conversion, "some of them of very good social position in the communities in which they resided." Progress had brought a new era-the brethren recognized that-and did not their new responsibilities change, somewhat, their own points of view? Because the present was not like the past, it was not necessarily less good. The ecstasies and prodigies of religious and emotional experi- ence were less marked, perhaps due to the greater numbers, or to some new growth of the times, but the grace of Wesleyan Grove seemed as evident as in those first stirring summers.
A visitor in 1864 wrote of an evening at the tented city : "The ocean was calm, and not a murmur escaped from its heaving bosom. Night's starry hosts had taken their customary places, and like dia- monds in a sea of glass danced in the starry canopy of heaven. Not to be outdone, the solemn moon arose and smiled forth her silvery beauty. The beacon lights of the Island shed their rays over the slumbering waste to warn travelling mankind of the presence of rocks, shoals and quicksands, and guide them in safety to their destined port. We were seated out upon the bluff with an old friend, talking of the days of boyhood and boyish affections, and as we looked up into the holy sky, our minds became so full of the scene that a voice of the buried unforgotten seemed to speak to us in a tone that fell gently on the soul, and the smile of God seemed verily to be over the whole world."
The age of miracles was not past; it was only that new kinds of miracles came with the new years .
"How swells that song of invocation, Come Holy Spirit, how deep from the heart wells out that prayer for pentecostal blessing- how reverently is that scripture read-how hushed the listening crowd; and when the sermon comes at last, how attentive is every ear and how every eye is fixed. It is a goodly scene. Again sweeps
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through the grand woods that tide of song; again goes up the offering of prayer and then falls on the heart of the satisfied people that come asking for the bread of life, the benediction of the Peace of God."
1X
"Religion never was designed to make pleasures less."
It is difficult to say just when the picnic spirit first crept into the Martha's Vineyard camp meeting, for who can define the picnic spirit? Probably the urge for recreation was implicit in the gatherings from the beginning, and sooner or later it would be expressed in such a form that recognition could not longer be denied. Yet is religion any the less earnest because those who attend devotions are, earlier or later, enjoying promenades along the shore or baths in the sea?
Early in the life of the camp meeting, members of the encamp- ment fell into the custom of arriving early, before the opening of camp meeting week, in order to rusticate. Until the era of the family tents, however, this custom was not widespread, nor did it invite remarks. Decentralization of the church societies into families, the ownership of family tents, and then the gradual transformation of these tents into permanent frameworks or, at the last, into cot- tages, was to bring about a community not only of camp meeting life but of summer homes.
The attractions of Big Sunday prompted steamboat owners and masters (sometimes they were one) to run special excursions for the day, pouring out at the grove great numbers of spectators who were out for a good time and not particularly interested in devotions. At first the camp meeting objected strenuously. Sunday observance was upheld as a cardinal principle which must not be violated. A resolution of 1861 called upon the officers of the national govern- ment and of the armies "to maintain, as far as possible, the sanctity of the Sabbath; so that neither in camp nor field, nor in the trans- portation of troops, there be any secular duties required on that day that are not absolutely necessary." What was requested of the national
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government in time of war was naturally a grave concern of the encampment at Wesleyan Grove. It was voted to withhold all patronage from steamboats which made trips on Sunday, and in the event that no boat could be found willing to respect the Sabbath, it was resolved that the meeting should adjourn before the Sabbath. For a time the leaders of the camp meeting were successful; steam- boats did not run on Sunday. But the breaches were to begin again, and to multiply.
The size of the encampment made it necessary that all sorts of collateral activities should be carried on. Not only were there board- ing tents and victualling tents, but there were tents for barbers and bootblacks, for washerwomen and for photographers. In fact, the necessities of life in the grove were provided for, and, more than that, some of the luxuries; and as the encampment grew, it was difficult to tell just where the proper business of catering to the meeting stopped, and where the devices of rustication and pleasure began.
A description written by a Boston newspaperman in 1859 dis- closes to the modern eye that the picnic spirit had already seeped well into the airs and customs of the grove. "When I first visited the encampment on Sunday last," this visitor recorded, "there were probably twenty thousand persons assembled . . . " (In this he was greatly mistaken; enthusiasm warped his judgment, for the attendance was not so large by thousands.) "And although the day was the blessed Sabbath, the scene, for a few hours, reminded me of the Fourth of July, minus fireworks and boisterousness. Everybody appeared happy, joyful, smiling; thousands of young and beautiful females, elegantly dressed, promenaded along green paths with young men, whilst an immense crowd listened attentively to elo- quent and deeply impressive addresses . . . Many thousand per- sons visited the camp ground merely to enjoy a day's pleasure, and seemed to take not the slightest interest in the religious services; but not one individual interfered in any manner to interrupt or disturb the true worshippers . . . I speak of the tout ensemble as an extra- ordinary show. I never before saw a finer display of beautiful women, better regularity, or thousands so well conducting themselves, as at this camp ground."
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"This religious festival is," he went on, "to the Methodists, like a Newport or Saratoga, without the great bustle, fashion, ceremony and expense of such places, while the pure elements of religion are included by them as an additional luxury and enjoyment."
Is it not prophetic that this lay observer should, in apparent inno- cence, place the religious side of the camp as the secondary, instead of the primary, enjoyment? Is it not disquieting that he should so readily find on his tongue the names of Newport and Saratoga? The directors of the camp meeting (a formal association is to be formed for the first time in 1860) are not without anxiety. But there is no danger . . .
Hebron Vincent, now secretary of the Martha's Vineyard Camp Meeting Association, writes in 1864: "It is true that other things were attended to besides religious worship by many gathered here; for it cannot be denied that very many came, as on other occasions, for purposes of pleasure and recreation, rather than for any higher object,-'judging them by their works.' Promenading was followed no less than in former years, and sea bathing was more extensively practised than ever before. Well as these things are in their places, they should not be allowed to engross too much of precious time. Nor were they allowed to do so by all. Let illiberal critics say what they will of the decrease of spirituality in the meetings held here, it is averred that hundreds and thousands of Christians, ministers and laymen, come for the same holy purposes and in the same devout spirit as in bygone days. It does not follow that because we do not all live together in the large tents, and sleep in the straw, that our religion has died out."
And later : "Is not health a blessing which we, as Christians, are bound to preserve and promote? . . . Many without scruple go to Saratoga, Niagara Falls or some similar resort, from which they return with depleted wallets, and, very likely, with, to say the least, no more religious principles and enjoyment than they went with. We, of course, admit that many have tents and cottages here who are not professors of experimental religion, and not a few who are not connected with Methodist congregations at home; but they are usually people of high respectability, of good morals and character. And, coming to a place which they know is selected and held for
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religious purposes, they conform themselves to its prescribed rules.
. . How much better, then, for the Christian man, who can go somewhere to recruit his health, and as a respite from care, to come to such a place, aside from the privilege of the meeting proper, thus promoting both health and spirituality, than to go at four times the cost to either of the resorts named !"
So far as the argument goes, Mr. Vincent seems to have the better of it. Yet it is impossible to overlook the fact that he is fighting a defensive engagement, perhaps a rear guard action, covering the retreat of . . . just what, just how much? Surely it is not by acci- dent that so many delighted visitors to Wesleyan Grove speak of the beauty of the young women, and the universality of moonlight walks on the bluff. And there are certain ribald jests and verses which surely must, sooner or later, come to the uncomfortable ears of the association.
Mr. Vincent elaborates his theme: "Where . .. on the whole New England coast can a more salubrious or enchanting spot be found than this? . . . But, while it has these advantages, it is free from the disadvantages of the Newports, Nahants and Sara- togas. It is under Christian control, and is bound to continue so." Even the wicked may come, as they are likely to appear anywhere, but the visit is bound to be good for them, especially since "many persons who come hither-the high in social position as well as the low-will sometimes listen to a gospel sermon, who seldom, if ever, do so in the church of God at home."
Mr. Vincent still has the best of the argument, but one might be justified in believing that he is defending, not a camp meeting such as has been held so often at Wesleyan Grove, but -- horror of horrors-a summer resort !
The increasing crowds are a triumph for the encampment, whether the great numbers are drawn by the charm of the place or by a spiritual aim. On the Vineyard, at least, the teeming weeks in August inspire more pride than misgiving. The familiar names of Newport and Saratoga are uttered with a trace of condescension, a trace of complacency. Instead of attracting worshippers or visitors from a narrow radius of towns and cities in southeastern Massachu- setts, Wesleyan Grove now draws its thousands from the whole
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populous east of the United States, and stragglers from afar. It is known all over the country-no, all over the world. It is the largest and most famous of all the camp meetings, and its fame is growing.
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