Page:The Homes of the New World- Vol. I.djvu/341

 camp we observe a quieter scene among the whites. Some of the forms which had thrown themselves on their knees at the counter have removed themselves, but others are still lying there, and the ministers seem in vain to talk or to sing to them. One of these, a young girl, is lifted up by her friends and found to be “in a trance.” She now lies with her head in the lap of a woman dressed in black, with her pretty, young face turned upwards, rigid, and as it appears, totally unconscious. The woman dressed in black and another also in the same coloured attire, both with beautiful though sorrowful countenances, softly fan the young girl with their fans and watch her with serious looks, whilst ten or twelve women—most of them young—stand around her, singing softly and sweetly a hymn of the resurrection; all watching the young girl, in whom they believe that something great is now taking place. It is really a beau tiful scene in that thunderous night, and by the light of the fire-altars.

After we had contemplated these scenes, certainly for an hour, and the state of exaltation began to abate, and the principal glory of the night seemed to be over, Mrs. W. H. and myself retired to the tent to rest. This lay at the outskirts of the white camp, and from a feeling of curiosity I walked some distance into the darker portion of the wood. Here horrible things were going on, not among human beings, but among frogs and other reptiles. They also seemed to be holding some sort of a great meeting, and croaked and croaked, and coughed and snorted, and made such wonderful noises and blurts of extraordinary sound, which were like nothing but a regular comedy. Never before did I hear such a concert. It was like a parody of the scenes we had just witnessed.

It was sultry and oppressive in the tent. Our kind hostess did all in her power to make it comfortable