Page:The Homes of the New World- Vol. III.djvu/53

Rh fanning the air; the whole church seemed transformed into a regular Bedlam, and the noise and the tumult was horrible. Still, however, the exhorters made their rounds with beaming countenances, as if they were in their right element, and as if everything were going on as it ought to do. Presently we saw our hearty exhorter address a few words to a tall, handsome Mulatto woman, who sate before us, and whilst he was preaching to her she began to preach to him; both talked for some time, with evident enchantment till she also got into motion, and sprang aloft with such vehemence, that three other women took hold of her by the skirts, as if to hold her still on the earth. Two of these laughed quietly, whilst they continued to hold her down, and she to leap up and throw her arms around. At length she fell and rolled about amid convulsive groans. After that she rose up and began to walk about, up and down the church with outspread arms, ejaculating every now and then, “Hallelujah!” Her appearance was now calm, earnest, and really beautiful. Amid all the wild tumult of crying and leaping, on the right hand and the left, she continued to walk up and down the church, in all directions, with outspread arms, eyes cast upwards, exclaiming, in a low voice, “Hallelujah! Hallelujah!” At length she sank down upon her knees on the platform by the altar, and there she became still.

After the crying and the leaping had continued for a good quarter of an hour longer, several negroes raised the Mulatto woman, who was lying prostrate by the altar. She was now quite rigid. They bore her to a bench in front of us, and laid her down upon it.

“What has happened to her?” inquired Anne W. from a young negro girl whom she knew.

“Converted!” said she laconically, and joined those who were softly rubbing the pulses of the converted.

I laid my hand upon her brow. It was quite cold, so also were her hands.