lying in straw, a woman on her knees half delerious with
overwrought feeling & fanaticism, while some dozen [word crossed out]
men were praying & singing round her. A painful sight to
witness. / Anon in one of the tents, Roberts was accosted by his
sister, Butlers wife, & by her led to where his own wife &
their child was. / All three had been camping out since Tuesday)
Wandering about, rather moved for my own part to witness all
this morbid rhapsodizing. As time wore on, a great crowd had
seated itself on roughly-supported plank, in a partially open place
& were listening to a sermon. 10 o clock & Roberts, Mrs
Butler & I enter a vehicle & return to Sing Sing, Mrs Ro-
berts & boy remaining at the Camp. After parting with Mrs B,
(who by the way during all the ride kept asking her brother in a
drawling affected tone, to treat her, to which [word crossed out] Ro-
berts repled he would if she d accompany them to where it was feasible:)
we supped at a tavern, then to an adjacent hotel & abed toget-
her.
4. Saturday. Up, breakfast & aboard, Roberts wife, boy,
Mrs Butler all there. Boat crowded, and speedily the major
part of the occupants, mindful of the Spiritual Bust they
had been partaking of, set to work singing and preaching. All
the hymn tunes sung were rather lively one, the well known
There is a land of pure delight | Page |
| Title: | Thomas Butler Gunn Diaries, Volume Five: page thirty-one |
| Description: | Describes attending a ''Camp Meeting'' with Roberts. |
| Date: | 1852-09-03 |
| Subject: | Butler, Warren, Mrs.; Camp meetings; Gunn, Thomas Butler; Prayer; Religion; Roberts; Roberts, Jr.; Roberts, Mrs.; Sermons; Songs; Women |
| Scan Date: | 2011-02-02 |
| Volume |
| Title: | Thomas Butler Gunn Diaries, Volume Five |
| Description: | Includes descriptions of Gunn looking for drawing and writing work among New York publishers, witnessing a fire at a chocolate factory, attending a religious camp meeting, his friendship with Lotty Whytal, the 1852 presidential election, a visit to Niagara Falls in the winter, a visit to Toronto, Canada, and the Crystal Palace in New York. |
| Subject: | Gunn, Thomas Butler; Railroad; Publishers and publishing; Religion; Travel; Women |
| Coverage (City/State): | New York, New York; Niagara, New York; Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Note: | Thomas Butler Gunn was born February 15, 1826, in Banbury, England, and came to New York in 1849. During the Civil War he worked as a correspondent for the New York Tribune and the New York Evening Post. He returned to England in 1863, and died in Birmingham in April 1903. The collection includes twenty-one volumes of his diaries, including newspaper clippings, letters, photographs, sketches, and various other items inserted by Gunn. Diary entries date from July 7, 1849, to April 7, 1863, and include his experiences with the New York publishing and literary world, his descriptions of boarding houses, his travels throughout the United States, and his experiences traveling with the Federal army as a Civil War correspondent. |
| Publisher: | Missouri History Museum |
| Rights: | Copyright 2011 Missouri History Museum. |
| Source: | Page images, transcriptions, and metadata of the Thomas Butler Gunn diaries have been provided by the Missouri History Museum. |
