Life and Labors of Elder John Kline, the Martyr Missionary Part 25

FRIDAY, May 22. Get to Brother Balsbaugh's, beyond Harrisburg.

SAt.u.r.dAY, May 23. Meeting and love feast at Brother Balsbaugh's. Seven persons baptized to-day.

SUNDAY, May 24. Visit George Copp's, Joseph Long's, Christian Gipe's, and stay all night at Abraham Gipe's. In all my visits I make it a point not to leave a house without making an effort to speak on the subject of religion, and say something that may leave an impression for good.

MONDAY, May 25. Meeting. Acts 10 is read. Visit Brother Shank's, and stay all night at David Zug's.

TUESDAY, May 26. Meeting. Romans 6 is read. Visit George Fesler's, Michael Fesler's, and stay all night at Benjamin Landis's.

WEDNESDAY, May 27. Visit Daniel Zug's and several other families; and at 11 o'clock meeting begins preparatory to love feast this evening.

First Peter 1 is read. Stay all night at Brother Minick's.

THURSDAY, May 28. Meeting at 11 o'clock. John 5 is read. In afternoon visit John Royer's, and stay all night at George Keller's.

FRIDAY, May 29. Yearly Meeting begins. Many brethren and sisters present.

SAt.u.r.dAY, May 30. The Yearly Council closes at noon. Much love and union exists in the Brotherhood. Public meeting this afternoon, and love feast to-night. Much spiritual joy is manifested by the singing of hymns and the offering of prayers. May our heavenly Father grant that the same love and union may continue with us to the end of the world. Our Yearly Meetings will continue to do much good so long as they show to the world our love for one another. "Hereby shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love for one another."

From this meeting Brother Kline set his face homeward, but on the way he managed to attend six appointments for preaching, and two love feasts besides. In tracing his course on his journeys, and noting the amount of active service he performed in the way of preaching and visiting, one is forcibly impressed with the proofs he gives of the order and system that must have characterized and attended his labors.

Not unfrequently he has one or two appointments ahead for every day in the week; and with only a very few exceptions in the whole course of his life, and they were on account of sickness, he never failed to meet the congregations that were looking for him. Soon after getting home from this journey he attended to gathering the gra.s.s and grain harvests on his own farm. He reports twenty-eight tons of hay made this year. He likewise had a tolerably large wheat harvest. About the eighteenth of June heavy rains set in, and they continued to fall at intervals of only a day or two apart for the next six or seven weeks.

The Diary reports a very heavy rain on Sunday, June 28. From this time on for the next six days it reports a flooding rain every day, and very high waters. The grain suffered very much on account of continued wet weather for many days following. This has ever since been known as "the wet harvest." Much of the wheat sprouted in the head before it could be cut; and much of what stood in shocks suffered in the same way. The Diary for July 15 says: "We finished hauling in our grain to-day, some of which had stood in shocks over three weeks. Such extraordinary seasons come along once in a while; but I do imagine it will be a good while in the future before people can generally say, 'I never saw such a wet harvest as this,' alluding to the one they may then be pa.s.sing through."

Between this time and the first day of August, Brother Kline went on another tour to the county of Hardy, in which he attended several meetings; baptized Rebecca, wife of Elijah Judy, on Sat.u.r.day, July 11; and performed the marriage ceremony of George Runion and Susan Aubrey, on the thirteenth.

SUNDAY, July 26. Meeting at Jacob Whetzel's. Matthew 24 is read. I baptized Jacob Pope and his wife.

SUNDAY, August 2. Meeting at our meetinghouse. Samuel Kline and Samuel Roller and his wife are baptized.

MONDAY, August 10. This day Brother Kline started on a journey to Ohio, in company with George Hoover, Joseph Miller, Katy Hoover and Benjamin Wampler. They went in two carriages across the western part of the State of Virginia (now West Virginia) into Pennsylvania, and through the western part of that State into Ohio. As this trip was made specially memorable by a very severe spell of sickness which Brother Kline pa.s.sed through while making it, as well as by the sad effect it had upon his beloved wife, Anna, at home, the editor will be very particular in giving, from the Diary, all the points of interest connected with it.

The second day they crossed the South Branch mountain by what is called the Howard's Lick road. The view from the top of this is perhaps unsurpa.s.sed by any point in the entire range. A very large part of Hardy County, with its magnificent streams and rich bottoms, is visible to the eye. The town of Moorefield from this view reminds one of a child sleeping in its cradle.

Brother Kline, as usual, had a line of appointments for meetings by the way, and he met them as regularly and timely as a train of cars gets to its destined stations. He must have had the name and address of almost every prominent member in the denomination, and they must have had implicit confidence in his word; for the Diary nowhere intimates that he was ever disappointed by not finding the expected congregation when the weather permitted. Nothing of any special interest occurred until the night of Sat.u.r.day, August 15, at which time we find the company at Colley's tavern in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. At this place Brother Kline complains of being sick. He takes some medicine and is able again to travel on through the next three days, and fill one appointment. But on

WEDNESDAY, August 19, there is an appointment in waiting for him which he cannot attend. He says: "I am sick. Cannot go." Bowling Green was the place. He is now at John Sh.e.l.ly's. Notwithstanding his illness, he, with the company, traveled thirty-one miles the next day; and the day after attended a love feast at Brother Daniel Wise's.

His next appointment was at Brother s.h.i.+vely's. He requests George Hoover and Joseph Miller to go on to that place, while he remains at Brother Wise's with Benjamin Wampler and Katy Hoover. He says again: "I am sick." On the evening of

SUNDAY, August 23, we find him at Brother Hershey's, near Lewistown.

He says in the entry for that evening: "I am still sick. Take more medicine to-night." On

MONDAY, August 24, he sent for Dr. Jacob Myers, who gave him a course of medical treatment. The doctor came again the next day, and gave him another course of treatment. He says: "I took another emetic of lobelia to-day, and perspired freely." If lobelia is the poisonous drug that some seem to think it is, we can hardly account for the improvement which Brother Kline reports to have experienced in his feelings, following every administration of it. For on the next day,

WEDNESDAY, August 26, he says: "I feel some better to-day; so much so that I write my will."

THURSDAY, August 27. His own words: "Start again, and pa.s.s through Canton, Ma.s.sillon, Brookfield, Greeneville, Dover, and on to Brother Jacob Kurtz's, where we stay all night." We have to wonder how a man laboring under a well-defined attack of typhoid fever could keep on going for twelve consecutive days before the final breakdown came. It makes one think of Paul, who could even be stoned until he was thought to be dead, and next day be found preaching again. But the crisis with Brother Kline came at last. The entry in the Diary for

FRIDAY, August 28, says: "To-day Brother Hoover and Brother Miller, at my request, leave me; Brother Wampler and Sister Katy remain with me.

What a precious thing love is! My dear Brethren have not only staid with me day and night, but they have constantly watched for opportunities to minister to my comfort or necessities. The Lord reward them abundantly in this life and the next: and bless them at the meetings which I now feel I cannot attend. Dr. Overholtz comes at my request and gives me medicine."

SAt.u.r.dAY, August 29. Suffer extremely, but not quite so much as last night. I now feel as if I were just on a balance between life and death: almost gone.

SUNDAY, August 30. Dr. Overholtz comes again and gives me another course of medicines. I am slightly relieved, but still suffer very much. The Doctor reports fever not as high as yesterday.

MONDAY, August 31. Rest to-day, but am very weak.

TUESDAY, September 1. Doctor does not come to-day.

For some days past the Diary has been kept in a strange hand. Some kind but intelligent friend has made the daily records in perfect imitation of Brother Kline's unaffected style and manner.

SAt.u.r.dAY, September 5. The Doctor is here, but does not give me medicine. I write a letter home.

This letter created overwhelming distress in the mind of Anna, Brother Kline's wife. She had heard about his illness prior to this time; but when she read this letter her mind seemed to give way, and when Brother Kline got back home he found her very ill, both in body and mind. They told him at home that when she read the letter all hope of ever seeing him again vanished, and the shock was more than her sensitive nature could bear. It is very sad to relate, but true, that she never again seemed fairly to realize his being in her presence.

His kindness to her was shown in unremitting attentions, to the day of his death; and I am persuaded that few men could be found to bear such a dire calamity with so much patience and resignation.

There were no entries made in the Diary from September 1, to the fifth. He must have been very sick indeed, during the three days that are omitted.

SAt.u.r.dAY, September 6. He says: Brother Samuel Buck gives me a course of medicine; it works well. Fever entirely broken. Have some appet.i.te.

Begin to mend.

MONDAY, 7. To-day I have rest. Eat some toast bread.

TUESDAY, 8. Still continue to mend, but somewhat slowly.

WEDNESDAY, 9. Take another course of medicines.

THURSDAY, 10. Feel very much better. Can be up some.

FRIDAY, 11. Still mending.

SAt.u.r.dAY, 12. Doing well. Write a letter home, and one to William Lupton.

SUNDAY, 13. Still continue to do well.

MONDAY, 14. Still well, but sit out in the cool air too long, and take a slight backset.

TUESDAY, 15. Do not feel so well, but appet.i.te good.

WEDNESDAY, 16. Still not very well, but appet.i.te good.

THURSDAY, 17. Do not feel very well. Dr. Overholtz comes again, and gives me another course of medicines.

FRIDAY, 18. Feel a little better again.

SAt.u.r.dAY, 19. Not much change from yesterday.

SUNDAY, 20. Dr. Overholtz gives me another course of medicines.