Crew Brides of Eden

A True Story Imagined
1. Auflage 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5439-0831-2
Verlag: BookBaby
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: PC/MAC/eReader/Tablet/DL/kein Kopierschutz

E-Book, Englisch, 236 Seiten

How could such a thing happen in Corvallis, of all places?....As if nine Christian churches must certainly be enough to save a mere two thousand souls from such doings. As if tidy picked fences alone could keep the female population contentedly at home. As if lacing us tightly enough in our corsets must surely guarantee protection from all evil.... In our defense, I can say only that nothing seemed so terribly strange in the beginning. There were no portents of doom, no angel at the gate warning us of the perils that lay beyond... In this true, stranger-than-fiction tale set at the turn of the 20th Century, sixteen-year-old Eva Mae tells of the excitement and horror of being swept up in a group bearing an uncanny resemblance to contemporary 'End time' cults. Her gripping story reminds us that no one is entirely immune to the power of a single charismatic voice heard at a vulnerable time.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Crew, Linda

Leseproben

Chapter Two
  Sophie Hartley’s elegant house was perfect for our meetings; we had it all to ourselves. Her father was hardly ever home since he had an important position at the Bohemia Mines down in Cottage Grove, and her brother was a student up at the college. In this well-appointed home, our first meetings, I’m sure, would have looked to an outsider like any other sedate gathering in polite society. Until Joshua started preaching, that is. “There are times when we know,” he began in low tones one afternoon, “that we’ve traveled all our lives simply for the purpose of arriving at a certain very important place at a very important time.” He paused, scanning the faces of the two dozen of us, his eyes taking in each individually. “I, myself,” he went on, “have made it my life’s journey to be here, in this place, at this time, to bring you this message.” I glanced across the parlor at Attie Bray, my cousin. She’d told me once that when Joshua talked this way, about coming long distances, she felt certain he was referring specifically to her. After all, she was the one who’d traveled to be here, having come to Corvallis for schooling superior to what was available on the sparsely settled coast. When I pointed out that this was seven or eight years ago, she just said it only showed how complicated it could be, time and distance-wise, when God was working His purpose out. Now she gazed at Joshua with the purest adoration, her expression giving her angular face a lovely glow. She looked almost pretty. “I’m here to ask you to come away,” Joshua said. “Come away from the world and all its evils. Will you do that?” “Yes,” we murmured. “Will you do that for me?” “Yes, Joshua, yes!” “‘Enter ye in at the straight gate,’” he read from Matthew. “‘For wide is the gate and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat. Because straight is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it… .’” Such power in that voice! It filled the room, filled our ears, filled our hearts. I stared, transfixed, as the phrases rolled over and around me like ocean waves, sweeping me off once more. “How does he do it?” I asked Maud as we drifted home, still in the weakened, dreamlike state his preaching produced. Before a meeting I might feel ordinary and calm, thinking surely my mind exaggerated in remembering the fierce intensity of the previous day’s sermon. Yet as soon as I entered the Hartleys’ parlor and once more submitted myself to Joshua’s penetrating stare and booming voice, I would again be overcome. “He does it,” Maud said, “by the grace of God. By the power of the Holy Spirit. ’’ And truly, what else could it be? One night at dinner Maud made a shocking announcement. “I should let you all know,” she said calmly, “that I’ve broken off my engagement to James Berry.” “What?” Papa said as around the table forks stopped halfway to mouths. “Why’d you go and do that?” He’d always made it plain he thought Mr. Berry, who owned the bicycle shop, a fine match for Maud. “Joshua doesn’t think I should many him,” Maud said. “Joshua!” Papa exclaimed. “Since when does he tell people whom to marry and whom not to marry?’’ “He didn’t,” Maud said primly. “He only made me see what’s right. I should have seen it sooner myself. Mr. Berry doesn’t have the spiritual depth I need in a husband.” Poor Papa. He looked so bewildered. And I can’t say I blamed him. Maud wasn’t getting any younger, and it wasn’t as if she’d been fending off marriage proposals right and left. On the other hand, if she didn’t want to marry the man, why should she? To be honest, I’d never liked James Berry much myself. Oh, he was handsome enough. But there was something in his manner that put me on guard. “I thought you said he’d been coming to your meetings,” Papa said, still looking for a better explanation. Maud sniffed. “What does that prove? Maybe he was only trying to please me. I need a man who wants to please God.” Papa frowned. “Eva Mae, did you know about this?” I blinked, astonished. I never knew what Maud planned to do next. “Sarah?” he said, looking next at Mama, who gave a little shrug and suddenly decided she had to fetch more rolls from the kitchen. “Well,” Papa said. “Well. This Mr. Creffield seems to hold a fair amount of influence, doesn’t he?” No one responded. We certainly couldn’t deny it. And as it turned out, Maud’s was only the first of many dramatic decisions made at Joshua’s behest. The next was Sophie Hartley’s. One day when we arrived early for services, Sophie told Maud and me that she was quitting college. “The place is full of evil,” she declared. “What sort of evil?” I asked, wide eyed. “Just …” She shuddered. “Evil. If I thought there was the slightest chance of bringing any light to that darkness, I’d have stayed, but it was no use. I mean, I went right into the office of the president of the college and offered to pray for him. He seemed agreeable. He even brought in two professors and persuaded them to kneel on the floor with me. And I prayed so fervently! They seemed impressed.” “What did you pray for?” I asked. “Oh, that God would shine His spirit on them and help them do more for the spiritual welfare of all the students. But when I told Joshua about it, he was furious. He says there’s no hope for them. They’re defiled. All learning is the work of the devil, and I was debasing myself to even try to persuade them. So, I’m never going back there.” “But what does your father say?” I asked. “Weren’t you almost ready to graduate?” “That’s the truly frightening part! I believe Joshua saved me just in time. I went right home and took a pair of scissors to that graduation dress Mama and I’ve been making.” I winced. “The white one with the cutwork?” “Yes!” I confess to a certain dismay. I had stood right there at Sophie’s machine on several occasions, admiring all the fine lace insertions and edgings going into that gown. “And the wonderful part is,” Sophie said, “I’ve never felt better about anything in my life. Mama too. We threw it onto the burn pile in the yard and it was …well, it was thrilling. We looked at each other and we knew. We knew we were doing the right thing.” “Of course you were,” Maud said, her eyes shining, seizing Sophie’s hands. “This is truly a gift from God.” I stood there, looking on, feeling shut out somehow. Maud had always called Sophie shallow and frowned at her fashionable clothes; now she was giving her a look of such love and approval, the two of them lit up with this moment of sharing. I wanted that spirit to touch me too. Then, in April, came a day that particularly sticks in my mind. Joshua’s sermon followed one of his favorite themes. “‘But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare,”’ he roared, “‘and into many foolish lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. “‘For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many arrows. “‘But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness!’” He closed the Bible and stared straight at us. “If you believe this,” he said, “if you believe in me, then I need your commitment. I need your help to bring the Kingdom of God here to earth. I need you to give up your worldly goods and turn them into the power that will save souls!” We were nodding, swaying with this, calling, “Yes, yes, we will!” “If you have money, give it to God. If you have possessions or a business that can be turned into money, then turn it into money and give it to God!” We were clapping and chanting. It made so much sense. It sounded so right. After the meeting Mama started for home, but I stayed behind with Maud and another of our cousins, Esther Mitchell, the three of us lingering on the boardwalk in front of the Hartleys’, hoping we’d catch another glimpse of Joshua. Maybe we could even walk with him to his boardinghouse, as we sometimes did, on the excuse of asking clarification of some obscure Bible passage. As we watched the front door for Joshua, Maud’s ex-fiancé, James Berry, came out. “Looks like that’ll be it for me,” he said, taking the steps with an almost jaunty air. Maud made a point of turning away, gazing up into the blooming branches of an apple tree. Esther frowned. “You’re leaving the Holy Disciples?” Joshua changed the name of our group with fair frequency, and this was the latest of them. “Well, I never considered myself an official member, you know.” “I thought Joshua said you’d made him a gift of money,” Esther said. I glanced at Maud. I’d heard this too. In fact, I suspected it was Maud who’d put him up to it when they were still engaged. “Not a gift,” Mr. Berry said. “A loan. Now he’s asking me to give him a...