5 o 4 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



be twitched right and left to a half-round with such velocity that not 

 a feature could be discovered, but the face appeared as much behind 

 as before. Head-dresses were of little account among the female jerk- 

 ers. Handkerchiefs, bound tight round the head, were flirted off with 

 the first twitch, and the hair put into the utmost confusion ; this was 

 of very great inconvenience, to redress which the generality were 

 shorn, though directly contrary to their confession of faith. Such as 

 were seized with the jerks were wrested at once, not only from under 

 their own government, but from that of every one else, so that it was 

 dangerous to attempt confining them or touching them in any manner, 

 to whatever danger they were exposed. Yet few were hurt, except 

 such as rebelled against the operations through willful and deliberate 

 enmity, and refused to comply with the injunctions which it came to 

 enforce." 



The same writer gives the history of a case of jerks as follows, and 

 no case could illustrate more strikingly the nature of the affection : 



A young man, of a pious family, the son of a tanner, feigned sick- 

 ness one Sunday morning to avoid going that day to camp-meeting. 

 He kept his bed until he was assured that all the family, except a few 

 negro children, had left the premises, and was much pleased at the 

 success of his stratagem. As he lay quietly in his bed, his thoughts 

 naturally turned to the camp-meeting in progress. The assembled 

 multitude, excited, agitated, convulsed, rose up vividly before his 

 mind. All at once, while occupied with the scene, he felt himself 

 violently jerked out of bed, and dashed round the walls in a manner 

 utterly beyond his control. Prayer, he remembered, was deemed effi- 

 cacious in such circumstances, and he fell upon his knees in the hope 

 that it would prove a sedative in his case. It turned out as he hoped, 

 and he returned to bed, happy at finding the spirit exorcised. But the 

 enemy soon returned ; the jerks were as bad as ever, but were again 

 allayed by prayer. Dressing himself, he now went to the tan-yard, 

 and set about currying a hide to occupy his mind. He rolled up his 

 sleeves, and, grasping his knife, was about to commence the operation, 

 when suddenly the knife was flirted out of his hand, and he was jerked 

 violently backward, over logs and against fences, as before. Gaining 

 relief by resorting once more to prayer, he ventured to resume his 

 occupation, but was again seized with convulsions, and at last forsook 

 the tan-yard and betook himself to strong cries for mercy, at which he 

 was found engaged by the family on their return from the meeting in 

 the evening.* 



Another characteristic example is related by a writer in the " Gos- 

 pel Herald"f : 



A gentleman and lady of some note in the fashionable world were 

 attracted by curiosity to the camp-meeting at Cane Ridge. They in- 

 dulged in many contemptuous remarks on their way, about the poor 

 * Davidson, op. cit. f " History of Methodism in the United States." 



