BRIGGS ONCE MORE, HIS SICKNESS, CONVERSION, RELIGION AND PREACHING; LICENSE ASKED SOME POETRY. DENNIS SIMMONS BRIGGS' HELPER.

It was said Briggs had a severe spell of sickness, after the writer attended his school, when it was said he professed a religious conversion.

Now the Knotts Island way to obtain pardon for sinful offenses was to prostrate yourself at the mourners' bench, in the open, and there seek forgiveness. They did not believe in this sly, sickbed, repentance, especially so, as to the conversion of old Briggs. "Old Briggs" was the general appellation applied to this teacher of thirty five forty years of age, by the Island people.

This doubt as to the conversion of Briggs soon culminated into a solid disbelief. Congeniality always existed between a good preacher in the pulpit and the people of this Island. Briggs had long since found this out, and a gratifying thought on this line had now entered his discerning mind. He wanted to become a preacher. The affinity between him and brother Dennis Simmons made this desire possible.

Brother Simmons magnified to the people of the Island the moral and religious qualities of this intelligent man for a preacher, in order, if possible, to soften the prejudices existing against him.

After working hard diplomatically, Brother Simmons proposed that the church on the Island should give brother Briggs in fraternal love, a hearty send-off, by approving the granting of license for him to preach. But the church said: No, no, no, never. Simmons was non-plussed.

As the proper recommendation could not be had on the Island, Briggs and Simmons had to betake themselves to Bethel Church, in Princess Anne, County, Va., to get the proper credentials; and, finally Briggs was licensed to preach.

Briggs now having his send-off, this shrewd old brother Dennis Simmons wanted him to preach his maiden sermon on the Island, and designed a plan which he thought would work to this end.

Simmons knew if he called a meeting of the church to hear Briggs preach, Briggs would have to preach to Simmons and empty benches. So he called a meeting of the church the following Saturday-night for business of importance. These Islanders, then as now, were punctual church-goers, most especially so on specific occasions. No doubt the church expected the presence of its presiding elder, and, if so, he would likely preach for them the next day (Sunday). The strength of the church was there that night and sang lively in opening the meeting. But soon the query arose, what is the business to be looked after? Presently their brother Simmons arose and told the congregation that brother Briggs would hold service for them and that he desired the people to pay due respect to what they would now hear. After this announcement there was a buzzing stir in that church, and in ten minutes there were not enough left to fill a good sized dinner table. So brother Briggs did not preach. Thus these two brothers had, once more, to betake themselves to Bethel where the first sermon was preached. Briggs had it canvassed on the Island that "the still small voice spoke peace to him in his bed chamber. Why not?

At the following Virginia Annual Conference of the M. E. Church, Briggs was properly endowed by this body, and was appointed preacher in charge of Currituck Circuit for the ensuing year.

In the year 1859, the writer took wife in Coinjock, and about the first thing he heard at the wedding was that his wife's sister, Ann Simmons, and N. L. Walker were married long since, by minister John S. Briggs, of Currituck Circuit. This was in the last half of the last '40's in the 19th century.

From what the writer knows of Briggs' characteristics, his sermons must have been formal and dogmatic; old fashion revivals could never have followed him.

In those days loud preaching and great gesticulations in the pulpit, painting Hell with its horrors and heaven with its glory were the order of that day; indeed the ability to preach well was somewhat measured by such pulpit demonstration.

Briggs did not measure up to such demonstrations as were then practiced, but being a doctrinarian, he would have filled the pulpit well in this 20th century.

The old heads of the Island,
Good teachers once they sought,
The teachers whose ancestors,
Had sat on Plymouth Rock.

These Downeast tutors surely,
Were estimated smart,
Were found to be well cultured,
In pedagogic art.

One teacher Briggs about the year,
Eighteen Hundred and forty,
On this Isle he domiciled,
To teach its sons and daughters.

As Burke, he taught the Earth is round,
And in space on nothing hung,
The moon around the Earth doth run,
Both whirling around Sun.

Old-timers fought Briggs, tit for tat,
His system round theirs the flat,
For they had eyes could see Earth shape,
Flat it was as a pancake.

The crusty, Downeast teacher Burke,
Unfairly the lash applied,
Until Dick Watters bravely fought
Him, into a compromise.

Dick soon thereafter charged on Briggs
In diplomatic order,
With Sally and Marena's help,
Briggs sought some other quarters.

So in sick bed Briggs lay and prayed,
For his past sins' remission,
He claimed to be converted there,
And all his sins forgiven.

Promptly with pluck he license asked,
The Gospel for to proclaim
But the Church upon the Island,
Very promptly gave the nay.

To Bethel Church then Briggs did hie,
With friend Simmons by his side,
After earnest solicitations
There, the license was supplied.

Briggs had a studied plan to serve
This Island and Princess Anne,
But sent he was to Currituck,
To warn Currituckians.

"I'll firmly test this Gospel scheme,
I will" said Briggs the preacher.
"But should it fail in pocket fees,
Once more I'll be the teacher."

Now Preacher Briggs no doubt he sleeps,
In some far distant clime,
No smarting switch has he in hand,
As used in days gone by.

But as teacher and as preacher
I'm sure he made a score,
Then bid adieu to Dick and schools,
Of the Island years ago.

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