tihvavy of trKe -theological ^tmimry PRINCETON . NEW JERSEY v/P CvC" PRESENTED BY President James McCosh BX 9061 .U4 G5 1860a Gibson, William, The year of grace THE YEAE OF GIIACE^^J^ vJAN 24 1911 A HISTOEY OF '"^^^Sm^^ THE ULSTEE EEVIVAL OF 1859. THE REV. WILLIAM GIBSON, PROFESSOR OF CHRISTIAN ETHICS, AND MODERATOR OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND. EDINBUKGH : ANDREW ELLIOT, 15 PEINCES STREET. LONDON: HAMILTON, ADAMS, AND CO. BELFAST: C. AITCHISON. M.DCCC.LX. EDINBURGH rP.INTEC BY BALLANTVNK A^"D tOilPAKV, PAUL'S WORK. TO THOMAS SINCLAIE, ESQ., J.P, AS A TRIBUTE TO HIS PERSONAL CHARACTER HIS DEVOTEDNESS AS AN ELDER OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH AND HIS MUNIFICENT LIBERALITY ON BEHALF OF EVERY PHILANTHROPIC AND CHRISTIAN ENTERPRISE, AT HOME AND ABROAD, %\u Mmm, THE RECORD OF A WORK IN WHICH HE HAS • TAKEN AN ACTIVE INTEREST, IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED. PEEFACE. In the month of November last, I was soHcited, on the part of an eminent publishing firm in Boston, to draw up a nar- rative of the Ulster revival for the American Christian public. The application was sustained by such representations, that I did not feel justified in declining it. Although conversant, from personal observation, with that great spiritual movement which about twelve months ago began to attract toward the North of Ireland the earnest sympathies of Christendom, I resolved to furnish myself with every available information from other quarters in the execution of the responsible and arduous trust. My oflicial connexion with one leading section of the Protestant community, gave me j^eculiar facilities of access to its ministers and people ; and I soon found, as the result of the extensive correspondence I maintained iipoil the subject, that materials were at my disposal sufficient to warrant the conviction that a record might be produced, which, under the Divine blessing, might j)rove of abiding interest and value on both sides of the Atlantic. Hence this contemporaneous issue in the Old World and the New. Although the preparation of such a narrative may seem to VI PREFACE, some, as it did in the first instance to myself, to have been somewhat premature, I cannot but express my satisfaction that I was led to undertake the task. The sources on which I have drawn are of the most authentic kind ; and had not the esteemed friends who have supplied so many contribu- tions been urged to it by personal solicitation, and when the details, in all their vividness, were full in view, a vast amount of the most valuable information might otherwise have been altogether lost. It will be observed that, to a large extent, I have allowed my correspondents to narrate the movement as they witnessed it. This I have deemed as due alike to them and to the interest of the narrative itself, which thus gains in freshness what it may occasionally lose in continuity. With the exception of an occasional incident or illustration, gathered elsewhere, the sum total of which would not occupy two sheets of letterpress, the matter of the entire volume is original. For the reason already indicated, by much the larger portion is occupied with the rise and progress of the revival in the Presbyterian Church. Under any circumstances, how- ever, this had been unavoidable. The impartial historian, of whatever name, will acknowledge that, while all the evangeli- cal communities of Ulster were watered by the gracious grace that fell upon " the pastures of the wilderness," the Scoto-Irish soil received in amplest measure the shower of blessing. At the same time, I trust, the work has been viewed from no sectarian stand-point, but from the broad platform of a catholic Christianity. PREFACE. Vll To the statistical department, given in the Appendix, I may take leave to refer as one of the most distinctive features of the present publication. The results of the movement in that respect, as in every other, cannot but enhance our admiration of the marvellous grace displayed in this great work of God. Belfast, 3Iay10, 1860. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. THE SCENE OF THE KEVIVAL. The Ulster Plantation — The Early Ministers and Settlers— The First Revival — Ulster in the Nineteenth Century — Character of the Population — Low State of Religion — Testimony of Living Wit- nesses, ....... Pp. 1-11 CHAPTER II. THE PKEPARATION. Increasing Purity in the Church — A Quickened Ministry — Sabbath- School Instruction — Prayer-meetings — Bible-classes — Tract Dis- tribution — Presbj^terial and Synodical Action — Measui'es of the General Assembly — Intelligence of the American Revival, Pp. 12-16 CHAPTER III. THE BIRTHPLACE OF THE REVIVAL. / Difficult to trace the Movement, in its Origin and Outgoings — The Connor District — Its long-continued Spiritual Privileges — Its present Pastor and his Labours — The Tannybrake Sabbath- School and its Prayer-Meetings The Yoimg Men's Fellowship- Meeting — Silent Conversions — A Visit to Connor — A Sabbath's Experience there, in the Manse, the Congi-egation, and the Prayer- Meeting, Pp. 17-29 X CONTENTS. CHAPTER IV. THE REVIVAL PROCLAIMED AS HAVING COMK Visits of the Awakened to Ahogliill — A Scene amid the Clouds of Night — " I am Saved" — Spread of the Work — The Eager Multitudes — The Physical Afifections on their first appearance — A similar in- stance in County Down — Effects on the Community — Meeting in a Cockpit, . . . . . .Pp. 30-37 CHAPTER V. THE REVIVAL IN ITS DEVELOPMENT. The Man in the ]\Iarket — Varieties in the process of Conviction — Pro- cedure at the Meetings — 'What's the News?" — The Young Man and his Brother — " I have heard of these things long before " — Three Type Cases — Letter to a Teacher — Abiding Beneficial Results — Statement of Rev. S. M. Dill — Description of the Physical Phenomena — Stages of the Bodily Affection, Pp. 38-53 CHAPTER VI. THE REVIVAL IN ITS PROGRESS NORTHWARDS. Broughsliane — The Spinning Factory — The Profligate Nailer — Lough- guile — The Woman by the Road-side^The " Gently Drawn " — The Fiery Baptism— The Struggle with the Evil One— The Joy Unutterable — Proofs of a Glorious Work — The Hidden Jewels — Private Exercises and Expeiiences of Ministers — Ballymoney — The Work among the Young — The Young Man who "would judge for himself "—The Deaf and Dumb, . . . Pp. 54-67 CHAPTER VII. THE REVIVAL IN NORTHERN ANTRIM. Coleraine — Strange Excitement in a School-room — The Evening of 7th June — Meeting on the Fair-Hill — The Town Hall, and its Exti-a- ordinary Opening — Daily Morning Meeting there — Interesting Me- morial — General Results — Testimony of Assistant-Ban-ister — Per- sonal Narrative of Mr Haltridge — Portrush — Prayerful co-operation of the Episcopal and Presbyterian Ministers — Visit of Brownlow North, Esq. — The " Dunmvill " Open-air Meetings — Illustrative Cases — The "Operation of the Spirit" — The Railway Labourer — The Ploughboy and his Muse— The old " Waterloo " Man — The Twin Sisters— The Little Orphan Maid, . . Pp. 68-89 CONTENTS. XI CHAPTER VIII. THE REVIVAL IN THE CAPITAL OF ULSTER. Visit of the Yoimg Men from Connor — Its Efifects — The Movement Begun — Measures taken to Guide it and Advance its Progress — United Prayer-Meetings — Great Gathering in the Botanic Gardens — Description of a remarkable instance of Conviction — The Meet- ings in Berry Street — Cases witnessed there — Visits to some next day — The Ardour of a Young Disciple — Sandy Row Experiences — Ewart's Row and the Educational Operations there — A Total Change — Visit of Mr North — His Seasonable Addresses — The Work in Townsend Street Congregation — The "Unfortunates" — The Care- less — The Formalists — The Backsliders — God's Children — Estimate of the Qualifications of " Converts" for Revival Work — The " Sleep- ing " Cases and the Wonder-Seekers, . . Pp. 90-119 CHAPTER IX. THE REVIVAL AROUND BELFAST. The Valley of the Six-Mile Water— The Work and the Counterwork— The Revival in Carnmoney — Prayer for its Coming — Visit of a Belfast Merchant — A Hundred at Once — " I have Prayed him out" — The Old Pensioner — The Drunken Tradesman— Ballycarry — Heavy Blow to Unitarianism — Pastor's Work at Last — Bally- easton — The Pastor's Last Communion — Gathered Fruit — Dundrod, Exciting Narrative of the Work in — The Pastor's Hopes and Fears — His Visit to the First Awakened — The Struggle and the Victory — The Meetings in Open Air and Church — Saturday Evening and Sabbath in the Church and Graveyard — The Men " Coming Over " — A Young Deborah — Another, and her Fellow- Labourer — The Valley of Vision in a Dream — The Farm-Servant in the Field — Dagon Falling before the Ark— The Subsiding Flood — Ripple on the Waters — The Phenomena of " the Marks." Pp. 120-143 CHAPTER X. THE REVIVAL AND THE GENERAL ASSEIMBLY. Annual Meeting in the Irish Metropolis — Conference on the Revival — A Minister's Statement there — Conversion of Four Brothers of the Manse — The Prostrations, and Statement of a Medical Member Xll CONTENTS. of Assembly — Subsequent Testimony of the Scottish Brethren present — Report on the State of Religion — Resolutions adopted — Mr North in the Assembly — Adjournment occasioned by the Revival — The Meeting in Belfast in September — The Conference Resumed — Hallowed Character of the entire Proceedings. Pp. 144-153 CHAPTER XL THE REVIVAL AND THE ORANGEMEN. Former Celebrations of the Orange Anniversary — Their Tumultuous Character— " The Twelfth" in Sandy Row, Belfast — Narrative of Eye-witnesses — Other Districts of the Town — The Twelfth in Lur- gan — In Dundrod — The Orange Hall — The Open-Air Celebra- tion — Testimony of Ministers in Various Districts — A Returned African Missionary on " the Twelfth " in his Native County — Chief Baron Pigott on the Extinction of Party Spirit^Strange thing at a Lodge Meeting, and its Lesson, . . Pp. 154-165 CHAPTER XII. THE REVIVAL IN COUNTY DOWN. The Bishop of the Diocese — His Interest in the Work — Original Commu- nication from him — The Revival in Castlereagh — The Cripple Man — The Farmer's Wife — "Remember Lot's Wife"^ — Comber — Great Increase — Few Sudden Conversions— Bodily Health Improved — The Physical Manifestations — Answers to Special Prayer — Revival among Quarrymen — Killinchy — Statement of the Hon. and Rev. H. Ward — Newtownards — Previous State — The Work Begun — United Prayer-meeting — The Schoolmaster turned Preacher — The Drunken Bellman — The Town Missionary — The Militia Ser- jeant — The Converted School-girl — Other Cases — The Cry to her Father— The Unbeliever in the Work — The First-fruit of the New Year, . . . . . . Pp. 166-188 CHAPTER XIII. THE REVIVAL IN COUNTY DOWN — continued. A Visit to Boardmills, and Preaching on a Sabbath Evening — Groups on the Green — Few Stricken — Every One Moved — No Extrava- gances — The Children at the Prayer-meetings — Happy Change in CONTENTS. , XUl Society — Open-air Communion — Preciousness of Calvinistic Doc- trine — Ballinahinch — Eevival Incident, as told by a Scottish Minister — The Washerwoman's Prayer — ConUg — Answer to Prayer — Ballycopeland — Illustrative Cases — Rathfriland — A Stu- dent's Statement — Banbridge — Statement of Mr Greene, Civil Engineer — Dromara, .... Pp. 189-217 CHAPTER Xn^. THE EEVIVAL IN THE CITY AND COUNTY OF DEEEY. The Commencement — Statement of the Rev. R. Wallace — Accidents of Prostration — Agencies Employed — Extent of the Work — Cases — "It's my Brother George "^ — Results — Maghera — The First Prostration — "God has been with us this Morning" — No Lack of Means — Good Sense of the People — The Prayer-Meetings — Results — The Work goes oa — Line of Action that Ministers should Pursue — Lecumpher — Arrest on a Jaunting-Car — Newton- limavady— Mr North and his Doctrine of " Realisation " — Eight Candidates for the Ministry — The Work in Other Parts of the Neighbourhood — Ballykelly — Addresses and Prayers of the Con- verts—Children's Meetings — Different Hearing of the Word — The " Elders " Moved— The Tempter's Wiles— Results— The First Case in Moneymore — Letter from a Young Woman — The Yoviths' Meeting. Pp. 218-245 CHAPTER XV. THE EEVIVAL IN COUNTY TYEONE. The Revival in the Fair of Orritor, and its Results — The Work in Cookstown and Vicinity — A Case of " Prophesying," and its Ex- posure — Rapt Earnestness on the Sabbath — The Moveable Tent — Things brought "to Remembrance — Movement at Castlederg — Its Origin through " Commercial Travellers " — Wesleyan and Presby- terian Co-operation — Results — Cheering Fact as to the Progress of the Work — Strabane — Narrative of the Work in a Community where there was no Remarkable Excitement, . Pp. 246-259 CHAPTER XVI. THE EEVIVAL IN COUNTY AEMAGH, The Work in Lurgan — The First Convert — "Neither Mad, nor Wicked, nor Ignorant" — First United Meeting — The Work in the Pastor's CONTENTS. Absence — He is Summoned Home — The New Scenes he Wit- nesses — Classes and Meetings — The Country Districts — Awful End of a Mocker — Treatment of the Visions — Life from the Dead-- The True Instrument — The Hector's Statement — Magheralin — The Archiepiscopal City — Scenes in a Daily and in a Sabbath School — First Moved in the Congregation — The Work becomes Public — " Crying for his Sins " — The Convert Girl and the Sailor — Scene in the Ketiring-Room — The Youth who had his Plans Laid — The Dying One Revived — Memories of the Year — TuUy- allen— Tartaraghan, .... Pp. 260-279 CHAPTER XVII. THE REVIVAL IN DONEGAL, MONAGHAN, AND CAVAN. County Donegal : Monreagh — Scenes in the Church — In the Open Air — Three Memorable Services, and their Effects — The Present and the Past— Saul among the Prophets — Two Notable Instances — The Domestic Altar — Abidmg Fruits — Donoughmore. County Mona- GHAN : Statement of the Rev, Hope M. Waddell — Impressions of a Visit in the Country — On the Sabbath — Newbliss — The First Case — Those Principally Reached. County Cavan : Bailie- borough — Drumkeeran — Wonderful Awakening and Excitement — Statement of the Rev. F. F. Trench, of Kells (County Meath) — A Meeting over the Borders — How the Revival has been Propa- gated — Another Visit over the Border — " Shooting the Goose " — A whole Family Surrendering to Christ — The Moral Results — The Movement Southwards — Leinster and Munster, . Pp. 280-312 CHAPTER XVIII. THE REVIVAL AND THE ROIHAN CATHOLICS. The Experiences of the Last Quarter of a Century — Labour and Suc- cess — The Revival the most Potent Agency — Cases — The Crimean Soldier — Two Females and a Male Convert — An Aged Female — The Boy who Battled for his Liberty— The Lost Token— The Drunken Beggar — The Woman who had Married a Presbyterian — The Stammerer Cured — The Woman who was a Sinner — The Maid-servant at the Fair— The " Wild Arab" Tamed — The Girl of Thirteen— Taught by a Tombstone, . . Pp. 313-335 CONTENTS. XV CHAPTER XIX. THE REVIVAL AND THE PATHOLOGICAL AFFECTIONS. Experiences of the Late American Awakening — Its Freedom from Physical Excitement — Curious Affection of the Scotch-Irish in a Former Revival — General View taken of the Pathological Fea- tures of the Ulster Movement — Their Acknowledged Effect — Such Affections not the Necessary Accompaniment of Religious Feeling — Province of Imagination — Danger from its Abuse — Bodily Agita- tions often Associated with Spurious Excitements — Increased by being Encouraged — Instances — Views of Archdeacon Stopford, and their Effect — Medical Aspects of the Question — Our Emotive Nature, and its Modes of Action on the Body — Our Duty to Hearken to the Voice of Science — No merely Physical Theory Sufficient — The Bodily Affections Accounted for by Excited Mental Action — By Sympathy — Statement from Dr A. Alexander — By Nervous Disease — Prostration not Conversion — Improper Mode of Treating "Cases" — The Phenomena of Dumbness, &c. — Sleeping Cases Dealt with — A Prophesier and a Sleeper Rebuked — Two Striking Cases Detailed, .... Pp. 336-369 CHAPTER XX. THE UEVrV^AL AND ITS LESSONS. The review fitted to strengthen Faith in the Omnipotent energy of the Holy Spirit — To illustrate the rapidity with which God can bring about His purposes of Mercy — To shew the marked Coincidence between the Working of the Spirit in the early Church and now — To teach the Church that the forces she now possesses are suffi- cient for the Conversion of the World — To enforce the true theory of Christian Union — And to cast a new light on individual respon- sibility and duty, Pp. 370-383 APPENDIX. A — Report of the Presbytery of Ahoghill, B — The Revival and Public Morality, . C — The Revival and the General Assembly, D — Down and Connor Diocese Returns, E — Congregational Returns, Statement by Rev, A. Robinson, Broughshane, Pp. 385-389 389-396 396-409 400-402 403-429 429-437 CHAPTER L TEE SCENE OF THE EEVIVAL. The Ulster Plantation — The Early Ministers and" Settlers— The First Revival — Ulster in the Nineteenth Century — Character of the Population — Low State of Religion — Testimony of Living "Wit- nesses. It is now two liundred and fifty years since a new era, civil and religious, dawned on Ulster, The intestine tumults by which our northern province had unhapi:)ily been distinguished liad sunk to rest, and the estates of the rebel chiefs, which had been forfeited to the British Crown, had begun to be occupied by that enterprising and hardy race in whose hands they were destined ere long to become one of the fairest portions of the kingdom. Although the early colonists were, for the most part, actuated by a spirit of wild adventure, and had nothing less at heart than the interests of vital godliness, they speedily assumed the aspect of an mdustrious and orderly community; while the course of providential events, which had brought them to their new abode, was soon after followed by others of more than ordinary significance in their bearing on the spiritual destinies of theu' adopted country. The British monarch who was the leading instrument in the Ulster plantation, by which the foundations of the social edi- fice were so securely laid in this part of his dominions, was, at the same time, the abettor of a pohcy which was attended by the most disastrous results, alike to liberty and religion, in other portions of the kingdom. At the very period when the lands of the revolted earls were passing into the occupancy oi their future cultivators, the hand -of persecution was lifted up. A 2 THE EAELY MINISTERS AND SETTLEES. under royal sanction, on our Scottish forefathers ; while, of the Puritans in England, a faithful band had left their native shores, soon after, to plant in the virgin soil of a new continent those sacred principles which, wherever they are germinant, are the truest seeds of empire. Ireland, then little known or re- garded at the seat of power, and not yet recovered from the effects of its late contentions, might, with impunity, afford a shelter to the expatriated for conscience' sake, and thither a few of them repaired, and enjoyed, for a season, a safe asylum '' under the shadow of the Almiglity." Of the first seven ministers who settled in the country, five were from Scotland, and two from England. The earliest arri- val was in 1613 ; and scarcely had they set foot in Ulster, when they began to labour with apostolic earnestness ; and though beset with many difficulties, they were favoured with an extra- ordinary, if not unprecedented, measure of success. Of one of them (Blair) it is recorded by a contemporary, " He was a man of notable constitution, both of body and mind ; of a majestic, awful, yet affable and amiable countenance and carriage, tho- roughly learned, of strong parts, deep invention, solid judg- ment, and a most public spirit for God. His gift of preaching was such, that seldom could any observe withdrawing of assist- ance in public, which in others is frequent. He seldom ever wanted assurance of his salvation. He spent many days and nights in prayer, alone and with others, and was vouchsafed great intimacy with God." The others were of like precious faith, and imbued with a kindred ardour for the evangelisation of the land to which their steps had been directed in its time of need. Nor was it long until a signal blessing rested visibly upon their labours. Not only did a marked improvement mani- fest itself in the entire habits and demeanour of the people, but a spirit of intense religious earnestness began to be evinced, which issued in one of the most remarkable awakenings re- corded in the annals of the Christian Church. It was on this wise that it originated. Mr James Glendinning, one of the least gifted of the newly arrived ministers, and who had been advised by Blair to remove from Carrickfergus, where he had been THE FIEST EEVIV-IL. 3 settled, to some less conspicuous sphere, had acted upon the fraternal counsel, and was appointed to the charge of a rural congregation at Oldstone, near the town of Antrim. "He was a man," says the narrator of the period, " who never would have been chosen by a wise assembly of ministers, nor sent to begin a reformation in this land. Yet this was the Lord's choice to begin with him the admirable work of God, which I mention on purpose that all may see how the glory is only the Lord's in making a holy nation in this profane land, and that it was not by might, nor by power, nor by man's wisdom, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord. At Oldstone, God made use of him to awaken the consciences of a lewd and secure people there- abouts ; for, seeing the great lewdness and ungodly sinful- ness of the people, he preached nothing to them but law, wrath, and the terrors of God for sin; and in very deed for this only was he fitted, for hardly could he preach any other thing. But behold the success ! for the hearers, finding themselves con- demned by the mouth of God speaking in His word, fell into such anxiety and terror of conscience, that they looked on them- selves as altogether lost and damned ; and this work appeared not in a single person or two, but multitudes were brought to understand their way and cry out, ' Men and brethren, what shall we do to be saved?' I have seen them myself stricken into a swoon with the word ; yea, a dozen in one day carried out of doors as dead, so marvellous was the power of God, smiting their hearts for sin, condemning and killing. And of these were none of the weaker sex or spirit, but indeed some of the boldest spirits, who formerly feared not with their swords to put a whole market town into a fray ; yet, in defence of their stubbornness, cared not to lie in prison and the stocks, and being incorrigible, were as ready to do the like the next day. I have heard one of them, then a mighty strong man, now a mighty Christian, say, that his end in coming into church was to consult with his companions how to work some mischief ; and at one of those sermons was he so catched, that he was fully subdued. But why do I speak of him ? We knew, and yet know, multitudes of such men, who sinned, and still gloried in 4 THE FIEST EEYWAL. it, because they feared no man, yet are now patterns of sobriety, fearing sin because they fear God. And this spread through tjie countiy to admiration, especially about that river commonly Called the Six-mile Water, for there this work began at first." Aroused by the movement that was going on around them, and which had already extended to their own parishes, the neighbouring ministers came to the help of their weak brother, and concerted measures for the superintendence and extension of the work which had been so auspiciously begun. About the year 1626, accordingly, a monthly concert for prayer was insti- tuted in Antrim, to which the brethren both lay and clerical repaired for mutual conference, consulting, in the words of Livingstone, (the John Livingstone of the Kirk of Shotts,) '* about such things as concerned the carrjdng on of the work of God ; and those meetings among ourselves," he adds, " are sometimes as profitable as either Presbyteries or Synods. Such as laid religion to heart used to come in to those meetings, especially out of the Six-mile Water Valley, which was nearest hand, and where was the greatest number of religious people ; and frequently the Sabbath after the Friday's meeting, the com- munion was celebrated in one or other of our parishes. Among all the ministers, there was never any jar or jealousy : yea, nor amongst the professors, the greatest number of them being Scots, and some good number of very gracious English, all whose contention was to prefer others to themselves. Many of those religious professors had been both ignorant and profane, and for debt and want, and worse causes, had left Scotland. Yet the Lord was pleased by His word to work such a change, that I do not think there were more lively and experienced Christians anywhere than were at this time in Ireland. I have known them come several miles from their own houses to com- munions, to the Saturday's sermon, and spending the whole Saturday's night in several companies, sometimes a minister being with them, and sometimes themselves alone in conference and prayer. They have then waited on the public ordinances the whole Sabbath, and s];)ent the Sabbath night in the same way, and yet at the Monday's sermon were not troubled with sleepi- THE FIRST REVIVAL. 5 ness ; and so they have not slept till tliey went home." To the same purpose is the statement of Blair, who also testifies to the wide-spread character of the awakening. " The blessed work of conversion, which was of several years' continuance, spread be- yond the bounds of Down and Antrim to the skirts of neigh- bouring counties ; and the resort of people to the monthly meet- ing and communion occasions, and the appetite of the people, were become so great, that we were sometimes constrained, in sympathy with them, to venture beyond any preparation we had made for the occasion. And, indeed, preaching and praying were so pleasant in those days, and hearers so eager and greedy, that no day was long enough, nor any room large enough, to answer their strong desires and large expectations." The wonderful success by which the labours of the Ulster ministers were attended, is also thus attested by another wit- ness. " I shall here instance," says Fleming, in his "Fulfilling of Scripture," " that great and solemn work of God, which was in the Church of Ireland some years before the fall of Prelacy ; about the year 1628, and some years thereafter; which, as many grave and solid Christians yet alive can witness who were then present, was a bright and hot sun-blink of the gospel ; yea, may with sobriety be said to have been one of the largest manifestations of the Spirit, and of the most solemn times of the downpouring thereof, that almost since the days of the apostles hath been seen. Then it was sweet and easy for Chris- tians to come thirty or forty miles to the solemn communions which they had, and there continue from the time they came until they returned, without wearying or making use of sleep ; yea, but little either meat or drink ; and, as some of them pro- fessed, did not feel the need thereof, but went away most fresh and vigorous, their souls so filled with the sense of God." Such was the character of the revival which, at that crisis of its history, so extensively wrought in Ulster, taming the law- lessness of the early settlers, and transforming them into a race of sober and God-fearing men. The gracious rain descended on the pastures of the wilderness, and the thirsty land became springs of water. 6 ULSTER IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. The fruits of that sowing have ever since been gathered in the soil into which the precious seed w^as cast in tears. Un- genial in climate as compared with the other provinces in Ireland, Ulster has maintained its pre-eminence in all the elements of industrial and moral superiority ; and though in the retrospect of its religious condition, there is much deadness and formality, and even false doctrine, over which to mourn, it is impossible to avoid associating with the prayerful labours of the fathers, the blessings that have since descended on the children. It is peculiarly interesting to mark, that in the neighbourhood of the very scenes once hallowed by the pious communings of the saints, a w^ork has had its rise in the past year, not inferior in interest and importance to any, even the most striking manifestations of the Spirit of God, that have been witnessed since the pentecostal period itself. But fifty years ago the cause of evangelical religion stood very low in Ulster. A general indifference and deadness reigned throughout the Protestant Churches; and though the goodly vine which had been planted in the seventeenth century, had struck its roots into the place prepared for it of God, and spread its branches over the land, it suffered under a withering blight, and was to a lamentable extent shorn of its foliage and fruitfulness. Yet was it not forgotten by the heavenly Hus- bandman; and now, after having stood the shock of many a tempest, it has been graciously revisited by the genial influences of the Sun of righteousness, and multitudes are rejoicing in its pleasant fruits. It is well known that the natives of the north of Ireland bear upon them in their intellectual features the stamp of their Scottish ancestry. Unlike the Milesian Irish of the south and west, they are a shrewd, calculating, and eminently practical people. The only period in their history when some were carried away by violent excitement was at the rising of 1798 ; but even then the impulses to which they yielded were those of genuine, though mistaken ];)atriotism. Superior in education to the generality of their fellow-countrymen, and abjuring the super- stitions by which the majority are enslaved, they have ever had CHARACTER OF THE POPULATION. 7 a keen appreciation of the strong points of the argument for Protestantism ; and as often as a controversial disputation has arisen between the champions of the respective systems, they have looked on with eager interest, and have not failed to honour and reward the victors, The delusions, under the guise of religion, by which the popular mind in England has some- times been taken captive, had no charm for them — their strong sense and logical discrimination being proof against the impos- tiures of pretenders, and the fervours of enthusiasts. The last half-century especially has made them more than usually familiar with theological discussion. Questions have from time to time been agitated which have been invested with an intense polemic interest. Of these, by far the most exciting was that which constituted the occasion of stormy controversy, between thirty and forty years ago, in one of the great sections of Ulster Pres- byterianism, issuing in its deliverance from the incubus of Unitarianism, and its consolidation on the broad basis of ortho- dox Christianity. Others, of lesser interest, still remained to exercise the practised dialectics of the people. The respective claims of the Calvinistic and Arminian systems, and the old unsettled account between Presbytery and Prelacy, ever and again presented themselves as topics of debate, not seldom of alienation and personal antagonism, between the leading dis- putants. It will thus be perceived that the religious feeling of the north partook rather of that excitement which is generated in the heats of controversy, than of that vital warmth and glow which are the product of spiritual life. The reality being sadly wanting, it was not to be wondered at that mdifference and formality extensively prevailed. True, indeed, there were none of those criminal outbreaks of lawless violence, so often wit- nessed in other parts of Ireland ; but many forms of evil had existence in the community, not unfrequently in connexion with a religious profession, and under the very shadow of the sanc- tuary. Foremost among all these, and parent of most of them, was intemperance. At fairs and markets, sometimes even at funerals, the "whisky demon" held his horrid carnival; while 8 LOW STATE OF RELIGION. pcarty brawls and battles, mingled with fearful yells and impre- cations, often closed the scene. Of the prevalent deadncss in many, even the most favoured parts of the country, where no flagrant immorality existed, the following statement, with respect to his own congregation pre- vious to the revival, by the Rev. G. H. Shanks, may be taken as a faithful representation : — " This congregation, before the revival, was in a most unsatis- factory state as to religion. The people were not immoral, nor without a religious profession ; but Laodiceanism characterised them. From my first entrance on the work of the ministry, I believed that the faithful use of the means of grace should be followed by their appropriate effects, as certainly as the tillage of a field is followed by a crop, or as diligence in any profession is rewarded with success ; and bitter, therefore, was my disap- pointment as year after year passed and still no fruit appeared. In grief I wondered at what I considered the mysterious with- holding of the Spirit, and set myself to account for it. What alarmed me most was the disinclination, almost hostility, of the people to hold prayer-meetings. They appeared, for the most part, as if they thought they were well enough, and that I was unnecessarily disturbing them and drawing them off from their necessary industrial pursuits ; so that I was led at times to think and to say, that they had a greater desire to win half-a- crown than for all that God could do for their souls. Some whom I had never seen at a prayer-meeting, and who would have said they had not time to attend for a couple of hours once a month, have, since the revival commenced, attended often twice daily, in some instances with three or four sons, during the best working hours of the summer day. I knew there were always a few (very few I feared) praymg persons in the several congregations in the neighbourhood, and there were always attempts made to keep up prayer-meetings in my own ; but, up to the very week of the bursting forth of the revival, there appeared no general desire nor felt need for such a thing, nor symptoms of its approach, except that the Sabbath-school TESTBIOXY OF LIVING '^^TNESSES. 9 had been gradually increasing, and attendance on public wor- ship improving a little, and perhaps one or two individuals mourning over the general deadness. I had never been more dispirited and distressed than during some weeks immediately- preceding the rushing mighty wind which so suddenly and gloriously came in upon us, \italising the dead mass. The intelligence of revival in America, and even in the parishes of Antrim and in Belfast, seemed to produce little impression, or excite desire. They appeared incredulous and unmoved. I had nearly begim to cease hoping. I felt as if I were almost quite alone — no one mourning or praying with me. I told them that I was appalled at their apparent determination to have no prayer-meetings, and to seek no revival — that the show^ers were going round and round us, and not a drop falling our way, — and that we would be left utterly reprobate, a visible monu- ment of the consequences of despising gospel privileges. I re- mmded them that any little good which had ever come to my knowledge as having been done to souls through my ministry, was nearly all in connexion with persons not belonging to my congregation. And I asked, ' What could this mean, except that God had given over my people to a hardened and repro- bate mind V " The following statement by the Eev. J. A. Canning of Colerame, in regard to the religious aspects of that town and neighbourhood prior to the awakening, may be regarded as not less applicable to many other districts of Ulster : — " The great mass of the inhabitants of the city and of the surrounding country are of Scotch extraction, and are members of the Presbyterian Church. For centuries the gospel has been faithfully preached among a thoughtful, industrious, intelligent, and well-educated people. Church-going habits have ever characterised the inhabitants of town and country. The ob- servance of the Sabbath, and attendance upon Sabbath ordi- nances, have long been a marked characteristic of the people. The doctrines of the Westminster Confession of Faith have, from olden time, been preached by ministers, and held by 10 TESTIMONY OF LIVING WITNESSES. their flocks. There is no Unitarian congregation in the wide district of which Coleraine is the business-centre and capital The Puseyism of the Episcopal Church has never found favour among the ministers and members of the Establishment. There are wide districts in which there are almost no Roman Catholics. Sabbath-schools are everywhere established, and the religious training of the young is the rule and not the ex- ception. Coleraine is the seat of a large Presbytery ; and in the churches of which it has the oversight, the ordinance of the Lord's Supper is observed twice in the year. The population of the city may amount to between eight and nine thousand. The staple manufacture of the locality is that of linen, for which it has been long celebrated, and the whole district is compara- tively a rich one. " In disposition and temperament the people are calm, thoughtful, and far from impulsive, and their habits, amuse- ments, and usages, strongly indicate their Scotch descent. Among such a people, thus circumstanced, the organisation of Christ's Church has for many years been very complete. Church-courts have been vigilant, ordinances have been regu- larly and faithfully dispensed, and nothing seemed wanting but a power to bring home an offered gospel to the hearts and souls of the people. Some, of God's children have therefore been saying of late years, that one of two things was likely soon to occur, namely, either that gospel doctrine, preached by ministers and professed by the people, but apparently without much life, would, like everything which becomes stagnant, sink into putre- faction, and that heresy would supplant the truth ; or, that a gracious God would honour His own truth by suppljdng the power of the Spirit to impart to it a vivifying energy. That God has been pleased to shed abroad this power, the wondrous awakening which has characterised the history of the summer and autumn of 1859, abundantly proves." Such, then, was the state of things immediately preceding the wonderful manifestation of Divine grace which is to be recorded TESTBIONY OF LIVING Vv^ITNESSES. 11 in the following pages. Such were the leading aspects in the population of Ulster, — a population, as it has been well said, "trained to reason, warm in party and cold in religion — among whom capital crime was rare, true piety equally so, religious fervour dreaded, and fanaticism unknown ; whose wanderings had been towards Unitarianism, not enthusiasm, and whose wills are remarkably unyielding." CHAPTER 11. THE PREPARATION. Increasing Purity in the Church — A Quickened Ministry — Sabbath- School Instruction — Prayer-meetings — Bible-classes — Tract Dis- tribution — Presbyterial and Synodical Action — Measures of the General Assembly — Intelligence of the American Revival. The great awakening of last year, though it has culminated in a form which has attracted the attention of the Churches, is not in its remoter origin a thing of yesterday. For many years a purifying and preparatory process lias been going forward, especially in that communion which has so largely shared the gracious influence, A return to the " old paths " of orthodoxy was speedily followed by auspicious indications of returning life ; and the Presbyterian Church of Ulster, immediately on the consummation of an ecclesiastical union between its two great sections, about twenty years ago, at length arose to its true position as a missionary institute to Jew and Gentile — a witness for the truth to all nations. By the good hand of God a generation of energetic and devoted ministers was raised up, with many of whom the burthen of their prayers has ever been, " O Lord, revive Thy work." At the same time, while there was an unusual amount of ministerial effort, there was a growing conviction of the insufficiency of all merely human agency, and an intenser longing than had ever been evinced before for the descent of a Divine influence. Often had the watchmen put the trumpet to their mouth and sounded the alarm, and as often had they mourned in secret that sinners remained at ease in sin, and refused to take timely warning. Many a polished shaft from the quiver of the sanctuary was aimed at heart and SABBATH-SCHOOLS— BIBLE-CLASSES. 13 conscience, and many a lamentation was raised that it fell pointless as against an impenetrable shield. Amid various in- dications of revival, there were the ever-increasing proofs of human impotency — the accumulating evidences of the necessity of a superior intervention — even of the power and presence of Him who quickeneth when He will, breathing upon the slain that they may Hve. " It is right it should be known," says the Eev. S. M. Dill of Ballymena, " that this movement has not come upon us quite so suddenly as people at a distance might be led to suppose. I am able to testify that there has been a gradual but perceptible improvement ia the state of religion throughout this district for some years. Ministers were led to speak to the people with gTeater earnestness about 'the things which belong to their peace.' Attendance on the public ordinances of religion had considerably increased. Open-air preaching was extensively practised. Sabbath-schools were greatly multiplied. Prayer- meetings were grooving up in many districts. Sacred music, which had been much neglected, was cultivated with ardour and success. And altogether the people were in a state of pre- paration — a state which passed into one of earnest expectancy, when the glad news of the American revivals reached our shores." " I was installed," says a young minister, " as pastor of my present congregation, (consisting of three hundred and twenty famihes,) in March 1857 ; and, during the ensuing summer, took occasion to preach on the necessity of a revival, the agency by which it is produced, and the means by which it might be pro- moted. I also established a Bible-class, whose numbers in- creased till the names of about two hundred young persons, from thirteen to thirty years of age, were upon its roll, and which I met every Sabbath after pubhc worship, and examined on the sermon just preached, the Shorter Catechism, and a por- tion of Scripture. We also formed a Ladies' Tract Association, whose members distributed fortnightly, among the families of all denominations in the district who were willing to receive them, the publications of the London Eeligious Tract Society 14 PRESBYTERIAL ACTION. and of Mr Drummond of Stirling. In the spring and summer of 1858, the news of the American revival reached us, and for some time excited an interest among the people ; and when our Assembly met in July of that year in Derry, and engaged in conference on the subject, and it was reported that God had also begun a gracious work in Connor, the intelligence was communicated to our people, and helped to rekindle in the hearts of God's children a desire for a similar awakening. During the following winter, however, there seemed to be a growing coldness, until the news reached us last spring that the revival had begun to spread rapidly through County Antrim, and was accompanied by remarkable bodily manifestations." " A visible propriety, as well as spiritual life," says an aged minister, "was obviously penetrating the great mass of our people for a year and a half or two years previous to the revival, from the proper organisation and training we had got into by the establishment of regular prayer-meetings and other kindred agencies. A Young Men's Christian Association had been also estabhshed, whose monthly meetings for mutual improvement contributed not a little to inspire our youth \vith confidence and zeal. The Presbytery of Omagh also had the subject of revivals before them at their regular meetings for twelve or fourteen years back, and had not only drawn up and circulated statements upon the subject among their congrega- tions, but had from time to time appointed presbyterial deputa- tions to address each congregation throughout their bounds on the necessity of a revival of religion. Immediately on hearing of the great American awakening of 1858, we resumed our former practice, and revisited in the autumn the sixteen congre- gations of which the presbytery is composed. But what is all that man can do till the appointed, the set time is come, when the heavens open, and the dews descend to water and refresh the thirsty ground 1 " In connexion with these statements, it deserves to be men- tioned that for a considerable period the state of religion throughout its bounds had engaged the earnest attention of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, through its Presbyteries, Synods, MEASUEES OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY. 15 and General Assembly. For several years some of the synods never separated without directmg ministers to bring before the people committed to their care the question of the state of religion — the deity and personality of the Spirit — and the necessity and nature of conversion. In 1858, the necessity of a revival of pure religion occupied a prominent place m their deliberations. The reports that had been presented were afterwards in several instances printed and circulated, and presbyteries were enjoined to meet on a given day for the purpose of conferring on the means which should be used for promoting the revival of religion. Through the report of a standing committee appointed for the purpose, the same subject had been regularly brought under the notice of the General Assembly at its annual meetings, and many consulta- tions were held among the members for the advancement of the interests of vital godhness. At the meeting in 1858 it devolved on the convener (the Rev. Dr Kirkpatrick of Dubhn) to advert to the extraordinary display of Divine grace with which the American churches had been visited during the pre- ceding mnter, and the accounts of which had been already widely circulated throughout the community. On the reception of his report, the Assembly resolved to devote a portion of its sittings to special conference and prayer with reference to this great spiritual movement. The season thus set apart was one of peculiar solemnity and sacredness; and when one after another of the fathers rose up in his place to tender his paternal counsels, and when the voice of praise and supplication ascended afterwards to heaven, all hearts were touched as by a common sympathy, while from the reigning harmony and fervour many fondly cherished the expectation of a time of more abundant blessing. The exercises which had before been in private were resumed by arrangement on the following evening in the presence of an assembled multitude, as well as of representa- tives from the Free Church of Scotland, the Presbyterian Church of England, and the Waldensian, Belgian, and other continental Churches. Addresses were delivered, intermingled with devotional exercises, on such topics as the following : — 16 INTELLIGENCE OF THE AMERICAN REVIVAL. Special outpourings of the Spirit — Scripture examples; the present religious awakenings in America ; the duty of seeking such awakenings among ourselves ; the encouragement to seek this great blessing from God. Another arrangement was made by this Assembly before its close which eventually contributed to increase the interest already existing in the American awak- ening. A deputation, consisting of two ministers, was appointed to visit the affiliated churches in British North America ; and as the delegates, after discharging their proper mission, had oppor- tunities of witnessing to some extent the work then going for- ward in the United States, their statements in regard to it, on their return, were anxiously sought for, and their experiences w^ere rehearsed in various districts of the north of Ireland. The writer of these pages having had the happiness and honour of being appointed on that deputation, he is enabled to speak with confidence upon the subject; and he can testify that, for many months, indeed during the entire of the winter, he was occu- pied, on every available occasion, in satisfying the demands of brethren, to narrate to their congregations what he had seen and heard of the great work of God during his transatlantic \'isit, and that wherever he went, his statements were received with the deepest interest. Never, indeed, has he had a happier time than in declaring to friends at home the gracious doings of the Most High among their kindred on the great western con- tinent ; while in the wakeful attention, earnest gaze, and stifled emotion of the listening thousands, he often fancied that he could trace the harbingers of a no less glorious renovation. CHAPTER III. THE BIRTHPLACE OF THE EEVIVAL. Difficult to trace the Movement, in its Origin and Outgoings — The Connor District — Its long-continued Spiritual Privileges — Its present Pastor and his Labours — The Tanuybrake Sabbath- School and its Prayer-Meeting — The Young Men's Fellowship- Meeting — Silent Convei'sions — A Visit to Connor — A Sabbath's Experience there, in the Manse, the Congregation, and the Prayer- Meeting. In attempting to narrate the character of such a movement as that to which our attention is now turned, there are one or two weighty truths that stand out vividly before us as we begin. It is well to advert to them in a sentence or two, that we may understand how much and how little we can do here. We cannot fix the beginning of this revival. — The end of our vision is not the startmg-point of God's working. That which is a germ in relation to one thing is a ripened fruit in reference to another. It is wisest for us to keep human agency in its own place, and to aim at reflecting all the glory on the Sovereign Lord. We cannot justly tell its progress. — This is a spiritual work, and we are earthly. To tell the current story of conversion is easy, but to trace the outgoings of this new life in the church and the world is another thing. The under current is hidden from our view. That which lies on the surface is the greatest which men see, but it is the least which the Spirit has shewn. We cannot fully describe its fruits. — After aU, this is greatly premature. The outward change of a community is much, but the eternal day shaU reveal more than this. Such a great B 18 THE CONNOn DISTRICT. awakening may be the fruit of the past, but it is tlie bud of the future. Yet it is a grateful task, however inadequately we may execute it, to mark the springing up of the sparkling fountain after all the darkness of its hidden streams, and to trace its flow still upward as our poor knowledge leads us, till the light of heaven breaks upon the bended seekers, and we find ourselves beside the river of life, which flows from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In more than one locality in Ulster, notwithstanding the general deadness, symptoms of awakening began to indicate the approach of a better era. Public attention, however, was soon concentrated on a rural district in County Antrim, which more than any other has been identified with the early history of the movement, and from which, as a common centre, it spread with unprecedented rapidity over the entire north of Ireland. The place was one which had long enjoyed the benefit of an evangelical ministry. Even in days of darkness and defection Connor had been a favoured district ; and under the oversight of a faithful pastorate and vigilant eldership, ever zealous for the purity of communion and the maintenance of a wholesome discipline, the flock were taught alike by precept and example the necessity of separation from the world. Some thirty years ago the venerable Henry Henry rested from his labours, extending over half a century, and was succeeded by one who, in the wider sphere to which he was subsequently called, acquired an influen- tial position in the Presbyterian Church, and whose remains have just been followed to the grave amid the regrets and tears of thousands. For about nine years the Rev. David Hamilton, late of Belfast, plied his congenial task among a plain people in that rural region, and sowed much of that precious seed which has subsequently borne abundant fruit. His successor, one of the ablest and most devoted ministers in Ulster, laboured for a length of time with little visible result, expounding and enforcing the old theology, training the rising generation in Scripture knowledge, using no flattering words with any, and feai'ing not to testify of the dread realities of the world to come. LABOUES OF ITS PRESENT PASTOE. 19 His public ministrations, accordingly, were characterised by- great plainness of speech, insomuch that many for a time com- plained of his honest boldness, even when they could not resist the power with which he addressed them in his Master's name. In the prosecution of his pastoral work he regularly visited the famiUes of his charge once a-year, and was thus intimately conversant with the spiritual condition of all his people. To the young especially he sought to commend the great salvation, sparing neither time nor toil to indoctrinate them in the truth as it is in Jesus. Into the numerous Sabbath-schools under his care he introduced important and instructive Scriptural exer- cises ; Avhile Bible-classes were established, which were attended by many, who, by reason of their age, would have shrunk from placing themselves on a level with those of tender years, who were receiving a merely elementary instruction in the Word of God. The young and old were thus alike well taught in the Bible, and consequently were, to a more than ordinary extent, acquainted with the gospel scheme. Yet, notwithstanding these advantages and opportunities, many had little more than the form of godliness ; others, openly careless and indifferent, were unhappily addicted to strong drink and other debasing vices. The merely moral and the sincerely pious mingled together, so far as man could judge, with little to distinguish them from one another ; while the victim of intemperance, now and then, and as if to annoy both, appeared among them, to be flouted by the one, and pitied by the other. For years this state of things contmued, until after many disheartening delays the long-desired blessing came, and hundreds rose up as from the dead to newness of life. For a considerable period the winter Sabbath-evening ser- vice, which was more especially designed for the outlying population, who had no reg-ular church connexion, and who could not find accommodation in the crowded pews in the previous part of the day, had become unusually large, amount- ing to many hundreds, even in the darkest nights and the cold- est weather; "and what they heard," says Mr Moore, "was very plain, and barren of all attempt at ordinary pulpit refinements. 20 THE TANNYBRAKE SABBATH-SCHOOL. Tlie terrors of tlie Lord, and the free offers of mercy — heaven or hell — these constituted the almost exclusive theme." "It is worthy of notice also," he adds, "that the revival of religion, and the reasonableness of expecting such a dispensation, were not unfrequently dwelt on in the stated ministrations of the sanctuary. Extracts were read from the existing memorials of the work of God in Wales, under Daniel Rowlands; in America, under Jonathan Edwards and the Tennents ; and in Scotland, under the many eminent ministers who were similarly honoured in other days. The idea of a great revival accordingly took hold of many in the congregation, and many prayers were offered in public and in private that it might be realised in its vitality and power." " Depend upon it," said one of the most intelligent and prayerful men in all the district to his minister some years ago, "you will yet see good days in Connor." It was in the spring of 1855, as I am informed by one who has been brought up in the district, and is now a student for the ministry in the Presbyterian Church, that a movement was commenced in faith and prayer, which was destined, ere long, to spread over the neighbourhood a hallowed influence. At the close of a Sabbath evening at that period, and at one of his Bible-class examinations, ]\Ir Moore was heard addressing a young man present, and affectionately urging upon him the duty of doing " something more " for God. " Could you not," he said, " gather at least six of your careless neighbours, either parents or children, to your own house, or some other conve- nient place, on the Sabbath, and spend an hour with them, reading and searching the Word of God?" The young man hesitated for a moment, but promised to try. From that trial, made in faith, originated the Tannybrake Sabbath-school, and in connexion with it, two years subsequently, a prayer-meeting, which yielded some of the first-fruits of the great awakening. In the course of the winter following, a devoted Christian lay- man came to reside in the vicinity, with Avhose co-operation, in the spring, the school, which had been closed during the months preceding, was reopened under more favourable auspices. During the summer it greatly flourished — a marked seriousness ITS PRAYER-MEETIXG. ^1 and earnestness being discernible, both among tbe teachers and the taught. Seeing the good effects produced upon the children, the teachers anxiously considered whether an effort might not be undertaken on behalf of the parents also. Accordingly, they resolved to commence a special exercise for prayer and reading the Scriptures each evening, after the closing of the school, to which the parents and others were to be specially invited. " A Sabbath evening, early in August," to use the language of my informant, "found the expectant teachers engaged in their new work, ivith only one solitary visitor present. Nothing dis- couraged, they resolved to persevere, and a second meeting shewed a more decided measure of success, for about thirty persons, besides themselves and a few scholars, attended. From week to week the numbers continued to increase, till at last the house was filled. Prayer, praise, and reading in the Bible, with plain observations on the portion read, were the exercises engaged in. Everything sectarian was strictly pro- hibited, and promptly checked as soon as it appeared. Ques- tions that might have given rise to controversy were not dis- cussed, while the one great and absorbing topic, ' Christ and the cross,' seemed to occupy the attention and steal the affections of all present. The Sabbath-school teachers' prayer-meeting, for so it was called, became more and more interesting, till the knowledge of its existence spread throughout the neighbourhood. Many came to see whether the things they had heard concern- ing it were true ; and such was the earnestness and solemnity in that little assembly, that strangers who came once, returned again and again, until they also caught the hallowed flame. Nor was it with the labour of the slothful that they entered on the work — it was mth constancy, persistency, and power, and with an intense desire for the salvation of their friends and neighbours who were perishing around them. "Among others who were associated in the Sabbath-school prayer-meeting, were the four young men whose names have been much before the public in connexion with the subsequent revival. These four rejoiced together in the glorious work, and took great delight also in each other's society, enjoying sweet 22 THE YOUNG MEN's FELLOWSHIP-MEETING. communion with each other, and with their common Lord. But as they were some miles apart, in their respective homes, and could not come together so often as they desired, they re- solved to meet at a central place for Christian fellowship, and for this purpose they chose an old school-house in the neigh- bourhood of Kells, where, in the month of October, about two months subsequent to the commencement of the Sabbath-school prayer-meeting in Tannybrake, those exercises were conducted which have been generally regarded as the origin of the re\4val. It will be seen, however, from what has now been stated, that the first stirrings of life were exhibited in connexion vnih the Sabbath-school prayer-meeting. Three, at least, of the converts were born there, two of whom were scholars, and the third a teacher, while the gracious answers to the prayers offered on their behalf, while labouring under deep conviction, gave a powerful stimulus to prayer itself. From that time the gracious drops began to fall thicker and faster, until the rushing shower descended which has refreshed so many, and left behind ver- dure and beauty in the heritage of God." " For a considerable period," says Mr Moore himseK, " and before any general interest in religion was manifested by the people, there had been a growing anxiety about salvation. And some cases had here and there occurred of an unwonted char- acter : a sinner, anxious about the state and prospects of his soul, experiencing a sudden, startlmg visitation of dread, followed by a peace and joy unspeakable — a protracted season of per- plexity approaching to despair, succeeded by a view of Christ as a Saviour, full, sweet, restoring. Such instances had been occasionally witnessed, but they were isolated and unnoticed by the generality. About the spring of 1858 a very interesting work began to manifest itself, and to move onwards over a certain district of the congregation. For more than a quarter of a century the 'prayer-meeting' had existed in that locality, while similar meetings had in other districts, after many ineffectual efforts to maintain them, languished and revived, languished again, and died. Once the meeting in question was so far reduced in numbers that only two came together to call THE FIEST-FRUITS. 23 upon tlie name of the Lord. Still they continued to pray on, and by degrees the little company increased, until it became ' two bands.' In the same district also, it deserves to be men- tioned, the Bible training of the young in connexion with the organisation of Sabbath-schools, had been most successful ; the class which had been established there being more pro- mising than any of the others in the parish." The " fellowship-meeting" above referred to, was established almost simultaneously with those concerts for prayer, begun by a similar agency, in America, whose influence was so extensively felt throughout the great Western continent. " The society," to adopt the words of the Rev. S. J. Moore of Ballymena, " soon ceased to be a secret one ; and slowly one kindred spirit after another was introduced, on the recommendation of some of the original members. For a few months they had to walk by faith. The seed, however, was not long cast upon the waters till the tide ebbed, and the tender blade sprung up. They wrestled on. They prevailed. Surely when God's set time is come — when He intends signally to answer prayer, He disposes the supplicant to plead, and, with growing anxiety, to plead on till the bless- ing is secured. The first observable instance of conversion occurred in December following. A young man became greatly alarmed. After some time, in answer to earnest prayer by him- self and others, he found peace and confidence. Early in Jan- uary a youth in the Sabbath-school class taught by one of those young men, was brought to the saving knowledge of Christ as his Saviour. Special prayer, about the same period, was frequently offered in the fellowship-meeting in behalf of two persons, who, some three months afterwards, joyfully professed their faith in the Lord Jesus. Faith grew. Hope brightened. " The power of prayer" began to be known, and felt, and seen. The spring communion came on. Throughout the extensive parish, consisting of some thousand families, it w^as generally known that, lately, persons had been turned to the Lord among them — some moral, and some wildly immoral. A few had heard of a similar triumph of Divine grace beyond the Atlantic. The services were peculiarly solemn. The ]^.Iaster s presence seemed 24 SPREAD OF THE AWAKENIXG. to be recognised, and His call heard. A great impulse was given to consideration and seriousness, intensifying and extending these general precursors of conviction and revival. The old prayer-meetings began to be thronged, and many new ones esta- blished. Jrp difficulty now to find persons to take part in them. The wintfer was past ; the time of the singing of birds had come. Humble, grateful, loving, joyous converts multiplied. The awakening to a sight of sin, the conviction of its sinfulness, the illumination of the soul in the knowledge of a glorious Saviour, and conversion to Him— all this operation, carried on by the life-giving Spirit, was in the Connor district, for more than eighteen months, a calm, quiet, gradual, in some cases a length- ened process, not commencing in, or accompanied by, a " smiting down" of the body, or any extraordinary physical prostration more than what might be expected to result from great anxiety and deep sorrow." The awakening thus commenced and spread over a district in which there was a good degree of preparation for its advent. It is a striking fact, that it was not till more than twelve months subsequently, and in the summer of 1859, when the work was spreading generally over Ulster, that some of the other districts of the congregation were blessed with the gracious visitation. Once begun, however, the movement rapidly extended. The great concerns of eternity were realised as they had never been before. People, when they met, talked a new language. Many walked about in deep anxiety about the one thing needful ; while others rejoiced in the realised experience of a present peace and a complete salvation. Meetings for Christian converse and prayer began to spread — in a short time the community was altogether changed in its outward aspects, and a pervading seriousness prevailed ; and at the meeting of the General As- sembly in July 1858, Mr Moore was publicly requested by the Moderator to furnish some account of the awakening, the tidings of which elicited an expression of the deepest interest on the part of the supreme judicatory of the Presbyterian Church. During the succeeding months, and throughout the winter, a silent work of grace was gradually extending over the A VISIT TO CONNOK. 25 whole congregation of Connor, insomuch that when spring arrived it was believed that some hundreds had been savingly- brought under its benign influence. As yet no physical excite- ment had appeared; the process was a purely spiritual one, carried on in the sanctuary of the mind — the Spirit of God acting through the medium of the truth upon the spirit of man. Conversion work, however, of the purest type had been going on ; a total transformation had been effected in the hearts and lives of those who were the subjects of the change ; and through- out all the neighbourhood was heard " thanksgiving and the voice of melody." It was early in the month of May 1859, that, having heard of the great events that were being transacted there, I resolved to make a personal visit to the scene. Arriving on a Saturday afternoon at the manse, I found my excellent friend the pastor in the bosom of his family ; his mind, which had for such a lengthened period previously been strained to the utmost, now somewhat relaxed into repose, as he was relieved for the time from preparation for the public services of the morrow. I had not long arrived till an intimation was sent from the neighbour- ing village, from a little company of praying ones, whose custom it was to meet on the evening before the Sabbath to invoke a blessing on the ministrations of the sanctuary. They desired, on that occasion, the presence of their minister, knowing that he was in a good measure disengaged, and that another was to occupy his place before the congregation. And so he soon after joined them in their exercise of supplication. The place of meeting was, I have no doubt, the same which, on a subsequent occasion, was visited by the Rev. Dr Edgar, and which, with the persons occupying it, he thus graphically describes : — " The place was a butcher's shop. The butcher, two years ago, did not know A from B. God converted him : he taught himself to read, and he is now a large tract-distributor at his own cost, and a chief hand in the revival w^ork. The secretary was a working shoemaker — another Carey. Others present were day- labourers, a stone-breaker, and a blacksmith's boy. The stone- breaker, who sits on the road- side breaking stones to earn his 26 bread, is one of four brothers, lately converted. Their mother was sister to a notorious pugilist, to whom she used to be a bottle-holder, and when she entered a shop she was watched as a noted thief. Her sons were pests, but God's grace has made them vessels of mercy, overflowing with goodness, for not a few." On Mr Moore's return to the manse, he was joined by one of the four brethren, originally in the membership of the fellow- ship-meeting, a young man, whose spiritual attainments so highly commended him to the congregation that they had set him apart to the work of an evangelist — a department in which he has been much honoured not only in that immediate neigh- bourhood, but in many other districts in the province. He had waited on the minister to receive his instructions as to the duties of the ensuing week, and took his leave, after arranging that he should specially devote himself to a district in which the people had shown a great unwillingness to attend his meet- ings, under a seeming apprehension, as he expressed it, "lest the Lord should lay His hand upon them." The services on the Sabbath were attended as usual by an immense audience. The congregation being one of the largest in Ulster, and comprising nearly a thousand families, the church, at all times well filled, was thronged by a mass of devout worshippers. During the service there were indications of an unusual solemnity, the most intense earnestness being depicted on every countenance, and many being melted into tears. The singing of the psalms was a perfect outburst of melodious sound, the greater portion of the people having for some years previously been trained in the practice of sacred music, and their hearts being manifestly engaged in the enliven- ing exercise. The discourse Avas largely occupied with a setting forth of the leading characteristics of the American revival of the preceding year — a subject with which the hearers were not altogether unfamiliar, as a few months previouslj^ they had been addressed by visitors from Philadelphia — young men connected with the Christian Association, on whose labours such a signal blessing has rested in that city. When the service, which had been somewhat more protracted than usual, had concluded, the A VISIT TO THE PEAYEE-MEETING. 27 pastor rose and stated, that in consideration of the period of the day and of the meetings for prayer throughout the congregation in the evening, there would not on that occasion be a second diet of worship ; but he requested as many as could find it convenient to remain for an additional half hour, for the purpose of invok- ing the Divine blessing on the statements which they had then heard. The greater portion of the audience remained, when, after a brief exposition of a psalm, a general request was made that some member of the church would engage in supplication. The call was at once responded to, and our devotions were led with much appropriateness by an individual who, as his pastor afterwards informed me, had not on any former occasion taken such a part in the public services of the house of God. In the evening of that Sabbath I took the opportunity of visiting one of the many meetings for exhortation and prayer in the vicinity, selecting that (as being nearest) in the adjacent village of Kells. The exercises had begun and were going for- ward when we entered. The house in which the meeting was held was filled to inconvenience, the greater portion occupying the available space above, while the ground-floor was crowded, and the very stair was occupied in every part. There was the utmost order and decorum, and for some twenty minutes we sat listening with much interest, and unobserved' by the speaker, who was overhead, to a very touching address deli- vered by one of comparatively tender years, in which he dwelt with much pathetic earnestness on the necessity of an instant closing with Christ on His own terms, as the only and all- suflicient Saviour. After he had concluded, and prayer had been engaged in, it was agreed that, in consequence of the crowded and uncomfortable condition of the apartments, an adjournment should take place to another house hard by; which being done, the exercises were resumed — JMr Moore himself pre- siding. There were present many who appeared to be in deep mental concern, and of whom several would willingly have waited on the minister for his friendly counsel. He was obliged, however, to announce that, owing to the number of such, he was under the necessity of postponing to meet Avith them, as 28 SYMPATHY AMONGST THE CONVERTS, they desired, for private conference till the following Tuesday. It was now nine o'clock, and we took our leave, the benediction having been pronounced. We left the majority, however, still in a state of apparent expectation, and shewing, from the way in which they lingered outside, a disposition to engage once more in exercises which had manifestly so much in unison with all their feelings. I have little doubt that they did resume in the same place the congenial occupation. A short time after we had returned to the pastor's dwelling, an intimation Avas made to us that in the course of the morning serAice a young man who had for some time been under anxiety of mind had obtained "peace in believing; " — "but that," said my excellent brother, " is nothing uncommon, for scarce a sermon is preached or meeting held in which some such results are not realised;" and then he went on to mention other similar instances. Next morning I took my departure. On passing through the village, Mr Moore, who accompanied me to Ballymena, alighted from the vehicle on which we were conveyed, and entered a re- spectable-looking dwelhng. On his rejoining me, he said, " Yes, it is even as we heard last night. That is a house which is visited by almost all our younger converts as soon as they have obtained peace. They are all in Christ in that habitation, and there others are attracted by the assurance of their sympathy. Late in the evening, the young man referred to, a holder of land in the neighbourhood, had called. He told them tha,t at such a part of the service his burden was lifted off, and when he came to them, as they expressed it, " the tears were trickliiig down his cheeks for very joy." Continuing our drive, Ave passed soon after two houses by the wayside— referring to Avhich my friend said, as he pointed to them, " There are seven in that little nook," meaning thereby that these had also through grace believed. Had time and opportunity alloAved me to accompany Mr Moore in some of his pastoral rounds, I have little doubt that he could have pointed out hundreds of such cases ; but as Mr Arthur has Avell expres- sed it, AAdth respect to that admirable minister, at a subsequent UNOSTENTATIOUSNESS OF THE WORK. 29 stage of the movement, and after much attention had been attracted to it — " Even now Mr Moore says nothing of numbers, wTites nothing to papers, leaves the numbers to be learned by the state of the church — the effects to be found out in the lives of the people. He is not so anxious to trumpet conversions, as to save souls." In regard to the results of the revival, as witnessed in the improved state of the district, one or two statistical facts may be mentioned. Of nine public-houses, two are closed by the conversion of their owners, and a third for want of trade ; while the quantity of drink now sold by the six that are open is less than that formerly sold by one. In 1857 there were in the parish thirty-seven committals for offences connected with drunkenness; in 1858, eleven ; in 1859, four, of whom two were strangers. And whereas in 1857 there were twenty-seven paupers in the union, there are but four at present, while the poor-rates are only half the amount they were before. CHAPTER IV. THE REVIVAL PEOCLAIMED AS HAVING COME. Visits of the Awakened to Ahogbill — A Scene amid the Clouds of Night — " I am Saved" — Spread of the Work — The Eager Multitudes — The Physical Affections on their first appearance — A similar in- stance in County Down — Effects on the Community — Meeting in a Cockpit. Although, as has been already stated, tlie work of preparation was going forward iti some of the neighbouring congregations, it was not till near the close of 1858 that any striking results appeared. On the 9th of December of that year, an event occurred which was destined, in the train of causes, to exert a wide-spread spiritual influence. On that day a young man who had been led to attend the Connor fellowship-meeting, was for the first time penetrated with a sense of sin, and induced to cry for mercy. No sooner had he tasted the joys of pardon and of peace than he began to bethink himself of the state of his relations, resident a few miles oft', in the Ahoghill district; and with all the fervour of a young disciple he solicited some three or four of his fellow-converts to unite with him in prayer on their behalf, that they also might be made partakers of his abound- ing happiness. A few weeks after, he visited his mother and family, to communicate to them his own experience of the loving-kindness of the Lord, and to excite them to a kindred earnestness about the " great salvation." Once and again he came with the same anxious and prayerful aim; nor was it long till he was gladdened by the tidings, that after an exercise of con- viction, his mother had been made a partaker of like precious faith, and was rejoicing in the hope of glory. Another member A SCENE AMID THE CLOUDS OF NIGHT. 31 of the family, a brother, was the next object of his solicitude. At the time when he went in search of him, the brother was at a shooting match, and there, amid the excitement of the scene, fell on his ear the startling words, " I have a message for you from the Lord Jesus." A strange effect soon followed, and he was brought under the subduing influence of a Divine agency. It was amid the clouds of night that after parting from one another, each for his respective place of habitation, the brother resident at Ahoghill was all at once immersed in the horror of a deeper darkness, his whole frame trembling as in the immediate presence of the Invisible. In the midst of a soul- conflict, in which he experienced the pangs of unutterable agony, he found a measure of relief in prostrating himself before the throne of mercy, and though still much agitated and enfeebled, made the best of his way home. Day after day he groaned under the weight of his heart-sorrow, and sought deliverance with awful cries and supplications. At length his burden was graciously removed, and rising from his loom he fell upon his knees, and gave full vent to his rejoicing in rapturous thanks- givings. Thenceforward a new life was infused into him, and he burned with an unquenchable desire to glorify the name of his Almighty Saviour. One of his first impulses was to rush directly to his minister, (the Rev. F. Buick,) to Avhom he com- municated his whole soul in the glad utterance, " I am saved." And then, as he found opportunity, he wrought unceasingly both night and day, and even to the neglect of his daily task, in seek- ing to "uin others to a participation in the same immortal hopes. In a short time several members of the same household had experienced a gracious change. An anxious desire having been expressed by Mr Buick, that others of the lay brethren from Connor should visit the neigh- bourhood, a meeting was held in his own churcli, to which they were invited. " It was," as he testifies, " an earnest, heart- stirring meeting. A holy flame was kindled. A strong desire for a gracious revival began to gain ascendancy. The brethren from Connor were again invited. The school-house, where the meeting was to be held, was altogether too small to accommo- 32 FIEST APPEARANCE OF THE PHYSICAL AFFECTIONS. date the liundreds that were in attendance. It was accordingly adjourned to the Second Presbyterian Church, Ahoghill, where similar stirring appeals and prayers of burning fervency moved the vast assembly. Thereafter, prayer-meetings began to mul- tiply. The new converts, mth other Christians whose hearts the Lord stirred, engaged in the work of prayer and exhortation with unquenchable zeal. Thus the work spread. Daily, fresh interest was awakened. Common houses, and even large churches, were not able to contain the multitudes that assembled, so that often the highway and the open field, in the cold even- ings of spring, were the scenes of deeply interesting meetings. So eager have the multitudes been to hear the services of the converted brethren, that many travelled miles to be present, and, without any weariness, would they have remained, even all night, if the services had continued. There has been an uncommon thirsting for the Word." In the statements which follow, the physical affections which henceforward characterised the movement are thus noticed in their early manifestations : — " At these meetings many convictions have taken place. From one up to ten and twelve have been arrested by the Spirit of God, through the word and prayer of these honoured brethren. Even strong men have staggered and fallen down under the w^ounds of their conscience. Great bodily weakness ensues. The w^hole frame trembles. Oh ! it is a heart-rending sight to witness. With wringing of hands, streams of tears, and a look of unutterable anguish, they confess their sins in tones of unmistakeable sincerity, and appeal to the Lord for mercy with a cry of piercing earnestness. I have seen the strong frame convulsed ; I have witnessed every joint trembling ; I have heard the cry, as I have never heard it before, 'Lord Jesus, have mercy upon my sinful soul ; Lord Jesus, come to my burning heart ; Lord, pardon my sins ; oh, come and hft me from these flames of hell I ' "These convictions vary in difl"erent individuals, both in strength and duration. While some obtain peace in believing soon after then- conviction, others do not attain it for several AN INSTANCE IN COUNTY DOWN. 33 days. It is after many a conflict, with conviction oft returning, with much prayer and reading of the Word, through which spiritual light makes gTcat progress in the mind, that a settled peace and holy joy take possession of the soul." While the bodily prostrations above referred to have been generally regarded as originating in connexion with the awaken- ing in Ahoghill, yet there is reason to believe there were occasional instances of a similar description, and at the same period, in other parts of Ulster. Thus, in the county of Down, in a rural district called Crossgar, the following case, never before published, is narrated by the Rev. J. G. Thomson, the young minister of the place : — "In the middle of the month of January 1859, 1 was called upon early one morning to see a previously strong healthy young man, who supposed himself to be dying. On my arrival, I found him lying in bed, and evidently in a state of great bodily weakness, although his sickness did not seem to be unto death. Entering into conversation -udth him, I learned that he had been sick of soul, previous to his being sick of body, and that the former was. the cause of the latter. He told me that he had been very much impressed by a sermon I had preached on the last Sabbath afternoon, from these words, " I have a message from God unto thee." (Judges iii. 20.) Alarmed on account of sin and the punishment due to it, he could get no rest, day nor night. Loudly did he cry for mercy, and did not cry in vain. He knocked, and the door of mercy was opened for the outpouring of spiritual blessings. He obtained pardon and peace after a severe struggle, by which he was left in a state of great bodily weakness. He was unable to walk for a number of days, and not until two months had passed was he able to pursue his ordinary business. Strange to say, when affected first, he complained of there being about his heart, unattended by any pain, a heavy weight, which he considered in some way to be associated with the idea of sin. This was removed, as he said, when the Holy Spirit came into his heart, and produced within him that faith which enabled him to lay hold upon Jesus, and to fly to Him from the wrath to come. His features c 34 EFFECTS ON THE COMMUNITY. indicated tlie gladness of one who had found some great and lasting treasure. You could have seen the very joy sparkling in his eye ; and more than once did I hear him say, that if the Lord willed, he would rather depart and be with Jesus. His case was, in many particulars, similar to that of a great many I have seen since the great religious movement came among us. While his weakness remained, I frequently read the Scriptures, conversed and prayed with him. In all such exercises, he took, and still takes the deepest interest. He is still growing in grace, and by his walk and conversation in the w^orld, gives every evidence of being a son of the Lord Almighty. This and similar cases have been like drops before the shower." The work in Ahoghill, from the outset, was largely character- ised by those physical effects which henceforward to a greater or less extent marked its onward progress. It is not to be wondered at, that the sudden, singular, and violent conversions which were now so frequent, produced a strange and startling effect on the community. Such instantaneous seizures, so dif- ferent in their character from the slow methods to which the Church has been accustomed, were naturally regarded with some suspicion and alarm, as introducing a new process in regeneration, and it was not without an internal struggle that many could be brought to admit their genuineness. It was impossible to deny, however, that the most blessed results were to be found associated with these affections, and that society in all its aspects was undergoing a wondrous transformation. The Sjaiod of Ballymena and Coleraine held its meeting in the month of May, and the report then submitted (see Appendix A), and which was prepared by the Rev, F. Buick, is valuable as the first public testimony emitted by a court of Christ with reference to the awakening. Many interesting incidents might be narrated, illustrative of the wonderful effect which was produced upon the public mind in the same neighbourhood, as evinced in the new direction it took, amid scenes where formerly the most demoralising prac- tices prevailed. Take the following as an instance, narrated by the Rev. David Adams :— MEETING IN A COCKPIT. 35 " I may here quote a statement I wrote some time ago respect- ing a meeting at Creaglirock, midway between Ahoghill and Randalstown, a place where ever since, at the request of the people, a monthly religious meeting has been held in the open- air, attended by hundreds. This place had become famous, or rather infamous, as a cockpit, especially on Ahoghill old fair- day, when thousands would assemble for the degrading sport of cock-fighting, thereby making it a scene of lying, blasphemy, drunkenness, and all manner of profligacy. In these 'revival' times a number of the awakened, some of whom, perhaps, were ' cockers ' themselves, resolved on this occasion to make it a far different scene, and therefore invited several ministers to attend, and address the meeting against all manner of vice, and for the promotion of all manner of holiness. Tuesday was one of June's finest days — sky unclouded, sun brilliant, all nature laughing with joy, and ' heaven smiling o'er us.' The meeting was at ten o'clock A.M., and even at that early hour, crowds in all direc- tions, and of all characters — in many cases, from a distance of five or six miles — were seen wending their way gladly to the Rock, and at one time there could not have been much less than two thousand present. The meeting was earnestly and usefully addressed by four ministers, and pious prayers were offered up by fervent laymen. A most solemn impression was produced on all, from the gray-haired man of ninety to the merry child of a few years. Many of the old and young were deeply and visibly impressed by the Spirit's power; and altogether such a hallowed scene cannot fail to be engraven on the heart of every beholder, for many a year, as it is believed several on that day could there and then look up to heaven and say of Jesus — ' Rock of ages, cleft for me.' " A twelvemonth has now elapsed since the blessing came upon the neighbourhood of which such things have been recorded. Have the results disappointed expectation ? or has the impres- sion died away with the occasion that gave it birth ? Let the following dispassionate statement, written at the close of the past year, supply the answer. It is by the Rev. F. Buick :— 36 SERIOUS DEPOETMENT OP THE CONVERTS. "When Barnabas visited Antioch to see and report on the revival that had taken place there, it is said in the sacred history, ' When he came, and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.' This is the case with us. The grace of God is visible in its effects in producing light and knowledge, prayer and praise, attendance on ordinances, holiness of life, and reformation of manners. Great gladness has been obtained by hundreds who have come to the enjoyment of pardon and peace, and are now rejoicing in the Lord. Great gladness has been introduced into families. Men that were coarse and savage, and a source of untold misery to their wives, are now so altered, so mild, so pleasant, so God-like, that the change in their domestic happiness is like heaven on the earth. The melody of joy and gladness is now heard in many families, just because they are families of the righteous. Throughout this privileged season there has been great gladness — higher strains of praise in the church triumphant, on the return to the Lord of so many prodigals. There is great gladness in the church militant, because of the increased attendance in the courts of the Lord's house, the lofty strains of her praise, the deep- toned earnestness of her services, and the life and power of her devotions, all of which have largely partaken of the revival. " It is truly astonishing to witness the deep solemnity which pervades the whole deportment of many who, before conversion, were regardless of divine things, and who even shewed a positive aversion to them. Now their real appearance is that of an all- pervading seriousness. How they have been subdued, and changed, and solemnised ! Their growth in knowledge is rapid ; their love of the Bible is intense ; and it is marvellous to hear with what fluency, unction, and power, they can approach the throne of grace in prayer. They are called to be saints. " It is the general impression that a work of grace has been going on silently, and without observation, on the heart of hundreds throughout the country, who have had no bodily prostrations. It is known by the feeling of deep solemnity that pervades the neighbourhood — by the vast increase of family INCREASE IN THE ATTENDANCE ON ORDINANCES. 37 religion^ — by the absence of liitherto prevailing sins — by the keeping up of prayer-meetings in almost every locality — by the great increase in the attendance on the ordinances of God's house — and by the large accessions which have been made to the communicants' roll in all the churches. The three Presby- terian churches in Ahoghill are full ; and the Second and Third are contemplating large additions to their accommodation." CHAPTER V. THE EEVIVAL IN ITS DEVELOPMENT. The Man in the Market — Varieties in the process of Conviction — Pro- cedure at the Meetings — "What's the News?" — The Young Man and his Brother — " I have heard of these things long before " — Three Type Cases — Letter to a Teacher — Abiding Beneficial Results — Statement of Rev. S. M. DiU — Description of the Physical Phenomena — Stages of the Bodily Affection. Ballymena is three miles distant from Ahoghill. It is one of the most flourishing inland towns in Ulster, with a population of about 6000, and a principal seat of the linen trade. In this community the work began early in April. Amid a crowd of people on the market-day, according to the statement of the local journal, a strange phenomenon was witnessed : — "A man, apparently about thirty years of age, formerly of Ballymena, and now resident in the neighbourhood of Ahoghill, suddenly fell upon his knees, and alarmed the entire neigh- bourhood by loud and desperate cries, expressive of the most appalling agony. His despairing shouts were such as might be expected from a man who felt himself suddenly attacked, and sinking under the repeated and deadly stabs of an assassin. People ran to the spot from all directions, expecting to find that an unfortunate sufferer had become the victim of some terrible accident. The man continued his cries for the space of about ten minutes, after which interval he became more com- posed; and, being in a very weak and agitated state, he was assisted by some friends to the house of a relative in Bridge Street. On passing down Linen Hall Street he was repeatedly EFFECTS OF THE OUTPOURING. 39 heard to exclaim, ' Unclean ! unclean ! — Lord, be merciful to me a sinner ! ' In the course of the evening he was visited by some religiously disposed young men of the town, who prayed with him ; but a report of the result in this case has not reached us." I shall narrate the progress of the work in the words of a young friend resident on the spot, who took part in the move- ment in his native town, and who has supplied me with the following impressive statement : — " The week which began with May 17 can never be forgotten, though it cannot easily be described. When the great outpour- ing came, worldly men were silent with an indefinite fear, and Christians found themselves borne onward in the current, with scarce time for any feeling but the overpowering conviction that a great revival had come at last. Careless men were bowed in unaifected earnestness, and sobbed like children. Drunkards and boasting blasphemers were awed into solemnity and silence. Sabbath-school teachers and scholars became seekers of Christ together ; and languid believers were stirred up to unusual exertion. There was great earnestness with all, and enthusiasm with some, but little extravagance or ridicule was known. Ministers who had often toiled in heartless sorrow suddenly found themselves beset by inquirers, and wholly unequal to the demands which were made. Every day many were hopefully converted : passing through an ordeal of conviction more or less severe, to realise their great deliverance, and to throw them- selves with every energy into the work of warning others, or of leading them to the Lord. "All this came suddenly, and many thought it strange. It was little marvel that the world was astonished, but the incre- dulous wonder of many Christians shewed how much we needed a revival. We were astonished that God took us at our word, and sent at last the quickening grace for which we had been dreamily praying so long. The theory of asking and receiving was common, but the getting of a blessing for which there was no room was rare. The day-spring broke upon sleepers ; there were few who could wait and watch with their unchanging Lord. 40 VAEIETIES IN THE PKOCESS OF CONVICTION. ' Thy kingdom come ' was familiar ; but the coming kingdom was the wonder of the day. " It was in the opening summer that the revival came, when the darkness lingers so long at nightfall, and the bright morn- ings break so soon. We can remember how many lighted windows there were though the night was far gone, and how prayer-meetings were prolonged till the day had returned again. Every evening the churches were crowded, and family worship became ahnost universal. In the country, large meetings were held in the open air, and hundreds were often visibly impressed by strong conviction. Part of the dinner hour was generally devoted to singing and prayer, and the sound from numerous groups of worshippers could be heard far at a distance as it was borne on the summer breeze. Thousands of tracts were circu- lated and read with avidity, and long-neglected Bibles came into general use. The order of an accustomed formality was gone ; and while exhausted ministers were compelled to leave, the people reluctantly dispersed — some to pray over unimpressed friends, others to feel the workings of an awakened conscience, and many to rejoice in their new liberty, and to glory in their King. " The process of conviction was greatly varied. In the larger number it was little observed, and not connected with any bodily affection. On some the conviction of real, present, terrible danger came like a thunderbolt, and they were com- pelled to shout for mercy in total disregard of place or circum- stances. Others were less violently impressed, and the evidence took the milder form of weeping. As a general rule, however, a deep anxiety was felt for a longer or shorter time before the crisis of strong conviction. The most hopeful were generally of the first or third class. The violent bodily paroxysm was felt usually by those who had been previously ignorant or openly immoral. In some cases it might be traced to mere sympathy, or to an exclusively physical agency, and the apparent reform was only temporary ; but in the great majority the change was lasting and deep. It is not strange that the reason was occa- sionally affected for a time by those attacks, and that the health PROCEDURE .. T THE MEETINGS. 41 shared in the mental suffering. Many were thus instantly im- pressed who never attended any meeting at all, and others at their usual employment. The gTeat purpose seemingly intended by this special visitation was the arousing of others by direct appeal to their senses, and it was completely accomplished. "The order of procedure at the town meetings was little varied, yet the interest never failed while the summer lasted. Each evening had its own incidents, but one general sketch may give an idea of all. "For some time before the appointed hour, many of the younger converts assemble to sing together some of the favourite hymns. A little later the people pour in rapidly, and soon every seat is occupied. We can see men of business along with their workers, each in the usual attire of the day. A large proportion is made up of the scholars in the Sabbath school, and of the lower classes, who were specially visited during the awakening. Some seem very anxious, and all are solemn. On the faces of the recent converts there is such a beaming gladness that even a stranger can tell their story at a look. " A few minutes after the single stroke of the hour is heard, the minister ascends the pulpit stairs, and reads the opening psalm, which is sung with thrilling fervency. The prayer which follows bears greatly on the three classes of worshippers, the converted, the anxious, and the unawakened, and contains ear- nest pleadings for the Spirit's presence, and for the spread of the revival work. Very often, as the petition passes, there is heard far above the speaker's voice, and then sounding in the solemn stillness, the thrilling cry of some who were arrested as they prayed. And as many a conscience trembles at the arous- ing call, others silently offer a prayer to the Great Physician of the soul, that the broken-hearted penitent may enjoy the healing of His grace. " The addresses which follow from lay members or others are practical and earnest. The master-truths pressed home are the guilt and danger of every unconverted listener, and the full and present salvation of Jesus. By way of illustration, recent inci- 42 " WHAT 'S, THE NEWS ? " dents are quoted, and each is brought to bear on the pressing appeal. At the close, the leader usually gives a short summary of the revival progress in the surrounding districts, and then reads the first hue of the favourite hymn, ' What 's the News ? ' As the closing verse is sung, few are silent or unmoved — ' And then, if any one should say, What 's the news ? — what 's the news ? Oh ! tell them you 've be^un to pray — That's the news ! that 's the news ! That you have join'd the conquering band, And now with joy, at God's command, You 're marching to the better land — That 's the news ! that 's the news ! ' Then follows the closing prayer, and the benediction. On seve- ral occasions this had to be pronounced twice, and, though at midnight, all had not dispersed. " Many strange relations are connected with this period, when thousands were set free from the bondage of evil. Some have escaped so gently that they scarce knew when their chains fell, and the freedom came. Others have writhed and struggled in their bonds so long, that reason almost sunk in the strife. We have heard of some who wandered about in morbid gloominess for months, while on a brother or sister the light has broken in a day. One can tell how he has hardly been saved from his diabolical enemy, whom a racked imagination made almost visible ; and another can speak of nothing but the story of a wondrous Deliverer, and how He brought light and liberty to the darkened soul. When the mind has been stored by previ- ous training, there is needed only the quickening life ; but when conviction of peril finds no trust to fall back upon, there is a fearful groping in darkness and in doubt. This brings us many lessons in reference to the early teaching of the elements of truth. These life seeds cannot perish ; they lie till the life swells them, and the spring-time of the soul comes round. 'God's Word,' says Samuel Rutherford, ' will come to God's harvest.' The psalms and lessons of the Sabbath-class have been repro- duced so clearly, that many thought the revival miraculous, A THE YOUNG MAN A^TD HIS BROTHEE. 43 minister was astonished to hear a woman of his charge, who had been convicted, repeat with great feeling and striking accuracy the instructions of a communion class at which he had laboured about thirty years before. This quickening of the memory brings back the truth, when every nerve is strained in the grasp- ing after safety, and fits workers for their duty when the need is felt. Sabbath-school teachers ! do not neglect this patient, painstaking labour. Fill the mind with truth. This light from heaven is the best safeguard against error on earth. "Another lesson may be inserted here. It is the power of urgent, personal dealing. We who work for the Master are too slack and listless with perishing men. " A young man who had been savingly changed, felt shortly afterwards a strong desire to visit his brother, who lived near. This drawing he could not explain, but it was too strong to be resisted, and accordingly he set out under the conviction that there was a work before him to be done. When he arrived, his message was soon told. He spoke of the change which had passed upon his own soul, and pressed the great salvation on the acceptance of all who heard. Still his brother was unmoved. 'You need not speak to me about these things,' he said; 'I have heard of them long before.' But the messenger pleaded on, and could not return. When the evening drew on they were together alone, and again the same arguments were used, but seemingly with little prospect of good. At length, when the night was far gone, he almost began to despair of present suc- cess, and arose to go ; but he could not leave. Again he returned to prayer and pleading, and before the morning broke, his brother was convicted by his side. " Christ has said, ' Strive to enter in.' This is a struggle for a crown, but the crow^n gained does not end the struggle. If you have got the life within your own soul, it will be commended to the soul of your neighboiu" too. It is in the glow of the first love that there is the unwearying persistence of earnestness. When one is converted in a family, he becomes a fireside preacher, and is often the means of bringing others to the Lord. It is to this outgoing of love that many owe the safety that is enjoyed to-day. 44 THREE TYPE CASES. " We can see fruits of the great quickening in every class. This work of the Lord is good, and it is pleasant to trace out its beauties. We insert three type cases, not because they are rare, but that they are common, and so far the more truthful as examples here. " The first leads us to a labourer's home. He was a rough, untutored man, of a quiet temperament, but occasionally falling into fits of intoxication, and seldom seen at the church. The two children who remained at home were greatly uncared for ; and his wife, a delicate woman, busy in the vexatious striving with her husband's errors, and the world's demands. This home and its inmates has a parallel in thousands around. " It was towards the summer's close that a visitor entered, whose presence brings liberty and life. That woman is care- worn still, but the world's care is gone. She has often said, ' The toiling and striving is nothing to me now ; I am trusting that the Lord will give us all we need ; but it cuts me to the heart when I hear others denying His name.' One of the chil- dren has been hopefully changed, and one is a burden for the family prayer. Their father has become a total abstainer, and, we believe, an earnest, humble Christian. The home is poor still, for a severe winter has pressed its inmates closely ; but they are rich with God's treasure in heaven. " The subject of the second case was an occasional Sabbath- school teacher. He was amiable, moral, and well instructed, fully up to the world's idea of a Christian. He may stand as a type of that great class of friends and acquaintances, of whom we hope good things, but for whom we have sometimes to fear. " About a year before the revival came, the subject of per- sonal religion had been brought before him. He was interested for the time, and somewhat alarmed ; but the drawings of the Spirit were overborne, and he became more regardless than before. The course which branched off" here has been the fune- ral way of many an immortal. When Christ is refused as a living Lord, the corruption of mind and spirit is not long delayed. Whatever bands are round a young man's heart, if LETTER TO A TEACHER. 45 the cords of God's love keep it not, he will soon fall in with the notion of the fool. To keep God out of the heart is, in the main, one with saying there is no God at all. " It soon came to this, that there was nothing but a thin veil of profession between the inward infidelity and the outer world. Still the working Spirit was not gone. Sometimes the old anxiety returned, and there was a week of apprehension and earnest prayer. At length, when the revival came, the former impressions came back with renewed power. There was a lessened striving once more with the urgent Saviour ; but the time of deliverance was near. " The passing word of a minister helped to hasten the change. It was a warning against allowing the special quickening to pass unimproved. A day later, the absorbing feeling possessed the whole mind, and sleep was hardly known. The gray dawn of the following morning was breaking when he rose in rest- less anxiety, the more easily to pass the weary hours till another day was gone. Before the evening fell, that fear was cast away for ever. In a meeting held about mid-day, peace was found, and the struggle closed. Henceforth opened the new life, mth the prospect of ending in the chosen ministry of the truth. "The third case is that of a little Sabbath-scholar, whose heart the Lord touched. The fact of his conversion is inserted only to introduce the extract which foUows, and which is part of a letter written to his teacher not long ago. It speaks much of the work in the heart, and of the Worker there : — " ' I must now proceed to relate some of my own personal experience, which is the most difficult of all to describe, because, as I said before, I am not accustomed writing letters. " ' I feel my heart very deceitful, and desperately Avicked. My love is sometimes very cold. My faith is often very weak, and overcome by the temptations of Satan. I cannot do my duty to God and my fellow-man aright. Sometimes I can hardly pray, my thoughts wander so, and I am so much cast down in spirit. My walk and conversation is very often not consistent with what I profess ; I do not walk worthy of the high vocation wherewith I am called. I am afraid that I am 46 SECTAEIAN DIFFERENCES OVERLOOKED. not looking enougli to Jesus, who is the Author and Finisher of our faith; that I am not running the race with patience which is set before me. I have made, indeed, but very little progress in holiness ; for, so far, I am only a babe in Christ. To say it in short, I am nothing but a poor Christian. " ' But I have great reason to be thankful that He has granted some manifestations of Himself to me. My faith grows stronger every day. I see that the eyes of the Lord are over the right- eous, and that His ears are open to their cry. There is one thing which is very strange to me — perhaps it is not so with those who are more advanced in grace — that when I am medi- tating on God's Word, perhaps on the portion that I have in the morning read, or on the death and sufferings of Christ, my heart becomes full of love to the Saviour, I feel the very ear- nest of His Spirit, which enables me to bear the cross more patiently, and leads me to hope that I shall yet wear the crown. I do not trust to my feelings now as formerly. I see that it is a very easy thing to trust my soul into the hands of a loving Sa^dour. This is but a short summary of my experience; I would like very much to continue it if I could.' " The teacher to whom this was written, is the writer now. We thank God that He has given a dear brother such grace as we now witness to the world. Reader, is there nothing here for your soul to-day ? " Filled with such incidents, the summer and autumn months passed by. As the work progressed, every rank felt its power, and shared in its good fruits. The labouring classes were first and largely impressed ; but the awakening seemed as great among the rich and respectable. Among the young, there has been a decided and special quickening. In a denominational point of view, no Church has been so favoured as the Calvinis- tic Presbyterian, though sectarian differences have been greatly overlooked. Many Unitarians and Roman Catholics were con- vinced of their errors, and hopefully changed. It w^ould be untrue, on the one hand, to describe the sudden and complete check which was given to current vice as a lasting change ; and unjust, on the other, to consider the reflux of the interrupted ABIDING BENEFICIAL RESULTS. 47 current as an evidence of universal defection. Deep, real, enduring the work has been, A few abuses we admit, but unnumbered blessings we maintain. Christ's credit is in it, and He will guard His own. " As we write, 1859 is almost by. Up to this day there is a continued earnestness and growing zeal. Some have shewn that their profession was false, but their number is small now, and their evidences, in the main, were never clear. The actual good is less noticed by men, because the larger proportion of real converts were not openly immoral before. The greatest blessing is not the blessing seen, though there is enough to dis- prove every doubter. Sabbath-schools have been increased and invigorated. A towTi mission has been instituted. Prayer-meet- ings are very numerous, and family worship generally observed. Church accommodation has been almost universally found in- sufficient, while the ofF-setting resorts of pleasure are greatly deserted. Though the bursting rush of the life-spring is lessened, its calm, deep flow runs on in a widening stream. " There are two ways of closing a revival story. On man's side the fittest response is a universal doxology ; but the word of the Glorified brings a lesson to the heart. Gently reproving past indifference, He says — '0 ye of little faith, wherefore did ye doubt 1 ' Here is another plea for unf earing confidence. Who will not profit by the lesson, and answer to the call 1 " We have already seen, that a peculiar impetus was given to the movement in another district by the bodily affections, the report of which was extensively noised abroad. So also was it in Balh'^mena. The following, among other instances, is narrated by Mr Dill, as having fallen under his pastoral cognisance : — " June 9. — On returning home to-day, found an urgent mes- sage from a respectable member of my congregation, who wished to see me immediately. I at once proceeded to his house, and found him engaged in his daily avocations. Quitting them at once, he came and sat down with me in his parlour. In reply to my inquiries, he gave me a very full account of the state through which he had passed. ' I may tell you,' said he, 'that 48 A PASTORAL VISIT. from the beginning of this revival I put no belief in these cases of conviction. I attributed them to nervousness brought on by fear, or excitement produced by attending large meetings, and listening to terrifying addresses; yet I attended every meeting wdthin reach, and heard all the addresses, and sermons, and prayers that were delivered at them both by ministers and laymen. I was also witness to a great number of cases in various stages. Still no impression was made on my own mind, and I saw no reason to change my opinion respecting the move- ment as originating in excitement. Happening, however, to be acquainted with one of the young men who had assisted at a meeting on the previous evening, I invited hun to breakfast the following morning. Before leaving, I asked him to conduct family worship. His prayer was not at all of an exciting character, but plain and scriptural, and uttered in a quiet, earnest tone. While I was on my knees, I began to feel myself oppressed by an overpowering weight crushing me down to the earth. I tried to pray, but had no heart for it, and no utter- ance. I felt as if I was ready to burst. For a long time I could get no relief ; but at length I found some liberty in prayer, and was enabled to trust in Jesus for pardon and salvation. Tears also came to my relief, although I never remember to have shed a tear before. This crushing weight and agony of mind re- turned upon me once again, but again I found comfort and peace in believing prayer ; and I bless God that I can now take the Lord Jesus as " all my salvation and all my desire." ' I ven- tured to ask bim if he had seen any visions, when he replied, ' No, nothing of the kind, and I lay no stress upon the hodily affection. I can't account for it. Doubtless it miist have been from the hand of God, but I look entirely to His dealings with my soul.' ' And what,' said I, ' do you think now of all your former profession ] ' ' All a worthless form. You know how regular I was in attendance on public worship, and the other ordinances of religion. I was doing all I could, and thought myself a very good Christian ; but I now find that I was going about to establish my own righteousness, and that I had not submitted myself to the righteousness which is of God by faith.' THE PHYSICAL PHEN<)MENA. 49 He added, with passionate energy, ' I never knew myself before. I knew well enough when I committed actual sin, but I never thought of the sin of the heart— of the sin of unbelief. I never prayed one prayer till now. I never understood the Word of God till now. I never knew Christ till now ; and, though I am not so happy or rejoicmg as others seem to be, I would not part with my interest in Christ, no, not for ten thousand worlds ! ' We sang and prayed, and I left him in a calm and peaceful state of mind." The subjoined statement by the same hand on the physical manifestations is valuable as the recorded judgment of one of the most judicious ministers of the Presbyterian Church, pro- nounced at an early period in the history of the awakening : — " It appears to me that in all these cases there are tivo things to be considered — one, the bodily affection ; the other, the spin- tical change. The former is more likely to draw the attention of the curious onlooker, and often to elicit the silly or heartless comment of those who are wholly incompetent to give an opi- nion on the subject. The latter will be eagerly fixed upon by the children of God, that, apart from all its accidents or accom- paniments, it may be made the subject of heartfelt gratitude and praise. For wise and gracious purposes, no doubt, it has pleased ' the Lord to come out of His place,' and awaken souls, at this time, in a very peculiar and remarkable manner. One of these purposes has been already largely accomplished before our eyes ; and that is, the convincing of an ungodly world of the truth and reality of Divine influences upon the soul, and through them, of the conversion of the heart to God. How many mul- titudes were uttering the credo, ' I believe in the Holy Ghost/ without ever thinking of the meaning of the words ? An icy incrustation of formality seemed to have gathered over the very waters of life, and it required an almighty power to break it up before the thirsty soul could obtain a draught. So inveterate was the practical unbelief of a gospel-hardened people, that one might have said to them, ' Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.' Such signs and wonders God has been pleased to work, not miraculously, but most mysteriously. Of course no D 50 THE PHYSICAL PHENOMENA. enlightened Christian will regard a mere bodily affection as any evidence of a work of grace in the soul. Facts which have come under my own observation, even though the Scriptures had been silent as to the marks and evidences of regeneration, would refute such a theory. Still, it cannot be denied that these bodily affections are connected in some way with the influence of Divine truth upon the mind, and are invariably marked by an uncontrollable impulse to pray I do not deny the exist- ence of nervous excitement, or that it is much promoted by the power of social sympathy; but I emphatically deny that the origin of the movement is to be accounted for in this way, or that, even now, these are anything more than accom- jjaniments of it — the bubbles and foam upon the surface of a deep and mighty river. " Further, it is a total mistake to suppose that the agitations, either of mind or body, have been usually produced by fear. My experience is, that alarming truths have not been the ordi- nary or most effective instrument in this work. The story of the Cross, told in the simplest language, has proved itself, as of old, to be the ' power of God,' Again and again have I heard the same account from the penitent's lips. One woman, whose heart the Lord was pleased to touch, whilst I was addressing a few quiet words to some persons gathered together in a country- house, afterwards took great pains to assure me that she had not been terrified or alarmed by anything I had said. ' What was it, then,' said I, ' that so affected you ? ' 'I felt,' she replied, ' that they were my sins that had nailed the Saviour to the cross — that " He was wounded for my transgressions, and bruised for mine iniquities." It was for this I grieved, and not from any fear of punishment.' " Reserving for the present any discussion respecting the physi- cal phenomena and the explanations of them, it may not be out of place, before proceeding further, to refer to some of their characteristic features. Others were superadded subsequently, to which we shall necessarily advert in the course of our nar- rative. It may be observed generally, that so far as can be gathered STAGES OF THE BODILY AFFECTION. 51 of the great majority of cases, they have been preceded for a longer or shorter period by an agonising sense of sin ; sometimes lying dully on the conscience for weeks and months together, sometimes overwhelming as in a moment by its intolerable pressure, and violently demonstrative in its manifestations. The physical prostration itself has taken place under every possible variety of circumstances — at home, abroad, in the church, and in the market-place ; in the crowded meeting, and the seclusion of retirement. One is stricken as he plies the shuttle or the loom ; another as his eye falls upon some familiar jiassage, or his ear is arrested by some oft-repeated invitation of the Word ; a third while he is engaged in secret meditation or prayer. " I have known the case of a man," says the Rev. John Macnaughtan of Belfast, referring to another class of instances, after his visit to Ballymena, " going home from the market after he had sold his produce, passing along the road- side, and counting his money to see whether it was all right, when he sunk down as if sun-struck, and his money was scat- tered on the road." Of the several stages in the experience of those who have been the subjects of physical prostration, the first is charac- terised by an awful apprehension of impending evil, a fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, accompanied by a crushing pressure on the region of the heart, inducing the loud despairing cry, or the groan of agony. In this state the sufferer is overwhelmed as by the billows of Divine wrath, so that human help is for the time of no avail, and all that man can do is to await the issue, committing it to Him who causeth light to arise in the darkness. Then is the period also of fierce wrestling, real or imagined, with the Evil One, whose person- ality is apprehended with terrible distinctness, insomuch that the soul is as an arena in which a death struggle is being car- ried on between the powers of light and darkness. In the second stage, which is generally very sudden in its development, there is a transition from the deep depression before experienced to a calmer state of feeling, and some object, earnestly desired and longed for, stands out before the view— the 52 STAGES OF THE BODILY AFFECTION. intensity of the mind's gaze being such that no human presence, although many may be intently waiting by, is realised. It is a sort of waking dream, in which the steadfast countenance and upturned eye denote the character of the inward exercise. The labouring chest no longer heaves under its oppressive burden ; there is a subsidence of the sob, the groan, the wail of lamenta- tion, and the cold damps are passing off the brow. The arms that tossed about so wildly, are now stretched forth as if to embrace the prized and cherished object, and utterances like these drop from the lips in melting cadence,—" blessed Jesus, come ! Thou art my hope, my life, my all ; wash me in Thy most precious blood ; take away this filthy garment, and cover me with Thine own pure righteousness ; " or more affecting still, as in the case of that little girl, but eight years old, who ex- claimed imploringly, in her native patois, " Christ, come to me ! and when you come, O dinna lea' me, but aye stay wi' me." It is in this stage that images flit before the mind with all the vividness of reality, and as if possessed of shape and substance; insomuch that the person, subsequently referring to his experi- ence, will speak as if he had seen the dread realities of heaven or hell, although assured on calm reflection that the objects before his vision have only been his own thoughts embodied in that form. And now a tJtird experience ensues. It is that of sensible relief, a lightsome and liberated feeling, of which the chief in- gredient is the assurance of forgiveness prompting to the out- burst of rapturous praise. The fountains of the soul seem to be opened, and forth flows in unrestrained exuberance the gushing fulness of its joy. The bodily sensations correspond with the inward ecstasy, and even the plainest features glow as with an unearthly beauty. The heavy load, the incubus that weighed down all the spirit's energies, is lifted ofl', and there is a buoyancy and elasticity proportionate to the depressing bur- den. The new-born happiness seeks audible expression. The language of the lips is all in unison with the serenity that reigns within. " Christ and Him crucified " being once apprehended, the grand, the dominant desire is to commend Him to all STAGES OF THE BODILY AFFECTION. 53 around. How often, then, are heard such words as those in which a Sabbath-school girl, some thii'teen years of age, was addressing her little companions by her bedside, as she lay in much exhaustion after a season of mental agony, while a gleam of spiritual joy played over her pale countenance, — " O Annie 1 Jane, dear, come to Jesus ! He '11 not put you away. Oh, give Him your heart, give Him all your heart, and He '11 take away all your sins, and make you as happy as He has made me. Oh that all the sinners about here would come to Him ! He has room for them all. He would save them all." To the above may be added a fourth stage in the prostration — namely, the languor and exhaustion which are the natural reaction from the intense excitement by which the frame has been agitated, and by reason of which not only delicate females, but strong and stalwart men have often been for days unfitted for any manner of work. Such bodily affections were almost universally associated with the awakening, when, for the first time, it appeared in any neighbourhood ; although in many places the work proceeded most satisfactorily without their presence, and they generally subsided as it advanced. From their novelty and publicity they naturally attracted a large share of attention, serving, no doubt, an important purpose, but often stimulating an idle curiosity, and in the case of the uneducated and ill-informed, leading to a confounding of the spiritual process with the physiological characteristics by which it was accompanied. There have been from the outset unreal cases presenting similar appearances, to which we shall advert hereafter. CHAPTER VI. THE REVIVAL IN ITS PEOGRESS NORTHWARDS. Broughsliane — The Spinning Factory — The Profligate Nailer — Lough- gnile — The Woman by the Road-side — The " Gently Drawn " — The Fiery Baptism— The Struggle with the Evil One— The Joy Unutterable— Proofs of a Glorious Work — The Hidden Jewels — Private Exercises and Experiences of Ministers — Ballymoney — The Work among the Young — The Young Man who " would judge for himself " — The Deaf and Dumb. Within about tliree miles of Ballyniena stands the village of Broughsliane, the centre of a densely inhabited and almost ex- clusively Presbyterian district. At an early period, the awaken- ing spread in that direction. One morning a number of young women were affected in a spinning factory hard by. Immedi- ately intense excitement spread among the workers, and within an hour twenty or thirty persons, of both sexes, were laid pros- trate. The business of the entire establishment was interrupted, and, as a matter of necessity, it M^as closed. When reopened two days after, nearly half the usual hands were absent. About the same time, a congregation of several thousands assembled in the open air in front of the Presbyterian church, and the services were not concluded till an advanced period of the evening. In the village itself, and all the country round, such meetings were of frequent occurrence throughout the summer months, and hundreds, there is reason to believe, were brought in connexion with them under the power of a Divine in- fluence. A visitor, at the beginning of the awakening, thus describes the presence and address of a Broughshane convert at a meeting THE PROFLIGATE NAILER. 55 in a quarry pit, at which there were several thousands in attend- ance : — " Near the end of the preaching, one old man stood up to address the multitude. He was a remarkable-looking man. I was beside him before he rose. A dealer in rags would not have given more than sixpence for all the clothes he had on his person. He bore the marks and tokens of a ' hard liver,' a con- firmed drunkard. He spoke something to the following effect, as nearly as I can remember : — ' Gentlemen,' and he trembled as he spoke — ' gentlemen, 1 appear before you this day as a wile sinner. Many of you know me ; you have but to look at me, and recognise the profligate of Broughshane. You know I was an old man, hardened in sin ; you know I was a servant of the devil, and he led me by that instrument of his, the spirit of the barley. I brought my wife and family to beggary more than fifty years ago ; in short, I defy the townland of Broughshane to produce my equal in profligacy, or any sin whatever. But ah, gentlemen, I have seen Jesus ; I was born again on last night week ; I am, therefore, a week old to-day, or about. My heavy and enormous sin is all gone ; the Lord Jesus took it away; and I stand before you this day, not only a pattern of profligacy, but a monument of the perfect grace of God! I stand here to tell you that God's work on Calvary is perfect; yes, I have proved it. His work is perfect. He is not like an architect who makes a drawing of a building, and then he looks at it, and he takes out this line and that, or makes some other alteration, and frequently alters all his plan, and even when the building is going on, he makes some other change ; but God drew out the plan of salvation, and it was complete, and He carried it out with His blessed Son Jesus ; and it is all perfect, for had it not been so, it would not have been capable of reach- ing the depth of iniquity of , the profligate nailer of Brough- shane.' " " It was towards the end of May 1859," says the Rev. H. W. Carson, " that the first symptoms of the great awakening began to discover themselves in the parishes of Lochguile, Kilraughts, and Dunaughy. C6 THE "CxENTLY DRAAVN." " The first in these parts deeply moved about her sins and eternal interests, was a middle-aged woman. After six j-ears' absence from the house of God, she felt a sudden inclination to return. The Word of God that 8abbath proved sharper than a two-edged sword. Her distress of mind grew deep; and never shall I forget the picture of misery she presented, as I found her sitting by the road-side wringing her hands, and with upturned, tear-dimmed eyes, suing for mercy. Her sins were indeed many and dark, but she never saw them before in the same colours. Let us trust we can add, ' Her sins, which were many, have been forgiven her.' This woman may be regarded as the type of a large number who have passed ' through fire and through water into a wealthy place.' " No doubt the Lord drew not a few gently under the shadow of His cross. There was a youth of fourteen who attended a monster prayer-meeting in the village of Clough- mills, when there could not have been less than 2000 present, and when the arrows of the King flew thick, so that many fell do\^Ti before Him in penitence ; and, as he afterwards related, he felt his heart opening to Christ, wbile tears flooded his eyes. Another, somewhat older, who has since often told the story of his conversion, and earnestly invited others to taste the grace that was so abundant to himself, acknowledged, ' Oh, He drew me in gentleness and love ! ' The hearts of these youths, and others like them, opened like the leaves of a rose to the light of morning. Sitting in the sanctuary ere the exercises commenced, a middle-aged man began to think of the blood of Christ, (to use his own description of his blessed experience,) thought he saw blood, and then his heart, in a stream, flowed towards Christ. He went quietly home, retired to thank God for the revelation of His Son in him, and soon began to expe- rience joy unutterable. His exclamation, on first meeting me afterwards, was, 'Lovely! lovely!' 'What?' said L He re- plied, 'Jesus is lovely.' This was indeed a revival, or a vivid revelation of Divine things. The man had spoken of Christ, thought of Christ, but never before had he such a clear and lively impression of Christ. He Avas ever to him an historical THE FIERY BAPTISM. ' 57 persoDcage, but now He is a living reality witli him, on the right hand and on the left. " But while these were drawn gently, God dealt differently in the majority of conversions. Most passed through a terrible ordeal, and received, like Bunyan, a fiery baptism. Spectral- like, their sins affrighted them ; millstone-like, their sins pressed them down. As the prisoner in the dock, hearing his sentence, and realising his awful death, has been known to shrink and swoon away, so, awakening to a sense of their condition, behold- ing the pit opening, and devils come to drag their souls away, they have uttered doleful cries, heartrending shrieks. They have been carried out from the church ; we have followed them to the green, and marked the writhings of the body, expressive of the commotion within ; and we remember, while standing over the quivering frame of a youth, a convert, turning round to a stout man, a somewhat unmoved spectator of the scene, and saying, ' If sin does that in one so young, what must it do in the like of you, sir ? ' " We do not affirm that all such prostrations were the fruits of saving, powerful convictions. On the contrary, in some cases these manifestations were the result of the workings of natural conscience, excited, as it must have been, by the awe-inspiring accompaniments of the revival, like a frozen snake brought near the fire. But, in most instances, conviction has been the bud which has passed into the fruit of conversion —the tide that has floated the stranded vessel off the sands — John the Baptist preparing a highway for the Lord. We have now in our eye a girl, who, while walking in a field near her father's house, was visited with the Spirit. Her piercing cries attracted a neighbour to the spot. He thought some serious accident had befallen her ; but no — the fear of hell had taken hold upon her. She was carried home, lay in bed for three days sobbing and sighing, till light dawned upon her darkness, and she began to tell her father and mother and friends what gi'eat things the Lord had done for her. I saw in her haggard face the marks of the trial, but no more were they to be re- gretted than would have been the marks of the angel that hur- 58 THE JOY UNUTTERABLE. ried Lot out of doomed Sodom, liad he left on his person the evidences of his firm and unrelenting grasp. " The next stage in the spiritual history of the converts, as noted by us, has been frequently that of severe mental struggle w^ith infernal power. Satan, tenacious of his prey, has con- tended v^ith the Saviour, and in the rage of disappointment and mortification of defeat, has thrown down, as in the days of Christ's sojourn on earth, the sinner coming ; yea, has torn him in expulsion. Some do not believe in a personal devil, but there was strong evidence from the lips of converts. One told me how he had tormented her repeatedly. 'How do you act in such circumstances ? ' I asked. ' Oh,' said she, ' I fly to Jesus and pray.' She knew the secret of victory over her ghostly adversary. I remember standing over one whose soul seemed to us the most interesting of battlefields ; for we had reason to believe it was the scene of encounter between Christ and the Evil One. The party lay with closed eyes, discoloured face, and twitching nerves, and, as she continued in this state, we heard her muttering ' Satan, Satan,' and as the fit grew less violent, and the struggle seemed drawing to a close and a happy issue, her ejaculation was, ' Oh but the light of heaven is bonny ! ' For days, for weeks, we have known parties suffering dis- tracting fears and doubts. At last came relief in the conso- lations of the Holy Spirit— in the sweet whisper of peace. It was perhaps while singing the 40th Psalm, (which was such a favourite, and into the meaning of which so many hearts flew,) or while some Barnabas, some good man who went from house to house, reading such passages as ' Let not your heart be troubled ; ye believe in God, believe also in me ;' even fhen the means were blessed, and souls could bless God who com- f orteth in all tribulation. Like the disciples in the storm, they were agreeably surprised by Jesus drawing near, hushing the winds, calming the waves, and diffusing a great calm. Jesus — oh, how we have found the mention of that name suflficient to extract the arrows from guilty bosoms ! And then the peace, and joy, and happiness that took possession of tempest -tossed souls Avere un- utterable. I have seen the joy sparkling in the eye, or expressed PROOFS OF A GENUINE WORK. 59 by clapping of hands, and heard one say he would not barter his peace for all the crowns of the globe. " It is not, however, mere feeling which distinguishes these individuals ; their spirit, their lives, their walk bespeak the marvellous revolution in their history. Is love to the Bible a proof of conversion? There is one who keeps it at her pillow, another who carries it in his pocket, for a hurried glance amid the business of the field. The summer before last, in a bog, were seen, in the hands of different parties, while resting from the labour of cutting turf, five packs of cards ; last summer there were as many Bibles their com- panions in toil. Is fellowship with one another, another mark of grace? Numerous are the little prayer -meetings held in the cottages where neighbours assemble to read and pray mth one another. A ministers steps, as he travels through the country, are repeatedly arrested by 'the grave, sweet melody ' from some humble abode, where ' they that fear the Lord speak often one to another.' Is love of the Sabbath another evidence of conversion ? One told me she longed for the return of the holy day, and Sabbath morning was the pleasantest of the whole week. Is liberality to missions another token of grace ] There is a poor farmer who once gave only his sixpence on a day of missionary contribution, but now he lays down his pound-note, and feels it more blessed to give than to receive. It was thought this M^as done out of gratitude to God for reclaiming a vicious son. This may have been one reason, but the chief reason is that his own once niggard heart has been enlarged — his once close hand has been opened by the Spirit of God. You could not converse four minutes mth the man without finding his speech bewraying him and marking his dignity. Are daily communings with the Most High signi- ficant of conversion ? There are fifty houses which a heathen might have visited, and only discovered their inmates not to be heathens by the absence of everjrthing like heathen devotion ; lo, now they are 'the tabernacles of the righteous, in which is heard the voice of joy and rejoicing.' Morning and evening incense arise therein to God. Salvation has come to these 60 PROOFS OF A GENUINE WORK. houses. There are swearers whose tongues now bless, and curse not. There are drunkards rechiimed by something more potent than the pledge; their burning lust has been cooled by the blood of the Cross ; and not a few of these lift a warning voice among us against what they call invariably the devils cup. So strong is the testimony borne by the Spirit against the use of intoxicathig drinks, that four public-houses in the parish have closed, and those publicans who remain in the trade find their occupation almost gone. I know one who, some months ago, heartily cursed the revival and the prayer-meetings, for ' they had done him up.' The Sabbath, as might be expected, is a calmer, holier day. Fields and houses where once was heard unseemly carousal are now quiet, Sabbath-like. Many who once swelled the daring herd of violators of the holy day now go with the multitude who keep it holy, and help to augment the wondrously increased congregations of these parishes. "Such, then, are the trophies of the revival— the glory of Christ — the monuments of the Spirit's work. Nor have we yet told the half of His doings, nor shewn forth a tithe of His praise. There is a host of believers who are quickened afresh. Once they were dull in prayer, but now how fervent! once careless in meditation, but now how earnest ! once lax in efforts to spread Christ's gospel, but now how energetic ! The holy fire has thawed the icy bonds of worldliness and carnality, and they are now full of holy zeal. Once they were like invalids — their religion feeble and sickly ; now they are like patients restored to health and activity. Once their graces were like drooping flowers in a parched garden, but now they are invigorated beneath the genial influences of heaven. Hoav a minister in a course of visitations is agreeably surprised by a believer unbo- soming his happy experience ! One perhaps meets him, and says, ' Oh, sir, I was once complaining, " My leanness!" but now worm Jacob can thrash the mountains.' Another, he finds, who had been long walking in doubt and darkness, has had the fogs dissipated by the rising of the Sun of righteousness on his soul. A voice said, ' I am thy salvation,' and he has been deli- vered out of the gaol of fear and despair. How a minister, too, THE HIDDEN" JEWELS. 61 finds fresh cause of gratitude in discovering some poor sinner, of whose conversion there has not been a word, because not affected pubHcly, and with striking signs, but who neverthe- less is among the ransomed of the Lord, returning to Zion. There are jewels of this description hidden in obscurity like pearls lying at the bottom of the ocean ; and they will not be fully known till that day when the Lord makes up His jewels, and when nobles, kings, and queens will give more than all they ever gloried in to stand in the shoes of those same obscure weaver girls and servant boys. " It might be asked, ' Has the revival made any inroad on Popery in these parishes, or in the parish of Lough - guile, where there is a large number of Romanists 1 ' The Spirit of God has been working in the enemy's camp, in spite of all the charms of the priesthood to exorcise those possessed of an evil spirit, as it was reported, and all the nostrums proposed and detailed for what was called the dis- ease. We heard of a case of prostration in a chapel, which the priest with callous heart ordered out of his sight at once. Some have actually renounced the errors of Rome, and. em- braced the truth in Jesus. One told me she would never again pray to the Virgin, (that God now worshipped on the altars of Romanism,) and she has been true to her profession. Some through the influence of relations have returned to the embrace of the harlot, but are still turning '1;heir eyes to the Dayspring ; others who were but partially convicted, may have apostatised for ever ; for we grant there are apostates. There have been counterfeits : the devil, as might have been expected, attempt- ing to palm ofi' the dead image for the living man. There are men like Felix — trembling for a while like an aspen-leaf ; like Herod, doing many things for John, and afterwards returning to the grossest indulgences. There have been, we do not deny, some excesses, extravagance, and error, but such we would de- precate no more than the disorder of the shroud on the resur- rection of a dead friend. And notwithstanding the numbers who have deceived themselves and others, we gratefully recog- nise a great and good work. If the most powerful testimonies 62 PRIVATE EXPERIENCES OF MINISTERS. against the gigantic evil of intemperance ; if the lie to tlie infidel in that Christianity which has proved itself no effete system, but life and power ; if the death-blow Popery and Unitarianism have received (for who could be a Unitarian after a multitude of Spirit-taught souls praying, ' Lord Jesus, have mercy — save?') above all, if the death-blow the kingdom of Satan has received, in depopulated jails, crowded churches, and purified society — if these things are matter of thankfulness, they are ours. ' Eternal Spirit, we confess, And sing the wonders of Thy grace.' " Of the views and feelings by which the brethren in the mini- stry generally have been actuated at this solemn season, we give the following illustrations. The first is from the private diary of one in whose congregation a few weeks subsequently a great work of revival began, and is as follows : — ^^ May 2Uh. — I am beginning to have more hope in prayer than I had. What I have heard of the Lord's wonderful doings in America and in this land, and all apparently in answer to believing prayer, causes me to hope that God will answer my earnest prayers for the outpouring of His Spirit here. I do desire it above all things. God knows I do. I hope for it. I expect it. I think God is stirring my own soid in answer to prayer ; and I feel a burning desire for the conversion of the souls of my people to God. I have hopes of them, and believe that many of them are beginning to feel that there is a reality in religion, and are seeking the Lord in prayer. Oh that the Lord would indeed magnify His name and grace, and by signal displays of His powder here, shew the people what conversion is, and what true religion makes men ! O Spirit of tlie Son, take the gospel hammer in Thine own hand, and bring it down on their hard hearts, and break them in pieces ! " The second is from the statement of a country minister, re- hearsing the wonders wrought among his people : — "Our corner of Christ's vineyard appeared to be very dry and barren until the beginning of June 18o9. A few weeks PEIVATE EXPERIENCES OF MINISTEES. 63 previous to that period I was stating publicly to tlie con- gregation that I felt greatly discouraged because I could not discover almost any conversions as the fruit of my labours, although I often sowed in tears. But lo, in a short time I was made glad in discovering the fulfilment of that sweet promise in the 126th Psalm, ' They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.' On the 3d June the Lord visited us with a copious shower, and watered all the district round about with the effusion of the Holy Spirit. At a meeting in the burying-ground adjoining our church about two thousand people were assembled — and oh, wliat a solemn assembly ! About two hundred were stricken down in the space of a few hours ; and, so far as I could learn afterward, every case terminated in real conversion. For many days subsequently some were similarly affected. Some time after I was addressing a little Sabbath-school, when the entire scholars were seized more or less, although only eight were stricken down. " I believe that ours was the most remarkable visitation of any in Ireland, so far as I have yet heard. Were I to wTite all I know, there would be no end to my narration. I may wind up all by saying how much my own soul has been benefited since this great work began. One day when writing out a lecture in my own room, having the pen lifted up in my hand, and studying what I would write on the last section of the 10th verse of the 3d chapter of the Song of Solomon, the words being, ' And the midst thereof was paved with love for the daughters of Jerusalem,' a thrill of love came into my very soul, and believing it to be a greater manifestation of the love of Christ to me, I bowed my knees at the chair on which I sat, and oh, how joyfully I acknowledged such a kind and gracious visitation ! And ever since I feel more happy than I did before — believing, as I do, that my loving Saviour has given me a peace that the world could not give or take away." " I could state much to you," says another, " of my own happy experience, which I have made known to very few, as I have kept my lips sealed in regard to myself. I have pursued what I regard as the safe scheme, of keeping strictly to my own 64 PRAYER ANSWERED. congregation, speaking much of the Avork of Christ, the grace of the Spirit, and the love of the Father of all mercies." To these statements we may add that of an aged and experi- enced minister, for upwards of forty years a labourer in the Lord's vineyard : — " If there be a revival in religion," says the Eev. James Mayne, an aged minister, " Avliere must it be expected to begin 1 who may be supposed to be the first partakers of it ? — The ministers of religion themselves. As the sunbeams strike first upon the mountains, and as the clouds pour forth their treasures first upon the hills, which often form a kind of natural reservoir for the valleys ; so it may be looked for that the spiritual rain will descend first into the pulpit, before it reaches the pews. Tlie influence of ministers upon their flocks is very great, both for good or evil. ' Like priest, like people,' is a proverb founded on truth. We are in the midst of our people like central fires, producing a glowing atmosphere around us, or like icebergs, which chill everything in their vicinity. Should a revival take place among them, and not extend to us, we shall not only stop its progress, but undo what has been done ; but if our piety be increased, the influence of it will, in all probability, be spread through the church. "Before the season of revival, wickedness did very much abound in our country, and the love of many waxed cold. Often did I solicit the pouring out of the Spirit to enliven and awaken ; often did I entreat, like the good John Brown of Haddington, "for dead Haddington, and wicked, withered East Lothian." So did I for dead Bally watt, and withered, wicked Bally rashane. I do rejoice to see the day now when the Spirit has been poured down from on high, and the wilderness and solitary place to be made glad, and the desert to rejoice and blossom as the rose. Yes, my prayers are heard, and I and my people have enjoyed times of refreshing from the Lord. I have been strengthened to do more labour with more ease and satisfaction noiv than I could have anticipated ; and I rejoice in the Spirit's influences being so largely conferred for the enliven- ment and enlightenment of the Church of God. And no\Y at the BALLYMONEY. 6') commencement of a new year, let us earnestly beg that this year 1860 may be the year of God's redeemed to many. We have a good Master. We serve the best of all Masters, eoen Christ. His service is perfect pleasure, and His reward, of all others, the most ennobling and enriching for time and eternity." The Rev. Robert Park, for upwards of forty years the esteemed pastor of one of the Presbyterian churches in Ballymoney, writes as follows : — " The revival movement in the parish of Ballymoney has been to me specially interesting. At nearly the close of a lengthened ministry to be permitted to see many of my charge brought to a Saviour, to know that some, over whom my heart has often yearned, are rejoicing in Jesus, and to believe that there are others in a hopeful state for eternity, has been not only gratify- ing, but greatly encouraging. " As in other districts, the Divine sovereignty was exhibited here in the conversion of some of the despised of the people ; but the larger proportion of those w^lio have given evidence of a real saving change were connected with our Sabbath schools, either as teachers or receiving instruction, or were members of families well instructed in Divine truth, and more or less regu- lar attendants on the means of grace. It was not the least in- teresting fact in the history of God's work here, that He so touched the hearts of many young men who have since been zealously active in religious things. "Of these there were instances where the power of Divine grace was most marked. Sometimes a word became an arrow to wound the conscience or touch the heart. Often an observa- tion intended for another was made to alarm and convert ; in- tercourse with strangers, themselves affected, was blessed to many; and journeyings, sometimes of curiosity or of recreation, were made efficient in the work of t lie Lord. " Of these I shall give one out of many, illustrative of the ways of the Lord. A young man of a respectable family, ac- customed to all the exercises of a religious household, himself the subject of careful early training in God's book and in God's service, yet without appearance of serious impression, or of E 66 A YOUNG MAN CONVERTED. heart anxiety for spiritual things, was thrown within the sphere of heavenly influences. Intercourse with a beloved brother, himself brought to the Saviour, and a young friend recently turned to the Lord, made some impression on his heart, but without much outward manifestation. Accompanied by both, he journeyed from the parental roof to a neighbouring town, to judge for himself respecting cases of which he had heard. Separated from his companions, he wandered through different streets, until at length he found himself in one less frequented than the others. It is likely that his countenance indicated seriousness, though he himself was scarcely conscious of it. He was accosted by a respectable young female at a door — ' Was he concerned for his soul 1 ' He accompanied her through the hall into an apartment where were a number of young per- sons, some in prayer, others crying for mercy, others again declaring their new-found peace, all apparently much excited. Almost instantaneously he became overpowered, sank on the floor, and felt as he had never felt before. For three hours he remained without relief, the young lady kneeKng by his side, whispering in his ear suitable words of Scripture, directing him in prayer, and wrestling with the Lord for his conversion. God's time came, and it was a time of love. He arose a new man, with a heart warmed with di\T.ne life, thankful to God, and grateful to one who had been an instrument for good to his soul. He sought his friends, told what the Lord had done for him, and returned to his father's house, to gladden hearts there with the tidings of his change. Of her Avho had been thus kind little could afterwards be known. She had come from Glasgow to see on this side the Channel the workings of Divine grace ; had felt its power, had been useful to others, and re- turned to direct sinners in her own land to the same precious and willing Saviour. " There is every reason to believe that that young man was truly converted to God. His walk since has been most con- sistent ; his anxieties and exertions for others have been blessed ; and he continues, within his proper sphere, to labour for souls, and to urge both young and old to turn unto the Lord. THE DEAF AND DTJJrB. 67 " Another most interesting case occurred in one of the country parts of my district. A man, about thirty years old, born deaf and dumb, who had been educated at the institution of Clare- mont, near Dublin, and who is in attendance on my ministry, was working in the bog, preparing fuel for the "winter. He was alone, with no exciting appliance. The Lord timched his heart. He felt the pangs of sin, and intense anxiety to have it removed. He endeavoured to make his way to his sister's house, where he resided. So prostrated was he in bodily strength, that he required to lie down and rest twice before he reached his home. During the night, and until the family were at breakfast the next morning, and preparing for public worship, it being the Sabbath, he was not relieved. The description of his manner and appearance, as given by his sister, was most striking. Lite- rally, he jumped some height from the ground, clasped as if some person to his bosom, his countenance beaming Avith delight, and his whole person indicating gratitude and love. " In my conversation with him afterwards by finger, he made me to understand that the first text of Scripture that impressed his mind and awakened comfort was Luke xv. 7, 'Likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth ; ' the second, 1 Tim. i. 15, ' This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all accep- tation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.' And again and again he laboured to shew me 'how happy he was in coming .to Jesus.' In this, and in many instances that are before me, I fancy myself with Christ in the days of His ministry on earth, and almost see before my eyes the miracles that testified that He was the Messiah. " Happy am I to say that most cheering evidences of God's work continue in our district. Everywhere meetings for prayer and Scripture reading — great thirst for hearing the word — — increased attendance on the house of God and at the commu- nion table — and seriousness and anxiety about the concerns of the soul. Oh that this may be but the first droppings, to be fol- lowed by a full shower of spiritual blessing, and that I may be spared a little longer to see many, many more brought into the fold of the Lord!" CHAPTER Vir. THE REVIVAL IN NOETHERN ANTRIM. Coleraine — Strange Excitement in a School-room — The Evening of 7th June — Meeting on the Fair-Hill — The Town Hall, and its Extra- ordinary Opening — Daily Morning Meeting there — Interesting Me- morial — General Results— Testimony of Assistant-Barrister — Per- sonal Narrative of Mr Haltridge— Portrush — Prayerful co-operation of the Episcopal and Presbyterian Ministers — Visit of Brownlow North, Esq. — The " Duumiill " Open-air Meetings — Illustrative Cases — The "Operation of the Spirit" — The Railway Labourer — The Ploughboy and his Muse—The old "Waterloo" Man — The Twin Sisters — The Little Orphan Maid. There is one incident so striking in the commencement of the movement in Coleraine, that it cannot be omitted in any the most cursory statement on the subject. It is impossible to pre- sent it in a better form than has been done by Mr Arthur, in one of his Tracts on the Revival, in these words. After narrat- ing an impressive scene witnessed by one of his brethren, a Methodist minister in the town, he says : — " Not far from the spot where this took place stands a large school, belonging to the corporation of London, or that body connected with it, known as the Irish Society, who are land- lords of Coleraine, and of much property around. In it a boy was observed under deep impressions. The master, seeing that the little fellow was not fit to work, called him to him, and advised him to go home, and call upon the Lord in private. With him he sent an older boy, who had found peace the day before. On their way they saw an empty house, and went in there to pray together. The two schoolfellows continued in prayer in the empty house till he who was weary and heavy- laden felt his soul blessed with sacred peace. Rejoicing in this new and strange blessedness, the little fellow said, ' I must go STEANGE EXCITEMENT IN A SCHOOL-ROOM. 69 back and tell Mr .' The boy, who, a little while ago, had been too sorrowful to do his work, soon entered the school with a beaming face, and, going up to the master, said, in his simple way, ' Mr , I am so happy ; I have the Lord Jesus in my heart.' Strange words, in cold times ! Natural words, when upon the simple and the young the Spirit is poured out, and they feel what is meant by 'Christ in you the hope of glory,' and utter it in the first terms that come ! The atten- tion of the whole school was attracted. Boy after boy silently slipped out of the room. After a while, the master stood upon something which enabled him to look over the wall of the play- ground. There he saw a number of his boys ranged round the wall on their knees in earnest prayer, every one apart. The scene overcame him. Presently he turned to the pupil who had already been a comforter to one sclioolfellow, and said, ' Do you think you can go and pray with these boys 1 ' He went out, and, kneeling down among them, began to implore the Lord to forgive their sins, for the sake of Him who had borne them all upon the cross. Their silent grief soon broke into a bitter cry. As this reached the ears of the boys in the room, it seemed to pierce their hearts, as by one consent they cast themselves upon their knees, and began to cry for mercy. The girls' school was above, and the cry no sooner penetrated to their room than, apparently well knowing what mourning it was, and hearing in it a call to themselves, they, too, fell upon their knees and wept. Strange disorder for schoolmaster and mistress to have to control ! The united cry reached the adjoining streets. Every ear, prepared by the prevailing Spirit, at once interpreted it as the voice of those who look upon Him whom they have pierced, and mourn for Him. One and an- other of the neighbours came in, and at once cast themselves upon their knees and joined in the cry for mercy. These in- creased, and continued to increase, till first one room, then another, then a public office on the premises, in fact, every available spot, was filled with sinners seeking God. Clergymen of different denominations, and men of. prayer, were sought, and they spent the day in pleading for the mourners ; — sweetest 70 MEETING ON THE FAIR-HILL. of all the toils that this earth doth witness, when men, them- selves enjoying heavenly peace, labour in intercession for those who are now, as they were once, broken-hearted by a sight of their sins, and striving to enter in at the strait gate, in order to walk in the narrow way ! Thus passed hour after hour of that memorable day. Dinner was forgotten, tea was forgotten, and it was not till eleven o'clock at night that the school premises were freed from their, unexpected guests." The following statement respecting the movement in Coleraine is furnished by the Rev. J. A. Canning of that town : — "Upon the evening of the 7th of June 1859, an open-air meeting was held in one of the market-places of the town, called the 'Fair- Hill.' The announced object of the meet- ing was to receive and hear one or two of the * converts,' as they began to be called, from a district some eight or ten miles south of Coleraine. The evening was one of the most lovely that ever shone. The richly wooded banks of the river Bann, which bounds one side of the square in which the meet- ing was held, M^ere fully in prospect, and there was not a cloud in the sky. Shortly after seven o'clock, dense masses of people, from town and country, began to pour into the square by all its approaches, and in a short time an enormous multitude crowded around the platform from which speakers were to address the meeting. After singing and prayer, the converts, a young man and a man move advanced in years, and both of the humbler class, proceeded to address the meeting. Their addresses were short, and consisted almost entirely of a detail of their own awaken- ing, and earnest a})peals to the consciences of sinners. After the lapse of nearly an hour, it became manifest that more than one-half of the congregated multitude could not hear the voices of the speakers on the platform, when it was suggested that the people should separate into distinct congregations or groups, and that a minister should preach to each group. This was im- mediately done, and some three or four separate audiences were soon listening witli mi;erian Church. TESTIMONY OF A BAERISTER. 75 J. Macdonnell, Minister of 3d Presbyterian Church. John Kydd, Pastor of Congregational Church. Geo. Vance, Wesleyan Minister. Wm. PticHEY, Minister of the 1st Presbyterian Chiu-ch.' {Here follow the other names.) " Many hundred ministers and other servants of Christ from all countries, but especially from Scotland, have visited Coleraine during the summer and autumn, and, so far as is known to the writer, have gone away impressed with gratitude to God for wdiat they saw and heard. Mercifully preserved from some painful and hurtful accidents which accompanied the work of revival in some other localities, we have gone on to this day reaping its blessed fruits. The drunkard, the poor out- cast woman, the careless, the godless, the dupe of error, the young, the old, all are with us to this day, to witness by altered habits and new lives, that a holy power has been among us. To hear the drunkard and blasphemer 2)ray, whilst by his side, to right and left, kneel fallen women bathed in tears, and the man who lived without God in the world adding his deep Amen, are sounds and sights which we have been privileged to hear and see. Full sanctuaries, full Sabbath schools, full prayer-meetings, brotherly love, increased liberality, and additions by hundreds to the communion of the churches, — these are the fruits that remain to witness to the character of the work which will make the summer and autumn of 1859 to be long remembered in Coleraine. As I wrote the last sentence, our local newspaper was put into my hands, and I close by extracting from it the following statement from the bench of our local County Court, by a judge who would adorn any bench : — " ' The Barrister, addressing the Grand Jury, said — " When I look into the calendar for the last three months, and in memory look back on calendars that came before me, I am greatly struck with its appearance on this occasion. During the entire three months which have passed since I was here before, I find that but one new case has to come before you, and one 76 PERSONAL NARRATIVE OF MR HALTRIDGE. which is in some respects very iiniiiiportant." After directing the jury as to this case, his Worship continued, — " Now, gentle- men, as I said before, I am greatly struck at the appearance of this calendar, so small is the number of cases, when I formerly had calendars filled with charges for different nefarious practices, Xiocket-picking, and larcenies of various sorts. Now, I have none of these, I am happy to say. How is such a gratifying state of things to be accounted for? It must be from the improved state of the morality of the people. I believe I am fully warranted now to say that to nothing else than the moral and religious movement which commenced early last summer can the change be attributed. I can trace the state of your calendar to nothing else. It is a matter of great gratification when we see the people of this county improving, and I trust that no temptations of any sort will arise by which they can be induced to forsake the paths of rectitude. Now, gentlemen, I would be inexcusable were I to occupy your time merely for the sake of addressing you, and as there is nothing to address you on, I need not detain you." ' " Much has been written and published respecting the revival in Coleraine. The place itself was so accessible and the work so striking, that hundreds of strangers in the course of the last summer visited it, and carried back with them the good tidings. Through the medium also of the Coleraine Chronicle, much valuable information was circulated, especially since the me- morable day in its history when its publication was delayed through the agency of the quickening Spirit touching the hearts of several of the compositors, and so for the time incapacitating them for their ordinary avocations. There is one incident, in the form of a personal narrative by an individual from Coleraine at a meeting in Glasgow, which is so extraordinary that it cannot be omitted here. I have made inquiry into the accuracy of the statements, and find them perfectly correct. The name of the narrator is Mr Halt- ridge : — " It was in the year," he said, " when God was pouring out the vials of His wrath upon the three kingdoms, that I went PERSONAL NARRATIVE OF MR HALTRIDQE. 77 to Coleraine. When the hand of God lay upon the place, many turned to the Lord ; but when it was removed, many turned like the sow that had been washed to her wallowing in the mire. He who stands before you was one of the latter sort. I stole my indenture and ran away to Belfast. I wished to join a body of Christians there, but they got a letter from Coleraine telling them not to receive me. One man told me on the Sab- bath the communication which he had received, and wanted me to go back. I, being of a proud, rebellious spirit, refused to do this. I was laid upon a sick-bed for six Aveeks. After I got better I was going away to the theatre. His brother, seeing me, came after me. He stopped me, and brought me into his house. He wanted me to pray to God. I said I had no call to pray to God — what would I pray to Him for ] He told me to cry, 'God be merciful to me a sinner.' I went down to my knees and repeated these words, and rose up and said, ' Will that do, now 1 ' He said, ' Xo ; ' and made me kneel down by Lim, and he prayed with me. After this, I went to the theatre, cock-fighting, horse-racing, &c. I wanted to form a marriage connexion with a young woman, the daughter of Christian parents, and went to church with her, putting on a hypocritical face ; but her parents were very much against her taking this step. Tills is a warning to all here, in this respect, never to disobey their parents. You see one standing before you who put out his wife to the door, and took her clothes, to the value of £'20, and burned them. You see one before you who loaded his gun to shoot his own son. You see one before you who took a car and drove down three miles to throw himself into the sea, and was found upon a rock with the billows dashing at his feet. And j^ou would think that this was enough ; but not so. You see one before you who was tried for taking away the life of a fellow-creature. I tried to break the Sabbath-day in every possible manner. I took money in my pocket and went away to Portrush and other watering-places to break the Lord's-day. Not one in Coleraine would speak to me, and I did not give one in Coleraine the credit of being a Christian but one woman, who always spoke to me and asked for me when 78 PERSONAL NARRATIVE OF MR HALTRIDGE. she saw me. On a Monday I went to my son, who was cashier, and todk charge of my business, and demanded five pounds. He gave it me in case I should play any mischief. It only lasted me that day. I demanded other five on Tuesday ; this lasted me till Saturday. The Reverend Wm. Eichey had over- wrought himself with hard work, and was laid upon his bed. The doctor told him he had only half-an-hour to live, (although he recovered after a lingering illness,) and asked if he had any matters to arrange before he died. He pulled out a sealed packet from under his pillow, and said— 'Will you give this to Mr Haltridge 1 ' It was a few days after this the doctor gave me the package. (By this time I was brought under conviction.) He said he did not know what it was. I opened it. It was that little book, ' Come to Jesus.' I w^as in great distress one day, and I went aAvay from my house about a quarter of a mile. I leaped over the wall and went into a summer-house there, in order that the dews of heaven might cool my fevered brow. I put my hand into my pocket to pull out my handkerchief, and that little book came into my hand. I would not give it for all Glasgow. One thing had escaped my memory. When the revival broke out, my son, a promi=:ing youth of twenty, although not brought under the grace of God, attended a meeting held at Market-hill, and was ' stricken ' down. A good woman came to me while I was reading the flimsy trash of the day — ' novels ' — which I always did : I think it was Beijnolds's Miscellany I had at that time. She said — 'Mr Haltridge, kneel down and give God thanks, your son is stricken down.' I ordered her to go out of the way, and went to my bed-room, and shut myself up for eight hours. They brought him and laid him on the sofa. I heard his cries. For twenty-four hours no one could tell whether he was dead or alive ; but when God revealed Himself to him, the first thing he said was — ' God be merciful to my wicked father.' I heard all this. My daughter attended meetings that were held in the school-house. She was 'stricken' down, and cried to God for mercy. The prayers of my Christian wife were now answered. PORTRFSTI. 70 She was a Christian from her youth up, I have seen her often at the bedside praying. I have taken the pillow and thrown it at her, at the same time lifting up my arm and defying God to do His worst. On Sabbath morning I was to go away to spend the Lord's-day in the same manner as before ; but my wife came to the door and said, ' You will not go out to-day.' I drew back, and was for making my way out, but she and my daughter laid hold upon me, and drew me into the parlour, and reasoned with me until I promised to go to church. I went to the house of God. A hymn was given out to be sung. It was the same hymn that was blessed to the conversion of an actress. When I came to the second line, God laid His hand upon me ; my book was trembling in my hands. My wife saw me going to fall, and let my head fall in her lap. I lay there for two hours. I was not sensible, but they told me I was crying for mercy. When I awoke I w^as surrounded by kind friends, who were praying for me ; but the one that prayed loudest and longest was a boy, fourteen years ftf age, named John Hall. He had found the Lord himself, and he was crying, ' Lord reveal Thyself to Mr Haltridge.' My son took the one arm, and a kind friend the other, and helped me home. I was not able to walk ; my feet refused to carry me. On reaching home I was laid upon that sofa on which, a month before, my son was laid. My son kept family worship in the house. God opened my mouth that night to pray. I got peace from that text, ' Arise, and go thy way : thy sins, which are many, are forgiven thee ; go and sin no more,' I now felt such love to my fellow-men, that I thought I could stand on a mountain top and take the whole world in my arms. And as Christ told His I disciples to begin preaching at Jerusalem, I was called upon to i speak at meetings held in that place which has been the scene of my former life." PoRTRusH. — Nowhere, perhaps, was there a more inter- esting movement than in Portrush, one of the principal watering-places in the north, a few miles from the Giant's Causeway, and during the whole season crowded with visitors, 80 CO-OPERATION OF DIFFERENT DENOMINATIONS. many of whom, there is reason to believe, were sharers in the blessing. I have received a lengthened narrative from the Rev, Jonathan Simpson, from which I give the following selec- tions : — " By a strange coincidence in the Divine providence, both the clergy of the parish church and the Presbyterian minister of the town of Portrush were attracted to Ballymoney in the same week, without any previous concert with each other, to see and investigate the remarkable work of revival going on there in its earliest stages. The former called on the latter, and pro- posed an open-air union-meeting for prayer, into which he cordially entered ; and the three knelt in prayer in the manse, craving a blessing on the proposed meeting, led by the senior Episcopal minister. Their hearts were melted by the love of Christ, and with suffused cheeks they felt that God was about to give a blessing ; and they were not disappointed ; blessed be His name ! " The meeting took plaCe on the 6th June, on the hill in the rear of the town, and was very large, probably two thousand" being present : the town contains a population of about nine hundred souls. Short addresses of only a few minutes were delivered by the local ministers and several persons, usually called 'converts,' from Ballymoney; aijd a very remarkable scene took place, that will never be forgotten in the village, nor by many of its inhabitants in eternity. The first two ' stricken ' ones were, one a Presbyterian, and the other an Episcopalian, as if God would honour the first union prayer-meeting. " Next morning assembled the first daily union prayer-meet- ing, which was continued with great success till the close of the bathing season, in September. As many as one hundred and fifty-one have been counted leaving it, and in some instances several went away wlio could not get in ; while a ball-room, ■ erected during the summer, could get none to dance in it. The two first mornings a young man, in each case, came under conviction of sin — one Episcopal, the other a Presbyterian. "The churches were crowded all summer. The Episcopal church has been enlarged, and the Presbyterian would require f ^^■:IT OF MR NORTH. 81 to be double its present capacity, to contain tbe anxious appli- cants for accommodation, "Brownlow North, Esq., visited most opportunely, and, by his earnest and thrilling appeals, largely contributed to advance the glorious cause. He preached twice in the Presbyterian church, Portrush, and addressed two open-air meetmgs, one in the town, and the other at Dunmull. The latter was the noblest meeting ever seen in the neighbourhood; the very sight was grand, apart from its bearings on eternity. Mr North, accustomed to large audiences, computed it at seven thousand ; and so many were stricken that day, that the people in the neighbouring houses never got to bed the entire night. vSo many hearts were bleeding under a sense of sin, and weeping over a pierced Saviour." I shall here interrupt the course of Mr Simpson's narration to introduce a statement with reference to the meeting above men- tioned, by the Rev. Mr Sutherland of Inverness, who was also present. "At Portrush, on Sabbath, I had the privilege of hearing Mr Brownlow North address an overflowing auditory, and had myself the opportunity of preaching in the Presbyterian church. At three o'clock in the afternoon, Mr North, Mr Simpson, Messrs M'Quilkin and Meneely, from Connor, and I, proceeded to a hill in a central locality called Dunmull, a beautiful and com- manding object about four miles from Portrush. About six thousand people were congregated on the slope of the hiU, and some hundreds crowning its crest. It was a day of wonders in this season of wonders, done in the name of the Holy Child Jesus. You could almost say before the service began, judging by the prayerful and devout aspect of the people, ' There is the sound of abundance of rain.' Many mmisters, students of divinity, and Sabbath-school teachers from a distance, were present in the auditory; also, many tourists, Zaccheus-like, from motives of curiosity. It is impossible for me adequately to describe the scenes I witnessed, and the impression they pro_ duced. I witnessed the 'smiting down' in every phase of its development, from the simple swoon to the prostration, accom- F 82 DUNMULL OPEN-AIR MEETING. panied by the most fearful convulsions of the bodily frame, and overwhelming mental anguish, venting itself in piercing cries for mercy or wailing notes of despair. It Avould be too painful to behold those extreme mental and physical sufferings did we not feel assured that their subjects would have a reaping time of joy. Instead of there being any organised system of excitement, the prayers and addresses were calm, simple, judicious, and strictly scriptural, yet the arrows of conviction flew thick, and fixed that day in the hearts of many of the ' King's enemies.' " Meneely was directing them to the Lamb of God, and telling his own experience, and the happy termination to his own soul- distress, when, like Christian, he got a view of the cross, and his burden fell from him ; and in a moment a servant lad, standing quite close to me, fell down as if shot, or pierced through the heart by some invisible hand. A few convulsive movements followed, as if struggling \^dth an unseen enemy ; then for about half -an-h our he lay prostrate on the earth, with his eyes fixed on the sky, and his lips muttering some sounds, at first unintelligible, but as his consciousness returned, re- solving themselves into cries to Jesus for mercy. He begged not to be carried away, and within an hour sat up, and for the rest of the day seemed alternately to be listening and to be absorbed in silent prayer. Another young man was very violently smitten, and from his irrepressible agony it was necessary to carry him out, like the wounded King of Israel, from the midst of the host. I was directed to accompany him to a house at a little distance, whither it took all the strength of four men to carry him. The weight on his heart was heavier than human nature could sustain, and his nervous system was completely overborne. I could not bear the fearful sight, were I not convinced that this terrible struggle would terminate in victory, and that the Divine mandate would speedily go forth — ' Peace, be still,' and there should be a great calm. For a quarter of an hour, during which I remained with him, it seemed to me by the varying expressions of his countenance, as if he were alternately drawn to some lovely spectacle, when an AN OPERATION OF THE SPIRIT. 83 attractive smile and a supernatural light played on his features ; and again repelled and horrified by some terrific object, when fearful writhings and convulsions ensued. No wonder, when relief is vouchsafed from this great agony that they take up, and sing with such grateful delight the words of the 40th Psalm — ' He took me from a fearful pit, And from the miry clay, And on a rock he set my feet, Estabhshing my way.' " There were about a dozen aflected similarly, but not so vio- lently, though, perhaps, it would not be too much to affirm, that ten times that number were brought to a conviction of sin, while some found peace in Jesus. Mr North's address was truly ad- mirable. It was directed to young converts, and contained most seasonable and excellent counsel." From the numerous cases furnished by Mr Simpson, I shall select the following as representative of many others : — " An 02)e)ritio7i of the Sjnrit. — On Tuesday morning, 7th June, before going out to the prayer-meeting at seven o'clock, a farmer called at the manse wanting to speak privately to the muiister. ' What have you to say to me ? ' ' Sir, / ham got an operation of the Sinrit.'' Wonderful spiritual surgery that, that cuts out ' the hard and stony heart out of the flesh,' and substitutes ' a heart of flesh ! ' Such ' an operation ' H. C had got. He had gone home from the union open-air prayer-meeting deeply impressed ; the burden of sin lay so heavy on his soul, he could not sleep. He rose from his partner's side without telling her of the tempest of agony sweeping his bosom, dressed, took the key of his barn, went there to fall upon his knees, and, like Jacob, ' wrestle with the Angel Jehovah- Jesus till the dawn of the day,' and say, 'I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.' Like the patriarch he wrestled, like him he sped. He got the blessing, and became 'Israel,' a 'prince with God.' He got ' an operation of the Spirit,' and, mthout waiting till his wife was up, he came away to tell the minister, and to ask him if he (H. C ) should tell to others the work of grace on 84 THE EAILWAY LABOURER. his soul, as the lines were forced on his memory when he obtained relief — ' All that fear God, come, hear, 111 tell ^^Tiat He did for my soul.' (Ps. Ixvi. 16, Scotch version.) He went to the prayer-meeting, made his statement, gave ont those lines to sing ; and while singing, a young man, some six- teen years of age, turned pale, went out impressed, and shortly after the meeting closed, a little w^eeping sister was for the minister, to say brother Willie was very ill. That sister, about fourteen years of age, came under deep convictions of guilt that day, and both seemed to have found a Saviour. " The Railway Labourer. — Next evening, after return from country visits, a man was in waiting for me at the manse. He is a railway labourer, had been at the Monday evening meet- ing, been deeply impressed, and under sore exercises of a sense of sin ever since — had often, during the week, left the other men on the line, and gone behind the fence to weep. At last the proud heart, brought down by conquering grace, must seek relief in counsel — came down on a freight-truck attached to a train — literally ran from the station to seek the ministe?-. On reaching the school, and finding from my teacher I was not at home, the pent-up feelings found relief in a flood of tears. The teacher, a worthy, excellent young man, offered all the counsel he could — came A\ith J. M to the manse, and prayed with him — took him to one of the elders, w^ho also offered counsel and prayer— and sent for the curate, who kindly came and spoke and prayed with him. Still he remained ; and when I entered told his story of guilt, while he sat trembling like a whipped child, and said he had broken every commandment of God except the sixth and eighth. Besides tliat, he never set foot in a place of worship, nor bowed the knee to God. On one occasion he was so drunk he lay down on the rails, and only for some one passing and hauling him off, he had been, by the next train, a mangled corpse, and his poor soul in hell ; and then he asked if it was possible such a sinner could get mercy. 'Perfectly THE PLOUGHBOY AND HIS MUSE. 85 SO, for God says it — " The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleans- eth us from all sin." " Him that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out.'" (l John i. 7; John vi. 37.) After a few more words of counsel, prayer was offered, and he withdrew greatly reheved. He was a married man somewhere about twenty years, father of ten children — had no connexion with any place of worship. Since then he has been most regular, has also established the worship of God in his family, and has a iveeJdy prayer-meeting in his house. Wife and eldest daughter were both afterwards 'stricken,' and the three were among nine pleaders before my session to dispense with the usual length- ened examination for the Lord's Supper, and admit them at our last communion. They were admitted, and ' go on tlieii- way rejoicing.' " The Ploughhoy and his Muse. — During the prayer in a farm- house one day, there was much emotion. At its close, a tall, stout, able-bodied young man, twenty years of age, R. R , the farmer's eldest son, approached one of the ministers trem- bling, and seizing him by the hand as tears flowed fast — ' Mr S , you cant leave.' ' Wliy, Robert ]' ' Oh, you can't leave me in this state !' ' Why, what 's wrong*? ' ' Oh, I 'm so ill — siich a load iqyon my heart ! ' ' But can't you go with your load to the cross, and Jesus will take it from you ? He says, " Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.' " ' Oh, but I can't go.' ' Can't you pray Christ to take you 1 ' 'No, I'm so ill, I can't; will you pray?' So saying, he fell on his knees before me, and I had to proceed in prayer. He had just come in from the plough, with his horses, in time to catch the prayer that, by the Spirit's grace, enabled him to ' put his hand to anotlier plough,' and I thank God he has not ' looked back.' The accompanying piece of poetry by him shews his mental complexion. It has found its way into the public prints ; and after going the rounds of the press here, I have seen it in the Sumlay School Times, pablished in Phila- delphia, and the weekly organ of the American Tract Society. It is headed, ' A Convert's Prayer,' and the signature at first was, ' By a Ploughboy, near Portrush :' — 86 THE OLD " WATERLOO " MAN. ' THE convert's PRAYER. ' heavenly Father, hear my cry ! oh, let Thy Spirit come In rich effusion on my soul, and make my heart Thy home I Imperfect, Lord, are all my ways in this sad vale of tears, But let my Saviour's promise, Lord, remove my doubts and fears ! Teach me to know Thy holy Word, by inspiration given, And let Thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven. Go forth, Lord, to all the world, touch every heart below, That when the gospel trumpet sounds, men every note may know. Oh, let my wild, unruly tongue, that oft blasphemed Thy name, N"o more be heard to utter words of folly, sin, and shame. Create in me a thoughtful heart, both humble and sincere. And in the mansions of the blest may I fill up the rear ! ' " The Old ' Waterloo'' Man. — Another remarkable case arising out of that precious Sabbath, An old soldier of the Duke of Wellington, whose regiment had been disbanded after Water- loo, and now seventy-three years of age, had stood, till late in the evening, watching a poor Roman Catholic girl whom some Christian ladies had removed to their house. Next morning early, the old soldier's wife was down for the minister. Having so many visits to make that day, even with a good steed, it was afternoon before I reached the old man. He sat up in bed half- dressed, and was in an awful agony of prayer, hands clasped, tears pouring, vsdthout any attempt to wipe them away. His attention was diverted for a few seconds by my presence, and grasping my hands with both his in iron grasp, he held me like in a vice ; but soon letting go his hold, which was a great re- lief to me, he burst out again in a tempest of prayer, of whicli this is a specimen: — "O blessed Saviour of the world, melt this hard heart, this wretched heart! It is a hard heart, a wretched heart. O blessed Saviour, pour out Thy Holy Spirit on every wretched sinner like me ! Oh, a heart pressed down !' 'Pressed down with what, Billy?' I interposed. He replies, ' Sin— Satan ! ' and then proceeds in prayer : — ' Saviour, free me ! Oh wash me in " the fountain opened I " Oh, plunge me in it ! I know He '11 not " put my soul to shame, nor let my hope be lost." blessed Saviour, I won't distrust you one THE TWIN SISTERS. 87 jot ! dear Saviour, dear Lord and Saviour, forsake me not ! ' When asked wliat enabled liim to pour out such prayers, he replied, ' It is nothing but the work of heavenly love by the Holy Spirit;' and catching the idea of 'heavenly love,' he interweaves it in prayer : — ' Heavenly Love, subdue me ! Oh, He will be my Friend ! ' When, according to custom, I asked what I should pray for when I knelt beside him, he replied, ' For the abundant outpouring of the Holy Spirit on this wretched heart, and on all that desire Him.' Be it remembered the old man can't read a word. " The Tivin Sisters. — The following is a case of sisters who were affected at the Dunmull meeting : — They continued to pray night and day, ' Lord remember me ' — so much so, that their mother has informed me i'eek was presided over by the Lord Bishop, and was so nmnerously attended, that hundreds who were unable to gain admittance engaged in similar exercises in another part of the building. Toward the end of the month, it having been considered desirable by some to bring together in one place the friends of the movement in the surrounding districts, the grounds of the Botanic Garden were thrown open for the purpose, and an assemblage convened such as was never seen before in the north of Ireland. I was not of those who looked with special favour on the proposal to collect together a miscellaneous multitude whom it might be difficult to control, and over whom no human voice by possibility could reach ; while the idea of such a 94 GEEAT GATHERING IN BOTANIC GARDEN. gathering seemed rather to suggest that of a " demonstration " of mere numbers than of a holy convocation assembled for Divine worship. Nor, after the experience of two such meet- ings in which I have borne a part, have I seen cause to form a different judgment respecting them. At the same time, I must declare that there was that in the settled demeanour and orderly array of those unprecedented assemblies which presented to the beholder the finest specimen of true moral sublimity. A friend came to me as I was about to join the moving mass that thronged our streets on their way thither, one as calmly philosophic as he is earnestly Christian in all his aims, and said, " Well, I have been looking on for the last half- hour on the most impressive spectacle I ever witnessed. I have seen in my own country when a youth some mighty gatherings, especially during the agitation for Reform, and have stood by when thousands of sturdy and resolute men were congregated, whose very tramp had a stern purpose in it ; but I have never been so impressed by any such exhibition as by the calm and earnest look of those plain men and women, with their Bibles in their hands, who are pouring on as in an unceasing stream toward the Gardens. I have not, as you know, been satisfied as to the wisdom of the course that has brought all these people here, but I feel that I must join them in their solemn exercises. Come, then, and let us go." And so, accordingly, we went, and found it even as my friend had said. There, in the centre of that spacious lawn with its shaven sward, and in a position encircled by noble elms and beeches— a most picturesque spot in garden scenery^ — we mingled with the mighty congregation. Commanding the open space in which they met, the towers of the Queen's College peering through the trees, and the Cave- hill in rugged majesty bounding the further view, stood the covered platform, or rather pavilion, which on that occasion served as the pulpit for the officiating brethren. From the same position the most extraordinary of living preachers, the Rev. Mr Spm*geon, had about a year before proclaimed the message of mercy to listening thousands. But now the occasion was not one of preaching, but of prayer. These waiting multitudes had GREAT GATHERING IX BOTANIC GARDEN. 95 come together not to hang upon the eloquence of man, but to fall down prostrate before the throne of God. From the crowded lanes and alleys of our town— from the lone hamlets of the hills and cabins of the villages, all round for thirty or forty miles, they had come forth that day — many of tJiem with hearts enlarged and full of new-born love — ha\dng bent the knee before they left their homes, and fervently implored a blessing on the devotions which they had sought to share. As they arrived from one and another region round about, the citizens stood amazed at their accumulating numbers, many an onlooker being led to inquire within liimself whereunto this would grow. The great majority were strangers, who, as they passed through the crowded thoroughfares, took no heed of any of their attrac- tions. Nothing of holiday abandon was seen upon them — nothing of the promptings of mere curiosity, or admiration of the summer glories of the scene, diverted them from the grand object for which they had assembled. And now the thirty or forty thousand — for they were diiferently estimated — had met under the open canopy of heaven, the fervours of the orb of day being mitigated by a thick veil of cloud ; the worshippers now sending up their common supplications to the mercy-seat, now filling all the air with thek melodious praise. It is not necessary to describe in detail the proceedings of that solemn meeting. The presidential chair was filled by the then Moderator of the General Assembly, the apostle and patriarch of open-air assembhes for pubHc worship. During the exercises were heard many cries for mercy ; and although the proceedings lasted for four hours, order reigned so far as was possible among such a multitude. Here and there, however, were dis- tinct groups of worshippers— some led by those of tender years, others addressed by ministers or laymen. In the outskirts there were occasionally some questionable scenes, as in one in- stance witnessed on leaving by myself and a brother minister, which we stepped forward to endeavour to restrain, but the peculiar character of the exercises rendered it impossible for any one to hiterpose by rational expostulation. Such extra- vagancies, however, were comparatively rare, and there is no 96 REMARKABLE CASE OF CONVICTION. doubt that many subsequently traced their first impressions to that day. By five o'clock the town was completely cleared of its unwonted visitors, and in a few hours afterwards those who had come from a distance were again in their respective homes. On the way homewards, the engagements of many partook of the spirit of the services of the forenoon. Some friends who had been at Portrush were returning to town that evening ; and as they met the excursion train with its freight of seven hundred passengers at Antrim, their ears were saluted by a loud outburst of melody from the occupants of the third-class carriages, as with one voice and soul they sang together the now well-known revival lyric, " What 's the News 1 " Of those who date their saving change from the great Garden meeting, the following is a pleasing specimen : — In the course of the proceedings, a strong and powerful man, who went from mere curiosity, was attracted to one of the side groups where a youthful individual was addressing those around him. At a certain point in the service a request was made that all should kneel down in prayer, as an act of submission to the Lord Jesus Christ. Slowly and reluctantly our visitor complied. He rose imder great mental depression, and left the ground under an agonising sense of sin. He returned to his home in town, and subsequently, in hope of finding some relief, he started for his mother's house, some seven miles distant; but no peace for him was there. He sought the prayer-meeting, but left it as he came, his burthen still unremoved. That night upon his bed he had a sustaining view of Christ, beheld by faith. Next morning, finding a Christian friend who w^as at his daily occupation in the field, he asked an interest in his prayers. They knelt together, and had not long been in that posture till he sank into an unconscious condition, and so re- mained for upwards of two hours. When he arose the burthen had fallen oft", and he felt light and joyful in the Lord, Returning home another man, his first resolve Avas to give up the spirit trade, in which he had been engaged, a resolution which he at once carried into effect. In the full joy of his heart he stood up unsolicited in the face of a meeting assembled for prayer MEETING IN BERRY STREET. 97 one evening, and avowed his change, taking as the ground of his remarks, " Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." And ever since he has been enabled to witness a good confession ; vsrhile God has blest his conversion and example, his prayers and labours, as a means of bringing other strong men like himself to the feet of Jesus. It was only a week or two before the meeting to which I have adverted, that I had witnessed for the first time the physical prostrations to which the public attention had been so largely turned. Being requested by the Rev. Hugh Hanna — to whose congregation a signal blessing has been vouchsafed — to aid him in one of his evening meetings, it devolved on me, after the introductory devotional services, to deliver a short address to those assembled, and by whom the church was densely filled— as, indeed, it was on successive evenings for months together. The subject which I selected as the topic of discourse was the unconditional freeness of the gospel oifer. Anxious to repress any tendency to mere excitement, I endeavoured to set forth in the most didactic and unimpassioned strain the way of salvation, avoiding every allusion that might be calculated to awaken mere emotion in any of the audience. I had not, how- ever, proceeded far, until there arose from a female voice a despairing and yet tender cry, accompanied l)y a sinking of the bodily energies, insomuch that she had to be borne from* the place of meeting. This case was soon after succeeded by another and another, until it became necessary to suspend the address in course of delivery, and engage in an exercise of sing- ing, until all who were affected had been removed. After this the service proceeded without further interruption to its close, if close it could be called, as after the benediction the congrega- tion kept thek seats, and shewed no disposition to retire. It was necessary, therefore, to resume, and again address the thirsting multitude. The benediction was a second time pro- nounced, and yet they lingered in the sanctuary. At length the place was cleared, and I accompanied the minister, and one or two other brethren, to the library, to which the affected 98 VISITS NEXT DAY. parties had been removed. That apartment being densely filled by themselves and their attendant relatives and friends, they were immediately taken into the adjoining gallery of the church. There they remained, some for a shorter, others for a longer period, until they were sufficiently recovered to be removed. All were, to all appearance, labouring under the pressure of an intolerable burthen — that burthen sin. One at least, a very interesting girl, about fourteen years of age, had begun to emerge out of " the depths " of soul-sorrow, and was speaking very touchingly of the grace and beauty of the Saviour. In the case of the majority, (I think there were from twelve to fifteen — all females,) human help was manifestly unavailing, and we could only commit them to the tenderness of the Diviner compassion. There was one of the cases which I had no doubt was hysterical, and nothing more. The young woman was violently vociferous and convulsive ; whereas in the others there was nothing of convulsive movement whatsoever. The next day, having taken down their addresses, I resolved to visit at their own houses some of the "stricken" of the preceding evening. In the first house I entered I found the girl in bed, conscious and intelligent, but not yet recovered out of the first stage of her prostration, as I have described it. By her side sat a sister, who had herself been similarly affected, but who had found relief from her mental anguish, although she seemed to have but a scanty knowledge of the gospel. Seated in the kitchen, however, I found, on entering, a young female, in whom I became all at once deeply interested. She was tidily, but plainly, dressed, and on her countenance was an expression of "perfect peace" — it was, indeed, lit up with a look of radiant joy. She had a Bible in her hand; and in answer to my questioning, she stated that a short time pre- viously she herself had undergone, in the same church, a similar process to that which was now so common, and was rejoicing in God her Saviour. She was employed in a weaving factory in town, and " as her web was out," and she had a day to herself, she had taken the opportunity of making the rounds of some of her acquaintances, who had been undergoing a like spiritual MID-DAY MEETING OF MILDGIRLS. 91) transition. She had. been a Sabbatli-school scholar, and shewed a thorough acquaintance with her Bible. She spoke of her "good hope through grace" with unshaken confidence, while sensible, at the same time, that clouds and darkness might now and then assail her in the Christian pilgrimage. She cared for little now — for nothing, indeed, of the earth. Even her daily food was scarcely necessary to her. " Christ was her meat and drink," and she was happy in Him. The next occasion (I may here observe) on which I saw this young disciple was a peculiarly interesting one. Being in attend- ance some weeks after at one of the mid-day meetings of the mill-girls held in the school-house in connexion with Linen- hall Street Church, — meetings which are still regularly main- tained, — I was witness to a touching scene. One of the females present, towards the close of the exercise, was seized with an extreme weakness. She did not raise a cry, nor did she use any words, but her downcast look and tearful countenance told of the conflict that was going on within. Several ministers were present, one of whom, an Episcopal rector from a distance, offered up an impressive prayer. By and by, when others had fallen off from her who had excited so much solicitude, one of her fellow -workers, who was in the little meeting, was seen hasting to her side, and kneeling down amid the hushed atten- tion of all present, was heard to offer up a fervent and most appropriate supplication for the afflicted one. It was a truly affecting scene. The offerer of the consolation I recognised at once as my young friend, whom I had met before on her errand of sympathy with the sisters of the family whom I had first visited. I asked her, at the close, how matters went with her now ; when she at once replied, that she was quite happy in Christ, and had " got more love." I have seen her once and again since, and have reason to believe that she continues stead- fast and exemplary, and has in her humble way proved " a suc- courer of many." But to resume. Calling at another house adjacent, I found a young woman seated in the apartment, perfectly calm and collected, but in a condition of deep and despairing agony. 100 ARDOUR OF A YOUNG DISCIPLE. Sitting by lier side was one of her own sex, upon whose countenance was a very different aspect, the unmistakeable indication of a reigning serenity within. In the course of our conversation, I learned in a few words her spiritual history. She had, according to her statement, been brought up the member of a pious family, but had not until a short time before known in her own experience' anything of the power of piety. On the contrary, she had no concern about the one thing need- ful, and put away from her all tendency to serious thought. When the revival came, and others were attending meetings every evening, she resolved for herself, that she would resist every solicitation to be present at them, caring for none of these things. One day, however, when at her work, (she was engaged in a sewed muslin establishment in town,) she was arrested all at once by a sight of her own sinfulness, and laid her head upon the bench before her, that she might give herself up to solemn meditation. No sooner had she so far given way to serious consideration than, under the prompting of an uncontrollable impulse, she fell down on her knees and cried imploringly for mercy. Others of her fellow-workers were looking on, and in the midst of her distress it came into her mind, at the sugges- tion, she believed, of Satan, that she was subjecting herself to the imputation of great w^eakness by such a public exhibition of her private griefs, and rebuking that instant the insinuation of the evil deceiver, she cried all the more earnestly, and ere long had such a view of Christ, and such a sense of His won- drous love, that when she arose she could rejoice in the assur- ance of a present salvation. And now, she also was making a few calls on those of whom she had heard as beibg sought out of the same loving Saviour who had come to her in such a time as she desired Him not. As our interview proceeded, a young woman entered the place, the same, I at once observed, v/hose case I had regarded as mere hysteria the previous even- ing, and whose demeanour did not now furnish any satisfactory evidence to the contrary. On being inquired of whether she had any evidence of her acceptance in the sight of God, she answered tliat the weight was still about her heart, and that for relief she SANDY ROW EXPERIENCES. 101 was about to return to the prayer-meeting in the evening. My feliow-visitor, whose case I have narrated, said to me, when subsequently referring to the experience of this other, that she regarded it as far from hopeful, as the young woman in question seemed to be going about after meetings, instead of going at once to Christ. I paid a third visit in another part of the town, viz., Sandy Row, to a house in which one of the inmates, a young girl, was laid upon the bed, also in the first stage of physical prostration. The old man, her father, who received me, said he was not sorry, indeed, to see her there. She had been borne in in that state from the meeting the previous night, and he hoped that, when she recovered, she would be different from what she ever had been before. Her temper was in great need of improvement ; and if the same result took place with her as with her sister, who had been affected as she was, it would be a blessed change for her and them. The next time I called, he assured me that his expectations had been fully realised respecting his daughter. " And now," said he, " there 's not a better girl in all the neigh- bourhood." In company with my old friend the father, who said that he knew at least forty in that neighbourhood who were brought under the same gracious influence, I called on a young man who had a short time before, as was represented, experienced a won- drous change. He had been a " good-for-nothing fellow," spend- ing his earnings in the public-house, frequenting no place of worship, lounging about the fields upon the Sabbath, a fearful swearer, and a dog-fighter. We visited the miserable hovel, scarcely eight feet square, which served as the abode of himself, his wife, and three little children, and found that he had not recovered sufficient strength to enable him to return to his work on the railway hard by, but that he was making a few calls on some others in the \icinity who had been brought to themselves as he was. We heard from his wife, before he returned, his striking story. She had herself, she said, been brought to Christ at one of the meetings ; and though he was very averse to go, she had prevailed on him, about a fort- 102 CASE OF A "good-for-nothing." night before, to accompany her to Linenhall Street Church, where an address was being delivered by some Scottish mi- nister. She prayed inwardly that the word might reach her husband's heart. Scarcely had she sought for mercy on his behalf, when, looking round to observe his looks, she saw him all at once turn deadly pale, and then, with a loud cry, he fell to the earth, and had to be removed from the place of meeting. He was in great agony of mind afterwards, but had found peace ; and now, oh, what a change ! What sometimes affected him was his straitened circumstances, and his inability, not yet having regained his strength, to go about his work. The other day, looking at her and the children in want of bread, he had burst out into a fit of crying ; but she had cheered him up, and, handing him the Bible, bid him read a chapter, for she could not read herself ; which done, he offered up a prayer, and then was as happy as ever. By this time the husband had returned, when he confirmed all we had heard respecting him. " I was indeed," said he, "a drunken rascal — nothing less; and all my pleasure was to drink and sin. But, blessed be His name, I have seen a sight which has made me another man." And then he went on to narrate, in simple, yet eloquent language, the mode in which the spiritual transition had been realised. He Avas lying on his bed waithing under the burden of sins ; and such a burthen ! He saw his sins rolling down like mountains of lead upon him, and he felt that they must sink him to perdi- tion. But presently he saw ("that is," he continued, " I thought I saw") a glorious Being rising up before him with sweet coun- tenance, and bearing on Him the marks of being crucified ; and as He drew near, the mountains of sin began to sink down out of view, until at last they were all gone, and nothing was to be seen but a loving Saviour. "I think," he said, "I see Him still, and I wish, if it be His will, never to let Him out of my sight." And then he went on to say how he loathed the prac- tices he had loved. Whisky was now his abomination, and he would not for the world enter the place where it was sold ; and as for profane swearing, he did not feel the least temptation to it ; and when at any time he saw that an oath was coming out THE WOEK IN EWART S EOW. 103 of the lips of any one, it made his very bones to tremble. But I must not enlarge. I have once and again visited this inter- esting couple in humble life — on one occasion with two brother ministers from Italy, who had taken the opportunity when here of inquiring into the character, and estimating the results of the revival— and I have every reason to believe that they continue to walk together in love, and that theirs is, in the highest sense of the word, a happy home. They have, some months ago, quitted their former wretched habitation, and are now enjoying the substantial comforts of a commodious dwelling. Not to dwell longer, however, on individual instances, I shall here introduce an interesting communication respecting the work in another district in the outskirts of the town. The place is called E wart's Eow, and is inhabited altogether by mill- workers. The proprietors of the mill, the principal of whom is our present excellent chief magistrate, lent every facility to their work-people to avail themselves of the opportunities of religious instruction which were so abundantly enjoyed, and have had their reward in the improved habits of their little community. The writer of the subjoined statement is a young female, the daughter a respectable tradesman, whose own spiritual history is deeply interesting. Up to the 29th of June she was altogether frivolous in her tastes, and fond of gaiety and worldly amusements. She had, however, been importuned by a friend to attend a meeting in the Rev. Hugh Hanna's church, on the evening of the day in question, and very reluctantly complied. In the course of the service, a young woman fell down by her side, and in the act of rising, to follow and render her assistance, she herself was similarly seized. Having been removed to her own home, she was for several days subjected to extreme bodily weakness, her mind, however, all the while in " perfect peace." On her recovery, finding that a walk of use- fulness was opened up to her, and under the prompting of an earnest desire to do good to others, she opened a class for the instruction of her sisters in the "Row," so many of whom had been themselves the subjects of the merciful visitation. Although in the subjoined statement she makes no reference to 104 EDUCATIONAL OPERATIONS. herself, it is well known that the enterprise owes its siiccess mainly to her devoted labours : — " Ewart's Row is a manufacturing suburb of Belfast, on the north side of the town, ha\dng a population of about fifteen hundred souls. It was visited by the grace of God at an early period of the revival. Many were brought to a saving know- ledge of Jesus in a very remarkable way. The change that was thus manifested, and the earnest entreaties and fervent prayers of tiie converts for the salvation of their friends and neighbours, by the Divine blessing, awakened the whole locality. There was no district of Belfast so deeply moved. The whole popu- lation crowded to prayer-meetings and open-air preachings, evincing the deepest seriousness and concern about eternal things. Every one betook himself to the prayerful reading of the Bible. Those who could read but imperfectly or not at all, bewailed their inability ; every one became eager for instruc- tion in the Word of God. At this crisis the Ewart's Row school was opened by the district visitors connected with the Berry Street Church. Christian friends from other congregations joined in the good work, and the Lord has crowned their labour with abundant success. The average attendance on three evenings during the week is about one hundred and fifty. Many of the girls who could read but very imperfectly at the opening of the school, in three months had committed the whole of the Shorter Catechism ; others, the greater portion of the book of Psalms ; and many, portions of the Scriptures. Their memories are stored with the Word of God. Their hearts fondly cherish it, and their lives are beautifully regulated by its requirements. Useful branches of instruction have been intro- duced. Many of the poor girls now write a beautiful hand- Some have advanced considerably in arithmetic. Industrial occupations have engaged the time of others, who will shortly be better fitted for domestic duties. " The good done in every direction is incalculable. Scripture classes and prayer-meetings are without end in the district. The excitement attendant on the earlier stages of the revival has passed away, but a deep and settled seriousness remains, the CHANGED CHARACTER OF THE POPULATION. 105 result, it is believed, of the saving grace of God. The greatest happiness that earth can afford is enjoyed by teachers and scholars in their schools and prayer meetings. The teachers delight in the work, and confess that the hours spent in Ewart's Row have been among the happiest of their lives. The Lord has done great things for us. The change witnessed in the locality is astonishing. The leisure hours were formerly devoted to boisterous amusements, in which profane swearing was prac- tised to a fearful extent ; now the name of God is never heard but with reverence, on any lips. Both sexes have shared in the grace of God, and Ewart's Row is now a regenerated locality." With reference to the changed character of the population in the "Row" above referred to, or rather rows, for there are three of them running parallel to each other, the Rev. Joshua W. Collins, who resides in the immediate neighbourhood, and has had abundant opportunities of knowing the general habits and character of the people, makes the following very gratifying statement : — " Much as we all needed this awakening, I know not any dis- trict, in town or country, where a 'revival' was more required than that of which I now write. I am unwilling to state all I have heard and known of it. The sins of the times in all their extent were there indulged in. Quarrelling, drunkenness, pro- fanity, Sabbath-breaking, indecent conversation, and indiffer- ence to religious ordinances v/ere universally prevalent. " You know the process by which a wondrous change has been effected. Of the ' cases,' many, I have no doubt, were purely hysterical, and I invariably treated them as such. It was easy for any one who had experience in the movement to discrimi- nate between these and others wherein symptoms were evinced that no principle known to medical science can explain, and which, I doubt not, are solely referable to the Holy Spirit. " The first ' stricken' here were in the factory; and the sen- sation produced when they were carried home may be more easily imagined than described. The place, so lately given up, to all appearance, to the Wicked One, was now filled with anxiety about salvation. ' Won't you come into this house, sir, 106 RESULTS. and pray witli us T ' Ah, please your reverence, my daughter is crying to see you ! ' ' Surely you will not pass us by, and all of us in such trouble?' These were the entreaties by which I was met on every side as often as I went that way, and many a time by night as well as day had I to visit them. To have their burdens lifted off, to know Jesus, to be at peace with God, was their only wish. Some, to my knowledge, were at least forty-eight hours without food. To speak to them and pray for them was all they wanted. "I commenced immediately an open-air preaching in the district, in which I was assisted by other brethren. During three months in the summer, service was held in the Row and adjoining neighbourhood at least three times weekly, and fre- quently attended by three thousand persons. " As to the results up to the present time, I am prepared to state from my own knowledge, that while in a few, a very few cases, there has been a declension from their first love, yet I do not know of any aggravated declension, even in a single instance. The large proportion of those affected cleave stead- fastly to Christ, and by their whole demeanour prove, so far as we can judge, that they are 'born again.' The people, gene- rally speaking, are now members of some church, and frequent it regularly. The children go to a Sabbath school, and in every respect ' old things have passed away, all things are become new.' It is pleasant now to go into these rows. All are anxious to receive every one who comes to speak to them of Christ and His salvation. The voice of prayer and praise is heard nightly in almost every dwelling. God is now honoured where His holy name Avas blasphemed and Satan was wont to triumph ; and there is, as the result of this glorious awakening, deej) cause to unite with the psalmist and exclaim, ' sing a new song to the Lord, For wonders he hath done ; His right hand and his holy arm Him victoiy hath won.' " The reports of the extraordinary work of grace going on amongst us attracted at an early period ministers and other VISIT OF MR BROWXLOW NORTH. 107 Christian friends of all denominations from England and Scot- land, whose assistance in conducting meetings, and otherwise countenancing the work, was most important and valuable. The Scottish brethren were largely encouraged to come over by the generous liberality of Peter Drummond, Esq., of Stirling, who was among the first from a distance to mingle in the scenes associated with the awakening, and who on his return supplied the means by which a considerable number of minis- ters were enabled to cross the Channel for the same purpose. Among those who visited us at this time none were more highly prized, either in BeKast or elsewhere, than Mr Brownlow North, to whom reference has been made in connexion mth the great meetings at Portrush. The striking spiritual history of Mr North himself, his high social status, and the wonderful success attending his labours, especially for the preceding two years in Scotland, all contributed to concentrate public attention on his evangelistic labours. He came to Belfast in the end of June, and did not leave Ulster for two months afterwards. During 1 the intermediate period he was employed incessantly in public ministrations, and had most abundant and sustaining evidence that his labour was not in vain. Having had frequent opportunities of hearing this eminent servant of Christ during his sojourn here, I can bear testimony to the wonderful power of his addresses — for sermons, in the usual acceptation of the term, they cannot be designated ; although, however, there was no attempt at methodical arrange- ment or rhetorical art, yet such was the intense and outbreak- ing energy of the speaker, that every one felt compelled to listen. Thousands and thousands were gathered around him ; and whether under the open canopy of heaven, or in the largest I buildings that could be thrown open to receive him, he was ever ready to proclaim that truth which in his own case he had found inestimably precious. His visits to the awakened dis- tricts were peculiarly seasonable. In many cases, those who regarded themselves as brought under saving influence were disposed mainly to rest for comfort on their own experience of pardon and of the preciousness of Christ. With reiterated ful- 108 THE WORK AMONG " UNFORTUNATES." ness of demonstration he exposed the futility of relying on such a flimsy and unsubstantial ground of hope, and the necessity of being fixed immoveably on the " foundation that is laid in Zion." The young disciple, burning with all the ardour of a first affection, was thus taught the necessity of being equipped for work and warfare, and of providing against the day of trial and temptation by a familiar acquaintance Avith the stable and sustaining verities of the written Word of God. Reserving for the Appendix the statistical department of the work in Belfast, I select, from the statements kindly supplied, the following narrative by the Rev. William Johnston of Townsend Street church, more especially as the cases detailed are typical in their character : — " The classes in my congregation, I should suppose, like any other, consist of the profane, the careless, the formalists, the backsliders, and the children of God. These have all been brought, more or less, imder the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and effects have been produced, the personal knowledge of which has created the deep-seated and deliberate conviction, that, however many may doubt or deride, 'this is the finger of God.' " The Fallen. — Tlie most hopeless class in our community is composed of those who have lost the vktue and the dignity of women, and who have sunk to the lowest level of degradation which any human creature can occupy. And yet, as in the days of our Lord, harlots are entering into the Idngdom of heaven before some of our wi^etched and lifeless Pharisees. One humble but devoted Christian woman, a member of my church, has been honoured of God to rescue, during the last few months, some twenty ' unfortunates' out of sin and misery ; and one of the most difficult, as well as the most dehghtful portions of my ministerial work during the past summer, has been to pro\ide temporary support and permanent employment for those who, like the prodigal, were disposed to return. With the exception of one or two Avho have relapsed, by the treach- ery and diabolism of their own relatives and companions in crime, they are all doing admirably. Some are in good service : AMONG THE CARELESS. 1()C) one has been married ; and the rest are happy in active daily labour. Not the least interesting portion of our worshipping assembly on each Sabbath-day, and at our weekly prayer-meet- ings, are these Marys of the Church — these daughters of the revival, whose simple dress, and marked attention, and regular attendance, and steady walk, indicate the dawn of a brighter day, the foretaste of a better future. " TJie Careless have been generally awakened ; and in Tnany cases, though not in all, or perhaps in most, the work of deep conviction has issued in saving conversion. In this class ' the bodily manifestations' seem to have been especially blessed. These manifestations have been far too much talked about, and regarded by many at a distance as if they formed the whole work, or the principal feature of it. This is a great mistake. In our congregation, there were not many cases of the kind ; but such as did occur, served, to my certain knowledge, very much the purpose of ' the rushing mighty wind ' preceding the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. They roused the slumbering mass; they startled whole streets; they called special attention to the deep conviction of the person affected ; they awed and awakened the minds of many whom curiosity had brought 'to come and see;' and they were em- ployed and overruled to send many back to their homes and their closets to think of their own lives, to cry to God for their own souls, and to look to Christ for pardon and acceptance as they had never looked before. Of the many illustrative cases I might quote, I shall give but few : — " One- fine young thoughtless girl, a pupil in the Sabbath school, was asked to go and sing in the house where another person was in deep distress. She had not been many minutes in the room when the bodily manifestations so impressed her, that she went home to consider the question, ' Have I not as much reason to weep for my own sins, and pray for my own soul?' For days and weeks she continued in the deepest anxiety of mind, until, after a painful and protracted conflict, in which her judgment had wellnigh given way, she shut herself up to closet prayer with God, until she found peace in the finished 110 THE WORK AMONG THE CARELESS. work and perfect righteousness of Christ. She is now a con- sistent member of the church, and an efficient teacher in the Sabbath school, and these exercises of her mind have been blessed to the conversion of her sister, who is also adorning the doctrine of God her Saviour. " At the first prayer-meeting in my church which returning strength permitted me to attend, when engaged at the first prayer, one of my petitions was that God would be pleased to convince and convert some poor careless sinner present. Im- mediately after, there burst forth a most piteous, plaintive cry for mercy. The person was carried out, and the prayer pro- ceeded, when, shortly after, another cry was heard, and another person was taken away in charge of the elders of the church. When the services in the church were concluded, I went to the school-room to speak to these persons, and, to my surprise, I foimd that the first afi'ected was one of the most hardened and apparently hopeless cases in the congTCgation. She was a grandmother, a strong-minded, active, worldly woman — one upon whom I had been calling for twelve years, and trying, without any success, to bring to a sense of sin or to the house of God. She seemed utterly indifi'erent to the salvation of her soul, and twice dead in sin. On the week before, her daughter had been awakened, and she had prevailed on her poor mother to come down that evening to the prayer-meeting, and then and there she was cut to the heart. ' That 's me !' she exclaimed, and a sense of her sin burst upon her mind, under which she felt utterly overpow^ered. Her daughter and she are both rejoicing in Jesus, and are one with Christ in the fellow^ship of the church. " At our communion in October, one person came forward and asked admission to the fellowship of the church, who had been for above tAventy years a seat-holder. He was an honest, good- natured, worldly, godless man, and the father of a large family. His son had been awakened, and was also asking admission. The work of grace in the heart of his cliild had struck home conviction to his own soul ; and with a most ingenuous confes- sion of his sin, and a powerful statement of the thorough dis- AMONG THE FORMALISTS. Ill gust and dread with which the manifold inconsistencies of others professing religion had often filled him, he told us how the love of Christ had been shed abroad in his heart, and that he now unreservedly ' yielded himself to the Lord.' With him were seated twelve others, advanced in years, formerly all care- less and dead, but now humble followers of Christ, and seeking, through His mediation, admission to the fellowship of the church. Their deep sense of sin, their humbhng view of self, their strong confidence in Christ, and their clear views of truth were such that they were all welcomed into the fellowship of the church, and hailed as blessed fruits of the revival. Two of the men had been for years given greatly to drink, but they are now sober and consistent Christians, and stand out monuments of sovereign grace. " The Formalists. — Like most of my brethren in the ministry, I had too many in my church, who, whilst steady in their attendance on the means of grace, were, after all, but formal- ists in religion. L^pon many of these the most marked change has taken place, and, as they themselves declare, ' they never knew or felt the power or peace of religion before.' One man up in years, moral in his character and well acquainted with the Word, whilst returning from the prayer-meeting in the Botanic Garden, heard a number of lads singing one of our beautiful psalms; God ordered that sound to reach his heart, and the deepest conviction seized upon his soul. I never saw or met with a more distressed mind. He had no rest, day nor night, for weeks. He happened to meet me one day in one of the most crowded thoroughfares of Belfast, and stopped me to ask, ' What must I do to be saved ? I have been a hypocrite and a formalist for nearly forty years ; I have been walking through life with a veil over my eyes, and I feel such a burden of sin, that if I do not get relief I must die, and be damned.' For weeks no promise could give him peace. He knew his Bible well, but that only added aggravation to his guilt. Human counsels were utterly powerless. We could only pray with him, and for him. Nor was this in vain. We met him one day, and were delighted to see at once a gladsome countenance, the index 1 12 THE WOKK AMONG THE FORMALISTS. of a blessed change. He told me God had shewn him his mis- take. He had wished God to memi his heart, but that would not do; and it was not until, on his knees, he had unreservedly- resigned himself to the Lord, and asked the Holy Spirit to renew him in the whole man after the image of God, that the Lord Jesus had mercy on him, and had pardoned and accepted him It so happened, that a few weeks after, I began my pastoral visitation for this winter with my friend John. Wlien seated together at his fireside, he said, ' I think, Mr Johnston, the ministers are all 2:)reachwg a great deal better than they used to do.' ' Perhaps,' said I, ' the people are hearing a good deal better than they used to do.' 'That may be,' he replied; 'but I think they ought to preach a good deal better.' 'Why so?' I asked. ' Because,' said he, ' the people are all praying now for their ministers ; and before this revival, they left all the praying as well as the preaching to them.' John is now a living stone in the spiritual temple. " One other illustrative case is that of a young man, who, like Saul, stands out head and shoulders above most of his bre- thren ; that fine manly body is the tenement of a clear mind and a generous disposition. He has maintained an excellent cha- racter, and is a person of very active habits. He has been for years a member of the church. He has been engaged in the spirit trade, and managed his business with all due regard to propriety, and as well as that branch of business can be con- ducted. During last spring, a sermon which I preached on the sin and shame of the trade, so ' nettled ' him, that for weeks and months he never entered our church. During last sum- mer, the Spirit began to work deeply on his mind. The first serious awakening was at a prayer-meeting in Townsend Street, on an evening when a noble-minded elder of the Presb}i;erian Church, and a leading merchant in our town, was expounding the parable of the prodigal son. Reflection deepened into con- viction, and that conviction, for several days and nights, was exhibited in agonising wrestling with God for mercy. That heavenly Father, who never said to any of the seed of Jacob ' Seek ye my face in vain,' heard his prayer, and, after a most AMONG THE BACKSLIDERS. 1 13 anxious ordeal, granted him pardon and peace through the blood of the Lamb, At one of our prayer-meetings he came forward and asked liberty to speak a few words. This granted, he proceeded to give us a most interesting statement of the rise and progress of religion in his soul. He told us that for years he had been a professor of religion, but only a formalist and a hypocrite — that he had never known what the peace of God was until within the last few days — and that if all there but knew the blessedness of religion, they would seek it at once in and through Jesus Christ, and they would not be dis- appointed. After an earnest appeal, he resumed his seat. Many, who had not much faith in the revival, remarked, that the address was all very well, but they would wait to see what of the whisky-shop. They had not to wait long ; the very next week the house was cleared of every vestige of the whisky trade; he has washed his hands clear of all inconsistency ; he takes an active part in our religious meetings; his new business pros- pers beyond all expectation, under the blessing of God ; he has just passed through a fearful ordeal of illness, rejoicing in tribulation ; he has been the honoured instrument of bringing several of his relatives and friends to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, and he is going steadily forward adorning in his daily walk the doctrine of God his Saviour. " Tlie Backsliders have not been forgotten by our gracious God. Of many we might report with holy joy, but one case only will we quote. He was a young man of prepossessing appear- ance, excellent character, reflecting habits, and religious profes- sion. He was well educated in the Scriptures, and much liked. He was a successful Sabbath-school teacher, and a regular communicant in the church. After some time, he was appointed superintendent of a Sabbath school, and all went on well under his management. By and by a striking change passed over him. He became dissatisfied with every thing, and gave up the charge of the school — fell away from the communion of the church, and finally ceased to attend the house of God. The secret of all was, he had begun to read infidel books, by which his faith was overthrown, and he was unfortunately drawn into H 114 THE WORK AMONG THE BACKSLIDERS. the darkness of Deism, and openly avowed his contempt of Christianity. In this state of mind he continued for several months. When the Spirit of God visited our town and congre- gation, the manifestations of His power were treated by him with utter incredulity, and the whole movement was regarded as woman's weakness and nervous sympathy. The work of grace was denied ; and when on one occasion the conversation turned on the power of prayer, that power was defied, — ' Let any six men try and pray me down.' One humble fellow- workman, himself awakened at a prayer-meeting, and a reclaimed back- slider, and at that very time anxiously alive about his own soul, secretly accepted the challenge. There was one other heart which loved that erring brother through and through — a friend who had rejoiced in his rise, and now grieved over his fall, — one who, ' since the day he heard it, did not cease to pray for him, and to desire that he might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.' Whilst the prayers were being presented, the last case which we have detailed occurred, and that address at our prayer-meeting was reported to him by his companion. It was on a Saturday morning, and the earnest tone of that working-man, himself a monu- ment of mercy, went to the heart of his erring friend. He went home that day in silent anxiety, and reached his home to retire at once to his closet. He took down his neglected Bible, and opening it at random, his eye fell on the 51st Psalm, and as he read it he wondered. He closed it, and opening it again, his attention was drawn to the 39th Psalm, with all its solemn warnings. Melted down, he fell on his knees, and casting him- self on God in Christ for forgiveness and acceptance, all his difficulties vanished, he could not tell how, and there was no objection urged by Tom Paine to which he could not have given a sufficient answer. The next Sabbath he was at church both morning and evening; and after the conclusion of the latter service, I invited any that were anxious about their souls to meet me in the vestry. About thirty came, of whom our friend was one. My heart bounded with joy as I took his hand and brought him into the vestry, where he told us the history of his I AMONG THE CHILDREN OF GOD. 115 fall, and how, in the bitterness of his hatred of Christ and Christianity, he had gone to school to learn grammar and pen- manship, that he might be prepared to do his best to write down religion, and how, in the manner above described, he was brought back to the Shepherd and Bishop of his soul. After this state- ment we all knelt together around the throne of grace, and thanked God that this His son, who Avas dead, was ahve again, was lost, and was found. He continues an humble follower of Christ. " In relation to the Children of God, they, too, have been won- drously and blessedly revived. The first case of prostration which occurred in our congregation, was one of my Sabbath- school teachers, a young man of quiet, consistent Christian character. I was for some time perplexed as to the reason of his being ' stmck down,' but in a short time I found that with that visitation a most remarkable stimulus had been given to his mental powers and spiritual graces — that what Mr North very properly describes as ' the dumb devil,' which possesses too many professing Christians, was thus thoroughly cast out of him — that those lips ^vhich shame and fear had sealed, were opened— and that, like Saul, he stood forth a new man under the baptism of the Spirit, which he was thus led to seek and receive. He now leads in prayer when asked, which he would not or could not do before, and is the active superintendent of one of our Sabbath schools, besides being generally useful in the visitation of the careless and the sick. He stands out the type of a large number, w^hose dormant energies have been thoroughly awakened and vigorously enlisted in the cause of Christ. " Some may deny the work of the Spirit, and some require the test of time. I can only say, that whilst a large amount of mere emotion has arisen and passed away, and whilst many have been awakened but not converted, many, very many, remain to testify to the saving work of grace which has passed upon them. Not one of those joining the church has lapsed into careless- ness or inconsistency, but all stand fast in the Lord and in the power of His might." lin QUALIFICATIONS OF CONVERTS FOR REVIVAL WORK. Having had an opportunity on several occasions of hearing addresses by those who were designated as "converts," I may take the opportunity of stating, that whilst fully sensible of the value of their services, and believing that they were emi- nently instrumental in spreading abroad the holy flame by which both town and country were overspread, I am not less convinced that there was in many instances a very exaggerated estimate of their competency and qualifications for addressing public assemblies. So long as they confined themselves to a declaration of " the great things which the Lord had done " for them, simply narrating their own experience, and testifying to the wondrous grace and mercy they had found, their statements were invested with a peculiar and even tender interest, while their importunate pleadings with their fellow-men to accept the great salvation were fitted to come home to the heart with an unwonted power. But when they undertook to become ex- positors and preachers of the word, they utterly failed. How could it be otherwise '? Who could expect of uneducated youths, however piously affected, any other than the crudest statements of the gospel scheme 1 unless, indeed, they were to be regarded as the subjects of an immediate revelation, whose speech and even presence were endowed with all the potency of a miracu- lous agency. That some such feeling existed in the minds of the ignorant, may be inferred from such cases as the two fol- lowing, supplied by the Rev. Theophilus Campbell, whose labours have been largely blessed : — " A young woman, of our Bible class, under the influence of the truth for years, went one evening to a place of worship where one of these men was expected to i:)reach. She sat in a pew near one of the aisles. As soon as it was announced that * the convert' had entered the house, and was advancing up the aisle, the agitation among the people commenced. As he pro- ceeded and approached near the spot where the young woman was sitting, she became violently agitated. The extraordinary man whom God had so signally blessed, and who was to convert the congregation, was close at hand. She trembled from head to THE " SLEEPING CASE?.' 1 1 7 foot ; the Bible nearly fell from her hand. He passed by, and her agitation subsided. She was all but ' a case.' " It was perhaps the same individual who in another place was on a subsequent evening engaged in prayer. The crowd extended into the street. A young man, a labourer, was able to work his way to the door, where he could only hear the sound of his voice. The man fell completely stricken down. It was no sense of sin ; it was pure excitement, resulting from the cir- cumstances, that laid him prostrate. " In the employment of these ' converts' to preach," adds Mr Campbell, "a principle laid down in Scripture, with sufficient distinctness, is violated—' Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil' The margin of our Bibles explains that a 'novice' is 'one newly come (or born) to the faith,' (1 Tim. iii. 6.) In this chapter the Holy Spirit enunciates the principles and precepts that should guide the Church in the selection of ministers, whose office is to teach. He forbids the employment of new converts, and assigns as a reason what is most natural, founded on what we cannot but see happening around us. No principle of God's Word can be violated with impunity, and this case is no ex- ception." The awakening had not visited Belfast for many weeks, until some curious physical phenomena, in addition to those by which it was characterised at the outset, began to attract attention, Nor were these peculiar to the movement in any one place— they manifested themselves in several districts. I allude to the occasional suspension of the bodily powers, as indicated by the loss of speech, sight, and hearing ; the subjects of them affected as in a trance — deaf, dumb, blind, and motionless — while they would frequently fall into a sleep, in which they continued for hours, and the commencement and termination of which they intimated beforehand to the bystanders. The following may be taken as a specimen of this class : — A. B. (we shall suppose) is a girl in the humbler walks of life, a worker in a factory. She intimates to her friends around her, that at such a time she will 118 THE WONDER-SEEKERS. be silent, and she ceases to speak accordingly. After some hours she signifies by signs that at such a period she will awake, and the event takes place as she has pre-intimated. Then, perhaps, she sings a psalm, or pours out her soul in prayer. By and by she is seized with blindness, from which she recovers, as in the other instance. Perhaps when bereft of sight, she will seize a Bible or New Testament, and, to the astonishment of every one, point to some pertinent passage of Holy Writ. By and by she will naiTate the wondrous scenes she saw when locked in the mysterious " sleep " from which she has just emerged. At one time she has been transported to the regions of the blest, and mingled with the rapt choristers before the eternal throne ; and then what radiant visions of the exalted Saviour, and of the surpassing glories of His regal state and kingdom ! She sees and recognises some of those who have gone before, and wishes she may never more be separated from their blest society. There, too, she marks the provision made for those who are yet to join the white-robed company, but who are yet doomed to the toil and warfare of the earthly pilgrimage. That empty niche in the eternal mansions, with its flashing crown as yet unclaimed, and its robe all pure and lustrous hanging by — ah ! they are laid up there for some dear saint, mayhap her minister, who is erelong to enter the unpolluted city, and mingle with its stainless denizens. Sometimes, however, she is conversant with far other scenes ; and, visiting the doleful shades, although without partaking of their misery, she will delineate in vivid colouring the horrors of the " outer dark- ness." It will be readily understood how such pictorial descriptions were caught up by the eager listeners, and how the uneducated part of the community regarded those who uttered them with something of religious awe and veneration, so persuaded were they of the miraculous nature of the affections that had given birth to these unwonted revelations. Much injury, however, was done by the encouragement of this class of "manifestations." Those who experienced them were run after as a wonder, and their announcements treasured up as though they were the EXTENT OF THE MOVEMENT. 119 immediate product of inspiration. Attention was diverted from the essentials of the great work to some of its most painful accompaniments ; and there w^as cause seriously to appre- hend that in some instaaces the bodily disease thus gene- rated so far extended its sad influence, as to overshadow altogether religious impressions. I shall refer hereafter to cases in which, by the judicious interference of ministers and others, the " sleepers " were effectually awoke out of their cherished slumbers. Meanwhile it is enough to state tliat the phenomena in question had nothing either of miracle or mystery about them, but may be explained by the laws which regulate the action of the mental on the material frame. All these deplorable attendants on the movement, however, have long since passed away ; while a healthier state of public feeling in regard to such affections now happily prevails over the entire Ulster community. Respecting the extent of the movement in Belfast, I may observe, that although many in different districts were brought under its influence, yet, in a community consisting of at least 120,000, of whom there were tens of thousands, both Roman Catholics and others, of the lowest grade in point of intellectual and moral culture, it was not to be expected that such a change would be effected as would sensibly elevate the character of the general population — especially of that class which, in our great towns and cities, so largely contributes to swell the records of vice and crime.* * See Appendix B. CHAPTER IX. THE REVWAL AEOUND BELFAST. The Valley of the Six-Mile Water — The Work and the Counterwork— The Eevival in Carnmoney — Prayer for its Coming — Visit of a Belfast Merchant — A Hundred at Once — " I have Prayed him out" — The Old Pensioner — The Drunken Tradesman— Ballycarry — Heavy Blow to Unitarianism — Pastor's Work at Last — Bally easton — The Pastor's Last Communion — Gathered Fruit — Dundrod, Exciting Narrative of the Work in — The Pastor's Hopes and Fears — His Visit to the First Awakened — The Struggle and the Victory — The Meetings in Open Air and Chvirch — Saturday Evening and Sabbath in the Church and Graveyard — The Men "Coming Over" — A Young Deborah — Another, and her Fellow- Labourer — The Valley of Vision in a Dream — The Farm-Servant in the Field — Dagon Falling before the Ark — The Subsiding Flood — Ripple on the Waters — The Phenomena of " the Marks." Two hundred years ago, no district in Ulster was so highly favoured as that which lay along the Six-Mile Water in the vicinity of the town of Antrim. It is interesting to notice that the late revival broke out on that side Connor first, in the con- gregation of Donegore, and on the very scene of the ministra- tions of some of the early fathers. There had for months be- fore been an increasing seriousness, but it was not till Sabbatli the 22d of May that any decided conversion-change was mani- fested ; while on that following there was a mighty power at work, prompting the imploring cry for mercy. Many have been savingly influenced, as has since been shewn by their consist- ent walk and conversation. It is lamentable to think, however, that nowhere did the work encounter more decided opposition : some who had been regarded as decided followers of the Lamb, ranging themselves on the side of Satan, and thus throwing a REVIVAL IN CARNMONEY. 121 great stumbling-block in the way of young inquirers after the way to Zion. Although many stand fast in faith and practice, there is too much reason to fear that the majority are still high-minded, and walk under the influence of the powers of this present world. Some mercy-drops have fallen in this dry valley, but the shower of blessing is yet to come. " When the Lord is about to visit a neighbourhood in mercy," says the Rev. Joseph Barklie, of Carnmoney, " He usually puts it into His people s hearts to pray for it. It was so here — for having heard what the Lord was doing in other places, a deep anxiety pervaded every bosom that we should not be passed by; and although there were no formal concerts for prayer, there was many a praying Jacob, in the family and in the closet, wrestling for a blessing. One lady in particular, months before its appearance, said to a friend, 'We shall shortly have the revival with us,' And on being asked why she said so, ' Because,' she replied, ' the Lord has put it into my heart to pray for it.' Others, I am aware, were expecting and praying for it likewise. The answer was not long delayed, but it came in a way none of us had anticipated. A Christian merchant from Belfast, on the first Sabbath in June, felt constrained, as he said himself, though unsolicited, to come out and address us on the subject of revivals, and to tell us more especially of what he had himself witnessed of the Lord's doings on the previous night ; and although there was nothing in his address, so far as man could judge, calculated to produce an impression, yet that evening two females, m their own houses, were in deep distress about their souls, accompanied by great bodily weak- ness. A few evenings after, the same gentleman addressed an immense meeting in the church, and never perhaps was there a more striking illustration of the words, ' Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord.' For barely had he spoken ten sentences, and these not remarkable for power or persuasiveness, or anything of the kind, when one and another were ' stricken down,' crying to the Lord for mercy ; and then the glory of the Lord so filled the house, that it became a literal Bochim, and before morning it was computed that not 1 22 THE WORK PROGIIESSES, less than fifty souls had found peace in believing. Never can that night be forgotten here. The wail of the ' convicted ' and the songs of the rejoicing were heard afar; as in Ezra's time, when the foundation of the Lord's house was laid, many ' we])t Avith a loud voice, and many shouted aloud for joy ; so that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people. . . . And the noise was heard afar ofl'.' A few weeks later, our communion was held ; and on the evening following, so glorious was the manifestation of the kSpirit's presence and power, that upwards of one hundred may be said to have been brought to Christ from one meeting alone. It is, indeed, ' a night to be long remembered ' in this place ; day had dawned before the last of the stricken ones had found peace; and in the calm of a summer's morning, the songs of thanksgiving were heard for miles, as happy bands of re- joicing believers wended their way homewards, praising God for His mercy ; and if there was joy on earth, higher far was the joy in heaven over those repenting sinners returning to the Lord. " Before that week had closed, multitudes of strong young men and women from among the farming population were gathered to Christ, and for long nothing was more common than to hear of numbers finding peace in their own homes, and in several instances the day-schools had to be dismissed, in consequence of the children being ' stricken down ; ' while, in one case, an entire school, even while attending to the secular department of the business, was Hterally prostrated, one-half of which, say from thirty to forty, are now rejoicing in Christ. Strong men who looked upon that scene wept outright ; and few could hear these children pray, after they had found peace, without feeling that the Spirit was poured out upon them of a truth. The work is still progressing steadily, though in a more silent and imperceptible manner than heretofore. Earely a week passes that I do not hear of one or more conversions ; and I am confi- dent I do not exaggerate when I say, (and to God be all the glory I) that within the bounds of this congregation alone, not fewer than from three to four hundred souls profess to have THE OLD PENSIONER. 123 found peace during the past six or eight months. It is a cause of much thankfulness to be enabled further to state, that, ^^ithout almost an exception, their 'conversation is such as becometh the gospel of Christ.' A marked and marvellous change is now visible over the entire district. Twenty prayer- meetings are held weekly, where not one was in existence before. Mere factory lads and girls are holding their concerts for prayer. A short time ago one of the little fellows came to me, saying, ' See, sir, this is my comrade in the mill ; I have prayed him met, and he is now rejoicing with me.'' Those who have found Christ themselves are most anxious to bring others to Him; and hence, whilst teachers for our Sabbath schools could not be had some time ago, there is no lack of them at present. There is an air of spiritual beauty now resting on the moral landscape here that is quite refreshing. Total abstinence is the order of the day. Even moderate drinking has all but dis- appeared ; while drunkenness, except in the case of a few old topers, is altogether unknown — and even of the most confirmed of them we do not despair, as God has already plucked many such out of the fire. The line of demarcation betwixt the Church and the world is now marked and distinct. Torpor h'as given place to activity ; the stillness and malaria of the stagnant pool, to the rushing of the waters of life. ' The wilderness and solitary place is glad for them, and the desert rejoicing and blossoming as the rose ; ' but of this the reader may form an opinion for himself, from the following specimen cases, out of a variety too numerous to mention : — " No. 1 is a pensioner, fifty-five or sixty years old, who, prior to the revival, was addicted to drink and other vices. At the commencement of the awakening here, he was brought under conviction, and for long was to be found at the prayer-meetings ' seeking rest and finding none.' The Lord, however, at length visited him in mercy, and from that hour he was a changed man. Like Flockhart, the Edinburgh street-preacher, he forth- with began to tell sinners what the Lord had done for his soul, and to enlist them into the ser\dce of Prince Messiah, as he formerly had done into the service of his earthly sovereign. 124 THE DRUNKEN TRADESSIAN. At the very first meeting he addressed, though he spoke with unlearned lips and a stammering tongue, several persons were crying for mercy. Since then he has been signally owned and honoured of the Lord ; and now, on days when the veterans are reviewed at Belfast, or attend to receive their pensions, he may be seen exhorting his old companions in arms to enrol their names on the list of total abstainers, or to close with the gospel offers of mercy ; while at the meetings for prayer he is ever foremost in urging sinners to repentance, and to flee from the wrath to come. Never shall we forget his address to an aged sinner (since dead) on the morning after his conversion — 'O Robert, now I have taken Christ, won't you take Him too 1 He saved me, the chief of sinners, and He will save you. man, close with Him now ; " for now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation." ' " No. 2 is a tradesman, who was regarded by all who knew him a few months before the revival as a hopeless and irre- claimable drunkard. He seldom, if ever, went to a house of worship, but was to be found every Lord's-day either in the taverns, or staggering along the public highway, or lying in a ditch, dead drunk. He was led to attend a prfiyer-meeting addressed by a layman, and was more disposed to mock than to profit by what he heard ; but just as the speaker was about to close, he pointed to a tree hard by, and said, ' That tree will testify at the day of judgment that salvation has been offered to you, and you have wilfully and wickedly rejected it.' These words went like an arrow right into his soul, and never per- mitted him to rest day or night until he gave himself to Christ. When he found peace he said to his aged mother, who had kept up family prayer, ' Mother, many a time you have prayed for me, and I ran out of the house to get away from you and your prayers, but they are heard at last.' He is now a sober, steady Christian man, and may be seen every Lord's day in his house of worship, sitting at the feet of Jesus, and clothed, in his right mind. No earthly inducement could now prevail upon him to enter a public-house ; and already the blessings and benefits of religion are manifest on his outer man and the exterior of his HEAVY BLOW TO UNITAEIANISM. 125 dwelling ; for the money that formerly went into the till of the publicans is expended on the purchase of comfortable cloth- ing, and in making additions to his premises. ' Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire 1 ' " No. 3 is a young man of property, who delighted in field sports, and who, from his position in society, had many hangers- on — ' lewd fellows of the baser sort ' — addicted to almost every vice, and who were countenanced and encouraged by him in their evil practices, and not unfrequently supplied wdth the means of indulging in them. A great and blessed change, how- ever, has come over him. He is no longer the patron of vice, but the promoter of virtue ; and on the evening of the Lord's- day he is now to be seen siurounded by his former associates in a Bible-class, opened for their special benefit, seeking to lead them to that Saviour whose power and preciousness he has felt in his own heart, and inculcating the principles of truth and righteousness upon them. " Such are a few instances out of many, of the power of Divine grace in this congregation." A few miles distant from the place last noticed is Ballycarry, of which the Rev. John Stuart writes as follows : — " Here was erected the first Presbyterian church in Ireland. Here the Rev. Edward Brice, in 1613, unfurled the banner of Scotland's covenant, and began preaching the everlasting gospel. Two faithful and godly ministers were his successors, and then for eighty long years the church lay under the incubus of Arianism — the frozen zone of Christianity. The God, however, who reserved to Himself seven thousand souls who had not bowed the knee to the image of Baal, reserved here a goodly remnant which adhered to the Synod of Ulster when, in 1829, their minister and a portion of his flock openly aban- doned the faith of God's people. Since that time, our church, like the house of David, has waxed stronger and stronger, and ' Unitarianism,' as the heresy is now called, like the house of Saul, has waxed weaker and weaker. God's gracious 'Re- vival,' which commenced early in May last, has still more added to our members. Through the mighty working of the 126 PASTORS WORK AT LAST. Holy Spirit on the hearts of sinners, forty souls have been brought from under that Christless system into the communion of our church, and God has bestowed on some of them, both males and females, wonderful power of prayer and fluency of expression. "After more than seven months' experience, I can boldly and fearlessly bear my testimony to the blessed fruits and marvel- lous results of this mighty movement. I have not confined my labours to my own locality. I have preached and delivered addresses hi many a town and village, and in many a country parish, of several counties ; and when I gazed on the hundreds and sometimes the thousands by whom I was surrounded, I could not but exclaim, ' Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows ?' Society appeared to be stirred up to its lowest depths. "Amongst ourselves here in this extensive district, God's right hand and holy arm have won many victories. Never Avas there such a summer as the last ; never such an autumn ; never such a winter, so far as it has gone. Hundreds have been savingly converted to the Lord. Some ' stricken' down when the Spirit came upon them like a 'rushing mighty wind.' Others con- vinced and converted whilst He spake to their consciences by the ' still small voice.' The first effect of the revival was, that ' fear came upon every souV Then was our church filled to suffo- cation, and we were obliged to take to the open fields to declare the message of mercy to a hungering and thirsting population. The hitherto unoccupied pews were ardently sought after. All were engaged. The aisles were filled with forms crowded with anxious hearers, and now preaching became a luxury. I had Pastor's work to do. I had living men and living women before me. They came to the sanctuary on the sole errand of obtaining the 'bread of life.' Every Sabbath was a day of 'sweet refreshing.' On every week-day evening 'they that feared the Lord spake to one another, and the Lord hearkened and heard,' and ' there were added to the church daily such as should be saved.' Of all the stricken ones — two hundred in number — I do not know of one backslider." THE PASTORS LAST COMMUNION. 127 In the neighbouring district of Ballyeaston, there is a melan- choly interest attaching to the work, for it was while he was engaged in it that a devoted minister, the Rev. A. Pollock, fell a victim to his exciting labours. In a letter written but a few days before his death, he thus describes his last communion Sabbath with his people : — "The joy of converts, the cry of penitence, the wailing of friends, reminded me of the building of the second temple, when some shouted and others wept. Our tokens were soon all given away, which never happened before. About one hundred had to be provided for on Sabbath morning, and we could not persuade the people to disperse. On Sabbath morning the house was filled to overflowing, and, with httle preparation, it was no easy task to ascend the pulpit. I addressed them from the words, ' Get thee up, eat and drink ; for there is a sound of abundance of rain.' The Holy Ghost was there indeed, as a mighty rushing wind. Many were removed ; and in the evening the green was filled, and no man can tell the number of the souls which were added to the church. The young converts wished to go to the first table, and sit together. We saw their eyes beaming with the light of heaven, their faces shining like angels', their hearts heaving with the love of Jesus, and their hands clapping with joy before the God of Jacob. Such a table ! It was a foretaste of heaven. All was in accordance with order, nothing extravagant, no extraordinary excitement. God was there ; and all were bowed before Him. To Him be glory!" "One of the first-fruits of the revival in our congregation," says the Rev. H. Leebody, of Ballinderry, " has gone home to heaven, leaving a blessed and a glorious testimony behind him. I spoke at the house the evening previous to his interment, and also the day of the funeral. We had a large attendance of all sects and parties, and even those who had been most opposed to this blessed work had to confess that the young man who had departed had shewn both in his life and in his death the power of saving grace. Before the coffin was closed, his father, kneeling beside the remains of his son, blessed God for the 128 NARRATIVE OF THE WORK IN DUNDROD. woT'k which had been wrought In him w^ho had departed, and fervently entreated that every member of the family might feel as he felt whom Jesus had taken home." In no part of the country, so far as I am aware, was there a more genuine and in every way satisfactory work than in that to w^hich the following exciting narrative refers. Its minister, the Rev. William Magill, was from the outset intensely soli- citous that the community among whom he labours should be brought under the power of the gracious influence : — "The revival commenced here on the 10th of June. On the morning of that day, I rose from my bed impressed with the thought that something strange and wonderful was about to happen in Dundrod. I cannot account for the feeling, but I had a strong presentiment, not of evil, but of coming good. I had been in Belfast the day previously, and had leant over the prostrate bodies of men and women labouring under strong conviction of sin. I had heard, for the first time in my life, the sighs and groans of breaking hearts, and witnessed with a feeling of wonder and awe, the mental agony and the terrible struggle of souls wrestling with ' the principalities and powers of darkness,' and ' contending earnestly ' for life and liberty ; and when the battle was won, I heard with almost equal wonder the shout of victory, like the pealing of a trumpet on the field from which the enemy has fled. I came home filled with strange thoughts, cherishing high hopes, and breathing earnest prayers that the Lord would come over the mountains and visit my people. " I expected something, and I was not disappointed. When dressing on the following morning, I observed a man approach- ing the manse, and the thought at once arose in my mind. This man is perhaps coming for me — the work is begun. It was even so. I was soon on my way to his house. He told me as we went, that one of his daughters, after returning home from the prayer-meeting, had fallen ill, strangely ill — that she was up all night, and had raised the whole family to engage in prayer with her and for her — that she had never ceased praying and reading all night, and when he left her she was worse than ever, A NOVEL GEOUP. 129 and lie feared she was ' going wrong in her mind.' He had done all he could to pacify her, and said to her, if she wanted to be converted, to take the matter coolly, and not create an uproar about the house to alarm the neighbours. A Novel Group, — "Before reaching the house, I heard her voice in loud and earnest and continuous prayer. When I opened the door and looked in, I saw her mother and two sisters, all on their knees and in tears. In the centre of the group, the picture of woe was the ' stricken one,' mth eyes upturned to heaven, and face covered and seamed with tears. Her arms were now extended to their utmost length, as if to grasp some distant and coveted object, and then brought together with violence as she clasped her hands, as if in mortal agony, whilst from her lips there burst forth words of fire, as living streams from a burning mountain. ' Christ, help me ! Lord Jesus, save my guilty soul ! Jesus, come, come soon, and give relief to my guilty soul ! O thou quickening Spirit, come ! Oh, create in me a new heart, a clean heart ! Oh, take away this hard and stony heart, and give me a heart of flesh ! ' Then as her eye rested on me as I stood riveted to the spot, witnessing in silence this exciting and wonderful scene, for I never had heard such prayers before, she exclaimed, mthout rising from her kneeling posture, ' Oh, here is my minister ! I knew I would have no peace till he came. Oh come, come, pray for my guilty soul ! ' I knelt beside her and prayed, her voice accompanying mine all the time, while her expressions at intervals were so rich, varied, and scriptural, that I had often to pause, and then to follow instead of lead, as text after text from Old and New Testament, prophet and psalmist, Christ and apostle were changed into beautiful and impassioned prayer. Such asking, seeking, ?tri\ing to enter the ' kingdom,' I never saw before. It was, indeed, Mercy knocking her loudest knocks at the door of the heavenly mansion, so that the Lord himself, startled by the peals which rouse up all the inmates, comes quickly, and with a smile opens the door, and takes her by the hand and brings her in. " The struggle is over. She rises up, and begins the song of I 130 THE STRUGGLE AND THE VICTORY. triumph. What a change — a perfect transformation 1 The cloud is passed away, and God, like the sun in his glory, is lifting up on her the light of His countenance. Her eye, as she sings, is lighted up with strange and unearthly fire. Her voice is no longer tremulous and plaintive, but now rings like a trumpet ; while her whole face is covered with a smile, such as we might suppose an angel to wear. " 'Let us sing,' said she again, 'the 51st Psalm. Oh, I bless God for that psalm, and for all the psalms I learned in the Sunday- school and Bible-class.' I may here remark that the Psalms have been with all the converts here sources of gxeat joy. 'What would we have done without the Psalms?' was an ex- clamation often heard. ' Sir,' said a servant girl to her master, after hearing the 51st, 130th, and 116th Psalms, 'surely some persons long ago must have felt as I feel, for those psalms seem to have been written for their use and comfort.'* " When the psalm was sung, ' Now,' said our first convert, ' father, mother, sisters, down on your knees, and we will pray for you. O Lord, save my father, and mother, and sister,' &c. At her request I read to the family the second chapter of Acts and sang the 60th Paraphrase ; and during the singing another * " Ah, how these rude chants of our ancestors go to the heart at such times ! The Psalms are our epic, but an epic more deep and real than ever was written or sung by any people; an interminable poem, of which each, one of us becomes in his turn the author; a sacred trea- sure of personal and individual remembrances, joys, sorrows, desires, heaped up with national associations ; not a verse, not a strophe, but is quite a history or a poem. This was sung by a mother beside the cradle of her first-born ; this other, one of our martyrs sang on his way to death ; this is the song of the Vaudois returning in arms to their country ; this that of the Camisards marching to battle. This verse is one that the balls of our enemy interrupted ; that other is one of which a father, when expiring, murmvired the half, and went to finish it with the angels. Oh, our psalms, our psalms ! who could ever express in human words what your language is to us in our solitudes, on that soil red with our blood, and under the vault of that heaven from whence they look down upon xis who have prayed, and wept, and s\ing before us ! " — Bungener's France before the Revolution, i., p. 110. OPEN-AIR PRAYER-MEETING. 131 sister, who was standing with a child in her arms, fell to the ground, and went through the same process, being, if possible, more violent, rolling in the floor in agony, tearing her hair, wringing her hands, and in heart-rending tones exclaiming, ' Oh, is there no pardon for mel I am too gi'eat a sinner to be forgiven. God, for Christ's sake, save me, save me.' Her sister, now filled with joy, stands over her like a ministering spirit, and cheers her by gospel promises and earnest prayer. ' Now,' said she, ' I shall have a sister in the Lord. Who would have thought of it — two souls converted this morning in this house]' Effect of the Strange Tidings. — "The Lord had begun His work- The strange news spread from Hp to lip, house to house, over the country. Like the ' fiery cross,' it roused the people, and old and young, men and women, husbands and wives, little girls and mothers with infants in their arms, ran to witness the strange doings, and hear the wild, wondrous, but heavenly words that flowed from the lips of these plain country girls, changed in a few hours by the Spirit of the Lord into 'new creatures.' What is this 1 Is this conversion ? Is this the work of the Spirit of the Lord 1 Has God come down to earth] Are the 'last days come?' or have these girls gone mad ? are asked on every hand. The reply is — These are the last days, and God is beginning to pour out His Spirit on ' all flesh.' " "That evening a prayer-meeting was held at this house in the open air, in the street before the door. It was a still, fine summer evening, and under the clear, open sky hundreds of all ranks and ages met to unite in prayer, looking up to Heaven for a blessing. Farmers and farm-servants, men, women, and little children, Roman Catholics and Protestants of various names, knelt together on the hard ground, reviving the recollection of primitive times, and forgetting or overlooking for the time every mark of distinction in the common awe which all felt, and in the earnest prayer which all offered up to God. A psalm is sung, a word of exhortation given, and prayer offered up, and the benediction pronounced, but the multitude stand still. 132 GRAVEYARD SCENE. Anotlier psalm is sung, and now tlie converts rush in among their friends and neighbours, shouting, pleading, and with heaving hearts, and sparkling eyes, and beaming countenances, and in strange, sweet tones, telling of their new-born joys. The multitude heaves to and fro like a ship in a storm ; and like drunken men in the streets the people stagger and fall with a shout or a deep sigh. Tears are shed, and groans, as if from dying men, are heard. Prayer and praise, tears and smiles, mingle together. Husbands and wives are locked in each other's arras, weeping and praying together ; while those who came to scoff stand still, and in ' fear and trembling ' contem- plate this strange thing that is going on before their eyes. The dead are rising from their graves, as if at the sound of the archangel's trumpet, for the Lord is quickening those who were dead in trespasses and sins. As the people separated, they formed into groups, and marched to their respective homes, some singing, some praying, some mourning, and some rejoicing. One or two had to remain all night. " Each meeting exhibited all the features of the first one, with some little variety. Some were in the first, and some in the second stage, some weeping, and others rejoicing, some calm and still, some again sutYering intense agony, and yet in their agony praising the Lord for not passing them by. Some were very weak, and for days partook of no food. 'I will not,' said one, ' eat nor drink until I have found peace ; ' and she kept her word; and then, like David, when the trial was over, she rose up and washed herself, and joyfully partook of what was set before her. " On the first Saturday evening when we met in the church for prayer, the scene was indescribable ; the groups from all the districts to which the revival had spread, and it spread with amazing rapidity, came literally ' walking, and leaping, and prais- ing God ;' and as they rushed into each other's arms, straining and pressing each other to their breasts in the front of the pulpit and up the alleys, the people ' were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto them.' Church and Graveyard Scene.— " On the following Sabbath THE MEN COMING NOW. 133 the work went on. AiTangements were made to keep down excitement, and confine the converts to their own seats, and the public services were not disturbed. In the evening, for the first time, a neighbouring minister came to my aid, and a layman from Belfast also joined in our services. I gave a short address, statmg what the Lord had done among us, when one of the converts, our first one, rose, and with beaming countenance and eyes, which told of the joys within the heart, said a few things to the people, when here and there throughout the church, parties rose and went out, labouring under deep con- viction, and immediately the graveyard is filled with groups singing and praying around the prostrate bodies of men and women. Some are as in a trance, others crying for mercy. Some are still falling into the arms of friends, and sinking as into a swoon. Some stagger to a distance, and drop on their knees to pray over the graves of the dead ; and a few rush to the gates, and fly in terror from the scene. The converts are flying from group to group, and raise the loud shout of triumph as one after another, like the jailor of Philippi, is seen trembling and heard crying out, ' What shall I do to be saved '? ' Up to this evening the work had gone on chiefly among the females ; soon, however, the men were impressed ; and I shall never for- get the look and shout of joy with which one of these females proclaimed the triumph of the Lord, when strong men were writhing in agony, or stretched out still and calm, but with clasped hands and heaving heart, on the graves around. I think I see her now — her bonnet hanging behind her head, her Bible in her hand above her head — and I hear still her shout, ^ The men are coining noiu I — the men are coming noiv !'' For ten days and more the whole country was in a state of intense excitement. A Young Deborah. — " I met one of them when going to visit a man and his wife. She had visited some houses, read, exhorted, and prayed. ' The Lord,' said she to all the people in these houses, 'has sent me to bring you to Him. He is waiting for you. 'Arise, and follow me." And strange, but true, they ' immediately rose and followed her.' A widow 134 A YOUNG DEBOEAH. woman, her sons and grandchildren, a mother with one child in her arms, and another at her feet, trembling and in tears, girls and boys who had risen from their looms, and men who had dropped their spades, and left their work in the open fields, all followed her across the country, while she marched at their head like a general. ' Here,' said she, when I met her, pointing to her train of followers, ' is my day's work ; is it not a good one ? They wanted me to stay at home, but I would not, for I knew that the Lord had work for me to do. He has given me these.' ' Jx dear,' said I, ' do be quiet, and don't excite yourself, or people will say you are going mad.' She drew her- self up in the most commanding manner, and measuring me from head to foot, exclaimed, 'I am astonished at you, Mr M ; did you not teach me in your Sunday-school and Bible class? Oh, I can teach the children now. I will bring them to Jesus. Must I not do the will of my heavenly Father ? Oh, I have a Father noiv. Do you not remember the words of Jesus, when the Pharisees reproved Him because He did not silence the little children who shouted Hosanna as He marched into Jerusalem I — ' If these should hold their peace, immediately the very stones would cry out.' I cannot hold my peace. It is not I, but the Spirit of the Lord, that is speaking.' I was awed into silence as I stood before this young Deborah, and in the meantime fell into the rear, and became one of her followers. It is right to state that in a few days she calmed down, and became what she stiU continues to be — a warm-hearted, zealous, and consistent follower of Jesus. The excitement is gone, but not the Spirit which gave it birth. She did her work. She roused the country, and then retired into private life, and in the quiet home of the family circle she and her sisters are adorning the doctrine of the gospel by a becoming walk and conversa- tion. Indeed it is pleasing to have to record the same testi- mony in favour of all the other converts in Dundrod without a single exception. Though numbering upwards of two hundred, no evil things as yet can be said of one of them. The Woj'k in the Country Round. — "These things which I have described took place in and around Dundrod, the church ANOTHER, AND HER FELLOW-LABOURER. 135 being the centre ; but in other parts of the country the work went on satisfactorily, but especially in a wide district lying between us and the Belfast mountains. Here the progress was truly amazing. Had the French landed in Belfast, and the news spread that they were on their march toward us, there could not have been greater commotion among the people. Many had been stricken down at Dundrod, and brought into the district, and every house was a kind of hospital, filled with the wounded, from whose wounds arrows were plucked to wound afresh those who stood around them. The cry on all sides was, ' The Lord is at hand, go ye out to meet Him' — ' The day of the Lord is come.' When I visited the district I found that all labour was completely suspended, and that all the people were running in groups from house to house. The mourning was in its extent, if nut in its nature, like that of Egypt. In some houses at one time I counted more than a score, old and young, more or less affected. The people here seemed to 'take it' with wonderful rapidity. There was a regular chain of meetings kept up night and day, each meeting feeding the flame of zeal, and from each, as from a burning altar, live coals were taken to touch the cold lips, and fire the dead souls of the few ' careless ones' elsewhere. Anotlier Deborah and her Felloiv -labourer. — "One girl was highly blessed and honoured in this district. She had been at Dundrod, and was there converted. It had the honour of being, as she said, her birthplace. She was well acquainted with the Scriptures, and was correct and blameless in her life. She said to me, ' I thought I was a good girl, but I was all wrong. I never was on the narrow way till now. I knew I was sound in the faith, but I wanted a quickening.' She got the quickening, and the change was wonderful. She was all alive, all on fire, and went through the country from house to house exhorting the careless ; but her chief delight was in comforting those who were mourners. She soon found a fellow-labourer. A young- man in her neighbomrhood, of wild and reckless habits, treats the revival with scorn, and forbids his sisters to go too near, lest they might bring the plague home with them ; for some 136 NEW-BORN FREEDOM. actually shunned at first, and others fled from our meet- ings in perfect terror, lest they might 'take the revival,' for they were afraid they could not 'stand it.' Like many pro- fessing Christians, they had no objection to wear the crown, but they would not endure the cross ; they would enter heaven, but not through the strait gate, or along the thorny path of much tribulation. They could not but envy the joys, but they shunned the sorrows of the children of God. God had, how- ever. His eye on this young man, and the Spirit guided the young girl to his father's house. She is resolved on conquest. She lays a gentle hand on his shoulder, and, fixing her eyes on him, says, ' Archy, won't you come 1 I know you '11 come. Come to Jesus. I see it in your eye, you are coming. Pray, Archy, pray for the Spirit.' And now they are on their knees together ; while father and mother, and sisters and brothers, stand awhile in wonder, then kneel too, and all pray for the Spirit of God. Nor did they pray in vain. The young man struggles, feels a choking sensation in the throat, and a pressure on his heart ; his bosom heaves with strange emotions. The strong man is bowed down, the hard heart is softening, the Spmt is striving ; and now the struggle is over, and another Saul stands up, and, rejoicing in his new-born freedom, asks work, saying, ' Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ? ' The work is given, and with all his heart he sets about doing it. In his family he works, and all the inmates are changed; father, mother, sisters, and brothers, blessing God for bringing salva- tion into their house. Now he flies in breathless haste to rouse his sleeping neighbours and friends. He stands up in the midst of hundreds in the open-air meetings proclaiming the glad tidmgs of salvation, and glorying in the possession of a light, and life, and joy, never felt nor dreamed of before. He seeks his old companions, whom he led in many a revel; and on the following Sabbath, in the face of the most crowded and solemn assembly ever held among us, he marches up at the head of nearly one hundred individuals, who, in front of the pulpit, sign the total abstinence pledge. His mission does not end here. He and others visit from house to house, hold THE ^'ALLEY OF VISION IN A DREA3I. 137 prayer-meetiiigs, and the revival spreads around until every family in the district can count its converts ; and in more than one instance whole families 'joy in God, through the Lord Jesus Christ, by whom they had received the atonement.' "The change wrought among this people was strange and sudden ; it was, indeed, from ' darkness to light,' from death to life. The Spuit of God had done for these sleepers in the valley what tradition says Tell will do some day for his native land, when, coming forth from the cave where it is said he sleeps, he shall sound his horn and raise the dead, and fill his native valleys with bands of armed men, ready to unfurl the banner of freedom, and trample tyranny in the dust. But we need not go to profane history or the middle ages for tradi- tionary legend for an illustration of what took place in and around Dundrod, when the Spirit of the Lord came down upon the people and quickened them, even as when He came upon the dry bones in the ' valley of vision.' A Curious Dream. — " In connexion with this wondrous vision, which has been realised almost to the life in all its parts in the midst of us, I may here relate a strange dream by one of the converts, a married man, in mid life, a plain, uneducated, work- ing man, who told me he never remembered having read, or heard read, the passage in Ezekiel to which his dream bears such a marked resemblance. He was smitten down when going home from one of our prayer-meetings, and while sitting in his house, had in his half-sleepy, trance-like state the following dream or vision : — ' I saw,' said he, ' in one spot, a pile of bones all in a heap, and in another place a heap of raw flesh. Then I saw a strange hand from a shadowy form take the bones one by one, and arrange them in their proper order into a skeleton. Then going to the other heap it took piece after piece of the flesh, and put them all over the bones, and then unfolding some thin transparent substance like skin, it spread it over the body, fitting it to it. Then there was a rushing as of wind, and immediately the body stood upright, and I started, for it was myself. I had seen God making iiu over again. I was a new creature, A table was set before me, on which was 138 THE FARM-SERVANT IN THE FIELD. a pipe and a tumbler of whisky, to try me, and shew that I ivas clmnged. I could not touch either, though I was both a drinker and a smoker.' 'And have you,' said I, when he finished his narrative, which I have given almost in his own words, ' given up the pipe and the bottle V ' / liave^ said he, * and have felt no desire for either ever since.' " There is life now in the people, a new, a spiritual life. The Spirit has quickened hundreds who were 'dead in trespasses and sins.' The cry is heard on all sides, 'Such times, such glorious times ! the Lord indeed is come.' Prayers issue from lips that never moved in audible prayer before ; and oh, such prayers, so rich in Scripture language, so fervent, for icy hearts are melted as if by fire from heaven. Men and women pray ; father follows son, or a sister a brother, like the gallant leaders of some forlorn hope. When the foremost have fallen in the track, others passing behind push on, resolved to take heaven by force, and not to yield until they themselves, and their friends, stand within the city of God. The Farm-servant in the Field. — Having heard one day that a young man, a farm-servant, had been brought under convic- tion, I went to see him. I called at his master's house, but was told that nothing was known of it ; and I went in search of him to some neighbouring houses in which were converts, thinking it probable he might have gone there. On my way I heard sounds from a field by the wayside, and following with my eye the direction of the sound, saw a number of individuals kneeling at some distance at the back of a ditch, and as I approached I found they were engaged in prayer. He had taken ill in the field, where he had been weeding corn. At a distance lay the implement of husbandry which had dropped from his hands. Friends had gathered around him : a psalm was sung, and now they are engaged in prayer. He prays ; another and another follows, and when I thought all had ended, I heard the sweet, earnest, pleading voice of a young girl, who, from the first night, was prominent among the happy converts ; and she rose with a smile, and all rejoiced, for their prayers being ended, the young man stood in the midst of CLOSING OF A PUBLIC-HOUSE. 139 them, blessing and praising God, and receiving their warm congratulations. "Prayer-meetings are appointed in the several districts of the congregation, but wherever there is an earnest seeking soul, the people meet for prayer. The songs of Zion, the Psalms of David, those glorious psalms, never so much prized as now, ascend from almost every house. And in the still summer evening, strains of heavenly music seem to float on the tremu- lous air. Imagination is busy, and no wonder, and men pause on the highway to catch the sweet sounds, now soft and low, rising and falling, and now ringing like the chimes of church- bells. They thought the angels were above and around them. They thought they heard the festive chimes of heaven, the pealing of the bells in the city of God, as the heavenly host pro- claimed the triumphs which their Lord was achieving over His foes on the earth. ' Hark, how they sweetly sing, Worthy is our Saviour King ; Loud let His praises ring. Praise^ praise for aye.' Closing of a Puhlic-liouse. — "There were many delightful scenes witnessed during the progress of the ' revival ' here, not alluded to in the above narrative. It would be impossible to describe them all, or even do more than mention them. I can- not, however, in this record, pass over one which excited great attention at the time, and produced most happy results. I refer to the closing of one of our largest public-houses. The owner did a large business, and was making money fast. He had a wife and rising family to support. But he had a conscience, and had for some time felt uneasy and unhappy in his mind, because he could not reconcile his profession as a Christia>i with his trade as a publican. He has told me, that even before the re^ival, he could not, with profit, sit under my ministr}^ and dared not go to the Lord's table while engaged in such accursed business. The revival came. It roused his conscience afresh, and she mounted her throne, and gave him no rest until 140 DAGON FALLING BEFORE THE ARK. her riglit to reign was acknowledged. In his neighbourhood, particularly in one house, were many cases of conviction, and many meetings. He attended them all ; saw, and heard, and judged for himself. He said to me one morning, 'I want to consult you about this business of mine ; I don't like it, I have long felt unhappy in it, I will give it up. Shall I do so now — novj^ or wait until I sell out my stock V I gave him my opinion, and on that same evening every puncheon of whisky, and barrel of beer and ale, every bottle and glass, and every article used in the trade had disappeared ; and on the next morning I saw their vacant spaces filled with barrels and bags of meal and flour, sides of bacon, &c. This was a noble triumph. Dagon had fallen before the ark of God. One fountain of t\i\ — only evil — is closed for ever. Great is the amazement of the traveller, when he calls the next day for his customary glass, and he opens his eyes, and stares and wonders ; and " Still his wonder grows " when he steps out of the shop and finds that the signboard is gone. ' 'Tis strange, passing strange ! either God or the devil is here. Some say, ' J. T. is gone mad Hke the rest. He has been bewitched ; he has taken the revival.' He has indeed, and has therefore renounced the devil and all his works. In the public meeting, good men heartily joined in the prayer from the pul- pit, ' God bless him, and reward him an hundredfold ; ' and God heard the prayer, and he is blessed, and rejoices in the smiles of an approving conscience, and is thankful for the grace which enabled him to trample over self and sin. This case gave a great impulse to the whole movement. Another public-house soon closed its doors, and the third, and now the only one in the neighbourhood, gets almost nothing to do, and will soon, it is hoped, pull down its signboard, starved into surrender. " All that is related above occurred within a very short period of time ; for the change that took place was truly wonderful, sudden, and almost miraculous; resembling the transition from winter to summer, and death to life, in some countries of the East. The rain came down in torrents, and at once THZ SUBSIDING FLOOD. 141 flooded the earth, and made it bring forth and bud, giving seed to the sower, and bread to the eater. ' The mountains and the hills brake forth before us into singing, and all the trees of the field did clap their hands, for instead of the thorn came up the fir tree, and instead of the briar came up the myrtle tree.' "Like the retiring waters of the Nile, the flood has sub- sided, but it has left behind it a richer and deeper soil. The good seed, as in Egypt, has been sown, with faith and hope, in great abundance on the surface of the waters, and when it sinks into the soil when the flood has disappeared, we believe it will yield a rich, abundant, and abiding harvest. We have had our years, long years of famine ; but we are now ' eating the good of the land,' and hope to live long on the fruits of the great revival of 1859. "This was all the Lord's doing, and it was wondrous in our eyes. No event since Pentecost has so signally displayed the Divine sovereignty, and so illustrated and established the doc- trine of the free grace of God. "During the flood-tide here, but especially when it began to abate, the surface was somewhat rufiied. There was a little agitation on the face of the waters. Here, as elsewhere, narrow-minded bigotry did its worst to plough up into deep furrows the calm surface which otherwise had remained smooth and clear. But God has brought good out of evil. As in the ocean, while the ripples above set in motion the straws, and create the 'bubbles which float on the abyss,' in the depths beneath there is undisturbed calm ; so the children of God have descended into the unfathomed depths of God's unchanging counsels, and have found peace and undisturbed repose in the eternal love of their covenanted God and Father." There are many other districts in County Antrim in which the work exhibited itself at an early period ; but for an account of these I must refer to the Appendix. Before passing away, however, from the neighbourhood of Belfast, it is necessary to advert to certain physical pheno- mena of a delusive character, that sprang up under the shadow of the revival, and by which for a time many were deceived. 142 THE PHENOMENA OF " THE MAEKS. I allude to what are called the " marks," being neither less nor more than appearances on the body, resembling printed charac- ters, impressed thereon, as it was represented, by a Divine agency. About the beginning of September these new develop- ments began in Belfast to attract attention, and to excite the eager curiosity of the multitude. A young w^oman, for instance, who had been "seized" some three months previously, and who had been the subject of a nervous disease, aggravated by fits of dumbness and the like, would, in conseciuence of her repeated " prophesyings " of the further deprivations she should undergo, come to be regarded as in direct communi- cation with heaven. By and by, however, sceptical people among the bystanders, even in her own humble circle, would begin to question her pretensions. What, then, was to be done? How were the unbelievers to be put to silence, and the vaticinations of the pythoness to be vindicated against the gainsayers? Why, by a notable miracle. Accordingly, strange signs would appear upon her person. Unbaring her bosom or her arm, she would exhibit to the admiring on- lookers a mystic word or symbol, impressed so legibly that all might read and understand. What if the lettering were some- what indistinct, or if the sacred name were incorrectly spelled 1 For this she was in nowise accountable. She was only passive in the hand of a higher agent. All unbelief would vanish before the preternatural authentication. The intelligence of this new phase in the movement naturally produced a wonderful sensation. Hundreds flocked to witness, the extraordinary phenomenon, and though the more discrimi- nating might shrewdly conjecture that the "'marks" could be accounted for without any other than a very ordinary interposi- tion, there was enough of credulity in the multitude, to yield assent to them as the genuine operation of a Divine hand. If any questioned their existence, or, in certain cases, could not trace them out distinctly, it was " because they had not been stricken down," and therefore had not the visual organs requi- site for such a delicate perception. Most of the visitors, it was remarked, were expected to jxii/ for the gratification of their " THE MARKS DENOUNCED AS AN niPOSTUEE. 143 curiosity. Sucli instances had begun to increase and multiply to an extent which it was serious to contemplate, when public attention was directed towards them in a way that cast a new Hght on their character. A meeting was held one evening in the town of Lisburn for the purpose of hearing from the lips of one of the ministers (the Rev. Wilham Breakey) a statement bearing on his investigations into these new physical appearances. After a vindication of the revival as a genuine work of the Holy Spirit, the speaker entered on an exposure of the pheno- mena in question, his testimony being corroborated by other witnesses. He stated, in substance, that he had personally ^dsited the parties on whom such marks were found, and that he had no difficulty in coming to the conclusion that they were produced by some clumsy process of manipulation ; and he denounced the whole affair as an imposture, fitted only to delude the credulous, and bring discredit on the work of God. Although it required some little courage to undertake this duty, owing to the excited state of feeling among the common people, the exposure was followed by a rapid return to reason and pro- priety, the furor which so extensively prevailed upon the sub- ject almost immediately subsided, and "the work," in that district at least, was saved the imputation of ministering to the excesses of fanaticism. CHAPTER X. THE REVIVAL AND THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY. Annual Meeting in the Irish Metropolis — Conference on the Ilevival —A Minister's Statement there — Conversion of Four Brothers of the Manse — The Prostrations and Statement of a Medical Member of Assembly — Subsequent Testimony of the Scottish Brethren present—Report on the State of Religion — Resolutions adopted —Mr North in the Assembly — Adjournment occasioned by the Revival — The Meeting in Belfast in September — The Conference Resvimed — Hallowed Character of the entire Proceedings. The meeting of the General Assembly, which was held in the city of Dublin, in the beginning of July 1859, was one of the most memorable convocations tliat ever came together to deli- berate respecting the kingdom and work of God. Tw^elve months before, an unusual solemnity had prevailed during those special services in which the representatives of the Presbyterian Church were occupied in conference and prayer respecting the great revival in another land ; and now that a kindred movement had commenced among themselves, and spread so rapidly within the few months preceding, it was felt on all sides that the occa- sion was invested with an unparalleled and pregnant interest. A short time previously, the attention of the Church had been distracted by questions which had led to painful discords and alienations, and many hearts were agitated, lest the recollections associated with past discussions should mar the harmony or impede the actings of an assembly convened at such a moment- ous crisis. Happily the results were such as greatly tended to cheer the hearts of all the friends of Irish Presbyterianism. The proceedings of the meeting, from the outset, were so arranged as that a prominent place was assigned to the revival COXFEEENCE ON THE EEVIVAL. 145 movement. It was resolved, accordingly, tliat an early day should be set apart, in the first instance, for private conference, and subsequently for public recognition of this great work of God. The adoption of this course was deemed of primary importance, as the awakening was itself a new thing in the midst of us, and certain of its attendant circumstances were so peculiar as to demand the gravest consideration of the highest judicatory of the Church. It was necessary, therefore, that an opportunity should be afforded, in the first instance, for a full statement on the part of those who were more specially conver- sant with the work in its characteristic aspects ; and, in the next place, that a mode of dealing with it should be adopted which could approve itself to the " collective wisdom.'' The confer- ence thus entered on was felt throughout to be an eminently seasonable and edifying occasion. One after another of the members, for nearly four hours, rose in his place to contribute to the general interest, either by a narrative of what he had witnessed in his own congregation, or by the expression of a judgment in regard to what had been communicated by others. The first who presented himself was an esteemed brother in a country district, whose statement was, as it were, the key-note to those that followed. As there were no reporters present, it is impossible to present anything like an adequate account of all that passed in that solemn meeting, or, indeed, to give any idea of its overpowering interest. The minister to whom I have referred, however, has, at my request, furnished me with the substance of his address, which I have much gratification in here inserting, omitting his name and residence : — " You request me to put on paper the substance of the state- ment I made at the Assembly in Dublin, respecting the com- mencement of the revival in my district. To this I can have no objection but one, and that is the simple fact, that as the excitement has entirely subsided, I feel it impossible to give the narrative with the freshness and fervour I then experienced in uttering a purely unpremeditated statement. Still I give you the facts, leaving you to make any legitimate use of them you may think proper. 146 A ^iinistee's statement. " Our first special meeting for the work of the Spirit, in con- nexion ^vith what is now known as the ' Ulster revival,' was held on the 9th of Jnne. I had monthly meetings all the previous winter, professedly for asking the Spirit's influence, at which I gave accounts frequently of the American revival, and endea- voured to put the people into a state of expectancy ; and before our first general meeting, accounts were daily reaching us from Ballymena, Ballymoney, and Rasharkin, of the remarkable manifestations of the Spirit of God. One or two cases had even occurred here, where the persons had not been at any assemblage of the kind, and the entire public mind was deeply and seriously impressed when I announced our first public meet- ing. I invited some young converts from Rasharkin, who were known to speak well. Six came, and after tea in my own house, we had social praj'^er, and while I commenced, each followed in turn, till, before we rose from our knees, five had poured out their supplications for the rich blessing of God upon the meet- ing ; and so solemn was the service, and so humble and Christ- like was the spirit of these men, that my wife, who was in delicate health at the time, and who, I thought, w^as incapable of attending, was among the multitude when I began the ser- vice, assigning as her reason afterwards, 'that she could not stay at home, as she felt God was with us.' " The meeting was so large, that though it commenced in the church, it had to be adjourned to the open air. I never was able to calculate the numbers in attendance. The addresses of the converts were earnest and searching, their prayers were full of faith and hope, and the scene which ensued was awfully solemn ; so that — while twenty-three persons were stricken with a sense of their sins, and were led to cry out for mercy, remaining for the most part on the ground all night — the entire congregation were chained as if by magic to the spot. Before our next I had thu-ty hopeful cases in my registry ; and months after, I was told by several converts in other districts that they were convicted first at this meeting. " Our second meeting, held in the next week, was still more full of interest. The speakers for it were selected by my CONVERSION OF FOUR BROTHERS OF THE MANSE. 147 brother, at my request, for their sound and calm judgment. They were but three in number. Their addresses were doctrinal and judicious — addressed more to the intellect than to the feelings. Nothing appeared throughout, till I pronounced the benediction, more than deep, solemn attention. I left to see the strangers off, expecting the congregation to retire too. As we Avere ascending the hill leading to my own house, the loud and solemn hymn of praise rose from the immense con- gregation on the still air as the voice of many waters, which told that the hearts of the people were pouring out their sincere and grateful homage to God ; and that the Spuit of the Holy One was among them. I returned, and such a scene as I Avitnessed ! It will ever live in my memory as one of the most sacred seasons of my life. The church, and several portions of the green, were both occupied with persons prostrated, each surrounded by their own friends. Never did I expect to hear such outpourings of soul. Some were in fearful agony, as if in very hell — others breathing out, in sweet and sonorous accents, the sacred name of Jesus, in melting tones of penitence, jjleading for pardon and eternal life. On entering the gate leading to the house of worship, the first of the awakened I met with was my third son, who had already found peace, and stretching out his arms he clasped me saying, ' papa, I have found Christ.' When rejoicing over him, a friend came to me, and told me that my eldest son was prostrated in another part of the green, and, taking me by the hand, led me to him. He was calm — perfectly collected — deeply impressed with a sense of sin, and wrestling in prayer mth God for mercy. " Here he lay for hours, till I got alarmed by his being so long on the damp grass, and advised him to go into the church. He did not, as the former, enjoy peace that night. He considered himself greatly injured by well-meaning but injudicious friends. He kept solemn and grave all the next week, till at our next meetmg, feeling again deeply impressed, he retired to the field behind the church, and spent the night in prayer. The result of this meeting, with a few held through the country in the 148 A MEDICAL member's STATEMENT. same week, was thirty-eight — leaving on my book before our third general weekly meeting, seventy-eight * awakened.' " The third meeting was nearly as remarkable for blessing ; twenty persons were hopefully awakened, among whom were my second and youngest sons." It may readily be conceived that the intensely interesting narrative, of which the above is a condensed statement, and especially that portion of it referring to the work of grace which had taken place in the four brothers of the manse, touched a chord that vibrated in many responsive hearts, and that the most profound emotion was stirred in the Assembly. Nor was this the only instance then related of a like character. An- other senior minister was enabled to bear a similar testimony respecting one of his sons ; and so the stream of thrilling inci- dent flowed on for hours, intercepted now and then by an inter- rogation or some word of counsel and fraternal exhortation, untd it was found necessary, owing to the pressure of time and business, to terminate the conference. I need not say that the subject of the physical prostrations was fully canvassed. Among others, a medical gentleman, an elder, present, who had not, however, witnessed any in the phenomena in question, stated generally the laws which regulated the occurrence of these manifestations as they ordinarily came under the notice of the physician. They might arise, he said, from disease in some organ of the body — from strong mental emotion — from involuntary imitation, as where epilepsy was induced by wit- nessing an attack upon another — from intense expectation of these occurrences, as in the phenomena of biology, or from their previous occurrence in the same individual. In the early stages of the awakening, he had no doubt the affections were caused by intense mental emotion, the result of an overpowering sense of sin. As the revival proceeded, however, vivid descriptions, in public addresses, of these attacks, by those who had experi- enced them, might lead t<^) a general expectation that conviction of sin would be so accompanied, and thus awaken an earnest desire to experience them. Thus cases might be multiplied, till society would be pervaded by what might be called an epi- TESTBIONY OF SCOTTISH BRETHEEX. 149 demic constitution, so that susceptible persons would come to be affected, independently of mental emotion altogether. The fact of the attack predisposing to a recurrence of the affection, would afford a ready explanation of the same person being on more than one occasion " struck." These manifestations, there- fore, were to be regarded merely as accidents, not integral parts of the work. They might even take place, as past experi- ence had shewn, in connexion with the propagation of religious delusions, as well as with the advancement of spiritual religion in the souls of men. Perhaps the general feeling in reference to the physical affec- tions cannot be better expressed than by a reference to a state- ment made publicly, on his return to Edinburgh, by Mr Bal- four, an elder of the Free Church, who, together with several distinguished members of that body, was present during the entire proceedings. " He believed," he said, " that the minis- ters of Ireland were quite alive to this, that these prostrations were mere accidents, and were seeking to restrain them. They were called in that Assembly the bubbles that rose to the surface. He had suggested to Dr Julius Wood, whether some caution in this direction ought to be thrown out at the Irish General Assembly; but after listening to the conversation in the private conference, they felt that there was no need for any- thing of the sort, for their brethren in Ireland were themselves quite alive to the matter ; and he must say that he was exceed- ingly struck, not only with the spiritual tone which pervaded the Assembly, but with the wisdom, and judiciousness, and calmness of mind with which the members looked on the whole movement. For himself, he would never forget the happy day which he spent in that private conference. The whole tone of the Assembly was so solemn, genuine, and humbling, and the members spoke with such enlarged heart of the wonders of the grace of God, that it was quite delightful to be amongst them." At the close of the conference, a committee was appointed to prepare a series of resolutions founded upon the conversations and discussions which had taken place, and to introduce them at an open Assembly. 150 MR NORTH IN THE ASSEMBLY. In the evening of the same day tlie subject was resumed in public, in the presence of an immense audience, being intro- duced in the report on the state of religion, for which, with the resolutions adopted, see Appendix C. Reference has been made in preceding portions of this narra- tive to the visit of Mr Brownlow North, and the seasonable character of his addresses to all classes of the community. This eminent evangelist, although a member of the Episcopal Church, had at the meeting of the General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland been publicly recognised as an honoured servant of Christ, and had been formally invited to occupy the pulpits of its ministers. Having witnessed on that occasion, in company with the Rev, Dr Johnston, then moderator of our Assembly, the very impressive exercises connected with his recognition, I took the opportunity of inviting him to visit us at the period of our annual meeting. Although he had many engagements in Scotland, Mr North acceded to our solicitations. He had spent a few days in the north of Ireland before the meeting of Assembly in the metropolis, and, as far as time and circum- stances would permit, had observed the character of the spiri- tual movement then in progress. His subsequent experience supplied much more satisfactory evidence of its reality and depth than any he had then met with, as most of those whom he had visited had previously been unacquainted with the truth, and were disposed to lean more on their feelings than their faith. This serious mistake he publicly adverted to in the Assembly, taking opportunity afterwards to deal with it in almost all his subsequent addresses while in the country. The thanks of the Assembly were conveyed to Mr North in some such terms as these : — " While it holds good of such a service as that to which your energies are consecrated — that not many mighty, not many noble, are called to prosecute it — we rejoice that upon you this grace has been bestowed — a patent of distinction more glo- riously resplendent than any hereditary or heraldic honours. We esteem it a happy circumstance in our ecclesiastical consti- tution that it is so broadly catholic that we can not only hail ADJOUENJIENTS OCCASIONED BY THE EEVIVAL. 151 you as a brother in the midst of us, but bid you from the heart ' God speed ' in your evangehstic mission. We would see in you a living illustration of fhe great truth, obscured though it may have been by the conventionalisms of men, that a God- made ministry is the only ministry, and that the spiritual Church is, strictly speaking, the only Church of Christ— the Church for the sake of which all prophecies, promises, types, services, and ministrations, have been given and ordained. Let me, in the name of this Assembly, return our grateful acknow- ledgments for yoiu- faithful admonitions and fraternal comisels. Let me also invite you to the cultivation of a still more inti- mate relationship, even to the occupancy of our pulpits and the hospitalities of our homes. You have come among us at u season of blessed ingathering, and happy shall we be if you thrust in the sickle, and mingle with us in the reaping-timc with its songs. But whether you abide in Ireland or return tt) other fields now whitening to the harvest, be assured that we shall not readily forget the hallowed interest which your pre- sence has diflFused ; and that among the incidents of this Assem- bly, this shall not be the least memorable, that we have seen your face and grasped your hand, and been encouraged by your sjanpathies, your exhortations, and your prayers." In consequence of the awakening, and the desire of the great majority of the ministers to return to their respective flocks before the Sabbath, it was found necessary to adjourn the meet- ing before its business was more thanhaK concluded — a circum- stance which was in itself a striking attestation to the movement. And thus this memorable occasion passed. It was felt through- out that the deliberations of our Assembly were pervaded by an overa^^'ing solemnity never realised before, filling the soul with a profound sense of Jehovah's presence, subduing personal prejudices and prepossessions, and infusing a spirit of mutual forbearance and generous conciliation. The Lord had visited His Church as a court in His own house, so that, even in its eccle- siastical procedure, there had been realised as pure delight, as sweet communion, and as ennobling aspirations, as could be hoped for in the most favoured times of visitation. It is 1 52 THE CON FERENCE RESUilED. impossible ever to forget those hours of blessing that flew by on rapid wing, when the theme of every tongue was the Spirit's wondrous grace and power, and when every heart was melted, as under the descent of a heavenly influence. It was with feel- ings such as these that the proceedings were suspended, and that the brethren separated from one another, to return to their several flocks, and to preside over the blessed ingathering to the fold of the " Chief Sl^epherd." Nearly three months after, their consultations were resumed, not on this occasion in Dubhn, but in Belfast. The great effu- sion which before had fallen in so considerable a portion on the field, had meanwhile mightily extended in its range, and many who before had been in heaviness, because as yet their congre- gations had been un visited by the "gracious rain," were now rejoicing in its abundant and pleasant fruits. Nor were there any indications that the clouds of heaven had exhausted their stores of blessing. Other lands had also shared the joy with which so many had been gladdened, and from the ends of the earth had arisen songs of thanksgiving for what, in this far- distant isle of ocean, God had wrought. The period which had elapsed since the adjournment in Dublin, had furnished a more extended opportunity of testing its real character, and of forming a judgment of all its attendant features. The Church, accordingly, having discharged her primary obligation of ac- knowledging the favour shewn in this great work of God, it was now felt that her more immediate duty was to consider how the work itself might be directed, so that it might be preserved, as far as human effort could accomplish that result, from the weakness and fatuity of man, and from the devices of the great adversary. As on the former occasion, a conference was held, and various resolutions were adopted — one of which was to the effect, " That the Assembly appoint a special day for public worship in all our churches, and for prayer and thanksgiving to Almighty God for His gracious mercy vouchsafed in the revival of religion ; and that supplication be offered for the extension of this gra- cious work to all churches and all lands ; " and further, " that HALLO"\VED CHAEACTEE OF THE ENTIRE PROCEEDINGS. loi our moderator be requested to prepare ^u address, including reasons for the observance of such day, to be printed and circu- lated immediately amongst the brethren." It was in this spirit that the proceedings of the meeting of Assembly were conducted and brought to a happy issue. In reviewing them, however cursorily, we should be incre- dulous and unbelieving, were we not to acknowledge that God had been among us, and that we had received from Him the earnest of still greater things to come. We had lived to see a good and a glad day in our history — a day long prayed and hoped for, but which we hardly thought ever to witness — brought about by no human power or wisdom, but by the grace of Him who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in working. It was indeed a pleasant thing to contemplate an Assembly whose members were of one heart and mind with one another, and the good fruits of whose uniting love, as we humbly trust, will spread their hallowed influence over days and years to come. CHAPTER XT. THE EEVIVAL AND THE ORANGEMEN. Former Celebrations of the Orange Anniversary — Their Tumultuous Character— "The Twelfth" in Sandy Row, Belfast — Narrative of Eye-witnesses — Other Districts of the Town — The Twelfth in Lur- gan — Do. in Dundrod — The Orange Hall — The Open-Air Celebra- tion — Testimony of Ministers in Various Districts — A Returned African Missionary on the Twelfth in his Native County — Chief Baron Pigott on the Extinction of Party Spirit — Strange thing at a Lodge Meeting, and its Lesson. For many years the anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne had been associated in the minds of the lower class of Irish Pro- testants with uncontrollable displays of party animosity and hatred. • Glorious in itself as was the achievement of William of Orange in breaking the iron dominion of a Papal despot, and in erecting constitutional liberty on its ruins, that illustrious name had with the unthinking multitude become a synonyme with ignorant bravado, and with unreasoning hostility both to the system and the abettors of Romanism. With the return of each successive Twelfth of July there was an ebullition of poli- tical and religious frenzy, often provocative of resistance, and terminating in violence and bloodshed. To the ^Tilgar gaze there was no doubt something imposing in the parade of the processions of these festal days. The congregated masses, as they marched along in holiday attire, each man decked with some distinctive badge, a sash or a cockade of the cherished colour, while the superior officers flaunted in their flowing robes of scarlet — the entire array marshalled in semi-military " rank and flle," while drums were beating, fifes discoursing shrilly music, and banners fluttering in the breeze — presented no mean TPIE T\\'ELFTH OF JULY. 155 embodiment of all those elements that command the admira- tion of the multitude. It would be incorrect, however, to state that the Orange organisation universally prevailed in Ulster. There are many districts into which it never entered, and for years past, partly owing to the vigorous enforcement of the laws against proces- sions, and still more in consequence of the spread of intelligence and the diffusion of a better spirit, it has been falling to pieces even in those parts of the country where formerly it exercised its baneful influence. Here and there, indeed, it is still fos- tered for political and party purposes; and the "Orange parson," a genus of which a few specimens still survive, figures on its platforms, and fans anew the dying embers of religious discord. But as a system, it is on the wane ; and never has it received such a fatal blow as since, within the last few months, the Spirit from on high descended on the community of Ulster. Of this auspicious change there are abundant illustrations, nowhere more satisfactory than in Belfast itself. For several years there was a certain quarter in that town which had attained an unenviable notoriety. As the Twelfth of July drew near, it had been customary to reinforce the military and police, that they might keep the peace, if possible, between the turbu- lent inhabitants of Sandy Row and the nest of Ribbonmen who occupied a neighbouring district. Not only had the ordinary street missiles been flung in plentiful profusion on the scene of conflict, but deadly collisions had taken place, shots had been fired, and blood had run upon the streets. For weeks the magistrates and military were nightly on patrol. The strong arm of the executive had at length to interfere by martial law, and by a disarming of the parties who had shewn that they were wholly unfit to be entrusted with arms. Although a marked change had taken place in the feelings of the Orange- men towards their Roman Catholic neighbours prior to the anniversary of the Boyne, the mode in which that anniversary would pass over was a subject of much anxious speculation. "Wait till the Twelfth of July," said our good bishop to an English gentleman who was conversing with him in the end of 150 THE TWELFTH IN SANDY ROW. June respecting the effect of the revival on party spirit — " wait till the Twelfth ; that will test all." How the INvelfth came and passed, let the following state- ment with respect to the noted district above referred to testify. It has been furnished by the worthy and intelligent librarian of the Belfast Society : — " In compliance with your request, I hasten to give you my experience of the revival, more especially with reference to its influence in quelling party spirit on the Twelfth of July last. When that gracious movement reached Belfast, I joined an organisation that had come to the help of the Lord, and the field assigned to me was that very famous district called Sandy Kow, and its adjuncts, where the people had been taught ' to catch the Papist birds by throwing stones at them.' Yes, the essence of Protestantism, and the conversion of the RomanistS in that region, consisted in the abundant use of brickbats and bludgeons ; but the old war-cries were now hushed by a higher voice, and in few parts of our beloved land was that short sermon oftener preached, 'Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved,' than in this very district. The cases of prostration were very numerous — at the mill, in the factory, at their own firesides, in the neighbouring houses, in the public street, the prayer-meeting, and, in fact, in every place of human resort. " When the revival was at its height, Sandy Row was visited by persons from all parts of the country — indeed, of the Idng- dom. Clergymen and pious laymen were constantly holding open-air meetings ; and often at these and other exercises in the hours of release from labour, in ' the gloaming,' or under the starlit roof, did many a sweet hymn ascend far beyond the stars. It was on the evening of the Twelfth that I first took part in one of those meetings. I had been assisting at a temperance meeting elsewhere, and my direct road on leaving lay through some of the most intensely Popish and Orange districts in Belfast. On the evening of any similar anniversary I would have performed no ordinary feat to have passed through those districts, but I had no fears now. There NARRATIVE OF AN EYE-WITNESS. 157 were no breaking of lamps and constables' heads — no flinging of the 'Macadam' missile nor of the paving stones. The streets were crowded with the young of both sexes, but good humour and enjoyment were the distinguishing features of the scene. I marked the improvement. I knew the cause. The sun will shine even through a wet blanket. But things im- proved as I advanced. I had heard the songs of Zion chanted by hundreds of voices amid our rocks and dells, in our green meadows, and also ' In streets and openings of the gates, Where pours the busy crowd ; ' but I never heard with anything Kke the same emotion as I did on that occasion, the soul-inspiring strains float on the still calm air of that sweet July evening. There, where one of the principal thoroughfares joins the street, were assembled a large number of young females, and these surrounded by men, women, and children. As I approached, the 23d Psalm was falling in sweet cadence on the gale; and I do believe that there were not a few in that assemblage who got a foretaste of the time when the redeemed shall sing the song of Moses and the Lamb. " Throughout the day none of the usual emblems of the Twelfth appeared, — no Orange garlands, nor arches flung over the streets. The only regret I heard expressed was, that the past was so unlike the present. There was no military or semi- military parade this evening. The only peace-preserver was the usual night constable. He would have been a bold man who would have attempted to have broken the peace then and there. " Seven months have passed since then. Time, that great tester, and a winter, one of the most unpropitious we ever saw, have not seen the revival work arrested. In-door has taken the place of out-door worship. In a district where formerly some four or five prayer-meetings could with difficulty be maintained, there are now, I believe, twenty-five ; and if- to this be added the week-evening services, well attended in the six difierent churches,— Episcopalian, Presbyterian, and Methodist, which 158 OTHER DISTRICTS OF BELFAST. like a chain of fortresses siirromicl the district,— a tolerably fair conclusion may be arrived at that the good work has stood the trial. " God's grace is the real gentleman-maker. I have found it so in those who have come to this district from off their cushions and carpets, Bible in hand, to assist in gathering in the harvest. But the same spiritual essence that was shed abroad within their hearts I have found in the humble garret and cellar. Of the work among the people who live in our ' West End,' I have two genuine tests, — the presence of many at it, and the promise of more assisting to carry it on. " My work in that district has been mainly among the little ragged urchins gathered from the streets. I have a room now to myself and my miscellaneous class, whose members are of every year of age between ten and two — the elder ones being the care-takers of the younger. I rule them by the voice — not mine, however, but their own. Though denied by nature the organs of sweet sound myself, I am at no loss for precentors, and my 'chief conductor' is a lad about five years old. We have but one tune, picked up during the w^armth of the revival. When I find them getting restless, I commence old ' Martyr- dom,' and they become solemnised ; and thus I see that Scrip- ture verified, ' Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise.' " In other districts of the town where much excitement for- merly prevailed, there was a similar exhibition of happy and harmonious feeling. " I preached," says a Belfast minister, " on the Twelfth, on the street, in a locality v/here the popula- tion is of a mixed character. My audience was largely com- posed both of Protestants and Eomanists. All was attentive, orderly, and respectful." Visiting, in company with a friend, a short time afterwards, in a row inhabited exclusively by mill hands, and meeting a number of girls who had been brought under the influence of the revival, they all exclaimed, referring to the late anniversary, " It was another sort of Twelfth than the one before it. None of us would have wrought a turn on that day ; but now we were THE TWELFTH IN LURGAN. 159 all at our work as usual. You would not have known it was the Twelfth at all." " You may well say that," remarked one of their number, who had been, till a few weeks before, a Roman Catholic. " Don't you remember how you chased me, and others of my sort, through the country for hours that day, till you nearly frightened us out of our wits ? But now we are all like sisters of one family, and the head of it is Christ." "The TweKth of July had long been a notable day in Lurgan," says the Rev. L. E. Berkley, "as elsewhere through- (3ut the North of Ireland, and some curiosity and anxiety were manifested as to the way in which it would be sj^ent. It is to be lamented that flags were, as usual, streaming from the towers of the National church, and the tolling of the bell proclaimed that the old spiiit was still alive. But it was subdued and solemnised. At two o'clock p.m., the Presby- terian church was quite filled with people met for prayer, con- ducted by a representative of each of the Protestant denomina- tions in town. Not a drunk man was to be seen in the streets. The people continued in their homes, or at their work, and the langaiage of one of them— a young man who used to take a pro- minent part in the fun and frolic of the occasion, might doubt« less have been used by multitudes — ' It was the happiest Twelfth I ever spent.' " Take another illustration. Early in summer, I was called on to give a subscription to the building or providing of an Orange Hall. I refused. The young man, a member of my own congregation, was much dissatisfied. The revival came. Soon after meeting him in the street, I inquired regarding the progress of the hall. ' O sir,' said he, ' it would be better for every one to try and serve God Almighty, and let party work alone ! ' I believe it is the conclusion to which many, by the blessing of God, have been brought." The following statement, with reference to the observance of the Twelfth of July in a rural district already mentioned in this narrative, is deeply interesting : — " From the commencement of the revival," says the Rev. W. Magill of Dundrod, " some of the Orangemen had attended our IGO THE TAYELFTH IN DUNDROD. prayer-meetings, and had seen and heard the strange things which occurred in and around the first house where the Lord began His work of grace. The chiefs of the party lived in the adjoining one. One member of their family especially, from the first, was deeply and I believe savingly impressed. His case was a singular and most interesting one. He is almost deaf, yet gifted with a wonderful talent for understanding what is said to him, engaging in all the services of religion — praise, prayer, and reading the Scriptures — ^with the greatest delight, and confessing himself strengthened by thus waiting upon God, It is wonderful how much of a sermon, or of the explanation of a chapter, he can understand by following with his eye and finger alternately the written Word and the moving lips and gestures of the speaker. He has done good in his family, into which he has introduced the worship of God, and while dili- gently seeking salvation for himself, is anxious for the spiritual welfare of the whole household." " It was partly through his influence that his brothers, and other members of the Orange Society, kept the Twelfth day of July here as it was never kept before. " I had never l^en a favourite with the Orangemen of the district. I had been instrumental in suppressing a public- house at the gate of our church, in which they were in the habit of assembling, and which had long been an intolerable nuisance. This house, and the adjoining property, were purchased in be- half of the congregation, and the manse now stands where it stood. In revenge for the supposed injury done by pulling down the public-house, an ' Orange Hall' was erected in the immediate neighbourhood as a rallying-point for the brethren, who, night after night, met with fife and drum, and noisy clamour, to annoy the quiet dwellers in their homes in the neighbourhood, and especially myself. But the Lord did not pass over them ; and they too, as well as others, underwent a great change, and we hope a permanent one. " Before the Twelfth came, I was asked by those men, whom I had looked upon as bitter enemies to me, and to the cause of religion and morality, if I would meet them on the evening of THE OPEN-AIR CELEBRATION. IGl tliat day, and hold a prayer-meeting in their ' Hall.' I at once consented to do so, on being assured that there would during the day be no party display, and no intoxicating drink used. The morning was ushered in with no firing of guns, no beating of drums, and no display of party banners. All was still and calm as a Sabbath. It was a holiday among the people, all labour being suspended ; and early in the forenoon, men and women, in holi- day attire, here and there were seen in groups, marching along, not with Orange lilies, but with Bibles in their hands, as if going on a Sabbath morning to the house of God. " A deputation, including the master of the ' lodge,' waited on me in the manse, and requested me to go over to the hall and pray with them, before proceeding to a field at some distance, where they were to meet others, and engage in religious exercises. I soon found myself in strange company, and was put in the honoured seat, and officiated as chaplain to an Orange lodge, reading first their printed prayer, (which I must say is a most admirable one,) and then knelt down in the midst of the bre- thren, and many others who came to see and hear this new tJiiiig, and heartily blessed God for His wonderful works, and prayed that the reign of peace on earth and good-will among men might that day be inaugurated and firmly established in the midst of us. " With Bibles in their hands, and peace and good- will in their hearts — with no music playing, no flags flying, and with no jar of whisky to refresh them on the march — they walked decently and soberly, and in good order, to the field, where many hun- dreds met them, and joined them in praise and prayer, and other religious exercises. There could not have been a more attentive and serious congregation, and the different parties re- tired to their respective districts, wondering, as they went, at the strange things they had seen and heard. In the evening about fifteen hundred persons of all denominations met in the open air, where I preached to them, after which all went quietly to their homes ; and thus passed the Twelfth of July 1859— a day much indeed to be remembered. Here was another glorious triumph — the name of Jesus was exalted above every other L 162 TESTIMONY OF MINISTERS name. The name of the 'glorious, pious, and immortal' Wil- liam was not heard from a single lip ; the Pope escaped his usual malediction ; the publicans and sinners bit their lips in disappointment, for their ' occupation ' was gone. Satan seemed to have fallen like lightning from heaven, and the Prince of peace reigned throughout the day. Since then we have had no party strifes, no beating of drums, no 'Punch dances,' no drunken revels— nothing to hurt or annoy the ten- derest conscience. We have had a fair trial of the gospel here, and we find it has lost none of its essence since the times of Paul. It is indeed ' the power of God unto salvation,' pulling down the strongholds of sin ; checking, if not eradicating, the worst propensities of fallen nature ; and making out of the rudest and most unpromising materials a moral, peaceful, and happy people." Similar celebrations were almost universally held in those other parts of the north where Orangeism prevailed. In regard to the spirit still evinced by the confederation, the following are striking testimonies : — " The month before the revival in this neighbourhood," says the Rev. J. Geddes, (County Tyrone,) " it was in a ferment- nightly marchings, law proceedings, &c. Since the movement began, not a drum has been struck in the bounds, and the leading Orangemen meet and pray for the Romanists, whom a little ago they hated." " Party spirit, from the moment the revival became mani- fest," says the Rev. John Bell of Clare, (County Ai'magh,) "dis- appeared. This is worthy of very special notice, as it prevailed in this locality to a most pernicious extent. It was not worse anywhere." " Newtonlimavady," (County Derry,) says the Rev. George Steen, " was the Stronghold of Orangeism. On the Twelfth of July, the day was spent in preaching, praise, and prayer ; and since the commencement of the Lord's work in June, I have not heard the utterance of a party word, nor seen a party em- blem displayed." " There is an Orange lodge in this neighbourhood," says the IX VARIOUS DISTRICTS. 163 Rev. J. Elliot, Clarkesbridge, (County Monaghan,) " wliicli is composed of some fortj^ young men. They met monthly, and each contributed a fixed sum at every meeting for the purpose of procuring refreshments, which consisted almost entirely ot whisky. So much as .£13 has been expended in one year in this way. The name is not changed, but they now meet prni- cipally for religious exercises— singing, prayer, or reading God § Word. They continue their monthly contributions, and twice since July have asked me to expend a very considerable sum in purchase of books for a library which they have established, and which is likely very soon to contain a large and valuable collection of books. Now they never have any intoxicating drinks at their meetings." The Rev. H. ^I. Waddell, late missionary on the w^est coast of Africa, supplies the following interesting statement with reference to the decrease of party feeling in his native county : — " On the subject of Orange lodges, a grave, aged, good man, an elder of long standing, said that he saw the power of God in this revival, for nothing else could have put down the Orange Society. Government had failed to suppress it; yet here we see it dying of itself under the influence of revived religion. " Party spirit used to run high in the County Monaghan. I have seen, and confess did like to see, several regiments of Orangemen, hundreds strong, fine yeomanry and resident gentry, with bands playing and banners flying, peaceably parading the country on the 12th of July, too strong to be resisted by the opposite party — though these gatherings sometimes ended with fighting, bruises, and bloodshed. Elections for Parliament have even lately led to conflicts approaching civil war — not, how- ever, caused by the Orangemen, who, since being denounced by Government, have had to stand on the defensive, but by the Romanists, who have been emboldened to become the aggres- sors. On these occasions the regular military and loaded cannon have been required to keep the peace. It was in that county that Daniel O'Connell met his first repulse when he thought to invade the north, and gather his monster meetings in its principal towns, as he had done in the south. Proceeding by 1 IfU CHIEF BAEON PIGOTT ON THE REVIVAL. Drogheda and Dundalk, both Popish towns, a multitude of his followers advanced into the southern part of the County Monaghan, where, bordering on Louth, the Popish population prevails. But as they proceeded, the Orangemen mustered in force, armed, at Ballibay, determined to stop the way. And they stopped it, and obliged him to abandon his intention of invading Ulster. If such a powerful and united body now yield to religious convictions, and the spirit of the gospel of peace turn their lodges and gatherings into prayer-meetings, and their collections for feasting into missionary contributions, as I have heard of being done, may we not say that the Spirit of the Lord has gone forth among the Protestants of Ulster? " We do not wonder, after such records as these, that Chief Baron Pigott, himself a Roman Catholic, should have taken occasion, when sitting on the bench in County Down, a few days after the great Orange anniversary, to refer, in the lan- guage of the reporters, " to the religious movement in the north as having extinguished all party animosities, and produced the most wholesome moral results upon the community at large;" and that he should have "expressed a hope that it would extend over the whole country, and influence society to its lowest depths." Let us hope that the happy experiences of 1859 will be re- peated in all future years, and that the Orange confederacy, if it exist at all, will be found subserving some better purpose tlian any for which it has hitherto been celebrated. There are symptoms in some quarters of a tendency to resume the prac- tices of other days; and it may be that there is a voice of warning in the following incident : — " A strange thing," ob- serves the Rev. Robert Dunlop of Newbliss, " occurred a few evenings since, at the meeting of a lodge. Four men were led to cry for mercy during the shiging of a profane song ! It was the first evening for months that anything had been sung at the meeting, and the introduction of the song led to the result which I have mentioned." It was the incongruity of the proceeding, I have little doubt, that so affected those who THE OEANGEJIEX TAUGHT A SOLEMN LESSON. 165 engaged in it, that they were led to serious soul concern, and to give audible expression to their distress. The Orangemen of Ulster have been lately taught a solemn lesson in the revival ; who will not hope and pray that it may never pass out of their remembrance ? CHAPTER XII. THE REVIVAL IN COUNTY DOWN. The Bishop of the Diocese — His Interest in the Work — Original Commu- nication from him — The Revival in Castlereagh — The Cripple Man — The Farmer's Wife — "Remember Lot's Wife" — Comber — Great Increase — Few Sudden Convei'sions — Bodily Health Improved^ The Physical Manifestations — Answers to Special Prayer — Revival among Quarrymen — Killinchy — Statement of the Hon. and Rev. H. Ward — Newtownards — Previous State — The Work Begun — United Prayer-meeting — The Schoolmaster turned Preacher — The Drunken Bellman — The Town Missionary — The Militia Sei'- jeant — The Converted School-girl — Other Ca.ses — The Cry to her Father— The Unbeliever in the Work — The First-fruit of the New Year. I CANNOT more appropriately introduce the narrative of the revival movement in County Down than by inserting in this place a communication with which I have been favoured on the subject by the esteemed Bishop of the diocese, although part of his ecclesiastical domain lies in the County Antrim. It has been already mentioned that at an early period his lord- ship lent his countenance to the work, both by the sanction given to his clergy in their labours in connexion therewith, and by his presence at one of the first united meetings for prayer held in Belfast. His correspondence subsequently mth Bishop M'llvaine, of Ohio, in the United States, exhibited his anxious desire to have the sustaining sympathy of those occupying an influential position in the Episcopal Church of America, who had been familiar with the history of revivals in that land ; while the prominent part he took at the Annual Conference of the Evangelical Alliance at a still later period, when he bore emphatic testimony to the reality and good effects of the revival, C0M3IUNICATI0N FROM THE BISHOP OF THE DIOCESE. 167 sufficiently attested his appreciation of this great work of God. Knowing that in the course of the season he had directed a communication to be addressed to all the ministers in his diocese, making particular inquiry in relation to the several phases of the movement, and having had abundant experience of that courtesy and catholicity for which he is distinguished, I took the liberty of requesting of his lordship a brief statement of the result ; and, further, desiring his permission to avail myself in the present publication of his testimony. To the request he was pleased to accede, in the following terms : — '' The Palace, Holtwood, Belfast. February 13, 1860. " My deae, Sir,— It affords me very great pleasure to comply with your request to furnish you with the result of some of the queries which I issued to my clergy in reference to the religious awakening, which, in the good providence of God, has visited this Province, making many a barren spot fruitful, and many a sorrowing heart glad. " To my queries, I received from my clergy one hundred and six rephes ; seventy-five of which bore the most gratifying tes- timony to the spiritual blessings which followed the 'revivals' in their own parishes — such as the careless aroused, the impure made pure, the drunkard reformed, the prayerless prayerful, and every means of gTace eagerly attended. " I enclose you a copy of a few of the answers which I have received to two of my queries, shewing the nature of this won- derful religious and moral reformation, and the truly spiritual character of this great work, as testified by faithful, zealous, and earnest clergymen in my dioceses ; and I feel satisfied that the evidence of the clergy of your own Church, which your high official position will enable you to procure, will fully corroborate the same. To their zealous labours, also, in this our day of ' great things,' I would, in passing, pay the just tribute of sincere respect. " I cannot conclude without mentioning the result of my late confirmations in Belfast, as it marks the deep impression and 168 THE REVIVAL IN CASTLEREAGH. devotional feeling which the Spirit of the living God, moving over this portion of our land, has kindled. The numbers con- firmed annually by me in the parish of Belfast have averaged about two hundred and fifty, but last year it reached seven hundred and five, and never since I have administered that rite of my Church have I witnessed such solemnity of manner and deep feeling as was exhibited by all whom I then confirmed. " And now, my dear Sir, may the word spoken by us all be blessed by God's Holy Spirit to those among whom we minister, that, in the true revival of a sanctified life, they may become 'living epistles' of Christ, 'known and read of all men.' — Be- lieve me, with sincere respect, yours truly and faithfully, "Rob. Down & Connor & Dromore. " To the Rev. Professor Gibson, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Chnrch in Ireland." [For the returns referred to in the above communication, see Appendix D.] Castlereagh is a rural district not far distant from Belfast. It was visited by the awakening soon after its manifestation in the latter place. For six years previously there was a marked improvement in spiritual things ; and now that the revival has come, a great enlargement has been experienced, while no case of apostasy or backsliding is known. The Rev. Dr Given supplies the following incidents : — The Converted Crij^ple. — "Among the early cases of revival within the bounds of my congregation was a cripple man, who had been in the habit of visiting the various places to which his business led him, by means of a donkey-cart, though he could not be persuaded to use the same mode of conveyance to bring him to the house of God. Many a time as I met him by the w^ay, or found him in his own house, I had endeavoured to pre- vail on him to attend public worship, but was usually met with the same stereotyped excuses, — his lameness, the awkwardness of the thing, the inconvenience it would cause himself, and the THE CRIPPLE ]\L1J^. 169 trouble it might occasion others. In vain did I labour to remove such pretexts, and urge on him the importance of making at least an equal effort to come to the sanctuary as to reach the place of business. He could attend to the perishing interests of the present passing world, while to the realities of a future and a better he remained utterly indifferent. Years of carelessness had rolled away. Conscience would some- times trouble him, but he soon quieted it. The thought that God, in depriving him of the use of his limbs, had exonerated him from attendance on His service, would from time to time silence the still small voice within, and confirm him in his guilty neglect. At length he was apprehended of Christ, and arrested in his course. He had heard of the revival in the neighbouring county, and talked of it as a matter of news with others. He had been attending no religious meeting, hearing no gospel sermon, nor listening to any stirring address ; but one night, on retiring to rest, the Spirit of God brought his sins very vividly before his mind, and putting the desire in his heart, and the words in his mouth, constrained him to cry aloud, and for some time continue to cry, ' Lord, be merciful to me a sinner.' He remained under deep convictions of sin till the Sabbath following, when, to the amazement of neighbours and acquaintances, he was seen approaching the house of God. The sermon that day was blessed to him ; and that same Sab- bath night, after much wrestling, earnest prayers, deep agony, and many tears, he obtained the peace that passeth understand- ing. Since then he has possessed new light, new life, new love, and not one Sabbath since have I missed him from his accus- tomed place in the house of God. Great has been his joy in believing ; his conduct and conversation also have been most consistent. He loses no opportunity of testifying for God, and recommending to others the Saviour whom he himself has found. As his change was a marvel to many at the time it occurred, so has his behaviour ever since been truly an ensample, and him- self a living epistle, seen and read of all. From Sabbath to Sabbath he is carried in and out of my church, without ever breathing an excuse, or hinting a difficulty, or uttering a com- 170 THE farmer's wife, plaint in regard to liis infirmity, but gi-ateful to the kind friends who are ever ready to attend to him ; and rejoicing in God his Saviour, he goes on his way, feeling by personal experience, and practically illustrating the truth, that wherever there is a will to serve the Lord there is sure to be a way. The Farmer's Wife. — " A second case of much interest was that of a respectable woman, the wife of a farmer. Though not far distant from the church, and though often invited to attend, she could never make it convenient to do so. Light-hearted and thoughtless, she seemed an entire stranger to the value of the soul, the worth of salvation, and the importance of spiritual things. She had long neglected the one thing needful, and greatly undervalued the things that belonged to her peace. Her husband was careless as herself ; and so they lived without God, without Christ, and without hope in the world. She came in early summer to some of our open-air services, in all probability from no higher motive than mere curiosity at the first. Soon, however, her attention w^as fixed, the word spoken came with life and power to her soul, she was cut to the heart, and smitten to the earth under the mighty hand of God. From that time till the present Christ has been very precious to her soul, the chief among ten thousand, and altogether lovely in her estima- tion. She loves much, for much has been forgiven. Prayer is now her delight, praise her element ; while at the public wor- ship of God, from which she is never absent, her earnest look and serious demeanour are observable even amid thoughtful fellow- worshippers. She has felt God's love to be better than life, and from the overflowings of a truly thankful heart, she utters aloud His praise. Nowhere could you find a Christian more meek, docile, devout, and in all respects exemplary. The Formalist. — "The third instance of the reviving grace of God, to which I would refer, is that of another female, but one altogether different from the former, one who had from early youth attended the house of God with regularity, and who had often partaken of the Supper of the Lord. Still she had only the form of godlmess, and wanted the living power. She had never closed with Christ, though she had united herself to His " REMEMBER LOT S WIFE. 171 people. She had often thought of death, and always with alarm. The consideration of her latter end, which often forced itself upon her, filled her with terror. To her those words of Scrip- ture literally applied—' Through fear of death ' she had been ' all her life subject to bondage.' At length deliverance came. It is a pleasant Sabbath morning in the month of August ; the sky is clear, the air balmy, and the fields waving with golden grain. Little groups of worshippers are leisurely wending their way to 'the church that crowns the neighbouring hill,' and the indivi- dual referred to is among them. What from the mildness of the weather, the scenery around, the companions by the way, her heart was lighter, and her thoughts more cheerful than usual. Arrived in the sanctuary, there was nothing that interested her more than on other occasions, till the announcement of the text. It was contained in the words, 'Remember Lot's wife,' and chosen as the groundwork of remarks which I deemed suitable to be addressed to the many in connexion with my congrega- tion, who, I knew, had been recently the subjects of a saving change, and whom I was anxious to warn against looking back after having put their hand to the plough, or turning back to the old ways of sin and death. The text at once riveted her attention, and as the sermon proceeded, her memory reverted to the sins and faults of youth, the inconsistencies of riper years, the hollo wness of outward profession without inward principle or corresponding practice. A burden pressed sore upon her heart. Tears flowed copiously, and, mingled with big drops of perspiration, wetted the shawl that lay around her shoulders. She felt extremely weak, but, anxious to escape observation, made an effort to get out of the church. She had only succeeded in leaving the pew when I observed her face become deadly pale, and she sank apparently unconscious in the aisle. It was no fainting fit, as she has positively and repeatedly assured me since. At the close of the service, and during prayer with her, she thought she saw the Saviour, clothed in a white garment reaching down to the feet, approach her. Be that as it may, whether it was fancy or fact, one thing is certain, she has found the Lord, the fear of death has been removed, the Word of God 1 72 COMBER— FEW SUDDEN CONVERSIONS. is understood and appreciated by her as it had never been be- fore'. Her life, at the same time, as far as I have been able to judge, is in perfect harmony with the change." The neighbourliood of Comber was the very earliest visited by the revival in the county in which it is situated. For about fourteen years previously, meetings had been held for the pur- pose of seeking a revival of religion, and when the Spirit at length came upon the people, it was w^ith wondrous power. Hundreds were awakened and savingly turned to God. " We have had," says the Rev. J. M. Killen, " no very sudden conversions amongst us. True, those under conviction in the course of an hour or two generally got relief, which at first some were wont to mistake for true peace in Christ, but they mostly soon found out their mistake ; and I had at a very early stage of the work to warn them against being satisfied with anything short of Christ himself, and to urge them to make sure, first of all, of Him, and that then He woidd give them pardon, peace, and all other blessings they might require. The consequence has been, that those awakened have not generally found true peace in less than a week. ]\lany have been several weeks under conviction before they could say that they were truly converted, and some, though greatly changed in life and conversation, wdll not yet venture to say that they have found the Lord. The truth is, that for the most part they appear to be very jealous of themselves, and to be afraid of deceiving themselves ; and the consequence has been, that the work, when effected, appears to be of a very thorough and decided character, and I am hai)py to state, that from what I am daily witnessing, I believe that the converts, as a body, are growing very rapidly in humility, and in the other graces of the Christian character. " In not a few cases the bodily health has been greatly im- proved, as well as the soul saved. One w^oman, w^ho was al- most blind, has had her eyesight restored to her, and can now read the Bible, which she was unable to do for ten years before. Two others that were ahnost always confined to bed for years, are now quite convalescent in body, and rejoicing in spirit. A boy remarkable for stammering can now speak quite well : and THE PHYSICAL MANIFESTATIONS. 173 a little girl, formerly noted for timidity and nervous weakness, is now fearless and strong. " By this great revival, ministerial life lias to a large extent become quite a new thing. It is now a continued joy, and, in- stead of being dispirited by the obduracy of sinners and the seeming barrenness of pastoral effort, we are now daily, I might almost say hourly, gathering in a great spiritual harvest, and are constantly rejoicing in the abounding communion of the saints." The following additional statement by Mr Killen, of date 6th April, presents several striking illustrations of the character and results of the awakening. They are simply sijecimens of similar ones which might be adduced : — " And, first, with regard to the phjdcal manifestations, I may mention that some of these were of a very violent, I might almost say awful character, comparable to nothing I have ever read of, save the demoniacal possessions in the Xew Testament. I have seen, for instance, four strong men quite unable to hold or restrain a young lad of about eighteen years of age ; and I have known parties of this type, after the paroxysm had ceased, left so w'eak for a little that life appeared to be almost extinct ; — reminding me of the individual mentioned in Mark ix. 26, of whom it is said, that when the unclean spirit ' cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him, he was as one dead ; insomuch that many said, He is dead. But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up ; and he arose.' So also in the instances referred to, I have noticed that strength soon returned, accom- panied by a spiritual and delightful calm, which was all the more striking when contrasted with the moral hurricane by "which it had been preceded. "And here, in reference to these prostration cases, I can- not help remarking, that I do not consider these as features of the revival greatly to be deplored, or as requiring any- thing like apology. I am satisfied, from what I have been continually witnessing for the last ten months, that they have not only been exceedingly useful in the way of arous- ing and arresting the attention of both the Church and the world, but I am convinced that they have also been 1 74 THE PHYSICAL MANIFESTATIONS. greatly blessed to the parties affected. This is a view of the matter to which public attention has not as yet been suffi- ciently directed, and therefore I am the more anxious that it should be noticed, as I consider it a very important one. Am I asked, then, In what way have these prostrations, which so weakened the body, acted beneficially on the soul "? — I reply. By compelling those so affected to suspend for a time their worldly avocations, and to withdraw for a little from the world. By being confined a few days to bed, they were shut out from the world and shut up with God. Jehovah, as it were, in this way drew them aside into the wilderness to talk with them for a time, and by being thus left alone with God, the work was deepened in their souls, — a thorough spiritual revo- lution was accomplished, so that, when they again returned to the society of their f ellov/s, they returned — like Saul of Tarsus, after his three days of blindness and seclusion — new creatures, the subjects of a marvellous and mighty transformation, testi- fjdng, by their very looks as well as by their lips, the great things which God had done for their souls. Now, had there been no prostrations, and consequently no weakenings of the body, the parties might, indeed, have been awakened, but as most of them belong to the working classes, who can ill afford to lose time, they would, if strength had permitted, have continued at their usual employments, and would consequently, when under convictions of sin, have had their minds distracted with worldly cares, been tempted by ungodly companions, and been quite unable to give their thoughts entirely for a time to the matter of their soul's salvation. But by being forced, through want of bodily strength, to retire for a little from the world and commune alone with God, the work was allowed to go on powerfully and unimpeded ; and to these days of deep, silent, solemn, and uninterrupted communing with their own hearts and with their God upon their beds, at the very commence- ment of their spiritual career, I attribute very much of that decision of character, devotedness of life, and elevated tone of piety which are so conspicuous in many of our converts. " In illustration of the above remarks, allow me to adduce a ANS-SVEES TO SPECIAL PEAYEE. 175 single case. An elderly woman, the mother of a family, who had been a careless, cursing creatm-e, and one greatly opposed to the revival, was, some time after its commencement, sud- denly and violently prostrated on her own kitchen floor. When I first saw her she was rolling on the ground and writhing with agony. Her appearance was certainly the most satanic I ever beheld. The bystanders were overawed — all felt that in- fluences more than human were at work. A medical man was sent for, but he fled at the sight, declaring that it was a case for a clergyman and not for a physician. The unhappy woman was evidently the subject of a great spiritual conflict. Her cries for about an hour were terrific. She declared that Satan and all the devils in hell were round about her. Gradually her shrieks subsided, and as the paroxysms wore off, she settled down into a sort of despairing calm. For days she continued weak in body and distressed in soul, but at length the light broke — her bonds were loosed — she saw and embraced Christ — obtained peace — and was filled with a joy unspeakable and full of glory ; and she is now one of the finest specimens of Christian character and of a mother in Israel I have ever known — distinguished by her sti'ong faith, her ardent love, and her Christian meekness, her sweetness of temper, and an almost uninterrupted realisation of her Redeemer's presence, com- bined with a very profound reverence for Messiah's character, a strong desire to promote His glory, and a most extreme sensitiveness lest she should do anything to forfeit the enjoy- ment of His love. ' O sir,' said she lately to me, ' I am just watching how I lift and lay down my feet, lest I should offend Him.' Ansivers to Special Prayer. — " I may now mention one or two cases illustrative of answer to prayer. Soon after the revival commenced here, a neighbourmg clergyman called on me one Saturday, and requested that I and our converts would pray for the conversion of his two sons, boys of ten and twelve years of age. I assented, and next morning, at our prayer-meeting, I proposed to the converts that we should make the conversion of the minister's sons a special topic of supplication every 176 SCENE IN A MILL. morning during that week. On the following Friday evening this minister came over to assist me at our usual evening ser- vice, and with tears of thankfulness declared that God had already converted one of his children, and entreated us to con- tinue our supplications for the other. We did so, and in about ten days afterwards the same minister wrote, informing me that his other son was also converted to the Lord. " Another instance, illustrative of the same fact, is that of a poor man, advanced in life and unmarried, who was converted in our congregation at the beginning of the work. As soon as he had embraced the Lord himself, he became most anxious for the conversion of the family with w^hom he resided, and of his fellow-workmen in the mill where he was employed. But all these were most ungodly; and when they saw the change which had taken place in him, instead of rejoicing in his joy, they mocked, swore, sung impure songs, and did all they could to thwart and distress him. He saw that remonstrances were vain, and he resolved to pray for them. He did so, but for a time no answer came, and he was sorely discouraged. Still he resolved to continue his supplications on their behalf ; and suddenly one day the men in the mill were astonished at cries proceeding from their homes, which were hard by. The busi- ness in the mill was suspended, and when the men rushed to their houses to see what caused those cries, they found their wives and daughters prostrated under strong convictions, crying for mercy to the Lord. The hitherto despised convert was at once applied to, and, with a heart overflowing with gratitude, he led their supplications, and directed all to Christ. Soon the Lord vouchsafed His mercy; the weeping penitents became rejoicing converts, and wives and daughters were that day added to the Lord. Scene in a MilL—^^C 's prayers were as yet, however, only partially answered. They were still to receive a more glorious fulfilment. Some days after the above occurrence, the mill had again to be stopped, but this time not because of the women, but the men. Husbands and brothers, whilst engaged at their work, were arrested and smitten down whilst in the very act REVIVAL AMONG QUARRYMEN, 177 of attending the macliinery. Some of the strongest men and greatest scoffers in the whole country fell powerless in a moment under the mighty and mysterious influence that was at work. Never had there been such a day in that establish- ment. Strong men might be seen prostrated and crying for mercy ; converted wives and daughters bent over them with tears of joy, whilst they returned thanks to God for the awaken- ing of their husbands and brothers, and prayed that soon all might rejoice with one another as heirs together of the grace of life ; and such has been the case. Poor C 's prayers have indeed been answered, for he has just been telling me that the seven souls in the house where he resides are now all converted, and that about nine-tenths of the workers in the mill have been visited by the Spirit of the Lord. Revival among Qiiarrymen, — " My space, already wellnigh exhausted, will only allow me to give another instance of the power and prevalency of the revival in this district. About two miles from this, near the outskirts of the parish, there is a quarry which was formerly notorious for the wickedness of those who wrought in it. It was, in fact, an emporium for all sorts of vice ; but when our revival commenced in Comber, it was such a strange and unheard-of thing amongst these quarry- men, that they resolved, through curiosity, to come and see how it was that people were so mysteriously knocked down. They accordingly attended the nightly prayer-meetings in our congregation. Gradually a change crept over them. Drinking was diminished, swearing was given up, seriousness and anxiety prevailed. I was requested, as I could not go in the evening, to go and preach to them during working hours in the middle of the day. I did so. Immediately on my appearance all work was suspended ; and at the very busiest time master and men attended for upwards of two hours. Whilst under the open sky, in a sort of large amphitheatre, formed by the excavation of the quarry, and surrounded by the mountain's rocky walls, I proclaimed to them the glorious gospel of the blessed God. Much good, I understand, w^as that day effected. Prayer-meet- ings amongst the men were immediately established. The occu- M 178 lOLLINCHY. pier of the quarry and head of the whole establishment soon announced to his men that he himself was entirely changed, and declared that he had resolved to live henceforth only for Christ. A marvellous alteration was soon apparent ; and such has been the effect produced, that Mr D , the head of the establishment referred to, told me last week, that out of ninety- six families in his employment, upwards of ninety have now established family worship. ' Drunkenness,' he said, ' has dis- appeared, and neither oath nor improper expression is now heard in that quarry. As for myself,' continued Mr D , ' I now look upon myself as a mere steward, having nothing of my own, and bound by feelings, both of responsibility and gratitude, to live for God's glory.' " Such, my dear sir, are some of the effects of the revival in this quarter. I might mention more, and dwell especially on its having caused family worship to be very generally, I may say, almost universally, observed amongst the families of my charge; but your space forbids, and I must close." A few miles from Comber is Killinchy, celebrated as the scene of the faithful labours of Livingstone, one of the early fathers of the Presbyterian Church. This parish, during the summer months, was largely visited by the reviving influence. The Hon. and Rev. Henry Ward, for thirty-five years revered as one of the most devoted ministers of the Establishment, and rector of the parish, co-operated throughout with the Rev. David Anderson, the Presbyterian minister, " the labour being divided," to use his own words, " between the ministers of the two denominations, no distinction being made, and the hearts of all knit together in one holy bond of Christian fellowship." From a letter, dated March 31, 1860, addressed by him to the Bishop of Down, 1 am permitted by his Lordship to give the following statement with reference to the abiding results in that wide district :— " I am happy to inform your Lordship that, from my own experience, as well as from the testimony of the Presbyterian minister with whom I have been associated, more particularly in the revival work, most satisfactory fruits have followed the NEWTOWNAEDS. 179 wide-spread confession of sin and profession of repentance which attended the ministrations of the gospel during hist summer in this neighbourhood. We might reasonably have expected to hear of many cases of relapse, and in some quarters of a reaction, during the winter season, when all extra meetings had to a considerable extent been suspended, and all physical manifestations had disappeared; but nothing of the kind has reached our ears. The extreme vigilance and jealousy of some who have watched the progress of the work more closely, have led them to fear the stability of one or two who made a profes- sion ; but this only proves, that if anj^ cases had occurred cal- culated to throw discredit on the work, it could not have escaped observation. Weekly prayer-meetings are very gene- rally held over the whole parish, conducted by laymen of piety and discretion, and are very well attended, and daily family worship is continued in houses where, up to the revival move- ment, utter ungodliness prevailed. " As soon as the weather improves, we purpose resuming our extra meetings upon a large scale, which the still unquenched desire on the part of the people for hearing the word renders necessary." In no part of the province, so far as I can learn, has there been a more genuine work of grace than in the town of New- townards. The following statement in regard to it has been furnished by Mr M. Harbison, the intelligent teacher of the National School in that place, who has had much to do in con- nexion with the revival, although he refers to his own labours in such a modest way that it is sometimes difficult to identify them : — State of Iteligion Previously.- — "Before giving you an ac- count of the work of the Lord here, it is necessary that I should tell you something regarding the state of the town previous to that blessed awakening. Our population is about twelve thousand, and we are supplied with four congregations in connexion with the General Assembly, two Covenanting, two Methodist, and one Established Church. There is also a con- gregation of Unitarians, and one of Roman Catholics. The 180 THE WORK BEGUN. attendance on all these did not amount to more than twelve hundred persons on an average, and of these a considerable number came from the country districts around. From statis- tics made out by our town missionary, (there has been one employed for the past three years,) we came to the conclusion that fully one-half of the population of the town had not even a nominal connexion with any place of worship. You will see from this that religion was in a very low state among us, and you will not be surprised to hear that this town of twelve thou- sand inhabitants supported some seventy public-houses, and more than a dozen pawn-shops. Their necessary pendants, Sabbath desecration, intemperance, and immorality, were fear- fully prevalent. It is right to state, however, that the town missionary, in conjunction with a few 'who sighed and cried for the abominations' committed amongst us, established and sustained a number of prayer-meetings, which were conducted weekly in the poorer districts of the town. " Such was the state of things about the 1st of May last. Some time previous to this, the attention of many had been directed to the accounts of the marvellous work that the Lord was doing in Connor, Ahoghill, and other places in Antrim. A school- master, a native of that district, went down to see for himself the wondrous things about which he had heard so much. The reality exceeded the fame, and he came back deeply convinced that the finger of God alone could produce what he had seen. He engaged two young men — one a teacher, and the other a Scripture-reader— to come to Newtownards and give an account of what the Lord was doing around them. They came about a week after, and, before a considerable audience, gave a narrative of the wondrous scenes they had witnessed. Many seemed deeply impressed; others were sceptical, on account of the physical accompaniments. They wished for a revival, but were not reconciled to the modus operandi of the Holy Spirit. I should state that, about a week before the arrival of the young men, a united prayer-meeting had been established on the Wednesday evening, which was to be continued weekly. It commenced in one of the Covenanting churches, and was at- THE SCHOOLMASTER TUENED PREACHER. 181 tended by about two hundred persons. This number, though but small, was looked upon by every one as something marvel- lous. One of our most popular divines could hardly have drawn together such an audience on a week-day evening a month previous. This prayer-meeting w^as changed from house to house, until it had gone over all the evangelical churches in the town, the audience gradually increasing. Still, few but church-goers attended. The vast outlying population had yet to be reached. The gospel was yet to be preached to tlie poor; the lost were yet to be sought and saved. For this purpose the Spirit used His own instruments ; and, in order that He might have all the glory, they were weak ones. The Schoolmaster turned Preacher, — " On the Lord's-day after the visit of the young men, the schoolmaster, (Mr H.,) who had invited them, w^as much pressed in spirit by observing the Sabbath desecration which was so prevalent in the street in w^hich he lived. It was a lovely evening, and the people were spending it standing idly at their door, talking about the world and the things thereof — their children, meanwhile, playing noisily before their eyes. Both young and old seemed to have forgotten that their Creator had ever commanded them to keep His day holy. Mr H. went out about half-past six p.m., and called on a number of the people, inviting them to come to his schoolroom at seven o'clock, as he wished to talk and pray with them. Among others, he visited the bellman of the town, (J. K.,) notorious for his drunkenness and profligacy. Many of them promised to attend; but after waiting half-an-hour be- yond the appointed time, only tivo children made their appear- ance! It suddenly occurred to ^Ir H., that if they would not come in to hear him, it was his duty to go out and speak to them; and although unaccustomed to public speaking, and naturally of a timid disposition, he felt he was moved by an impulse which he could not resist. He w^nt out to a place where two streets crossed, opened his Bible, and commenced to sing a psalm. The novelty of the preacher, who w^as well known to the people, drew together in a few minutes more than a hundred persons. j\Ir H, addressed them from the parable of 182 THE TOWN MISSIONARY. the barren fig-tree, (Luke xiii. (1-9.) The speaker was helped wonderfully, and all seemed deeply impressed. One heart, at least, was opened to attend to the things that were spoken, that of the drunken bellman, who, to the surprise of all, was present. He did not cry out at the meeting, nor was he pros- trated, but for some days after he could neither eat nor sleep. He was in darkness and in heaviness ; a strange weight pressed upon his soul ; a yearning for something, such as he had never felt before, occupied all his thoughts. A few evenings after, Mr H. asked him out to take a walk with him, and then he told him of the love of Jesus, and that He had died to save him. The man stopped, and lifted up his hands in an ecstasy of joy. The darkness and the heaviness had vanished, and a flood of light, love, and peace, filled his soul. Ten months have since elapsed, but J. K. still continues steadfast. Although often tempted by his former wicked companions, he never since has entered a public-house. Under his humble roof, which once resounded with oaths and imprecations, a family altar has been erected, upon which is daily ofi"ered that sacrifice which is never despised when presented by our great High Priest. Instead of abusing his wife and children, as was formerly the case, he is now a kind husband and father ; and whoever is absent from the church or the prayer-meeting, J. K. is sure to be in his place. Such, as far as known to us, are the first-fruits of the revival in Newtownards. The Work Sjtreads. — " The open-air meeting, so auspiciously begnin, was continued from Sabbath to Sabbath in the same place. The attendance rapidly increased, until, instead of hun- dreds, thousands were present. About three weeks after it commenced, the Scripture-reader before mentioned had been appointed to the situation of town missionary. He was asked to address tliis meeting. As he had come from the district where the revival had made most progress, and as his labours had been greatly blessed, there was much anxiety to hear him, and the meeting was a large one. A young woman, whose clothing was so deficient that she could not go out to the street, heard him from the window. The Spirit carried the word in THE STREET MEETINGS. 183 power to her heart, and she was deeply convinced of sin. She rose from her seat, got down on her knees beside her loom — for she was a weaver — and cried, in the most heartrending tones, ' God be merciful to me a sinner ; ' ' Lord, save me.' She re- mained in this position for the greater part of the night. The house was crowded with anxious faces. Sin and salvation seemed to be the all-pervading subjects of thought with every one present. How to escape the one and obtain the other, was the inquiry of many hearts. One man present — a soldier, and a Unitarian — was observed with the tears trickling down his cheeks. The work had now fairly commenced, and during the week it spread rapidly. A considerable number of similar cases of awakening occurred in almost every street in the town. Among others, a number of prostitutes were convinced of sin, and were heard crying for mercy. The public excitement was great. Every face wore an expression of awe. In thousands of hearts, and on hundreds of lips, was the question, 'What must I do to be saved V 'On Wednesday evening, the largest church in the town was crowded, ground-floor and gallery, pews and aisles. Hundreds could not get admission, and would not go away. The lawn in front of the church was densely filled ; some one in the crowd gave out a psalm ; and prayer and praise ascended to the throne of God, from the outside as well as from the inside of the church. More than four thousand persons must have been present at that prayer-meeting. Tlie Street Meetings.— ^^ An incident worthy of note occurred about this time. On a Monday morning, some of the very persons who had been invited a few weeks previously to attend the prayer-meeting in the schoolroom, but did not, called and asked the master to conduct a meeting in the street, as the people were thirsting for the word. The missionary compKed with their request, and it seemed as if nearly all the people residing in that street were present. " It was found that one meeting in the week was not enough, so, in addition, almost every church in the town was opened for prayer, every evening in some cases, and two or three in the week in others. Besides all these, street-meetings became 184 RESULTS OF THE REVIVAL. numerous, and were everywhere well attended. In order to secure an audience at any time, all that was necessary was to go into the street and commence to sing a psalm, and nearly all the people within view would be present in five minutes. The effect upon the entire community was very observable. Drinking was almost entirely given up, drunkenness almost unknown. Streets and lanes formerly thronged at certain hours of the night by strange women and their associates, were deserted. In passing through districts where the 'noisy laughter of the fool,' or the impure language of the profane was wont to be heard, the voice of psalms caught the ear in all directions. The 12th of July, the anniversary of Satan as well as of the Orangemen, came and went, and left no trace behind. ' Not a drum was heard,' not an arch was erected, not a shot was fired. The prayer -meetings took place as usual — were thronged as usual. " Not only was the influence of the revival felt in the assem- bling of the people for united prater, but also in the regular meetings of the churches, which were filled to overflowing. Sit- ting room could hardly be obtained, and in most instances the aisles were crowded. The vacant pews were speedily let, and in some churches many applicants could not be accommodated. The communion-roll, also, in some instances, was doubled — in all, largely increased ; while the candidate class was never so numerous in the recollection of aged ministers. Young men and women, formerly careless and giddy, might be seen, with anxious faces, listening greedily to the tale of that dying love which it was their desire for the first time to commemorate. "The sale of religious tracts and books, but especially of Bibles, Avas greatly increased. Parcel after parcel was obtained from Belfast, hundreds of copies were sold, and hundreds were given gratis to those who were unable to purchase. A society also was organised for the purpose of leaving a tract monthly in every house in the town. The Awakened. — " With regard to the manner in which parties were impressed, I suppose it was much the same here as else- where; perhaps fewer cried out at meetings with us than in THE CONVERTED SCHOOL-GIEL. 185 other places. Indeed, such were rather the exception than the rule. It was generally in their own houses, often in their beds, that they first began to feel anxious about their souls. One man, a militia Serjeant, was arrested while throwing a bullet on a bet for drink. His hand fell by his side, and he was unable to raise it. He has since been one of the most hopeful of the converts. Another man was awakened at his loom. He had been a drunkard and a blasphemer, but has become a useful and intelligent Christian — has assisted in organising a total abstinence society, and is forward to every good work. " One little girl, about twelve years of age, the child of godly parents, was reading on the Sabbath-evening to her mamma the hymn, ' What 's the News I ' When she came to the lines, ' The Lord has pardou'd all my sin, I feel the witness now within/ her mamma stopped her, saying, 'I doubt you can't say that, dear.' It was a Avord in season. It reached her conscience, and in a moment she was on her knees crying for mercy. For some hours she was in awful agony of soul, using such expressions as, ' Oh, what a dreadful sinner I am ;' ' Lord, wash away my sins in Thy blood.' After remaining in this state for about two hours, the light all at once broke in upon her soul, and she clapped her hands for joy. She repeated, with remarkable emphasis and expression, M'Cheyne's hymn, ' I once was a stranger to grace and to God.' It seemed the very language of her soul. A few days after, she requested to be allowed to distribute Bibles and tracts, and has since been letting her light shine before men. The teacher of the school that she attended, on the following morning told the children what he had heard her say, and im- mediately about ten of them cried out very bitterly for mercy. They have since given evidence of a change of heart. "There were, perhaps, fewer of the converts with us than almost anywhere else who manifested a desire for addressing a meeting, so that very little lay agency was employed. Indeed, they all seemed more anxious to learn than to teach; more desirous to be hearers of the word than preachers of it. Many 186 THE COTTAGE MEETINGS. of them were very ignorant; could not even read. Several classes on week-day evenings have been organised for their instruction. Among others, a considerable number of married persons attend, who were ignorant of the alphabet when they came. Their progress is astonishing. Many of them in three months have learned to read the Word of God. The Cottage Meetings.—'''' I must not omit to mention another means of usefulness, not altogether originated by the revival, but mightily strengthened by it, I refer to ' Cottage Meetings' for prayer, praise, and the reading and exposition of God's Word. In almost every street in the town one of these is conducted weekly. About twenty of such meetings are in existence at the present time, attended by from thirty to fifty individuals on an average. In this way the gospel is brought into the very houses of the people. About eight hundred of our population have weekly the privilege of hearing its joyful sound, many of whom are unable to attend upon public worship. The missionary visits these meetings in rotation ; in the intervals they are con- ducted by intelligent laymen. " The revival is now ten months old among us, so that we have ample time to test its results. The excitement has passed away, but the great majority of the awakened manifest, by a 'life and conversation becoming the gospel,' that they have indeed ' passed from death unto life.' Those who were merely frightened into a temporary sobriety, have, as might be expected, returned to their old habits, and, in consequence, the haunts of vice have rallied a little ; but after making deductions for all this, there is much cause for thankfulness to the Father of mercies for the abundant shower of Divine grace with which we have been visited." Illustrative cases of a deeply interesting character are sup- plied by a young lady who has been one of the most energetic and assiduous in her attentions to those who have been the subjects of the awakening in her native town. She mentions that many even of a later date than the last of the subjoined might have been given. From a large number of such I select the following : — THE FIRST-FRUIT OP THE NEW YEAR. 187 The Cry to the Father. — *' M. M'K was a merry, lively girl. She had not attended any meetings. Her case is the first I have either seen or heard of that addressed petitions to the Father. She lay nearly an hour unconscious to all around, pouring forth her petitions in the following strain :— 'Father, dear ! look down upon me this night ! Father, mark me with grace ! Lord Jesus, take away my heavy sins ! Father, I own I have been a heavy sinner ! Lord Jesus, come to my arms ! Father, renew my wicked, wicked heart ; give me a new one, and mark me with grace ! O Father, for Jesus Christ's sake, come to me ! Father, dear, relieve me ! Have mercy upon me, my God, have mercy upon me ! ' The Unbeliever in the Wm^h. — "J. W. for twenty years never entered a church ; and for fourteen, never bowed his knees in prayer, nor read his Bible. He was a drunkard, and did not believe in the work. He was struck, but went to his work, and got drunk, trying to quench the Spirit. He was prostrated for nearly a Aveek. A fortnight after he was visited, he again thought Satan was at his side wanting him. Next day he came to his pastor to ask him to pray ' for more of the love of God, and for strength to overcome his besetting sin, drink.' He is now a Sabbath-school teacher, and a leader in prayer-meetings, and is sometimes up for nights visiting the stricken and pray- ing with them. The First-fruit of the New Year— January 1, I860.—" S. W. had been a most abandoned character. She was noted every- where for her cursing and immodest language. She had been anxious for months, and had given up most of her wicked habits — was attending prayer-meetings, and was praying to be visited. On Sabbath she had prayed before going out to a prayer-meeting, ' Lord, I am clear of nothing ; wash me in one drop of Thy blood. (I thought when I got that, I would get more.)' She was struck under the verse, ' Cut it down, why cumbereth it the ground?' She found peace next morning, singing the 116th Psalm. She said, 'I am the vilest, wicked- est, miserablest sinner that ever lived. I am clear of nothing — not even murder. I have murdered my own soul. For forty 188 SUCCESS OF THE WORK. years I hated God, and served Satan. There never was such a sinner. I could take every one in my bosom now to bring them to Jesus. I will do all in my power for Him the few remaining years of my life. To think that Jesus should save such a sinner as me ! Now He is my all in all. My beloved is mine, and I am His.' The neighbours say they are sure any one may be saved after her. She is the first-fruit of the New-Year. Is she not a trophy ? " We had not, so far as is known, three spurious cases. We have had some who have fallen away a little, and some very much ; but we still hope the Lord has His hook in their nos- trils. But I am sure the whole does not amount to twelve, out of a population of twelve thousand, and many hundreds of prostrations. We never had any ' trances,' or ' sleeps,' and only five cases that appeared for a time like demoniac possession. No stress was laid upon visions." CHAPTER Xnt. THE REVIVAL IN COUNTY DOWN — Continued. A Visit to Boardmills, and Preaching on a Sabbath Evening — Groups on the Green— Few Stricken — Every One Moved — No Extrava- gances—The Children at the Prayer-meetings — Happy Change in Society— Open-air Communion — Preciovisness of Calvinistic Doc- trine — Ballinahinch — Revival Incident, as told by a Scottish Minister — The Washerwoman's Prayer — Conlig — Answer to Prayer — Bally copeland^— -Illustrative Cases — Rathfriland — A Stu- dent's Statement — Baubridge — Statement of Mr Greene, Civil Engineer — Dromara. It was on a Sabbath evening in the end of June that I had an opportunity of witnessing the first-fruits of revival in the County Down. I had been requested by the Rev. George H. Shanks of Boardmills to deliver an address on the American awakening of the previous year. He had been labouring under great depress^ion of mind, induced by a painful apprehension that the showers of blessing which were falling elsewhere were not to descend on the field in which he laboured. I have in a former chapter introduced a portion of his statement, in which he refers to this distressing experience. On my alighting at his dwelling, on the Sabbath evening to which I have referred, I was met by this excellent minister with a joyous congratulation. The revival had come a few days before, and his countenance was lighted up with an ex- pression of mingled gratitude and joy. The whole "country side " was now in movement. I could have learned what had taken place by the crowds of earnest men and women through 130 SABBATH EVENING AT BOAEDMILLS. which I passed, all moving on with their Bibles in their hands, and indicating that they were converging to some common place of meeting. On the morning before, I was informed by Mr Shanks that so many as seventy were at the manse by ten o'clock, all under deep soul-concern, while all night long the house was filled with persons who had been taken there after the meetings of the evening. Then as we walked along to the church, the pastor pointed to this and that dwelling as having been the scene of a wondrous visitation within the last few days, old things having passed away, and all things become new. Arriving at the church, it was almost impossible to effect an entrance. Never had such an assemblage been collected there, and never had the community around been stirred by such a profound and general interest. The numbers were so great, that it was evident at once they could not be accommodated in one place, and so an extra service was conducted in the school- house by the Rev. Alexander Dobbin. On ascending the pulpit and seeing the appearance of the multitude, I gave up all thought of addressing them on the subject which had been announced. The American awakening, however interesting in its details, was an event belonging to the past, and the audience before me were all engrossed with the strange realities now passing before their eyes, I endeavoured, accordingly, to suit my discourse to their existing state and feelings, opening up and pressing home the unconditional freeness of the gospel of Christ. As I proceeded, there was profound solemnity and intense emotion, and one or two occasionally quietly retired ; but there were no prostrations, such as usually were exhibited on such occasions. At the close, and after the benediction, nearly all remained, and, breaking up into groups, fell into earnest conversation, or, gathering around some friend or neigh- bour who had given signs of mental distress, engaged ui exercises of prayer or praise. Many were there who had found peace on the preceding evenings, and who were testifying to others the overflowing fulness of their joy. A countryman and his wife, both of whom had been the subjects of the gracious FV^ERY ONE MOVED. 191 visitation, had left the place with an enlargement of heart unfelt before, and as they went, they sang together one of the songs of Zion. Here was a knot of young women, who had not seen each other since they had been severally brought to Christ, and as they met, they literally rushed into each others arms. There was a group of boys clasped in affectionate em- braces, while one was saying, " Precious Jesus ! " another, " Oh, that all would come to Him ! " a third, " He is the chief among ten thousand, and altogether lovely ! " while another still, in the fervour of his new-born love, was moving about among those present on the green, and saying, " Look to Jesus all of you — look, and live!" Hard by were some silent weepers, and one or two who were labouring in sore agony, as though all the waves of Divine wrath were raging round and over them. It was a scene to be remembered ever by those who witnessed it — a marvellous manifestation of the love of God the Father, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the communion of the Holy Spirit. These beginnings, so full of promise, were succeeded by other incidents of like interest ; and in no district was the work more entirely in accordance with that sobriety and order which are so desirable in a time of general excitement. I shall allow Mr Shanks himself to continue and conclude the narrative : — " For some five weeks, without intermission, a public meeting was held every evening, the church being frequently unable to hold them all ; while at my own house, at ten o'clock forenoon, crowds assembled in deej) spiritual anxiety. For some days every room in my house had a ' stricken ' soul in it, surrounded by a small group of praying friends, no bustle nor noise being allowed, but all calm, solemn, prayerful, reading God's Word, or singing a psalm, as the case might requuu After some eight days, the 'striking down' and all external manifestation nearly ceased, except a case at intervals ; but there appeared no abatement of religious concern nor cessation of the Spirit's influence. Whole households were awakened and brought to seek the Sa\dour, and have all ever since ' brought forth fruits meet for repent- ance.' Everybody for a number of weeks was moved, and all 192 NO EXTRAVAGANCES. seemed to think they should seek salvation, feeling as if they were on the very verge of the spiritual and the eternal world, and in the immediate presence of Deity. " I do not say that all who were under serious impressions continued to retain them till they found Jesus ; for in that case I verily believe there would scarcely be a solitary individual unconverted in the whole neighbourhood ; but thus much I can affirm, that with not more than four exceptions, (if so many,) all whom I considered real converts have continued to give every evidence up to the present moment, and in no single instance that I am aware of, have done anything inconsistent with a Christian profession. There has been ' an abounding in prayer,' and an insatiable thirst for the Word of God. ' Oh, to pray morning and evening,' one is overheard saying, ' would never suffice — we must just pray as we need it.' 'I had another cloud come over me,' says another, ' but I prayed, and I got relief — I prayed while I was at my work, but that would not do, and I left the workers and went behind the hedge and prayed.' The Bible is seen on the loom, and the man in the field can bring it out of his pocket when a text is quoted. Catechise or con- verse with persons, and you will soon find that they are in the habit of reading the Scriptures. "The 'striking down,' and other similar manifestations, always seemed to me to be generally the effect of the absorbing earnest- ness with which the soul sought the Saviour — so as to become, in a measure, unconscious of all things else, and indifferent to them. " ' father,' said one, ' call it not " taking ill," as if it was sickness — it is no sickness, it is just the soul taking Christ.' ' There has been sickness many a time in the country,' said a poor apprentice boy, ' but it never sent people to their prayers.' There have been no convulsive fits here, nor ' sleeping cases,' nor visions, dumbness, deafness, nor marks, &c. All tendencies of this kind were carefully checked, as decidedly adverse to real religion, and people were warned that the outward manifesta- tions were themselves no part of conversion, although sometimes accompanying it, and that persons should not pray to be struck down, but just to be brought to Christ. It was very favourable CHILDREN AT THE PRAYER- MEETINGS. 193 to the cause here that the ministers were all perfectly unani- mous — seeing as ^vith one eye — throwing their whole soul into the work ; and I can easily conceive what excesses and abuses would take place, where, from scarcity of ministers, their stand- ing aloof, or any other cause, the guidance of the movement would fall into the hands of inexperienced persons, however zealous and well-meaning they might be. '"Now I am hapioy,' saj^s a wife, 'and I have got what I prayed for,— my husband keeps worship every day.' "'^ly father prayed for me,' said a stricken one, 'a nice prayer, and he has prayed and kept family worship every day since.' 'What made you cry so much when you went home last Thursday 1 ' I asked a young woman. ' Oh,' said she, ' my father spoke sharp to us for staying so long, and I cannot stand a scolding now as I used to do. But what made me cry was this, — if my earthly father had reason to be angry with me, I thought what provocation I am daily giving to my heavenly Father.' The only source of complaint for some weeks on the part of parents was, that the children went to too many prayer- meetings, and stayed too long at them, and I mostly always took the side of the parents in this quarrel. ' If you had heard how little Isabella prayed when their father scolded them for being out so late — and she prayed that they might all obey their parents,' said a mother. Such scenes have sometimes so melted the father that he was moved, as one told me with tears, ' that he would never say a word, no matter how many prayer-meetings they attended.' It was frequently a contract between parents and children that they should only go twice a week to a prayer- meeting, besides the Sabbath. " ' Little Anna is now the happiest child I have,' says a father ; ' formerly she seldom sat down to a meal without crying, because it was not good enough, and now she eats with thankful- ness whatever she gets.' Families are happy and industrious. Mothers and \^jves are joyful. Little variances and feuds have disappeared. The poor are clothed, and attend places of wor- ship. Shoemakers and tailors I often meet in the houses of the poor. There is less poverty than formerly, and even less 194 HAPPY CHANGE IN SOCIETY. sickness and mortality. There is no such thing as cursing. Multitudes spontaneously offered their names to the Temper- ance Society and Band of Hope. A public-house has been con- verted into a haberdashery and book-shop, and a weekly prayer- meeting is held in it, attended by as many as the house can hold. A notorious drunkard, whom I saw myself in the hands of the police, in Belfast, and whom the magistrates about Saintfield knew well, has been a total abstainer for seven months, and gives every evidence of being a sincere believer; and although now poor, having gone through much of his pro- perty, yet he is respected and loved by all, the chief hand in conducting two prayer-meetings, and the moving spring of several charitable and religious undertakings. Free classes are taught, not exclusively for reading the Scriptures, which, instead of thinning the daily schools, serve rather as feeders to them. A thirst for knowledge is awakened, and I know several grown-up persons attending daily schools. A shoe club, as it is called, were accustomed, in former years, to have whisky to celebrate the close of the term when they had all got their shoes, but this winter they had a temperance soiree, addressed by several ministers and others. I believe family worship is nearly universal. " The attendance on public worship in my church is doubled, the Sabbath collection doubled, and not much falling off even in this cold, dreadful weather. At the 'Revival Communion,' in August, (a special and extra one,) there were two hundred and thirty communicants, the congregation consisting, up to that time, of some one hundred and fifty adherents, and at the sub- sequent communion in November, there were two hundred and fifty. The congregation have built a capacious schoolroom, and are reseating the church, and making other repairs; and the kind, paternal regards of the several congregations is illus- trated by the liberal assistance rendered by members of the two others to my people, and also by the fact that, at the communion, in August, Mr Dobbin's flock and mine pro- posed to hold the communion unitedly in a field, which, how- ever, was not done, for fear of undue excitement, but they PRECIOUSNESS OF CALVINISTIC DOCTRESrES. 195 met together for public worship on Monday ; and this is the more to be prized, because circumstances connected with the origin and history of some of the congregations made them too often have the aspect of rivahy or opposition. Now they are like one people with three ministers. During four even- ings of every week, including that of the Sabbath, a meeting is held in one of the meeting-houses, conducted by one of the ministers, and there are, besides, on every evening, several prayer-meetings, mostly conducted by laymen, a minister attend- ing occasionally. " The exercise of the gifts of prayer and exhortation by the people has had no tendency scarcely to generate vanity or for- wardness. On the contrary, there is more of humility, and modesty, and docility, and the ministerial office was never so nmch respected. The thorough Calvinistic doctrines which were always preached here from all the pulpits (although often without interest to preacher or hearer) give a healthf ulness and strength to the revival in this part. To say ' stick to Christ, and He will stick to you,' would sometimes give but small comfort to some of the converts, who would be ready to reply, in deep despondency, 'Oh, I cannot— my bad heart will not let me: I will give Him up, and He will leave me for ever, and I will be lost.' The comfort rather is, ' He sticks to me, and therefore I will stick to Him, and never let Him go, and be saved for ever.' ' But I think I have malice in my heart against Christ,' said one who for months had been in direct conflict — ' Well,' it was replied, ' it will be forgiven to you for Christ's sake.' ' Will it *? ' he exclaimed in astonishment. ' Oh, I see now how it is,' he said, some days afterwards, ' if my sins were a million more than they are, the blood of Christ could wash them all away.' ' Do you know how it is with me now?' said a very poor man, who had been a drunkard, ' I think that no sm at all is now charged against me ; ' and when I quoted to him, ' Who shall lay any- thing to the charge,' etc., I found him quite familiar with such texts. ' I can read them all,' said he, in his own peculiar man- ner, 'but I cannot read the gospels, for when I read the doings and sayings of Christ, a stun goes through me! 19G PRECIOUSNESS OF CALVIXISTIC DOCTRINES. " I would remark, in conclusion, that I now find some cases of strong conviction and hopeful conversion had taken jjlace un- known to me, before there was any word of revival in this district ; and also, that so far as my own congregation is con- cerned, the 'cases' have generally occurred among those who often heard the Word, either at public worship. Sabbath school, or personal interview, and to whom I had often spoken as pointedly as possible regarding the salvation of their immortal souls ; and more than ever have I been taught the lesson that it is God and not man who converts a soul ; while yet it is man's duty and privilege to use the means — prayerfully to scatter the seed of the Word, demonstrating that ' God hath from the beginning chosen us unto salvation through sanctifica- tion of the Spirit and belief of the truth.'" About the middle of June the revival wave, which had already set in in County Down, swept on to Saintfield. There had for some time previously been an unusual earnestness and desire after Divine things on the part of many of the people. One man, a shoemaker, who had been visited by his minister, the Rev. J. Mecredy, early in May, was found with an open Bible beside him on his seat. Addressing Mr Mecredy in earnest and affectionate terms, he said, " I was very angry, as you may re- member, when you refused some time ago to baptize my child because of my neglect of ordinances, but I have learned to prize your faithfulness, for it has been the means of leading me to serious thought about salvation." The Sabbath before the movement began was a solemn day. At the close of his sermon Mr Mecredy, addressing his people, observed that he had now been among them for eleven years, and though he had laboured earnestly for their salvation, he could not lay his hand on one to whom he could refer as sav- ingly impressed through his insti'umentality. He then entreated that prayer should be offered by those who knew and prized the privilege for the outpouring of the Spirit on the place. In a few evenings after, at a united meeting, held in conjunction with the Rev. Samuel Hamilton, the minister of the first Pres- byterian Church, in which there has been an extensive awaken- BALLINAHmCH. 197 ing, the gracious influence began to descend wliicli so abun- dantly refreslied the weary heritage. Night after night, as elsewhere, the people flocked in crowds together, and multitudes were deeply aftected and impressed. The joy of the converted knew no bounds ; they burned with intense desire for the conversion of all around, and could mth difficulty be induced to take their necessary sleep. On one occasion, far on in the evening, when the Rev. Dr ^lurphy, Pro- fessor of Hebrew, was urging one to go home as the night was advancing, he interposed, and said, " But what care I about day or night, now that my soul is saved ? " It were easy to multiply cases, but it is enough to know that great and cheering work has been going forward in all that neighbourhood. With some, impressions that were only transient, and the effect of temporary excitement, are dying away; and others, who were for the time outwardly reformed, are falling again into their old sins. But the life and reality of religion have been brought home to many as they never were before. The dead have been awakened, and those who were ready to die have been raised up to newness of life. A short stage by rail onward is Ballinahinch. The ministers here also waited long, as they imagined, before they witnessed any decided indications of a gracious work in their own bounds. In the calm of a summer evening, however, whilst one of them was addressing a number of persons in the open air, and recom- mending an organisation of prayer-meetings in the district, the audience were all at once arrested by a piercing cry, which in- vested the scene with a new interest ; and though many months have since elapsed, the influence of that meeting is distinctly felt by many to this hour. It is unnecessary to enter into details. Enough to say, that every testimony of the Divine presence, elsewhere vouchsafed, was experienced at Ballina- hinch. Prayer-meetings sprang into existence, and helpers were raised up on every side. The work was full of labour, but it was also full of hfe and joy. It was the season when visitors, in large numbers, frequent the place to drink the waters, and 108 VISIT OF A SCOTTISH MINISTER. many of these entered \^ith the deepest interest into the move- ment, and contributed their best assistance. Of the many gratifying results, one has been the establish- ]nent of a free school in the week evenings, in vhich, under a goodly band of devoted teachers, no less than a hundred and twenty adults are trained in ordinary as well as in religious knowledge. The following incident, in connexion with a visit to Ballina- hinch, has been kindly supplied, at my request, by an esteemed minister of the Free Church of Scotland :— " I and my wife went over to Ireland in the month of August; and, in the same steamer in which we went, there were Mr B , a brother Free Church minister, and his wife. I went a full believer in the revival, as reported in the friendly newspapers, and hoping to have my belief confirmed by per- sonal observation. Mr B went a strong sceptic, and also hoping to have his scepticism confirmed. When we landed at Belfast, we parted company — I and my wife taking up our lodgings in a hotel ; Mr B and his wife, I believe, making their abode in a private family. " After spending some days in Belfast, where we saw many interesting cases of parties w^ho had been converted during the revival, we resolved, by the advice of a friend, to visit Newtown- ards, a country town about a dozen miles from Belfast, and where we were given to understand the work of revival had just begun, and was manifesting itself in great strength. We had just left our hotel, on the way to the railway station, when a car swept past us. Mr B and his wife were on the car. We hailed them, and they stopped. " ' Wliere are you going 1 ' said ]\Ir B . " ' To Newtownards,' I replied. " ' Come up, then,' said Mr B , ' and we will drive you to the station.' " So up we mounted, and before we reached the station, I learned that Mr B 's scepticism had been completely re- moved, and that, from what he had seen, he had become a thorough believer in the genuineness of the work. REVIVAL INCIDENT. 199 "Mr B was going to Ballmahincli, and from what lie told me of the work that was going on there, I resolved to accompany him, reserving my visit to Newtownards for a future occasion ; and so we took our tickets for Ballinahinch. " We landed at our destination about six o'clock in the even- ing, and took up our abode in a farm-house two or three miles beyond the town. After taking some refreshment, we all set out to attend a prayer-meeting which we understood was to be held that evening. The meeting was to be in the village school-house ; and as we wended our way along, we could ob- serve the various roads and by-paths thronged with parties, all moving in the direction of the prayer-meeting. " The school-house was full ; perhaps about a hundred would be present. My friend, Mr B , opened the meeting with praise and prayer, and then gave a short account of what he had seen in Belfast ; and concluded by stating that he had been a sceptic as to the revival previous to his coming to Ireland, but that now his scepticism had given place to the strongest conviction of its truth, and that he believed it to be a great and gracious work of God. " It was expected that I would say something ; but as I had come to see and to hear, I resolved that I would not open my mouth. Thereafter, two men — common ploughmen — one after the other, gave out a psalm, read a portion of Scripture, and prayed; and then both of them, at the earnest and pressing request of Mr B and myself, gave a plain, simple, and most interesting account of their respective conversions. Here there was a pause in the meeting, and again I was appealed to to say a word ; but I would not. I wanted to be a hearer, for Lfelt I was among praying people. There was a gentleman from Bel- fast present, and he was requested to conclude with prayer and praise. This gentleman consented. But before he offered up prayer, he requested the meeting to engage in silent prayer. " And accordingly we all went to our knees, and were for some little time engaged in silent prayer, when the stillness and solemnity of our devotions were broken, or rather, I should ^say, increased, by the deep bass voice of a woman pouring forth the 200 THE WASHERWOMAN S PRAYER. following prayer — a prayer which I give from memory, but which made so deep an impression upon me at the time, that I can almost guarantee it to be given verbatim as it was offered up— -wdth this only difference, that in so far as it is not given verbatim, it suffers grievous injury: — " ' Father I if our hearts deceive us not, we have come here to-night to call upon Thy name ! We have come here to seek Thee in the appointed way, and to pour out our hearts before Thee in prayer. " ' Father ! \^dlt Thou not hear us ! Thou hast heard me before, and I know Thou wilt hear me again. Thou art the Hearer and the Answerer of prayer. This is the name by which Thou art known among Thy people. Thou didst hear Thy ser- vant Moses when he prayed unto Thee in the wilderness on behalf of the rebellious children of Israel, and Thou didst spare them. Thou didst hear Thy servant Elijah when he prayed unto Thee that it should not rain, and it rained not for the space of three years and a-half. Thou didst hear Thy servant Daniel when he prayed unto Thee in the lions' den, and the lions' mouths were shut, so that they hurt him not. And Thou art the same God still; the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. Thine ear is not now heavy that it cannot hear, neither is Thine hand shortened that- it cannot save. Hear us also, therefore, O Father, when we pray unto Thee ; hear us when we thus kneel at Thy footstool, and cause our prayer to ascend before Thee ! " ' Father ! we pray for unconverted ministers — ministers who are blind themselves, and leaders of the blind — ministers who are nothing but finger-posts pointing the way of salvation to others, while they themselves stand still, and walk not in that way ! Father, give them grace to hold their peace until they have a message from Thee ! And, oh, have mercy upon them, and make them — oh, make them ministering spirits, that they may minister unto them who shall be heirs of salvation ! " ' Father, we pray for the new-born babes — those whom Thou hast quickened at this time, and made new creatures in Christ Jesus ! Wrap them in the swaddling-bands of Divine THE washerwoman's PRAYEE. 201 love — compass tliem with Thy favour as with a shield — keep the everlasting arms underneath and round about them, and cause them to thirst after the sincere milk of the Word that they may grow thereby ! Hold Thou them up, and they shall be safe. Let not the enemy triumph over them, but guide them by" Thy counsel, and then shall they have respect unto Thy statutes continually. " ' Father ! we pray for unconverted sinners ! Oh, have mercy upon them ! Let the earthquake come, with its terrible shak- ings, that they may be alarmed ; and if the earthquake pass un- heeded, let the still small voice of conscience come and whisper its warning; and if the voice of conscience be stifled, let a sound from heaven, as of a mighty rushing wind, come ; and if still they remain hardened and unmoved, then put the hammer of Thy word into the hand of Thy Spirit, and break their rocky hearts in pieces ; and if, when thus crushed and broken, they still hold out, then put them, we pray Thee, where Thou didst j)ut Thy prophet Jonah of old — put them into the whale's belly, and keep them there until they shall be constrained to exclaim, " Salvation is of the Lord." " ' Father ! we pray for the Pharisees — those whited sepulchres that appear outwardly righteous, but Avho are full of all un- cleanness within. Our blessed Lord did say unto them, in the days of His flesh, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites ;" but do Thou say unto them, in this dciy of merci- ful visitation, " Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways, for why will ye die?" O Father, have mercy, we pray Thee, upon poor blind Pharisees ! " ' Father ! hear this our prayer, we beseech Thee ; and hear it, not for our own selves — for, alas, we are vile and unworthy that our iDrayer should be heard and answered — but hear it for the sake of Him who sits at Thy right hand clothed in our nature, a Prince and a Saviour, and who once bowed His head upon the cross, and said, " It is finished ; " for His sake hear this our prayer, and for His sake answer it in great mercy ; and the glory thereof shall be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, one God, both now and for ever. Amen.' 202 SUBSEQUENT INTERVIEW. " Immediately after this prayer was oftered up, the gentleman from Belfast engaged in prayer, and then we joined together in a song of praise. The work of the evening being now over, Mr B rose to pronounce the benediction, but I stopped him, say- ing, ' No, not yet ; for after the remarkable prayer that we have just heard, I feel I can be silent no longer, but that I must say something.' The fact is, I felt that because of my determined silence I was regarded by the meeting as a revival sceptic, and that I had been prayed for as an unconverted minister ; and so I told them that from the very first I liad been an ardent believer in the work of revival, and that I had come over to Ireland, not only to see the work, but with the view of having my own soul quickened. I told them also how I had been pro- videntially led to visit Ballinahinch ; that I felt thankful to God for bringing me there ; that I had greatly enjoyed their prayer-meeting ; and that I would have reckoned myself abun- dantly rewarded for coming to Ireland though I had seen no- thing but this meeting, and heard nothing but the striking and impressive prayer that had been offered up during the time of our silent devotions. " After the blessing was pronounced I went to the woman who had prayed and shook hands with her most cordially, addressing her thus : — ' You are a remarkable woman, and that was a remarkable prayer you offered up.' 'Were you angry, sir ]' she said. ' Angry !' I replied ; ' No, I was delighted.' " Having expressed a wish to have some conversation with her, she told me that she was a washerwoman, and had to work hard for her daily bread, but that she could spare an hour on the morrow. And as I had arranged to leave Ballinahinch by the ten o'clock morning train, we appointed the hour of meeting to be six o'clock in the morning, at her own house. And accordingly, next morning at six o'clock, I found her awaiting me ; and during our interview I got her whole his- tory. I found that she had had Christian parents, her mother being still alive, and with whom she lived ; that she had been piously trained up ; that from her earliest years she had been conversant with the Word of God, and even mighty in the CONLIG— ANSWER TO PEAYER. 203 Scriptures ; that she had been a Sabbath-school teacher, and regarded by all that knew her as a decided Christian, but that she herself was all the while conscious that she was nothing more nor less than a hardened sinner, and that it was not till the work of revival made its appearance in Ballinahinch that she was quickened and made alive from the dead and brought to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. " I stayed with her till nine o'clock, and parted in the hope, that if we should never meet again upon earth, we should meet in the world above, before the throne, to sing the praises of redeeming love throughout all eternity." The following striking incident, out of many, is mentioned by the Rev. S. J. Hansen, late of Conlig, now of Kingstown. It is here recorded as an encouragement to prayer : — " I had gone to Coleraine to witness the movement there ; and having ascertained that that place, so richly watered by the outpouring of the Spirit, had been made the subject of spe- cial prayer by the Ahoghill converts, I resolved to request the prayers of those lately awakened on behalf of Conlig. On the following week I was in Comber, addressing a meeting for Mr Rogers, and during my address my resolution flashed over my mind. I seized the suggestion, and then and there besought God's children to join in prayer for Conlig. 1 returned home the following day — found, on arriving, that there had been a messenger for me. I immediately set out for the place from which the messenger came, and, to my delight, there found a soul rejoicing in Jesus. On making inquiry as to the time and circumstances of the merciful visitation, I learned that, at the very time Mr Rogers's people were engaged in prayer for us, this woman awoke from sleep, repeating Isaiah lii. and 2, ' Shake thyself from the dust ; arise and sit down, O Jeru- salem; loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.' Such was the introduction of the revival work here, as if, in answer to special prayer, God encouraging us to climb more frequently the Mount of Intercession by this token of assurance that the prayer of the righteous availeth much." 204 BALLYCOPELAXD — COMJMENCEMENT AND PROGRESS. Within a short distance of Donaghadee, on the sea-coast, is a rural district, called Bally cope] and. The Rev. Robert Black thus records the commencement of the awakening in the neigh- bourhood : — " When the revival visited Mill isle, the whole village was moved. Few retired to rest, crowds collected around the doors of the awakened ones to hear them cry for mercy — such a night was never witnessed here. This greatly intensified the feeling. " From that date there was no difficulty in collecting a large meeting, on any day of the week, with the smallest notice. I may say that open-air services were held here throughout the entire summer, on the Sabbath evenings, with an attendance varying from three hundred to twelve hundred of all classes in the district— high and low, rich and poor, moral and immoral, listening, not only with attention, but with deep earnestness, to plain gospel truths proclaimed in the name of Christ. " I cannot enter into details to any extent, but will give one or two cases which may prove interesting. " In the course of one week there were over twenty cases in that locality. " j\Irs B , the wife of a respectable farmer, and mother of a family, felt herself constrained to attend a prayer-meeting that was held one Saturday evening in her neighbourhood. Her husband had made light of the revival, and she came to the meeting rather as Nicodemus did to our Lord. I read the 15th chapter of Luke's Gospel — an address was delivered from the parable of the prodigal son — the Lord applied the word — she was convinced of her need of a Saviour, and publicly cried out for mercy. ' Oh ! ' she exclaimed, ' I am as the prodigal ! When I was young, at a Sabbath school, I resolved, if the Lord would spare me till I was settled in life, I would give my heart to Him. I got married, but the world filled my heart. I had children, and they entwined themselves around my affections, and I forgot God. I sometimes tried to become religious, but I found I could not do it ; I had delayed too long ; but now, praise to His holy name, Jesus has put fortli ILLUSTKATWE CASES — " THINK OF THE CHILDREN." 205 His own mighty hand, and pulled open the door of my heart, and has entered in.' And then, in ecstasy, she burst into a shout of praise — '■' Jesus, my Lord, I know His name, His name is all my boast ; Nor will He put my soul to shame, Nor let my hope be lost." The above is only a bare outline of her case, as the mental agony continued for hours. It was Sabbath morning ere I left her. I will never forget an answer she gave her husband that night. He, supposing she was insane, said, ' Oh, M , think of the children — what will become of them if ' ' Yes,' she answered, ' I will think of them. You know I have wrought hard for their bodies — from this time I will seek also the good of their souls.' I believe she is keeping her promise. Her old father was there ; his heart swelled with emotion — he wept like a child — all wept — and I, too, wept, though not to weeping given. " There have been many cases of revival, properly so called — i. e., Christians quickened to newness of spiritual life. I will just notice one case. James is a quiet, unobtrusive man, about sixty years old, of that rank in life which depends on daily labour for support. He has been, I believe, in Christ ever since I have known him. One night his mind was so engaged with rehgious thought that he could not sleep. He arose and prayed almost the entire night. His mind was similarly engaged for many nights. " I do not wish to leave the impression that, in this neigh- bourhood, the spirit of revival has pervaded the mass of the people ; but the Lord has graciously done so much for us, that His people here are encouraged to look for more abundant showers of blessing, and can pray, with believing expectation, this prayer, ' Wilt Thou not revive us again, that Thy people may rejoice in TheeV We can say, with the Psalmist, 'The Lord hath been mindful of us, he will bless us.' " Oh, for faith to look up to the Lord, and wait till He pour out His Spirit on all the house of Israel." 206 RATHFPJLAND— A STUDENTS STATEMENT. Among those engaged, in the course of the summer of 1859, in the advancement of the work of God, were many young men in course of preparation for the ministry. A goodly number of these were themselves quickened into newness of life, and willingly consecrated their energies to the holy cause. To such an extent were they thus employed, that when the period arrived for the bestowal of the degrees and other literary and scientific honours, annually awarded by Queen's University, several of the undergraduates were found to have withdrawn for the time from the competition — a circumstance which was publicly noticed at the time, both by the Vice-chancellor of the University and by his Excellency the Lord-lieutenant of Ire- land. The theological students, were especially serviceable in their respective neighbourhoods, and the experience they acquired within the few months referred to, gave them a pro- founder insight into the mode of dealing with individual souls than they could have attained by whole years of academic training. I have much gratification in introducing here a statement by one of the young men who were actively occupied in the work. Mr James Heron thus describes the movement in Rathfriland, his native place : — " Though the late remarkable awakening burst forth suddenly upon the people of Kathfriland and its neighbourhood, yet it did not come unsought for ; it came not without many an earnest wish and many a fervent prayer. It was generally well known that a great, and, in many respects, unprecedented revival was being experienced in many parts of America, and especially all available information was procured regarding the progress and fruits of the revival in our own land, as it spread from district to district, and from town to town. Interesting narratives of the good work, as it advanced on both sides of the Atlantic, were brought from time to time before large and deeply atten- tive audiences. The effect of this soon became apparent. An intense desire was thus excited to witness among themselves what they only heard through the testimony of others. This desire found vent for itself in prayer. A union prayer meeting, A student's statement. 207 consisting of the tliree Presbyterian congregations of the place, and conducted by their respective ministers, was commenced and statedly held in the largest place of worship which the town could afford. This meeting, uniformly crowded to excess, was always characterised by the deepest solemnity. But this is only one among many other meetings gathered for a similar purpose. I am myself aware of at least four different associa- tions for prayer held regularly in the country districts. And let it not be forgotten, that the great end which all these kept steadily in view— the end for which they were organised, and for which they were conducted — was to pray for a special out- pom-ing of the Spirit of God, for a revival of religion throughout the neighbourhood. The attendance on public worship had already increased, an earnest and prayerful spirit had become diffused among the people, and an intense anxiety about the realities of the spiritual world. " Such, briefly, was the state of things in a religious aspect when the bodily affections made their appearance. They were first manifested on a Saturday evening, the 9th of July 1859. Only a few persons, however, were ' stricken ' on the occa- sion ; but enough to excite the curiosity and wonder of the whole neighbourhood. It was announced that the young man, whose address had been attended with such singular results, would appear before the union prayer-meeting on Sabbath even- ing. We should have observed sooner that the young man in question had been affected in Belfast, under the address of a Ballymena convert, and had come to relate his experience, and to testify in behalf of the cause of Christ, to the people of Rath- friland. The news of the Saturday evening's meeting had already spread far over the country. Hundreds who had come from a distance remained for the evening services, and crowds flocked from every dhection, expecting to hear and to see won- ders. So great was the multitude, that it was soon found neces- sary to retire to a field in the vicinity of the town. The exercises of praise and prayer were conducted by one of the ministers. The youthful speaker then rose and proceeded to address the vast assemblage with the utmost coolness. 208 A STUDENT S STATELMENT. The discourse had not continued fifteens minutes when the audience began to be stirred. A veneraljle-looking old man sank to the ground close by the platform. Apparently he had swooned, and he was removed out of the crowd as speedily as x»ossible. The silence of the multitude became breath- less ; the feelings were deeply intense. But the solemn still- ness was soon broken by a faint cry which was raised on the opposite side of the platform to that where I had taken mj' stand. I had scarcely time to turn myself, when, sudden as a gunshot, a strong woman sent forth an unearthly scream at my very side. In a moment she was upon her knees, crying, as she clapped and wrung her hands alternately in wild excitement, ' Oh ! my heart. ' Oh ! my hard heart.' The crowd was convulsed, and shook like aspens in the breeze. The voice of the speaker was soon drowned amid the shrieks ; the air was filled with groans and screams for mercy. Crowds gathered and pressed around to listen to the lamentations, and here and there to the fervent appeals of the awakened. It was not till long after nightfall that a large portion of the helpless mourners were carried to their homes. "A tremendous awakening had taken place. During the week that followed, the meetings were continued, and the pros- trations did not in the least subside. It seemed, indeed, as if a new era had dawned. Men and women left their ordinary avocations to talk about their souls, and the strange sights they had witnessed. The public mind was pervaded with awful solemnity, and that whole week seemed a protracted Sabbath. " As might be anticipated, the excitement began to subside as the number of prostrations decreased. In proportion, how- ever, as the meetings became less boisterous, they apparently grew more spiritual. And at present, w^hen prostration is hardly heard of, there remains an unusually serious concern about spiritual things. " Such is a condensed account of the origin and progress of the awakening at llathfriland. In reference to some of its fea- tures there is room for great variety of opinion. The bodily affections especially with wJiich it was accompanied have all A student's statement. 209 along supplied abundant matter for controversy. On this sub- ject we cannot here enter. We cannot help observing, however, that the warmest friends of the revival have often done it the greatest injury by assigning to the direct operation of the Spirit what was obviously the immediate result of mere natural causes. Human nature is but human nature under all circum- stances ; and as such is uniformly attended by weakness and folly.' The trances, the dreams, the visions, the markings, and too often, we must say, the prostrations also, afford deplorable illustrations of what was merely human. Wild excitement was perhaps too frequently passed off for zeal ; ignorant as well as impudent fanaticism for deep spiritual earnestness. But this, though unquestionably a part of the picture, is by far its darkest side. Nothing but a contemptible narrow-mindedness, or a blindfold prejudice, or a feeble but impious malice would refuse to recognise in the most prominent effects of our Irish awaken- ing the hand of a gracious God. Of a proof of this statement, so far as it applies to the revival at Rathfriland, the most scep- tical may be fully convinced by only a hasty glance at a few of the fruits which it has there produced. " Languishing Christians have been stirred up to vigorous activity, their faith has been made strong, their love fanned into a flame, their zeal doubly stimulated. Hundreds who were sleeping in their Christianity have been aroused out of their slumbers, have shaken off their spiritual indolence, and have been quickened to energetic activity. " Professors have been seriously alarmed. Many whose religion ^ was an outer moral garment, or a mere plausible sham, have been disturbed in their supposed security, have been brought into deep distress for thek sins, and especially for their own loathsome hypocrisy ; have been enabled to present to a heart- searching God the sacrifice of a broken and contrite heart, have received grace from on high to cast themselves upon a loving and beloved Saviour, and are now advancing rapidly in the divine life ! " But nowhere has such a change been wrought as upon those whose lives were openly immoral, or who entertained an utter 210 BANBRIDGE. disregard to the observance of religious duties. Considering the very low ebb to which true religion had declined, and, in many cases, the looseness of moral principle before this great awaken- ing wave passed over the land, and comparing this with the state of religion and morality which now prevails, one cannot but be amazed at the magnitude of the change that has taken place. Drunkards have been reformed into sober men, Sabbath- breakers have been led to respect the Sabbath, profane swearers have ceased to blaspheme ; old injuries have been forgiven, private animosities forgotten, by parties long at enmity. Families in which the God of all families was never worshipped, where the Word of God was seldom, if ever, read, where the name of Jesus was only mentioned to be blasphemed, have now the family altar raised in the midst of the domestic circle, make the Scrip- tures their daily study and delight, and reverence and love the sweet name of Jesus beyond every name. Prayer especially, which used to be a wearisome duty to those who still clung to religious forms, has become a pleasant exercise, accompanied with stronger faith and deeper fervency; and every one now reads his Bible. God's Book is made the book of reference, and preferred to any other. " An extraordinary desire has been created for religious instruc- tion. Bunyan, and Baxter, and Doddridge, and Watson, and Angell James, are everywhere in demand. The preaching of the Word is now valued more than ever, and attended with greater regularity. The places of worship are crowded. The people listen with eager attention. The whole services are characterised with most impressive solemnity. "To every statement of the above I could have appended facts. I thought it unwise, however, to occupy so much space as those illustrations would require." The town of Banbridge is one of the most important in tlic county in which it is situated. For the last few years an unwonted interest in religion has been created in the young men of the locality, mainly through the devoted labours of a Chris- tian layman residing there. As the result of his exertions, the most important moral and spiritual changes had been going THE YOUNG men's ASSOCIATION. 211 forward, and the way seemed to be prepared for a still more extensive spiritual visitation. The following brief statement of the origin and character of the awakening in Banbridge is interesting, not only for the facts it contains, but as being contributed by a devoted layman of the Episcopal Church, who, during a twelve years' residence in Spain, in the capacity of a civil engineer, applied himself, while constructing some of the leading railroads in that country, no less assiduously to the preparation of that " way of the Lord " along which the gospel chariot has even already commenced its onward progress in that land. " I returned from Spain," says my esteemed correspondent, Wm. Greene, Esq., "toward the close of 1858. In the month of December I was invited to Banbridge by a Christian friend, to a meeting of the Young Men's Association. We numbered about forty on that occasion. Several of us spoke, and many earnest prayers that the Lord would pour out His Spirit on that place were offered. The Lord was among us that evening, and we all seemed to feel His presence in no common way. Towards the close of the proceedings I felt impelled to say that I was certain He was about to do a great work in that town. This was fully six months before the revival was experienced in this country. " Prayer-meetings were held from time to time, and month after month passed, but no sign was given. At length I was present at a solemn meeting. I could not refrain from tears at the earnest spirit evinced by all. We parted, however, without having witnessed anything uncommon but intense earnestness. It was about three days afterwards, when the same persons Vv^ere assembled, that the blessed showers came down to refresh the waiting hearts of God's people. Such sights as were witnessed on that night it would not be possible to describe. Multitudes had their stony hearts broken under the subduing influences of the Divine Spirit. " Soon after I was in the neighbourhood again, and went in the evening with the same friend to a prayer-meeting. On our way, about half a mile from the town, we went into two lowly 212 THE UNFORTUNATES — THE TRAVELLING CIECUS. dwellings; and, in a few minutes, there gathered around us eight or nine, who seemed to be filled with joy and peace. We remained but a short time to pray and exhort, and then went oflf. Scarcely had we got to the door of the Presbyterian church, which was very full, when we met some sin- sick ones being carried, one after ain ther, to the rfchool-house adjacent, crying and sobbing in indescribable agony. Some received peace in answer to earnest prayer whilst there, and many were taken to their own homes. I think it was on that night that a woman of the town, who had been pursuing her sinful course, standing on the bridge enticing the passers-by as they came from the meet- ing, was shot by an arrow from the unerring bow. She was carried to her house — I was going to say her home. But what a home ! Her bed of straw was on the cold ground. I visited her with my friend a day or two after. But the house of ' ill- fame' was now a house of prayer, and never shall I forget the lowliness of that poor pardoned soul as she prayed by her bed of straw. This case attracted the attention of several persons of similar condition in the same street ; and I have heard since that as many as twenty had given up their evil courses, although some have fallen away since. " A good man, hearing the story of the ' unfortunate ' above mentioned, immediately opened his house to her, and from that time to this has supplied all her wants. Such acts as this are worthy to be chronicled for the benefit of future generations. "The revival movement was slow in coming to Banbridge, but it has done a wonderful work; and many facts prove witji what power the Spirit has been working there. A few months ago, the travelling circus came to the town one market-day. The Presbyterian minister, knowing the evil influence that generally accompanies this kind of show, gave notice of an open-air preaching at the time of the morning entertainment. Only three people went to the show, so that it remained unopened. They were told to come again that evening, but so scanty was the attendance that the money received did not suffice to pay the rent of the ground on which the pavilion had been erected. The company struck their tents the following OTHER EESULTS—DEOMAEA. 213 morning and decamped, having determined to leave the north of Ireland altogether, as theirs was a losing game among such people. "Take another striking fact. A distiller's agent, in collecting his money among the public-houses in one quarter of the town, found his half-year's receipts from the sale of whisky to be J500 less than for a corresponding period of the previous year. " Last winter large sums were subscribed by the inhabitants for the poor, ind scarcely a needy person was left without feel- ing that the Lord's people were indeed like the Lord himself, that He dwelt in them of a truth — clothing, and coals, and food being liberally supplied to multitudes. The Sabbath schools here in connexion with the Presbyterian body number nearly five hundred children, and tl anks to the zeal and energy of the minister, and the devoted life of my friend, already referred to, together with the successful and self-sacrificing labours of the Christian young men, a more flourishing school I have nowhere met than in this place. A variety of other excellent arrangements, such as a temperance hotel, a savings bank, &c., have been put in motion during this celebrated ' year of grace,' 1859." The following account of the revival in the parish of Dromara, has been supplied by the Eev. W. J. Patten, minister of the Second Presbyterian Church there : — " On the 25th of July about a thousand persons assembled in Mr Craig's church for prayer, A deep solemnity pervaded the meeting. Many sobs were heard, many tears were shed, and many were the 'groanings that could not be uttered.' The meeting closed, and all separated for their homes. Shortly afterwards intelligence arrived that some persons had been * stricken ' on their way home. We started off, and the scene which met our gaze will not soon be forgotten. There, on the roadside, with their backs against the ditch, and their faces to- ward heaven, lay seven persons, supplicating mercy. They were all young and unlearned, yet so scriptural and appropriate were their prayers, that to me, and to the large concourse who listened, 214 A WEDDING SCENE— THE MEETINGS. they seemed to be suggested by Him who has been promised to ' help our infirmities.' " A young girl was heard to assign as a reason why she had not attended the meeting just described, that she was afraid of being seized, and thus rendered unable to be present at the wedding of a friend, to which she had been invited. The mar- riage morn arrived, and the ceremony was performed. At the suggestion of some of the party, the feasting and the mirth gave place to praise and prayer, and this girl and her sister bridesmaid began to sob and weep, and, in accents which cannot be described, to call for mercy in the name of Jesus. Since that time she has given every evidence of being espoused to Christ. Truly the prayer of faith was heard. The Lord and His dis- ciples were bidden guests. The same Jesus who graced the marriage in Cana, did not deny His presence to the humble villagers of Dromara. " On the evening following this — the 29th July— a prayer- meeting was held on the green beside my church, that building being unable to contain the two thousand or more who were present ; and at the same place, on the succeeding Sabbath even- ing, there was another meeting, larger still, attended by not fewer than three thousand. Those were two evenings long to be remembered. None who were present can ever forget them. On the first not fewer than fifty persons, and on the second about seventy, young and old, men and women, stretched on the green- sward, were heard openly to bewail their sins before God, and ask forgiveness in the name of Jesus. In some few this was accompanied with strange convulsions of body; but in most of those affected there was nothing but tears, and groans, and earnest prayers. One young girl remained seven hours on her knees. Another resolved that she would neither eat nor drink till she had found Christ. I went into the church and looked around. Many were there attendhig their friends. But others, as well, had come in. In one seat were three girls kneeling in prayer ; in another were two others ; in another still, were two boys, and so throughout the house. Coming out, I looked into the session-room, and there were five or six boys, belonging to my EFFECTS ON OLD AND YOUNG. 215 Bible class, upon their knees. One was praying — ' Lord Jesus, pardon my sins ; they are so great that crimson and scarlet are no name for them ' — and yet there was not a better behaved boy in all the country. They continued there for some hours offer- ing prayer in turn. "During the fortnight that followed, many were similarly affected in their own homes, and in the prayer-meetings, which were held in private houses all hours of the day and the night. For the time being business was very much suspended. The whole parish was a place of weeping, and praying, and singing, and reading. There cannot be a doubt that there were more Bible-readers, more believing prayers, more loving thoughts of Jesus, in our parish in the month of August than had been in the five years previous. A Scotch minister was present one evening at that time at our prayer-meeting in the church. As usual the house was crowded — every eye was riveted, and many were in tears. After the service, earnest inquirers were invited to remain. Nearly all sat still, and when spoken to, seemed to delight in unbosoming the state of their souls. On our way home he heard the sweet songs of Zion sung along the road by the people going from the house of God. When we reached home, he heard that two persons who had been enemies for years— who had fought with fists and fought at law — had that evening clasped each other in their arms. " After musing for a time, he said to me, ' I have read through Lardner's great work on the 'Evidences,' but what I have seen to-night is a more powerful proof of the truth of Chris^ tianity than all that Lardner ever wrote.' " The young, from six to twenty-five years of age, were par- ticularly anxious. They would assemble, and pray together. On such an occasion, when a little fellow was praying for all his unconverted playmates, a little girl began to cry aloud for mercy. The boy arose, clasped another boy's hand and said, ' Johnny, God sooner far hears us ivee fellows, than He does hig men.' I remember one day, going into a house to see a boy who had been stricken. The door of the room was locked. When it was opened, I found three other boys along with him. 216 CHANGES PRODUCED IN THE PARISH. reading their Bibles. He was reading and praying with them, and trying to lead them to Jesus. " I asked a little girl, whom I had seen sob and pray some weeks before, if she observed any change in herself of late. ' Yes,' said she, ' I do.' ' What is it r ' Why,' said she, ' before, Christ was no concern to me, and now. He is never out of my thoughts.' Another, in answer to the same question, said, ' I had not Christ before, and now I have.' " In a few weeks from their commencement, the bodily pro- strations nearly altogether ceased. Of the numbers thus affect- ed I cannot form an estimate. They amounted to several hun- dreds. But the good work was not confined to them. God's Spirit came to at least as many others in the still small voice. Not seldom since, have I met in their homes, or along the roads, persons who told me they were led to Christ without outward observation, and I can truly say that the death-beds I have attended since July 1859 have been much more pleasing and hopeful than those I attended before. " From the time that the movement commenced until the present, the earnestness has continued, though not with the same excitement. No doubt, some were stricken down from mere sympathy, and these, as might have been expected, have returned to their former indifference ; but the number of such is comparatively small. The great majority, some in a few days, others in a few weeks, and others not till months had elapsed, professed to find peace in Jesus, and their conduct in general has been such as to become this profession. " I shall briefly mention a few of the changes which the re- vival has produced in the parish. Formerly the Bible was little read — now there are few families in which it is not read each day. A man remarked to me some time time ago, ' I have seen more reading and praying in my house in the last few months than I have done since I was born.' And how much more attentively it is read ! ' Before this,' said a little fellow to me, ' when my mother told me to read a chapter, I just ran over it as fast as I could that I might get out to my sport.' But now many read it, praying, as another young boy prayed, ' Lord, CHANGES PRODUCED IN THE PARISH. 217 teach us how to read Thy Word, for we have not read it at all — we have just scampered over it,' " Formerly many did not pray in private, or if they did, it was only as a matter of form. Now, I beheve, there are few who do not, morning and evenmg at least, and many more fre- quently, bow their knees to the God of all grace. And oh how earnest they are to be kept from sin ! I once heard a young girl pray — ' Lord Jesus, who didst look on Simon Peter when he sinned, and made him go out and weep bitterly — Lord, when I sin, look on me.' Another prayed — ' Lord, keep me from the devil, and if he does come, don't let him come as an angel of light. Lord, keep the de\dl just like the devil, that when I see him I may know him, and may fly from him.' " How many earnest, beautiful prayers I have heard of late ; and how many have ascended up on high ! " Formerly not five out of a hundred observed family worship — now, I should say, two-thirds of the people do so. In many a house the son or daughter leads the family devotions, when the father is unable or unwilling. " I conclude by saying, that any one who knows what the parish was in January 1859, and v/hat it is now in April 1860, will have no hesitation in writing of Dromara what Luke, eighteen hundred years ago, wrote of Antioch — ' And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed, and y" turned unto the Lord.' " CHAPTER XIV. THE REVIVAL IN THE CITY AND COUNTY OF DEERY. The Commencement — Statement of the Rev, R. Wallace — Accidents of Prostration — Agencies Employed — Extent of the Work — Cases — "It's my Brother George" — Results — Maghera — The First Prostration — "God has been with us this Morning"— No Lack of Means — Good Sense of the People — The Prayer-Meetine;s — Results — The Work Goes On — Line of Action that Ministers should Pursue — Lecumpher — Arrest on a Jaunting-Car — Newton- limavady — Mr North and his Doctrine of " Realisation " — Eight Candidates for the Ministry — The Work in Other Parts of the Neighbourhood — Ballykelly — Addresses and Prayers of the Con- verts — Children's Meetings — Different Hearing of the Word — The " Elders " Moved— The Tempter's Wiles— Results— The First Case in Moneymore — Letter from a Young V^oman- The Youths' Meetmg. About a hundred and seventy years ago, the "Maiden City" was the scene of an event of thrilling interest, for on its walls was raised the standard under which magnanimous defiance was hurled against the myrmidons of a Popish bigot, and a successful blow was struck for faith and freedom. Rich in historic associations, it has within the last few months wit- nessed a moral revolution in the experience of hundreds of its population — leaving on the minds of the community a mingled sentiment of awe and admiration at the wonders which grace has wrought. I cannot better introduce the notice of the work in Derry than by inserting a letter with which I have been favoured from the Rev. Robert Wallace, a highly esteemed minister of the Wes- leyan body, then in that city— at present in Belfast, and Chair- man of the district in which he now resides. His relation to THE COMMENCEMENT. i| 219 the Cliurch of which he is a minister, enables him to testify to the work, not in Derry only, but in other districts. " Very early in the year my attention was directed to some remarkable accounts of what was said to be a great revival, accompanied by extraordinary manifestations. On comparing these with what I had read of revivals in England, Scotland, and America, I soon came to the conclusion that it was a work of God, and with others began to look for the gracious visita- tion in the city of Derry, where I was placed at the time. More than three months passed away, however, before we had anything more than a general spirit of expectation. Early in the summer, arrangements were made to bring down from Ballymena and Ballymoney a number of those who had been recently brought under gracious influence, and it was agreed that they should take a part in the public services in the Pres- byterian and Wesleyan churches, and also in the open air at the market-place. At these services great crowds attended. The persons recently awakened spoke with great simplicity of the wonderful change that God had wrought in them by grace in the course of the last few weeks or days. A solemn awe rested upon the people; several were stricken down in the manner we had heard of, and a still greater number were cut to the heart, and earnestly sought the Lord. At the commence- ment of the meetings, a number of ministers, representing various denominations, met by request at the house of the senior Pres- byterian minister, and arranged plans for combined efforts to promote the cause of God ; and in this manner a service was held in the market-place every evening throughout the summer. The utmost unity prevailed, and this greatly tended to deepen the interest among the people. "The gracious influence visited place after place in a very remarkable manner, each town and neighbourhood seemingly taken in regular course. It would be inconsistent with the brevity I should observe, to go into details, although I have had opportunities of observing them in a great many parts of the province. I have seen strong men prostrated as if stricken with a ball — some apparently in great agony, and 220 MR Wallace's statement. others seemingly unconscious— most professing to find peace, and some remaining unhappy so long as the meeting con- tinued. I have seen as many as fifty in a state of prostra- tion at once. I saw at least sixty persons who professed to find peace with God at one meeting. I found the subjects of this awakening to comprise all ages, and, to some extent, all ranks ; except that, so far as my experience goes, few of the upper, or even middle classes become subjects of bodily prostration. I have seen, again and again, that wonderful change of countenance which attracted so much attention. I had many opportunities of witnessing the extraordinary attachment which the young converts manifested towards each other. I know some remark- able cases of conversion from gross wickedness, and several persons who gave up what they considered an unlawful calling as the result of their awakening. I know several Eoman Catho- lics who never attended mass from the day they were stricken, and some who can give as intelligent an account of their con- version to God as you could meet with anywhere. I am not able to say exactly how many have been received during the year into our own communion, or placed upon trial ; but I have no doubt that the numbers are larger than those of any previous year. But as to the people generally, after examining the facts as far as I could gather them, I judge that not less than one hun- dred thousand persons in Ulster were brought under gracious influence during that time. How far these have remained stead- fast I cannot say. I have heard of some going back to former wickedness, but no such have come under my own knowledge. " The prominent features of the revival, so far as came under my notice, were — the suddenness of the awakening, the bodily prostrations, and the great extent to which the whole people were impressed. The peculiar features were — that, unlike any former revival, it had the countenance of almost the entire secular press ; that it was not confined to any one denomina- tion, but embraced all Evangelical Churches ; and that up till the present time all these have maintained an unprecedented unity. I consider it the most glorious work of God ever known in this country in so short a time ; and although we have not ACCIDENTS OF PEOSTRATIOX. 221 the excitement of last summer and autumn, I believe there is a reKgious influence upon the people of Ulster surpassing any- thing ever before realised." In continuation of the narrative of the work in Derry, the Rev. Richard Smith observes : — " At a morning service, conducted by ]\lr Smyth of Armagh, a Roman Catholic in attendance had been brought under con- viction, and the first person in the evening who was ' stricken ' was also a Roman Catholic. When the unearthly cries were uttered, and the name of Jesus sounded over that dense congre- gation from the lips of a sinner who felt herself on the brink of hell, a thrill passed through every heart that is utterly inde- scribable. The whole auditory seemed smitten with a sudden and universal paralysis. They went home, but many were ill at ease. Religion had assumed a new aspect ; there appeared to be in it work for the heart of man, and multitudes felt that hitherto they had misunderstood its nature. Some have told me that they never closed an eye that night, but the ' visions of their head troubled them on their beds.' They rose and dragged themselves to their business with the arrow of God fast in their souls, or sat in their rooms communing with dis- tressed hearts. Next evening a meeting was held in the same church, addressed by a number of ministers, in calm and un- impassioned terms ; and at that meeting there could not have been less than fifty savingly impressed. Not more than ten suffered from physical prostration, and these cases did not assume any cataleptic type. The work had graciously begun, and an earnest had been given of the showers of blessings that have descended since. " We have had in this city comparatively few cases of bodily affection or prostration — not one in ten — perhaps not one in twenty. One of the most trying and really distressing cases that came under my observation, was that of a girl who imagined herself in hell for three hours, and still out of the depths of hell cried to Jesus for mercy. Her face during this time gave one the idea of a lost soul ; there was over it the shadow of a hopeless immortality. At the end of three hours 222 AGENCIES EMPLOYED. she fell over into a kind of trance. Her face resumed its natural appearance ; it then became unnatural once more, but in a different manner, the radiance of glory overspread it, and for four hours she seemed to be in the regions of the blest. Of the 'visions' she had during that time she never wished to speak, and I never encouraged her to do so, for I knew her mind to have been strung to an ecstatic pitch ; but I rejoice to say that she continues steadfast in the faith of Jesus, and is an example of humility and love, and all the other graces of the Spirit. I have much delight in testifying that I am not aware of one single ' stricken ' case in Derry that has turned out to be spurious, Agencies Emjyloi/ed. — " Except at the first two meetings, we dispensed entirely in Derry with the aid of converts in address- ing meetings. Those who were brought to Jesus in the revival were of incalculable aid, at anxious inquirers' meetings, in pray- ing with the convinced and distressed, in conversing with the anxious, in directing the perplexed, and in visiting from house to house ; but they never took part in the public meetings in the city. Many of the young men of the city were, indeed, much blessed in other districts of the country — in Donegal, Tyrone, Fermanagh, and Cavan. Some of them speak with much power and fervour, and I can testify (for I took some of them with me to meetings in the country) that their simple and heart- stirring words were acknowledged of God to the rousing of many a careless sinner. One young man, who had been brought to Jesus in our congregation, and whom I knew to be qualified, from his knowledge of Scripture, to address meetings, was asked by me to go for this purpose to the country. ' Ah ! ' said he, ' don't ask me.' ' Why not ? ' asked I ; ' are you not ready to testify for Jesus T 'I am ready in one way,' was his reply, ' but not in another. I am willing, but not able.' Then, pulling a little Testament from his pocket, he opened it, and pointed me to Luke xxiv. 49, where Christ says to the apostles, ' But tarry ye at Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.' I saw the drift of his humility, and said, ' Well, wait a little ; God will give you the power.' And so He EXTENT OF THE WOEK. 223 did. That young man lias spoken and wrought for Jesus ; and souls have been given to him as a reward in the day of Christ. It would have been well if all had tarried, as he did, for estab- lishment in the faith, and for further enlargement of the know- ledge of Christian doctrine, before becoming so forward in the exercise of their gifts. Extent of tlie Work. — " I am not acquainted with any locality where the gracious work was more general among all classes of the community than here. There was an impression abroad, especially at a distance from the revival districts, that it was only the ignorant and those in the humbler ranks of life who were visited with the influence of the revival. I believe that impression to have been unfounded regarding every locality, and most certainly regarding Derry. From the highest to the lowest, not only were serious impressions predominant, but the evidences of saving conversion were afforded. Men of educa- tion, and men of business talents — women of refined mental culture, were brought to weep and lament over their unbelieving hearts, and had eventually their sorrow turned into joy. A young man, holding a most responsible position, possessed of a highly cultivated mind, of great reading, and of lamentable freedom in religious opinions, whose heaven seemed to be in the present, and who acknowledged, in effect, no higher God than his own intellect, whose universe was the circle in which he moved, and who never scrupled to point a jest at the expense of the solemnity of truth — attended a revival meeting, to 'study' (as he said) ' some phases of fanaticism.' That night a hand was laid upon him, heavier than he could have conceived anj^- thing invisible to be, and next day he was agonising under con- scious guilt. Meeting a minister, he grasped his hand, and with subdued breathings said, ' I will scoff no more at this — God is not to be laughed at.' The Lord, who searcheth the hearts, knows whether his convictions have resulted in that faith which gives permanent joy and peace. If there is a film over his eye still, there is no presumption in believing that the good work will be perfected, and that the path will shine brighter and brighter unto the perfect day. 224 EXTENT OF THE WORK. " On tlie other hand, the Spirit of God reached the most illite- rate, and in many instances, where not a letter of the alphabet was known, the name of Jesus and His redemption were familiar to the heart and lip. "All denominations in the city partook of the gracious shower ; the zeal of believers was quickened ; and if the revival had done nothing else save stirring up God's people to greater and more combined efforts for the extension of Messiah's king- dom, it would have been no mean result of the holy and grand excitements of the year 1859. I am not prepared to endorse all that has been said about the actual number of conversions, for I have seen statements put forward that conversions in this city are to be numbered by thousands. That I do not believe ; and nothing is to be gained by exaggeration. It is better for us to keep wdthin the mark if we venture upon calculations of this kind. No doubt the silent impressions of saving grace have been made upon many whose names are unknown to ministers, and who as yet are only kno^^n in the Lamb's Book of Life. But when a considerable margin is left for such, I do not think that there were more than a thousand converts in the whole city. Yet even this is a mighty host, when we remember that, in the warfare of the Cross, ' one of you shall chase a thou- sand' — that one sanctified soul in a city will outweigh the feeble efforts of a thousand in the miserable hosts of ungodli- ness. I find that at the last communion in the First Presby- terian Congregation in the city there were about one hundred communicants above the average, and when I remember that there were perhaps not much less than a hundred Sabbath- scholars savingly impressed who did not come to the Lord's table, I am free to give my opinion that in that congregation there were perhaps two hundred brought into the fold of Jesus. Take this, along with the revival of God's own saints, and you form some conception of wliat God has done for us. But this is what has been done in all the congregations in the city in, I should say, like proportion, some more and some less. One peculiar feature of tlie work here was this — no one congregation took any lead as distinguished for revival spirit. The four CASES OF CONVERSION. 225 Presbyterian, the Keformed, the Independent, and the Wesleyan, seemed all equally favoured of God, and there was no one place to which strangers were specially attracted. Hence I think I may fairly take the statistics of our congregation as a key to the whole, and form an estimate accordingly. It will be found that my calculation, as given above, is not extravagant, but is probably greatly short of the real state of things. " Of the Episcopal congregations I know nothing, as they studiously maintained an isolated position, at least so far as clerical recommendations and episcopal injunctions could com- pass that object. Cases of Co?iversion. — " A young man, of loose habits, was walk- ing up the wall of Derry one night about midnight, and seeing a light in a church he walked in to see what was going on. He observed in the church groups of persons here and there, and one of these specially attracted his attention, where about twenty individuals were gathered round a double pew. He marched up the aisle to this group, and with indifferent air took up his place among them. A boy had been ' stricken ' in the pew, (son of a most worthy and respectable sea-captain,) and some nine or ten boys were on their knees around him, alternately praying for the peace of the distressed boy's soul. Our profligate visitor looked on and listened. The scene was new, and he began to feel his knees smiting against each other. At last the stricken boy began to pour out his soul in strains of the most exalted prayer, and then it resolved itself into thanks- giving and praise. This being over, the boy prayed for uncon- verted people in the city of Derry, and wrestled with God, like Jacob beside the brook. There was one soul in the surround- ing group that was bending like a forest tree. Each word, as it rose from the lips of the ecstatic boy, fell on the soul of that other like a coal of fire. At last he gave way, fell down, and cried most piteously for mercy. Those terrible moanings are in my ears to this hour. He arose in a few minutes, but fell down again like one paralysed. He leaned his head on a form, and the tears streamed the floor. A young man came forward — one who had himself been brought to Jesus a year ago — and not 226 " IT 'S MY BROTHER GEORGK" knowing who the young man was, lifted up his head to see the weeping face, and tears of joy sprung from his eyes as he ex- claimed, 'It's my brother George!' Next day he had laid hold of the hope set before him, and he has since given all credible tokens of being a ' new creature in Christ Jesus.' "A man of moral character, who had been a member of the church for more than ten years, thought himself so elevated in religious attainments that, as far as he was concerned, the ' ex- travagances of revival ' were quite needless and out of place. In the Victoria Market one Lord's day he was struck with the heartiness of the voice of praise as it rose to God from three thousand hearts. He asks himself, in rapid words, the question, ' Shall I ever hear the singing of heaven 1 No ! ' He went home in an agony. Three days he spent in abounding fears, and went through a series of mental tribulations that have rarely been surpassed in the annals of conviction. He lay sleepless, and went during the day carrying, as he said himself, 'a burning heart.' He prayed, and sang, and groaned, and wept, and was almost in despair. At last a text of Scripture gleamed upon him, and he saw the heavens opened by the eye of faith, and the Son of man standing omnipotent to save. He now rejoices as much in Jesus as he had confidence in himself. He has visited his native Scotland, and I believe has been used of God to promote the interests of his Saviour's kingdom in that land. "Time would fail me to describe the individual marvels of Divine sovereignty in the conversion of souls. I know well one most interesting family, where a father, an aged man, and six grown-up children have all been brought to Jesus, and are rejoicing in the hope of the glory of God. 'There have been, I believe, but few, if any, objectionable phases in the work here. I know nothing but what may have been of God. We had no attempts at prophetic ecstasy ; no dumb- ness, or deafness, or blindness, nor any clairvoyant gifts. It is not for me to speak in condemnation of these things, for I have never witnessed them, and all I have to do is to record that they never were developed here. For what God has done we AN EXHAUSTED MINISTER S TESTIMONY. :227 have reason to thank Him every day we live, and I am sure such a spirit largely pervades the Christian commnnity. General I^esults. — "The first and most valuable result is the delightful spirit of Christian union. In speaking of Christian union in Derry, I grieve to be obliged to ignore the Episcopal element in its clerical phases. The clergy would not unite with ' Dissenters,' though the people have in general exhibited a most conciliatory and charitable spirit. It is but fair to say that the Episcopal laity at first shewed every disposition to unite in prayer-meetings until their leaders endeavoured to infuse into them another spirit. The rest of the community are one. We know one another better, and appreciate each other more. There is now that interchange of genuine feeling which is the char- acteristic of true spirituality. ' Each one accounts the other better than himself.' " We have two united meetings for prayer every day, in one of which the laity take a prominent part. The ministers are thus at once helped and refreshed. " In addition to these united meetings there are Presbyterian meetings, in which the various congregations unite, and also in each congregation one meeting in the week for their own members and others who may join them, all of which are well attended. "There is no decaying of interest, and the stability of pro- fessed converts has far exceeded our most sanguine expectations." The wiiter of the foregoing, as well as the Rev. Robert Sewell, Independent minister, was obliged, in consequence of bodily exhaustion, induced by incessant toil, to leave the scene of his labours for several weeks. Writing from the watering-place to which he had been consigned for rest, the latter gentleman makes the following statement as to his engagements during the period of the great excitement : — " For seven weeks I had to work at least sixteen hours a-day, in addressing meetings in the open air, town hall, and my own chapel ; in conversing with, and meeting the difficulties of the anxious, who were flocking to the vestry daily ; and in visiting some in their own houses. Though graciously sustained, the brain gave symptoms at last of over-work. Memory partially failed, and a nervous excite- 228 MAGHEEA— THE FIRST PROSTRATION. ment supervened, which arrested my progress, and sent me here for quietness and change of scene." Among the congregations first visited in County Derry by the revival was that of Maghera, of which a satisfactory and judicious account is given as follows, by the Rev. Thomas Witherow : — " On Thursday, the 2d of June 1859, the first indications of the presence of the revival appeared at Maghera. On that day a young man, called Thomas Campbell, came over from the C-ounty Antrim to see his friends at Culnady — a village two miles from this town, on the way to Portglenone, and, while describing at the fireside to his relatives and neighbours the strange scenes which, for sometime past, he had witnessed at religious meetings held beyond the Bann, suddenly the servant- boy in the family was affected with all the usual symptoms. While those present gathered round him in astonishment and alarm, the servant-girl was affected ; and soon afterwards, the brother of the speaker, George Campbell, a young lad of some seventeen years of age. The prostrations that occurred on this occasion could not have arisen from excitement. It was under- stood that, up to the evening in question, none of these persons had been under religious concern ; no attempt had been made in the neighbourhood to produce a revival; public attention had not been drawn to the subject further than by a narrative of the work going on at Connor and Ahoghill, given from the pulpit on the previous Monday by Rev. Jonathan Simpson, which it is not probable any of the parties referred to had been present to hear. The place where they were struck down was the fireside of a farm-house, w^hen they were listening to the conversation of the friend who, in the district of the County Antrim where he lived, had witnessed prostrations, but had never been prostrated himself. There was no exposition of Divine truth, no appeal to the passions, no excitement beyond what the novel and interesting incidents related might be sup- posed to produce. Word of what had occurred soon spread through the village, neighbours gathered in, and the whole night was spent in prayer and in singing praises to God. " GOD HAS BEEN WITH US THIS MORNING. 229 "Early in the morning a message was despatched for me, and about ten o'clock I reached the spot in company with a friend. Groups of people, with anxiety and terror pictured on their faces, were collected on the streets of the village, waiting our arrival, and discussing among themselves, in subdued tones, the strange things that had occurred. The first case which we saw was a poor woman — the mother of a number of young children, who had that morning gone to visit those who had been stricken on the previous night, and who had instantly been affected herself. She was an ignorant woman of her class, who had been living an irrehgious life, and had not been in the habit of attending any place of worship. We found her stretched upon the bed in her little cabin in a state of great physical weakness, but talking incessantly about her sinful life, and about Satan, ' that beast,' as she called him, who sought her destruction, and about Christ, who had saved her from ruin. She talked in a wild incoherent way, reminding the bystanders of one who was ' drunk with new wine,' and quoted so many texts of Scripture as surprised us all, who knew she could not read, and had not the advantage of public instruction for many years. The servant-girl, who had been affected the previous night, was found by us apparently exhausted, but in a quiet state, and not seemingly disposed to communicate her feelings. On seeing me enter she lifted her head from the pillow of the bed on which she had stretched herself, and said, ' Sir, God has been with us this morning.' The servant-man did not say much, but gave us to understand that the burden of sin, which he said was pressing on his heart, was not yet removed. It was differ- ent with George Campbell, the young lad previously mentioned. He had enjoyed the advantages of better instruction in the Scriptures than any of the others, and now the previous know- ledge he had acquired became available. We found him sitting on his bed, surrounded by the neighbours who had gathered in, and singing the 20th Psalm with a heart and spirit such as I have seldom heard thrown into a song of praise. After prayer, he exhorted the friends who had crowded in, telling them how God had delivered him from his sins, and made him a partaker 230 NO LACK OF MEANS. of His grace. ' Oh,' said he, in the most earnest and impas- sioned manner, ' there was a mountain of sm pressing on my heart, but God in mercy sent the arrows of His love, and pierced that mountain through and through, and it is gone.' Then he warned all against sin, especially the sin of drunken- ness, denouncing the public-house as ' the broad road to hell ; ' and, striking with great violence the Bible which he held in his hand, he shouted, in a voice of thunder, ' Who would dare to ask me to enter a public-house now l ' He called on all present to renounce their sins else they would be lost, and spoke to them of Christ with a pathos and energy that drew tears from many eyes. This address, coming from a young lad, who, one day before, would not have ventured to open his lips to any human being on the subject of religion, evidently made a deep impres- sion. The news of these things spread over the whole district in a single day. As my friend and I returned home in the after- noon, the people in the fields threw down their implements of labour, and ran to the wayside to speak to us as we passed ; and to each party in succession we had to stop and tell the wonderful things we had seen and heard. This was the origin of the movement at Maghera. "No means that could be supposed useful in fostering the revival were left untried. Prayer in the family and in the public congregation was offered without ceasing for the outpouring of the Divine Spirit. The instructions of the Sabbath bore, more or less, on the subject. A weekly congregational prayer-meeting was started. Large public meetings were called, and addressed by young converts, as they were usually designated, from Port- gienone, Bellaghy, Ahoghill, and Connor. One of these meetings was held in the Presbyterian church on the 9th of June, at which there were a thousand present ; another in the Flax- market on the 17th ; and another in the Presbyterian church, at which ]\Iessrs M'Quilkin and Meneely, from Connor, delivered addresses. Two others were held in Maghera early in July, and another on the 18th at Knockeloghrim Hill, at which it is estimated there were five thousand present, and where, for a whole afternoon, the Presbyterian ministers of the district spoke FEW PEOSTEATIONS. 231 to the people on matters pertaining to the great salvation. In the month of August we brought a young man from Brough- shane, who laboured among us for a week, and addressed crowded meetings every evening. " The physical prostrations were comparatively few in num- ber. In a small number of cases, at most three or four, the affection resulted in a sort of mental derangement, which in every instance passed away in tAvo or three weeks without im- pairing the general health. At first very many of those affected saw visions — thoughts of Christ, and of heaven, and of hell, which rose up before their disturbed minds ; but at no time did any persons here profess to prophesy, or to exhibit marks of a supernatural kind upon their bodies. Extravagances of this kind would not, I am confident, have received much encourage- ment from the public. " The first cases of prostration that occurred were in general the most marked, and at all times there was considerable variety in the physical phenomena, scarcely two persons being affected alike. Few comparatively happened at the public meetings. Sometimes they occurred in the street, but in general the people were affected at their own homes while engaged in their ordi- nary avocations, or perhaps when sleeping in their beds. A young married woman told me that when out tending cattle in the field she began to think seriously in regard to her salvation, sung by herself the 23d Psalm, then passed to the paraphrase, ' As long as life its term extends, Hope's blest dominion never ends,' and as she concluded the second line she was struck down. She knew of the revival meetings being held, but up to that time had never been present at any, so that her affection could not be ascribed to any merely human influence directly brought to bear upon her. From the end of July less demonstrative but no less satisfactory symptoms appeared among the young. Some of the most intelligent of the young people — persons whom I regard as the flower of the flock — became seriously impressed in regard to their spiritual condition, and, after passing through a 232 GOOD SENSE OF THE PEOPLE. season of darkness, and doubt, and temptation, were enabled to give themselves to the Lord, and to rejoice in the hope of the gospel. Without physical affection or demonstration of any- kind, they were gently and quietly drawn to the Saviour. After the wind, and the earthquake, and the fire, came the still small voice, but in our case God was in them all. " The people in general acted with great good sense. For the first six weeks there was, no doubt, some excitement; the novelty of lay -preaching and prostrations drew crowds of wonder-seekers for a time. The more ignorant believed at first that every case of prostration was a case of conversion, and that in order to conversion prostration was essential ; others attached imdue importance to visions ; and some imagined that frequent returns of the physical affection, accompanied, as it was in some cases, with dumbness and blindness, were peculiar marks of Divine favour. But a little time, along with a little instruction, cor- rected these mistakes. The body of the people soon learned that animal excitement is a different thing from spiritual life ; they lent a passive but a stubborn resistance to the unworthy attempts made by sectaries of various kinds to draw them from the membership of their own Church ; and they gave marvel- lously little credence to the lying wonders which it was fre- quently reported had taken place at a distance. "So soon as a sufficient number of young men had been awakened and converted, they immediately shewed an inclina- tion to be active and useful. Prayer-meetings were established in town and country ; Sabbath-schools which had been sus- pended were revived ; and at the various meetings held in the town and country, the young men attend, and either lead in prayer or deliver addresses, as their capacity enables them. One of these meetings has been held every morning for the last six months, and is conducted by the young men of the town ; another, attended exclusively by females, is held every Friday evening, at which some twelve or thirteen of the young ladies of the congregation officiate each in her turn. Every country dis- trict also has its prayer-meeting. In general they are all well attended, and have done much good. PwESULTS— THE WOEK GOES ON. 233 "The results so far have been very beneficial. It is true, indeed, that the awe with which the general community was inspired at first, and which held vice in check for a season, is wearing gradually away, but the movement has left behind it memorials that give fair promise of their ability to stand the test of time. Our district has not been so largely visited as others, but there is here a fair proportion of souls which, during the late harvest, have been gathered to the Lord. In a congregation of three hundred and fifty families there are about a hundred individuals who have benefited more or less, some of them having, for the first time, experienced a saving change, and others, who were believers previously, having re- ceived a new and richer baptism of the Holy Gfhost. Others may have benefited, with whom there was less outward demon- stration, and whose cases have not come to my knowledge. Making every allowance for such cases, however, there is no denying that, for so far here, the mass of the community has been passed over, and the heart of the population has not yet been touched. The district has only received some drops of the shower. But even drops have done us good. The popular feeling is much more favourable to religion. Attendance on the means of gTace has been improved. Nineteen pounds' worth of Bibles and Testaments were sold dming 1859 at our village depository, whereas the average of other years was no more than six. Domestic prayer has been commenced in many families where it was formerly neglected, the young of both sexes in many instances discharging the duty that is generally expected from the father ; while drunkenness and immorality are neither so public nor so prevalent as in for- mer times. Greater things have been done for others, but it is with thankful hearts that we acknowledge He has done great things for us. Besides, richer blessings may be still in store for us. While writing this brief narrative, I have been called out this day (20th January 1860) to visit an inte- resting young girl, a member of my communicants' class, who was affected on Wednesday evening last for the first time. She is at present rejoicing in the Saviour. Other cases have 234 LINE OF ACTION THAT MINISTERS SHOULD PURSUE. lately occurred in the neighbourhood, so that even yet the work goes on. " One main design of history is to enable future generations to profit by the experience of the past. The benefit which I received from reading, at the outset of the late movement, the article in the Princeton Review on the 'Bodily Effects of Religious Excitement,' and also the 'Autobiography of Peter Cartwright,' was so great, that I am encouraged to repay it in some measure by leaving on record my opinion of the lins of action that ministers should pursue, if it shall please God, on any future occasion, to send on our Church and country a simi- lar visitation. " 1. The ministers ought to fall in with the movement, avoid- ing the extremes of doggedly opposing it, on the one hand, or sanctioning extravagances, on the other; and they should seek to gain such influence with its promoters as wdll enable them to foster the good, and check the evils likely to ensue. "2. Undue excitement should be discouraged; it may do harm, it can do no good. If reason and good sense do not hold the helm, the ship is in danger. " 3. Every reasonable opportunity should be given for hold- ing meetings ; but meetings should not in general continue more than a few hours at a time. " 4. The people should be warned from the first against pro- selytism ; they should be instructed repeatedly in the nature of true conversion, and taught not to give heed to signs and visions, but to the written Word of God. " 5. Laymen of sound principles and good character should be afforded every facility for addressing the people in the neigh- bourhoods where they reside, and where they are personally known; but persons not well instructed in religion, even though converted, should not be encouraged to speak till they have gathered sufficient knowledge; and strolling orators of all kinds, coming from a distance, should not be permitted to address any congregation. During the present movement some servant-boys have left their employments, and though barely able to read, are now ranging over the province, and striving AEREST ON A JAUNTING-CAR.— NEWTONLIMAVADY. 235 to earn a living from the public by itinerant preaching. Good can scarcely result from such conduct, either to the public or themselves." " We also," says the Rev. James Wilson of Lecumpher, " have had most wonderful and impressive scenes, all indicating the sovereignty and gracious character of the work. We have had convictions, not only in the church, but in the family, in the absence of all excitement, and not a few during the silence of the night season. While some have taken upon themselves to account for all these manifestations from an overheated atmo- sphere, I may state that they have continued during the most intensely cold days in the late storm. So far as I have seen, they have been attended with good. In one case the screams were heard by persons at home at work, and they became con- vinced of sin, and cried for mercy. In another case four per- sons were so weakened by their prostration, that they and some friends were detained in the vestry till a late hour before they could be removed. During this time, some members of an Episcopal family were passing the road on a jaunting-car, and on seeing the light in the window, the oldest, a girl above twenty years of age, immediately cried out, and, after proceed- ing a little way, was so prostrated that the car-party were de- tained at a house for some time, and then, on returning home, a second and a third cried out till morning. The whole family were engaged in prayer. At daybreak all had found peace. On hearing of what had occurred, .a neighbour came to see them, and was similarly affected. They are, I beheve, all main- taining a walk and conversation becoming the gospel." In the town of Newtonlimavady, the movement commenced toward the end of the month of May in pretty much the usual manner. In a short time the entire vale of the Roe was the scene of most intense emotion. Business was all but sus- pended. Nothing was thought or talked of in every circle but the wonders incomprehensible on every hand around. "A thrill of solemn dread," says the Rev. N. M'A. Brown, " passed like, an electric current, from the one end of the presbytery to the other. 'The twelve congregations were all assembled, in 236 MR NOETH AND THE DOCTRINE OF REALISATION. crowded houses, in the course of a few days, and multitudes in each were crying for mercy in screams of agony. " From Sabbath the 12th June till the present time, a united meeting of all the Presbyterian congregations in town has been held daily ; multitudes of converts, young and old, being most ready to engage in the religious exercises. " A wonderful impetus was given to the good work by the frequent visits and addresses of friends from Scotland and else- where, but especially of Mr Guinness and Brownlow North, Esq. The former addressed some three thousand persons in the open air with effect and acceptance ; but the impression produced by Mr North was deeper still, and doubtless will be more lasting. " He visited this place twice within a week, and preached once in the open air and once in a house of worship on each occasion — four addresses in all. The house he spoke in was literally crammed on both occasions. The first open-air address was attended by some four thousand of an audience, and the second by upwards of seven thousand — the second-largest audience he had in Ireland. These addresses were faithful and true — solemn, searching, and practical — and were highly dis- tinguished for fervour, unction, and power. The realisation of the sinner's lost condition — of the living God just here and looking on — and of a present salvation through faith in God's Son, was the theme upon which he specially dwelt. Want of realisation of God and of divine things, he asserted, was prac- tical infidelity, and lay at the root of every sinful, indifferent, and ungodly life. He held a meeting of those w^ho were anxious to ' renounce the devil, the world, and the flesh,' and ' present their bodies living sacrifices to God ; ' and to these he delivered an address particularly suited to their circumstances. His visit will long be thankfully remembered, and his faithful admoni- tions produced an effect on many that shall never be altogether known till ' the day shall declare it.' " The effects I shall sum up in a few words : — Drinking of ardent spirits was scarcely known in town for the months of June, July, and August. Of those impressed, not more than one or two have gone back to intemperance. Party spirit and THE CONVERTS— THEIE ADDRESSES AND PRAYERS. 237 quarrelling, are all but dead. The assistant-barrister has almost nothing to do on the Crown day. Prayer-meetings are held in every hamlet of the country and in every street of the town almost every evening, and sometimes twice on the same even- ing, in different places, by the same persons. Scarcely a young man above the age of fourteen, either in town or. country, will refuse to pray pubUcly in any meeting ; and sometimes little boys, of nine or ten years old, astonish their grandfathers by the beauty and fervour of their devotions. The daily meeting is well attended, and the early zeal appears scarcely aught abated. Many that were strangers to the house of God almost all their lives, are now among the most regular attendants; and family and private prayer, that used to be the exception, have now become the rule." In a conversation with Mr Brown, since the above was writ- ten, I learned the gratifying fact that, as one of the happy results of the movement, no less than eight young men, of whom six have almost arrived at maturity, were led to com- mence the work of preparation for the Christian ministry. They are ail now regularly applying themselves with this view to their studies, while, at the same time, they lend their assist- ance, as they have opportunity, to the conducting of the reli- gious exercises in connexion with the daily meeting for prayer. The Kev. Thomas Y. Killen, of Ballj^kelly, after narrating the mode in which the work began among the people of his charge, thus proceeds to describe its progress and results : — Tlie Converts — Their Add^^esses and Prayers. — " For some time at first, some of those who had been converted during the re- vival addressed the meetings, — relating tJieir own experience — telling how it was with them in the days of their unregeneracy — how they had tasted the pleasures of sin and the world, and found them vain and unsatisfying — how they had been awak- ened to a sense of their guilt and danger, and led to see the uselessness of those refuges of lies in which they had hitherto trusted — and how the Spirit of God had revealed Christ to their souls as the only Saviour for guilty sinners. These addresses were generally simple, scriptural, and earnest — sometimes most 238 children's meetings. touching and beautiful ; and coming, as tliey did, from the lips of young persons well known to those present, and who, they were all aware, would have previously shrunk from opening their lips in the presence of others, produced a profound im- pression. Never have I heard the loveliness and willingness to save of Jesus more sweetly declared, or sinners more tenderly entreated to close in with Him at once, than in the addresses of some of these babes in Christ. Always at the close of their statements they prayed ; and if absorbing fervency, and child- like confidence, and deep self-abasement, and powerful plead- ing constitute the very essence of prayer, then I have indeed listened, during the past summer, to some of the most genuine specimens of true prayer it has ever been my lot to hear. Very few of the converts were willing to address our congregational meeting after the first stiitement of their experience. Many of them, however, are still ready to lead in prayer, and take their part in conducting district meetings. " At these meetings, and also at public worship on the Sab- bath, we have had many requests for special prayer, for indivi- duals, families, and congregations — sometimes presented by the parties themselves, and sometimes by friends who took an inte- rest in their spiritual welfare. Above a hundred and forty such requests have been presented. "Besides the prayer-meetings now in operation, which are conducted by adults, a number of the children of one of our daily schools remain by themselves tmce a-week, after school hours, for mutual prayer. This meeting was commenced of the free motion of the children, and without the know- ledge of the teacher. One evening, as his own children did not follow him home as usual, he became anxious about them, and, after waiting for some time, returned towards the school-house to ascertain the cause of the delay. On approaching it, he was met by the children in tears, and found that they had already met for prayer in this way for several days, and that on this day, while they prayed, one of the boys had been stricken, which had produced a deep impres- sion on the rest. Another children's prayer-meeting was held PREACHING EASY AND PLK4.SANT. 239 for several months in the barn of one of our elders, with an attendance of about twenty of the lambs of the flock. It had met several times before he was aware of its existence, but has lately been discontinued, as the children could not attend in the dark evenings. ' Mamma,' said a little boy of eight years, who had been left at home one Sabbath to watch the cows, to his mother on her return from public worship, ' we had a fine day to-day.' ' What were you doing, dear 1 ' asked the mother, ex- pecting to hear of some childish plays. 'Oh,' replied the child, ' So-and-so came,' mentioning some of his young companions, ' and we had a prayer-meeting on the roadside.' Preaching Easy and Pleasant. — " Formerly it was almost im- possible to make one's hearers feel under the preaching of the w^ord. While the revival prevailed in its intensity, preaching was doubtless easier and pleasanter work than ever before, for the simplest truths, presented in the plainest form, were greed- ily drunk in by the hearers ; but, in another sense, more diffi- cult, for there was such tenderness of conscience on the part of the young Christians, that one could scarcely address a word of warning to the impenitent, or point out the works of sinners in Zion, without exciting in their minds the fear that they were, after all, deceiving themselves, and plunging them into the depths of despair. For years I had longed and prayed to see some evident and immediate results produced by the preaching of the word, and have been made to see that, when wielded only by my hand, the hammer of the word, no matter what force of argument, or strength of expression, or dreadful pictures I might employ, only rebounded harmlessly from the heart of stone. Last summer, I have seen the mere reading of the words, ' Thy heart is not right in the sight of God,' arouse the fears of a young woman, and cause her to shriek for mercy. " At the dispensation of the Lord's Supper there were deep and solemn feelings, more so than I ever witnessed here, and I believe God's children felt that they were seasons of special and real fellowship with Jesus. When the session met for the final examination of the candidates on their knowledge and Christian experience, one of the elders, seeing among them 240 THE PROSTEATIONS. a child of twelve years, said, ' I have great doubts about the propriety of admitting any so young.' ' Well,' said I, 'we must wait till we have examined them, and judge of them individu- ally by their answers.' One after another appeared before us, till it was the turn of that little girl; and when she had replied to the usual doctrinal and experimental questions, it was an impressive sight to see the tears trickling from the eyes of the elders ; while the one who had made the above remark stood up, and, with deep emotion, declared that now he could say nothing against it. We have agreed to observe the Lord's Supper quarterly for the time to come, instead of half-yearly as heretofore. The Prostrations. — " For a time we had, both at the ordinary service of the Sabbath and the meetings during the week, a great number of bodily prostrations. They were not produced by crowded meetings — our church holds about nine hundred and fifty persons, and there were rarely more than six hundred pre- sent ; nor by heat— many of them occurred in the open air, in the cool of the summer evenings, some of them in the fields, and some by the roadside, as parties were returning home at midnight, and some in their own houses. There was nothing unusually exciting in the sermons. They commenced here while I was preaching an old sermon, delivered years before to my former charge without producing any visible eftect, and to which, from want of time for preparation, I was obliged that day to resort. Indeed, many of the sermons I preached last summer had been delivered elsewhere without exciting any emotion. I believe that in most cases the prostration was the result of deep anxiety about the soul, and convictions of sin, which had continued for days, weeks, or even months some- times, until they reached the climax of intensity, and then burst forth in cries and tears, when the body sank under the excess of emotion. " Some of those prostrated did not appear to have felt any particular anxiety before they were stricken. They had come to the meetings through mere curiosity, and were not at the time under any convictions of sin. Sometimes, when I ex- SOME STRICKEN WHO WERE IN CHRIST BEFORE. 241 amined them afterwards on tlie subject, they could not recollect that they had ever been thinking either of their sins or their souls when they were prostrated. Tlie Old Profession hut Hypocrisy. — " Many of those affected were already, some for many years, communicants ; but they have confessed that they had previously only a form of godli- ness, in which they rested, while they felt not its living power. E. J is a respectable farmer, of good moral character, father of a family, and long a church member, leading, as men would hitherto have said, a consistent life. He was stricken in his own house while reading his Bible — came to a meeting a few evenings after — told the people that, as his neighbours, they all knew him, and were aware that he would not, for any con- sideration, have opened his mouth among them before; but that he felt constrained to speak to them — declared that he had regarded himself as a very good Christian, but had now been made to feel that his former profession was only hypoc- risy, and that he had till then experienced no real spiritual danger ; but that he blessed God that He had given him His Spirit, and opened his eyes, and enabled him to cast himself as a guilty sinner upon the merits of the Lord Jesus. Sonie Stricken ivho were in Christ before. — " It was not the un- converted alone who were thus stricken. When many who had, I firmly believe, closed in with Christ before, beheld the joy and love of the young converts, so far surpassing anything they had themselves experienced, they longed to attain a similar state of feeling, and desired to be stricken as the most likely means. They came to regard the prostrations as a mark of God's special favour — supposed they were being passed by in His day of gracious visitation, and thought they could not be His children in reality unless they were affected like the others. Many of them, in spite of the remonstrances addressed to them, thus wrought themselves into a state of deep anxiety, and were actu- ally prostrated. Sometimes their experience, while affected, was very similar to that of the unconverted. Frequently it was almost wholly joyful and triumphant. T]t£ Tempter's Fi^es.—" While some Christians have received Q 242 NECESSITY OF THE SPIHIT's WOEK. a large accession to their spiritual joy, and were gladdened by- unwonted consolations, others, as well as some of the awakened, have been assailed with sore temptations. One man was for weeks bordering on a state of distraction, being tempted to think that he was utterly forsaken of God, and frequently to doubt the very existence of Jehovah. A young woman one night had the question, ' How do you know there is a Christ 1 ' injected, as it were, into her mind. It recurred to her again and again. Do what she might, she could not get rid of it. Even in her prayers the question would be rung in her ears, ' Where is the use of praying if there is no Christ 1 ' Sometimes when she applied to God's Word for relief, she could not lay hold of a single promise. Sometimes a single text formed her sheet-anchor. For weeks this continued, till it was feared her mind would give way under the struggle; but now, I am thankful to say, she is greatly better, and able to lay hold of Jesus as her Saviour, We have had several such cases, some of them most remarkably resembling the temptations of John Bunyan, as recorded in his ' Grace Abounding.' " At present, we have not by any means the same liveliness which we had some months ago, even among true Christians ; and those who only experienced passing convictions are going back to their old sins. Still, I have every reason to believe there has been a most genuine work of grace in many hearts, whose fruits will never pass away ; and on conversing with those who have, I trust, been savingly impressed, I find that they continue in a tender frame, and are diligent in the discharge of their per- sonal and social duties. " I cannot look back upon the remarkable events of the past summer but \viih the utmost thankfulness. We always believed in the necessity of the Spirit's work, but we have now seen the wondrous difference which His presence makes upon the whole face of the spiritual world. When He is absent, Christians are cold — ordinances powerless— sinners immoveable and dead — wickedness prevalent. When He comes in His love, and grace, and power, God's children are lively, tender, loving, fervent, zealous, laborious — the means of gi\ace prove effectual to the THE FIEST CASE IN MONEY^IOEE. 243 salvation of multitudes — hypocrites are unmasked — the careless alarmed and aroused — souls quickened and saved — the ungodly- fly to Jesus ' as a cloud, and as doves to their windows ' — and iniquity, abashed, hides its head. May the experience of the past stir us up to desire a continued outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and to WTestle with a prayer-hearing God, and give Him no rest until He has given us not only such gracious showers as we have had, but pour floods upon the dry ground — yea, until He has baptized the whole world with the Holy Ghost and with fire ! " One of the many places early visited in County Derry was Moneymore, where the work of revival commenced in the be- ginning of June. The first case was that of one who was a noted drunkard in the neighbourhood, w^ho, as often as he had occasion to visit any of the neighbouring towns, was, before he left, confined in the " lock-up " for his immoderate use of ardent liquor. After being prostrated several hours he attained true peace, and ever since he has been a new man in his entire habits and character. The manner of his countenance is alto- gether changed, and it wears an aspect of peculiar sweetness to this day. Not long after, another who had been addicted to the same vice was stricken, who, during his weakness and distress, was ministered unto by the individual above mentioned ; and when he also found the Saviour, he expressed his sense of the atten- tion sheTVTi him by affectionately embracing him who had bent over him and spoken words of comfort during his sore agony. At an open-air assemblage one evening on the " Fair Hill," among those affected was a young woman, who took the earliest opportunity of declaring her state of mind to the Rev. Dr Barnett, in a letter which she put into his hand, and of which I subjoin an exact copy ; wdth this only difference, that the orthography is corrected. It will be seen that the grammatical structure might be also improved, but on this I make no change whatever. The writer was an Episcopalian. She is now a member of Dr Barnett's congregation : — 244 LETTER FROM A YOUNG WOMAN. '' June 27, 1859. '' I who have been in darkness and in sin all my life long, and a rejecter of the Most High and His blessed word ; which word, by the preaching of one of these young converts, and the blessing of God, and of His Holy Spirit accompanying it to my heart, has brought me from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God. When that powerful voice cried, 'Stop !' the light of His righteous law discovered to me my sin, and I saw I had been a transgressor from the womb. My conduct appeared bad, and I feared the consequence ; but when the hidden depravity of my heart was revealed, and the foun- tains of the great deejj pit of corruption were broken up, I died. Before, I endeavoured and strove to do something for relief ; but now all was in vain. All was over ; hope expired, self-despair seized me, misery surrounded me, gloom spread its horrible wings over me, and despair of mercy looked in upon me. In this condition I lay at the door of mercy, like another poor Lazarus, full of sores, panting for a crumb of mercy, if a crumb might be spared ; and in this case I was when He was pleased to speak pardon to my soul, peace to my conscience, and joy to my heart. And never, never can I forget the sweetness of His mercy, but shall often with plea- sure sing — ' Sweet was the hour I freedom felt, To feel my Jesus mine ; I view His lovely face, and melt In pleasure all divine. ' " I therefore praise God for giving me to know what it is to be born of the Holy Spirit, and what prayer is. It is not words out of a book, but it is the desire of the heart. It is my desire now to give up my book of prayer, and to take up the Holy Bible, and pray that the Holy Spirit may bring it home to my heart with refreshing streams of mercy. I also pray that all unconverted people, and all Protestant ministers who do not believe in this blessed work of the Holy Spirit, may be con- verted and believe. " To the Rev. Dr Barnett." THE youths' meeting. 245 The Youths' Meeting.— Th^ only other incident connected with the work in the same neighbourhood that I shall in- troduce, is a peculiarly touching one, as follows : — A young lad, aged seventeen, who had been brought to a knowledge of salvation at Coleraine, where he had been in a mercantile establishment, came on a visit to his friends at Moneymore. During the ten days which he spent there, he called together seven others, his young associates, with whom he regularly spent some portion of every day in prayer. The last evening of his visit, they met as usual, and were addressed by him with deep solemnity, when all at once, six of the seven fell down imploring mercy. It was not long till they all rose rejoicing, and then, addressing him who alone remained un- moved, they appealed to him and said, " And are you the only one among us who will put Christ to shame?" when, over- come by their fervent expostulation, he also cried out in the same manner as the rest had done for mercy. Of these seven youths, five are Presbyterians, and have since joined the com- munion of the Church. The other two are Episcopalians, and, I believe, have also witnessed a good confession. All are re- ported as consistent in their deportment, and he who was the instrument in drawing them to the possession of like precious faith, has the joy unspeakable of regarding them as given to his entreaties and his prayers. CHAPTER XV. THE REVIVAL IN COmsTY TYRONE. The Revival in the Fair of Orritor, and its Results — The Work in Cookstown and Vicinity — A Case of " Prophesying," and its Ex- posure — Rapt Earnestness on the Sabbath — The Moveable Tent — Things brought to Remembrance — Movement at Castlederg — Its Origin through " Commercial Travellers " — Wesleyan and Presby- terian Co-operation — Results — Cheering Fact as to the Progress of the Work — Strabane — Narrative of the Work in a Community where there was no Remarkable Excitement. Not far from Moneymore, the place last mentioned in the l^receding chapter, is the village of Orritor, of which, in con- nexion with the revival, there is one notable incident which may not be omitted here. It may be properly entitled The Revival in the Fair. — In the beginning of the month of June, there is an annual fair at Orritor. It is a kind of Donny- brook in miniature, and has ever been regarded by the well- disposed as a grievous nuisance, injurious alike to morals and religion. Thither, accordingly, the idle and the profane have been in the habit of resorting from year to year, and there they met vAth. those attractions which best accorded with their de- praved taste and desire — the show, the licensed drinking tent, the gaming-table. It was a scene where Satan held high festival, and whence a noxious influence was dijffused over the whole neighbourhood. The Rev. W. Wray, the Presbyterian minister of the place, resolved, during the period of the revival, when an unwonted seriousness and awe pei-vaded the com- munity, to grapple with this established and gigantic evil. He took occasion, accordingly, to announce on the Sabbath previous, that divine service would be held in the church at a period THE EEVIYAL IN THE FAIR, 247 when lie knew the fair wonld be at its height, and its fre- quenters would be in the very heyday of their boisterous revelry. About two hundred persons, at the hour appointed, assembled for religious exercises, which were continued in the church till about three o'clock. By that time some of his brethren from the neighbourhood, whom the worthy pastor had invited to come to his assistance, had arrived. It was then at once resolved to meet the adversary face to face, and on his own ground. The congregation was immediately dismissed, and marching to a field hard by, the ministers in front, they took up a position right in the very camp of the enemy, their numbers having so much increased on the way, that when the service was resumed, they were as four to one compared with those who remained in the fair ground in the pursuit of " vanity." The motley con- gregation thus attracted were held attentive to the word of truth for hours together ; and before they separated, some had given way before the higher power which lighted down upon them, and the noise of riot and dissipation was hushed before the agonised and despairing cry for mercy. Many in other years had taken their first step at this country fair on the downward course of ruin ; but a far diff'erent experience is associated ^vith its last gatherings, for there are those in that neighbour- hood who mil never cease to think of these as marking a new era in their history, even the period when they forsook the way of sin and folly, and entered on the path to life and im- mortality. "Among the many individuals of whom I could speak as dating their first serious impressions from that day," says the minister of the place, " there is a man in connexion with my congregation who was a notorious drunkard. On every occa- sion that could furnish him any excuse, he indulged in the ine- briating beverage ; so that he brought on his children poverty, on his ^^ife misery, and on himself disgrace. And such a state of things would, doubtless, have contmued, had not the Spirit of the living God brought him to see the evil of drinking ; for, to use his own words, ' thirty ministers could not have efiected the slightest change. I would have listened to them, but no 248 THE WORK IN COOKSTOWX sooner out of sight than I went my own way. I saw not the evil of drinking, and regretted it not, but only ilie mischief which I did ivhen drunk.'' This man is now steady — not only so, but is quite an advocate for total abstinence — attends regu- larly on public worship, has prayer-meetings in his own house, and contributes of his substance to the cause of God." In the districts adjacent to that last mentioned, there has been a great awakening, with corresponding results. "If," says the Rev. J. P. Wilson, "we take a district four miles round Cookstown, hundreds have been added to the com- munion of the Church. Family worship has been established where it was never observed before ; people come out to the house of God in greater numbers, and listen with more marked attention; district prayer-meetings are multiplied; drunkards have been reformed ; and neighbourhoods have totally changed their character. Drunkenness and blasphemy have greatly diminished ; though, as the larger part of the population is Roman Catholic, and therefore disposed to mock at the revival, we need not be surprised to find cases of drunkenness before our magistrates, or to hear the awful oath from some as they return from market. " We have had some extravagances here, but the people have settled down to an earnest, sober, prayerful use of the means of grace ; and whether we look to old men of seventy seeking to be numbered among God's people, or to the large nimiber of young persons who wait with regularity on instruction in con- verts' classes, or to the numbers whom we know to be diligently and prayerfully studying the Word of God, I believe that con- version and humble walking with God were never prospering more than they are at present." To the same effect writes the Rev. J. K. Leslie : — " I am now busily engaged visiting in the country ; and the downright reality of the glorious revival is demonstrated in the extraordinary transformation of character I witness in many families, who, from being the most careless, are now ready for every good work. I never enjoyed such real pleasure in any former visitation of my people. Nothing amazes me more than A2sD VICINITY. 249 the number of the prayer-meetings that are established every- where throughout the country. Neither my brethren nor my- self have had anjrthing to do with the formation or sustenance of them. All false delicacy and shame are laid aside in matters of religion, and men and boys that could not be induced to pray before others, now do so with effect and profit. "There has, no doubt, been largely intermingled with the work of God much both of man and the devil's work that was calculated to do great evil ; but the fears I at one time cherished on this matter have to a great extent been agreeably disap- pointed, and I now am strongly impressed with the conviction that permanent spiritual good will be the result. Of the stricken ones, while some have ended in temporary conviction, I fully believe the great majority were either cases of conver- sion or the revival of genuine Christians. Many have received much spiritual profit where no physical manifestation took place, and I am every week learning new instances of this sort. The mind of one individual gave way under intense conviction, but is now perfectly restored. The ' great fear ' which was upon the general population is now passing away, but I trust the good work is still progressing. On last Sabbath evening I was l^rivileged to witness as refreshing a scene as I have yet seen, at a service I conducted in Lord Castlestuart's private chapel." Among the extravagances above referred to as having created considerable anxiety at one period in this neighbourhood, I may notice A Case of ^^Frojjhesying,'' as it was believed in for a time, which, in connexion with some others of a like character, was calculated to bring much discredit upon the work. There was a young man, of great appearance of sanctity, who so impressed the common people of the district by the convic- tion of his insight into futurity, that they unhesitatingly gave themselves up to his prophetic influences. It was his practice to announce to certain individuals, either in person or by dele- gation, that their days were numbered, and that at such and such a period they would cease to live. These intimations, accredited alil^e by the unhappy subjects of them, and by the 250 A CASE OF " PROPHESYINa " EXPOSED. general community, were calculated, as will at once be seen, to raise an intense excitement throughout the whole neighbour- hood. On one occasion, at a meeting of his adherents, the "prophet" intimated to them, that, to the number of seventy, they were divinely commissioned to proceed successively to a certain house, and each was to announce to its occupier that within a fortnight from that date his life should come to an inevitable end. The effect of such a visitation, at a period when the public mind was intensely roused, was, in the case of him to whom the seventy messages, accompanied with awful admo- nition, not unmixed with tears and cries on his behalf, were addressed, almost enough to bring about the predicted issue. A meeting was held at which the subject of the pre-intimation was, for the last time, to have prayer offered on his behalf ; as, if he did not then obtain peace and salvation, his destiny for eternity was to be regarded as irrevocably sealed. The time had arrived, and all were in grave expectancy, when uprose an in- telligent and pious layman, and opening the Bible, he read aloud the statements therein contained bearing on the charac- ter and exposing the pretensions of false prophets ; and as he read he enforced his argument, mixing up for an hour together scriptural exposition with vehement appeal and scathing de- nunciations of the man who dared to affect a knowledge of the secrets of the unknown future, Avhile the auditory were spell- bound by his artless eloquence. When he had concluded, the pretender to the prophetic gift stood up, and in a tone of deep humiliation confessed that he had been all the while deceiving hunself and others. Those who had been the dupes of the delusion looked on in blank amazement and dismay, and on their "chief" making acknowledgment of his delinquencies, their eyes were at length opened to the full extent of their own folly and infatuation. His prophesyings had come to an untimely end, and Cookstown and its neighbourhood were no more deluded by the pretended inspiration. From the many incidents and cases supplied from other districts in Tyrone, I can only select the following : — " Eaj)t Earnestiiess'' on (he Sabbath. — " Sabbath, the 17th of THINGS BROUGHT TO EEMEMBEANCE. 251 August," says the Rev. John Maxwell of Brigh, " was a remark- able day. During the opening prayer I felt myself carried away in a sort of rapt earnestness, such as I never experienced before, a long continuance of which my body, a good deal worn at the time, could not have borne. For a time there was a strange, solemn stillness over the congregation ; there high breathing, and there a suppressed sigh or groan, there a scream, and in a few moments the whole house one scene of indescrib- able commotion, with every conceivable manifestation of re- ligious feeling. Respecting that wondrous scene, I will only say that almost every member of the congregation to whom I have spoken about it, described himself as being the subject of some overpowering emotion, such as none had ever felt before, and varying in character according to the spiritual character of the individual." The Moveable Tent — "In our district," writes the Rev. J. M'Askie of Clogherney, " where a prayer-meeting has been held since the month of June last, the attendance was so great, that no place could be found large enough to contain the numbers of all denominations who flocked to it. They erected a tent, which is moveable, and which, with a barn to which it is always attached, holds about four hundred. I have seen five hundred crammed into it on one of the coldest nights during the winter, and standing for three hours listening with the most intense attention to the preaching of the word." Things Brmight to Remembrance. — "I mention," says the same minister, " the case of an amiable young girl, as one of the most striking fulfilments of the promise, ' He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance,' it has been my privilege to \\itness. She was stricken at a meeting in B., with some others. AVhen returning to consciousness, or rather, when recovering the use of speech, for she appeared to be totally unconscious of the presence of any one, as she lay with eyes turned up to heaven, and fixed, for about four hours she continued repeating sermons and other addresses delivered by myself during the previous month. In many instances she repeated whole passages of them verbatim. 252 WESLEYAN AND PRESBYTERIAN CO-OPERATION. Pausing at intervals, she would exclaim, ' Oh, what have I not heard!' and then she would resume the repetition of some striking passages with a fluency and an accuracy that were perfectly astonishing. But what struck me most in her case was the readiness with Avhich memory called up those portions of the Word of God most suitable under her own peculiar cir- cumstances. Not less than one hundred Scripture texts were repeated, and sometimes half a chapter at once, with the greatest accuracy, and all bearing upon her own case. I have had fre- quent opportunities of conversing with her since, and, what is very strange, many of the passages in the sermons so fluently repeated that night, seem to be quite forgotten, and the por- tions of Scripture she could not repeat with the same accuracy. E. J is one of the happiest of Christians." At Castlederg there was a great awakening. From the out- set, the Wesleyan and Presbyterian ministers co-operated in the movement — especially at the evening meetings, which were held in the open air during the summer months. Having at a subsequent period had occasion to visit the place, in connexion with the opening of a Presbyterian church, I had an oppor- tunity of witnessing a pleasing instance of the harmony exist- ing between the members of these denominations. The church- going habits of the people were so increased by the revival, that, in anticipation of an attendance at the dedication services beyond what the new structure could possibly accommodate, the Wesleyan brethren had made an offer of their chapel, which was also filled on the day in question by a respectable audience, while another minister, who had been provided in the event of such a necessity arising, officiated. Although the population is chiefly agricultural, the amount raised, so far as I can recollect, was about £130. The revival in this neighbourhood had an unwonted origin, the agents being not the stated ministers or visitors of the usual class from the awakened districts, but commercial tra- vellers, whose business had brought them to the village through some of the towns of Derry and Antrim. " All of these per- sons," says the Rev. John Crockett, " saw and bore witness to OPEN-AIR MEETINGS AT CASTLEDERG. 253 the great change ^vrought in the hearts of those with whom they were brought into contact. Some of them, who had them- selves become the subjects of this change, were led to stop in our town over Sabbath, and being of our communion, attending our services on the Lord's day, and being known to us, an opportunity was given them to speak to the people after ser\ice, and thus to relate what they had seen in others, and what they were made to feel in themselves. This practice was pursued for two or three Sabbaths in my own and the neighbouring congregations, and contributed very much to pro- duce deep and serious impressions on one and all of us. About the middle of the month of August, Mr Armstrong, Mr Love, and myself, joined with the ministers of the Wesley an Metho- dists in holding an open-air service every Sabbath evening at five o'clock, in a field procured for the purpose adjoining the town. The attendance was large — say from three to four thou- sand. For a time all that could be noticed was a deep serious- ness, and an unwillingness on the part of many to depart when the service was over, which was not before the shades of the evening had set deeply in. On the fourth evening of our ser- vice, the assembly was visibly moved, many cried for pardon of sin in great bitterness of heart, and some were prostrated and carried off the field by their friends to some place of quietness ; and every succeeding evening, so long as this service was con- tinued — which was for six or eight Sabbaths — the power of God was manifested on many. The persons affected at the meeting were met with by the pastors of the different congre- gations at their respective places of worship, and were minis- tered unto till a late hour. At none of these meetings ivas tliere anything said particularly exciting^ with the exception of two or three occasions, when some young men who were introduced spoke perhaps rather pointedly to the feelings, and in a way calculated to produce great terror." Referring to some who had been the subjects of prostration, Mr Crockett states that "stubborn and self-willed servants" evinced subsequently much the same temper as before. He accounts for this largely by their ignorance; as, even when 254 RESULTS AT CASTLEDERG. anxious for tlie glory of God and the good of others, they did not well know how to set about it. He states also that he has found a great unwillingness in many of them to receive instruc- tion. "They are full of a desire for prayer and singing the praises of God ; while, at the same time, they are careless of contemplating the truth as it is in Jesus. Such cases, however, so far as I can judge of the work generally, are exceptional — the greatest readiness being, for the most part, evinced by those who were previously ignorant to be instructed in the gospel. " It is no exaggeration to say," continues the narrator, " that the attendance at our houses of worship is double what it was last year, and that attention to the services of the sanctuary fills every heart. There is a new feature manifested in our assemblies — the people evidently come to hear, and to learn that they may obey. On the last administration of the sacra- ment in our congregations, there was at least one-third of an addition to our communicants' roll, and this increase consisted principally of young converts. Prayer-meetings are in active operation in our bounds, and there is not anything connected with the whole movement so astonishing as the fervent, elo- quent, and well-conceived prayers put forth on these occasions by young converts, whose education and opportunities for mental improvement have been so limited. A few Sabbaths ago I made an appeal to my people for some money to procure a congregational library, that knowledge might be increased among our young, and I was met in a way I did not expect — all were inclined to give. Had the subject been mooted among us some years ago, not one in twenty would have responded to the call. It is true the excitement which was manifested some months ago has subsided, but the work, nevertheless, manifests progress ; and in different families I can detect palpable evi- dence of its good effects. For example, family worship is now more the ride than the exception, and other duties may be said to keep pace with this ; and, happily, it cannot be said that there is one case of backsliding among all the awakened in the neigh- bourhood. In short, let men say what they may of this re- STRABAXE. 255 vival, or let them believe what they will concerning it, one thing is certain — and that is, that a great and glorious change has taken place here among the whole Protestant population. All in their respective spheres are ceasing to do evil, and learn- ing to do well. " There is one thing connected with this movement that I have not seen noticed ; it is this — and I say it in no sectarian spirit — that it appears to be very much confined to the locali- ties in which Presbyterianism abounds. We are on the borders of Fermanagh, a Protestant county, but originally settled from England, where the principles of our polity are scarcely known, and other forms of Protestantism prevail. Now, every effort has been made by our JMethodist brethren, who were very suc- cessful among us, to carry the work into Fermanagh, but hitherto to no purpose. I mention the fact, because to me it appears somewhat strange." The town of Strabane is one of the most considerable and important in the county to which it belongs. No great excite- ment took place among its population, although the most salu- tary effects are observable among them. The narrative which follows, therefore, may be regarded as a description of the work in a community in which there was an absence of many of those features which usually characterised it. It has been suppHed by Mr J. G. Clarke, a licentiate of the Presbyterian Church, who gave his best assistance to the movement : — "Immediately after authentic reports had reached us in Strabane of the Lord's work in Derry and Coleraine, a united meeting for prayer was held in the Town Hall, which was so crowded on that occasion, that many who arrived late were obliged to go away, for want of accommodation. After earnest prayer by one of the ministers present, several addresses were delivered, followed by prayer; and an account of what was going on in Coleraine was given by one who had been an eye- witness. Nothing remarkable occurred ; but a feeling of deep solemnity and intense interest evidently pervaded the assembly. One or two other meetings of a similar kind were held in the first Presbyterian church, after which it was thought advisable to 256 OPEN-AIR MEETINGS. hold open-air meetings. Accordingly, about ten days after tlie first meeting, an open-air united meeting for prayer was com- menced in one of the enclosed market-places of the town. The hour was eight o'clock in the evening, and the exercises con- tinued usually from an hour to an hour and a half ; after which an adjourned meeting was held in the second Presbyterian church, which was close at hand, when those who were desirous of it had an opportunity of joining in devotional exercises for an hour or more, as the occasion required, but in no case was it considered advisable to hold protracted meetings, or keep the people to an unseasonable hour. At the conclusion of each service, a considerable number of anxious inquirers remained to speak with the ministers present ; but as this arrangement was found to be inconvenient, it was abandoned for the more con- venient one of morning classes, at suitable hours for inquirers. " The open-air meetings were most encouraging. They were attended by hundreds, evening after evening, without any apparent diminution of interest, until the shortening evenings of autumn compelled us to give them up. " Besides this evening open-air meeting, there was one held every Tuesday, the market-day of Strabane, in the same place, from twelve to one o'clock. This was attended chiefly by the country people, who had come into town to attend the market, but who gladly snatched an hour from the busy day to devote to eternal interests. Many were assembled long before the appointed time, and it was interesting to see others eagerly gathering around as soon as the voice of praise proclaimed that the exercise had begun. All lifted their voices with earnestness in the praise of God, and silently but solemnly joined in the prayers offered up to the throne of mercy. This meeting was most numerously attended, as many as seven or eight hundred being present on some occasions ; and it was ascertained that at almost every meeting some had been awakened to anxiety about salvation. This meeting was kept up weekly until near the middle of October, when the inclemency of the season put a stop to open-air services. "Except at two meetings near the commencement of the EESULTS OF THE MOVEMENT. 257 revival, the services of converts were not in requisition. The meetings were in every case presided over by ministers, elders, or other experienced Christian laymen sometimes leading in prayer. In conducting them, ministers of different evangelical denominations in and around Strabane — including those of the General Assembly, Eeformed Presbyterian body, and Metho- dist persuasion — heartily concurred. I am sorry to add that I must except the Episcopalian ministers, who have stood entirely aloof here throughout the whole movement, though numbers of their people have taken a deep interest in the revival, and attended the prayer-meetings with great regularity. " It may be asked, What are the results of the movement here ? This is a question by no means unimportant, as many have supposed that, because we have had little or no excite- ment, there has been no good accomplished ; an inference which is altogether unwarranted, as the few facts which I noAV give will shew : — " 1. The work has assumed a steady, permanent form, and therefore the more likely to take a deep hold on the minds of the community. There are now congi-egational prayer-meetings established in the two Presbyterian churches in the town, and a union weekly prayer-meeting, conducted wholly by the Presby- terian ministers. It is always well attended, and most inter- esting from the earnestness and attention manifested by the people. It is attended by members of the Episcopalian, Presby- terian, and Methodist communions. " 2. There is a largely-increased and earnest attendance on the Sabbath services of the sanctuary. Before tliis movement reached us, it was no unusual thing to see empty or partially filled pews in the house of God on the Sabbatii, Now, how- ever, it is quito different. No longer is the minister's spirit depressed at the desolate appearance of vacant pews, or his heart grieved by the apathetic appearance of listless hearers. The services of the sanctuary have evidently assumed a reality and importance altogether unusual. They are no longer a piece of dull routine, or cold formality. In beholding the marked attention of those assembled in the house of God, one is forcibly 2o8 RESULTS OF THE MOVEMENT reminded of Isaiali's prediction regarding gospel days — 'The eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken.' The interest in missionary o]ierations has been greatly increased ; a practical proof of this is afforded by greatly enlarged contributions to the different mission schemes of the Church. A desire for God's own Word has been excited ; at no former period were there so many copies of the Scriptures sold at the Edinburgh Bible depository as during the past year, and those precious books are not bought for mere show ; they are searched in private, and read statedly in families where previously the worship of God was unknown. Family worship has largely increased. " 3. Many district prayer-meetings have been established : some in the town, conducted chiefly by young men whose hearts God has lately opened ; others in the country, sometimes pre- sided over by ministers, when they can spare time, but gene- rally by the elders of the district. " 4. There has been much hopeful work among the young. While we have reason to believe that God has touched some of the old, yet He has been deahng chiefly with the young, a con- siderable number of whom, we trust, have been turned to the Lord. "Thus it will be seen that we have not been unblessed. Did we, indeed, estimate the good done here by the amount of excitement produced by the revival, the sum total would be small indeed. But we adopt no such criterion. Past experience has demonstrated the fallacy of such a test. The Spirit of God works as a sovereign, ' dividing to every man severally as He will ;' and we see no reason why He should not deal with communities as with individuals, rousing one with a voice of terror, and drawing another with the gentle voice of entreaty. In this latter way may He not be dealing ^vith us here ? Some among us, it is true, have passed through deep mortal conflict, and others are still under sharp convictions ; but except in a veri/ feiv cases near the outset, we have had none of those 'physiological accidents' which formed such a marked and prominent accompaniment of the revival elsewhere." IN AND AROUND STKABANE. ^59 The Kev. Jiimes Gibson and the Rev. Wm. Paissell, the ministers of the Presbyterian Church in Strabane, the former of whom was only settled there in September last, confirm all the statements made in the preceding communication. I must reluctantly pass over districts in Tyrone, again refer- ring for details to the Appendix. CHAPTER XVI. THE REVIVAL IN COUNTY ARMAGH. The Work in Lurgan — The First Convert — "Neither Mad, nor Wicked, nor Ignorant" — First United Meeting — The Work in the Pastor's Absence — He is Summoned Home— The New Scenes he Wit- nesses — Classes and Meetings — The County Districts — Awful End of a Mocker — Treatment of the Visions — Life from the Dead — The True Instrument — The Rector's Statement — Magheralin — The Archiepiscopal City — Scenes in a Daily and in a vSabbath School — First Moved in the Congregation — The Work Becomes Public — " Crying for his Sins " — The Convert Girl and the Sailor — Scene in the Retiring-Eoom— The Youth who had his Plans Laid — The Dying One Revived — Tullyallen — Tartaraghan — Me- mories of the Year. I SHALL confine the narrative of tlie work in this county princi- pally^ to the statements furnished by the ministers in its two principal towns, Armagh and Lurgan, introducing the latter first, as it was first visited. "A work of preparation for revival," says the Rev. Lowry E. Berkeley, " had been in progress at Lurgan, as elsewhere, for years prior to 1859. Here the Rev. Thomas Millar, publisher of the Tracts for Ireland, lived and laboured. The ' healiui; leaves i had been scattered on every side. Sabbath schools had done much for the instruction of the young. A goodly number of earnest Christians were here, who continued in prayer and supplication, expecting a blessing; and they were not disap- pointed. "The Synod of Belfast met in May 1859. The interesting statements made there by different ministers of what they had seen and heard, were noted, and the substance of them brought THE FIRST CONVERT. 261 before the people. A feeling of expectation that God was about to visit the land began to prevail. Soon after came the news of the great revival begun in the north-west. I shall not soon forget the profound impression produced upon a crowded congregation by the reading of a letter, on a Sabbath about this time, from an elder in Faughanvale, the congregation to which I formerly ministered, in which he said, 'I have glorious news to tell you. God has been pouring out His Spirit, night and day, in large abundance here. . . . Let the whole congregation of Lurgan pray for the people of Faughanvale, that God may continue and increase His blessed work among them.' The First Convert. — " Early in June, Christian people of dif- ferent denominations in town manifested a desire to come together for prayer, first in the different congregational prayer- meetings, and afterwards in a neutral place, at the dinner hour of the working classes. These meetings were but begun, when a licentiate of our Church was one night raised out of bed to see a young man in a lodging-house, a stranger, who wished to talk with a Presbyterian minister. The people of the house thought he was beside himself. It was a case of true spiritual convic- tion. Next day he was rejoicing in Jesus, and making Him known, by writing letters to his friends, and by the work of tract-distribution. " I was waiting, on the 2()th of June, about to enter that mid- day meeting for prayer, when a member of my congi-egation accosted me, and requested that I would visit his son, who was in much distress about his soul. I went accordingly, and such agony ! Would that all who think sin a trifle had seen it ! In a few days he, too, was looking to Jesus, and beginning to labour for His glory. ""Neither Mad, nor Wicked, nor Ignwantr — "Some weeks after, calling on a family where correct views were not held of the nature and necessity of conversion, ' the revival ' was the subject of conversation. A lady present pronounced it all excitement, and, ' at any rate, it was confined to the lowest and most ignorant of the people.' I mentioned that the first case I 2(^-2 THE WORK IN THE PASTORS ABSENCE. had visited was of a very different kind, stating the circum- stances, without any name. ' He must have been ver^j wicked,' said a young hidy present. ' No ; he was one of the most amiable and moral young men in Lurgan.' ' Well, he was mad,' was the rejoinder of another. ' Nay, he was perfectly sober in his mind, but he felt an awful load of sin,' ' He must have been very ignorant, not to know that the " blood of Jesus cleanseth from all sin," ' said a third. 'That will not account for it either,' I said, ' for he is one of the best instructed persons I know— well acquainted with his Bible, and able to teach others also.' Their philosophy was utterly at fault. The thing was unaccountable to them. When will people, living amid the light and privileges of the gospel, with the Word of (rod in their hands, learn that ' except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God ? ' First United Meeting. — " The first meeting for united prayer in which any of the Episcopal ministers took part, was held in the Presbyterian church, on the 28th of June. Hitherto the brethren had rather kept aloof, doubting the real character of the movement, but from this i)eriod their doubts seemed to vanish. At that meeting, one public conviction took place. It turned out a case, as far as man could judge, of real conver- sion to God. The court in which the individual who was the subject of it dwelt, resounded for many days with the voice of singing and prayer. It had produced a solemnising effect upon tlie whole neighbourhood, and it became evident that if Satan was working, it was for the overthrow of his own kingdom. The Work in the Pastm^'s Absence. — " I left for the Assembly in Dublin on the 4th of July, having made arrangements for the meetings during that week. On Tuesday evening the second meeting for united prayer, in which all denominations were represented, was held. A student of theology addressed it. There were six cases of public conviction. On their way home, and after reaching it, many were brought to their knees. The next day the people were giving way in all directions. No meetings had been announced for that evening, but the young ])eople ar.d others assembled voluntarily, filled both the school- HE IS SUMMONED HOME. 263 rooms as well as the church, and continued till two or three o'clock in the morning in singing and prayer. On Thursday it Avas the same. United exercises were almost impossible. Every pew was a prayer-meeting. Some were prostrated under agonising conviction. Others were rejoicing as having found Jesus. As in Israel of old, it was almost impossible to ' discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people.' It is believed that hundreds were impressed dur- ing those two nights, and many of them truly converted to God. The labours of the Rev. Matthew Murphy, the licentiate pre- viously referred to, on this occasion and subsequently, were eminently useful and much blessed. He is Summoned Home. — " From him I heard, whilst at- tending the sittings of Assembh^, of what was going on, and concluded at once that duty called me home. I had left on Friday morning, beiure a telegram arrived conveying the anxious wish of some of my people for my return. They feared that excitement was going too far. They knew the inflammable materials by which we were surrounded. The enemy would speak reproachfully, if any occasion should be given. The multitude came together that evening as usual. I had gathered up, as far as possible, the counsels of the brethren as expressed in the conference at the Assembly, and was prepared to act upon them. The people were exhorted and prayed with, and those who had found Christ were advised to ' go home to their friends, and tell them how great things the Lord had done for them, and how He had compassion on them.' With difficulty they were persuaded to disperse, and after the church was closed, many assembled in the school- rooms adjoining, and continued for a time in devotional exercises. The N €10 Scenes he Witnesses. — "The next evening there was a delightful meeting, composed very largely of those whose hearts God had touched. Some of the converts prayed. After a short service, those anxious about their souls were invited to remain for conversation. Almost all waited. Every pew was again filled with mourning or rejoicing. Those who had found Christ were inviting others to come to Him. I walked about 264 CLASSES AND MEETINGS. among them for an hour, speaking a word liere and there, but specially intent on observing what was passing. It was a scene over which angels must have rejoiced. Such godly sorrow ! Such love to Jesus ! Such simple gospel-preaching ! Such fervent prayers ! In one pew I observed a man sitting, api)a- rently under deep conviction, whilst a lad of fifteen or sixteen years of age was standing with outstretched arm preaching to him Jesus. ' You have only to look to Him, and be saved. Is it possible you will not trust in Jesus ! ' Out of the mouth of babes praise was perfected. " The next day was the Sabbath, and a high day it was. The courts of God's house were crowded. I read the second chapter of the Acts. * No,' said a woman to herself, as I read on, ' I am not drunken,' and she bowed down on her knees in the pew, pouring out her heart to God, and had shortly to be removed. Another in the gallery cried aloud to God, but the singing of a psalm quieted the people, and left time for her removal also. At the close of the service a young man was helped out, whom I found shortly after in the school-room in a very agony of prayer, wrestling with God, and asking help against Satan. He continues steadfast in the faith and hope of the gospel. Classes and Meetings.— ""Yvom. the first I had classes for in- quirers and converts, which were greatly needed and much blessed. At the close of every prayer-meeting, (and they were held in the church five evenings each week during the months of July and August,) persons anxious about their souls were invited to remain, and warning, instruction, and encouragement were given as might be retjuired. ]\lany meetings for prayer, conducted by members of the church, were at the same time held throughout the country. These still continue, to the num- ber of about twenty each wTek. They are well attended, and have helped greatly to confirm the souls of the disciples. Tlie Country Districts. — "The movement passed from one part of the country round here to another, and in some places, of course, the impression was more marked and manifest than in others. I remember one day in the beginning of harvest driving out to see a person in a rural district. No work was A TREATMENT OF THE VISIONS, 26o being done in the neighbourhood. The people were gathered in groups on the public roads, literally walking, and leaping, and praising God, or assembled in their houses engaged in exercises of devotion. No manner of labour was being attended to, though the fields were white to the harvest. The concerns of the soul and eternity were occupying exclusive attention. Awful End of a Mocker. — " While there, I was informed that a young woman had died suddenly in the neighbourhood. The statement, too, was, that she had mocked at the revival. I went and inquired. She had walked out of the house in her usual health about two o'clock in the day, had fallen down a perch from the door, was carried in, and in a few minutes expired. I inquired of her landlady as to the truth of the story of her mocking. ' Why, sir, I did hear her say,' speaking of those who had been stricken, ' that she hoped if she would fall down she might never rise.' This providence produced a very solemn impression in the neighbourhood. " Yet here, as elsewhere, excitement was often carried too far. To this I attribute very largely the repeated strikings down, as well as the dumbness and visions with which many were visited. There were very many cases of all these in the neigh- bourhood. " A young woman — not a member of my congregation — whom I was called to see, and who had been repeatedly stricken, gave me a very simple and natural account of the matter. ' I was stricken,' she said, ' and then I found peace. Afterwards I did not live as I ought, and I could not go to class-meeting and say I had peace when I had not. So I wished to be stricken again, to see if the same feeling would come back.' Is it wonderful if one going weak in body, and in that state of mind, to a crowded meeting, conducted after a certain fashion, should be completely overcome, and again prostrated 1 Treatment of the Visions. — " The dumbness and the visions con- tinued among us for a time, though in hardly an instance was a Presbyterian thus affected ; but as soon as the people were taught that no reliance could be placed on such things — ^that the former, in particular, was an affliction, and an evident indication 2G6 THE TRUE INSTRUMENT. that excitement was being carried too far — they totally disap- peared. These things were among the chief hindrances to the progress of the work here. The question with many for a time became — ' Is such a one really seeing these visions 1 ' instead of the personal question — ' What must I do to be saved ? ' and the opponents of the work were led to doubt or deny the reality of the whole movement. Life from, the Dead. — " But who that goes among the people now, and compares their present state with what it was even twelve months ago, can deny it ? I see places where all was then dead, cold, and careless, now filled with earnest living Christians. I .can point to this and the other family whose home is a Bethel, where formerly no voice of praise or prayer ascended to God. I see numbers of young men, formerly given up to sinful pleasures and excesses, or at least stupid and unconcerned about spiritual and eternal things, now living as disciples of Christ, and for the glory of God. The cause of temperance has been greatly advanced. Party spirit has much diminished. Re- ligious magazines are circulating in hundreds, and supplanting mischievous ' light reading.' Christian liberality is greatly in- creased. Believers have been wonderfully quickened. All that we have seen leads us to look, and long, and labour, and pray for a larger fulfilment of the promise, ' I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground. I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine off- spring.' The True Imtrument. — " What we have seen of late should lead us to have more faith in the Word of God as the instru- ment of conversion. I meet a young man on a Sabbath after- noon going out to conduct a prayer-meeting. I inquire as to the change that has passed upon him, and how it has been effected. He says it was just the hearing of that chapter read about the man who ' had his dwelling among the tombs, and no man could bind.' 'When I heard it,' he says, 'I at once said, That is my case ; and I went home and read it again, and prayed to God that He would bind me — ajid He has done it.' The truth of God is mighty, when applied by the Spirit to the I PRESENT EFFECTS OF THE REVIVAL. 267 pulling clown of strongholds. Let us read it as God's word, and expect the reading as well as the preaching to be a means of convincing and converting sinners. " And, above all, let us depend on the Holy Spirit to give efficacy to the word. Under His power the hardest heart can be melted, and the proudest spirit subdued. Let us learn the privilege and the power of prayer, and be among the number of those who keep not silence, and give God no rest till He estab- lish and make Jerusalem a praise in the earth." Through the kindness of the Bishop of Down, I have been favoured with extracts from letters, in reply to late inquiries, addressed to some of his clergy, as to the " present effects " of the revival. The following is from the the Rev. Thomas Knox, rector of Lurgan, and is dated 16tli April 1860 :— " 1st, Congregations, both in church and at cottage lectures, greatly increased. The increase is composed, in a great mea- sure, of young men and women who were formerly indifferent to spiritual matters. -Id, The communicants nearly doubled, and from the same class of persons. '3d, Adult classes have sprung up of persons anxious for instruction. 4th, A young men's society, established by the exertions of my curate, the Rev. T. Cosgrove. They assist in district-visitings, and distributing tracts that we supply them with. I may also add, that a more religious tone pervades the entire neighbourhood. Drunken- ness has declined, and we have observed no case of relapse in those who had really bee)i affected at the period of the revival. Two or three Roman Catholics who had then joined our congre- gations, have been with us ever since, and are daily studying (Scripture and attending the classes. These are the principal features. We require accommodation for five hundred more, at least, in the church, which I hope will be ready for them in about eighteen months." The following, also dated 16th April, is from the Rev. Henry ^lurphy, rector of Magheralin, in the same neighbourhood : — " It affords me the most sincere pleasure to be able 'to say that the effect produced among us answers to the 'cause.' There is a hungering and thirsting .after the word of God, as is •2(58 THE ARCHIEPISCOPAL CITY. dearly evidenced by tlie full attendance on every means of grace. My church was built to accommodate five hundred ; it is full every Sabbath morning, (yesterday there were five hun- dred and thirty-one;) and the evening congregation averages three hundred— (it used to be forty or fifty.) I have two even- ing services during the week ; one in a school-house, which is always crowded — the other in the church, which is attended by a steady congregation of between three and four hundred. Be- fore this religious awakening, (about three years ago,) I com- menced an. evening service in the village ; but after some time I discontinued it, because I could get no attendance. Now, had I a service every evening in the week, I could command a meeting. Beside all this, morality, in every sense of the word, is the order of the day. The change, indeed, is a mighty one." The Archiejyiscopal City— It was not till the middle of August that the city of Armagh was visited by the gracious movement. For at least two months previously, it had been anxiously anti cipated. Meetings had been held, and persons from other dis- tricts had been specially brought to narrate something of the scenes in which they had themselves shared ; but no appliances of this description seem to have had any place assigned them in connexion with the awakening in Armagh. In passing through, a few days after the " outburst," I found the brethren in the very midst of the new duties then imposed upon them. It was on the Monday morning, and the Presbyterian, Wes- leyan. and Independent ministers were met in prayerful con- ference with reference to the work in which they all had shared. I had met one of tliese friends — the pastor of the Independent church— about a month before in our own town, where he had come to beg a visit of Mr North, then in the midst of us ; but that eminent evangelist had his hands too full to admit of his undertaking any additional engagement. But now the set time had come, and all were encouraging one another in their com- mon Lord. Among the earliest incidents of the revival in Armagh, the following is related by the Rev. J. R. M'Alister, respecting a scene' of awakening in a daily, and also in a Sabbath school : — SCENES IN SCHOOLS. 269 " One morning, a little girl, about eleven years old, entered into my daily female school, lifted up her hands and clasped them, saying, ' Oh ! I have found Jesus ! I have found Jesus !' There was no minister present at first ; there had been no address de- livered to children. The words of the child kindled the flame, and in a few minutes a wail of sorrow ascended to heaven that alarmed the inhabitants of the surrounding houses. As I passed along the street, a boy came in breathless haste to me, and said, 'Come, sir, come, the girls in the school are all crying for mercy.' When I entered, some were lying on the floor, some in the arms of the teacher, some in the arms of the monitor, some in the arms of other children ; floods of tears were flowing; con- fession of sin was freely made from little broken hearts ; cries for mercy to God ; supplications for Jesus to come and save them ; earnest prayers for the Holy Spirit to come and take the stony heart out of them, and give them a heart of flesh. A similar scene occurred in my Sabbath school. Many were stricken down in an hour or two. It was a solemn, a grand scene ! Young persons of both sexes, from twelve to twenty- two years of age, awakened, agonising under conviction of sin ; lifting up their hands to heaven ; fixing their eyes upon Jesus ; confessing their transgi^essions : one saying — ' I am lost ! I am a child of the devil ; for I have told lies, and the devil is the father of lies;' another exclaiming — 'Ah! I have mocked Jesus ! ah ! I have mocked Jesus '. ' another — ' What a hypo- crite I have been ! ' many from time to time praying — ' O Lord! for Jesus sake have mercy upon me;' 'Lord, open the door of my heart and come in;' 'O Jesus, wash me in the fountain of Thy blood,' &c., &c. : the ministers and Sabbath - school teachers moving amidst them travailing in birth till Christ would be formed in them ; praying with them ; singing over them, and directing their souls to the great Physician ; others coming, seeing the wondrous work of the Lord, returning to their homes to render themselves up to God." The Rev. Jackson Smyth has furnished me with the following narrative of the work as it came under his inspection : — TJw First Moved in the Congregation.— ^^Tho. first moved 270 THE WORK BECOMES PUBLIC. in this congregation, was an interesting young girl, whom I met in the street one day, weeks before there was any public mani- festation in the city. I spoke to her, on meeting her, and her eyes filled with tears. ' What is the matter ? ' I said. Her lips quivered, her chest slightly heaved, and the truth flashed upon my mind. Whereupon I added, 'Are you in concern about )cour soul I ' 'Yes, sir,' was said with deep feeling. 'I shall visit you in the evening ;' and I did. No one in the house knew her state of mind, as she did not make it known. Her sister wondered that I had all at once taken to visit the family every day, when I had never visited in the house before. These visits continued two weeks, when one day I entered, and there was a calm, sweet expression in her face which told of joy within. ' What account have you to give of yourself to-day V 'I am happy in Christ ; and, oh, what happiness !' 'The revival has commenced in Armagh,' I mentally exclaimed, and thanked God. Weeks afterwards, on calling one day at the house where this interesting girl lives, (it is a business house,) I said to her, ' Now that you have tasted that God is gracious, what would you think of holding a prayer-meeting with your companions every night before going to bed i ' ' We do that, sir,' was the reply. One after another, the young persons in that house were brought to the Lord, till no fewer than seve)i gave clear indication of hopeful conversion. There was not a case of prostration in the house at all. The Work becomes Puhlic. — " By and by, the work became more public, though there had been a falling off in the attendance at our prayer-meetings. There was an impression abroad, that God was not going to visit Armagh. One evening, as we assem- bled for prayer in the church as usual, the pews were almost empty. I made a few remarks in reference to our wonderful position. Like Gideon's fleece, we were dry, whilst all around the earth was watered. But I concluded thus : — ' God has al- ready blessed us in a silent way, and He will farther bless us. If there are ten praying people in the city, God will revive His work, and I know there are more than ten.' A brother minister rose, read a chapter of Isaiah, commented very briefly on it, CEYING FOR HIS SINS. 271 and gave out a psalm. As lie sat down, I whispered to him, ' I see a young man under deep conviction of sin in one of the pews ; he will cry out very soon.' When the singing ceased, the wail rose up to heaven—' O Jesus, have mercy on my soul.' A new thing this in the city of Ai'magh ! and the few in the church exhibited strong sensations. Another voice was heard in the gallery, crying loudly for pardon and acceptance with an oifended God. The revival ' had come ! ' That first young man was a Sabbath-school teacher, but his teaching had been lifeless till then. Now he teaches with all his soul, and he has been blessed to the conversion of many. Crying for his Sins. — " This first- fruit of a public manifesta- tion of the power of God's Spirit, on the following Sabbath evening held a prayer-meeting in a private house, out a little distance in the country, where there were two or three cases of ' striking.' Being members of my congregation, I called on Monday to visit them. Two were rejoicing intensely — a girl of about eighteen years of age, and a boy of about twelve. While I sat, a little boy of five years of age came up and leaned against my knee. I thought this a very unusual thing, for, having come recently to the city, I was quite a stranger. Taking up the little fellow on my knees, I said, 'Well, my boy, do you know any- thing of Jesus 1 ' ' Yes.' ' And what do you know about Him ? ' He paused, and then his mother spoke. 'John (the boy's name) was out yesterday evening in the corner of the adjacent field, when Mr H. was holding a prayer-meeting there. We heard bitter crying, and thinking John was hurt, I ran quickly out. He was coming towards the door, screaming piteously. He threw himself down at the side of the wall, and continued to cry very bitterly. In a little, I heard him utter the word ^^ Jesus." No one disturbed him then. When he had cried for a length of time to Jesus to take away his sins, he paused, rose up, wiped his eyes and cheeks hurriedly, and ran up to me (his mother) and kissed me rapturously. Presently he ran out, and entered a house hard by, and asked a little playmate if he would come and " cry for his sins." His companion was indifferent, wondered what it all meant, and stayed where he was. John 272 THE CONVERT GIRL AND THE SAILOR. returned, and, commencing to weep, exclaimed, " T. J. will not come and cry for his sins." ' " Whilst his mother was giving me this narrative of the even- ing before, the little fellow sat on my knee with a settled calm in his face, which spoke volumes for the truth of Christianity as it is in Jesus. Desirous of ascertaining the certainty of the boy's conversion, I called on the following week to make inquiry. ' What about John ] ' 'He has been very quiet during the week, giving no trouble in the house as he used to do, but he is very cheerful. He attends the prayer-meetings in the houses around, and is very attentive.' 'Does he pray at home?' ' Yes.' ' Is it only the prayer he used to repeat as a matter of form?' 'No, he uses words of his own.' By this time all the children in the house had been convinced of sin, with one ex- ception, (a Sabbath-school girl.) ' Last night,' continued his mother, ' when I was preparing him for bed, he ran away from me, and knelt down and prayed, " Jesus, come and pardon the sins of father, and mother, and Charlotte." ' That boy has been most consistent in his demeanour ever since, and is no doubt a trophy of grace, one of those of whom is the 'kingdom of heaven.' The Convert Girl on the Steamhoat. — " The eldest girl of this family had occasion to go to Scotland shortly afterwards. On board the steamer she met a sister convert. They sat down on deck, as the boat cut through the waves, and the stars of heaven were twinkling over head, and commenced to sing a sweet psalm to the God of the sweet singer of Israel. They attracted part of the crew, who assembled round the ' hymn-singers,' in that strange place. One gruff ' Jack ' ordered them to desist. He hated the music, because it was sacred. They did desist. But it was not chance brought them there. M. W. spoke to the surly sailor. It was so sweet, so pathetic, so arresting, that he did not dare to stop her ; nor did he turn away. It was about his soul and the Saviour she addressed him. He listened, and became interested, absorbed. His eyes filled with tears ; they flowed. He spoke — he remembered days gone by, when he had heard such things before, but he had Ion J SCENE IN THE EETIEING-EOOM, 273 forgotten them. She pressed home Scripture arguments, heart arguments. The sailor spoke of mercy and pardon, and hearing there was pardon for such as he, for ' the blood of Jesus cleans- eth us from all sin,' he drew a bottle from a pocket in his rough jacket, and flung it overboard, exclaiming, ' What a vile sinner I have been ! Never more shall I take that cursed thing, strong drink. The Lord enable me to live to Him hencefor- ward for ever ! ' Probably we may hear no more of the results of that interview till the books shall be opened. But one must feel that in the conversation of that young girl, a wave of influ- ence commenced to flow, which will never cease till it strike agamst the shores of an eternal world. She has been conduct- ing meetings among young persons of her own sex ever since, in the town of D in Scotland. Scene in the Retiriiig-room. — "The good and glorious work went on. One day in the church, when I had terminated the morning devotional exercises, and was about to commence the exposition of my text, a person cried aloud for mercy ; then another, and another, till about a dozen left the church, or were helped to leave. When I left the pulpit, it was to witness a touching sight in the retiring room. There were seven of a family all kneeling together — the father a godly man, and who had been so for many years. Two daughters already Christians, and the other four crying for mercy. The scene rose to the grand and subhme, when one of the boys arose trusting in Christ, and the father embraced him as a new-born babe in Jesus, and then the other immediately afterwards. These boys have been steady Christians ever since. There was another group, consisting of two young girls, one only about nine years of age, kneeling together. The younger had said on entering the Sabbath school that morning, 'I am just a week old.' She had been converted the Sabbath before. Now she was kneehng, preaching Jesus Christ to the distressed soul of a young Sab- bath-school companion. In another part of the room was stiil another group. Two girls who had been Unitarians, and had come with their parents to the neighbourhood of Ai'magh, were convinced of sin, and found peace in the Lord. Tears must S 274 THE YOUTH WHO HAD HIS PLANS LAID. have gushed forth from the most obdurate to witness the aflfectionate embrace of those poor girls, now children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. Their subsequent history furnishes a memorable instance of the power of prayer. Their mother had not been regular in attendance on the public means of grace, and there was no family altar ever erected to the Lord in their home. These girls forthwith commenced the blessed exercise of prayer, and reading God's Word in the family. They conducted its exercise in turn — one in the morning, the other in the evening. This continued for some time, till at length the mother became interested. 8he came out to attend a meeting in a country house where I preached. On the following Sab- bath she came to church — was forced to cry out — remained in distress for hours — at length departed to her home, where she soon enjoyed repose is Christ, and now is not ashamed to assist her daughters in their humble yet acceptable service of a kind and gracious God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. The Youth who had his Plans Laid. — " There is connected with our Sabbath school, one remarkable monument of sovereign grace. A young man who had been a lover of such society as is fearfully destructive and subversive of the principles of all true religion and morality, became convinced of sin, and was led to cry, ' What must I do to be saved ? ' Happy to know it, I seized every opportunity which presented itself to talk with him. At length one day, meeting him on the street, I said, ' J , what do you feel the relation between your soul and God to be to-day V ' I am a sinner, but a pardoned sinner,' said he, ' washed and redeemed. Oh, truly I am a sinner res- cued from destruction, a brand plucked from the fire. I tell you now, sir, that I had intended shortly to leave the city, and I not only meant to live a careless life, but I had actually luicked jdans laid out for myself for life. I had never true en- joyment on the Lord's-day till the last, for I had the luxury of knowing what it is to do something for my Saviour in the Sab- bath school.' Since then, he has been a devoted teacher. Dui'- iug the harvest, he met one night one of his quondam boon associates as he passed along the street. ' Hilloa ! ' said his THE DYING ONE REVIVED. 275 old friend, ' is it you 1 ' and proceeded with a volley of raillery. wMch sobered down into a reference to former times. ' Those times are gone for ever,' said our Sabbath-school teacher. The other made a reply derogatory to religion. ' I am changed,' continued the convert, ' old things are passed away. Come with me, and through Jesus Christ I will do you good. If not, we must part, for I cannot go your way;' and they parted, for they w^ere clearly walking on different roads. The Dying One Revived. — "I might go on multiplying in- stances of those who have come under my own observation in this locaUty as giving indication of hopeful conversion to the Lord, and many of God's people have been revived, in the proper sense of the word. A young woman was dying of consumption. She was, as I believed, a ripe and exulting Christian. She began to talk of the revival in the city. Every day brought her fresh tidings of new conversions, and one morning she said to her mother, ' Dear mother, I should like to have a visit from God's Spirit, like I hear others getting,' 'My dear,' said her mother, ' is the Holy Spirit not sanctifying you ] Do you not trust in your Saviour '^ ' That day I was sent for to see M. S. ' Come quickly, she is ill.' As I was engaged at the moment, I could not go. In ten minutes a messenger knocked, entered and said, 'Mrs S. would be glad to see you instantly. Her daughter is dreadfully ill.' I left all and went to the house. I found the young woman sitting up in the bed, or rather held up by her mother. Her eyes were full and red. Her cheeks, before pale and haggard, were now swollen and livid. She was cry- ing for pardon, and she cried till she induced haemorrhage of the lungs. I spoke to her of the Saviour — His work. His pro- mises and invitations. She was too weak to answer, except an occasional word, and this was of her sins. Asking her mother to lay her down on the pillow, I took up God's Word and read to her of the Saviour, and then offered up prayer. She lay calmly for a. while, and then a smile played sweetly on her coun- tenance, and she said, ' Oh, why did I doubt ? Why did I dis- trust my Saviour ] He is ever the same. I see Him now to be lovelier than ever. Oh to be ever with the Lord 1' Why did 276 GREAT OPEN-AIR MEETING. she doubt? It was a case of mere doubting — nothing more. She was a child of God before, but God's Spirit seemed to be working her sanctification and ripening her rapidly for glory. In the course of two days the news came in, ' M. S. is dead.' ' Not dead, but sleepeth.' " In the month of September a great meeting was held, in the open air, in the neighbourhood of Armagh, at which fully three thousand persons were present. This meeting was addressed, among othess, by the Hon. and Rev. Baptist Noel, who made a tour of the greater part of Ulster about that time. " Consider- able emotion," says the Rev. R. Wallace, of Tottenham, who was present, " soon began to evince itself in the meeting, and during the day many (as many as sixteen came under the per- sonal observation of my friend and fellow-traveller) men, women, and children were struck down and forced to cry for mercy; in all there were about thirty such cases on this occa- sion. I sat on the platform, and had a commanding view of the countenances of the people during the whole of the service. The excitement was at its height during the address of a young convert, as he detailed God's dealings with himself, and earnestly besought all hearing him to flee from the wrath to come and lay hold on eternal life. And what struck me most of all was, not the case of those who were prostrated and forced to cry out for mercy, but the case of those who were manifestly struggling to conceal their convictions and to suppress the rising emotions of their hearts. In many cases I saw the big tear roll down the man or woman's cheek ; and I saw strong men seeking to conceal their feelings by hiding their faces in their caps and hats, and leaning upon one another, as hardly able to stand before the preacher's words and appeals. And from what I beheld of this sort, and from the general solemnity and seriousness which pervaded that meeting, it is my convic- tion that the number of persons struck doimi bears no propor- tion to the number of those who were really smitten in heart, truly convicted of sin. and made to cry out, although silently, ' What must we do to be saved f " The speech of Mr Moore, of Ballymena, struck me as par- i MEMOEIES OF THE YEAE. 277 ticiilarly calm, discriminating, excellent, and forcible. He faitli- f ully warned the audience against trusting in the mere physical manifestations or effects, and confounding them with conver- sion." Memories of the Year. — The Rev. Jackson Smyth thus closes his narrative : — " There are many sweet reminiscences of 1859, which a minis- ter of the gospel can never forget. How many expressions of trust in Christ ! How many outpourings of the desires of the soul for pardon ! How many naive expressions of confidence — gentle, child-like assurances of trust in a kind, heavenly Father, and dear and loving Saviour ! " Let the world judge as it may, there is a glorious reality in the revival of 1859. The effects are visible. The races here, it is estimated, were not attended by more than one-fifth of the number on former years. Women have been redeemed from the paths of shame and infamy; the lips of swearers have been sealed; the cup of the drunkard has been broken; and the churches have been filled. " With regard to intemperance, the officer whose duty it is to fill drunken committals in the city, told me he did not fill a single one yesterday, the day after Christmas. Formerly there were many. ' Oh that men would praise the Lord for his good- ness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men !' " The following brief statement by the Rev. J. D. INlartin, of TuUyallen, may be taken as a specimen of the work in the rural districts of the same county : — " On Sabbath, the 30th June 1859, the Rev. S. J. Moore, of Ballymena, came to preach the annual sermon on behalf of the Sabbath-school Union in this quarter, at Tullyallen. The ser- vices commenced at five o'clock p.m. The audience was large, amounting to several thousands. Strong men trembled ; faces grew pale ; many could scarcely reach home when the services were ended, through weakness and anxiety, and many as they went were disposed to retire to some solitary vplace to pray. Such was the state of feeling produced on such a multitude in a few minutes. This was surely the powerful work of the Holy 278 THE WORK IN RUEAL DISTRICTS, ^Spirit as on the day of Pentecost. That meeting was kept up for several hours, and was addressed by the ministers of the neighbourhood, who were present. Prayer-meetings were ap- pointed during the week, and on the next Friday evening a large number attended. During the services, fifteen or twenty were impressed or stricken, crying aloud for mercy. The work of revival had now come. " The attention of the community was quite arrested, and the people spoke of little else but the revival. The business of the world was to a great extent laid aside ; religion seemed to take its proper place — the first place; the salvation of the soul seemed to be the one thing needful ; many almost forgot to take their regular food — became pale and weak. Their great anxiety appeared to be, ' What must I do to be saved ? ' " Stated meetings weekly have been kept up in our church now for six months — well attended — and at most of these for months the cry for mercy was often heard. The outward mani- festations have now nearly ceased, but the work of the Spirit is going on steadily and quietly. " To describe the various states of mind of those on whom the Si)irit operated, would require much time. But in general there were strong convictions of sin, a deep feeling of the terrors of the law and of the lost state of the soul, overpower- ing frequently both mind and body ; an apprehension of Christ as the Saviour, and an earnest desire to obtain Him ; a spirit of prayer in an extraordinary degree ; a willingness to submit to Christ ; a trusting in Christ for salvation ; and joy and peace of a high character. " In all cases which have been considered genuine conversion of sinners, or revival of saints, there seems to be a much greater hatred of sin, and guarding against it, and a delight in and attention to religion. Is not this the work of the Spirit of God?" Subjoined is a touching instance of the power of prayer in the case of an entire household. It is supplied by the Rev, George Nesbitt, of Tartaraghan, also in County Armagh : — " A pious mother, in very humble circumstances, began early A INSTANCE OF THE POWER OF PRAYER. 279 last summer to spend an hour daily in prayer for a revival in her family, and in our congregation. Her eldest boy, about six- teen, one Monday morning in September, after she had been thus engaged, came off his loom and went to his knees. A few minutes after, her second boy was found on his knees in the covj-liouse. They prayed all that day and the following night. I heard some of their petitions :— ' Lord, come into my hard heart. Put in Thy hand by the hole of the door and open for Thyself, Jesus. Wash me in the fountain of Thy blood, not my hands and my feet only, but my heart and my soul. OThou that manifested Thyself unto the Hebrew children in the fiery furnace, manifest Thyself unto us this night as our reconciled Father. We have sinned against great mercies and privileges, and are not worthy to be called Thy sons ; oh, make us as hired servants !' One found peace on the following day, the other not till Saturday night. Three little brothers have been brought to Christ since. The youngest, who will not be nine years of age till March, was on his knees almost incessantly for sixteen daj^s. His mother has been asked to pray with him three times after the family retired for the night, and often she lifted him from his knees to persuade him to take food. Not one of the five boys was ' stricken,' and all had been in conviction a number of weeks before their distress was perceived by their parents." CHAPTER XVII. THE REVIVAL IN DONEGAL, MONAGHAN, AND CAVAN. County Donegal : Monreagh — Scenes in the Cliurch — In the Open Air — Three Memorable Services, and their Effects — The Present and the Past — Saul among the Prophets — Two Notable Instances — The Domestic Altar — Abiding Frviits — Donoughmore. County Mona- GHAN : Statement of the Rev. Hope M. Waddell — Impressions of a Visit in the Country — On the Sabbath — Newbliss — The First Case — Those Principally Reached. County Cavan : Bailie- borough — Drumkeeran — Wonderful Awakening and Excitement — Statement of the Rev. F. F, Trench, of Kells {County Meath) — A Meeting over the Borders — How the Revival has been Propa- gated — Another Visit over the Border — " Shooting the Goose " — A whole Family Surrendering to Christ — The Moral Results — The Movement Southwards— Leinster and Munster. Space will not admit of a prolongation of this narrative. And in the case of the three counties which yet remain to be noticed in connexion with the progress of the movement, I must select out of the materials at my disposal only a slender portion, re- ferring, as before, to the Appendix for a condensation of many similar contributions. The subjoined account of the awakening within his own bounds is written with much simplicity, and yet with a vividness that invests it with a genuine interest, by the Rev. Andrew Long. The place is jNIonreagh, a rural dis- trict in Donegal, a few miles from the city of Derry. " In no congregation in this district has the Lord wrought more marvellously. The full tide of the river of God which was passing over our land reached us about the middle of June. We had most interesting meetings in the open air on June 14th and 21st. Another in our church on the 24th, when about SCENES IN THE CHUKCH. 281 twenty souls were savingly impressed. An infidel would have seen that the Holy Spirit alone was working there. One young lad had gone a few yards from the church when he stood and said to his mother, ' Mamma, I cannot go further ; I must turn back and speak to Mr Long.' He remained in the vestry with. the others, for a considerable time wrestling mth God in deep distress. As yet, however, it was the day of small things with us. Scenes in the Church. — " On the following Lord's-day, June 26, we enjoyed showers of blessing. The scene which took place baffles description. The church was crowded to suffoca- tion. I preached from the words, 'Thou restrainest prayer before God,' (Job xv. 4,) especially with reference to the out- pouring of the Spirit in answer to prayer, (Luke xi. 13.) God strengthened me as He never did before, for the services of that memorable day; but I know it was in answer to many prayers, and especially those of some of our new-born souls who were heard pleading for me during the day. I never witnessed such deep solemnity. The exercises had almost closed, when one person fell out of her i^ew upon the aisle, the door being open, and shrieked loudly for mercy. In a few moments about twenty were prostrated in different quarters of the house. And then, what a scene ensued ! Relatives in groups carrying their stricken ones into the adjoining vestry; multitudes weeping, and the whole congregation moved and excited as if the judg- ment day had come. I came down from the pulpit in order to keep the passage to the vestry clear, when just behind me, a young female, a member of the congregation, whose heart the Lord had touched in Derry, lifted up her hands, and in an un- earthly voice, addressed the assembly, thanking God that the flood of God's Spirit had not passed us by unvisited — telling of her love to Jesus, and entreating those who were looking at salvation from afar, to come to the precious Saviour and be reconciled to God. She would not take ten thousand worlds for Jesus. I — not knowing what to do — permitted her to address the congregation for a few minutes. The heavenly light which had been imparted to her mind beamed through her counte- nance. And she who a few days previous would not and 282 OPEN-AIR MEETING. could not have ventured to speak one word for Christ, was not ashamed now to lift up her voice like a trumpet, and out of the abundance of her heart to urge the thoughtless sinner to fly from the wrath to come. Her simple address was certainly the most touching and telling appeal to which I have ever listened; and the entire scene was unlike one of earth. Many a stout and stubborn heart that had hitherto resisted the Holy Ghost was compelled to yield. I had often read of the prostration of the convicted leper, but I never witnessed a/<2c simile of it until that day. A strong young man was on his knees in deep mental agony, refusing to be comforted, pressing his very face upon the dust of the vestry floor, and in this position he remained for several hours. In every part of the church there were broken- hearted penitents on their knees pleading for mercy; and at the same time, not a few hardened sinners were looking on and wondering. But at length the feelings of many gave way, and the big tears rolled down many a wrinkled cheek. In the Open Air. — " In the evening I held a meeting in the open air about a mile from the church, and addressed an assem- bly of two thousand, from Acts xvii. 30. There were three con- verts from Derry present, — a porter, a tailor, and a sailor. The former said in his own tender, simple, touching manner, ' I am but a poor porter, earning nine shillings a- week, for drawing my handcart through the streets of Derry, but I would not change my situation for that of the richest among yez if you have not got Christ.' The tailor, in offering up a short prayer, said, ' Lord, have mercy on those poor sinners who do not care one happorth about their souls.' In the Church again. — " At this meeting a few were awakened, and at its close a great number flocked to the church, though it was now nine o'clock, and remained there till next morning. TTiere was one great-grandmother present, and several grand- parents were rejoicing over their penitent ofispring. And, oh, the burning words of some who had obtained peace as they addressed God in prayer! It was a joyous time. The counte- nance of one girl was truly angelic, as looking up, she poured forth her gratitude to God, and gave Him the glory, crying, INTERESTING MEETING, 283 ' Precious Jesus, lovely Jesus, sweeter to me than honey and the honeycomb.' Smiilar expressions might have been heard ringing through the sanctuary at intervals, as the parties found peace and joy in believing. One person, aged fifty-five years, arose, and said in a loud voice, that he never had a family altar in his house, but he would go home and erect one, and keep it up till he would die. It is now nine months since, and he is still faithful to his vow. One little girl of eleven said, she would not take a hundred guineas for her interest in Christ, no, nor a thousand, for Christ was better to her than them alL Another girl on obtaining peace offered up a sweet prayer in the presence of a multitude. She first gave God the glory for what He had done for her soul, and then pleaded earnestly for me ; and many others have done in like manner. I have frequently overheard them wrestling with God on my behalf. " On the following Tuesday evening, June 28, I held a meet- ing in the church, and chose as the subject of my address Luke vii, 36-50. At the close of the service, about seventy were on their knees praying as in an agony — some of them the vilest of the people. Next day, I addressed about three hundred in the open air at Molenan, from the text 1 Kings xviii. 21. Fifteen persons who were in deep distress retired to an adjacent house, and prostrated themselves on an earthen floor. I was greatly struck in witnessing the love which young Christians manifested for each other. Often did I see girls embrace each other on obtaining peace, and unite in prayer for those who were still in spiritual distress. " On Friday, July 1, a most interesting meeting was held in the church, which could not contain the numbers that repaired to it. Many had come from a gTcat distance, so that the like was not seen here in the memory of the oldest inhabitant. Up- wards of seventy were brought to cry, ' What must I do to be saved 1 ' A powerful, athletic man, on obtaining partial peace, at the close of the service arose, and in the midst of that vast assembly, said, in a stentorian voice, ' I cannot get peace with man or God till I tell you what I have been. I cursed my 284 • THREE MEMORABLE SERVICES, father, threw stones at my mother, profaned the Sabbath, and committed every crime but mm-der.' His wife then clasped him in her arms, and his aged mother, who is on the verge of the grave, ckmg by his neck, kissed him, and wept with joy. Soon afterwards, his partner in life was brought to the Saviour ; and all are now rejoicing in hope of the glory of God. Before the congregation was dismissed, I announced that a meeting would be held next evening at Carrigans, in the open air. Although the notice was short, upwards of one thousand of the surrounding population assembled, and among the multitude I saw a few of the aristocracy of the district, who belong to the Established Church. There were many violent prostrations, which created a wonderful sensation in the minds of those who had not previously witnessed such manifestations. At this meeting a little girl was stricken in the fields. She was pray- ing earnestly when I came to her. I encouraged her to continue wrestling with God until she obtained the blessing, reminding her of some portions of God's Word to incite her to importunity. ' And,' said she, ' that 's another nice wee promise, ' Draw nigh to God and He will draw nigh to you.' ' ' Yes,' I replied, ' He has said for the encouragement of the young especially, ' I love them that love me, and they that seek me early shall find me.' ' ' Oh yes,' she cried in rapture, ' Christ loves wee lueans, for He has said. ' Sufl:er little children to come unto me and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven.' ' Three Memorable Servkes. — " On the following day. Sabbath, July 3, 1 arranged to hold three meetings — two in the church, and one at Drumennon in the open air, about three miles dis- tant. Although the notice was very short, more than one thou- sand individuals were present at the latter place, and the entire audience was deeply afi"ected. At the close of the sacred exer- cises there, I drove hastily to Monreagh for the evening service ; and it was most interesting to see little flocks of men running from Drumennon to the church, through fields, with coat on arm. Many of these had been hitherto living as if there were no God, and yet this was the third service on that day to which they were hastening, without having returned to their homes. AND THEIR EFFECTS. • 285 I was told that one of them actually fainted from hunger by the way. When I reached the church, accompanied by three worthy young men, who rendered me efl&cient aid throughout the day, we found the sanctuary and vestry densely thronged in every part, and many could not obtain admittance. Anxiety was pictured on every countenance, and the entire scene was such as I had never witnessed. The meeting was continued till midnight, and I could not but remark the wondrous change that had passed over the land, when the attention of such a vast multitude could be enchained till that hour. " The Divine influence came down upon the people at each service throughout that interesting day. There were many physical manifestations. Upwards of one hundred persons lay prostrate in the pews, and agonised in prayer till three o'clock next morning. Many of the cases were quite unusual. One young female continued to sing a sw^eet, mournful air, appa- rently her own, to words that occurred to her at the moment, all about Jesus, and all as beautiful as if arranged by the finest poet. She seemed unconscious, and sat in her pew all the time with her eyes steadfastly gazing upwards. Never did /, or any of that awe-stricken audience, listen to sounds so unlike those of earth. It was like an angel's song. Her voice seemed to be attuned by some celestial power ; and its clear, sweet, sympho- nious tones, led us all to feel that that place was like the very gate of heaven. "Towards the end of July, bodily prostrations became less frequent, yet God did not cease to work mightily among the people. From time to time dead souls have been quickened, and among those who found the Lord Jesus, the most intense earnestness continued to be manifested. Their new^ life became apparent by a new obedience, and a diligent waiting upon God in all the ordinances of His grace. The Present and the Past. — " Since the beginning of the great awakening, we have had congregations on week-days, during the autumn, varying from five hundred to one thousand ; whereas about twelve months ago it would have been very dififi- cult to have collected two hundred persons even on any occa- 286 SAUL AMONG THE PROPHETS. sion. Formerly I was under the necessity of giving up a monthly congregational prayer-meeting, the attendance was so miserable; and the only way in which I could maintain the semblance of it was by holding district meetings, and thus itinerating throughout our bounds ; and even then very few came together. But no sooner did the Holy Ghost breathe on the dead bones, than eight weekly and two bi-weekly district meetings sprang up spontaneously. And in addition to these, we have one week-day and two Lord's-day union prayer-meet- ings, which are numerously attended. Formerly I was obliged to abandon a second service on the Sabbath in summer, and substitute a kind of double service without intermission. Now, the attendance at the evening lecture is frequently as good as in the morning; and notwithstanding the frequency of our meetings, none are saying, ' What a weariness is it ! ' Nay, some do not leave the church from morning till the close of the evening service. " A short time ago I was visiting from house to house in a distant district of the congregation, and in the evening called upon a respectable family, to pay my last visit that day. In a little while after I entered, the voice of psalms in the distance fell upon my ear. On inquiring what meaneth this, I was in- formed that it was a little prayer-meeting in the other end of the house, attended by five young men who are members of the district meeting, and assemble weekly besides, to pray specially for a more abundant outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the land. I at once joined the little band in the small * upper room.' One of the young men whose duty it was to engage in prayer, modestly declined doing so in my presence — saying, he was ' but a babe, and weak.' I encouraged him, and at length he poured forth a sweet, simple prayer, in which I was not forgotten. JSaul among the I^ophets. — " There are many notable in- stances of conversion in this district — many whose hearts have been renewed, and whose lives have been reformed, but whose previous history I need not at length describe. At the com- mencement of the awakening, and at the close of a service on TWO NOTABLE INSTANCES. 287 one of our most memorable evenings, a man Avas observed in the church gazing at a multitude who were on bended knee pleading for mercy. He moved along from pew to pew, sur- veying the prostrate suppliants with a look of indifference on his countenance. He was questioned regarding his spiritual state, and exhorted to join the praying band, and seek the Lord while He is to be found ; but he refused, and left the church rejecting the great salvation. But as he journeyed alone to- ward his home, his heart became impressed by what his eyes had seen and his ears had heard. With difficulty he reached his cottage, and as he entered, he staggered and fell upon his knees, and in the most earnest cries besought God to break his stubborn, flinty, wicked heart, and make him a new creature. Now I do not know a more humble, devoted, earnest Christian in this neighbourhood. He has forsaken all his old ways. He spends a considerable portion of every night in reading the Scriptures; he worships God in his family twice each week- day, and thrice on Sabbath ; he is a labourer, and on some occar- sions has not time for breakfast and family prayer ; he worships God, however, and goes forth to his daily labour without food ; he now loves me as his pastor. At one of our union meetings he engaged in prayer, and some were led to exclaim, ' Is Saul also among the prophets ? ' Two Notable Instcmce^s. — " Another man was notorious for drunkenness and Sabbath -breaking. His mouth was full of cursing and bitterness. He frequently ill-treated his wife, and sometimes has she come to me to complain of her husband, with undeniable marks of his brutality upon her visage. Sel- dom did he bow his knees in private prayer, and in the sanc- tuary his seat was usually vacant. But now the family altar is erected, the house of God is attended, and his wife and others say that he is the kindest of husbands. — Another strong man in middle life was gathered into the fold of Christ in the month of July. He was prostrated in his own house, and was deaf, dumb, and blind, for several hours. His relatives sent for me to visit him, and when I reached his bedside, he had regained his strength, and was rejoicing in Christ Jesus. His eyes re- 288 ABIDING FRUITS. sembled balls of fire. He stretched forth his strong arms in an ecstacy, and clasped me to his iron frame as if he would crush my very bones. He expressed his love to Christ, his love to me, and said from his inmost soul that he ' would willingly die if he could bring one sinner to Jesus,' The Domestic Altar. — " Formerly family prayer was much ne- glected throughout this entire district — now there are few house- holds in which God has not an altar. There are some instances in which mothers and daughters have established the worship of God in their families, when the father has refused to conduct the service. Even men-servants, in the absence of their masters, not unfrequently keep the sacred fire alive on the altar. About twelve months since, some of my people, whose education has been altogether neglected, supposed that this exempted them from the discharge of the duty, and peremptorily declined observing it. Now some of these worship God in the family twice each day, and occasionally pray in the district meeting. Until lately, I never heard the voice of one of my people in prayer ; now they are not ashamed to engage in this exercise in my presence, and regard it as a privilege to be called on to pray at our union meetings. At one of our district meetings, twelve boys prayed successively on the same night ; and it is not un- usual for some to take advantage of a leisure moment to wrestle mth God when alone, and at work in the fields. At the earnest request of the congregation, a special communion was observed in Monreagh in August, and it is now the desh-e of the people that henceforward the Lord's Supper be celebrated quarterly. Abiding Fruits. — " I am happy to say, also, that in so far as known to our session-committee and myself, there has not been one case of backsliding. There may not be that intense ardom* which was apparent on 'the day of their espousals;' yet I believe there is no real diminution of love to Christ, but an accession of higher and deeper feelings. The change in the moral aspect of society here is truly marvellous. Formerly a party of strolling players were in the habit of occasionally visiting the village of Carrigans, in this neighbourhood, and realising some pounds weekly from the people during their TWO NOTABLE INSTANCES. 289 stay. During last autumn tliey visited the village as usual, but were obliged to leave. Only one individual entered the minia- ture theatre, and the manager returned his mone}', and moved away, denouncing the revival, and cursing the inhabitants for their stinginess. These are the ' wonders of the right hand of the Most High.' ' Instead of the thorn has come up the fir- tree, instead of the briar has come up the myrtle-tree.' There has been no distinction of age or sex. The Lord has had mercy on many who were ' far off from righteousness ; ' and we cannot witness the reformation thus effected on society to its very centre without ' seeing the arm of the Lord,' and saying, ' This is the finger of God ; ' ' I believe in the Holy Ghost.' " In Donoughmore, in the same county, there was a great awakening, followed by an entire change in the moral aspects of society — a change not confined to those who were themselves brought to a knowledge of the truth, but extending to almost all residing in the locality. " The work began," says the Rev. Alex. CaldweU, writing on the 24th April 1860, " on the 29th of June, at the annual meet- ing of our Sabbath schools. On the former Sabbath there had been a case of conviction, and on the evening of that day a female had been stricken, and forced to cry aloud for mercy while reading the Bible in her own house. " On the 29th of June, the Rev. Richard Smyth, of Derry, kindly came to our meeting, and delivered a very powerful and effective address. I never saw an audience so deeply moved. Every person with whom I have since conversed seems to have experienced the same deep, solemn feeling pervading the mind. He was followed by two young men from Derry, who gave a statement of their experience. The meeting was next addressed by the Rev. W. A. Russell, of Strabane, and during his address three females present were stricken, and cried aloud for mercy in the congregation. There were persons present from aU the congregations around, and all being deeply impressed, the revival spread at once through the surrounding districts. On that night I was called to see a young man in one of the most distant parts of the congregation, who was stricken in his own T 290 ALL CLASSES AFFECTED. house, and whose case produced a great impression in his own neighbourhood. And on the evening of the following Friday three persons were prostrated on leaving a prayer-meeting in Oastlefin. The case of these young men, whose cries for mercy were heard at a great distance, had a powerful influence on the whole district. But these cases were as nothing to what occurred in the meeting-house on the following Lord's-day, and again on Monday evening. The number of those forced to cry aloud for mercy was so great that it was difficult to proceed with the service and to preserve order in the meeting. " With respect to the outward manifestations attending the revival, there have been comparatively few cases of bodily pros- tration. There were many more cases of persons simply forced to cry aloud for mercy. And the number of those silently con- vinced of sin and brought to believe was much larger than the two former classes combined. In this district I find among all these classes as subjects of the revival persons of all ages, from threescore and fifteen to ten years of age— persons of all degrees of intelligence, from the best educated to the most ignorant — persons of very different physical constitution, from the most intrepid and resolute men to the most timid and nervous female among us — and persons of every shade of character, from the most amiable and blameless to the most profane and reckless in the community. Again, I find a very great difterence existed in the state of mind previous to the revival in different individuals. Some were forced to cry for mercy after having had conviction of sin for months together, while others, again, were brought under conviction and forced to cry for mercy in a moment. Some, again, have experienced conviction on account of the neglect of some particular duty, or from having committed some particular sin; and others, again, from a sense that they were shiners, without reference to any particular transgression. And when in agony of mind, I liave invariably found that whatever might be said to them, nothing brought relief but the pure Word of God quoted verbatim. " I have been much surprised at the outpouring of prayer ABIDING FRUITS. 29 1 resulting from the revival. How different the prayers from those of former times ! how original the ideas and the language in which they were expressed ! I was deeply moved on one occasion by hearing a female, in a public meeting, use the fol- loAving words — ' O Lord, I know the devil is no stronger now than he was, but Thou well knowest he is a thousand times busier with me than he ever was. O Lord, for my Saviour's sake, command him to leave me, that I may have peace.' "The relief experienced after the mental agony was very- remarkable, and at the same time a feeling of love to all mani- fested itself. I once asked a woman, the day after she was stricken, how she felt, and her reply was, ' Oh, Sir, my heart is all love to everything and everybody.' And many who had taken offence at others could have no peace till they were fully reconciled. " The foolish, pernicious habit of smoking tobacco prevailed here very generally. I felt it my duty to call attention to it several times, but without success, until the revival began. Since that time I know so many as forty individuals who have given it up. One day, a middle-aged man took me aside, after preaching in Strabane, and said to me, ' Sir, I Avished to say to you, that I have given up the use of tobacco altogether; and I have resolved, by the grace of God, to give every penny it would have cost me to the missions, and to spend eveiy mo- ment I must have spent in smoking in reading my Bible.' " With respect to the permanency of the work, thank God, I am able to say that, out of more than two hundred cases which have come under my observation, I do not know one who pro- fessed to be savingly converted who is not still maintaining a consistent walk and conversation. I know persons who were not only stricken, but heavily prostrated, who seem more har- dened and wicked than ever. There are only very few of these, and not one of them ever even professed to be converted. "In reference to the lay agency employed with so much success in promoting the revival, I have observed that when a person gave a statement of his own experience, those impressed by it belonged to that class similar in mind and disposition to 292 COUNTY MONAGHAN. the speaker, and whose experience, I believe, would correspond to his. I have also observed that when the person went beyond a simple statement of his own case, and attempted to explain Scripture, or exhort, no good result followed. " During many weeks I had fears for the result of the revival. Now, however, thank God, I have no fear whatever that even Donoughmore shall be in my day in the same state in which the revival found us. The change upon so many fine young persons of both sexes is so great, that I have every hope they will become the agents, under the Holy Spirit, in extending this glorious work still more, until the whole district has become leavened by it. Instead of supposing that the revival has ceased, I look upon it as only beginning, and I know it is still making rapid progress here." COUNTY MONAGHAN. Impressions of a Visit. — The Rev. H. M. Waddell, missionary, first in Jamaica, and subsequently in Western Africa, in re- ferring to his unwillingness to traverse the revival districts, lest too many visitors should prove injurious to the young con- verts, adds, " But when I heard that it was making progress through my native county, Monaghan, which tourists and travellers seldom visit, where I could see old friends and fulfil old promises, by preaching for some of the over-worked mi- nisters, I thought that I might, in the way of duty, go and see that great thing which the Lord has brought to pass in our days." In the Countri/. — After narrating several interviews with ministers and others, Mr Waddell proceeds to state that he went among the hamlets and small farmhouses in " an out-of- the-way " rural district, there to converse w^ith some of the families in which the revival had appeared with some of its more remarkable effects. "At one place," he says, "seven young women hastily came in from their field labours to meet me, one running to call another. They had all but one been struck, though at different times and in different places ; and, A VISIT TO THE COUNTRY. 293 as usual, after a period of prostration had found peace and comfort by that greatest and best of all names, the name of Jesus. One of them was a recent case, and she was still weak. They gave a simple account of w^hat had happened to them : sudden and uncontrollable emotion, with fears, and faintness, and depression ; a load at the heart ; their sins and their souls ; recovery, after hours of anguish, by faith in Jesus the Saviour. It did not for so far seem unintelligible. They had all been Sabbath scholars, and some of them comniVinicants. The Spirit of the Lord made short work with them. The experience of years was compressed into hours ; and their conversion, like the outburst of a tornado on the African coast after a long calm, was the explosion of accumulated and condensed forces, brief and violent, breaking down all before it. " One of them, I have said, had not been struck, and she was the only one who did not seem happy. Indeed, she w^as in deep distress about her salvation, and w^ept abundantly for fear the Lord had passed her by. She knew^ the truths of the gos- pel, and could assent to its invitations and promises, but not lay them to heart, nor take the comfort of them. These young women were just such as any true gospel minister would like to have in his advanced Bible-class — anxious inquii-ers, and young Christians setting their faces Zionward. " In another place, I found a mother, a grave, elderly woman, and three young daughters, two of w^hom, with herself, had been stricken. They gave a similar account with the others, and all others, as to the way they had been affected, and were in a similar state of happy peacefulness. The one who had not been stricken w^as not careless, but gave a good account of her faith in Christ, and was in a hopeful state. " Elsewhere, we found a middle-aged, single woman, who had been several times stricken ; as had also a young woman, her neighbour, who came in at our call. The entrance of her minister and me unexpectedly, seemed to excite some nervous affection, and, after a vain attempt to compose herself, she sank pow^erless on the floor, and went into a fit of violent tremblings. 294 ON THE SABBATH. We supported and comforted lier, while she, perfectly con- scious, whispered prayers to the Lord Jesus to keep her and save her, and comforted herself with the assurance that He would never forsake her, for He Avas ' a loving God.' The last words were uttered with ineffable tenderness and confidence, as a child would repose itself, in felt safety, on its mother's bosom. The trembling terminated in a rigid contraction of form and feature, a violent spasm or cramp, for a few moments, dis- tressing to behold, winch, however, soon relaxed ; and then the other, sitting beside her, exclaimed, ' Now, sister, now is your time ; now pray.' And we all bent our knees in supplication to the Lord, Avith blessing and praise; after Avhich she arose refreshed, and sat down composedly beside the door, engaging in cheerful conversation, the tenor of which shelved her love for her Saviour and devotedness to Him. Neither of these Avomen had ever been subject to nervous attacks, or fits of any kind, before the revival began. And I learned from them that the latter attacks differed from the former in being short, and unaccompanied by any fear; whence I concluded that the repetition of them Avas the consequence of increased nervous excitability and bodily AA^eakness. My companion dissuaded the one Avho had just suffered, from coming to meeting on the morroAv, as too Aveak to bear the excitement. Time failed, or we might have gone to many other families in which the spirit of revival had taken effect in the same way. On the iSabbath.—'' liiext day, Sabbath, I preached in two places of Avorship, some miles apart, to very large and serious congregations, perhaps eight hundred each. During the fore- noon and afternoon services ten or twelve persons Avere struck, and removed as quietly as could be ; some insensible, others only deeply affected to groans and tears ; some AA^ith outcries, unable to restrain themselves, Avhom I had observed contending with their feelings a long time before they gave way, and took help to retire. Some of these had been struck on former occasions, and now soon recovered themselves and returned into the church. Others in the congregation prevailed to keep their seats, though greatly agitated, even to sighs and tears. NUMBERS STRICKEN. 295 Some men, I was told, had enough to do to keep quiet, and were pouring with perspiration from the violence of their emotions. So w^e might expect. A stroke may only stagger a man which suffices to prostrate a woman. " At five o'clock that evening I preached to a great union prayer-meeting, A number of persons— eight or nine I was told — were struck and carried out, some of them, I noticed, after prolonged self-conflict. Of these, some were insensible, some agitated to strong crying. One person was neither the one way nor the other, but under emotions so powerful, and so powerfully restrained, that the heaving of the breast was quite remarkable and almost audible. " Such a movement was really very affecting, and neither preacher nor hearers could be untouched while that mighty power of conviction and conversion was abroad in these con- gregations. But I felt bound to restrain myself, lest, if I should give way to my feelings, confusion might ensue. The sub- jects on which I preached were not of an exciting character, nor delivered in any exciting manner. In both respects I might say they were rather the opposite — simple gospel sermons. For I had heard that cases of striking were not unfrequent in both places, and I purposely avoided whatever might provoke such occurrences, that I might the better judge of what was going on. I had preached the same discourses in Scotland, without seeing any unusual effect produced. I must, therefore, attribute the effect on this occasion to some other cause than my preaching. What the 'proper hysteric tone and gesture' may be, which some hostile or frivolous wTiters allude to, I know not. Cer- tainly mine, on these occasions, whether bad or good, were just what they have usually been, and in themselves, I presume, as ineffective as ever. That evening congregation assembled midst heavy rain, and under the rain many went home singing psalms as they walked in company ; and I thank God for what I saw of His power and grace displayed among them." The town of Monaghan shared in the blessing, and the Rev. John Bleckley, the much-respected pastor of the Presbyterian church, has been refreshed after a lengthened ministry, by the 296 THE FIRST CASE. happy results thcit he has ^Yitnessed, In the course of about five months after the commencement of the revival, he preached no less than a hundred and thirty times ! A few miles distant from the county town, is Newbliss, in which the movement began in August. The immediate occa- sion was the visit of two lay-agents from County Antrim. " In their addresses," says the Rev. R. Dunlop, who supplies the in- formation, " there was not the slightest attempt to arouse an undue excitement, or produce a merely temporary enthusiasm. The first Case. — " On the morning of the day following their first visit, I was summoned to attend a young woman, a mem- ber of my congregation, who was under deep and awful convic- tions of her sinfulness and danger. She had been carefully and religiously trained, had frequently communicated, and was looked on by all her acquaintance as sincerely and unaffectedly pious. When I entered her room, she was lying on her bed in a state of great physical weakness, but wrestling most earnestly in prayer. Her language was almost entirely scriptural, and strangely appropriate to her condition. Her utterance was most fluent ; she never seemed at a loss for either sentiments or words ; and, although naturally of a shy, retiring disposition, she did not feel the least difiidence to pray before a large num- ber of strangers. What most astonished me was, that though she knew little or nothing of the features of the revival move- ment, the physical and mental characteristics in her case were almost exactly similar to those which had been exhibited in county Antrim. Hers was the first case I had attended, and I shall never forget the sensations of solemn awe wdiich I expe- rienced as I stood by her bedside witnessing her soul-agony, and listening to her supplications for mercy. It seemed a re- newal of the scene of Jacob wrestling with the Angel of the Covenant. We had all deemed her religious, but in that season of trial, when she was brought face to face with God, the mask of profession fell off", and her soul appeared all filthy and naked, in need of the cleansing of Christ's blood, and the clothing of Christ's righteousness. Her strugglings after spiritual peace were severe and long-protracted. But gradually the light of 1 THOSE PRINCIPALLY EEACHED. 297 heaven shone in upon her, and she is now rejoicing in the light and liberty of the children of God. " Two or three other cases of conviction occurred during that and the following week. In the second week of August, the great outburst of religious feeling began, and spread with un- exampled rapidity from house to house and from district to district. From Newbliss to Drum, there was scarcely a town- land where there were not several families some of whose mem- bers had been under deep convictions of sin, and had been led to put their trust in the alone Saviour. On the northern side of the village, towards Monaghan, the movement was much slower in developing itself. It was several weeks after the first out- burst before more than two or three cases could be quoted. But now, there is not a district where more hopeful cases can be pointed out, where greater changes have been wrought in the moral and religious life, where greater anxiety continues to be manifested, or where prayer-meetings are more numerously attended. Those Principally Reached. — " As to the parties mainly reached by the movement, I should say that those who had received a good religious training in early years form the most influential class. The number of women converted is greater than that of men, but not to any very marked degree — not more than might be expected from the well-known fact, attested by the attend- ance on aU religious assemblies, and by the communion-roll of almost every church, that women are much more religiously disposed than men. The number of young persons brought to experience an interest in Christ's salvation is very much larger than that of the middle-aged and old ; and while I rejoice to say that many old people in the neighbourhood are giving evi- dences of a saving change having been recently wrought on their souls, the statistics of the movement here confirm the solemn fact, that the difiiculties of conversion and the chances against salvation are increased in direct proportion to an increase in years from youth upwards. Some who lived wild, reckless, godless lives, are now walking in the beauty of holiness ; but most of those who have been led to rely savingly on Christ, 298 COUNTY CAVAN, were previously distinguished for their moral purity, which they felt, however, to be a feeble reed to rest on in the hour of the soul's trial by God's omniscient Spirit. " The sermons most blessed to the conviction and conversion of souls were not those which are naturally most alarming — such as God's wrath against sinners, the danger of eternal tor- ments, (fee. —on the contrary, they were those which spoke of a Saviour's love, of the Father's unmerited mercy, of the Spirit's gracious influence, of the joys of the righteous, and of the glori- ous inheritance of heaven. "The revival movement has produced a very decided im- provement in the public morals of at least the Protestant por- tion of the community. Intemperance has been largely checked ; tippling at markets and fairs has been to a great extent dis- continued. The only member of my congregation who kept a public-house, has, at great personal sacrifice, closed his shop, and betaken himself to another line of business." COUNTY CAVAN. It was about the middle of the month of August when this county, one of the most distant from the centre whence the work of revival radiated forth in all directions, was visited by the gracious influence. Several of the principal towns, as Cavan, Killesandra, Cootehill, and Bailieborough, felt its power. In the neighbourhood of the last-named district there was a very extensive awakening. The circumstances were briefly these : — On the 8th of August last two young men, now students in divinity in connexion with the Presbyterian Church, visited the first congregation of Bailieborough, of which for many years their father has been the respected pastor, and addressed a meet- ing there. Having intimated that they would narrate, on the evening following, what they had witnessed in the north, they had an unusually large attendance, when the usual results were witnessed. A few evenings later, and the green around the church was thronged by groups of persons, now returning thanks for some near relative or friend who had found the Saviour, now in earnest supplication that light might break in upon BAILIEBOROUGH. 299 the darkness of some distressed soul, and peace be found by some troubled conscience. Special meetings were immediately established in the Pres- byterian churches, and the neighbourhood was deeply moved. The hands of ministers were so full, that had they not received timely aid, they must have been altogether overborne. Happily a Young Men's Society, which had met for some time for religious purposes, came to their aid ; while the two students found abundant occupation throughout all the adjacent districts. In the congregations of Bailieborough there are few houses in which family worship is not maintained. Throughout the district generally there is a marked improvement. Meetings are held for prayer and Christian fellowship, sometimes in the houses of those who formerly neglected gospel ordinances alto- gether, and several such meetings are also held among the female members of the church. Two congregational libraries are being organised ; while in the town itself a public library and Christian Literary Society are being formed. Scripture commentaries, and such books as Watson's " Body of Divinity," are in growing demand among the people. Two pubhc-houses have been closed, one for want of trade, the other for conscience' sake — its former proprietor being now a steadfast and devoted supporter of every good cause. There is a district not far from Killesandra, in the same county, named Drumkeeran, of which no notice has ever been taken in any of the reports of the revival, and where certainly a most extraordinary and in some respects unprecedented movement has taken place. The young minister of the Presby- terian church, the Rev. Samuel Patrick, has been so enfeebled by excessive labour, that he has been unable to furnish any statement on the subject. During the first week in October, about which time the place was visited, he never laid himself down to sleep. The meetings which were held nightly in the church were so exciting, and the interest of the people such, that they could not be prevailed on to disperse till the following morning ; while, during all the day, anxious inquirers and others demanded the incessant attention of the pastor. 300 STATEMENT OF REV. F. F. TEENCH. It was on the evening of Sabbath, the 1st of October, that a meeting had been announced in the church, at five o'clock. Before four it was completely filled ; and when the time of ser- vice came, it was found necessary to hold the meeting in a field adjoining, there being about 1500 persons present. At an early period in the devout exercises, a wild cry was raised, the first of many following, that almost drowned the preachers voice. Those who were thus affected were removed into the church, in which there were eventually no fewer than three hundred I Then the manse was filled ; and many more who could find no other place of shelter, were lying among the trees. The work was progressing satisfactorily for some months subsequently, Avhen the spirit of proselytism was raised, and painful results ensued. Yet there is every reason to believe that a good work has been wrought extensively in the neigh- bourhood, and that many are rejoicing in that liberty wherewith Christ has made them free. Among the earliest visitors to the North of Ireland, after the commencement of the revival, was the Rev. F. F. Ti'ench, pre- bendary of St Patrick's, Dublin, and rector of Newtown, near Kells, in the province of Leinster. For many years the name of this devoted minister, (the son of the last Archbishop of Tuam), has been Avell known in connexion with every evangel- istic movement in the Episcopal Church. After his visit north- wards, he took the opportunity of publishing some account of his impressions in the pubhc newspapers, thus spreading an in- terest in the movement in many quarters in the South and West of Ireland. During the winter he has been called to take a part in conducting meetings in some of the parishes in county Cavan, adjacent to his own in iSIeath ; and from a statement issued for private circulation, which I have his kind permission to use, I select the following cases as still further illustrative of the character and progress of the work in the former county : — " There are many residing in the province of Leinster who are and have been praying that 'the revival' may 'reach even unto them ; ' and it will be deeply interesting to all such to know that this unprecedented movement, in its full force and MEETING ON THE BORDEES OF MEATH. 301 power, is at their doors. I have extreme gi-atification in being able to state that, within an easy morning's ride from my own house, I have witnessed as interesting scenes, and have heard of as remarkable cases of conversion, as any of those which I witnessed or heard of higher up in the North. " Very lately, I spent a Sunday in a neighbouring parish in the county of Cavan for the purpose of ascertaining facts. I had heard that several persons had been struck in Presbyterian churches, and in the parish church, some at open-air meetings, many more at their own houses, in the fields, and while engaged at their ordinary occupations. On visiting this parish, and making inquiry from the curate, and also from the Presbyterian ministers, I found that the facts were quite as remarkable as had been stated to me, and that the awakening had not been confined to the lower classes, but that men of wealth and re- spectability, and considerable education, had been led to feel their sins, as well as persons in the lower class, and of the most abandoned character, male and female. I found that a large and lucrative business in the sale of spirituous liquors had been renounced for conscience' sake, serving as a strong testimony of the sincerity of the merchant who did so. I found that persons had been convinced of their sins in an overwhelming manner in all sorts of places, — churches, meeting-houses, par- lours, shops, bed-rooms, and in ' byres ' or cotv-houses. And I also ascertained that these conversions had been attended with a great variety of the most remarkable circumstances, and the best moral results. A Meeting on the borders of Meath. — " At the request of the ^rector of the parish of , on the borders of Meath, I preached in a densely-crowded school-house, in which about three hundred persons w^ere assembled. I had preached for upwards of an hour to this congregation, listening not merely with what is called ' breathless attention,' but listening in that indescribable way which is sure to draw out from the preacher the very best he has in him. Having heard that there had been much of bodily affections in connexion with other re- ligious services in this neighbourhood, I felt thankful for the 302 HOW THE REVIVAL HAS BEEN PROPAGATED. ([iiiet and happy manner in which ' the Word ' had been received. After the sermon a hymn was heartily sung, and the meeting was being concluded by prayer, offered up by the incumbent of a neighbouring parish, when some persons, unable to restrain their feelings, began to cry. Kneeling beside me there was a stout, elderly farming man, who was crying, not in such a way that any advocates of the ' hysterical ' theory could think of claiming him as their ' patient,' but the tones were such as in a boy would be called ' blubbering.' There was no screaming, but the number of persons who cried and sobbed increased rapidly ; perhaps one fourth of the congregation was more or less affected in this way, and ten or twelve persons, perhaps, either swooned or fell from their seats, or needed support. If any encouragement had been given to outward manifestations, either by loud or exciting prayer, or by loud preaching, I have no doubt that three-fourths of the congregation, if not more, might have been brought into this excited state. The object of the wise and good rector of the parish, who conducted the meet- ing, was, of course, to calm the people without saying anything which could be construed into a rebuke of what was manifestly involuntary, and mixed up with so much of what was inestim- ably precious, and what most ministers of Christ from Sabbath to Sabbath labour (I fear often in vain) to promote, namely, any degree of proper feeling of religion. How the Revival has been Propagated. — " I am no advocate for forcing religion upon those who are unwilling to receive it. In my judgment, we have had far too much of that in Ireland al- ready. I do not think the gospel can be propagated by storm. But I think that the legitimate ^\\(\. inoffensive Ti\e??hen shaken by a mighty wind. " The sympathetic wave, commencing in the centre, extended to the extremities, and at length it reached our corner, and I felt the conscious effort of resistance as necessary as if I had been exposed to the violence of a storm. I saw few persons throughout the whole house who escaped the prevailing in- fluence ; even careless boys seemed to be arrested, and to join in the general outcry. But what astonished me most of all was, that the old tobacco-planters whom I have mentioned, and who, I am persuaded, had not heard one word of the sermon, were violently agitated. Every muscle of their brawny faces appeared to be in tremulous motion, and the big tears chased one another down their wrinkled cheeks. There I saw the power of sympathy. The feeling was real, and propagated from person to person by the mere sounds which were uttered — for many of the audience had not paid any attention to what was said — but nearly all partook of the agitation. The feelings expressed were different, as when the foundation of the second temple was laid; for while some uttered the cry of poignant anguish, others shouted in the accents of joy and triumph. The speaker's voice was soon silenced, and he sat down and gazed on the scene with a complacent smile. "When this tumult had lasted a few minutes, another preacher, as I suppose he was, also sat on the pulpit steps, with his OPERATION OF NERVOUS DISEASE. 353 handkerchief spread over his head, and began to sing a soothing, and yet lively tune, and was quickly joined by some strong female voices near him; and in less than two minutes the storm was hushed, and there was a great calm. It was like pouring oil on the troubled waters. I experienced the most sensible relief to my own feelings from the appropriate music, for I could not hear the words sung; but I could not have supposed that anything could so quickly allay such a storm ; — and all seemed to enjoy the tranquillity which succeeded. The dishevelled hair was put in order, the bonnets, &c., gathered up, and the irregularities of the dress adjusted, and no one seemed conscious of any impropriety. Indeed, there is a peculiar luxury in such excitements, especially when tears are shed copiously — which was the case here. But I attended another meeting in another place, where there had been a remarkable excitement, but the tide was far on the ebb; and although we had vociferation and outcrying of a stunning kind, I did not hear one sound indicative of real feelmg, and I do not think that one tear was shed during the meeting.' III. There is a third class of cases, which, either in whole or in part, may be ascribed to the operation of nervous disease. That such a disease, call it by what name we may, and by what- ever means originated and propagated, has in most places been running parallel with the spiritual movement, does not admit of question. To be aware of its existence is the first step in the process towards its proper treatment. That it may be either checked or stimulated, past experience, especially in the case of the American awakenings, has sufficiently estab- lished. It requires, no doubt, a measure of discrimination and decision to deal aright with such manifestations, which, wherever they exist, are generally encouraged by the com- mon people, who take pleasure in all strong excitement. Still it is all-important, for the sake of those who are the sub- jects of them, as w^ell as for th^ character and credit of the work with which they may be accidentally associated, that in z 354 NECESSITY OF ENLIGHTENED VIEWS. SO far as they are merely corporeal, they be kept in their own proper place of relative insignificance.* Judging by the past amongst ourselves, there is a tendency, prevailing however but to a limited extent, to cultivate the " prostrations," as though they were the starting-point in the process of conversion. How necessary, therefore, that en- lightened views upon the subject should be diffused, and that the public mind should be drawn off from these, at best inci- dental accompaniments of the work of God! "The apology made in Corinth," says Dr Hodge, speaking of similar affec- tions, " for the disorders which Paul condemned, was precisely the same as that urged in defence of these bodily agitations. 'We ought not to resist the Spirit of God,' said the Corinthians, and so said all those who encouraged these convulsions. Paul's answer was, that no influence which comes from God * I think the following statement, by the Eev. Theophilus Campbell, from whom I have received it, worthy of insei'tion here, as tending to guard against placing any stress on mere corporeal indications : — " As soon as the violence of the attack has passed away, the eye exhibits a peculiarly happy expression, lighting up the countenance •with a radiancy that must attract the notice of every beholder. At the same time, a sense of relief is experienced, which is too often mistaken for the peace of the gospel. I visited a young woman at this stage of the attack. On entering the room where she was sitting, she rose and grasped my hand with delight, saying that she had found peace, and was so happy. She introduced me to a young man, whose ' happy eye ' at once revealed the fact that he too had been aflFected. We sat down. Quietly I spoke to them of the way of salvation, and propased a few questions. They were very ignorant of the Scriptures, and almost even of the work of our Lord on the cross. After about half an hour's con- vei-sation, they themselves perceived their ignorance. The excitement under which they were labouring calmed down — a total change ensued — the brightness of the eye faded — and the peculiarity adverted to passed away. Instead of it, an anxious expression marked the countenances. When I rose to depart, after prayer, the young woman, with earnest- ness, requested me to specify some portions of the Scriptures for her to read in private, remarking that ' others had visited her, but had not spoken to her as I had done.' From that time she has attended my classes for scriptural instruction." EEPEEHENSIBLE TEEATMENT OF THE "AFFECTED." 355 destroys our self-control. 'The spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.' Even in the case of direct inspiration and revelation, the mode of communication was in harmony with our rational nature, and left our powers under the control of reason and the will The man, therefore, who felt the divine affection, had no right to give way to it under circum- stances which would produce noise and confusion." In the case of those who have been physically affected, whether at the period of the spiritual change or subsequently, nothing surely can be more inconsiderate or reprehensible than to subject them to the likelihood of a repetition of the affection, which, as often as it is reproduced, tends to exhaust the frame and to induce permanent disease. It is most distressing to hear of young females being fifty, a hundred, and, as in one case of which I am advised, two hundred times "stricken." Wherever there is a predisposition to this tendency, it were alike a duty and a kindness to isolate the individual as much as possible from all exciting causes ; to resist, as an intrusion, the presence of every curious visitor ; and to draw off the mind from its own exercises by some suitable occupation. This course has been followed in many instances, and with the happiest effect. Account as we may, however, for the complex phenomena which have presented themselves in connexion with the move- ment under consideration, one thing is certain, that no possible combination of mental or material elements could leave behind it, irrespective of a liigher agency, the residuum of renewed souls. With the vast majority of the " affected," the secret of the matter was, that one over-mastering senti- ment took hold of them, and carried them away, sometimes they knew not whither. It was not so much a sense of danger as a sense of sin that crushed them down, — an apprehension of the awful holiness of God, and a more than ordinary realisa- tion of the evil of offending Him. And what if, before the astounding disclosures then opened up in all their terrible distinctness, any should have given way — the sympathetic feeling intensifying the impression— till, all unused to restrain '^56 CONVERSION AND ITS ABNORMAL ACCOMPANIMENTS. the natural outflow of emotion, they should break forth in the wild cry of horror and despair 1 Was it a time to look on with scrutinising or censorious eye, when the heavens were rending and the earth was shaking at the presence of the Lord? And though we may congratulate the district or the community, in which a wide-spread spiritual interest has been awakened, in the absence of tumultuous excitement ; yet, shall we refuse to recognise the presence and the power of the Eternal, even although some strange things should have hap- pened, and here and there a few should have been disordered by unhealthy stimulants and injudicious treatments Is not the process of conversion, under any circumstances, the result of a superhuman agency? and why should it be thought extra- ordinary if, when a whole community is stirred, there should be a proportionate increase in its abnormal accompaniments ? I shall only add, with reference to the affections so frequently referred to, that there is no ground to believe that they have conducted those who were the subjects of them along a higher I)athway than has been trodden by others, in whom the mo- mentous change was wrought without any experience of them ; while in many cases, they have developed some peculiarity of temperament or character which has called forth, on behalf of the "affected," a more than ordinary solicitude on the part of such as have been interested in their spiritual progress. With reference to the cases of dumbness and the like, which were for a time an occasion of much stupid wonder to many, I cannot better express the view entertained of them by all who are intelligently informed, than by quoting the following pas- sage from the able and most seasonable paper presented by my excellent friend, Dr M'Cosh, to the Annual Conference of the Evangelical Alliance at its meeting in Belfast in September last : — " From an organism weakened by repeated excitement, pro- ceed cases of blindness and dumbness, and of persons who can bring on sleep at a particular time, and awake at an appointed hour. I have found in a vast number of cases THE CASES OF DEAFNESS AND BLINDNESS. 357 that the deafness and blindness have appeared, not in persons who have been struck the first time with a conviction of sin, but in persons who have been struck a number of times. It is a warning, given in God's natural pro^ddence, that in that particu- lar district the bodily excitement is being carried too far, and is in danger of over-riding and oppressing the spiritual work. All such persons should be put under the care of a kind Christian physician ; they should be encouraged to pray that their bodiiy weakness may be relieved as speedily as possible ; and to seek to come under the influence of faith, and confidence, and love, which, instead of weakening the body, have a tendency to soothe and strengthen the frame. As to the sleeping cases, every one who has studied the subject knows that mesmerism is full of them. A trained traveller can fall asleep when he pleases, and rise at any hour he fixes ; and people in a mesmeric state can anticipate and regulate their mesmeric slumbers. If there be any persons so preposterously foolish — I had almost said blas- phemous — as to ascribe such cases to the Spirit of God, I would remind them that the Hindoos can produce far more wonderful cases than those in Ireland ; for, in India, individuals who have acquired this mesmeric power allow themselves to be buried for days, and tell beforehand the precise time when they are to awake, and their friends are to open the ground to allow them to rise. When such cases appear. Christians should by all means discourage them. They were just beginning in a village with which I am acquainted, when a Christian physician, who had been the main earthly leader of the movement in the dis- trict, reasoned with the people, and they immediately disap- peared. Great mischief arises from such persons being visited by ministers, neighbours, and strangers, as if they were objects of admiration, whereas they are rather objects for our com- miseration and our prayers. I have often seen that the people who go wondering after such cases, are of all persons the least likely to wish to become partakers of the spiritual work. No- thing, in my humble opinion, is so much fitted to grieve the Spirit, as to find persons gazing at the weakness of man, as if 358 TRANCE CASES PROPERLY DEALT WITH. it were tlie power of God. Tlic only thoroughly conceited con- ■verts I have seen in this movement, are those who have got into such a state of physical .weakness, that they see visions and predict events. The predictions, I may remark, have all the characteristic marks of clairvoyance, which has so often been ex- posed. I may add, that while the cases of this deception have hitherto been very few, yet we have already evidence that if en- couragement were given, especially of a pecuniary kind, decep- tion is ready to appear, and Satan would triumph. Let me here also introduce a statement illustrative of the good effects that are sure to follow when such cases as those referred to are judiciously treated. The narrator is the Eev. Alexander Field, of Dervock, a highly intelligent young minister of the Presbjrterian church. It will be seen from the introductory sentences, that he warmly entered into the movement, and that the results in his congregation were most encourging : — " It is unnecessary for me to enter into a minute detail of the blessed movement as it came under my notice. It was dis- tinguished here by the prostrations and those other features that characterised it elsewhere, and with which you and the public are so familiar. Suffice it to say, that great good has been its result in this locality and the surrounding district. A greater prayerfulness, and a greater love of God's Word are prevalent among God's people ; also a gTeater interest in each other's spiritual Avelfare. While the tone of the general community is much changed ; religion is more respected ; religious conversa- tion is easier ; and the minister of the gospel, as he goes his rounds, finds that he moves in a more wholesome religious atmosphere. I am hajipy to be able to say that the trance cases, which were so prevalent in some quarters, were not numerous v/ithin my bounds ; I believe there were only three such cases. Two of these came particularly under my cognisance, and I shall briefiy inform you how I dealt with them. " In the first case, I was specially sent for by the girl herself to see her fall into the trance state. She had been 'ill' on the previous night, and had been told, she said, among other revela- tions from the spiritual world, that she was to be in the same TWO SUCH CASES AT DERVOCK. 359 condition three times more, and on the following evening at a certain hour. I was with her at tiie appointed time, being anxious to see a case of the kind, and to try whether I could do anything in the way of prevention. There was no watch nor clock in the house, and I forbade all reference to time by the inmates. However, at the predicted hour, she became strangely ill. I took her outside, thinking that the fresh air might remove the affection, and kept up a brisk conversation, eliciting replies to my questions, that thus I might, if possible, ward off the threatened dumbness. I succeeded for some time, but at length she signified her inability to speak. I then, in a determined but kind manner, told her that I believed she could speak, if she choose to make the effort ; and reminded her that she had read of Jesus, when on earth, always opening the mouth, never of making people dumb, and that He was the 'same Jesus' now that He was in heaven ; and also that it was her duty to glorify God by exercising the faculty of speech with which He had blessed her. This had the desired effect, and she spoke, and continued to speak during the remainder of the evening. I acted in a similar manner in reference to her eyes, which she had persisted in keeping shut; and at last I left her quite well, possessing the power of all her faculties. She never afterwards had a return of the attack ; and so the predictions of the previous night came not to pass. " The second case was that of a young woman, not then con- nected with my congregation. I was going my rounds, visiting those of my flock who had been ' stricken,' when I was met on the road by her mother, v»^ho earnestly solicited me to go into her house and see her, stating that she was then in the trance state, and had intimated that her state was to last for seventeen hours. I went with her to please her, not expecting that I would be of any service — my experience in the former case not war- ranting me to conclude that I could bring a person out of the trance state, but only that I might be able to 2wevent her falling into it. On entering the house, I found her daughter lying on a bed, and apparently unconscious, deaf, dumb, and blind. I engaged in devotional exercises, and then proceeded to deal 360 TRANCE CASES AND THEIR SOLUTION. with her as in the other case, firmly and kindly telling her to open her eyes and to speak, and expressing my conviction that she could do so, if she choose to make the effort. This not having any effect, I then opened her hands, which were clenched like a person's in epilepsy, and lifted up her eyelids. Gradually consciousness returned, and she evidently both saw and heard me. I next got her mouth opened, and, on looking in, observed tliat her tongue was tucked back so that she could not speak, but by means of water and the friction of her own finger her tongue was unloosed, and the low voice of prayer announced that her power of speech was regained. After a little, she arose from her bed, dressed, and accompanied me to the house, a little way oft', whither I was proceeding when her mother met me. The recovery was complete. For eight weeks previous she had been seldom out of these trances; her health was much im- paired ; her physician had been tried in vain ; and her parents had been exceedingly distressed ; but since that day there lias been no return of the state, and her bodily health has been completely restored. I leave you to draw your own conclusion from these cases. My own theory was, that somehow or other her will had become dormant, and imagination and desire had got control of the mental system. In my treatment my object was to reinvest the will with its proper authority, in the hope that, having once regained its place, it Avould retain it ; and in this I was not disappointed. The effort of the party to resist the disposition to the trance state so strengthened the power of the will, that neither imagination nor desire could afterwards overcome it. " There were no more cases of this kind within my bounds after these two. My success in treating them brought them rather into disrepute, and consequently they ceased." The explanation given by the Archdeacon of Meath of such cases is worthy of being introduced here : — " The dumbness is perfectly accounted for by the hysteric action of the nerves of the throat. The blindness may be accounted for, either on the same ground, or by hysteric action extending to that part of the sensorium which receives the A " PEOPHET AND A SLEEPER BAFFLED. 361 nerves of sight. The visions and revelations are due to hj^steri- cal suppression of the powers of will and reason leading the operation of the cerebrum and sensorium as uncontrolled as in dreams It does not seem impossible that hysteric affec- tion of a portion of the sensorium should cause temporary deaf- ness ; but when so unusual a phenomenon becomes prevalent, a knowledge of hysteria suggests another solution ' The pleasure of receiving unwonted sympathy,' says Dr Carter, ' once tasted, excites a desire for it that knows no bounds ; and when the fits have become familiar occurrences, and cease to excite attention, their effect is often heightened by the designed imita- tion of some other disease.' .... If they hear of deafness in others, they will be deaf. I cannot look on this as ordinary imposture. It is the diseased moral action of hysteria The foretelling of the duration of dumbness, &c., or the time of recovery, is easily explained. The desire does itself induce the hysteric action, and can ecj[ually determine its cessation." The following is a somewhat amusing instance of the way in which a prophet and a sleeper were both arrested, and a real service rendered to the neighbouriiood in which the scene occurred :— In a country parish of county Down, of which a decided work of grace has been recorded in this volume, and in the bounds of his own congregation, which received so largely of the blessing, the Presbyterian minister happened one day to call at a house where several of the inmates had been awakened, taking with him two Scottish brethren, who were anxious to be informed, by personal observation, of the real character of the work. Scarcely had they been seated, when two country-looking young men, one of whom was only some eighteen years of age, entered the house, and, T\ithout any ceremony, seated themselves in the apartment. The younger immediately intimated, with much show of importance, that his comrade would fall asleep in ten minutes after, and would not awake for two hours. He was at once challenged by my friend the minister, who asked him to produce his credentials substantiating his claim to the proi^hetic gift. When he was dealing with the young man in 362 A " PROPHET " AND A SLEEPER BAFFLED. question, and charging him either Avith being an impostor or the victim of delusion, the breast of his companion began to heave, and he closed his eyes as if to induce the approach of the wondrous sleep. The jmstor lod, however, continued his ad- monition, exhorting his reluctant auditor quietly to go home, to mind his proper business, and ask forgiveness for his pre- sumption. He reminded him that even the gift of prophecy, supposing he were endowed with it, was no evidence of grace ; referring to the case of Balaam, who, though he had uttered true predictions, fell fighting against Israel, and to the pro- testations that, at the great day, shall be made by many who will in vain appeal, in arrest of judgment, to their having prophesied in the name of Christ. He enforced especially upon him the duty of humility, as the becoming ornament of the Christian profession, rating him soundly for his uncere- monious intrusion into the presence of several ministers and others to whom he was an entire stranger, and who had other things to mind than sleeping cases and their prophesiers. The brethren who were present joined in the objurgatory strictures, and addressed themselves with great earnestness to the older visitor, as to the inutility, either to himself or any other, of his falling into the state announced ; while my friend also remonstrated with him on the unseasonableness of such an operation in such a place, and the absurdity of imagining that any good purpose could, under any circumstances, be served by it. The sleeper and the seer were alike nonplussed by this unexpected reception, and left the house, but not till more than twice ten minutes had elapsed after the announce- ment of the " prediction." It was cause of congratulation that this, the first attempt to import the sleeping fits into the neighbourhood, was so successfully resisted, as, hearing of such things around them, the people might otherwise have fallen into like disorder and extravagance. It was the only case of the kind within the district, and the mode in which it was met and put to shame called forth an expression of unmingled satis- faction from the entire community. I shall conclude this chapter by a statement of two cases, MELANCHOLY CASE OF A SCEPTIC. 363 'each of tlirilling interest. The subjects of both were stricken ; but the first, instead of being the better, only became worse ; ■while the second emerged from the fiery trial through which he passed, a conqueror, and more than conqueror. The Rev. Thomas Y. Killen, of Ballykelly, narrates the fol- lowing : — " One class of cases we had resembled, more than anything else I can think of, the demoniacal possessions in our Lord's day. The whole bodies of the persons affected were con\T.ilsed in the most frightful manner, so that it required five or six strong men to hold them, while their cries were of the most piercing kind. These frightful cases were comparatively few in number, and I regret to say, have not generally turned out well. Several of those who passed through fearful struggles have gone back to their old ways, and instead of getting better, seem rather to have grown worse. Take one remarkable case : M. H. is the son of a widow in respectable circumstances. He was always wild, reckless, and passionate, and during five years at sea seemed to have imbibed infidel opinions. On a Sabbath morning he tra- velled home from Belfast, where he had been staying for some weeks, to the great grief of his mother, vrho had tried diligently to imbue the minds of her children with a sense of the Sabbath's sanctity. He declared his utter disbelief in the whole move- ment, but came, as usual, with the family to public worship. A number of persons were stricken that day, and when the first cry was uttered, he felt a cold tremor come over him, and left the house. His mother thereupon turned up the Bible, and pointed her daughter to the account of .Jonah fljdng from the Lord, and how the Lord laid hold of him notmthstanding. He came in again, and quietly sat out the service. That evening and the next forenoon he kept ridiculing the revival, and laughing at the stricken ones, declaring that he would warrant them he would not be stricken, but if he were he would have the sense to keep his mouth shut at any rate. A friend, who dined with them that day, tried to reason with him on the subject ; but he persisted in his scepticism, until his mother requested them to let him alone, ' for,' said she, ' he has broken my heart already, and 364 MELANCHOLY CASE OF A SCEPTIC. unless the Spirit of God lay hold of him, man can do nothing with him.' His friend, however, continued to argue, and he to resist, till his sister interfered, and entreated, if he would not himself believe, to hold his tongue, and not to do harm to others ; adding, that there was no use talking to him. Upon this he got enraged, and said, 'My sisters are turned against me — nobody will speak to me now,' — rushed to the kitchen, and then ex- claimed with an oath, ' They 're always preaching at me ; ' — got into a perfect fury, tore his cap and threw it into the fire, and in the midst of his rage was in a moment laid prostrate on the floor. His friends heard his cries, and came out and found him writhing on the ground, and for three-quarters of an hour he was dreadfully convulsed, while it required several strong men to hold him. His first cry was, ' A knife ! a knife ! ' then * It 's too late ! it 's too late ! ' then ' He 's dragging me down, he 's dragging me down ! ' and at length, ' Lord Jesus, have mercy on me ! save me ! ' After some time he became quiet, but lay in an unconscious state. I had been sent for, and when I arrived I found a friend praying over him. In a little while he opened his eyes and stared vacantly round. When I first spoke he did not recognise me, but when told who it was, he held (mt his hand to me. I said, ' Were you afraid Satan was going to get you 1 ' He replied, ' He had me.' One of his friends said to him, ' Did yow see Jesus 1 ' ' Yes,' said he, ' and He told me I had a black heart, but He would give me a new one.' When he got somewhat better he said that Satan coiled himself round him, sind was dragging him down to hell, which seemed like the crater of a great volcano, and as he w^as dragged towards it, it appeared to be growing still larger and more dreadful, till, when he was brought very near, he felt almost suifocated by the sulphurous vapour. He said that Jesus then appeared to him and delivered him, and he saw heaven — a most beautiful place, with many in it whom he did not know, but tbat he had recog- nised two friends who had died some years before. When I talked to him I could not see that he had the slightest convic- tion of sin, or felt any need of a Saviour ; and though he ap- peared to be sober for a little, and had two other attacks like HAPPY CASE OF THE WIDOW S SON. 365 the preceding, no change for the better appeared. In a few days he refused to pray, and would scarcely ever open his Bible. The family emigrated in autumn, and I regret to say that the last account I had of him from his sister, when in London, awaiting the sailing of the vessel, was to the effect that he seemed now to be regarding himself as belonging to Satan, and that God had nothing to do with him. His was certainly the most melancholy case we have had." The other is one of peculiar and even sublime interest, and is to be recorded in connexion with the movement in Armagh, Two of my correspondents in that city have referred to it, and from the statements they have supplied, I am enabled to present it in the fullest and most authentic form : — There was a youth of seventeen years of age, the son of a widow, who was attending the prayer-meeting one evening, and who remained behind, along with a number more, to converse with the ministers in regard to the great concerns then pressing heavily on many souls. Eestless and agitated, he rose after a short period, and left the church. He repaired in the first in- stance to a service in another place of worship, but soon after turned homeward. Arriving at the door, he found that the key which had been left by his employers for himself and com- panions was not to be found, and turning to the street, he met a young man of the city whom he knew to be a serious Christian, to whom he said, abruptly, " Oh, v.liat am I to do ?• My heart will break ; I am for ever lost ! " His friend urged liim to ac- company him to the church. "I was there already," he replied, " but all in vain." He complied, however, with the invitation, and arri^dng, sat down. The auditory had all dispersed for some time, except some dozen individuals, with whom the ministers were holding earnest conversation, eliciting their doubts and difficulties, and of whom several that night were led to profess their faith in Christ, and to "go on their way rejoicing." " We were in the act of bringing this meeting to a close," says the Rev. William Henderson, " v.hen we were surprised and startled by words of earnest prayer from a young man in the 366 THE CONFLICT adjoining pew, who was bowed on his knees in supplication. I shall never forget the scene that followed. For about two hours that young man continued pleading with God, and wresthng with Satan, and he ceased not till he rose a conqueror, exulting in the blood of the Lamb. It is now seven months since this occurrence, and during that period I have had frequent oppor- tunity of observing this youth, who is engaged in business in town, and I have not yet known him to falter in his burning love to Jesus, nor to waver in the strong hope which God gave him that night. His prayer was the most wonderful one that I ever listened to. Many of his utterances are yet vividly im- pressed on my memory. Aided by some notes, which were hurriedly taken by a brother-minister at the time, I subjoin a few of the petitions, as well as expostulations with the enemy, which fell from his lips : — " . . . . ^ Satan, thou enemy of my soul, begone ! — thou de- ceiver of the world, leave me ! Come not near me, Satan, for Jesus is here ! O Jesus, save me ! Thou didst smite Saul of Tarsus, the persecutor of Thy Church, and Thou hast smitten me, an enemy of Thy cross, an enemy of Thy Bible, an enemy of Thy Sabbath, an enemy of mankind. O Jesus, heal my wounded heart ! Jesus Christ, the righteous One, save my soul ! Satan, thou father of lies, I have served thee long. I have been a subject of thy kingdom ; but now thy chains are breaking. Keep back, Satan ! . . . eternal Son of God, have mercy ! O Spirit of the living God, draw near to me ! ... O Jesus ! Thou didst come to Bethlehem's manger — Thou didst come to Gethsemane's garden — Thou didst come to Calvary's cross — Thou didst love poor sinners. . . . O thou Saviour of the lost ! save me. Thou hast arrested me in the broad road which leads down to hell. I see my companions hurrying downward. Oh, have mercy on my poor soul ! I see my sin as a great moun- tain, — wash it away ! Spirit ! thou hast smitten, but, Jesus, do Thou heal the Avound. My sins are like a thick, dark, dismal cloud, — oh, shine over it and take it away! . . . Oh, human nature, sinful, vile, polluted, hell-deserving! Holy AND THE VICTORY. Spirit, I tliank Tliee for Thy glorious work. . . . O Saviour, Thou art here. I see Thy face. It is shining, it is radiant — it is radiant like the sun, yea, like millions of suns. Little wonder that Satan is confounded before Thee I . . . Jesus, Thou didst say to the raging sea, "Peace, be still," and there was a great calm. Let it be so here! . . . Thou hast taken me away from my past life — it is all a blank, it is a black catalogue of sin. . . . O Saviour — ^Ae Saviour — tlte Saviour, help me! Oh, let Thy glory be advanced in this smitten soul ! . . . Oh for faith ! Faith is the wanting grace. . . . Oh, the conflict is sore! ... Jesus, gather in all my wandering thoughts, and cluster them on Thy cross, and take and purify them from sin ! . . . Satan, it is hard to baffle thee. Oh, come not near this poor, naked, wounded soul ! Say not there is no mercy ! Ah ! there is mercy for the chief of sinners ! Satan, thou knowest thy kingdom is being shaken, and to-night thou hast lost a subject. . . . O Church of the first born in heaven ! Admit me, Jesus, to be a member of it. . . . Satan, thou art hanging on long, for thou hast had a strong hold here. Thou didst reign here even from infancy. Oh that thou wert dethroned in my heart ! for thou hast swayed me too long. Jesus, thou didst conquer on Calvary, come and save me ! ... I come to Thee as a sinner, that I may be saved. I have nothing to give Thee in return, but a broken heart. And, oh! it is hard, for it was long subject to Satan. Do Thou soften it. . . . Oh, sin ! sin ! sin ! thy weight is very heavy. . . . Oh, the mountain is very high, wash it away ! — it is very lofty, cast it behind Thee ! . . . Oh, this wounded soul ! . . . Light, light ! ... I see faith coming under the door. ... I see the red river of Emmanuel's blood. I see the eternal river that flows from the side of Jesus. ... I see the top of the mountain is gone ! Blessed Jesus ! Thou hast begun a work. I trust to Thy name Thou wilt carry it on till our feet shall stand in the streets of the new Jerusalem. " Heaven and earth shall pass away, but Thy word shall never pass away." ' . . . "These are but fragments," adds Mr Henderson, "of the BEFOUE AND AFTER prayer; but truly the kingdom of heaven suffered violence that night, and the violent took it by force. None that witnessed that spiritual conflict will ever forget it. What a reality it imparted to the solemn truths of God's Word, jvhich, from our very familiarity with them, we too often fail to realise to their full extent ! I should say that the young man who was the subject of this remarkable work, had received nothing more than the rudiments of an English education. He had been a moral living youth, and a regular attender at the Sabbath school and at public worship. Naturally he is of a retiring disposition, and not till this occasion had he ever offered a word of prayer before others. He would have been ashamed to have spoken of Jesus. I found, in conversation with him afterwards, that his mind was fully conscious during the great struggle through which he passed. There have been cases in which prayers were uttered by persons when under prostration, and were not remem- bered by them. It was different with him. He was never unconscious of anything that passed. The ministers present spoke to him at intervals, mentioning suitable texts of Scrip- ture, and these his soul grasped at with wonderful avidity, and he would say, ' That is a promise. Oh, the sweet promises of God ! Oh for faith to rest upon them !' At other times prayer was made for him, and he seemed to be encouraged thereby, as he exclaimed, ' Thou wilt hear the prayers of Thy faithful ser- vants.' He mentioned to me afterwards, that when on his knees at prayer, the thought rushed into his mind that the moment of his salvation had come, and that it should be ' now or never.' It is interesting to know that his mother had experienced the blessed change the preceding night, and Avhen he spoke to me some days afterwards of God's mercy towards him, he exclaimed, with streaming eyes, ' Ah, my mother was praying for me ! ' At the same time he thanked God for the Sabbath school. ' Oh, blessed Sabbath-scliool, how much do I owe to you !'" The llev. Jackson Smyth states of this youth, that, meeting him lately, he said to him, " Well, H , do you still feel that lightness of soul and glow of love which you did some time THE GKEAT CHANGE. 369 ago ?" "No," was the answer; " sometimes Satan tempts me — lie is casting a gloom across my soul at times." " And are you then afraid?" " Oh no." "Wherefore?" " I know that Jesus lives, and when I come to Him in prayer, He teaches me that He does." " And except at these times when a cloud flits across your vision, is your love to Him as strong as ever 1 " " Oh yes, increasing and growing. You know His promise, ' I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee,' " 2 a CHAPTER XX. THE REVIVAL AND ITS LESSONS. The review fitted to strengthen Faith in the Omnipotent energy of the Holy Spirit — To ilkistrate the rapidity with which God can bring about His purposes of Mercy — To shew the marked Coin- cidence between the Working of the Spirit in the early Church and now — To teach the Church that the forces she now pos- sesses are sufficient for the Conversion of the World — To enforce the true theory of Christian Union — And to cast a new light on individual responsibility and dntj — Conclusion. To tlie record presented in the preceding pages, it cannot be necessary to append any corroboration. Authenticated as the great awakening of 1859 has been by those who, from the out- set, had the most abundant opportunities of estimating its real character and results, nothing further can be requisite to com- mend it as a genuine and wonderful work of God. Its origin and progress unequivocally attest it as divine. In startling and impressive grandeur, it burst forth in a comparatively seques- tered region, and scarcely had the new-born flame, drawn down by the few earnest watchers there, begun to burn, than it spread in all directions over an entire province. All classes and all ages caught the heavenly fire. Within the Church, a cold for- mality, an apathetic and unimpressible decorum were exchanged for a living and vigorous piety ; udthout, the ignorant and unre- claimed were seized as by a resistless power — and from the ranks of the abandoned and the profligate, as well as of those who had been brought up under the droppings of the sanctuary, thousands and tens of thousands were made to realise the pos- session of an endless life. In reviewing the course of this great spiritual movement as THE OMNIPOTENCE OF THE SPIEIT. 371 liere narrated, there are many reflections wliicli cannot bnt suggest themselves, and to some of these we may not mi season- ably devote this concluding chapter. I. Is not a narrative like the present fitted in an eminent degree to revive the faith of the Church in the Qmni2Jotent grace and energy of the Holy Sinrit ? How else is it possible to account for such an extraordinary movement upon the souls of men, than by referring it to that almighty Agent by whom alone the dead are quickened into new- ness of life % Or what other solution can be given of the strange phenomenon, than that it is the operation of the same power that wrought the Pentecostal wonders % Although a recognition of the personality and worldng of the Holy Spirit is a funda- mental article in the creed of every true church of Christ, yet how inadequate has been the apprehension of this grand truth ! and how low the standard of the Church's hopes and expec- tations ! Forming her calculations rather on the slow rate of progress with which she is familiar, she is affected with an almost incredulous amazement or surprise, when a wide- spread interest in religion is evinced, and a whole community is shaken as by the voice that shakes the wilderness. Profess- ing to believe in the descent of the Spirit upon all flesh, she is yet startled and awed when here and there an earnest of future increase shews itself, forgetting that the partial shower of bless- ing is but the forerunner of those rushing floods that shall ere long descend to refresh the weary heritage, and cover the face of the world with fruit. But let a great awakening come, and how does she stand abashed because of unbelief, and rise to an anticipation commensurate with the glorious fulness of gospel promise, and with her own predestined future on the earth ! Lifted up into a new position, and mightily advanced in living and abiding power, she looks forward at such a time to a greater enlargement still, when, through the instrumentality of her new-born sons and daughters, she shall break forth on the right hand and the left, clothed with an immortal energy, and arrayed as in a divine panoply for the conquest of the world. The arm of the Lord has been revealed, and she can say with a 872 THE ^yoEK an earnest of the futuee. new emphasis, and with something like an appreciation of its profound significance, "I believe in the Holy Ghost." Thus apprehending this great truth in its intense vitality, she learns to regard any the most stupendous manifestations of the Divine power that have ever yet been witnessed, as but the prelude to those greater marvels that shall be wrought when, with an energy of influence of which but a few transient glimpses have as yet flashed on the beholders, the quickening Spirit shall transform a very chaos of malignant elements into a fair and happy moral world. II. Wliat an illustration is presented by such a movement, of the rcqndity tvith whicJi God can hring about, in accordance vdth the sure word of prophecy, His puiyoses of mercy to the %vorld ! But a short time ago, and the prospect, whether in a temporal or spiritual sense, seemed dark for unhappy Ireland. But what a rapid change ! Within the last twelve years, our country has been emerging, with unprecedented progress, into a condition of extraordinary temporal prosperity ; and now, through this great revival, she has been lifted up to the gaze of universal Christendom. Visitors from many lands — from Continental Europe, Asia, and America — have come to admii'e the wonder- ful work w^hich has been wrought among her people ; and the spiritual change produced witliin her northern province, has given a new impetus to the cause of truth and righteousness, even to the ends of the earth. The toiling pioneers among the distant heathen have been quickened by the glad tidings; the worn and weary watchers at every mission-field have seen, in what has come to pass in Ireland, an earnest and an augury of the blessed time when they shall no longer go forth weeping, bearing precious seed, but when, their patient toil rewarded, they shall have a reaping- time of joy in the great world-harvest of ransomed souls. Every living church has been revived and stimulated by the record ; and from this far-off isle of ocean, has gone forth a hallowed influence, that has told with thrilling power upon the hopes and aspirations of the world. And why may not all this be l^ut the commencement of that IN HARMONY WITH THE PROPHETIC RECORD. 373 miglity wave of life that shall sweep on in swelling majesty- till it has laved the shores of every continent, and carried, as in a spring-tide of salvation, its healing waters over the wide earth ? We know that the Lord will make a slioft work in the earth, and cut it short in righteousness ; and why not now ? Exception has, however, been taken to this spiritual move- ment, because of the very rapidity of the process by whi^h it^ transformations have been wrought. But what is there here to excite astonishment, if we really believe the past, or forecast the prophetic future ? Does not all that we know of the early Church, especially as associated v/ith the day of Pentecost, attest a rapid, powerful conversion-work, when multitudes, as in a moment, were renewed ? And though those were the times of miracle, yet renovation of heart is never ascribed to any such agency, but to the Word of Truth as the sole instrumeiit, and the Spirit of Truth as the sole power exerted in effecting it. These mighty spiritual forces are the same now as ever ; and if they once converted men by thousands in a day, in a single city, what may they not be expected to achieve when the pro- mise, long-delayed, is realised in all its plenitude of grace and blessing ? It is true that heretofore, except ill special seasons of awakening, the transition has been slowly made, by in- dividual souls, from darkness unto light — and, governed to a great extent by the traditions of the past, we are astonished when this stereotyped and stealthy process is supplanted by an immediate and unfaltering decision on the part of many to be the Lord's. But is this state of mind and feeling in harmony either with Scripture precept or prediction "? What is there in either to encourage the imagination that the case of one who all at once throws down the weapons of rebellion and sur- renders himself to Christ, is less to be desked than if the individual, after many struggles with temptation, and long delays, submitted himself, accepting, with but an indifferent grace, the overtures of mercy, and hesitating to the last whether he will believe and live 1 And when at any time we witness an instantaneous reception 374 COINCIDENT WITH THE of tlie gospel tidings — when the light that has broken in upon the darkened intellect is welcomed as the harbinger of endless day — when thousands, and tens of thousands, hearing of free mercy, grasp the ofier, and experience the unclouded sunshine of a settled peace — when, on a great scale, there is a turning unto God, and an exuberant delight proportionate to the mar- vellous transition — when the call has come with such attend- ing power that the most stout-hearted are bowed at once, and the gracious result is visible in every varied form of manifesta- tion, — why, is not this just what we should expect, as the most reasonable fulfilment of Divine prediction — a gladsome foretaste of the golden day, when the glorious things spoken of the city of God shall be realised, and the abundance of the Spirit, long withheld, shall be poured out upon all mankind 1 III. In contemplating the present awakening, it is interesting to observe the marked coincidence hetiveen its leading features and those ivMch characterised the ivorhing of the Spirit in apostolic times. And here let us briefly advert to the experience of the early converts, as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, (chap, ii. 42, &c.,) as compared with that of those in Ireland who have been lately added to the Church. What holding fast of their iwofessionl During the period that has elapsed since the commencement of the work of grace in the North of Ireland, many have been tempted to forsake the course on which they entered, and to relapse into their old sins. Yet they have continued, in all good conscience, until this day ; and, though the fervour of the first love may have subsided, they have sustained their character for consistency, and have been enabled to maintain an edifying deportment, often amid many provocations. What steadfastness " in doctrine /" for this is the secret of all continuance in well-doing. What thirst for God, and for His truth ; what meditation in His law day and night ; what dili- gent attendance on catechetical instruction ; what relish for that theology of which Christ is the Alpha and the Omega, the all and in all ! EXPERIENCE OF THE EARLY CHURCH. 375 Wliat steadfastness " infelloivshij) ! " To talk with one another of the preciousness of Christ, and of the great salvation ; to strengthen each other's hearts, help each other's infirmities ; to stimulate each other to a still greater readiness to work for their blessed Master; and, as they travel on to their eternal home, to lighten the toil and trial of the pilgiimage by speaking to one another in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, and, ofttimes with hearts too full for utterance, to pour out their common supplications before the throne— these are the delightful and abounding evidences that the new children of the covenant are knit together in an endearing and indissoluble alliance. What inexpressible delight in the " breaking of bread ! " The communion is now a holy festival — a very feast for gladness. Such sacramental seasons as have been witnessed when the young disciples have commemorated, in presence of their bre- thren, the dying love of Jesus ! What tears of joy have freely fallen even in the prospect, as on that touching occasion re- ferred to by a minister, (the Rev. J. R. Dill, of Dromore, county Tyrone,) when forty, all of whom professed to have found the Saviour, could not contain for weeping ! " On the Sabbath morn- ing of the communion, a wonderful scene took place in the vestry, where they had met for prayer. Such a deep influence of the Spirit came down upon their hearts, that they were utterly unable to proceed with singing the words, 'My broken body thus I give.' Nothing was heard but sobbing." And what an accession to the membership of the churches, when, even in connexion with some three hundred congregations in that section of it to which most frequent allusion is made in the foregoing narrative, up- wards of ten thousand have lately been enrolled in membership ! What continuance " in prayer ,^" From first to last the work has been, to a great extent, a record of answered prayer. Let the revival of secret and domestic worship — the new-born gift poured out aUke on old and young, male and female — the heaven- directed aspirations presented at those brief seasons snatched from worldly occupation for spiritual converse — the many social 376 COINCIDENT WITH THE gatherings now sanctified by tlie word and prayer — and the distinctness, importunity, and expectancy exhibited by those who have been divinely taught to pray, bear witness to the extent to which the Spirit has been given as a Spirit of grace and supplication. Of the "/ear tliat fell on every soul,^' wherever this visitation came, innumerable instances are noticed in the preceding pages. Doubtless this " fear," in so far as it operated merely on the great mass of society, has now largely passed away. Old habits have resumed their sway in the case of those to whom no spi- ritual renewal came, and who were seized only by a dread of consequences which, for the time, had fallen upon them. Yet nothing was more characteristic of the movement than the cir- cumstance that wherever it extended, " great fear " pervaded the whole community, so that the most thouglitless and irreverent of every creed were constrained to say, " The finger of God is here." What a oneness of interest among the subjects of the awaken- ing ! even as when in the early time " all that believed were together, and had all things in common." How have the promptings of natural selfishness been overborne by the love of Ohrist, and of His people ! How have the homes and hearts of many been freely opened to welcome those who came among them to observe the works and wonders of the Lord ! And if no great outflow of Christian liberality is yet to be recorded, it is to be borne in mind that "not many rich" have been the subjects the gracious influence, the Divine sovereignty being conspicu- ous in giving most to those who needed most, while the great majority of the converted have been among the younger mem- bers of the families into which it has found an entrance. Yet many an unseen offering has been laid already upon the altar of the Lord for the advancement of His cause — the spontaneous prompting of hearts Avhich had been opened to hearken to His word — and many a toil-worn pastor has been encouraged by the considerate gifts presented in their Master's name by those who count themselves his spiritual children. And what shall we say more, or how more adequately cha- EXPEEIENCE OF THE EARLY CHURCH. 3 / / racterise their whole deportment, than in the remaining words of the same passage of inspired history? "And they continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, and having favour with all the people." Till the revival came we had no adequate conception of such a social state as is here delineated. But we can now, in some measure, understand it. A state of things in which the diffi- culty is, not to bring people together to the sanctuary, but to induce them to retire from its cherished precincts — an abound- ing and pervasive joy manifesting itself in open-hearted hospi- tality and welcome given to the brethren in Christ, the very countenance irradiated as by a gleam of the heavenly glory — the everyday life a psalm of praise — the habitual converse the out- Howing of a fount of perennial gladness — and the "adorning of the doctrine of God our Saviour " so palpable and attractive, as to win all hearts, constraining even the impenitent and the unbeliever in the work to accord the tribute of esteem and admi- ration, — these are the indications of a higher tone, and a holier brotherhood, than have been- ordinarily exemplified in the Church. And what though, in the first outburst of the new life, some temporary excesses and extravagances have appeared, yet who at such a time will harshly criticise, or grudge to these new- gathered souls the overflowing fulness of their joy ? Is it not refreshing in this cold world, and amid the formalism which insinuates itself into the very Church of God, to mark in any the artless and enrapturing expression of their gushing sympathies, and their brave indilference to times and places, ceremonials, and all outward things 1 Irregularities, if such we call them, will correct themselves — and the serenity of the horizon will, alas ! too soon be clouded by the storms and trials with which these new-born children of the Lord will have to contend till the strife is ended, and the life-battle won. IV. May we not learn from such awakenings as that under review, that for the conversion of the world tee do not need another gospel, and that the forces which the Church now j^ossesses, always including, over and above mere machinery, the presence 378 NO OTHER GOSPEL NECESSARY. of tlie life-giving Spirit, are amply sufficient for the great ends of her existence ? There lias been manifested in certain quarters of late, an un- defined but unmistakeable impatience with the old and familiar modes in operation for the extension of the cause and king- dom of the Lord Jesus Christ. Symbolism has done its best to supersede the simple gospel, by overlaying it with forms of curious device and tracery, and by the introduction of ritual- istic novelties, by which, although the taste of the sestlietic man may be regaled, the free spirit is only hindered in its efforts to ascend to the pure region where it ought to worship and adore. And a mystic school, the spawn of rationalism, in religion has arisen, Vvhich, under a fair and bland exterior, and using a few plausible generalities of discourse, seeks to veil under its airy form the central and surpassing glories of the cross. Thus do the patrons of gilded toys and baubles, on the one hand, and the abettors of a vague, unmeaning intellectualism, on the other, fondly cherish the imagination, that by their respective nostrums they will introduce a better era for a languid church, and a revolted world. And even in the true Church itself, and among those who retain a hold of the old doctrine of the apostolic and reformation age, there has been to a lamentable extent a want of faith in its Divine energy and efficacj'', so that the Word has but seldom pierced as a dividing sword, and its testimony has failed proportionately to pass as God's own emissary from the speaker's tongue to the hearer's heart. But when a spirit of revival comes, away with pictorial playthings and mystic shadows ! the necessities of man's moral nature demand a better and a more enduring substance. Then none but Christ, and Christ without any other ! and every tendency to idealise anything as a substitute for His finished work, dies within sight of the shades of Calvary. Then, too, the Church of God learns, as she had not done before, that she is in possession of that mighty secret, would she only use it, by which the whole earth is to be subjugated to her almighty King. She finds that all the glad results she witnesses have sprung from the felt and prized experience of those tmths THE THEORY OF CHRISTIAN UNION. 379 which, in their divine harmony, have been exhibited in her dis- tinctive symbols, and handed down from generation to genera- tion of her children. She realises the conviction, that for all the ends of her establishment she needs no other instrmnent, and no other organisation, by which to carry it over the habit- able globe. She comes to know, if not before, that what she ought to aim at with intenser earnestness than ever, is to bring the truth in its native force and divine simplicity into direct and immediate contact with the hearts and consciences of men ; and thus she is sustained and strengthened in the anticipations of the period when the rebuke of her people shall be taken away from off all the earth— when all that prophecy unfolds to the eye of faith shall be a grand reality, and when there shall be a voice of much people in heaven, as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, " Halleluia : for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth." V. We learn from such a work of gTace as that which has taken place in Ulster, the true theory and solution of the problem of Christian union. Is it not to the Church an instructive, and to the v/orld a con- vincing sight, which is exhibited at such a time of spiritual renovation '? How often do we hear on platforms of " sinking of minor differences," and the like ; and yet how rarely do we practise it, or make it manifest that we are one with all who hold by the Living Head, in faith, and hope, and charitj" ! But let a baptism of the Holy Ghosi> be given, and what before was a pleasing theory, beautiful to contemplate, impos- sible to realise, becomes without an effort an actual reality. Let the Disperser of confusion rend the heavens and come down to do things that we looked nut for, and the mountains flow down at His presence. Separations that threatened to last for ever yield to His glad advent, and the perpetual hills bow before Him w^hose ways are everlasting. The different sections of the one great spiritual community then find that they have so much to do with anxious, inquiring, and converted 380 THE THEORY OF CHRISTIAN UNION. souls, that they have no time, no taste, no spirit, for anght beside. Thus is accomplished a result that no semi-mechanical agencies, however well intended, could possibly achieve. When we find others beyond our own pale, and whom, it may be, we have been accustomed to regard with jealousy, blessed with a shedding down upon them of the same gracious influence, how can we, in the face of such heaven-descended tokens, be found perpetually trumpeting forth vain-glorious assertions of the pre-eminent value of our own systems and usages 1 and how can we refuse to say, combining the temper of the dove with that of the eagle, and looking from on high on the wide circle of Divine mercy, " Grace be with all those that love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity ? " And has not this spirit to a large extent been manifested among the brethren of the various denominations that have shared the blessing in the North of Ireland '? Wherever they have been like-minded in regard to this great work of God, have they not, as by a resistless force, been drawn into fraternal sympathy and united action] When the conference of the Evangelical Alliance was held in September last, in the metro- polis of Ulster— a convocation that was attended by unusual blessing to all engaged in it, as well as great advantage to the revival itself, as tending to obviate misapprehensions and cor- rect abuses— was it not felt by all, that the interest aw^akened by this spiritual movement constituted a new and peculiarly tender bond of brotherhood ? What can be more apparent than that it is not by dint of controversy (although w^e must not recede by a hairbreadth from any article we hold important, either pertaining to the doctrine or the polity of the Church) that we shall attain to uniformity of belief 1 And even those conventions that may be held as an annual or local demonstra- tion of unity, what are they but the cover, not the removal, of division — a superficial virtue drawn over a deeper vice 1 The conclusion of the matter therefore is, that for the healing of the wounds of a distracted Church, and for the melting down of sectarian jealousies and alienations, there is but one sovereign remedy — the baptism of the Holy Ghost. CHRISTIAN EESPOXSIBILITY AND DUTY. 3S1 YI. This great awakening casts a ne^Y light upon the duties and resjjonsihilitm of individual Chi^istians. In this respect it has called forth into harmonious de- velopment a new power in the Church, even the power of prayerful effort among its true-hearted and devoted members. What is it that has long been for a lamentation among the faithful ministers of the gospel in this land 1 Has it not been that their labours were not seconded by the prayers and efforts of their own people — the great bulk of whom seemed to regard themselves as in no way responsible for the state of religion, either in their immediate neighbourhood or in the world 1 For w'ant of Christian sympathy and co-operation, have not the hands of ministers hung down, and their spirits often sunk within them, as they contemplated the low condition of the professing Church of God 1 Happily, this hindrance is being taken out of the way. In many a district, there are those w^ho have begun to say unto their brethren, " Know the Lord,"* and are thus shewing that they are living unto Christ and working for Him in the world. Sloth, AVorldUness, selfishness, in their various forms, are being practically rebuked, and a state of preparation is going forward for putting the Church in a position in which her energies shall be increased a thousandfold. The times are pressing, and many who had lingered long in the doomed city of destruction have been arrested by the angel of the covenant, and led forth into a wealthy place, and are now * While fall scope should be afforded for the exercise of the varied gifts and graces of the members of the Church, respect must be always had to the Divinely-coustituted ordinance of a standing minis- try, which none may take upon themselves unless duly quaHfied and called thereto. " The sending out of unlearned men," says Mr Tennant, in a letter to President Dickenson, Feb. 12, 1742, "to teach others, upon the supposition of their piety, in ordinary cases, seems to bring the mmistry into contempt, to cherish enthusiasm, and bring all into confusion. Whatever fair face it may have, it is a most perverse practice. The practice of singing in the streets is a piece of weakness and enthusiastical ostentation." "As to lay-preaching," says Hodge, " it found little favour with any but the openly fanatical." 382 CHRISTIAN TvESrONSIBILITY AND DUTY. exulting in tlie glorious liberty of the sons of God. Who can tell but that a season of trial may soon follow, and that even now tlie cloud is blackening in tlie lieavens that shall ere long burst forth in floods of thundering ruin and devastating fury npon the earth 1 Is not the voice that has broken in upon the security of so many sleepers, a trumpet-call to " God's elect " to gird the armour on and prepare for battle 1 Of those who have been lately added to that "consecrated host," many, the greater number may, in the estimate of man, be a feeble company- striplings unpractised in the art of war. But in this conflict, the feeble may be as David, and may smite down, with shng and stone, the giant forms that have defied the onset of more experienced combatants. Let us welcome into the field these new companions in arms — it may be in tribulation, too — and assign them their true place in the decisive struggle, even the serener heights of prayer and observation, whence they may penetrate into the invisible, and draw down that holy fire that will consume every adversary. How can we better conclude than in the language of a de- voted minister of the English Establishment, who witnessed for himself the work of grace in Ulster, and on more than one occasion stood forward in its vindication — the Rev. Flavel Cook of Millbrook, Cornwall : — " We cannot expect, with any confidence, that the power now working in this revival will continue to exert the same energy, although we may trust that the effects of what is already done may be abiding. There seems, from analogy, or rather from precedent, reason to regard this as being to the Church what the inundation of the Nile is to Egypt; let us do as the hus- bandmen of that land— dig channels, open all sluices, remove obstacles, small and great, that the fertilising water may flow over every foot of parched ground. "We ought not to reckon on its being high water for long. " Some green things are left beside the brooks, but, as a land, we are drooping for lack of spiritual moisture. As in Joel's day, so now — ' The field is wasted, the land mourneth ; for the SIGNS OF THE TIMES. 383 corn is wasted ; the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth,' (chap. i. 10.) What avails it, then, to ' pull down our barns and build bigger,' to multiply and perfect the ploughs and harroM^s, or even to increase the number of labourers 1 Rain, rain is what we need; and welcome tempest and storm, welcome thunder- ings and earthquakes, if they bring us rain. " Deeply interesting it is to study this movement in con- nexion with other remarkable stiiiings which are taking place simultaneously in many parts of the world, such as (to say nothing of England and Wales) America, Sweden, Italy, Spain, the Turkish dominions, and even among the dispersed of Israel. Aie not these things — to which may be added the greatly- increased activity and results of missions to the heathen — enough to remind us of the words of the Lord, ' Behold the fig-tree, and all the trees ; when they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand?' (Luke xxi. 29, 30.) What if these shootings forth of spiritual leaves on the withered fig-tree of Israel, and on (all ?) the trees of the Gentile churches, be the herald of the summer of the kingdom of God 1 " ' Thy kingdom come.' ' Even so, come. Lord Jesus ! ' "' APPENDIX. A, Page 34. EEPOET OF THE PRESBYTERY OF AHOGHILL. The following is the substance of the report of the Presbytery of Ahoghill, presented, after the commencement of the revival in that district, to the Synod of Ballymena and Coleraine, May 17, 1859 :— " It is the privilege of the Presbytery to have to record on this, more than on former occasions, glad tidings of great joy. The Lord has been pleased to visit a large portion of our bounds with the genial showers of a gracious re\'ival. Our churches have experienced an awakening the most cheering in its character and holy in its fruits. Shortly after the begin- ning of the present year, the Lord was pleased to convert a family near Ahoghill, and to bless their conversion in a large degree for promoting the conversion of others. An extraordi- nary interest began to be awakened ; prayer-meetings multir plied— crowds flocked to these refreshing streams; nor were ordinary houses able to accommodate the eager multitudes that assembled to hear the burning prayers, and to listen to the plain but heart-stirring addresses of the converted brethren, and those ministers and laymen whose hearts the Lord had moved to engage in this important work. The open field and the pubKc wayside, even in the cold evenings of spring, were the scenes of deeply-interesting meetings, over which angels hovered with joy. The prayer-meetings held in the first and second Pres- byterian churches were crowded to excess, although held on the same evening, and at the same hour. For several miles 2b 386 APPENDIX. around multitudes flocked to these meetings for prayer and exhortation. Oar lay brethren from Connor, at the first, gave, and continue from time to time still to give, a powerful im- petus to the good work. " Never, in these localities, was there such a time of secret and public prayer. In all directions prayer-meetings have sprung up, and that without number. They are conducted in a manner of deepest solemnity, and with a burning earnestness for the outpouring of the Holy Ghost, and for the conversion of souls. These meetings have been signally honoured of the Lord. The Spirit has descended in power. Through the instrumentality of the Word and prayer, convictions, often the most powerful— even to the convulsing of the whole frame, the trembling of every joint, intense burning of heart, and com- plete prostration of strength — have been produced. The arrow of conviction pierces the conscience ; the heart swells nigh to bursting; a heavy and intolerable burden presses down the spirit ; and the burclened-burning heart, unable to contain any longer, bursts forth in the piercing cry of distress, saying, ' Lord Jesus, have mercy on my sinful soul.' This is alike the experience of the old and the young — of the strong man and the delicate woman. Under such convictions, the heart finds relief in pouring out its cries and tears before the Lord. These convictions are followed by hours of kneeling before the Lord, crying, confessing sin, begging for mercy, and beseeching the Lord to come to the heart. This is done in tones of deepest sincerity, and in utterancfes of the most impassioned earnest- ness. It may be days, or weeks, or even months, with convic- tions returning more or less powerful, in the constant exercise of prayer and the reading of the Word, ere a calm and settled peace in believing is enjoyed. There does not appear to be any fanaticism manifested, any heresy broached, any self- righteous- ness exhibited, or any sectarianism shewn. " A few interesting cases of the conviction and conversion of Roman Catholics have occurred. It is worthy of note that, under the light and power of this movement, they love tlic Bible, pore over its sacred pages, pray through the prevailing APPENDIX 387 name of Jesus alone, place reliance on Christ only for their salvation, and, in the exercise of their civil and religious liberty, join the worship of a purer Church. Two great truths take full possession of the mind — namely, man is a sinner, under judg- ment, unto condemnation ; and Jesus is the almighty Saviour to deliver, and fiiith in Him the way of obtaining that de- liverance. " Convictions have taken place on a large scale, and conver- sions have followed. Many — even hundreds — are giving the most pleasing e\ddences of being in Christ. Of drunkards, blasphemers, cardplayers. Sabbath-breakers, neglectors of ordi- nances, and the T\dcked in general, it may be truly said, ' They are now in Christ new creatures.' With them old things are passed away, and all things are become new. This is not an appearance put on, but, as far as yet known, a deep and abiding reality. Sin — besetting sin — is crucified. " On this revival work, so far as it has as yet developed itself, there is written ' Holiness to the Lord.' Even upon that por- tion of the public who make no claim to be religious, a deep, solemnising influence has been exercised. Many of them are thoughtful and inquiring, attending the prayer- meetings with evident interest, and, it is to be hoped, with profit. But, among the awakened and converted, other delightful fruits are growing up with rapidity to maturity. Prayer has received a powerful stimulus — not only secret, but family and public prayer is one of those heavenly fruits. " It is truly astonishing the liberty that many — very many — both male and female, have got in public prayer. It is most refreshing to hear the holy, earnest, edifying prayers which many babes in Christ are now ofi'ering at the family altar and at the public prayer-meeting. It is nothing uncommon to hear the voice of prayer wafted on the wings of the wind from the adjoining field. The Bible is studied, and prized, and loved more than it ever was before. It is felt to be ' more precious than gold, yea, than much fine gold,' and to be ' sweeter than honey, yea, than the honey that droppeth from the comb.' " Several that were Ijang out, from various excuses, from the 388 APPENDIX. ordinances of a preached gospel, have been moved to the house of God, in whatever attire they could command, though it were poor ; while others have been stirred to obtain decent clothes, and are now to be seen reverently worshipping in the house of God, where they had not been for years before. Many, too, have been moved to keep the feast of the Lord's Supper, in obedience to the dying command of the Lord. Our congrega- tions never had such an appearance before, of hearty, earnest worshippers. There are thousands of the surrounding Christian population who are revived and refreshed as the parched corn, in the long drought of summer, after the descending of the cooling and invigorating shower. There is a quickening to duty, to spirituality in communion with God, which is manifest and delightful. Never, in this locality, was there such holy, and importunate, and believing prayer offered up by numbers, in the name of the holy child Jesus, for the outpouring of the Holy Ghost. " This gracious revival has extended from the parish of Connor to that of Ahoghill ; then to Portglenone, and round by Tully, Largey, Grange, Straid, Slatt, Galgorm Park, Cloughwater, Clough, and Easharkin ; nor is it yet shewing any symptoms of decline; on the contrary, it is moving on with amazing power. Every day, and almost every hour, is bringing tidings of conviction. The interest is more and more awakening and extending. " As to the human agency by which this revival has been begun, and continues to be extended, it is not through the ministers of the churches alone, or even chiefly. The earnest and faithful preaching of the Word may have been the prepara- tion in some degree ; but the chief and honoured agents in the work are the converted themselves. " We pretend not to understand or to explain all the bodily effects by which this revival is accompanied. There are mys- teries connected with it which are incomprehensible. Still, we cannot believe that it is all the result of mere human sympathy, or the effect of bodily disease, or the result of Satanic agency. In the awakening of slumbering souls — their agonizing cry for APPENDIX. 3&9 mercy — in their repentance and forsaking of beloved sins — tlieir acceptance of Christ — their admission of Him to sit enthroned on the highest and best seat of their affections — in their love to Jesus — their earnest, believing prayer — their entrance on new- ness of being, and their persevering endeavours to win sinners to the Saviour — we see the grace of God, and are glad." B, Page 119. THE REVIVAL AND PUBLIC MORALITY. An attempt has been made in certain hostile quarters to' depreciate the character of the revival, by a series of statistical statements affecting the moral status of Belfast. It has been stated, for example, that drunkenness has been considerably on the increase since the commencement of the movement in that town. Before adverting more particularly to this rejDre- sentation, I may be permitted to give a few detailed statistics in relation to crime in the province of Ulster during the year of the revival. The number of prisoners for trial at the Quarter- Sessions for County Antrim, October 1859 — that is, six months after the commencement of the revival — was exactly one-half that of the previous year; the figures being, October 1858 — 14; October 1859—7. At the Ballymena Quarter-Sessions, held before John H. Otway, Esq., Assistant-Barrister, in April 1860— that is, when the revival had been above a year in existence in that neigh- bourhood, which has been its central district, tliere ivas not a single case of indictment upon the record. On this subject, the follo^^dng extract from a letter to the Bishop of Down from the Rev; Edward Maguire, the lately- appointed incumbent there, is valuable : — "I met, a few evenings ago, a number of gentlemen con- nected with this neighbourhood. Among them there were three magistrates. Their unanimous testimony was, that since 390 APPENDIX. the revival the public morals were vastly improved; and though, as we might expect, there were some cases of drunken- ness and other vices, yet they said these were quite exceptional. I asked various and independent parties — the barrister, (Mr Otway,) magistrates, and grand-jurymen, all at different times and in different places, to what cause, in their opinion, was this absence of crime owing, and they each and all at once replied, 'To the revival.' " At the Quarter-Sessions in Coleraine, a place which is second in interest only to Ballymena, as one of the earliest scenes of the revival, the testimony of the assistant-barrister, to the same effect as given in the preceding part of this volume, was volun- tarily emitted in presence of the grand jury. At the Quarter-Sessions, Belfast, in April 1860, the assistant- barrister, as reported in the local journals, said, " Gentlemen of the grand jury of this division of the County Antrim, I have been enabled, in the first two toivns of the county in which I held the Sessions, to congratulate the grand jury upon having nothing at all to do. Gentlemen, I cannot exactly offer to you the same amount of congratulation, because you have three cases to try ; but still I think we can congratulate ourselves on having such a small calendar, all of a trifling character.'^ At the March Assizes, 1860, for the county of Antrim, there were but five prisoners for trial ; and for the county of the town of Carrickfergus, none. At the Quarter-Sessions for Londonderry, in April 18C0, held before Wm. Armstrong, Esq., assistant-barrister, there ivas no criminal business, and his worship was presented with a pair of white gloves. An official connected with the county prison of Down, saj's, in a private letter, " As to the criminal business of the county, the late assizes (March 1860) had an average amount; but at the Quarter-Sessions, on several occasions, not a prisoner for trial appeared on the calendar, thougii some were out on bail." One of the most important and decisive facts— as illustrat- ing the moral results of the revival over the face of a whole APPENDIX. 391 county — is the following : — The number of committals for the county of Antrim had decreased from 3281 in 1858, to 2784 in 1859 ! It is well known that Antrim is predominantly Protest- ant in its population; yet the Protestants committed during the past year were only 1002, while the Roman Catholics were 1069, exhibiting a decrease of 99 Protestants as compared with the previous year, and an increase of 53 Roman Catholics. These are a few facts which are undisputed, and they ought to go far, even were there no other testimony, to settle the question of the moral tendencies and results of the revival A leading newspaper in Ulster, however, has attempted to shew that, so far from promoting morality, the revival has actually fostered crime and increased immorality. The charge is serious ; but what is its exact extent ? It is stated, on the authority of certain police statistics, that drunkenness had increased during the year of revival beyond the proportion of ante-revival years. The cases were, — for 1858, 2539 ; for 1859, 3112 — increase, 573. But the question arises, What have these statistics of drunkenness to do with the revival 1 Might it not be as well and as wisely said, that drunkenness caused the revival, as that the revival caused drunkenness? The two things lie contemporaneously within certain months, but it is a logical fallacy to represent them as connected by relations so intimate as those of cause and effect. If it had been asserted by the advocates of the religious movement, that every in- dividual of the 120,000 or 130,000 inhabitants of Belfast had been brought under the influence of the revival, these statistics of drunkenness might be legitimately appealed to in the case. But it is a fact, which admits of no dispute, that no person has, during the year in question^ been before the police court of Belfast^ on a charge of dmmhenness, loho had ever been brought under religious influences. According to the logic of this objector, the towns of Ballymena and Coleraine ought to be the most immoral and drunken in Ireland. With regard to the increase of drunkenness in Belfast — as indicated by the police statistics — I do not see that the friends of the revival are under any obligation whatever to account for 392 APPENDIX. them. It is well known, however, that the majority of the " drunken " cases are persons who make no profession of any form of Protestantism, and who constitute the lower stratum of the population of Belfast. There is reason, indeed, to believe that the immense majority of them are nominally Roman Catholics, who constitute about one-third of the inhabitants. But to whatever denomination they may belong, they are of that degraded and criminal class w^hich, in our large towns and cities, have never yet been reached by any of the appliances of evangelisation. It is gratifying to state that Ballymacarrett, an almost ex- clusively Protestant suburb of Belfast, containing about ten thousand inhabitants, is undistinguished by this disgraceful inebriety. The police-books of Belfast testify that from Friday morning, 23d December 1859, till Wednesday the 28th Decem- ber, including the Christmas holidays, only three persons were taken into custody in that whole district. With reference to all such charges as are now alluded to, the following statements, by Bishop M'llvaine of Ohio, are sug- gestive and appropriate : — " I have been struck with the fallacy of the argument against the work in Ireland, founded on alleged increase, in some towns, of police committals, an evidence of increase, or, at least, of no decrease of crime. Suppose the increase proved, and that it is evidence, not merely of more sharpness to arrest, but of more crime — drunkenness, for example — which has not ap- peared, it is very supposable that it may be the indirect conse- quence of the reality of the revival. Satan's kingdom is not exterminated, nor his enmity, nor his people quenched in any town. Where a real work of grace is mighty, a great impression is produced; hundreds are converted, many others are im- pressed ; but there remain those who resist, and scoff, and hate the work, and, for defence, as well as enmity, will only plunge deeper into sin. It is very conceivable that, among such, there may be such increased wickedness as to give to the common eye the aspect of a more prominent and outbreaking spirit of evil. My idea is, that until Satan is finally bound, we must APPENDIX. 393 expect to see, in proportion as the gospel gains power and draws its lines nearer his citadel, an increase of the manifesta- tion of that enmitj^ which dwells in the hearts of all that are his : an increased array of his force ; a larger mustering to the field of multitudes that otherwise would be in a measure as unenroUed militia — really, but not so manifestly, his ; and thus it will seem as if iniquity were more abounding, and the king- dom of darkness putting on more strength, while, in reality, it is only the beleaguered fortress, in the consciousness of impend- ing destruction, summoning all its available strength, and call- ing up every woman as well as man to stand forth and man the guns. But these are results which only they who know the two kingdoms of Christ and antichrist can appreciate." THE REVIVAL AND INSANITY. Akin to the charge just adverted to is the averment which has been put forward, that the revival has promoted insanity to a degree fearfully in excess of all ordinary averages. The most exaggerated representations have been published on the subject, and have been caught up with great eagerness, and reproduced in the leading Popish, Tractarian, and anti-Evangelical journals of Britain. It was stated, for example, in a Belfast journal, that " seven individuals had been admitted into the Belfast Lunatic Asylum Avithin the last two weeks, w^hose aberration of mind is dis- tinctly traceable to the excitement consequent on the religious preachings ! "—(July 12, 1859.) An inquiry was immediately instituted into the truth of this statement, when it appeared that two of the "cases" were women who had been in the asylum before, and had relapsed into insanity from the effects of the religious excitement ; a male patient had been ill since the previous November — several months before the revival commenced — and no allegation was made at the time of his admission, that he had come within reach of the revival excite- ment ; another male patient was found to be afflicted with " acute mania"— quite a different thing from religious insanity ; a female patient, admitted during the time specified, had been 394 APPENDIX. present at a revival meeting, where a woman seated near her was prostrated, but she herself had not fallen. No account has been given of the seventh case. In the month of September 1859, the same journal published a paragraph, headed " Insanity of Revivalism," which was to the following effect : — " We have it on good authority that, since the commencement of the revival movement, there have been lodged, in the Belfast asylum and county jail, no fewer than twenty- two cases of insanity from Larne and that neighbourhood alone." This was an astounding allegation, but it was promptly met by the following statement of facts : — As regards the Bel- fast Lunatic Asylum, only one case of insanity " from Larne and that neighbourhood alone" had been admitted, but it was a transfer from the county jail ; so that, in reality, the Lunatic Asylum had none at all to account for. As regards the county jail, there were admitted, since the commencement of the re- vival, only five insane persons, from Larne and its neighbour- hood, whose aberration was attributed to religious excitement. The precise nature of this aberration — as connected with religi- ous excitement — is not stated in any document, and may have been wholly unconnected with the revival for aught that is shewn. Of these five persons, one, as I have said, w^as trans- ferred to the lunatic asylum ; three had recovered, and one was still in the county jail on the 15th of September 1859. I have obtained, from an official connected with the Belfast Lunatic Asylum, a list of all the cases admitted into that insti- tution, classed under the head of religious excitement, during the year ended March 31, 18G0. They are exactly sixteen, and include, of course, nearly all the cases already referred to. My obliging informant says in regard to these sixteen cases : — "You will perceive that a number of these cases come from jail, and in all such, the particulars Ave receive are very imperfect. Several others, I believe, are represented very much according to the feeling of the medical man, who visits the patient before admission, and it is he who gives the character to the disease, stating in his certificate the species of insanity with which the patient is afflicted. / may ineniion that there were eight cases APPENDIX. 395 admitted here last year, under the head of religious excitement, before there was any talk of revivals in the country T It follows from this statement, that as there were sixteen cases in all, dm-ing the official year, only eight cases can be fairly attributed to the excitement of the revival— and this jDroportion is not in excess of the ordinary average ! So much for the cases in the Belfast asylum. In that of Armagh, which was erected for the three counties of Armagh, Monaghan, and Cavan, there were only nine cases admitted last year, whose insanity was traced to religious excitement; of these six were discharged cured, and three relieved. I beheve that we should have heard little of the " insanity caused by the revival" had it not been for two or three melancholy cases, in Avhich the religious excitement led to great physical exhaustion, and ultimately to untimely death. I am some- what surprised, indeed, that there were not more of this descrip- tion ; for individuals were often in the habit of sitting up, night after night, engaged in religious exercises, and in a heated at- mosphere, in defiance of all the laws of health ; and it was not to be expected that, in the case of persons of morbid tempera- ment, or predisposed to insanity, the exhaustion of nature, and the operation of moral causes of highly-wrought intensity, should not lead to mental derangement. Still, it is important to re- mark that all great crises in the history of the world, political as well as religious, have swelled the numbers of the insane ; and I believe that the revival in Ulster has led to fewer instances of the kind than any similar movement on record. Sir Alexander Morrison, late physician to Bethlem Hospital, says:— "The predominant ideas of the times, whether religious or political, have great influence in the production of insanity. Thus, at the time of the Crusades, many cases of disordered mind occurred. The celebrated novel of Cervantes' s was written expressly to ridi- cule the insanity of knight-errantry prevalent about the time he wrote. There ivere also, it is said, many pe?'S07is abided tuith religious insanity at the time of the Befonnation" I am not aware, however, that any section of the anti-Evangelical press has opposed or condemned the Reformation on the same ground 396 APPENDIX. as that on wliicli the Ulster revival has been so unscrupulously vilified. C, Page 150. THE EEVIVAL AND THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY. The following is a portion of the address delivered at the opening of the Assembly : — " We meet, as you well know, in circumstances of unusually solemn and tender interest. While on the European Continent the nations are astounded at the rapid movement of those colossal powers that are arrayed in deadly conflict, we, in the prosecution of another warfare, have been arrested by a higher force, which has come down upon us with unwonted energy, and whose onward march has filled us with amazement and admiring awe. But a short time ago, and who among us would have anticipated such a day of wonder and of power ! Many a time and oft the watchers on our highest hills have sought to descry its gladsome advent, but as often have they been con- strained to report that they had watched in vain. It has been reserved for us of this Assembly to come together at a time which has been longed and waited for by prayerful hearts for many generations. And, as we scan the tokens of new life that everywhere present themselves throughout our borders, we are instinctively reminded of the marvels of the Pentecostal jubilee itself. " The scenes with which we are now happily familiar, are without a i)arallel in our historic records. They call up vividly before us the memory of the early time of Presbytery in this land — a land then dark and desolate — and lead us to associate the labours of the fathers with the blessings that are now descending on the children. They have aflected all of us with such a strange surprise that we know not whether more to welcome or to wonder at the gracious visitation. Convened at such a period, may we not say that we enter on our delibera- tions, not only under the sanction of our living Head, but in APPENDIX. 397 the manifested and special presence of that Spirit who has supplied us with such a demonstration of His sovereign grace and power. " Let the pervading tone of this Assembly only be in har- mony with the occasion on which we meet, and, while its actings will bear the impress of a higher wisdom, the form of polity which we administer will at the same time receive its noblest vindication ; for it will approve itself as alike adapted to the transaction of ecclesiastical affairs, and to the edifying of the body of Christ. Our own spirits shall thus also be refreshed, and who can tell but that, assembled in the metropolis of the country at such a crisis, our meeting may, in the sight of the whole community, elevate us to a higher platform, from which we shall not willingly descend, and on which we shall cultivate as we have never done before the noblest impulses of piety and patriotism ! "Of those who would in other circumstances have taken counsel with us at this meeting, some are employed in what is the more incumbent and congenial task of nourishing the tender plants that are beginning to exhale their fragrance in the vine- yard, and of guarding them against the ravages of the de- stroyer. We shall miss their presence, while, we doubt not, they will aid us by their prayers." Subjoined is that part of the report of the committee on the state of religion with reference to the revival, as presented to the General Assembly, July 1860. The grand distinctive feature of our spiritual history during the past year has been the outpouring of the Holy Spirit over an extensive district of our Church. . , . Some of the prominent characteristics of this remarkable awakening may be briefly noted : — " 1. Persons of both sexes, of all ages, of different grades of society, of various denominations of professing Christians, including Unitarians and Roman Catholics, have been at once convinced of sin, and apparently converted to God. "2. These spiritual emotions have been accompanied, in a very large number of cases, by physical impressions producing bodily infirmity, and continuing, in some cases, for hours, and 398 APPENDIX. in others for days, and usually terminating in peace of conscience, and sometimes in joy unspeakable and full of glory. " 3. The two great truths on which the converts prominently, and almost exclusively dwell, are the sinfulness and utter spiritual helplessness of man, and the all-sufficiency of Christ as a living personal Redeemer. " 4. No heresy has been started in this new and unusual state of religious excitement. The whole movement, in its various aspects, tends to give striking and vivid illustration of the great doctrines of the gospel, as they are set forth in our Cate- chisms and Confession of Faith. " 5. The effect produced by this awakening on the life and character of those who have experienced it, is decidedly evan- gelical — a deep sense of sin, especially of the sin of having neglected the great salvation, fervent love of Christ, intense brotherly kindness, earnest desire for the conversion of sinners, habitual communion with God, and delight in His Word, wor- ship, and service — these attributes of character are assuredly the fruit of the Spirit, and those are the characteristics of mul- titudes who have lately declared themselves the servants of Christ. The drunkard has been made sober, the libertine chaste, the blasphemer and Sabbath-breaker devout, the worldling con- strained to think deeply and penitently of his sins, and to flee from the wrath to come. These are surely trophies of Divine grace, and many such trophies as these have been raised to the honour of God since the commencement of the present revival. " 6. The work has been carried forward in many districts by the agency of the converts themselves. As many as have bpen brought to know Christ have taken delight in telling to all around them what a precious Saviour they have found. The fear of man is completely taken away ; and uneducated persons, of humble station, arc heard to offer up prayer to God, with fluency, propriety, and fervour, in the presence of multitudes, and witliout embarrassment or trepidation, to call on their as- sembled fellow-sinners to repent, and believe the gospel. " These are some of the features of the present movement in the North of Ireland. They are such as we cannot contemplate APPENDIX. 399 without wonder, thankfulness, and joy. A visitation of Di\dne grace, so sudden and so unusual, has naturally provoked the contemptuous ridicule of some, and the fierce hostility of others ; but their opposition has been overruled for good. It has led many persons of matured Christian wisdom and experience, from various sections of the Protestant Church, to examine and to judge for themselves; and we have now an overwhelming array of witnesses to testify, with one accord, that the work is undoubtedly of God. It is true that the ordinary operation of the Holy Spirit is slowly progressive, and almost escapes obser- vation. Yet who shall venture to say that it may not also be immediate, public, powerful, and extensive, at His sovereign will 1 Why should we deem it strange if the Holy Spirit, espe- cially in times like these, when men are so much occupied and engrossed with material objects and pursuits — when the boundary between the Church and the world is so dim and so little discernible — when such exaggerated importance is at- tached to mere office, and order, and outward ceremonial, — why should we deem it strange if the Spirit of God come forth in power, and send such a peal of awakening through the hearts of careless, worldlj^, self-complacent professors of religion, as shall effectually rouse them from their slumbers, and enable them at once to discriminate between truth and error, between right and wrong, between shadow and substance, between the form of godliness and the power thereof? Further, we find that, in point of fact, the history of the Church of God, both before and since the Christian era, has been marked by signal and extensive manifestations of Divine grace ; and that in the community of His people, as well as in the individual believer, the life of religion has been forwarded by impulses rather than by continuing progress." The following were the resolutions subsequently adopted : — " First, That this Assembly desires to express profound thank- fulness to God that it has pleased Him to pour out His Spirit on so many of our congregations ; that it recognises with rever- ence and awe, and at the same time with inexpressible joy, the sovereign and infinite grace, which, notwithstanding our many 400 APPENDIX. provocations, has bestowed on us such evident and abundant tokens of the Divine favour. "Secondly, That in the new and unprecedentedly solemn circumstances in which this Church is placed, the Assembly deeply feels the need of being directed by the wisdom of the Most High ; and would, therefore, call on Him who giveth liberally and upbraideth not, to bestow the Spirit of power and of love, and of a sound mind, that we may know what we ought to do in these times of special visitation. " Thirdly, While the Assemby leaves the ministers to deal in Christian wisdom with individual cases as they arise, it would earnestly remind the brethren of the need of guarding, on the one hand, against cherishing undue suspicion of the reality of the work of the Holy Spirit ; and, on the other, of adopting any course of procedure, whereby our people may be led to mistake bodily impressions, or even deep conviction of sin, for genuine conversion to God. " Fourthly, That the Assembly, while cordially recognising, as one of the most marked evidences of the genuineness of this work, the fact stated by all the brethren, that it has been origi- nated and promoted by means of the system of setting forth the truth in the standards of this Church, nevertheless earnestly entreat all the ministers and members to watch the introduc- tion, from any quarter, of error in doctrine or in practice, lest Satan should get an advantage over us, and the Spirit of truth be provoked to withdraw." D, Page 168. DOWN AND CONNOR DIOCESE RETURNS. Subjoined is a selection froni the answers received to the queries addressed by the Bishop of Down, Connor, and Dro- more, to the clergy of his diocese, and referred to in the com- munications from his Lordship. APPENDIX. 401 I. " How has the revival operated in reference to your congrega- tion — the attendance at the Lord's table — or at your school-house or cottage lectures ? " " 1. I formerly had about twenty at a cottage lecture ; for the last ten weeks there has been an average- of 700 every Thursday evenmg at an open-air service. " 2. My congregation, which, before the commencement of the religious movement, averaged eighty, now numbers one hundred and twenty, the attendance at the Lord's table in proportion ; increased attention and devotion very remarkable ; all religious meetings crowded ; necessity obliges us to hold meetings in the open air. "3. Hundreds leave my church unable to get in. Com- munion three times the former average. "4. The effect of the attendance on every means of grace has been almost miraculous. The Sunday-morning service more than double — the evening service has been increased six- fold, and the communion quadrupled. " 5. Congregation increased. School-house lecture overflow- ing. A most solemn feeling and deep-seated earnestness char- acterising all. " 6. Several persons of the humbler class have lat3ly been observed in church who vv^ere not known to attend any place of worship." II. " Since the appearance of the revival^ have you observed any improvement in the habits of your people 2 " " 1. Decidedly less drunkenness — less violation of the sanctity of the Lord's-day. *' 2. A most marked improvement. Drunkenness and other notorious vices have alniost disappeared. In one large estab- lishment, the business of each day is commenced and ended with prayer. " 3. A total change for the better ; and the police have con- fessed they have little to do. " 4. It is most gratifying to observe the habit of reading the 2c 402 APPENDIX. Bible among families, where it was before totally neglected, now becoming so prominent. " 5, A reverence for religious subjects, and willingness to con- verse upon them. " 6. The habits of the people completely changed. Formerly drunkenness "was the prevailing habit, now sobriety. There had been a total neglect of family worship, it is now very gene- ral. " 7. In almost every house, and by the hedges, I find the Bible read. " 8. My parochial census of 1857 exhibited only seven families who had family w^orship; and, up to this date, I have given 314 forms of prayer for family Avorship to the heads of families soliciting them, and now, I believe, using them. " 9. Religion is the universal topic of conversation. " 10. The general aspect of the place is changed." It may here be stated, that, of the Episcopal ministers of the North of Ireland, the Rev. Charles Seaver of St John's, Belfast, was among the most earnest and successful in connexion with the revival movement. At an early period he came forw-ard, in his OAvn pulpit, with a vindication of its genuineness ; and sub- sequently, at the meeting of the Evangelical Alliance, his admir- able statement produced a deep impression. That paper has since been widely circulated, and has, doubtless, told with happy eJ9fect throughout the entire kingdom. Mr Seaver has through- out been joint-superintendent of the weekly union praj'er-meet- ing, conducted by the brethren of all evangelical denominations in Belfast. His visit to London, at the request of the committee of the Evangelical Alliance, did much to commend the move- ment in the metropolis and its vicinity. APPENDIX. 403 E. CONGREGATIONAL EETUBNS. The following tabular statement contains the substance of returns from three hundred and seven out of four hundred and sixty Ulster congregations in connexion with the General Assembly, (there are five hundred and twenty in all, North and South,) in reply to a circular issued in the month of December last. At that period, in most of the congregations referred to, there had been only one communion season subsequent to the revival. In such cases the returns do not by any means shew the full extent of increase to the membership of the Church consequent upon the movement. In a few instances only, in which an unusually large accession is recorded, as in some of the Belfast congregations, the additions to the Church are reckoned up to the 1st of April 1860. The names of some congregations are reluctantly omitted, no definite numbers being specified in the returns received from them. It is a strik- ing attestation to the extent of the movement, and the deep interest evinced in it, that such a mass of valuable statistics as the following table exhibits was furnished by ministers of the Presbyterian Church, not in obedience to any official require- ment, but solely as a contribution on their part to the present publication, for which it w^as notified that the information was desired. With reference to the cases of individuals formerly connected with the Roman Catholic Church, of which between three and four hundred are reported, it is to be observed that none are given but those of which a hopeful opinion is entertained in the several neighbourhoods with which they are connected. The following abstract shews the comparative number, both of congregations visited by the revival, and of individuals added to the Church in connexion with them, in the several counties of Ulster • — )4 APPENDIX. Antrim, . . 81 Congregations. 4353 Additional C Down, 69 2107 Deny, 36 1258 Tyrone, . . 42 1189 Armagh, 27 625 Donegal, 23 502 Monaghan, . 18 412 Cavan, , . 10 169 Fermanagh, 1 21 307 „ 10,636 In all the congregations tlirongliout the Church, many who cannot be reckoned in the above statement, inasmuch as they were nominally in communion, have, after a long neglect, been reunited in the fellowship of the Church. The increase above the average, frequently stated below, is largely to be attributed to the accessions from this class, and amounts to several thou- sands. Name of Congregation. 1 ll U u Facts and Observations. County Antrim. 1st Ahoghill, . . 2dAhoghm, . . 30 127 65 280 communicants above the average —202 added to the Church in 1859 — 700 hopefully awakened — From 8 in a family to 1 — From 80 years old and under— 700 Bibles and New Testaments, 200 Catechisms, and 40 Confessions of Faith sold— Stipend increased £40 — 8 Roman Catholics impressed, 5 of whom joined the Church ; another was baptized. Former average 15 — 6 Roman Catho- lics now connected with the con- gregation. APPEKDIX. 405 Name of Congregation. Bo Facts and Observations 3d Ahoghill, Ballycarry, Ballycastle, . Ballyclare, 1st Bally easton, 2d Ballyeaston, Ballinderry, . Ballylinney, . 1st Ballymenaj 3d Ballymena, 34 70 IGO 56 above average — One Rondan Catho- lic has joined the Church. [The parish church is about to be rebuilt and enlarged as a result of the revival.] 100 anxious inquirers in Bible class — 100 Reference Bibles Sold, and 5000 religious tracts and books — Prayer-meetings universal — 1000 in attendance in the several districts. 1 70 above average — attendance on public worship increased one-third — 56 under examination for com- A publican estimates his loss at £40 yearly by the revival — Another took down his signboard, 27th June, 90 over average — The candidates for communion subjected to a severe ordeal, requiring careful and exten- sive preparation — Many middle-aged and old persons, who had neglected the ordinance for many years, came forward voluntarily before the ses- sion to acknowledge their sin of neglect, stating that they did not feel at liberty to approach without having made such acknowledgment. 200 above average — Only 3 per cent of the awakened prostrated — Prayer- meetings pervade town and country — Some who had given over drink- ing have returned to it — Additional church accommodation required — 10 Roman Catholic cases and some Arians — The latter reported as the more hopeful. 406 APPENDIX. Name of Congregation. 1st Ballymoney, 2cl Ballymoney, 3d Ballymoney, Ballymire, . . 1st Ballyrashane, 2d Ballyrasliane. 100 in town and coun- try. Bally sillan, . Ballyweany, . Belfast, . . Albert Street, Alfred Street, e C3 =:; 30 Facts and Observations. 120 over average, several Romanists. 150 over average — Scarcely a family which has not experienced a revi- val — 6 Romanists a:Ided to the Church. 50 brought under the influence of the revival at the first meeting — Seve- ral families, once living in practical heathenism, noAv amongst the most regular, praj'erful, and pious in the congregation. il5 above average — All the members of the Church now observe family- worship, except 20 — Parties for- merly at variance, and possessed of such an angry spirit as to absent themselves from communion for 20 years, were at last communion to- gether, and now live in peace — 2 Roman Catholic cases. 100 above the average. 2 Romanists added. 4 new congregations and churches in progress— At a meeting lately held of the agents of the town mission, 1 1 in number, licentiates of the Pres- byterian Church, it was reported that all who had been hopefully im- pressed in their respective districts continued steadfast, save a Very few. Average at communion increased 850 per cent — 2 Romanists added. Few stricken, about 15, 11 of whom most promising and exemplary — Some of the young men much honoured as instruments in many districts of Ulster, and even in Scotland — Few families left unblest. APPENDIX. 407 Name of Congi-egation. Facts and Observations. Ballymacarrett; . Berry Street, College Street, Egliuton Street, Fishenvick Place, Great George's Street, . . . Liuenhall Street, May Street, . . Eosemary Street, Sinclair Seaman's, Townsend Street, 15 350 17 42 Q5 200 160 100 above average — Of the 70 added to the Church many are converts, and some far advanced in life. 1500 at the Sabbath schools — 21 Eo- manists hopefully awakened. 45 above average. The church enlarged by addition of 400 sittings — 1 Eoman Catholic, very decided. The weekly prayer-meeting, with diffi- culty sustained before, has an in- crease of from 300 to 500—200 cases of hopeful conversion, chiefly in daily and Sabbath schools, among the young, who have prayer-meet- ings among themselves — 800 at the Sabbath school — Several cases of conversion in members of the con- gregation when at watering-places last summer — 2 member of the Church have set agoing the erection of new churches, by donations of £1000 each and upwards — At pre- sent the revival is more healthy in the congregation than at any former period. The communion-roll doubled — Fresh instances of awakening reported of late. A.bout 100 families have joined the congregation- — Prayer -meeting for half-an-hour, held daily in the school- room, attended by the young women of the neighbouring factories (during dinner hour), many of whom have been hopefully awakened. 140 above average — 6 or 7 Eomanists — 2 Bible students, one of whom 408 APPENDIX. Name of Congregation. Townsend Street — continued. York Street, . . Billy, ; . . Brouglishane, Facts akd Observations. was the most intelligent of all the young communicants who have lately joined the Church. 33 80 above average — Great awakening, but no excitement — The late pastor, the Rev. David Hamilton, preached frequently in his district in the open air last summer — His labov;rs in season and out of season were, it is apprehended, a predisposing cause of his last illness, early in January 1 860. [In the Independent, Wesley- an, and Baptist chvirches of the town similar results were wit- nessed — The Episcopal churches most largely visited were Trinity Chvirch, St Paul's, St John's, (com- municants doubled,) the Magdalen, and Christ Church — In Trinity Church the congregation is over- flowing, and more than one-half communicants — The young of the congregation and schools meet in the school -house for prayer and reading the Word at eight o'clock every Sabbath morning, and four in the evening — 161 were lately con- firmed, almost all of whom have come to the Lord's table — Only Id were '•'stricken" cases — In Christ Church the physical manifestations were extremely few — 200 more par- took the communion on last Christ- mas-day than on the preceding.] 51 SO above average — 1 Roman Catholic. 140 An additional church in progress, £550 subscribed — Fresh appear- ances of awakening in March 1860 — Prayer - meetings abound — 20 Roman Catholics — 3 rebaptized.* See statement at the end. APPENDIX. 40^ Name of Congregation. 1 1 i Facts and Observations. Buckna, .... 18 70 200 above average — 1 Roman Ca- tholic in membership, and 3 or 4 attend. j Carncastle, . . . 4 40 80 above average — Former average of additional communicants 5 — Of about 200 awakened only 2 have gone back. Carnmoney, . . , 20 80 100 above average. 1st Carrickfergus, . 90 The men at the saltworks meet for prayer 700 feet vmder ground — In- stead of the large congregational meetings of last summer, many smaller ones. 2d CaiTickfergus, . 20 140 60 of the communicants married per- sons — 3 Roman Catholics. Cloughwater, . . 36 1st Coleraine, . . 51 77 above average — A large increase of examinants at present for com- munion. 2d Coleraine, . . 60 1 00 above average — Sale of Bibles and religious books wholly unprecedent- ed — The 15th of November having been set apart by the General Assem- bly as a day of thanksgiving for the revival, the ministers of the Estab- lishment, and of the Methodist, Bap- tist, and Independent Churches in Coleraine, all united in the observ- ance, the factories were stopped, and the places of business occupied by Protestants in the town were closed ; there were united prayer- meetings in the Town-Hall morning and evening, in addition to the ser- vices in the several houses of wor- ship. 3d Coleraiue, . . 75 410 APPENDIX. Name of Congregation. S5 5 ?! Facts and Observations. Connor, . . Croaglimore, Cullybcackey, Dervock, . . 1st Donegore, Drumreagh, 1st Dunboe, Dundrod, . Dunean, . . Dunloy, . . Dunluce, . . Finvoy, . . Glenarm, . . 10 12 10 127 30 105 100 14 14 30 The comnmnicants greatly elevated in tone and character — A network of prayer-meetings over the whole dis- trict. 2 hopeful Roman Catholic cases. 4 do. do. do. 60 above average. The young communicants under exa- mination for a year, hence no report of additions as yet. 2 Roman Catholic cases. 200 above average— 8 Romanists have joined the Church. 100 in Bible class — £14 worth of books sold by one individual — £250 of debt cleared off — No whisky or wine now presented in any house in the congregation — The "cburn" or har- vest-home was generally observed as a prayer-meeting — The "work" still going on — Large additions made to the minister's income, and hand- some gifts presented to him since the revival. 80 above average — Inquirers' class at- tended by 150. The work more prosperous than six months ago — 2 Roman Catholics, one of whom is a communicant. A few Roman Catholics, all most ex- emplary—The Countess of Antrim, whose castle adjoins, was away in England while the revival was in progress, and on her return, having heard much of it, resolved to visit a number of those who had been re- ported to have come under its in- fluence. She did so, and was fully satisfied the work was of God ; but, finding many of the young to whom APPENDIX. 411 Name of Congregation. Facts and Observations. Glenarm — co ntin ued. GlenwheiTy, . . 1st Islanclmagee, 2d Islandmagee Kilbride, . . . Killead, . . . 1st Killymurris, 2d Killymurris, 2d Kilraughts, . 1st Larne, . . instruction in Scripture truth was evidently naost desirable, she opened, in a school-room in the town conve- nient to her residence, a class for such persons for one hour in the evening one day in the week, and for this purpose sent them herself. 140 above average. 80 100 40 40 100 32 18 51 90 do. — 1 Eoman Catholic, do. — 1 do. do. do. 156 above average — From £30 to £40 worth of Bibles, &c., bought — Not a single backslider out of hundreds hopefully converted — A few Roman Catholics — The tendency is to ad- here to Calvinistic doctrine and Presbyterian polity. In the town of Larne a missionary is maintained by John Getty, Esq., a Christian gentleman, a native of the place, now a retired Belfast merchant, who has also erected two commodious mission houses, superintended by the missionary. In one of these is a Sab- bath-school teacher, who had been a Unitarian up to the period of the re- vival. In the other is one (also a teacher) who had before been a drunk- ard, a swearer, and a Sabbath-breaker — now a devoted Christian. Some of the children were Roman Catholics ; some were Unitarians. The most desirable premium a child can re- ceive is a Bible, or ISTew Testament with psalms. In the two mission houses, Sabbath-morning meetings have been held during the winter from 8 to 9 o'clock. 412 APPENDIX. Name of Congregation. ^ S Facts akd Observations. LylehiU, . Malone, Mosside, 2d Portglenone, 3d Portglenone, Portrush, . , , Raloo, . . . . Ramoan, . , . 2d Randalstown, Rasharkin, . . Roseyards, Templepatrick, County Down. 2d Anaghlone, . Anahilt, . . Annalong, Ardglas?, Ballyblack, . Ballycopeland, Ballydown, . Ballygowan, . 1st Ballynalnnch, 3d Ballynahiucli, Ballyroney, . . 16 20 90 64 54 8 36 S 20 54 70 42 30 above the average — 2 Roman Ca- tholics and 1 Unitarian family added to the Church. 30 above the average — 1 Roman Ca- tholic, 200 copies of James's '' Anxious In- Cjuirer " bought — 4 Roman Catho- lics joined. 40 above the average. 22 above the average — The first two missionary collections after the re- vival £20, former average of each £4. 1 20 above the average — 2 Roman Catholics. 40 above the average — 2 Roman Ca- tholics. 40 above the average— 3 Roman Ca- tholics. Commimicants attend two sessions before admission: 152 above average. 25 above average. Communicants doubled. 175 above average — The entire neigh- bourhood transformed. 200 above average. 66 above average — Several Roman Catholic cases. 165 above average — 6 Roman Catho- lics, of whom 3 regularly attend. APPENDIX. 413 Name of Congregation. 1st Bally waiter, Baubridge, . 1st Bangor, . 2d Boardmillg Brookvale, Carrowdore, Cargycreevy, Carrydufif, Castlereagh, Clonduff, . 1st Comber, 42 16 7 152 Facts and Observations. 100 above average — 400 average at- tendance at Sabbath-school — Dis- trict schools for boys attended by 150 — Evening school for girls, ex- clusively taught by young ladies, 1 00. 50 above average — 2 Romiua Catholics, 30 above average. 57 above average. 140 above average. 70 above average — Measures for additional church accommodation in progi'ess — Within two miles of the church 4 public-hovises closed through the revival — One family at the church gate not only closed their shop, but povired the whisky on the ground— No drink now at funerals — A Roman Catholic gentle- man, resident in England, travelling from Belfast on the coach one mar ket evenmg last summer, confessed to the Rev. S. Burnside, his fellow- traveller, that, although not be- lieving in the revival, he was greatly struck with the change in the appearance of the country peo- ple returning home ; in a distance of 5 miles he did not observe a single individual in the slightest degree intoxicated. 100 above average. 50 above average — 3 Roman Catholics. Doctrinal class all last summer at- tended by about 200, even during the busy season of harvest — The first missionary collection after the revival trebled — 1 Roman Catholic family joined in membership. 414 APPENDIX. c o II Name of Congregation. So at Facts and Observations. Coulig, .... 40 Douacloney, . . 50 above average. Dououghmore, . . 24 30 Only 1 prayer-meeting formerly — 100 giving bopeful evidence of conver- sion — Many anxious inquirers. 1st Dromara, , , 20 50 136 above average — 65 4 in Temperance Society — Several cases of Koman Ca- tbolic servants, and one whole family. 2d Dromara, . . 52 150 above average— 300 total ab- stainers — 6 Roman Catholics — 1 public-house closed — The drinking and dance at the harvest - homes supplanted by tea and prayer — The 50 or 60 praj^er-meetings in the parish attended by an average of 60 each. 1st Dromore, . . 8 100 above average. Drumbo, .... 60 100 above average — Some Roman Ca- tholics. Drumbanagher, . . 10 Drumgooland, . . 15 40 Drumlee, .... 9 Communion greatly increased — 1 Ro- man Catholic. Dmmlougli, . . . 6 31 120 above average. Dundonald, . . . 11 50 above average in communicants' class, at present (April 1860) 102. Garvagby, . . . 12 20 Gilford, .... 50 do. — 1 Roman Catholic, most steady. Glascar, .... 23 Groomsport, . . . 5 40 do.— 1 do. Kilkeel, .... 15 30 do. Kilkinamiarry, . . 15 12 1 Roman Catholic removed, but stead- fast. Killyleagh, . . . 100 above average. Killincby, . . . IG G7 200 above average — 2 Roman Ca- tholics—In this parish the excel- lent rector, the Hon. and Rev. H. Ward, has laboured most assidu- ously, and in co-operation with the Presbyterian minister, to advance the movement. APPENDIX. 415 $ ll Xame of Congregation. 1 11 Facts and Observations, Kilmore, .... 12 56 Communicants nearly doubled. Legacurry, . . . 50 above average. Leitrim, .... 12 27 2 Roman Catholics, most satisfactory. Lissara, .... 9 16 70 above average — 60 abstainers be- fore the revival, now 200 — 1 Roman Catholic, a married man, who is bringing up his family in the Pro- testant faith. Loughachray, . . 15 103 1 Roman Catholic family. Maghera hamlet, . 10 24 above average. Magherally, . . . 22 GO above average. Millisle, .... 3 25 Moira, 10 Morne, 12 69 150 do. Newmills, . . . 8 15 2 Roman Catholics. 1st Newry, . . , 30 above average — 1 Roman Catholic. 2d Newry, . . . 7 30 50 do. ] st Newtonards, 6 150 Regent Street, do., . 36 100 do. — 5 Roman Catholics; believe the number to be considerably larger. 4th ISTewtonards, . 17 Newtonbreda, . . Communicants for first time doubled — First case of awakening a Roman Catholic, very satisfactory. Portaferry, . . . 10 16 40 above average — Missionary collec- tions doubled — 20 prostrations in this neighbourhood — About one- tenth of these really awakened — only one such in the church, that of a strong, able-bodied man. Eafifery, .... 15 75 200 above average — 70 families added — 1 Roman Catholic, very decided. 1st Rathfriland, . 30 17 70 above average — 1 pubhc - house closed, 2 about to close — 1 Roman Catholic. 2d Rathfriland, . 10 20 above average — 1 Roman Catholic. 3d Rathfriland, . 18 36 do. 1 do. 1st Saintfield, . . 108 300 do. 2d Saintfield, . . 24 50 do. Scarva, .... 16 28 do. Ryans, 11 20 TuUylish, . . . 25 416 APPENDIX. Name of Congregation. County Derry. Ballyarnet, . . , Ballygoiiey, , . , Ballykelly, . Ballywillau, . Banagher, Bellagliy, . , 25 Facts and Observations. 85 above average — 4 Eoman Catholics. The first stricken, a Roman Catholic,, is learning to read, and regularly attending ordinances. 3 Roman Catholics seeking instruction and attending services. 2 Roman Catholics. 1 Roman Catholic. 61 above average. " You have heard of Bellaghy," says the Rev. Hugh Hunter. " It has long been noto- rious as a hot-bed of vice and sink of moral filthiness ; its people — with many honourable exceptions, no doubt — an outlawed, at least a law- less, rabble. Cockfighting, party rows, drunkenness, profane swear- ing, Sabbath desecration, neglect of ordinances, and such like, being the order of the daj^. There is now an amazing decrease of crime, and Ro- manists seem now to have exclusive possession of that field, although all the good that I expected during the excitement has not been realised. Many, however, have, so far as man can judge, undergone a saving change, and a very large number, probably the majority, have been brought to the Saviour without any physical suffering ; while in the case of most who have never been brought under the Spirit's influence, great reformation of character has taken place, and many, formerly stout- hearted in their sins, are now evi- APPENDIX. 417 Name of Congregation. Bellaghy — con tin ued. Boveedy, . . Boveva, . . CastledawsoB, ChurchtowD, . Claggin, . . Cumber, , . 1st Derry, 2d Derry, 3d Derry, Derramore, DraperstowR, Drumachose, 2d Dunboe, . Faughanvale, m ^ £ o g fi i r^u ^ 33 6 29 / 70 3 50 6 27 15 30 50 26 28 8 12 •2 26 7 28 25 20 50 Facts and Observatioxs. dently afraid to indulge in their former evil practices. The Roman- ists are also much more accessible than before," 2 Roman Catholics. 1 do. 120 above the average. 3 Roman Catholics. 1 do., keeping steady. 100 above average — 150 families ob- serving family worship — Several Roman Catholics. 100 above average — Several Roman Catholics. Many prayer-meetings, both congre- gational and united, in town and country. Though the intense feeling of the re- vival time has subsided, the good frviits remain. The prayer-meetings have been well kept up,notwithstand- ing the extreme severity of the win- ter; and, while the fervour of those who pray is somewhat abated, there is a vast improvement in the mode of expression, A number of females, also, have met for some time to read and pray. Scarcely a family but has been made a partaker of the grace of God. Many ''cases" might be cited — 1 Roman Catholic. 1800 Bibles, &c., disposed of— 8 Ro- man Catholic cases. 5 Roman Catholics. 150 above average — Church gi*eatly enlarged — 200 copies of "Anxious Inquirer " sold — Several Roman Ca- tholics reading the Scriptures. 2D 418 APPENDIX. Name of Congi-egation. 2d Garvagh^ 2d Gleudermot, Gortnessy, . 14 Largy, . . . 1st Kilrea, . Lecumplier, 32 26 Facts and Observations. 48 70 above average — Family worship all but universal — 2 persons baptized who were dissatisfied with the Ro- inish baptism — 2 other Roman Ca- tholic cases. The presence of the work of grace here is marked chiefly by the so- lemnity and reverence which per- vade our religious meetings, by the awakened and earnest attention to all the services of public and social worship, and by the manifest power true religion has upon the social in- tercourse and habits of the people." — 2 Roman Catholics. 2 Roman Catholics. 30 above average — The converts here evince a desire to " learn in silence " — No prostrations in the public ser- vices, although many such else- where — Few even of the " authenti- cated" evangelists allowed to speak at meetings — The attendance on the weekly union meeting four or five times greater now than ever — A wonderful improvement in general morals— The attention in the house of God has become something awful —The young believers greatly in advance of the old in faith and love, in tenderness of conscience and hu- mility ; they are swift to hear, slow to speak, and charitable in judging ; they would listen without ceasing to the story of the grace that saves — 3 Roman Catholics, steadfast for so far. The congregation so much increased that the church requires to be en- larged — District prayer-meetings, embracing the whole extent of the APPENDIX. 419 aj ai O 1 Name of Congregation. 1^ ^1 Facts and Observations. Lecumpher — congregation, held in the houses of continued. the rich and cottages of the poor — 3 Eoman Catholics. Macosquin, . . . 24 3 Roman Catholics, Maghera, . . 10 40 Greatly increased sale of Bibles, &c. Magherafelt, . . 26 50 above average — 5 or 6 Roman Catholics xmder instruction. Moneymore, 42 Myroe, .... 12 80 Persons attending worship who have not done so for years — 2 abandoned women stood up before the congre- gation, and voluntarily confessed their sins — 2 public-houses closed — 5 or 6 Roman Catholics 2d Xev/tonliiuavady, 7 GO 100 above average — For three weeks ev«ry night was spent in public prayer; more than 1000 often in at- tendance, and sometimes morning dawned before the ministers could leave — The converts continue stead- fastly to hold on their way — 5 or 6 Roman Catholic cases. Ringsend, . . . 20 50 above average. Saltersland, . . 23 Scriggan, . . . 18 3 Roman Catholic cases. Tobermore, . . . 40 County Tyro:-7e. Albany, .... 2 12 Isfc Ardstraw, . . 27 oO above average. 2d Ardstraw, , . 6 18 Aughnacloy, . . 4 54 Sabbath-school trebled — Several hun- dreds of Bibles and religious books sold — 2 Roman Catholics — "The tidings from America," says the Rev. Mr M'llvaine, " and your own visit in January 1859, tended mate- rially, under God's blessing, to pre- pare the way. We have had no 420 APPENDIX. Name of Congregation. Augliiiacloy- contimied. Ballygawley, Ballymagraiie, Ballyreagh, . Brio-h, . . . Castlecaulfield. 1st Castlederg, . 2d Castlederg, . Claggan . . . Clenanees, Upper, Clenanees, Lower, Cloglierney, . . 1st Cookstown, . 2d Cookstown^ . 3d Cookstown, . Crossroads, . . 20 56 31 Facts and Observations. extraordinary occurrences, but I have met with many most hopeful cases of conversion, and which have been followed by a holy and con- sistent life." Attendance on public worship doubled. Two 70 years old; 2 others, a grand- father and a grandmother, and 6 married persons, among those who have joined the Church — 15 the former average — Many awakened who were not physically affected — 6 Romanists, 3 have joined, the others attend on instruction. Greater increase than for the last twelve years — Several Roman Ca- tholic cases, but the majority co- erced by persecution, 4 steadfast — A weekly union meeting conducted by the curate and Presbyterian minister, sometimes 700 present — At the united prayer-meeting, on the 9th January, conducted by Epis copalian, Methodist, and Presby terian ministers, 800 present, in eluding many of the upper u above average — 1 Roman Catholic. Family worship increased fivefold — 1 Roman Catholic. Communion increased one-tenth. About 60 above average. The praj^er-meetings well attended, notwithstanding snow-storms and slippery roads during the winter, APPENDIX. 421 Name of Congregation. Crossroads- continued. Douglas, . . 1st Duiigannon, Dromore, Drumquin, Facts and Observations 40 the most dangerous to man and beast for 20 years — Considerable social discomfort in consequence of high rents, but a large measure of spiritual prosperity. 2 Roman Catholics. The rector and the Presbyterian min- ister conducted the first meeting in connexion vnth. that movement — 5 was the foi'mer average of young communicants — At the late prepara- tory examination many Avere deeply moved — 1 Roman Catholic — " The awakening," says the Rev. J. R. Dill, " has effected a most marked and marvellous change in this parish. During a ministry of 25 years, I be- held but little fruit — I could find few, very few, of whom I entertained a good hope that they were converted. Now, blessed be God, there are many, changed in heart and reformed in life, who have been 'turned from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan vmto God.' Prayer- meetings (well attended) are now conducted in almost every district ; and I never witnessed anything like the deep spiritual influence, the earnestness, the prayerful spirit — indeed, the Jacob-like wrestling with God in all these meetings. Formerly, I could hardly get an individual to assist in conducting a prayer-meeting; now I can get numbers willing to speak for Christ, and to pray ; and their prayers are not the words of the lip, but the very breathings of their hearts." I Roman Catholic. 422 APPENDIX. Name of Congi-ogation. EsrlisL. Fintona, . Gillysfoole'x Glenell}^ '. Gortin. 30 Facts and Oesekvations. 2 Roman Catholics — " The whole aspect of the country changed — people serious, solemn, temperate, and generally awakened in regard to their spiritual condition. The clergy of the Established Church opposed — teaching the people that it was a dangerous disease with which the country was visited, and exhorting their flocks to keep away from the meetings. Of the Presbyterian Church, too, some of the more bigoted have all along been secretly opposing themselves to anything that savours of pro- gress, but others are most zealous in the cause." 30 above average. 50 above average. 56 above average — 1 Roman Catholic. 45 above average — 5 Roman Catholics — 250 added to the abstinence list — The innkeepers have almost no thing to do — Scarcely a Protestant drinks— 10,000 tracts distributed and many religious books— Persons of all ages, from 5 to 82 years, awakened — " At the beg-inning of the revival, one, (a Primitive Me- thodist,) asked to tell his experience, and he jvist related a dream he had. I saw," says the Rev. M. Logan, "that such exhibitions wo^^ld not favour scriptural Christianity, and at once expressed my disapproba- tion, and we have had notliing of the kind since. Most of those who have got peace in believing say the old bodily lusts are subdued within them. Almost all have abandoned the use of tobacco as well as ardent spirits, and they care little about what food thev eat." I APPENDIX. 423 •1 Is 1? Name of Congregation, S £ H Facts and Observatioits. Killetur, .... 8 30 above average — 2 Eoman Catholics. Leckpatrick, , . 7 10 50 above average. Minterburn, . . . 10 75 100 above average — 7 Eoman Catho- lics, of whom 3 give decided evi- dence of a saving change 1st Newtonstewart, 9 20 above average — No backslider known. 2d Xewtonstewart, 12 2 Eoman Catholics impressed, but prevented from attending meet- Orritor, .... 19 ings. 39 above average — 1 Eoman Catholic. Pomeroy, . . . >7 / 4 Sandholes, . . . 9 46 78 above average — Several Eoman Catholics steadfast amid bitter per- secution. Six-mile-cross, . . 16 40 67 above average — 1 Eoman Catholic very hopeful. 1st Stewartstown, . 7 35 above average — A publican has given up the trade — 1 Eoman Catho- lic. 2d Stewartstown, . 28 1st Strabane, . . 10 35 70 above average. 2d Strabane, . . 10 16 30 above average. Urnej, .... 4 20 1 Eoman Catholic. County Aemagh. Ahorey, .... 2 14 4 cases of Eoman Catholics con- verted. 2d Armagh, \ 30 15 3d Armagh, j 50 Armaghbrague, 3 More additions to the church than during the five previous years. Bessbrook, . . . 7 34 3 Eoman Catholic cases. Cladymore, . . , 7 20 3 Eoman Catholic cases, hopeful. Clare, 3 53 Clarksbridge, , . 10 17 Cremore, . , . 2 20 424 APPENDIX. a s- Name of Congregation. PL, 5 2 Facts and Observations. 1st Drumbanagiier, 12 More good done in the last few months than during a ministry of half a century in ordinary times — The steward and gardener at Drum- banaglier Castle hold a prayer-meet- ing for 20 minutes at the hours of breakfast and dinner daily, with happiest effect — 1 Roman Catholic. Drumhiilar}^, , . 16 Drumminis^ , . . 8 1st Keady, . . . 9 50 2d Keady, . . . 6 22 Kingsmill, . . . 6 22 4 Roman Catholic cases, steady. Knappagh, . . . 4 12 2 Roman Catholics believed to be savingly converted. Lurgan, .... 20 70 A town missionary and colporteur employed, and a new Presbyterian church about to be erected. Marketlull, . . . 5 36 Middletown, . . . 7 Mountnorris^ . . 15 Portadown, . . . 6 36 Poyntzpass, . . . 9 15 Eedrock, .... 12 27 1 Roman Catholic girl, who has en- dured much persecution. Taudi-agee, . . . 10 Tartaraghan, . . 5 17 Of the many hopefully impressed very few stricken— The majority found peace in their own homes — Bibles, &c., sold to the value of £14. Tassagh, .... 4 7 Tullyallen, . . . 25 Q Roman Catholics, 3 of whom are steadfast. County DonegxVL. Alt, 3 16 Buncrana, . . . 5 16 In a congregation of only 55 families, 40 persons are regarded as. savingly APPENDIX. 425 1 p-43 03 ." -fcj Name of Congregation. 1 S2 ""1 Facts ano Observations. Buncrana — coJitin ucd. impressed, 12 being heads of fami- lies—Between 20 and 30 others under concern, one 80 years of age — £400 subscribed for a new church. Burt, 70 3 Roman Catholics, all remarkable cases. Carndonagh, . , . 20 Carnone, .... 9 Convoy, .... 7 38 Crossroads, . . , 8 13 Four-fifths maintain family worship— 1 Roman Catholic hopeful. Donoughmore, . . IS 45 100 above average — 2 Roman Catho- lics — Missionary collections and con- tributions to Bible Society doubled. Fahan, .... 6 4 2 Roman Catholics — 1 went to Scot- land to escape persecution. Farnet, .... 6 30 hopefully converted — No prostra- tions. Kilmacreuan, 15 The awakening commenced imme- diately on the ministei-'s return after the meeting of Assembly. Knowhead, . . 8 31 1 Roman Catholic. 1st Letterkenny, . 17 50 above average — 1 Roman CathoUc. 2d Letterkenny, 20 above average. Malin, 3 25 Persons awakened from 10 to 83 years — 6 RoiBlan Catholics. Monreagh, . . 12 51 Young females and boys sometimes conduct family worship — 4 Roman Catholics. Newtoncunningham, 3 27 50 above average. 1st Raphoe, . . 10 22 2d Ramelton, . . 33 Upwards of 100 hopefully awakened — The services conducted almost exclusively by ministers — Very few cases of physical prostration — Many led to cry for mercy through mere sympathy, or from ignorance, or thinking it necessaiy — The con- verted most anxious to bring others to Christ — Almost all who had 426 APPENDIX. Name of Congregation. 2d Ramelton- contiriued. 3d Ramelton, 1st Eay, , . 2dRf Trenta, S5 IS 24 Facts and Observations. great joy passed subsequently' through a state of mental darkness — The converted chiefly among the young, especially members of the Bible-class, all of whom good hope entertained, continue steadfast unto this day — Those who were awak- ened, but not converted, returning to their former state of iudifiference. " To pronovmce many cases of nervous excitement that I have seen," says Dr Rentoul, the Presbyterian mini- ster, *' as some have done, cases of real conversion, is great presump- tion, and extremely dangerous. The only apology is that the phenomena are little understood by the masses who have never studied the wonder- iv,\ mechanism of the human frame." 'JO over average — In the two congre- gations of Ray there are 11 prayer- meetings — Roman Catholics attend- ed the meetings, but were prevented by the priests in consequence of conversions reported elsewhere — The movement did not commence here till October. The congregation not very large — 38 eases of conviction of sin, all hope- ful; one remai-kable, being that of an aged female, who for 23 years was never in a house of worship, and a great worldling ; she continue* to adorn her profession — There are two children's prayer-meetings con- ducted by young persons, scarcely above 12 years of age, and even younger — No difficulty now in get- ting persons to take part in religious e:5:ercises, APPENDIX. 427 Name of Congregation. County Monaghan. 1st Bally bay, , . So 2d Ballybay; Broomfield, Cahans, . 26 Facts and Observations. 30 above average — The power of the Spirit most marked among the care- less, the profane, and the intempe- rate ; young men known as " wild " j have been turned from the error of their ways — ^The work most mani- fest amongst those whose ages range from 15 to 20, also among the ^)oor, and those lying beyond the influ- ence of ordinances — One was at public worship lately who had not been seen there for 20 years — Those ! awakened continue steadfast — The united prayer-meetings almost as well attended as in more exciting times. " The doctrines of the gos- pel," says the Rev. J. G. Smith, " are being more adorned by master and servant, by parents and chil- dren, and in the business transac- tions between man and man ; glaring vices have been dethroned, and the demon of intemperance has been chained up ; boisterous spirits have been tamed, and turned into men of peaceful bearing ; and the whole community has felt the majesty of God and His presence in the land." 75 above average — A very beneficial change observable in the general habits of the community — 2 Roman Catholics. The commimion dispensed when the revival movement had Httle more than commenced. 60 copies of " Confession of Faith " disposed of, and other religious books — 5 Roman Catholic cases ; 3. removed, 2 still attend. 428 APPENDIX. Name of Congregation. 2d Castleblayney, Carrickmacross, 1st Contibret, Corlea, . . . Grieve, . . . Derryvalley, , 1st Drunij 2d Drum, Drumkeen, , Gleunan, . Monaglian, , 10 16 2 4 3 11 15 6 8 3 43 20 84 5 55 5 IG 7 30 Facts and Observations. 50 above average — £11 worth of Bibles, &c., sold — The excitement abated, but the work continues — A few Roman Catholics brought under conviction, but soon removed ; 1 hopefully converted. 20 above average — Family worship general — Attendance on ordinances doubled — " Incalculable good ' effected. Now rare to see a person intoxicated. The revival, though " young " here, has accomplished a happy change. 2 Roman Catholics — The prayer-meet- ings often thronged to inconveni- ence in the rural districts. 100 above average — Family worship observed by 40 families for one be- fore — 1 Roman Catholic. 4 Roman Catholics, out of a number impressed, remain steadfast. 150 persons have become total ab- stainers — 1 Roman Catholic. Few prostrations, and these the least promising, though some satisfactory — Several young men have already commenced to study for the mini- stry as the result here, and are making great progress — The " re- vived " all total abstainers — Some who covild not read are diligently learning — 200 of the " Anxious In- quirer " and 150 "Christian Pro- gress " sold in a few weeks — In the prison but one Presbyterian, a re- spectable poor woman, whose mind gave way during the revival — Only 3 or 4 cases of falling off — Delight- ful harmony among all Protestant denominations. I APPENDIX 429 1 ll Name of Congregation. 1 P Facts" AND Observations. Newbliss, .... 30 Tippling at fairs and markets given over to a large extent by Pro- testants. Smithborough, . . 4 15 30 above average. Stonebridge, . . . 4 40 100 do. County Cavan. 1st Bailieborough, . 7 48 Great demand for religious books — The Commentaries of Scott and Henry find ready sale — Many Eoman Cathohcs impressed. 2d Bailieborough, . 7 18 40 above average. Ballyjamesduff, . . 6 17 100 copies of "Anxious Inquirer" sold — Attendance on public worship in- creased fotirfold. Ballasis, .... 6 5 20 above average. Cavan, 3 4 Greater increase in family worship than duiing last 8 years. 1st Cootehill, . . 2 40 2d Cootehill, . . 20 40 above average. Drutnkeeran, . . 6 17 The Roman Catholics bitterly op- posed, in some instances using vio- lence — 4 hopefully changed. Killesandra, . . . Great awakening in this district. Shercock, .... Do. — Whisky - drinking and accom- panying vices greatly decreased. Pettigo, County Fer- managh, . . . 4 21 Do. do. The following statement, dated 26tli April 1860, by the Rev. Archibald Robinson, with respect to the important district of Broughshane, in County Antrim, although it came late for insertion in its proper place, is too valuable to be omitted. It 430 APPENDIX. is the only paper which Mr Kobinson has ever written on the subject, and in explanation of the delay of its transmission the following will be regarded as sufficient : — " My time is almost wholly occupied with congregational work. You may have some idea of this when I tell you that, irrespective of other duties and labours, I have visited over six hundred famihes since the beginning of the present year. Besides, I have a feeling, perhaps a wrong one, against writing or speaking de- cisively on the particulars and details of the revival movement. I deem it wise to let the rough and trying duties of life grate upon the new surface, and bring out the characters of men a little before we lift a note of triumph about their conversion. There can be little doubt that many have had but the white heat of religion, and have only endured for a season." After such a preamble, the narrative which follows will be perused with peculiar interest : — " The first case of awakening here was of a very peculiar and solemn kind. It was in 1858. It was that of a man who had been a drunkard. He was drunk the week before. In the middle of the night he awoke and roused the family out of their beds — said he had had a dream — an angel came and told him to be up and busy praying for mercy, for he would die at one o'clock, or, if not at one, decidedly at four o'clock next day. He dressed, and gave himself up entirely to reading and prayer. People thought he was mad — in delirium tremens. He refused all solicitations to induce him to drink — went about wringing his hands and entreating mercy, till about one o'clock — went to his bed, and died happy about four ! " It was not, however, till May 1859, just before the meeting of Synod, that we were visited with a most gracious and abun- dant outpouring of the Holy Spirit, We had been praying for and expecting some such precious blessing, but were, notwith- standing, taken by surprise, so sudden, powerful, and extraordi- nary were the manifestations of the Spirit's presence. Persons of every sliade of temperament and character were mysteriously affected, overpovrered, prostrated, and made to pour out the most thrilling agonising cries for mercy. Most of those thus t APPENDIX. 431 impressed and awakened found peace and comfort in a very- short space of time, and then their countenances shone with a sweetness and glory beyond description. Very many of them received a marvellous fluency and power of prayer. A hatred of sin, a love for the Saviour, a zeal for His cause, an affection for one another, and an anxiety about perishing sinners, took absolute possession of their hearts, and literally ruled and governed their actions. For about six weeks almost all agri- cultural operations, and indeed every kind of secular employ- ment, were suspended, no man being able to think of or attend to anything but the interests of his soul. Night and day the sound of praise and prayer never ceased to float upon the air. An overwhelmmg sense of awe and terror held in check the boldest sinners, while thousands who till now had lived as if eternity were a priestly fiction seemed now for the first time to realise its truth and presence, and to feel as if the end of all things was at hand. I should say about one thousand people were suddenly, sensibly, and powerfully impressed and awaken- ed. Fully one half of this number, if not more, have profited by their experience, and are now as fair and hopeful cases of conversion as one could well desire, while not less than five hundred were silently, gradually, and without observation brought, I may say, from death unto life, or from a state of stupor and coldness into a state of activity and warmth, and are now rejoicing in the peace that passeth understanding. Not less than twenty Roman Catholics came under the power of the truth, and were made to acknowledge the errors of the Church of Rome. Three of these were rebaptized at their own urgent request, and afterwards admitted to the Lord's Supper. The others still attend the prayer-meetings, and now and again the public worship of the sanctuary, " In one district of country almost all the matrons within an area of more than two miles were graciously visited and con- verted in the most satisfactory and conclusive manner, if we can so speak about another's conversion at all. These women have exercised a mighty influence on their famihes and neigh- bourhood ; and if one wishes to see the religion of the Cross in 432 APPENDIX. her loveliest features, in the simplicity, beauty, and power of primitive times, he has but to pay this district a visit and see and hear for himself. I have no doubt he will return, saying, as the Queen of Sheba, that the half has not been told him. " The gift of prayer bestowed on these matrons is beyond conception, and certainly it is not left to rust. They have a prayer-meeting of their own— none but females being admitted —the exercises of which are praise, prayer, and reading the Scriptures without note or comment. This meeting has tended greatly to fan the flame of love in their own hearts, and kindle it in others who come. We have many such female prayer- meetings, and I am satisfied of their utility. "About the month of August the physical features of the revival in a great measure passed away, but we had abundant evidence that the work of the Lord was still going on, more silently, but as progressively as ever. The Holy Ghost, we rejoice to say, has not been as a wayfaring man with us. His gracious operations have not as yet ceased. From time to time we have been constrained to note unmistakable signs of His presence and power. Seldom does a week elapse without some groping, hoping, praying soul finding Christ, and pardon, and peace in a way more or less marked and visible. Frequently our prayer-meetings have experienced a sudden, mysterious, overpowering impulse, swaying the whole assembly as one man, and leaving all weeping, praying, rejoicing. Men have felt as if the Lord had breathed upon them. They were first affected with awe and fear— then they were bathed in tears — then filled with love unspeakable. Such a scene as this occur- red about a month ago in the midst of the ordinary services of the Sabbath. " True and undefiled religion has received a mighty impetus here by the revival. Since May 1859 it has been progressing in the most satisfactory and cheering manner. Never in the experience of the oldest members of our church were the spiritual interests of the people of this parish so far advanced and so promising. Without any fear of exaggeration or dis- appointment I may say we can count true and decided cases of APPENDIX. , 433 conversion, not by tens, not by fifties, but by hundreds. The house of God is filled, Sabbcath after Sabbath, by an overflowing congregation of anxious worshippers. Temporary seats occupy the passages, and these are crowded, and many are content to stand at the door during the whole serAice. The very counte- nances of the worshippers declare the anxious and the happy feelings they possess, some seeming to say, ' Sir, we would see Jesus,' and others, ' Ave have tasted, and are now come to drink — we have found Him whom our souls love, and He is indeed precious.' The thirst of the young for Sabbath-school instruc- tion is intense and insatiable. Not less than fourteen hundred children attend every Sabbath morning desiring the sincere milk of the Word, while my own class averages some eighty young men and women. We are reading the 'Confession of Faith,' and have circulated through the congregation some two hundred and fifty copies of it, with about an equal number of ' Patterson's Shorter Catechism.' Social meetings for prayer, reading the Scriptures, and exhortation, are held throughout the parish, each district having its own prayer-meeting, and each prayer-meeting its own staff of conductors. No person is allowed to engage in the services unless approved of by this bench of managers. These meetings are attended by the whole population, with very few exceptions — young and old, rich and poor, Episcopalian and Roman Catholic taking pleasure in listening to the simple prayers and earnest exhortations of their Presbyterian neighbours. The interest in them is still well sustained, and in the darkest, fiercest nights of winter, and now in the busiest days of seed-time, the number of those who meet together to thank and praise the Lord has not diminished. " Previous to 1859 the voice of family prayer was seldom heard. Urgent appeals from the pulpit to erect a family altar were unheeded. Now family worship is rather the rule than the exception. There is a marked improvement in the public morals of the community. Men are ashamed of doings that formerly were considered as things of course. Two public- houses have been obliged to close. The owners of others have assured me their trade is gone, and two more intimated their 2E 434 APPENDIX. intention not to renew the licence. One of tliem said it was unsafe to himself and injurious to others. A deceased publican told him, he said, ' that it was a cursed trade ; that he knew ' many in it, and, with two exceptions, he never knew one but the devil got a hold of, and these two had to give up and run, ' or he would have gotten them also.' Sabbath desecration, profane swearing, drunkenness, uncleanness, unseemly strife, and such like sins, are much abated and decreased, not one instance for every five Ave had in previous years ; while tem- perance, meekness, brotherly kindness, a holy reverence for the name and glory of God, have started into new life, and are putting forth new vigour. The Bible is the book of constant study. Many carry it about with them and read it by the way- side, or at intervals in their labour, and refer to it for the settlement of every disputed point. Two of our National School-houses have been enlarged, in order to make them capable of accommodating the prayer-meetings, and we have subscribed about £550 for a new church. " It has been said that God employed lay agency as the instru- mentality for introducing the revival ; and some, assuming this as a fact, have attributed much, if not all, of this movement to the heated atmosphere and the exciting addresses and prayers of revival meetings. In opposition to all this, I can testify that on one evening, in three distinct localities, miles separated from one another, and by three distinct methods of operation, the religious awakening of 1859 manifested itself among us, and but one of these had any connexion at all with revival speakers or meetings ; while weeks and months previous to this, before lay agency was heard of, either here or elsewhere, there were three instances of awakening as extraordinary, serious, and hopeful as any that have since been noticed that I am aware of. The history of these is interesting, but too tedious to relate. "It has been said that lay agency has don.e more harm than good in the successful promotion of revival work. My experience is the very reverse. I have seen indisputable proof that the Lord greatly honoured and blessed the zealous self- APPENDIX. 436 denying efibrts of the Christian people. He toiidiied their hearts, opened their mouths, and then rewarded their labours. Here they have been most useful auxiliaries to the ministry, and through their aid an amount of work has been overtaken which no half-dozen ministers could have performed. These young men deserve the highest praise, and I bear this testimony, that I have seen literally nothing of that overweening conceit and spiritual pride, so natural and so much feared by some good men. " It was said the Church would be inundated by a very deluge of heresies, as the fruit of such promiscuous and uneducated exhortation. I know of no place where exhortation by unedu- cated men (but men with warm glowing hearts, who had received the truth in the love of it, who were fresh from the agonies of conviction, and in many cases from the throes of the new birth) was more encouraged and practised than here, and yet we have been troubled with no heresies, but are much more conversant with the Bible, much more orthodox and Calvinistic than ever we were." Now for a few facts : — "On the 12th of July the Orangemen of the district asked me to preach them a sermon ; about four thousand assembled in the open air without beat of drum or any insignia of their order, and after engaging in religious exercises, returned peace- ably to their homes, no drink and no disorder appearing among them. On the Broughshane June fair-day, a band of strolling- players as usual made their appearance ; a prayer-meeting was immediately convened opposite their showy platform. The players had but two visitors in the persons of two Roman Catholic policemen. The business of the fair was summed up by a prayer-meeting of not less than five thousand people. " I saw a young girl, in gTeat distress about her soul, weeping bitterly ; her mother stood by and said, ' Oh, dear, why do you take on so ? ' The girl threw the shawl from her shoulders, dug her long bony fingers into the flesh of her naked bosom, and cried out, with bated breath, 'It's sin, sin, sin, cursed sin, here. The mother, 'Oh, no, you were always a good girl.' ' Mother,' said 436 APPENDIX. the girl, ' don't talk that way to me ; I 'm tempted sorely enough to think I 'm not so bad, but oh, I am bad, very bad ; oh, dear me, what a great sinner I am ; Lord Jesus, have mercy on a poor, wicked, guilty wretch.' A young woman was forbidden by her employer — a minister of the Church of England — to go to the prayer-meeting, but if she was very anxious she might go down the back "VA^ay and listen to what was said, through the wall of the churchyard where the meeting was held. That night she was awakened, and found peace. Next day the minister re- buked her, saying, 'How's this? did I not command you not to go there r She replied, 'Yes, sir; but you said I might go down the back way, and God found me by the back way as well as if I had gone by the front way.' " A lady remarked, that she thought the presence of the Lord was very near to her ; she almost felt as if God was in the air beside her. A man, at the close of one of our prayer-meetings, asked us to remember a poor stranger from Dungannon, who was in the midst of us, and anxious about his soul. Next night he came back and told us that he came to see the work of the Lord, and had found the Lord himself : ' and this,' said he, ' was the way I found Him : I went up to my own little room, and took my Bible, and then went down on my knees and prayed over what I had read, and then read again, and then again prayed, and this is what I said in my prayer : Thou art a great God, and I am a poor sinner ; I would come to Thee, but I have no offer- ing to bring, no sacrifice to present, and Thou- wilt not accept me without a sacrifice ; O Lord Jesus, Thou hast a sacrifice ; Thou hast offered Thyself a sacrifice ; oh, present Thyself before the Father for me, and take me by the hand and lead me to Him, and make peace between us by the blood of Thy cross. ' And then,' said he, 'I felt a movement in my soul, and the Saviour came and took me near, and I found there was peace between my Father and me ; and now I am so happy.' " A young man was passing along the way one day. and heard voices on the other side of the dyke. He looked and listened ; three children were there, and one was in the exercise of prayer ; when one finished another began ; tlic third boy said he could APPENDIX. 437 not pray, caiid when urged, burst into tears ; liis two companions put his hands together, and said, ' Pray, mon ; try it, if it be only the publican's prayer; say, God be merciful to me a sinner, and that will do.' The boy repeated the words, Avhen one of the others said, ' There, now, may be that was the best prayer of the three.' " A social tea-party met one night in a farmer's house. His wife, a very zealous Christian, felt that one of the guests had no right feelings about his precious soul. Something said to her she must not let this man away without faithfully warning him to seek the Lord. She retired to her closet and inquired of God what He would have her to do, but no plan was suggested to her. There was family worship ; she felt the prayer w^as cold and not sufficiently pointed to warn her friend, about whom she was so suddenly interested. Just as they were all rising up from their knees, she could restrain her anxious feelings no longer, and, though contrary to her notions of female delicacy and duty, she burst forth in the most earnest and impassioned supplications, throwing out such warnings, and imploring such mercy for the careless, thoughtless ones of the number, as not only relieved her ow^n breast of a burden, but sent a thrill to the heart of him for whom she felt so strongly. "A poor man, after finding peace, said, 'Yesterday I was a poor, lone, desolate, friendless creature, caring for no one, and no one caring for me, without father or mother, house or friend ; this day I am rich and happy, and would not exchange places with the Queen on the throne, for God is my Father, Christ Jesus is my Brother and Master, Heaven is my home, and all God's people are my friends.' " THE END. LLLANTYNK and COilPASY, PRIKTKHS, lODINHI-Kc; H. Just published, crown Svo, 4d., Religion in Everything: An Address Dedicated to those Converted in the Great Ulster Revival of 1859-60. By the Rev. J. M. KiLLEN, M.A., Author of "Our Friends in Heaven," &c. &c. Just published, foolscap Svo, sewed, price 6d. , Kevival Lessons. By the Rev. J. W. Alexander, D.D., New York. "The whole are charactei-ised by maturity of view, simplicity of expi-ession, and afifectionate earnestness of spirit." — Family Treasury. Foolscap Svo, cloth, price 2s., Hymns and Poems. By the Rev. J. C. 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" No one can read his book without admiring and respecting him as a fresh and bris^inal thinker and writer." — British and Foreign EcangelicaJ Review. " . . . . We know not whether to admire more the ability with which the views are expounded, or the spirit in which thej" are urged." — United Pretibi/terian Magazine. BY THE SAME AUTHOR. In crown Svo, cloth, i^rice 7s. 6d., CHRISTIAN ERRORS INFIDEL ARGUMENTS; or, Seven Dialogues, Suggested by the Burnett Treatises, the Evan- gelical Alliance Prize Essay, and other Apologetics. "The argument is throughout conducted in a most able manner— power of grasp and fineness of touch being singularly combined," — North British Review. Enlarged Edition, crown Svo, cloth, price 6s., OUTLINES OF DISCOURSES, Doctrinal and Expository. By the late Rev. James Stewart, Minister of Free South Church, Aberdeen. 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