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SHOWERS OF BLESSING 
 
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 SELECTED 
 
 Jfram t\t Qtrnxnl Eitlr nt\tx Wxitinp 
 
 OF THE 
 
 REV. JAMES CAUGHEY; 
 
 CONTAINING 
 
 fctfST STIRRING SCENES AND INCIDENTS, DURING GREAT REVIVALS IN 
 
 BIRMINGHAM, CHESTERFIELD, MACCLESFIELD, AND OTHER PLACES 
 
 IN ENGLAND, UNDER HIS MINISTRY; SEVERAL OF MR. 
 
 CAUGHEY'S AWAKENING ADDRESSES AND SERMONS; 
 
 THOUGHTS ON HOLINESS; NOTES OF PERSONAL 
 
 EXPERIENCE, AND OBSERVATIONS UPON 
 
 PERSONS AND PLACES VISITED. 
 
 •And I will make them, and the places round about my lull, a blessing ; and I will cause the shoteet 
 to come down in his season: there shall be showers of blessing." Ezek. xxxiv. 26. 
 
 SIXTH THOUSAND. 
 
 BOSTON: 
 FOR SALE BY J. P. MAGEE, 
 
 AND AT ALL TZE 
 
 METHODIST BOOK DEPOSITORIES IN THE U. STATES AND CANADA. 
 
 18 60. 
 
13^3785- 
 18£0 
 
 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the yeai 1357, by 
 
 JAMES CAUGHEY & R. W. ALLEN, 
 
 Id too Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Masiachasett* 
 
 t from 
 Judge and Mrs. Isaac R. Hftt 
 Nov. 17, 1831 
 
 Btereotyped by 
 
 HOBART & ROBBINS, 
 
 New England Type and Stereotype Foundery, 
 
 BOSTON. 
 
 Rand and Atci-t, Printers, 3 CornhilL 
 
EDITOR'S PREFACE. 
 
 We pidsent the religious public with another volume, 
 unfolding and illustrating the wonderful success of Mr. 
 Caughey's labors in his revival efforts. It records the 
 events, incidents, and results, of one of the most remarkable 
 revivals of modern times — the revival in Birmingham, 
 England. It also presents the result of his labors in several 
 other places. Descriptions of several places he visited — the 
 scenes of his revival labors — are given in his peculiarly 
 interesting style. Several of his revival sermons and 
 addresses are given. These, by many, will be regarded as 
 the most interesting part of the volume. We think it will 
 be found, in every respect, as interesting and profitable as 
 either of his other works ; and, should it find as many read- 
 ers, will undoubtedly accomplish as much good. 
 
 The sale of Mr. Caughey's works has been unprecedented 
 in the history of religious literature in this country. In six 
 years, about seventy thousand volumes have been sold. The 
 good they have done is immense. We trust the present 
 volume will be made a blessing to thousands ! That many 
 a sinner may be turned from the error of his way to serve 
 the Lord, and that multitudes of God's people may be led to 
 the highest attainments of Christian experience, by reading 
 its thrilling pages, is the earnest prayer of the editor. 
 
 R. W. A. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Invited to Birmingham (England) — Health in activity — Goole visited - A charac- 
 ter — Sudden death — Visits Armin — Huddersfield — London — Returns to Shef- 
 field — A successful Sabbath — Home yearnings —The will of God, 13 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 SHEFFIELD. 
 
 The metropolis of cutlery — Scenery — Public buildings — Cholera Mount — Mont- 
 gomery, the poet — A visit to Wharncliff— Trade of Sheffield, 20 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 EXCURSIONS. 
 
 Haddon Hall — The old clock — A Roman altar — The " Keep " penalty — The gem 
 of Haddon — Loneliness and decay — A sigh to the past — Chatsworth — The park 
 — The palace — Carvings in wood — The conservatory — Hobbes, the infidel — A 
 surly motto — His death-scene — Derbyshire moors — A touching story, 35 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 AN EXCURSION. 
 
 Hathersage — Grave of " Little John " — A thunder-storm — Peak's Hole Cavem — 
 Entrance — Interior — The Cimmerian — Halcyone — Dell' Inferno — The Dell 
 House — Devil's Cellar, &c. — Styx — An extraordinary scene — Heathenism, de- 
 grading tendencies of — An explosion — A ruined castle — Maun Tor, or the Shiv- 
 ering Mountain — Blue John mine — The new creature — Scenery, 54 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 NORTON. 
 
 Norton House — View of Shefii eld — Felicity — St. Paul's experience compared — A 
 supposition — Rest for the weary — Chantrey, 76 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 CHESTERFIELD. 
 
 The call to preach — Hastens to Chesterfield — A great outpouring of the Holy Spirit 
 — Charming weather — The pilgrim habit — The revival unopposed — Ihe stolen 
 march — Great success — Joy, 80 
 
 1* 
 
b CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 PROGRESS OF THE REVIVAL IX CHESTERFIELD. 
 
 A successful Sabbath — The Go3pel, as developed in a revival — Divinity of Christ — 
 Forgiving sins — An amazed population, 84 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE LADY ASTROLOGIAN. 
 
 A. question — The reply — Stars above us every way — The wandering moon — The 
 conjectural sciences — Future events — The Scriptures— Promises and providences 
 
 — Prayer and Chaldean lore — Assyrian and English skies — The Bible — A light 
 
 for the wilderness — An oasis, 88 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 SOLITUDE. 
 
 Great principles confronted in silence — Daniel — Jacob — The voices of solitude — 
 Effects upon the soul — The contrast — Revival activities — Sentiment of Herbert, . . 99 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 PENCILLINGS OF THE REVIVAL IX CHESTERFIELD. 
 
 A great mov3 — Effects of truth — A deputation — Singular dream — A comparison — 
 Prophets ataong the wicked — Their error — The wise architect, 93 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 PREPARING TO LEAVE CHESTERFIELD. 
 
 A great work of God — Statistics, 98 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 WALKS ABOUT CHESTERFIELD. 
 
 Favorite walks — The ducking stool — The town — The old parish church — The 
 crooked spire — Antiquarian controversy — A sonnet — Always awry — The can- 
 onized architect — Monuments and inscriptions in the church — The honest lawyer 
 
 — The witty epitaph — Dedication hymn — Inside of religion — Self-educated, . . 100 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 DONCASTER. 
 
 A day of salvation — An agreeable town — An eclipse of the moon — Progress of the 
 shadow — Appearance — Sublimity — The Lunarians and our earth — A supposi- 
 tion — Astronomy — Longevity — Sentiments of Josephus — The moon in her 
 beauty, 107 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 A GREAT OUTPOURING OF THE SPIRIT IN DONCASTER. 
 
 The town shaken — Showers of blessings — A motley group — A character — A dia- 
 mond in the rough — A deputation to Christ — The Gospel, Ill 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 "AND AS YE GO, PREACH." 
 
 A visit to York — Huddcrsfield — Honley — A hard time — Character of sinners — 
 Diabolical power and economy — Sheepridgc — Backslide*: reclaimed — A revivalist 
 - Macclesfield — A glorious Sabbath, ... . 114 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 MACCLESFIELD. 
 
 Its trado — Chaiter — Court of Piepowder — John Bradshaw — A singular presenti- 
 ment fulfilled — Cromwell and the council of state — Rev. David Simpson — His 
 timid bishop — Faithful preaching — A friendly mayor — Persecution — A visit to 
 his church — A moving incident — The earthquake — Singular impression — An- 
 ecdote of Simpson, 117 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 THE WORK OP GOB IN MACCLESFIELD. 
 
 Blows of truth — Critics overwhelmed — Happy deaths — Sin unto death — A pre- 
 pared people — Progress of the revival — Twenty-six thousand years pardon — 
 Numbers saved — Leaves for Birmingham, 126 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 THE BEGINNING — IN BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 Looking up — The stone and its water-circles — The prophetic stone — The great 
 image — The common people — Raindrop and sunbeam — A cheering text — Vic- 
 tory is of God 131 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 THE PATH TO VICTORY. 
 
 The spirit of warfare — Misty beginnings — Fervent faith — The powers of darkness 
 — Confidence in God — The gathering of the poor — The rich elsewhere — The 
 golden girdle — Betting with Satan — Dear figs — Achan and Judas — A succes- 
 sion — Corresponding estimates — A sad conclusion — A vast design, 137 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 SATAN ENTRENCHED. 
 
 Important questions — Weapons of war needed — Action — The preacher needed — 
 Style, 141 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 GLIMPSES OF BIRMINGHAM ; OR, LOOKING DIFFICULTIES IN THE FACE. 
 
 The best general — Napoleon and his victories — Nehemiah's mission — A lesson — 
 The state of sinners — Brain-sick — Perilous state — Baxter's illustration — Pro- 
 fessors — A proverb — Chasing shadows — The golden apple — Satan's rich and 
 Christ's poor — A Grecian sentiment — The contrast — The leveller — A dark min- 
 istry — High life, or the parable of the chimneys — Terrors — The Awe-band — 
 Almost Christians — The wickedly witty — Double trouble — Fearful cases — The 
 silken halter — A sweet poison — Statistics of intemperance — Opposition to temper- 
 ance — Girding on the armor — A bright side — Gales from Calvary, 144 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 PULPIT DEFENCES ', OR, FRAGMENTS OF WARFARE. 
 
 Hell — Saying of a German lady — Not a proper motive for Christians — Fire and 
 brimstone preaching — Throwing people into convictions — Hell as a means — The 
 cross — Apology defined — A great truth — The crier in the wilderness — Elo- 
 quence — The Agami — Plain preaching — The soaring preacher — The pouncing 
 preacher — The gentlemanly preacher — The speculative preacher — The mean no- 
 body preacher — The spoiled child — A lawyer defending his cloth, 161 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 FRAGMENTS FOR HYPERCRITICS. 
 
 A soft kernel — A supp isition — Hell — A startling difference — Wisdom in swine — 
 Hypocrites — The man of lips — The silver-tongued but strong-hearted — The 
 comet — Sincerity — David's bridle — An honest tongue — Wholesome tongue — A 
 criteria, 168 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 A LESSON ON PREACHING. 
 
 The poet and the painter — Their pandemonium and paradise — The great defect — 
 Lesson derived — The painter's gallery — Adam in the bush — Deformities of char- 
 acter — Divine assistance — Human nature — The painter's advice — The single 
 aim, S L71 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 MORE FRAGMENTS OF WAR. 
 
 The German moralist — Blemishes of character, how treated — The queen carica- 
 tured, a supposition — Christian stature — A Swiss sentiment — Gospel intolerance 
 
 — Meroz — Expostulation — A political maxim, 177 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 SPIRITUAL BATTERIES AND "WEAPONS OF "WAR. 
 
 The battle-field — Judas — The. last supper — Scene in Gethsemane — The sound of 
 agoing forth — The bee and the butterfly — Shells for certain entrenchments — 
 Example, responsible for — The nervous architect — Influence of example — The 
 cloudy pillar — Retribution — Exhortation — Religion diffusive — A law of nature 
 
 — Confessing Christ — Self-interest — A significant motto — A low principle — The 
 snail with its house on its back — A sore trial, 181 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 HOW TO HAVE A REVIVAL. 
 
 A retarding or promoting church — How treated — Courage — Example of Christ — 
 Character of his hearers — Scenes in his ministry — Truth, its mission — The ac- 
 cepted time — An exhortation, 198 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 THE THEME RESUMED. 
 
 A supposition — Christ's style — Fortified guilt — Dreadful artillery — His tears and 
 lamentations over impenitence, 202 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 CHRIST WEEPING OVER JERUSALEM — A SERMON. 
 
 Weeping, instances of — Not suppressed by the Hebrews — Gilboa — David's lamen- 
 tation — Jerusalem sinners — Sympathy for sinners — A cause for tears — A spirit- 
 ual epidemic — Backsliders — Hope — The rescued Lamb — Floods of mercy — 
 Sinners re j^nting — A glorious scene, 206 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 CHRIST WEEPING OVER JERUSALEM — A SERMON. 
 
 Design of preaching — Effective preaching — Intellect reached through the passions 
 
 — Instances — The cbtuse — Unthinking — The well-informed — The wearied — 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 The disheartened — The standard-bearers — Spiritual tactics — Tears defended — A 
 weeping-time for sinners — Hell a place of weeping — Burns, sentiment of — The 
 pen behind the curtain — Going in debt — Satan's object — An old proverb — A 
 crisis — Three penitents — Impossibilities — Legion — Consequences — The Lord's 
 uttermost — The five smooth stones — Justification by faith — Exhortation,. . . 213 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 CHRIST WEEPING OVER JERUSALEM — A SERMON. 
 
 The compassion of Jesus — Metaphysical divinity — The hallowed contagion — Ke- 
 vealings of the heart — Sustaining a reputation — Style, how influenced — Christ's 
 method — Individual cases — A strong attraction — Objected to — Defended — The 
 panorama in motion — The pleasures of sense — Expensive — Combatted — The 
 Bible within — A Swiss definition of conscience — Searching inquiries — The una- 
 wakened sinner — Strange state — Awakening questions — Perilous — Presumption 
 — Damned by mistake — Saying of a French divine — God is not slack, 231 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 CHRIST WEEPING OVER JERUSALEM — A SERMON. 
 
 A word to " A finally impenitent " — The delirious patient — Orthodox devils — A 
 significant wish — The sin against the Holy Ghost — Consequences — Hope for a 
 sinner out of hell — The precipice — Final impenitence here — Mercy offered — Dr. 
 Chalmers and the dying sinner — Blue lights — A death-scene — Trembling in hell 
 
 — A mother's prayers — The preference, 246 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 SATANIC POLICY. 
 
 The Devil's game — Darkness — His cards — An unloved master — The contrast 
 
 — Sentiment of Pythagoras, 262 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 THE PATIENCE AND PROVIDENCE OP GOD. 
 
 Abused — Wilful sin — The wilfully blind — Iron, cold or hot — A rough part of the 
 road — A rod and honey — Contrary wheels — A precious text, 268 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 IN THE FURNACE. 
 
 Manner of the seizure — Sudden death deprecated — St. Paul's strait — The young 
 recruit — The two tombstones — Feebleness— Buckling on the armor — A wish 
 
 — Past experience — God's jewelry — The broken mirror — Good omens — Span- 
 ish proverb — Carle-hemp, ." . 271 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 RETURN TO THE BATTLE-STRIFE. SOUL-SAVING MINISTRY. 
 
 An encouraging physician — Gold in the fire — Truth and the sinner — Cuts like a 
 sword — Serpent-like — Health — Seneca's man — The inner man — A noble 
 purpose — Job's leviathan — Parody — The true succession, 277 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 
 PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AND PENCILLINGS ABOUT PREACHING. 
 
 Christmas day — A Greeian memento — New converts — Solitariness — Two musi- 
 cal strings— The lame take the prey — Salt for sores — Progress of the revival 
 
 — Sanctified fright — The contrary — Weapons of war — A sermon characterized 
 
 — A solid square — Disordered order, 283 
 
10 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
 
 THE NEW YEAR. — THE PROPHESYING TRUMP. 
 
 Farewell aad hail — Watch-night — The bitter before the sweet — Frovidence — 
 Exodus -Light for the soul — A hard time — Trembling sinner — A crisis — 
 Hot iron Hotter fires — Louder blasts — Call for the trumpet — Tokens of 
 God — ELs arrows — Battle signal — Whirlwinds — Sling-stones — Notes of vic- 
 tory — Pentecost — New wine — Precious stones — The beauty of God — Whirl- 
 winds of the south, 289 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX. 
 
 AN EXPERIMENT REJECTED. 
 
 Devil — Pleasing preaching — Genteel efforts — A whisper for a>thunder — Gideon's 
 three hundred — Obstinate violence — Devil-arousing preaching — Shoulder of an 
 earthquake — Robert Bolton — Sinner-awakening preaching, 206 
 
 CHAPTER XL. 
 
 RENEWAL OP THE COVENANT AND PROGRESS OF THE REVIVAL. 
 
 Covenant service — A moving season — Revival joy — Onward for victory — Won- 
 derful displays of mercy — Newspaper notices — Multitudes saved, 301 
 
 CHAPTER XLI. 
 
 NOTES OF CORRESPONDENCE AND PRIVATE REFLECTIONS. 
 
 " A field officer " — Sheffield and Chesterfield reported — Smooth preaching — After- 
 thoughts — Success of the year — Safeguards of zeal — Jesus — Heaven — Sancti- 
 fication — Wesley's opinion — Islington chapel — Great success — Remarkable 
 conversion, 307 
 
 CHAPTER XLII. 
 
 DISPASSIONATE PREACHING. 
 
 A proviso — Goldsmith's comparison — Erasmus on moving to purpose — Dean 
 Swift on preaching — Manner — The test — War and violence — Rock-breaking 
 
 — The resolve, 314 
 
 CHAPTER XLIII. 
 
 MORE PENCILLINGS OF THE REVIVAL IN BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 Revival preaching — Truth, power of — Heaven — nell studies — Providential inter- 
 position — Faith and purity — Victory — New converts — Invitation card — 
 Blessings in hurricanes, 319 
 
 CHAPTER XLIV. 
 
 A MEMENTO. 
 
 Beating the air — Lightness before sermon — Tea-table influences — The great ' ?fect 
 
 — A resolve — A slack soul — The tight bow-string — Fearful possibilities — A 
 throne of power — Alone with God — Outpouring of the Spirit, 325 
 
 CHAPTER XLV. 
 
 GLIMPSES OF THE REVIVALS AND PRINCIPLES OF AvTION. 
 
 ganctification — Truth in the head — Cain's offering — Heavy ordnance — Progress of 
 the work— A great melting — Tinselled preaching — Believing — Satan's hope — 
 Reminiscences — Sacrament — Playing with truth — Motives — Dealings with sin- 
 ners— Christ sweet— A scene in Wesley chapel— The judgment, 331 
 
CONTENTS. 11 
 
 CHAPTER XLVI. 
 
 SANCTIFYING AND AWAKENING TRUTH. 
 
 A great promise — A mine — Curious hearers — Thoughts on dress — A predicant eni 
 
 — Believing — The lark — Vocal spark — A query — A great day — Death of a 
 backslider — Last knocks — Life-giving truth — Holiness — Deep things — A news- 
 paper notice — Extraordinary conversions, ...» 338 
 
 CHAPTER XLVII. 
 
 GOOD NEWS — HOW TO BELIEVE FOR A CLEAN HEART. 
 
 Private experience — Extent of the revival— Dull scythe — Tinsel — Inequality of 
 style — Olympus— Conjectural ability— Life not circular —Waller s letter — Dif- 
 ficulties stated — Light increasing — Last to give way — Prophecy and promise — 
 Out of the fog — Salvation, 348 
 
 CHAPTER XLVIII. 
 
 JOURNAL CONTINUED. 
 
 An anchor-hold— Accountability — The dial-plate — The moving flame— Love feast 
 
 — Holy alliance — Opponent in pamphlet — Introduction — Fans the flame, . . . 35S 
 
 CHAPTER XLIX. 
 
 CHEERFULNESS AND COURAGE REQUIRED. 
 
 Sadness —A Swiss remark — Cheerfulness necessary — Napoleon's officer — World's 
 opinion — The sinner hit — Saying of Erasmus — The madman's idea — Law and 
 Gospel, 361 
 
 CHAPTER L. 
 
 PEACE OR WAR. 
 
 Natural weapons — Animals and men — The new creature — Armor — Mischief — 
 The rub — Nurse of peace — War secures peace — The fenced city — Secret of war 
 
 — Alternatives — Aggression — Controversy declined — Undebatable things — A 
 tame devil — Selfish preacher — Crafty politician — Dagon — Self-conquest — Vio- 
 lence — Truth a loadstone — A great move, 367 
 
 CHAPTER LI. 
 
 EXTRACTS FROM THE JOURNAL. 
 
 Birthday — Watch-night — Circumlocution — Retribution — A hard time — A great 
 day — Zeal and health — Decision and holiness, 377 
 
 CHAPTER LII. 
 
 MORE NOTES OF THE REVIVAL. 
 
 Opposition — True Methodists — Fair-weather sailors — The inheritance — A para- 
 dox — Wesley's visit — Art of war — Spiritual batteries — Weeping sinners — 
 Definition of a Christian — Dejection — Errand for God, 880 
 
 CHAPTER LIII. 
 
 MISTAKING THE PATH. 
 
 Early experience — Satan's snare — Out of the path — Sorrows — Salvation, . . 389 
 
12 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER LIV. 
 
 LINES IN PLEASANT PLACES. 
 
 Sparkbrook House — Walking-place — The swans — The surprise — Warwick 
 castle — Wooden legs — Saying of Bellarmine — The difference — Image of re- 
 ligion — First principles — A diluted gospel — Eternity and revivals — Ordinary 
 effort, ." 394 
 
 CHAPTER LV. 
 
 INCIDENTS OF THE REVIYAL. 
 
 Sabbath-breaker saved — Shop closed — A Roman Catholic converted — Justifi- 
 cation by faith — Another Romanist converted — An apprentice — Post-office 
 clerk, advice to, s S99 
 
 CHAPTER LVI. 
 
 PERSECUTION. 
 
 Newspapers — Of the pen and the hand — Chips of the cross — The persecuted 
 wife — Husband converted — Sabbath at Bradley — Returns to Birmingham — 
 Tea meetings — Statistics of the revival, 404 
 
 CHAPTER LVII. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 Resolutions — Striking account of the revival — Wonderful displays of mercy — 
 Closing Remarks — Glorying in the Lord — Farewell — Note, 409 
 
SHOWERS OF BLESSING 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 TRIUMPHS OF GRACE. 
 "And as ye go, preach." — Matt. 10 : 7. 
 
 In the year 1845, Mr. Caughey received an invitation to 
 visit Birmingham, England, for the purpose of promoting 
 the work of God in that populous town. Having laid the 
 subject before the Lord, and waiting before him for guid- 
 ance, he concluded the providential cloud moved in that 
 direction. 
 
 We thought it well to apprize the reader of this at the 
 commencement of the volume ; for it is to that scene of his 
 labors, his footsteps appear to be tending in the following 
 excursions to various towns to preach the Gospel, — a record 
 of which will be found in several chapters immediately fol- 
 lowing. 
 
 The reader may rest fully assured that those chapters 
 will conduct him to scenes in Birmingham of no ordinary 
 interest. There Mr. Caughey spent several months in the 
 great work of saving souls, and with amazing success. 
 
 Bearing this in mind, the reader will trace the footsteps 
 of our evangelist through his various previous excursions 
 2 
 
14 SHOWERS OP BLESSING. 
 
 with all the deeper interest, knowing that his path is lead- 
 ing him to a scene of toil, battle and victory, which he him- 
 self little anticipated ; where truth and error ', — " the arms 
 of Goii Almighty, and his Enemy" — met in severe com- 
 bat, and with astonishing results. 
 
 In the mean time, the introductory chapters alluded to 
 will be found full of interesting matter, and success in 
 the awakening and conversion of sinners. 
 
 Mr. Caughey's health had been much affected by his 
 extraordinary labors in Hudders field, York, &c, and it 
 became necessary he should excursionize for the benefit of 
 his health, while it allowed him opportunities to call sinners 
 to repentance, — the riding passion of his soul. Some 
 account of his excursions we present to the reader, gathered 
 from his Journal and Letters, which, we trust, will be 
 interesting and profitable. 
 
 Eighteen hundred and forty-five is rushing away into 
 eternity, like its predecessors. It will not do for me to sit 
 still ! Time is flying, and poor sinners are dying, and eter- 
 nity has its terrible revealing s. 0, it will not do for me 
 to sit still ! Another consideration is my health. It has 
 been much shaken; but it recovers more speedily, some- 
 times, in motion, than in a state of inaction. My mind is 
 happier, and that has a good influence on the health ; be- 
 sides, change of air, and change of scene and employment, 
 have a most favorable influence upon soul and body. 
 
 "We had a great work of God in Huddcrsfield, where 
 thousands were saved in pardon and purity ; * and we had 
 a great work in Y0rk, also ; but my health suffered. It 
 
 * Sec volume " Earnest Christianity Illustrated." 
 
TRIUMPHS OF GRACE. 15 
 
 is better, however, and I hope, by keeping myself in motion. 
 and exercising prudence, it may become better still. 
 
 In company with brother David Greenbwy, I visited 
 Goole, in Lincolnshire, the other day ; — David praising 
 God all the way, and with always a choice word in readi- 
 ness for the ear and conscience of fellow-travellers, regard- 
 ing the life of faith, and life or death in the' eternity 
 beyond, — himself all life, and peace, and joy ! David is 
 
 " A man of cheerful yesterdays, 
 And confident to-morrows." 
 
 He has an adjective for every day of the week, — triuriv- 
 vhant Sabbaths, glorious Mondays, happy Tuesdays, &c, 
 &c, — running over them all in a twinkling, like a musician 
 on his gamut, the loftiest note ending with the Sabbath, 
 and a shout of u Glory, hallelujah ! " 
 
 We had a large assembly in the afternoon, to whom I 
 preached with sweet liberty; — the Lord was among the 
 people indeed ; — after which, we took tea with about five 
 hundred people in the Philosophical Hall. The congrega- 
 tion was much larger at night, the chapel being literally 
 crammed, aisles and all. Before I ascended the pulpit, a 
 brother informed me that a local preacher, who had been 
 present in the afternoon meeting, had died suddenly. He 
 left the chapel, walked a short distance, became faint, re- 
 clined, and in a few moments found himself 
 
 " in the gap 
 
 Between the life that is, and that which is to come, 
 Awaiting judgment ; " 
 
 when those standing by, exclaimed,, " He is dead ! " Yes, 
 he had passed over Jordan at the narrowest place, — " absent 
 
16 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 from the body, present with the Lord" 0, what a 
 change ! The announcement had a very solemn effect upon 
 the congregation. Little did I think, I remarked, when 
 addressing you this afternoon, that there sat one among you 
 who would be my Lord's guest, and "sup with him" to- 
 night in Paradise. The audience seemed electrified. 0, 
 how awfully glorious to behold that great mass of human 
 beings waving to and fro, like a forest in a gale, — spread 
 over aisles, gallery stairs, pulpit stairs, — every available 
 space above and below crammed to the utmost capacity of 
 the chapel ! This prepared them for my text and sermon, 
 which had a great effect upon sinners ; of whom many were 
 "the slain of the Lord," — twenty-five of whom found 
 mercy, and nine purity of heart. 
 
 From Goole, David and I hastened to Armin, where I 
 preached twice, and had a few saved. We were entertained 
 at the mansion of Edward Thompson, Esq., — David's home 
 when in these parts. Thence we hastened to Huddersfield, 
 where I preached to a noble congregation in Buxton Road 
 Chapel, in behalf of a small, favorite school, which needed 
 funds ; obtained for them fifty-eight pounds, or nearly 
 three hundred dollars ; but, better than money, we had 
 over thirty souls converted to Christ before we parted. 
 Hallelujah ! 
 
 Well, David Greenbury is a character ; — like his name- 
 sake in the Scriptures, seldom without a psalm or a hymn 
 in his mouth. How he sings ! — everywhere, tirelessly, 
 like those above ; as if his heaven is everywhere, which is 
 really the case, — sings 
 
 " As if he wished the firmament of heaven 
 Should listen, and give back to him the voice 
 Of his triumphant constancy and love." 
 
TRIUMPHS OF GRACE. 17 
 
 After taking an affectionate leave of David, I hastened 
 up to London by railway, in company with Joseph Webb, 
 Esq. We rode all night, during which I worked hard 
 upon an index for my fourth volume of Letters ; but about 
 daybreak sleep quite overcame me, and I sank down on the 
 floor of the car and slept. 
 
 And now here I am in Sheffield. We spent only a couple 
 of days in London. This is a precious spot to me ; memo- 
 rable, as being the scene of one of the greatest victories my 
 Lord Jesus ever achieved by my ministry ; where, in some- 
 thing less than four months, upwards of three thousand 
 persons professed to obtain the forgiveness of sins, and 
 learly fifteen hundred sanctifying grace ! 
 
 I do realize the sentiment of that Scottish divine, who 
 said, " Sweet are the spots where Immanuel has ever 
 shown his glorious power in the conviction and conversion 
 of sinners. The world loves to muse on the scenes where 
 battles were fought and victories won. Should not we 
 love the spots where our great Captain has won his amaz- 
 ing victories ? Is not the conversion of a soul more worthy 
 to be spoken of than the taking of Acre ? " Let Matt. 16 : 
 26, set its seal upon the sentiment, and upon my heart for 
 ever and ever. Amen. 
 
 A year has passed away since that great work of God, 
 but the glory and power of God have not passed away. 
 They are still revealed among the assemblies of his people 
 in Sheffield ; — no reaction. Blessed be Jesus for that 
 work of holiness which accompanied the revival ! Much 
 of the permanence is traceable to that. I preached twice 
 yesterday in Brunswick Chapel. We had a high day in 
 the courts of our God ; seventy-six souls were justified, of 
 whom thirty-five were from the world ; thirty-three persons 
 besides, obtained purity of heart. — Matt. 5 : 8. Total, 
 2* 
 
18 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 one hundred and nine ; — so report the secretaries, and 
 they registered with conscientious care, having conversed 
 individually with each subject of divine mercy and good- 
 ness. All glory be to God on high, and on the earth peace 
 and good will. Amen. 
 
 Pondering upon that couplet of an old poet ; — felt I could 
 honestly appropriate it : 
 
 " My armor is my honest thought, 
 And simple truth my highest aim." 
 
 But, — a poor captive of my Lord, wandering to and fro, 
 swayed hither and thither, like the tides of the sea, 
 attracted by his love, but having no certain dwelling-place ; 
 yet welcome everywhere, and in no place more than in 
 Shirley House, near Sheffield, — still a loneliness and a 
 weariness will creep over me ; and a home, like other men, 
 and domestic comforts, excite sighs which are sternly sup- 
 pressed. And so girding on the armor again, and buckling 
 it tight about me, "fly on the prey, and seize the prize; 
 and shout the victory won through the blood of the Lamb, 
 and the word of our testimony ! 
 
 But on these accounts I need more religion than other 
 men, differently circumstanced. It is a great point of vic- 
 tory, I find, to have power over one's own will ; or, rather, 
 to let the will of God rule it. As good Richard Baxter 
 says, the will is to rule the faculties, and God is to rule 
 the will ! — that if ever God is dethroned from thence, it is 
 self that does it, and seats itself in his place, and so self 
 rules the will, or the will rules self. In either case, he 
 shows it is to have a fool for one's master ; it is to be at 
 the choice and disposal of a fool and an enemy, and to be in 
 Buch hands as would certainly undo us But he would have 
 
TRIUMPHS OF GRACE. 19 
 
 the will of God in our will and faculties, as the first wheel 
 in the clock, by which all the lesser wheels are moved. 
 That is a rousing thought, that a will that is not dependent 
 upon God's will, is an idol, usurping the prerogative of 
 God ! We have a will to do something or other continu- 
 ally, but it is of the first consequence one should know what 
 it is that commands the will, — God or self ; holiness or 
 depravity ; Christ or the Devil. 
 
 0, but I do know and feel that the Lord God rules this 
 will of mine ! — the will of God is the first wheel, and that 
 sets all the lesser wheels agoing. But my soul is weak in 
 itself, — " weaker than a bruised reed ; " and unless [/race 
 and purity are bestowed from moment to moment, there is 
 no standing. Lord, help me, and keep me thine forever I 
 Amen. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 SHEFFIELD. 
 
 In consequence of heavy demands made upon my time by 
 a large number of correspondents, and the many engage- 
 ments necessarily connected with a great revival, I have 
 been hindered, till now, from giving you the desired infor- 
 mation respecting this interesting town. As the result of 
 the same hindrances, my sketch must, even now, be brief; 
 indeed, the very meagre materials which the history of the 
 town offers rather incline me to this. 
 
 Sheffield is the great metropolis of English cutlery and 
 other hardware manufactories. It has been distinguished, I 
 believe, from the earliest periods of its history, for this 
 department of human ingenuity and industry. Iron arrow- 
 heads, and a particular sort of weapon-knife, were articles 
 which employed the artisans of Sheffield, in very early times, 
 long before the use of fire-arms became general. An abun- 
 dance of minerals, coal, and iron-stone, in the neighborhood, 
 indicated the destiny of Sheffield, as if by a decree of Prov- 
 idence itself; the locality being so peculiarly adapted to 
 the processes of metallic manufactories ; — to which may 
 be added, several important streams of water, advantageous 
 for grinding purposes. 
 
 And to what wondrous perfection have they carried the 
 irt of metallic trans formations ! I was thinking, to-day, 
 were TubaJ.-Cain tc revisit the earth, and wend his way to 
 
SHEFFIELD. 21 
 
 Sheffield, it would surprise him to behold the progress of 
 his favorite art since his day ! — Gen. 4 : 22. 
 
 Mrs. Sigoumey has ingeniously woven into verse the 
 " fierce ore meltings, transmutations" and many curious 
 things which are wrought out by " hard hammerings" on 
 this " the world's anvil" with as much ease as if they had 
 been but "threads of silky filaments" Speaking of her 
 visit to Sheffield, she says : 
 
 ** Many a curious thing 
 Was shown us, too, at Sheffield ; ornaments, 
 And thousand-bladed knives, and fairy tools 
 For ladies' fingers, "when the thread they lead 
 Through finest lawn ; and silver richly chased 
 To make the festal board so beautiful, 
 That unawares the tempted matron's hand 
 Invades her husband's purse. 
 
 But as for me, 
 Though the whole art was patiently explained, 
 From the first piling of the earthly ore, 
 In its dark ovens, to its pouring forth 
 With brilliant scintillations, in the form 
 Of liquid steel ; or its last lustrous face, 
 And finest network ; yet I 'm fain to say, 
 The manufacturing interest would find 
 In me a poor interpreter. I doubt 
 My own capacity to comprehend 
 Such transmutations, and confess with shame 
 Their processes do strike my simple mind 
 Like necromancy. And I felt no joy 
 Among the crucibles and cutlery, 
 Compared to that, which on the breezy heights 
 Met me at every change, or, mid the walks 
 Of the botanic garden , freshly sprang 
 From every flower." 
 
 We visited, a few days since, the botanical and horticul- 
 tural gardens, to which the closing lines of the above allude, 
 
22 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 wid were highly delighted with the place. These gardens 
 comprise about eighteen acres, extending over a gentle 
 declivity, embellished tastefully with flowery parterres, 
 agreeable walks, with plantations and shrubberies on either 
 hand. Here and there we noticed some choice plants from 
 foreign climes. The conservatories are more than one hun- 
 dred yards long, ornamented with Corinthian pillars, and 
 filled with a choice assortment of all kinds of valuable plants. 
 The principal entrance to the gardens is an elegant Ionic 
 structure, differing little from a similar construction at the 
 temple of Ilyssus, at Athens. The second and lower 
 entrance is in the style of a Swiss cottage. 
 
 Sheffield is pleasantly situated near the conflux of the 
 rivers Don and Sheaf, and spreads itself along the uneven 
 slopes of gently swelling hills, which rise above the town 
 till they are gradually overtopped by other hills of consider- 
 able magnitude. 
 
 I was particularly struck, when walking through the 
 town, with a succession of beautiful views of the neighboring 
 landscape. I do not remember any other town so pecu- 
 liarly privileged. There is scarcely a street, indeed, of any 
 importance, that does not afford a pleasing glimpse of ver- 
 dant hills, enriched by trees and tracts of woodland, in which 
 are nestled the pretty mansions of wealthy citizens ; janny 
 of whom have " made their fortunes in the Sheffield trade," 
 but who love their native town too well, and are too well 
 aware of its pleasant and healthy situation, to leave it and 
 spend their fortunes elsewhere. 
 
 Such views as I have been speaking of must, however, 
 always be taken to windward; especially when there is 
 wind sufficient to waft the clouds of smoke. Or, to be more 
 poetical (for I am now in a town "immortalized by the 
 presence of poets," — to be more poetical, then), the view 
 
SHEFFIELD. 23 
 
 must be taken when the wind " lifts a fold vf the inky 
 cloak" Sheffield's most fashionable and most popular gar- 
 ment, and throws it over, not the nakedness of the land, 
 but over some of the noblest forms of adorned nature ; other- 
 wise the stranger is left to the dictations of his own imagin- 
 ings. But the scenery is not sufficiently stupendous to 
 impart those impressions of " romantic grandeur" to 
 which a vague and dusky medium, such as this, is so pecu- 
 liarly favorable. Rural beauty, set off by a particularly 
 happy amphitheatrical arrangement of hills, which make a 
 near approach to the picturesque, is, perhaps, the leading 
 characteristic of Sheffield scenery. 
 
 Nature is really beautiful around Sheffield, but she is 
 too frequently veiled; and I have been offended with Sheffield 
 sometimes on that account. It seems as if the old town 
 indulged in fits of jealousy, and was determined to conceal 
 her lovely features, beaming out, as they often do, from the 
 embrace of guardian hills. To one who has been long 
 accustomed to the transparent atmosphere which is drawn 
 over American scenery, such an intervention is far from 
 being pleasing ; particularly, too, when he is aware that 
 England, when she has "fair play," presents as lovely a 
 face to the eye of a beholder, as any country in this round 
 world. It is right to say, however, that there are seasons, 
 in the absence of the smoky mood, when Nature, in the 
 vicinity of Sheffield, stands forth to the view of her admirers 
 in unveiled loveliness. 
 
 In every direction around the town the visitor is treated 
 with a variety of beautiful views : 
 
 " The woodland, waving o'er the landscape's pride ; 
 The mansions, scattered o'er its sloping side ; 
 The cornfields, yellow with autumnal wealth ; 
 The meadows, verdant with the hues of health ; 
 
24 SHOWJJIS OF BLEUSINa. 
 
 The lifeless walls, tb it intersect the fields ; 
 The quick- thorn he( ge, which now its fragrance yields ; 
 Yon neighboring tourn, capped with its cloud of smoke; 
 The ceaseless sountf with which the calm is broke." 
 
 The rivers, streams, and reservoirs, which supply grinding- 
 wheels and forges, ar3 pretty objects. Those busy wheels 
 and tiny cataracts, situated as they are in retired dells and 
 shady groves, rather increase than lessen the power of that 
 pleasing calm which belongs to deep solitude. In the 
 ravine of the Rivelin, the eye is cheered with a succession 
 of small transparent lakes, — rather artificial reservoirs of 
 pure water, for the benefit of the town, — resembling so many 
 crystal mirrors, where dame Nature may look down and 
 ee herself as others see her. The country, indeed, for 
 many miles around, is rich in all those objects which 
 beautify a landscape. It is remarkably well wooded ; hills 
 and valleys are in a high state of cultivation. 
 
 Sheffield, geographically considered, holds a position 
 somewhat central between Hull, Huddersjield, Leeds, 
 York, Manchester, Liverpool, Nottingham, and Bir- 
 mingham. 
 
 The parish church is a rectangular Gothic fabric, sur- 
 mounted by a lofty spire. The site is at once central and 
 commanding. It contains several ancient monuments. 
 None of them, I believe, possess greater interest than some 
 modern productions. I mean those which have emanated 
 from the chisel of the celebrated Chantrey ; one, especially, 
 " the eldest born of his chisel," a bust of a clergyman, is 
 considered, by citizen and stranger, as the glory of the 
 edifice. 
 
 St. Paul's church has a Grecian aspect. A bust of one 
 of its former ministers, by Chantrey, adorns the interior, 
 and is th/*" principal object of attraction to the admirers of 
 
SHEFFIELD. 25 
 
 the arts. You will not, I presume, deem it desirable I 
 should enumerate and describe all the churches of the 
 Establishment in this town, or those of other denominations. 
 Those belonging to the Wesleyan Methodists will be the most 
 interesting to you, as they are connected with the present 
 scene of my labors. 
 
 Norfolk-street Chapel is the oldest place of worship 
 among the Wesleyans, having been built in 1780. Carver- 
 street Chapel is a plain, commodious edifice, erected in 1804. 
 It contains an elegant mural monument, to the memory of 
 the late Mr. Henry Longden, with whose Memoirs, you will 
 remember, we were so much pleased and profited. His 
 name in Sheffield, and, indeed, in almost all parts of Eng- 
 land, is as ointment poured forth. I have formed a most 
 agreeable acquaintance with his son and biographer. His 
 health is, at present, extremely delicate ; but he inherits 
 his father 1 s talents and piety, with his name, and enters, 
 so far as health will allow, u heart and souV into the 
 revival. With himself and Mrs. Longden, and their excel- 
 lent family, I have formed an acquaintance that will, I 
 trust, be perpetuated above. 
 
 Ebenezer Chapel, & pseudo-Gothio structure, surmounted 
 by a tower (a strange appendix, by the way, for an English 
 Wesleyan Chapel), was erected in 1823. It is a neat build- 
 ing. Here I commenced my labors in Sheffield. Bridge- 
 houses Chapel is a substantial building. The Park 
 Chapel I have not yet seen. 
 
 Brunswick Chapel is rny favorite. It is really a 
 handsome edifice, with a noble Doric portico. In no other 
 chapel, throughout my travels in this country, have I 
 preached with so much ease and satisfaction, and, perhaps, 
 I may add, success. It accommodates about two thousand 
 hearers. 
 
 3 
 
26 showers of bless;ng. 
 
 Of the various "literary edifices" of Sheffield I can 
 say little more than what relates to their architecture. My 
 time is so completely engrossed, that I cannot command 
 even an hour to obtain additional information. 
 
 The Wesley an Proprietary Grammar School* pre- 
 sents an extensive and lofty front. Its porticos are of the 
 Corinthian order. It is, when viewed from a distance, alto- 
 gether a noble and beautiful structure. As there is some 
 probability of your paying Sheffield a visit, it is best, per- 
 haps, not to be too lavish of my praise. The columns of 
 the portico, in front of the college, never satisfy my eye 
 upon a nearer approach. I know you will demand my 
 reason ; and my knowledge of your architectural taste and 
 acquirements renders me somewhat shy of assigning it. 
 But I suppose we should not find fault unless we can tell 
 "the v)hy and the wherefore ;" and that is not always 
 easy or safe ; especially for one who makes no pretensions 
 to connoisseur ship in architecture. 
 
 Well, then, I shall venture to say, the columns of the 
 portico are too slender ; their diameters do not appear 
 proportionate to their altitude. The intercolumniations 
 seem too large, and appear to fall into the manner of the 
 'A%aio(jTvlos (Araioslylos') arrangement ; a style that strikes 
 me as being unfavorable to columnar effect, unless the shafts 
 of the columns are proportionate in thickness to the dis- 
 tances by which they are separated. There is that in the 
 space or air which is interposed between the columns, 
 which apparently lessens their real thickness, and should, 
 therefore, be provided for by adjusting the proportions of 
 the columns to the quantity of air interposed between them 
 T only write from mere impression, and not from any pre- 
 
 *Now Wesley College. 
 
SHEFFIELD. 27 
 
 cise acquaintance with the rules which belong to the several 
 styles of intercolumniation in architecture. However highly 
 we are pleased with utility, there is that in our nature which 
 relishes beauty, in architecture. The eye is ever seeking 
 for it, is disappointed at not finding it, or in beholding any- 
 thing to mar it. The accomplished architect, I may also 
 add, is ever awake to those proportions which satisfy and 
 please. 
 
 With these slight exceptions, this edifice takes its place 
 with the handsomest scholastic institutions I have seen in 
 England. The interior arrangements are admirable. The 
 literary departments are conducted with singular ability. 
 The Rev. John Manners, the first master, is a clergyman 
 of the Church of England. He is a most agreeable gen- 
 tleman, possessing qualities of the first order as a teacher ; 
 and is a devoted Christian. With him I have also formed 
 an agreeable acquaintance, which, I trust, will last forever. 
 The institution, I understand, occupies a high place in pub- 
 lic estimation. Methodist parents send their boys to be 
 educated here, from various parts of England, with a con- 
 fidence, which must be a great relief to a parent's heart, 
 that their moral and religious welfare will be as conscien- 
 tiously guarded as when under the parental roof. 
 
 The edifice was erected at an expense to the proprietors 
 of more than ten thousand pounds. The pleasure grounds, 
 comprising about six acres, cost between four and five 
 thousand pounds sterling, in addition. 
 
 A short distance below the Wesleyan College stands the 
 Collegiate School. The edifice is upon a much smaller 
 scale, with little more than half the pleasure grounds. But 
 the situation is agreeable, and the style of architecture, 
 Tudor Gothic, is peculiarly pleasing. Near to these insti- 
 tutions, on the gentle slopes of the opposite hill, with the 
 
28 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 vale of Sharrow interposed, is the General Cemetery. It 
 is a favorite walking-place of mine, in some of my partic- 
 ular moods of mind, as it is but a short distance from Shir- 
 ley House. The entrance lodge is of the Grecian Doric 
 order. There are two ranges of catacombs ; the lowest is 
 surmounted by a terrace in front, over the unprotected verge 
 of which one may step as easily as into eternity. The 
 uppermost range has a parapet and balustrades. The 
 chapel is a handsome structure, with a stately portico of 
 fluted Doric columns. The minister's house is on a still 
 higher elevation. It is a substantial mansion ; its Egyptian 
 character has given it a sort of gloomy elegance. There 
 are several good monuments ; and the grounds, about six 
 acres, are tastefully disposed. 
 
 A few days since, in company with two of my fellow- 
 laborers in the revival, Mr. Unwin and Mr. Jepson, I 
 visited the Cholera Mount, another cemetery ; but its 
 gates are closed to all but the living. A law was enacted 
 during the prevalence of the cholera, in 1832, which re- 
 quired the separate interment of its victims. 
 
 Mr. Montgomery has immortalized the place in a short 
 po* m : 
 
 " Yet many a mourner weeps her fallen state, 
 In many a home by these left desolate. 
 Humanity again asks, ' Who are these ? 
 And what their crime? ' They fell by one disease 
 Not by the Proteus maladies that strike 
 Man into nothingness, not twice alike ; 
 But when they knocked for entrance at the tomb, 
 Their fathers' bones refused to make them room ; 
 Recoiling Nature from their presence fled, 
 As though a thunderbolt had smote them dead : 
 Their cries pursued her with a thrilling piea, 
 * Give us a little earth for charity ; ' 
 She lingered, listened, all her bosom yearned, 
 
SHEFFIELD. 29 
 
 Through every vein the mother's pulse returned ; 
 Then, as she halted on this hill, she threw 
 Her mantle wide, and loose her tresses fiew : 
 * Live,' to the slain, she cried, < my children live ! 
 This for an heritage to you I give ; 
 Had death consumed you by a common lot, 
 You, with the multitudes had been forgot, 
 Now through an age of ages shall ye not.' " 
 
 I know you will be pleased with the above extract. It 
 was new to me, and peculiarly interesting, having walked 
 over the spot. The poem, I understand, was written dur- 
 ing this dreadful visitation in Sheffield. The place where 
 the cholera victims repose is no longer an object of terror, 
 but rather of mournful reminiscence, to the inhabitants of 
 Sheffield. None, indeed, would presume to open a grave, 
 or bury there ; but there is no risk in visiting the place. 
 Upwards of four hundred persons repose here ; and their 
 resting-places are not likely to be disturbed for many gen- 
 erations to come, unless Sheffield is made to take the cup of 
 trembling once more, in a similar visitation. 
 
 All that Mr. Montgomery has claimed for the unfor- 
 tunate dead, in the poem to which I have referred, has been 
 accorded by the generous people of Sheffield. It is taste- 
 fully planted with flourishing trees. u Perennial daisies" 
 and other flowers, begem its emerald verdure. The little 
 birds sing sweetly over their graves, and u the shrill sky- 
 lark builds her annual nest upon their lowly bed." The 
 dew-drops of the morning bespangle the green grass ; the 
 moonbeams throw their sweetest influences upon them ; the 
 planets seem to look down upon them and bless them ; and 
 sometimes "the rainbow throws its sudden arch across their 
 tomb." Trees, likely to become the growth of centuries, 
 wave their branches in the healthy breeze ; — "a forest 
 landmark :n the mountain head; — a sepulchral eminence," 
 3* 
 
/ 
 30 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 — all that the poet desired, it is likely to be till the end of 
 time; — and then how shall the dead arise? How many 
 ■were ready to die. fully fitted for heaven ? How many 
 unprepared? Alas! even these solitary four hundred, 
 should they not be disturbed till the judgment day, will 
 doubtless then present the usual contrasts of character, — 
 saint and sinner, — which we see in e very-day life. But in 
 what proportion ? Such as we see in the streets of Shef- 
 field daily ? Alas ! then, — but the day will declare it. 
 
 In the centre of the grounds stands a monument, — a 
 sort of tapering triangular structure, surmounted by a 
 cross : 
 
 ■ " That all who here sin's bitter wages see, 
 May on this mount remember Calvary." 
 
 I may just remark that I had the pleasure of dining with 
 Mr. Montgomery * at the mansion of Mr. Jones, at Broom- 
 grove, a few days since. Enjoyed a very pleasing interview. 
 You desire u a short description of his personal appearance." 
 I cannot improve upon the following : "The poet continues 
 to reside at Sheffield, — esteemed, admired, and beloved ; a 
 man of purer mind, or more unsuspected integrity, does not 
 exist. He is an honor to the profession of letters ; and, by 
 the upright and unimpeachable tenor of his life, even more 
 than by his writings, a persuasive and convincing advocate 
 of religion. In his personal appearance, Montgomery is 
 rather below than above the middle stature ; his cot, atenance 
 is peculiarly bland and tranquil, and, but for the occasional 
 sparkling of a clear gray eye, it could scarcely be described 
 as expressive. Those who can distinguish ' the fine gold 
 from the sounding brass' of poetry, must place the name of 
 James Montgomery high in the list of British poets ; and 
 
 * Since died. 
 
SHEFFIELD. 31 
 
 those who consider that the chiefest duty of such is to pro- 
 mote the cause of religion, virtue, and humanity, must 
 acknowledge in him one of their most zealous and efficient 
 advocates." Perhaps I may never have another opportunity 
 of spending an hour with this eminent person. How trans- 
 porting the prospect of an eternity with " the excellent of 
 the earth " — in heaven ! 
 
 I have noticed numerous public buildings, hospitals, dis- 
 pensaries, banks, etc., a particular description of which 
 would afford you but little interest. The hall of the Cut- 
 lers' Company would please you ; it is an elegant Grecian 
 structure, with a Corinthian portico, supporting a triangular 
 pediment, in the tympanum of which are the Cutlers' arms, 
 in bold relief. I did not visit the interior. 
 
 I am glad the account of my visits to Chatsworth, Had- 
 don Hall, and Castletort, Caverns, afforded you, and your 
 "select circle," so much pleasure. Since then, I have 
 enjoyed another excursion, in a different direction, in com- 
 pany with my host and hostess, Mr. and Mrs. Greaves, and 
 a few select friends, to Wamcliff, one of the wildest glens 
 I have seen for many a year : 
 
 *' Crags, knolls, and mounds confusedly hurled, 
 The fragments of an earlier world ! ' ' 
 
 The savage aspect of the place, the singular positions and 
 shapes of the huge fragments of rocks, and the wild manner 
 in which they have been hurled, one upon another, tell of 
 some tremendous concussions as having occurred in this 
 glen, — perhaps beyond the periods of English history. I 
 write as a stra?iger, not having seen any work which affords 
 satisfactory information upon the subject : 
 
 " 'T would seem those iron times had reached this glen, 
 When giants played at hewing mountain blocks, 
 
32 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 So bold an I strange the profile of the rocks, 
 Whose huge fantastic figures frown above." 
 
 The Sheffield trade is, generally, prosperous at present, 
 but it has had great fluctuations, and is still subject to them, 
 from a variety of causes. I was particularly struck, the 
 other day, with the following bold sentiments of a native of 
 this town : " No p. ace has suffered more from the vicissi- 
 tudes of trade than Sheffield. The American war produced 
 a state of considerable depression ; and the town had only 
 just recovered from the effects of that abortive effort to 
 establish the principle of taxation, without representation, 
 when the wars of the French revolution came to plunge its 
 inhabitants in still deeper distress. The frame of society, 
 throughout the world, was disordered by this long and 
 exhausting contest ; and peace itself, when it returned, did 
 not bring prosperity in its train. In order to force a market, 
 the spirit of competition among the manufacturers was car- 
 ried to such an extent, that they relinquished the fair profits 
 of their trade; the consequence was, an undue depression 
 in the wages of the artisans, and the introduction of the per- 
 nicious practice of paying wages in goods instead of money. 
 Many of the workmen, in consequence, became themselves 
 pauper manufacturers, and wholesale dealers in hardware, 
 which they sold, not for what the articles were worth, but 
 for what they would fetch, — not unfrequently at thirty, forty, 
 and even fifty per cent, below the regular prices. The glut 
 of cutlery thus became excessive. The parish was burdened 
 with a host of half-famished claimants, and the poor's rates 
 were so heavy that many of the contributors to those rates 
 reduced their establishments to the lowest possible standard, 
 and took up their residence in the neighboring townships, 
 where the parochial imposts were less oppressive. These 
 evils, like mest others in trade, carried in them their own 
 
SHEFFIELD. 33 
 
 remedy ; in time, the quantity of goods manufactured became 
 better adjusted to the extent of the demand ; the rate of 
 wages was advanced; money was paid to the workmen 
 instead of goods ; and Sheffield began to return slowly, bat 
 certainly, to a state of prosperity, which it continued to 
 enjoy till the great commercial panic of 1837, which was 
 brought about chiefly by the over-speculations of the three 
 preceding years, and from the baneful effects of which 
 Sheffield, like other manufacturing towns of this kingdom, 
 has not yet recovered ; though it has suffered, perhaps, less 
 than Manchester, and many other places. This long depres- 
 sion of our trade and commerce has created much popular 
 discontent, from which sprung Chartism, — a political fac- 
 tion which threatened the overthrow of the national institu- 
 tions as now established- but, happily, the Chartist con- 
 spiracy to take and sack this town was frustrated by the 
 vigilance of the magistrates and police, on the night of 
 January 11th, 1840, when Samuel Holbery, the chief leader 
 of the insurrection, was apprehended in his house, in Eyre- 
 lane, where a quantity of hand grenades, and other combus- 
 tibles, were found. Some of the insurgents, however, 
 mustered with pikes, etc., in various parts of the suburbs, 
 and, entering the town at midnight, wounded several watch- 
 men, but were soon dispersed by the military and the police, 
 who took a number of prisoners, several of whom were sen- 
 tenced to various periods of imprisonment at the ensuing 
 York assizes. There seems to be a want of confidence 
 between masters and workmen, which is a source of much 
 uneasiness. This has given rise to secret combinations 
 among the workmen, the nature of which I do not under- 
 stand ; but the effect of which is to awe and coerce ; and 
 some villanous and ^successful attempts have been made 
 to blow up premises. This is to be regretted. The Shef- 
 
34 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 field wares are indeed popular in all parts of the civilized 
 world; jet this circumstance does not insure the perpetuity 
 of its trade. Men of capital may be tempted to turn their 
 attention elsewhere, and establish themselves in other towns. 
 The cutlery trade is the birthright of Sheffield, and to 
 divert it anywhere else would be ruinous to the town. It 
 is to be hoped that the parties concerned will come to a 
 better understanding, and no longer persist in bringing 
 about a catastrophe which posterity must deplore, and which 
 would be fatal to their own interests. Perhaps. the late 
 great revival of religion, and which is still progressing so 
 sweetly, may contribute largely to a better state of things. 
 It surely will, so far as it shall spread among the masses of 
 the population. A revival of pure religion is a public bene- 
 Jit ; it is a presage of future prosperity to the town so 
 honored. SheffMd^ I trust, will not be an exception." 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 HADDON HALL AND CHATSWORTH 
 
 In the last chapter Mr. Caughey alluded to a visit he 
 made to Haddon Hall and Chatsworth. "We extract his 
 account of the visit, from one of his letters. 
 
 On the 10th inst., in company with a party of my Shef- 
 field friends, I visited an old baronial edifice in Derbyshire, 
 named Haddon Hall. The day was charming. Our route 
 lay through a rich and fertile region, with the exception of 
 a few miles, which extended across the wild moors of Derby- 
 shire. These moors present a ridge of considerable eleva- 
 tion, and extend many miles. They are covered with heath 
 and bilberry, presenting a singular contrast to the noble and 
 finely diversified landscape on either side. Having passed 
 the moors, we traversed a picturesque and cheerful country, 
 which improved in beauty all the way to Bakewell. This 
 town is pleasantly situated on a hill-side, overlooking the 
 river Wye, about two miles from its influx into the river 
 Derwent. Turning suddenly to the left, we proceeded down 
 the lovely vale of Haddon, southward, when, suddenly, 
 the towers, turrets, and embattled parapets of Haddon 
 Hall burst upon our vision, presenting a picture of singular 
 beauty and interest, — a charming subject for the pencil. 
 As we approached, its architectural detail gradually unfolded 
 Light clouds, careering along the sky, involved the venerable 
 
36 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 pile now in shadow, and the next moment in sunshine. 
 Lofty trees, full of years, but covered with luxuriant foliage, 
 waved their branches around it. The hill, which rises 
 abruptly from the knoll upon -which it is built, is covered 
 with a dark grove of " massive treesP A background so 
 imposing, throws out into fine relief all parts of the edifice. 
 Fifteen or twenty minutes after we caught the first glimpse, 
 we crossed the Wye, and were wandering outside the walls. 
 
 I should have informed you that, though uninhabited, it 
 is in a fine state of preservation, and, at a distance, has all 
 the appearance of being the busy residence of wealth and 
 grandeur. The gloomy and solemn silence which pervades 
 it, as one approaches, soon banishes the illusion. The old 
 tower which surmounts the gateway, and which, in the days 
 of Haddon's glory, evidently formed the principal entrance, 
 is very ancient. Historians agree, that it had its origin 
 prior to the Conquest. Indeed, every part of this noble 
 fabric has the appearance of having stood the storms of 
 many centuries. There is little in its history that would 
 interest you. During a succession of centuries it was the 
 residence of the rich and the great. Mirth and gladness 
 long resounded through its halls, and many thousands have 
 been regaled at its festive board. The descendants of one 
 family (the Vernons) occupied it about four hundred years ; 
 "during which," says an historian, "it was invariably 
 regarded, not only as the seat of feudal splendor, but of the 
 most sumptuous and munificent hospitality." It is now the 
 property of the Duke of Rutland, and has been deserted 
 about one hundred years. 
 
 The duke has left a servant in charge of the place, with 
 permission to conduct visitors through it. As these baronial 
 residences are so famous in English story, and as this is the 
 most complete of any in the kingdom, remaining, " after a 
 
HADDON HALL AND CHATSWORTH. 37 
 
 sort," as it was in the days of yore, untouched by the nand 
 of modern improvement, I felt no small desire to inspect the 
 interior. We readily obtained admittance, and were con- 
 ducted through the various apartments. 
 
 " The postern low, 
 And threshold, worn with tread of many feet, 
 Receive us silently. How grim and gray 
 Yon tall, steep fortalice above us towers ! 
 Its narrow apertures, like arrow-slits, 
 Jealous of heaven's sweet air ; its dreary rotfms 
 Floored with rough stones ; its uncouth passages 
 Cut in thick walls, bespeak those iron times 
 Of despotism, when o'er the mountain-surge 
 Rode the fierce sea-king, and the robber hedged 
 The chieftain in his moat." 
 
 Several of the rooms are hung round with loose tapestry, 
 which afford one a fine idea of the manner in which castles, now 
 in ruins, were furnished in ancient times, as, also, specimens 
 of the taste and comforts of other generations. This tapestry 
 appears to have been as essential to comfort as for ornament. 
 The uncovered walls are of the coarsest masonry, and the 
 doors of the best rooms of the rudest workmanship; but 
 these deformities are delicately concealed by, what a writer 
 terms, " the cumbrous magnificence of tapestry '." 
 
 It would require more time than I can command at 
 present, to give you a detailed plan of the interior. The 
 number of apartments really surprises one ; they are indica- 
 tive, certainly, of a very large household. It is recorded, 
 that, in addition to a numerous family, with, usually, a 
 vast number of visitors, no less than seven score servants 
 were maintained and lodged within it. The walls are mas- 
 sive, and, where there is no tapestry, the apartments are 
 exceedingly comfortless and gloomy. With the exception 
 cf the kitchen, the cellar, dining-hall, and the gallery, and 
 4 
 
38 RnOAYEKS OF BLESSING. 
 
 a few select rooms, we may say, in the language of one, u The 
 whole is a discordant mass of small and uncomfortable 
 apartments crowded together without order." How very 
 striking the contrast between the order, neatness, and air 
 of comfort, observable in the interior arrangements of Amer- 
 ican and modern English mansions, and that which is pre- 
 sented at Haddon Hall ! 
 
 The chapel forms a part of the south and west fronts of 
 Haddon, enriched with painted windows. Upon the stained 
 glass of one we noticed the date, "Millesimo ccccxxvii." 
 [1427.] A witty visitor, some time ago, remarked, that 
 from the very limited capacity of the chapel, when compared 
 with the large scale upon which other parts of the noble pile 
 was laid out, it appeared that the good people of former 
 ages, however much room they required to manage their 
 temporal affairs, contrived to arrange the accommodations 
 for the transaction of their spiritual concerns within very 
 modest dimensions. The pulpit, desk, and several of the 
 pews remain. When peeping around, and peering into every 
 nook and corner, we found, in a little lobby of the chapel, 
 the remains of an old clock ; possibly the very same that 
 reproved the prolixity or lengthened zeal of the preacher, at 
 the very time he was receiving the commendations x of the 
 spirits that inhabit eternity. The works of the clock, in a 
 state of decay, through very age, and eaten with rust, had 
 fallen down into a rusty, mouldering heap. Thus, Old Time, 
 "the august inheritance of all mankind," marches on, while 
 "Time's sentinel," which measured out the moments, min- 
 utes, and hours of other centuries, and sounded the " warn- 
 ing knell" of their departure to other generations, lies silent, 
 motionless, and meaningless, covered with rust, dust, and 
 cobwebs. A fine subject this for a poet. Ccme, now, try 
 your genius, and send me "the results " by the next steamer 
 
HADDON HALL AND CHATSWORTH. 39 
 
 In the central gateway, between the upper and lower 
 courts, w T e were shown a relic of great antiquity, — a Roman 
 altar. It was discovered in the meadows, a short distance 
 from Haddon. The workmanship is uncouth. It contains 
 t an inscription, but the letters are so injured and effaced by 
 time and careless usage, we tried in vain to decipher the m. 
 Through the kindness of a friend, I have seen several tran- 
 scriptions, differing somewhat. That from Camden, the his- 
 torian, I judge to be most correct, as it was copied at a date 
 much earlier than any of the others, when the characters 
 could, doubtless, be more easily and correctly deciphered. 
 
 DEO 
 
 MARTI 
 
 BR A CIA CAS 
 
 OSITIUS 
 
 CACCILIAN 
 
 PREFECT 
 
 TRO 
 
 V.S. 
 
 As Mr. * * * is a professed antiquarian, this inscrip- 
 tion may, perhaps, suggest a train of thought which he may 
 turn to some account in his future " articles " for the press. 
 
 The dining hall, with its elevated platform, where sat 
 " the lord of the castle, at the head of his household and 
 guests, and the gallery at the end appropriated to mirth and 
 minstrelsy," on festive occasions, is still, though solitary 
 and desolate, imposing. On the wainscot we observed a 
 singular fastening, large enough to admit the w T rist of a 
 man's hand ; the tradition of which was a subject of merri- 
 ment to the party. It was designed as a method of punish- 
 ment, it seems, for trivial offences, as also to enforce certain 
 laws, enacted by the servants themselves, with regard to 
 eacl other. He that refused to drink his horn of ale, or 
 
40 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 neglected to perform properly the duties of his office, havl 
 his hand locked into this "keep" a little above his head. 
 when abundance of cold water was poured down the sleeve 
 of his doublet. Rather a hazardous alfair to be a tee-totaller 
 in those days ! 
 
 After inspecting some ancient pictures and furniture, ar- 
 morial crests, carvings in wood, &c, the ladies of our party 
 treated us to an excellent dinner, " on the premises; " after 
 which, we rode forward to Chats worth Castle, the residence 
 of the Duke of Devonshire. I can hardly tell you why, 
 but it is seldom I have felt emotions so singularly "pensive 
 and melancholy, as when walking in and around Haddon 
 Hall. It was not, indeed, until we stood in a little flower- 
 garden, — once "the gem of Haddon," now "neglected and 
 forlorn," — that I recognized the solitariness of my feelings 
 in full. Mrs. Sigoimiey must have had feelings some- 
 what similar, as she penned, it seems, the following lines on 
 the same spot : 
 
 " 'Tis passing strange ! 
 Dwell life and death in loving company? 
 Why bloom those flowei-s, with none to inhale their sweets? 
 Who trim yon beds so neatly, and remove 
 Each withered leaf, and keep each straggling bough 
 In beautiful obedience ? 
 
 — Come they back, 
 They of the by-gone days, when none are near, 
 And with their spirit-eyes inspect the flowers 
 That once they loved ? Toil they in shadowy ranss 
 'Mid these deserted bowers, then flit away? 
 They seem but just to have set the goblet down 
 As for a moment, yet return no more. 
 The chair, the board, the couch of state, are here, 
 And we, the intrusive step are fain to check, 
 As though we pressed upon their privacy. 
 Whose privacy ? The dead ? A riddle all ! 
 And we ourselves are riddles. 
 
H ADD ON HALL AND CHATSWORTH. 41 
 
 While we cling 
 Still to our crutrbling hold, so soon to fall 
 And be forgotten, in that yawning gulf 
 That whelms all past, all present, all to come, 
 * 0, grant us wisdom, Father of the soul, 
 To gain a changeless heritage with thee ! " 
 
 It is Dr. Johnson, I think, who observes, and properly too. 
 that whatever withdraws us from the power of our senses ; 
 whatever makes the past, the distant, or the future, predom- 
 inate over the present, advances us in the dignity of think- 
 ing beings ; and he deprecates, both for himself and friends. 
 the rigidity of that philosophy which would conduct us 
 unmoved over any ground which has been dignified by wis- 
 dom, bravery, or virtue ; — that the* man is little to be envied 
 whose patriotism would not gain force upon the plains of 
 Marathon, or whose piety would not grow warmer among 
 the ruins of Iona. Haddon Hall, unless I am mistaken, 
 lays claim to no such stirring recollections. It possesses an 
 interest of its own, — not, I should judge, emanating so much 
 from historical reminiscences, as from its great antiquity, 
 and its utter loneliness. Though identified with the pres- 
 ent, as well as the past; though occupying still the "site 
 of its youth," and permitted still to lift its turreted head 
 in sunshine and glory, invested with the foliage of many 
 trees, and graced by a charming modification of scenery, 
 itself the noblest object in the picture ; although it bears the 
 is. ark of a foreigner, like myself, yet it claims affinity with 
 the mansions that are. A contemporary with the present 
 generation, as it was with those generations which have passed 
 the flood, who now dwell under other skies, ' ' on those eternal 
 shores," yet it is isolated, lonely and ruinous, and seems 
 rather to hold communion with the dead than the living ; 
 pleading haughtily (perhaps this is too harsh a word), but 
 4* 
 
42 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 mournfully, and, rough as its features are, feelingly for 
 glories gone by, and which are never to return ; as if claim- 
 ing " a sigh to the memory " of the good and the bad, the 
 virtuous and the vicious, the beautiful and the ungraceful, 
 the religious and the irreligious, the humble and the proud, 
 the pensive and the gay, the learned, the intellectual, and 
 the illiterate, the happy and the unhappy, the courageous 
 and the pusillanimous, the Christian and the infidel, whc 
 sojourned within its walls. 
 
 When passing down the vale, with the head instinctively 
 turned toward the desolate pile, my eyes lingered long upon 
 its crumbling battlements, with emotions hallowed and ten- 
 der ; something akin to what one feels sometimes when re- 
 calling the memories of the faded past ; " like the memory 
 of joys that are past, pleasant and mournful to the soul." 
 
 " Forsaken stood the hall, 
 Worms ate the floor, the tap'stry fled the walls ; 
 No fire the kitchen's cheerful grate displayed ; 
 No cheerful light the long-closed sash conveyed ; 
 The crawling worm, that tm-ns a summer fly, 
 Here spun his shroud, and laid him up to die 
 The winter death. Upon the bed of state, 
 The bat, shrill shrieking, wooed his flickering mate. 
 
 ****** 
 The air was thick, and in the upper gloom 
 The bat — or somcihing in its shape — was winging . 
 And on the wall, as chilly as a tomb, 
 The death's-head moth was clinging. 
 
 ****** 
 The floor was redolent of mould and must ; 
 The fungus in the rotten seams had quickened, 
 While, on the oaken table, coats of di^st 
 Perennially had thickened. 
 
HADDON HALL AND CHATSWORTH. 43 
 
 The subtle spider, that from overhead 
 Hung like a spy on human guilt and error 
 Suddenly turned, and up its slender thread 
 Ran with a nimble terror." 
 
 The above is a gloomy picture, and strangely out of har 
 aiony with the eloquent and majestic exterior of Haddon, 
 and th 3 verdant beauty of surrounding nature. * * * * 
 Still I carried out the propensities of my nature, gazing 
 back upon the past ; the lovely meadows, and cheerful 
 uplands, dotted or fringed with trees ; the devious windings 
 of the busy, sparkling Wye ; the groves of Haddon, with 
 the ever-varying features of the romantic and venerable 
 pile, — a view changeable through shade and sunshine, and 
 singularly dependent upon the various turnings of the road 
 which led us away from a picture so enchanting. Arriving 
 at length at a decisive bend of the highway, Haddon Hall 
 disappeared from my eyes, — perhaps forever ; but it has 
 left an impression upon my heart, with a series of beau- 
 tiful images, not speedily to be erased or forgotten. One 
 said: "There are three things we should constantly keep 
 in view, — What we once were, what we now are, and what 
 we shall be hereafter." Every Christian, I thought, should 
 cheer his heart by a contemplation of that "deed of settle- 
 ment " drawn out for us by St. Peter : " Begotten us again 
 tin to a living hope, — to an inheritance incorruptible, and 
 undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven 
 for you, who are kept by the power of God, through faith 
 unto salvation." Give me that estate, then, and that man- 
 sion, which cannot be wasted or spoiled by invasion ; of 
 which war cannot deprive me ; which law cannot win from 
 rne, nor debt mortgage, nor power wring from me ; which 
 cannot be defiled by sin, or sink to decay and ruin by time, 
 
44 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 storm, or human caprice ; of which death cannot disinherit 
 me ; which must increase in value throughout the lapse of 
 eternal ages ; and, in the possession of which, by the will 
 of God, eternity shall confirm me. Hallelujah ! Amen ! 
 Eternity claimed our thoughts ; — the probable destinies too 
 of the multitudes who, in by-gone ages, gladdened those halls 
 we had just left, and who, like ourselves, for the last time, 
 glanced a farewell to "turret, battlement and tower." Hopes 
 of possibly meeting my own friends upon earth, but surely 
 in heaven, though now separated by the mighty ocean, — 
 in that bright world where ruin and death are words un- 
 known, and where "farewells are heard never," — animated 
 my pensive spirit, as we entered the cheerful grounds of 
 Chatsworth Park. And what a park ! — it covers an area, 
 it is said, of eleven miles. The afternoon was one rarely 
 excelled for loveliness. 
 
 " I 've heard the humid skies did ever weep 
 In merry England, and a blink of joy 
 From their blue eyes was like a pearl of price. 
 Mine own indeed are sunnier, yet at times 
 There comes a day so exquisitely fair, 
 That, with its radiance and its rarity, 
 It makes the senses giddy. 
 
 Such an one 
 Illumined Chatsworth, when we saw it first, 
 Set like a gem against the hanging woods 
 That formed its background. Herds of graceful deer, 
 Pampered, perchance, until they half forget 
 Their native fleetness, o'er the ample parks 
 Roamed at their pleasure. From the tower that crests 
 The eastern hill, a floating banner swayed 
 With the light breezes, while a drooping ash, 
 Of foliage rich, stood lonely near the gates, 
 Like the presiding genius of the place, 
 Unique and beautiful. Their sil ver jet 
 The sparkling fountains o'er the freshened lawns 
 
HADDON HALL AND CIIATSWQRTH. 45 
 
 Threw fitfully, and, gleaming here and there. 
 The tenant-statues with their marble life 
 Peopled the shades. 
 
 But wondering most we marked 
 A princely labyrinth of plants and flowers, 
 All palace-lodged,* and breathing forth their sweets 
 On an undying summer's balmy breast. 
 And well might wealth expend itself for you, 
 Flowers, glorious flowers ! that dwelt in Eden's bound, 
 Yet sinned not, fell not, and whose silent speech 
 Is of a better paradise, where ye, 
 Catching the essence of the deathless soul, 
 Shall never fade. ' ' 
 
 We spent an agreeable hour in walking through the pal- 
 ace. The generosity displayed by English noblemen, in 
 allowing the public free access to their splendid mansions, 
 cannot be too much admired. Every room is thrown open. 
 A servant is ready to conduct every party which arrives, 
 and seems emulous to gratify the visitors to the full extent 
 of their wishes. The rules which visitors are required to 
 observe seem to be very few ; — none which impose any 
 painful and unnecessary restraint, or to which any person 
 of politeness and good breeding eould possibly object. The 
 succession of rooms through which we were conducted pre- 
 sented a wonderful contrast to those of old Haddon, — spa- 
 cious, lofty and elegant. The dazzling splendor of the 
 furniture, the rich decorations of the ceilings, and even 
 of the walls of the staircases, where the talents of a Verrio, 
 a Laguerre. and others, are displayed in, at least, splendor 
 of coloring and design (though the gods and goddesses — 
 allegorical personages, and mortals like ourselves — are 
 mingled together with little regard to order, and are not at 
 all remarkable for taste or decency}, are yet truly magnifi- 
 
 * The Conservatory. 
 
46 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 cent. The great variety of carving in wood, dead game, 
 flowers and shells, encompassed with appropriate ornaments. 
 -— the work of ono Gibbons, an artist once celebrated in this 
 country, — appeared exquisitely beautiful, and so natural as 
 to take one's senses by surprise, to find them only wood. 
 The immense collection of paintings, — portrait^ history 
 and landscape, — by the first masters in Europe; the nu- 
 merous ornaments and curiosities, products of British and 
 foreign art, laid out in magnificent profusion ; the library, 
 filled with the works of almost all ages and climes, — were 
 all, and more, than the fame of the justly celebrated " Pal- 
 ace of the Peak " had led us to expect. 
 
 A short distance from the palace stands the conserva- 
 tory, — a splendid object ; the largest of the kind, we were 
 informed, in the world. The genius of the duke is now 
 exerting itself in a series of improvements around this con- 
 servatory, which, when completed, must have a grand effect. 
 He seems determined upon carrying the "capabilities of the 
 place" to the highest possible perfection. His rock-work, 
 upon an extensive scale, water-works, and accompaniments, 
 must render the place a scene of " fairy enchantment." 
 
 " Great princes have great playthings. Some have played 
 At hewing mountains into men, and some 
 At building human wonders mountain high." 
 
 A path from the conservatory directed our steps along 
 the margin of a small lake, which seemed to serve the green 
 slopes and surrounding trees as a transparent mirror. A 
 slight bubbling in the centre attracted our attention, out of 
 which arose suddenly a connected column of water, which 
 continued to ascend to the suprising height of seventy or 
 eighty feet, played beautifully for a few moments, and then 
 gradually shortened to the height of ten feet, when it came 
 
HADDON HALL AND CHATSUO RTH. 47 
 
 down with a splash and disappeared. A short walk brought 
 us to another sheet of water, clear as crystal, where an aged 
 man managed a secret spring, which surprised us with an- 
 other column, of a similar height to the former, but some- 
 what varied in its motions, white as the ocean's foam, bril- 
 liant and beautiful. I dare not trust myself with an attempt 
 to describe the appearance of the falling particles of water 
 illumined by the sunshine, the reflected radiance upon the 
 foliage of the trees, and the verdant margin of the water, 
 with all the poetic ideas they inspired, lest you should sus- 
 pect me as having exchanged my sober and favorite authors 
 in theology for the contaminating and fictitious visions of 
 the novelist. 
 
 " 'T was beautiful to stand and watch 
 The fountain's crystal turn to gems ; 
 And from the sky such colors catch, 
 As if 't were raining diadems." 
 
 Chatsworth for several years afforded a shelter to un- 
 happy Hobbes, the infidel. In one of the rooms of the 
 palace, which we had no curiosity to see, he smoked his 
 twelve pipes of tobacco every afternoon, and, in the midst 
 of its appropriate and offensive fume, he " belched out upon 
 paper " his more offensive and dangerous sentiments 
 against Christianity ; which, but for the interposition of 
 the Almighty, would have spread themselves over these 
 kingdoms, if not over the whole world, like a smoke from 
 the bottomless pit. As it was, his writings injured many. 
 The Earl of Rochester, and other English noblemen, not a 
 few, were ruined by them. u I hate" was the surly motto 
 of this unfortunate man ; and its poisonous venom mingled 
 with the spirit cf his every attack upon all that is holy, just 
 and good, in the religion of the Son of God. The ways of 
 
48 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 Providence are mysterious. This man was suffered to 
 remain upon the earth to the advanced age of ninety-two, 
 tormented with fears, for which sceptics were by no means 
 able to account, but which preyed perpetually upon his 
 wretched mind : 
 
 "In sleep, 
 In sickness, haunting him "with dire suspicions 
 Of something in himself that would not die.' 
 
 Such fearful visitations, although they rendered his life 
 miserable, were mercifully designed, no doubt, to alarm his 
 conscience, to restrain his pen ; yes ! and to save his soul. 
 The sequel of his melancholy history shows their ineffi- 
 ciency. With an infatuation, for which the pious and 
 learned men of his age found it as difficult to account, as 
 the sceptics for his humiliating fears, he continued to cling 
 to infidelity while he wielded his weapons, as he could, 
 against Christianity. Of him it might be said truly : 
 
 " The infidel has shot his bolts away, 
 Till, his exhausted quiver yielding none, 
 He gleans the blunted shafts that have recoiled, 
 And aims them at the shield of truth again." 
 
 Death, it is said, he would never allow to be a subject of 
 conversation *in his presence. Reflections of the most tor- 
 menting character seemed to be associated with the idea. 
 An unaccountable terror seized him, if his candle went out 
 in the night. He did not die at Chatsworth ; but his last 
 hours were the most melancholy imaginable. " Where are 
 you going, sir?" inquired one of his friends. "I am taking 
 a leap in the dark," replied the dying man. In the "dark! " 
 What ! and does the light of your philosophy afford you no 
 aid in such a trying hour as this ? Ah ! no ; it may 
 Lewilicr and terrify, but it is insufficient to assure and 
 
HADDON HALL AND CHATSWORTH. 49 
 
 comfort the departing soul. Infidel philosophy, — if philos- 
 ophy that may be called, which "puts darkness for light, 
 and light for darkness" (Isaiah 5: 20), presents only 
 darkness for light, in that hour, in which, above all other 
 hours, the soul demands light the most clear and satisfac- 
 tory, "lam taking a leap in the dark!" Ay! and 
 into the dark ! A " leap ! " — no, that is a motion quite too 
 rapid for an infidel. Such characters are not usually so 
 courageous. The last sensible words the dying Hobbes 
 was heard to utter, after being told he could live no longer, 
 were, " I shall be glad, then, to find a hole to creep out of 
 the world at." 
 
 In whatever direction we strayed through ' ' the grounds 
 of Chats worth," we were cheered with a perpetual succes- 
 sion of new and interesting objects. The " exuberance of 
 wealth" has introduced a variety of petty defects, which 
 appeared to me to detract from that simplicity, unity, and 
 majesty of nature, for which Chats worth is so deservedly 
 famous. The truth is, so extremely beautiful is nature, in 
 this earthly paradise, that any attempt to improve it, unless 
 by the hand of the most delicate and exquisite taste, is but 
 to deform ; — like applying rouge to the face of a perfect 
 beauty, or adding colors to the blooming flowers in our 
 gardens. Chatsworth reminds one of Tasso's description of 
 Isolla Bella : 
 
 *' Here a new world of joy surrounds our path ; 
 With spreading shade, the trees and evergreens 
 Burst into gladdening life ; the fountain's play- 
 Sheds sweet refreshment upon all around ; the boughs 
 Move quivering in the gentle breeze of morn, 
 And flowers uprising from their beds, with eyes 
 Of infant sweetness, seem to smile on us. 
 The gardener now unroofs the winter-house, 
 And gives the citrons to the balmy air. 
 
 5 
 
50 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 The blue expanse of heaven rests overhead, 
 "Whilst the far mountains, in the horizon's ^erge, 
 Shake off their -wintry coverlet of snows." 
 
 The picture, beautiful as it is, is not complete, unless we 
 add the lines of an English poet to those of the Italian, — ■ 
 to which I would add a gem, to which, were the poet alive, 
 he would not, perhaps, object : 
 
 " And streams, as if created for his use, 
 Pursue the track of his directing wand, 
 Sinuous or straight, now rapid and now slow, 
 Now murmuring soft, now roaring in cascades, — " 
 Even as he bids ! The enraptured owner smiles. 
 'T is finished, and yet, finished as it seems, 
 Still wants a grace, the loveliest it could show, — 
 
 A WIFE." 
 
 After enjoying a walk of considerable length, through the 
 park, we returned to the hotel to tea, after which we set out 
 for Sheffield. When crossing the Derbyshire Moors, on 
 our return, we noticed abundance of game, with their 
 young, now well grown, enjoying themselves midst the 
 bilberry and heath, which afford them both food and 
 shelter. 
 
 But what a pensive, solitary stillness presides over these 
 " wild, unpeopled hills ! " 
 
 " That seldom hear a voice save that of heaven ; 
 They seem alone beneath the boundless sky." 
 
 They look imposing when seen from afar. Distance 
 lends them a singular enchantment ; softens down their 
 rude features into soft harmonious masses, and invests 
 with rich purple, poetry-inspiring tint, as they sweep away 
 in graceful and long-continued outlines ; but, ah me ! when 
 one is in the midst of them, as in life-scenes, poetry 
 gives place to stern, stubborn, rugged reality ! 
 
HADDON HALL AND CHATSWOKTH. 51 
 
 And, speaking of 'poetry, what an interest does that divine 
 art fling over scenes and places however wild and barren ! 
 Mrs. Sigourney passed over these Moors a few years ago, 
 after visiting Sheffield. Among her ''recorded impres- 
 sions " of Sheffield and its vicinities is the following 
 touching story : 
 
 " There stood a cottage, near a spreading moor, 
 Just where its heathery blackness melted down 
 Into a mellower hue. Fast by its side 
 Nestled the wheat-stalk, firmly bound and shaped 
 Even like another roof-tree, witnessing 
 Fair harvest and good husbandry. Some sheep 
 Koamed eastwards o'er the common, nibbling close 
 The scanty blade, while toward the setting sun 
 A hillock stretched, o'ershadowed by a growth 
 Of newly-planted trees. 'T would seem the abode 
 Of rural plenty and content. Yet here 
 A desolate sorrow dwelt, such as doth wring 
 Plain, honest hearts, when what had long been twined 
 With every fibre is dissected out. 
 Beneath the shelter of those lowly eaves 
 An only daughter made the parents glad 
 "With her unfolding beauties. Day by day 
 She gathered sweetness on her lonely stem, 
 The lily of the moorlands. They, with thoughts 
 Upon their humble tasks, how best to save 
 Their little gains, or make that little more, 
 Scarce knew that she was beautiful ; yet felt 
 Strange thrall upon their spirits when she spoke 
 So musical, or from some storied page 
 Beguiled their evening hour. 
 
 And when the sire 
 Descanted long, as farmers sometimes will, 
 Upon the promise of his crops, and how 
 The neighbors envied that his corn should be 
 Higher than theirs, and how the man, who hoped 
 Surely to thrive, must leave his bed betimes, 
 Or of her golden cheese the mother told, 
 She vith a filial and serene regard 
 
52 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 "Would seem to listen, her young heart away 
 'Mid other things. 
 
 For, in her lonely room, 
 She had companions that they knew not of — 
 Books that reveal the sources of the soul, , 
 Deep meditations, high imaginings, 
 And ofttimes, when the cottage lamp was out, 
 She sat communing with them, while the moon 
 Looked through her narrow casement fitfully. 
 Hence grew her brow so spiritual, and her cheek 
 Pale with the purity of thought, that gleamed 
 Around her from above. 
 
 The buxom youth, 
 Nursed at the ploughshare, wondering eyed her charas, 
 Or of her aspen gracefulness of form 
 Spoke slightingly. Yet when they saw the fields 
 Her father tilled were clad with ripening grain, 
 And knew he had no other heir beside, 
 They, with unwonted wealth of Sunday clothes, 
 And huge red nosegays, flaunting in their hands, 
 Were fain to woo her. And they marvelled much 
 How the sweet fairy, with such quiet air 
 Of mild indifference, and with truthful words 
 Kind, yet determinate, withdrew herself 
 To chosen solitude, intent to keep 
 A maiden's freedom. 
 
 But in lonely walks, 
 What time the early violets richly blent 
 Their trembling colors with the vernal green, 
 A student boy, who dwelt among the hills, 
 Taught her of love. There rose an ancient tree, 
 The glory of their rustic garden's bound, 
 Around whose rough circumference of trunk 
 A garden seat was wreathed ; and there they sat, 
 Watching gray-vested twilight, as she bore 
 Such gifts of tender and half-uttered thought 
 As lovers prize. When the thin-blossomed furze 
 Gave out its autumn sweetness, and the walls 
 Of that low cot with the red-berried ash 
 Kindled in pride, they parted : he to toil 
 Amid his college tasks, and she to weep. 
 
HADDON HALL AND CHATSWORTH. 53 
 
 The precious scrolls, that with his ardent heart 
 So faithfully were tinged, unceasing sought 
 Her hand, and o'er their varied lines to pore 
 Amid his absence, was her chief delight. 
 
 — At length they came not. She, with sleepless eye, 
 And lip that every morn more bloodless grew, 
 Demanded them in vain. And then the tongue 
 Of a hoarse gossip told her, he was dead — 
 Drowned in the deep, and dead. 
 
 Her young heart died 
 Away at those dread sounds. Her upraised eye 
 Grew large and wild, and never closed again. 
 ' Hark, hark ! he calleth, I must hence away,' 
 She murmured oft, but faint and fainter still 
 Nor other word she spoke. 
 
 And so she died ; 
 And now that lonely cottage on the moor 
 Hath no sweet visitant of earthly hope, 
 To cheer its toiling inmates. Habit-led 
 They sow, and reap, and spread the daily boalxi, 
 And steep their bread in tears. 
 
 God grant them grace 
 To take this chastisement, like those who win 
 A more enduring mansion, from the blast 
 That leaveth house and home so desolate ! " 
 
 From an eminence on the moors we obtained a noble 
 prospect of the extensive, hilly, and well-wooded vale in 
 which Sheffield reposes, — apparently at the extremity. 
 The scene was everywhere varied and full of beauty. A 
 rich tone of coloring from the setting sun spread itself over 
 all objects. Our party were all happy in the love of God, 
 and rejoiced in prospect of that glorious hour, when, like 
 Moses on Pisgah, we should, from "the ridge that separ- 
 ates tvjo worlds ," behold our heavenly Canaan, and, like 
 him, enter immediately upcn the enjoyment of our eternal 
 inheritance 
 
 5* 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 CASTLETON AND PEAK'S HOLE CAVERN, 
 
 Before entering upon those extraordinary manifesta 
 tions of the grace and power of God, for which the ministry 
 of Mr. Cavghey has been so remarkably distinguished, we 
 invite the reader to an excursion with him into Derbyshire, 
 — to behold other scenes of beauty ', of solemn sublimity, 
 and grandeur, — the work of the same Almighty God, to 
 whom are known all his works, from the beginning of the 
 world. — Acts 15 : 18. 
 
 We copy from the letters of Mr. Caughey. 
 
 In company with a party of Sheffield friends, I enjoyed, 
 the other day, an agreeable excursion into Derbyshire, as 
 far as Castleton. In the language of a native of Sheffield. 
 1 ' We bade adieu to the sooty majesty of Sheffield, and the 
 thick atmosphere in which it was enveloped, for the purpose 
 of participating the pleasure of another ramble among the 
 heathy hills of Derbyshire, and inhaling the fresh breezes 
 which play upon their summits." With the exception of a 
 salute from a tremendous shower of rain, which met us at 
 the base of the wild moors, to which I alluded in my last 
 letter, and another as we approached Castleton, we had a 
 lovely day, and were blessed with such a succession of 
 charming rural scenery as I have seldom seen excelled. 
 There is a good carriage road over the moors. From their 
 
CASTLETON AND PEAK'S HOLE CAVERN. 55 
 
 summits, at various points of elevation, we surveyed a finely 
 disposed and variegated landscape, with a great abundance 
 of woodland, quite equal, in this respect, to extensive tracts 
 of country in America ; while, 
 
 " On either hand the knolls and swells 
 Were crimson with the heather bells." 
 
 Descending from this wild range of hills, our route lay 
 through a highly cultivated country, picturesque and cheer- 
 ful. We passed along the verge of a valley, in which Hath- 
 ersage is seated, and through which meanders the river 
 Derwent. If the scenery was not sublime, it was really 
 exquisitely beautiful. But I must be excused the " par- 
 ticular description" you require, as, at the time, I took no 
 notes of the numberless objects that chained our admiration ; 
 and I feel unable now to give you a just idea of this lovely 
 specimen of English scenery. 
 
 We did not alight at Hathersage, else I could have re- 
 lated an incident that would have greatly interested the 
 boys, who were so much amused, you remember, with the 
 story of "Robin Hood;" namely, that I had visited the 
 tomb of his celebrated follower, "Little John" Tradition 
 says, he was buried in the church-yard of this village. A 
 grave of gigantic dimensions is still pointed out as the spot 
 where his ashes repose. The house, too, in which he died, 
 is said to be still in existence, close by. I fear they will 
 scarcely pardon my indifference, for we could not spare time 
 to see it ; but you will please to inform them that a kind 
 gentleman of Sheffield, and his family, who are ruralizing 
 at Hathersage, or near it, have given me an invitation to 
 spend a day with them. Should I do so, they may expect 
 'particulars in full ;" but, should they become impatient, 
 
56 SHOWERS OF BLESSINQ. 
 
 you may cool their ardor a little by saying, that a worthy 
 historian has thrown the village story into " the swamp of 
 doubt ; " so that the tradition is at such a discount at pres- 
 ent as greatly to embarrass the eloquence of some antiqua- 
 rian adventurers. 
 
 From Hathersage, we proceeded through Hope Dale to 
 Castleton, six miles, where we arrived in the midst of a tre- 
 mendous storm of thunder and lightning and rain; remind- 
 ing us of Him of whom an old English poet speaks, — 
 
 " That sendeth thundering claps 
 Like terrors out of hell, 
 That man may know a God there is, 
 That in the heavens doth dwell." 
 
 After the storm, which lasted nearly an hour, the sun 
 came out in brilliancy. We left the hotel, and sallied forth 
 in quest of the celebrated Peatfs Hole Cavern. Suddenly, 
 on turning a corner, the rocky projections which overhung 
 the entrance met our view ; masses of rocks, craggy and 
 menacing, and blackened with the storms of centuries, tow- 
 ered on high. A few steps, and the eye measured the vast 
 dimensions of the mouth of this stupendous cavern. The 
 heavy masses of unsupported rock, which form the sweep 
 of a depressed natural arch, and which rises high into the 
 precipice ; the ribs and layers of rock lining the sides and 
 roof of a spacious vestibule, one hundred feet wide, three 
 hundred long, and forty high ; the dubious twilight that 
 pervades it, and which fades imperceptibly into deeper 
 gloom, and at length into utter darkness, as the eye at- 
 tempts to image a sort of perspective, present a scene of 
 such extraordinary wildness, if not sublimity, as inspires 
 the mind with feelings of a powerful character. The ladies 
 of our party substituting shaicls for bonnets, and the gen- 
 
CASTLETON AND PEAK'S HOLE CAVERN. 57 
 
 tlemen crowned with low white hats, prepared for the occa- 
 sion, — each with candle in hand, — we bade farewell to 
 day, following our guide along a rude path, in a winding 
 direction, which became more and more awful, as the feeble 
 light from advancing tapers rendered the scene more palpa- 
 ble and visible, reminding one of Homer's description of 
 the abodes of the Cimmerians : 
 
 * s The gloomy race, in subterraneous cells, 
 
 Among surrounding shades and darkness dwells ; 
 Hid in the unwholesome covert of the night, 
 They shun the approaches of the cheerful light : 
 The sun ne'er visits their obscure retreats, 
 Nor when he runs his course, nor when he sets. 
 Unhappy mortals ! " 
 
 It must have been some such dark caverns as this, we 
 thought, which afforded the heathen such a variety of 
 gloomy and frightful imagery when describing the abodes 
 and deeds of their gods. The cavern of Somnus, if I recol- 
 lect right, was located somewhere in the country of the 
 Cimmerians. Iris, by the command of Juno, arrayed in 
 a u brilliant robe" and seated upon " the glowing curve 
 of a radiant arch of many colors" descended, upon a 
 special mission, into the cavern of Somnus. Her visit was 
 represented as one of mercy. It was to require the god of 
 the place to put an end to the sorrows of the unfortunate 
 Halcyone, who had long been imploring the gods for the 
 speedy and safe return of her husband from a long voyage 
 which he had undertaken. Though a lady of fortune, and 
 living in a splendid palace, with her own hands she prepared 
 a superb garment to present to him on his return. This 
 event became the one all-absorbing feeling of her heart. 
 Daily did she visit the temples of the gods, offering rich 
 
58 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 and costly gifts at their shrines and altars, to induce them 
 to interpose their protection, and hasten him home. Alas ! 
 she was a widow, and she knew it not. Her husband lay 
 at the bottom of the deep and troubled sea. " Hope deferred 
 maketh the heart sick." The time expired when he had 
 promised to return. She became more and more importu- 
 nate. The altar of Juno was honored and enriched by the 
 disconsolate Haley one. The goddess resolved, in great 
 compassion, to put an end to prayers and anxieties, which 
 must forever be unavailing ; for even the gods of the 
 heathen were supposed to hear prayer, and. to honor those 
 who honored them. Iris was sent down from heaven with 
 an order to Som?ius, the god of sleep, to show Halcyone, 
 in a dream, that her husband, Ceyx, was "numbered with 
 the dead in shipwreck." Iris reached the cavern, and 
 walked onward, as we did through Peak's Hole. The radi- 
 ant robes of this goddess illumined the swarms of dreams 
 which crowded the place, but she pushed their unsubstantial 
 forms aside with her hands, and threaded her way through 
 the cavern, till she arrived in the presence of the god of 
 sleep. She found him stretched upon "a bed of ebony, 
 hung with black curtains" enjoying a comfortable nap. 
 Dreams, numerous as the stars of heaven, or sands by the 
 seaside, surrounded his bed, in all sorts of shadowy forms, 
 over whom the goddess noticed three chiefs, Morpheus, 
 Phobetor, and Phantasus, sons of Somnus ; — all were 
 awaiting the orders of the drowsy god ' ' loith regard to 
 embassies " to mortals. But how striking their description 
 of the cavern itself ! They represented it as a place into 
 which no sunbeam had ever entered, no chink or cranny 
 had, from periods immemorial, admitted a single ray of 
 light into this shadowy abode, sufficient to distinguish day 
 from night. No crowing of cocks, no barking of dogs, no 
 
59 
 
 cackling of geese, nor any other sounds inimical to sleep, 
 had ever disturbed the silence and death-like tranquillity of 
 the place. There were indeed certain gurglings of the river 
 of oblivion ; but the rippling of its gentle waves over the 
 smooth pebbles of its channel, only whispered peace, and 
 contributed to lull the mind into the most profound repose. 
 Poppies and other narcotic plants grew at the entrance in 
 great quantities. From these the hand of Night extracted 
 soporific juices, which she always scatters around her when 
 she exercises her soft enchantments upon the eyelids and 
 senses of mortals. 
 
 Somnus, in obedience to the command of Juno, despatched 
 Morpheus to inform the unhappy Halcyone of the untimely 
 death of her husband ; and Iris, endangered by the ' ' stupe- 
 /active vapors" of the cavern, made a hasty retreat, and 
 reascended into heaven. Morpheus finding Halcyone asleep, 
 transformed himself into the form and likeness of Ceyx, and 
 appeared before her imagination in a dream ; but pale, cold 
 and deathly, hair wet, water dripping from his beard ! 
 He leaned over her, pronounced her name, — " Dear Hal- 
 cyone ! " — and wept bitterly, while he told her, "You are 
 a widow ! I am no longer numbered with the living ; — 
 your Ceyx is no more. The ship in which I sailed was 
 overtaken by a storm ; — a whirlwind from the mouth of 
 Auster,* shook our vessel to pieces, and we were all swal- 
 lowed up by the reckless, insatiable waves of the sea. Your 
 name, dear Halcyone ! was uttered amidst the remorseless 
 roar of billows, and it formed the last faltering accents of 
 your Ceyx, when he sank in the deer/. My spirit is now 
 
 * The South-wind god ; — each of the winds of the cardinal points was 
 under the command of a particular god, according to heathen mythology. 
 Sacrifices were frequently offered them, to obtain their favor, or 4 o appease 
 their anger or fury 
 
60 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 wandering to and fro, awaiting the consolation of funeral 
 ceremonies, and the tears of the object of its faithful 
 affections, ere -it descends to the realms of Pluto." Hal- 
 cyone awoke with a scream, which aroused her attendants. 
 She searched the room, but in vain, for it was but a dream, 
 and Ceyx was not there. She left the palace in a state of 
 distraction, and ran to the place, close by, where she parted 
 with her husband, and where he stepped aboard the ship 
 that was never to return. Wild with woe, from a rock she 
 gazed forth upon the waves. She saw a dark object among 
 the billows — it approached nearer and nearer. The waves 
 bore their charge to the shore — it was a " dead body." 
 Support Haley one ! the corse of her husband rolls at her 
 feet ! * * * This is an affecting picture. It was thus 
 the refined and polished heathen accounted for dreams — 
 especially those of a remarkable or supernatural character. 
 
 Do excuse this long digression. I have related, it is true, 
 nothing new, as your classic reading has long since made 
 you familiar with this and other mythological fables, and 
 " deeds and doings" of these imaginary divinities of the 
 ancients. But it is Monday, and my head is in a state of 
 such confusion, after the efforts of yesterday, that I am unfit 
 for anything else ; and it has afforded me a few minutes' 
 amusement, which I hope you will not deem unbecoming. 
 Modern literature is not averse to mythological allusions ; 
 indeed, some of our own poets, as well as the poetry of those 
 we denominate classics, are scarcely intelligible, without a 
 knowledge of the mythology of the ancients. 
 
 But, to return to the exploring party in Peak's Hole 
 Cavern, — not altogether a classical name, but no matter ; 
 onward and onward we went, into deep and total darkness ; 
 as if descending into the Erebus of Pluto, " where reign 
 monotonous gloom and ever-daring silence;" if not into 
 
CASTLETON AND PEAK'S HOLE CAVERN. 61 
 
 Tartarus, his second hell. But no Tityus greeted our vision, 
 tormented by a devouring vulture ; nor a Tantalus, nor a 
 Sisyphus ; — a fit place, one would imagine, for unhappy 
 Tantalus, as the presence of rills and fountains of water, 
 high as the lips, would have taunted and punished him 
 •sufficiently for the affront he offered the gods at the cele- 
 brated feast. Did Dives discover " the location of the 
 water" think you, when " he cried and said, Father 
 Abraham, send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his 
 finger in water, and cool my tongue ; for I am tormented 
 in this flame ' ' ? — Luke 15 : 24. Pardon me for introducing 
 this scriptural fact, surrounded by the fabled characters 
 of heathen mythology, and the fancies of Italian poetry ; 
 but Dante, you remember, in his DeW Inferno, represents 
 the soul of one in hell, tormented by thirst, greatly aggra- 
 vated by a recollection of the rivulets and streams of his 
 native regions, with which he was so familiar in his lifetime, 
 and crying to the passers by : 
 
 " ! you," he cried, " that without pain (though why, 
 I know not) pass through this unhappy world, 
 Hear and mark well the sorrow of Adamo ; 
 Living, I had whatever my heart could wish, 
 And now, alas ! I lack a drop of water. 
 The murmuring rivulets down the verdant hills 
 Of Cassentino, flowing into Arno, 
 Which keep their little channels moist and cool, 
 Are ever in mine eyes ; and not in vain, 
 For their sweet images inflame my thirst 
 More than the malady that shrinks my visage. 
 The rigid justice, which torments me here, 
 Even from the place that I committed sin, 
 Draws means to mock and multiply my groans *' 
 
 {Sisyphus, too, might have had his punishment here, as 
 there is no lack of steep rocks, up which, in the darkness 
 of eternal night, he might continue to roll enormous stones 
 6 
 
62 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 forever, without the possibility of getting one of them to *)he 
 summit. The thought, however, struck us that, had the 
 insulted Latona chosen this place for the punishment of 
 Tityus, she could not have found a chamber sufficiently 
 large in which to punish the giant, as he covers a space of 
 nine acres of ground. Such a difficulty, however, in the 
 estimation of a heathen, would not have been too formidable 
 for the power of Latona 1 s children — Apollo and Diana. 
 Ixion, too, as a punishment for his vanity, in boasting of 
 his successful addresses to the cloud-formed Juno, to the 
 great injury of Jupiter, might have been subjected here, 
 with little ingenuity, to the dizzy and uneasy tvhirl of an 
 ever-turning wheel. And the Danaides, inhabitants also 
 of the realms of Pluto, could have been accommodated with 
 a "prison of adamant" and plenty of water; if not 
 enough to fill a bottomless barrel, yet sufficient to afford 
 them perpetual employment in these doleful regions. A 
 " classical thinker" seated aloft upon one of those gloomy 
 crags, for which this cavern is remarkable, might, at the 
 expense of our party, have treated himself to a variety of 
 such fabulous illustrations. Our ladies, indeed, were not 
 so numerous as the family of the Danaides ; and, perhaps, 
 his admiration of the fair sex might have inclined him to 
 spare them a comparison w r ith the forty- nine unhaj^py 
 daughters of the king of Argos ; yet, the appearance of the 
 " rough remainder"' of our sex was well calculated to 
 afford him a theme for some of "the worst imaginings" 
 connected with his characters in the realms of Pluto. I am 
 sure, dear sir, this part of my letter will greatly interest the 
 youthful branches of your family. But if they are inclined 
 to smile at the simplicity of the heathen, to whose mythol- 
 ogy I have been alluding, you must remind them that, if 
 they have a more co?isistent, sublime, and elevated faith, 
 
63 
 
 they owe it to that Bible, which many American infidels 
 attenpt to despise. 
 
 Continuing our subterraneous tour, we passed through a 
 variety of spacious halls and chambers, some of which our 
 guide named, — The Bell House, Roger Maine's House, 
 the Chancel, the DeviVs Cellar, the Half-way House, 
 Great Tom of Lincoln, &c, &c. Portions of the roof, 
 with pretty spars and stalactites, were successively revealed 
 by the fitful gleams of our lights, and sometimes shone with 
 beautiful splendor. A number of small rivulets crossed our 
 path at intervals, which, considering the darkness and uncer- 
 tainty of their origin, depth, and destination, did not pro- 
 duce an agreeable sensation. Their gentle and silvery rip- 
 ples, as they passed over their pebbly bottom, whispered 
 uneasy apprehensions, instead of tranquil repose. So far 
 from lulling the mind into " an oblivious insensibility" 
 of danger, like the murmuring sounds of the waters of 
 oblivion, they rather rendered the mind more sensitive to 
 the possibility of a " false step" and its consequences; 
 suggesting the idea of deep pits and chasms, into which, had 
 we tumbled, as did the priest of Diana, related in his story 
 to the weeping Egeria, we feared there would have been no 
 waters of Phlegethon in which to have ' ( washed to their 
 healing" our lacerated limbs; nor a miraculous escape, 
 through the means of a " covering of cloud" by the benevo- 
 lence of her ladyship, Diana, to hide our exit from his 
 majesty, Pluto ; nor the prospect of being honored with the 
 significant title, Virbius, — that is, twice a man. 
 
 As vision became more accustomed to the gloom of the 
 place, objects were perceived with greater distinctness and 
 satisfaction. At length we arrived at " the river Styx,^ 
 so named by our guide ; a dark sheet of water, three or 
 four feet in depth, overhung by dismal rocks; but, unlike 
 
04 SHOWERS OF BLESSING}. 
 
 its infernal namesake, in heathen fable, which encircles and 
 flows nine times around hell,* it only extends, we were told, 
 thirteen or fourteen yards. Perhaps they meant, it is only 
 navigable thus far. It doubtless has an outlet through which 
 it passes, and, after many meanderings through the bosom 
 of the mountain, gains the light of day, and plays and 
 sparkles in the sunbeams, a crystal stream ; — as if to illus- 
 trate that beautiful thought of a late writer: "Here our 
 minds are like springs, lying coldly and darkly in their 
 native bed ; but who can calculate their depth and fulness 
 when the rock of mortality is smitten, and the refulgent 
 stream of intellect gushes forth to roll and sparkle in the 
 light of heaven?" Well, we stood upon the banks of the 
 Styx. A boat there was, but no ferryman ; or, to be more 
 classical, no Charon. "Where is the son of Erebus and 
 Nox?" All was silent and death-like. It was not an 
 unclassical thought, in our guide, to detain us on the gloomy 
 shores a few minutes ; as if to remind the visitors of the 
 disabilities of those who had not been honored with funeral 
 rites. The souls of such were doomed to wander one hun- 
 dred years along the gloomy shores of Styx ere they w T ere 
 allowed to enter the boat of Charon ; or, to put us in mind 
 of the ferriage, or, more properly passport, which every 
 living visitor to the lower regions had to present, ere he 
 was ferried over the Stygian lake. A good apology for. the 
 absence, silence, and tardiness of old Charon, is found in 
 the fact that, centuries ago, he was imprisoned one whole 
 year, because, against his own will and judgment, he ferried 
 Hercules over without a passport. Indeed, the ancients 
 always placed a piece of money under the tongue of the 
 
 * The ancients said it was named Styx, in honor of a celebrated heroine 
 of that name, who, with her three daughters, according to their mythology, 
 assisted Jupiter iiv his war against the Titans. 
 
CASTLETON AND PEAK'S HOLE CAVERN. 65 
 
 deceased, as a fee for Charon. I could not avoid the pleas- 
 ing reflection, tha4 this, and many other fabulous represen- 
 tations of the invisible world, of which the ancients were so 
 fond, prove how deeply they were impressed with the belief 
 of the soul's immortality, and of a future state of rewards 
 and punishments. I do not remember meeting, in their 
 writings, with any sentiment which indicates that they 
 entertained the most distant hope of the resurrection of the 
 body. They believed, however, that an exposure of the 
 corpse to the elements, or the leaving it to perish without 
 proper funeral ceremonies, would have an influence upon 
 the soul in the eternal world. The story of Charon and his 
 boat originated, I believe, with the ancient Egyptians, who 
 always pronounced sentence upon their dead. In order to 
 this, the body was conveyed across a lake, in a boat. When 
 disembarked, it was judged and sentenced, according to its 
 actions. If good, it was honored with a splendid burial ; if 
 bad, it was left unnoticed, to waste away and perish in the 
 open air. To the judgment of the gods in the invisible world, 
 they left that which they could not reach — the soul. 
 Thank God for the Bible ! for its doctrines, as well as its 
 precepts. How simple, how grand ! How rational, how 
 sublime! How glorious, how terrific! "Here a lamb 
 may wade," said a good man, " and here an elephant may 
 swim; " it is a depth suitable to every intellect. " Other 
 writings," said another, " may make us wise to admira- 
 tion, but the Scriptures only can make us wise unto salva- 
 tion." Clouds and darkness must have ever rested upon 
 eternity, deeper than all the " murky vapors," which, in a 
 heathen's estimation, settled down upon the boundary river 
 of Pluto's domains, had we been left without the light of 
 revelation. Through life, and in our dying moments, we 
 can with safety repose upon its declarations. 
 6* 
 
66 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 A witch w Jrd from our guide was reechoed lustily from 
 the opposite shores by Charon. A couple of us entered the 
 little boat in faith. We were ordered to lie down flat in 
 the straw, candle in hand, and off we went, we knew not 
 whither ; till suddenly w T e were underneath an arch of rock, 
 which just allowed our boat to pass; thus, " two by two" 
 we were ferried over, through the "muscular power" of 
 Charon, exerted at the end of a rope. The shores upon 
 which we landed w r ere quite as bleak as those we left. 
 Hence, w T e saw nothing of the Elysii Campi, said to be on 
 that side of Styx ; — nor " singing of birds, nor pleasant 
 streams, nor evergreen bowers, nor delightful meadows]* 
 nor any other mortals but ourselves ; — nothing but black- 
 ness and darkness, which our lights rendered more palpa- 
 ble and oppressive, as if we had arrived at that awful spot 
 mentioned by the poet, and from which, a poet only could 
 have won " an idea of sublimity : " 
 
 " Whose battlements look o'er into the vale 
 Of non-existence — nothing'' s strange abode 
 
 But a truce to fables ; we are in an English cavern ; cer- 
 tainly one of the most imposing I have ever, in the entire 
 course of my travels, visited. We proceeded onward, 
 through a variety of windings and narrow apertures, till Ave 
 arrived at the extremity of the cavern, — a distance, from 
 where we lost sight of day, of between two and three thou- 
 sand feet, and at a very great depth below the summit of 
 the mountain. The longer w r e remained, objects could bo 
 perceived with more and more distinctness. On our return, 
 we paused beneath a vast gulf, which shot upward to what 
 seemed to us an immeasurable distance. Suddenly a nu- 
 merous array of blue lights and torches kindled and blazed 
 
CASTLETON AND PEAK'S HOLE CAVERN. 67 
 
 upward through the yast profound, which illumined an ex 
 tensive portion of this magnificent vault. The hitherto dark 
 vacuity seemed instantly full of curious objects, of whose 
 existence we had no conception a few moments before ; 
 rugged projections, bold and curiously-formed crags, col- 
 umns, arches, domes, — nature's own masonry, — rather, 
 the wonderful workmanship of an Almighty hand ; lofty 
 recesses, ornamented with spars and stalactites, which spar- 
 kled with various lustres. The entire cavern is composed 
 of a limestone strata, with a mixture of marine exuviae, and 
 gemmed in many places with these pretty formations. But 
 the eye is never satisfied with seeing ; there were alti- 
 tudes to which vision could not reach ; unexplored portions 
 above and beyond, filled with deep darkness, which bade 
 defiance to the glare of lights ; literally, " The light 
 shined in the darkness, and the darkness comprehended it 
 not;" that is, received it not. — John 1 : 5. A solemn 
 illustration this, we thought, of the darkness, ignorance, 
 folly, superstition, wickedness, and consequent wretched- 
 ness, which have so long settled down like the gloom of the 
 bottomless pit upon vast portions of our race. ' ' The blue 
 lights and torches" of heathen sages have for ages glared 
 heavenward through the gloom profound, but only to cast 
 a. few fitful gleams upon the murky shades in their prox- 
 imity. "Clouds, alas! and darkness, rested upon" all 
 beyond. The light of nature and providence has been as 
 ineffectual as the light of reason and conscience. The Jewish 
 religion was the lamp of the world ; it cast a cold and feeble 
 light upon the gloom which overspread all nations, but was 
 inefficient to penetrate it ; the darkness received it not ; 
 it neither understood nor profited by it. These lights, all 
 of them, were but as lights shining in a dark place, — as 
 our lights in this cavirn, — awfully illustrative of our world, 
 
68 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 and of ever j sinner's heart, u until the day daw?i, and the 
 day -star, <poja<pogos, the light-bringer, arise in your 
 hearts" (2 Peter 1 : 19) ; till a voice from heaven, which 
 shall be heard ana felt, says to every nation, " Rise and 
 shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord 
 is risen upon thee." 
 
 These lights and torches, which glimmer through this 
 cavern, do but excite our curiosity, without satisfying it; 
 they scatter their fitful gleams about, but do not illuminate 
 the gulf. A long continuation of such artificial light must 
 blacken what it proposes to brighten. These spars and other 
 crystallized formations must, in course of time, become sooted 
 over, till their brilliancy has totally disappeared. No one 
 will deny that nature, providence, reason and conscience, 
 have sent forth emanations of light ; but only sufficient to 
 alarm the human mind, to arouse its poivers, to start 
 energies, propose problems, and state difficulties ; but 
 this light offered no terms of peace or reconciliation, an- 
 swered no questions, solved no problems, and settled no dif- 
 ficulties ; it only bewildered and terrified the understanding 
 of man. The human powers, by their fearful and corrupt 
 workings, absorbed a more deathly taint from surrounding 
 gloom, became encrusted in deeper ignorance, and blackened 
 with grosser vices. Nature may retain within herself, in 
 this cavern, a method of self-purification. These pretty 
 mineral productions may possibly cleanse themselves peri- 
 odically from the effects of the smoke ; or they may possess 
 properties capable of neutralizing the effects of such sooty 
 exhalations. Human nature inherits no such power of self- 
 puriftcation. It has become icorse and worse, blacker, 
 and more degraded, and brutish, as century has succeeded 
 to century. Look at the ancient Greeks and Romans. In 
 them we see unassisted human nature, — I mean ; unas- 
 
CASTLETON AND PEAK'S HOLE CAVERN. 69 
 
 sisted by a divine revelation, — m its brightest polish ; 
 intellect at its largest grasp ; arts and sciences, — philos- 
 ophy, eloquence, sculpture, painting, poetry, — at their 
 highest noon. " There is no elastic energy," says one, " in 
 a heathen mind, no recuperative power to bring it back to 
 God. no well-spring of life to purify the soul. The heathen 
 are, of themselves, making no advances towards the truth, 
 or towards a better system of religion. They make no prog- 
 ress towards civilization, intelligence, liberty. The effect 
 of time is only to deepen the darkness, and to drive the 
 heathen further from God. They only adore more shape- 
 less blocks ; they bow before worse-looking idols ; they wor- 
 ship less elegant and more polluted temples. The idols of 
 the heathen are not constructed with half the skill and taste 
 with which they were two thousand years ago, nor are their 
 temples built with such exquisite art. No idol of the heathen 
 world could now be compared with the statue of Minerva, at 
 Athens ; * no temple can be likened to the Parthenon ; no 
 sentiment, originated now in China, India, or Africa, equals 
 in sublimity or purity the views of Socrates. The heathen 
 world is becoming worse and worse ; more degenerate, more 
 abominable, more pitiable, from age to age ; darker, and 
 more debased, till the space which divides the human race 
 from the brute has become reduced to the narrowest pos- 
 sible dimensions, consistently with preserving that distinc- 
 tion at all." 
 
 The day which now shines over Castleton could illumine 
 this cavern in a moment, could it be introduced. This may 
 never be, unless by the spasms of an earthquake, hitherto 
 unknown to these parts, unless we suppose this natural 
 wonder was occasioned by some such convulsions in nature. 
 
 * Oi the Apollo at Rome. 
 
70 SHOWERS OF BLESSINGL 
 
 This darknoss may have a lease of the place, extending to 
 the latest period of time ; when the blaze of the last day 
 shall burst into all these subterraneous passages ; when 
 darkness, like sinners, must fly before it, and cry in vain 
 for rocks and mountains to hide it from the face of the pur- 
 suing and consuming enemy. — Rev. 6 : 12 — IT. But a 
 day has dawned, a Gospel day, which shall never know a 
 close. The Sun of Righteousness has arisen upon our 
 world, with healing in his wings. Portion after portion 
 of our globe shall become illuminated by his rays, until the 
 whole world shall be filled with the light of the glory of 
 God. That ?iatural sun, which is now showering down 
 his rays upon England, were we above ground to see it, 
 will survive all the moral and intellectual darkness which 
 disgraces our race ; even that which exists in the innermost 
 recesses of those dark places of the earth which are the 
 habitations of cruelty. There is not a single nation within 
 the circuit and visitations of his rays, that shall not be en- 
 lightened, cheered and warmed, by the glorious beams of the 
 Sun of RigJiteousness. Hallelujah ! The Lord God om- 
 nipotent reigneth ! Amen !. 
 
 But I have detained you quite too long in this gloomy 
 and solitary abode. Highly entertained with our under- 
 ground excursion, we emerged into open day. One of our 
 party, who did not accompany us into the cavern, informed 
 us there had been another storm of thunder and lightning ; 
 but we heard nothing of it ; besides, we had something of 
 the kind of our own. Our guide detained us half an hour 
 for the purpose of " charging a rock with powder ; " the 
 explosion was succeeded by thousands of echoes from above, 
 beneath, running far and wide through chasms and crannies, 
 extending into other caverns yet unvisited by the foot of 
 man. As the distance increased, the echoes became soft 
 
CASTLETON AND PEAK'S HOLE CAVERN. 71 
 
 and sweet, resembling the ripple of waves, or " rain coming 
 down like music," fainter and more distant still, till they 
 seemed to fall by solitary drops into the profundity of some 
 capacious and far-away reservoir. How great the change, 
 when once more in " open day " ! (but not greater than the 
 infidel emerging from the caverns of infidelity, into the light 
 and sunshine of Gospel day) — the sun shining through a 
 glorious sky, reminding us of those fine lines of a poet who 
 sang the honors of Christianity : 
 
 " From ostentation as from weakness free, 
 It stands, like the cerulean arch we see, 
 Majestic in its own simplicity." 
 
 After dinner, we ascended a steep hill, behind the village 
 of Castleton, upon which stands an old dilapidated castle ; a 
 venerable ruin, and hoary with years. It stands upon the 
 verge of a rocky precipice, almost directly over the cavern 
 I have been describing. This is the ancient " Castle of the 
 Peak." Some consider the structure Norman; others assert 
 it was a place of royal residence during the government of 
 the Saxons. Descending from this eminence, we walked on 
 in the direction of Mam Tor, the shivering mountain, 
 considered, in these parts, as one of the seven wonders of 
 the Peak of Derbyshire. It is an immense hill, one thou- 
 sand three hundred feet above the level of the valley. It 
 bears some resemblance to Mount Ida, which overlooks 
 Troy, U. S., with a similar broken front ; as if a mighty 
 avalanche had but lately come away from the top, bringing 
 with it to the very base, the fifth part of the mountain. 
 This eruptive side has a singular appearance ; it is com- 
 posed of a sort of flaky substance, which decomposes in the 
 winter, by the 'action of frost, and is continually coming off. 
 The decomposition during winter is said to be rapid ; and 
 
72 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 it is kept up during the year, by the action of the sun's 
 rays, "wind, rain, and by the various changes of the atmos- 
 phere. The descent of these small particles gives the 
 mountain a shivering aspect; but the inhabitants affirrr 
 that a rumbling sound is frequently heard to proceed from 
 the bowels of the mountain. Sometimes it sends forth a 
 rushing noise, like a river running over its pebbly bed. 
 Notwithstanding these perpetual dilapidations, the oldest 
 inhabitant, I understand, is not able to perceive any diniiui- 
 tion in the size of the mountain. Here is another "sub- 
 ject" for your speculating mind. Your philosophy, of 
 course, discards the old notions of the spirit, genius, or 
 genii, of the mountain ; but, were this mountain on classic 
 ground, it would stand, unquestionably, connected with the 
 transformation and punishment of some of the gods or 
 goddesses of antiquity. The ancients, you will recollect, 
 accounted for the convulsions and eruptions of Mount iEtna 
 by the incarceration, within its burning caverns, of the giant 
 Typhosus or Typhon, by the offended gods. A thunder- 
 bolt from the hand of Jupiter left him sprawling beneath 
 the island of Sicily, his feet reaching to the utmost verge 
 of the island, while his arms and shoulders ran beneath an 
 extensive territory. His head was supposed to be directly 
 underneath iEtna. From his mouth and nostrils proceeded 
 flames, vapor, and smoke. The rivers of lava were but the 
 product of an emetic ; and those tremendous convulsions, 
 which shook and terrified the country around, were but his 
 gigantic efforts to disengage himself from the ponderous 
 weight under which he groaned. This allusion will make 
 the foundation for a classical story for the boys, which you 
 know so well how to improve. 
 
 Leaving the shivering mountain on the right, we ascended 
 an eminence to the left, and arrived at the Blue John Mine. 
 
CASTLETON AND PEAK'S HOLE CAVERN. 73 
 
 The entrance has nothing of the picturesque which charac- 
 terizes Peak's Hole ; it is quite concealed and covered by a 
 little house on the brow of a gentle hill. Our guide, hav- 
 ing furnished us with lighted candles, led the way through 
 a small door in the apartment, not unlike the entrance to an 
 humble cellar. Through a series of rugged steps, hewn in 
 the limestone rock, we descended nearly five hundred feet. 
 The passages and rooms through which we passed, some of 
 which are spacious, were brilliant with spars of various 
 shapes and splendors. We paused for a few minutes in one 
 apartment of uncommon dimensions, where the company, 
 forming a circle in the centre, sang very sweetly : 
 
 " From all that dwell below tlie skies 
 Let the Creator's praise arise ; 
 Let tH Redeemer's name be sung 
 Through every land by every tongue." 
 
 My u observations and reflections" in the Peak's Hole 
 Cavern have been spun out to such a length as to preclude 
 a minute description of these subterranean abodes. After 
 remaining an hour or two, encompassed by " blackness of 
 darkness," we emerged once more into " open day." Mow 
 great the change ! How like the circumstances of the new 
 convert (I thought), when just emerging out of the gloomy 
 cavern of dark and despairing repentance, — having 
 been, perhaps, there for weeks; and u those awful syl- 
 lables, hell, death, and sin," forever "ringing a tempest" 
 in his ears; "a dark importance" saddening every 
 hour of his dreary existence ! Whi]e "conscience writes a 
 doomsday sentence on his heart," there is " a pale process 
 sioji" of many sins, marching onward to meet him at the 
 bar of God. There is, however, an outlet of mercy. By 
 the light of the cross it is revealed : " Behold the Lamb of 
 7 
 
74 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 God, that taketh away the sins of the world ! " The outlet 
 is in this direction, and in no other. Repenting and believ- 
 ing, he hails it from afar, and presses forward, "with 
 vengeance at his heels," into life, liberty, and glorious 
 day. 
 
 After tea we set out for Sheffield. The evening was one 
 of the loveliest. As we passed down the vale, the eye was 
 charmed by a variety of agreeable objects. Castleton, 
 seated amid quiet and sweet seclusion, in the bosom of the 
 mountains, was gradually retiring from view, while our 
 vision ranged up the cultivated valley, and swept along the 
 rugged sides of the mountains, some of which were reposing 
 in deep shadow, others were radiant with the rays of the 
 declining sun. An immense cloud, of a peculiar brown 
 color, stood over Mam Tor, casting a shadowy tinge, to a 
 proportionate length, down the mountain. The village 
 church, at length, the ruin above, Mam Tor, and all the 
 guardian hills of Castleton, disappeared from our sight, and 
 we pursued our way homeward over a succession of hills and 
 dales, where nature has been by no means niggardly in the 
 bestowment of her favors. 
 
 Our company separated a few miles from Sheffield, when 
 I rode, on to Dronfield with the family of the Rev. David 
 Clark, minister of the Independent church of that village. 
 I spent the night at his house. Next day, visited the school 
 connected with this chapel, and was much gratified with the 
 exercises of the children, and gave them a short address. 
 The village church is ancient. We spent an agreeable 
 hour in the interior, v 
 
 " Reading the mural tablets of the dead, 
 Or poring o'er the dimly-sculptured names 
 Upon its sunken pavement." 
 
CASTLETON AND PEAK'S HOLE CAVERN. 75 
 
 Returned to Sheffield in the afternoon, and preached to a 
 large congregation at night. The revival is still advancing 
 in power. As I intend to forward you, by the next steamer, 
 a full account of the work of God, I shall bring this long 
 letter to " an abrupt close." Farewell ! „ 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 NOETON HOUSE. 
 
 Yesterday I arrived here, — Norton House, the resi- 
 dence of Thomas B. Holy, Esq. It is a fine, venerable, 
 baronial-like mansion, partly covered with ivy, venerable 
 in aspect, and " beautiful for situation." Brother Unwin 
 accompanied me from Sheffield. We had a lovely ride. 
 The neighborhood of Sheffield is famed for its rural beauty, 
 which is seen to great advantage in ascending the hills of 
 Norton. The points of observation are so numerous and 
 advantageous, that one may post himself upon many a 
 " speculative height," as Cowper terms them, and view, 
 exulting, "a spacious map of hills, with valley interposed 
 between." The hills, "swelling and undulating to and fro," 
 are enlivened with green fields, tufted with trees, and 
 fringed with foliage. Groves and thickets spread them- 
 selves over the sides and summits of gentle eminences, and 
 nod upon the neighboring steeps. Guilty, or cold and 
 dejected, must that heart be, that is not warmed, cheered, 
 and elevated, by a scene so innocent, so diversified, so 
 Io v ely ! Few landscapes, in fact, can vie with it in beauty 
 and fertility, or afford richer materials for the rural pencil : 
 
 Soft declivities, tufted hills, 
 
 With view of waters tui-ning busy mills." 
 
 Nor should Sheffield be overlooked in the distance 
 
NORTON HOUSE. 77 
 
 ** Whose fragrant air is yon thick smoke, 
 Which shrouds it like a mourning cloak. " 
 
 And now adieu, once more, beloved Sheffield ! I have 
 added a few more pleasant days, and successful efforts to 
 bring sinners to God, to the many such-like days I have 
 spent, within thee. Farewell! I love thee though thy 
 mantle of smoke is drawn so closely around thee ! My 
 heart is with thee ; for where one's treasure is, there will 
 the heart be also ! — my spiritual children are within thy 
 walls. Peace be unto thee and them, and to the friends I 
 leave behind. 
 
 And now, with what comforts, elegancies, and mercies, 
 am I surrounded ! — many of them such as Cicero labelled, 
 11 Circumstantial pieces of felicity /.." 0, how kindly has 
 the Lord provided for me in my weaknesses, during my 
 travels in this and other lands ! — hiding-places, as well as 
 resting-places for the poor, weary, disabled Evangelist, or 
 Revivalist, as I am called, — which all Christ's ministers 
 should be ; — with persecutions sometimes, — what St. 
 Paul named outside fightings, and inside fears, — 
 " Without were fightings, within were fears ; — our flesh 
 had no rest, but we were troubled on every side ;" — a 
 little brush of such things now and again, but wisely pro- 
 portioned, by my Lord and Master, to my strength ; — but 
 he soon kindles my soul again, into a pillar of fire, travel- 
 ling through the wilderness of unsaved sinners ! 
 
 Had St. Paul been favored with such a resting-place as 
 this, how he would have enjoyed it, when he wrote to 
 his brethren in Christ at Corinth, u Now ye are full, now 
 ye are rich ; ye have reigned as kings without us ; and 
 would to God ye did rei§n, that we also might reign unth 
 you. For I think that God hath set forth us the apos- 
 7* 
 
78 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 ties last, as it were appointed to death : for we are made 
 a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men ; " 
 then followed a list of his grievances and sufferings ; — that 
 he and his fellow apostles were called fools and weak, — 
 were defamed and persecuted, — labored and worked 
 with their own hands, that they might preach the Gospel 
 without charge ; yet for all that they were reviled, and 
 counted the. filth and off-scouring of all things, — were 
 buffeted, did suffer both hunger and thirst, ay, and 
 ?iakedness, and had no certain dwelling -}ilace. — 1 Cor. 
 4 : 8, 13. 0, my Lord and my God, I may well be ashamed 
 here ! — 
 
 "I blush in all things to abound." 
 
 How long would St. Paul have been contented here ? — 
 Only till he felt the stirrings of the gift divine! — till he 
 felt the fire begin to burn within, — till the word of the 
 Lord became as fire in his bones, as with the prophet Jere- 
 miah of old ! Ah me ! thus it will be with me before long ; 
 then the paradise of Norton House would turn into a wil- 
 derness, haunted with the still small voice, " What doest 
 thou here, Elijah?" Ah, my Lord ! But he permits a 
 rest, — he who said to his wearied disciples," Come ye your- 
 selves apart into a desert place, and rest a while. " " Rest 
 is necessary for those who labor," says Dr. Clarke; "and 
 a zealous preacher of the Gospel will as often stand in need 
 of it as a galley slave." But Jesus called them into a des- 
 ert place ; and lo, I rest a while in an Eden ! 
 
 Norton is the birthplace of the celebrated sculptor, 
 Chant r ey ; one of the greatest artists England has pro- 
 duced. There is a monument to his memory, in the old 
 church close by, of plain white marble, enriched with a 
 medallion likeness of the artist. His remains repose a few 
 
NORTON HOUSE. 79 
 
 yards from the church, encompassed by an iron palisading. 
 A short time before his death he came down from London 
 to choose his place of sepulture. In doing so he remarked 
 to the aged clergyman, " But I do not intend you to bury 
 me ; '' but he did so, shortly after ! 
 
CHAPTER -VI. 
 
 CHESTERFIELD. 
 EXTRACTS FROM THE JOURNAL. 
 
 Chesterfield, Derbyshire, October 27, 1845. — After a 
 few days I becane restless at Norton, and longed for action. 
 This call ?j preach is an intrusive thing; — like the con- 
 science of Shakspeare' s hero, it " mutinies in a man's 
 bosom, and fills one full of obstacles." The reflection of 
 what might have been done in rescuing souls from Satan, 
 while one has been loitering, becomes annoying, and weighs 
 heavy ; — the call lies heavy on the heart, when one is out 
 of action. But, 0, how light and pleasant amid the battle 
 for Christ and souls ! Well, I hastened away to this town 
 on Saturday, and gave battle against the Devil and all his 
 works, yesterday. The Lord of hosts was with us indeed, 
 " as an armed man, and a mighty one;" to kill and 
 make alive, to rend and to bind up, to wound and to 
 heal. There were forty-two sinners converted from the 
 world ; and twenty-seven church-members justified ; and 
 twenty-three believers sought and found full salvation. 
 Total, during the day, ninety-two saved. Of these, a 
 dozen were backsliders. Surely the fields are already 
 white unto the harvest ! 
 
 A pleasing letter from the Rev. D. Walton, the superin- 
 tendant of Wesleyan Methodism in the city of York. He 
 
CHESTERFIELD. 81 
 
 tells me the revival is still progressing, and that no Sabbath 
 has passed since I left without souls being saved. That was 
 a noble work in York, during those three or four months I 
 spent in that city, when over nine hundred were converted 
 from the world ; three hurtdred members of the Wesleyan 
 and other churches were saved, and between seven and 
 eight hundred believers were sanctified. Memorable months 
 to me. 
 
 Oct. 29. — Chesterfield must be the battle-ground some 
 time longer. Crowds upon crowds listen to the word ; and 
 scores and scores are slain and saved by it. The scenes are 
 becoming sublimely awful. My joy, in beholding these dis- 
 plays of the power of God, is mingled with an adoring awe. 
 The human soul is a fearful thing, when aroused to a sense 
 of its danger. To behold the tears, and hearken to the 
 bitter cries and wails, of despairing sinners, pierced by the 
 word of God, and torn by their own consciences, gives one 
 some idea of St. Paul's meaning, when he says, " The 
 word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than 
 any two-edged sword, piercing to the dividing asunder 
 of soul and spirit, and Oj the joints and' marrow , and is 
 a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the hearth — 
 Heb. 4 : 12. Extraordinary language that. Such is that 
 living and powerful word when preached with the Holy 
 Ghost sent down from heaven. It then penetrates the 
 heart, as a sword does the body; reaching the inmost 
 recesses of the mind, as the sword the marrow of the bones, 
 and conveys life or death to him who receives it. 
 
 Oct. 31. — The weather is charming. Although busy 
 with the pen, when not in the pulpit, I find time to enjoy 
 it in solitary rambles two or three hours a day. There is a 
 little rural lane, which runs through the fields, near the 
 
82 SHOWERS 0E BLESSING. 
 
 house of Mr Savage (where I am entertained), where I 
 enjoy delightful walks. The air is so pure, and the quiet 
 is so deep and unbroken. 0, what sweet, deep peace, and 
 purity of heart and thought, I enjoy there ! What heaven- 
 ward aspirations ! What freedom from care ! What 
 communion with the past, and with God, who knows it all ! 
 What a pilgrim-like looking forwards and upwards, in that 
 quiet lane ! And then at night, to willing crowds, preaching 
 Jesus, and life and salvation through his name : 
 
 " The business pursue, he hath made me to do, 
 And rejoice that I ever was born." 
 
 Nov. 1. — The work of God here, like a river, deepens 
 and widens as- it proceeds, and with increased rapidity and 
 power. There seems to be little or no opposition as yet. 
 It is as if it had stolen a march on Satan, and fallen upon 
 his kingdom before he was prepared to cope with it. The 
 people have been taken by surprise, and neither sinners nor 
 Satan seem to know how to resist it. It is not the first time 
 I have seen it thus ; may it not be the last ! About one 
 hundred and fifty souls converted since Sabbath morning 
 last, and many sanctified. Now hath the word of the Lord 
 free course, and is glorified of all. This is the Lord's 
 doings, and marvellous in the eyes of all his people here- 
 abouts. 
 
 And 0, what charming weather ! What heavenly after- 
 noons ! What splendid sunsets ! 
 
 " How cheerful, through her shortening day, 
 Is Autumn in her weeds of yellow ! " 
 
 And, then, one's own sweet, deep peace of heart and 
 gladness. I oannot believe with him who said : 
 
CHESTERFIELD. 88 
 
 " Joy is the portion of the skies, 
 Beneath them, all is care." 
 
 No ! no! Faith, and Hope, and gentle Live, Prometheus- 
 like, seize upon this portion of the skies — steal this celes- 
 tial fire, wherewith to inspire and animate my poor needy 
 heart, cheering the exile wonderfully ! 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 PROGRESS OF THE REVIVAL IN CHESTERFIELD. 
 
 Mr. Caughey, speaking of the work in this place, 
 
 The Lord did great things among us yesterday (Sab- 
 bath) ; ninety-seven souls found mercy, of whom fifty- 
 seven were from the world; and twenty-six professed 
 entire sanctification. Of those justified, seventeen were 
 backsliders. Yesterday was a day long to be remembered 
 in Chesterfield ; such as has not been seen here since it 
 was a town. Hallelujah ! 0, what amaze and sweet sur- 
 prise filled my soul ! Such scenes as we beheld yesterday 
 seem really necessary to make one realize the real grandeur 
 and omnipotent power there is in the Gospel. And of all 
 the evidences our world affords, that Jesus Christ, the Son 
 of God, lives and reigns equal with the Father over the 
 universe, these scenes of power and mercy seemed to me to 
 be the greatest. To tell a poor, miserable sinner that Jesus 
 Christ hath power vpon earth to forgive his sins ; to 
 have him believe this, so as to risk his all for time and for 
 eternity upon it ; then to see how instantly his sorrow is 
 turned into joy, his darkness into day, and not in one or 
 two cases merely, but scores and scores of instances in a 
 few short hours, the evidence of the truth of that mighty 
 fact becomes overwhelming. 
 
 "When Jesus said to the paralytic man, " Be of good 
 
PROGRESS OF THE REVIVAL. 85 
 
 cheer ; thy sins be forgiven thee" the bystaniers said 
 within themselves, u Why doth he thus speak blasphe- 
 mies ? Who can forgive sins but God alone ? " This 
 unuttered sentiment was a universal sentiment, wide as tlx> 
 world of man. It was not limited to the breast of a Jewish 
 scribe, but claimed the empire of a universal instinct. 
 And never had Jesus a better opportunity to do it rever- 
 ence, and to confirm it forever, than at that moment ; never 
 a time more favorable or more suitable to disabuse the 
 public mind of the suspicion of his acting the very God, 
 and usurping the throne and prerogative of the supreme 
 Jehovah. But did he seize so suitable an opportunity to 
 do so ? No ; for it is recorded, ' ' But he, knowing their 
 thoughts, said, Why do ye think evil in your hearts ? For 
 which is easier to say, Thy sins be forgiven, or to say, 
 Arise and walk ? But that ye may know the Son of 
 man hath power upon earth to forgive sins [he saith to 
 the paralytic], Arise, take up thy couch, and go to thy 
 house;" thus confirming the dread impression which his 
 words, " Thy sins be forgiven thee," had conveyed. 
 "Who can forgive sins but God alone?" Thus, as one 
 finely observes, "forestalling the functions of the last day, 
 he remitted the claims of justice on a sinful being, erased 
 his guilt from the book of God, changed the relations of an 
 accountable creature to the supreme Governor, and, in effect, 
 asserted that he possessed the power of taking from the 
 inmost soul the sting of conscious guilt ; while, by declaring 
 that he retained this power, though he was then the Son 
 of man upon earth, he carries our thoughts to the state 
 whence he had descended, and reminds us that no distance 
 from his throne above, no depth of humiliation to which he 
 might condescend, can deprive him of his right to pardon ; 
 that as it is exclusively, so it is inalienably divine ; and that 
 8 
 
86 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 he is therefore free to use it as God, though for a time he 
 may choose to rank as the Son of man. 
 
 "Preceding prophets, jealous for the divine honor, had 
 scrupulously guarded against the remotest suspicion that 
 they spake in their own name ; they distinctly confessed their 
 delegated capacity, and perpetually appealed to the authority 
 which sent them. But Jesus, we have seen, without any 
 modification or reserve, employed the language of supreme 
 personal authority. He did not, indeed, in any w r ay impart 
 the impression of an interest, or even an existence, detached 
 from the Father. The authority by which he spoke, "though 
 expressly his own, was, by identity of nature, the authority 
 of the Father also. As often as he exercised the functions 
 of the legislator, he placed himself, if I may say so, on a 
 level, and in a line, with the eternal throne ; so that its 
 glory fell directly upon him, and by him w T as again reflected 
 back, mingled with the lustre of his own greatness. While 
 he stood forth distinctly in his own personality, and ad- 
 dressed us in his own name, he stood in so perfect a con- 
 junction with the Deity, and so far within the borders of the 
 encircling light, that his voice came with the authority of an 
 oracle from the central glory. ' Glorify thy Son, that thy 
 Son also may glorify thee. I am in the Father, and the 
 Father is in me. No man knoweth the Father but the Son, 
 neither knoweth any man the Son but the Father. What- 
 soever things the Father doeth, these also doeth the Son 
 likewise. He that hath seen me hath seen the Father also. 
 I and my Father are one.' 
 
 " But of all his displays of authority, his forgiveness of 
 sin is immeasurably the greatest. This, according to human 
 conceptions, is the highest and uttermost prerogative of the 
 Supreme. It is to ascend a throne above the lawgiver, and 
 to silence his voice, and suspend his functions, fcr a reason 
 
PROGRESS OF THE REVIVAL. 8T 
 
 paramount to all law, and more comprehensive. It _s to 
 overrule the claims of justice, and, stopping it in its full 
 career towards the sinner, to exhibit a reason for rnercy, to 
 which justice ddws with reverence, and before which it re- 
 tires. Law, the dictate of infinite wisdom, is the rule by 
 which man is to act towards God ; but forgiveness is a dis- 
 pensation, a reason, issuing from a deeper recess of his mys- 
 terious nature, and by which he chooses to act towards us. 
 But this prerogative, essentially divine, this high and incom- 
 municable right, Jesus exercised, and vindicated his compe- 
 tence to do so." And so he did yesterday, blessed be his 
 name ! Nearly one hundred sinners, saved by grace, were 
 enabled to "set to their seal" that Jesus Christ hath 
 power upon earth to forgive sins. Hallelujah to God and 
 the Lamb ! 
 
 The population are in a state of amaze. This amazing 
 work of God has evidently taken them by surprise. They 
 seem as if stunned. Sinners know not what to say. Those 
 who understand the Gospel ask for no explanations or apol- 
 ogies, and they get none ; only more and more of the same 
 great truths which have been thundering so at the door )? 
 their hearts, followed by the animating cry of 
 
 " Behold , behold the Lamb I " 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 AN ASTROLOGIAN LADY. 
 
 Nov. 3d. — Have been requested by a romantic lady., some 
 distance off, to give her my views of " the science of astrol- 
 ogy ; " — seems anxious to know whether I belong to the 
 family of him, who, 
 
 " Among the heavens his eye can see 
 Trace of things that are to be." 
 
 Or, forgetting all that has been said in England, pro and 
 con, about the apostolical succession, whether I have the 
 honor to be in the noble succession of the Chaldean shep- 
 herds, who once "beneath the concave of the unclouded 
 skies," read in the stars "the decrees and resolutions of 
 the gods." My reply, I fear, will neither be considered 
 gallant nor satisfactory ; — that I never meddle with the 
 stars, only to admire them, — leaving them, usually, to 
 take care of themselves ; being much of the same mind 
 of him who said, 
 
 " I 'cl rather have no hand with the stars ; 
 They 're above us all every way." 
 
 Although, with Milton, I am fond of beholding 
 
 " the wandering moon, 
 
 Riding near her highest noon, 
 
AN ASTKOLOGIAN LADY. 89 
 
 Like one that has been led astray 
 Through the heavens' wide, pathless way ; 
 And oft as her head she bowed, 
 Stooping through a fleecy cloud." 
 
 Adding, I am not fond of the conjectural sciences, although 
 they haze their fascinations, doubtless. The stars may 
 have their effects and influences upon this fine weather, 
 for aught we know ; but that future events may be fore- 
 told by their situation and aspects, I leave those to 
 demonstrate who have time to consult attentively the book 
 and volume of the sky. The Scriptures are safer guides 
 than the constellations ; the promises of God, than the 
 stars of the astrologist. The light of passing providences 
 is better to go by than the light of passing stars ; safer, 
 besides, unless one covets the fate of him who, when gazing 
 at a star tumbled into a ditch. Sincere prayer to "the 
 Father of lights, with whom there is no variableness, 
 neither shadow of turning " (James 1 : 17), is safer and 
 better than the closest attention to the lore of the Chaldean 
 shepherds, or any of their successors. I am not averse to 
 " celestial observations," but there is a volume more 
 reliable than that which astrologists consult — the Holy 
 Bible ; the promises and intimations of which are unaf-. 
 fected by clouds ; and seeing that the steady, serene, un- 
 clouded skies of the Assyrian sages have not been vouch- 
 safed to Old England, I may be pardoned for clinging so 
 closely to a volume designed to be " a lamp unto my feet, 
 and a light unto my path" (Ps. 119 : 105), through this 
 wilderness world ; in which, doubtless, there is an Oasis i 
 or an Eden, which has survived the fall for most travellers 
 through it : but the light of the Bible is better than the light 
 of the stars, to make the discovery. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 A GLIMPSE OF PRIVATE EXPERIENCE. 
 
 Nov. 3. Afternoon. — Solitude ! It makes the head 
 clearer, and the heart better ! — where one may learn more 
 and more of God, of self, and men, — " at proper angle I 
 take my stand to see them better;" and then in public 
 come out and tell them all that passed before me, — all I 
 saw and all I felt. A great place is solitude to study self, 
 and all that lies deep in the depths within; " deep calling 
 unto deep," — voices never heard amidst the din of outer 
 existence. " I was left alone, and saw this great vision," 
 says Daniel; Great things and great principles must be 
 confronted in silence and solitude. There, they must be 
 discovered, conversed with, wrestled with, 'midst the 
 thoughts, as Jacob with the angel, and conquered, until 
 they speak, and tell their secrets, and give their blessing. 
 Then out and confront, and conquer. For he that, as an 
 intellectual prince, thus prevails in secret, will prevail with 
 men also. He has mastered himself and his theme, and he 
 will master opponents also. 
 
 It is amidst the solitudes of nature, and the solitudes of 
 thought, where one encounters other voices, — the voice of 
 God, and the voices of eternity. And thought rolls upon 
 thought, as the waves against the shore, — unbidden, deep, 
 awful, — over the solemn silence of the soul. There, some- 
 times, the soul resigns herself with the Will and Reason, 
 
A GLIMPSE OF PRIVATE EXPERIENCE. 91 
 
 into the arms of a profound stillness, passive and waiting 
 "on some heavenly impulse!" And there, and from 
 thence, the soul travels into " heavenly places •" or down 
 the steeps of solid darkness, through brazen gates, through 
 perdition's woes. Thifs she gathers fresh strength, and vivid 
 perceptions, and mastery over what escapes her in the 
 crowd. The crowd I My mind relaxes in the crowd, 
 and loses its elasticity, its independence, and the mastery. 
 Thought dilutes in the crowd, or escapes, as the parents 
 missed Jesus, in the crowd, and sought for him there in 
 vain. 
 
 It is in silence and solitude my soul finds herself, pos- 
 sesses herself, and joins herself to God, and learns the 
 meaning of Jesus, " In your patience possess ye your 
 souls." There she narrowly scans and weighs her diffi- 
 culties, learns how to master them, and walks up and down 
 the mount of God, 'midst stones of fire ! Or, like King 
 Lemuel's model wife, " she girdeth her loins with 
 strength, and strengtheneth her arms ; her candle goeth 
 not out hy night ; strength and honor are her clothing, 
 and she shall rejoice in time to come ; she openeth her 
 mouth with wisdom, and in her tongue is the law of 
 kindness ; she looketh well to the ways of her household, 
 and eateth not the bread of idleness ; her clothing is silk 
 and purple ; her price is above rubies ; the heart of her 
 husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have 
 no need of spoil; he is known in the gates, when he sit- 
 teth among the elders of the land ; she will do him good, 
 and not evil, all the days of her life." — Pre v., 31st chapter. 
 It is thus with the soul of a minister that understands how 
 to improve solitude, in gathering strength, and energy, and 
 material, for the great battle-strife of soul-saving. 
 
 The activities of revival life are preservatives from the 
 
92 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 evils of an inglorious and lazy mysticism*; while the 
 experiences gathered in retirement fit the soul for its pub- 
 lic conflicts, and repair "the wear and tare" sustained in 
 the great battle for Christ and souls. The soul comes forth 
 out of her solitudes, realizing the truth of Herbert's senti- 
 ment : 
 
 Softness, and peace, and joy, and love, and bliss, 
 
 Exalted manna ; gladness of the best ; 
 
 Heaven in ordinary ; soul well drest, 
 
 The land of spices ; something understood " 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 EXTRACTS FROM JOURNAL, CONTINUED. 
 
 Nov. 5th. — There were thirty-nine saved last night. A 
 great move among the people. The cries of penitent sinners 
 like the wailings of hell ; only full of the hopes of mercy, — 
 a thing unknown in hell. Sinners fly or fall beneath the 
 strange power which so mysteriously assails their feelings. 
 When the Gospel becomes " the power of God unto salva- 
 tion" who can stand before it ? 
 
 Yesterday , a deputation from Macclesfield waited upon 
 me, — Messrs. Bowers, Brocklehurst, Hooley, Braddock, 
 and Collier, requesting me to visit that town. I postponed 
 a reply till this morning, that we might have time to con- 
 sider and pray over the matter. They called again, and I 
 agreed to visit them on my way to Birmingham, the latter 
 part of the present month. 
 
 A singular little incident occurred this morning, with re- 
 gard to these brethren. Yesterday, on arriving in town, they 
 inquired for lodgings, and, preferring a private boarding- 
 place to a hote), were directed to the house of a Quaker 
 lady. She replied she could accommodate but four of 
 them ; so they lodged there. When taking leave of their 
 hostess to-day, she burst into tears, and said, " I cannot let 
 you go without telling you that I saw you all five, the 
 night before you came, in a dream ; and when I awoke, I 
 told my two daughters that I had seen five men, and that 
 
94 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 they ;vould come to our house. To which they replied, 
 ' Go to sleep, mother, it is only a dream.' I repeated my 
 dream when I arose, and again at the breakfast-table, and 
 said, ' They will come to-day.' The day passed on ; three 
 o'clock arrived, and my daughters said : ' Well, mother, 
 your five men have not come ! ' Very soon after, I saw you 
 all pass by our house, and 1 called my daughters, and said, 
 1 There they are ! Those are the men I saw in my dream ; 
 and they will come to our house.' " Remarkable ! — an indi- 
 cation, perhaps, they were sent of God. I shall visit Mac- 
 clesfield with courage. The Lord has his "hidden ones," 
 and his u little ones" and " the secret of the Lord " is with 
 them. " Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I 
 do? " It is by this and that little incident, the Lord shows 
 them, that small as they are in their own estimation, and 
 in the estimation of the world, they are great in his sight, 
 and loved and prized. 
 
 I was struck with that sweet remark of one, to-day, that, 
 as the stars are scattered over the sky, and not gathered into 
 one luminary, so Christians are not all gathered into one 
 place, or church, but scattered over the world in the churches, 
 as the stars in the firmament of heaven. That, as city 
 lamps are planted here and there, up and down the streets 
 of the city, to relieve and enlighten its darkness, and not 
 collected and gathered into one, so believers, who are "the 
 lights of the world," are not all planted to shine in one 
 church, but are planted, by divine wisdom, wide apart over 
 the earth, to enlighten, enliven, and bless the world. And 
 though the wicked, like city thieves, could very well dis- 
 pense with these lights, yet they cannot, or dare not, blow 
 them out! That Christians are compared to salt by our 
 Lord, — to salt the earth, and preserve it from corruption ; 
 but as when a man salts down meat, he does not cast down 
 
EXTRACTS FROM JOURNAL, CONTINUED. 95 
 
 tlio salt in a lump, but scatters it all over the meat, so 
 Christians, whom our Lord calls " the salt of the earth" 
 are not huddled all together in one place, but scattered over 
 all the earth, to preserve it from destruction. Adding, that 
 a sower does not drop his seed by handfids, nor in - heaps, 
 but scatters it broadcast over the field ; so " the field is the 
 world," as Christ says, and the righteous are " the good 
 seed"' wherewith he sotoeth it; not dropping them all 
 down together in one place, but scattering them broadcast 
 over the field of the ivorld, turning the wilderness into a 
 fruitfid field, and the desert into the garden of the Lord. 
 Those sweet lines occur : 
 
 *' Scattered o'er all the earth they lie, 
 Till thou collect them with thine eye ; 
 Draw by the music of thy name, 
 And charm into a beauteous frame. 
 
 ** The gates of hell cannot prevail ; 
 The church on earth can never fail : — 
 Ah ! join me to thy secret ones ! 
 Ah ! gather all the living stones ! ' ' 
 
 Nov. 6. — Over forty found mercy last night, and seven 
 full salvation. 
 
 "The heavens are big with rain." 
 
 0, what a "teeming shower" is this! and such multi- 
 tudes, — thirsty multitudes , — to draw its life-giving tor- 
 rents ! 
 
 "What a pity to leave such a work ! And yet my engage- 
 ments elsewhere must sever me from it soon. May these 
 new converts stand fast in their glorious liberty. The wicked 
 are -beginning already to prophesy their downfall, assigning 
 this, that, and the other reason, but they forget the mighty 
 God. They have not studied Rom. 14 : 4.- -"Who art 
 
96 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own ttAster 
 he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be /widen up ; for 
 God is able to make him stand" Nor are they well 
 versed upon the nature of the foundations of Christian 
 character ; — that, if some build upon the sand, others dig 
 deep, and lay their foundations on the Rock of Ages. But 
 they know not this Rock, nor the guarantee for stability a 
 conversion has which is founded upon it, no matter how 
 unfavorably circumstanced ! Brother Savage, my host, is 
 a practical builder and architect. He told me, to-day, 
 that many years ago he was employed to erect a large mill, 
 upon a very treacherous soil, being of an alluvium nature, 
 upon the banks of a river, subject to frequent overflows, one 
 of Avhich occurred during the progress of the work. 
 
 The mill was to sustain massive and powerful machine- 
 ry ; which, after immense labor and care with the founda- 
 tions, was completed, all but the great chimney, which was 
 the greatest difficulty, in the estimation of those who pre- 
 tended to know all about it. It was intended to be thirty- 
 five yards high, and it was asserted that such a quicksand 
 bottom could never sustain such a structure, suffering from 
 the vibrations of machinery in full operation. But, saic 
 Brother S., "I took care to dig deep, in search of a founda- 
 tion ; but, to my sorrow, the deeper I went, the softer became 
 the bottom. But I had my plans, and spared no pains, 
 deeply aware of my responsibility. At a given point of 
 depth I lowered great stones, from three to six tons weight, 
 pile upon pile of them, leaving to them and the law of 
 gravitation to find or make a solid bottom, and my success 
 was complete. Upon these I built my chimney. Many 
 were the speculations in town, that the chimney would not 
 stand, when the mill went into operation. But the fires 
 were kindled, the smoke ascended in columns, the machinery 
 
CONTINUED. 97 
 
 started, the ground shook, but it had no effect upon any 
 part of the structure. All stood firm, and still stands 
 firm ; but the secret of the stability lay in the foundations \ 
 of the whole. Once, indeed, the chimney was struck by 
 lightning, but it only knocked a few bricks off the top, but 
 did not overthrow it. The prophecies were all falsified, 
 thanks to my excellent foundations ! ' ' 
 
 And it is upon a similar principle we hope for the stability 
 of these new converts. We have taken much pains with 
 their foundations in a sound regeneration ; for, that is to 
 the soul what a good and sound foundation is to an edifice. 
 Outward circumstances are the data from which the San- 
 ballats and Tobiahs draw their inferences and conclusions ; 
 Neh. 4:1, 3 ; — a drunken, careless, or opposing hus- 
 band ; a gay and trifling wife ; an ungodly father ', 
 or a careless mother ; an irreligious, or worldly, or 
 fashionable family, and wicked neighbors, and past profli- 
 gate associates. 0, what mighty arguments are these 
 against the stability of those but newly found in Christ ; 
 But such prophets little know what a poiverful pledge of 
 future faithfulness and stability has been embedded in their 
 genuine conversion and regeneration ! 
 9 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 PREPARING TO LEAVE CHESTER1IELD 
 
 Thirtfen happy, busy days have I spent in this town, 
 and now I am about to bid it farewell, perhaps forever. An 
 hour or two's work at the pen, and then I am off for Don- 
 caster. The work of God burst forth in glory and in 
 grandeur the first Sabbath day, and it has advanced with 
 amazing swiftness ever since. Thirteen days only, and 
 on qv five hundred persons have professed to find peace with 
 God, through our Lord Jesus Christ ! — three hundred 
 and sixty-nine of whom were from the world, and about 
 one hundred and thirty-seven believers were entirely sanc- 
 tified. — 1 Thess. 4 : 23, 24. 
 
 The following table, furnished by the secretary, shows 
 the results of each day : 
 
 
 Day. 
 
 
 Justified. 
 
 
 o 
 
 a 
 
 o 
 
 Date, 1845. 
 
 Out of 
 
 the 
 
 Mem- 
 bers of 
 
 From 
 
 other 
 
 Backsli- 
 ders re- 
 
 c3 . 
 .g'O 
 
 
 
 World. 
 
 Society. 
 
 Societies 
 
 claimed. 
 
 CQ 
 
 H 
 
 Oct. 26. 
 
 Sunday, . . 
 
 42 
 
 27 
 
 4 
 
 12 
 
 23 
 
 108 
 
 " 27. 
 
 Monday, . . 
 
 19 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 34 
 
 " 28. 
 
 Tuesday, . . 
 
 22 
 
 7 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 11 
 
 48 
 
 " 29. 
 
 Wednesday, . 
 
 18 
 
 5 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 7 
 
 35 
 
 " 80. 
 
 Thursday, . 
 
 31 
 
 5 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 7 
 
 50 
 
 " 31. 
 
 Friday, . . . 
 
 29 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 7 
 
 11 
 
 56 
 
 Nov. 1. 
 
 Saturday, . 
 
 9 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 18 
 
 " 2. 
 
 Sunday, . . 
 
 57 
 
 10 
 
 13 
 
 17 
 
 26 
 
 123 
 
 " 3. 
 
 Monday, . . 
 
 21 
 
 1 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 
 30 
 
 " 4. 
 
 Tuesday, . . 
 
 20 
 
 3 
 
 6 
 
 10 
 
 33 
 
 72 
 
 " 5. 
 
 Wednesday, . 
 
 26 
 
 5 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 7 
 
 45 
 
 " 6. 
 
 Thursday, . 
 
 43 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 14 
 
 5 
 
 71 
 
 •« 7. 
 
 Friday, . . . 
 
 32 
 
 4 
 
 6 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 137 
 
 46 
 
 
 369 
 
 81 
 
 61 
 
 88 
 
 736 
 
PREPARING TO LEAVE CHESTERFIELD. 99 
 
 Tho subjects of this work of grace were conversed with, 
 and judiciously advised ; their names also, and places of 
 residence, carefully registered, and the pathway of pastors 
 and leaders accurately mapped out, for their future visita- 
 tions. 
 
 0, how much might be done to prevent those painful 
 reactions which sometimes follow a work of God like this, 
 were the subjects of divine mercy properly cared for, 
 looked after ; sought out, and built up in their most 
 holy faith ! 
 
 Many of these trophies of mercy were from the neighbor- 
 hoods around, but a large number have united with the 
 Wesley an church. 
 
 It seems a pity to leave such a work as this. The town 
 is moved and shaken ; and multitudes more might be con- 
 verted to God. But my appointments are out before me. 
 leading me on to Birmingham, and I cannot stay. But 
 the work need not stop, — shall not, I hope. To God be 
 all the glory ! 
 
 I was hospitably entertained at the house of Mr. Savage. 
 He and his excellent wife are deeply devoted to God ; — a 
 precious family. The Lord reward them for evermore ! 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 PENCILLINGS ABOUT CHESTERFIELD. 
 
 As to my " Notes and Observations, in [my] walks about 
 Chesterfield," I have made but few of the sort you inquire 
 after ; have had but little time for that purpose ; besides, my 
 love for the smiling fields, green lanes, and quiet paths, 
 quite neutralized the attractions of the town. However, 
 such as I have they are at your service. 
 
 First, then, — and, were there any " scolds " in the cir- 
 cle to which I write, I would be inclined to an apology for 
 m y first note; which not being necessary, I would 
 apologize, if possible, for the barbarity or illiberality of 
 " the lords of creation," were it not that the law of the 
 oppressive usage is traceable to "the times" of Queen 
 Elizabeth, "of glorious memory." I refer to the use 
 of the " Ducking Stool " for women who were as strong 
 advocates for " the freedom of speech," as we are in our 
 day for the freedom of the press ! — for I am now on the 
 path to "a piece of water" where once stood the Ducking 
 Stool, remembered by some of <! the oldest inhabitants " of 
 Chesterfield, but which had gone out of use before their 
 day. 
 
 Now, is your curiosity, ladies, sufficiently excited ? Well, 
 then, the Ducking Stool was intended as a punishment for 
 " scolds, unquiet, and brawling women ! " That is what 
 't was for. It consisted of a post set up in a pond, across 
 
PENCILLING^ ABOUT CHESTERFIELD. 101 
 
 which was a transverse beam, turning on a swivel, with a 
 chair at one end, in which they placed the scold, and, turn- 
 ing the chair and its occupant to the water, dipped both as 
 often as the virulence of the distemper required, until quite 
 subdued. Well, ladies, "Women's Rights" are better 
 understood in our times, and in Chesterfield; for the Duck- 
 ing Stool, — 
 
 " That stool the dread of every scolding quean," — 
 
 has quite disappeared, but whether the same may be said of 
 all the scolds of Chester-field, I shall not undertake to 
 decide, or whether the punishment answered the purpose 
 intended ; but you may criticize at your leisure the follow- 
 ing opinions of a poet of 1780 : 
 
 " Down in the deep the stool descends, 
 But here, at first, we miss our ends ; 
 She mounts again and rages more, 
 Than ever vixen did before. 
 So throwing water on the fire 
 Will make it burn up but the higher ; 
 If so, my friends, pray let her take 
 A second turn into the lake ; 
 And rather than your patient lose, 
 Thrice and again repeat the dose ; 
 No brawling wives, no furious wenches, 
 No fire so hot but water quenches." 
 
 Chesterfield is pleasantly situated upon a gentle eleva- 
 tion, in the beautiful vale of Scarsdale, at the confluence 
 of two little rivers, named the Hipper, more classically, 
 Ibber, which meant to ebb and to flow, from its sudden 
 rising and falling, I suppose, not from the pulsations of the 
 ocean, but the clouds that burst in the mountainous districts 
 of Holymoor-si&e. The name of the other river is the 
 Rother, anciently Yr Odar / that is, the boundary, the 
 9* 
 
102 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 most southern point in the country of tne ancient Brig- 
 antes : 
 
 " Bowery Scarsdale loves and boasts 
 
 The purple distance of her Alpine views, 
 While Bother, loveliest vagrant, roves below." 
 
 The town itself stands upon an extensive coal-field ; 
 iron-stone also abounds in the neighborhood, of which some 
 use is made, but not to the extent which Providence would 
 seem to invite. There are also fine beds of potter*' s clay, 
 and clay for making brick ; but the inhabitants seem to 
 prefer to work in silk, and bobbin-net lace, hosiery, ging- 
 hams, ropes, sacks, cotton-xoick, and leather. 
 
 The architecture of the town is not attractive ; irregu- 
 larly built, and chiefly of brick. 
 
 The old parish church is the chief object of attraction ; 
 built nobody knows when, — some suppose in the early part 
 of the thirteenth century ; but a stone over the south 
 entrance dates A. D. 1037. It is a venerable structure, and 
 one never tires looking at it ; seems as if pleading elo- 
 quently for the gloomy or glorious past. 
 
 But its crooked spire is the chief object of interest to 
 strangers, and the glory of Chesterfield in the estimation 
 of many of the inhabitants. It is, indeed, a singular object, 
 viewed in any direction, aspiring like a mammoth screio 
 between two and three hundred feet high. Viewed in one 
 or two directions, its crookedness would be taken as an 
 optical deception, owing to its twisted or screvj-like appear- 
 ance ; but, viewed in other directions, it is unmistakably 
 crooked, — a peculiarity which excited considerable contro- 
 versy in past ages. However, it has been ascertained to lean six 
 feet towards the south ; yet, as one walks eastward or west- 
 ward, it assumes a perpendicular appearance, — yet it leans 
 four feet westward, which is soon perceived by a slight 
 
PENCTLLINGS ABOUT CHESTERFIELD. 103 
 
 deviation in one's footsteps. An architect once ascended 
 the spire to the " crow hole" and ascertained that it leaned 
 southward eight feet ; but he got frightened ! 
 
 When the spire was erected is not known, or whether 
 perpendicular at first, or crooked. Advocates on both sides 
 of the question have been numerous, " as generation has 
 succeeded to generation," and century after century fled 
 away ! One thing is certain, it is built of wood, and cov- 
 ered with lead, put on in a spiral manner over fluting or 
 volutes, that run up also in a twisted direction. Some 
 antiquarians suppose it was constructed thus crooked by 
 some ingenious architect ; others that it was built perpen- 
 dicular and afterwards warped by the sun, or struck by 
 lightning. But, as oblivion has swallowed up every frag- 
 ment of tradition concerning it, each has claimed a valid 
 right to his own opinion. It is certainly a curious affair, 
 and impresses beholders differently, as an ornament or a 
 deformity. A witty poet speaks of it thus : 
 
 " Whichever way you turn your eye, 
 It always seems to be awry ; 
 Pray, can you tell the reason why ? — 
 The only reason known of weight, 
 Is that the thing was never straight. 
 Nor know the people where to go 
 To find the man to make it so ; 
 Since none can furnish such a plan, 
 Except a perfect upright man : ■ — 
 So that the spire, 't is very plain, 
 For ages crooked must remain 
 And, while it stands, must ever be 
 An emblem of deformity." 
 
 It i3 remarkable that wood-work so situated, and in so 
 moist a climate, could last so from "time immemorial; " 
 30 as to outstand all records regarding its construction. 
 
104 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 Architects have examined it from time to time, and reported 
 as to its solidity; but so contradictory have been their 
 reports, that one is tempted to suspect it has exerted a kind 
 of 'witchery over their feelings or judgment ; some declar- 
 ing its timbers rotten, drawn, disjointed, and liable to fall at 
 any moment, with contemptuous criticisms on its carpenter - 
 work; others, in "after years," reported its wood- work 
 " firm and good" supported by a basis so constructed, and 
 the strapping of the spire so ingeniously fitted, that it is 
 " morally impossible it should ever fall, until the base itself 
 gave way; that there is not the slightest bearing from 
 the shoulders, tenons, dovetails, or any other joint what- 
 ever ; which convinced them that it had never given way 
 in the least since the first day it was erected, else it had 
 fallen down instantaneously ; and that the rising sun a 
 century hence would illumine the crooked spire of Ches- 
 terfield ! " Honor to the ancient architect, whoever he was ! 
 Had the old church remained Koman Catholic, the Pope 
 would probably have canonized it by this time, though as 
 ignorant of its destination in eternity as the Athenians were 
 oi u the Unknown God" to whom they erected an altar! 
 Indeed, I saw the remnants of an old bridge in France, a few 
 months since, which once spanned the Rhone, the architect 
 of which was canonized by Pope Nicholas the Fifth, who 
 decided that "the bridge was raised by the inspiration of the 
 Holy Ghost ; " and the dead architect won the title of Saint 
 Benedict ! 
 
 The monuments in this old church of Chesterfield are 
 ancient and numerous, and the inscriptions interesting ; — 
 some of which commence thus : 
 
 "DEO OPT: MAX: ET POSTERITATI SACRUM;" 
 
 That is, " Sacred to God, the best and greatest, and 
 io Posterity." 
 
PENCILLINGS ABOUT CHESTERFIELD. 105 
 
 Another offers these agreeable lines : 
 
 " poore house of clay, now empty here thou lies, 
 When all the furniture is gone to Paradise : 
 Angels has conueyede to Heauean thy jewell mind, 
 And nothing but the cabinet left behind." 
 
 The tomb of a laioyer bears the following, — worthy the 
 attention of our young friend, so soon to sit with those of 
 " subtle look, amid their parchments, weaving sophistries for 
 court to meet at mid-day : " 
 
 " A tender husband and a friend sincere, 
 Consign'd to earth, implores the silent tear. 
 Learn'd in the laws, he never warp'd their sense, 
 To shelter vice, or injure innocence : 
 But, firm to truth, by no mean interest mov'd, 
 To all dispens'd that justice which he lov'd : 
 Virtue oppress'd, he taught her rights to know, 
 And guilt detected, fear'd the coming blow. 
 Thus humbly useful, and without offence, 
 He fill'd the circle mark'd by Providence , 
 His age completing what his youth began, 
 The noblest work of God, an honest man." 
 
 There is something that struck me as quaintly witty in 
 the following inscription over the dust of an excellent lady, 
 the namesake of Martha of old, — a wife and mother : 
 
 ' '• We boast no vertues, and we beg no tears : 
 Reader ; if thou hast but Eyes and Ears, 
 It is anough : But tell me ; Why 
 Ihou com'st to gaze? Is it to pry 
 Into our Cost, or borrow 
 A Copy of our Sorrow ? 
 Or dost thou come 
 To learn to dye, 
 Hot knowing whom to practise by ? 
 If this be thy desire, 
 The*: draw thee one step nigher ; 
 
106 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 Here lies a precedent ; a rarer, 
 
 Earth never shewed, nor Heaven a fairer. 
 
 She was, — But room forbids to tell thee what ; 
 
 Summ all perfection up and she was that." 
 
 The Establishment has another fine new church in this 
 town. 
 
 There is much wickedness in Chesterfield ; but there are 
 many pious people therein, — such as resemble an eminent 
 divine, two hundred years ago, who was born in this town, 
 of whom it was said, " He was a man of prayer, and well 
 acquainted with the inside of religion I " It was further 
 remarked of him, that, ' ' What some might reckon a reflec- 
 tion upon him was, in the judgment of wise men, his great 
 honor, — that he acquired his learning without being 
 beholden to any university. ' Well, adieu Chesterfield ! 
 The pilgrim oust be off to an:ther part of the vineyard of 
 the Lord ! 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 DONCASTER. 
 EXTRACTS FROM JOURNAL. 
 
 Nov. 8. — I arrived here this evening, accompanied by 
 Brother TJnwin, and several Sheffield brethren, who have 
 come over to Doncaster for " a field-day '," as they call it ; 
 that is, to sing and pray, and exhort and agonize, for the 
 conversion of sinners, and the sanctification of believers, from 
 daylight in the morning till midnight, as the Lord may lead 
 them on to victory. Noble men ! the true heroes of my 
 Lord ! And what can stand before these flames of fire ! I 
 received a hearty English welcome to the mansion of Mr. 
 Wilton. 
 
 Monday morning, Nov. 10. — Yesterday was a day of 
 salvation. Many saved. There is a glorious prospect. 
 
 Nov. 11. — A great move last night. 
 
 Nov. 12. — Salvation ! 0, how great ! What can 
 withstand the Gospel, when it becomes the power of God ? 
 Rom. 1:16. 
 
 Nov. 13. — The word runs like a fire. Hallelujah ! I 
 like Doncaster ; an agreeable town, surrounded by a fine 
 agricultural country ; an old town of West Yorkshire. 
 Methodists numerous, hearty, of the right stamp, — rife 
 with the spirit of Wesley and the old Methodists, in soul- 
 saving ! 
 
 Nov. 14. — One o'clock in the morning ; observing an 
 
108 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 eclipse of the moon. The shadow of the earth has been 
 progressing sensibly over her surface, till all that is left 
 unobscured of that beautiful moon which arose a few hours 
 since, in full-orbed majesty, is the small segment of a circle 
 ****** 
 Nature seems to mourn, and to grow sadder and sadder. 
 The moon is of a dusky copperish color, supposed by some 
 to be her native light, but more likely the effects of the 
 scattered beams of the sun refracted by our earth's atmos- 
 phere, and by it bent into the earth's shadow upon the 
 moon, revealing her form and outline in this dusky grandeur. 
 
 •At. .it. -ii- .iL. .AL, «>£. 
 
 •TV" *$? -Tv* TV- «TJ* -TV 
 
 And now a slight mist seems to arise and veils that 
 bright speck in a sort of nebulous aureola, which has a 
 solemn and impressive effect. 
 
 The shadoxo begins to retire, and that luminous speck 
 increases sensibly. My soul adores the great Author of this 
 sublime phenomena, — these amazing motions and aspects of 
 the heavenly bodies. What sublime sensations does such a 
 spectacle inspire ! How wondrous the laws which govern 
 these motions. — these orbs of immensity, and our earth, in 
 harmony with the rest, although so full of rebellion against 
 Him, the mighty Creator and Governor of all ! 
 
 Is the moon inhabited ? If so, how does our earth appear 
 to the Lunarians ? Magnificent, doubtless ; that is, if it 
 really is what astronomers say it is, a moon to the moon ; 
 and appearing twelve or thirteen times larger to them, than 
 the moon does to us ; and, of course, affords to them twelve 
 or thirteen times more light ; — our earth, in fact, the largest 
 body within the range of their vision, and progressing 
 through the heavens with a motion thirteen times quicker 
 than the moon to us ; but, like the moon, waxing and waning 
 regularly. 
 
D0NCA3TER. 109 
 
 But is it possible that a scene sc magnificent has no 
 spectators in that moon to behold it ? If as ignorant and 
 proud as we are, they may possibly be vain enough to sup- 
 pose that our earth is for no other purpose than to cheer 
 and enlighten them. Could we telegraph them, we might 
 be disposed to humble them a little upon that point ! But, 
 in doing so, we ought to be honest enough to confess we 
 have been quite as vain ourselves. Ah ! if the moon has 
 inhabitants, they are holier, happier, and wiser than we, 
 doubtless. 
 
 Astronomy is a darling science to me. It would make 
 me an enthusiast, had I time to study it. It always 
 inspires me with sublime emotions. 
 
 Time, however, has been allotted me for other purposes. 
 I know what they are, and must attend to them. The Ruler 
 of the universe calls and qualifies others, doubtless, to this 
 study, that tney may show forth his glory. Josephus 
 accounts for the longevity of the antediluvians, that it was 
 so ordered of God, that they might have time to study, to 
 some perfection, the geometrical and astronomical sciences ; 
 that " the period of the grand year," which, among the 
 Jews, consisted of six hundred years, was an era it was 
 necessary they should live to see, in order to lay a proper 
 basis for those sciences. That " grand year is still a sublime 
 idea in astronomy ; it implies, according to some, the period 
 necessary to bring the sun and moon exactly into the same 
 positions which they occupied in the beginning of the crea- 
 tion ; a period which most of the learned, I believe, suppose 
 to perfect the solar year and lunar month more exactly 
 than any other. 
 
 It comforts my heart to anticipate a period, in my coming 
 eternity, when I shall perfectly understand what is now so 
 sublimely mysterious to my present limited faculties. And 
 10 
 
110 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 may remember, with corresponding emotions, the time sf 
 my ignorance, when gazing at an eclipse of the moon, from 
 the window of a house in Doncaster, England. And if 
 associated with that, there shall stand another fact, " the 
 grand year " of my ministry, when my call to preach the 
 Gospel received its most signal verification, and that this and 
 the next year were comprised therein, it would add a yet 
 brighter illumination to the past, and inspire still sublimer 
 emotions. 
 
 .AL. »XL. «i£- .it* .At, Jt* 
 
 *TT -TT *TS* *7V" *fc *TT 
 
 Towards morning, the moon regained all her splendor, 
 and more, apparently ; for, with what surprising beauty she 
 did shine ! Like the Christian, after emerging from the 
 shades of unsuccessful temptations, it seemed as if the moon 
 was celebrating her triumph over that envious shadow, which 
 had cast over her fair face a gloom so humiliating. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE REVIVAL IN DONCASTER. 
 
 Mr. Caughey, writing from York, on the 15th of Novem- 
 ber, observes : 
 
 I spent six days in Doncaster ; — busy days they were, 
 I assure you ; — days of glory and of victory. My sou* 
 stood in a sort of amaze at the work, — its swiftness, — its 
 greatness. The whole town seemed to be moved. But so 
 rapid and overwhelming was the visitation, sinners had little 
 time for exchanging thoughts upon the subject, and less 
 for combination. Clouds of mercy gathered over the place 
 at once, and burst forth and came down in "showers of 
 blessing " upon the people. — Ezek. 34 : 26. " The Lord 
 was there" — Ezek. 48 : 35, — there in majesty and in 
 power, and hardly anything was found that could stand 
 before Hint and his truth. There was no mistaking of 
 the nature and reality of his glorious presence. Angels 
 and disembodied spirits seemed as if filling all the air, — as 
 if rejoicing in 
 
 " The growing empire of their King." 
 
 Butj alas ! my engagements would not allow a longer 
 stay. Is it right to throw out ahead of me appointments 
 that must be met, whether the Providence of God says 
 " stay here" or not ? 0, how hard it was to tear myself 
 away from such a work, — from such awakened masses of 
 
112 SHOWERS 0¥ BLESSING. 
 
 sinners, which may possibly relapse into the former state of 
 spiritual death ! But leave them I must, and leave them I 
 did. 
 
 The secretary, at Doncaster, reports the number saved, 
 during those six days, thus : — three hundred and -fifty- 
 six cases of justification, and one hundred and thirty- 
 seven souls sanctified. Total, four hundred and ninety 
 three. The last night I spent there, not less than one hun- 
 dred and fifty souls professed to find 'pardon or purity. 
 
 The people came in from many miles around. One 
 among the converts, on that last night of " the feast," cre- 
 ated a sensation, at least in my mind, as I attentively 
 observed him. I queried whether England could present 
 such another, although he was surrounded by a motley 
 group, some of which the Devil had evidently been using 
 very badly ! But this man was of an amazing height, — 
 rough, muscular, uncouth, and in clothes as badly torn 
 as his conscience ! — weather-worn, and weather-torn, and 
 battered, — one of Zechariah's " Oaks of Bashan ! " — as 
 if ready with long arms to grapple unceremoniously with 
 anything a storm might fling in their way ; — reminding 
 one of Shalespeards character, — " a fellow by the hand of 
 nature marked, quoted, and signed to do; " — as if circum- 
 stances, with a hand of iron, had made him what he was. 
 Wordsworth' s Peter Bell might have been his brother, 
 whose picture the poet drew so graphically : 
 
 " There was a hardness in his cheek, 
 There was a hardness in his eye, 
 As if the man had set his face, 
 In many a solitary place, 
 
 Against the wind and open sky ! " 
 
 A diamond in the rough, this man may possibly be. If 
 so, he will not be long in Christ's hands, if faithful, before he 
 
THE REVIVAL IN DONCASTER, 113 
 
 shall shine "with sparkling splendor in the bosom of the 
 church. "What a pity Satan has had him so long ! I stood 
 and looked at him, standing head and shoulders above the 
 tallest, and above a motley group, some of whom the Devil 
 had been using as bad, probably, as himself; — for what a 
 scene, surely, that was ; and what a variety of character ! 
 But among such materials, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is in 
 its glory ; and would seem to speak aloud to bystanders, as 
 Jesus did to the deputation sent by John to inquire whether 
 be was the Christ that should come, or were they to look for 
 another. Jesus raised his head, and, pausing from his mir- 
 acles of mercy, said: "Go your way, and tell John what 
 things ye have seen and heard ; how that the blind see, the 
 lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead 
 are raised, to the poor the Gospel is preached. And 
 blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me; " — 
 offended, that is stumbled at the expenditure of my wis- 
 dom, benevolence, and power, upon such miserable objects as 
 these ! — Offended ! stumbled ! 0, why should it be so, 
 blessed Jesus ? Such exhibitions of thy mercy, such proof 
 of thy Messiahship, ought never to have been a cause of 
 stumbling to those who beheld them ! — no, nor such scenes 
 as we witnessed in Doncaster. And multitudes there were, 
 in Doncaster, who desired no more convincing evidence than 
 that they witnessed, on that parting night, that the Gospel 
 is the power of God unto salvation to every one that 
 believeth ! — Rom. 1 : 16. 
 10* 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 EXTRACTS FROM JOURNAL. 
 "And as ye go, preach.''' 1 
 
 York, Nov. 17. — I preached yesterday forenoon in tiio 
 Centenary Chapel in behalf of the Wesleyan Missions. 
 In the afternoon, the Rev. Mr. Cornuck preached a stirring 
 sermon for the same cause, after which we held a prayer- 
 meeting ; and ten souls were saved. At night, in the same 
 chapel, to nearly three thousand people, I opened and 
 applied that awful text, spoken by the supposed ghost of 
 Samuel the prophet, to Saul, King of Israel: " Why hast 
 thou disquieted rne to bring me up ? — seeing the Lord 
 is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy?" — 
 1 Sam. 28 : 15, 16. Had an awful time ; and nineteen were 
 saved, before the service closed. 
 
 Nov. 19. — Attended the missionary meeting on Mon- 
 day night, and gave an address. Preached last night to & 
 fine congregation ; a few were saved. 
 
 Hudders field, Nov. 24. — Yesterday, I preached twice 
 here ; fifty saved. The new converts of the great revival, 
 nine or ten months since, are doing well, generally, — 
 standing fast in glorious liberty, full of energy and activity. 
 Surely that was a great work ! — over eighteen hundred 
 souls justified, and between seven and eight hundred sanc- 
 tified in, five months* This visit seems to have fanned 
 * Sec volume " Earnest Christianity Illustrated." 
 
EXTRACTS FROM JOURNAL. 115 
 
 the flame anew, and given the new converts a fresh impulse 
 along the heavenly road ! 
 
 Nov. 28. — At Honley, a hard time ; sinners hard 
 
 and defiant. Devils of a peculiar order have charge of that 
 district ; would require a siege to rout them. They main- 
 tain a strange sort of feeling; and, here and there, head 
 and shoulders above others in sin, are " champions cased 
 in adamant." 
 
 A hard class of infernal spirits have charge of sinners up 
 and down that valley, and over those hills ; I know it and 
 have felt it ; and Satan is their general. 
 
 " On earth the usurper reigns ;" 
 
 and hereabouts especially ; for his baneful power is felt in 
 some places more than in others. Satan had his seat in 
 Pergamos once. " I know thy works, and where thou 
 dwellest, even where Satan's seat is." — Rev. 2 : 13. His 
 throne was there, and there he reigned over his obedient 
 subjects. He has but a small cause in Pergamos now, and 
 not much of a cause here, comparatively ; but he holds the 
 position with a tenacity which bespeaks great principles, in 
 Satanic estimation. What we know not now, we shall 
 know hereafter. His infernal battalions are widely 
 extended, and advantageously stationed. They have their 
 districts. Their dispositions are varied. I sometimes think, 
 as are the depraved human beings they have in charge ! 
 
 0, what a valley of dry bones is within sight ! A place 
 that calls for Ezekiel's " four winds." — Ezek. 37 : 9. 
 
 Well, I was defeated. Never mind ! I may yet have 
 my revenge of a month's cannonading hereabouts, against 
 the works of darkness. 
 
 Nov. 29. — At Sheepridge, near Huddersfield, last night, 
 to a people of a very different spirit. Edward Brook, Esq., 
 
116 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 the great Yorkshire revivalist, resides in their midst, — a 
 host in himself. We had a real " set-to " for souls, he 
 helping me, "with the Lord; several were saved; and one 
 backslider literally roared aloud, through the bitterness of 
 his heart ; but his tones changed before the meeting closed, 
 for the Lord had pitied him, and shown him mercy. 
 
 It does me good to meet with such a spiritual wa, ^ior as 
 Mr. Brook. He is a noble soul, and understands well 
 satanic tactics in every part of Yorkshire, and knows how 
 to cope with them, with that " rough and ready " talent 
 of his ; nor has he ever to go in search of his armor for a 
 skirmish or battle with the Devil's troops. God bless him ' 
 
 Macclesfield, Dec. 1. — Arrived here on Saturday, 29th 
 ult., by railway, and next day made an onslaught on the 
 works of darkness, the Lord helping, and before midnight 
 there were one hundred souls saved, in pardon and purity. 
 The proportion from the world I have not yet learned. 
 
 Dec. 2. — There were twenty-five saved last night. A 
 noble beginning, 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 PENCILLINGS IN MACCLESFIELD. 
 
 I like Macclesfield. It is an agreeable, thriving town, 
 the metropolis of the English silk- trade, "for growing and 
 manufacture of silk, winding silk, and twist-making" 
 the staple of the town for ages. There are, of course, many 
 mills. 
 
 The town charter dates May 29, 1261. The charter, 
 however, under which the present corporation acts, was 
 granted by Charles II. I was amused with one of its priv- 
 ileges, — u The Court of Piepowder "7 A court for the 
 semi-annual fairs, for the immediate redress of disturbances 
 committed at them, and to redress the grievances of the 
 buyers and sellers. 
 
 But why call it the Piepoivder Court? It seems to be 
 derived from two French words, — pie, a foot, and poudre^ 
 dusty — the Dusty-foot Court, signifying that the dusty- 
 footed folks, who had come from afar to the fair, were the 
 patronizers of this court, befooled, doubtless, in many 
 cases, by strong drink. One at my elbow, doubts the defi- 
 nition, and thinks it stands for Pied Puldereaux — a pedler. 
 Well, no matter, the pedler, is a dusty -foot! and whether it 
 was good or ill to him, it saved him from " the law's 
 delays, 11 if not from " the insolence of office ;" and that 
 was something. 
 
 A few miles from town, is the birthplace of the celebrated 
 
118 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 John Bradshaw ; he who presided in the high court of 
 justice, on the trial of Charles I. He received most of his 
 education at Macclesfield, and seems to have had a present^ 
 ment, of some sort, of notoriety in coming life, as he per- 
 petrated the following stanza upon a tombstone, between 
 two and three centuries ago : 
 
 " My brother Henry must heir the land, 
 My brother Frank must be at his command ; 
 Whilst I, poor Jack, will do that 
 That all the world shall wonder at." 
 
 True enough, and so he did ! The tragical death of Charles 
 I. was sufficient for that. But he stopped not there. A 
 warm republican in his principles, he hated all sorts of 
 usurpation, and, beholding it in Cromwell, u he opposed him 
 to the teeth." Cromwell, on the day he dissolved " the 
 Long Parliament" went direct to break up the Council 
 of State, addressing them thus : 
 
 ' ' If you, gentlemen, are met here as private persons, 
 you shall not be disturbed ; but if as a Council of State, 
 this is no place for you, since you cannot but know what 
 was done in the house in the morning ; so, take notice that 
 the Parliament is dissolved." To this Bradshaw boldly 
 replied, " Sir, we have heard what you did at the house in 
 the morning, and before many hours all England will hear 
 it. But, sir, you are mistaken, to think that Parliament is 
 dissolved ; for, no power under heaven can dissolve them but 
 themselves; therefore, take you notice of that." 
 
 Cromwell afterwards said, ;C I did it in spite of the objec- 
 tions of honest Bradshaw, the president." Bradshaw, from 
 henceforth, lost the friendship of the Protector; but he 
 divided the notoriety with him afterwards, by sharing with 
 him one ;f the three angles of Tyburn. Cromwell had 
 
PENCILLINGS IN MACCLESFIELD. 119 
 
 one, — that is, the head of Cromwell, — Bradshaw the &ther. 
 and Ireton the third. They were raised from their graves, 
 and thus promoted after the restoration. The three famous 
 heads drew all eyes towards Westminster Hall, where they 
 frightened away the birds for some time ! 
 
 And here, in Macclesfield, preached and died that great 
 and good man, the Rev. David Simpson, author of " Simp- 
 son's Plea for Religion; " a powerful antidote against infi- 
 delity. 
 
 He was a famous divine, of the English church, contem- 
 porary with the Wesley s ; a bold and unsparing opponent 
 of all ungodliness, one of the brightest ornaments of the 
 established church ; but his faithful, uncompromising preach- 
 ing brought upon him great persecution ; first at Buck- 
 ingham, where his extemporaneous style was pronounced 
 an innovation, and was made a plea for raising a storm 
 about his ears ; but the truth was, his preaching had raised 
 a storm in their consciences ! The bishop listened to their 
 appeal, and was weak enough to sign the paper for his 
 removal ; but the bishop, knowing the irreproachable char- 
 acter of the man, had the candor and conscience to say, " Mr. 
 Simpson, if you are determined to do your duty as a cler- 
 gyman ought to do, you must everywhere expect to meet 
 with opposition." And yet he yielded to the popular 
 clamor, and removed the faithful watchman ! 
 
 In the year 1773, he arrived in Macclesfield, the place 
 designed for him, doubtless, by the Head of the Church. 
 " I never withheld any truth, either from fear, or with a 
 desire to obtain the favor of any man," was one of his say- 
 ings. 
 
 In this spirit, he opened his commission in Macclesfield, 
 and in this spirit, he continued to preach the Gospel. The 
 truth, it was said, fell like sparks of fire upon the con- 
 
120 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 sciences of hi3 hearers; especially upon those, " the jfiigh 
 minded sensualists in the town," who would attend churcb 
 on the Sabbath, although immersed in the grossest profli- 
 gacy through the week. To these, his preaching became 
 intolerable, and set them " casting about " how they might 
 get rid of him. They spurned the preacher, and stigmatized 
 his doctrine with the hated epithet of i: Methodism ; " and 
 so the fire of opposition increased. 
 
 The idea of having to endure this sort of preaching, be- 
 came insupportable. Profligates and formalists were in 
 arms. The man of God never flinched, but poured into 
 their ranks the burning truths of God. 
 
 At this crisis, occurred an event which let loose the 
 storm of war. Sir William Meredith came to hear him. 
 The baronet was notoriously licentious. The preacher 
 announced his text: " Marriage is honorable in all, and 
 the bed undefiled ; but whoremongers and adulterers God 
 will judge." The sermon exploded like a bomb-shell around 
 the ears of the noble baronet, and kindred spirits. "It is 
 extremely ill-bred ," exclaimed one party. " Public taste, 
 good manners, and common decency, are outraged," said 
 another party. " Such puritanical stuff is not to be 
 endured," vociferated another. " No gentleman or lady 
 can be safe in hearing this puritanical parson" exclaimed 
 a fourth class. And now the storm of opposition began to 
 rage in earnest. " This moralist must be silenced." The 
 bishop was appealed to, under the insinuation that he had 
 sent them a Methodist preacher, instead of a proper clergy- 
 man. The bishop yielded to the clamor, and suspended 
 him. But he refused to be silenced thus ; and went out 
 among the neighboring villages, as a flame of fire, preaching 
 in private houses, and calling sinners to repentance every- 
 where. All the pulpits of the Establishment were closed 
 
PENCILLINGS IN MACCLESFIELD. 121 
 
 against him ; but he heeded it not, and kept on preaching, 
 declaring the whole counsel of God to the people ; and Christ 
 was with him. 
 
 The head of the church interfered. That bishop was 
 removed, and another appointed, who did not oppose Mr. 
 S. His enemies were on the alert, and tried to work upon 
 the new bishop, with the old charge, — " The man is a Metho- 
 dist ; and his preaching is turning the people into Methodists." 
 Mr. Simpson thought proper to address the bishop also, 
 which he did thus : 
 
 " My method is to preach the great truths, and doctrines 
 and precepts of the Gospel, in as plain, and earnest, and 
 affectionate a m\nner as I am able. Persons of different 
 ranks, persuasions, and characters, come to hear. Some 
 hereby have been convinced of the error of their ways, see 
 their guilt, and become seriously concerned about their 
 situation. The change is soon discovered ; they meet with 
 one or another, who invites them to attend the preachings 
 and meetings among the Methodists, and hence their number 
 is increased to a considerable degree. This is the truth ; I 
 own the fact ; I have often thought of it ; but I confess 
 myself unequal to the difficulty. What would your lordship 
 advise? ; ' 
 
 A friendly mayor came into office at this time, and imme- 
 diately asserted a right, invested in him, to reinstate Mr. 
 Simpson in the parish ! While the bishop was pondering, 
 Providence was planning. A wealthy gentleman, Mr. Roe, 
 offered to build Mr. Simpson a church in another part of 
 the town, which he did in a very short time ; and it was 
 dedicated on Christmas Day, 1775. Here Mr. Simpson 
 stood up for God, without fear, and preached the whole 
 Gospel, with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven. 
 Multitudes crowded to his ministry. His eloquence, it is 
 11 
 
122 SHOWERS OF BLES3IIN(*. 
 
 said, was pure and commanding, and poured forth like a 
 flowing stream. 
 
 The Methodists loved and honored him. He often seated 
 himself under their ministry, and listened to the Gospel from 
 them with the greatest delight. To the youth of Maccles- 
 field, his ministry avis greatly blessed; especially to the oper- 
 atives, of both sexes, in the silk-mills. To the young woman 
 he would say, "Your character is like glass ; if once 
 injured, it can never be restored;" and the effects of his 
 teaching were felt to be a blessing to the entire population. 
 Although forty anal six years have passed away, since 
 that good pastor w r as laid in the tomb, his name in Maccles- 
 field is still as ointment poured forth. 
 
 To-day, I visited his church, in company w r ith a few 
 brethren , ascended the pulpit, and looked around; and 
 thought, where are " the crowding thousands " who hung 
 upon those lips of eloquence and power ? And where 
 
 " That eye of lightning, and that soul of fire, 
 
 Which thronging thousands crowded to admire? " 
 
 In the dust, in the spirit land, ! Hushed in death was 
 that fine voice, which illustrated, with all the resources of 
 genius, and force of intellectual energy, those eternal truths 
 of God, which awakened and converted men ! He, and all 
 those multitudes, gone, — gone into the world of spirits, — 
 illustrating, in life and in death, that panoramic view of 
 them, by a great poet of the same age : 
 
 " Opening the map of God's extensive flan, 
 We find a little isle, this life of man ; 
 Eternity's unknown expanse appears 
 Circling around and limiting his years. 
 The busy race, examine and explore 
 Each creek and cavern of the dangerous shore. 
 
PENCILLINGS IN MACCLESFIELD. 123 
 
 With care collect what in their eyes excels, 
 Some shining pebbles, and some weeds and shells ; 
 Th is laden, dream that they are rich and great, 
 Ani happiest ho that groans beneath his weight ; 
 The waves o'ertake them in their serious play, 
 And every hour sweeps multitudes away ! 
 They shriek and sink, survivors start and weep, , 
 Pursue their sport, and follow to the deep. 
 A few forsake the throng ; with lifted eyes 
 Ask wealth of Heaven, and gain a real prize, 
 Truth, wisdom, grace, and peace like that above, 
 Sealed with his signet, whom they serve and love. 
 Scorned by the rest, with patient hope they wait 
 A kind release from their imperfect state, 
 And, unregretted, are soon snatched away 
 From scenes of sorrow into glorious day." 
 
 I admire those lines ; — a faithful picture of our times as 
 well. Of the latter class, Mr. Simpson had very many 
 seals to his ministry. 
 
 And there is the same "communion rail," where the 
 faithful followers of the Lamb so often knelt to receive the 
 sacred emblems of his broken body and shed blood ; where 
 he and Mr. Wesley administered the sacrament to thirteen 
 hundred persons, many of them Methodists, — for they had 
 not the ordinance in their own chapels then, — when that 
 little incident occurred, of which Mr. Wesley speaks in his 
 Journal: " March 29. — [Being Good Friday] I came to 
 Macclesfield just time enough to assist Mr. Simpson in the 
 laborious service of the day. I preached for him morning 
 and afternoon ; and we administered the sacrament to about 
 thirteen hundred persons. While we were administering, 
 I heard a low, soft, solemn sound, just like the iEolian harp. 
 It continued five or six minutes, and so affected many, that 
 they could not refrain from tears. It then gradually died 
 away. Strange that no other organist (that I know) 
 should think of this. In the evening," adds Mr. Wesley, 
 
124 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 " I preached at our room. Here was that harmony which 
 art cannot imitate." 
 
 And there, at that communion table, stood Mr. Simpson, 
 at the dread moment when this church was rocked to and 
 fro by the heavings of an earthquake, and before him the 
 terrified -congregation endeavoring to escape, while he tried 
 to allay their fears ; and here, in this pulpit, he preached 
 his famous Earthquake Sermon! 
 
 A little incident occurred to me, when descending from the 
 pulpit of this church, which strangely affected me ; — a 
 strange sensation and singular awe crept over me when half- 
 way down, as if a spirit awaited me at the bottom, — the 
 spirit of the departed Simpson. I reached the lower step 
 as if enchained, so to speak, by a mysterious influence; — 
 felt his spirit was at my right hand, between me and the 
 altar, which is behind the pulpit. I stood still, as before a 
 presence, — a power, — a living thing, — an invisible intel- 
 ligence, — as if it would speak aloud to me ; — when these 
 words thrilled my inmost soul : " Save souls ! win souls ! 
 He that winneth souls is wise ! " It was all inaudible, — 
 invisible. But how irresistible the conviction of a pres- 
 ence, — speaking to me, — from which I broke away at 
 length, feeling God is in this place, and I knew it not. 
 Tt is God's own house and heaven's gate. I quietly 
 moved on as if from the spirit of the place. Well, if it 
 was but an hallucination, it quickened my spirit, and my 
 preaching received a fresh impulse and a keener edge. 
 What we know not now, we shall know hereafter, when we 
 meet the soul of Simpson in the upper sanctuary. Per- 
 haps, many of the children and grandchildren of his former 
 hearers, are soon to be converted to God. In looking over 
 the Memoirs of Mr. Simpson, I met with the following inci- 
 dent, which I give in his own words : " When I was yet a 
 
PENCILLINGS IN MACCLESFIELD. 125 
 
 boy, and undesigned for the ministry, either by my parents 
 or from inclination, one Sunday evening, while I was read- 
 ing prayers in my father's family, suddenly a voice, or some- 
 thing like a voice, called aloud within me, yet so as not to 
 be perceived by any of the persons kneeling around me, 
 
 ' YOU MUST GO AND BE INSTRUCTED FOR THE MINISTRY.' 
 
 The voice, or whatever it might be, was so exceedingly quick 
 and powerful, that it was with difficulty I could proceed to 
 the end of the prayer. As soon, however, as the prayer 
 was ended, I made request to my father to let me be trained 
 up for the ministry. I told him all I knew of the circum- 
 stances. He, of course, denied my request, thinking it was 
 some whim I had got into my head, which would go off 
 again when I had slept upon it. But the voice — or what 
 shall I call it ? — gave me no rest night or day for three 
 weeks ; when my ever dear, honored and indulgent father 
 gave way to my wishes, and put me in a train of study to 
 qualify me for the University." 
 11* 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 THE WORK OF GOD IN MACCLESFIELD. 
 
 Dec. 3. — A great time last night. The blows of truth 
 fell thick and fast, and brought many to their knees with a 
 cry for mercy. Fifty saved. The critics had no time to 
 "stand from under ; " they had no warning \ and came 
 down with the rest. It is not best to stand too much upon 
 preliminaries ; gives them too much time to get ready ; 
 they guess "what is coming, and the preacher, like 
 
 " Extellus, luastes his forces on the wind.'" 
 
 That, I do not like, and so fall upon them suddenly. We 
 have a few whimpers about " extravagance" &c, but the 
 next onset of truth levels the whimperers to the ground, 
 where they cry outright for mercy ! 
 
 * * * * # * 
 
 Dined a few miles from town, in company with Mr. S., 
 whose wife, a pious lady, and a Weslcyaji, died very happy 
 some time since. She had been confined to her room but a 
 few days, when the call for her departure to heaven came 
 suddenly, and found her, like " the wise virgins" ready. 
 — Matt. 25 : 1. She was sitting in her chair when Death 
 came, — when the chariot of heaven arrived. She sat a 
 few moments, absorbed in thought, as if adjusting her spirit- 
 ual armor ; then arose and walked across the room to her 
 bed, repeating that fine stanza as she went : 
 
THE WORK OF GOD IN MACCLESFIELD. 127 
 
 " Jesus, in thy great name I go 
 To conquer death — my final foe ! 
 And when I quit this cumbrous clay, 
 And soar on angels' wings away, 
 My soul the second death defies, 
 And reigns eternal in the skies." 
 
 She then quietly lay down upon the bed, like a warrior 
 seeking rest, after having driven the enemy from the 
 field ; and then uttered, faintly, but in an adoring atti- 
 tude, — 
 
 "I will 
 Clap my glad wings and soar away, 
 And mingle with the blaze of day," 
 
 and sweetly fell asleep in Jesus, and w r as escorted to 
 heaven. " Our people die well" said Dr. Newton, 
 They do, blessed be God, "who giveth them the victory 
 through Jesus Christ our Lord ! 
 
 The death of this Christian lady reminded me of another, 
 who died here in Mr. Wesley's time. " I rode on to Mac- 
 clesfield" says Mr. Wesley. " Here I heard an agreeable 
 
 account of Mrs. R , who was in the society at London 
 
 from a child ; but, after she was married to a rich man, 
 durst not own a poor, despised people. Last year she broke 
 through, and came to see me. A few words, which I then 
 spake, never left her, not even in the trying hour, during 
 the illness, which came a few months after. All her con- 
 versation was then in heaven ; till, feeling her strength 
 was quite exhausted, she said, with a smile, ' Death, thou 
 art welcome ! ' and resigned her spirit.' 7 Ah ! perhaps, had 
 she walked in the light after her marriage with the rich 
 man, her pilgrimage might have been longer, and more 
 honorable, and her reward in heaven greater. 
 
 Much depends upon what degree of the light and influ- 
 
128 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 ences of the Holy Spirit we sin against. St. John says, 
 " There is a sin unto death ; " sometimes the death of 
 the body only, while the soul is saved. However, Mrs. S. 
 was one of those who walked closely with the Lord before 
 her family and his people. She did not refuse her influence 
 for Christ, although surrounded with affluence. Her work 
 was done. 
 
 What a work God has begun here ! I have come among 
 a prepared people. These godly ministers, Harris and 
 Clay, have prepared the way of the Lord ; and so have 
 others before them. I love to preach ^vhere such devoted 
 men as David Simpson, and others, walked, and toiled, 
 and fought the great battle of truth for God, and sowed the 
 seed for a future harvest, and sent up many prayers, 
 answers to which are, doubtless, constantly descending, to 
 their great joy, -where they are enthroned on high, among 
 the " spirits of just men made perfect." It seems as if 
 their spirits are sometimes present, — as if they hover 
 around and over us, observing with delight the successive 
 answers to their long-recorded prayers; and as if they 
 helped to shout the harvest home ! 
 
 Besides, the history of such great souls is so familiar to 
 those they left behind them, and to their children, — of which 
 their fathers have told them, showing to their children the 
 wonderful works which God wrought in their day, by the 
 ministry of his servants, and the manner of it (Psalms 
 78 : 3), — that they are not taken by surprise when the 
 Head of the Church repeats his miracles of mercy under a 
 modern ministry. They are not offended, or stumbled at 
 this or that extraordinary movement ; at me, for instance, 
 when the Bible is clasped to my breast, by something akin 
 to an irresistible impulse, or lifted clear over head, like a 
 battle-axe, " contrary to the rules of rhetorical gesture;" 
 
THE WORK OF GOD IN MACCLESFIELD. 129 
 
 for, who of all the children of Macclesfield, would say a 
 word against that, seeing that Simpson, the beloved of their 
 fathers, often held the Bible aloft in his right hand, to the 
 no small peril of breaking their heads below, by missing 
 his hold of the Bible above ! and who, contrary to all 
 rules of pulpit propriety, on seeing an old woman fast 
 asleep while he was preaching, did actually seize upon the 
 pulpit cushion, and flung it at her drowsy head, quite inter- 
 rupting her nap for that afternoon, and, I dare say, ever 
 after in that place ! 
 
 However, there is no need of cushion-flinging just now 
 in Macclesfield; for they are all u wide awake" Old 
 men and women, young men and maidens, and children, all 
 hearing for everlasting life ! Not less than one hundred 
 soids have professed salvation since last night ; of these, 
 thirty are cases of full salvation ; but seventy, within a few 
 hours, are the trophies of pardoning mercy ; not such par- 
 dons as those inscribed upon a brass plate in the wall of 
 the parish church, close by, granted, by the Pope of Rome, 
 to a woman and her seven children, placed there, when 
 Romanism was the religion of England, and that their 
 church. The inscription reads thus : 
 
 " The pardon for saying V paternostors, and 
 V aves, and a crede, is XXVI thousand years, 
 and XXVI days of pardon." 
 
 Not such, these seventy pardons, granted those seventy 
 distressed penitents, from the Lord God, through repentance 
 and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ : 
 
 " A pardon written with his blood, 
 The favor and the peace of God ; " 
 
 not with the appended nonsense of " twenty '-six thou- 
 
130 SHOWERS OP BLESSING. 
 
 sand years, and twenty-six days;" no, no! but forever 
 and ever, it faithful until death ! — Rev. 2 : 10. 
 
 Birmingham, Dec. 5. — Had a tender parting with the 
 friends at Macclesfield. The scene was indeed amazing 
 the last night ; the glory of the Lord filled his temple. 
 The cries of the wounded, and the shouts of the healed. 
 were heard afar off. During those six glorious days I 
 spent in Macclesfield, the secretary reported some two 
 hundred and sixty soids justified, and one hundred and 
 forty sanctified. Total, four hundred souls in six days ! 
 All glory be to Christ ! He doeth the work. " He touches 
 the mountains, and they smoke — the hills, and they melt ; " 
 and earth and her sons tremble, and fall before the mighty 
 God of Jacob ! 
 
 I was hospitably entertained at the house of Mr. Boicers, 
 Mill-street. May the smiles of Jesus be the sunshine of 
 his dwelling-place evermore. Amen. 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Harris, superintendent, and the Rev. 
 Mr. Clay, his amiable and excellent colleague, showed me 
 much kindness, and did all they could to render my visit 
 agreeable to me, and profitable to the people. 
 
 Arriving at Birmingham, I was met at the depot by the 
 Rev. Alexander Bell, superintendent and chairman of the 
 district, who gave me a hearty welcome, and escorted me to 
 Sparkbi*ook House, the noble mansion of John Wright ', 
 Esq. where I felt myself instantly and perfectly at home. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 BIRMINGHAM. 
 PREPARING FOR THE CONFLICT. 
 
 We have now introduced the reader into the principal 
 scene of Mr. Caughey's labors, — where he labored several 
 months ; and where his ministry was greatly blessed to multi- 
 tudes of souls. The following, from his pen, will afford a 
 glimpse of his feelings and prospects ; — a good illustration 
 of a soul encouraging and strengthening itself in God. 
 
 It was thought proper I should open my commission in 
 Newton Row Chapel. I have preached there a few times 
 with some success; feeling very small and humble, and 
 attracting but little notice. What of that ? A stone is a 
 small affair, compared with the mass of water into which it 
 falls • nevertheless how wide the circles which it forms in 
 the water, and ever widening ! Besides, the higher the stone 
 ascends heavenioards, the more decided its effect in forming 
 circles. 
 
 The exhortation to myself, is, Arise, my soul ! Ascend — 
 climb — soar heavenward unto God, with all thy affections 
 ani powers, that the force of thy descent upon the vast mass 
 of mind around thee may be felt in circling waves of sancti- 
 fied power and influence, even from centre to circum- 
 ference. 
 
 Be of good cheer. my soul ! Thou art indeed but a small, 
 
132 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 insignificant particle flung upon the brink of this great pop 
 ulation; but what of that? If thou art a fragment of that 
 prophetic Stone, mentioned by Daniel, which was cut out 
 of the mountain without hands, and destined to fill the 
 whole earth ; then may thy influence, through Christ 
 that living Stone, fill all Birmingham, for his glory in the 
 salvation of sinners ! 
 
 Rouse thee, then, my soul ! If thou dost claim kindred 
 with that Stone, expect to feel thyself possessed of some of 
 its momentum and diffusiveness ; — a momentum, to break 
 down opposing ^influences, and to overturn " the great 
 image" of Birmingham idolatry, — of gold, and silver, 
 brass, iron and clay ; — diffusiveness, of light, life, love 
 and power, radiating throughout all this mass of minds, 
 bringing life out of death, purity out of putridity, light 
 out of darkness, love out of enmity, stre?igth out of iveak- 
 ness ; causing the weak things of this world, as Paul 
 hints, to confound and bring to naught the things that are 
 mighty. Amen ! 
 
 The great image may be considered civilly ; and what if 
 the will of God should have it, that this impetus of thine 
 shall smite its iron and clayey feet first, — the poorer 
 classes in the satanic confederation ? For, mark, when the 
 little stone cut out without hands, in Nebuchadnezzar 's 
 dream, smote the image upon its feet that were of iron and 
 clay, down came the whole image, — legs of iron, belly and 
 thighs of brass, breast and arms of silver, and head of 
 fine gold, — all came down together when the feet gave 
 way ; — then commenced the threshing, till all this hetero- 
 geneous mass of metal was broken in pieces, and became like 
 unto the chaff of the summer threshing-floor. — Dan. 2. 
 Lord Jesus, bring me in contact with " the common people, " 
 — the poorer classes, first; — it was they who heard thee 
 
BIRMINGHAM. 133 
 
 gladly ', when upon earth. — Mark 12 : 37. Christ Jesus, 
 the Heaven-commissioned Stone, came in contact successively 
 with those four great empires of the earth, — the Chaldean, 
 the Medo-Persian, the Macedonian, or Greek, and the Bo- 
 man, — and made them like the chaff of the summer thresh- 
 ing-floor. Commission a poor worm., Jesus, and he, too, 
 will thresh the empires of sinful confederations in Bir- 
 mingham, — metallic Birmingham, — this great viorker 
 in gold, silver, copper, brass and iron, and clay. Amen ! 
 And then shall rise, from the materials of this moral rebel- 
 lion, a structure of converted and sanctified mind, inde- 
 structible and eternal ! 
 
 -i£- -it- -it- ~$k -& -it- -it* 
 
 -T^ -T^ •TT *TV- TV "Tv *7v 
 
 There is a danger, I am aware, of one's conscious insig- 
 nificancy and unworthiness and weakness, bringing on a 
 timidity, an enfeebling solitariness. If it was not able 
 in past years to detain me in the shade, or to bind me down 
 in the solitudes of an inglorious ease, why allow it to pros- 
 trate me now on the rough edge of one of my most glori- 
 ous battles ? Down, unbelief ! Be exalted, faith in God ! 
 
 jl# -22* • -it* -it* -it* ' -i£* -it* 
 
 •TV -TV *7V "TV -TV -TV Tv 
 
 I like that thought of a poet, who pictures a solitary rain- 
 drop tarrying in the cloud, discouraged by the apparent 
 impossibility of a thing so insignificant as itself to water 
 the thirsty earth, which was calling loudly to the heavens 
 for rain (Hosea 2 : 21 — 23) ; and the soliloquy of the hum- 
 ble sunbeam, lingering in the sun, considering the idea that 
 it could create day, or disperse the gloom which had over- 
 spread the whole hemisphere, preposterous. But the rain- 
 drop took courage at length, and rushed down courageously 
 on its mission of mercy ; and it soon found that thousands 
 and thousands more of drops followed, and that heaven and 
 earth were being shaken by thunder and lightning and 
 12 
 
134 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 wind, with a teeming shower over all the thirsty land, 
 bidding every dying thing live, and it lived and praised 
 the Lord ! The sunbeam also, thinking better of the mat- 
 ter, concluded to try what it could do. Trusting firmly in 
 the aid of its great parent, the sun, down it came also, on its 
 errand of love ; the sun saw it, and rejoiced at a benevo- 
 lence so like his own, and despatched to its aid millions of 
 other sunbeams, filling the whole hemisphere with sun- 
 shine, and a most magnificent day, calling out of doors 
 everything that loved the sun, causing heaven and earth 
 to rejoice in each other's smiles ; when only bats and owls 
 were left to mourn the absence of their beloved darkness, 
 and to hate the light and the sunshine. 
 
 Here, then, my "far-away friends," you have a fragment 
 of my philosophy, which I have " set down " as much for 
 my own encouragement, as for your curiosity or informa- 
 tion. 
 
 How often have I heard the spirit of those words sound- 
 ing in my spiritual ear, Be not afraid, but speak, and 
 hold not thy peace, for I am with thee; for I have 
 much people in this city I — Acts 18 : 9. And the raindrop 
 is speaking to me, and the sunbeam, that mine is the 
 more glorious mission, — as heaven exceeds earth, as 
 eternity outweighs time, as the soul is more valuable 
 than the body ; — the salvation of which being at the top 
 of all salvation. 
 
 I have two sermons on Rom. 1 : 16 — " For I am not 
 ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of 
 God unto salvation, to every one that believeth; to the 
 Jew first, and also to the Greek." What! timid and 
 doubtful in possession of such a power as this — after pen- 
 ning such sentiments as those sermons contain — after 
 such deductions and inferences ? Never. If they are mere 
 
BIRMINGHAM. 135 
 
 theory, and unfit for practical purposes, — for such hoped- 
 for victorious onslaughts upon the ranks of wickedness, — ■ 
 why, then, "Away with them," saith my soul, "and take 
 thy pen and write something more consistent with fact, 
 practical fact, and common sense" Nay, my soul ! but 
 thou knowest the contrary. " What I have written, I 
 have written," said Pontius Pilate, regarding the inscrip- 
 tion over the head of Jesus on the cross. So say I. Let 
 me abide by it, then, nor betray, nor crucify the Gospel, as 
 Pilate did its divine Author; but play the man in the 
 management of this Heaven-appointed artillery, push princi- 
 ples to the utmost, make full proof of thy ministry, as 
 Paul exhorted Timothy. 
 
 Theory ! theory ! Ye friends of Jesus ! was that 
 it ? — to confide in mere theory, without regard to the full 
 proof in practical effects ? Was that my own notion in the 
 sermons referred to ? — as the Spanish poet has it. 
 
 " to confide 
 
 In painted words, the eloquence of pride " ? 
 
 God forbid ! Nay, I was sincere ! — the design was prac- 
 tical. Then practical be it ! I am not ashamed of the 
 Gospel, nor of any one of those sentiments penned in 
 those sermons ! No ! But I see a struggle before me, — 
 an agony of conflict. But "Victory is of the Lord!" 
 So exclaimed a Jewish warrior of old, on the eve of bat- 
 tle, when, with a handful of men, he was about to cope 
 with one hundred and twenty thousand men, headed 
 by thirty two elephants, and horses many thousands ^ and 
 hundreds of chariots of war. The battle commenced with 
 the thunder shout of the few against the many, "Victory 
 ;a of the Lord ! " and the swords flew around like lightning, 
 
136 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 nor did the sun descend under the arches of the west, before 
 the Lord gave the few the victory. -'Victory is of the 
 Lord ! " That is my motto. 
 
 A few trophies already. But, 0, this skirmishing is 
 harder than the conflict of the decisive battle ! 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 THE PATH TO VICTORY — COUNTER- ATTRACTIONS. 
 
 How true the following sentiments of a poet ! I like 
 them ; they do me good ; there is a spirit in them which 
 seems to say, "Press forward!" They thrill me after 
 the manner of the warriors of old, who, when they heard 
 the Gospel read, instinctively put their hand to their 
 sword. My weapons are not carnal, but spiritual ; but 
 to the lines : 
 
 " Every beginning is shrouded in a mist, those vague ideas beyond, 
 And the traveller setteth on his journey, oppressed with many thoughts, 
 Balancing his hopes and fears, and looking for some order in the 
 
 chaos, — 
 Some secret path between the cliffs that seem to bar his way : 
 So he commenceth at a clue, unravelling its tangled skeins, 
 And boldly speedeth on to thread the labyrinth before him. 
 Then, as he gropeth in the darkness, light is attendant on his steps, 
 He walketh straight in fervent faith, and difficulties vanish at his 
 
 presence ; 
 The very flashing of his sword scattereth his shadowy foes ; 
 Confident and sanguine of success, he goeth forth conquering and to 
 
 conquer." 
 
 Thus, I have found frequently, that when there is anything 
 great and noble to be effected, especially against the empire 
 of darkness, why darkness is sure to be encountered at 
 first. Indeed, that proves, or illustrates our Lord's expres- 
 sion, and that cf Paul, u The power of darkness ; " and St. 
 12* 
 
138 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 John's, also, " And his kingdom ivas full of darkness.'' 
 ■ — Rev. 16 : 1). We feel this darkness as "the Captain 
 of our salvation" leads us on; for, like the darkness that 
 was in Egypt, it is a darkness that may be felt. How 
 often have I experienced this ! and yet I am not hardened 
 nor fortified altogether against its influence. Philosophy 
 and experience often fail me for a little, in time of need : 
 but even this may be overruled for good ; as the less con- 
 fidence in self the more room is left for confidence in God, 
 unless when the devil and unbelief beat the soul down to the 
 ground, so that it cannot look up. 
 
 The poor are gathering around me in considerable num- 
 bers, and seem truly in earnest to enter into the kingdom 
 of God. The rich have something else to do at present. 
 They have not yet recognized me or the work as worthy 
 of any particular attention. They are looking in quite a 
 different direction ; — trade for some, which a poet calk, 
 "the golden girdle of the globe;" and as Agabus tools 
 Paul's girdle and bound his own hands and feet therewith, 
 and prophesied, that so the Jews at Jerusalem would bind 
 the man who owned that girdle ; so does the devil bind 
 many a poor, busy, prosperous sinner with that " golden 
 girdle of the globe," trade, and delivers him finally into the 
 hand of death bound ; a sad prelude to the announcement 
 and fulfilment of that dreadful sentence of the Eternal 
 Judge, " Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, 
 and cast him into outer darkness ; there shall be weeping 
 and gnashing of teeth?' — Matt. 22: 13. This must be 
 beaten into their ears, when I obtain their ears, which 
 will not be long, I hope ; for their attention must be turned 
 in this direction somehow. 
 
 Gain ! what a magnet is that for others ! Gain at the 
 soid's expense ; ''bating with the devil, and staking their 
 
111E PATH TO VICTORY. . 139 
 
 souls for a .rifle" observes a shrewd man. The man we 
 read of, who threw coin at a fig-tree for the sake of the 
 fruit, was a wise man, when compared with these, who 
 throw away their souls for the sake of some perishable good. 
 Dear jigs, those, when silver pieces were flung and lost in 
 bringing them down ; and dear the fruits of sin, if the eter- 
 nal soul must be the price ! Such are " fools in folio ," and 
 worse off than fools in yonder Lunatic Asylum. 
 
 The wedge of gold, and the Babylonish garment were 
 more glorious in the eyes of Achan, than victory with 
 Israel in the field, and his own inheritance in the land of 
 promise. He bartered one for the other, and, like many 
 since his day, inherited neither, poor man ! — a heap of 
 stones, only. Alas ! the Achan family became not extinct 
 in him. Would that it had ! Whatever may have become 
 of the " apostolic succession," here is a succession that has 
 never yet failed. For less gain than Achan acquired, how 
 many betray the cause of God, and their own souls ! Nor 
 need one wonder much at all this, seeing that one of our 
 Lord's own companions betrayed him for thirty pieces of 
 silver. With Judas, as an instance, we are not to marvel 
 that men are blind enough to barter away their own souls, 
 in the devil's market, for a small consideration. 
 
 I was thinking, to-day, that never did any man esteem 
 Christ highly, who esteemed his oion sold lightly ; and 
 never did any man estimate his own soul property, and, at 
 the same time, Christ lightly, or held the Gospel in low 
 estimation, or scorned the efforts of zeal and benevolence 
 in saving souls from perdition. 
 
 A high valuation of Christ, and a loiv valuation of the 
 Gospel, are anomalies. A high esteem of the Gospel, and 
 a low estimate :>f one's own sold, is a paradox, — that is, 
 <i contradiction ; equally so, is a high regard for one's own 
 
140 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 salvation and a low disregard for the salvation of others. 
 But who does not know that hypocrisy and self-deception 
 bring forth a brood of strange monstrosities ? Prejudice 
 and selfishness, likewise, are the father and mother of a 
 strange brood of inconsistencies, like Milton's Sin and 
 Death at the gates of Hell ; nor need we go there to fii.d 
 them. 
 
 Thus it is, when men, dead in trespasses and in sins, 
 are left to themselves even in this world. The first chapter 
 of Romans proves this. — Eom. 1 : 21, 32. And thus has 
 it been ever since, through all generations of men ; at every 
 point of time, these eighteen hundred years, good men have 
 been forced to exclaim, with good old Richard Baxter, 
 " But now I perceive the devil will be the devil, and man- 
 kind will be born blind, sensual and malignant, till there 
 be a new heaven and earth, in which dwelleth righteous- 
 ness." But still, I like better the idea of the wit of whom 
 Hannah More speaks, who said, " To mend the world J s 
 a vast design?' To be sure it is ; and a noble design, and 
 glorious, although one should fail in the attempt ! 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 SATAN ENTRENCHED. 
 
 1st. You desire to know what are our "prospects" here 
 of a revival; "the difficulties to be encountered;" and 
 "by what course of action" we propose to "succeed." 
 Well, my friend, I could write much upon these questions, 
 for I assure you my heart is full. But, if I tell you all 1 
 know, and all I fear, and all I feel, you will suspect me 
 again of "looting through smoked glass;" or, through 
 those " spectacles " which you say the devil is " ever ready 
 to clap upon the nose of the melancholy, or disheartened." 
 Well, the thing is not among the impossibles ; but I am 
 not naturally given to melancholy, neither am I disheart- 
 ened, but I have a habit of looking difficulties in the face ; 
 and have you any objections to that ? The ancients, you 
 remember, used to say, " One pair of eyes is worth a hun- 
 dred pair of spectacles" It only requires one to use his 
 own eyes to see how strongly Satan has fortified himself in 
 Birmingham ; not, indeed, by the civil law, as in Italy or 
 even in France, but by the laws of depravity, his most 
 faithful ally. 
 
 2d. Nor do I think it is detrimental to faith, altogether, 
 to have as full view as can be obtained, of what must be 
 encountered in order to success. It prompts faith to rely 
 upon the Holy Ghost alone, and to cry to God for those 
 weapons of war and divine artillery, necessary to insure 
 
142 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 the victory ; not " tilting with straws," but slashing right 
 and left with " the sword of the Lord and of Gideon ; " 
 not a 'painted sword, but the real sword ; not a painted fi re, 
 but the real fi re from above ; — it is that that cnts to the 
 dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and the joints and mar- 
 row of the sinner, wounding the heart, and dividing the 
 sinews which bind him to his sins ; and this is the fire 
 that icarms and burns. It is not the Aurora Borealis, 
 which the folks in the Shetland Islands call " the merry 
 dancers" which neither shatter nor strike the- proud, 
 gnarled, defiant oaks ; but the real living lightning of the 
 thunder cloud ! 
 
 It is not a pomp of words that is wanted in Birming- 
 ham, I assure you, but action. As Hannibal said to his 
 army, as "the battle trembled to begin," — "It is not 
 words that we want, but action ;" and so action was the 
 order of the day, till victory spread her wings over the field 
 at the close of the day. 
 
 3d. The preacher that will prevail in Birmingham, I 
 perceive, needs to be a "moving pillar of fire, and not a 
 floating iceberg ; not a style which one denominates " a. 
 polished mediocrity," as free from blemish as from tnergy , 
 but the " rough and ready" sort of preaching, the out-of- 
 the-ioay style (to use an idea of Rowland Hill), to catch 
 those tvhc are out of the way ; "the slap-dash" kind of 
 preaching, as one named it ; that style which Luther said 
 made the best preacher for the common people, "He who 
 speaks in the meanest, lowest, humblest, and most simple. 
 style." I have often thought of that; besides, "the com- 
 mon people" arc the bulk of our hearers in every place. 
 And was not this the reason that the common people heard 
 our Lord gladly? — Mark 12 : 37 ; because he preached to 
 their capacity and cirrumstances. 
 
SATAN ENTRENCHED. 14H 
 
 Ah. it is not such preaching as " inflating an idea or 
 frothing a sentiment" that will reach the heart, although 
 it may catch the head; but words and sentiments like 
 drawn swords, — not decorated, nor muffled, nor encum- 
 bered with ornament, but the naked blade of truth ; then, 
 no objection to the German poet's fancy : 
 
 " The hilt of precious gold, 
 The blade of shining steel." 
 
 But give me the blade of shining steel, whether its hilt be 
 of precious gold, or vulgar iron. 
 
CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 OR, LOOKING DIFFICULTIES 
 IN THE FACE. 
 
 My pen had free scope at Haddon Hall, Chatsworth, 
 Sheffield, Macclesfield, &c. ; but here in Birmingham — 
 what shall I saj ? I have no heart to attempt such descrip- 
 tions. Not but there is much to admire in Birmingham. I 
 like the town ; it contains much which, under other circum- 
 stances, would inspire my pen ; — have traversed it in various 
 directions with pleasure ; — have paused from weightier 
 thoughts to mark the classic taste of its people, not 
 merely in some of the public edifices, — the Town Hall, 
 for instance, great in design, and beautiful in architecture , 
 but even the entrances to private dwellings are studies ! — 
 houses, otherwise quite unassuming, have their portals 
 graced by the modest Doric, or , the elegant Ionic pillar, 
 with its appropriate volute, or the rich Corinthian, with 
 its acanthus, — and so generally, too ! — but especially the 
 creative genius of its artisans exhibited in their manu- 
 factures. But, alas ! the moral condition of the masses 
 around, — the great conflict upon which I have entered, — 
 the vast and far-reach ing consequences of success or fail- 
 ure ! Ah ! these thoughts leave room nor heart for little 
 else. But how well has Mrs. Sigourney sketched, at least 
 the " strange creathveness" of Birmingham genius and 
 talent. — thus : 
 
GLIMPSES OF BIRMINGHAM. 145 
 
 ** T is something to be called 
 The * toyshop of a continent,' by one 
 Whose voice was fame. And yet a name like, tins 
 Hath not been lightly earned. Hard hammerings 
 And fierce ore-meltings, 'mid a heat that threats 
 To vitrify the stones, have wrought it out, 
 On the world's anvil. 
 
 Ponderous enginery, 
 And sparkling smithies, and a pallid throng, 
 Who toil, and drink, and die, do service here ; 
 And countless are the forms their force creates, 
 From the dire weapon, sworn to deeds of blood, 
 That sweeps, with sharp report, man's life away, 
 To the slight box, from whence the spinster takts 
 Her creature-comfort, or the slighter orb 
 Of treble-gilt, which the pleased school-boy finds 
 On his new suit, counting the shining rows 
 With latent vanity. 
 
 ifc ^ ^? ifr $£ 9& 9fr 
 
 Here, too, were fabrics rich, 
 That taste might covet, cabinet and screen, 
 Table and tray, with pearly shell inlaid, 
 And bright with tints of landscape or of flower. 
 Here glass in crystal elegance essays 
 To emulate the diamond, and we saw 
 The flaming fount from whence its glories came, 
 And how the glowing cylinder expands 
 Into those broad and polished plates that deck 
 The abodes of princes." 
 
 But, alas ! other transmutations and creations have at- 
 tracted my attention — those of depravity ; for Satan has 
 stretched his "iron hand" across the gulf of hell, — to 
 rule, to grapple, or in league with Birmingham. 0, what 
 shall I say ? How describe the works of this old sorcerer 
 of perdition ? 
 
 1. I was thinking, to-day, that he is considered the best 
 general in a campaign, who best understands the tactics of 
 the enemy,— his strength, plans, fortifications, &c, — and hag 
 13 
 
146 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 instructed himself well as to the geography of the country 
 through which he must pass, where he is likely to meet 
 the foe ; and who has the tact or genius to choose the best 
 and most advantageous position for his troops. Valor will 
 serve him little, if lacking in these, and such like qualifica- 
 tions. Napoleon Bonaparte spent whole nights, compasses 
 in hand, 'midst maps, planning a single campaign. And 
 ncbody doubts that it is to that fact, as well as to the valor 
 of his army, that his extraordinary success and victorits 
 may be ascribed. 
 
 2. I was thinking, to-day, of Nehemiah the prophet, 
 who, on arriving at Jerusalem, with a heart overflowing 
 with patriotism and religion, resolved to revive the stones 
 out of the i^ubbish, and to rebuild the ivalls of the des- 
 olated city of his fathers. He says: "I came to Jeru- 
 salem, and was there three days; and I arose in the 
 night, I and some few men with me ; neither told I any 
 man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusa- 
 lem." Secrecy and expedition. These were the life of 
 bis undertaking. ci And I went out by night by the 
 gate of the valley, even before the dragon-well, and to 
 the dung-port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which 
 were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed 
 with fire. Then I went on to the gate of the fountain," 
 &c, &c. And so he took the circuit of the city, and 
 through the darkness looked difficulties in the face , 
 observed the compass of the walls, and their dilapidated 
 condition, in order to make proper provision for such a great 
 and perilous undertaking ; for there were many enemies 
 without, and untrustworthy persons within Jerusalem. 
 
 This night-view of the desolate city, rendered matters to 
 Nehemiah very gloomy and discouraging, doubtless. Noth- 
 ing the worse for that. The desolation ard the darkness 
 
GLIMPSES OF BIRMINGHAM. 14Y 
 
 well reminded him of coming difficulties and perils, — mag 
 nified them, perhaps ; — a wholesome ordeal to his faith — 
 served, it may be, to make his trials lighter when they 
 came, because anticipated and prepared for. The more dis- 
 couraging the aspect of things, the more resolute became 
 his dependence upon the God of his fathers. 
 
 3. There is a lesson for my heart in all this ; and some- 
 thing to excite and enlist the prayers of my special friends 
 for divine aid. We have spiritual foes to encounter, here in 
 Birmingham, more malignant than those who surrounded 
 Nehemiah : 
 
 " Are secret, sworn, invisible, 
 
 With hate and malice inextinguishable. ' ' 
 
 And thousands of poor sinners, of all sorts, under their 
 control, — some of whom are brain-sick, to use an odd term 
 of one ; so sick up there, as to think there is no life to 
 come for man, because he has no immortal soul to partake 
 of it ! And others are profoundly asleep, and, at the same 
 time, u wide awake ;" — which was called, in old times, the 
 DeviVs charm, in rendering men u Dor mire Deo, et 
 mundo vigilare" — asleep to God, and awake to the 
 to or Id I — who "think aloud," what some sinners dare 
 hardly own to themselves in secret, that sin is better than 
 grace, and the pleasures of sin here are better than [pos- 
 sibly a blank] eternal happiness hereafter. 
 
 These sleepers must be awakened. Their being asleep 
 does not lessen their peril, but increases it rather. There 
 is a moral, as well as a literal truth in what Baxter said a 
 long while ago, that, when the coachman is asleep, the 
 horses may miss their way, and possibly break his neck or 
 their own ; when the watchman sleeps, the thief may steal 
 *t pleasure, and fire the premises if he will ; and, if the 
 
148 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 pilot at the helm drops asleep, likely as not the ship will 
 visit the rocks of destruction ; so, when reason is laid asleep, 
 and out of the way, what may not appetite do ? and what 
 may not passion do ? and what may not temptations do 
 with the soul ? A wise man, when he is asleep, has as 
 little use of his wisdom as a fool ; a learned man, when 
 he is asleep, can hardly dispute with an unlearned man 
 that is awake ; a strong and valiant man, though skilful 
 in the use of weapons, is scarcely able, in his sleep, to deal 
 with the weakest child that is awake. The soul has poio- 
 ers, but they are asleep, till consideration awakens them, 
 and sets them to work. How little better is a man for 
 being a man, if, having reason, he makes no use of it when 
 needed ! The keenest sword, or the greatest cannon are 
 useless against an enemy, if they lie by neglected. Reason, 
 conscience, hell, what are these to deter a man from sin, 
 who never thinks of them ? Ah ! the truth of these re- 
 marks is seen everywhere in Birmingham ! 
 
 4. Birmingham presents another class, who well sustain 
 that charge, preferred against such characters ages ago, 
 " who commend God and godliness with their words, and 
 condemn them in their lives ; afford them the highest 
 position in their months, and degrade them to the lowest 
 estimation in their hearts ; give them the first place in 
 their prayers and professions, and the last place in their 
 lives and labors." Never a truer people to the old Latin 
 proverb, " Use God, but enjoy the creatures." These 
 must have their mouths stopped, or a transfer made from 
 the mouth, to the heart, — from the prayers and profes- 
 sions ^ to the life and the labor ! The proverb must be 
 reversed, or they are ruined, — enjoy God and use the 
 creatures ! That is it. 0, what a conflict with such, ere 
 these transfers are made, Q^e this victory has been achieved ! 
 
GLIMPSES OF BIRMINGHAM. 149 
 
 4. And many are grasping at what a shrewd man calls 
 no?ientities ; hunting butterflies at best, or chasing shadows, 
 and embracing phantoms ; as Ixion embraced a cloud for 
 Juno, and found himself whirled about amid the vapors of 
 disappointment ; or, like Apollo, as the Grecians feigned, who 
 hugged a laurel-tree in mistake for Daphne, — such their 
 idea of their sensual gods ; and thus, if the deities mistake, 
 why may not men ? As the gods, such were their wor- 
 shippers ! 
 
 What was fable at Athens, is fact in Birmingham, 
 so far as sinners are concerned ; and by many who admit 
 the holiness of God, but who, alas ! reject his command, 
 u Be ye holy, for I the Lord your God am holy ;" as 
 strong in inference that holy they should be, as it is au- 
 thoritative in command ; but, alas ! as one remarked, holi- 
 ness is so hateful and grievous a thing to them, that they 
 will venture upon hell to avoid it. 
 
 5. And here are scramblers by the thousand for "the 
 golden apple," even along the brink of hell ; and every day 
 one and another of them drops off and falls where flames 
 await them ; the devil all the while keeping the apple mov- 
 ing along the perilous edge ; and though the scramblers are 
 dropping off continually into the gulf beneath, the others 
 "bate not a jot of heart or hope," but press forward for the 
 prize, to perish in like manner. 
 
 These scramblers must be awakened, if possible, to be- 
 hold and struggle for a nobler prize. A thankless task at 
 first, but, 0, what gratitude is felt by such, if one is but 
 successful ! This is an encouragement. 0, for a voice 
 and power from Heaven, to awaken them from their infat- 
 uatim ! By the help of Him who reigns, I have tried, 
 and am trying ; and who shall say I shall not see these 
 eager midtitudes struggling as earnestly for "the golden 
 13* 
 
150 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 apple" of salvation and eternal life, along the King's high- 
 way of holiness ? 
 
 6. And there are professors of religion, who, if not 
 among the infatuated scramblers for the world, honor 
 greatly those who are such. If St. James were here, he 
 would have to shout once more in the ears of such, 
 ''Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen 
 the poor of this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the king- 
 dom which he hath promised to them that love him? " — 
 James 2 : 1, 5. Solomon made good use of his eyes and 
 his understanding, when he said, " Servants on horseback, 
 md princes as servants upon the earth." — Eccles. 10 : 7. 
 Christ's poor are the real princes of the land ; and the 
 devil's rich, though they ride upon horses, or in splendid 
 chariots, are but servants and captives, driven to and fro 
 like their restless master. Besides, the soid ought to be 
 the true prince, and the body but its servant, as the old 
 Grecian philosophers maintained : " The soid is the man, 
 the body is but its servant.'" Alas ! we see every day how 
 the body, with its fleshly appetites, is made the prince, and 
 the royal soid dragged down to be its servant. 
 
 A true revival reverses all this. The saints of God are 
 the true princes, — of blood royal, — as good old Charles 
 Mather, of Belper, says ; but they are frequently bound 
 down to the humble drudgery of life, and are oftenest found 
 in the abodes of poverty and want, while the servants of the 
 devil ride upon the high places of the earth. But, as I 
 noticed the fire in the grate, the other morning, the small 
 coal at the bottom kindled first, and, when all in a red glow, 
 they set fire to the large coal above ; so it is in a revival : 
 the Lord's poor, and the devil's poor, are the small coal ■ 
 when these are enkindled by the Gospel into a flame of love 
 
GLIMPSES OF BIRMINGHAM. 151 
 
 to God, the t y are sure to send up the flames of salvation to 
 the deviVs rich folks. 
 
 And thus, as the revival spreads, the soul, in hundreds 
 and in thousands, becomes the acknowledged prince, and 
 the body, what it should be, its obedient servant. 
 
 7. And there are others in high life, of whom a shrewd 
 observer of men spake a parable, — of chimneys, which, 
 though the highest part of buildings, are not the cleanest 
 nor the sweetest, but scorched with fire, and suffocated 
 with smoke. 
 
 0, but I should like to throw some Gospel fire into these 
 chimneys, and burn them out ! — or, to alter the figure, to 
 blow in their ears a few trumpet-like blasts, after the man- 
 ner of good Richard Baxter : ' ' The inexorable leveller is 
 ready at your backs to convince you by irresistible argu- 
 ment that dust you are, and to dust you shall return. 
 Heaven should be as desirable, and hell as terrible, to you 
 as to others. No man will fear you after death ; much less 
 will Christ be afraid to judge you. — Luke 19: 27. In 
 the hour of his own temptation, he condemned the kingdoms 
 of the world and the glory of them ; how inconsiderable, 
 then, are all your present advantages, to procure his future 
 approbation ! Let not uncertain riches be your trust. Look 
 out upon earth and upon eternity. As you stand on highe? 
 ground than others, it is meet that you should see further, 
 and behold more clearly the difference between things tem- 
 poral and things eternal." Loud blasts these ! Ah, but 
 many are sitting under a dark or heavy ministry, and if 
 Baxter were alive now, he would still have to complain that 
 it is always dark where u glow-worms shine, and where 
 rotten posts do seem a fire ! " 
 
 8. And there are others whose positions in life are lower, 
 yet have their portion in this life, and cling to it, although 
 
152 SEOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 God ofilrs then a better. Their hands are so full of the 
 world, they cannot receive the better portion, which death 
 would not take from them. A peculiar class these, and 
 require a peculiar method of address, and plain dealing 
 withal. 
 
 Both these classes stand high in Birmingham ; and my 
 fear is, I can do little more than look up and pity them, — > 
 certainly not to envy them ; rather with him of old, ' ' I had 
 rather twenty times look up at them that are so exalted, than 
 stand with them and have the terror of looking down." 
 Alas for them, they are as truly dead to God, as she of 
 whom the apostle spake, who lived in pleasure, and was 
 dead while she lived ! Or, as Seneca said, "The carcass 
 is as truly dead that is embalmed, as that which is dragged 
 to the grave with hooks." They are as dead to God as the 
 devil's poor, who are poor and wicked, although embalmed, 
 so to speak, with human riches. 0, for a power to awake 
 these dead ! 
 
 9. Another class, "the lovers of pleasure more than 
 God," — who are passing through life as through a dream, 
 and through their shadowy employments as a tale that is 
 told ; but the true business, the one errand, but for 
 which they had never seen the sun, is neglected, — to glo- 
 rify God here, and to enjoy him hereafter ; spiritual 
 life and eternal life, to enjoy which, and to prepare for 
 which, the present life was bestowed. But the design of 
 God is either spurned or trifled away, and eternity bar- 
 tered for time ; the joys of the saints in glory, and the mis- 
 eries of the lost in hell, are nothing but subjects for pleas- 
 antries among these merry-makers ; they would even pun 
 upon that " puritanical supposition," — "as many thou- 
 sands of years as there are sands on the sea-shore, or spires 
 of grass on the whole earth , or hairs on the heads of all 
 
GLIMPSES OF BIRMINGHAM. 153 
 
 the men in the world, yet when these are past, the joy 
 of the saints, and the torments of the wicked, are as 
 far from an end as ever they were;" — a soul- afousing 
 supposition to every man who is not profoundly asleep 
 in sin. 
 
 Alas ! let these merry ones hold on thus to the end, 
 and they will wish, as many times as there are stars in the 
 firmament of heaven, either that God had never g*ven them 
 life, or that they had" laid the true end of life to heart. 
 " Forced at last," as one said, who is now in his grave, — 
 " forced at last to justify the tvisdom of the godly, and the 
 self-denying, and wishing, with many fruitless groans, 
 they had been imit at ed." The world is full of illustra- 
 tions how men's minds change, as they are bidding farewell 
 to life; — change with their state; but not the Gospel 
 change, alas ! but a change which extorts these most strik- 
 ing of all acknowledgments. 
 
 And, yet, not one in one hundred, perhaps, of these 
 pleasure-takers intend to die so miserably. They will 
 stare at me when I tell them such is the fate that awaits 
 them, and yet press onward to it, with a " God forbid ! " — 
 reminding one of the illustration of a celebrated divine, u If 
 you see a man cutting his own throat, and you ask him, 
 ' What are you doing, man ? Will you kill yourself? ' and 
 he answers you, ' No, God forbid ! I have no such meaning, 
 I will hope better ; ' would you think this would save his 
 life? — or that his hopes and meanings would prove him 
 the wiser man?" And then he went on to show that 
 thus and thus is the conduct of those who are hoping all 
 will be safe with them at last, while they are destroying 
 their souls, — sowing the seeds of misery, the harvest of 
 which will be eternal. 
 
 10. And here are the thoughtless, and the God-defying, 
 
154 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 and th3 Christ -d^spisi?ig 0, how are these to be reached ? 
 Can a whisper do what requires a thunder? "Knowing 
 the terrors of the Lord, we persuade men" sajs Paul. 
 The terrors of the Lord are in his own threatening and 
 declarations. The tongue of man never spoke it plainer, 
 than do the Scriptures^ that these are on the brink of hell, 
 — within a few steps of everlasting fire. u Fear him urho\ 
 after he has killed, hath power to cast into hell." said 
 Jesus. The ancients used to call the fear of God the awe- 
 bond of the soul. Our Lord sought to bind this awe-band 
 upon the timid souls of his disciples ; but go it must upon 
 each of these giddy ones, or they will be destroyed ; when 
 another awe-band is called for, with a " Bind him hand 
 and foot, and cast him into outer darkness, where there is 
 weeping and gnashing of teeth." Their attention must be 
 arrested, and held long enough to make a sufficient impres- 
 sion to awaken them ; then, and not till then, shall they 
 hear as for life. " But who is sufficient for these things? " 
 exclaimed an apostle. Let my sufficiency be of thee, O 
 Lord ?ny God ! 
 
 11. And some there are, like Agrippa of old, " Almost 
 thou persuadest me to be a Christian ; " and, dying thus, 
 they will be almost saved, — almost escaped the damnation 
 of hell. The almost repenting, and the almost believing, 
 have terrifying scriptures recorded against them; "They 
 stand dodging and halving with God, without entirely giv- 
 ing themselves to him," as one remarked, who considered 
 such in as great peril of hell as the drunkard or the 
 whoremonger, though their torment may not be so great. 
 These must be carried, and borne down by the truth, and 
 broken. 
 
 12. And Birmingham, I perceive, has its quota of witty 
 sinnei s, — " the wickedlj witty," as one named them, — who 
 
GLIMPSES OF BIRMINGHAM. 100 
 
 will sooner or later be compelled to say with b:im who is 
 lying in the grave, "It is time for us to be serious, when 
 we are so near the place where all are serious ; for there are 
 no jesters in hell ! " A great thought that. These too, 
 must be reached. 
 
 13. Others there are to be dealt with, who have long been 
 daubed with untempered mortar, as the prophet speaks ; 
 and, as one of old observed, their spiritual wounds have 
 only been skinned over, and they must be opened and 
 probed anew ; — a double pain must now be endured. Some 
 of these, to use an idea of David, have had their spiritual 
 bo?ies broken and put out of joint, and never were soundly 
 set ; — must have the double sorrow of being stretched and 
 set anew ; a thorough, radical change of heart and reversion 
 of the soul's tendencies ; a real conversion to God. These 
 spiritual cripples must be healed, or they will be cripples for 
 ever and ever. 
 
 14. And, along in front of Zion's ramparts, are to be seen 
 miserable souls, occupying a territory of their own; "full 
 of wounds and bruises and putrefying sores" as the 
 prophet Isaiah speaks ; — who have learned the dreadful art 
 (to use a thought of a German divine) of wrenching from 
 their bleeding bosoms the arrows of eternal truth, and 
 healing the wounds, or trying to do so, with the deadly 
 salve of wilful deception, or worldly lust. 
 
 They are seen stalking around Zion, Hercules-like, in 
 proof armor, all but the heel of conscience, which still finds 
 it '-'hard to kick against the pricks ;" and hell-fire, by 
 their own confession, flashing continually in their faces from 
 the ramparts, and grumbling that the Gospel, as Micaiah 
 to Ahab, never prophesies good concerning them, but evil. 
 — 1 Kings 12: 8. 
 
 Some of these linger, because they cannot help it. They 
 
156 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 struggle hard to get away, but God has put taem in 
 chains, so to speak ; they are under the chains of truth, 
 which, though they do not convert, they gall and discom- 
 mode. While others (to use a terrible idea of one) have 
 had sentence passed upon them, and the rope, as it were, 
 about their neck, standing at the very gates of hell. 
 
 Alas ! here is a scene to move this soul of mine, and 
 to stimulate it to action, if by any means I may save some. 
 — 1 Cor. 9: 22. 
 
 15. Again and again have I scanned the ground "occupied 
 by "the ivell-to-do" sinners of Birmingham, the votaries 
 of pleasure, which one called "a silken halter, a flatter- 
 ing devil, that kills while it embraces ; " which Plato, I 
 remember, called " The deviVs bait for soul-catching /" 
 the innocent pleasure, if it draw the heart away from God, 
 as well as those that are perditionable, which bear the 
 insignia of the devil on their front. 
 
 16. Another class, and they occupy ground of their own, 
 and they are not a few, who are swallowing daily the sweet 
 poison of error, in the form of scepticism or infidelity ; a 
 satanic invention, which Ignatius, my friend may recollect, 
 considered a spiritual drunkenness, or going to hell on a 
 drunken opinion, as others around us, of bar-room notoriety, 
 arc reeling thitherward upon a drunken life. 
 
 17. Drunkenness I — a drunken life ; — never a town bet- 
 ter supplied with means to sustain that sort of thing, than 
 Birmingham ; where every thirtieth house is occupied 
 either in the sale or manufacture of intoxicating drinks ; 
 and every such house, it has been estimated, is supported 
 by one hundred and thirty seven of the population, taking 
 into the account men, women and children ; where there are 
 not less than five hundred and fifty-seven public houses 
 and dram-shops, and besides, five hundred and fifty -one 
 
GLIMPSES OF BIRMINGHAM. 157 
 
 ale- shop s ; and to sustain these, there are fifteen wholesale 
 spirit- dealers, and one hundred and thirty-three malt- 
 sters; the number of distillers I have not learned. The last 
 three classes should have been mentioned first, perhaps, as 
 they arc the chief men in this work of ruin, although they so 
 often boast they have no drunkards about them. But, as 
 Dr. Fisk asked, are they not the chief men, — the very 
 mainsprings of the business ? Do they not stand at the 
 head of this fiery fountain ? Do they not command the 
 gateway of this mighty flood ? Do they not stand, as it 
 were, at the bulk-head, and hoist the gates of this river of 
 fire, which spreads its streams all around, burning up every 
 green thing, — the retailers only doing their drudgery ? 
 Have they not a large share in the profits also ? — and 
 shall they not have a large share in accounting for the 
 consequences before the tribunal of the God of heaven and 
 earth, whose law is, "Thou shalt not kill," which includes 
 every injury to human life ? How much less accountable 
 than the infatuated victim, who throws himself upon the 
 bosom of the burning torrent, and is borne down by it into 
 the gulf of woe I I have not quoted Dr. Fisk's sentiments 
 accurately, as I write from memory ; but that is the sub- 
 stance. 
 
 And what are the fruits of these busy laborers in the 
 cause of human ruin ? I do not inquire after their gains, 
 but the destruction they produce annually ! It is supposed 
 that over four hundred persons are killed in Birmingham 
 every year by these drinks. During the last year, thir- 
 teen hundred persons were brought before the magistrates 
 for drunkenness. To this add forty thousand sterling, 
 which the town pays annually as poor levies ; and it has 
 been clearly ascertained that three fourths of the paupers 
 were made such by intoxicating drinks. But these liquor- 
 14 
 
158 SHOWERS Ox BLESSING. 
 
 sellers are notified annually to appear for jt renewal of 
 license, and the tax-payers have to foot the bi'l of conse- 
 quences, to the item of tico hundred thousand dollars 
 a year, to say nothing of legal expenses in criminal prose- 
 cutions, police, jail, and other extraordinaries.- 
 
 18, And, while upon this sad theme, I may add a sur- 
 prising fact ; — that so many professors of religion here, 
 and m'misters, think it their duty to oppose the advocates 
 of temperance ; — indeed, they scout and laugh at the 
 reformation, under a plea that its advocates are not so 
 wise in sentiment, or discreet in language, as they might 
 be. But, instead of denying themselves of some small liber- 
 ties among the decanters at table, and throwing their influ- 
 ence on the side of total abstainers, so as to be able to cor- 
 rect such errors (which by the way are very few), they 
 rather set their faces against the whole thing. 
 
 CD O 
 
 What the feelings and views of the present Wesleyan 
 ministers are, upon the subject, I have not learned; but 
 such are the barriers raised against the temperance movement 
 in past years, I doubt whether I would be allowed to deliver 
 a temperance lecture in any Wesleyan chapel in town.* 
 
 However, lecture I shall somewhere in Birmingham. 
 I have identified myself with the English tee-totalers, and 
 shall strike a blow for the cause at the first opportunity. 
 The friends of temperance are on the alert. May God 
 speed the right! and the right, I know, is on their side. 
 
 Judge also, if you can, the influences and effects of these 
 things upon public morals and religion. 
 
 I have said nothing about theatres, and gambling hcuses ; 
 nor of Sabbath-breaking, and profanity ; but enough to 
 
 * It is presumed that the subject of temperance is looked upon now in a 
 more favorable light in Birmingham, than at the time Mr. C. visited that 
 town. — Editor. 
 
GLIMPSES OF BIRMINGHAM. 159 
 
 prove to you, and to my own soul, that if we are to have a 
 great revival in Birmingham, the effort to bring it about 
 will be no "children's play," but the efforts of men in 
 downright earnest to overturn the empire of darkness. 
 
 Men are wanting like those of old, of whom it was said, 
 they turned the world upside down (Acts 17 : 6) ; for I 
 am sure it is wrong side up in Birmingham ! 
 
 The weapons of our warfare must be real weapons, our 
 artillery, real artillery, — mighty, through God, to accom- 
 plish all the purposes of his will. 
 
 Paid, who preached on Mars-hill, is needed here. Paid 
 is dead ; but Jesus Christ lives and reigns. He offers me 
 his strength ; bids me take hold of it, and prevail, and prom- 
 ises to stand by me. I have the same Gospel to preach 
 that Paul preached, and the same Holy Spirit to give it 
 overcoming power. 0, to be armed for the battle, 
 
 " With stubborn patience as with triple steel " ! 
 
 Ah, poet ! I like St. Paul's advice better, " Take unto you 
 the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to with- 
 stand in the evil clay; " — and again, in the same chapter, 
 " Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able 
 to stand against the wiles of the devil,'' 1 — the Goliath in 
 the field, who is the great centre and rallying point of all 
 the evils to be encountered. 
 
 Let me improve upon that hint of a poet, " Set thyself 
 about it, as the sea about the earth, lashing at it day and 
 night," the power of God helping. Rouse thee, my 
 soul ! " like to a spirit in its tomb at rising, rending the 
 stones, and crying ' Resurrection 1 ! ' " though at my heels, 
 as Milton hinted, 
 
 " All hell should rise with blackest insurrection.' " 
 
160 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 He who exclaimed, " What a map of hell is the greatest 
 part of the earth ! " felt something as I do at this crisis in 
 my ministry. 
 
 19. I have only given you, and myself, a view of the 
 darkest side of the 'picture. There is a bright side to it ; 
 and it is every day becoming brighter. No day passes 
 without a few sinners being converted, and some believers 
 sanctified. To add to my encouragement, I am becoming 
 acquainted daily with many godly persons, — " the excellent 
 of the earth" — full of life and zeal, who are ready to 
 push the battle to the gate, and to shout the victory ! 
 Bless thou the Lord, my soul ! The gales of grace are 
 evidently blowing from Calvary. The tide of corrupt 
 nature is against us ; but the wind is in our favor ; — not 
 an unfrequent occurrence in spiritual seamanship. 
 
 The sailor does not care much for the adverse tide, if 
 the wind is favorable, and there is plenty of it, with sea- 
 room. The Holy Spirit's influences are frequently com- 
 pared to wind, in the Scriptures, blowing where it listeth. 
 0, for more of that divine influence to stem this adverse 
 tide, even a gale ! — and, by what I can infer from the spirit 
 of the Wesley an ministry here, there seems every disposi- 
 tion favorable to allowing me sea-room plenty. 
 
CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 PULPIT DEFENCES; OR, FRAGMENTS OF WARFARE. 
 
 1. To one who objects to the matter and manner of the 
 preacher : 
 
 A lady in Germany, some time since, remarked to one 
 in conversation, " Damnation is a, joyless, and therefore 
 an incorrect idea" There is logic for you ! It is doubt- 
 ful if you would go so far as that ; but you consider hell 
 an " unsuitable motive for Christians." Thus, had you 
 and the German lady your vnlls and tastes gratified, that 
 little " vulgar monosyllable" would never be heard in the 
 Christian pulpit at all ; you would deny it to the Christian 
 ear, and she would prohibit it from all ears ; so you would 
 have fine, quiet times for everybody. 
 
 Let us dismiss the German 's notion, and deal with yours 
 for a little while. Did our Lord think with you, do you 
 suppose ? Why, then, did he say to his own much-loved 
 disciples, " And fear not them which kill the body, but 
 are not able to kill the soul : but rather fear him which 
 is able to destroy both sold and body in hell"? — Matt. 
 10 : 28. Do you perceive the nature of the motive? It 
 is unmistakable. Are you wiser than Christ ? Which is 
 the safest to follow, your opinion, or Christ 1 s example ° 
 Dispute with my Master on the subject. Do you question 
 his wisdom? You would not insinuate, surely, that you 
 14* 
 
162 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 understand the nature and wants of Christians better 
 than He ! 
 
 Your ideas of " fire and brimstone preaching" are well 
 enough, had nothing else been preached ; mark that. But 
 Christ was preached, — Calvary at a distance, however, 
 and Sinai and Hell nigh at hand. But Calvary drew 
 nearer as the people began to feel they had need of every- 
 thing which the Sufferer endured for them there. Did you 
 not notice that ? 
 
 Are you not aware that it is the doctrine of Hell that 
 throws a grandeur over the scenes of Calvary ? And can 
 you be ignorant of another fact, that no man denying a 
 hell ever properly appreciated the sufferings endured on 
 Calvary ? Need I also remind you that it is not the 
 matches, nor the brimstone, that sustains a fire when 
 kindled, but the fuel ; and that the " flinging about of fire 
 and brimstone" would effect nothing, were it not for the 
 fuel which the consciences of the people supply ? Per- 
 haps you overlooked these things. 0, my dear friend, try 
 to understand yourself, and the great doctrines you pro- 
 fess to believe and venerate ! 
 
 My plan is, first, to show men their sins ; secondly, their 
 danger ; thirdly, the remedy. To throw them into convic- 
 tion for sin is my first aim ; then into an awful sense of 
 peril ; then, if successful, Christ is set forth crucified for 
 them. In attempting the first, I show the nature and extent 
 of God's laio, and compare character. It is the straight 
 edge that shows a crooked or uneven surface ! Then comes 
 the broad-axe [of truth], and the chips fly ; and, if the 
 timber had sense, it might cry for mercy ! If my second 
 plan cannot succeed, then everlasting burnings for fruit- 
 less trees come next. — Matt. 3: 10. And, if nothing 
 will do but that, I must excursionize through perdition 
 
PULPIT DEFENCES. 163 
 
 fcr sights and for arguments; then, to use the ideas of 
 an eminent divine, I unbar the iron gates of hell, and 
 lead them, through solid darkness, to the worm that nevei 
 dies, and to the fire that shall never be quenched; and to 
 show him those apostate angels fast bound in eternal 
 chains ; and the souls of wicked men overwhelmed with tor- 
 ment and despair ; and to open his ears to hear their cries, 
 which never ascend but to return again in forlorn echoes, 
 which make the deep itself groan, and which add to the 
 horrors of perdition , and which accent them terribly. 
 
 This sort of infernal panorama is as varied as the vistas 
 and glimpses of hell, which the Scriptures afford us, assisted 
 by all that reason and conscience are well able to suggest. 
 
 Close to this hell, I usually plant the cross, with this 
 inscription: "God so loved the world as to give his only 
 begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not 
 perish, but have everlasting life." And yet another : 
 "God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain sal- 
 vation, through our Lord Jesus Christ." And yet another : 
 " Christ is the end of the law for righteousness, to every 
 one that believeth." And yet another Scripture : " Believe 
 in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved ; " assur- 
 ing my distressed and alarmed hearers that, what was 
 sufficient for the salvation of the trembling jailer of Phil- 
 ippi, is sufficient to save the best and the worst among all 
 the trembling multitude ! Then follow signs and wonders 
 <imong the people. Hallelujah ! 
 
 2. A few words to another : 
 
 Apologies I usually avoid in' the pulpit, — so liable are 
 they to be mixed up with the exhalations of vanity, and a 
 fishing for praise, — or doing so well under such unfavor- 
 able circumstances. I said, usually, for sometimes occa- 
 sions occur when they are absolutely called for; not so 
 
164 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 much in the sense of an excuse, perhaps, as a reason, or 
 defence, aft,3r the manner of the old writers, who penned 
 their " Apology for the Bible" or " An Apology for 
 Religion." 
 
 Have you never heard of that saying of one, who stood 
 high in the church ? " He, who lets another sin, and hold? 
 his peace, is a manslayer. When men declare their sin 
 like Sodom, it is the preacher's duty to lift up his voice 
 like a trumpet." Who has a word to say against this ' 
 Must I except yourself? 
 
 What was the command of God to the prophet of old \ 
 Hear it: " Cry aloud, spare not : lift up thy voice like » 
 trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and the 
 house of Jacob their sins." — Isaiah 58 : 1. Can that be 
 wrong which God commends or commands ? 
 
 It was only the other day, I was reminded by one that, 
 all the name, John the Baptist could give himself, wa? 
 "Vox Clamantis, — the voice of a crier. Ego vox cla- 
 mantis in deserto, — the voice of a crier in the wilder- 
 ness." Ah, sir ! whoever you may be, I readily admit, 
 such crying voices, such trumpet-like blasts, as you have 
 heard lately, " sound more like war than peace;" and that 
 the grace, the dignity, and elegance of elocution often 
 suffer by what you name u noisy vociferation ;" neverthe- 
 less, the voice must keep on crying amid the wilderness of 
 Birmingham follies, and Ziorfs inconsistencies, " Pre- 
 pare the way of the Lord ; make his paths straight." My 
 poor voice has not sufficient compass to resemble much 
 
 " The trumpet's loud clangor, 
 Exciting to arms ; ' ' 
 
 though it may stir up and remind your conscience of the 
 war between God and you, — as that singular bird, the 
 
PULPIT DEFENCES. 165 
 
 Agami of South America, stirs the hearts of those who 
 have been in the wars, bj its trumpet-like noises ! — rather, 
 by its slender imitation of the trumpet which leads the bat- 
 talion to the charge ! It is called the trumpeter ! 
 
 Well, sir, " trumpet-voice " be it; if it shocks you, it 
 does not mock you with what St. Paul called " an uncer- 
 tain sound" For, although it has come from afar, and 
 has been blown under other skies, and in far-distant bat- 
 tle-fields, it has no barbarian sound that you cannot under- 
 stand ! You know its meaning well, however "wild and 
 barbarous" its notes. Its sounds have neither been uncer- 
 tain nor meaningless, nor without signification. Your 
 conscience understands it well without an interpreter ! 
 England has ambassadors sent to her from afar, which 
 need an interpreter. The stranger, whether he is an 
 ambassador sent by Christ or not, needs no interpreter, nor 
 lexicon, nor dictionary, in order to be understood. All 
 present will be witness to that ; and do, I pray, note that 
 down on the credit side of "the balance-sheet," if you 
 think it worthy. 
 
 A good man observed that some ministers soar aloft like 
 the eagle ; but so high above the capacities of the people 
 that it is evident they soar more to be admired, than to be 
 understood ; — to drop the figure, that they would rather 
 shine than burn. Why did he not keep to his figure, and 
 say, they would rather soar than pounce ? 
 
 It is not the soaring and the shining some find fault 
 with, but the burning and the pouncing. A preacher may 
 soar as high as the moon, and out of sight, and out of 
 light, if he please, and it will be pronounced sublime ; but, 
 if he comes down, for a pounce on the conscience, he has 
 lost his dignity, and is vulgar I — a terrible anticipation to 
 some preachers ! 
 
166 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 If he ascend toward heaven like a rocket, and fills all tic 
 sky with the coruscations of his wit and genius, he is a 
 magnificent preacher ; but, if he come down upon the con- 
 science in a shower of fire, — a shower of the sparks of 
 truth, so as burn and alarm it, — what then? He is 
 ! manifestly mad, who would hear him." He is both "a 
 fine gentleman, and a fine preacher," who, when " stepping 
 down from the moon,'*' where, to the really spiritual, "he 
 has been soaring in search of his wits," he is "too much 
 of the gentleman," on his descent, to act as if he" had a 
 search-warrant from heaven for the consciences of his 
 admirers ! 
 
 He may have as many "mild thunders, and glowing 
 clouds, and traversing coruscations, and shooting stars." as 
 he will ; but he must shoot no arrows at the consciences of 
 his hearers. 
 
 Let him, if he please, and as often as he shall please, 
 soar into the altitudes of speculation, number the stars, 
 and call them by their names, and " pierce through infinite 
 in search of God ; " if he turn not in the other direction.— 
 if be have good sense and politeness enough to avoid the 
 profundities of depravity, and from calling sins by their 
 proper names, nor illustrate what the ancients called "the 
 inquisitive hand of a piercing ministry," — a very trouble- 
 some part of oratory, w T hich they will not hesitate to call a 
 vulgarity. Nor will they refuse him the liberty, some- 
 time.^ to be " terrible as an army with banners" while 
 he In "bright as the sun, and fair as the moon," if he 
 conduct himself gentlemanly amid the terrors of his ora- 
 tory; that is, if he refrain from particularizing sins, and 
 individualizing character, and daguerreanizing persons, 
 so tfot*t everybodj - knows them. An unpardonable offence, 
 that! 
 
PULPIT DEFENCES. 167 
 
 But it is time to conclude. It is well if the person I 
 have been addressing is not like a spoiled child, that has 
 been humored too much, — has had its own way more than 
 was good for it! His strong prejudices, as to "pulpit 
 style," may have had too much control of the pulpit, hith- 
 erto, so far as to have the word of God bound, reversing 
 St. Paul's note of victory, " But the word of God is not 
 bound ! " Nor is it now, thanks be unto God ! But the 
 spoiled child cries when crossed. Never mind ! he will 
 feel better by and by, I hope. 
 
 Did you notice the Scripture lesson for this evening, — 
 Luke 11 ? That hearer must have felt pretty bad, and much 
 concerned for the credit of his cloth, when he exclaimed, in 
 the midst of our Lord's discourse, " Master, thus saying, 
 thou reproachest us also." Who did he mean by " us" ? 
 His brother lawyers ! Jesus had just joined the Scribes 
 with the Pharisees, and compared them to concealed 
 graves, overgrown with grass, or something else, over or 
 into which the unsuspecting passenger might stumble to his 
 hurt. The hearer felt himself and those of his profession 
 aggrieved. "Master," &c, "thy general rebukes of the 
 Scribes and Pharisees bear hard upon us lawyers, also." 
 Poor man ! he had better been still ! Jesus turned round 
 upon him and them, uttering three terrible woes, which 
 must have come down upon their awakened consciences like 
 so many lightning strokes ! 
 
CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 FRAGMENTS FOR HYPERCRITICS. 
 
 My ..anguage may be "hard" at times, but, sir, with 
 a soft heart, I hope. As Luther remarked of himself, 
 " The shell may be hard, but the kernel is soft." If you 
 could have the views I have sometimes, they would melt 
 your heart too, and make "your language astound," also. 
 
 Perhaps you may not have read that remark of the excel- 
 lent Flavel, that if the sinner could see the present and 
 future misery of the damned, and the great and terrible 
 wrath of God that is coming upon his own soul fast as 
 the wings of time can bring it, such a view would either 
 briny him to Christ, or drive him out of his wits ! "What 
 think you of that? Which is safest, to have these views 
 now, or not till the gates of eternity are just opening to 
 receive you? To use the idea of one who is now in the 
 world of spirits, — is it not better to go into hell by contem- 
 plation, than to go into it by condemnation? "What think 
 you of the prophecy of some, "If he go on at this rate, he 
 will drive not a few of our citizens out of their senses " ? 
 But are not many of them out of their senses already, living 
 and sinning as they do? 0, that our God would use my 
 violence to drive people back again into their proper senses, 
 and to Christ! How many of you can say "Amen" to 
 that? 
 
 Tc have hell for a home, and devils for companions, is 
 
FRAGMENTS FOR HYPERCRITICS. 169 
 
 enough to frighten any sinner, who has the use of his reason. 
 The very swine themselves, in the time of our Lord, chose 
 rather to drown in the depths of the lake, than to live in 
 the companionship of devils. The lost in hell would choose 
 strangling, were it possible, rather than to endure it. To 
 sinners, who are mad in sin, is the thing tolerable. 
 
 2. I am not fond of the epithet " hypocrite ; " neverthe- 
 less, it is easily borne, when one knows its inapplicability. 
 It is possible, I admit, for "a preacher's lips to be at vari- 
 ance with his heart, and to have his tongue outstrip his expe- 
 rience." But a very well read person delivered himself 
 more entertainingly thus: "A blazing comet is no star. 
 The Hebrews called a great talker ' a man of lips,'' — the 
 true definition of a hypocrite, I fancy ! — the lips being the 
 most active, and the honestest part of him. The hypocrite's 
 tongue may be silver, but his heart stone, and under his 
 tongue, as the Psalmist says, ' mischief and vanity.'' " 
 What think you of that? Ingenious, is it not? Sinners 
 love sin and folly so well, that they bring themselves to 
 think everybody else must do the same; and, when they 
 speak the contrary, they suspect them as hypocrites ! An 
 easy matter that, but not so easy to prove. Nevertheless, 
 I like the idea of a "comet" for it is no hypocrite! It 
 imitates no star that burns, and has an orbit of its own ; — 
 answers some great purpose in the universe of God, as well 
 as the fixed star. 
 
 Jesus Christ may have comets in his church, as well as 
 in the sky ; evangelists as well as pastors. Both may 
 answer wise purposes in the economy of salvation. 
 
 The orbit of an evangelist, like that of a comet, may be 
 eccentric, mysterious, unaccountable, yet he may answer 
 some very important designs in the salvation of sinners. 
 
 He may be " a man of lips," and a man of heart too, and 
 15 
 
170 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 an honest one ; — his heart may be as active and as honest 
 as his lips, and may go as fast and as far as his tongue, in 
 its experiences ! 
 
 An honest tongue may be under the control of an honest 
 heart ; though some think the tongue in question would be 
 the better for DavioVs bridle (Ps. 39 : 1) ; for they say, 
 though it has no bone in it, it breaks bones, — hearts they 
 mean; and some call it a "flail" and others "a sharp 
 instrument having teeth." But allowance for figures may 
 be claimed, as you Birmingham folks work in the coarser, 
 finer, and precious metals I Would to God my tongue 
 was more than all tuey say of it, in reproving sin ! — only, 
 I will have it, and insist upon the fact, that my poor heart 
 is certainly as sincere and honest as my tongue. Allow 
 that, and say what else you please ! 
 
 Continue to hear, and to yield, as scores of you have been 
 doing lately, and you will find Solomon's definition to be 
 true even now, where he compares "a wholesome tongue" 
 to " a tree of life " / — Prov. 15 : 4. It may prove itself 
 thus to thousands, through the mercy of our God, before the 
 owner thereof leaves Birmingham. 
 
 The tree is known by its fruit, was a maxim of my Lord. 
 It is not of thorns men gather grapes, ncr of thistles do 
 they gather figs ; nor will a good tree bring forth evil fruit. 
 By such criteria, let the tongue in question and its owner 
 be judged. Look around you, and behold already the effects 
 of this preached Gospel upon many of youi fellow- towns- 
 men ! 
 
CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 A LESSON ON PREACHING. 
 A FRAGMENT TO OFFENDED HEARERS. 
 
 I once received a lesson on preaching, which has been 
 of some use to me, — on the necessity of selecting a proper 
 background (to use a painter's phrase) either for the prin- 
 cipal propositions, or leading characters, to be represented 
 in the discourse ; — so to arrange all the peculiarities of 
 the background, that they may not be superior to these, 
 but subordinate. 
 
 The lesson was conveyed in a critique of some writer, on 
 the poetry of Milton, and the painting of Martin ; — their 
 distinguishing characteristics. 
 
 Milton, it was observed, made all his Pandemonium a 
 background for his Satan ; and all his Paradise a back- 
 ground for his Adam and Eve ; — that is, the background 
 for each was but a succession of minor accessories, designed 
 not to eclipse, but to set off and give greater effect to the 
 principal figure or character. 
 
 Martin, who illustrated Milton, made, on the contrary, 
 his background, with his accessories, more prominent than 
 his heroes ; — that any one may see how his Pandemonium, 
 with its succession of lofty pillars, and endless colon- 
 nades, prodigies of architecture, and amazing candelabra, 
 *ink into insignificance the principal figure, the Chief of 
 
172 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 Hell, his Satanic majesty ; and that a similar defect is 
 evident in his Paradise, where variety in excess of beauty 
 quite eclipses "what every one perceives should have been 
 the glory of his Eden, — Adam and Eve ! 
 
 My reflections were, that many an otherwise excellent 
 sermon has a similar defect ; too prominent a display of 
 minor accessories, — what painters consider only as second- 
 ary, — merely ornamental, and in such excess as to be 
 detrimental to the principal doctrine, feature, moral, or 
 character to be represented; — a background u frothed 
 with sentiment" and glittering with thoughts and pomp 
 of words, and labored efforts of oratory. — sonorous trifles, 
 and prodigies of oratorical creations, quite eclipsing that 
 which should have stood out, in bold and commanding 
 relief, above all else in the background or foreground, 
 winning all eyes, and making its own mark on the judg- 
 ment, the imagination, or the conscience ; — standing out 
 there, like the Devil in Milton's Pandemonium, or Adam 
 and Eve in Paradise ! 
 
 0, but it is sad, when an audience loses sight of the chief 
 figure, lost in the admiration of the grandeur of the 
 preacher's imagination, and the creations of his genius ! — 
 but. alas ! the character, may be, which ought to have stood 
 out prominently, to be arraigned, tried and convicted, has 
 escaped, like a thief in the crowd, greatly to the relief of 
 more than one interested party. 
 
 Suppose, again, a higher and nobler personage, whom 
 such a preacher delighteth to honor — alas for him! whether 
 human or divine, he will be almost smothered amidst the 
 flowers of oratory ! — like some portraits I noticed some time 
 since in the famous gallery in Florence (Italy), set apart 
 for the portraits of old painters ; where the accessories in 
 the picture, background and foreground, are more interest- 
 
A LESSON ON PREACHING. 173 
 
 ing and attractive, frequently, than the portrait itself ; here 
 and there a face of the sterner sex peeping ludicrously out 
 of a bouquet of flowers, or an arbor of roses , — a lesson 
 for the floris'c, or botanist, — while the poor head seems to 
 say, 5 Am I not in a pretty fix ? " And that is all you see 
 or know of him whom the painter would hold forth for your 
 reprehension or admiration. 
 
 Well, as I said in the beginning, the lesson was of advan- 
 tage to me. When I wish this or that character to work 
 conviction, or create a sensation, I always take care to 
 subdue my background, ay, and foreground, — sometimes 
 to the stern rigidity and sterile dampness of your Derby- 
 shire moors, — making him stand forth 'midst his desola- 
 tions like Milton's Satan in his Pandemonium; as if he were 
 ready to cry out with Shakspeare's hero, 
 
 " You know the character to be your brother's." 
 
 Hazardous work that for the daring, self-denying, conscien- 
 tious preacher. Let him never dare to do it without count- 
 ing the cost ! 
 
 Had the background and the foreground of the discourse 
 in question been more prominent and florid, — you know 
 what I mean, — the character represented would have been 
 less offensive and disturbing to your neighbors and to your- 
 self ; but certainly less convincing, to say nothing more. 
 The -portraits were too much in relief ; the accessories in 
 the background and around too sparse for concealment. 
 The leaves of the trees were not thick enough to conceal 
 Adam, when the voice of the Lord God, in the cool of the 
 day, called, "Adam, where art thou?" Poor Adam, thou 
 hast no background dense enough to conceal thee from him 
 whc calleth thee ! "I heard thy voice in the garden, and 
 15* 
 
174 SHCni ERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 I was afraii, because I was naked, and I hid myself; " but 
 only for a moment or two, Adam ! Alas ! a power had hold 
 of thee, and set thee forth in mournful and terrible relief. 
 To angelic spectators, and God, all other material objects in 
 Eden sunk into insignificance. 
 
 And was it not somewhat so on the night in question ? 
 With what fearful significance did those characters stand 
 forth ! The pen of a Milton, or the pencil of a Morton, 
 would have been powerless to have cast them into insignifi- 
 cance when the preacher sat down ! The character and 
 walk of one ; the wavering inconstancies, and eccentric 
 deviations of another ; the spiritual palsy of a third, and 
 the distorted features in the character of a backslider were 
 clearly seen ! And yet, be it known to yourself, my friend, 
 and to all who were troubled on that occasion, I was not 
 "retailing the gossip of neighbors," but facts that were 
 known to a higher power. Do you understand me ? 
 
 Bu£, enough ; — my love to all of you, with an assurance 
 that the time of healing has come ; and of finer features 
 and a fairer complexion to the sin- deformed, as well as 
 the sin-defiled. 
 
 Better be angry with yourselves, than at the stranger ; 
 especially, if it result in amendment of life and a happier 
 state of mind. Let this occur, and present annoyances are 
 nothing. It is easier for some to win hearts than souls. 
 The harder task be mine to mn soids to Christ; hearts for 
 myself, I care little about, unless my Lord has first seaisd 
 them his forever. 
 
 The Sun of righteousness hath arisen upon my soul with 
 healing in his wings. I dwell under his constant shining. 
 The spiritual state of Birmingham has been laid open to 
 my vision. Many more sad pictures have been daguer- 
 reotyped upon my imagination, to be finished and exhibited 
 
A LESSON ON PREACHING. 175 
 
 for the conviction of the originals, when He pleaseth who 
 hath called me to be faithful. 
 
 * * * #,— .■# 
 
 Glad you perceive I am u no copyist" although you sus- 
 pect an attentive ear to " gossip," in the details of character. 
 Beware of unjust suspicions. Little time have I had for 
 gossip, or listening to tattlers, since my arrival in town. 
 But I walk with God, and have a tolerably correct idea of 
 the state of things. It is the Lord who teaches my hands 
 to ioar and my fingers to fight. 
 
 Perhaps you have never thought closely upon what God 
 said to the prophet Ezekiel : u Thou shalt hear the toord 
 at my mouth, and warn them from me." There is much 
 in that intimation, is there not ? Information from that 
 source, as to the delineation of human character, is more 
 reliable than the sources you suspect. Tell me, may not 
 our God speak sometimes now in the ears of his chosen 
 ones ? Why not ? Is there not a necessity for it, fre- 
 quently ? If so, could he not tell me more about the state 
 of affairs, than all the tattlers in town put together ? Ab, 
 my friend, take care ! it is possible to be 
 
 " Inspired beyond the guess of folly." 
 
 Human nature is a study, — a life's study. There are 
 mysteries in its operations, as in its structure. I study 
 it as well as my Bible. What I learn in both, I teach ; 
 more, indeed, than some uneasy consciences are willing to 
 bear, — yours, for instance. 
 
 Do you remember the advice of a celebrated painter, to 
 one who was ambitious of excelling in the art ? " Be des- 
 perately individual in your studies from nature ; in your 
 perfect compositions, be as general as you please." I like 
 •;he idea, ' be desperately individual;" it is the great secret 
 
176 SHOWERS CF BLESSING. 
 
 of effective preaching. "And they which heard it, being 
 convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, 
 beginning at the eldest, even unto the last" till Jesus had 
 only one of a congregation left. — John 8 : 9. 
 
 It was said of one, he was desperately national ; — too 
 general that, for effective speaking, either in politics or 
 religion. " Desperately personal " was an epithet applied 
 to one, — but he was never insultingly so, never ; but he 
 had the most exquisite taste and judgment in the selection 
 of his colors, and in. laying them on, till the portrait of 
 the character was complete, and true to nature as the 
 original. 
 
 The singidar is better than the plural. It is the single 
 aim of old Humphrey's rifle-barrel, instead of the scattering 
 blunderbuss ; — that was Nathan's idea, when he said to 
 David, " Thou art the man" But David did not get 
 out of humor, like some, but moaned out. " I have sinned 
 against the Lord ;" and for that, the Lord pardoned his 
 iniquity 
 
CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 MORE FRAGMENTS OP WAR. 
 
 No ! I profess no microscopic vision in detecting " the 
 defects of Christians ; " nor but little of that talent once 
 imputed to a German moralist, — that he could analyze the 
 strata of society, as with a microscope, and, if he detected 
 a few scratches in the crystallization, he forgot the large 
 outlines which solicited his inspection. 
 
 Now, I happen to be a plain man, and a plain, common- 
 sense preacher. If the scratches upon the fair crystalliza- 
 tions of Christian character be slight, and not too deep to be 
 mortal, or, to effect materially the value of the material in 
 the estimation of the world, God forbid I should apply a 
 microscope ! A knowledge of my own infirmities and 
 short-comings would forbid it ! Scratches that require 
 such microscopic inspection had better be left to the 
 judgment of an all-seeing God ; and not laid open tu the 
 s?ieers of the ungodly. 
 
 God only is able to judge in some cases ; and his judg- 
 ment is just. He cannot err in his estimate of human 
 character. Instead of the microscope, my hand would 
 rather busy itself in adjusting the veil of charity, and 
 arranging the drapery of concealment ; or turning the 
 scratches into the shade. 
 
 But when; tne scratches are deep enough to be damaging 
 
178 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 to the material) and damning the owner of such a character , 
 and injurious to the work of God ; give me the microscope, 
 hammer, powder, and crowbar, or what you will ; shatter 
 it, and batter it, and remove it out of the way, that sinners 
 may not stumble over it into hell. 
 
 Is it not declared that Christians are predestinated ' ' to 
 be conformed to the image of his Son " ? That is, -\ve arc 
 to be like him, — inwardly in our souls, and outwardly in 
 our moral character. And, again, that, " as we have borne 
 the image of the earthy" — that is, the first Adam,— " we 
 shall also bear the image of the heavenly" — that is, the 
 second Adam, the Lord from heaven ! But let it be a 
 correct image, not a caricature — not a ridiculous resem- 
 blance ! 
 
 Who would not resent it to have a wife, a husband, 
 brother, friend, sister, or parent, caricatured? Or, suppose 
 some artist should caricature the queen — representing 
 her in the complexion of a negress, or deformed ; minus an 
 eye or a limb, or scarred in feature, or leprous, or in some 
 ridiculous attitude or gesture, with a sufficiency of lineament 
 for recognition ; and, as if that was not enough, " Victoria " 
 is legible beneath ; and, not content with having it suspended 
 in his studio, he must exhibit it in the window of some 
 print-shop, while he himself goes on to multiply copies ; how 
 long before public indignation would be aroused? Who 
 WDuld insure his exhibition window or his person from 
 harm? And what are Christians but the living images 
 of Christ, exhibited for the world to look at ? But, suppose 
 there are those who, in their own characters and persons, 
 thus caricature our Lord Jesus Christ, can we stand and 
 
 look on, and say nothing ? Were B to do so, in the 
 
 case supposed, his loyalty to the queen might well be sus- 
 pected. Were we to do so, our loyalty to Jesus Christ 
 would lie open to suspicion. Would it not? 
 
MORE FRAGMENTS OE WAR. 179 
 
 St. Paul speaks about Christians, that they sh:uld all come 
 into " the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son 
 of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature 
 of the fulness of Christ." — Ephes. 4 : 13. Dr. Adam Clarke 
 lamented in his day that many preachers, and multitudes 
 of professing people, were studious to find out how many 
 imperfections and infidelities, and how much inward sinful- 
 ness, is consistent with a safe state in religion ; and that 
 how few, very few, were bringing out the fair Gospel stand- 
 ard, to try the height of the members of the church ; whether 
 they were fit for the heavenly army ; whether their stature 
 was such as to qualify them for the ranks of the church 
 militant ; that the measure of the stature of the fulness 
 was seldom seen ; but the measure of the stature of little- 
 ness, dwarfishness, and emptiness, was often exhibited. 
 Alas ! the lamentation is no less called for in our times ! 
 
 -it, At, -U- AL- Jl» jt. 
 
 -TT -Jf 'T? "TV •?$ *??• 
 
 What you say is all very well, and plausible enough ; 
 but you have left the difiiculty quite untouched. My asser- 
 tion was this : " You are every moment exerting an influence 
 for or against this revival." Not one point of my argu- 
 ment have you meddled with ; you had substantial reasons, 
 doubtless ; you might have offended your conscience ! Mr. 
 Wesley says, ' ' We are every moment pleasing or displeas- 
 ing to God." I insist upon the application of his sentiment 
 to you and others, with regard to this work of God. Is not 
 Matt. 12 : 30, much to the point? " He that is not with 
 me is against me ; and he that gather eth ?wt with mc 
 scatter eth abroad" Now, if my sentiment was " intoler- 
 ant," what think you of that? 
 
 A divine, in Switzerland, commenting upon the above 
 decision of our Lord, remarked : u This is the Gospel, with 
 all its intolerance ; for the intolerance of the Gospel is to 
 
180 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 consider every man an enemy who is not & friend" The 
 angel of the Lord, according to your principles, was intoler- 
 ant, when he cried, " Curse ye Meroz, curse ye bitterly 
 the inhabitants thereof ; because they came not to the 
 help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the 
 •mighty." — Judges 5 : 23. 
 
 Am I preaching any other Gospel than did Christ and 
 his Apostles? How much do the effects differ, so far as 
 they are made to appear ? Look around you, and consider, 
 for I may now venture to ask you to do so. Free your 
 mind from prejudice ; behold and judge ! 
 
 We are struggling hard for the victory. Why should you 
 stand aloof? Why not identify yourself with us and with 
 the work? At this season of the year, certain affairs may 
 be pressing, and demanding your attention. I am not to 
 judge in such matters. To your own master you stand or 
 fall. But, when present, why stand aloof at a crisis like 
 this? as if you are doubtful of the right, or question the 
 propriety of this pushing the Gospel to its proper results, 
 in the awakening and conversion of sinners ; or, as if you 
 doubted the possibility of the victory which we are strug- 
 gling so hard to win. The conduct of yourself and of 
 some others, is hardly the thing at this crisis. It is more 
 distressing than if Ave knew you to be positive enemies. 
 
 A political writer holds the sentiment, that there are 
 occasions when a lukewarm friend, who will not put himself 
 the least out of his way, who will make no exertion, who 
 will run no risk, is more distasteful than an enemy I 
 What think you of that ? Have you never had any such 
 trials in politics? Has it not a point of application in mat- 
 ters of religion ? You would think so, I am confident, did 
 you occupy my position. 
 
CHAPTER XXYI. 
 
 SPIRITUAL BATTERIES AND WEAPONS OF WAR. 
 
 It is said the scenes upon a battle-field after the victory 
 are most impressive. To say nothing of the dead and the 
 dying, — for that is horrible beyond imagination, — but to 
 behold the spectacle of broken swords, &c, and fragments 
 of artillery, and balls over the field, lying scattered like 
 hail, deeply moves the spectator, while it impresses him 
 with some idea of the terrible nature of the conflict just 
 decided. We gather up the following " fragments of 
 war." They tell their own story, and will, we hope, be 
 interesting relics of this and that scene in a great spiritual 
 battle for Christ — truth — souls ! 
 
 -it- -At. 4£* JSL* AL. 
 
 ■TV" -TC* -75* 'Tv *7T 
 
 Judas was too harsh a term in that discourse, perhaps ; 
 and yet I feel disinclined to any apology for using it. The 
 application was somewhat severe. But, convince me if you 
 can that Jesus Christ and his cause are not betrayed now 
 in various ways by his professed followers, — I will not say I 
 shall reconsider the matter, but a most humble apology 
 shall be forthcoming. 
 
 Ah, my friend, this refusing to confess Christ before 
 men, — this being ashamed to follow him in the way of the 
 cross, — weighs heavily with me, because it is so severely 
 reprimanded in the New Testament. 
 16 
 
182 SHOWERS OF BLESSING 
 
 One said, " Peter became half a Judas ; for the denier 
 was but little better than the betrayer of Christ." How 
 would you set about to cope with that ? Ambrose, I re- 
 meirber, gave this definition: " To deny is to betray.'''' 
 Beware ! 0, beware of denying Christ the benefit of what- 
 ever influence any of you may have, at such a crisis as the 
 present ! Behold the few, how they battle for him ! How 
 boldly they stand by the truth, in its onset against error, 
 sin and Satan ! 0, beware of betraying, that is, deny- 
 ing, Christ before his enemies, who are saying, "Ah, so 
 would we have it ! It is as we expected ! This one and 
 that have no confidence in the movement." If the tongue, 
 by unguarded expressions, license such conclusions among 
 opponents of the work, it is even worse than the silence of 
 a do-nothing testimony. 
 
 Be assured of one thing ; so long as Jesus is wounded 
 variously in the house of his friends, and betrayed, the 
 epithet " Judas " is never likely to fall into disuse. 
 
 Let none whom it does not concern be displeased ; but 
 let us consider Judas as he appears among our Lord's dis- 
 ciples How many searching sermons and touching ap- 
 peals, from the lips of his Lord and Master, saluted his 
 ears ! And what stupendous miracles did he witness, but 
 all in vain ! He betrayed him, — betrayed him with a 
 kiss ! 
 
 And tell me, is it not possible that some among his dis- 
 ciples in the nineteenth century exhibit a similar experi- 
 ence, a similar character, so far as circumstances will 
 allow ? Need I draw a parallel ? 0, no ! You under- 
 stand me. Sermons are preached, and appeals are made, 
 and " showers of blessing " descend ; but with results sim- 
 ilar to rain descending upon a dead tree, which grows net, 
 
SPIRITUAL BATTERIES AND WEAPONS OF WAR. 183 
 
 but decays and rots all the faster for the rain and the 
 sunshine. 
 
 And tell me, further, is it not possible, like Judas, to 
 kiss Christ and his cause with our professions, and then 
 to kiss and betray him in our lives, through the instigation 
 of some bribe or other from Satan ? — and to do so in the 
 face of the strongest and tenderest obligations ? 
 
 0, but it does grieve me to speak so ! and let me relieve 
 myself and you, by pouring all our emotions upon that 
 notorious Judas himself, who has gone to his own place, 
 wherever that place may be. Suppose my words this night 
 could reach his ear, how terribly would eternity reverberate 
 them ! 0, ungrateful Judas ! how couldst thou bid those 
 hard-hearted soldiers bind those hands, which a few hours 
 ago had so kindly washed thy feet, and which lately fed 
 thee at his table with his chosen ones, — thy Lord, who 
 honored thee with tokens of his friendship and confidence, 
 by making thee his treasurer and almoner ? Dost thou 
 wonder now, that, on that doleful night, when thou didst 
 take with him his last supper, he used the word "me" 
 with such tender emphasis, — " Behold the hand of him 
 that betray eth me is with me on the table " ? 0, what a 
 ■ "world of meaning" was conveyed in that little pronoun 
 met "It is me, not you, my disciples, the owner of that 
 hand is about to betray ; and yet, your interests, your 
 peace, your safety, are all involved in his act. And, 
 Peter, Satan desires to have you also, that he may sift 
 you as wheat ; but it is me he would betray, who has 
 never done him any wrong, but. on the contrary, continued 
 good, ever since he became my disciple. And yet, remain- 
 ing my disciple, or numbered among my disciples, he is 
 ^bout to go out and betray me to my enemies." 0. Judas ! 
 
184 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 Judas ! didst thou not comprehend this, and more than all 
 this, in that little word ' : me/' as it came from his blessed 
 lips in the soft and mournful tones of that ever-to-be-remem- 
 bered voice ? And was there nothing, in all this, to move 
 thee out oi thy foul purpose ? 
 
 No. no ! We see thee stalking forward in front of that 
 troop of soldiers, 'midst the gloom of night, — a fit time for 
 such a deed of darkness. — such a breach of friends] tip, to 
 say nothing more. 
 
 And thou didst say, "Hail, Master," and kissed him; 
 ■ — so much honey on thy lips, Judas, and such poison in 
 thy heart ! And Jesus said to thee in return, " Judas, 
 betray est thou the Son of man with a kiss?" Ah, was 
 there nothing in this to touch thy heart ? Every word is 
 big with the tenderest reproach ; every word a sigh, as it 
 were. " Judas — betray est — thou ? " 0, it was full of 
 that tender soliloquy of the Psalmist, as if it had been 
 penned for the occasion : " For it was not an enemy that 
 reproached me ; then could I have borne it : neither was it 
 he that hated me, that did magnify himself against me ; 
 then would I have hid myself from him ; but it was thou ! 
 — and with a kiss, a symbol so significant and endearing ; 
 this the signal of thy treachery." 0, Judas, how couldst 
 thou stand up under all this ? How able to contain thy- 
 self? How avoid falling down at his feet, content to die in 
 his stead ? Did not thy conscience smite thee ? Were not 
 thy sympathies ready to overpower , thee ? — while every 
 word from the lips of thy Lord was but a sob over betrayed 
 friendship : enough, one would think, to make the night grow 
 darker, — enough to awaken the sympathy of the surround- 
 : ng rocks, and to make the trees in th? garden to tremble, 
 and cry out, — 
 
SPIRITUAL BATTERIES AND WEAPONS OF WAR. 185 
 
 " Judas ! dost thou betray him with a kiss ? 
 Dcst thou find hell about those lips, and miss 
 Of life just at the gates of bliss ? 
 0, what has ever equalled this ! 
 Earth, hell and conscience hiss, 
 For black ingratitude it is, — 
 Was ever grief like His? " 
 
 Brethren, what thoughts are those whicn have been flit- 
 ting over your minds ? What other than these, — that it is 
 a marvellous thing Judas could ever have had a successor ; 
 one professing to know Jesus, and honored with his friend- 
 ship, and many tokens of his love, and then betray him, — 
 yes, as far as circumstances allow, — betray him in his cause, 
 before sinful men, and for a less advantage than Sataiv 
 tempted Judas. And to think there are many such in our 
 day, is a sad thought. * * * * But let us pray for such 
 wrong-doers ; not forgetting to consider ourselves, lest we 
 also should be tempted to the same. Save us, save us, 
 thou Lover of soids ! Keep us, keep us, and let not 
 Satan pluck us out of thine hand ! Hear us, hear us, 
 and mark the purposes and confiding sentiments of hundreds 
 of loyal-beating hearts now present, saying, 
 
 " Light of the world, thy beams I bless ! 
 On thee, bright Sun of righteousness, 
 
 My faith hath fixed its eye ; 
 Guided by thee, through all I go, 
 Nor fear the ruin spread below, 
 
 For thou art always nigh. 
 
 1 Ten thousand snares my path beset ; 
 Yet will I, LDrd, the work complete, 
 
 Which thou to me hast given ; 
 Regardless of the pains I feel, 
 Close by the gates of death and hell, 
 
 I urge my way to heaven. 
 
186 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 " Still will I strive, and labor still, 
 "With humble zeal, to do thy will, 
 
 And trust in thy defence : 
 My soul into thy hands I give ; 
 And, if he can obtain thy leave, 
 Let Satan pluck me thence ! " 
 
 * * * * * * * 
 
 Let those who have eyes to see. use them, and those who 
 have ears to hear, hearken ! 
 
 Behold the signs of the times! What meaneth this 
 gathering of the people together ? — this sound of a going 
 forth in the tops of the mulberry trees ? — 2 Sam. 5 : 24. 
 Is it not time to bestir ourselves ? Know you not that the 
 Lord God is in our midst ? — that the Captain of our sal- 
 vation has gone out before us to smite the Philistines, as of 
 old ? — but mark, to smite and to heal, — to rend and to bind 
 up, — to kill and to make alive. Hallelujah ! 
 
 Here we have all sorts of people, filling up a significant 
 space between " the painful saint " and " the lazy notion- 
 ist." Alas for the latter! — what uses or abuses do they 
 make of what they hear ! — I could say much, but forbear. 
 We must pity and pray for them, for we see their day 
 approaching; when they shall "begin harvest and have 
 nothing" because they misimproved their season, their 
 day of grace. But allow an illustration. 
 
 Last summer, at York, along came a busy bee, and after 
 it a wanton butterfly. Both seemed attracted to the same 
 flower, and alighted. Both were busy for a while. The 
 bee hummed and worked; the butterfly gayly but noise- 
 lessly spread and contracted its wings, 'midst fragrance and 
 sunshine, in a sort of busy idleness. The sunny hour 
 passed away, and so did the bee, bearing off to its hive its 
 burden of precious sweets. The butterfly had painted its 
 wings, and amused itself, but moved off too, as the sun went 
 
SPIRITUAL BATTERIES AND WE A! DNS OF WAR. 187 
 
 down under a cloud. But how is it noio with the bee and 
 the butterfly? — now that the storms of the closing year 
 are howling over the landscape ? The bee is snugly housed 
 in its home, 'midst a paradise of sweets, regardless of the 
 storms and desolations outside. Where is the butterfly ? It 
 crept into a hole and died ! 
 
 But such is the difference between the active Christian 
 and " the lazy notionist" whether in the church or out of 
 it, — who gathers none of the honey of grace, brings noth- 
 ing to the hive ; — amuses himself with our preaching, 
 paints the wings of his fancy, does no good, gets no good ; — 
 what misery in the end ! Hobbes was not the last who 
 said, "I want a hole to creep out of the world at," — to 
 creep into hell at, he should have said ! — just such chil- 
 ling scenes do the death-beds of some of these butterflies 
 exhibit. But not unfrequently it is otherwise ; — the strik- 
 ing acknowledgment to the necessity of a change of heart 
 is oftener appended, in tears, and regrets, and supplications 
 for mercy. 
 
 But the faithful Christian, like the busy bee, bids fare- 
 well to the winter storms of time and death, and enters into 
 rest, — into the Paradise promised him on the cross ; — 
 takes wing, as good old Richard Baxter said, takes wing 
 and flies to God, and walks in heaven, and talks ivith 
 saints and angels, — Hallelujah! — and there enjoys his 
 heavenly treasure, and tastes the sweet rewards of a well- 
 spent life. Blessed be God ! 
 
 * * * * * if? * 
 
 1. We are all responsible for the consequences of our 
 example ; especially so in times of a revival, when many 
 are awakened, and inquire, "What shall %ue do? 1 ' 
 
 There is trouble in the camp. Truth is mighty. It is 
 searching the foundations of Zion. Professors are awake ; 
 
188 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 some are tremb ing for then foundations, — like an architect 
 in Liverpool, during the Dedication , who kept moving 
 about, in a profuse perspiration, examining the foundation 
 and walls, whether thej were able to sustain the crowd 
 within. It did him good. He was ever after careful about 
 the foundations of such structures. It is doing professors 
 good ; but it will be of eternal benefit to some of jou who 
 hear. 
 
 But it was about example I proposed to speak ; and let 
 one who is especially interested, listen. I have no time for 
 circumlocution. There is an unconscious influence which 
 some exert, and for evil ; and there is a conscious influence. 
 Both are bad ; but the last is the worst for him who exerts 
 it ; because he knows what he is doing, and his responsi- 
 bility is ten-fold. Therefore, lay to heart what I am about 
 to say. If you do not, it will only increase your responsi- 
 bility, for God will hold you accountable ; and he will be 
 stricter with you for what you did know, than for what 
 you did not know ; although I believe we shall be account- 
 able at the day of judgment for what we might have known, 
 as well as for what we did know. This is a conscience- 
 awakening truth, but I have no time to enlarge upon it ; 
 you may hear of it again. 
 
 Ponder what I am going to say. Consider your position 
 in life, — in the church of God, also. Reflect. Your ele- 
 vation above many renders you influential for or against 
 this work of God. 
 
 Forget not that what you do and say, others will imitate. 
 As you move, they will move. Such is human nature. 
 There is no use to deny it. It is a fact. You will know it 
 as a fact in the Great Day. You have a circle of influ- 
 ence ; everyba ly has, bu: some rcore than others. But 
 
SPIRITUAL BATTERIES AND WEAPONS OF WAR. 189 
 
 your circle is wide ; and your example is telling upon them. 
 This is undeniable. Facts prove it ; but I forbear. 
 
 But is it right for you, or safe for them, to pursue your 
 present course ? Is it helpful to the cause of God ? Does 
 it tend to the conversion of your family, to move and to 
 converse as you do? Silence, inaction is bad, but 
 audible expression is worse ; the meaning of the former can 
 only be guessed at, the latter is plain and unmistakable. 
 0, can it be right? Let conscience answer. 
 
 The Israelites moved in the wilderness, when the cloud 
 moved. How influential was the pillar of cloud, then, by 
 night as well as by day ! Suppose, had it been possible, 
 that Satan had got control of that cloud, — would it not have 
 led Israel all wrong, and brought disorder and ruin upon 
 the camp ? 
 
 Do you shrink from the comparison? You need not. 
 It illustrates a fact. Good men and bad men are compared 
 to clouds in Scripture. St. Jude compares some professors, 
 if not ministers, to " clouds without ivater" deceptive in 
 appearance, and unrefreshing to the thirsty earth. St. 
 Peter compared some to " clouds carried ytith a tempest, 
 to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever and 
 ever ; " and adds, that " many shall follow their pernicious 
 ways ; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil 
 spoken of." — 2 Peter 2:2, 17. There is influence for 
 you ! but it is u pernicious," — that was the word selected 
 by the Holy Ghost. How expressive ! Look at the results - 
 the ways of evil are thronged, — " many shall follow ," &c. , 
 " the way of truth " is " evil spoken of" by others. Thus, 
 circle moves circle, and who can tell where the influence 
 shall terminate ? In the mean time truth suffers, and souls 
 perish. 
 
 Beware, I conjure you ! The eye of God is upon you, 
 
190 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 Persist, and it may be to your sorrow. The adventure 
 may be to your hurt. The order of his providence may 
 change concerning you. He may punish you, and try you 
 as by fire. Ponder what one has said upon the subject, — 
 ponder it well. ' : If he advance not now, he may receive 
 such a baekcast as he may hardly ever recover, but come 
 limping behind, and go halting to the grave." You would 
 not like that. But it is happening continually. The world 
 is full of such limping convicts. Kesolve not to become 
 one of that disabled gang ^ — that mournful processio?i. 
 
 Be wise in time. Provoke not God to make you an 
 example. Persist in the example you have been giving, 
 and he may make you an example, and bring you a blow 
 from which you may never recover. 
 
 0, cry to God that your secret backslidinfjs may be 
 healed! Think of what you have admitted. Make haste. 
 Fly for your life. " Agree with thine adversary quickly 
 whilst thou art in the Way with him." Read the rest. — 
 Matt. 5 : 25. It is as if Jesus himself was sounding that 
 trumpet in your ear. There is mercy. Come ! Come to 
 Jesus. Get out of the way of sinners. The famine is at 
 an end. Stand not in the gate to prevent. Care not for 
 the " order " of things, in this or that, if so be your own 
 soul is fed with the bread of life : if so be your heart rejoices 
 in this great salvation. Let my words enter your ears, and 
 sink down into your heart. Do they? Is there a cry 
 within? Or must yours be the fate of that noble lord of 
 Samaria, who was trodden down and perished in the streets, 
 amidst the shouts of salvation ? — 2 Kings 7 : 20. Hear, 
 for the time to come, as well as for the present. 
 
 2. A word for another: 
 
 True religion is diffusive. This is its insuperable qual- 
 ity the world over as heat from fire ; a? light from a sun- 
 
SPIRITUAL BATTERIES AND WEAPONS OF WAR. 191 
 
 Deam ; as fragrance from the rose. True religion is 
 diffusive. It always has been, always will be so ; and so 
 is yours, if you have got the real thing, — that which will 
 save your soul at last. 
 
 The possession of religion, and a desire for its diffusion, 
 go together. Now, mark that fact. Examine yourself by 
 that fact; you cannot help wishing that others should 
 enjoy it, and that will prompt you to do or say something 
 to effect it. It was this which caused the blood of martyrs 
 to redden the earth ! 
 
 Religion is too valuable to lack diffusiveness. Consider . 
 is not everything valuable to man diffusive ? The sky, the 
 atmosphere, light, sunshine, grass, grain, herbs, trees, flow- 
 ers, water, thunder, lightning, wind, and rain ; the sun and 
 moon, and stars, electricity, attraction, gravitation, the 
 nerves in your body, and the blood in your veins, and the 
 eyes in your head? — the diffusiveness of all, or any of 
 these, being equal to their importance. 
 
 But how much more religion ! — in the world and in the 
 soul ! Wide as the world of man is that command, " to 
 preach the Gospel to every creature." A fig for any man's 
 religion who is indifferent to that command ; and a fig for 
 all he possesses of it, if it is unaccompanied by any desire 
 to diffuse it among his kindred and neighbors ! 
 
 Think of that command of Jesus Christ, " Let your light 
 so shine before men, that they may see your good works, 
 and glorify your Father which is in heaven." A fine illus- 
 tration that of the diffusiveness of religion ; it is light, and 
 we are commanded to let it shine, — as much as to say, it 
 will shine if you will let it, for its nature is to shine ! But 
 let it " so shine " as to effect something; and let it shine 
 timely and convincingly, in your good works ; and a good 
 work certainly it is to confess Christ before men, and 
 
192 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 to cooperate with others for the salvation of the hell 
 exposed. 
 
 Hear what our Lord says : " Whosoever, therefore, shah 
 confess me before men, him will I confess also before my 
 Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me 
 before men, him will I also deny before my Father which 
 is in heaven." — Matt. 10 : 32, 83. This is decisive enough, 
 surely, — sufficient, one would think, to make men tremble 
 under certain circumstances ! And does it not show how 
 deeply interesting are such things to Jesus Christ? 
 
 Let me, therefore, beseech you, count it not a mere 
 " hobby " of mine, " intended for effect, and for the accu- 
 mulation of popularity," but rather an uncompromising 
 principle in the religion and government of the Son of 
 God. 
 
 Receive the conviction, then, that you must let youi 
 light shine, and so shine as to meet the approbation of 
 Him who judgeth, as well as of those who behold it ; con- 
 vincing them that you enjoy it, and that they may glorify 
 God in your behalf. 
 
 Consider : the sun in the sky, a city upon a hill, and a 
 candle in a candlestick, were our Lord's figures upon this 
 subject. When the sun shines, and when the city is seen, 
 and the candle fills all the room with light, the existence 
 of the thing is unquestionable. It is thus our Lord would 
 have our light to shine, that men may see it, and glorify 
 our Father which is in heaven, who is the author of it. 
 Do you understand me ? 
 
 Would it not seem as if he intended that illustration in 
 Matt. 5 : 15, for you ? — where he speaks of lighting a 
 candle, and putting it under a bushel, instead of on a can- 
 dlestick, u that it may give light unto all that are in the 
 house ! " 
 
SPIRITUAL BATTERIES AND WEAPONS OF WAR. 193 
 
 St. Paul flashes forth his sigyxal among the churches, 
 thus : " Among whom ye shine as lights in the world." — 
 Phil. 2 : 15. In what did he consider this shining to con- 
 sist ? Read the answer in that and the following verse : 
 " Blameless and harmless ; the sons of God, without 
 rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, 
 holding forth the word of life." Depend upon it, such 
 needed no such rebukes as the stranger has been sounding 
 m your ears ! 
 
 As to " self-seeking" consider how the apostle follows up 
 such pointed injunctions : " That I may rejoice in the day 
 of Christ, that I have not run in vain neither labored in 
 vain.'''' — verse 16. Here he confesses to u self-interest," 
 and is not ashamed of it ! But you see how gently, as if 
 by rays of light, he twists, as a three-fold cord, Christ's 
 honor, their duty, and his own interests together ! 
 
 Remember the motto of your own celebrated John Smith, 
 of precious memory: " Obtain more of God, and diffuse 
 more of God." Who of you will adopt it as your own, and 
 act upon it from this hour, and become our fellow-helpers 
 in this great struggle for souls ? 0, come one, come all of 
 you, and be our companio?is in tribulation, if need be, 
 and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ ! — 
 Rev. 1 : 9. 
 
 Let all who are of this mind come, — come seek a bap- 
 tism of the Holy Ghost, and of fire, — buckle on the Chris- 
 tian armor, and join the flght for Christ and souls ! 
 
 Do not, I conjure you, wait until victory or defeat is no 
 more doubtful. To alter the figure, wait not to ascertain 
 whether this tide of salvation has got to its flood mark, 
 its highest ivater mark, to be followed by a painful ebb ; 
 or whether it is likely to rise much higher in popular 
 17 
 
194 SHOWERS CF BLESS.NG. 
 
 favor and success, even to the high-water mark of Pente- 
 costal times ! 
 
 Ah ! how much of this sort of thing have I witnessed 
 elsewhere, amon<? certain classes of "the elite of Method- 
 ism," — lending the effort no countenance until they were 
 able to ascertain in which direction the popular tide -was 
 likely to set ; their empty pews a subject of remark, of 
 surmise, of inference ; making only "a civil visit" on the 
 Sabbath, as if to let the public see they were alive and 
 well, but too well educated and refined to appear among 
 " the vulgar throng " in the week time, to be carried away 
 by novelties and innovations ; continuing this policy until 
 reports of strange things reached their ears, — that some of 
 "the first families of the place" were in attendance, night 
 after night, and one and another and another of them con- 
 verted, and active for God ; and the evidence becoming 
 unmistakable that the whole thing was popular, and likely 
 to succeed beyond all expectation ! 0, but how quickly 
 their policy changed then ! Their pews no more deserted, 
 week-day or Sabbath, fair weather or foul ; there they were, 
 wreathed in smiles, and full of the spirit of patronage,- 
 w T hen the revival could go on well enough without them ; 
 provoking the shrewd or rude remark of an observer, — 
 of a snail, with its house upon its back, putting out its 
 horns, trying if the way is clear, and plucking them back 
 on the least intimation of risk ; but, at length, when all is 
 sunshine and safely, surrendering its sensitive person to 
 all the advantages of the occasion ; — a disrespectful com- 
 parison, which might have well been avoided, had they 
 honored Christ and his cause when the revival was weak 
 and small. — an outcast, as it were, like the infant Jesus in 
 the manger ! 
 
 0, how much of this sort of thing have I seen in my 
 
SPIRITUAL BATTERIES AND WEAPONS OE WAR. 195 
 
 time ! The snail with the house on its back, and its feel- 
 ers out ! — the credit of the family, for taste and refine- 
 ment and discernment to be cared for, whatever may 
 become of the cause of Jesus Christ ! — that, in case of 
 a failure, they might receive credit for discernment and 
 decision of character. Ah me ! sjiails were unclean 
 things, and forbidden by the Jewish law ! Nor should we 
 forget that u the fearful" are classed with u the unclean"' 
 and " the unbelieving" in Rev. 21 : 8, which are to have 
 their final portion in regions not to be coveted by any man 
 in his senses, be his house high or low. 
 
 Let none present be offended. At this early stage of the 
 work, it is well to tell you these things, " Lest Satan 
 should get an advantage, for we are not ignorant of his 
 devices" — 2 Cor. 2 : 11. Lest he should get an advan- 
 tage of any of you by this sort of mean device ; and, at 
 length, either render you ridiadous, or do serious injury to 
 your souls and families ; lest, also, he should retard the 
 work, and render our effort hard and discouraging. 
 
 It has been remarked, already, I have had some painful 
 experience of these things elsewhere ; and would to God I 
 could say, with a clear conscience, a somewhat similar spirit 
 has never been exhibited among my brethren in the minis- 
 try in some parts of Christendo?n. 
 
 For example: "The stranger" arrived, heralded by 
 some notoriety as to success in other parts; expectation 
 had been on the tip-toe for some time ; now it is about to 
 be gratified. The plain man makes his appearance in the 
 pulpit, and preaches a plain Gospel sermon. There is a 
 hope he will do better after the fatigue of his journey is 
 over. Sermon succeeds to sermon, but there is nothing 
 great or eloquent, — plain home truth, that is all, with but 
 iittle unction • — curiosity has gr.eved the Spirit; there is 
 
196 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 nothing that promises much influence Tvith. ll the public 
 mind ; " — the Spirit is grieved at this looking unto man, 
 instead of looking unto Jesus ; and the poor stranger is 
 shorn of his strength ; he is down, and cannot get up, 
 and no influential hand is extended heartily to help him up. 
 The people are looking to man, instead of to God ; — much 
 talk and little prayer, low criticisms and comparisons in 
 certain quarters, and unbelief on the fearful increase. 
 
 The stranger feels it all; cries to God; comes- before 
 them with honest tears, but cannot rise. Thus matters 
 proceed. He would fain retreat, but dare not. Hopes in 
 God, but is greatly humbled. The ministers of the place 
 look on, — pray if asked ; they are determined not to lay 
 a straw in "the brother's way; " but they will not throw 
 themselves into the work, and succor him earnestly in the 
 conflict ; will not ally their strength with his, for victory in 
 the onset. " No ; the people would not be content with the 
 ordinary ministrations, but called loudly for the extraor- 
 dinary. Now they have it, and let them make the best 
 of it ; the responsibility is not ours, but the brotlicrs. 
 If he succeed, we shall be glad of it ; if it turns out a 
 failure, it will do our people good ; make them value their 
 own ministry the more. It will teach them a lesson. We 
 shall look on, — must not absent ourselves ; that would be to 
 come in for a share of the blame in case of a failure. We 
 shall help, occasionally, as the brother may direct ; but he 
 must be led to understand that the meeting is entirely 
 under his own control, and that the responsibility is his." 
 The stranger feels and sees how matters stand ; finds him- 
 self in a hard spot, but knows not how to complain ; iceeps 
 and sighs and groans in secret; puts forth-Herculean efforts 
 in public; but feels there are hindrances , drawbacks, 
 weakness a nd death, somewhere. — cannot tell where ; 
 
SPIRITUAL BATTERIES AND WEAPONS OE WAR. 197 
 
 likes to be charitable ; must appear charitable; but some- 
 thing is wrong, and victory a problem. Thus he proceeds 
 with the wasting and killing effort ; sinks and rises again, 
 flounders and recovers ; now and then, in spite of hell ami dif- 
 ficulties, gains a slight advantage, and a few souls saved, but 
 for which his heart would break ; — the Holy Ghost all the 
 while beholding " an accursed thing in the camp" a con- 
 trary spirit '; a policy ; — the heavens brass again, and the 
 earth, the hearts of men, iron, — discouragement all 
 around. 
 
 What is to be done? He " winds up" with as good 
 grace as possible, and disappears ; or girds on the armor, 
 lighter than ever, and, sword of truth in hand, rushes upon 
 opposing powers ! — rushes upon the church and upon the 
 world, with the cry of " Victory or death ! " — rushes upon 
 opposing influences, at the risk of health and life, till the 
 power of God comes down and sweeps away the opposition 
 like chaff before the wind ; and the work of soid-saving 
 advances with a power that astonishes earth and hell ! 
 
 Ah ! how much of all this have I encountered hitherto ; 
 and, perhaps, might say, with him in The Lay of the Last 
 Poet : 
 
 " And what I felt, I oft shall feel again, 
 Thou first, last, best, great Giver, Lord ! " 
 
 17* 
 
CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 A RETARDING OR PROMOTING CHURCH ; OR, HOW TO 
 HAVE A REVIVAL. 
 
 A JEW words before my text. And let those whom it 
 may concern, listen and ponder. 
 
 1. It is written, Judgment must begin at the house of 
 God. Where Jesus Christ has a church, it is either in a 
 state to retard or promote his work of salvation among 
 sinners. None, I fancy, will disagree with me here. 
 
 Now, a Christ-sent preacher will look well to this, and 
 will very soon discover the retarding or promoting state 
 of the church. He must address himself to that state ; — 
 must cope with it in the former, or lead it on to victory. 
 if in the latter state, or he will fail in his duty, and have 
 no revival. For it is vain to expect any remarkable work 
 of God in any church, so long as its spirit and character are 
 antagonistic to the will and work of Christ, and the full 
 designs of the Gospel. 
 
 2. But there are, usually, in every church, some living 
 members, although there may be many dead. These he 
 should recognize, cherish, encourage, and lead forth to do 
 battle for the King of kings. But the membership who 
 are of another spirit, should have a different treatment ; — 
 caustic, to eat away "the proud flesh " gathered upon their 
 spiritual wounds, or a vigorous application of the lancet or 
 the knife ; or an emetic which will eject from the foul 
 
A RETARDING OR PROMOTING CHURCH. 199 
 
 stomach of tlie soul, certain satanic deposits, A no very 
 agreeable nature; — and let the spiritual physician beware 
 of a bespattering ! But if he lack courage for these things, 
 he is certainly not the man for the times, for the place, for 
 the people. He had better retire, that God may send an- 
 other, of a stronger heart, and more unflinching purpose 
 You understand me. 
 
 3. Judge of my ministry among you, then, by these 
 simple, common-sense rules. If your consciences declare 
 for them, then reason and infer accordingly. Look at our 
 efforts through this glass. It is transparent ; look through 
 it, and decide, all of you, whether there is not a cause, — 
 whether this pointed faithfulness is, as some insinuate, 
 " contrary to the meek and lowly mind that was in Christ." 
 But is it so ? — anything at variance with his example, 
 when circumstances demanded, — when, as an eminent 
 divine remarks, " He w T alked as an incarnate conscience 
 through a guilty land ; and its people trembled at the re- 
 bukes of his sacred presence ; when the voice of Him, who 
 was ' meek and lowly in heart f uttered forth the hoarse 
 and exasperated accents of divine wrath, in a manner more 
 terrible than the recollections of IS'mai. But how was it 
 possible that even mercy itself could visit a scene like that 
 which he traversed, and maintain a style of unmingled ten- 
 derness ? Accordingly, there were occasions when, survey- 
 ing the proud, hypocritical, and guilty throngs which 
 crowded his path, he clothed himself with zeal as with a 
 garment, and, with a consuming jealousy for the insulted 
 majesty of God, ' took them into his lips, and smote them 
 with the sword of his mouth.' Witness the cleansing of 
 the temple. Intent on gain, the Jews had converted the 
 holy place into a scene of sacrilegious traffic ; they had 
 turned the ancient and solemn Passover itself to profit ; 
 
200 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 they bartered deep in the blood of human souls ; they wor- 
 shipped Mammon in his Father's house. But, ' suddenly 
 coming to his temple,' he flamed around its hallowed walls, 
 ' like a refiner's fire,' and, with the tones of injured and 
 insulted Deity, rained on their consciences such strokes of 
 terrible dismay, that they eagerly sought refuge from his 
 holy indignation in flight, leaving him the Lord and sole 
 possessor of the sanctuary." What think you of scenes like 
 these ? 
 
 Consider : Do you suppose, were Christ to appear sud- 
 denly, and walk forth visibly among his churches in Bir- 
 mingham, he would differ much from his old style of 
 address ? 
 
 4. Hearken unto me, all of you ; but, remember, that 
 it is a sinner like yourselves who thus speaks to you. — 
 though, to the glory of his grace, I must acknowledge his 
 mercy and goodness, in styling myself a sinner saved by 
 grace, and laboring with all my strength to have you saved 
 also. Hearken ! Jesus is no more visibly present. The 
 heavens have received him until the times of the restitution 
 of all things. But he has left Truth upon the earth. What 
 to do? — to stand still and do nothing? Nay, verily. What 
 then ? To walk forth among the guilty throngs of earth, like 
 himself, as an incarnate conscience. Is that all ? What, 
 and not enter the house of God ? Nay, nay ! But it enters 
 his sacred temple. It flames around its hallowed walls, 
 " like a refiner's fire ;" vindicating, in tones of terrible 
 power, the insulted majesty of Him who is Lord also of the 
 temple ; and raining upon trembling consciences, that which 
 comes down with the force and effectiveness of the nimble 
 and piercing lightnings of heaven. 
 
 This is all I have time to say at present. Expect some- 
 thing additional, to-morroiv evening, previous to the text. 
 
A RETARDING OR PROMOTING CHURCH. 201 
 
 In the mean time, hearken to my message for to-night : 
 "Behold, now is the accepted time ; behold, now is the 
 day of salvation." — 2 Cor. 6: 2. We may say of this 
 text, as one of the fathers said of a martyr : — to name a 
 man a martyr is to commend him sufficiently. So to name 
 this text, is to commend it sufficiently to all who have ears to 
 hear the will and counsel of God ; to all who have hearts 
 to feel, that the day, the hour of salvation has come ; that 
 if you prove it not so, the blame must lie upon yourselves, 
 not with God. The text is a witness. 
 
 The question as to time is settled ; and that is an impor- 
 tant point with some, — the time to be saved. They hope 
 and intend to be saved some time or other, but somehow the 
 right time has not arrived. My text says it has ; it ear- 
 nestly demands attention : l ' Behold, now is the accepted 
 time ; behold, now is the day of salvation.' '' But the 
 halting, unbelieving sinner will not believe it. He thinks, 
 or acts as if he thought, there must be some mistake about 
 it. My text repels the insinuation ; and I repel it, and 
 conjure all such to beware how they provoke the displeas- 
 ure of the Holy Ghost, who speaks therein. Beware, lest 
 he take away your time altogether, seeing you reject his 
 time. That will be a terrible affair ; for, how it will 
 enhance and terribly accent your misery, the recollection 
 that you had an accepted time and day of salvation, which 
 you spurned or neglected ! 
 
CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 HOW TO HAVE A REVIVAL, CONTINUED. 
 
 1, Are you willing I should resume the theme of my 
 intrc ductlon, last night ? You know I intimated an inten- 
 tion to return to it. 
 
 2. Well, then, allow the inquiry once more, Were Christ 
 to appear visibly among the churches in Birmingham, what 
 style of preaching ', suppose ye, would he adopt? Would it 
 differ materially from that which characterized it, when last 
 among men ? 
 
 Hear what one said of it : " Finding himself surrounded 
 in the temple by a large assemblage of Jewish doctors, 
 scribes, and lawyers, and Pharisees, — the very element and 
 essence of the nation's guilt, — he assailed and demolished 
 the enormous fabric of sanctimonious hypocrisy which their 
 laborious impiety had reared, and, with the fidelity and 
 fearlessness of the king of martyrs, denounced and delivered 
 his final protest against the pride and the power which 
 upheld it. They had occasionally heard his fearful commin- 
 ations before, and trembled for their security, for every word 
 was a weapon; but now, having regularly invested and 
 approached their fortified guilt, he opened on them the 
 dreadful artillery of his divine malediction. An occasional 
 flash had before apprized them that a storm might be near ; 
 but now, having collected together all the materials of tem- 
 pest into one black and fearful mass and having awed them 
 
CONTINUED. 203 
 
 to silence, as nature is hushed when awaiting a crisis, he 
 discharged its tremendous contents, in one volleyed and pro- 
 longed explosion, on their guilty and unsheltered heads. He 
 arraigned them, as though he had already ascended the seat 
 of doom, and laid open all the sepulchral recesses of their 
 iniquity, as though he read from the book of God's remem- 
 brance. Hypocrisy was unable to conceal itself in the clouds 
 of incense which it offered. The proud, the covetous, the 
 intolerant, he confounded and covered with the shame of 
 detection and conscious guilt. As they came up for judg- 
 ment, in succession, he fulminated against them the woes 
 and imprecations of his wrath, ' the wrath of the Lamb,' 
 in tones anticipating those of their final sentence." How 
 awfully terrible the utterances of those woes ! — as the 
 seven thunders heard by John in Patmos. But what they 
 uttered none of us know, for John was forbidden to write. 
 But those thunders of Jesus, — seven or eight of them, — 
 which he launched forth against the workers of iniquity, 
 have been recorded. — Matt, twenty-third chapter. Each 
 began with a a woe;" and followed by facts, the rever- 
 berations of which, within the surrounding consciences, were 
 sufficient, one would think, to make devils themselves trem- 
 ble; but the last volley was the climax: " Ye serpents, ye 
 generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of 
 hell?" The leading and chief reason why he thundered out 
 these eight woes, he stated himself in full, in the utterance 
 of the first woe, — " For ye shut up the kingdom of heaven 
 against men : for ye neither go in yourselves, neither 
 suffer ye them that are entering to go in. " This was 
 his charge, and it gave tone, and energy, and terribleness. 
 to all the thundering woes that followed. 
 
 But a shower follows a thunder-storm, usually. Were 
 there no tears, think ye, when he bewailed, the coming des- 
 
204 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 olation of that city and people thus ? ' " O Jerusalem, Jerw 
 salem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them 
 which are sent unto thee, Jtoio often would I have gath- 
 ered thy children tor/ether, even as a hen g other eth her 
 chickens under her wings, and ye would not ! Behold 
 your house is left unto you desolate." It was but a day 
 or two before, he had a weeping time over that city, — 
 when, it is said, "He beheld the city and wept over it" 
 and then lifted up his voice in lamentation over "its com- 
 ing calamities, which he foresaw, saying, " If thou hadst 
 known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which 
 belong unto thy peace ! but now they are hidden from thine 
 eyes." Then followed the character of their calamities, and 
 the manner of their utter ruin. 
 
 And do you think he had no tears on this occasion, when 
 he lifted up his voice in the hearing of surrounding multi- 
 tudes, and in such mournful and deprecatory accents, and 
 with such inimitable pathos, he cried bewailingly, " O 
 Jerusalem! Jerusalem!" Can I repeat them without 
 tears? Can you hear them without tears? But consider 
 the lamentation was uttered over those, who, two or three 
 days afterwards, imbrued their hands in his blood ! 
 unparalleled love ! O unparalleled impenitence ! 
 
 But, hearken ! even then, at that moment, after all the 
 woes he had denounced against them, he was ready to 
 throw his protecting wings of mercy and power over them, 
 and forgive them all ; — but they woidd not ; — their obsti- 
 nacy and impenitency were unconquerable. 
 
 Suppose Jesus, in the same mysterious majesty and dis- 
 guise, were to appear among us now, and thunder out as 
 justly merited woes in Birmingham, — what then? How 
 would he and his woes be received ? Would there be no 
 
HOW TO HAVE A REVIVAL, CONTINUED. 205 
 
 perversity, impenitency, and rebellion, manifested, think 
 ye? 
 
 And now, in view of all this, can you find fault with the 
 stranger? — with the alarming truths he has been com- 
 pelled to sound in your ears since his arrival ? 
 18 
 
CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 CHRISr WEEPING OVER JERUSALEM — A SERMON. 
 
 " And when he teas come near, he beheld the city, a id wept over it, 
 saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, ih>i 
 things that belong unto thy peace ! But now they are hid from thine 
 eyes. " — Luke 19 : 41,42. 
 
 1. There is much said about weeping in the Scriptures 
 Abraham wept over the death of Sarah, his 'wife. Joseph 
 wept when he recognized his brethren, from whom he had 
 been so long separated; but he sought how he might con- 
 ceal his tears. King HezckiaJi u wept sore" when he was 
 sick, and the Lord's message by Isaiah had sounded in his 
 ears, " Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order, 
 for thou shall die, and not live." David wept freely on 
 several occasions. 
 
 2. We do not wonder at such weeping. The occasion 
 demanded it. Nature had its way, and tears their course. 
 Among the Hebrews, it was not considered ur. manly, or a 
 sign of weakness, to weep ; it was not looked upon as an 
 evidence of want of courage, or self-possession, or great- 
 ness of soul, to weep when there was a cause for it ; but 
 rather an evidence of the presence of these manly and 
 noble virtues. Therefore, they did not repress their tears, 
 as if ashamed of them, in times of bereavement and sorrow. 
 
 3. But when we behold Jesus drawing near to Jerusa- 
 lem, and weeping over it, — ah ! but there is something 
 
CHRIST WEEPING OVER JERUSALEM. 2(T< 
 
 in that scene exceedingly touching. But more of this by 
 and by. 
 
 I was reading, to- lay, David's pathetic lamentation over 
 the death of Saul and Jonathan, upon the mountains of 
 Gilboa. How touchingly eloquent it is ! — 2 Sam. 1 : 
 17 — 27. That passage thrilled me. " The beauty of Israel 
 is slain upon thy high places ; how are the mighty fallen ! 
 I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan ; very 
 pleasant hast thou been unto me ; thy love to me was won- 
 derful, passing the love of women." No wonder his dis- 
 tress at their untimely end was so poignant, and his excess 
 of grief so great, as that " every word was swollen with a 
 sigh, or broken with a sob" so endearing were the recol- 
 lections of their friendship, especially that of Jonathan ! 
 
 Had Jerusalem sinners been so endeared to Jesus, his 
 tears and lamentations over them would not so surprise and 
 move us. But they were on the point of cruelly imbruing 
 their hands in his blood. More of this hereafter. But how 
 are we to view sinners around us? — as the friends and lov- 
 ers of Jesus? — as really and truly our friends? How can 
 we thi?ik so, when they repel his truth, hate it, scorn it, and 
 force us into agonies, and cries and tears, night after night, 
 for their salvation ? — as far from the love which should win 
 tears, on mere human principles, as the devil from the 
 beauty and holiness of an unfallen angel ! 
 
 And shall we weep over them, as Jesus did over Jerusa- 
 lem sinners ? Yes, we shall, and to-night, too ! But where 
 are we to find motives ? What is it that shall open the 
 fountains in our heads, and cover our cheeks with tears ? I 
 answer : some such views as Jesus had. 1. That the things 
 which belong to their peace are hidden from their eyes. 
 2. An intense desire it were otherwise. 3. The terrible 
 calamities which awak every one of them. 4. The willing- 
 
208 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 ness of Jesus to rescue and save them all, were their eyes 
 but open to facts which would surely awaken and alarm, 
 and bring them to repentance. 
 
 3. And why should we be ashamed to weep, even if 
 to-night the sight of our eyes affects our hearts ? Why 
 should not we weep over sinners in our day, if Jesus wept 
 over sinners in his clay ? Should our cheeks be dry, when 
 his were wet? But Jesus, we see, wept over his enemies. 
 If we weep, it is over relatives and fellow -townsmen, who 
 have no intention of harming us ; who would fight for us, 
 were any one to attempt to molest or injure us. Ay, but 
 alas ! alas ! we must not forget that they are at enmity 
 with God, and, perhaps, on account of the truth, are not 
 well pleased with us ; what they must cost us, by their per- 
 versity, labor, sorrow, and tears, before their conversion. 
 
 4. Nevertheless, tears are called for now over sin-slain 
 and devil-deceived sinners and backsliders ; for, in this 
 age, in which the falling sickness is an epidemic, when so 
 many have fallen from God, lamentation and tears are 
 surely not uncalled for. 
 
 5. We behold their peril now. Nor should devils nor 
 men be surprised at our er^^ions, or our tears. Weep ! 
 yes ! let us weep more and more, for we have backsliders 
 among us! " How are the mighty fallen ! ' " exclaimed 
 David, over the gory bodies of his friends on Gilboa. 
 " How are the mighty fallen ! ' ? exclaim we over those who 
 were once mighty in prayer and praise, — li the beauty of 
 Israel! " — fallen, and fallen so low, and in peril of falling 
 lower yet, even where flames attend their final fall! 
 Hearken ! " Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? Be- 
 hold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow," 
 — or any cause of sorrow greater than this, — to behold 
 that melancholy procession of poor backsliders, now in the 
 
CHRIST WEEPING OVER JERUSALEM. 209 
 
 devil's chain-gang ! How are the mighty fallen ! 0, what 
 shall I say more ? From what a height of felicity fallen ! 
 To what a depth of misery ! As the apples are the glory 
 of the tree , so were these once the glory of the church. 
 But, now, alas, they are but windfalls, as one named them, 
 — windfalls in the devil's mouth. But there is hope of 
 them, as he has not yet run down with them into hell. 0, 
 there is hope, although their case may be as desperate as 
 the little lamb, which David rescued alive out of the fangs 
 of the brindled lion, and his grim associate, the bear. There 
 is hope yet ; let us, therefore, weep and pray, and pray and 
 tveep ; for He, in whom we trust, is stronger than the 
 devouring enemy. 
 
 6. Notice, again, that requiem or dirge of David, over 
 a fallen monarch, — that touching line, 
 
 " Ye daughters of Israel, weep over Saul." 
 
 But, 0, let me say, ye daughters of Israel, weep over the 
 sinner ; weep over him, and cry unto God for him besides. 
 It was in vain that the daughters of Israel wept over the 
 gory corpse of their much-loved monarch ; for they could 
 not weep his soul back from eternity to reanimate that body, 
 nor, by their tears, heal those cruel wounds. But your tears 
 may recall the quickening Spirit of God ; may bring nigh 
 that precious blood of the Lamb, which cleanses, closes, and 
 heals every wount that sin has made. 
 
 0, let your sighs, your sobs, your tears, your cries unto 
 God, witness to the sinner your deep distress for the peril 
 of his soul, and prove to Heaven, how sincerely you commis- 
 erate his condition. Think of Jesus weeping over Jerusa- 
 lem, sobbing, as he wept, "If thou hadst knoivn, even 
 thou; " — so let us all weep over the coming perdition of the 
 18* 
 
210 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 poor sinner, to which he is being hurried on by that stern 
 march of Time, 
 
 " That knows not the "weight of sleep or weariness, — 
 On, still on, he rushes and forever ! " 
 
 And, like the heavens, the other day, which poured down 
 their rain as tears upon that funeral procession as it 
 passed on, so let us weep, and shower with our tears the 
 mournful procession which is conducting yonder poor sinner 
 to his last, long, dreamy home, in hell. 
 
 0, who can tell, but He may pass by, who met that tear- 
 ful procession at the gates of Nain ; — w T ho may say to its, 
 as he said to that bereaved widow, as she moved along with 
 that bier that bore the corpse of her only son, — moved along, 
 bowed down with sorrow, and bathed in tears, — "Weep 
 not I" — may touch the bier, as at the gates of Nain, and 
 cause the bearers to stand still ; — may speak to that corpse- 
 like sold, as he did to the corpse of the widow's son, 
 " Young man, arise!" — may deliver him to a weeping 
 church, and to a weeping mother, alive and saved, as he of 
 Nain ; — while fear comes upon all who ought to fear, and 
 God is glorified of all, saying, u God hath visited his 
 people ! " 
 
 Amen ! Hallelujah ! Look ap, ye weeping saints ! 
 Look up, thou weeping mother ! The Lord Jesus Christ 
 is approaching ! He is near at hand, who shall say, " Weep 
 not!" Behold, he has come ! See! Look yonder! He 
 stands by the side of that sinner. Hearken ! He speaks 
 to him ! There is life in his features, — life in his reason, 
 — life in his understanding, — life in his conscience! — a 
 tear-drop in his eye, on his cheek ! See ! he would wipe it 
 off; but another comes, stealing, as if forbidden. Jesus has 
 spoken to him, "Young man, arise!" This is the effect 
 of the voice of Jesus ! Look ! expect ! signs, wonders, 
 
CHRIST WEEPING- OVER JERUSALEM. 211 
 
 miracles of mercy to-night, by the wondrous power of Jesus ! 
 He who can open the sinner's eyes to see the things which 
 belong to his peace, is doing so now, not in that one case, 
 yonder, but in many. Wonderful ! Stir up thy strength, 
 0, Jesus, and save the many ! for that is as easy as to save 
 the few. The ocean wave that pushes shore- ward, covers 
 scores and hundreds of pebbles and rocks, as well as one or 
 a few ; so can this broad toave of thy mercy and power, 0, 
 thou Ocean of love, that is sweeping over this congrega- 
 tion ! 
 
 Look up ! I call upon you all to look up through your 
 tears, and behold what is going on ! — the uplifted hand for 
 mercy! — the upturned eye I — the returning love-glances of 
 an ever-merciful Jesus ! Yes ! he who wept on the heights 
 over Jerusalem, but wept in vain, — and has long wept over 
 these poor sinners in vain, — he weeps, and loves them still 
 — and more than ever, seeing they are now giving him tear 
 for tear, sigh for sigh, sob for sob ; while he says to each, 
 " I am thy salvation." Hallelujah ! shout, ye sons of the 
 morning ! Let every golden harp in heaven be vocal. Let 
 the transporting name of a victorious Jesus fill heaven with 
 acclamations ! The time to favor Zion has come. Many 
 a mother shall rejoice ! many a widow ! for He who had 
 compassion on her of Nain, whose sorrow was very bitter , 
 has compassion on them! — He who said to her, "Weep 
 not," — and no one had reasons for saying so, such as he 
 could show, and did show in that hour, that moment. The 
 dead son, became a living son, a speaking son, in the 
 arms of his mother. What did he say, I wonder ? 0, ye 
 praying, weeping mothers in Israel, you, whose dead sons 
 are about to be made alive, know ye not what their language 
 shall be, when next you meet? — prayer and praise and 
 glory ! " Youl son that was dead, is alive again, was lost, 
 
212 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 and is found ! " Ay ! see, your daughters are in tears 
 also ! " Mother ! mother ! your daughter, that was dead, 
 is alive again, was lost and is found." Let every heart 
 among you leap for joy ! Let all present recognize some- 
 thing of that for which Jesus wept and sighed in vain over 
 Jerusalem, saying, " If thou hadst known, even thou, at 
 least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy 
 peace." Let all present recognize what comes of having the 
 eyes of the people opened to behold the things which belong 
 unto their peace. 
 
 I intended to say more, but can proceed no further. Let 
 us cry unto God, that he may proceed with this work of 
 mercy and power, so gloriously commenced. And to the 
 Fathe,:, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, be all the 
 glory, world without end. Amen and Amen ! 
 
CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 CHRIST WEEPIN3 OVER JERUSALEM — A SERMON. 
 
 " And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, 
 saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things 
 which belong unto thy peace ! but now they are hid from thine eyes,'" — 
 Luke 19: 41, 42. 
 
 1. The grand design of all preaching should be to make 
 people good, and to keep thenij good. To accomplish the 
 first, they must be aiuakened and converted to Christ ; next, 
 built up in faith and holiness. 
 
 2. The secret of effective preaching lies much in its 
 appropriateness, or being adapted to the state and circum- 
 stances of the people. It is on this account, I refer so fre- 
 quently to events, which occur among us, for or against the 
 success of the truth preached. 
 
 3. It will not, I hope, be considered a departure from 
 this principle, or from the spirit of my text, if I drop a few 
 words just here in the ear of a hearer. — u One who believes 
 in the enlightening of the intellect, before appealing to the 
 passions." And yet, sir, those who have had much expe- 
 rience in these things, often find that the intellect has to be 
 reached through the medium of the passions ; that is, the 
 light intended for the darkened understanding, must be 
 carried through the avenue of the passions ; and so bril- 
 liant must it be, aid so penetrating , and accompanied withal 
 by such an array of reflective imagery, as to arouse the 
 
214 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 pissiojis, the ciaotions, — those allied to hope and fear, 
 especially, — awaking, rousing, and melting them ; disor- 
 dering, terrifying, gladdening, constraining, overpowering, 
 into one general outcry for mercy, or burst of triumphant 
 praise, thanksgiving, and adoration, to the King of kings, 
 and Lord of lords. 0, that it may be so, once again, to- 
 night ! 
 
 Now, observe : we often find it necessary to approach 
 certain classes of mind thus, before we can gain the attri- 
 tion of the understanding, or the conscience, and to hold 
 them steady, and long enough to receive the requisite im- 
 pression ; thus, for instance, the obtuse, the unthinking, 
 the iv ell-informed, the wearied, and the disheartened. 
 1st. The obtuse, that is, the dnll, the stupid, the insensi- 
 ble, against which the truth beats but in vain, so inrpres- 
 sionless are they. 2d. The unthinking, that is, the 
 thoughtless, the gay, the frivolous ; heedless persons, whose 
 attention it is impossible -to fix until their feelings are 
 awakened. 3d. The well-informed, who know much, and 
 feel little ; who, if assailed directly through the understand- 
 ing, are left just as we found them, cold, jyassionless, and 
 inactive. These are the Thermopylazs of our congrega- 
 tion; and they cannot be readily taken by a direct assanlt 
 without much loss of time and strength, and risk of failure ; 
 so difficult is it to surprise them into a surrender by some 
 truth they know not, for they seem to know everything, — 
 much less, by the truth they know, and by which they have 
 been assailed for so many tedious years ! 
 
 What is to be done with these, whose heads are clear as 
 angels or devils, as to the theory of religion, but whose 
 hearts are cold and senseless ? To make them feel what 
 they know is the desideratum. But that is seldom accom- 
 plished, I think, b^ an exclusive address to the understand- 
 
CHRIST WEEPING OVER JERUSALEM. 215 
 
 ing ; but they may give way under the power of a surprise i 
 If one can find " the secret path" to use a phrase of Rollin, 
 when describing the taking of Thermopylae, the under- 
 standing and the knowledge there may be reached through 
 the pathway of their emotions, or passions, if you like the 
 term better ; so that what is believed in the head is felt 
 in the heart ; then we have action ! — repentance, and the 
 "God he merciful to me a sinner ! " and " Heal my soul, 
 for it hath sinned against thee, — save Lord, or I perish ! '' 
 with tears and earnest cries, and faith, and such like, s.s 
 the Gospel sanctions, with signs and wonders following. 
 
 And there are, 4th, the wearied and the disheartened, the 
 poor discouraged penitent, who believes everything (he 
 thinks), and jet feels nothifig ; — poor soul ! — there is a 
 secret path to his soul, and I give myself no rest until I have 
 discovered it. Besides, believers and standard-bearers, and 
 bearers of burdens, often get tired, physically and mentally, 
 through excessive toil. 
 
 In such cases, I change my mode of conducting the siege, 
 or attack, and rush upon the outworks and inner works 
 of the emotions and passions, by a suitable address. 
 When these give way, and are carried, I never halt, but 
 thunder, in an instant, before the citadel of the understand- 
 ing, which seldom holds out long when the passions have 
 been carried. When the citadel surrenders, the day is ours, 
 and the banner of Emanuel waves over the captured sin- 
 ner, and the city of Mansoul, as Bunyan named it, is in 
 the possession of the Lord of glory ! 
 
 There, sir ! perhaps you may find in these remarks more 
 " philosophy " than " rant ; " — common sense, where you 
 suspected nonsense ! These are some of our spiritual tac- 
 tics, in the conquest of souls. Nor do we wish them to 
 remain secret. We care not, if they were placarded all 
 
216 SHOWERS OF BLESSING 
 
 over the town ; for, whether the people understand us or 
 not, we are determined they shall feel what they profess to 
 believe ! 
 
 If we had "a weeping time" last night, it was not so 
 much on our own account as that of others, who are per- 
 sisting to trample under foot the Son of God, and doing 
 despite unto the Spirit of grace. — Heb. 10: 29. We 
 wept, and did not Jesus weep? Hearken: " And when 
 he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, 
 saying, If thou hadst known, even thou," &c. But we 
 wept over sinners returning home to God. Our eyes were 
 wet, because the eyes of so many were opened to see the 
 things which belong unto their peace. If our tears were 
 but the evidence of " mental imbecility," bring the same 
 charge against Him who taught us to weep over undone 
 sinners by his own example. 
 
 " Did Christ o'er sinners weep, 
 
 And shall our cheeks be dry ? ' ' 
 
 We are not, therefore, ashamed of our tears. Let the 
 North American Indian despise the tear-drop in the eye 
 of a brother warrior ; and let that warrior seek to repress 
 the tear that would follow, if nature has its course ; and let 
 a whole tribe exclaim at once, " It is old-womanish to weep." 
 Pagans may so talk, but we are Christians, the followers 
 of Him who sought not to hide or suppress his tears, as he 
 lamented a city doomed to destruction ! 
 
 If Jesus wept over Jerusalem, when he beheld a cloud 
 of wrath gathering over it, — wrath and ruin irretrievable, 
 temporal, spiritual, eternal, — why, 0, why, should not we 
 weep? I repeat it, why should not we weep to behold the 
 mouths of the grave and of hell preparing to open and to 
 engulph so many of you ; and the catastrophe so nigh at 
 
CHRIST WEEPING OVER JERUSALEM. 217 
 
 hand ? Instead of repressing our tears, should we not rather 
 say with the prophet Jeremiah, u 0, that my head were 
 waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might 
 weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my 
 people" ? And if sinners will despise, and sin on, we can 
 only resolve with Jeremiah again: u But if ye will not 
 hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your 
 pride, and mine eyes shall weep sore and run down with 
 tears P There is sympathy for you ! But who of us, or 
 who that has ever read the writings and history of Jeremiah 
 the prophet, would charge him with weak-mindedness ? 
 
 We are the followers of " The Man of Sorrows" 
 Like him we are " acquainted with grief P From his 
 own lips we learn that, unless you are born again, you can- 
 not see or enter the kingdom of heaven. — John 3:3, 5. 
 And, had he added, you shall never, in that case, see or 
 enter hell, perhaps our eyes could remain as dry as any of 
 you who hear me this evening. But, alas ! exclusion from 
 heaven implies incarceration in hell, — " the fire that 
 never shall be quenched, — the worm that never dieth, — 
 the weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth, in outer 
 darkness ; — and the horrors of everlasting punishment, 
 — eternal damnation, — the fire prepared for the devil 
 and his angels," as the alternative of exclusion from heaven, 
 were too frequently on his lips for us to doubt where your 
 final landing-place is to be ! Hearken ! 
 
 " Did Christ o'er sinners weep, 
 And shall our cheeks be dry ? 
 Let floods of penitential grief 
 Burst forth from every eye. 
 
 " The Son of God in tears 
 
 The wond'ring angels see ; 
 
 Be thou astonished, 0, my soul, 
 
 He shed those tears for thee ! 
 
 19 
 
218 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 » 
 
 " He wept that we might weep ; 
 Each sin demands a tear ; 
 In heaven alone no sin is found, 
 And there 's no weeping there " 
 
 Ah ! poor sinner ! We have the iveeping part now but 
 your weeping time is coming, but with this difference, ours 
 is limited to lime, yours has an eternity appended. The 
 promise to us is, that God shall wipe away all tears from 
 our eyes in heaven. — Rev. 7: 17. Neither sorrow, nor 
 cause of sorrow, nor tears, nor cause of tears, shall afflict 
 as there any more forever ; for the days of our mourning 
 shall be ended in heaven. 
 
 But, alas for you who may drop into hell ! — for sorrow 
 and the cause of sorrow, tears and the cause of tears, must 
 coexist with your eternity ; — your mourning and the cause 
 of mourning shall never, never end. Why, then, should we 
 not weep over you, in view of your sad future ? Why 
 should we not weep, seeing there is yet hope of your salva- 
 tion, — that you may begin and weep as freely for yourselves, 
 as toe do for you? There is hope, and we weep. No won- 
 der tears are wiped away in heaven, when hope for the wil- 
 fully damned is gone, and gone forever ! 
 
 Hearken, all of you, to what Jesus says on this subject : 
 i - Woe unto you that laugh now; for ye shall mourn and 
 weep." But he had just said to his disciples, " Blessed 
 arc ye that u:eep now ; for ye shall laugh." So, then, this 
 is our weeping time. Yours is to come. May it be now, 
 also ! 
 
 4. Nor can I withhold a word of warning and exposiu* 
 lation from another. 
 
 Hearken ! for the things which belong unto thy peace 
 are concealed in what I am about to say. 
 
CHRIST WEEPING OVER JERUSALEM. 219 
 
 Burns, the poet, seized the veil with a determined hand, 
 when he said : 
 
 " would they stay to calculate 
 Th' eternal consequences, 
 Or your more dreaded hell to state, 
 Damnation of expenses ! " 
 
 There ! he almost rends the veil of eternity ! — a 
 glimpse of "the eternal consequences J I — a sudden flash 
 of eternal penalties, — " damnation of expenses" The 
 rub is there, and you cannot misunderstand him ! That 
 " blue light" of Burns, if you will allow another figure, 
 will burn as a signal of distress and peril for many ages 
 yet to come. It has a double effect. It shows the peril of 
 sinners, and how dear they must pay for their sinful pleas- 
 ures. It discovers, also, the things which belong to their 
 peace, — or, at least, the necessity of feeling after them, — 
 or indicates the -path which leads to them. Saints above, 
 and saints below, heaven above, and earth beneath, might 
 well bewail you. if such consequences, such expenses, were 
 hidden from your eyes ; — for, in such a tempting world 
 as this, it would be about the sure way to incur them. Fore- 
 warned, fore-armed, was the old maxim. 
 
 Do you remember how one of the martyrs of old was 
 armed with caution, when before his judges ? None being 
 present to take notes of what he said, he began to express 
 himself freely, perhaps incautiously ; but, hearing the 
 scratching of a pen going on paper behind a curtain, close 
 by, he became reserved and then silent. The sound was 
 disagreeable at first, but it suggested caution, knowing that 
 what was being noted behind the curtain, he was sure to 
 hear from again ; and he was afterwards thankful for the 
 intimation. The sound of that pen agoing, reminded him 
 well, nDt to forget the things which belonged to his peace in 
 
220 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 this world, to say nothing of the next. Hearken ! Do you 
 understand the application ? There is a recording pen be- 
 hind the curtain of time ; it records all your actions, and 
 you shall hear from them again. Is it not written, "For 
 God will bring every work into judgment, with every secret 
 thing, whether it be good or evil" (Eccles. 12: 14); and, 
 in another place, that we must all appear before the judg- 
 ment-seat of Christ, that every one may receive the 
 tilings done in his body, whether they were good or bad ; 
 and again, that every man shall be rewarded according to 
 his works, for the books shall be opened? Know, then, 
 that the pen of eternity is going, that your accounts with 
 your Maker are strictly kept. Think of this, when you are 
 sinning. Think now ; be on your guard. Kemember the 
 martyr, and the sound of the hidden pen. Be reserved, 
 that is, hold yourself in check ; impose restraint upon your 
 thoughts, words, and actions. Be assured the things which 
 belong unto thy peace are involved therein. 
 
 An individual, in a certain place, had a snug little prop- 
 erty, and, of course, had good credit with a neighboring 
 merchant, who was willing to let him have all he wanted, 
 on credit. But, expecting to "foot the bill" incurred 
 there, he was prudent ; he priced the articles, exercised his 
 judgment, and refused much that was offered. He escaped 
 a snare, saved himself from ruin, and remained an honest 
 man. Hearken ! Give this a similar application as the 
 martyr and the pen : thus thou shalt have a glimpse, once 
 more, of the things which belong unto thy peace. God 
 help thee ! 
 
 But hearken again, — and let that thoughtless one, over 
 yonder, give ear. Not far from this man who had the sung 
 little property, there lived something of a rogue, who was 
 not encumbered with property, and boasted of it ; and if he 
 
CHRIST WEEPING OVER JERUSALEM. 221 
 
 had not cash in his purse, he had always brass enough in 
 his face nor did he ever once think that time and personal 
 liberty were property. But, to be short, he ran in debt 
 wherever he could, for he never intended to meet the bill ; 
 and, finding himself " sorely coimered," he enlarged his 
 steps by a sort of near cut to fortune ; was tried for a 
 swindling transaction, and, in a disagreeable cell, he 
 learned to calculate consequences, — "expenses," to use 
 Burns' idea. 
 
 Eternity has its reckonings also. Your sold is your 
 property ; it would bankrupt a world to buy it without a 
 swindle. . The Devil is the neighboring merchant. His 
 goods and his books are open for you ; — excellent credit 
 with him. You may "run tick" "buy upon tick" to 
 any amount; for he has his eye upon your soul, nothing 
 short of your soul. He never trades for less, — so much 
 for the soul in every temptation, otherwise no trade. It is 
 the soul he wants ; all else are but trifles. Arch-fiend I 
 
 Now, if your eyes are open to the things which belong 
 to your peace, you will refuse to u buy on tick" from Satan, 
 and so escape the snare, and save your soul from perdition. 
 You will become "the jjrudent man," mentioned by Solo- 
 mon, who foresaw the evil and did hide himself, while 
 the "simple" sinner, like him over yonder, " passed on" 
 and was punished. — Prov. 22 : 3. Simple enough, to 
 believe the Devil and his own heart, — that he might resist 
 the truth, repel the Holy Spirit, and " run tick " with hell, 
 without consequences. But, as the Devil foresaw that 
 which the simple one refused to foresee, Death made an 
 arrest, closed accounts, drew aside the veil of eternity, and 
 posted him off without ceremony to " foot his bill,'' to pay 
 the reckoning in eternity, — " Damnation of expenses" 
 0, Lord, open the eyes of that young man ! Reveal unto 
 19* 
 
222 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 kim the things which belong unto his peace. Thy servant is 
 trying to do so, but give my humble illustrations of this 
 truth both signijicancy and conscience-awakening power ! 
 
 Behold, then, in these respects the things which belong 
 unto thy peace ; nor think, for a moment, thou canst " sin 
 cheap , without paying dear." Alas, alas ! The archangel 
 Gabriel would fail in computing the eternal expenses, 
 the eternity of costs, which sin incurs ! 
 
 Nay ! stay, poor sinner, and hear me out ! But -if you 
 will not, there are scores and hundreds of sinners present, 
 who will. Look out for Death, when you get out of doors, 
 for he is on full march to meet you : and the Devil, who, 
 according to St. Paul, has " the power of Death " (Heb. 
 2: 14), accompanies him, — that old merchant, that old 
 broker in souls, who has been jewing you out of your soul, 
 — he is at Death' 's heels, and, as St. John tells us, Hell 
 following with him. — Rev. 6:8. 0, woe be to you, if 
 you fall into such hands ! * * * * That is right ; 
 stay and hear me out. A wise man changes his mind, says 
 the old proverb ; a fool never ! Now, then, hear me out ; 
 and may your knees reach the floor before you get out, 
 and with your voice cry for mercy ! It is coming to that, 
 I think ! 
 
 Well, thank God, sinner, if it does come to that, — if 
 matters with you come to that extremity, — I can tell you, 
 beforehand, it will not be in vain. No, indeed ! When 
 has it ever been in vain ? How can it be if Jesus is wait- 
 ing — and he is — to receive you at his feet, a weeping 
 penitent, as you are ? I tell you, plainly, it is coming to 
 that. You cannot remain so long ! What is that which so 
 shakes you, body and soul ? What but the eternal power 
 of God ? What is that which has driven all the blood from 
 your face, and unbidden tears to your eyes ? 0, what but 
 
CHRIST WEEPING OVER JERUSALEM. 228 
 
 the power of Him, whose blood flowed so freely on Calvary 
 for the sins of your soul ! Whence that deep distress which 
 almost forces the cry ? u God be merciful to me a sinner " f 
 0, whence, hut from a portion of that fire, perhaps, which 
 forced Jesus to his knees in the garden ; which prostrated 
 him upon the cold ground with a groan of agony, — so 
 intense as to make him sweat blood, and plenty of it, — 
 the crimson dew at every pore increasing until it fell in 
 great drops to the ground ; it set all his body a weeping 
 tears of blood for you. 0, shrink not, then, if it be so, that 
 a portion of that fire consumes upon your conscience ; that 
 a cry, which God will not refuse to hear, may rise from 
 your soul to heaven ! That tear again ; — never mind it ! it 
 is like John the Baptist, a forerunner of 
 
 " The tears that tell your sins forgiven ! " 
 
 Those quick breathings and sighs and sobs, so rife among 
 the unsaved and the saved in this assembly ; what are they 
 but the forerunner of sighs that shall waft our souls to 
 heaven; and shouts of praise and adoration to him who 
 once rode in triumph, 'midst hosannas, over the hills of 
 Jerusalem, who hath turned our captivity, and sent 
 salvation ? 
 
 5. A few words, in conclusion, to " The hardened 
 penitent,'' 1 and to " One who mourns because he cannot 
 mourn,'' 1 and to " A despairing sinner." 
 
 Difficult cases these, I confess. Indeed, there seems to 
 be a tincture of despair in all three ! Impossible, or im- 
 possibility, seems a hobby word with their despondency. 
 One says, "The impossibility of my salvation lies not so 
 much in my impenitence, as my hardness ; the Spirit, I 
 fear, has been entirely grieved away." A second says, " I 
 know Christ has pronounced the mourner blest ; but am I 
 
224 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 a mourner ? Stupid as an ox — it cannot be ; it is not pos- 
 sible, on Gcspel principles, I can be blessed or saved — no." 
 And, says a third, "His mercy is clean gone forever; he 
 will be gracious to me no more ; I can neither reach mercy, 
 nor can mercy reach me ; there is an impossibility in the 
 way of my being saved." — There ! what a trio of mistaken 
 souls have we here ! And, if it be a fact that they rep- 
 resent numbers of each class, they present a serious barrier 
 against the progress of this work. 
 
 Hearken unto me, all of you, and these impossibles 
 shall disappear before the light of truth, as darkness before 
 the light of day ! — shall vanish, to use the idea of a poet, 
 "like a ghost before the sun ; or, like a doubt before the 
 truth of God ! " They are even noio preparing to vanish 
 away, and may they never return. 
 
 Impossible ! — but who taught you that naughty word ? 
 Not Jesus Christ, I am sure of that; for he says, " All 
 things are j)ossible to him that believeth." If you can 
 but believe, impossibility shall vanish away, like a ghost 
 before the sun ! 
 
 Satan has often tried to introduce that hard, unbecom- 
 ing word among my thoughts, when conflicting with error, 
 hardness, and unbelief, in efforts for a revival of the work 
 of God. But a long time has passed away since my Lord 
 enabled me to give it a bill of divorce ! When this unbelief 
 would seek to reinstate itself into my revival vocabulary, 
 or creed, my soul takes the alarm, and raises a cry to God 
 ugainst it : "Out with it ! " — and out it goes, like Legion, 
 its brother of old. But I do not always effect an insurance 
 that it will not effect an entrance into some poor sinners 
 around me, as Legion into the herd of old, and set them a 
 galloping down the steeps of sin into the sea of perdition. 
 But, having got rid of it myself, my sou 1 girds itself with 
 
CHRIST WEEPING OVER JERUSALEM. 225 
 
 strength, and rushes to the rescue; — succeeds often in driv- 
 ing the fiend back to his own hell, leaving the poor sinners 
 behind as the trophies of salvation ! Jesus let the herd 
 of swine and the devils go to the bottom of the lake to- 
 gether, without a countermand ! But his hand is ever 
 ready to rescue the souls for which he bled and died. 
 
 Impossible ! I have banished it from my door ! — sorry 
 it has stationed itself before yours ; — sorrier still that it 
 has effected a lodgment within. But it may be dislodged 
 if you are willing to have it so. Mark that ! — if you are 
 willing to have it so ! Because, if you are in league with 
 it, then it will bid me defiance. 
 
 Impossible ! naughty word ! There are more devils in it 
 than syllables ! Impossible ! banish it to the hell from 
 whence it came. It belongs to hell. It is the creed of the 
 damned. What have living men to do with it, — men who 
 desire salvation ? Let the damned have it all to them- 
 selves. It belongs to them. It is their right, after a life of 
 sin and unbelief. It belongs to them, — it cannot be other- 
 wise with them, — for 
 
 " In that lone land of deep despair 
 
 No Sabbath's heavenly light shall rise, — 
 No God regard their bitter prayer, 
 No Saviour call them to the skies." 
 
 Not so in your case, O ye prisoners of the Lot d ! You 
 are in the land of hope, surrounded by praying people, and, 
 better than all, — 
 
 " Now God invites ; how blest the day ! 
 
 How sweet the Gospel's charming sound ! 
 Come, sinners, haste, haste away, 
 While yet a pard'ning God is found ' " 
 
 Impossible ! Away with it ! It destroys hope ! — it kills 
 endeavor both in minister and mourner. Away with it 
 
226 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 then ! — Crucify it ! cru :ify it ! for it crucified your Lord 
 and mine. " Impossible ! ' cried the Jews, — " such a per- 
 son as this cannot be our promised Messiah. Away luilh 
 him ! away with him ! Crucify him ! crucify him ! " 
 Ah, that cruel, that obstinate word killed the Prince of 
 life, the Lord of glory ! and it will destroy the whole of 
 you, unless you drive it from you. " Aivay with it ! a tray 
 with it! Crucify it f crucify it I " It will not offend your 
 Lord and mine, if we seize upon this old cannon of the 
 enemy, and turn it against himself, — discharge it in the 
 face of this Impossible, whose name is Legion ! 
 
 Away with it, and turn your ear to St. Paul. Now 
 hearken! " Wherefore he is able to save them to the utter- 
 most that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to 
 make intercession for them." — Heb. 7: 25. Thank God for 
 that word " Uttermost ! " It is the Heaven-appointed antag- 
 onist of old Impossible ! Impossible is, indeed, the great 
 Goliath, that has made your hearts, like those of the men 
 of Israel in the plains o£-Elah of old, " dismayed and 
 greatly afraid." But this " Uttermost " is the stripling 
 David, that has rescued many a lamb out of the mouth of 
 the lion and the bear ; — this David has come into the 
 camp, and Impossible, like Goliath, stalks out with its chal- 
 lenge, defying the mercy and power of God, and despising 
 all his promises in Jesus. Uttermost, with its sling, goes 
 forth to meet this giant, and, pausing at a brook I will tell 
 you of, stoops down and picks up five smooth stones. The 
 brook is found in Heb. 6 : 17 — 20, and warbles along thus, 
 telling its own sweet story, as I have heard many a mean- 
 dering brook, as if relating its history to the shining pebbles in 
 its channel. Hearken ! " Wherein God. willing more abun- 
 dantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability 
 of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath that by two immu- 
 
CHRIST WEEPING OVER JERUSALEM. 227 
 
 table things, in which it was mpossible for God to lie, we 
 might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge 
 to lay hold on the hope set before us : which hope we have 
 as an anchor to the soul, both sure and steadfast, and 
 which entereth into that within the veil ; whither the fore- 
 runner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest 
 forever after the order of MelchisedecP There ! that is the 
 brook, pure, clear, and sweet as the crystal stream, which 
 John saw welling from under the throne of God and of 
 the Lamb. — Rev. 22 : 1. Let our hero, Uttermost, reach 
 down into this stream, and four out of the five stones are 
 found, before which Satan's Impossible cannot stand. 
 
 1. The first stone is named Immutability; — " the 
 immutability of his counsel; " — the composition of which 
 is, " tivo immutable things," — the promise and the oath 
 of God. Shout, ye sons of the morning ! Ye men of Israel, 
 on this our Elah's mountain side, shout ! Away with your 
 fears, ye despairing ones ! — here is a stone of victory, — 
 like the prophetic stone of the prophet Zechariah, which 
 had " seven eyes," to see the truth, — to see error, — to see 
 the enemy on all sides, ready for the advantage in every 
 difficulty, in every emergency. This immutability against 
 any impossibility Satan can bring into the field, any day 
 the Lord our God has made ! It is as firm and unchangeable 
 as the hills ; but the Devil's impossibles in matters of salva- 
 tion are changeable as the moon, — losing their imp-like 
 heads, when Jesus enters the field with his " save-to-the- 
 uttermost," quicker than those changing profiles we saw 
 the other day among the drifting clouds of heaven ! 
 
 2. Look for the second stone, which bears the inscription, 
 " Impossible ; " — the whole composition of which is, "it 
 ivas impossible for God to lie ! " And now let Satan and 
 all his impossibles fall back before this stone, the constitu- 
 
228 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 tion of which is, the veracity of God! The mountain 
 adamant is not firmer in texture than this ! Ay, this 
 impossible against all the impossibles hell has ever issued ! 
 
 3. The third stone for the sling of God's uttermost, we 
 may call Consolation ; the quality of which is " strong con- 
 solation. 1 '' What a heart-comforting, heart-enlivening, 
 heart-strengthening quality is this ! It inspires confidence ; 
 it excludes doubt ; it affords the most powerful argument to 
 believe. But what a lieart-breaker to that satanic impos- 
 sibility ! 
 
 4. The fourth stone is Hope ; — " lay hold on the hope 
 set before us," — the hope of present and eternal salva- 
 tion, which the promise and oath of God secure to those 
 who have fled believingly to Christ for refuge. 0, what 
 a stone of succor is this ! — large enough to be the death 
 of that fearful Goliath, Impossible, and its monument be- 
 side. Large enough, at all events, to be as an anchor to 
 the soul, both sure and steadfast, — sure and safe, ye 
 despairing sinners ! for its anchor-hold is fast in the promise 
 and the oath of God, in Christ Jesus our Lord. 
 
 5. But where shall we find the fifth stone ? Close by, 
 in a tributary stream, which comes purling along from 
 Romans 5 : 1. Behold, there it is, shining like a diamond! 
 Faith is its inscription; its substance is, " Therefore, 
 being justified by faith, we have peace with God, through 
 our Lord Jesus Christ." Hearken, ye despairing ones ! 
 for these are the things which belong to your peace. Heark- 
 en, did I say? nay, hut follow on after the Lord's Save- 
 to-the-uttermost, for by this stone shall victory be given. 
 Impossibility shall fall before it, as Goliath of old before 
 that Heaven-directed stone from the sling of David. Be- 
 hold, it is to be " justified by faith ! " and if by faith, sal- 
 vation is no more of works ; and if by faith, why not now ? 
 
CHRIST WEEPING OVER JERUSALEM. 229 
 
 Now, then, is the hour, the moment of salvation. Where 
 is that Goliath Impossibility ? Fallen ! — has measured 
 his length on Immanuel's ground ! Now, then, Save-to- 
 the-uttermost, mount his carcass, and off with that imp- 
 like head! Here is a sword to do it ! " The things 
 which are impossible to men, are possible to God." 
 — Luke 18: 27. And there is a spear, — raise the sev- 
 ered head on that before all Israel ; — this is the spear : ' l All 
 things are possible to him that believeth." — Mark 9 : 23. 
 Shout, je men of Israel, shout ! Rejoice, ye despairing 
 sinners, rejoice ! Arise ! pursue the Philistine host of 
 doubts and fears, until not one survives. They are routed 
 and fly before you ! — now is the day of salvation ! 
 
 Hallelujah! u Justified by faith." 0, what a power 
 is that ! — the little stone, cut out of the mountain without 
 hands, that smote the image Impossible, which was so 
 great and terrible ! — for it was only an image with the 
 Devil in it, — that was what made it so terrible. But it is 
 demolished now, and the day, the victory is ours. 
 
 0, bless God, ye hitherto despairing ones, for this save- 
 unto-t he-uttermost, and for the jive smooth stones of the 
 brook ! That especially, " Therefore, being justified by 
 jaith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus 
 Christ." And now, establish yourselves in Christ. Heark- 
 en ! If you have been only cheered thus far with the bright- 
 ening prospect of salvation, for Christ's sake, for your soul's 
 sake, stand no longer there. Come on quickly, and be 
 saved. The prince of the power of the air is ready to 
 start up other images of terror ; rapidly as the winds can 
 roll the clouds along, and throng the sky with images, so 
 can he crowd the sky of your souls with images of terror 
 or of sorrow, as unsubstantial as they ! 
 
 Hearken unto me ! Open wide the eyes of your under- 
 20 
 
230 SHOWERS OF BLESSING 
 
 standing, that you may see clearly, in this your day, the 
 things which belong unto your peace. 
 
 It is not enough to believe that Christ died for you ; — « 
 that alone cannot save you. Depend wholly upon Christ. 
 Depend only upon his merits and death. Set nothing else 
 before your eyes but Jesus Christ bleeding and dying for 
 your sins. And, when you have gazed long enough upon 
 that, sufficient to inspire a conscious reliance upon your 
 part, then look up, and behold a living, reigning, inter- 
 ceding Jesus, at the right hand of God, — interceding for 
 you, as your merciful high priest, — exalted, also, to be 
 " a prince and a Saviour." Rely wholly upon his media- 
 tions there, and the joy and gladness of a reigning Saviour 
 will soon fill your every soul. 
 
 Do you understand me? Do you all understand me? 
 Away with every plea or support besides; weep, jrray, 
 agonize as much as you please ; but you cannot be saved 
 unless you depend entirely upon Christ. A soul undone by 
 sin has only Christ to rest upon ; He is the rock, and, to 
 borrow an idea of Young, all is sea besides, sinks under 
 him, — bestorms, and then devours ; but, depending only on 
 Christ, he defies all else, and rejofces in the full assurance 
 of a present salvation ! 
 
CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 CHRIST WEEPING OVER JERUSALEM A SERMON. 
 
 * ! And when he was come near, he beheld the city a?id wept over it, say- 
 ing, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things 
 which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hidden from thine eyes." 
 — Luke 19: 41, 42. 
 
 1. I like this text, because it shows forth so convinc- 
 ingly the benevolence and compassion of our Saviour ; his 
 sympathy for poor, deluded, rebellious sinners, — a gushing 
 sympathy unexampled in the history of our world. 
 
 I like it, because it so well defines, so clearly intimates 
 the economy of God, as regards the free-agency of sin- 
 ners. I like to think of it after the manner of one who 
 said : " Pitiable, indeed, must be the state of that mind 
 which can find itself at ease to debate a question of meta- 
 physical divinity in the presence of the Redeemer's tears. 
 Yet, there are men whose creed has no place even for his 
 sacred grief; who are actually annoyed at these tears wept 
 over perishing sinners, as at heterodox variance with the 
 divine decrees ; who frown at this precious distilment of 
 infinite love as inconsistent with their views of divine inflex- 
 ibility. There are those who would rather these tears had 
 never been shed, or that the record of this burst of divine 
 compassion should be expunged from the sacred page, than 
 that it should remain as an obstacle to their logical views 
 of the divine purposes. But we linger over it with delight j 
 
232 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 we love to remain within the softening influence, the hal 
 lowed contagion, of the Redeemer's tears." 0, I do love 
 thus to linger within this softening influence, — this hal- 
 lowed contagion of our Redeemer's sympathy and tears, — 
 may it be contagious to us all ! 
 
 I like the text for another reason : it so well expresses 
 the feelings of many in this audience, for poor, erring sin- 
 ners. There is not a sentence or word therein in which the 
 heart of Jesus may not be read ; and there is not a word or 
 sentence in it in which the wilful sinner may not read the 
 emotions of our hearts: " If thou hadst known, even 
 thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong 
 unto thy jieace ! but now they are hidden from thine 
 eyesP 0, for those interruptions of tears, and sobs, which 
 accompanied these utterances by our Saviour ! But let us 
 proceed. 
 
 2. It must be plain to most of you, by this time, that 
 "the stranger" has not been trying to sustain a reputa- 
 tion for what is usually termed sermonizing ; constructing 
 his discourses after some generally approved model, in a 
 tasteful and elegant manner ; that he has not been preach- 
 ing as if his credit, as a preacher, were at stake, and that 
 must be preserved, whether sinners are saved or damned. 
 No ; this sort of thing is of but very small account with 
 him, if so be sinners are converted to God. Nor was it of 
 much account to the apostles of Jesus Christ, if we may 
 judge of their sermons by the specimens on record. 
 
 3. Christ has my heart. It is full of love to him, 
 and to the souls for whom he bled and died. This love is 
 usually general, extended to all classes of sinners. Then 
 my style of preaching is general, and my affections and 
 sympathies, like the sea, spread themselves as a tide along 
 all the general shores of mind. But individual minds 
 
CHRIST WEEPING OVER JERUSALEM. 233 
 
 arrest my love, my sympathies, my zeal ; then my style 
 individualizes itself, so to speak, and concentrates upon 
 them love, sympathy, zeal, like the loaves which come with 
 the insetting tide, dashing, lashing, and overflowing those 
 outstanding rocks, until they become quite submerged; 
 and then the waves have free course over them, and spread 
 themselves far and wide along the sounding shore. 
 
 4. And was it not thus with the preaching of our Lord ? 
 He addressed the people by thousands ; and his promises 
 and threatenings rolled over the general mass, as the sun- 
 shine or the thunder over the population of a city. Never- 
 theless, he had a word for the leper, for blind Bartimeus\ 
 for weeping Mary, a message for Zaccheus, a reply for 
 the Syrophenician woman, a conversation with Nicodemus, 
 a walk with Jairus, a word for the young Ruler, for Peter, 
 for the Demoniac, and even for Judas ; and a lamentation 
 and tears for Jerusalem, although there were many other 
 persons, villages, and cities, which needed his sympathies. 
 But how the pronouns spoke for the individualizing of his 
 sympathies, and for Jerusalem in the lamentation in our text ! 
 ' ' If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, 
 the things which belong to thy peace ! but now they are 
 hid from thine eyes." And all this interrupted with sighs, 
 and sobs, and tears ; for he saw its approaching desola- 
 tions, and its impending ruin ; the desolation and utter ruin 
 of its population also. " The chosen ignorance, and obsti- 
 VTte perversencss v of its sinful people, and their impend- 
 ing doom, ivrung his heart, and flooded his cheeks with 
 tears ! 
 
 5. Have you seen nothing of this among us, of late ? — 
 our burdened souls weeping for, and pleading with and for 
 sinful men, who are doomed to hell, and yet may repent 
 and be saved. Thus it has been, system or no system, 
 
 20* 
 
234 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 order or disorder. — our emotions carrying us over all 
 things, straight to the mark, the heart and conscience of 
 poor sinners ! 
 
 6. Individual cases, you have noticed, strongly attract 
 me in the pulpit. I cannot help it. A knowledge of the 
 facts of a case, or the sight of my eyes, awakens my emo- 
 tions, and carries away my feelings ; as it would be with 
 you to save a drowning man. 
 
 Nor do I regret this, though there is a cross in it ; — it 
 is called an eccentricity by some, and a weakness by others, 
 and low and undigjiified by many. Yet it may be the 
 Lord's order, therefore no eccentricity ; it requires both 
 strength and courage, therefore it is no weakness ; and it 
 has for its object the high and noble aim to save a soul/)wn 
 death, — to comfort the tempted and the desponding, — and 
 to rescue the penitent sinner from the cruel fangs of a 
 devouring despair; therefore it is neither low nor undig- 
 nified. I give way to duty, to fact, or impression, and 
 leave my repidation where I leave my soid, in the hands 
 of Christ. And, if individual cases awaken my sympa- 
 thies more intensely than do the general mass of my hear- 
 ers, I have another consolation, — that the sad case of Jeru- 
 salem affected my Lord more deeply, in that weeping, lament- 
 ing hour upon one of her hills, than the case of all the other 
 cities and villages of Israel put together. 
 
 7. A moving jjanorama has been before you since my 
 arrival ; in which have been delineated many startling 
 things, — u true to the life," and you know it; — and 
 among them have been the things which belong to your 
 peace ; — the sight thereof has moved you to tears and 
 earnest cries ; — has moved me also ; — has brought hun- 
 dreds of you to your knees, with cries for mercy, which 
 have not been in vain. 
 
CHRIST WEEPING OVER JERUSALEM. 235 
 
 But the scenes must be continued ; — the panorama of 
 it nth must move on; — the canvas of the future must 
 continue unrolling. There is still a sound, as in the prophet 
 Elijah's day, " a sound of abundance of rain." The 
 Lord's sign unto David, when going against the Philis- 
 tines, is vouchsafed, after a manner, to us, — "the sound 
 of a going forth in the tops of the mulberry trees," and 
 in a particular direction ; so we must bestir ourselves. 
 We have no time to lose. Help me by your prayers. 
 
 I. Let "One who is willing, any day, to oppose the 
 pleasures of sense to the glooms of religion, " give 
 ear ! 
 
 The glooms of religion ! Who gave you that information ? 
 glooms ! Satan's libels, perhaps ! He likes to libel Religion. 
 Don't you know it? — to give men caricature representa- 
 tions of it, as one said to me in Holland. Think of that ! 
 
 But what do you mean by "the pleasures of sense?" 
 Anything better than a polite way of expressing the pleas- 
 ures of sin ? Otherwise, the Christian has as good a right to 
 them as yourself, and, perhaps, partakes of them as 
 largely ; — for I believe with the poet, 
 
 " Religion never was designed 
 To make our pleasures less." 
 
 No, indeed ! — innocent pleasures, — pleasures that can 
 be taken with a good conscience. 
 
 If you mean the pleasures of sin, why, you and I must 
 close (to use a term of wrestlers), and grapple for the 
 right! Suppose, then, such and such habits are pleasur- 
 able, as doubtless they are to you, because suitable to the 
 taste of your carnal nature : what then ? do they cost you 
 nothing ? Is there not considerable expense attending them? 
 
236 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 But that is nothing, I suppose, if pleasure is the remuner- 
 ation ! 
 
 Hearken ! Has conscience nothing to say ? — never 
 rates y du alone by yourself? — never imposes any tax upon 
 your enjoyments ? — never intimates eternity ? — nothing 
 of accountability after death? — never urges you to count 
 the cost ? Never stopped to count the cost ? — never paid 
 any tax to the feeling within of accountability to your 
 Maker, after death ? Think ! That feeling or principle 
 is as certainly a part of your nature as your liver, or the 
 lungs in your body. Nay, do not turn away ! Look this 
 question fully in the face ! It is your interest to do so. 
 Has it never caused conscience to recoil upon you ? Have 
 you never seriously reckoned with it ? Know you not that 
 these pleasures incur a bill of expenses which must be met 
 in eternity? You may "run tick" here, but you must 
 11 foot the bill " there, — that is, pay costs. — and costs in 
 eternity are painful costs, and eternal in duration ; — for 
 we believe, with the primitive church, that none suffer in 
 eternity but those who suffer eternally ! 
 
 The costs, sir ! the costs ! We cannot allow you to 
 oppose " the pleasures of sense," to " the glooms of relig- 
 ion," without opposing the eternal expenses, — the u eternal 
 consequences.'' 1 Or, as Burns has it, to whom we referred 
 the other night, 
 
 " Damnation of expenses ! " 
 
 There are some hotels where the tables are spread luxu- 
 riantly, and the accommodations very fine, but the reck- 
 oning is heavy ! Now, Satan caters well for his guests ; 
 but the reckoning ! — " Ay ! there 'a the rub ! " — the 
 reckoning i — the reckoning time! — by which we mean, 
 eternity ! The expe?ises ! the expenses ! the expenses f 
 
CHRIST WEEPING OVER JERUSALEM. 237 
 
 0, may the word wing its way to your heart, and to every 
 heart in this vast assembly ! Keep your seat, sinner, and 
 hear me out. It will not cost you near so much as to be 
 forced to " a hearing" in eternity, — in hell, where you 
 will want to tell all the damned, it may be, how you came 
 to be damned ; for I believe with a minister of the Church 
 of England, who told a London congregation, some time 
 since, that in hell sin is its own biographer ; — that there, 
 too, thought, on the wings of memory, is searching forever 
 throughout past life, and comparing the penalty with the 
 sins which caused it ! He closed upon the sinner, in an 
 awful appeal, — to behold and consider how sweet a repast 
 he was providing for himself in eternity. 
 
 Sinner, hear me ! Sin is a dear morsel : and the man 
 who would envy you its pleasures is a fool. u Gold may 
 be bought too dear" was one of the lessons in our school- 
 book ; — and may we not say the same of your boasted 
 pleasures ? Would you not say the same, were you to speak 
 right out, this moment, the sentiments of your heart ? Tc 
 be sure you would ! 
 
 Allow a question. Saw you that account of a soldier 
 who was tried by court-martial in a certain country, and 
 was sentenced to death, for the crime of violating a pro- 
 hibition issued to the army in occupation of the country, 
 that the property of the citizens should be sacred and unmo- 
 lested ? This soldier entered a vineyard, and, when in the 
 act of stealing grapes, was caught, and tried instantly, and 
 condemned to be shot. When led out to the fatal spot 
 wheF* he was to die, he was observed carelessly eating the 
 grapes he had pilfered. One of his comrades, deeply affected, 
 and shocked besides, at his conduct, stepped up to him, and 
 said, " Comrade, what do you mean? Why eat those 
 grapes at such a time as this? " The poor fellow instantly 
 
238 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 repliel, " My friend, do not envy me my grapes, for 1 shall 
 pay d3arly for them : — / lose my life for them" Heark- 
 en ! Do you anticipate the application ? 
 
 Consider .' What are the pleasures of which you are so 
 enamored ? What are they ? Have they not been 'prohib- 
 ited by Him to whom you are accountable? What says 
 conscience? What speaks that Bible? — I mean the Bible 
 you carry in your breast ! — there is a Bible within.- What 
 saith it? What is its leading and most prominent text? 
 What but this: u Accountability after death" Is it not 
 so ? Is it altogether silent ? Or have you succeeded in 
 keeping it closed, as many do the visible Bible ? Or have 
 you banished it altogether from your breast, as some have 
 the Bible from their houses ? What say you? I doubt it. 
 
 But suppose you have; and you are a downright infi- 
 del: what then? Has it not left its main text behind, 
 "Accountability to God after death?"' Is it not so? 
 Has it not become an unowned creed, — the creed of your 
 heart, though vou will not own it? Has it not made an 
 impression upon your soul, that you cannot erase ? May we 
 not say of that impression, what a divine in Switzerland 
 said of conscience, — that conscience is nothing more nor 
 less than the indelible imprint of the hand of God upon the 
 soul ? The depravity of man has torn that hand from off the 
 soul ; but, on its removal, it left an impression behind it. 
 which has resolved itself into a conscience ! A fine remark 
 that ! 
 
 Let me still inquire after the original text of your na- 
 ture, — or Nature's Bible, — u Accountability after death'' 
 What has become of it ? Have you denied its truthfulness ? 
 — silenced its intimations? — torn it from off your heart? 
 Have you? With what results? Are you bettered at all ? 
 Has it nDt left an imprint behind, as troublesome as your 
 
CHRIST WEEPING OVER JERUSALEM. 239 
 
 original creed? — an impression of coming and terrible 
 •perdition, as a consequence of what you esteem ' ' the pleas- 
 ures of sense ; " — ■ and the impression thereof as certain, — 
 man, know thyself I — as certain as the impression of 
 coining death, left by that court-martial sentence upon 
 that soldier's mind, — which he felt all the while he was 
 eating those stolen grapes on the way to the place of execu- 
 tion, where, poor fellow, he gathered up a dozen rifle-balls 
 into his heart ! 
 
 Would to God, you were as candid with 2is, and with 
 your fellow-sinners, as that condemned soldier ! — " My 
 friend, do not envy me my grapes, for I shall pay dearly 
 for them; I lose my life for them." — "My friends, do 
 not envy me my pleasures, for I shall pay dearly for them ; 
 I" lose my soul for them." Be candid, then, be candid ! 
 The leper of old was obliged to give warning to persons 
 approaching, lest they might be smitten with his leprosy. 
 " Unclean ! Unclean ! Unclean ! " was his cry of warn- 
 ing. Do you understand me ? 
 
 Another question : how does a life of godliness, with 
 all its imagined " glooms" compare with such a life as you 
 are leading? — inward life, as well as outivard? What 
 think you? Think! for God's sake, — for your souVs 
 sake, think ! — think, ere it be too late ! Think, when and 
 where thinking may do you good. In hell there is think- 
 ing plenty ; but it does them no good, — it only aggravates 
 their sorrows, — it only accents and enhances their misery ! 
 This is all I have to say to you, and through you to the 
 class to which you belong. Therein you have beheld some 
 of the things which belong unto your peace. Consider 
 them well ; and may God grant you repentance unto life. 
 
 II. The attention of " An una wakened sinner" is 
 now requested. 
 
240 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 " ' Unawakemd" — what are we to understand by that f 
 Dr. Scott defines it to be, "not roused from spiritual 
 slumber or stupidity." Sad state, if your peril be what 
 the Scriptures represent it to be. Strange state, under 
 present circumstances, when there is so much to awaken, 
 and so many awakened, and such tokens of a general awak- 
 ening, — so much noise and stir of the tmdy awakened ; — 
 greater, I imagine, than that which drew the attention of 
 the blind beggar on Jericho's highway-side ! — which 
 awakened his shrill cry, ' c Jesus, thou son of David, have 
 mercy on me ! " He was awake then, however fast asleep 
 he had been before ! 
 
 Well, w T hen you are thoroughly aiuakened, should that 
 ever take place in this world, and God grant that it may, 
 your cry may be somewhat similar, and as loud! — ay, 
 loud as the cries for mercy which saluted your ears last 
 night ; — unless it may happen that you awaken not until 
 the gates of eternity are just opening to receive you ! Then, 
 alas ! you may be too weak to make much noise ; but your 
 misery and terror may be none the less. May you be 
 awakened to see the things which belong to your peace, 
 before that extremity arrives. 
 
 Hearken unto me, and consider whether it is not strange 
 that you remain "unawakened" that is, in a state of spirit- 
 ual sleep, or profound indifference, regarding your soul. 
 
 Think a little ! Holy Spirit, help this eternity-bound 
 sinner to think a little ! My prayer is heard ! It shall be 
 so. I have faith you shall be awakened this night, whether 
 you will or no. Jesus will plead in heaven for you, and 
 the Holy Ghost will speak in your conscience, while my 
 poor voice rings through all the chambers of your soul, as 
 surely as it now rings through every corner and turn of this 
 crowded house of God. 
 
CHRIST WEEPING OVER JERUSALEM. 241 
 
 What shall I say ? — Spirit of God, help me ! — Say ! 
 What words more fit than those employed by one who is 
 now in the eternal world ? — and the sinner, in whose ear 
 they reverberated, is in the world of spirits also. 
 
 Hear the words. Let them sink deep into thy heart. 
 They were after this manner : " Think ! does a sleepy soul 
 beseem your dangerous condition ? Can you sleep with 
 such a load of sin upon your soul ? Can you sleep under 
 the thundering threatenings of God ? — under the curse 
 of his law ? — with so many wounds in your conscience, 
 and ulcers in your soul ? — with the crawling vipers of sin 
 in your nature ? If thorns, toads, and adders, were in 
 your bed, would they not keep you waking? But how 
 much more odious and dangerous a thing is sin ! If you 
 had a sick body, sick as Job, could you sleep ? An aching 
 tooth can keep you awake ; and is not the guilt of sin more 
 grievous ? If your body wants meat, or drink, or covering, 
 that will break your sleep. Is it nothing, then, that your 
 soul is destitute of grace ? A condemned man will be 
 easily kept awake ; but you, being unregenerate, are con- 
 demned already ; and yet you sleep ; you sleep in irons ; 
 in the captivity of the devil ; among the walking judg- 
 ments of God; in a life that is still expecting an end; 
 in a boat that is swiftly carried to eternity ; just at the 
 entrance of another world, and that world hell ; ay, hell 
 it will be, unless grace awake you out of that hell-inspired 
 sleep ! Going to see the face of God, the face of angels, 
 or the face of devils, and asleep ! To be with one or other 
 for ever and ever, and asleep ! " 
 
 What think you of such questions ? How strange a 
 
 thing, then, that you can remain asleep in sin ! Where has 
 
 Satan found a pillow soft enough, or so charmed, as to 
 
 maintain sleep under such circumstances ? God himself 
 
 21 
 
242 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 standing over you ; angels watching you; devils waiting 
 upon you ; bell moving from beneath, with its flames, to 
 receive and engulph you ! 
 
 Well might one say, ' ( As wisely might you sleep on the 
 pinnacle of a steeple in a storm, as be spiritually asleep 
 in such a dangerous position as this. But, if you are 
 asleep," he added, " your spiritual enemies are not asleep; 
 — you are asleep in the thickest of your foes ! — asleep, 
 and the devil rocking your cradle ! " And for what pur- 
 pose ? To keep you asleep until your eternal interests are 
 all ruined ; till, like Judas, you grow into a devil, and then, 
 by permission of Heaven, drive you hence among devils ! 
 
 Asleep ! 0, Christ awaken you ! May the Holy Ghost 
 awaken you now ! Asleep, like those with the oil-less 
 lamps, mentioned in Matt. 25 : 5. Awake, sinful soul, 
 awake, and Christ shall give thee light I — Ephes. 5: 14. 
 Awake ! arise from the sleeping and the dead in sin, that 
 you perish not, nor awake in hell, where they have never 
 any more rest, nor sleep, throughout eternity ! 
 
 Be assured, these are the very things which belong unto 
 thy peace. 0, that I could get nearer unto you ! Be it so 
 that you weep not when we weep : Jerusalem wept not 
 when Jesus xeept ; yet, for all that, he wept on, and be- 
 wailed its coming desolations. Jerusalem had no wish but 
 that Jesus might be crucified and die ; yet, for all that, he 
 could exclaim, "If thou hadst known, even thou, at 
 least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy 
 -peace ! but now they are hid from thine eyes" 
 
 III. A few words to another, whom I shall name " A 
 Presitmer" — that is, one who ventures his soul upon a 
 false ground of confidence, — the mercy of God, but liv- 
 ing at the same time in wilful rebellion against him ! — 
 who makes the plea of Christ' s dying, a reason for his 
 
CHRIST WEEPING OVER JERUSALEM. 243 
 
 sinning, — God's forbearance a motive for his impeni- 
 tence; — the exact brother of him, of whom it was said, a 
 long while ago, that, spider-like, he sucked poison out of 
 the sweet flower of God's mercy, — and boldly plucked 
 death from the tree of life, and through presumption went 
 to hell ; — yes ! went down to hell by the same ladder of 
 Chrisfs blood, by which the saints of God ascend into 
 heaven, and by which many a penitent sinner here ascends 
 out of the horrible pit and miry clay up into the light of 
 day, and the sunshine of God's reconciled countenance ! 
 Alas ! unfortunate man, he reversed the ladder, and stepped 
 down by it into the pit that is bottomless, — for, he made 
 the plea of Christ's dying, the cause of his perishing. St. 
 Paul hints that " the goodness of God" should " lead us 
 to repentance" Alas, it only led him to presumption ! 
 The man hoped himself to hell, and was damned by 
 mistake ! 
 
 Hearken ! Are you going to hell in the same way ? 
 Must one more be added to hell's wallers, and that one 
 yourself? 
 
 Man ! listen to me ! Nearly two hundred years ago 
 one of your English divines appealed to a certain sinner 
 thus: "Verily, if sin had not turned the ungodly part of 
 the world into a bedlam, where it is no wonder to see a man 
 out of his wits, people would run out in wonder into the 
 streets, and call to one another, ' Come, and see a man that 
 can trifle and sport away his time as he is going to eternity, 
 and is ready to enter another world ! Come, and see a man 
 that hath but a few days to win or lose his soul forever in, 
 and is playing it away at cards or dice, or wasting it in 
 doing nothing ! Come, and see a man that hath hours to 
 spare upon trifles, with heaven and hell before his eyes ! ' " 
 
244 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 Did you hear all that ? Do you perceive how apptlicable it 
 is to yourself? 
 
 Hear what a divine in France said to one of your breth- 
 ren : " Can you deny that God has borne with you ? — that 
 you have deserved 'punishment ? — that he has forborne 
 to punish you ? No, you cannot ! And why has he not ? 
 Is it because he connives at sin ? No ; for he detests and 
 hates it, and opposes it everywhere. Is it because he is 
 ignorant of your vices ? No ; for his eyes pierce the inner- 
 most recesses of your soul. Point me to the most secret 
 stai?i of your life, — did that elude his inspection ? Nay, 
 verily ! no more than any other of your manifold transgres- 
 sions. Why, then, does God bear with you ? Not, surely, 
 for want of power to punish. No, no ! He holds the 
 thunders in his right hand, the foiled lightnings in his 
 grasp ; at his command hell opens, and the fallen angels 
 wait his permission to carry thy soul to his abodes." What 
 says your conscience to all this ? Can you deny ? Dare 
 you treat it with contempt ? 
 
 But that French divine could have well afforded to go 
 further. If God has forborne to do this and that, is it not 
 because you have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus 
 Christ, the righteous ? The residt has been all that you 
 have experienced of the long-suffering and forbearance of 
 God, — not "slackness " sir ! St. Peter spurns that insin- 
 uation, and hurls the word back upon those that forged it, 
 with these words appended: " — the Lord is long-suffer- 
 ing, not willing any should perish, but that all should 
 come to repentance.' 1 '' — 2 Peter 3 : 9. There ! you have 
 the secret why you are out of hell It is a reprieve you 
 have had ; but if you suppose a reprieve is a pardon, you 
 }nd your reason have dissolved partnership ! 
 
 Hearken, and consider, I beseech you ! Mark that word 
 
CHRIST WEEPING OVER JERUSALEM. 245 
 
 M repentance" in the last Scripture quoted; for in that 
 word is comprised much of those things which belong unto 
 your 'peace. 
 
 Butj alas ! if now, in this your day of grace, those 
 things are hidden from your eyes, as from Jerusalem sin- 
 ners of old, what more can we do, than, like Jesus on the 
 Mount of Olives, weep over you, and beivail your coming 
 miseries, and say, "If thou hadst known, even thou, at 
 least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy 
 peace ! but now they are hidden from thine eyes " ? Let 
 us pray. 
 
 21* 
 
CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 CHRIST WEEPING OYER JERUSALEM — A SERMON. 
 
 '* And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, 
 laying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things 
 which belong unto thy peace ! but now they are hid from thine eyes." — 
 Luke 19 : 41, 42. 
 
 1. " And when he was come near, he beheld the city. 
 and wept over it ; " — as I should, when drawing near to a 
 certain sinner in this audience, who names himself " One 
 of the filially impenitent, without trembling.'''' Ah ! if he 
 can so consider himself, without trembling, it would ill 
 become me, I think, to consider his deplorable case without 
 weeping. What does my audience think ? 
 
 2. Allow me one observation just here. It is this : 
 my remarks, my appeals, my cries, my exhortations, my 
 expostulations, perhaps my tears, in behalf of that impeni- 
 tent one, this night, will apply more or less to every im- 
 penitent sinner in this audience ; — because, dying as 
 you are, you will just meet as speedy and as sure a damna- 
 tion, whether you tremble or not. Every soul of you, 
 therefore, is interested and involved in what I am going to 
 say ; — just as every city and village in Israel was involved 
 in this lamentation, and those tears of Jesus, which accom- 
 panied his prediction of the overthrow of Jerusalem. 
 
 Hearken unto me, therefore, every one of you, while I 
 address that sinner in your mi 1st. 
 
CHRIST WEEPING OVER JERUSALEM. 247 
 
 3. So, then, you are " One of the finally impenitent, 
 without trembling." And do you glory in that dreadful 
 fact, if it be a fact? Is it a matter to be " laughed at," 
 or worthy of self-congratulation ? Is it a good reason why 
 you should trifle w : th those who are weeping over their own 
 wretched state, or with those who would weep over your 
 coming miseries, so as to make them your jest and your 
 byword? If you have sinned away the grace of God, have 
 you sinned away your sense and reason also ? — doffed the 
 man, and, like Judas, become a devil, while still an inhab- 
 itant of the body ? God forbid ! 
 
 Had you been present the other night, and witnessed a 
 man delirious mth fever, on the brink of death, surrounded 
 by weeping friends, and he laughing at them, and calling 
 them " a parcel of fools," and boasting he was as well and 
 as safe as any of them, — would you not have pitied him? 
 w r ould you have wondered that the tears of his friends poured 
 down their cheeks like rain? The application is so plain, 
 no further remarks are necessary. 
 
 4. And you can believe yourself " One of the finally 
 impenitent, without trembling ; " — so, you have a sturdier 
 intellect than devils, for it is said in the Scriptures, " The 
 devils also believe and tremble" — James 2:19. But 
 why do they tremble ? Because they believe. What do 
 they believe ? All that the Scriptures speak about hell and 
 the day of judgment. Why do they believe? Because they 
 sec and feel that God is already fulfilling his threatenings 
 upon the damned in hell ; — and, from this fact, they infer, 
 they believe that the other threatenings shall yet have as 
 exact a fulfilment, and they tremble. 
 
 Are you wiser than devils ? Well, well, they tremble 
 now, because they both see and feel ; but your trembling 
 tima is to come, When you shall see and/ee/ what they do, 
 
248 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 you shall tremble also. Would it not be wiser in you to 
 tremble now ? But how can you, if the things which 
 belong unto your peace are hidden from your eyes? 0, 
 that you may both see and feel and tremble, before you leave 
 this temple of our God ! 
 
 5. 0, that power from on high may be given me in this 
 hour to apply the steel of my text to your conscience, if yet 
 it be not too late ! — " And when he was come near, he 
 beheld the city, and wept over it, saying, If thou hadst 
 known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which 
 belong unto thy peace ! but now they are hid from thine 
 eyes." I was once struck with the remark of one on this 
 text ; he said it was a wish, containing several peculiar darts. 
 1st. Thou hast known. 2d. Thou mightest know now, if 
 thou wouldst. 3d. Thou dost not know. Or, thus : 1st. 
 Thou hast had a day of grace. 2d. The day of grace has 
 not yet ended in night. 3d. Thou hast not improved the 
 day of grace. 4th. But thou mightest have improved it ; 
 — there was nothing to hinder thee from improving it, — 
 no u?icha?igeable decree to prevent thee ; — it has not been 
 thy fate but thy folly that has prevented. 5th. But soon it 
 will be forever too late ; — the hour is nigh at hand when 
 thy day of grace shall be turned into night ; — the measure 
 of thy iniquity being nearly full ; — what more ? — he burst 
 into a flood of tears, and wept over the infatuated city. 
 
 Allow a question : could you honestly deny the applica- 
 bility of some of these " darts " to yourself? 
 
 6. And yet another question. It is this : whether the 
 sinners of Jerusalem were not in that fearful hour approach- 
 ing the crisis of some terrible sin ? — not so much in the 
 crucifixion of him who was now ivecping over them ; no ; 
 but against the Holy Ghost, and his closing influences. 
 This is an important question, just here, and has a close 
 
CHRIST WEEPING OVER JERUSALEM. 249 
 
 application to the person I am addressing. Hearken to 
 that awful declaration of Him whom you aow behold weep- 
 ing over Jerusalem ; — hearken ! 0, that you might 
 believe, and weep, and tremble! — " Verily, I say unto you, 
 All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto 
 men; but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall 
 not be forgiven unto men. And lohosoever speaketh a 
 word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him; 
 but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall 
 not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the 
 world to corned - - A terrible denunciation, and most 
 solemnly commented upon thus, by a late writer. Hearken 
 to him ! " What form of denunciation can be conceived 
 more calculated than this to warn the trifler that he is on 
 holy ground, and to bespeak for the whole doctrine of 
 divine influence the reverence of a prostrate soul? The 
 sin denounced is, probably, the rejection of the last and 
 greatest evidence of the Messiahship of Christ — the 
 dispensation of the Spirit. Up to that point of unbelief, 
 the Jews were within the reach of forgiveness. Their blas- 
 phemy against Christ, — their rejection of all the evidence 
 arising from his character, his miracles, the testimony of 
 John, and the distinct fulfilment in him of numerous prophe- 
 cies, — even the act of nailing him to the cross, — all this 
 did not consummate their guilt, and render their condition 
 hopeless. It was, indeed, approaching as near to the edge 
 of the precipice as possible, without actually filling over. 
 It was closing their eyes against evidence which ought to 
 have convinced them that Christ was the Messiah ; but still 
 there was further evidence to be submitted to them, and 
 evidence of a superior kind. The miraculous dispensation 
 of the Holy Spirit, attesting, as it would, his resurrection 
 from the dead, ani his exaltation zt the right hand of God, 
 
250 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 and bringing, as it would, tne right arm of Omnipotence 
 visibly to certify his claims, was reserved for that closing 
 proof. Till that should be found unavailing, their impeni- 
 tence could not be pronounced Ji?ial. But should they reject 
 that they would be resisting the last proof that would be 
 given that Christ is the Son of God, and the Saviour of 
 sinners ; with their own hands, they would have subscribed 
 the sentence which doomed them to perdition ; they would 
 have added the final shade of horror to their condition, 
 anticipating 'the blackness of darkness forever.'" Can 
 you think of their case without a shudder ? 
 
 7. How terrible the thought that your untrembling im- 
 penitence may proceed from a sin like this ! Then is it 
 final indeed ! Alas ! alas for thee, if it is so ! No longer 
 do angels wait with trembling expectation of seeing you at 
 the footstool of mercy a trembling and anxious penitent. 
 No, no ! but rather in fearful anticipation of seeing you 
 posted off to hell without ceremony. 
 
 And, 0, what shall I say more ? How can I express it ? — 
 but I must, and for a flood of tears while I say it, — 
 the weeping and trembling souls of the lost in hell are 
 expecting your speedy arrival, and are hearkening for your 
 final plunge into perdition, and your cries filling the vaults 
 of hell with their reverberations. 
 
 This is harsh ; but did not Jesus speak of ouiei dark- 
 ness, and weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth ? 
 Did not the voice of Dives in hell reach the ears of Abra- 
 ham in heaven, calling for a drop of water to cool his tongue ? 
 Prove that such scenes no longer occur in hell, and I will 
 admit that the cries and reverberations of the damned are a 
 fancy. 
 
 But you are yet in the body ! You are not yet in hell . 
 Thanks be unto our God for that J If they have waited in 
 
CHRIST WEEPING OVER JERUSALEM. 251 
 
 expectation of your damnation, they have waited as yet ir 
 vain ! You are among your friends yet, and not among 
 fiends. Hope has not departed from my heart, regarding your 
 salvation. The fact of your being alive and here inspires 
 me with a trust that the Holy Spirit has not done knocking 
 at the door of your heart, and while he knocks there is 
 hope that the door will yet open, and that you may be 
 saved ! 
 
 But is this hope well founded? If so, with uplifted 
 hands I would thank God, that though you are on the edge 
 of the precipice, you have not yet gone over it. Terrible, 
 and almost hopeless, as that precipice is, you may be saved 
 on its very brink ! 
 
 8. Do you inquire, "what precipice?" Do you not 
 understand ? — that which all but constitutes a sinner a 
 final impenitent ; — that upon which the sinners of Jeru- 
 salem stood when Jesus lifted up his voice and wept ; — that 
 wilful and obstinate, and invincible resistance of the Holy 
 Ghost, carried to a point beyond which there is no forgive- 
 ness ; — a rejection of the claims of God, under some over- 
 powering and convincing illuminations ; — when the 
 demands of the Spirit for repentance and faith are rejected, 
 not twice nor thrice, but many times, and, at length, once 
 too much ! 
 
 Jerusalem sinners were approaching the edge of this pre- 
 cipice, — were as near to it as possible without falling over 
 it, when Jesus u wept" over their almost irrecoverable 
 condition. 
 
 9. Now you understand me ! But it may be thus with 
 you. 0, that I could weep over you as Jesus did ovei 
 Jentsalem sinners ! 
 
 10. Understand me further. I do not dispute the ortho- 
 doxy of the title. " One of the finally impenitent, without 
 
252 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 trembling." I mean, so far as it regards the possibility 
 of such a state of soul in a living man. For, did I not 
 believe that final impenitence takes place in this life, — 
 always in this life, — I would turn Papist, so far at least 
 as to believe in a purgatory after death. But this I reject, 
 and consequently must believe that the dreadful state is con- 
 summated here, in this world ; that the impenitence that is 
 final, and which damns eternally, occurs in this life, and 
 not after the soul leaves the body. But how long before 
 the soul departs, ere its moral state is final, — a moment, a 
 month, or a year, — it becomes not man to determine. Such 
 ground is too sacred and awful for speculative theology. 
 There is a last moment, and a first, unquestionably; a last 
 moment when the sinner is not "a final impenitent," and 
 a first moment when he is ; and that last moment belongs 
 to this life ; after that it is eternity, and no man can be 
 damned eternally till his impenitence has become final. 
 But to decide dogmatically that such a last moment is 
 the moment that severs the soul from the body, is gratu- 
 itous, — that is, an assertion without proof , or to beg the 
 question. 
 
 The question, therefore, remains open; and God alone 
 can decide it. It may take place in the last hour, and it 
 may hours or days previously, for aught that God has 
 revealed to the contrary. It therefore becomes us to be 
 modest in our decisions upon such a fearful question ; — in 
 the mean time, to keep our eyes open to the history of 
 facts among living and dying sinners. But to abandon 
 this strong position of our Protestant religion is to grant 
 to the Papacy all it claims in behalf of its purgatorial 
 dogma. 
 
 11. Hearken ! Aside from your experience, I have no 
 controversy with the tense or the orthodoxy of your sen- 
 
CHRIST WEEPING OVER JERUSALEM. 253 
 
 timent. But, 0, I would humbly contest its truthjulness 
 with regard to yourself. As the truth of Jesus is in my 
 heart, I believe you may be saved, and now. Give way, I 
 beseech you, to the strivings of the Holy Spirit of God. 
 Cry unto God for mercy, and see how soon this snare of the 
 devil will be broken ! 
 
 Hearken to me ! In the name of a risen Jesus, I offer 
 you mercy through his blood. If you wish it; if you 
 desire it; if you say, "Would to God it were mine; " if 
 you hate sin, and desire pardon above every boon here 
 below ; then is the Spirit of God with you, to save, and 
 secure your salvation ! 
 
 12. Hearken ! Were you stretched on your death-bed, 
 and such feelings were rife in your heart, I would do the 
 same. And, alas ! — and my heart sinks, and my tongue 
 falters at what I am going to say, — were you dying, 
 and not one such feeling or wish within your impenitent 
 breast, I would still whisper in your ear the promises of 
 the Gospel. 0, I would ! I would ! I surely would, for 
 I believe with Dr. Chalmers, — and my heart sinks again, 
 and lower, in attempting to repeat his sentiment, and I 
 could weep again over you, — that, to the last moment of 
 every man's life, it is the duty of every minister of Christ 
 to urge upon the dying sinner the largeness and freeness 
 of the Gospel ; and to assure him that there is not a deed 
 of wickedness with which his faithful memory now ago- 
 nizes him, nor one habit of disobedience that now clothes 
 the retrospect of the past in the sad coloring of despair, 
 and which spreads a deeper marble upon the future, but 
 what God through Christ will pardon, if he find faith and 
 repentance in his heart, and a tvillingness to come to 
 Christ ; but we may urge this w T ith every tone of tender- 
 ness, and there may be truth in our every utterance ; but 
 22 
 
254 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 it is not to say that our voice will reach him. i>r make a 
 resistless cvay through the avenues of that heart, where 
 he has done so much to rear a defending barrier, which 
 may now prove to be impenetrable ; the truth of God may 
 fall upon his ear, but the Spirit may refuse to accompany 
 it to the heart; an inveterate blindness may have long ago 
 gathered upon his soul, that he will neither receive the 
 truth nor love it, by which a man's heart is softened down 
 into repentance. Thus, while the blood of Christ cleanseth 
 the believing penitent, the sin against the Holy Ghost 
 shall not be forgiven, because that with this sin and its 
 consequences upon him, he wills not, he repents not, he 
 believes not, — all of which are necessary in order to receive 
 pardon. This, adds the doctor, is the reason that the word 
 of faith may fall from the lips of the minister, and the 
 work of faith be left undone by the dying sinner ; and 
 that it is not in the malefactor' 's cell, but in the comfortable 
 dying room that salvation may be freely offered, and be 
 sadly and sullenly put away. He wills not, repents not, 
 believes not ; but without these there can be no remission 
 of sins ; but with these, pardon has never been denied to 
 the greatest sinners, nor for sins of the deepest dye. 
 
 13. Have you heard, understood and weighed all this? 
 In this hasty reference to the sentiments of Dr. Chalmers 
 on the subject, I have not been able to give you his exact 
 words : but if you wish, you may read his sermon on li 17ie 
 sin against the Holy Ghost," one of the most powerful, 
 convincing and alarming appeals, on that awful subject. 
 which I know of in the English language. And I would 
 say with him, and beat it into the ears of every sinner 
 within the sound of my voice, that,, grant that a man has 
 repentance and faith in his heart, and we know not a 
 single crime in the whole catalogue of human depravity 
 
CHKIST WEEPING OVER JERUSALEM. 251, 
 
 that the atoning blood of our Savour cannot wash away ; 
 that there does not sit this night, within the walls of this 
 house, a desperado in vice, so sunk in the depths of his 
 dark and unnatural depravity, that is not welcome to come 
 to Christ, if he repent and believe ; nor will he ever find, 
 nor any human being thus furnished, the crimson inveter- 
 acy of his manifold offences beyond the peace- speaking 
 and purifying blood of the Son of God. 
 
 14. But hearken ! St. John says, u There is a sin unto 
 death. I do not say that he shall pray for it ; all un- 
 righteousness is sin, and there is a sin not unto death" 
 — 1 John 5: 16, 17. What is that but another " blue 
 light" thrown up in the moral heavens, signalizing a sin 
 that is followed by damnation? " Another blue light ! " 
 exclaims one ; " are there others of the same sort?" To 
 be sure there are ! — the sin against the Holy Ghost, as an- 
 nounced by our Lord, in Matt. 12 : 31, 32. And in Mark 
 3 : 28, 29. And, to set the matter out of the way of dis- 
 pute, that recorded in Heb. 6 : 4 — 8 : " For it is impossi- 
 ble for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted 
 of the heave?ily gift, and ivere made partakers of the 
 Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, 
 and the poivers of the world to come ; if they shall fall 
 away, to renew them agaiii to repentance ; seeing they 
 crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and qmt 
 him to an open shame. For the earth, which drinketh 
 in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bring eth forth, 
 herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth 
 blessing from God: but that which beareth thorns and 
 briars is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing ; tvhose e?id 
 is to be burned." Tremble, thou finally impenitent ! — 
 tremble, if thou canst, at the burning that is to come. It 
 s !i the wrath to come!" " the wrath to come!" "the 
 
256 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 wrath to come ! " Tremble in view of it. Devils tremble; 
 Are you stronger than they ? See yonder. I behold a 
 trembler ! Look up, thou penitent sinner ! Behold the 
 Lamb of God, that takes away thy sins ! 
 
 15. Hearken ! Behold that blue light projected by St. 
 Paul, from Heb. 10: 26, 29: "For if ice sin wilfully 
 after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, 
 there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain 
 fearful looking for of judgment, and fiery indignation, 
 which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised 
 Moses' law died without mercy wider two or three wit- 
 nesses : of how much sorer punishment suppose ye, 
 shall he be thought worthy" — [0, my God ! what sorer 
 punishment than to. die without mercy ? Surely we must 
 go into eternity to find it. Hush, my soul ! repeat clearly 
 the word of God] — " of how much sorer pimishment, 
 suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden 
 under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood 
 of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy 
 thing, and hath doxe despite to the spirit of grace?" 
 Ay, that was the finishing act of his depravity, — doing 
 " despite to the Spirit of grace /" It was that that scaled 
 his perdition ; wilful sin against the Spirit of grace, and 
 under superior illumination, cut off all hope of reconcilia- 
 tion, and quenched the last spark of grace, and the last 
 desire of salvation. 
 
 16. And now, tremble at the sight of another, and, per- 
 haps, last blue light of warning, 0, all ye who can tremble ! 
 who are capable of trembling, — whose mortal sensibilities 
 may force you to tremble ! 
 
 Hearken ! Upon the bed of mortal agony lay the wreck 
 of as sturdy a sinner as this congregation presents, about to 
 'lit, --and he knew it. His distress was very great ; more 
 
CHRIST WEEPING OVER JERUSALEM. 257 
 
 in wind, however, than in hody. He was urged to pray : — 
 "I pray ! I cannot pray. I know myself, my inherent 
 tvickedness. The damning conviction is burned in on my 
 heart, that, should I recover my health, I would fall into 
 the same courses ; I am quite certain of it. Why, then, 
 appeal to the invisible ? Why insult Heaven with vain 
 promises of amendment, -which I coidd never keep, — would 
 not keep were I to survive? Why play the hypocrite here? 
 Why lie to God, when, if there is such a being, I must in 
 all human probability appear before him in half an hour, 
 — when no lie can serve me?" He departed full of 
 misery. 
 
 17. Sinner, thou that hast styled thyself "One of the 
 finally impenitent, without trembling," I have had hopes 
 of your salvation all along ; the cry of my heart, amidst all 
 my words, has been, u If thou hadst known, even thou, at 
 least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy 
 peace ! " and a hope that now, at last, those things, flash- 
 ing so vividly before your intellectual eyes, may have 
 opened them, so that you could not help seeing them, and 
 feeling them too. I have done what I could to this end ; 
 must close soon. I did intend to have addressed some 
 others, — backsliders and penitents, — but must defer it till 
 another time. Your sad case, with a hope of reaching your 
 understanding and conscience, have borne me along. 
 
 18. And now, with a drooping heart, sad, sad am I to 
 say what I am going to say ; but it is the steel of my text, 
 <'n:d it must be applied, — applied in hope, and in full view 
 cf Calvary, and of the offered mercy of God in Christ Jesus, 
 if you will but repent and believe. And a cheering ray 
 darts into my heart, that, if you will not, there are scores of 
 others who will. 
 
 Well, let me proceed with what I was going to say. If 
 22* 
 
258 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 your case be really such as you represent it to be, it will 
 not be long before you are among the tremblers of hell. 
 For, if " the devils believe and tremble" I cannot help 
 thinking that all the damned in hell believe and tremble 
 also. If this be so, you can hardly expect to be exempted. 
 0, may God in mercy interfere and prevent it ! But if 
 you tremble not now in view of things, your trembling 
 must begin hereafter ; ay, when " the cup of trembling'''' 
 shall be put into your hands, — " the cup of his indigna- 
 tion" as St. John describes it, — filled with " the wine of 
 the wrath of God ; " and all around you "fire and brim- 
 stone, and smoke and torment" u the holy angels and 
 the Lamb" in the far-off distance; and " no rest" any- 
 where (Rev. 14 : 9, 10, 11) ; and, all above, beneath, 
 around, scenes such as a poet attempted to describe. Hear 
 him ! Mercy prevent that catastrophe ! But if it must 
 come to pass, then it must ; and when once there, — lost 
 ■ — lost — eternally lost, — and you begin to look around, 
 and behold, — 
 
 " Eternal justice ! sons 
 Of God ! tell me, if ye can, what then 
 I saw, what then I heard. Wide was the place, 
 And deep as wide, and ruinous as deep. 
 Beneath I saw a lake of burning fire, 
 With tempest tost perpetually, and still 
 The waves of fiery darkness 'gainst the rocks 
 Of dark damnation broke, — 
 
 And all around, wind warred with wind, storm howled 
 To storm, and lightnings, forked lightnings crossed 
 And thunder answered thunder, muttering sounds 
 Of sullen wrath ; and far as sight could pierce, 
 Or down descend in caves of hopeless depth, 
 Through all that dungeon of unfading fire, 
 I saw miserable beings walk, 
 Burning continually, yet unconsumed ; 
 Forever wasting, yet enduring still ; 
 
CHRIST WEEPING OVER JERUSALEM. 259 
 
 Dying perpetually, yet never dead ; 
 
 Some wandered lonely in the desert flames, 
 
 And some in fell encounter fiercely met, 
 
 With curses loud, and blasphemies, that made 
 
 The cheek of darkness pale ; and as they fought, 
 
 And cursed, and gnashed their teeth, and wished to die, 
 
 Their hollow eyes did utter streams of woe. 
 
 And there were groans that ended not, and sighs 
 That always sighed, and tears that ever wept, 
 And ever fell, but not in Mercy's sight. 
 
 * * * * 
 And, as I listened, I heard these beings curse 
 Almighty God, and curse the Lamb, and curse 
 The Earth, the Resurrection morn, and seek, 
 And ever vainly seek, for utter death. 
 
 And to their everlasting anguish still 
 The thunders from above responding spoke 
 These words, which through the caverns of perdition 
 Forlornly echoing, fell on every ear — 
 
 * Ye knew your duty, but ye did it not.' 
 And back again recoiled a deeper groan. 
 
 A deeper groan ! 0, what a groan was that ! 
 
 * * * * 
 ' Ye knew your duty, but ye did it not.' 
 
 Dread words ! that barred excuse, and threw the weight 
 Of every man's perdition on himself 
 Directly home. 
 
 * Ye knew your duty, but ye did it not.' 
 
 These were the words which glowed upon the sword, 
 Whose wrath burned fearfully behind the cursed, 
 As they were driven away from God to Tophet. 
 
 * Ye knew your duty, but ye did it not.' 
 These are the words to which the harps of grief 
 Are strung ; and, to the chorus of the damned, 
 The rocks of hell repeat them evermore, 
 
 Loud echoing through the caverns of despair, 
 And poured in thunder on the ear of Woe. 
 
260 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 * 
 
 And suddenly before my eyes 
 A wfll of fiery adamant sprung up, — 
 Wall mountainous, tremendous, flaming high 
 Above all flight of hope. 
 
 * * * * 
 
 Upon that burning wall, 
 In horrible emblazonry, were limned 
 All shapes, all forms, all modes of wretchedness, 
 And prominent in characters of fire, 
 Where'er the eye could light, these words you read : 
 ' Who comes this way, behold, and fear to sin.' " 
 
 Ay ! and high above all that horrible emblazonry, limned 
 upon hell's high and flaming wall, and prominent in charac- 
 ters of fire, are — what more ? — " a mother's prayers ! " 
 Ay, a mother's prayers ! God ! touch that heart, and 
 touch it now ; — make it tremble now ! — a mother's prayers, 
 prominent in characters of fire ; — more terrible, more 
 horrifying, more distressing to the soul of a lost son, than 
 all the shapes, forms and modes of wretchedness prevalent in 
 hell. 
 
 0, my soul, hear the word of the Lord ! 0, ye sinners, 
 hear ye the words of the Lord ! — Isaiah 33 : 14. " The 
 sinners in Zion are afraid ; fearf illness hath surprised 
 the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the 
 devouring fire ? who among us shall divell with everlast- 
 ing burnings? " 
 
 In view of such a terrible perdition awaiting the ungodly, 
 let us awake to righteousness. Flee from the wrath to 
 cornel " The smoke of their torment ascendeth up for 
 ever and ever I " — or hell's "deeper groan," responding 
 to those fearful words, — 
 
 " Ye knew yDur duty, but ye did it not." 
 
 There is mercy for every one of you, who is disposed to 
 
CHRIST WEEPING OVER JERUSALEM. 2C1 
 
 seek it, by repentance and faith. Jesus hath died for you, 
 that you need never taste the bitter pains of eternal death. 
 His atoning blood was shed for you. 0, then, plead the 
 merits of that blood, and escape that death that never, never 
 dies ! May the Holy Spirit help you ! 
 
CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 SATANIC POLICY. 
 
 I^s tl e } receding chapters, some idea may be formed of 
 Mr. Caughey's publiclife; in the succeeding chapters, the 
 reader will have a view of his private life. In one, we 
 behold him before his fellow-men; in the other, before his 
 God, and the bar of his own conscience ; — faithfulness 
 to his fellow-men in the pulpit, and faithfulness to his 
 own soul in private, — a necessary discipline to every min- 
 ister, who desires to save himself and those who hear 
 him. 
 
 Solomon says, ' ' As in water face answer eth to face, 
 so the heart of man to man ; " so we have no doubt that 
 the earnest minister of the Gospel will see much of his own 
 experience, in revival conflicts, reflected in that of Mr. 
 Caughey. 
 
 The reader, also, while perusing these pages, will learn 
 something of the conflicts which assail a minister, while 
 engaged in promoting a revival, even under very favorable 
 and successful circumstances ; and may also judge of what 
 he endures in seasons of reverse, or comparative failure. 
 He will also, we trust, learn how to feel for such, and to 
 sympathize with them in their arduous work; — in their 
 great battles for truth and souls. 
 
 The reader has already followed Mr. Caughey to Bir- 
 mingham. He commenced his labors there, in Newton Row 
 
SATANIC POLICY. 26^ 
 
 Chapel, early in December, 1845 ; and visited in succession , 
 all the Wesleyan chapels in the town, preaching six sermons 
 a week until the following May. A glimpse of his spirit- 
 ual tactics, during that time, may be seen in the following 
 items from his journal. 
 
 Birmingham, December 5. — Every nation under heaven 
 has its history, printed or traditional ; and every year adds 
 something thereunto. Every evangelist, or revivalist, ha3 
 his history ; and every campaign adds something interest- 
 ing to its pages. J. C. has his ! " Happy the nation that 
 has nothing for history" said a Frenchman. Not so, says 
 a soul-saving preacher ; — unhappy for him, if he has 
 nothing for history ! I like to note down events as they 
 occur to myself or others ; — to plant my batteries of truth, 
 and work them with all the energy God bestows, and mark 
 the effects. This is advantageous to me in many respects : 
 — can do so much easier, when I stay some time in a place, 
 than during such hasty visits, as to Chesterfield, Doncas- 
 ter, Macclesfield, &c. 
 
 December 6. — Throwing light on the Devil's game with 
 sinners. He likes to play with them in the dark; — one 
 reason, I suppose, why his kingdom is called darkness, and 
 his power "the power of darkness ;" because it is by 
 darkness both his kingdom and power exist, and are in- 
 creased and exercised. But light is the antagonist of dark- 
 ness. Christ's kingdom is a kingdom of light, and his 
 power is exerted in and through light. 0, for more light ! 
 — yet, ever remembering that the preacher, that would effect 
 anything, must burn as well as shine. — John 5 : 35. 
 
 Satan conducts his game with sinners in the dark, and 
 their stake is the sold; his cards are such as, "Religion 
 is gloomy; — there is no danger now; — be not righteous 
 
264 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 overmuch, why shouldst thou destroy thyself ? — No need 
 of all this ado, this stir, and fright ; — God is better than 
 is represented ; — is it not written he is merciful, and will 
 not keep his anger forever ? — Leave such gloomy subjects ; 
 — sin is better than sorroio ; — its pleasures are preferable 
 to the glooms of religion ; — morality is an easy resource at 
 any time ; — morality is a good enough religion ; — morality 
 you can understand, and not this and this, being born again, 
 and such other mystical problems ; — if those who profess 
 to believe in such things are safe, so are you, considering 
 how they live." I need a greater blaze of truth to flash 
 over these things. 
 
 St. Paul speaks of men being led captive by the Devil at 
 his will. How few serve him because they love him ; or 
 would follow him, or be led by him, through a fondness 
 for his company, or to have his favor, or to dwell in the 
 place of his captivity ! — not one, perhaps, in Birmingham. 
 The foulest sinner in town expects to give him the slip at 
 some sharp corner, and escape from him forever ! 
 
 How few of all these active and resisting sinners believe 
 that they have taken up arms for the Devil; — that they 
 are fighting for him, and that he is their general! Not one. 
 They are only doing the things which please and gratify 
 themselves ; and, if it please Satan, it only happens so 
 without their intention. Satan knows all this very well ; 
 and does not thank them that he is their master. But this 
 is a part of his policy. He keeps them in the dark for this 
 very purpose. 
 
 It is not so with the children of God. They serve God 
 because they love him ! They folloxu Christ, and are led 
 by him, because they delight in his company ; and, like 
 the two disciples of old, their hearts burn within them, 
 while he opens to them the Scriptures, and talks to them by 
 
SATANIC POLICY. 265 
 
 the way ! They desire to share his heaven, and are expect- 
 ing it. They have taken up arms for Jesus, and know that 
 he is the Captain of their salvation. They please him, 
 though it may displease themselves. But, when his pleas- 
 tire and their pleasure meet, their existence is a paradise ! 
 I must return to these things again, and blow a louder 
 trumpet. Prov. 3 : 17, has half-a-dozen sermons in it, 
 should I follow the lines of thought which it suggests. 
 
 Struck with that sentiment of Pythagoras, "To love 
 truth, and do good, are two things which make man most 
 like God, and therefore are two of his most excellent gifts." 
 Yes, if they are associated with holiness ! 0, no gifts nor 
 usefulness, however extensive, can make up for the want of 
 this ! No, my Lord ! no ! 0, make me holy, and keep 
 me holy, through Jesus Christ, my Lord ! Amen. 
 23 
 
CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 THE PATIENCE AND PROVIDENCE OP GOD. 
 
 Dec 7th. — Battering down false hopes ; — pressing 
 hard on the delaying, the loitering, the wavering- Make 
 full proof of thy ministry, 0, my soul ! Amen. 
 
 If some are lost at last, God clearly acquits himself of 
 their blood. Tried hard that I might be acquitted too, in 
 case that calamity should happen to any of my hearers. How 
 men do abuse the mercy of God to his face ! But how 
 patiently does he bear with them, and await their leisure 
 for repentance ! — calls loudly upon them to repent, and 
 waits ; — scores and scores and hundreds of times offers 
 them mercy, and suffers them to reject it ; — repeats the 
 offers again, and again, till the sinner is weary of them. 
 God, how great is thy goodness ! Repeats the offers 
 of mercy again and again, till the sinner loathes them, 
 spurns them, treats God and them with contempt ! 
 Alas ! then cometh the end, and vengeance to the Utter- 
 most. 
 
 0, how terrible is that intimation in Hebrews 10 : 30, 
 11 Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith 
 the Lord " ! But it is a flash from that awful thunder- 
 cloud, in the 26th, 27th, 28th, and 29th verses of the same 
 chapter: "For, if we sin wilfidly" &c. All sin that is 
 damnable, is wilful ; but all wilful sin is not unpardona- 
 ble, because not i ucurable. But, as one remarks, "When 
 
THE PATIENCE AND PROVIDENCE OF GOD. 267 
 
 it is incurable, it is the special sin of hell, the badge of 
 devils, and of sinners damned." It cannot become incura- 
 ble till u the sin unto death" is committed, I suppose. — 
 1 John 5 : 16, 17. Some sin against the Holy Spirit, 
 doubtless, and under superior illumination. 0, for a right 
 heart to feel for sinners ! 
 
 Dec. 11th. — Ay ! Experience and necessity teach more 
 effectually than theory. Depravity, enmity, and unbelief, 
 make a man serious ; - and that old serpent, the Devil, 
 Apollyon, leading them on, saying, " Thus far, but no 
 further; — and my soul replying, "Yes, and further! so 
 help me, God, in Christ ! " Ay ! these things sober 
 one, and fancy and imagination hide themselves from 
 the fight. 
 
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 To heu) a stone, to cleave a knotty block that would not 
 receive the ivedge, and to plough upon a rock, were the 
 great sorrow of an old preacher's ministry, of whom I once 
 read, dulling his hopes, and wearying his spirit ; and well 
 they might. But they rendered him serious as eternity. 
 Hard to be lively long without success, unless a man be- 
 comes careless of success ; and then he has become unfit 
 for the pulpit. 0, for power from on high ! 
 
 •V* -XL. -ik- •&* -it- -4t* -y- 
 
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 ik/r. Tfes/ey, I perceive from his journal, paid Bir- 
 mingham numerous visits, and for several years with but 
 little success. His visits, however, were of short duration, 
 — a day, and .off again. Perhaps that was the reason, — a 
 siege or battle, instead of a few shot, or a skirmish, was 
 what Birmingham needed then as now. But Mr. Wesley 
 could not afford so much of his time in One place ; he flew, 
 like an angel, through these kingdoms ; a necessity was 
 
268 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 laid upon him, — the care of all the societies in Methodism. 
 But, under date October 24, 1749, he writes: "After 
 preaching again at one, I rode to Birmingham. This has 
 been long a dry and uncomfortable place ; so I expected 
 little good here. But I was happily disappointed. Such a 
 congregation I never saw there before ; not a scoffer, nor a 
 trifler, nor an inattentive person [so far as I could discern] 
 among them ; and seldom have I known so deep a- sense of 
 the divine power, and presence of the love of God, The 
 same blessing we had at the meeting of the society ; and 
 again at the morning preaching. Will, then, God at length 
 cause even this barren wilderness to blossom and bud 
 as the rose?" Yes! 0, immortal Wesley! it was even 
 so in thy day, and we are hoping to see it more than 
 ever so in these days, under the ministry of thy sons and 
 successors in Jesus Christ ! — even until Birmingham 
 shall become as the garden of the Lord! Hallelujah ! 
 Amen. 
 
 Dec. 13th. — It is in vain to foresee for sinners what is 
 coming upon them, if they refuse to open their eyes to fore- 
 see for themselves. A great point that to press home. 
 Conscience will ring a terrible peal, by and by, in the ears 
 of those who refuse to foresee and act, until the miseries 
 of the death-bed are upon them ! A few more have found 
 mercy. Tokens encouraging. 
 
 Dec. 16th. — A severe attack of sickness, short but severe, 
 like that which I had in York ; — a rough part of the road 
 to heaven, but it is a part of it, thank God ; — the uneven 
 as well as the even, the foul as well as the fair weather 
 along it, the troublesome as well as the easy, the perplex- 
 ing as well as the plain, all belong to the heavenly way, so 
 great is its variety ! What matter, seeing it happens so on 
 the royal highway to the Jerusalem above ? 
 
THE PATIENCE AND PROVIDENCE OF GOD. 269 
 
 Baxter says, "Remember that the school of Christ has 
 a rod." Ay ! Jesus will not allow us to forget it ! — to 
 feel it, is a remembrancer, indeed! It teaches one to 
 "serve the Lord with fear, and to rejoice with trem- 
 bling" as enjoined in the book of Psalms. But the rod 
 and the honey at the end of it go together with me. — 
 1 Sam. 14 : 27. 0, how often have I deserved the rod, but 
 never the honey ! — and yet the rod has never been with- 
 out the honey since the day Christ and I were friends ! 
 1 ' Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth 
 every son whom he receiveth." — Heb. 12: 6. "Whom 
 the Lord loveth," that is, the honey ! Blessed be God ! 
 "Behold, he whom thou lovest is sick." More honey S 
 
 And what providential honey have I, in having such a 
 kind and experienced physician, — Dr. Melsonl God bless 
 him ! he is so attentive, so considerate, so in earnest for 
 my recovery ! And such a kind host and hostess ! 0, my 
 Lord ! may my heart and life be good to the end of life's 
 rough pilgrimage ! Amen. 
 
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 That is a sweet and cheering declaration in Rom. 8 : 28, 
 and relates evidently to the workings of Divine Providence : 
 " All things work together for good to them that love 
 God;" working for and against, apparently, like the 
 wheels in my watch, I perceive ; — for hew contrary to 
 each other do they seem to go ! — one in one direction, and 
 another in another direction, — such a wilderness of confu- 
 sion ; but all are working together for good. The good 
 appears on the dial-plate ; every wheel, however contrary 
 in motion, works to the same result ! It is so with Prov- 
 idence ! 
 
 A man of God, now in glory, used to say that he 
 often felt he would not be without the above Scripture 
 23* 
 
270 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 for the world ! — that, in time of trial and sickness, it 
 seemed so full of promise, he thought, were there not 
 another promise in the Scriptures, this gave an abun- 
 dant supply of consolation! I think so, too, blessed be 
 God! 
 
CHAPTER XXXV 
 
 IN THE FURNACE. — LETTERS 
 
 To 
 
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 Confined to the house, but not to my bed. The attack 
 was very sudden, similar to that which prostrated me twice 
 in York , and once in America; and, as then, "in dead of 
 night j " — the fourth attack of the same kind, and always 
 at night j and with no previous warning ; — as if Death, had 
 he permission, would like to come suddenly upon me, and 
 " as a thief in the night," — and so sudden as last night ; — 
 a comment upon those lines of Charles Wesley, which I 
 copied in Quebec, from an old Magazine, brought over by 
 an emigrant : 
 
 " From sudden, unexpected death 
 Jesus thy seryant save, 
 Nor let me gasp my latest breath 
 Unmindful of the grave. 
 
 ' * Unconscious of the yawning deep, 
 
 And death eternal nigh ; 
 0, do not suffer me to sleep 
 Till in my sins I die ! 
 
 " And summoned to the mountain-top, 
 
 Without a lingering sigh, 
 Render my ransomed spirit up, 
 And to thy glory die. 
 
272 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 • Wise to foresee my latter end, 
 With humble loving fear, 
 I would continually attend 
 The welcome messenger." 
 
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 After aboat two hours of severe suffering, I staggered 
 out of my room, and awoke Mr. Wright. Had great peace 
 in the midst of great pain. When it seemed as if I could 
 endure no Trior e and live, was enabled to say to Mr. W., 
 " Death has no terrors, — no sting; Jesus is precious, — 
 tell my friends this, if I depart." However, I wished to 
 live, should it please the Head of the church ; — did not 
 wish to die in a strange land ; — affairs of a temporal nature 
 not in a very tangible form, — my private papers and jour- 
 nals in a somewhat disordered state, — would like to live to 
 erase this or that, and reiorite other parts, and not leave 
 that to the judgment of others ; but above all to call sinners 
 to repentance, a while longer. 
 
 ****** 
 
 To 
 
 * ■ * * * * * 
 
 Still weak; but my "beloved physician," Dr. Melson 
 seems to understand my case perfectly, and has no fears. 
 This visitation has done me good ; could realize the truth of 
 what one said : "It does not frighten a child of God to dis- 
 cover all the signs of death in his body, so long as he can 
 see and feel all the signs of grace in his soul! " St. Paul, 
 you remember, was in "a strait betwixt two conditions, — 
 a desire to depart, and to be with Christ," or, to remain 
 upon earth to preach the Gospel a ichile longer. "I am 
 in a strait'/'' which Dr. Doddridge, I remember, renders, 
 li 1 am borne tiro different ways ;" — like a ship riding 
 at anchor, yet under stress of weather, is likely to be forced 
 
IN THE FURNACE. — LETTERS. 273 
 
 from her anchorage, and driven out to sea. St. Paul's affec- 
 tions were anchored upon the church, yet the desire to 
 depart, and to be with Christ, was sometimes too strong for 
 his anchor-hold. 
 
 It is good to be familiar with death. " I die daily" said 
 St. Paul, in another place. No wonder, when, at last, he 
 saw death approaching him in right good earnest, he calmly 
 said, " I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my 
 departure is at hand; — 0, Death ! where is thy sting ? " 
 Then followed the note of "victory! " But that was not 
 the first time Paul had shouted victory over the King of 
 terrors ! He had become too familiar with Death, so oft 
 had he approached him, to be afraid of that conqueror of 
 conquerors. It is Flavel, I think, who illustrates the ben- 
 efit of this familiarly, thus, — that a lion is much more 
 dreadful to one who never saw him before, than he is to his 
 keeper who sees him every day ! — and a battle is more 
 frightful to a young recruit, who never saw an engagement, 
 than to an old soldier, who has long been used to them ! 
 
 Well, it would seem as if the Lord would prepare my 
 cautioned soul for the last encounter, which may come 
 suddenly, and must surely come at one time or another. 
 It is good to feel one's self intercepted now and then by this 
 passing shadow ; — for, 0, when the shadow is nigh, the 
 substance that caused it cannot be far off ! — it is good — 
 
 " To damp our earthly joys, 
 To increase our gracious fears." 
 
 A wise man was that Emperor of Constantinople, wlio, 
 at his inauguration, ordered a mason to bring two stones 
 and lay them before him, with this question, " Choose, 0, 
 emperor, which of these two stones thou wilt have for thy 
 
2T4 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 tombstone." He renewed the ceremony on great state 
 occasions, and upon feast days. 
 
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 No, it does not tire me to write, but rather amuses me, 
 and is profitable withal. There is a great feebleness upon 
 me, and lassitude ; — thinking of what one said, " I am so 
 weak that I cannot stand upon my legs, but I can cast 
 myself into my Father's arms ! " Blessed be God. I can do 
 that! 
 
 But I feel much better, — trying to bnckle on the armor 
 again, with a glad and solemn heart; — cannot sympathize 
 with him who, on returning from the gates of death, 
 exclaimed, " I was as a sheep that had nearly entered the 
 fold, but was driven back into the storm again, or as a 
 traveller almost home, yet compelled to return ^gain to 
 fetch something he had neglected ; " — or, he might have 
 added, like a ship that had nearly entered her destined port, 
 but ordered out to sea again by her owners ! 
 
 0, but I am glad at the prospect of a return to the battle- 
 storm of soul- saving ! — glad to return to ' : fetch" more 
 holiness with me to heaven, and many more poor, neglected 
 souls besides ! — glad to put out to sea again, as long voyages 
 are apt to give large returns of profits, and short voyages 
 the contrary ! 
 
 He wished wisely who desired either to die preaching 01 
 vraying. He spoke like a Daniel, who said, it became a 
 soldier to die fighting, a minister to die preaching, and a 
 Christian to die praying. Ay ! I want to keep on fght- 
 'ng, preaching, prayi?ig, and then — go to heaven by and 
 v // 
 
IN THE FURNACE. — LETTERS. 27t 
 
 Much have I passed through, so far on my pilgrimage 
 and warfare; — many, many sore mental conflicts, — more 
 than I can tell of upon earth ; — but it was right, — all 
 worked for good, although I was often to blame ; — yet 
 all so ovemded as to make my heart better and holier, and 
 my intellect stronger, sturdier, hardier, if you will allow 
 me such words. Was once much comforted with those 
 remarks of Leighton, that the church is God's jewelry, 
 — his ivorking-house, where his jewels are polished ; and 
 those he especially esteems, and means to make most 
 resplendent, he has oftenest his tools upon them ! This is 
 enough for one letter. About to venture out for a short 
 walk, — shall write again, — it refreshes me to write, and 
 does not weary, — at least writing to you. 
 
 To 
 
 Have enjoyed a quiet meditative ramble, and all the better 
 for it. What a wonderful faculty is memory ! What food 
 it affords to thought and reflection, — and for regret also ! 
 tempting one to wish, were it possible, to try the ground 
 over again, — revoking time, that, by the light of dearly 
 bought experience, one might shun the rocks that jeopard- 
 ized, or find the happiness that eluded. Upon the whole, 
 I felt unwilling, were it at my option, to live my life over 
 again. The second edition of my short life might, perhaps, 
 have more errors than the first. No ! I do not wish to try 
 the same ground over again ; — too great a risk; — content 
 with the present order of things ; — that we must go for- 
 ward, never backward, except by reflection. 
 
 Affliction seems to impart a singular vividness to the 
 memory. Partly of the opinion of him who compared 
 
276 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 memory to a mirror, which affliction dashes to the earth 
 and the fragments only multiply reflection ! 
 
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 A poor night's rest, — Z>oc?y much out of order ; hut a 
 gracious season in private and family prayer, — heart 
 full of love to God, gratitude, and humility, — eyes full of 
 tears. It is mercy all ! Ventured to preach last night on 
 Luke 15 : 10, — the joy of angels over repenting sinners ; 
 — hoping to get fire and zeal out of it for my own soul, — 
 was not disappointed, nor angels neither; — many saved! 
 
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 Birmingham, Dec. 20, 1845. 
 The work advances. Public attention is waking up and 
 looking this way in right good earnest, and moving the 
 masses this way ; — inclined to listen ; by and by to feel. 
 Souls are finding mercy daily. Thinking of the Spanish 
 proverb, which speaks of time and patience turning the 
 mulberry leaf into silk ! I like that couplet in Burns, — 
 
 " Come firm resolve, take thou the van, 
 Thou stalk of carle-hemp in man ! " 
 
 But I like St. Paul's motto better, " I can do all things 
 through Christ which strengthened me" — Phil. 4 : 13, 
 
 — and his watchword, " Put on the whole armor of God, 
 that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." 
 
 — Eph. 6 : 11. There is no carle-hemp, or firm resolve 
 in man, aside from the gruce of God, can sustain and 
 carry the soul and body of a preacher through such a scene 
 of conflict to victory ! 
 
CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 R.ETURN TO THE BATTLE-STRIFE. — A SOUL-SAVING MIN- 
 ISTRY. — LETTERS. 
 
 To * * * * * *. 
 
 Birmingham, Dec. 22, 1845. 
 
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 Urging on the battle-strife once more, — for truth, — 
 for Christ, — for souls ; — in weakness fearing another 
 attack of illness. But the doctor hopes it may be avoided, 
 and does not forbid my preaching. God bless him for that ! 
 for, 0, to be passive or inactive, at such a time as this, 
 would require more grace than this activity for God 
 demands ! 
 
 Rom. 8 : 28, stands good, — " All things work together 
 for good to them that love God.'''' The fires which agitate 
 and greatly try gold and silver, work at the same time for 
 their purification, beauty, value, glory ! 
 
 But truth and the sinner are still antagonists. I see 
 that ! What an expression of resistance ! Truth may be 
 dressed up so prettily that the sinner will really like it ; 
 but no sooner does it appear in its real dress and uncom- 
 promising utterances, than he frowns upon it, and puts 
 himself in an attitude to repel it. Well, I have not been 
 "dressing up" truth since my arrival in Birmingham, 
 God knows ! — for I know precious little gain is it to tho 
 24 
 
278 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 church in the long run, — " dressing up truth, as if it were 
 to sell," as a Spaniard observed. 
 
 Dec. 23. — Truth cuts like a sword. It is well; it would 
 wear out the body else, — the sword would cut through the 
 scabbard at such a time as this ; — best to keep using it ! 
 Real truth is a real sword, dividing asunder the joints 
 and marrow, the soul and spirit, of wickedness ; but not 
 painted truth ! A painted sword cuts not, nor a sword 
 in the scabbard, nor a muffled sword, though equal to that 
 of Goliath of Gath, that was " wrapped in a cloth behind 
 the ephod." — 1 Sam. 21 : 9. 0, give me the naked sword 
 of truth, with strength and courage to wield it, 0, Lord God 
 of truth ! Amen. 
 
 To change the figure, truth is as a serpent to many. 
 Sinful men cannot understand this ; neither can some in 
 the church, who profess to be better. It is enough, they 
 think, that truth should be a rod, — even a sword is admis- 
 sible, where the sinews of wickedness are hard and tough ! 
 — vbut that truth should be made to multiply itself so, and 
 become as " fiery flying serpents " among the people, they 
 cannot away with it ; — fly from it ; — and yet, strange to 
 say, it has a fascination to draw them back to it ! They 
 forget that the rod of Moses was turned into a serpent ! 
 He fled from it ; but when God commanded him to come 
 back and take it by the tail, he did so, and it became a rod 
 again, — ■ his friend, indeed, by which he shook the throne 
 of the Pharaohs. So, the Lord our God brings back again 
 these flying sinners ; — they venture to seize the serpent 
 truth by the tail, keeping as far from its bite as possible, 
 when, lo, it is but a rod, after all, in the hand of school- 
 master Law, to bring them to Christ , as Paul hints. Then 
 it becomes their friend indeed, and by it, they shake all 
 spiritual Egypt around them ; and their emancipation 
 
THE BATTLE-STRIFE. — LETTERS. 279 
 
 from the slavery of the old Pharaoh of hell, becomes the 
 order of the day of salvation ! Hallelujah ! 
 
 Birmingham, Dec. 24, 1845. 
 Exactly so, my dear friend ! — a fo^y vigorous as the oak 
 on yonder heights is needed! — like Seneca's man, with 
 ribs of brass and bones of iron, and sinews of steel ! 0, but 
 God can so empower and strengthen and inure the body, 
 that brass and iron and steel might sooner wear out ! — if 
 man is immortal till his work is done / * * * 
 
 To * * * * * *. 
 
 Dec. 26. 
 
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 Ay ! all that is true ! — a soul-saving preacher requires 
 a soul stern as the face of war ; yet, in its secret depths, full 
 to overflowing with the gushing benevolence of Jesus, — 
 and of the spirit of burning ! — Is. 4 : 4, — crying out 
 unto God • 
 
 " Steel me to shame, reproach, disgrace ; 
 Arm me with all thine armor now ; 
 Set like a flint my steady face, 
 Harden to adamant my brow. 
 
 " Bold may I wax, exceeding bold, 
 My high commission to perform, 
 Nor shrink thy harshest truths t' unfold ; 
 But more than meet the gathering storm. 
 
 " Adverse to earth's rebellious throng, 
 Still may I turn my fearless face ; 
 Stand as an iron pillar strong, 
 And steadfast as a wall of brass. 
 
 " Give me thy might, thou God of power. 
 Then let or men or fiends assail, 
 Strong in thy strength I '11 stand, a tower 
 Impregnable to earth or hell.'" 
 
280 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 He needs a heart, under some circumstances, like that 
 of Job's Leviathan^ that " laugheth at the shaking of a 
 spear ! " and, if you will allow me to parody a little upon 
 that noble creature, the Leviathan, which even God 
 himself so graphically describes in the forty-first chap- 
 ter of Job, — such a minister needs to be "firm as a 
 stone. n Lord, my God, he does, and a heart of 
 fire, giving a flame at the mouth, that kindles coals ! — 
 esteeming iron as straw, and brass as rotten wood ! — 
 fearless too of the arrows of sarcasm, ridicule, or criti- 
 cism, — counting sling-stones as stubble ; — the sword of 
 him that layeth at him cannot hold • nor the spear, the 
 dart, nor the habergeon! So firmly has God joined the 
 flakes of his character and courage together, they cannot 
 be moved. There are breakings, or breakers, when lie 
 raiseth vp himself, so that even the mighty are afraid, 
 and purify themselves! The onset leaves him unex- 
 hausted, for his heart is firm as a stone, and in his neck 
 there remaineth strength. Out of his mouth go burn- 
 ing lamps of light, and words, like sparks of fire, leap 
 out ; — the eyelids of his understanding are like the eyelids 
 of the morning, chasing away the darkness of hellish 
 night, — the harbinger of a glorious gospel day! His 
 path is a path of light, and it shines after him. He 
 stirs a population to its depths ; — he maketh the deep to 
 boil like a pot, and a path to shine after him, till one 
 would think the deep to be hoary. Opposition is as 
 nothing to him, for the arrow cannot make him flee, and 
 darts are counted as stobble before the fire of his zeal, 
 and he laugheth at the shaking of a spear ! Why should 
 it be otherwise, seeing that he spreadcth sharp pieces of 
 vot sherd, and sharp-pointed things under him, as ordi- 
 
THE BATTLE-STRIFE. — LETTERS. 281 
 
 nary experiences, and regardeth them not ; for he is called 
 of God to endure hardness. 
 
 Ah, me ! what a bold illustration is this I am figuring 
 with ! But the Leviathan is a glorious creature of God, 
 and upon earth there is none like hint, who is made ivith- 
 out fear ; — and a glorious creature is he, whom God has 
 called and prepared, fully qualified, and sent forth to 
 shake the kingdom of darkness ! — to rescue from the 
 powers of hell the souls for whom the Redeemer died; 
 baptized with the Holy Ghost and with fire, and imbued 
 with power from on high, which makes him victorious over 
 all the power of the enemy. There is none among the 
 uncalled like him upon the earth, whom God has made 
 without fear ; who fears God only, and fears to sin, and 
 fears naught else besides in earth or hell. St. Paul consid- 
 ers such ' ' the messengers of the churches, and the glory 
 of Christ" — 2 Cor. 8 : 23. Signal instruments of good 
 to the churches, and of advancing the glory of Jesus Christ 
 in the world. 
 
 But, ah, sir, a messenger of this sort needs a peculiar 
 physical, as well as mental constitution. For, although his 
 are moral, not physical victories, yet the body must sustain 
 the soul that wins them. A mortal frame, carrying about 
 a soul of fire, needs a constant miracle to sustain it ; as if 
 insured in heaven ! For it resembles the bush in the wil- 
 derness, — in a blaze, yet unconsumed. — Exod. 3 : 2. 
 11 A great sight" it was to Moses that, and a great sight is 
 such an one to angels and to men. 
 
 The head of the church raises up, and qualifies such ex- 
 traordinary messengers. They appear, from time to time, 
 in the churches' need. He endues them with extraordi- 
 nary power and zeal, and thrusts them forth to burn and to 
 shine. Such were Wesley, Whitfield, Fletcher, and many 
 24* 
 
282 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 others in the eighteenth century ; such was Luther ', and a 
 host in the sixteenth century. Nor is the nineteenth cen- 
 tury unblest by them. They are designed to break up the 
 ruinous monotony of the churches, and to awaken men to 
 the concerns of eternity. 
 
 Usually, they are short-lived. Indifference, or opposi- 
 tion, breaks their heart ; or hard constant labor wears them 
 out soon, moaning with their Lord, as they disappear from 
 among men, " The zeal of thine house hath eaten me 
 up.' But the Lord raises up others of like spirit ; for this 
 is really the " apostolical succession" after all. 
 
CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 
 PERS0NAI EXPERIENCE AND PENCILLINGS ABOUT PREACH- 
 ING. — JOURNAL. 
 
 Evening of Christmas day, Dec. 25th. — It is recorded 
 of the Macedonians, that they always celebrated the birth- 
 day of Alexander the Great, having his picture suspended 
 from their necks, set with pearls and jeivels. And upon 
 how many hearts, of late, has the fair image of Jesus 
 been impressed ! Erom their looks to-day, it was easy to 
 gather that his image within was, indeed, set about with 
 the richest pearls and jewels of their lately regenerated 
 affections. 
 
 But how is it with myself? Long have I worn the 
 loved image of Jesus in my poor heart ; but, somehow, the 
 jewelry of my affections around it have not been very 
 bright or resplendent to-day. A singular solitari?iess and 
 stillness have been over my spirit. The body has been 
 out of tune, and the soul has sympathized with it. Fla- 
 vel compared the two to a couple of musical strings, set 
 exactly at one height ; if the one is touched, the other 
 trembles ; they laugh or cry, are sick or well, together. 
 I feel that. 0, but there is a strange and mysterious 
 union and sympathy in this web of life ! How mu- 
 tually do they affect each other ! How reciprocal the 
 influence ! 
 
 I want to have matters more in harmony with St. Paul's 
 
284 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 experience (2 Cor. 4: 16), " Though our outward man 
 perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day ; " the 
 one going prematurely to the dust, almost worn out, while 
 the other is '■'•renewed day by day; " becoming more and 
 more like God, and increasing daily in vital power, and 
 spiritual and intellectual strength. A great help that ; it 
 acts upon one's intellectual and physical system, like that 
 nice law of compensation in mechanics, and in the work- 
 ings of the grand machinery of the universe ! Preached 
 twice to-day. Many moved and saved. Thanks be to God 
 for the unspeakable gift of his Son ! 
 
 Dec. 26th. — Weak ; but peace and comfort in believ- 
 ing ; the honey at the end of the rod, — which my heavenly 
 Father allows me to eat without threatening me with death, 
 as did Jonathan's father (1 Sam. 14 : 43, 44) ; realizing 
 the siueetness of that remark uttered by one many years 
 ago : " The sense of pardon takes away the sense of pain. 17 
 Ay, blessed be God ! So it is, as Isaiah says, "The inhab- 
 itant shall not say I am sick ; the people that dwell 
 therein shall be forgiven their iniquity ; then is the prey 
 of a great spoil divided ; the lame take the preyP — Isa. 
 33 : 23, 24. The prophet refers to a hostile nation, and 
 victory over an invading army, forced to flee away before 
 God's Israel, leaving great spoils behind, which even the 
 weak and the lame may seize, forgetting their weak and 
 crippled state, in the glorious opportunity of seizing the 
 abandoned spoils of the enemy ; they shall not say I am 
 sick or lame ; such transports of joy at such a deliverance, 
 such a victory, over such spoils, and such prospects of 
 future peace and prosperity as quite to absorb all sense of 
 pain and disability ; quite forgetting themselves, surprise 
 ing themselves and others ; the secret of it all being con- 
 cealed in the fact of their iniquity being forgiven ; God 
 
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. — JOURNAL. 285 
 
 taking the part of those who loved and who feared him ; 
 thus, even then, causing the weak things of the world to 
 confound the mighty, as St. Paul intimates, that no flesh 
 should glory in his 'presence. It is so yet, blessed be 
 God! 
 
 Dec. 27th. — The ancients compared truth to salt ; — very 
 significant ; it makes the old sores and new ivounds of pro- 
 fessors and sinners smart again ! All the better for that, 
 if they keep temper. It hastens the healing. The spirit- 
 ual hurt must not be healed slightly ', as the Head of the 
 church intimates by the prophet : "They have healed also 
 the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, 
 Peace, peace, when there is no peace." Ay, that decep- 
 tive practice is still continued. The wounds made by sin 
 must be probed, cleansed, closed, before they can be 
 healed with safety, without the risk of a spiritual fester, 
 or of bleeding afresh. 
 
 But, what a work of God is breaking forth in every 
 direction ! 
 
 Dec. 29th. — A little more strength. The work spreads 
 like a flame, — "like fire among dry stubbleP Halle- 
 lujah ! 
 
 Dec. 30th. — Sinners are greatly moved ; some say, 
 " frightened." What of that, if it be but a sanctified 
 fright, set apart for conversion ! when they shall be able 
 to say, "God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but 
 of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (2 Tim. 1 : 
 7) ; the result of a sanctified fright ; — not like that which 
 came down upon the soldiers who watched our Lord's sep- 
 ulchre. They were wonderfully frightened when they saw 
 a flaming angel roll away the great stone from the mouth 
 of the sepulchre, while the earth shook and trembled, and 
 they fell, almost scared out of their wits, and tumbled about 
 
286 SHOWERS OE BLESSING. 
 
 like logs in a whirlpool ; till, at length, they rolled them- 
 selves out of sight and hearing. Alas, the fright was not 
 sanctified ! A little money hired them to tell a deliberate 
 lie, — that the disciples of Jesus came and stole away his 
 body while they slept — Matt. 28: 13. "Slept!" A 
 Roman guard asleep ! — and all asleep, — asleep in the 
 open air. So soundly asleep, as not to hear the crashing 
 motions of such a stone in the removal, and the fidl moon 
 shining in brilliancy, and the usual passover stir in and 
 around Jerusalem ! Asleep, and yet knew who took the 
 body away! "Slept!" — as much as the frightened 
 ones in my congregation slept last Sabbath night, dur- 
 ing the reverberating thunders of the truth of the Omnip- 
 otent God ! 
 
 Afternoon. — The work of God at York, and other places, 
 was glorious. Have been trying to collect my notes of its 
 incidents and progress, from journal, and note-books, 
 and fragments of letters ; but the whole are in such con- 
 fusion, when collected, and item after item dateless, I find 
 it difficult to systematize them. Ah, me ! Ought to have 
 taken more pains at the time. Cannot help it now. Many 
 interesting things lost past recovery ; and so also with this 
 work of God in Birmingham ; — instance the effects of the 
 Friday night discourses on sanctification ; — a large number 
 of believers saved on those occasions. 
 
 Dec. 31st. — Well, 1845 is nearly gone ; and 1846 
 seems as if stretching forth its hand to grasp mine ; and 
 it will grasp the hand of a poor, weak, feeble and some- 
 what shattered warrior of the cross ; but much better than 
 he was. 
 
 There is a great dca. said about war, weapons and fight- 
 ing, in the Scriptures, - - spiritual war, weapons and fight- 
 
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE.— JOURNAL. 28^ 
 
 ing, I mean, — implying enemies, diabolical and human, of 
 no easy encounter or conquest. 
 
 Every unsaved sinner is a host in himself; his pas- 
 sions, habits, carnal interests, ideas and idols, as so many 
 battalions of a grand army, set in battle array against the 
 spiritual batteries, &c. &c, of the pulpit. 
 
 A sermon is, or should be, an army of ideas ; — every 
 idea a soldier of Christ, with some spiritual weapon or 
 other in hand. Divisions are — what ? 0, three parts 
 usually ; as the right and left wing, and centre of an 
 army, on the rough edge of battle ! Although I often 
 prefer the solid square (a single proposition), in which 
 my rank and file are equal ; which, in military tactics, 
 seems to stand upon the defensive, rather than the offen- 
 sive ; but, "at the word of command, my solid square 
 opens out in avenues of armed thoughts, unmasking 
 concealed batteries, which sometimes do tremendous exe- 
 cution!" 
 
 There is great disorder sometimes, and who ever saw 
 a great battle entirely free from that ? My sub-divisions, 
 regiments and battalions, and rank and file, go in for it 
 in a holy disordered order. Ideas and illustrations, 
 — what are they in military parlance ? 0, armed sol- 
 diers of Emanuel, in uniform and panoply divine ! — 
 a bannered host, rushing forth, and doing battle for the 
 Lord God of hosts ; the Holy Ghost electrifying them 
 with his energy and power, and sweeping them along, or 
 "leading them to the charge," as a military man observed, 
 " where the slain of the Lord were many ;" as on last 
 Sabbath night. Hallelujah ! 
 
 I like all the chapels : Newtown-Row, Belmont- 
 Row, Cherry -street, and Wesley ; — have held meetings 
 in them all. Very easy to preach in them ; they display 
 
288 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 much sound judgment in that respect ; plain, substantia] 
 buildings ; fine organs and good choirs and csngregationai 
 singing ; excellent bands of devoted and talented leaders 
 and local preachers. The stationed ministers on both cir- 
 cuits are kind. Rev. Joseph Wood is truly at home in 
 the revival. Praise the Lord ! 
 
CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
 
 NEW YEAK. — THE PROPHESYING TRUMP. — JOURNAL. 
 
 Hail, 1846 ! —Farewell, 1845 ! Thou, like the souls 
 of our departed friends, art gone over to the majority. I 
 hail thee, even thee, now numbered among the years of by- 
 gone ages, and the years before the flood. I shall rejoin 
 thee again in that duration which is not measured by sum- 
 mer and winter, spring and autumn, or by the revolutions 
 of the planets. Farewell, 1845, for a little while, till I 
 meet thee, or thy records, where I hope to meet my friends, 
 in the abodes of the spirits of just men made perfect. 
 Farewell ! 
 
 Held a Watch Night in Cherry-street Chapel last night. 
 Text, " This year thou shall die." — Jer. 28 : 16. The 
 New Year ushered itself in most gloriously to some, but 
 most miserably in the apprehensions of others, — the awak- 
 ened, the terrified, the despairing. Poor souls ! reminding 
 one of Petrarch's line, 
 
 " When trembling Hope was frozen to Despair ! " 
 
 But I know the Lord ! I know his ways ! He always 
 kills before he makes alive, — inflicts death before he in- 
 fuses life, — and administers the bitter always before the 
 sweet. The Devil reverses this, in whom he is working 
 damnation. But this is GooVs order with those in whom 
 he would work salvation. Poor souls ! they do not seem to 
 25 
 
290 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 understand this, and sob and wail as if he really intended 
 to damn them. But I have no fear of them, if they only 
 persevere. " The Lord will not always chide ; neither 
 ivill he keep his anger forever!" No, blessed be his 
 name ! 
 
 As to my own providential path, "clouds, alas ! and dark- 
 less rest upon it; " thick as over old Egypt, in the days of 
 darkness. Well, let the future of my path here below 
 remain so. What matters it-, seeing there is light and sun- 
 shitie in Goshen, and I live in Goshen ! — my watchword, 
 Exodus ! — must be confident, and march on. Darkness 
 and difficulty ever recede before the bold, the courageous, 
 and faithful. 
 
 The past I know, and the present ; but the future is an 
 unknown ; — my feeling this New Year's clay ! What of 
 that? The Lord is worthy to be trusted by ?ne, as well 
 as by those "ghastly squadrons of despair." who passed 
 away from our sight in Cherry-street, this morning ! 
 
 There is a light for the soul, that shines not through the 
 eyes of the body ; — have often realized this, and do now. 
 From this, I gather courage to press forward, through sur- 
 rounding providential darkness, to the day of which this 
 inward light is the harbinger. 
 
 Had a hard time in preaching, night before Watch Night, 
 as I usually have, before some great occasion, when peo- 
 ple are looking forward, instead of up ; and so they go 
 down, and the poor preacher with them. But, this usually 
 nerves me for the conflict, when the great occasion arrives ! 
 However, we had a powerful time in the prayer-meeting. 
 Hard a time as I had had in preaching, a gentleman sin- 
 ner, from London, had it much harder under the truth 
 which I found it so hard to deliver ! He came forward to 
 be prayed for, trembling like the Philippian jailer ; "as 
 
NEW YEAR. — THE PROPHESYING TRUMP. 291 
 
 if conscience, to the very centre of his being, had smitten 
 him with a pain irresistible ! '" 0. what a tumult was in 
 that soul ! 
 
 There is evei y prospect now of a mighty work of God, 
 which, "like mighty winds and torrents fierce,'"' will turn, 
 and overturn, and overcome all opposing powers. A few 
 dams have got to give way, and a few barriers swept out of 
 the way, and then — salvation! 0, for a fresh baptism, 
 and strength of all sorts ! A crisis is the time that tests 
 the genius and fitness of a general ; and battle tests the 
 soldier, and such a crisis as this, the preacher ; — and 
 many such have I had. 
 
 " Arise, my soul, arise ! " 
 
 M, Jfe Jfe Jfc Jl. 
 
 5JF <fc . "K - 'ft- . -ff 
 
 Jan. 2d. — This is no time to falter, or to give &ac&. The 
 ?>o^ is hot, sparkling, and melting, and calls for the mould- 
 ing-hammers. But stronger blasts and hotter fires are 
 demanded for other metals, you may depend upon it. The 
 dead are awaking, and require assistance and direction; 
 but some have scarcely the motion of an eyelash, or a 
 single pulsation of spiritual life. A louder blast of the 
 -prophesying trump is absolutely needed, even should it 
 crack and go to pieces in the effort. God has other trump- 
 ets ready when this one is worn out. Till then, it is safest 
 to obey the command, u Cry aloud, spare not ; lift up thy 
 voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgres- 
 sions, and the house of Jacob their s'ms." — Is. 58 : 1. 
 u Bloio ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in 
 my holy mountain : let all the inhabitants of the land 
 tremble : for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh 
 at Jiand^ — Joel 2 : 1. Ay ! then, and not till then, may 
 ^e expect the seeing of Zechariah the prophet verified; 
 
292 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 " And the Lord shall be seen over them, and his arrows 
 shall go forth as the lightning ; and the Lord God shah 
 blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of the 
 south." — Zech. 9 : 14. Read, also, the next verse; for my 
 soul sucks fire out of these passages, and gathers strength 
 for the battle! " The Lord of Hosts shall defend them; 
 and they shall devour and subdue with sling-stones ; and 
 they shall drink and make a noise as through wine, and 
 they shall he filled like bowls, and as the corners of the altar. 
 And the Lord their God shall save them in that day as the 
 flock of his people : for they shall be as the stones of a 
 crown, lifted up as an ensign upon his land. For, how 
 great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty ! " — Zech. 
 9 : 14, 15, 16, 17. 
 
 * * # * * * 
 
 ^ ^ 'K TV 3ff TV 
 
 Zech. 9 : 14 — 17, is a remarkable passage indeed. I never 
 noticed it particularly before yesterday. When copying it, 
 I knew not where to stop, every word and phrase seemed so 
 full of meaning, and so thrilling. It is the Holy Spirit, 
 doubtless, which, at particular times, infuses such power 
 and significancy into the word of God, and as if spoken 
 to ourselves. Consider it carefully : " The Lord shall 
 be seen over them,'' 1 — in some conspicuous and unmistak- 
 able tokens of his presence; — presiding, directing, con- 
 trolling, overruling, and protecting us in our enterprises for 
 him. Hallelujah ! 
 
 Consider again: "His arrows shall go forth as the 
 lightning" Mark that, " His arrows 11 Our God is 
 not going to be an idle spectator of this conflict ! No ! 
 ' his arrow's shall go forth," swiftly, silently, and directly 
 to the mark ! Sinners shall be hit and pierced by an 
 unseen archer, — shall not know who hit them, and shall 
 
NEW YEAR. — THE PROPHESYING TRUMP. 293 
 
 lay it all to the hi.mble archer in the pulpit. Hallelujah ! 
 " His arrows shall go forth as the lightning;" — mark 
 that, — with a force that is effectual as it is irresistible ! 
 
 Consider further : i ' And the Lord God shall blow the 
 trumpet.'''' M^rk that also, — the battle signal shall be 
 given by himself I He himself shall animate our troops. 
 and sound the charge at the crisis, and lead us to the 
 victory ! 
 
 Consider again : What more shall our God do for us in 
 the battle? " And shall go with whirhvinds of the south '* 
 Mark that, " whirlwinds." Who can set limits to the 
 might and power of a whirlwind ? — that not only throws 
 chaff and dust and dead leaves into tribulation, but tears 
 in pieces every bulkier object that stands in its way ; and, 
 as if one whirlwind were not enough, whirlwinds, and 
 plenty of them, is the promise ! 
 
 Consider further : " And they shall devour and subdue 
 with sling-stones." Though fighting with unequal weap- 
 ons, to what the Devil opposes us by, yet victory is of the 
 Lord ! — as David felt, when the sling-stone whizzed through 
 the air against Goliah, as he stood like a pyramid of brass, 
 armed with sword, and spear, and shield ; — the little stone, 
 like "a little sermon," slung with power, levelled to the 
 dust that haughty and defiant Philistine ! 
 
 Consider the sequel: "They shall drink and rejoice, 
 and make a noise as through u;ine ; celebrating the victory 
 in songs of praise, and shouts of triumph, as on the day 
 when the Lord God gave Jehoshaphat and the people of 
 Jerusalem the famous victory over the combined armies of 
 Moab and Ammon, without tinging the sword of a single 
 Israelitish soldier with the blood of the foe ; for the battle 
 was the Lord's, and he fought for them, and caused them to 
 return to Jerusalem with^'oy, and with sound of. psalteries 
 25* 
 
294 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 and harp? and trumpets, unto the house of the Lord; 
 because he had made them to rejoice over their enemies ; 
 or like the scenes of the Pentecost, -when the -wicked were 
 confoundsd, — some mocking at what they could not 
 understand, or rationally contradict, — others accounting 
 for the glorious manifestations among the triumphant multi- 
 tude, upon principles which befooled the objectors: " These 
 men are full of new wine" — Acts 2. " Full of new 
 wine " ! " New wine " ! — who ever heard of people getting 
 drunk on new wine? — the newly-expressed juice of the 
 grape I Besides, such an article could not be had, "for 
 love or money," at so early a season of the year as the day 
 of Pentecost ! — to say nothing of the quantity for such a 
 throng of people ; — or, if they meant some other kind of 
 wine, nine o'clock in the morning (the Jewish third hour 
 of the day), it was too early an hour for such a multitude 
 to get drunk, and all with one consent ! Peter took good 
 advantage of that fact. At any rate, the silly insinuation 
 was enough to cover such objectors with derision, and they 
 sneaked away out of sight ; while the more thoughtful and 
 candid were amazed, and inquired, " What meaneth this?" 
 0, but how much of all this shall we have in Birmingham, 
 if the Lord our God will fight for us, as I believe he will. 
 according to ZechariaJi' s prophecy ! 
 
 Consider its beautiful allusions in conclusion. " Thej 
 shall be as the stones of the crown ; " — we shall be pre- 
 cious in his sight, and in the sight of others, as the crown of 
 England, with its precious stones, is to Queen Victoria 
 and the government; — "as the stones of a crown, lifted 
 up as an ensign upon his land; " — we shall be effectual 
 and influential in the sight of the multitudes, as the crown 
 of England, brilliant with precious stones, would be, if 
 carried forth as an ensign before the army of Great Britain, 
 
NEW YEAR. — THE PROPHESYING TRUMP. 295 
 
 going forth to defend the country against invaders, and to 
 maintain its honor. 
 
 Then shall all know and acknowledge " How great is his 
 goodness, and how great his beauty ; " — how infinite in 
 his goodness ; how glorious in his beauty ; — in his goodness 
 to those who trust in him ; and in the beautiful order of 
 his divine providence towards his people, and in his salva- 
 tion ! 
 
 0, that our God may come speedily to our help, " with 
 the whirlwinds of the south ! " — the most vehement storms 
 which swept over Judea came from the south ; from the 
 great desert to the south of it ; — a revival whirlwind. 
 such as may tear up by the roots whole forests of the Devil's 
 planting 1 
 
CHAPTER XXXIX. 
 
 AN EXPERIMENT REJECTED. — LETTERS. - 
 
 To * -# * * * * . 
 
 Birmingham, Jan., 1846. 
 
 Your " observations " are valuable; but, depend upon 
 it such a method would never accomplish much in Birming- 
 ham, or I greatly mistake the character of its people. It 
 has been pretty well tried in Birmingham, and I have no 
 heart to prolong the experiment, so well and so fruitlessly 
 tested by wiser heads than mine. 
 
 The preaching that will please carnal men is about sure 
 to please the Devil also ; what one called u gaudy allusions, 
 and pretty gingles, and knacks of wit, and scraps of 
 Greek and Latin, and shreds of fathers and philosophy, — 
 in well-set and accurate speech ;" — ay! something to 
 tickle the fancy without touching the conscience ! No ! 
 by the grace of God, no ! — a thousand times no ! Better 
 I was concealed once more in the western wilderness, than 
 attempt such an exhibition. No! no! no! "Give me 
 souls, or I die ! " is the cry of my heart. But this is not 
 the way to ivi?: them, nor any mode of preaching akin to 
 it No 
 
AN EXPERIMENT REJECTED. 297 
 
 TO THE SAME. 
 
 Genteel efforts, and polite endeavors, will never orig- 
 inate a revival here, nor sustain it if begun ; will never 
 
 ''Bow down stubborn knees, and hearts with strings of steel. ,y 
 
 Nor can a u;hisper do what demands a thunder. A few 
 squibs can never accomplish what demands a grand battery 
 of cannon ! A breath, a zephyr from a garden of roses, 
 cannot move or overthrow that which requires a breeze, a 
 tempest, a tornado, or the might of ignited gunpowder ! 
 The strongholds of the Devil are not to be taken and pulled 
 down by "gentle," but by pretty violent measures, such 
 as " carpet knights" and tea-table champions are never 
 likely to engage in ; but men of nerve, courage, zeal, and 
 capable of enduring hardness as good soldiers of Jesus 
 Christ (2 Tim. 2:3); who are more anxious for fighting 
 than for drinking ! 
 
 Gideon, you remember, had orders to send all home who 
 drank after a certain fashion ; — down upon all-fours, by 
 the river's brink, for a good comfortable drink, as if fearing a 
 long expedition, and long abstinence ; — so they resolved to 
 indulge, and carry away a good stomach- full I — they 
 thought more of their stomachs than of victory over the 
 enemies of their God ! Nine thousand seven hundied, oi 
 them did so ; and the Lord said, " Send them home ; they 
 are unfit for this service!" But there were three hun- 
 dred men, who, instead of flinging themselves down upon 
 hands and knees for a drink, were content to quench 
 their thirst by taking up a little in the palm or hollow of 
 their hard, without laying aside their armor, or being off 
 their guard for a moment ; and the Lord said, ' ' By the 
 
298 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 three hundred men that lapped will 1 save you.'''' Those 
 were the trusty soldiers ; hardy, fatigue-enduring \ thirst- 
 despising men, who longed to engage the enemy ; despising 
 even necessary refreshment through zeal for their God wad 
 country } s cause. — Judges, seventh chapter. But such, 
 evidently, are the officers and soldiers of the cross, with 
 which rny God has surrounded me on every side ! And 
 now, by His help, they shall not have their zeal quenched, 
 but in a great vi N tory for the Lord of hosts ! Amen. 
 
 J£* JL Jit* 4fc» Alt Jfa 
 
 T^ TV" ■TV" TT *qfr «1t" 
 
 t 
 
 To * * * # * *. 
 * # * * * * 
 
 The soldiers of Christ are called to endure hardness, 
 else they would not be the u good soldiers," of whom Paul 
 speaks. Every proper revival effort is a sort of holy, 
 decided, obstinate violence against sin, self, and Satan ; — 
 against the world, the flesh, and the devil ; — and, hardest 
 of all, frequently, against cold-hearted, and fault-finding 
 church-members, sympathizers with those who are with- 
 out. But all these must be moved, shaken, prostrated, by 
 a power from heaven, and by no very " gentle measures,'" 
 depend upon it. 
 
 The judgments of God must be rolled upon the ears 
 of men ; not " theories built of gossamer" but stern, 
 rugged, devil-arousing, and sinner-piercing truth ; ay ! 
 and that with all the energies of the preacher, and with the 
 power of God unto salvation. 
 
 Ah, sir ! I knew human nature, and infernal nature, 
 and their combined power, too well, to miscalculate in this 
 matter ! — have been brought into collision with them too 
 often to underrate iteir power of resistance. * * * * 
 
AN EXPERIMENT REJECTED 299 
 
 To * * *« 
 
 Weigh well what I am about to say, ^-but take it in con- 
 nection with what has been already said, — a gentle touch 
 will never accomplish what requires the shoulder of an earth- 
 quake ! No ! no ! no ! — but rather something after the 
 manner of good old Robert Bolton, who hints that we must 
 preach till the sinner feels he is in the actual grapple of the 
 King of terrors, and is about to stand or fall at the tribunal 
 of God ; as if he were about to drop into the fiery lake with 
 a senseless heart and a seared conscience, or with the cry, 
 11 Save, Lord, or I perish!" — that we must preach till 
 every sinner feels himself now in that predicament of peril 
 and terror which he will certainly feel hereafter, when he 
 would give ten thousand worlds, were they all turned into 
 gold, pleasures, and imperial crowns, to have his salva- 
 tion secured ! — we must preach till the very heavens appear 
 as if shrivelling together like a scroll, — as if the whole frame 
 of nature were in flames about his ears ; — as if the great 
 and mighty hills were starting out of their places like 
 frighted men ; — till he is ready to join in the reprobate 
 cry for the rocks and mountains to fall upon him ; — till he 
 feels that no dromedary of Egypt, nor wings of the morn- 
 ing, shall be able to carry him out of the reach of the 
 avenging hand ; — till he feels that there is no top of Car- 
 met, no depth of the sea, no bottom of hell, that can hide 
 him from the wrath of a sin-avenging God ; — till he feels 
 that no rock, nor mountain, nor the great body of the whole 
 earth, can cover him from the unresistible power that laid 
 the foundations of them ; — till he feels that no arm of flesh, 
 or armies of angels, are able to protect him from those infi- 
 nite rivers of brimstone which shall be kept in everlasting 
 
800 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 flames by the anger of God ; — till he feels as if ho is nex* 
 to being chained, by the Omnipotent hand of God, among 
 spirits damned, in a place of flames and perpetual darkness, 
 where is torment without end, and past imagination ; — that 
 we must preach till he is ready to cry out, with the feelings 
 of the damned, "0, that I were annihilated, or had but 
 one more chance upon earth to obtain salvation ! " — till he 
 feels, upon returning recollection, that there is actually but 
 one step between him and hell, — but the thin veil of the 
 flesh [as Baxter observes] between him and that amazing 
 sight, — that eternal gulf, into -which sinners are stepping 
 daily ; — till he feels that his breath is about to be stopped 
 by an arrest from heaven, and justice on the point of sur- 
 prising his unready soul, and no assurance that he shall 
 not be in hell in an hour ; — till he feels some of those pierc- 
 ing, griping, tearing thoughts, which the consciously dying 
 and the certainly damned do feel ; — till there is an outcry 
 for mercy from him and many others, which prove that the 
 trumpet of the Lord has not been sounded in vain, nor in 
 vain has his sword been wielded ! Depend upon it, sir, this 
 is the kind of preaching that is needed, if not " asked for" 
 in Birmingham ! And, if last Sabbath night bore any 
 resemblance to it, to God be all the glory ! * * * 
 
CHAPTER XL. 
 
 TEE RENEWAL OF THE COVENANT, AND PROGRESS OF 
 THE REVIVAL. 
 
 January 5th, 1846. — Yesterday, being the first Sab- 
 bath in the year, I preached in Bradford-street Chapel, 
 from 2 Peter 2:9. A gracious time. The afternoon -was 
 spent in "the renewal of the covenant," one of the promi- 
 nent New- Year's services among the Wesley ans in this 
 country. The covenant was read, by one of the stationed 
 preachers, most impressively. Was struck with the intro- 
 duction, — exceedingly appropriate. 
 
 After the covenant, assisted in the administration of the 
 Lord's Supper. 
 
 Preached again at night to a crowd. Was sharp and 
 convincing, if effects are signs thereof. There were fifty 
 saved, of whom thirty were justified, and tiventy sanctified. 
 It is well to preach every sermon as if it were one's last ; 
 or, as if one's oivn life depended upon it ; — certainly it is 
 life or death to the hearer, and that should move one, if 
 anything would. My soul was moved indeed, and so were 
 the people. Many saved. 
 
 Had much joy in my soul this morning in secret with 
 
 God, and much after my return last night ; one of those 
 
 sweet and glorious surprises ; what one calls "an excess 
 
 of divine goodness." I sometimes call it u revival joy '," 
 
 26 
 
802 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 because it so frequently, with me, precedes, or accompanies 
 at intervals, a great work of God. 
 
 Jan. 7th. Wednesday morning. — Preached at Brad- 
 ford-street again last night. Chapel crowded, aisles and 
 all. Eighteen found mercy, and seven or eight purity. 
 After I returned, when alone with my Lord and Master, 
 opened on Jer. 29 : 11, 14, and felt as if he was speaking 
 to me. 
 
 What an amazing work hath the Lord wrought the last 
 ten or ticelve days ! It is the Lord's doings, indeed, and 
 marvellous in our eyes, — almost equal, in fact, to what we 
 witnessed in Doncaster and Macclesfield. Hallelujah ! 
 
 Afternoon. — Onward for victory. The Lord of hosts 
 is with us. Sinners are slain on every side. The Gospel 
 is the power of God unto salvation. But the power must 
 be attended with an unfaltering footstep, a bold heart, and 
 a steady, trusty arm, and a fearless tongue. The French 
 poet spoke well, when he said, 
 
 " 0, he who in thy pathway treads, 
 Must toil and pain endure ! 
 His head must plan the boldest deeds, 
 His arm must make them sure." 
 
 Mr. Caughey speaks, in the above extracts from his jour- 
 nal, of the progress of the revival in Birmingham. The 
 following, which we copy from a London newspaper, affords 
 'X better view of this extraordinary work, than can be gath- 
 ered from the glimpses of it in the journal : 
 
 " Birmingham. — The Rev. Mr. Caughey has now been 
 here for three weeks, and has preached in Newtown-Row 
 and Belmont-Bow Chapels, in the east circuit, and Wesley 
 Chapel, in the west circuit. He was last week at Cherry- 
 
THE RENEWAL OF THE COVENANT. 303 
 
 street, in the west circuit. The services in each of the 
 chapels havo been attended by overflowing audiences ; and 
 the work of God appears to be extending rapidly. Much 
 good has been done, and much more is expected, fcr the 
 Spirit of God is being poured out upon the people, and the 
 impression made by Mr. Caughey's sermons is powerful 
 and deep ; — other denominations have caught the fire, and 
 amongst the penitents have been recognized Baptists and 
 Independents. The ministers, the leaders, and the local 
 preachers, appear to be all animated with the spirit which 
 has guided this servant of God across the Atlantic, and 
 induced him to preach and labor in foreign lands. 
 
 "We believe the revival in Birmingham has taken deep 
 ~oot, and such an excitement has it created in the town on 
 religious matters as was never before witnessed. Members 
 of the church, who were dull and lethargic, have been 
 aroused ; sinners, who were deep in impiety, have been awak- 
 ened and converted ; and backsliders, w T hose case was thought 
 almost hopeless, have again felt the efficacy of the redeem- 
 ing blood of Christ. The scene which was presented in 
 Cherry-street Chapel on Sunday night exceeds description. 
 The chapel (which is the largest Methodist chapel in the 
 town, and capable of accommodating more than two thou- 
 sand persons) was densely crowded. The aisles, the pews, 
 the space within the altar- rails, the vestries, and even the 
 pulpit stairs, were crowded with anxious and attentive 
 hearers. 
 
 "After the sermon, although many persons went away, 
 the chapel was still crowded ; and even the aisles were full. 
 The prayer-meeting immediately commenced ; and so great 
 was the number of penitents, that the accommodation was 
 totally insufficient, and the large school-room was filled. So 
 deep is the interest felt in the progress of the revival, that 
 
304 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 some persons actually came twenty, thirty, forty, and even 
 more than a hundred miles to hear Mr. Caughey preach. 
 We are not in possession of the actual number of conver- 
 sions, but they cannot be less than six hundred. Accurate 
 lists are, however, kept, and we hope to be able to lay be- 
 fore our readers the actual result of Mr. Caughey's labors 
 in Birmingham. 
 
 "Birmingham. — (Another account.) The revival of 
 religion in this town now begins to assume a very encour- 
 aging and important aspect. The great amount of good 
 which has been effected through the labors of that distin- 
 guished servant of God, the Rev. J. Caughey, from Amer- 
 ica, whose labors were so signally owned of God in several 
 other large towns in this kingdom, has not been the less 
 so here. In this town, Methodism may be considered far 
 behind most of the other populous towns in the kingdom, 
 compared with the density of its population, and it has oft 
 been considered as an unfavorable soil for Methodism exten- 
 sively to prosper. What from political agitation, mechani- 
 cal ingenuity, which so greatly absorb the time and atten- 
 tion of the inhabitants, together with the prevalence of 
 Sabbath desecration and intemperance, combined with infi- 
 delity and Catholicism, &c, render the simple story of 
 Christ crucified a subject which they regard as beneath 
 their attention. 
 
 " Although those hills may raise their heads, and appear 
 to assume some prominence, yet it is written that the moun- 
 tain of the Lord's house shall be established upon the tops 
 of the mountain ; she sh&ll be exalted above the hills, and 
 become the object of universal attraction, admiration, and 
 delight ; that all nations shall flow into it. And here, around 
 our standard, we have not only Wesleyans, but members of 
 different churches, and others who are of the world which lieth 
 
THE RENEWAL OP THE COVENANT. 305 
 
 in wickedness, all pressing into our sanctuaries to listen to 
 the powerful appeals, and to be made partakers of the quick- 
 ening and soul-saving influence usually attendant upon the 
 labors of this distinguished servant of the Most High. Not 
 only is it that degraded sinners and backsliders, with dead, 
 formal, pharisaical professors, are brought into deep peni- 
 tence for sin by hundreds ; but members and leading officials 
 are raised to newness of life, and living in the comfort of the 
 Holy Ghost, witnessing the truth of the apostle's doctrine, that 
 the blood of Christ cleanseth from all sin. It was said, some 
 two or three years ago, that Cherry-street Chapel was the 
 mother chapel, and that she had grown old, and had ceased 
 to bring forth children. But we now see it is not the ad- 
 vance of age, nor the pressure of infirmities under which she 
 has labored from her heavy responsibilities, shall prevent 
 her from bringing forth; but when overshadowed by the 
 Holy Ghost, and the spirit of holy zeal is practically demon- 
 strated by the church, then the barren shall bring forth, the 
 solitary plain shall be made glad and blossom as the rose. 
 Several hundreds have given in their names as having ob- 
 tained pardoning mercy or sanctifying grace. 
 
 " On Monday evening, a missionary meeting was held at 
 Belmont-Row Chapel, Dr. Waddy in the chair. The crowded 
 audience was addressed by the Revs. J. Lawton and Tindal, 
 in energetic, interesting speeches, followed by the Rev. J. 
 Caughey, in strains both figurative and deeply affecting to 
 tl;e audience; after which, the Rev. J. Everett, from York, 
 delivered one of the most interesting speeches ever listened 
 to in the town of Birmingham. On the whole, it was con- 
 sidered one of the best missionary meetings that w T as ever 
 held, and the collection about one fourth over last year. 
 Mr. Caughey' s labors have been continued at Cherry-street 
 during the remainder of the week and an increased interest 
 26* 
 
306 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 has continued to be exerted. The slain of the Lord may be 
 said to be heaps upon heaps ; the press of penitent seekers 
 of salvation, and those seeking sanctifying grace, have been 
 in such numbers, that the altar-rails were insufficient. The 
 vestry and the large school-room have been frequently re- 
 quired, in addition, to accommodate them. Notwithstanding 
 the powerful efforts displayed in the conversion of sinners of 
 varied characters, from the degraded infidel to the formal 
 professor, yet some would fain call it a mass of enthusiasm. 
 Our worst wish to such is, that they may be brought under 
 its influence, and be made the partakers of its effects, and be 
 brought to possess that enthusiastic zeal which may lead 
 them to present their bodies and souls as a living sacrifice 
 to the Lord. If it be enthusiasm, it is that for which mar- 
 tyrs bled, which apostles and primitive Christians labored to 
 promote, by converting sinners from the error of their ways. 
 It partakes of the enthusiasm of the day of Pentecost, when, 
 under Peter's preaching, three thousand w T ere pricked in 
 their hearts, and cried out, ' Men and brethren, what shall 
 we do ? ' 
 
 "We are glad to add that the interest continues advanc- 
 ing ; and it is pleasing to observe that many of the most 
 talented and influential members are first and foremost in 
 aiding in this great work. We hope this to only be the 
 beginning of a most important era in the history of Metho- 
 distic revivalism in this populous town, and that similar 
 energies will be continued, until its leavening influence 
 shall be such as to affect the whole town, until the whole 
 be leavened." 
 
CHAPTER XLI. 
 
 NOTES OF CORRESPONDENCE AND PRIVATE REFLECTIONS. 
 
 A letter from one of my "field officers" in the late 
 battles of Sheffield and Chesterfield, — fields of glory, 
 where laurels were won that shall never wither ! — good 
 John Levlck ! But he writes himself down " a disabled sol- 
 dier" but hoping soon to take the field again, as his own 
 " home hospital," as he calls it, has in it an excellent nurse, 
 in the person of a beloved wife. His soul is happy, and 
 burns once more to be in the hottest of the battle for Christ 
 and truth, — just as a disabled soldier of Jesus Christ should 
 feel ! 
 
 He reports good news from Chesterfield; — the labors 
 of the regular ministers and their helpers greatly blessed, — 
 souls saved daily, — classes doubled in numbers; — one 
 minister has given to the winds his "pulpit notes" and 
 speaks right out from the heart what comes next ! — the 
 financials, as might be expected. Doncaster, he says, is 
 doing well, but the want of the church seems to be " a sanc- 
 tified leadership." He writes, also, an exposition of 2 Cor. 
 1 : 20, given by a little girl in the Ebe?iezer Chapel Sun- 
 day-school, Sheffield : " For all the promises of GM in him 
 are yea, and in him amen, unto the glory of God by us." 
 He asked the class of girls what they thought the apostle 
 meant. It seemed to perplex all of them but one, a little 
 girl of eleven or twelve years of age, who said, " I will tell 
 
308 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 you what I think it means. Now, if I were to ask God, 
 ' Did not Jesus Christ suffer and die, to purchase all these 
 blessings for meV would he not say, ' Yea 1 ? and then if I 
 were to say, ' Lord, bestow them upon me, for Christ's 
 sake,' would he not say c Amen ' to my prayer ? " 
 
 ^L. JA, .A/, ^L, Jd, -U- 
 
 ■*fc ■75* *TT -7v *3v -?V 
 
 But, alas ! sad news from D of one whom I considered 
 
 a spiritual child of mine, and of whom I had great. hope ; — 
 but sht has been suddenly called into eternity, under pain- 
 ful circumstances. Mrs. H. is no more ! She and her 
 sister, both intelligent ladies, sought and found an interest 
 in Christ during my visit to D., and joined the Wesleyan 
 Methodist church, and were both faithful for some time. At 
 length, as a letter informs me, Mrs. H. became quite neg- 
 lectful of class; — hoped she had found a way to heaven 
 less strict and precise, and at length withdrew from the 
 church ; but not until her leader had again and again called 
 upon her, with invitations and entreaties. But her mind 
 was made up to walk in a way less narrow than that she 
 had frequented, and his labors were in vain. 
 
 A few weeks since, on a Saturday evening, she retired 
 to her room, not to prepare for the Sabbath, as she was wont, 
 but to prepare for a ball! A ball-dress was to be got in 
 readiness for the following Monday night. 
 
 Sabbath morning dawned, but the seat of Mrs. H. was 
 vacant at the breakfast-table. A servant was dispatched to 
 her room to make inquiries, when, alas ! to her horror, she 
 found Mrs. H. lying on the floor, a corpse ! Her spirit 
 had passed to the dread tribunal of God ! The previous 
 Sabbath, it appears, she listened to a very awakening dis- 
 course from 2 Cor. G : 1, — " We then, as workers together 
 with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace 
 of God in vain." Ah ! this is a mournful case ! 
 
NOTES OE CORRESPONDENCE. 309 
 
 After reading the letter, I remembered having received a 
 letter from one of these sisters, after I left D., but could not 
 remember which ; but, on turning to my note-book, I find 
 it was from the sister of the deceased, and that the sub- 
 stance of the letter was, — temptations from former 
 fashionable friends to return to the pleasures of the 
 world; — that her reasons for refusing, when made known 
 to them, they did not seem to understand or appreciate ; — 
 that they had used every argument that human ingenuity 
 could devise, to turn her from that which they considered 
 a delusion, — a term which these fashionable people 
 applied to conversion. She concluded her letter by 
 expressing her determination to resist all such temptations, 
 and to be faithful until the end, adding: "We are wise, 
 when we make a choice, after full conviction of its being 
 best, to cast away the means of return. Thank God ! my 
 choice is made, — my land is chosen, — I have crossed 
 the stream, and I will break down the bridge behind 
 me ! " Poor Mrs. H. ! she could not withstand the temp- 
 tations of a flattering world, — little knowing that Death 
 was on the full march to meet her ; — or, was it the sin 
 unto death ? — 1 John 5 : 16, 17. 
 
 January 8th. — Smooth words, like round, smooth peb- 
 bles, do not penetrate, but roll off without making an impres- 
 sion. Fine sentences, and handsomeness of expression, do 
 the same. They please men, but they awaken not, nor 
 wound the conscience. Words and se?uences, angled and 
 jagged like broken flints, and expressions flying like 
 barbed, irrows, are the things for that. But, be it known 
 unto thee, my soul, against these, the world protests vehe- 
 mently ! Thou knewest it, and came forth with something 
 tastefully polished, to the liking of flesh and blood. 
 beware ! 
 
310 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 However, the leaders have become flames of fire among 
 stubble. But that is no reason why I should become a 
 mere phosphorescent. 
 
 Engaged upon an Index for my " Note Books;" — in 
 which I have noted many "items of interest," which it will 
 be profitable to have at command, for the pulpit or for the 
 press; — otherwise it jades the mind in hunting after them. 
 My tours on the Continent have afforded me some rich 
 material. 
 
 Have been looking back with gratitude upon the past 
 year of my life ; — a year of many mercies, and of consider- 
 able success to my ministry ; — not less than between four 
 zxAfi,ve thousand souls justified, and about two thousand 
 sanctified, in the protracted services in which I have been 
 engaged during the last twelve months. All glory to God ! 
 He doeth the works, and in every place he surrounds me 
 with a host of praying men and women, to whom, under 
 God, I owe much of my success. 0, what a glorious reward 
 awaits them above, if faithful to the end ! 
 
 Jan. 9th. — Wisdom and Prudence ! How necessary they 
 should accompany burning zeal! Too much prudence, or 
 overmuch caution, makes a cold and timid preacher, and 
 vnfits for such rough service as this ; yet, a deficiency of 
 these may lead a misguided zeal to spoil all. Lord, help 
 me! 
 
 However, the work of God shows ho pause. That text 
 had great force, Psalm 16 : 11, — " Thou wilt show me the 
 path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy ; at thy 
 right hand there are pleasures for evermore." A sweet 
 theme ! — the pleasures of heaven ! — the chief of which, a 
 sight of Jesus! How that moves an audience! — espe- 
 cially when one- can get such a view of Him, and language 
 tc express it such as the Holy Spirit alone can give the 
 
NOTES OF CORRESPONDENCE. 311 
 
 preacher, when that promise of Jesus has a fulfilment, 
 ' ' He shall glorify me ; for he shall receive of mine, and 
 will show it unto you." But there is much we must die 
 to know, even of Jesus and his glory. I believe with him 
 who said, " Of all the objects of celestial blessedness, Jesus 
 will stand first, the most conspicuous object of heavenly 
 contemplation." The Psalmist was of the same opinion, 
 when he exclaimed, "Whom have I in heaven but thee? 
 and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee." 
 He considered a sight of him, in heaven, the loveliest, sweet- 
 est, grandest, that heaven could afford ; — so think I, and 
 long to be there, to see him as he is, and to be like him ! 
 — 1 John 3 : 2. 
 
 " Soon in heaven we '11 adore him, 
 
 0, how he loves ! 
 Cast our glitt'ring crowns before him, 
 
 0, how he loves ! 
 When the victory is completed, 
 And around his throne we 're seated, 
 Then we '11 sing, and still repeat it, 
 
 0, how he loves ! " 
 
 A great move ; trophies of salvation many. Hallelujah ! 
 
 Jan. 10th. Saturday morning. — Sanctification last 
 night, — my usual theme on Friday nights. What a re- 
 markable blessing from the Lord attends that doctrine ! 
 What want or dearth is felt in that church or society 
 where it is not preached, fully, clearly, thoroughly, heart- 
 ily, and as a 'present salvation, attainable now, by faith ! 
 Mr. Wesley was well persuaded of this when he wrote to 
 one of his preachers thus: "When this is not preached, 
 there is seldom any remarkable blessing from God, and con- 
 sequently little addition to the society, or little life in the 
 members of it. Speak, and spare not ; let not regard to any 
 man induce you to betray the truth of God. Till you press 
 
312 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 believers to expect full salvation now, you must not looi 
 for any revival" Ay! and when that grand doctrine of 
 the Gospel is thus faithfully preached, the effects are sooc 
 evident and glorious. "The Gospel" as one observes, 
 "will then be consulted as a fresh charter from heaven. 
 Promises, which before were repeated with freezing accents, 
 will now burn upon the lips, and will be plead with an 
 earnestness that will open heaven." It was so, truly, 
 last night. The work of entire sanctification (1 Thess. 
 5 : 23, 24) has advanced with great rapidity and power the 
 last few weeks ; not less than three hundred persons have 
 professed its attainment ! A noble pledge, this, that these 
 protracted services are not likely to leave the church iveary, 
 wasted, and exhausted, but rich in faith, and love, and 
 holiness. 
 
 Jan. 12th. Monday morning. — I preached twice, yes- 
 terday, in the Islington Chapel, — a neat place of wor- 
 ship, in the suburbs of Birmingham. Sixty persons pro- 
 fessed to find mercy, and thirty purity of heart. The 
 scenes were indeed awfully grand and overwhelming, — 
 such multitudes of wounded and distressed people crying 
 for mercy ! — 
 
 " Deep wounded by the Spirit's sword, 
 And then by Gilead's balm restored ! " 
 
 Jan. 13th. — Delivered an address at the missionary 
 meeting at Islington, last night, with considerable liberty 
 and comfort, for me, — such a creature of circumstance am 
 I on these platforms ! English preachers are entirely at 
 home there. They are the best platform speakers I ever 
 listened to. I feel myself but a mere child there in their 
 midst ; and yet speak I must, if but as a child ! 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Greaves, from Sheffield, left for home 
 to-day. They have been here a week or more, accompanied 
 
NOTES OF CORRESPONDENCE. 313 
 
 by Mr. and Mrs. Denton. They came over on purpose to 
 enjoy the meetings. Mrs. G. has been the means of the 
 conversion of one woman since she came. She happened to 
 meet with her, and entered into conversation, telling her 
 for what purpose they had come all the way from Sheffield. 
 Nothing more was heard of the woman till a night or two 
 since, when she arose in a meeting and declared what great 
 things God had done for her soul, and how she happened to 
 attend the meetings ; — that a lady from Sheffield talked 
 with her about religion, and told her how far they had 
 come to hear " the stranger;" — that, pondering on the fact 
 that such fine-looking people had come so far to hear him, 
 it excited her curiosity, and she resolved to go herself; the 
 word reached her heart, and she had no rest until she found 
 the Saviour precious to her soul ! 
 
 I am now entertained at the house of Mr. Souter, sur- 
 rounded with comforts, — quite on the other side of the 
 town, and nearer the chapels where we hold the services. 
 The Rev. George Turner is the superintends t. 
 27 
 
CHAPTER XLII. 
 
 DISPASSIONATE PREACHING. 
 
 To ^ ^ ^ * ^ *. 
 * * ^ * * * 
 
 Your ideas of " dispassionate preaching" are all very 
 well, provided there were no sinners here in danger of 
 hell-fire; and no sleepy, inconsistent jwofessoj-s to be 
 awakened out of their delusive dreams ; — if all were holy, 
 just and good; otherwise, such preaching may be unto 
 them, what Ezekiel's was to a certain class in his day, 
 — " unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a 
 'pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument." God 
 himself used that figure in speaking with the prophet, 
 adding, " For they hear thy icords, but they do them 
 not." — Ezek. 33: 32. It was no wonder the Lord com- 
 manded him to smite with his hand, and stamp xoith his 
 foot, while speaking to them of the evil of their doings, and 
 their coming miseries. — Ezek. 6 : 11. 
 
 There is a great plenty of such preaching as you admire ; 
 — allow one solitary preacher to differ somewhat, if upon no 
 other principle than the old proverb, " Viriety is the spice 
 of life ! " 
 
 Goldsmith, you remember, compared a certain class of 
 minds to liquors that never ferment, and are consequently 
 always muddy. But you will not allow the style you 
 admire to be muddy; — well, perhaps it is not. It may be 
 
DISPASSIONATE PREACHING. 315 
 
 clear enough, and cold as clear ! 0, sir, give me the fer- 
 mented style ! — what St. Paul calls " fervent inspirit" 
 — that moves others also, and puts all the town in afer- 
 ment ! 
 
 However, whatever others may do is nothing to me. My 
 duty is plain, — to preach the whole truth of God with all 
 my soul, mind and strength. 
 
 " Perish discretion when it interferes with duty." 
 
 What we do should be done to purpose ; effect some- 
 thing ; not only move ourselves, but move others — out of 
 their sins to Christ ; — move the church, and better it, and 
 not be at an everlasting stand-still. 
 
 Erasmus tells us of a man, named Rabirins, who 
 wanted his servant, Syrus, to get up, and called to him to 
 move. "I do move," replied Syrus. "I see you move?'' 
 rejoined the master, "but you move nothing 1 ." Now, 
 there may be much religious activity, and yet not a sinner 
 moved out of his sins, and the church very little advanced 
 in holiness. When we move, we should move to some pur- 
 pose, and accomplish something ! 
 
 ****** 
 
 TO THE SAME. 
 
 Dean Swift used to say, preaching has two principal 
 branches : 1st, to tell people what is their duty ; and, 2d, 
 to convince them that it is so. I think the dean should 
 have had a thirdly : — to move them to do what they are 
 told is their duty, and what they are convinced is their 
 duty! 
 
 Now, with my statements regarding the duty of believers 
 and sinners you have no complaint ; nor of my arguments, 
 which effect convict 'ion; but rather in my manner of 
 
316 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 moving them to act in accordance with their convic- 
 tions. 
 
 Ah, my friend ! if we were really agreed in head and 
 heart about the great end of preaching, the manner of it, 
 I fancy, would be of trifling moment, so that truth is 
 preached, and sinners are converted by it ! 
 
 If your neighbor's house were on fire, in dead of night, 
 and the family fast asleep, and a neighbor, after a tremendous 
 knocking and uproar, should succeed in arousing and saving 
 them, you would be little disposed to chide him for the man- 
 ner in which he did it. Your own good sense can make the 
 application. 
 
 Whatever answers the end for which it was ordained is 
 usually accounted good ; the air we breathe, the food we 
 eat, the water we drink, the floicer we smell, the bird that 
 sings, the sun that shines, and the fire that warms, — ay, 
 and the thunder, and lightning, and stormy winds, which 
 roll the clouds into heaps upon heaps, rending them into 
 atoms, and which bring down the teeming shower over the 
 thirsty land ! You know the design of the Gospel ; and 
 that it is a real good only so far as it answers the end for 
 which it was ordained. Is that end being answered now 
 among the sinners of your great town ? Surely, you cannot 
 reasonably doubt ! 0, then, quarrel not with the manner ! 
 Let the fruits speak for themselves. I ask you to examine 
 the fruits, whether they are Gospel fruits, or something 
 else. Be assured of one thing, the " dispassionate preach- 
 ing" of which you are so fond, would never have turned 
 this tide of souls another way to that in which it was moving 
 a month ago ! 
 
 The sword, that gives the soldier victory on the field, is 
 accounted trusty and true, inasmuch as it has answered the 
 design for which it was made, and for which he wielded it, 
 
DISPASSIONATE PREACHING. 317 
 
 however clumsily, or untastefully ', or violently, wielded. 
 But what is war but a science of violence ? The Gospel is 
 a sword as well as a sceptre of mercy. St. Paul says it is 
 quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, 
 dividing asunder the joints and the marrow, and is a dis- 
 cerner, or lays open the very thoughts of the heart, as the 
 knife of the surgeon lays open the seat of the disease, or 
 the cause of death. The Gospel is a science of war, against 
 the world, the flesh, and the devil. Its tveapons, though 
 not carnal, as the apostle hints, are yet mighty through 
 God to the pulling down of strong holds, and casting 
 down imaginations, and every other high thing that 
 exalt eth itself against the knoioledge of Christ, and lead- 
 ing into captivity every thought to the obedience of 
 Christ ! Such was St. PauVs idea of the Gospel ; such 
 it was in his day, and such it really begins to be in Birming- 
 ham. 
 
 In the hand of a Christ-sent preacher, the Gospel is a 
 sword as well as a sceptre ; but of what use is a sword, 
 however much adorned, if not wielded energetically, and if 
 it fail in execution? " A sword that hath an hilt of gold, 
 set with diamonds, is no good sword," says an old divine, 
 "if it have no edge to cut, or want a good back to follow 
 home the stroke." This was his illustration of effective 
 preaching ! 
 
 TO THE SAME. 
 
 But have you never considered Jer. 23 : 29? — "Is not 
 my word like as a eire, saith the Lord; and like a 
 hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? " What ! and 
 laid on disvassionately ? Nay, verily ! when fire and 
 
 27* 
 
318 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 hammers go to the work of rock-breaking ', the thing is not 
 done in quietude and stillness. But you will reply, " The 
 fire and hammers of the Gospel have been going on quietly 
 in Birmingham for years." Yery well, and so they have ; 
 but have you ever seen so many hundreds of rocky-hearted 
 sinners broken in pieces, as within the last eight or ten days, 
 in Birmingham? 
 
 Ah, my friend, where the Gospel fire is kindled but 
 sparingly, and the hammers of truth are laid on carelessly 
 or coldly, they effect but little, very little. But I have no 
 time for more. You must stand aside, out of the way of the 
 sword and our artillery, if you cannot join in the fight. 
 This is no time to falter. If it be the last battle for Christ 
 and souls, allowed me in England, Amen ! -^-but I shall push 
 this forward with the might and energy God supplies ; — 
 onward, and sweep the living storm of war against the 
 trembling ramparts of human depravity and diabolical 
 power ! — shall 
 
 * Keep back no syllable of fire, 
 Plunge deep the rowels of our speech! " 
 
CHAPTER XLIII. 
 
 MORE TENCILLINGS OF THE REVIVAL IN BIRMINGHAM. ' 
 
 January 14th. — My style of preaching begins to oe 
 understood, and appreciated more and more. Faith, and 
 the sensibilities of faith, dispose to this very swiftly. It 
 requires a man to have life and reason to understand a dis- 
 sertation upon life and reason. And the sinner must have 
 some spiritual life and sensibility to appreciate what is 
 called u revival preaching *," which is life and quickness 
 of perception and sensation. The more quickly are life and 
 sensibility awakened and diffused among the masses, the 
 jaore swiftly does the work of God progress. Many saved 
 last night. 
 
 Jan. 15th. — How these daily effects of truth upon the 
 consciences of sinners, do prove its divinity ; — ay, ana 
 the soul's immortality, — its depravity, and its concealed 
 sense of accountability after death, — predisposing it to 
 sensibility and alarm ! 
 
 Who can stand before the majesty and power of his truth, 
 when accompanied by the presence of the Spirit of truth': 
 But 0, who can stand before it unflinchingly in eternity ? 
 None but the pure in heart ; only such can enter that holy 
 elysium above, the eternal abode of truth ! I was struck 
 with that sentiment of Dr. Chalmers, that heaven is a 
 sanctuary guar led by all the holiness and by all the 
 jealousies of the Godheai, and so repugnant to the approach 
 
320 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 of pollution, that if it offer to draw nigh, the fire of a con- 
 suming indignation would either check or destroy it. There 
 is something of this perception, I think, always accompanies 
 truth. 
 
 Jan. 16th. — A moving point that ! — must return 
 upon it with a new impetus, as perception is clearer, — it 
 will bear it, — that Theology is the study of Earth and 
 Heaven and Hell! He who refuses to study it properly 
 here, shall be driven to it in hell, by the arguments of its 
 flames and torments. A terrible thought, and true as 
 terrible. He that learns not the wisdom it teaches here, 
 must be taught it there, necessarily, but not savingly ; for 
 imperfect consideration is impossible in hell ; and equally 
 impossible it should result in salvation. Ah ! but it is a 
 sad and terrible consideration, that torments will teach that 
 which mercy could not ! 0, may this consideration move 
 my heart to feel for sinners around me ! Amen. 
 
 An interesting letter from York says, "lam one of those 
 new converts, confirmed * by you when in York, the Friday 
 evening before you left us. I had been in the way before, 
 but had strayed, in consequence of some unfortunate and 
 perplexing events, over which I could exercise no control. 
 I am now going on my way rejoicing. The following inter- 
 position of Providence for me and mine will interest you. I 
 was out of a situation when you were here, and so for a 
 considerable time; and all my applications were abortive, 
 — self and family depending on casualty, and were envel- 
 oped in difficulty. 
 
 il One day, in secret prayer I determined to lay all my 
 
 * He refers to the somewhat peculiar service which I usually hold for 
 tJie benefit of th? young converts, which tends much to confirm and estab- 
 lish them in the grace wherein they stand. 
 
REVIVAL IN BIRMINaH&M. 321 
 
 affairs bef:re the Lord. Did so, and plead my case, and 
 that of iny family, that my way might be opened for their 
 support ; that a door might be opened for me, which no 
 man could shut. I put the whole matter into his hands, 
 closing with prayer for spiritual blessings ; resolved now to 
 just wait and watch, for I felt I could do nothing more in 
 the matter. 
 
 "At the end of three weeks a gentleman called upon 
 me, from a quarter I least expected, and offered me a clerk- 
 ship, where I am now in comfort. My salary, it is true, 
 is only moderate, but I am content. ''Godliness, with con- 
 tentment, is great gain.' 1 Some, sir, would call this 
 chance, — that it just happened so. Yes, it did happen ! 
 but to me, who knew the circumstances, it appeared a spe- 
 cies of miracle in answer to importunate, believing prayer. 
 
 "It has been said that prayer without effort is enthusi- 
 asm, and unavailing. It may be so, as a general rule, but my 
 case formed an exception; — was left, like as when we pray 
 for dry weather, we can only pray and wait, for we can do 
 nothing more to bring about a change in the elements." 
 
 This good brother was like Noah and his family in the 
 ark of the deluge ; helplessly drifting on, they knew not 
 whither, " till a dying surge, as by an angel's hand," found 
 them bottom up on the top of one of the Ararat mountains. 
 There are many wonderful illustrations of " the prayer of 
 faith," among God's people, if one could but collect them 
 together, but which now lie concealed in the memories of 
 his faithful, but hidden ones. There will be a glorious 
 telling of these things in heaven, by and by. 
 
 Jan. 17th. Saturday morning. — Purity, last night. 
 That is, indeed, a convincing and encouraging text, — Acts 
 15 : 9, — u And put no difference between us and them, 
 'purifying the ; r hearts by faith ^ as it shows that purity 
 
322 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 of heart is attainable, and also how it is attained, — "by 
 faith." The effect is fine when Mark 11 : 24, is united 
 with it : " Therefore, I say unto you, what things soever ye 
 desire when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye 
 shall have them." And, then, to show the difference be- 
 tween desiring purity indistinctly, and praying and believ- 
 ing for it indistinctly ; and doing the same thing, but 
 distinctly ; that they might desire it, and pray for it with 
 all the sincerity of a Moses, but if they did not believe for 
 it distinctly, and noio, to be received as a present blessing 
 by faith, it would be but desiring and praying and believ- 
 ing in vain ; so far, at least, as a distinct and conscious 
 reception of the blessing is concerned. 
 
 This method brings faith before their eyes directly, and 
 in the commanding position assigned to it in the New Tes- 
 tament. It is just saying of it, as the Lord God did of 
 Joshua to Moses : '"'But Joshua, the son of Nun, which 
 standeth before thee, he shall go in thither; encourage //.'>//, 
 for he shall cause Israel to inherit it." — Deut. 1 : 38. 
 Works, like Moses, had brought these Birmingham Chris- 
 tians to the Jordan of salvation : but faith, like Joshua, 
 was to cause them to inherit ; was to lead them over into 
 the Canaan of purity and perfect love. Blessed be God ! 
 as Joshua led Israel over Jordan, dry-shod, into the prom- 
 ised land, so did faith much people, last night ! There 
 was a great move among the tribes ; and a great conster- 
 nation among the Canaanites, and the overthrow of many 
 a towering Jericho ! My soul might well cry out with 
 P°trarch : 
 
 " Victorious faith, to thee belongs the prize, 
 
 On earth thy power is felt, and in the circling skies." 
 
 Jan. 19th. Monday. — A great victory yesterday. Sin- 
 
REVIVAL IN BIRMINGHAM. 323 
 
 ners are leaving the ranks of sin, scores following scores ! 
 — Wonderful ! 0, how deep and pungent their convictions 
 for sin ! How clear their sense of pardon ! How deep and 
 tender their gratitude to God and man for so great a deliv- 
 erance ! and what unutterable humility and love ! 0, who 
 could doubt the genuineness of such a work as this ! Hal- 
 lelujah ! 
 
 The Sheffield brethren, noble souls ! are perpetuating 
 that work of God jthere, nobly. Brother Unwin writes 
 me, " I have sent out to be distributed to-morrow afternoon, 
 within half a dozen streets of Carver-street Chapel, five 
 hundred of the following bill : 
 
 "I shall go to-night to the Methodist Chapel, 
 
 "Because it is the LORD'S DAY, not mine; and I 
 must spend it so as to please Him, not myself. 
 
 " Because I have a SOUL to be saved. I am a SIN- 
 NER, under sentence of death ; and, unless I repent, I 
 must perish forever. 
 
 " Because TIME is short : DEATH is sure : I may die 
 to-morrow : and if I be not pardoned and prepared for 
 Heaven, what will become of my poor soul ? ' The ivickcd 
 shall be turned into Hell, and all the nations that forget 
 God.'' — Psalm ix. 17. If I could have all the pleasures of 
 this world, and enjoy them a thousand years, yea, for ten 
 thousand ; yet, if I were to lose my soul — I should be 
 a fool ; for Time is nothing compared to Eternity. 0, 
 ETERNITY, ETERNITY, ETERNITY ! Who can tell 
 the length and breadth of Eternity ! 
 
 "Because the Minister will tell me how to make my 
 peace with God, to get my soul converted, and to find the 
 way to Heaven. And then there will be a PRAYER- 
 MEETING ! That is just what I need. 0, I WISH I 
 
324 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 COULD PRAY ! Some of my wicked neighbors have 
 gone to Chapel, and been converted : and now they are sc 
 changed ! they are good and happy all day long. I wish 
 I were like them ; for I am miserable, and I AM SO 
 AFRAID TO DIE. They are on the road to Heaven ; 
 I am on the way to Hell. But I MUST, I WILL RE- 
 PENT ; and I shall BEGIN TO-NIGHT ; for < NOW is 
 the accepted time, NOW is the day of salvation.' - 
 
 "Come! let us all go to the Methodist Chapel* 
 " * That is, if you are not going to another place of worship. 1 * 
 
 Jan. 21st. Wednesday. — Blessings come in hurricanes 
 these days ! These are Pentecostal days in Birmingham. 
 Great liberty in preaching the word, 
 
 " And every feeling uttered, fully felt." 
 
 0, how evidently does the hand of our God endorse and 
 attest the truth of his revealed will in the glorious Gospel 
 of his Son ! Showers of blessings ! Hallelujah ! 
 
CHAPTER XLIV. 
 
 A MEMENTO. 
 
 m, -it- Ji- *4£* 4k ^fe ■ -5fe 
 
 'Jv -Tv -TV *f£" -TV 'TV* -TV 
 
 Yes, I had a hard time of it ; beating the air, or as one 
 throwing feathers ; and I know the cause very well ; and 
 that is a mercy, otherwise I might have come to some rash 
 or false conclusion. 
 
 It should be a lesson to me. This lightness of heart 
 before preaching is not quite the thing ; not safe, however 
 innocent, — an innocent hght-heartedness, as religious peo- 
 ple would call it ; but neither innocent nor wise in one who 
 was about to stand between the living and the dead, — 
 between sinners and incensed justice, and a burning hell, 
 and a grieved Holy Spirit, and an interceding High Priest, 
 and a justly offended God ! " He that winneth souls is 
 wise," says Solomon. Ay, but it is not wise to go about 
 that work with a loose and careless spirit ! This I know, 
 and therefore I am accountable. 
 
 How liable I am to the temptation to unbuckle my spir- 
 itual armor, if I sit down for a tea-table chit-chat, even 
 among good people ; to sheathe the sword of truth within, 
 and lay it aside, instead of burnishing it, and sharpening it, 
 and looking at it, and at the cause for which it must be 
 ivielded, till my soul is fired ■■ to do exploits," as the angel 
 said to Daniel. And how such tea-table sociability 
 smoothes down the wrinkles of war, and melts off the 
 28 
 
326 SHOWERS DF BLESSING. 
 
 horns, and the angles, and the spear-points of awakening 
 truth from the mind ; so sunny, so congenial the atmos- 
 phere around approving friends ! And then to hurry off to 
 the pulpH without the proper time of being alone with God, 
 or to buckle on the armor anew, and to examine the mind, 
 as to the state of truth in it, around it, and upon it ; and 
 to see to mj sword, — whether it has not lost edge in the 
 sheath, or gathered rust in the soft, congenial atmosphere 
 of the tea-table. 
 
 0, I did not get near enough to God ! My views of 
 truth, and of the peril of sinners, of God, of Christ, of the 
 Spirit, and of my own responsibility, were far from being 
 intensified as they ought. Heaven, Hell, Calvary, were 
 not brought near enough to arouse and alarm me. Did 
 not enter the cloud of the divine presence far enough to 
 receive the necessary unction from above. Had not time. 
 0, thou sounding brass ! thou tinkling cymbal! let this 
 be a lesson ! — must keep out of company, and be much 
 alone with God, upon the holy mountain, walking up 
 and down in the midst of the stones of fire ; then cometh 
 the soul from thence, among the people, as the anointed 
 cherub. — Ezek. 28: 14. 
 
 If my spirit could not be allowed " a holiday," it plead 
 for a light shoulder at an unseasonable hour ; and for that, 
 it has gained an additional weight of the old burden ! 
 
 " Keep thy soul loose about thee." 
 
 Nay, nay, my good old Herbert ! that was the cause tf my 
 sorrow. My soul was too loose about me ! Hard to preach 
 so. The bow must be well bent, that speeds the decisive 
 arrow. A slack sold has neither energy nor unction, — 
 as one beating the air, truth leaving the lips like an arrow 
 
A MEMENTO. 327 
 
 from a slack string. Ay, that was the trouble ! and not 
 for the first time neither ! Alas, no ! nor for the hun- 
 dredth time. 
 
 The arrow that speeds to the mark and penetrates, must 
 fly from a well-hent bow and a tight string. When one's 
 soul is boiced intensely, the words fly like barbed arrows, 
 straight to the mark. As a preacher in Germany remarked, 
 "Your arrow should be shot from a tight bowstring of a 
 perfect inward confidence and certainty ; then it becomes 
 ' the arrow of the Lord's deliverance.' 1 " Ay, that is it ! 
 to feel that we are " honest in the sacred cause,''" not striv- 
 ing for self, but for Christ, and for souls ; that the cause 
 is His. This gives great boldness, firmness and intensity. 
 The message is His message. The disclosures we are mak- 
 ing are His will and desires towards those who hear. To 
 believe, to feel that this is His own word I am uttering, the 
 very thoughts of His heart I am echoing ; to speak with 
 this conviction, confers upon the soul a tremendous confi- 
 dence and energy. 
 
 The possibility of the loss of a single soul, besides ; lost 
 by misunderstanding , or misapplying the message, or 
 'presuming simply upon it, or rejecting it ; or that this 
 may be his last call ; the Spirit is giving him the last offer 
 of mercy ; that within a very few days, he may be in "that 
 lone land of deep despair, where none is found to hear or 
 save ; " and the cold, heartless preacher, possibly, share the 
 blame of his damnation ! Ah ! to feel these thoughts till 
 the body groans, and the soul bows itself in an agony, and 
 cries for help, and then goes forth from the secret place 
 like a Samson, to feel for the pillars of scepticism, and 
 pride, and sin, and unbelief; heaven, and hell, and earth 
 looking on in an amaze, and hearkening for the crash of 
 the temple of sin, and the cries of the slain of the Lord, as 
 
328 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 the soul of the preacher bows itself, crying, "Victory or 
 death!" Ah me! such a preparation is seldom attained 
 during a tea-table chit-chat, and religious pleasantry ! Ah 
 no ! but alone with God, crying, — 
 
 " My powerful groans thou canst not bear, 
 Nor stand Mie violence of my prayer, 
 My prayei omnipotent." 
 
 There, and there only, with rare exceptions, the arm of 
 the soul is nerved with the energy of the God of Jacob. 
 There, and there only, the whole man bows under the stress 
 of his principles and emotions, "like a tight bowstring;" 
 and then, look for the arrows of truth flying thick and fast, 
 and sticking fast in the hearts of the king's enemies; — and 
 the falling down of the people, and the consequent cries, 
 prove that " Thine ai^roros are sharp in the hearts of 
 the King's enemies," Lord God of hosts ! — Ps. 45 : 5. 
 
 0, who can describe the scenes which follow ! — the effects 
 of the word thus preached with the Holy Ghost sent down 
 from heaven ! St. Paul attempts it in Heb. 4 : 12. Then 
 it becomes " the word of God" indeed; and not a sword 
 only, but a royal sceptre, in the hand of such a preacher ; — 
 and more potent than all the kingly sceptres upon the face 
 of the earth ; for it accomplishes what all their power com- 
 bined could never effect. " The spirits are subject unto us, 
 through thy name." The place occupied by such a preacher 
 is a battle-field, indeed ! and his pulpit a throne of power, 
 — and victory all around. "In one part of the field," 
 as a German divine remarks, "spiritual restraints are 
 imposed ; — in another, darts and hooks are cast into the 
 heart : — in a third instance, a leviathan is bound in chains 
 of adamant; — in a fourth, the strength of the wicked is 
 bioken the audacious confused and ashamed, the adversa* 
 
A MEMENTO. 329 
 
 ries disarmed, blasphemies silenced, and the licentious 
 forced back, at least, within the bounds of external order ; — 
 and, in a fifth instance, ZionJ s banners are encompassed by 
 the new subjects of omnipotent grace ; — and by such a 
 preacher, effects like the above will everywhere and always 
 accompany his word." I believe it, my German brother ! 
 So have we seen it in Birmingham, and so shall we see it 
 again, the same Divine Power assisting us. 0, my Lord, 
 preserve me henceforth from ever going into the pulpit in a 
 careless spirit, and my armor loose about me ! Amen. 
 But, I suppose, 
 
 " Our virtues would be proud, if our faults whipped them not! " 
 
 However, it did me good ! It is profitable to be well 
 humbled. It leads to great " searching s of heart" and 
 drives the despairing and weakened soul to the feet of 
 God, — lays it low, and keeps it low, and there ! Amen. 
 
 I entered the pulpit the following night, with my soul 
 tight about me ; and had a precious time. 0, what free- 
 dom and enlargement of soul ! What ardor ! 0, but God 
 did make my soul, 
 
 " As the rapt seraph that adores and burns." 
 
 But, as usual — and 0, how often it occurs! — upon retir- 
 ing to my room, sunk into deep humiliation before the 
 Lord, in view of my many infirmities, and imperfections 
 a '& a speaker. The people are mown down like grass before 
 the scythe of God's word. Not less than thirteen hundred 
 sinners have been converted to God during the last seven 
 weeks ; and about six hundred believers have obtained 
 'purity of heart. All the glory be to God alone : He doeth 
 the works, though in infinite condescension, he deigns to 
 28* 
 
830 A MEMENTO. 
 
 employ very weak and unworthy instruments in accom- 
 plishing his purposes of mercy. 
 
 The work is advancing with unabated power daily. 
 There are some adversaries which spring up now and 
 then, but are soon borne down by this inundating outpour- 
 ing of the Holy Spirit. Hallelujah ! 
 
CHAPTER XLV. 
 
 UL..MPSES OP THE REVIVAL AND PRINCIPLES OP ACTION. 
 
 January 24th. Saturday. — Sanctification last night. 
 A heavenly calm in the audience, so different from the 
 hurricanes of emotions through the week. Had sweet har- 
 mony in my own soul, — the heart so in unison with the 
 head, and a breathing like an air of Paradise within and 
 around, increasing in power, till the listening multitude were 
 stirred into an intense breathing after holiness. Many went 
 away from under the word, like Naaman out of Jordan, 
 cured of their spiritual leprosy. 
 
 Jan. 26th. Monday. — This driving the knowledge of 
 the head down into the heart, creates strange scenes among 
 the people. Truth, that has lain dead for years in the 
 brain and imagination, when driven down upon the con- 
 science, creates a wonderful uproar ! It never, really, till 
 then, becomes effectual to the salvation of the possessor. 
 But " victory is of the Lord," and surely he did give us the 
 victory, in the salvation of scores of precious souls ! 
 
 Jan. 28th. — Pressed hard upon the worldly -would-be- 
 religious, who, as one expressed it, "have nothing to offer 
 God, but some heartless service, which the world can spare, 
 and which are but the leavings of the flesh," — after the 
 manner of Cain and his offering ! — Gen. 4 : 3. 
 
 Tan. 29th. — Heavy, effective ordnance, in active opera- 
 tion, on our spiritual I atteries ! And what a dismounting 
 
332 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 of sitanio-ordnance, — carnal reasoning, — high imagina- 
 tions, — prejudice, — ignorance, — error and folly; and as 
 if, in the overturn, poor sinners would be torn into pieces ! 
 
 The Lord grants me great peace of mind. Homely, but 
 true, are those two lines of the old poet : 
 
 " When all is done and said, in the end this shall ye find, 
 He most of all doth bathe in bliss that hath a quiet mind." 
 
 And yet my soul retains its antagonistic energy, and the 
 work advances in power. Last week, at Wesley Chapel, one 
 hundred and ninety were saved. The week previous, at 
 Islington Chapel, two hundred and forty were saved. So 
 speaks the Register. What the Lamb's book of life in 
 heaven speaks, we must die to know ; and to know it with 
 safety, or with comfort, or with joy, we must die in the 
 Lord. 
 
 The people are greatly moved, and easily moved, now, 
 and very tender ; so easy to draw tears, and set them a 
 weeping on every side ! How wonderful the change which 
 the Gospel can make in a people ! The eyes which were dry 
 as the sky, in the days of Elijah, during the three years 
 drought, now weep tears of joy, like the same sky, after 
 Elijah said to Ahab, " There is a sound of abundance cf 
 rain ! " Bless thou the Lord, my soul ! 
 
 Have spent several Monday evenings past in assisting 
 the brethren in town, at their missionary meetings : who 
 considerately fixed upon that evening, as least interfering 
 with the work. Had gracious assistance; and the collec- 
 tions were much in advance of last year. A writer con- 
 siders the sixteenth century as the age of natural and scien- 
 tific discovery; the eighteenth, the age of infidelity and 
 revolution; and the nineteenth century, as illustrious for 
 
GLIMPSES OF THE KEVIVAL. 333 
 
 missionary effort for the evangelization of the world. In 
 such an effort Birmingham seems determined not to be 
 behind. 
 
 Jan. 30th. — Beware of tinsel and. finery, 0, my soul ! — 
 dressing up the truth as if it ruere to sell! as the Span- 
 iard hinted ; making it to appear a mighty fine thing, and 
 you, J. C, a mighty fine preacher, and the people to think 
 themselves "a mighty intelligent" people, to understand 
 and appreciate it all ! Alas ! alas ! Admiration is a poor 
 substitute for salvation ! 
 
 Jan. 31st. — Holiness last night. These Friday night 
 discourses bring me back to the simplicity of the Gospel. 
 They leave, also, a sweet tincture of purity upon my spirit; 
 — make me feel with one, " I had rather be holy than be 
 eloquent ;" a sentiment that finds a sweet response within 
 me this morning. 
 
 Matt. 21: 22, is a noble and influential promise: "And 
 all things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, 
 ye shall receive." It affords a fine field for the exhibition 
 of «the power of faith. It shows, also, why sincere desires 
 after purity are not gratified ; — believing is omitted. 
 "When we believe that we do receive, other things being 
 equal, we roll the whole burden of our wants upon the vera- 
 city of Christ, of whom it is said, " Cast thy burden upon 
 the Lord, and he shall sustain thee." Here is a strong 
 point; but might have been rendered more effectual by 
 being less complicated. 0, for more simplicity in spirit 
 and style ! 
 
 Feb. 2d. Monday. — Satan's captives are extensively in 
 trouble, It is evident he is fearing a wholesale rescue. 
 To have them damned without rescue, was his hope. Our 
 Lord Jesus Christ takes pleasure in rendering Satan hope- 
 kss in more ways than one ! Glorious scenes yesterday ! 
 
334 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 Have just returned from a walk ; — not joyful, but a 
 sweetness in spirit; — a good thought that, that my happy 
 days have far exceeded my unhappy ones, thus far in my 
 Christian pilgrimage ; — and my peaceful times have been 
 much longer in continuance than my times of war ; — and 
 my seasons of prosperity more numerous than those of 
 adversity ; — that my great troubles, like days in winter, 
 have been short, and, like stormy days, few ; — "and my 
 happy days, like summer days, long, and, like fair and 
 pleasant days, many, and by far the greatest in number, 
 through all the years of my spiritual life, hitherto ! Praise 
 the Lord ! And would it not have been otherwise, had not 
 my gracious Lord sanctified my soul in 1831 ? 
 
 ifc iff iff iff * iff 
 
 A gracious time at the sacrament. What a cloud of 
 communicants, scores, if not hundreds, of whom had never 
 commemorated the Lord's death before ! 
 
 It has done my own soul good ; — I feel stronger, — as 
 if new life, vigor, and zeal, had been infused into my soul. 
 I usually feel so after partaking of the sacrament, and for 
 weeks. 
 
 In ancient times, before battle, they used to show the 
 blood of grapes and mulberries to the war elephants, to 
 make them more fierce in battle. Well, a sight of these 
 sacred emblems of the broken body and shed blood of my 
 Lord stimulates my soul wonderfully to fight his battles, 
 and gain victories ! 
 
 Feb. 3d. — How quickly, after hearing a sermon or two, 
 lo persons of certain ranks and habits, disappear ! So true 
 is that remark of one, that there arc those who will play 
 with the light, win will not endure to be melted :jy the fire ! 
 But others come in their places, and so the truth is dropped 
 
GLIMPSES OF TH3 REVIVAL. 336 
 
 into the more ears, and we know not which shall prosper, 
 this or that. 
 
 To * * * * * * . 
 
 Birmingham, Feb. 6, 1846. 
 "Toiling on." To be sure! For what purpose did I 
 enter the vineyard of my Lord, but to work? Certainly 
 not to have a life of ease, nor to play, or to amuse myself 
 or others ! For what did I join the army of Immanuel ? To 
 fight, or enjoy an inglorious ease ? To idle away my time ? 
 Nay, my dear friend, but to fight his battles, and to endure 
 hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ ! Or, if you 
 will allow me the use of another figure, for what did I 
 enter the lists upon the great race-ground of preachers ? 
 To run for the prize, or to sit still and lounge? Nay, 
 but to run for the prize, — a double prize, — heaven and 
 souls. Well, then, while I have breath in me, let me never 
 lose the spirit of this ! While I have health, may I never 
 cease running for such a prize, — SOULS ! While life and 
 health do last, 0, may I tvork, fight, run ! — true to my 
 principles laid down in the onset ; to which the heart of 
 my fearful friend cannot help saying, " Amen ! " 
 
 To * * * * * * . 
 
 Birmingham, Feb. 17. 
 Laboring on with all my might, to make sin bitter, that 
 the Gospel may be sweet to the sinner. Never can the 
 Gospel be made truly sweet until the sinner is made to know 
 and feel that it is an evil thing and a bitter to sin against 
 God. — Jer. 2 : 19. Nor is Christ ever sweet till sin ia 
 turned into wormwood. Nor does Christ give rest to any, 
 
336 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 but to those who feel sin to be a burden, it \ a to those 
 who laboi\a.Yi& are heavy laden, Jesus gives the invitation 
 to come to him and find rest, as we see in Matt. 11 : 28. 
 
 He invites the heavy laden to come unto him ; those to 
 whom the sense of unpardoned sin is a burden too heavy to 
 be borne. It is my business, then, to load them down 
 quickly as possible. 
 
 Well, I have been trying hard so to do; and to "make the 
 past and present sins of every sinner bitter, — ay, as worm- 
 wood, that the name of Jesus may be sweet and desirable, 
 and sin heavy, — ay, as Byron said of it, as a mountain of 
 lead upon the heart ! — that they may be more anxious to 
 get rid of their burden ! After doing my best to bring all 
 this about, I then preach unto them Jesus ; and, 0, how 
 sweet he is to their souls, and also to mine! For, in 
 making sin bitter and heavy to them, I cannot help thinking 
 of my own, — sins of my youth and childhood, — sins before 
 my conversion and after, — and much unfaithfulness in 
 the past ; and, though my conscience is assured of pardon, 
 yet it would relapse into uneasiness and the spirit of bond- 
 age again to fear, if not met by a returning fa it h in that 
 blood that has washed them all away. And so, when Jesus 
 has thus become their Saviour and mine, 0, what an ocean 
 of sweetness do we all find in that wondrous name ! And, 
 then, how sweetly do we all sing : 
 
 " Blest with the scorn of finite good, 
 
 My soul is lightened of her load, 
 
 And seeks the things above. 
 
 " The things eternal I pursue, 
 A happiness beyond the view 
 
 Of those who basely pant 
 For things by nature felt and seen ; 
 Their honors, wealth, and pleasures mean, 
 
 I neither have nor want ! " 
 
GLIMPSES OF THE REVIVAL. 337 
 
 Had a ve/y awful time on the day of judgment, the other 
 night, in Wesley Chapel. — Rev. 20 : 11, 13. When 
 describing " the books " that shall be opened on that great 
 day, I noticed the Book of Privileges ; — vmere the con- 
 demned sinner lived and died ; — the light under which he 
 sinned ; — the means of salvation within his reach ; — the 
 sermons he heard, or might have heard, had he pleased. 
 Here an idea of Home, which I had read many years ago, 
 occurred to me, — that, on this great and terrible day of God, 
 the sinner will be held as accountable for what he might 
 have known, as for what he did know ; — that, among all 
 the subjects which might be said to belong to speculative 
 theology, there is none more terrible than this. 
 
 Language of unusual power, with vividness of thought, 
 were given me at this moment, such as I may never, possi- 
 bly, have again ; — was enabled to climb to heights which 
 commanded much of the judgment scene ; and the vast con- 
 gregation climbed with me, — not one appeared to be left 
 behind ; — and, when at a certain point, and a precipice 
 • formed, the alarming thought that condemned men, in the 
 judgment, shall have to account to God for what they might 
 have known, as well as for what they did know, — 0, it 
 seemed as if we were all going over the precipice together ! 
 — till the feelings of the multitude gave way, in one terri- 
 bly convulsed cry ! 0,1 cannot describe it ! — it was like 
 the rushing sound of many waters, — crashing and breaking 
 through dams and embankments, and all opposing barriers ; 
 till there were groans, and shouts, and cries, like the voices 
 of the judgment ! It was as if that day of terrors had 
 really opened upon us, "and all beneath the cope of heaven 
 in flames," — the risen dead assembled, the judgment set, 
 and the books opened ! 
 
 Never had I such a time upon the last judgment ; never 
 29 
 
338 SHOWERS OF BLESSIN3. 
 
 saw such an effect produced by it. The prayer-meeting at 
 the close was glorious in results. 0, how evident it appeared 
 to me that " the times and seasons " for such extraordi- 
 nary manifestations "the Father hath put in his own 
 'power '!" — Acts 1 : 7. But, doubtless, did I but walk as 
 closely and as steadily with God as he requires, such visita- 
 tions from on high would neither be few nor far between. 
 
CHAPTER XL VI. 
 
 SANCTIFYING AND AWAKENING TRUTHS. 
 
 Saturday morning, Feb. 7th. — Christian holiness my 
 theme last night. — Mark 11 : 24. is a rich mine. What 
 vrecious metal may be dug from it in doctrine and expe- 
 rience ! It may be likened to a magazine also ; for what 
 material of war has it furnished me ? — that which has 
 blown up and destroyed many of the strong works of the 
 Devil ! 0, when I cm persuade the people to make it their 
 own, what mighty effects do follow ! How it does sweep 
 those hearts "where passion has woven its thousand thou- 
 sand webs — its webs of thousand thousand threads, in 
 grain and hue all different ! ' ' What tales of sorrow and 
 deliverances come to my ears ! Spider-webs give way not 
 more easily before the sweep of the housewife's broom, than 
 do these webs of passion and Satan, under the sweeping 
 operations of that promise. A great move, last night, 
 through the power of the Holy Ghost, in the promise. 
 Hallelujah ! 
 
 Feb. 14th. — Over one hundred and fifty souls saved 
 since last date. 
 
 Holiness last night. For an application, Mark 11 : 24 
 is mighty. "What things soever ye desire when ye pray, 
 believe that ye receive, and ye shall have" It is, indeed, 
 one of the exceeding great and precious promises, by 
 which we are made partakers of the divine nature. — 2 
 
340 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 Peter 1 : 4. It demands of the soul immediate honor to 
 the veracity of Jesus. It shames unbelief, and amazingly 
 humbles the tardy professor ; he who boasted so much of 
 his "Protestant faith," which "had ever honored the verac- 
 ity of God in the Holy Scriptures," but now finds it very 
 hard to put implicit confidence in the veracity of Jesics ! 
 Poor soul ! it is well if anything will open his eyes to that 
 cursed unbelief which reigns in. his heart. Cursed it is 
 of God, and a curse it is to the soul of him who in- 
 dulges it. 
 
 Feb. 16th. Monday. — Truth is like lightning from 
 heaven; the preaching of it is a thunder, which is "as the 
 hiding of his power." There may be a false fire, an 
 Aurora Borealis, quite amusing to the curious ; but what 
 does it accomplish ? It cannot do the work of the red 
 lightning, and the thunder crashing among the clouds. 
 There may be a noise like thunder, or like the discharge 
 of cannon without ball, which do no execution. But, when 
 Buch a mass of sinners as last night were struck down, it 
 is a proof that something fell along with the lightning and 
 the thunder, which reached the soul, as the thunderbolt did 
 that shattered tree in the hour of storm ! 
 
 The gbry of God does rest over Birmingham ! Multi- 
 tudes hear the voice of God within them, calling them to 
 repentance ; and scores and hundreds very lately have 
 hearkened, obeyed, and turned to the Lord. Great is the 
 rejoicing among God's people ; and great their power with 
 God, and with men ! 
 
 Feb. 17th. — How some women dress! No wonder 
 colds, coughs, and consumptions, are so rife ! But is not 
 the pulpit as much to blame as the physician ? Should it 
 not speak out against tight-lacing, low-dressing, and slim- 
 shoeing ? Is it not, as good Richard Baxter observed, set- 
 
SANCTIFYING AND AWAKENING TRUTHS. 341 
 
 ting the body against the soul, and the clothing against 
 both ? 
 
 Feb. 18th. — How evidently does it appear in some coun- 
 tenances, that it is not spirituality and power they came 
 to hear and feel, but some other wonderful thing they had 
 formed in their imaginations ! 
 
 It will not do either for preacher or people to play with 
 the light of the Gospel, amuse themselves with its corus- 
 cations, or those of the preacher's genius. To prevent this, 
 there must not only be light, but point and fire; — that to 
 search, and this to penetrate, and that to burn ; — making 
 the hearers to "look out for themselves!" — a strange 
 predica?nent for those who come out merely to gratify their 
 curiosity, and while away an hour ! No wonder such do 
 not return again for some time ; and not till they find the 
 wounds made in their consciences are never likely to heal ! 
 
 Feb. 21st. Saturday. — A great move, and successful, 
 on holiness, last night. How evident that full salvation 
 comes by believing they do receive ! — even in the absence 
 of all feeling, to thus believe, depending only on the veracity 
 of Christ. " A hard spot" for some to get over, just there! 
 For, when the consecration is entire, and the prayer ex- 
 tremely earnest, they refuse to believe until they feel so 
 md so ; and so the meeting closes, leaving them unsaved. 
 u Believe that ye receive," says Christ. "Nay, but I must 
 feel that I receive," say these; and so they and Christ 
 part to meet again when they are disposed to think better 
 of his plan of salvation. Upon no point does unbelief 
 maintain its position more obstinately than upon this 
 requirement of Christ. But, when it is fulfilled, in no 
 position does unbelief ever receive a more signal and com- 
 plete defeat ! 
 
 The Holy Spirit always greatly assists me in pressing 
 29* 
 
342 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 home this point of doctrine. It often requires all the energy 
 he bestows, to gain the victory. But when I do press it 
 thus, regardless of the opinions of men or devils, the effects 
 are remarkable. And, after all, what is it but preaching 
 a full and present salvation by faith, in full accordance 
 with God's own declaration, "Behold, note is the accepted 
 time; behold, now is the day of salvation " ? — 2 Cor. 
 6: 2. 
 
 Afternoon. — 
 
 ** A lark sent down its revelry." 
 
 In my ramble to-day was surprised and delighted with the 
 singing of a lark, "soaring deliriously high, glittering and 
 twinkling near yon rosy cloud ; " upward and heavenward, 
 turning all the air around it into music ; and so much music 
 — [pardon me, little lark /] — so much music in so small a 
 speck. But the philosophers say, that is a part of nature's 
 art, to crowd a vast perfection into "a puny point; " and 
 here is an illustration of it. Honor to the little early 
 songster ! 
 
 " A bright gem, instinct with music, vocal spark, 
 "With cloud and sky about thee ringing. ' ' 
 
 Did a happier bird than the lark leave the ark, when 
 Noah left it, I wonder? 0, how it did sing ! What a rev • 
 elry of gladsome notes, as if it would throw itself into deli • 
 cious ecstasies ! How he won my admiration ! But little 
 cared he for that ; while rich 
 
 *' In all the bliss a bird can feel, 
 
 Whose wing in heaven to earth is bound, 
 Whose home and heart are on the ground." 
 
 Ay, indeed ! and, no disrespect to thee, little lark, but 
 
SANCTIFYING AND AWAKENING TRUTHS. 343 
 
 too many of our professors are too much like thee in tfiis : 
 who seem as if soaring heaven-ward, and all their affec- 
 tions there, but, alas ! their " home and heart are on the 
 ground ; " and, like thee, they soon return to their centre 
 of gravitation. 
 
 Amused with the suggestion of one, that poets feign how 
 that birds steal their notes from the lyres of angels, and 
 that the lark might be going up for a new lesson, bearing 
 up from earth one of its own songs for their approval : 
 
 " Up and away, with the dew on its breast, 
 And a hymn in its heart, — 
 To warble it out in his Maker's ear." 
 
 And, as an evidence, to observe how, the higher it soars, 
 the sweeter it sings. Ay, indeed ! and most probably from 
 this fact, that he feels himself safer from the annoyances 
 and perils of earth, and therefore all the happier. And the 
 happier the heart, the sweeter the song ! 
 
 And is it not thus with the child of God ? The higher 
 he ascends in divine and holy contemplation and adoration, 
 the freer he feels himself from satanic perils and worldly 
 entanglements ; consequently the more happy, and the 
 more heavenly sweetness there is in his song of praise, 
 while he sings, 
 
 " My soul, with joy she claps her wings, 
 And loud her lovely sonnet sings, 
 Vain world, adieu." 
 
 At any rate, this song of the lark is a pretty sure indi- 
 cation of the speedy approach of spring, — as Mudie, on 
 British birds, observes, — that, as a herald of spring, there 
 is a certainty about the lark which can hardly be predicted 
 of any other songster of the early season ; for though there 
 
344 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 may be an occasional song of this bird from a small height, 
 upon one of those fine days wherewith a lingering winter is 
 not unfrequently spotted, yet, when the lark mounts to the 
 top of flight, and swells his song to the full power of his 
 voice, one may rest assured that the spring has indeed ar- 
 rived, and that any relapse into winter, which occurs after 
 this, will not be either severe or of long duration. 
 
 Feb. 23d. Monday. — Yesterday was a great day, — a 
 glorious Sabbath, — and glorious news to the eternal Sab- 
 bath-keepers above ! Sinners converted on every hand : — 
 had clear and convincing truth, — did not linger in heart 
 and tongue, — leaping like fire in a conflagration ! Hal- 
 lelujah ! 
 
 But, alas ! a sudden death of a backslider. He heard 
 me the other evening ; was enabled to draw, what turned 
 out to be his picture, to the life, though I knew nothing 
 of the man by name, or otherwise. But he thought I did, 
 and Satan took the advantage of it, and suggested that some 
 unkind neighbor had told me all. This hardened and irri- 
 tated him, and wounded his pride. Poor fellow ! it appears 
 to have been his last call to return to the God he had for- 
 saken. But he was not in a humor for that, and left 
 offended, and died suddenly ; so I have been informed. 
 That Scotch minister spoke truly, that Christ gives last 
 knocks ; and that, when the sinner's heart becomes hard 
 and careless, then he should fear lest Christ may have 
 given his last knock ! 
 
 Feb. 25th. — " Life begetteth life, as fire kindleth fire," 
 says Baxter. 0, for more of this life of God in my soul ! 
 It is a vexation to the ungodly ; they feel it, and fear it ; 
 it wakes the conscience, and starts it into active life ; but, 
 to some sinners, it is the life of a rattlesnake let loose. 
 Multitudes are converted thereby ; but many begin to kick 
 
SANCTIFYING AND AWAKENING TRUTHS. 845 
 
 and rail against it. More life, my Lord ! more life Give 
 me more of this life that begets life. I know the conse- 
 quences. A preacher full of this divine life is a torment 
 to the wicked; and they will surely try to w - worry him 
 down ; " as those dogs did that living creature, while they 
 passed by the dead one, untouched. It is not the dead 
 preacher, but the livi?ig one, that is always barked at by 
 the Devil's dogs. 
 
 Feb. 26th. — An interesting letter from the Rev. Mr. 
 
 W , of Shrewsbury, minister of another denomination. 
 
 He tells me, some time since, he called upon a young lady, 
 a member of his church, and requested her to become a 
 tract distributor ; -but she declined, saying, "I cannot, 
 sir ; my engagements are so numerous, I have time for no 
 more." Perceiving it would be of no use to urge the mat- 
 ter, he retired. About a week after, she called upon him 
 to inquire whether he had obtained a distributor for that 
 district. He replied, "No." She then offered her ser- 
 vices. " You have disposed of some of your other engage- 
 ments, then?" rejoined the pastor. "No, sir; but since 
 I saw you last, God has graciously cleansed my heart 
 from sin, and has blest me with the grace of holiness ; 
 and I find I can do more for Him now, than I then 
 thought practicable." The pastor adds: "I saw, then, 
 that the previous hindrance had been the state of her 
 heart, and that, by the removal of sin from that, she was 
 at liberty to attempt much more for God, and for the good 
 of others." An excellent testimony for holiness, and a very 
 good argument for it. 
 
 Feb. 28th. Saturday. — Endeavored, last night, to lead 
 believers into the deep things of God, and very willing 
 were they to go. Was struck with that sentiment of one, 
 that ; as the deepest springs yield the sweetest water, so 
 
346 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 the heart that is the most deeply sensible of God's love, 
 yields the sweetest praises ! A sweet thought, but never 
 fully realized until we become deeply acquainted with " the 
 deep things of God" It is good to keep these things in 
 the clear view of all such as would be entirely devoted to 
 God ; taking care, always, to show that all these springs 
 are in Jesus. The life of faith on the Son of God must 
 never be severed from such ; — as well expect the stream to 
 run, if cut off from the fountain. That is a sweet text for 
 all this — Gal. 2: 20. 
 
 The following extract from the correspondence of a Lon- 
 don religious paper, describes the progress of the great revi- 
 val, of which Mr. Caughey speaks in this chapter. Some 
 may think that what is said of Mr. Caughey is too flatter- 
 ing. Let that pass. The reader will have a striking view 
 here of this wonderful work of God : 
 
 "Birmingham. — The Rev. James Caughey continues 
 his labors in this town with increasing interest and success. 
 Last week, although in one of the smaller chapels, namely, 
 Islington, the number of names given in, as obtaining par- 
 doning mercy or sanctifying grace, exceeded any former 
 week in this town. Many conversions of an extraordinary 
 character have been effected ; restitutions have been engaged 
 to be made ; unholy alliances are being succeeded by mar- 
 riage ; and some are afraid to come under the sound of bis 
 voice. But, while his appeals are so terrific and alarming 
 to the obstinate and persevering sinner, his persuasive en- 
 couragements are equally delightful to the repenting and 
 returning sinner ; the weak get strengthened and encouraged, 
 believers sanctified, and the work of God is going on glori- 
 ously. "VVe hope the revival here begun will be continued. 
 
SANCTIFYING AND AWAKENING TRUTHS. 347 
 
 Ministers and local preachers are partaking of the reviving 
 influence. What should hinder the continued progress of the 
 work of God, if the same untiring energy and self-denying 
 zeal and faithfulness be manifested in the discharge of duty ? 
 Is God partial to his workmen ? Does he not say to all his 
 commissioned servants, ' Go ye into all the world,' &c. ; 
 and, <Lo, I am with you,' &c. ? We want to get nearer 
 to God, and to possess more of heavenly influence in our 
 own souls, to be eminently successful. An honest York- 
 shireman was asked why it was that Mr. C.'s labors were 
 rendered so remarkably beneficial. ' 0,' was the reply, 
 * he lives next door to heaven, and they acquaint him with 
 secrets that they don't let everybody know.' " 
 
CHAPTER XLVII. 
 
 GOOD NEWS. — HOW TO BELIEVE FOR A CLEAN' HEART. 
 
 March 10th. — Gloomy. u Why art thou cast down, 
 O my soul" — and yet have flashes of joy, and all gloom 
 again ? Why is this ? But the work of God advances in 
 power. The numbers saved in both blessings, pardon and 
 purity, up till this time, is about twenty-three hundred, 
 eighteen hundred of whom are persons who have obtained 
 pardoning mercy. Blessed be God ! and the glory be unto 
 Him alone, forever more, amen ! 
 
 March 11th. — How a worn-down body affects the mind ! 
 It illustrates that idea of one, that a mower who has a good 
 scythe, can do more in one day, than he that has a bad one 
 can do in two ; and that every traveller knows the differ- 
 ence between a cheerful and a tired horse. But the Lord 
 reigneth. 
 
 March 12th. — Take care, my soul ! — finery again ! — 
 tinsel! — away with it ! That was not Wesley's style, but 
 good, plain, sturdy English. That is what is wanted in 
 Birmingham. Did it escape you how the children at 
 
 admired the books with the beautiful covers, and 
 
 pretty pictures, while they cared nothing for the reading 
 in them ? But there are hearers plenty who treat sermons 
 thus. 0, for point and power ! that which penetrates the 
 conscience, though it kill admiration ! Amen. 
 
 March 13th. — Too much paint in one place, and too pon~ 
 
GOOD NEWS. 849 
 
 derous and formidable in another. Ah me ! it is not 
 painted fire that hums, nor a painted sword that cuts, 
 nor a dead lion, however formidable and ponderous, that 
 bites. 0, a sermon may be all these ! 
 
 March 14th. — ■ Holiness last night. The poets feigned 
 that the top of Olympus was always quiet and serene. They 
 mistook the mount, — that is all ! Its name is Holiness ! 
 It is not found in Greece, in particular, but among the 
 spiritual hills of Zion! — Ps. 87 : 1. " The mountain of 
 holiness." — Jer. 31 : 23. Blessed be God ! we have not to 
 take a pilgrimage to Greece or to Palestine to find it. The 
 path of every truly justified soul runs directly along its 
 base ; and there are voices continually inviting him to 
 ascend. Let him only resolve, in the strength of God, to 
 be holy, and commence the ascent immediately ; and 0, how 
 soon he will be the anointed cherub, that shall walk up 
 and down with God upon the holy mountain, in the 
 midst of the stones of fire, perfect in all his ways ! — 
 Ezek. 28 : 14, 15. There the air is always pure and 
 serene. Hallelujah ! A noble company of souls made the 
 ascent last evening ! 
 
 " And there may they always abide, 
 And never a moment depart ; 
 Concealed in the cleft of thy side, 
 Eternally held in thy heart ! ' ' 
 
 March 16th. — Beware, my soul ! The accomplishment 
 which the ancients required of a physician is not the best 
 for a preacher, — "a good conjecturing ability." When 
 there is so much of what one is certain, it is idle, I think, 
 to canter off after the conjectural. Therefore, I lay upon 
 this fancy of mine an interdict. Amen. 
 
 Curious minds, like amateurs in the fine arts, or like 
 30 
 
350 SHOWERS OF BLESSING! 
 
 antiquarians , "groping in the dark unsearchable of fin- 
 ished years," often try to draw me off to things more curi- 
 ous than useful; to theories and speculations, rather 
 than to the real and the practical. 
 
 If Vfe were but circular, one might have time for such 
 things; but as it is progressive, and direct as an arrow 
 through the air, I dare not waste it in such a circuitous and 
 problematical method of doing good. Let mj preaching 
 be as direct as my progress to eternity. God help me ! 
 Amen. I believe with him who said, men are not catched 
 in spider-webs, though flies are ! 
 
 March 17th. — Received the following interesting letter 
 from a minister of Christ : 
 
 " Oldbury, March 11, 1846. 
 
 " My dear Brother : Allow me to call you so. I had 
 many thoughts about writing to you, and have often wished 
 either to have an interview, or, in this way, to lay before you 
 some of the difficulties that have perplexed my mind, respect- 
 ing Penitent Meetings, — calling (such persons) to the Com- 
 munion Rail, and Faith. A3 to instantaneous sanctification, 
 though I have had many reasonings about that doctrine, yet, 
 about twelve or fourteen months ago, I cordially embraced 
 it, and began to seek the blessing ; but my views of faith pre- 
 vented me from obtaining it. However, thank God, I have 
 now got out of the fog, and into a clear atmosphere, and 
 I see the glorious sun, and rejoice in his beams. 
 
 " On Friday evening last, I was in Birmingham, and 
 heard you preach in Wesley Chapel, and at the close of your 
 sermon, while on my knees with the congregation, I was 
 enabled to believe, and realize the blessing. Glory be to 
 God! 
 
GOOD NEWS. 351 
 
 " I afterwards went into the vestry, according to your 
 public request, to register my name.* 
 
 "My object in writing is to state to you my difficulties 
 respecting faith, and how I got over them. 
 
 "Residing at Oldbury, I had not an opportunity of hear- 
 ing you every week, and did not hear your sermon on the 
 Substitutes for Believing ', but fancy they would have suited 
 my case. 
 
 1 ' For years I have had great reasoning about believing, 
 and though I have directed penitents to say, ' With his 
 stripes we are healed? yet I never could bring my 
 mind to approve and cordially receive the doctrine, ' Believe 
 that ye receive, and ye shall have. 1 To believe when they 
 do mttfeel, I conceived to be unreasonable. I have argued 
 with ministers and others, for hours together, without receiv- 
 ing any light ; — it still appeared obscured, and, to a reflect- 
 ive mind, impossible. I maintained that the object of faith 
 was Christ, his divinity, incarnation, sufferings, death, res- 
 urrection, intercession, &c, &c. ; and that to believe that we 
 receive, was putting the blessing in the place of Christ, and 
 opening a door for enthusiasm and antinomianism ; — that 
 the Scriptures everywhere hold out Jesus alone as the object 
 of faith, and assure us that when we believe on him, — not 
 when we believe we receive, — we shall be saved ; — that they 
 nowhere exhort the penitent to believe that he is pardoned, 
 but everywhere to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. — Acts 
 16 : 30. Rom. 10 : 6—9. John 3 : 14, 16, 18, 36. John 
 6 : 47. 1 John 5 : 10. In these, and many other pas- 
 sages, I maintained Christ was held out as the object of 
 
 * All who had then and there believed for pardon or purity, and had 
 received it, "were requested to pass into the vestry, and have their names 
 recorded, that we might ascertain the nature and extent of the work, and 
 afford them the ne«essa?;y advice. 
 
352 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 faith alone, and not pardon, or salvation ; and thus, I con- 
 ceived, I had the authority of God's word for rejecting the 
 doctrine, ' Believe that ye receive.'' 
 
 11 For many years did I maintain this view. But I did not 
 see, at the time, that pardon and salvation were the chief 
 objects of desire to the penitent, and that he must believe 
 in Christ to receive these blessings, — so that after all, he 
 must believe that he does receive, — receive for Christ's sake, 
 through him, and on account of his atonement ; — thus, both 
 Christ and salvation become the object of faith to such 
 an one, — the atonement as the redemption price, liberty 
 as the blessing procured, &c, &c, — that Christ must be 
 believed on, because he is the way, the truth, — life, — the 
 one mediator, — only sacrifice for sins, — only foundation, — 
 the only name given : but that our salvation was the ulti- 
 mate design of all, and that we must receive this through 
 him, for his sake , — that merely to believe that Christ came 
 into the world and died, could only affect us as matters of 
 history, and an affecting narrative, but, as to salvation. 
 would leave us where we were. But to believe that he died 
 for me, paid my debt, was delivered for my offences, and 
 rose again for my justification, and that by his stripes I am 
 healed, is a very different tiling, and makes the death of 
 Christ avail for mo ;■— then faith in Christ is believing for 
 salvation. 
 
 "When this view began to open before me, 1 reexamined 
 the above texts, and soon discovered that the chief object 
 with the jailer was salvation. His soul agitated with a 
 sense of guilt, trembling and alarmed, he came to the apos- 
 tles, saying, ' Sirs, what must I do to be saved?' Salva- 
 tion was the thing that filled his mind, and for this he was 
 directed to believe, — ' Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, 
 and thou shalt be savid:' — that is, c when thou belicv- 
 
GOOD NEWS. 353 
 
 est j' — so that he had really to believe that he did 
 receive. 
 
 "I saw also, that in Rom. 10 : 4, 6, 9, the apostle was 
 discoursing on the plan of salvation. — the way in which a 
 man is justified and made righteous; and in this view is 
 taught just the same thing, — ' Christ is the end of the law 
 for righteousness to every one that believeth ; ' — that is, 
 faith in Christ accomplishes the same object as perfect 
 obedience to the law would have done ; — it secures life ; 
 and that believing with the heart, and confessing with the 
 mouth, was in order to salvation : so when those two texts 
 were made plain, I saw that all others taught the same thing, 
 and that it must be so, because ' What shall I do to be 
 saved ? ' is the most important inquiry to a guilty, con- 
 demned sinner. I now wondered that I had not seen this 
 before. 
 
 " But my difficulties were not all over yet. That which 
 was the last to give way was the following. I will state it 
 as clearly as possible. ' All rational belief, I argued, must 
 be the result of conviction, and all conviction must be the 
 result of evidence, and all evidence must arise from exist- 
 ence.' This appeared to me a matter of intuitive certainty, 
 and therefore I farther argued, ' No evidence can possibly 
 outstrip existence, and no rational belief can go beyond the 
 bounds of evidence ; and therefore for a man to believe that 
 lie receives, before he feels that he does, is absurd and 
 u treasonable, and, if not impossible, none but an enthusiast 
 can do it.' This appeared to me so clear and plain, that I 
 conceived it perfectly unanswerable. 
 
 " On the 6th of February, I went to Birmingham, to 
 
 hear you, and your text was, Mark 11 : 24, — ' Therefore I 
 
 say unto you, what things soever ye desire when ye pray, 
 
 believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them} 
 
 30* 
 
354 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 You preached in Cherry-street Chapel. In the coarse of 
 your sermon you related an account of a conversation be- 
 tween a Baptist minister and a Methodist minister, upon 
 this text, during which they examined the original to see 
 if the translation was correct ; and, finding the original 
 word in the indicative mood and present tense, they saw 
 that it was so. I remembered, at the time, that there was 
 another reading marked by Griesbach, but did not recollect 
 what was the strength of its authority ; but I determined, 
 on the following morning, if spared, to examine it for 
 myself. 
 
 " At the close, you exhorted the people to test the prom- 
 ise, and called them to kneel. I thought, at all events, / 7 ll 
 try. I did so, and felt the power of God ; but the knowl- 
 edge that there was another reading, and always having 
 explained the text by c Ask, and ye shall receive,'' and the 
 thought of the above argument, prevented me from fully 
 taking God at his word. Again and again it came to my 
 mind, ' GChis is attempting to do what is unreasonable.' 
 Afterwards, a friend said to me, ' How simple ! ' Not wish- 
 ing to discourage him, I replied, 'Yes;' but I thought, 
 at the time, l It may be so to yon, but if you saw as I do, 
 you would not think so.' 
 
 " On the following morning I examined the Greek text, 
 and found the different reading to be in the second aorist, 
 'eXccfteTe, and that it was marked by Griesbach, denoting 
 that it was worthy of further examination, but inferior to 
 the text. Now, thought I, whatever my logic may say, I 
 must respect and believe the word of God, and I must come 
 to ' Believe that ye receive.'' 
 
 " Now I prayed, and scores of times have I repeated the 
 
 words morsj'e'r l Ori Xa/ufidveie km stnai vnlv j but all the 
 
 time my heart hesitated, and my logic kept me in unbelief. 
 
GOOD NEWS. 855 
 
 T 
 
 " Now 1 began to examine other texts, and I found that 
 the parallel text not only said, 'Ask, and ye shall receive? 
 but, ' every one that asketh receiveth; : that we are invited 
 to come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain, and to 
 find ; and that many other texts implied, if they did not 
 impress, the present time. Still the thought, ' No rational 
 belief can go beyond the bounds of evidence, and no evi- 
 dence can outstrip existence? prevented me from believing ; 
 and thus I was perplexed and agitated between a text of 
 Go$s holy word, and a deduction of reason. 
 
 " At one time, the thought, 'I do not honor and credit 
 the word of God,' distressed me ; and, when I was attempt- 
 ing to believe, the suggestion ' Now you are unreasonable ; 
 to believe without evidence is enthusiasm,' threw me down 
 again ; while the question, ' Is this submitting to God ? Is 
 this obeying him ? ' would increase my agitation. 
 
 "At length, in the midst of this perplexity, I began to 
 think about the prophecies, and perceived that they foretold 
 things that had no actual existence ; and that, when I be- 
 lieved in them, I was allowing my belief to go beyond the 
 bounds of existence, and so rest on the word of another. I 
 had always thought of them before, and always satisfied my 
 mind with saying, ' But they have an actual existence in 
 the purpose of God, and they shall be, they are appointed, 
 &c, &c.' But I believed them, and so was believing only 
 upon the word of another, and that word was my only 
 evidence. But I only perceived this faintly, as in a fog 
 now, but it was of some relief to my mind. The mist, 
 however, was never fully removed till I believed. 
 
 " I began to think there might be a similarity between 
 the word of prophecy, and the word of promise ; — that 
 they both rested upon the veracity of Jehovah ; and that 
 that veracity was evidence on which I might rest without 
 
356 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 > 
 
 enthusiasm ; and, if I believed the word of prophecy before 
 it was accomplished, why not the word of promise ? Be- 
 sides, thought I, is not wishing to feel before I believe, like 
 a person wishing to taste before he begins to eat ? And 
 may there not be as close a connection between the former 
 as the latter ? In this way, I tried to make myself submit 
 to God. I prayed, and reasoned about the goodness, love, 
 and faithfulness of God, the fulness and sufficiency of the 
 atonement, &c, &?., while I sighed, 
 
 * Jesus, see my panting breast ! 
 See, I pant in thee to rest ! 
 Gladly would I now be clean, 
 Cleanse me now from every sin,' — 
 
 till Friday night last, when you called the congregation to 
 kneel with you. I remembered that you had stated that if 
 we would l touch the promise ' [alluding to the figure you 
 had taken from electricity], 'such a thrill of power and 
 glory would run through your souls as you have never felt.' 
 This encouraged me, and I ventured to touch, — steadily to 
 believe, — I do receive, — I do, — I do now, — yes, I do ! 
 — and the thrill of power and glory w 7 as felt like a fire in 
 my heart, spreading over my whole frame, — filling me, not 
 with rapture, but calm joy, and peace, and gratitude. 
 
 "Instantly the thought came, ' Do not mistake this burn- 
 ing, &c, &c, for the blessing.' But as quickly this thought 
 followed, ' In what way could the Holy Spirit witness with 
 my spirit, but this ? All my impressions from outward 
 things are received through the body ; and all my inward 
 impressions must, in some way, affect the body. At all 
 events 1 will not reason, — / believe I do receive ! Glory 
 be to God ! ' Yes, I did receive glory, and I have felt 
 pleasure in confessing it publicly while preaching, and I feel 
 
GOOD NEWS. 357 
 
 it now, glory be to God ! I fear lest the length of this 
 letter should be tedious. In this respect, pardon me for 
 trespassing on your time. I could not well be shorter. 
 " Very sincerely and affectionately yours, 
 
 " Ralph Waller, 
 " Of the Methodist New Connection." 
 
CHAPTER XLVIII. 
 
 JOURNAL CONTINUED. 
 
 March 15th. — Sinners are breaking down on every 
 hand ; anl some most unlikely cases ! 
 
 Accountability to God, now, and after death, is one 
 great anchor-hold of the Spirit in man. I find great 
 advantage in taking fast hold there, in bringing the sinner 
 to God. Drop anchor there, if possible, and you have the 
 sinner. Harpoon him there, if need be, and his whole 
 weight will soon be felt upon the line. He may flounce 
 and flounder, and dive into the mud of infidelity and error, 
 and make a great noise, and go off among his companions 
 in a tangent, turning all his element mto foam ; but, if the 
 harpoon has stuck fast in the right place, and holds fast, he 
 will soon reappear, and be drawn alongside, as the ichalers 
 speak ! 
 
 March 19th. — Mental accountability to God ; — did 
 not lose sight of that. Looking into my watch, observed 
 that every wheel works in allegiance to the given point on 
 the dial-plate ; all parts of the sinner have a strict relation 
 to the inward dial-plate, accountability to God. And, even 
 when the watch is all wrong in its motions, yet there are 
 signs on the dial-plate which indicate what should be. The 
 sinner knows, from the sense of accountability within, what 
 he should be, both within and without. When all is right 
 or wrong \ with regard to that h ward dial, all will be right 
 
JOURNAL CONTINUED. 359 
 
 or -wrong on the dial of the visible conversation. The Bible 
 is its grand authority. If my watch had sensibility, and 
 could read its own face, comparing it with the sun, assur- 
 ance of truth, or conviction of wrong, would be the imme- 
 diate result. Christ Jesus is the Sun of Righteousness. 
 St. John declares him to be " the true Light which light- 
 eth every man that comet h into the world" — every man, 
 whether he reads the Bible or not ; for he shines, doubtless, 
 upon this mental dial-plate [if I may so call it], accounta- 
 bility to God. 
 
 March 23d. — The church of God has become a moving 
 flame of fire, into whatsoever chapel she enters ! How 
 little can be done when she is not ! But who may set lim- 
 its to her influence when she is thus ! Three or four score 
 of sinners saved on Sabbath, and half as many sanc- 
 tified ! 
 
 April 3d. — The Love Feast was excellent. The new 
 converts talked like new creatures, indeed ! 
 
 " In joy triumphant, sorrow flown." 
 
 Had some noble testimonies to the blessing of perfect love. 
 The spies of old (Numb. 13 : 23) brought out of Canaan 
 grapes, pomegranates, and figs, such as Israel had never 
 laid eyes on before ; and they reported that it was, indeed, 
 a land flowing with milk and honey ; but they also reported 
 evil of the land, of the strength of their walled cities, and 
 giant-like population, among whom they felt themselves 
 but as grasshoppers, and set the people a murmuring. 
 
 But these sanctified souls exhibited the fruit, and said, 
 with Caleb, " Let us go up at once and possess it ; for 
 we are well able to overcome it." The resolved multitude 
 one and all exclaiming : 
 
360 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 " Rejoicing now in earnest hope, 
 I stand, and from the mountain top 
 
 See all the land below ; 
 Rivers of milk and honey rise, 
 And all the fruits of Paradise 
 
 In endless plenty grow." 
 
 While not a few sorrowing ones mournfully ejacu- 
 lated : 
 
 "0, that I might at once go up ! 
 No more on this side Jordan stop, 
 
 But now the land possess ; 
 This moment end my legal years ; 
 Sorrows and sins, and doubts, and fears, 
 
 A howling wilderness." 
 
 Those who enjoyed the blessing greatly encouraged and 
 strengthened each other. The fellowship of purified minds 
 is a holy alliance ! for it is by this that holiness strength ■ 
 ens and reinforces itself. 
 
 April 7th. — A note from Brother Yates, containing a. 
 vote of thanks from the quarterly meeting of the Birming- 
 ham East circuit, and recognizing this revival as "a 
 remarkable outpouring of the Holy Spirit." Also, another 
 from Brother McTurk, of a similar import, from "the 
 quarterly meeting of the Birmingham West circuit," in the 
 form of a resolution, moved by Dr. Melson, and seconded 
 by Mr. Wilkinson, stewards, Rev. George Turner in the 
 chair, and u carried unanimously," gratefully acknowl- 
 edging the work to be of God, and rejoicing in the 
 great prosperity of the circuit, spiritually and financially; 
 and full of the kindest expressions towards me, his ser- 
 vant. 
 
 It is truly cheering to have the confidence and approba- 
 tion of good men. But what is this just to hand? A 
 
JOURNAL CONTINUED. 361 
 
 vamphlet. and my name upon it in type large enough, 
 surely, to make me appear somebody! * * * * 
 
 Have just looked it over ; — quite a spirited opponent ; — 
 as if the writer, Mr. E., belonged to the corps editorial of 
 Blackwood's Magazine, — so stately and eloquent ! — 
 thus, for example, he begins : 
 
 " Reverend Sir: I think it must be admitted to le 
 almost axiomatic that a courtier is not an impartial medium 
 of conveying true and unbiased intelligence to his sovereign ; 
 the circumstances by which he is surrounded, the desire to 
 please his master by communicating flattering intelligence, 
 and ' ex "parte ' reports, tends, I fear, too much to give a 
 fictitious coloring to the waters transmitted through such a 
 channel. Leaving, however, the court, and viewing the 
 world in general, we shall see the same appearances still 
 manifested, the same principle everywhere developing itself. 
 Forgive me then, sir, when I tell you, that I fear the atmos- 
 phere by which you are surrounded bears too great an 
 affinity to the dense air of the court ; and that the medium 
 by which you receive your information is of too partial and 
 one-sided a character. 
 
 Ji- ^i* 4t- J£* Ji. ^xi* 
 
 ■•fr -TT *TT -TV -TT -iv 
 
 " Sir, if I look around upon the. beauteous manifestations 
 of nature, if I view the glorious scenery by which I am on 
 every side surrounded, the thought visibly presents itself 
 that the Deity is a being of beneficence and goodness, and if 
 I open your sacred oracle, the visibility of the fact is still 
 further manifested; but, sir, you endeavor to clothe him 
 with vengeance, to call up the Jupiter of the Grecians, and 
 bid him scatter his thunderbolts around him, to tear the 
 heavens asunder in the ire of his rage, hurrying forward 
 impetuously to take vengeance on the world, and visit it with 
 31 
 
362 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 his severest chastisement and displeasure ; in fact, to make 
 him appear the God of the passions, not that being which 
 nature so continually develops. 
 
 " I -will not detain you by noticing the wild phraseology 
 which you occasionally indulge in ; I will not stay to point 
 oat the strangeness of the diction in which you enunciate 
 your peculiar ideas ; it is not my intention to throw down 
 the gauntlet about mere form of words, however strange the 
 verbiage, or wild and incoherent their phraseology ; though, 
 I would observe, ' en passant,' that, did I wish, I have a 
 wide field to select from. 
 
 '- We will conceive that the wild oratory is for a moment 
 hushed ! that the bright flashes of genius, purified at the 
 altar, and offered up to the service of their Maker, have for 
 a time ceased to emanate ! that the pulpit is vacated for the 
 communion rail, and that the word of exhortation is lost in 
 the breathings of prayer. And here what manifestations 
 are called into existence, what a medley of sound peals upon 
 the ear ! The storm (pardon my simile) which occasionally 
 issued forth betokenments of its approach in the early part 
 of the eve, now still more powerfully continues to develop 
 itself, sound commingles with sound, until at last it arrives 
 at its maximum of power." 
 
 The whole production displays considerable talent, but 
 this polite breath of opposition will only serve to fan the 
 glorious jlame, that is consuming sin of every sort, wher- 
 ever it sweeps ! It seizes upon everything that stands in 
 its way ; — ten, fifteen, or twenty, saved every night, and 
 scores on the Sabbath days, — of all ages and classes, 
 chiefly from fifteen to thirty-five, and up to seventy ! Great 
 is our God, and great and marvellous his goodness to the 
 
JOURNAL CONTINUED. 363 
 
 chiHren of men. Blessed be his name ! And blessed be 
 his Son Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all, and sees of the 
 travail of his soul and is satisfied ! And blessed be the 
 Holy Ghost, that worketh the counsel of his will so wonder- 
 fully ! Amsn. 
 
CHAPTER XLIX. 
 
 CHEERFULNESS AND COURAGE REQUIRED. 
 
 April 2d. — My health is much better, thanks be unto 
 Him who preserves it, as he did the bush in the flame. As 
 to my spiritual state, he favors me with many a smile, and 
 blesses me with sweet tranquillity of mind, — which an old 
 divine calls the cream of life and a bunch of grapes by 
 the way ! 
 
 There is no use in yielding to sadness ; for it leaves the 
 soul very much like an instrument out of tune ; and Satan, 
 unlike all other musicians, has a great fancy for playing 
 upon an untuned instrument ! 
 
 Gladness ! I like to cultivate the spirit of gladness ! It 
 puts the soul so in tune again, and keeps it in tune, so that 
 Satan is shy of touching it ! — the chords of the soul 
 become too warm, or too full of heavenly electricity, for his 
 infernal fingers, and he goes off somewhere else 1 — at least, 
 thus I have ever found it. Satan is always very shy of 
 meddling with me when my heart is full of gladness and 
 joy in the Holy Ghost. 
 
 My plan is to shun the spirit of sadness as I would 
 Satan; but, alas! I am not always successful. Like the 
 Devil himself it meets me on the highway of usefulness, 
 looks me so fully in my face, till my poor soul changes 
 color ! 
 
 I often think of a remark of a divine in Switzerland, — 
 
CHEERFULNESS AND COURAGE REQUIRED/ 365 
 
 that sadness discolors everything; it leaves all objects 
 charmless; it involves future prospects in darkness; it 
 deprives the soul of all its aspirations, enchains all its 
 powers, and produces a mental paralysis ! 
 
 An old believer remarked, that cheerfulness in religion^ 
 makes all its services come off with delight ; and that we are 
 never carried forward so swiftly in the ways of duty as 
 when borne on the wings of delight ; adding, that Melan- 
 choly clips such wings ; or, to alter the figure, takes off our 
 chariot wheels in duty, and makes them, like those of the 
 Egyptians, drag heavily. 
 
 Gladness is the musician of religion. It surrounds the 
 soul with an atmosphere of harmony ; makes her 
 
 " Forget her labor as she toils along, 
 
 Weep tears of joy, and burst into a song ! " 
 
 April 3d. — "Courage!" Yes! indeed, courage is 
 indispensable in such a work as this ; and must be main- 
 tained at any cost ! What a French officer remarked in a 
 letter to a friend, when with Napoleon in the campaign in 
 Egypt, is not inapplicable. " Here we need courage, not 
 only of the head, but of the heart and the soul." But Jesus 
 never fails me. His grace is always equal to my day. As 
 my day is, so is my strength, as the promise runs. — Deut. 
 33 : 25. 
 
 The world is of the opinion, says a great writer, that the 
 end of fencing is to hit ; that the end of medicine is to ciu e, 
 and that the end of war is to conquer ; and that those means 
 are the most correct which best accomplish the ends. , A 
 better reply could not be given, with regard to the subject 
 on hand ; besides, the number of the hit that spread the 
 ground must have decided that in your judgment ; and the 
 number of the cured and the conquered ! 
 31* 
 
366 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 And Mr. was really hit himself. There is no doubt 
 
 of that, although he made out to get away ; and days passed 
 away before he ventured again within range of our shot. 
 Nor would he have come again, but that the wound in the 
 conscience would not heal. An " apology " would have 
 been a poor plaster. It was not to be hoped for, unless 
 the preacher could be convinced he was in the wrong ; or 
 that the " random shot " was anything else than .what one 
 called u a conglomeration" of truth. If he will keep 
 coming, he will get a better plaster for his conscience than 
 an apology from me, even an application of that blood that 
 cleanseth from all sin. — 1 John 1 : 7. 
 
 It requires courage to incur such hard epithets ; but my 
 Lord had worse. Erasmus said to the opponents of Luther, 
 11 Nothing is easier than to call Luther a blockhead, but 
 nothing is more difficult than to prove him one ! " Nothing 
 is easier than to coin such epithets, nothing harder than to 
 prove their just applicability ! Nothing is easier than to 
 call such and such teaching false, nothing harder than to 
 prove that it is really so. 
 
 A madman in America said to me, " Sir, when ministers 
 keep the Law, what a tremendous cudgel they have for sin- 
 ners ! " That is true, I replied, but how do you manage 
 sinners yourself, when they are hard on you? " 0, sir, I 
 take hold of the Divine Law ; they are not used to such big 
 thoughts, sir ! " Ah, there was both Law and Gospel in 
 that which produced such results. 
 
 The end of medicine is to cure ; and the end of war is to 
 conquer, said the critic ; — ay ! and the end of the Law and the 
 Gospel is to conquer and to save, — to wound and to cure. 
 Surely, the scenes witnessed the last few nights prove how 
 well both La v and Gospel arc adapted to such a work ; when 
 accompanied by the power of the Holy .Ghost sent down 
 from heaven ! 
 
CHAPTER L. 
 
 PEACE OR WAR. 
 
 To * * * *. 
 
 Youa ideas on "peace" are clever, both in conception 
 and expression ; and, were you arguing against the evils of 
 national wars, would be most applicable and persuasive. 
 
 Animals coming into the world armed with natural 
 weapons, while man is born weaponless, proving that God 
 designs him to be a peaceable creature, is a good, though 
 not an original idea ; as Lord Bacon, I think, notices it. 
 But how would you answer an objector, that though God 
 has not chosen to send him into the world panoplied for 
 war, like the inferior animals and insects of which you 
 speak, yet he has endowed him with reason, and provided 
 him with vast stores of material, out of which he may 
 make weapons, offensive and defensive ? The subject is 
 not unworthy of reconsideration, if you have time. Such 
 materials of war were very useful to the Israelites, when 
 fighting what one may unshrinkingly call the battles of 
 he Lord. But let that pass ; for I am no apologist for 
 
 war i 
 
 But what does all your "reasoning" prove? That the 
 n new creature in Christ Jesus" (1 Cor. 5: 17), when 
 11 bom again," is unarmed, — " not warlike, and ready to 
 fight for the truth " ? But how know you that ? Suppose 
 
368 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 I grant it ; what then ? Does it follow that the Holy Ghost 
 does not call upon him immediately to " put on the whole 
 armor of God" ? — the girdle of truth; the breastplate 
 of righteousness ; the feet shod with the preparation of the 
 Gospel of peace ; the shield of faith ; the helmet of salva- 
 tion, and the sword of the Spirit ; and to watch with all 
 perseverance, as you may see by consulting Ephesians, sixth 
 chapter. Man, what are we to make of all this ? If this 
 be not a warlike creature, I want to know what is ! But 
 of what use is all this panoply ? Surely, not for mere 
 show, like that upon officers and men in a mere review ? 
 Nay, verily, but wherewith to defend and to fight, — " the 
 good fight of faith ," — which many of these young believers 
 are doing now, in right good earnest ; which may they do 
 always, until they win the last victory over the world, the 
 flesh, and the Devil, and gain the crown of glory that 
 fadeth not away ! 
 
 The "mischief" that is being done is, indeed, a consid- 
 eration ; but if needed, and in the right direction, never 
 mind ; — to the spoiling of principalities and powers, and 
 devastating the dominions of the Devil, and breaking up the 
 confederation of sinners ! If the works of darkness are 
 bemg overthrown ; if lukewarmness, pride, unbelief, spir- 
 itual death, and other notorious works of the Devil, are 
 being destroyed ; there is no cause for mourning, surely-, 
 — but much for acclamations of joy, and thanksgiving to 
 God! 
 
 An old writer says, " War is mischief on a large scale." 
 Such, I admit, is a great revival of religion ; — it is war 
 against the Devil and all his works, — mischief on a large 
 scale, in that direction. 
 
 A friend of mine said to a young lady from a distant 
 city, "Well, you have had Mr. Caughey preaching in your 
 
1EACE OR WAR. 369 
 
 city." " 0, yes ; and he did a great deal of harm," was her 
 reply. There was harm done, a great deal of harm, and 
 all hell confessed it ; — one thousand sinners converted ! 
 But that was not all the harm. Some do-nothing churches 
 had their congregations thinned, — the rub was there ; she 
 only spoke as she had been taught. And there were many 
 united families severed in their affections ; united hitherto 
 in serving the Devil. That unity was quite broken up, for 
 Jesus Christ took a remnant out of them to serve him ; 
 and that created trouble, after the manner foretold by him- 
 self : " I came not to send peace, but the sword. For I 
 am come to set a man at variance against his father, 
 and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter- 
 in-law against her mother-in-law ; and a man!s foes 
 shall be they of his own household. 11 — Matt. 10 : 34, 36. 
 "A great deal of harm" in all that ! and the pooi preacher 
 comes in for a large share of the blame. However, better 
 such troubles should occur here upon earth, than the whole 
 family should be left to fall into hell, there to fight as 
 fiends for ever and ever. The rich man in hell deprecated 
 a reunion with his family in that place of torments : — 
 "Send him [Lazarus] to my fat her' s house ; for I have 
 five brethren, ihat he may testify unto them, lest they also 
 come into this place of torment P — Luke 16 : 27, 28. 
 
 TO THE SAME. 
 
 1. I like your signature, " A man of peace ; " — and so 
 am I, if one can have it with a good conscience ; else, fare- 
 well to it, — roar in preference ! 
 
 Why did the Greeks name peace to be the nurse of 
 Pluto ? Because Pluto was their god of wealth ; and 
 they were well aware that peace increases the wealth of 
 
370 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 nations, while war impoverishes. Your allusion was pretty 
 but you see I have stated it more classically ', and with less 
 prodigality of words. 
 
 2. Peace ! I love the word ; — peace with those who call 
 upon the name of the Lord out of a pure heart. St. Paul 
 enjoins that. Peace with the membership of the general 
 church of Christ ; and, of course, with every member of 
 that particular branch of it among whom I labor. " Peace ! 
 I welcome it, when they are what they ought to be ; when 
 they are at peace with God, and at war with sin. If 
 not. the sooner peace retires from our midst the better. In 
 this case, let truth declare for war. The sooner the better. 
 Peace sometimes must be purchased by war. War, in order 
 to a healthy and lasting peace. 
 
 3. Peace with sin and sinners ! Then I reject peace. 
 Otherwise, God himself would soon declare war against me. 
 And right that he should. It would be wrong in me to risk 
 it ; wrong to them and to myself. 
 
 4. Peace in the church of God, other things being equal, 
 is a grand source of spiritual health and prosperity. But 
 peace with those who would be at peace with the world and 
 its wickedness, and who would convert the church into ' : the 
 synagogue of Satan" would impoverish the church, even 
 to spiritual bankruptcy and ruin. War, in such a state 
 of things, is better than peace. War, in order to a lasting 
 peace, is the way to enrich a church, in the estimation of 
 God and angels. 
 
 5. To this end the Lord sent Jeremiah, the prophet, to 
 fight against his professed people (Jer. 15 : 19, 21) ; 
 where God assures him, he should stand before him, if he 
 would take forth the precious from the vile, and be as the 
 mouth of God unto them ; acting on this principle, that 
 they should return to him, and not he to them ; that is, 
 
PEACE OR WAR. 371 
 
 for the sake of a hollow peace, he was not to connive at 
 their connivance with the wicked world around them. 
 God promises, on his part, to make him a fenced brazen 
 ivall, against whom they should fight, and not prevail ; for 
 that he should be in and behind the wall, so that the 
 prophet could not be overthrown ; with a sure promise of 
 deliverance out of the hand of the ivicked, and out of the 
 terrible ! No wonder Jeremiah was so bold, so unflinch- 
 ing, so iincompromising a witness for the Lord his God ! 
 Nevertheless, he had his troubles, and sore ones, out of 
 which his God did deliver him always. Blessed be his 
 name ! 
 
 6. God is no less concerned for the purity of his church 
 now. More of this by and by. 
 
 7. Mark what I am going to say. There never can be a 
 long peace upon the earth in any nation, or among the 
 nations, while a majority are in arms against God. Again 
 and again did that thought oppress my heart when travel- 
 ling in Continental Europe. I saw enough to convince 
 me of that. But never, till we enter heaven above us, shall 
 we know how often, in every generation of the nations, a 
 voice of thunder gives power to the angel that sits on the 
 red horse, " to'take peace from the earth" — Rev. 6 : 4. 
 And mark further what I am going to say. Nor can any 
 church, where many are guilty of treason against its Head, 
 by conniving at the rebellion of the world against him (to 
 say nothing more), have a long peace. No ! the Almighty 
 will send some angel to take peace from the church. Then 
 commences "the tug of war." Potsherds striving with 
 potsherds ! Yea, and the tvoe of man striving with hu 
 Maker ! — Is. 45 : 9. I said, — "to say nothing more ; " 
 but more might be said, — where there is "a this and 
 
372 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 that" in great abundance, in direct collision with the Will 
 of Him whom we consider Head of the church militant. 
 
 8. The church must be in the field, to war against sin 
 and wickedness ; else God will enter the church, and war 
 against it. Then woe be unto the church ! Nor can the 
 church of God ever be enriched with all the riches of God, 
 till she is pure ivithin, — "all glorious within" as the 
 king's daughter, — and pure from the blood of souls, — 
 warring as she ought against the icorks of darkness ! 
 
 It will, indeed, never be well with the world, until it 
 beats its swords into ploughshares, and its spears into 
 priming-hooks, and learns the art of war no more. On 
 the contrary, it is never so w T ell with the church, as when 
 her sivords and spears are in active hostilities against all 
 the powers of sin and Satan ! Aggression is the life of the 
 church, and the grand means of her true aggrandizement. 
 God help me, sir ! I am endeavoring to carry out these 
 principles with all my heart, and with all my soul : and 
 shall, I trust, till my Great Captain sounds my retreat 
 from the battle-field of life ! 
 
 To THE SAME. 
 
 Controversies during a revival I avoid, if possible. I 
 have no heart for anything of the kind. The spiritual 
 temple should be built, at such a time, without the noise 
 of such hammers as these. It is best to let these hammers 
 work elsewhere, by those who have a heart to use them. 
 We have better hammers and better work for them to do, 
 — to knock down and break to pieces all manner of sin and 
 wickedness, in the church and out of it, the Lord our God 
 being our helper ! 
 
 A prelate of the Church of England advised Mr. Wesley 
 
PEACE OR WAR. 373 
 
 to let debatable subjects alone, and endeavor with all his 
 might to overturn wickedness, and convert sinners to God ; 
 ■ — that he considered an undebatable good ! Ay, that is 
 it ! That is my motto also, sir. I press hard upon these 
 undebatable things. The hammers of truth work wonder- 
 ful changes ; but no man, nor men, shall be able to change 
 my hammers, or turn them to any other work. Must keep 
 them all agoing, and with a sort of trip-hammer rapidity 
 and indomitableness, if you will allow the word, to bend 
 the iron sineio of rebellion, and break the rocky hearts in 
 pieces before the Lord. 
 
 Peace, as you say, "in the eye, on the tongue, in the 
 gesture," is "attractive and winning," no doubt; but if 
 self happen to be the centre of attraction, instead of Christ, 
 then tooe to the preacher ! Alas ! self may become a load- 
 stone, to draw people to itself, instead of drawing them out 
 of their sins to Christ ; and what is that but drawing them 
 from one devil to another ? — for, self that would be idol- 
 ized at the expense of Christ, is little better than a devil, 
 — " a tame devil," as one named it. 0, but if I found 
 self engaged in such an abominably selfish purpose, I would 
 knock it down, and nail it to the cross, and let it die the 
 death ! I tell you, sir, if convincing and converting truth 
 be shuffled aside, that the listening, unsaved multitude may 
 be pleased and drawn to the selfish preacher, self reigns in 
 the pulpit instead of Christ, and is proving itself a down- 
 right traitor to the King of kings. It resembles wily, 
 politic Absalom at the gate, who, with fair words and gentle 
 speeches, " stole the hearts of the men of Israel" and 
 then dethroned his father, and drove him from his palace 
 and his capital. — 2 Sam. 15. Such a traitor-like self 
 deserves the fate of Absalom in the oak, and will certainly 
 have a worse destiny, if it persist. 
 32 
 
374 showers of blessing. 
 
 Byron, speaking of a fascinating preacher, hints that '■ T je 
 gained more hearts than souls ; " — a striking distinction ! 
 Alas ! it is to be feared, there is much of this sort of thing 
 going on among the Christian churches. It is a mighty 
 cause of spiritual death wherever it occurs. This Dagon 
 must be made to fall before the ark of God ! — again and 
 again it must fall, till not even " the stump" of the abom- 
 inable thing remains ! — 1 Sam. 5:4. 
 
 Ah ! sir, you little know, perhaps, how many self-morti- 
 fications, over turnings, and mental agonies, some preachers 
 have to endure, ere this Dagon is reduced to the stumps, 
 or till it is utterly destroyed. But when the thing is done, 
 and this sinful self is slain, and numbered with the dead, 
 and all the glory of his father's house redounds to Christ 
 alone ; then, and not till then, shall the glory of the Lord 
 God of Israel be revealed in his temples here below. ■ — 1 
 Kings 8 : 11. Is. 40 : 5. 0, who would spare this 
 Dagon, with such a glory, and such consequences as are 
 set before the eye of faith ! 
 
 Our earth presents many a sad sight ; but the saddest, 
 I sometimes think, is where self has the ascendency in the 
 house of God, — in the jpulpit. It is not only bringing ruin 
 upon itself, but blight and death upon the church of God. 
 The Head of the chtirch will surely contend with it ; for 
 he hath said, " My glory I will not give to another." 
 That is his fixed purpose, — his unchangeable decree; — a 
 purpose, a decree, that awakens the echoes of heaven 
 with, " Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and 
 honor, and power" (Rev. 4: 11), and vibrates in judg- 
 ments upon the earth. May our God preserve me, and all 
 his ministers, from this inward Achan of an unsanctified 
 self! Amen. 
 
PEACE OR WAR. 375 
 
 TO THE SAME. 
 
 Very true. There was no peace for the unsaved that 
 night! — no, nor rest in my bones! — no! for rebellion 
 against the Holy Spirit was rife ; — and how could there be 
 peace? To them, and to the troubled preacher, another 
 Jehu might have said, " What hast thou to do with 
 peace?" — 2 Kings 9 : 19. Ay! u tongue, eyes, hands, 
 arms, body, — all warlike, — so unlike an ambassador of the 
 Prince of peace." And might I not say to thee, as the 
 stripling David to his brother Eliab in the camp of Said, 
 " What have I now done? Is there not a cause?" — 1 
 Sam. 17 : 28, 29. Cause ! yes, sufficient to stir the heart 
 of the archangel Gabriel ! 
 
 Ay ! all was " violent and warlike " enough ; — many an 
 alarmed and wounded sinner felt the truth of that. Neither 
 self nor subject were " burdened with the loadstone of attrac- 
 tion, but repidsion with a vengeance." Very true again ! 
 but how did you account for the fact, that so many scores 
 of distressed sinners, of all ages, clustered around me, with 
 tears and cries, and would not go away ? Did that look like 
 repulsion ? 
 
 Ah ! my "Friend," truth is a more powerful loadstone 
 than flattery \ But it cut through all concealment, like a 
 very sword ; and loaded many a terror-stricken conscience 
 with a weight of misery and guilt too heavy to be borne. 
 In this sense, there was a loading indeed, — &fearftd load- 
 ing, — something like what the damned in hell feel, only 
 there were hopes of mercy. 0, what a piling up of sen- 
 tences of condemnation ! 0, what a region of alarm was that 
 of many a soul ! 0, what fearful -outcries ! And yet, what 
 expressions of hope and confidence in divine mercy through 
 Jesus Christ ! — 
 
376 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 ** Though my sins as mountains rise, 
 
 And swell and reach to heaven, 
 Mercy is above the skies, 
 
 I may be still forgiven : 
 Infinite my sins increase, 
 
 But greater is thy mercy's store ; 
 Love me freely, seal my peace, 
 
 And bid me sin no more." 
 
 Be it so, then, that all was "repulsion" yet you are a 
 witness how that the slashes of the sword of divine truth, 
 which reached unto the soul, did the work required by the 
 Gospel most effectually. You did not wait till the close 
 of the prayer-meeting, most likely; but if you had, you 
 would have acknowledged that they had not mourned and 
 prayed and wept in vain, nor the preacher and his helpers 
 labored in vain. Hallelujah ! 
 
CHAPTER LI. 
 
 EXTRACTS FROM JOURNAL. 
 
 April 9th. — My Birthday. Thankful for the past, 
 trusting my gracious Lord' with and for all my future. 
 Many reminiscences. The book of Providence, like Hebrew 
 letters, must be read backwards, upon earth and in heaven ; 
 — a very profitable study. Have enjoyed a sweet walk, 
 singing over and over again, with tears, that sweet stanza 
 of Mr. Wesley : 
 
 " What thou hast done I know not now, 
 Suffice I shall hereafter know ; 
 Help me my sinful head to bow ; 
 That still I live, to thee I owe : 
 0, teach thy deeply humbled son, 
 Father, to say thy will be done ! " 
 
 The work of God does not flag. But, weak as I feel, and 
 humbled to the dust as my soul is before God in private, 
 always, yet in public, he does cause "the sword of truth to 
 gleam like his own lightning ! " 0, he does ! Blessed be 
 his name ! 
 
 * * * * # 
 
 How soft and sweet is the breath of spring, in this coun- 
 try, with 
 
 " Light leaves, young as joy ! " 
 
 Held a private watch-night. The Lord near. After 
 midnight opened upon the Scriptures for a birthday expres- 
 
 32* 
 
378 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 sion from my Lord (Acts 7), where it is said, Moses "was 
 a stranger in the land of Midian ! " and Isaiah 44 : 26, 
 "That conjirmeth the word of his servant, and jierform- 
 eth the counsel of his messengers ; that saith to Jeru- 
 salem, Thou shall be inhabited ; and to the cities of 
 Judah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise up the decayed 
 places thereof.'' 1 
 
 April 10th. — Preaching, like life, should be direct, not 
 circular ^ — but direct and progressive. Beware of this 
 circumlocution and wordiness ; cure it at once. However, 
 that was a strong point, and worthy of a larger place in a 
 future discourse ; — that those who will not weep over a 
 sinning friend, let them prepare to weep over a dying 
 friend; — those who cannot mourn over an unconverted 
 relative, may soon be called to mourn over a buried rela- 
 tive ; — that the Christian world is full of such cases ; — 
 that sinning on, without repentance or conversion, is sure 
 to shorten the days of the sinner ; — that, for a professed 
 follower of Christ to stand and look on, without prayers 
 and tears for their salvation, is pretty sure to be followed 
 up by such a painful retribution. 
 
 April 11th. — Yesterday being Good Friday, and a gen- 
 eral holiday, I preached twice at Newtown-Kow Chapel, on 
 " Let him now come down from the cross, and we will 
 believe him" — Matt. 27: 42. Had some liberty in the 
 forenoon, and assisted at the Sacrament, after ; but, at 
 night, upon the same text, was much fettered and stilted. 
 Another text would have been better for the crowd assem- 
 bled. However, many were saved. 
 
 April 12th. — A great day yesterday at the Islington 
 Chapel. Had what Baxter calls "a piercing quickness," 
 with brisk life and power. Results glorious. 
 
 April 14th. — IIo\i little one can do without zeal, fire t 
 
EXTRACTS FROM JOURNAL. 379 
 
 energy ! 0, how this shows — speaks to me like a trumpet, . 
 the necessity of working hard and steadily in the soul- 
 saving way, while physical and mental vigor last ! for, 
 without these, it is to rise up, and be forced to sit down 
 again, or something equal to that; for, 0, how true is 
 that observation of one, that, unless a minister preach, as 
 if he determined, if the sinner perish, he must perish also, 
 he can move nothing, do nothing ! Lord Jesus, help me to 
 work while health and vigor are vouchsafed ! 
 
 April 17th. — Holiness night. That sentiment tells upon 
 some consciences. It is not the want of faith, but a lack 
 of determination to be cleansed from all sin, that prevents 
 many from receiving the blessing. 
 
 Have spent this week in the chapel at Islington, in the 
 suburbs of Birmingham, with signal success. But there is 
 a deep pensiveness over my spirit ; — a raven-ioinged influ- 
 ence overshadowing me, shutting out all the sunshine of the 
 heart ; and I really cannot tell why ; — fatigue, perhaps. 
 0, what a thing is a dull heart, and a decay of vital 
 energy But the Lord is at hand to bless and support. 
 
CHAPTER LI I. 
 
 MORE NOTES OF THE REVIVAL. 
 
 Speaking of the progress of the revival in Birmingham^ 
 Mr. C. remarks : 
 
 The whole town seems moved. The confederations of 
 sin are in considerable confusion ; at their wits' end, some 
 of them! — to preserve themselves from dissolution. Error 
 flies before the revival, as chaff before the wind. Draiuing- 
 room circles are in an amaze. Bar-rooms and beer-shops, 
 here and there, are vocal with lonely grumblers. The 
 wicked are fretting and fuming, and the pamphleteering 
 presses are groaning for them, poor souls ! — ay, loud as 
 their poor consciences are groaning for themselves. 
 
 However, we have vast masses of the people on our side. 
 The Wesleyans, generally, are true ; though some shrink, 
 and query what all this is coming to ; and whether the 
 church of God shall be able to wash her face and robes 
 clean, after all this bespattering from the wicked. They 
 can bear to read how that the face of Jesus was covered 
 with the spittle of the ungodly, and his person arrayed in a 
 mock robe, &c, &c; but, to have the church of their 
 choice despised and mocked, is too much for their pride or 
 humility. 
 
 However, it is the green v:ood that shrinks. The sea- 
 soned material in the spiritual temple never shrinks in 
 the hot atmosphere of p>ersecution There is much of this 
 
MORE NOTES OF THE REVIVAL. 381 
 
 material in the Wesleyan church in this town ; — neither 
 ridicule nor aught else effects such noble souls. They would 
 be surprised to behold the members of an active, aggressive 
 church crowned with rose-buds, while the Head was crowned 
 with thorns. 
 
 How many professed navigators to the heavenly port 
 have I known, who could not sail in rough and hazardous 
 weather ! — would rather make for the shore, at the risk of 
 running the work of God ashore, and Zion^s ship among 
 the breakers ! — " Any port in a storm," says the old prov- 
 erb ; — and there wait for calm weather, and clear skies, — 
 and the smiles of the world for their sunshine ! Then fare- 
 well to the revival ! 
 
 It is hard for some to show their heads, unless they are 
 sure the world shall cry, " Well done ! " and this and that 
 circle of "taste and intelligence" echo it. Then such are 
 " on hand " for all that was good ! But when the heavens 
 lower, and the storm howls, and the sea is troubled, and the 
 leaves toss themselves about, — then " discretion is the bet- 
 ter part of valor ! " and they disappear ! 
 
 Birmingham Methodists, generally, know how to ' ' rough 
 it out,'' 1 sailor fashion, in all weathers; — out on duty, 
 whether the heavens smile, or whether they frown ; — men 
 and women, who, I verily believe, would stand up for God, 
 against a host, were the scenes of Dura to be reenaoted ! 
 
 True, they are in the world, and mingle in its business, 
 and buy, and sell, and serve it, and make money, and acquire 
 its substance ; and the wicked say, " See, your citizens of 
 heaven are as active and money-making as us, the citizens 
 of the world, and who have our hope in this life ! " To be 
 sure they are ! and I want to know who has a better right 
 than they ? Besides, they have families to provide for, and 
 the treasury and cause of our Lord Jesus Christ to sustain ; 
 
382 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 Why should they not be lively and active, cheered as they 
 are by the prospect of a better inheritance above? Their 
 hands are busy here below, while their affections are in the 
 altitudes of heaven ; — busily engaged in the humble 
 drudgery of life, while their hearts are lodged in the tree 
 of life, and their thoughts among the angels, and " the spir- 
 its of just men made perfect." If outward appearances do 
 make against them, it only illustrates what St. John says, — 
 " The world knoweth us not', — and it doth not yet appeal 
 what we shall be." No, blessed be God! "but we know 
 that when he shall appear, ive shall be like him ; for we 
 shall see him as he is." That is enough ! Till then, -we 
 can bear the comparison of a good man, of an eagle sitting 
 upon a low branch, but her nest is built on high; or the 
 moon, which, though seen in the water, yet has her seat in 
 the firmament ! 
 
 But the wicked do not understand these things; such 
 thoughts are too high for them. But the time is coming 
 when they shall understand them ; ay, though they may 
 have to look as high as Dives did from the depths of hell. 
 What Jesus says to every disciple of his, he says to every 
 wilful servant of the Devil, "What thou knowest not now, 
 thou shalt know hereafter" Alas ! alas ! it will then be 
 too late for such. 0, may every loyalist of heaven buckle 
 on the armor, firmer than ever, and rush upon these brands 
 of hell, and pluck them out of the burning ! 
 
 In the mean time, shout, earth and heaven, that prayer 13 
 being daily answered ! 
 
 " Like mighty winds or torrents fierce, 
 Let it opposers all o'errun, 
 And every law of sin reverse, 
 
 That faith and love may make all one." 
 
MORE NOTES OF THE REVIVAL. 383 
 
 This is no time to falter. It is truth and tne effects of 
 truth they are quarrelling with, and with me for setting it 
 on against their consciences ; and yet, what could it or the 
 preacher have done, but for the Holy Spirit who applied it ? 
 I must stand by the truth, then, and stand or fall with it ; 
 let it have an open field and fair play. If this is my 
 cross, it must be taken up, and borne along with courage 
 and faithfulness. Luther says, " Every true saint is heir 
 to the cross ; " and I have come into the possession of 
 mine with some joy and power. 
 
 The world never did understand that declaration of Jesus, 
 " Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteous- 
 ness'' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Mark 
 that, — " theirs is," not theirs shall he, the kingdom of 
 heaven. "Nay," says the world, "but miserable are they 
 who are persecuted for righteousness' sake." Thus our 
 Lord's decision is a little paradox, or a contradiction to 
 the world, but perfectly in harmony with Christian expe- 
 rience. 
 
 A voice from heaven saluted John with " Blessed are 
 the dead which die in the Lord, from henceforth." Jesus 
 says, " Blessed are they tvhich are persecuted," &c. Thus 
 the same word which expresses the happiness of departed 
 saints in heaven, expresses also the happiness of the perse- 
 cuted saints upon earth. 
 
 But what are all the beatitudes, or felicities, in the fifth 
 of Matthew, but as so many " point blank bastions" 
 against the opinions of the world ? Christ and the world 
 never did agreee ; but they are never found more widely 
 apart than in that celebrated sermon of our Lord on the 
 Mount ! 
 
 April 18th. — Cheer up, my soul ! — words do not hit so 
 hard as stones I In March 30, 1751, Mr. Wesley writes 
 
384 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 in his journal, " The last time I preached in Birmingham 
 the stones flew on every side." But, under the same date, 
 he exclaims, " 0, how the -scene is changed ! If any dis- 
 turbance were made now, the disturber would be in more 
 danger than the preacher. I found God in the midst of 
 the congregation, and afterwards preached on { If ye be led 
 by the Spirit, ye are not under the law. 1 The hearts of 
 the people were melted within them ; so that neither they 
 nor I could refrain from tears. But they were chiefly tears 
 of joy, from a lively sense of the liberty wherewith Christ 
 hath made us free." Cheer up, then, my soul ! Wes- 
 ley 7 s Jesus is thy Jesus ; his God, thy God ; — the same 
 Gospel he preached, thou preachest ; and the same Holy 
 Spirit carries it with power to the hearts of the people. 
 
 April 19th. — The art of war is best learned in actual 
 war. It is upon the field of battle where rides, tactics and 
 artillery, are tested ; the effectiveness of this battery or 
 that ; and the ivisdom or folly of this and that position, 
 A change of position, upon the part of the enemy, often 
 renders them all useless. 
 
 It is thus in preaching, which is truly a great pitched 
 battle for the rescue of precious souls ; especially when con- 
 tinued for months together. Sermons of mine, which ap- 
 peared very well in private, and likely, as spiritual bat- 
 teries, to rake the ranks of the enemy tremendously, the 
 positions being the best imaginable ; but, alas ! when 
 brought into action, were quite useless, and I have lost the 
 day by sticking to them. Whereas, I have won many a 
 day by abandoning them at once ; and, seizing upon some 
 "rough, crooked cudgel of tridh, or other," as a crazy 
 man hinted, and storm the altered entrenchments of 
 wickedness. 
 
 What was the use of firing away from that battery, when 
 
MORE NOTES OF THE REVIVAL. 386k 
 
 the shot curved high over the heads of sinners, or'fell far 
 short of their entrenchments ? It ought to have been aban- 
 doned before wasting so much time and strength. I have 
 erred so often here, it is strange I have not yet acquired 
 common sense. When the proper batteries were heaved 
 up for my acceptance, I had neither time nor strength to 
 play them upon the enemy ; had wasted both in working 
 those which were ineffectual ! 
 
 April 20th. — Amused with that sentiment of one, that 
 sinners are often like dogs in the work of persecution ; that 
 when dogs bark at a passer-by, it signifies one of two 
 things : either they do not know him, or they dislike him ; 
 but that, in either case, it is no sign he is a bad person ; for 
 such dogs will turn and fawn upon persons of the worst 
 habits, and not bark at them at all. " Without are dogs" 
 says John. Lord help us to beware of them ! The work 
 is advancing with unabated power. 
 
 April 21st. — How much one learns in a revival, of 
 human nature ', of the providence of God in preparing the 
 way for this and that conversion ! How evidently Provi- 
 dence has been at work to bring about the salvation of many 
 of these ; with some for years ; — has had to almost break 
 their heart by trying providences, before their proud will 
 could be broken down to repent and believe ! So goes it 
 with the world ; and an "Almighty Providence " is, indeed, 
 an u exceeding thought" and its chastisements exceed all 
 we know of them, till developed by a great revival. 
 
 April 22d. — I seldom weep in the pulpit, though my 
 eyes frequently Jill, and swim a little ; but tears do not 
 often trickle down. I like to feel them ; it is a great com- 
 fort to feel that my sjirings are not dry, nor the fountain 
 of tears dried up. — Hosea 13: 15. But, 0, how deli- 
 ciously sweet are tears, when in secret audience with 
 33 
 
386 SHOWERS OF ISLESSIN3. 
 
 God ' Some one remarked that sugar is sweetest when 
 it melts- and that when the religion of a Christian dis- 
 solves into tears of gratitude and thanksgiving it is the 
 sic ec test of all. 
 
 How freely these penitent sinners weep, when truth 
 touches them, as the rod of Moses did the granite ! I 
 liked that thought of one, though it seemed to have a little 
 of the dash of romance : "Tears flowing from the eyes of 
 the penitent, are like water dropping from roses, — they 
 are very sweet, and very precious to God." Tears and 
 prayers once drew down blessings in clusters upon the head 
 and heart and crown of a royal one, whose life trembled 
 upon the verge of eternity : " Thus salth the Lord, the 
 God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I 
 have seen thy tears : behold, I will heal thee," &c, &c. — 
 2 Kings 20 : 5, 6. Hezekiah speedily recovered, and en- 
 joyed his fifteen additional years ! 
 
 How many of these Birmingham sinners may have had 
 their doom changed, their lives prolonged, by their plentiful 
 prayers and tears yesterday ! When the Lord turned, and 
 looked upon Peter, "he went out and wept bitterly" Those 
 tears were no enemies to Peter's futurity, nor to his place 
 in the sympathies and affections of his Lord. 
 
 Chrysostom blessed God for the laver of tears to wash 
 in ; so may these, especially as the fountain of their Re- 
 deemer's blood was open to receive them also ; without 
 which an ocean of tears would be of no avail to wash away 
 a single sin from the conscience, or stain from the soul. 
 
 April 28th. — Last Sabbath forenoon in Bradford-street 
 Chapel. Preached in behalf of the Sabbath-school. Col- 
 lection, fifteen pounds. Text, " Therefore, if any man be 
 in Christ, he is a new creature : old things are passed 
 away ; behold, all things are become new." — 2 Cor. 5: 
 
MORE NOTES OF THE REVIVAL. 387 
 
 17. Never better definition of a true Christian ever 
 given. Yet had something of a hard time for myself, and 
 for hearers as well, perhaps ; — " spun the subject out, and 
 'patience cut," as an old brother in America observed of a 
 straitened preacher, like myself. 
 
 " From his prudent lips shall flow 
 Words as light as flakes of snow, 
 Fall as soft as snow on the sea, — ■ 
 Are bst, instantly." 
 
 However, at night sin and folly had no twilight ; but the 
 full blaze of Gospel truth ! But I do not like this way of 
 preaching in the morning in one chapel, and at night in 
 another ; it weakens and dissipates me ; — cannot carry out 
 my plans properly, and so fail in getting hold of the people. 
 However, I have been singularly mournful and dejected for 
 some days, although have had glimpses of joy between. But 
 my soul has been weak, tired and faint, " yet pursuing " 
 the great work, the conquest of souls ! The work of God 
 is onward, and sweeps everything before it. But this preach- 
 ing six times a week for so many months, and to such amaz- 
 ing crowds of people, to say nothing of my select meetings 
 for seekers of salvation, my correspondence, which is very 
 extensive and burdensome, and much other writing besides, 
 — 0, it is wearisome and wearing ! Fight thou my battles, 
 Lord God of hosts ! Amen. 
 
 " Only thy terrors, Lord, restrain." 
 
 April 29th. — Felt I was going on an errand for God ; — 
 an errand implies a message ; — had a message from him 
 to poor hell-exposed sinners ; felt I was going on an errand 
 for Him, and knew with what, and for what. What hold- 
 ness and confidence this conviction gives ! But it often 
 brings trouble as a consequence. People do not understand 
 
388 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 it. There is no way to make the errand agreeable, and the 
 consequences easy to be borne, but to aim at pleasing God 
 fully therein. Then every word is heart-deep, in preacher 
 and hearer ; or as a strong-minded Scotchman observed, 
 " then comes the nailing of the subject to the wall." The 
 slain of the Lord were many. The nail of truth, if it did 
 not/>i"ra them to the wall, it did to the floor, as did the nail, 
 in the hand of JaeVs ivife, the head of Sis era. 
 
 What a noble, large-souled old servant of God, is the 
 superintendent of the east circuit, the Rev. Alexander 
 Bell ! God bless him ! — the very expression of his coun- 
 tenance stimulates me to " deeds of noble daring" for the 
 Lord our God. He knows the mission of Methodism well. 
 How much a man may do for God, by what one calls " un- 
 conscious influence " ! When he thinks he is doing little or 
 no good, he may be accomplishing, silently, the greatest 
 good ! However, Alexander Bell is not silent ; his voice 
 sounds like a thunder in the thickest of the fight ! Lord, 
 multiply by thousands such men in the battle-field of 
 Emanuel ! Amen. 
 
CHAPTER LIII. 
 
 MISTAKING THE PATH. 
 
 April 30th. — Received the following interesting letter. 
 It tells a sad tale ; — shows how easy it is to get out of the 
 providential path, and how hard to get back into it again, 
 and how perilous besides. It illustrates that observation of 
 Baxter, that self in some cannot get its heart broken, 
 until the heart has been broken by sorrow, and by the 
 keen rebukes of Providence, with many and fresh confes- 
 sions, and plenty of tears ! 
 
 " Birmingham, April 29th, 1846. 
 
 " Honored Sir : I believe it is under a sacred influence 
 I address you. I have held myself in check till my grate- 
 ful emotions can no longer be controlled. I have never had 
 courage to answer in the affirmative, when you have asked 
 me, ' Do you know your sins are forgiven ? ' 
 
 w Religion has been a familiar thing to me since my child- 
 hood. At the age of fifteen I engaged myself determinedly 
 to pursue it. I walked before God in sincerity, though in 
 obscurity, during six years, when the Lord sent me the 
 life of Mr. Wesley, to study in a sick-chamber. 
 
 " The Spirit, through this, showed me how far I had 
 
 gone ; — how far from original righteousness I now was. 
 
 Deep, soul-rending convictions for sin seized me, which 
 
 ended, in a few weeks, in a conscious sense of pardon ; my 
 
 33* 
 
390 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 chains fell off, with that book in my hand ; my heart was 
 free, and I was free indeed. 
 
 " Previous to this, I had been a member of the Estab- 
 lished Church, and felt opposed to the Methodists. Now 
 my prejudices were laid aside. I read their works, attended 
 their ministry occasionally ; finally said, ' This people shall 
 be my people.'' But, nft being free from the control of 
 others, I postponed it, contrary to my convictions ;" but still 
 remained in a waiting position for three years, with much 
 trial and fiery temptation, yet felt the life of God was kept 
 alive in my soul. I doubt not I was eating the honey of 
 perfect love, through all this time, though I knew it not. 
 That promise, which I used to call peculiarly my own, 
 'I will instruct thee, and teach thee in the way thou 
 shouldst go, I will guide thee ivith mine eye,'' was a sort 
 of index to my state of mind. 
 
 "In the year 1841, I gained the desire of my heart, — 
 the Lord placed me among the Methodist people. My con- 
 gratulations had barely subsided, when Satan laid a snare 
 for me ; he was transformed into an angel of light. The 
 snare was bewitching in its attractions. I mistook this for 
 providential indication, and stepped out of the order of 
 God, in a certain domestic arrangement. The thing might 
 appear trifling in itself, but for the principle involved. — 
 Prov. 3 : 6. And its long train of consequences has made 
 me recognize it as a very important matter. 
 
 M Thus God's designs were thwarted, and my expecta- 
 tions, as well as those of my fellow-Christians, were, in a 
 great measure, never realized ; the wine was mixed with 
 water. For a time my judgment was perverted, and learned 
 to call evil good, and good evil. 
 
 " My mind was brought into a most awful state, and I 
 besought the Lord to show me my real state ; which he did. 
 
MISTAKING^ THE PATH. 391 
 
 I then pleaded for external deliverance. He granted this 
 also. Then I felt the need of internal deliverance. My cry 
 was, ' 0, my leanness ! my leanness ! Restore unto the 
 ears that which the canker-worm and the palmer-worm 
 have eaten ! ' The Lord heard me, and delivered me, so far 
 as I would permit. But I was not hearty , nor sufficiently 
 sensible of my state. I sought for deliverance, but did not 
 strive for it. 
 
 " During this time, I had many strokes from God ; but he 
 seemed to say in them all, £ Slow to anger.' I did not 
 come to the point he wished me ; and, at length, heavier 
 strokes were inflicted, and the stern look of his displeasure 
 seemed to accompany them. 
 
 u My spirits began to sink ; mental anguish took posses- 
 sion, — robbed me of all my moral ability to a great extent. 
 My spiritual bent of mind remained, but all hope of hap- 
 piness upon earth had departed. My mind had received the 
 stamp of deep melancholy. I said, 1 1 id ill go mourning 
 all my days? I was forming plans for leaving Birming- 
 ham, when you arrived, to see what a change of position 
 would do, but did not ; could not understand why the Lord 
 hedged up my way ; nor that he was about to bring me into 
 a wealthy place. — Ps. 66 : 12. To his name be all the 
 glory, so it proved to be. 
 
 " On Friday, January 23d, in Wesley Chapel, I was the 
 character you described ; and you asked, ' Is it enough ? ' 
 There my trouble ended ; sweet peace again took possession 
 of my heart ; the tide turned in my favor. 
 
 " Since then I have been enabled to make good use of 
 my advantages ; have heard you on almost every occasion ; 
 strained every nerve, as it were, and pushed my points, and 
 urged my conquests. It has been difficult ^vork, but I have 
 aiore than conquered through him that loved me. Praise 
 
392 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 the Lord for another introduction into the Canaan of perfect 
 love! 
 
 " Many of those who were near and dear to me in the 
 Establishment have been greatly blessed ; savingly and glo- 
 riously benefited, and will, to-night, make public acknowl- 
 edgment of it. You will be followed by the tears and 
 prayers of many, whom you have had no public recognition 
 of. I charge my soul ever to let your name and the remem- 
 brance of you act as a polar star to me. God bless you ! 
 * * The Lord reward you, and give me a humble recog- 
 nition of your glorified spirit in the world of spirits ! 
 "Yours, dear sir, in deep respect, 
 
 " A HUMBLE MEMBER 
 
 u Of the Wesley an Society.'' 1 
 
 Ah ! the world is full of such mourners ! but, as one has 
 observed, the cloak of indifference, or the mantle of con- 
 cealment, or the pall of despair, may hide these things 
 from the world's unfeeling gaze ; but the broken heart is 
 not less surely there. 
 
 It illustrates that sentiment of another, that our haps and 
 mishaps arise chiefly from the way in which we order our 
 own hearts ; that these toss the private state, and render life 
 unsweet, leaving us 'midst the wreck of 75 and Was, things 
 incomplete, and purposes betrayed ; troubles following, not 
 singly, but in battalions, and we, at length, such students 
 in Disappointment' s school, that all our after life is 
 swayed with plenitude of ill ; thus 
 
 " The heart gives color to our destiny." 
 
 Ana I might add, Noah's dove, hovering and flying to 
 and fro over that wild waste of shoreless waters, but find- 
 
MISTAKING THE PATH. 393 
 
 ing no rest for the sole of her foot, till she returned to 
 the Ark, strikingly illustrates the experience of one who 
 has enjoyed the blessing of perfect love, and lost it. Well, 
 thank God for another trophy of salvation ; and to him be 
 all the glory ! 
 
CHAPTER LIV. 
 
 LINES IN PLEASANT PLACES. 
 (Ps. 16 : 6.) 
 
 May 1st. — The revival is onward still in power. 0, 
 tin glory, the grandeur of this work ! 
 
 I returned to Sparkbrook House some weeks since, from 
 my other home on the other side of the town. I am sur- 
 rounded with comforts. Surely the lines are fallen unto 
 me in the pleasant places ! We have fine weather. Lovely 
 mornings. Blossoms wet with morning dews ; and fanned 
 with zephyrs breathing of Paradise. Pleasant walks through 
 the grounds, — one especially, near the mansion, under fine 
 overshadowing trees, my favorite walking-place, which they 
 shade from the sun, leaving me the benefit of the western 
 breeze ; and, close by, the fine garden, with a pretty sheet 
 of water, in which are a couple of snow-iuhite swans, sail- 
 ing majestically around, and, with all 
 
 " the mantling spirit of reserve, 
 
 Fashion their necks into a goodly curve ; 
 Arches thrown back between luxuriant wings 
 Of whitest garniture." 
 
 One day I greatly disturbed her swans hip, enjoying her 
 siesta in the sunshine. Coming suddenly upon the green 
 bank, before her floating sentinel had time to give her warn- 
 ing, I was close by her side, — opening her eyes, her alarm 
 was terrible, frightening her out of all the proprieties of 
 
LINES IN PLEASANT PLACES. 39o 
 
 majesty, — rushing into the flood in the wildest disorder . 
 and, if one might judge from the noise they kept up, it was 
 long before they concluded to forgive or forget. "Always 
 after that, when I visited the banks, they put on a sort of 
 haughty reserve, and, with more than usual of the rushing, 
 " gushing impulse," cleaving the water in circles, nearer 
 and nearer to the bank where I stood, but never forgetting 
 for a moment their dignity ! 
 
 As to myself, I have been floating about from chapel to 
 chapel, the last two or three weeks ; Belmont-Row Chapel, 
 Cherry-street, Wesley, Newton- Row, and Islington 
 chapels, with constant success. Hundreds converted, and 
 great numbers sanctified throughout, body, soul, and spirit. 
 Hallelujah to God and the Lamb ! 
 
 Visited Warwick Castle some days since, in company 
 with Rev. D. Walton and Mr. Alderman James Meek, 
 of York. This ancient monument of feudal grandeur stands 
 upon the banks of the river Avon, a pleasant drive from 
 Birmingham. I desired much to see it, as it is the most 
 interesting of the kind in England ; seen from a distance, 
 rising in a cluster of ancient towers, the effect is picturesque 
 and imposing. We spent an agreeable hour or two in walk- 
 ing through its halls and rooms. One of the towers is said 
 to be of Anglo-Saxon origin. Ccesar's tower is very old, 
 and so is Guy's tower, which rises to the height of one 
 hundred and forty feet, — ' l The Sir Guy, of Warwick, who 
 figures largely in the wild history of Romances in days of 
 chivalry." 
 
 The heart receives a lesson amidst such scenes it hardly 
 ever meets with elsewhere. 
 
 We were shown the celebrated ancient Vase which was 
 dug out of the ruins of the villa of the Emperor Adrian, at 
 Tivola, in Italy, and sent to England in 1774 ; a beautiful 
 
396 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 specimen of Grecian art in the time of Alexander the Great 
 It is really a study ; — composed of white marble, nearly 
 spherical in form ; is capable of containing one hundred and 
 sixty-three gallons ; is wreathed with two vines, which, at 
 their stems, form the handles of the vase, and then inge- 
 niously spread and interlaced, with their tendrils, foliage, and 
 clusters, — all sculptured out of the solid marble, with 
 antique heads, — that of Bacchus, of course, the god of 
 wine and of drunkards, with his Thyrsus and panther's skin, 
 things which the old Grecians delighted to sculpture. But, 
 farewell, Warwick Castle ! 
 
 " In war renowned, in peace sublime ! " 
 
 May 2d. — These Friday night discourses on holiness, 
 seem to give that glorious doctrine an impulse through all 
 the week. 
 
 But how many unconverted members of Wesleyan and 
 other churches are being constantly awakened out of their 
 deception and saved! — those "wooden legs" as Baxter 
 called them in his day, — for so he named unconverted 
 members of the Christian church ; — wooden legs ! Such 
 a one, he would say, " is but as a wooden leg to the body ! " 
 " A dead, member of a living body" was Bellannine's 
 notion of them ! Though attached to the body, yet not of 
 the body ; or he would say, as the hair, or the nails, which, 
 though in the body, yet not properly members of the body. 
 Chaff among the wheat, was Austin's idea of them, — an 
 appurtenance to the wheat, but not the reheat. Chaff on 
 the threshing-floor of the church, was John the Baptist's 
 idea, destined to be burned with unquenchable fire ; — 
 tares was Christ's figure for them, and^/zre the final instru- 
 ment of their destruction. Those are strong words of tho 
 apostle. — Gal. 6 : 4, 5, 15. 
 
LINES IN PLEASANT PLACES. 3x1 
 
 That distinction between feasting upon "real solid com- 
 forts," and feeding upon " airy delusory conceits" was 
 capable of profitable expansion , had I had time ; as, also, 
 between the comfort of the spirit and that of the fancy. 
 But, 0, how terrible that idea of one, that if we have but 
 the image of true religion, we shall have but the image of 
 heaven at last ; — some dreams and self-created hopes of 
 happiness, which may accompany us to the door of eternity, 
 but there they will leave us to everlasting horror ! Ter- 
 rible thought ! 
 
 May 3d. — He that would continue to save souls, I find, 
 must not depart from first principles ; — he must dwell much 
 on first principles, — the essentials of Christianity. This, 
 some, whose heads have out-travelled their hearts, do not 
 like; they want variety and novelty, and something to 
 gratify curiosity in doctrine. To meet their case, one would 
 need another Gospel than Paul preached. Shall I pander 
 to ,such a taste? Nay, by the grace of God, never! 0, 
 never may I live to prove to sinful men that I think the 
 Gospel has become stale and uninteresting, and, therefore, 
 must lay the sciences under contribution, to make the Gos- 
 pel bearable or jmlatable ; and, as it were, work another 
 Gospel, than Christ crucified, out of them, or a diluted 
 Gospel, or mongrel I The present age is a tempter to this, 
 and, it is to be feared, too frequently succeeds. 
 
 That deprecation of the apostle is a powerful antidote to 
 me: " But God forbid that I should glory, save in the 
 cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by ivhom the vmrld is 
 crucified to me, and I unto the world." — Gal. 6 : 14. 
 St. Paul never interposed a " God forbid ! " but upon some 
 point of the highest importance, — and he used the phrase 
 on several occasions. The scenes are amazing here ! Glory 
 be to God ! 
 
 84 
 
398 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 » 
 
 May 4th. — The sun, and moon, and stews, are sometimes 
 nearer to the earth than at other times. Eternity, with 
 its Heaven, and Hell, and Spirits, looms up, and sweeps 
 nearer to men during a revival, I sometimes think, than 
 during any other portion of the history of a population ; so 
 near, I often feel, as if one could almost hear the shouts of 
 the glorified saints in heaven, and the waitings of the 
 damned in hell. 
 
 It is then the power of God is felt ; and the truth of God 
 rushes out upon sinners, like the lion upon the children of 
 Ephraim ! and cries for mercy ascend from the smitten and 
 the torn ; and shouts of deliverance from the healed and the 
 saved. Such is the state of things in Birmingham at the 
 present time. Hallelujah ! 
 
 May 5th. — "What a necessity for a storming time that 
 ■was ! Ordinary effort would have been of no avail, but 
 Satan's triumph. But how important to be ready for 
 such a divine intimation ! One should not have his heart 
 or wit, or courage, to seek at such a moment ; no, nor his 
 tveapons, nor his faith ! 
 
 What a noble spirit is the Kev. Joseph Wood, cf the 
 West circuit, — full of faith and of the Holy Ghost ' How 
 sweet this union with his spirit ! 
 
CHAPTER LV. 
 
 INCIDENTS OF THE REVIVAL. 
 
 To * * * * * *, 
 
 Birmingham, May 7, 1846. 
 
 You desire to have some " particulars regarding the great 
 work in Birmingham." I hardly know where to begin, 
 unless I were to copy a great part of my private journal. 
 The scenes have been very wonderful, — many cases marked 
 and striking, and remarkable in their effects upon others. 
 Some notoriously wicked sinners converted ! 
 
 You may remember I told you of a temperance lec- 
 ture I delivered in the Town Hall.* A letter from a citi- 
 zen lies before me, of which the following is an extract : 
 
 " I had been an advocate for temperate drinking, but had 
 often been carried into the vortex of intemperance ; — wanted 
 to hear your lecture ; — did, and was convinced that I was 
 wrong, became decided, and took the pledge. I am now a 
 practical tee-totaler. That meeting brought deep convic- 
 tions into my mind. I was then . breaking the Sabbath 
 by keeping my shop open, and selling on that day ; — alas ! 
 against the convictions of my own conscience ! Mine was 
 
 * The reader will recollect that Mr. Caughey referred to the state of the 
 temperance cause in Birmingham. Before leaving that town he attended 
 several temperance meetings, and lectured on the subject. These meet 
 ings were attended with tbe most happy results. — Editor. 
 
400 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 Sabbath-breaking of no common order, — it was against 
 the clearest light. 0. but I do feel it is through infinite 
 mercy I was not sent to hell long since ! 
 
 •'But Jesus was my interceding friend. My face is now 
 Zion-ward. Let others do as they may, by his help I will 
 save my soul. 
 
 1 ' To my excellent leader, Dr. Melson, I owe a debt of 
 gratitude. He called upon me, and took me kindly by the 
 hand. May God reward him ! 
 
 "My shop is closed on the Sabbath, now, and ever shall 
 be. My leader tells me the eyes of the world are upon 
 me. I know it, and feel it. My fellow-tradesmen laugh 
 at me, and sneer. They tell me I shall soon reopen it. 
 Sir, pray that I may be kept from sin, and from falling, 
 and that the Lord would increase my faith, fill me with 
 the (Spirit^ and perfect me in love, and confirm my hope. 
 I pray much that your ministry may be blessed to thousands 
 more, and that you may be filled with all the fulness of 
 God, and conducted at length, through a sea of light, to the 
 throne of the Eternal One. Affectionately, 
 
 "W. A. J."* 
 
 And here is a letter from a converted % jRo??ia/i Catholic, 
 who ventured out some weeks ago to see and hear for her- 
 self, and then she says her "troubles began; " — that, after 
 resisting the strivings of the Spirit for some weeks, she 
 sought and found the pearl of great price; — says that 
 Jesus is now her precious Saviour, and fills her heart with 
 peace and gladness. Faith, — justification by faith, — 
 what a word of power there is in that ! — justified by faith, 
 without the merit of works! When a Roman Catholic 
 
 * His full name is attached to the letter 
 
INCIDENTS OP THE REVIVAL. 401 
 
 understands and receives that doctrine, the effects are imme- 
 diate and glorious. Luther once remarked, that it is by 
 this one piece of artillery the Papacy is to be finally over- 
 thrown and destroyed ; — that it is plain, if our sins may be 
 taken away by our own works, merits and satisfactions, 
 there was no necessity the $071 of God should be given for 
 them. But, seeing he was given for our sins, it follows that 
 we cannot put them away by our own ivories ; — so great, 
 so invincible, so infinite, are our sins, it is impossible for 
 the whole world to satisfy for one of them. But, as it is writ- 
 ten, he " gave himself for our sins, — according to the 
 will of God and our Father ; ' '(Gal. 1: 4), it shows the 
 power of sin, and the impossibility of our being saved in 
 any other way, in the estimation and judgment of our God. 
 Thus, if the Popish error would overthrow the necessity of 
 the atonement, the doctrine of justification by faith over- 
 throws the error ! Luther declared the opinion, before his 
 death, that had the Protestants continued to preach as at 
 the first, — '■'justified neither by the righteousness of the 
 law, nor by our own righteousness, but by faith in Jesus 
 Christ only" — that this one article would have over- 
 thrown the whole Papacy, with all her brotherhoods, par- 
 dons, religious orders, relics, invocation of saints, purga- 
 tory, masses, watchings, vows, and infinite other like 
 abominations ! Blessed be God ! it will. This saved 
 Romanist is all gratitude, thanksgiving and praise ; — 
 ?igns her name in full, and has done with Popery forever ; — 
 says " Jesus has given me a complete victory over fiery 
 trials;" — trusts that having put her hand to the Gospel 
 plough, she will never look back towards spiritual Babylon 
 and Sodom; — hopes that "the prayers of a once dis- 
 tressed, but now happy servant of Christ," will be answered 
 r or my continued success in bringing lost sinners to Christ 
 34* 
 
402 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 Blessed be God ! Why may I not multiply my power 
 ivith God by 6 nch petitioners ? 
 
 The Roman Catholics of Broad-street have lost their 
 Organist. He and his wife have both found Christ ; and 
 so he plays there no more. It is not to be wondered at that 
 the priests are so desperately opposed to their people attend- 
 ing our meetings. It is perilous to allow them to hear the 
 whole Gospel ! 
 
 * * # * * * 
 
 Mr. Caughey received a large number of letters, asking 
 advice in matters of conscience. To some of these he re- 
 plied. The following replies will be read with interest : 
 
 To an Apprentice. 
 
 Birmingham, May 7th, 1846. 
 
 My dear young Friend : Yours is to hand. You 
 have a body to support, but you have a soul to save. You 
 have a master upon earth, but there is a God in heaven. 
 He has commanded you to remember the Sabbath day to 
 keep it holy ; and you are under bonds to the value of 
 your soul to obey. Suffering you must endure, most likely, 
 in case of your master's displeasure ; but this, however 
 severe, cannot be compared to the effects of the displeasure 
 of God, which is eternal. Better suffer death than sin 
 against God. Your master will be punished for causing 
 you to sin ; but you will have to suffer for your cwn trans- 
 gression. 
 
 Having said thus much, I must leave you to decide as 
 you may think best. 
 
 Yours affectionately in Christ, 
 
 J. C. 
 
INCIDENTS OF THE REVIVAL. 403 
 
 To a Clerk in the B Post Office. 
 
 Birmingham, May 7 th, 1846. 
 My dear Sir : You have a family to support, and a 
 difficult world to bring them through. But you have a 
 soul. You cannot be happy in violating the holy Sabbath. 
 You are under as great an obligation to keep it holy, as to 
 be an honest man. The health of body and soul depends 
 upon peace of mind, which you cannot well have in your 
 present employment. 
 
 Having said thus much, I must leave you to take that 
 course you may think best. 
 
 Affectionately yours in Jesus Christ, 
 
 J. C. 
 
 0, how much wisdom and prudence is needed in dealing 
 with troubled consciences ! It would be well, I suppose, to 
 keep a full record of my letters, conversations, &c, &c, 
 but it is extremely difficult to take the time to do so ; and 
 so occasions pass away, and the circumstances are forgotten. 
 * * * * * * * 
 
CHAPTER LVI. 
 
 PERSECUTION. 
 
 May 8th. — A letter from my Liverpool host, Mr. Ban- 
 ning, oi the Liverpool Post Office. He says, "The news- 
 papers are determined, — perhaps not intentionally, but 
 nevertheless are doing that which produces it, — to increase 
 your popularity, and thereby your usefulness ; — the state- 
 ments of ' The Morning Chronicle ' * have circulated in 
 all the newspapers of the United Kingdom, nearly, I 
 should think ! " 
 
 Amen ! let them write, and print, and circidate, and 
 make me out the greatest fool or knave that lives ; — what of 
 that, if I am neither a fool nor a knave ? What care I, if 
 ihe work of God but go on, and my conscience feels sure 
 of his approbation ? 
 
 Persecution ! — of the pen, of the tongue, — what 
 signifies all ive are called to endure in this age, however 
 humiliating, compared with what the saints of other days 
 have endured from the hands of the ungodly ? — as the 
 tickling of flies, when compared with the stings of wasps ! 
 — nay, as the stings of wasps, when compared with the 
 strokes of scorpions ! They bore the cross, indeed, upon 
 bare, bleeding and lacerated shoulders ; but we, of modern 
 
 * This paper became notorious in its opposition to the revival, but •with 
 what success, the reader may form some idea from what follows.— Editor 
 
PERSECUTION. 405 
 
 times, only bear the chips of the cross ; or, if the chip 
 happen to be a big and heavy one, and hit pretty hard, or 
 sit heavy, we are not without cushions of many comforts to 
 make them tolerable ! 
 
 Nevertheless, some in modern times have the persecution 
 of the hand, even unto blood. A letter lies before me, of 
 which the following is the substance : 
 
 A faithful wife, the cause of the conversion of a wicked, 
 persecuting husband. 
 
 She sought and found mercy. Her husband was dis- 
 pleased ; but, finding her a changed woman, he opposed, 
 and resorted to a variety of petty annoyances, hoping to 
 discourage her. But she stood fast in her glorious liberty, 
 and would go to the Methodist meetings, and serve God, 
 notwithstanding his positive prohibition. 
 
 At length, he became enraged, and threatened to horse- 
 whip her if she went any more to those meetings. This 
 brought tears to her eyes, but did not drive courage from 
 her heart. She replied, " Husband, have I done my duty to 
 you as your wife ? Is there anything left undone in the 
 house, which ought to be done, in order to make you more 
 comfortable?" — "No," he replied, " I have had no cause 
 of complaint in such matters ; but a Methodist you never 
 shall be." To this she answered, "I have done my duty 
 to my family, now I owe a duty to my God ; and, if He 
 strengthens me, I shall do that also." — " Well, if you do, 
 horsewhip you I shall, when you return; that's all." — 
 « Very well, husband, I shall do the will of God, and let 
 him see to it." She went to meeting, and had a very happy 
 time ; the Lord blessed her abundantly, and prepared her 
 for the trial of faith that awaited her. 
 
 When she entered the house, she met her enraged hus- 
 band, horsewhip in hand, saying, "I'll do as I said; 
 
406 smwERS of blessing. 
 
 strip ! " — and, seizing her. he literally tore her clothes oft 
 her person, and applied the horsewhip to her bare back, 
 until it became a discolored, bleeding mass. She bore it all 
 without a murmur, which maddened him the more; and, 
 when he gave her the last lash, pushed her from him. 
 
 She retired into her room, fell upon her knees, and 
 began to pray for him. After a while he came into the 
 room, and, seeing her on her knees, her back bare and 
 bleeding, — the woman he had promised to love, succor, and 
 protect, until death, — and heard her praying for him, and 
 saying, "Glory be to God that I am counted worthy tc 
 suffer thus in the cause of my Lord Jesus Christ ! — glory 
 be to God ! " At that instant, convictions of guilt seized 
 his conscience, — the Spirit of God laid hold of the perse- 
 cutor. He fell upon his knees by her side, imploring her 
 forgiveness, and her praye?~s that God would have mercy 
 upon him, and not send him to hell, as he deserved. " For- 
 give me," said he, " I have been worse than a Turk. 1 ' 
 Her prayer did ascend to heaven, and in a short time he 
 found mercy, and joined the Wesley an Methodists also ! 
 
 What a trial ! What a victory ! The Devil, for a long 
 time to come, will remember that defeat from a weak 
 woman, and be ashamed of it before apostate spirits in hell ! 
 
 4H 4fe ^fe 4fe Jfc -3t: 
 
 7T *7v *Jv" *yr *7v' 'jv 
 
 Last Sabbath day, I preached in Bradely, a few miles 
 from Birmingham, to a multitude of colliers, and others. 
 It was in behalf of the " trust fund" of their chapel ; — 
 had to preach in the grave-yard in the evening, the crowd 
 was so great. We had a great time, forenoon, afternoon, 
 and night ; some thirty-four souls were saved. Collections 
 over £80, or four hundred dollars ! Bless thou the Lord, 
 0, my soul ! 
 
 ****** 
 
PERSECUTION. 407 
 
 The time is at hand when I must leave Birmingham, — 
 noble, glorious Birmingham ! 0, how I love the place, 
 and its people ! Hard to drag myself away from them 
 Have been consolidating the work ; strengthening and for- 
 tifying the new converts, and preaching farewell sermons 
 in various chapels ; jpurnaling a little, and trying to keep 
 up with my correspondence, which is no easy matter some- 
 times ; but all with a single eye to His glory. 
 
 -At. -it. -it. .A/, Jl. ' JL. 
 
 -7V* -TC* *Tv* -T?- -TV *7v 
 
 Have had the pleasure of taking tea with the ministers 
 and leaders of both the Birmingham circuits ; told them all 
 I hoped and all I feared regarding the young converts ; and 
 with the deepest humility, begged they would do all in their 
 power to preserve them to the church, and to maintain the 
 honor of this great revival. 
 
 We had gracious seasons ; and they kindly assured me 
 that nothing should be wanting, upon their part, in carrying 
 out all my suggestions. I felt greatly humbled at the 
 loving, hearty deference which they paid to one so unwor- 
 thy. May the Father, Son and Holy Ghost bless them 
 more and more ! Amen. 
 
 This has been a glorious work of God, indeed ; thousands 
 have been saved. To God be all the glory, is the sure lan- 
 guage of my heart. From the registers, kept by authorized 
 and competent secretaries, on both " the east and west cir- 
 cuits," as they are called, it is ascertained that, since last 
 December, about two thousand eight hundred souls have 
 been justified by faith in Christ ; and about one thousand 
 four hundred persons sanctified, in the full sense of Acts 
 15 : 9, — " Purifying their hearts by faith" Total saved, 
 in both blessings, four thousand two hundred persons. 
 
 The names of all these persons were carefully registered 
 as the work advanced, together with their respective places 
 
408 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 of residence. This was done to prevent exaggerated leports 
 and that proper care might be taken of the subjects of the 
 work. Many of the above were from the country around, 
 as well as the town ; some were from ten to fifty miles dis- 
 tant. Other churches and congregrations in town were 
 well represented, and doubtless have, or will, receive acces- 
 sions. A large number, too, were members of the Wes- 
 ley an church, both of the justified and sanctified. Allowing 
 these deductions, the numbers from the world, and now 
 united with the "VVesleyans, must be very large. 
 
 I have been most hospitably entertained at Sparkbrook 
 House, by Mr. and Mrs. Wright, and at the house of 
 Mr. Souter ; the largest part of the time at the former 
 place. Never shall I forget the kindness shown me by 
 those two blessed families. May my Lord reward them 
 much in time and in eternity ! 
 
 *' Sweet is music's melting fall, but sweeter yet 
 The still small voice of gratitude." 
 
CHAPTER LVII. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 The following resolutions, copied from tho quarterly 
 'meeting journals of the Birmingham east and west cir- 
 cuits, will show the reader in what estimation the revival 
 was held by the authorities of Wesleyan Methodism in 
 Birmingham. 
 
 The first resolution was passed in March, some time 
 before the revival had obtained its full and glorious tri- 
 umph. 
 
 u Birmingham, East Circuit, March, 1846. — That, 
 while this meeting expresses its thankfulness to Almighty 
 God for the encouraging prosperity vouchsafed to this cir- 
 cuit during the last few years, it would more especially 
 record its devout gratitude for the remarkable outpouring 
 of the Holy Spirit, as manifested in the present extraordi- 
 nary revival, — and it would also express its most grateful 
 sense of the most important services of the Rev. James 
 Caughey, as an instrument in the hands of God, in bring- 
 ing about this most delightful extension of his work. — 
 Passed unanimously , signed by the Rev. Alexander Bell, 
 Superintendent. 
 
 " Birmingham, West Circuit, June, 1846. — That this 
 meeting feels itself called upon to place upon record their 
 devout and grateful Acknowledgments to Almighty God for 
 
 as 
 
410 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 
 
 the unprecedented prosperity with which he nas visited this 
 society in its several departments during the last quarter 
 Its numerical prosperity is evidenced in the accession of 
 two hundred and eighty-five members, out of three hundred 
 reported on trial last quarter-day ; and the future is cheer- 
 ing, inasmuch as two hundred and fifty-seven are now re- 
 ported on trial in this circuit alone. The spiritual state of 
 the society demands the gratitude of this meeting in the 
 exhibition of a greater degree of union among the members, 
 in the increased zeal and devotion of its officers, and in the 
 desire generally manifested to promote, encourage and carry 
 on the gracious revival, commenced under the ministry of 
 the Rev. James Caughey, and continued to the present time 
 in connection with our own ministry. Another delightful 
 feature of this revival is exhibited in the improved atten- 
 tion of the old members, and in the steadiness of the new 
 converts to their classes. — Moved by Mr. Ratcliff, sec- 
 onded by Mr. Edmund Heeley, and carried unani- 
 mously ; the Rev. George Turner, Superintendent, in 
 the chair ; present, the Rev. Messrs. Burton, Hurt and 
 Joseph Wood.^ 
 
 The following account of the closing exercises of Mr. 
 Caughey 7 s labors in Birmingham is from one of the relig- 
 ious papers of London : 
 
 " The public labors of Mr. Caughey terminated on 
 Wednesday evening, at Cherry- street Chapel. Great num- 
 bers were unable to get in. Several souls were saved at the 
 prayer-meeting. The following evening the local preachers, 
 leaders and stewards, of the east circuit, met together ; after 
 tea, the meeting was addressed by Mr. Caughey. A simi- 
 lar meeting was held in Cherry-street school on Friday 
 
CONCLUSION. 411 
 
 evening. The Rev. Alexander Bell, superintendent of the 
 east circuit, presided over the meeting in Belmont-Row 
 vestry ; and the Rev. G. Turner occupied the chair on 
 Friday evening. On both occasions, several leaders spoke 
 vf the benefit they had personally received during the re- 
 vival ; of the state of their classes ; and, according to their 
 statements, some of them have received to their classes more 
 than twenty persons who had been, up to the visit of Mr. 
 Caughey, in an unconverted state, but who, not having 
 given their hearts to the Lord, had united themselves to his 
 people. Notwithstanding the attraction of Mr. Caughey's 
 labors to the new converts especially, yet all the leaders 
 rejoiced in being able to state that their members never met 
 more regularly, although rumors had been circulated, in 
 London and elsewhere, that the class meetings were almost 
 broken up. It is, therefore, a cheering fact that the regular 
 meetings of classes have been all through the revival well 
 attended. Mr. Caughey left our town for Nottingham on 
 Saturday last, where he commenced his labors on Sunday ; 
 he will find a people prepared of the Lord. By his amia- 
 bility of disposition,. by his eminent piety, by his burning 
 zeal, by his extraordinary usefulness, he has endeared him- 
 self to the Methodists of Birmingham. Long may he live 
 to prosecute his holy work ! If the local preachers and 
 leaders of Nottingham hold up his hands, as they have been 
 supported in Birmingham, prayer must prevail, and floods 
 of mercy will descend upon the thirsty ground. And the 
 character of Nottingham Methodism says it .shall be so. 
 Amen." 
 
 Mr. Caughey's closing remarks are worthy to close the 
 volume • 
 
412 SH )WERS OK BLESSING. 
 
 "May 10th. — Farewell, Birmingham I Fare-thee- 
 well, in every sense of the word, especially in the religious 
 sense ; and farewell, my children within thee ! Their times 
 of trial are at hand ; the chaff to be driven from among the 
 wheat; — that will be taken up as a reproach against the 
 revival, although ever so much ivheat may remain ! And 
 alas ! the wheat may be driven away too, or spoil through 
 inattention or mismanagement ! 
 
 " But, 0, let me hope for the best ! — that I shall not 
 have to mourn as Mr. Wesley had to, as we learn from his 
 journal, under date April 4th, 1755, where he says, '• We 
 rode to Birmingham, a barren, uncomfortable place. Most 
 of the seed that has been sown for so many years, the " wild 
 boars" have "rooted up;" the fierce, unclean, brutish, 
 blasphemous Antinomians have utterly destroyed it. And 
 the mystic foxes have taken true pains to spoil what re- 
 mained with their new gospel. Yet, it seems God has a 
 blessing for this place still ; so many still attend the preach- 
 ing ; and he is eminently present with the small number 
 that is left in society.! A sorrowful record that must have 
 been to Mr. Wesley. 
 
 "It is well, therefore, to glory in nothing, — neither in 
 success nor influence ; for, 0. how soon both may vanish 
 away ! It is safe only to 'glory in the Lord, 1 and to meet 
 the temptation to glory in anything else, with the apostle's 
 ' God forbid that 1 should glory ! ' Ah, that is the safest, 
 weetest, happiest state of mind ! 
 
 • And farewell, ye ministers of our God, with whom I 
 have taken sweet counsel ! — and ye leaders and fellow- 
 laborers ! A glorious band of faithful men and women, 
 who helped us much in the Lord ; to whom, in fact, under 
 God, much of the credit and honor of this great work of 
 God is certainly due ; for, what could we have done without 
 
 v 
 
CC NCLUSION. 413 
 
 them ? Farewell, all ! — ye blessed families, where I have 
 been for months so generously entertained ; all, too, who 
 have showed the stranger kindness in word and deed. 
 Blessings on you all ! — every blessing from heaven above, 
 and earth beneath, be upon you all. Farewell ! 
 
 " And, to poor sinners whom I leave in their sins, can I 
 say, Farewell ? Alas, alas ! how can I ? — with what heart 
 or prospect, if they go on resisting the Spirit of God, as they 
 have been doing ? 0, Lord God, have mercy upon them, 
 and bring them to repentance ! Amen." 
 
 Note. — Mr. Caughey left Birmingham on the 10th of May, 184G, 
 after a sojourn of about five months, during which time thousands were 
 saved. He opened his commission the following Sabbath in Nottingham, 
 where he spent a few weeks, preaching constantly, and hundreds of sin- 
 ners were converted to God. From thence he hastened to the city of 
 Lincoln, and thence to Boston, in Lincolnshire, spending weeks in each 
 place, the Lord crowning the labors of his servant with abundant success; 
 an account of which may appear in a future volume, should the present 
 v< jme find favor with the public. 
 
 35* 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 The two following letters from Mr. Caughey contain his views on 
 Church Architecture They exhibit the results of his observations on 
 the influence which certain styles of architecture exert over the voice 
 of the preacher. They are worthy of consideration. 
 
 1 ' Hamilto n, C. W., 
 '•'■'Wednesday Morning, May 8, 1853. 
 " To ■ . 
 
 " My Dear Sir : Yours is to hand. I rejoice in your prospects. 
 
 You needed a better church in . You say, ' As we are about 
 
 to erect an elegant and costly temple to our God, we desire the inter- 
 nal plans and fixtures to be as conducive to easy and effective speak- 
 ing as possible. You know, sir, tastes differ as to order and general 
 style of church architecture. We have our tastes and notions here, 
 which, I suppose, we would not alter for anybody. But it is our 
 wish, for all that, to avoid everything, in the internal construction 
 and arrangement of the edifice, that would be prejudicial to an easy 
 and successful delivery of the Gospel message. You, sir, have had 
 considerable experience in these things, on both sides the Atlantic. 
 You have noticed, doubtless, that some churches have been harder to 
 speak in than others, and possibly you havo detected the cause or 
 causes. Would you do us the favor to state them, or, at least, what 
 you would have us avoid ? ' 
 
 " To this I reply : Those churches which I have found most ex- 
 hausting to voice, strength, &c, have had one or more of the follow- 
 ing defects : 
 
 " 1. Position of tiie CnuRcn. — Painfully close to low houses and 
 noisy children, mechanic shops ; too near the street, especially if 
 rough and much travelled, so that every passing carriage duly an- 
 nounced itself, and even the passing segar-smoker ; so flush upnt> 
 the sidewalk as to allow no fence, exposing the prayer-meetings in 
 basement to outside gazers, if windows open, — if shut, ruining the 
 meeting for want of ventilation. 
 
 " From such defects as these your good sense, I trust, will pre* 
 serve you, — ay, even though the site should be offered as a gift. 
 
 34 
 
398 APPENDIX. 
 
 " 2. Church Proportions. — Want of internal symmetry ; either 
 out of proportion in length or width. The wall of galleries too 
 wide, placing the audience at a painful distance from the preacher, — 
 tempting him, perhaps, to pitch his voice too high to begin with, and 
 to speak louder thui he need to. Ceiling too lofty, allowing the 
 vcice to ascend too high before receiving a returning impulse, such 
 sip a properly-constructed ceiling always affords. Concave ceiling 
 always bad ; but more on this by and by. 
 
 " 3. The Pulpit — Its Position and Fixtures. — Position : At the 
 entrance, where w r inds and noises may annoy the preacher the readi- 
 est, whether administering in pulpit or altar. Too low, if ceiling 
 lofty; too high, if ceiling improperly low. Fixtures: Lamps too 
 near for safety or comfort, leaving the preacher no choice but submit. 
 llecess behind : Too deep, always bad; or, if shallow, so abundantly 
 supplied with whitewash as to leave the preacher no alternative but 
 sit ' bolt upright,' like a boarding-school miss, or lean back for a 
 moment, to rise like a powdered beau or liveried servant of other 
 days. Drapery behind the pulpit : A nuisance evermore ; it ab- 
 sorbs sound without returning it, as black absorbs the sun-rays 
 without separating them ; detains and deadens the voice. Foot-board : 
 Too high or low for the desk or habit of the preacher, without means 
 of lowering or raising his standing to taste ; and so uneven and 
 shaky, withal, as to ' creak time ' with his motions. Times not a 
 few I have had to fold my cloak and stand upon it, to avoid one or 
 other of these disadvantages. Kneeling board or stool : Too low, so 
 as to bury him to the shoulders when at prayer. Times without 
 number have I been forced to press cloak or Bible under knees, as a 
 remedy, or have prayed standing. 
 
 " These are small matters to some, sir, but they are often very an- 
 noying and weakening to a preacher. 
 
 "4. Windows. — In particular, two or three facing the pulpit, 
 dazzling the preacher's eyes on a bright or sunny day, without rem- 
 edy. Windows, in general, uncorded, or but one here and there so 
 honored ; and so large as to require two men to lower or raise them 
 for ventilation ; or so tight that but one or two out of half a dozen 
 could be opened at all upon an emergency ; or so loose as, when winds 
 were on parade, to remind the boys of drum-beat on training-day ; 
 and so open as to give them lessons in the whistling science. 
 
 " 5. Doors. — Perhaps I should have spoken of these first — but 
 so wakeful as to announce arrivals and departures by creak or slam, 
 with great faithfulness. 
 
 "6. Pews. — Backs capped with a projecting ridge, or shoulder 
 protuberance, and so upright and so narrow-seated, withal, as to force 
 wearied hearers to sit sideways to the preacher at length, and with 
 that wearied and displeased expression by no means inspiring to the 
 preacher. And, besides, so inconvenient for kneeling as to induce a 
 general habit of sitting or standing at prayer-time. 
 
 " 7. Lights. — Dim, or badly arranged ; twinkling here and there 
 like a stray star in a gloomy sky. 
 
APPENDIX. 399 
 
 " 8. Temperati ke. — In extremes of heat and cold, owing to want 
 of judgment in the sexton, or absence of that invaluable appendage 
 to our American churches, a good thermometer. 
 
 "9. Ventilation — Neglected or Mismanaged. — Neglected: Air 
 left unchanged after the congregation has retired, to be reinhaled by 
 the next audience, — perhaps on a Sabbath morning, after having 
 been imprisoned through the week, exhausted and poisoned on the 
 previous Sabbath, and now to be breathed over again ; voice making 
 its heavy way through a loaded and leaden atmosphere, into the ears 
 of yawning or sleepy hearers. Ah me ! what sorrowful times have 
 been my portion from this cause! Not one sexton in twenty has any 
 rule against this evil. Mismanaged ventilation : Windows kept closed 
 till the atmosphere becomes insufferable ; then opened without judg- 
 ment, wide and to windward, spreading discomfort and uneasiness in 
 the vicinities. I have not found one sexton in ten who makes it a 
 rule, in such emergencies, to open the windows the sheltered side of 
 the church, keeping those to windward shut, or but very slightly 
 open. What next? Windows re-closed; 'better bear the ills we 
 have,' than suffer others to fly to us, 'that we know not of.' Thus 
 the pure air — a friend, indeed, if prudently managed — has made 
 ' cowards of us all.' 
 
 "10. A few words about Church Ceilings. — A ceiling immod- 
 erately high may have some advantages. It may, in the eyes of 
 some, perhaps, look imposing. In hot weather, or when a large 
 audience is present, may be somewhat refreshing, enclosing, as it does, 
 a larger body of air for the breathers beneath. But, depend upon 
 it, the preacher pays the tax upon such slight advantages, in an in- 
 creased outlay of both voice and strength, besides a sensible dirniau 
 tion of his ordinary power, enjoyed under a ceiling of medium height. 
 He feels it, sinks by degrees, or loses heart, and closes under the im- 
 pression of ' a hard time.' Let him realize the same difficulty again 
 and again in the same pulpit, and the apprehension will go' far to 
 weaken his faith in his usual preparation. 
 
 " If the ceiling be concave, or arched, the difficulty will be in- 
 creased ten-fold. 
 
 " There is a singular sympathy, if I may use the word, between 
 the voice and the ceiling. At least, the voice is singularly aided or 
 retarded by bhe character of the ceiling. If it has to ascend high in 
 epace before it meets a substance to arrest, steady and react upon it, 
 by a returning impulse, the preacher will sensibly feel the loss. It 
 will force him to unusual exertion, risking the unnatural both in tone 
 and manner. And this will exhaust. Remember this, my dear sir ; 
 every foot you poise your ceiling above an ordinary and 'reasonable 
 height, you are preparing a proportionate tax upon the strer.£th of 
 your successive pastors. 
 
 " Above all, sir, let me caution you and your colleagues of the 
 : Building Committee ' to reject, once for all, any plan which contcm. 
 plates a sloped, or concave, or arched ceiling. 1 may not be using the 
 proper architectural phrases, but you comprehend me. Either of 
 
400 APPENDIX. 
 
 these is almost ruinous to easy and effective speaking. I have tried 
 them t j my sorrow, and would warn you against them. Whatever 
 advantages they might afford to oratorios, they are the bane of oratory, 
 — that, especially, that moves the soulor melts the heart. He is a rare 
 preacher that succeeds in hewing down sinners under such a ceiling. 
 If it does not create an echo, — and it is sure to do so if the congre- 
 gation be small, — it will attract the voice away from the audienco 
 assuredly. 
 
 " It goes far to rob the voice of its unction and power, returning 
 an empty sound to the ears of the people. Vacant looks will tell the 
 laboring preacher there is something wrong or wanting. Solomon 
 eays, ' If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge; then he 
 must put to more strength.' Just so! And he who preaches under 
 such a ceiling will soon find voice and sentences blunt enough. If he 
 love souls, — if he desire to constrain sinners to feel that they have 
 need of everything that Jesus has purchased for them on Calvary, — 
 he will ' put to more strength.' But ' there 's the rub ! ' This is 
 just the extra tax he is paying to the ignorance or caprice of the 
 architect, or his advisers. 
 
 ' ; I was holding a series of meetings, some time since, in a church 
 of this sort — contending with these difficulties till my heart ached. 
 And, to add to them, a recess behind pulpit, — not deep, but 
 wide and lofty, in the form of a Gothic window, of ' dead wall,' — 
 large as the eastern window of some Roman Catholic cathedral, and 
 abundance of dead wall on either side of it — never better ally to 
 the slopes above. I advised drapery, though opposed to it in general, 
 hoping thus to interfere with the alliance. One evening, noticing 
 the architect present, I consulted him. He doubted whether drapery 
 would help the matter much ; said he was aware such ceilings did at- 
 tract the voice away from the audience, and recommended a sound- 
 ing-board over the pulpit, as the best remedy. 
 
 " A couple of years ago, when travelling in the States, I preached 
 in a small church of this sort, — seemed as if one was standing be- 
 tween two abutments of a bridge, underneath a high arch. It re- 
 quired the greatest manoeuvring to coax the voice down to its office 
 in the ears of the audience. I happened upon two others in the 
 States somewhat similar — both bad ; one has since been demolished. 
 
 " Happily, churches cursed with such ceilings are not numerous; 
 but they are increasing, both in the United States and Canada. The 
 Gothic lias become quite popular of late years, — a style which offers 
 the architect strong temptations to pitch his ceiling not only unduly 
 high, but somewhat in conformity with the window-tops. 
 
 " Methodism lias lately come into the possession of several speci- 
 mens. Windows well enough for the Gothic ; but the architect, not 
 contented to extend his ceiling at the height which their extraordi- 
 nary altitude demanded, sloped it parallel with the rafters, clear up 
 to the vicinity of a roof-top by no means humble in its aspirations.' 
 Others I have noticed, — windows semi-Gothic, lofty, of extraordinary 
 width and height, — all well enough, if made to raise and lower 
 iasy ; which was not the case, for they required the strength of two 
 
APPENDIX. 401 
 
 men, and frequently in vain. But the architect, instead of spread- 
 ing a plain ceiling at a reasonable height above the windows, sprang 
 an arch a considerable height, carried it all around the edifice, as if 
 contriving how best to tempt the voice to vagrancy, and suspended 
 thereon a strip of common ceiling, affording ' a pretty play-ground ' 
 for the voice to excursionize before doing the work in the ears and 
 consciences of the hearers. 
 
 "A preacher careless of effects — indifferent as to immediate 
 results, not laboring for a revival, not anxious, not expecting sinners 
 to be instantly awakened and converted under his ministry — may 
 exhibit his talents in such places, with some satisfaction to himself, 
 and to others, perhaps, of like mind. But he who has been groan- 
 ing, weeping and agonizing, in secret places, for the conversion of 
 sinners, will be made to feel there is an enemy overhead, bad as the 
 devil and human depravity. Nor will he preach long there without 
 becoming shorn of his strength. 
 
 " For my part, I avoid such churches for revival efforts, if notified 
 beforehand. I have had souls given me within their walls, but with 
 a will at fearful strife with things, and at a great expense of physical 
 and intellectual strength. 
 
 " And now, sir, I have given you the result of several years' ob- 
 servation on both sides of the Atlantic. Please read this reply to the 
 members of your ' Building Committee.' 
 
 " There is not one item in the above catalogue of defects which 
 has not cost me sorrow or defeat, in one place or other, the last 
 score of years. To such things, sir, rather than diabolical agency or 
 human resistance, have I traced ' many a hard time,' which has sent 
 me to my room to groan the night away ! 
 
 " I have written this letter in great haste, without time to prune 
 or polish sentences, as I have preached twice to-day, — and, for that 
 matter, ten times a week the last seven months. But you may gather 
 some ' cautions ' from the above facts, — facts they are, and mourn- 
 ful defects, from which I pray God to deliver all ministers who are 
 toiling day and night for the conversion of sinners. The work of 
 God is advancing here in glorious majesty. 
 
 " With affectionate regards to yourself and family, I am, dear sir, 
 " Yours, in the bonds of the Gospel, 
 
 " James Caughey. 
 
 " P. S. The further you project your pulpit into the congregation, 
 if the chapel be large, and you can afford it, the better. It is that 
 advantage whicli renders the large Wesleyan chapels in England so 
 easy to preach in. On that account, 1 have no objections to the 
 orchestra behind the pulpit, if its front be a couple of feet higher 
 than the preacher's head when standing ; if lower than his head, 
 it is injurious, as it divides and weakens the voice. Such an orches- 
 tra, besides, has this advantage : If the choir be disposed to whisper 
 or ' read ' music, they will not annoy the preacher by seeing them 
 nor ho oflbnd them by reproving. J. C." 
 
 34* 
 
402 APPENDIX. 
 
 Mr. Caughey, in a letter to us dated London, C. W., Feb. 3d, 
 1855, adds: 
 
 " The Weskyan Methodists in Quebec, L. C, have erected a largo 
 noble and elegant Gothic church, at an expense of fifty-five thousand 
 dollars, ay, and at a urther cost, not to be estimated by dollars and 
 cents, or pounds, shillings and pence, — the strength, voice and effect- 
 iveness, of their preacher, in attempting to fill ' waste and unoccu- 
 pied space ' spread around with surprising prodigality. 
 
 " First of all, the ceiling, — to say nothing of the liberality of 
 pew-room, and aisles roomy enough for an English cathedral, and the 
 ' waste places ' on the galleries, three or four cavern-like breaks for 
 ' grand stairways,' which the voice is allowed to sound to the depths , 
 and ' far in the distance,' where scores might stand, is an empty space 
 in rear of the gallery sittings, as if designed to give importance to a 
 prodigious Gothic window, — like an area before some palace facade ; 
 another tax upon the preacher's capabilities. But the ceiling ! what 
 shall I say of the ceiling ? Imagine a succession of semi-hoops of a 
 mammoth hogshead, plastered between tight as a drum, and bent to 
 the altitudes, — a vast magnet to the voice, drawing it up and away 
 from the audience, as the magnetic influence commands the direction 
 of the needle in the mariner's compass — to say nothing of the de- 
 vouring disposition of the vast space through which it has to travel 
 and ascend before it receives a return action, and then to be waylaid 
 and led into captivity by ruffian echoes, hardly noticeable, indeed, to 
 the hearers, except in some loud key, but cruelly felt by the baffled 
 preacher, especially if the church happen not to be well filled, — 
 an evil too frequent in large churches. But, if he set out to wore the 
 people, and raise his voice like a trumpet, ' he will find his match ; ' 
 the voice will not go down with point and energy among the people, 
 but reverberates and runs to and fro, — a sound of words and sen- 
 tences tripping upon sentences, void of the secret unction that moves 
 and melts and wets the cheeks of an audience ; at length he is forced 
 to modulate and manage his voice as best he can, and be content to 
 make them hear, and let feeling alone for this time. And so he hob- 
 bles on, restrained and embarrassed, to the close. So it was with me 
 last winter, till my health gave way, and was confined to my room. 
 When able to venture out again, a few friends had taken the matter 
 in hand, and covered the well of the galleries with two large sails of 
 a ship, lent for the occasion by Mr. Henderson. I stood in the altar 
 and to fine audiences preached the word of life, until we had hun- 
 dreds of souls converted and sanctified, an account of which you ma\ 
 one day meet in my printed journal.*' 
 
 Mr. C. adds : "I am now in Louden, C. W., preaching in a new 
 and beautiful Gothic Wesleyan church, lately erected at a cost of 
 thirty thousand dollars. But, alas! with an extravagance of spao 
 almost equal to that in Quebec. The ceiling, indeed, is somewhat dif 
 ferent, reminding one of — pardon me, ye architects! — a great flat 
 bot'oT/'/d scow, inverted, and poised to an extraordinary height, ' th< 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 403 
 
 kola thereof painted in imitation of oak, — an accomplished light- 
 absorbent, by the way, — which, aided by galleries of like color, ren- 
 ders the house sombre and gloomy, although enlightened by out hun- 
 dred '■gas-burners''! 0, gentlemen of ' the Building Committee,' 
 how much more lightsome and pleasant had been your temple, had 
 you draped it in modern, modest white, — and a saving on your gas-bill, 
 withal ! — a thing you might have readily anticipated by a little re- 
 flection upon a similar talent more or less distributed among colors, 
 
 " The same difficulty is felt here as in Quebec, as regards the un- 
 steadiness and vagrancy of the voice ; unless the church is perfectly 
 filled, it seems like ' beating the air.'' A minister remarked to me, the 
 other evening, « When I pray in that pulpit, it seems as if that vast 
 vacancy above eats up my words.' Yes, and quite exhausts and dis- 
 heartens before one is half through with prayer or sermon, especially 
 if one desires to have ' power with God and with men,'' and to prevail. 
 — Gen. 32 : 28. The pulpit does not project into the audience, after 
 the manner of ' the home Wesleyan pulpits,' and which afford the 
 English preachers such a manifest power over their vast audiences, 
 but is set back to the wall. The orchestra is, indeed, behind the pul- 
 pit, but in a recess built to the church, to which there is a vast Gothic 
 opening in the wall behind the preacher's head. This recess is lofty, 
 and vaulted like the main building, which, with the organ, seats fifty 
 or sixty persons, — another draft on the preacher's strength, in a 
 wasteful and voice-dividing direction ; and uselessly expended, for 
 most of the choir leave it after singing, complaining that they can- 
 not hear there. Directly opposite the pulpit, at the other end of the 
 church, is a large Gothic window, and a wide, lofty, empty space to 
 keep it company, — another demand upon the voice. 
 
 " Now, all this inconsiderate tax upon a preacher's strength I con- 
 sider ' simple folly,' — nay, sinful. ye people of Canada ! have 
 mercy on your preachers ! Betray not thus the cause of God ! 
 Weaken not, dishearten not, destroy not, the health and effectiveness 
 of your ministers. Tempt them not thus, or the time may come 
 when < the twenty-five minutes' sermon ' may be as rife in Methodist 
 churches as in English and Continental cathedrals ; ' the long-drawn 
 aisles ' and stately columns, and ' avenues of pillared shade,' vaulted 
 like another sky, discipline the preacher to 
 
 The clear harangue, and, cold as it is clear, 
 Falls soporific on the listless ear ; 
 Like quicksilver, the rhetoric they display- 
 Shines as it runs, but grasped at slips away. 
 
 " After preaching a few times in this church, and baffled and dis- 
 heartened, I began to repent my visit ; felt strongly inclined to re- 
 treat to some other town, where my labors might be more successful 
 in winning sinners to Christ, without shattering my health as last 
 winter. It was suggested that a sounding-board over the pulpit might 
 relieve from the difficulty some, — and has consider -ably. The error is 
 rey'-etted by the trustees, not only from the fact rf having wasted a 
 
404 APPENDIX. 
 
 thousand dollars upon this ..aisconstructed ceiling, — and wi ieh only 
 a perverted taste could pronounce ornamental, — but because it 
 would require seven or eight hundred dollars to replace it with a prop- 
 er ceiling. Perhaps, brother "Wise, these remarks, going forth with 
 the book, may be useful elsewhere, in this church-building age. As 
 the Methodist people grow rich, it is to be feared such-like vagaries 
 in church architecture will be neither few nor far between, — when 
 the eye will be more consulted than the ear, when pulpit effectiveness 
 must give way to architectural appearances, — a fact which has con- 
 tributed largely to the heartless preaching which prevails in English 
 and Continental cathedrals. One has only to listen to a sermon in 
 one of them to be convinced of the truth of the remark. " 
 
 " But to return to my subject. To add to the disagreeableness of 
 the place, no ventilation could be had from a single window ; the 
 ' design ' of the architect forbade such a vulgarism ! Gothic through- 
 out, every window was as solid as lead and glass could make it. A 
 little fresh air might be coaxed in by the doors and through some 
 auger-like perforations in a few small pendants in the ceiling ; fresh 
 air from the attic ! — foul air, ascending there, cooling, and accumu- 
 lating, to be returned and re-breathed again, unpurged of its noxious 
 qualities, — and so in process continued. 
 
 " The large lecture-room below was in a similar ' fix.' After hold- 
 ing meetings a week or two, the air became intolerable, and I pro- 
 tested. So the architect had his ' design ' marred by determined men, 
 who cut a passage to the pure air through his ' majestic Gothic win- 
 dows,' and fifteen hundred people may now breathe comfortably, and 
 hear the word with profit. 
 
 "They have also kindly 'closed in' the space in front of tho 
 large window, leaving an outline thereof upon the cloth screen. This 
 alteration, with a sounding-board of extraordinary dimensions, has 
 lessened the difficulty considerably. Nevertheless, it is still an t i handl- 
 ing place to the speaker, and will so continue while the lofty curse 
 hangs overhead, and the cavern-like orchestra, as it is, behind. 
 
 " However, the Lord has poured out his Holy Spirit upon us the 
 last few weeks, and hundreds of souls have been converted, and scores 
 jf believers sanctified. But, 0, how exhausting and wearying is th's 
 iflbrt ! Affectionately in Jesus, thy Lord and mine, 
 
 " James Caucus?". 
 
 »' London, <\ W., Feb. 3, 1855." 
 
RECOMMENDATIONS 
 
 Revival Miscellanies. — Altogether, this is a remarkable volume. mil of 
 its author s peculiarities of style and composition, varied in subjects rich ill 
 expression, striking in illustration, vigorous in thought, forcible in matuer, stir- 
 ring in zeal, and glowing with a high and holy spirituality, it will make its mark 
 on the heart of the reader, augment his anxiety to know more of God as hr 
 works out the good pleasure of his goodness in the depths of the soul, and elevate 
 him by its; own earnestness to a richer and profounder knowledge of the grace 
 that is in Christ Jesus. 
 
 The title-page of the volume docs not "hold a promise to the ear, to break it 
 to the hope." It is a true and faithful index of the book as to its subject, as 
 reliable as the hands of a well-regulated time-piece ; and as well furnished with 
 the appliances of moral quickening and godly edifying as any volume of its size 
 to be found. "We are quite sure that the volume deserves, and will receive, ar 
 extensi »*e circulation. — Richmond Christian Advocate. 
 
 Revival Miscellanies. — This book is quite miscellaneous in its character 
 but full of the strong and original traits of the author, who is one of the most 
 remarkable men of our times. All who have read the preceding volume will be 
 interested in this as much, if not more. It will do good. — Herald and Journal. 
 
 Revival Miscellanies is the title of a remarkably successful book, the pub- 
 lishers having sold over eighteen hundred copies in fifteen days after its publica- 
 tion ! It is a book for the times ; full of burning thoughts, and admirably 
 calculated to guide earnest and inquiring minds into the attainment of " the faith 
 of assurance," and into such paths of extraordinary usefulness as were trodden 
 by a Page, a Martyn, a Wesley, or a Payson. — New Bedford Standard. 
 
 The sermons of Mr. Caughey were preached during the great revivals he wit- 
 nessed in England. They were taken down by stenographers and committed to 
 the press, and had a very extensive sale. They contain many passages of great 
 beauty, force, and poAver; rich in illustration, direct, and earnest. His thoughts 
 on revivals, holiness, &c, in the second part, are deeply interesting, and cannot 
 be read without moving the heart. We believe the book is calculated to dc 
 immense good. — Writer in the Western Christian Advocate. 
 
 A Boon- to the Church. — Of the many new books which, for a long time past, 
 have been brought before the notice of the public, there is not one we have read 
 with so much interest or profit as the " Revival Miscellanies." Part I. contains 
 eleven of those " Revival Sermons," which, under God, Lave been instrumental 
 in the awakening and conversion of hundreds, if not thousands, of souls. Part II. 
 is exceedingly miscellaneous, and contains some of the best thoughts we ever met 
 with on matters and subjects of vital importance to the interests of religion and 
 the salvation of the world. Thoughts and style are Mr. Caughey's own. JS'o 
 plagiarism here. Everything here bears the manifest impress of Mr. C.'s bold, 
 original, unique and fruitful mind. We have read it, much to our spiritual 
 profit. The happiest hours of last Sabbath were spent in its soul-thrilling and 
 spirit-stirring pages. We verily believe it has aroused us to deeds of more dar- 
 ing valor against sin and hell. 
 
 Now, we want every minister of the M. E. Church to get a good supply of this 
 work. Let him scatter it amongst his people, accompanied with the advice that 
 they read it with much prayer, that the holy unction which it breathes may 
 descend unto their own soul. This being done, our church will become the 
 theatre of such agonizing and prevailing prayer, — combined, earnest and success- 
 ful effort, ---saving and converting power, as hath not been witnessed since the 
 day of the Pentecostal rain. If ever we did meet Trith a book we wished to eee 
 
RECOMMENDATION'S. 
 
 put in the hand) of aM cur people, it is the one now before us. It ought to hav» 
 a more extended circulation .than even "Methodism in Earnest," fjr really u 
 appears to be more earnest even than that. Now for a general rally. All hand* 
 to work. Let us scatter this buck like the leaves of autumn. — From a corre- 
 spondent of the Herald arid Journal. 
 
 These are extraordinary compositions, well adapted to awaken tho slumbering, 
 and alarm the careless. They are pointed, imaginative, impressive, and puwer- 
 tully exciting. — Wesleyan Association Magazine, London. 
 
 CATJGHEY'S EARNEST CHRISTIANITY ILLUSTRATED. Being Selections 
 from the Journal of Mr. Caughey, and containing several of his Sermons, etc., etc. With 
 ftn Introductory Sketch c'the Life of Mr. Caughey, by Rev. Daniel 'Wise. This is a new 
 work of Mr. Caughey's, never before published, and is about the size of his " Revival 
 Miscellanies," got up in the best style. The Fourteenth Thousand. Retails for $1. The 
 following are a few of the many favorable notices of the work : 
 
 " Like all other works from the pen of Brother Caughey, it will do good wherever it goes, 
 and to all who, with a sincere and pious heart, will peruse its pages." — Dr. Elliott, of 
 Western Christian Adv. 
 
 " It will hardly be possible to read these thrilling pages of unparalleled revival efforts 
 and success, without feeling the soul fired to deeds of bolder daring against sin and hell. 
 All such as are seeking after higher Christian attainment, should make this book, next to 
 their Bible, their closet companion." — Correspondence of Zion's Herald. 
 
 " This volume will fall not a whit behind its predecessors in awakening the interest of its 
 readers, and enlivening their spirituality. It has many strong points, exciting incidents, 
 and is full of an intense and transforming spirituality." — Dr. Lee, of Richmond Christian 
 Advocate. 
 
 "Like the 'Revival Miscellanies,' it will make the heart of the reader better — the head 
 wiser — and thereby purify and intensify the Christian character. Like the mystic wheele 
 in the Prophet's vision, the 'spirit of life' is in it. We are not surprised (and it augan 
 well for the Church) that an edition of four thousand copies was nearly exhausted in a 
 week after it made its appearance, uncommon as are such occurrences even in the annals 
 of the most successful authorship." — J. V. Watson, of the North-icestern Christian 
 Advocate. 
 
 The demand for the above works is unprecedented in the history of Methodist publications. 
 Multitudes have been aroused from their spiritual slumbers by reading them. They are 
 books for Ministers, Class-Leaders, Young Converts, Christ's tempted ones, and for all who 
 desire to be useful and holy. A large number of ministers in all parts of the country are 
 engaged in selling them. For sale at all the Methodist Book Depositories, from Canada to 
 California. For the retail price, they will be sent, by mail, to any part of the country, free 
 nl postage. 
 
 SHOWERS OF BLESSING 
 
 FROM CLOUDS OF MERCY. 
 
 SELECTED FROM THE JOURNAL AND OTHER WRITINGS OF TUB 
 
 REV. JAMES CAUGHEY. 
 
 •/ONTAinixg stirring Scenes and Incidents during great revivals in Birmingham, and other 
 places in England, under his ministry —Several of Mr. Cacgiiey's awakening Addresset 
 and Sermons — Thoughts on Holiness — Notes of Personal Experience — and Innervations 
 upon Persons and Places Visited. Retail, $1. 
 This is an entirely new work of Mr. Caughey's, and will be found full as interesting as his 
 
 ither works, which have had such an extraordinary sale. His " Revival Miscellanies" 
 
 nas reached its forty-third thousand. 
 
 O* Lar^e profits made in s^ll'og these works, as a very large discount is allowed. Pre 
 
 tiding Elders and other ministers are engaged in their sale all over the country. For sale 
 
 at ah the Methodist Book Depositories. Books can be easily sent from Boston to any 
 
 part of the country. 
 
 Address Rev. R. W. Allen, No. 5 Cornhill, Boston, Mass. 
 
ant Iflflta, 
 
 POPULAR OBJECTIONS TO METHODISM CONSIDERED AND AN 
 SWERED : or the Convert's Counsellor respecting his Church Relations ; with Reasons 
 why Methodist Converts should join a Methodist Church. An Antidote to certain Recent 
 Publications, assailing the Methodist Episcopal Church. By Rev. Daniel Wise, A. M. 
 Seventh Thousand. Retail, Sixty-two cents. A book for every family. For sale at all 
 the Methodist Book Depositories. Read the following : 
 
 " We hope to see it in the hands not only of every young convert, but of every Christian 
 who would enjoy a feast and grow in grace." — North-western Christian Advocate. 
 
 "I hope it may have an extensive circulation." — Bishop Simpson. 
 
 " Here is a book for the times. Let it be circulated in every direction." — Nashville 
 Christian Adv. 
 
 PRECIOUS LESSONS FROM THE LIPS OF JESUS. — Containing Cautions, 
 Counsels and Consolations, for such of the Disciples of Christ as are seeking to be like their 
 Lord. By Rev. Daniel Wise, A. M., author of the Path of Life. Just from the press, and 
 selling rapidly. The Sixth Thousand in press. It is got up in two styles, one of which will 
 retail at twenty-five cenis, and the other at thirty-one cents. Read the following recom 
 mendations : 
 
 " A small book, but filled with very great truths. We commend it cordially to all." - 
 Northern Christian Advocate. 
 
 " We commend this volume as a fit companion for those who love Jesus, and are seek 
 ing to know more of him." — Western Christian Advocate. 
 
 " A tiny book, but rich in good things." — Christian Advocate. 
 
 " Its topics, all on important themes of Christian life and duty, are presented in les 
 sons, rich in illustrations variously expressed, and happily combining instruction with 
 edification. We have read some of its lessons with great interest, and we think, also, 
 with profit ; and can recommend it as well adapted for general circulation." — Richmond 
 Christian Advocate. 
 
 " It is a pithy little book, abounding in the well-known excellences of its author's able 
 pen. Pew writers have a happier tact at illustration. Some of his ' figures ' are devices 
 for the worker in gold. The religious tone of the volume is of the highest order. It is a 
 good presentation book." — National Magazine. 
 
 " It is admirably adapted to promote the instruction and spirituality of the reader." — 
 Christian Guardian. 
 
 LOVEST THOU ME, Etc. — By Rev. Daniel Wise, A. M. A new edition of this 
 exceedingly popular little work is now in press, and will be ready in a few days. We 
 snow of no work which ministers can circulate to better advantage among their people 
 than this. The Thirteenth Thousand. It is recommended as follows : 
 
 " This manual of devotion is a companion for the pious, whose gentle teachings are 
 pure, and full of comfort and encouragement. Its study will mend the morals and adorn 
 the heart." — Richmond Christian Advocate. 
 
 "This is an intrinsically delightful and mechanically beautiful volume, from the prolific 
 and versatile pen of Rev. Daniel Wise. It is just one of the gift books for the holidays 
 which no one, who desires to quicken the flow of friendship, should omit to purchase, and 
 send to some friend, as a token of affectionate interest in his spiritual welfare. It pos 
 3 j sses every quality of adaptation to such a sweet and silent mission of love and spiritual 
 (refreshing." — North-western Christian Advocate. 
 
 a It may be read with pleasure and profit by every Christian." — Christian Guardian 
 
 dot up in two styles ; retailing at twenty-five and thirty-one cents. 
 
 LIVING STREAMS FROM THE FOUNTAIN OF LIFE. — Containing a Scripture 
 Text, a choice Aphorism, and a Verse of Poetry, for every day in the year. By Rev. Daniel 
 Wise. Just from the press. Got up in two styles 5 retailing at twenty-five and thirty 
 one cents each. 
 
 SACRED ECHOES FROM THE HARP OF DAVID. — A choice volume for spirit 
 aal Christians. By Rev. Daniel Wise, A. M. Just from the press. Retailing at twenty 
 Ive and thirty-one cents. 
 
 O" Pre agencies address Rev R. W. Allen, No. 5 Corniiill, Boston. 
 

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