The Sun.
London, England, 1841-04-13 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, TITESDIY, APRIL 13. 1841

REVIVALS IN SCOTLAND.

(From the Aberdeen Herald.)
An anonymous friend of revivals has sent us the fol-
lowing letter, which we hesitate not to insert :
" Sia,—As you are to treat largely on revivals in
your Monthly Sheet, might I beg you to include an an-
swer to the following queries in it :
" Whether a man may not, on being suddenly awak-
ened to a sense of his sin and danger of damnation, be
led to cry out audibly for mercy, without being deemed
extravagant or weak-minded ?
" Whether there is not sufficient cause for every man,
not reconciled to God, to cry out " men and brethren,
what shall we do to be saved ?"
" And let me implore you, Sir, to pause and not throw
obloquy and ridicule on a work of so serious a na-
ture, and which may be productive of incalculable
benefit to many. You are not called upon—it does
not come within your province as a journalist, to
judge of God's means in bringing a sinner to himself.
You cannot, you dare not, say that a man may not feel
his sins so intolerable as to cry out, and that with a
loud voice—" Lord, have mercy upon me a sinner."
Was the publican weak-minded or an enthusiast, when
he not only cried out, but smote upon his breast, and
dared not once lift up his eyes towards heaven ?—and
pray, Sir, what change has taken place in our world
of refinement, that we should feel pained and annoyed
at the outpourings of a distressed soul; should we not
rather rejoice, and, by mingling our prayers with his,
seek the glory of God in the salvation of sinners ?"
Our Correspondent's queries, which he, doubt-
less, thinks a poser, might, with great propriety,
be answered in Scottish fashion, by asking him
whether a nervous girl may not be found making
a noise, without having any very definite motions
either of salvation or damnation, or being impressed
with any feeling, beyond that which can be fully ac-
counted for by natural causes ? The Friend to Revivals
will not contend that the ministrations of our dozen or
fourteen Evangelical clergymen, for the last four or five
years, have been altogether inefficacious. Surely they
must have awakened some of their hearers to a sense
of sin and danger ; and yet, so far as we are aware,
the thousands of sermons that have been preached
during that period have not produced a single scene
like those exhibited in Mr. Parker's church. It

is not denied that women, and men too, may cry out
under a sermon ; but it is contended that there is
no reason to believe that the instances, consequent
on Mr. Burns' preaching, are the effect of anything be-
yond mere animal excitement, such as Ranters, Jumpers,
and fanatical preachers, in all ages and all places, have
been able to produce. Moreover, it is conceived to be

1 the short of blasphemy to call the unearthly and un-
pleasant howling of the revival meetings a work of the
Spirit. At all events the subject is one that is fairly
open to inquiry ; for, there can be no doubt, as the his-
tory of Stephen and other reviving scoundrels prove,
that many of the pretended religious awakenings were,
both in their progress and results, more nearly allied to
the works of the devil than the works of the Spirit.
We have never said that a revival of religion is not
required ; but it must be a real revival—a revival that
will make our clergy more honest—their hearers less
hypocritical—and men in general more virtuous. A
revival that throws a few silly girls into hysterics, and
causes others to communicate their experience to as
many Holy Willies as they can get to listen to them, is
of very little consequence to the world, and bears no
mark of divine origin.

We can easily understand how a clique of " godly
gossips," male and female, should rejoice in a move-
ment that supplies them, from day to day, with fresh
food for scandal. It must be highly edifying to the
half dozen of male teachers of female clal,ses to bear the
particulars of one factory girl's :inning—how another
walked in Broad-street for " chances," and got them
—how a third kept company with such a young
man—how a fourth frequented a brothel—and
so on. The excitement produced by this exposure
of the back parts of real society may afford a very good
substitute for the excitement of balls, cards, and play-
going, from which the rigidly righteous are excluded by
their puritanic pretensions ; but we question much
whether the world be on the "whole benefited by this
revelation of experiences, however grateful it may be
to the pious confessor.

RESPITE OF THE SENTENCE OF DEATH...—.
On Saturday last the Governor of York Castle received a
respite from her Majesty's Secretary of State of the sen-
tence of death which was passed by Mr. Baron Rolfe,
at the last Yorkshire Assizes, on John Mitchell, the youth
who was tried for the murder of Mr. Blackburn, near
Barnsley. Mitchell will, consequently, be transported for
life.

Mr. David Bell, of Glasgow, has addressed the
electors of the Kilmarnock district of burghs, announcing
his intention to oppose the present Member, Mr. Colqu-
; houn, whenever an election takes place. In his address to
the electors, Mr. Bell thus declares his principles : —" I
am friendly to an extension of the suffrage, to the ballot,
and to shortening the duration of Parliaments to three
years. lam also in favour of free trade in grain, of the
tonly h
e beingp prosperity
pi
emrpi
toys eodf oeno allm
til aerrteiec,l e
es e odf
to
o t h import,e
principles of free trade generally, and of a moderate duty
well-
being of
EthNeTcAomßmtuunitoy g cane reasls ent
ial
community."
most dis-
tressing case of suicide occurred in Dundee on Tuesday
night last, arising out of the following circumstance
A young man, belonging to Forfarshire, who had been for
several years labouring under consumption, had been per-
suaded to come to Edinburgh for medical advice, which he
did. A consulting physician heard and examined his case,
and, we are informed,
hthinle
to
young understand that
man wrote
to
it was hopeless. Of
his friends, and requested a brother to come
;
for and conduct him home but, without
for his arrival, took the coach for waiting
gave him
Dundee on
Tuesday, and on the evening of the same day, in an hotel
of that town , seemingly unable to bear the sentence hang_
ing over
him, shot himself through the head, and died in-
unfortunate stonily. So determined had the
than
been
to effect his purpose, that he had put no fewer three
came to Edinburgh
bullets into the pistol. His brother.
him, unknowingly, on the
as requested, but had passed ,made acquainted, made
road; and on Wednesd3y forenoon was.
by a mutual friend, ru of the chncholy and fatal
catas-
trophe..—Edinburgh Paper.