The Kanzas news., 1858-04-17

the old fashioned frame building, known As
.Leziey's House." which stood uEdis-
turbed, till year or two ago, at the juno
ton of Little Dock and Second streets, the
eloquent Whitfield held spell bound immense
audiences which gathered on the slope of
Society Hill, opposite, at whose foot the IA
NOUS Bathsheba Bowers, of oid-time MEM
cries, dispensed to all corners the grateful
cup of water from ''the best spring of water
which was then to be found in our city,"
according to Watson. Never were such au-
diences gathered together in this country.
By the powerful cooperation of the talented
Tenants, William and Gilbert whose
names are so conspicuous in the list of
American diyines, ''the work of revival
prospered" in New Jersey and the adjacent
States. Whitfield created wonderful SEN
sation wherever he went. Georgia, Virgin
ia, Massachusetts,, were alike the scene OF
widespread enthusiasm, which thronged
the churches whenever he was announced
to preach. Large additions were made to
the churches, through the winning influence
of his eloquence, from among the most dis
tinguished men of the time.
At the beginning of the present century
another revival occurred, which, origi
mating IN New England, passed through, in
rapid succession, the Middle States, and
spread north, south and west. Some idea
may be gathered of the intensity of the ex-
citement from perusal of the Evangelical
Magazine" published at the time. The
great center of its action at this period was
in Pennsylvania and the immediate vicinity,
and Kentucky. In the latter State, (then
having population of over 100000, the
magazine referred to says "the number of
baptisms" in one year alone { 1901 amount
ed to over ten thousand" From a letter,
dated january GO, 1902" from Mount
Ararat, prince Edwards county, Virginia,
addressed to Robert Ralston," "a name so
familiar in the mercantile annals of Phila-
delphia, we extract passage to show the
state of religious feeling which pervaded the
Old Dominion. ''There could not have
been fewer than three thousand people out
to hear the sermon on Friday, (and this at
a very small viilage.) The people were
very much affected al times They contin-
ued together all day till night Near the
close of the first sermon, the writer states.
''I am persuaded more than half the au-
dience were in tears. 1t appeared that some
thing like supernatural power suddenly
rested on almost every mind" The mum
Der of conversions taking the Evangelical
Magazine as authority, exceeding that of
any previous awakening.
Some twenty years ago another repetition
of the conversational fervor diffused itself
throughout this State, and drew into its in
fiuence many more sections of the country.
Throughout the interior towns-Harrisburg
Carlisle, Chambersburg, Pittsburg the
great topic of conversation in every circle
of society was the ''great revival" Pray
er-meetings for the time drove out convivial
parties the young ladies' and young gem
tlemen who had been attending ''cotilion
parties and kindred ''frolics" were sud
denly brought to deny themselves such
amusements, and to devote their time to
more reasonable service. For mouths, at
the State capital, nothing else was thought
of by the mass of the community, and du-
ring an entire winter there was almost a
total suspension of the usual gaities which
characterize all places where State Legisla-
lures are wont to convene.
Since that period, until the present season,
the religious sentiment, though by no means
retrograding, has not advanced by any sud
den jerks, il has grown stronger and deeper,
and, at the same time, much more liberal,
by comparatively gradual advance. The
public mind has not been aroused by any
special conjuncture of circumstances, start
ling the attention to such subjects, and
therefore has not had any opportunity OF
developing any extraordinary degree of en-
thusiasm. The recent financial revulsion,
it is supposed, has been instrumental,
through the additional time for mental re-
taxation which it has offered, in awakening
the conscience of the country.-PhitadeL-
phia Press.