The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1877-01-11

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tended the meetings. Here he found
! himself suddenly overwhelmed with a
conviction of the reality of God, the
soul, and of religious obligation. He
returned changed man. The revolu-
ton was radical and complete. It car
ried all his fundamental convictions
and purposes of life. He did not at
once resolve on the christian ministry,
! but he began at once to be an active
christian worker. Very soon he pub
Ilicly confessed Christ and united with
| the Christian Church. His first public
efforts at prayer are described as hav-
| ing been very broken and simple and
childlike, and yet he at once set up the
family altar in his own house, and res
olutely began to take part in the devo-
tional meetings of the Church. Thus
he began the acquisition of that admi-
rable gift of public prayer which after
wards characterized him. His religious
character was further matured by a
powerful revival which broke out at
Clinton in the year following The Gel
ebrated DR.. Lansing came to Clinton
and preached a remarkable sermon
from the text, "Be We not mockers' sc.
At the close of the sermon fourteen
men, including some of the most prom
inent citizens of the town, knelt before
| the pulpit and made a solemn covenant
not to be Knockers Of God any longer.
This was the beginning of great work
! IN which DR.. Gridley was very active,
and in which he had the joy of seeing
his prayers and conversations made a
spiritual blessing to his friends. So
marked was the spirit of prayer in this
revival that it was said that two Chris
tians never met and separated without
praying together. An incident in DR..
+, Gridlye's own experience at the time
illustrates this. His mind was greatly
exercised with concern for the saliva
ton of a friend Of his, one Gen. Com
stock, a leading man of the town. One
day IT. Hastings and himself were to-
gethCF3 in an office praying for this
/
friends conversion. 1t so happened
that while they were thus engaged, Col.
Comstock came to the door. Hearing
the voice of prayer within, he bent his
ear to listen at the keyhole. He quick
| ly perceived that himself was the sub
ject of those earnest petitions. Pllngent
convictions took hold of him at once,
as he afterwards related. He saw him
self guilty, lost and condemned soul
and from being very proud, self
righteous man, he felt small enough, as
he expressed it, to have craWled out at
that key-hole Within day or two he
was converted man.
Now we can see from this how the
intense and solemn spirit of the time
was entering into the soul of DR.. Grid
ley. His work as physician gave him
many opportunities to do good. He
was fully alive to them. He began tC
speak for Christ, and his power grew
rapidly. He turned his attention tC
Temperance. It was then a new move.
ment and unpopular. But he decided
that it was right, that it was the truth
OF God, and he became an ardent apOs-
tie Of the new reform. He procured q
set OF charts and went about lecturing
On this subject, as you all know, bis
zeal never abated to the day of his death
Those who have heard DR.. Gridley
lpreach will remember that the PrOvi-
dence of God was one Of his favorite
beliefs. 1t could not have been other
wise. From the very opening Of his
renewed life his sense of the divine
presence was very active. He saw God
in everything. To his wife one day he
exclaimed, "Why, if in cracking this
nut should strike my finger and break
a bone, I should think God was in it. +"
Riding from a visit to one of his pa
TENTS he was overtaken by sudden
shower. The peals of thunder and
flashes of lightning were terrific. But
on reaching home he related to his wife
his calm trust in God and enjoyment
of the scene. 81 saw God i'll the beau
tiful light" he said, "and felt such love
for him, that I almost wanted to be
taken up in one of the flashes into his
own glorious presence.