Middletown transcript., 1920-02-28
CAPT. GYPSY Smith
The Boy Who Lived Intense in
Scotland With His Parents
A WONDERFUL EVANGELIST

Gypsy Pat Smith is not the Gypsy
Smith who has been engaged in evange-
listic work for many years in many
countries, nor, as far as we know, he
any relation to him, only as another
member of the great Smith family.
Gypsy Pat Smith is about twenty-six
years of age and has been engaged in
revival work for the past nine years.
He has been holding evangelistic SER
vices in DR.. Cadman's Congree ational
church, of Brooklyn, N. Y, and in the
Hanson Place Methodist Episcopal
Church, during the past two months.
Thousands have been brought into the
kingdom of Christ during his ministry
in this country.
The boy lived the gypsy tent life in
Scotland with his father and mother and
brothers and sister. He had buC little
education. He says he used to find"
things-not steal them; once he 'found'
horse which he dyed peculiar color
and then sold it to the owner. The un-
suspecting owner did not discover the
fraud until, taking the painted beast to
pasture, saw he was one horse short.
Many times Gypsy Pat got thrashing
from his father and sent supperless to
bed because he failed to get much in his
begging and stealing tours. While still
a young man, he ran away to Glasgow
and became ringleader in a group of
young men called the ''Forty-nine
Gang" One day crony Of Pats in
vited him to 90 to the Moody meeting;
when asked if he was Christian by
one of the workers, he replied. Il am. y
He did SO to keep from being laughed
at. It was the first time anyone had
ever asked him that question; he had
hardly known the name Of Christ.
He says that that night he sobbed
himself asleep thinking about Jesus.
The next night in the tent hall he stood
up with tears flooding his cheeks and
exclaimed, Sink or swim. hard or
easy, rough or smooth, l will live for
Christ from this night" The happy
boy ran all the three miles home to tell
his mother the good news. "Mum.
he cried out, "I've found Christ; I'm
saved; l belong to Jesus" Eighteen
months later, with his arms around his
mothers neck, he said, "Mum," isn't
it about time you started for heaven,
too? - Weeping, she knelt by his side,
praying until she found the same
Saviour. Gypsy's father was incorrigi-
BILE; he could not endure the loss of
Pats earnings, SO he drove him away
from home.
While working in Glasgow for great
manufacturing firm, 1T the age Of
seventeen, he preached his first sermon,
telling the story Of his conversion to a
thousand men in the noon hour. Soon
after, he began to conduct flaming
missions all over his native land, going
to England and Ireland. At the open
ing of the great war, he enlisted; on
AJuly 10Th, 1919, he went over the top
with his regiment. Out of 826 men
and % officers, only ia men and 5
officers came back, the rest lay dead
1pon the battlefield. He was twice
bounded and for nineteen months was
b different hospitals and endured nine
perations. While soldier, his preach
4g to the troops brought hundreds to
hrist. Crippled though he was, he
entered the army and Went over
top many more times. At the
)se of the war, he again began his
inistry in England and recently came
10 this country. The crowds in the
lBrooklyn churches were so great tina,
meetings were held in the large Sunday
School rooms, preliminary to the
auditorium assemblies.
Who could estimate the good accom-
pllshed by that Christian worker who
said to this outcast sinner in a reviva
meeting, Are you Christian z
What if all the members of all churches
in this community would say to theil
friends and acquaintances, Are yol
not ready to give your heart to Jesus
during this Lenten revival season !?
Then truly all the churches would b
filed with inquirers after the life ever
asting.
White Rose Minstrels