dition! When I was twelve years old my father held a revival at our schoolhouse, and he was led of the spirit to make a special effort to save the children. And how he did succeed! More than half the converts was children six to fourteen years old, four from our house, and me amongst them. I was jest twelve years, two months, and two days old when I found the Savior.

"But though my conversion was sound, I soon got lukewarm and careless again. Youthful and sinful pleasures drawed me away from the Savior's side. I kept my standing in the church, but the fervor of piety was not in me. I went to parties-not to dances or such like hellish places, but to gatherings for fun and frolic. But I always went home from them places feeling bad. My holt on grace was weakened. I never had no such feeling after going to a class-meeting, or a prayer-meeting, or a donation. So I drifted on for seven years. Then I passed through a spell of doubt, such as lots of Christians have, especially if they get into chronic lukewarmness. Stirring up doubt in you is about the commonest and surest way the Devil has of working. And how contrary the human heart is, how ready to believe the Devil's lies rather than God's truth! I doubted the Bible, doubted Christ, doubted everything, and was almost ready to give up God and heaven and live for this world alone. But, lucky for me, a revival brought me round again.

"I tell you, whether it's the sinner, or the backslider, or the lazy church-member you want to get at, there ain't nothing like the revival. It's through men's hearts and not their heads that you've got to save them. I don't believe any man was ever converted jest through sober arguing about the truth of Christianity. You can stuff a man's head with argument till you crack his skull, but you can't convert him till you get him into a healthy fear of hell and damnation, and get the thinking all out of him. Book learning won't do it, neither. Some of the stirringest revivalists hain't any book learning at all. I know one that can't even read the Bible-has to have his wife read it to him, and then he learns his texts by heart. But he's got the knowledge that passeth all understanding, the knowledge of God.

Human learning's often a hendrance to saving souls. It makes a man preach to the head instead of the heart. It

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makes men think instead of feel. It keeps them from getting the faith that works miracles. Did you ever think how many of the early apostles and martyrs was ignorant? But jest see what faith and power they did have! The world hain't seen nothing like it sence. The Bible's got into it all the knowledge worth going acrosst the road after. The man that knows the Bible best is the most knowing man, whuther he was ever inside of a schoolhouse or not. I once heard Brother Hander say he believed that if all the books in the world was destroyed but the Bible, it would work to the glory of God and the salvation of souls, and hasten the day when God's kingdom shall come on earth; and I hain't a mite of doubt about it.

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'Well, my doubts and troubles went on two weeks after I was brought under conviction again. The Devil was at my elbow all the while, worrying me so I couldn't get to Christ. For the last three days I didn't eat enough to keep a sparrow alive. I got completely broke down, so the spirit of God could work on my soul. Finally, one night when my heart and head was jest ready to burst, all at once a voice said to me, as plain as I am talking to you: 666 Faith!'

Jest that one word. I jumped up, and there on the wall I saw a star, as plain as I see this lamp. Then I understood.

"Faith,' I cried, 'faith is what I want! Faith is the star that will guide me to the cross!'

"Down I went, and prayed as I never had before. I got weaker and weaker, but, thank God, my faith was growing all the time, till I got so I could jest whisper over and over Jacob's prayer, I will not let thee go except thou bless me.' At last the blessing came, and what joy! Again I heard that voice, and this time it said:

"Go and preach the Gospel!' "Again I saw that bright star. Then the power of God overcome me, and I fell senseless. When I come to, the sunlight was streaming in on me; and, praise God, the Son of Righteousness was lighting my soul!

"From that day God has staid with me. I've had my ups and downs, but no more Devilish doubts. Sometimes I've got so near God I've felt I almost had power to work miracles. Not that I've b'en free from the slings of the Devil. I could give you a hundred cases, but here's jest

one: Two years ago the horse I've rode for eight years balked with me. Three times within a mile he stopped and wouldn't go. After the third tussle it suddenly come over me what the trouble was—it was the Devil in him. I drawed myself up and shouted, Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him!' Quicker'n a wink Jerry started on as though nothing had happened, and he hain't never balked sence.

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"Now I want to say, if any of you is ever called to preach, don't hang back. You may think you hain't got much gumption for preaching, and the folks around may think so too; but God knows.

"Now, you blinded sinners, you Calvinist reprobates, or whatever you are, in the name of God I call upon you to come to Jesus. Pray the prayer of Habakkuk, 'In wrath remember mercy.' Go down on your knees in the dirt and beg. Flee from the wrath to come. Another year, another day, and it may be too late. Death stalks through the land, hankering to cut you down, young and old. To some he may come on the battlefield; to others in your every-day work; to others as a thief in the night, without giving you one waking moment to grasp the horns of the altar-and send you one and all down to everlasting damnation.

"That's all now. But before the meeting is over I shall have more to say to these young converts. Let us sing." Thereupon Mr. Gurley started the hymn:

"Plunged in a gulf of dark despair."

CHAPTER 4

HIGLEY DOOM ATTEMPTS A MIRACLE

OBSERVING that Higley Doom was hitching about with an evident inclination to take the floor, Mr. Shore headed him off by nodding to Joshua Granger to speak next.

Joshua responded to the signal.

Brethring an' sisters an' sinners," he began, "I hain't a-goin' to 'xhort much t'-night. There's them here thet's a sight more cap'ble 'n I be to 'xpound the Word o' God an' call dyin' sinners to the cross. I jes' wan' to say one

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thing. We've b'en workin' here together fer more'n a month, an' I'm glad to say we've got so'thin' to show fer it. But there's more souls yit to be saved in this commun'ty. Mebby somebody else kin say the word thet'll wake 'em up better'n I kin. What I wan' to say is this: These meetin's hez b'en runnin' a good while, an' it looks to me 's though t'-night's 'bout the last real stirrin' meetin' we're likely t' hev. The meetin's 'll be kep' up fer a few nights yit, to rake up the scatterin's, ez 'twere, an' help convictid souls to fin' the Savior. But the roads is gittin' too bad an' the weather too oncerting to keep comin' here ev'ry night much longer. O how I wish I c'd git ev'ry onsaved soul in this house to-night to feel thet now is the excepted time an' now the day o' salvation, an' thet ye can't be sure o' ever hevin' a nuther opportunity."

Joshua returned to his seat, and Mr. Shore at once walked to the edge of the platform. For fully half a minute he stood there in silence, looking the assembly over as well as the dim light permitted, as if trying to establish personal communication with each individual. Then, in a voice low, tender, almost quivering with feeling, he began:

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Brethren and sisters, and dear unconverted friends, it is with anxiety and sadness that I come before you to-night. Brother Granger has already anticipated in part what I intended to say. I feel as though in a sense this is my last opportunity of exhorting you with much hope of success. For two years and a half I have lived among you. A few months more and I shall go forth, perhaps never to see you again this side of Jordan. Shall I see you on the other side of the river? That is the question that comes to me tonight with awful force, and the question I want you all to solemnly ask yourselves. I don't mean that I am not going to preach to you again. God willing, I expect to do so many times yet, and I trust that what I say hereafter may not be said in vain, but that it may sink into your hearts and, like good seed, spring up, grow, and bear fruit of righteousness after I am gone from amongst you. I have seen not a few of these dear people converted during my ministry here; not that I would take all the credit for the human agency in this good work, for perhaps Brother Granger and the brethren and sisters who have labored with him in this part of the Master's vineyard have been even more instrumental than I in bringing it about. Every one of these con

versions, as far as I know, has been the result of seasons of revival like this. And yet, as I look around, I see many, many dear friends, men, women, and children, still out of the ark of safety, still wandering in the paths of sin. My heart yearns for them, even as a father for his children.

"To-night I realize with unspeakable anxiety that unless. this revival, nay, this very evening, shall witness their start on the road to heaven, my mission, as far as they are concerned, may be ended. As Brother Granger has said, this series of meetings has continued about as long as the weather and the other conditions will permit. I have always found that after a certain stage has been reached in a revival it is almost useless to continue the meetings longer. By repeatedly rejecting the promptings of the Holy Spirit, or putting off the day of salvation, the hearts of the unconverted become hardened, so that revival preaching and exhortation no longer make an impression. I feel as though this stage has about been reached in these meetings. I feel sure that there are many here to-night who are almost persuaded in their hearts to seek God. If they neglect this opportunity, when will they get another? or if they do get another, will they be more ready then than now? Maybe the Holy Spirit, grieved at their stubbornness, will forsake them for ever. Anyhow, summer toil and the crowding out of spiritual thoughts by worldly cares will. stifle the religious impulses that now stir them.

"In all likelihood this is my last evening with you during this the last series of revival meetings before I go to another charge. This thought it is that so fills my heart with sadness at the sight of these unsaved souls."

In this strain Mr. Shore continued exhorting for some time, urging the young men especially to seek religion at once in view of the fact that the next winter's revival at the Sugar Hill schoolhouse might find many of their accustomed places vacant, while they would be far away fighting for their country, if not already filling a soldier's grave. Then he closed with an invitation for sinners to come forward.

"Will you not then to-night," he said, "when all things are so favorable, accept the mercy and loving forgiveness of God and enter the army of the Lord? O that I could make you understand how peaceful, how joyful is life in Christ! Let us all rise and join in singing, and while we