the purpose, in the first place, of cheering and encouraging those who are friendly to the movement, and are anxiously longing for its appearance amongst themselves; and in the next place, I cannot but feel that some plain and decided statements on the subject are much needed, in order to meet the misapprehensions and mitigate the prejudices of many well-disposed persons, who, judging of the matter only from a distance, or calling in merely the evidence of unsatisfactory and exceptional cases, are inclined to look upon the whole movement with suspicion, and to endeavour to account for it on natural grounds. What, then, are the facts of the case? What are those effects and results-those striking phenomena in the social world, which have so recently drawn the attention of both the British and foreign public to a small portion of Ireland's northern province?

Gradually, since the commencement of the present year, a change has been making itself more and more apparent among the lower classes of society; for although it commenced in a certain parish two years since, yet it is only since the beginning of the year 1859 that the attention of the public generally has been called to it. Since that time we find one individual, and then another, becoming suddenly and marvellously changed; struck down, in the first instance, under a deep sense of sin and of eternal danger (the body generally sympathising with the mind in a greater or less degree), and then presently the person becoming moved with a spirit of fervent prayer, and endued with a new power of utterance and fluency. After a period of deep terror and conflict, continuing in some instances for days, in other cases for hours, and sometimes for a shorter period, the promises of Scripture seem to make their way into the mind, and the person thus stricken passes, sometimes all at once, sometimes more gradually, into a state of settled peace and happiness, the intensity of which seems to be almost, if not fully, equal to the amount of antecedent misery. These sudden convictions, let it be observed, have not been at all confined to the occasions of public preaching. At prayer meetings more frequently, or during the singing of psalms, or in conversation with some Christian companion, or when working in the field, or walking along the road, or in thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon man, when the bodily senses are closed to all outward impulses, these spiritual awakenings are found to spring up suddenly in the mind, and to continue unmitigated there until met by the consolations and promises of the Gospel. Then the very appearance and countenance of the person who has been so changed, tells at once of something new and strange that has passed within. An unusual gleam of happiness is perceptible in the eye, which seems overflowing with something more than tongue can express, and certainly something more than mere ordinary causes could produce.

The strange chord of sympathy, moreover, that seems to bind these converts to each other, is one of the most striking features of the case; a sort of newly implanted affection, quite different in its nature and in its intensity from anything they had ever before felt, and certainly different from anything that the spectator has ever before witnessed.

The warm pressure of the hand, the fervent language of thanksgiving and praise, the affectionate appeal to others, the deep expressions of self-condemnation and abhorrence, together with the most happy confidence in the faithfulness of the Divine promises; the sensitive realisation of everything connected with eternity; the shrinking from sin; the casting away of former habits; the ardour with which every word of Scripture is attended to, and taken in either by the ear or by the eye; the greatly increased desire for all the ordinances and means of grace; the personal and self-denying labours undergone for the sake of others; and all this with wonderfully few, if any, instances of falling away or drawing back from first professions. These are all simple facts which meet our eye wherever we turn, facts which cannot be attempted to be denied, except by those who live at a distance, and are therefore ignorant of the whole matter; or else by those who, when they come, only examine into false cases, or turn in for a moment into some scene of extravagant excitement, and then go home and write letters against the whole movement.

Such, then, being the facts of the case, whatever inferences or conclusions different minds may draw from the same premises, I find, for my own part, a wonderful confirmation in these cases of the great cardinal truths and doctrines of Scripture. 1. The first thing brought before the mind, in such examples, is the reality of

hell. Dreams, visions, convictions, terrors, all point towards hell as the place whither the heedless sinner was hurrying, up to the very moment of his being arrested by awakening grace, and saved by the interposition of Christ.

2. The next truth strikingly brought out by these cases is the personal agency of Satan. Numbers of them seem to feel his actual presence with them almost sensibly, and have to struggle with him while trying to tear them from Christ, during the whole of their transition state from conviction to peace.

3. Thirdly, the worthlessness of mere morality to save the soul is very strongly taught by the confessions of those converted. Many of those most terribly convinced of sin, and of the necessity of pardon and a new heart, were persons against whom the world could have laid no charge. They acknowledge to you themselves that they were not open sinners, and that they were good and tolerable members of society in all the duties and relationships of life. Yet they were struck down with as deep terror and repentance as those who had been wild and profligate; consequently, their convictions have a much deeper source than those of a mere drunken man who becomes sober, or of an immoral man who becomes virtuous. They see sin at its fountain-head in the heart, and not in mere particular outward actions or habits.

4. The exclusiveness of Christ also, as the sole source and ground of salvation, is exemplified in a very striking manner here. Protestants, Roman Catholics, Arians, all cry out at once to the Saviour, and name no other name under heaven whereby they ever dream of being saved.

5. The genuineness of the Holy Spirit's operation is also evidenced very forcibly in some of the immediate effects produced, as, for instance, in what has just been mentioned, namely, the exclusiveness with which they lay hold of the name of Jesus, a circumstance which is in direct accordance with our Lord's prediction of the Comforter," He shall testify of me." John xv. 26.

The Spirit also manifests himself in these cases as a teacher of spiritual things in general, in accordance with the promise, "He shall teach you all things." John xiv. 26. For those truths, which have been preached over and over again for years to the same persons without a ray of spiritual enlightenment ever seeming to penetrate their minds, are now understood and embraced with an intelligence, and an eagerness and a love, exceeding anything that the most sanguine minister could have ventured to anticipate.

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Another part of the Holy Spirit's office is to " 'bring all things to❞ our remembrance." This is also practically exemplified here. However hopeless we may have been in our Sunday-school labours, feeling that all our attempts to impress Scripture upon the memory have been only like writing upon the sand, yet when the heart has been thus powerfully awakened, and the conscience convinced, and the spiritual eye opened, how copiously do long-forgotten passages rush into the mind; and words and verses, which have hitherto only knocked ineffectually at the door of the outward ear, are received and welcomed within, from whence they soon pour themselves forth in prayer, or praise, or exhortation from the tongue.

The working of the Spirit is also evidenced by the wonderful power of prayer and new gift of utterance, which seems to be imparted in these cases not only to the most illiterate, but even to young children. Those who are highly educated, and have long been habituated to such exercises, may well form a humbler estimate of their extempore powers when they hear such sounds as these proceeding from minds hitherto dull, and tongues hitherto dumb.

6. The last great cardinal truth which I will mention, as exemplified in these conversions is, that faith and works will always go together the one as the cause, the other as the effect. Prayer, praise, the reading of the Bible, anxiety and exertions for others, casting away sin, coming out from the world, standing firm against both its frowns and its smiles, mortifying the flesh, grappling with Satan, throwing off the vain and gaudy ornaments of dress, stifling the impulses and trampling on the memorials of long-cherished animosities-these are fruits and results of faith, which certainly do seem to savour very little of Antinomianism. And if ever a doubt could have been entertained as to religion being a living, working, active principle of life and conduct, these examples alone would be sufficient to refute it. Now, in conclusion, if I have not already trespassed too long, permit me to add one word with reference to the prejudices which are held, and

the aspersions which are uttered in some quarters against the character of this great movement. All attempts to account for it on mere natural principles are futile. Is it an epidemic-something working in the air? The "Prince of the Power of the Air" does not usually produce such orthodox results from his atmospheric experiments. But it may easily be resolved, it is said, into sympathetic exciteAre souls saved by "sympathy?" Is a change equal to that of the creation of light, or of calling a world out of chaos, produced merely by one nervous mind acting upon another?

ment.

Again, we are told that such a movement has its origin in nothing more than the natural excitability of the Irish character. If this be so, why has it originated in that especial part of Ireland where the population are half Scotch? Not in the south or west, or in those places where they are purely Celtic-but in the extreme north, where, owing to the reason mentioned, they possess a larger amount of the unexcitable element of character than in any other province. If it be said that exciting scenes, and sermons, and prayer-meetings are the producing cause, how then are we to account for such cases as these? A person was struck down during the reading of the Apostles' Creed in the Church of England service. There is nothing very exciting in the Apostles' Creed, nothing very much calculated to evoke hysteria. And this is only one out of numberless instances of cases daily occurring during the Church of England service. Many are affected in the quiet Sunday-school class; many on the road-side, in the field, and in their own houses; and at a small religious meeting in a cottage, in a mountainous parish of the county of Derry, no less than nine persons were struck down with deep and genuine convictions, while the rector of the parish, a sober-minded and experienced Christian minister, was cautioning his hearers against identifying bodily manifestations with the work of conversion.

That there are painful circumstances attending this movement, it is impossible to deny. Pamphlets have been published-clever, and eloquent, and scientific; letters have been written, and sermons have been preached, especially by persons at a distance, in order to enlighten the public mind on this great subject. We read of hysteria, for instance, and hear many strange and interesting things about it, especially its counterfeit symptoms of religion. But whatever of important and cautionary truth such treatises may contain (and I do not at all depreciate them), yet I only turn away from them as much confirmed as ever as to the reality of the movement. Does it disprove the fact that the tide is going out, or coming in, because a counter-current may be pointed out along the shore? or are we to conclude that there is no money in the Bank, because there are a number of bad notes, and light sovereigns, and copper shillings to be found there?

So in this instance, supposing that we meet with false cases, fanatical cases, cases of paralysis, of derangement, of hysteria, of catalepsy (and these are only the exception), what do they prove, even if they were more numerous than they are? Nothing but the truism that evil will always be found mixed up with good.

The work, we rejoice to state, is still spreading; and it seems probable that it will cover, at least, the whole of the province of Ulster. The fact of the locality chosen in the Divine wisdom, as suggested by the foregoing statement, deserves special notice. The people of that province are among the last to be led away by enthusiasm: they are every way superior to the bulk of the inhabitants of the other provinces. Ulster was originally peopled very mainly from Scotland, and hence in all points they strikingly resemble, and prove themselves every way equal to, the English and the Scotch. Such is the region where the work began, and now spreads. The power which subdued that will easily subdue the rest of Ireland.

The work is remaining as pure as it was at the outset; as in all preceding movements of the kind, there may have been portions of alloy manifested. The tares and the wheat may have been mingled together. But what of that? Is it not a matter of course? In the present case, from the first, there have been strange things mixed up with the work; but it is not certain that even these things do not bear the impress of

heaven.

There is clearly no connexion, however, between what is called the "manifestations," and the conversion of men; the bulk of the converts, we believe, have not been the subjects of them. One thing, however, is certain; these "manifestations" have been the means of awakening attention to the Gospel of Christ to an extraordinary extent. In the absence of these, it may be doubted if hundreds of persons would have heard it where thousands have listened with deep anxiety. These manifestations seem to occupy a place in some degree analogous to that of Miracles in the first ages. Those mighty displays of Divine power in the persons of the apostles did not convert men, but they served to command the attention of mankind, as well as to demonstrate the heavenly origin of the Gospel. In harmony with this, these "manifestations" in Ulster may, perhaps, be viewed as the lowest species of supernatural influence, something between the ordinary and the miraculous. As to the public judgment, there is a vast preponderance of opinion in Ireland approaching to unanimity on the side of the Divine origin and character of the movement. Never before was there such a scrutiny of a spiritual work in these realms as that which, for months past, has been going forward in the north of Ireland. The way in which this has been carried on greatly redounds to the honour of the present generation of Christians. Eminent ministers, of all denominations, in Great Britain, and even some from other countries, have visited Ulster for the express purpose of investigation. There they have conferred with the pastors, mixing freely with the people, attending and often taking part in the public meetings, and with one voice they profess to have "seen the grace of God," and to have been filled with gladness. Some of them, indeed, have written, and published their opinions to the world; others have delivered their sentiments in the hearing of large assemblies collected expressly for that purpose; others have addressed copious letters to the public journals; and still more have borne witness in the pulpit to the people of their charge. These devout men went to Ulster without prejudice; they were simply concerned to know the truth; and in the simplicity of their hearts they have recorded the things they heard, and saw, and felt.

What would our fathers have given for similar treatment? How different was the state of public feeling and opinion in the days of Wesley and Whitefield! The difference of circumstances, however, has doubtless much contributed to this improved state of things; in the middle of the last century, with the exception of the venerable Berridge, the work stood exclusively connected with the labours of Wesley and Whitefield, the former deemed by multitudes a subtle jesuit, and the latter a raving enthusiast ! These noble men were viewed as wandering stars, men without a dwelling-place; and as such they were feared and shunned, opposed and condemned ! Floods of calumny and lies were poured out on their honoured heads! But in the north of Ireland it was altogether otherwise. There the mighty movement originated, not with strange men, preachers as they were deemed of new doctrines," ," but with the staid and settled ministers of the land, men long tried, and well known for their solid sense, sound doctrine, and Christian sobriety of deportment, and enjoying to the full the confidence both of their own, and other ecclesiastical bodies.

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Nor was that all; the wonderful power was confined to no one denomination; it extended to all holding evangelical sentiments. None, therefore, was left to envy another; whether the thing was for good, or for evil, they all shared, and shared alike in it. This circumstance greatly

contributed to candour, to harmony, and to mutual co-operation. Had it been confined to any one man, or any single body, the case would have been much otherwise, and a very different class of feelings would have been called into play. This happy circumstance, then, which wrought so benignly at home, excited a corresponding effect abroad. The Divine baptism resting on the one church in all its sections, the sympathy abroad has been universal, or as largely so as is to be expected in the present imperfect state of human nature, where taste, temperament, and circumstances have so much to do with the formation of opinions.

Happily, it is no longer a question, whether the Divine baptism is likely to extend to Great Britain; it has done so already. The dew from on high had been gently descending throughout the land before anything was heard of the Irish Revival. In the east of Scotland more particularly, the power of the Spirit was seen and felt. But there the work had none of the peculiarities of the Irish type: while intense, it was on what we may call a far lower scale. The first display of the former was on the west coast of Scotland, opposite the Irish shore, and the fire seemed to have been carried thither from Ireland. The following is the recorded account of the matter :

The Rev. Mr. Paterson, Dunoon, made the following statement on Saturday at the prayer meeting:-"Last night I was present at a meeting in Provost Birkmyre's store, Port Glasgow, where there would be about 2,000 people present. I found Mr. Fraser, of Gourock, addressing the meeting, and it was not long before ten or fifteen persons were struck down and carried out, just as I had seen in Ireland. The meeting was dismissed, but those who were anxious about their souls, forming a great part of the audience, remained behind. I addressed them again for some time, observing them to be eager to hear the Word of God, and while speaking numbers were stricken down; in one place three, in another four and five, and so on. At the close of the meeting, Mr. Paterson made the following

additional statement to those who had time to remain :

"A gentleman from Coleraine has been honoured to lead the first person in PortGlasgow to Christ. He came over a few days ago to see his two sons in PortGlasgow, feeling moved to go over and tell them what great things had been done in Coleraine, and to urge them to flee from the wrath to come. He had a meeting on Sabbath morning in his son's kitchen, and a good number attended. He had read the Word of God, prayed, and gone away, when a girl was suddenly taken ill. Those who were present thought it was some illness of the body, but it was far deeper than that-it was in the soul. She began to cry for mercy, and they sent for the Coleraine gentleman, and it was not long before she found peace, and began to rejoice in Jesus Christ as her Saviour. The gentleman's son began to see the meaning of this, and cried, 'Oh father, what must I do?' 'What is wrong?' he was asked. Oh, I am such a sinner!' He seemed to have got a deep sense of his sins, and-bent down to the ground-he cried for mercy. There was a meeting after this, and during the prayer a young man staggered and fell all his length on the floor. He was in dreadful agony of soul, but, three or four hours after, he was found with his hands clasped, and tears in his eyes, saying to others, 'Oh, if you knew the precious Saviour I have found, you would come to Him too.' The news spread through the town on Monday and Tuesday, producing great excitement, and on Friday there was a large meeting in Provost Birkmyre's store, where Mr. Fraser, of Gourock, preached. On Thursday, there were a great many cases, and during the singing, numbers were carried out in great distress of mind. The people were much agitated, and some even ran out of the meeting in fear. On returning from Coleraine, where I had heard of what was going on, I went down to PortGlasgow early yesterday morning, and found a girl in great distress of soul, and crying for mercy. I was not long in before the gentleman from Coleraine came and took me to another case, and another, and another. I just thought I was in Sandy Row, in Belfast. I went back in the evening, and the place of meeting was crammed. There must have been more than 2,000 present. One cried out, and then another, and another, and some of the cries were as piercing as anything I ever heard in