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ness in the performance of duty was another beautiful trait. Industry, patience, and perseverance were very early brought into requisition, and served a good purpose in laying a foundation for the successive periods of after life." In this letter, too, is seen already the dawn of his thorough Americanism, and of his faculty for description. The sleighs and sleigh-rides of a Pennsylvania winter, the sled with himself and George in the harness, "going at full speed, with Frank on the sleigh holding little John on his knee”- -are not these to the life? This first letter also shows us Alfred among his brothers. Alas! too soon the buoyant lad, whose heart knew no thrill except of gladness as he guided the sports of his gleeful brothers, was to stand among them an elder brother and a thoughtful counselor. But let the vail rest, for we are yet some way from the awful darkness, and have many important and pleasant steps to take before we reach it.

In this winter of 1838 Alfred made another first effort, of greater moment than his first essay at "epistolary writing." The deep religious seriousness which he had felt in Baltimore had not at any time wholly subsided, and now, under the power of the Holy Spirit, was vividly renewed. "There (Carlisle) I became," he has recorded, "the subject of powerful conviction. Often I have risen from my meal and sought some lonely place where I might weep on account of sin. Frequently I have lain awake on my bed, fearing to sleep, lest I might wake up amid the darkness and horrors of an eternal Hell. Sin became a burden too intolerable to be borne." This is strong language for a youth of ten years, and for one who had been uniformly affectionate and obedient; and yet such an experience even for a youth in those days was hardly exceptional; but though it might have been, in his case it is not surprising in view of the sharp and definite features his religious character always assumed. Here, in the beginning of the spiritual life, is the same positiveness which afterward characterized his maturity. "Sin

ALFRED'S CONVERSION.

61

is real, Hell is real; I am a sinner; I am in danger of its pun. ishment." Such was the revelation the Holy Ghost made in his conscience, and he felt and acted accordingly. It may not be necessary that every youth should feel thus deeply in order to become regenerate, but for Alfred Cookman it was the very best preparation he could have had for that clear and definite religious experience which subsequently distinguished him. Fortunately he has left a narration of his conversion, which I give entire:

"During the month of February, 1838, while a protracted meeting was in progress in Carlisle, I concluded now is the accepted time,' ' now is the day of salvation.' One night, when a social meeting was held at the house of a friend, I struggled with my feelings, and, although it was a fearful cross, I urged my way to a bench which was specially appropriated for penitents. My heart convulsed with penitential sorrow, tears streaming down my cheeks, I said, 'Jesus, Jesus, I give myself away; 'tis all that I can do.' For some hours I sought, without, however, realizing the desire of my heart. The next evening I renewed the effort. The evening after that the service was held in the church; the altar was crowded with seeking souls, principally students of Dickinson College; there seemed to be no place for me, an agonized child. I remember I found my way into one corner of the church. Kneeling all alone, I said, 'Precious Saviour, Thou art saving others, oh, wilt Thou not save me?' As I wept and prayed and struggled, a kind hand was laid on my head. I opened my eyes and found it was a Mr. James Hamilton, a prominent member and an elder in the Presbyterian Church in Carlisle. He had observed my interest, and obeying the promptings of a kind, sympathizing Christian heart, he came to encourage and help me. I remember how sweetly he unfolded the nature of faith and the plan of salvation. I said, 'I will believe, I do believe; I now believe that Jesus is my Saviour; that He saves me-yes, even now;' and immediately,

"The opening heavens did round me shine

With beams of sacred bliss;

And Jesus showed His mercy mine,

And whispered I am His.'

"I love to think of it now; it fills my heart unutterably full of gratitude, love, and joy. 'Happy day; oh, happy day, when Jesus washed my sins away!'"

It will thus be seen that the great change wrought in his heart, as presented in his own language in mature life, was as decided in the evidences of its thoroughness, as were his convictions for sin.

The altar was thronged with older persons, mostly students, whose presence and importance very naturally engrossed attention; he was only a little boy; his feelings might be regarded as the result of a sympathetic excitement, and not worthy of especial notice; but he understood himself, and oppressed with sin and bent upon relief, "he found himself in one corner of the church, all alone." Ah! my little brother, God's Spirit was doing a genuine work in your young heart. Your great Creator had also put iron in your "make-up" when He formed you. There were hours coming when again "all alone with your Saviour" you must stand; hours so bitter in their loneliness that only Jesus and self-reliance can keep you firm to duty and give you victory. Although Alfred was off in the corner, God sent him a kind friend who opened the kingdom of God to him. There are always some great souls who can understand the hearts of little children, and have faith enough to anticipate the harvests which will come of tiny seeds. But Alfred had good companionship among the youths brought to God in this revival. The great Head of the Church was electing others who, like himself, were to be marked and useful men.

CHAPTER IV.

REV. GEORGE G. COOKMAN IN THE CAPITAL OF THE NATION.THE YOUTH OF ALFRED.

THE time had come-spring of 1838-when Mr. Cookman must again remove, and go he knew not whither, at the appointment of the Episcopacy. As intimated in the letter already quoted, Philadelphia, Charleston, and Washington wished his services. To the latter city, the national capital, he was sent; and the cozy college town was exchanged for the political centre of the nation, and now upon a broader scene the eloquent and devout preacher was to make his appearance. The two years at Carlisle were invaluable to the man who henceforth must stand before "kings." Two more years, and four or six more, would have been valuable to Alfred. It was hard for him to leave the "stately grammar school," with its "strict discipline," and to give up the prospect of a speedy entrance into the walls of the college, a prize so coveted by every true "'prep;" but when the itinerant wheel rolls, the schools of boys must stand out of the way, and so Alfred must go with father and mother and brothers; he was too young to be left behind, and he must do the best he can in the pursuit of "literature" in Washington City. Mr. Cookman was stationed at Wesley Chapel, then a new charge, comprising in its membership many of the most cultivated and progressive Methodists of the city.

The proximity of his church to the Capitol rendered it convenient of access to the members of Congress and to strangers visiting Washington during the sessions. His ministry began at once to excite attention; soon the chapel was thronged with hearers from all sections of the country, irrespective of denomi

national connections, and his reputation was promptly established as a first-class pulpit orator. It may be safely affirmed that no minister ever entered Washington who maintained from first to last a greater ascendency over the popular heart. Men and women of every grade of society, of every station in the government, were equally charmed by his forcible and beautiful eloquence. Senators, heads of Departments and their clerks, rich and poor, the littérateur and the illiterate man, the slaveholder and the slave, all alike were captured by his magical tongue, and he swayed their hearts as with the wand of a magician-with "a warrior's eye beneath a philosopher's brow," his spell was irresistible.

Mr. Cookman had a reputation for eloquence before his advent in Washington. This undoubtedly helped him to an expectant hearing; but, if he had not possessed genuine power, his failure must have been proportionately great, as the previous expectations aroused had been high. To sustain a reputation is proof of real ability. In most instances, however, his power was attested by his signal influence over men who, outside of the Methodist Church, had never heard of him, or who went first to listen to him with comparative indifference. Oftentimes the casual listener, who had come to church to worship, to hear any body, and who was not acquainted either with the name or the personal appearance of Mr. Cookman, was so strongly impressed as to wish to hear him constantly ever afterward. As an example illustrative of this, and also showing how Mr. Cookman came to be elected Chaplain to Congress, I give here part of a sketch from the Hon. O. H. Smith, then United States Senator from Indiana, which appeared in the Indianapolis Journal soon after Mr. Cookman's death:

"It was Sabbath morning. The last of the city church-bells was ringing as I left my boarding-house on Capitol Hill, at Washington City, for Wesley Chapel. It was quarterly meeting. The preacher had closed his sermon, when there arose at the desk a slender, spare man, about five feet eight,

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