แ ners; exhorting them day and night to turn to the "Lord." ****

P. H.

It is worthy of notice, that a work by which God intended to bring down the pride and loftiness of man, should begin in small children. By this it was manifest who were the furthest lost from God, and what course must be taken, in order to return.

At a sacrament, near Flemingsburgh, the last Sabbath in April, the power of God was very visible among the people through the whole of the occasion; under which there was much weeping, trembling and convulsion of soul: But what was the most solemn and striking, was the case of two little girls, who in the time of meeting, cried out in great distress. They both continued for some time praying and crying for mercy, till one of them received a comfortable hope; and then turning to the other, cried out "O! you little sinner, come to Christ-take hold of his promise!-trust in him !---he is able to save to the uttermost! O! I have found peace to my soul! O! the precious Saviour! come just as you are! he will take away the stony heart and give you a heart of flesh! You can't make yourself any better-Just give up your heart to Christ, now! You are not a greater sinner than me! You need not wait another moment!" Thus she continued exhorting, until her little companion received a ray from heaven, that produced a sudden and sensible change: then rising with her in her arms, she cried out in a most affecting manner-"O here is another star of light!" These children were perhaps nine or ten years old. The Sabbath following about twenty persons were struck in the congregation of Cabbin-Creek, Mason county. Among the first who cried out in distress, was a girl about twelve years old. Their convictions of their lost state, (from a sudden opening of that pure holiness to which sin stands directly opposed) were quick as the lightning's flash; and came with such weight, that had they not, in some way or other, opened their case, they must have sunk into

the horrors of despair. It was dire necessity which at first obliged them to expose themselves to public view, as objects of pity; for every thing of the kind, was looked upon by the generality, even of professors, as wild enthusiasm, or the fruits of a disordered brain.

There were however a few who understood the disorder, and were ready to fly to their relief and proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that were bound.

And here a new scene was opened, while some trembled like one in a fit of the ague; wept or cried out, lamenting their distance from God, and exposedness to his wrath; others were employed in praying with them, encouraging them to believe on the Son of God-to venture upon his promise-give up their wicked rebellious heart, just as it was; for God to take it away, and give them a heart of flesh;-singing hymns, and giving thanks to God, for the display of his power, without any regard to former rules of order. At this, some were offended and withdrew from the assembly, determined to oppose it, as a work of the wicked one. But all their objections, only tended to open the way for the true nature and spirit of the work to shine out; and encourage the subjects of it, to set out with warmer zeal to promote it. Accordingly a meeting was appointed a few evenings after; to which a crowd of awakened souls flocked, and spent the whole night in singing hymns, praying, and exhorting one another, &c. At this meeting, one man was struck down and lay for about an hour, in the situation above mentioned. This put the matter beyond dispute, that the work was supernatural; and the outcry which it raised against sin, confirmed a number in the belief that it was from above.

From small beginnings, it gradually spread. The news of these strange operations flew abroad, and attracted many to come and see; who were convinced, not only from seeing and hearing, but feeling; and carried home the testimony, that it was the living work of God. This stirred up others, and brought out still greater multitudes. And these strange exercises still encreasing,

and having no respect to any stated hours of worship, it was found expedient to encamp on the ground, and continue the meeting day and night. To these encampments the people flocked in hundreds and thousands, on foot, on horseback, and in waggons and other carriages.

At first appearance, those meetings exhibited nothing to the spectator, but a scene of confusion that could scarce be put into human language. They were generally opened with a sermon; near the close of which, there would be an unusual out-cry; some bursting forth into loud ejaculations of prayer, or thanksgiving for the truth: Others breaking out in emphatical sentences of exhortation: Others flying to their careless friends, with tears of compassion, beseeching them to turn to the Lord. Some struck with terror, and hastening through the croud to make their escape, or pulling away their relations.--Others, trembling, weeping and crying out for the Lord Jesus to have mercy upon them fainting and swooning away, till every appearance of life was gone, and the extremities of the body assumed the coldness of a dead corpse.-Others surrounding them with melodious songs, or fervent prayers for their happy resurrection, in the love of Christ.Others collecting into circles around this variegated scene, contending with arguments for and against. And under such appearances, the work would continue for several days and nights together.

I shall now mention particularly, some of the first meetings of this kind, with a few concomitant circumstances; from which the work took a general spread in the year 1801.

The first was held at Cabin-Creek. It began on the 22d of May, and continued four days and three nights. The scene was awful beyond description; the falling, crying out, praying, exhorting, singing, shouting, &c. exhibited such new and striking evidences of a supernatural power, that few, if any, could escape without being affected. Such as tried to run from it, were frequently struck on the way, or impelled by some alarming signal to return: and so powerful was the evidence

on all sides, that no place was found for the obstinate sinner to shelter himself but under the protection of prejudiced and bigotted professors. No circumstance at this meeting appeared more striking, than the great numbers that fell on the third night; and to prevent their being trodden under foot by the multitude, they were collected together and laid out in order, on two squares of the meeting-house; which, like so many dead corpses, covered a considerable part of the floor. There were persons at this meeting, from Caneridge, Concord, Eagle-Creek, and other neighboring congregations, who partook of the spirit of the work, which was a particular means of its spreading.

The next general camp-meeting was held at Concord, in the county of Bourbon, about the last of May, or beginning of June. The number of people was supposed to be about 4,000, who attended on this occasion. There were present seven Presbyterian ministers, four of whom were opposed to the work and spoke against it until the fourth day about noon, the evidence then became so powerful, that they all professed to be convinced that it was the work of God; and one of them addres sed the assembly with tears, acknowledging that notwithstanding they had long been praying to the Lord to pour out his spirit, yet when it came they did not know it, but wickedly opposed the answer of their own prayers. On this occasion, no sex nor color, class nor description, were exempted from the pervading influence of the spirit; even from the age of eight months to sixty years, there were evident subjects of this marvellous operation.

The meeting continued five days and four nights; and after the people generally scattered from the ground, numbers convened in different places and continued the exercise much longer. And even where they were not collected together, these wonderful operations continued among every class of people and in every situation; in their houses and fields, and in their daily employments, falling down and crying out under conviction, or singing and shouting with unspeakable joy, were so common, that the whole country round about, secmed to be leavened with the spirit of the work.

The next camp meeting was at Eagle-Creek, Adams county, Ohio. It began June 5, and continued four days and three nights. The number of people there was not so great, as the country was new, but the work was equally powerful according to the number. At this meeting the principal leading characters in that place fully embraced the spirit of the work, which laid a permanent foundation for its continuance and spread in that quarter.

The next general meeting was at Pleasant Point, Kentucky, which equalled if not surpassed any that had been before. Here, the Christian minister, so called; the common professor; the professed deist and debauchee, were forced to take one common lot among the wounded, and confess with equal candor, that hitherto they had been total strangers to the religion of Jesus. From this meeting, the work was spread extensively through Bourbon, Fayette, and other neighbouring counties, and was carried by a number of its subjects to the south side of Kentucky, where it found a permanent residence in the hearts of many.

The general meeting at Indian creek, Harrison county, began the 24th of July, and continued about five days and nights. To this meeting, the subjects of the work were generally collected from all quarters, and abundantly strengthened each other in the promiscuous exercises of prayer, exhortation, singing, shouting and leaping for joy. But there was very little appearance of that power which strikes conviction to the heart of the sinner, until the third day about two o'clock in the afternoon. A boy from appearance about twelve years old, retired from the stand in time of preaching under a very extraordinary impression, and having mounted a log at some distance, and raising his voice in a very affecting manner, he attracted the main body of the people in a few minutes. With tears streaming from his eyes, he cried aloud to the wicked, warning them of their danger, denouncing their certain doom if they persisted in their sins, expressing his love to their souls, and desire that they would turn to the Lord and be saved

C