Preparations for the Ministry

PEEPAEATIONS FOE TEE MINISTRY — THEOLOGICAL CLASS — FIEST ATTEMPT AT EXHOETATION — VISIT TO PHILADELPHIA — GENEBAL ASSEMBLY — GEEAT MEN OF THE DAY — EETUEN.

THE time had arrived when it was natural and almost necessary for Mr. Alexander to choose a profession for life. The subject had been forced upon his mind during all the months of his religious inquiry. At the Sweet Springs he conversed freely on this point with Mr. LeGrand. The ministry of the gospel was clearly his choice, but he conceived himself altogether unfit for a work of such importance. Mr. Legrand however urged him to engage at once in the study of divinity. After the disappointment experienced in regard to Princeton, he privately read from time to time such books as he could procure, and so far as his health permitted. “I doubted my call,” says he,” to this high and holy office. The only other pursuit which entered my thoughts was that of agriculture; and I pleased myself with the thought of retirement and escape from the awful responsibilities of the ministry. I still however went on with

my studies. While before I had been reading at random every good book I could lay hold of, I now thought it necessary to commence the study of theology with more method. I expected to be put to reading many ponderous volumes in Latin, and endeavoured to brace my nerves for the effort. Accordingly I went to Mr. Graham with a request that he would direct my studies. He smiled, and said, c If you mean ever to be a theologian, you must come at it not by reading but by thinking, He then ridiculed the way of taking our opinions upon the authority of men, and of deciding questions by merely citing the judgments of this or that great theologian; repeating what he had just said, that I must learn to think for myself, and form my own opinions from the Bible. This conversation discouraged me more than if he had told me to read half a dozen folios. For as to learning any thing by my own thoughts, I had no idea of its practicability. But it did me more good than any directions or counsels I ever received. It threw me on my own resources, and led me to feel the necessity of disciplining my own thoughts and searching into the principles of things.

“My thoughts were entirely absorbed in theological questions, and as there were several young men of education in Lexington, we carried on daily discussions. Taking nothing for granted without proof, we debated especially all the points in controversy between Calvinists and Arminians. The Methodists who professed Arminian doctrine were spreading their opinions on all sides. When I first began the study of theology I had no companion but John Lyle, who had been for some time a pupil of Mr. Graham; but after a while we had half a dozen. Every Saturday we met at our preceptor’s study, for recitation and debate. Even at this time Mr. Graham was much engaged in the study of Mental Philosophy. He had a natural turn for such investigations, and had observed for himself with great acuteness. He had recently obtained the works of Keid and Beattie, with others of the Scottish school; but he thought he could construct a better system than any proposed by these writers. Accordingly he digested a series of lectures, which he frequently delivered to his students and to a class of young ladies. They were perspicuous and methodical and rested on observations made by himself. I believe they were never written out, for he had a strong aversion to the pen, and in speaking he had such a command of his knowledge as to require no assistance from notes. During the time of my theological studies I perused no great number of volumes, but some I read with much care. Among these were Edwards on the Will, on Original Sin, and on the Affections; Bates’s Harmony of the Divine Attributes, and some treatises of Owen and Boston.”

In the autumn of the same year, 1790, the Presbytery of Lexington was to meet at the North Mountain Meeting-House, in the county of Augusta. This church is now called Hebron. Mr. Alexander was prevailed upon by his friends and teachers to present himself to that body in order to trials for the ministry. He describes his feelings on this occasion as very uncomfortable, from remaining doubts as to his being called to the work; but he was averse to disregard the advice of his honoured preceptor, who had acquired an

influence over him which he could hardly resist. The Presbytery perceived his gifts, and encouraged him to proceed. It appears from their records that this event took place on the 20th day of October, 1790. Mr. Graham had resolved to get the permission of the Presbytery that the candidates under their care should have the privilege of exhorting in social meetings for religious worship; for in that day the function of public teaching had not been distributed so lavishly among the lay brethren, as in our own time. And to quiet the scruples of Mr. Alexander, he was informed that his actual entrance on the ministry might be postponed as long as he chose. On returning home from the Presbytery, he soon received notice that authority had been given to him and his fellow-student, Mr. John Lyle, to exercise their gifts in exhortation. Mr. Graham was accustomed to hold a meeting at Kerr’s Creek, at the house of old John McKee. This place was therefore selected for the debut of the young candidates. But the event is too interesting not to be related in his own words. It is seldom that we have such descriptions of a first effort from one who was destined to become eminent in this very field of labour.

“The thing was new in that part of the country, and many came together. I was exceedingly apprehensive that I should utterly fail, and not be able to say any thing, for I had never spoken in public except what I had committed to memory. I had once attempted to speak in a juvenile debate, without the least success. We arrived at the place early in the evening, and retired to the grove. When we returned to the house Mr. Lyle appeared to be much ani-

mated and elevated. He told me that he had a remarkable flow of thought, and seemed confident of a prosperous issue; which only discouraged me the more, as I was weighed down with a heavy burden. After singing and prayer, Mr. Graham called first upon Lyle, who arose with an awful cloud upon his brow, seized fast hold of the chair upon which he had been sitting, and with many contortions of countenance forced out a few words; but his flow of thought had deserted him. He hemmed and groaned, rolled up his pocket-handkerchief into a ball, made a few convulsive gestures, and sat down. After another prayer and hymn, I was called upon. Although I did not know a single word which I was to utter, I began with a rapidity and fluency equal to any I have enjoyed to this day. I was astonished at myself, and as I was young and small, the old people were not less astonished. From this time I exhorted at one place and another, several times every week. It was still a cross for me to hold forth at Lexington; and after efforts unsatisfactory to myself, I often suffered keen anguish of spirit, from various causes. At other times my heart was enlarged, my feelings were lively, so that I found delight in the utterance of truth. At that time I seldom followed any premeditated train of thought; the words which I first spoke generally opened a track for me, which I pursued.”

It is a proper addition to this statement to say that, throughout his life, the extemporaneous discourses of Dr. Alexander, which indeed were the highest effusions of his mind, partook of the character of these early efforts; and he has been heard to say again and again, that if he were to stake his life on a single effort, he would, if familiar with the general subject, abandon himself entirely to the impulse of the moment.

During the continuance of the revival, Mr. Graham was much engaged in preaching, not only at home, but in many other congregations, for there was an awakened attention to religion almost throughout the Valley; and in the remote and destitute places there was an uncommon desire to hear the Gospel. He therefore made some preaching tours among the mountains, and along the streams, where the population is too much extended through narrow vales to admit of compact societies. On one of these excursions he was accompanied by his young pupil. They crossed the North Mountain at what is called the New Gap, where the ascent is exceedingly steep. After leaving the mountain they fell down upon the James Kiver near the place where it takes that name, that is, just below the junction of the Jackson and Cow pasture Kivers. Mr. Graham preached to these scattered people with a clearness which made all understand, and with an earnestness and affection which caused deep feeling. One of their meetings was at the house of a rich old German. “In the morning,” says a narrative from which we derive these facts,” Mr. John Lyle, my fellow-student and travelling companion, informed me that before sunrise he had seen a labourer take the German Bible from the house into a neighbouring thicket, where he kept it about half an hour and then went to his work. We agreed to have some conversation with the man, and learned from him that he lived at a distance, but that he was now engaged for a time in attending to some hemp, in a piece of land allowed him by the farmer. We found that he had not been present at the sermon the day before. He gave us the following narrative, 1 1 have lived, ever since I was married, on the Cow pasture River, where the Gospel is seldom preached. For a few months we engaged a man to preach, and poor and careless as we were, I subscribed a dollar, and then thought I would go and get the worth of my money. I frequently felt my conscience moved, but the impression soon went off. Soon after the preacher left us, I was one day riding by myself, when all at once I had such a view of my lost condition and sinfulness, that I felt as if the earth would open and swallow me up. Though the awful feeling of that moment subsided, I fell into a state of settled distress. I knew that I was a sinner, but knew not how my sins could be pardoned. I was advised to read the Bible, which I did; but the more I read, the more was I condemned, and my distress was thereby increased, so that for a while I shut up the book and put it away. Yet I could not find rest, and so returned to reading. My neighbours were of various opinions respecting my case. Some were of opinion that my reason was touched, others said ifc was low spirits.

“l My distress of mind began to wear me away, until at last I was unable to work in the field, and my wife and children were likely to come to want. At length I scarcely had strength to walk the floor. One Sunday evening a little before sunset I was sitting on the side of my bed, where I had been reading my Bible, when all of a sudden my mind seemed to be full of light and my heart of love and joy. I thought that Christ had died for my sins, and that God had forgiven me for his sake. It was so plain, I wondered that I had never seen it before. The joy was so great that I sank down on the bed, and almost swooned. My wife shrieked, thinking I was about to die. But I was soon able to tell her that I was happy — as happy as I could be — that I had seen Christ to have died for me on the cross, and that God had pardoned all my sins. In this happy state I remained for some time; but by degrees I began to believe that it was a delusion. Darkness came over me and my distress returned; but not as at first, for I now knew that whether I had received it or not there was pardon for miserable sinners. But for several years I have had no comfort. I read and pray, and sometimes have a faint hope, but for the most part am in darkness. It is now nine years since I had this wonderful discovery, and during all that time I have never heard a sermon, nor ever before met with a single person who understood my case/

“When the poor German had proceeded thus far, we had reached the place of meeting, and found the house full. We were very solicitous that Mr. Graham might be led to choose a subject suited to the case of our German brother, for such we esteemed him. And it was so ordered that the text led him to open the way of salvation, and to describe the exercises of a soul when closing with Christ on the terms of the Gospel. That day we heard more for the afflicted man than for ourselves. He never took his eyes off the preacher, and during the hour of the sermon they were full of tears. His emotions were evidently various. We were incapable of entering into the feelings of a man who had been converted for nine years, and yet had never heard a sermon, and who for seven years had been walking in darkness and doubt, without once meeting with man or woman who knew any thing of experimental religion. As he had to return immediately, we followed him to his horse as he came weeping from the house. His heart was too full for utterance. At length he lifted up his hands, and thanked God for the mercy bestowed on him, in giving him opportunity to hear the precious Gospel that day. He said that his distress had forsaken him, and something of his first joy filled his heart, but that he had much sorrow for sin mingled with his comfort. He took leave of us with tears, tenderly thanking us for having procured him this inestimable privilege.

“Mr. Graham’s preaching for fifteen years had been attended with so little apparent effect, that it is not easy to conceive of the joy with which he witnessed so great a change in the religious aspect of the community. For some time he devoted himself entirely to the work of the ministry. His preaching at this time was evangelical and powerful. The writer is now of opinion, that he never heard from any man a clearer and stronger exhibition of the Gospel than in the sermons of Mr. Graham during this period,”*

An event of more than ordinary moment in the quiet career of a student in the mountains, was his making a visit in the spring of 1791 to Philadelphia. In his mature years

* MS. Life of William Graham.

he was accustomed to speak with regret and reprehension of one part of the counsel of his invaluable friend and preceptor. The General Assembly was about to convene, and Mr. Graham, desiring his young and promising pupil to attend on that judicatory, conceived the strange design that he should go in the capacity of a ruling elder. He was little satisfied with the arrangement, but acquiesced.

These were days of equestrian travel, and they set out as for a long journey. An agreement had been made to meet Dr. John B. Smith at Winchester, and to attend the communion at Shepherdstown, where Mr., afterwards the Kev. Dr. Moses Hoge was pastor. Mr. Alexander rode a young horse, unaccustomed to travelling, which was foundered about the third day. They stopped with Mr. Solomon Hoge, brother of the clergyman, with whom resided his venerable father. Mr. Graham, after as much delay as he could afford, resumed his journey. The horse did not amend, and this caused a halt of some days.

“Old Mr. Hoge,” so he writes, “though eighty-four years of age, was in the fullest vigour of intellect, and delighted in theological discussion. He gave me a narrative of the state of the Presbyterian Church in Pennsylvania during his youth. At the age of one and twenty he carefully read over every article of the Westminster Confession of Faith, to see whether he could adopt the whole; which he was able freely and deliberately to do. At the time when I met him he was in connection with the Seceder Church. He did not inform me how this came about, but some years afterwards Dr. Hoge told me that his father left our church on account of the i Adopting Act, which permitted candidates to make some exceptions when they received the Confession. I know not that I ever received so much instruction in the same time from any one as from this old gentleman. Certain difficulties, which I had on some points, he entirely removed to my satisfaction. “What he told me of the mother Presbytery, of Philadelphia, would have been of value if I had written it down from his mouth, but before I recognised its importance, the facts had become dim in my memory.”

Mounting his crippled horse, he attempted to press forward, but before reaching Winchester he found him unable to proceed. Here occurred an incident of travel, which belongs to the picture of life.” After struggling along a few miles, I came to Opekan Creek, where the low grounds were covered to the depth of two or three feet by reason of back-water from a mill below. When I had reached about midway, the horse determinately refused to proceed, and there I was, seated on his back in the midst of the water. There was no way left but to dismount into the water, but this I was afraid to do on account of my feeble health. Observing a house at some distance I called as loudly as I could, and at length made myself heard. A large, lazy looking German came down and asked why I was sitting there. I told him, and entreated him to get a horse and bring me out, but he said there were no horses near. The want of sympathy in this man aggravated my distress. At length a man came along on horseback who immediately led my horse out; and not only so, but continued with me until nine o’clock at night, when I arrived at the place to which I had been directed.

“I found old Mrs. Kiley alone; all her sons had gone to the sacrament at Shepherdstown, where Dr. Smith and Mr. Graham were assisting Mr. Hoge. The next morning, which was the Sabbath, I went into the neighbourhood to hear a Methodist preacher. At the close of his sermon he gave notice that a Presbyterian minister would preach at Mrs. Kiley’ s that evening. At first I wondered who it could be that had come into the place, but it soon occurred to me, that it arose from a misapprehension of something I had said to Mrs. Kiley. The mistake disturbed me not a little. I went to the stand on which he had preached — for the sermon was in the open air — and begged him to correct the mistake, but he made light of the difference between a preacher and an exhorter. In the evening a multitude collected, so that the house could not contain them. When I arose to speak I explained the matter, and then delivered an exhortation of some length, as the people seemed greedy to hear. Indeed there was a considerable excitement among them, which had been produced by the preaching of Mr. Hill and also of the clergymen with whom I was travelling/5

Provided here with a fresh horse, he set out and pressed on with all his force to overtake these companions. The next day he arrived at a neighbourhood where Dr. Smith had just been preaching, and the evening after arrived at the house where he was lodging. Dr. Smith’s cordiality and courtesy here appeared to great advantage, and he had it in his power to communicate great relief to the young and embarrassed stranger. The company went onward by the way of York, and at length reached the little town of Pequea, a spot somewhat remarkable in the history of our church. Here the venerable Doctor Robert Smith, the father of the President, was still pastor. Here likewise the sacrament was to be celebrated on the approaching Sabbath. The congregation was large, but without those signs of popular feeling to which our Virginians had been accustomed at home. On Monday, in conformity to the old Scottish practice, Mr. Graham discoursed; his sermon was powerful and pungent, and a certain young man was struck to the heart, and came to the house inquiring what he should do to be saved. On Tuesday the four travellers set their faces towards Philadelphia, and their number was increased by old Dr. Smith and his wife. ‘We shall here annex copious extracts from the personal narrative, both as giving a simple description of the impressions made by novel scenes on an unsophisticated mind, and as affording more particulars than are elsewhere extant concerning a very important General Assembly.

“I felt a great awe on my spirits at the thought of entering the great city. My impression was that all eyes would be directed towards me. As we approached, our company separated, as they expected to lodge in different places. Mr. Graham and I stopped at a farm-house near Gray’s Ferry, where we made an agreement with the host, a quaker, for the keeping of our horses. As we rode along the streets and beheld the people pressing forward with rapid steps, I was surprised and relieved to find that they took no notice

ASSEMBLY OF 1*791. 95

of us. The tavern where we dismounted was, I think, in Chestnut Street. Here we found a hale corpulent man of forty, bouncing about and attending to his guests with little aid. The floors were not carpeted, but were scoured very clean, and thickly sprinkled with very white sand.

“After adjusting our dress, we repaired to the church at the corner of Third and Arch Streets, where the Assembly was to be opened by a sermon from the Keverend Kobert Smith, D.D., the late moderator. I went under a painful apprehension that the appearance of such a youth, under the denomination of a ruling elder, must excite the contempt or pity of every member. Indeed it was an ill-judged thing. What struck me with astonishment was that although thousands of people were passing the doors, there were not a hundred in the church. Dr. Smith preached a sermon of which I heard very little, as his enunciation was impaired by the loss of his teeth. He wore a very large white wig, coming down far over his shoulders, and being short in stature presented an appearance somewhat grotesque. Most of the clergy wore wigs; all from the cities and great towns wore powder, as did many gentlemen whom we met in the streets. The discourse was delivered with great earnestness, and the opinion which I formed of the preacher was that he possessed uncommon ardour of piety. He said much of the great revival in which he had been a labourer, but seemed much afraid of the wildfire and disorder, which so much injured the cause in those days. In private he expressed apprehensions lest his son John Blair Smith and Mr. Graham were engaged in sending raw and unfurnished ministers into the work. He treated me with great tenderness, but was surprised to hear that I was to be a member, and asked whether I came as priest or Levite. The excellent old man lived but a year or two after this time.

“Some interest seemed to be felt as to the choice of Moderator. The Kev. Dr. John Woodhull, of Freehold, N. J., was nominated, but Mr. John B. Smith came round to us, and solicited our votes for Mr. McCreary, an old minister from Maryland or Delaware, who was said to be a godly and evangelical man; but Mr. Woodhull had a large majority. The body was small, consisting of not more than thirty or forty members. The leading ministers were Dr. Alison of Baltimore, Dr. McWhorter of Newark, Dr. Ewing of Philadelphia, Nathaniel Irwin of Neshaminy, James F. Armstrong of Trenton, Joseph Clark of New Brunswick, Dr. Cooper, Dr. Latta, and Nathan and Jacob Ker. Dr. Nisbet was in constant attendance, but I have forgotten whether he was a commissioner. But all Presbyterian ministers were invited to sit as correspondent members. President Witherspoon came about the middle of the session, and after a day or two gave place to Dr. Samuel Stanhope Smith. There were few from the south, besides our little company. I remember one by the name of Templeton. Colonel John Bayard, father of John, Samuel, and James A. Bayard, was there as an elder, and took an active part in all business, receiving much deference, as he had occupied high civil offices. Dr. Green was not a member, but came every day and sometimes engaged in discussion. At that time he must have been above thirty years of age; his appearance was dignified and lofty, and except that he was pale he was at a distance a very handsome man. His peruke was the finest I ever saw, falling over his shoulders in great curls, which were white with powder. I was filled with admiration to hear so fine a man talk seriously about religion; for I had imbibed the prejudice widely prevalent among the Methodists, that men or women who dressed fashionably and wore powder and the like ornaments, must be destitute of religion.

“Dr. Woodhull the Moderator was a man of good appearance, about forty-five years of age. If I remember aright, William M. Tennent, afterwards Dr. Tennent of Abingdon, was the recording clerk, and Mr. Armstrong the reading clerk. The member who took most upon him, explaining every thing minutely and tediously, was Dr. McWhorter of Newark. But though unnecessarily prolix his remarks were always earnest and judicious. Dr. Nisbet seemed desirous to learn all that was said; being somewhatdeaf he would go up close to the speaker and turn to him the hearing ear. His appearance was singular. He was short in stature, but broad in the face and shoulders and whole frame, and wore a gray wig which reached far down his back. He took much snuff and seemed to have the habit of talking to himself, for his lips were in frequent motion, and as he sometimes trotted from one speaker to another he would utter something audibly. On one of these occasions as Dr. Hall of North Carolina was making an earnest speech, with great solemnity of manner, Dr. Nisbet as he returned to his seat near the Moderator was heard to 1 ejaculate, l Poor human nature, poor human nature! ‘Some one was officious enough to tell this to Dr. Hall, who was grievously mortified and offended. Nathaniel Irwin of Neshaminy was an influential member of this Assembly. He was very tall, and had a voice the sound of which produced alarm, on a first hearing. He always took his stand at a place the most remote from the chair, and seemed to utter every thing with the greatest sound he could command. It was easy to discern that as his head was literally long, so it was intellectually. The very first draft of a plan for raising a permanent * * * proceeded from him during this Assembly. Joseph Clark of New Brunswick, afterwards Dr. Clark, was a speaker who occupied much time, from the extreme slowness of his observations.

“About the middle of the Assembly Dr. Witherspoon came from Princeton, and took his seat. He immediately participated in the business, and evinced such an intuitive clearness of apprehension and correctness of judgment, that his pointed remarks commonly put an end to the discussion. In most cases I thought I perceived how things should be decided, and was gratified to find my opinions frequently confirmed by those of Dr. Witherspoon. But in one instance, in which John D. Blair of Richmond took an active part, I was entirely misled. The question was whether an offending member’s profession of repentance was a sufficient ground for immediate restoration. Mr. Blair read the passage in which our Lord says, c If thy brother offend against thee seven times in a day, etc. This seemed to me as clear as the light; but Dr. Witherspoon arose and dispelled the

delusion, by distinguishing between a private offence, concerning an individual, and a public offence which affected the church, as also between the offence of a private member and the offence of a minister.

“Dr. Witherspoon remained only two or three days, after which Dr. Samuel Stanhope Smith took his place. When he entered the house I did not observe him, but happening to turn my head I saw a person whom I must still consider the most elegant I ever saw. The beauty of his countenance, the clear and vivid complexion, the symmetry of his form and the exquisite finish of his dress, were such as to strike the beholder at first sight. The thought never occurred to me that he was a clergyman, and I supposed him to be some gentleman of Philadelphia, who had dropped in to hear the debate. I ought to have mentioned that Dr. Witherspoon was as plain an old man as ever I saw, and as free from any assumption of dignity. All he said, and every thing about him bore the marks of importance and authority. Dr. Green had just returned from the General Association of Connecticut, which he had attended as a delegate. He gave an account of his reception, and brought forward a resolution to agree with them in a concert of prayer for the revival of religion. This was opposed by Dr. Alison, in a speech of great power and eloquence. I never heard a man who could pour out such a torrent of strong thoughts and expressions, without the least appearance of effort; for he made no attempt to play the orator, but commonly leaned over the side of the pew and seldom raised either his head or his hands. Dr. Green made an able and pious speech in reply, in the course of which he mentioned that the only three men who opposed it in the General Association were a Mr. Church, a Mr. Lord, and a Mr. Devotion. Dr. Smith was also opposed to it, and had caused it to he cast out in the Synod of New- York and New Jersey. But our Southern ministers, fresh from a great revival, were zealously in favour of it, as were the members from the west of Pennsylvania. So that the resolution was carried by a large majority.

“The only difficult and unpleasant cases, which came before the Assembly of 1791, were the following. A certain minister had been guilty of a great crime, which was not mentioned: after a season of the deepest sorrow and full confession and profession of repentance, he was restored by the Presbytery of Newcastle by which he had been deposed. He soon afterwards removed up the North River, carrying with him clear credentials. But after a while the report of the crime followed him; the Presbytery within whose bounds he now was found the charge to be true, and brought a complaint against the Presbytery of Newcastle, for dismissing the member as in good standing, who had been thus guilty. There was much warmth among some of the old men about this matter. Dr. Cooper was not, I think, a regular member of the Assembly, but spoke as a correspondent. A severer countenance I never looked upon, and in debate- his words were sharp as a two-edged sword. He made a reply to a speech of Dr. Samuel S. Smith, which was very tart and cutting. The other case was a complaint of Newcastle Presbytery against that of Lewes, because the latter had taken under their care and licensed a candidate while he was under censure of the former.

“Our ministers were warm from a great revival, and for a year or two had been engaged in organizing a plan for sending out missionaries. Indeed the Synod of Virginia had at this time four or five young men in the field. These were Nash LeGrand, William Hill, Cary Allen, Kobert Marshall, and John Lyle.

“While in Philadelphia I was frequently at the house of old Mrs. Hodge, the grandmother of Professor Hodge. Here John B. Smith and his family were entertained, and here I saw also the widow of President Finley of Princeton, who was at this time entirely blind. Dr. J. B. Smith remained in Philadelphia, as the Third Presbyterian Church (of which the writer was afterwards pastor) had given him a call, after the death of Dr. Duffield.”

It was now the month of June, and as the weather was extremely hot and the roads were dusty, the little party determined to lie by during the day and travel by night. They crossed the Blue Kidge at Black’s Gap, by the light of the moon, which was then near the full. But after midnight they began to feel sleepy, and having cleared the mountain sought for some lodging-place. Part of the company found a house on the right; Mr. Graham and his young companion went further, and turned into a farmclearing on the left. It was a log house, and the family were asleep in bed. But in conformity with the hospitable customs of the land, the mountaineer arose and admitted them, and took charge of their horses. The guests were shown up stairs, or rather up a ladder, to a loft under the roof. Here they were made acquainted with the German fashion of sleeping under a bed, in lieu of other covering. The next day Dr. Hall proposed to introduce them to a case of somnambulism or irregular mental action, which carried some appearance of the supernatural. The person was a young woman of the neighbourhood, who every day at a certain hour seemed to fall into a trance, and uttered wonderful things.

““We pushed hard,” says the narrative,” to get to the house by the hour of her paroxysm, which was one o’clock. Her name was Susannah Orendorf, and she was the daughter of a farmer near Sharpsburg. The young woman was reclining on a bed, very pale, and clad in white. She was attended by an elder sister, who with the parents agreed in asserting that she had eaten nothing for five or six months, and that the only thing which entered her lips was a sip of sweetened water, of which a tumbler stood near her on the table. This was considered miraculous by many, and the Methodists preached about Susannah, and related her sayings in their sermons. Multitudes came to see her; some above a hundred miles; so that there would sometimes be two hundred people there at one time. After coming out of one of her epileptic fits, she would tell those around her what she had seen in heaven; and so credulous were some that they came to ask whether she had seen certain friends of theirs who had lately died. On this point, however, she could give no satisfactory information. Some wished to know which religious denomination was most approved in heaven.

The girl answered more discreetly than could have been expected from her education — for she was very ignorant — saying, e In the other world people are not judged of by their professions, but the sincerity of their hearts, and the goodness of their conduct, Some very noisy persons came from Newtown to see her; and as a great company was collected they engaged in devotional exercises. One of their number, John Hill, a man of great muscular power and a stentorian voice, exerted himself to the utmost in prayer, keeping time with one of his feet and both his hands. When he was done, Susannah asked him, ‘Why do you speak so loud? Do you think the Almighty is hard of hearing? ’

“At nearly the same hour every day, after a little convulsive agitation she seemed to fall into a swoon, ceased to breathe, and lay calm and motionless as a corpse. As she recovered herself a sound was heard, as if issuing from her breast, and she commonly awoke singing. We asked her for some account of what she had seen in her last visit. Without hesitation she began a narrative of her journey to heaven, which greatly resembled some of Mohammed’s descriptions. She went over a very high and beautiful bridge, which appeared to be made of ivory. She entered paradise, where she beheld the angels flying about in all directions, and heard companies of them singing. On her arrival she was presented with bread as white as snow and exceedingly delicious, which she ate every day, and by which she was nourished, so as to have no need nor appetite for earthly food. The most remarkable occurrence was that a beautiful and majestic person, whom she took to be our Saviour, came to her, and gave her a white flower, which she took to be a token of his love. On being requested to sing one of the tunes which she had learnt in heaven, she complied without reluctance; uttering in a soft and somewhat melodious voice a strain, which however consisted of only a few notes continually repeated. Being then accustomed to learn tunes by ear, I caught up this strain, and could repeat it, but have long since forgotten it. This was no doubt a case of epilepsy, which continued more than a year, and then gradually left her; but she did not live long after her recovery.”

In looking back on this visit to the great city of America, Mr. Alexander was accustomed to say, that he found less of that warm and impulsive religion which the revivals of Virginia had made dear to him, than he expected. But he often recurred with pleasure to the animated piety of Joseph Eastburn, and of Mrs. Hodge, a venerable Christian lady of Philadelphia.