not an oath is heard, and the Bible and sermons have replaced low literature to such an extent that the booksellers only keep religious works. The awakening has pervaded all classes, and is extending among the nobility and the wealthy. Instances of sudden conversions' are not infrequent, and the a sermon persons spun round like a top for upwards of an hour without experiencing any fatigue. The dread of these exercises' was great, and, as they only attacked those who were religiously impressed, many people were led to avoid all serious thoughts. Some of the bodily affections were perpetuated by the Shakers, New Lights, and Marshallites, fana-divine impulse' has been so irresistibly felt tical sects who had their origin in the wild enthusiasm of the time. This was the last American revival remarkable for its extravagances. In all the orthodox churches within the last fifty years there have been frequent awakenings, in which persons under the ordinary course of preaching have been aroused without any external excitement to religious concern, and have become exemplary Christains. Some of the most eminent divines in the Episcopalian and Presbyterian churches have been converted' at these times, and the general testimony goes to prove that those who join the churches during these quiet revivals are as steady in their faith and practice as those who receive religious impressions in a more gradual manner. Nothing like a general revival took place after 1745, until we come to the movements which have occurred in our own time. The first commenced in Sweden several years ago, in some parishes on the Russian frontier, and has silently spread over the whole country. Dalecarlia, Skania, and that part of Finland which borders immediately on Russia, are the principal scenes of the work. Scarce any means have been employed besides the circulation of tracts, and the reading of the Scriptures. Owing to a peculiar regulation of the Lutheran church, the Swedish people were only acquainted with a small portion of the Bible, and thus it had the freshness of a new book. Small meetings for prayer and reading conducted almost entirely by laymen are everywhere largely attended. The lowest estimate places the number of converts,' or as they are termed in Sweden 'readers,' at 250,000 out of a population of 3,500,000. The morality of these persons is remarkable. Drinking has so decreased that two-thirds of the distilleries have been closed since 1836. In the parishes bordering on Russia, where nearly every man was guilty of smuggling, hundreds of persons refunded the duties of which they had defrauded the government. Many sold their property to obtain the money, and others who could not raise the sum at once discharged the debt by instalments. The perplexed officers of Customs laid the matter before the King, who decided that the proceeds should be distributed among the poor. The average number of lawsuits has decreased from 500 to three, four, and six. In villages once remarkable for their profanity in the midst of secular engagements or in the streets as to lead people to fall on their knees and cry for mercy. In other instances persons have been compelled to retire from parties overcome with emotion and penitential tears, which contrasted strangely with their splendid dresses and jewels. On the whole, however, the awakening proceeded quietly, and until the opposition of some of the Swedish clergy attracted attention to it, was scarcely heard of in England. The American Revival of 1858 was not ushered in by any extraordinary circumstances. Throughout 1857 there was a general feeling among the clergy that the religious apathy of the country constituted a call to prayer for the influence of the Holy Spirit, and that the local revivals were an encouragement to them to believe that this prayer would be successful. The attendance on public worship largely increased, and at the same time the pressure of an almost universal commercial calamity rendered men more conscious of the vanity of earthly things, and more disposed to attend to the injunction to lay up for themselves a treasure in the heavens which faileth not.' In the early part of 1858 a general stir commenced simultaneously over a large portion of the northern and western states. The great cities were the chief centres of the movement, but in the villages and in isolated dwellings, on prairies and in forests, men were anxiously inquiring the way of salvation. Ministers beheld their churches thronged with earnest listeners, and their rooms with persons desiring religious instruction. Lecture rooms were opened on week days, morning, noon, and evening, for prayer. The attendance of buiness men on such services at New York was upwards of 10,000 daily, and at Philadelphia 4000 met in one hall. None who were present can forget the deep solemnity, the pervading, yet scarcely perceptible emotion, the prief petitions, fervid and reverential, the absence of excitement, and the silence in which the crowds dispersed. Hundreds were convinced of sin, professing Christians gained higher views of duty, and ministers were wakened to a livelier sense of the responsibilities of that stewardship of which they were hereafter to render an account. The influence often overtook people while frequenting the haunts of business, pleasure, and even of vice. The crews of ships away tablished. Many were roused to a deep sense on long voyages were suddenly impressed, of their sinfulness, and their 'conversion' was and on arriving at the American ports their evidenced by their subsequent lives. This first inquiry was for religious instruction. The change was frequently a lengthened process, movement infected all classes. Men of scien- calm, and quiet, and was unattended by tific and literary attainments, philanthropists striking down,' or any other physical proswho had grown grey in alleviating suffering, tration than might be expected as the result rigid formalists, hardened worldlings, the im- of overwhelming anxiety on an all-important moral and the sceptical; lawyers, physicians, subject. A great practical reformation enmerchants, mechanics, and tradesmen were sued. Men of immoral habits abandoned all among the converts. The pulpit held a them; drunkards became sober, peaceable, subordinate place, and more persons were and industrious; one hundred prayer-meetawakened to religious concern during prayer ings, which still continue, were established; than under sermons. The community did family worship was commenced in numbers not need an exposition of the doctrines of of houses which had been the haunts of proChristianity so much as to be quickened into fanity and vice; and Connor exhibited a a spiritual appreciation of truths with which steady and rational progression towards they were already familiar. No physical good. manifestations occurred. The ministers were well versed in the history of the undisciplined enthusiasm of former revivals, and used all their influence to check excitement. They uttered simple statements of Gospel truth, and avoided all appeals to the emotions. The solid results are owing in great measure to this wise precaution. About 500,000 persons have been received into the communion of the churches on a creditable Christian profession. Many writers and vendors of infidel and immoral books forsook the trade; atheists became believers; drunkards in large numbers were reclaimed; numerous keepers of spirit shops, gaming and dancing saloons gave up their callings; in several thousands of instances restitution was made to those who had been defrauded; churches, prayer-meetings, and Sabbath schools are everywhere crowded; a spirit of increased liberality and philanthropy has been largely evoked, and a renovated zeal is carrying the Gospel to every class. Early in 1859 one of the Connor 'converts' visited a family in the neighbouring district of Ahoghill, and several of its members were impressed by him. These persons went about exhorting their friends and neighbours, and in February hundreds in the parishes of Ahoghill and Drummoul were overwhelmed with violent convictions of sin. The news of what was passing was circulated through the adjoining districts; early in May the 'Revival' had reached Belfast, and subsequently it spread over the larger portion of the province of Ulster. Religion became the great topic of conversation-religious meetings the great centres of attraction. The clergy suddenly found themselves surrounded by crowds, and invested with an influence to which they had hardly aspired. Additional services were held: 20,000 persons met in one city, 10,000 in another; and the railroads ran special trains to prayer-meetings. Bodily affections now became epidemic,' and mills were closed in consequence of the number of operatives who were struck.' Meetings were protracted until midnight; crowds of persons singing hymns traversed the streets and country roads at all hours of the night; credulity and fanaticism revelled in marvels, and such an excitement as has never been witnessed flooded the North of Ireland in one broad and tumultuous stream. It was impossible, while the flood was at its height, to learn what it had fertilized and what it had destroyed; what old currents had been arrested and diverted from their course, what new channels had been formed, and what ancient landmarks had been swept away. It is now possible for us to judge of its characteristics, to estimate in some degree its results, and to discriminate between the good and the evil. ' The Irish Revival passed through its earlier stages in complete obscurity, and attracted little attention beyond the district in which it originated. Like the recent American Revival, it is not to be attributed to the preaching of any great orator. In September, 1857, a prayer-meeting was instituted in Connor, county Antrim, by four young men. Their special object was to invoke a blessing upon the different services and Sabbathschools in the Connor district. Kindred spirits, from time to time, joined the meeting, but its increase in numbers was slow. The first instance of awakening occurred in the following December, another took place in January, and it gradually became apparent that certain persons had become animated by new principles. Tidings of the American Revival arrived, and the movement gathered The religious and moral features of the strength in consequence. Old prayer-meet-Revival' would not have attracted general ings were thronged and new ones were es- attention if they had not been frequently as sociated with the same bodily affection which occupied a prominent place in the Revival' of 1740, but which was wholly unknown in the American Revival of 1858. Numerous pamphlets and articles have been published on the disorder, suggesting various hypotheses as to its nature. Not one of these is new; and altogether far more weight has been attached to the physiological accidents' than they deserve either by their number or importance. They have not at any time affected above one-fifth of the persons brought under the power of religion, and it is only by the credulous, the ignorant, and the marvel-lovers that they are assumed to be a proper concomitant of the work of conversion. They were almost or entirely wanting in some localities, though undoubtedly there has been an unusual prevalence of hysteria in Ulster. Crowded meetings in hot rooms were freqnently unwisely protracted, and persons of nervous temperament were injuriously affect ed. Violent emotions, especially convictions of sin and dread of eternal punishment, are among the well-known predisposing causes of such attacks, and we may conclude that they accompanied the mental feeling without helping or hindering it. A renewal of the malady and permanent bodily weakness have never ensued, except under injudicious treatment, a want of proper food and sleep, and a continued attendance at excited meetings. Firmness duly exercised at the services where the fits usually took place, invariably had a marked influence in preventing them, as many ministers, on the other hand, from ignorance of some important physiological facts, needlessly induced them. Hysteric affections were produced with some by the mere force of excitement, sympathy, or imitation, without any reference to religious impressions. When these individuals return to active life, no lasting improvement takes place, and ought not to have been expected. Hysteria, which is well known to involve to a greater or less extent the perversion of the mental and moral nature, can never produce beneficial results. There was another class of persons, who, having had one attack, seemed to have acquired the power of reproducing it at pleasure. Such instances occurred among females whose nervous systems had been overwrought by a novel species of excitement succeeded by injudicious treatment, publicity, and want of rest. Confirmed hysteria and nervous disease, with all their pitiable accompaniments of paroxysms, visions, trances, paralysis, deafness, and loss of speech, often ensued in these cases. On one Sunday in Ireland we witnessed eighteen cases of bodily affection. Five of these were unmistakably hysteria in its com monest form. There was the peculiar cry, the limbs agitated with strong convulsive movements, the ball in the throat,' the respiration deep and mingled with sighs, cries, and sobs; palpitation of the heart, beating of the breast, and tearing of the hair. So powerful were the muscular contortions in one instance that three men were required to hold a mere girl. Of the other thirteen cases, eight were of men between the ages of seventeen and fifty. In one instance only was there a scream. The church was large, and little more than half filled; the service was sober, and no previous case of 'striking down' had taken place. While the clergyman was quietly expounding Isaiah lx. a loud cry proceeded from the gallery, and a man of forty-five sank down in his pew and was immediately taken to his home. As he was being carried out, his piercing prayer filled the church.-'Oh, Jesus, Jesus! have mercy on me! 'It seemed a scream of terror, as if addressed to some object vividly presented to the vision. On inquiry we ascertained that this man had gone to church with some feelings of religious concern, and that for ten minutes prior to the cry he had been repressing the evidences of emotion with an effort that had brought on bleeding at the nose. In three of the cases men fell to the ground powerless during a sermon on Christian duty, exclaiming, with a look of anguish and despair grievous to behold, Lord Jesus, have mercy on my soul!' The perspiration streamed from their faces, and horror unutterable seemed to overwhelm their souls. In the remaining nine instances mental emotion was evidenced by a trembling of the frame, copious weeping, confessions of sin, and pleadings for mercy in tones of impressive earnestness. As after all violent emotions, prostration of strength followed, and some of the men were unable to go to their work for several days. These events occurred four months ago, and thirteen out of the eighteen persons are completely reformed in their conduct. These affections are nothing but the natural consequence of strong mental impressions on persons to whom such sensations are new, and who are unaccustomed to self-control. They prove the existence of deep feeling, but nothing more; and deep feeling, acting on persons of certain intellects, temperament, and habits, produces certain physical results, whether that feeling be religious or otherwise. Similar symptoms are continually witnessed as the effect of sudden fear or grief, and it is not unreasonable to suppose that the fear of Divine wrath and the sorrow for sin may be at least as strong as any other emotion. The manifestations might doubtless, in most instances, have been suppressed if the ministers had understood how to exercise a repressive influence over the people before the emotions escaped from under the control of the will. It was out of the physical phenomena, their suppossed novelty, and the undue importance attached to them, that much of the 'counter-work' arose, and several of the extravagances which have led many persons to doubt the reality of the work.' The infirmities and follies of man have usually displayed themselves in revivals, and the Irish revival, which has prevailed chiefly among an imperfectly educated population, has not been free from them. Many of the common people adopted the idea that to be 'struck' was to be converted, and believed that they were safe because they had passed through this bodily exercise. Some became the objects of great attention to strangers; and the victims of nervous disease, who constituted thetrance-cases,' 'sleeping cases,' and 'vision-seers,' held daily levees of visitors. Few things, indeed, were more pitiable than these poor creatures, deprived of the quiet which was their only hope of cure by a daily influx of marvel-mongers, enthusiasts, would-be philosophers, and credulous ladies, who flocked about them with reverence, and frequently accepted their incoherent utterances as almost inspired. It was wonderful that a large crop of imposture was not raised in such a hot-bed of indiscretion. Some of the ministers were injudicious in taking strangers to visit the 'converts, many of whom were kept from their work by crowds of inquisitive people. In one place we saw a timid little girl, of ten years old, who had been asked to relate her experiences to about forty visitors! Among the extravagances must be classed public prayers and preachings by children and females, ignorant converts' elevated to the pulpit, unreasonably late hours, monster meetings, public narrations of the most sacred emotions of the soul, midnight singing in the street, and the like. An over haste was sometimes displayed in putting forward persons as converts. We heard two females of bad character narrate, at the desire of a minister, the history of their conversion (i.e. hysterical affection) at a public meeting, and five days afterwards both had returned to their evil courses. We saw people urged, moaning and howling, to the anxious seats,' where, after a few noisy exhortations, they were declared to be filled with the joy of pardon. But these cases, like most others of the kind, occurred among the Methodists. Some of the converts, especially in Belfast, were puffed up with spiritual pride, and despised all cautions regarding future difficulties and temptations. There was, likewise, an over multiplication of religious meetings, which, in some instances, were turned into tumultuous and even frenzied gatherings. We have witnessed terrible scenes, in which our eyes and ears were assailed by sights and sounds not to be described. Young girls were shut up in rooms from which air was excluded, without the restoratives which common sense dictates, and suffered to scream and tear their hair for hours at a time. These extravagances were the excrescences of the Revival; they are by no means to be confounded with it; they were not co-extensive with it, and occurred principally at its commencement. Bodily paroxysms are no longer mistaken for the work of the Spirit, meetings are no longer protracted, ignorant converts seek instruction rather than to instruct, and lay agency has been placed in its proper subordination to ministerial authority. We have seen that the revival began in secret two years ago, that prayer was everywhere the chief agency, and that prayermeetings were multiplied rather than sermons. A large number have been awakened at their work, in their homes, and at prayermeetings, instead of under preaching. A considerable number of Romanists have been affected in a similar way, and have abandoned their errors. Conviction of sin, deep and intense-a state of mind in which the 'remembrance of it is grievous, and the burden of it intolerable,' has been a leading feature. Sometimes the sudden agony appeared to be only the culminating point of previous feeling; at others, the sense of sinfulness penetrated the soul as with a lightning flash. Some persons were overwhelmed with unutterable horror by the idea of an angry God and eternal condemnation; others were prostrated with shame and sorrow, for having 'trampled under foot the Son of God.' Peace was invariably obtained by looking to Christ alone for salvation. The cry, 'Lord Jesus, have mercy on my soul,' burst from every *The Rev. Daniel Mooney, incumbent of Ballymena, reports to his diocesan that in that Protestant parish sixty Roman Catholics have renounced Popery since the commencement of the Revival. The lowest estimate of the number converted from Popery in the counties of Down and Antrim puts it at 1000. In the whole province it is probably Many advised their flocks against this new work of nearly 1200. The priests denounced the Revival. the devil,' and represented it as an alarming contagious disease. They blessed charms and bottles of holy water, and sold them to the people to prevent who realized 57, in a month, and of another who them from 'catching it.' We know of one priest made 177. in a few weeks. A poor servant lad bought a bottle for 18., stole into his master's room while he was at prayer, and shook the bottle over his head to prevent him from taking the prevailamong the Romanists in the provinces of Coning epidemic.' The awakening is now extending naught and Leinster. heart. No description can convey any idea | had about doubled. In 29 cases there was of the joy which followed. It filled the heart, little alteration. In the Presbyterian church and dwelt upon the lips, and beamed from the increased attendance is universal. Many the dullest faces with a novel radiance. A congregations are trebled and quadrupled. spirit of prayer was invariably developed. The increase in the number of communicants People met for this purpose at various hours is also great. Not unfrequently hundreds are of the day. Family worship was at once found where a year ago there were tens or established in every house where religious twenties; and where the usual number of new concern was displayed, and prayer for the admissions was formerly from 12 to 20, in some conversion of neighbours, friends, and rela- instances it has lately exceeded 200. The tions became general. number of candidates for confirmation has been very large. The bishop usually holds only an annual confirmation in Belfast; in 1859 he was obliged to have five distinct confirmations. The attendance at Sabbath schools has much increased, and the number of such schools is greatly multiplied. Adult men and women frequently take their places as pupils, and numbers of young men are giving their services as teachers. The exuberant joy which was manifested by the converts, and which found its expression in singing hymns at all hours of the day and night, has resulted in innumerable instances in a settled peace and contentment. Benevolence is not only shown by them to each other and to their neighbours, but to all who are brought within the range of their sympathies. It has been displayed in liberal and ready contributions to many societies which ask for aid in their efforts to alleviate human misery. The self-denial which is continually exercised for this purpose, and the change which has come over hard, grasping, miserly men, are very remarkable. The desire of religious instruction is so great, that the ministers are heavily burdened in their attempts to supply it. The Bible classes, which have been almost universally established, are largely attended both by men and women. It is not an uncommon thing to find as many as 500 persons meeting regularly. There is a consequent demand for Bibles and religious books, and at the country fairs there is a large trade carried on in tracts and short biographies. Some idea of the prevalent taste may be formed from the fact that a single bookseller in four months sold 20,000 hymn-books and 200,000 hymns in sheets, and that the Edinburgh Bible Society alone supplied 19,000 Bibles, which is an increase of 14,000 copies over the same period of 1858. An intellectual stimulus has thus been given to the province. In connexion with one church there are 40 classes in which 1000 adults are learning to read, and reading societies are being formed in the towns and villages. The attendance on stated religious services has so enormously increased as to necessitate the building of new churches and the enlargement of old ones. On this point we have conclusive testimony from the bishop and clergy of the united dioceses of Down, Connor, and Dromore, from the General Assembly of the Irish Presbyterian Church, and from all who are acquainted with the province. At a diocesan meeting recently held in Belfast, 105 clergymen returned written replies to the Bishop's queries upon this subject; 73 of these reported increased attendance at church, and in 64 of the cases the attendance The moral results have not been less satisfactory. The change from gross vice to virtue was frequently instantaneous. The boisterous and riotous have become quiet and orderly, quarrelsome families live in obedience and love, squalid habits have given place to cleanliness, and brutality of manners to refinement and gentleness. Sabbath desecration, cock-fighting, petty dishonesties, brawling and the like are now nearly unknown in several districts. Criminal statistics are low, and the constabulary force has in some places almost a sinecure. Drunkenness has decreased, and often to an extraordinary extent. At the Crumlin sessions ten publicans declined to renew their licences, for the express reason that their trade had become so much reduced by the Revival movement that they could no longer follow it profitably. Six others obtained a renewal only to gain time to dispose of their remaining stock, with a view to giving up what they believe from present appearances to be the ruined calling of a publican. In a district in Derry there was a deficiency of 400l. in the excise duty on spirits for one month, showing a decrease of 1000 gallons in the consumption. In a town where, on marketdays, 700 or 800 persons spent their evenings in the public-houses, the number varies from ten to thirty. In another, formerly notorious for drunkenness, the taverns were so deserted at a recent fair that the publicans in revenge hired men to beat drums amidst the groups surrounding the preachers who now usually attend these gatherings. The markets have been much more free from instances of intoxication, and the people return to their homes three or four hours earlier than formerly almost as quietly as from church. In one place where the market is held on Saturday, as many as fourteen persons were |