ed. In the course of the month the number increased to seven of eight. In the mean time the general aspect of the congregation on the Lord's day became more encouraging. There was an earnestness in the attention of numbers which bad not been observable in months past. It was not however known, except to the immediate friends of the few who were seriously affected, that there were any instances of conviction in the congregation. I was not myself apprised of it till the commencement of October. Having visited and conversed with the young ladies, I gave some account of their exercises the next day at a meeting in the street, a mile north of the meeting-house, and urged upon professors of religion the duty of immediate extraordinary prayer for a revival of religion in their own hearts, and through the town. Every professor present engaged to spend that evening in his closet. It was such an evening as some of them will never forget. The Spirit helped their infirmities with groanings which could not be uttered. At the close of the next week's meeting at the same place, it appeared that two young men, brothers, were awakened. The eldest dated bis impressions from the Sabbath; those of the younger were more recent. In the evening of the same day, (Tuesday,) at a conference in the same street, at which many were present, the younger brother became very deeply impressed. His convictions of sin were powerfui; and his distress and agitation were visible to all who were at the meeting.

The people present, a large proportion of whom were young men, were deeply affected. Most of them were strangers to the quickening powers of the gospel-some of them were addicted to profane swearing; and others were professed deists. I know not, however, that an individual escaped from the scene unwounded. They were pricked in the heart. The report of this meeting rapidly spread in every direction, and seemed to "tingle" in the ears of every one who heard it. On the two succeeding days meetings were beld in different sections of the town, at which full audiences attended with solemn stillness and eager attention, while painful anxiety of heart was visible in the countenances of numbers. The following Sabbath will be memorable in the history of this church. There was a very numerous, anxious, trembling audience, still as the grave, and solemn as the judgment. Great numbers were in tears. No sneering, no trifling, no sleeping. From this time the work progressed rapidly. For a few weeks, it is believed that nearly all the adults pertaining to the congregation were unusually softened. All umecessary conversation on every other subject, beside the great concern, was by common consent suspended. None denied that this was the work of God-that God was here by a special and extraordinary power. Nearly all were anxious to attend meetings whether held in the day time or in the night. In most parts of the town there were meetings for prayer and conference, two, or three, or four times in the week. Within ten days from the time when the work became general, it is supposed that

from 20 to 25 were born in the kingdom of grace. During this time, however, notwithstanding the almost universal prevalence of a spirit of tenderness, anxiety, and teachableness, the number subject to deep conviction of sin, and thoroughly apprised of the plague of their hearts, was not great, though it daily increased. In visiting families I found few who were deeply distressed; but all seemed willing to hear instruction; ready to confess their need of a new heart; and anxious to feel more deeply their need of Christ. On conversing with them a few minutes they would generally melt into tears. Convictions and hopeful conversions have continued to niultiply; and I humbly trust there is, as yet, on the whole, no sensible decline of the Spirit's influence. Some weeks have exhibited more numerous and extraordinary displays of the grace of God than others; and while some sections of the town have been very lively, others have been comparatively dull.

In the early part of the revival great efforts were made to awaken the professed people of God. They were much more frequently addressed than others. The co-operation and believing prayers of all such were deemed of the greatest importance in carrying on the work. But to revive lukewarm believers has sometimes seemed to me a more arduous work than to awaken unbelievers. A small proportion of the church were found in the attitude of earnest expectation when the Lord came in his glory, and of course bailed his coming with unspeakable pleasure. Numbers more suddenly awoke, were pierced with sorrow for their past drowsiness; confessed, with signs of true penitence, their backslidings, and entered with vigour into the Lord's work. All were glad and seemed to be awake. But it was soon observable that numbers were backward and slothful in the self-denying and laborious duties to which the occasion called them. At length, by various and extraordinary means, the members of the church generally have appeared to enter heartily into the labours of the harvest. Considerable numbers who have long professed, and, in a good degree adorned the doctrine of God our Saviour, have had their seasons of painful conviction, been brought into the deep valley, and have seemed to be born anew. The change wrought in the church is great and animating.

Of those, not professors, who have been powerfully and, as is believed, savingly wrought upon, there has been no distinction of age or sex. Only one man, however, over 70, has appeared to become. a child of grace. He is 78-is possessed of a good mind, and vigorous constitution, and is as active and free from the infirmities of age as men generally are at 60. He lives four miles from the meeting-house, and till very lately has never attended divine worship with us, but has manifested a disposition to encourage sectarian influence in his neighbourhood. He has long been inclined to think favourably of the notion of universal salvation. He was persuaded to attend our meetings by two of his neighbours who had become -subjects of the work, and in whom he observed a surprising change.

At the first meeting he attended, the spell which had so long held him in sinful servitude was dissolved. The evils of his heart and life irresistibly arrested his attention. He returned to his

house with amazement and trembling; and remained in great anguish of spirit, acknowledging the justice which doomed him to hell, and crying for mercy, though sometimes ready to faint in despair. In about six days, however, it pleased the Lord to give him a sweet release from his bondage. His present appearance and views, and the account which he gives of what God in his abounding mercy has done for him, are highly satisfactory. It must not be omitted that his mother, as he informs me, was a praying woman, and had all her children baptized in infancy. Perhaps this may be regarded as, on the whole, the most extraordinary conversion which has occurred. A number of men who seemed almost in a hopeless state have received mercy. But they were neither so old nor so far removed from the range of gospel influence as this man.

The whole number who have hopefully passed from death unta life may somewhat exceed two hundred. Of this number forty were admitted to the church on the first Sabbath in December, One hundred and six now stand propounded against the next Sabbath; and the remainder, most of whom are recent converts, have not yet offered themselves for the church,

The children of believers have in general been earlier in the work than others. Their convictions have been short, frequently not more than a week-in many instances not half a week. They were, however, exceedingly pungent and distressing.

In the early stages of this blessed work it was not uncommon for the whole assembly to be melted into tears; and sobs and groans have in some instances, and for a few moments, interrupted the or der of worship. Such scenes might have pierced the iron hearts of infidels; and indeed some who but a few months since were proud of being seen in their ranks, were among the number thus deeply affected.

Children under twelve years of age did not, in the early stages of the work, appear to be at all affected. More recently cases of this sort have become numerous. Many little girls and boys, between the ages of 8 and 12, in various parts of the town, have frequent meetings for prayer-the girls always by themselves; and those who have, from curiosity, occasionally placed themselves within hearing of the little circle, have expressed their astonishment at the freedom and propriety with which many of them have addressed themselves to the prayer-hearing God. The most perfect order and seriousness have invariably prevailed at these interesting meetings. Our town is full of circles of "young men and maideus, old men and children," who often meet to worship and praise the Lord.

A very large proportion of the subjects of this work are heads of families. Of the forty admitted to communion, 14 (men and women) are such. Of the 106 who were lately propounded, 46 are

married people-23 men and 23 women. Most of these, as I should think, are over thirty-five. Of the young people, a few more than half are males.

Of the happy effect which this work of sovereign grace has already produced on our society, it would be difficult to speak with sufficient approbation and praise. Party contentions, jealousies, evil communications, profanity, intemperance, &c. have nearly disappeared from our Society. No candid observer of the influence of such a work on the feelings and habits of men, will question its tendency to promote the most perfect state of social order, virtue, and happiness. The change in numerous individuals is well described by St. Paul-" and such were some of you but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God."

I have felt a wish, dear sir, to give you a short account of a small number of very interesting cases. But the bad state of my health renders it too laborious for me to write. It is more than a week since I commenced this long letter. I have been able to write only a few lines at a time; and those at long intervals. I am, however, very slowly mending. The good work continues with power. It is also very great and general in Enfield, and South Hadley, and Palmer; is begun with great promise in Ware, and Granby, and Amherst, and increases in Northampton. Other towns in the vicinity exhibit very flattering appearances. As to opposition to such a work of grace in Hampshire County, there is none..

Most respectfully yours,

EXPERIENCE PORTER.

P. S.-Among the subjects of the work, we reckon five or six blacks, one an old man of near 70, not yet brought in. Their cases are very interesting and clear.

LIVERPOOL RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY.

Extracts from the Fourth Report-1818.

(Continued from page 694.)

Nor can your Committee refrain from mingling with you in the satisfaction with which you must regard the growing and extensive operations of the Religious Tract Society in London, which in one sense may be deemed the mother of us all. Unimpaired by age, and aided and supported by the prayers, and efforts, and contributions of her numerous offspring, she is stretching forth her benevolent arms to every quarter of the globe, and scattering the bread of life in every region of the earth. What heart is there, warmed by the love of Christ and of immortal souls, but must leap for joy at the intelligence that thousands of Tracts, conveying divine instruction, are annually distributed in the different states of Europe, and especially in Russia, amongst a people whom we were wont to denominate the barbarians of the North-that the same Hymns and Catechisms which we teach our children are

now learned by thousands of the children of idolaters, and in some of the heathen schools-that Religious Tracts are printed in the hieroglyphics of China, understood by nearly one third of the human race and that not less than three millions and a half of these silent heralds of salvation have issued from their depository to all the nations of the globe, during the past year. Thus, in this noble institution we are honoured to be workers together with the excellent of the earth, of every naine and of every country under heaven; and, above all, to be workers together with God in mitigating and removing the evils of the curse, by destroying the love and induence of sin on the hearts and in the conduct of our fellow men. If this be not glorious, what is? The honours derived from such high association and benevolent work endure-the glory of such enterprizes shall survive when the sun, moon, and stars have failed, and every other glory that sheds its beams upon the creature's brow is absorbed in the fire that shall burn the world. "Then the righteous shall shine as the light," &c.

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And surely of all the noble institutions that distinguish and adorn the present age, there is not one that possesses claims to the port and countenance of the religious public, on the score nomy, equal to this. How many quires of paper may be covered of ecowith the words of life, and to how many hundreds and thousands of our brethren of mankind, perishing in ignorance around us, may they be sent for a few shillings. Yes, a few shillings may furnish a village Tract Association, on the plan of those in the neighbourhood of Wem, with a supply of Religious Tracts for weeks \and months: and multitudes, through their instrumentality, may be made wise unto salvation with little trouble and less Committee are convinced that the immense importance and effiexpense. Your ciency of this mode of doing good has not yet been sufficiently appreciated by the friends of Tract Societies in this quarter of the world, nor even by the members of this Society themselves; and when it shall be duly appreciated, (a period, they trust, not far distant,) they are confident that the increased resources you will place at their disposal will enable them to distribute ten times the present quantity at least. Calculating, then, upon such an increase as the state of the world requires, and your known benevolence in other institutions warrants them to expect, your Committee indulge the hope that the amount distributed in 1819 will be at least 500,000, and in 1820 a million, and even then they will not bid you stay your hands, for still there will be supplicants waiting on the Continent of Europe, in England, Wales, Ireland, India, Africa, &c. "In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand, for thou knowest not which shall prosper, this or that, or whether they may be alike good.”

From Mr. J. Fenn, of Wem, dated 16th July, 1818, to the Secretaries. GENTLEMEN,

I send you the following plan for furnishing every family in the kingdom, whether rich or poor, with a Religious Tract weekly,