depended on revivals to save souls and
reform the world.

In the Winter, navigation having closed, business was mostly
suspended. There were no railways, and the only means of
communication were wagons and boats. Generally the roads were so
bad that the wagons were laid up with the boats. There were no
operas, no theaters, no amusements except parties and balls. The
parties were regarded as worldly and the balls as wicked. For real
and virtuous enjoyment the good people depended on revivals.

The sermons were mostly about the pains and agonies of hell, the
joys and ecstasies of heaven, salvation by faith, and the efficacy
of the atonement. The little churches, in which the services were
held, were generally small, badly ventilated, and exceedingly warm.
The emotional sermons, the sad singing, the hysterical amens, the
hope of heaven, the fear of hell, caused many to lose the little
sense they had. They became substantially insane. In this
condition they flocked to the "mourners' bench"--asked for the
prayers of the faithful--had strange feelings, prayed and wept and
thought they had been "born again." Then they would tell their
experience--how wicked they had been--how evil had been their
thoughts, their desires, and how good they had suddenly become.

They used to tell the story of an old woman who, in telling her
experience, said, "Before I was converted, before I gave my heart
to God, I used to lie and steal; but now, thanks to the grace and
blood of Jesus Christ, I have quit 'em both, in a great measure."

Of course, all the people were not exactly of one mind. There were
some scoffers, and now and then, some man had sense enough to laugh
at the threats of priests and make a jest of hell. Some would tell
of unbelievers who had lived and died in peace.

When I was a boy I heard them tell of an old farmer in Vermont. He
was dying. The minister was at his bedside--asked him if he was a
Christian--if he was prepared to die. The old man answered that he
had made no preparations, that he was not a Christian--that he had
never done anything but work. The preacher said that he could give
him no hope unless he had faith in Christ, and that if he had no
faith his soul would certainly be lost.

The old man was not frightened. He was perfectly c