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 Vol. IV.] May and June, 1827. [No. III. 
 
 IU J.i.LllV^lli3 UU1, 
 
 adise.' — p. 8. 
 
 On the whole, South is certainly one of the most distinguished 
 writers of his own or of any age. It is well said of him by 
 Richard Cecil, that ' he tells truth with the tongue of a viper, 
 for he was most bitterly set against the Puritans. But there is 
 a spirit and life about him. He must and will be heard. And, 
 now and then, he darts upon us with an unexpected and 
 incomparable stroke.' He who reads his sermons without 
 a constant reference to the character of the times and of the 
 man, will of course fail to perceive much of their value. If 
 he has not the splendid imagination or overflowing fulness of 
 Taylor, his course is more equable and better sustained. If he 
 has not the condensation, of thought and logical cast of mind, 
 which distinguish Barrow, he has more vivacity, directness, and 
 animation. We think the editor of the volume before us has 
 rendered a very useful and acceptable service to the theological 
 public, and to the reading public in general. He has performed 
 the task of selection with good taste and judgment. It seems 
 to have been his aim to make the volume, as it ought to be, a 
 fair representation of the peculiarities of South, both of his 
 excellencies and his faults; and we think he has succeeded. 
 The biographical notice is drawn up in an interesting and able 
 manner, evidently after much and careful investigation. We 
 think, however, that a little more severe castigation should have 
 been bestowed upon the ill nature and bad passions of a man, 
 who renounced entirely that part of politeness, which consists in 
 tolerating the opinions" of others. The editor's notes are spar- 
 ingly, perhaps too sparingly, inserted ; but where Yhey do 
 occur are well timed and judicious. We hope that valuable 
 republications, like this volume and the recent edition of 
 
 VOL. IV. NO. III. 31 
 
242 The Oneida and Troy Revivals. 
 
 Milton's Prose Works, will be received with such favor as to 
 give encouragement to other similar selections. The mines of 
 the old writers should be diligently explored, and the treasures 
 they contain should be brought forth, as much as possible, into 
 common use. 
 
 Art. VIII.— 1. A 'Bunker Hill 1 Contest, A. D. 1826, 
 between the ' Holy Alliance ' for the Establishment of 
 Heirarchy, and ecclesiastical Domination over the human 
 Mind, on the one Side ; and the Asserters of free Inquiry, 
 Bible Religion, christian Freedom, and civil Liberty on 
 the other. The Rev. Charles Finney, ' Home Missionary, 1 
 and High Priest of the Expeditions of the Alliance in the 
 Interior of JVe iv York; Head Quarters, County of Oneida. 
 By Ephraim Perkins, a Layman of Trenton. Utica, 
 1826. 12mo. pp. 104. 
 
 2. A Narrative of the Revival of Religion, in the County 
 of Oneida, particularly in the Bounds of the Presbytery of 
 Oneida, in the Year 1826. Utica. Hastings & Tracy, 
 
 1826. Svo. pp. 88. 
 
 3. A Calm Review, of the Spirit, Means, and Incidents 
 of the late ' Oneida Revival, 1 as exhibited in various 
 Presbyterian Societies. Utica. Dauby and Maynard. 
 
 1827. 12mo. pp. 4. 
 
 4. Letter to the Presbytery of Oneida County, New York, 
 and their ' Committee, the Rev. John Frost, Rev. Moses 
 Gillet, and Rev. Noah Coe, 1 ' appointed to receive Com- 
 munications from Ministers and others respecting the late 
 Revival, in this County. 1 By Ephraim Perkins, ' a 
 Plain Farmer ' of Trenton. Utica. Dauby &, Maynard, 
 1827. 12mo. pp. 24. 
 
 5. A Brief Account of the Origin and Progress of the Di- 
 visions in the First Presbyterian Church in the City of 
 Troy ; containing, also, Strictures upon the new Doctrines 
 broached by the Rev. C. G. Finney and N. S. S.Beman, 
 with a Summary Relation of the Trial of the Latter before 
 the Troy Presbytery. By a Number of the late Church 
 and Congregation. Trov, N. Y. Tuttle & Richards, 
 1S27. Svo. pp. 4S. 
 
 We feel compelled at last, though it is with extreme reluc- 
 tance, to call the attention of our readers to the extravagances 
 
^ L JUL ' ) 1932 ' 
 
 The Oneida and Troy Revival^/*, 243 o 
 
 committed of late, in various parts of our country, uircrer-ttie-^"^ 
 abused name of Revivals of Religion. These disclosures, it 
 is true, verify the predictions we have frequently made, and 
 strengthen and confirm every position we have taken on this 
 subject, by incontestible facts; and for this reason it might be 
 thought, that we should be eager to lay them before the public. 
 But when we consider the use that is likely to be made of 
 them by unbelievers and scoffers, and their tendency to create 
 even in well disposed minds a distrust of religion itself, it be- 
 comes a melancholy office from which we could gladly refrain, 
 were we not convinced, that any longer silence would be trea- 
 son. The pamphlets before us show that these excitements 
 are no longer to be regarded merely as ebullitions of overheated 
 zeal in a few misguided individuals, whose excesses the great 
 body of the Christians with whom they act, would take care 
 to frown upon and repress. The Narrative published by the 
 Oneida Presbytery, says of Finney, the principal instigator of 
 these disturbances, that they ' think it due to him and to the 
 cause of Christ, which they believe he loves, to state, that his 
 christian character, since he made profession of religion,t has 
 been irreproachable ;' and that, ' on the whole, he is as well cal- 
 culated to be extensively useful in promoting revivals of reli- 
 gion, as any man of whom they have any knowledge.'* The 
 Troy Presbytery also, before whom Beman, another of these 
 incendiaries, was brought for trial, not only acquitted him 
 of all blame, but, as if to add insult to injustice, ' transgressed 
 their authority by passing a vote of censure upon those mem- 
 bers of the church who had signed the petition for the trial, 
 and outraged common sense by a vote of thanks to Beman 
 himself for his ministerial zeal and fidelity.^ Though, 
 therefore, many individuals of the party think precisely as 
 we do of the revolting scenes in question, and are not respon- 
 sible for the violent measures that have led to them, still it 
 would seem that the character of the party itself is deeply 
 implicated, as they have by their public acts, and in a most 
 solemn manner, approved and sanctioned what has been done. 
 It would seem, that the measures adopted by Finney and 
 Beman are but part of a system deliberately formed, which 
 a powerful party are determined to introduce into every city 
 and village, as they may have opportunity ; until they shall 
 have the satisfaction of beholding the fires of religious frenzy 
 
 * p. 44 f Brief Account, p, 47. 
 
244 The O inula and Troy Revivals. 
 
 which have flashed up in particular places, spread through the 
 land, to use their own expression, ' as fires spread and roar 
 through the parched forests/ 
 
 It should be observed, that in the statements about to be 
 made, we are not under the necessity of depending on ex parte 
 testimony, always to be suspected, and never more so than in 
 religious misunderstandings. The Narrative is from the friends 
 of the revival, and in a long Appendix they undertake an 
 examination of the Bunker Hill Contest, and we may presume 
 the last mentioned pamphlet contains no error, misrepresenta- 
 tions, or false coloring, which they have not detected and 
 exposed. It is remarkable, however, that they have not so 
 much as attempted to disprove a single material allegation in 
 regard to the disturbances in question. Mr Wetmore, the 
 minister of Trenton, says, indeed, in his letter to the committee 
 on this subject, ; Now what I have to state is, that Mr 
 Perkins has given in general a false statement of the proceed- 
 ings in the revival, so far as I am concerned, and so far as 
 relates to the manner and means made use of in promoting the 
 revival in my congregation. I am ready to say, and to prove 
 if it were necessary, that the statements which he has made 
 are a gross perversion of the truth/- To prove this, if it 
 were necessary : — It was the only thing necessary ; and, 
 supposing him to be an honest man, his only object in writing ; 
 and as he has not done this in a single instance, nor attempted 
 it in regard to any of the material and express charges brought 
 against himself and his coadjutors, nor even ventured so much 
 as to deny them, except in a general wav as above, the con- 
 clusion is irresistible, that he could not do it ; that the facts 
 were notorious. The Appendix, however, has called out Mr 
 Perkins again in his Letter to the Presbytery, in which by a se- 
 ries of affidavits he has abundantly established every important 
 position taken by him previously, leaving us nothing to i\ i 
 on his part, but a disposition in both his pamphlets to encum- 
 ber the narrative with much irrelevant matter, and a want, in 
 some instances, of seriousness and dignity, and particularly in 
 his titlepages. 
 
 With respect to the difficulties at Troy, it is true the Brief 
 Account is from the aggrieved party : but it contains a summary 
 report ofBeman's trial, giving us a lull view of the grounds taken 
 by that gentleman and his friend.- in his defence. The Calm 
 
The Oneida and Troy Revivals. 245 
 
 Review has not made us acquainted with many new facts, but 
 is nevertheless of great value, as it confirms the statements 
 derived from other sources, and presents us with the reflections 
 of a person residing on the spot, who has evidently contem- 
 plated the commotions about him with the eye of a Christian and 
 a philosopher. Seldom has a case occurred of violent religious 
 dissensions and excesses, respecting which our materials for 
 making up a just opinion are more ample and satisfactory. 
 
 It appears that towards the close of the summer of 1825, 
 many of the Presbyterian ministers in the interior of New York, 
 and particularly in Oneida County, began to be uneasy about 
 the state of religion in their congregations, and still more so at 
 the progress which other sects were making amongst them. 
 To arouse the slumberers, and still more, it would seem, to 
 reestablish themselves in that ascendancy which they were in 
 danger of losing, they appear very generally to have come into 
 a plan for getting up, as the phrase is, an awakening, or revival ; 
 a common resort of the Orthodox, when they find themselves 
 in difficulty. For this purpose they lost no time in availing 
 themselves of the means and instruments, which experience has 
 shown to be most efficacious in such cases ; and three or four 
 1 home missionaries,' as they are called, and several young men 
 from the theological seminary at Auburn, came to their aid, 
 and rendered essential services. These measures began to 
 take effect in the course of the autumn ; but the contagion spread 
 slowly, and does not appear to have reached its height till the 
 following spring and summer. Speaking of the accounts com- 
 municated to the committee of the Oneida Presbytery, respect- 
 ing the rise and progress of the revival in different places, the 
 writer of the Calm Review observes : 
 
 ' In many of them there appears to be a studied effort to create 
 a belief, that some time, before any open indications of religious 
 excitement appeared in their several societies, and before any 
 special means were taken to promote it, a silent but obvious 
 movement upon the minds of the people was apparent and is now 
 well recollected. Far be it from us to impute to these gentlemen 
 a design to impose knowingly upon the public mind, an untrue 
 statement of the case ; but it is not uncommon for those who would 
 wish to remember a favorite matter, unwittingly to themselves to 
 substitute an after thought for a recollection. Certain however 
 it is, that in no instance, so far as we have information, was " the 
 work" a subject of public knowledge or general observation, 
 before the appearance and operation of the principal agent or 
 
240 The Oneida and Troy Revivals. 
 
 agents, who have all along attended it and given to it life and 
 activity.' — Calm Review, pp.9 — 11. 
 
 The origin of the revival in Troy was less respectable. 
 About four years ago the Rev. Nathan S. S. Beman, then 
 residing in the state of Georgia, was called to the charge of the 
 First Presbyterian Church in that city. While measures were 
 in progress for his settlement, rumors began to be circulated in 
 the neighbourhood respecting differences between himself and 
 his wife of a scandalous nature, and a committee was raised to 
 inquire into the truth of these reports. 
 
 ' They applied to Mr Beman himself for information, who 
 assured them that there never had been any variance between 
 them, except upon one occasion, when he found it necessary to 
 interfere and disapprove of the excessive correction, which she 
 was administering to a female servant. He further informed 
 them, that she was a woman whom it would afford him pleasure 
 to introduce to the ladies of Troy, and he did not doubt the plea- 
 sure would be reciprocal upon their acquaintance with her ; that 
 she was a professor of religion, and a pious woman, and would 
 be an ornament to the society. It has since been found that very 
 violent and angry dissensions existed between them, long before 
 their departure from Georgia. The church had inflicted the sen- 
 tence of suspension upon her, and it was still hanging over her 
 when she came here, and she has never communed [communica- 
 ted] with the church in this place. The cause of her suspension 
 will place in still stronger light the duplicity of Mr Beman. About 
 five months after their marriage, there was some difficulty between 
 them, when Mr Beman locked her in a room, and kept her confined 
 from morning until afternoon, at which time she was released by 
 a servant. She then went to another room, and threw herself 
 upon a bed. Mr Beman entered the room, while she was in that 
 posture, and as soon as she discovered him, she looked up at him 
 and smiled. He abruptly turned his heel upon her, went away, 
 but soon returned, saying that " if locks would not hold her, he 
 would see if nails would." He then fastened the door with the 
 " nails," and she, alarmed and agitated, raised the window and 
 made an outcry for help. All blame for this transaction, proba- 
 bly without much inquiry, was thrown upon her, and the sentence 
 of suspension was passed upon her by the church session. When 
 Mr Beman left Georgia, he applied to the session for a certificate 
 of her good conduct, which was denied, with an assurance, how- 
 ever, that if he would, six months after that time, write to them 
 a satisfactory account of her amendment, they would restore her 
 to the church He has repeatedly said, since the time he passed 
 
The Oneida and Troy Revivals. 247 
 
 his encomium upon her to the committee, that she was ahvays a 
 woman of a refractory temper, and that her first husband fell a 
 sacrifice to it, or to use his own words, " she wore his life out, 
 and her father said that no man could live with her." ' — Brief 
 Account, pp. 32, 33. 
 
 A connexion begun in duplicity and prevarication, it could 
 hardly be expected, would be long or happy. The continuance 
 of his domestic difficulties, and the consequent exposure of his 
 unfair dealing with the committee, the open and disgraceful 
 scenes to which his frequent and violent altercations with his 
 wife gave rise, the unfavorable aspect which these occurrences 
 wore in regard to his own temper, even supposing his wife to 
 have been the first aggressor, and the failure in an attempt on 
 his part to obtain a legal separation from her ; all conspired to 
 bring a dark cloud over his character and prospects. 
 
 ' In this state of the case, with these unfavorable suspicions 
 hanging over him, he determined, by assuming an unusual degree 
 of zeal in the cause of religion, to create such an impression of 
 his sanctity, as would entirely retrieve his falling reputation. He 
 even declared to a respectable member of his church, who was 
 warning him of his dangerous situation, that if a successful 
 revival could be matured under his auspices, it would place him 
 beyond the reach of censure ; that either himself or his wife 
 must be sacrificed, and that if the lot fell to him, it might be of 
 disservice to the cause of religion. He appeared to conceive 
 that in the choice of the victim, the guilt or innocence of the parties 
 were not to be taken into consideration, but policy and expediency 
 were only to be regarded. As his fall would be followed by worse 
 consequences than hers, he thought that she ought to suffer ; 
 and it was with this strange logic in his mouth, that he appealed 
 to his friends for assistance in effecting his object. A revival 
 must be commenced, and he must be its author.' — Brief Account , 
 p. 15. 
 
 Having adverted to the origin of these revivals, we shall next 
 mention some of the means employed in getting them up. 
 
 The leading and principal agent in this work, has been the 
 Rev. Charles G. Finney, a remarkable man in many respects. 
 He was converted to Calvinism a few years since, and imme- 
 diately left the study of the law for divinity, and is now a member 
 of the Oneida Presbytery. In a letter published in the Bunker 
 Hill Contest there is a description of this gentleman as a 
 preacher, w 7 hich, the authors of the Narrative admit, may assist 
 the reader in forming a tolerably correct opinion of his manner. 
 
248 The Oneida and Troy Revivals. 
 
 1 Now, as a shrewd and bold calculator in effecting your design- 
 you avail yourself of Calvinism on the one hand, and of the flex- 
 ible passions of men on the other. You breast yourself to the 
 work like a giant. You open the attack with Jupiter's thunder- 
 bolt. You take the doctrine for a damning fact — declare you 
 know it — raise your voice, lift high your hand, bend forward 
 your trunk, fasten your staring eyes upon the auditors, declare 
 that they know it to be God's truth, that they stand upon the 
 brink of hell's gaping pit of fire and brimstone, and bending 
 over your body and bringing your clenched fist half way from the 
 pulpit to the broad aisle, denounce instant and eternal damnation 
 upon them, unless they repent forthwith. 
 
 ' This frightens the feebleminded, and there is no difficulty 
 after this in moulding them according to your pleasure and pur- 
 pose. But there is a set of men capable of high passionate 
 excitement, upon whom this^mode of management has no other 
 effect than to produce contempt and ridicule. You are aware of 
 this, and you resort to another method to rouse their passions, 
 well knowing, that if you can only get their feelings wrought up 
 to a high pitch in any manner, they then lose their sober sense 
 and self command, and may be managed like an Elephant in his 
 chains. To accomplish this, you call them out by name, or desig- 
 nate them in public prayer before all the people, revile them, 
 multiply opprobrious and galling epithets, and whether present or 
 absent, you of course make them mad with passion, which they 
 vent most freely and fiercely, with indignant ravings and curses 
 on your person. This is just what you want. This makes you 
 laugh inside, however sober you may look without. You remain 
 unmoved like the arch spider in the centre of his web, drawing 
 the cords closer and tighter, well knowing that the more the fly 
 flounces and struggles, the more he entangles himself in the 
 snare, and overcome at length by self action, he falls a panting 
 and exhausted prey to his all devouring adversary. This, sir, is 
 hitting the nail on the head. In this way you have made con- 
 verts, not to be converted by any other management. 
 
 1 You have boasted of it, and said ; if you could only make them 
 mad, you were sure of them, the victory was easy, the easiest 
 thing in the world. Here then we have the exposition of the 
 character of your talents, 'and your acquaintance with human 
 nature in this peculiar department of it. 
 
 ' If there were any reason in the world for the hypothesis, that 
 you may possibly be a sincere deluded man, I might have treated 
 I lie subject in a very different manner. But I know too much of 
 you and your performances, both from personal observation and the 
 actual history of your proceedings, to be led into any such mis- 
 
The Oneida and Troy Revivals. 249 
 
 take. To represent you a sincere deluded enthusiast or mis- 
 guided fanatic, would be to misrepresent you.' — Bunker Hill 
 Contest, pp. 99, 100. 
 
 We doubt whether the writer of this letter is aware of the 
 full extent to which cunning and fraud are compatible with a 
 sincere fanaticism. At the same time, we believe that the in- 
 flammatory, or we should rather say, ferocious style of preach- 
 ing, for which Mr Finney appears to be distinguished, might 
 easily be practised by a man possessing his peculiar turn of 
 mind, though every thing were feigned, and his preaching 
 might become as effective in disturbing the community, without 
 supposing him to have extraordinary powers. The coarse 
 passions, and those especially which are expressed in strong 
 and boisterous tones and gestures, are easily affected ; and there 
 is something in the violent action of the speaker in such cases, 
 that has the effect to excite him, and make him appear as if he 
 were in earnest. However this may be, the preaching above 
 described is what the i revival ministers ' term pungent preach- 
 ing ; and as this is one of the principal means on which they 
 rely for success, it may be proper for us to give a few more 
 specimens. 
 
 The following is the closing sentence of one of Mr Finney's 
 sermons to the people of Utica. 
 
 * " You sinners of Utica, and some of you who now hear me, 
 will go to hell, and the saints and angels will look down from 
 heaven, and when they see the sinners of Utica, in the lowest, 
 deepest, darkest pit of hell, they will shout and clap their hands 
 for joy." This is said to be the spirit, if not the exact letter 
 of your sentence. Neither is this the only place where you in- 
 culcate similar sentiments, and as an earnest, or foretaste of the 
 extatic joy and blissful enjoyment you anticipate, you clapped 
 your hands as ycu uttered the chant.' — Bunker Hill Contest, 
 p. 95. 
 
 This gentleman preached several times at Troy, and his 
 language on two of these occasions, as given in the Brief Ac- 
 count, was highly characteristic. 
 
 1 On a sabbath evening last fall, a sermon was delivered in 
 ,the church by Mr Finney, in which, after describing the lan- 
 guage of the redeemed in heaven as being " not unto us, but 
 unto thy name be the glory," he said, " we should see these 
 restorationists come smoking and fuming out of hell to the gate 
 
 VOL. IV. — NO. III. 32 
 
250 The Oneida and Troy Revivals. 
 
 of heaven ; winch being opened, they will say, stand away you 
 old saints of God, we have paid our own debt, we have a better 
 right here than you ; and you, too, Jesus Christ, stand aside, get 
 out of our way, no thanks to you our being here ; we come here 
 on our own merits." 
 
 1 In a sermon delivered last fall by Finney, after representing 
 the extreme depravity of the sinner's heart, and how hostile it 
 was to God, he said, " why, sinner, I tell you if you could climb 
 to heaven, you would hurl God from* his throne ; yes, hurl God 
 from his throne ; O yes, if you could but get there, you would 
 
 cut God's throat ; yes, you would cut God's throat." 
 
 # # # * 
 
 1 On the eighth of October last, in the afternoon, Mr Finney 
 preached from these words: "Now, therefore, be ye not mockers 
 lest your bands be made strong." After reproaching the mem- 
 bers of the church for their cold prayers, which he described as 
 hypocritical and a mockery to God, he said, " now, servants and 
 children, do you go home to night, and watch your parents and 
 masters, and see if they don't pray the same old cold hypocritical 
 prayer over again which they have been praying many years." ' 
 
 Brief Account, pp. 35, 36. 
 
 Mr Beman was not likely to be outdone in his own pulpit, in 
 a kind of preaching so exactly suited to his genius and temper. 
 Accordingly we find, that, 
 
 ' On the evening of the thirteenth of September last, in a 
 sermon delivered at the upper end of Fourth Street, Mr Beman 
 declared that " he should follow his cold professors in the pulpit, 
 and in preaching from house to house, until he had ferreted them 
 out, and driven them from their lurking places, and stripped 
 them of their sheep skins, and exposed the teeth of the wolf." ' 
 
 Brief Account, p. 29. 
 
 And again ; 
 
 ' In another discourse, he said, " the clerks along River Street 
 were laughing and scoffing at God's eternal truth ; they were 
 without brains, and scarcely ever read a chapter in the bible, 
 and he had no doubt if they could get to heaven, they would 
 pull .God from his throne, and burn it to ashes." Then address- 
 ing convicted sinners, he said " your prayers are rebellion against 
 God, and an abomination in his sight;" and in addressing sin- 
 ners generally, he said, " if you dare do it, you would club God 
 Almighty out of Troy." ' — Brief Account, p. 30. 
 
 The following passages are still more offensive, as they indi- 
 
The Oneida and Troy Revivals, 251 
 
 cate not only the manner, but the spirit, in which this minister 
 thought to perform the office of one, who should beseech men 
 by the meekness and gentleness of Christ. It should be ob- 
 served that deacon Heartt, of whom mention is here made, had 
 given no other occasion of resentment to Mr Beman, but by 
 opposing his violent measures. 
 
 ' In a conversation held by a gentleman of this city with Mr 
 Beman, he said that " it was not strange that deacon Heartt's 
 children conducted improperly ; for, says he, their mother is an 
 old hypocrite, and their father is not much better." He further 
 said that " Deacon Heartt was reporting and circulating lies about 
 him, as base and as black as were ever forged on the anvil of 
 hell." He continued ; " if he does not desist, I will rip him up 
 root and branch ; I will expose him ; and if I am not permitted 
 to do it elsewhere, I will do it from the pulpit. The public shall 
 know and understand what he is about. I will pursue him until 
 he is expelled from God's church." The gentleman then re- 
 spectfully recommended to him the expediency of mitigating his 
 ardor, as he was apprehensive it might ultimately destroy the 
 society. He said that " he should not alter in the least ; he 
 should not retrace a single step, although he should see fire and 
 faggots coming into his face and eyes. He should go on as God 
 directed him to preach, although there should be but one left in 
 
 the house." 
 
 * # * * 
 
 'In one of his sermons he said, *' complaints have been made 
 of my manner of preaching, and it is said such kind of preach- 
 ing will not last long. But you need not flatter yourselves with 
 that ; for I have but just, commenced. I shall go all round these 
 pews, and shall follow you, until I bring you all upon your mar- 
 rowbones.'" — Brief Account, pp. 34, 35. 
 
 Pungent preaching, however, does not appear to have been 
 in so much favor with the instigators of these disturbances, as 
 another expedient termed by them ' agonizing prayer,' or ' the 
 prayer of faith,' particularly when made ' for a definite object.' 
 The reflections on this subject in the Calm Review, are tem- 
 perate, judicious, and edifying. 
 
 ' A sermon must in ordinary hands always be more or less of 
 a preceptive and didactic nature, and cannot be struck out as it 
 were at a single heat. Brief ejaculatory exhortations are a spe- 
 cies of address more within the compass of every man who feels 
 himself moved to instruct his fellow men in their religious course, 
 and can be made to bear more directly upon the feelings and 
 
252 The Oneida and Troy Revivals. 
 
 passions cither of individuals or of multitudes. But it is through 
 the medium of prayer that the devotional mind catches its highest 
 inspirations, and " kindling as it goes" soon becomes with an 
 enthusiastic, a designing, or an unregulated mind, both the cause 
 and the effect of that effervescence of the soul, which consumes 
 in its fires every vestige of reason and reflection, and prostrates 
 like a whirlwind the fairest monuments which fall within its 
 sweep. And il has accordingly been through the use, or rather 
 the misuse) of this high and solemn exercise of the mind, that the 
 character of this work and of its indiscreet agents, has been most 
 strikingly, and in many instances lamentably displayed. Credulity 
 itself would scarcely credit many of the well known instances, 
 both in matter and manner, of extravagant, and even profane 
 and ludicrous perversion of this sacred exercise, which have oc- 
 curred in the public and private ministrations of this sublimated 
 school. " The prayer of faith" is the favorite term by which it 
 has been characterised and distinguished, and to be able to attain 
 to it, seems at once to have been the object of the highest aspi- 
 rations, and a sure warrant for expecting the attainment of its 
 every petition. From this unauthorised, strange, and novel 
 doctrine, has naturally grown both the excessive vehemence, and 
 llic individuality by which these exercises have been peculiarly 
 distinguished in the course of this work, which are frequently 
 alluded to with so much commendation in the history of it lately 
 given, and which is called " praying for a definite object." It 
 need hardly be remarked how delicate an attempt, even in skilful 
 and well disciplined hands, is such a personal application of an 
 address to the Majesty of heaven and earth in behalf of our 
 fellow mortals, whose characters, whose frailties and whose re- 
 ligious affections are best known and only known to an all-seeing 
 Judge. What a perilous and hazardous attempt must it then 
 be in the hands of a clumsy novice, or a designing agitator, 
 heated with the fumes of enthusiasm, or soured with the obsta- 
 cles of opposition, which at times question his infallibility or 
 obstruct his progress. And it is from aspirants like these — 
 
 " From skulls that cannot teach and will not learn," 
 
 that we have habitually been accustomed to hear villages, streets, 
 houses, and individuals singled out by name and held up to the 
 surrounding audience as a spectacle to be operated upon by the 
 rough cleaver of a coarse operator, until the unhappy subject of 
 it was cither driven by resentment into a passionate opposition 
 to the whole system, or by fear and perplexity driven into the 
 system itself, by a blind surrender of all the reasoning faculties 
 of his mind.' — Calm Review, pp. 14, 15. 
 
The Oneida and Troy Revivals. 253 
 
 In a note subjoined the writer observes further : 
 
 c The exploded and irrational notion of the miraculous inter- 
 position of the Deity in answer to prayers " for a definite object," 
 appears also to be meeting with considerable countenance with 
 the high Calvinists in some other parts of our country, in relation 
 even to temporal blessings. Thus in a late Boston Recorder, in 
 a narrative of the life and religious experience of a Miss Colman 
 lately deceased, it is stated without any question of the fact, that 
 " at the age of twelve years she was afflicted with a distressing 
 disease in her throat, which nearly caused her death. At this 
 time she was the subject of extreme and distressing temptation. 
 She, however, gave herself steadily to prayer, and her tending 
 physicians declared, that the complaint left her suddenly, and 
 apparently in answer to prayer." We have heard it stated upon 
 what in any other case would be deemed credible authority, that 
 such was the faith of certain good women in the north part of 
 the county, in the prayers of the Rev. Mr N. when " agoniz- 
 ingly " brought to bear upon " a definite object," that they " had 
 no doubt of the conversion of any particular individual whom he 
 should select and pray for with his utmost earnestness lying " 
 (as he is wont to do in a recumbent posture) " upon his belly ! " 
 Is there any thing more irrational than these suppositions, in the 
 so much ridiculed statements, which were circulated a year or 
 two since of the miraculous cures said to have been performed, 
 both in Europe and this country, through the ministrations, 
 masses, and prayers of * * Prince Hohenloe 1 And 
 yet there is probably not a single believer in the first mentioned 
 special interpositions, who would not reject at once with utter 
 incredulity, and even with horror, the belief in the bare possi- 
 bility of the latter, though certainly sustained by much more 
 plausible and imposing evidence of their reality.' — Calm Review, 
 p. 16. 
 
 On this topic we hardly know how to proceed. Even the 
 abuses of prayer, the most affecting and sublime act of man, 
 are not to be treated with levity, or spoken of contemptuously. 
 It must have a bad effect to connect ludicrous associations with 
 this service ; and we are sure it cannot give more pain to any 
 of our readers, than it does to us, to dwell on the errors and 
 excesses by which it has been degraded and profaned. On 
 the other hand, were we to pass over in silence the disgusting 
 and shocking details that follow, we should be unfaithful to 
 the opportunity afforded of demonstrating the legitimate results 
 of that system, which would make a revival of religion to 
 
254 The Oneida and Troy Revivals. 
 
 depend on exciting the passions, and not on enlightening the 
 understanding. 
 
 1 After Mr Finney had got a " revival " well a going in Gover- 
 ning in St Laurence county, in 1825, he had a call and went 
 to De Kalb, staid a few weeks, and returned to Governieur. On 
 being asked by his friends how the " Revival " went on in De 
 Kalb, he said " they were very cold. When the old church 
 members attempted to pray, they appeared as if they were think- 
 ing about swapping horses.'' He said "our young converts in 
 Governieur will pray down a kingdom, sooner than the old church 
 members will pray an old hen off her nest." Are these, too, some 
 of the " pointed arguments and strong language which solemnly 
 and powerfully impress the higher as well as the lower classes" 
 in Utica? Rev. Mr Nash (then with Mr Finney in the work,) 
 could often be heard half a mile when alone in secret prayer ; 
 and so conducted his prayers, that some of their converts be- 
 lieved and contended, that he could and had prayed his horse 
 from one pasture into another.' — Bunker Hill Contest, p. 65. 
 
 The same superstition prevailed also at Troy. 
 
 * Among other novel doctrines which were added to their 
 creed, was a notion that the prayer of faith would be heard and 
 infallibly answered ; or that every thing asked for in a prayer 
 made in a certain frame of mind, would immediately be granted. 
 We will not insult the understandings of our readers by attempt- 
 ing to prove the absurdity of such a belief, but we will give 
 them an opportunity of seeing to what improprieties it drove, at 
 least one of its advocates. He called at the store of a gentleman, 
 and asked him if he ever prayed, if he ever made the prayer of 
 faith ? The reply was, if we have been correctly informed, that 
 he never had, and indeed that he did not know the nature of 
 such a prayer. His ghostly friend then explained it to him, and 
 told him that if he would retire to some secret room with him, he 
 would give him a specimen of it, and that he would then soon 
 become himself a witness of its efficacy. This proposal was 
 assented to and they both withdrew to another apartment, where 
 a prayer of an hour and a half's duration was offered up, and 
 very patiently heard by the attentive auditor, whose conviction 
 and conversion were the principal objects of the petition. The 
 result, however, was never such as to induce him to have that 
 confidence in the prayer of faith which had been anticipated.'- 
 
 Brief Account i p. 18. 
 
 It appears, indeed, to have been a common practice at their 
 conference and prayer meetings to mention individuals by name 
 in their prayers, and call down fire from heaven on them and 
 
The Oneida and Troy Revivals. 255 
 
 their families, if they continued their opposition to the ' great 
 work.' We shall give but one case of this description, the 
 prayer respecting Col. A. G. Mappa, though this is one which 
 speaks volumes ; premising only that affidavits of persons 
 present on the occasion are published in the Letter to the 
 Presbytery, which' prove, ' that Mr Perkins has not, in his Bun- 
 ker Hill Contest, exaggerated this prayer, but has come short 
 in their opinion.'* In a letter to the Rev. Nathaniel S. 
 Smith, who made the prayer now under consideration, the 
 writer says : 
 
 ' Sir, I shall state facts that you will not deny — 1st, that on the 
 23d ult. in the town of Trenton, at the house of the Rev. Oliver 
 Wetmore, the pastor of the Presbyterian Church in that place, in 
 public conference and prayer meeting, you exhorted a large 
 assembly to name and distinguish individuals, " as they do in 
 Utica," and wrestle with God for their conviction, and afterwards 
 named an individual whose hoary head had been whitened with 
 three-score and ten years, and who has long been a professor of 
 the christian religion, constant and regular in his attendance at 
 the house of public worship, and the ordinances of Christ, and 
 that with apparent devotion ; of whom, and his house, the virtuous 
 poor, the widow, and fatherless cannot speak without tears of 
 gratitude ; whose moral example and precept have contributed 
 more than that of any other man to preserve the town and village 
 in which he resides, from those excesses of tavern haunting, pro- 
 fanity, and licentiousness of many descriptions, which disgrace 
 many towns and villages. Against such a man you have lifted 
 up your voice to God in public prayer, named, and distinguished 
 him, and called " on God to smite that wicked man, that hardened 
 sinner, who never prays, that stubborn rebel, that self righteous 
 Pharisee, who stands on an eminence and has embraced a lie, 
 and is leading multitudes that entrench themselves behind him, 
 down to hell. O God, send trouble, anguish, and affliction into 
 his bed chamber this night, shake his house over him, and cause 
 him to tremble ; God Almighty shake him over hell !" ' — Bunker 
 Hill Contest, pp. 80, 81. 
 
 The horror which one feels for such language in prayer to 
 God, is changed, however, into unmingled indignation, when we 
 learn that all this is regarded, at least by the leaders, merely as 
 a cunning device, to impose on the ignorant and inexperienced. 
 When Mr Beman first began to inculcate the ' revival views' of 
 ' the prayer of faith,' we are told, that, 
 
 p n. 
 
'250 The Oneida and Troy Revivals. 
 
 1 The avowal of this doctrine occasioned much perplexity and 
 uneasiness among that portion of the church members, who still 
 remained rational and orthodox. One of them, Mrs Brower, sent 
 a request to Wm. M. Bliss, Esquire, an elder of the church, to call 
 upon her, and explain the novelty. He complied, and after she 
 had remarked howunscriptural and how contrary to reason it was, 
 he assented to the propriety of her observations ; but said that it 
 was supported simply for the purpose of creating a revival ; and 
 for that reason solicited her to manifest no opposition to it. 1 
 
 Brief Account, p. 28. 
 
 As another means of effecting their object, the fomenters of 
 these excitements rely much on what are called ' inquiry meet- 
 ings' and ' anxious meetings.' Speaking of Finney, Mr Per- 
 kins says ; 
 
 ' When he enters a place to get up a " revival " his first step is 
 to institute meetings, styled " meetings of inquiry," nocturnal, 
 and in various parts of the towns. These are the foundations on 
 which he builds the superstructure of his u revivals." They are 
 free for all of every age, sect, and denomination. 
 
 ' The thunders of Sinai, the flaming curses of a broken law, 
 the horrors of the pit, and all the epithets of lamentation and 
 despair, are put in requisition by the most consummate skill, to 
 produce consternation and dismay in the minds of those who 
 attend the meetings. Those whose minds are under the domin- 
 ion of credulity and implicit faith, and who expect religion to 
 come upon them in horrible feelings and great convictions, are 
 soon brought down. In the latter part of these meetings, the 
 question is put generally, " Who wishes to be prayed for to night, 
 or who is willing to give up his soul to God !" 
 
 • Many will be found ready to answer in the affirmative, few will 
 be found to negative such a question at such a time. Those who 
 wish to be prayed for, or express a willingness to give up their 
 souls to God, must then kneel. In one of these meetings, after get- 
 ting several small girls on their knees to be prayed for, Mr Finney 
 told them, f< that if they got up without giving up their hearts to 
 God, their doom would be sealed forever," and some of them did 
 get up, and he then looked up and said " that he then beheld the 
 angels of God sealing their eternal doom, and that they had 
 sealed it with a great broad seal, and it was laid up not to be 
 opened till the last judgment, and would then be opened and 
 they be doomed to endless wo." ' — Bunker Hill Contest, p. 57. 
 
 After this description we were not a little surprised to learn, 
 that Mr Finney is not generally as hard and outrageous in these 
 meetings as some of the vouns; theological students, who have 
 
The Oneida and Troy Revivals. 257 
 
 become his followers, and endeavor to ape his style and 
 manner.' 
 
 * The next step in course, in these " revivals," is to establish 
 what are termed " anxious meetings." Their name would seem 
 to denote them to be meetings for those, who are anxious for their 
 souls' salvation. The object of these meetings is, to ascertain 
 who are anxious about their spiritual and eternal welfare, to 
 know who have obtained hopes, and to bring hope to the con- 
 victed and distressed. 
 
 ' The prayers and exhortations are somewhat similar to those of 
 the meetings of inquiry. In most cases, in anxious meetings, the 
 saints and sinners are separated and occupy different rooms, when 
 they can be had. 
 
 1 They are generally, if not always held in the night. The 
 room is darkened, so that persons can only see to walk and dis- 
 cover each other, and the reign of universal silence is interrupted 
 only by now and then a dolorous groan from different parts of the 
 room. The leader or leaders tread softly about as they proceed, 
 whispering to each individual some question or questions, such 
 as " do you love God ?" " do you love the Lord Jesus Christ?" 
 " have you made your peace with God I" " or do you wish to do 
 so?" "have you got a hope?" or some other question of this 
 nature, with now and then an interrogation, " don't you think this 
 is a solemn place ?" " don't you think God is here ?" " don't you 
 feel awful ?" One was asked, " well Mr P., what do you think ?" 
 God knows my thoughts, said Mr P. — " I know that ; so do I." 
 No, sir, said Mr P., you cannot know my thoughts. " It will not 
 do, Mr P., to tell a minister of the Gospel that he does not know 
 your thoughts." 
 
 ' Questions are generally put in a low whisper, and, if any one 
 answers aloud, he is requested to speak low. 
 
 'In some of these meetings a lad was interrogated, but being 
 intimidated, and fearing he should not answer properly or to 
 satisfaction, was silent. He was forthwith named, and the saints 
 were called upon to pray for Joseph Pride, and prayers were 
 offered for Joseph Pride, that he might be delivered of a dumb 
 devil.' — Bunker Hill Contest, pp. 58, 59. 
 
 The authors of the Narrative are not entirely satisfied with 
 these accounts ; though, as usual, they dare not deny any of 
 the material and express statements, but content themselves 
 with remarking, that one ' would suppose from this description of 
 these meetings, that going into them was like going into the 
 sepulchres of the dead.'* It seems to have escaped the 
 
 * p. 73. 
 VOL. IV. NO. in. 33 
 
258 The Oneida and Troy Revivals. 
 
 attention of these gentlemen, that the communications of 
 their own friends, published in the Narrative, corroborate and 
 establish every thing which Mr Perkins has advanced on this 
 view of the subject. In commenting on what they consider the 
 happy effect of these meetings, they say, 4 a death-like stillness' 
 reigned, a ' solemn awe, such as I never before witnessed f 
 ' sometimes there would be a burst of feeling in groans and 
 loud weeping;' ' a number fell, and some were unable to go 
 from the place till morning;' 'compelled to remain in some 
 instances agonizing in prayer, till almost the breaking of day.'* 
 If all these efforts fail, they have still another, which, as it has 
 often been resorted to in other places, claims special notice. 
 They ' creep into houses,' and by availing themselves of seasons 
 of sickness, or affliction, or of the absence of those members of 
 the family who would be most likely to detect their arts, and 
 chastise their impertinence, they are able not unfrequently to 
 act with considerable success on the minds of the rest. The 
 committee say in their Narrative ; ' Now what have Mr Wet- 
 more and Mr Smith done t They have gone into none of the 
 meetings of the Unitarians, to enter the lists of controversy with 
 them. They have not entered their private dwellings, to 
 proselyte them.'f We are sorry to be under the necessity 
 of pointing out so glaring an inaccuracy in a statement so mate- 
 rial to their justification; and for this purpose must introduce 
 the substance of two depositions furnished by Mr Perkins in his 
 Letter to the Presbytery. The first is of 
 
 1 Nancy Post, who, being duly sworn, saith that she belongs 
 to the Unitarian Church in Trenton, and that she was visited 
 by the Rev. Messrs Smith, Clarry, and Goodel ; and in the 
 course of half an hour's conversation, they told me repeat- 
 edly that I denied the Bible, and that I denied Jesus Christ ; 
 that I trembled and quaked every time I looked into the Bible ; 
 and said " you do not love God — unless you repent you will go 
 to hell." Mr Smith observed, that he knew the heart of a per- 
 son in the house better than he did himself. The person told 
 him he had no right to make such observations ; to which he 
 replied, he had a commission from God.' — Letter to the Prctby- 
 tcry, p. 18. 
 
 In another deposition Elizabeth Parker testifies, 
 
 'that in the month of May, 1826, while attending her daughter, 
 Mrs Johnson (now deceased) in her last sickness, in a very low 
 
 *pp. 10. 14,81. tp- 76. 
 

 The Oneida and Troy Revivals. 259 
 
 stage of consumption, a Mr Goodell, said to be under the sup- 
 port of the Western Education Society, and was then said to be 
 itinerating, and assisting the Rev. Mr Wetmore in the height of 
 the " revival," followed Mrs Johnson's father-in-law into the 
 house, and pressed himself into the room where she lay, and 
 awoke Mrs Johnson by some alarming representations of the 
 condition of one just leaving the world. Mrs Johnson having 
 previously heard of Mr Smith's prayer for Col. Mappa, and many 
 other attacks on other individuals, had requested that none of 
 the young ministers or itinerants should be permitted to approach 
 her. — I asked Mr Goodell repeatedly to leave the room. He said 
 to me, I shall not be hurried out of the room by you, I shall take 
 my own time for it — I am concerned about her soul ; and soon 
 stepped out of the room and said, come out, old woman, I am 
 concerned about your soul too. Mr and Mrs Thomson were 
 both Unitarians.' — Ibid. p. 19. 
 
 A scene given in the Brief Account of the difficulties at 
 Troy, with much minuteness, and apparently on the best au- 
 thority, may serve to set this part of the policy of these minis- 
 ters, and its unhappy tendencies, in still stronger light. Mr 
 Beman appears to have fixed his eyes on Mrs Weatherby, a 
 member of his church, with a determination to make her, if 
 possible, a subject of the prevailing enthusiasm ; and for this 
 purpose had held at least one conversation with her, in which 
 he had treated her with his accustomed harshness and severity. 
 
 ' Upon the subsequent day, the 3d of October, 1826, Mrs 
 Weatherby was at the house of her sister-in-law, Mrs Mosier, 
 when Mr Beman entered, supported by Mr Finney, a powerful 
 assistant in the work of fanaticism and vulgarity which he was 
 meditating. This scene cannot be more properly represented 
 than in the form of a dialogue, attributing to each speaker the 
 words actually uttered, or at all events retaining the precise and 
 intended meaning. The dramatis persona are Mr Beman, Mr 
 Finney, Mrs Mosier, and Mrs Weatherby. 
 
 ' Mr Beman (to Mrs Mosier.) — Were you ever under convic- 
 tion 1 
 
 1 Mrs Mosier. — I cannot say whether I ever have been or not. 
 My mind has been deeply impressed with the importance of reli- 
 gion at different times. 
 
 ' Mr B- — What is the state of your mind now ? 
 
 ' Mrs M. — It is not as much impressed as it has been heretofore 1 
 
 1 Mr B. — Men wear off their convictions by running into dissi- 
 pation and frequenting tippling houses, and women wear off 
 theirs by going into gay company. 
 
260 The Oneida and Troy Revivals. 
 
 * Mrs 31—1 was never fond of gay company ; I am of a do* 
 mestic turn. 
 
 i )j r yj._ You are worse, then, than other women ; for you 
 can stay at home and wear off your convictions. 
 ' Mr Finney. — \)o you love God ? 
 ' Mrs M.—I think I do. 
 
 * MrF. (shaking his fist in her face) — You lie ! What reason 
 have you to think you love God ? 
 
 ' Mrs 31.— When I look upon the works of creation, I feel to 
 praise and adore him. 
 
 1 Mr F. — You ought to go to hell, and you must repent. 
 
 1 Mrs M. — I cannot. 
 
 ' Mr F. (again putting his fist in her face) — You lie ! You can 
 repent and be converted immediately. 
 
 ' Mrs 31. — I cannot. 
 
 * 3Ir F. (again putting his fist in her face) — You lie ! 
 
 i 31rs 31. — How can I get the new birth unless God gives it to 
 me ? 
 
 ' Mr F. — You ought to be damned. 
 
 * 3Irs Weatherby.— Mr Finney, you have told Mrs Moiser that 
 she could regenerate herself, and give herself the new birth ; 
 now, if you will inform her it will edify me. 
 
 ' Mr F. — Are you a Christian, and ask such a question 1 
 
 * 3frs W.—I trust I am, and would like to have it answered. 
 1 Mr F. — How can you love your husband 1 
 
 4 3Irs IV. — Love is a passion I have never heard described. 
 
 1 3Ir Beman. — Mrs Weatherby, you have said you were a Chris- 
 tian, and dare you ask two of God's ministers such a question ? 
 
 1 Mrs W. — Yes, I dare ask it, and Ihave asked it once before, 
 and it appears that it cannot be answered.' — Brief Account, pp. 
 31—33. 
 
 Here closed this very unedifying interview. The husband 
 of Mrs Weatherby, who is master of one of the North River 
 vessels, was extremely indignant at the treatment which his wife 
 had received, as might be expected ; and determined to come 
 to some explanation on the subject with Mr Beman, whenever 
 they should meet. 
 
 1 Two days after he saw him in front of his own house, when he 
 spoke to him, and requested him to enter it with him. The invi- 
 tation was accepted, and both went in, each taking a seat at the 
 opposite ends of a table, when the ensuing dialogue passed be- 
 tween them : 
 
 * MrB. — I suppose you want to talk on religion, for I talk on 
 nothing else. 
 
The Oneida and Troy Revivals. 261 
 
 * Mr W. — Not on that in particular. I want to talk with you 
 concerning the conversation you had with my wife and sister at 
 M osier's. 
 
 c Mr B. (clenching hisjist and shaking it within a few inches 
 of Mr W.'s face.) — Capt. Weatherby, you will go to hell ; God 
 will send you to hell. — (This was repeated several times.) 
 
 ' Mr \V. — Mr. Beman, you must not say that again, for I can- 
 not bear it. 
 
 1 Mr B. (in a louder tone of voice.) — You will go to hell. 
 
 1 Mr Weatherby's patience was now completely exhausted, and 
 seizing Mr Beman, he threw him upon the floor. While he was 
 held in this attitude, he looked Mr Weatherby in the face, and 
 repeated his favorite expression, " you are going to hell," several 
 times. Mr Weatherby then explained to him his readiness to 
 release him, whenever his nonsense should cease, and he finally 
 executed his promise without exacting the condition. Mr Be- 
 man then arose, walked up to the lookingglass, and, after taking 
 a view of his physiognomy, again began to reiterate his old song, 
 " You will go to hell." At this time Mrs Weatherby came into 
 the apartment, when Mr W^eatherby again laid hold of him in 
 the same manner as before ; Mr Beman, when down, still utter- 
 ing the same offensive declaration. Mrs Weatherby requested 
 her husband to relinquish his hold of Mr Beman, which he flatly 
 refused to do, until he should stop his maledictions. She then 
 implored Mr Beman to desist, for her husband would not endurerit. 
 Upon rising, although the imprudence of such obstinacy must 
 have been very manifest to him, he again said, " God will send 
 you hell." To this Mr Weatherby replied, " God may, but you 
 cannot." Mr Beman then went into the hall, and from thence 
 to the door that leads out of the house into the street, where he 
 said, " If this door is not immediately opened I will halloo mur- 
 der." Mrs Weatherby had before said that she would open the 
 door with all convenient speed, when Mr Beman raised both 
 hands and yelled " murder." ' Brief Account, pp. 23, 24. 
 
 But enough, and some may think, too much, of this disgusting 
 recital. With respect to the immediate effects of these awak- 
 enings, we hope and believe, that some of them have been 
 salutary and good. Persons before wholly indifferent to religion 
 have been induced to attend to the subject ; the profane and 
 the scoffer have in many cases been reformed, at least for a 
 time ; for the moment more regard has been paid to some of 
 the outward means of religion, and some of its outward acts, 
 and an air of greater solemnity and thoughtfulness has spread 
 itself over the community. We do not find in these accounts, 
 
262 The Oneida and Troy Revivals. 
 
 nor in the accounts we have read of other similar excitements, 
 many well attested instances even of a temporary reformation 
 in persons addicted to any of the open and gross vices, except- 
 ing profanity, and indifference to religion. We have often heen 
 in the midst of these revivals, and have directed our inquiries 
 to this point ; and yet we are hardly ahle to refer to a single 
 instance of a real and permanent reformation, at such seasons, of 
 a man habitually guilty of avarice, intemperance, or sensuality. 
 The truth is, that the general statements asserting the frequency 
 of such reformations, which are often made by the friends of 
 this mode of propagating religion, are without foundation ; and 
 are adapted to leave an impression that is deceptive and false. 
 Excitements like those which we have described, may have 
 some good results, but reformations of the kind just mentioned 
 are not of this number. Besides, as to the permanency of what 
 is really good m these religious commotions, much cannot be 
 said, much must not be expected. Mr Beman himself asserted, 
 that in a revival, which took place in Troy in 1 8 16, 'there 
 were but about eighty received into the church, and of that 
 number forty were now under church censure.'* It is proper, 
 however, to observe that his accusers maintain, that on this 
 subject, as on almost every other which he touched, he has 
 been guilty of misrepresentation. Be this as it may, it is per- 
 fectly well understood, that these excitements in all cases die 
 away; and that the coldness and deadness of feeling which 
 ensue even in the best men, bear a very exact proportion to 
 the previous fervor and elevation. 
 
 After the foregoing details, it cannot be necessary for us to 
 dwell for a moment on the bad effects, immediate and remote, 
 of these excesses, remarking only, as we pass, that time as yet 
 has unfolded but a small part of them ; division and estrange- 
 ment of families, a neglect and contempt of the social duties, 
 the ascendency of men of coarse and vulgar minds, a presump- 
 tuous reliance on supposed divine impulses, impertinent inter- 
 ference in the affairs of others, and outrages on decency and 
 order disgracing religion, leading to violent altercations, and 
 provoking mutual injury. The following passage from the 
 Brief Account states the consequences of Mr Finney's first 
 visit to Troy ; and though the description may be perhaps a 
 little overwrought, we have no reason to doubt its general cor- 
 rectness. At any rate it should be considered, that this is not 
 
 * Brief Account, p. 3-1. 
 
The Oneida and Troy Revivals. 2G3 
 
 the testimony of Unitarians, or c Socinians,' as some still have 
 the meanness to miscall them, but of a part of Mr Beman's 
 church and congregation, who are as Orthodox as he is ; nay, 
 who make it one of their principal charges against him, that he 
 has swerved not a little from the Westminster Confession of 
 Faith. 
 
 ' Mr Finney's appearance here, where his reputation had pre- 
 ceded him, instantly aroused the public curiosity, and great 
 numbers flocked to hear him. The enemies of revelation re- 
 joiced that an opportunity was offered them to throw their re- 
 proaches upon it with some color of propriety, as represented 
 through so falsifying a medium, and listened to him with sincere 
 delight. Those who possessed either taste or information, felt 
 themselves insulted by the supposition, that their minds could 
 either be gratified by the oratory, or their understandings influ- 
 enced by the reasonings, of this ignorant ranter. Real piety 
 was afflicted to witness the destruction he was dealing upon its 
 cause. The growing discontent of the church and congrega- 
 tion was manifested by numbers forsaking their usual place of 
 worship, and frequenting those of other denominations, Infi- 
 delity and profanity no longer sought their secret dens, but stalk- 
 ed openly and without disguise through the streets ; and even 
 children, learning the blasphemous language of Mr Finney, 
 would repeat and emblazon it at the public corners.' — Brief 
 Account, p. 20- 
 
 The ' plain farmer ' gives his views of the character and 
 moral influence of these revivals in his own peculiar man- 
 ner, though, we fear, some may think that he has forgotten 
 the gravity and seriousness of the subject. 
 
 1 The monstrous impositions and unaccountable chimeras that 
 have been palmed upon mankind in their secular, as well as spi- 
 ritual concerns, should be a standing admonition " to try the 
 spirits," and contend for the free exercise of reason in all the 
 concerns of life. How often have the credulous been egregious- 
 ly imposed upon in their worldly concerns by those who pretend 
 to have wonderful discoveries and illuminations, and who deal in 
 mysteries. How many otherwise sensible and discreet men have, 
 by artful and designing impostors, carrying in their hand the mys- 
 terious and wonderful divining rod, been led to expend their sub- 
 stance and time in searching for golden treasures, or Kidd's 
 money, in the bowels of the earth, to the neglect of the slow but 
 sure method which consists in a diligent cultivation of its sur- 
 face. — Every " plain farmer," especially if he " dealt much in 
 horses," will recollect that not many years since a mysterious 
 
264 The Oneida and Troy Revivals. 
 
 skill was said to be discovered, called the " colt skill," and a new 
 era was proclaimed in the manner of taming and subduing wild 
 and refractory colts and horses. It was declared that the wildest 
 and most ungovernable could be brought, from a state of nature 
 and opposition, to a state of complete subjection, in one hour by 
 that skill ; and if universal " faith " could be inspired, not a sin- 
 gle refractory horse would remain in the land. Pedestrians and 
 equestrians were multiplied astonishingly, and were on the alert 
 in every direction, to accomplish the good work. Some may 
 have the curiosity to inquire what was the process that produced 
 such a wonderful change 1 It will be remembered, that, the halter 
 being on, the poor animal must be blindfolded, his ears stopped, 
 and something given him to nauseate his stomach ; he must then 
 be turned rapidly on a circle till he has lost all sense and instinct, 
 and become completely bewildered, amazed, and astounded, and, 
 if able to stand or walk at all, would only grope about for a 
 while in the most wretched and abject condition. — Some farmers 
 hud faith, and some had not; and those who had, found that 
 when the physical effects of the operation were over, and the 
 poor animal gradually became fit for any useful employment, he 
 would, by degrees, sink back into his original state of nature, 
 and this great discovery, which promised to effect such a myste- 
 rious change, instantly as it were, was, after a sufficient trial, 
 laid aside — and the good old way of preserving the animal's 
 senses, and "training him up in the way he should go," and in- 
 ducing him, by kind arts, to yield a cheerful obedience, has come 
 into general use again with all practical farmers.' — Letter to the 
 Presbytery, pp. 9 — 11. 
 
 We have purposely confined ourselves to a consideration of 
 what has been done in Troy and Oneida County, reserving 
 for a future number a discussion of the whole subject of revi- 
 vals, a subject which is growing every day more and more 
 important and interesting. Referring to the Bunker Hill Con- 
 test, the Orthodox committee say in the Appendix to their 
 Narrative : 
 
 ' We may from this pamphlet see what is soon to be the divid- 
 ing line between the friends and the enemies of the cross of 
 Christ. Those who possess some measure of the spirit of Him, 
 who, though rich, yet for our sakes became poor, that we through his 
 poverty might become rich, by whatever name they may be call- 
 ed, will become united in promoting revivals of religion, and in 
 diffusing the blessings of the gospel among all nations, by cast- 
 ing their silver and their gold into the treasury of the Lord. All 
 who are not actuated by this spirit, whether called Christian or 
 
Christian Guide. 265 
 
 Pagan, Papist or Protestant, Jew or Mahomedan, will unite in 
 opposing these benevolent designs. Between these unnumbered 
 hosts a mighty battle is yet to be fought. God, in his providence, 
 is hastening the hour of decision. All the noise of the enemy 
 now heard, compared with what will ere long be heard, is no 
 more than the murmurs of the gentle rill, compared with the 
 roar of the mighty cataract. — Narrative, p. 87. 
 
 We are no alarmists. We are not apt to see a tempest brew- 
 ing in every speck of vapor that discolors the atmosphere. But 
 we do believe that the revolting scenes, which it has been our 
 painful duty to disclose in this review, will be acted over in 
 many other places, before the community are thoroughly awake 
 to the pernicious tendency of the principles and policy of men 
 high in favor. Meanwhile, the opposition which has been made 
 to this ' work of God,' as it has been profanely called, by many 
 Calvinists on the spot, and the alarm that has been expressed 
 by many leading Calvinists at a distance, particularly in the 
 letters of Dr Nettleton and Dr Beecher, augur well. They 
 show that the more wary and discerning of that party are 
 beginning to open their eyes. Probably, when we have 
 laid open our views on this subject, it will be found, that we do 
 not agree in many respects with the last mentioned gentleman ; 
 but there is one admonition contained in his letter, which we 
 can adopt, though it is expressed too strongly, and betrays 
 something too much like panic. e We are on the confines of 
 universal misrule and moral desolation, and no time is to be lost 
 in forestalling and holding public sentiment correctly, before the 
 mass shall be put in motion by fierce winds, before which noth- 
 ing can stand, and behind which, when they have swept over 
 the land, nothing will remain.' 
 
 Notices of decent ^ufiitcations- 
 
 13. The Christian Guide, Part Second ; being a select Commentary on the 
 Four Evangelists ; harmonized and chronologically arranged, in a new 
 Translation. By the Rev. John Samuel Thompson. New York. 
 
 This is the production of a Universalist ; and, though several 
 other works, by the same hand, upon the most important subjects 
 of theology, are advertised upon the cover, this is the only one 
 
 VOL. IV. — NO. III. 34 
 
26G Christian Guide. 
 
 which has fallen under our observation. It is a pamphlet of less 
 than a hundred pages, and makes part of a series, ' designed,' as 
 the author tells us, ' in connexion with his Systematical Theol- 
 ogy, to supply the student, and the intelligent christian inquirer, 
 with the outlines of a more regular and systematical course of 
 studies, in the theory of the christian religion, than has hitherto 
 been published.' Wc feel no disinclination to have a better 
 acquaintance with this author ; though our opinion of his critical 
 abilities, or his qualifications for executing a new translation of 
 the scriptures, and expounding the subjects of ' Systematical 
 Theology,' we must acknowledge, is not the most favorable. 
 We cordially welcome, however, the result of any well-meant 
 endeavour to give a more faithful version of the scriptures than 
 the one commonly received. Every attempt at a new translation 
 has at least one beneficial tendency. It by degrees removes 
 from the public mind that superstitious reverence for the mere 
 language of scripture, which is so apt to conceal its meaning, and 
 which perhaps more than any other cause, prevents the appli- 
 cation of correct principles to its interpretation. 
 
 The pamphlet before us commences the translation and com- 
 mentary, and extends so far as to include the 'ordination of the 
 twelve disciples.' It is divided into sections, according to the 
 subjects treated, without any reference whatever to our present 
 division into gospels, chapters, and verses. Consequently, as 
 the four gospels are ' harmonized and chronologically arranged/ 
 the matter of them all is thrown in promiscuously, so that we 
 have no means of determining, at any time, which gospel we 
 are reading. Instead, therefore, of calling this work ' The Four 
 Evangelists, harmonized and chronologically arranged,' it seems 
 to us more proper to consider it as * a History of Jesus Christ, 
 compiled from the Four Evangelists, and chronologically arranged 
 in a new Translation.' 
 
 Whatever may be the advantages attending a full and con- 
 nected account of our Saviour's life drawn up in this manner, 
 there are in our view strong objections against blending the 
 substance of all the four gospels together in one narrative, with- 
 out the least mark by which they can be severally distinguished. 
 The matter of each gospel should be kept distinct. If harmoni- 
 zed and chronologically arranged, let all four be printed in 
 parallel columns, that we may know which we are reading, 
 upon whose authority the account rests, and, when there is any 
 diversity in the relation, choose for ourselves, instead of being 
 obliged, in every instance, to adopt the author's decision. 
 
 We are not. disposed, however, to deal very severely with this 
 work : for we arc exceedingly pleased with the liberal spirit.