. An acquaintance of mine, who was approaching her
in an opposite direction, called out to me, "Daniel, help me pray for
this woman!" I had made up my mind to make one more effort, and I knelt
down and commenced praying; but quite as much for myself as for her.
Others gathered about us and joined in, and the interest and excitement
became so great, that, after a vain effort to call us off, the regular
services of the evening were dispensed with, and the ground was left to
us. Things went on in this way till about nine o'clock, when, as
suddenly as if I had been struck a heavy blow, I felt a remarkable
change come over me. All my fears and terrors seemed to be
instantaneously removed, and my whole soul to be filled with joy and
peace. This was the sort of change which I had been taught to look for
as the consequence of getting that religion for which I had been
struggling so hard. I instantly rose up, and told those about me that I
was a converted man; and from that moment I was able to sing and shout
and pray with the best of them. In the midst of my exultation who should
come up but my old master in the shoe-making trade, of whom I have
already given some account. He had heard that I was on the camp-ground
in pursuit of religion, and had come to find me out. "Daniel," he said,
addressing me by my Christian name, "what are you doing here? Don't make
a fool of yourself." To which I answered, that I had got to be just such
a fool as I had long wanted to be; and I took him by the arm, and
endeavored to prevail upon him to kneel down and allow us to pray over
him, assuring him that I knew his convictions to be much better than his
conduct; that he must get religion, and now was the time. But he drew
back, and escaped from me, with promises to do better, which, however,
he did not keep.

As for myself, considering, and, as I thought, feeling that I was a
converted man, I now enjoyed for some time an extraordinary
satisfaction, a sort of offset to the months of agony and misery which I
had previously endured. But, though regarding myself as now truly
converted, I delayed some time before uniting myself with any particular
church. I did not know which to join. This division into so many
hostile sects seemed to me unaccountable. I thought that all good
Christians should love each other, and be as one family. Yet it seemed
necessary to unite myself with some body of Christians; and, as I had
been educated a Methodist, I conclude