ishing in their sin and crime and
misery at their very doors. John Wesley wrote how, in the latter end of
the year 1739, eight or ten persons came to him in London, who appeared
to be deeply convinced of sin, and earnestly groaning for redemption.
They desired that he would spend some time with them in prayer, and
advise them how to flee from the wrath to come. In our time the curtain
has been lifted up, and the devout and earnest Christianity of the day
has stood face to face with the unbelief which, by ignoring the existence
of a heavenly Father, and robbing humanity of its loftiest hopes and
deepest consolations, left the masses in our crowded cities to live and
die like brutes. The revelation has raised up in many quarters a feeling
that something more has to be done than has yet been done, that the
Church, to discharge its mission aright, needs a more earnest
consecration of the heart, a less formal _modus operandi_, a freer
utterance, a less stiff and starch and time-worn manifestation of
Christian life.

In accordance with this feeling, one Sunday evening there was a novel
service in the Presbyterian church, Colebrook Row, of which the Rev. J.
Thain Davidson is pastor. The night itself was one of the most
unfortunate that could have been selected for that or for any other
experiment. London people have a great, and, let me add, a natural
objection to wet weather. If it rains hard it offers them a good excuse
for stopping at home. They do not like to spoil their Sunday clothes,
and they have a great aversion to bronchial affections. In this respect
the Scotchman contrasts favourably with the Englishman. In such places
as Edinburgh or Glasgow the churches are as well attended in bad weather
as in fine. If it were so in London how many a pastor's heart would
rejoice! At Colebrook Row they are Presbyterians, and in England we
naturally presume Presbyterians to be Scotchmen--at any rate, this must
be the case as regards the attendance at Colebrook Row. On Sunday
evening the place was crammed. I did not see a seat anywhere to spare,
nor did I see a hearer who did not seem to take the deepest interest in
what was going on.

Well, and what was going on?--a thing I should think never seen in a
Presbyterian place of worship before. It appears that the services in
the Agricultural Hall just by have led to an increased demand for
religious agency in that district. Hundreds who attend no place of
worship have