The year of grace Author:William Gibson Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER VI. gt |lcbiual in its rogrtss Hfo r.UOVUHSHANE— THE SPINNING FACTORY—THE PROFLIGATE NAILER— LOUGH- OUILE —THE WOMAN BY THE ROADSIDE — THE " GENTLY... more » DBAWN "— THE FIERY BAPTISM — THE STRUGGLE WITH THE EVIL ONE — THE JOY UNUTTERABLE—PROOFS OF A GLORIOUS WORK — THE HIDDEN JEWELS—PRIVATE EXERCISES AND EXPERIENCES OF MINISTERS — BALLYMONEY—THE WORK AMONG THE YOUNG — THE MAN WHO "WOULD JUJJUE FOR HIMSELF" — THE H UAL' AND DUMB. Within about three miles of Ballymena stands the village of Broughshane, the centre of a densely inhabited and almost exclusively Presbyterian district. At an early period, the awakening spread in that direction. One morning a number of young women were affected in a spinning factory hard by. Immediately intense excitement spread among the workers, and within an hour twenty or thirty persons, of both sexes, were laid prostrate. The business of the entire establishment was interrupted, and, as a matter of necessity, it was closed. When reopened two days after, nearly half the usual hands were absent. About the same time, a congregation of several thousands assembled in the open air, in front of the Presbyterian church, and the services were not concluded till an advanced period of the evening. In the village itself, and all the country round, such meetings were of frequent occurrence throughout the summer months, and hundreds, there is reason to believe, were brought in connection with them under the power of a Divine influence. A visitor, at the beginning of the awakening, thus describes the presence and address of a Broughshane convert at a meeting in a quarry pit, at which there were several thousands in attendance : " Near the end of the preaching, one old man stood up to address the multitude. lie was a remarkable-looking man. I was besi...« less