He stated further that he was filled with curiosity as to the type of minister who would preach in such a wilderness as he was passing through and so he stopped and joined the worshippers. He described the preacher, a Presbyterian in faith, as having one of the most striking appearances he had ever seen and a most remarkable delivery. "I have never seen, in any other orator, such a union of simplicity and majesty. He has not a gesture, an attitude, or an accent, to which he does not seem forced by the sentiment which he is expressing. His mind is too serious, too earnest, too solicitous, and, at the same time, too dignified, to stoop to artifice. Although as far removed from ostentation as a man can be, yet it is clear from the train, the style, and substance of his thoughts, that he is not only a very polite scholar, but a man of extensive and profound erudition." James Waddel was the name of this remarkable old man of God. He was born in Ireland in 1739 and was brought to America as an infant. Another interesting tale was told in the neighborhood. Waddel's fame as a preacher had spread through the vicinity. On one occasion a committee from a different faith prepared to wait on him and urge him to occupy their pulpit as well as his own. Upon nearing his dwelling they were shocked to hear sweet plaintive notes coming from a violin and resolved to learn who in his household would dare to play the devil's instrument. They crept softly to the window. Such amazement was theirs when they saw their potential minister himself drawing the bow--and with apparent enjoyment and satisfaction. More quickly than they had approached did they leave the yard and felt righteously thankful that they had seen the true nature of the man before it was too late! Not only did the Blind Preacher serve as minister, but like others of his profession he conducted a school. And what happened to the old church itself? Long abandoned as a meeting house for the Presbyterians, about 1850 it was sold and taken down by the "Sons of Temperance" and converted into a temperance hall at Gordonsville. Later it housed a school. Finally it was sold to a colored preacher as a church for his flock. Hebron Church Outstanding among the old churches in this part of Virginia is Hebron Church in Madison County. The little colony of Germans at Germanna, to whom we have already referred, and a few immigrants from Holland were responsible for its early establishment. First it was known as "Old Dutch Church." Located on its original site its existence has been in three different counties: Orange, Culpeper and now Madison!