It was a stubborn fight. The bombardment was kept up by all the churches through the entire month of January with no apparent results. One after another of the pastors then became discouraged and hauled down his colors. By the end of February all the batteries had ceased except two, one of them being Newgent’s. Some of his members, convinced of the utter futility of the effort, counseled him to quit. But he was determined to fight it out on that line if it took all summer; and it looked as though it might take several summers. The largest congregation he had during those two months numbered twenty-four. With the beginning of the third month there were unmistakable evidences of a thaw. Interest was awakened, congregations increased, and on the fifth day of March the ice gave way completely. At the morning service the altar was crowded with anxious penitents, and twenty-one were graciously converted. The news was heralded throughout the city. It was as though a mighty miracle had been wrought. Newgent’s church became the center of intense interest, the subject of conversation in the stores and shops and on the streets. At night it seemed as if all Mattoon was seized with a sudden impulse to go to church. The house was filled long before the appointed hour for worship, and the sexton reported that over five hundred people were turned away. The few days following witnessed stirring scenes in that church. Multitudes were converted; no definite account could be taken of their number. One hundred and twenty-eight members were added to the United Brethren Church, and other churches of the city profited largely from the fruits of the meeting. It was the first genuine revival Mattoon had ever enjoyed. “What I lacked in sense, I made up in holding on,” was Rev. Mr. Newgent’s modest comment on the situation. But in this case holding on was only in keeping with his usual good judgment. It was a case where not only prayer and fasting, but also perseverance were required. Perseverance, however, is one of his strong points. As a pastor he made it a rule to continue a meeting until success was realized, a rule that seldom had to be waived. His labors at Mattoon were followed by a pastorate of two years on the New Goshen charge, making, with a former pastorate of the same length, an aggregate of four years of pastoral services on this field. During these four years he received over six hundred members into the Church and built two church-houses. His work here was also made memorable by what might be termed his first great debate, the details of which are reserved for the next chapter.