To this I replied, that I would think of it. The meeting proved to be intensely interesting. My desire to express the inward workings of my mind, grew strong. Of the forms and practices of Christians in revivals, I was altogether ignorant, having never witnessed a conversion in my life; still, it seemed to me highly proper to declare my feelings in the presence of Christians, that they might give such instructions as were necessary to lead me into the right way. With these views, I determined to rise and speak, though the evil one whispered, “Not yet! not yet!” in my ears. Just as I stood up, some one, not seeing me, began to sing; this, I took to be a suitable excuse for further delay, and sat down, heartily wishing that no one had seen me. Fortunately, my friend Dunham had witnessed my movement. He requested them to stop singing, because a young man wished to speak. Thus encouraged, I told them I was then nineteen years of age, and it seemed to me too much of life to spend in sin; that eternity was a solemn idea, and I desired them to tell me how to prepare to enter upon it with joy. They proposed to pray with me. We then all kneeled down together. Most fervently did they pray for the divine blessing to rest on the stranger youth, bowed in penitence before them, and most sincerely did I join my prayers with theirs before the throne of God. After prayer, they sung the following familiar lines, which I insert both for their intrinsic excellence, and for the pleasantness of the associations connected with them in my own mind. “Alas, and did my Saviour bleed! And did my Sovereign die! Would he devote that sacred head, For such a worm as I? O the Lamb! the loving Lamb! The Lamb on Calvary, The Lamb that was slain, Yet lives again, To bleed and die for me.” Although these words were very sweetly applied to my mind, I did not feel any evidence of the favor of God that night. The next day, with a strong purpose to live for eternity, I entered on my daily tasks. Religion was the theme of my thoughts and discourse; during the day, a sweet calm came over me; peace and joy filled my soul. It was the pardoning love of God applied to my guilty spirit. Ah! thought I, this must be religion; but desiring to be right, I went to my employer and communicated my feelings to him. His reply rather damped my joy. He was a moralist; morality, he said, was all-sufficient to secure a man’s well being both in this life and in that to come. This, however, did not satisfy my mind. To me it seemed certain that genuine repentance, and a change of heart, were all-essential to my happiness; and these, if not already mine, I determined to possess.