Since the beginning of the excitement I had been
45 lines✦
nd praying with the distressed, till my lungs failed, ~ and became inflamed, attended witha violent cough andP * a BARTON W. STONE. 43 spitting of blood. It was believed to be a dangerouscase, and might terminate in consumption. My strengthfailed, and» 1 felt myself fast descending to the tomb.Viewing this event near, and that I should. soon. ceasefrom my labors, I had a great desire to attend a camp-meeting at Paris, a few miles distant from Caneridge.My physician had strictly forbidden me to preach anmore till my disease should be removed. | ©At this camp-meeting the multitudes assembled in a shady grove near Paris, with their wagons and provi-sions. Here for the first time a Presbyterian preacher:arose and opposed the work, and the doctrine by whichthe work amongst us had its existence and life. He’labored hard to Calvinize the people, and to regulatethem according to his standard of propriety. . He wish- -ed them to decamp at night, and to repair to the town,nearly a mile off, for worship in a house that could notcontain half the people. This could not be done with-out leaving their tents and all exposed. . The conse-quence was, the meeting was divided, and the workgreatly impeded: Infidels and formalists triumphed atthis supposed victory, and extolled the preacher to theskies; but the hearts of the revivalists were filled withsorrow. Being in a feeble state, I went to the meetingin town, A preacher was put forward, who had alwaysbeen hostile to the work, and seldom mingled with us.He lengthily addressed the people in iceberg ‘style—itsinfluence was deathly. I felt a strong desire to pray assoon as he should close, and had so determined in myown mind. He at length closed, and I arose and said,let us pray. At that very moment, another preacher ofthe same cast with the former, rose in the. pulpit topreach another sermon. I proceeded to pray, feelingatender concern for the salvation of my fellow creatures,and expecting shortly to appear before my Judge. Thepeople became very much affected, and the house wasfilled with the cries of distress. Some of the preach-ers jumped out of a window back of the pulpit, and~ left us. Forgetting my weakness, I pushed through t e
✦