fell. Nearly the whole congregation were either on their knees or prostrate, I should think, in less than two minutes from the first shock that fell upon them. Every one prayed who was able to speak at all." Similar scenes were witnessed in many other places.

In London, England, between 1,500 and 2,000 persons were seeking salvation in one day in Finney's meetings. Enormous numbers inquired the way of salvation in his meetings in New York, Boston, Rochester, and many other important cities of America. The great revival of 18581859, one of the greatest revivals in the world's history, was the direct result of his meetings. "That was the greatest work of God, and the greatest revival of religion the world has ever seen," says Dr. Lyman Beecher. It is estimated that six hundred thousand persons were brought to Christ in this revival.

In 1833 Finney became a Congregationalist, and later a founder and first President of Oberlin College, Ohio. The great object in founding this college was to train students for the ministry. The remainder of Finney's time was divided between his work at Oberlin and holding meetings in different parts of the country.

Finney's writings have had an enormous circulation and have greatly influenced the religious life of the world. This is especially true of his "Autobiography," his "Lectures on Revivals," "Lectures to Professing Christians," and his "Systematic Theology." These books have all had a worldwide circulation.

Finney continued to preach and to lecture to the students at Oberlin until two weeks before he was eighty-three years of age, when he was called up higher to enjoy the reward of those who have "turned many to righteousness."

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BILLY BRAY

God sometimes uses weak vessels in a most marvellous way. 'Billy" Bray, the famous Cornish miner, was perhaps one of the quaintest vessels ever used of God to accomplish a great work of any kind. Before his conversion to Christ he was a drunken profligate miner, but after the Spirit of the Lord took possession of him he became such a burning shining light for Christ that his name is now known all over the world. From one end of Cornwall, England, to the other scarcely any name is better known than that of Billy Bray.

Billy Bray was born in 1794, at Twelveheads, a village near Truro, in Cornwall, England. His grandfather had joined the Methodists under the preaching of John Wesley. Billy's father was also a Christian, but died when his children were all quite young. Billy lived with his grandfather until he was seventeen years of age, and then went to Devonshire, where he lived a very wicked and sinful life. He was both drunken and lascivious. One night he and a companion were going home drunk from Tavistock when they met a big horse and climbed on his back. He threw them and nearly killed them. He had many other narrow escapes from death. After his conversion to Christ he often said, "The Lord was good to me when I was the servant of the Devil or I should have been down in hell now." Once he was nearly killed in a mine. He ran out just asout

a minute before the mine caved in. He became so great a drunkard that his wife had to bring him away from the beer shop night after night. "I never got drunk without feeling condemned for it," he afterwards said.

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Billy was led to Christ, or rather, was convicted of sin, through reading Bunyan's "Visions of Heaven and Hell." When he was seeking the Lord he went a mile one Sunday morning to attend a class-meeting of the Bible Christians. It was a wet day, and no one came. This had a discouraging effect on him. After he had been seeking salvation for a long time, the Devil strongly tempted him to believe that he never would find mercy. But," says he, "I said to him 'Thou art a liar, Devil,' and as soon as I said so, I felt the weight gone from my mind, and I could praise the Lord, but not with that liberty that I could afterwards." The same day, in the evening after he had gone home from work, he went into his room alone and said, "Lord, Thou hast said, 'They that ask shall receive, and they that seek shall find, and to them that knock the door shall be opened,' and I have faith enough to believe it." This brought joy to his soul. "In an instant," says he, "the Lord made me so happy that I cannot express what I felt. I shouted for joy." This was in 1823.

After his conversion Billy became a very happy Christian, and also a very earnest worker for the salvation of others. This was especially true after he was led into a deeper richer, and fuller Christian experience than he had received when converted to Christ. The following account of how he was led into this deeper experience is from "The King's Son, A Memoir of Billy Bray," by F. W. Bourne: "It is more important to speak of his deep piety, his abiding sense of the Divine favour, the secret of his great usefulness, the source of his constant and perpetual