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The Story of the Pianist's Conversion
How Robert Harkness Was Led to Accept Christ. —Miss Blanche Torrey Relates Her Experience in Personal
Work —Mr. Alexander’s Audience With President Roosevelt.
HE revival meetings here in Atlanta
are growing in fervor each day. The
most striking characteristic thus far is
the widespread conviction of sin which
is burdening the hearts of the
people who attend the services. I have
rarely seen such deep conviction so early
in a campaign. One man was so deeply
moved by Dr. Torrey’s first sermon
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that he gave up his entire business in order to get
right with God. I learned this morning that one
of the largest saloon keepers in town is so con
cerned about his eternal welfare that he cannot
rest day nor night. Already the children are be
coming active in soul-winning. The granddaughter
of one of the wealthiest brewers in the south is
praying and working for his conversion, and has re
quested the audience to pray for him.
The press of Atlanta continues to help forward
the movement by giving detailed reports of the meet
ings. Their attitude toward the revival is entirely
sympathtic. In a recent long editorial, the Atlanta
Constitution, says:
“The Constitution believes that the present re
vival will be attended by results more emphatic and
encouraging than any of its predecessors—and that
is a large assertion. The heart of Atlanta, as of
the nation, is softened by the great catastrophe
that razed San Francisco to the ground. The
thoughts of our people are turned to the terrible
mutability of things human, and to the only stable,
sure, lasting force in the universe—the might of
Omnipotence—and with this realization the neces
sity for living a life in such perfect accord with the
doctrines of Christ that we shall be at all times
prepared for the summons.
“Atlanta sees this duty, and is turning to it glad
ly and with open arms. It is an everlasting credit
to the city that its most practical and substantial
business men should have inaugurated the present
revival, giving freely of their means and their moral
support. Their earnest endeavor for the moral and
and religious betterment of the city should be met
with such an outpouring of the people at the meet
ings as will make the May of this year an epoch
in Atlanta’s history.”
Ex-Governor Northen is not only the head of the
local committee, but is taking the place of the usual
secretary, and he is as deeply interested in individ
ual conversion as in managing the executive side of
the movement. The other evening he told the
audience a touching story of a lad w’ho was con
verted at the opening meeting, saying:
“I went down from the platform last night and
saw Mr. Davis sitting beside a young boy. As I
passed them, he put his hand on the lad’s shoulder,
and said: 1 Governor, this young man was saved
tonight! I What a statement! I put my hand
under his chin, and said, ‘My son’ (and he reminded
me of my own boy) ‘God bless your life. Go out
and bring other boys in.’
“Right there beside me stood a little woman. I
hadn’t noticed her before, I was so interested in the
boy. Her lips quivered, and she said to me, ‘Gov
ernor, you don’t know how I have been praying
for these meetings, and my boy is here, saved the
very first night.’
“You and I are going to get out of these meet
ings just according to what we put into them,”
concluded Governor Northen, “and the churches of
Atlanta are going to get out of these meetings just
according to what they put into them.”
An interesting feature of the first week has been
Mr. Alexander’s calling upon different members of
the Torrey-Alexander party to tell the story of their
conversion. One afternoon he called upon Robert
Harkness, the pianist, who joined the evangelists
in Australia and has been with them nearly four
The Golden Age for May 17, 1906.
By GEORGE T. B, DAVIS
years, to tell the audience how he accepted Christ.
Mr. Harkness is not only a pianist, but a prolific
composer. He has composed a number of the most
popular hymns used in the Torrey-Alexander meet
ings. His “0 What a Change” and “Is He Yours”
are favorites everywhere. Since January Ist he has
composed more than 250 hymns, writing no less
than twelve melodies in a single day in Philadelphia.
Not a few of his most effective compositions have
been given him in direct answer to prayer. In tell
ing the story of his conversion, Mr. Harkness said:
“Four years ago in Bendigo, Australia, I accept
ed the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal Savior.
I had been living an easy sort of a life—hadn’t
done anything that was very good, nor anything
that was very bad. I hadn’t gotten away down into
vice as some young men do, for I thank God every
day of my life that I was brought up in a Christian
home and surrounded with Christian influences.
“Dr. Torrey and Mr. Alexander came to my home
town of Bendigo in June, 1902. The secretary of
the mission came to me and asked me to play the
accompaniments, and though I was opposed to evan
gelistic meetings at that time, I thought it would
please my good father and mother, and I consented.
I hadn’t been in the first meeting ten minutes before
Mr. Alexander made some complimentary reference
to me which made me feel uncomfortable. I wasn’t
a Christian, and I was afraid if he went on in that
strain he would soon have me tangled up in the
meetings. They stood up to sing the ‘Glory Song,’
and I determined to show my displeasure by intro
ducing some improvisations of my own which were
not in the book, thinking that would upset Mr. Alex
ander. To my great amazement he turned to me
with a wave of his hand and a smile, and said,
‘That’s fine; keep it up!’
“The meetings went on each day, and I kept my
engagement at the piano, although each day they got
warmer, and I got more uncomfortable. At the
close of the campaign I went to tell Mr. Alexander
good-bye. He said, ‘Don’t say good-bye; come and
see me tomorrow morning.’ I tried to make excuses
for not going, but finally consented. The next day
I went up on my bicycle to see him. In the course
of a long conversation, he said: ‘Why don’t yon
settle this matter now, and accept the Lord Jesus
Christ?’ But I was determined I wouldn’t.
'“Finally w T e went downstairs, he to take a drive,
and I to go home. I extended my hand to bid him
farewell, but he said, ‘Don’t say good-bye; I want
you to come on to Maryborough with me.’ Without
thinking I agreed, and he drove off. As I rode home
on my bicycle, it occurred to me that I had agreed
to accompany two men of God on what has since
proved to be a world-wide evangelistic tour, and I
decided that if I were to associate myself with
these servants of God, in honesty to them, in hon
esty to myself, and above all, in honesty to God, I
should accept the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior,
and as I rode along the street I accepted Him, and
that afternoon I joined the evangelists.”
Another afternoon Mr. Alexander called upon
Miss Blanche Torrey, who has accompanied her
father to Atlanta and is taking an active part in
personal work in the after-meetings, to tell how she
was converted and how' she first began to do person
al work. Without any hesitation, Miss Torrey arose
and in a clear, girlish voice, said:
“I cannot tell about my conversion, because I
have been brought up from infancy as a Christian.
But when I went to school in New York three years
I was thrown among worldly girls. I did not have
the courage to talk with them about accepting Jesus
Christ, although they knew the stand I took, that
I did not go to theatres or dances nor care for the
worldly things they did.
“When I went to England with my father and
Mr. Alexander, and heard them urge the Christians
in the meetings to go down into the audience and
speak to others about their salvation, I tried to
hide behind some one big. But Mr. Alexander
soon picked me out, and said, ‘Blanche, you get
down there and do some personal work,’ and I had
to go. That night I won my first soul to Christ
by definite personal work; I think the Lord helped
me win that girl to encourage me; if I had failed
that night I would have been very discouraged and
not have wanted to try again. Now I do personal
work in the metings, on the streeets and elsewhere,
and it fills me with joy to do it. I thought I was
having a good time in school, but since I have been
trying to win souls my happiness has been so much
more real and my life has been so much fuller than
before.
“Since returning to America and realizing the op
portunities I lost with those girls in school, I have
been writing letters to them telling them definitely
what stand I have taken, and how personal work
has brought so much more happiness into my life.
My aim is now to try to help everybody with whom
I come in contact to be better, just by word, or by
a definite talk, as I feel I am led.
“I want to testify to every girl in this room that
you won’t know what real happiness is until you
can talk to others about Christ.”
Two interesting and notable meetings were held
by Mr. Alexander on his journey from Philadelphia
to Atlanta. The first was at Wilmington, Delaware,
at the Grand Opera House, which was filled in the
afternoon, and at night was crowded with 2,500
people, 3,500 others being unable to obtain admis
sion, and for whom an overflow meeting was held.
A dozen business men of Philadelphia, who were
on fire with revival enthusiasm, accompanied Mr.
Alexander to Wilmington and gave their experiences
in such a stirring manner that the audiences were
deeply moved. The secretary of the Y. M. C. A.
under whose auspices the meetings were held, de
clared that there were not less than eighty con
versions at the afternoon and evening services.
One of the business men who took part in the meet
ing rapped at Dr. Alexander’s door at 1 a. m., and
told him with a radiant face that he had been the
means of leading four persons to Christ that day by
personal work. One of the converts at Wilmington
was the caretaker of the opera house in which the
meetings were held. He was 65 yars of age and
was- led to Christ by Mr. Alexander just as the Gos
pel singer was leaving the building.
The following day Mr. Alexander and a number
of the Philadelphia business men journeyed on to
Washington, where at noon they were given a pri
vate audience by President Roosevelt. After being
introduced to the President himself, Mr. Alexander
introduced the rest of the party, which numbered
about a score. The same evening the singing evan
gelist conducted a Gospel service in one of the fa
mous churches of the capital city—New York ave
nue Presbyterian Church—where President Abra
ham Lincoln worshiped. The meeting was a union
gathering of the United Young People’s Societies
of Washington. An interested listener on the plat
form was Chief Justice Harlan, of the United States
Supreme Court. Mr. Alexander and the business
men again gave stirring addresses, as at Wilming
ton the previous evening, and nineteen persons arose
to make a full surrender to God.
Vesuvius is again showing considerable activity.
A dense column of smoke is rising from the crater
find spreading like an umbrella accompanied by loud
detonations and electrical discharges which are es
pecially noticeable from Resina. The main crater
is discharging sand and cinders.
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