Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

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 T 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. 7