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Glorious Close of Six Montbs Campaign
HE six months revival crusade of Dr.
Torrey and Mr. Alexander came to an
end last night in Ottawa, Canada, amid
stirring scenes. The closing meeting
was one of great power. The big
building was crowded with 6,000 people
fully an hour before the time set for the
service to begin. Late comers sat on the
steps leading to the choir platform, or
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stood in the aisles throughout the meeting, so eager
were they to hear the evangelists. In spite of the
oppressive heat the singing under the leadership of
Mr. Alexander was remarkably inspiring, and the
swinging rendering of the ‘Glory Song’ by more
than 6,000 voices brought the meeting to a high pitch
of spiritual fervor.
Dr. Torrey preached on “Today and Tomorrow”
urging upon the unsaved the necessity of an im
mediate decision for Christ. The entire audience
was deeply moved by his words, although compara
tively few stood up when he gave the invitation.
When the opportunity was given for personal work,
however, scores of Christians went to work with a
will, and large numbers who had hesitated under
conviction were brought to the front. Before the
meeting closed more than a hundred persons stood
up to publicly confess their acceptance of Christ.
A children’s meeting in the afternoon had resulted
in 250 of the young people confessing Christ, so that
the closing day proved aglorious climax to one of
the most successful campaigns the famous evange
lists have conducted.
The Results of the Meeting.
During the past six months Dr. Torrey and Mr.
Alexander have held revivals in Toronto, Philadel
phia, Atlanta, and Ottawa. A notable feature of
the crusade which has just closed in this city were
the crowds which gathered at the meetings, which,
in proportion to the population were far greater
than in any other city the evangelists visited. It
was here in Ottawa that they addressed an audience
of nearly 8,000 persons, making the largest revival
meeting held by them on this side the water.
The converts of the 18-days campaign in this city
numbered over 1,500. They included all ranks and
classes, from a titled lady to a famous pugilist, Alf
Allen. In an editorial this morning the Ottawa
Free Press says:
“The mission has been the direct cause of the
greatest religious awakening Ottawa has ever ex
perienced. That a couple of earnest men preaching
the Gospel in its simplicity should have stirred a
whole city in the short period of their visit needs
some other explanation than that they have played
upon the emotional feelings of their auditors, a
charge which is ever made against the evangelist
but not always substantiated. Rather is the great
success of the mission due to the fact that Dr.
Torrey preached a Gospel in which he believed im
plicitly in such a manner that he convinced others
that he believed in it, and they in turn were con
vinced of its truth and the efficiency of its teach
ings.”
A Pugilist’s Conversion.
Preaching last Sunday night on ‘Heroes and Cow
ards’ Dr. Torrey related in the course of his ser
mon how Jem Burke, the champion heavyweight
pugilist of Tasmania, had accepted Christ in their
meetings in that country. At the conclusion of the
sermon, among the crowd of men that flocked to the
front seats was Alf. Allen, champion middleweight
pugilist, who for four years ran a saloon in Ottawa,
and his conversion was the event of the night. At
the end of the meeting a large number of choir
members gathered around the pugilist, and as one
after another grasped his hand they sang again and
again the chorus of the popular revival melody,
f Grace Enough for Me’ which runs;
The Canadian Capital Stirred to Its Center. —A Famous Prizefighter’s Conversion. —
Dr. Torrey and Mr. Alexander on their Work in America.
The Golden Age for July 12, 1906.
By GEORGE T. B. DAVIS.
“Grace, fathomless as the sea;
Grace, flowing from Calvary;
Grace, enough for eternity;
Grace, enough for me.”
The next day when I saw Mr. Allen lie declared
that he was through with prize fighting, and that he
had never before been so happy in his life. He said
that after being drunk for two months he had wan
dered into the building where the revival meetings
were being held last Friday night. He did not
know what was going on, but simply went in be
cause he saw the crowd going there. Drunk as he
was he accepted Christ at the invitation of a work
er, and promised to return on the following Sunday
evening to confess Him.
In Church Twice in Life.
When asked about his past life the ex-pugilist
said: “I had never been in church but twice in my
life—once when I was a boy, and once when I was
married. I left home at 14 years of age, and went
out to the Flathead Reservation in Montana, living
with the wild people there for quite a few years.
I came back, and have been here something like 15
years. I was in the saloon business four years. I
have been drinking all my life, a’nd living the hard
est, wickedest life I knew how.
“I made $20,000 fighting and running the saloon,
and lost it in four years. About three years ago I
lost my saloon. Then I was drunk for two years.
I went home, and they tried to keep me straight,
but I began to see green ribbons and snakes and
hear dogs barking, and they couldn’t do anything
with me. Finally they sent me to Central Prison,
where I served six months and came out last Jan
uary.
“In April I fought Jack Monro—the Butte min
er—at Hull for eight rounds. Then I went down to
Maine, where I made over S2OO, and blew it in in a
week’s spree at Montreal. I came back to Ottawa
and in some way wandered into Dey’s Rink last
Friday night after having been drunk for two
months.
“I don’t remember anything about the sermon.
I remember that someone took me up to the front,
and I promised to come again Sunday night. To
keep from drinking on Saturday and Sunday I stay
ed in bed all day at my hotel.
“Now my old life seems away off—l don’t want
to think of it. I don’t want to go near a saloon
again, and I’ll never put on another glove. I have
no inclination for them. I never in all my life put
in such a day as today. Yesterday was the hap
piest day of my life, but today is even happier than
yesterday. ’ ’
The ex-pugilist declared that although he had
been the worst man in Ottawa he is now going to
try and lead his old associates to accept Christ. His
conversion has thrilled the whole city. A daily
newspaper published his testimony on its sporting
page this week, in which Mr. Allen made an appeal
to his old associates to quit their sinful life and take
The Six Month’s Campaign.
Christ.
Both Dr. Torrey and Mr. Alexander are greatly
pleased over the results of their first six' months
work in America. When Dr. Torrey was asked for
a brief statement of the work, he said:
“The first six months work on this side the At
lantic have been months of great blessing. The
first mission, in Toronto, was one of the best we
have ever had in any country. Probably we have
never been in any place where the fire extended out
to the surrounding country as it did in Toronto.
Sweeping revivals sprang up in many places, quite
transforming the towns where they occurred. The
work has gone on in Toronto ever since we left.
One Presbyterian minister tells of 260 accessions to
his church, and the work still in progress. Large
numbers of accessions to other churches have been
reported, and new life has been instilled into many.
Perhaps the most notable conversion in Toronto was
that of the leading criminal lawyer of the Province.
“The next three months were spent in Philadel
phia. This was emphatically a church mission.
One Presbyterian church reported 160, another 110,
another 107, another 101, and others in the neigh
borhood of 100. The Philadelphia work was also
marked by the large number of business men who
were converted and men in political life. These
business men have organized into Gospel bands.
They are now going around the churches of the
city holding meetings, and have been greatly bless
ed. It was said by many that the most distinctive
feature of the Philadelphia mission was the way in
which people had been brought out into personal
work. Leaders in the religious life said this was a
new message to Philadelphia.
Th e Atlanta Meeting.
“The mission in Atlanta in the month of May
was in some respects like that in Philadelphia, es
pecially in the impression made upon the business
men. Some of the best known men in the city were
either converted at this time or took a new stand in
the Christian life. The ministers of the city co
operated heartily by their presence and prayer.
There were a large number of notable conversions.
“The mission in Ottawa is one of the shortest we
have ever held, but in many respects one of the
most blessed. Though Ottawa has but 65,000 in
habitants, 40 per cent of whom are Roman Cath
olics, they provided a hall that would accommodate
6,000 people, a hall admirably adapted for our pur
pose, and the best we have had this side the At
lantic. Some thought it absurd to provide so large
a hall in so small a city, in the beat of summer but
it was packed to overflowing at the very first even
ing service, on a Sunday, and has been none too
large for the week-night services. On the last Sun
day it was necessary to divide the congregation, and
have women only in the afternoon and men only at
night, but still the hall was full. A large share, of the
many converts have come from what is considered
as the better class of society, though not a few
drunkards have been saved.
“On the whole we have ben greatly gratified by
our first six months on this side the Atlantic. From
each of the places where we have been, have come
urgent calls to undertake missions again with them
at a very early date, but this we cannot consider,
as there are so many other places calling for us
where we have never worked at all.”
At the conclusion of the Ottawa campaign the
evangelists rest for three months. Dr. Torrey has
returned to his summer home at Northfield, Mass.,
and will address various Bible conferences through
out the summer, while Mr. Alexander sailed from
Montreal for his home in England. He will rest
most of the summer, but in the latter part of July
will speak at the World’s Christian Endeavor Con
vention at Geneva, Switzerland.
The evangelists expect to continue their Ameri
can campaign for at least another year, the follow
ing dates having already been arranged: Nashville,
Tenn., Oct. 14 to Nov. 11; Omaha, Neb., Nov. 18 to
Dec. 16; Winnipeg, Canada, in January; it has not
yet been definitely settled where they will labor in
February, but in March they will be at Buffalo, and
in April at Pittsburgh, Pa.
In the concluding article of this series I wish to
request that the readers of this paper will pray
daily throughout the summer for the outpouring of
God’s Spirit upon Dr. Torrey and Mr. Alexander,
and upon every member of the evangelistic party,
that they may all grow stronger in the faith and
have the joy of leading many souls to Christ wher
ever they may be, on train or steamship or in hopies
in other lands,
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