and "it was remarked by many that it seemed
the easiest thing for sinners to get religion
here of any place or time they ever saw."
To which, Peter's answer was, that it was
plain to him that the Lord had given marching
orders to the legions of little Arian devils
to the lake, as He had done to the swine in
the days of old, and when these were cast
out it was quite easy to come to their right
minds. But in one woman a sly little devil
still lingered among the folds and arteries of
her heart: and Peter and his prayermates
had much trouble to dislodge him. Indeed
the fiend baffled the preacher, although he
struggled and wrestled so that the very
heavens seemed to bend down. It was only
after a fit of insanity, and a vision, that the
evil spirit was routed; and the poor excited
bewildered creature lived and died a shivering,
shouting Christian. A New Light lady
was not so amenable. She would attend the
Methodist meetings, not to believe but to
controvert. Peter ordered her out. She refused
to go; but, instead, sprung to her feet,
and began to shout and clap her hands.
Peter allowed no shouting excepting among
his own people. He saw a scuffle was to
take place between him and the New Light
lady, so stooped down, gathered her up in
his right arm, with his left tore her hand
away from the cheek of the door, and set her
down outside. When put down she began to
jump and shout, crying, "You can't shut me
out of heaven!" "Be still," says Peter
sternly, "you are not happy at all. You
only shout because you are mad, and the
devil is in you. "When she ceased shouting,
he said very coolly, "I knew you were not
happy, for if God had made you happy I
could not have stopped it; but as it was the
devil in you, I soon stopped his shouting."

Peter does all sorts of strange wild things
among his penitents and rowdies. One young
man with a mighty, bushy "roached" head of
hair. (What is a roached head of hair?) He
punishes for sitting among the women by;
having this said hair cut off. Meeting the
preacher immediately after, he said, "Pale
as a cloth;" and, taking off his hat, "See
here, Mr. Cartwright, what them rowdies
have been and done!"

Mr. Cartwright, who had ordered the
shearing, had "very hard work to keep down
his risibilities;" but he told him to hold his
tongue and be quiet; and soon the roach-headed
youth left the encampment. Another
reviler, who has come to the altar with a
string of frogs, strung as a necklace on a
bit of hickory-bark, which he intended to
slip over Peter's head, is converted at the
very moment of the outrage. While Cartwright
was at the altar labouring with the
mourners, William came up, leaning on the
pall. The preacher kept his eye on him, when
suddenly he leaped over into the altar and
fell at, full length, roaring like a bull in a net
and crying aloud for mercy. Just about day-break
William raised the shout of victory,
after struggling hard all night, and instead of
gaining a necklace of frogs Cartwright expelled
a demon. A lady, the mother of two
young daughters, who had been caught by
these very questionable camp-excitements,
he takes by her feet, as she is sitting in the
preaching-tent, slily kicking her daughters
shrieking and foaming at the altar. Catching
the offending foot, in the very act of another
gentle kick, Cartwright flings the mother
back among the benches. And "being a
large, heavy woman, she had a considerable
trouble to right herself again." Another
mother he struggles with, and puts bodily out
of the tent, for the same reason, namely, her
interfering to prevent her daughters being
led away by the religious mania which Peter
was so successful in inducing. In this
instance the mother was victorious. She
rescued her daughters, and married them to
sober men of their own church, whereby
they were lost for ever, says Peter. Two
young sisters, Universalists, came to a Revival
from curiosity, not conviction. One sister
was attacked with the Methodist form of
grace, and, on the mourners' bench inside the
altar, gave way to her excitement. The sister
was annoyed, as well she might be, and
declared that she would have her out of
that disgraceful place. Peter opposed, and
the young lady slapped his face. This was
too much for our Boanerges. He caught
her rudely by the shoulders, and shoved
her through the assembly to the door, calling
out, "Gentlemen, please open the door, the
devil in this Universalist lady has got fighting hot,
and I want to set her outside to cool."
She was no sooner handed out, than her
sister at the altar rose and gave them a
heavenly shout, then another and another,
till five in rapid succession raised the shout.
It ran like electricity through the congregation,
some weeping and shrieking for fear;
others yelling and shouting for joy. This was
called a glorious meeting.

At an inn, where Peter puts up for the
night, there is a party going forward and a
dance. A beautiful, ruddy young lady walks
up to him, sitting in the corner, dropped
him a handsome curtsey, and pleasantly,
with winning smiles, invited him out to
take a dance with her. He rose as
gracefully as he could, with many emotions.
Grasping her right hand with his, while she
leaned on his left arm, he walked on the
floor, when suddenly he fell down on his
knees, praying with all the power of soul and
body that he could command. The young
lady tried to get loose, but presently she, too,
fell on her knees. Some of the company
kneeled, some stood, some wept, some
so-earned. The black fiddler ran off into the
kitchen, crying, "Lord a mussy, what de
matter, what is dat mean?" The young lady
was now in the true Methodist state, writhing
on the floor, crying aloud for mercy.