In 1739 arrived among us from Ireland the Reverend Mr. Whitefield,
who had made himself remarkable there as an itinerant preacher.
He was at first permitted to preach in some of our churches;
but the clergy, taking a dislike to him, soon refus'd him their pulpits,
and he was oblig'd to preach in the fields. The multitudes of all
sects and denominations that attended his sermons were enormous,
and it was matter of speculation to me, who was one of the number,
to observe the extraordinary influence of his oratory on his hearers,
and bow much they admir'd and respected him, notwithstanding his
common abuse of them, by assuring them that they were naturally half
beasts and half devils. It was wonderful to see the change soon
made in the manners of our inhabitants. From being thoughtless
or indifferent about religion, it seem'd as if all the world
were growing religious, so that one could not walk thro' the town
in an evening without hearing psalms sung in different families of
every street.
And it being found inconvenient to assemble in the open air,
subject to its inclemencies, the building of a house to meet in was
no sooner propos'd, and persons appointed to receive contributions,
but sufficient sums were soon receiv'd to procure the ground and erect
the building, which was one hundred feet long and seventy broad,
about the size of Westminster Hall; and the work was carried on
with such spirit as to be finished in a much shorter time than could
have been expected.
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