made surprising progress, and, sooner than could have been expected, was found completely qualified for the ministerial office. He passed the usual previous trials with uncommon approbation; having exceeded the raised expectations of his most intimate friends and admirers." He was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of New Castle. His views and feelings, when he was licensed to preach the gospel, may be learned from a fact stated by Dr. Gibbons: "When he was about entering the ministry," says he," or had not long entered upon it, if I remember right, he was judged to be in a deep and irrecoverable consumption. Finding himself upon the borders of the grave, and without any hopes of recovery, he determined to spend the little remains of an almost exhausted life, as he apprehended it, in endeavoring to advance his Master's glory in the good of souls. Accordingly he removed from the place where he was, to another about an hundred miles distant that was then in want of a minister. Here he labored in season and out of season; and, as he told me, preached in the day, and had his hectic fever by night, and to such a degree as to be sometimes delirious, and to stand in need of persons to sit up with him."

I will here insert an account of the early labors of Mr. Davies, in the words of Dr. Hill.

"From the commencement of Mr. Davies' labors, after his licen

sure, to his settlement in Virginia, from 1745 to 1748.

"Mr. Davies was licensed to preach the gospel in 1745, when he was just twenty-one years of age. From the intense applica tion he paid to his studies, his constitution, naturally vigorous, became much impaired, so that when he was licensed, he thought himself, and was thought by others, to be laboring under a pulmonary affection which would, in all likelihood, cut short his days. After licensure, Mr. Davies visited many vacancies, some in Pennsylvania, some in Jersey, but chiefly in Maryland. These ministerial visits took place just before and after his first visit to Virginia. The account he gives of them is this. (See Mr. Davies' letter to Bellamy, 1751.)

'In Maryland also, there has been a considerable revival, or shall I not rather call it a first plantation of religion in Baltimore County, where, I am informed, Mr. Whittlesey is likely to settle. In Kent County and Queen Anne's, a number of careless sinners

have been awakened and hopefully brought to Christ. The work was begun and chiefly carried on by the instrumentality of that favored man, Mr. Robinson, whose success, whenever I reflect upon it, astonishes me. Oh! he did much in a little time; and who would not choose such an expeditious pilgrimage through this world? There is in these places a considerable congregation, and they have made repeated essays to obtain a settled minister. There was a great stir about religion in Buckingham, a place on the sea shore, about four years ago, (i. e. in the year 1747, the time Mr. D. visited them,) which has since spread and issued in a hopeful conversion in many instances. They want a minister. But the most glorious displays of divine grace in Maryland have been in and about Somerset County. It began, I think, in 1745, by the ministry of Mr. Robinson, and was afterwards carried on by several ministers that preached transiently there. I was there about two months, [i. e. in 1746 or 1747,] when the work was at its height, and I never saw such a deep and spreading concern: the assemblies were numerous, though in the extremity of a cold winter, and unwearied in attending the word preached;--and frequently there were very few among them that did not give some plain indications of distress or joy. Oh! these were the happiest days that ever my eyes saw.' Again, says he, 'after I returned from Virginia, [i. e. in 1747,] I spent near a year under melancholy and consumptive languishment, expecting death. In the spring, 1748, I began slowly to recover, though I then looked upon it only as an intermission of a disorder that would finally prove mortal. But upon the arrival of a messenger from Hanover, I put my life in my hand, and determined to accept their call, hoping I might live to prepare the way for some more useful successor, and willing to expire under the fatigues of duty, rather than involuntary negligence.'

"Thus was Mr. Davies employed, notwithstanding the very delicate and precarious state of his health, from the latter end of the year 1745, when he was licensed, till the spring of 1748, when he located himself permanently in Virginia. He was invited to settle in several other places, which offered advantages far superior to the one he selected, on many accounts. Hear him tell his own story to the Bishop of London upon this subject. And I solemnly assure your Lordship that it was not the secret thirst of

filthy lucre, nor the prospect of any other personal advantage that induced me to settle here in Virginia. For, sundry congregations in Pennsylvania, my native country, and in other northern colonies, most earnestly importuned me to settle among them; where I should have had at least an equal temporal maintainance, incomparably more ease, leisure, and peace, and the happiness of the frequent society of my Brethren; and where I should never have made a great noise or bustle in the world, but concealed myself in the crowd of my superior brethren, and spent my life in some little service for God and his church, in some peaceful corner, which would have been most becoming so insignificant a creature, and more agreeable to my recluse natural temper. But all these strong inducements were over-weighed by a sense of the more urgent necessity of the Dissenters here; as they lay two or three hundred miles distant from the nearest ministers of their own denomination, and labored under peculiar embarrassments for the want of a settled minister.' ”

At this stage of the notices of the life of Mr. Davies, when he was about to be settled in Virginia where he exerted so important an influence in the cause of religion, it may be interesting to present a statement of the condition of this colony before he be gan his labors there. It will be given in the words of Dr. Hill. “A hasty sketch of the state of religion in Virginia shortly before and at the time of Mr. Samuel Davies' settling in that state. "At the time of the death of the Rev. Francis Makemie, which took place in Accomack county, in the year 1708, there were two organized churches in that county, which he had lately collected as Christian societies. One was on a small creek about five miles from Drummondton, the present seat of government for the county, where Mr. Makemie resided upon a valuable estate which he there owned, and where he had a small meeting-house built and licensed as a place of preaching according to the provisions of the Act of Toleration. The other congregation was on and near the mouth of the river Pocomoke, which here constitutes in part the dividing line between Virginia and Maryland. Here also Mr. Makemie owned a large tract of land, extending on both sides of the river, and a large dwelling house, which was now vacant, and which he also got licensed as a place of preaching.

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"The members composing this congregation were scattered on both sides of this river. The house first licensed, was on the Virginia side. But a little before his death, by his exertions, a new house of worship was built upon his land, on the Maryland side, at a place now called Rehoboth, which has continued as a place of worship ever since.

"Among other reasons which led to this change of location in their place of worship, no doubt, was a design of getting beyond the reach of Episcopal persecution which universally prevailed in Virginia, and the security of religious freedom which, by charter, was guaranteed to all sects in Maryland.

"There was, at the same time, a small Presbyterian congrega tion on the Elizabeth River, near where Norfolk now stands, over which the Rev. Mr. Mackey, from Ireland, presided as their minister. But soon after Makemie's death, he was forced to fly from intolerant persecution, and we hear no more of him or his congregation afterwards.

"After the two small congregations of Accomack lost the labors and protection of Makemie, they were soon extinguished, and were no more heard of. When, therefore, Mr. Davies arrived in Virginia, in 1748, just forty years after, there was not a single organized Presbyterian church any where to be found in the old settled parts of Virginia.

"About the year 1730, a large number of Scotch-Irish emigrants from Ireland came over into America. This current of immigra tion became stronger and stronger for many years, and formed a frontier settlement in Pennsylvania, Virginia, North and South Carolina. All these had received a Presbyterian education in Ireland.

"These presbyterian Irish settlers formed a barrier settlement between the older settlers from England and the Indians of the

west.

"The intolerant Episcopalians of Virginia were willing for a while to admit these settlements for their own security from Indian excursions among them, and leave them unmolested in their Presbyterian modes and predilections. Among these western settlements, Presbyterian congregations were formed as early, and in some instances prior to the church which Davies organized in Hanover. A few of these Scotch and Irish settlements were

supplied with ministers from the 'old side' synod of Philadelphia, and their presbytery of Donegal. Congregations were formed in Augusta, west of the mountains, and two members of the Donegal presbytery were settled there soon after the great schism of 1741, and another congregation was organized east of the Blue ridge, near Rockfish Gap, and another member of Donegal Presbytery located there, before or about the time Mr. Davies settled bin Hanover. Incipient steps were taken also to form congregations in Frederick county, and a few other places, about the same time, by the 'new light' synod of New York.

"There was very little intercourse between these western Scotch-Irish and the lower counties of Virginia when Mr. Davies first came to that colony;-their interests, localities, and social intercourse were entirely of a different character. But there was one exception to the last general remark. As the old settlements south of James river did not extend further west of Richmond than about 60 or 70 miles, a portion of those foreign be: emigrants crossed the mountains at Rockfish Gap, and formed a compact settlement there; while others of them went further south, crossed James river, and formed settlements in what are now called Charlotte and Prince Edward counties. It was to visit these settlements, that the Rev. William Robinson was sent out in the year 1743, by the 'new light' Presbytery of New Brunswick. He preached to the settlements in Frederick, crossed over at Rockfish Gap, and preached to the settlements in Charlotte and Prince Edward counties. From these settlements Mr. Robinson continued his journey south into the western and Irish settlements in North Carolina, and was there overtaken by the commissioners which had been dispatched from Hanover to induce him to pay them a visit on his return. This he promised to do, and authorized them to have an appointment made for him on a given Sabbath some weeks afterwards.

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"On the Saturday before the Sabbath which Mr. Robinson had appointed to preach in Hanover, he had to ride late at night to reach a tavern, within about 8 or 10 miles of the place. The tavern-keeper was a shrewd, boisterous, profane man; and when ⚫ uttering some horrid oaths, Mr. Robinson ventured to reprove him for his profanity; and although it was done in a mild way, the innkeeper gave him a sarcastic look, and said, 'Pray, sir,