They spoke of the saving call as discernibly
supernatural, preceded by bodily as well as mental torture, and
instantaneously followed by a perceptible assurance that they could
never more sin, that the righteousness of their Redeemer was imputed to
them, and that, as his merits were all-sufficient, nothing was required
of them but the supineness of passive faith. This routine of doctrines,
varied according to the different tempers and phraseology of the
preachers, and rendered yet more obscure by bold metaphors and strained
allusions, was what poor Humphreys incessantly listened to, fancying he
was thus taking care of his soul, and vainly hoping he would gather some
instructions which would assuage his secret horrors. He was miserable
when not employed in this manner; yet, as no start of enthusiasm ever
told him that the saving call had taken place even in the congregations
which he mistook for the courts of the Lord, he rather hoped for, than
found relief from his tortures. Pale and haggard in his looks, morose
and sullen in his manners, restless and dissatisfied, he revived the
disputations of the conventicle at the table, calling on Dr.
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