George Alonzo Hall; a tribute to consecrated personality
G-ecr- fc\&wi.o,\%V r\ < S- ■^urrlA." Js A GEORGE ALONZO HALL. GEORGE A. HALE /// Later Life GEORGE ALONZO HALL A Tribute to Consecrated Personality GEORGE A. WARBURTON One who never turned his back, but marched breast FORWARD, Never doubted clouds would break, Never dreamed, tho' right were worsted, wrong would triumph, Held we fall to rise, are baffled to fight better, Sleep to wake. — Browning, Epilogue to Asolando. New York The International Committee of Young Men's Christian Associations »P>WW Copyright, 1905, by the International Committee of Young Men's Christian Associations FOREWORD. In preparing this book the author has sought to present George Hall's person* ality rather than to give an account of what he did. His activities, large and valuable though they were, had signifi- cance chiefly as an expression of an inner spirit and motive. It was the rare qual- ity of his life in virtue, purity and unselfishness — in Christ-likeness — that gave him great influence. May the rec- ord of it point out the way to others ! G. A. W. INTRODUCTION. One of the sweetest joys on earth is Christian friendship, and one of the richest rewards for laboring in any good and holy cause is sweet companionship with the very best class of fellow- laborers. "Many are called, but few are choice3 — that is my reading of that text. During fifty-one years that I have been connected with the Young Men's Chris- tian Association it has been my happy lot to have been brought into intimate personal acquaintance with a large num- ber of the leaders of our work on both sides of the sea. vn INTRODUCTION. I knew George A. Hall well, thor- oughly. No man surpasses me in heart- felt love for him, and admiration for his well-rounded character. The secret of his success was a beautiful combination of the spiritual and the practical. So many good people evaporate their re- ligion very much in emotion or volatilize it in mere devotion. Not so with him. His inner life was hid with Jesus Christ in God ; his outward life that the world saw and felt was the many handed con- secration of all his powers to the one great purpose of his existence. Of the most effective workers, he was certainly a man of one idea; that is, he could say with Paul, "This one thing I do." He trained all his guns on one point and made them reach continually, instead of scattering his fire. • • • vm INTRODUCTION. Brother Hall had a prodigious lov- ing power. He loved his Lord and Master with all his heart, and might, and mind and strength; lived in closest in- timacy with Christ. His piety was not periodical. He did not confine it to one day in the week nor to forty days in the year. All the time, everywhere, he was the same devoted servant, and every year of his life was a bearing year. Some apple trees bear periodically: Hall bore fruit every year, and when the boughs were shaken what precious gol- den fruit fell abundantly to the ground ! He loved his Bible ; had no more doubts or trouble about it than he had about the law of gravitation, or God's ordering of His stellar universe. He simply took the precious Book as God gave it to him, and talked it, preached it, and ix INTRODUCTION. practised it, without qualification or dis- count. God send us more men, in pul- pit, association and everywhere, whose knees are never shaking and who are never tongue-tied in proclaiming God's own glorious word ! And then he loved young men with all his heart, and to them and for them his beautiful life was entirely consecrated, laying it on the altar to the last hour for their welfare. He recognized this great fact: that the best thing and the greatest thing — the indispensable thing — that can be done for any young man, high or low, rich or poor, cultured or ignorant, is to give him Jesus Christ. That was the sum and core of our broth- er's aim. Everything with him pointed to Christ. And then, what a stupendous work he did. We ministers have par- x INTRODUCTION. ishes — a certain class of ministers have dioceses. Brother Hall's diocese ex- tended from Montauk Point to the roar of Niagara. To a large portion of his work through this Empire State he went as over his territory, his great bishopric his widespread and heaven-blessed charge, and wherever he came he came as a benediction. Farewell, glorious old hero of the Cross, and all hail! Farewell to the campaigns of earth, and all hail to the flashing coronets of glory! Servant of Christ, well done, well done; Rest from thy loved employ. Thy battles fought, thy victories won, Enter thy Master's joy. — Theodore L. Cuyler. XI CONTENTS PAGE I Boyhood and Early Life 1 II College Course and Beginning of Min- istry 25 III The United States Christian Commission 41 IV The Washington Secretaryship and South- ern Tours 65 V The Beginning of the New York State Secretaryship 101 VI His Crowning Work 119 VII In Memoriam 145 ILLUSTRATIONS George A. Hall — From a photograph taken in later life Frontispiece Mr. and Mrs. James A. Hall — George A. Hall's parents Facing Page 25 George H. Stuart — President of the United States Christian Commission Facing Page 41 Thomas K. Cree — From a photograph taken about the time of the Southern Tours . . . Facing Page 65 George A. Hall — From a photograph taken in Charleston, S. C, during one of the Southern Tours Facing Page 101 George A. Hall — From an amateur photograph taken in 1903 Facing Page 145 CHAPTER I. BOYHOOD AND EARLY LIFE. The high, the generous, the self-devoted sect will always instruct and command mankind. A man passes for what he is worth. What he is engraves itself on his face, on his form, on his features in letters of light. Concealment avails him nothing, boasting nothing. There is confession in the glance of our eyes, in our smiles, in salutations, and the grasp of hands. * 'Spiritual Laws" — Ralph Waldo Emerson. The noble heart that harbours virtuous thought And is with child of glorious great intent, Can never rest, until it forth has brought Th' eternal brood of .glory excellent. "The Faery Queen" — Edmund Spenser. XVI I. THE village of Mount Kisco in Westchester County, New York, nestles at the foot of a rocky crag. When the Harlem Railroad was built in the late 40s it was a small rural community with but little that was exciting and stren- uous, and a population easily moved, as all such communities are, by any influence in which a considerable num- ber of the inhabitants take an inter- est. The opening of the railroad and its increased accessibility did not materially alter the conditions of life, indeed even GEORGE A. HALL. to this day Mount Kisco retains much of its original character. During the winter of 1836-37 the little village and the region surrounding it was visited by a general revival. The meetings were largely attended and the Spirit of God moved upon the entire community. Only those who have passed through such a time of refresh- ing can realize the degree to which it can become absorbing. Christian people were led to increased consecration, and their solicitude for others resulted in the conversion of many. Among the active participants in this blessed work were James S. Hall and his wife Eliza A. Fish. The wife especially devoted her- self with great zeal to the revival, at- tending all of the services and really liv- ing in the atmosphere of religious fer- [2] EARLY LIFE vor, of which the Methodist Episcopal Church was the centre. Holy zeal and joy possessed her whole being. Mind and heart were, alike, swept on in the current of sacred exaltation. As Mary and Elizabeth in the olden time were filled with the Holy Ghost during those wondrous days which preceded the birth of Jesus and of John, so this godly mother lived for months in a condition of religious rapture. Thus even by pre- natal conditions was George Alonzo Hall prepared for that peculiar work which God had for him to do in the fur- therance of His kingdom among men. And his mother often declared that his aptitude for religion was due to this cause, George having from early boy- hood peculiarly strong spiritual im- pulses. The natural temperaments of his [3] GEORGE A. HALL. parents were also reflected in him. The father was sanguine and cheerful, and the mother energetic and resolute. The best heritage of any child, an honorable and godly parentage, was his, and when he was born, May 13, 1837, in the little village of Mount Kisco in the town of New Castle, it was into the atmosphere of a Christian home, where true piety was the dominant influence. It is to the very springs of life that we must look to find the secret of the direction of its currents. Those traits, most pronounced in George Hall, were his natural birthright. Virtue as well as vice has perpetuating power. The open-hearted and responsive Samuel was the son of the spiritual and devout Hannah, and the impress of his moth- er's piety was made upon the life of [4] EARLY LIFE George Hall from the very dawn of his existence. His father, too, was a devout man, and both parents had come from a long line of ancestors who were mem- bers of and active workers in the Meth- odist Episcopal Church. Of the family, three sons and two daughters arrived at maturity, while two died in infancy. There are no records of his early boy- hood, but at the age of twelve George was converted in meetings held at the home church of which the Rev. John Luckey was the pastor. In those days the type of piety most in evidence was that which dealt largely with the sub- jective side of life. The feelings, the emotions, the heart in all varieties of its experiences, were constantly studied, and the most prominent doctrines were those that related to mystical states of [5] GEORGE A. HALL. the heart and mind. What the scientists now tell us, that "personal religious ex- perience has its root and centre in mys- tical states of consciousness," was known as a working1 rule by the men and women who devoted themselves with a singular passion to the conversion of sinners and the promotion of the Redeemer's king- dom. Class meetings and prayer meet- ings were largely given up to the narra- tion of experience. The witness of the Spirit was a doctrine constantly preached and devoutly believed by the Methodist people among whom the lad's lot was cast. At the age of fourteen, George went to New York City to enter the employ of Sedgwick & Storrs, a law firm with offices in Wall Street. Early in the year 1853 he began to keep a journal, in [6] EARLY LIFE which he thus states the object which he had in view: "For some time past I have thought it would be profitable for me to keep a journal of the dealings of the Lord with me that I might afterwards look it over and profit my soul. It will be three years next March since God, for Christ's sake, pardoned my sins, and although I have made many crooked paths, yet I feel that I have been growing in grace, and my desires are to go on ; to leave the first principles of my profession and go on unto perfection, that I may serve God with my whole heart. Praying that God would make this move a bless- ing to my soul, I commence to record His dealings with me. Oh, God assist me!" Even before he had reached the age [7] GEORGE A. HALL. of fifteen he manifested a serious, ear- nest purpose in life. He speaks often of his "trifling disposition" and prays fer- vently to be delivered from it. After attending a Bible class he mourns hav- ing trifled too much while the Word was being analyzed — "For Jesus' sake, O God, forgive me and help me to culti- vate a more serious disposition." He early showed that friendship for others which became such a marked trait in his life. "This evening I went with Jacob and James to hear Mr. Marks at Bedford street. The text was: 'We must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.' My daily prayer is that James may be brought to know God. Oh ! God give him no rest until he shall find it in Thee." A day or two later: "The Lord has [8] EARLY LIFE answered my prayer in the conversion of James, and has made him happy in a Saviour's love." The activities of his life were varied. He helped in meetings at several churches in New York and cooperated with the chaplain of the House of Ref- uge. Before he reached the age of six- teen he heard the inward call of God to preach the Gospel. He then became a student in the Conference Seminary at Charlotteville, receiving financial assist- ance from his cousin Mr. Odell, to whom he was deeply grateful. Leaving Charlotteville after the buildings were destroyed by fire and taking up the work of a teacher at Whitlockville, and later in New York, he met the perplexities and annoyances [9] GEORGE A. HALL. of his new position with the same Chris- tian spirit and fortitude. We find him praying earnestly for the Seminary stu- dents from whom he had been separated, writing letters to young men in whom he was interested, mourning over the back-slidden condition of some of his friends, perplexed as to his duty with respect to social engagements, and earnestly laboring for the conversion of the scholars under his care. After his return to Charlotteville we find the record of an awakening that occurred among the students. Early in his life George came under the influence of that body of the Meth- odists who stood for the doctrine of holiness or Christian perfection, and he was a frequent attendant at the Tues- day meetings held by Mrs. Phoebe Pal- [10] EARLY LIFE mer, a very remarkable gentlewoman, wife of a prominent physician in New York City. These meetings were held in the home of the Palmers, and were given up to Scripture exposition, prayer and the narration of the experiences of those who professed to be living the higher life. The evidence of the strong influence which was exerted upon Mr. Hall's life at this period by this group and their teachings is to be found in his con- stant use of the phraseology common to them; in his journal for the 17th of March, 1853, there is a record of definite consecration of body, soul and spirit to God, and such ejaculations as "Enable me to live the life of humble love," "May my life be love." He also mentions the confession of his new experience to his [11] GEORGE A. HALL. relatives. At about this time we find him reading Fletcher's famous book, "On Christian Perfection," attending class and prayer meetings continuously, and struggling vigorously against the nat- ural sprightliness of his disposition. "I have been much benefited," he says, "by the work written by Sister Palmer, en- titled, "The Way of Holiness, with Notes by the Way.'" During this year I find the first record of his habit of early morning devotion, which continued to the very end of his life. He regrets having neglected his Bible reading through paying attention to his sisters who were visiting him, and he speaks of being awakened by an alarm of fire, and of the resulting con- versation with other young men, as hav- ing broken in upon his quiet hour. [12] EARLY LIFE Prayer was the habit of his early life, and his journal contains the record of many answers, varying in kind from simple everyday experiences to earnest petitions for the awakening of the church to keener spiritual desire and ex- perience. In all his youth he manifested that in- tense application and conscientiousness in the use of time which characterized his later years. Religious conversation was the habit of his life. Attending an en- tertainment where humorous selections made up a part of the programme, and indulging freely in his natural mirth with some young fellows, he afterward mourns it, considering that it interfered with his religious growth. But at an- other time he made this entry: 'Yester- day I attended our Sunday-school ex- [13] GEORGE A. HALL. cursion, and I can truly say that I never enjoyed one better. It seemed as though all were happy, and the smile of the Saviour rested upon us. Oh, that I may be better for the many blessings which I enjoy." We find him acting as peace- maker between two Christian men who have quarrelled over some worldly affairs, for he had noticed that their power in Christian service was destroyed by their ill-will towards each other. He records the beginning of public prayer. "For a few weeks back I have prayed in our meetings, and it seems as if I make such crooked work that I almost feel like saying I will not at- tempt it again." Yet the habit was kept up, and it is given to but few men to [14] EARLY LIFE lead in public prayer so helpfully as did he. Occasionally he grew morbid with ref- erence to his little sicknesses. As early as December, 1855, he makes this melan- choly entry: "I expect soon to range the blessed fields of immortality. I do not think I am long for this world ; my many aches and pains seem to tell me to prepare to meet my God." Such rec- ords as these furnished him much amuse- ment in his later years, as he read them over to the various members of his family. He also enjoyed states of religious rapture and exaltation: "Oh, how very near the Saviour has been to me, and the spirit of Christ has rested upon me. I never enjoyed such deep communion with God and such a near access to God [15] GEORGE A. HALL. as the Father has deigned to allow me recently. Why is it that such a poor unworthy creature is permitted to enjoy so much of God? It has seemed to me that this poor, weak house can hardly contain so much." During the whole of his early life he was devoted to the service of God, full of intense passion for others, seeking by all means in his power the development and enrichment of his own spiritual life. His nature was peculiarly sensitive, al- most morbid in its introspection. He is full of self-loathing. The record one day runs: "To-day I have sinned against my God, I can hardly realize it, yet while in the full possession of my faculties I wantonly sinned against God. Oh ! how can I believe it, yet it is true ! And now through the unaccount- [16] EARLY LIFE able goodness of my Father I am for- given. Father, if it can be in accord- ance with Thy holy will, rather than let me commit this again, oh, take me out of the world." It was his habit each week to examine himself most carefully as to the week that had passed. The end of the month furnished another point from which to review his life. This examination was minute in regard to all Christian duty. He frequently speaks of fasting, and the difficulty he found in observing it, and in one entry, "I have been thinking over my poverty and have been at times very low-spirited at the view, and yet I believe I ought rather to trust God after doing my duty. I have decided to board myself and spend my money more care- fully." Another entry is, "I feel that I [17] GEORGE A. HALL. did wrong this morning in not rising early, and in wasting my time in bed." We have in all these self-revealings evidence of a piety as deep as it was rare. No one can wonder at the naturalness of his religious fervor in later years who gets an adequate glimpse of his devotion as a boy and a young man. Differ- ences of environment seemed to make but little difference to him in the inten- sity of his zeal. His surviving brother Jonathan bears this witness: "He never was idle either in summer or in winter, always active. . , . He was from my earliest recollection a Christian, al- ways seeking not only to be good but to do good. He was always after the boy or young man, helping them in their daily life." While his piety was too in- trospective it was also very practical. [18] EARLY LIFE If he thought he was soon to die it only served to make him live better. If he dwelt much upon his feelings and his moods he was at the same time diligent in doing whatever work God put in his way to be done. It was this early experience so real and deep, these struggles after the high- est ideal of character, that fitted him to enter so fully into the life of boys. Some men know nothing of the heart battles that belong to these earlier years, and can never share them when others are passing through them. The modern scientists all agree that this period of life is the time of storm and stress, but scientific information con- cerning the fact can never take the place of the background of personal knowl- edge and experience. The possession of [19] GEORGE A. HALL. this enabled Mr. Hall to deal sympa- thetically with the multitudes of lads who afterward gave him their con- fidences. As one of them said: "Uncle George knows how hard it is for a fel- low to do the right thing." While he was still only a boy himself he started a boys' prayer meeting in his room. His diary contains the record of it on June 4th, 1855. EXTRACTS FROM MR. HALl/s DIARY! "My desires and determinations are to be a youth of one work." "This is a fault of which I am con- scious, of placing too high an estimate on my friends." "Oh! I pray that all my eyes see and my ears hear may be sanctified so as to make me more useful." [20] EARLY LIFE "The Lord has been teaching me that I cannot be compelled to do anything without the consent of my will. If I resolve that I will not sin (in the strength of grace), Satan cannot com- pel me. Neither will I be persuaded to until I have given up my will, or given my permission." [21] CHAPTER II. COLLEGE COURSE AND BEGINNING OF MINISTRY. [23] So now the Holy Thing is here again Among us, brother, fast thou too and pray, And tell thy brother knights to fast and pray, That so perchance the vision may be seen By thee and those, and all the world be heal'd. "The Holy Grail" — Alfred Texxysox. It may be the hardest work possible, and the harder because so much pleasure was taken in it; but it must have been happy too, or it will not be living. * * * You cannot get feeling by paying for it — money will not buy life. "The Lamp or Liee" — Johx Ruskix. [24] MR. HALL'S PARENTS II. THROUGH the generosity of his cousin, Hon. Moses Odell, member of Congress from Brooklyn, N. Y., he was enabled to enter Troy University, September, 1858. This was a Metho- dist institution and was actively pro- moted by many of the same persons who were interested in the Conference Seminary in Charlotte ville, Steuben County, where Mr. Hall had been a stu- dent. It was probably on this account that he chose this new college as the place where he should finish his studies. While in Troy he was thrown into [25] GEORGE A. HALL. contact with a very earnest body of lay- men who composed the Troy Praying Band, the leader of which, Mr. Joseph Hillman, was a man of remarkable gifts in the conduct of revival meetings. In a published account of the work of this Band from the pen of Mr. Hillman we are told: "The Troy Praying Band was organ- ized by a number of young men of ac- knowledged piety, who were held in high esteem in the several churches in which they were active members, and most of whom individually enjoyed the blessing of holiness. They were not fanatical and did not make holiness a hobby. Justification by faith, as well as sancti- fication, was held by them as a leading doctrine. Several were men of wealth and large business interests, who will- [26] COLLEGE DAYS ingly sacrificed their time for the cause of Christ and His church. "Their connection, and that of the subsequent members, with the organiza- tion, was evidently by the direction of God, for through their instrumentality more than 13,000 souls were led to fol- low Christ, and more than that number were either sanctified or quickened into new life in our church. At least 5,000 more persons, converted by their efforts, have joined other Christian denomina- tions.''* Mr. Hall's name appears as a mem- ber of the Band in 1859, and during his entire college course he was active in that work. His journal contains numerous entries of remarkable meetings. They * "The History of Methodism in Troy," by Joseph Hillman_, 1888. [27] GEORGE A. HALL. were held not only in Troy, but in Cohoes, Fort Edward, Albany and other places. At Fort Edward he records the conversion of more than thirty, with ninety requests for prayer, and at Co- hoes 180 persons were led to Christ. The Praying Band was at this time a prominent agency for the promotion of revivals among the Methodists. Usually the members were laymen who were not only men of piety, but gifted in public speech and exhortation. Each Band contained several members (the one at Troy had twenty-three), and among them were some who could sing revival hymns successfully. Mr. Hall was a valuable addition to this group of fervent men, for he not only possessed unusual skill in man- aging an informal meeting, such as those [28] COLLEGE DAYS conducted by the Band always were, but he had a good voice and was able both to lead the singing and to render solos him- self. One of the outgrowths of the Troy Praying Band was the publication of the "Revivalist" in 1866. This book was prepared for the use of churches in devotional meetings, and had a circula- tion of more than 150,000 copies. Among the hymns that it contained was " 'My Jesus, I Love Thee,' as sung by the Rev. G. A. Hall.' " A distinctive method of religious work among the Methodists with which Mr. Hall early manifested especial sym- pathy was the camp meeting. The de- finiteness and spirituality of the preach- ing, the zeal of the people who attended, the distinctively evangelistic nature of the services appealed strongly to him, [29] GEORGE A. HALL. and every summer witnessed his partici- pation in such gatherings, at which he was a most welcome helper to those who were in charge. But his zeal did not ex- pend itself wholly among strangers or in public efforts. He records the conversion of his chum soon after his arrival at college, and then the breaking out of a general revival among the students. He is faithful in personal work, one entry be- ing: "I have another evidence of answer to prayer. Some three years since, while away at school, I had a very intimate friend. I separated from him, he being without religion. When I came here I found him a member of the same class, and last night he promised me to seek religion. Oh, that he may be aided from on high." [30] COLLEGE DAYS Again: "The week past has been a triumphant time to me. Truly I have been conscious of some of the joys of the upper kingdom. I have been deeply in- terested for souls. Oh, how my heart yearns over sinners ! Mr. Simpson was in our room pleading and crying for mercy." If he is going to a preaching appoint- ment he finds out that the young driver who takes him is not a Christian, and wins him to Christ; if a new roommate is coming he begins to pray that his life may be influenced for God. He con- stantly sought the company of Christian people and frequently mentions seasons of prayer in connection with social calls. It was while he was a student in Troy that he attended a meeting to hear a re- port by Mr. Duryea of a convention of [31] GEORGE A. HALL. the Young Men's Christian Associa- tions, and he was an occasional attendant at such meetings, though he took no part in their work. When he is elected president of the Seminary Lyceum in college, he fears he may become puffed up at his popularity, and prays for deliv- erance from this temptation. With the widenings of his influence his consecration keeps full pace. It is like looking into the diary of an old-time saint to read of his struggles to master his love of food, which he thinks is a hindrance to his growth. On his twenty- third birthday, May 13th, 1860, he writes : "I can look on the last five years with some satisfaction, though I can see many shortcomings ; yet I have had a constant purpose to live a holy life, and the year [32] COLLEGE DAYS has been one of very marked progress. As my mind has become mature and my intellect strengthened, my piety has deepened and I think I stand to-night upon a firmer basis, with a more intelli- gent faith and a more genuine piety than ever before." He continued to give much time to secret prayer, and when visiting his friends in New York and Mount Kisco during his vacations he mourns the in- terference of such things with his regu- lar habit. I find this significant entry: "November 10, 1860. I abstained from dinner to-day so that I might have more time for prayer." Like his Mas- ter, he had meat to eat that others knew not of! Even in the midst of his final exami- nations he is to be seen working and [33] GEORGE A. HALL. praying in a revival and endeavoring to lead others to Christ. Yet his examina- tions were passed creditably, as is shown by a percentage of 91 per cent in meta- physics and 92 per cent in Butler's Analogy. His graduation occurred in June, 1863, in the only class that was ever graduated from Troy University, and was afterward adopted by Wes- leyan University, at Middletown, Con- necticut. As president of the Missionary So- ciety he found scope for his persuasive gifts in soliciting money for its sup- port, a subscription of $50 from Daniel Drew being among those recorded. His work as a member of the Praying Band and as a local preacher kept him employed constantly on Sundays, be- sides which he went to prayer meetings [34] COLLEGE DAYS and class meetings in the various churches of Troy. It was, however, his personal work and the persistency of his efforts to win others to Christ and to help those who had accepted Him that furnished the dominant note of his col- lege career. He watched over them with the tenderest solicitude, he reproved them with the utmost love, he prayed for them continually and rejoiced over their growth in Christian character and at- tainments, as Paul did over those who were his children in the faith of the Gospel. Thus, during his whole college course, he was filled with the same zeal that had been the dominant influence in his ear- lier life. He was a bond slave of Jesus Christ for the highest possible service. Enjoying social pleasures, he employed [35] GEORGE A. HALL. them as opportunities to help others to know and love his Saviour. Upon leaving college he spent the summer in visiting various camp meet- ings, where his work was very success- ful, and in the fall he was appointed to be the supply of the Schaghticoke cir- cuit, near Troy. The circuit had three preaching places, and constituted his field of labor from October, 1862, until April, 1864. During the first year a revival occurred in which nearly two hundred persons professed faith in the Saviour. His ministry was one of activity and success. Then, as ever, his heart burned with love and his soul was satisfied only with spiritual results. He constantly emphasized the doctrine of holiness and urged his people to press into an experi- [36] COLLEGE DAYS ence of the higher life, yet in the midst of all this special teaching for believers he did the work of an evangelist and gave good proof of his ministry to the unconverted. All through these years he was drawn to labor for boys and young men. The prayer meeting for boys, established in his room as early as June, 1855, was a prophecy of after years. He was offered the chaplaincy of a regiment when he graduated from college, but the Bishop would not ordain him be- tween the sessions of the Conference, so that the offer had to be declined. The fact that the idea was agreeable to him showed the bent of his mind, and when the United States Christian Com- mission was formed it presented to him opportunity for service of a most con- [37] GEORGE A. HALL. genial kind. It also served, as we shall see, as the turning point in his life, through which he was led by an unerring Providence to devote his energies to specialized religious work among young men. [38] CHAPTER III. THE UNITED STATES CHRISTIAN COM- MISSION. [39] Unoccupied by sorrow of its own, His heart lay open; and by nature tuned And constant disposition of his thoughts To sympathize with men, he was alive To all that was enjoyed where'er he went, And all that was endured ; for in himself Happy, and quiet in his cheerfulness, He had no painful pressure from without That made him turn aside from wretchedness With coward fears. He could afford to suffer With those whom he saw suffer. "The Waxderer" — William Wordsworth. [40] GEORGE H. STUART III. HE call for a convention of Young Men's Chris- tian Associations to meet in New York, "for the purpose of systematizing and ex- tending' the Christian effort of the various associations among the soldiers of the army," was issued from Philadelphia, October 28, 1861. The circular called attention to the temp- tations under which the young men of the army were obliged to live, and stated that "there appears no instru- mentality so well adapted as the organi- zation already formed in almost every [41] GEORGE A. HALL. city, town and village of the country." The convention met in the rooms of the New York association, then located in the Bible House, on Thursday, Novem- ber 14, 1861, and remained in session two days. The United States Christian Commission was the result of this con- vention, and George H. Stuart, of Philadelphia, was elected president. The first two years of the Commis- sion's work were largely in the nature of an experiment. Gradually, however, the organization found itself, and as the war advanced it became increasingly vigorous and useful. The President cordially endorsed the project, and it was approved by the War Department. The activities of the Com- mission were an unusual combination of practical helpfulness to the soldiers [42] CHRISTIAN COMMISSION combined with aggressive evangelism. For such labors Mr. Hall was singularly fitted, and expressing, as they did, the genius of the Young Men's Chris- tian Associations of that period, it is no wonder that the strength of their appeal touched the heart of the earnest young itinerant and led him to devote his ener- gies to this patriotic and thoroughly Christian work. It was through the work of the Chris- tian Commission that Mr. Hall became connected with the Young Men's Chris- tian Association. He had not identified himself with the Troy association, though he had occasionally attended its meetings and had received a favorable impression of its activities. Mr. Hall's appointment to the Chris- tian Commission was made in April, [43] GEORGE A. HALL. 1864, by Bishop Simpson, at the request of the Methodist Conference. After a few days spent in closing up his work and in visiting friends in Troy and at his home in Mount Kisco, he started for his new field of labor, meeting George H. Stuart at Philadelphia, and press- ing on that same night for Baltimore and Washington, where he was assigned to care for the camp and where he soon saw strong evidences of nearness to the scene of conflict in "the devastations of war, fences gone, no land under cultiva- tion, trees nearly all felled." At Camp Distribution, where he preached on the second evening, "something over twenty asked for prayers." His first visit to a hospital impressed him deeply, "I came near fainting," he says, yet he goes reso- lutely on, his confidence strong in God, [ 44 ] CHRISTIAN COMMISSION his zeal unquenchable and his heart at rest in the sense of obedience to the will of God. "Oh, what delightful work to labor for souls." Oh the 10th of May he left Washing- ton for Belle Plain, arriving in the night and finding "the ground literally cov- ered with dying men. Worked all day, feeding and aiding them. Slept in the midst of the men, some wounded, others dying, and as soon as it was light again commenced our work. Oh, it made my heart ache to see the misery and an- guish." On the 12th he records: "Still the tide of men continues to pour in, now chiefly in ambulances. Rain continues, men lying out with little shelter. In the evening four of us went back two miles to feed the wounded in ambulances. Got lost; rain, mud and darkness combined [45] GEORGE A. HALL. to impede our progress home." Thus, day after day, he gave his best energies to his Christ-like work. One meeting was held in a room where were six men whose limbs had been amputated, and "three at least were earnestly seeking pardon. As we left them the big tears rolled down their cheeks." Thus he went on with the work, unwearying, regard- less of self, distributing supplies, writ- ing letters for the sick and wounded men, preaching sometimes to crowds, and sometimes to little groups. Day suc- ceeded day, each to find more work to do than on the one preceding, and each to bring with it the highest reward of a Christian soldier, the consciousness of the approval of the great Captain of his Salvation. He spent most of his time at Fredericksburg, with occasional trips [46] CHRISTIAN COMMISSION to the front, and a brief respite for recu- peration at home, where he was very ill, and among his old friends at Troy, where he rapidly recovered and soon re- turned to his duties with the Commis- sion at' Fredericksburg. Just as he had always previously been intensely interested in some one young man, whose welfare was very close to his heart, so he had hardly begun his work in the army before he became deeply concerned for the welfare of Johnny B., a regimental band boy, and the depth and tenderness of his solicitude are seen on nearly every page of his diary of this period. It contains an account of the boy leaving the army, of Mr. Hall's pursuit of him to Detroit and his return with him to his post of duty. Anxious [47] GEORGE A. HALL. to save him from trouble on account of his abandonment of his post, he is eager that he may become a Christian, and prays continually for him. After all, the men who have this passionate love for individuals, whose very life is poured out freely for some one person, are those whom God honors in influencing larger numbers. The circumstances under which this friendship was formed are given graphically by Mr. B. himself. His sketch also shows the man as he ap- peared to the "boys in blue," to whom, at that time, his life was so fully devoted. "Never shall I forget when George Alonzo Hall walked into my soul. It was just after the battle of the Wilder- ness; the Spottsylvania guns were booming; and I, a regimental band boy, [48] CHRISTIAN COMMISSION was on detail service in Fredericksburg. I was at the back door of Mayor Slaugh- ter's house, handing out coffee to the delegates of the Christian Commission, when this cheery young Methodist preacher, receiving his tin cupful, asked me if I was a Christian. This was the keynote of his whole life; the young man's friend, in season and out of sea- son, endeavoring to bring every young man to the Lord Jesus Christ. "Shortly after this, at White House Landing, I had a kind of charge of the soldiers' mail, when one day Mr. Hall again appeared, having been officially appointed to organize a number of loose matters in which the White House army post-office was included. He was a mem- ber of the Troy Conference, and had been sent into the army as a 'perma- [49] GEORGE A. HALL. nent' delegate of the Commission, where most of the delegates were 'temporary,' staying only a few weeks at most. The advantage of this permanency and Mr. Hall's wonderful executive ability were quickly recognized, and I believe that Provost Marshal General Patrick found him of great assistance, especially throughout the siege of Petersburg. "We went together to City Point, which, as General Grant's headquarters and base of supplies, as hospital quar- ters and as the gathering place for refugee slaves, gave Mr. Hall full op- portunity for labor. He was, in many respects, the greatest Gospel preacher and revivalist I have ever known. He erected for winter service what was known as a stockade tent — a large en- closure of upright logs having a long [50] CHRISTIAN COMMISSION ridge-pole, like a tent, and covered with heavy canvas. In this temporary meet- ing place, comfortably seated and well warmed and lighted, he preached nightly to immense congregations. "His preaching was the plain talk of a warm-hearted, whole-souled, nervous, energetic, educated Christian young man. He did not sermonize much, but delivered a straight and appealing an- nouncement of a message that evidently weighed upon his own heart. His dis- courses were carefully premeditated, and he generally used a little skeleton of catch-words. He abounded in illustra- tions, but never told a funny story in his preaching. He was in dead earnest, and his delivery was that of a man in whose mouth the choicest words were struggling for utterance. He never [51] GEORGE A. HALL. fawned, but appealed with a loving dig- nity, as one who was going to heaven whether others went or not. His only mannerism was a noticeable use of the archaic word 'methinks,' and I used to wonder if this, like his standing before us at times with his trousers in his boots, was not a part of that subtle eloquence whereby he held our attention. He led his own singing, and every selection was a plain, straightforward, old-fashioned hymn that caught like wild fire and set us all to singing and weeping and pray- ing and rejoicing. Here I think it was that Mr. Hall became acquainted with Mr. Mcody ; and though I travelled with them afterwards I never saw the man, woman or child who was disappointed when Mr. Hall spoke instead of Mr. Moody. [52] CHRISTIAN COMMISSION "In this big stockade tent Mr. Hall had a library, out of which I remember he gave me a copy of Muller's Life of Trust. He had already set me to read- ing Foster's Essays, and a book called The Philosophy of the Plan of Salva- tion. This will show the kind of read- ing he circulated in the army. He vis- ited continuallv, and then and after- wards he was an indefatigable pastor. In this tent we slept together until I was called to the front, when I lost track of him for some little time. But I be- lieve that on another part of the line — perhaps it was at Meade's headquarters — the boys actually built him a beautiful little church. Then came Appomattox and the surrender ; then Lincoln's death ; then the big review in Washington and the general mustering out. [53] GEORGE A. HALL. "But while I lay in camp in George- town awaiting the general discharge, Mr. Hall appeared. He had been to his cousin, Moses Odell, who was a friend of Mr. Lincoln, and, by a special order of the Secretary of War, had pro- cured my immediate discharge in order that I might go North and study under his tuition. In connection with this plan occurred my introduction to camp- meetings and revivals, in which I saw Mr. Hall labor as enthusiastically as he had done while a delegate of the United States Christian Commission, and al- ways with the same happy results. "This, I fear, as I have already said, will seem to contain too much of myself. But I was too young and too thought- less to know much about anything ex- cept as it became a part of my own lif e. [54] CHRISTIAN COMMISSION And nothing ever entered so fully into my life as did his work and personality." There were no distractions so great as to prevent George Hall from push- ing the work to which he was called with all possible vigor. In the midst of the roar of guns prayer and preaching ser- vices were held. His diary for March 25, 1865, contains the following: "Awakened by heavy firing on our right near the Ninth Corps. Marched with the 95th boys, and found upon our arrival at the field the fight over, with capture of 1,700 men. A shell struck and burst near me. Arriving back of Warren we found a fight imminent, and at ten o'clock the battle opened and con- tinued until dark. Terrible fighting. Could see the shells burst, and the roar 155] GEORGE A. HALL. 