We have described the Northampton revival under Jon. Edwards, but Whitefield, Tannant, Davenport, Nettleton, Hallock, Wesley, Finney, Moody, Pearsall, Smith, General Booth, etc., obtained similar results by similar means. Their methods differed as to details of procedure and as to the prominence given to this or that emotion. The results are of a finer or coarser grain according to the degree of perfection attained by the revivalist himself. The finished graces of the Christian gentleman cannot be expected to blossom under the ministry of the southern evangelist, now stumping the country escorted and supported by responsible clergymen, who uses the following simile: "Some of you people - ministers included - can't get down and pray any higher than you can spit."

Means of the same kind have been used and are being used in the Roman Catholic Church. * They have been systematized in the institution called "Retreats." A Retreat lasts a certain number of days with no less than three and sometimes five daily services. In France it is usually conducted by three priests, one chosen for his unction, - he officiates in the early morning; another with a turn for the diverting, - he speaks at noon; and one able to stir the awful and fearful emotions, - he preaches in the evening. The themes of the sermons are, during the first half of the Retreat, death, judgment, hell; it is the "Purgative Life." Then follows the "Illuminative Life"; it treats of the love of God, the work of the Holy Ghost, etc.

The children's Retreats last usually six days. Some priests have made a reputation by their successes with children. One of them, a curate of Notre-Dame-du-Mont, had from 300 to 400 children yearly. The last day of a retreat he would lock the doors of the church and forbid even the sexton to walk about. The church was darkened; a pall stretched out before the sanctuary bore a crucifix and two holy candles. In this artfully prepared temple he would preach a sixty minutes' discourse on Christ's Passion, describing with minute realism every detail of the crucifixion, the thorns penetrating into the skin, the blood trickling down the face, the moral anguish of the loving Savior, etc. Before he was half through his sermon, sobs would break out and spread among the terrified children, - the day was won. When in this state, they were sent to confession. One of these professional convert-makers refused his subordinate permission to limit a Retreat to three days. "Do you not know, said he, that it is only on the 5th or the 6th day, when the children begin to be enervated, that we obtain results?"

Although extremely incomplete, the preceding comparative study warrants, in our opinion, the conclusion that the rel'ig'ous experiences we have considered, instead of l:eing looked upon as sufficient evidence for the existence of superhuman, personal agents operating upon man, should be regarded as due to the potency obtained by appropriate ideas when communicated to persons in a peculiarly favorable psycho-physiological condition, i. e., a condition of "increased suggestibility."

The grace of God becomes, according to this view, a power inherent in human nature instead of an alien force. Thus psychological science finds itself in agreement with what seems the only interpretation that can be put upon the central idea of the theology in process of formation: the Immanence of God.

That the forces at play in religious life, among Christians as well as among barbarians are properly classified as suggestive forces, has long been believed by many. It is the prevalent opinion among professional psychologists. But the scientific work, which will scrutinize the phenomena of the higher religious life, and bring to bear upon the thesis here maintained all the weight of the facts now accessible, has not yet appeared. The following works contain valuable information:

"Suggestion u. Hypnotismus in derVolkerpsychologie," Otto Stoll (1894).

"L'Hypnotisme dans la Genese des Miracles." Felix Regnault (1894).

"The Spiritual Life," by Geo. A. Coe (1900).

"La Poule Criminelle," Scipio Sighele (1892).

"La. Psychologie des Foules," Le Bon.

"Epidemics in the Middle Ages," Heeker.