ABERFAN, Thursday, Dec 15.

When people gather together in hundreds and sing and pray in the streets at midnight, it is one of the signs of a religious awakening, and an evidence of the spread of the revival. People made the hills resound at Aberfan last night. They had heard Evan Roberts at Merthyr Vale, and had carried his spirit of enthusiasm across the river. In the exuberance of their joy they had forgotten the disappointment suffered earlier in the day by the non-arrival of the revivalist at the appointed hour, and they were content to wake the echoes at midnight and look forward to the festival of today.

Three meetings have been addressed by Mr Roberts, and those who were fortunate enough to find a place at each service had a feast of song and devotional exultation. There were hundreds of people who came from distant places who had to return without having even caught a glimpse of the Welsh Wesley, and their disappointment was profound. As early as nine o'clock this morning large groups of people were waiting for the gates of the Welsh Methodist Chapel at Aberfan to be opened. Half an hour later the chapel was full, and at ten o'clock it was as difficult to force a passage through the mass as it would be for the proverbial camel to pass through the eye of a needle.

But Mr Evan Roberts accomplished this. He is quite an adept at finding his way through a crowd. How he does it is past all understanding, but he never fails to reach his objective, and the walls of Jericho would not prevail against him if there was a pulpit on the other side. Looking paler and more hagard than he did on Wednesday, he took his place in the pulpit about eleven o'clock this morning with three of lady helpers. The people were already in the seventh heaven of religious delight.

They were singing and repeating again and again the Welsh words, "Mai cariad ydyw Duw" (That God is Love), to the tune of "Diadem," and the great volume of sound seemed to grow greater and greater in magnitude with each repetition. There was no sign of hoarseness in a single voice, but at last the singing subsided. Evan Roberts was palpably overcome. Leaning over the pulpit with the Bible clasped to his breast, he tried to speak in a feeble voice of the infinite Love, but he had not uttered more than a few sentences before he broke down completely, and his whole frame was convulsed with sobbing. A woman sitting in the "set fawr" opened prayer in a shrill voice and the congregation led by Miss Mary Davies, sang "Marchog Jesu yn Ilwyddianna" to the stirring music of "Ton y Botel," and singing was prolonged for fully fifteen minutes without a break.

Then Mr Roberts made another effort to address the multitude, but again his feelings overwhelmed him. Prayers became so numerous and the musical instincts of the people asserted themselves to such an extent that there was no prospect of the revivalist being heard at all. One prayer, however, that of a young man on the gallery, seemed to renew his strength. This young man was an Aberfan convert. In his prayer he told the story of a conversation he had had with a local licensed victualler, who had complained to him on the previous evening that his takings had dwindled down to nothing. "Make a missionary of him," cried the young man, "and cause him to close his public house. He has been taking the money should should have bought food and clothing for our wives and children." Rising to his feet for the third time Evan Roberts now spoke in a clear, powerful voice. He was more eloquent than has been his wont. "There are thousands of members of Churches," he declaimed, "who have never loved Jesus Christ. They have been merely nominal members. Thousands of people in different parts of the country are praying for us here this morning, and we ought to have an abundant blessing. I know of one man who had been a professing Christian for twenty years and had never prayed in his life. Thousands of people have been deceiving themselves that they are Christians, and this revival is their time of judgement. In this movement we are one happy family, and children play quite as important a part in it as they do in the home. No more sectarianism. We have been fighting each other long enough. We shall have more time to fight the devil henceforth."

"While we have been wrangling and fighting as sects the devil has been laughing at us. Oh, he has had a grand time. But he is losing thousands who have been on his side."

In applying the usual test which is being made at each meeting, Mr Roberts said he admired those who had the courage to sit down instead of standing up, and thus show their true colours. The new additions to the test were:

‘All who read the Bible every day stand up.’ About one half of the congregation stood

‘All who intend reading the Bible every day in the future stand up.’
A much greater number stood up than before, but there were many who still remained seated.

Looking round the building, Mr Roberts said there was no attempt at compulsion, and added that there would be a terrible judgement for those who were clothed in hypocrisy day and night.

The further tests were:

‘All who pray every day stand up.’ Again about one half of the congregation stood.

‘All who intend praying every day from this time forth.’
There were still some who retained their seats, and prayers were invited for them.

Not a single word of abuse against any person or any class of the community found a place in the address of the revivalist or in the prayers of the congregation, and this consistent absence of any fiery tirade which is too often of zealous propagandists is one of the significant and most wholesome features of the present movement.