For some time a silent but blessed work has been in progress in Inverness, chiefly in connection with the labours of Christian young men. A number of young men had been in the habit of holding district prayer meetings in the destitute parts of the town, and latterly they formed themselves into a Young Men's Christian Association, rented premises, with accommodation for a library, &c., and a hall for prayer meetings, for the benefit of the populous locality in the midst of which they had planted themselves. Open-air meetings for prayer and exhortation have also been held almost every night of the week in different parts of the town, and in the Muirtown suburb a large wooden building was converted into a preaching station. There is an unwonted anxiety on the part of the non-church-going population to hear the word preached. The sound of preaching invariably gathers a good congregation, and they remain attentively listening for hours. The fruit of this movement appears in the changed lives of numbers of individuals and in the altered appearance of the streets, especially on the sabbath when a drunken person is hardly ever seen. The movement is not confined to effort on behalf of the masses, but is manifest also in the frequent meetings of God's praying people for united supplication at a throne of grace. A prayer meeting of young men is held every morning in the session house of the Free High Church, and a prayer meeting every evening in the Independent Chapel. The movement here does not owe its origin, as in some places, to the accounts from America or from Ireland. It began about two years ago, and, so far as human instrumentality is concerned, appears to have been promoted, if not originated, by the addresses of Mr. Brownlow North. At all events, the meetings held by Mr North produced a decided impression in this locality.
"The Scottish Guardian," September 9th, 1859.
Muirtown marked.