North, Brownlow

North, Brownlow a noted English lay preacher, was born shortly after the opening of the present century, and was educated and fitted for business life. He studied at the University of Oxford, and was by his friends, who were of the nobility, intended for the ministry; but he himself, preferring a gay and worldly life, chose the mercantile profession. About 1854 he was suddenly and marvelously impressed with his obligation to his Maker, and, once converted, he became an enthusiastic worker for the Church. He began his Christian labor in a very modest and quiet manner, but he soon became known and distinguished in more ways than one. His earliest Christian labors were in behalf of the sick. After a while he distributed tracts, and gradually gave himself up to the labor of saving souls, and went about addressing the people in houses, churches, and streets. His earnestness and enthusiasm soon made him popular, and he frequently was listened to by crowds. In 1859 the general council of the Free Church of Scotland licensed him to preach as an evangelist. He died in the midst of his work at Tillechewane, Scotland, whither he had gone to fulfill a preaching' engagement, in December, 1875.