"YE MUST BE BORN AGAIN" TWICE-BORN
MEN
TRUE
CONVERSION
RECORDS OF~100 WELL - KNOWN
MEN IN ALL
RANKS OF LIFECompiled by
HY. PICKERING
A Grand National Winner
EDWARD STUDD, father of the three brothers Studd,
who all became famous, had made a fortune in India.
He had a country house in Wilts., a town house in Lon-
don, and not only kept race-horses, but had a private
race-course on his estate. In 1866 he won the Grand
National. The story of the change is most interesting,
so we print, though longer than usual.
Mr. Studd, paterfamilias, at this period possessed a
racehorse which he considered better than any he had ever
had, and he was so sure of its coming in first in a certain
race for which he had entered it that he wrote to a friend
in London, whom he was going to see the following day:
"If you are a wise man, you will put every penny you
have on my horse."
When he met his friend in London next day, he asked,
"Well, how much have you put on my horse?" "Nothing
at all," was the surprising answer. "Then all I can say
is that you are the biggest of fools," growled Studd pater.
"Didn't I tell you what a good horse he was? Anyhow,
come and dine with me."
The two gentlemen had dinner together, and then Mr.
Studd asked, "Now, where shall we go to amuse our-
selves this evening? As you are the guest, you shall
choose." "Well, then," replied his friend, "let us go
and hear Moody preach."
Now Studd senior had been highly amused at what the
newspapers had said about Sankey and Moody; neverthe-
less, he had declared one evening after reading something
attacking or scoffing at the pair as usual, "Anyhow, there
must be some good about this man Moody or he would
never be abused so much by the papers. When he comes
to London, I must go and hear him."
Forgetting this, however, he objected to going to hear
Mr. Moody when his friend proposed they should. "It
isn't Sunday," he made reply. "Let us go to a theatre
or a concert." His friend reminded him, "You promised
to go wherever I chose." So the two went to hear Mr.
Moody.
The friend told Studd senior that he had heard Mr.Moody while he was over in Ireland. "I was about to
leave Dublin," he explained, "when I missed the train.
It was a Saturday night, so I had to remain over Sunday.
As I was strolling about the streets that evening I saw
big bills advertising a meeting of Sankey and Moody,
and I decided I would go and hear what they had to say."
He went, and, in Mr. Charles T. Studd's own words, "God
met him; he went again and God converted him. He was
a new man, and yet when my father wrote that letter he
never said anything about it"--about his conversion, of
course, is meant.
When this gentleman and Studd senior got to the
meeting-hall, they found it full to overflowing; there
were no seats to be obtained, except special ones. The
friend, however, was not to be beaten. He knew he would
never get Mr. Studd there again, so he worked himself
into the crowd until he came across one of the committee.
He said to him, "Look here, I have brought a wealthy
sporting gentleman here, but I will never get him here
again if we do not get a seat." The man took them in
and put them right straight in front of Mr. Moody. Mr.
Studd kept his eyes riveted on Mr. Moody the whole time
he was speaking, and, after the meeting, said to his
friend--to that friend's great but secret delight: "I will
come and hear this man again. He just told me everything
I had ever done."
Edward Studd was a changed man from that hour.
He attended service after service of Messrs. Moody and
Sankey, "until he was right soundly converted."
He felt he could not go on living the life he had been
doing. He sought and obtained a private interview with
Mr. Moody. "If I become a Christian, Mr. Moody," he
asked, "must I give up racing, and shooting, and hunting,
and going to theatres and balls, and all that sort of thing?"
"Well, Mr. Studd," answered Mr. Moody, "racing
means betting, does it not? and betting means gambling,
and I don't see how a gambler can be a true Christian.
As for the other things, do them as long as you like."
But Studd senior was still rather concerned about the
theatre and cards, and said so; whereupon Mr. Moody
rejoined, "You have children and people you love, Mr.
Studd; and now you are a saved man yourself, desirousof living a more Christian life than hitherto, you want
them to be saved also. As soon as ever you have won a
soul, you will find that you won't care about any of the
other things."
Mr. Studd went back to his country house, and sold
his dogs and hunters, and devoted himself to Christian
work thenceforward. His change of life and habits
caused no small sensation amongst his old friends and
neighbours. When his sons returned home from Eton for
the holidays they could not understand "what had come
over" him. He kept continually telling them that he
was born again. "We thought that he was just born
upside down, because he was always asking about our
souls, and we didn't like it," says Charles.
He took them to hear Mr. Moody; but, although they
were all three greatly impressed by that gentleman's
eloquence and arguments, they were not converted at
the time. Studd senior had revivalist meetings held
at his country-house in the evenings, inviting ministers
and business acquaintances from London to attend and
deliver addresses to the people about their souls. The
people came from miles around, and many were converted
to a better life.