At  the  ninth  session  of  Presbytery,  held  at  HalVs  meeting-honseii
now  New  Monmouth,  commencing  Tuesday,  April  26th,  1791,  Mr*
John  Lyle  delivered  his  trial  sermon  for  licensure  at  the  opening,
of  the  sessions,  and  on  Wednesday  he  and  Mr.  Alexander  were  ex-
amined on  the  Latin  and  Greek  languages ;  and  Mr.  Alexander  read
his  exegesis.  On  Thursday  morning  Mr.  Alexander  read  his  homily^
and  Mr.  Lyle  his  lecture ;  in  the  afternoon  the  two  candidates  were
examined  in  Geography,  Natural  Philosophy,  Criticism,  Astronomyi
and  Moral  Philosophy;  and  Mr.  Lyle  was  examined  in  part  qq'
Theology.  On  Friday  the  Presbytery  sustained  all  these  parts  of*
trial,  and  gave  Mr.  Alexander  for  a  lecture,  to  be  read  at  the  next
meeting,  Hebrews,  6th  chapter,  1st  to  7th  verse.  Mr.  Graham
nrged  the  Presbytery  to  assign  a  subject  to  Mr.  Alexander  for  n
popular  sermon.  Mr.  Alexander  was  reluctant,  and  plead  his  yonth,
and  general  unpreparedness.  The  urgency  of  Mr.  Graham  pre*
Tailed.  At  the  suggestion  of  Samuel  Houston,  the  text  assigned
was —  "  Say  not  I  am  a  child ;"  Jeremiah  1st :  7th.  On  the  same
day  three  of  Mr.  Alexander's  fellow-students  of  theology  were
received  as  candidates  for  the  ministry,  Thomas  Poage,  of  Augusta
County,  Benjamin  Grigsby,  of  Rockbridge  County,  and  Matthew
Ly],e,  also  of  Rockbridge  County,  and  a  cousin.  The  reasons  given
by  Mr.  Graham  for  pressing  the  young  candidate  so  speedily  into
the  ministry  were:  that  his  manner  of  conducting  nieetings  was
captivating,  his  instructions  sound ;  that  his  acquirements  w^re
greater  than  ordinary;  and  that  his  own  expectations  of  sncoeas
were  vastly  higher  than  the  candidate's  humility  permitted  him  to
indulge.
