On the 21st we visited Potsdam, on the morning of the 23rd left Berlin, and in the afternoon arrived at Stettin, Pomerania, near the Baltic. Here Mr. Müller preached several times, and afterwards we visited Lübeck (one of the three great Hanse towns, about 200 miles from Stettin), Hanover, Bielefeld (in Westphalia), Soest (a very remarkable old Hanseatic town), and Ruhrort, at each of which places he preached also repeatedly. On May 16th we arrived at Nimeguen, Holland, where he held a meeting the same evening at the Dutch Reformed Church, and on the 17th visited an Orphan Institution for 450 children, seven miles from Nimeguen, established in consequence of the blessing which has rested upon the Ashley Down Orphan Houses, and carried on in the same spirit in which our own Institution is conducted. There he addressed the children with translation into Dutch, and we afterwards went through the various Departments of the Asylum. At Nimeguen, Mr. Müller continued to preach until May 21st, when we went by steamer to Arnheim (a beautiful town in Guelderland, on the banks of the Rhine), and afterwards visited Utrecht, at each of which places he held meetings repeatedly. On May 26th we reached Amsterdam, where he preached several times, either in German, or in German with translation into Dutch; and whilst there a letter arrived from the United States, signed by the Rev. E. P. Thwing, and four other pastors, earnestly inviting him to labour in America.
"Amsterdam is built upon piles driven through 50 or 60 feet of peat and sand, and is protected by dykes. Its numerous canals and 95 islands are spanned by 300 bridges. The diamond cutting industry of Amsterdam is the most celebrated in the world, and supports 10,000 workmen, 9,000 of whom are Jews. At Koster's the Kohinoor and other diamonds were cut."
On June 3rd we went to Zeist, an interesting Moravian settlement, where my husband preached three times, and afterwards visited Haarlem, Leyden, and the Hague (the residence of the Court and Government), at each of which places he held several meetings. Those at the Hague were attended by many both of the upper and the lower classes, but by none belonging to the middle ranks of life. Before our departure from the Hague we spent a few hours at Scheveling, a small sea-port on the Dutch coast; and on June 13th left for Rotterdam, where Mr. Müller spoke the same evening at a Conference. The following evening he gave another address at the Conference Hall, and on June 15th preached at one of the Reformed Churches, to a large Congregation. This was his last service on the Continent. During this long tour, there is the fullest reason to believe, that God greatly blessed his labours at all the places that we visited. On June 16th we left Rotterdam for England, viâ Brussels, Calais, and Dover, and arrived in London on the 18th. On the 21st he spoke at one of the Mildmay Conference meetings; on the 23rd gave an address at the noon prayer meeting, and on Sunday (24th) preached in the afternoon and evening at the Conference Hall to very large congregations. These services brought the labours of his third missionary tour to a close, and on June 25th we left London and returned to Bristol.
[A] In the following Narrative, passages which describe cities and places in Europe and America (marked as being quotations by inverted commas) have been taken either from "Appleton's Handbook of American Travel," from "Bradshaw's Continental Guide," or from one of "Murray's European Handbooks."
FOURTH TOUR.
CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES.
From August 18th, 1877, to July 8th, 1878.
After returning from the Continent, a few weeks were spent at the Orphan Houses on Ashley Down, where everything was found to be going on well; but, after much prayer, considering it to be the will of God we should respond to the letter of invitation received at Amsterdam, and visit the United States, on August 18th, 1877, we went to Liverpool, in order to embark for Canada, having been strongly advised to take the shorter sea voyage to Quebec instead of going to New York. On the morning of Sunday, the 19th, Mr. Müller, spoke at the Albion Hall, in the evening he preached at Toxteth Tabernacle; and whilst we remained at Liverpool held three other meetings.
On Thursday afternoon, August 23rd, we went on board the steamship "Sardinian" (Allan Line) and sailed at 7 in the evening. The following morning we touched at Moville, on the North coast of Ireland; and, after waiting there a few hours, to take in the mails, steamed out into the Atlantic. Our cabin, the chief officer's deck room, was tolerably comfortable, and the voyage, though rough, was a favourable one upon the whole. Off the Island of Newfoundland, the weather became cold, and the progress of the vessel was retarded considerably by fogs; but on August 30th, the welcome cry of "land!" from the steerage passengers was heard, and when the fog lifted, Belle Island on our right was in full view, at a short distance only from the ship. On the evening of that day Mr. Müller held a meeting in the forecastle for the sailors and steerage passengers, and spoke afterwards in the Chart Room to as many of the cabin passengers as were able to attend. On the 31st we entered the Gulf of St. Lawrence—460 miles in length—where a heavy sea was running, and soon came in sight of the island of Anticosti, inhabited only (it is said) by bears and wolves.
On the evening of that day, Mr. Müller gave an address at a meeting in the saloon, and early on the morning of Saturday, Sept. 1st, the mail bags were landed at Rimouski, where a few passengers went on shore. The remainder of the day was occupied in going up the River St. Lawrence. On its northern bank, a long range of mountain district extends for many miles; and on its southern side close to the river's brink, numbers of white houses—the homes of French-Canadian settlers—are dotted along the shore for a great distance. In the evening, as we drew near Quebec, the "Sardinian" fired guns as a signal of her approach; and at half-past eight we reached Point Louis, South Quebec, after a voyage of nine days, six hours and a half, and anchored alongside the wharf. From the landing-place a carriage conveyed us up a steep hill to the Hotel St. Louis, where a number of letters awaited our arrival, containing a warm welcome to America, and numerous invitations for my husband to preach in the United States. On Sunday evening, Sept. 2nd, at the Baptist Church, he preached for the first time in Canada, and the following day at a Hall in the city held two other services. We had happy interviews also with several Christian friends. An abundance of work would have been ready for him at once at various places in Canada; but as the letter of invitation, received at Amsterdam came from pastors in the United States, it seemed right to go there first, and particularly to Brooklyn, where Mr. Thwing resided.
On the morning of Sept. 4th, some friends took us in a carriage to see the beautiful Falls of Montmorenci, nine miles distant, where the river of that name, after leaping for miles over a rocky bed, rushes with great velocity to the edge of the high rocks over which it falls, and pours its snowy cataract 250 feet into the valley below. Quebec is beautifully situated, and is a place of great historic interest. Near the town are the "Plains of Abraham," and the spot where General Wolfe fell. A monument erected to his memory and to that of Montcalm, stands upon it. The Citadel, sometimes called the "Gibraltar of America," is a fortress upon the summit of a very high rock, from which there is a magnificent view of the St. Lawrence, and of the surrounding neighbourhood. At 6 o'clock on the evening of the 4th, we went on board a river steamer, and, after a favourable night passage, at 7 the next morning, arrived at Montreal, where some brethren waiting on the landing-stage asked us to remain; we did not, however, accept their kind invitation, and at 9 o'clock started for Toronto, where, after a long railway journey of 333 miles, we arrived at half-past 11 the same night. On the 6th we went on, viâ Hamilton, to Niagara, and—having decided to remain there till the next day—spent