1871
August 6.—Under the auspices of the Y.M.C.A., Hon. George H. Stuart, President of the U. S. Christian Commission, spoke in an open air meeting on the square this afternoon and in our church this evening. The house was packed and such eloquence I never heard from mortal lips. He ought to be called the Whitefield of America. He told of the good the Christian Commission had done before the war and since. Such war stories I never heard. They took up a collection which must have amounted to hundreds of dollars.
1872
Naples, June.—John has invited Aunt Ann Field, and James, his wife and me and Babe Abigail to come to England to make them a visit, and we expect to sail on the Baltic July sixth.
On board S.S. Baltic, July 7.—We left New York yesterday under favorable circumstances. It was a beautiful summer day, flags were flying and everything seemed so joyful we almost forgot we were leaving home and native land. There were many passengers, among them being Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Drexel and U. S. Grant, Jr., who boarded the steamer from a tug boat which came down the bay alongside when we had been out half an hour. President Grant was with him and stood on deck, smoking the proverbial cigar. We were glad to see him and the passengers gave him three cheers and three times three, with the greatest enthusiasm.
Liverpool, July 16.—We arrived here to-day, having been just ten days on the voyage. There were many clergymen of note on board, among them, Rev. John H. Vincent, D.D., eminent in the Methodist Episcopal Church, who is preparing International Sunday School lessons. He sat at our table and Philip Phillips also, who is a noted evangelistic singer. They held services both Sabbaths, July 7 and 15, in the grand saloon of the steamer, and also in the steerage where the text was “And they willingly received him into the ship.” The immigrants listened eagerly, when the minister urged them all to “receive Jesus.” We enjoyed several evening literary entertainments, when it was too cold or windy to sit on deck.
We had the most luscious strawberries at dinner to-night, that I ever ate. So large and red and ripe, with the hulls on and we dipped them in powdered sugar as we ate them, a most appetizing way.
London, July 17.—On our way to London to-day I noticed beautiful flower beds at every station, making our journey almost a path of roses. In the fields, men and women both, were harvesting the hay, making picturesque scenes, for the sky was cloudless and I was reminded of the old hymn, commencing
| “Sweet fields beyond the swelling flood, Stand dressed in living green.” |