Crossing the Cohocton and the Canisteo rivers, in company with Mr. Buzzael, he followed the course of the Tioga to the town of Icoga, Pa., then crossing Peter's Camp and the Block House to Lycoming by the Wilderness road, as it was justly called, he continued his way through the enveloping night and the descending rain. "We had," says Mr. B., "to ascend and descend dreadful mountains to obtain a lodging among strangers in a strange land. We were fatigued and sorrowful; but Brother Buzzael broke the silence of the way by singing the following lines:
"Though dark be my way, since He is my guide,
'Tis mine to obey, 'tis His to provide;
Though cisterns be broken and creatures all fail,
The word He has spoken will surely prevail."
Pursuing the course of the Lycoming, he struck the west branch of the Susquehannah, at Williamsport, thence to Lewisburg, where he arrived on the evening of March 6th. On the 7th, he spoke for the first time to a small audience on the subject of heaven; from this time his assemblies began to increase and his words took effect among the people. Mr. Bacon had been somewhat successful in preceding years in that place. Mr. Badger preached several sermons in the open air, as no house would hold the assemblies that convened. He there received one minister into the fellowship of the Christian connection from the Methodists, Mr. Andrew Wolfe, a German of property, character, and respectable talent, who preached in the German language;—had three baptizing seasons, which he regarded as glorious, preached on the laying of the corner-stone of the new church, from Matt. 16: 18; a house which its builders designed to have in a state of completion the coming autumn, the time of Mr. Badger's contemplated return. In Milton, Mifflinsburg, Buffalo, Whitedeer, Chilisquaque and Northumberland, he also preached; and it is unnecessary to state that the impression he made was strong and lasting; particularly in Lewisburg, where he did much in establishing order in the society for whom he labored; where he called out the best minds in a free investigation of religious subjects; and where, at different times, he interested the community with the rich and varied resources of his ministerial power; his gifts and character were ever held in admiration and esteem. Many ministers of acknowledged ability have spoken to that community, but from personal knowledge I say that none, taking all things into consideration, have occupied so high a place, for true eloquence, for real power over a congregation and a community, as he.
At this time, Mr. Badger became acquainted with Rev. James Kay, of Northumberland, a fine example of English gentility and politeness, a man of classical and general education, and a theologian of no ordinary accomplishment in the Unitarian school of English divines. From his able pen, the pages of the periodical which Mr. B. began to edit in 1832, were frequently enriched. Northumberland is a quiet town of intelligence and wealth, in the environs of lovely scenery, the waters of the north and of the west branch of the Susquehannah there joining in graceful amity, whilst the perpendicular walls of rock tower in calm solemnity before it. There indeed is the resting-place of the philosopher Priestley, who lived a life of study and of thought; who enriched science by numerous discoveries and the cause of human liberty by his political views; and, at the close of an arduous life, died in the light of the confiding piety in which he had lived; on whose tombstone is this inscription: "I lay me down to rest till the Resurrection!" To the congregation founded by him did Mr. Kay for many years preach, and to the same did Mr. Badger communicate on his two or three occasional visits to that place. From a letter of Mr. Kay, dated September 29, 1823, I discover that Mr. Badger was in Lewisburg at that time, and that he contemplated a meeting at Northumberland.
From Lewisburg, under date of October 7, 1823, he writes to Mrs. Badger as follows:
"You have doubtless heard of the fatal sickness that now rages in this place. It still continues. I preached a funeral sermon last Thursday, and I am informed six or seven lay dead last Sabbath in the neighborhood. But I had good assemblies at our newly finished meeting-house, on Thursday evening, Sunday and Sunday evening. I found the Church in a low state. Mr. Bacon had sowed much discord; but I have nothing to do but to preach Christ and his Gospel, which are calculated to make mankind love each other and to live in union. God only knows the burden and trials I felt in this place for the first week. I was constrained day and night to ask God for wisdom, and at length we are assisted by his power. Everybody who can, turns out to bear the word, and very many of my hearers are those whose pale faces declare the reign of disease.
"I have had two church meetings and was determined to establish order in their affairs, or give them up for a lost and deluded people. I succeeded far beyond my expectations. 1st. I examined into the state of all who had ever been received into the church, found that one had been excluded, three had died, ten had removed, thirteen needed to be specially visited, as they were low in spiritual enjoyment and zeal, and fifty-nine were willing to serve God with all their hearts. 2. I called on them to appoint two persons to take the oversight of the temporalities; F. L. Metzger and John Moore were appointed. 3. I got them to appoint Andrew Wolf and John Dunachy, to take charge of the meetings in my absence. Thus you see that they are coming into order, with which they seem generally well pleased. They depend much on me. I expect to visit them again in the winter. I have been almost every day among the sick; some days have visited more than a dozen families, but never enjoyed better health. Sunday coming will make three Sabbaths I have been in Lewisburg, and on Monday or Tuesday, I design to visit Smithfield, Bradford County, Pa."
June the 20th, Mr. Badger officiated as Chairman of the New York Western Conference, at which time seven new churches were reported, and some important ideas of church polity were discussed. In August of this year, he described the city of Rochester, then a town of 3000 inhabitants, connected by water communications with Albany on the east, Quebec on the north, and Lake Superior on the west. He speaks of a small church, in that city, with whom he had labored half of the time through the summer, and expresses the hope that they will accumulate more strength in that growing town. In the early part of August, he attended a general meeting at Rochester, and, in the same month, another at Cato, Cayuga County, N. Y.
Letters from different parts of the country show the inclination of the people to make demands on his public gifts and labors; and, could we institute a close comparison between the width and depth of the interest called out by the great public meetings of those days, and of similar meetings in our own times, we are satisfied that the preference would be greatly in favor of the past. They were more in numbers, and the religious interest was more general and intense. At West Bloomfield, 1822, for instance, there were thirty-five ministers present at a general meeting, and, in those days, the most of such occasions seemed to be a centre of interest for a wide area of the country.