Leaving Mrs. Manford in charge of the paper, in September I commenced a long and laborious journey through Missouri, among entire strangers, expecting to be absent three months. Crossed the Mississippi river at Alton, four miles above where the Missouri flows into it, to go to Cottleville, thirty miles distant, where I had my first appointment. The rain poured down in torrents nearly the whole day, and to add to my troubles I got lost in the woods and swamps at the junction of the two rivers. Regaining the road, I traveled till dark, and finding that I could not reach Cottleville that night, made application at a dozen houses for lodging, but all said, “No; we are full.” The night being intensely dark, the rain falling fast, and the roads in a horrible condition and unknown to me, I resolved to go no farther. Stopped at a house, called the man thereof to the door, and solicited a resting place till morning. “We have no room; they will keep you at the next house.”
“What are you in this country?—heathens? At ten or fifteen places I have been refused admittance, each telling your story, that I could be accommodated at the next house. Whether you take me in or not, I shall go no farther till morning. I am wet, and cold, and tired. It is so dark I cannot see my horse, the road is nearly impassable, and I am a stranger in the country; I know no one, and no one knows me. If you will not shelter me in your house, I will sit under this tree till morning, for I am determined to proceed no farther to-night.”
“Oh, well,” said he, “come in, come in; we will do the best we can for you.”
Arrived at Cottleville the next morning, and spoke to the people in the evening. The next day proceeded to Troy, and on the succeeding day delivered three discourses. Found a respectable number of friends there and in the vicinity, and obtained forty subscribers for the Golden Era. As elsewhere remarked, N. Wadsworth resided and preached in Troy a year or two previous to his death, and I found many who blessed his memory for the beautiful truths he had taught them. Have frequently spoken in this place since that first visit, and have some highly esteemed friends there. Mrs. Manford often retreated to it from the scorching sun of St. Louis.
Lectured in Prairieville, Louisville, and then proceeded to Ashley, where I spoke several times. There were four brothers by the name of Hendricks residing near this village—all elderly men, of considerable wealth, and had long been citizens of the county. If the world were composed of men of the sterling worth of those brothers, there should be no need of “camp or court.” It has been my sad duty to perform the funeral service for two of those brothers, and for the wife of one of the survivors. “Blessed are the dead, who die in the Lord,” and the living who make virtue their choice. Lectured in Bowling Green, and then in Louisiana, a beautiful town on the Mississippi river. W. K. Kennedy, a noble man, and ever my steadfast friend, resided in this place. He served his country through the great rebellion, and soon after he returned home was murdered, as is supposed, on the Mississippi river.
Preached in Frankfort, and passed on to London. As soon as it became known I was to lecture in London, a man went post haste to Hannibal, nine miles distant, and brought out a preacher to reply. The moment I was through he opened on me pell mell, without regard to sense or syntax. He evidently believed it was thunder that killed, not lightning. He knew nothing about the liberal faith, but thought he had perfect knowledge of it. In noticing his noisy harangue, I cut him right and left, and he very considerably “subsided.” Drove to Hannibal and lectured four times. Have often preached in that place, and have some dear friends there. The Browns, the Westfalls, and others, I shall esteem as long as this heart beats. The latter have a charming home on the bluff overlooking the Mississippi river, embowered in trees, vines and shrubbery. All the fruits of this latitude grow to perfection and in wonderful profusion on their grounds. There are the apple, pear, cherry—the best varieties—plum, peach, grape, and berries of all kinds. It is, especially, a delightful summer home, and Mrs. Manford frequently fled to it from the melting sun of St. Louis.
A certain doctor of Hannibal published some very coarse and false articles in a St. Louis paper about Universalism: and I replied to him in such a manner that he armed himself to shoot me when I was in the town to fulfill an appointment, but his friends kept him from me till I had left, and he had cooled off. I knew nothing of the wrath of this second Achilles till I returned to Hannibal a month after. I was not blameless, but hardly merited being shot.
Lectured in Palmyra, in the Court-House full of men—one woman only being present. A preacher said he had one or two questions to ask.
“State your questions and I will try to answer them.”
“Are you from the East?”