“They then passed on to Middletown, where they remained two days; to Sandersville, where Mr. M. gave one lecture; and to Philadelphia, where they arrived on the 14th of September. On the 16th, Mr. M. commenced his lectures at the Museum Saloon, in Julian street.
“On the 19th, Mr. M. reached New York city, and the next day gave a discourse in Franklin Hall. On Sunday, P. M., he preached in the church in Chrystie street, from these words: ‘But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things that are written in the law and the prophets; and have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.’ Acts 24:14, 15. He spoke with great ease and clearness respecting the reasons which had fixed his mind on 1843. He acknowledged that there had been a mistake, but expressed his assurance in the near coming of Christ, for which event he entreated all to be in readiness. In the evening, he spoke in the same place, to a crowded and attentive audience, upon the seven last plagues of Rev. 16:15-17, six of which he believed had been poured out during the last three hundred years.
“His health was at this time suffering considerably from the fatigues of the western tour; and, feeling it his duty to rest for a season, he declined the many urgent invitations which were then pressing upon him for lectures elsewhere, and returned to his family at Low Hampton. From that place he wrote as follows:—
“‘September 30, 1844.
“‘Dear Brother:—I am once more at home, worn down with the fatigue of my journey, my strength so exhausted and my bodily infirmities so great that I am about concluding I shall never be able again to labor in the vineyard as heretofore. I wish now to remember with gratitude all those who have assisted me in my endeavors to awaken the church and arouse the world to a sense of their awful danger.
“‘I pray God, my brethren and sisters, that you may receive a reward in this life of a hundred fold, and, in the world to come, eternal life. Many of you have sacrificed much—your good names, former associations, flattering prospects in life, occupation, and goods; and with me you have received scorn, reproach, and scandal from those whom it was our souls’ desire to benefit. Yet not one of you to whom my confidence has ever been given, has, to my knowledge, murmured or complained. You have cheerfully endured the cross, despised the shame, and with me are looking for and expecting the King in all his glory. This is to me a cause of gratitude to God. May he preserve you unto the end. There have been deceivers among us, but God has preserved me from giving them my confidence to deceive or betray....
“‘William Miller.’
CHAPTER XVI.
THE SEVENTH MONTH MOVEMENT—DISAPPOINTMENT—THE NOBLEMAN AND HIS SERVANTS—NEED OF PATIENCE—CONFERENCE AT LOW HAMPTON—ETC.
“For a few months previous to this time, the attention of some had been directed to the tenth day of the seventh month of the current Jewish year, as the probable termination of several prophetic periods. This was not generally received with favor by those who sympathized with Mr. Miller, till a few weeks previous to the time designated, which, on that year, following the reckoning of the Caraite Jews, fell on the 22d day of October. Mr. Miller had, a year and a half previous, called attention to the seventh month[26] as an important one in the Jewish dispensation; but as late as the date of his last letter (September 30, 1844,) he had discountenanced the positiveness with which some were then regarding it. On the 6th of October he was first led to favor the expectation which pointed to that month, and thus wrote: ‘If Christ does not come within twenty or twenty-five days, I shall feel twice the disappointment I did in the spring.’