"Thou shalt go to Upper Canada, even to the city of Toronto, the capital, and there thou shalt find a people prepared for the fullness of the gospel, and they shall receive thee, and thou shalt organize the Church among them, and it shall spread thence into the regions round about, and many shall be brought to the knowledge of the truth and shall be filled with joy; and from the things growing out of this mission, shall the fullness of the gospel spread into England, and cause a great work to be done in that land.
"You shall not only have means to deliver you from your present embarrassments, but you shall yet have riches, silver and gold, till you will loath the counting thereof."
This prophecy was the more marvelous, because being married near ten years we had never had any children; and for near six years my wife had been consumptive, and had been considered incurable. However, we called to mind the faith of Abraham of old, and judging Him faithful who had promised, we took courage.
I now began in earnest to prepare for the mission, and in a few days all was ready. I took an affectionate leave of my wife, mother and friends, and started for Canada in company with a brother Nickerson, who kindly offered to bear my expenses. After a long and tedious passage in a public coach (the roads being very bad and the lake not open), we arrived at the Falls of Niagara sometime in the month of April, 1836.
As this was my first visit to this place it made a deep and awful impression on my mind. We halted a short time to view this wonder of nature, and to adore that God who had formed a world so sublimely grand. The leaping of a mighty river of waters over a perpendicular fall of one hundred and sixty feet, the foaming and dashing of its white spray upon the rocks beneath; the rising cloud of mist with its glittering rainbow, the yawning gulf with its thousand whirlpools; all conspired to fill the contemplative mind with wonder and admiration, and with reverence to the Great Author of all the wonders of creation; while its everlasting roar which may be heard for many miles distant, seemed a lively emblem of eternity.
While musing on this spot, I fell into the following train of reflection: O, Niagara! Generations may pass in long succession; ages may roll away and others still succeed; empires may rise and flourish, and pass away and be forgotten; but still thy deafening, thy solemn and awful voice is heard in one eternal roar. The temples of marble may moulder to dust, the monuments of the great may crumble to decay, the palaces of kings fall to ruin and their very place become unknown, their history forgotten in the almost countless ages of antiquity; and still thy sound is heard in everlasting moan, as if mourning over the ruins of by-gone years.
With deepest eloquence thou seemest to speak in awful pride, saying: "Before Abraham was, I am;" and with mingled feelings of pity and contempt thou seemest to inquire:-
Where now is Nimrod's mighty tower? Where the
Majestic walls, the warlike battlements,
The splendid palaces, the hanging gardens
Of Babylon?
Where the proud Nebuchadnezzar, who, with
Golden sceptre, swayed the world, and made
The nations tremble? Where the proud Nineveh,—
The strong Thebes, with its hundred gates?
The golden Tyre, the splendid Athens, the
Majestic Rome, with all their works of art—
Their monuments of fame, once the pride
And glory of the world?
Where the mighty Pharaoh's, the terrible
Alexanders, the invincible Cesars,
The warlike Hannibal? Tyrants in turn.
Where now the gifted poets, the splendid
Orators, the profound philosophers
Of Greece and Rome, whose mighty genius
Hurled royal tyrants headlong from their thrones,—
Made senates weep or laugh at will, and ruled
The nations? They are swept away by time;
Their beauty, like the morning flower, is withered
Their pride and glory gone like leaves of autumn;—
Their grandest works are fast decaying,
Mouldering to ruin, soon to be forgotten.
But still my store house is unexhausted,
My fountain full and overflowing—my
Solid munitions of rocks stand secure.—
My voice as mighty as when the beauteous
Colors of the rainbow first sported in
The sunbeams:—
As when the intelligences of olden worlds
First gazed with admiration upon my
Expanded waters; or, animated at
The music of my voice joined in the chorus,
And all the sons of God shouted for joy.But, boast not, O proud Niagara! Though
Thou mayest withstand the ravages of time,—
While countless millions, swept away with all
Their mighty works, are lost in following years.—
Yet there is a voice to speak, long and loud;
'Tis Michael's trump, whose mighty blast shall rend
Thy rocks, and bow thy lofty mountains in the dust,
Before whose awful presence thy waters
Blush in retiring modesty; and in
Respectful silence thou shalt stand in listening
Wonder, and admire, while thunders roll
Majestic round the sky, the lightnings play,—
The mountains sink—the valleys rise—till Earth,
Restored to its original, receives
Its final test, and groans and sighs no more.Till then, weep on, and let thy voice ascend
In solemn music to the skies—'tis like
A funeral dirge—'tis fit to weep o'er the miseries
Of a fallen world in anguish deep.
CHAPTER XVII.
Journey Resumed:—Ministry:—Striking Answer to Prayer:—Arrival at Toronto:—John Taylor:—Visit the Religious Ministers, the Sheriff, and the Public Market, Seeking for an Opening, but in Vain:—Secret Prayer:—About to leave the City—God Sends a Widow to Receive Me:—Great Faith:—Eyes of the Blind Opened:—Great Excitement and Gainsayings:—Public Preaching:—Find a People Prepared to Receive the Message.