the steamer. On Dec. 25th, Mr. Müller preached at the Independent Methodist Church, and continued to labour at Baltimore until the 29th, when we went to Washington. There, on the morning of Sunday, the 30th, he preached at the Congregational Church—the largest in the city—and in the afternoon at 3 o'clock at Lincoln Hall. On the evening of Dec. 31st, at Dr. Sunderland's Church, he spoke from Psalm ciii. 3–5, with particular reference to the close of the year, when he addressed his hearers with great solemnity, earnestness, and power.
On Jan. 1st, 1878, the firing of canons early in the morning ushered in the new year, which is a time of much excitement and gaiety in Washington, when the President holds a "reception," and there is a great deal of visiting from house to house. On the evening of that day my husband preached at the Foundry Church, from Exodus xvii. 1–7, when, although it was a time of so much pleasure and amusement, between 700 and 800 people were present. On Jan. 3rd we visited Wayland Seminary, a few miles from Washington, where he addressed 97 male and female coloured students, who were being trained for missionary work: a deeply important service. As they possessed great taste for music, and considerable vocal talent, it was quite a treat to hear them sing; for music—in the Lord's service—being carefully studied at this Seminary, the sacred pieces which they sang were exquisitely given. In the evening Mr. Müller preached at Dr. Mitchell's Church, from Romans xii. 2, where, after the service, one of the pastors came up to him and said: "God sent you to America, dear Brother. That's just the kind of teaching that we want; something that will rouse and wake up Christians as well as the unconverted. God sent you to America, Sir; of that I am certain." On Jan. 4th he preached at the Calvary Baptist Church, and on the 5th we went to the Virginia Episcopal Theological Seminary, near Alexandria, about 11 miles from Washington, and were driven three miles from the railway station to the Institution in an open carriage in bitterly cold weather, the thermometer being six degrees below zero, that is, it registered 38 degrees of frost. There, in the presence of their professors—4 in number—and the President, my husband addressed 41 young men, students, who were preparing for the ministry and for missionary service; and about 40 young students from the High School besides, who, with their tutors, had been invited to attend the meeting. On Sunday, the 6th, he preached three times: in the morning at the Metropolitan Church, a very large one, which was crowded; in the afternoon at Lincoln Hall to about 1,500 persons; and in the evening at the Foundry Church.
On the morning of Jan. 10th, at half past 9, we accompanied Mr. Shipley, of Cincinnati (by appointment), to the White House, to be introduced by him to the President and to Mrs. Hayes. They received us with much courtesy, and, after making some inquiries about our work in England, the former entered for half an hour into conversation with Mr. Müller. Mrs. Hayes afterwards conducted us through the White House, a large old mansion, and showed us the State apartments, with the various objects of interest which this residence contains.
On Jan. 11th Mr. Müller addressed about 1,000 Christian Workers, at the Lutheran Memorial Church, for an hour and 20 minutes; and on the 15th spoke to the coloured students at Howard University for an hour, where the work carried on is of a most important character. During the whole of our stay at Washington, his time was fully occupied, and he preached every evening, and sometimes twice a day, as long as we remained. On the 19th we visited the Capitol, which has a dome nearly 400 feet in height; from the top of which the river Potomac, Mount Vernon, Alexandria, Washington, and the whole neighbourhood could be seen, and afterwards walked through the Government Buildings, public offices, etc. On the morning of Sunday, Jan. 20th, Mr. Müller preached at the First Baptist Church, and in the afternoon at 4 o'clock gave a farewell address at the Lutheran Memorial Church to a very crowded audience.
On Jan. 21st we left for Salem, in Virginia, 239 miles from Washington, and on our way passed many of the places which were the scenes of deadly conflict between the Federals and Confederates during the civil war that raged in the United States many years ago. Near the line of railway Cemeteries were to be seen, filled with long rows of graves placed close together, and marked by white stones, where the corpses of those who were slain in battle lie interred. Alas! what an awful, melancholy war was that! After travelling for twelve hours, at 8 p.m. we arrived at Salem, a small secluded town, 1,450 feet above the level of the sea, situated in a beautiful valley amongst the Alleghany Mountains. On the following evening my husband preached at the Lutheran Church to a most crowded congregation, consisting of pastors, theological students, ladies, country people, negroes, children, the visitors from the Duval Hotel—where we were staying—its three proprietors, the servants (one woman only being left at home); and an elderly Welch minister from Merthyr Tydvil, for 30 years a resident in the United States, walked seven miles from the country to be present at the meeting. All who could possibly attend turned out to hear George Müller, of Bristol, England, who preached for upwards of an hour, and was listened to with the liveliest interest and attention. On the evening of the 23rd he held a second meeting at the Lutheran Church, and addressed a densely crowded congregation, when the appearance of the building plainly showed that it is not necessary to go to large cities in order to have vast audiences. Hundreds of young men were present, most of them students from Roanoke College and the Theological Seminary, many of whom were standing at the entrance closely packed together; whilst others sat upon the pulpit platform side by side. The gallery was thronged. At the back of it several young men were standing upon forms, with their heads near the ceiling, and upon the edge of the front seats in the gallery a few boys were perched, with their legs hanging over the pews, in a somewhat dangerous position. Mr. Müller spoke for an hour and 35 minutes, giving (by particular request) some account of his life and labours, and the meeting, which lasted two hours, was a very blessed one. The next morning he spoke at the Theological Seminary to the students, and in the evening preached for the third time at the Lutheran Church, his particular object being to address the young men from Roanoke College and the students of the Theological Seminary. The portion of Scripture from which he spoke was Eccles. xi. 9, 10, and chapter xii. 1.
On Jan. 25th we rose at 4, left the railway station—at some distance from our hotel—at a quarter past six, and travelled, viâ Lynchburg, Dundee, Salisbury, and Charlotte, to Columbia, in South Carolina, where, after a long, fatiguing journey of 378 miles, which it took 21 hours to accomplish, we arrived at half past 3, early on the morning of the 26th, and (by special invitation) went to the house of Chief Justice Willard. The next day, (Sunday,) Mr. Müller preached in the morning at the Presbyterian, and in the evening at the Methodist Episcopal Church, where, though the congregations were small compared with those in the North, they were large for the Southern States. On the morning of the 28th we went through the State House, the Capitol of Columbia, and were introduced by Judge Willard to the Governor, the Secretary of State for South Carolina, the Comptroller-General, and other government officers. We visited the Senate Chamber also while the senators were sitting, and the House of Representatives, where, on the following morning (by particular request), Mr. Müller opened the deliberations of the day, according to custom, with prayer. At 1 o'clock he addressed the young men and lads at the Reformatory Prison, and, before our departure from Columbia, preached four times at the different churches, giving an address besides to 41 students, with their President and professors, at the Theological Seminary on Feb. 21st. Columbia was a fine city once; but two-thirds of it were destroyed by fire during the civil war, and the place, though now re-built, has never thoroughly recovered its former beauty. It is situated on the Bluffs of the Congaree, and used to be celebrated for its delightfully shaded streets, its lovely flower-gardens, and the model plantations in its vicinity.
On the afternoon of the 1st we left Columbia for Charleston, the metropolis of South Carolina, seven miles from the ocean; and after a journey of 135 miles, arrived there on the 2nd, at half-past 12 in the middle of the night. There, on the morning of Sunday the 3rd, Mr. Müller preached at the Citadel Baptist Church, and in the evening at Trinity Church; but in consequence of the rain, which fell heavily all day, the congregations were only small. On the two following evenings he held meetings at the Second Presbyterian Church, addressed the orphans of the Charleston Orphan Asylum on the 6th, in the presence of their teachers and a number of gentlemen and ladies connected with the Institution, and on the evening of that day preached at the First Baptist Church. On the following evening he held a meeting for Christian Workers, and on the 8th preached
