valuable labors of Say, Barnes, Lea, and
others, who, although they have done much, have yet left much to be done
by others, and have made some mistakes which require rectifying."

_14th_. Mr. Trowbridge writes from Detroit: "The period intervening
since your last visit to this place has been an eventful one to the
nation. South Carolina, driven on by a few infatuated men, has made a
bold effort to shake off the bonds of Union and Federal Law, and, to the
minds of some in whom you and I repose the utmost confidence, a happy
government seems to totter on the brink of dissolution. It is a long
story, and the papers will tell you all. God grant that the impending
evil may be averted, and that the moral and religious improvement of
this government may not be retarded by civil war." It is thought that
this event, and the course taken by the President, will produce a great
reaction in his favor, and that he will be supported by his old
political opponents. The governor is much occupied. It is supposed the
proclamation is from his pen.

_18th_. M. Merrill announces the opening of an infant school, in which
he is to be assisted by Mrs. Merrill, on Monday next.

_21st_. Rev. J. Porter, pastor of the Presbyterian Church, reports to
the Algic Society, that there is but little in the present state of
religion here that is propitious. "Of the little church gathered here
during the last year, ten persons are absent, scattered wildly through
our land. There now remain twenty-six or twenty-eight communicants.
These seem, in a measure, discouraged by the present indifference. The
recent apparent conversion of three or four soldiers, and the increasing
interest in their prayer-meetings and Bible class, give us some promise.
The Sabbath School, taught entirely by members of the church, is now in
a state of pleasing prosperity. And the infant school, lately organized
under the direction of an admirably qualified teacher, promises to
gratify the hearts of parents."

_22d_. The geography of the line of country between Sault St. Marie and
the shores of Lake Huron, opposite to the island of Mackinack, is a
perfect terra incognita. It has been passed in the winter only on snow
shoes. The distance in a direct line from N.E. to S.W. is about forty
or forty-five miles. It is about double that distance by the St. Mary's
River and Lake Huron--which is and has been the ordinary route, from
the earliest French days, and for uncounted centuries befo