28.

DEAR FRIENDS--

I am again on the memorable spot. You can scarcely imagine my interest
in retracing the scene of my brief mission here, in the summer and
autumn of 1825, or the deep emotion with which I revisit your former
residence, the house under whose roof you so kindly sheltered and
entertained one, then exiled, like yourselves, from home. I shall ever
rejoice that Providence threw me into your society, and bestowed upon
me the precious gift of your friendship.

Three years have passed since those eventful weeks we spent together,
on the banks of this beautiful river, and you will be interested to
know what changes have taken place here during that time.

Traces are still distinctly visible of the awful fire, but Time, the
great healer of wounds, and Nature, who is ever striving to cover up
the desolations of earth, are both at work, silently but diligently
overlaying the hideous black disfigurement with greenness and beauty.
The Miramichi and its picturesque precincts are now more alive than
ever, with a hardy and active population. New villages are springing
up on the banks of the river, and business, especially in the branches
of lumbering and fishing, is greatly increasing. There is also a
marvellous change in the moral aspect of the country. It is ascribed
in a great degree to the deep impression made upon the minds of the
people by the conflagration, and doubtless this is the fact. It must
be that God had a retributory end in view in that great event. It was
a judgment upon the community for its exceeding wickedness. Nothing
short of a grand, widespread illumination like that, could have
penetrated the gross darkness that hung over the land.

The way has been thus prepared for the reception of the truth; and
whereas formerly the people, if they came at all to hear the preaching
of God's word, were only drawn by motives of vain curiosity, or the
desire of novelty, they now come in great numbers and with a sincere
desire, as I believe, to be instructed in the way of salvation. Last
year, I came to this region early in the spring and labored until late
in the autumn, preaching up and down the river, from house to house
and from grove to grove, and found the people, almost everywhere,
ready to hear. Many were baptized in the flowing waters of the
Miramichi, made a profession of their faith in Christ, and have since
exhibited in their daily lives, good and in some cases shining
evidence of their si