Muscatine journal. [volume] (Bloomington, Iowa) 1849-185?, 1854-03-10
A Word or Two from Iowa.


" 1--WE find letter under the a bove hea
}. written BY Rev. H. Taylor, in the Chi
cago Christian Advocate. (Methodist
il. from which we make the following ey
tracts i
DEAR BRo. WATSON I'VE are n ow i
!. the midst Of dresry win.et, and not s.
dreary either. for at this time .he sun
o out in full.orbed splendor, and but 70
the absence OF green fields, sweet sing
Jag birds, and few other prere equisi,e ,e
' OF spring. one would be tempted 10 ,hinl
that the vernal season had actually ar
rived. The snow, however, is fast dis.
; appearing from the earth, and shoulc
the weather continue warm for any con
, siderable length Of time we shall proba
bly, enjoy the privilege Of travelling in the
mud "a luxury, 10y the way, that we
t "ilawk-Eyes' but seldom enjoy. and es
pecially ct this season of the year. 81
far our winter has been rema rkably mild
and pleasant, SO much so that, with the
exception of two or three days, mos,
all kinds OF outdoor business might be
{attended with comfor.; and up To this
time we, SADDLE bag" men. have neither
been compelled TO hold up, or hold up
Y from the effects of cold weather. but
have kept along in our regular work Of
travelling, preaching, pastoral visiting.
&c. as though there were really no win.
ter TO be dreaded.
i This Is indeed a beautiful land. and
II we may predict. we would bespeak
for i; a glorious future.
Allow me nov TO say word or two
about my own work Muscatine Cir
cult is embraced within the limits OF
the county. from which it takes its
name. The circuit is entirely new, be-
ing hardly siA months old, and vet,
thank God, she is able TO stand alone
and carry as heary burth-ns as any Of
her sisters Of the same size and age, in
the conference. With an original mem.
bership of only fifty persons, all told, The
Claims Of the circuit are promptly met,
and It is even intima,ed by some Of he
knouing ones that there remains qsite a
balance in the treasury. Such exhibi
tons OF 'ompt generosity on the par;
OF the church, to NEE; the claims of The
circuit. it is needless to say, seldom. il
ever, fail TO be rewarded. The maxim
is undoubtedly true one. that God
lps those that help themselves" and
| it il nolcss true in matters Of religion
than in any thing else; and already its
truth has been verified in our midst.
The work Of conviction and conver-
sicn commenced in the earlv part o: the
yea r. and now, instead Of there being
only here and there a solitars traveller
in the way, God has raised up arourd US
host of friends. who are already buck
! ling on the srmor to assist their older
brethren in carving on the glorious
work Truly we may exclaim in the Ian
guage of the psalmist, 20 that men
would praise the Lord for his goodness,
and for his wonderful works TO the chill
dren Of men, The work Of revival. no "
ever. has not been confined TO this cir
cult alone. Other aud adjacent feds
are also being waIered with the dews OF
divine grace. A good work has been
going on during most of the winter, un
der the faithful and pcrsevering labors
OF Rev. J II. White, late Of the Pitts
burgh Conference. BIO. White il faith
ful pastor. good preacher, and so far
has proven great blessing 10 the peo>
Pile with whom he labors. May the
blessing OF God attend and sanctify all
his efforts to do good. Brothers Blake,
and Reynolds, OF the Grandview and
Fairpert circuits. have also met with
encouraging success. Quite number
Of persons. within the bounds Of both
circuits. have recently been converted,
and added to The church.
The city Of Muscatine is the princi.
pal business poin. Tor this part Of Iowa.
| 1t is emphatically a business place aud
although the Mississippi is now frozen
pver, and the river business entirely
suspended. yet the amount Of activity
prevailing in The streets is almost in.
credible, The business department OF
the city is daily crowded with wagons,
loaded with produce from the In nterior.
and it would seem that the products OF
hall the State were seeking Il market at
this place. Whether this important
balance Of trade can be- traced 10 any
peculiar advantages in getting To mar
ket, or whether The business men of this
city are more generous in their prices
and business transactions, is in no
sonse problema,ical. Here he farmers
have sure and steady market and when
they come TO town with their prod lce
| they ere sure OF two things /; first, they
are sure 10 sell out, and secondly. they
are sure Of their pay. This country is
fast filling up with a moral industrious