Lt 4, 1849

March 22, 1849,¹

This document is in the form of a postscript to a letter by James White headed “Topsham, March 22, 1849.” The second part of James White's letter is dated “March 23.”

Topsham, Maine1EGWLM 158.1

Letter to
Leonard and Elvira Hastings.²

Identity: The letter is addressed to “Leonard Hastings, New Ipswich, N.H.” For “Elvira” as his wife's name, see W. [James White], “Our Tour East,” Advent Review, August 1850, p. 14, together with Elvira Hastings, “My Dear Brother and Sister,” Advent Review, August 1850, p. 15.

1EGWLM 158.2

Portions of this letter are published in Arthur L. White, Ellen G. White: The Early Years, p. 159.

An account of the Whites’ return journey after visiting the Hastingses in New Ipswich, New Hampshire.1EGWLM 158.3

Dear Brother and Sister Hastings:

I can write but little now as I am weak, but the Lord is very good to poor unworthy me. While riding in the stage Wednesday I thought I should have to stop at a private house and go no farther,³

James White adds the detail that the last 16 miles (26 kilometers) from North Yarmouth to Brunswick by stagecoach took three hours, during which they were “shook up and down … in snow banks and mud sloughs.”

See: James White to Leonard and Elvira Hastings, Mar. 22, 1849.

but James [James Springer White] and I united in faith together that God would give me strength and suddenly I felt a visible change for the better, and arrived here without accident or harm.4

For a more comprehensive account of the Whites’ return journey to Topsham, Maine, after their six-week itinerary in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, see Ellen G. White, Lt 5, 1849 (Apr. 21); James White to Leonard and Elvira Hastings, Mar. 22, 1849. Arthur L. White provides a synopsis of their travels in early 1849 in Ellen G. White: The Early Years, pp. 158, 159.

Praise the name of the Lord. Yesterday I was unable to sit up; today am free from pain, though weak. My faith is strong in God. I am ready to go anywhere He shall send me, knowing He will give me strength.1EGWLM 158.4

Keep up good courage, my dear Brother and Sister. God is your helper. A few more days here in toil and then we shall be free. Time is short; let us hold fast unto the end. Pray for poor me. Excuse my [not] writing more; my side pains me much; I cannot write.1EGWLM 158.5

E. W.

[Note added in James White's handwriting:]1EGWLM 159.1

Ellen says, “Do give my love to the children.” Her side is so lame she cannot write a word more, “and sign my name,” so here it is.1EGWLM 159.2

E. G. White

Picture: Leonard Hastings1EGWLM 159