As Whitefield had now been in the south more than five months, we are not surprised to find that applications poured in from every part of the north, entreating him to revisit the scenes of other years. He left Bethesda and its affairs in the hands of persons worthy of his confidence, of whom he said, "Such a set of helpers I never met with." After some hesitation as to where he should first go, he set out for Philadelphia, where he arrived on the 6th of May. Writing three days afterwards, he says, "The evening following, I was enabled to preach to a large auditory, and have to repeat the delightful task this evening. Pulpits, hearts, and affections, seem to be as open and enlarged to me as ever." On the 24th he again wrote, "A wide and effectual door, I trust, has been opened in this city. People of all ranks flock as much as ever. Impressions are made on many, and I trust they will abide. To all the Episcopal churches, as well as most of the other places of worship, I have free access. Notwithstanding I preach twice on the Lord's day, and three or four times a week besides, yet I am rather better than I have been for many years. This is the Lord's doing." On June 14, he says, "This leaves me just returned from a one hundred and fifty miles' circuit, in which, blessed be God, I have been enabled to preach every day. So many new as well as old doors are open, and so many invitations sent from various quarters, that I know not which way to turn myself." Of his last visit to New Jersey, Bishop White of Philadelphia, then a young man of twenty-three, says, "When he was on his way from Philadelphia to Boston, late in the summer, he had been prevailed on to promise to cross from Bristol to Burlington, and to preach there. I happened to be in the latter place, and staying in the house of a relative, when it was announced that Mr. Whitefield was at a tavern on the other side of the river. He was expected to be escorted by my relative. I went with him; and we returned in a boat with Mr. Whitefield and his company. He preached to the assembled citizens in front of the court-house, and afterwards dined at the house of my relative. During dinner, he was almost the only speaker, as was said to be common; all present being disposed to listen."