The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Life and Letters of Elizabeth Prentiss by George L. Prentiss

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Title: The Life and Letters of Elizabeth Prentiss

Author: George L. Prentiss

Release Date: March 12, 2004 [EBook #11549]

Language: English

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Produced by Charles Aldarondo, Keren Vergon, Robert Fite and PG Distributed Proofreaders

[Transcriber's Note: Footnotes have been numbered and relocated to the end of the chapter in which they occur. They are marked by [1], [2], etc.]

THE LIFE AND LETTERS

OF

ELIZABETH PRENTISS

AUTHOR OF STEPPING HEAVENWARD

BY GEORGE L. PRENTISS

This memoir was undertaken at the request of many of Mrs. Prentiss' old and most trusted friends, who felt that the story of her life should be given to the public. Much of it is in the nature of an autobiography. Her letters, which with extracts from her journals form the larger portion of its contents, begin when she was in her twentieth year, and continue almost to her last hour. They are full of details respecting herself, her home, her friends, and the books she wrote. A simple narrative, interspersed with personal reminiscences, and varied by a sketch of her father, and passing notices of others, who exerted a moulding influence upon her character, completes the story. A picture is thus presented of the life she lived and its changing scenes, both on the natural and the spiritual side. While the work may fail to interest some readers, the hope is cherished that, like STEPPING HEAVENWARD, it will be welcomed into Christian homes and prove a blessing to many hearts; thus realising the desire expressed in one of her last letters: Much of my experience of life has cost me a great price and I wish to use it for strengthening and comforting other souls.

G. L. P.

KAUINFELS, September 11, 1882.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

THE CHILD AND THE GIRL.

1818-1839.

I.

Birth-place and Ancestry. The Payson Family. Seth Payson. Edward Payson.
His Mother. A Sketch of his Life and Character. The Fervor of his Piety.
Despondent Moods, and their Causes. His bright, natural Traits. How he
prayed and preached. Conversational Gift. Love to Christ. Triumphant
Death.

II.

Birth and Childhood of Elizabeth Payson. Early Traits. Devotion to her
Father. His Influence upon her. Letters to her Sister. Removal to New
York. Reminiscences of the Payson Family.

III.

Recollections of Elizabeth's Girlhood by an early Friend and Schoolmate.
Her own Picture of herself before her Father's Death. Favorite Resorts.
Why God permits so much Suffering. Literary Tastes. Letters. "What are
Little Babies For?" Opens a School. Religious Interest.

IV.

The dominant Type of Religious Life and Thought in New England in the
First Half of this Century. Literary Influences. Letter of Cyrus Hamlin.
A strange Coincidence.

CHAPTER II.

THE NEW LIFE IN CHRIST.

1840-1841.

I.

A memorable Experience. Letters to her Cousin. Goes to Richmond as a
Teacher. Mr. Persico's School. Letters.

II.

Her Character as a Teacher. Letters. Incidents of School Life. Religious
Struggles, Aims, and Hope. Oppressive Heat and Weariness.

III.

Extracts from her Richmond Journal.

CHAPTER III.

PASSING FROM GIRLHOOD INTO WOMANHOOD.

1841-1845.

I.

At Home Again. Marriage of her Sister. Ill-health. Letters. Spiritual
Aspiration and Conflict. Perfectionism. "Very, Very Happy." Work for
Christ what makes Life attractive. Passages from her Journal. A Point of
Difficulty.

II.

Returns to Richmond. Trials There. Letters. Illness. School Experiences.
"To the Year 1843." Glimpses of her daily Life. Why her Scholars
love her So. Homesick. A Black Wedding. What a Wife should be. "A
Presentiment." Notes from her Diary.

III.

Her Views of Love and Courtship. Visit of her Sister and Child. Letters.
Sickness and Death of Friends. Ill-health. Undergoes a surgical
Operation. Her Fortitude. Study of German. Fenelon.

CHAPTER IV.

THE YOUNG WIFE AND MOTHER.

1845-1850.

I.

Marriage and Settlement in New Bedford. Reminiscences. Letters. Birth of her First Child. Death of her Mother-in-Law. Letters.

II.

Birth of a Son. Death of her Mother. Her Grief. Letters. Eddy's Illness and her own Cares. A Family Gathering at Newburyport. Extracts from Eddy's Journal.

III.

Further Extracts from Eddy's Journal. Ill-Health. Visit to Newark. Death of her Brother-in-Law, S. S. Prentiss. His Character. Removal to Newark. Letters.

CHAPTER V.

IN THE SCHOOL OF SUFFERING.

1851-1858.

I.

Removal to New York, and first Summer there. Letters. Loss of Sleep and
Anxiety about Eddy. Extracts from Eddy's Journal, Describing his last
Illness and Death. Lines entitled, "To My Dying Eddy.".

II.

Birth of her Third Child. Reminiscences of a Sabbath Evening Talk. Story of the Baby's Sudden Illness and Death. Summer of 1852. Lines entitled, "My Nursery."

III.

Summer at White Lake. Sudden Death of her Cousin, Miss Shipman.
Quarantined. Little Susy's Six Birthdays. How she wrote it. The
Flower of the Family. Her Motive in Writing it. Letter of Sympathy to a
bereaved Mother. A Summer at the Seaside. Henry and Bessie.

IV.

A memorable Year. Lines on the Anniversary of Eddy's Death. Extracts
from her Journal. Little Susy's Six Teachers. The Teachers' Meeting.
A New York Waif. Summer in the Country. Letters. Little Susy's Little
Servants. Extracts from her Journal. "Alone with God."

V.

Ready for new Trials. Dangerous Illness. Extracts from her Journal.
Visit to Greenwood. Sabbath Meditations. Birth of another Son. Her
Husband resigns his Pastoral Charge. Voyage to Europe.

CHAPTER VI.

IN RETREAT AMONG THE ALPS.

1858-1860.

I.

Life Abroad. Letters about the Voyage, and the Journey from Havre to