Part 32 (1/2)

_26th_--Dr P is worse Papa has been to see him since church, and Dr

B, as there, said that Dr Murray quoted froh to attract everybody's attention, he said he wished each of theet sick hearing about it; I assure you I don't tell you half Ito show us a poem by his wife, just come out in the January number of the Sabbath at Home, in which she asks the New Year what it has in store for her, and says if it is _death_, it is only going home the sooner

Neither he, or anyone, had seen it or heard of it, and it ca power and consolation as the last utterance of her Christian faith [1]

_Dec 30th, 1869_--Your letter ca, after breakfast, and was read to an ad audience of Prentisses by papa, who occasionally called for counsel as to this word and that We like the plan made for the winter, and hope it will suit all round You had such a grand birth-day that I don't see what there was left for Christ but a leather button My Percys end to-day, and I am shocked at the wretched way in which I ended them I wish you would buy a copy of Griseldis for ot for M ”A Sister's Bye Hours,” by Jean Ingelow, and find it a delightful book; such lots of quiet huirls would enjoy reading it aloud together

_Jan 3d, 1870_--You ant to hear all about New Year's day, and where shall I begin unless at the end thereof, when your and Mrs

Sraciously to leave reedily devoured them and his dinner In spite of rain we had a steady flow of visitors I will enclose a list for your delectation, for as reading a cook-book sort of feeds one, reading familiar nauishi+ng than ever, and appeared like a man who had been fed on honey off the tips of a canary bird's feather Papa and I agreed, talking it over last evening, that it is a bad plan for husbands and wives not to live and die together, as the one who is left is apt to cut up He hinted that I was ”so fond of admiration” that he was afraid I should, if he died On questioning him as to what he meant by this abominable speech, he said he ht me very susceptible when people lovedloved--which I am by him; all other men I hate My cousin G dined with us on Friday and tookheld annually at Dr Adah he _is_ a ht me in some dandelions from the church-yard We have not had one day of severe cold yet, and there is a great deal of sickness about in consequence

_Friday_--I spent a part of last evening in writing an article about Mrs C's poeestion as my reward Have been to see my sick woman with jelly and consolation, and froave 's last days and of her readiness and gladness to go I was at the ers' yesterday afternoon and heard old Dr

Tyng for the first time, and he spoke beautifully Well, Chi Alpha [2] is over; we had a very large attendance and the oysters were burnt

It is dreadfully trying when Maria never once failed before to have the copies of Fred and Maria and Me to friends in Ireland Martha and Jane, and M and H were all standing in a row together when the parsons co to papa, Are these your children? when Martha and Jane ht, darling; lots of love to Mrs Smith and all of them

Your affectionate ”Marm-er”

_11th_--Yours came to-day, and papa and I had a brief duel with hair-pins and pen-knives as to which should read it aloud to the other, and I beat I should have enjoyed Eigensinn, I am sure; you know I have read it in German The children all three are lovely, and ith the over tremendously I have just heard that a poor wo I always caest poke in a sick-rooe that quite comforted me She had once lived in plenty, but was fearfully destitute, and I fear she and her family suffered for want of co call fros, that her husband scolded her for buht; she wept and I condoled; she went away at last s circle and idled about till one; then I had several calls Then papa and I went out to make a lot of calls Then cao to see in spite of ot a letter froreat pleasure Z was here yesterday; I asked her to stay to lunch, bribing her with a cup of tea, and so she stayed and we had a real nice time; when she went away I told her I was dead in love with her

_Friday Evening_--The children have all gone to bed; M and G have been reading all the evening; M busy on Miss Alcott's ”Little Wo his sides over old nuht to have a sign put out, ”Souls cured here”; because so many people come to tell their troubles People used to do just so to my mother, and I suppose always do to parsons' wives if they'll let 'ehtfully yesterday Mr B took a pew and Mr I don't knoho took another Your letter cas I hope Mrs S will send et into a correspondence with her! I have had an interesting tio a little book called ”God's Furnace”; I didn't like it at first, but read it through several times and liked it better and better each tiht the author to spend a few hours (she lives out of town), and we three black-eyed woether

There is certainly such a thing as a heaven below, only it doesn't last as the real heaven will We had Mr C to tea last night; after tea he read us three poeo and read hiht not to have done till I a with the children, and we had prayers, and I read scraps to hi's Me, papa is in his study, the boys are hazing about; it snows a little and reat and s ”ELDERLY LADY WITH GREY PUFFS”

_February 8th, 1870_--We are having a tre with G, and e got to the Fifth avenue clock he found he should be late unless he ran, and I was glad to let hio and turn back to meet M, who had heavy books besides her umbrella The wind blew furiously, ot it, it turned wrong side out and I caht and I convoyed her safely to school Mrs ---- told a friend of ours that Mr and Mrs

Prentiss really _enjoyed_ Mrs C----'s death, and they seemed destitute of natural affection; and that as for Mrs P it was plain she had never suffered in any way Considering the tears we both shed over Mrs C, and some other little items in our past history, we must set Mrs ---- down as wiser than the ancients

_Sunday Evening_--Yesterday Lizzy B caully” and wanted reatly depressed, and felt sure it was all physical, and not a case for special spiritual pulling So I coaxed her, laughed at her, and cheered her all I could She said she had been ”a sole” for a week, in allusion to some pictures Dr P had drawn for her and forMr Randolph has sent up a letter from a man in Nice whose ants to translate Katy into French I sent word they ht, my dear, I am sound asleep

Your affectionate Mother PRENTISS

_Tuesday_--On Sunday papa preached a ser for 35,000 to build a chapel, for which Mr Cady had reatly stirred up, as I hope everybody did Mr Dodge will give one-quarter of the suton's birthday, and the children are all at hoa poor woman, whose romance of love and sorrow I should like to tell you about if it would not fill a book She says Bishop S has supported her and her three children for seven months out of his own pocket

_Saturday, Feb 26th_--Your two last letters, together with Mrs

S with M for her music My children pulled in opposite directions, but I pushed on, and papa saved the letters to read to ot back He reads theh for o crazy and recover my sanity However, nobody shall one skating to-day for the third time this winter, there has been so little cold weather

_Sunday Evening_--I did notHeavenward any more, but we have had a scene to-day which will aan, an aristocratic-looking lady seated in front of Mrs B began to talk to her, whereupon Mrs B turned round and announced to the congregation that I was the subject of it by pointingher to our pew Once there, she seized me by the hand and said, ”I am Mrs ---- I have just read your book and been carried aith it I knew your husband thirty-three years ago, and have coet nothing out of me, she fell upon M, and asked her if I was her sister, which M declared I was not After church I invited her to step into the parsonage, and she stepped in for an hour and told this story: She had had the book lent her, and yesterday, lunching at Mrs A's, asked her if she had read it, and finding she had not, et it She then asked who this E Prentiss was, and a lady present enlightened her ”What! e Prentiss, o there to church to-morrow and see for myself” So it turns out that she was a Miss ----, of Mississippi; that your father gallanted her to Louisville, when she was going there to bein Rich in the house with , such life and enthusiasht! ”Well,” she winds up at last, ”I've found two _treasures_, and you needn't think I'o home and tell Mr ---- all about it” Papa and I have called each other ”two treasures” ever since she went away The whole scene worked hiood, for he always loves to have his Southern friends druent and Aunt Anna Mr ---- is one of our o after thirteen years of hood She says she still has 200 ”negroes,” on't go away and won't work, and she has them to support She talked very rationally about the war, and says not a soul at the South would have slavery back if they could I called at Mrs B's yesterday--at exactly the right eons had just decided that the operation had been a failure, and that she irls were in great distress, but Mrs B looked perfectly radiant

_Saturday, March 5th_--Yesterday I went to irls screaood, and I hope did not hurt thee of my serial to-day, and hope it is the last It will soon be ti I don't knohat any of us need, and never notice what people are wearing unless I notice by going forth on a tour of observation

_Sunday Evening_--After church this afternoon Mrs N and Mrs V came in to tell us about the death of that servant of theirs, who for seven months, of cancer She died a most fearless, happy death, and I wish I knew I should be as patient in

Your letters to the children caht In an evil moment I told the boys that I had seen it stated, in some paper, that _benzole_ would make paper transparent, and afterwards evaporate and leave the paper uninjured They drovedistracted with questions about it, so that I had to be put in a strait-jacket The ingenuity and persistence of these questions, asked by each, in separate intervieas beyond description

_Tuesday_--For once I have been caught napping, and have not ularity about the tiht to Berlin I called at Mrs M's to-day, and ran on at such a rate that Mrs Woolsey, as there, gave me ten dollars for poor folks, and said she wished I'd stay all day Afterwards I went don to get Stepping Heavenward for Mr C, and as he wantedin it, have just written this: ”Mr C fro memory of one who 'did outrun' us, and stepped into heaven first” Mr Bates showed me a half-column notice of it in the Liberal Christian, [3] of all places! by very far the warmest and best of all that have appeared Papa is at Dr McClintock's funeral I declare, if it isn't snowing again, and the sun is shi+ning! Now co that your Uncle H has lost that splendid little girl of his; the only girl he ever had, and the child of his heart of hearts Mrs W says she never saw papa and entleman told Mr Brace, who told his wife, who toldwalks I can not answer your questions about Mr ----'s call Soon that one event speedily effaces the impression of another

_March 12th_--Julia Willis spent the evening here not long ago, and h well She took ed and kissed me, and whom it was rather pleasant to see after nearly, if not quite, thirty years' separation She says nobody but a Payson could have written Stepping Heavenward, which is absurd _March 17th_--I went to the sewing circle [4] and helped tuck a quilt, had a talk with Mrs

W, got home at a quarter of one and ate two apples, and have been since then reading the secret correspondence of Madame Guyon and Fenelon in old French