Part 16 (2/2)
”Sat.u.r.day, the 11th, twenty-nine young ladies met with Mrs.
Hoffman and myself, at Mr. O. Hoffman's, Wall-street, on purpose to receive instructions respecting the school; and having paired themselves according to their mind, I delivered what I had prepared for them: they all seemed hearty in their engagement; and on Monday, the 13th inst., Miss L----t and Miss L----n attended at the school-room and commenced teaching thirteen children; four have been added since.
”Again, O Lord, let me request thy blessing on this inst.i.tution; put thy seal upon it, and mark it for thine own. Gird the teachers for their work, and open the minds of the scholars to instruction. And O, Lord, in thine own time, and by means of thine own devising, provide spiritual instruction for teachers and taught. Is it thy pleasure, Lord, that I attend the children on a day appointed for the purpose?
Wilt thou accept of me as an instrument by which thou wilt do good to the souls of these children; and wilt thou keep me humble and contrite in my own soul? Bless also Mrs. L----'s school; there too let thy work appear; deal with her soul as 'thou dealest with thy chosen;' teach her the way of salvation, and make her a teacher by thine own Spirit.
If it be my dear Master's pleasure to use me, I would also attend that school as his instrument. 'Search me, O Lord, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts; and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.'”
Mrs. Graham's address to the young ladies, above alluded to, is given as a specimen of the appropriateness of her addresses on similar occasions, and as an incentive to kindred exertions in every condition of life.
”MY DEAR YOUNG LADIES--Every thing new becomes matter of speculation and variety of opinion.
”An a.s.sociation of ladies for the relief of dest.i.tute widows and orphans, was a new thing in this country. It was feeble in its origin, the jest of most, the ridicule of many, and it met the opposition of not a few. The men could not allow our s.e.x the steadiness and perseverance necessary to establish such an undertaking. But G.o.d put _his_ seal upon it; and under his fostering care it has prospered beyond the most sanguine expectations of its propagators. Its fame is spread over the United States, and celebrated in foreign countries. It has been a precedent to many cities, who have followed the laudable example. This fame is not more brilliant than just. The hungry are fed, the naked are clothed, shelter is provided for the outcasts, medicine and cordials for the sick, and the soothing voice of sympathy cheers the disconsolate. Who are the authors of all these blessings?
Your mothers, ladies, the benevolent members of this so justly famed Society. But who are these children that idly ramble through the streets, a prey to growing depravity and vicious example? hark, they _quarrel_, they _swear_, and such no doubt will _lie_ and _steal_. And that group of dear little creatures, running about in the most imminent danger, apparently without protection, are they under the care of this so justly famed society? They are; they are fed, they are clothed, their mother's fireside is made warm for them; but no culture is provided for their minds, nor protection from baneful example.
These will in time follow that of the older ones, and grow up the slaves of idleness and vice, the certain road to ruin.
”Alas, alas, and is there no help--no preventive? Yes, there is.
Behold the angelic band; hail, ye virtuous daughters; worthy of your virtuous mothers, come forward and tread in their steps. s.n.a.t.c.h these little ones from the whirling vortex; bring them to a place of safety; teach them to know their Father, G.o.d: tell them of their Saviour's love; lead them through the history of his life; mark to them the example he set, the precepts he recorded for their observance, and the promises for their comfort. And by teaching them to read, enable them to retrace all your instructions when their eyes see you no more.
”My dear young ladies, the sacrifice you have made shall most a.s.suredly meet its reward: but like your mothers, you will experience much painful banter, you will be styled school-madams. Let it pa.s.s; suffer it quietly; when your scheme begins to ripen and the fruits appear, who shall be able to withhold their praise? Only be steadfast, draw not back and justify the prophecies of many.
”A great general, in ancient times, in search of glory, landed his troops on the hostile coast, and then burnt all his s.h.i.+ps: they must conquer, or die. You have, ladies, already embarked in this design; there is no remaining neuter now; your name and undertaking are in every mouth; you must press forward and justify your cause: and justified it shall be, if you persevere; it cannot be otherwise. The benevolence you contemplate is as superior to that already in operation, as the interest of the soul is to that of the body; and it is your own--the very scheme originated in a young mind in this company. The society were contemplating mercenary agents, schools for pay, and one is already established.
”But this labor of love; who could have hoped for it? A society of _young ladies,_ in rank the first in the city, in the very bloom of life, and full of its prospects, engaged in those pleasures and amus.e.m.e.nts which generally engross the mind, and shut out every idea unconnected with self, coming forward and offering--what? not their purses, that were _trash;_ but their own personal services to instruct the ignorant, and become the saviors of many of their s.e.x.
It is indeed a new thing, and more strange in this age of dissipation than that inst.i.tution from which it sprung. May this too become the darling of Providence. May G.o.d put his seal upon this also. May he bless and prosper you in this undertaking, bless you, and make you a blessing.”
We next have her wrestling supplications for the revival of G.o.d's work in the church with which she was connected.
”FEBRUARY 21, 1804.
”O Thou, who art Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, who holdest the seven stars in thy right hand, and walkest in the midst of the seven golden candle-sticks, who livest and was dead, and art alive for evermore. Amen. And hast the keys of h.e.l.l and of death. Out of thy mouth goeth a sharp twoedged sword, by which thou reachest the hearts of the most hardened. O write with power, speak with power, in the heart of the angel of this church. Hast thou not in former days had thy dwelling among them? in days of trouble didst thou not work in them the fruits of labor and patience, so that for thy name's sake they labored and fainted not? Thou blessedst them and gave them peace, and they rejoiced in the light of thy countenance; thou multipliedst them also, so that from a handful they became _two bands_. Alas, Lord, we have, Jeshurun-like, 'waxed fat and kicked;' we have left our first love; we have not watched and prayed, as thou gavest commandment, and thou hast left us to enter into temptation; we have forsaken the counsel of our old men, and given heed to flatterers; we have forgotten our dependence on thee, and said, 'Ashur shall save us, we will ride upon horses.' We have set up our idols in our hearts, and put the stumbling-block of our iniquity before our eyes; we have taken counsel, but not of thee, and covered ourselves with a covering, but not of thy Spirit; we have gloried in our own wisdom, and strengthened ourselves in our own strength.
”We are poor, and blind, and miserable, and naked; rich in our fancied wisdom, seeing by our own light, and compa.s.sing ourselves about with our own sparks; we feed on ashes: a deceived heart has turned us aside.
”'O Lord, the hope of Israel, and the Saviour thereof.' It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed. To us belong shame and confusion of face--O cover us with it--but to thee belongs mercy.
Humble us, O Lord, and we shall be humbled; 'turn us, and we shall be turned.'
”It is in our nature to backslide for ever; thou, and thou only, knowest the deceitfulness of the heart; thou, and thou only, canst search it. O search us, and try us, and show us what wicked ways there are in us, and lead us in the way everlasting. Deal not with us according to our sins, but according to the mult.i.tude of thine own mercies. We have no other plea; our sins call for judgment, and until thou, thine own blessed self, turn us, we are in no situation to receive mercy. Work with us for thy name's sake, establish with us thine own covenant of free, unmerited, undeserved mercy. Then shall we know that thou art the Lord.
”Make us thine by thine own covenant, established in Christ, thine own anointed; the blessed surety, by thine own appointment; our subst.i.tute, on whom it hath pleased thee to lay the iniquities of us all; in whose sacred person thou tookest vengeance for all our sins; by whom thy law is fulfilled, magnified, and made honorable; whose doing and suffering in our stead is accepted by Jehovah. 'The Lord is well pleased for his righteousness' sake.' No covenant short of one fulfilled in every jot and t.i.ttle could benefit us.
”Thy covenant is well-ordered in all things, and it is sure.
<script>