In Memory 
 
 t 
 
 Y P 'O 
 
tihvavy of t:he theological ^tminary 
 
 PRINCETON . NEW JERSEY 
 
 FROM THE LIBRARY OF 
 ROBERT ELLIOTT SPEER 
 
 BV 2610 .C36 
 
 In memory of Mary L. Carter 
 
if^K^ 
 
MARY L. CARTER 
 
/ 
 
 9!n iHemort 
 
 OF 
 
 MARY L. CARTER 
 
 Born Aug. 22, 1836 
 Died Nov. 16, 1895 
 
 PrinteU for fjer (JTIjiHiren anil (Sranlicfjiltjren 
 anlJ tijost bj!)0 loiJttJ Ij^r* 
 
 NEW YORK 
 1896 
 
IN THE SUNSHINE. 
 
The blessing of her quiet life 
 
 Fell on lis like the dew, 
 And good thoughts where her footsteps pressed 
 
 Like fairy blossoms grew. 
 
 WHITTIER. 
 
IV /TARY LOUISA BENEDICT was 
 -^^ ^ born in Bridgeport, Conn,, on the 
 22d of August, 1836. She was the elev- 
 enth generation by lineal descent from 
 Charles Chauncey, the second President 
 of Harvard College. Among her ances- 
 tors on the maternal side were Samuel 
 Edwards, who was at the siege of Louis- 
 burg, and Lemuel Coleman, her great 
 grandfather, who fought at Saratoga, the 
 decisive battle of the American Revo- 
 lution. 
 
 When she was two years old, the family 
 removed to New York City where the most 
 of her life was spent. 
 
 Early in life, she gave her heart to the 
 Lord Jesus and made a public profession of 
 her faith in Him. 
 
lO Mary L. Carter. 
 
 Her father, Mr. Jesse W. Benedict, was 
 an eminent and successful lawyer, who, 
 though well versed in law, was still better 
 versed in the gospel of Jesus Christ. 
 Himself an ardent and delighted student of 
 God's word, he sought early to instil into 
 his children, a love of Bible study. Mary 
 was his eldest daughter, and was greatly 
 interested in her father's Bible studies, and 
 loved dearly to hear him expound the word 
 at family worship. 
 
 Dr. Cuyler in one of his spicy letters 
 from " Under the Catalpa," in the New 
 York Evangelist says : " One of that 
 noble group of useful laymen whom I al- 
 luded to in a former article, was the late 
 Jesse W. Benedict, a prominent lawyer. 
 He came to New York from his native 
 town in Connecticut, when he was about 
 twenty, and a friend in his boarding-house 
 urged him to go and hear Dr. Cox in 
 the Laight St. Church. He was converted 
 there and united with that church not lar 
 from the time William E. Dodge joined. 
 
In the Simshme. n 
 
 Mr. Benedict was a diligent and profound 
 Bible student. He was more familiar with 
 the different ' Codices ' of God's Word 
 than many a graduate of our Theological 
 Seminaries." 
 
 Miss Benedict was married to Mr. Peter 
 Carter, of the publishing firm of Robert 
 Carter and Bros., on the 25th of March, 
 1857, by the Rev. William Adams, D.D. in 
 the Madison Square Presbyterian Church. 
 
 The young couple went to house-keep- 
 ing within a fortnight from the day they 
 were married. Mrs. Carter's love of music, 
 both vocal and instrumental, and her bright 
 and happy manner, drew around her a 
 great many young people. She was rarely 
 known to refuse to sing or play at the 
 request of any one interested in music. 
 The hospitality of the little house became 
 well known, and its sweet young mistress 
 grew to be a universal favorite. 
 
 Her husband having been born in Scot- 
 land, she took special delight in Scottish 
 songs. By careful attention and painstak- 
 
12 Mary L. Cartel'. 
 
 ing effort she learned to sing them almost 
 like a native. 
 
 The Teacher's Meetings of Mr. Carter's 
 Sunday School of colored children were 
 held at their house. These teachers were 
 many of them Scotch and enjoyed greatly 
 the social hour after the business meeting 
 was ended. 
 
 Mrs. Carter was the life of the evening. 
 The new teachers and the bashful and 
 timid ones were sought out by her and 
 made to feel at home. All felt the influ- 
 ence of her presence. 
 
 Every one of her children took part in 
 the work of the colored school at an early 
 age, and were thus taught to live for others. 
 
 Her growth in grace and in consequent 
 usefulness was visible to everyone but her- 
 self. Clad in humility, she noticed only 
 her failures while others observed her rapid 
 progress in the Christian life. 
 
 She was the loving, faithful mother of 
 nine children, to whose nurture and care 
 she gave herself unreservedly and with the 
 
/;/ the Stmshine. 13 
 
 blessed results that always follow such 
 devotion. Three of her children were 
 called to be with Jesus in infancy. Of the 
 others, a loving friend writes : — 
 
 " To her six children, too, who have 
 gone out into the world to do the work of 
 brave Christian men and women, her life 
 must ever be an inspiration. 
 
 " Many parents lament that their child- 
 ren do not early give themselves to Christ. 
 May not this be partly due to a lack in 
 themselves } Mrs. Carter carefully trained 
 her children to habits of earnest prayer ; 
 she herself not only prayed for them but 
 with them ; she taught them that the ser- 
 vice of Christ was a glad, joyous service, 
 and that it was fitting they should acknow- 
 ledge their Master before their associates 
 and she had the great happiness of seeing 
 them all early enter, one after another, 
 upon a Christian life." 
 
 It was a sweet Christian home. Both 
 father and mother endeavored by their ex- 
 ample to lead their children in the right 
 
14 Mary L. Carter. 
 
 way. They made it a happy home by their 
 kindly hospitahty. Strangers were always 
 welcome. Ministers and missionaries, the 
 poor as well as the rich, felt themselves 
 part of the family while they tarried. 
 Young men in boarding-houses were in- 
 vited to Sunday night teas and enjoyed the 
 singing hour that followed. 
 
 A missionary of the American Board, 
 writing from a distant land says : " I shall 
 never forget how, many years ago, she 
 made me, an awkward girl, have such a 
 beautiful visit at Lake Mahopac. 
 
 " The last time I was in America, I went 
 often to the City and it always seemed to 
 me that the sunniest place in New York 
 was 330 West 28th Street where dear Mrs. 
 Carter was sure to be at home and as sure 
 to treat me, with her genial hospitality, as 
 if I belonged to her." 
 
 She was pre-eminently a bright Chris- 
 tian. She breathed an atmosphere of sun- 
 shine, and her ringing laugh was an inspi- 
 ration. To the very last, in spite of days 
 
In the Sunshine. 15 
 
 of weariness and suffering, she was not 
 only wonderfully patient but cheerful, with 
 a sweet smile of welcome for all who came 
 into her sick room. 
 
 As she was one of the most unselfish of 
 women, so as might have been expected, 
 she was one of the most generous. She 
 regularly set apart one-tenth of her income 
 to the work of the Lord. But she often 
 far exceeded this amount in her giving. 
 She was careful to instil into her children's 
 minds that the tenth belonged to the 
 Lord, and others outside of her family 
 were advised to pursue this blessed plan. 
 
 While the family were spending the 
 summer in Stockbridge, Mass., many years 
 ago, she became greatly interested in the 
 spiritual welfare of a little colony of Ger- 
 mans who were working in a pulp mill. 
 She procured tracts and testaments in 
 German and distributed them on Sabbath 
 mornings. They were gratefully accepted, 
 and we cannot but hope that at least some 
 of them were blessed to the spiritual good 
 
1 6 Mary L. Carter. 
 
 of those to whom they were given. After 
 her death, among some papers was found 
 one written by her in pencil describing 
 these Sabbath visitations. 
 
 She says: " The first house I went to I 
 knocked at the door. It was opened by a 
 German. He said in broken English, 
 ' Come in.' I went in and sat down. His 
 wife soon came in. I asked them how long 
 they had been in this country. The man 
 said he had been here three years. His 
 wife had been here twelve, but he could 
 speak better English than she could. He 
 enlisted soon after he came and was in the 
 war sixteen months. I said, 'Then you 
 learned to speak English there.' He re- 
 plied that he had been in a German regi- 
 ment where they spoke no English. He 
 had learned to speak English in Stock- 
 bridge. I asked him if he went to church. 
 He said he did and could understand a 
 good deal the minister said. I then en- 
 quired if they had a Bible. They had one 
 and they showed it to me. It was a Ger- 
 
In the Suits/line, ly 
 
 man Bible. I told them that I hoped they 
 read it, and they assured me they did. 
 They said they liked the tracts I had 
 given them on the previous Sabbath — that 
 when night came they sat down and read 
 them. 
 
 " Next door, the German woman who 
 opened the door to me had her Bible in her 
 hand. She could not speak English, but 
 she could understand me a little. I gave 
 her three German tracts. 
 
 ** The next door was opened by an Amer- 
 ican woman. I gave her some English 
 tracts. Her husband was asleep as he had 
 been in the mill all Saturday night. In 
 the next house I was met most cordially 
 by a German and his wife. I asked the 
 man how long he had been in America. 
 He replied in very broken English that it 
 would be a year in December, but 'his 
 Vrow ' had only been here one month. I 
 asked him if he had a Bible. He ran and 
 got it. It was a large one. He said it 
 was his * Vrow's.' ' She bring it from 
 
1 8 Mary L. Carter. 
 
 Faderland.* I said, * I hope you read it. ' 
 He replied, ' Oh yes. Work all day, night 
 read ; have time.' I asked them if they 
 could understand the preaching. He said 
 he could a little, but his wife could under- 
 stand nothing. 
 
 '' These Germans are all very grateful 
 and I love to visit them." 
 
 A few years later at Lake Mahopac 
 where a large number of Italians were at 
 work in constructing a new railway, she 
 found opportunity to do a similar blessed 
 work. For many Sabbaths she gave them 
 testanients and tracts in their own lan- 
 guage. During her last summer on earth 
 although a suffering invalid, set aside from 
 active work for her Master, yet her heart 
 went out to others. Sitting on her piazza 
 day after day, she became interested in a 
 band of Italians at work in the road before 
 her house. She sent to New York for 
 Italian tracts and made the eldest of her 
 grandchildren in Bloomfield her messenger 
 to distribute them among the men. 
 
/;/ the Sunshine. 19 
 
 She was gentle and unassuming yet a 
 born leader. In the Scotch Presbyterian 
 Church in New York, she was a most 
 efficient worker in the Home and Foreign 
 Missionary Societies. The same was true 
 of Bloomfield where she afterwards resided 
 and where she died. She was always a 
 ready helper in getting together boxes for 
 the poor Home Missionaries in the West. 
 In one instance, the recipients were to be 
 a colored family, the father a Home Mis- 
 sionary preacher in Illinois. 
 
 It became a question whether the usual 
 enthusiasm and generosity would appear 
 in this case. But the magic of her wise 
 leadership triumphed, and this box proved 
 one of the most valuable ever sent out by 
 the church. 
 
 Nine years ago she was called to give 
 her youngest daughter to the service of the 
 Lord as a Foreign Missionary of the Amer- 
 ican Board in Asia Minor. For a time 
 it was a struggle, but grace triumphed and 
 she gave her daughter unreservedly to this 
 
20 Mary L. Carter. 
 
 service. Nor did she ever repent having 
 done so. Her efforts and her prayers were 
 perhaps more earnest in this direction than 
 in any other because of her intensified 
 interest in the foreign work. No guest 
 was ever more welcome to her hospitable 
 home than a foreign missionary. 
 
 In her first letter to her daughter May, 
 after sailing, written from Lake Mahopac 
 she says: — 
 
 " I cannot tell you how badly I felt on 
 Saturday, after I had said good-bye. Dear 
 May, you have always been a great com- 
 fort to me. I thank the Lord for giving 
 me so many dear children. I want to tell 
 you what a sweet service we had on Sab- 
 bath. You may remember it was Com- 
 munion. Mr. Schenck prayed for you 
 both, asking that God would bring you 
 safely to your destination, and bless you in 
 your work as you had left father and 
 mother and friends and had gone to carry 
 the gospel to the perishing. And then he 
 prayed for us, that we would be sustained 
 
In the Siinshme. 21 
 
 and comforted. It seemed as if the dear 
 Lord then and there came to me and 
 quieted my heart." 
 
 In April, 1890, the twentieth annual 
 meeting of the Woman's Board of Foreign 
 Missions met in the First Presbyterian 
 Church, Elmira, N. Y. Though very 
 timid about public work, yet a sense of 
 duty induced her to accept the position of 
 a delegate. A correspondent of the New 
 York Observer, a stranger to the family, 
 in a report of the meeting, says : — 
 
 ** Mrs. Peter Carter, of New York, at a 
 consecration meeting, rose in her place 
 among the delegates and with a voice full 
 of tears urged the mothers present to let 
 their daughters go as missionaries. She 
 well knew whereof she spoke, her own 
 daughter being a missionary in Turkey. 
 It was such a sweet privilege to give one's 
 children to the work of the Lord in heathen 
 lands. The sacrifice would not be for- 
 gotten by the dear Lord, to whose service 
 they were given, when it was lovingly and 
 cheerfully done." 
 
22 Mary L. Carter. 
 
 A pleasant incident occurred some years 
 ago illustrating her interest in all mission- 
 aries. Mrs. Carter was one day crossing 
 the ferry to New York, and observed sitting 
 opposite to her a gentleman and lady 
 with a number of little children and a 
 great many bags and bundles. From the 
 labels on the luggage she inferred they 
 had been travelling from San Francisco. 
 After watching them for some little time, 
 she concluded with her remarkable dis- 
 cernment that they were missionaries re- 
 turning from some foreign field. As the 
 boat entered the slip she went across the 
 cabin and spoke to the tired mother. It 
 was as she supposed. They were home- 
 ward bound from China. Mrs. Carter 
 asked the mother if she could not carry 
 something for her to the dock where she 
 expected to meet her father. 
 
 To her surprise and amusement, the 
 baby was placed in her arms. Needless to 
 say she carried the precious burden care- 
 fully ashore and stood with it in her arms 
 
In the Sunshine. 23 
 
 till father and daughter had met and 
 exchanged affectionate greetings. 
 
 In the Scotch church in New York some 
 years ago, there was a cultivated Christian 
 gentleman who had been born and brought 
 up a Mohammedan. The reading of the 
 New Testament put into his hands by a 
 missionary was the means of his conver- 
 sion. When he declared himself a Chris- 
 tian, his wife and children were taken from 
 him. He was cast into prison and was 
 subjected to great persecution. The mis- 
 sionaries found out his condition and pro- 
 cured his release with much difficulty. He 
 came to America and became a member of 
 the Scotch church. He was very poor 
 and suffered for the want of many things. 
 When Mrs. Carter heard of this, she 
 started out one cold winter morning, and 
 in a few hours collected sixty dollars for 
 the relief of his immediate wants, and he 
 never afterwards suffered for the want of 
 anything. 
 
 Though so deeply interested in others 
 
24 Mary L. Carter. 
 
 she never neglected her own. In the 
 words of the wise man : " She looked well 
 to the ways of her household and ate not 
 the bread of idleness. Her children will 
 rise up and call her blessed, her husband 
 also and he praiseth her." 
 
 Her untiring devotion to her children is 
 pleasantly illustrated in the following ex- 
 tract from one of her letters : — 
 
 '* Yesterday morning I was going to do 
 up pineapple preserves, when the bell rang 
 and Mc (her son-in-law, Mr. Mann, then 
 living in Bloomfield, N. J.) came in. I 
 asked at once who was sick. He replied 
 that Peter had tonsilitis. He had come 
 up town to get some medicine, but that I 
 need not go out as the child seemed better. 
 However, there was the medicine Peter 
 needed at once ; downstairs were the pine- 
 apples ; out in Bloomfield the sick child. 
 Like the good grandmother you read about 
 I said, 'I will go as soon as I can.' On 
 the fire went the pineapples. In two 
 hours I was through. I dressed in fifteen 
 
In the Sunshine. 25 
 
 minutes, caught the 11.20 train, took a 
 carriage and was soon at Fannie's. Peter 
 was better but Fannie was so glad to see 
 me." 
 
 It is most touching to recall that she 
 took up the study of music again the last 
 two years of her life for the sake of one of 
 her boys. They took lessons and learned 
 duets together, the mother practising quite 
 as diligently as the son and with equal 
 enjoyment. 
 
 Many of her summers were spent at 
 Lake Mahopac where, in a roomy, old- 
 fashioned mansion with a second story 
 piazza overlooking the lake, she kept house 
 for a dozen successive summers. Here 
 troops of loving friends were entertained 
 with that large-hearted hospitality which 
 was so strikingly peculiar to her. 
 
 On one of these occasions, the company 
 consisted of nine young men, who came 
 on foot a distance of seventy miles, to 
 spend a few days. They were cordially 
 welcomed and lovingly entertained. Some 
 
2S Mary L. Carter, 
 
 ful and considerate in dealing with them. 
 She made it a rule never to speak when 
 she was displeased about a matter, but 
 waited until she had had time for quiet 
 thought and prayer before giving reproof. 
 Then she spoke calmly but firmly, and the 
 effect was so different than it would have 
 been had she spoken earlier. One house- 
 maid became a devoted Christian while 
 living with her. Another, who had been 
 with her for eight years, sent her fruit 
 while she was sick, and at the funeral, 
 wept as she looked lovingly on the dear 
 one who had been so long her friend. So 
 beautiful was her faith, that she thought 
 no matter too trivial to pray over. She 
 never went to engage a new domestic but 
 she laid the matter first before the Lord 
 and asked his blessing upon it. No one in 
 her employ ever left her in anger. 
 
 One special peculiarity of hers was a 
 bright and happy temperament. Mr. A. D. 
 F. Randolph, writing to her husband after 
 her death, says : — 
 
In the Sunshine. 29 
 
 "It may have been months ago, and yet 
 it seems only a very little while since I 
 met her at the corner of the avenue. She 
 seemed, as she always did, bright and 
 cheery, as though the changes of years had 
 brought no change to her. They had not, 
 for the shadows of life were of the outside 
 world merely, while within, the sun never 
 set." 
 
 An old friend, Mr. Patrick Guthrie, of 
 Edinburgh, writes: "I have never for- 
 gotten the very happy and delightful eve- 
 ning I spent in your house in 1882. I 
 vividly recall the warmth and brightness of 
 your dear wife's hospitality and kindness 
 to me. * To know her was to love her.' " 
 
 Another dear Edinburgh friend, Mr. 
 Ferrier says : "I know that our gracious 
 Lord will make the memory of her beauti- 
 ful life an inspiration to you all. Her re- 
 moval makes a most sensible blank when I 
 think of our American friends and re- 
 member the bright and happy — I think I 
 may say affectionate — welcome which I 
 always received from her." 
 
GATHERING SHADOWS. 
 
^^ She is not lost, she is •within the door 
 That shuts out loss and every hurtful thing, 
 IVith angels bright and loved ones gone before 
 In her Redeemer'' s presence evermore 
 And God himself her Lord and fudge and King^ 
 
SHE had long been conscious of heart 
 trouble. It first manifested itself in 
 the difficulty of going upstairs, which was 
 one of the reasons for removing to the 
 country. In the spring of 1892, the fam- 
 ily removed to Bloomfield, N. J. Here 
 she made many loving friends, and, while 
 health and strength remained, rendered 
 herself exceedingly useful in the ladies' 
 societies of the First Presbyterian Church. 
 One of the influential ladies of this church 
 writes : " I cannot express the sadness I 
 feel at the great loss that our Woman's 
 Foreign Missionary Society has sustained 
 in the death of Mrs. Carter. In fact every 
 one who knew her feels that they have lost 
 an earnest Christian friend and helper. 
 She was such a power in our meetings. I 
 
 3 
 
34 Maiy L. Carter. 
 
 feel as if a great prop had been removed 
 from us." 
 
 In May, 1895, the heart trouble, with 
 which she had been for some years more 
 or less affected, manifested itself in new 
 and aggravated forms such as at times in 
 extreme shortness of breath, and at other 
 times in a terrible sense of faintness 
 caused, no doubt, by the irregular action 
 of the heart. During the summer months, 
 her days were spent on the piazza. Here 
 her numerous friends called to see her. It 
 was soon evident how greatly she was 
 beloved. Though she had only been three 
 years in Bloomfield, she could scarcely 
 have had more loving or devoted friends 
 had she always lived there. 
 
 One good woman said to a friend : " It 
 is wonderful what a place Mrs. Carter has 
 won in Bloomfield. Why you know 
 Bloomfield people have the name of being 
 very conservative. But they took Mrs. 
 Carter for a leader in their benevolent 
 society just as soon as they knew her. 
 
Gathering Shadows. 35 
 
 And after she was confined to her room 
 the ladies still leaned on her judgment, 
 and kept coming to her for counsel and 
 advice about their work." 
 
 She was very fond of flowers, and her 
 friends, knowing this, kept her supplied 
 with quantities of the most beautiful ones 
 of all descriptions. She was able to ride 
 three times a week, and this she greatly 
 enjoyed. On Saturday afternoons, in com- 
 pany with her husband, these drives were 
 sometimes extended to two hours or more. 
 
 Perhaps her greatest deprivation during 
 the summer was her inability to attend 
 church. Her pastor, Mr. Lee, was very 
 attentive, and his visits and prayers were a 
 great comfort to her. Speaking of one of 
 these visits she said, " It was such a lovely 
 prayer, and did me so much good." 
 
 Her husband and herself had been 
 several times to Mohonk Lake, that sweet 
 haven of rest for the tired children of 
 God, and she was exceedingly anxious to 
 see that lovely spot again. Some thought 
 
36 Mary Z. Carter, 
 
 that she had not strength for the trip, but 
 her physician rather favored it, and so on 
 the 19th of September the journey was 
 made. Everything that care could do 
 was done to make the long ride in the 
 train easy and comfortable. Her husband 
 and a loving trained nurse accompanied 
 her. She stood the journey much better 
 than could have been anticipated, and the 
 loving reception accorded to her by Mr. 
 and Mrs. Smiley and their kind assistants 
 was a great pleasure to her. Her hus- 
 band's life-long friend. Rev. Dr. Cuyler, 
 came a few days after, and this added much 
 to her enjoyment. But the whole great 
 household were her friends, and vied with 
 each other in loving attentions. 
 
 Her patience in her sufferings was ob- 
 served by all. One good woman said that 
 this patience had been a blessed lesson 
 to her and one that she would never for- 
 get. 
 
 She staid a fortnight at Mohonk and 
 
 O 
 
 the homeward journey was borne with com- 
 
Gathering Shadows. 37 
 
 parative comfort. The trip did her good. 
 Her appetite was improved by it, and the 
 pleasant people she met, especially two 
 lady friends from the Scotch Church whom 
 she had not seen for some time, cheered 
 and interested her. 
 
 But from the day of her return she 
 steadily declined. She could no longer 
 lie down in bed, but spent her nights in a 
 chair. The devoted nurse anticipated 
 every want. Her eldest daughter from 
 Chicago came home and spent the closing 
 weeks with her, and with the other daugh- 
 ters watched over her night and day. Her 
 eldest son also came frequently home from 
 Princeton. So that all but the missionary 
 daughter were much with her. 
 
 On Sabbath afternoon, Nov. 10, she 
 seemed to be soundly sleeping, when all at 
 once she said : " I hear every word you are 
 saying." Her husband then repeated to 
 her verses of hymns such as, ** Jesus lover 
 of my soul," "Just as I am without 
 one plea," and the 23rd Psalm in the old 
 
38 Mary L. Carter. 
 
 Scottish Metrical version, which was a 
 great favorite of hers. These were fol- 
 lowed by verses from scripture such as, 
 *' Let not your heart be troubled," " For 
 God so loved the world," *' This is a faith- 
 ful saying," " The Spirit and the Bride 
 say come," " Come unto me all ye that 
 labor and are heavy laden " and so forth. 
 
 At frequent intervals she would say, 
 " Go on," as if she were enjoying the 
 sweet words. At the close she said, ** Can- 
 not we now have prayers "i " So the little 
 household all knelt in prayer together. 
 
 She seemed uncommonly bright, and 
 knew every one present, and said some 
 kind word of recognition to each. 
 
 Her husband said, " Do you know me, 
 dear .? " 
 
 " Certainly," she replied, adding with a 
 smile and a good deal of vim, '' I have 
 known you for many a year." 
 
 One of her daughters said, '' This is 
 Douglas' birthday. He is twenty-one 
 today." 
 
Gatheri7ig Shadows. 39 
 
 She replied promptly, " Why so it is, 
 and I have no birthday present for him, 
 but he shall have one tomorrow." 
 
 A day or two after this, one of her 
 daughters kneeling at her side said, 
 " Mamma, Jesus is very precious to you. 
 Is he not ? " 
 
 " Yes indeed," she replied with empha- 
 sis, " He is very near, I cannot tell you 
 how near." She stopped a moment and 
 then added, '* He said * Come unto me ' 
 and I came." 
 
 Much of the time she seemed drowsy 
 and unconscious of what was going on 
 around her. At brief intervals she recog- 
 nized the family till Saturday morning, 
 November i6th at about 4 A. m., when a 
 sudden change came, and without a struggle 
 or a groan she went " to be with Christ." 
 
 In the language of another, "As she 
 lay resting so sweetly with a look of per- 
 fect peace on her dear face, sleeping the 
 blessed sleep that God gives his beloved, 
 we could not think her dead. She had 
 
40 Mary L. Carter, 
 
 only gone away. No, she did not die ; she 
 only entered into life." 
 
 " In idle revery one winter's day, 
 
 I watched the narrow vista of a street, 
 
 Where crowds of men with noisy, hurrying feet 
 
 And eager eyes, went on their restless way. 
 
 Idly I noted where the boundary lay, 
 
 At which the distance did my vision cheat, 
 
 Past which each figure fading fast did fleet, 
 
 And seem to meet and vanish in the gray. 
 
 Sudden there came to me a thought oft told, 
 
 But newly shining then like flash of light, 
 
 This death the dread of which turns me so cold 
 
 Outside of our own fears has no stronghold ; 
 
 T'is but a boundary, past which in white, 
 
 Our friends are walking still, just out of sight." 
 
 Helen Hunt Jackson. 
 
 " I cannot and I will not say, 
 
 That she is dead, — she is just away. 
 
 With a cheery smile, and a wave of the hand, 
 She has wandered into an unknown land ; 
 
 And left us dreaming how very fair 
 It needs must be, since she is there. 
 
Gathering Shadows. 41 
 
 And you, O you, who the wildest yearn 
 For the old-time step and the glad return, 
 
 Think of her faring on, as dear 
 
 In the love of there as the love of here. 
 
 Think of her still as the same I say ; 
 She is not dead, she is just away." 
 
LAST TRIBUTES. 
 
Fold her, O Father, in thine arms, 
 And let her henceforth he 
 A messenger of love between 
 Our human hearts and Thee. 
 
 Whittier. 
 
THE funeral services were held in her 
 own home in Bloomfield, N. J., on 
 Tuesday afternoon, November 19th, 1895, 
 at 3 o'clock. 
 
 A large concourse of people from Bloom- 
 field, Montclair, Glen Ridge, New York, 
 Brooklyn and other places assembled to 
 pay respect to the beloved one. 
 
 The services were participated in by her 
 pastor, the Rev. James Beveridge Lee, 
 Rev. T. L. Cuyler, D.D., of Brooklyn, Rev. 
 George Alexander, D.D., of New York 
 and the Rev. Alexander Dickson, D.D., of 
 Lansingburgh, N. Y. 
 
 Comforting words from the Sacred 
 Scriptures were read by Mr. Lee, and two 
 of Mrs. Carter's favorite hymns, " My ain 
 Countree " and " My Jesus as Thou wilt," 
 
46 Mary L. Carter. 
 
 were sung by Miss Eleanor McKee of New 
 York, accompanied on the piano by her 
 sister. 
 
 Mr. Lee said : — 
 
 The greater part of Mrs. Carter's 
 Christian life was lived in the communion 
 of the Scotch Presbyterian Church, New 
 York. For three years she has been a 
 regular worshipper and most faithful and 
 helpful member of the First Presbyterian 
 Church, of Bloomfield, (N. J.) Through- 
 out life faithful to the purposes of the 
 Christ, she is today inheriting His prom- 
 ises. 
 
 It may seem strange that, after only 
 one year's acquaintance, even her pastor 
 should attempt an estimate of her life. 
 But my acquaintance was the last year 
 and the best year of her life — the time 
 when life's currents ran deepest, and life's 
 outflow was broadest, the time when she 
 was walking in the Land of Beulah, though 
 neither she knew it nor we. In out-of-the- 
 way places, during the past year, I have 
 
Last Tributes, 47 
 
 found growing, sometimes blossoming, the 
 seeds of her kindnesses. In the public sup- 
 port of organizations for benevolent or 
 missionary undertakings she was willing 
 to lead or to take rank as she could best 
 serve her Master, and whether leader or 
 follower she gave stimulus and strength. 
 The church at Rome, in Apostolic days, 
 had in it such a helper. Paul speaks of 
 her as one * who labored much in the 
 Lord.' He calls her * The beloved Persis.* 
 Mrs. Carter, who has labored much in the 
 Lord, is our beloved Persis. The culture 
 of her mind, the geniality of her disposition, 
 the integrity of her character, the excel- 
 lence of her judgment, the purity of her 
 endeavor, the earnestness of her purpose 
 and the largeness of her love — these are 
 the qualities which endeared her to us all. 
 
 Pain and weariness seemed never able 
 to blight the spirit with which she re- 
 joiced in others' joys and sympathized in 
 their sorrows. That many friends had 
 learned from her Master the same lessons 
 
48 Mary L. Carter. 
 
 was evidenced by the many gifts, especially 
 of flowers, which brightened her sick cham- 
 ber. It reminds me of what John Bunyan 
 has written of the experiences of Chris- 
 tiana, the wife of Christian, the pilgrim, 
 while she sojourned in Beulah. ' In this 
 place,' says Bunyan, * the children of the 
 town would go into the King's gardens 
 and gather nosegays for the pilgrims and 
 brino: them to them with much affection. 
 With these the pilgrims' chambers were 
 perfumed while they stayed there, and 
 with these were their bodies anointed to 
 go over the river when their appointed time 
 was come.' 
 
 Let me read to you more that Bunyan 
 says, for long ago he pictured what has 
 just now come to pass : * Now, while they 
 lay here and waited for the good hour, 
 there was a noise in the town that there 
 was a post come from the Celestial City 
 with matter of great importance to one 
 Christiana, the wife of Christian the pil- 
 grim. So inquiry was made for her, and 
 
Last Tributes. 49 
 
 the house was found where she was, so the 
 post presented her with a letter, the con- 
 tents whereof were, * Hail good woman, I 
 bring thee tidings that the Master calleth 
 for thee ; and expecteth that thou shouldst 
 stand in his presence in clothes of immor- 
 tality within this ten days.' Now the day 
 drew on that Christiana must be gone. So 
 the road was full of people to see her take 
 her journey. But, behold, a41 the banks 
 beyond the river were full of horses and 
 chariots, which were come down from 
 above to accompany her to the city gate. 
 So she came forth and entered the river 
 with a beckon of farewell to those that 
 followed her to the river-side. So her 
 children and friends returned to their place, 
 for that those that waited for Christiana 
 had carried her out of their sight' 
 
 "Were one touch lacking to complete 
 Bunyan's picture, it might be finished 
 with this : And a messenger of the King 
 brought a letter sealed with the royal seal 
 and addressed to the remaining pilgrims in 
 
 4 
 
50 Mary L. Carter. 
 
 Beulah, that in the reading of it they might 
 find comfort. And when they had broken 
 the seal, the pilgrims read the writing and 
 rejoiced much in its message. And the 
 writing which was written was this : — 
 
 " Whom He jtistified, them He also gloiified'' 
 
 Rev. Dr. Theodore L. Cuyler said : — 
 I am not here today in any official capac- 
 ity, for I have never been the pastor of 
 this dear household. My heart brings 
 me here this afternoon, and the few simple 
 words I shall utter come from my heart. 
 We are bidden not only to " rejoice with 
 them that do rejoice," but " weep with 
 them that weep," and I have come today 
 to grasp the hand, in this the hour of his 
 great sorrow, of one of the most dearly 
 beloved friends I have in all the world, 
 none, in fact, more so than he outside of 
 my own loved household. And I have 
 known him before this sweet, sacred union 
 was formed that has now been stricken 
 asunder by God's own hand, ere long to be 
 
Last Tributes. 51 
 
 formed again in the better world. I have 
 known these two as husband and wife 
 clear back to the time when they were 
 made one in the Lord, nearly forty years 
 ago. 
 
 A very bright, happy, beautiful life is 
 that which has just passed from among us 
 up into the higher life and glory of the 
 Father's house. Mrs. Carter was happy 
 in her parentage. Her father, as many of 
 you know, was eminent as a Bible scholar, 
 eminent as an office-bearer and a leader in 
 the Church of Jesus Christ. Her mother 
 was a Hannah, who lent her children to the 
 Lord and found rich blessing. Very happy 
 too, was Mrs. Carter in the union which 
 God had formed ; for I believe such unions 
 are indeed made in Heaven. And all these 
 years the sunshine has shone, and domes- 
 tic love and peace have prevailed, and best 
 of all the dear Master has been one of their 
 household. 
 
 In choosing her path in life, she did not 
 choose one that led her out into the public 
 
52 Mary L. Carter. 
 
 eye. Rather did she choose another style 
 of service. She wrote no books, figured 
 not much in a public capacity in the service 
 of her Master. She knew well the deep, 
 solemn, sacred, far-reaching duties that 
 belong to the wife-hood and the Christian 
 mother-hood. She had gauged rightly 
 the dimensions of the Home that under- 
 lies church and commonwealth and the 
 welfare of the Master's Kingdom. There- 
 fore it was that she found her realm here, 
 and her most sacred and sweetest life- 
 duties were performed here. She looked 
 well to the ways of her household ; she 
 reared up her children in the nurture and 
 admonition of the Lord. 
 
 She found her empire here among her 
 own family, an empire of love. And she 
 chose wisely. It could be said of this Mary 
 as was said by the Master of another in 
 olden days : " Mary has chosen the good 
 part that shall never be taken from her," and 
 she found her rich and blessed reward in 
 all the joys that a hallowed and holy home 
 
Last Tributes. 53 
 
 life brings, joys in a life never marred for 
 one moment by him who made her a part 
 of his very self. Great reward reaped she 
 as a parent in rearing up a group of sons 
 and daughters of whom any parent in this 
 world might well be proud. 
 
 And now it seems to me that this is not 
 a complete bereavement. She still lives 
 — lives in these beloved children, born of 
 her, trained by her, consecrated by her to 
 the Master, bearing her blood and to a 
 great degree her image. She lives in 
 them, through them and by them so that 
 when my dear brother looks on them day 
 by day, and receives night after night the 
 good-night kiss, he will feel as if somehow 
 it was the mother's face and the mother's 
 lips that were speaking and embracing. 
 Thank God for faithful mothers ! 
 
 And in another sense, still more subhme, 
 she lives. Never more than at this ver)'- 
 hour. To be sure the form slumbers, con- 
 cealed in the casket among this company 
 that gathers around. To be sure the lips 
 
54 Mary L. Carter. 
 
 that spoke hospitable welcome to us so 
 often are silent. To be sure the busy 
 hands, busy in all services of wifely and 
 motherly love, repose at her side un- 
 moving, but the everlasting life begun at 
 the cross of Christ has simply passed over 
 by the wonderful transition which we can- 
 not fathom, from this world into the better ; 
 for there is perfect continuity, bear in 
 mind, between the life begun here in Christ 
 and the life perfected with Christ. For 
 here there are certain imperfections and 
 certain incompletenesses, and it must be 
 so, but from the very hour that the mortal 
 is put off and the immortal is put on, from 
 the very hour that the atmosphere of this 
 world, with whatever it has of trouble, has 
 been left behind, and the soul, redeemed, 
 passes into the glorious atmosphere of 
 Heaven, then life comes in its indescribable 
 abundance, its exceeding weight of glory. 
 And now into that life in its completeness 
 and its fulness our dear friend and sister in 
 the Lord Jesus Christ has passed within 
 the last few hours. 
 
Last Tributes. 55 
 
 It was a slow, steady transition. For 
 many months it has been gradually draw- 
 ing nearer to the end. Christiana sur- 
 rounded by her children, moving on 
 toward the Celestial City, happy in their 
 love, watched over, tenderly cared for, she 
 passed along through the Beulah Land of 
 her pilgrimage. Without any fear, with- 
 out any doubt, in the sunshine of the 
 Master, surrounded by everything that 
 love can bestow, she came at last to the 
 unbridged river, and the waves were parted 
 before her steps, and she has gone in to 
 that Home, of which, if we could see what 
 she has already seen, we would wish our- 
 selves among them. 
 
 Now that she has passed into this blessed 
 life everlasting, into the joy and glory of her 
 Master's presence, there is only left behind 
 her silent, slumbering form. What the 
 Apostle calls the " tent " which the spirit 
 casts off when it ascends into the presence 
 of the Glorious King on high. And ere 
 long you will take up this form, and gently 
 
56 Mary L. Carter. 
 
 and lovingly bear her away from the home 
 she loved to that silent spot, just such a 
 spot as her Master, and your and my 
 Master, rested in, that he might conquer 
 the grave and become the first-fruits of all 
 that sleep. So has God given His beloved 
 sleep, and today we may all say : — 
 
 " Sleep on, beloved, now and take thy rest ; 
 Lay down thy head upon thy Saviour's breast ; 
 We loved thee well, but Jesus loves thee best ; 
 Good-night! Good-night! 
 
 " Calm is thy slumber as an infant's sleep; 
 But thou shalt wake no more to toil and weep : 
 Thine is a perfect rest, secure and deep ; 
 Good-night ! Good-night ! 
 
 " Until made beautiful by Love Divine, 
 Thou, in the likeness of thy Lord shalt shine, 
 And He shall bring that golden crown of thine, 
 Good-night ! Good-night ! 
 
 "Only 'Good-night,' beloved, not 'farewell ! ' 
 A little while, and all His saints shall dwell 
 In hallowed union indivisible, 
 
 Good-night ! Good-night ! 
 
Last Tributes, 57 
 
 "Until we meet again before His throne, 
 Clothed in the spotless robe He gives His own, 
 Until we know even as we are known, 
 Good-night ! Good-night ! " 
 
 Dr. George Alexander said : — 
 
 It would better accord with the feelings 
 of my heart to take my place with those 
 who sit in silence, communing with their 
 own thoughts, meditating on their great 
 loss, and suffering the tide of grateful and 
 sorrowful emotion to surge over them. 
 
 I first knew our dear friend as a bride. 
 In those dear old days, I was led, a bare- 
 foot boy, to see and admire the young 
 wife of my mother's dearest friend. In 
 later years it has been my frequent privi- 
 lege to be admitted to the household over 
 which she presided. Love for that house- 
 hold, and sympathy for them in their 
 unmeasured loss has brought me here 
 to-day. 
 
 It has not been my lot to see her while 
 walking through that Beulah land, where 
 
58 Mary L. Carter. 
 
 the shining ones come forth to meet the 
 pilgrims toward the Celestial City. In my 
 memory she must ever be, not the patient 
 sufferer, blessing the chastening hand of 
 her Heavenly Father, but the very embodi- 
 ment of health and gladness. I think of 
 her first and chiefly as the Christian home- 
 maker, investing her home with the joy 
 and the heavenly charm which should 
 ever be the heritage of the godly, the 
 familiar friend of her children, and the one 
 in whom the heart of her husband did 
 safely trust. 
 
 How wide-reaching has been her influ- 
 ence ! With what beauty and grace she 
 filled her station, and did her work ! Her 
 children, to whom she made the way of 
 godliness supremely attractive, rise up 
 today and call her blessed. "Whether 
 mingling their tears in this presence, or, in 
 the far East, exposed to the perils of Mos- 
 lem fanaticism, they hold in their hearts, 
 along with the image of their Saviour, 
 the image of a mother who is now rejoic- 
 
The Prayer. 59 
 
 ing in the beatific vision, and find a new 
 and precious meaning in those familiar 
 words of comfort, " In my Father's house 
 
 are many mansions I go to prepare 
 
 a place for you." 
 
 The Prayer by Dr. Dickson. 
 
 Our Father who art in Heaven : If we 
 had six v^ings like the Seraphim, with 
 twain we would cover our face, with twain 
 we would cover our feet, and with twain 
 we would fly into Thy bosom, for Thou 
 art our refuge and strength, a very present 
 help in trouble. But we have no wings, 
 as yet, and we cannot fly. We cannot 
 even come to Thee except Thou shalt 
 draw us. Draw us now to Thyself by the 
 cords of Thy best love and by this great 
 bereavement. Draw us nearer to Thy side 
 than we have ever been before, and let us 
 lie down, in love's own place on Thy breast, 
 so that we shall feel Thy gentle heart beat- 
 ing responsive to our own, and Thou shalt 
 hear the breathing of our desires, which 
 
6o Mary L. Carter. 
 
 neither speech nor language can express. 
 In the heart of our hearts sorrow and joy 
 are striving together for the mastery. Let 
 it please Thee, while we are yet speaking, 
 to grant us so much of Thy sweet mercy 
 and grace, that the sorrow shall fly away 
 and only joy be left ; and in the multitude 
 of our thoughts within us may Thy com- 
 forts delight our souls. 
 
 Hear our prayer, O Lord, and give ear 
 unto our cry ; hold not Thy peace at our 
 tears ; for we are strangers with Thee and 
 sojourners, as all our fathers were. Pass- 
 ing through this wilderness, to the better 
 country, we have come to our Marah, and 
 the waters are so bitter that we cannot 
 drink them. In answer to our earnest and 
 united request show us the tree, which 
 when cast into the waters, the waters shall 
 be made sweet. We are come to our juni- 
 per bush, and like Thy servant of old time 
 we are prostrated with overmuch sorrow, 
 and greatly discouraged because of the 
 way. Hear Thou the voice of our affliction 
 
The Prayer. 6i 
 
 and speak to the angel who knows the way 
 hither; command him to make haste, and 
 fly away swiftly to us, bringing with him a 
 cruse of water, fresh dipped from the river, 
 clear as crystal, for us, and with his shin- 
 ing: hand to kindle another fire of coals and 
 bake another cake for us, and then to 
 touch us once and again, saying, " Arise 
 and eat, because the journey is too great 
 for thee:" and in the strength of Thy 
 timely repast may we rise up and go on 
 our way, sorrowful yet always rejoicing, till 
 we reach the mount of God in heaven. 
 
 Almighty and most merciful Father ; we 
 remember all the way which Thou hast led 
 us these forty years, and this is the most 
 dreadful place; this is our Gethsemane; 
 and this is our Gethsemane prayer, O our 
 Father, if this cup may not pass away from 
 us, except we drink it, Thy will be done. 
 Send down to us the Gethsemane angel, 
 who ministered strength and comfort to 
 Thy dear Son, our Saviour, that he may 
 help us also, saying, " This is the cup thy 
 
62 Mary L. Carter. 
 
 Father hath given thee to drink ; drink 
 more of it ; drink all of it." Blessed be 
 thy name though the cup be bitter, it is 
 not bottomless, and as we lift it to our 
 quivering lips by the transforming power 
 of Thy love, let it be changed into a cup 
 of blessing. 
 
 Dear Lord Jesus, we must come to Thee 
 thyself for Thou art the brother born for 
 adversity ; our own best brother, whom 
 bereavement brings to better view ; a sub- 
 stitute for all when all is gone ; all without 
 all, as well as all in all. Whom have we 
 in Heaven but Thee, and there is none 
 upon earth that we desire besides thee. 
 Oh, magnify Thy merciful kindness to us 
 and make this hour of darkness the begin- 
 ning of the beatific vision. As the Son of 
 God Thou art able to do for us exceeding 
 abundantly above all that we ask or think, 
 and as the Son of Man and a man of 
 sorrows Thou canst sympathize with us in 
 all our afflictions. Let it please Thee to 
 have pity upon us and save us out of all 
 
The Prayer. 63 
 
 our troubles. We rejoice to know that 
 when hanging on the cross for us Thy last 
 thoughts were concerning Thy mother, and 
 Thy last words were addressed to Thy 
 mother, providing a son and a home for 
 her when the sword was piercing through 
 her soul; and knowing the strength and 
 sweetness of a mother's love, and knowing 
 how hard it is to part with one so near and 
 dear, let Thy divine and human compassion 
 be lavished on these motherless children. 
 Behold, and bless them every one. Re- 
 member the first-born who, following her 
 loving heart, left her husband and children 
 to take care of themselves, and came home 
 that she might be an angel of blessing 
 to her mother during her last days, when 
 she was watching and praying and patiently 
 waiting for the love-paved chariot to come 
 and take her away out of all tribulation. 
 May the same benediction abide with her 
 sisters who are here present and with all 
 their children ; cover them with Thy 
 feathers, comfort them with Thy love, and 
 
64 Mary L. Carter. 
 
 may they always have the good-will of Him 
 that dwelt in the bush. Bless these 
 brothers who are bowed down, heavily 
 mourning for their mother; bring them 
 into the secret of Thy presence, and keep 
 them there. Lay both Thy hands upon 
 their heads and so bless them that they 
 shall be a blessing. We cannot forget the 
 youngest sister, who, when she went to 
 the heathen, took all her heart away with 
 her, and left it all at home. In the arms 
 of our faith and love we would lift her up 
 out of the darkness into the brightest 
 light of Thy smiling face. Speak one word 
 to her ; say unto her, " Mary," and may 
 she be able to respond right heartily, say- 
 ing, "Rabboni, which is to say Master," 
 which is to say my master. Hold her in 
 the hollow of Thy hand ; keep her as the 
 apple of Thine eye; hide her under the 
 shadow of Thy wings. O Thou who savest 
 by Thy right hand them which put their 
 trust in Thee from those that rise up 
 against them, show Thy marvellous loving- 
 
The Prayer. 65 
 
 kindness to thine own dear Mary, and all 
 the precious members of her family. 
 Awake, why sleepest Thou, O Lord ? Why 
 withdrawest Thou Thy hand, even Thy right 
 hand ? Pluck it out of Thy bosom for their 
 defence. And when they have done serv- 
 ing Thee for love of Thee, bring them to 
 Thine everlasting kingdom. 
 
 Dearest Lord Jesus, in our message to 
 Thy mercy seat the last shall be first. 
 Look down in tenderest love and pity upon 
 Thy servant whose heart is in the casket 
 here with his beloved; and who is left 
 so lonely and desolate and sad. We praise 
 Thee that he had such a loving wife so 
 long, that he was not called to part with 
 her till he was drawing so near the lifted 
 gates of the Lamb-lit city, that the light 
 thereof came shining through them to 
 beautify his gray hairs which are a crown 
 of glory because they are found in the way 
 of righteousness. Permit him to lean on 
 the arm of Thine almightiness till the 
 twain shall be one again in the home that 
 
66 Mary L. Carter. 
 
 shall never be left desolate, and where 
 death-divided friends shall meet to part no 
 more. 
 
 In the greatness of our grief we give 
 Thee glory in the highest for the life of 
 thine handmaid. We thank Thee that 
 she was such a beautiful Christian, adorn- 
 ing the doctrine of God, her Saviour, in 
 all things. We bless Thee that she was 
 more and better than a good Samaritan 
 in this community, as she went about 
 through these highways and byways pour- 
 ing the oil and wine of love human and 
 divine into hearts wounded by sin and 
 sorrow. Especially would we magnify Thy 
 name, that having loved Thee all her life 
 with all her heart, and having served Thee 
 all her life for love, she is still loving and 
 serving Thee in love's own country, where 
 the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick ; 
 neither can they die any more, for they 
 are equal unto the angels. 
 
 We cannot forget to thank, Thee, O Lord 
 our Lord, for what this mother in Israel 
 
The Prayer. 67 
 
 was to us ; for the heart she carried in her 
 hand to us; for the sweet smile and the 
 holy kiss with which she always greeted 
 us ; and the loving hospitality with which 
 she entertained us. Glory be to the 
 Father, when we were strangers she took 
 us in, and made us members of her 
 family. 
 
 Jesus Master, be not angry with us, and 
 we will make one more request. We do 
 not know what holy service this mother 
 may have in Heaven, but if she may be ex- 
 cused, and if it may please Thee, send her 
 down to be the guardian angel of her 
 missionary daughter, who is in perils by the 
 heathen. And though a thousand may 
 fall at her side, and ten thousand at her 
 right hand, let no evil come nigh her. 
 And, when a few more bitter cups and 
 cups of blessing have been given her to 
 drink, may she be caught up to Paradise to 
 learn more of Thy love from Thine own 
 lips which are like lilies dropping sweet 
 smelling myrrh. And unto the King 
 
68 Mary L. Carter. 
 
 eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise 
 God, and our own God, and our exceeding 
 joy shall be all the glory, world without 
 end. Amen. 
 
 AT THE PARTING. 
 
 SELECTIONS REPEATED TO THE FAMILY BY 
 DR. DICKSON. 
 
 Consider the lilies of the field how they 
 grow ; they toil not, neither do they spin ; 
 and yet I say unto you. That even Solomon 
 in all his glory was not arrayed like one of 
 these. I am the Rose of Sharon, and the 
 lily of the valleys. As the lily among 
 thorns, so is my love among the daughters. 
 My beloved is gone down into his garden, 
 to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, 
 and to gather lilies. 
 
 Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and 
 incline thine ear; forget also thine own 
 people, and thy father's house ; so shall 
 
Selections. 69 
 
 the King greatly desire thy beauty ; for 
 He is thy Lord ; and worship thou Him. 
 The King's daughter is all glorious within ; 
 her clothing is of wrought gold. She 
 shall be brought unto the King in raiment 
 of needlework ; the virgins her companions 
 that follow her shall be brought unto thee. 
 With gladness and rejoicing shall they be 
 brought ; they shall enter into the King's 
 palace. 
 
 I heard as it were the voice of a great 
 multitude, and as the voice of many waters 
 and as the voice of mighty thunderings, 
 saying, Alleluia ; for the Lord God om- 
 nipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and 
 rejoice, and give honour to Him ; for the 
 marriage of the Lamb is come, and His 
 wife hath made herself ready. And to her 
 it was granted that she should be arrayed 
 in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine 
 linen is the righteousness of saints. And 
 He saith unto me, write, Blessed are they 
 which are called unto the marriage supper 
 of the Lamb. 
 
70 Mary L. Carter. 
 
 The voice of my 'Beloved ! behold He 
 Cometh leaping upon the mountains, skip- 
 ping upon the hills. My Beloved is like a 
 roe, or a young hart; behold He standeth 
 behind our wall, He looketh forth at the 
 windows, showing Himself through the 
 lattice. My Beloved spake, and said unto 
 me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and 
 come away. For lo, the winter is past, 
 the rain is over and gone ; the flowers 
 appear on the earth ; the time of the singing 
 of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle 
 is heard in our land ; the fig-tree putteth 
 forth her green figs, and the vines with the 
 tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my 
 love, my fair one, and come away. 
 
 I am now ready to be offered, and the 
 time of my departure is at hand. I am in 
 a strait betwixt two, having a desire to de- 
 part and to be with Christ which is far 
 better. Lord, now lettest thou Thy servant 
 depart in peace, according to Thy word for 
 mine eyes have seen Thy salvation. For to 
 me to live is Christ and to die is gain. 
 
Selections. 71 
 
 The word of the Lord came unto me, 
 saying, Son of man, behold, I take away 
 from thee the desire of thine eyes with a 
 stroke ; yet neither shalt thou mourn nor 
 weep, neither shall thy tears run down. 
 Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the 
 dead. For so He giveth His beloved 
 sleep. But I would not have you to be ig- 
 norant, brethren, concerning them which 
 are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as 
 others which have no hope. For. if we 
 believe that Jesus died and rose again, 
 even so them also which sleep in Jesus 
 will God bring with Him. For this we say 
 unto you by the word of the Lord, that we 
 which are alive and remain unto the com- 
 ing of the Lord shall not prevent them 
 which are asleep. For the Lord himself 
 shall descend from heaven with a shout, 
 with the voice of the archangel, and with 
 the trump of God ; and the dead in Christ 
 shall rise first ; then we which are alive 
 and remain shall be caught up together 
 with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord 
 
72 Mary L. Carter. 
 
 in the air ; and so shall we ever be with 
 the Lord. Wherefore, comfort one an- 
 other with these words. 
 
 The Lord gave, and the Lord hath 
 taken away ; blessed be the name of the 
 the Lord. Trust 3^e in the Lord forever ; 
 for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting 
 strength. The eternal God is thy refuge, 
 and underneath are the everlasting arms. 
 Now,.the God of hope fill you with all joy 
 and peace in believing, that ye may abound 
 in hope, through the power of the Holy 
 Ghost. 
 
 AFTER THE PARTING. 
 
 SELECTIONS REPEATED BY DR. DICKSON. 
 
 Who shall separate us from the love of 
 Christ } Shall tribulation, or distress, or 
 persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or 
 peril, or sword } As it is written, For 
 
Selections. 73 
 
 thy sake we are killed all the day long ; 
 we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 
 Nay in all these things we are more than 
 conquerors, through Him that loved us. 
 For I am persuaded, that neither death 
 nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor 
 powers, nor things present, nor things 
 to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any 
 other creature, shall be able to separate 
 u^ from the love of God which is in Christ 
 Jesus our Lord. 
 
 I know, O Lord, that Thy judgements 
 are right, and that Thou in faithfulness 
 hast afflicted me. I know that my Re- 
 deemer liveth, and that He shall stand at 
 the latter day upon the earth ; and though 
 after my skin worms destroy this body, 
 yet in my flesh shall I see God ; whom I 
 shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall 
 behold, and not another. We know that 
 if our earthly house of this tabernacle were 
 dissolved, we have a building of God, an 
 house not made with hands, eternal in the 
 
74 Mary L. Carter. 
 
 Heavens. We know that all things work 
 together for good, to them that love God, 
 to them that are called according to His 
 purpose. Beloved, now are we the sons of 
 God, and it doth not yet appear what we 
 shall be ; but we know that, when He shall 
 appear, we shall be like Him ; for we shall 
 see Him as He is. 
 
 I heard a voice from Heaven sayirjg 
 unto me. Write, Blessed are the dead 
 which die in the Lord from henceforth : 
 Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest 
 from their labours ; and their works do 
 follow them. Blessed are they that do his 
 commandments, that they may have right 
 to the tree of life, and may enter in through 
 the gates into the city. Blessed are the 
 pure in heart ; for they shall see God. 
 They shall see His face ; and His name 
 shall be in their foreheads. Blessed are 
 they that mourn ; for they shall be com- 
 forted. 
 
Selections. 75 
 
 The Lord is my shepherd ; I shall -not 
 want. He maketh me to lie down in green 
 pastures ; He leadeth me beside the still 
 waters. He restoreth my soul ; He lead- 
 eth me in the paths of righteousness for 
 His name's sake. Yea, though I walk 
 through the valley of the shadow of death, 
 I will fear no evil ; for thou art with me ; 
 Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me. 
 Thou preparest a table before me in the 
 presence of mine enemies ; Thou anointest 
 my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 
 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow 
 me all the days of my life ; and I will dwell 
 in the house of the Lord forever. 
 
 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, 
 from whence cometh my help. My help 
 Cometh from the Lord, which made Heaven 
 and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to 
 be moved ; He that keepeth thee will not 
 slumber. Behold, He that keepeth Israel 
 shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord 
 is thy keeper ; The Lord is thy shade upon 
 
76 Mary L. Carter. 
 
 thy right hand. The sun shall not smite 
 thee by day, nor the moon by night. The 
 Lord shall preserve thee from all evil ; He 
 shall preserve thy soul. The Lord shall pre- 
 serve thy going out and thy coming in from 
 this time forth, and even for evermore. 
 
 It was now dark, and Jesus was not 
 come to them. And the sea arose by rea- 
 son of a great wind that blew. The ship 
 was now in the midst of the sea, tossed 
 with waves ; for the wind was contrary. 
 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus 
 went unto them, walking on the sea. And 
 immediately He talked with them, and 
 saith unto them. Be of good cheer ; it is I ; 
 be not afraid. Then they willingly re- 
 ceived Him into the ship ; and immedi- 
 ately they were at the land whither they 
 went. 
 
 When the great storm came it was 
 night ; and the night was dark ; and the 
 disciples were in the midst of the sea; 
 about three miles from either shore; and 
 
Words at the Grave, 77 
 
 the wind was contrary, and should have 
 driven them back to the land whence they 
 sailed ; but strange to say it carried them 
 quickly into the port whither they were 
 bound. Immediately they were at the 
 land whither they went. So He bringeth 
 them unto their desired haven. So He 
 bringeth us unto our desired haven. 
 Arise, let us go hence. 
 
 The interment took place on Wednes- 
 day, November 20th. Many followed the 
 dear body to its last resting place in Wood- 
 lawn Cemetery, where it was lovingly laid 
 beside those of her three little children, 
 her father, mother and sisters, till the Lord 
 comes again ; when " the dead in Christ 
 shall rise first." 
 
 The following words were said by the 
 Rev. Dr. Dickson at the grave : — 
 
 That which thou sowest is not quick- 
 ened except it die. It is sown a natural 
 
y8 Mary L. Carter. 
 
 body, it is raised a spiritual body. Ex- 
 cept a corn of wheat fall into tire ground 
 and die, it abideth alone ; but if it die it 
 bringeth forth much fruit. It is sown in 
 dishonour, it is raised in glory. And as 
 we have borne the image of the earthy, we 
 shall also bear the image of the heavenly. 
 
 Unveil thy bosom, faithful tomb ! 
 
 Take this new treasure to thy trust ; 
 And give these sacred relics room 
 
 To seek a slumber in the dust. 
 
 Nor pain, nor grief, nor anxious fear, 
 Invade thy bounds : no mortal woes 
 
 Can reach the lovely sleeper here, 
 And angels watch her soft repose. 
 
 So Jesus slept: God's dying son 
 
 Passed through the grave and blessed the 
 bed. 
 
 Rest here, fair saint, till from His throne 
 The morning break, and pierce the shade. 
 
 Break from His throne, illustrious morn ! 
 
 Attend, O earth. His sovereign word I 
 Restore thy trust, O glorious form ! 
 
 She must ascend to meet her Lord. 
 
Words at the Grave. 79 
 
 My Beloved is mine, and I am His ; He 
 feedeth among the lilies. Behold thou 
 art fair my Beloved, yea, pleasant ; also 
 our bed is green. His left hand is under 
 my head, and His right hand doth embrace 
 me ; For so He giveth His beloved sleep. 
 
 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrec- 
 tion, and the life ; he that believeth in me, 
 though he were dead, yet shall he live; 
 and whosoever liveth, and believeth in me 
 shall never die. Jesus saith unto her, 
 Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto 
 Him, Rabboni, which is to say Master. 
 
 Mary, the Lord bless thee and keep 
 thee. The Lord make His face to shine 
 upon thee, and be gracious unto thee. 
 The Lord lift up His countenance upon 
 thee, and give thee peace. 
 
 Dearest sister, sweetest lover, divinest 
 mother, thou hast been our morning angel, 
 our midday angel, and our midnight angel, 
 making our home more like Heaven, by 
 thy sweet presence here, henceforth thou 
 shalt make our Heaven more like home. 
 
8o Mary L. Carter. 
 
 by thy sweet presence there. Patiently, 
 prayerfully, hopefully thou hast passed 
 through all thy toilsome days and weari- 
 some nights, now rest in peace, and may 
 thy rest be glorious. We praise God for 
 thee, and for thy lovely lamb-like life ; and 
 we hope to praise God with thee, when 
 Jesus comes ; till then farewell. 
 
 Let us Pray. 
 
 Jesus Master, who was dead and is alive 
 for evermore, we commit to Thee Thyself 
 this body, which was made by Thee, and 
 redeemed by Thee, and is still united to 
 Thee. Come Thou to Thy consecrated 
 parcel of ground, and with the keys hang- 
 ing at thy girdle, lock this precious treasure 
 in this place of peaceful rest ; and let 
 Thine eyes and Thine heart be over this 
 temple of the Holy Ghost, till it shall be 
 built again. Before we depart hence, and 
 while we are yet speaking, according to 
 thy promise, hear our prayer, and send 
 hither all the angels of the sepulcher — 
 
Words at the Grave. 8 1 
 
 the twain that sat as sentinels, one at Thy 
 head and the other at Thy feet, when Thou 
 wast sleeping in the grave for us. Send 
 also the angel who rolled away the stone 
 for Thee ; and Michael, the archangel, who 
 contended for the body of Moses ; that to- 
 gether they may watch, and guard, and keep 
 and if need be defend this blood-bought, 
 blood-washed body of Thy bride, till Thou 
 shalt come again and she shall live again 
 in the likeness of Thine own glorious body. 
 And in that day when she shall put off 
 these ashen robes and put on the wedding 
 garment, and rise to the marriage mansion 
 and the marriage supper, let there be no 
 strife between these ministering spirits, 
 which of them shall have the honour and 
 the pleasure of presenting her at the Court 
 of Heaven, where she shall see the King in 
 His beauty, and be crowned by Him the 
 Queen in gold of Ophir. And to Thy 
 dear name, dearest, sweetest, kindest Lord 
 shall be all the glory, world without end. 
 
 Amen. 
 
 6 
 
82 Mary L. Carter. 
 
 It never can be wrong to do as Jesus 
 did, and as He sometimes called His 
 friends by name, I will follow His example 
 in closing these sacred services. 
 
 Nannie : Wait on the Lord ; be of good 
 courage, and He shall strengthen thine 
 heart ; wait I say on the Lord. For the 
 Lord thy God, He it is that doth go with 
 thee. He will not fail thee nor forsake thee. 
 • Fannie : Fear thou not ; for I am with 
 thee ; be not dismayed ; for I am thy God ; 
 I will strengthen thee : yea, I will help 
 thee ; yea I will uphold thee with the right 
 hand of my righteousness. I will never 
 leave thee nor forsake thee. 
 
 Nellie : I know thee by name, and thou 
 hast also found grace in my sight. The 
 mountains shall depart and the hills be re- 
 moved ; but my kindness shall not depart 
 from thee, neither shall the covenant of 
 my peace be removed, saith the Lord that 
 hath mercy on thee. Behold, I have 
 graven thee upon the palms of my hands. 
 
 Jesse: My son, hear the instruction of 
 
Words at the Grave. 83 
 
 thy father, and forsake not the law of thy 
 mother ; for they shall be an ornament of 
 grace unto thy head and chains about thy 
 neck. When thou goest, it shall lead 
 thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep 
 thee ; and when thou awakest, it shall talk 
 with thee. 
 
 Douglas : He that loveth father or 
 mother more than me is not worthy of me. 
 I will not leave you comfortless ; I will 
 come to you. As one whom his mother 
 comforteth so will I comfort you and ye 
 shall be comforted. Cast thy burden upon 
 the Lord, and He shall sustain thee. 
 
 There remaineth yet the youngest 
 daughter ; her mother's namesake, so far 
 away and yet so near and dear. Jesus 
 saith unto her, Mary : I have called thee 
 by thy name, thou art mine. Thou shalt 
 not be afraid for the terror by night ; nor 
 for the arrow that flieth by day. Because 
 thou hast made the Lord which is my 
 refuge, even the Most High thy habitation, 
 there shall no evil befall thee, neither 
 
84 Mary L. Carter, 
 
 shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. 
 For He shall give His angels charge over 
 thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. 
 
 My beloved brother Peter : Let not 
 your heart be troubled : ye believe in God, 
 believe also in me. In my Father's house 
 are many mansions ; if it were not so, I 
 would have told you. I go to prepare a 
 place for you. And if I go and prepare a 
 place for you, I will come again and re- 
 ceive you unto myself ; that where I am 
 there ye may be also. Peace I leave with 
 you, my peace I give unto you. Let not 
 your heart be troubled, neither let it be 
 afraid. 
 
 4 
 
 The Benediction. 
 
REMINISCENCES. 
 
" IV e shall miss thee at a thousand turns, along life's 
 
 weary track, 
 Not a sorrow or a joy, hut we shall long to call thee hack, 
 Yearn for thy true and gentle heart, long thy bright smile 
 
 to see, 
 For many dear and true are left, but none are quite like 
 
 thee." 
 
'T^HE youngest daughter, Mary Carter 
 •^ Dodd, now a missionary of the 
 American Board in Turkey, writes thus : — 
 It is such a pleasure for me to give 
 some of my memories of my precious 
 mother. I love to live over again in 
 thought the good old days when we were 
 boys and girls together living in our 
 father's house. 
 
 To begin with, let me quote the words 
 of my Armenian nurse girl who has been 
 with me eight years, and who went with 
 me to America in 1890. When she heard 
 what I was doing she said, " Write love 
 ilay doloo idi," (she was full of love.) 
 She was certainly a very loving mother, 
 ready to do anything for her children, 
 planning and caring for them in her 
 thoughtful way. 
 
88 Mary L. Carter. 
 
 It seems to me that 1 have special rea- 
 son to realize this, for though she could 
 not run in and help mie as she could my 
 sisters, yet she was always planning and 
 thinking of my comfort. The boxes that 
 have come so regularly every two months 
 since we left home, and which have 
 been such a source of delight to us all, 
 were always filled with evidences of her 
 love. It was really wonderful to me how 
 she could know so well just what I needed. 
 It almost seemed as if she could read my 
 thoughts. A month ago, when I was laid 
 aside for a few days with influenza, I wanted 
 some soft, warm slippers for my feet. Rum- 
 maging in the boxes, I came across a neat 
 pair of gray worsted slippers. Drawing 
 them on, I noticed there was a piece of 
 paper in one, and opening it, I found written 
 on it ''from mother." That was only one 
 of many tokens of her thoughtful, constant 
 love. 
 
 Was there ever such a neat little body 
 as our mother .? From the crown of her 
 
Reminisce Jtces. 89 
 
 head to the tips of her toes she was tidy 
 and trim. As for her house, in what good 
 order it was kept. We girls can remember 
 with feelings almost of awe, her beautiful 
 dainty bed, with its spotless cover. No 
 one ever made it but herself, and we would 
 watch her as she smoothed out, patted 
 down and pulled things into shape. We 
 never dared lay anything on its immacu- 
 late spread and to play on it, or even 
 to lie on it, would have been considered 
 sacrilege. 
 
 What great care she took of the old 
 mahogany furniture that had been handed 
 down for several generations. As I re- 
 member it, it never showed signs of wear 
 though in constant use. 
 
 As I go about my household cares, I 
 often think how mother would do this and 
 that piece of work. How many times I 
 have longed to have her come in and in- 
 spect my house- keeping, pointing out to 
 me my faults and telling me how I might 
 correct them. But since I have never had 
 
90 Mary L, Carte7\ 
 
 that privilege, I can only try to do what 
 she taught me to when I was a girl. 
 
 When we came home from school, when 
 we were children, our first question was, 
 " Is mamma home ? " and she was gen- 
 erally looking out for us. But if she had 
 to be away, I remember how empty the 
 house seemed to us. 
 
 We cannot any of us forget her fond- 
 ness for her flowers. They would blossom 
 when those in other people's windows only 
 showed leaves. They knew she loved 
 them, and responded to her tender touch. 
 The flowers in the windows gave a touch 
 of brightness to the otherwise sombre 
 brown stone house. 
 
 One of the happiest times of the day to 
 us children was the evening hour when we 
 were waiting for father to come home to 
 dinner. Mother would light the front 
 parlor chandeliers and sit down to the 
 piano to play, and her lively music would 
 quickly bring us around her. Favorite 
 airs were called for, and if she sang there 
 
Reminiscences. 91 
 
 was always a hearty chorus from us chil- 
 dren. If any of us were drearily studying 
 upstairs, when we heard the stirring notes, 
 down would go books and papers and 
 away we flew to join in the music. We 
 did so love to hear her play ! She played 
 with so much enthusiasm and enjoyment 
 that it seemed as if her playing must be 
 better than other people's. How I love 
 to read over the Scottish ballads she was 
 so fond of singing. I can almost hear 
 her voice as I read, and the songs now 
 seem sacred to me so entirely are they as- 
 sociated with her. 
 
 Our Sunday evening singing hour was 
 always so enjoyable. It is one of the 
 pleasantest memories I have of the dear 
 old home in 28th street. We all chose 
 hymns that we liked, mother usually play- 
 ing, but as we grew older, we were allowed 
 to try our hand, and when mistakes were 
 made every one was patient and not over- 
 critical. Mother enjoyed it as much as 
 any of us. 
 
92 Mary L. Carter. 
 
 Our next door neighbors used to say 
 they always knew when we were at dinner. 
 One evening we had been unusually jolly 
 when mother turning around to a dear 
 friend of the family, who was visiting us, 
 said, " Doesn't this noise make you crazy 
 
 Dr. ? " When the unexpected reply 
 
 "Yes ma'am," came, mother was some- 
 what chagrined and nonplussed. But the 
 next minute she was reassured when her 
 guest, who dearly loved a joke, burst into 
 a hearty laugh. 
 
 Her birthday was in August, and we 
 usually made quite a celebration of it. 
 One year she went away on a visit the day 
 before and did not return till the evening 
 of her birthday, so that the day was not 
 specially marked. Happening to discover 
 the next day that she had missed the usual 
 little celebration, we determined to give 
 her a surprise. Accordingly the following 
 afternoon we trimmed the dining room 
 with flowers, making a bovver of greens at 
 mother's place at the table and in the 
 
Reminiscences. 93 
 
 bower, over the chair was hung a placard 
 inscribed " In honor of the second day 
 after the anniversary of the birthday of our 
 mother," and every article of food at the 
 table was labeled in the same way. After 
 the blinds were tightly closed and the num- 
 erous Japanese lanterns hanging about the 
 room were Hghted we brought mother in 
 and she was greatly surprised and very 
 grateful in spite of the extreme heat of 
 the shut-up room and the rather prickly 
 nature of her bower. 
 
 We always loved to have mother go 
 away visiting or see any sights for when 
 she came home she had so much to tell. 
 She had such sharp eyes she saw every- 
 thing that went on around her, nothing es- 
 caped her and she would relate it all in 
 such a graphic, breezy way. There was 
 only one draw-back to her visiting in our 
 childish eyes. * She would always bring 
 back such glowing accounts of the be- 
 havior of the small girls and boys where 
 she visited and hold them up to us as such 
 
94 Mary L. Carter. 
 
 bright examples that we fairly loathed them 
 and were ready to declare that we could 
 not let her go away again. 
 
 I can never forget the trouble she took 
 in shopping with me before my wedding. 
 How many hours she spent with me tramp- 
 ing from store to store. No trouble was 
 too great for her. She even marked with 
 her own hand, all my table linen, bed-linen 
 and underclothing, no small item of itself. 
 Now I constantly come across her writing 
 on my household things. 
 
 The last time I was home, when my 
 little baby, Nellie, was so ill, I never can 
 cease from being grateful to her for all the 
 care she took of her. She seemed to feel a 
 personal responsibility for her, and worked 
 over her constantly. How relieved she 
 was when she began to improve. 
 
 Her sister, Mrs. Knapp, writes the fol- 
 lowing: — 
 
 Among my first recollections of Mary 
 was her wedding day and seeing her hus- 
 
Remmiscences, 95 
 
 band and herself receive the congratula- 
 tions of their friends. She was the first 
 daughter to leave home, and accordingly 
 her little romance made a deep impression 
 on the minds of her little sisters. 
 
 When the new home was set up and the 
 furnishing began, it was all so interesting. 
 The book-case in the parlor contained the 
 "Arabian Nights' Entertainments," and 
 this made Mary's house very attractive to 
 me. I spent all my Saturday afternoons 
 there reading. 
 
 It was at her house that I learned to eat 
 oatmeal, and in the library to make the 
 acquaintance of Burns and Scott. So the 
 lives just united were beginning to influ- 
 ence others in a quiet way. 
 
 The years went by and I grew up to be 
 a woman. I saw more and more each year 
 what it was that made Mary's home so 
 attractive. It was her wonderful unselfish- 
 ness. Her hospitality was unbounded. 
 With a large family of children to provide 
 for, and so much sewing to do, it seemed 
 
96 Mary L. Carter. 
 
 as if company would be such an undertak- 
 ing. But she was so unselfish, that she was 
 willing to take all the trouble for the sake 
 of the pleasure it would give others. 
 
 Everything went on in the most orderly 
 manner with a houseful of guests. This 
 broadened her own life, and awakened her 
 sympathy in many other lives. Mrs. Henry 
 Ward Beecher says : — 
 
 " A woman can do her own work, be her 
 own dressmaker, and incidentally bring up 
 a family of children, accomplishing all in a 
 satisfactory manner, if she be upheld by 
 the thought, that her husband's love and 
 trust are placed upon her." 
 
 While Mary did not have to do all con- 
 tained in the above quotation, she did 
 bring up a large family of sons and 
 daughters, providing for their many wants 
 by economy and excellent management. 
 Her husband's affection, pride and en- 
 couragement in her capability more than 
 repaid her for the trouble she took, plan- 
 ning and working for them all. 
 
Reminiscences. 97 
 
 It always seemed to me a lovely house- 
 hold, the heads of it being uniformly of 
 one mind. As Longfellow says in ** Hia- 
 watha,'* 
 
 '^ As unto the bow, the cord is, 
 So unto the man is woman, 
 Though she bends him, she obej'S him, 
 Though she draws him yet she follows, 
 Useless each without the other." 
 
 During the last few years, Mary and I 
 grew very close to one another, and we had 
 many confidential chats, about our homes 
 and our children. She had lofty aspira- 
 tions for her children, but always un- 
 worldly ones. Their spiritual good was 
 nearest her heart. 
 
 It was not only for her family and kins- 
 folk she wrought, but for the poor and 
 needy everywhere. She went out of her 
 * way to do helpful things for women in 
 trouble. She climbed flights of tenement 
 stairs, to give, by her cheerful presence, 
 encouragement and hope to sorrow-stricken 
 souls. 
 
 7 
 
98 Mary L. Carter, 
 
 Much has gone out of my life, by the 
 death of my unselfish sister Mary. But 
 her memory will ever be bright in my 
 home, and her influence for good undy- 
 ing. 
 
 Her niece, Mrs. I. W. Cochran writes : 
 
 Do you remember the day when you 
 introduced me to Aunt Minnie on Fifth 
 Avenue near 19th Street and I saw her for 
 the first time. Afterwards you told me she 
 was to be my aunt, and I was to call her 
 Aunt Minnie because I had so many Aunt 
 Marys. 
 
 Then came the wedding, an event of 
 great interest to all of us children. How 
 we all enjoyed going up to your dear little 
 house in 26th Street. 
 
 It seems to me the most striking thing 
 about Aunt Minnie was her motherhood. 
 She was an ideal mother. Nothing better 
 could be said of any woman. I never saw 
 a more lovely and interesting group than 
 those four little girls, so bright and healthy 
 
Reminiscences. 99 
 
 and natural, so loving and obedient, so 
 merry and happy. She was merry and 
 happy with them and not very much older. 
 I remember once going into the 26th Street 
 house nursery and she was telling me what 
 a merry game they had been having to- 
 gether and how she said, " Oh dear, I feel 
 as if I should go out of my head." And 
 Nannie exclaimed, *' Oh Mamma, how 
 funny you would look ! " 
 
 Her babies always went to sleep when 
 she wanted them to, and woke up when 
 she wanted them to, and were fed at reg- 
 ular times and consequently never had 
 colic. 
 
 She was the best manager I ever saw. 
 Her house, neat as a pin, her table liberal 
 and elegant and such a pair of hands to 
 turn off work. Her dress was always neat 
 and tasteful. She told me once that she 
 could go out in the worst of v/alking and 
 come back with an immaculate white 
 skirt. 
 
 As to the bringing up of her children, 
 
lOO Mary L. Carter. 
 
 there never was any forcing process. It 
 was not a hothouse but a nursery. The 
 young plants were trained away from what 
 was hurtful and debasing up into God's 
 pure air and sunshine. They soon learned 
 to find pleasure in good books, and none 
 of them had to be urged to study. It was 
 in the home atmosphere and they took to 
 it like ducks to water. 
 
 They were taught so naturally and 
 simply, that the right way seemed to them 
 the pleasant way. God was their friend 
 and they never knew the time when they 
 did not love Him. 
 
 You remember better than I do, the 
 time when you both had the fruits of your 
 united efforts, when all the four little girls 
 came in one day saying that they wanted 
 to be Christians. Dear little May was left 
 out from the Communion table because 
 she was so young, just as David was left 
 out from Jesse's feast, but she was chosen 
 of God for all that. But it was only for a 
 httle while she was left out, as the follow- 
 
Reminiscences. loi 
 
 ing year, May took her place with the 
 others at the table of the Lord. 
 
 She never thought her children a trouble 
 and never said they were too near of an 
 age. 
 
 Another thing I remember about her 
 was her willingness to oblige with her 
 music. She said that her father had given 
 her the best of advantages, vocal and 
 instrumental, on condition that she would 
 always play or sing when asked, not wait- 
 ing to be urged. Though an accomplished 
 musician and trained to sing very difficult 
 music, when she found her husband Hked 
 Scotch ballads best, she learned them for 
 his sake. She had her reward, for her 
 beautiful rendering of these simple and 
 heart-touching songs won her more admir- 
 ation than her Italian Opera songs would 
 have done. It was a line all her own. 
 Then during the war she sang patriotic 
 songs that pleased everybody. 
 
 My son told me since her death that 
 when she was entertaining a houseful of 
 
102 Mary L. Carter. 
 
 young people last Christmas-tide she sang 
 the clear old Scotch song, " I loe nae 
 laddie but ane." She changed the name 
 of Jamie in the last line and exclaimed 
 " And now I am Peter's for life." Then 
 she jumped up from the piano-stool and 
 ran over and kissed you, blushing like a 
 
 girl. 
 
 I always loved to get her letters. She 
 wrote such a graceful Httle note in such a 
 dainty way and always with some sweet 
 thought in it. 
 
 Much as she loved May, I do not think 
 she even for a moment grudged her to her 
 Master, whom she loved better still. How 
 greatly May's consecration increased her 
 interest in missions ! Where her treasure 
 was there was her heart also. She 
 seemed to have no worldly ambitions for 
 her children, but was more than satisfied if 
 they were serving God faithfully. 
 
 But above everything else I remember 
 the love and sympathy she showed me in 
 my own sorrows and especially about dear 
 
Rem in tscen ccs . 103 
 
 little Kitty. She came up to 53rd Street 
 and spent the morning that Kitty died with 
 us and sang Kitty's favorite hymns. She 
 had a loving heart which was readily 
 touched with the grief of others. 
 
 Her nephew, Rev. S. T. Carter, writes : 
 
 My earliest recollections are connected 
 with my Uncle Peter. He lived in my 
 father's house and was more as an older 
 brother to us boys, than an uncle. 
 
 The great event of the year was the 
 journey to Saratoga County, where we 
 spent the summer vacation with our grand- 
 mother. 
 
 The start was made in the good steam- 
 boat, Isaac Newton, the jangle of whose 
 starting bell seems still to ring in my ear. 
 The crowded steamboat, the hurrying pas- 
 sengers, the state-room, the engine, and, 
 as we travelled on, the moonlight on the 
 palisades, and (I do not know but I may 
 truthfully add) as the grand climax, the 
 ice-cream man with his wine glasses of 
 
104 Mary L. Carter. 
 
 cream, then not so common as now, — all 
 made a combination that just suited us 
 boys. And Uncle Peter was the presiding 
 genius of the occasion. Up in Saratoga 
 County, there was that delight of children, 
 a beautiful creek, flowing under the win- 
 dows of my grandmother's house and the 
 pleasure there was endless. The baths, 
 though the water was sufficiently shallow 
 to remove all danger of drowning, about up 
 to our knees, and the dam we built and the 
 mill-wheel that turned below it, made of 
 two shingles crossed, and the fishes, finger- 
 length, that we caught amid much excite- 
 ment, all these brought out Uncle Peter in 
 full force. Time passed, and we had to 
 share our friend, of whom we claimed full 
 proprietorship, with another. Uncle Peter 
 was to be married. He married Aunt 
 Minnie and settled down in 26th Street, 
 New York, which then became our Mecca 
 with very frequent pilgrimages. There 
 was a circle of young friends that we 
 would meet often at this house and very 
 merry were the hours there. 
 
Rem iniscejices. 105 
 
 The great feature was the Scotch songs 
 that Aunt Minnie used to sing. I hear them 
 yet, *' Will ye no come back again," 
 " Castles in the air," " Annie Laurie," ** In 
 the garb of old Gaul," " The Land of the 
 Leal." We had never heard much singing 
 in our own home. This was our first intro- 
 duction to the world of song, and what a 
 solace and inspiration to the heart of man 
 is song ! We boys owned its charm at 
 once and always, like Oliver Twist, asked 
 for more. And never was there a more 
 willing singer. She did not have colds, 
 nor was she of the number who cannot 
 sing without their notes and never have 
 their notes, nor did she require a special 
 auditory. Boys were good enough for her, 
 so away she went on another song and the 
 applause was rapturous. 
 
 These evenings are my memory of Aunt 
 Minnie, and it is one of the happiest mem- 
 ories of my life. Heaven is a tuneful 
 place and I imagine she is enjoying it. 
 
 We met for the last time in the cars on 
 
io6 Mary L. Carter. 
 
 a sad errand, my brother's funeral. It was 
 he and I that used to turn our steps so 
 often to the 26th Street house. Our steps 
 always turned together in those days, from 
 the first day of schooling to the last of 
 graduating at the Theological Seminary, 
 fifteen years after. She and I both loved 
 him very dearly, and as we sat in the same 
 seat we talked of the one who was suddenly 
 called away. She was the same eager, 
 brimful one that she had always been, in- 
 terested in everything, the old days or the 
 present experience, and I little thought it 
 was the last talk we would ever have on 
 earth. And that is well, to move forward to 
 the close in full flood, like a great river 
 meeting the ocean ; it is good to die so. 
 God gave her long and happy years with 
 her husband, God gave her a beautiful 
 family of children, and her woman's heart 
 was full. 
 
Reminiscences. 107 
 
 NOT CHANGED BUT GLORIFIED. 
 
 BY P. T. M. 
 
 Not changed, but glorified ! Oh beauteous lan- 
 guage 
 
 For those who weep, 
 Mourning the loss of some dear face departed, 
 Fallen asleep ! 
 
 Hushed into silence, never more to comfort 
 
 The hearts of men, 
 Gone, like the sunshine of another country, 
 
 Beyond our ken. 
 
 Will she be changed, so glorified and saintly, 
 
 That we shall know her not ? 
 Will there be nothing that shall say, " I love 
 thee, 
 
 And I have not forgot ?" 
 
 O faithless heart, the same loved face trans- 
 figured 
 
 Shall meet thee there, 
 Less sad, less wistful, in immortal beauty 
 
 Divinely fair. 
 
io8 Mary L. Carter. 
 
 Let us be patient, we who mourn, with weep- 
 ing, 
 
 Her vanished face, 
 The Lord has taken, but to add more beauty 
 And a diviner grace. 
 
 Think of us, dearest one, while o'er life's waters 
 
 We seek the land, 
 Missing thy voice, thy touch, and the true help- 
 ing 
 
 Of thy pure hand. 
 
 Till through the storm and tempest, safely an- 
 chored 
 
 Just on the other side. 
 We find thy dear face looking through death's 
 shadows, 
 
 Not changed, but glorified. 
 

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