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LUCY WEBB HAYES 
 
 H /IDemortal ^hctcb 
 
 MRS. JOHN DAVIS, 
 
 As Read at the Annual Meeting of the Woman's Home Mis- 
 sionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
 HELD AT Indianapolis, November, 1889. 
 
 poem: fTn ^emortam* 
 
 BY 
 
 MISS M. A. LATHBURY. 
 
 /iDemorial paper^ 
 
 BY 
 
 MRS. R. S. RUST. 
 
 DELIVERED AT SEVERAL ANNUAL MEETINGS. 
 
 CINCINNATI : 
 
 PRINTED BY CRANSTON & STOWE 
 
 For the Woman's Home Missionary Society. 
 
 1890. 
 
my- 
 I 
 
 -U^f^-i- 
 
 Copyright by the 
 
 Woman's Home Missionary Society, 
 
 1890. 
 
 .r^5^_ 
 
 ^) A^P 
 
 •60 " \ 
 
Mientnrtal ;§kBfr^. 
 
 BY 
 
 MRS. JOHN DAVIS. 
 
;§IjB appears on ffje paitc nf Ijistorjj as an 
 illnminafrti tnifial Icffpr." 
 
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-^^^:^^^:;^^^^ 
 
 OF 
 
 liUGV WEBB HAYES. 
 
 ••Raised above clouds and tears, 
 Into the deep serene." 
 
 @N the 25th of June, 1889, at her home, Spiegel 
 Grove, in the town of Fremont, Ohio, Lucy 
 Wkbb, wife of Kx-President Hayes, peacefully 
 slept away her life, and entered into the rest 
 that remaineth for the people of God. Her ill- 
 ness, which was apoplexy, lasted but four days; 
 then came the announcement of her death. It 
 sent a shock of pain and grief over the whole 
 land, and even across the sea wherever her 
 
 name was known. Letters and telegrams of 
 
 5 
 
6 MEMORIAL SKETCH. 
 
 sympathy came in large numbers from the high 
 and the low, the rich and the poor, the learned 
 and the unlearned. The press of the country, as 
 b}^ one common impulse, gave generous space to 
 biographical sketches. Military, philanthropic, 
 educational, and religious societies passed resolu- 
 tions of respect. The State Republican Conven- 
 tion, then in session at Columbus to nominate a 
 governor and State officers, suspended its busi- 
 ness to place upon record its esteem for the 
 dead and sympathy for the living. On the 
 day of her funeral every available place in 
 her house was filled with fragrant blossoms, 
 wreathed into beautiful emblems of affection- 
 ate remembrance, — the gifts of friends and 
 societies, sent from all points of the compass. 
 In several of the cities and towns flags were at 
 half-mast, business w^as temporarily suspended, 
 and a hush as of a common grief pervaded 
 the air. A vast multitude from all parts of 
 
LUCY WEBB HAYES. 7 
 
 her native State, as well as from many other 
 States, came to look on her dear face for the last 
 time. As she was borne by her sons and nephews 
 out of the doors of her beautiful home, where she 
 had so often beamed her welcome on the coming 
 guest, followed by her husband, white and stern 
 in his struggle for composure, and her j^oung, 
 motherless daughter, every heart stood still, every 
 face wore an expression of sorrow. 
 
 The funeral cortege was preceded by the 23d 
 Ohio Regiment, a Post of the Grand Army of the 
 Republic, and the Sons of Veterans, the bands play- 
 ing selections from her favorite music. She was 
 followed by a great throng of sorrowing friends, 
 and laid away in the earth. 
 
 Her grave was a couch of flowers, and the 
 sides up to the very top were lined with roses 
 and evergreens, a faint symbol of the love that 
 must find expression; a love which blended 
 with a respect so wide-spread that the words 
 
8 MEMORIAL SKETCH. 
 
 of General Fisk were hardly an exaggeration: 
 "The Nation stands with uncovered head." 
 Since then there is scarcely a city or village in 
 the land which has not had, through some so- 
 ciet}^, memorial services in her honor. What 
 had she done thus to concentrate upon her^ 
 self the attention of the people? Surely there 
 must have been something more than the fact 
 that she had filled the highest station in the 
 country to cause such profound expressions of 
 interest. 
 
 The relation she held to the Woman's Home 
 Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, as well as the warm personal friendship 
 which that relation rendered possible, makes it 
 fitting that we should seek an answer to this 
 question. Our age is artistic, literar}-, scientific, 
 philosophical, ever ready to stud}' the principles 
 of business and mone^'-getting. How seldom do 
 we stop long enough to dwell upon the results 
 
LUCY WEBB HAYES. 9 
 
 of our civilization as embodied in individual 
 character ! To this stud)^ we invite 3- ou for a 
 few moments. If we shall be able to present 
 the qualities which, when combined, made this 
 dear friend, in w^hose memory we are gathered, 
 so noble, so gracious, and so beloved, we shall 
 spend a profitable hour. 
 
 Besides, our societ}^ has for its chief purpose 
 the educating, ennobling, and elevating of domestic 
 life. It becomes our duty to seek for models, or 
 ideals, that may serve as object lessons ; of whom 
 we ma3^ sa}^ Here are the principles embodied, 
 here is the life lived which we want you to 
 imitate. If, then, in Mrs. Hayes, the president 
 of our societ3^ our standard-bearer for nine years, 
 we find the qualities which make her even in 
 part a model, an ideal, how suitable that, though 
 dead, she shall yet speak to us ! 
 
 Before enlarging further, let us briefly review 
 the principal events of her life. She was the only 
 
lo MEMORIAL SKETCH. 
 
 daughter of Dr. James and Maria Cook Webb, 
 and was born in Chillicothe, Ohio, August 28, 
 1 83 1. On her mother's side she came of Puritan 
 stock. Her grandfather, Judge Isaac Cook, and 
 all four of her great-grandfathers served in the 
 Revolutionary War in regiments of the Connecti- 
 cut and Virginia line. Her father, Dr. Webb, 
 who was of an old Virginia family, but born in 
 Kentuck}^ served in the War of 181 2 as a member 
 of the Kentucky Mounted Riflemen. When the 
 subject of this sketch was but an infant, he died 
 of cholera in I^exington, Ky., whither he had 
 gone from his Ohio home for the purpose of 
 manumitting the slaves of his inheritance, with 
 the intention of sending them to Liberia. Mrs. 
 Webb, her mother, was a woman of rare good 
 sense, educated, refined, and of deep religious 
 convictions. From her infancy Lucy was familiar 
 with the sad and pathetic side of life. The death 
 of her father almost broke the mother's heart. 
 
LUCY WEBB HAYES. ii 
 
 Doubtless this familiarity with sorrow, always 
 battled with, but always more or less present, had 
 its influence on the child in making her the mar- 
 velously tender and sympathizing woman whom 
 we so profoundly mourn. 
 
 But her sunny and joyous nature was only 
 subdued, not suppressed, and perhaps few chil- 
 dren have known a happier childhood. She was 
 educated in part with her brothers in the Ohio 
 Wesleyan University, at Delaware, Ohio, having 
 been admitted as a special pupil. Her education 
 was completed in the Cincinnati Wesleyan College, 
 then under the charge of Rev. P. B. Wilber, a 
 school of very high character, where at that 
 time many of the women of Ohio, as well as 
 those of neighboring States, were educated. It 
 was here I first met her in the autumn of 1848. 
 I am surprised at myself that after the lapse of 
 so many years I distinctly recall her looks, her 
 tone, her dress, and the first words she said to 
 
12 MEMORIAL SKETCH. 
 
 me. It must be that the intense personaHty which 
 was in her so marked a feature, that which 
 makes her so vividly present with us this even- 
 ing, which enables us almost to hear her voice 
 and rejoice in her smile as we did last year, was 
 equally characteristic of her then. 
 
--^^^.^Mtv^- 
 
 standing, with, reluctant feet. 
 Where the brink and river meet- 
 Womanhood and childhood fleet." 
 
 She was sixteen years of age. A pure, inno- 
 cent face, somewhat shy and demure in ex- 
 pression, large hazel eyes capable of dancing 
 with mirth or melting into tenderness, abun- 
 dant dark, glossy hair, worn in a style not unlike 
 that with which you are all familiar, mouth 
 sweet and expressive, classically-formed nose, 
 arched eyebrows, full, intellectual forehead, and 
 complexion known as rose brunette. She was 
 of medium height, with a slender, girlish form, 
 in a dress of gray cashmere, made in the extreme 
 of simplicity. The tout ensemble gave the im- 
 pression of a certain naive refinement, not un- 
 Hke that of the Puritan maiden Priscilla, whose 
 
 picture is so exquisitely drawn for us by Long- 
 
 13 
 
14 MEMORIAL SKETCH. 
 
 fellow. This is how I saw her that day in school, 
 standing by my desk as I looked up from my 
 book. She said in a half embarrassed way : 
 " Something is going to happen to-day." In some 
 surprise I asked: "What is going to happen?" 
 " Mother is coming to-day," she said. A home- 
 sick girl myself, I was immediately sympathetic. 
 I arose and put my arm around her in the fashion 
 of school-girls, and then we somehow entered into 
 an unspoken compact of intimacy, which lasted 
 with ever-increasing affection for forty-one years. 
 
 She was a good student. The veteran teacher 
 of advanced classes sometimes said to the less 
 studious pupils, at the close of recitation: " Young 
 ladies, I commend to you the example of Miss 
 Webb." 
 
 Several names, more or less prominent, are 
 found among her school-mates. I can not forbear 
 mentioning one to whom she and all of us re- 
 ferred with special pride and affection. Professor 
 
 1 
 
LUCY WEBB HAYES. 15 
 
 Rachel L. Bodle3^ Dean of the Woman's Medical 
 College of Philadelphia ; a woman of ripe scholar- 
 ship, an honored member of several scientific as- 
 sociations of the country, an enthusiastic pro- 
 moter of the higher education of women, and a 
 devout Christian. She made a deep mark on the 
 age in which she lived. She, too, has recently 
 passed over to the majorit3% and ere this perhaps 
 these two friends may have met in the heavenly 
 courts to which they have ascended. 
 
 Miss Webb finished her school course in 1850, 
 and soon after became engaged to Rutherford 
 Birchard Hayes, a young lawyer whom she had 
 known for several years, and who had recently 
 established himself in Cincinnati. If I were 
 writing a biography instead of a brief sketch, I 
 should enlarge upon the fact that she had now 
 developed into a beautiful, vivacious girl ; I 
 should try to describe to you her life at home 
 with her mother and brothers ; I should tell you 
 
1 6 MEMORIAL SKETCH. 
 
 something of the social circle in which she moved, 
 of the day of her bridal, the dress she wore, the 
 guests w^ho were present, the grave and dignified 
 young bridegroom, of their return after their 
 wedding journey to their modest housekeeping. 
 
 It is enough to say that as her husband estab- 
 lished the reputation of being a man of superior 
 ability in his profession, and filled one position 
 of trust after another, his wife's character deep- 
 ened and broadened with his own. 
 
 The peace of these happy years was broken at 
 last by that appalling anachronism of the nine- 
 teenth century, our Civil War. Mr. Hayes, and the 
 two brothers of Mrs Hayes were among the first 
 to join the army ; and she, in common with other 
 wives and sisters both North and South, entered 
 into the gloom that shadowed every home in our 
 country. She was an intense patriot, a heroic 
 woman, a fit wife for a hero. I doubt if any one 
 ever heard her complain. I doubt if she ever 
 
LUCY WEBB HAYES. 17 
 
 discouraged her husband even by a look. One 
 da}' she patiently lay down on her couch of pain, 
 and gave the absent father their fourth son, the 
 little Joseph. A year and a half later he died in her 
 arms while she was with Colonel Hayes at Camp 
 White, near Charleston, W. Va. Such were the 
 exigencies of war that the babe was sent for burial 
 to Cincinnati, unaccompanied by any member of 
 his family. I have heard her say that the bitterest 
 hour of her life was when she stood within the 
 door of the little cottage used for head-quarters, 
 and saw the train bear away the lonely little 
 boy to his last home in Spring Grove Cemetery. 
 
 Her life in the camps in West Virginia was 
 almost as busy as that of her husband. The sol- 
 diers early learned that she was ever ready to be 
 of use to them. They called the young and 
 blooming woman " Our Mother," because of her 
 motherly ways, of the delicacies she prepared for 
 
 the sick, of the hymns she sang for them as they 
 
 2 
 
1 8 MEMORIAL SKETCH. 
 
 gathered around her on Sunday evening, of the 
 brightness she sought to bring into their anxious 
 Hves. It made their love for her amount to ven- 
 eration. There must have been some affinity for 
 martial life inherited by Mrs. Hayes from her 
 warrior ancestors. Martial music was her delight. 
 She would kindle into enthusiasm at the sight of 
 our flag. She was indeed a patriot ! 
 
 On the occasion of their silver wedding the 
 23d Ohio presented her with a silver plate, on 
 which were engraved the following lines, written 
 by one of the private soldiers : 
 
 " To thee, Our INIother, on thy silver troth. 
 We bring this token of our love; thy boys 
 Give greeting unto thee, with brimming liearts. 
 Take it, for it is made of beaten coin, 
 Drawn from the hoarded treasures of thy speech, — 
 Kind words and gentle, when a gentle word 
 Was worth the surgery of a hundred schools 
 To heal sick thought, and make our bruises whole! 
 Take it, Our jNIother; 'tis but some small part 
 Of thy rare bounty we give back to thee !" 
 
LUCY WEBB HAYES. 19 
 
 Perhaps among the most valued things in her 
 possession were two gold badges, one a six- 
 pointed star bearing a finely embossed eagle with 
 the inscription, " Society of the Army of West 
 Virginia, Lucy Webb Hayes, Honorary, 1883;" 
 the other a pin bearing her full name, below 
 which hangs a pendant inscribed, " Woman's Re- 
 lief Corps;" on the reverse, ** Presented by the 
 Ohio Woman's Relief Corps to Lucy Webb 
 Hayes, in grateful recognition of her distinguished 
 services in behalf of the Ohio soldier and his 
 children, April 18, 1888." Both of these badges 
 were worn on her breast when she was dressed 
 for the grave. I have just been reading afresh 
 the pathetic story told by herself of the search 
 for her husband after he was wounded at the 
 battle of South Mountain. It is impossible to 
 read it unmoved. Through an omission easily 
 explained by the confusion usual after a battle, 
 the telegram she received merely stated that 
 
20 MEMORIAL SKETCH. 
 
 Colonel Hayes was wounded, and asked her to 
 come at once. Neither the severity of his wound 
 nor the place where he was to be found were given 
 her. She started, in companj' with her brother- 
 in-law, Mr. Piatt, of Columbus, with only this 
 vague information. They spent six days on the 
 journey, and in their search in the hospitals in 
 Baltimore, Washington, and other places, only to 
 be met always with the word, "Colonel Hayes's 
 name is not to be found in our list of wounded." 
 At last, worn out with fatigue and despair, they 
 went a second time to the Patent Office, then an 
 improvised hospital. As she was descending the 
 steps after another fruitless morning's search she 
 saw several wounded and battered soldiers with 
 the badge of the 23d Ohio on their caps. Almost 
 frantic, she called out to them to tell her where 
 she might find their colonel. The boys looked 
 their astonished dismay. " Why, it is Mrs. 
 Hayes," the} said. They gathered around her, 
 
LUCY WEBB HAYES. 21 
 
 gave her the desired information, and tried to 
 comfort her with their pit3\ In relating it she 
 said, " I remember how it all looked, the time of 
 day, the wounded men all around me, my own 
 wretchedness ;" and adds, with pathetic signifi- 
 cance : "I have never been in the Patent Office 
 since." She reached her husband twelve hours 
 later in the little village of Middletown, Md. She 
 says : " I found him in a small room, in a little brick 
 house, doing well, but very anxious about me. 
 He greeted me with the sorrowful badinage : 
 'And so, dear, you stopped to do Baltimore and 
 Washington before coming to me, did you?' " 
 
 In 1866, General Hayes was elected to Con- 
 gress, and afterwards was three times called to 
 fill the office of Governor of the State of Ohio. 
 In 1876 he was chosen for the high office of 
 President of the United States. After four years 
 of official life at the head of the Nation, he re- 
 tired to his home at Fremont, where he and 
 
22 
 
 MEMORIAL SKETCH, 
 
 Mrs. Hayes spent the succeeding nine years of 
 their life. Here the hands, so full of holy en- 
 deavors, were destined to be suddenly folded for 
 rest. Here the angel of death found her and 
 bore her away. 
 
 
.¥: 
 
 ---^^^^I^^tv- 
 
 ,ET us look now a little more closely, to find, 
 if we can, what were the characteristics that 
 united to make her life so symmetrical and im- 
 pressive, and how circumstances had combined to 
 prepare her for the high position to which she was 
 called. We shall begin with her home, her do- 
 mestic life. Every woman should be able to bear 
 the closest scrutiny here. It is the key to the situa- 
 tion. Any failure at this point will defeat not only 
 individual happiness, but must defeat the best that 
 there is in the people at large. This you will 
 say is self-evident ; nevertheless we wish it might 
 sink deep into the heart of every one, especially 
 the young. Mrs. Hayes had a practical knowl- 
 edge of household duties, and held that such 
 
 knowledge was the accomplishment of the true 
 
 23 
 
24 MEMORIAL SKETCH. 
 
 woman. She believed that the education of books 
 is not the only education of life. In the early 
 days, when still a young mother, she did much 
 of her own sewing. Her garden, her dairy, her 
 poultry, the beautiful Alderneys, were all sources 
 of pleasure. Her friends often had on their tables 
 golden butter made by her own hands. She knew 
 well how to instruct her servants in every detail 
 of practical housekeeping. In later years, when 
 she had become the president of the Woman's 
 Home Missionary Society, she was watchful — 
 jealous, indeed — that the literary education of 
 the young girls in our industrial schools should 
 always be subordinate to the intimate practical 
 knowledge of household industries. Let us make 
 this statement as emphatic as possible. Let it 
 reach the ear of every j^oung girl that we are 
 trying to influence through our organization, and 
 let us hold ourselves to it even more strongly 
 than ever, now that her voice is silent. 
 
LUCY WEBB HAYES. 25 
 
 She was a good mother. Her children were 
 her comrades. When they were together you felt 
 that they were all of an age. She entered into 
 their pleasures with an abandon equal to their 
 own. Up to manhood there was no fun perfect to 
 her boys without their mother. There was no 
 delight so great to them as to play off upon her 
 some innocent prank or joke. One of the sons 
 tells, with great amusement, that when his father 
 and mother were at an immense reception in a 
 New England town, he stood an hour in line in 
 order to shake her hand, and repeat the not un- 
 usual greeting that "we old farmers thank you 
 for the stand 3^ou have taken on temperance;" 
 and she thanked him cordially in return, without 
 the slightest idea that she was speaking to her 
 own son. Her enjoyment of this little story was 
 the best part of it. And yet they never failed in 
 genuine reverence for her. Her wish was really 
 their law. As might be expected, her sons and 
 
26 MEMORIAL SKETCH. 
 
 daughter were to her an iinallo3^ed joy. I doubt 
 if any one of them ever gave her cause for a mo- 
 ment's anxiety. We dare not invade the sacred- 
 ness of the relation between herself and her hus- 
 band, except to say that it was perfect. The re- 
 spect which each held for the other, and the per- 
 fect accord of their lives, together with the beau- 
 tiful relations which the}- both held to their chil- 
 dren, made their home an example for every 
 other household. It was the best side of their 
 lives. No one ever came under their roof without 
 going away cheered by the obvious happiness of 
 their family relations. 
 
 She came of educated and refined parents, 
 who in turn sprang from people of standing and 
 worth. Her early j^outh had been spent in the | 
 social life of Chillicothe, the first capital of Ohio, 
 and one of its most cultured cities. Her literary 
 education was much beyond the average. She 
 was already somewhat familiar with the social 
 
LUCY WEBB HAYES. 27 
 
 etiquette of Washington from her residence there 
 for four years. She had been the wife of the 
 Governor of Ohio for three terms. She was in 
 the full maturity of middle life, a close ob- 
 server, a keen and somewhat incisive judge of 
 character and motives. She had beauty, grace, 
 and dignity. She had such tact that she was 
 sure to be mistress of the situation however diffi- 
 cult. But, best of all, she had an exacting con- 
 science, quick sympathies, an unselfish nature, 
 and that rare common sense which kept her 
 steady and unspoiled. With this generous equip- 
 ment, she entered the station where the eyes of 
 the whole country were focused upon her, with 
 some trepidation, but with the courage born of 
 self-respect. The verdict of the country is that 
 no woman ever filled that position with more dis- 
 tinction and grace. None ever gave to the Ex- 
 ecutive Mansion a sweeter atmosphere or a more 
 elevated moral tone. Judging from the eulogies 
 
28 MEMORIAL SKETCH. 
 
 since pronounced upon her, no one has ever been 
 more surely enthroned in the aifections of the 
 people. We should like to hide the hour-glass and 
 linger a little upon this culminating period of her 
 life. Naturally it is to her friends one of absorb- 
 ing interest. Indeed, why may we not spend a 
 moment in recalling a few of the circumstances 
 of the time, and in relating one or two instances 
 which will show the tact and grace with which 
 she met its demands? I know of nothing that 
 will better illustrate her genuineness of character. 
 I was present, with a few other friends and rela- 
 tives, on the day that General Hayes was inaugu- 
 rated President. It was a profoundly impressive 
 scene. When seen more than once, it must still 
 be a fascinating spectacle. To unaccustomed eyes 
 it was even much more than that. 
 
 First was the noble room in which we were 
 assembled, worthy in its architectural proportions 
 and its dignity of adornments of the scene about 
 
LUCY WEBB HAYES. 29 
 
 to take place. The galleries were full of the Hite 
 of the countr}^ The members of the House of 
 Representatives, Senators, distinguished ofl&cers 
 of the army and navy, the Supreme Court of the 
 United States, and the Diplomatic Corps came in, 
 announced by the proper officer, one body after 
 another, and took their usual seats. The Sen- 
 ators and Representatives were in the dress of the 
 American citizen, officers of the arni}^ and navy 
 in glittering uniform and equipments ; then came 
 the black-ro"bed Justices, and the gorgeous array 
 of the Diplomatic Corps — many of them rep- 
 resenting the nobility of foreign courts. After all 
 these distinguished people had been seated, there 
 came a moment's pause, a hush over the house, 
 a stillness of expectancy. The officer announced 
 the President of the United States, and Gen- 
 eral Grant and General Hayes, the outgoing and 
 incoming Presidents, walked in arm-in-arm, amid 
 the silence of the whole body, who at once arose 
 
30 MEMORIAL SKETCH. 
 
 and stood until they were seated. All this 
 scene was eloquently suggestive of the glory 
 and dignity of the position our friend was about 
 to assume. In some trepidation lest she, ^too, 
 might be overwhelmed by the same flutterings 
 of heart that overcame our courage, we looked 
 to the seat below us, where she sat in company 
 w4th Mrs. General Grant and her own little 
 daughter. She was intensely absorbed, but com- 
 posed in manner. As her husband seated himself, 
 I fancied that his eye sought hers ; but they 
 were both outwardly serene during this cere- 
 monial scene, and so remained throughout the 
 reading of the inaugural before the great sea of 
 upturned faces in the square of the Capitol, the 
 taking of the oath of office, and the return to the 
 historic mansion which for four years was to be 
 their home. At the close of this wonderful day 
 we gathered round the dinner-table in the White 
 House, where for the first time Mrs. Hayes 
 
LUCY WEBB HAYES. 3^ 
 
 assumed the duties of hostess. Perhaps she was 
 a little subdued, but, with that exception, she 
 was her usual self, considerate, cheerful, watchful 
 of the comfort of every one. But for the stately 
 dining-room and the presence of the corps of 
 servants, she might have been in her home at 
 Fremont, so little did she seem perturbed. After 
 dinner she called us all around her, and, in her 
 own inimitable manner of half pleasantry, she 
 said she was confronted with an embarrassment 
 at the very outset of her of&cial life ; that, while 
 all the rooms were spacious and elegant, there 
 was one that was known as the State bedroom, 
 which was, par excellence, the one for distin- 
 guished guests, where even Royalty had sometimes 
 rested its head. ** Now," she said, " I am too 
 wise a woman to make a choice among you who 
 may each be supposed to have a right to this dis- 
 tinction, and thus make you my enemies. I have 
 thought of an expedient; you shall draw cuts." 
 
3^ MEMORIAL SKETCH. 
 
 We laughingly agreed to abide by this decision. 
 One of the gentlemen ran to the steward for the 
 broom-straws, and, breaking them into the re- 
 quired number of pieces, held them for each one 
 to draw. I speak with authority when I tell 
 you that the friend who slept in that room was 
 much more impressed with the tact of the 
 hostess than even with the carved old furniture, 
 the satin hangings, exquisite laces, or the historic 
 associations of the room, and the greater richness 
 of landscape as seen from the windows. It was 
 clear that one who could turn a corner in this 
 graceful fashion might be safely trusted with even 
 greater difficulties of social diplomac}'. 
 
 During one of my visits in the earl 3^ part of the 
 administration, I found the house full of the stir 
 and excitement of preparation for a great event. 
 President and Mrs. Ha3'es were about to give 
 their first reception to the Diplomatic Corps. In 
 their honor they had invited all the distinguished 
 
LUCY WEBB HAYES. 33 
 
 officials in Washington, and many notable people 
 from various parts of the country. Naturally it 
 was a busy hour for Mrs. Hayes,— seeing that the 
 dressing-rooms were in perfect order; consulting 
 with officials about flags, flowers, and other 
 adornments for the house ; saying some last words 
 about the dress she was to wear ; giving orders 
 to the steward about the banquet, etc., etc. ; for, 
 while each of these duties belonged to its ap- 
 pointed officer, Mrs. Hayes kept the guidance of 
 the work in her own hands. At the busiest mo- 
 ment one of the sons came to his mother with a 
 look of annoyed anxiety, and told her that a man 
 and two women, Quakers, insisted on seeing her 
 and his father. They said they were charged 
 with a religious message, and would -tarry until 
 they could be received. He added: "There are 
 at least fifty people waiting to see father, some of 
 them on important business by appointment. Of 
 course he can not see them, and of course ^•ou 
 
34 MEMORIAL SKETCH. 
 
 can not stop to see any one. I '11 just tell them 
 we have had praj^ers, that we are all right, and 
 send them away." His mother stopped his volu- 
 bility with a look, and, turning to me, said : 
 "What shall I do ? How can I stop just now?" 
 But in a moment added, " They may have come 
 a long way; we must see them;" and quietly 
 walked into the library, preceded by the President, 
 where sat the grave Friend, with his hat planted 
 firmly on his head, and beside him two placid, 
 sweet-faced companions. After greeting them, 
 we all sat down together in perfect stillness for 
 what seemed a long time, waiting till the Friend 
 should be ready to deliver his message. At last 
 he said he had been sent by the Yearly Meeting 
 of their body to bring a message to them, and 
 calling them each by name, Rutherford and Lucy, 
 he opened the Scriptures and read various pas- 
 sages in which denunciation and promises fol- 
 lowed one another somewhat evenly balanced, 
 
LUCY WEBB HAYES. 35 
 
 charged Rutherford that if he failed in obedience 
 to the great and infinite Ruler of the universe, all 
 these woes of the Book would come not onl}' 
 upon him, but upon all the people, and en- 
 larged at great length upon the blessedness of 
 that people whose God is the Lord ; and then, 
 after another long and impressive silence, we all 
 bowed our heads, and he uttered a solemn prayer. 
 At its close the President shook hands, and 
 thanked him, and excused himself. Mrs. Hayes 
 took them leisurely through the private rooms of 
 the house, showed them its beautiful appoint- 
 ments, pointed out the lovely views from its 
 windows, and then bade them a kind good-b}^ at 
 her door. They never knew that they had nearl)^ 
 consumed one of the busiest mornings of her life. 
 As she turned to her interrupted work she simply 
 said : "It would never have done not to see 
 them." I saw she was quieted and rested, and 
 I repeated to myself the quaint Saxon proverb : 
 
36 MEMORIAL SKETCH. 
 
 " Prayer and provender hinder no man." Per- 
 haps this is not the time and place to say how 
 our beloved friend acquitted herself during her 
 first diplomatic reception as the Queen of the Re- 
 public, but I can not forbear giving my own as- 
 sent to the universal verdict of the time that she 
 was the most regal-looking woman of that dis- 
 tinguished company. Her frank, genial welcome 
 as hostess communicated to the magnificent com- 
 pany an atmosphere of ease and sociability es- 
 pecially appropriate to a republican gathering, 
 where all are equals, and unfamiliar to the offi- 
 cial gatherings of royal courts. 
 
 V v^\#.5i 
 
 ■^^^^^ 
 
5^ 7\ IV ^^N 
 
 Zbc (Sluestton of Wiinc. 
 
 She had come to a conclusion upon this mat- 
 ter before going to Washington, she and General 
 Hayes together ; for, as she repeatedly said, she 
 could have done nothing without his support. 
 She reasoned after this fashion : "I trust I am 
 not a fanatic, but I do want my influence to be 
 always in favor of temperance. Now, I have 
 never hitherto offered wine to my family or my 
 guests. I am not willing to begin to do so now. 
 I am still to be mistress and hostess, even though 
 I may be the wife of the President of the United 
 States, and my table be laid in Washington instead 
 of Cincinnati, Columbus, or Fremont. It is true 
 I shall violate a precedent ; but I shall not violate 
 the Constitution, which is all that, through my 
 
 husband, I have taken the oath to obey. If I 
 
 37 
 
38 MEMORIAL SKETCH. 
 
 were to be a guest in foreign courts I should ex- 
 pect my entertainers to dictate the table courses 
 according to their individual customs ; I certainly 
 should not expect them to 3neld a conviction in 
 my behalf. I believe these gentlemen and ladies 
 of the Diplomatic Corps and other foreigners will 
 concede as much to me. I am willing to trust 
 them. As for my own countrymen, they are ac- 
 customed to independent action. I shall trust 
 them, too." And so, without reflection upon her 
 predecessors, she quietly acted according to her best 
 judgment, and dispensed her hospitality without 
 stimulants. That so simple a matter as deciding 
 upon the me^iu for her own table should have oc- 
 casioned so much comment, caused her some sur- 
 prise. It was easier for her to bear unkind crit- 
 icism than the expostulation of friends who feared 
 it would be considered an unwelcome innovation, 
 and cause embarrassment in the festivities in- 
 cident to their official position. But she held her 
 
LUCY WEBB HAYES. 39 
 
 ground. She said she hoped to provide so gener- 
 ously in other respects that there would be no 
 reasonable occasion for complaint, and begged 
 that the members of the Cabinet would join her 
 in showing that wit, anecdote, repartee, and brill- 
 iancy of conversation were possible at a banquet 
 without the accessories of stimulants; and so it 
 proved. That she had not measured the wide 
 and far-reaching influence of her decision, does 
 not lessen its value. Like most exalted souls, 
 she was humble, and builded better than she knew. 
 But is it not true, after all, that the real value of 
 the action lay in the fact that she was brave and 
 unmoved in supporting that which she believed to 
 be right ? Good, strong convictions — convictions 
 that are aggressive, and may even become ex- 
 asperating — are rare. Perhaps it is due to in- 
 creased intelligence and large thinking; but a 
 great many people are so ** judicial," I believe 
 they call it — that is, they want to be so fair to all 
 
40 MEMORIAL SKETCH. 
 
 sides — that they are not ready when a direct, tell- 
 ing blow must be struck for the right. Mrs. Haj^es 
 was not one of these. Her dut}^ was sharply de- 
 fined, clear cut, and she had the courage of her 
 convictions. That is one reason why to-day she 
 is one of the prominent characters of the century. 
 
 ^\\t ttti nof iBf ":3 bare ncf inatf upon H raoulb." 
 
^^M^W:^^ 
 
 TLcBtimonialB. 
 
 Out of the great amount of material which I 
 have at command, I select a ver}^ few tributes 
 paid her for her course on this subject. They 
 give additional proof that we are dealing with the 
 character of a great woman — one who belongs to 
 the world, and not to a locality. I find most 
 of them in the volumes presented by the ladies 
 of Illinois to Mrs. Hayes at the close of her 
 husband's Administration. They consist of sen- 
 timents by people distinguished in literature, art, 
 politics, philanthropy, journalism, and religion. 
 Some of them may have been in print before; 
 but if so, they were sent by their authors, who 
 themselves applied them to Mrs. Haj-es : 
 
 Lucy Webb Hayes is, humanly speaking, the world's 
 greatest loss in 1889. How few indeed had it to lose 
 
 4 41 
 
42 MEMORIAL SKETCH. 
 
 like her, ideal woman, that she was, of Home and 
 Church and State ! Total abstinence has never had such 
 a standard-bearer as this noble woman, and centuries 
 from now, when other incidents in our National life at 
 this period shall be recalled but dimly, her -steadfast 
 adherence to the truest Christian hospitality will be told 
 as a memorial of her. Frances E. wili^ard. 
 
 The woman who, standing in the chief home, stood 
 bravely for the sake of every home in the land. 
 
 ADEIylNE D. T. WHITNEY. 
 
 "Highest, who stoops to lift the low." The fragrance 
 of her goodness wili linger forever about the Executive 
 Mansion. fred dougi^ass. 
 
 To perform one's functions with fidelity and sim- 
 plicity is to be both hero and saint. 
 
 EDWARD EGGI.ESTON. 
 
 Her country also, and it praiseth her. 
 
 LOUISE CHANDI^ER MOUI.TON. 
 
 When high moral worth and courage combine with 
 gentleness, matronl}^ dignity, graciousness, and sweetest 
 charity, the charm is complete. d. huntixgton, 
 
 President National Academy of Design, New York. 
 
 God bless the woman who fearlessly antagonizes 
 the greatest enemy of mankind! JUSTICE BARNEs, 
 
 Of the Superior Court of Dakota Territory. 
 
LUCY WEBB HAYES. 43 
 
 Look in our eyes : your welcome waits you there, 
 North, South, East, West, from all and everywhere. 
 OLIVER WENDEI.1. HOivMES, 
 In welcoming- Mrs. Hayes to Boston. 
 
 Her presence lends its warmth and health to all 
 
 who come before it ; 
 
 If woman lost us Eden, then such as she alone 
 
 restore it. WHiTTiER. 
 
 Whene'er a noble deed is wrought. 
 Whene'er is spoke a noble thought. 
 
 Our hearts in glad surprise, 
 
 To higher levels rise. i,ongfel,l,ow. 
 
 Pr< 
 
 a) 'TO 
 
-^'^^i^)^i:^fi^f^^^ 
 
 1ber presl^encp ot tbe Moman's 1bome 
 /IDtssionar^ Society, 
 
 I HAVE had a purpose in recalling and hastily 
 touching upon some of the more prominent events 
 of her life. I wonder if it will seem too much to 
 sa}' that its opportunities and distinctions had an 
 even wider significance than had thus far ap- 
 peared ; that they were to be a contribution to a 
 greater work than any she had thus far done. I 
 submit the question whether there is anj^ greater 
 work in this world after one's duty to home and 
 famil}', than the helping to uplift a race? 
 
 It was urged upon Mrs. Haj-es that she had 
 
 this rare opportunity- ; that the Woman's Home 
 
 Missionary Societ}^ was formed for this especial 
 
 purpose ; that she could do a work for it as 'its 
 
 president in calling attention to it, and com- 
 44 
 
LUCY WEBB HAYES. 45 
 
 manding confidence in it, that at this stage of 
 its existence perhaps no one else could do, not 
 only because of her prominence, but because she 
 was known to be a woman of rare judgment and 
 a loyal Methodist. (It was Dr. Rust who first 
 suggested Mrs. Hayes for this position.) She 
 hesitated ; she coveted the ease and retirement of 
 her home in Fremont after her many years of 
 public life ; besides, in her modesty, she doubted 
 her essential fitness for the ofiice. Her objections 
 were overruled, and she became our President. 
 Her interest in the society grew from year to year. 
 She presided at each of our annual sessions, and 
 was also present at very many of the meetings of 
 the General Executive Board, coming from Fre- 
 mont to Cincinnati for that purpose. I dare not 
 trust myself to speak of what she was to us at 
 these meetings. It is enough to say that we es- 
 teemed her invaluable. As one said, she was the 
 most modest and the wisest of us all. Her love 
 
46 MEMORIAL SKETCH. 
 
 of countr}^ approached a passion ; and, while a 
 generous giver to foreign missions, she kept the 
 first place in her heart for the work at home. 
 
 She was familiar with the needs of the black 
 race. Her husband had helped, with his sword, 
 to break their chains. She well knew that the 
 Christian philanthropy of the next half century 
 at least should devote itself to repairing, as far 
 as possible, the wrong that had been done to them 
 in slavery. She gave her best thought, in com- 
 mon with others, to methods b}^ which this might 
 be done. The Freedmen's Aid and other societies 
 were chiefly engaged in their literary education. 
 The Woman's Home Missionary Society decided 
 that its work should be largely industrial ; that 
 is, it should undertake the domestic or family 
 training of Negro girls and women, and seek 
 to make them good housewomen, good wives, 
 mothers, and daughters And so it comes about 
 that, while we sit together this evening in this 
 
LUCY WEBB HAYES. 47 
 
 house of worship, there are many places through- 
 out the South where we have comfortable, commo- 
 dious buildings, called industrial or model homes, 
 where are gathered numbers of j^oung women, 
 many of whom have hitherto known no home 
 but the plantation cabin, who, under the charge 
 of Christian matrons or superintendents, are being 
 taught habits of order, neatness — all indeed of the 
 home industries — and the higher duties of chastity, 
 purity of thought, and the transforming prin- 
 ciples of Christianity. Recently we have pro- 
 jected two such model homes for the illiterate 
 white girls of the South, which will doubtless soon 
 be built. 
 
 In other portions of our country, known as 
 missionary territory, we pursue something of 
 the same methods, modified to suit the need of 
 different localities. In Utah we have dotted the 
 territory here and there with school-houses, where, 
 under the charge of missionaries, we are teaching 
 
48 MEMORIAL SKETCH. 
 
 the industries of life and the pure gospel of 
 home. 
 
 The same general plan has been adapted to 
 work among the Indians and New Mexicans, and 
 recently in Washington Territory and Alaska, 
 while a great deal of what we call local work is 
 being done in some of our cities. This includes 
 the support of missionaries among the newly ar- 
 rived immigrants in New York and Boston. Mrs. 
 Hayes's whole heart was in the work. She was 
 specially interested in the department of supplies. 
 Nothing touched her warm heart as did the needs 
 of the poorly-paid ministers and their families on 
 the frontiers. 
 
 The barrels and boxes sent from Fremont she 
 helped to pack with her own hands, and j^ou 
 may be sure that no worn-out or unfit clothing 
 found its way into the Fremont box. 
 
 You will find in the later pages of this mono- 
 graph the " last words" of our beloved President, 
 
 i 
 
LUCY WEBB H4YES. 49 
 
 her address given to us at Boston, as well as 
 other of her addresses. You will there see not 
 only the great work of the society she did so 
 much to found, but as you read you will, I think, 
 feel the beat of her heart, the spirit she brought 
 into the work, and get some idea of our irrep- 
 arable loss. 
 
 *^^^tV 
 
.^^. 
 
 ---^^^ll^tvi— 
 
 1ber Cbristtan CF^aracter* 
 
 Her creed was short, but it contained all the 
 law and the prophets. At our annual meeting 
 last 3^ear, as we stood together one morning be- 
 fore starting for the church, gravely talking of 
 the important work w^e had before us, of the need 
 we felt of great faith, of consecration, and divine 
 wisdom, she turned her sweet eyes full of tears 
 upon me and said: " O, I am not good, but I do 
 try to keep the Golden Rule. I do try to do to 
 others as I would they should do to me." 
 
 Those who knew her best sa}^ that this was 
 her working principle, the law of her life. She 
 had so assimilated it into her character that she 
 was under its constant control. This is much to 
 say of any one. It is the highest Christian at- 
 tainment. If true of her, it explains why she had 
 
 50 
 
LUCY WEBB HA YES. 5 1 
 
 SO strong a hold on the hearts of the people, 
 and it lifts this eulogy of her life, if you so call 
 it, into a safe place — into a eulogy of the law 
 itself. If there be a principle which, when ap- 
 plied, can transform imperfect human nature, 
 revolutionize it, make it all sweet, unselfish and 
 like the angels, why not exalt the principle? 
 
 Obedience to this law made her just, gener- 
 ous, unselfish, warm and ready in sympathy. It 
 made her so human, shall we call it? A friend, 
 on the day of her funeral, in answer to the 
 question why there had assembled this great mul- 
 titude of respectful, sorrowing people, replied : 
 "It is a tribute of the people to a woman 
 of the people. Lucy Hayes was at one with 
 humanity." 
 
 It was the influence of this law upon her life 
 that made her as genuinely interested in the plain 
 people who entertained her with their homely 
 affairs as she was in the refined and educated. 
 
52 MEMORIAL SKETCH. 
 
 There was not the least trace of affectation, 
 of condescension or patronage in her bearing to- 
 ward them, because she felt none. She would be 
 one helpfully to prepare for and welcome the 
 kindly village people to a church festival with 
 sincere cordiality. They believed she was their 
 friend, because in her heart she was their friend. 
 She judged people by character, not by social 
 position. One whose estimates are taken from 
 so high an altitude is not liable to be disturbed 
 lest his own dignity be jostled or upset. He 
 does not even think of his dignity. 
 
 A friend told me that once when she was in 
 church with Mrs. Hayes, soon after they went to 
 Washington, she suggested to her that there 
 ought to be an unwritten law, a kind of com- 
 mon consent rule, that would keep the audience 
 in place until the Presidential party retired, to 
 save the crowding and crushing by the curious, 
 which rendered egress almost impossible. She 
 
LUCY WEBB HAYES. 53 
 
 looked a mild rebuke, as she said: "No, dear; 
 here we are all on one level." 
 
 I have heard one of her neighbors tell that 
 when the Annual Conference of the Church was 
 about to meet in Fremont, her pastor went to 
 her to know how many ministers she could en- 
 tertain. She replied she would take ten or fifteen, 
 but she said : " Brother, I want you to pick out 
 for me some of the hard-worked ministers and their 
 wives who have had rather a poor time on their cir- 
 cuits. Send them to us and we will try to give them 
 a pleasant week." It was this " put yourself in his 
 place " principle which made her stop her carriage 
 (you ' ve all heard of it) , and pick up a poor, drunken 
 woman from the street, and take her to her home. 
 
 One night, at Fremont, Mrs. Hayes had re- 
 tired to her room, after doing duty to a houseful 
 of guests, to be awakened at midnight by the 
 heavily falling rain. Suddenly fears for the safety 
 of a humble old neighbor, who lived down by 
 
54 MEMORIAL SKETCH. 
 
 the river, began to disturb her. She could not 
 rest. She got up, called the coachman, and sent 
 him through the darkness to the little cottage, to 
 find the rapidly rising waters already in the room 
 of the lonely woman. She was put in the car- 
 riage, and driven to Spiegel Grove, where Mrs. 
 Hayes had prepared her a room and dry clothing, 
 and stood ready to welcome her. In the morn- 
 ing she was introduced to the guests at the 
 breakfast-table as the friend that had rained down 
 upon them in the night, and, seated by her 
 hostess, she was made to feel welcome and un- 
 embarrassed amid the elegant company. 
 
 But w^e might multiply examples indefinitely. 
 Her neighbors, friends, and acquaintances could 
 supply many more quite as impressive as those 
 I have given. They throw strong side-lights on 
 her character. 
 
 Shakespeare makes Shy lock say : "I will buj^ 
 with you, sell with you, talk with you, walk with 
 
LUCY WEBB HAYES. 55 
 
 you, and so following; but I will not eat with 
 you, drink with you, nor pray with you." This 
 spirit of caste thus strongly paragraphed found 
 its rebuke in the daily life of Mrs. Hayes. 
 
 The press of the time made frequent refer- 
 ence to the "Sunday evenings" at the White 
 House. I recall one of these evenings with 
 especial pleasure, as I think it was not often that 
 so many people whose names are the property 
 of the Nation happened together informally at 
 the same time. Perhaps the reason is found in 
 the fact that though the ceremonious reception 
 in honor of the silver wedding of President and 
 Mrs. Hayes occurred the next (Monday) evening, 
 yet this was the real anniversary of that event. 
 There were perhaps thirty or forty people gath- 
 ered around the piano. Vice-President Wheeler 
 selected the hymns and directed the singing. He 
 would have reminded you of the teacher of a 
 village singing-school, in his earnest and hearty 
 
56 MEMORIAL SKETCH. 
 
 interest in leading his choir, as he called it. There 
 were Chief-Justice and Mrs. Waite, Justice and 
 Mrs. Harlan and their daughter, Secretaries Evarts, 
 Sherman, and Devins, Mr. Bancroft the histo- 
 rian, Generals Sherman and McCook, Senator 
 Dawes and daughter, and many others, whose 
 names I do not now recall. Most of them joined 
 heartily in singing the hymns of Watts, Toplady, 
 Montgomery, Cowper, and Charles Wesley. Mr. 
 Wheeler had little patience with the ephemeral 
 compositions found in the revival hymnals; but 
 once in a while, as on this evening, his Presby- 
 terian proprieties were overruled by the more 
 florid and enthusiastic members of the company, 
 and all would burst, as with one consent, into 
 the chorus of "The Sweet By and By," " I Need 
 Thee Every Hour," and " Hold the Fort." This 
 last seemed an especial favorite. I hushed my 
 own voice, and looked around on the assembled 
 company, as they made the beautiful room ring 
 
LUCY WEBB HAYES. 57 
 
 with the inspiring melody; each one seemed in- 
 tent on singing the chorus with his own special 
 emphasis. The enthusiasm was too much for Mr. 
 Wheeler; he deserted his principles, and, beating 
 time with his hand, he sang with all the power 
 of his splendid lungs. General Sherman, though 
 not singing, was captured by the martial chorus, 
 and seemed to enforce its command with every 
 muscle of his mercurial body. The only ap- 
 parently unstirred one of the company was the 
 President himself, who sat, with his arm around 
 his little girl, looking grave and preoccupied. 
 Immediatel)^ above him hung Stewart's full- 
 length portrait of Washington. It did not need 
 a great stretch of fancy to inform his splendid 
 figure with life and with interest in the scene 
 below, or to suppose that he also might be 
 chanting the chorus for the encouragement of 
 the thoughtful man whose shoulders were now 
 pressed with the cares akin to those he once 
 
58 MEMORIAL SKETCH. 
 
 bore. We all know the tendency there is to relax 
 into secular habits of thought and conversation 
 of a Sunday evening. I have recalled this inci- 
 dent to show you how the wise tact so character- 
 istic of Mrs. Hayes was used, not only to provide 
 for her family and the friends who were in the 
 habit of dropping in a pleasant way of spending 
 the time, but that in this way the atmosphere of 
 the day " set apart " might be unobtrusively rec- 
 ognized and preserved, while at the same time 
 she was the farthest possible from being an 
 ascetic or from having an}^ officious sanctimony. 
 
--^^'^^^^^^tv- 
 
 ConclixQion. 
 
 The literature of eulogy, found in editorial and 
 other notices of her death, makes interesting read- 
 ing. It is a hopeful sign when genuine qualities 
 call forth such emphatic language from the best 
 journalists of the day. It means that unaflfected 
 goodness is at a premium. 
 
 The lofty position she held, doubtless fixed 
 attention upon these qualities. It did not create 
 them. As one writer says : " She made a name 
 for herself; without controversy she represents 
 the highest type of American womanhood." We 
 hope there will be a biography written of her that 
 will include the noble words said of her by the 
 press, as well as some of the touching personal 
 letters written by the great and good of our 
 country. 
 
 59 
 
6o MEMORIAL SKETCH. 
 
 I can imagine the amazed incredulity with 
 which she would run her own eye over these 
 words. In her modesty she would utterly dis- 
 claim them as applying to her. Nevertheless we 
 who reach out our hands in vain for the warm 
 clasp that never failed us before — we who knew 
 her best — rejoice that the sentiment of the country 
 is so nearly true. 
 
 We must now close this sketch, written in sad- 
 ness. While wTiting it, I wished a wish for my- 
 self and for you all — I covet for us the " best 
 gifts" — that is, that we may take from the study 
 of this character its most beautiful lesson, that 
 the glorious adornment of the heart is the 
 Golden Rule graven b}' the pen of our Lord ; 
 that rule which is the epitome of the gos- 
 pel, which if lived literally would transform 
 us all — 3^es, and the world, too — into angels. It 
 is the best missionary rule in the whole Bible. 
 Shall it be that we shall no longer let it float in a 
 
LUCY WEBB HAYES. 6l 
 
 chaotic way around us, touching us most nearly 
 and sweetly at times ; then, alas ! evading us, and 
 leaving us often to grope amidst the mists of self- 
 will; but that from henceforth we shall capture 
 and imprison it in our deepest consciousness — 
 let it dominate every thought, every word, every 
 action ? 
 
 The question she asked us last j^ear is infi- 
 nitely touching to us now : " Watchman, what of 
 the night?" How soon, if this rule were the 
 molding principle of this world, might we "wave 
 the answer back to heaven," beloved friend, " Lo ! 
 the Prince of Peace ; lo ! the Son of God has 
 come !" If she could speak to us from where she 
 dwells in ineffable glory, with " sorrow van- 
 quished, labor ended, Jordan past," we might hear 
 her solemnly say to us at this hour: "All things 
 whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, 
 do ye even so to them." 
 
J 
 
Jn M^moxxam : M J^OBtn. 
 
 BY 
 
 MARY A. LATHBURY. 
 
"•^^^^ 
 
 OF 
 
 LUCY WEBB HAYES. 
 
 BY MARY A. LATHBURY. 
 
 I FRIENDS, who sit ill silent grief 
 
 , ,3 Before her vacant place, 
 And seek, through blinding mists of tears, 
 
 The loved and vanished face! 
 Lift up your eyes; though mists lie low 
 
 Upon the path she trod. 
 She walks transfigured in the light 
 
 That crowns the hills of God. 
 
 We know the sweet and sacred spring 
 
 Of love — beyond all art — 
 
 That gave her smile the potent charm 
 
 That won the Nation's heart. 
 65 6 
 
 f 
 
66 ]N MEMORIAM. 
 
 We saw the halo and the crown, 
 
 By other eyes unseen, 
 That placed upon her rightful throne 
 
 The woman and the queen. 
 
 We saw — yet diml}^ did we see — 
 
 That where our leader stood 
 The heavens w^ere bending down to meet 
 
 Her growing angelhood. 
 Then from the heights there fell a voice 
 
 Upon her inner ear, 
 So heart-alluring, low, and sweet, 
 
 That now — she is not here! 
 
 *' He giveth his beloved sleep." 
 
 He also sends the morn. 
 Into that rare and radiant day 
 
 A child of earth is born. 
 The Lord be with us till we sleep. 
 
 And then — all labor done — 
 Into the light of that long day 
 
 Receive us, every one ! 
 
MBmortal J^apsr 
 
 BY 
 
 MRS. R. S. RUST. 
 
 i 
 
^jTtHIS paper was prepared and read as introductory to 
 ^-^ a special service, held November i, 1889, in pursu- 
 ance of the following resolution, which had been sent out 
 by the General Executive Board of the "Woman's Home 
 Missionary Society, earlier in the summer: 
 
 ''^ Resolved, That we invite the Auxiliaries, Circles, 
 Bands, and Friends of the Society to contribute offerings, 
 precious memorials, and forward them to the General 
 Board of Managers, to meet in Indianapolis the last of 
 October. 
 
 "These offerings will be presented, through the Con- 
 ference Secretaries, at an hour designated during the 
 Convention, and will be consecrated to the establishment 
 of a Deaconess Home and Training-school for mission- 
 aries. The institution will bear the honored name of 
 Ivucy Webb Hayes, and prove, we trust, an unfailing 
 inspiration to secure those elements of character which 
 rendered her life so useful and beautiful. It will com- 
 memorate her deep interest in behalf of home missions, 
 and serve as a humble memorial of the love cherished 
 for her by the good people of this Nation." 
 
 68 
 
^^^^^^<-^ 
 
 ]V[E]V[Ot{IAL PflPBH. 
 
 ^S^ DISTINCTIVE feature of the latter half 
 i^^^J^A of the nineteenth century is the develop- 
 ment of so many good and true women. We 
 esteem it a special evidence of divine favor that 
 one of the most illustrious women of modern 
 times — one whom the Church and the Nation 
 delighted to honor — has been the first and only 
 president of the Woman's Home Missionary So- 
 ciety. Nearly nine years she rendered most val- 
 uable service, presiding at our annual sessions, 
 meeting with the Executive Board, and in times 
 of darkness and despondency counseling, encour- 
 aging, and inspiring us with faith and hope. 
 
 We meet in sorrow to-day. For the first time 
 
 in our history our beloved president is not with 
 
 69 
 
70 MEMORIAL PAPER. 
 
 US. We are bereft. The sense of sadness is op- 
 pressive. " She walked with God, and is not; for 
 God took her." 
 
 When it seemed as though home and friends 
 and Church and countrj^ needed her the most, she 
 was suddenly taken from our midst — from the 
 sphere of love and service, and translated to the 
 realm of a blessed immortality. The sad intelli- 
 gence of her death sent sorrow all over our land, 
 and the occupants of palace and cabin partici- 
 pated in the general lamentation. 
 
 The society was called into existence, by the 
 providence of God, to meet a great want in our 
 land. It was organized in 1880, and on the 8th 
 of June the first meeting in its behalf was held 
 at Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church, Cincin- 
 nati, Ohio. 
 
 In arranging for the work, and in the selec- 
 tion of our president, we were led in a wa}^ we 
 knew not. In devising means for developing and 
 
 I 
 
I 
 
 LUCY WEBB HAYES. 71 
 
 organizing the latent forces of the Church among 
 its women, we felt that God was with us, point- 
 ing out duty and guiding in its performance. 
 After our plans were made, with our inexperi- 
 ence and timidity, we shrank from assuming offi- 
 cial responsibility. The final meeting for the 
 selection of officers had been called for the fol- 
 lowing day, and, at the last moment, no one had 
 been found available for the responsible office of 
 president. We had counseled with one another; 
 we had sought divine aid; but, as yet, no one 
 answering our need had been found. In our 
 home, at a late hour, we counseled together 
 around the family altar, and submitted the diffi- 
 cult problem to our Heavenly Father for solution, 
 and still again, on bended knee at our bedside, 
 we cried for light and help. 
 
 After midnight, I was aroused by my hus- 
 band, who said, " Elizabeth, I have found a presi- 
 dent for you," and then suggested Mrs. Ruther- 
 
72 MEMORIAL PAPER. 
 
 ford B. Ha5^es for president of the Woman's 
 Home Missionary Society. 
 
 She was then at Washington, preoccupied by 
 her duties as the wife of the President of the 
 United States. At first I urged objections. Mrs. 
 Hayes will not be able to give much attention to 
 the management of a new missionary enterprise. 
 It might subject her to criticism for engaging in 
 denominational work. It might be deemed too 
 insignificant an office to receive indorsement from 
 so high a source. Our motive in approaching one 
 occupying so exalted and conspicuous a position 
 might be misjudged, and we seem presumptive 
 and intrusive. 
 
 To every objection Mr. Rust answered that 
 he felt she was the providential woman for the 
 office of president of our society, and that she 
 would not hesitate to give her influence to a 
 cause so full of promise to our country. 
 
 The next day the ladies met at the church, 
 
 I 
 
LUCY WEBB HAYES. 73 
 
 as appointed, and the minutes of the meeting 
 furnish the following report : 
 
 ''July loth. — At an adjourned meeting, Mrs. 
 Bishop Wiley in the chair. Mrs. Rust presented 
 the report of the Committee on Nomination, as 
 follows : President, Mrs. Rutherford B. Hayes ; 
 Vice-Presidents, Mrs. Bishop I. W. Wiley, Mrs. F. 
 S. Hoyt, Mrs. Bishop Clark, Mrs. A. Shinkle, 
 and Mrs. J. M. Walden ; Corresponding Secre- 
 tary, Mrs. R. S. Rust ; Recording Secretary, Mrs. 
 James Dale; Treasurer, Mrs. A. R. Clark." 
 
 The report of the committee was adopted, 
 and the corresponding secretary communicated 
 to Mrs. Hayes, through her pastor. Rev. Dr. 
 Lanahan, the information of her election. At 
 first she hesitated to accept the office, lest her 
 duties at Washington might prevent active co- 
 operation with the society. After the most ear- 
 nest solicitation from her numerous friends — 
 
 among whom was her life-long and esteemed 
 
 7 
 
74 MEMORIAL PAPER. 
 
 associate, Mrs. John Davis— she accepted the po- 
 sition, and in her letter of acceptance said: "If 
 the ladies of the Woman's Home Missionary So- 
 ciety believe that my name, and such service as 
 I ma}^ be able to render, will aid so good a cause, 
 I can not decline." The event has proved the 
 wisdom of the action. 
 
 Her influence as president has been of inesti- 
 mable value to the society. The honor and es- 
 teem with which vShe w^as regarded by the good 
 people of this Nation led to a favorable consid- 
 eration of the cause vShe had espoused ; while her 
 quick grasp of the principles involved, her clear 
 understanding of the details of the work, and her 
 wise judgment as to the policy and methods of 
 reformatory work, have been of great value in 
 the administration of its affairs. 
 
 Mrs. Hayes was beautiful in person and char- 
 acter. She impressed all who came under her 
 influence with the genuineness of her womanly 
 
LUCY WEBB HAYES. 75 
 
 qualities. She was at heart good and sympa- 
 thetic, and took a deep interest in every phase 
 of human suffering. She was never happier than 
 when visiting and reheving the needs of the poor, 
 blending the consolations of religion with the 
 comforts of life ; never happier than when in the 
 hospital and on the battle-field, aiding the sick 
 and wounded, and cheering the dying with the 
 blessed truths of eternal life. Even in the White 
 House, the recipient of its honors, she experi- 
 enced less real enjoyment than when actively 
 engaged in Christ's service in humble cottage or 
 cabin, in hospital or on battle-field. In the rich 
 cluster of graces that adorned her character, her 
 love for suffering humanity and her interest in 
 the welfare of our own land shone the brightest. 
 As she studied the destitute portions of our 
 country, and became more fully acquainted with 
 the needs of the people, she appreciated more 
 highly the mission of this society, and gave most 
 
76 MEMORIAL PAPER. 
 
 cheerfully her best efforts to its advancement. 
 In a letter received by the writer a few days be- 
 fore her death, she said : "I realize more than 
 ever the significance of this Home Mission work, 
 and my love and interest in it grow stronger 
 every da3^" 
 
 It is fitting that those associated with her in 
 this work of love should bring precious offerings 
 to commemorate her beautiful character and Ufe. 
 Nothing could more appropriately express her 
 wish, represent the purpose of her Hfe, hold her in 
 grateful memory, and perpetuate the influence of 
 her character, than the erection of a memorial 
 building, consecrated to the improvement of so- 
 ciety and the elevation of woman. 
 
 *1 
 
3ftbbr^00BS x)f TTurn W^hh ^ag^^ 
 
 
k 
 
 #^ 
 
 Bll tbincjs whatsoever ^e \vouI& tbat 
 men sboulD Do to sou, Do sou even 
 60 to tbem. 
 
~>v 
 
 
 Jlnnual Mttlmc^^ of i^2 Woman's !|omc 
 MJtsstonary Sotiti}}, 
 
 [he seven Annual Reports issued during the 
 ^^ presidency of Mrs. Hayes contain either ex- 
 tracts from her addresses, or concise abstracts 
 of them. What relates to her words has there- 
 fore been obtained from the reports, and will fol- 
 low in chronological order, closing with the last 
 delivered in Boston, which is given in full. 
 
 tlbc JFtrst Bnmial /iReetina 
 
 Was held in St. Paul Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, Cincinnati, Ohio, October 30, 1882. 
 
 After a service of prayer for half an hour, con- 
 ducted by Mrs. Prof. Wm. G.Williams, of Delaware, 
 
 79 
 
8o ADDRESSES. 
 
 Ohio, in which Mrs. Dr. Leavitt, of the First Baptist 
 Church, and other ladies participated, at 10.30 A. M. 
 the president, Mrs. Rutherford B. Hayes, opened 
 the first annual meeting of the Board of Man- 
 agers of the Woman's Home Missionary Society. 
 In kind and cheering words she expressed 
 deep interest in the work of the society, and cor- 
 dial sympathy with its purposes and plans. It 
 gave her especial pleasure to meet with the ladies 
 in this their first annual gathering. As her dis- 
 tance from the General Executive Board had com- 
 pelled her to be absent from most of their meet- 
 ings, and hence had kept her from an intimate 
 acquaintance with the workings of the Board, she 
 felt unable to assume the responsibility of con- 
 ducting the business sessions of the convention. 
 Assuring the friends that her heart was with them 
 in all the plans for advancing the interests of the 
 society, she transferred the work of direction to 
 Mrs. John Davis, the first vice-president. 
 
LUCY WEBB HAYES. 8i 
 
 At the second annual meeting, held at St. 
 Paul Methodist Episcopal Church in November, 
 1883, Mrs. Hayes was not present. 
 
 tlbe ^blrD Bnnual /iReettng 
 
 Was held at Cleveland, Ohio, October, 1884. 
 Mrs. Haj^es delivered the opening address in a 
 distinct and impressive manner, her rich voice 
 filling the large audience-room. She spoke as 
 follows : 
 
 " The women of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church at Cincinnati, in 1880, formed a National 
 Missionary Society, whose work is to be done 
 among the needy populations of our own country. 
 
 " The last General Conference of our Church, 
 after ample consideration, gave it official recogni- 
 tion, and adopted it as one of the trusted instru- 
 mentalities of the Church, under the name of the 
 Woman's Home Missionary Society of the Meth- 
 odist Episcopal Church. 
 
 I 
 
82 ADDRESSES. 
 
 "At this, the first meeting of the society since 
 this ver}' important and conclusive action, we 
 maj^ well pause to express our gratitude to God 
 that the good and wise men who legislate for the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church have, with entire 
 unanimity and w4th the greatest zeal, thus recog- 
 nized and adopted our society. 
 
 " We may now, having the solemn and re- 
 sponsible sanction of our Church, devote ourselves 
 with the utmost confidence to the interesting 
 special work devolved upon us. 
 
 " Our field of usefulness is of great extent. 
 Our home population embraces elements more or 
 less extensive of ever}- important race, nation- 
 ality, and language. They are of all conditions, 
 material, intellectual, and moral. 
 
 "Coming originally from every part of the 
 world, the}' are here seated in the midst of this 
 central continent, which looks out from widely ex- 
 tended coasts and almost countless harbors upon 
 
LUCY WEBB HAYES. 83 
 
 the two oceans on which is carried the larger part 
 of commerce of the globe. By the agencies of our 
 advancing civilization, in the near future this peo- 
 ple will surely wield a commanding influence in 
 the affairs, in the education, and in the religion 
 of all mankind. 
 
 "The inspiring and attractive field which in- 
 vites our efforts is the home. First in impor- 
 tance and first in number are the homes of the 
 uninformed, destitute, and unfortunate of our 
 own race — those of our own kith and kin. To 
 these we must add the just claims of the 
 lately emancipated people and their posterity, 
 of the Indians, of the Mormons, of the Spanish 
 Americans, and of the Chinese now within our 
 borders — all of whom, it has been well said, have 
 claims upon us for Christian civilization not to 
 be surpassed by those of the heathen of foreign 
 lands. 
 
 "We believe that the character of a people 
 
84 ADDRESSES. 
 
 depends mainly on its homes. Our special aim 
 therefore is to improve home environments, 
 home education, home industries, and home in- 
 fluences. 
 
 "We wish to strive for the attainment of these 
 worthy ends by means upon which we can, with 
 an assured hope, conscientiously invoke the 
 Divine blessing." 
 
 Zbc 3fourtb Bnnual Meeting 
 
 Was held at Philadelphia in October, 1885. What 
 Mrs. Hayes said is summed up as follows : 
 
 "The Fourth Annual Meeting of the Woman's 
 Home Missionary Society of the Methodist Epis- 
 copal Church finds our society in a condition of 
 prosperity so marked and so encouraging that our 
 first duty is with grateful hearts to return thanks 
 for the signal blessings which by the Divine favor 
 have bL'cii showered upon us. The past year has 
 been emphatically a year of growth. The official 
 
LUCY WEBB HAYES. 85 
 
 reports which will be made to this meeting will, 
 it is believed, show a large and most gratify- 
 ing increase of Conference organizations, of aux- 
 iliary societies, of juvenile societies, and of mem- 
 bership. A corresponding gain will appear in 
 the funds and other means of usefulness in 
 the benevolent work which we have undertaken 
 to do. 
 
 "At our annual meeting held in Cleveland it 
 was our sad dut}^ to record the death of Bishop 
 Simpson, whose name in connection with our 
 w^ork gave to it strength and dignity, and whose 
 tender S3^mpathy and wise counsel will be re- 
 membered by us all. So, to-day, our mutual con- 
 gratulations on the advance of the cause in which 
 we are engaged, are mingled with feelings of 
 deepest sadness as we recall the death of Bishop 
 Wiley. He died, soon after our last meeting, at his 
 post of duty in Foochow, China. To us his death 
 is an especial affliction and an irreparable loss. 
 
86 ADDRESSES. 
 
 From the earliest beginnings of our enterprise he 
 was our trusted and earnest adviser and helper. 
 Thoroughly acquainted with the foreign field of 
 missionary labor, and personally engaged in it 
 during many of the most active years of his life, 
 he was so well persuaded that missionary work 
 at home furnished the only sure foundation for 
 success and progress abroad, that he gave his 
 whole influence and power to the organization of 
 the Woman's Home Missionary Society, and to 
 its recognition and adoption by the Church. We 
 shall always remember him as the accomplished 
 scholar, the eloquent and devoted preacher, and 
 as our wise, generous, and loving friend in the 
 days of our weakness and greatest need. It is for 
 us to bear in mind, while we cherish his memory, 
 that the most honorable memorial we can erect to 
 him will be to carry forward to triumphant suc- 
 cess our benevolent work, which he did so much 
 to inaugurate and establish." 
 
LUCY WEBB HAYES. 87 
 
 ZTbe jplttb Bnnual /Iftectlng 
 
 Was held at Detroit, October 28 to November 2, 
 1886. Mrs. Hayes vSpoke with a clear voice and 
 distinct utterance that insured careful attention : 
 
 " The Fifth Annual Meeting of our society is 
 held under circumstances which may well fill our 
 hearts with gratitude and with hope. The welcome 
 extended us bj- our associates and friends of Detroit 
 assures us that the days we shall spend in this 
 beautiful and hospitable city will be days full of 
 satisfaction and joy. Our prayers are that they 
 may also be days wisely devoted to the best in- 
 terests of the humble, the neglected, and the 
 needy. This is, indeed, the work of the Divine 
 Master, whose example and teachings all wish to 
 imitate and heed who hope in their own lives to 
 realize the blessings and consolations of that re- 
 ligion which he came into the world to establish. 
 
 " The corner-stone to practical religion is the 
 
88 ADDRESSES. 
 
 Golden Rule. How best to obey its mandate is 
 the vital question. We would reflect on no other 
 benevolent enterprise. We would discourage no 
 beneficent measure. We would say nothing to 
 dishearten any man or woman who with good 
 motives seeks good ends. We know that many 
 paths lead to the same goal. But our conviction, 
 our faith, is, that the surest hope of mankind is 
 in America. Within our limits, Avithin our reach, 
 are gathered representatives of all the races of 
 mankind. In our borders are Africans, Asiatics, 
 and Europeans. The apostles were told that re- 
 pentance and remission of sins should be preached 
 among all nations in Christ's name, and they 
 were also told that the beginning should be at 
 Jerusalem. Is not the meaning and spirit of this 
 divine injunction clear and plain ^ This com- 
 mand is obeyed by all whose work is done where 
 it will accomplish most to win souls from the 
 paths of sin to the paths of righteousness. 
 
LUCY WEBB HAYES. 89 
 
 " We rejoice most sincerel}^ in the success of 
 our distinguished brother,-'^ who has, with such 
 zeal, sagacity, and singleness of purpose, labored 
 to raise the splendid contribution of our Church 
 for the support of missions at home and abroad. 
 We can not, however, forget that the fountain 
 from which he draws is and must in the future 
 be found, under Providence, in the Christian 
 homes of our own beloved land. If, by reason of 
 our neglect of home-work, the stream of un- 
 christian tendencies from abroad, and the flood 
 of indifference and vice of our own country, shall 
 overwhelm the institutions of our fathers, the 
 missions of every Christian Church, both home 
 and foreign, will suffer alike by the common 
 calamity. If our eyes are to be gladdened by the 
 sight of heathen lands rapidly becoming Christian, 
 we must direct our efforts and strain every nerve 
 
 *Rev. C. C. McCabe, D. D., Corresponding Secretary Missionary 
 Society, Methodist Kpiscopal Church. 
 
 8 
 
90 ADDRESSES. 
 
 to protect from heathenism our own land. When 
 we see the paganism of other lands — of Asia, of 
 Africa, and of Europe — which has poured in upon 
 our shores, we must recall the pithy statement 
 published in our monthly periodical, JVoma?i's 
 Home Missions, that ' nothing can exceed the deg- 
 radation of a heathen people whom civilization 
 has touched only with its vices.' 
 
 ' ' That duty is of highest obligation which is 
 nearest in time and place. With America and 
 American homes what they should be, we need 
 not greatly fear the evils that threaten us from 
 other lands. We can easily shun or safely meet 
 them, if our duty is faithfully done in behalf of 
 the weak, the ignorant, and the needy of our 
 own country. If our institutions, social and po- 
 litical, are imperiled to-da}^ it is largely because 
 the wealthy and the fortunate, engrossed as they 
 are in the midst of our vast material progress and 
 prosperity, are not sufficiently mindful of what 
 
LUCY WEBB HAYES. 91 
 
 wavS taught by the words and life of the Founder 
 of our blessed religion : ' Whatsoever ye would 
 that men should do to 3^ou, do ye even so to 
 them.' And while we feel so deeply the neces- 
 sity and importance of our own work, we would 
 pray most earnestly for glorious results in the 
 work of our sisters of the Foreign Missionary 
 Society. In conclusion, I quote again from 
 Wommi's Home Missions : ' The lifting up of the 
 lowly of our own country ought to interest every 
 man and woman.' " 
 
 XLbc Stitb Bnnual /iReeting 
 
 Occurred at Syracuse, N. Y., October 28 to Novem- 
 ber I, 1887. Mrs. Hayes presented her annual 
 report, from which we preserved the following 
 words : 
 
 ''The reports of the several officers of the 
 Woman's Home Missionary Society of our Church, 
 which will be read before the society during the 
 
92 ADDRESSES. 
 
 sessions of this Annual Meeting, will sufficientl}^ 
 spread before you the work of the past year. It 
 remains therefore for me to thank, as I now do, 
 our friends in this beautiful cit}^ for the very cor- 
 dial welcome they have extended to us, and to 
 state, without dwelling upon them, a few of the 
 reasons on which the friends of Home Missions 
 rest their claim for increased encouragement and 
 substantial aid, especially from the devoted mem- 
 bers of the Church of our choice. Before doing 
 this, I beg leave to repeat from the remarks made 
 by me last 3'ear at Detroit a single paragraph: 
 Our conviction is, that the best hope for humanity 
 is in America. Within our borders and within 
 our reach are gathered representatives of all the 
 races of mankind. If, by reason of our neglect of 
 home-work, the stream of unchristian tendencies 
 from abroad, and the flood of indifference and vice 
 in our own country, shall overwhelm our cher- 
 islicc^ institutions, all missionary work, at home 
 
LUCY WEBB HAYES. 93 
 
 and abroad, will suffer alike by the common 
 calamity. 
 
 " The friends of Home Missions rely on fa- 
 miliar facts. Not less than five millions of people 
 are now added to the population of our country 
 in each ten years by emigration from foreign, 
 lands. Among them are no doubt persons of 
 education, of morality, and of religion, who, in 
 spite of want of familiarity with our language 
 and institutions, will in good time become valu- 
 able citizens without special effort in their behalf. 
 As to a multitude of others, it may be truly said 
 that the missionary to pagan lands will find noth- 
 ing more hostile to Christian civilization than the 
 evil influences which immigration brings into the 
 very bosom of our American society. Home Mis- 
 sions seek to protect our own land from imported 
 heathenism. Again, the condition of the emanci- 
 pated race in our Southern States still engages 
 the attention of the patriot and the philanthropist. 
 
94 ADDRESSES. 
 
 It is represented by well-informed and consci- 
 entious observers that the colored people increase 
 more rapidly than the whites in proportion to 
 their number, and that the proportion of the ig- 
 norant and unchristian does not diminish. The 
 facts do not permit us to indulge the hope that 
 the Christians of America have done and are 
 doing their whole dut}^ with respect to the Africans 
 within our own borders and at our own doors. 
 
 " Never before was the progress of settlement 
 in our new States and Territories so rapid as it 
 is now. The Michigan Conference Home Mis- 
 sionary Society recently published an appeal 
 which should not be passed by unheeded. Its 
 statements as to the situation in the new counties 
 of that prosperous and enlightened State are 
 equally true of other vast regions in our country. 
 The report says an extensive area is largely 
 missionary ground. It is rapidly filling up with 
 a population mainly of Protestant proclivities, and 
 
LUCY WEBB HAYES. 95 
 
 generally very poor. They are unable to support 
 ministers, but they need the gospel, and wish to 
 have it preached among them. Many of them 
 look to our Church as their religious home. It 
 is unjust that missionaries should be sent into 
 these difficult fields and allowed oftentimes to 
 suffer for the necessaries of life. The Methodist 
 Church has been called the Pioneer Church. No 
 true Methodist will neglect the pioneer mission- 
 work of the Church. I might continue this cata- 
 logue. The Indians still claim our attention. 
 The cloud of Mormonism which hangs over 
 Utah is spreading to other Territories. But I 
 have said enough to indicate at least the num- 
 ber and magnitude of the demands on our Church 
 for missions in our own country. The claims of 
 missionary work whose aim is the improvement 
 of American homes are attractive and urgent. 
 Homes such as they should be, neat, orderly, and 
 where punctuality and good methods prevail — in 
 
96 ADDRESSES. 
 
 short, comfortable Christian homes — tend strongh' 
 to train the j^oung to abhor those vices which 
 chiefly afflict civihzed societ}^ and to practice 
 those virtues which are the best securit}^ of wise 
 institutions. Such homes are the fruit of woman's 
 work, and the instruction that gives the house- 
 hold skill which creates them can be imparted 
 onh' by female teachers, workers, and missionaries. 
 " In conclusion, ma}- we not sum up the whole 
 matter in these few words ? America is ' the 
 cradle of the future ' for all the world. The fu- 
 ture of America is in her homes, and her homes 
 depend on the mothers of America. Hence the 
 value and importance of missionary societies 
 whose work is done by women in the homes of 
 our own beloved country." 
 
^*>^^illl^^<- 
 
 1^^5^ 
 
 DELIVERED AT THE SEVENTH ANNUAL MEETING, 
 BOSTON, MASS., NOVEMBER i, 1888. 
 
 •o^o« 
 
 "Watchman, tell us oi the night." 
 Does the need of Home Missions grow less? 
 Is the opportunity to do good at the hearth-stones 
 of our own land on the wane ? Is the call, is the 
 demand for the special work of women in our 
 American society, more rarely heard ? The reply 
 to these questions is near at hand, and clear 
 enough to all who see and consider. 
 
 The necessity, the opportunity, and the de- 
 mand for Christian effort are more and more at our 
 very door. Even the champions of unbelief in the 
 doctrines cherished by our fathers, seeing the tide 
 that is coming in upon us, are forced to exclaim, 
 
 " Men can not do without the Christian religion." 
 
 9 97 
 
98 ADDRESSES. 
 
 We know how " distance lends enchantment 
 to the view." And, indeed, the benighted people 
 of Africa, of China, of India, and of other pagan 
 lands, have claims upon us. None of them should 
 be excluded from our thoughts, our prayers, or 
 our gifts. But it has been well said — let it be 
 repeated and heard in every Christian circle: 
 " There are needy souls under our own eyes and 
 within reach of our own hands." The significant 
 and appalling fact is, that their number is gain- 
 ing — largely and rapidly gaining. The most 
 casual glance at the elements of our American 
 society which are deprived, or at least destitute, 
 of Christian privileges, will convince the candid 
 observer that this is not an over-statement of the 
 evils and perils which it is the aim of this society, 
 under Providence, to mitigate, and, if possible, to 
 remove. 
 
 It is generally agreed that the Negroes of 
 the South are not dying out by reason of the 
 
LUCY WEBB HAYES. 99 
 
 freedom they now enjoy. At their rate of in- 
 crease in the past few years, before the end of the 
 next century they will exceed in number the total 
 present population of the United States. 
 
 Devoted men and women, generous philan- 
 thropists, and influential religious organizations 
 have labored with zeal and intelligence to uplift 
 these wards of the Nation. The Negroes them- 
 selves, wherever they have been adequately 
 reached, have been more than willing, they have 
 been anxious and eager, to accept education 
 and true religion. But the lamentable situation 
 still remains. The multitude, vast and increas- 
 ing, are still in chains to pagan superstition and 
 the ignorance and vice of generations of bondage. 
 
 To deal with this condition is Home Mis- 
 sionary work in the large general sense ; and to 
 deal with it most effectively is to reach family 
 life, and to teach correct family habits and true 
 family duties. To do this is the peculiar province 
 
lOO ADDRESSES. 
 
 of women, and the special object of the Woman's 
 Home Missionary Society. 
 
 It is not easy to marshal the missionary 
 duties of women in the order of their importance. 
 Christians can not look, even in the most thought- 
 less and careless way, at the map of our country, 
 without having their attention fixed by the crime 
 against women that now holds Utah, and which 
 is spreading almost unchecked in all directions. 
 That center of bad influences, moral, social, and 
 political — the government and the law — while 
 they threaten and condemn, fail utterly to abolish 
 or even to control. 
 
 There surely never existed before in the 
 bosom of any civilized community such an of- 
 fense against women, and such a crime against 
 the home. If any one asks the reason for Home 
 Missions, organized and managed by women, 
 Mormonism in Utah furnishes the answer. 
 
 The influences and elements of population 
 
LUCY WEBB HAYES. loi 
 
 brought into our country from abroad, and the 
 questions arising out of immigration, have under- 
 gone vast changes during recent years. These 
 changes are not friendly to American institutions. 
 For the most part, in the first century after the 
 Declaration of Independence immigrants were 
 from the most civilized nations of Europe, and 
 were seeking liberty and land for homes. Now, 
 however, an increasing number come or are 
 brought from the less enlightened European na- 
 tions and from heathen countries, seeking simply 
 better wages, and caring little or nothing for land 
 or homes. The}' are sadly lacking in education 
 and religion, and are by no means well fitted for 
 the citizenship of a republic. Their great defi- 
 ciency is the want of home-life and a due and 
 practical regard for women. How can their needs 
 be better supplied than by means of missions, 
 under the direction of the women of our Churches? 
 No part of the inhabitants of the United 
 
T02 ADDRESSES, 
 
 States are nearer to the hearts of the members of 
 the Methodist Church than our own countrymen, 
 the patriotic Americans who have crowded in such 
 numbers to our Western frontier settlements from 
 Mexico to British America. No one of the old 
 States contains so large a proportion of the vet- 
 erans of the Union army and of their wives and 
 children. Never before were so man}^ American 
 citizens braving the hardships and privations of 
 pioneer life as may now be found on our wideh* 
 extended frontiers. 
 
 Our Church, with an instinctive foresight of 
 the future of the West, has built a host of 
 churches, and sent out her ministers to do and to 
 suffer in the wilderness. The story of the Meth- 
 odist preacher on his circuit in the forest, on the 
 plains, and in the mountains, is rarely heard and 
 little known in the old and prosperous States. 
 One hundred dollars a year for the minister, his 
 wife, and the little ones, often in a cold climate, 
 
LUCY WEBB HAYES. 103 
 
 where almost everything is lacking, and where 
 all things are costly, it has been truly said, is 
 barely enough, not to live upon, but to starve 
 upon. Could all our good friends read the grate- 
 ful letters coming from devoted clergymen when 
 the box or barrel of the Woman's Home Mission 
 is received, this part of the work of our society 
 would gain a much needed impetus, fruitful of 
 beneficent results. 
 
 The appointed work of our society reaches 
 also the neglected poor of the cities, the Spanish 
 Americans, the Indians, and other children of 
 misfortune. I need not for my present purpose 
 try to complete the catalogue of our aims. Our 
 objects and our methods, after full consideration, 
 have been sanctioned by the highest authority of 
 the Church and the General Conference, and they 
 are approved by the bishops. 
 
 The vital question is, Shall this society have 
 an increasing and hearty support ? Our appeal is 
 
T04 ADDRESSES. 
 
 to the clergy and the membership of the Church. 
 The clergy and the Church depend under Provi- 
 dence, in some measure at least, on the women 
 of their congregations. With confidence, there- 
 fore, we invoke their aid in our efforts to carry 
 the gospel of Christ to the "needy souls at our 
 very doors." 
 
 rC-96 * 
 
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