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 CLASS OF 1886; PH.D. THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY 
 
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 Form No. A-368. Rev. 8/95 
 
% Memorial BMt\) 
 
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 By e. p. g. 
 
 ^ut tlit fruit of t^e Spirit is lotie, 
 iop, peace, lonsEiuffering:, (irntlcnefiifii, 
 poinesB, fait(), mecfenciSB, temperance. 
 
 pop Ppiijate Qi'pculatior?. 
 
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 I 
 
 The primary objed of this sketch is to afford in 
 the coming years to the occupants of "The tJ^eliie 
 Battle Lewis Memorial Cot " in St. John's Hos- 
 pital, %aleigh, some idea of the rare and beautiful 
 character of their benefactress. 
 
 It is proper to state that of the letters from 
 which extrads are given, not one was written for 
 any eye but that of private friendship. And this 
 use has been made of them in nearly every case 
 without asking permission of the writers ; of not 
 one of whom, however, can we conceive as obje£l- 
 ing thus to assist in presenting a faithful portrait. 
 
THE only visible link between this life and the 
 next, and the only work of our hands that does 
 span the grave and follow us into the unseen world 
 beyond, is what we accomplish in endeavoring to imi- 
 tate Him who went about doing good. Doing good 
 is unselfishness in action ; it is work for others, and 
 its field comprehends the smallest kindnesses of every- 
 day life as clearly as the noblest exercise of public 
 charity. The cup of cold water marks it, as well as 
 the asylum, or the hospital, or the college. The 
 loving smile, the cheering word, in this service may 
 be more worthy of remembrance than all the world 
 calls great outside of it. 
 
 She whose memory this sketch and the apartment 
 in St. John's Hospital are meant to preserve was 
 
but a young and tenderly nurtured woman, whose 
 short Hfe was wholly sheltered among home joys 
 and home duties. There are few materials for a 
 memoir, no conspicuous incidents, no special under- 
 takings or achievements to note, yet she so lived in 
 the daily exercise of gentle charity, patience, unself- 
 ishness, and love, as to become the center of light and 
 sweetness to a large circle, diffusing an influence for 
 good as unobtrusively as a flower sheds its fragrance. 
 Her untimely death was like the withdrawal of the 
 sunliofht from the lives of those who loved her. 
 
 To delineate a character so rare and beautiful, and 
 to put on record a few of the tributes which her 
 death called forth, seem now the last grateful service 
 we can do her, and the only means by which those 
 who shall hereafter share the charity devoted to her 
 memory can learn what she was. 
 
 Cornelia Viola, eldest child of Hon. Kemp P. 
 and Martha A. Battle, was born in Raleigh, N. C, 
 January 14, 1857. She was married to Dr. Richard 
 H. Lewis, of Raleigh, February 13, 1877, became the 
 mother of four children, all of whom survived her, 
 and died October 13, 1886. 
 
 This brief record conveys the chief incidents of 
 woman's life' — birth, marriage, motherhood, and 
 
death; these comprise the ordinary round of her 
 important and sacred duties and ties, and there is 
 seldom room for her to do more than so to fill these 
 as to hear the " Well done " at last. 
 
 Mrs. Lewis's life may be said to have been a fortu- 
 nate one, exceptionally blessed in parents, brothers, 
 husband, children, and friends. She was gifted from 
 her cradle with beauty and winning grace ; she was 
 surrounded with the advantages conferred by wealth, 
 social position, and cultivation, and she grew up 
 amone the refining- influences of a beautiful and well- 
 ordered home, herself its fairest flower, its most 
 attractive ornament. Far above all other blessings 
 must be reckoned this : that she was the child of 
 Christian parents, who, while sparing no pains to fit 
 her for the duties of this life, were careful to lead her 
 early in the Way Everlasting. Foreseeing the special 
 dangers and temptations that awaited a girl so beau- 
 tiful and so attractive, her devoted mother endeav- 
 ored from childhood to develop in her the graces of 
 humility and unselfishness. By these she was dis- 
 tinguished through life. Among other beautiful 
 children, among other beautiful young women, Nellie 
 Battle was marked by the modesty and simplicity of 
 her manners, by her entire freedom from everything 
 like self-assertion or vanity, and by her evident 
 
8 
 
 anxiety for the happiness and comfort of all around 
 her. The token of this disposition was on her face ; 
 she wore the tranquil, self- forgetting look which men 
 have no other word for than " angelic." 
 
 The best influences of the Episcopal Church, ol 
 which she was a true child by birth, baptism, and 
 ardent affection, shed the dew of their blessing on 
 her young head. Bright as she was among her 
 young friends, and innocently gay with other girls, 
 these controlling, orderly, and gracious influences, 
 setting the seal of early piety upon her character, 
 gave it stability, dignity, and purpose. She was still 
 very young when members of the family began to go 
 to her for her opinion, to rely upon her prudence, 
 and, if for nothing else, to be cheered by the fullness 
 of her sympathy. 
 
 She was so remarkable for the gentleness and 
 sweetness of her air and expression that where she 
 was not well known the mistake might have been 
 made of supposing that she lacked strength or 
 energy of character. The reverse of this was true. 
 Her father, her husband, her brothers, all prominent 
 as men of high character, cultivation, and strong 
 sense, habitually consulted her, relying not only on 
 her sympathy, but on her judgment ; and in this she 
 could be very firm. Her convictions of duty were 
 
always clear, and her truthfulness, her conscientious- 
 ness, were so absolute that her decisions imparted a 
 sense of restfulness. 
 
 In all important relations Mrs. Lewis was loyalty 
 itself. In religion, love, and friendship she could be 
 relied upon to prove steadfast. She was not quick 
 to form new ties, but her faith, once given, was true. 
 
 Not a few good women go through life acting, 
 perhaps unconsciously, the part of absorbents. How- 
 ever fitted to be loved, and however much they 
 receive, still of all they do receive they radiate but 
 little. They sit at the receipt of things and are con- 
 tent. Mrs. Lewis was essentially a radiator. What 
 she received she gave out. The devotion, the admi- 
 ration, she excited she was always ready herself to 
 bestow on others, putting them forward and enjoying 
 their successes. Her accomplishments were at the 
 service of others — her music, her voice, were always 
 ready. To please her father, she made a special 
 study of English and Scotch ballads, singing them 
 with exquisite charm. For years she led the choir 
 of Christ Church, giving much time and study to 
 this service of song, in which she greatly delighted. 
 Her young ladyhood was a round of graceful 
 pleasures and innocent triumphs, through all of which 
 she remained thoroughly unspoiled ; and upon her 
 
 2 
 
lO 
 
 happy marriage at the age of twenty, and entrance 
 upon the serious duties of life, she was still the angel 
 of the house in her new home, diffusing sweet con- 
 tent on all hearts there. It was characteristic of her 
 that her marriage bated no jot of her loving service 
 to her parents and brothers. They still felt her love 
 and sympathy and her help in all their affairs, still 
 looked to her for the light and blessing of their lives. 
 She was a model wife and daughter-in-law, giving to 
 all her husband's relatives the same loyalty she gave 
 her own; but she never allowed her own, not even on 
 her father's removal to Chapel Hill, to feel for a day 
 that they had lost her. 
 
 To her children she was the ideal mother whom 
 poets embalm in our hearts. Careful, judicious, and 
 most tender, she gave them so much of her time and 
 work that the wonder was how she still met the 
 claims of society and friendship ; yet one of the 
 most frequent remarks in the sorrowing letters written 
 after her death was this : " No one knows but myself 
 what I have lost in her." Her summers were gener- 
 ally spent with her children at her father's house in 
 Chapel Hill. One evening when all the family, with a 
 visitor or two, were on the piazza enjoying the moon- 
 lieht, her absence was remarked. "Oh," said one 
 softly, " she is never out here at this hour ; she makes 
 
1 1 
 
 a religion of seeing her children put to bed herself and 
 hearing them say their prayers." After a while she 
 came out and quietly joined the circle, with the seal 
 of this evening devotion on her fair forehead like a 
 star. In her letters to her mother, all through the 
 usual sweet nursery gossip that a fond young mother 
 will pour out about her little ones, was constantly 
 evident her serious purpose to secure their happiness 
 by making them good. Once she wrote that she 
 wanted to train them to share what they had — to be 
 fond of ofivino-' "I am beo'innlnof with the flowers, 
 and teaching them to offer them to people." One 
 little anecdote has a tender significance now. Writing 
 to her mother that she had heard her little Kemp 
 talking of some one dead as "out in the cemetery," 
 she "did not want him to have the idea of their being 
 there under the ground, and had endeavored to ex- 
 plain it to him," but did not think her talk had made 
 any impression on him. "A day or two after, I heard 
 Rosa say one of her family was out in the cemetery. 
 'No,' said Kemp, quickly and confidently, 'she ain't 
 — her body is there, but she ain't.' " 
 
 Her close attention to her children was the more 
 noticeable because their nurse was an elderly experi- 
 enced woman of excellent character, who had been 
 her own nurse in infancy and had her fullest confi- 
 
12 
 
 dence. This good woman, Margaret Selby by name, 
 though she had been freed by the war, had volunta- 
 rily returned to her young mistress when she learned 
 that she had need of her, and joyfully assumed the 
 charge of the new generation, deserving and receiv- 
 ing the affectionate regard of the whole family. 
 
 The tendency of the day is to loosen domestic ties 
 of this sort, to ignore the existence between mistress 
 and servant of such feelings as regard and fealty. 
 It is the more pleasant and proper to record that 
 they do exist. Here, at least, was one young mistress 
 of a household who never gave a hasty or petulant 
 word to her servants, and never received even a dis- 
 obliging glance from them. 
 
 The last summer of Mrs. Lewis's life, spent as 
 usual at her father's, she seemed to enjoy with height- 
 ened zest and interest in all things. The season was 
 an exceptionally fine one, and "the glory of the grass 
 and splendor of the flower" were never more marked. 
 And she was never in better health, never more beau- 
 tiful, more radiant, as with that inward peace which 
 passes understanding. She was reading some new 
 and valuable books, of which her appreciation was 
 very keen. Her talk of men and things, of passing 
 events, was unusually animated and discriminating. 
 
13 
 
 Her judgments were specially full of consideration 
 and charity. With what calm sweetness she spoke 
 of things even that she disapproved ! She was no 
 talker, for she had no gift whatever for " taking the 
 lead," and shrank from the slightest approach to 
 it. But as a listener she was unequaled, with bright 
 intelligence, and sweet laughter and sweet sayings, 
 and withal a purity and delicacy of thought and 
 expression that might have become an angel. This 
 last summer of her mortal life, with no premonitions 
 that it was to be the last, her fond, admiring friends 
 rested with more entire content than ever upon the 
 charm of her presence. 
 
 Sweet harmonist ! and beautiful as sweet ! 
 And young as beautiful! and soft as young! 
 And gay as soft! and innocent as gay! 
 And happy (if aught happy here) as good ! 
 Transfixed by Fate (who loves a lofty mark), 
 How from the summit of the grove she fell, 
 And left it silent and forlorn. 
 
 During some years of her married life, Mrs. Lewis 
 had suffered from ill-health of a peculiarly trying 
 nature. She bore it all with perfect composure. No 
 one, not even her own tenderly beloved mother, can 
 remember to have heard from her a word of com- 
 
H 
 
 plaint or of impatience. She took what was laid 
 upon her in silent submission, with true womanly 
 delicacy, dignity, and fortitude. This experience 
 seemed to fit her more completely for the character 
 of consoler and sympathizer with all who were in 
 affliction. On her recovery, her thoughtfulness for the 
 sick was redoubled. She hastened to share with them 
 her flowers, the delicacies of her table, or whatever of 
 the good things of life she possessed. The sweet grav- 
 ity that would overspread her lovely face on hearing 
 a tale of woe was instantly succeeded by the bright- 
 ness of her resolve to " do something." " What can I 
 do ? " '* What ouofht I to do ? " were her first thoug-hts. 
 
 But these she never spoke of It was only indi- 
 rectly that her friends ever knew that "something" 
 had been done. 
 
 The final close of this life, so evidently " hid with 
 Christ," was sudden. She was not well when she 
 returned to Raleigh in September, but no especial 
 apprehensions were felt till the last few days. On 
 Wednesday morning, October 13, as her mother was 
 hastening to her, "God's finger touched her, and 
 she slept." She passed out gently and unconsciously, 
 saying no farewell words. 
 
 Bright without spot she was, 
 And cannot cease to be. 
 
15 
 
 It was the marked expansion of her charitable dis- 
 position, the evident growth of her wish to be doing 
 good and setting her feet in the very print of her 
 Master's steps, that made the endowment of a room 
 in St. John's Hospital the most appropriate of all 
 tributes to her memory. She had taken a deep inter- 
 est in this charity from its first establishment, and now 
 the doing good in which she found her chief happi- 
 ness on earth may herein be indefinitely prolonged. 
 Since her death, her Bible has been found, with many 
 passages marked and noted with her own hand. 
 These may be supposed to have been her favorites, 
 the sailing orders, so to speak, by which she steered 
 her course. Some of them were copied on the fly- 
 leaves, as if she delighted to reiterate the words, and 
 with certain dates all through the years, when cer- 
 tain truths were found especially precious to her soul. 
 Love, and faith, and praise seem to have been the 
 congenial topics. I. Cor. xiii. is lined throughout, 
 Hebrews xi.. Psalm cxlvii., and many detached texts 
 inculcating patience, submission, humility, 
 
 I. Cor. X. lo. Neither murmur ye, as some of them 
 also murmured. 
 
 I. Cor. xi. 31. For if we would judge ourselves, we 
 should not be judged. 
 
i6 
 
 I. Cor. xvi. 14. Let all your things be done with 
 charity. 
 
 I. John i. 7. The blood of Jesus Christ his Son 
 cleanseth us from all sin. 
 
 II. Cor. i. 24. For by faith ye stand. 
 
 I. Thess. V. 18. In every thing give thanks. 
 
 James iv. 7. Submit yourselves therefore to God. 
 
 " 10. Humble yourselves. 
 
 " 1 1. Speak not evil one of another. 
 
 These, and many like them, were the manna on 
 which this sweet soul fed, growing from day to day 
 in the knowledge and love of her Lord. 
 
 Such characters form the ideal women. We turn 
 to the old masters of English poetry and song to 
 find them there embalmed. The " hidden strength " 
 of the Lady in Comus was hers — the charm of 
 " heavenly Una." Herrick, Herbert, Shakespeare, 
 must have been inspired by such women. Words- 
 worth drew her likeness. 
 
 If any who read this sketch should say the hand of 
 love has overdrawn its excellencies and presented a 
 creature too bright and pure and good, let the sub- 
 joined tributes from other hands be read, and the 
 extracts from a few of the many letters received by 
 the mourning family. These show how she impressed 
 
17 
 
 all who approached her. Friends old and young, 
 mere passing acquaintances, old family servants — 
 from far and near they wrote of her. As long as 
 they live they will remember her as one whom God 
 had especially blessed, and who so used His gifts as 
 to be herself a blessing. And when this generation 
 has passed away, as long as the noble work under- 
 taken by St. John's Guild shall go on, the name of 
 Nellie Battle Lewis will still be spoken and associated 
 with it ; and here, in works of love and charity, may 
 yet be recalled 
 
 . the touch of a vanish'd hand, 
 And the sound of a voice that is still! 
 
 ^ 
 
From the Raleigh Neius and Observer, October ly, 1886. 
 
 The announcement of the death of Mrs. R. H. 
 Lewis will carry a long and sincere sorrow to many- 
 hearts. She was well known throughout the State, 
 and wherever known was deeply loved. Her whole 
 life was a joy. She had the genius of unselfishness, 
 and it was a delight to honor her. As a child, she 
 was the pet of a sweet, Christian home, the pride of 
 her school, the trusted friend of her playmates. 
 Unconscious of her singular beauty, she was a 
 stranger to envy, and her victories in the quieter con- 
 tests of the school-room, while prized by her as 
 merited rewards of duty well done, would have been 
 dearer to her if she could have shared them with 
 
20 
 
 those who had striven with her. Her sweet influence 
 as a daughter and sister in a numerous household was 
 one of the chief causes of its unalloyed happiness. 
 In her judgments she was wise and judicious by intu- 
 ition, and won others to them without offense. But 
 her influence was wider than this. It followed in her 
 train wherever she went. It made her companions 
 better and happier. It was an unconscious, silent 
 power that did good works. Of her devotion as 
 a wife and a mother it is almost a trespass to speak. 
 She lent an exquisite charm to everything about her. 
 Her four little ones echoed the soft tones and crentle 
 grace of the mother, and made for the happy, worthy 
 father an ideal home. The very roses seemed to nod 
 her welcome as she walked amono^st her flowers. We 
 cannot write that she is dead. We know that such 
 a spirit cannot die. Such a life cannot die even here. 
 Let us love to think that she has gone before any sor- 
 row came. Her merry childhood, her happy youth, 
 her cloudless married life, she had. Before a shadow 
 had fallen about them, she had gone beyond the sun. 
 Her life taught us how to live a higher life even here. 
 It was an example of her faith, and was born of a 
 resolution that never faltered, to do unto others what 
 she would have others do to her. The poor will lack 
 her constant charity. Worshipers will miss her sweet 
 
21 
 
 voice in the anthems of praise. We will all miss our 
 friend. May the patient resignation which the very 
 strenofth of faith alone can g-ive to answer the ear- 
 nest prayers of those who were next to her, solace 
 their broken hearts. 
 
 Mews and Observer. 
 
 The Funeral Services of Mrs. R. H. Lewis. 
 
 The special esteem in which Mrs. R. H. Lewis was 
 held here was most touchingly illustrated yesterday. 
 The last sad services over all that was mortal of this 
 noble woman, so gentle and pure in character, and 
 so greatly beloved by all residents of Raleigh, were 
 attended by a congregation in which all the denomi- 
 nations in the city were represented. It was a mourn- 
 ful tribute to rare loveliness of personal character, and 
 inexpressible sadness was felt by all present. The 
 services at Christ Church were conducted by Rev. 
 Bennett Smedes. Rev. F. M. Hubbard, D. D., was 
 within the chancel. The sextette choir sang the 
 443d hymn. As the remains were carried out of the 
 church, the choir sang " Jesus, lover of my soul." 
 Upon the casket was an exquisite pillar of cut 
 
22 
 
 flowers, on the top of which perched a snow-white 
 dove with wings outspread, fit emblem of the gentle 
 and lovely creature whose mortal remains indeed lay- 
 within the casket's narrow walls, but whose spirit, in 
 very truth, is " not lost, but gone before." 
 
 The pall-bearers were Messrs. A. W. Knox, Charles 
 E. Johnson, A. D. Mickle, Hugh Morson, F. H. Bus- 
 bee, T. H. Briggs, S. F. Mordecai, and P. M. Wilson. 
 
 The Faculty of the University yesterday sent an 
 exquisite floral tribute to be placed upon the casket 
 of Mrs. R. H. Lewis, as a testimonial of their admi- 
 ration for so pure and lovely a character, and as an 
 added mark of respect for her distinguished father, 
 the President of the University. The Raleigh Acad- 
 emy of Medicine sent a beautiful offering of cut 
 flowers. 
 
 From the Southern Churchman, October 28, 18S6. 
 
 In Memory of Mrs. Richard H. Lewis, 
 OF Raleigh, N. C. 
 
 At her home in Raleigh, N. C, on the morning 
 of October 13, 1886, Cornelia Viola Battle, beloved 
 wife of Dr. Richard H. Lewis of that city, and only 
 daughter of Hon. Kemp P. and Martha A. Battle, of 
 
Chapel Hill, N. C, entered into the paradise of her 
 God. She fell asleep in the twinkling of an eye, to 
 awake amid the transcendent glories of her Father's 
 mansions. So swift and silent was her departure, 
 we stand stunned and agonized, and in our mental 
 gropings vainly cry out, "Why is it thus, O God 
 Eternal, why is it thus ? " 
 
 The good things of earth were hers, richly : a de- 
 voted husband, affectionate parents, lovely children, 
 true-hearted brothers, a luxurious home, and the 
 interest and admiration of many friends. The intel- 
 lectual, moral, and spiritual training which had been 
 prayerfully bestowed upon her from her childhood, 
 budded, blossomed, and ripened into full fruition. 
 She renewed her baptismal vows through the holy 
 rite of confirmation, in her early girlhood, and her 
 piety as wife, mother, daughter, sister, mistress, 
 friend, proved that she was faithful and watchful to 
 keep them. The poor rise up and call her blessed, 
 for her generous hand knew no stint in its charities. 
 Her servants loved her much, and the same nurse 
 who cared for and watched over her own infancy, 
 now cares for and watches over the infancy of her 
 children. 
 
 Her personal beauty was of a rarely high type, 
 and the smile that glorified her face as with a 
 
24 
 
 seraphic loveliness — who that once beheld it can ever 
 forget ? 
 
 She possessed the gift of song preeminently, and 
 her clear, pure notes have deserted the Christ 
 Church choir only to swell the jubilee strains 
 around the Great White Throne. The charm of her 
 presence, the light touch of her hand, the melody of 
 her voice, have now passed beyond the boundaries of 
 time ; but there remains a legacy of dear memories, 
 which, like angel visits, beckon heavenward. 
 
 We know "it is well," for He doeth it, and we be- 
 lieve that He looks in mercy upon our bitter tears, 
 and hears with compassion the heart-breaking sobs 
 and soul-piercing sighs that bespeak a sore bereave- 
 ment. 
 
 The perfect faith that " God so loved the world 
 that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever 
 believeth on Him should not perish, but have ever- 
 lasting life," is our one sure stay and comfort. 
 
 " Lord, I believe. Help Thou mine unbelief." 
 
 L. B. B. 
 
EXTRACTS 
 
 FROM letters received from friends and relatives. 
 We omit many beautiful letters which are simply 
 consolatory, our object being to use only those pas- 
 sages which so speak of the character of Mrs. Lewis 
 as to illustrate and confirm what we have written 
 of her. 
 
 To Dr. R. H. Lewis. 
 
 St. Louis, Mo., Oct. 20, 1886. 
 
 It may seem almost like sacrilege to have her name 
 mentioned now by one who is almost a stranger to 
 you personally, but I feel that you, who possessed 
 
26 
 
 the qualities of head and heart to win her love, will 
 understand and forgive me. I need not tell you that 
 I loved her like a sister, for who could see and know 
 her and not love her? 
 
 When I first went to Raleigh in '71, I was very- 
 poor, and my education had been sadly neglected ; 
 yet I possessed all the pride of the family. I knew 
 of my rich and cultured kin, and dreaded to meet 
 them. Can you understand this ? I felt so keenly 
 my poverty and disadvantages, and I knew that I 
 talked like a negro, and there was in my heart a 
 bitter rebellion against fate for making of me what I 
 was. When I went to Cousin Kemp's house I was 
 looking for slights, and for some sign or hint that 
 my company was not agreeable. My reception was 
 a great surprise to me. I was received with kindness, 
 and always treated with the greatest consideration 
 by all the family — especially by dear old Aunt Lucy 
 Battle (God bless her!) — and by your angel wife ; 
 for if ever there was an angel on earth, she was one 
 to me. At this time she was only fifteen years old 
 — a school-girl. I was a great deal in her company, 
 and learned to know her well. She seemed intui- 
 tively to understand me at once. Whenever I made 
 any bitter allusion to my hard lot, she would turn and 
 look me full in the face with her soulful eyes, and 
 
say in the sweetest voice : " Cousin Jesse, you are 
 very young; you have plenty of time to get a good 
 education yet, and make your fortune ; only em- 
 ploy your hours well." At another time she said, "I 
 am going to watch you ; and some of these days 
 I expect to see you a highly respected man, and 
 rich. 
 
 What advice, and what encouragement to come 
 from one so young ! Sweet cousin ! I can yet hear 
 your kind words, I can yet see your lovely girlish 
 face, and yet, and ever will, feel the power of your 
 influence ; for what I am to-day, and what I yet may 
 be, I owe greatly to my meeting and association with 
 you. 
 
 And now, my dear Dr. Lewis, you understand me 
 when I tell you that you are no stranger to me. 
 When I address you, I feel the double tie of kindred 
 and of love. Yours is the greatest loss — how great, 
 only you can estimate. But mine is great. I miss 
 her, I mourn for her. I do not write to console you; 
 for there is but one consolation for such a loss : 
 that is, to bow in humble submission to Him who 
 doeth all things well. 
 
 Yours affectionately, 
 
 Jesse M. Battle. 
 
28 
 
 To Dr. Lewis. 
 
 West Chester, Pa., Oct. 24, 1886. 
 
 I read the beautiful tribute to her in the paper you 
 so kindly sent, with the warmest interest, feeling that 
 every word was true, and from the pen of one who 
 knew her well. 
 
 I think I never met any one who so quickly im- 
 pressed me with the perfect truthfulness and nobility 
 of her character, and yet with such modest grace. 
 Her deep maternal love and care were evidenced by 
 her lovely children, by their warm affection and their 
 dutifulness. Truly the light of their eyes has gone 
 out for them forever. 
 
 As men, we are forced to divide our thoughts, and 
 new interests are constantly recurring. Our atten- 
 tion is diverted, though our hearts must remain sad 
 and heavy. But the loss to these dear children must 
 be hourly felt, and permanent. Her memory must 
 be their sfuiding'-star throuf>"h life. 
 
 Your friend, 
 
 Willis P. Hazard. 
 
29 
 
 To Dr. Lewis. 
 
 BURGAW, Oct. 19, 1886. 
 
 To know her was a benediction, and to associate 
 with her was Hke reading a living epistle of God's 
 grace and power over the human heart and life. O, 
 that we could look upon death in its true character 
 — the entrance into Life ! 
 
 Affectionately, 
 
 Alex. L. Phillips. 
 
 To Dr. Lewis. 
 
 Chapel Hill, Oct. 16, 1886. 
 
 Our sorrow is but selfish, for we mourn for our- 
 selves. When we think of her now, we ought to 
 rejoice in her bliss — the glorious continuation of her 
 life, and the expansion of her beautiful nature. The 
 thought of how happy you made her life must always 
 be a solace to you. Her devotion to you, her perfect 
 loyalty, was shown in every act. She was indeed a 
 loyal soul. Happy they who could call her friend. 
 
30 
 
 How many beautiful scenes I can recall, with her 
 as the central figure ! This summer her friends in 
 C. H. repeatedly remarked upon her increased love- 
 liness and animation. She looked as if she had never 
 had a thought that was not good. The last evening 
 she passed with us was the last time she ever sang 
 at the piano. She made her father sing with her 
 once; we all thought she never had appeared lovelier, 
 nor her voice more thrilling. She was rapidly near- 
 ing heaven even then, and I know of no one more 
 fit to enter in and be at home there. 
 
 Your sincere friend, 
 
 June Spencer Love. 
 
 To Dr. Lewis. 
 
 Chapel Hill, Oct. 17, 1886. 
 
 I have often said that I thought her more nearly 
 perfect than any woman I ever knew. So beautiful 
 in person, so amiable in disposition, so gentle, yet so 
 true and steadfast, she drew all hearts to her. 
 
 Your friend, 
 
 John Manning. 
 
31 
 To President Battle. 
 
 Washington City, Oct. 14, 1886. 
 
 In reason, there is no ground for sorrow, except 
 for her httle children. All that great tide of 
 overwhelming emotion which swells your hearts 
 has no rational source, however natural, and almost 
 beyond control. A happy home in childhood and 
 girlhood and wifehood ; tender care all the while ; 
 warm friends ; loving parents, husband, children ; 
 intelligent interest in and sympathy with what was 
 passing in this interesting age ; agreeable social 
 connections and duties ; a beautiful and consistent 
 Christian life; — and, after all this, an early rest in 
 heaven. What is there that you would ask for your 
 beloved, that God in his mercy has not given her ? 
 
 With great regard and great sympathy, your friend, 
 
 S, F. Phillips. 
 
 To Dr. Lewis. 
 
 LiLESVILLE, Oct. 25, 1886. 
 
 I have read Mrs. S.'s memorial tribute with great 
 interest ; every word was the truth. I can say my- 
 self, truthfully, that I do not believe your dear Nellie 
 
32 
 
 ever intentionally gave the slightest pang of pain to 
 any human being. I am sure I never met a more 
 perfect character in every way (unless it was my 
 own dear mother). She surely kept the faith, and, 
 having finished her course, now receives her reward 
 among the spirits made perfect. 
 
 Very truly yours, 
 
 W. H. Battle. 
 
 To Mrs. K. P. Battle. 
 
 Cool Spring, Oct. 19, 1886. 
 
 I know so well the utter blank that faces you. Our 
 dear dauofhters loved each other as sisters ; were 
 trained under the same system in childhood ; both 
 married happily, bore lovely children, beautified the 
 lives of those around them by their rectitude, purity, 
 and active charity, making each and all feel them as 
 centers upon which the very existence of personal 
 comfort and happiness revolved. But when the call 
 came, and was answered, and we heard not even 
 their receding footsteps as they left this earthly 
 tabernacle, ah ! then, how plain it was that if Jesus 
 had sent us no comforter, our hearts and lives would 
 lie hopelessly broken before such a demand. 
 
33 
 
 There is the sweetest comfort in knowing that our 
 dear ones were most dutiful to us, — true to their 
 home lives, consecrated to their Maker, and humble 
 in their endeavors to fulfill the vows they assumed as 
 Christians. 
 
 Do you not recall their girlhood when together ? 
 The summer months, that sometimes brought sweet 
 Nell to Warrenton, give me many backward glimpses 
 of their beauty and happiness and gayety. May 
 
 God bless us. 
 
 Ever affectionately, 
 
 L. B. Battle. 
 
 To Mrs. Spencer. 
 
 Raleigh, Feb. i, 1887. 
 
 My knowledge of the heavenly beauty of her char- 
 acter came from years of intimate companionship. 
 She was a revelation to me. In all my acquaintance 
 I have never known such perfect purity as she dis- 
 played. The spotless lily was not fairer or whiter 
 than her own soul — a soul which, as you know, 
 shone ever through her lovely face, the light of it fall- 
 ing like a benediction on all who knew her well. 
 And her truthfulness was not less remarkable — it 
 5 
 
34 
 
 was inborn, and added to it by training was a tender 
 conscientiousness, which led her to endeavor after 
 accuracy in even the smallest matter. She was true 
 as steel, and to her friends the very embodiment of 
 the word friend in its best meaning, — ready with 
 sympathy, wise in advice, and almost unerring in 
 judgment. 
 
 Every day, as I go around her desolated home, I 
 see continually evidences of her industry, of her fore- 
 sight, of her thoughtfulness. How she, with her 
 delicate health, ever accomplished so much, I cannot 
 understand. Her presence is felt daily among us 
 in all things, and her memory will ever be the most 
 sacred influence in the home which she blessed with 
 her beautiful example. 
 
 Very truly yours, 
 
 Annie B. Foreman. 
 
 To CoL. WxM. E. Anderson. 
 
 Chicago, 111., Oct. 15, 1886. 
 
 I am indeed shocked and grieved to my inmost 
 heart, and can only say. Would to God I were at 
 home ! — not that I could hope to do anything, but to 
 
35 
 
 assure the bereaved family of my heartfelt sympathy, 
 and to perform for dear Mrs. Lewis the last service 
 of the church. What a noble character she was ! so 
 exemplary and so modest withal, so lovely in all 
 respects. No one could appreciate more fully than 
 I her beautiful nature, or her perfect loyalty to her 
 church and her rector. 
 
 Faithfully yours, 
 
 M. M. Marshall. 
 
 To Mrs. K. P. Battle. 
 
 Beirut, Syria, Dec. i, 1886. 
 Dear Mrs. Battle : 
 
 Mrs. Post gave me this morning a copy of the 
 North Carolina Presbyterian of Oct. 20th, in which 
 we read a " Letter from Chapel Hill." 
 
 Dr. Fisher and I wish to express to you our deepest 
 sympathy in the loss of your daughter, whom (though 
 we met her but once, on her recent visit to N. Y.) 
 we remember as one of the most charming women 
 we have ever known. 
 
 Yours very sincerely, 
 
 Mary Shaw Fisher. 
 
36 
 
 To Dr. Lewis. 
 
 Savannah, Ga., Nov, 27, 1886. 
 My dear Dr. Leivis : 
 
 I have never known more widespread and sincere 
 grief upon the passing away of one young life than 
 is expressed over her departure. I have always felt 
 that I knew her much better than our short personal 
 acquaintance seemed to warrant. It was because of 
 her engaging and sympathetic manners, and because 
 I had heard so much of her before we met. I ex- 
 pected a great deal, and every anticipation was real- 
 ized. I shall never forget how I was thrilled by her 
 beauty as she entered the Scriven House parlor to 
 meet me. Since then I have always enjoyed hear- 
 ing all that friends could tell me of you and of her — 
 of her loveliness, and of your united happiness. I re- 
 member Mrs. B. could scarcely say enough of the 
 impression she made on her. She ended by saying, 
 "I don't believe she ever had a wrong thought." 
 You would not wish to bring her back — she is "num- 
 bered now with the saints in glory everlasting." 
 
 Most truly your friend, 
 
 Daisy King. 
 
37 
 
 To Mrs. Foreman. 
 
 Chapel Hill, Feb. 14, 1887. 
 
 I thank you very much for your letter. It is hard 
 to write anything about Nellie Battle Lewis so as 
 not to appear over-eulogistic, exaggerated. It is not 
 that death has thrown a veil over defects, and bid us 
 remember only her virtues. She was, in all sober 
 truth, a very unusual character. I never had a con- 
 versation with her that I did not feel the secret 
 strength as well as the visible sweetness that was in 
 her. She was so mild, so unobtrusive, something so 
 childlike in little ways and looks of hers, that not a 
 few passing acquaintances concluded she was only 
 this and nothing more. I do not believe that any one 
 could have talked with her on serious subjects, on 
 matters of importance, without being sensible of the 
 dignity of her mind — the stability, the intelligence, 
 the good taste, the exquisite delicacy, the true 
 womanliness. Ah, well ! we might have known that 
 such are always called. Her face had early the 
 light that was never on sea or shore — the light 
 that attends the close and closer walk with God 
 that soon ends in his rest. 
 
 Yours very truly, 
 
 C. p. Spencer. 
 
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