RESIDENCE AT ANTIGUA--DR. GRAHAM'S DEATH.
Within three weeks after their arrival at Antigua, six companies
were ordered to the island of St. Vincents to quell an insurrection of
the Caribs. The doctor accompanied them, and Mrs. Graham was called to
the pain of separation under circumstances more trying than she had as
yet experienced, as the war with savages might expose him to the most
cruel death. In these circumstances she wrote him as follows:
"ANTIGUA, January 16, 1773.
"MY DEAREST DOCTOR--This goes by Mr. W----, who sails to-morrow;
also a letter to Captain G----. Mr. M---- begs to be remembered to
you; he has been foot and hand to me since you left. My dearest
doctor, suffer me to put you in remembrance of what you put in the end
of your trunk the morning you left me,* and let it not lie idle.
Read it as the voice of God to your soul. My dearest love, I have been
greatly distressed for fear of your dear life; but the love I bear to
your soul is as superior to that of your body, as the value of one
surpasses the other; consequently my anxiety for its interest is
proportioned. May heaven preserve my dearest love--lead you, guide
you, direct you, so can you never go wrong--protect and defend you, so
shall you ever be safe, is the daily prayer of your affectionate wife,
*Doddridge's Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul.
"I. GRAHAM.
"P.S. I am told that you have taken a number of prisoners. I know
not if you have any right to entail slavery on these poor creatures.
If any fall to your share, do set them at liberty."
On the 8th of June, Mrs. Graham wrote to her mother, expressing
her gratitude for her husband's safe return, and noticing some
gratifying indications of the calm and peaceful state of his mind:
"You would be surprised to hear the doctor preach. He says we
ought to be thankful; we have hitherto been richly and bountifully
provided for; we ought not to repine, nor doubt, seeing we have the
same Providence to depend upon; that we ought not to set our hearts
upon any thing in this world; being very short-sighted, we cannot know
what is proper for us. Having done for the best, when we are
disappointed, we ought to rest satisfied that either what we wish is
not for our good, or it will in some future dispensation of Providence
be brought about another way and in a fitter time. Indeed, my dear
mamma, in some things he is a better Christian than I am. _May God
make him so in every thing._"
Thus was the Lord preparing his servant for what was so soon
to follow--not his dismission from the regiment, which he so
ardently desired, but from this world and its temptations and snares.
Mrs. Graham's prayers were answered, but "by terrible things
in righteousness."
She added a request that her mother would receive her eldest
daughter, who, though at the early age of _five years_, she
feared would receive injurious influences from the corrupt state of
society around her, and accordingly, not long after, sent her to
Scotland; but before her arrival, her grandmother had been called to a
better world. In reference to this event Mrs. Graham wrote to her
bereaved father as follows:
"ANTIGUA, August 21, 1773.
"MY DEAREST PAPA--The heart-rending tidings of my dear, my
tender, my affectionate mother's death reached me yesterday. I am so
distressed that I can scarcely write, and no wonder, for never was
there such a mother. My loss is indeed great; but O, my dear, my
afflicted father, how my heart bleeds for you. Father of mercies,
support my aged parent, and enable him to place his hopes of happiness
beyond this transitory world, and to follow the footsteps of the
dear departed saint till he joins her in glory, never, never more to
be separated.
"My dearest father, we may indeed mourn for ourselves; but she
is happy--that is beyond all doubt. Her delight was with God while
she was here; her closet was a Bethel; her Bible was her heart's
treasure, and His people were her loved companions. She has now
joined the innumerable company above, where she continues the same
services without human frailty, and the enjoyment heightened beyond
our highest conceptions.
"O then, my dear father, be comforted; let us now try to follow
her; let her Saviour now be ours, and then shall we be blest with
like consolations.
"My dearest father, I cannot tell you how much I feel for you; my
tears will not allow me, they flow so fast that I cannot write; what
would I give to be with you. But these are vain words.
"The doctor, however, fully expects that next summer will bring
him leave to go home; then, I trust, we shall be in some fixed place
of abode, and, my dear papa, you will come and live with us. I shall
feel it to be a privilege beyond what I can tell, to perform every
service you stand in need of, soothe your pains and comfort you under
the infirmities of old age.
"My dear, my worthy brother--how has that tender letter, and the
noble resolution he has taken, endeared him to me. It is certainly his
indispensable duty to stay with you in your present solitary
situation; such a dutiful, affectionate son must be a great comfort to
you, and he will not lose his reward.
"I am anxious, my dearest father, to know the particulars of my
mother's death: who attended her in her illness? was the nurse who was
with her a good woman? was she sensible? did she expect death? and did
she mention me, and leave me her blessing? My dear, dear father, tell
me all.
"Farewell, my beloved father; may your God and Redeemer be your
support and final portion, is the prayer of your affectionate
daughter,
"I. GRAHAM."
In her grief for the loss of her inestimable mother, Dr. Graham
had said to her that "God might perhaps call her to a severer trial by
taking her husband also," and the warning appeared prophetic; but her
own words best describe the emotions of her bleeding heart.
To Miss Margaret Graham, Glasgow.
"MY DEAR SISTER--Prepare yourself for a severe shock from an
event that has robbed me of every earthly joy. Your amiable brother is
no longer an inhabitant of this lower world. On the seventeenth of
November he was seized with a putrid fever, which, on the
twenty-second, numbered him with the dead, and left me a thing not to
be envied by the most abject beggar that crawls from door to door.
Expect not consolation from me: I neither can give nor take it. But
why say I so? _Yes, I can._ He died as a Christian, sensible to
the last, and in full expectation of his approaching end. O, you knew
not your brother's worth; you knew him not as a husband: he was not
the same as when you knew him in his giddy years: he was to me all
love, all affection, and partial to my every fault; prudent too in
providing for his family. I had gained such an entire ascendency over
his heart as I would not have given for the crown of Britain.
"On Wednesday, at one o'clock, the seventeenth day of November,
1773, my dear doctor was seized with a violent fever. I sent for his
assistant, Dr. Bowie: he not being at home, Dr. Muir came, who
prescribed an emetic in the evening, and his fever having greatly
abated, it was accordingly given. In the morning Dr. Bowie thought him
so well I did not ask for any other assistance. At ten o'clock his
fever greatly increased, though not so violent as it had been the day
before. He was advised to lose a little blood, which he did; and
towards evening it again abated.
"I found he was not quite satisfied with what had been done for
him; at the same time he would do nothing for himself. Thursday
evening I begged Dr. Bowie to call in Dr. Warner's assistance,
notwithstanding he assured me there was not one dangerous symptom.
Friday morning they both attended, and both pronounced him in a fair
way of recovery.
"About three o'clock Dr. Eird came, who seemed surprised the
thing had not been done which Dr. Graham himself had been dissatisfied
for the want of the day before. Soon after the medicine was sent; but
O, my dear doctor said it was then too late. In the evening they all
again attended, and insisted there was no danger. Saturday morning he
seemed very easy, and the physicians said he was in a fine way. The
fever was gone; the decoction of bark prescribed; and they said he
would be able to-morrow to take it in substance. I was not now the
least apprehensive of danger, and was very earnest in prayer that the
Lord would sanctify his affliction, and not suffer it to go off
without leaving a sensible effect on his mind. Nay, I even said in my
heart, 'the rod is too soon removed, it will do him no good.' Oh, that
fools will still persist to prescribe to infinite wisdom and goodness.
I was soon severely punished.
"About eleven he took the hiccup. I did not like it, but little
knew it was so dangerous a symptom as I afterwards understood. I sent
for Dr. Bowie, who assured me that though it was a disagreeable
symptom with other attendants, in his case it was of no more
consequence than if he or I were to take it. All that day it was so
moderate that a mouthful of any liquid stopped it, though it always
returned again: he often said it would be his death; but I imagined
the pain it gave him extorted these words from him rather than a sense
of danger, and was much pleased to hear him often pray that the Lord
would give him patience and resignation to his blessed will, and still
more to observe that he bore it with a patience beyond what was
natural to him. He was of a quick temper, and being of a healthy
constitution, was but little accustomed to pain; but, during the whole
of his severe and trying affliction, I do not remember to have heard a
murmuring word escape his lips; so that I cannot doubt but his prayers
were heard, and the grace prayed for bestowed. In the evening the
hiccup increased, and all that night it was very severe, so that he
could not bear to be any way disturbed, nor could I possibly prevail
upon him to take his medicine, from two in the morning until ten
o'clock, when the physicians again attended and persuaded him to
comply. This was Sunday. About mid-day Dr. Warner sent some old hock,
with orders that he should take some in his drink, and now and then a
little plain. When the wine was brought in and put on the table, he
asked me what it was. I told him. He said, 'Yes, they are now come to
the last shift.'
"Mr. Frank Gilbert, a good man, and, I believe, a real
Christian, having come to town to preach--for he is a Methodist
minister--sent a note, kindly inquiring after him, and intimating,
if it would be agreeable to him, he would visit him in the morning.
He said, by all means, he should be very glad to see him. I said,
'My love, you know I have great faith in the prayers of God's
people; suppose you should beg an interest in them this afternoon?'
He answered, 'My dear, do you think they will forget me?' I said,
'I hope, my love, you are not ashamed to desire the prayers of the
people of God; it is not now a time to mind the ridicule of the
world.' He said, 'No, Bell, I care not a farthing for the whole
world, and you may make it my own request.'
"His disorder gained ground very fast that day, and I began to be
much alarmed; yet still I thought it would not end in death, but
though severe and dangerous, was sent in answer to my repeated,
earnest prayers to awaken in him a real concern about his eternal
interest, to set the world and its vanities in their true light, and
bring about that entire change of heart which our blessed Lord styles
the new birth, and without which, he says, we cannot enter the kingdom
of heaven.
"It was now become very difficult for him to speak; but by the
motion of his hands and eyes, which were continually lifted up when he
had the smallest respite, I could easily see his thoughts were fixed
on the importance of his situation; besides, many sentences and half
sentences broke from his lips at different times, which left me
without a doubt. 'Farewell,' said he, 'vain world; an idle world it
is, nothing but shadows, and we keep chasing them as children do
bubbles of water, till they break, and we find them nothing but air.'
"Observing this inward recollection, I seldom disturbed him. He
was perfectly acquainted with the truth, and believed it. The
doctrines of religion were often the subject of our conversation, and
in every point of faith we entirely agreed: they only wanted to be
felt and applied to the heart. I remained in silence to my dear
husband, but not to my God: I was incessant in prayer, begging and
beseeching that the Lord himself would carry on what he had so
graciously begun--that he would every way suit himself to his
necessities, and give conviction or consolation, as he saw needful;
but when he spoke I endeavored to answer him from God's own word, as I
was able or assisted. Once he exclaimed, 'Draw me, and I will run
after thee;' at another time, 'Surely thou wilt not allow thy blessed
Son to plead in vain for me, an obstinate sinner.' This was a degree
of faith, and I endeavored to strengthen it. I said, 'My love, you
know the way to the Father, through Christ, the only Mediator. You say
right, he cannot plead in vain; fly to him; cast yourself at his feet;
trust in him; hear his own invitation, 'Come unto me, all ye that
labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest;' 'him that cometh
unto me I will in no wise cast out.' At another time these words broke
from his lips, 'Form me, train me, prepare me for thyself.' Here was a
breathing after sanctification; might not the promise be applied, 'I
will create a clean heart, and renew a right spirit within thee.'
"In the evening the physicians again attended, but could hardly
get a word from him. While they sat by the bedside I went out to the
gallery with Mrs. Grandidier; the apparent struggle she had to conceal
her distress, the compassion and sympathy in her countenance struck
me. I easily perceived she gave up hope, and, I began to suspect, not
from her own judgment alone; she advised me to send away my children
to a friend's house, and to send for a person who was capable of
assisting me, it being no longer proper for me to be alone. Thus far I
had not allowed any person to do the least thing about him but myself,
nor stirred from his bedside, except for a few minutes, to pour out my
soul into the bosom of my God. I hardly, if ever, prayed for his
recovery, being willing the rod should remain till it effected the
purpose for which it was sent, and then I believed it would be
removed--as if the Lord was to follow exactly the rules prescribed by
my weak, foolish, ignorant heart.
"Hitherto I had suffered little, believing all to be the answer
to my prayers; but I had not seriously thought of parting with him. I
was now truly alarmed, and determined to know, as far as appearances
went, the worst. Accordingly I stopped Dr. Bowie on the gallery: 'Tell
me, doctor,' said I, 'what have I to expect? It is cruel to flatter
me: if you give me some warning, and prepare me, I may perhaps be able
to support it; but if you suffer it to come upon me all at once, I
shall certainly sink under the shock.' He was silent for some time,
and then replied, 'I am really at a loss how to answer you.' I said,
'I will answer for you, there is no hope.' He said, 'God forbid--he is
in great danger; but still there is hope; and if you value his life,
be calm.' I was composed. Strange composure; I neither cried nor
complained; tears were denied a passage; I was fixed and dumb like a
statue. Can I, or any one else, describe my situation, or what I felt
at that moment? It was urged of what consequence it was that I should
be composed, that I might be able to do my duty to him, as no one
could supply my place to his satisfaction, and perhaps even now he
might be in want of me. I returned to my post, which was, except when
doing some necessary office about him, generally on my knees by his
bedside, partly that I might not lose the least whisper that came from
his lips, and partly because it is my favorite posture for prayer,
from which I could not cease, no, not for one minute.
"There were different medicines prescribed for that night, some
in case that others proved too strong for his stomach, others in case
of the increase of the hiccup. I found my head confused and my memory
incapable of retaining the variety of directions given. I therefore
accepted of the offer of a friend of his to sit up with us that night,
whom I begged to pay particular attention to the directions, and to
watch the proper times the medicines were to be given. This he did
with great care, and my dear doctor was very pliable in taking them as
they were offered. As for me I was so deeply engaged with the concerns
of his soul, I was unfit for any thing else.
"After Dr. Bowie let me know the danger he was in, I sent a
letter to Mr. Gilbert, begging he would not delay his visit till
morning, as perhaps by that time he might not be able to speak to him.
Accordingly he came; he asked him how he did; he answered, 'Very ill;'
he asked him the situation of his mind; he answered, 'Entirely
resigned to the divine will;' he asked him what hopes he had; he said,
'his hope was in the mercy of God, through Christ;' Mr. Gilbert said,
'You have no dependence on any thing besides?' he said, 'No, no, I
have nothing else to depend upon.' Then the doctor desired him to
pray, but at the same time to be short, as he had but short intervals
from the hiccup. After prayer, Mr. Gilbert told me it seemed difficult
for him to speak, and he did not think it would be prudent to say
more; that he would call again in the morning.
"Monday morning he was greatly weakened, having had little rest
all night from the severity of the hiccup. At ten o'clock the
physicians again attended; but I could easily perceive they had but
small hopes. My doctor asked Dr. Warner if he thought it would be long
before he would be at rest, who said his pulse was still strong. He
said, 'It is a hard thing to die!" Mrs. Brannan came to spend the day
with us, one of the Methodist society, and Mr. McNab, whom my doctor
desired to pray with him, which he did. All this day he said little,
but still continued in inward prayer, as was visible by the motions of
his hands and eyes; he had many agonizing struggles, and often
exclaimed, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.' 'Blessed Jesus, come and
receive me to thyself--come--come--blessed Jesus, come!' Once, after a
long struggle, he exclaimed, 'Release me, O release me, and let me fly
to the bosom of my Father!' All this time I never parted from his
bedside but a few minutes to give my soul a freer vent at the throne
of grace. I never prayed for life, but that he might be washed,
sanctified, and have all God's salvation completed in his soul, and be
received into the arms of his mercy. I also had been, and still was,
very importunate that God would give me some token, some assurance
that he would save his soul, and give him an abundant entrance into
the kingdom of his glory; and, by all that I had heard, seen, and
felt, I was now satisfied that the most merciful God had sealed his
pardon for Jesus' sake; and I found myself ready, dearly as I loved
him, to resign him into the hands of divine mercy; but still I
breathed after some further manifestation.
"In the evening Dr. Galloway, an old acquaintance, arrived from
the island of Dominico, and hearing of his friend's illness, came
immediately to visit him. When my doctor heard his voice only whisper
how he was, he said, 'I hear Galloway's voice,' and stretched out his
hand; so fully had he his senses to the last. Upon their feeling his
pulse, he asked if they thought he would be long in dying. Dr. Eird
replied, 'You must not talk of dying, but of living; you are stronger
than when I was here this morning, and I have seen many worse recover.
Do, do be advised, take your medicine, and try for life.' These words
brought a gleam of hope to my despairing soul, and what had been
denied me for twenty-four hours, a flood of tears, and I was greatly
relieved. I went out to the gallery and gave a free vent to my
bursting heart. I now also begged the Lord for his life, and said in
my heart, should he now be restored, how doubly blessed would he be,
healed in soul and body. I returned to his bedside and thus addressed
my beloved: 'My dearest life, the doctors still have hopes, and we
know nothing is impossible with God. Who knows what further service he
may have for you in this world; or whether he may not give you to my
prayers, and restore you to your Bell and family? God works by means;
O be persuaded to take every thing prescribed, and pray to God for the
blessing; devote your future life to his service, and, for poor Bell's
sake, offer up a petition for life.' He did not interrupt me, but
answered, 'Disengage yourself, Bell, disengage yourself from me. I
want to lift up my soul to God, and bless him for Jesus Christ.'
"Dr. Galloway was determined to stay with him all night, and see
him take his medicine. Some time after, he had a severe attack of
hiccup, and said to Dr. Galloway, 'I hope you are now convinced.' He
said, 'Of what?' My doctor said, 'That dissolution is near.' A little
after, he said, 'Who died for all?' and again repeated, 'Who died for
all?' I was forbid to speak to him, as rest was so much wanted, so I
answered, 'Christ, my love; but give up your soul to God, and try to
shut your weary eyes, and get a little rest for your body;' and so he
did, and got a little sleep. All that night he did every thing he was
desired, but would drink nothing but cold water, which had been
allowed him; the wine he would not touch. His disorder increased so
fast that Dr. Galloway, about five in the morning, said to me, 'I may
go home--I can be of no service, and I cannot stand it.' I said, 'I
suppose I need not disturb him any more with medicine.' He said, 'No,
you may give him what he calls for.' Now, my God, all is over; I
resign him up to thee. Only one parting word--something yet I require,
to assure my heart that thou wilt receive his soul. Some time after he
laid his hand upon Mrs. Brannan's lap and made a sign to her;
afterwards he made a sign to me, who was at the back of the bed, to
come round. Mrs. Brannan thought he wanted her to retire, which she
did. He looked after her. I said, 'My love, she thinks you want to say
something to me; can you speak?' He said, 'Join--pray,' which we did.
He spoke no more for some time, only, 'Come, sweet Jesus,' and
frequently, 'Receive my spirit.' These words were given for my sake. I
cried, 'I am satisfied, Lord, and I yield him up to thee with all my
heart; thou hast given me all my asking. I will not be longer
faithless, but believing. Continue to support his departing soul, and
let the enemy find nothing in him.'
"The next attack of hiccup laid him back speechless, and I
believe senseless in the last parting work: he had no further
struggle, nor need of any person to support him. I therefore again
placed myself on my knees by his bedside, determined not to quit the
posture till his soul had entered its rest; but nature was worn out,
and though I swallowed hartshorn and water in great quantities, I was
so overcome that I was obliged to lie down at the back of the bed to
save me from fainting. Three hours did he continue in this last work
of the heart. I watched his last, and delivered him up with a hearty
prayer and a full assurance; but O, how earnestly I wished to go with
him! I was, for the time, entirely insensible to my own loss: my soul
pursued him into the invisible world, and for the time cordially
rejoiced with the Spirit. I thought I saw the angel band ready to
receive him, among whom stood my dear mother, the first to bid him
welcome to the regions of bliss.
"I was then desired to leave the room, which I did, saying, 'My
doctor is gone. I have accompanied him to the gates of heaven: he is
safely landed; that is now not him that lies there. You, nurse, will
see it decently dressed; then I may again be permitted to take another
parting kiss.' So, embracing the precious clay, I went into the
parlor. Some friends came in to see me. My composure they could not
account for: our sincere and tender regard for each other was too well
known to allow them to impute it to indifference. My distress at
parting with him, even for a couple of months, when he went to St.
Vincent, and dejection of spirit the whole time till his return, left
them as little room to impute it to want of sensibility: at last they
imagined that I was stupefied with grief and fatigue; but they little
knew that at that hour I rejoiced; indeed I told them, but I suppose
was not believed. I was asked if I had any thing particular to say
respecting the funeral. I said, 'Nothing--my charge is gone to rest; I
would leave it to them.' It was then proposed to bury next day at ten
o'clock. I said that was very early; they answered, by that time I
would be satisfied it was not too early.
"In the evening I returned to our bed-chamber to take a last
farewell of the dear remains. The countenance was so very pleasant I
thought there was even something heavenly, and could not help saying,
'You smile upon me, my love; surely the delightful prospect opening on
the parting soul left that benign smile on its companion the body.' I
thought I could have stood and gazed for ever; but for fear of
relapsing into immoderate grief, I withdrew after a parting embrace,
and with an intention not to ask for another, lest a change in his
countenance might shake my peace; for Oh, we are weak, and at certain
times not subject to reason. I went to bed purely to get alone, for I
had little expectation of sleep; but I was mistaken; nature was fairly
overcome with watching and fatigue. I dropped asleep, and for a few
hours forgot my woes; but Oh; the pangs I felt on my first awaking. I
could not for some time believe it true that I was indeed a widow, and
that I had lost my heart's treasure--my all I held dear on earth. It
was long before day. I was in no danger of closing my eyes again, for
I was at that time abandoned to despair, till recollection and the
same considerations which at first supported me brought me a little to
myself. I considered, I wept for one that wept no more; that all my
fears for his eternal happiness were now over, and he beyond the reach
of being lost; neither was he lost to me, but added to my heavenly
treasure, more securely mine than ever. Those snares and temptations
arising from the corrupt customs of a degenerate age, which had so
often caused my fears, could never reach him there. The better, dearer
half of myself was now secure beyond the possibility of falling, and
waiting my arrival to complete his bliss. O happy hour, which shall
also set my soul at liberty, and unite us, never to part more.
"In the morning I asked the nurse if there was any alteration;
she said, no. I again returned to take another view, and was surprised
to find his color and countenance unchanged. I began to be extremely
uneasy at having consented to so early a burial. I returned again, and
again; O, how I wished to have kept him for ever. Ten o'clock came;
the company assembled; I became very uneasy; at last I discovered it
to Dr. Bowie, begged he would only view him; how fresh the color--how
every way like life. He assured me there was not the smallest doubt
but that he was gone. I was not satisfied with this, but made them all
inspect him. All agreed in the same thing, and I was obliged to yield,
and the dear remains were ravished from my sight. What a night I
passed the night after the funeral! I had ordered our own bed to be
made up, and at the usual time retired; but in vain did I try to
sleep; the moment my senses began to lose sensibility, I was in a kind
of dream. Finding myself alone, I imagined he was out at supper,
though he seldom was without me; now I thought I heard his foot on the
stairs, and started up to listen if it were he, and to bid him
welcome, when my roused senses told me what I could still hardly
credit, that I had no husband to expect, and threw me into a fresh
agony, which kept me awake till I had in some measure again reconciled
myself to my solitary situation. But having only slept a few hours
since my dear doctor was taken ill, I no sooner got my mind a little
composed, than sleep again began to overpower my senses, when the
same, or a similar imagination roused me.
"The morning came. When I was called down to breakfast, the sight
of his empty seat distracted me. I returned to my room, though I
thought it my duty to take some nourishment. I had it brought to me.
Alas, I could nowhere turn my eyes but the sight was connected with
this dear idea, and recalled past delights, never more to return. Our
back windows looked into the garden, on which he had bestowed so much
labor and pains, and which he was just bringing to perfection. Here we
had spent many pleasant hours together, and indulged that freedom of
conversation, the natural consequence of an unbounded confidence. The
double arbor he had reared, and so contrived as to screen from both
the south and the western sun, bid fair, in a short time, to screen us
also from every eye. Hitherto we had been confined to morning hours,
or afternoon, when it was shaded by the house; but had often pleased
ourselves with the hours we should spend in this cool retreat, even at
noonday, while, screened from the sun's scorching rays, we might enjoy
the refreshing breeze through its leafy openings; but these delightful
prospects were now for ever at an end. I might, indeed, there take my
seat; but the tongue which everywhere charmed, was buried in deepest
silence. The company which rendered every scene pleasant was gone,
never to return: his sheep, his goats, nay, even the poultry, were
often fed from his hand: every thing served to distract. As for my
children, they were by kind friends kept for some time out of my
sight; for not only to view them fatherless distressed me, but their
thoughtless mirth and play was altogether insupportable.
"I accepted an invitation from Mr. Gilbert's family to spend some
time in the country with them; for though it was impossible for me to
forget for one moment, yet, when these objects were removed from my
sight, I was more able to turn my thoughts upward, to where my heart's
treasure now is, and where I myself expect to be. We had two
men-servants, and my two Indian girls; one of the men I dismissed, the
other I left to take care of the living creatures about the place. One
of my girls I boarded where she would be in good company, and with my
children and their maid I abandoned my solitary dwelling. I met with a
very tender reception from that worthy family. My situation here was
such as I both expected and wished, and attended with many outward
circumstances which had the probability of making it supportable. I
was allowed to be as much by myself as I chose. No one intruded on my
privacy without my consent; but one or other of the Mrs. Gilberts
often visited me in my own room, and drew from my bursting heart all
its griefs, sympathizing, soothing, and advising at the same time.
They are both women of great piety, having for many years devoted
their hearts, time, talents, and fortune to the service of God; and
their two husbands likewise, whose business it has been to instruct
the ignorant negroes without fee or reward. Had it not been for this
family, I know not where the distraction of my mind might have
ended." * * * *
Thus was Mrs. Graham, at the early age of thirty-one, left a
widow in a land of strangers. Her husband, companion, protector, was
gone: a man of superior mind, great taste, warm affection, and
domestic habits. She was left with three daughters, the eldest of whom
was not over five years of age, and expecting an increase of her
infant charge. Of temporal property she possessed very little: she was
at a distance from her father's house: the widow and the fatherless
were in a foreign land. The change in her circumstances was as sudden
as it was great.
That sympathizing heart with which she was accustomed to receive
and return the confidence of unbounded friendship, and thus, by
reciprocal communion, to alleviate the trials and enrich the
enjoyments of life, was chilled in death. All the pleasing plans, all
the cherished prospects of future settlement in life were cut off in a
moment. While sinking into a softened indifference to the world, in
the contemplation of her severe loss, she was, on the other hand,
roused into exertion for the sustenance and support of her young
family, whose earthly dependence was now necessarily upon her.
Not satisfied with the custom of the island, in burying so soon
after life is extinct, her uneasiness became so great that her friends
judged it prudent to have her husband's grave opened, to convince her
that no symptoms of returning life had been exhibited there. The
fidelity of her heart was now as strongly marked as her tenderness.
She dressed herself in the habiliments of a widow, and determined
never to lay them aside. This she strictly adhered to, and rejected
every overture afterwards made to her of again entering into the
married state. She breathed the feelings of her heart in a little
poem, in which she dedicated herself to her God as a widow indeed.
On examining into the state of her husband's affairs, she
discovered that there remained not quite two hundred pounds sterling
in his agent's hands.
These circumstances afforded an opportunity for the display of
the purity of Mrs. Graham's principles, and her rigid adherence to the
commandments of her God in every situation.
It was proposed to her, and urged with much argument, to sell the
two Indian girls, her late husband's property; but no considerations
of interest or necessity could prevail upon her thus to dispose of
immortal beings, the work of her heavenly Father's hand. One of these
girls accompanied her to Scotland, where she was married; and the
other died in Antigua, leaving an affectionate testimony to the
kindness of her dear master and mistress.
The surgeon's mate of the regiment was a young man whom Dr.
Graham had early taken under his patronage. The kindness of his patron
had so far favored him with a medical education, that he was enabled
to succeed him as surgeon to the regiment.
Notwithstanding the slender finances of Mrs. Graham, feeling for
the situation of Dr. H----, she presented to him her husband's medical
library and his sword: a rare instance of disinterested regard for the
welfare of another.
This was an effort towards observing the second table of the law,
in doing which she was actuated likewise by that principle which flows
from keeping the first table also. Nor was the friendship of Dr. and
Mrs. Graham misplaced. The seeds of gratitude were sown in an upright
heart. Dr. H----, from year to year, manifested his sense of
obligation, by remitting to the widow such sums of money as he could
afford. This was a reciprocity of kind offices, equally honorable to
the benefactors and to them who received the benefit: an instance,
alas, too rarely met with in a selfish world.
It may here be remarked, in order to show how much temporal
supplies are under the direction of a special providence, that Dr.
H----'s remittances and friendly letters were occasionally received by
Mrs. Graham until the year 1795; after this period her circumstances
were so favorably altered as to render such aid unnecessary; and from
that time she heard no more from Dr. H----, neither could she learn
what was his subsequent history.
It may be profitable here to look at Mrs. Graham, contrasted with
those around her whose condition in the world was prosperous. Many
persons then in Antigua were busy and successful in the accumulation
of wealth, to the exclusion of every thought tending to holiness, to
God, and to heaven. The portion which they desired they possessed.
What then? They are since gone to another world. The magic of the
words, "my property," "an independent fortune," has been dispelled;
and that for which they toiled, and in which they gloried, has since
passed into a hundred hands; the illusion is vanished, and unless they
made their peace with God through the blood of the cross, they left
this world, and alas, found no heaven before them. But amidst apparent
affliction and outward distress, God was preparing the heart of this
widow, by the discipline of his covenant, for future usefulness--to be
a blessing, probably to thousands of her race, and to enter finally on
that "rest which remaineth for the people of God."
Her temporal support was not, in her esteem, "an independent
fortune," but a life of dependence on the care of her heavenly Father:
she had more delight in suffering and doing his will, than in all
riches. "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him, and he
will show them his covenant." To those who walk with God, he will show
the way in which they should go, and their experience will assure them
that he directs their paths. "Bread shall be given them, and their
water shall be sure." She passed through many trials of a temporal
nature, but she was comforted of her God through them all; and at last
was put in possession of an eternal treasure in heaven, "where neither
moth nor rust doth corrupt, nor thieves break through and steal." May
this contrast be solemnly examined, and the example of this child of
God made a blessing to many.
In anticipation of her approaching trial, with which her own life
might be suddenly terminated, Mrs. Graham _set her house in
order_, and wrote the two following letters: one to her friend Mrs.
Grandidier, to whom and her husband Capt. Grandidier, she committed
the charge of her family and affairs; the other to her father in
Scotland, commending her children to his protection. Her tender and
affectionate appeals to each of them in respect to their own eternal
welfare, are a beautiful specimen of that Christian fidelity and love
of the souls of men which so strongly characterized her future life.
"ST. JOHNS, Antigua, 1774.
"MY DEAR MRS. GRANDIDIER--The long and steady friendship which
has subsisted between us, in sickness and in health, in prosperity and
adversity, ever the same, without change or diminution, leaves me no
room to doubt that it will extend to my little family, and that you
will be as ready, to the utmost of your power, to befriend them, as
you have been to the dear father already gone, and your friend, who
is, perhaps, about to follow.
"If it should please God to take me away in my approaching
confinement, I leave you and Capt. Grandidier full power to dispose of
every thing in this house, and belonging to me in this island, as you
shall think most for the advantage of my little family. You know my
extreme tenderness for their dear father made me unable to part with
any of his clothes, but these can be of no consequence to me when I
shall again have joined him for whose sake I kept them; you may
therefore dispose of them, and also of my own, if you think the avails
will be of more service to the children. But I do not choose to leave
any particular directions about my trifling effects; you will consult
with other friends, and I am certain you will act for them to the best
of your judgment. It is a great relief to my mind that I have such
steady and tried friends to leave the charge of them upon. Miss
G. B---- has promised to take J----, and it is my desire that the
others, and the infant yet unborn, if it survive, be sent to my
father, where I will leave them to be disposed of and provided for by
that God who has fed me all my life, by their heavenly Father, who has
commanded me to leave my fatherless children upon him, that he will
preserve them alive, and whose promise I have, that he will never
leave them nor forsake them.
"Mr. Reid will not be less kind to the offspring of his friend
when they have lost, than when they were under a mother's protection.
May the blessing of the widow and the fatherless follow him wherever
he goes, and may God recompense him a thousand-fold in blessings
spiritual and temporal. Let Diana* be sent with my children; if
there be an infant, you know a nurse must be found for it, whatever it
cost. As for Susan,* I am at a loss what to do with her; my heart
tells me I have no right to entail slavery upon her and her offspring;
I know I shall be blamed, but I am about to be called to account by a
higher power than any in this world for my conduct, and I dare not
allow her to be sold. I therefore leave it to herself either to remain
here, or if it be her desire, to accompany the children. I beg Mr.
Reid will be kind enough to allow her a passage with the rest.
*The two Indian girls.
"And now, my dear friend, as the greatest happiness I can wish
you, may that God whom I have chosen as my own portion, be yours also;
may he, by his outward providence and by the inward operations of his
Spirit on your heart, lead you to himself and convince you of the
truth. But O, my dear friend, shut not your eyes and ears against
conviction. You are not satisfied that the Bible is indeed the word of
God. Is it not worth inquiring into? What would you think of a man who
had a large fortune, and the whole depending on proving some certain
facts, and yet would not be at the pains to inform himself? Are the
interests of this world of such importance, which in a few fleeting
years we must leave and have done with for ever, and our final state
in the next, which is to fix us in happiness or misery through the
endless days of eternity, not worth a thought? Think then, and
seriously ask, 'What if it be so? What if this be indeed the word of
God given by inspiration, for the rule of both our faith and manners,
and by which we are to be judged? What if this same God, who so kindly
reveals his will to men, has with it given the clearest evidences and
strongest proofs that it is his own word?' Think, I say, my dear
friend, if it should be so, what they deserve who either reject or
neglect it without taking the trouble to inform themselves, or to be
convinced that it either is or is not of divine authority.
"How many great, learned, and wise men have sifted these
evidences with the greatest care, and the deeper they entered into the
search, the more clear they appeared, even those whose lives are
entirely contrary to it, and whose interest it is to wish it false,
cannot deny. As to the various explanations of it, it is every one's
duty to read for himself, and although there may be some parts of it
too deep for every capacity, and which may perhaps require a knowledge
of the history of the times to understand, yet the simple truths of
the gospel, what we are to believe concerning God, and what duties he
requires of us, and what he forbids, are equally plain and easy. If we
can only once be satisfied that it is indeed the word of God, set
ourselves to study it with an unprejudiced mind, with a sincere desire
to know the truth and be led by it, with earnest prayer that the same
Spirit which inspired the writers would make it plain to our hearts
and understandings, that God himself would teach us its true meaning,
and save us from error, we shall, I venture to say, be taught all
necessary knowledge, and be led in the way to eternal life, and not
suffered to err: we have God's promise that it shall be so. 'If any
man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of
God.'
"Forgive me, my dear friend; the subject appears to me so
important that I know not how to have done. I love you with a true
and sincere friendship: I love your soul, and am deeply interested
in its eternal happiness. Once more I commit you to that God, who
only can lead you to himself and to true happiness; and that you may
know the truth of this from deep experience, to the eternal joy,
peace, and safety of your immortal soul, is the last prayer of your
affectionate friend, who hopes to meet and rejoice with you in our
Redeemer's kingdom.
"ISABELLA GRAHAM."
Mrs. Graham to her Father.
"ANTIGUA, May, 1774.
"MY EVER-DEAR FATHER--If this ever reach you, it will be when I
have taken my final leave of this world, and received my portion for
eternity in the next, when I hope I shall have gained the summit of my
wishes, and be happy in the society of my dear husband and much-loved
mother, in the kingdom of our Redeemer.
"My truly orphan children I have desired to be sent to you;
though I see no visible way you have to provide for them, yet I am
perfectly easy concerning them. I leave them upon that God who has fed
me all my life, and whose tender care I have experienced in a thousand
dangers--upon their and my heavenly Father, who has commanded me to
leave my fatherless children upon him, and he will preserve them
alive. The God of providence will prepare for them a home, and raise
up friends, perhaps from a quarter neither you nor I could expect.
"My only concern and prayer to God for them is, that they may be
early taught to love God and serve him--that they may fall into such
hands as will carefully instruct them in the principles of morality
and religion, and teach them the great, but too little thought of
truth, that our chief business in life is to prepare for death. As to
the polite parts of education, I look upon them as of no consequence;
they may be as good Christians, perhaps better, without than with
them; the perfection of their nature no way depends upon them. I am
equally indifferent what station of life they may occupy, whether they
swim in affluence or earn their daily bread, if they only act their
part properly, and obtain the approbation of their God in that station
wherein he in his infinite wisdom sees fit to place them.
"Remember to give my love to all my dear children. I reckon all
that sprung from my dear doctor mine; and though I did not suffer a
mother's pangs for them, Heaven knows how equally I love them with
those who cost me dearer. Tell them I leave them a mother's blessing;
and my last prayers, if it please God to continue my senses, shall be
for their best interests.
"And now, my dear father, suffer one parting word, though from
one no way entitled to advise: this is the third loud call for you to
be also ready; according to the course of nature, you must very
shortly follow; you can have very little more to do in this world, and
therefore the smallest share of your attention is due to it. The
young, the gay, the giddy, and thoughtless hold it a wise maxim to
forget their departed friends as soon as possible; this may be
worldly, but it cannot be heavenly wisdom. To be fully and entirely
resigned to the will of God in all things, is certainly the
characteristic of a Christian; but this is perfectly consistent with
the most tender remembrance. That resignation--but indeed it deserves
not the name--which consists in forgetfulness, in banishing thought
and drowning reflection in worldly cares and amusements, can be no
grateful offering to Him who has commanded us to have our loins girt
and our lamps trimmed, and to be always ready, for in such an hour as
we think not 'the Son of man cometh.' How often are we commanded to
watch, to set our affections on things above, to be dead to the world,
to lay up treasure for ourselves in heaven. These injunctions are
inconsistent with forgetfulness; and if it be our duty to meditate on
death and eternity, nothing more naturally leads our minds to that
subject than the recollection of departed friends, who, if pious, are
not lost, but only gone a little while before, taken from our earthly
and added to our heavenly treasure.
"Believe me, my dear father, to a mind abstracted from the world
and devoted to God, death, though solemn, has nothing dreadful in it;
on the contrary, to a mind rightly disposed it is rather a desirable
object. Just conceptions of God, and converse with him, will very soon
change the aspect of the king of terrors to a welcome messenger, who
comes to set open the gates of immortality, and to usher us into the
kingdom of our heavenly Father. And now may our most gracious God
grant you, through your few remaining days, his direction and
consolation; may he bestow upon you that peace which the world can
neither give nor take away; and when the appointed time of your change
shall come, may the comforts of his Holy Spirit so cheer and refresh
your soul, that you may be able, without a doubt or a fear, to resign
it into the hands of your Redeemer.
"Give my love to Hugh. The sentiments expressed in his letters
bespeak him a worthy brother, and deserving of my highest esteem. I
would have written to him, but I have still some directions to commit
to writing concerning my little family, and my hour is at hand; but
tell him I will remember him in my last prayers. I charge him not to
banish the idea of his worthy and now glorified mother, lest with that
he also forget her precepts; but prepare to meet us who are gone
before; and O, that our meeting may be with joy on both sides. It is
hard for youth, in the present age, to follow our Christian pattern.
Every real Christian, every Bible Christian, must lay his account with
being branded with the name of enthusiast; but tell him to remember
that the opinion of the world cannot alter the nature of holiness, nor
the maxims of Christ. Let him read, think, and judge for himself with
an unprejudiced mind; with a hearty desire to know and be led by the
truth; to be taught of God, and conformed to his will in all things,
and I venture to promise he will not be suffered to err. But let him
avoid disputes about religion, they are seldom productive of any good;
let him fortify his mind against banter and ridicule, it is no small
degree of persecution. Yet, if he be determined to follow his Lord, he
must expect to meet with it, and I know from experience it is hard to
bear. I have found the safest way is to receive it in silence; for
those who are disposed to ridicule the appearance of religion in
another, are not in a fit disposition to be convinced by any argument,
at least at that time, and few can dispute without heat, which is a
transgression against the virtue of meekness, and very apt to lessen
our love to the person who opposes us. We lose the spirit of brotherly
love in hot-headed zeal, which perhaps deserves a harder name, but
conceals itself under that appearance; and it is no small victory
gained over ourselves if we are able to love, wish well to, and be
ready to serve those whose sentiments differ from ours.
"I leave you and yours, and mine, upon the Fountain of all
goodness, and may the peace of God, which passeth all understanding,
keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of
his Son Jesus Christ our Lord; and the blessing of God Almighty, the
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, be among you, and remain with you
always. Amen.
"Your ever dutiful and affectionate daughter,
"ISABELLA GRAHAM."
It pleased God to preserve the life of Mrs. Graham, and to make
her the grateful mother of a son, whom she called after the name of
his father, and endeavored, in humble trust, to consecrate to the
Author of his being.
Having now no object to induce her to stay longer at Antigua, she
disposed of her slender property, and placing her money in the hands
of Major Brown, requested him to take a passage for herself and
family, and to lay in their sea-stores. After seeing a railing placed
around the grave of her beloved husband, that his remains might not be
disturbed until mingled with their kindred dust, she bade adieu to her
kind friends, and with a sorrowful heart turned her face towards her
native land.