I am sure that you have thought many times that I was forgetful and
ungrateful, but indeed the first part of the indictment cannot be laid
to my charge. I never forget you, and if I have not written, it is
because I have suffered and enjoyed many things during the past two
years, and have permanently lost the power of rapid movement, or of
doing anything under great stress and pressure.
But now that this wonderful year is ending, this Sabbath of the
centuries, I feel that I must at least send my love and unforgetness
to you; also my hope that you are finding on the other side of the
continent of North America, compensation for all that you left behind
in the east, and greater promise for the future.
For all that I have gained for some years past I have to thank my
losses. Chief among my gains is, I hope, a little realization of
eternal goodness; of the perfection of the order which governs the
universe, and the relation of every separate atom to the Divine Unity
of the whole. I know Goethe proclaimed it a hundred years ago; but
every separate part has to grow to its knowledge for itself.
I wonder how you are spending Christmas. This year seems to me so
remarkable that it is a privilege to live in it. I am trying to use
its last days as if they were mine, in doing the things I should be
most sorry to leave undone.
I expect to return home soon--that is, in a few months. Or rather, as
I have no home now, and a trustee has lost the money I had saved and
entrusted to him in making provision for my old age, I shall only try
to find a corner to rest in.
I hope you have been dealt with more kindly in body and estate. Please
remember that I never forget the union of the spirit we once
enjoyed--that the Positivist Episode was a positive factor in my life,
and that I shall always recall Mr. Wakeman as my chief helper in it.
With love to you and yours, I am unforgettingly,
J.C. CROLY.
(It has seemed pertinent and interesting as bearing upon the
"Positivist Episode" to here insert extracts from
testimonials to Mr. Croly published in the memorial issued
at the time of his death in May, 1889.)
[Illustration: DAVID GOODMAN CROLY.]