WORK IN KENTUCKY AND MISSOURI.
The five years following the return to America were years of transition,
of experiment. Mrs. Carr was, as always, bent upon devoting her energies
to educational work, and Mr. Carr was content to preach in whatever
surroundings might be best adapted to her talents.
Fortunate is he who discovers anywhere in the world, a situation which
calls for the exercise of all his highest faculties; usually such a
setting must be made, fashioned from a part of that energy which, might,
if not thus deflected from creative work, have wrought the more.
It was so with Mrs. Carr. Endowed with gifts of high order, gifts that
the world always needs, she had not, as yet, found the vantage ground
for their full exercise; nor was she ever to find that highest
development, until she had fashioned from her own heart and brain, the
battle-ground of service.
As yet, she did not know this, but sought in various fields for a
ready-prepared equipment, a sword sharpened, and a breast plate polished
by other hands, with which she might fight for the truth. Returning
from Australia she naturally looked about in Kentucky for the background
of her ideals. It was not to be found there, and she came presently to
Missouri; first to Fulton, then to Columbia.
She entered into various school relationships, but we find her restless
in association with presidents whose ideas of school-government were
different from her own. We trust the following extracts from letters
will prove of interest in themselves, and at the same time tell the
story of these years in the words of those who were chief actors.
May 27, 1874, about eight months after the return from Australia, A. B.
Jones writes to Mr. Carr from Madison Female Institute, Richmond,
Kentucky: "If I should conclude to resign here, would it be worth while
to nominate you and Mrs. Carr for the position?"--which shows that Mrs.
Carr is making no delay in seeking her sharpened sword and polished
armor.
She is in fact, impatient in the search, as witness this to her from Mr.
Carr, May 27th: "I am having big audiences at Sycamore, Kentucky. At the
conclusion of the sermon, last night, eleven came forward. You must try
to be reconciled with your lot until next fall. This constant moving
about from place to place, is best for the present. As to Hocker
College, they want you and I will hold myself liable to an engagement at
Cincinnati, for my wife's sake. Do not worry over the matter. Teaching
must be attended to, just as the institutions of baptism and the Lord's
supper. I am sure you will be one of the happiest women in the world, if
you are settled at work; and this shall be, if we are spared to see next
fall."
He writes again, June 25th: "Your letter came yesterday. A man named
Carr, opened it by mistake, and when he saw that ribbon and those
flowers, he must have thought it from somebody's sweetheart,--and so it
was! Brother Crenshaw has a flourishing Ladies' College at Hopkinsville.
These institutions have sprung up rapidly in Kentucky. Here at Princeton
is another. Warrendale College at Georgetown is to be sold for debt.
From all I can see, these Colleges do not promise much. I am sure a
certainty at Hocker is preferable to an uncertainty elsewhere."
Extract from the _Kentucky Gazette_, Lexington, Ky., August 18, 1874:
"On the second Monday of September, Hocker College" (of which Robt.
Graham was President) "will begin its sixth annual session. The immense
outlay of more than $100,000 has made the building perfectly adapted to
its purposes. To the faculty of the fall term has been added Mrs. O. A.
Carr, a Christian woman of untiring energy, and zeal in the education of
women. She is a graduate of St. Catherine de Sienna and Daughters'
College and holds a Traveling Diploma from the Bishop of Jerusalem. She
purposes delivering a series of lectures, extending through the
collegiate year, upon the wonders of many lands. She is eminently
qualified as an educator and disciplinarian for the position of
Principal in Hocker College."
M. W. Green, writing from Australia, throws a confirmatory light on why
the Carrs were obliged to return to America: "You say you are so busy
you find it difficult to get time to write. It is to be hoped that in
doing so much you will not again overtax yourself, and bring on another
time of weakness. I am beginning to feel somewhat as you did, before you
left Melbourne. Nature is beginning to wear out, and calls for a rest. I
cannot get that rest on land, for if I see an opportunity to preach, I
feel myself unfaithful if I do not avail myself of it. Sometimes I think
I will never get a rest unless I take a long sea-voyage. It must be hard
for you to have your study in Lexington, and your books in Hobart Town.
Brother Earl writes me of his sorrow at hearing that protracted meetings
are being introduced into Australia. 'They,' he says, 'often bring
unconverted people into the church; and they are discouraging to the
regular preacher, for the people get into the way of not uniting with
the church, except at the exciting time of a protracted meeting.' We are
pleased that Sister Carr has obtained so good a place for usefulness as
the one at Hocker. We had Brother Magarey over in Melbourne to preach
for us. I was much pleased with him, both as to piety and ability. His
style much resembles your own, and I cannot tell his handwriting from
yours." (This was the miller's son, Alex., whose brother practiced
medicine and religion, as we have seen.)
While Mrs. Carr is teaching at Hocker, Mr. Carr writes to her from
Vanceburg: "I cannot tell when I will be home; this is the time for
work. I would be miserable hanging about Hocker College, doing nothing,
and you hard at work. I will hold two or three meetings before I
return. Miller is blazing away at Greenup; he is giving me a drumming, I
hear; but he can't hurt me. I understand that Brother Sweeny has agreed
to debate with Miller. I can assist your young ladies on the Argonautic
Expedition as well from here, as if I were with them. I advise them to
write sensible essays, and have their papers strictly original. This
advice is all I could offer them, no matter where I am. This is an odd
place. The farmers bring their produce to town every other day, which
consists of a few bundles of hoop-poles for barrels, and these they
trade for something to eat. They leave the city with a long slice of fat
bacon under the arm, and a little bag of flour, enough to sustain their
families for the next day. Then they come, and go again. I am amused at
the merchants, who give their goods for poles, tar and tanbark, and then
run cooper-shops in connection with their dry goods and bacon. One of
our sisters here is a milliner. She says she doesn't take tanbark in
trade for bonnets, but she has ladies' hats for ten cents a piece, and
carries on a lively trade. Don't you want me to bring you up here, to do
some shopping?"
[Illustration: Standing: Matt (Mrs. W. B. Smith), R. A. Carr, Mrs. O. A.
Carr, O. A. Carr, Mrs. H. P. Carr, Owen Carr. Sitting: Mary (Mrs.
Goddard), Wm. Carr, Mrs. Wm. Carr, Capt. H. P. Carr, Minnie (Mrs. Jno.
W. Fox, Sr.) HOME AGAIN--ALL HERE]
We learn from the following that Mrs. Carr found one year at Hocker
College (now called Hamilton College) enough to convince her that it did
not afford the opportunities she sought; the letter is to the Trustees
of the Midway Orphan School, and is written by Robert Graham, May 10,
1875: "Having heard that there will be a vacancy in the principalship of
your institution, it gives me pleasure to say that Sister Carr has been
associated with me in Hocker College during the session now coming to a
close, and that she is a lady peculiarly fitted to have charge of girls
in the classroom and in daily life. She is a lady of refinement,
intellectual culture, and energy. I think her conscientiousness,
experience, and religious devotion, point her out as one raised of God
to do a great work in the intellectual world, and spiritual education of
women."
September 9, 1875, Mrs. Carr, now at her old home town, Stanford,
receives a letter from John Augustus Williams: "If you had consulted me
as a daughter should consult a father, you would have saved yourself
some trouble. I received several letters from the Missouri Orphan School
recently; they wrote for my advice regarding teachers,--but I thought
you engaged at Hocker College. School must be in session now, so it is
too late. But you and Ollie, having no children, ought to be in charge
of that school. It is 150 pupils strong. What to do this session? Well,
address yourself to study, and prepare yourself to take charge of your
sister-women in any branch. Daughters College is full. Over 100 boarders
have applied, and we cannot take them. You and Ollie come to see me.
Yes, come _home_, and let's have a talk!"
Mrs. Carr was never associated with the Missouri Orphan School, but she
was convinced that Missouri offered her better opportunities than
Kentucky. Accordingly, when in the fall of this same year, Mr. Carr was
called to preach for the 17th and Olive Street Church, at St. Louis, it
meant a final departure from the state of their birth, so far as
permanent work was concerned.
At the St. Louis Church, Mr. Carr was the successor of Dr. W. H. Hopson,
and the predecessor of T. P. Haley. It was an interesting and a critical
time in the history of the St. Louis Churches. J. H. Garrison of the
Central Church was laboring night and day to keep the infant _Christian_
upon its feet. The faithful members of both congregations stood loyally
by the little weekly, and took their turns in ministering to the mission
churches, such as that at 13th and Webster.
Of the Church for which Mr. Carr preached, there were three elders, who
were interested in this missionary work: John G. Allen, the
father-in-law of Albert Myles; Dr. Hiram Christopher, former teacher of
Chemistry at Bethany and author of "The Remedial System" as we have
seen; and Dr. J. W. Ellis, who practiced law during the day, taught in
Jones's Business College at night, preached on Sunday afternoons, wrote
"Jarvis Jeems" articles for the _Christian_ between times, and edited
the St. Louis Ladies Magazine.
The matter of finding board for Mr. and Mrs. Carr was a difficult one.
Albert Myles and his family lived with J. G. Allen, hence Mrs. Allen did
not feel that she could receive an additional family, however congenial.
In the end the Carrs went to her hospitable home, but for some time they
lived with Dr. and Mrs. J. W. Ellis.
To this association of a month, the present writer owes his personal
knowledge of Mrs. Carr. He had never seen her until the fall of 1875,
he never saw her after the spring of 1876. Inasmuch as his sixth
birthday fell within those extremes of time, he cannot be expected to
speak of Mrs. Carr's mental and spiritual characteristics, from his own
observation. He remembers her, however, not as a mere name, or as a
vague shadow of the past, but with clear-cut distinctness. Of all the
women who flitted through his boyhood days never to reappear, Mrs.
Carr's personality stands forth best defined.
Perhaps it was because she had no children of her own, that she was able
to impress children, from the interest she had in the children of other
people,--her absorbing thoughtfulness for youth itself. This was with
her no transient pastime, but belonged to that deeper part of her nature
which started the stinging tear at little bits of childhood-verses. Her
manner with children was not gay and buoyant, but gentle and untiring.
The child felt that her interest did not spring from impulse, to pass
with the hour, but that whenever he should be ready, he would find her.
In that inherent dignity and seriousness of her natural character,
kindliness for the young shone with a steady light which, if it did not
flash out in sudden radiant mirth, remained unclouded from any other
interest.
Those who have proved restive under Mrs. Carr's unrelaxing discipline,
those who may have opposed her in school management, those whom she has
faced from the public rostrum in state addresses with logical
argumentation, may have found in her a fearlessness that seemed at times
the indication of an imperious and unyielding disposition. Doubtless
those who opposed her were unable to understand the wounded heart behind
the stern, accusing eye. But however brave and determined, there was one
thing she feared,--to wound the heart of a child.
During Mr. Carr's ministry in St. Louis, Mrs. Carr devoted herself to
study and travel. A large composition book, filled to the last page,
shows her indefatigable labors with the German language, under the
guidance of Dr. J. W. Ellis. In 1876, she went to the Centennial
Exposition at Philadelphia, where we find her studying the exhibits with
the same thoroughness she had shown in London and Cairo. While she is on
the wing, Mr. Carr writes to her from Sedalia in June:
"I'm all right here, a little sick. Friday night I lectured at Mexico.
Brother Hardin and I took the freight to Moberly; and then here, in
time for the meeting. Dr. Hopson is in the chair and there are
twenty-nine preachers present. I met Brother Longan last night, and he
laughed as we shook hands. He and I will have a private dig. What do
Brothers Wilkes and Rogers think of his 'One Word More' in the last
_Christian_? Do they think Longan is right on the ghost question? This
is a charming city. The country around looks like the best part of
Fayette County" (of course he is speaking of Kentucky.)
"The little I have seen, is bewitching. I am on for a speech tomorrow,
and have been too sick to prepare it, and here I sit with my finger in
my mouth! I hope I'll do as well as ---- did last night, and I think I
will! Brother Monser is my roommate, and we did talk last night! I think
he likes my wife better than he does me. Well, I let him. He is a good
man. He spoke of the time Brother Mountjoy conducted you to the platform
at Mexico."
The following, from Fulton, Missouri, signed by three citizens, shows
that while at the Exposition, Mrs. Carr was making plans for future
work: "In compliance with your request, we report as follows,--We have
interviewed the members of the church in town, and find them quite
favorable towards patronizing a school of our own; we think 30 or 40 may
certainly be counted upon at the opening. We cannot do anything until we
first ascertain that we are going to have a school taught. Desks, seats,
etc., can be easily secured when we find there is to be a necessity for
them. If preparations be commenced at once, we think a very good school
can be founded here."
September 7th, Mrs. Carr wrote to Mr. Carr from Washington, D.C.: "I am
writing in the celebrated Washington Post Office. I have learned a great
deal during my short stay in Washington. I have made a pilgrimage to the
American's Mecca,--but I boiled my peas,--and have visited all the
places of interest in the city. I will reach St. Louis to-morrow
afternoon. Tell Sister Childers I would rather have the room over the
parlor, for you know how wakeful I am. The room over her room we can
have for a study. May the Lord abundantly bless my dear husband, and
grant me the happiness of seeing him once more face to face."
On the same day, Mr. Carr wrote to Mrs. Carr: "Brother Franklin preaches
at Fulton to-day, so I have run down here to Louisiana, Missouri, to
try to get a pupil for you" (for the prospective school, perhaps to be
established at Fulton.) "You say you will be in St. Louis soon--then in
Fulton, I suppose, about the 12th. Is it possible that I shall see my
dear wife so soon? I do long to see you and have your encouragement, and
enjoy your counsel, your comfort and your love. You say, 'I have just
called on H. W. Longfellow. What a grand old man he is! His poetic soul
flows through every word he utters. I wonder if he _ever_ did anything
that was wrong?' I wish I could have accomplished more in our St. Louis
work. I believe our new field at Fulton is promising."
Mrs. Carr's fourth experiment in the educational world was at Fulton,
where she established Floral Hill College for girls. Her note book shows
that her rules of discipline were as wise and as rigid, as if her
attendance had been much larger. The attendance was not indeed large,
but it was sufficient to place the institution upon a paying basis.
At this time the Orphan School was at Camden Point, and Floral Hill
College had no rival in Fulton. However, at Columbia, not far away,
Christian College proved a formidable check to any thought of future
greatness. Christian College had long been established; it was
handsomely equipped, and could make the appeal throughout the State,
that Floral Hill College could not offer. Mrs. Carr found herself at the
head of a college whose management depended solely upon her own wisdom;
but as an offset to this advantage, she knew that her institution could
never become a mighty force in Missouri.
[Illustration: "I Want to Educate you"--"Absorbing Thoughtfulness."]
The spring of 1877 saw the close of her first year's work, and the
following, written by Mr. Carr, in August, shows that she intended to
open school in the fall; he writes from Maysville, for he is on a visit
among the scenes of his youth:
"Mother and I went by Mill Creek, where Brothers Jno. I. Rogers and I.
B. Grubbs are holding a meeting, on to Mt. Carmel. Thursday I dined with
Brothers Grubbs, Rogers, Loos and Myall at Sister Mayhue's--she was one
of my schoolmates at May's Lick. The meeting at Mill Creek closed last
night with several additions. Everybody asks why I didn't bring you.
Kate would 'give anything to go to Floral Hill College'. Grandfather is
nearly 86 years of age, and has been very ill of late. I talked long
with him, as he lay there, and read 2 Cor. 5, and prayed with him. He
wept for joy and simply said 'I am waiting for the Lord's will to be
done.' I am so glad to find father and mother able to go about. They are
still working for their children. You must be encouraged about your
school. Brothers Grubbs and Rogers praise you for your work. But nobody
praises you more (I mean _prizes_) than I!"[16]
Mrs. Carr had not been teaching long on her second year, when she
received a request from Mrs. P. F. Johnson, President of the Christian
Women's Board of Missions, to make an address at the St. Louis
convention, to be held October 19, 1877. The subject given was,
'Children in Mission Work.' The request was seconded by Mrs. Sarah
Wallace, who made this interesting comment:
"From the very beginning of our work as a Society, we have had to battle
with the habit of 'giving nothing' among our churches. The people are
not stingy, but they do not realize the necessity of systematic giving.
When we wanted to add to the amount for Brother Darly's school (the
mission school in Jamaica), it was asked, What can the children do? Our
board advanced the amount, then issued an appeal to the Sunday-schools.
We wanted the children to have a work of their own. Brother Darly's
school proved more than a success, passed the examination in six months,
and is now under the patronage of the Government. As a result of the
appeals, the Sunday-schools gave, first quarter, $12; second quarter,
$23; third quarter, $36; fourth quarter,--not yet reported. It is now
decided that a school be established at Kingston. It will call for
about $250. The Board desires to continue this as children's work. Mrs.
Jameson feels confident of meeting you in St. Louis, when she will tell
you the whole story. Her illness is not violent, but lingering, as
malignant fever usually is."
In the meantime, O. A. Carr had been preaching for the Fulton Church.
The following from Geo. W. Longan of Plattsburg, Mo., shows the activity
of both, and that "private digs" about ghosts had no place in public
work for the Cause:
"March 6, 1878: Of course, I can't consent to take the burden on my
shoulder! It falls of right on yours, and you can carry it as easily as
any one. The objects of the convention are to discuss themes of living
interest, and general utility as a sort of preachers' drill. We aim to
assign subjects according to the known tastes of the individuals chosen.
I suggest that no one be selected who was on the program last year. Of
course, the country around Fulton will furnish most of the speakers. The
subject, 'Phases of Current Unbelief' would be both interesting and
profitable in the hands of the right man. I think J. Z. Taylor would
write a good paper on that, or A. F. Smith, or President Geo. S.
Bryant, of Columbia. Procter had nothing last year; you might get him to
preach at night. Experience proves that two papers with discussions
following, and a sermon at night, is the best division of time. I will
try to compel my mind to think of other objects. Write to Edgar for
suggestions as to men."
(We may state parenthetically, that the reason the present writer never
again met Mrs. Carr, though she often returned on visits to St. Louis,
is because Dr. Ellis moved from the city, first to take charge of
Woodland College at Independence, later to assume the presidency of
Plattsburg College at Plattsburg, Mo., where Geo. W. Longan was still
preaching.)
Mrs. Carr had not finished her second year at Floral Hill College when a
series of letters were exchanged between her and the President of
Christian College at Columbia, Geo. S. Bryant. These letters show a
consciousness on her part that Floral Hill College, if continued, was
destined to remain overshadowed by larger institutions; and a conviction
on his part that Christian College must inevitably suffer from the
nearness of Floral Hill. President Bryant seeks to absorb Mrs. Carr's
institution, and to employ Mrs. Carr as Associate Principal,--the same
relationship she had held toward Robt. Graham at Hocker. This
correspondence is interesting, and throws light upon Mrs. Carr's ability
as a woman of business. Not only does she gain the various points for
which she contends, such as the number of hours she is to teach, the
amount of salary she is to receive, etc., but she is jealous of her
official position, and will have none of its privileges abridged.
President Bryant is a man who loves his joke, and is inclined to
illuminate contested ground with the glow of good-fellowship; but Mrs.
Carr will have none of his humor until all her propositions are definitely
accepted. At last, May 23, 1878, President Bryant writes:
"The propositions of yours of the 21st--eight in number--are the
propositions of our agreement, as I understand them. So Christian
College and Floral Hill College are one! I congratulate Christian
College upon the accomplishment of so desirable an end. Please allow me
to say that your spirit of self-sacrifice has not gone unnoticed.
Instead of assigning reasons to the 'Fulton Public,' would it not be
better,--'To the Public?'--For Floral Hill College was not an
institution of Fulton simply. I will gladly publish in the catalogue a
statement over your own name, of the reasons."
This agreement was reached after months of negotiations.
Floral Hill College was absorbed by Christian College, accordingly; but
Mrs. Carr's personality was one that refused to be absorbed by any
association, or institution. So definite were her ideas of the
management of a school, particularly in regard to its discipline, that
her position as associate principal could never have been satisfactory
in any school. Mrs. Carr was a woman of intense conviction, and when
attempts were made to persuade her from her principles, she felt that
she was being persuaded to error. Those who are by nature fitted to
lead, find their inborn talent curbed, when this leadership is clogged.
In any school, there can be but one real head. Mrs. Carr would not look
upon her position as associate principal as an honorary title; nor could
she feel that she was doing all she could for the education of girls,
when her ideas of education, which emphasized conduct, clashed with
those of others who insisted rather upon grades in recitation. As at
Hocker in Lexington, so now at Christian College in Columbia, she grew
restive before the year had expired.
In the spring of 1879, Mr. Carr again went to Kentucky to hold meetings,
and we find him lingering among the scenes of his boyhood, and naturally
thinking much of the past.
"March 17. As I walked about the streets at Mt. Carmel, many familiar
objects met my gaze. There was the road along which you used to take
your morning walks, and the woods in which the birds sang for you their
best early songs. They put me to sleep in the parlor where you said to
me, '_I will go with you!_'--that room in which I first became
acquainted with you, and asked you to go on an excursion with me to
AEsculapia. I thought of the past and tried to sketch the future, and
prayed that you may be happily situated. I expect to have a happy
meeting at Carmel, for those old familiar faces inspire me. If you were
here, I could preach much better.
"March 20, Stony Point. This is my sister's home, midway between Paris
and Winchester" (the sister Minnie, now Mrs. John Fox, Sr., whom we
heard of in the May's Lick days). "I am sitting at the old desk where,
seventeen years ago, I conned my Greek grammar under the instruction of
my brother-in-law Jno. W. Fox, who is the head of this house, and the
head of a school here, of eighteen years' standing. He has a family of
ten children all of whom, except the infant, have been taught by him.
One son, Johnnie, passed the Harvard examination last spring, and is now
at Lexington. Professor Neville brags on him, and says he knocks '95'
every time in his Greek class. His half-brother Jimmie, is one of the
public school principals of Lexington, and is much respected there. He
has taken Johnnie with him, pays his board and tuition, and assists him
in his studies." (The reader will doubtless recognize in "Johnnie", the
author of "Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come," and "Trail of the Lonesome
Pine.") "President Graham was out here, and stayed one night. He enjoyed
it! He says, in talking of us, 'Ollie and Mattie.' The children all fell
in love with him, and gave him cakes. My father is able to walk, and my
mother's general health is good. At Lexington, I saw many of your old
friends: Grubbs, Cox, etc. Doctor Hopson and Brother Graham say that you
ought to take a good rest. _Now do you hear?_ That is from headquarters!
My visit at Lexington was too short. I fell in with some Australian
students who came near monopolizing my time. One young man, Charlie
Thurgood, used to work in a baker's shop all week, and come to my house
in Melburne, Saturday nights, to learn grammar. Now he is in Lexington,
preparing to preach the Word.[17] The Bible College has 45 students,
College of Arts 65, Agricultural and Mechanical 105. Professor Neville
says it is the most pleasant session he ever had. Hamilton College"
(formerly Hocker College) "has moderate success. I gave them a Bible
reading at Broadway Church, Wednesday evening. The audience was very
good. It was like old times."
When her first year's work ended at Christian College, Mrs. Carr, though
dissatisfied with the restraints upon her, had not decided to relinquish
her position as associate principal. However, she and President Bryant
were unable to agree upon terms, and in July she definitely terminated
her engagement. "I would not insult President Bryant," she wrote him,
"by supposing for a moment that he expected Mrs. Carr to accept the
propositions in his last letter."
She observes that she would have considered a re-engagement because of
Mr. Carr's earnest desire to assist L. B. Wilkes, then in poor health at
Columbia, and also because Mrs. Carr's work in the College had been
greatly appreciated by patrons. But the curtailment of her privileges
and authority, is intolerable; the matter of salary is of no moment, in
view of this obstacle; nor will she hesitate to make the matter clear to
all who seek enlightenment. As she remarks, "I do not know exactly what
you mean by burying the past. In the course of the sad work, you may
cast a few clods over the remains of Mrs. Carr's once prosperous school.
If by burying the past, you mean, stop all discussion of our
differences, I have only to say, it is impossible to bury that which is
not dead. Be assured, I would not bury it alive if I could. When I am
asked why I do not remain at Christian College, I am constrained to tell
the whole truth, though I would rather be silent." Let us hope that
President Bryant's sense of humor enabled him to enjoy this keen
sarcasm.
About this time, Dr. S. S. Laws, President of the University of the
State of Missouri, situated at Columbia, became desirous of associating
Mrs. Carr with the University. He had been deeply impressed not only by
her scholarship and wide experience, but by her reputation as a
disciplinarian. As she was now free from Christian College, he expressed
to her his hope that she would consider an offer. Such an association
could not but be looked upon by her as a high promotion in her beloved
calling.
September 1, 1879, Dr. Laws wrote to Mrs. Carr as follows: "I mentioned
the case to our Local Board, and their favorable action I now send you.
Your answer will, of course, be addressed to the Board, but I'd be
obliged for a note by bearer, informing me of your acceptance--I should
say, of your _answer_, as I will then be able to leave on the evening
train for St. Louis."
With this note, the present chapter properly terminates; it has been a
chapter of changes, of rapid transitions. We have now reached a period
of stability, of advancement, of growth,--the ten years of Mrs. Carr's
connection with the University of Missouri.
[16] A letter from Mrs. Carr to one of her pupils she taught in
Melbourne. The letter was discovered recently with "the little wild
flower gathered on the plains of Sharon" pinned to it: the letter had
never been mailed: written thirty-three years ago, it shows how Mrs.
Carr talked to her girls. Possibly she wondered why "Maria" did not
answer her letter, and here is the letter found in a pigeon hole at the
College. Mr. Carr sends it on to Maria with apology.
"Fulton, Mo., U.S.A., January 8th, 1877"
"My Dear Maria:
I received a letter from Maggie a few days since in which she stated
that you had written to me, but receiving no answer, feel discouraged to
write again. Be assured your letter never reached me, or it would have
been answered. I often think of my dear girls in Australia, and
especially of you and Maggie, because I loved you best of all my pupils
in Melbourne; for my association with you was longest and most intimate,
and because your mothers were friends that never failed me amid the
little annoyances and trials that life is so surely heir to. I cannot
tell you how much I long to see you all once more. I cannot imagine how
you think for a moment that I forget you. I wrote you from Jerusalem. I
wrote to you from Rome, and I sent you a French Journal from Paris. I
would love to visit you in your happy home that Maggie so graphically
described and to see that beautiful boy upon whom she lavished so many
praises. Vaney a husband and father, and my little Maria a wife and
mother! Well, I am truly glad it is so, and pray that your lives may be
happy and useful. After all, Maria, the sweetest thing in life is the
privilege of BEING USEFUL--the privilege of WORK. What greater blessing,
beyond redemption, can a woman ask than the privilege of serving her
husband and her generation. We are now stationed in a very pretty little
city in Missouri and our work is pleasant. Mr. Carr preaches for the
Church here, and I have charge of Floral Hill College. My school is
prospering and I am very happy in my work. Tell Miss Ashley I wish she
were here to work with me. However, we may have the happiness of working
together in Australia. Every winter I pine for the hot winds--yes--THE
HOT WINDS--of Australia. My health has been poor during the winters ever
since our return to America. We may meet you all again. How are Brother
and Sister Magarey and family? Remember us very kindly to them all, also
to Brother and Sister Santo and family, especially to ETTIE. We had a
short, but pleasant intercourse with Alex. (Magarey) during his visit to
America. Extend our congratulations to him and his bride, and our best
wishes for their happiness and usefulness." [Alex. had come to the
United States to marry Miss Campbell of Bethany, Va..--niece of Alex.
Campbell--O. A. C.]
"The snow is falling drearily and the snow birds are hopping about
cheerily, as though the snow was the greatest boon that God ever
bestowed upon his creatures. It is not 'The Rainy Day,' but the spirit
of Longfellow is about me. By the way, during my tour East last summer,
I called upon the grand old poet, and had a happy talk with him in his
own historic drawing room. As you doubtless know, the Longfellow Mansion
was at one time during the Revolution the headquarters of General
Washington. Longfellow is one of the few glorious poetic spirits that
have withstood the corrupting influence of the world's applause. When I
visited the Centennial Exposition I availed myself of the privilege of
visiting many places of historic interest in the East. This is the only
tour that I ever made through the Eastern States EXPRESSLY for
information, and I need not tell you that I enjoyed it intensely and
feel greatly benefited thereby. When I see you, you shall have all
particulars. Now, Maria, you must not fail to answer without delay.
[What grief it gave Mrs. Carr that she did not have a letter from
Maria--because this letter was not posted!] Write me a 'chatty' letter.
Tell me how you like housekeeping, if baby ever has the colic, if Vaney
kisses him over a dozen times a day, etc., etc. Give my love to your
mother and tell her I would love to receive one more pledge of her
friendship in the form of a letter for the sake of 'Auld Lang Syne.' Or
if she is the busy housewife of yore, she can press Willie into service.
Remember us very kindly to our friend, the Scotchman, your father and
Mr. Jacques.
"I enclose a little wild flower that I gathered in the Plain of Sharon.
I collected many curios in my travels and arranged them into a Museum
during Christmas holidays. The first day of January it was opened with
nice entertainment to my young ladies, and CHRISTENED FLORAL HILL
MUSEUM. My girls acquitted themselves splendidly.
Write soon and believe me, affectionately yours,
I will write to Maggie soon. MRS. CARR."
[17] Now, 1910, he and his good wife are in a most efficient ministry in
Pittsburg, Pa. O. A. C.