_MARRIAGE WITH SYBIL JONES._
"I see in the world the intellect of man,
That sword, the energy his subtle spear,
The knowledge which defends him like a shield--
Everywhere; but they make not up, I think,
The marvel of a soul like thine."
BROWNING.
In 1833, Eli Jones was married to Sybil Jones, the daughter of Ephraim
and Susannah Jones.
Susannah was the daughter of Micajah Dudley, son of Samuel Dudley, a
great-grandson of Samuel Dudley of Exeter, N. H., the eldest son of
Gov. Thomas Dudley, the pilgrim of Plymouth, said to have been
descended from the lineage of the earls of Leicester. Both Sybil
Jones's parents and grandparents were Friends, and her grandfather and
great-grandfather Dudley were preachers of fine talents and high
character.
Ephraim Jones was a "noble man" and a strong character. He was often
deeply lost in thought, to such an extent that many anecdotes are
related of his absent-mindedness which are very amusing. He did not
want in vigor of mind, and he was one of the marked men of the town.
Some are still alive who remember him as he stood up at quarterly
meeting and took his text, "If thou hast run with the footmen, and
they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and
if in the land of peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee,
then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan?" He was a man who
left a remembrance behind him, and the strength of his life has not
been lost. His wife Susannah lived to the good old age of ninety-four,
and was loved by all who saw her. "Grandmother Jewel" was her name in
her old age. Eli's mother, who was nearly as old, was also named
Susannah, and it was a memorable day for the grandchildren when these
two grandmothers talked together of the olden time. "Grandmother
Jewel" was very deaf, but otherwise she was a vigorous woman as long
as she lived, and, ripe with years and blessed with the fruit of those
years, she passed from this world a few months before her daughter.
It is told that when Eli Jones visited Sybil Jones with the purpose of
asking her to become his life-companion, the latter, not suspecting
the weight of his mission, took down the Bible to read a chapter, as
was always customary in those days before visitors returned home. On
this occasion Sybil Jones opened to the twentieth Psalm, beginning,
"The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of
Jacob defend thee, send thee help from the sanctuary and strengthen
thee out of Zion; remember all thy offerings and accept all thy
burnt-sacrifices; grant thee according to thine own heart, and fulfil
all thy counsel." The mission was accomplished successfully, and for
forty years the lives of Eli and Sybil Jones were linked together by
the bonds of deep and pure love, while their aims, longings, and
desires were merged into the one purpose of showing to the world that
there is a love which transcends all earthly affection, and that God's
love is an unbroken canopy which shelters the races of the round
globe. Herein was their love continually made more perfect. I may
quote as applicable to them the beautiful words of Izaak Walton,
written to express the regard between the saintly George Herbert and
his wife: "For the eternal Lover of mankind made them happy in each
other's mutual and equal affections and compliance; indeed, so happy
that there never was any opposition betwixt them, unless it were a
contest which should most incline to a compliance with the other's
desires. And though this begot, and continued in them, such a mutual
love and joy and content as was no way defective, yet this mutual
content and love and joy did receive a daily augumentation by such
daily obligingness to each other as still added such new affluences to
the former fulness of these divine souls as was only improvable in
heaven."
Sybil Jones was born at Brunswick, Me., in 1808. Her birthplace was
very near the early home of Abel Jones. Only her youngest years were
spent here, but she always had a love for her first home, and one of
her early poems, written at about the age of twenty-one, speaks of it
with fondness.
Her early life was spent at Augusta, "which was the birthplace of
those deep religious impressions that formed the motive power of a
life pre-eminently consecrated to the service of her Redeemer and the
human race." She often felt that the sermons and exhortations to which
she listened during her early years were not of such a nature as to
bring her to a saving knowledge of the sacrifice and love of Christ.
Perhaps too little care was taken in those days to fulfil the Lord's
command, "Feed my lambs;" and it is possible that our Society would
have been more strongly built up if those good men who preached
zealously to _edify_ the _Church_ had done so more effectually by
taking the little ones by the hand and pointing them to the Source of
satisfying life.
A good Methodist minister at Augusta spoke kindly to Sybil Jones of
her highest welfare, and she was very much helped and instructed by
him in the way of life. She came to realize that she must be born
again, and she accepted Christ, by whom alone she could become a child
of God. Her love for the Methodists became very strong, and it was a
most humiliating cross to her to obey her father's will that she
should show her Quakerism by wearing a Friend's plain bonnet. There is
a true anecdote which may properly be told, since it shows what her
will was by nature, as we shall see later what power she had when it
was in harmony with God's will. She was to attend China monthly
meeting with her father, and he insisted that she should wear the
"plain" bonnet. His request conflicted very much with her
determination, but it was not possible to move him from his purpose.
There was no course which could be taken to avoid wearing it, but she
put it on bottom side up, and rode with it so from Augusta to China.
But she fortunately saw and felt the simplicity and sincerity of
Friends, as well as the spirituality of their faith, and she became
firmly fixed in the belief that to be a true Quaker was to be a
genuine Christian, a faithful follower of Jesus as he and his apostles
marked out the road; and I must believe that if we all looked to the
same source for light and guidance, and if we strove as earnestly to
walk closely in His footsteps as she did, we should have little need
of apologies and defences for our simple faith.
In 1824-25 she attended the Friends' School at Providence, and for the
next eight years she was engaged in teaching. She felt a deep interest
in all that concerned her pupils, and it was the beginning of her
efforts to open to the eyes of the young a new world of knowledge,
beauty, and truth. One who has taught with a heart in the work will
never cease to look upon children with loving eyes; and they were
always the especial objects of her regard irrespective of their race
or color.
While still a teacher her father took her one day to attend Sidney
monthly meeting, across the Kennebec River, about twelve miles from
China. Lindley M. Hoag, then a young man, was at the meeting. He felt
called to deliver a message to some one in the women's meeting, and an
opportunity was given him to accomplish his purpose. He went to the
women's side of the house and powerfully and clearly set forth the
state of mind of some one present, and with prophetic words he pointed
out the future course of this young Friend if she should be fully
faithful to her inward promptings. Sybil Jones knew that he was
laying open her heart, and she was much moved. When her gift as a
minister was acknowledged, and she went out to hold meetings, she
found Lindley Hoag present at the first one she attended, and for some
time it seemed to her that she could not speak before him; but she
overcame the feeling and was well favored to speak. This guidance from
ministers who were moved to speak to her case, and the power given to
her to declare the condition of others, were strikingly illustrated
during her whole life.
During these years of teaching she was much given to writing, and she
not only copied many of the poems of her favorite authors, but she
composed numerous poems on various subjects, and wrote short maxims
for the rule of her conduct and life. It is very striking and touching
to see how she regarded the brevity of life, for almost all that is
left of her compositions is tinged with thoughts of death and the
grave. One poem is written "To Consumption," and she seems to have
been impressed with the feeling that her days were to be few, but she
hails with joy the beginning of another life and the freedom from the
cares and troubles of this present world. After saying how soon
"life's sickly dream" will be over she writes--
"Oh may my future hours be given
To peace, to virtue, and to Heaven,
My hopes retain immortal birth,
My joys ascend above the earth,
My steps retrace the path they trod,
My heart be fixed alone on God!"
While still young she burned most of her prose and poetic
compositions, partly because she was so often forced to read them
aloud to company, and very little from those years remains.
The following short poem may be as interesting as any, as her early
wish here expressed was so perfectly fulfilled in the character of her
accepted life-companion:
"What! shall a face, then, win my heart,
Mere symmetry of form?
Such thrilling raptures _this_ impart
With _love my bosom_ warm?
As well might ocean's billow heave
When not a wind did rise,
As Fancy thus my heart deceive
And fix my wandering eyes,
No; 'tis the beauty of the soul
That could my bosom fire;
This would my tenderest thought control,
And love and truth inspire."
The thoughts expressed in some of her maxims show the bent of her
mind, whether they are original or not. For example: "If you are told
that another reviles you, do not go about to vindicate yourself, but
reply thus: My other faults, I find, are hid from him, else I should
have heard of them too;" "Fix your character and keep to it, whether
alone or in company;" "No man can hurt you unless you please to let
him; then only are you hurt when you think yourself so."
Whatever her early attempts may show, Sybil Jones was certainly of a
highly poetic nature. Her whole organism was so delicate that musical
tones proceeded from her at the slightest touches from within or
without. Melodious words came almost unsummoned to her lips as she
plead with sinners to come to the waters of life and "drink without
money and without price." John Bright told the present writer that it
was always a delight to him to listen to her, and that he regarded her
as a poet of high degree in her thought and expression.
So with her daily duties and her thoughts of life and the future she
developed from girlhood to womanhood, and at the age of twenty-five
became the wife of Eli Jones. The joy and fruit resulting from their
union show unmistakably how fully they were suited for each other, and
they gave each other mutual help and inspiration. Their married life
was begun at South China upon a farm which has since been divided into
a number of smaller ones. The young wife was very careful in her
expenditures, and an accurate account of all their expenses and their
income was minutely kept by her.
The Friends' meeting-house was three miles away at Dirigo. Thither
they rode through the long, quiet woods every First and Fifth day to
take their places among the rows of Friends waiting upon the Lord. Few
houses made with hands have received more devoted worshippers, and few
places have been more hallowed by the presence of pure souls met with
one purpose, that of honoring the Ruler of the universe and learning
from His Holy Spirit. Here, in the presence of sympathizing listeners,
the voices of these two young Friends were often heard, and they were
early enrolled among the ministers of the Society. The phrase of the
early Friends was truly fitting in their case: "Their gifts were
acknowledged." The men and women of China meeting made it their
greatest endeavor to serve God acceptably in the path of daily duty
and self-denial. One by one their beautiful lives have ended; happily,
a few of them are yet left as examples, but a Quakerism--or rather a
Christianity--which could round and perfect such characters had no
earthly origin. China meeting at this time did not abound in powerful
ministers, but its members were men and women whose lives were
transparent and pure. They were "diligent in business, fervent in
spirit, serving the Lord," and they lived sermons. There has almost
always been in this community one or two Hymenæuses and Philetuses who
have drawn creeds for their private guidance and who have severely
troubled the Friends; but such disturbances have generally resulted in
the exaltation of the true faith, and as in the natural world the
struggle to overcome hindrances to growth adds strength and vigor, so
a wolf in sheep's clothing within the fold increases the vigilance of
the spirit and the dependence on the great Shepherd. There were many
intricate questions now and then arising for discussion which gave
valuable instruction to the young ministers, and they were gradually
being prepared for useful service. Those of other denominations who
know only of a training in a theological seminary as a fitting for
preaching and teaching cannot understand how they were being taught in
this remote country village; but "by the Spirit's finer ear" they were
hearing truths of life and immortality, and on the Rock they were
building characters of gold, silver, precious stones.
Eli Jones was a hard-working man, not only doing his farm-work, but at
different times owning shares in mills at Albion and in China and
assisting in the work of running them. After living a few years at
South China he removed to Dirigo and settled on a farm near the
Friends' meeting, where he lived until 1886.
* * * * *
While Eli Jones was in London in 1875 he wrote to Sarah Fobey, a
lifelong friend of his beloved wife, for her recollections of their
school-days together, and her thoughts as to Sybil Jones's spiritual
exercises then and since. She wrote from Montreux, Switzerland, as
follows:
"My mind is filled with sweet and precious memories of the dear one.
She and I met at Friends' School in Providence in 1825. We met as
strangers, but a feeling of sympathy which is not easily explained
soon drew us together, and our intercourse there was the commencement
of one of the most delightful friendships that in all this changing
scene grew stronger and brighter with every passing year. I remember
her as one of the most studious pupils in the school, always coming to
her class with her lessons fully prepared and reciting them in a
manner that gained the admiration of her classmates. She had great
love for the beautiful, and a keen enjoyment of beautiful language
whether poetry or prose, and committing to memory, as she did, with
ease, her mind thus early became stored with much that was an
enjoyment to her in after years. In our Scripture lessons we made our
own selections, hers were always the most beautiful portions of the
Bible, often from Isaiah and the Psalms, a long chapter thoroughly
committed to memory, and recited in a manner which showed she
appreciated the truths it declared.
"To her schoolmates she was most kind and affectionate, and by her
readiness to assist them in their lessons and in every way to do them
good gained their universal love and esteem.
"She had a great flow of animal spirits, and entered with warmth and
interest into all our innocent pleasures and amusements; but such was
her sense of justice and of right that she would never overstep the
bounds of order nor disobey the regulations of the school. Of her
religious feeling and experience at that time I cannot speak. It was
not the custom then, as now in our Society, to speak of conversion or
to tell what God had done for our souls; and I had supposed that it
was not until after her return home that she gave her heart to Jesus
and became fully and entirely a child of His, ready to do His bidding,
and desiring above every other consideration to follow Him in the way
of His leading. How faithfully she did so, going from place to place,
from city to city, from State to State, finally from continent to
continent, declaring the unsearchable riches of Christ! One of the
most affectionate and loving of mothers, she counted nothing too near
or too dear to part with for His blessed name's sake.
"How many sinners she has warned! how many inquirers she has pointed
to Jesus, the door of hope! how many mourners she has comforted! She
faithfully obeyed the injunction, 'Sow ye beside all waters,' and the
seed thus sown has taken root, and will continue to bear fruit long
after we shall have gone to join the dear ones who earlier than we
have entered into their Master's rest. Who can calculate the amount
of good that one such life of dedication and devotion has
accomplished? It seems to me that a faithful record of it should be an
incentive to others to seek to follow her as she followed Christ. To
me she was the most remarkable woman I have ever met, and I feel it to
have been a peculiar blessing to have known her so long and loved her
so well. Now, as I write, 'Memory opens the long vista of buried
years,' and my heart travels through them all. I linger around sunny
spots, happy hours, days of delight, seasons of sweet spiritual
communion, in which she related to me the wonderful dealings of her
heavenly Father toward her, and the remarkable manner in which she was
often supplied with means to accomplish the service she believed He
required of her--how when there seemed no way for her to move He made
a way.
"She always seemed to me to be so spiritually-minded, and to live so
near her Saviour, as to be led and guided in a remarkable manner by
Him. I remember her when she opened her prospect to go to Europe for
the last time. She rises before me now, as she has often done, as I
saw her then. Soon after the meeting of ministers and elders assembled
Doctor Tobey arose and said, 'If there is a subject of particular
interest and importance to come before the meeting, this seems to be
the proper time.'
"She had not expected to present it at that sitting, but, as she
afterward told me, she said to herself, 'That surely means me.'
"She sat a little, while a feeling of great solemnity overspread the
meeting. She then arose with the most beautiful and heavenly
expression of countenance, her whole soul filled with the engrossing
subject, and with a grace and elegance of manner of which she was
entirely unconscious told us in beautiful and touching language what
she felt called to do in the service of her Lord, gratefully
acknowledging His many mercies thus far in her journey of life, and
her unshaken confidence and trust in Him for all that was to come. The
meeting was greatly moved and she was liberated with entire unity.
"How lovely and sweet she was! and, though she lived so many years and
did so much good in them all, it always seems to me that she died 'in
the midst of her years.'
"Oh, we should have liked to keep her longer, the dear one! But He who
seeth to the end knew when to close the strife--
'Knew when to loose the silver cord,
To break the golden bowl,
And give to her that richest gift,
Salvation of the soul.'"