The Life and Letters of Elizabeth Prentiss

The Life and Letters of Elizabeth
Prentiss

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Prentiss
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Title: The Life and Letters of Elizabeth Prentiss
Author: George L. Prentiss
Release Date: March 12, 2004 [EBook #11549]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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[Transcriber's Note: Footnotes have been numbered and relocated to
the end of the chapter in which they occur. They are marked by [1], [2],
etc.]

THE LIFE AND LETTERS
OF

ELIZABETH PRENTISS
AUTHOR OF STEPPING HEAVENWARD BY GEORGE L.
PRENTISS

This memoir was undertaken at the request of many of Mrs. Prentiss'
old and most trusted friends, who felt that the story of her life should be
given to the public. Much of it is in the nature of an autobiography. Her
letters, which with extracts from her journals form the larger portion of
its contents, begin when she was in her twentieth year, and continue
almost to her last hour. They are full of details respecting herself, her
home, her friends, and the books she wrote. A simple narrative,
interspersed with personal reminiscences, and varied by a sketch of her
father, and passing notices of others, who exerted a moulding influence
upon her character, completes the story. A picture is thus presented of
the life she lived and its changing scenes, both on the natural and the
spiritual side. While the work may fail to interest some readers, the
hope is cherished that, like STEPPING HEAVENWARD, it will be
welcomed into Christian homes and prove a blessing to many hearts;
thus realising the desire expressed in one of her last letters: _Much of
my experience of life has cost me a great price and I wish to use it for
strengthening and comforting other souls._
G. L. P.
KAUINFELS, September 11, 1882.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I
.
THE CHILD AND THE GIRL.
1818-1839.
I.
Birth-place and Ancestry. The Payson Family. Seth Payson. Edward
Payson. His Mother. A Sketch of his Life and Character. The Fervor of
his Piety. Despondent Moods, and their Causes. His bright, natural
Traits. How he prayed and preached. Conversational Gift. Love to

Christ. Triumphant Death.
II.
Birth and Childhood of Elizabeth Payson. Early Traits. Devotion to her
Father. His Influence upon her. Letters to her Sister. Removal to New
York. Reminiscences of the Payson Family.
III.
Recollections of Elizabeth's Girlhood by an early Friend and
Schoolmate. Her own Picture of herself before her Father's Death.
Favorite Resorts. Why God permits so much Suffering. Literary Tastes.
Letters. "What are Little Babies For?" Opens a School. Religious
Interest.
IV.
The dominant Type of Religious Life and Thought in New England in
the First Half of this Century. Literary Influences. Letter of Cyrus
Hamlin. A strange Coincidence.

CHAPTER II
.
THE NEW LIFE IN CHRIST.
1840-1841.
I.
A memorable Experience. Letters to her Cousin. Goes to Richmond as
a Teacher. Mr. Persico's School. Letters.
II.
Her Character as a Teacher. Letters. Incidents of School Life. Religious
Struggles, Aims, and Hope. Oppressive Heat and Weariness.
III.
Extracts from her Richmond Journal.

CHAPTER III
.
PASSING FROM GIRLHOOD INTO WOMANHOOD.
1841-1845.
I.
At Home Again. Marriage of her Sister. Ill-health. Letters. Spiritual

Aspiration and Conflict. Perfectionism. "Very, Very Happy." Work for
Christ what makes Life attractive. Passages from her Journal. A Point
of Difficulty.
II.
Returns to Richmond. Trials There. Letters. Illness. School Experiences.
"To the Year 1843." Glimpses of her daily Life. Why her Scholars love
her So. Homesick. A Black Wedding. What a Wife should be. "A
Presentiment." Notes from her Diary.
III.
Her Views of Love and Courtship. Visit of her Sister and Child. Letters.
Sickness and Death of Friends. Ill-health. Undergoes a surgical
Operation. Her Fortitude. Study of German. Fenelon.

CHAPTER IV
.
THE YOUNG WIFE AND MOTHER.
1845-1850.
I.
Marriage and Settlement in New Bedford. Reminiscences. Letters.
Birth of her First Child. Death of her Mother-in-Law. Letters.
II.
Birth of a Son. Death of her Mother. Her Grief. Letters. Eddy's Illness
and her own Cares. A Family Gathering at Newburyport. Extracts from
Eddy's Journal.
III.
Further Extracts from Eddy's Journal. Ill-Health. Visit to Newark.
Death of her Brother-in-Law, S. S. Prentiss. His Character. Removal to
Newark. Letters.

CHAPTER V
.
IN THE SCHOOL OF SUFFERING.
1851-1858.
I.
Removal to New York, and first Summer there. Letters. Loss of Sleep

and Anxiety about Eddy. Extracts from