One soon sees that the religious element predominated in her character. From her earliest years, these questions of the soul’s relation to man, to nature, and to God were uppermost in her mind. She was impelled to master them; and as Jacob wrestled with the angel, she could not let Life go until she had received from it a blessing. She found her rest and comfort in a Christianity which had its centre in no theory or dogma, no ecclesiastical system, but in the person of Jesus. For Him she had the most loyal love. He satisfied her soul; He interpreted life for her; He gave her the inspiration for her work; and with this belief, she went forth to live and to die, having the hope and confidence of a larger life beyond.

She was a prophetess to her generation, singing the songs of a newer faith, and breathing forth in hymns and lyrics, and even homely ballads, her belief in God and immortality. Her two books, “As It Is in Heaven” and “The Unseen Friend,” written in the last years of her life, when she had felt the presence of an invisible Power, and had caught glimpses of the spiritual world through the intimations of happiness given her in this life, are messages to human souls, that come with authority, and mark her as a strong spiritual force in our American Christianity. She will be known, I feel, not only as a woman with the most delicate perceptions of the sweetness of truth, and an appreciation of its poetry, but as one who could grasp the eternal facts out of the infinite, and clothe them with such beauty of imagery, and softness of music, that other lives could receive from her a blessing.

I must make public acknowledgment to those who have willingly rendered me assistance,—to Miss Lucy Larcom Spaulding (now Mrs. Clark), who gave me the privilege of using the rich material her aunt had left in her guardianship; to Mrs. James Guild, who furnished me with facts of great interest; to Mrs. I. W. Baker, the sister of Miss Larcom, whose advice has proved most valuable; to Miss Susan Hayes Ward, who put at my disposal the material used in the Memorial Number of “The Rushlight,” the magazine of Wheaton Seminary; to Mr. S. T. Pickard, for permitting me to use some of Mr. Whittier’s letters; to the Rev. Arthur Brooks, D. D., who consented to my using the letters of his brother, Bishop Brooks; to Prof. George E. Woodberry, whose sympathy and suggestions have been of the greatest service to me; and to all who have loaned the letters that so clearly illustrate the richness of Miss Larcom’s personality.

DANIEL DULANY ADDISON.

Beverly, Mass., June 19, 1894.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER PAGE
I.Early Days. 1824-1846[1]
II.In Illinois. 1846-1852[21]
III.Life at Norton. 1853-1859[44]
IV.Reflections of a Teacher[69]
V.The Beginning of the War[83]
VI.Intellectual Experiences[118]
VII.Letters and Work. 1861-1868[148]
VIII.Writings and Letters. 1868-1880[172]
IX.Religious Changes. 1881-1884[200]
X.Undercurrents. 1884-1889[222]
XI.Membership in the Episcopal Church[242]
XII.Last Years[257]
Index[291]