(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 Æsculapia. 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."