As we have seen, it was Mr. Carr's earnest desire for his wife to take a long rest, on his acceptance of the church at Springfield; and no attentive reader of Mrs. Carr's life can doubt the need of rest at this time—a rest which, in her case, meant keeping house—the every-day work of many women.
While she rests, this biography may also rest, in the respect of dealing with events, since the occurrences in the simple life are most enjoyed in proportion as they make dull reading, and the days at Springfield were happy days.
To illustrate Mrs. Carr's force of character it may be related that one day when her finger was cut off, she found the dismembered part in the folding door, quickly fastened the end back in place, and held it there till help could be summoned.
A brief note from the Ladies Aid Society of Sheldon, Missouri, asking if Mrs. Carr can come to deliver a lecture in their interests, must be taken as an example of countless others of a similar nature. The following statement from the President of the Missouri University, fitly serves as a transition from former experiences, to the new phase of Mrs. Carr's career. It is addressed to her:
"During my administration of the Missouri University for thirteen years, you occupied faithfully and efficiently and acceptably the position of Lady Principal, for eight or ten years. This position you resigned of your own choice. It was not done at the advice, or the instance, of either the Board or the President of the institution. You had always done considerable teaching, as well as serving as Principal, and it was always my understanding that it was not your pleasure to hold the position apart from teaching; and as the care had so grown as to make that overburdensome, when you withdrew, a successor was appointed who has never done any teaching. As a matter of fact, when you resigned, I did not fully understand your reason for doing so. Allow me to express my appreciation for your great worth as an educator, and to assure you of my earnest hope that your enterprise at Sherman will more than realize your purposes and expectations."
This letter from Dr. S. S. Laws was written in 1891, which brings us rather prematurely to the subject of "Sherman." The reader will find that in the course of events, all interests will presently center in that Texas city; but, as we have said, Mrs. Carr is now resting (1888-9) and the biography, as a chronicle of events, rests with her.
But while household cares engage her time, her mind is ever active with that great idea of her life which has attended her since childhood days, and which we are, in the course of time, to find bringing her to the highest fulfillment of her powers. We have seen how that tireless nature has fought its way from battlefield to battlefield, ever progressing in its educational career. It is not clearly defined to her judgment how, or where, she is to take the final stand in her work of improving the greatest number of girls in the most effective way, yet, by following the clews given in the following letters, we may trace out her course to its final destination.
But if Mrs. Carr has temporarily entered into what we may call—as distinguished from other years—her period of rest, the following clipping from a newspaper dated, May, 1889, will indicate that Mr. Carr has been far otherwise engaged:
"Sunday night, O. A. Carr stated to his congregation that he had a secret of several months' standing which he was agonizing to disclose. The long cherished hope of his congregation, and indeed of the North Town disciples was about to be realized—the erection of a church building in North Springfield. He said the money is already raised and the building will begin as soon as specifications are determined upon. He stated that the disciples of Christ with whom he had been meeting in the Good Templars' Hall, for nearly two years, would begin, next Sunday, regular church work preparatory to entering their new church home in the near future. With the dawning light of the permanent prosperity of the church of North Springfield filling their hearts, the congregation was dismissed, and the scene of rejoicing that followed cannot be described."
Mrs. Carr in commenting upon this news, adds, "North Springfield has a population of about 10,000, and a struggling little band of Christians have been praying and working for the above happy consummation, for years."