"Accept, please, my hearty congratulations, and my best wishes for your very abundant success. It is a great work indeed, one that cannot be easily over-estimated, and in which it seems to me you can accomplish a minister's work even, and a very successful minister's work at that. I wonder how large your congregation is now; that is, how many persons are in communication with you and your Mission.
"Of Miss Ellis I shall always think as one of my greatest earthly benefactors, and it will be a life-long regret that I never met her.... I wish you would say to Mrs. Smith that I have by me here in New England only the letters received from Miss Ellis since coming to Harvard, and these I fear contain nothing she would like to make use of. The really helpful letters, those that were of most vital interest to me, were written while I was a Methodist preacher in Ohio, and these are back there still, packed up among odds and ends, and practically might almost as well be in the moon.... Again accept my best wishes for your success in the new calling,—a divine one in the truest sense of the word. I assure you I shall always be glad to hear of the growth and success of your Mission, all the more, perhaps, because I hold to it a sort of filial relation. You know that in the Methodist Church each young convert or young minister speaks of the minister under whose preaching he was converted, as a spiritual father. So I think of myself now as the spiritual child of your Women's Missionary Society in Cincinnati. Would that Heaven might help me to be worthy of the home, and justify in some sense their loving-kindness and help in time of need."
A gentleman in Kentucky, long a correspondent of Miss Ellis, who had taken papers, bought many books, etc., through her, and who has recently died, wrote of her, Jan. 22, 1886:—
"Many souls will miss the modest, unassuming, faithful secretary, but her silent labors will be followed by a rich reward. Her memorial is in the hearts and minds of those who were led through her efforts to freedom, fellowship, and character, in religion."
This correspondent was a farmer's wife in Ohio, who, after Miss Ellis's death, wrote:—
"I have had much trouble in the last two years, and would have given up to utter despair many times, if it had not been for her kind letters and sermons. I made a confidential friend of her; so, knowing my situation, she knew what sermons would serve most to strengthen me, and sometimes she would come across sermons in papers that she would cut out and send me. I have them yet, and intend to paste them in a scrapbook. I thought of calling upon her father to see if he had a picture that he would allow me to have a copy from, so I am very glad her portrait will be in the book.... I learned to love Miss Ellis, and shall never forget her."
There was a little family of step-children living on a remote Ohio farm, in whom Miss Ellis took a warm personal interest, advising as to their religious training, sending them children's papers and books. "Miss Ellis" came to be regarded as a dear friend by these children who never saw her. March 16, 1885, she wrote to the mother:—
"Your letter was received a week since, but I have been sick three weeks with a very severe cough and cold. Have been up and about, but could not accomplish much of anything, and especially writing, and still had much of it to do.... Wanted to advise you about the Sunday-school lessons. Order the lessons of 'Home Life' from Chicago at present, and then next, if you can, 'Corner-Stones of Character;' but do not get the 'Old Testament Chart,' for I have some very good lessons on the Old Testament that you will like and can have immediately.... Am so sorry you have so much sadness to contend against. However, you must feel that all your sacrifices are known by the good Father in heaven; so to him turn in your hour of need. There is a hymn Mr. Thayer often selects for our opening on Sunday. We sang it last Sunday,—'Daily Consecration,' by Caroline Mason.
'Oh God! I thank thee for each sight
Of beauty that thy hand doth give;
For sunny skies, and air, and light,—
Oh God, I thank thee that I live!'That life I consecrate to thee;
And ever, as the day is born,
On wings of joy my soul would flee
To thank thee for another morn:'Another day in which to cast
Some silent deed of love abroad,
Which, greatening as it journeys past,
May do some earnest work for God.'Another day to do, to dare;
To use anew my growing strength;
To arm my soul with faith and prayer,
And so win life and thee, at length.'"Let your first thoughts be turned to God in the morning, and in the day's struggles believe that you are in his presence; and even if your earthly life is not such as you may wish, you may rest assured that your tears are counted above.... My own life is much brighter than it was. My brother —— has an only child, three and a half years old, who is very cunning, and much company for us all. On Friday I passed my semi-centennial birthday, which a number of my friends kindly remembered.... I was not strong enough to enjoy the occasion fully; but still on the whole it was a bright day to me, and on Sunday I was glad Mr. Thayer selected the beautiful hymn, 'Daily Consecration.' I am too weak to write longer.... May God bless and strengthen you for your daily toils."
On the envelopes of all these letters was written, "From my friend Miss Ellis." To the oldest child, who was difficult to influence, Miss Ellis addressed this letter:—
My dear M——: I wonder if you ever had any one write a letter to you, and whether you can read a letter yourself. If not, your mamma will read it to you. She has told me that you are having a little Sunday-school of your own at home, and I feel quite interested in it, and am going to have two of the lessons sent to your mamma from Chicago, hoping you three children will feel interested in them. One is a very simple thing to learn,—"Rules to make Home Pleasant;" and I hope you will all try to learn them, and try to keep them in your daily life.... If children do not learn to keep such rules, they never can have happy homes, for they will grow up into ill-natured, lazy men and women. The other lesson is called "Corner-Stones of Character," because it gives us true ideas of what all children should learn in order to grow up into good, truthful men and women.... Now I know you are studying together Brown's "Life of Jesus," and these lessons I am to send you will help you to understand better what Jesus did to make himself, with God's help, become so good a man. I know, too, that you, M——, have a copy of "Daily Praise and Prayer," which is a very good book. It is pleasant to me as I read in mine to think that Mrs. —— and M—— are reading their lesson to-day, and I wonder if they are thinking how beautiful it is, and that "Miss Ellis" and many others are reading and asking God for the same goodness to-day. It is so pleasant,—do you not think so?—to feel that our good Father in heaven and all good, kind people are thinking of us each day. It helps us to be good, to know that others are trying in the same way,—do you not think so? You are the oldest of the three children, and I want to hear from you, that by studying our Sunday-school lessons, and reading in sensible books, and playing with well-behaved children, you are all becoming wiser and better, and helping mamma and each other. I will also send you some verses all the children in our Sunday-school learned one winter.... There are many things I could talk to you about, but I must leave the rest till another day. It will be sufficient for you to know that some one on earth feels interested in your life at home, with a kind mother to lead you so well.... I will say good-by now, and hope you will learn to write to me. With love to all of you, very kindly your friend.