Memoir of Mary L. Ware, Wife of Henry Ware, Jr.Hall, Edward B. (Edward Brooks)
Religion
Memoir of Mary L. Ware, Wife of Henry Ware, Jr.
Hall, Edward B. (Edward Brooks)
Unitarians -- United States -- Biography; Ware, Mary L. (Mary Lovell), 1798-1849
This visit was made just before her summons to Mr. Ware's bedside at
Concord. After their return to Cambridge, they took possession of a new
house just built for them; and one of the first events that occurred in
that house was the _death_ of Mrs. Ware's first-born, Robert, then three
and a half years of age. It was a sore trial, and well do we remember
the spirit in which it was met; for it was our privilege to be staying
with them at the time, and to be present at the parting. The little
sufferer had endeared himself to us all by his patience and sweetness of
disposition. Separated from his parents in early infancy, and remaining
apart until he was two years old, they had taken him back, when they
returned, as a fresh gift from God; and though another had been granted
them, there was a peculiar feeling connected with _him_, which every
parent will understand. Movingly now does the scene return to us, of the
mother sitting silently and reverently at the side of her expiring boy;
and when the gentle breathing wholly ceased, asking--still silently--the
husband and father, who knelt by her, to _pray_. Faintly, tremulously,
more and more distinctly, and then most fervently, did that voice of
submission and supplication fall upon our ears, and fill our eyes, and
lift the heart into a region which death never enters! As the voice
ceased, the mother fainted; but soon she rose, stronger rather than
weaker, and ready for every duty. In referring to this bereavement
afterward, she says, in the thought of her husband's constant danger:
"Having had so long the greatest possible trial hanging over my head,
every thing else seems comparatively easy to bear; and I sometimes
doubt, whether any thing but that _one_ will ever wean me from the
world, as I think a Christian should be." How much she felt, and how
much she trusted, may be seen in her first letter after this trial.
"_Cambridge, December 31, 1831._
"MY DEAR FRIEND:--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account