Produced by Stacy Brown, Jason Isbell, Afra Ullah and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net THE HARVEST OF YEARS BY _M.L.B. EWELL_ NEW YORK G.P. PUTNAM'S SONS 182 Fifth Avenue 1880 Copyright by G.P. PUTNAM'S SONS 1880 TO MY FAMILY THIS RECITAL OF MY LIFE IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED. Old friends and other days have risen about me as I have written, recalling, through my pen, these treasured experiences; and the pictured characters are to me as real as earthly hands, whose touch we feel. I have written as the story runs, with no effort at adorning, and those who love me best will not bring to it the cold criticisms that may come from other readers. To illustrate the truth of "a little leaven's leavening the whole lump" has been my purpose, and if this purpose can be even partially achieved, I shall deem myself sufficiently rewarded. To those whom in previous years I have met in the field of my mission, whose heart-felt sympathy and interest became the tide which bore me on, as from public platform (as well as in private ways) I have, for truth's dear sake, been impelled to utterances, to these friends I may hope this volume will not come as a stranger, but that through it I may receive, as in the days gone by, the grasp of their friendly hands. M.L.B.E. New Haven, Conn., _June_, 1880. CONTENTS. CHAPTER PAGE I.--Emily Did It 1 II.--From Girlhood to Womanhood 5 III.--Changes 11 IV.--Our New Friend 18 V.--Louis Robert 31 VI.--A Question and a Problem 49 VII.--Wilmur Benton 60 VIII.--Fears and Hopes 71 IX.--The New Faith 84 X.--Matthias Jones 95 XI.--The Teaching of Hosea Ballou 109 XII.--A Remedy for Wrong-talking 123 XIII.--Perplexities 137 XIV.--Louis returns 150 XV.--Emily finds peace 164 XVI.--Mary Harris 177 XVII.--Precious Thoughts 210 XVIII.--Emily's Marriage 226 XIX.--Married Life 240 XX.--Life Pictures and Life Work 254 XXI.--John Jones 274 XXII.--Clara leaves us 290 XXIII.--Aunt Hildy's Legacy 317 THE HARVEST OF YEARS CHAPTER I. "EMILY DID IT."