HARVARD COLLEGE

LIBRARY

THE GIFTOF

HAVERFORD COLLEGE LIBRARY

HAVERFORD, PENNSYLVANIA

ECHOES AND P ICTURES

FROM THE

LIFE OF CHRIST

AND OTHER POEMS.

BY DR. 1110a H. THOMAS.

Crown 8vo . Art‘

Linen. 29. 6d.

This Series of Poems is now for the first time published,as originally planned by the Author eighteen

poems from Part 1 . of Echoes and Pictures beingreprinted with the rest to formacomp lete whole. The

Miscellaneous Poemsare all now printed for the firsttime.

LONDON : HEADLEY BROTHERS.

PHILADELPHIA, U.S.A. I . C. \VlNSTON CO.

Richard H. Thomas, MD .

l ifeanb l etters ,BY HIS WIFE .

WITH A PREFACE BY

1. RENDEL HARRIS,m m.

And hisface will befronting the noonh’

de, his back to the night.—The Prophet. R.H.T.

THE JOHN c. WINSTON co

PHILADELPHIA.

CHICAGO. TORONTO.

LONDON :

HEADLEY BROTHERS.

14. B xsnovsoan STREET Wrmou'

r. E .C.

PREFACE .

OUR beloved Richard H . Thomas has left astrangesweetness in the world,andasense as ifhe were not

wholly removed from us. The sigh tor the“touch ofthe

vanished hand and for “the sound of the voice that isstill,

”which usually is the portion ofthe one or the two ,

isbm thed for him fromafull choir ot hm that lovedhim. When we become susceptible enough to clamitythese lost touches , and to arrange in to their p roper

mwiwi sequence these voices thatare forawhile made8511

, we shall find that few touches had such tenderness,andnot many voices such interior sweetnessas his . He

wasalwaysat the heart ofthings,and we ought, perhaps ,towonder

,not that the better worldand the better folk

have claimed him ,but that they spared him to us here so

it has been a! to collm some

his life,and love , m d serv ice , to be

i one more beloved friend who hasafteran unusual

t outward weaknessand prolonged dissolution ,

whatweare stri ving towards , the far better

J. Runner. Planers .

AUTHOR’

S NOTE .

I FEEL that I have succeeded very imp erfectly in the

attemp t to portray my husband’

s rich,many - sided

characterand his earnest desire to be made the meansofblessing to others

,but I trust that his own Reminis

cencesand the extracts from his Le ttersand Poems willmake up for what is lacking , so that these Memoirs maybe the means of carrying on the message-bearing thatwas so much upon his heart .The task of p reparing them has been made possibleforme by the unusual leisure from ordinary duties whichhas come to me through my visit to England,and especi

allyby the fact that I could be with my husband’s sister,

Mary S. Braithwaite, at Kendal , and could have the

benefit ofher helpandadvice in their preparation .

Thus it happens that, although my husband was anAmericanand Baltimore was really his home during theWitch ofhis life

,his Memoirsare pub lished in England,

where , however, he had many fri ends to whom ,I be lieve

,

they will beas welcomeas I hope they may p rove to beto our American friendsand relatives .

viii. AUTHOR’S NOTE .

In tracing the history Ofhis life, I have renewedly felt

that there is not one bittermemory in it for us whoare leftbehind

,butall is radiant with his love for usand his

devotion to Christ.

Noattempt has been made to preserve uniformity

the use Ofthe Friendly nomenclature Ofmonthsand days,but this variety seemsappropriate in the present periodOf transition,and it would not

,I think, have been dis

pleasing to him.

ANNA BRAITHWAITE THOMAS.

31 2 , Camden Road, Nsth mo. 1 st

,1905.

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XX IV.

CONTENTS.

RECREATION ; THE RICHMOND CONFERENCE 1 886- 1 888

VISIT TO ENGLAND,1 889

LETTERS, 1 891 - 1 892

LETTERS,1 893

VISIT TONORWAY, DENMARK ANDGERMANY

ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND

ENGLAND (continued), LETTER FROM

EDWARD GRUEH

ILLNESS ; STAY IN GERMANY AND ITALYAND RETURN TO AMERICA

LETTERS,1 898

- 1 899

LETTERS,1900

LETTERS, 190 1 LAST VISIT TO ENGLANDLETTERS 1902

LETTERS,1903

LETTERS,1903 (continued)

LAST ILLNESS AND DEATH

PAGE .

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

PAGE .

PORTRAIT OF RICHARD H. THOMAS,AET. 39 Frontispiece

PHEBE (CLAPP) THOMAS. MY MOTHER’S PICTURE

THE GROVE,NEAR BALTIMORE , MD.

,R. H. T.

’S

BOYHOOD HOME

RICHARD H. THOMAS,SENIOR

FOUNDER’S HALL,” HAVERFORD COLLEGE , PENNA.

RICHARD H. THOMAS,AET. 20

bR. H. THOMAS AND FAM ILY IN VIENNA WITH

BRAITHWAITE AND EDWARD MILLARD

MAP OF BALTIMORE YEARLY MEETING,1905.

EUTAWSTREET MEETINGHOUSE , FRIENDS’ INSTITUTE,

ANDJOHNS HOPK INS LABORATORY

SITTINGROOM AT 1 7 1 8 JOHN STREET

RICHARD H. THOMAS,AET. 46

DR. JAMES C . THOMAs’s SUMMER HOME AT BLUE

RIDGE SUMM IT

CHAPTER I .

Recollections ofmy Father— His wonderfu l es cape—Aunt Henrietta—My Mother’3 Picture—Childish Qum eb —Debm h C .

Thomas On Jordan'

s stormy banks I stand -To my

llYfather, whose name I hear, died before I was six yearsold My recollections Of him consist ofaseries ofnot

very many or very important p ictures . I remember

seeing him preach, but can recall nothing ofhis discourse ;some walks with him ; two occasions ofjust,and one,asI then thought, of unjust punishment ; some incidentsin his long illness ; afew casual remarks , and his facetiter deathas he lay in the cold library so whiteand still ,“finally the last kissat the funeral justas the coffin

lidwasabout to be closed,and the look Ofpi ty in the facesOfthoseabou t me , when , quite ignoran t Ofthe real meaning(ti the occasion , I complained ofhis face being so coldtlme include most Of my distinct pictures Of him, butalthough I did not unders tand the bearing Ofitall, I stillc e shudder that came over meas l heard the screws

turned in the cofi n lid,and the hollow sound ofthe clodsfailing on the boards that enclosed the cofi n,as we stoodM elting the grav e being filled up ,—amost heart-tendingButalthough my pensonal recollections Of himare SO

Why, no one to my own consciousness has exercised such

RICHARD H. THOMAS, M.D.

acontrolling influence over meas he. I fel t it the greatestpri vilege to have had suchafather

,and to live worthy ofhim was the height ofmyambi tion . The very causeswhich have made my remembrance of him vague onlyserved to raise my veneration. for when I was three or

four years old, he visited Great Britainasapreacher of

the gospel, and what I could gatherabout it, impressedme deep ly— for he labored under the difi culty ofrapidlyfailing health, and his self-denialand sacrifice ofcomfortand rest for the sake ofChrist gave meadeep sense ofhisdevotion to his Lord, whileageneral feeling that his effortswere attended with unusual resul ts made me see thatthose sacrifices were worth while . Such visitsas his were ,among Friends, only paid underasense ofthe personalguidance ofthe Lord,and therefore, whenever Iasked whyhe had gone to England, the replyalways was to the

efiect that he had gone because the Lord had speciallysent him . While thisat the time may have served to

raise him in my childish mind toan undue position of

importance , yet I never supposed that such guidance wasonly given to him, for we were constantly receiving visi tsfrom menand women in the minis try who came under thesame sense ofthe Lord’

s leading . But his going on whatseemed to me suchagreat journey impressed me moredeeply thananyamount ofteaching could have doneapartfrom it, with the presen t reali ty ofthe Lord’s guidance,so that it seemedaperfectlynatural thing, before I dreamedofany theory in connection with it . An incident in hisvoyage (inasailing vess el) to England was quite sufficien tto prove to me that he was under the special care ofGodand seemed to me to put my father into the line of the

most honored servan ts ofGod whom we read of in the

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6 RICHARD H . THOMAS, M.D.

order to clearaway the life boats. Justat that moment whenallhad given themselves upas lost , the Cap tain saw thatas the ship

grated over the rocks her keel strikingagainst those under her ,her mainand mit t en sails began to fill with the wind. At once he

ordered them to be braced up . The ship slowly began to moveforwardand was soon away from the rocksand breakers. The

pumps were sounded and the vm el found not to lenkmuchand wewere permitted to rej oiceand give thanks for perhaps one of the

most signal ins tances of Divine in terposi tion that ev er rescuedaship’s crew from what seemed inevi table des truction . The Captainsaid he had never seen or heard of suchamiraculous deliv erance .

He attributed it to Divine in terposi tion , though not himselfaAs I stood on the deck fu lly realizing our danger ,and looked ou t

upon the perpendicular cliffand raging sea. I felt solemn bu t calmand quiet . For myself I felt sure ofmy Heaven ly Father’s love ,and co uld res t there . Then I thought ofmy dear children . of

theeand my other relationsand friends . ofyour gr ief. At the sametime the question seemed to be How can this be after suchaclear prospect offu ture serviceandalmostanassurance that weshould arriv e safelyat Liverpool. At the very last ex tremi ty,

when the ship's bottom grated upon the rocks , I was stillable tolift up my prayers to God that He wou ld even ye t be pleased toin terfere for our deliverance . I was nev er entirely divested ofallhop e , ev en while I was preparing to take offmy great coat in orderthat I might swim the better. When our safety wasascertainedhow did my soul ofier up thanksgivingand prai se un to Him who

had been graciously pleased to deliver us from so dreadfuladeathand to openaway for us when there seemed no way and how didI endeavour renewedly to dedicate myse lf, bodyand spiritandallthat I haveandam , to His service Oh ! that we mightall seekfor strength to renew our covenants wi th Him , to love Him moreand serve Him better

0

When the ship was examined it was found thatalarge piece ofthe rock had been broken off,and remained wedged in the bottomof the vessel . which p rev enwd her filling wi th water .

Inaddition to his ministry, which I have since heardwas really remarkable for its clearnessand power, andjoyfulness, myfatherwasaleading physician in the ci ty of

RBMINISCENCES , 1 860.

homeand mybirth-place), where he hadaaprofessor in theof the Universi ty ofMaryland, aschool,it has since been greatly improved in itscourses of instruction, occupied then in

smaller number ofschools in the cmmtry,

now.

bormwas utterlyand later life, repeating to me his sayingson me the importance ofmy not disgracingused to say that she had wep t so muchatshe had no more tears to shed,and trulysaw her weep , though often in sorrow. In

high spirited girl, with martivated, rather than soundly

ali tt le round table withahinged lid,at which she herselfwould probably be sittingas she told us,and how he wouldreadaloud to the family group the mos t recent books,andhow they welcomed the announcement ofanew novelby Theauthor ofWaver ley,"and waitedanxious ly foreach succeeding number toarrive. She wasagreat lover

saws—fl" andus e

-1

M “ i should

“ N r ‘ r - ‘

equently

v er us

But she

RICHARD H . THOMAS, MD .

alarge family, withamother in frail health, she had themother’s blindness and long illness taxed her and her

sister Julia’s strength,and then my father’s marriageandthe illnessand death ofhis first wifeand the loss of twoofhis children,and lastly the care ofall his childrenafterher death— for she hadalong decline,all this inadditiontoan early disappointment in love, caused her to takedue to her mother’s objection to the marriage of firstcousins,and myaunt was far too loyaladaughter to dreamSince I gmw un I have been told that she was in earlyyears greatly feared because ofher powers ofsarcasm,anddesire to rule . But from personal observations I shou ldnever have known it . Very seldom do I remember herlosing her temper. Her heart was centred in us children,and her characteras it rises before meas I write, is one ofwilling to be left out ofaccoun t so faras her own comfort

suflering, but not complaining,andanxious for our welfare.

She never saw thatanxietyand worry ofmind over us

itapart oflove to beanxious for her loved ones . But she

wasanxious to herselfand did not keep others worrying.

The ruling princip les ofher life were loveand duty, andshe did her bes t by exampleand byword to instil in to our

minds that the ques tion we were toask ourselves was notour duty in the matter,and this motive ofduty was the

PHEBE (CLAPP) THOMAS.

“My, Mother'

s Plctm'

c.

"

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t o RICHARD H . THOMAS, M.D.

bed,and wai ting ti ll I thought they would forget where Istill on me . I was bothawedand p leased, for there wasnothing to fear in them, and I half thought that theircons tant gaze upon me meant that there mus t be some

silent understanding ofall that was going on beneath them .

Often our childish quarrels, which I fear were not infre

quen t, would he suddenly checked,and theangry word ordeed stoppedas it were midway, by one or the othercatching aglimpse of that face and saying, Look,Mamma’s eyes are lookingat us.

”

Thes e little tifls were so frequen t that my brotherandI who slep t together, used to makeapoin t the very lastthing before going to sleep, of going over the followingreconci liationPlease excuse me forall the cross words .

Yes . Please excuse me .

Yes . Good night .”

Good night.”

And thenakiss .

This was to make sure thatall scores were settled, incase either ofus might die before morning. We con tinuedthe practice till we were nearly grown, in factas longaswe slept toge ther,and longafter cross words had becomeexceedingly rare between us . Butafter the sunnies t day,we nei ther ofus fel t easy to sleep wi thout that word of

As I grew older,and wasable to form, by reading herlettersand hearing moreabout her,amoreaccurate ideaofwhat kind ofpersonmymother reallywas, myadmirationofher character increased . But only two things have cometo me that she said concerning myself. The first was thatshe , feeling I was her lates t born, wished me to be calledafter my father, and the second wasasaying, which I

REMINI SCENCES, 1858 . l l

huswd in my young heartas I heard it might prove prophetic. She was nearing her end, and as very ilL so

that my life wasalmost despaired of. Some one saidasmuch in her hearing. No,

”sheanswered, “ I believe

he will live to grow up ,and to beagreat comfort to youall.for that son is now writing this in the forty-third year ofhisage . I trust that the second part has been to some

ex tm t fulfilledalso, but in so faras it has been, her wordsthemselves have had no li ttle to do with it for italwaysseemed to me that it wmrld beagreat slight on her memoryto have her prophecy falsified.

Ourown mother wealways spoke ofas Mamma(accent onthe last syllableand second

’

pronounced long)andm spmking ofher , it was generally with s low reverentvoice. She wasas“Named softlyas the household name of one whom God hathtaken ,

"

and this habit left us free to speak ofandaddress out stepmother, my father’s third wife,as mother . His marriagecemeasagreat surprise to his friends , who saw but too

phinly what he could not see, that he was fast nearingthe end ofhis days .

Thou hast not congratulated me on myapproachingmarriage, ” he said toarelative who was devoted to him .

“,Doctor was the reply, I thought you were preparing

When he made his pr0posals to Deborah C. Hindsdale,OfNew York, who wasalsoaMinisteramong Friends ,the hesitated onaccoun t of his health, whether he wasfight in undertaking these new responsibilities . But he

rs RICHARD H. THOMAS, M .D .

satisfied her with his fullassm‘ance that his illness was onlyBut I cannot leave mymother, who is oldandfeeble.

”

I would notask thee to do this ,” heanswered, she

shall have her home with us .

And so it was settled, on the understanding, entered uponbility in the training ofus children, who should con tinueto be under the charge ofour Aun t Henriet ta. This understanding was dictated by no selfish motive . She carne notto disarrange the household, not toassert herauthori ty,not to claim her rights, but to love,and fill her place,andall her step childrenare heartily thankfu l for her comingamongs t us,and for the twenty two years ofunselfish loveand ferven t prayers for those she lovedas her own.

She came to us with her mother, Mary Hindsdale, anold lady most ofwhose life had been spent in severe sufiering, nowamere wreck in body,and much weakened inmind. I believe she enjoyed the change to the open countryfrom the town housewhere she had li ved in New York . An

incident in Mary Hindsdale ’

s life, when she was MaryRoscoe , has made her semi -his torical . Tom Paine, ill

to end his days in or near Burling'

Stephen Grellet, andas Tom Paine ’

s friends were no t

helping him, she not infrequen tly brought him nourish»

men t, and sought to make him comfortable. One day,heasked her ifshe had

‘read his Age ofReason.

”She

replied that some one had given her the book, but hav ingread part of it, and strongly disapproving of it, she hadthrown it behind the fire . Heanswered that he wishedquen tly heard him ejaculate prayers to Jes us Chris t,andshe believed him to be truly peni tent . His unbeliev ing

amscsuces—mav Roscoe . 33

M visited him whfle she was with him and tried

tokeep up his courage, that he should not change his v iewsat the last . When they had gone he turned to herandmush, butas these old fr iends ofhis got possession ofhis

papersand suppressed them, it was never known what waswritten. She believed they were to empress his dyingfaithis 1mm Christ .Afullacoount ofthis is, I remember, in the life ofStephenGrellet, by Benjamin Seebohm . But this story was impressed on mymind inanother way. Aboutadozen yearsaim her death, anewspaper controvers yarose in regardAireeothinking organ had den ied theaccountas given inaauthority ofGrellet . I ts editor

me way mother’s relationship to Maryto her, and she fully corroborated theshe had frequently heard her motheras we called her , becameamost inus . We saw very little of her, but

fancies hadad h the charm ofaand we never tired of listening tos tories to each otherafterwards,

he died in 1 863.

pr0posal in regard to thewayattempted to disturb thet Henriettahad charge ofour

she ever proffered heradviceYet she wasalways kind,and

14 RICHARD H . THOMAS, nu ) .

her reading being chiefly the Bible, The Friends’

Review,

lives o uaker worthiesand devotional poetry ; neitherwas she one of those in tensely mactieal persons , who ,feelingsaround them for the sake ofmechanical regularity. She nev er gossipped in the unpleasant sense of the

when she was about . Tale hem found she was not

We wereahighly strung family, nervousand exci table.She was quiet, careful of speech, never provoked.

When she married my father, she implicitlyacceptedhis view ofhis heal th. But even on their wedding journey,it broke down , and my oldes t brother had to go to St .

John’

s, New Brunswick, to help them home . Sti ll sheexpected him to recover , while she mourned overandmarvelledat his painand his patience .

“Wai t till lam well,and ill show thee how I lovethee,

”he said to her, while she, not feelingany lack in

him, was longing for the promised revival ofstrength.

This persistent ignoring ofthe facts ofthe case on her

part was very pmml to the res t ofthe family. At las tmy brother James’s wife undertook the task oftellingher

the tru th. Mother has frequently told me whatashock;it was to her . She had never imagined,and could hardlyloss, was the, to her,almost terrible necessity offeelingthat he could be mistaken inanything. I think this lastwasalmostas greatatrialas the first.Theautumn came on . At Yearly Mee ting he could not

m e of the business sessionaand to wri te the draft of

Rm mscsnce s. 1860. a;As the year closed he was much weaker . One morningIwas called into the room to repeatanew hymn I hadand they could not persuade me, but to their surprise l

beganand repeated the hymn beginning

On Jordan '

s stormy banks I stand .

mdallmesen t were hushed nnderasense ofits unex pectedappropriateness . The end came on the 1sth of January,1860,acold Sunday morning. My brother CharlesandL conscious that something serious was happening, satin hnshedawe on the staircase,asking each one who cameout ofthe room how father was . Then the familygatheredwas lying dead in the library, the door shut,and he leftThe evening before he had said, I believe I shall liveto preach the gospel in Californiayet .

He diedas l think he wished. He had little care fordying enmessions, adopting the remark, Ifyou tell me

howaman has hved l care not to hear how he died.

”

His life wasalife ofdoing good . He made it s poin tnever to refuseapafient who called on him, bu t would

goas readily toapauperas toawealthy patient . He

doctrine ofour privilege ofknowing our sins to be forgiventhnugh Jesus Christ,andabo that Christ isable to savehis people from their sins . His Christian life wasastrongand joyful one . “fith his large practiceand professionalduties, he was nevertheless among the most punctu

ali t hisattam danceat meetings for worship, thus proving

by othamhu i tanoew stmt hfe withand he did net w’uh

them to be rich. Almost his onlyfanls seem to e bm

an oocasional quicknem ofspeechand too greatadetermination to heve his own way. t is preeching l mayhave more to say later.

The silm t gatm'mg’

in that npparoom rmams’

ia

for usand herselfin words oftrm tand faith.

I havealready spoken of his funeral and the dayspreoeding it . Yearsafter l wrote the following lines, whichcorrectly

TO MY FATHER.

Upon my earlies t youthafuneral pnllAlmoetas soonas l had learned to eell

Still haunts me lying thereUpon the bed , so cold in death’s embrace,Cold , but surpassing fair .

Sti ll haun ts me ; bu t to blessme nightand day.And stillan influence gives .

0r. ifremembrance ofthee for so long.

M th undiminished might ,Can still ex ertan influence so s trongTo keep me in the right ;

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1 8 RICHARD H . THOMAS. MD .

banished from her mind, ex oep t the one that she wafanoin ted ofthe Lord to bearaspecial message from Him tr

some pres en t,and that her plaoewas simplyto speak ss thySpirit gave utterance the tears often streaming down herfaqe, as she poured forth in s trong, modulated tones the

words she felt given her to deliver . Humbleas she was,she had no doubtas to the inspiration of her message,in fact, she would have felt itanact ofirreverence to doubtit . But she believed the same of o ther ministers who

gave proofofthisminis try,and never thought foramomentso faras we could discover , that she was specially favouredover others . She was simply the handmaid ofthe Lord.

Her prayers were wonderful .After the death ofher mother had ended her years of

fai thful care, she was free to travel as aminis ter,and for nearly twenty years she was most faithful in thiswork— crossing the Atlan tic twice, and visi ting mostsections in America, where there wereany considerablenumbers of Friends . Her manner of work, and rapidpassing from place to place , for which her style ofpreachingwas peculiarly suited, precluded the possibili ty of her

being able to count up resul ts . But her labors werebles sed, as I have had reason to discover from the testi

mony ofthose who have been reached through her wordsAfter her death, I wrote ofher

DEBORAH.

Tue Qom n PREACHER.

A childlike heart ,asimme faith ;Quick, not to ques tion . but receive .

REMINISCENCES— DEBORAH c. m om s

She sp oke , bu t notat men’

s commandHumbly she waited on the Lord,

Silen t ti ll she should understand ;That He through her wou ld send His Word.

Has known that one ,at leas t, saw clearBeyond the dimness ofour day,

The limits of the Nowand Here ,

And pierced the vei l,and won the throne;Where wi th strong wrestlingsand wi th tears ,

She, making others’ needs her own ,

And trembling wi th their sinsand fears ,

Sought for herselfand them the graceThatanswered to their u tmost need

Till those who heard her felt the p laceTo be the gate ofheaven indeed .

No stones memorial have been set

To show where Heaven was op en thrownBut souls who felt do not forgetThe vision of the Crossand Throne .

She bore her message farand wide .

Besideall waters sowed her seed

Nor ev er loitered to decideWhich handfu l shou ld the best succeed .

Not hers to reap , bu t hers to sow,

To comfort m ourn ersas she wentThe far resu lts she could not know

The Master smi led , she was content.

THE house where I was born (January 26th, 1 854)— in fectwhereallmy father’s children were born, was pulled downnearly thirty yearsago to make room for warehouses.

I t stood on the south-eas t corner ofSharpeand LombardStreet,and behind it wasan old fashioned garden, in whichstoodasmoke house, from the days when thrifty houseof this house , whichare very vivid, are not however,asthe house where we lived, but where we used to go to playwith brother James’s children. The carriage came dailyto this house from our p lace,as there was no delivery inthe country, andall our letters were directed ei ther toSharpe Street, or to our Aun t Jane Thomas’s onMcCullohStreet .The home ofmy first recollection (we moved there

when I was less thanayear old), is The Grove ,”acountry

villawithabou t eighteenacresattached, on the old Libertyor Windsor Mill Road,aboutamile to the north-wes t ofthe then buil t up portion ofBaltimore,and less than halfamile from its corporate limi ts . As I wri te, in 1 896,

the growth ofthe city has swallowed it up . The city limi ts

areaboutamile beyond it,and last year we sold it,and it

REMINISCENCES THE GROVE.

”3 !

in to streetsand buildingI had little ofthat power oflocalattachmany,andalways said that I cared forfor places , but the pang that this change

I have hadat leas t one

the road. My father hadatinafew years hadadded to it

but covered with heavythe nex t morning that several

yards ofplaster had fallen . The contras t between the old

houseand the new was not seen from the road, for the newhid ihand the efiect on driving up , though unusuak wasto oonfihe its hav oc with the plaster to the back of the

house, so that the somewhat Spotted sheet from frequentvisitor.

Here we hadder, with high

walls . Motherand GrandWe wereallowed only occas

but wereallowed to play battledoreand shuttlecock in the hall, and one winter, whenallof m three younger ones— Mary, Charlesand myselfhad been<forweeks cooped up wi th colds, the sunny library,which since fatha’s death had been hardly usedatall,was,although in the front building , thrown open to us ,

and everafter became our chiefroom for playand so forth.

The chieffeature of The Grove ,”from which it derived

its name, lay in the fine oak trees that grew in the fron tpart oft he grounds. One ofthem that stoodabout mid

as RICHARD H . THOMAS, LLD.

waybetween the houseand the gate waswithout ex oep tion,in its combination of size, symme try and luxuriance,the finest oak I have ever seen . I have known gentlemendriving by, rein up their horses,and stop toadmire it .Behind the house the ground sloped rapidly toali ttle

streamat the foot, which was soon met byanother. Thisone ran between two little hills ,and gaveavery pleasantundulating effect to the grounds, which reached theirhighes t pointat the north boundary of the little estateback of the house . Inaddition to the native trees, myfather planted anumber of ornamen tal ones, andalsofruit treesandapear orchard.

Our play ground was in front ofthe first stream which

divided the grounds into two unequal halv es, the smallerbeing in front . As we grew older, we had the run ofthe

Without much regard for relative size or position , we

filled the place with fancied cities . The great oak wasBaltimore, whileasmall maple growing inalittle islandofgreen where the drive from the gate turned in to the“circle that led to the house, and to the drive to the

stable, was New York. The twin oaks withabench fixedbetween them were Harrisburg,andacedar in the cornerof the grounds was Washington . Between these we ranwhat we called express trains ,and theyadded greatly to

Mee ting. Our usual p lan was to start in various directions soas to meet oneanother . Is thee going toMeetingthisafternoon ? ” one wouldask . Yes , is thee P Then

takingaflat stone from his pocket, the first would lookat itcarefully , and say gravely, I think it is nearly time .

”

So they would gather, sometimes on the benchat Harris

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36 RICHARD H . THOMAS. MD .

withdmm or hormmakingall the noisewe could,and singingpatri otic songs . The

“actual fighting that was donewas oonfined to tin soldiersand hlocks, or if in the 0p en

ing to our original pattern), forked twigsacted for oflioers,and straight ones for privates.

CHILDHOOD.

What stalwart ships we built ot tiny bloclrs lOfseas we knew no more.

Than that the bed -

postsand the chairs were rocks ;

The sea,— the nursery floor .

The forts . the towers that we bui lded were,Not simply pi les . bu tallalive.as tir,With noble knightsand kings .

We little knew oflost hopes unfulfilledOur tinand wooden men .

Though in the battle’s hottest conflict killed,

Still lived to fightagain .

Upon each battle’s doubtful issue, fearsAnd fates of empires hung.

Were not our chosen cherished heroes peersOfall whom bards have sung.

It was not in the simple toys we hadTo make our spirits bright ;

Our quick poetic fancies made us glad ,

And clothedall things wi th light.

In looking back, this seemsavery unquakerly methodofplay. I suppose our elders felt it was inevi table,andthought that it was aharmless method of blowing off

superfluous steam. Atany rate, they freely supplied us

wi th the muni tions ofwar, in the shape of tin soldiers,toycannon, flags, etc ,and theoretically I suppose we should

REMINISCENCES—WAR mm. 97

hav e grown up to believe in war, butasamatter offactthese games were felt to be play, and 1 never recollect

that they in the smalles t degree made us feel that warcome soldiers . Perhaps it was because the war wasactuallygoing on, but the con tras t between our gammand realwar was more impressed on us than the similar ity. At the

same time, I do feel that the objection ex pressed by manypeaceadv ocatesagainst children playing such games , haspre tty soundarguments to defend it.We often played we were diflerent coun tries . The

others chose one country oranotheras it pleased them .

Ialways chose England,acountry ofwhich myAun t wasvery fond, though she had never visited it. Nothing would

would Iallowany word to be said in the familyagainstEngland withou t protes t . I shall never forget myfeelingswhen, one ofmy brothers told me that England was declaring for the Sou thern Confederacy, and wasabou t tomake war on the Union . The papers were full of it . Ifeltas ifmy main stay was gone,and that the object of

myaflections was being provedafraud. But I wouldnot give up , and boldly main tained in spi te ofall the

newspapers , that it was not trueand could not be true,andwas greatlydelighted to find later on that l was correct .

In view ofmyclose connection in later years with Engand,

Ofthe war itselfwe saw li ttle . The first political eventthat imprm ed itselfupon me was John Brown’

s raid inVi rginia. I fel t great sympathy wi th his fate, but, reflecting the feelings ofAun t Hm riet ta, I fel t that be bed done

my maternalaunt eeksldlh on the Hudsom léwas

that in the north he was heldasamartyr, and so halffeeling this must be the true view, he was raised in my

that even emancipation could jus tify an act, which ifsuccessful, would have led to the horrors ofacivil m .

I find it harder to explain theaction of those cu l tivated

by the news Allen brought out from townas he camefrom school, that Northern troops , marching through theci tyalong Pratt Street, from one station to the other hadseveral . This was the first blood shed in that terriblewar . The excitement was tremendous . The followingSunday I believe no place ofworship was open in the ci ty,but the Friends’ Meeting . The population was inaferment. Almostas soonas we were in the Meeting om

carriagewas seized by soldiers (P) so-called, who forced itsdri ver to go ofi with them . During the Meeting, mes

sengers came repeatedly to tell one oranother that theirhorseandcarfiage left tied toatree was being takenaway.

Most of those who were so warned, left the meeting, butnotall. James Carey, our cousin, I remember still howhe looked, sat without movingamuscle, though three timessomeone came to tell him that his carriage was beingtaken . He had come to that meeting to worship, andwhatever befenhis carfiage he was going toattend to hishigrer duties . I t wasatrying time for himflmt to my

Rm mscencas—wm rum. 39

youthful minmit seemed to me that he was of the stock

James Carey in his silen t fai thfulnes s, mus t I think havedone much to settle it, and it is this that has remainedin mymind.

When wewere come out ofmeeting, therewas nocarriagefor us, so we decided to walk to ouraun t Jane’s on Mc

small bodies ofcitizens who had been has tilyarmed,andwere patrolling the streets . Leading one ofthem wasanear relative, notaFriend, withapis tol in hand. He

stopped,and told ouraunt that sheand we had no rightto beabroad in the streetsat suchatime , and uttered

dismal prOpheciesas to the near future and themwithamyaun t was not given to fear,and being where we were,there was obv immly nothing to do but to go omwhich wedid. But before we reached ouraunt ’s, the carriage overtw k us the dfi ver hav ing escaped frmn his captors. Ibefieve no one reanylost either carnage or home or suffered

second visi t, while preaching, he fel t led to encourageFriends to fai thfulness in their testimony to peace andfurther said that the war would comealmost to the city,

but would not come into it. Late in the war , this word

undefended. Earthworks were has tily thrown up be

30 RICHARD H. THOMAS, BLD.

inadequate,and ex cited the live ly scorn ofthearis tocraticsou thern sympathizers in the ci ty. One ofthese,ahaughtysouthern lady, noticing the preparations in the s treet,came ou t ofher house withalarge paste board bandbox,and going to the officer in charge, wi th mock gravi ty ,ofiered it to himas her contribution to the defences .

North-east of the city, the Confederates under HarryGi lmor tore up the tracks of the P .W. and B .R.R . atMagnolia, about sixteen mi les from Baltimore . There

was no reason why the Confederates shou ld not enter thecity, and they were so confidently expected, that theirfriends had ordered great suppers in honor of the ofi cers

on theirarrival , and I believe, they wereactually bm'

ng

prepared . No one supposed that they could retain possession of the place, but this only made matters worse forthe poor inhabitants,as it seemed to ensureadonbleamount

at The Grove, for the empty frame housewhere we usedto play had been moved to the front of the place andenlarged, and it was full ,as wellas our own house wi th

relations . Mostanxious conferences were held,as to thebest course to pursue . All the visitors urged our takingrefuge in the city . There seemed to be danger in ei thercourse. Anal ternative offered, to go to Bellefon te in thecentre of Pennsylvania, the former home of our auntJuliaValentine, who was living with us ,and whose stepson kindly urged herand us to come . The final conclusionwas forall the relatives to leave The Grove,

”and allthe family to stay. Iam not certainas to the groundsofthis conclusion . I think they felt that it would be morelikely that the house would be burnt ifno one wae liv ingin it . Bellefonte was along way ’

off to moveawhole

REMINISCENCES— WAR rum. 3:

family to , and l think there wasafeeling that to moveinto the ci ty might under the immediate circums tancesbe eomething like going intoafort for protection, astepalways felt by consistent Friends to be out ofharmonywi th their testimonyagainst war . 50 we remained, andI thi nk our position was the more precariousas we wereamong the few families in the neighborhm d who waeknownas Northern sympathisers . No change was madein the fami lyarrangemen ts, and so faras I remember ,

nothing ofvalue was hidden, oranymeasures for defenceaescape taken . Charlee and I were greatly ex ciwd.

We took our stand onapoint ofvantage near the gate,on the looko ut for the firstapproach ofwhat we then calledthe rebelarmy, while we indulged in many plansas towin t weand others should do, in case it came . Manyofthes e were probably qui te preposterous , but m recallingtheirabsence. It never occurred to us that we should runaway from the place, or that we oranyofthe familyshouldtry to fight to defendanything. In fact, we imaginedconversations, in which we should carefully exp lain to

anywho might be so misguidedas to comeand defend usby fighting, that we were Quakers, and therefore , couldmethods we felt open to us, were confined to hidingand

halfdisappointedat their not domg sq and to miss theex citanent.The Confederates did not enter the ci ty, because they

to be,and they fearedatrap.

The battle of Gettysburg, eighty miles north of us ,

the recapture ofFort Sumpter, the fall ofRichmondare

33 RICHARD n . THOMAS , n o .

with the struggle is so stamped on itas theassassinationofPresident Lincoln,and the terrible efiect ofthe news

women . Through that very city,ali ttle over four yearsand in secret, les t he should beassassinated on his way,to his inaugurationas President.

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34 RICHARD H . THOMAS, M.D.

My older brothersand my sister had been very quickat their studies ,and there wasafeeling that we youngerones should be soalso,and so keep up the tradi tion. Mysober judgment in regard to my schooling is that I wassystematically over-worked . Goethe in Aus meinem

Leben says that it makesavery great difference toamanin which decade ofacentury he is born . 1 was bornatadate which took me to schoolataperiod oftransi tion.

New s tudies were being in troduced. The old system of

routineand learning by rote was dying out, but the newer

system had not yet come in . The resul t wasalamen tablewan t ofthoroughness , whileasmattering ofmany subjectswas given. That this was necessarily fatal to good studyI do not claim , for there were good studen tsat the schoolsbut it was certainlyagreat drawback toasickly boy likemyself.0 I have pleasant recollections ofthe first schools Iattended,taught by ladies, but my first boys’ school was the wors tpossible school for one ofmy character . I t was, as theothers were, aday school,and I remainedat it for threeyears . I t was taught byan ordained clergyman, who, Ibelieve, preached on Sundaysatasmall church, but hadno regular charge . How he managed to make his schoolthe best thought of in the ci ty for three years , I do not

know. His succes s was great, but very short,and he endedin disgrace, partly from his school, but chiefly from scandalous conduct outside of it . He was atall man,andanattractive, witty conversationalis t,abrilliant Latin scholar,and, I believe, agood mathematician, butawretchedteacher . Irregularitywas the order ofthe school . Nothingcould be depended upon .

But it wasat this school that l gained my only prize

(jointly with my brother) . I think it was well deservedfor being first inavivavoce examination in latin inalarge

Rammscs ucs s- scnoowav s . 35

class ofboys . The prizewasagreat delight to us in itselfofGrecianand

never failing delight .

tended aschool kept byaconnecti on of the fami ly. He was in svay m pect,

more than I did. I s till hada offailure,andawant

and left school when itwithall, and was

kindly so faras I now remember,and not

Friends . In fact, there was no such schoolat that timein Bal timore . But for along time, we were ex cusedfrom school every Fifth day in order toattend meetingat eleven o

’

clock. It seriously interfered wi th our schoolduties, and was finally given up . In 1 865-66, we spent

the win ter in the city,and that year we wereallowed toattend alarge part of the Yearly Meeting. We were

much interested, and were especially imp remed by the

presence of Joseph Bevan Brai thwaite not that we wereable to understandmuch ofhis ministry, whichwas directedto more mature minds than ours, but by his reputation,

and the high es teem in which he was held, and his veryimp ressive mannerand peculiar impediment in his speech,which seemed to us to give increased weight to his utterance . I little thought then whatacontrolling influencehe would have upon my future, or how dear heand hisIn the meantime, from my father’s death to the close

of the war, deathand change had been busyamong us

asafamily . I have spoken of grandmother’s death.

My father’s only surviving brother , j ohn, finding his

heal th failing, removed from asmall villanear us, intohis town house in McCulloh Street. This move we greatlyregretted,as it took his three childrenaway,and the twoyoungest, beingabout ourage , were very favori te playfellows,and not being Friends, gavealittle ofwhat seemedto usaworldly flavor to our pastimes , though in reality,they wereas carefully brought upas ourselves .

They still often came to see us , and their town house

becameafavorite place for us to go to, as their motherwas most kind . My uncle hadalongand painful illness,his mind onall poin ts except one, failing . That pointwas his trust in the Lord Jesus . This wasalways clear

REM INISCENCES—BOND VALENTINE . 37

to hinnand here he was himself. He hadagreat talen tfor handiwork, and thoughan elderly man, he taughthhnselfi with his wife

’

said, to paint in oils, du1 ing his

period ofdeclining health,and made some really excellen tcopies of pain tings Healso, during his illness, learnedtheart ofmaking shoes,and turned out some very good

beloved by his patients .

At the outbreak of the war, our Aunt JuliaValentine ,my father’s younger sister, livedat Bellefonte, Pa. She

was , and had been for many years, clerk ofBal timoreValen tine, was aprominent memberand minister . He

had beenaleading lawyerat the Center Co . bar, bu tafterhis conversion he becameavery strict Friend, and feltit right to bearapublic testimony to his principles, hehaving prev iously o

nly beenanominal Friend . 80 he

wen t in to court,and m his plain coat,and with his broadbrimmed hat on his head, he began to pleadacause . The

judge looked up astonished, butaglance convinced himof the true state of the case, for Bond Valentine stoodtoo high to be suspected ofin tentional contemp t ofcourt,and was allowed to proceed with his case . The effortwas great to him ,andalthough he did not feel called upon

to repeat it, he soon fel t most easy to retire ,and becamemterwted in iron works . Myaunt was his second wife,

and they had no children oftheir own, but there wasasonby the former marriage .

Onacertainafternoon in October, 1 862, the two werethe next day for Baltimore, toattend the Yearly Meeting.

Hewas intense ly patri otic,almost to the verge ofstretching

38

ofadivided Union. His wife spoke of theapproachingI do not know whether there will beanyYearly Mee t

ing, heanswered. And she tried to cheer him.

The nex t morningasayoung mam lachariah McNaul,was pm ing through Tyrrme on his way to Baltimore ,amember ofthe Ilicksite brm ch od ends said to him,

Your Society has met withagreat loss has it not ? "What is it ? ”Has t thou not heard that Bond Valen tine died las t

night ?”

“ Bond Valen tine dead ! It was his most honmmedfriend. He could hardly believe his ears.

It was true. For him there was to be no more YearlyMeeting. In theafternwm he was taken withanattackof his heart trouble, and al though assistance came, itwas nnavaihng and his wife was desolate, for halifewas wrapped up in him.

With us instead ofabright welcome came the telegramwith the fatal news. Aun t Henfi ettaand j ohmand Ithink otherawentat once toattend the fimerak whichhad been arranged to suit the time of their ex pected

coming. The hom came the cofii n was carned as isthe custom there byfriendsand relafions to the meetinghome and the funeral was hdd asaFriend’

s funeralcan occasionallybeas there is noarrangemen t for speaking,tomed to lift up his voice in thatassembly, was the one

who lay dead in their midst. I t wasalmost more thanthe widowed heart could bear , especiallyas her sister

and friends had not cmne. She felt deserted.

Theyarrived justas the funeral party returned to the

m m sm m wua. 39

by traimand so there m no chance ofletting her know

Her son-in law ofiered her ahome in Bellefonte,but she decided in the opposite way from mother,andcame to live among her own people bringing with her

hahns ’

s niece to whom she wm gm tlyattached,

Aun t ]uliawas an unusual person, and her comingmarkedan erain our fam ily life . At this time she wassomewhat over fifty years ofage and in the fiill v igor

of her powers . Her mind was perhaps more cul tivatedthan Aunt Henriet ta’s, and far more vivacious. She

hadaquick sense of humor and of the ddiculous andcould tellananecdote with greatanimationand efiect .

employing thmn with educational intenfiomfor the benefitof the person she imitated. Her mim icking was reallylaughed but onealso felt it was so overdone, that some ofthe eflect was lost in the verymerr iment it created. She

m aourious mix ture of great strength— for she had

M g senseand sound judgment and some of the quick

cmid temperament joined to such strong senseand ex e

cound ls of the Chmch tlmt endeared her to so manypeople m d made them even while they wereafraid of

ha' qmck wordsanx ious to confide their troubles to her,

knowing that theywould receive not onlyher bes t sympathy,h t mm t efi dw taid m dadm . In early YM I think

I feamd heras muchas I loved herJhough this las t I did

40 RICHARD H. THOMAS, M .D.

triumphed, and her character mellowed.

As I have saidalready, she was for manyyears, I thinkabou t forty, withaslight interruption , Clerk ofBal timore

Yearly Meeting (women). In this office she was beyondpraise . I t wasaperiod of transition in the Societyandshe was strongly conservative. Butas she satat the table,she never showed the least indication ofimpatience or of

adictatorial manner. She listened to every side, and Inever heard ofany one in the least sugges ting that herof the meeting. In after years , when joint sessions (apractice introduced by Bal timore Yearly Meeting in

became common , and sheat her own request hadbeen released from the office ofClerk, I have seen her sit

silen t through discussions on ques tions that she wasin tensely interested in,and when sheat last spoke on the

subject, do so in so quiet'away, andalways inaspirit

of submission to whatever might be the judgment ofFriends , that she was very oftenable to give the turnneeded to arrive at the decision . I think Bal timoreYearly Meeting owes more in this respect to herand toFrancis T. K ing

— for many years Clerk ofthe Men ’

s meeting, than can well be expressed. They persistently counselled the necessity of uni ty, and showed suchaspiritof concession , that to the generation that came undertheir influence, to endanger the unity of the meeting,seemed to be the sin of sins . The consequence was,Baltimore Yearly Meeting wasable to meet the tide of

advancing changeandallow great changes to take placein its methods, and yet preserve the essentials of

Quaker-ism un til this writing, 1 896. John B . CrenshawofRichmond, Va. , mus talso be men tioned in this con

nection . He set the examme ofaman with strong con

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43 RICHARD H. THOMAS, E D.

and more to us . After severalattacks of desperate illness, she finally, during the last year ofher life, graduallydeclined in strength,and the closing six months were fullof constant and extreme discomfort and weakness, therecollection ofwhich is likeasad dream . Up to the timeofthis last illness, heractivities were fully up to her bodilystrength, and her interest in every good workas in tenseas ever. When largely confined to the house, she inv itedanymembers ofthe meeting who wished to come, onceaweek to our house foraseason ofprayer. The hour wasnecessarily not convenient for many, but the meetingswere kept up , and much blessingattended them . The

year wasamost happy one to her, and to us,and is e

grateful memory.

“

Isles ofmy Chi ldhood— My Grandfather. John Chev ThomasMy grandfather liberates his slaves—The Hicksite TroublesHis m m

I wasalwaysasickly child. Althoughwhen l was born,Iam said to have been healthy, my mother wasalreadyin failing health from Bright’s disease,and I could hardlyhave inheri tedastrong consti tu tion. I t was before thek ys ofscien tifically prepared infant foods,and my fathertookgres t pains to provide his youngest childwithahealthynurse, withan infant ofmy ownage, who could supplyme with nature’s nourishmen t . The nurse was found,and character and an teceden ts seemed all that couldhe des ired, but one fault, more unusual in Americathanin England, was probably from its rarity in respec

table women , overlooked. The woman drank, and to

suchan exten t that she poisoned me . No one couldnders tand what was the matter , till one day, whenSb had been taking more than usual, her condi tionndmy cm vulsions revealed the difi culty, and she wasHow old l was by this time l do not know, but 1 wasm odingly ill for along time and it seemed that allfi ts to find food for me were only successfirl foratime,l M ute failures . At las t father read asuggestionfwithasharp knife intoapulp . He tried it, and it

43

44 RICHARD H. THOMAS , BLD.

suited. The story of father’s intenseanxiety to pres ervemy life is sweet to me . He watched with the greatestassidui ty forany sign ofimprovemen t,and finallyamusedthe family by remarking, when I began to take notice

Why he sm iled, yes, he smi ledaudibly.

But firstand last, I suppose there is no one to whom Iam so indebted for the preservation ofmy lifeas to mydear Aunt Henrietta, who nursed me with wearied body,but unweariedaffectionand patience, not only throughthis crisis, but through many illness es . For I had, oneafteranother, scarlet fever with dropsyasasequel, andmany other complain ts, so that she always main tainedthat as reallyayear younger than my date ofbirth

indicated, for there had been one yearat the end ofwhich,

she said I had not grownaquarter ofan inch in body or

mind. ( I am not now giving aprofessional opinion,only quoting her).Her labours did not meet with much encouragement

outside the household.

Henrietta, why don ’t you let that child die P You

can never see him grow up ,”said one relative.

Whatahead, saidavisi tor, unexpectedly thrownoffhis guard by my peculiarappearance .

that visitors were come wasasignal forme, not to be dressedand shown off, but hidden in the seclusion ofthe nurseryti ll the danger ofinspection was over.

I do not remember to have often suffered fromasenseof my lack of good looks . Even when I was thirteen ,

I did not much mind being told by one whose love I wassure of, that I resembled Coun t Ugolino. Family tradi tionsays thatasalittle boy I didadmire my hair,and that

RammscsNCEs—Fam v sroams . 45

this ornament not meeting wi th proper recognition, Iremarked gravely to one pres ent,“ Cous in , it is very wrong to be proud ; Iamalittle p roud ofmy curls .

” I think my sis ter Mary wasres p onsible for this li ttle piece of vanity, for she used

admire it in true sisterlyafiection .

I was naturally thrown very much with myatmt,andthe fam ily stories she told me became very real thingsto me ,and I lived in some ofthem,and felt their influencenotali ttle . They varied, from being simply entertainingto others wi than earnest moral, which was not less impressive, because not obtruded upon me, as the story of

my grandfather manumitting his slaves, ofwhich I shallspeak pres en tly. When I was tired, and wanted enter

taining, she would tellastory like thisMy Uncle Philipand his sister Nancy were going to

makeavisi t to some relations who li ved nearWest River,Md. They travelled in what was called ‘‘achair ”

(abuggy on two wheels withasquare standing top ). Behindthem on horseback wasacolored boy or man, as was thenthe custom , who followed to open gates ,attend to the horses,etc. Jemmy— the servant in this case— was acurious ,half-wi tted fellow, yet so smalland funny, that he wouldhave well filled the p lace ofcourt fool,and he wasagreatfavorite ofhis young masters . As this was the first timethe young people had travelled this road, they were insome doubtabout it, and uncle Philip, seeingamanatwork inafield near, said Jemmy, goandask that manifthis is the right road .

” Jemmy demurredand grumbled,but finallygot ov er the fence,andas soonas he oame withinspeaking distance called ont,

“Man l man ! I wy, is dis

‘ This s tory telling is referred to in rhaLipsan Cold.

“ Echoesand Pictures, ” ref.

45 mcaaao n rnom s , n o .

de right road ? The man smpe said, What doyou want ? ” I want to know ifdis is de right road ? ”“Why, whaeare you going ? "said the man .

“ I onlyax ed you is dis de right road ? “Whoare those in thecarriage ? ” said the stranger. Mass Philipand MissNancy, ” said Jemmy reluctantly. And whereare theygoing ?

Jemmy, sullenly. The man came laughing to the carriage,and recounted the dialogue much to theamusement of

all, excep t Jemmy, who granted out,“ ’Tw

’ant none of

his bus’

nes s where weall was going !I think we most relished the stories conCerning our

grandfather, John Chew Thomas . When he wasali ttlefellow ofsev en or eight years old, he had persuaded thedri ver ofan ox team, who was hauling in grain, to let him

ride on the back ofone of the ox en . Theseanimalsaresometimes wayward in their motions, and thes e, whilethe dri ver was busy, moved 06 rather quickly to the shadeof some trees , which grew invi tingly near, but in passingunder the bough li ttle Johnny was brushed off,and fallingto the ground, hurt hisarm . His father was in the field,

Jack, Jack, come here instantly, but Jack fearedpunishrfienh and confinued to move om calling baek

“Come here

to go for the doctor,”called his master, but Jack,almost

runn ingaway, st ill called back, “He would ride, Massa,be wordd ride,

”and his mas ter looked round foranotherm eager ,and Jemmy presen ting himself, he said, “ Jemo

my, junip onahorse,and goas quickas you can for thedoctor, tell him to comeat once, for lamafraid thearmis broken,

”and Jemmy was soon off.

When he arrived at the doctor’s (several miles on),

Ram rscencas - uv cam m ‘man 47

he found the physidanat dinner with some fi iends andnaturallychslildng to leave them, What does hewantsaid the doctor to his servant . He says you must corneright away.

” Who is sick I do not know,

”

said the servant, he says somethingabout old Sally.

Oh l the old woman I have beenattending,"said thedoctor, let him come up .

" Well, Jemmy, what’s thematter ? Jemmy m his usual shufling styb his eyes

nearly s tarting out ofhis head, blurted out, Massasayyou must please come quick.

"But what is the matter

I do’ know, sir, but I think I done hear somebody saydat old Aunt Sally's neck, done swell, and done bus t,and some 0

’

de bones done come out.”

Oh, well,”

said the doctor laughing, “ l guess that can wait, we willfinish our dinner.

” My great-grandfather was much

that it could not be properly reduced for some time . The

doctor’s explanation was considered satisfactory, but mygrandfather'sarm sufiered in consequence, and whileahe never had the full, unimp eded use ofit .

He was by birtlui ghtamember ofthe SocietyofFriends ,asall hisancestors had been since before they came toAsayoung man he courtedand won Mary Snowden,abantyandan hehm liv ing in the same part ofMaryland

m an only child , and her parents had died while she

was yonng,and her education had been in the hands of

hammt . Part of her prop erty, unfortunately, was indam and so my grandfather , on his marriage, lost his

48 RICHARD H. THOMAS, MD .

with pleasant things,and became, inarefined way, worldlysi tting in Phi ladelphia, it beingatime,as myaun t, whoentertainedahealthy dislike of the ways of succeeding

poli ticians ,alwaysadded, when it wasan honor to beamember ofCongres s .

” I t so happened, that during thisvery time the election ofPresiden t of the Republic wasthrown into the House ofRepresentatives, the candidatesbeing John Quincy Adams and Aaron Burr. I t is butjus tice to my grandfather’s memory to explain that Aaronavery differen t man from what he didafew years later ,when he stood disgraced before the coun tryas the duel listwho had slain Alexander Hamil ton, andas one chargedwi th treasonagains t his country. The vote in the Housewas very close, my grandfather, in spi te ofs trong repre

~

sentations from his consti tuents, continuing to cas t hisvote for Burr. As the deadlock continued, and hisconstituents became more pressing, he

'and one other

blank votes, and Adams was elected. Grandfatha’sconsti tuents were furi ous ,and burnth im in efi gy,and he,disgusted, determined to retire from public lifeas soon

as his term ofoffice was over. He fel t thatarepresentativeis notapuppet, butaman, elected toact to the best ofhis judgment, as ques tions should come up . His course

ofaction did not cause him to loseany popularity, so faras I know, with his own circle offriends,and heand hiswife con tinued their fashionable life . Many childrenwere born to them, their eldest daughter, Eliza, becomingaremarkable musician, singing and playing classicalmusic with wonderful skilland sweetness .

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so RICHARD H THOMAS MD .

them. He arranged for them to go to Pennsylvania,Myaunt used toadd inatone oftriumph, None ofthembecame vagabonds, and we wereable to trace them for

among other slaves.

After this he was no longerawealthy man . He did

sitionand unpleasant feelingagainst himamong his fmmerfriends, that he was not sorrytomove from the neighbour

the change. I havealways felt that the memory of tmEact ofself-denial was the great inheritance that my grandfather left me . I t was not unique, al though where helived it wasalmost, ifnot qui te so, but it was the test thatcame to himand he stood it nobly, without regret,andwith no self-pluming. On his younger childrenat least,it hadagreat effect, both on their outward circumstancesand on their characters . I never heardahint thatanyofthem were sorryfor the loss ofpropertyentailed. Three

ofthem became through it, life-longmembers ofthe Soci etypeople I feel to be one of the greatest bles sings ofmy

Myaunt, in telling me of the departure of the slaves,used toadd how heartily she weptat their leaving, for sheloved some ofthem,and theywere not, she said, des inousto go, though glad offreedom. She did not tell me muchof slavery, as she saw it later, on visi ts to her cousins,

for she was very loyaland chary ofsp ealdngagainstanyof them. But I remember her saying one day, that sheofthe slaves ofthese cousins had been whippei she wastorn between feelings ofloyalty to her relations,and sym

Remnrscax cs s- rns mcx srraTROUBLES. 5:

pathy with the slaves,and so she would steal outafter darkcomfort them . Whether this was cowardly or non she

errand ofmercy had it been done openly.

Troubles did not come singly to my grandfather . He

had set up one ofmy uncles in busrness in Baltimore.

The busines s was not successfu l, and the whole was los t,and he had to pay ov erall theamount for which he hadgone security. This greatly reduced hisalready reducedproperty, and the whole family moved to the city, andlived inavery quiet way. Later they moved northward,and me closing years ofmy grandfather’s life were spentnear Ches ter , Penna.It was while they were living here that the troublesamong the Friends , which res ul ted in the separation of

1827-28arose . E lias Hicks was the great theme ofcon

tention , and my grandfatherat first, having confidencein hirn , defended him,and was quite willing when the old

man came into those par ts toactasatravelling companionto him . He was wi th him on the Eastern shore ofMarylandand Delaware forabout three weeks ,and returned enElias Hicks, he said, was exceedingly specious,and veryhard to bring toapoint, but it was perfectly clear that hedid not believe in the deityand sacrifice ofJes us Chris tin the way that be (mygrandfather) believed to be essentialAs party spiri tarose, nearlyall the meeting to which

he belonged sided with Hicks, he being the only one of

the Ministersand Elders (he wasan Elder ) who belongedtoWhat was knownas the orthodox pM y. Naturallyle had to bearagreat deal. The ori sisas faras he was

RICHARD H. THOMAS, M .D.

tance who sympathised with Hicks wasat the meeting,and in the course ofhisaddress uttered sentimen ts which

grandfather considered blasphemous . As an Elder, hehadaright technically to stop him, but this course hadbeen tried, and had always provoked great excitementand ultimate injury to the cause . So he quietlyarosefrom his high seat,and taking his hat, walked out . The

action was thoroughly understood byall present,and theminister, perceiving this, stopped in his discourse, andbefore the retiring Elder had reached the door, repeatedShakespeare’s lines,

Yea; let the galled jade wince ,My withersare unwrung,

”

and proceeded with his sermon .

My grandfather never attended meeting in that houseagain, and the separation soon after occurring, re tainedhis membership and stationamong the orthodox .

”He

lived onlyafew years longer,and diedafterashort illnes s .

Myfather had just reachedhomeafter his voyage to Cubawhen the serious nature of his disorder was recognised.

He wentat once,andafter the first short greeting, beganto look into the cas e medically, his father lyingall the timewith his eyes closed . Wishing to see his eyes, he said,Father, look up .

My son ,Iam looking up , Iam looking up to my Lord

Jesus Christ , my Saviour .

”These were his last words,

and he sank into his final sleep.

CHAPTER V.

My Father’s conversion— Marriageand death of his first witcSecond mar riage—My Grandmother Thomas.

IN the meantime, my father had been having his own

struggles in Baltimore . He wasayoung physician, andfound his progress slowand discouraging. I have seenalet ter from his sis ter Henriettato him,

wri ttenabout thistime in which she encourages him to patience, and laysparticular stres s on his keep ing on good terms withacertain cousin of theirs, who wasat that time one ofthe

leading ci tizens of Baltimore . To be sure, this cousin

had done li ttle toadvance my father’s interes ts , but sheurged that he was to be trustedandadvised with, andkept close to, notwi thstanding.

About this time, the small orthodox party withdrewfrom the majority ofthe Yearly Mee ting, whichasabody,hadagreed to recognise what were called the Hicksiteseparatists . A few days after, this cousin met fatherin the stree t,andasked him, Well, doctor ,and which sideis thee in tending to join P

‘

Really, cousin I have given it very little thought .I have not decided.

Well, thee’

llcome with us, ofcourse . (The Hicksites ) .Atany rate, I never would join that wretched littlebody of

‘

orthodox ’at the McKendree School House,”

sneeringly rep lied the other,as he walkedaway.

54 RICHARD H. THOMAS, n o .

this time was notadecided Chri stian character . He was

from Friendsal together, or remained with the other body,as so manyaround him vvere doing from mere inertia,for they continued meeting at the old Meeting-house,wi th numbers not very markedly decreased . The factthat his parents and two sis ters were orthodox mus thave influenced him, but they were far away (it wasbefore rai lroads),and his near cous ins in Baltimore weremos tly Hicksi tes "

There was something in the toneand words oftlm eousin

who hadaddressed him, who wasa1eader on his side of

the controversy, that made him £eel that the sp irit in

which they were uttered was not the true one , and thenas the elder movedaway, my father said to himself, Iwillat least seewhat this wretched little body oforthodoxis like first .

was so impressed with the weighty solemni ty that was overthe meeting, that he decided that this was the place forhim to remain,and heactedaccordingly. It was the turning poin t ofhis characterand life, and it was not longbefme he becamean earnes t cmi sfiamand began to speakin the meetingsas apreacher . The only fragmen ts ofadiary that he has left that l have seem belong toapeti odalittle later than this . They revealasincere soul, earnestto bring sinners home, and strugglingagainst caring foror fearing the praise or blame ofmen .

It wasabout the time ofhis change, that he went throughasevere struggle ofanother character . He had courted

as was the case with most ofthe wealthy citizens ofBalti

REM INISCENCES—HER LOVER OR HER SLAVES ? 55

moreat that time , aslave-holder . The young man hadnever supposed this would causeany trouble,as the younglady knew he wasaFnTend and must have known the

positim of Friends on the subject of slavery. _Butashe became more serimrs, andas conversation turned to

plans for the futm e, the subject began to presen t itself.One day, he found to his surpriseand sorrow, that the younglady in tended to talte some of the slaveawho would be

scientious scrup les To these she had no objection, but

she saw no reason why she should surrender her slaves .

that probab ly the reason that most weighed wi th her,was not merelyasdfish wishmbe waited omthough whcn

wages were paid, there would necessarily be fewer ser

heram rked person in her set, and cause her to lose

as hav ing no real foundation in essential morality, butsimp lyasaQuaker peculiari ty likeabroad brimmed hat .

So they could not come to terms, and finally she hadto chooee between her loverand her slaves . She chose

the latter .

afterwards, for had he yielded, it must have been the

first step towardalife ofworldlinessand self—indulgence .

He afterwards man-red MarthaCarey, adaughter of

fil l character , but diedafteracomparatively briefmarriedlife. A short memoir ofhawas prepared by her husband(! distribut ion It conM d to be in circulation foranumber ofyears. A few years since we were glad to see

M akesh edition had been issued unknown to us. A

56 RICHARD H . m om s. n o .

notice ofher isalso in the most recen t volume of PietyPromoted .

”

During her illness, they tookajourney to Europe forher health, and found on their return that their youngerson had died during theirabsence, but too late for themto be informed of it before leaving England. It wasagreat trial, but they bore it wi th quiet resignation. Lateron theyalso spent some mon ths in Cuba. On their returnvoyage, myfather,after long thought,adopted the Ffiends'pecu liar coatand hat . His motha'advised, Do not do

it un til thouart sure it is right . But having once doneit, do not change .

”

So he had the coatand hat made, and considered the

matter during his months in Cuba,and put them on the

day the vessel , returning , entered the mouth ofChesapemBay.

0

After some years ofwidowhood he married my mother,Phebe Clapp, the daughter ofaNew York banker . I

have previously spoken of her . Her early death pre

ven ted me from hearing family stories from her side of

the house, and l did not know her brother and sister

ofanother uncle lived for some years near us in the coun try,but the son was much older than I ,and I saw li ttle of

wasalways rather hazy to me, though I have to thankher father for the greater part ofmy small property .

My father brought his bride in to quiteafamily, forafterhis father’s death, his motherand two unmarried sistershad come to live with him,and his son James , nowaladof some seven or eight years old, was therealso. My

grandmother Thomas ’s heal th was very frail . Neverrobust, it had been much shat tered by the efiects ofanaccident . Whi le they lived in the country, and retained

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A HEARTLESS DOCTOR . 57

their large es tablishment, she hadastore ofdrugs to use

in case of indisposition, for the nearest doctor was nearlytwenty m iles off. One morning she was feeling unwell,and in tending to take some suitable drug , found, aftershe had swallowed it, that she had taken apoisonousdose of tartar emetic. She called her husband, who,greatly concerned, did not know what to do . Lookingout ofthe window, he saw to his joy,adoctor’3 gig comingdown the road. Wi thou t pausing for his hat, he rushedto the gate just in time to in tercep t the doctor, and to

ask him to come inat once, that his wife had swallowedan overdose of tartar emetic.

’

How much has she takenHe men tioned theamount .Then she is as good as adead woman now. It

’

s

notwor thwhi le for me to see her,”and the doctor rode ofi

,

leaving the poor husbandalmost stunnedat his heartlessnees . He returned in des pair to the house, and told hiswife what the doctor had said .

Iam not going to die , notwiths tanding his opinion,she replied, thoroughly roused toaction,and stimu latedwithadesire to prove him in the wrong. And she did

not die for she calmlydirected the proceedings ,and bringinginto useall the domestic remedies, ofmilk, eggs , demulcen t drinks, etc , she warded off the fatal efiects of the

close, but not withoutase vere illness, nor did she everfully recover .

‘

Inaddition to her feeble healthand loss ofmoney, mygrandmother became gradually almost blind . But she

It is curious that her own father died from tartar emetic. Hewas ayoung , strong man , suflering from aslight indisposiThe doctor gave him some powders of i t, one to be taken everyfifteen minutes ti ll certain eflects should be

produced . After taking

two he beoame impatient.and eaid , t is the use of takinmedicine this way. w ll take i tallat once.

” He didao, wispeedily fatal effect .

58 RICHARD H. THOMAS, M .D.

boreall her misfortunes wi th cheerfulness . But one thingshenever gotacustomed to,and that was to economy in

givifi r When adeserving cause was presented to her

oracase ofreal need, shewould sayto one ofher daughtersMy dear, bri ng me my purse,

”and Opening it, wouldfeel for agold piece to give. This shealways found.for her daughters could not bear that she should be deniedthis pleasure, and often denied themselves what theyreally needed in order to gratify her.

She wasalways abri ght Christian till near the end,

when she pas sed throughacloud ofdarknessandalmost.despair, which was most painful to witness. Nothingseemed to give her comfort . At las t one morning, whenmy father was wi th herand the cloud seemed darker thanever , he knelt by her bedside, weeping wi th heralmostinanagony of sympathy, alternately pleading wi th herand praying for her. Suddenly the cloud departed,andwith it even the memory ofit,and she exclaimed,

Ofcourse I love mySav iour,and Iamachild ofGod

I have never hadadoubt ofit since the day I was con

verted.

”

This was the last day ofher life, and she was helpedto her easy chair,and, others beingalso in the room, her

daughter Juliaat her request was reading the Bible toher . Allat once something caused the reader to pauseand look up . At the moment she looked, she saw the

light go out ofthe eyesas thoughablind were suddenlydrawn down,and the mother was gone

CHAPTER VI .

EarlyRchgious Impressions—A StandforChrist— Hav erford Collegein 1 869 A College Prayer Meeting InconsistenciesGraduation— ADriving party— Death ofFrank W. Smi th.

BEFORE I quite leave theaccount ofmy childhood, Imust once more go back.

Although religious subjects formed by no means thestaple ei ther of conversation or reading in our family,the undercurren t was very strongly religious, and wasalways the understood motiv e ofaction, and ground

upon which everything was judged. I t was not obtruded ,butalways in place , and the commones t even ts wouldoften quite naturally lead up to serious conversation.

Mother has often told me that when she came to live wi thus, she was surprised to find how well we were instructedin Bible his toryand Christian doctri nes . But the teachingwas incidentaland not systematic. On Flis t-dayafternoons, when our sister Mary would generally devoteherselfto Charles and me, we often had our choice ofBiblehistori es, Pilgrim

’

s Progress,”etc. ,and I think the Bible

was the favourite book wi th us— thoughasaset off to

this, I mustacknowledge that the usual selection was themost in teresting stori es of the Old TestamentWe lived out of town , as I have said, an d the whole

family onlyattended meeting once on First-day. Motherand John frequen tly went in theafternoon, but the evening

59

60 RICHARD H. THOMAS , M D.

wasalways free,and we were generallyalone . Our customwas to read the Biblearound verse by verse,and have someconversation on it

,but not in the way ofaBible class ,

but justasany ques tion might beasked or subject ofin tere st touched upon . Foralong time the whole familywould decide upon some psalm or other portion ofScripture,and each one repeat it to the res t when the evening came,orwe would choose some hymnwhichallwould learnand tepeat, sometimasinglyand sometimes in concert . Later onwe might sing some hymns, butas they were not unlikelyto make mother weep, we generally did not have themwhen she was in the room .

For myself, I was, when very young, often the subjectof very deep , if not very las ting religious impressions .

Sometimes the double sense ofmy badness, and of the

possibi li ty ofdying soonas I was , would so trouble meas I lay in bedat night, that I would weep so loudlyasto bring the family up to see what was the matter. A

seri o-comic remark ofone ofmy brothers onan occasionRichard, what is the matter, what is thee crying

for P

Because I ’m not good enough.

Well, then try to be gooder.

”

My great comfort on these occasions was my aunt,who would send Charles toanother room,andask whatthe trouble really was,and to herand her only I wouldtell how I felt . She never tri ed to make me think I wasgood, or that I was not soon to die, but would have metell her the faul ts that troubled me, and what reason Ihad to think I should not live long. She would say. she

did not know how it might be,and would go on to speakof the goodness ofGodand ofour Sav iourand how He

would forgiveand helpme to do better,and then she prayed

REL IGIOUS IMPRESSIONS. 6 :

aloud byme,athing she rarely did, which made itall themore immes sive, and her sympathyand loveand '

whatshe said would comfort meand s trengthen my resolution

to be better. On goingaway she wouldadd,Thee had better not tellany one that thee does not

think thee will live long, they might not understand it .Let it beasecret between us .

Now nothing would be further from my mind than to

tellanyone, but the thought ofhavingasecret gave measense ofimportanceandan element ofp leasure was mingled with the whole idea,and I would go to sleep quitehappy. But I think her quiet teachingat these timeshadalas ting efiect .

As time went on it becameasettled thing in my mindthat the great object of life was to do rightand to beaChristian . I remember no efiorts made for my conv ersion.

I never supposed I wasareal Christian , but hoped to beone some day. In the meantime I would p rayand believein Jesus Christand beas goodas I could,— which was Ifear not v ery good . The life I wished to livewasaChristianlife,and I wasalways sorry when I did wrong, and wasconstantly hav ing to be sorry . Belief in Jesus Christas divine and our Sav iour was well settled in my mind.

Butas mySav iour I did not understandHim , ex cep t thatIasked His help and forgiveness,and felt that I had itfrom time to time. I now think that inavery weakandimperfect way I wasaChristianall the time . Sp iritualthings became more clear to meas time went on , andshortly before going to College I hadadistinct personalrealisation ofthe love ofGodand His care forme, whichmade me feel qui te difierently,and to hope that I mightbe His child. There would have been no willingness toconfess it ev en to myself, yet it gave measense ofbeing

underHis protectionandaspring to my sp irit . But the

62 RICHARD H. THOMAS, M D.

want ofclear certainty was onlyat timesasource ofsorrowto me. There wasan underlying trus t more than I recognisedat the time .

Although my life duringall this time was most carefullyguarded, yet the greatest moral danger to which I wasw e exposed came to me when I was barely in my teens.

One who was considered perfectly trustworthy was themeans ofintroducing meand one or two others stillyoungerinto the thres hold ofevil, without our suspecting that itwas evil, and had it not been foratimely warning, thealthough when I en tered Haverford College I wasalmos tu tterly ignorant ofthe real moral dangers to which I wasexposed, the command, keep thyselfpure,

”was so im

p ressed upon me, that itanswered the purposeas wellasknowledge would have done, and led me toavoid evilcompan y and things which were ofadoubtful nature,so that by the grace

o

ofGod, I waathroughall my Collegelife,and have been since, kept from ever being inany comdo not mean to imply that I have never been where some

one in general conversation would not relate unsuitableanecdotes . These I not infrequently protes tedagains t,or would leave the room . Sometimes it seemed impossibleto do ei ther , sometimes because while I knew theallusionwas bad, I did not really know what wasalluded to ,andonafew occasions I have been deeply mortified by beingsurprised byareally funny hit intoalaugh. I believemyposi tion was quite unders tood,andas I showed disgustatany sugges tions ofjoining in evil, I was soon entirely

no ceuse ofsuperiority over others , for there wereanumber

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64 RICHARD H . THOMAS. M .D.

I wasabout to makeapublic standasaChris tian . I t wassimplyaques tion, should I obey it or not P This was soonanswered . I often did things I wasafterwards sorry for,often los t my temper or was lazy, both ofwhich I knewwere sins , but I was not prepared to disobey flatly whatI believed to beadirect command ofGod,and so withaheart beating witharapidi tyalmost choking, I knel t downand prayedavery simp le prayer. I have no very distinctrecollection, I think I never had, ofwhat I said . But the

general tenor ofit was that we might be enab led to do right,and that our sins might be forgiven . I t was notaprayersimply for myself though including myself, butaprayerfor usall uttered underasense ofthe Lord’

s requiremen t .When I had finished, I fel t thankfu l that strength had beengiven me , and it was not till the next day, when one of

the studentsand Professor Dillingham Spoke to meaboutit, that Iatall realised that what I had done was morethananact ofobedience,—apublic confes sion ofChrist.I immediately recognised that this was true, and wi th itcameadesire to live consis tently . Later in the eveningthere cameasweet, powerful sense that the Lord hadaccep tedme , that I was His,and that He would leadand proteet meandmakemeables sing. I felt that this was indeedanewand joyful experience . Iam the Lord's,and Heis mine .

”Theaspect oflife became differen t. I thought

nothing ofthe theology ofit. I knew salvationwas throughChris t, bu t the method ofit was notatall in my mind.

I t was simp lyacase ofsurrenderand trust .I date my conscious Chri s tian life from this time, but Iam not sure whether I was not really in my heartas much

ofaChristian beforeasafter. However this may be, Ihave always been thankfu l that I was obedien t . I tenabledme to recognisewhere I stood,and the seal the Lord

A COLLEGE PRAYER MEETING. 6 5

personally inducted into the kingdom ofGod,and havingbeen givenaright byHimselfto expect His help, guidanceand salvation . He con tinued very gracious to meandfaithful . The act threw me also into the right set of

fellows,and this was ofvery greatassistance,and probablykept me out ofmany temptations , while it gave me theirsympathy, supportandadvice . There wasat that timeno YM C A. We then star tedaregularmeeting for prayer,which, after years ofalternate successand discouragement developed, ofcourse, longafter its original membershad faded out ofall remembrance ofthe students into thelife ofthe busyworld, into the YM C A , which is somarkedafeature ofthe College life ofto-day.

When we settled down to our regular meetings we were

the steady-going fellows whose strict education under theinfluence of PhiladelphiaQuakerism kept them from

for there was no singing,and no one called upon foranyvocal service . We formed hardlyafifth ofthe whole num

ber ofstuden ts . We were notalittle teasedand laughedat, gm allyinagood naturedway,and 1 think the teasingwasalways taken by the little band, facetiously termedsaints, ” inaproper spirit of forbearance . PersonallyI had no comfort from the thought that it was persecutiontent to deserveagood deaL ifnotall ofthe raillery. Stillwe held on fai thfully, feeling that these little gatheringswere needed by us and wereamutual safeguardandIt is certainlyasevere ordeal forafellow to commenoe

his life ofanavowed Christian inaCollege suchas Haverford was in 1869, for he is thrownamongamost cri tical

66 RICHARD H . THOMAS, M D.

company offellow students, whose eyesare much quickerto detect faul ts ,at leastat firs t, till his position is m uted,

than theyare to recognise his eflorts to be true to his faith.

I t isan ordeal, bu t it is well worth going through with,with the help ofthe Lord.

The Haverford College ofto day with its fine buildings,and overahundred studentsand large corps ofprofessorsand ins tructors and beau tiful residences around, andfrequent trains which take one into the heart ofPhiladelphia, isavery differen t insti tu tion from the HaverfordCollege ofmy day. I t is now one of the bes t endowedsmall colleges in the Union . I t was thenastill smallers truggling insti tu tion, hardlyable to keep its headaboveover fifty students . The grounds were, perhaps, morebeautiful than now,

but ofbuildings there were only the

rai lroad then skirted the grounds, and when signalled,the slow trains which were infrequent, stoppedataplatform withan open shed, red washed, with HaverfordCollege painted onasign in front . The students’ roomswereabout twelve feet by six feet,and each containedasmall bed, asmall wardrobe wi th two drawers below it,

one chairandalittle table . We had no lights in our bed

rooms, the hall being lighted,and each room havingasmalltransom-window over the door . The cons truction of the

house was so faul ty, that often in dampand rainy weather,the walls ofmy room would be really wet to the touch.

This was of course not because the rain came through,but from oondensation on the walls . There was noarrangement for washing in om rooms the washing room

mcorrsrsrsncms. s;1

The Seniors hadaroom for themselves,and were not

obliged to observe study hours , or to keep within boundsin their walks . The rest hadacollection room where

they were gathered for stated hours for study, under thesupervision ofone of the Faculty . The College had not

in fact, in regard to discipline, fully shaken oflthe old

boarding-school idea, with which the ins titution hadoriginally started, but it had advanced sufliciently to

make theaccounts of the restrictionsand rules of thatperiod exceedinglyamusing to the student of1 869. Duringthe time I was there there wasashort revival ofat eactionary spirit on the part ofthe managers, which greatlydis turbed the quiet of the institu tion .

t

An incident which occurred during my Junior yearcaused me much mortification .

“To premise I may say thatalthough we had no lightin our bedrooms, some ofour rooms were sufliciently nearthe lights in the entry to enable us to read by usingasmall mirror on the wall to throw the light that came indown on our bookas we lay on the bed. (The lights were

put out at ten o’

clock) . In the last half-hour beforeevening collection it was very pleasant to beable to bealone for reading,and I often used this time for the Bible .

One evening I was lying reading, before undressing, whenseveral ofthe fellows cameand began to pretend to pullmeabout . I did not mindat firs t , but quietlyaskedthem to st0p when it became tooactive . Finally theyput forwardaSophomore‘about myownageand set him

on to pull me, or pretend to, off the bed. He caughthold ofmy boots once or twice, but I pushed himaway

In American Colleges the course is usuallyafour-year one , thefour classes being known as F reshmen , Sophomores , Jun iors , and

68 RICHARD H. THOMAS. M.D.

class of course made his action, according to Collegeideas, very cheeky, as we used to express it . I finallyhe cameagainand Iagain pushed,and quiteaccidentally,from not noticing that he had lowered his head, my bootstruck one ofhis front teethand broke it. He mm acry ofpainand surpfi se and put his handkerchief to hisbleeding lip ,and wi th someangry words, echoed by his

ever molested meagain ; but I spent the night in realdistres s, lamen ting my inconsis tency. Yetat the sametimeafeeling that myannoyers were in the wrong mademe unwilling toapologise, lest they should suppose I wasconcluded that there was nothing else to be done. What

Sophomoreandanumber of others wa‘

e talking on the

— Iam sorry l broke your tooth last night . Pleaseexcuse me .

Withaloud laugh he said, Here, he’

s coming to

apologise .

”

I said nothing,and he took my hand. After that wewere good friends ,and on tbe occasion ofasuccess sometimeafter, he was the firstand warmes t in his congratu

Thomas, saidaclass mate, notaChristian, shortlybefore we left College, don’t you think isahypocrite

and wasastrange mix tureand on the wholeagreat trialto us so lanswered z—

“WelL I know he does things I do

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7o RICHARD H. m om s. M D.

the first ofthe hounds aftera1913 afternoon’s hunt .

I often wen t long walksand took part in the less violent

games . There wasalittle body ofstuden ts who wen t infor hygiene rather vigorously, in the shape ofacold showerbathand exerciseand food (so faras the latter was possibleat College), onaregulated basis. I wasahanger-on of

this band, but did not long keep it up ,as it did not sui tmebut I haveavivid remembrance offellows coming downto breakfast blueand coldafter their hygienic bath. Of

the three most fai thful to these rules,allapparentlyamongthe most healthy in our class , one died while stillastuden t,one died young,and the third left College on the pleaofbad health. though I believe he is now well.As I have said, 'at the time when I first to myself

realised that I was in the Lord’s family, there was verylittle defini te theology in my mind, as to exactly whatchange had taken place, except that ofanew life coming.

How it was accomplished, I hadavery indefinite ideaSoonafter, I was thrown under rather ex treme evangelicalteaching,and toacertain extent imbibed it, though neverthoroughly ; for I could not getaway from my own ex

perience, which was not in line with that teaching. Still

word wasalmos tafetish wi th me . To be non-evangelicalwasamost serious error. But I did not use the term inthe restricted sense in which it is employed in GreatBri tain , but rather in the general sense, ofbelieving inChristasaSaviour— in which sense Iam still evangelical.I was also under strong anti -Quaker influence, and

greatly griev ed mysister byconfiding to her my in tention,after I came ofage, of leaving Friends . My reason forthis was purely because of what I thought was theirwith their doctrines . Feelingas I then did, I believe I

RELIGIOUS LIFEar com ics . 7 :

should have carried out my intentions had I lived inPhiladelphia. Friends thereare more liberal now thanthey were then, and at that time Haverford Meetingconsisted ofthose connected wi th the College,and perhapssix others , who were not regular in theirattendance . I twas mostly held in silence, the professor. rarely spoke,and the students more rarely . One of these latter wasanacknowledged minister withasmall gift—andalargebody. He has since become an Episcopalian minister,

leav ing Friends on the ground of objecting to Westerninnovation, suchas pastors being put over the congre

gations . I understand he claims always to have the

inspiration to preach. He gaveanaddres s some years sinceto show how the Episcopalian Church is the real home forthe Quakers . This I had considerable pleasure in te

viewing in The I nterchange.

As I said, several ofthe students occasionally took part.To speak onceat leas t in this meeting, beforeall the stu

dents , seemed to_ some of themalmostasatest of con

secration . This brought me under considerableagitationand sometimesagood deal ofthe meeting would be spentin trying the fleece wetand dry.

”But I never spoke,

and Iam glad I did not, for I never was clear that it wasmy duty, and in looking back, I see that I was right .I t would have beenagreat blessing could we haveattended suchameetingas there isat Haverford to-day,where there is suchabundance of helpful preaching, alarge congregationand two centres ofrecognised missionwork, largelyassisted by the studen ts , in connection withameeting organisation for Christian work.

During part ofmyCollege life, I had occasionalattacksof deep sp iritual depression , generally brought on by

someact ofunfaithfulness or by some faul t committed.

I would cease to speak in our little meetings for, saya

73 RICHARD H . THOMAS, M D.

fortnight or more, and then gradually come up again .

could notaccoun t for it . The fact was, Iwas making my superficial sensations the test ofmy re

ligious experience . I think I tri edas hard to do rightin depressionas in sunshine .

When I received my Degree, at the Commencem nt

Exercises, my speech was on Chris tiani tyaPleroma.”My friend Frank Gummere

,now himselfaprofes sorat

Haverford, and I , rehearsed our speeches together tilleach knew the other’s as well as his own . Curiously

ofwhat I had wri tten , led to myappearing in print forthe first time,and in England. The Editor ofthe Ffiends

’

Quarterly Examiner wrote to Professor Hartshorne to

ask him ifany oftheaddresses ofhis students would besuitable for his periodical, and Professor Hartshorneselected mineas bestadapted forareligious paper . On

itsappearance, I receivedavery phasant congratulatoryletter in Latin from Profes sor Chase .

Very soonafter I left Haverforch I joined by invi tationa‘ party of young people, wi th whom I had been much

associatedat College,‘ inaten days’drive throughChesterand Lancaster Cos , Penna. Everyone had some ofiice,

the most useful perhaps being the Picker-up , by whommany things that otherwise would have been lost wererescued for their owners . I was Historian,and I believethat the record of the drive is somewhereamong mypapers. I t was amos t delightful time ; except for acarriageaccident, that came near being seripus to one of

the young ladies . A shade wasalso cast over thememoryofit by the illnessand death, from typhoid fever, of thebest beloved of the number, wi thinafortnight of our

return .

‘ The “Hestonv ille party, see “The Record ofaHappy Life.

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CHAPTER VI I .

Choice ofaProfession —The Universi ty ofMaryland—The Rush

ON my return from Co llege , I was so worn out with theexaminations, that I sleptalmost continuously for nearlyaweek, only getting up for meals,and to spend two or

three hours in in tercourse with my friends .

Then came the choice ofaprofession . The first openingthat pres ented itselfwas the ofler ofaProfessorship inLatin, inaWestern College. This was soon disposed of.

I had no inclination to go wes t , and I had no sense of

qualification for the position, though I believe now I couldhave filled it credi tably. But it met with no inwardresponse . Whatadifferent thingmy life would have beenhad Iaccepted it ! Iam quite satisfied my refusal wasright from every point ofview.

My own choice was directed to be aphysician Ibeliev e some of the family secretly hoped I should be,but none encouraged me,and most. strongly discouragedme, or urged that I should take one year ofbusines s training, whichwould be ofassistance whatever I might chooseto do afterwards . This advice was in many respectssound. I thought so thenand sti ll think so . Butmyobjection to it was that if I did well ,as I hoped I should, theyme in that line,and there would probablyarise difficul ties,

74

CHOICE OF A Paossssron . 75

which wou ld keep me from following what seemed to mewas the Opinion that father was reported to have given,as to his younger sons becom ing doctors . He said he didnot believe they would be physically strong enough t o

thatwe were too young then for him to formareally reliablejudgment,and that he very probably would not think sosense that it was the right thing,andall gave their consentat last . Iam extremely thankful I succeeded in carryingmy point, for, although my father’s opinion has beenverified, yetall ofthe greate st outward blessings ofmylife have directly turned on my being in the medicalprofes sion,and while it is now quite possible that I maynever practiseagain, Iam glad ofmy choice .

There was one point I had to give up ,and that was myobjection to studying medicine inBaltimore. TheHarvardSchool in Boston was far superior,and I much wished tostudy there ; but I was overruled,and havealways fromamedical poin t ofview regretted it, for it would have givenmeagrounding I never succeeded in obtaining. At the

same time, studying in Baltimore enabled me to spend thelast year ofmy dearaunt Henriet ta’s life with her . HadI gone to Boston, I should have beenaway when she died,which would have beenasore trial . So in that way Iam satisfiedas it is .

My medical studies, therefore, were prosecutedat theMedical School ofthe University ofMaryland, the Schoolin which my father was for many years an honored professor. A two years’ course wasall that was requisite forobtainingadegree at that time, but I decided to makemineathree years’ course, confining myattention duringthe first year toanatomy, chemis tryand kindred subjects .

76 RICHARD H . THOMAS. M.D .

My medical courseas such, was uneventful. There

was no college lifeat all, ifwe except the Rushandthe Anti -Rush Clubs . These were clubs among the

students . I cannot speak for the second one not havingbeenamember of it . But I remember the flush of

pleasure when I found myself elected to the Rush. Ihad made no application, and deep ly fel t the honor,

for the Rushwas composed ofalimited number of senior

studen ts,— supposed to be the best,and no Rush man hadev er , so tradi tion said, been plucked. Each member

of the club was made Professor of some branch of

the Anti-Rush Club was not run on these lines, but wassimply what its name implied . The great struggle betweenthe two came when the graduating class elected its president towards the end of the term. Singularly enough

I cannot remember who was elected in my year. The

mos t exciting contest I remember was when the Anti

When theannual banquet ofthe Rush Club was beingarranged for, I madeas earnestapleaas I could for theabsence ofalcoholic liquorsat it. But no one secondedme. I was not presentat the banquet .My home wasamileandahalffrom the Collegeand this

kep tme from makingas many fri endsas I shou ld have doneotherwise.

My medical education was scrappy.

Thomas, ” saidastuden t to me one day, you’

reacurious fellow. The professorasks you questions that noneofus knowand youanswer correctly, and then he willask youaques tion so easy thatall ofus know it,and youfail on it .

”

At the end ofmy second year l wasappointed to the

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83 RICHARD H. THOMAS, M .D. 1 874.

ofhis college life. On the 23rd of January, 1 874,

she,with other members of the fam ily, had greatly

enjoyed an evening of song by Philip Phillips, the

singing Pilgrim . The next morning, whilst dressing,she became ill and lay down on the bed

,only to

become, almost immediately,unconscious . Heart

broken, the n iece and nephews to whom she had so

long filled the place ofamother, watched beside herthrough the day, butat n ightfall she passed awaywithoutanywords offarewell .Yearsafterwards Dr . Thomas wrote

THE WELCOME .

Hourafter hour we watched heras she lay,Slow sinking into death in dreamless s leep ,And spake in useless whispers ,and did weep

All silentlyaround her bed that day,Till , sudden,as when evening’s latest rayBreaks through the clouds

,and gilds some loftyO

’erall her facewe sawaglory sweep

And in its holy light she passedaway.

But was it evening P nay! ’twas morning’s glowN0 light ofsetting suns was round her thrown

She left us where the lengthening shadows grow ,

For whereashadow isathing unknown ,The radiant light we gazed upon belowWas God’s first morn ing welcome to His own .

Ofthis period his sister writes

The death ofour beloved Aunt Henrietta, whohad truly beenamother to her brother

’

s children ,

wasasevere loss toall of us ; to none more so than

womana. m om s,

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34 RICHARD H . m om s. u p . 1373.

untidy in theirappearance— one at least must havehad an undesirable reputation

,for he went by the

name of Piggie E . There were some difi culties

accompanying the use of the Meeting House, for

it was considered quite unsu itable toal low singing,

and those who have had experience in aBand of

HOpe, know how important ap lace is given to

singing. Howeveraplan was devised to let off the

restlessness of the youngsters. Richard headed theboys who walked behind him two and two, and Ithe girls, who followed in the same manner,and theprocession went up and down the aisles of the

Meeting House vigorously reciting temperancehymns. Occasional ly as the two processions met,

there was some entanglement of the boysand girls,but on the whole the plan worked wel l and wasgreatly enjoyed . The children signedatemperancepledge to hold good during the time they remainedmembers of the Band of Hope . Great pains weretaken to instil abstinence principles, but often it

seemedas ifthe ch ildren paid but littleattention, andthe general impression left on the m inds of the

organisersand speakers,and secretaryand treasurer,(we two divided these offices between us) was thatthe eighteen months ofweekly work had been more

ofafailure than anything else . It was thereforewith some pangs ofregret, but with more ofasenseofrelief

,that the Band ofHope was given up , because

of the Open ing ofamission meeting on FederalH illat the same hour on First-dayafternoons, in

Act. 19. THE BAND or HOPE . aswhich there wasaneed for helpers. But the seed

thus sown by unskilled hands was not altogetherlost,and from time to time for yearsafterwards witnessm e to the real blessing of the

, p oor little Band of

H0pe. A woman who keptasmall shop ex claimedone day, ‘ I shal lalways be thankful to yez for thatBand of Hope. My Johnny was just beginning to

takeadrop once inaway, butafter he heard ye talkand signed the pledge he

’

s never touchedabit. He’

s

agreat comfort to me.

’

Some years later two younggirls, members of Friends

’ Meeting, when somethingwas said about being total abstainers, exclaimed,Why of course we

’

re temperance. We were

fi bers ofyour Band ofHope when we were little.

’

Ten yearsafterwards, when buyingapair of shoes,the woman in the shop said

,

‘ ls not this M iss

Thomas My brother Charlie would so like to see

you . He used to go to your Band of HOpe.

’

As

she went to fetch him,asudden recollection came

of this Charlie, who was indeed Piggie himself,and it was diflicult to recognise in the well-groomed

young man who presently held out his hand to mewith asmile, the boy whose hands had been the

least pleasant to touch in the days of the Band of

Hope. He said he had always been interested in

temperance work since those,

‘

Sunday afternoontalks in the Friends” Meeting House. Since Dr.

Thomas’s removal, unexpected testimony to the blessing of the Band of Hope was given byan older

Friend who had occasionally come to see how the

as RICHARD H . m om s, u p . 1375.

work progressed, and who had been led to sign the

pledge there.

"

Richard H . Thomas received the degree ofDoctor

ofMedicine in the spring of 1 875,andalmost immediatelyafterwards acircumstance occurred

,apparently

trifl ing, but, in his own view,fraught with tremendous

influence upon his after life . Happening to be in

Ph iladelphiaheattended First-day morn ing meetingat Twelfth Street. He was of course very young in

the m inistryand it was then looked uponas amostserious thing to break the silence ofaPh iladelphiameeting, so it was with some natural hesitation thathe rose and delivered what he believed to he yamessage from the Lord . What effect, ifany, tliisact ofobedience had upon the meeting I do not know,

but it chanced thataFriend who had not been present

asking one who had,whether they had hada

good meeting, when the unusual fact ofayoungFriend from Bal timore having spoken was mentioned .

Young Dr. Thomas ,” said the first Friend, the very

th ing !”and he immediately sat downand wrotea

letterasking Richard Thomas in his newlyacquiredcharacter ofaphysican , toaccompany his son, whose

heal th was then giving cause foranxiety, and whohad been ordered . to spend some time in FloridaandSouth Carolina. The propositionwasaccep ted,andthe two set outat once . Thejourney provedaverypleasant one, and altogether successfu l from the

standpoint of heal th . The generous ho norariumplaced Dr, Thomas in aposition to carry out his

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as RICHARD H. m om s, M D. 1 875.

these places, by those who remembered his father,

and was entertained by Edwood Crosfield’

s family,

William M iller, the Robsons

,James Backhouseand

Theodore Fry. Those who thus welcomed him for

the sake ofhis fatherand step-mother quickly learnedto love him for his own sake

,and the friendsh ips

then begun were in several instances l ife-long.

Dr. Thomas had beenalover ofEngland fromachild, and she did not disappoint him . He often

spoke with keen delight of the fresh greennessandbeauty ofthe Scotch lakesand ofthe English M idlandCounties,and of the impression which Chester, York,and Stratford-on-Avon produced upon him . B ut eventhen,asalwaysafterwards, he cared most for people,so we do not wonder to find him, upon hisarrival inLondon , hastening to present his letter ofintroductionto that English Friend ofwhose visit to Bal timorewhen he wasaboy ofeleven he retained suchalivelyrecollection .

J . Bevan Braithwaite tookaspecial del ight in youngmen ,and heat once recognisedacongenial spirit inthe young American with his ch ivalrous reverence for

ivated mindand eager intelliMost of the fam ily were thenat

only other memberat home beingnd he cklyformedawardentthe st They persuaded Dr.

his hoteland take up hisabode withjoyed introducing him to some of

don . Bevan Braithwaiteand his

an .at . CONTINENTAL TRAVELS. 39

wife were justabout to start onan ex tensive visit to

the Continent in which they were to beaccompaniedby their friends Robertand Christine Alsopas guidesand interpreters . The Alsops had frequently goneover most ofthe ground to be traversed,andalthoughnow in advancing years, their lively spirits andintimateacquaintance with the people and coun tryrendered them most helpfuland charming travellingcompanions. Christine Alsop was French, and still

retained much Of her native vivacity ; she had beenChristine Majolierand was the daughter OfaleadingFriendat Congenies inwthe south Of France. Her

husband,Robert Alsop, was Eng lish,and Ofaquieter

and more reserved disposition , but his apparentlyinex haustible fund Of information on every subject

,

rendered himamost delightfuladdition to the party.

It had been planned that I,also, should go with

them to wait uponand help mymotherand ChristineAlsop . My father soon discovered that Dr. Thomaswas plann ing to spend theautumnabroad in the study

OfGerman, and thereupon invited him to begin his

travels in our company. The invitation was gladlyaccepted, for,as the Object Of the journey was to visitthe centres Of Protestant work, it seemed to OfferanOpportunity Of becomingacquain ted with some inter

esting p eople. My mother, it is true, felt some

consternation when she :‘

heard Of this unknowntravelling compan ion, but her Objection was removedwhen she found that her husband would be detainedby legal business,and that my brother was to be our

90 RICHARD H . THOMAS, M D. 1875.

courier in the first stages Of the journey , so that whenmyfatherand Dr. Thomas joined usat Aix les Bainsit would on ly be foravery few days,and then the twoyoung men would spendaweek together in Switzer

land . This plan was carried out. The four olderandwe three younger people were togetheratAix les Bains,Chambery

,Lausanne and Basle, and th is Dr.

Thomas's firstacquaintance with me.

Yearsafterwards he wroteTo A. B . T.

(Written 1 3th mo. ,

Myheart had loved theealwaysUnknowingand unknown ,

Our spirits sought each other,Our pulses beatas one .

When first I saw, I knew thee.Ere yet thy name was known

Had I notalways loved thee ,And never beenalone

Amongst the most interesting visits made duringth is week were those to the KrischonaM issionaryTraining Homeand to the theological seminary knownas the Basle Institute. The KrischonaTraining Homeis romantical ly Situated onamountain side

, two or

three miles from Basle. I t wasat that time presidedover by Pastor Rappard, whose charming wife was adaughter ofBishop Gobat, OfJerusalem . Its beautifulclean l iness and Simplicity

,and the glad spirit Of

Christian love that pervaded it were most impressive.

Here s ixty candidates for the Foreign M ission Field

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gz RICHARD H . THOMAS. M .D. 1 875-76 .

him in these visits . There wasagreat deal Of railwaytravelling to be doneand the hours were few thatcould be spent in the two cities visited. B ut every

hour was fil led to the brim . There were midnight

conferences with the leading Nazarenes,attendanceattheir religious worsh ip , amos t interesting interv iew

on their behalfwith the Hungarian statesman, Déak,

and besidesall this, meetings with the co lporteurs Of

the Britishand Foreign Bible Society, who had been

collected for the purpose, bothat Viennaand BudaPesth

,as soon as my father’s coming was known .

As he l istened to their recital Of thrilling adventure in their efforts to dissem inate the scri ptures

, Dr .

Thomas became intensely interested in the strivingsafter religious liberty in acoun try bound in the

thraldom Of Roman Catholicism . The sufferings Of

the Nazarenes,too , impressed him deeply,andas he

realised the peril to them wh ichany outside effort to

help them m ight invo lve if it came to the ears of

the police, he began to understand the oppression

involved inasystem Of enforced mi litary service . It

would seem that the seeds Of his fu ture interest in thecause Of peace were largely sownat th is timeand itwas now

,too

,that he made theacquaintance ofEdward

M illard, for many years agen t Of the British andForeign Bible Society in Vienna, whose kindness heagain experiencedatalater date.

On his return from th is somewhat unique tour on

the Continent, Dr. Thomasat Once began to plan forhis medical work in London. He wasat first dis

Aet .at -aa. FRIENDS’ CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP UNION. 93

appointed to find that no special courses for doctorswereat that time Open to him in London , but through

the kindness of j onathan Hutchinson , and of Dr.

Wilson Foxand Dr. Peacock, he obtainedadm issionto the London Hosp ital , to the Bromp ton Hospital forConsump tives,and to St. Thomas’s, so that he soon

hadas much work on his handsas timeand strength

would perm it.

Healso became intimatelyassociated withanumberof earnest young men , such as Albert J . Crosfield,

joseph G. Alexander, Dr. j ohn Dixon , Albert Head,Archibald Allen ,and others. The Friends’ ChristianFellowship Un ion had been started the prev ious

summer, and itsactive members were now holdingmeetings in various parts of London

,as well as a

weekly Bible Class for young men at Devonshire

House. All this gave Dr. Thomas just the opportun ityfor workamongst young men which he had hoped forbefore leaving America.During the winterand, in fact, during the whole

time he was in Europe, we constantly find such ep i

sodesas the following in his home lettersCork , Ireland, 7th mo . soth On our second First

dayat sea,ayoung Baptist M inister preached from Ezek . x lii .

9, Everything whithersoever the river cometh shall live , verynicelyand interestingly. He was one of the intermediatepassengers . Then liberty was given foranyone toaddress themeeting, and Samuel Emlen did so , and then I said afewwords . The vessel was rolling so that I had to hold on to the

table in order to keep myfeet.

RICHARD H . THOMAS, MI ) .

Edinboro’. 7th mo. 7th . Next morning (sth day, thersth) I hunted up the Friends

’

Meeting-house ,andarrived justin time for the M eetingat 10 .30 . It was very smallasit wasaweek-day, only eightattendersall told, but the qualitywas better than the quantity, for five out ofthe eight took vocalpart in the meeting. A Friend of the name ofTunstall satatthe head of the women’

s side and prayed very sweetlyat thebeginning ofthe meeting. Then I spokeabout the two excusesweareap t to make when the Lord calls foranything from us .

First That weare too weakand specially unfitted for the dutygiven us . Second : That the work is so small that it cannotmatter whether it is done or not. Before I spoke I had feltalittle like sayingas Jeremiah did ,

“Iam but achild, for Isuppose that the youngest there bes ide me wasat least twiceasold. Almost immediatelyafterwards , William M iller roseandspoke from Watch thou inall things , endureaflictions , do thework ofan evangelist , make full proof ofthy ministry.

” He

spoke very briefly on doinganything the Lord might call for ,however strange it m ight seem to us . His wife then spoke ofhowthe Lord had promised to bless us daily with spiritual blessings ,etc . Then ElizaWigham prayed , and ,amongst other things ,for the friends ofall present, both hereandacross the waters.

Darlington , 8th mo. 14th . I drove over to DryburghAbbey, which was most interesting . At the Railwaystationafterwards I had to wait foraboutan hour ,andas it wasraining hard I could not walkabout . In the waiting-room therewere two men besides myselfand one woman . I happened tohave avolume ofMoody’s sermons in my pocket,and weallagreed that I might readasermon to them . So I chose one

about Christ being come to seekand to save that which was lost .It wasastriking oneand they were quiteattentive , and whenwe had finished it there wasamoment’s silenceand I prayedavery short prayer. On my remarking to one of the men how

wonderful the love ofGod is , he said, Yes , it is wonderfulall

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96 RICHARD H . THOMAS, M D. 1 876 .

Almost directlyayoung man mi cand said that he would say"Yes "to that ques tion,and went on to tell us that he hadfallen into known sinand had l ost his peace , but now he wouldsay yes , and believed that the [20rd would make him whole .

After the meeting I hadavery satisfactory talk withanotheryoung man , who cameand told me that he ought to have spokenin the mee ting .

In Fifth Month, two Ameri can Friends, Rufus P .

Kingand Edward L. Scull,arrived toattend London

Yearly Meeting. They made their homeat myfather’s,and Dr. Thomas, who had known them both in

America, was frequently there with them .

Theacquaintance between Dr . Thomasand myselfhad matured during his months in London,andalittlelater in the summer we became engaged. Whilst this

important matter was pending, heaccep tedan iavitafion toaccompany his American Friends to Norway,whi ther they went immediatelyafter London YearlyMeeting. He was with them thereaboutamonth,attending the Norwegian Yearly Meetingat Stavanger,and going with them to several of the little countrymeetings. From Stavanger he wrote to myfather

Stavanger.

6th mo. 13th , 1876.

My DEAR FR IEND ,JOSEPH BEVAN BRAIrHWAIrx ,

Wearrived safelyat this place on Seventh-dayafternoon .

The first day ofthe voyage wasall that could be desired, butduring the last day the windsand waves were very exercising tous , and we were all much relieved when we entered the

Stavanger Fjord. Several Friends came out inarow boat to

Act . 22. LETTER FROM NORWAY. 97

take us and our luggage to land. They received us verywarmly, though they could not, ofcourse , express their kind feelingex cept by the pressure ofthe hand. Weare stayingat the Meetinghouse , andare being very n icely entertained indeed. Endre

Dahl is veryattentiveand kind to us . First-day morningandafternoon meetings were held. About 150 people were presentat each ,aqd I think we had really goodand refreshing times .

In the evening we took teaat Endre Dahl’s andafterwardsbetween fiftyand sixty gathered in his roomsand we hadamost favored occasion. There is much depthand seriousness

about the Norwegian Friends. There was another religiousmeeting on Second-daymorning which was even more interestingthan the one held the day before. The business meeting Closedthis morning after the consideration of the revision ofthe

Discipline .

Stavanger is beautifully situated,and the various views of the

Fj ord with its islands , and the mountains beyond , some of

which are still capped with snow, are most charm ing. We

ex p ect to holdameeting with the Friendsand neighbors on

one ofthese islands to-morrow. Iam very glad that I came toNorway . Rufus K ing has preached veryacceptablyand E. L . S.

has spoken occasionally , very nicely.

Personally I have learned more than ever before what awonderful Saviour the Lord Jesus is. Thy remark that Christianitydoes not makeamanaStoic isagreat comfort to me . Icannot help turning mymind every hour to the subject that isupon it so deeply, but I have been enabled to follow thyadviceand to castall the burden upon the Lord, and so He does

enable me to be really cheerful . Thereare many things Ishould like to say to thee but I do not know how to write them.

My thoughtsare continually turning in your direction .

Dr. Thomas’s deep interest in the ScandinavianFriends dates from this visit to Norway. Return ingto England, he spentaweek with usat Shanklin , in the

98 RICHARD H . THOMAS, M.D. 1 876-

77.

Isle ofWight,and there, on the Fourth ofJuly, 1 876,

(the centennial anniversary of the Declaration of

American Independence) heand I became engaged.

It wasagreatamusement to my fam ily that, ardentlover ofhis native land as he was, he entirely forgot

the anniversary until reminded of it by acakedecorated with flags on the supper table.

The weeks that followed passedall too quickly, andon the 6th ofAugust Dr . Thomas sailed for Americain company with my father, who was just starting on

areligious visit to the States. Later in the sameautumn he was his compan ion inaflying trip throughEastern Tennessee, winding up withattending NorthCarolinaYearly Meeting. Of this journey, whichasusual with my father

,was closely filled with ex

hausting physical effort and religious engagements,my husband had manyamusinganecdotes to relateinafter days.

With this exception the twenty months that elapsedbefore his return to England were chiefly spent by Dr.

Thomas in working up his practiceand in efforts to

hasten the daywhen he m ight return to England toclaim his bride.

A few extracts from his letters to me wil l giveanideaOfthe varied interests ofhis life.

Baltimore , and mo . 13th , 1877. The course in

Biologyat the University is nearly completed. I fe ltagooddeal pleased when Prof. Martin came to me yesterdayandaskedme ifI would like to carry onany special physiological researchafter the course is completed . I was pleased that heasked me

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100 RICHARD H . THOMAS, M .D.

3rd mo.a1 st, 1 877. It has often come to me to question myselfhow far that prayer of -

’

s is beinganswered inme , how far Iam preaching the gospel toall I meet, either bywords oractions, or both, and what kind ofagospel Iampreaching, whetherafull oradistorted one .

I must tell thee that the Lord is blessing me . It isablessingthat makes me realise how very frail Iam,and how perfect is thestandard ofholiness . At the same time the power of the Lordisalso clear, the strength that comes from taking the LordatHis word and taking it for granted that , no matter howimpossible it seems— the Lord is going to save me from presenttemptation whatever it may be. And now what I want is powerfor service ; somehow I expect to have it,at least I find agreater longing to be the means ofblessing to thosearound me,and Iam sure the Lord isable to use me eflectively.

3rd mo. 28th, 1 877. My experience abroad was suchthat I can never doubt that the Lord does guide and direct.Besides the medical reasons for going, there wasanother whichI think was the real reason ofmy goingat that time rather thanlater. It wasadistinct impression that there wasawork for meto do among the young men of London , &C . And then the

Friends on the Continent werealso on my mind. I cannot sayhow the service wasaccomplished

,but thataway was opened

(most unexpectedly to me , for I could not see how it could be)thou knows . Ofcourse there wasagreat deal more that I hadnot thought ofthat cameabout. Going over

,ifit did not benefit

anyone else , certainly benefited me in everfway ; it was simplyinvaluable . And what shall I sayabout the gift that I receivedduring the last few weeks P4thmo. 5th, 1 877. I went to see one ofBrother James’spatients for him ,and then paid four or five visits on Federal Hill ,atall ofwhich there was opportunity for personal religious talk.

Iam so thankful that Iam permitted to urge people tocome to Christ : it is something to be very grateful for, but I do

Aus 3 3. j orm WOOLHAN'S JOURNAL . 10 1

so much desire to have more power that what I saymay not onlybe directed butalso madepowerful by the Holy Ghost’s powergoing with it. The next workers’meetingat the Y. M . C . A. is

to be on howwe mayget more power for service . Iam to leadit.

8thmo. 30th, 1877. Iam delighted with JohnWoolman’

s

M M ]. While one may not unite withall his scruples , onecannot help seeing that they were real to him . The principle helays down is most important , that however smallathing may bein itself it ceases to be small ifthe Lord shows us His will inregard to it . He further says that he found that ifhe would beused in the service ofthe Lord, he must followHim in every thing,even though others whom he knew (or thought) were beyond him ,

did not seeas he did . I doubt whether he would have done thegood he did had he not been willing to be thought peculiar. Ihave rarely readabook that made me feel so strongly the sweetnessand power ofatruly devoted life . To me his life wasamost inspiring one ,and I trust that I may profit by it.

9th mo . 9th , 1877. I closed my last letterat Osceola.I was met there by Z . McNaul,aFriend from Curwensville , whodrove me over to Houtzdale . Houtzdale is amining villagebuilt on the side ofahigh b ill. It is in Clearfield Cc .

, Penna.I had feltastrong desire to visit Joseph Harrison , the onlymember in that place . He isaWelshman by birth , but hasbecome convinced ofaour principlesand only lately joined Friends .

He gatheredabout 5” dozen of the other miners in the SchoolHouse to meet us . I do not think that I ever sat down inameeting where I felt that it mattered so little to most of those

p resent whether I should haveanything to sayor no . That is ,there seemed to be suchasolemn feeling over us . I believe thisis the first meeting that has ever been held on my responsibility ,so to speak. It wasalso the first Friends’Meeting ever heldin Houtzdale. I prayed twiceand Joseph Harrisonalso prayed,

102 RICHARD H. THOMAS, M .D. 1 877.

and I spoke on the names of Christ in Matt. i . , Jesus and“Immanuel .” I had some very nice talk with J . H .andalsowithanother miner named Benjamin Lewis. I found on questioning them , thatabout halfadozen of these miners meettogether on First-daymornings to holdaBible Class. But theyholdan informal Friends ’ M eeting to begin with, forabout halfan hour, in which some of them generally take part vocally.J. H . is the superintendent ofaSabbath School in theafternoon .

We felt that they are do ing good work up there and we

endeavored to encourage them .

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104 RICHARD H. THOMAS, M .D.

R . H. THOMAS TO DEBORAH C. THOMAS.

Clarendon Hotel , Leamington ,3rd mo.a8th

,1878.

MY DEAR MOTHER ,We , zie . , Annaand I , have just arrived here from

London. I have been thinking very much of thee to-day,andhave hadavery strong feeling that thou hast been praying forus. Thou wilt want to hear somethingabout the day, thoughMary will probablygive more interesting details than I shall.

O t i G O

Aunt Juliakept up wonderfully, only I should like to see her

nowand to know how she is now it isall over. I did not walkwith Annainto the M eeting but with Aunt Julia. As soonalmostas the Meeting was settled J . Bevan Braithwaite madeamost impressive prayer for us . Then we said the ceremony.The Meetingwas large , the house being full , but I did not mind

that . But I did very greatly feel the solemnity ofthe occasion,

and I think my voice trembledagood deal . Annaspoke verynicely

,and I believe we both spoke to the satisfaction ofMotherBraithwaiteand ofthe party generally. Isaac Robson

,Caleb R.

Kemp , Christine Alsop, Sarah Chalk,and AliciaAshworth tookvocal part in the M eeting , and while there was nothing veryextraordinary it wasaquiet, favored time.

Then came the breakfast on ourarrival home . It was verynice indeed. Father madeavery beautiful speechat the close ,followed by Isaac Braithwaite , his eldest brother. Both ofthese

spoke of theirancestors’ visits to America. The latter spokealso of the marriage relation as illustrated in the Bible , etc.

Father then introduced meas follows John Hodgkin used tosay that Baltimore was aplace which had in ita‘belovedphysician,’ that was Dr. R . H . Thomas, the father ofthe presentDr. Thomas. It is stil l true that Baltimore has abelovedphysician,and he is here ,and ifhe hasanything in his heart Ihope he will spea So introduced, I made my firstafterdinner speech. It was not suchatrying experienceas I had

$34. MARRIAGE . 105

thought it would be . I spoke of the remembrance in whichAnna’s grandparents and fatherare held in America; ofmyvery strong sense ofwhat was be ing given to meand taken fromher friends , in Annaofthe real unity ofpurposeandaim ofthe

two nations, Englandand America; of their work in the civilizationand evangelization of the world,and ended up with the

h0pe that both ofus (representatives of these nations) would befound unitedly workingfor Christ, with some more on that subject.Joseph madeavery amusing and capital speech. Otherspeeches were made by Dr. Watson, Robert Braithwaite , j un . ,

I saac Braithwaite , j un . , and Alfred Gillett , all ofwhich weregood. Annacut the bride -cakeand I ,according to Englishcustom , helped her. Thy photograph in avelvet case wasplaced on the drawing-room mantelpiece . The presents werelaid out on view in father’s study ; thereare considerably overahundred ofthem . Tell Allenand Rebeccaand Sister Mary thattheir letters to Annacame this morningand were very sati sfactory,arriving soas to be given to her on our return from the

Meeting. We have very nice quarters hereandare living instyle for two days . Dayafter to -morrow we go to Matlockandcome down to ordinary livingagain . To-morrow we intend driving to Kenilworthandalso toWarwick Castle . Please give mydear love toallat home . You know

,I suppose , that our passage

is taken in the B otl mz'a, on thea7th ofnext month.

M . S. THOMAS TO HER FAM ILY IN AM ER ICA.

London , 3rd mo . 29th, 1878.

Richard repeated the ceremony most beautifullyandwith more feeling than I have ever heardaman p ut into it . He

wasas whiteasasheetand I could see his lips tremble . Then

Annasaid it very sweetlyand solemn ly, and both spoke inaclear distinct voice that could be heardall over the room .

Our honeymoon was spent in Derbyshire and in

visits to our Kendal relativesand then ,afteranall too

106 RICHARD H. THOMAS, M D. 1 878 .

brieftimeat Camden Road , the parting came,and westarted on our homeward journey.

R.H.T. t o HIS SISTER .

On Board the Bot/mic , in the Irish Channel.4th mo . 37th , 1878.

M r DARLING SIe R ,

Thou wilt excuseashort letteras it is now

pm . I do trust that both ofyou will haveablessed time duringyour stay in England. I feel sure that thou wilt find opportunities for giving much good. Also ofgetting good , new ideas,new methods

, etc. One ofmyfriends wished to know ifwe haveaM edical M ission in Baltimore . I wonder if suchathing ispracticable ,at present. It would certainly serve to reachaClassthat we cannot now reachand would do them good.

Iam more or less filled with contending emotions , feelingawrenchandaloss in leaving the dear one s in Englandandastrong thrill ofjoyat the thought of seeing the dear ones atBaltimore. I do want quietlyand soberly to do the Lord’3 willwithaperfect heart ; to let Him workall the good pleasure ofHis goodness in me. I am not going to give way to uselessfrettings over mymany real causes for thinking how much I lackofbeingastrong character . But with His grace I shall s implydo the right thing every day, and trust Him. Surely we canrely implicitly upon suchaSaviour, "Who loved meand gaveHimselffor me .

With very dearest love , thy brother ,RICHARD H . THOMAS.

Bathtub ,

sth mo. 5 , 1878.

MY DARLING SISTER ,We have much to be thankful for,among other thing

that we have hadatruly fine day to-day,an event worthy to b

chronicled on suchavoyage, for we have hadavoyage to

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108 RICHARD H. THOMAS . M D. 4 878.

what was theattitude taken in regard to it by the Romanis ts inOhio. He said that they had, by theauthority of the Arch

bishop , ceased fromall opposition . But, headded, that theyhave taken all Catholic children from such schools where verthis could be done ,and put them into schools oftheir own. He

says that they recommend the Douay version to their flockandencourage them to read it

,also that in his parts the Roman

Catholic Church is no t increas ing butabout holding its own. All

this was interesting to me.

I had quitean interesting conversation on the Liquor Tramowithayoung man on board thisafternoon.

We landed in New York on the 7th ofMay, 1 878 .

The change from the stormy voyage to the b lazeandsplendor Ofan Amer ican May wasalmost startling.

My husband’s brother Al len met us on the steamer,and the dayoflanding was spent in New York, wherewe were entertained by his maternal un cle. The

beauties of the harbour and the fresh foliage andexqu isite blossoms of dogwood, pink bud, etc., in

Cen tral Park madeagreat‘imp ression upon me,as didalso the first view of the noble Hudson river. The

same daywe went by train to Peekskill ,and spent the

n ight at the home ofDr . Thomas’saunt, MargaretHussq ,and the next day we journeyed to Baltimo re.

Dr. James C . Thomas met usat the old President

Street Depot,and drove us through the moonlit streets,where the wh ite marble stepsand fin ishings of the

houses stood out in strong reliefagains t the dark red

br ick wal ls, to the new home, 438 , Madison Avenue,wifere Deborah Thomas, whom I hadalready known

M “. BRIGHT PROSPECTS. 109

in England, and other members of the family, hadgathered to we lcome us.

So the new life began andall looked brightandpromising.

My husband’s family had long been among the

prominent Friends of Baltimore Meeting, and he

himself,as we have seen, had early takenapublicstand for Christ, and was looked upon as one of

the most hopefu l among the younger friends.

His financial prospects too seemed good. In com

mon with his brothersand sister, he had inheritedasmall independent income from his maternal grandfather,and it was chiefly on the strength of this that ithad been thought prudent for us to marry. His yearin London had given him better facilities for medicalstudy than fell to the lot of theaverage practitionerofhis day in America, and he had made good use

of them . He loved his profession and had highambitions in connection with it,and the startalreadymade in his practice wasavery fair one .

His never been very strong but it hadimpro outlook in that directionalso seemedencouraging.

But there was one side ofhis character which mustbe taken into consideration , if we are rightly to

appreciate the efiect produced upon him by the

chequered even ts ofthe next few years . Dr. Thomaspossessed to the full the poetic temperament. He

was keenly susceptible to pain as well as pleasure,and was indeed almost morbidly sensitive to the

1 10 RICHARD H. THOMAS, M D. 1 878 .

good Opinion ofthose he loved . Th is did not Show

itself in the ordinary way of hurt feelings, but he

would generally b lame h imself if he thought thatothers showed less affection for him than formerly.

In fact he was stil l very like the l ittle tender

hearted boywho had criedat the thought ofhis ownbadness . In after years he learned to turn th is

sensitiveness to account in his work for the Lord,by making his own feelings the ru le by which to

measure the sufler ings ofothers and thus he gainedthe qu ick understanding sympathy

,that won his way

into the heartsand l ives ofso many.

One ofhis Danish friends writing since his deathsaysDr. Thomas hadawonderful influence upon others . I never

metanyone like him in this particular, and I don’t exactlyknow in what it consisted. I have thought that perhaps hehad had to bear great trialsand to pass through great sufieringsin hi s own inner ex perience,and that so the Apostle's wordwas fulfilled in him Bear ye oneanother’s burdensand so fulfilthe law of Christ . ’ I think that he took ashare inall theburdens with which he came in contact ,and that itwas this thatwas the secret ofhis power. But even though we may not be

able to trace his influence to its source , we know that it wasthere ,and that it is bearing fruit . Oh that many more like himmight be raised up . Mankind would be unspeakably happier ;and suchathing might we ll be through the power of Christ,ifmore ofHi s so-called followers would but take up the crossand follow Jesus .

But to return to our story. Clouds qu ickly gatheredover the prospect that had opened so brightly. The

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RICHARD H. THOMAS, M .D .

was 40 be undertaken . They hadavery successfu l

visit, the interest was great, and Dr. Thomas’s own

individual efforts were rewarded by seeing three

young men brought to the Lord . But in the sym

pathy of united work he had talked much with the

other m in ister. The subject of the Ordinances wasat that time much canvassed among Friends, andwas to be considered atameeting for young men

,

which my husband had inaugurated on the lines of

the English He was earnestly trying to

prepare for this,and to work out the subject in the

most freshand telling manner. He recounted some

ofhisarguments to his friend,asking him whether

he thought then; calculated to answer the existingdifficulties . Strangely enough the m inister got the

impression that he was describing his own question

ings,and on his return to Baltimore he told one of

the E lders of the Meeting that Dr. Thomas wasentirely unsettled on the subject of the Ordinances

,

and that he was on the point of leaving Friends.

This was agreat blow. Baltimore Meeting hadalready had difficulties with such cases

,and now to

think that Richard Thomas, on whom so manyhopes had been placed, had been ledaway, seemed

too much . The E lder decided that he could not

enter upon the subject with his young friend, but

would content himself with advising him to desist

from preaching in the uptown meeting, and thenwaitand see how things turned out.

Meantime some garbled rumors of trouble had

Act. 34. m SUNDERSTANDINGS.

reached Dr. Thomas . It seemed to beaday offl

m is

understandings, for the story that came to him was ,that the min ister in question was suspected of un

soundness,and knowing from their recent conversations that this was not the case

,with his faccustomed

generosity, he hastened to the E lder, to clear his

friend from the imputation . He came back troubledand perplexed . Instead of the usual sympatheticwelcome he had been met with coldness, had beengiven no opportun ity of making his intended ex

p lanation, but on the other hand had been himself

cautionedas to speaking much,and had been advisedfor the present toattend the meetingat Federal H ill .No reason wasassigned, and thoug

’

fifj n after yearsconfidence was restored, there never wasany explanation of the m isunderstanding between the two .

In fact my husband himself did not know until longafterwards the reason of the sudden change in his

friend’s bearing towards him .

He had now been preaching for nearly four yearswith ful l encouragement from the E lders, so it wason ly natural that he Should accept the warn ingasan oflicial intimation ofwant of unity on the partofthe meeting. He did so consider it

,and for the

next eighteen months he confined himself chiefly

to the M ission at Federal H ill— (now Light Street

Meeting)and to the Young Men’

s Christian Association, ofwhich Dr. James C . Thomas was President.D. L. Moody spent that winter in Baltimore, and

the Revival spirit wasabroad.

1 14 RICHARD H. THOMAS. M.D.

Dr . Thomas soon found abundant scope for his

spiri tual energyamongst the young men, .and thoughsome ofthe ties that had bound him to the Friends

Ofhis own meet ing seemed to be loosened,he was

learn ing through that very thing, to place his con

fidence more complete ly in Godalone .

The incidentaboveal luded to was more far reachingin its effects than can be here set forth

,and it cameat

atime that made it peculiarly hard to bear, yet though

Dr. Thomas suflered keen ly,his consecration stood

the test. He had written to his sister that he desiredto let the Lord work outall the good pleasure of

His goodness in him,and nowas he sought to keep

his heart open to the Heavenly Grace, he was toprove in his own experience the reality of that divinealchemy

,whereby the bitter is made sweetand the

hard th ings easy.

His character ripened rap idly,and instead of

becom ing soured and discontented, he grew even

more lovingand sympathetic . A certain dictator ialtone that had been sometimes noticed in his earlierpreaching disappeared,and his words coming right

from his own fresh experience, wen t home with

power to those who heard them. His min istryaswel las his practice was at th is time largelyamongthe poor. He grudged neither time nor strength ,but laboredas indefatigably for his poorer ,as he eyerdid for his more weal thy patients. Often when he

found them neglected he would minister to their

needs with his own hands ,andalways he was on the

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1 16 RICHARD H. THOMAS, M.D. 1 880.

The house in wh ich we had gone to housekeepinghaving proved in many ways unsuitable, andagoodopportun ity Offering, we moved in the autumn to

one on the opposi te corner ofthe same block.The winter passed in busy work. Dr . Thomas was

occupied with investigationsas to the effect ofclimaticchanges on the spread ofdiphtheria— the prevalencyof that disease in Baltimoreat certain seasons havingearlyattracted his attention . Much of his practicewas sti l l in South Bal timore

,but it was improving in

character,though he still didagreat deal ofgratu itous

work. He had been for two years physician at theHouse of Refuge, alarge Reformatory for boys inthe neighborhood of Bal timore

,and this pos ition

he held for about n ine years . His interest in the

rel igiousas we llas the phys ical welfare of these boys

was very great.With the spring anew prospect Opened . My

fam ily wrote,earnestly begging me to bring the

baby foravis it, and thus escape the perils of the

dreaded “second summer

”in Bal timore . Influenced

by this consideration , plans for the journey were soonmade, though with many m isgivings on my part,for I real ised that my husband was himself very farfrom well . He had worked through the heat of twoBaltimore summers almost without aholiday, andunder severe financial strain ,

and was now on ly

keeping up by the mere force of his strong wilh

However, I had notas yet learned to understand his

powers in that direction, andas there was nothing

M . 26. FIRST RETURN TO MY HOME . 1 17

definitely wrong, I consoled myselfwith th inking thathe would be relieved ofmuchanxiety ifwe were inEngland, so having done all in my power to insurehis comfort during ourabsence, I set out, rejoicing inthe p rospect of this first return to my home , yet with

agreat sense of impending trouble in regard to myhusband.

22: A . B . T.

On ber sailing doE ng land , 5th mo.an d , 1880.

Matthew viii. 33— 37

Ye faithless ones , did He not care ,He chose you to be near to HimAnd ye were very dear to Him.

Those fierce waves brought no fear to HimForat His word theyroseand fell .He notedall your toilings well

And willed you blessings everywhere .

But He would teach this lesson deep,Let raging storms be ne er so wildOr seas be calmand breezes mild,No evil harms His trusting child.

Dangers upon him hard may press ,They cannot make his safety less,

For safe is he whom God doth keep.

At first the letters were bright ; patients, House of

Refuge, laboratory work, open air meetings. He

surely could not be much amiss to accomplish so

much . I will quote for example the description ofone

Sundayafternoon’

s work in the openairBaltim0re, sth mo. 3oth, 1880 . Thisafternoon I hadJohn Marshall (his boy) and the carriage,and went first to

1 1 8 RICHARD H. THOMAS, M.D. 1 8m

Henderson’s Wharf. Here there was no one else ,and so afterwaiting for some time ,andafter praying for strength (as I feltrather shakyand unwell), I distributed the hymnsand began by

singing one verse of There isafountain ,

”but did not succeed

very well , not breaking down but striking the wrong key. prayed ,and spoke forabout twenty-five minutes to the extent ofmyvoiceon the Prod igal Son . Thanks to the elocut ion lemons , myvoiceatthe end of the last prayer wasas strongas ever,and men overahundred yards ofi told me they heard me well. There ;wasacongregation of something overahundred, I think,and

.

not

more than five wentaway during the service . Then we went onto Light St. Wharf where I spoke and prayed . Thence to

Marsh Market where I spoke . When I got home I really wasnot tired . Maryand I drove down to Federal Hill this eveningand hadagood meeting there .

Inanother letter he gave me the following lovely

account ofhis personal feel ingsat this timeBaltimore, 6th mo . xath, 1 880 . It is three weeksto-day since we last saw each other.They have been weeks of very rich blessing to me from the

Lord,He has been nearerand more constam and conscious ly

with me than ever in my life before . I should be thankful if Icould see more result from the work Heallows me to do. Peopleseem to be interested in what I say, but I do not seeany result .Still I do believe that He will so baptise me for service,as He isnow doing for my experience , that I shall not only see the

things thatare freely given us ofGod , but be enabled to showthem to others .

Stil l I did not feel satisfied, for from occas ionalhin ts I gathered that he was no better really. In

another letter he wroteSince thou has t gone , I have takenacalm view of

myhealth. I find Iam not strongand cannot standas muchas

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rzo RICHARD H. THOMAS, M.D. 1 880.

ing. A London physician , Dr. Wilson Fox , wasconsulted . He only confirmed the opin ionalreadygiven . There was troubleat the m itral valve of the

heart,but even more important for the moment was

the want of compensation in the heart,and his

thoroughly run down condition . Complete rest wasprescribed, and no return to practice forat leastayear, indeed it was strongly hinted that very likely hem ight neveragain be strong enough to work. It wasJuly of1 880 . In less than two yearsandahalffromhis wedding day he was back with his wifeat herfather’s home, with the sense heavy upon him of

having failed inall the things which he had speciallytried to do .

CHAPTER X .

Bridlington— A new power— The Death of the Old Year— F lamborough Head Pascal M y Shepherd Residence atVienna— Christmas— Letter to Allen C. Thomas— Medical work

-Marriage ofthe Crown Prince— Conflicting Beliefs— Illness ofMarthaB raithwaite— He accompani es her to Mont DoreThe fairest scene on earth were dark and dull— A stormyvoyage in the P ennsylvania— Helen B . Harris—I res t myselfupon thywaves 0 sea.

WE spent some time with myfam ilyat Bridlington,on the coast of Yorkshire, as seaairandabracingclimate were recommended, butat first Dr. Thomasseemed to have no recuperative power. The strainhad been so prolonged that the reaction was severe.

Any little exertion would bring onalarm ingattacks of

prostration , or irregularity of the heart’saction . He

was very qu ietand uncomplain ing, but had completely

lost the bright energy that usually distinguished himeven in times of weakness . But in these apparentlyquiet hours his m ind was hard at work upon the

problems ofhis own life,and it was now that out of

sorrow agreat joy sprang up for him . What thiswas is best told in his own words, written fifteen yearsafterwards to my brother William

1 3 !

m RICHARD H. m om s.Aw . 1880.

Iam not the one to say how far there is in my versesarealpoetical strain , but forabout fifteen years I have never hadamoment’s real doubt that, however small it may be, I havereceived the gift of poetry as distinguished from rhyming. Iremember the very spotat Bridlington, when I wasaloneanddiscouraged over what I supposed to be the sudden collapse of

all my hopes ofbeingable to preach the Gospel or ofgoing on

with my profession— ouaccount ofbroken health— when I distinctly received the gift, with theassurance that it would be tothe helpand blessing ofothers . It came withaforce that wasquite over-poweringat the time ,andalmost immediately I composed 77m M essage of the Waves (printed in “EchoesandPictures I have never doubted that experience , though Ihave not interpreted it to meananassuranceas to fame oras tothe extent to which my verse would be helpful. It has made mefeel that writing poetry wasalegitimate part ofmywork,and Ibelieve the gift has continued.

From the following lines, written on the last n ightofthis year

,1 880

,it wou ld seem that it wasalso at

Bridlington that the beauties of nature were for thefirst time fully revealed to him .

THE DEATH OF THE OLD YEAR.

But the birdsand the flowersandall things I seeThe ocean , the mountains , have Spoken to me

As never beforeIn the year that has gone.

With what joy have I gazed from the cliffas I stoodTo see the low sun throw its gleam on the flood,

What glories were mineIn the year that has gone.

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1 34 RICHARD H. THOMAS. M.D. 1 880 .

Darkand chill

Where onlyadream ofthe daylight could reach .

Sad was my heartAnd chillas the cave,

With memories ofsunlight shut from meWhy should I shout ,The echoes to waken

,

When echoes ofsadness still saddermust be ?AboveandaroundThe rocks shut us in,

And they gave back the shouts ofmy comrades inSilent I stood,Gazing back to the sunlight,

To the blue strip ofskyand the glisteningFrom that ocean oflightI sawas I stood

A long, gentle sea-swe ll roll up to my feet,It gave in its breaking,

Hush, that wasall it said ere its retreat .

Came the sweet message back,And with itahushas from God came to rne,

Little myfriends gues sedWhy I was s ilent

They heard their own echoes but I heard the sea.The rough draft ofMoses or The Desert 0] God,

(“Echoes and Pictures,

” pp. 47-

70) largely autobiograph ical , was also written at Bridl ington, andso was Pascal, wh ich so accurately descri bes the

Act. 26. PASCAL.

experience through which he was passing that we re

p rint it.

PASCAL .

I look to Thee . N0 power, but power divine,Can make me wholly, fully , gladly free

To toil or sufl’er. Lord, I would be thine ;In everyaction, thoughtand word would be

All thine.

Thou seest this weakness that is mastering me ,And how I live in care from day to day,Lest my remaining strength should passaway

Andasatree in spring-time touched with blightHasautumn dullness though the year be full,

So hath myyouthful vigor vanished quite ,So hath its blossom turned toashes dull ,

And thus hathage mymanhood overspreadAn old young man, ere thirty years havefled.

But Thou hast loved me ; not with murmurings ,Nor with repinings dayby day I go

With earthly lossare opened heavenly things .

For these , who would not leave the baseand low ?Loss brings

A j oy that e ’en the joyful may not knowTo those who learn with patience in Thy school,Who daily live beneath Thy blessed rule .

Forall this sorrow,all this sad complaint ,I thank Thee , Lord. Thou sentest them to me

And through their means have I been madeacquaintMore with the wisdom , loveand strength in Thee,

I could not see them in the noontide glareThou leadest to the shade to teach me there .

Yet would I praise Thy name with tongueand pen ,

And make Thy saving power known toall.

1 26 RICHARD H. THOMAS, M .D. 1 880.

Oh that Thou, Lord, wert honoredamong men ,Oh that they heardand yielded to Thy call.

Ah , then !What peace , what blessedness would them befall.I pray Thee

,heal me now that I may be

Strong in Thy strength to liveand work with Thee .

But, ifI praise Thee more while weakand ill,Then heal me not . I onlyask for length

Ofdaysand health that I may do Thywill ,And serve myGod with God-restored strength ,

Patient throughall, from earthly selfset free ,Cleansed by Thy power,and filled with loveand Thee .

On the return journey to London he composed the

following

MY SHEPHERD .

Peace , troubled soul ,Thy Shepherd

’s care

Is everywhere .

It is His loving will thou shouldst be blestThus in His strengt hand wisdom thou mayst

And follow Him .

Rest,weary one ,

Though weakand faint ,Thy sad complaint

Thy Saviour hearsand will thy soul restore ,And blessand lead thee till , thy sorrows o

’

er,

He calls thee home .

Yes , I can trustIn Thee, myGod .

Thy stafiand rod

Do comfort meand keep me nightand day,AndThouart with me

, dangersfleeawayAnd Iam safe .

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a. H. m om s AND FAM ILY i s VIENNA,

wrm j . s . snarruwu rs AND EDWARD MILLARD.

Act 26 . JOURNEY TO VIENNA. 1 27

I joy in Thee ,Although stout foesMy path oppose .

Thou g iv'at me gladness,and surpassing bliss ,

Thou givest me Thyself,and more than thisI cannotask .

I love Thee , Lord.

Or brightand gladMy life, or sad,

I'll serve Thee with myheart, mym ind, my strength ,

And sing Thy praises till I comeat lengthTo see Thyface .

5th oth mo. , 1880 .

Plans for the futurewere now under consideration . A

London win ter was strongly objected to by Dr . Fox ,

and in the end, to Dr. Thomas’s great satisfaction itwas decided that we should goat once to Vienna,where he mightatany rate improve his German

, andenjoy such further medical opportun itiesas strength

might perm it. My father, Bevan Braithwaite, most

kindlyaccompan ied us,and did not leave us until, with

the eflicient help of Edward M illard he had seen us

safely settled intoalarge sunny room within easy distance ofthe great General Hospital .The Pension was kept byaGerman fam ily fromHanover, the guests being chiefly foreign doctors, in

Viennafor purposes ofstudy. Asall wereanxious toacqu ire German , the rule of No English at mealtimes was faithfu llyadhered to . The discussions on

all sorts of subjects were oftenanimated, for HerrPohl, our host, wasathoughtful, well-educated man,

1 28 RICHARD H . THOMAS, M .D. I SSO.

who kindly tookan interest in the improvement of

his boarders,and wou ld try to getageneral conversation started, in which all were encouraged to takepart.The long journey from E ngland had proved exceed

ingly trying to the inval id,and the first month in our

new quarters was very discouraging. But even when

obl iged to spend most of the time on the bed,he

would be comm itting German poems to memory or

translating Sch iller’s “Th irty Years War to meas Isatat work,and every daywealso took one or often

two special lessons in the language .

’

Anyattemptat religious work had been strictly for

bidden , so we con tented ourselves with attendingservice in one or other of the Lu theran Churches on

Sunday.

The sense of isolation fromall that we had p rev iously been interested in ,and the distance from our

loved onesadded special enjoyment toavisit from myhusband's niece, M . CareyThomas, now Presiden t of

Bryn Mawr College, Penn sylvania. She was thenstudyingat Le ipsic, and came with her friend MaryGwynn to spend the Christmas hol idays in Vienna.It was then that he wrote for her the lines enti tled

Childhood,andalsoChristmas Echoesand Pictures,”pp 1 23and 7We had reached Viennaat the beginning ofOctober,and by the middle of November Dr. Thomas had

The Child‘

s Song ofits Shepherdand The Brooklet (“ Echoesand Pictures“ pp . 1 14and 1 22) were translations rnadsat this time .

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( 30 RICHARD H . THOMAS. M .D. £ 88 1 .

We were verymuch interested in theaccount thou sent us of

Thomas B ugbee’s visitand speechat Haverford,and glad to seethat the College has so muchactivity.

I do not suppose I have ever entered uponayearbeforeas I shallenter upon the coming one— withamost complete uncertaintyas to where we shall end it,— l mean withoutanyfixed prospectswhatever. The only thing we can say is that we ex p ect toreturn to Baltimore somet ime within the next nine or ten months.

But everything seems so extremely uncertain that I personally shallnot be much surprised ifwe find ourselves this time mex t year—iistillalive— in Australiaor any other place . Not that this uno

certainty makes us unhappy. The Lord has been so lovingandfaithful in the past that we canasamatter of course trust Himfor the future . In fact , I remember last year how often 1

longed for just suchan op portun ityas I now have ,and how oftenI felt that I really needed in every way to be out of the currentat least for the time—and now I have my wish— not broughtabout in the way that l perhaps would have selected— but stillbroughtabout ,and I realise the greatadvantage itall is to me ,and do feel very thankful for it.

These post-graduate courses werearranged in terms,each lasting one hour daily for six weeks . They were

given by some oftheablest men of the day (amongthem I recol lect such namesas Bil lrothand Politzer)andas onlyalim ited number ofstudents wereadmitted toeach, in some cases on ly four or six , the maximum of

personal attention was ensured . My husband wasdelighted with them,

and byNew Year he was takingfour courses

-aday. He managed this by restingmuchbetween times, yet l remember that he read to mea

Act. 37. MARRIAGE or m e CROWN PRINCE. 1 31

great deal in the evenings Underground Russia,Carlyle’s “French Revo lution ,

" “Never too late to

Mend and “Sartor Resartus ”are inseparably con

hooted with Vienna,also the Biographies of EdwardIrvingand Susannah Wesley .

We were in Viennaat the time of the marriage ofthe unfortunate Crown Prince Rudolph. For severaldays the city kept holiday, whilst vast crowds surged

ofthe Innere Stadt to watch the processions or to lookat the decorations, etc. It was Apriland floods of

golden sunsh ine poured upon the festal crowds, upon

the fresh green of the Praterand on the beautifu lMaximilian Platz and the wide shallow steps of the

Votiv Kirche where the little Ameri can girl loved to

p lay with the docking pigeons.

Oh, thou little unbaptized one, Frau Pohl wouldsay to our baby, “ I never thought I should come to

love thee so much . From the time that she had dis

covered our views on baptism ,the good lady had not

ceased to marvelat them . She told us that till we cameshe had never thought thatahuman being could be

saved without baptism But since I have known the

Herr Doktor,”sheadded

,I see it cannot be essential

to salvation , for certain ly he isaChristian if ever aman was.

"

The extreme importanceattached by our Germanfriends to these outward rites hadadecided edect uponmy husband. The fact thatamong the thousands ofthat great city there was scarcelyone soul who shared

3313 RICHARD H. THOMAS; M.D. 38h .

our own view ofthe Gospel message was enough ofitself to make us question the ground of our be lief

pretty closely, and other th ings besides Frau Pohl'shorror had tended to th is . Edward M illard was anearnest Baptist,and once when we had chanced to goto the Chapel where he preached

, on Commun ion

Sunday, it had led , toaconversationafterwards inwhich he had very strongly expressed his be lief in itsimportance . His son had married aMennoniteandwe learned that theyadmi tted no effi cacy in the rite of

Baptism un less the candidate had been immersed threetimes, in the Name ofthe Father,and ofthe Son,andofthe HolyGhost.

The only one of the doctorsat Frau Pohl's whoseemedatall earnestly rel igious wasayoung Irishmanwho belonged to aprominent familyamongst thePlymouth Brethren . He was mostanxious to convertus to his own way ofthinking,and soon let us know

that, though heattached no sacramental value to the

ordinances, be yet believed that no one could bearealfol lower ofChrist who disobeyed so plainand essentialacommand. Then there were our Lutheran friends

Frau Pohl wasamin ister’s daughter,and was zealousinattendanceat Church, etc. ,

but Herr Pohl, she told

us qu ite casually, was unglaubig, i .a., unbe lievinghe often spent Sunday n ightat the theatreand usuallynever thought ofatten ding Church . Twice ayearhowever, on Christmas Dayand on Easter Sunday, hemust take the sacrament, and that, to her mind

,

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1 34 RICHARD H. THOMAS. K D. 1 88 11

Vienna,and returned, viaCologneand Flushing, toLondon .

My family were veryanxious to keep us in England,but Dr . Thomas, though far from strong, was so

much better that he hoped with care to beable to

take up practice again ,and we decided to return to

Bal timore. In the meantime there was work readyto his hand

,for my mother had just had asevere

haemorrhage from the lungs, and was ordered to

take acourse of treatment at Mont Dore in the

Auvergne . I t seemed most fitting that he should

accompany her,and the plan , which insured for -him

afurther time of quiet, and for her his tenderandskilful care, proved to be for their mutual comfort.I was with them during part ofthe time,and he wrotethe following lines for me on my birthday

HOME.

The fairest scene on earth were darkand dullDid not the sunlight come,

So werealife , though else with pleasures full,Wi thout the j oy ofhome.

Inall my j oumeying s , love , s ince I have thee,The light ofthy dear face

Sheds sunl ight overall,and makes for meA home in every place.

In October the time for return ing to Bal timorearrived, and our passage was taken in one of the

steamers of the American Line, then rather popularwith passengers using the smal ler boats . But the

week before we sailed we were notified thatachange

Act. 87 . A STORMY VOYAGE. u s

had been made, and that the Pennsylvaniawouldtake the p lace of the boat by which we had expected

to go . We had specially tried to avo id the Pennsylvan ia, as she was noted for rough voyages andaccidents, but it was too late now toalter . She lived

up nobly to her character on this occas ion,and th is

was certainly the most trying ofthe many roughanddisagreeable voyages that fel l to our lot. Owing to

asevere storm we sailed two days late and only

partially loaded. It was fearfu lly rough,and we brokeour propeller the first day out. One poor fel low wascrippled for life byafalling beam in the steaage ;alady passenger had her head cut Open ; others

had legs or arms broken , and the sh ip's doctor

himselfhad two ribs fractured byafall ; one ladyhad her finger bitten to the bone byarat apassengerfell the whole length of the staircase ; we narrowlyescaped acollision in afog. We were all of us

badly sea-sick most of the time, and finally afterthirteen days at seaand some other minor catastrophes, we were detained for several hours byafogin the Delaware,and whenat last we were nearingthe wharfand the Custom House Officers had comeon board and were exam in ing the luggage on the

open deck, atremendous cloud-burst occurred, andinaminute, as it seemed, the deck was inches deepin water andall the luggage was soakedas wellasmany of the passengers. It was indeed arecordvoyage for discomfort and danger, but we landedamidst the quietness ofaPh iladelph iaSunday even ing,

r36 RICHARD H. THOMAS, M .D. 1 88 1 .

and felt almost as though we had been dead andburiedand then had come to life again . Weafterwards heard that the sailings had beenaltered on

account ofacertain ambassador and his familywho desired toavoid the ill-fated ship .

We had one great pleasure on this voyage, via, thecompany of our friend Helen Harris. She wascrossingalone,and J . Rendel Harris, whom we met

for the first time in dripping rain on the tender in

Liverpool, confided her to our care. Itwas the beginning ofafriendship wh ich we countedamongst theprivileges ofour lives .

We had returned to Americawith great uncertaintyover all our prospects, but I remember that myhusband’s frequent prayerat this time was, that theLordwould prepare him for whatever he was preparingfor him . This attitude of his mind is well shown

in the beautiful poem Rest composed during our

stormy voyage .

REST.

I rest myselfupon thywaves , 0 sea;I see them joyous in the morning light ;

Anon , I see them rise in majesty,And hear theirangry roaring through the

Butall is right.Thycurrentsand thy eddiesare to me

All mystery ;The ship to guide I do not understand.

What matters that ? Iam not in command.

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CHAPTER XI .

R.H.T. takes up special practice— IsacknowledgedasaM inisterObituarynotice ofR.H.T

’s father— Letter to W.G.B .

— TheWrathand Love ofGod— Sermonat Eutaw Street Meeting— PersonalTestimony The Song of the Lord — l Bondage andFreedom ofLove.

WE reached Bal timore early in Novemberand by

Christmas we had settled down to the ordinary courseofl ife . We did not start housekeeping but boardedwith my husband’s fami ly, then living at 236, W.

Lanvale Street . Dr . Thomas was to try to build up aconsulting practice on the special subjects he hadstudied in Vienna,andasan experiment was to havecertain hours for seeing patients at the offi ces of his

brother Dr . james C . Thomas . He was still far fromstrongand had the serious handicap ofaheart thatpromptly gave him trouble whenever he exceeded the

prescribed limit ofwork.

We receivedawarm welcome from our Bal timorefriends on our return , and Dr . Thomas resumed his

attendanceat the regular Eutaw Street Meeting, andbydegrees his voice wasagain heard in the m inis try.

A few months later the subject ofacknowledging hisgift was brought forward,andas it me t with hearty

an . 28. omrvm no rms OF Ram's FATHER. x 39

concurrence he was recordedasaminis ter during thesummer of1 882 .

From his private memorandaas we ll as from the

poems ofthis period it is clear that during the summer

andautumn of1 882 bewas passing throughasp iritualbaptism wh ich doubtless was des igned to prepare himyet more fully for effective work,and of this we must

When Dr. Thomas's father died ( rst mo . 1sth,

he was so well known in England thatan obituarynotice of him appeared in the “Annual Monitor.

"

From it we quote the following senten ces because theyare soabso lutely true ofhis sonWhilst greatly humbled in view ofhis utter unworthiness,and

the feeling that of himself he could do nothing, he has beenheard to say that from that time (i t . his conversion) he did not

remember that he had ever wi lft disobeyed the known will ofhis Heavenly Father, or cherishedacomplaining thought, evenunder the most trying dispensations ofHis providence, imperfectlyas he might have performed the one

,or profited by the

other. He wasaman ofprayer ;and when favoured to be madeacquainted with the Divine will, there seemed with him no

second question , butaprompt endeavour to do it— not grudg

ingly,but cheerfullyand resolutely— in the simple obedience of

faithand love. This feature ofhis Christian character was verystriking and instructive , and worthy of imitation byall whoname the name ofChrist.Thus my husband’s Christian experience had been

strong and glad fromthe outset, andas the Lord

made known to him further possibilities ofHis grace,he joyful lyand unhes itatingly embraced them.

140 RICHARD H. THOMAS; M.D. 1 882.

His mind had been dwelling largely upon the natureandattributes ofGod.

In July he wrote

Nantucket , Mass ,

35th 7th mo. , i 88s.

MY om W

I liked thy reference to Sir Edward Fry’s lecture on the

Freedom ofwilland the uniform order of nature.

” To my

mind there is no proper separation between Godand His laws,though in common parlance there isanecessary one . What I

mean is, I see inall the events ofnature the definiteacts ofGod— cvery tree , every wave ofthe ocean has its existence only inthe present will of God, and but for that must cease to be .

What we call the laws of natureare s imply His manner of

working. The regularity of working is noargumentagainstthis ,as thou points out . I like this way oflookingat it becauseit seems to me to rest uponasolid foundation,and then one canlook uponall outward eventsas being specially God'

s willandthus can seek to learn the intended lesson from them. As to

theapparent opposition of science to Scripture, that does not

cause meanyanxiety, because ,as Giekie points out, it wouldhave been impossible to have written abook that would haveagreed with the developments ofscience in everyage,and evenhad the Bible set up to be ascien tific book— that is ,abookstating simply scientific truth wi thout showing the methods bywhich it was to beattained , —it must have declared the finalabsolute truth,and thus would beas far fromagreeing with '

the

resultsat presentattained by scienceas ever.

We are havingaquiet pleasant t ime hereat Nantucket.Nantucket isan island shaped l ikeacrescent. From tip m/tipalong the land isabout fifteen miles, but the width of the mi ndis onlyabout three or four. 50 every breeze isan ocean breeze

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m m u m . m . rm .

manifestatioo oi s love, for He would rid me 0fmy sin. It isnot sinand peace that havemet together , but it is r ighteousnessand peace that have kissed each other.

Andagain on roth mo . rst,at Eutaw Street Meetinghe preached on Mal. iii. 1 8 ; iv . 1

,2. From notes

written downafterwards we printTHE LORD GOD IS A SUN.

M 4 1 . ii i . 1840. x,2 .

We haveanumber ot’ instances where it is recorded that theLord wasangry with His people when they transgresoedagainstHim,and that He promised to bring evil upon them. Frequentlyit happened that the people repented oftheir sin,and wheneverthey did so it is saidalso that the Lord repented of the evil He

had purposedand did not bring it upon them . Are we to

conclude from this that God is changeable ? The passage Ihave quoted seems to give the true explanation of the difi culty,

and to show that the change 18 not in God but in the people .

The prophet, in order to illus trate the difierence be tween the

wickedand him who serves God, pictures forthasultry day inthe east,and describes how the sun burns up vegetation in one

place ,andat the same time brings lifeand healing to that inanother . In both cases it is the same sumhaving the same heat,lightand life giving power. How does it then cause death tothe oneand health to the other ? Simp ly because the one is

growing in parched groundand the other near spdngs ofwater.So in those cases where God is said to have repented, we find it

was the people who changed the ir position in regard to

The difierence between the revelation of God to the sinner

and to the man who is in harmony with Him is frequently dweltupon With the merciful Thou wilt show Thyselfmercifi lwith the upright man Thou wilt show Thyse lfupright ; with thepure Thou wilt showThyselt

‘

pure ;andwith the frowardThou wilt

Art. 38 . THE LORD GOD IS A SUN. 143

show Thyselffroward (or unsavory). If we confess Him ,

He will confess us, ifwe deny Him Healso will deny us .

”

Theseand other passages only enforce the ideaof our tex t ,that the manifestation ofGod toany soul depends upon its

position in respect to God .

When aman finds he needs the Lordand comes to Himfor cleansingand pardon , he receivesall He comes for throughtheatonement ofChrist, but God does not change . He has thesame love , wisdom, powerand wrath He had before , but now

they shine upon the soul to gi ve it lifeand joy. For the wrathof God is not directedagainst the man butagainst his sin

,

butas longas the man is wedded to his sin , he must sharein the wrath directed against it

,but just as soon as he

tenounces his sinand has come into harmony with God, heisagainst it and is working with the same obj ect as God’swrath. Therefore the wrath no longer falls upon him , thoughit still isagainst whatever ofsin remains in him ,and he rej oices

that it is .

Let us consider what is our position in respect to God. Do

we look upon Himasahard Master, do we turnaway fromthe thought of Him as of one who will spoil our pleasantthings,are we choosing our own way ? If so we are out of

harmony with Him and in the place where His wrath falls .

His will for us is our blessingand His love to us is so greatthat He cannot leave us in sin, for sin separates us from

Himselfand from true joy .

But howare we , ifweare in the parched ground to becometransplanted beside the rivers of water ? The task is greatand beyond our streng th, but what we could not do Christ hathdone for us. It wasagainst Him that the words were utteredAwake 0 sword against My Shepherd, against the man

that is myfellow,” saith the Lord.

Do we realise our transgressionand our sin P— remember thatHe was numbered with the transgressors ,” and ifwe under

stand that we are living on the barren soil—He Himselfwas

144 RICHKRD H. THOMAS. M D. ( 383 .

which we can be but He has come outand down to us thatHe maybring us bmck.

lfwe will only yield to Him and by Hi s power turn our

backs upon simthen shall we find that the gloriom Lord will be

unto us not onlyaSun, butaplace ofbroad riversand streams ,for which the wildernessand solitary place ofour hearts shallbe gh dand shan rej oiceand blossomas the rosqand we shallbe asatree p lanted by the waters and that speeadeth out its

roots by the river,and shall not see when heat cometh, but its

leafshall be green , neither shall it be cs reful in the year of

drought neither shall cease from yielding fruit .Bal timore Yearly Meeting was then held in October,and it took place afew daysafter the preach ing of

th is sermon. There was an evident moving of the

Spirit ofGod over the gatherings,an earnest ofcoming blessing. In one of the devotional meetings,Richard H . Thomas arose and under great feel ingspokeas followsFor severalweeks past mymind has dwelt verymuchand oon

tinuouslyupon thewords in Hebrews. Having therefore brethrenboldness to enter into the holiest by the blood ofj esus, byanewand living waywhich He hath consecrated for us, throughthe veil , that is to say His flesh, and having an High Priestover the house ofGod , let us draw near withatrue heart infullassurance offaith, having our hearts sprinkled from anevil con scienceand our bodies washed with pure water.

" Untilthis time however, I have not feltat liberty to speak muchaboutit.

As I was reading the text I was forcibly struck with the

fact that the writer evidently refers to an experience whichweare to know in thi s life . Further, by comparing the samewordas used elsewhere, I saw that the holy place within the

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andalso inan impatient tone to amember of the family,though there is not impatience in my heart. I renounceatthis moment all further right even to an impatient manner.Thouart strong , 0 Lord.

We will give one more extract from his notebook,because it sounds the glad, joyful note that was so

characteristic ofhisattitude from th is time on

THE SONG OF THE LORD.

231 k.a’r. 14- 17.

The passage commences with the singing of the Brideandends with the singing of the Bridegroom. We often hear of

the new song the Lord puts into the mouth ofthose whom He

redeems , but here we find that there isasong which Hemmselfsings ,and I have been thinking ofhow the song ofthe Lordandthe song ofthe soulanswer to oneanother . The first words oftheLordwhich come perhaps to the ear ofthe soulare , Come untoMe,"and the soulanswers , My sins have gone overmyhead,asaheavy burden theyare too heavy for me .

"Then the Load

replies , “ I have blotted outasathick cloud thy transgress ionsandasacloud thy sins ,

”or

“ though thy sins beas scarletthey shall be whiteas snow, though they be red like crimm

they shall beas wool ."Again when the soul says “Help Lord, for lam weak, me

Lord says, “ Fear not for Iam with thee,— I will help thee ,yeaI will strengthen thee , yeaI will uphold thee with the righthand ofMy righteousness . The soul inasense of its lonelinessand sorrow may cry out , but it hears theanswering songof its Lord , “As one whom his mother comforteth , so will Icomfort thee .

As she grows in confidence in her Lord from having beenwith him, she will sing

“Yeathough l walk through the

valley ofthe shadow ofdeath l will fear no evil,"and it will not

Act. 38. THE SONG OF THE LORD. 147

be long before theanswering song will be , “I will never leavethee nor forsake thee ,”and when in her joy in His presenceshe says, My beloved is mine and Iam His , HeanswersI have called thee bythyname, thouartM ine. And so throughall the changes of life— joy , sorrow

, temptation , death andsufiering , the song ofthe Lord, revealingas it does the feelingofthe heart ofthe Redeemer,answers exactly to the song thatthe soul sing s in its need or its rejoicing.

But better thanall this, this answering song of the Lordis not sung by oneagreat way ofi , norare its echoes to comefaintly to us . He is to dwell in usand His presence is to bethe source of the new song when He has come in and castout our enemy . Then indeed will it be truly said of us ,

“The

King ofIsrael, even the Lord is in the midst ofthee, thou shaltnot see evilanymore .

”

IfHe he indeed our King— beallowed to rule the only Kingin our hearts, then we shall know the sweetnessand strength

ofHis songand ofHis Love .

One who knew him wel l in those days wrote to meafter his death

,recalling how meeting him once on

the streetand remarking on his bright face, he replied

by quoting the lines,Andanew song is in mymouthTo long loved mus ic set,

Glory to Thee forall the graceI have not tasted yet .

He seemed indeed to have learned the secret of

castingall his care upon the Lord, and henceforwardtoastri king degree he had

A heartat leisure from itselfTo soothand sympathise .

Yearsafterwards, when he was in very poor healthand we were spending the winter inasmall villain the

“8 RICHARD H . THOMAS. M.D.

Riviera, our ltalian servant said to me one day,“Ah

,sempreal legro , il Signore, sempre cantando

(“Always happy, the master,always singing ")

His Christiani ty was of the glad, joyful kind, andthoughasaboy he may have been ,as he said, “asolemn fellow

,

"as aman he was fu l l of funandenjoyed few things more than rousing his quieterandmore seriously m inded friends to merriment. Whatshocking puns he would perpetrate,and what joy itwas to him to meet one who couldappreciate the

humorous side ofaquestion . His fun was thoroughlynatural and spontaneous, andalways in good taste,for he had suchastrong sense ofthe sacredness of

common things that he was in no danger ofmakinglight ofsacred subjects.

To this period belong Alone with Christand TheAnswer

,published in “Echoes and Pictures,

” andat Christmas of this year he wroteabeautifu l poem— The Bondageand Freedom ofLove. It was never

published for he felt italmost too sacredand personal,but we give itasafitting close to th is chapter .

THE BONDAGE AND FREEDOM OF LOVE .

(See Rev . is .and 9

I.

There isafreedom that I wan t ,From every sinful bondage free ,

’Tis for Thyfreedom, Love , I pant,Oh that I were in bonds to Thee

For in Thy blessed bondsaloneIs perfect j oyand wisdom known .

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1 50 RICHARD H. THOMAS. M.D., 1883.

Peace re igns with Thee, for Thouart Peace ,Myheartanangry seano more ,Whose billows riseand will not eease,Gently its wavelets lap the shore

A seaofglass before ThyThrone ,Whose waters image Theealone .

I look up in Thyfaceand sing ;Iam so glad that Thouart eome ,

Myjoy, my never-fai ling King,My loving Fatherand myhome .

And now in silence I rejoiceTo hear the blessed Bridegroom'

s voice ,

Gladly I cast my little crown ,Myreputationat Thyfeet,

And overpowered with Love fall downTo ofier Thee the praises meet ;

But find no words Thy praise to tellBut thou canst read my rapture well.

And Heaven comes down to me on earth,The freedom ofthat City mine,

M ine by the blessed right ofbirthSince bornanew through Love divine .

A native there,astranger hereWho only seeks for pilgrim'

s cheer.

The little I have known ofThee

Enrapturesall mywaiting heartWhat must the fuller vision be ,When I no more shall see in part ?

But seated with Thee on Thy throne

Shall knowas I myselfam known,

Act. 28 . THE BONDAGE AND FREEDOM OF LOVE . 1 5!

Oh, happy bondage , happy slave ,To be Thine own for ever more,I daily know Thy power to save ,Daily to Thee , my soul outpour.

The service ofmy life I bri ng,Do with meas Thou wilt, 0 King .

CHAPTER XI I .

R .H.T'

s Poetry—Metres—Translations- The Void Sonar Spirit'sA visi t toWhittier—Letter toW. 0. Braithwai te.

IN the development of R. H . Thomas’s spiritual experish es weare natural ly led to consider his poeticalwork, foras we havealready seen, much ofwhat hewrote wasautobiographical .One ofour relatives who loved my husband dearly,

could never hear to hear ofhis writing poetry, sayingthat when he did so he knew he must be feel ing morepoorly than usual . There was some truth in this, butthe fact was that when he was, relatively speaking, wel l,so many other interests pressed upon him that he hadno time for writing. He never, so faras I know, satdown with malice prepense, to writeapoem . His

poetry came to him , often in the long hours of wearywakefu l n ights , sometimes when on his way to adistant patient, sometimes when laidaside by illness

from ord inary work. It wasalwaysagreat joyto him,

and was certainlyagreat help in his brave fightagainstweaknessand depression . He had only one com

pondent with whom he exchanged views on his own

literary work. This was my brother William,and

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1 54 RICHARD 11. m oan s. u p . 1 883 .

Iamafraid poets now-aodays forget too mueh the

true purpose oftheir giftandart ,and prosti tute it to unworthy,low

,and impure purposes ,as ifwe have not enough evil pwp en»sitie s without needing the beauties ofpoetry to encourage them.

I believe that there is full place foratrue poet who shall singtrulyand purelyand nobly to raise menand purify them. A

true poet is , as he used to be ,apr0phet—one who bearsamessage—and let him see to it that the message does not get

tarnishedas it goes through him. I do not mean that he slimwrite hymns necessarily, but that he should fee l his vocation . We

were talking the other night of what constituted true poetry ;one maintained that it was not fancy but imagination. It seemsto me that it is the possession of that something which carriesthe poem home to those for whose condition it is suitable , the

something that proclaims its divine origin .

Baltimore ,18th 1 1 th mo.

, 1883 .

Thy remarks on M ilton’s definition ofpoetry, or rather theaimofitare verygood,and l do not see howanyone who lived up tothat could go very far wrong. It is afavorite doctrine withsome “

new school critics and poets that the merit ofaproduction , either in painting or poetry, &c.

, depends simplyupon theartistic handling of the subject—and that moral orimmoral subjects can be chosen with equal propriety, in short,that the word “morality is utterly out ofplace inart. ThomasChase in hisarticle on this subject in the Friends’ QuarterlyExaminer"for last summer, points out thatawork ofart to becomplete must satisfy the whole nature. Now if it shocks mymoral nature it does not satisfy me ,and is thus wanting incornp leteness .

In regard to poetry there is one thing that places it very highin myview. Whileall creativeart can be,and has been used

Aet . 28. WORDSWORTH . 1 55

for the glory ofGod, poetry is the one which has receivedaboveall others His sanction, it is the one which He choseas thevehicle for the direct revelation ofHis will in the old dispensation . The use ofpoetryasameans ofconveying divine counselswas not confined to the Hebrews,as for example, the oracleatDe lphi. Poetry is the most natural expre ssion ofadorationandtrust in Godand ofthings pertaining to Him— that is when the

sou l is moved to its depths . Noart probably has sufl’ered so

much from refinement (over-refinement)as poetry. The greatest,purest singers have generally been the earliest . It seems to methatasarule poetry loses in proportionas simplicityand thegenuine expression ofgenuine feeling is

’

lost. The retention of

these traits has made Wordsworth suchagreat poet notwithstanding his lapses into tediousnessand egoism . He is much

more agreat poet to me now than ever before , and Iamalmost ceasing to object to his prolixityandam generally simplyamusedat it . He occasionally reminds me ofsome individuals ,who, devoid ofall humor themselve s,are frequently extremelyamusing from the simplicity with which they relate the de tai lsofveryamusing things in the most serious way. But Wordsworth is often grand ,and seems most prodigal ofrich thoughts ,so that, in portions,

Each gives eachadouble charmLike pearls uponan Ethiop’sarm.

Again he writesBaltimore ,a3rd t st mo., 1883.

The choice ofametre is not anarbitrary thingwith me . If feelings and thoughts come to me in the

form of verse they shape themselves into the metre and Icannot simply from choice alter it. The way this fact haspresented itself to me (and I have heard another say muchthe same thing in regard to poetry in general), is this :I hear the melody ofapoem in my soul . This melody

1 56 RICHARD 11 . m om s. M.D. 1 883.

is perfect—high in thoughtand feeling, chasteandaccurate inexpression. I hear itandattemp t to write it out in words. The

alterations and corrections made on the first copy are not

mechanical, butare rep eated eflorts tomake the outward correspond to the inward melody. Complete succe ss is perhapsto one so unskilledas myse lfunattainable , but one can reachcertain grades ofsuccess— sufficient to bring some joy to one se lf.Whatever my poemsare to others theyare not mere rhymes tome , but the best embodiment I am capable ofall that ishighestand noblest in meand nearest God. Some ofthem havebecome inspirations to myself. One can on ly singas it is givenhim

,and by God’s grace be true to the goal set before him,

whether his gift be descriptive , lyrical , moral , or epic. I did notintend to write this when I began, but having written it wil lleave it, with the remark that Iam often painfullyaware ofhow

far short what I have written falls of the sweepand height ofwhat I hear within ,and it is more to me than anyone elsebecause Ialone hear the counterpart.Some ofmy husband’s best poetical work was in the

direction oftranslationsand in reference to one which

he had made ofthe Dies Ime, he writes

General Dix (quoted in The Seven Great Hymns who

madeamuch praised trans lation of the D ie t I f“ , holds thatthe trans lation should be as literalas the structure of the language into which it is translated willallow,and thatan inflexibleadherence to the original rhythm should be maintained. The firstis good but I think the second is questionable . Even the firstmay be carried too far ,and it seems to me that the translation of

the thought is ofmore importance than trans lation ofthe words ,and that thisallows offreedom which the other does not ,andthus allows escape from the so frequen tly stifi verse which wemeet with in trans lations. Inany case , the English idiom shouldbe thoroughly Englishand not tinctured with the foreign . Ina

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x 53 mem o n . m ounts.an.

the stansas, the fi£thand ninth, thou wilt see tbat the translationseems to be very liberal indeed. I think, however, that upon thesupposition ofthe character ofthe hymnabove mentioned, I havemade the oorrect rendering. After the opening prayerandascription of praise in the first four stanzas , heasks that thelight may fill to their very innermost recesses the hearts ofthosepraying. Immediatelyafterwards he goes on toacknowledgethat there is no good thing whatever without God,and to prayfor thorough cleansing. This is evidently the work ofthe HolySpirit in showing the truth to the soul . This u planation is

supported by the ninth verse where the prayer is that the sevenspirits ofGod (Sacrum Septenarium) may be granted to thosewho trustalone in Him. Theallusion here is evidently to Rev .

iv . 5, where the seven spiritsare representedas seven lampsproceeding from the Throne ofGod,and not Rev. v . 6. Ifthis be

right, this is the second prayer in the hymn for light, this timefor the very Light that enlightens Heaven,andgoes to show thatthe first prayer was

,as I had rendered it, for the searching oftheLight. It 18 needless to say that the expre ssion , Holy Spirit, inthis hymn is not intended to convey the ideaofwhat theologianscall the Third Person ofthe Trinity, but just God in His personalre lationship to man .

VENI SANCTE SPIRITUS.

Come, Holy Spirit, to Thine own ,Thy heavenly lightand fire make known,Assume possession ofThyThrone.

Come,Father ofthe outcast poor ;

Come , Giver ofaboundless store ;Come,

Light ofhearts for evermore.

Ofall consolers, Thou the best,Sweet dweller in the yielded breast,Dear calmer ofall minds distres t.

3 8 . VENI SANG’

I‘

E SPIRITUS. i so

We need Theeas our rest in care ,Our shelter from the noontide glare ,Our songand solace in de spair.

Shine, Blessed Light doThou revealThe sin we from ourse lves concealSearch Thou our hearts , that Thou may’st heal .Wi thout Thy smile , Thy quickening breath,Despair our labouranswereth ,And every pathway leads to death .

Each thought that seeks not Thee , purge out ;Let streams ofgrace dispel our drought

,

And love healall the wounds ofdoubt.For selfvwill, give us humblenes s,Warm the cold heart with Thy caress ,Make halting footsteps Godward press.

Reign Thou in us, Thy throne is brightWe need no sun, we fear no night,For where Thy throne is , there is light.

Grant us through life to feed on Thee,

Grant us in death Thy love to see,

This translation was madeat the period described inthe last chapter, and his treatmen t of it is clearlyautobiographical . It was publ ished some years later inthe Friends Review, where itattracted theattentionofthe poet Whittier . My husband presently received

the fo llowing letter,accompanying sev eral beautifu llyprinted copies ofhis poem, prefaced with some highly

commendatory words

160 RICHARD H. THOMAS. M.D. 1 88 8.

Ame sbury, Mass.

roth mo. 3oth, 1889.

Mydear Friend ,I send thee some copies of thyadmirable render

ing ofthe old song of the Holy Spirit ; I have ventured to makeone or two very sl ight changes which I hope have not injuredit.

With love to thyselfand thy wifeand with pleasant remembrance ofyour vis itat Amesbury,

Iam,thyfriend,

Joan G .WHITTIBR .

The visit to the Quaker Poet herealluded to hadbeenavery charming one . Whittier had expressed

awish to meet my husband, so on our visit to New

England in 1 888,we went to the home ofhis cousins

Joseph and Gertrude W. Cartland at Newburyport,and were by them taken to Amesbury, where Whittierthen was. My husband, as was his custom , wasu tilising his summer holiday for '

religious work, andhe wished to visit every family in Amesbury Meeting.

The interview with Whittier however came first, andhad been planned for the succeeding day. We hadbeen told that the poet had aspecial objection to

conversing on two subjects, via, his own poemsandreligion . Th is was somewhat ofadisappoin tment,but we determined ofcourse to respect his wishes.

At the door of his modest New England home

Whittier received us with amost cordial greeting.

He was then in his eightieth year, atall, spare manin Quaker garb , whose dark flashing eyesassortedoddly with the benign expression of his coun tenance .

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t60 RICHARD H . THOMAS . M .D. 1 888 :

She had gazed earnes at him throughout his talk,apparently drinking in all he said

,and it was very

ev ident that he hadatender side for ch ildren . Next

morn ing, as alas l so often happened, Dr. Thomaswas very poorly. He had scarcely sleptand his facewas swollen and painful from agathered tooth ;but he never stopped for trifles

,so we droveagain

to Amesbu ry . There in meeting, about the middleof the men

'

s side, sat Whittier,areverent figure, hisintel lectual head stand ing out with almost startl ingprominence. There wasaBible Class after meeting,but Whittier decided my husband must rest

,so he

carried him 03and taking him up to his own bed

room made him lie down and carefully covered himup . I can sympath ise with thee

,

"he said

,for I

have had much toothache,and I never consultedadentist in my life . As aresult he had notatoo thleft in his mouth

,which agood deal marred the

expression of the lower part of his face . At dinner

he was very charming, carving the joint of meathimselfand tellingmanyanecdotes . One I remember

wasabout the building of the new meeting house atAmesbury. He was on the building committee, but

hearing that some Friends feared that he might bu ildthem too “

gay ahouse, he determined to be on

the safe side, and so selectedaQuakerarchitectandaQuaker carpenter to do the work. The resu lt was,as he gleeful ly told us

,that the house when finished

was even too plain for the objectors I Weagain hadadelightful talk,and when the time came forafter

Act. 34. wmm sa's LOVE FOR CHILDREN. 163

noon meeting, he said that Henriettamust by no

means go. She had had enough meeting foralittlegirl ,and must now stay with himandwithanother ch ildof her ownage who was there . He chose out books

andaBible puzzle for these children,and came in

twice wh ilst we wete gone to seeafter them, showingas much anxiety for their comfort as if they hadbeen honored guests. On our return to Baltimore myhusband wrote to my brother

Baltimore,Ioth mo. 1888.

MY Du n WILLIAM ,Weareall settled inagainafter our summer travels .

They were tome veryinte restingas I hadan opportunityot’

becom

ingacquainted withanumber ofFriends . Ofcourse the mostnoteworthy thing ofthis kindwas our visit toWhittier . We wereat his house twice and were receivedand treatedas thoughwe were old friends . In conversation he was most openandeasy . Whittier is one ofthose old men who keep their practicalfaith bright to oldage . He isagenuine optimist. He spokeagood deal of the oldanti-slavery days . I asked him if he

did not, at that time , often get di scouraged. Heanswered ,

“Oh, no, we knew we were right, and that gave us courage

and hepe .

” He is very sweet-spiritedand gentle , but much

grieved over the departures from Friendly ways in the Westand elsewhere

CHAPTER XI I I .

A new home— Baltimore friends— The Yearly Meeting describedResume ofwork &c. to 1 886 .

1 883— 1 886. Aetat. 29— 32.

BY theautumn of 1 883 the experiment of resuming

p ractice was proving so far satisfactory that we feltjustified in moving into alarger house where myhusband might haveaconsulting room . His familymoved with us

,and the new home

, 714, North HowardStreet

,where weall resided for the next seven years,

was so elasticand so near to the meeting house that itqu ickly becameausefulau x iliary to the meeting work.

It was conveniently situated on one of the principalstreetsand onlyabout two-thirds ofam ile from the

business centre of the city. I thus described our

surroundingsafew years later for the benefit ofmy

family in England.

Howard Street is through most ofits lengthabusiness street ;its brick pavements (side walks we call them)are , however,bordered with trees. which makeapleasant shade in summer.

The houses stand on the street withoutany grass or railings infront. Three or four difierent tram lines runalong HowardStreet ; many small houses , shops,and p rovision warehouses

161

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t66 RICHARD H . THOMAS. M.D. 1 88 3.

centre, isat the corner ofthe two streets immediately southandwest ofus . As was naively remarked by one ofthe family whenwe first moved here , We can start two minutes after meetingtime ,and yet get there punctually .

" It is notamode l meetinghouse byanymeans ,and we live in hope s of havinganew one

some day, still, for convenience ofposition it could not, so farasweare concerned, be improved upon,and I neverappreciatedasI have done during the past few years the value ofthat passagein the Discipline which recommends Friends in selecting the irresidences to consider the nearness to meetingasavery important point .The Un iversity herealluded to, with its large stafi of

Professors, was the centre of much of the l iteraryactivity ofBaltimore,and Friends had from the first

been closely connected with its history. Francis T.

King, james Carey Thomas,and Francis Wh ite were

trustees ; and Professor j . Rendel Harris, Dr. PaulHaupt

,Professor G. H . Emmottand other Friends

were either then or in the years immediately fo llowingamong its Professors .

Francis T. King wasaman ofwideand statesmanl ike mindand exce l lent judgment in busin essaffairs.

j ohns Hopkins, the founder of the University, hadbeen originallyaFriend, but had lost his membershipby engaging in the liquor business . He alwaysattended meetings,and when he conceived the ideaofappropriating some ofhis m illions to the founding of

the Un iversityand the Hospital , he turned to FrancisKing foradvice . It was owing to Francis King's farsighted wisdom that these two noble institutions were

planned upon such lines that from the first they tooka

Act . 39. FRANCIS T. K ING. 167

place in the foremost rank. He travel led widely inEnglandand on the Continent, examiningand comparingall the newestand best hospitals before decidingupon the designs for the hospital . F . T. King wasalso largely interested in the well-being of HaverfordCollege, Penna, and of Guildford College , North

Carolina,and when Dr. joseph Taylor wished to endowaco llege for women he

,too , turned to Francis King

for advice, the result being Bryn Mawr College, theforemost Women

’

s College in America.But the comparatively smal l affairs of Bal timore

Yearly Meeting were justas clear to Francis Kingasthese larger interests . For more than twenty years heactedas its clerk,always with the greatest moderationand consideration forall,and the warmest sympathywithallmovements that were proposed foradvancingthe work. He told me once that his greatambitionhad been to preach the Gospel ,and though he had not

felt h imse lf cal led to th is, he loved to encourageandhelp on the young ministers,and was never too busy toenter into the interests oftheir work.

Dr. james C . Thomas, too , wasaman ofbroad outlookand wide culture . Asaminister he was remarkab le for variety ofsubjectand freshness of thought.

He was agreat lover of young men and alwaysattracted them . He had started

,years before,aboys’

meetingat Light Street on Sundayafternoons, whichwas real lyaSunday School for boys, with classes ranging from l ittle tots to grown-up young men

,and withanaverageattendance ofsome two or three hundred .

168 RICHARD n . ram s, m i . 1 88 3.

At th is time,and unti l his death in 1 897 , he was President ofthe Bal timore Young Men '

s Chr istian Association . His wife, Mary Whitall Thomas, wasalsoaveryattractive m in ister. She hadatireless energyandan eager longingafter spiritual blessing that led her towish to tes t for herselfevery system that seemed to

promise more grace or power. Her heart overflowedwith the love ofGodandayearning for souls . She

was iden tified with the work ofthe Womans’ ChristianTemperance Union,and had beenalmost from the first

its Pres ident in Maryland . During the winter thatMoody spent in Bal timore, she worked most earnestlyamong drinking men ,and was the means ofreclaim ingnumbers , so that one ofher friends remarked that itwasas muchasany man’

s character was worth to beseen conversing in the street with MaryThomas . She

and her husband were then in the prime oftheir power .

OfDeborah Thomasand ouraunt, j uliaValentine,my husband has spoken in his Remin iscences . Our

other m in isters at th is time were his sister, MarySnowden Thomas, who hadavery special giftas anevangelist , andanother woman Friend who se ldom

spoke. We had besides,many earnest workers, and

Rendeland Helen B . Harris were settled in Bal timore from 1 882 to 1 885. Al though Professor

' Harriswas not yetamember with Friends, he was, from the

first, welcomed by, and identified with , the work of

the meeting. He hadaBible Classat the Meetinghouse on First-day morn ings, whi chattracted manyChristians from other Churches ;and students of the

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rye RICHARD H . THOMAS; M.D. 1 883.

through the labors ofGeorge Fox and other Quakermissionaries from England, many persons j oined theSociety ofFriends .

Baltimore Yearly Meeting was first held in 1 67 1 ,

eleven years before Will iam Penn founded theadjacentcolony ofPennsylvania,and I believe only three yearslater than the first holding ofLondon YearlyMeeting.

‘

At the beginn ing ofthe nineteenth century there were

probablyabout three thou sand Friends in this part ofthe country, but it wasaslave Stateand the surroundings were not congenial, so thatagreat many wentWest to the newer settlements . ln the troubles of

1 827-28 five-s ixths ofthe membersh ip is said to have

sided with E lias H icks . The wretched little body of

Orthodox in the McKendrie Schoo l House must havebeen small indeed, when myhusband’s father,as relatedin the Reminiscen ces, joined h imselfto it. But it con

tained men ofstrong independent characterand earnestfaith, and Baltimore Yearly Meeting held on its

waywith the pers istency wh ich isatrue characteristic ofQuakerism . The depleting process of emigration on

account ofslavery went on in other Statesalso ,and in1 845 VirginiaYearly Meeting having, in th is way,becomealmost extinct, the remains ofit were joined

to Baltimore, thus considerably extending its territory

though without much corresponding incrm e in

membership . Previous to this Baltimore had ex

changed with Philadelphiathe meetings ou the

Eastern Shore of Maryland for those in the

See Thomas’s History ofFriends ,

” p. 199.

Act. 29. BALTIMORE YEARLY MEETING. 17 !

“Western parts of Pennsylvania. Thus BaltimoreYearly Meeting has aterritory extending south to

North Carolina— bounded on the east by the

Chesapeake Bayand runn ing up north through Penn

sylvan iato New York State, and westas faras Ohioand Kentucky, say 400 miles from north to south,and zoo

,roughly speaking, from east to west

,

O

or

an areanearly equal to that ofGreat Britain . A

census of the membership was taken for the first

time the year ofour marriage, and it was found thatin this wide territory there were only 550 Friends .

Of theseabout 200 were res iden t in Bal timore,the

remainder being scattered in little groups inaboutten country neighborhoods, and two struggl ing city

meetings ;atRichmond, Virgin ia,andWashington D C .

Bal timore was thus much the smallestamongst thesisterhood offive Eastern Yearly Meetings , but wh ilst

three ofthe others have decreased in the last quarterofacentury, she in spite of great geographicalandother disadvantages, has more than doubled her

membershipand has opened up several new fields

ofwork, so thatat present instead of ten regularlyestablished and two allowed meetings, she hassixteen regu larly established meetings,andamembership oi

In “The Interchange for sth mo ., 1 886, R. H .

Thomas gives the following resumé ofthe conditions

and work up to that dateYearly Mee ting Minu tes , 1904.

m RICHARD H. THOMAS, M.D. x sss.

BALTIMORE YEARLY MEETING.

While discouragement or exaltation in Christian work areequally to be feared, this should not prevent us from makingacareful review ofthe way in which the Lord has led us

,to record

the blessingsand to see where the mistakes have been . The

time has come , I think, for us to make suchareview. It is noweight years since Baltimore Yearly Meetingappointeda“comm ittee on the interests ofour mee tingsand members ,"acommittee generally described as the “

one with along name.

”

This committee has since been divided into one on Pastoral care,and one on Education , but in some form it has been in operationever since

,being itselfan outgrowth ofaCommittee on General

Meetings . I start,however, with the Yearly Meeting of 1 877,

because the Committee thenappointed was the first for manyyears that undertookacarefuland systematic investigation ofthe

condition ofall our meetings ,and madeacensus ofourmembership. The object of the committee has been to develop theindividual meetings , the spiritual life ofour members ,and tobring the unconverted to Christ. In the prosecution oftheirworkthey have carefully refrained from departing from our principlesasaSociety , and have had no evangelists who have devotedtheir whole time to the work in the fie ld, nor deputedanyone tores ide in aneighborhood foralonger or shorter time for thebuilding up of the meetings . The work done under theirauthorisation has been by men who left their farms or businessforafew daysatatime,and by women who left their hardly lessengrossing home duties for the service .

The plan ofwork hasbeen to hold short series ofmee tingsand to follow these up byvisitsafterwards. The frequency of these has been limited bythe number ofavailable workers , and by the difficulties of the

field . The special meetings held have , without prearrangementor human leadership, been Characterized by great liberty forexpression in the congregation , though what are known asgeneral revival methods have not been used so faras Iamaware .

Where there has been singing, it has been entirely spontaneous ,

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Act . 32. RESUMEOF CONDITIONS. 173

and has , we believe , been kept in proper check. The importanceofits be ing done only under the immediate impulse of the HolySp irit, jus tasany other service , has been much dwelt upon . The

expenses ofthe committee have consisted in the mere trave llingexpenses of those who went under its authority, and in the

occasional hire ofrooms for meetings .

The field that lay before the committee was , in many respects ,adiscouraging one . The territory ofBaltimore Yearly Meeting,comprising large portions ofthree states, occup iesanareagreaterthan that ofEng iand, while its membership from the reports itreceived In 1878 was only 550. The large majority ofthe meetings were small, mostly In country neighborhoods,and but twoof these were sufi ciently near together to afiord each othermutual support by the intercourse of their respective memberswith oneanother . Asarule the meetings were twenty, forty orsix tymile sapart . Very few of them could be visited wrthoutmaking the arrangement several days beforehand, and thispreven ted many visits from being paid .

However, seal for the work,andasense ofthe great importanceofit, has led to the yearly reappointment of the comm ittee , andto continual labor. In this work we have also been he lped bythe visits ofFriends from other Yearly Mee tings, trave lling wi thminutes . The results have been adecided increase in the

religious life ofnearlyall our meetings ,andan increase in the

willingness oftheir members to engage in work in the Lord’scause . In regard to membership , it has increasedabout twiceas fast as the population ,and numbered at our last YearlyMeeting ( 1 885) 8 15 ,asmall number surely, but still lacking onlytén memhers ofbeing halfas manyagainas it was seven yearsbefore ,an increase wh ich we be lieve will compare favorably withthat ofany other body ofFriends in the world .

We therefore consider that , though many of the discouragingconditionsabove men tioned still prevail, we have great cause tothank Godand take courage .

” It would seem too , that workconducted distinctive ly on Friends’ principles has proved to be

174 RICHARD H. THOMAS. M.D. 1 883-1 893 .

asuccess ,and that the indicationsare to go forward on the samelines , trusting in the Lord. Only let us hear inmind, that genuineconsecrationand se lf-sacrificeare needed . Let us be will ing tosufier , or run the risk ofsufi ering . pecuniary loss onaccount ofthe time spent in the Lord’

s service,and way will open nowandagain , perhaps unexpectedly, to go 03 to labor in His name ,andas each one , so called , goes where he can, we shall find that theLord wi ll notallow His work to be neglected.

“Such work, writes Mary S. Braithwaite, “didindeed requirean ignoring of impossibilities,aspringing hOpe in the mighty power ofthe message ofGod'sloveand grace in Jesus Christ

,andan unfailing love

and patience towardsall sortsand conditions ofpeople.

Such qual ities my brother possessed,and he was thusenabled to takeanactive part in theadvance movement wh ich thrilled th is tiny Yearly Meeting in the

years between 1 882 and 1 892. There were severalother members of the Pastoral Committee who werealso eagerand faithful workers ,and blessed were themeetings held in some old Meeting-house or in some

room more conven iently situated for the scattered congregations.

The cl ear presentation ofGospel truth , the earnestappeal to the heartand conscience of the hearers,and then the simple testimon ies of new life

received : boys and gir ls tel ling of the joy of being

found by the Good Shepherd and hearty confessions

of surrender from older people, made the place of

meetingahal lowed spot. Then would comealongdrive over rough roads to some lonely home, or to visit

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RICHARD H. THOMAS. M .D.

istic ofthe workamong the country meetings p revi

ouslydescribed. Penelve, beautiful river (Norwegian)was in point ofnatural surroundingsand some localincidents, but not in its meetings, our own Bellefonte in

Pennsylvania. Robert Strongwood was, I think, a

p urely imaginary character .

CHAPTER XIV.

The Woman’s Medical College and M .S.T. visi t New

England—Letters— Acciden t to J . B . Braithwaite in CanadaA Sorry Company— I llnm — The Apostle Paul :

1 882— 1 884: Aetat : 28—300

SOONafter our return from England in 1 88 1, my

husband had beenasked to jo in withanumber of

other doctors who had just startedamedical collegefor women , the only one in Maryland . The College

(quiteasmal l one) withaHospital and Dispensaryattached, was now in operationand occupied much of

his thoughts .

His friend, Dr . Randolph Winslow who wasassociated with him in its faculty writes :Upon the founding of the Woman’

s Medical College of

Baltimore in 1882 , Dr. Richard H . Thomas was made ProfessorofDiseases ofthe Throatand Chest,aposition which he filledwith great success for eleven years , when the prospect ofaprotmctedabsence in Europe compe lled him to res ign it . He

accepted this appointment whilst sti ll ayoung man , anddevoted much timeand labor to his professorial duties .andwas deservedly one of the most pops tar instructors in the

school. Hi s interest in the medical educat ion of women wasvery great ,and he be lieved that they were capable ofbecoming

177

1 78 RICHARD H . THOMAS.aw . 1882 .

competent physicians , and that they ought to have properfacilitiesafiorded them for obtaining acareful theoreticalandpractical medical training .

The Woman ’s Medical College soonadap ted requirements

inadvance of those in the Schools for men,and in this efiort

to advance the standard of medical education Dr . Thomasplayed aconspicuous part . He was elected Dean of the

College in 1 884,and was most helpful in guiding the institutionthrough its early struggies and difi culties indeed but for his

fostering care it is probable that the school would have goneout of existence . In aretrospective view of his

workasaphysicianandamedical teacher, it can be truthfullysaid that hewas earnest , conscientiousand careful ,and broughtto bear on his profess ional workamind well trained, both in

medicaland general li terature .

When State Board examinations were establishedin Maryland, the students of the College tookahighrank ; twice in fact, once in Marylandand once in

Delaware, agraduate from the Woman '

s MedicalCol lege has headed the list (menand women) .

My husband treatedall women with peculiar defer:ence. Healwaysactedas though he considered theirwork quiteas importantas his own,and th is, I th ink,isapretty good test. He did not talk much aboutwomen

’

s rights, but in every-day life he championedand guarded their interests . The rights ofaco lleaguein the Facu lty ofthe College, or ofthe poorest patien tat his clin ic, or of the humblest servant girl, wereequally respected by him . His position as Dean

valued it because i t brought him into closer touch

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1 8s RICHARD 11 . THOMAS. M D. 1 334.

followed the poor patients to the door with the courtesy that hewould show his own private patients , frequently following themouts ide ofthe doorand on returning to the room hi s hand wouldbearranging his pocket. Italwaysamused the class that hewas so entirely unconscious ofour understanding perfectly wellwhyhe followed the poor person out ofsight.Every girl in the College knew Dr. Richard Thomas to be her

friend,and many were poorand home-sickand in need of justsuch sympathy as he bestowed with such tact and goodjudgment.His cheerfulnes'sand de licate sense of humoralways made

friends .

FROM A FORMER STUDENT.

The last chapter is finished , the book reluctantly closed but

the influence ofhis gentle, godly life wi ll liveas longas we whoknew him ,and, I pray , longafter, by our extending the samekindly help to those wi th whom we come in contact.

The letter sent to me by the Trustees,after his death,may ~also find aplace here

,as it shows how my

husband'

s character impressed these med ical col

leagues with whom he was brought into very closecontact inabusiness way.

WOMAN'

S MEDICAL COLLEGE OF BALTIMORE.

BALTIMORE , MD. , FEB . 1,1905.

Orrrcs or THE DEAN.

MY DEAR MRS . THOMAS ,At ameeting of the Trustee s of the

'

Woman’s Medical

College of Baltimore , held some weeksago , the undersigned

members were in structed by the Board to express to you ,and toen ter on the minutes , the ir realisation of the great loss theCollege has sustained in the removal ofks late Dean .

Act. 30 . RELIGIOUS VISIT TO NEW ENGLAND. 18 1

Dr . Thomas’s personal qualities of mind were peculiarlysuited to make himamost helpful teacherand trustedadviser tothe students ofthe College .

He gave unsparingly ofhis timeand strength to promote itsinterest. Through his wise guidance the College was conductedsafely throughacritical period in its history,and is now enabledto look forward to increasing usefulness in the future .

The reputation ofthe College is inalarge part due to the highidealsand devoted Christian character ofDr. Thomas .

His life will ever bean inspiring example to thoseassociatedwith him, either as teachers or students

, and his memoryaprecious heritage ofthe Institution .

We remain ,

Very sincerely yours,

J . H. M . KNOX , JUN

H . WARREN Ec LER ,

S. GRIFFITH DAvrs .

In the summer of 1 884 my husbandand his sister

spent amonth in religious laboramongst the Meetings be longing to New England Yearly Meeting .

They on ly visited about six different places, stayingfrom three days toaweek in each , but very b lessed

resultsattended thework, especially in the convictingofChristians foradeeper work ofgraceand in unit

ing some who had been at variance. There were

som e conversionsalso, but, as my husband wrote inone placeOh, that the Lord would use us to bring _

His own children toHim . I do be lieve that the work must begin there before manyothers san be brought in .

13: R1c11ARD H. THOMAS; M.D. 1 884 .

It wasaperiod oftransitionamong Friends in NewEngland and in some places “Pastors ” were beingintroduced ,and there was much unrestand differenceofopin ion . My husband’s position on th is point of

Pastors is so well known that it may be interesting tosee how heacted when brought face to face with it.

Under such circumstances he wouldalways say more

when speaking directly to the individual from whom

he differed , than he would say ofhim toathird party.

The third party, one, for example, with whose viewsDr. Thomasagreed, m ight come to him in ex p ec

tation offinding hearty sympathy in his complaintsagainst the Pastor.

” No such thing. Without in the

least retreating from his own position, my husbandwould yet discourage complaint, and urge the impor

tance ofloveand forbearance,and of efforts to enlist

the Pastor in work on more satisfactory lines .

So it was now. At one place visited, M icajah M .

Binford ,avery sweet spiritedandable m inister fromthe West

,had been installedas Pastor.

‘

Ofth is he wrote to me

The exercis ing part of our vi sit to was thatM icajah M . Binford is there as the recogn ised Pastor , andis supported as such . He is avery nice man- ofaverytender spirit.and is , I believe ,aconsecrated Christian . I didnot feel easy not to speak to him about the matter, so heand Ihadaquiet timealone . It began with prayer on the part of‘He died in the prune of lifeabou t three yearsago, and my

husband felt i tagreat privilege to beable to m i nister to himfessionally.

whenafew months before his death we me tat e

Mohonkand he was v ery su fiering . They still disagreed heartilyas to methods . but were very congenialand umted i n spi ri t,

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1 84 RICHARD H . THOMAS. M.D. 1 884.

9th mo . znd , 1 884.

The Lord was verygood to usat — and l think theFriends were really helpedand led toacloser trust in the Lordand nearer together,andat least two were converted,and so we

fee l thankful . Two sounds very few, but in that meeting themain effort ,as in fact it was inall the meetings in NewEng landwhere we have been , has had to be directed to the Cherch ,the believers needing to be stirred up and consecrated andunited before the time for ingathering came .

The closing meeting thi s morning in wasawonderfultime . The meetings have had the efiect ofopening the eyes ofseveral to see their own conditionand to get out ofit by yielfiagto the Lord. The messages I had to deliver were very searching,and often severe , so that Ialmost wondered ifthe hearers wouldstand it. Mary told me that though they were severe there wasgreat man ifestation oflove in them,

forwhich I feel very thankful .She often spoke wonderfullyand with much illustration,and whatshe said hadagreat hold on the people .

9th mo . 3rd , 1 884.

To-daywasaremarkable oneat Mary paid twofami ly visits and so did I. She hadaremarkable timeat bothplaces . The first place where I went (Mary will tell theeabout hervisits ) I talked to the wife ofone ofthe Friends there (herselfnotamember) on consecration . She was much broken down but couldonly say she would try, when Iasked her ifshe would give herse lfup to the Lord . I did not urge herbut laid the subj ect beforeheras clearlyas the Lord enabled me and prayed with her .

After meeting this p .m . she said to me , I can say ‘Yes’

now

to your question,"for which I praised the Lord.

The second visit wasapparentlyaccidental. I wasabsorbedwith thoughts suggested by the visit just paid , and thought Iwas going into the house where we were staying ,and tried to

Aet. 30. ACCIDENT TO I . B . BRAITH'WAITE . 185

open the door, when the Friend who lived there Opened itand inI walked, thinking she wasavisitorat and did not dis

cover my mistake ti ll I got in . Then she asked me to stay ,which I did, and we hadamost favored time , ending in prayerand in her breaking into tears. I foundafterwards that she hasthe reputation ofbeingahardand unapproachable woman, whw e

apparent Christian virtues cons ist inacertainamount offaithforherselfandagood deal oftruthand but little love in regard toothers . If I had not gone in in that way no visit would havebeen paidatall. P .M . said, “Well , Richard , there is no mis

takeabout it, thee certainly is guided to which I replied that itwas clearlyacase ofleading the blind byaway that they knewnot.

My husband had been very poorly with rheumatismseveral times during the journeyand scarcelyab le toproceed ,and was looking forward to restand home

,

when, justas they were leaving for the train that wasto take them to Bal timore,atelegramarrivedaskinghim to go to Piston, Ontario, where my father, J . B.

Braithwaite, then on avis it to Canadaas one ofadeputation from London Yearly Meeting, had just met

withavery serious accident. Onarriving two dayslater, he found that my father had been flung fromacarriage uponaheap of stones in adeep ditch

,and

severely bruisedabout the headand face,and hadalsosufferedabad compound fracture ofthe wrist. It wasthree weeks before he was considered strong enough to

travel,and by that time my husband’s rheumatism hadreturnedand he was very poorly. With the help of

William Robinson,another member ofthe deputation ,

however, they contrived to reach Baltimore,and

186 RICHARD H . THOMAS, M.D.

Richard, relieved ofresponsibility,and restored to the

comforts ofhome, revived after some days ofacu teillness .

The weekafter theirarrival,atelegram informed us

that our stepmother,Deborah C . Thomas

,then in

attendanceat IndianaYearly Meeting, hadalso beenthrown fromacarr iageand had broken her leg. Our

faithful cousin, Tamm ie M iller, was despatched to

bring her home,and soonanother ward wasadded toour Hospital ”at Howard Street.My brother William came from England to help us,and for weeks he tended myfather most faithfully, butthe recovery was extremely slowand painful . “The

Apostle Paul ,”along poem begun duringajourney inthe East the preceding year, was his solace duringthese weeks ofillness,and we had many pleasantandamusing evenings, when he would read,and weallwou ld sit roundand criticise it. We flattered ourselvesthat we reallyassisted in its composition .

It was well that the cheery spirits did notflag, forsickness seemed to pursue us thatautumn . Ouraunt,j ul iaValentine, had one of heralarm ingattacks of

catarrhal pneumonia,and Henriettaand I mustadd to

the fam ily troubles by developing whooping cough .

This,however, was notuntil near the end ofmyfather’s

visit. He gathered strength very slowly,and with hiswounded arm he greatly dreaded the return voyage .

Late in December heand my brother left us, beinghastenedat the end by news that my mother had hadanother haemorrhage .

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1 88 RICHARD H . THOMAS, u p . 1334 ,

and no tru ly concerned Christian heart wanted that,or else we must give up our preconceived notions.

”

“New l ife,” they said, “requires new channels to

work through. Let us not hesitate when God is

cal l ing. Other Christiansare saving sinners bymeansof revival services , with mourners’ benches, etc.

,andbesides

,there is aneed for clear teachingand for

preachers who can giveall their time to thework. We

must doas others do,and we too shal l be madea

blessing. Th is was the other horn of the dilemmaand the one which we were urged toaccept.Northand southand west ofus the people lis tenedand be liev ed . New methods were adopted andhundreds, nay thousands, were be ing brought to the

Lordandadded to the Church . Only Philadelphia,the hermit Yearly Meeting, held on her wayaloofandsilent

‘an instance, so said the leaders, ofthe resul t of

cl inging to the first horn ofthe dilemma.The exponents of th is doctrine came to Baltimore.

They preached in our meetings, they warmed our

hearts with their love and zeal for God, they toldus in publ icand in private that ifwe wanted to see

souls brought into the Kingdom there was nothing for

it but to doas they were do ing.

B ut my husband said, Brothers, youare mistakenthere is no dilemma. B ut there isaproblem,and theproblem is to find out how toapply the principles ofQuaker ism ,

which,"said he, “I take to be no other

than the pure truths ofthe Gospel, to the needs of th is

nine teen th cen tury. With the help ofGod,

"he she ,

Act. 30 . QUAKER POLITICS . r89

we wil l try to do it, here in Baltimore Yearly Meeting,and for the furtherance of our workand the bettersetting forth ofthese principles , we will start aYearlyMeeting paper ofour own .

"

Heand his sister were to edit it jointly,and j ohn R.

Cary, Treasurer of the Provident Savings Bank,was the Business Manager. It was named “The

Interchange,” and wasasmal l monthly sheet,at first

only four pages . Other Friends encouragedand helpedthem

,but some ofcourse had doubts .

From the first editorials we quoterzth mo. , 1884.

The express ion s ofheartyapproval received since we sent outthe prospectus of The Interchange ,” about three weeksago ,have greatly confirmed us in the beliefthat suchaperiodical isreally needed .

The position ofourYearly M eeting is unique . Geographicallyone ofthe largest east of the Alleghenies , it is numerically one

ofthe smallest. Asaconsequence, the particular meetingsare,asarule , too farapart for helpfuland free interchange ofvisitsso that Friends from one ofthese— shall we call them islands of

Quakerism — seldom see those from another , exceptat the

Quarterlyand Yearly Meetings . But, though these occas ionsare mos t helpfulas we meet togetheras brethren beloved ,andare strengthened by oneanother’s faith, theyare too infrequent ,and many ofour members cannotavail themselves ofthem .

This little paper is designed still further to strengthen the bondsoflove that bind the whole ofour scatteredmembership together

,

by enablingall to maintainan intelligent interest in theafiairs ofevery part serving as atrue INTERCHANGE of news andthought ; so thatall may rejoice togetherat the special bless ingthat may come uponany one meeting,and sympathise together

190 RICHARD H . THOMAS. ht D.

AndagainOur firstattention will be devoted to that which may seem

calculated to promoteand encourage spiritual life,and to furtherChristian efiort. In doing this we shall , from time to time ,illustrateand support those doctrines whichare usually regardedas distinctively held by Friends

,for we hold them , not as

theories, butas truths peculiarlyapplicable to the needs of the

iCllurch and the world at the present day, and thoroughlyadapted to the exigencies ofChristian work. Ouradvocacy of

them is , ofcourse , entirely unofficial , no one be ing respons iblefor our utterances but ourselves . At the same time we be lievethat the position we maintain is in full harmony with the greatprinciples ofour Society.

“The Interchange soon becamean eight page paper,and finally forabout halfayear,asixteen page one.

It was carried on for four years, but the last enlargement was too much . My husbandand his sister bothhad too many other duties upon them to carry on (withvery little outside help) so largeapaper,and, in theautumn of1 888 it was regretfully given up .

Rendel Harris wrote on th is occasionPlymouth, England,

8thmo . 34th , 1888.

My dear Friend,My mind has turned often thy way lately, and

Baltimore way, the main reason being, I suppose , the gapthat has been made inall our ranks ,’ and the rent inall ourgarments : ( so faras rending of garments isallowed, which isnever asacrament except for the sake of entering into the

griefs ofothers read j oband his fri ends for the hypocriticalside of the sacrament ,— “ they rent their garments and sat

Theallus ion is to the death ofMaryW. Thomas

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1192 RICHARD H . m om s , nu ) . t884 .

sth mo . , t887.

A DIFFICULT CASE.

(Note —The Edi tors had some hesitation in regard to thisarticle onaccount ofits being so different in style from what isgenerally found in “The Interchange .

"But on considering the

matter they have decided to insert itas, though unusual in type,

it is written inathoroughly goodand pleasant temper. Theyhope those who read it willagree with their decision .)

Yes, he was in failing health—at least his neighb ors andmany ofhis chi ldren thought so . They had noticed the changefor some time. Indeed it could not fail to be noted, for he wasaman ofsome prominence, and had made quiteastir in his

earlier days , in spi te ofagood deal of rough usage . But,

though sti ll in the prime of life,he had been declining for

some years , and had grown strangely quiet and un like his

former se lf,and kept so; much to himself that now few wouldhave recognised the young enthusias t in the settled man he

had become .

‘

Not that he had forgotten hi s earlyactivities.Othem might do thag but not he . He set great stors by them,

and was very careful to be true to his record , and faithfullyadhered to the style oflivingand fi dress he had thenadopud.

Evennow, when some great moral question, like that ofantislavery or temperance , came up , some of the old fire wou ldreturn ; but he was not the active promulgator and heraldhe had ‘

once been ofthe wonderful message that his King hadgiven him acommiss ion to proclaim to all men . Somethought he had lost the commiss ion .

But oflate he had seemed to realise hi s condition, and hadbecome restlessand feverish,and had tried various remedies, but

with only partial success . His neighbors , who had forgotten howroughly they once had used him,

felt s incere sympathy for him.

He had beenauseful man in his day,"they said. Poor fellow ,

"

saidanother, it is nowonder he has broken down . Tbe trials thathe has had have been enough to killanyordinaryman. When

Act . 30. A DIFF ICULT CASE . 1193

his son Elias went ofi it nearly broke his heart,and folks saythere is no end ofdiscussionand party spirit in his family now.

Each side claims to be the one their father loves the most ,and between them he isalmost torn in pieces . He wroteagreat deal too , when he was young,and his children have gothold of his books ,and they quote passages of themagainsteach other to prove heagrees with them

,and some ofthem havemade him say the exact opposite ofwhat he really did say ;f.andafew have gone so faras to call them ‘

trash before hisface . He is heart-broken— that’s whatails him .

”

Well ,”

saidanother, Ialways knew he would come tonothing. Those high spiritual views ofhis won’t work.

”

But what will become ofhis children ifhe dies ? ”Oh, they wi ll be scattered, ” saidanother.

“They’re thinnedoutagood dealas it is . M r. Pope will take afew, and Mr.

Calvin’s family will have some , but the most , I think, will go

either to M r. Ep isc0pos , M r. Dipper, or Mr.Wesley Bishop ._

“That will beagreat change for them; won’t it ?

We ll , not so muchas you might think. A goodmanyfhwebeen seen making visits to M r. Dipper’s pond, and some haveeven got into it . There has been great talk of diggingapondon the old gentleman’

s own place , but they have not done thatyet. They have borrowed Mr. Wesley Bishop’s books andbenches ,and some havealreadyadopted parts ofthe uniform of

Mr. Ep isc0pos . So while some will feel strange they will soonbe used to their new surroundi ngs .

“Don’t preach the old gentleman’

s funeral sermon till he’sdead, ” put inabystander.

“Some of the children say he isnot so near his endas you think . They have sent for the mostfamous doctors . There theyare driving up now.

”

As he spoke , three physiciansalighted from the carriage thathad met themat the station , and walked up the steps of the

mansion , which though simple in style , was well built, andElias Hicks. the leader ofthe Hicksi te Separation.

194 RICHARD H . THOMAS. u p . 1 334

had no cracks , for it was founded uponasolid rock. Theywere shown up to the room where the patient was sitting.

Around him were strewed pamphletsand periodicals containingsuggestions for the carrying on ofhis familyafiairs

,andanum

ber of recent volumes on early Church history . Arrangedaround on the shelves were many old-looking books , mostlywr itten by himself in former years . They looked somewhatdusty, as though he himself did not value themas muchasmight have been expected . As they entered

,he looked up from

asmall book, which sought to prove from his own writings thathe hadalways maintained the very doctrinesand practices thathe had constantly objected toall his life . A few of the old

books from the shelves were near him,and he wasabout to see

whether he ever could have made such blunders . But he

pausedas the physiciansapproached,and holding out his hand,said :

“You are welcome . I want you to show me how torecover my lostactivity . I begin to see that I have been tooquiet. Some ofthe old fire burns within me ,and yet I know not

how to return to myold work, for Iam hampered on every side .

I have sought to be faithful, but I have been too se lf-centred. Ihave had so manyadvisers ,and have tried so many medicines ,that Iamalmost discouraged.

”So saying , he openedacup

board,and showedanumber ofbottles. I never was so well,”he continued, “as when I was using those bitter drugs on the

top shelf,and those stimulatingapplications . They werealwaystaken unwi llingly,andadmini stered by unfriendly hands , butthey kept meactive .

"

The doctors lookedand read the faded labelsand cop ies ofoldprescriptions . One was “The Distilled Essence of Calumny .

A tumblerful night and morning as directed .

” Another ,Water ofDisgrace . Ten drops in vinegar, to be taken threetimesadaywith the bread ofamiction .

" Beside these bottleswere prescriptions directing external applications , suchas theactual cauteryand the scourge ,andalso directions for change ofresidence to such health resortsas Lancaster Gaol, etc.

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x96 RICHARDaTHOMAS. 1m .

can never relieve him ifhis m ind continues inastate ofunrest,as it is now.

”

“We must tell him, said Dr. Backwardglance , “ that thatwas only for his earlier years ,and he must not think of suchathing.

”

“But he wouldn’t bel ieve us , nor would it be true. And. in

any case , it is notaccording to my j udgment for his health . Ithink your p lan would hardly proveasuooess.

”

.

“You mightas well give him poisonat once , Dr. Backwardglance ,as your prescrip tion ,and then emhalm himand put himinaglass case ,” broke in Dr. Whatshallieallhhn.

“What hewants is thorough change . Iamalmou inclined to tell him to

move out ot his mansion . It has not the modern conven iences.What he wants is to see that his familyare in good orderandhimselfto be underanurse. No wonder he is worn out with this

work. Then he ought to live more like other people. To thisend I would prescribe amixture containing one ounce of‘Ritualism,

’and three ounces of‘Priestcraft, ’ dissolved in fourounces each ofthe Elix ir ofLove ofChange,’andwater fromMr.

Dipper’s pond. Let him haveatablespoonful three timesaday.

I t’

s apowerful alterative , I assure you. In s ix weeks youwouldn

’t know him for the same man .

“Not so fast , please ,” said Dr. Goodjudgment , quietly.

“Sachatreatmentas that wouldas likelyas not make himcrazy in the efiort to reconcile your methods with his King’sdirections , which tell him to have nothing to do withanyone of

the ingredients in your prescrip tion. I admit that they haveseemed to work we ll in the case oe . Episcopos ,and some

others whom you treated. But both the oonotitutionand dis

order ofour patientare so very unlike theirs , that you cannotargue anything from that . Now, I suggest that weadvisemore sunlight. I shouldalso have him carefully consider his

commission, which, while it marks out the kind of work he

is to dm indicates also the very best means to preserve his

Act. 30 . A mm cm r case . my

lected to liv eaccording to it . This is why heallowed him.

se lf to become so quiet . Then , when he became uneasy , heconsulted his neighbors instead ofhis Master. Depend uponig there isagreat deal ofvitality in him yet. His pulse is good ,

and I cannot find any real diseaseabout him. But, thoughhe did not tell us so , he has taken medicine from Mr . Calvinand Mr. Dipperand Mr.Wesley Bishop,allat once . I knowit, for I saw the bottles, and his stomach is up set by it. Noman ever got well that way. Let him stop all that and livehygiemcally. Dr. Backwardglanceadvises Elixir of Quiet ism .

’

It isavaluable remedy (though its proper name is ‘Elixirof Genuine It will do him good, if he canp eocure the genuinearticle , but thereare many spurious sampleson the market . The only reliable kind is that made strictlyinaccordance with the recipes in our great Text Book . One

of the best accounts of it is found in the fourteenth toseventeenth chapters of the fourth book ofthe second volume .

But do not give himadrop of the ‘Tincture of Exclusiveness .

’

I have never seen that drug haveany good sheet ,and Iamsurprised that you should recommend it. It is notareliablepreparation , but asubstitute for the ‘Tincture of Separationfrom theWorld,

’ which, you know , is prepared from the fresh

leaves of the Tree ofLove to Godand man ,and the fresh leave sofhumilityand obedience . Let him take that byall means .

Let him dres s e s he pleases , so he be warm enough,and donot confine him to his well beaten paths . Theyare too lonelyand too much in the shade. He needs to go outand minglewith others.

”

But,”rejoined Dr . Whatshallicallhim , he must be re lieved

ofhis cares. He needsanurse ,and his children need one , too,

to lookafter themand feed them regularly . Now there is Mr .

Shepherd, out ofemploymen t ,andapplying foraposition . He

isamost valuable man , and be longs to the same fam ily thathave served in the houses of-Mr . Pep e , Mr . Calvin ,andall therest so long and well . He would set everything straight in

x93 RICHARD H . THOMAS. M.D. 1334

no time , and he would greatly increase the influence of our

patient s family .

”

“This is not what is needed, said Dr. Goodj udgmen t.

The man does not require anurse . It would make him aconfirmed invalid. He is quite strong enough to

' take care of

himselfand his children too. He needs exercise and freedom.

Besides , ifyou hired Mr. Shepherd, he would give him even

stronger medicine than you suggest. I never knewamemberofhis fam ily who did not carryabottle of Wine of Ritualismin his pocket to give to his patients.

”

But the children must be taughtand fed.

Certainly, but they can teachand help each other ; andperhaps you forget that the Head of the Great UniversitySchool comes every day to teachand feed each one of them ,

and he sometimes commissions one and sometimes anotherto carry his messagesand presents to the rest. Then, iftheyare quiet, he often teache s and feeds them himse lf. M r.

Shepherd would not encourage this . Their present sys tem is

the bes tand freest in the world, ifthey will only use it. Finally,let our patient take freely of the ‘Waterand Bread ofLife

,

’

and liveaccording to his commissionand our great Text Book ofHygiene .

”

From this both the others dissented , from opposite reasons ,and the discuss ion was greatly prolonged , much to theannoyance ofthe patient , who wasanxiouslyawaiting the ir decis ion .

Theywere sti ll discus sing when my informant left, but he thoughtthey were gradually coming round to Dr . Goodj udgment

’

s

opinion . R[I]CHD H[E]NRY T[n]ouas .

'

6th Mo. , 1 888 .

LOVE, FAITH AND HOPE ,

AS SHOWN FORTH IN OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST.

Ifthere is one thing more thananother that the true followerofthe Lord Jesus is glad to layemp has is uponandneverwearies oftelling, it is the Love ofGod in our SaviourJesus Christ . From

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zoo RICHARD 11 . m om s, M .D. 1 334.

case into the hands ofour Saviour , we may be sure that He hasnot lost hope for us , that He has faith that weare to be broughtinto His image . This is not to be done byanyfatalistic process ,but by the operations ofHis Spirit on our spirits ,and weare not

to lie back, saying that He will perform the work that needs to bedone in us , for so longas we do this the work of grace in our

hearts wi ll stop . But when we do really yield to Him in passivesubmissionand inactive obedience , we realize that there is no

further need for discouragement, for no matter how inept pup ilswe may be, He does not give up His faithand hop e for us , butpatiently is teaching us to know His voice and to liv e His lifeafter Him . I say that this thought isavery inspiring one for us .

When we are travelling with anyon e who is our guide , our

courage is to agreat extent dependent upon his . If he

acknowledges himselfto be lost , weat once loseall hope , but ,ifheassures us thatall is going well , we , ifwe have confidencein him ,are satisfiedand encouraged , even though it seems to usthat everything is going wrong ; and because ofthe hopefulnessofour gu ide , weare hopefulalso . How inspiring to the scholaris it when the teacher says that he has faith in him that he willmakeagood student , how it stimulates him to fresh ex ertions .

So does the fact that our Lord has faith for us stimulate usandtakeawayall ground for discouragement, so longas wearetrusting Himand being obedient to His will. The fact that ourcase difl'ers in this from that of the scholar, in that our growthdepends so much more on the strength of our Teacher ,and so

much less on our own exertions than does his , isacause for us totake heart, for He will not fail us .

Does not this hopefulness of our Lord’

s haveanapplieetion toour work ? It is said ofHim that He shall not fail nor be discouraged till He bring forth judgment unto victory. Ifwe havethe faithand hope ofChrist , we shall not lose heartat the mostdiscouraging circumstances that may beset us. As we meetpersons, who seem toall humanappearance to be hopeless of

reformation , we can look upon themas those for whom the Lord

Act. 30 . THE INTERCHANGE.

”30 1

is working ,andas He lays them on our hearts to labor with, wecanapproach them with the hope , that is , with the faith for thefuture , that He will not let the word that He has gim us to

speak in His name return to Him void.

This is the greatantidote to the habit of the present day of

looking on the dark side . We cannot takeahopeless view of

things , when we know that our Lord takesahopeful view , thatHe is not discouraged . What is needed is for us to realize this

and to make others realize it. Theaccomplishment ofour Lord’

s

work waits ti ll the faithand hope of each mananswers to HisR. H . THOMAS .

rzth mo. 1 886.

Inanswer to the question Will the Friends' Church starveout its ministers we would respond that the danger lies in thedirection ofastarved min i stry rather than ofstarvedmini ster s .

We know ofno better way ofstarving out the true gifts in the

min istry,or hindering their proper development, than toarrange

for settledand supported pastors over our meetings .

We may not shut our eyes to the object-lessonsaround us , we

mus t not shut our ears to the voice of Church history. The

ritualism ofto-day, the crammng ofspiritual gifts , excep t in cer

tain authorised l ines , the obscuration of the true and vitalbaptism ofthe Sp iritand communion of the bodyand blood of

Christ ,are the directand inevitable results ofturningaside fromthe simplicityand freedom ofthe early Church , where but one

headand master ofassemblies was recognized ,and the believerswere not divided into clergyand lai ty, butallalike were calledto be kingsand priests unto God.

1887.

Every man has his moments ofinsight, when he knowsand seesinto things eternaland divine . Every man ,also , has hi s seasonsofdepression, whenall thingsabout himare dark ,and he gropesfor light. Between these extremes thereare the daysand hoursWt

’

ll fha'

mds'

Church Starvc out its M im'

stm ? A tract byThos . D. Hubbard , Columbus, Ohio .

20s RICHARD H. THOMAS, M.D. r884.

when we walk along what seems to bearoutine path. The

difi erence between men is that some direct their course by the irmoments ofdarkness ,and their way is moreand more shrouded

in gloom some ignore both the heights and depths, and

the ir way is the way ofthe world ; while some, believing in the

dark what they have seen in the light , walkatall timesaccording to that light,andallow it tomumine their whole course ,andit is these whose path isas the path ofthe just,ashining l ightthat shineth moreand more unto the perfect day.

In trial or disappointment we often say thatwhat has happenedto us is exactly what is the hardest for us to bear,as it touchesus uponapoin t upon which weare pecul iarly sensitive. We for

get that in saying this weare reallyacknowledging that it isexactly the trial that we needed to develop us , and we shouldtherefore not complain , but be thankful.We have dwelt somewhatat length upon The Inter

change,” becausealthough it was onlyatiny YearlyMeeting paper, it wasavery important factor in bui lding up

-and binding together our membersh ip ;andmore than this, it had quiteacirculation outside of

Baltimore ,and to judge by the frequency with wh ichitsarticles were taken upand discussed in other Society

papers,what it said carried very decided influence . I

believe that some ofits criticisms ofthe new methods

went home even more closely than was in tended,andsome who did not personally know my husband's loving heart, formedanotion of him very far indeedfrom the truth . Others,again , who sympathized withthe Baltimore standpoint, but who felt themselves inahopeless m inority, rejoiced that what they believed tobe the truth shouldat last he compel lingattention .

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304 RICHARD H. THOMAS. M.D. i 835.

currents . He talked with leading Friends ofall shadesof thought, and had many opportunities also for

religious work. It may safely be said that th is visitwas helpful to him in the developmen t of his own

re ligious bel ief, andalso in making him more fully

acquainted with conditions of thought amongstEnglish Friends—avery useful preparation for his

own later work.A few extracts from letters to his family in America

may be given in il lustration of the varied interests of

the visit .

3 12, Camden Road, London.

oth mo. 39th, 1885.

Mr Du n MARY,Yesterday (First-day) morning, we went to West

minster M eeting. It was the first time I had seen the new

Meeting-house .

Allenand his family came up to dinnerand spent theafter.

noon . In the evening we wentagain to Bunhilland Rebeccaand her sister went with us . On the waywe stopped to see the

graves of Susannah Wesley, John Bunyan, Isaac Watts ,andDefoe . We hadafavored mee ting,and in theafter mee tingthere seemed to be some definite results. A young Friend of

wide influence who has been opposed to mission work , testifiedto great blessing rece ived in the meeting last week. At the

meeting last weekamau had said that he had been deliveredfrom drink but could not overcome his temper. After meetingI said to him , Have you ever looked upon your temper in the

same light that you looked upon the drink, that you had no

right to yield to it,and having thus given it up have you trustedthe Lord to deliver you P

" He said “No . Then I toldhim that that was the reason he had not been delivered.

Last night he said to me , “ I found out what you said last week

Am. 31 . LETTERS FROM ENGLAND. sos

was true. I had not been willing to knuckle down. Wheaasin the fighg l thought I hadaright to getangry—but I havegiven it upand been trusting the Lord

,and He has deliveredme ,and I have hadablessed week.

A young Friend who some few weeksago was converted was ,I think, enabled to give herself up to the Lord in dedicationandafter adeep struggle Opened her mouth in the meeting.

London,7th mo. 13th, 1 885 .

MY DEAR AUNT JULIA,

I wrotealong letter to brother Jame s telling him of

our having seen H .W. Sm ithat Lord Mount Temple ’s ,and of

ourattending the Annual Meeting of the Society for PsychicResearchat the rooms ofthe SocietyofBritish Artis ts . At Lord

MountTemple'

s we sawan origi nal picture by D . G. Rosetti . In

the Psychic mee ting the chief interest was in seeing F. W.

Meyers , theauthor o “ St ? I was reminded ofthe line fromthe poem “Only the dominance ofearnest eyes. It isagooddescription of theauthor’s own eyes , whichare very striking.

In theannual report the principal point wasaseri es of ex p eri

men ts which had been made in thought transference. Some of

the ins tances given were quite striking. It was interesting ,however , to notice that one ofthe men who had thi s power saidthat ayearago his health broke downandat the same timecameagreat loathing ofthe exercise ofhis power . Though heclaimed that his nervous breakdown was not specially due to it,I did notagree with him. It seems to me that the unnaturalexertion ofmind must beagreat strain.

C.and I went to Stoke Newington yesterdayandattended themorningand evening meetings . We took dinnerat S. A.andE. Tyler’s- my old friends teaat Wi lliam Beck’s,and supperafier the evening meetingatWm . Clarkson Allen’

s . I used tobe so muchat Stoke Newington when I was here ten yearsago,that it was very p leasant to be back thereagain ,and the Friends

we RICHARD H. m om s. M.D. m s.

wereall very kind indeed. Annaand mother went to Banburyon Seventh-day,and Iam to follow them thisafiernoon .

Banbury, 7th mo. 15th. Among other pleasant things

which have come in rather unexpectedlywas spendingan eveningat Uncle Charles Gillett’s with Thomas Hodgkin . He was mostinteresting

,and we talked onavariety of subjects— Buddhism

Japan— Christianity—Quakerism—andagreed well onall pointsraised.

London,

8th mo. roth , 1 885 .

MY DEAR MARY,Nextmorning [afterattendingaQuarterly Meet

ingat Alton— Em] I returned to Londonand met Annaat thestation ,and we proceeded together to the English Lakes , wherewe met Josephand Annieand spent the eveningand night wi ththemat Ambleside . Next daywe drove through Langdaleandpast Rydaland Grasmere,andalong the shores ofWi ndermere .

It wasabeautiful day. The views were splendid,and we were

all in good spirits , so that we hadamost enjoyable day. We

reached Kendalabout and found Aunt Susanand UncleCharles Braithwaite in good healthand spirits .

We hadamost enjoyable visitat Kendal . Uncle Charles laidhimself out for us and was entertainingand instructiveandsuggestive . We had long talks on methods ofserviceand on

building up Friends’

meetings and on doctrine. He is prettystrongly “

evangelicaand is slightlyanxiousabout some inthe Meeting there who object to the use ofthe words Subetitution,

"“Imputed Righteousness, etc . The conversation wassatisfactory ,and it ended in his giving us

“Dale on the Atonement,

"and Beet on Romans ,” and quiteanumber of otherbooks .

The nex t day we had four meetings,going out with Isaac

Brown toaMission Meetingat Grayrigg ,about five or six miles

from Kendal , in theafternoon . We took teawith himand talked

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208 RICHARD H. THOMAS: M .D. 1886

his home, largely for the purpose of trying to spreadthe Gospel message .

When they left us my husband wrote

TO M . C. WHITNEY

on her departure from Baltimore for Japanafteravis it with her

husbandafter their marriage, x st mo. 1886.

Dwell in thy Father’s house . Although no moreThou mayst go inand outas heretoforeThy Childhood

’s home

,although with joy, combinedWi th tender griefthou leavest it behindTo venture onaseauntried before ,Yet fear not ; richer blessings wait in storeAnd thou mayst still, tho’ onaforeign shore

,

Dwe ll in thy Father’s house .

Dwell in thy Father’s house . His tender careGuides thee , through human love ,and shows thee whereHis love would place thee . Tho

’He lead thee forthUnto the furthest regions ofthe earth ,He is thyHome, so fear not : know that thereI s thy one place ofgood

,ofanswered prayer,

WhereHe canall thyjoysand sorrows share :Dwell in thy Father’s house .

Dwell in thy Father’s house . We maynot readThe riddle ofthe coming years that speedMore swiftly than the weaver’s shuttle flies ;We know that God is strong, that He wi ll riseTo make thee strong to laborand succeed

In thyblest work ofsharing other’s need,And inall labor be thy rest indeed

Dwell in thy Father ’s house .

Act. 33 . A SERIOUS ILLNESS. 009

My brother George hadalready made usalongvisit when , in the summerand autumn of 1 883, he

was under my husband's treatment for the severe hayasthmafrom which he suffered . In the spring of

1 886 he came to us again , this time on his way to

Japan, where he was to undertake the duties ofAgent

for the Britishand Foreign Bible Society, in fulfillment ofalong cherished desire to devote himself toForeign M ission work.

This spring also my eldest sister Marthawasmarried

, and she, too, made usavisit during thesummer, wi th her husband, George S. Baker.

When they came,however, my husband was

extremely ill. A carbuncle of unusual severity hadresulted in general blood poison ing, and for weekshis life hung in the balance His illness ended inanattack ofrheumatism

,and it was not until August that

he could be moved, too weak to walk, and wastedalmost toaskeleton , toacottageat Ocean Beach,New Jersey, where our whole family spent severalweeks

Des cribing the mental experiences he passedthrough during this illness, he wrote to my. brother

oth mo. , 1 886.

I think illness givesachance, if it be severe enough andthe mind remains clear, to test the practical value of one’sdoctrines . While I was very illand thought it was very probableI should die , mym ind was naturally turned to the next worldand I thoughtagreat dealabout it quietlyand seriously. I sawhow extremely natural the two opposite doctri nes ofpurgatory

zro RICHARD H . THOMAS, M D. 1 886.

on the one sideand imputed righteousness on the otherare ,andhow they both re st on the same reasons . When we realizethe infinite purity ofGodand , judged by the final standard of

purityand righteousness , how far we fall short of it, the mindseeks to escape from the unpleasant conclusions these con siderations force upon it . Therefore we have on the one side

the doctrine ofaperiod ofpurification by fireafter death,andon the other side the doctrine that weare impure in ourselvesbut God views us in Christ ,andas He looks at Him He sees

no spot in us . As our s ins were imputed to Him,they say, so

His righteousness is imputed to us . Now I mustacknowledgethat I could not bring my m ind to believe that God could see

me other than I was ,and I could not wish Him to . I couldnot rest inany ideaofimputed without imparted righteousness.The doctrine ofpurgatory devoid ofanygross features, Iadmitwas far more attractive to me , but it is not sufi ciently sup

ported by Scripture . In regard to my own condition I knewI had the Lordand wasas far as I knew glven up to Him

for His control inwardlyand outwardly ,and that I was trust ingHim for His purification , and y et I did not for amomentthink that my purity or holiness were more than re lative .

They were not absolute in the sense that they did not need

afurther growth and development , and that they did not

need to haveafullerand deeper hold on my lifeand works .

The conclusion I came to,and it was to meamost restfulandsatisfactory one was this : Death would make awonderfulchange in my surroundings and in my powers and generalcondition. But I should sti ll be myselfand what was yetmore blessed, Christ would still be H imself. Whatever otherchange might come , I could not know less ofHim than Iknew then , He would beat leastas much to meafteras He hadbeen before death. My whole be ing rested on Him, whatevergoodm ss , strength or purity I had was from Himand in Him.

Death would open my eyes to see Himas He is . He wouldstill be my Saviour, my Redeemer , the Forgiver , the Cleanser.

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era RICHARD H. THOMAS, M.D. 1886.

The effects ofthis illness clung to my husband foryears in recurrences of painful abscesses and boils,but he worked on , and hisactivity in practice, inwriting, preaching,and in visits to country meetings,was never greater thanat this time.

“Are they Ordinances areply to David B .

Updegraf’s “The Society of Friendsand the Ordinances

,

”was published early in 1 886, and other

pamphlets, The Outlook,

”The Heavenly Language

and Liliesand Sparrows,were from time to time

written byhim or reprinted from “The Interchange.

"

CHAPTER XVII .

Views on Recreation—LimaM iss K ris X ingu—Ow Summer

— The Richmond Conference—A Record Yearly Mee tingMary White ll Thomas— Lines on the Death of M .W.T.

— A

Busy Life— Religious Visits to New England .

r886— r888 .

IT must not be thought that Richard Thomas's lifehad no room in it for recreation or for the play of

lighter fancy. His read ing was wideand varied,andfew could more pleasantly en tertainagroup ofyoungpeople or of congenial friends by choice selections

from the poets , oldand new,including the Calverley

Papers,"ofwhich he was very fond, or from Carlyle,Ruskin

,Mark Twain or Lewis Carroll. I remember

what fun we hadatalarge Christmas partyat HowardStreet whenahumorous story ofhis own, called “TenDollars in Change,” was the p ikee dc resistance of the

evening. From the medical standpoint he believedthat recreation wasas muchanecessity for the m indas rest is for the body,and he held that the Lord isasmuch interested in that part of our livesas inanyother . The love ofChrist in his heart was the touchstone which dominated his views upon this subject, for

m RICHARD H . m om s. M.D. washe strongly felt that we should consider the effect of

our recreations upon those who have to work in p ro

v iding them for us,and shouldavoid such as invo lveinjury to those who cater for us . I think it was thisconsideration which largely determined him in his

objection to the theatre.

In general be was very careful not to condemnanywholesome form ofrecreation in itself, but wouldaskeach one to decide independently in the sight of the

Lord, as to what he should al low himself in thisdirection .

Asaspecimen ofthe l ighter work ofhis pen we give

some linesaddressed,at Christmas, 1 886, to his l ittledaughter

LITTLE M ISS KRIS KINGLE.

(a. M . r .)

(Henriettacalls herself M iss Kris Kingle , and takes greatpleasure in devising secret presents for each member of the

family, and then on Christmas Eve she goes round with amysterious bag from which she fills the stockings that have beenpreviously hung up .

— Note by

Little M issKris Kingle , who can there be80 secretand busy with presentsas sheWhere can she have come from, hasanyone known ?And, what’s more important, where can she have gone ?For she hung up our stockings ,and then with great careLeftapresent oflove for each one ofus there .

I think that I heard her last night in the house ,

Withastepandatread that was not likeamouseAndavoice ,as I listened , fell sweet on my ear,Keep out

'

ofthe wayfor Miss Kris Kingle '

s here ,"

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3 16 RICHARD H. m om s , M.D. m,“

to be packed . Sketching materials , too , must go in somewhere,andafew ofHenrietta’s choicest treasures beg foradmission.

One small trunkand some valise sareall that can go this time.

Pack them quick in the sweltering heat ofour second hot spe ll.Now weare ready—at least Henriettaand Iare , she graspingher faithful doll Bess ie ,and I holding on toan extrajacket ortwoandabundle ofumbre llas. Our trunk is ready,and Dick’waits to drive Emm or back to his stable but where is Emperor,and where, oh !where is the doctor ? He said he would be hereby half-past two ; now it isaquarter to three ,and the train goesat three. Here he isat las t ! “Now Dick, in with the trunk ;— undo the valise— crowd inafew more books ,amirror or two

,

and some quinine powders . Weare ofi— we reach the stationyes , plenty oftime , fully three minutes . Good-bye, Dick , takecare ofyourself,

"and Dick, grinning broad lyall over his blackface , turns Emperor’s head towards homeand disappears. The

train is crowdedalways,and leaf— thermometer 92° in the shade.

The doctor is busy writing pos talsand concocting te legrams tobe sent ofat the earliest opportunity. Henriettasings softly toBessie ,and weaves golden fancies ofthe country, whilst her hairclings to her head in wet ringlets ,and perspiration stands out onher red forehead . I mentally run overall thathas been forgottenor remembered,and sigh for the journey’s end. Weare gettingup in the mountains ,and now Blue Ridge Summit" is calb dand the train slows up . Thereare the carriages waiting. FrancisT. Klug, with his colored coachmanand handsome turn out. his

daughter Annie with him in thecarriage . Thereare JaneandFrank Whi te , too ,and there 18 Sister Mary in the carriage,and

‘This Dick m calmed servant ofsome friends of ours wholiv edafew doon ofl. t he did odd jobe for us too,and took careofRichard’s hoo e.

Act . 33. OUR SUMMER 2 1 7

station. Let us be thankful that the train was on time ,and thatwe shall havealarge shady porch to rest in when wearrive ;and suchaporch, round two sides of the house , looking downway03 throughagap (Anglice pass in the mountains to therolling country round Gettysburg.

Thi s , or some thing like it, isasample of our journeyings . Ifind I have spentall my time on the start, but it would be quitevain to try to tell ofall the trips we madeand the places we saw.

Two weeksat Blue Ridge ; one week in Montgomery Countythree days in Harford County one week in Virginia; two weeksat Ocean Beach one weekat Orange Grove . A fresh packingoftrunks each time ,andaspace of two or three daysat homebetween each. At one place it was hot the whole time atanother it was quite cool . Atanother I could not go outatallonaccount ofabadattack ofneuralgia. Another time we leftat two hours ’ notice because Richard was ill. Finally ,at theend ofsummer we came homeaweek sooner than we intended,bringing Richard,apoor, pale , sick man , who had to be relegatedat once to bed on hisarrival . Still , he did not stay there verylong ;andas we look back over our varied experiences , we canthankfully recall many delightful days , some friendships formed ,andagood degree ofhealth preserved through the hottestandmost trying summer that has been known in these parts forthirty years .

Our brother’s wife, Mary Whitall Thomas, wasap parently in the bloom ofhealthand strength in the

summer of1 887. She insisted thatall '

of us .shou ld

make themavisit,and we didall go (the other four

members ofthe family had preceded us) . The visit

wasadelightful one ,and she herse lfalone knew thatit would be the last,and thatalready the symptoms offatal disease were upon her . A year later, she laydying in that lovely home.

m RICHARD H.

“mom s, M.D. 1887 .

Thatautumn the first General Conference ofFriendswas heldat Richmond, Indiana. A delegation fromLondon Yearly Meetingattended it, amongst themmy father and my uncle George Gillett . In our

Baltimore delegation were James C . and Mary W.

Thomas, and Mary S. Thomas . Our delegates re

turned with glowing descriptions of the Conference .

Every “Orthodox ” Yearly Meeting of Friends in

the world had been represented and there hadbeen the greatest good feeling and spiritual powerand bless ing.

A Declaration of Faith had been drawn up andadopted ,and noth ing remained but for each YearlyMeeting to endorse it

,and thus acheck would be

speedi ly put upon growing divergencies in faith andpractice,andawondrous unitywould be produced.

We had time to th ink it over, foramonth elapsedbetween their returnand the holding of our YearlyMeeting. Ind iana, the largestand strongest YearlyMeeting in America, the one we hadalways looked up

toand followed, was held,and itadopted the Declaraation with enthusiasm . Then came our own YearlyMeeting. Leading Friends from Indiana, New York;

inattendance, besides nearlyall the Englishand Irish delegates to the Conference. It was awonderful time , un ique perhaps in the h istory of

little Baltimore . All our work was going on so

well , and to our great joy, anet increase of sixtyn ine was reported, bringing our total membershipup to 907.

“The Interchange ” described the Session

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n o RICHARD H. THOMAS. M.D . 1887.

our small Yearly Meeting to holdalooffrom the new

harmony. My husband had stronglyadvocated thiscourse. He felt that to adopt" the Declaratmwould open the way to its fu ture use asaCreed.

Creeds, he considered, were but paper wal ls they too

often served to hamperand exclude really tenderandconscientious spirits, wh ilst theywere no defenceatallagainst reckless or insincere ones .

Another matter ofgreat interest was the Incorporaiing of the Yearly Meeting, wherebyit became legallyqualified to hold property, etc.,

and in the re-ad justment that was then made, women were givenan equalplace upon its Permanent Board (corresponding to theMeeting for Sufierings of London Yearly Meeting),andas Pres id ing Clerks, etc. Mary Whitall Thomaswas then Clerk ofthe Women

’

s Meetingand hadactedthroughout the Sessions, many of them held join tly,withall heraccustomedabil ity. It was recal ledafterwards that once or twice she had spokenas thoughher work was over, andall had noted the powerandtenderness ofher prayers on more than one occas ion .

The record Yearly Meeting was over— the Mee tinghouse wh ich foraweek had bummedand overflpwé dwith busy life was silent and empty, our visi torsdepartedand l ife returned to itsaccustomed channels.But the very next daywe learned the overwhelming newsthat sister Mary was ill withamalignant disease,andthat fatal consequences were feared . I t was too Monly onceagain did she cross the threshold ofthat Meeting-house where foraquarter ofacentury hers had

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m RICHARD H. m om s. n o . 1887.

remembered that this nearly always mean t being

away from home two nightsand often longer . He

abstained from undertakingany regu lar Bible Classteaching onaccount ofhis frequentabsence on First~

day, but whenat home he rarely m issedattending the

young men’

s Bible Class , and he was always in his

seat at meeting, morn ing and evening, and twiceduring the week, unless preven ted by il lness or sudden

profess ional calls. His practiceat this time was quiteactive, though his patients mostly came to his oflicefor treatment

,and I find mention of several papers

prepared for the Maryland Medical Society, as wellas one for the International Medical Congress in the

autumn of1 887. His dutiesat the House of Refuge

and in connection with the Woman’

s Medi cal Co llegewerealways most thoroughlyand faithfully performedSometimes , when more unwell than usual, he wasurged to spare himself, but he would answer, “Solongas I hold the pos ition , I am responsible for ful

filling the duties it involves " One scarcely sees

where he found the time to write , as he constan tlydid

,for “The Interchange,” or to carry on the activ e

correspondence which was always one of his greatdelights .

In june, 1 888 , my husbandand his sisterattendedNew E ngland Yearly Meeting,and in August heandhis bro ther Allen spent three weeksamong the NewEngland Meetings, attending amongst other things

an important conference on the M in istry beldat Lynn ,Mass .

CHAPTER XVI I I .

Visit to England in 1889—The Paris Peace Congress— ManchesterLe tters— Death of D. C. Thomas— Acciden t to ir.

Illness ofJu liaValen tine— Changee—Hc came to bless us wi th

his smile — North Carolina— Marriage ofMary S. Thomas1 889

- 1890 .

80 the time went on ,and in 1 889 weagain madeavisit to England . It was in many ways apecu l iarlyinteresting one . Dr. Thomas had am inute for

religious service,and we arrived in time toattendthe Yearly Meeting, during which he had some

special opportunities in the young people’

s meetings,

and in private conversations.

In the thnee months that fol lowed he worked veryhard. We were delegates from the Peace Associationof Friends in Americato the International PeaceCongress (the first in recent years),and we spentaweek in Paris with my uncle George Gillett and mysister Rachel

,in attendance at it. Both of us were

intensely interested . The way Opened for much

personal intercourse with other foreign delegates,and for the first time we realized whatatremendoushindrance to the advance of Christ’s Kingdom is

theadvocacy ofwar by the Christian Church . From

m RICHARD H. THOMAS. M.D. 1 889.

that daymy husband workedactively, wheneverandwherever he could , for peace.

I must briefly summarize his work in E ngland.

Luton ; Banbury with its surrounding meetings

Cambridge, Colchester, Saffron Walden, Liverpool,Manchester, Stockport, Kendal , York, Scarborough ,Newcastle, Sunderland

,Darlington , Birm ingham,

Croydon , Reigate, Lewes, Bristol , Bridgwater andTaunton , Weston-super-Mare and Burnham

,etc.,

followed oneanother in quick success ion til l he hadworked in eleven out ofthe eighteen English QuarterlyMeetings.

Describing the visit to Manchester, he wroteYORK ,

7th mo. , 1889.

From Liverp ool we went to Manchester, where wewereguests ofTheodore Neildat Dalton Hall , which is the Friends 'Hall ofResidence for Owens College , Manches ter . This wasvacation time, but there were ten or twelve students there workingup for examinations . We hadaspecial mee tingappointed inManchester on Sixth-day evening, teabeing served first. The

notice had been short, but overahundred were present. I wasvery poorlyand did not know how I should do, but I felt that theLord helped me . I spoke on the message of Friends to theworld,and on the inward experience implied in our profess ion.

This opened the way foralongand personal conversation withone ofthe studentsafterwards , which I think resulted well .This was the daywhen I was most poorly after that I began

to get better . On Fi rst-day I went toan Adult Schoolclass before M ee ting . Amongst the men were some who werealmost free -thinke rs . I addressed them on the method of

revelation , and on the way of righteousness,and on how to

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396 mommaH. THOMAS,an. 1 339.

pos ition is to myselfmoreand more cleat on the workand personofJeous Christ , moreand more clear on His salvation. But asfaras I can learn, the Evange licals ” haveasawhole endorsedme thoroughly ,and I fee l nearer to them in spirit than I did.

Doubt has no constructive strength. I have seen where destrue~tive criticism , iffo llowedalone, leads,and I recoi l from it. We

must look elsewhere foranypower for regeneration. Iam gladI have seen this. It has been likeahealthy cold bath.

I increasingly feel the importance of building up Bal timoreYearly Meeting. Its unique position is fully recognized,and itis being watched.

Again he wroteLondon,

9th mo"1889

MY Dean ALLEN,I have seen the dearth that followsadenial ofor doubt of

outward revelation ,and I think I seeasound basis forafi rmingoutward revelationas regards spiritual realities . I cannot nowgo into it, but I be li eve it is perfectly true that no man has ever

reached the posi tion from which he has beenable to makesufi cient generalizations concerning spiritual things , to enablehim to grasp any general spiritual truth without being verylarge ly indebted to some outward revelation , for whatare the

words , deeds , writings ofaman , butan outward revelation ofthespiritual being ?I quiteagree with thee that my letter on the Peace Conference

was notas goodas it might have been.

Permission has been given me to insert the fo llowing letter from one girl friend toanotheras illustratingthe impression produced by my husband’s workatth is time.

Act. 35. A LETTER. 237

30th June , 1889.

I don't think you can have hadaIovelier Whit Sunday than I did. Dr. Thorons wasat meeting in the morningandspoke grand ly. Then I heard himat the Adult School, andafter that I went up to the Friends ’ School with themand M r.

M idgley,and I heard him there . It was so nice , and in the

evening we brought the mission people into meetingand hadalovely time . So I heard fouraddresses from him in one day. Imust read them to you when you come

,I can ’tattemp t them

here . The Sunday evening one was on the Atonement— thegrandest view of it that I had ever heard— for this reason ; itsati sfiedand delightedall the orthodox ,and yet it seemed the

embodiment ofwhat we believe, only glorified— raised on toahigher platform. It was the best of both creeds , or rather itwas what underlies them both. He seemed inspired.

I never saw suchaChris t-like man in real life until now.

On Monday he went with his wife ,and the M idgleys ,and myparents to Quarterly Meetin

gat Colchesterand they wereall

stayingat one house .

On Tue sday mother came backand said that Dr. Thomaswithout hi s wife was coming to holdameeting for young peopleand workers generally, on Wednesday evening. We went,andit was glorious. Harriet Green and Mrs. Dr. Greenand wewent to the M idgleys

’ to supper afterwards . He gave us asweet littleaddressafter supperand prayed wonderfully— partlyfor E.and me .

When we cameawayand he shook hands there was somethingin his face which told me he had sornething to say to me, I wasso frightened that I scuttled OE, though I wanted to hearawfully. But though I deserved to lose it, he cameafter meinto the halland even on to the steps , and got it said in the

last halfsecond . Then I didn 't know whether to thank him or

to run, so I did the latter, but lwenthomeas happy, (happier inadifi erent way) as '

his grandest sermons had ever made me .

Why is it that individual messages seem to help so wonderfully

228 RICHARD H. m om s. n o . x 889.

sometimes ? It is justas much for us sometimes inasermon,

and indeedall his sermons '

have seemed what I wanted, so

why did it make me so ex trasp ecially thankful to have thatmessage— those fewwords to myself? Is it purely selfishness ,doyou think ?

Duringall this summer hisaffectionate heart wasdistressed by illness in our own family, bo th in

Americaand England . Our stepmother, Deborah C .

Thomas , had been poorly when we started , but became much worse almost at once, andafter some

weeks ofintense suffering passedaway on the 9th of

j uly. I-I is letters homeare filled with sympathyandsorrow,and with expressions ofanxiety for his sister

and other relatives for whom he feared the effects ofthe

heavy nursing. I remember well how poorly he wasforaday or twoafter the cable message came. Such

th ings always affected him physically, but his own

intense feel ings seemed to spur him on to doall inhis power to lighten the sorrows ofothers.

At our first com ing to England we had found bo thmyfatherand mother very poorly,and though bo th

improved as the summer passed, there was anotherfamilyanxiety,alarge part ofwh ich fell on my hus

band’s shoulders . This wasasevere tri cycleacciden twhich betell my Oldest brother, Joseph . It happenednearawayside inn between Bridgwaterand Taun ton,when heand his wife were on their way to join the

rest ofour family partyat Seaton in South Devon . A

telegram summoned my husband, and heand I immediately went. We found my brother unconscious,

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230 mem o 11 . m om s. M.D. wasuntil he succeeded in getting her to swallow medicine

and nourishment. All next day she lay in the samestate, butat n ightfall she seemed toawakeand spoke

to us in her natural voice . From th is time her

recovery was steady though slow.

But nowanother home-tie was to be broken . My

cousin , Isaac Braithwaite, of Kendal, England,nounced his intention ofpaying usavisit. NO one

guessed the Object ofhis coming, least Ofall did she

for whom he came, but within five weeks ofour returnto Baltimore he was engaged to our sister, Mary Snowden Thomas . My husbandand this dearly be lovedsister had been all their lives un ited in the closest

fellowsh ip ofworkand interest. His own marriageseemed only to have strengthened the bond, for we

had mostly l ived under the same roofand had sharedall each others’ plansand interests . Since our sister

Mary W. Thomas ’

s death , our other Mary had in manyways taken her p lace in Baltimore Meeting,and in allthe coun try meetings where she had so abundantlylabored , no one hadastronger hold on the hearts of

the people. But now she was to leave us,and thoughwe spoke hopefq Offuture visits

,we knew only too

surely that that chapter ofour lives was ended .

We had little leisure to mourn just then , for Year lyMeeting was upon us

,and other visitors. Dr .Wh itney

and his wife, from Japan,with their fam ily were to stay

in Baltimoreandattend it, on their way homeafterspending the summer in E ngland . The weather wasunusually inclementand it rained continuously. The

Act . 35. DEATH OF JOHN N. WHITNEY. 231

children (there were three, alittle boy of two,and

twin babies) seemed to have very bad colds . They

coughed incessantly, 'a1'id soon it became clear that theyall had whooping cough. Plans were changed, andarrangements for staying in Baltimore were made ;all that medical skil l could do was done, but still it

rainedand still the babies grewworse. At last little johnWh itney, the strongerand heal thier Of the twin boys,was taken from them . He died in myhusband’sarms,and was laid to rest in our lot in London ParkCemetery. TO comfort his bereaved parents, myhusband wrote He came to bless us wi th his smile,

E choesand Pictures ,” p . My brotherand sisterspen t the winter in Baltimore

,for the other two children

were very ill, but in the spring they startedagain .

They encountered bitter ly cold weather in Canada,andthe other little twin succumbed to it,and diedat seawhen two days out from Vancouver.

In the summer of1 890 my husbandand IattendedNorth CarolinaYearly Meeting with aminute, andspentashort timeafterwardsat H igh Point, Archdale,Guilford Collegeand Greensboro'

.

In theautumn our fam ily, now so sadly reduced,moved in toasmal ler house— itwas the one on LanvaleStreet in which we had l ived before—and from it on

the 14th ofOctober , 1 890 , Isaac Braithwaiteand MarySnowden Thomas were married .

CHAPTER XIX .

LETTERS To HIS SISTER,1 891

-

92 .

Richmond ; Indiana— Quarterly Meeting at Spiceland— BygoneDays—Attends New York Yearly Mee ting—CanaMater ialistbe aChris tian i— Death of Aunt Julia— Fai lwn—Molinos'l!Spiri tual Guide — The Second Quinquennial ConferenceSpeaking to the Condi tion of Peop le—Giving the Ten th .

MY husband’s letters to his sister,‘

with theadditionofafew addressed to other correspondents, coverthe h istory ofthe next few years. The fact that fromthe time of her marriage he had thus poured out

so much Ofhis heart in writing to her,was one great

incen tive in attempting the compilation of theSe

memoirs,and it is precisely these personal parts Ofhis

letters that have been selected for publication .

After Yearly Meeting the newly wedded pair left us,

my husband going with themas faras Wilmington ,Delaware, on his way to Indiana, where he had beenurged to attendameeting of the Associated PeaceCommittees Ofthe American Yearly Meetings (now

the “Peace Association of Friends in America")Th is was his first journey west of the Allegheny

Mountains,and the visit was naturally one ofgreat

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Spice land it was estimated that there were 800 person s present.I found that my“loud voice was not consideredadrawbackthere . However I have been trying to moderate it since gettinghome . There were many inquiries after thee and regretsex pressedat thy departure. Altogether I was gone ten days,and having been verytired to begin with, I was pcettymuch usedupat the end.

To Hrs Srsraa.rst mo . 6th, 1 891.

It isamatter quite of secondary importance where weareon this little earth, ifonlyweare in the right spot, and I thinkthe sense ofbeing in our right place is one of the great thingsthat enable us to rise overmelings ofdepression caused by the

absence ofthose we wish to be with . I believe as we get intomiddle life we have to readjust ourselves to our new conditions.

Old thingsare gone ,and old plansand the old home too to

some extent. Vanity of vanities, all is vanity,” isaverynatural refrain if one would look at things solely from the

human standpoint. There is so much laborand so little to showfor it, and everything passes away, do what you will . Icannot understandaperson of myage having any patiencewith life who has not Christ Jesusas his hopeand his Sun.

Not that life is not interestingand pleasant, but it is so soonover,and the best earthly thing s hang by so slenderathread .

That Byron with no hope beyondand no heavenly light in hi sheart should have written, My daysare in their ye llow leaf,"at thirty-five years ofage , I think was most natural . But the

efiect ofall this on one who has Christ is to bring out in bolderrelief the sunshine ofHi s presence and the reality of His

hopeand freedom. In Him we havealarger hope . Wearsparts,and not forgotten parts , ofaglorious plan of universalblessing toall, ofredemptionand salvation fromall evil,and we

Act. 37 . new YORK YEARLY MEETING. 93;

arehelping on to theaccomplishment ofthis great purpose ;anddull daysand bright days lead onwardalike to this ,andall thingswork together for good,andanew impulse is given which is notthe fleeting impulse of youth, which will soon faint and be

weary and utterly fail . It is the perpetual ever-springingfountain of hopeand glory. Whether we lookat the presentor the future there is God,and so we take up the work fromanewand better standpoint,and withanewand better hope ,andare now free to enjoy what there is to enjoy.My husband hadavery severeattack ofinfluenzain

the spring of1 891 , but he recovered in time to carry outhis concern toattend New York Yearly Meeting, forwhich he hadaminute. It was heldat Poughkeepsie,on the Hudson River,and the week was one ofdeep

To Hrs Srs'

rsa.Baltimore,7th mo. 3rd, 1891 .

Thy veryaffectionate letter in reply to the oneaboutmy doings at New York Yearly Meeting reached me thisweek . I quite appreciate the very delicate caution in itasto being careful how I express myself on the subject offuturepunishment,and toacertain extent Iagree with thee . In fact Irather think that ,asamatter of strategicadvantage , it wouldbe better ifI were thoroughly orthodox on this point, becauseasit now stands , there isalwaysarisk that my influence in favorofFriends maintainingamore spiritual posit ion than they seem

inclined to may be largely lost through the ir doubt ofmy soundness on the “blessed doctrine of everlasting punishment.” But

I do not see how we can glorify God except by being candidandtruthful . I sawaquotation from Quarles the other day on the

question ofwhether it is better foraman to die than to lie . He

said that he who tells the truth , puts his trust in Him who is theFather oftruth,andmeyer pect His prm ctionwhatever happens ;

3 36 RICHARD H.

“m om s, n o . 1 89 1 .

while he who defends himselfwithalie puts his trust in the

father oflies . The real difi cultybere ia, what is the truth I donot know that I come underany one of the convenient headingsthatare usually made on this matter . One thing has come to mestrongly, viz. , that, if this world isaplace ofpreparati on and ifwe have but one life here , it must be, that there is something tobeacquired in this life, which, ifnotacquired here isan irre

mediable loss , and cannot be made upanywhere . The spiritenters the next world withaloss , justasachild born into thenatural life withoutanarm can never growanarm , because thetime for the growth of it is over. But granted that this is so , it

does not follow , to my mind, that that involves an endless

torment, nor does it imply that the Lord does not doall that Hecan for suchasoul , who mayyet by turning from his sin ,andbecoming reconci led to God, be brought toastate ofblessedness.

Afterall, as someone has said , it is notaquestion of endless

punishment,it isaquestion ofendless sin. A soul in hell would

cease to be in hell , even though his sufl‘erings remained, if heturned from his sinand turned to God. My present positionis that there isan irretrievable loss to those who remain in sin ,

but that our Saviour isalways laboring for the salvation of every

soul that He has created,and I do not believe that sin willalwayslift up its head against Him , or that the only solution of the

difi culty is that he must triumph over sinners only by holdingthem down for everand inevitably to their sin, for the doctrine ofanecessarily endless he ll necessari ly involves endless sin by thewill ofGod.

But enough ofthis discussion. which is getting tedious . Iamnot disposed to dogmatise on this subject ,and I hope that thouand Isaac will continue to pray that I may have true wi sdom in

the matter , for I do not profess to have solved the problem,

beyond that we can certainly trus t God to do the right andloving thing forall the souls thatHe has made .

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338 RICHARD H. THOMAS. M.D. 1891 .

We must recollect thatamaterialis t must haveadifierent concep tion ofmatter fromadualist. He mustacknowledge thatthere is thoughg some thing that is knownas love, hon or, etc.

In other words , he mustattribute to matter the same qualitiesthat weattri bute to spirit. Matter feels , thinks , hOp es . Now if

matter in the form of man can do this, why should there not

be thought somewhere in the matter composing the un iverse ?Ifthere is personality inman , what is to prevent personality inthat which theyacknowledge is the force ruling the wholeuniverse ? We Speak ofspirit , but we do not know what it is.I personallywould be inclined to beamonist in the direction of

saying that there is nothing but spirit,and thatall matter is hmthemanimstation ofsp iritual power. At the same time, I do not

see thatanything would be inj ured, ifwe calledall material,andspirit butaform ofmaterial energy ; it would be onlyachangeof terms, and, while it would bealittle shocking to the finersense, the result would be practically the same. Thenagain , itwould present some points which would make certain doctrineseasier. Christ is represented to usas havingabodyat leastallied to the material . It would render the doctrine of the

resurrection simpler to some minds . The Pauline illustration of

the seed wou ld then beaccepted literally, that is the future bodywould be regardedas beingadevelopment ofagerm from this .

The doctrine ofimmortality would not be rendered difi cult, for it

wouldagree with the hypothesis ofthe indestructibility ofmatter.

What I mean byall this is not to say that Iam inanywayaconvert to materialism,

but that we preach the Gospel tomaterialists without seeking to alter the ir philosophicaltheory. I do not see that there is anything contrary to theBible in this ,as it nowhere tells us that spirit is not matter. Itdistinguishes between things seenand unseen, things temporaland things spiri tual, but not, I think, between matterand spirit.I feel moreand more that what the Bible has which gives it suchsuper iority is its directnessand simplicity. I t is not written inthe support ofany theory . It states facts whether theyagree

Act. 37 . DEATH or JULIA VALENTINE . 3 39

wi th other facts (apparently) or not . I ts one test oftruth is theacceptance ofChristas Londand obedience to Him . Therefore ,both materialis tsand idealists can unite to love Him , though Ido see that beliefwouldalways be harder to the former than thelatter,and I rather think that his materialism would graduallyvanishat the sight ofhis Saviour. But I should leave that to

Our Aun t JuliaValen tine was now in failing heal th .

On heraccount our brotherand sister,Isaacand Mary

S. Braithwaite, paid usavisit of several weeks duringtheautumn ofth is year. Aun t j ulia’s illness seem s

,as

my husband wrote in his rem in iscences ,

“l ikeasaddream .

”She lingered many months , but passed peace

ful ly away on the 14th April , 1 892. Her n iece,Thomasine T. M iller

,who had tended her most faith

ful ly, wen t,after her death, to live with her friend, AnnaYarnal l, in Philadelphia,and from th is time our little

fam ily was leftalone.

In spite ofhis brave sp irit and strong faith , myhusband was not without his times ofdiscouragement .

The following lines areamong the very few discouraged ones that ever came from his pen, andas such ,we prin t them . They were written in February, 1 892,when no doubt he was feelingafresh the loss ofhis

sister, and when his own physical limitations werein creasingly hedging him in .

FAILURE .

A little fie ld,anarrow sphereAnd yet it seems my place is here ,Although with winged thoughtand speechI fain would unto thousands reach.

240 RICHARD H THOMAS, M.D.

I watch great movementsas they rise ,

I see grim portents in the skies.

I think I see where true men failAnd where their work has smallavail .

And where the foemen them deceive ,And make them strong positions leave.

Andall their lifeand vigor spendTo hold what no one could defend .

I sometime s see where wrong is weakAnd fain the needed word would speak ,But though I trymy voice is lost’M id din ofthe contending host .

And yet how can I dare complainAlthough my eflorts seem in vainI see their large , my smaller sphere ,Them failing there whilst I fail here .

IfI in my small place but failCould I in larger work prevail ?Discouragedat myfeeblenessOnward I have no heart to press .

And yet I know that truth mus t winI ts perfect victory over sin.

The Lord forgive usall,and beOur strengthand hope till victory .

To HIS SIsrsR .

Baltimore ,4th 1110 . 39th , 1892.

I have been interested in Molinos' Spiritual Guide "lately. Ithink that he lays too much stress upon the necessity of inward

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w RICHARDa. m om s, M.D. raga.The “pastoral ideais very prevalent,and the him wi th the

people is largely to haveagood sermon. I think that thisIt is clear that Kansas is the most conservative of the WesternYearly Meetings , I man in regard to this practice . I had ahsolute evidence that in one meeting where I was in We stern

Yearly Meeting, they have what practicallyamounts to anarranged service—for one ofthe Elders told me how to conductthe exercises— instructions I did not follow. He was very n ice

about it,and made it easy for me to doas I felt most satisfied .

Thingsare inatransition state out there ,and it is imposs ibleto tell what the outcome wi ll be . But publicly , hardlyanyonewillallow that there is danger in the pastoral system inanyothersense than that thereare dangers inall systems . Privately, some

allow more than this . But the movement is in theair ,and oh

j ections to itare disregarded by most— not byall. There isagreat deal oflifeand poweramong them . I cannot but hopethat the extreme rapidity ofthe growth of the movement maymean that there wi ll comeacounter movement before it is toolate . The Quaker side has no strong person behind it to push it .

The leadersare nearlyall in w ith the current . Sti ll brotherJames says that he notices this difierence , that peop le wi ll listento warnings now where they would not five yearsago,and he

argues from this that the movement is losing its impetuosity. I

do not think thatany irretrievable step has been taken in mostcases . But when one entersa“church witharegular towerand belfry,and seesaplatform with but three seats on it,andhearsall the hymns given out by the leader ofthe singing,andnotices the great fear there is ofsilence,and the use ofthe word

etc ., and the benediction , etc . , one does feelas ifachange had come over the spirit ofFriends ,and that the oldenglory had departed. These , however,are the exceptions. I can»not but hape that, ifnothing else does

,the common sense ofthe

people.and their poverty, will do something. I heard ofseveralcongregationswho were finding itaburden to supportaminister.

Ass. 38 . THE SECOND GENERAL CONFERENCE . 343

The Conference was very interesting, but was not, betweenthee and me , very impressive . There was not to my mind

the w asmfimd pom in it mat m s smd m m so

noticeable i n the one five yearsago . Brother James said thatthe difi erence was most striking. No formal vote was taken ,largely onaccount of the position ofour delegation . I don'tknow, however, whether this was altogether an advan tage .

They have largely lost the ideaof “taking the sense of the

mee ting, ”and the mixture between parliamentary waysandQuaker practices created , in one sessionat least , great confusion.

The conclusion on the Pastoral question was reached on the

Quaker me thod of procedure . But this prevented us fromputting ourselves on record on the M inutesagainst the con

elusion, which Annaand I would have liked to do. However ,I suppose our dissent will be in the stenographic report . The

M inute on this subject isamild one for the West, but goes toofar for us . Four of us positively dissented from it ; one

assented to itas reflecting the sense of the Conference but

being contrary to her own view ,and oneapproved ofit.

The Conference has recommended that steps be taken toestablish aCentral Publishing House , and also aCentralBoard of Foreign M iss ions—chiefly for information at first,hoping it maygrow. The propos ition to recommendauniformDiscipline was lostafterasomewhat stormy debate . It wasfound impossible to take action on the ques tion whether weare to be called a“Church ”

or a“Society.

” I think theProgressive Friends felt they had the day.and they had. We

can only hOpe some good seed on the other side may have

The Peace Conference was asuccess . I was quite poorlyall the time withacold and was not fully up toacting asapresiding ameer. Nevertheless things worked well , and Iwas only conscious ofhaving made one serious mistake -whichended welland no one referred to it

,but I saw it . It wasa

peaeefii lafiair after the other—and l think that there is a

244 RICHARD H. THOMAS, hLD. 1893.

decidedly increasing intere st felt. B . F. Trueblood was there

and helped us very nicely.Iam convinced that there must he more individual faithful

nessamong our members in Baltimore , or one of two thingswill happen to us— either we shall diminish in streng thandnumbers , or we shall drift into the pastoral system.

To Hrs 31m g .

Baltimore,rath mo. 9th, 1 892.

We have been havingaseri es of meetingsat Deer Creek .

There has been real blessing resting on them , though I donot know ofany conversions. I am going up this (Sixth-day)afternoon and shall stay over First-day. In the meeting on

Second-day evening I had to myse lfaremarkable evidenceof the Divine presenceand filling . It was one oft he timeswhen the Lord comesand says , “What wilt thou have andthen grants the request . I do not feel I can very well go in tothe whole thing, but there wasarealization ofbeing poss essedand filled by the Holy Spiri t,andanassurance thatHe had cometoabide . Among other things Iasked that I might be enabledto speak to the condition of the people publiclyand privately,and hadasen se that I should,and that they would be reachedby it. That evening I hadalovelymessage from AnnaLetitia

My heart isat the secret source

Ofevery precious thing.

o

Andanew song is in mymouth

To Iong loved music set ,

Glory to God forall the grace

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34s RICHARD H . THOMAS. M .D. 1 893 .

rst. A greaterability to trust for outward concerns, for theone-tenth is the tribute showing divine ownership.

and. I find the desire to give is withme . Iam on the look-outfor giving.

3rd. The sense ofgiving from what I have is changed toasense of stewardship, trusteeship . It is not mine , I have it todispense wisely.

4th . It increases my power to give . I was not giving onetenth. In case of large sums , I may invest the whole andreserve one-tenth ofthe income , and in gifts to me for specificpurposes I do not feel the rule necessarilyapplies . That woulddepend on circumstances.

CHAPTER XX.

LETTERS, 1 893.

Francis Xavier's Hymn— A Series ofMee tings— Visi t to Haverford- In Pennsylvania— Spiritists—The Value ofaMoral Life

To 3 15 Srsr sR .

Baltimore,rst mo. 3oth, 1 893.

I have been wretchedand have been doingas nearly nothingas I could for two or three days ,and amaccordingly muchrevived. I never knew before from experience how manyseparate portion s ofthe head couldache . This time I could notthink except under the pressure of something brought from out

side to me ; could not even preach, which is unusual for me ,andwas glad ofan excuse not to go to even ing meeting. However,I persistently lay downflat on my back, thoroughly relaxedandjustattended to necessary patients ,and so revived, with somemedicineas we ll. On First-day the only thing I didafter dinnerti l l bedtime was to makeaverse tran slation ofFrancis Xavier’shymn, which I subjoin. The frequent repetition of Thee and“me is like the original .

as mean sa. man s. nu ) .

Oh God I love Thee z'not to ga’m

Bternal joy, or rest frorn pain :

Thou. Thou, myJesus on the TreeBast in Thy love enfoldedme ;Hast countless sorrows undergome .

And woeand shameand lou hast knownAnd death :andall because ofme,Who spent my lite in grieving Thee .

How oould my love be cold to'

l‘

hee

So full oflovqand love to me lYes , now I love Thee ; not to win

Thyblisq or’scape the meed ofsin ;

No crown l seelr ; Thee , onlyThee ,And,as Thou, Jesus. lovest me ,So love I ,and I must love Tbee.

MyKing, my only King Thouart ,The God ofHeavenand ofmy heart.

Iam not satisfied withall ofi t, but send itas it is .

ducted it themselves with much interest . The first question thatcame up was singing. I found they had hadagood deal ofit,

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050 RICHARD H. THOMAS, M .D .

many others were helped. Therewas no ex ci temen t, buting weightand quietness , and comparatively little apublicly in the meeting. We received three app lica‘membership. Men preponderated over the women a}were more men blessed. The meeting closed on Firstethe eighth meeting.

To Hrs Srsrs s .

3rd mo. 24th ,

I hadamost pleasant visit to Haverford. On Se veI gavean address on Friends’ principles , and theyquitearoused . It certainly was from anewaspect tand I do not think they have been so much m us ed

lecture on that subject, for I put things in an amus i

when I wished to makeapoint that I thought they mithe wholeasermon , and one very dt from the

New Bedford ; this time dwelas opposed to dead traditions ,to pass iveness . In the silence

shortand very simple , which Iat Preston the next evening,man—agraduate- asked to speak wi ththose few words had reached him ,and heto trus t . We walked on the board walkhe , stifi Quakerweeping freely. He really seemed to yield tohe saw l ight,and wentawayapparently infaith.

To Hrs SISTER .

I hadaconcern in the Quarterly MeetingOversightat Bendersville, on the

Aet. 39. AT BENDERSVILLE. 351

theabi lity that God giveth in service. I spoke very decidedlythough guardedly,and I think that no one could mistake mymeaning . It was somewhat explainedawayafterwards by oneor two, but I think it was felt and endorsed by anumber.The meetings were well but not very largely attended , andthere was muchactivity in them in the way of the ministry.No one took up undue time I think. In the evening I preachedasermon on the Light. There were several H icksite s there ,one ofthem whom I did not know , be ingavery prominen t man .

It so happened that in the course of my remarks I becamevery earnest , and I was toldafterwards that I looked straightat this manand shook my fingerat himand said, “Thou ,

"

just at those parts of what I said that specially applied tohim , and that he seemed very uncomfortable . I think italarmed some of the Friends , impressed more , andamusedafew. I must say that I feltagood deal humiliated. It wasentirely unintentional . I . J . told me not to mind, that she

believed it was the Lord shaking my fingerat him. I have not

recently had so many speak to me in regard to asermon .

It was, as Rendel Harris would say,apolarizing one . Everyone seemed to haveadefinite view on the matter. Some saidthings so strongly showing the impression it made on them ,

that I should feelahesitation to repeat them, and one or two

seemed positively to regret it. So I have to leave it. On

Second-day morning I gave adiscourse on Church governmentand united work

, on the restri ctions to personal liberty ,and the properattitude of the Church to the individual ,andof the individual to the Church, and showed that it wasonlyafigure of speech to say that there was absolute libertyin Friends’ meeting to do whatever anyone felt led to do,

without reference to the feelings and judgment of others ;the oo-Operation involved mutual yielding the one to the other.

There was , on the whole , good unity in the matter,and I thinkthe meeting took hold ofit . There werealarge number ofcomo

munications.most cfthemon the same line.

ass RICHARD Ii . THOMAS. M .D . 1093.

To Hrs Srsm .

4th mo . 25th. was.

M innie Pickett , the young friend whom Anna!asked to

sp end .afew days with us , who is expecting to go to Japanin theautumn for M iss ion work, proved to be anice attractiveperson, who very much appreciated what she saw and heardhere .

_Her remarks on our meeting reminded m e of what

Friends who came here used to say,— that it was ameetingthat combined the good points of the conservativeand radialelements . In fact , we had avery remarkable meet ing on

First-day,and I think most of those there felt it to be so. Inever heard K . give what was so clearlyapersonal rumto sosne stateand condifion p resenhas she did in sp eakingofthe merchantman who soldall that he had for the “Pearl ofgreat price .

”She was also very fresh and original in her

application ofit. Then L.M . spoke of Elishafollowing Elijahfrom Gilgal to Betheland to Jordan. It wasal ittle fanciful ,on the line then knows of drawingallegorical interpre tationsfrom the meaning ofthe words , but there was agreat deal of

power in it. Then I spoke on “All thingsare you ta,"showingthat when we come to Christ we have anew life with endlesb

and boundless possibilities , and that we potentially haveeverything, and that the New Testament ideal is not to havestrong lines ofdemarcation drawn between thisand that stageof ex perience , but to go on from grace to grace to an ever

fuller realization ofwhat is ours in the Lord Jesms. Thenaworker spoke on our being the Lord’s,andalluded

toasuccessful worker ofwhom some one had said that hehad notamonopoly of the Holy Spirit,andanotheransweredNo

,but the Holy Spiri t has the monop oly ofhim.

"In the

after meeting, N.O. was very nice . He spoke vu y immess ivelyof the “ messages ” we had had in the first meeting, andencouragedall to let them rest on the ir rninda.

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Act. 39. A STOMP SPEECH . 257

Sti ll what I really wish to do is to helpand liftand comfortandspeak to the heart,and if this is done , even toafew, it will nothave been done in vain ,and I do not think neglect or criticismwould beas serious things to me nowas they would have beensome years since .

His pmms not pub lished until more than twoyears later, when,at Christmas , 1 895,aselection, underthe title of Echoesand Pictures was brought out.

To Hrs Srs'

rsa.

10th mo. 6th, 1 893.

This week I made arather new departure by making astump speech inapolitical campaign . The “

stump ” waspart of the side ofawagon, built to be let down ,and used

generally for gospe l purposes, but at present engaged by theProhibifion Party. The wagon at the comer ofPennsylvaniaAm ueand °George Street,and the meeting wasat 9 pm on lastThird-day. I spoke forabout halfan-hour to the satisfaction of

John the om nizer ,and I thinkalso to the crowd , whomostattentively. I have not entered upon thisasawork,

and do not intend doingany more of it now, having only beenasked to make one smech . As mynamewasmice in the papers ,fi stas be ingamazed to speak,and thenas having spoken , Ithink I have reimpm sed people who know me with the fact thatIamamohibifionist, which was one ofmyobjects inagreeing tospeak. I haveastrong feeling that ifaman emphaticallycommits himself to acause

,he becomesan advocate for it

whe ther he refers to it or not. Ifpeopleassociate him with thecause , whatever influence he has tells in its favour. I fear myinfluence i s sl ight, but I wish it to be on the right side . Ofcourse , Ihave given prohibition addresses before , and my is

known , but I think thisact intensifies it, for Q do

make stump speeches ,and I do not think it is well we

2 58 RICHARD H. m om s, M .D .

should do very much ofit. There is no fear ofmy doinbecause I just cannot . I t took me twen ty-four h oursup to get over the effects ofthis effort on my thr oat, brightagain ,at least ,as wellas before .

To [1 13 s‘

ran .

Baltim ore ,ro th m o . 1 4

Iam busy with the reading ofthe life of E l ias HieHistory ofFriends. It is very interesting, th ough te

with much repetition . He entirely ignores the s uite

death ofChristas be inganything more than an e xarbel ieved (in i 8 13at least) in His resurrection . He cert

areal experience and wasaChristian man. Som e ti

beautiful. He must have beenagreat preacher in m :

Butas I go on I think he does not become more sat isfmisamusing to see how little he liked others to p reach 2

He was not, I think,as much ofaHicksi teas hi s follovI hadanice timeat Richmond, Virgi nia, but be ing

minister present , had considerable exercise , which se er

well received ,and I bel ieve real good was done . Sr

brought under convictionas to the ir duty,and I thinkwill be seen . On First-dayafternoon I delivered a14“Applied Christianity in Social and Political LifeM ethodist Church. It was the result ofaconcernreally asermon from that point of view . I spokea‘minutes toadeeplyattentiveaudience ofabout t50. T

very much impressedas I heard from their remarks te1

me . It was curious thatapopular preacher preached t

evening on very much the same subject . One of the p

an editorial the next day remarked that its editor hadbothand believed we were both inspired . He referred

the “gentle young Friend , ”alsoas Rev .

” M r . ThomaTo 11 15 SISTER .

1 1 th mo. 7th

A. tells me that she has told theeabout my delive 1

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all,and to usas well, for we were veryfondofhim . Ifthe nervousbreakdown was in itse lfas seriousas it seemed , there seems

to be much mercyas wellas loss in his being taken away fromthe prolonged snfiering that he would otherwise have endured.

One ofthe most strikingand humbling of the Lord'

s dealingswith men is theapparent divine indifierence to the prolongationofuseful lives I wasabout to write, “careles sne ss . It is of

course , onlyapparent, for I think there is nothing so certainas that He does care ,and we know it not only by faith, butthereare so many instances where persons have been preservedbecause of their simple trust in the Lord. But I th ink that thewhole course ofProvidence teaches us that the really importantthing is for us to be in our right places , and that faithfulnessand not the exactamount ofwhat we do is the imp ortant thingto be considered . Man is immortal till his work is done ,” istrue, Iam sure, but God

’

s estimate of completed work is not

ours.

glad when it conveys something ofthe same to others that readit. It is to be sung to-nightat the Prohibition Banque t. You

are entirelywelcome to make what use you please of it. The

corrected copy is in last week’s Review.

"[It was printed in

“Echoesand Pictures," but has been so much used that -ereproduce it here.]

Act . 39. THE com e TRIUMPH. as :THE COM ING TRIUMPH .

Mine eyes have seen the dawning ofacoming glorious morn ,

Mine ears have heard theange ls ’ song, they sang when Chri stwas born

I have caught the word ofpromise unto weary hearts and worn,

That God is marching on .

I can hear the steady treading often thousand marchingwet ;True men and women moving on through highway, laneand

street ;They will never pause , nor falter , till the triumph is complete ,

With God they’re marching on .

Let the sobs ofhelpless children , crushed by crimes the lawallows ,

Let the blighted lives ofwomen, lost through manhood's brokenvows ,

Let the sighs ofhopele ss sorrow every freeman’s heartarouse

,

Since God is marching on .

For the cri es ofall earth’s little ones have reached the GreatWhi te Throne

And the King Himselfhas hearkened ; He has made their griefsHis own

He is come to help the helpless ; He will make His judgmentsknown

His strength is marching on .

Though the chains ofsinare heavy , and they bind our nativeland ,

Though the curse is on the nation s , yet our God has raised HisQ

He is calling us to follow —Weadvanceat His command.

With Him we’re marching on .

No multitude is mighty that has madealeague with s inNor wealth, nor wisdom can defend, when evil rules withinFor the meek shall overcome them ,and the Right the day shall

win,

Since God is marching on .

360 RICHARD K THOM M

connected. From letters received since

suppose that he died from theattack of 914manifested itselfwhen they were wri ting . It i sall,and to usas well , for we were veryfond oflbreakdown was in itse lfas serious as it

to be much mercyas wellas loss in hi s beingthe prolonged sufiering that he would otherw

One ofthe most strikingand humbling of ti

with men is theapparent divine indifierence t.ofuseful lives ; I wasabout to write , “carelecourse , onlyapparent, for I think there is r

as that He does care,and we know it not

thereare so many instances where persons hasbecause of their simple trust in the Lord . B 1

whole course ofProvidence teaches us that ththing is for us to be in our right places , andand not the exactamount ofwhat we do is thito be considered .

“Man is immortal till histrue, Iam sure, but God

’s estimate of comp

ours .

To Hrs Srsrsa.Baltimore,

um

I am glad that you like my Temperancethink it is not s implyagainst drink , butag :forms of evil. I wrote underagood deal 01glad when it conveys something ofthe same toit. It is to be sung to nightat the Prohibitioare entirely we lcome to make what use you pi

corrected copy is in last week’s Review .

"[I

“Echoesand Pictures, ” but has been so me

reproduce it here. )

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262 RICHARD H. THOMAS, M.D.

T. U.amused me . She has long wished me to do somethingout of the usual way in our meeting-house , com plain ing thatwhat I do isalways so correct , etc . Especially has she wished

me to say such thingsas glory,” etc . When I read the hymnl was considerablyaroused , andat the conclusion I rep em d

with great emphas is the whole ofthe Glory, glory , hal lelujahchorus. In the reaction of fee ling, I had asubdued andresigned sense ofhaving madeafool ofmyself, though I didnot mind ifI had. But I thought that for once I had doneanunusual thing that would please T.

, who had been present.She was talkingabout it with much interest , and Iasked herifshe was satisfied .

“No,”

she said, “it was enthusiasm onamoral, notaspiritual subject ; if you have such trem endous

enthusiasmas you showed , you should beable to shou t gloryfor the gospe las well .” To my mind it was the gospe l I wasshouting over, and I think most felt it, and V . W . who wascalled upon foratemperance speech immediately afterwards,was praying before she had spoken three minutes.Iam ratherashamed ofmyselfto bealways writing to thee

so much ofmyse lf. I do not do so to others , but whenever I sitdown to write to thee it seems to come natural . I hope thi s doesnot mean that Iam very selflcentred.

To HI S SISTER.

Baltimore,rzth mo. 29th , 1 893.

I hadan interesting opening in meeting yesterday on Thouart worthy, who hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood (Rev .

v, ( r) The emphas is on the worthiness of Chris t, not our

worthiness . (z) The connection between the ex perience ofthesoul in the next worldand in this . (3) The thought of[row we

were redeemed— by the sufi'

ering s ofChrist. (4) How our praiseofChrist hasalwaysapersonal reference not only to His glorybut to whatHe has done foras . (5) His method ofredeemingna—bymaking us meet (worthy) for inheritance with the saints

Act . 40 . THE B IBLE AND THE DISCIPLINE . 263

in light— not by giving us blessing without inward change .

(6) In regard to this inheritance, we have itall, notashare ofit.It does not need to be dividedas earthly things do , but each hasall. (7) We feel our unworthiness , but even now He redeems

usand makes us worthy for the reception ofHis power in thefurther experience weare to enter upon to-day,as wealreadyuse what He has given . It isall from Himand He remains theworthy One.

To HIS SISTER .

Baltimore ,I8940

Prof. Haupt gaveavery interesting lectureatalarge meetingSocial last evening, popular in character

,on How we got our

English Bible .

” Headoptedashis own , extracts from the Disciplinein reference to the Bible . Few recognised them , but I thought itshowed how very carefullyand well prepared the Discipline was ,when it is remembered that it was prepared by men entirelyignorant ofmodern “Higher Criticism , and yet thatachiefexp onent ofsuch criticism could naturallyadopt itas true , whileat the same time it met the views ofs imp le-minded believers .

CHAPTER XXI .

The History ofFriends in America—A Religious 1!ConcernNew York—Work in I reland— London Yearly Meeting— Norway— Learning the Language— A Coun try Journey— ThePleasure Lov ing Danes— Large Meetings— Our Interpreterandhis Work— Mi litary Service in Germany— Norway againGuidance of the Lord— A F riendly Editor— TemperanceandPeace Work— Return to England— The ££Venlig Hilsen .

”

MY husband and his brother, Professor Allen C .

Thomas, of Haverford, had beenasked to prepareaH istory of Friends in America” to form one ofa

series ofdenom inational histories. The spaceallottedwas extremely limited,and they were required to give

an impartial record ofall branches of Friends. His

share in the work comprised the open ing chapter on

the Message of the Early Friendsand the H istory of

the H icksiteand Wilburite troubles . He was verybusy with this during the winter of1 893-4, but was notable to see the book through the press,as it waspublishedafter he had left America. “The H istorywasadm itted byall parties to beafair one, much to

the satisfaction of its authors. It was republished364

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366 RICHARD H. THOMAS , M .D .

compan ion ,and our daughter was placedatan Englishboarding school . Our credentials were for work in theBritish Isles and on the Continent of E urope , myhusband havingaspecial des ire to visit the l ittle compan ics ofFriends in Scandinaviaand German y .

We left Baltimoreabout the m iddle ofMarch,I S94,

and the last few days before sailing were sp en t by myhusband in New York, in holding special mee tingsatthe Twen tieth Street Meeting Houseand in personalworkamong the Friends .

We sailed on March 28th,and landed ten days laterat Cork in time toattend Munster Quarterly M eeting.

Then followedamon th of visits to Cork, Waterford,Limerick, Clonmel and Carrick-ou-Su ir, winding up

withattendanceat Dubl in Yearly Meeting .

By th is time Dr. Thomas was decidedly tired ou t.

It must be remembered that though he lived ten yearslonger, he hadalready had organ ic heart troub le fornearly fourteen , so thatallhis work was done with ever

increas ing difficulty .

We went to London , and stayedat the DevonshireHouse Hotel that he might the more eas ilyattend theYearly Meeting, but he was so poorly that even with

this precaution he could only manageapart ofit. On

one ofthe days ofthe large meetings for worsh ip I left

him in bedand was surprised half-an -hourafter the

meeting had commenced to see him enter . He looked

very white, but went to his usual seatand soon spoke

on the Phil ippian jailer— saying that he had feltobliged to come to deliveramessage which he bel ieved

Act. 40. VISIT TO NORWAY. 267

had been given him for some individual present. His

poin t was that Paul’s words to the jailer,Believ e on

the Lord Jesus Chr istand thou shal t be saved were of

un iversalapplication ; solvingall possible spiritual orpractical problems,and that those who trusted Jesus

Christ enough to seek His counsel and to follow it

would be saved in the fullest sense under whatevercircumstance of sorrow or difficulty. The messagewent homeas we had reason to know, to more thanone troubled heart .Our next vis it was to Norway. Toarrive there intime for the Yearly Meeting it was necessary to startatonce . We doubted the feasibil ity of this as my

husband was still very poorly, but the late Isaac Sharp ,thenacheery veteran of84, who wasalso going, encouraged him to make theattempt. We reached Stavanger,andas in 1 876, the party was lodged commodiouslyandconven ientlyat the Meeting House .

The Yearly Meeting, however, went on without Dr.

Thomas , and it was some time before he was wel l

enough to begin his work, though during his days inbed he had been studying the language, for we bothfel t that we mustas soonas possible dispense with theinterven tion ofan interpreter in our visits to the

homes ofthe Friends . 1 wel l remember howwe starteout,armed with ourNorwegian Bible, to make our first

visit by ourselves . We could not saymuch, but before

leaving my husband selectedapassage of Scripture

and,asking one ofthe family to read it, heafterwardsrepeated very slowlyand distinctly the few words which

268 RICHARD H . THOMAS. u p . 1894.

he des ired to leave with them . In those early days hewould button-hole an individual to w hom he felt

special ly drawn ,and first playfu llyasking him to ex cuse

his bad Norwegian, would carefu lly dro p in to his

wondering ears the words one by one, p o in ting him

perhaps toaBible textand when he hadThat— is— for— thee . l— want -th

se lf— to— the— Lord,”etc.

It was during those first days ofillness thatto his brother, john C . Thomas .

The time ofquiet has beenatime 0and I trust ofdeepened experience , withal inability forany service ,andarenewed,fellowship with the Lord, though Iam 11

having beenany going back from Him .

longing for more .

Whilst the principal Meeting ofN

is in Stavanger, there are smallfive coun try districts, besidesafew Friendlypeople in Bergen and several other single

fam il ies .

We stayed six weeks on th is visit,wonderfu l times in little country p laStavangerand Bergen . Itwasahot,and my husband's heal th improved iand w ith the necessary intervals of quiet as we

journeyed by boat or steamer on the Fjords.One ofmy letters to mymother, dated 7th me .acth,

1 894, gives some details ofone ofthese tr '

ms .

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270 RICHARD H . THOMAS. M .D.

Fourth-day nightsand leftagain early on Fifth o day morning.

The meetings increased in size and over sixty were there the

last nightand we closed withalittle meeting wi th the Friendsandattenders . Herealso we had the joy ofseeing con s iderableinterest awakened and of believing that some had receiveddefinite blessing. We wereable to talk personally with thepeople , which isan unspeakable comfort . We

repaid for the trouble we have taken in learninin be ingable to talk to themand to understandOn Fifth-day morning we started early anddifierent way taking the steamer ataplacequarter past ten. This steamer travelledabout

o’clock we reached Jelabtoanother steamer which bto eight in the even ing. We had beentwelve hours but it was not so very tiring ;lovely

,and the daywas so fine ; wealso met several

knew in the course ofthe dayandaltogether hadavetime.

Of the closing week in Stavanger my

wrote

Stavanger ,7th in 0327

We had reallyaremarkably open time inwere spiritually refreshed by it . We have now beene ight days series ofmee tings here .

ded, from 1 IO to 140 present each evein visiting the families of those connected with Friends , andbe lieve we shall have seenall inand near Stavanger. The

interest in these meetings has beengreatand the times ofs ilencehave often been most impressive . We have reason to be lievethat individuals have been not only reached but really brought to

Act. 40 . NATIONAL PASTIME . 27 :

points ofdecisionand that there has been some melting downofs tubborn hearts .

A two days’ triparound the south coast— happily inlovely weather, brought us to Christiania, where wehad some good meetings, go ing forward by trainthrough Swedenand so by Helsingborg to Denmark.

Our month in Denmark wasagreat con trast. It

must have been holiday time,for from the moment

we reached Copenhagenand found that l ight-heartedcapital thronged with strangers ,and deep in the cele

bration of the silver wedding of the Crown Prince,we seemed destined to fall in with “Bird Shootings

or silver weddings , or summer manoeuvres of the

troops wherever we went. There‘

were scarcely twohours ofdarknessat n ight,and the inhabitan ts wouldset forth in the small hours of the morn ing to a“Bird Shooting, after promenading the town

.

with

abrass band to summon recruits . Bird shootingseemed to be the national pastime . They told us

that parties would spend two days in the woods in

th is sport, which consists in shooting atawoodenbird, so constructed that the part which is hit willfall off. Annual contests are held throughout

Denmark, the successful champion for the who le

country being crowned king ofthe Fugl Skydn ing.

"

That year,to the universal joy, the Crown Prince

gained th is honor.

This constant noiseand ex citement was trying to

my husband who was far from well . He had some

Pronounced F iti Shfithning .

m RICHARDam om s . M .D . ( 894.

return ofthe il lness that had troub led h im earlier inthe summer, butal though the work in D enmark wasaccompl ished under considerable difiiculties , we feltthat it was ownedand blessed ofthe Lo rd.

There were more openings for workan d th e earnestnessand interes t of the people deepened “as we went

further north .

“At Aalborg my husban d writes,‘We had great blessingand crowded m ee tin gs, or

rather, fu ll meetings increasing in size and in terest

to the last."The last visit paid was toalittle cou n try place,

whereafam ily ofFriends lived onafarm some mites

from H jorring . This part of Denmark was said tobe the cradle of the Anglo-Saxon race,an d herefound that to this dayahors e is called “eh ' Horse.

"

Nils Chr isten Poulsen, the Friendat whose housewe stayed, wasan earnest Christian man and quitealight in his neighborhood. He had reserved the

largest room in his small house for ameeting room

and it was crowded to its utmost capaeity eachevening during our visit. It was interesting to see

howadmirablyadapted my husband’s min istry, withits intense earnestnessand plen itude of illustration,was to the ruralaudiences which be cons tan tlyaddressed both in Norway and Denmark. These

hard-working people,afteran exhausting day in the

harvest field, would travel mi les toattend the eveningmeetings, their faces lighting up with joyful eagernessas they drank in from his lips the words of lifeandsalvation .

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RICHARD H . THOMAS. M .D .

five or six little groups of Danish F rie n ds were

holding theirannual gathering for the first time in

Copenhagen . i t lasted two days,and re l ig ious meet

ings were continued through the week in the evenings

by us. To understand these new frie n ds of ours

with their soft guttural speech , strained o

acquired powers to the utmost.

course attempt to preach withouthere,as in Norway, we did contrive to get

to the people, and proud indeed were wewards the end ofour visit

,the Friends of

accordappo inted us to interview two new

for membership inatown through whpass . We certainly put those two applican tstheir paces, and we wroteareport severallength for the Monthly Meeting. They were

Three weeksamong the Gerfollowed . They had by no meanshusband, but ] think they felt that hthe German they had tried to teachto our struggles with Norwegianat firstalmost speechless in

stood them of course, andwe “learned far quicker than anyonmet. We found them discouragedThe m ilitary system seemed to be

l ifeand hope .

Oh that Christian people in Engl

who do notas yet feel strongly on this suconsider the obstacle to the progress

Act. 40 . RETURN To NORWAY. 275

kingdom which this mi litary system presents ! We

know something ofthe temptations that beset youngmen withou t it. But what would it be ifall of ours

were compelled to spend the susceptible years of

their early manhood under such conditions as thoserecently described in “A Little Garrison . Poor

Germany,poor France, and I taly and Austria! yet

Christian menand women can sti ll talkas though war,wh ich makes such demands

,could under some con

ditions be right.

Our original plan had been to return to Englandfrom M inden and take up the work there, but Dr.

Thomas felt that there was more for him to do

in Norway. Quaker gu idance is acurious thing.

Here was aman with more than ordinary gifts in

ministry and in individual work,

recognizing too

that his wo rking days were few,del iberately deciding

to Spend other precious months in m inistering to

amere handful ofrather unresponsive people . It did

seem strange,and yet we never hadastronger sense

ofheavenly gu idance than during those months.

Spendinganother week in Denmark on the way,we reached Stavangerabout the m iddle of September

and were busy for six weeks in revisiting the little

coun try meetings . We could travel by ourse lves now ,

and we had some most interesting experiences. At

Naerstrand, aplace mentioned in our former visit,

we heldameeting withoutan in terpreterat the homeofChristinaNm trand

,avery earnest lov ing Christianwoman . The people were mostattentiveand eager .

376 RICHARD R . m om s. M . D .

found voice to te ll us how for r

‘Thor’s daughter. In Norway the

surnames butare called either from thethey live cg . ChristinaNamwamt,“3m m .Samuel NM . etc.

she had been

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373 RICHARD 11 . m om s. n o . 1394

earnest l isteners. Amongst them on the secon d night,were Anna's husband and six ch i ldren whom she

introduced to us wi th a beaming face, saying that shewanted them to getablessing also.Of th is mountain journey my husban d w rotean

accoun t for his friends in New Bedford who have

kindly sen t it to me. After speaking of our arr ival atRoldal

,of the lateness of the season and the danger

that we might be snowed upand unable to get away,he says

My medical knowledge was called into play at on ce .

appeared that it would require a dayand a nightnearest physician ,and there were several people inborhood who greatly needed medi cal aid . I wasI had so few remedies with me , but I did what I couland they seemed grateful . They were a primitia dialect that was quite unlike ( so faras our

Norwegianas it is spoken in StavangerThe weather ‘

remained clearand we had ve

me etingsand some personal intercourse withwe hoped was helpful ; met the priest inus his bless ing

,and altogether we felt than

and that we had remained,

increased feeling of reliefasthe afternoon of the thirdand interpreter left us totill the next morning to go over the pass to Oddeto Bergen. The next morning it began to snowstarted , wi th every appearance of a heavy stormdetained some time en r oute by stopping to see

was il land prescribing for him , so that wethe snow beginning to lie rather more rapIt came On moreand more heavily.

Act . 40. A snowsroma. 379

have been our Friends William and Susan Thompson will beable to te ll you . It was in its extent, quite hidden from us ,

only the nearer mountains just about us cou ld be dimly descriedthrough the blinding flakes . But though we could see so little ,that little was superbly grand . The mountains loomed up wi than efiect of height probably greater than they really possessed .

I remember one spot especially , where we were walking tore lieve the horse , where I stoppedand gazed about , and saidto myself If we were only safe at home nowand could see

this , how wonderfully grand we should think it, and how we

should enjoy its beauty." But the prospect of possibly be ingsnowed up on the way

,and of being cut 03 from all our relatives

and friends for months,even if we should not sufierany injury,

took away from the possibility of enjoying the scene . Then itwasas it s voice said to me , “Art thou not at home P Art thounot in thy Father’s house ? Immediate ly I answered , “Yes ,Iam ,

”and at once resigned myse lf to the enjoyment of thegrandeur about us ,and continued to do so al l day. I felt thatthere was nothing to be done but to go onand be trustful . I hadno impressionas to whether we should get through all rightor not, but simply that we were in our Father’s house . Whe theror not we over~estimated the danger I do not know, but I knowthat the experience was fully worth it . Toward the afternoonthe character of the storm changed,and the snow became soft ,and here we had another kind of danger. The horse wentrapidlyand the snow constantly balled under his fee t

,and he

stumbled, and had anything broken there would have beenrisk of our pitching in to the precipice be low.

I th ink to be alone on a mountain road about fee t abovethe seain a blinding snow-storm , is about as much of anexperience of being utterly separated from human aidas anythat I have known. The next day was beautiful and we hadgood opportunity for res t all day, for the boat went at n ight .We walked out,and took a short drive ,and Anna made somesketches , being well wrapped upand protected in the sunshine .

300 arom a-

ram s “ . 1094.

The boat for Bergen took us through the Hanh ng er lijord,the most noted ofall the Norwegian tjords for its beauty. Whatwe saw ofit confirmed the report, so faras our exp erience goesWe were the only fore igne rs on boardand m uch surp rise wasexpressed at our travelling at such a time of year . Theoreti

cally it was too late , but practically it was not , and we werevery thankful to have been there, and we cam e back to

civilization in be tter trim physically than we had been whenwe went up the mountains . We had cause to thank the Lordalso for the evidenceswe had had ofHis blessing in the maintainmeetings . They were the largest we have had in any countrydistrict, and the people seemed stirred and impre ssed, andwe saw reason to believe that real bles sing had been received.

Fromanother letter to his brother John I giv e the

end of the story

We arrived here (Bergen) without an in terpreter,and attended a Meeting for Edification at the Fwe M issionHall where we had meetings last summer,and we took somepart in the meeting . We were recognizedand most warmlywelcomed, a number coming to usand showing great pleasure,several saying Thanks for the last,

”mean ing our las t visit.

They urged us to attend their mee ting on Sixth-day, the day

but one after, to which we agreed . The next evening we hada small parlor meeting with the few Friendsand others whosympath ize with us , and on Six th~day went according toarrangement to the Mission. The meeting was quite large,andthe presence of the Lord was manifest. On Fi rst~day we

were there again , morningand afternoon. In the morning wehad G. E . for interpreter. At the close of this meet ing

, whiqh

was large , the chief man , after consu ltation with several others,

announced , that “Our Friends will be with us th is aftemhonand to-morrow evening. They will speak to us

theyare quite able toit is better for us ,and we hope theywill not usean interpreted ?!

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382 RICHARD H. THOMAS. M .D .

Spirit of the Lord was marvellous ly p oured outandnumbers testified to pers onal bless ing r eceive d.

l must pass over much that was deep ly in terestingin Norway

,on ly referring to the open ing s that pre

sented themselves for work on Tempe rance andPeace.

The win ter proved to be a more favo rable timefor getting the ear of the Norwegian publ ic

,an d in thme

direct ions my husband was especial ly success fu l in

doing so , and th is again reacted favorab ly on the

gatherings in the Friends’ Meeting House . He spoketwice on each subject in a Publ ic Hal l est imated

to hold 700 people . The Editors of the papers hecame in terested, and devoted columns to glowingreports of his addresses . One of them sp ecially

amused us by his racy sentences,and one day whenwriting home I hurried ly translatedafew l ines

DR. THOMAS AGAIN !

Again las t night, as fourteen days before , we had the

pleasure of l istening to a most exce llent and learned le ctureby Dr. Thomas. One could almost wish that he might neversl ip over to America again , this man ; but stay in Norwayto fill the whole country with his remarkable temperancelectures thatare so full of inspiration . There is somethingso solid ( l)and re liable about his whole person , and aboutwhat he says , that one is involuntarily chained to his l ips , eventhough one does not understand the language : and whet;Bryne '

repeats it in translation the effect becomes still

greater.

Pronounced Br ittle.

Act . 40. DR. THOMAS’S LITTLE ANECDOTES. 283

Upon the Peace question there was at that momenta spec ial wil l ingness to hear

,and our friend the Ed itor

gave him his hearty endorsement again,headed in

large letters, Com-3 AND HEAR DR. Tuouas’s LITTLE

ANECDOTES ! The resu lt of his work was the

formation of the Stavanger Peace Society. My hus

band helped to draw up the Consti tu tion which wasadoptedafter his second meeting,and it was joined byover one hundred that n ight or on the succeeding day .

Before leaving for England healso held a large Peacemeeting in Bergen

,andastrong Peace Society wasformed there a lso .

We bade farewel l to Norway in a fur ious storm of

rainand wind, in sp ite of wh ich more than a dozen

of our Bergen friends were on the wharf wav ingadieu to us . That n ight the engines of our steamer

broke down,and for twen ty-four hours we were at

the mercy of the storm,dr i fting far out of our course.

However, after a voyage of nearly four days wereached Newcastle in safety

,in time to spend Christ

mas wi th our daughterand our sister and brother atKendal .

We had much intercourse afterwards with our

Scandinavian Friends . During the next two years

four numbers of a l ittle paper cal led the “Ven l ig

Hi lsen ”

(Friend ly Greeting) were prepared wi th thekind help of Engl ish Friendsand of Marcussen,andcircu latedamongst them . The Danish Friends after

wards carried it onas the “Friendly Messenger,

" for

several years, indeed unti l J. F. Hanson started the

334 RICHARD H. m om s, M .D . 5. 1!

Norwegian Friend. We also comp iled amamof rel igious instruction for use in the train ing of thch i ldren

,on the l ines of that drawn u p by Lind

Murray. We had many corresponden ts among the

and my husbandalmost to the close of his l i fe wol

speak of the possib i l ity of some day v is i t ing th

again .

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386 RICHARD H. THOMAS. M .D .

th is blessed though t of God , and in H is die

To be made the bearer of th is great m e :

redemption was to him the h ighest pr ivi lege

and he be l ieved that he cou ld give itmore s ti ce

a layman than i f he had devoted his who lepreach ing, because it is God

’

s message o f 1:every-day salvat ion

,appeal ing to man as man

pendently of al l ex ternal accidents of race, 0 1

or ri tual .

I t was for th is reason that he had opp 0 1

tendency of modern Quaker ism in Americato s

the cal l ing of the m in ister from the du ties of 0life . Because of these convictions he had ch

devote the main part of his timeand stret

med ical work,and it was primari ly th is wh ich i

him to take up his practice again after the

breakdown of his heal th in 1 896, under co n

wh ich many another wou ld have fe lt excuse

from al l unnecessary exertion . The very lathat he went out it was to visit a patient the lathat he painful ly dressedand dragged h imse l f llsi tting-room it was to ' perform his dutiesas se

to the Board of Trustees of the Woman '

s 1

Col lege . So he died in harness, not primar i lysake of the medical work, but bemuse he h

thought that God's message of salvation cou ldway be most intel l igibly interpreted to the thm

practical sp iri t of the present day.

Act. 41 , MINISTRY or R . H. r . 287

As to his preach ing itsel f, I have thus far said but

little . It was very varied in character he would

sometimes give aclose ly reasoned logical discoursewh ich strained the attention of his hearers from first to

last,and brought conviction byaseries of inexorable

steps . At other t imes he wou ld ta lk inan unconven

tional mannerand almost in a conversational tone,largely in homelyand unexpected i l lustration

,and

surprising one by the practical and common sense

turn of the thought and teach ing. Never shal l I

forget how once in a week-day meeting he deal t in th isway wi th wandering thoughts

,wh ich he suggested were

often the very matters about wh ich we needed to

consul t the wil l of God . He had still another mood

when he was carried away by a fervor of sp iri tual

imaginat ion ,and would pour out what was real lyapoem in

'

p rose,appea l ing, with impass ioned utterance,to the deepest fee lings of his hearers, and full ofstriking passages,as for example , when , speaking of thedeath ofChrist

,he said : He saved others

,Himself

He could not save ; that was why they crucifiedHim

,and why we ever s ince have worsh ipped

Him .

Wonderfulas his m in istry ofteh was, i t wou ld seem ,

from numerous testimon ies rece ived since his death ,that it was his individual personal work that producedthe most resu lt.His own view of his cal l to preach and of his

message is given in The Prophet Echoes andP ictures, p . and from it I wi l l quote

388 RICHARD H. THOMAS , M .D .

I must speak out the mes sage God give sless

Were from pride , or from fear of the creatureW e“

The s trength of the Word of the Lord,and for £6

frown ,

Whom the mes sage assailed , make it soft , t i ll the c

come down .

No ; let me strive ,as they strove , God’s prophets ,anendure

Say fearless , Thouart the man, to the proud or th“God's Word is against thy sin ,and His j udgment s

Letme walk in the l ight of the Lord , let me live in HiAnd ready for ins tant service , equipped for the hour ,To speak to the few or the many whate'er He may eel

Or to sit in silenceand wait,and Hi s power attend.

Le t me live with my heart ever open to Godand to maLiving in human love ,as I only through God’s Spiri t 1And knowing my strength isas nought, that the em

face ,

Which evermore lives in my heart, is the proofthat HWhich answers my needas a man

,is to reachall the 1

So may I speak , that the men who hear ,as theythink ,May know in the ir inmost heart the clear call of the I .

For the love of the risen Christ goe s out un toall,And His love holds possession of me , —I would j oin inSo shall the word that theyhear strike unex pectedly InAnd awaken the ir longing for God

,as heedless they rtAs the Word of their Godand their brother entreatcome .

Ow ing to the great demands upon his strfi

husband wrote very few letters during his

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390 RICHARD H. I HOHAS .

foralong time , but this evening he had0 O 0

Th ird-day found me in bed, so Anna t]peace addre ss I was to have delivered to fi lI t was said to beagneat success . The nce

a meeting for me at Chalfont House—a1young men coming to London for study or Ian invitation sent out to many of the m t

people . It was bitterly cold but nearly onecame , not only from London, but from Luttetc. I spoke on the atti tude of soul we me

learn ofGod— humili ty— whole-heartednesableness , and a readiness toaccept the liglchannel it might come— outward or inwatHoly Spirit does not teach history or factthe inner meaning of what we knowconception of God's character has ever be:

that of the bes t man he knows of. Thi s brcand Christas testified to by the proof of ex pwith pointing out the necess ity not only ofbut of the need of the divine powerand new

Jesus to enable us to enterand to live in isinand saving us .

A large number (com ratively) were taddres s seemed to mee t with endorserwide divergencies of view , -andappeared ttand altogether there was much to be the.

day I restedand went to Wille sden forthe even ing . About th irty-five were presall who had been invited,and I spoke on

Life . I th ink the Friends whom we met

spoken on Friends’ principles , but I bel

Act. 41 . AT YORK. 391

On the tenth of February we wen t northwardsandspen t three most interesting weeks at ScarboroughandYork. The weather, however, was sti l l bitterly cold

,

and Dr. Thomas became so poor ly that we were

obl iged to go for rest to Kendal . On the 9th of March

he wro te from there

Kendal ,

3rd mo. 9th, 1895.

My Du n Joan ,

Weare sti ll here, the combination of external coldandmentaland spiritual exercise

,and mybeing rather poorly to begin

with, was too much ,and now for more than a week I have beendoing next to nothing. To day Iam feeling stronger ( though Iremained in bed till nearly noon) ,and we hope to go forward toLancaster on Fifth-Day, the 14th, but we must begin carefully.It has been delightful be ing here in the qu iet with Maryand

Our stayat York was even more interes ting than the one atScarboro .’ There is a most interesting se t of earnest youngmen in York whoare seeking for more light ,and, at the sametime, seeking to spread light . I had a number of conferences with difi erent ones ofthese ,and my preaching was large lydirected to this class . It was very unconventional preaching,amusing,and a careful avoidance

-

oiall theological termsas faras possible . The ear of the young men was certainly gained

,

and several told us that they had been much helped . I trus tthat they were . The expressed sympathy of the older portionof the meeting was most helpfuland cheering . They, I think,understood the situationand were very thankful that the Lordwas hlesamg us . This is difierent from the way in which someof the orthodox "Friends over here do . Some insist on a

393 mcaannam om s. M .D .

uniformi ty ofet pression ,and ifthat is wan t ing thi

is gone . Iam glad l have oorneacros s very few .

type. But the ir influence has colored the i r echo

so that many who are really broad in the ir syn

to suffer for the exclus ivenes s of the few , andunjustly as narrow . There is indeed one 0

approaches to that Doorare many.

We did manage the day at Lancasterallthis letter, but, wi th that exception, my b l

pract ical ly no work from the 28th of F ebrt

20th ofApri l .

We were sti l l at Kendal,and he was v

and feel ing almost d iscouraged at the slow ;were making, when, on the 27th of March , tatelegram tel l ing us that my dear mother itinto her heaven ly rest . We went immc

London, feel ing very thankfu l that we con

our loved ones in th is time of sorrow. l

had been poorly during the whole six week

had left London,but the end came very no

to us al l,and was a great shock to my hushweak condi tion . For several weeks he waslaid as ide,and the question began ser iously

itself whether he would be able to carrproposed work. In one letter home he sa~no l ight on g iving upat present, but it is clccan on ly proceed very slowly.

”

At last, about a month after mymother'

s

mm a beginn ing by going to Banbury forOrson Quarterly Meet ing,and thence to For

t

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m m am ” .

American Priends inattendance l had felt I eonld nntat hanymeeting to be heldasat my reqw st.

was asked for by the Young Friends ’

Uniomand u theyasked me to let themwith them I felt easy to go forward in the rnatter. Weencouraged Samue l Neaveand Rufus K ing to command thqboth took acceptable part . About two hund red and myattended, and we understandalarge number found j ust the

help they were needing.

The subject of myhusband’

s addressat this meeti ngwas “Hi l ls of Difi culty.

" He dwelt upon severalofthese, amongst them one, wh ich he said, he hadnever spoken of before, viz., the difi culty which some

are making for themse lves by seiz ing uponthat seems l ike evidenceagainst the truth

, thus

bo lsteri ng themselves up in their unbelief. To thathe said

I want you toask yourselve s this ques tion : Do you thinkthat such a method is less foolish than that of those whoacceptthe Gospel ? Are you priding yourself upon your superiorwisdom ? I want to warn you that there is 11o advancepossible for the soul that is proud inany direction . Pride isanabsolute preventive to progress . Pride of befiefor ofrrnbelwmboth impass able barriers to further progress in the way of ‘theLord. I call on you to give up that which you know to bewrong.

Open your heart to the Spirit of truth . We want to be verypractical in these things . God has His own way for every soulthat is quiet enoughand obed ient enough to followHim . [M y

man will do His wi ll he shal l know of the doctrine whe ther“heof God, or whether I speak of Myself.

" Wilt thouand put it to the tes t ? It must work if thouarthumbleand quie t before the Lord .

Act. 4 1 . HILLS OF DIFFICULTY . 295

Some ofyou have seen during this Yearly Meeting what is thewill of God for you,and youare saying, I j ust can

’t do it.”

Who is asking you to ? You have no doubts . You know it isthe Lord. Youare troubled s imply by you own will . You say,I may do harm Iam so weak .

”The Lord won’t fail ,and if

youare trusting Him , it is Hair power that is going to help you .

I be lieve that some of youare making difi culties for yourselvesby taking the Lord’s promises in too literalas'ense. You readBe not anxious what ye shall answer when they bring youbefore kingsand governors ; and you say, Well , if I werebrought before Queen Victoria , or before the magistrate . for

con science sake, I would not be anxious .

”Remember that in

speaking thus , the Lord was revealing Hi s way of working . Let

us claim the prom ise . Be not anx ious if thouart going to speakin meet ing. Be qu iet, and put thyse lf in His hands . The

difi culty is going to be taken away. What is it but the old se lfcom ing back again ? Youare tes ting by your own weaknesswhat you are capable of doing. Give yourself wholly to theLord. The greates t mistake in the world is to do nothing forfear of making a mistake .

Again ; you say, “ Iam giving up to the Lord , but I dou’t

get as much as I expected .

”Perhaps you haven

’t startedright ; you want to do the Lord

’

s work in your own way,and ofcourse you get crooked . The real difi culty is that you take itfor granted that your present way of living is acceptable to theLord. A Christian shut up to the Lord must bring his dress, hisbooks, his time , to the Lord , andask Him about everything.

We are not to make hardand fas t lines for ourselves . Ifwewant to get over our difi culties we must face them in a practicalmanner . Let thy confidence be in the Lord. He wil l show theehow to work out His wi ll .

At the Annual Meeting of the Friends’ Home

M ission Committee myhusband spoke on the SimpleGospel of Quakerism. He said that when people felt

396 RICHARD H. m as. u p . 1395.

that the principlesand doctrines of the So ciety of

Friends were just so many th ings added on toasinipitgospe l then he could understand why th ey shouldhes itate to teach them . But from the s tandpo int of

most of us he thought th is was not th e case. He

continued

The simple Gospel has to do with the life that now isandalso with the l ife that is to come . Now , what is simpler than tomake the chi ldren , or the adults , in our classe s recogn ize thatthe Spirit of God is stirring in their hearts ? What is simpler

than to make everyone feel , whether they are con verted or

unconverted, that the Lord Jesus Christ, who die d for them, is

still interested in them ,and not only that He is inte rested inthem , but that He loves them somuch as to come to them byHisSpirit in their hearts , drawing them to Himse lf ? What issimpler than to te ll them ,

not that theyare morally no good atal l (which is certainly not a Bible doctrine) , but to te ll them thatwhatever good they haveand whatever desires after righteousnessand peaceand God maybe in the ir hearts , have been putthere notas something which is gained by education , not something which is s implyanatural product , but it is there becausethe Spirit ofGod isworking in the ir hearts . Their des ires maybevery goodas faras they go, but what we want to tell them is ,These des ire s which you have , these struggles which you haveafter righteousnessand after true manliness , you know in yourown hearts you cannot attain to . And here we come wi th themessage of a Saviour who has begotten those desires in yourheart,and if you will yield to Him , you wi ll find that He wi ll giveyou the power to res ist your temptationsand to go forward in the

way of righteousness .

" It seems to me that here is a practical.

a s impleand very efi’é ctive way of preaching the Gos pe l of theun iversal ity of the Spirit of God working in the hearts of thepeople . And what is s impler than to tell people that al l the y needis the Lord Jesus Christ , to say to them , You do not needany

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398 RICHARDa. THOMAS. M .D . in;

After a l ittle more work in the n eighborhood of

Londonand a First-day at Hitch in we retu rn ed to fit

North of England, and, after jo in ing in aserim ot

meetingsat Leyeat,and also visi t ing De n t Meetingand Sedbergh, we went into Scotlan d

, whm we

practical ly spent the rest of the summer s

At the beginn ing of th is time we were for some

weeks amongst the “Ayrsh ire Friends ,”and of this

visit my husband wrote

8th mo. oth , 1895.

Mr VERY DEAR FATHER,

We have now left Ayrsh ireandare here , j ust to the north

of the Birth of Clyde , at Mary White’s summer Cottage, for

two days ’ rest before the General Meeting at Edinboro', towhich place we hope to go this afternoon. Our time in Ayrshirewas one of the greatest interest,and I believe of ble ssingandprofit. These Friends have not been convinced through thereading of Friends’ books ,and so theyare not copyi s ts . Therehas clearly been a genuine awakening to the deepe r spiritualtruths of experience . through the working of the Holy Spirit.Several of them told us that whi le they did not come to the

truth through the writings of Friends , yet these greatly con

firmed them. We have had about thirty meetings wi th them.

and many conferences with the ir leading members . While inmany ways I have felt like sitting at the ir fee tand learningfrom them,and trust that I have done so

, yet I have not hesi!tated to explain clearly to them the danger of a one s idedandpurely internal apprehensionand setting forth of truth ; thatthe coming in the flesh of the Son of God is something thatwe can never outgrow ,and that there is no contradiction he

Act. 4 1 . IN SCOTLAND. 399

tween the revelation of God outwardlyand inwardly,but that

they mutually explainand enforce each other,and are bothessential to a full conscious experience of reconcilation withGod,and walking in His power. To a number of them I havecarefu lly explained the nature of the Hicksite errors

,and

cautioned them against the use ofwords capable of being greatlym isunderstood . I can thankfully acknowledge that Ido not remember ever to have received, in the same length oftime so many fresh open ings of divine truth, or to have seen

more clearly in a spiritual sense the fulne ss of the reve lationandble ssing that comes to us through Jesus Christ , God’s everlasting gih to man , the same yesterday , to-dayand for ever ,working, sufiering , seeking, conquering, re igning and now

coming to us inHis fulness .

V isi ts to Hawick, Dundee , Aberdeen, Fraserburgh ,Perth , and Edinburgh fo llowed , winding up withnearly two weeks at Glasgow, where we had manymeetingsand a t ime of special interest.

CHAPTER XXI I I .

ENGLAND, 1 8959 6.

English Work— Personal Work—Minute o! the 1

THE five weeb wh ich elapsed between 01

from Scotlandand the Manchester Con ferespent in vis its to Darl ington, M iddlesbro

'

, Sm

Newcastle, North Sh ields , to Dr. Hodgkin

borough Castle, to Great Ayton, Stockton a

Then came the Manchester Conference . My

wrotean account of it for the American F riei

wh ich I quoteafew sentences .

The Conference was not only representative in reg .

variety of localities from which those who attended italso in its variety of thought. Every shade of op

has come intoany prominence in the Society has fourthat ablyand fairly presented it , nor was thereanymanifested to interfere with the free utterance of hi

viction .

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303 m ann e r ism s “ . mg.

He readapaper on the Vitalizing of dlwtr'

ngi fir

Worship , from which l have selectedafew sentenca:The presence and worlt of Christ in the M eet ing is tht

primary thing ; what we sayand do. however immrtantandnecessary , is only se condary. Weare but His servants

,and

But l hear someone say thatall this sounds very well, bct

that practically it does not worknhat the right pe rsons tooomam sflennor the wrong perm ns speah or tabe the leadandthat ordinary peOple do not understand this method . Wdifi cultiesare real,and there is noarrangemen t that m he

devised to meet every case. But Li rareaches it, asavkathm am evenafewmme hq ho believe in the fleadship otChrist in the Meeting , and are not adop tingthing without conviction , these difi culties areunder control, for the rising oflife encourages the timid,adsilences the unruly. I say this not from theory but from obscr»

vationand ex perience.

How then is the life to eome ? 0nly life can give life. Weneed the living word ofGod in our meetings. Noth ing short d

thisanswers . Suppose we could heneand now decide on whatwas oorrect doctrine ,andall proclaim m thing but thag would

thie vitalize our Meetings ? Certainly not, ot itself. The mteaching in the letter is not life-giving. Chnsh crucified , risen,

living, is not truly preached unless li e be preached in the fi diShall we be vitalized through Bihle study ? This is vety

important, but it is not of itself vitalization. Shall we m mto vitalize our meeting by carefully prepared serinons , or by

appointing some one person to be over them to feedand nonfish

them,and thus lead them to look to him rather than to the livingChrist ? No,for we cannot become strong on methods thatareatvariance with our princip les . Why shouldwe seek to vitalize ommeetings for worship by means that will make them d easew

an . 4 1 . m s v rrm m o or MEETINGS. 303

Shall we make our meetings attractive by arranged songsandm usic ? Our purpose is not entertainment, but to receive the

personal touchand teaching of the Lord. What then is needed ?( I . ) To be vitalized menand women ourse lves ,and to live in

simple obedience in the powerand presence of ChristTo recognize the full scopeand purpose of our meetings ;To hold them,

not because it is our method to hold themin this manner, but from a practi cal conviction that this is

the true bas is for meetings, because of the underlying principlethat the Lord's immediate guidance in the assembly is the truesource of public worsh ipand ministry .

He was also asked to take part in the great clos ingmeeting on

“The Efiective Presentat ion of Sp ir itua l

Truth ,"and from th is address also I will give extracts .

I feel that the danger often is in ourministry, thatwe tryto convince peopleand bring them to our views on our own

authority, or on some other external authority, saying, youmust believe this because it is said , or because it is written .

We need more and more toadap t the Apostolic me thod ofcommending ourselves to every man'

s conscience in the powerofGod. We do not produceany sound eifect un til we reach theconsciences of men . What we seek to do is to reach the

condi tion of the peop le ; not to en tertain them, so that theysa,y

“What a good sermon he preached, but to make themknow that God has spoken to them. They may reject it then ,if they choose , but they know that they do itat their own peril .We maywell rejoice to get back to the position of the Apos tles.

They wen t to the Gentiles withoutany external authority what‘

ever ; without anything that might commend them to the

people but the me ssage of God.

In coaclusion, l personallyam perfectlywilling toabidebythis tesg the God thatanswers by fireJet Him be God . Put

j esus Chris t into the field , show Him forth clearly as the

Saviour, and we may depend upon it that the voice of the

304 RICHARD H. THOMAS. M .D . raps.Holy Spirit in the hearts of men will soon show th em theirneéd.

and that they will come to Him ,and rejoice in Him .

‘

To his brother Al len he wrote from Ken dal soonafter the Conference

Kendal , Englan d .

n th mo .a7th , 1895.

I wrote quitean account of the Conference in Manchester for the “American Friend." It was a tim e of greatinterest. I ts succes s partly turned on its being he ld withoutany attempt to formulate conclus ions . Had this be en attempted.the result would have been most serious , particu larly on pointsof doctrine . As it was, I believe that good was don e ,and thatboth sides came to understand each other be tter

,at least l

hope so . We have been aweek ar — holding meetings.

It was a curious time , as we encoun tered a worldlyChristian spirit that seeks to do Christian work ,an d run withthe world at the same time . Accordingly some werestirred up by my preaching which was strongly on the side“

a clear experience ,and a clear surrender,and trus tan d implicitobedience . On the other hand, others seemed to find jus t wh

atof great power. On one evening afterattending the MissionMonthly Mee ting, we stepped in at a Friend's di s cuss ion on

clubs for working men as a counter attraction to the SaloonMost of the speakers endorsed the thoughts that had been set

before them by the lecturer,and approved of clubs with smnldag;billiards , card playing, dancing, music hall , etc . l was calydupon to speak ,and did so , hearti ly endorsing the ideaof theclubs , but going on to say that we must be carefu l in trytto providean easy wayfr om the Sa loon (public house ) notmakean easy way to it ,and showing howanyprivate theatricalsetc . ,that could be provided could not compete in that line with

Report ofManches ter Conference , p. 282, 28 3.

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306 RICHARD u . THOMAS, M .D .

Torquay, St. Austel land Liskeard were sueeessfifllgaccompl ished .

Stopping by the way again at P lymou thand Bristol,we then returned to Londonand spent som e time in

visits to the surrounding Meetings o f Kingston,Croydon

,Peckham

,etc. ,and Dr. Thom as had the

company of our brother-in-law,Dr. Wh itn ey , in the

short visi t to Ken t, where they attended the QuarterlyMeeting at Ash ford,and visited Maidston e, C anterburyand Folkestone. Some further work at Stoke Newingtonand Tottenham ,

wi th one or two special par lor meetings in London for young peop le fo l lowed, and thenanother rest became necessary. We took i t at Ramsgate,but many meetingsand vi si ts came to in terrup t itanda visit to Caleb R. Kemp at Lewesafterwards provedreal ly more restfu l .

Then came ten very ful l days at B irm inghamandManchester. The visit to Birmingham was memorableforanaddress on The Quaker Posi tion on the Sacramen tsand Worsh ip , given at a large meeting at theAssemb ly Rooms . Of this R. H. T. writesas fallow :

4th in 1 7th, 1396~

My Dear. A un t ,

We have been several days in Birmingham. Whilethere I gave an address on the position of our Society 69M inistry and the Sacraments . It was inapenrie ball inEdgbastonand about 400 persons came, at least halfof themnot Friends . John E.Wilson pres ided. The people were mostquietand I believe were impressed.At the large Mon thly Meeting, the day

ing to me to see the efiect when the re

Act. 43 . AT MANCHESTER AND LEEDS. 307

which had arranged for it was presen ted . There were hardlyanywords of praise, but the meeting generally seemed contrited

at the contrast between the ideal and the actual , and prayersand exhortations were uttered in accord with that fee ling ,and then there was a solemn

,and for the occasion , long s ilence .

I t was a result far more according to mywish thanany amountof praise. A report was taken but I have not seen it .’At Manchester we attended the Quarterly Meeting,and my husband gave another remarkableaddress onQuakerism . Itwas during th is Quarterly Meeting thatJohn T. Dorland was taken i l l near by at Didsbury,and the news of his ser ious cond ition cast a shadow

over the meetings . My husband went twice to thehome where he was being so lovingly nursed at

D idsbury,but the last time it was on ly to learn that he

had that morn ing passed peacefu l lyaway. Thus wasa usefu l l ife cut short in its prime,and we were anewimpressed wi th God's apparent carelessnessabout workthat to our eyes seemed so im portant.

Our next visit was to Leeds,where Dr. Thomas had

cons iderab le opportun i ties in connection wi th Yorksh ire

Quarterly Meetingand also with the students then at

the Flounders Institute. Rawdon was the next placeon our l istand then Malton

,Ackworth

,another visit to

York,and lastly Huddersfi eld.

By th is time Yearly Meeting wasagain approach ing.

Our brother Dr. James Carey Thomas was a lso inEngland,and my husband un ited wi th himand with

‘At the ins tance ofBirmi ham Friends, theaddress was printedunder the title of “The Qu er Pod tion on the SacramentsandWouhip .

” Birmingham : Cornish Broe , New Street .

303 RICHARDa. m om s , M .D . 1896.

his s ister Mary S. Brai thwaiteand Anne W . R i chardsonin the appo intment of two special m ee tings for

younger Friends, both ofwh ich were striking o ccasionsAs soon as Yearly Meeting was over w e went to

Read ingand then to E atington,Ipswi ch

, C he lmsford,Safiron Waldenand Co lchester. A w eek’s visit to

B irm ingham fol lowed, ch iefly devoted to th e M issioncen tresat Bournvi l le

,Se l ly Oak, etc. We had several

opportun ities of meet ing wi th themembers ofthe Adult

Schoo lsand the attenders at Friends’ Meet ings.

York, Bradford and Lancaster were n ext visi ted,with several mee tings andaddressesat each place ;then a First-day at Harrogateand thenaweekat Hull,and lastly Sou thport, where we spentaFirs t-dayandhad threeappointed meetingsandateamee ting, after

wh ich my husband gave once more his address on

Quakerism .

I have thus traced the course of my husband’

s

journeys in England,but real iz ing that I was s carcely in

a position to saymuchas to the real effect of his work

I wrote in January last to John Wi lhe lm Rowntree,who had been aclose friend of Richard's , and who

would,I knew

,be able to speak of th is . He repl ied

most warm ly, proposing to come to Kendal , where I

then was,in order to talk th ings overand ob tain by

personal conversationaclear idea of just what waswan ted . He did come on the Monday

for America,and left us with the inme what was in his m ind from the steam er. So fungall ifeand energyand of earnest plans for the advancement

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3m arcan e )a. m om s. M .D .

I have since turned toanother d ear friend et myhusband's,and Edward Grubb has v ery kindlywrittenthe fol lowing beauti fu l estimate of his E ng l ish work

DuaFRIEND , ANNA B . THOMAS ,

In response to thy request for a brief statmnentas tothework of dear Richard H. Thomas in England , Iam glad tohaveth is Opportunity oftestifying to its las ting value . He came tous at a critical point in the his tory of the Soc ie ty of Friends.when many of the younger people , who had come in contactwitllrecent thoughtand study, were getting almos t hopeless ly outoftouch with the pillars of the Church ,and were in danger (flosing, not only their interest in Quakerism , but the ir holdaChristi anity itself. What Richard did was to br idge the gulfbetween the two sections , at a time when scarce ly anyone elsecould do it . His deep personal consecrationand his intenserealisation of the power of Christ in his own life made hi s ministryacceptable to persons of settled faith , whi le his broad sympathyand wise and unders tanding spirit attracte d those whowere hesitating , and made them feel that here at least wassome thingparable. Moreover, the brightnessand gaie ty of hisspirit commended his fai thas something that made for gladnessand not for gloom .

But powerfulas was his ministry in meetings for worship , inreaching the minds of earnes t seekers after truth, his p rimetalks with individuals ,and his letters to them , were even more

efiective in bringing them nearer to the l ight. He poured himse lf out without stint or grudging to many lonelyand troubledhearts , who found in him for the first time one who could speakto their condition. It was easy to open out to one so lovingandsympathetic , who was not shocked by revoltagains t traditionalbe liefs . And he knew wel l howthe standpo int of his own re ligious

the convulsive order. He never askedany seekers to begin the

Act . 42 . FROM EDWARD GRUBB. 3 1 :

Christian life by believing imposs ible things. He drew them tothe beauty of the character of Jesus , and led them to perceivefrom this His revelation of the Father. He showed how Christenters into all our moraland social ideals , even when we do not

acknowledge Him . And al l through he gave us a positive sensethat he was speaking, not from a book , but from life , and waste lling us what he knew . His prayers with us in private wereass impleand naturalas the talk of a ch ild to a paren t ,and welonged that we too might know such intimacy wi th the Father ’sheart .Many were thus led by his loving hand out of darkand lonelyplaces to a personal knowledge of the heavenly sunshine ,and hedid not despair of those who were slow to learn . I write of thiswith feeling, for I myse lf owe more to Richard than toany otherreligious teacher . And others have told me wi th thankfulnessthat through him came to them the first real vision of JesusChrist.It was this side ofhis work which appealed to me,and which Itend to th ink did most to help the Society ofFriends. There wereother sides his power to lead into a deeper consecrationand aricher service those whose faith was untroubled , but whoseChristian li fe was starved ; his faculty for uni ting those whodifieredas to the aimsand methods of miss ion work , by makinghis ordinary preaching at once intensely Quakerand ferventlyevangel istic .

I was with him on one of the last occasions when he attendedthe Eutaw Street meeting at Baltimore , a wetand stormy Firstday evening early in 1904, on which , though very far from well ,he presided atan address I gave, to Friends of both branches ,on the Needs of the M inistry . At the close he addressed tothose who were presentan appeal for consecration to th is

, thehighest of all call ings , the like of which , for beautyand hearttendering power, I can scarcely h0pe to hear again.

And now those tender winning accentsare but a memory ; yetone that will linger in many heartsas longas l ife shall last. His

RICHARD H. THOMAS , M .D .

work for the Society ofFriends in Eng land cannotye t ; ifshearises from the dust ,and shake s beroelf,her beautiful garments , going forthas on e to whom

given for the uplifting ofhumanity. it will be in tro s}because he gave the impulse ,and led many souls i t

of visionand of power.

Iam,with love ,

Croydon , England ,Fourth-month 3rd , 1905 .

One who has since beenan active worl

Lord in foreign lands has sent me the fo l

a short resume” of a conversation wh ich m

had wi th her at a Quarterly Meeting at Alt0 1I t came too late for insertion in its r igh t p lnarrative, butasan ins tance of the kindwork to wh ich Edward Grubb has referredinsert it. She writes

Dr . Thomas left the older Friends with whomtalking to give a precious half-hour of histhe shy girl whowalked down the garden toge ther,anof where I was in my soul l ifeand myin mee ting,and of the full stop wh ich seemedmy spi ritual experience just then His was ivoices the tone of which can never be forgotten , for iwas revealed the peace of God which reignedsoul. Afterwards , when carefully thinking over hisme I hound that it was God’s message through him ,

to knowand love better the Master to whom he hadpointed me .

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RICHARD n . m om . M .D . 1896.

adopted by the English Meeting for Sufler ings upon

Dr. Thomas’s death ,and, may I add that,as no one

knows better than myse lf in how great a sense of

phys ical weakn essand weariness his work '

was cttndone, it has been a great comfort to me to receive time

proofs that it was of such real serviceand he lp .

M INUTE or Mem o son Sus rsmncs, Losnofi.

Held 4th n th mo.,1 904 .

The death of our dearly loved friend Dr. R ichard H.

Thomas , of Bal timore, wh ich occurred on the 3rd of

Tenth month , has brought us into close sym pathy withhis fam i ly, and has raised afresh in our m inds theremembrance of his loving spirit and his devotedservice for his Lord

,aservice which he carried out

during long peri ods of labour in th is coun tryas Welleson the continent of Europe and in his own land.With a wel l-informed m indand cons iderable powers ofthought, he combinedamost sympathetic natureanda remarkable clearness of sp iritual vis ion . By the

fai th ful use of these gi fts, even when weak in body, he

was ab le not on ly to he lp many Friends, youngerandolder, to clearer views ofDivine tru th , but also to stir

up in their hearts thatactive response to th e lov e of

God wh ich transforms l ife from a wearying drudgery or

a selfish frivo l ity in toajoyousand fru i tfu l serv ice forothers . Special ly noteworthy was his diligence in

use of opportun ities for helpful in ter

course . In his vocal m in istry, whether in Mee tingsfor Worsh ip or in spec ial gatherings of a p ublic

Act . 43 . MINUTE OF THE MEETING FOR sm aamcs . 31 5

character, he seemed hardly to th ink Of self, but

brought his whole being into his message ;and in

private converse wi th those who sought his advice it

was at onceapparen t that he wasable to understand

their difiicultiesand their needs,and to br ing his bestpowers to meet them .

His influence in th is country was a very extendedone, and the times , longerand shorter, spent in his

company, wi l l be for al l t ime fragrant in the memory

Ofvery many of us .

Wh ile rejoicing in the thought that for him faith hasvan ished into sight

,and that he is now in the presence

Ofthe Lord he loves, we share with his clear wi fe, Anna

B . Thomas,and her daughter, and wi th her father,Joseph Bevan Braithwaite

,and the other members oftheir fami ly

,a sense of the great loss they have

sustained, and we commend them to the abounding

love Ofthe God of al l comfort.

HY. LLOYD WILSON,Clerk.

CHAPTER XX IV .

Mon treux— Letters to A C T — Reflections on his Illnes :

ful Spiri t— Alassio— The Au thor Of“Mademoise lle Mr

True Triumph The Dying Scholar Penelv e"— S]

Summ er in England— Re turn to Bal timore— DeathJannc . ll unnas—é Re s unnng: VVOrk - Sunnmens hn lflevf— Open Air Mee tings .

1896 —1898 .

IT is clear from the preced ing chapters that thDr. Thomas was making was almost too much

phys ical strength , but he struggled on ,anxiouspletewhatwas on his m ind in E ngland,and hopia short rest

,to be able toattend the l itt le

Meeting in Denmarkand to revisit some in w]had been special ly interested there.

After th is we had expected to return to Baand he was feel ing a strong des ire to be with

in his own home meetings once more .

In the middle Of Ju ly, 1 896, we were at Sm

the last place but one on our Engl ish program ,

had a busy week ofmeetingsand visit ing, whenon the last day he was taken very i l l wi thahheart fai lure at the house of some Friends by w

31 6

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318 RICHARD H. M AS. M .)

that instead ofsaying to myself, “ I sup pose ]thankful,” l find that Iam thankful. lnaclstrengthening of the conviction that the Lord '

:

best, and the one pathway of bless ing for mcreatesafeeling ofthankfulness in regard to twhat l should wish .

I t was at Nauheim that he wro te

Rem in iscences wh ich form the ear lypresent volume ,and it was here also thefive short poems

,eviden tly in tended to to

and inserted in th is place on account

they give into his thoughts .

I .

What seekest thou ?For Life

Not l ife whose laughter dies into a kmBut where youth , truthand love cterm

That Life I m k .

For Joy PAy Joy.

Yes , j oy. I th irst fi r that eternal sprirWh ose streams rejoicing , joys immort

Such joy I seek.

What seekest thou ?For Peace

Not peace where passion in a trance liDrunk with the wine of Lethe slumber

True Peace I seek.

Ag t. 42 . AT NAUI—IE IM.

What seeke st thouFor Christ

gtyChrist .To Christ who oEers truthand rightem ness

I come , who late sought Lifeand Joyand PeaceAnd find themall .

Canst thou not rest , my soul ,Save when thy willIts wish can fill

There is no rest at all in such control .

What was thy Master’s meat,His drink, His fillHis Father’s will.

Ha“thou e’

er known OfanyM d so r

Here layHis strength. He bowed,Alert . yet s i n.Waiting that will

Then wroughtf -O soul ,art thou for this too proudAlas , my thoughtsagree

But how fu lfilThat mighty wil l P

Christ, with Thy sayim sh ength lay hold on me.

And is Thy tear

no RICHARD 11 . m om s . M . D . ragsFor answeri ng touch I long ,

For answering word.Tears ri sing from a heart that feelsand knows

,

A human heart that fillsand overflows ,Divineand strong.

Lord , hast Thou heard ?And can it be

Thyse lf that com’

st through stormand g loom to

I may not speak the grief I feel ,The inward pang may not revealLord, grant , through this , that I may gainAnointed eyes for hidden pain ,And haste with tender wordand deed ,

To hearts in unsuspected need .

V .

As Thou didst touch the bier,And bid the young man rise

And stay the mother’s falling tearIn glad surprise .

So e’er the hourwithdraws ,Wherein our hopes lie dead

We wait Thy touch, the bearers pauseTo hear Thy tread .

Thou dost not touch the bier ;The past must buried be ;

Thou touchest us — With smileand tearWe joy in Thee .

Nauheim, 9th mo . 1 8th, 1 896.

From Montreux he wrote to one ofour broth ers on

his wedding day

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322 RICHARD H. THOMAS, M.D. 1896.

so I have been confined upstairs , though it isan ex quisite day.

I certainlyam much better, though for two or three daysafterreaching here I was wretched.

My heart is with you in America all the time no beautifulscene would be so beautiful to meas to be with youall. I hu hnot the sl ightest intention of settling in England, but everythingin the future is so uncertain , that while I have prospects , I haveno plans.

Engl ish Friends have been most kind in messages of loveandsympathy,and everything is madeas pleasantas possible forme. Iam hoping to be able to make something out ofthesemonths of enforced quiet and not degenerate into amerevaletudinarian . I have not much energy forany settled work inthe way of study . However

,inval idism has a vocationas wellas

activity, which I wish to fulfil . The very kindness of thoseaboutone , tends to make one selfish , and one has to watchagainstlooking at slight pleasuresand discomforts with a microscopewhen they apply to oneself,and with thoughtlessness when theyapply to others.

I t was alsoat Montreux that he wrote in his privatememoranda the fol lowing

The doctor at Nauhe im was non-committal . I do not reallyknow what he thought, but his manner was what doctors oftenuse to those in regard to whom they have l ittle hope. He saidenough to show me that he considers I could not be expected tosurvive an attack of severe bronchitis or anything of thatcharacter, that he does not expect if I should l ive for three yearsthat I should then be able for active work . He gave a stronghint that he thought it doubtful whether inany case I shouldl ive through the winter.

For myself I consider all earthly prospects as particularlyuncertain . I have no presentiment of approaching death . Atpresent, after three months

’restand much treatment, Iam only

fairly well, while doing nothing requiring much exertion either of

Act . 42 . REFLECTIONS IN ILLNESS. 323

body or mind . I have no plans ,and fee l perfectly content atthe thought that I may never be able to engage in active serviceagain. I have no care in the matter, and can hardly say howvery littleall that I have done appears tomeand how insign ificant,thoug h I am thankful for having been enabled to do it. Mypresent weakness is chiefly due to my activitie s in Christianw in iary.In so faras it is so Iam p erfectly willing to pay the price.

Oftenand often trave l in prayer to the Lord desired on ly thatHe would bless souls through myword,and added that if theprice for this should mean suflering to me l was willing to bearany resu lting weakness or pain of body that might follow. Ibe lieve souls have often been reachedand blessed on theseoccas ions ,and Iam happ y in th is little way to snfler for theirsakes .

My trust is solely in the unmeri ted mercy of God toward merevealed in Jesus Christ . I cannot understand myself trus tingto my own goodness . I t is not there

,I cannot find it. I have

oflen thought the se lf-depreciation found in the writings of goodmen was the result of a morbid state of mind . I still think thatsometimes it has been so . But, although Iam not aware ofhaving ever done things worse than what ordinary people woulddescribeas mere venial sins , yet ,as I moreand more understandthe true pattern of righteousness , wordsand thoughts fail me todescribe the vision of my unworth iness . Jesus Christ, Whoknowsall, is my hope and my Redeemer. To Him I look , inHim I trust . I do know that He has come to meand is in meI look to Him to carry on His work in me according to Hispurpose for me , that I maybe like Him,

made meet for the everlasting inheritance. To His praise I can say I have receivedsomewhat of that inheri tance now.

Iam content to leave myse lf in the hands of my Saviour . Ihave no restless sense of unfin ished work. As I lay in Southport

,and saw by the manner of the doctor that he thought I might bedying , a quiet sense of completion came to me. I felt I had no

334 RICHARD H. m om s , M .D.

farewell words to say, even to my wifeand daughter. Theyknew all my heart. I do not be lieve in the dying leavingdirections for future guidance of the livingas to particulars , except possibly in the very near future . I felt I could leave theworkand my loved onesand myself in God’s handsand udfi

without one more word or look for earth .

Now Iam still l ivingand may continue to do so. I greatlyregret being so easily upsetas to my heartand streng th bylittle things ,as I was at Bad Nauheim . I suppose I could not helpit, but I feel that others mayhave taken itas evidence ofamindeasily disturbed . But I leave it. I now desire to be ready forall opportunities for service , however small , and to wait theLord’s willand time ,and be a comfortand help to those who so

lovinglyare attending on me .

Montreux , 1 8th roth mo., 1 896.

And again

Yesterday morn ing I felt it laid on me to pray for a happyspirit. I do not think I have ever felt this before in the sameway, for I have always thought such a prayer selfish . Now I seethat it is essent ially unselfish . A happy, joyful spirit is the

greatest blessing to those around. Noth ing can take the placeof it . That it is a bless ing to one’s self does not alter the factthat with ourselves out of the question we can pray, O Lord

,

for the sake of others , give me a happy, joyful spirit.”

1oth mo. 22nd, 1 896.

And later on in the winter he wr ites againFlorence ,

1ath mo. rst, 1 896.

It is now within about ten days of being five months since Iwas taken ill ,and my progress thus far has not been great.The doctor says my heart is certainly very much stronger, butmy general strength is not much improved. Still ,as he says , ifwe can only getaclimate that will agree with us it may do

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Many of the towns in the Rivieraare closely shut in hy thesheltering mountains ,andare bes ides cut 06 ite m the sea, eitherby the railway or by walled o in gardens , or houses bu ilt close tothe water . Few haveany open beach but Alass io enjoys thme

miles offirm clean sand which formsamos t p leasant varietyfrom in land walks . This beach is fairyland fer theart ist. Herc

may be seen liv ing specimens of those fishe r folk c lad in greenand yellow , blueand scarlet, fami liar to us on the lids of anchovybox es in our childhood days . We supposed them to be nzene

freaks of the imagination, but now we behold themactuallyaliveand engaged in those congenial labors connected wi th theirboatsand fish ing nets , the ir bright green trouse rsand yellownecktie s contrastingmost bewitchingly with the warm brown

and dusky olive-c lad hills . But alas the pernicious influence oithe foreigner has had its efiect on these innocentand dmplefolk (P) . They will stop in the midst ofhauling in the ir nets orlaunching the ir boats with a sudden outs tretched handand,“Un soldo signora? "that g ives one a mos t unpleasant sheetof surprise . If you sit down to takeahasty sketch ofsome

portraits taken , and some urchins even demand money in orderto induce them to go away . They think , I suppose , that theInglese is made of money,and that he is the ir lawfu l prey.and probably his behavior in the pas t has confirmed them in

this belief.The town of Alass io stretches for about a mile along the shbre.

At ei ther end of the main street there is a highand gamutgateway, dating back to the days when the town was walled inand fortified to protect it from the assaults ofmarauding Saracensearovers , or almost equally hos tile attacks from the hill vi llagesinland. The shops make scarcelyany show in the ir windows,butare very interes ting places to shop in,as theyare ‘packed

Act. 43. ALASSIO. 337

inside with all sorts of goods ,and if anyone has time to spend hemay unearth treasures of native potsand dishes , and , in fact ,almostany product of mode rn civilization from these unprom is ingrepos itories . Behind the town are orange gardens and oliveyards , dotted with the villas already spoken of. The hills commence to rise .and many of the villasare high above the town ,andare often reached by steep , narrow s ilitas , cobbles tone pathways or steps like those at Clovelly.Our own vi lla is one of these , and is supposed to enjoy one of

the fines t views in Alass io. It is perched on the hi lls ide ,and hasa good -sized garden round it , full of roses andfleurs de lys .

Down stairs we have a vestibule , a stone oflagged hall , diningroom, parlorand kitchen , all small , but all getting plenty ofsunshine . The furniture is scantyand shabby, but sumcientlycomfortable ; is ,

we have two great luxurious armchairsand acomfortable sofa in the parlor, and so canaflord to ignore thefact that all the other chairs in the houseare caned ones, straightand uncompromising, or ancient and rickety. Our trave llingbookcaseadorns one corner of the parlor ; a few photographs of

absent dear onesand a few choice objects whi chwe brought fromFlorence , some fre sh roses , a bunch of splendid wild violets , abracket or two adorned with Richard’s macramé work, and a fewof my sketche s serve to brighten up the roomand give it a cosyand home-like appearance . Here ,as evening draws in, our littlefami ly assembles and enjoys de lightful readings of M ilton

,

Shakespeare , Addison, Coleridge , etc., etc. , winding up with twoor three games of Patience before retiring. Upstairs we havetwo bedrooms, a servant

’

s roomand a tiny study for Henr ietta .

Two of these have balconies , and all have grand seaviews .

Our servan t is named Paulina. She has lived with the inhabitantsof the villa since it was first built,and is a very pleasant obligingwoman , agood cook,andaltogetheramost satisfactoryindiv idual.She professes to understand no English—she certainly speaksnone—but we have susp icions that she understands more thanshe willadmit. However, she is very quick at interpreting our

338 RICHARD n. m om s, n o . 1397.

broken sentences ,and on the whole we have but li ttle difi cultywith the housekeeping department. I have said nothing aboutthe lovely inland walks , the violet-carpeted olive terraces, thequeer mountain villag es,and the numerous place s of interestwithin easy reach , butas I fear I have already run on too low,

I will leave these item s to the imagination of my readers.

Another letter from Alass io tel ls of one of the“Teas above referred to. I th ink my husband hadmade a special effort to go to it for the sake o f meeting

the authoress,M iss Roberts, whom he descr ibes .

MY DEAR ALLEN,

At the teawe metMiss Roberts,author of Mademo iselleMori ." She is a little lady with white hair ,and in figureand shapeof face reminds me of Mary Talbot , ifany very quiet persnn canremind one of such a nervous li ttle body with nerve sas thinasthread papers as she (M . T.) used to ex p ress it . Mi ss Robertshas a rather thin, high pitched voice , but is mos t pleasantandhas a very genial smile . By a little mane uvering on Anna'spart, I got to sit nex t to herand we hadagood deal of conversation . Among other things she told me of two china plates shehas, made in France at the time of the Revolution. The first isin keeping with the spirit ofthe times with cannonand balls , ‘etc.

The other is adorned with the fleurs de lys. It is ofthe samedate, at the height of the Revolutionand must have a uniqueh istory,as the manufacturer must have produced it at the riskof his life . I gathered that it was this second which gave the

idea of the loyali s t painter in Noblesse Oblige ,” who cons

tinned to p ut a Fleur de Lys in his pictures during the Revoln.

tionas a sign of his own nameand his Opin ion s.

“NoblesseOblige ,"however, is not the correct title of her book, which she

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Although thyfear sball deem him l

Whilst thou, disheartened , lonely,

W’

rth donbt in darkneu and distreSoekest in woe the wildem ess .

ThyGod has borne thy thoughtawTo shelter till the dawning day.

Thou has t declared it untomen ,

They deem it dead.

"I‘

v ill oomea

Unseen of men, till victoryFrom its lone hiding place shall freThyblessed thought . No more uh

It come s with strengthand beautyInall the joy of heavenly birthTo make men worthier ofthe earth .

And lips shall praise ,and handsatThe wreath for other heads than thYet res t thee, still its parentageI s thineand God's . Fromage toNo grander work on earth is wrongThan bringing forth God's perfect

Thou shalt rej oice. Not victory,Union wi th God thy cnown shall be

Alassio , rst mo. 6th, 1 897.

Act . 43. m m. 331

The last words of a young man , a scholar of high hopes ,were What if my name never be written in an earthlybook if it is writtm in the Lamb’s Book ofL ife.

” He died , Ith ink , about twe lve years ago .

N0 one will write my nameHigh on the roll of fame

,

Care how I wentand cameLaboring in sorrow.

Goneas the seasonsfly,Goneas a paw i

ng wigh ,Goneas the bubbles die ,

Knowing no morrow .

Yet have I known a timeWhen I have dared to climb ,Seeking the he ights sublime ,

Gloriousand lonely.Echoes of coming praiseSeemed to surround myways ,Hope-songs through di smal days

Each day m task was done ,eve some gmal was won,Nowall has perished

Whatare the heights attained ?Whatis the Guadon gained2

NO viu i write mynameHigh en the who of fame,

33a RICHARD H. m om s, M.D. 1 897 .

Yet m ymy name instead,Love-writ by ONE, be readDeep in His heart that bled ;May that heart meet me.

Alass io , rst mo. 26th, 1 897.

I t was during th is ted ious convalescence that Dr.Thomas wrote Penelve,

‘oramong the Quakers

,

" a

story that had long been in his m ind,and wh ich waswritten w ith the hope of commend ing Quaker princi

ples to some who cou ld not otherwise be reached.

j ustas the time came for us to leave Alassio, therewas some recurrence of the heart attacks,and we gaveup the thought of return ing viaM indenand Denmark,and took the eas ier and warmer route by N ice

,

Marse i llesand Paris .

The summer was spent very qu ietly wi th our sister

and brotherat Kendal,and wi th my fam i ly in NorthWales . Au tumn cameand still the longed for improvement in heal th had not taken place. A winter in

the south of England was talked of but myhusband fel tthat he must go home. He adm i tted that from the

med ical standpo int it looked foo lish , but he fe l t clear

that it was the Lord’s will,and so in October we

started from Glasgow in the “F urnessia.” We had

as usual a long stormy voyage,andafter a few daysspent wi th our brother at Haverford, we reached

Bal timore on the even ing of Saturday, November zod,1 897. The th ird Quinquenn ial Conference of Friendsin America was just over. Our brother Dr. James C.

‘The last c iu Penelve should be silent.

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in the ful l tide of workand strength .

Al though th is first winter was phys icallyone to

'

Dr. Thomas we never doubted

been rightly gu ided in return ing at the

By Chr istmas we were once more settled

our own , at 1 71 8 j ohn

l ived during the remain

By slow degrees he

health,and feel ing strongly that some m m

wasahelp tc h im in his mini stry,aysar later he

yie lded to the so l ici tations of some of his ownandhis brother's patien ts and once more engaged inpractice .

He could no longer risk the eXposure armtravell ing amongst the coun try meetings, but he

cou ldand did do much by correSpondence to d im

and he lp them on . At the time of his death he wascorresponding Secretary of the Pastoral committee,

aposi tion wh ich involved keeping in close touch

with everymeeting.

“The Interchange was begunagainand carried on wi th an earnest W to bui ld

up and estab l ish in the truth the memb ers of the

Yearly Meeting. To them his home was always open,and I th ink that none who shared i t wi ll forget his

hearty hosp ital ity, or the glad welcome he wou ld

give toany ofhis country friends coming in unen

SITTING ROOM AT t7 l8 lOHN STREET. BALTIMORE .

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336 sacru m) n . m om s . n o . 1897.

There were one or two iso lated Friends l i ving near by,and the first thought had been to ho ld a m eeting with

them ,but we found that the place was su ch afavorite

resort on Sunday afternoons that at th ei r suggestion

benches were improvised and m ee tings (on the

ord inary l ines of a Fr iends’ Meet ing) were held in

the Grove on eleven successive Sundays , the weather

on ly once at al l interfering with us . The audienceconsisted large ly of non-church go ing m en andusua l ly numbered about two hundred . The North

Berwick Friends helped us most hearti l y,and thoughin the nature of the case it was not easy to count upresul ts

,.

°

ne deep attention,and the solemn hush that

often fol lowed the address, and the con tinuedandincreas ing size of the meetings, gave ground for hopethat souls were really yield ing to the Lord .

Our summer out ing usual ly included a visit toNew Bedford, where our dear friends Maryan d HelenSeabury always putas many Opportun it ies for helpfu lness as poss ible in my husband’s way. But it

wou ld swel l th is memo ir beyond reasonab le bounds

to attempt even to touch upon al l his constantandvaried activi ties

,and I must leave the extracts from

his letters to his sister,to te l las faras may be the

story of his closing years.

CHAPTER XXV.

LETTERS,1 898

— 1 899.

Indiana Yearly Meeting— Patient Continuance in Well-DoingSuppliers of Spiritual Gifts—The Tsar’s Peace Man ifes to— ACrowded Mee ting— New York Yearly Meeting— Educational

Biblical Criticism— Joysand Sorrows of the Chris tian— Ptofessor Cheyne— AHigh Spirited Lady— FreedomoftheMin is try— Li ttle Worries .

To Hrs SIS ran .

Bellefonte , Penna,roth mo . 13th, 1 898.

THOU wi lt have thought us very negligent in writing, but thereason has been our close engagement in meetings , so that Ihave not written at all to thee s ince I left Baltimore three weeksago. As in that three weeks we have averaged considerably overa mee ting a day, besides vis its , conversations on religiousandpersonal mattersand considerable travelling, thou wilt , I think ,feel thatas this is my first really decidedand sustained efi ortasa travelling minister since I broke down , I was jus tified intakingas much restas possible . I have really got on remarkablywelland al though once or twi ce I felt on the verge of giving out,yet by keeping quiet for a l ittle whi le I was able to go on . All

say Iam looking remarkably we ll.Indiana Yearly Mee ting was very interesting,and was wellworth attending. The rushand hurrah of the pastoral movement

337

33s mcnann n rnouas m $99

is over . There is some recognition of its prac ti cal difi culties.

On the other hand there is no talk of giving it up . The idea of

quiet waiting is evidently a forgotten thought in many cases . It

isas easy to s ing as it is to breathe with man y. And yet I

never heard stronger statements of loyalty to Frien ds ’ principlesthan during the Yearly Meeting,and the Minutes ofAdvice bothfrom the Meeting of M inistersand Eldersand the Yearly Meaing at large , were wholly conservative in the ir tendency.On our way home we stopped at Wi lmington ,

Ohio ,andattended two mee tings, and had an opportun ity w ith the

students at the College . Friends were most cord i aland kindly,broke up mee tings by shaking hands instead of by the benedictionas they often do. I told Levi M ills that I did not wish for themto alter their methods for me , but that I did not fee l easy to risefor the benediction . The Meeting hasan attendance on Firstdays of 400 . They say that their Yearly Mee ting is attended byabou t all the week , formost of their to memberscan drive to the meeting after breakfast.Iam glad to have been away in a differentatmospha'e ,and Ithink I see th ings more clearly. I shall seek to live in a waitingspirit,and shall s imply plead for true freedom, but seek toallowto others what I claim.

To Hrs Srsrsa.Baltimore ,

u t mo. s4th, 1899.

On First-day we had a large meeting,and I had the chiefservi ce,as regards length , speaking from the passage Let us

do good unto all men , etc. The connection with what goesbefore is impress ive . It followsan exhortation to be patient inwell-doing, with a promise of ultimate harvest. This seemed tome to be so very hopeful , for in this hope weare to do goodaswe have opportuni ty to all men , so thatall men. in theap osde'sview, were worth doing good to . I dwelt on thisandalso eo

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RICHARD H. THOMAS, M.D. 1399.

I send it on for you to consider. Of course , the protest againstthe power that lies inan ordained clergy to do this is utterlysound. Dependence onan ordained clergy is untrue to Scripture ,and to experience . But certainly it is not wholly error but

truth wrongly explained. We do not wish to teach others to looktoany set of men , still less toany individual, but we do wish tofind out how we may become suppliers of the Spirit to thoseto whom we maybe sent,and how to bring them to Christ thatthey maybecome , each in his own degree, suppl iers of the Spiritto others .

To Hrs S ISTER .

Baltimore ,

3rd m0. 7th, 1899.

Iam very busy to-day writing letters , trying to work up aninterest in the Peace movement in connection with the Tsar’sManifesto. I think that something will be done . We have beentardy about it here ; the Span ish-American War has been adrawback to us. However, weare getting to work . The s tartlzer e in Baltimore has been made by the episcopal bishopwriting in the daily papers . It required some efiort to induce himto do it , but now he has done it, he has done it well . Wearetrying to get others to follow suit. Our Friends’ Peace Associat ion is having a number of copies of the address to the Tsarprinted for distributionand s ignature .

Opportunities for me to present Peaceare increas ing. I wrotethat I have on handan address before the M in isterial Un ion of

this City the end of this month . Now I have been given halfanhour at the Educational Conference of Friends at Providence inthe Sixth month . Other Opportunities loom upas well. I hop eI maybe able to fill them .

Act. 45. PEACE worm 34 :

To Hrs 8 131 3 11 .

Baltimore,

3rd mo. 14th, 1899.

Iam engaging in business (somewhat) beyp nd my ability tomanage ; in other words , the stirring up of sentiment in the cityin favor ofthe Tsar’s Peace Man ifesto is chiefly devolving uponme , and although Iam not attempting more than what is inreality a very small movement , it is a very great deal for me withmy l imited resources of physi cal strength. I have got out ofthis kind of work ,and I do not do it in a way most economicalof energy, partly because Iam new to it,and so about twice aday I feel , as father would say, at the far end.

” However,there is not very much more now to do except to send out 300

circulars, in which work I th ink we shal l have help.

I will enclose a letter I wrote to The Sun , which hasarom d some interest . I h0pe some good maybe done by it all .

To Hrs Srsrsa.Baltimore ,4th m0 . 1 1 th, 1899.

Pleasant echoes of the crowded mass meeting on Peace oflast week continue to come . A letter from Benjamin Truebloodrece ived this morning says that he met Edward Everett Hale fera few minutes , and he told him that the mee ting was the hemthat he (E. E. H.) had in M eaty-five years . The

Editor of“TheAmerican ” said tome that he thoughg itwasasignthat the city was ge tting to have a new spirit. He had beengreatly impressed that even during a port ion of the time when

him the credit for90 letteras to my

34: m am m “99.

n hadflr u ked for m naaefi t bn m andasked hm

Association of Friends has been distributing aboutmore . So that there is something to be shown for the

work.and l believe that the people mean business . Anna wasamuscd with , who hesitated to sign lest it should causeher brother, who is in the navy, to lose hi s p lace onaccountof the consequent diminution of armamen ts . Anna told herthat she thought that there was no danger ofany such sedden

alteration of plansas to bring about such a result. Now we

have before us the more thanklessand difficult task of trying toinfluence public sent imen t against the course the Government ispursuing in the Philippines . However, there is a strong feelingagainst it,and I be lieve a growing one .

What a bad bus iness the loss of freedom in Finland is ! Ido wish that there were some way in which these poor peoplecould be saved from the grinding curse of the Roman despotismThere seems nothing that can be done , but it is very trying thatthis shou ld come justas the Tsar is so prominently befi re theworldas the Herald of Peace.

0 O 0 0 O

The prospect of attending Philadelphia Yearly Mee ting i s, ifall goes well , soon to change into reality . In three days we goon. I hope that I maybe preserved inwisdom while there . Themeis the double danger of offending the Conservatives by too muchl iberality,and the Radicals by too much breadth in treating of

the right attitude toward the B ible . However, I believe the

plan is bo be careful, to be perfectly honestand Straightfi fwamd,and to be tenderand gentle . I believe that a hesitatm tench,with the evident fear ofnot beingappm cd og is mowm u

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3“ RICHARDa. m oans. MD . 1899.

go where he can have it otagood variety,and with their theological training schools other bodies can supp ly the ministrybetter than we can,and with their wealth they can give betters inging. The new methods will , I think , lead to the leaving us

ofour bestmembers , froman intellectual point ofview. Whetherwith theadoption ofthe methods of others we can ,

by evangelization, be able to more than counter-balance this drainremains to be seen. I do not wish to take the pos i tion of

rivalling other bodies , but I do fee l that ifwe haveafreshmessage to give,and give it, it wi ll make the whole ChristianChurch richer than ifwe makeafeeble imitation of the work of

others .

E ighteen ninety-n ine wasayear ofactive work. In

July my husbandattended the Friends' EducationalConferenceat Providence, Rhode Island,and read thepaper on Peace referred to inaprevious letter. He

cal led it M ilitarism,or M ilitaty Fever,and treated the

subject with med ical phraseo logy, describing the

symptoms ofan attack, the causes,and especial ly theproper treatment to be adopted . I t was primarilydes igned for teachers and educators, and was so

strikingly p ut that one ofthe American Peace Societieshas since circulated many thousand copiesamong this

class .

john Wilhelm Rowntree wasalsoat the ProvidenceConference,and heand my husband, with Rufu s jonesand others, had much personal talkas to the ou tlook

for American Quakerism . One outcome of their

consultations was the Haverford Summer School of1 900 , to the plans for which frequentallusions occurin Richard’s letters .

Aet. 45. ARRANGING FOR A SUMMER SCHOOL. 345

To Hrs SISTER.

West Falmou th , Mass . ,

7th mo. I 8th , 1899.

G. B .and Iare trying to work upaSummer School somewhatl ike, thoughalong way behind Scarboro', for next year . This

is confidential,andat present weare only so faradvanced thatweare carrying onaprettyactive correspondence . I hope thatit willamount to some thing. The visi t ofour English Friends‘

has only emphasized what was in our mind before , that the timehas come for us to be veryactively stirring ifweare to makeanyheadwayagainst the rising tide ofun-Quakerly thoughtandpractice that isamongst us . I do not like to use thatadjective .

If it were only denominational interests which wereat stake Ido not think that I should care , butas I believe that we haveamessage , Iam desirous to do what I can to get that messageinashape to be delivered. It is rather curious to me to notethat ofthe two people here who have been the most outspokenin endorsement ofmy preaching , one is describedas anarrowevangelical ,and the otherasaUnitarian . The first says thatwhat I preach is the pure gospel ,and the other is so glad that Ipreach so broadly . I may say in my defence that I have con

sciously catered to neither , but have delivered what I felt wasthe message ,and I hope that good has been done .

To HIS SISTER.

Wes t Falmouth , Mas s . ,

8th mo. I I th , I 899.

I wasat the Quarterly MeetingatNewport, Rhode Island , lastweek ; it was avery intere sting occasion . The Friends weremost cordial ,and I had full opportunity to preach ,and did so on

How beautifulare the feet,” etc referring to the three timesthat this expression is used in the B ible , and commenting particularly on the context in Romans . Incidentally I developed

JohnWilhelm Rowntreeand A. Neavem'ayshaw.

343 RICHARD H. THOMAS , M .D . rm

Thus he speaksalmost contemptuou sly of the “rhapsodies ”of

the second Isaiah ,as beingahnost useless compared with theexecutive power ofNehemiah . It may be qui te true that theywere ineflective for the moment ; but they have certainlybeenfoodand drink to thousands who have to their own personalknowledge gained but little fromNehemiah . Each had his place.But I think that even inahistorical sketch , more re spect shouldbe shown to suchawriteras the second Isaiah. I suppose thatCheyne would say that he does Show respect . There are some

good things in the book,andamong them is hi s e xplanation dthe origin of the Priestly Code. He says that it would be :mistake to suppose that it was in theaccurate sense oftheword,

anew code . It combinedancient e lements free ly , and thatEzra, for example , did not deliberately set to work to compostit, but that he was the redactorand compiler,and that he wouldhave had no hesitation in saying this,and in afi rming thatthrough the Spirit ofthe Lord be had been enab led to codifyandarrangeand restore the true Mosaic teaching . Thi s seems

to me to beatheory which bears on the face ofitan evidence oitruth,and entirely relieves the redactor ofany dishonesty in thematter. Cheyne believes that there was es sentially no returnbefore Ezra,and that this was only cons iderable no t really great.He thinks that the firmanallowing Ezrato go back to Jerusalemisavery clever forgery because it gives him powers that Emdid not wish to haveand did notask for, or exercise ,and whichwere inconsistent with his known Character. This may be true.but it seem s to me that one mightas well say that the Chartergranted toWilliam Penn is not genuine, because it creates himCommander-in-Chiefofthe provincialarmy ,and we all knowhis peace principles .

The upshot of it in my mind is that we must takeaatmosstand. Let usacceptall the factsand the fairly proved theoriesthat the H ighe r Criticism can bring to us , but wi thall the lightthat comes to us thnough them, we must remember that the sealofChristian consent is on the booksas theyare,and that when

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330 RICHARD H. THOMAS . M.D . 1899.

To Hrs Srsr s n.

WestWalmouth. Mas s. ,oth mo . 1 8th, I899.

We hadavery pleasant vis it from the Barto'ns .and bad muchtalkabout the Summer School or Conference .

” He is veryfull ofit ,and weagreed that tbe time has come for m o m

certedaction . There is , of course , the danger ofoppositionbe ingaroused, but our me thod is intended toallay notarouseantagonism , and toaid the cause of spiritual re l igi on. As

matters now stand there is serious danger ofthe whole Samgoing intoanarrow evangelicalism , while we who see deeper

remain isolated hereand there . We have borneand borne inhopes ofabe tter day. some ofus have individual ly lifted up our

voices , but ti ll now there has been no concertedaction .and the

case has become serious . I do see signs ofsome reac tion , but only

local . I have Clearly told George Barton thatwe cannot haveanyClever guesses or theoriesat the Conference but only those coo

clusions upon which scholars generallyareagr eed . Then we

wish to haveaddresses on the H istory of the Churchand on

Friends. The ideais not so much to teach fi rst: as so get

people to take the true po int ofview . I know there is danger init, but wearealready inaworse danger. However . nothing isreally decided yet,and it is possible that the comm ittee when itmeets may decideadversely.

To HIS SIsr sR .

I oth mo.a7th , 1 899.

I hadavery interesting time withaladyand her hus band.

She had been greatly impressed withasermon I had preachedon Communion,and said she had never heard the importance ofacceptance of the Lord’

s will put so strongly before, wi thoutfatalism being taughtas we ll . She evidently felt that here wasan experience ofwhich she was wholly ignorantand W W

Aet . 45. A HIGH-SPIRITED LADY. 351

for it . She asked me to call , which I did. It wasamostpeculiar case . She be lieves in having spirit ,and told me that whatI had saidabout some women be ingangry that theywere women

just fitted her . She was often soangry over it that she wishedshe wasacolor ed man rather. (CouldaSouthern woman sayanything more strong ?) Then she had headaches . I told hershe was mad when she had them— madafterwards because she

had had them ,and mad before because she was liable toattacks ,and mad with the people who made anoiseand caused them .

Sheadmitted it. She told me what she had never confessedbefore , that sheadmired Jesus when He turned out the moneychangers , but really regarded Himas weakand mean-spiritedwhen He bore the insul ts without re sistance . I told her thatthere were two reasons for hearing injury quietly, one was fromcowardiceand the other from strengthand love . It had neveroccurred to her before . She told me she was training herchi ldren to have spirit , and recounted the following incident .Her boyand girl were quarrellingand she could not stop them ,

either by moral suasion or condign pun ishment . Finally she

said, We ll now, ifyou must fight , fight .” 80 she stood themup in front ofeach otherand told them to hit each otheras hardas they could till they were exhausted . But the fight becametoo hotand she had to separate them . Then sheasked the girl(who was the elder) , Did you hit your brotheras hardas youcould ? The girl clenched her teethand said Yes, I did .

"

The mother was pleased. She thenasked the boy, and heanswered No, I didn’t want to hurt heras muchas she washurtingme . The mother was , to use her own expression , in

despair, ”and felt that her son would grow up to be worthless .

What I said to her maybe imagined .

Finally, when I had got her to see that Christ’s forbearancewasaproofofstrengthand love , Iasked whether she did not

also see that ifshe was m partake ofthe salvatioaChristandto become afollower, she must partake ofHis spirit. She

replied that she saw it. It was logical ,and she was convinced.

352 RICHARD H. THOMAS. M D. 1899.

We then hadaquiet timeand I prayed . Immediate lyafterwards she rushed out ofthe roomand her husband grasped myhand, withaThank you very much .

" Then she came back,her eyesand eyelids simply bathed in tears , and she said that shehad seen new lightand would start out onanew path .

To Hrs Si sr sa.Baltimore,

n th mo. 20th , r899.

Annawill have written to thee in regard to the Yearly M eet»

ing . It is the first one that has ever been held here that waswholly in joint se ssion . I thinkall were pleased with the result,although some felt that the liberty for separate session s shouldbe kept . The meetings were certainly more intere sting thanin separate sess ions , but the pleathat it isasaving of time tomeet with the menand women in the same room did not workout in practice . The joint sess ions took longer .

The two subjects thataroused the interest most were , the

freedom of the ministryand Foreign missions . I t was mostremarkable . I had aconcern to speak on the subisimply said out in the plainest wordsall that came to me to sayon the method of having pastors,and the tendencies of the

system . A few yearsago suchanaddress , for I spokeat leasttwenty-five minutes , would have aroused opposition on the

part ofsome in the meeting. It is possible that I myse lf havelearned wisdomand had the grace to say decided things inagentle loving manner ,at least peop le said I did . Howeverthat maybe , it called outalarge express ion of sentimen t fromthe mee ting,and every one who spoke strongly endorsed whatI said, when they referred to it. I was very t hankful,and think that the result wi ll have hadan educating influence onthose who were present.I cannot say how thankful Iam for the fuller secret of restand real joy , suchas I have never known before with anythinglike the continuance . I see ;that rest i s the secret of

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354 RICHARD H . m oras s. M.D. 1399.

life risesabove them,and I feel hopeful . I do not think that wehave had foragood while such general reason for hopefulness ,and there is no doubt that thereare signs ofadrawing towardthe Mee ting from the outside that we did not have last year,andstill less the year before . On Fifthday morning I . J . Neavegave us reallyaremarkable sermon on the Immediate PresenceofChrist, in which he , inamost loving way, gave pretty straightteachingas to the mistake oftrying to formulate theor ies as to

the Second Coming ofChrist,an expres sion which he characterizedas unscriptural . Iam not quite sure he was correct in thi s ;Christ’sappearingasecond time without sin unto salvation isspoken of, but he interprets this scripture spiritually , as I domyself in adegree , though I rather think that the authordid not. A Friendappeared toanswer him in prayer , in whichthe other side was stated rather pointedly. I felt agreatconcern that we should not haveatheoretical butapract icalmeeting on the following First-day,and much desired help toturn it into that channel , not only because ofthe possibi lities of

the presentation ofthe Second Coming ideal,but for the sake of

the littleannoyances in the meeting. I did want to he lp peoplerise above them ; Joel's descript ion of the army of locustsimpressed itself on my mind,and I did what I se ldom do. I

studied up the background in George Adam Smith'

s Book of

the Twe lve Prophets ” as to what theallusion s meant . The

application I did not think very muchabout till I was in the

M eeting,and the real meaning of it did not come to me tillalittle while before I spoke . I was most thankful . It seemed totake hold ofthe meeting most forcibly . After describing theplague oflocustsand what itmeant ,andhow it caused wholesaledestruction, I proceeded to point out how the great even ts of

our lives are generally farapart , but that the little events , theannoyances are constant , and that sometimes we may be

tempted to say that what the business cares have left household care s have eaten,and what the household cares have leftthe social cares have eaten ,and what the social cares have left

Act. 45. THE PLAGUE OF LOCUSTS. 355

the cares of the church work have eaten , till there seems to beno green thing left in our lives . Each one is so small that itseems ins ignificant, but s uited they serve to blot out the sunandeven to stop the daily sacrificeat times . Then I illustrated the

poin ts fromall the sphere s oflife , the worriesand the misunderstandings ,and the tendency to hard judgments , etc. Then Ipointed out that these thingsare not really the locusts it is our

thoughtsabout the worries thatare comparable to them . Ifwe

would only get into the rightattitude in regard to them , andview them from the point ofview ofthe will ofGod , they wouldcome to us , notas clouds of destruction that blot out the sun

and cause evil , butas clouds laden with refreshing rain . To

those who are brought into the experience of this rest thepromise is fulfilled : I wi ll pour out my spirit upon all flesh ,

and your sons , etc.,shall prophesy— even the servants , slaves,

whoare in the experience.

X . Y. followed withan evangelical exhortation ,veryappropriateand in p lace. I believe that the message went homeand didgood , and I was very thankful . Of course , I explained thatwhat I said was in no sensean interpretation ofJoel , but that Ionly used what he wroteasan illustration . It was difi cnlt toavoid be ingalittleafraid ofProf. H.

,and I tried not to lookat

him while I was speaking. I wonder what he thought of thatuse ofScripture , but one cannot be in bondage even toaHebrewProfessor .

CHAPTER XXVI .

LETTERS, 1900 .

Sinand i ts Remedy— Depressionafter Preaching— Modern Thought

— A Photograph- Roan runs his Work at the College— TheHaverford Summer School— The Things that can be Shaken.

To 11 18 Srsrsa.Baltimore ,

3rd mo. sth, 1900 .

Ian interested in what thou writesas to — '

s ex periences .

The evangelicalsareabsolutely wrong in the ir method and not

far from right in some of their instincts . I have jus t beenreading God'

s Education ofMan," by Hyde . It was recon»mended to meas one ofthe very best books on the reconstructedgospel . Well

,it has splendid things in it,and is mos t suggee

tiveand most disappointing. There is no true gospelatall (hesays) in insisting on convers ionand the new birth : he wouldentire ly explain themaway as being nothing more than the

natural efi ect that one character has onanother. Seeing the

truthand living forand serving others is true enough. but em lythere is adivine power that is p ut within us as wellas mestrength that comes from our own resources . Iam sure of this.

that the new theology has not yet foundhope it is in the process offinding it, bu

355

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353 RICHARD H . THOMAS. u p . 1900.

and it stimulated me more than I can well say. I wi sh that Idid notat time s get so flatafterase rmon. It se em s to takeeverything out ofme ,and it isalmost imposs ible for atime not

to feel that it is no good doinganything . I fe ltalmos t sickwith disappointment, First-day evening ,andyet I found the nextday that what I said was fe lt to be specially he lpfu l by quiteavariety ofpeop le . Yet I do feel that there is not the power inwhat I saythat there ought to be , or I feel sure that m ore re sultswould show themselves .

Annasays that ifI knew how much people thought ofwhat Isaidand could be made to believe it, it might make m e p ufied

up , so that she thinks it justas well perhaps that I do fee l as Ido, but this is not what I mean . I want people to be helpedand blessedand converted. Noamount of praise su its me ,apart from this ,and I don’t think theamount really great anyhow . But while Iam thankful to know that people are helpedand strengthened through what I say, yet I long for people to beturned to the Lordand convinced.

” “We must be sati sfiedwith the Lord'

s w ill , and not wish greater results than Hedes igns us to have .

”That isall right , but the point is I s the

Lord. or oneself, responsible for the results not being greater ?Iam inclined to think that Iam not wholly free from fau l t inthis respect ,and I mean to correct what I see .

The more I think ofthe modern thought in regard to Christianity, the more it seems to me that people are perhapsunconsciously mistaking the new theories forgenuine experience .

Now the most that new theoriesand views can do is to give anew interpretation to facts . (Iam speaking of the everlas tingfact s not the details ofhistory . ) As longas this m istake is

made “TEKEL ” is to be writtenagainst the new thought. Itwill bring deadness , not because it is not true , but because , how»ever true it may be , it is nothing bu t theoryand intellectualconception . Simple childlike faith isas poss ible on one theoryasanother , theadvantage ofthe truer theory is that it will not

tend toalienate those whoare often made enemies to the faith

RICHARD H. THOMAS,

Act. 46.

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360 mcmum H . THOMAS. n o . 1900.

member ofthe Board ofTrustees ,and two years laterwasagain made Dean ofthe College, which office he

held unti l the time ofhis death . In connection with

his workasateacher one ofhis students writesDr. Thomas was one ofthose Professors who never lectured

from notes. He told us , not so much what we could learn forourse lves from books (though he quizzed us pretty thoroughly inwhat we had to study by ourselves ),as what he had found out

by practical experience , often illustratedand enforced byajokeor by someanecdote , which greatly enlivened the dul l monotonyoffacts . Ifastudent was unable toansweraquestion on his

lectures , it was , in his mindat least, not her fault but his own ,

for not having made things perfectly clear , and he wouldpatiently go over the subj ect , point by point , until he had madeit so plain that even the dulles t could not fail to understand .

"

ADoctor who was his intimate friend during theselast years ofwork writesI was intimate ly as sociated with Dr. R. H . Thomasasaphys ician ,and I love now totalks . He was , se e

him to investigate , no trouble too

laokn fthoroughness in them able toconsidered .

He spen t himse lfsoanxious for his health

Aet . 46 . DR . THOMASas A PHYSICIAN. 36 :

would ,at times , decline to undertakeacase , but when he hadassumed the responsibility he simply did not know how to letanyconsideration ofse lfmodify his high sense ofduty. When the

case was overand the question of the fee had to be se ttled , he

putamost modest estimate upon his services ,and even then ,as

His workat The Woman ’s M edical College , where he was

Deanand Professor ofDiseases ofthe Throatand Chest, was of

just the same character . He was theadviserand friend ofeverystudent ,astimulating teacher,andan untiring worker for everyright thing that couldadvance the interest of the school or its

Had Dr. Thomas ’s health been diEerent, or had he not been so

fully occupied with his religious work , he would , I believe , havetakenavery high place among medical teachers . He wassplendidly endowed, well-preparedand filled with agenuineenthusiasm for his profession,and it was only the circmhstancesofhis life that could have kept him from occupyingavery largefield. I have often thought that ifregret had hadany place inhis triumphant faith

,it would have been for the renunciation of

his professionalambition , which his impaired healthand the

aceep tance ofhis higher call necessitated.

But to return to his letters . In June, 1900 , the first

Ammi can Summer School was held at HaverfordCalm Penna. The College, with its commodious

halls ofres idenceand beautiful grounds, wasan idealplace for the purpose

,and the School, so long planned

for,wasagreat success . He describes it inaletter to

his sister, dated North Berwick, 7th mo. sth

Mr Bu m n Srsraa,The Summer School wasagreat success . I do not

mean that everyone was pleased.

or that no one felt grieved .

But there is no doubt that on the whole people were greatly

363 RICHARD H . THOMAS. MD . 1900.

helped and widened in their thoughts , and that there wasasp iritualas wellasan intellectual feast foranumber . The

attendance was surprisingly large and most of the YearlyMeetings had some representation . We hadamuch larger onefrom Baltimore than I hadanticipated, there being thatandlastabout twenty-three persons from our membership. I do not

see how good can fail to result from the time thus spe nt,andthere is , I think, no doubt that this is the beginning ofaworkthat is to be carried on in the future .

The lectures on the Old Testament by Prof. M oore and Prof.Barton were very happily carried out, andawakened m uch lessadverse criticism thanwas tobe expected . RendelHarri s '

s lectureson the New Testamentand cognate subjects were very papu larand drew the larges t crowds . He was asuccess andwas highlyappreciated . Rufus Jones was liked very much.

His lecturesare to be issued in book form by HeadleyBros . Myfirst paper, on Sinand its Remedy, ” was toolong

,at least, too crowded , but I have reason to think that ithelped,and the questions I had toanswer on it were ve ry much

to the point and I was glad of the opportunity. The otherpapers , on M inistryandWorshipamong the Early Friend s ,"aroused much questioning -

and I suppose that I did make toostraight outastatement on the subj ect ofthe irviews on immediaterevelation . But it wasvery entertaining to see how people roseandasked questionsat Once . I hadaperfect fire ofquest ioningas soonas I finished my first lectureand I think I madeafi ng splain to them.

I have been greatly impressed with the fact that the ideathat the early Friends gave to the term they used to representthe ir movement, Primitive Chris tianity Revived,” did not

refer primarily to docti'ine but to experience ,and there ‘

cannotbe the slightest doubt that they believed that in every particu lar ,inspiration was tn them what it had been to the Apostleaandthey den ied thatanyone could be .in the apostolic spirit who

lackedanything oftheir inspiration . Their belief in the Bible

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364 mcnam) H. THOMAS: M .D. 1900.

On our return to Bal timore he writesagain to his

sisterx rth mo .and, rqoo.

On Fi rst-day I preached quite along sermon on the thingsbeing shaken that can be shaken ,and the other things remaining.

The burden of the concern was that weare not to be afraid of

the test oftruth.and thatall the things that seem to upset ourfavorite theoriesare helps , not hindrances, ifwe take the rightattitude towards them. I concluded withareference to some of

the things that can be shaken, suchas flan ks concerningthe Bible, or the Atonement. or the Sacraments. D imer-entpersons hold difi

'

erent theoriesand yet have the same essentialexperience , but when we come to thefact of the work of Christand the possess ion ofthe record that we have in the B ible , thenwe come to that which is unshaken. It is not amatter of

indifl'erence whether we knowabout Him or not,and we are to

get down to the factsand see their importance,and recognizethat factsare one thingand theoriesanother. In regard to the

Sacraments , I showed that they themselves wereamong the

things that can be shaken. A number spoke to meafterwardsin strongapprovaland thankfulness . This is probablyan indi

cation that some who did not speak felt the reverse. Has X . Y. voluittarily expressed her thankfuluess , I hopedid not unduly offend people 3 sensibil ities.

CHAPTER XXVII .

LETTERS, 190 1 - 190 2.

The B ible is not on ly for Scholars— Las t visi t to England— Tho

HomewardVoyage— Strength inWeakness— Chris tian ScienceThe Quietis ts— Conferenceat Lake Mohonk— A Latin MottoATwen tieth Cen tury Town— The Quinquennial Conference

To Hrs SrsTsR .

Baltimore,3rd mo. , 1901 .

MANY thanks for the numbers of the Expositor which Igreatly value ,and which give meanumber ofvaluable hints . Iam beginning to fee l that we must toacertain degree rescue the

Bible from the hands of the sentients. Ofcourse , we wish toknowall we canabout it, but Iam sure that no book thatis for the common people can require learned skill to get

practical good out of it. Of courseall wouldadmit this , butit is clear that the important thingabout it cannot be the use of

this word or that idiom . In so far as it is the book of thepeople, it mus t be one that carries eufifi cient meaning on the

fi ce ofit, even in translation, to be fior the pe0ple , otherwise the

Bible winbe closed to the people by the scholars ,as it used tobe by the Church. Now is it not possib le that we . can leadpwple mread in l meanas regards the more obscure parts,for the General Imp ress

-rim rather than for detailed

teaching ? We must get out of the notion that it isastore363

366 RICHARD H. m om s. 1901 .

house of tex ts , or that it isall on one level ot p rese nt require

ment. No sensible person practically thinks that it is , butmany persons of influence speak of it in publicas if it were,and that impression is conveyed. I believe that the injury thatthis line of teaching does , isan injury that is self infiicted.

It 13 the 1njury that comes from want of perfect ing en uousness .

It 13 felt that i t 13 important to maintain the supremacy of the

Bible ,and therefore wi ld statementsas to its importance andinfallibilityare madeand inasense believed in by the speakers .

But they do not think clearly or honestly,and the re s ult is thatthe very cause they think toadvance is injured by them . Now

there isageneral impression of the importance of the worshipofGodand obedience to Him , even in the difi cult passages of

the Old Testament , that maybe made very helpful if only theywere read with thi s object .I have not fully thought the matter out, but it impresses meas be ing asolution ofadifi culty which isareal one , andwhich may lead to the ignoring of large parts of the Bible , ifthe tendencies ofthe present day should grow.

The summer of this year,

190 1 , was spen t in

England, whither we went toattend the wedding of

my oldest brother, B . Braithwaite, jnr. My husbandput inas much religious workas he could manage inconnection with the social engagements ofthe vis it.We wereat Manchester, and Liverpool and Bir

mingham ,and we -spent one week at the Summer

Schoolat Scarborough, where he had beenasked to

give some lectures,and where he found most frui tfu lopportuni ties for personal work . On Sundayafternoon

,by special request, he gavean extraaddrws

to the “Settlers " on“What j esus Christ is to us.

”

It was unconventional in tone ,and opm ed thehway

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368 RICHARD H. THOMAS. M.D. 190 1 .

of Christianity nor is this to be wonderedat, for

their ex perience ofofficial Christian ity has been calculated toarouse just these thoughts in their minds.

Theaction of many prom inent English Christiansin supporting the Boerwar,and ofAmerican Christiansinadvocating the Span ish-American war

,has confirmed

these non-Christian peace workers in their condemnation ofChristianity. This Monday conference wasaneffort to emphasize Christ’s own teach ing in the matter . It was wellattended,and wasadecided success ,as it excited considerableattention, the leading Glasgow papers devoting columns to reports of the papersread . Dr. Thomas had one on the Christian IdeaofForce,

”in which he pointed out that many Christian

peopleapproved ofwar because they looked upon itasthe only way of successfully opposing wrong

-doingand injustice. He said that it is our duty to makethem understand that the Lord j esus does not wish us

to settle down toan ignoble peace, leaving things to goonas theywill in the world . On the contrary JesusChrist has revealedagreater force than the force of

brute strength, even the central force of the universe,the force oflove. Armed with this force weare tofightagainst eviland injustice,and to overcome them .

This thought my husband developed and restatedinapaper readat the “Un ited Friends’ Peace Conference,

”in Philadelphia

,three months later

,when it

was printedand widely circulated .

Before leaving this subject I will sayafew words inregard to Dr. Thomas’s Peace work. As before stated

Act . 47 . GLASGOW PEACE CONGRESS. 369

he was for several years President ofthe Peace Association ofFriends in America

,

” and wasactive withtongueand pen inadvocating the cause. Besides the

tracts above mentioned he constantly contributededitorialand other articles to the Messenger of

Peace,

”and published several peace poems, both inthat paperand in the English peace paper, “War or

Brotherhood. Peaceaddresses, with or without themagic lantern , werealsoafavorite method ofworkingwith him

,and he was Chairman ofBaltimore Yearly

Meeting’

s Peace Comm ittee and seldom missedanopportun ity ofpushing the work wherever practicable.

But to return to Glasgow. Before the Congresswasover my husband was illagain ,and was unable to beat the Closing sessions. He grew much worse duringthe n ight,andas we were to sail for home next dayand our trunks werealready on board the Fum essia

,

we scarcely knew what to do till we recollected thatadoctor, who had takenagreat interest in his case atBad Nauheim

,in 1 896, lived in Glasgow. We were

fortunate in finding himand he kindly cameat Once.

When I met him he said,Can this be M rs. Thomas

from Baltimore and do you mean to tell me that Dr.

Thomas is stillalive ? At Nauheim we used to callhim

,The man with the heart

,

’and none ofus thought

he could have lived more than three months or so .

"

I told him that Dr. Thomas had taken up his practiceagain since then,at which he was much surprised.

My husband’s present trouble wasaheavy bronchialcold, with loss ofvoice . Afteracareful examination

370 RICHARD H . THOMAS, M .D. 190 1 .

the doctor said that, under the Circumstances , wemight start thatafternoon ,as we had planned, but thatwe must take every precaution against increasing the

cold,and that Dr .Thomas must remain in his berth forthe first week or, if necessary, for the whole voyage .

We didas headvisedand were favored to get safelyhome,afteran even more eventful voyage than usual .I thus described it for “The Interchange

A HOMEWARD VOYAGE .

We sailed for home in the Fur nerrz’aon 9th mo. rath

from Glasgow. Isaacand Mary S. Braithwaiteand our sister,

Rachel B . Braithwaite , went with us to the steamer .

After leaving Moville , Ireland , on theafternoon of the 13th,

we encounteredaweek of rough weather, with head winds ,andconsequently made slow progress .

On the l gth we were still some distance east ofNewfoundland ,say 160 miles south-east from St. John . About this timeaverystrange craft was sighted, with four high narrow funnels

,which,

on Closer inspection , proved to be , ofall things to be found out

at sea, arailroad ferry-boat , newly builtat Barrow,in England .

She had got into diffi culties in her ocean voyage to the scene of

her future labors . She had started withan insufficient supplyoffuel ,and foraweek had been driftingat the mercy of thewaves ,and had nearly exhausted her food supply. In responseto signals of distress the Fur nessz

’aslowed up ,and two veryinteresting hours followed, in whichaboat went backwardsandforwards between the steamerand the ferry-boat. Finallyachaintowing-rOp e wasadjusted,and the news spread that we were totow her into St. Johns before continuing on our own course .

Whilst this was going on we learned that there had beenadeathin the steerage ,and that there was to beafuneralat sea. This

took place in theafternoon . Anaged couple , both upwards of

eighty, were returning fromavisit to their Irish home after

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RICHARD H . THOMAS, M .D.

There were anumber of interesting passengers on board,especially the Methodist ministers , returning fromattendance on

i . the Ecumenical Methodist Conference in London .

We reached New York on the morning ofthea4th,and proceeded the same day to Baltimore.

It was in theautumn preceding this visit to Englandthat Dr. Thomas prepared twoarticles which he calledFides et Spes Medici, The Faith and Hope ofaDoctor

,for Presen t Day Papers. They give a

general summary of his religious beliefas it hadmatured during many years ofthoughtand experience.

Theywere printed in vol. iii.,Nov .and Dec.,

1900.

To Hrs SISTER.

Baltimore ,x zmo. l oth, 190 1

I hadan intere sting thought in connection with weakness the

other day. It was remarked that the church is very weakbetween Sundays . This made me think of Paul’s glorying inhis weakness . Certainly the weakness he gloried in was avery different thing from this kind ofweakness . What is thedifference ? It is this for one thing, that the weakness thatmakes the church feeble , isaweakness that is constantly beingused asasatisfactory ex cuse for failure ; isaweakness thatis willing to remainas it is . It is even sometimesafinancialasset , as when aman acknowledges that ahard bargainwas not quite right, but adds , the temptation was strongandI am weak . He really hop es to remain weak. But Paul’sweakness drove him to the source of

”

strength and became

areal element ofstrength because it reminded him ofthe need

to trustand obey, so that the divine power might be madeperfect in itand through it.

Act. 47. THE QUIETISTS. 373

To Hrs s rsa.n th mo . 190 1 .

I am sorry to hear that X. and his wife have joined the

Christian Science Church. Iam sure that there is more thanmere delusion in that movement , and that it is an efliort torealizeagreat truth. But the result is something thatappearsto me very much like amonstrosi ty. But on the other hand

,

Christians have not realized their privilege of power, not for

the universal healing ofthe body, but for the triumph ofcharacterover circumstances and disease . I am trying to work out

something ofthis experimentally.

To His SISTER.

Baltimore ,4th mo. 22nd, 1902.

Iam moreand more coming to the view that without fallinginto the very obvious errors ofmany of the Quietists they wereon the right foundation. We mus t find Godall-sufi cient ifwe

are to meet the difliculties and disappointm en ts of life asChristians should. Iam deeply impre ssed with the fact thatthere isagreat deal that is pagan in the Christian consciousness ,and way of lookingat things . The difliculty is that onehardly likes to say bluntly what one feels , for fear of woundingtender souls, but I fear that there isagreat deal that is paganin the way we take both our joys and sorrows, and Iam sure

that this injures our influence with others in bringing themto the Lord . They cannot see that it makesanygreat difl’erence .

Y.almos t sneeredat the excess ive griefofaprominent Chr istianat the loss ofher husband some years s ince ,and when I urgedher nervous system he merely said, Oh yes , that is what itallamounts to." I am sure that there is something be tter,and that the nervous system should not have such power ,andyet one feels sympathyfor it too,and wonders how one’s self

374 RICHARD n . mamas , M .D . 1903.

TO HIS SISTER.

oth m o.3rd , 1902.

It is too bad that I have not written to thee s ooner, but one

thing oranother has stood in my way,and A . was writ ing.

We spent three days and four nights very pleasan tly at LakeMohonk .

‘ The Arbitration Conference was inform ing , andevidently it wasagreat stimulus to the people whoare onawarbasis , to see that there is something better than war . AlbertK . Smiley was very genialand cordial .Thou knows that I do not go in much for mottoe s as thou

used to , but one came to me yesterday in Latin. I do no t knowwhether it is good Latin or not

, but the meaning i s go od .I t is

“Dm r’

nw potat ; possum .

"Tire Lord can ; I ran . I feel

quite sure that I have only begun to know the greatne s s ofHispowerapplied to us. It isallabout us ,and in us ; we live init . He makes us like Himself,andall that is His in th is sense

is ours. Ifweabide in His loveand in His will we are in the

line ofHis power,and toadegree far beyond what we haveoften imagined,all thingsare possible to us. I am to giveanaddressat the Quarterly Meeting Conference on

“ Our Birthright ofPower.

To Hrs s rsa.VVindber, Pennsylvania,

8th mo .a6 th , 1901 .

Hereweare in what pride s itselfupon beingatwentie th ce nturytown . It is onlyalittle over three years oldand has fr omto inhabitants . Thereare great coal mines hereall underone company wi th ( can it be credited ?)an out-p ut of

tons ofsoft coaladay. This is through the use of the e lectricpickand hauling coal out by electric cars . The town itselfisacurious mixture ofcivilizationand the backwoods . They have

‘Albert K . Sm iley generously invi tes from one toests to his summer hotelat Lake Mohonk. forance onArbi tration .

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376 RICHARD H. THOMAS, M.D. 1903 .

not mean to say that thereare not individuals withafreshmessage , I believe that thereare , butas abody I do not see

that we haveany, but I shall be thankful to find myselfmistaken .

It may do something in callingaunited conference of the

churches on temperance . I shall be glad if the reactionaryelement in the meeting does not make us take backward stepsinto bondage , which theywill wrongly call liberty. They havevery l ittle ideaofany liberty in religious thought,andareafraidofit inamost unquakerly fashion . I chiefly desire to be kept inmy right placeand to do only that which will be inaccord withthe truest principle ofselfforgetting love .

That the misgivings which my husband had felt inregard to the Qu inqu enn ial Conference p rovedunfounded, will be seen from the editorial paragraphswhich he wroteafter his return in “The Interchange.

”

I believe that he greatly enjoyed this, his last visit toIndiana

,and felt cheered by the sense ofreal loveand

un ity,and spiritual power which was very manifest inthe meetings ofthe Conference .

He had bestowedagreat deal of labor upon the

preparation ofthe Un iform Discipline,

” here referred

to,as he was one of those to whom the preliminary

drafts were sent for criticismand suggestion.

From THE INTERCHANGE , eleventh month, 1902 .

The Five Years’ M eeting, heldat Indianapolis last month ,marks an erain the history ofOrthodox Friends in America.The great body ofthe Societywas then welded intoan organization by the adoption of the Uniform Discipline,

" that hasbrought the different YearlyM eetings into one organic body inasense that has never before been realized. It is amovementwhich, while fraught with possibilities ofeviland ofgood, is to beregarded with hope .

Act. 48 . THE QUINQUENNIAL CONFERENCE . 377

As to the general influence of the Five Years' Meeting , justheld, there can be no doubt that it tended to unite Friends fromthe different sections,and to bring them toabetter understanding ofoneanother. That thereare very important difierencesno one can deny,and in some places changes have been introduced which seem inconsistent with the fundamental pos ition of

Friends .

At the same time it was perfectly clear that the Five Years ’Meeting was composed of persons who had the true Friendlyspirit. Compared with theattitude ofthe similar gathering tenyearsagoat the same place , there was shown adi stinctlygreater love of Friends and their principles

,and there isa

revival ofinterest in the study oftheir history.

Our own Yearly Meeting took place two weeks later,but my husband was onlyable to be present on the

first two days,after that he hadapainful il lness, and

it was some weeks before he was well enough to

resume work.

Two little pieces written during th is time may filldaplace here .

IN CONVALESCENCE .

When Iam feeble , then I 'm free .

N0 responsibilityFor what lies beyond my strengthI can throw myse lfat length ,

Readand muse to heart’s content ,Follow fancy’s easy bent.All the rules oflifeare twisted ,Labor now must be resisted ,

Idlenes s becomesaduty,Clothed in magic robe s ofbeauty.In the rushing mill oflife

378 RICHARD H. THOMAS, M.D.

Why should I with vain regret,Sigh for what I cannot get.Feel , because I cannot braveToilsand risks , that I ’maslave ?Rather let me happy be ,That when feeble Iam free.

Soonest thus I shallattainLiberty to workagain .

rst, 1902.

THE MUDDLED WORLD.

I strive withall my souland mightTo down the wrong, toaid the right,To cheer my comrades in the fight ,

The world goes muddling on.

Wearied, I putall efi'

ort by,“Too weak foranywork , I sigh,Still through the conflict sweeping by

The world goes muddling on .

What boots itall, my toil or prayerMy labor here , my effort thereFor through my carelessness or care

The world goes muddling on .

And yet I know these doubtsare vain ,That honest toil its goal must gain.

All true self-sacrifice or painThe muddled world helps on.

The muddled world, the cloud that lowers ,Our sightand judgment overpowers .

The muddle is not God’

s , but ours ,He moves unhindered on .

mo .and, 1902.

1903 .

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380 RICHARD H. THOMAS, M.D. 1903.

our faith that men have come to believe it through what hasfromapurely external view seemed to be unjust suffering .

To Hrs SISTER .

Baltimore,3rd mo. 17th , 1903 .

The more I see ofthings the more convinced I am that thelove ofGod is not to be deduced from the special happening s of

one’s individual life, when we consider those happenings fromthe point ofview of their joyful or sorrowful nature. Ifgreatgood fortune comes to meand I say this isaproofofGod’s love ,

Iam right ifIam willing to take the same ground in resp ect to

some great sorrow. Iam sure that ifwe could understand weshould see that one comesas truly from His loveas the other.

We cannot understand the bearings of thingsand that whichseems best may be the worst,and vice ver sa. The love of God

is not to be made dependent upon such thingsas happening sviewed by the test ofwhether theygive us pain or pleasure. I t

isagreat thing to start out with the axiom that we cannotunderstand why things happen , that we cannot understandwhat lessons theyare intended to teach us that we areto base our trust in the love of God upon something fardeeperand more trustworthy than such phenomena, and thenweare inacondition ,

having given up the attempt to solveimpossible problems , to get the real blessing that all thesethingsareable to be made to us ,and to beable to help othersin their unanswerable problemsas to why sorrow comes intotheir lives .

My husbandat Easter of 1903 wrote the following,which may perhaps be most fitly called

A RHAPSODY OF HUMANITY.

By the power ofGod I have travelled over the earth with the

speed ofthe storm-wind . By the power ofGod I have conversedwith myfriendacross landand ocean. By the power of God I

Aet. 49. A RHAPSODY OF HUMANITY. 38 1

have made lightning my charioteerand mymessenger. By thepower ofGod I have claimed service of windsand wave s, andthey obey me. Surely the power ofGod toward me is great,andthe greater the more I understand it.By the wisdom of God I have learned deep secrets ofHis

creation. By the wisdom ofGod I have weighed the earth inbalancesand the stars in scales . By the wisdom ofGod I havemade the salty desertafrui tful garden. By the wisdom ofGod

I see by His wisdom,I hearwhat none have seen orh card before

me . Surely mywisdom is to learn ofthe wisdom ofGod.

God inathousandways , through innumerable voices , proclaimsHimse lfthe servant ofman . He hasarisen, He has laidasideHis dignity,and has girded Himself. He has said to man Iamthy servant, call meand see , for I willanswer thee . Here is thelove and the sorrowand labor ofGod for man, whom He hascreated . For God said, “Ofall my creation man is to under

standand to learn, healone is on earth like Me ,and thereforehe has the dominion . Mypower I placeat his di sp osal ;as helearns how let him use it . No limit shall I put upon him , savethat which dwells in the eternal nature ofthings . He shall findMealways the same the curse is the ofi spring ofhis forgetfulness of Me. When he labors apart from Me in wilfulness

,

ignorance, or carelessness , then his own curse will fall uponhim , forapart from Me is hOp elessness . Yet even here , if in

one point on ly he remembers Me , he shall find success in so faras he learns how I can serve him . Thus shall he learn inallthings to wait npon Meand to use Me.

Behold. here is the sorrow ofGod , for man learns but pain .

fullyand in fragmen ts . He has learned God'

s powe r in thingshe can see and handle , but not God'

s power in love and inpurityand in se lf-denial .Horror ofhorrors ! He has grown soaccurate with the out

ward that he can ki ll his brother by machinery, can doom wholecities to destruction . He can brutalize his brother with strongdrialrand bring shameand ruin upon the innocent . Can destroy

382 RICHARD H. THOMAS. MD . 1903.

his own life inathousand ways, or drag ou t aweary existence.None of these things could he doapart from the p ower ofanagon ized Christ , whom daily, nay, hourly, he s tre tchesafreshuponacross ofperpetual suffer ing. But none p erceiv e Christ’sagony. nor unders tand,andallwag their heads . How wise weare ,

"they say, not knowing that but for the powe r ofChrist theywould be helpless, even in their wicb dness . Chr i s t continuallyserves themand submits to His repeatedagony, for only thus isit possible for man to be taughtand come up to th e image dGod. Christ therefore submits to the ir shaming Him ,and waitswithan infinite patience ,apatience that longed for the cross of

Calvaryasaman longs for great spoil for the cross ofCalvary.where men mightat last understand how,

aboveall,and throughall,and underall, is love . Love working through p urityandse lf-denial towards the highest good.

The travail ofHi s soul through blacknessand darknessandtempest, home wi th infinite tenderness , is doing its work,

“

nad lleis being satisfiedas , one by one , men come to s ee that in theirhearts and spirits God wishes to be their servan t ,and to bringeverlasting orderand beauty out ofchaosand death ,an d that solongasany part oftheir l ives is separate from Him , so long isthat part of their lives in the disorder ofchaos . Then ,at thelast, when men have learned the blessednes s of the w ill ofGod

inwardlyas now they know it outwardly, then shall they lift upthe true Psalm ofPraise unto Him for everand ever . F or thenthere shal l no more beacurse , noranything to des troy , i nallthe holy earth. The di scord shall give place to harm ony

,andGod shall be the servant ofall. Forall mankind wi th the wholeheart shall serve Him,and, in His love, love one ano the r. And

righteousness shall cover the earthas the waters cove r the sea.To Hrs SISTER.

Baltimore ,I think, on the whole, that our M ee

torily, though notas rapidlyas one would wish. I som e times

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384 RICHARD H . THOMAS, M .D. 1903.

commandmentsare not grievous . I do not suppose she thoughtI was sing ing, but what I said occupiedasecondary place in theM eeting .

In the evening in the rooms ofone of the hotels the FriendshadaMeeting on the Discipline . They had expected , to judgeby the number of chairs ,about twelve or fifteen persons . At

least ninety, mostly guests from the hotel , came in . S . E.

wished the doors closed, but the dimculty was solved more

naturally by bringing more chairs . I felt for J.E. He hadarranged his mind foraprivate meeting,and had to p ut inexplanations to suit the unexpected character of theaudienceThere were points of interest in what he said, but it had thedefects natural under such circumstances . J.B .E . followed withdignityand interest,and I was called onand soon found myselfpreaching on George Fox’s three great words , There is one ,

even Christ Jesus , that can speak to thy condition ,

” Nowwas Icome up through the flaming sword into the Paradise ofGod ,

and I sawalso, that there wasan ocean ofdarknessand death :

butan infinite ocean of lightand love which flowed over theocean ofdarkness.

“ There wasadeep hushafterwardsand Iprayed .

To HIS SI STER .

Baltimore ,4th mo. 7th , 1903 .

Thy letter of thoughts was most interesting. I quiteag reethatagreat deal ofwhat is said ofthe comfort ofthe Lord in theNew Testament refers to the comfort that is to be theirs whosnfler in the course oftheir Christian service . At the same timeIalso feel that those whoare ordering their l ives , so faras they

know,according to the will ofGodare justified in considering

all the suffering that comes to them ,as coming to them in the

course of the ir service , and it isagreat help to me to cons iderthat the snfierings ofChrist came to Him in the natural course

‘ Journal. Vol. I . , pp. 37 , 53, 46, 2nd Edi tion .

Act. 49. AN INSPIRATION. 385

ofevents.and that we have here the key to the way in which weshould look upon trial that comes to us .

I have been poorly this week. On F irst-day I preachedasermon that thoroughly exhausted me. When I sat down I wasentirely out ofbreathand did not regain it for what seemedaconsiderable time , and everything has been aconscious efiort

ever s ince , though I spent most of Second-day lying down ,doing nothing that was not absolutely required. A. said Iexerted myselftoo much in preachingand became too earnest .Possibly . Ifso, the reason was that it wasadifi cult subjectand one on which I had to gain the ear ofmy hearers in order tomake the point that was on mymind. I think that long beforeI sat down I did have the meet ingasabody with me,and theyseemed to follow with closest interest,and possibly the efiort toriseabove thesense ofopposition that I feltat first carried me06 too much when it had been overcome . I took the introductory passage ofLuke,and showed how the reasons he givesfor writing his narrative were like those ofamodern historian ,

that he had carefully traced the events ,and tried to examine hissource s , in short , I endeavored to show that to his own con

sciousness he was very much likeanyone who would undertaketo writeacarefulandaccurateaccount ofaman’

s life in thesedays . He bases his claim to credibility on his care in collectingand editing his facts . Where then did his in spiration come in ,

and how did people find out that his book was inspired ? Theyform ! it out by the fact that it laid hold on them , this narrativethat he had written ,and thatas theylearned to trust in the j esus .

he wmte ofi they found that the one ofwhom they read was thesameas the one who came to their hearts . But this did not

mean that every detail therein written was accurate . The

discrepancies that we find reallyadd to the value of the fournarratives , but they destroy the theory of verbal inspiration .

Whermn did his inspiration and that ofthe others consist ? In

presenting to usacharacter that isas fresh todayas it was then ,giving usapicture ofOne whom they themselves were notable

t H THOMAS . M .D . I9”

others were men oflike passions with ourse lve s , so wea‘re tobelike them in the ir nearness to the Lord, and we also in ormeasureare to present inspired picture s of Je sus Christ to theworld . Then I spoke of what pictures we are presenting.Shouldany document be found claiming to con tain the wordsalJesus Christ in which could he found wr i tte n se ntences likethese, Verily, verily , I sayuntoyou him that come th to Me l slull

cast out," or I wi ll not de li vermom s in or comfort in sorrow,”

there is not the critic, even the most unbe l ie ving , to be foundwhowould for one moment suppou suchadocum en t to be genuine,and yetare we not sometimes presenting jus t suchapichn'

e ?

ofwhat had been said,and said that he had been much instructedthe exertion yet. Ii only it trulyas good it is worth it. i do

not wish to be unwise , but than is no doubt that when I let

saying, the efi ect is much greaterand theatten tion ofthe meeting much better held than vim 2?

method ofde livery . Perhaps werereally trying to speakmore briefly .

what was onmymind into lms

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3” m

ofdate hecause certainOpam gu have been pm v ed inm atca

erroneous . Let us examine the facts. W hen Galileo tangttthat the world moved , the church thought that the truth offiod

was in danger. We know the w th mm andakhough theBible says that the sun moves , the message ofthe B ible hu not

been discredited. When theages ofgeology we reannounced.again the ofi cial church held up its hand s and said ,

“lh

B ible is beingattacked ”But it was not. We believe in tl!

geologic ages and in the Biblealso. Agaim when Darv '

n

announced his doctrine the church wasaghast . B ut now evolo

Baltimore that l was presentat in one of the g reat churches

(N.B .— It was the Presbyterian Church South), whe n I heard the

minister on trial warn those present to the efi ec t that eveiy

time the church hadattemp ted to decide ques tion s of science

by their interpretation ofthe Bible italways had to eat its own

words ,and Iadded that he was entire ly correct . I to ld them

that l rememberedadear, good mamwho had been imprisonedfor his tes timony to truth , once saying. when the modem viewof

answered that my iaith in j esus Chris t was too firm to believethat His gospel could depend upon the date orauthorship oi theBook ofDaniel . Christ does not teach in this way. E s quotesfrom Moses , from the moth Psalmas from David. from Daniel,from ]onah, etc but He never tells us that the trtrth depends

upon these things ; but what He does say is that up on the two

great commandments , not on datesandauthorship s of the Old

Testament Books , hangall the Lawand the Prophets .

say that the Bible is likeachain ,

stronger than its weakest link ; but the B ihle is not likeachain. It

isalihrary, for the word Bible comes fromaword meaning g ot

book, but books , one volume may be ofmore importance than

Act. 49. m enus VIEW or THE BIBLE .

another without destroying the value of the rest. The Bibledoe s indeed now have to be regarded froman altered point ofview. We cannot look upon itasan infal lible teacher on pointsofhistory, or geology, oras tronomy, for it is not. We cannot besureas to theauthorship ofcertain parts that we used to thinkunquestioned. But it remains true that it containsarecord of

God’s dealings wi th menand that here we have , under the

i llumination ofthe same spiritas was in the people who wrote ,the needed teachingand safe guidance But some will say thatthis view is the last re sort ofChris tians ,and that they have beendriven to it by stress ofcircumstances . That cannotat least besaid ofFriends . The mostauthoritative book that has ever comefrom them maintained, two hundred yearsand moreago, that theB ible hadahuman elementand that theWord ofGod was not theBible but Christand the inspeaking Spirit . George Fox madehis first great public impression on this very point, and we cansay that our pos ition is not the result ofmodern thought but of

early en lightenment ,and it is gain to the whole Christian churchthatabody that for two hundred years has been recognisedasevangelical has he ld this ground. Barclay m ight have beensurprisedat the modern discoveries , bu t he would have gladlywe lcomed themas illustrating his point .But peoplearealarmed because there has been discovered inBabylonacode oflaws long previous to Moses , which it is sug

ges ted may have given M oses some of his own legislativematerial. What then P Suppose acode could be discoveredthat did more than this , that containedall that was good in thePentateuchand more than that. It m ight narrow our ideas of

Moses , but it would broaden our ideas ofGodand ofthe truththat His Spirit was not confined in its working toastrip of landaboutas largeas Connecticut but was overall,as indeed weknow that it was . I s there no ground that is safe ? ‘

There is .

Weare to understand that in the rocks is found theauthoritativerevelation ofGod’

s waywith the rocks ; in the stars of His waywith the stars ; in living bodies His waywith living bodies , and

390 RICHARD H . THOMAS, M.D . 1993.

in the characters ofmen His way with their characters . I t i s

irreverent for us to think our interpretation ofthe Bible is_more

authoritative than God’s record in the earth . There will be no

difi cultywhen we remember that, ifthe workings ofGod on characterand on the spirit ofmanare to be found in the experiencesofmen ,and especially in the experiences ofspiritual men , thenthe only way in which we can surely know ofthese things in the

past in suchawayas to learn from them is through records ,andin this respect the records in the Bible stand pre-eminen t. This

will give us the clue bywhich to distinguish the eternal from the

temporary in the Bible . Doubtless the writers ofthose bookscould not them selves distinguishalways ,and they wrote whatthey believed to be true inall directions , but they took the ideason science and history etc.

, from their surroundingsand gavethem the spiritual interpretation . It is the interpretation that isofvalue. Whether the records in Danielare literal history or

whether they show in symbol, using the traditions that had come

down , the sufferings ofthe Jewsand their heroic patienceam iditall, the lesson for us is the same . The Lord is my Shepherd”

is amatter of experience , not ofhistoricalaccuracy. The t e

conciliation ofscienceand rel ig ion will be complete when on theone hand the church recognizes the authoritativeand d ivinecharacter ofthe facts ofscience ,and when scientific men on the

other recognize that the facts ofspiritual experienceareas realasany other facts , harder to understand itmaybe , but still facts ,and to be treatedaccordingly.

I closed withapracticalapplication of the everlastingandtrustworthy character of the truth of God in Christandanexhortation . I forgot when I began to write that I commenced

withastatementas to the debt we owe to learned men ,and thatbut for these we should never have known that “The Lord is myShepherd ” was in the Bibleatall,and I showed how the Church

ofthat day had cried outagainst translating the Bible in to thevulgar tongue. Then I showed how the mere fact that it was inthe Bible was not enough ; it must be true in our own hearts,

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392 RICHARD H. THOMAS, M .D. 1903.

lower than the best. Six hundredand sixty-six reduced to tens

is Note how the the duration ofthe reign ofevil is 3} years(half of seven). The witnesses lie dead 3} days . Revelationseem s to me to beaseries ofdifferent pictures often repre se ntingthe same thing in varying lights ,and the end ofeach picture ,and often the beginn ing ,and even the whole ofit, shows God on

his throne . The throne run sall through the book in som e formor other,and weare taught in it that however much we may bein doubt , or turmoil, or perplexity, Godand the Lambare on the

throneandare ruling the world. Hence we have hope . I do not

believe the book isanticipation .

CHAPTER XXIX .

LETTERS,1903, continued.

A Birthday Letter to M .S.B .— Two kinds ofMinis try— James’s

”Varieties ofReligious Exper ience — The Bible notaChart

To Hrs SISTER.

Bal timore ,sth mo . 19th, rqo3 .

Tats letter will, I hope, reach thee on thy birthday. It willcome hearingall kinds ofbest wishes in every way for blessingin the fulle st senseatall times . Weare now well into middleage ,and the outlook is certainly very difl’erent from what it waswhen we were younger,and very difieren t from what Iat leastexpected that it would be . Of course, Iam older than myageby the calendar,andam , I expect , quite sufi ciently conscious of

the fact. I find myself looking forward to things in the futurevery little . There seems so little time foranything to happen .

It isagreat satisfaction to feel myselfapart ofthe great workofthe Lord in the world,aud it is of deep interest finding out

what is the right part for me to take in it,and to know that nowork done in the right spiri tand under the true guidance can bewasted,and that it is well worth while to be doing it,and thatin doing it lam help ing others in theirs . This gi ves meahape farbeyond my own horizon andaze st to it that makes lt veryinteresting . I see persons whom I know I have influenced in the

394 m ammalian . 1903

pastand whose path in life l inaway op ened the doogot d

who now have far more infiuenceand mo re succe ss than l huhad oram likely to have. Theyare fiew, but theyarew[ cannot help hoping that thereare othe r s I do not b on d

thatamong the few I now influence , some may go ontallinduct ee many, and I find myselfaddre s sin g ahandfnl dpersons with the earnestnessand hope that would be in pmbefore crowded audience s , and it isall very in te res tingathopeful. Iam learning my limitationsand yet s t ill think some

times that I mayexceed them .

Dost thou find thyse lfsaying to thyselfsome tim es that the oldways in thyyoung time were better ? I t is very ung racious, hctI confess that l do. I t can hardly be that the dullnessandweight that has settled down in so many p lace s and on so manypersons can be better than the springand en thus iasm that urknew of. Theatre -going , card~playing , dancing may be nnobjectionable toan extent that we did not think in tho se days, but itdoes seem to me that the wide spread of thes e thing s injumspiritual life. What does it mean nowa-days foraperson tobeaChristian ? Thereappears to be an indefin it eness about itthatmakes it hard to te ll. If there wereany d is t inctive thingthat it re sulted in , it wo

uld be difierent. But the re i sap parently

less vividly realized. Philanthrophic work inan organiged ramis more realized than it was . There isaclearer sen se of socialduty in certain directions , but these thingsare vie wed from the

secular standpoint ,and to be interested in them re qu ires M yavital spiritual experience . Ifathing is not pleasant it is notdone toany extent. Now this isasomewhat overd one p icture !know,andas I write I think

of love and tenderness and power , in the how that some

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”5 RICHARDa. THOMAS , M .D. us

should not say modulated, for he p e rs is ten tly laid thememphasis on the unimportant words , qu o ting , for

earlier-verses of the rat chap ter of j o hn down to Hem u

that light,"etc . This passage con tain s the pas t tense oftheverb to be frequen tly re peated ,and ev e ry time the weight dthe voiceanon the “was "or the w e re ti ll it becamealwlaughable. Still, the concluding words of hi s sentences wen

reallymusical,and so it was better than the fi rs t . I came totl!conclusion thatanyone who declined to atte nd the meetingwhere the first preached mguli idy wou ld be e xcusable ,and!wondered what could be in the minds ofFrie nd s when they senthim out to preach. I t was enough to drive all but the deeplyimpressed onesaway. I had to confess to myse lf that while lobjected to both varieties ,and did not con s ider i t was necem n

to choose either , yet that of the two, the M e th od ist’s deaddiscourse hadmore in it than the first ofthe F rien ds ’

m inisters who

preached that day.

To Hrs SISTER .

West Falmouth , Mass7th m o . 3 ta, i go3.

I have been reading “Vanity Fair for the fi rs t time . It isvery disagreeable ,and yet not wholly so . Thacke ray is terriblycynical ,and yet every nowand then he rem ind s h is readers ofthere be ing underneath itallareal ity that is Worth while. Iam not sure that I think his characters natural , but I supposehis ideawas to show them in theirartificiali ty.

Then Iam still reading, rather slowly, Jame s ’8 VarietiesofReligious Experience . It Is deeply interes ting and inform.

does notatall take away from the divine character ofgood

imp ress ions . It merely shows that there is astratum in our

beings that is reached in ways that we little suspect,and thatwhile man mayat timesafiect us in this m , and our past

Aet. 49. THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD. 387

forth,but while I speak Iam s imply natural . But I really think

that half-an-hour is too long,and Iam trying to curtail . Whatalong, long letterabout myse lf, and now there is no time towrite more.

To HIS Srsrsa.Baltimore ,

sth mo . l st , 1903 .

The meeting ofthe Oriental Society had been herethe previous week ,and the papers had contained statements thatwere pretty hard blows upon the traditional view of things . 2.

speaking to meabout it said that because the ministers werekeeping s ilence on these things the laymen wereallat sea, not

knowing what to believe . I had spoken something upon the

point not long before , but, while class ing myse lfwith the laymen ,I felt that I must ( it came with the strong sense ofacallspeak on the matter the next day, so I preached . The text wasThe Lord is my Shepherd.

”

How did this passage get into the Bible ? First, becausesomeone felt the truth ofit , ei ther for himse lf or for his people ,or both, and wrote it. Then others read or sang itand itreached their hearts ,and when they made up the collection of

their hymns , they put it into the collection ,and it was read bymoreand more , until it comes to us with the attestation of

thousands upon thousands of persons who have tried it andfound it to be true ,and since the coming of Chri st we haveameaning in it that gives itafulne ss that those who read it

before could not realize . Our point of view is exceedinglydifierent from that ofthe writer. We makeapplications ofit of

whichhe did not dream ,but it isasapplicable to our circumstancesas it was to his. The discoveries ofscience , the inventions of

modern times in no wayinvalidate it,although they have changedthe whole current ofour thoughtsas to the ways in which Godworks ,andas to Hisattitude towards men . Some people thinkthat the Bible has been discreditedand its messages made out

393 RICHARD H . m om s. M .D. 1903.

God works in some way inall hearts . A M ethodist M issionaryonce said that God had difierent gardens ,and even among the

heathen the successful miss ionary must find out what God hadplanted in the gardens there ,and notattempt to root out whatGod had sown , or teach thatall that did not directly refer to

Jesus Christ or that had been developed without h istoricalknowledge ofhim was error. Truth is truthand ofGod the

world over. Theauthoritative revelation ofGod’s working in theearth was in the earth, ofHis ways with the heavenly bodie s wasthroughastronomy, etc. Let us reverenceall truth,and then weshall haveabroader outlookand firmer hold on it ,and be more

able to help others . I took occasion to say that howeverinteresting fromatheoretical and historical point of view the

investigations of the critics might be , and theyare of g reatinterest , the spiritual truth that we see in the Bible doe s not

depend upon their conclusions . I urged that to be in the p owerofthe Lordand under His free guidance is what is needed , thatit is too much to expect thatanyone could giveamessage thatwould suitall,and that the way to the solution is to haveas fewessentials as possible , and allow the fullest liberty that is

possible , compatible withageneral agreement, so that byaunited efiort we may reachas manyas we can .

In the meeting for worship I spoke on the continual pre senceofChrist with His people ,and on the fact that the centuri e s hadmade no difierence in the power to be exerted byHim onandthrough His followers . I hazardedan e x planation ofthe p rom ise

ofthe Holy Spiritand ofthe day ofPentecost . First I p o intedout that it could not mean that the Holy Sp iritwas notalreadyin the world, for there were references to the Holy Spirit in theOld Te stament ,and evidence s ofHis power in other extra-Gosp e lways therefore it could not mean that the Holy Ghost shou ldthen come for the first time . It seemed to me that it meant thatthrough the comingand work ofJesus Christ the minds ofthosewho had heardand surrendered to Him had been enabled to

graspas they never could have done otherwise , the love ofGod ,

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400 W at s on ‘

s , n o . so}

l hadacurious ex peri ence in the even ing meefing onmSchools . I wasasked to read the op e n ing passage lmn basked to read the 1 19th Psalm , that i s , p or tio ns ofit. l lelt

quite certain that the speaker would sp eak of the Bible “ the

Word ofGod, and that without exp lanation the expressions

Varieties ofReligious Experience . I consider itavariableand en lightening book . The great points in i t that I criticizeare that he calls the once-born, ” the heal thy-m in ded ,althoughhe says they do not really see thingsas trulyas the “twinsborn.

" Now health isan ideathat we have come to throughobservation, and the thought of health carrie s with it the

thought ofaman who is in the best possible condi tion 06mind

and body to fulfill the truest purposes of livingand usefulness

Now we may readilyassent to the proved position that in somestates ofdisease thereare faculties thatarearoused toabhor-m lacuteness ,and that to thi s extent they give the owner some

additionaladvantage in that line . We may readi lyassent tothe proposition that the fact that certain things ,as some work:ofgenius , have come to us through disease , does notafi ect the '

u

value , but Iam not ready toassent to the proposition that tafi ngawhole class ofpersons, those who have the deeperand use:view oflifeand the one that in its efiects works betterare'

not the

healthy-minded class . I regardanydefinition of healthy-mind

Act. 49. LIMITATIONS . 39:

and quoted Aunt Juliaby name , how she said when someonesaid, “Jesus loves me, thi s I know, for the Bible tellsme so

,

”If

I have no other means ofknowing this but the Bible , I do not

really know itatall.” I went on to makeaprincipal point thatthe Bible is not the foundation of our faith ,and that , thereforebecause our faith rests on the eternal realities ofGod’

s workingin our hearts we need not fear the changing theories on the

Bible , but value the witness the Bible gives to these realitiesand the definiteness which enables us to go on from what thosebefore us knew.

To Hrs SISTER .

Baltimore ,sth mo. sth, 1903.

It is notaquestion just now with meas thou seems to think ofjus t giving up certain things to-dayand so forth. Therearething s thatare on me to do,and if I do not do them theyarenot done ,and others expect them to be done . So I think that Iam excusable for feeling them important. I do rest far morethan others think ,and no one knows how many little things Isimply do not do in the way ofattending gatheringsand such

like that would be ofmuch interestand profit,and how I keepout of things that I should gladly engage in , s imply because Icannot do them . As it is , I do little that I feel I can conscien

tiouslyavoid,and therearealot ofthings waiting my doing ofthem . I do not wish to get out ofanyofthe things that Iam now

in ifI canavoid doing so , but Iam not sure . If I see how to

get out ofbe ing Dean ofthe Medical College I shall try to doso , but I should rather like to continue in itanother year. Ishall make it very easy for the Board to elect someone else .

I have had much insight into Revelation , not wholly original ,but partly suggested . For instance, I think that the suggestionthat the number of the beast isan imperfect number , fallingshort ofthe perfect seven , is very stri king . That is , the mark of

the beast is on one when he deliberatelyaimsat something

403 RICHARD H . THOMAS, M .D. 1903.

only side issues . I wish I could say that someone had beenreachedand changed. Still the two remarks made me feel thattwo things that would have been hindrances to the reception of

the truth ,aprofessional manner ,and speaking over the heads ofthe young people , were not present. Iamafraid that the latte rfault is notalwaysabsent. People difl’er in regard to speakingto the young people . Some like to say, Now I have some thingfor the children here . This is goodand often helpful . B ut to

me in my own case it seems to be more natural to say what I feelisadapted to them ,and let them find it out for them selves.

I wish I were amore converting preacher ; I try to be

one, and I hope efiects are produced, and I know thatpeople have been converted through my preachingand labor

,

but in nothing like the degree that I long for . It seems so clearto me while Iam preaching, so very convincing,as if p eop lecould not helpacceptingand coming into the divine harmony,and I know that theyare often touchedand reached. Ofcourse,one cannot be satisfied with this . Then I wish to be sati sfiedwith what the Lord sees to be my gift ,and not spoil what I cando by vainly strivingafter what I cannot do . It isacomfort thatpeopleare helpedand strengthened and feel refreshed andinspirited by things that I have said. But judgedfrom the humanpoint ofview the results do notappear commensurate w ith the

efiort put forth ,and this seems to me to be true ofour workasameetingas wellas ofmyownasan individual, though it may bemore conspicuously so in mycase ,and it is .

To HIS SISTER .

Baltimore ,Ioth mo. 28th

, 1903 ,

First I must tell theeastory of whatalittle girl said aboutthe Creation .

“God made the earthandall that is in it in six

days ,and on the seventh day he wasar r ested .

I have had some interesting openings in the way ofp reaching

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I should have felt to be importan t . We had Dr . Thayer,agdconsultant , in ,and we tried to doall that we cou ld think out

and helpful interest out ofos r hves. I twas rare that I did stsee ber two or three t imesaweek, and we g ene rally bad mferences on the prosp ectsand me thods of serv ice , and on bn

certain persons could be strengthened , or some lack suppbi

I felt that l hardlycould p reachat her fune ral, and yet I hathat it would be right that I should. However , I came to thconclusion that humilityand surrender mean the m ay d

one'

s se lf,and not minding how one isafiected so faras cat’sfeelingsare concerned, so longas you do the rig h t thing,allso I soon fe lt very difierently. It wasasimple le sson , but it is

to meamost helpful one . Weare not to see that we diallittle ofourselves , but in those directions where self-consciw

nessand thinking ofone’s se lfhinder, weare simply to dissedourselves . In the same way, I have hadahe lp from thinkingof what it means to will to do His will.” I have alwayiemphas ized the ideathat itmeantaresoluteand steadfas t mah ntup one

'

s m ind to do God'

s will ,and then sticking to that . But

italso means really wanting to do God’

s will as the firstandchiefdesire oflife .

At the Mee ting House I spoke on her iILhealth and he!sensitiveness be ing such that mos t people in her conditionwould have felt themselvesabsolutely excused fromactive work.and yet how because ofher steadfast purpose that God should

Act . 49. DEATH or A FRIEND. 495

be glorified through her in the blessing of others , she hadbecome suchablessing to many. Even her sorrow she hadmade serve to the same end. The application was that weshould remember that our disabilities may be made really themeans by which good can come to others. Allen spoke in somewhat the same strain . S. N. onadorn ing the doctrine , etc. A .

repeatedasweet hymn oftriumph,and J .and R. and I prayed,bringing out the heavenly side ofdeath.

336 RICHARD H . THOMAS. M .D . I903.

Twentie th Centuryas He had for the firs t. A s Lukeand theothers were men oflike passions with ourselves , so weare to belike them in their nearness to the Lord, and we also in our

measureare to present inspired pictures ofJe su s Christ to theworld . Then I spoke of what pictures we are presenting.

Shouldany document be found claiming to con tain the words ofJesus Christ in which could be found written se n tences likethese, Verily, verily, I sayuntoyou him that come th to M e I shallcas t out," or I will not del iver fifom sin or comfor t in sorrow,

"

there is not the critic, even the most unbel ieving , to be foundwhowould for one moment suppose suchadocument to be genuine,and yetare we not sometimes just s uchapictureX . told meafterwards thatas I was speaking he could so!

H igher Criticism , would not beable to stand it , when to his

ofwhat had been said,and said that he had been much instructedby it. But I have not recovered hour the phys ical efi ects ol

the exertion yet. Ifonly it truly did W it is worth it. I t

really trying to sp eakm ore briefly .

what was on mymind into less

the subjectand the desire to make it clearand to p roduce Ill

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m RICHARDa. m om s, M .D. m;

ofdate because certaiupassages have been p roved inaocnratwerroneous. Let us examine the facts . When GaIileo tanghtthat the world moved. the church thought that th e truth oft?!

was in danger. We know the earth move s ,and although theBible says that the sun moves , the message ofthe Bible has notbeen discredited. When theages ofgeol og y wereannounced.again the ofi cial church held up its hand s and said , “Tl!

B ible is beingattacked But it was not. We believe in thegeologic ages and in the Bible also. Again , when Darwinannounced his doctrine the churchwasaghas t. B ut now evolu

tion, under the proviso that it has been carried on byan intelligentand omnipotent creator, is thought by some,and jus t ly, to beagreat defence of Chris tianity. I referred to ah ere sy triai inBaltimore that l was presentat in one of the g reat churches

(N.B .— It was the Presbyterian Church South ), when I heard the

minister on trial warn those present to the efi e ct that every

time the church hadattempted to decide ques tio n s of science

by their interpretation ofthe Bible italways had to eat its onwords ,and Iadded that he was entirely correct. I told them

that I rememberedadear, good mamwho had been imprisonedfor his testimony to truth, once saying, when the modern viev d

answered that my faith in Jesus Chris t was too firm to beamthat His gospel could depend upon the date orauthorship ofthe

Book ofDaniel. Christ does not teach in this way. He quot efrom Moses , from the rroth Psalmas from David , from Daniel,from Jonah, etc. , but He never te lls us that the truth dep ends

upon these thing s ; but what He does say is that up on the me

great commandments , not on date sandauthorships of the Old

Testament Books , hangall the Lawand the Prophets , w e

say that the Bible is likeachain ,and that no chain can t;stronger than its weakest link ; but tho Bible is not likeaohd n. it

isalibrary. for the word B ible comes fromaword meaning not

book, but books , one volume may be ofmore imp ortance than

Act. 49. m eans VIEW or THE BIBLE . 339

another without destroying the value of the rest. The Bibledoes indeed now have to be regarded froman altered point ofview. We cannot look upon itasan infal lible teacher on pointsofhistory, or geology, orastronomy, for it is not. We cannot besureas to theauthorship ofcertain parts that we used to thinkunque stioned. But it remains true that it containsarecord of

God’s dealings with menand that here we have , under the

illumination ofthe same spiritas was in the people who wrote ,

the needed teachingand safe guidance But some will say thatthis view is the last resort ofChristians ,and that they have beendriven to it by stress ofcircumstances . That cannotat least besaid ofFriends. The mostauthoritative book thathas ever comefrom them maintained , two hundred yearsand moreago, that theB ible hadahuman elementand that theWord ofGodwas not theBible but Christand the inspeaking Spirit . George Fox madehis first great public impression on this very point, and we cansay that our position is not the result of modern thought but ofearly enlightenment ,and it is gain to the whole Christian churchthatabody that for two hundred years has been recognisedasevangelical has held thi s ground. Barclay m ight have beensurprisedat the modern discoveries , but he would have g ladlywe lcomed themas illustrating his point.But peoplearealarmed because there has been discovered inBabylonacode oflaws long previous to Moses , which it is suggested may have given M oses some of his own legislativematerial . What then Suppose acode could be discoveredthat did more than this , that containedall that was good in thePentateuchand more than that. It m ight narrow our ideas of

Moses , but it would broaden our ideas ofGodand ofthe truththat His Spirit was not confined in its working toastrip of landaboutas largeas Connecticut but was overall,as indeed weknow that it was . I s there no ground that is safe There is.

Weare to understand that in the rocks is found theauthoritativerevelation ofGod’

s waywith the rocks ; in the stars ofHis waywith the stars ; in living bodies His waywi th living bodies .and

390 RICHARD H. THOMAS , M .D . 1903.

in the characters ofmen His way with the ir characters . It isirreverent for us to think our interpretation ofth e B ible is moreauthoritat ive than God'

s record in the earth . There will be no

difi culty when we remember that. ifthe workin g s ofGod on char»acterand on the spirit ofmanare to be found in the e xperiencesofmen ,and especially in the experiences ofsp iritual m en .

thenthe only way in which we can surely know ofth e se thi ngs in thepast in suchawayas to learn from them is through records.andin this respect the records in the Bible stand p re -em inent. This

will give us the clue by which to distinguish the eternal from the

temporary in the Bible . Doubtless the write rs ofthose bookscould not themselves dis tinguishalways.and they wrote whatthey be lieved to be true inall directions , but they took the ideason science and history etc. , from the ir surroundi ngsand gavethem the spiritual interpretation. It is the interpre tation that isofvalue. Whether the records in Danielare lite ral history“whether they show in symbol , using the traditions that had come

down , the sufl'erings ofthe Jewsand their heroic patienceamiditall, the lesson for us is the same.

“The Lord is my Shepherd"

is amatter of experience , not ofhistoricalaccuracy . The re

conciliation ofscienceand rel igion will be comple te when on the

one hand the church recognizes the authoritati ve and divinecharacter ofthe facts ofscience ,and when scientifi c men onflitother recognize that the facts ofspiritual experienceareas realasany other facts , harder to understand itmay be , b u t still facts.and to be treatedaccordingly.I closed withapracticalapplication ofthe ever

‘las tingandtrustworthy character of the truth of God in Chr ist andanexhortation . I forgot when I began to write that I commencedwithastatementas to the debt we owe to learned m en, and the!but for these we should never have known that The Lord is myShepherd"was in the Bibleatall.and I showed how the Church

ofthat day had cried outagainst translating the B ib le into thevulgar tongue. Then I showed how the mere fact that it m in

the Bible was not enough ; it must be true in our own heatts

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4 ta RICHARD H. THOMAS . M .D .

were pass ing from the Bible Scho o l B ui ld ing to the

Meeting House , fire-alarms were so unding ,and inanhour the great Baltimore fire had gai n ed such headway that it was beyond human co n tro l . That nightmy husband had promised to giveasp e c ialaddressatLight Street Meeting. The fire was raging between

itand our part ofthe city,and m ost ofth e inhabitantswere out on the streets, either tr y ing to save theirthreatened property or gazing in s i le n t awe at thedevouring flames . We tried to persuad e him to give

up going, but he said, “They have take n so much

troub leabout it, (muchadvertizing ofthe address hadbeen done)and there may be some peo p le there. l

must,at least

,make the effort to get ther e .

” He hadto walkagood deal , but succeeded in reaching theMeeting House, and forty people l isten ed in deepattention to hisaddress .

Next morn ing weawakened to more than Sabbathstil lness in our usual ly noisy street. Notas treet-carrunning, no letters , no newspaper. We learn t thatthe electric power house had been burn t downan dallthe newspaper ofiices . Rumour said that the Ge neralPost Ofiice had gone, too,and the City Hall, b ut thisafterwards turned out to beamistake . The fire wasstill raging furiously,and the fire compan ies, exhaustedwith twenty-four hours of continuous eflort

, were

tempted to give up in despair.

That dayand the next my husband wen t to his

patients on foot, as no public conv eyan ces were

running. He was very on Wednesday

Ae t so. THE BALTIMORE F IRE.

morn ing, springing up from bed toanswer the telephone

,he hadanacuteattack of dilatation of the

heart . It was the beginn ing of the end, for, though

he partially recovered ,and even wentagain to the

College ,and two or three times to Meetingand to hispatients, yet from that day he was reallyavery sick

man .

The wholesale part ofour beautiful city lay inashes ,and , though (almost m iraculously) no l ife was lost inthe flames , there were many besides Dr. Thomas whodied either from over-ex ertion or from exposure in the

b itter cold that fol lowed , while others lost hopeandp utan end to their l ives in despair over the ruin ofalltheir earthly hopes .

On the day that he was first taken ill my husbandcomposed the following lines

High noonand peace !VWth mocking laugh, the flameStrode forthand grasped the city's thoroughfares ;I saw the water play its pitiful game ,Stri ving to charm the giant to its lairI heard the grim-voiced mu tterings ofdespairAs street on street laylow,an easy preyThe stroke how swift, the long drawn out repairTo lag with lingering steps through manyaday,And then the heart wounds deep that do not passaway.

Blackare the footprints in the monster's path,The Babylon we builded is no more,Engulphed beneath the flaming waves ofwrath.

Behind dismay, we know not what before ,

RICHARD H. THOMAS. M.D. 1904.

Gaunt ruin knocksat manyan unburned door,And overall there broods one common woe .

One cup forall shal l hands unseen outpour.Through the same Jordanall who win mu st go ,Thoughall his banksand bounds his chilly waves o

'

erflow.

Think not the wolfand wild cat yet shall prowlThroughadeserted city ofthe dead .

Think not its wharves shall nest the waterfowlOrall its streets the grass shall overspread.

Soon shall they echo to the hurrying treadOfthousands who shall bu ild the wastesagain .

Beauty forashes , oil ofjoy insteadOfmourning shall be here . God grant that painAnd lossand fiery scourge shall not have fallen inBaltimore, Feb . roth, 1904.

As this illness was really the end of RichardThomas’s active l ife, th is may be afitting place to

introduce extracts fromafew ofthe numerous letters

and characterization s ofhim receivedafter his deathI have selected such as seemed especial ly to throw

l ight upon his work or his characterThy husband had, I think , agreater influence upon my

spiritual life thananyone I ever knew ,and by wordsand examplehas beenameans ofgreat bles singand soul-strengthening to

me ,as he was to so many .

Never shall I forget the impression which he made uponallour household when he re some years ago ; even our maidsremember him well .

We have such sunny memories ofthose few m mer days youand your dear one spent with us some yearsago,and I shallalways fee l so glad that I knew him, evenalittle .

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“a m acaw ” .

So m y ofmy friends have libev is e cm t se to tln nk GodfaDtThomas’s loving intaest in them j n eac h one individually,“seems so much more 'hat is needed than to th ink onlyofm

B e s lwsys seemed to take the highes t g round di scernible snlto illuminate it byhis life. Withall his g end e ne ssand eomhe wonderfully blended the Luther-l ike quali ty and did naadjust , evenat the expense ofpersonal ease . to whatappearedto him inany degree the lower way. He wasas keen sssDamascus blade ."saidagentleman recently, “ but I felt ho'frail the shes th was .

"

It is told that Emerson in the decline of his mental pomwhen he took his ls st long lookat the face of his frieed

Longfellow. remarked I cannot remember what they esflsdhim, but l do know that he wasabeautiful A weloont

proofthat, when even the names which have becom e great lmt

fadedaway from men’

s minds . fine personali ties may retainaimpress upon their hearts .

After some fluctuations ofhopeand d iscouragement.Dr. Thomas wasattacked, in the last wee k ofFebruary.with apersistent fever. The doctors p ro nounced it

endocarditis,and he took to his bed never to leave itagain .

At first he stil l worked on, and my typewriter

clickedalmost incessantlyas he dictate d le tterafterletter. College bu siness and other corresp o ndence

wasattended to, and he was special ly o ccu p ied in

trying to prevent the Maryland Legislature , then si ttingat Annapo lis, from passing two Bills whi ch had been

Aet . 49. VARIETIES OF RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE . 397

experience , etc. , does soaflect us , yet itappears ,also , that weareafiected in other ways ,and it seems to me that we may beby good and evil influences, in accordance with whether weyield to the one or the other. The good is from God,and, .to mymind, what we know rathe r deepens the sense of reverenceandconfidence in these best impressions . They must, of course,always be controlled by intel ligence in this sense , that we mustneveral low them to lead us in ways thatare not right

,andyet with this check they are safer gu ides often than mereintelligence .

To Hrs Srsr sn.

West Falmouth,8th mo .a4th , 1903 .

In the Meeting on M inistryand Overs ight at I pleadedfor amore liberal presentation of truth

,that we should

remember that people were in difierent positionsand that theymust come by diflerent ways to the truth. Illustrations : Icame from West Falmouth to Boston by the N. S. , N. H. , andH . Railroad. It would beall right for me to encourage othersto do the same ifthey wereat West Falmouth, but if I shouldtellaperson in Maine to do so ,and that this was the only wayby which he could come to Boston , if he bel ieved me it wouldeither make him comealong way out ofhis course , or preventhis comingaltogether. It wasall right for us

‘ to say how we

had come,and let others have the benefit of it . We must notwhittle down our beliefs to others’ want of belief, but we mustfind some common point of view with those whom we wouldinfluence , otherwise what we say cannot be mixed with faith inthem that bear. To many the statementfliatateaching is inthe Bible has no weight . This does not . mean that thou mustgive up thyfaith in the Bible , but it does mean that thoumus t findsome thing that will beaccepted as astarting point . Our

assertions do not make things true . We must remember that

4 t8 RICHARD H . THOMAS. M .D .

tomed himself to suder without complaint and to

make the best ofall the bright places .

I want,also , to place on record the wonderfu l wayin which our Heaven ly Father cared for the bodilyneeds of His trusting child, hoping that it mayencourage others to fuller dedication in regard to

outwardaffairs . Dr. Thomas had long given the firstp lace in his life to the service ofhis Lord,and, thoughour faith had sometimes been tried, yet the supply hadalways come when needed, until we had learned that itis safe to trust God for daily breadas wellas for everything else. When my husband took to his o bed his

pocket-book was emptyand his bank accoun t low,

yet so lovingly were his smallest needsanticipatedandmet by the watchful care offriends,atadistanceaswel l as in Baltimore, that the physician who hadwatched over him throughall his il lness said to meafter his death , “ IfDr . Thomas had beenami llionaire no more could have been done than has beendone in every way for his comfort.Amongst our countless “tender mercies were

some in particular, which only the providing care ofour loving Heaven ly Father could have brought

about.For instance, his dearly beloved sister wasab le to

be wi th himafter more than thirteen yearsabsence inEngland . Sheand her husband came towards the endof April, and she remained until the very e nd,

ministering in numberless ways to hisand our comfort

and blessing. Then , our daughterwas just comp leting

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430 RICHARD H. THOMAS, M .D. 1904.

to die shouting,The Lord wi ll provide .

”

It turned outas he had feared, he was unconsciousat the last, yet surely these facts, to which numb erless

others m ight beadded, do loudly testify that the Lord

does provide .

At first he spoke much ofheaven, welcom ing the

thought of death as ofarelease from the burden

that had become almost too heavy for him . His

physicians,however,anticipated recovery,and later on

he told his sister that he was wil ling for life if it werethe Lord’s will, though he realized that his p owerswould be greatly dimin ished .

He verymuch enjoyed hymns,and would oftenask

to have them read or sung to him . The last hym n

that he himselftried to join in was the chorusHe’s the lily ofthe valley, the brightand morning star,

He ’s the fairest often thousand to my soul.”

The following verses were written or dictated by

himat different times during his illness. He had no

opportunity of revising them,and I have though t itbest to print them justas theyare

GOD’

S HOPEFULNESS.

It is not hopeless , though it seemWrong is realand Truthadream ,

It is not hopeless, God can waitPatientand compassionate .

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m RICHARD H. THOMAS, M.D .

I cannot . It maybeOne path is closed to me .

Its closing opens moreThan I had seen before .

Why should I then lamentMyway offirst in ten t ?

I cannot, Iam blind,Paths close , before , behind.

On either lside is night,I know not which is right,The windsand rain begin,

But is not God within P

I cannot, yet I can.

This is the strength ofmanBaulked hope is not defeat ,Retiring not retreatWe find the br ighter wayAnd victory comes with day.

and mo. ryth , 1904.

DREAMS .

I dreamed , but the dream was vain ,I seek not to dream itagain .

Better the truth be known ,The weed be the common weed ,

The stone butacommon stone,And menand women in need

With failingsall unoutgrown ,Like to myse lfalas,

Be those that I meet on my dustywayEach dreary day.

190+

Aet. 50. LAST POEMS.

I live through sunshineand rain ,

And trave rseadreary plain,But the dreams that I knowand have known

In their gla.r_. plead,They illumine the weedand the stone

And menand women in need

Have haloesaround them thrown .

The fm‘

lings alas,But I camb the faint light ofadawning day

That guides their way.

ryth , 1904 .

m s.

Afier strong endeavor ;Dayhas dimmed to 0 -5

Fruit comes slow or never.

Yet I rake no foolish cry

Against heam ’e unkindnem

Mom than I deserve have I ,Groping in my blindness .

And I haveasp ringing hopeThat to gladness moves meSom here I shall yet findFor myMaster loves me .

3rd mo . 1904.

w hving In HIS lflfld.

434 RICHARD H . THOMAS. M.D.

And ifour days on earth be brief,Why should they not be bright ?

The sun that seems to set in cloudsRolls on to morning light.

Foras with westward straining eyes

We mark his latest ray,Eyes far 05 , gazing eastward, watch,And hail the rising day.

and, 1904.

I mean to be justand generous ,To shelterandaid the weak,

To overcome wrongand Oppression ,

To lift the downtroddenand meek.

50 plan I,and so I endeavor,

But wherever I move Iam boundA victim ofsocial orderWi th meshes that commas me roundAsafly in the web ofaspiderThat breaksastrand hereand there ,

Yet never comes nearer to freedomTillall pathsare shut save despair

So the helpedand the helper strugg le ,Though the net by themselves is spun ,

And perhaps I , too , have been weavingThe web that is never done .

4th mo.an d, 1904 .

I lookabove , I look behind,Before , on e ither hand ,

And glory coversall the seaAndall the pleasant land

’Tis only roundabout myfeetThat chilling mistsand vapor: meet .

May 33rd, 1904.

190+

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RICHARD H. THOMAS . M.D .

I I . Autu m n’s Farm .

Three days theywent, to reach Moriah’s land.

A victim to be ofi ered , God had planned.

So lsaacasked . CouldAbraham be calm ?God will provide,"though heartand flesh must bleed.

The world must yet be blessed through Isaac’s seed.

But resurrection power was claimed by faith .

Jehovah Jireh gavearam instead ;The M re turned,as Abraham had said .

Thus he who faithful was had faith made strong,

And God’

s perfiection was his even-song.

II I . Camsr’s Mm srnv .

One day (or year) Judeaheard her King .

The next , did Galilee His praises ring .

The third. expelled, He travelled northand east ;Yet faced His goah the cross,at time ofteast.In darkness wasatonement now complete ,The temple sacrifice no longer meet .Man ’

s hope was dead, the promise none believe .

Had God, then , closed His week onWednesday eve ?Disciples joyed to see their risen Lord.

Throughout the world He sent His precious word.

Corne lius proved God's universal love .

NoJew nor Greek, nor black nor whiteabove .

Has sorrow come ? I s heart’s desire refused ?In painand bitterness is Godaccused ?DoesWednesday eve findall thy plans disturbed,And righteous zeal byheavenlymandate curbed ?Be stilland know that lam God,” saith He,For changeless love hath shap es my decree.

Aet. so. CLOSING DAYS. 43 7

God’s blessing comes in harvestand in storm.

Job feltall Satan's darts that sought his harm ,

While God but wi lledablessing for His childWi sdomand trust, where human pride defiled .

Jesus began the work He doth renew ;He labors long to strengthen meand you.

Let patience have her perfect work, be sure

What God hath wrought for ever shall endure .

Towards the close my husband sleptagreat deal,andhis mind at times wandered . Once, when much

confused, he thought he wasat seainasteamer, butwhen told he was in his own room he replied, Atanyrate I know Iam hound for the heavenly port.” At

another time he said to his daughter, “ I hear theheaven ly choir ; it is in the next room. I was justgoing in . Atanother time he was much troubledbecause he cou ld not repeat the twenty-third Psalm, but

presently said : It does notal ter my relation to the

Lord if my brain hasacrack in it that lets th ingsthrough,and if it is His will Iam willing for it, but I

shal l not beable to helpanybody.

”

The n ight before he was brought back to Baltimorehe offeredatouch ing prayer,asking that the journey,which was felt to be one ofgreat risk to him in his

weak condition, might be safelyaccomplished, thatallmight be kept in peace, that the Lord

'

s will might be

done in him and in all those he loved, and thatthe Lord's work might go forward .

The journey to the city, necessitated by the closingof the seasonat Blue Ridge, was safelyaccomplished ,

438 RICHARD H. THOMAS; M.D . mg .

and he seemed none the worse for it. E vidently he

was much pleased to be in his own homeagain ,andwhen the fear was expressed that the noise would

disturb him ,he replied, No, I enjoy it.

"

The end came just one week later . It was very suddenand probably painles s . The night before he had beenable to enjoy the fourteenth chapter ofjohnandalsoseveral hymns, wh ich I had read to him

,showing

special pleasure in Mrs . Browning’s Loved once .

”

When waiting on him on the day he died I said, “Iam so sorry for thee, dearest, to think that thou hasnoth ing to look forward to but dayafter day of this

weakness and pain .

”Oh, he answered brightly,

Don’t be sorry for me

,it is only one dayatatime.

"

The doctor told me that from the condition found

at the post-mortem examination it was most probablethat his heart was completely used up when it dilatedat the time ofthe fire, and that he thought that forsome time before his last illness every action must

have involved at least three times the amount of

effort that would have been made byan ordinaryman . No wonder, then , that he was so often tired .

What ajoy to bel ieve that the weariness is left

behind with the poor worn-out earthly tabernscle,and that he has experienced the tru th ofhis own lineswritten on the death ofM . W . Thomas

Death is the end ofdeath,Death no more livethJesus the risen Christ ,Victory giveth.

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430 RICHARD H. m om s , M .D . 1904.

Late on in his illness, when sight was impairedandhis fingers could scarcely guideap en , he traced thewords Love never faileth , for everand for ever . It

was the love ofGod shown forth in Jesus Christ,

the

same yesterday, to-day,and for ever, working, suffer

ing, seeking, conquering, reign ing, and now com ingfor us,

” that had so filledand energized him that no

storms of scientific doubt could shake his faith,nor

any pessimism of the closing years of the n ineteenth

century cloud the hope that was based uponapersonalknowledge ofGod in the face ofJesus Christ.

SUBJECT INDEX.

Atassro , descript ion of, 325

328.

Alsop, Robert and Christine,R. H . T. travels wi th. 89.

thatit: Ci ty 38 3tonemen t , Conversations on

206-207 Prof. Clarke on , 363.

Ayrshire , Friends, 398 , 299.

Bas cocx , Dr. M . B .;

Bad Nauheim ; 3r7 ; 31 322,

2

oldest sister of

l 69

duringHodg

kin '

s encouragement of, 29,83 see Eutaw Street.Baltimore Yearly Meeting ; 40Hicksi te separation,167 , rog , 1 704 r ; Article

“ In 172 ;1 74 ; 2 r8-220 incorporatedn o : 230 ; 309. 333. 352 : of

Men’

s Chrisr r3, r r5, r68 .

2 , 293.

St 347 : 350 °

Bible ,

for tpom

'

tion Of: 3 5: 346 )

365 :

389 :

399

Birmingham , visits to; 22 4;

306. 66 . 4 1 1 .

Blue Ridge nmmi t, 2 1 5, 2 16 ,

2 87 . 4 19. 427Brai thwai te , Anna90 . mam ed H . .3

103.

Braithwaite ; Charles Ll 00n

versation wi th, 206-207 .

Brai thwaite , George , 209.

B rai thwaite , 1saac. Jun . , 105;1 1 3 3952

thwaite, Bevan (fatherofA . B . contact wi th;36 ; fi t to; 88 : 96 : 98 31 1 27 , 228 .

Brai wai ts , Bevan ; Jun .

(oldes t bro er ofA. B.

88 , 89, 91 , 105; 206 . 228 , 366 .

B raittai te , Martha(Mother of

A. 89, 1 1 5, 1 34, 206 ,

B Ms

nowden (seealso Mary S. omas ). 239,

305: 303 i 3 16 317 , 32 1 333 :

4 1 8 , 41

thwaiteq RachelB . ,

Braithwaite, Wi lliam C . , 1 523t 8é 209. 237 : poem by 409Bridlington , 1 2 1 1 27Bri tish and Foreign Bib leSociet ,

Brown .

Browm John ; 29.

Bonhi ll, 204. 289, 290

432 RICHARD H . THOMAS; M.D.

( 12 1102 11 Rom (horne d AL BJIZ).

Chalfont House , 290 .

to, 223, 274. 367 .

Civ il War. ou tbrmk of, 25, 27

£0111

1m

Brown ’

2 raid. 29 first28 : holding meet

m epi to oi , 28 .

03 .at “ Chat“, 2930

mm ; Educational. atdm ce. 340 ; 344 ; Lake

01418801 7 367 369 : was“nial. 24 1 -243. 332

Capenhagen ; 27 1 , 273.

Cork. 93, 266.

Crenshaw, ohn 40 .

0. 10 1 ; 255.

Dears , thoughts on approachof 209-2 1 1 33 3: M 9. 430

of Faith (Richmond ), 2 1 8 , 2 19, 220 .

Deer Creek , visi t to , 1 1 5; 224Matingat , 255.

tendw; 366 .

1 8 , 26 , 82 , 1 25, 1 34 ,247 , 36 1 ; 288 : 438 .

Edinburgh . letter from; 94V lSitS to , 398 ;

Efiectiv e Presentationnal Truth. 303

.

03 255

3 751 319.

203-207 ; fifth v isi t

223-230 six th365-332

V il l t (ml ); fl.

Eutaw tract Meeting , 1 65, 252;31 1 Lou es of, 334 .

Evaluat ing Punishmen t ,m em m 235, 236 .

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434 RICHARD H . m om s, M .D.

Lov e, Faithand H0p e, 198-20 1Lov e nev er iaileth , 430 .

Russell, ode toon , 99.

MANCHESTER, v isits to, 224 , 300 ,

306 , 307 , 366 ; ConferenceatMarcussen ; Johan , work of,

273. 283Maryland , legislature , 4 16.

Materialis tic views , 237 , 238 .

McKinley, President , 37 1 .

Medical Work of R . H . Tchosen as profession , 74 ;receives degree , 86 sup

plemen tarywork, 80 studiesi n London , 93 begins p ractice , 98 phys icianat Houseof Refuge, 1 16 ; inves tigatesdiphtheria, 1 16 ; studies inVi enna, 1 27 ,

1 29, 1 30 ; workin Woman’

s Medical College,1 77

- 1 8 1 ; R . H . T. as a.teacher, 360 ; as adoctor ,360 , 36 1 .

Meetings forWorship , V italizingof, 302-303.

Meeting for Sufierings , minu teOf: 3 14

-

31 5 '

Meeting, Baltimore , held duringCiv i l War , 28 ; John Hodgkin

’

s encouragement to , 29,

83 ; sermons at , 1 42- 1 44 ,

165 , 252 , 31 1 losses of,

334

Methods of Work, 1 7 2- 1 74 .

Militarism , Ev ils of, 223, 27 5,

344M illard , Edward , 92 ; kindness

of, 1 27 , 1 32 .

M iller, Thomasine T. , 39, 1 86 ,

239.

M iller , William , 88 , 94 .

Minden , stay at , 89 ; letterfrom , 95 v i sit , to, 274 , 27 5.

Minister , R . H . T. first sp eaksas , 83 ; recorded as , 1 39°

speaking to conditions , 244in Denmark , 272 ; description of, 285

-287 .

Ministry, under impression of

moment, 1 7 dealing wi thliv ing issues, 2 54 : freedomof, 352 ; depression after ,

1 58 desire for resu lts , 358two kinds , 395 p reachin gto chi ldren , 402 Modern

Quaker , 403 ; later , 406 .

ont Dore , visit to, 1 34 .

Mon treu x , 31 7 , 320 , 32 1 , 32 2 .

Mother,Exi

zture of, 9 sp oken

otas " mm ,

”1 1 marriage

of, 56 .

NAERSTRAND , 269, 27 5, 276 , 277 .ature , app reciation of, 1 22

uniform order of, 1 40 .

Nazarenes , vi sit to, 91 .

New B edford , visi t to, 2 36 ;letter to, 278

-280 336 .

New En land, visi t to, 1 8 1 - 1 8 5 ;atten s Yearly Meeting , 2 22

other v isi ts , 222 , 335, 36 3.

New York, attends Y earlyMeeting,

235, 343 ; othervisits , 266 .

Nicholson , Timothy, 233 .

North B erwick, openai r m eetingsat , 336 , 364 .

North Carolina, attends YearlyMeeting, 98 , 231 .

Norway, v i sit with R . P . K ing ,

96 , 97 second v isi t , 267 -27 1 .

Norwegian Language , 267

p reaching in , 280 ,28 1 .

OPEN Air Meetings , 1 1 5 , 1 1 7 ,

1 1 8 at N. B erwick , 336 , 364 .

Ordinances , 1 1 3, 1 31- 1 33 tract

on by R . H. T.,2 1 2 b

D . B . Updegrafi , 2 1 2 ad):dress onat B irmingham , 306 .

Paw s, Ton , death of, 1 2 .

Pastors , 20 1 , 242 ; R . H. T .

’

s

position towards , 1 8 2 , 1 8 3reason for obj ection , 286 , 3 38 .

Peace Addresses , 237 in Nor

way, 283 290 , 344 . 368 .

Peace Association ofF r iends inAmerica, 223, 232 ; R . H . T .

p resident of, 234. 340 . 369.

4 1 7 .

INDEX .

Peace Conierenoe Inter-national ,at Paris , 223 ; in Richmond ,

243 : at 368 1 369 2in Philadel 368

Ponce work, 340 , 34 1 ,“ Penelv e , 1 57

- 1 76 ;

332

Personal work; 228 , 310,

31 1 . 31 3.

Phi ladel hia, Yearly Meetingatten ed , 342 .

Pie ty Promoted, 36 .

Poems .— To my Father , 16 ;

D e b o rah t h e mak e rPreacher .

‘ 1 8 ° Chi dhood ‘

26 ; The Welcome.‘ 82

To A. B . T. 90 ; To A. B . Ther sailin to Eng ,land

1 17 ; Death the olog

1 22 ; F lamborough dead ,

1 23 ; Pascal , ‘ 1 25Shepherd. 1 26 , B om

so, 1 3

M

4§R ,est ‘ 1 36 , The Bondand Freedom of Lov e , 1

1 5 1 Veni Senote tus.1 58 , To M . C. tney,208 : Little Miss Kris Kin

gles, 2 1 4 ; Sonnet on theeath of M . W. T 22 1

Fai l u r e , F ran c i sXavier’s Hymn ,

‘ 247 ; The

Coming Triumph ,

‘ 26 1 ; The

Prophet , ‘ (extracts from ),What seekest Thou ? ”

3 1 8 ;“ Canst than not res t

my Art Thouthan man more real ? 3 19I may not the riei

I feel," 320 As thou '

dst

trouch T

h

:bag,"320 ; Th

e

rue ump 329 : G

D'

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Dreams , 42 2 In Illness ,423 ; The Fear of Death ,

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435

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Willesden . 289; 290 .

Windber , Penna, 354.dolph, Letter

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375. 391 . 406. 4 1 3. 294 .295.

Woodbrooke Settlement ; 4 1 1 .

Woolman , Journal ofJohn , 10 1 .

Worries , Li ttle , 354 .

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