,,elizabeth ,,the ,,disinherited ,,daughter ,,by ,e4 ,,ben4 ,,ez-,,er ,,preface ,this booklet is little more than a compilation4 ,the materials were abundant for a much larger book4 ,elizabeth's divine experience was so striking1 so valuable to the cause of truth1 that it has not been essentially abridged4 ,but the results in biography1 though well known to all who knew her1 have been cut down to the smallest dimensions that would allow that brilliant experience to shine out4 ,elizabeth had a lifelong conviction that ,god required the publication of ,his remarkable dealings with her1 and in her approach to the river of death solemnly enjoined it upon her youngest son and executor4 ,his own convictions also agree with the requirement4 ,here are obvious reasons3 #a4 ,the early history of ,methodism has suffered by the dropping out of many striking illustrations of her power4 ,by neglecting to record them permanently while well authenticated1 they are now beyond recovery4 ,as this providential work moves on gloriously1 making world-wide history1 these few preserved incidents of her early triumph become more and more valuable by the lapse of time4 #b4 ,providentially this experience is too rare and too far back in ,american ,methodism to be lost out4 #c4 ,the controversy in which this experience was so strong a factor has not become obsolete4 ,the horrible decrees have indeed been very generally driven from the pulpit1 but not entirely4 ,our work as polemics will not be finished until they leave the schools and the books1 and cease to be pillows for the multitudes who lull themselves to slumber over the notion of sovereign grace and waiting ,god's time1 and cease to goad despondent souls to despair1 with the charge of being from eternity passed by as unredeemed reprobates4 ,e4 ,,arnold4 ,thousand ,island ,park1 #ahic4 ,,contents 99 99 99 99 99 ,,part ,i4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,that ,,strange ,,letter ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,elizabeth',s ,,alienation ,,from ,,the ,,ancestral ,,faith ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,that ,,alarming ,,message ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,order ,,obeyed ,,chapter ,v4 ,,the ,,fiery ,,furnace ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,great ,,victories 99 99 99 99 99 ,,part ,,ii4--,,the ,,great ,,wobk ,,of ,,life4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,elizabeth ,,as ,,mistress ,,of ,,the ,,cottage ,,chapel4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,religious ,,privileges ,,and ,,enjoyments ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,elizabeth ,,as ,,an ,,evangelistic ,,laborer ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,removal ,,to ,a ,,wilderness ,,country ,,chapter ,v4 ,,volney1 ,,oswego ,,county1 ,,new ,,york ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,hardships ,,of ,,the ,,new ,,colony ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,the ,,quarterly ,,meetings ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,,extends ,,her ,,labors ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,,as ,a ,,camp ,,meeting ,,worker ,,chapter ,x4 ,,the ,,chamber ,,on ,,the ,,wall ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,,mrs4 ,,elizabeth ,,arnold ,,as ,a ,,mother ,,chapter ,,xii4 ,,double ,,diligence 99 99 99 99 99 ,,part ,,iii4--,,retirement 99 99 99 99 99 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,homes ,,op ,,early ,,methodists ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,joshua ,,arnold ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,separation ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,conclusion ,,elizabeth1 ,,the ,,disinherited ,,daughter4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,part ,i4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,that ,,strange ,,letter4 ,it was in the latter part of the eighteenth century4 ,the dwelling was a plain frame structure1 spacious1 and of the style of that day 7the second story projecting a few inches beyond the first71 and was kept painted as white as snow4 ,it stood in the south suburb of the then little city of ,middletown1 ,conn41 between two hills on the right bank of the ,connecticut ,river1 at the bend called the ,cove4 ,the first break in the happy family circle was made by the departure of a daughter to another ,state to engage in teaching4 ,few letters were written in those days1 and the postal service was a slow and small concern4 ,but this absent school-teacher had written with much care and vivacity to the dear circle at home as regularly as the months came around4 ,but now1 for long1 anxious weeks1 no tidings from the absent one had reached that saddened home at the ,cove4 ,why don't we get a letter from ,betsey8 was often asked by the fond parents1 the loving sisters1 and thoughtful little brothers2 but no satisfactory answer could be given4 ,the father would hasten to the city as often as mail day returned and watch for the ponderous stagecoach1 but come back more moderately1 with a shadow upon his countenance1 and ,no letter6 ,no letter6 would deepen the sorrow of the circle4 ,one day the son ,siah was sent1 and in an unusually short time was seen coming over the hill with a speed so unlike a disappointed lad that the watchful mother was sure the dear boy had tidings4 ,her lip trembled as she motioned to the father and called out1 ,where's ,esther8 ,where's ,sam8 ,call 'em all in4 ,siah's coming real fast2 ,i guess he's got a letter from ,betsey6 ,how he does ride6 says ,hannah4 ,dear fellow1 ,i most know he's got a letter6 ,yis1 yis1 says little sharp-eyed ,sam2 see1 he holds suthin' white higher'n his head4 ,sure enough1 on comes the rider1 flourishing in his hand the long-looked-for message from the absent one6 ,it was but the work of a moment for the excited lad to leap upon the block1 throw the bridle over the post1 and run in1 letter in hand1 vociferating1 ,don't ye worry any more about ,betsey2 she's all safe and sound4 ,see1 it's in her own handwrite4 ,yis1 daddy1 and stuck together with that same red wax you gin her1 says little ,sam4 ,ruth breaks the seal and finds a large sheet1 and closely written4 ,a glance from the father brings the house to silence1 and she begins to read4 ,never a letter began with more tender words or in a sweeter spirit2 but all sounds so precise and awfully solemn that the voice of the reader falters2 tears fill the eyes of the mother and sisters2 the father turns pale2 little ,sam looks frightened and grips his mother's arm1 while ,josiah sobs aloud4 ,but the resolute reader moves steadily on1 and only breaks down when she reaches the name1 ,your loving daughter and sister1 ,elizabeth ,ward4 ,these words stung that proud father to the quick4 ,to hear his darling's name attached to such a letter1 and find his cherished plans thwarted forever1 was more than he could endure4 ,he arose in a paroxysm of wrath and left the house4 ,the mother1 watching him1 became greatly alarmed1 for she had never seen him so angry4 ,as the boys lead the horse to the stable the girls take the letter to their room1 where they weep much1 pray some1 and read over and over again that strange document4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,elizabeth',s ,,alienation ,,from ,,the ,,ancestral ,,faith4 ,elizabeth ,ward was the eldest of six children4 ,she had a tall1 straight form1 rather stern and dignified airs1 a keen black eye1 and a beautiful countenance1 though rather on the masculine order4 ,her father1 ,samuel ,ward1 was a wealthy farmer and stock grower and a skillful horseman4 ,he had determined to give this1 his eldest daughter1 a liberal education1 and have her assist in the instruction of her sisters4 ,she proved so easy to learn1 and showed such aptitude and application in study1 that he afforded her the best opportunities given young ladies in ,new ,england at that day4 ,and in his pride of horsemanship he took much pains to make her a skillful equestrienne1 and never seemed prouder than when riding out with ,elizabeth by his side upon an elegant steed in costly equipage4 ,to carry out his notions for the perfection of her accomplishments1 he sent her to ,pittsfield1 ,mass41 among wealthy and cultured relatives1 to devote a year or two to association with elegant society4 ,and to avoid that horror of the real ,yankee's dreams1 shiftlessness1 she was to take up a small select school for employment4 ,there too1 as at home1 she must have a splendid horse at her command1 and no cost must be spared to make her equipage1 as well as wardrobe1 as elegant as the best4 ,morning and evening rides must be kept up for health and recreation1 but not less to indulge a doting father's pride4 ,she found her new situation very agreeable4 ,her relatives were educated and fashionable1 and soon became very dear to her heart4 ,her school consisted of a suitable number of misses from wealthy families1 as cheerful as the larks and as gay as butterflies4 ,her opulent friends very readily entered into her father's plans1 and were especially delighted with her experience and skill in horsemanship2 and a sufficient number equipped and joined her in this healthy movement to insure her the best of company in her morning and evening rides4 ,and her popularity as an equestrienne fed her pride1 and her gay letters home were full of it1 and very agreeable to her proud father4 ,nor did the rapid improvement of her associates in this elegant accomplishment1 under her teaching and example1 escape the notice of their fond parents and of their townsmen1 and ,the way that tall schoolmarm rides is wonderful6 was spoken by many an observer1 and many a young woman envied the proud troop their chance to learn how to ride a-horseback4 ,in the daily excursions of these gay cousins they sometimes passed1 on a retired street1 the meeting place of a new and strange people called ,methodists4 ,jesse ,lee1 ,george ,roberts1 ,francis ,asbury1 and others1 mighty men of ,god1 had just gone over ,new ,england like a thundering legion1 proclaiming everywhere a free salvation for all1 even for ,john ,calvin's 'reprobates4' ,they had glorious success1 even in cold ,new ,england1 and of the fruit of the revivals which attended their labors formed many small but excellent societies4 ,one of these was established in ,pittsfield4 ,the sweet and moving singing of these people arrested the attention of our heroine and her friends as they occasionally rode by2 and1 pausing in their saddles to listen1 enough of a tune would get into their heads and keep ringing there to turn their course that way again4 ,catching a charming tune1 they must get the words1 at least a verse or two4 ,so1 from pausing outside to listen1 they grew bolder1 tied their horses1 and civilly sat down inside1 not only charmed with the songs1 but curious to hear the fervent prayers and testimonies and occasional shouts of this bright-faced company4 ,when their friends said anything against this people as being unpopular1 or despised1 these young fashionables would sing them a ,methodist verse or two1 and perhaps join in the ridicule by mimicking their shouts4 ,and yet in their sober judgment they honored these honest and devout worshipers for their fervent piety and zeal1 and wondered at their rapturous joys4 ,but they were quite mistaken in their confidence that an occasional attendance upon worship so spiritual was perfectly safe4 ,the ,holy ,spirit dwelt with this people4 ,these gay young attendants became the subjects of mighty prayers and powerful exhortations4 ,bows1 drawn at a venture1 threw arrows with great force4 ,the ,spirit directed one to the proud but honest heart of ,elizabeth ,ward1 and she was thoroughly awakened4 ,perhaps in the few prayer meetings these young people had dropped into within the past year they had imbibed more gospel truth than in all their former lives4 ,but the songs which had so captivated them1 many of which they had learned to sing1 had struck those truths into the mind indelibly1 and had so enlisted the moral nature of ,elizabeth that the ,holy ,ghost had written convicting impressions upon the inner tablet of her heart4 ,she did not long resist this new conscience of sins4 ,she clearly saw and deeply felt that she was a sinner1 and on the way to ruin4 ,in more of desperation than hope she set out to flee from the wrath to come4 ,in this state of alarm1 she walked alone to the ,methodist prayer meeting1 made known her convictions and purposes1 and sought instruction and help4 ,she returned from that meeting feeling that she had almost entered a new world4 ,gospel hope1 now for the first time in her life1 began to spring up in her heart4 ,she had settled the question of submission to her ,maker1 and began to seek ,him with purpose of heart1 resolved to confess and forsake her sins and seek pardon and peace in ,jesus ,christ4 ,still1 as to several of the counsels of her new religious instructors she was undecided1 because not yet convinced4 ,they advised her to seek the ,lord by prayer and supplication4 ,to ask1 to knock1 to call upon ,him1 and especially to cry unto the ,lord with her voice4 ,but she had been taught from infancy that none but the elect should pray2 nor even they until regenerated by sovereign grace2 and that no woman should pray or speak in a public assembly4 ,but a heart overwhelmed with a crushing sense of sin at length broke out1 almost against her decision1 and cried1 ,god be merciful to me a sinner6 and such hope of relief sprang up while she prayed as to settle the question of prayer2 and thence on for weeks all the relief she found was in prayer and confession2 a few crumbs of comfort to encourage her to persevere in seeking2 for she began to wonder why she had not found peace1 when she had sought so long and tried to give up all for ,christ4 ,one day1 in the retirement of her room1 her mirror revealed a gayety of apparel that struck her as unsuitable for a poor1 guilty sinner4 ,the fashions of that day were very profuse in ornamentation2 and as she saw herself in the glass1 her eyes red and heavy with weeping1 and yet her attire as gay and vain as if prepared for a ball1 she felt sure that her mode of dress had all this time been a hindrance to her2 and she then and there concluded to reduce all to plainness1 much like the people who had led her to penitence4 ,the pride of dress and equipage seemed now to be about the last idol to give up1 and1 all of her own counsel1 she did the work very thoroughly2 and as to her abundant jewelry1 the result of her spontaneous zeal was rather ludicrous4 ,determined that it should never prove a snare to any other poor soul as it had to her1 she passed it all under the hammer until there was nothing left but unseemly lumps of gold and silver2 the precious stones were utterly demolished4 ,from that work this hitherto gaudy maiden came out as plain as a ,quakeress1 and hastened to the ,methodist prayer meeting4 ,seeing her thus evidently taught of the ,holy ,spirit1 they took hold of her case with new courage as she bowed with them crying for mercy4 ,the prayers of the early ,methodists were something wonderful1 and this broken-hearted penitent drank into their wrestling spirit4 ,they claimed for her the exceeding great and precious promises1 with mighty faith2 she claimed these promises with them4 ,they took hold on ,jesus2 she put her hand with theirs into ,his with a strong and steady grip1 and ,he accepted her4 ,the conversion of ,elizabeth was instantaneous1 and exceedingly clear and powerful1 and its assurance overwhelming4 ,her long night was at once turned into day1 and that clear daylight was also a blaze of glory4 ,her joy was ecstatic4 ,her tall form1 which had been gaudily adorned1 but now attired for the meek and lowly ,saviour1 was at times prostrated by divine power1 and her regenerated soul filled with the rapture of heaven4 ,night and day1 for weeks1 her only relief from ecstasy was by settling into solid peace1 thus alternating from the quiet valley of peace that passeth understanding to the glory-crowned hilltops of joy unspeakable4 ,after a sufficient time had elapsed to demonstrate the genuineness and unfading glory of her experience1 ,elizabeth wrote home a plain account of it1 concealing nothing4 ,this was the astounding and alienating letter that so stirred up things at the ,cove4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,that ,,alarming ,,message4 ,the ,wards1 at the ,cove1 continued to be much troubled over ,elizabeth's letter4 ,had a note or a messenger announced her serious illness1 or her elopement or sudden death1 the first pang would have terminated in some sort of relief1 or at least a breathing place2 but this letter was suffocating1 and the dense fog seemed to grow darker as it stretched into the future4 ,a religious fanatic6 ,a ,methodist lunatic6 ,has our darling set out upon such a life8 ,i'm afraid it will kill your father2 it struck him dumb4 ,i can't draw him into any conversation about her2 and he is so angry6 ,thus the troubled mother would talk and cry4 ,the sisters and brothers listen to her1 and1 without comprehending the prospect so awful in ,betsey's future life1 would keep dumb1 like daddy1 and cry1 like mammy4 ,finding no relief at home1 ,mrs4 ,ward consulted their aged parson1 ,priest ,huntington1 and placed the ominous letter in his hands2 and he took the troublesome document home for professional analysis4 ,it is not to be supposed that the ,holy ,spirit left this letter to pass through such a crucible alone4 ,the experience it told was substantially ,his work1 and the hand that wrote it was not wholly without ,his guidance2 and now the cultured mind which examined it was that of a logical analyst1 however strong his prejudice4 ,the old parson was struck with its simplicity and soundness1 and hastened to the ,cove to pronounce ,miss ,elizabeth's experience genuine1 and even wonderful1 and that he believed her to be one of ,god's chosen vessels to bear witness of ,his sovereign grace4 ,so favorable an opinion from such an authority greatly relieved the apprehensions of the family2 all but the incensed father1 who would neither talk nor allow others to talk to him about the absent one for several weeks4 ,all these were not only precious weeks to ,elizabeth1 but lengthened out a most valuable epoch of her life4 ,at length the wily parson succeeded in getting to the stormy heart of this enraged and unhappy father1 and portrayed in glowing colors the clearness of ,miss ,elizabeth's effectual call and blessed hope1 and managed to bridge over that awful slough of ,methodism by descanting gravely upon some of the mysterious leadings of sovereign grace4 ,and now1 if our dear lamb of the ,saviour can be rescued from those deluded people and carefully instructed in 'the doctrines of grace1' what an ornament she would be to our church with such a brilliant experience1 and such 'a burning and shining light6' ,whether the hard heart of that father relented1 or whether1 weary of brooding over his disappointed hopes of a worldly sort1 his pride saw prospect of indulgence in another direction1 we leave it for subsequent events to determine4 ,the kind parson was successful1 and ,elizabeth was soon ordered to return home4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,order ,,obeyed4 ,the order to close up her school and return home did not disguise the anger of the father over the radical change in ,elizabeth's religious condition and associations4 ,but she had ever yielded unquestioning obedience to that father's commands2 and so with all practicable dispatch she now prepared to comply with the stern and precipitant demand4 ,it was painful to be suddenly torn from her agreeable relatives in ,pittsfield2 for1 although she had departed far from their notions of doctrine1 dress1 and usage1 and fully adopted the principles and spirit of a new and despised people1 they had never reproached her for her religion1 but1 deeply impressed with the genuineness of her experience and sweetness of her ,christian spirit1 had regarded and treated her with tenderness and respect4 ,it was not easy to bid adieu to her pupils who clung to her with much affection4 ,but it was the hardest parting from the church which had led her to the ,saviour4 ,but here1 too1 grace triumphed1 and she spoke rapturously of meeting that dear people where parting will be no more2 and1 catching1 as if by divine suggestion1 a strong presentiment1 she declared her impression that even in this life they should enjoy each other's society again--even in this blessed place1 where my sins were forgiven and ,i have received such valuable lessons and enjoyed such glorious seasons of communion with ,god and ,his people4 ,pray for me6 ,we will continue to pray for you1 dear sister2 and we too hope that our heavenly ,father may so order your lot that you may meet with us again in the place of your espousal to ,christ2 but let us so live that we may all meet in glory4 ,and then they broke forth into song3 ,amen1 amen1 my soul replies2 ,i'm bound to meet you in the skies1 ,and claim my mansion there6 ,,chapter ,v4 ,,the ,,fiery ,,furnace4 ,elizabeth's reception at her father's surprised her by its coolness and reserve1 as if she were a stranger or a visitor4 ,at once a happy thought struck her with great force3 ,if my religious profession puts such a distance between me and all my father's family1 the throne of grace must1 if possible1 unite us4 ,so1 before retiring for the first night's rest1 she asked and obtained authority to set up a family altar1 and for some months at least one of that family enjoyed freedom of spirit and tenderness of heart4 ,parson ,huntington visited her with much paternal kindness2 and although1 in presence of her joyous piety1 he often seemed embarrassed1 yet he remained true to his first conclusion as to the effectual character of her call and blessed hope4 ,but the promised teaching found her a less tractable pupil than he had hoped and led the father to hope4 ,she ever treated his instructions with profound respect1 but seemed to be a dull learner4 ,alas1 that she was all the while imbibing more than they or she supposed6 ,still1 the predestinarian aliment did not set well on her palate1 or nourish her young and tender graces of spirit4 ,her father sought to confine her to that sort of diet--at home1 at church1 everywhere2 for his only hope of rescuing her from ,methodism seemed to center in a thorough course of ,calvinian instruction1 excluding with rigid surveillance everything ,arminian4 ,but she longed for the food her soul had fed upon with such relish and profit2 and1 after a while1 hearing that the little ,methodist society of ,middletown held noon class meetings1 not far from the church which she was required to attend1 she often managed to slip out during part of the intermission and go and commune with that humble few in class meeting4 ,this fellowship1 with a diligent attention to closet devotions and ,scripture study1 and conducting family worship1 kept up a subdued but living piety4 ,but at length her clandestine attendance of class meetings was discovered1 and father and parson were highly indignant1 for they saw their cherished hopes blasted1 and1 in their mortification1 severer discipline was decided upon4 ,she must be closely watched and confined at home2 her favorite horse taken from her2 her conducting of family worship suspended2 her familiarity with her sisters 7who somewhat sympathized with her7 much abridged4 ,the kitchen maid was dismissed1 and the tall1 delicate ,elizabeth was driven to the drudgery of kitchen and washroom1 and ordered to be quiet and diligent as a servant1 under charge of having proved herself unworthy of a daughter's place in the family6 ,to this servile toil ,elizabeth submitted without a murmur1 and patiently plodded on1 her strong constitution and heroic courage and steady faith bearing her up4 ,but the accusation of ingratitude and disobedience was so false and severe as to be very depressing to her spirits4 ,and1 never having been inured to hard labor or parental censure1 these double tribulations were almost crushing2 and to help her courage she kept up the low1 almost inaudible hum of the sweet tunes she had so loved to sing among her chosen people1 and1 thus abstracted1 toiled on week after week4 ,such patience proved provoking1 especially as what could be detected of the tunes1 in the snatches heard1 indicated to her father's enraged feelings a stubborn attachment to that people from whom he was trying to wean her2 so even this little comfort was sternly denied her2 and1 while strength was gradually giving way under her heavy burdens1 she was compelled to toil on in silence4 ,under all these sore trials not only her angry father but the evil one kept up the accusation of stubborn disobedience4 ,at length she broke down under her burdens and troubles4 ,health1 courage1 and joy in the ,lord gave way together4 ,for the drill of ,parson ,huntington in ,calvinian theology for nearly a year past now came up1 enforced by the instructions of childhood1 with fresh power2 and she began to suspect that she was one of the ordained reprobates1 passed by and doomed from eternity to endless ruin6 ,the whole system of free grace1 impartial atonement1 and the ,spirit's assurance1 in the light and joy of which she had exulted for months in ,pittsfield1 and been so comforted in these subsequent months of hardship and false accusation1 strangely faded before these childhood and recent instructions2 and gradually this pupil of ,augustine and ,calvin sank into the doctrinal abyss of the horrible decrees4 ,nor would her broken and depressed spirits allow these sudden conclusions to affect her as abstract dogmas4 ,they struck her1 by ,satanic power1 like lightning1 as terribly personal realities4 ,i1 even ,i1 ,elizabeth ,ward1 have been awfully deceived6 ,i am one of the reprobates6 ,i have preferred my father's commands to ,god's favor6 ,i have committed the 'unpardonable sin6' ,how unaccountable is desponding unbelief6 how ingenious and active under diabolical management6 ,the ,holy ,spirit quoted to this poor1 despondent girl the precious promises1 but she refused to be comforted1 and hastened to pass them all over to the elect4 ,he called to mind her rich experiences4 ,they seemed to her far off in clouds of dim dreamland1 and she called them a reprobate's delusions1 sent on purpose to make her believe a lie that she might be damned4 ,he called her attention to the blessed word1 to prayer and praise4 ,she promptly swept all such observances away from reprobates to the ransomed few1 and1 gnashing her teeth in anguish1 sank to utter despair6 ,we will not attempt to describe a conscious reprobate1 passed by and ordained from eternity to all eternity a lost soul6 ,such was the dark1 dank night that settled down upon ,elizabeth as she sank under her burdens1 her temptations1 and cruel1 wicked unbelief4 ,in this dismal1 hopeless hell upon earth she pined away for weeks and months1 utterly shrinking from ,bible reading1 prayer1 song1 or religious conversation1 and studiously guarding against religious reasoning1 and even thought1 as abominable for a reprobate4 ,it is not easy1 in this age of religious liberty1 to understand or apologize for such intolerance as ,mr4 ,ward and ,parson ,huntington exhibited toward this innocent ,methodist girl4 ,but it should be remembered in charity3 #a4 ,that that age was about a century nearer the long period of persecution than this4 #b4 ,that a stern and terrible system of religious doctrines prevailed throughout ,new ,england at that day1 not fruitful in charity1 nor respectful toward any faith that differed from it4 #c4 ,that ,methodism was new there then1 and generally misunderstood1 and such of its features as were correctly read were intensely hated--even such as are now admired and revered4 #d4 ,that parents1 especially fathers1 were then allowed by public opinion to hold more control over the consciences of their children1 and variations from ancestral faith1 and even ancestral error1 not so frequent as now4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,great ,,victories4 ,seven months of despair had now worn slowly away4 ,this poor supposed reprobate had all that time been buffeted by ,satan without mercy4 ,she had wasted to a skeleton4 ,her large1 sharp eye had become heavy and lusterless1 and her ruddy cheek pale and sunken1 and every expression sad and hopeless2 and the enemy of all righteousness got into a hurry to secure his prize1 and brought all his arts to bear upon the suggestion of suicide6 ,such a temptation aroused her to a sense of her real danger--no longer the victim of ingenious devices to harbor gloomy forebodings1 but a wretched sinner1 about to destroy soul and body in hell1 on the verge of destruction to character1 and all good influences by an act of her own6 ,desperately1 in spite of her dread of prayer1 she cried to ,god against that dreadful temptation1 and instantly she had full victory over it4 ,the eyes1 long dried in the desert of despair1 were moistened with tears of wonder and gratitude4 ,astonished at such a clear answer to prayer1 she prayed again for deliverance from ,satan's power and all his enchantments1 and they fled away like the shadow of a cloud4 ,her dungeon flamed with light1 before which the horrible decrees also vanished1 falling into line1 and following their author to the land of darkness1 never to trouble her more4 ,the light shone on1 more and more2 and although at dead of night1 her room seemed to her to shine above the brightness of the sun at noonday2 and the doctrines of free grace seemed to flash about her with transcendent glory1 until investing her entire being4 ,she knew she was not a reprobate2 for ,god had heard her desperate cry against that greatest of sins4 ,she saw in ,god's own light the blessed assurance that ,jesus died for her and for all2 and in driving away the enemy and the dense cloud of error1 that had long shrouded her dungeon in ,egyptian darkness1 she clearly saw glorious demonstrations of divine clemency in store for her4 ,she deplored her unbelief1 and humbly sought forgiveness and full restoration2 and there1 and then1 by faith in ,jesus1 she accepted ,him again as her ,saviour4 ,instantly her raptures returned1 with more than their former power and glory1 and she went off into a perfect gale of ecstasy4 ,such sounds had never been heard in that mansion before1 and the family hastened to learn the cause4 ,there lay the wasted form upon what they thought to be the bed of death4 ,her thin arms were stretched upward1 and her pale hands came together with frequency and energy quite remarkable4 ,her countenance seemed lighted up with an unearthly glow1 and her words were ready and full of heavenly felicity1 and uttered with a strength and sweetness of voice quite beyond her power4 ,all these evidences1 added to the fact that their tender and anxious questions remained unanswered1 and their presence and weeping seemed entirely unnoticed1 struck them as demonstrations that the angels had come for poor1 dear ,betsey1 and that in her triumphant flight from her cruel sufferings she had already passed beyond them1 and would never speak to them again4 ,after some time1 however1 she seemed to them to have been brought back by their lamentations and self-accusations1 and1 hushing them to silent attention1 she assured them that this was not dying1 but living1 and preparing to live1 by a return of her first love and a glorious victory over temptation and error4 ,from that blessed night her convalescence was much more rapid than anyone had thought possible4 ,peace of mind is a marvelous restorer1 especially when despondency has driven health away4 ,on a beautiful morning1 a few weeks after1 ,elizabeth was agreeably surprised by an unexpected announcement made at the door of her room4 ,she had had remarkable liberty that morning in conducting family prayer1 which by consent of her parents she resumed soon after her recent victory4 ,her father came to her door1 and1 in a voice which sounded so much like the good days gone by1 announced his plan for a short ride4 ,her own horse was at the block2 and as the strong arms of her father placed her in the saddle the noble beast gave signs of joy over her returning health4 ,the horseman by her side1 in the ride of that and several following mornings1 seemed agitated by conflicting emotions1 yet making special efforts to be social and attentive4 ,o1 how she enjoyed those morning rides6 ,yet now and then she felt1 though she could scarcely tell why1 that a strange agitation1 embarrassed her father's spirits4 ,was he trying to muster courage to acknowledge his wrong in persecuting her8 ,was he really under concern for his own soul8 or was he unhappy because she was not more gay and worldly8 ,it was useless for her to conjecture2 he was a reticent man1 and allowed no one to meddle with his thoughts4 ,she had now nearly regained her usual strength1 and the time drew near for her to attend church4 ,one morning1 after a pleasant ride of unusual length1 drawing near home1 the father broke out in tremulous tones3 ,now1 ,betsey1 you won't go with the ,methodists any more1 will you8 ,i can't allow it--no more at all4 ,i command you to have nothing more to do with that people4 ,they had reached the block1 and the agitated girl hastened to her room1 and most of the day and evening she was seeking the wisdom that cometh from above4 ,she easily settled all questions but one4 ,she saw clearly what system of doctrines she must subscribe to and advocate and exemplify2 what means of grace she needed and must have and honor by her attendance2 and she knew where her heart centered1 and where her covenant vows must be taken and fellowship cultivated and enjoyed4 ,all was plain as noonday except her father's commands and her duty to him4 ,this last problem she laid before the ,lord2 and no sooner was it fully committed to him than the ,holy ,spirit quoted the filial duty with a peculiar emphasis to her heart3 ,obey your parents in the ,lord4 ,he that loveth father or mother more than ,me is not worthy of ,me4 ,her line of duty was now fully decided1 cost what it might4 ,saturday morning they were again in their saddles1 and side by side1 beginning a long ride in silence4 ,elizabeth was desirous of telling her story and kindly explaining her views of duty1 and1 obtaining permission1 she began at the beginning and rehearsed the dealings of ,god with her up to that hour4 ,she then declared her filial affection and her readiness to obey implicitly in all matters where duty to ,god and conscience would permit4 ,finally1 she appealed to her father not to hinder or embarrass her1 seeing the ,lord had so marvelously rescued her from the power of the enemy and snatched her from the very jaws of death and ruin4 ,all this time the stern man had kept silence4 ,they were nearing home4 ,he opened his mouth and firmly told her that he should at once and finally disinherit her if she went to ,methodist meeting again6 ,no more was said4 ,elizabeth that day looked upon all the familiar objects about that dear old home of her childhood as no longer hers in any sense4 ,her pets1 especially her noble horse2 her home1 in which she was born and reared2 the sick room1 where she had suffered unutterable horrors and gained such memorable victories2 her own dear room1 where she was finally to spend that1 her last night1 as having any right there4 ,she came1 at last1 late in the evening1 to sweet slumbers in the peace that passeth understanding4 ,early ,sunday morning she was plainly attired and slowly walking toward her beloved church1 a plain chapel in a part of the city of ,middletown near two miles from the ,cove4 ,there she feasted upon the word and publicly gave in her name as a probationer in the ,methodist ,episcopal ,church4 ,from that moment she was afloat--out on the broad sea of life1 without a home2 a disowned1 disinherited girl6 ,she left home this morning1 a comfortable1 stately1 dear old home of wealth1 elegance1 and affection4 ,she must not return to it to-night4 ,she was but yesterday an heiress4 ,to-day she is poor1 a wanderer in the earth4 ,but she has at last a church-home1 and her life really begins to-day4 ,father and mother have cast her off for her religion1 but the ,lord hath taken her up4 ,she is not without friends4 ,several doors are open for her4 ,almost before she knows she is homeless she has resumed her work of teaching and has a delightful home in a ,methodist family4 ,thus favorably situated for study1 she takes up the doctrines of the ,gospel as believed and taught by the ,methodists1 and makes rapid proficiency4 ,her pastor1 one of the flaming heralds of early ,methodism in ,new ,england1 furnished her with the best of reading1 and all her associates in the studies and active work of ,zion wondered at the rapid progress of the disinherited girl4 ,little could they realize how vividly those doctrines shone in her heart as she came out of the fiery furnace1 and how intensely interested she now was in principles which had cost her so much1 yet were worth1 in her account1 infinitely more1 and well deserved to be studied and propagated4 ,a young man belonging to the ,methodists of that city now enters into our narrative4 ,he is above the ordinary size1 about twenty-eight years of age1 and some four or five years before this was clearly converted under the preaching of ,bishop ,asbury4 ,he also is a teacher1 and a very sound1 logical student of ,methodist doctrines and usages4 ,it is not many months before it is noticed that a mutual attachment seems to be springing up between this young man and ,elizabeth1 above the ordinary sympathies of teachers and church classmates4 ,and as they had been acquainted from childhood1 and fully understood each other's history and families1 and were members together of a society of plain people1 they did not consider a long courtship necessary4 ,they were both of ,yankee stock1 both escaping from ,calvinism and ardently attached to ,methodism1 both studious and competent to teach1 and loved to teach1 and both were active workers in the church they ardently loved4 ,so ,joshua ,arnold1 aged twenty-nine1 and ,elizabeth ,ward1 aged twenty-one1 were united in holy matrimony in the charming month of ,may1 the last year of the eighteenth century4 ,thus closed the maiden life and homeless loneliness of the disinherited daughter4 ,she had been ruthlessly turned out of a stately mansion which she loved as her birthplace and childhood home1 disinherited from her rightful heirship to several thousands1 and disowned by her family1 whose well-being she had faithfully labored to promote1 and all for no fault of hers1 but wholly for a matter of conscience and principle4 ,but in less than a year she was settled in life in a home of which she was mistress1 with a worthy husband1 of church membership and affinities like her own1 and in the free enjoyment of church privileges and holy fellowships1 for which her persecuted soul had panted as the hart panteth for the water brooks4 ,,part ,,ii4 ,,the ,,great ,,work ,,of ,,life4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,elizabeth ,,as ,,mistress ,,of ,,the ,,cottage ,,chapel4 ,one of the most natural consultations of the newly married couple is the plan of their first house4 ,how chatty and cheery a pair of newly mated birds appear1 in counsel over their nest-building6 ,this schoolmaster and mistress are home from their toil and care for the day1 and are again devoting an evening to the scheme of their first dwelling4 ,it is not a large or magnificent concern1 but it has already been neatly draughted1 carefully considered1 and builders' estimates footed up4 ,all seems to be about right2 but ,elizabeth has gone off into a brown study4 ,her countenance betrays unusual agitation1 and her pensive eye is filled with tears4 ,her husband supposes she is thinking of the mansion from which she has been spurned1 as contrasted with the humble dwelling they are planning1 but she hastens to correct the mistake and assure him that her musings were in the opposite direction entirely4 ,i was thinking of our dear people1 and how much they need in this suburb of the town some place to hold meetings in4 ,and this thought struck my mind almost like an inspiration3 ,why not extend our plan up high enough for an 'upper room' for meetings8 ,this notion1 carefully considered1 not only in these consultations but in the prayers that closed them1 impressed them both as a divine suggestion4 ,the house was built accordingly4 ,an outside staircase gave access to the upper story1 which was all finished off in a rough1 cheap manner for a chapel1 and immediately and for a few years was occupied by the ,methodist people of the south part of ,middletown and of the farms adjoining1 for prayer meetings1 class meetings1 and occasional exhortation and preaching4 ,among the church privileges which had cost this disinherited daughter so dearly few ever equaled in sweet enjoyment this cottage chapel arrangement4 ,she no longer had to steal away and snatch a few minutes once or twice a month to associate with the advocates of free grace1 as she once did1 nor be shut entirely away from their beloved society1 as for nearly a year1 in that terrible season of persecution and despair4 ,the church she loved came to her door4 ,her home echoed their prayers1 songs1 testimonies1 and shouts4 ,she lived1 toiled1 ate1 and slept under the shadow of the hallowed upper room1 so often1 like the one in ,jerusalem1 filled with the ,holy ,ghost4 ,she knew1 as no one else could1 how much such privileges had cost her1 but still insisted that they never cost a tithe of what they were worth4 ,nor was the gratification of this ardent lover of ,methodism the chief result of this chapel arrangement4 ,there the ,church found asylum from persecution2 and if we may estimate the value of such a refuge from the alarm of the enemy it must have proved a precious boon4 ,often were the pious band obliged to come early and lock themselves in to escape the fury of the mob1 which would curse and mock without4 ,but sometimes1 unable to reach them or seriously to annoy them by their howlings1 they would vent their spite upon the premises4 ,now it would be by breaking windows4 ,again1 finding the windows guarded with thick board blinds1 they would tear down fences1 fill the well with wood1 etc4 ,in several instances it came out in one way and another that some attendant of the standing order furnished the rum that stimulated the rabble to make these attempts to drive off these deceivers of the last days1 that should deceive the very elect4 ,but the more they afflicted them the more they multiplied and grew2 so that in a few years the place became too strait for them4 ,even members of the mob of one meeting would be awakened while listening for something to mock1 and scarcely able to restrain themselves1 while with their comrades they would come early to the next meeting1 get fastened in with the pious and the penitent1 and1 making humble confession1 seek and find salvation1 and become lively members of the church they had persecuted4 ,who can estimate the amount of good done in that upper room at the dawn of the nineteenth century8 ,when ,god writeth up his people of how many will it be counted1 ,this man was born there8 ,who can stand on the hill where once stood that unpretending home with a meeting house on the top of it1 and look over to ,university ,hill1 crowned with those ,methodist halls of science and art1 and see no connection between the humble seed-sowing and the waving harvest8 ,soon after the supersedure of this chapel loft ,mrs4 ,elizabeth began to reckon her work nearly done in ,middletown2 and1 a good offer being about that time made for their valuable situation1 she began to hope and pray for the accomplishment of a cherished longing to live near the place of her spiritual birth4 ,mr4 ,arnold had followed two lines of business from his majority3 ,teaching through the long winters of ,new ,england1 and coast trading summers4 ,he was brought up a farmer1 but fancied that he had but little genius for that vocation4 ,after his marriage and settlement he shortened up his summer sailing1 giving himself time during spring and autumn to cultivate1 or at least plant and reap1 his rich little place4 ,with the growing cares of the family the wife and mother was desirous to get him away from the water and settle down upon a farm4 ,as they pondered the question1 and committed it in prayer to ,him whom they trusted to set the bounds of their habitations1 they seemed to hear in gentle whispers1 ,ye have compassed this mountain long enough2 ,arise1 for this is not your rest4 ,so they concluded to sell out their first home1 bid adieu to the beloved church at ,middletown1 and try to find a home somewhere near ,pittsfield1 ,mass4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,religious ,,privileges ,,and ,,enjoyments4 ,the religious ecstasies experienced by ,elizabeth in ,pittsfield during her young convert days had impressed her very deeply1 and left a pleasant notion of a paradise upon earth4 ,it was a sort of dreamy vision of the glory of ,zion at her best4 ,it had come to her many times in the intervening years with marked force4 ,it was not the picture of wealth1 or ease1 or luxury1 or any worldly good2 but the notion of a settlement near the place where she first found pardon and peace to her soul1 and where she could enter again most heartily into those rich fellowships and rapturous enjoyments which she then found1 heightened and intensified by a deeper and broader experience1 maturing now for near a decade4 ,but ,providence seems to have had other and higher designs1 and evidently guided her course to the indulgence of these blissful fancies4 ,in a short time they had purchased and settled upon a rich farm1 of moderate size1 upon the ,housatonic ,river1 in ,lenox1 near ,pittsfield1 ,mass4 ,precious1 indeed1 were now her privileges4 ,the word was ably preached and was a feast to her soul4 ,her church associates were all that she had desired1 and much more numerous than she had expected1 and they were living all around her4 ,she was also near her beloved relatives1 and that sacred place where she first found the ,saviour1 precious to her soul4 ,there is a spot to me more dear than native vale or mountain2 ,a spot for which affection's tear flows freely from its fountain4 ',tis not where kindred souls abound1 though that on earth is heaven1 ,but where ,i first my ,saviour found1 and knew my sins forgiven4 ,she was greatly blessed in all these privileges4 ,it seemed1 indeed1 a heaven to go to heaven in4 ,but still she found emotions of loneliness1 at times1 which she could not explain--an indefinite fear lest she become so filled and satisfied with these religious luxuries as to lose sight of stern diligence in the ,master's work4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,elizabeth ,,as ,,an ,,evangelistic ,,laborer4 ,rejoicing greatly with the ninety and nine1 the pious zeal of ,elizabeth wept over the lost sheep in the wilderness1 and she longed to go out among the mountains as a personal coworker with the chief ,shepherd and bring them to the fold4 ,in fact1 her ideal of the destitute regions she had dreamed of was substantially answered by territory near her home1 and providentially brought to her notice4 ,on ,washington ,mountain were several neighborhoods of irreligious settlers at the beginning of the nineteenth century4 ,our itinerant ministers had occasionally passed2 over the foothills and given off a message or two among these neglected inhabitants1 but in the main they were destitute of ,gospel truth and the means of grace4 ,elizabeth had not been more than a year or two in the adjoining valley before she more clearly saw that evangelical labor1 as well as religious privileges1 had providentially called the family to their present location4 ,true1 she was a woman1 and the ,master had chosen men to preach1 and women to guide the house1 and win souls in a quiet manner4 ,but she could attend faithfully to household affairs1 and also do something as a private member to lead sinners to ,jesus1 even though miles away on the dark mountain2 for she was an expert rider1 very spry and strong1 and only thirty years of age1 and had a fleet1 easy horse that could climb those slopes and fly across those table-lands and be back home in a few hours4 ,so1 in the name and fear of the ,lord1 this cultured woman began among the rough settlers of ,washington ,mountain as a religious visitor from1 house to house4 ,at first her visits were between #a ,p4,m4 and sunset2 but as the people became awakened1 and gathered in groups1 requiring more exhortation and wrestling prayer1 she spent more time with them1 frequently mounting her boy behind her for company1 and always reaching home before she slept4 ,local preachers and exhorters followed up the work4 ,the circuit preachers1 by an occasional visit1 gathered the lambs into folds1 and thus the fields were cultivated1 while this pioneer woman searched out other destitute groups and introduced them to ,gospel privileges and blessings4 ,in this rapid riding and visiting1 as a true shepherdess1 hunting up the lost1 she cautiously occupied mostly fair afternoons1 and on an average1 in moderate weather1 only one or two afternoons a week4 ,but in a few years even that amount of time1 well employed1 produced glorious results4 ,her work in this line was somewhat like that of a modern ,bible reader1 only that it was much more rapid4 ,what would her father have thought1 when teaching his proud daughter horsemanship1 if he had been told what use she would make of it8 ,what a contrast between the riding done by this woman now1 and a dozen years ago in the same county6 ,in skill1 and speed of movement1 and grace of attitude she is much the same2 but how different her dress1 her countenance1 her aims and hopes6 ,her father then was proud of his darling2 now1 how mortified and angry would he be could he see her spring to her saddle and start off toward ,washington ,mountain1 in search of souls6 ,god seeth not as man seeth4 ,then he beheld the proud afar off1 but now giveth grace to the humble1 and crowneth her labors with divine approval and success1 while he giveth to her heart the peace that passeth understanding1 and the sweet promise that they that turn many to righteousness shall shine as the stars forever and ever6 ,what ,mrs4 ,elizabeth did to save souls on the mountain was only in the line of extraordinary labors1 and was not made an excuse for neglecting any of her ordinary church duties4 ,as before observed1 her visits being mainly in fair weather1 and only once or twice a week1 except in times of revival1 she counted them as many people do one or two weekly recreations1 not allowed to interfere with anything else4 ,indeed1 they did not satisfy her own zeal for extraordinary work4 ,she scattered some of the young people of the mountain among the ,methodist families of ,lenox and ,pittsfield as domestic help1 greatly to their advantage4 ,she invited her church associates to her house for extra prayer meetings1 for the special benefit of serious persons from the mountain and other neglected neighborhoods nearer her home1 thus bringing them under strong religious influences4 ,of course all the young laborers from the mountain1 working for families not too far off1 would want to attend such meetings and see their kindred1 and their employers would encourage them and lead them to faithful cross-bearing on such occasions4 ,she even set up a private school for neglected children1 and her church classmates put some of their own children into it to help leaven it1 as she suggested1 and it became1 in answer to their united prayers1 a revival school4 ,one family#a who thus assisted her had two little boys converted in her school1 right among the ragged1 ignorant children1 and they grew so strong in the work of these daily prayer meetings that one of them#b became an able itinerant minister1 and the other1#c in the wilderness to which both families subsequently moved1 became a class leader1 having for several years some of these same schoolmates 7then1 like himself1 in midlife7 in his class1 and even ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,arnold themselves and several of their children6 ,so glorious are often the compensations of true zeal1 even in the life that now is4 ,footnote #a3 ,that of ,thomas ,hubbard4 ,footnote #b3 ,rev4 ,elijah ,b4 ,hubbard4 ,footnote #c3 ,jabez ,hubbard4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,removal ,,to ,a ,,wilderness ,,country4 ,how mysterious are the leadings of ,providence6 ,the most inviting scenes1 the happiest state of society1 the richest farm lands1 the best educational facilities1 sometimes fail to content even good people who live not to get rich1 but to fulfill their mission in the service of their generation by the will of ,god4 ,the young man marked by the ,redeemer for a ,gospel herald is not the only sort of ,christian who feels uneasy in the crowded nursery1 and groans to be torn out and transplanted on some bleak hillside where1 shaken by fierce winds1 his roots may strike deep1 his branches spread wide1 and he bear much fruit4 ,families have thus caught the emigrating spirit in sufficient numbers to form clans of pioneer evangelists1 and torn themselves out of little ,edens to found colonies in dreary moral deserts2 and as the kingdom comes with more rapid strides such single-eyed emigrations will become more frequent4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,,volney1 ,,oswego ,,county1 ,,new ,,york4 ,we are now suddenly introduced into a new country of heavy timber4 ,the people have settled near together1 and yet so thick are the woods1 and so small the clearings1 that nearly every family is alone1 and cannot see out in any direction but by looking up toward heaven1 a habit they learned before settling in these woods4 ,it is a ,massachusetts colony from ,lenox1 ,pittsfield1 and ,washington ,mountain4 ,these people came here for two purposes3 to get land for their children1 and to take the new country for ,god and ,methodism4 ,but the last object was first1 and ever held its rank4 ,as you call around upon these detached families you find them thoughtful1 intelligent1 and decidedly religious2 although each family is alone in the woods1 they are not very lonesome1 for familiar sounds reach them almost every hour of the day4 ,the deep-sounding cow bells1 the dinner horns1 the ring of the ax1 and the thunder of the falling tree keep them in happy remembrance of their brethren and of their diligence and success1 and often wake the anticipation of the coming ,sabbath1 when they will blend their songs and prayers around the mercy seat4 ,and now the longed-for ,sunday morning has dawned4 ,the woodman's ax lies still1 the dinner horn hangs upon its peg1 and no treefall breaks the sacred silence4 ,the half-burned backlog is buried in ashes on the broad stone hearth1 and the door of each log cabin is simply shut--it needs no lock--and from every direction all the people are seen approaching a large log dwelling in a small clearing of central situation4 ,it is the newest house in the settlement1 as its occupants have been here only a few weeks4 ,but they are well known in the colony1 and have cordially opened their doors and provided for the meetings4 ,joshua and ,elizabeth ,arnold are once more in their much-loved relation to ,methodism1 the master and mistress of the cottage chapel4 ,and now1 as the meeting hour draws nigh1 you see the people entering this little clearing by two or three footpaths and two highways1 a few in wagons and sleds drawn by oxen1 but mostly on foot4 ,they are plainly but neatly clad1 and every requisite of becoming ,sabbath decorum is plainly to be seen in both adults and children1 and even in young men and misses4 ,the family chairs are occupied by the aged and the ailing1 while most of the people sit upon benches without backs4 ,the singing is superior1 both in the structure of the tunes and the fullness and sweetness of voice of most of the singers4 ,such tunes as ,china1 ,mear1 ,northfield1 ,windham1 ,exhortation1 etc41 set to our most solid hymns and sung with the understanding and in the spirit1 have never been excelled1 and probably will not be in this world4 ,the preaching also is excellent1 and the hearing corresponds4 ,tears are abundant1 and responses neither scant nor misplaced1 and impressions deep4 ,at the close of the public service nearly all remain for class meeting4 ,the speaking is clear1 direct1 and candid2 the singing spontaneous1 brief1 and spirited4 ,when the class meeting closes1 hand-shaking and shouts close the scene1 and most of the people return immediately home4 ,no tobacco smoke has polluted the air of the place4 ,no gossip or worldly talk has profaned the sacred day4 ,such as by distance1 feebleness1 or any other cause would be likely to fail of coming back to the late afternoon or evening meeting are led1 if possible1 to remain and eat with the family4 ,from half a dozen to a dozen usually accept of the cordial invitation1 and find a strong evangelical influence in the very atmosphere of this place of worship4 ,at the closing meeting in the latter part of the day some fruit usually appears from the personal labors bestowed upon guests between meetings2 thus putting the divine seal upon the hospitality and influence of the cottage chapel4 ,the picture of this day is substantially the description of the ,sabbaths of years at this meeting place4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,hardships ,,of ,,the ,,new ,,colony4 ,it is no small undertaking to reduce heavily timbered lands to farms1 especially where there are few1 if any1 kinds of timber of any market value1 as was the case in the ,oswego wilderness subdued by this ,massachusetts colony and others who settled in with and around about them4 ,all the land had to be cleared twice1 and much of it three times1 of some tons per acre of encumbrances4 ,first1 the trees must be felled1 cut up1 rolled into heaps1 and burned to ashes4 ,then the huge stumps must take a few years to decay1 and then be torn out1 piled up in heaps1 and also burned4 ,last1 but not always least in labor and cost1 a burden of stones had to be drawn off from portions of most of the farms and piled in heaps or wrought into walls4 ,but our colonists were sober1 diligent1 and persevering1 and under their cheerful toil the wilderness was reduced to fruitful fields4 ,the temporary log houses and stables soon gave place to comfortable buildings2 and the clearings met as the woods disappeared before the ax4 ,the log chapel dwelling1 sacred though it was as ,god's house and heaven's gate1 was one of the first to disappear4 ,a goodly frame house was just covered and its floors laid1 but no partitions set up1 when it was gloriously consecrated by a most powerful quarterly meeting4 ,this was in the summer of #ahbc4 ,rev4 ,goodwin ,stoddard was the presiding elder1 a mighty man when fully aroused4 ,sunday evening he preached in the new house during a fearful thunderstorm1 and seemed girded like ,elijah running before the chariot of the king4 ,while ,jehovah spake in the clouds1 and for a long time the heavens seemed to be a sheet of flame4 ,he also spake by his servant1 and the response from the people was in tears and sobs1 groans and shouts2 and at the conclusion of nearly every sweep of the preacher's wonderful flights could be heard above the whole a shrill shout from the hostess1 followed by a tornado of amens6 ,when the sermon closed the storm ceased1 and the slain of the ,lord were many4 ,memorable night6 ,the people found neither slumber nor weariness1 and when the morning dawned very few had not found a brighter dawn4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,the ,,quarterly ,,meetings4 ,these meetings1 held in the summer season upon these premises for near a dozen years1 were greatly enjoyed by ,elizabeth and the family4 ,the circuit was large1 and most of its two or three dozen appointments would be represented at what they called the quarterly visitation4 ,for two or three hours before noon on ,saturday the people were pouring in from all parts of the circuit1 and some from adjoining circuits4 ,besides what would consent to sit down to dinner1 lunch was freely distributed1 which very few refused after a long ride or walk4 ,this lunch business was very handy1 and not unpopular4 ,no plates were used2 the people in house or yard took in their hands the cold meats1 biscuit1 cheese1 and doughnuts1 while pans of milk and pails of water1 provided with tin cups1 were set conveniently4 ,after the ,saturday sermon the preacher in charge distributed the guests among the hospitable homes of the society4 ,but as the ,quarterly ,conference was yet to be held the local preachers1 exhorters1 stewards1 and class leaders1 and usually their families1 either stayed there or1 perhaps1 a few of them1 at the nearest neighbors'4 ,however scattered during ,saturday night and ,sunday night1 they had a rallying time at the place of meeting before starting for home ,monday1 when1 by more or less delay1 time wore on1 and the lunch came around again4 ,fifty to a hundred meals1 and two or more general lunches1 were not remarkable at the cottage chapel2 while for lodging1 divided bedding and shawls scantily covered upon beds1 benches1 and floors1 the women and children in the house1 and a little new hay divided among the men and boys in the barn1 made their rest somewhat tolerable4 ,at this distance of time and custom one would be sure that the hostess1 after such a siege1 would be worn down1 nervous1 and melancholy2 but those who understood her best could have borne witness to a change of spirits1 if any1 in the opposite direction4 ,as early as ,monday on ordinary occasions1 and ,tuesday after the great quarterly visitation1 the brick oven was sure to turn out its usual supplies for the family4 ,nor could the holding out of strength and spirits be credited principally to a good constitution2 but while much was due to the pious joy with which she did all1 more1 perhaps1 is to be laid to what her ,yankee friends called faculty4 ,solomon's temple was not more accurately prepared than this housewife's arrangements for receiving and caring for her meeting guests4 ,nor was she less skillful in selecting and directing such youngerly women from among the guests as she needed for helpers and waiters4 ,her stock of aprons was marvelous1 and the dispatch with which she equipped her corps and clothed their ruddy countenances in smiles was only equaled by the speed with which everything was finished in time for meeting call1 and her girls and herself in their places in good time4 ,and whatever woman in the meeting did not do her part of the praying1 speaking1 singing1 and1 on occasion1 shouting too1 that woman was not ,elizabeth ,arnold4 ,when ,zion's hospitable entertainers shall be acknowledged before assembled worlds1 and all their liberality and painstaking in the spirit of their ,master1 who fed the multitude1 shall be mentioned to his glory and their credit through his grace1 will not the humble name of ,elizabeth ,arnold be spoken with the honorable mention of that host of noble1 patient toilers who fed the people1 that they might thus detain them under the influence of ,him who stood waiting to feed them with the bread of eternal life8 ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,,extends ,,her ,,labors4 ,after about a dozen and a quarter years the ,arnold place lost the meetings both of the circuit and of the society4 ,the changes of business and travel left the place quite one side1 and the meetings had been gradually removed to more central and convenient locations4 ,mr4 ,arnold had been called by the church to hold meetings as an exhorter1 and had sought out some destitute neighborhoods as his chosen field4 ,it was natural and appropriate for his wife to accompany him4 ,they were both good singers1 and had sung together a third of a century4 ,they were ready speakers and mighty in prayer1 and in the quiet way of lay workers they went from house to house1 and to a family in a place they presented the great salvation in conversation and psalm1 and commended the people to ,god in prayer4 ,it was not long before they collected in congregations2 and while the licensed exhorter1 who really preached many things to the people in his exhortations1 always led the meetings1 the real exhorter followed with cutting appeals4 ,this destitute region was thus visited occasionally for several years1 and this couple had the honor of being its successful pioneers in ,christian evangelism4 ,in a central position has long stood a ,methodist ,episcopal church1 and members of its society1 fifty years after these humble labors1 acknowledged them in the hearing of the writer as the means of their salvation4 ,elizabeth was now between fifty and sixty years of age1 was no longer the nimble rider1 but somewhat heavy and clumsy2 she preferred the carriage seat to the saddle1 but still in her numerous visits to the sick and such as she could bless by religious calls she continued her old method1 as being more independent4 ,many wondered at the ease and skill with which a woman of her age and size would spring on and off and manage her horse4 ,she would modestly reply1 ,my dear father taught me how1 and ,i have always liked it4 ,she early became a skillful nurse1 and was for many years a diligent visitor of the sick1 especially among the poor and the ignorant4 ,her saddle horns were hung with budgets of medicinal herbs and little comforts1 and she would find out the sick and suffering1 and administer both to their physical and spiritual wants1 and return to her household duties almost before her family knew she had been gone4 ,about this time a new field of labor was providentially opened to this ,christian worker4 ,the ,presbyterian and ,baptist churches in that town began to employ evangelists to hold revival meetings of a new order2 but when the people appeared to be thoughtful1 and they got them into the anxious meetings1 they found it almost impossible to get them to praying or the church to praying for them directly and earnestly1 especially the sisterhood of the ,presbyterian church2 so the deacons and elders1 in their strait1 begged ,mrs4 ,arnold to come over into ,macedonia and help4 ,much as she had suffered in her early religious life from predestinarianism1 she never was a bigot1 and so she1 like ,paul1 gathered assuredly that the call was of the ,lord1 and without gainsaying went and helped them publicly and from house to house as best she could4 ,the result was that during the balance of her active life she was urged into and did much of this inter-church work in their periodical revivals1 and obviously with good effect4 ,but1 grateful as were these churches for such help1 and encouraging to her heart as the fruit appeared1 she ever labored in these ,calvinistic associations under more or less embarrassment4 ,to be at once true to her principles and true to interdenominational courtesy left her rather a narrow platform to work upon2 but1 limited as it was1 she would not transcend it in either direction4 ,when1 however1 she could find revival work within reach among her own people she ever gave such calls the preference2 and from their arrival in the new country down to the retirement of infirm old age1 more than a quarter of a century1 ,sister ,arnold was known for many miles around as an excellent revival laborer4 ,several allusions have been made in this narrative to her shouting2 but it should be understood that she was not in the habit of shouting before getting out of the swamp4 ,the order of her work was solemn1 steady1 earnest1 and in mighty faith2 but when the struggle was over1 the victory gained1 sometimes that solemn countenance would become suddenly luminous and her shrill shouts would pierce the very heavens4 ,these loud exultations1 however1 were indulged in in no meetings but those of her own people1 and grew less frequent as age crept on1 giving place to tears of joy and whispers of praise4 ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,,as ,a ,,camp ,,meeting ,,worker4 ,when health and distance would permit1 ,mrs4 ,elizabeth could be depended upon as a tent holder and laborer at every camp meeting4 ,she had a superior tent1 and it was in its place and order from the first to the last hour4 ,it was a little odd that ,mr4 ,arnold had very little camp meeting zeal1 when his wife had so much4 ,he would go when entirely convenient1 enjoy a few sermons and some pleasant conversations with friends1 when he must go home1 see to things1 and regain the rest he had lost4 ,mother and the children were sufficient to see to the tent1 and enjoyed such mode of life better than he did4 ,with her the camp meeting was neither a place of recreation nor weariness4 ,its single object was to save souls4 ,true to this purpose1 she forecast for weeks to obtain as tent guests thoughtful persons of honorable character whom she could bring and hold under the influence of the meeting until they were converted4 ,for one meeting a ,presbyterian deacon1 who lived in a neglected neighborhood1 was induced to bring his children and near a dozen more1 all young people nearly or quite grown1 and stay through the meeting4 ,of course these guests would help stock the tent1 and would feel bound in courtesy to attend the meetings of the tent as well as preaching at the stand1 and the good deacon have to do his share in conducting these tent meetings4 ,when the deacon returned home he carried with him a beautiful flock of the ,saviour's lambs2 and while the most of his own children joined his church1 several miles away1 the rest of these lambs were gathered into a ,methodist fold at their own schoolhouse1 the nucleus of a church which now has a good church edifice and has long had a prosperous existence4 ,it is worthy of remark that to this day this church is next neighbor to the one founded soon after upon the work of the exhorters before alluded to4 ,,chapter ,x4 ,,the ,,chamber ,,on ,,the ,,wall4 ,the active part of the married life of ,joshua and ,elizabeth ,arnold was over forty years4 ,during that period their house--as may be inferred from preceding pages--was the ever welcome home for the itinerant preacher4 ,the presiding elder and the preacher in charge often met there to counsel together4 ,the junior preacher1 who was usually a single man1 made it one of his homes1 where he came to rest and study4 ,the best room1 with its fireplace1 bed1 table1 etc41 was occupied more by the preachers than by all other company1 and was known as the preachers' room4 ,both circuit preachers frequently passed a night there together in their rounds2 but the senior1 having a home somewhere1 would speak of this as the junior's home1 and of himself as his guest1 as well as the guest of the family4 ,sometimes all three of the itinerants would meet there for days at a time4 ,such were seasons of great joy all around1 and of some little pleasantry1 although cautiously indulged in in those days4 ,on one such occasion1 as the three preachers and the family were sitting around the large fireplace on a winter evening1 and conversation had about quieted to a lull1 one of the elders hunched the junior1 and with a significant wink suggested to him to ask counsel of ,sister ,arnold1 who was busy sewing by the candle-stand4 ,now the said junior was a very promising boy of nineteen1 but1 withal1 a little too boyish to quite suit the ideal of this grave woman4 ,so while he stated the question she listened with her attention mostly upon her work4 ,mother ,arnold1 ,i have1 as our ,discipline requires1 counseled with these my seniors upon a very important question4 ,she glances at him very slightly4 ,it is the question of marriage4 ,another glance1 which is enough to wilt a boy of ordinary courage1 and instantly her eye is on her work again4 ,he rallies1 however1 and begins again3 ,i am advised by several to marry1 and am thinking seriously of doing so4 ,i now desire your advice4 ,slowly her spectacles mount to her forehead1 her keen black eye seems to look right through him1 and she slowly and gravely replies1 ,well1 my advice is1 that you wait until you get to be a man4 ,the effect of such a shot may be better imagined than told2 not only there1 but elsewhere1 as long as he stayed on that circuit4 ,he did wait1 and in waiting made a more judicious choice1 and one of the sons of that wise marriage is now one of our bishops4 ,severe as this sounds1 it was a word in season1 and fully met the approval of the senior brethren1 and of the junior himself1 who greatly venerated her1 and ran a very successful1 although short1 race1 and left an excellent influence behind him4 ,eternity alone will fully declare how valuable were the counsels of this ,aquila and ,priscilla1 who in this itinerant's home took many a young ,apollos and expounded unto him the way of the ,lord more perfectly4 ,but while nothing ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,arnold did for the meetings at their home or anywhere excused them from personal activity in those meetings1 no pains or expense in entertaining the preachers were ever a substitute for the regular support of the ,gospel by prompt and liberal payment through the stewards4 ,but beyond the regular quarterage they appreciated the need of presents4 ,and probably1 in the forty-two years of their active business life together1 seldom1 if ever1 did a ,gospel minister make a pastoral visit at their home and go away without carrying with him some little token of the veneration and love there cherished for his holy office and work1 or of remembrance of his lone family1 so much of the time deprived of his presence1 and of many delicacies which he had among his people far away4 ,the fatted calf1 lamb1 or fowl would in many places be dressed for his feasting1 while the family at home1 in some inferior quarters1 were having rather dry fare1 if not scanty fare2 the thought of which would often mar the pleasure of his most sumptuous entertainments4 ,economical1 not to say penurious1 stewards demanded an account of everything given to the preachers2 but ,mrs4 ,arnold insisted that besides salary matters presents were needed1 and it was the privilege of that house to give them at pleasure1 and the left hand must not know what the right hand conferred4 ,often the minister himself knew nothing of it until some one of his family searched the box of his carriage seat1 which they were not slow to do when it came from certain parts of the circuit--some article of provision for the table1 common and plenty enough in the cellar or dairy of the farm1 but not certain to be flush in the parsonage2 some tidbit or condiment to humor a delicate appetite2 some choice fruits or knickknacks for the children2 some material from the sheep or flax of the farm spun by her own diligent fingers to be made up in the lonely parsonage for the wife or children1 or underwear for the man of ,god4 ,when the minister's family was within reach of this very busy mother in ,israel she would often relieve the loneliness1 and sometimes the wants1 experienced in his long rounds by her visits to the sacred rooms1 which in those early years of ,methodism were oftener parts of some kind member's home than a regular parsonage or rectory4 ,so when the weary itinerant would return and find that his family had not been entirely neglected in his absence he would take new courage to pursue his toilsome way4 ,as already intimated1 ,mrs4 ,arnold usually made the junior preacher of the circuit an object of motherly care4 ,he was generally a single man in those early days1 and often scarcely out of his boyhood4 ,many a worn garment was overhauled and repaired2 many a pair of new warm socks or mittens was laid with new underwear upon his pillow4 ,although for several weeks of the year he and his horse had made the ,arnold place a pilgrim's rest1 never was a dollar paid the place for board1 nor was the circuit permitted to charge him a farthing upon his salary for that or the presents he had received in that welcome home4 ,the junior preacher seldom served the same circuit more than one year of his apprenticeship4 ,when he left this1 his favorite home of rest1 of study1 and of repairs1 the parting scene brought tears from all eyes2 and long did the echo of those loving adieus ring in all ears1 especially as uttered by that matronly voice1 ,do well1 and farewell4 ,god bless you6 ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,,mrs4 ,,elizabeth ,,arnold ,,as ,a ,,mother4 ,eight children were given to this pious couple--five sons and three daughters4 ,two of the daughters were recalled between the ages of two and four4 ,lovely and much loved1 they were still resigned to ,him who demanded their return1 and that1 too1 without a murmur4 ,the remaining daughter and all the five sons were converted in the morning of life and joined the ,church so dear to the parents1 and the two younger sons became ministers of the same1 and all the six lived to advanced age4 ,the writer once overheard ,mrs4 ,arnold answer the anxious inquiries of a young mother who had several little ones she was yearning to see early saved3 ,o1 sister1 it is all of the ,lord4 ,but it is true that ,he has wonderfully blessed our family altar1 the visits of our dear ministers1 and the meetings in our house for many years4 ,and as you are a mother1 and seem anxious to learn a mother's duty and privilege1 ,i will frankly give you my experience4 ,i did not play much with1 our children1 nor caress them much4 ,i hadn't time1 and ,i didn't wish them to be babies too long nor waste much of their precious morning of life in play4 ,i did not flatter nor praise them very much4 ,i was afraid of fostering pride4 ,but ,i have instructed them in our glorious doctrines with diligence and all the skill ,i could command4 ,but their early salvation and lifelong piety and usefulness seemed to be laid on my heart by divine power1 and the spirit of prayer for them was one of the abiding influences of the ,holy ,ghost4 ,god had plainly answered my prayers for my brothers and sisters till they were all converted1 and would not my heavenly ,father answer my prayer for my own offspring8 ,o1 sister1 it was no task for me to pray for my children4 ,my life was in it4 ,when ,i fed them ,i prayed the ,lord to give them the bread and the water of eternal life4 ,when ,i took off their garments ,i asked the ,lord to strip them of sin2 and as ,i clothed them1 that ,he would clothe them with the garments of salvation4 ,when ,i laid them down to sleep ,i prayed that they might be fully prepared for the bed of death1 and to sleep at last in ,christian graves4 ,and when ,i took them up from their slumbers1 how earnestly ,i prayed that they might have part in the resurrection of the just6 ,and1 my dear young sister1 ,i was not content with prayers for my children1 nor with our family prayers with them2 but as they grew old enough ,i took each one to my own little prayer room with me1 and poured out my soul for that one4 ,and ,i seldom retired to my pillow until ,i had tucked up my sleeping little ones1 given them a word of counsel1 and offered a prayer for them2 and ,i had no trouble in getting their wakeful attention4 ,i assure you1 dear sister1 that a ,christian mother's advantage just here is very great4 ,don't let any hurry or weariness rob you of that hold upon the hearts of your children4 ,,chapter ,,xii4 ,,double ,,diligence4 ,mrs4 ,elizabeth ,arnold was a very busy woman4 ,during the forty-two years of her mature active life she could almost be said to have accomplished double work4 ,both her conscience and her nature seemed to be all alive to the rules of our ,discipline3 ,never be unemployed2 ,never be triflingly employed4 ,her large size1 large brain1 and preponderance of bilious temperament seemed to call for much sleep and moderate motion4 ,but her motions were quick and efficient1 and her sleep could not have averaged over six hours in twenty-four4 ,but eighteen hours a day could not satisfy her longing for the improvement of her precious time4 ,so she managed1 when alone or not engaged in reading or conversation1 to keep up what at a little distance might be taken for mere humming1 but what was really intelligent singing1 simultaneous with the most active work of her hands4 ,it might begin with a hymn1 but would glide on beyond into her own words of praise or prayer in impromptu music4 ,this free1 original singing was the settled habit of her most driving business hours1 and was not annoying to others4 ,but how those black eyes would sparkle and those florid cheeks glow with heavenly light as her whole soul seemed absorbed in this spontaneous singing1 while the work of her hands went briskly on1 leaving in speed or finish no mark of absence of mind or false motion4 ,but this was not her only method of doubling her diligence4 ,her experience and wisdom brought her many inquirers after the truth1 and demands upon her conversational powers were many and imperative4 ,yet those busy1 provident hands1 long acquainted with needles1 seemed to make them fly and click in about even race1 with the mind and the tongue1 ,diligence in business1 singing with grace in the heart1 and conversation seasoned with grace mingled in her methods of redeeming the time4 ,,part ,,iii4 ,,retirement4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,homes ,,of ,,early ,,methodists4 ,from the earthly point of observation how sad is the breaking up of ,christian homes6 ,the genuinely hospitable homes of the early ,methodists were peculiar4 ,there were elements in their hospitality which do not quite find their equal in our day4 ,the old circuit system set everything in motion4 ,not only were the circuit riders circulating everywhere1 but quarterly meetings1 two days' meetings1 and even regular circuit preaching1 whether on a week day or ,sunday1 stirred up the people4 ,and as they were scattered in residence1 and traveling was slow1 every comfortable1 hospitable ,methodist residence became not only a free stopping place1 but a house of entertainment1 where both soul and body found refreshment1 and the one just as free and cordial as the other4 ,the guest did not embarrass the host or hostess1 for nothing but plain fare was expected2 and as to spiritual refreshment1 he left a blessing behind him1 and with rekindled joy went on his way rejoicing4 ,so also it was when his turn came to entertain4 ,the homes of the early ,methodists1 especially in the country and in the rural villages1 were much more permanent than in this day--not rented1 but mostly owned by their occupants--and every year seemed to add to the sacredness of these hospitable old abodes4 ,the trees1 the watering trough1 the well sweep1 the plain old buildings1 the very ground1 seemed consecrated to ,god and his cause4 ,but the kind host and hostess have finished their course and been called up higher4 ,the honored old place is honorable no longer4 ,the tenants or new owners1 or1 worse still1 ungodly children1 have desecrated everything4 ,the old-time guests pass it with a sigh4 ,the hill1 the brook are there1 but the aged horse looks in vain for the welcome open gate and watering place1 and1 drooping his head1 walks slowly by in sadness4 ,ministers and church people tread that yard no more4 ,the very ground seems backslidden4 ,sabbaths have fled4 ,prayers and praises are no longer echoed4 ,that light is put out1 and how great is that darkness6 ,the time came for ,joshua and ,elizabeth to yield to infirmity1 and retire from active life4 ,the hard work of the new country told seriously upon even strong constitutions4 ,some of the members of their society older1 and some even younger1 than themselves had yielded and gone4 ,for long1 happy years they had kept up an establishment of an unusually hospitable order for even a cordial church and a free1 social age4 ,they had been more able1 more willing1 more zealous1 and had more faculty for it4 ,but old age came on then earlier than now4 ,the threescore years of which they had so long sung had already gone by4 ,their younger sons were away in the itinerant ministry4 ,the old farm was too broad for their age and infirmities1 and they found the order given to ,daniel1 ,go thou thy way3 444 for thou shalt rest1 and stand in thy lot at the end of the days 7,dan4 xii1 #ac71 appropriate to their condition1 and allowed an elder son to remove them to town1 under his care1 and near church4 ,in this retirement they enjoyed choice church privileges4 ,several of their old-time friends had collected in and near the place1 among whom were a few of their old ,massachusetts classmates and1 above all1 the aged and excellent local preacher#a who was praying for ,miss ,elizabeth ,ward in ,pittsfield when she was converted1 and who had for so many years lived near the family and had preached in their house nearly or quite as much as all other ministers4 ,he and his venerable companion had retired there1 too1 with one of their sons4 ,footnote #a3 ,rev4 ,thomas ,hubbard4 ,but besides these retired neighbors1 their retreat being but five miles from their old farm and whilom cottage chapel1 several of the village residents had long been camp meeting and quarterly meeting associates4 ,so1 with a dutiful son and near-by church1 this superannuated couple1 surrounded by congenial society1 surrendered their beloved public life and sought an evening of rest1 in which to ripen for heaven4 ,hardly could aged people be happier or more quiet and free from worldly care4 ,the storms of life were past2 the crowd of business1 the rush of labor1 the study of complicated lines of duty--all these have gone by like a storm1 and left a great calm4 ,still they find some little to do with what little strength they can command and the limited income left them4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,joshua ,,arnold4 ,no life experience of ,elizabeth would seem at all complete without a chapter giving a somewhat connected view of her companion1 near a half century by her side1 in her toils1 liberality1 and church work4 ,did she1 when driven by persecution from her father's house1 take up1 under stress of calamity1 an inferior associate for life8 ,let us see4 ,if1 as many claim1 the wisest matches are founded on contrast1 this must have been par excellence4 ,for if we except their large size and mutual endowment of sound common sense1 there was very little natural similarity4 ,in ,connecticut the farms of the ,arnolds and the ,wards joined1 and yet they were not intimate as families1 for there was1 for that day1 too great disparity in property and style4 ,both were moral and intelligent1 but the large ,arnold family on the hill1 though in comfortable circumstances1 did not train in the same set with the elegant establishment at the ,cove4 ,of the numerous family 7of almost giant size7 of ,ebenezer and ,anna ,miller ,arnold there were only two sons4 ,ebenezer1 among the eldest1 had the ancestral name1 took to a mariner's life1 was a few years a sea captain1 and lies at the bottom of the ocean4 ,joshua was the youngest of the family1 the almost idol of his parents1 and of a house full of lusty sisters1 who vied with one another which should teach him most and secure most of his confidence4 ,so he lived on until nearly thirty a bachelor4 ,such opportunities as were afforded the common farmers' boys of ,new ,england in the eighteenth century young ,joshua diligently improved1 and became a close student1 and well qualified as a teacher of common schools of his day4 ,his specialties were mathematics1 penmanship1 bookkeeping1 business science and forms1 and navigation4 ,and he continued to do more or less in this profession until fifty years of age4 ,he was converted among the first fruits of ,methodist labors in that part of ,new ,england4 ,then1 every ,methodist studied closely into her doctrines1 and this young man became qualified to state clearly1 and ably defend1 all that was peculiar to that ,church4 ,the cast of his mind was logical1 candid1 patient--he was never inclined to hasty conclusions4 ,he loved to dig deep1 collect strong evidence1 and wait till conclusions were sound and inevitable4 ,his brethren soon marked him for the ministry1 and so advised2 but1 with his great modesty and high opinions of a divine call1 he was not then1 and never was1 satisfied that he had such an essential individual commission4 ,without a full consciousness of duty in the line of that awful responsibility1 this pious young man refused to look in that direction4 ,he1 however1 cherished a high sense of the honor involved in the confidence of the ,church1 and felt impelled to lay himself out to do his best as a private member4 ,under the ministry of such able ,methodist preachers as ,asbury1 ,jesse ,lee1 and ,george ,roberts1 young ,joshua had imbibed the main doctrines of theology1 and set out in earnest to search the ,scriptures1 both for correction if wrong1 and for confirmation in the truth he had received and experienced4 ,thus fairly started on the ,king's highway of truth1 he became profoundly interested in ,bible study2 and continued both the study and the intense love of it through life4 ,he dug in this mine more than a third of a century without any human commentary1 and found1 to his great joy1 that the poet had struck it3 ,god is his own interpreter1 and ,he will make it plain4 ,so diligently did he search for the interpretation of ,scripture by ,scripture1 that he largely learned the doctrinal ,scriptures by heart1 and also book1 chapter1 and verse2 and to family and friends he was both concordance and commentary4 ,near the middle of his experience and biblical research ,mr4 ,arnold was urged1 almost driven1 to take license to exhort1 and more publicly divulge some of the treasures of his years of study4 ,he had thus improved in public 7as exhorting was then called7 but a year or two when his brethren1 finding more of the expository than hortatory in his discourses1 urged that his proper office was that of a local preacher4 ,but to this he had two objections3 lack of a distinct call1 and a settled fear that the ,church was growing too numerous a secular ministry2 so he utterly refused4 ,for the balance of his active life1 as health and opportunity permitted1 he preached many things to the people in his exhortations1 always laying for them a solid doctrinal foundation1 and plentifully using ,scripture language1 both accurately quoted and wisely applied1 and book and chapter usually given4 ,his appointments for exhortation never lacked attendants or interest2 and when called1 as he often was1 to supply the appointment of a circuit preacher1 the substitute was not met with wry faces nor spoken of in frowns4 ,yet his highest apparent successes in speaking1 if estimated by the excitement1 were his brief speeches in love feast1 not boisterous1 but invariably stirring the deep of the heart of the meeting4 ,joshua ,arnold's singing was no way superior in kind and had no marked defect1 unless it was that time sometimes yielded to sentiment4 ,but the amount of psalm singing done in a half century by this peaceful man was certainly marvelous4 ,the leading of most of the hymns in the social meetings was a very small proportion of it4 ,whenever he found a psalm1 a hymn1 or a chorus that struck a chord in his devout heart he laid it carefully away in his retentive memory1 and it was instantly called up when he wanted to sing it4 ,but what was most noteworthy in his singing was that his happy heart1 and soft1 sweet voice1 and abundant store of pious psalmody kept him singing wherever and whenever he could with propriety4 ,mr4 ,arnold was the opposite of a business sharper4 ,he was a moderate1 patient toiler1 but traded no more than he was obliged to1 and always with frank1 honest words1 and very few words4 ,he hated extortion1 avoided debt1 and threw nothing away in interest or in lawsuits1 and was both careful and skillful in maintaining a good influence4 ,like his wife1 he was economical and liberal2 and the ,christian liberality of their home knew no bounds but the limit of their means2 nor was that limit dreaded1 nor often1 if ever1 found1 when it embarrassed the case on hand4 ,as ,joshua ,arnold was no ordinary man1 so his personnel was rather peculiar3 nearly six feet in height2 large1 but not fat2 wore a shoe of size number twelve1 and hat size seven and a half4 ,his eye was blue1 large1 and mild2 forehead broad and high2 nose long and straight2 lips long and thin2 mouth and chin small and delicate2 hair brown1 fine1 straight1 and complexion florid4 ,his motions were moderate1 and temper very steady and mild4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,separation4 ,but this aged couple were to share their joys and sorrows in their retirement but a few years4 ,joshua was the first called away4 ,he died in his seventy-seventh year1 in peace with ,god and all men4 ,just before his speech failed one of his sons inquired how long he had been in the ,methodist ,episcopal ,church4 ,his answer came slowly but firmly3 ,fifty-two years ago ,i said to this people1 ',whither thou goest1 ,i will go2 and where thou lodgest1 ,i will lodge3 thy people shall be my people1 and thy ,god my ,god3 where thou diest1 will ,i die1 and there will ,i be buried4' ',the word hath passed my lips1 and ,i ,shall with thy people live and die4' ,and the good man had the desire of his heart4 ,elizabeth was now a widow1 and had nearly reached her threescore and ten years4 ,she was not much bent with age1 though compassed with infirmity4 ,she still found some little to do among the sick1 the poor1 and the perishing1 and was not gloomy or desponding in her loneliness4 ,she wrote much to her scattered children1 who were too distant to be seen often1 and her letters breathed the spirit of heaven4 ,when possible to attend the preaching of the word she was not a forgetful hearer1 but kept up her old method of prayerful abstraction4 ,she had during her whole religious life followed it4 ,she would early enter the meeting as if she saw no one and go solemnly to her seat1 and either kneel or cover her face for a time1 and thence on until the voice of the opening service aroused her would be absorbed in devotion4 ,as long as able to attend1 her voice was heard in prayer and class meetings2 and many came to her room for counsel and help in their experience4 ,it was marvelous to see what a change retirement and its quiet had wrought in the spirit and manner of this woman4 ,the drive and hum of busy life were over2 a heavenly calm had ensued--solemn1 serene1 peaceful--no agony of prayer1 no ecstasy of spirit1 no shouts of transport1 no fiery trials4 ,her infirmities accumulate1 but still she rejoices in sacred1 hallowed peace4 ,she becomes a cripple1 almost confined to her bed1 and continues so for years2 but her mind retains its strength and serenity1 and her whole heart rejoices in ,god1 her immovable ,rock4 ,the last decade or more of her life was marked as a continual feast upon the holy word of ,god4 ,she learned what her blessed ,saviour meant when he quoted and sanctioned that ,scripture1 ,man shall not live by bread alone1 but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of ,god1 and also1 his promise that the ,holy ,comforter should quote to the faithful such passages of the word they had studied as their circumstances might require4 ,so every day1 and usually oftener1 the ,lord would give her a passage to feed upon1 day by day her daily bread4 ,on the last day that she could speak her pastor's wife inquired after her passage for that day1 and she instantly quoted ,josh4 i4 #e1 and ,heb4 xiii1 #e1 ,i will never leave thee1 nor forsake thee4 ,just before her speech failed her she called to her a daughter-in-law and gave her a minute account of her graveclothes1 which had been ready for several years1 and she found everything as she had described them4 ,thus1 as a shock of corn fully ripe1 she was at length gathered home4 ,she died in ,fulton1 ,oswego ,county1 ,n4 ,y41 in ,august1 #ahfe1 in the eighty-eighth year of her age1 and in the seventieth year of her religious experience1 and is buried by the side of her husband in ,mount ,adna ,cemetery1 where they together await the resurrection of the just4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,conclusion4 ,the disinherited ,elizabeth was never restored to her rights and heirship as a daughter4 ,as old age came upon that rigid father he partially relented and doled out a few hundreds to her where his other children had their thousands4 ,he even sent to ,massachusetts for her to visit him on his deathbed and counsel him concerning salvation1 and pray with him2 and he indulged some hope under her prayers2 but he made no confession of his wrongs to her1 nor amends for his injustice4 ,her two brothers and three sisters all credited their religious experience to ,god's blessing upon ,elizabeth's prayers1 counsels1 and life2 but only one of them ever undertook to restore what the father had taken from ,elizabeth's right and given to her1 and she did not do it until she was about to die without issue4 ,with one voice they freely condemned her disinheritance and the persecutions she had had to suffer4 ,but when1 their souls being ill at ease under the remembrance of her wrongs1 they spoke to her on the subject 7for she would not introduce it71 they would simply repeat1 ,father so willed it1 and you know1 dear sister1 that no one could ever turn him4 ,all became church members1 and so lived and died1 but all in ,calvinian communions2 while all of ,elizabeth's children became ,methodists1 and two of her sons1 as we have seen1 itinerant ministers4 ,she and her pious husband1 as before stated1 were industrious1 economical1 and liberal1 and ,agar's prayer1 ,give me neither poverty nor riches1 was their prayer1 and with its answer they walked happily and usefully through life1 serving their generation by the will of ,god1 and passing in peace to their reward4 ,,the ,,end4