Springfield, Sept. 29, 1846.
Dear Mary, — . . . Your letter dated the 20th was received
last night, and afforded me a real though a mournful satisfaction. That you had
received, or were to receive, a letter from either John or Jason I was in
perfect ignorance of till you informed me; and I am glad to learn that, wholly
uninfluenced by me, they have shown a disposition to afford you the comfort in
your deep affliction which the nature of the case would admit of. Nothing is
scarcely equal with me to the satisfaction of seeing that one portion of my
remaining family are not disposed to exclude from their sympathies and their
warm affections another portion. I accept it as one of the most grateful
returns that can be made to me for any care or exertion on my part to promote
either their present or their future well-being; and while I am able to
discover such a feeling, I feel assured that notwithstanding God has chastised
us often and sore, yet he has not entirely withdrawn himself from us nor
forsaken us utterly. The sudden and dreadful manner in which he has seen fit to
call our dear little Kitty to take her leave of us is, I need not tell you how
much, in my mind; but before Him I will bow my head in submission and hold my
peace. . . . I have sailed over a
somewhat stormy sea for nearly half a century, and have experienced enough to
teach me thoroughly that I may most reasonably buckle up and be prepared for
the tempest. Mary, let us try to maintain a cheerful self-command while we are
tossing up and down; and let our motto still be Action, Action, — as we have
but one life to live.
Affectionately yours,
John Brown.
SOURCE: Franklin B. Sanborn, The Life and Letters of
John Brown, p. 142
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