Newport, N. H., Oct. 4, 1859
My Dear Henry,
My heart has been pained to witness the movements of an unfortu-
nate child, without a mind. His skin is fair, his features good; but he
has no intellect. Dear Henry, how thankful I felt to the Lord that my
dear boys were blessed with intellect. I would not have you, my Henry,
like that poor boy, for a house full of gold. How thankful should you
be that the Lord has blessed you with quite good health, and with your
reason.
If you only take a noble, manly course, you will make our hearts
glad. Our dear children are precious jewels to us. We dedicated you to
God as soon as you were born. We prayed earnestly from your earliest
infancy for you, that your dispositions would be tempered. We wept
for you, when you, dear Henry, lay an unconscious babe in our arms.
We plead with the Lord to put within you a right spirit, to lead you to
his own fold. And now our greatest anxiety is for you. We love you,
we want you saved. We want your conduct to be right, governed by a
sense of duty, and you have a principle, a determination of your own,
that you will do right—not because you are obliged to, but because
[51]
you love to. For in right-doing there is no sting, no self-reproach, no
self-condemnation; but a pleasing consciousness of right-doing.
Dear Henry, acquaint yourself with your own faults. You know
where you err, and you are getting to be of that age that you should
not depend wholly on us to tell you that you shall not do this, or that,
but study before you move. Ask yourself, Is this right? will it lead
to evil? will it lead to unfaithfulness? will it lead to deception, or
falsehood? shall I feel just as happy after I do this as before? You can,
by thus considering, often decide yourself what right is. Do nothing
that you would not wish us to know. We shall not be unreasonable. You
may, my dear boy, open your whole heart to us, and you need conceal
nothing from us. Who are so well calculated to direct or counsel you
aright, as your parents? Your interest and welfare is certainly dearer to
them than it could be to any others. It is their study how to make you
11