I have thus given you, in a very informal manner, some recollections of
her earlier years. I have been astonished to find how vividly I recalled
scenes, events and conversations so long past. I was startled and
shocked when the news came of her sudden death. But I can not feel that
she was called to her rest too soon. She seemed to me singularly happy
in all the relations of life; and then as an author, hers was an
exceptional case of full appreciation and success. I have ever regarded
her as "favored among women"--blessed in doing her Master's will and
testifying for Him, blessed in her home, in her friends, and in her
work, and blessed in her death.

PORTLAND, _December 31, 1878._

* * * * *

IV.

The Dominant Type of Religious Life and Thought in New England in the
First Half of this Century. Literary Influences. Letter of Cyrus Hamlin.
A Strange Coincidence.


A brief notice of the general type of religious life and thought, which
prevailed at this time in New England, will throw light upon both the
preceding and following pages. Elizabeth's early Christian character,
although largely shaped by that of her father, was also, like his,
vitally affected by the religious spirit and methods then dominant.
Several distinct elements entered into the piety of New England at that
period, (1.) There was, first of all, the old Puritan element which the