which this
solemn providence" (alluding to the sad death of your grandfather)
teaches:

1st. "The death of Mr. Charless teaches us the mysteriousness of
God's providence." "In the calamity, dear hearers, which has removed
from our midst one of the best men of this, or any previous age of the
world, and overwhelmed so many in deep sorrow, we are pointed to the
cruel and murderous hand of the assassin, but this was only the
proximate cause of his sudden and violent death. There is a high and
remote cause to which we must look, if we would find the true source of
this event, which has thrilled the heart of this whole community. That
cause, dear hearers, is the providence of God."

Rev. Dr. Palmer of New Orleans, whom you recollect was to be our
guest when in St. Louis, in June, 1859, told me that on that Sabbath
day, when so many tearful eyes were looking for the last time upon the
placid countenance of the beloved, who lay so still and cold in his
coffin, he saw at the hotel where he was staying, among others who were
lamenting the untimely end of Mr. Charless, men of rough appearance,
who would one moment use the most horrible oaths of vengeance against
the perpetrator of the bloody dead, and the next, their voices
softening with expressions of tender regret, big tears were seen
streaming down their cheeks, showing, as Dr. Palmer said, "how they
loved the man from whom, in a moral point of view, they were so far
separated, and the extraordinary influence of his life and character."

Among the many copies that were sent to us of "the Resolutions,"
which were passed by the various associations of St. Louis, in honor of
this dear friend, I will extract but a portion of one:

"Resolved, That in the death of JOSEPH CHARLESS, Esq., we, as
representatives of "The Home of the Friendless," are called to grieve
for the loss of our First Patron. He whose benefactions, stimulated
into action the earliest impulses that led to the establishing of this
institution, and whose sympathizing heart and ready hand followed us to
the end of his life. Truly of him it may be said, 'The blessing of him
that was ready to perish came upon him, and he caused the widow's heart
to sing for joy.'"

In conclusion, my dear children, I am reminded as I often have
been while writing these letters, that my husband was not fond of
praise, and that he particularly disliked any approach to it from his
wife, for he thought it almost as unbecoming in