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Frances (Appleton) Longfellow to Anne Longfellow Pierce, 14 March 1851
Manuscript letter
Cambridge Friday mn’g
Dearest Anne,
I have just received the Dr’s letter to Henry & it has given me great comfort to know, as I hoped, that our dear mother passed away without suffering. She always seemed to be just hovering on the brink of another world, & I always felt that just so quietly & gently she would leave us – continuing, rather than changing, her pure & holy life – but free from the weary body.
It must have been a cruel shock to you at first, so sudden [p. 2] & unexpected, but I trust you now begin to feel how much better it was than a more protracted illness, with great prostration & weakness. Well do I know, my dear sister, that such a loss can never be filled in this world, that the yearning for a mother’s tenderness is never stilled, but we can feel sure that it is never far removed from us, - and you have enjoyed it long, & been enabled to do all your duty by the dear departed spirit.
Desolate indeed will seem you home & empty your life, but such a heart as yours finds duties everywhere, & should be cheered by the blessings it imparts to others. [p. 3] I wish you would come & be with us if it would be pleasant & a comfort to you, - but I shall hear from Henry your plans.
Poor Mary – how sad & sudden for her will this news be - & how much Alex will regret his distance. But all is well. Our Father has gently led her to her other home, where so many are prepared to welcome her, & let us rather rejoice with them than think too heavily of our loss.
ever affly yrs
Fanny E.L.
Pray give my truest & tenderest sympathy to dear Aunt Lucia. My brother is with me & begs me to send his love to you & to her.
Dearest Anne,
I have just received the Dr’s letter to Henry & it has given me great comfort to know, as I hoped, that our dear mother passed away without suffering. She always seemed to be just hovering on the brink of another world, & I always felt that just so quietly & gently she would leave us – continuing, rather than changing, her pure & holy life – but free from the weary body.
It must have been a cruel shock to you at first, so sudden [p. 2] & unexpected, but I trust you now begin to feel how much better it was than a more protracted illness, with great prostration & weakness. Well do I know, my dear sister, that such a loss can never be filled in this world, that the yearning for a mother’s tenderness is never stilled, but we can feel sure that it is never far removed from us, - and you have enjoyed it long, & been enabled to do all your duty by the dear departed spirit.
Desolate indeed will seem you home & empty your life, but such a heart as yours finds duties everywhere, & should be cheered by the blessings it imparts to others. [p. 3] I wish you would come & be with us if it would be pleasant & a comfort to you, - but I shall hear from Henry your plans.
Poor Mary – how sad & sudden for her will this news be - & how much Alex will regret his distance. But all is well. Our Father has gently led her to her other home, where so many are prepared to welcome her, & let us rather rejoice with them than think too heavily of our loss.
ever affly yrs
Fanny E.L.
Pray give my truest & tenderest sympathy to dear Aunt Lucia. My brother is with me & begs me to send his love to you & to her.
Archives Number: 1011/002.001-021#046
U. S. National Park Service
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Correspondence (1011/002), (LONG-SeriesName)
, Letters from Frances Longfellow (1011/002.001), (LONG-SubseriesName)
, 1851 (1011/002.001-021), (LONG-FileUnitName)
, Letters from Frances Longfellow (1011/002.001), (LONG-SubseriesName)
, 1851 (1011/002.001-021), (LONG-FileUnitName)
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Longfellow House - Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site, Code: LONG
Longfellow House - Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site, Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Latitude: 42.3769989013672, Longitude: -71.1264038085938
Latitude: 42.3769989013672, Longitude: -71.1264038085938
NPS Museum Number Catalog : LONG 20257
Title: Finding Aid to the Frances Elizabeth Appleton Longfellow (1817-1861) Papers, 1825-1961 (bulk dated: 1832-1861)
URL: https://www.nps.gov/long/learn/historyculture/archives.htm#FEAL
URL: https://www.nps.gov/long/learn/historyculture/archives.htm#FEAL
2016-01-30
03/14/1851
Manuscript letter in Frances Appleton Longfellow Papers, Series II. Correspondence, A. Outgoing, 1851. (1011/002.001-021#046)
Organization: Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site
Address: 105 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
Email: LONG_archives@nps.gov
Address: 105 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
Email: LONG_archives@nps.gov
Wednesday, November 9, 2022 5:41:52 PM
Wednesday, November 9, 2022 5:41:52 PM
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