Letter from Edward C. Hodgkin to Martha Ives

Authors

Edward C. Hodgkin

Files

Description

PF2.2.64

Date

8-18-1837

Transcript

1837

Miss Martha Ives

Detroit

Michigan

Care of Mr. E. Ives

Kenyon College, Gambier, Knox Co Ohio

August 18th, 1837

My Dear Cousin,

The question has just arrived in my mind, which ought to be considered the best news to a friend from the [and] to whom their friendship is exercised, [is] that he has suddenly been raised from poverty to affluence, or that he is completely happy in body and mind; that he finds sweet employment for all his time, and that in all his pursuits he is prospering; that through this grace from whom all belongs flow, he has time and opportunity to, and always does, enjoy the various means of grace; finds prayer dear to his soul, and the Gospel precious and strong th[?]; indeed every thing above, below, and around him and, in short, every where, except within, conducing to his happiness. I know the answer you, dear Cousin, would give to this prospecting to the dead yourself and your life led with Christ, in God, you would rather see your friend’s soul growing in grace and dead to the world also, this would and ought to be the burden of your every prayer in his behalf, and it could not fail of reforming your heart to hear, that your prayers were answered in his spiritual prosperity, and in the glimmering prospect that at [?] forth coming day he might be sent by the Lord of the harvest, to be a Laborer (however weak) in the harvest, and so that the [Laborer] who had washed you from your [soul] in His own blood, and made you a being and a priest with God, might see [?] of His soul and be satisfied in the conversations of sinners, and your heavenly Father who gave His Savior, glorified in the [?]fication of His people. And now if it will be any comfort to you to hear that I [been] happy, that is, a regard to earthly circumstances and means of grace, and comparatively so, as regards the m[?]d word of the Holy Ghost, you here have the appearance. I find in Kenyon, all any hope realized; I begin to love study, and this, partly because of the prospect before me, and partly because of the encouragement that I daily meet with, by [?] His reaches [?] have learned once through the Latin Grammar and commenced reviewing it, and this morning I commenced constructing the 8th page of the Latin Reader. Professor [Stevens} now tells me I get on very well, and that I shall soon be able to read anything in Latin, in a few days, God willing, I shall commence Greek so that by the commencement of next session of the College, through grace, I shall be able to go with an advanced class in this study and also be able to commence reading the [?] of Virgil. I begin of course, now, to be pretty well acquainted with the Institution, and with its Students, I have found some very good, young, new, and [also] very bad young men in it, and as a natural consequence, from the one class I have reviewed genuine Christians treatment and from the other distant much about and [?] gentlemen only there and students here from every part of the world, Greece, England, and every State in the Union, have their representatives, and therefore you will not wonder that among such a variety there are some followers of the wicked one, the Faculty have often to dismiss one of these [?]actory fellows, which has generally the affect of keeping the others at bay for a short time; of course coming here as a prospering child of God. I have not escaped the attention and services of these gentlemen, these operations have as yet been coupled to the invention of a [?] or two into the key hole of any door, while at prayer, with a few other little mischievous acts; the [?] did not go off, their [?] simple [?] being a little too sharp for them; since these experiments they have been quiet where the account of these tricks to be reported to the Faculty, it would probably result in the [dismission] of those concerned. I would here, if I thought it would be as interesting as more recent developments, give you a brief account of the places I passed through, and the B[?] and circumstances connected with them on my journey hither, but if I judge rightly, you will be more gratified with a description of the doings [?] of services, and various inea[?] of grace[?], connected with Kenyon and it [?], to these therefore, dear Cousin, let me direct your attention. I must first tell you of the Sabbath Schools connected with the College; they are about 13 in number, controlled by a board of managers and lying from 3 to 6 miles in all directions round the village; this cousin, is the blessed [?] of labor which the [?]ous students engaged in here, and wish which every sabbath morning except Communion Sunday, is employed. The teachers have a prayer meeting at service on Sunday, before we each proceed to our little [?] implore collectively the [?]ing and increase of our Heavenly Father whom our efforts and these [?]ly after breakfast we set out for our school. The walk to all of them is delightful, hill and dale, wood and stream, the in and abound our path; talking about those things which belong to our eternal peace, the teacher forget fatigue pretty [smiling] faces greet us from every part of the school room, as we enter its doors, the whole of us, children and teachers, soon are bowed down in e[?] prayer, then the exercises commenced, and I assure you, that the conduct and scholarships of most of the little lambs [?] surprising us one school, and I believe in many others, some of the girls get 60, 70, 80, and sometimes a hundred [?] on a work, which these answers to the regular before are admirable. [?] and looking for great fires to be kindled from these little sparks, I know such increase is prayed for and not only this, but that [graceful], to the faithful preaching of which the gracious promises of God are pledged, is in these schools set forth in its breadth and f[?], every teacher [?] to feel it his dirty to set forth Christ crucified in all godly simplicity to his charge, and wherever this is done God is never [slack] in blessing the work of His own condescending grace. Our minister here is Bishop M [?], I do not as yet like [?] as well as Bishop M [?], he in [?] little deeper in argument, [?] in theology, but he havnot that general beauty of delivery that Bish M.[?] has, neither in his language as refined, but, notwithstanding these defects, he is a very talented and devoted man, very graceful and true in his [?] powers, —excelling almost every other preachers I ever heard, i giving [?] to his [?], from what may be called the [?] and marrow of scripture; like Bishop [?], you never go from the sanctuary dissatisfied with one of his sermons, nor can the sinner, without feeling his [?] in the sight of a just and holy God. Now Suppose, my dear Cousin, that in the [?] of these mercies and means of grace, you would expect a very lively state of religious feeling, — that there would here be no shame of the Lord [?], —and, especially among Gods people, no trifling conversation nor corrupting example, —but would it were so, I must confess that I expected in one life in the purity of professors here, — in the rudest of delightful means of grace, loving in retirement, and having opportunity for deep thought and self examination, — I had formed the idea of meeting with [?] living alone to the glory of God; when I thought these things, however, I had not in view the temptations [?] which [?] here cause [?]. These temptations arise from the idle conversations of the worldly, confined with what the natural ind[?] of the human heart does, in withholding, the thought from their studies till they read them, and their they are alleged to neglect their devotions, secret prayers [?], in order to be prepared for recitation — their [?] [?] and the formerly watchful and devoted you man, become cold and heartless, there are the causes which in my opinion, lie at the bottom of the rather surprising degree of apathy, which is exhibited here among the people of God, and in view of this, I now [?] your daily and most earnest prayers; I as well as the rest of the [?] students here, and expound to their temptation, and if you, and mother and Father and Aunt and Sarah, and all my Christian friends, — do not fray, and pray daily for me, There is too much reason to be here, that my innumerable natural corruptions will become my masters. I therefore look to God in faith, that all of you will daily lift up holy hands in my behalf. It is the only [?] [?] I ask of you, and to attain it, I will consent to consider myself under the greatest obligations; in addition to this, if it will be any incentive to any of you, to hear that you are prayed for in return, I [?] would say, that every night I pray, for each one of you individually, yes all my dear relations and friends in Detroit, are presented before the throne of God each evening for His belonging, in my proudest [?] manner, neither would I be deprived of of the privilege for anything, nothing is sweeter to me, than an [?] prayer. And be a [?] all of you, that while you . For anything, nothing, I confess to [?] [?] [?] , [?][?] and [?] soul, your own will never fail of being refreshed —I have not told you a quarter of what I have got to tell you, but you are [?] have the rest —till my next, which will be written immediately on recept of an answer to this, and I will also [?] write to William, and saything this, I think he will [?] you till you do answer this most [?] able [?]. Remember me in [?] Christian regard to Sarah and [?], and all friends. Tell [?] to be steadfast and immovable and watchful. I am [?] and grieved at not leaving from home by letter as this, after writing to Bishop M. [?] my next letter was sent to them — do tell them to answer it and say whether [?] has come home yet. How you receive a copy of the Gambier [?] — I sent one — will you not send me a copy of the Old Countryman news and [?]. And now Dear Cousin I must bid you adieu following to write you [?] letter next time. You are at liberty to show this to Sarah. Love [?]. Yours in Christ

Edward C. Hodgkin

P.S. Write directly. How much [?] and to [?].

Recommended Citation

Hodgkin, Edward C., "Letter from Edward C. Hodgkin to Martha Ives" (1837). 19th Century Correspondence. 65.
https://digital.kenyon.edu/correspondence_19thc/65