Our
readers have learned from the letter of Rev. Mr. Goodell, which we
lately published, through what vicissitudes Mrs. Van Lennep passed after
her arrival at Constantinople, which had been designated as her field of
labor.
It was there she died, September 27, 1844, in the twenty-third year of
her age, only one year and twenty-three days from her marriage-day, and
before she had fully entered upon the life to which she had consecrated
herself. Of her it has been as truly as beautifully said:
"Thy labor in the vineyard closed,
Long e'er the noon-tide sun,
The dew still glistened on the leaves,
When thy short task was done."
And yet this life, "so little in itself," may be found to have an
importance in its consequences, hardly anticipated at first by those
who, overwhelmed by this sudden and impetuous providence, were ready to
exclaim, "To what purpose is this waste?" Her day of influence will
extend beyond the noon or the even-tide of an ordinary life of labor.
"_Sweet Mary Hawes_" (as she is named by one who never saw her, and
whose knowledge of her is all derived from the volume we have been
reviewing), shall long live in these pages, embalmed in unfading youth,
to win and to guide many to Him, at whose feet she sat and learned to
"choose the better part." Her pleasant voice will be heard in our homes,
assuring our daughters that "there is no sphere of usefulness more
pleasant than this;" bidding them believe that "it is a comfort to take
the weight of family duties from a mother, to soothe and cheer a wearied
father, and a delight to aid a young brother in his evening lesson, and
to watch his unfolding mind.
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