LETTER OF
The GOSPEL TRUTH CHARLES G. FINNEY
1859
To Julia Finney
27 May 1859
[MS in Finney Papers, Supplement # 73. It would appear that the signature has been torn off the bottom.]
Huntingdon. England.
27. May. 1859.
Dear Julia. Yours of the 6th inst came
to hand yesterday. We were truly glad to
hear from you, that you are well & happy,
& we trust useful. We recd a letter also by the
same mail from Miss Tucker dated at Oberlin
the same day with yours. Poor dear Miss
Tucker she knows not what to do. Also a letter
from Mr. Spriggs. He says our best cow is dead.
Miss Tucker says it seems as if a blight had
come over them since we left. Dear Norton
I suppose he felt keenly if he could not
urge you to stay with him. I hope it may
please the Lord to make him more indepen
dent in regard to means. And yet I fear he
is not obeying the Spirit of the Lord in
continuing in the law, & if so the Lord
may keep him poor. Or he may suffer him
to prosper to his own destruction. It
is a fearful thing to disobey God's Spirit.
But we shall see. Julia you must have
some spiritual labor constantly on hand
& not live to yourself, if you would truly
live at all. Both of us are somewhat
improved in health though neither of us
have our usual strength. I have thought
we should remain here but little longer as
it seemed as if I could not sustain the labor
under the circumstances. This is a trying
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climate to both of us. We are at work aga[in]
as usual with most encouraging results in this p[lace?]
But my health is precarious. My spine & bowels
are in a very complaining state. Had we the
prospect of continued health & strength for a year
to come, I should now write for you to come,
although you could not be steadily with us.
I do not feel as if I should be justified in
sending you to france. even if I had the means
which I have not. If my health does not decidedly
improve, we shall return D.V. before Autumn.
Dont you think we have recd a letter from Aunt
Sarah. She says they are going early to the country to
have the house repaired & water introduced.
So you had better remain where you are until
you hear from y us again. We are glad that
Helen has a good Piano. It has been a very open
winter & a cold Spring here. The wind is & has been
east here for more than two months. Easterly winds
are very trying here. It is however a delightful time
of the year to be in the country. We ride as often
& as much as we please in Mr Browns carriage.
We have had many delightful drives. The country is
a perfect garden in every direction. The walks
in every direction are rural & antient , & shady.
I sit writing within a few rods of the birthplace
of Oliver Cromwell. In an opposite direction
& but a little distance is the house where Cowper
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[the?] poet lived. We daily stroll through the walks
[s]till known as Cowper walks. Within 1/2 a mile,
are the buildings & parks of one of the noble
families. A mile beyond is the stately palace
of another. A large number of the Nobility
live in this county. They are all walled in
& have little or no intercourse with their neigh
bors. You would be delighted to hear the birds
in this country. They have many exquisite songsters
that we have not. The nightingale. The Sterling.
A Black bird that sings. The cookoo. This is a
singular solitary bird its note gives it its name.
It lays its eggs in the nest of other birds. Their
young are strong & will easily crowd the proper young
of the other bird out of the nest to perish. Thus
this bird never raises its own young. If our
health will give promise of our abiding here
I think we shall send for you. Otherwise we
shall return home. We have work enough before us
to employ us a life time, & calls for our labors are
constantly multiplying. This morning I have recd
a pressing call to return to London. Three large
congregations uniting in the request & promising every
aid & comfort in their power. I am pressed as
earnestly to Visit Wales & Scotland that if health
will allow I must go to the principal cities of
each. From here we shall probably go either
to London or to Wales. In august, Should we
remain, we must go to Edinburgh. Scotland.
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From there to the City of Norwich, or Manch[ester]
Leeds or London, I know not which. But s[hould]
we be well enough to go to these places I hope
to see my way clear to send for you. It may happen
that we may continue to stay as we do now all
the while apparently on the verge of breaking down
In that case I should not dare to send for you.
At any rate My Dear Child, make yourself useful
& contented where you are. You are, we are happy
to know, a comfort to your Sister & brother & I
trust useful among the children. It is matter of
devout gratitude that you are beginning to live &
walk by faith, & to long after entire holiness.
There is, in this country, as there is in America, a
great religious movement inaugurated & going
on. An inquiring after holiness of heart is deepening
& spreading both there & here. This inquiring after holiness
in Boston is wonderful. I suppose as you do not
go to Brooklyn, Miss Tucker will remain at Oberlin
6th June. The above a week ago. Yesterday we got Anges letter giving
account of the fire. Mr. Lamson of Boston & given us previous informa
tion. Thank the Lord that it is no worse. The revival is powerful here.
It is an entirely new thing & creates astonishment. We are both
slowly improving in health, yet not able to do nearly as
much as in days past. Some friends are urging
us to send for you, thinking we shall more certainly
remain in this country. But the very unsettled state
of our health forbids our deciding, at present, to do so.
Study to be useful my precious child. And remember to be
useful you must be holy. To be holy you must not live to & for
self. Live by faith. Your Affectn
[signature removed]
Footnotes:
Uriah Thompson, a deacon of the Church, and his wife, Susan, mention this man in their letters to Finney dated 31 January and 2 February 1860:
I see your hired man occasionally. I think he takes care of things pretty well so far as I can see.
and:
I think brother Spriggs is doing as well as could be expected, a great deal better than the man you had before. He is very industrious, and I think a good man.
The corner of the letter is torn off here.
ancient ?
The tear in the page has removed a word here &endash; probably the.
The letter, dated May 23, 1859, was from Theodore Jones, a Methodist layman in the Third London Circuit of the United Methodist Free Church.
Finney received a number of letters from David Rees, the minister of the church in Llanelly in South Wales, and from John Kirk in Edinburgh.
Finney had received letters from John Massingham in Norwich.
There is a similar tear here as in the previous sheet.
See the correspondence Finney had with Robert K. Brewer of Leeds.