AU Harris, Joseph Hastings - 1895-07-17 letter to Bertha Elizabeth Lambert

Archive

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Harris-Lambert Family Archives

Name/Title

AU Harris, Joseph Hastings - 1895-07-17 letter to Bertha Elizabeth Lambert

Entry/Object ID

1990.1.46

Context

[Ada, OH, no envelope, letter written on birch bark, appears to have been mailed with letter of 16 Jul 1895 as that letter has stains on it.] Ada, O. July 17, 1895. My Loving Bertha: Accepting my thanks not only for the souvenir enclosed in the ribbon which loving hands had so neatly tied but also for the tribute paid on this quarter century anniversary. It was such as could come only from you who are best acquainted with my inward life. While your point to my character causes me to think of my many imperfections yet I find in your character the elements which strengthen and build up those very imperfect planks. Oh yes I look into the future but you are helping to open that great seal and I trust ere long to see at least an outline of the life of work of both of us as one. Yes twenty five years have passed and it finds me low in the scale of preparation, but I realize that all the advancement to a great extent has been done in the last seven months. I trust that when the next anniversary shall have come it may witness us in possession of a happy home having been occupied a number of years and instead of thinking of our days of usefulness being about a close we may feel youthful and press boldly forth into new lines of thought and work. I hope to never see the time when I shall not relish study. Yes I know we love each other I realize every day that the tendrils of your nature reaching out toward me are firmly cemented and entwined in my very life. I trust that there may never be any occasion neither in life or in death for tearing away those tendrils. I believe God is pleased with our decisions and wishes us to be happy together. It pains me to think of our separation this year but perhaps our life work may require separation after while much of the time so we will have that much training and these letters may be the means of showing in a limited way how much we love now, therefore I shall not hesitate more in trying to express my love and admiration for you (of course it is inexpressible). May God bless you and make your life even more beautiful for Him. Your Lover, J. H. Harris.