Biltmore N.c. Jan 4th 1903 )
Dear Cousin Anna )
Your welcome letter just received
& I hasten to reply, that you may know how sincerely
I sympathize with you in your great sorrow & I can
readidly understand how "life has held very little""
for you since such great losses came to you - followed as
they were by misfortune and struggle - I had years, sad
& bitter, of it all & as I look back upon those years
I marvel at the strength & courage given to me - lonely
thy "Lord doth temper the wind and shorn the lamb" or I should
have been lost in the surging waves of sorrow, dirtness and
bitterness - I remember once in prayer meeting when our
Pastor called for passages of scripture, now my friends were
moved to tears , & even sobs when I arose & said "Yea
tho he slay me yet will I trust him"- He, the dear Father
is your only refuge my dear, & I feel that you realize
this more fully than I can present it & that you have
been & will still be sustained & strengthened & in time
can find joy in living - Let us hope for many years
of an enriched life for you - For ten long years my
struggles lasted - but after that the light broke tho. the
clouds. I had done what I could to prepare my
children for their life works & my efforts have been
abundantly blessed - My health has been restored;"
until now, at nearly seventy one years of age, I am
stronger & more vigorous that I was at fifty years
of age - We have been down here in this delightful country
two & a half years & in that time have not consulted
a physician & Kate who was always subject to severe
attacks of tonsilitis has had but one attack & has
been in all other respects perfectly well & ready
for her daily duties - She was called here as Prin
of Mr Geo Vanderbilts' school in this his model village
was permitted to bring with her one assistant altho it
was that the school would not be large enough to warrant it -
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Citation
Gage Family Collection, Special Collections, University of Mississippi Libraries
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