Second and Third Visits to Em^land. 



e>' 



191 



shocking news arrived that his brother Warren had 

 been murdered on his own farm in Minnesota. 



Saratoga, October 2 j, iSds- 

 Dear Brother and Sister : The letter I wrote you 

 last week is probably in mid-ocean, yet when it was written 

 our dear brother Warren was already quietly resting in his 

 grave. His life has been full of manly activity and earnest 

 struggle, but he is now released, and the vicissitudes of 

 earth will trouble him no more. The manner of his death 

 was shocking, but his suffering could hardly have been 

 protracted. It may perhaps matter little to the subject of 

 it what are the accompaniments of his exit, but the reflec- 

 tion must always be most painful to the survivors that it 

 involved a crime and was a consequence of human brutality. 

 Yes, as Earle says, the family circle, so long happily pre- 

 served, is broken at last. The tragic elements of life come 

 into sharper relief, and we have a stern and startling ad- 

 monition that whatever we do must be done promptly, for 

 the time will swiftly come when we must take our place 

 beside our fallen brother. I have a very deep satisfaction 

 in my remembrance of the visit we had with Warren last 

 winter. I enjoyed it inexpressibly at the time, and I think, 

 it was a very pleasant experience to him. He was so un- 

 affected and natural, satisfied to be simply himself — as had 

 always been one of his marked traits of character. . . . 



I brought Earle's letter home last Friday, and did not 

 open it till I found Pa in the barn husking, as it was 

 directed to him. Of course, it was a terrible blow to us 

 both, but Pa bore it very calmly. We w^ent in and took 

 Ma upstairs into your room. I told her we had dreadful 

 news, and she was hardly able to make her way. " Is Ann 

 Eliza dead?" said she. I told her "No," it was War- 

 ren, and explained how he died. She was deeply affected, 

 but bore it far better than I feared she would. Of course, 

 the first thought was about his dying "unprepared." I 



