The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1878-06-27
MRS. MARY Hi MI TON BRIGGS.
IRON TIE GREKN Ray AnNnr ArI-

last week at Mamtowoc. and was buried al her
! former home at Racine was much beloved here
and n the Praise Meeting at the Presbyterian
church on Sunday evening last. the pastor, Mr..
Crawford, made an appropriate ana very touch
| ing mention of the loSs which that church and
the friends generally have sustained in her
death, which was followed by the hymn. Go
bury thy Sorrow which was sung at her fun
eral in Racine, and was very beautifully rem
derod by Mrs. Kimball on this occasion. Mr
Crawford said:
children, rs soon as l am released, sing a
psalm of praise TO God, such was the last re-
quest of the mother OF the Weslcys. y strange
and startling request ii seems, at first thought
but when we remember what sanity life hers
had been, how large and honored family she
had been permitted TO rear, and how she was
coming To her grave in a ripe and venerable age
we see what good ground her children had for
songs of thankful praise. And in this service
of ours tonight may not Il memorial, grateful as
well as sorrowful, of our lamented sister, Mrs
Mary Hamilton Briggs, fifty find a place? Tn
utteIabiy sad il seems that a life so pure and
sweet and full Of promise should be cut off al
the early age of thirty-one: and vet for what
she did and for what she was may we not rem
der praise 10 the Giver of every good and per-
feet gift2
l have been trying by efforts Of thoughtful
recollection 10 recall Mrs. Briggs as she was; to
present before the Imagination distinct and
living picture of her as she noved among "a-
and to form an estimate of those traits which
went 10 make up her character. And | find
first Of al, this impression most vivid i'll my
mind. that she was remarkably symmetrical
and well-poised. As in a circle no one part at
tracts attention above another because each
part is in proportion with all the rest, so was il
with her life. There were no jutting eccenrici-
ties to fix themselves in memory. 1t is not
easy to recall any brilliant sayings or striking
acts. In regard to her it would be impossible
to write an "Anecdote-biography. And vet
she was of fine quality; the Judgment was clear
the taste exact and delicate, the conscience SEN
sitive, the sensibihty warm and sympathetic
the will firm; her mind was compact, her char
actcr forceful: and now that she is taken away
we realize by the vacancy left how large space
she filed.
Mrs. Briggs was avery capable woman. Shrink
ing and timorous to fault, she always avoided
leadership; and Yet others always crowded her
forward to posts of responsibility. Though
quiet and retiring, she made herself felt by sim
pie force of character. No ore could more eff
fectively supcrintcnd the preparation tor pub
lie entertainments. Her Sunday School class
She held with ease. Her pupils were never
listless and disconnected. The fact of their
being always in place and watching her with
eager faces was Il sufficient testimony to her
aptncss to teach, As teacher in the various
grades of the public schools at Racine, before
her marriage, she was eminently successful;
- l. l.
well as Mr.. Briggs was strongly urged to ac-
cept Il position in one of the state normal
schools. At home, this capabty was apparent
in the furnishing of the parlor, in The prepar-
atoms for the table, and in the easy mastery of
all the details of housekeeping Everything
there showed her good sense, system. taste and
tact. She had great reserve force, and those
who had known her longest and most intimate
ly had the highest estimate of her ability.
She was remarkably conscientious, quick to
perceive the right and anxious to do ii.
Her nature was transparent and guileless.
Faithfulness was an inseperabe part of her
being; you felt il would be impossible for her
to fail in any known duty or to dsappoint your
just hopes. Her opinion on moral questions
had great weight with all who knew her. She
was thorough in whatever she did While at
school she applied herself to her books with a
severe assduity which probably her own later
judgment would have condemned. | have
more than once heard the eminent teacher with
whom she was associated in the High School at
Racine speak of her i'll terms of highest COM
pliment. In little company who were con-
versing upon letter-wrting few weeks since,
one person remarked that it was almost impos-
sible to think of Mrs. Briggs writing care
d. IxX-I
into her work, and what she did at all was done
well.
That charity which sympathizcs with the suf-
fering and ministers to the needy was prom-
nent trait. and many had occasion to bless her
kindness. If others stood in need Of help, she
was ready to serve them, even beyond her
strength. That other charity which is a still
rarer grace, and which consists i'll controlling
the cenSOrious thought and the hasty word was
also hers. She was fortunate in having an even
temper, and yet she had as strong likes and dis
likes as others; but il was Il principlc with her
TO put an habitual check upon her lips.
She was naturally religious and had been train
ed up to a love and observance Of religious du-
ties. Connecting herself with the church at The
early age Of twelve, she thenccforth OF her own
choice thoroughly identified herself with il.
That she was also faithful in her closet and
maintained the inner lite of devotion, no one
who knew her will question. Her energy nat
urally found exercise III church work. For
this church, especially, she felt a warm attach
ment. She was regularly i'll her place in the
sanctuary and at devotional meetings, and moth
| ing but ill health could keep her away. Many
! hours her skilful fingers and exquisite taste
were employed in arranging the floral decOra-
/ lions for the Sabbath. More than once when
| Mr.. Briggs received tempting offers to leave
| our High School for what to most would have
/ seemed a more attractive position elsewhere,
her love for this church, as well as his own, was
/ among the decisive reasons for their remaining
/ here. And this attachment of hers was fully
rcciprOcatcd. We claimed her even after we
/ had granted letters of GSmisSiOn; we felt that
! her home was here, and that her stay in anoth-
/ er city was but SOjourn.
There are many who will recall her cheerful
/ face and habtual smile She had Il keen relish
| for the ludicrous. although not given To testing
herself, she full appreciated the jests Of others
! even though they might be at her own expense.
/ She cndeaVOred to look upon the bright side of
/ things; and il she We're suffering from feeble
! ness or care, she would for the sake of others,
/ conceal il as much as possible. And yet | suS-
! pect that she had not little secret trouble in
! her dread of what might be. 1t seemed to me
/ that, even in her cheeriulness she shrank back
/ from the possibilities of that future into which
| we are ever going, not knowing whittier we 30.
| 4 shallow brook may leap and sparkle all day
| long; but in the depths OF a river there will bc
| dark, still currents even when the surface re-
| fleets the glancing brightness of the SUM- Ger
| tajnly she suffered much from Solcitude for her
! friends, and dreaded the pangs of separations
for in tender and truStful affection her life was
/ bound up With theirs. 1t is comforting to think
! that those anXicties and fears are now gone:
| the WEAKNESS, and the misgivings which will
| spring from il are at an end; the day has dawn
! ed, and the shadows are fed away.
| Looking bach in sober review over the portion
of her life which YVES spent here, it seems tC
me that in all her relations us daughter anG
| wife, sister and friend, she possessed as great
blamcleSSncss as it is given TO mortals TO attain
She was utterly unseltsh. Those lines of Low
ell might have been truthfully applied to her:
blessing she is; God made her so,
And deeds of week day holiness
Fall from her nOSeless as the snow
| Nor hath she ever CHANGED TO know
That aGght were easier than to bless"
Her memory is precious She has given us 3
| new reverence for that name of Christian which
| she bore. We can speak of her, now that she /,
| gone, in these terms of culogy without fearing
that any glaring faults will rise up in any one.
! mind TO contradict our words. Encomtum.
| upon the dead are sometimes significant from
| their silences, but of her we can hardly say too
| much.
/ | have learned almost nothing as to the par
ticulars of her last illness and DEATH and hay,
little curiosity to learn them am ccr,aiu that