A valuable letter of reply

 

A letter of reply is sometimes a most treasured thing．Here is a story that tells about this common and natural human sentiment1)．

 

The busiest woman in Labrador during one bitter cold Christmas not very long ago，was an Australian nurse by the name of Kate Austen．But Nurse Austen was not too busy to acknowledge with a long，friendly letter every gift of food or clothing received for distribution2) to the natives in that bleak and barren outpost of the north．Among the gifts was a box of knittings3) for children，knitted and sent by a woman in Toronto．

 

Nurse Austen，was busy，harassed4) and not feeling too well that winter．She could have written just ordinary routine notes of acknowledgement．But that was not her way．She sat down and wrote the woman in Toronto a real letter telling all about the village，and the names of the children who were wearing the knitted gloves and caps，and what they said when they got them，and how they looked when they wore them．She wanted the woman who had knitted and sent all those lovely knittings “to see how much happiness and warmth she had created．”Not long after，she received the following answer from Canada．

 

Dear Miss Austen，

 

Your letter made me happy．I did not expect such a full return．I am eighty years old，and I am blind．There is little I can do except knit，and that is why I knit so many caps and sweaters and scarves．Of course I cannot write this，so my daughter－in－law is doing it for me．She also sewed the seams and made the buttonholes for the knitted things．

 

I know something of the work you are doing．At the age of nineteen I married a man who was going to China to be a missionary5)．For forty years，with an occasional year at home in America，we worked in China，and during that time our two sons and a daughter were born to us，of whom only one son survives．After forty years，my husband' s health began to fail．We returned to the States where he took charge of a settlement house in Brooklyn，New York．A surprising number of the problems we faced there were similar to problems we had met in China．When my husband died，I came to Toronto to live with my son and daughter－in－law．They are very good to me，and I pride myself that I am little trouble to them，though it is hard for a blind old lady to be sure of anything．

 

What I most wanted to say，my dear，is this．For sixty years I have been making up missionary packages of such clothing or food or medicine or books as I could collect．In various parts of the world and to various parts of the world I have sent them．Sometimes I have received a printed slip of acknowledgement from the headquarters depot6) or mission board，sometimes nothing．Occasionally I have been informed that my contribution was destined for7) Syria or Armenia or the upper Yangtze．But never before in all that time have I had a personal letter picturing the village and telling me who is wearing the clothing and what they said．I did not suppose t hat ever in my lifetime I should receive a letter like that．May God bless you．

 

Sincerely yours，

 

Laura N．Russell