Correspondence (incoming): Dahlgren, Madeline, 1893-1894

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My thoughts revert with affectionate yearning to you, on this solemn anniversary of the Catholic Church. For this is "All Soul's" - the vigil of "All Saints"! How picturesquely striking are these words: How beautiful, and how consoling! On this memorable day, the Church universal prays for the dead who die in the Lord, and many souls are freed through this universal prayer,

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are through these loving petitions to the Honour of Grace, forgiven all penalty of sin, and thus sublimated rise triumphant to the God who created them. In turn these liberated souls will pray for us, who now intercede for them: How consoling! How sublime! Heaven and earth united in loving charity. Truly Earth can thus be made a stepping-stone to Heaven, and prayer is the Jacob's ladder, upon which angels

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are ever ascending and descending, bearing the sweet incense to our Savior.

My loved friend, through our common sorrow, and our trust in the dear Lord and Master, at the foot of the Cross. I draw near your suffering heart to night. How compassionate the blessed savior was to the mourning women, who wept.

We have a devotion called "The Holy Face" - that is very touching. It is in honor of that sorrowful face which was imprinted on the napkin with which the pious Veronica, wiped the face of the Lord as

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All Souls:

[preprinted] 1325 MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE, WASHINGTON D. C. [/preprinted]

October 31st "93

My very dear Mrs. Stanford.

My disappointment was indeed very great, on arriving in Washington, to learn that you had been here for a week, and left.

I can well understand how deeply fraught with loving recollections this desolate home-coming must have been.

[left hand side] Although we may never meet in this world, the tie that unites us is a sentiment that will last - it will make a friendship in the next world, for it is of spiritual essence.

It is strange that when we lived in the same city, not until the parting visit, did we truly begin to know each other - and yet, that ever to be remembered conversation made us understand that we [/left hand side]

[right hand side] had sympathies in common, a mutual yearning for the true, and the real. I trust dear Mrs. Stanford that these long and sad journeys have not made you ill. I have feared to hear that you had overtaxed your wonderful energies, for the world has still need of your brave persistance. So much for you to do. After all, the spaces of time marked out for any of us, in this life, are so fleeting - We [/right hand side]

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look back twenty five years - the world calls it 'a silver jubilee' - it is nothing; nothing outside of our hour for action.

If we are supine, if we fail to act - in our appointed time, we have lost our opportunity. But your husband, filled his brief hour - so did Admiral Dahlgren. These are precious memories. We look over the harvest field - and we see now their day has closed - a big swathe - and stacks of ripe and golden grain - and the world the better that they have lived -

with true affection yours

Madeleine Vinton Dahlgren

[right page] [preprinted] 1325 MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE, WASHINGTON, D.C.[/preprinted]

he passed over that via - Dolorosa, on his way to the crucifixion - and tradition says, that when the compassionate Veronica, had withdrawn the napkin - The face - the holy face, with all its agony of the world's sins, was imprinted thereon.

Ah, He knows - and He loves those whom He chastens.

I love dear, to pour out my heart to you, to day - All Soul's day!