'
And yet I am thankful every day of my life that God has put it into
the hearts of so many whom I love and honor and reverence to send me
so many messages of good will and kindness. It is an unspeakable
comfort in the lonely and darkening afternoon of life. Indeed, I can
never feel quite alone so long as I know that all about me are those
who turn to me with friendly interest, and, strange to say, with
gratitude. A sense of lack of desert on my part is a drawback, of
course; but then, I say to myself, if my friends judge me by my aim
and desire, and not by my poor performance, it may be all right and
just."
The painful solitude of his life after his dear niece's marriage was
softened when he went to live with his cousins at Oak Knoll, in
Danvers, a pleasant country seat, sheltered and suited to his needs.
Of this place Mrs. Spofford says, in a delightful biographical paper:
"The estate of Oak Knoll is one of some historical associations, as
here once lived the Rev. George Burroughs, the only clergyman in the
annals of Salem witchcraft who was hung for dark dealings, Danvers
having originally been a part of the town of Salem, where witchcraft
came to a blaze, and was stamped out of existence.... The only relic
on the place of its tragedy is the well of the Burroughs' house, which
is still in the hay-field, and over which is the resting-place of the
sounding-board of the pulpit in the church where the witches were
tried.
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