2)
off the American tour
by an invitation from
the Princess Alice of Hesse to
be present at a Congress at
Darmstadt, to consider
ways of improving the
position & culture of women
at wch the Princess herself
was to preside. Such an invitation
was too tempting
& gratifying to be refused, &
Miss Carpenter accepted it
& spent a week at the Palace
at Darmstadt most delightfully.
She was perfectly
charmed with the genuine
simple goodness & earnesty
of the Princess, of whom

she saw a great deal, & who
treated her with the greatest
kindness & attentions. - From
the Palace Miss C. went to the
prison, - for she once visited
the Inspector of Prisons at
Neuchatel in Switzerland;
(Neuchatel is Miss Amé Draz'Amé-Draz, Rosine

A Swiss national, Rosine Amé-Draz (c. 1816–?) first arrived in England on 11 July 1838, listing her profession as teacher. In 1841 she was teaching and living in the parish of Egg Buckland, Devonshire. After spending an undetermined length of time back in Switzerland, she returned to England in July 1848, this time listing her profession as governess. According to the 1861 English Census (where she was recorded as “Rosine Ann Davy,” a native of Neufchatel, Switzerland), she was staying in the home of Mrs. Elizabeth Read of Ecclesfield, Yorkshire. By 1871 she was serving as governess to the children of George S. Kemp, a wealthy Lancashire manufacturer. 1841 England Census, Devonshire, Egg Buckland, 11; 1861 England Census, Yorkshire, Ecclesfield, 56; 1871 England Census, Lancashire, Castleton, 1; “England, Alien Arrivals, 1810–1811, 1826–1869,” Ancestry.com.
family home -- or was. I
fear the home is broken
up by death) - after that
she staid with a gentleman
near Geneva with whom
Theodore Parker had spent
a good deal of time on his
last European journey.
Mr CarpenterCarpenter, Russell Lant

The Reverend Russell Lant Carpenter (1816-92), a Unitarian minister, spent his childhood in Bristol, England. He attended Bristol College in preparation for a life of ministry, continued his studies at Manchester and York Colleges and was one of the first to graduate from London University in 1840. Carpenter became intensely involved in the temperance movement and subsequently quit his pastorate at Bridgwater, England, since part of the church's endowment came from taverns selling liquors. In August 18-19 he journeyed to the United States, where he spent a full year preaching from Montreal to St. Louis to Boston. His father, Dr. Lant Carpenter, was a well-known teacher whose Unitarian writings were already known to the antislavery men of the day. Thus, Carpenter became acquainted with Garrison, Douglass, and others. Having returned to England, he married in 1853 and continued his ministerial work there until his death. His works include Memoirs of Lant Carpenter (1842), Discourses and Devotional Services (1849), A Monotessaron (1851), and a biography about his brother, Philip, Memoirs of the Life and Work of Philip Pearsall Carpenter (1880). Carpenter also contributed frequently to the Inquirer and to other periodicals. London Inquirer, 30 January 1892. & I took a quiet

little journey last summer
to Switzerland - but ours was
no royal progress -- nor had
we any peeps into palaces --
we went in the most
common-place way, stopping
at hotels, & paying for
all we had! which was
not half so interesting.
However we saw & enjoyed
some of the glories of
nature, spending more
than a fortnight on the
[loveliest] Lake of Lucerne,
one of the loveliest of the
Swiss Lakes I think. We
also spent two or three days
at Neuchatel -- & returned

by Paris. You really ought
to come over soon-before
traveling becomes a [?]
& of course you must
make our house your
home and head quarters for
the South of England. We are
living in a very pretty
country district, with fine
open sea and pleasantly
hilly and undulating country,
not grand in its features
but very pleasing. I should
like to take you some of
our favorite walks - & to
introduce you to some of
our kind friends.
My dear Mother is still
living--and often able to enjoy

3)
life & to add to the enjoyment
of those about her, tho' at
times she is very feeble -
no wonder at 87 - !
My three sisters are all
well, & have great happiness
in seeing their children growing
up, & beginning life with
good promise of doing well -
we spent ten days at Xmas
at [with] my eldest sister's house
where my mother lives. -
The nine sons & daughters
(from 10 to 26 years of age)
were all at home, & all bright
& happy. Our nieces and
nephews - both Mr. C's & mine
are a great happiness to
us - one or other of them

often stays a little with
us, & gives a little life to
our quiet household.
Mr. Carpenter's health, tho
very delicate, is not I think
worse than it was some
years ago. - He has learnt
to look upon himself as an
invalid, & to take care accordingly
he never preaches
more than once on a Sunday
& bad weather or extra [?]
sometimes prevents
even this - but we may well
be thankful for so much
health as is continued to us
He joins me in kindest remembrances -
in sympathy & congratulations
on all your successes
& sincere regrets for your disappointments
& losses-

2. from her a short time ago. She
tells me that she has decided
on doing this. - Of course it will
involve great changes in
their family arrangements,
as a school must be stationary.
The frequent movements
from home to home try Mrs
Griffiths a good deal - so it will
be better for her, & Mrs CroftsCrofts, Julia Griffiths

A native of London, Julia Griffiths (1811–95) was the oldest of seven children born to Thomas Griffiths, a onetime stationer turned publisher and bookseller, and his wife Charlotte Powis. She first met Douglass during the latter half of 1846 when he lectured in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, where she was visiting with friends. Her mother had been a friend of William Wilberforce, who had advocated for the abolition of slavery in England, and she herself was active in the British antislavery movement. Charmed by the American, Griffiths followed Douglass back to the United States with her younger sister, Eliza, in 1848. In 1850, Eliza married John Dick, one of Douglass’s printers for the North Star, and the couple moved to Toronto. Julia became a constant companion and partner to Douglass and a leading antislavery organizer in Rochester for the next five years. She contributed to the North Star as copy editor and journalist, and saved the paper from financial ruin by organizing its books and by aggressively pursuing subscribers and donations. She helped found the Western New York Anti-Slavery Society, acting as its secretary, and organized the Rochester Anti-Slavery Fair. Initially, she lived with the Douglass family, which led to tension in the household and to unsubstantiated rumors that Douglass and Griffiths shared more than a business relationship. In 1853, the vicious attacks upon her in abolitionist newspapers drove her from the Douglass home and finally forced her to return to England in 1855, ostensibly to raise funds for the North Star. In 1859 she married a Methodist minister from Halifax, Henry O. Crofts (1814–80), who acted as an agent for Frederick Douglass’ Paper. Through the Civil War, she continued to organize and revitalize ladies’ antislavery societies and to lecture against slavery. After the war and her husband’s death, she ran a boarding school and worked as a governess. Her friendship with Douglass continued in frequent correspondence, and she welcomed him and his second wife, Helen Pitts Douglass, when they visited England in 1886. British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Reporter, new ser., 5:82 (1 April 1857); 1871 England Census, Durham County, Gateshead, 41; London, England: Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538–1812, Ancestry.com; Maria Diedrich, Love Across Color Lines: Ottilie Assing and Frederick Douglass (New York, 1999), 179–84; Waldo E. Martin, Jr., The Mind of Frederick Douglass (Chapel Hill, N.C., 1984), 40–41; Janet Douglas, “A Cherished Friendship: Julia Griffiths Crofts and Frederick Douglass,” Slavery and Abolition, 33:265–74 (June 2012); Erwin Palmer, “A Partnership in the Abolition Movement,” University of Rochester Library Bulletin, 26:1–17 (Autumn/Winter 1970–71).
means to continue at Gateshead,
and let the oldest daughter
keep house for Dr CroftsCrofts, Henry O.

. I hope
that Mrs Crofts will have
health to enable her to carry
out this plan successfully
but it seems a great undertaking
for her. From what
she says I should hope that
the youngest daughter will

be a real help & comfort to her.
I heard from Miss Amé Draz a few weeks
ago & was very glad to hear that she
had the prospect of a pleasant holiday.
Mr & Mrs Cooke — in whose family
she lived for many years — had
invited her to spend the Summer
holiday with them, — at least partly
at their house, as they
were going to travel, & would
take her with them to Switzerland
& leave her with her sister while
they went further, & she would
return with them to England. -
This would be just what she
would enjoy — she wld not have
felt justified in taking so long
& expensive a journey, — but the
change I have no doubt will do
her good, & she will be so glad
of the opportunity of visiting her

sister. I am sorry to say I
have lost sight of my German
friend Miss Hancke, whom
perhaps you remember. —
she went to Australia. Hence
to New Zealand & I have heard
that she returned to Australia;
whether she is still there or
has returned to Germany I
don't know. I should like to hear
from her & see her again, — &
don't despair of her "turning up"
some fine day!

A propos to your not allowing
praises of yourself to appear in
your Paper, — you remind us
that years ago I was grieved at
something only too kind that
you said of me in your paper, —
but you see the cases are so different.

You are a public man, and cannot
help if you wished it ever so
much, being written and talked of,
you cannot help being both praised
& blamed in an exaggerated way,
so I dont think you need shrink
from letting the public know
how highly & sincerely your
friends esteem you & value
the influence of your life & work.
Your prudent plan of wintering in
Washington with your sons, and spending
the hot part of the summer with
your daughter in your old house
at Rochester, sounds very pleasant,
but can you not next summer
come to England instead of Rochester
you will have earned rest
by your winters' lecturing tours
& why not take it here? we do
want to have you amongst us

2)
and shall be very glad
to hear of your sons having
won their positions in
spite of all obstacles. They
have a tower of strength in
you to back them. Your manner
& character & position are
something for them to be
proud of & to glory in, &
from seeing what you have
done they should draw
strength & hope for themselves
& feel encouraged to battle
with obstacles & to bear
& live down all slights &
unworthy treatments. But
I hope they wont be satisfied
always to fling the
weight of their burdens &
difficulties upon you!

Mr & MrsRobberds, Elizabeth Blake

John Robberds
spent a couple of days
with us about a fortnight
ago. - We talked of you, &
she showed us a letter
she had received from. you
lately. We are very glad to
know that your Paper is in
no need of aid. I am sure
with your independent spirit
you would much rather
help yourself & others than
be helped. You have always
most kindly appreciated
the little we have done for
the cause to which your
life has been devoted; - but
for many years I am sure
we are quite innocent of

having helped you in any
way, - & I promise you
faithfully not to ask
for money from any of
our friends for your Paper,
which I have no doubt
will do well for itself!
but - if I promise this, I
think you ought to promise
that if circumstances do
alter - & the time ever come
when you would be glad
of assistance - you will not
keep old friends in ignorance
who would feel it a privilege
to show their sympathy
not only by words.
My dear Mother is now
paying us her annual
visit of a month, she generally

choses this time of the year
She lives only 20 miles
from Bridport with my
sister Mrs Blake & her
family. Mr & Mrs Blake
drove over with my mother
a week ago & returned home
the same evening. She is well
for her age, 86 - enjoys reading
& can walk pretty well -
but of course she is very frail
& requires watchful care.
She was gratified at your
kind words of remembrance
of her - She always hears of
you with much interest
& rejoices in your success.
My sister Lucy with her
husband (Mr. Charles Thomas
who called on you one Sunday