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This volume is the draft of a novel entitled Rocktop: or The Lord Will Direct, written by Smith Bartlett Goodenow in January 1870. The novel concerns the formative years of a New England boy named Bartlett ("Bartie") Golden, who leaves his home at the age of 10 for Providence, Rhode Island, and eventually decides to become a minister.

This volume contains a 136-page draft of a semi-autobiographical bildungsroman entitled Rocktop: or The Lord Will Direct, written by Smith Bartlett Goodenow in January 1870. The protagonist, Bartlett ("Bartie") Golden, left his fictional New England hometown of "Scotta" for Providence, Rhode Island, at the age of 10. After working a number of odd jobs and receiving an elementary education, Golden decided to enter the ministry; much of the book is devoted to his religious pursuits. The novel concludes with Golden's return home soon after his acceptance to Brown University, following a successful personal evaluation by its president, Francis Wayland. The subtitle, "The Lord Will Direct," is a repeated motif throughout the work. This draft includes small annotations and additions, as well as an authorial note indicating that the story is "true throughout." The volume includes pencil illustrations entitled "Rocktop," "Grandfather's Farm," and "Beneficent Church," as well as an inscription and table of contents.