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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 10129 ***
+
+[Illustration: A STREET IN CAIRO. (See _Mary Louisa Whately_.)]
+
+EXCELLENT WOMEN.
+
+BY VARIOUS WRITERS.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+ELIZABETH FRY. BY JAMES MACAULAY, M.A., M.D.
+SELINA, COUNTESS OF HUNTINGDON. BY REV. R. LOVETT, M.A.
+RACHEL, LADY RUSSELL. BY JAMES MACAULAY, M.A., M.D.
+FRANCES RIDLEY HAVERGAL. BY REV. J.P. HOBSON, M.A.
+HANNAH MORE. BY HENRY JOHNSON.
+SUSANNA WESLEY. BY REV. J. CUNNINGHAM, M.A.
+MRS. HEMANS. BY REV. S.F. HARRIS, M.A., B.C.L.
+MADAME GUYON. BY WILLIAM NICHOLS.
+ANN JUDSON. BY FRED. A. MCKENZIE.
+MARY LOUISA WHATELY. BY REV. W.R. BOWMAN.
+AGNES JONES. BY ELLEN L. COURTENAY.
+ELIZABETH, DUCHESS OF GORDON. BY REV. S.F. HARRIS, M.A., B.C.L.
+
+
+
+
+ELIZABETH FRY.
+
+I.
+
+BIRTH AND EARLY YEARS.
+
+Elizabeth Fry was born in Norwich, on the 21st of June, 1780. She was
+the third daughter of John Gurney, of Earlham, Norfolk, and Catherine
+Bell, daughter of Daniel Bell, merchant in London. Mrs. Bell was a
+descendant of the ancient family of the Barclays of Ury in
+Kincardineshire, and granddaughter of Robert Barclay, the well-known
+apologist of the Quakers.
+
+John Gurney of Earlham, born in 1749, was educated in the principles of
+the Society of Friends, but as he advanced in life, and associated with
+persons of various Christian denominations, the strictness of his
+religious opinions was much relaxed, and he showed liberality of
+sentiment towards others, even if they were indifferent to all spiritual
+concerns. In fact, in those times there was throughout England, in all
+the churches, a decay of faith and a tendency to unbelief; against which
+a few men made noble protest, till the religious Revival, led by
+Whitefield and Wesley, inaugurated a happier era.
+
+We are, therefore, not surprised to read that the daughters of John
+Gurney, deprived in early life of their mother's care, were accustomed
+to mingle with people entirely devoid of religion, although some of
+these were accomplished and talented in their way. The father continued
+formally to attend the Friends' Meeting; and the eldest daughter,
+Catherine, being of a thoughtful mind and with desire for instruction,
+was of use to her sisters in somewhat checking their love of worldly
+pleasure and amusements. Of Elizabeth, it is said that in her young days
+"she was singularly attractive; her figure tall, her countenance sweet
+and pleasing, and her person and manners dignified and lovely. She was
+gentle and quiet in temper, yet evinced a strong will." The visits of
+different Friends, especially her uncle Joseph Gurney, who always had
+much influence with her, both then and during her future life, helped to
+confirm the good teaching of her mother in childhood.
+
+
+
+
+II.
+
+BEGINS A PRIVATE JOURNAL: WITH RECORD OF HER EXPERIENCES.
+
+In 1793, when in her seventeenth year, Elizabeth Gurney began to keep a
+private Journal.[1] In the early part of this record she frankly tells
+her proceedings day after day, and describes the long and gradual
+struggle that took place in her heart, which ended in her conversion by
+the power of the Holy Spirit, and in her thorough consecration to the
+service of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a most instructive record,
+especially for the young.
+
+[Footnote 1: This Journal was kept up by her till the close of her life,
+and contains not only a full account of events, but a personal record of
+her thoughts and experiences. It is preserved with pious care by members
+of the family. _A Memoir of Elizabeth Fry_, published by her daughters,
+in two volumes, was widely circulated after her decease. Innumerable
+biographies and memoirs have since appeared, the best of which, by
+Susanna Corder, contains selections from the private Journal.]
+
+Her father, a man popular on account of his genial ways and social
+disposition, making no objection, she joined, with some of her sisters,
+in all the gaieties of life in Norwich. Prince William Frederick,
+afterwards Duke of Gloucester, was then quartered with his regiment
+there, and there was an incessant round of pleasures--balls, concerts,
+and oratorios. Elizabeth Gurney entered into all the gaiety, but she was
+ill at ease. She says, "I see the folly of the world. My mind is very
+flat after this storm of pleasure." "I do believe if I had a little true
+religion, I should have a greater support than I have now."
+
+She had also before this time given expression to the better
+dispositions of her natural heart, saying, "I must do what I can to
+alleviate the sorrows of others; exert what power I have to increase
+happiness; try to govern my passions by reason; and adhere strictly to
+what I think right."
+
+This condition of her mind, with alternate indulgence in vanity and
+resolutions after better things, lasted till she was twenty-two years of
+age, when she came to the settled conviction that "it is almost
+impossible to keep strictly to principle without religion. I don't feel
+any real religion; I should think those feelings impossible to obtain,
+for even if I thought all the Bible was true, I do not think I could
+make myself feel it: I think I never saw any person who appeared so
+totally destitute of it."
+
+It was something to arrive at the conviction that she lacked the one
+thing needful; and that she felt that more than natural effort, even the
+power of the Holy Spirit, was necessary to awaken her to new life, and
+to change her heart. The arrival at Norwich of an American friend,
+William Savery, "a man who seemed to overflow with true religion, and to
+be humble, and yet a man of great abilities," confirmed her in her
+dissatisfaction with her own state, and strengthened her desires after a
+new life. Of him, she says, that "having been gay and disbelieving only
+a few years ago, makes him better acquainted with the heart of one in
+the same situation."
+
+
+
+
+III.
+
+FIRST VISIT TO LONDON.
+
+While in this unsettled and partially awakened state of mind,
+Elizabeth's father proposed to take her to see London, an offer which
+she gladly closed with, without any thought beyond the excitement of new
+scenes and pleasures. He took her there, and left her for several weeks,
+under the care of a relative. It was a perilous trial for a young girl,
+but the result was for her happy. The effect was to disgust her more
+with the world and mere worldly amusements, and to fix her heart more
+surely where true peace can alone be found.
+
+In the middle of April, after having been seven weeks in London, her
+father came to take her home, and very thankful she was to get back to
+the quiet country. A few days after, a letter came from William Savery,
+to whom she seems to have written asking his counsel. It was a long
+epistle, full of wise and faithful advice, and showing most loving
+interest in his young friend's welfare. A few sentences will give the
+substance of his letter, which may be read by others with as much
+advantage as it was by Elizabeth Gurney. "I know, my dear, thou hast,
+and wilt have, many temptations to combat with: thou wilt, doubtless, be
+frequently importuned to continue with thy gay acquaintance, in pursuit
+of that false glare of happiness, which the world, in too bewitching and
+deceitful colours, holds out to the unwary traveller, and which
+certainly ends in blinding the intellectual eye from discovering the
+pure source of soul-felt pleasure resulting from a humble heart, at
+peace with its God, its neighbour, and itself.
+
+"Thee asks my advice, my dear friend, and without any premeditation when
+I sat down, I find I have been attempting to give it; but it is very
+evident thou art under the special care of an infinitely better
+Instructor, who has already uttered His soft and heavenly voice, to
+teach thee that the first step towards religion is true humility;
+because in that state only we can feel the need we have of an arm,
+stronger than human, to lean upon, to lead us out of and keep us from
+things which hinder our access to, and confidence in, that boundless
+source of purity, love, and mercy; who, amidst all the vicissitudes of
+time, is disposed to be our Shepherd, Guardian, and Friend, in whom we
+may trust and never be afraid; but this blessed confidence is not,
+cannot be enjoyed by the gay, the giddy, proud, or abandoned votaries of
+this world."
+
+Up to this time she had adopted none of the distinctive peculiarities of
+the Society of Friends. Although from custom attending the meetings, she
+did not confine herself to the services there; for we read such entries
+as this, "I went to St. Peter's and heard a good sermon. The common
+people seemed very much occupied, and wrapt up in the service, which I
+was pleased to see; afterwards I went to the cathedral." She had already
+commenced efforts to be useful to others, visiting the sick, and
+teaching the children of her poorer neighbours, in Norwich, or at
+Bramerton, then a quiet, pleasant village, where the family usually
+resided in summer. "I have some thoughts," she says, "of increasing by
+degrees my plan for Sunday evening, and of having several poor children,
+at least, to read in the Testament and religious books for an hour. It
+might increase morality among the lower classes if the Scriptures were
+oftener and better read to them." Sunday school work she for herself
+discovered to be a profitable, as she found it to be a delightful task.
+All this time she was diligent in study, and in the intellectual culture
+of her own mind, as we find from her Journal.
+
+"I had a good lesson of French this morning, and read much in
+Epictetus." Later on, we find her intent on the books of Dr. Isaac
+Watts, his _Logic_ especially, which Dr. Johnson had commended strongly
+to all who sought the "improvement of the mind."
+
+
+
+
+IV.
+
+AT COLEBROOK DALE, AND ON A JOURNEY TO WALES.
+
+In the summer of 1798, John Gurney took the whole of his seven daughters
+an excursion through parts of England and Wales. At Colebrook Dale,
+where they saw several relatives, members of the Society of Friends,
+Elizabeth Gurney received the deepest impressions. She was especially
+struck with the veteran philanthropist, Richard Reynolds, who having
+made a large fortune in his well-managed iron-works, spent his money and
+time in seeking the moral good of the working people. At Colebrook Dale
+also she spent some days with an elderly cousin, Priscilla Hannah
+Gurney, cousin to the Earlham Gurneys by both father and mother, her
+father being Joseph Gurney and her mother Christiana Barclay. Being left
+by her father alone for some days with this cousin, the influence of the
+visit was very powerful on her. "She was exactly the person to attract
+the young; she possessed singular beauty, and elegance of manner. She
+was of the old school; her costume partook of this, and her long
+retention of the black hood gave much character to her appearance. She
+had early renounced the world and its fascinations; left Bath, where her
+mother and sister Christiana Gurney resided; became eventually a
+minister among Friends; and found a congenial retreat for many years at
+Colebrook Dale."
+
+The travelling party went on to make a tour in Wales and to attend the
+gathering of Friends at the Welsh half-yearly meeting. Most of the
+Colebrook Dale Friends were present, and further converse with Priscilla
+Gurney induced her niece to resolve openly to conform to Quaker customs,
+though at what precise time she became professedly a Friend we are not
+told. As to the costume, she was very slow in adopting it--not till some
+time after returning to Norwich.
+
+In this early Welsh journey a singular prediction was given in an
+address by an aged Friend, Deborah Darby, who said of her that "she
+would be a light to the blind, speech to the dumb, and feet to the
+lame." "Can it be? She seems as if she thought I was to be a minister of
+Christ. Can I ever be one?" asks Elizabeth Gurney in her Journal.
+
+
+
+
+V.
+
+THE LAST YEAR AT HOME.
+
+The early months of 1799 were passed in Norwich, where she engaged in
+works which she believed to be right and useful. She visited the poor,
+doing what she could to relieve distress, yet cautious lest she should
+appear to do too much, telling her friends that in such charity she was
+only agent for her father, who approved of her thus helping others. She
+held what are now called "mothers' meetings," reading and talking to a
+little group of people about fifteen in number. Her "Sunday School" had
+also gradually increased, till there were sometimes seventy poor
+children receiving instruction from her. Cutting out and preparing
+clothes for the poor, and occasional visits to hospitals, and once to
+Bedlam to see a poor woman, were among the occupations of the winter
+months. She had not yet, however, made any decisive change in her social
+habits, for she occasionally accompanied her sisters to balls and other
+entertainments, yet finding less and less satisfaction in what she in
+calmer moments disapproved.
+
+The doubtful, wavering condition of mind led her to think more seriously
+of openly avowing her religious principles.
+
+In the autumn her father travelled to the north of England, taking with
+him his son Samuel and his daughters Priscilla and Elizabeth. He was
+going to visit an estate belonging to him; also to attend the general
+meeting at the Friends' School at Ackworth, after which they were going
+to Scotland. All this expedition Elizabeth much enjoyed. At Ackworth she
+took part in the examination of the scholars, and had pleasant
+conversation with the headmaster Doctor Binns, and with Friends
+assembled on the occasion. At York they saw the wonderful Minster; at
+Darlington, found themselves in a living colony of Friends; and
+Elizabeth was gratified by receiving a note and a book of grammar from
+the famous Lindley Murray, whom she had met and taken tea with at York.
+Durham, Newcastle, Alnwick Castle, and Edinburgh, were successively
+visited, and afforded abundant materials for entries in her Journal, and
+for agreeable recollections after returning home.
+
+
+
+
+VI.
+
+MARRIAGE, AND SETTLEMENT IN LONDON.
+
+On August 19, 1800, Elizabeth Gurney was married, at the Friends'
+Meeting House, Norwich, to Joseph Fry, youngest son of William Storrs
+Fry, of London. He had been to Earlham, and made an offer of marriage,
+during the preceding year, but nothing had then been settled, Elizabeth
+Gurney being afraid that any change at that time might interfere with
+her spiritual welfare and her newly-formed plans of active usefulness.
+But after some correspondence, when the proposal was renewed, she felt
+it right to give her consent. It was the custom more generally
+prevailing than now for the junior partner to reside in the house of
+business, and in accordance with this, Joseph and Elizabeth Fry prepared
+to establish themselves in Mildred's Court in the City, a large,
+commodious and quiet house, since pulled down in consequence of
+alterations in London. The parents of her husband occupied a
+country-house at Plashet, Essex. The Fry family, like that of the
+Gurneys, had long been members of the Society of Friends; but unlike her
+own parents, they had adhered strictly to the tenets and the habits of
+Quakers. She thus came to be surrounded by a large circle of new
+connexions, different from her own early associates at Norwich.
+
+During the fortnight occupied by the Yearly Meeting, Mildred's Court
+was an open house for the entertainment of Friends from all parts of the
+kingdom, who would come in to midday dinner, whether formally invited or
+not. On one occasion, when an American Friend, George Dilwyn, was a
+guest, she commenced regular family worship, with the approval of her
+husband, this now recognised duty not having been previously the
+practice in the house.
+
+Occasionally she got rest in staying at Plashet, but her life was a busy
+one, and hardly favourable to spiritual advancement. At Plashet, on the
+9th of seventh month (July) she wrote: "We live at home in a continual
+bustle; engagement follows engagement so rapidly, day after day, week
+after week, owing principally to the number of near connexions, that we
+appear to live for others rather than ourselves. Our plan of sleeping
+out so often I by no means like, and yet it appears impossible to
+prevent it; to spend one's life in visiting and being visited
+seems sad."
+
+It is evident that the circumstances under which she began her married
+life were too fatiguing for her, and to these were added the usual
+domestic troubles at times with servants. All this told upon her, then
+approaching her first confinement, depressing not merely her bodily
+powers and natural energy, but in some degree her spiritual liveliness.
+But she must attend to present duty, and when her first child, a girl,
+was born, she was absorbed in the anxieties, pleasures and
+responsibilities of a mother.
+
+From the feeble state of her health, she was some time in regaining
+strength enough to attend Meeting, or to resume her usual activity. She
+was confined to her room when she heard the great tumult of joy, at the
+thanksgiving and the illuminations, for restoration of Peace in 1801, on
+the 10th of October; and the noise of the mob in the streets disturbed
+her even in this quiet house. A fortnight later the parents went to
+Norfolk, taking with them their little treasure, a lovely infant, which
+gave great delight to the relatives there. The child was vaccinated by
+Dr. Simms on their return to London, and the doctor's advice was taken
+about the health of the mother, who then was in a state of much bodily
+weakness, with a troublesome cough. These trials caused interruption in
+the Journal for some weeks; but she and the child gradually got better;
+and at the Yearly Meeting of 1802, she was able to attend almost all the
+meetings, and to receive the customary crowd of visitors at her house;
+among them her much-loved uncle, Joseph Gurney, whose presence was of
+much service to her.
+
+
+
+
+VII.
+
+FAMILY CARES AND TRIALS.
+
+In the autumn her husband took her a journey into the north of England,
+going by Warwick, Stratford-upon-Avon, Chester, Liverpool, and the
+Lakes, some of the excursions at which she went on horseback. She was
+even able to climb Skiddaw, so that her health had been much restored by
+the expedition. They were glad to get back to their comfortable home,
+mother and child both better for the trip. Soon after their return, her
+brother Samuel came to reside at Mildred's Court, to learn details of
+the banking business, and it was to both a great pleasure to be near one
+another. A second girl was born in March, 1803; and altogether she had
+in future years a very large family, eleven sons and daughters;
+regarding which it is sufficient to say that the succession of illnesses
+caused so much nervousness and debility, that we can only the more
+marvel at the indomitable spirit with which she afterwards undertook the
+labours of charity and beneficence which have made her name so famous.
+There were also, besides her personal illnesses, many events of trial
+and of bereavement, as must necessarily happen where there are numerous
+relatives. Writing at Earlham on the 20th of August, 1808, she says, "I
+have been married eight years yesterday. Various trials of faith and
+patience have been permitted me; my course has been very different from
+what I expected; and instead of being, as I had hoped, a useful
+instrument in the Church militant, here I am, a careworn wife and
+mother, outwardly nearly devoted to the things of this life. Though, at
+times, this difference in my destination has been trying to me, yet I
+believe those trials that I have had to go through have been very
+useful, and brought me to a feeling sense of what I am: and at the same
+time have taught me where power is, and in what we are to glory; not in
+ourselves, nor in anything we can be, or do; but we are only to desire
+that He may be glorified, either through us, or others, in our being
+something or nothing, as He may see best for us."
+
+That same year in late autumn, her dear father-in-law Fry was at
+Mildred's Court, very ill; and he died there, being carefully and
+tenderly nursed by his daughter-in-law. She also, at risk to her own
+family, went to nurse her sister Hannah, in what turned out to be
+scarlet fever, about which she says, that "she did not know what malady
+it was when she went; and that she was the only sister then at liberty
+to wait on her." Through God's mercy, no harm came to her own family
+from being there, and no one else took the complaint. "This I consider,"
+she says, "a great outward blessing. May I be enabled to give thanks,
+and to prove my thankfulness by more and more endeavouring to give up
+body, soul, and spirit, to the service of my beloved Master."
+
+In February, 1809, she and her husband left Mildred's Court to occupy
+the house at Plashet; to her a pleasant change from the smoke and din of
+the great city. Here, her sixth child, a boy, was born in autumn of that
+year. Shortly afterwards she was summoned to Earlham, where she
+witnessed the death of her own father. It was a heavy blow to her, but
+she had the satisfaction of finding that his mind was at peace when he
+drew near his end. "He frequently expressed that he feared no evil, but
+believed that, through the mercy of God in Christ, he should be received
+in glory; his deep humility, and the tender and loving state he was in,
+were most valuable to those around him. He encouraged us, his children,
+to hold on our way; and sweetly expressed his belief that our love of
+good (in the degree we had it) had been a stimulus and help to him." At
+the meeting before the funeral she resolved to say nothing, but her
+uncle Joseph spoke words of comfort and encouragement; and then she
+could not refrain from falling on her knees, and exclaiming, "Great and
+marvellous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are all Thy
+ways, Thou King of saints; be pleased to receive our thanksgiving." She
+could say no more, though intending to express thankfulness on her
+beloved father's account. The great tenderness of her uncle gratified
+her, "and my husband," she adds, "has been a true helpmate and sweet
+counsellor."
+
+
+
+
+VIII.
+
+WORK AT PLASHET.
+
+As soon as they were settled at Plashet, Elizabeth Fry formed and
+carried out various plans for the poor. She established a girls' school
+for the parish of East Ham, of which Plashet is a hamlet. The clergyman
+and his wife gave their help, and a school of about seventy girls was
+soon busily at work. The bodily wants of the poor claimed her attention.
+A depot of calico and flannel was always ready, besides outer garments.
+There was a cupboard well stocked with medicines. In the winter,
+hundreds of the destitute poor had the benefit of a soup kitchen, the
+boiler of an outhouse being applied to this use. About half a mile off,
+on the high road between Stratford and Ilford, there was a colony of
+Irish, dirty and miserable, as such settlements in England usually are.
+Some she induced to send their children to school, and, with the
+consent of the priest, circulated the Bible among them. Once when the
+weather was extremely cold, and great distress prevailed, being at the
+time too delicate to walk, she went alone to Irish Row, in the carriage
+literally piled with flannel petticoats for the poor women, others of
+the party at Plashet walking to meet her and help in the distribution.
+Her children were trained as almoners very young, and she expected them
+to give an exact account of what they gave, and their reasons for
+giving. She was a very zealous and practical advocate for vaccination,
+having been taught by the celebrated Dr. Willan, one of the earliest and
+most successful followers of Dr. Jenner.
+
+It was an annual custom for numbers of gipsies to pitch their tents in a
+green lane near Plashet, for a few days, on their way to Fairlop Fair.
+The sickness of a child causing the mother to apply for relief, led
+Elizabeth Fry to visit the camp; and ever after she was gladly welcomed
+by the poor wanderers, to whom she gave clothing and medicines, and
+friendly faithful counsel. To those who could read she gave Bibles or
+Testaments, and little books or pictures to the children. Thus she ever
+abounded in good works for the benefit of others. All this she did in
+intervals snatched from home duties, there being in the house a constant
+succession of company and employments to occupy her. For her children
+she prayed that they might grow in favour with their Heavenly Father, by
+walking in humility and in the fear of God.
+
+Such was the routine of work and duty at Plashet for several years after
+she went to live there. She had interruption from various illnesses in
+her family, five of her children being ill at one time; at other times
+overbusied with domestic duties, as many as eighteen, in addition to the
+family, once sleeping at the house. At the time of the Yearly Meeting
+she had to entertain many visitors in London at Mildred's Court. There
+were also occasional visits to Norfolk, during one of which she took
+active part in founding the Norfolk and Norwich Bible Society. The
+meeting at which this was inaugurated in 1811 was a most successful one.
+Old Bishop Bathurst spoke with much decision and liberality, and he was
+supported by many of the clergy, and ministers of all denominations, the
+Mayor of Norwich presiding. About £700 was subscribed at the meeting.
+Mr. Joseph Hughes, one of the secretaries, who, with his venerable
+colleague Dr. Steinkopff, arranged the meeting, in an account written of
+it, speaks of "a devout address by a female minister, Elizabeth Fry,
+whose manner was impressive, and whose words were so appropriate, that
+none present can ever forget the incident, or even advert to it without
+emotions alike powerful and pleasing. The first emotion was surprise;
+the second, awe; the third, pious fervour." Such was the impression made
+by the hearty words spoken by Elizabeth Fry.
+
+
+
+
+IX.
+
+FIRST SIGHT OF NEWGATE PRISON.
+
+It was in 1813 that the attention of Elizabeth Fry was first directed to
+the condition of female prisoners in Newgate. At the beginning of that
+year four members of the Society of Friends had visited some persons
+about to be executed. One of the visitors, William Forster, asked Mrs.
+Fry if nothing could be done to alleviate the sufferings of the women,
+then living in the most miserable condition. The state of the prison was
+at that time disgraceful to a civilised country, even after all John
+Howard's labours. There were about three hundred women, with many
+children, crowded in four small rooms, badly lighted, badly ventilated,
+and with no bedding or furniture. They slept on the floor, some of the
+boards of which were partially raised, to supply a sort of pillow for
+rest; and here, in rags and dirt, the poor creatures cooked, washed, and
+lived. Prisoners, tried and untried, misdemeanants and felons, young and
+old, were huddled together, without any attempt at classification, and
+without any employment, and with no other superintendence than was given
+by one man and his son, who had charge of them by night and by day. When
+strangers appeared amongst them, there was an outburst of clamorous
+begging, and any money given went at once to purchase drink from a
+regular tap in the prison. There was no discipline of any sort, and very
+little restraint over their communication with the outside world, beyond
+what was necessary for safe custody. Oaths and bad language assailed the
+ear, and every imaginable horror distressed the eye of a stranger
+admitted to this pandemonium. Although military sentinels were posted on
+the roof of the prison, such was the lawlessness prevailing, that even
+the governor dreaded having to go to the female prisoners' quarters.
+
+Into this scene, accompanied only by Anna Buxton, did Elizabeth Fry
+enter. Nothing was at the first visit done but giving warm clothing to
+the most destitute; William Forster having told of the wretchedness
+caused by the severity of the cold that January of 1813. What was then
+witnessed of the sad and neglected condition of these women and children
+sank deeply into the heart of the visitors, and Mrs. Fry formed the
+resolution to devote herself, as soon as circumstances permitted, to the
+work of prison reform, and improvement of the condition of female
+prisoners.
+
+The work was not wholly new to her. When not sixteen years of age, she
+was deeply interested in the House of Correction in Norwich, and by her
+repeated and earnest persuasion she induced her father to allow her to
+visit it. She never forgot her experience there, and she afterwards said
+that it laid the foundation of her future greater work.
+
+Several years were yet to elapse before the time came for taking up
+seriously the cause of prisons. These years were crowded with events of
+various kinds, both in the great world and in the little world of her
+own family circle. These events caused delays which we must suppose were
+needed for preparing more perfectly the instrument to be used in the
+great work. Every interval of time, amidst these years of busy and
+disturbed life, was occupied in some active and necessary work. There
+were meetings at various places, Westminster, Norwich, and also at
+Plaistow, after the removal to Plashet brought the family within its
+sphere. At most of the meetings she took part, both in the worship and
+in visiting the poor or the sick. Then there were family cares,
+troubles, and bereavements. The loss of little Elizabeth, the seventh
+child, was a sore trial, a child of much promise, and with wisdom and
+goodness beyond her years, early called to a heavenly home.
+
+Her tenth child was born on the 18th of April, 1816, for whom she thus
+prayed with thanksgiving--"Be Thou pleased, O Lord God Almighty, yet to
+look down upon us, and bless us; and if Thou seest meet, to bless our
+loved infant, to visit it by Thy grace and Thy love; that it may be
+Thine in time, and Thine to all eternity. We desire to thank Thee for
+the precious gift."
+
+After a visit to Norfolk, in consequence of the death of the only
+surviving son of her uncle Joseph Gurney; and to North Runcton, where
+her elder daughters were residing; and having placed her sons at school,
+she came to London, to commence the great work to which she now felt she
+must devote her life.
+
+
+
+
+X.
+
+PRISON WORK.
+
+Three years had passed since the first visit to Newgate in 1813. The
+determination then formed to devote her life to prison-work had been
+cherished ever since, though hindrances delayed the carrying out of her
+purpose. Nothing but the constraining love of Christ could have thus
+induced a woman of Elizabeth Fry's position and character, a woman
+delicate and in feeble health, to devote herself to labours so arduous
+and painful, sacrificing personal ease and domestic comfort, for the
+sake of rescuing from destruction those who were sunk in vice and in
+wretchedness. But she was following the example of Him who came to seek
+and to save the lost. Her labour was not in vain in the Lord, for she
+succeeded not only in greatly lessening the sum of human misery, but was
+enabled to bring many to the knowledge and the love of the Saviour.
+
+[Illustration:(From the picture by J. Barrett.) MRS FRY ADDRESSES THE
+FEMALE PRISONERS IN NEWGATE [Engraved by Barlow.]]
+
+In the years of preparation for her work, she made herself acquainted
+with what had been done by others. At the suggestion of her
+brother-in-law, the late Samuel Hoare, she accompanied him to Coldbath
+Fields House of Correction, the neglected state of which much shocked
+him. She had also visited different prisons with another brother-in-law,
+the late Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, at that time occupied, with other
+philanthropists, in forming a Society for reformation of juvenile
+criminals. The interest was thus kept alive in her mind about the women
+in Newgate, whom she again went to see about the end of 1816. On this
+her second visit she asked permission to be left alone among the women
+for some hours. As they flocked round her, she spoke to those who were
+mothers, of the miserable state of their children, dirty and almost
+naked, pining for want of proper food, air, and exercise. She said she
+would like to get a school for the children, to which they gladly
+assented. Then, after talking kindly to many of the women, she read to
+them aloud the parable of the Lord of the vineyard, in the 20th chapter
+of Matthew, making a few simple comments about Christ coming, and being
+ready to save sinners even at the eleventh hour, so wonderful was His
+pity and mercy. A few of the listeners asked who Jesus Christ was, so
+ignorant they were; others feared that their time of salvation
+was passed.
+
+About the school, she said she would do all she could to help them, and
+get others to assist; only without their own help she could not
+undertake anything. She told them to think and to talk over her plan for
+the school, and left it to them to select a teacher or governess from
+among themselves. On her next visit they had chosen as schoolmistress a
+young woman, Mary Connor, recently committed for stealing a watch. An
+unoccupied cell was given to her as the schoolroom by the governor of
+the prison. On the next day, Mrs. Fry with a friend, Mary Sanderson
+(afterwards the wife of Sylvanus Fox), went to open the school. It was
+intended for children and young women under twenty-five, for from the
+small size of the room they were obliged to refuse admission to many
+older women who earnestly sought to share in the instruction.
+
+The poor schoolmistress, Mary Connor, proved well qualified for her
+duties. She taught with the utmost carefulness and patience, and Mrs.
+Fry had the satisfaction of seeing her become one of the first-fruits of
+her Christian labour in the prison. A free pardon was granted to her
+about fifteen months afterwards; but it proved an unavailing gift, for a
+cough, which had attacked her some time before, ended in consumption.
+She displayed, during her illness, much penitence and true faith, and
+she died with a good hope of pardon through her Saviour.
+
+It was in the visits to the school, where some lady attended every day,
+that the dreadful misconduct of most of the women in the female side of
+the prison was witnessed, swearing, gaming, fighting, singing, dancing;
+scenes so bad that it was thought right never to admit young persons
+with them in going to the school. But the way in which Mrs. Fry had been
+received when she went there among them alone, made her sure that much
+could be done by love and kindness, in dependence on Divine help, and
+with the power of the Word of God applied by the Holy Spirit.
+
+Eleven members of the Society of Friends, with one other lady, the wife
+of a clergyman, formed themselves into an Association for the
+Improvement of the Female Prisoners in Newgate. The object was stated to
+be "to provide for the clothing, instruction, and employment of the
+women; to introduce them to a knowledge of the Holy Scriptures; and to
+form in them, as much as possible, those habits of order, sobriety and
+industry, which may render them docile and peaceable while in prison,
+and respectable when they leave it."
+
+The concurrence of the sheriffs, of the City magistrates, and the
+officials of the prison must be obtained, and they were too glad to
+grant full permission to the visitors; all of them at the same time
+expressing doubt as to the success of the undertaking, on account of the
+women not submitting to the restraints it would be necessary to impose.
+Mrs. Fry had foreseen this, and had drawn up rules to be observed. On a
+fixed date the sheriffs met some of the ladies' association at the
+prison; the women were assembled, and asked by Mrs. Fry if they were
+willing to abide by the rules. With a unanimous shout they assured her
+of their resolution to obey them strictly.
+
+After the adoption of the rules, a visitor to the prison would scarcely
+have recognised the place or the people. A matron, partly paid by the
+Corporation and partly by the associated ladies, had the women, now
+first divided into classes, under her superintendence. A yards-woman
+acted as porter. The prisoners, who formerly spent their time wholly in
+idleness or in card-playing, were now busily at work. A visitor, who
+went to see the change of which he had heard, describes his being
+"ushered to the door of a ward, where at the head of a long table sat a
+lady belonging to the Society of Friends. She was reading aloud to about
+sixteen women prisoners, who were engaged in needle-work. They all rose
+on my entrance, curtsied respectfully, and then resumed their seats and
+employment. Instead of a scowl, leer, or ill-suppressed laugh, I
+observed upon their countenances an air of self-respect and gravity, a
+sort of consciousness of their improved character, and the altered
+position in which they are placed. I afterwards visited the other wards,
+which were the counterparts of the first."
+
+In 1818 there was a House of Commons Committee, before which Mrs. Fry
+gave evidence. Her statement is so remarkable as to be worth recovering
+out of a long-forgotten Blue Book. In answer to questions, she told the
+Committee that "There are rules, which occasionally, but very seldom,
+are broken; order has been very generally observed. I think I may say we
+have full power amongst them, for one of them said it was more terrible
+to be brought up before me than before the judge, though I used nothing
+but kindness. I have never punished a woman during the whole time, or
+even proposed a punishment to them.
+
+"With regard to our work, they have made nearly twenty thousand articles
+of wearing apparel, the generality of which, being supplied by the
+shops, pays very little. Excepting three out of this number of articles
+that were missing (which we really do not think owing to the women), we
+never lost a single thing. They knit from about 60 to 100 pairs of
+stockings and socks every month, and they spin a little. The earnings of
+their work, we think, average about eighteen-pence per week for each
+person. This is usually spent in assisting them to live, and helping to
+clothe them.
+
+"Another very important point is the excellent effect we have found to
+result from religious education; we constantly read the Scriptures to
+them twice a day; many of them are taught, and some of them have been
+enabled to read a little themselves. It has had an astonishing effect. I
+never saw the Scriptures received in the same way, and to many of them
+they have been entirely new, both the great system of religion and of
+morality contained in them."
+
+
+
+
+XI.
+
+OTHER BENEFICENT WORKS.
+
+The work so successfully accomplished in Newgate was the precursor of
+similar work undertaken in other prisons, not in London only, but all
+over the country. With prisons now so much better managed, and with
+multitudes of workers, single or associated, striving for the welfare of
+prisoners, the record of Mrs. Fry's early labours may have lost much of
+its interest. But it is well to state clearly the nature of her work,
+and the spirit in which it was undertaken. Nor was it only in the
+interior of the prisons that her labours were carried on. At that time
+the transportation of criminals to penal settlements was very largely
+resorted to, and the state of convict ships was as bad as that of the
+worst prisons in England. Mrs. Fry made arrangements for the classifying
+of female prisoners; for obtaining superintendents and matrons; for
+providing schools and work on board ship; and in many ways attending to
+the welfare of the poor convicts. She used to go down to almost every
+ship that left the Thames, and saw everything done that was possible for
+their comfort. In one case, that of the _Wellington_ convict ship,
+hearing that patchwork was an easy and profitable work, she sent quickly
+to different Manchester houses in London, and got an abundance of
+coloured cotton pieces. When the ship touched at Rio Janeiro, the quilts
+made by the women were sold for a guinea each, which gave them money to
+obtain shelter on landing, till they could get into service or find
+respectable means of subsistence. The children were taught to knit, and
+sew, and read; the schoolmistress and monitors being themselves chosen
+from the convicts, with guarantee of reward if they continued steady.
+
+A more public and national benefit was the assistance given by Mrs. Fry
+to those who sought revision of the penal code by Parliament. Sir Samuel
+Romilly, Sir James Mackintosh, the Earl of Lansdowne, Mr. Wilberforce,
+all acknowledged the help obtained in their parliamentary efforts to
+amend the administration of the criminal law, in the facts and the
+experience supplied by her from her long and successful efforts in
+prison work. The popularity acquired by her brought all manner of
+persons, the very highest in Church and in State, to seek to know her
+and to do her honour. Even the aged Queen Charlotte, who had never taken
+much interest in philanthropic work, and had paid undue attention to
+small matters of court formalism and etiquette, was melted into
+admiration of what this Quaker lady had done. On the occasion of a
+public ceremony at the Mansion House, the Queen asked Mrs. Fry to be
+present, and paid particular attention to her. The pencil of the artist
+has left a record of this scene, as well as of the meetings in Newgate,
+where she is addressing the prisoners. Some years later she was
+introduced to Queen Adelaide by the Duke of Sussex, and it was the
+beginning of profitable intercourse with one whom she esteemed on
+account of her true piety and unbounded charity. With the Duchess of
+Gloucester and others in exalted position she had frequent interviews;
+and also more than once visited the Duchess of Kent, and her daughter,
+then the Princess Victoria. She was always glad to meet persons of rank,
+hoping to be of use to them personally, and also to increase their
+interest in works of charity and of mercy. But she valued above all
+aristocratic or royal recognition the good opinion of earnest and
+devoted Christian workers. Of many gifts which she received, few were
+more prized by her than a copy of the venerated Hannah More's _Practical
+Piety_, received by her on a visit to Barley Wood, in which the author
+wrote the following inscription: "To Mrs. Fry, presented by Hannah More,
+as a token of veneration of her heroic zeal, Christian charity, and
+persevering kindness, to the most forlorn of human beings. They were
+naked and she clothed them; in prison and she visited them; ignorant and
+she taught them, for His sake, in His name, and by His word who went
+about doing good."
+
+Repeated visits to Ireland, to Scotland, and to different parts of
+England, Leicester, Derby, Nottingham, Plymouth, and the Channel
+Islands, were made at different times in her latter years; forming
+Prison Associations and fulfilling various engagements. In 1825 she
+wrote: "My occupations are just now multitudinous. I am sensible of
+being at times pressed beyond my strength of body and mind. But the day
+is short, and I know not how to reject the work that comes to hand to
+do." To enumerate all the good works which she originated or supported,
+would require more space than a brief memoir could allow. Societies for
+visiting prisons, libraries for the Coastguard men, reformatory schools
+for juvenile offenders, were among the many institutions which she
+established. An excellent institution at Hackney, bearing the name of
+the Elizabeth Fry Refuge, for the reception of discharged female
+prisoners, will long perpetuate the memory of her useful work.
+
+In the summer of 1829, the family removed to a small but convenient
+house in Upton Lane, adjoining the Ham House grounds, the residence of
+her brother Samuel Gurney. In this place she passed most of her later
+years, and from it she went out on her many expeditions in England or on
+the Continent.
+
+
+
+
+XII.
+
+VISITS TO THE CONTINENT.
+
+It was not till 1838, the year after the accession of Queen Victoria,
+that Mrs. Fry paid her first visit to France. She saw most of the
+prisons of Paris, and she had most pleasant interviews with King Louis
+Philippe, the Queen, and the Duchess of Orleans. The Queen was much
+pleased with the "Text Book," prepared some years before, and said she
+would keep it in her pocket and use it daily. Rouen, Caen, Havre, as
+well as Paris, were visited. A second journey in France, in 1839, began
+at Boulogne, and thence by Abbeville to Paris. Here she again took
+interest in the prisons, obtaining from the Prefect of Police leave for
+Protestant ladies to visit the Protestant prisoners. Avignon, Lyons,
+Nismes, Marseilles were visited, and the Protestants of the south of
+France were much gratified by the meetings held at various places. With
+the brothers Courtois of Toulouse they had much agreeable intercourse.
+At Montauban they saw the chief "school of the prophets," where the
+Protestant pastors are educated, They also went to Switzerland, enjoying
+the scenery, and also the intercourse with the Duke de Broglie's
+family, then at the house of the Baroness de Staël. Above a hundred
+persons were invited to meet her, at the house of Colonel Trouchin, near
+the Lake of Geneva. Several places were visited, and they returned by
+Frankfort, Ostend, and Dover.
+
+[Illustration: Elizabeth Fry]
+
+In February, 1839, she was called to pay a visit to the young Queen
+Victoria at Buckingham Palace. She went, accompanied by William Allen,
+Lord Normanby, the Home Secretary, presenting them. The Queen asked
+where they had been on the Continent. She also asked about the Chelsea
+Refuge for Lads, for which she had lately sent £50. This gave
+opportunity for Mrs. Fry thanking Her Majesty for her kindness, and the
+short interview ended by an assurance that it was their prayer that the
+blessing of God might rest on the Queen and her relatives.
+
+In the autumn of that year she went to the Continent, with several
+companions, her brother Samuel Gurney managing the travelling. They saw
+Bruges, Ghent, Brussels, and the great prison of Vilvorde; Rotterdam,
+Amsterdam, Pyrmont, and Hameln, where there were about four hundred
+prisoners, all heavily chained. The prisons in Hanover at that time were
+in deplorable condition, about which, at an interview with the Queen,
+Mrs. Fry took occasion to speak.
+
+From Hanover they went to Berlin, where a cordial welcome was received.
+The Princess William, sister of the late King, was in warm sympathy with
+Mrs. Fry's prison-work, and, after the death of Queen Louisa, was a
+patron and a supporter of every good word and work. After Frankfort,
+they went to Düsseldorf, and paid a most interesting visit to Pastor
+Fliedner, at his training institution for deaconess-nurses, at
+Kaiserswerth. Pastor Fliedner had witnessed the good results of Mrs.
+Fry's labours at Newgate, and he had established a society called the
+Rhenish Westphalian Prison Association for similar work in Germany.
+Everywhere authority was given to see whatever the travellers desired,
+so that this Continental journey was very prosperous and satisfactory.
+They got back to England in the autumn of 1840.
+
+In 1841 she once more went with her brother Joseph, who was going to
+some of the northern countries of Europe. She knew that such a journey
+would be fatiguing to a frame much enfeebled by illness and a life of
+continuous exertion, but she still had an earnest desire to work for the
+good of others, if it seemed the will of her Lord and Master. "I had
+very decided encouragement," she says, "from Friends, particularly the
+most spiritual among them;" and so, all difficulties being removed, she
+started, with her brother and two young nieces.
+
+The most interesting of all their North German experiences was visiting
+the Prussian Royal Family, then in Silesia, whither, on leaving Berlin,
+they had been invited to follow them. Mrs. Fry had always misgivings in
+regard to her intercourse with exalted personages, chiefly, she herself
+explained, lest in anything she said or did she might not "adorn the
+doctrine of God her Saviour." But she was soon put at ease as to this,
+on finding that she was coming to real Christians, as devoted as she was
+to the service of the Master, for such there have generally been among
+members of the House of Brandenburg. The King and Queen of Prussia were
+at the time residing at Ermansdorf, and most of the Royal Family were
+with them or in the neighbourhood. Addresses and conversations on
+matters connected with prisons or with religious liberty were prominent
+as usual, but the especial feature in the Silesian visit was the
+intercourse with the poor Tyrolese refugees from Zillerthal, expelled
+from their own country by the Austrian Government, and settled in
+Silesia by the permission of the late King of Prussia. These people had
+become converts from Romanism to the Reformed faith, by reading the
+Bible and religious books. After much suffering, they were commanded to
+quit their homes at short notice. The King of Prussia, on hearing of
+this cruel edict, was willing to receive them all, and gave them a new
+home in the domain of Ermansdorf, which they called Zillerthal, after
+their native village. The Countess Reden, an excellent Christian lady,
+was authorised to do everything for their comfort. She had cottages
+built in the true Tyrolese style, with balconies and all the
+picturesqueness of Swiss chalets. Schools were established, and every
+means taken to benefit the exiled families. The good Countess Reden
+arranged for Mrs. Fry meeting the Zillerthallers, who came in their
+national costume, and heard words of kind and earnest counsel from the
+English lady. A Moravian brother was brought a distance of forty miles
+to be interpreter.
+
+
+
+
+XIII.
+
+IN LONDON AND IN PARIS
+
+Not long afterwards Mrs. Fry's greatly enfeebled health compelled her
+return to England. She landed at Dover on the 2nd of October. After a
+short stay at Ramsgate with her husband and some of her family, she was
+taken to Norfolk. There she received letters from the Countess Reden,
+giving most gratifying tidings of the impressions made by her visit, and
+of the practical reforms in prisons, effected by royal order since her
+visit to Prussia. The chaplain of the great prison at Jauer stated that
+above two hundred Bibles and Prayer-books had been purchased by the
+prisoners out of their small earnings.
+
+In the winter of 1841, a succession of family events from time to time
+occupied her attention, her strength gradually improving, till at the
+beginning of 1842 she again took part in public proceedings. Sir John
+Pirie was Lord Mayor that year, and Lady Pirie had been a most valued
+helper of Mrs. Fry in the cause of prison reform. They were anxious to
+give her an opportunity, at the Mansion House, of bringing her influence
+to bear on persons of position, and Sir John invited Prince Albert to
+dine there, with the most prominent members of the Government.
+
+It was in this year the King of Prussia made a state visit to England,
+and the marked attention he showed to Mrs. Fry was much noticed. He went
+to meet her at Newgate, and he also insisted on going to Upton to
+dinner, where Mrs. Fry presented to the King her husband, eight
+daughters and daughters-in-law, seven sons, and twenty-five
+grandchildren, with other relatives, Gurneys, Buxtons, and Pellys--an
+English family scene much enjoyed by the Prussian guest. Other visits
+are described in her Journals, to the Queen Dowager, the Duchess of
+Kent, the Duchess of Gloucester, and others of the Royal Family; having
+interesting conversations about "our dear young Queen, Prince Albert,
+and their little ones; about our foreign journey, the King of the
+Belgians, and other matters." She often used to say she preferred
+visiting prisons to visiting palaces, and going to the poor rather than
+the rich, yet she felt it her duty to "drop a word in season" in high
+places, and at the same time to be "kept humble, watchful, and faithful
+to her Lord."
+
+After the fatigues of the Continental and London season, she was glad in
+the summer to occupy the house of her brother-in-law Mr. Hoare at
+Cromer, and when there she saw much of the residents at Northrepps Hall,
+The Cottage, and other places famed far and wide for their philanthropic
+associations.
+
+She got home to Upton Lane, and spent the winter there. The most
+noticeable event mentioned is her meeting at dinner Lord Ashley, at her
+son's house. "He is a very interesting man; devoted to promoting the
+good of mankind, and suppressing evil--quite a Wilberforce, I think."
+Such was her opinion of the good Earl of Shaftesbury in his early days.
+
+In the spring of 1843, feeling her health to be somewhat restored, she
+surprised her friends by announcing her wish to visit Paris again, to
+complete works of usefulness formerly initiated there. More than once
+she saw the widowed Duchess of Orleans at the Tuilleries, the only other
+person present being her stepmother the Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg,
+"an eminently devoted pious woman," by whom the Duchess of Orleans had
+been brought up from childhood. They spoke much about the children of
+the House of Orleans, and "the importance of their education being early
+founded in Christian faith;" a desire which may be re-echoed in another
+generation. Another important series of interviews was with M. Guizot,
+then the chief statesman of France. Altogether the last visit to Paris
+was a pleasant and useful expedition.
+
+
+
+
+XIV.
+
+LAST YEARS.
+
+The end was now drawing nigh--the end of her busy, useful life. In June,
+1843, Elizabeth Fry attended the Quarterly Meeting at Hertford, the last
+time she left home expressly on religious service. She felt it her duty,
+she said, "to encourage the weary, and to stir up to greater diligence
+the servants of the Lord, who uses weak and foolish instruments for His
+work," yet who is "made unto His people, wisdom, righteousness,
+sanctification, and redemption."
+
+Symptoms of increasing feebleness led to her removal that autumn from
+her home at Upton Lane, to various places, Sandgate, Tunbridge Wells,
+and Bath, in hope of recovering her strength. But she knew that her time
+for active service was over. She frequently said to those about her, "I
+feel the foundation underneath me sure." Her concern was not about
+herself, but about those near and dear to her.
+
+One of the last entries in her Journal is this: "I do earnestly entreat
+Thee, that to the very last I may never deny Thee, or in any way have my
+life or conversation inconsistent with my love to Thee and most earnest
+desire to live to Thy glory; for I have loved Thee, O Lord, and desired
+to serve Thee without reserve. Be entreated, that through Thy
+faithfulness, and the power of Thy own Spirit, I may serve Thee unto the
+end. Amen."
+
+The year 1844 was one of much trial and affliction. Her husband's only
+sister died of consumption on July 2nd; a grandson of much promise was
+taken off at the age of twelve by the same disease towards the end of
+July; in August and September her second son and two of his young
+daughters were rapidly carried off by malignant scarlet fever. In the
+spring of the following year the death of her brother-in-law, Sir Thomas
+Fowell Buxton, excited her tenderest feelings. In fact, there was a
+succession of bereavements, which caused her to say in her Journal,
+"Sorrow upon Sorrow!" and after writing the long list of deaths, she
+closes the entry with these words "O gracious Lord! bless and sanctify
+to us all this afflicting trial, and cause it to work for our
+everlasting good; and be very near to the widow and the fatherless; and
+may we all be drawn nearer to Thee, and Thy kingdom of rest and peace,
+where there will be no more sin, sickness, death, and sorrow."
+
+As to her own health, she rallied a little after returning home from
+Bath, but it was thought well to move from place to place for change of
+air, and for the pleasure of communion with loved friends. The beginning
+of 1845 saw her again in Norfolk, her husband and her daughter taking
+her to Earlham, where she enjoyed, for several weeks, the companionship
+of her brother, Joseph John Gurney, his wife, and other relatives. She
+went frequently to Meeting at Norwich, drawn in her wheeled chair, and
+thence ministering with wonderful life and power to those present.
+
+The Annual Meeting of the British Ladies Society, an excellent
+organisation for visiting and caring for female convicts, although
+usually held at Westminster, was this year held in the Friends'
+meeting-house at Plaistow. After the meeting, which she had addressed
+several times in a sitting posture, she invited those present to come to
+her home, and it was felt that her affectionate words at parting were
+probably the last they would hear from her in this world.
+
+As the year passed, it was thought that the air of the south coast might
+be useful, and the house at Ramsgate, Arklow House, which proved her
+last abode, was prepared for her. Her bed-chamber adjoined the
+drawing-room, with pleasant views of the sea, in which she delighted.
+While driving in the country, or being wheeled to the pier in a
+Bath-chair, she still strove to be useful, distributing Bibles and
+tracts, accompanied with a few words of kindly exhortation. Thus she was
+employed till the close of her days in work for the Master. She
+lingered, with gradual decay; and passed away, after a few days' illness
+which confined her to bed, on the morning of the 13th of October, 1845,
+in her 66th year. The last words she was heard to articulate, were "O
+dear Lord, help and keep Thy servant."
+
+There was much sorrow when she had ended her useful life; and when she
+was taken to Barking for interment, a great number of people assembled,
+and a solemn meeting was held. But far beyond any local gathering, her
+example will continue to speak, through all the ages, and in many a
+land. There are many workers in our time in every branch of Christian
+usefulness, but the name and the work of Elizabeth Fry will be for ever
+remembered.
+
+JAMES MACAULAY, M.D.
+
+
+
+
+SELINA, COUNTESS OF HUNTINGDON
+
+Lady Selina Shirley, afterwards Countess of Huntingdon, was born August
+24, 1707. She died June 17, 1791. Hence her long and useful life
+extended over almost the whole of the eighteenth century. She witnessed
+the rise of the great evangelical revival, which, beginning with the
+Holy Club at Oxford, gradually spread over the United Kingdom and the
+English colonies in America. For half a century she was a central figure
+in that great religious movement which affected so deeply all classes of
+the community, consecrating her position, her means, her influence to
+the glory and the extension of His kingdom.
+
+
+
+
+I.
+
+EARLY YEARS.
+
+Lady Selina Shirley was the second of the three daughters of Washington
+Shirley, who in 1717 succeeded to the Earldom of Ferrars, being the
+second to bear that title. She was born at Stanton Harold, a country
+seat near Ashby de la Zouch, in Leicestershire. At a very early age she
+gave evidence of intelligence above the average, of a retentive memory,
+and of a clear and strong understanding. She manifested when but on the
+threshold of womanhood that sound common sense and keen insight into
+character and the true bearing of affairs which distinguished her so
+pre-eminently in mature and late life. She was serious by temperament,
+and when at the age of nine years she happened to meet the funeral
+cortège of a child the same age as herself, she was attracted to the
+burial, and used afterwards to trace her first abiding sense of the
+eternal world to the profound impressions produced upon her mind by that
+service. In after life she frequently visited that grave. She was
+earnest in her study of the Bible, much given to meditation, and at
+times almost oppressed by her convictions of the certainty and duration
+of a future state. By her station and education she was compelled to go
+out into society, and to take her place in circles in which religion was
+as far as possible ignored. But her prayer was that she might not marry
+into a frivolous, pleasure-seeking family.
+
+On June 3, 1728, she became the wife of Theophilus, the ninth Earl of
+Huntingdon, who resided at Donnington Park. This proved a happy union,
+and even if, in later life, her husband was not always able fully to
+share her beliefs and sympathise with her actions, he never threw any
+obstacles in her way.
+
+
+
+
+II.
+
+HER CONVERSION.
+
+At Donnington Park the Countess began the kindly and charitable deeds
+for which she afterwards became so noted. Her religious feelings were
+strong, and she strove earnestly to discharge fully her responsibilities
+to both God and man. And yet, as she afterwards came clearly to see, she
+was ignorant of the true nature of the Gospel, and she was attempting,
+by strict adherence to prayer, meditation, right living, and charitable
+action, to justify herself in the sight of God. But, all unknown to her,
+the mighty religious awakening begun at Oxford in 1729, and publicly
+preached in 1738 by Whitefield and the Wesleys, was destined to be the
+cause of her spiritual awakening also. Lady Margaret Hastings and Lady
+Betty Hastings, the Earl of Huntingdon's sisters, had come at Oxford
+under the influence of the Methodist movement. While on a visit at
+Ledstone Hall, in Yorkshire, they received great blessing under the
+preaching of Benjamin Ingham, a well-known member of the Holy Club, whom
+in 1741 Lady Margaret married. They both received the truth as it is in
+Jesus, and were led by the influence of the Holy Spirit to labour and
+pray for the salvation of their relatives and friends. In talking with
+her sister-in-law one day, Lady Margaret affirmed "that since she had
+known and believed in the Lord Jesus Christ for life and salvation she
+had been as happy as an angel."
+
+These words depicted an experience so different from her own that they
+exerted a very abiding influence upon Lady Huntingdon's thoughts. She
+felt her need, she was conscious of sin, and yet the more she strove to
+attain salvation the further she seemed removed from it. "A dangerous
+illness having, soon after, brought her to the brink of the grave, the
+fear of death fell terribly upon her, and her conscience was greatly
+distressed. She now perceived that she had beguiled herself with
+prospects of a visionary nature; was entirely blinded to her own real
+character; had long placed her happiness in mere chimaeras, and grounded
+her vain hopes upon imaginary foundations. It was to no purpose that she
+reminded herself of the morality of her conduct; in vain did she
+recollect the many encomiums that had been passed upon her early piety
+and virtue. Her best righteousness now appeared to be but 'filthy rags,'
+which, so far from justifying her before God, increased her
+condemnation. When upon the point of perishing, in her own apprehension,
+the words of Lady Margaret returned strongly to her recollection, and
+she felt an earnest desire, renouncing every other hope, to cast herself
+wholly upon Christ for life and salvation. From her bed she lifted up
+her heart to her Saviour, with this important prayer, and immediately
+all her distress and fears were removed, and she was filled with peace
+and joy in believing.... Her disorder from that moment took a favourable
+turn; she was restored to perfect health, and, what was better, to
+newness of life. She determined thenceforward to present herself to God,
+as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable, which she was now convinced
+was her reasonable service.... No sooner was her heart surrendered to
+God, and her alienated affections restored to their original claimant,
+than outward fruits appeared in her conversation: her renovation
+introduced new light into her understanding, and new desires into her
+heart and affections, and produced its effect upon her temper; not
+wholly to eradicate its constitutional peculiarity, but to sanctify and
+render it subservient to the glory of God and the good of souls." [1]
+
+The Countess on recovering from her illness, hearing that John and
+Charles Wesley were preaching near by, sent them a message wishing them
+God-speed and testifying to her own purpose to live entirely for the
+Saviour who had died for her. Her friends failing in their attempt to
+persuade her husband to exert his influence against what they considered
+fanaticism, enlisted the aid of Dr. Benson, Bishop of Gloucester, who
+had been Lord Huntingdon's teacher. But the bishop, as many another in
+later days, found that the Countess was fully equal to giving cogent
+reasons for her faith and practice. It was he who had ordained
+Whitefield, and to the latter the bishop ascribed the change in her
+opinion. So far from accepting the bishop's view, the Countess urged
+home upon him her opinion of _his_ duty, enforcing her argument with
+such apt quotations from the Bible, the Articles, and the Homilies, that
+at length he left her presence openly regretting the fact that he had
+ever laid his hands upon Whitefield's head. "My Lord," was the last word
+of the Countess, "mark my words: when you are on your dying bed that
+will be one of the few ordinations you will reflect upon with
+complacence." It is pleasing to know that when on his death-bed in 1752,
+this prelate sent to Whitefield, and asked to be remembered in
+his prayers.
+
+[Footnote 1: _The Life and Times of Selina, Countess of Huntingdon_,
+vol. 1. pp. 14, 15.]
+
+
+
+
+III.
+
+HELP IN THE WORK OF WESLEY AXD WHITEFIELD.
+
+Although in 1738 and 1739 Wesley and his followers frequented the
+Moravian meeting-house in Neville's Court, Fetter Lane, the first home
+of organised Methodism in London was the Foundry in Moorfields. Lady
+Huntingdon had identified herself with the Methodists, and thus was
+enabled to exert great influence upon a movement, small at first, but
+soon fraught with most potent consequences, the employment by Wesley of
+lay evangelistic agency. Wesley had already allowed some of his lay
+helpers to expound, but not to preach. Yet here, as in his strong desire
+to keep the Methodist movement within the borders of the Established
+Church, he was to find that his personal view, if enforced, would hinder
+the work which was so manifestly of God, and with his clear common sense
+he at once gave way. During 1739 Lady Huntingdon had frequently heard
+Thomas Maxfield pray, and, according to her biographer, it was at her
+suggestion that he began to expound the Scriptures. Wesley had been
+summoned from London, and no clergyman being available at that moment,
+he left Maxfield in charge, to pray with the members of the society and
+to give them such helpful advice as he could. In a letter to Wesley,
+written either at the close of 1739 or the beginning of 1740, Lady
+Huntingdon writes of Maxfield: "He is one of the greatest instances of
+God's peculiar favour that I know: he is raised from the stones to sit
+amongst the princes of His people. The first time I made him expound,
+expecting little from him, I sat over against him and thought what a
+power of God must be with him to make _me_ give any attention to him.
+But before he had gone over one-fifth part, any one that had seen me
+would have thought I had been made of wood or stone; so quite immovable
+I both felt and looked. His power in prayer is quite extraordinary."
+
+The border line between such expounding and preaching is very narrow,
+and it is hardly to be wondered at that Maxfield soon found that he was
+not only preaching, but doing so with the most true and certain warrant
+of fitness for the office--souls were being born again under his
+ministrations. On hearing such unexpected tidings, Wesley hurried back
+to London, and entering his house next door to the Foundry with clouded
+face, replied to his mother's question as to the cause, "Thomas Maxfield
+has turned preacher, I find." Great was his surprise to receive the
+rejoinder, "Take care what you do with respect to that young man, for he
+is as surely called of God to preach as you are." Such testimony from
+such a source could not fail to move John Wesley. He wisely heard for
+himself, and expressed his judgment in the words of Scripture--"It is
+the Lord: let Him do what seemeth Him good."
+
+Thus Methodism passed through what might have been its first great
+crisis. Thus it equipped itself to keep pace with the ever-increasing
+claims of its work. The quick spiritual insight of Lady Huntingdon
+recognised both the need and the fitness of the hitherto
+unrecognised worker.
+
+One of the first members of the noble band of itinerating preachers thus
+called into the active exercise of their spiritual gifts was David
+Taylor, a servant in Lord Huntingdon's household, who did much fruitful
+evangelistic work in the villages surrounding Donnington Park. It was
+this man who stood by John Wesley's side when the drunken curate of
+Epworth refused him admission to what had been his father's pulpit, and
+who announced to the congregation as they left the church that in the
+afternoon Wesley would preach in the graveyard. And there that same
+afternoon Wesley, standing upon his father's tombstone, preached to a
+congregation, the like of which Epworth had never seen before, the first
+of a series of sermons that afterwards became famous.
+
+Having thus aided one of the brothers during a critical administrative
+stage, Lady Huntingdon shortly afterwards was of great service to the
+other in a crisis of spiritual experience. Soon after the organisation
+of the first Methodist Society, the "still" heresy developed among the
+Moravian members of the Fetter Lane Chapel. This was the view, "that
+believers had nothing to do with ordinances--were not subject to
+them--and ought to be _still_; that they ought to leave off the means of
+grace, and not go to church; not to communicate; not to search the
+Scriptures; not to use private prayer till they had living faith; and to
+be _still_ till they had it." [1] Wesley used all his influence and all
+his persuasive power to counteract these opinions, but without avail. At
+length he decided to sever all connection with those who insisted upon
+acting in accordance with them, and removed Methodism to the Foundry.
+Charles Wesley at first went cordially with his brother, but at a later
+date he ceased attending the Foundry, and manifested signs of a desire
+to return to Fetter Lane. Lady Huntingdon, for whose views he
+entertained feelings of the deepest respect, remonstrated with him, and
+in conjunction with John Wesley's efforts kept him from a step that
+might have proved fatal to his further usefulness. In a letter written
+to John Wesley in October, 1741, Lady Huntingdon writes: "Since you left
+us the _still ones_ are not without their attacks. I fear much more for
+your brother than for myself, as the conquest of the one would be
+nothing to the other.... I comfort myself very much that you will
+approve a step with respect to them your brother and I have taken. No
+less than his declaring open war with them.... Your brother is also to
+give his reasons for quite separating. I have great faith God will not
+let him fall; He will surely have mercy on him, and not on him only, for
+many would fall with him."
+
+[Footnote 1: _Life and Times of Selina, Countess of Huntingdon_, vol. 1.
+p. 36.]
+
+
+
+
+IV.
+
+FAMILY BEREAVEMENTS.
+
+Lady Huntingdon at this period of her life was called upon to endure
+some very heavy domestic griefs. She had to mourn for two of her sons,
+George, aged thirteen, and Fernando, aged eleven, who died of small-pox.
+They were both buried in Westminster Abbey. On October 13, 1746, she
+lost her husband, who was carried off by an apoplectic seizure, in his
+fiftieth year. The Countess had only just passed her thirty-ninth
+birthday when this last great sorrow came upon her. She herself was at
+the same time tried by a long and severe illness. The effect of these
+repeated and heavy afflictions was to further develop her character, and
+to increase the devotion and self-sacrifice with which she gave herself
+to works of benevolence and to the extension of the Saviour's kingdom.
+On Lord Huntingdon's death, besides having entire control of her own
+means, she became sole trustee of the children and their fortune. In
+regard to the latter she proved herself a good steward; the former she
+devoted very largely to the evangelistic and charitable work in which
+she delighted.
+
+Early in 1747 she wrote to Dr. Doddridge: "I hope you will comfort me by
+all the accounts you can gather of the flourishing and spreading of the
+glad tidings. Oh, how do I lament the weakness of my hands, the
+feebleness of my knees, and coolness of my heart! I want it on fire
+always, not for self-delight, but to spread the Gospel from pole to
+pole." And in other letters: "My heart wants nothing so much as to
+dispense _all_--_all_ for the glory of Him whom my soul loveth." "I am
+nothing--Christ is all; I disclaim, as well as disdain, any
+righteousness but His. I not only rejoice that there is no wisdom for
+His people but that from above, but reject every pretension to any but
+what comes from Himself. I want no holiness He does not give me, and I
+could not accept a heaven He did not prepare me for; I can wish for no
+liberty but what He likes for me, and I am satisfied with every misery
+He does not redeem me from; that in all things I may feel that without
+Him I can do nothing.... To preach Christ and His blessing upon
+repentance over the earth is the commission--the event must be with
+Him--all else is from man and of man. May the Lord give us all such
+love, to live and die to Him and for Him alone."
+
+At a later period in life, May, 1763, she sustained another serious
+bereavement in the loss of her youngest daughter. Although only
+twenty-six years of age, she had long been a great comfort to her
+mother, who, writing after her death, called her "the desire of my eyes
+and the continual pleasure of my heart." Many were the letters of
+sympathy she received from Venn, Berridge, Romaine, Fletcher, and
+others; but it was a loss that could not be replaced. But it could and
+it did help to purify still more the loving and trusting heart which
+could see, even as Fletcher urged, in so sore a trial, "mercy rejoicing
+over judgment." One of the sayings of her daughter on that death-bed
+must often have come to the mother's mind in later days, "I am as happy
+as my heart can desire to be."
+
+
+
+
+V.
+
+WHITEFIELD AS LADY HUNTINGDON'S CHAPLAIN.
+
+Prior to 1744, the date of Whitefield's first voyage to the American
+colonies, the Countess had made his acquaintance, and had often heard
+him preach. She, in common with multitudes of her contemporaries, had
+come under the extraordinary spell of his pulpit oratory. In 1748, after
+a four years' absence in North America, Whitefield returned to England,
+and at her request Howel Harris, the famous Welsh evangelist, brought
+the great preacher to Lady Huntingdon's house in Chelsea. In a reply to
+a letter sent the next day, conveying the request that he would come
+again, as "several of the nobility desired to hear him," Whitefield
+wrote, August 21, 1748: "How wonderfully does our Redeemer deal with
+souls! If they will hear the Gospel only under a ceiled roof, ministers
+shall be sent to them there. If only in a church or a field, they shall
+have it there. A word in the lesson, when I was last at your Ladyship's,
+struck me, 'Paul preached privately to those who were of reputation.'
+This must be the way, I presume, of dealing with the nobility who yet
+know not the Lord. Oh, that I may be enabled, When called to preach to
+any of them, so to preach as to win their souls to the blessed Jesus! I
+know that you will pray that it may be so."
+
+Thus began the series of drawing-room services which were attended by
+so many of those who were high in rank, and at which some of the most
+famous incidents in Whitefield's career occurred. At these services the
+Word of God often found an entrance into worldly hearts, and once and
+again Whitefield tried to win for the Saviour such men as Chesterfield
+and Bolingbroke. Lady Huntingdon made him one of her chaplains, and in
+order to afford greater facilities for this special work, she removed
+from Chelsea to a house in Park Street, and for six weeks Whitefield
+carried on these special services, in addition to all his other work.
+When, for his own spiritual refreshment, he left London for an
+evangelistic tour to Bristol, Exeter, and Plymouth, this special work
+was continued by John and Charles Wesley, and several of their
+fellow-workers.
+
+The young Earl of Huntingdon came of age in 1750, and the Countess gave
+up Donnington Park to him, removing her household to Ashby, living there
+with her other children and two of the Ladies Hastings. Towards the
+close of 1749 Whitefield desired, if possible, with the aid of Lady
+Huntingdon, to organise the vast numbers who had been greatly blessed by
+his evangelistic work, into a corporate body, like that which the clear,
+practical wisdom of John Wesley had created for the societies which
+looked up to him as leader. Whitefield had already seriously differed
+from Wesley on the tenets of Calvinism and much trouble was to ensue in
+after years from a renewal of the controversy between the two sections,
+Calvinistic and Arminian Methodism. Lady Huntingdon seems to have been
+attracted by Whitefield's wish and plan; though it was not at this time
+destined to bear fruit. But early in 1750 she exerted herself, and with
+success, to bring about a renewal of thoroughly friendly relations
+between the two great leaders. On January 19 and 26, 1750, Whitefield
+and Wesley took part in combined services; Wesley reading prayers and
+Whitefield preaching on the former, these respective functions being
+reversed on the latter date. Until Whitefield's death this harmony was
+never again broken.
+
+At this period Whitefield paid several visits to Ashby. Here and in
+London he had fellowship with Dr. Doddridge, whose MS., "from
+Corinthians to Ephesians," of _The Family Expositor_, was nearly
+consumed by fire at Ashby; Hervey, the author of that well-known book of
+which so many have heard but so few have read, _Meditations among the
+Tombs_; Madan, a lawyer who, going to hear John Wesley, in order that he
+might mimic him before his companions, listened to a sermon on the text,
+"Prepare to meet thy God," was converted by it, and upon his return,
+said in reply to the question, "Have you taken off the old Methodist?"
+"No, gentlemen, but he has taken me off!" and from that day devoted
+himself to the service of God; Moses Browne, afterwards Vicar of Olney,
+and many others.
+
+"Good Lady Huntingdon," he wrote from Ashby, "goes on acting the part of
+'a mother in Israel' more and more. For a day or two she has had five
+clergymen under her roof, which makes her Ladyship look like a good
+archbishop with his chaplains around him. Her house is a Bethel; to us
+in the ministry it looks like a college. We have the sacrament every
+morning, heavenly conversation all day, and preach at night: this is to
+live at Court indeed."
+
+Lady Huntingdon's London house continued for very many years to be a
+centre of evangelistic effort on behalf of many of the highest rank and
+social status in the capital. In addition to Whitefield, John and
+Charles Wesley, Romaine, Madan, Venn, and others preached. Among those
+who were converted by these sermons were the wife and sister of Lord
+Chesterfield; the latter, Lady Gertrude Hotham, opening her house for
+the preaching of the Gospel. Lady Huntingdon was no recluse.
+Uncompromising as she was in every matter where religious principle was
+involved, she was always ready to avail herself of the true privileges
+of pleasure which her rank and position enabled her to enjoy. In this
+way she cultivated the acquaintance of many of the distinguished
+personages of her time. She was fond of music, and in early life had
+become acquainted with Handel. In the closing years of the great
+composer, the intimacy was renewed, and not long before his death she
+paid him a visit, of which she has left this account: "I have had a most
+pleasing interview with Handel, an interview which I shall not soon
+forget. He is now old, and at the close of his long career; yet he is
+not dismayed at the prospect before him. Blessed be God for the comforts
+and consolations which the Gospel affords in every situation and in
+every time of our need! Mr. Madan has been with him often, and he seems
+much attached to him." With Giardini also, whose skill on the violin was
+at that time the theme of universal admiration, Lady Huntingdon was well
+acquainted. He often played at concerts of sacred music given at her
+house, and those of Lady Gertrude Hotham and Lady Chesterfield. At the
+request of the Countess he composed tunes for some of the hymns in
+frequent use at her chapels, thus giving Horace Walpole occasion to
+remark, "It will be a great acquisition to the Methodist sect to have
+their hymns set by Giardini." Tomaso Giordani, another Italian, composed
+at her request the old familiar tune "Cambridge," for the hymn in the
+Countess's book commencing, "Father, how wide Thy glory shines!"
+
+
+
+
+VI.
+
+LADY HUNTINGDON'S CHAPELS.
+
+From the appointment of Whitefield as her chaplain, Lady Huntingdon took
+a commanding position in the development of that section of Methodism
+which looked rather to Whitefield than to Wesley as its leader, and
+which held Calvinistic views. Around the Countess gradually gathered
+such fellow-workers as Romaine, Venn, Toplady, Fletcher of Madeley, and
+many others equally with them aflame with love for the perishing souls
+of men. Religion having become largely a mere matter of outward form
+where it was not wholly ignored, great numbers of the clergy being both
+ignorant of the true nature of the Gospel and very unwilling that others
+should preach it, Lady Huntingdon was led to establish chapels in
+different parts of Great Britain. In some parts she rented buildings; in
+others she built chapels; and gradually a considerable number of places
+of worship, largely originated by her, and almost wholly sustained by
+her, came into being. She herself always wished these to remain
+connected with the Church of England. She endeavoured to keep their
+pulpits supplied with clergymen of her way of thinking, and for a time
+succeeded. But the growth of the work early led her to apply the free
+agency of lay preachers; and later in life the refusal of the Church of
+England, upheld by the Courts, to consider her action legal in
+considering them to belong to the Established Church, drove her in
+self-defence to constitute her chapels into a connexion with a legal
+standing and rights. The hostility on the part of many within the
+Established Church of the eighteenth century, to true New Testament
+ministry and practice, on the one hand expelled the Wesleyans from the
+National Church, and on the other compelled Lady Huntingdon to add one
+more to the dissenting bodies.
+
+The most noted of the churches which thus came into being were those at
+Brighton, Bath, and Spa Fields. The first named stood upon the site in
+North Street, now occupied by a later, larger, and more ornate
+structure. Whitefield visited Brighton, first preaching there in the
+open air in 1759. This led to the formation of a Christian Society, and
+in 1761 Lady Huntingdon built a chapel, to defray the cost of which she
+sold her jewels, realising in this way the sum of nearly £700. The
+building was opened in 1761, Martin Madan conducting the first services,
+and being immediately succeeded by such notable preachers as Romaine,
+Berridge, Venn, and Fletcher.
+
+Lady Huntingdon's connection with Bath began as early as 1739, and for
+the next twenty-five years she was frequently in that fashionable
+resort; but it was not until 1765 that she bought the land and
+established the famous Vineyards Chapel. On October 6, 1765, the chapel
+was dedicated, and Whitefield preached the first sermon. "Though a wet
+day," he wrote, "the place was very full, and assuredly the Great
+Shepherd and Bishop of souls consecrated and made it holy ground by His
+presence." Romaine and Fletcher often preached at Bath in the early
+months of the chapel's history, and the latter thus referred to his
+ministry: "This place is the seat of Satan's gaudy throne; the Lord
+hath, nevertheless, a few names here, who are not ashamed of Him, and of
+whom He is not ashamed, both among the poor and among the rich."
+
+It was in this chapel that there was the noted "Nicodemus Corner," a
+seat carefully shrouded from the public gaze, where sometimes a nobleman
+and sometimes a bishop heard the goodness of the Gospel.
+
+In this connection may be quoted the following anecdote, given in the
+Life of Mary Anne Schimmelpenninck, who visited Bath with her mother in
+1788. She writes:--
+
+"My mother grew better, she frequently took me with her to the Pump
+Room, and she sometimes told me anecdotes of those she had seen there
+when a child. On one occasion, when the room was thronged with
+company--and at that time the visitors of Bath were equally
+distinguished for rank and fashion--a simple, humble woman, dressed in
+the severest garb of the Society of Friends, walked into the midst of
+the assembly and began an address to them on the vanity and follies of
+the world, and the insufficiency of dogmatic without spiritual religion.
+The company seemed taken by surprise, and their attention was arrested
+for a few moments; as the speaker proceeded, and spoke more and more
+against the customs of the world, signs of disapprobation appeared.
+Amongst those present was one lady with a stern yet high-toned
+expression of countenance, her air was distinguished; she sat erect, and
+listened intently to the speaker. The impatience of the hearers soon
+became unrestrained. As the Quaker spoke of giving up the world and its
+pleasures, hisses, groans, beating of sticks, and cries of 'Down, down!'
+burst from every quarter. Then the lady I have described arose with
+dignity, and slowly passing through the crowd, where a passage was
+involuntarily opened to her, she went up to the speaker, and thanked
+her, in her own name and in that of all present, for the faithfulness
+with which she had borne testimony to the truth. The lady added, 'I am
+not of your persuasion, nor has it been my belief that our sex are
+generally deputed to be public teachers; but God who gives the rule can
+make the exception, and He has indeed put it in the hearts of all His
+children to honour and venerate fidelity to His commission. Again I
+gratefully thank you.' Side by side with the Quaker she walked to the
+door of the Pump Room, and then resumed her seat. This lady was the
+celebrated Countess of Huntingdon." [1]
+
+[Footnote 1: _Autobiography of Mary Anne Schimmelpenninck_, vol. 1. pp.
+89, 90.]
+
+
+
+
+VII.
+
+THE COLLEGE AT TREVECCA AND CHESHUNT.
+
+So rapidly did places of worship multiply under the Countess's fostering
+care, that very shortly after the opening of the Vineyards at Bath, the
+question of supplying preachers for their pulpits became so pressing
+that finally the scheme of founding a college for the training of
+suitable preachers took definite shape. Lady Huntingdon had already
+contributed liberally to Western College, Plymouth, Brecon College, and
+Dr. Doddridge's Academy at Northampton. She held much consultation with
+her most trusted advisers, Whitefield, Wesley, Venn, Romaine, and
+others. All were favourable except Berridge, who, although "the most
+dubious man in the world about his own judgment," yet wrote, "Will not
+Jesus choose, and teach, and send forth His ministering servants now, as
+He did the disciples aforetime; and glean them up when, and where, and
+how He pleaseth? The world says no, because they are strangers to a
+Divine commission and a Divine teaching. And what if these asses blunder
+about the Master's meaning for a time, and mistake it often, as they did
+formerly? No great harm will ensue, provided they are kept from paper
+and ink, or from a white wall and charcoal."
+
+In 1768 Lady Huntingdon fixed upon an old mansion at Trevecca in
+Brecknockshire, as the home of the new experiment. Her relations with
+Welsh evangelistic work had long been close and helpful, and by means of
+Howel Harris, Trevecca had become familiar to her. Fletcher of Madeley
+was appointed President, although he was not to reside there
+permanently; and Joseph Easterbrook resident tutor. Students soon began
+to appear, the first on the roll being in all probability James
+Glazebrook, a collier in Fletcher's parish. To Fletcher the Countess had
+sent the circular describing what she wished the college to be, and
+asking him, in common with all her ministerial friends, whether he could
+recommend any suitable persons as students. He replied: "After having
+perused the articles and looked round about me, I designed to answer
+your Ladyship that out of this Galilee ariseth no prophet. With this
+resolution I went to bed, but in my sleep was much taken up with the
+thought and remembrance of one of my young colliers who told me some
+months ago that for four years he had been inwardly persuaded that he
+should be called to speak for God. I looked upon the unusual impression
+of my dream as a call to speak to the young man, and at waking designed
+to do so at the first opportunity. To my great surprise he came to
+Madeley that very morning, and I found upon inquiry that he had been as
+much drawn to come as I to speak to him."
+
+The man who in this remarkable way secured the recommendation and
+interest of Fletcher was the first of what is now the long roll of good
+and useful men whom the college has sent forth into the evangelical
+ministry at home and into the great mission field of the world.
+
+Trevecca House was formally opened and dedicated as a theological
+college on August 24, 1768, the anniversary of the birthday of the
+foundress. Whitefield preached the sermon, choosing as his text Exodus
+xx. 24, "In all places where I record My name, I will come unto thee and
+bless thee." The next Sunday he addressed a congregation of some
+thousands gathered in the courtyard of the college, from the words,
+"Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is
+Jesus Christ."
+
+From its foundation the college has combined both the literary and
+theological training. While estimating literary and theological learning
+at a very high value, the aim has always been first and foremost to
+train earnest spiritual evangelistic preachers. The college has been
+almost as much a home as a seminary. The students have always resided
+within its walls, enjoying intimate relationship with each other, and
+friendly intercourse with the principal. Lady Huntingdon made the
+college in a very real sense her home, and the institution has never
+lost the impress of her own fervent piety and the saintly benediction
+bestowed upon it by Fletcher.
+
+From the very beginning the students combined regular preaching, either
+in the village near Trevecca, or in the pulpits of the Countess's
+chapels, with the prescribed courses of study. The college prospered at
+once, and even Berridge bestowed his characteristic blessing upon it. "I
+am glad to hear of the plentiful effusion from above on Talgarth. Jesus
+has now baptized your college, and thereby shown His approbation of the
+work. You may therefore rejoice, but rejoice with trembling. Faithful
+labourers may be expected from thence; but if it is Christ's college, a
+Judas will certainly be found among them."
+
+Mr. Easterbrook's stay at Trevecca was brief. He left early in 1769,
+and was succeeded, on John Wesley's recommendation, by Joseph Benson,
+afterwards so eminent in the Methodist movement, and the biographer of
+Fletcher. But prior to his coming into residence the first anniversary
+was held, and the occasion was utilised for the holding of a series of
+very remarkable services. From August 20-23 crowds of people flocked to
+hear sermons twice daily in the courtyard by Shirley, Fletcher,
+Rowlands, Peter Williams, Howel Harris, and others. On August 24, 1769,
+John Wesley administered the sacrament to his fellow-ministers, the
+students, the Countess and her household. At ten o'clock "Mr. Fletcher
+preached an exceedingly lively sermon in the court; when he had finished
+William Williams preached in Welsh till about two o'clock. At two they
+all dined with Lady Huntingdon; and baskets of bread and meat were
+distributed among the people in the court, many of whom had come from a
+great distance. Public service commenced again at three o'clock, when
+Mr. Wesley preached in the court, then Mr. Fletcher; about five the
+congregation was dismissed." "Truly," wrote Lady Huntingdon, "our God
+was in the midst of us, and many felt Him eminently nigh. The gracious
+influence of the Spirit seemed to rest on every soul."
+
+Although Fletcher did not reside at Trevecca, he frequently visited it
+during the first three years of its history. "Being convinced that to be
+filled with the Holy Ghost was a better qualification for the ministry
+of the Gospel than any classical learning (although that too be useful
+in its place), after speaking awhile in the schoolroom, he used
+frequently to say, 'As many of you as are athirst for this fulness of
+the Spirit, follow me into my room.' On this many of them have instantly
+followed him, and there continued for two or three hours, wrestling like
+Jacob for the blessing."
+
+Lady Huntingdon spent much of her time at Trevecca, and for some years
+bore the entire cost of the college, expending upon it from £500 to £600
+a year. The lease of the property at Trevecca expired within a few
+months of the Countess's death in 1791, and it having become imperative
+to find a new location, the college was in 1792 removed to Cheshunt in
+Hertfordshire, about twelve miles from London, where it has ever since
+continued to flourish.
+
+During the century and a quarter of its existence Cheshunt College has
+rendered good service to the Church of Christ. Among the students
+educated at Trevecca were such men as John Clayton of the Weigh House
+Chapel, Roby of Manchester, and Matthew Wilks of the Tabernacle. The
+longer roll of those who entered after 1792 contains such names as
+Joseph Sortain of Brighton, and James Sherman of Surrey Chapel, in the
+ministry of the home churches; and is peculiarly rich in men who have
+done and are still doing noble service in the great mission field of the
+world. The flame of missionary enthusiasm has ever burnt brightly at
+Cheshunt. Among the many who have gone to their well-earned rest are men
+like Dr. Turner of Samoa, and James Gilmour of Mongolia. In the
+succession of able and devoted workers for the Church at home and for
+the heathen abroad, sent forth year by year, the good work begun at
+Trevecca is still living and growing.
+
+
+
+
+VIII.
+
+THE CALVINISTIC CONTROVERSY.
+
+The leaders of the great revival of the eighteenth century were divided
+into two great groups, the one headed by John Wesley, the other by
+George Whitefield. The Calvinism of the latter at times seemed
+dangerously rigid to the former; while Whitefield sometimes spoke and
+acted as though he feared that in preaching free grace Wesley lost sight
+altogether of the Divine sovereignty. So sharply marked was the
+divergence of view that for a time it interfered with their
+co-operation. Mainly by Lady Huntingdon's influence, as we have seen, in
+1750 unity was restored. For twenty years the two wings of the
+evangelical army laboured harmoniously; but in 1770 the doctrinal strife
+was renewed in a way and with a vehemence that separated the two
+sections; although in most cases it did not affect the mutual love and
+personal esteem in which the contending parties held each other.
+
+At the annual conference of his ministers, held in August, 1770 (the
+year of Whitefield's death), John Wesley drew up his fateful minute on
+Calvinism. Intended solely for the guidance of his own preachers, Wesley
+apparently had not contemplated the use to which these statements might
+be put in controversy; if so, they would in all probability have been
+more carefully guarded. He also expected them to be considered _as a
+whole_, and could hardly have foreseen the use soon to be made of
+fragments torn from their context. However this may be, soon after their
+publication the sky was overcast, and Wesley found himself in the centre
+of an embittered theological controversy, in which, after he had in vain
+striven to maintain peace by explanation and concession, he vigorously
+maintained what he held to be the truth. He did this the more because
+the Calvinism of the eighteenth century found itself face to face with a
+dangerous Antinomianism. This was rife among the Moravians; some of
+Wesley's own preachers adopted it; John Nelson fought it to the death in
+Yorkshire; and it was in the face of this state of affairs that the
+minute was penned.
+
+Lady Huntingdon from the first took great umbrage at the teaching of the
+minute. She apprehended "that the fundamental truths of the Gospel were
+struck at and considering Mr. Wesley's consequence in the religious
+world, as standing at the head of such numerous societies, thought it
+incumbent on them to show their abhorrence of such doctrines." She
+further declared "that whoever did not wholly disavow them should quit
+her college."
+
+Wesley, on the other hand, thought the time had come when it was his
+duty to act the part of a faithful pastor towards the good Countess.
+"For several years I had been deeply convinced that I had not done my
+duty with regard to that valuable woman; that I had not told her what I
+was convinced no one else would dare to do, and what I knew she would
+hear from no other person, but _possibly_ might hear from _me_. But
+being unwilling to give her pain I put it off from time to time. At
+length I dare not delay any longer lest death should call one of us
+hence; so I at once delivered my own soul by telling her all that was in
+my heart."
+
+Lady Huntingdon on her part acted promptly and vigorously. Mr. Benson
+having defended the minute, was dismissed from Trevecca. Fletcher, by
+whom Benson's appointment had been arranged, visited the college in
+March, 1771, preached under great difficulties, and proffered his
+resignation, which Lady Huntingdon accepted at once.
+
+All hope of a peaceful settlement was now at an end. Lady Huntingdon
+drew up a circular inviting the clergy of all denominations to assemble
+at the Wesleyan Conference at Bristol in August, 1771, and protest
+against the obnoxious minute. It is needful to quote some extracts from
+this circular in order that the position of the Countess may be fully
+perceived. "The minutes given by John Wesley we think ourselves obliged
+to disavow, believing such principles repugnant to Scripture and the
+whole plan of salvation under the new covenant. In union with all
+Protestant and Reformed Churches we hold _faith_ alone in the Lord Jesus
+Christ for the sinner's justification, sanctification, righteousness,
+and complete redemption. And that He, the only wise God, our Saviour, is
+the First and Last, the Author and Finisher, the Beginning and the End
+of man's salvation: wholly by the sacrifice of Himself to complete and
+perfect all those who believe. And that under this covenant of free
+grace for man He does grant repentance, remission of sins, and meetness
+for glory, for the full and true salvation to eternal life; and that
+all called good works are alike the act of His free grace.... We mean to
+enter into no controversy on the subject; but, separated from all party
+bigotry, and all personal prejudice to Mr. Wesley, the Conference, or
+his friends, do hereby most solemnly protest against the doctrine
+contained in these minutes."
+
+The leader and champion on the part of Lady Huntingdon was the
+Honourable and Rev. Walter Shirley, grandson of the first Earl Ferrars,
+and her own first cousin. He was an able, fervent, eloquent man, who
+both in Ireland and England had given full proof of his ministry, and at
+first was left almost alone in the conflict. Wesley wrote to Lady
+Huntingdon on June 19, 1771, ending with these words, "You have one of
+the first places in my esteem and affection; and you once had some
+regard for me. But it cannot continue if it depends on my seeing with
+your eyes, or my being in no mistake. What if I were in as many errors
+as Mr. Law himself? If you were, I should love you still, provided your
+heart was still right with God. My dear friend, you seem not well yet to
+have learned the meaning of these words, which I desire to have ever
+written upon my heart, 'Whoever doeth the will of My Father which is in
+heaven, the same is My brother, and sister, and mother.'"
+
+As the time for the conference drew on, it became apparent that the
+protestors had no standing place there. Only those who were actual
+members of the conference could attend. Hence, instead of the large
+number looked for, Shirley and seven others only appeared. The circular,
+which perhaps was needlessly strong in its statements, had been
+withdrawn the day before the conference met. Wesley allowed Shirley to
+appear at the third session of the conference, and after careful
+consideration a declaration was drawn up stating that as the minutes of
+1770 "have been understood to favour justification by works," "we abhor
+the doctrine of justification by works;" "that we have no trust or
+confidence but in the alone merits of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,
+for justification or salvation, either in life, death, or the day of
+judgment. And though no one is a real Christian believer (and
+consequently cannot be saved) who doth not good works when there is time
+and opportunity, yet our works have no part in meriting or purchasing
+our justification, from first to last, either in whole or part." Wesley
+and fifty-three of his ministers signed this, John Nelson and Thomas
+Olivers alone refusing.
+
+Shirley, on the other hand, was constrained to sign a public avowal that
+"he was convinced that he had mistaken the meaning of the doctrinal
+points" of the minute. Fletcher meanwhile had written his five letters
+to Shirley, and the MS. was in Wesley's hands during the conference.
+Unfortunately he ordered it to be printed, and then left for Ireland.
+Fletcher, after learning the issue of the conference, would have liked
+to stay their publication, but in Wesley's absence this could not be
+done. Thus appeared the first portion of Fletcher's famous _Checks to
+Antinomianism_. Into the subsequent controversy, extending over several
+years, many writers were drawn, the chief being on Wesley's side,
+Fletcher and Olivers; and on Lady Huntingdon's, Shirley, Toplady,
+Berridge, Sir Richard and Rowland Hill. Many bitter words were written,
+and much said and done that would have been far better left unsaid and
+undone. But through it all even Toplady, Wesley's bitterest opponent,
+could say of Olivers, "I am glad I saw him, for he appears to be a
+person of stronger sense and better behaviour than I had imagined;" and
+Berridge welcomed Fletcher to Everton after a twenty years' absence,
+with tears in his eyes, crying, "My dear brother, how could we write
+against each other when we both aim at the same thing, the glory of God
+and the good of souls!"
+
+
+
+
+IX.
+
+SPA FIELDS CHAPEL.
+
+In addition to the constant services held in her different London houses
+by her chaplains and others, Lady Huntingdon opened and supported
+several chapels in the capital. The first was leased in 1770 in Ewer
+Street. The next was in Princess Street, Westminster, and was opened in
+1774. Then came Mulberry Gardens Chapel at Wapping, where George Burder
+sometimes and John Clayton very often preached. Towards the close of
+1776 negotiations for the purchase of what was known as the Pantheon, a
+large building in Spa Fields, one of "the places where Satan had his
+seat," were commenced. Owing to the advice of Shirley and Toplady, the
+completion of the purchase was delayed; but at length the Countess
+wrote: "My heart seems strongly set upon having this temple of folly
+dedicated to Jehovah-Jesus, the great Head of His Church and people. I
+feel so deeply for the perishing thousands in that part of London that I
+am almost tempted to run every risk; and though at this moment I have
+not a penny to command, yet I am so firmly persuaded of the goodness of
+the Master whose I am and whom I desire to serve, that I shall not want
+gold or silver for the work." Nor did she. A company of gentlemen
+secured it, fitted it up as a chapel, and on July 5, 1777, John Ryland
+of Northampton preached the opening sermon.
+
+Unforeseen and far-reaching consequences followed hard upon the opening
+of this place of worship. The Rev. W. Sellon, incumbent of St. James,
+Clerkenwell, the parish in which the new chapel stood, was a pluralist,
+holding no less than four ecclesiastical appointments, yielding him in
+all £1500 a year. Destitute himself of any knowledge of or sympathy for
+Gospel preaching, he resented this attempt to feed "the hungry sheep" of
+his parish. He invoked the law against Mr. Jones and Mr. Taylor, both
+clergymen of the Established Church, who were conducting the services at
+Spa Fields with conspicuous success. Sellon claimed the right of
+preaching in Spa Fields whenever he wished, and asserted his right to
+all the moneys derived from sittings and other sources. He obtained a
+verdict in the Consistorial Court inhibiting Jones and Taylor and
+closing the church. To meet this state of affairs, Lady Huntingdon
+acquired the building in her own right, changed the earlier name of
+Northampton Chapel into Spa Fields Chapel, and appointed Dr. Haweis, one
+of her chaplains, to preach. Sellon again applied to the Ecclesiastical
+Courts, and obtained an inhibition prohibiting any clergyman of the
+Established Church, whether Lady Huntingdon's chaplain or not, from
+preaching in Spa Fields.
+
+Lady Huntingdon rose to the occasion. She was not the woman to allow an
+altogether unworthy opposition to defeat what she felt to be God's work.
+Since the law upheld Sellon, she in her turn invoked it. Under the
+Toleration Act she claimed and exercised her rights. "I am reduced," she
+wrote, "to turn the finest congregation, not only in England, but in any
+part of the world into a Dissenting meeting." Mr. Wills and Mr. Taylor,
+two clergymen who were prominent at this time among the Countess's
+helpers, both determined to secede from the Established Church; and thus
+once and for ever she disposed of Mr. Sellon's claims and prerogatives.
+Mr. Wills became the regular minister of the church. It was in this
+building that the first annual sermon of the London Missionary Society
+was preached by Dr. Haweis, and for over a hundred years Spa Fields
+Chapel was a centre of light and help and healing for that part
+of London.
+
+This legal conflict had placed those numerous and able clergymen who had
+been in the habit of preaching in Lady Huntingdon's chapels in a very
+awkward position. They had to choose between two masters. Not
+unnaturally they remained in the Established Church. Hence from 1779
+Romaine, Venn, Jones, and many others, though still in full sympathy
+with the Countess's work, ceased to preach in her chapels.
+
+The students educated at Trevecca now rendered services of great value.
+In addition to their itinerating labours, they gradually filled the
+pulpits thus left vacant in the chapels. Hitherto the great majority of
+them had sought ordination in the Church of England, such having always
+been Lady Huntingdon's desire for them. This being no longer possible,
+the first public ordination of Trevecca students took place at Spa
+Fields March 9, 1783, when Mr. Wills and Mr. Taylor ordained six young
+men to the work of the ministry. It was on this occasion that the
+well-known Fifteen Articles, subscription to which became essential for
+entrance into the college, or into any of the pulpits under Lady
+Huntingdon's control, were first publicly read.
+
+"Lady Huntingdon never intended her chapels or societies to be organised
+into a denomination--she never thought of providing for them an
+ecclesiastical constitution as such. As she intended and sustained them
+they were simply evangelising agencies. The spiritual necessities of her
+day induced her to become a builder of chapels for Evangelical preaching
+and worship. These she sustained and ruled as her own private property,
+devoted by her to the service of Christ, but disposable by her own
+uncontrolled will. No elements of ecclesiastical constitution or
+permanence are to be found in such an agency. Nor are there in the
+trusts declared after her death. The trustees of her chapels are
+invested with absolute powers of government, like her own." [1]
+
+[Footnote 1: Address by Dr. Allon in the _Centenary Celebration of
+Cheshunt College_, p. 33.]
+
+By her will dated January 11,1790, Lady Huntingdon bequeathed "all her
+chapels, houses, furniture therein, and all the residue of her estates
+and effects to Thomas Haweis and Janetta Payne, his wife, Lady Ann
+Erskine, and John Lloyd." These persons were thus constituted trustees
+of all her property, to administer it all to the best of their ability,
+in harmony with what they knew to be her wishes. Many of the buildings
+associated with her name and ministers were local trusts, so that the
+power of the Connexion trustees never extended over more than a portion
+of the churches which her evangelistic zeal had founded or strengthened.
+It was almost inevitable that such an arrangement should be fatal to
+development, and so it has proved.
+
+The latest sketch of Lady Huntingdon's life thus sets forth the present
+position of the Connexion: "The Fifteen Articles are the bond and
+doctrinal basis of administration in the Connexion; and in the words of
+the Countess, written when she left the Church of England, 'Our
+ministers must come recommended by that neutrality between Church and
+Dissent--secession.' Beyond this the Connexion has no act of uniformity.
+The worship, according to the varying needs of different localities,
+may be liturgical or non liturgical. Congregations are allowed much
+liberty in the form of their self-government." [1]
+
+[Footnote 1: _The Countess of Huntingdon and her Connexion_, edited by
+Rev. J.B. Figgis, M.A., p. 48.]
+
+[Illustration: L: Huntingdon]
+
+When Lady Huntingdon died there were only seven chapels in the legal
+possession of her representatives; but there were in all about one
+hundred in close union with and considered as together forming her
+Connexion. In the century succeeding her decease, while the number
+vested in the trustees of the Connexion increased from seven to
+thirty-three, the total number diminished to less than one half. Not a
+few of those included in the latter half became Congregational Churches,
+and remain in that fellowship up to this time. Some have been swept away
+by modern improvements, and never rebuilt elsewhere. The steady pressure
+of life and thought during the last half century has told rather against
+the development of churches which stand apart from the life and
+associations on the one hand of the Established Church, and on the other
+of Nonconformity. But the mere enumeration of the chief chapels yet
+remaining, either in the central or in special local trusts, is
+interesting as an illustration of how the evangelising influence of Lady
+Huntingdon and her preachers extended to all corners of the kingdom.
+They are found at Bath, Bristol, Brighton, Canterbury, Cheltenham, Ely,
+Exeter, Hereford, Kidderminster, Malvern, Margate, Norwich, St. Ives,
+Cornwall, Rochdale, Swansea, Spa Fields, Tunbridge Wells, Worcester,
+and Yarmouth.
+
+
+
+
+X.
+
+CLOSING YEARS.
+
+Until the close of her long life of eighty-four years, Lady Huntingdon
+retained much of that vigour of intellect which had marked the whole of
+her career. In spiritual life also she continued to develop year by
+year. In a letter written to an old ministerial friend on April 26,
+1790, she says, "Here (in my heart) every wild and warm imagination,
+intoxicated by pride and self-love, must end; and submit, not only to
+learn of the poorest and most afflicted Man in our nature, but also to
+find in Him, and in Him alone, a suitable relief for all our misery;
+and, through the same medium, a free access to all divine and heavenly
+wisdom, whenever a sense of our own evil renders us sufficiently
+conscious of our wants. Thus faith, that faith which is the substance or
+subsistence of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen, must
+carry the day; and by it walking in the light, as God is in the light,
+the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin; while His heavenly
+and Divine Spirit, daily carrying us forward, leads us experimentally
+into those various states which He Himself has declared to be
+truly blessed."
+
+The decay of her bodily powers was hastened by the breaking of a
+blood-vessel in November, 1790. During the ensuing illness at her house
+next door to Spa Fields Chapel she said to Lady Ann Erskine, who was
+continually with her, "I am well, all is well--well for ever; I see
+wherever I turn my eyes, whether I live or die, nothing but victory."
+From this attack she partially recovered, and for months she lingered in
+a weakened state, eager up to the last for the extension of her Master's
+kingdom. About a week before her death she was confined to her bed, and
+during this time she was greatly interested in a scheme for sending
+missionaries to the South Seas. Lady Ann Erskine and the other watchers,
+who were unremitting in their attentions, heard her praying day and
+night, and saying at one time, "I am reconciled in the arms of love and
+mercy;" and at another, "I long to be at home; oh, I long to be at
+home!" Only an hour before her death she asked, "Is Charles' letter
+come?" referring to a request that had been sent to the Rev. Thomas
+Charles of Bala, asking him to come and preach at Spa Fields. Almost the
+last words that fell from her lips were a testimony to the strength and
+clearness of her faith: "My work is done--I have nothing to do but to go
+to my Father." Soon after saying these words, on June 17, 1791, she
+"fell asleep in Jesus." She was buried in the family vault at Ashby
+de la Zouch.
+
+Lady Huntingdon, whose long life thus triumphantly closed, was happy in
+many ways. She possessed rank and a competency and all the social
+advantages which such things involve. She was blessed with exceptional
+vigour of body, of mind, and of spirit. She was happy also in the time
+of her earthly life. Above all was she happy in the fact that she came
+so early and so completely under the power of saving faith in the Lord
+Jesus and under the renewing power of the Holy Spirit. From that time
+she threw herself into God's work; and by her zeal, ability, and
+consecration, quite as much as by her rank and wealth, became one of the
+spiritual landmarks of a wonderful century.
+
+From a course which she believed to be right even John Wesley could not
+move her; and on one occasion she showed her power even to the
+Archbishop of Canterbury. About 1770 the prelate then holding that high
+office, and his wife, gave some balls and parties which scandalised even
+the gay votaries of fashion who attended them. Remonstrances which Lady
+Huntingdon addressed to the archbishop, Dr. Cornwallis, through
+relatives, being treated with ridicule and contempt, she appealed direct
+to George III. The King and Queen received her most graciously,
+conversed with her about her religious work for more than an hour, and a
+few days later surprised the Archbishop by a letter requesting the
+summary suppression of these "improprieties." The prelate was probably
+as much astonished as shortly afterwards a lady was, who, in the King's
+presence, said Lady Huntingdon must surely be insane since she had
+ventured to "preach to His Grace." "Pray, madam," said the King after he
+had assured her she was quite mistaken, "have you ever been in company
+with her?" "Never!" "Then never form your opinion of any one from the
+ill-natured remarks and censures of others."
+
+Fitted to shine in courts, in an age notoriously pleasure-loving,
+profligate, and irreligious, she deliberately and whole-heartedly cast
+in her lot with the despised people of God, "accounting the reproach of
+Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt." She was tried by
+repeated bereavements, and she had to bear the heavy cross of a son who
+lived and died in hostility to the Christian faith. But these sorrows
+only deepened her trust in and her hold upon the Lord Jesus Christ. In
+1747 she had written, "My heart wants nothing so much as to dispense
+_all--all_, for the glory of Him whom my soul loveth." In 1791, after
+forty-four long years of hard labour, steady faith, and self-sacrificing
+zeal, she passed to her eternal rest, with the simple trust that He
+whose glory she had so humbly and earnestly sought had glorified Himself
+in her. No nobler close could have been desired for such a life than
+that which God granted: "My work is done--I have nothing to do but to go
+to my Father."
+
+RICHARD LOVETT, M.A.
+
+
+
+
+RACHEL, LADY RUSSEL.
+
+I.
+
+It is not often that we find the names of person illustrious in the
+annals of this world also pre-eminent in the records of the kingdom of
+heaven. "Not many wise, not many noble are called;" but sometimes the
+wisest and noblest appear among the truest and best of Christians. Such
+were, in our English history, William, Lord Russell, patriot and martyr,
+and his wife Rachel, Lady Russell, whom all agree in regarding as at
+once a heroine and a saint.
+
+With the cause of civil and religious liberty the name of Lord Russell
+will be for ever associated. He died, as he had lived, the friend of
+true religion and a firm adherent of the reformed faith. He said that he
+hoped his death would do more for the Christian good of his country than
+his life could do. He was beheaded on Saturday, July 21,1683. Upon the
+scaffold, just before his execution, he handed to the sheriffs a written
+declaration, in which, after denial of the false charges on which he had
+been condemned, he concludes with a prayer which shows that far higher
+than mere political feelings moved him: "Thou, O most merciful Father,
+hast forgiven all my transgressions, the sins of my youth, and all the
+errors of my past life, and Thou wilt not lay my secret sins and
+ignorance to my charge, but wilt graciously support me during the small
+time of life now before me, and assist me in my last moments, and not
+leave me then to be disordered by fear or any other temptations, but
+make the light of Thy countenance to shine upon me. Thou art my Sun and
+my Shield; and as Thou supportest me by Thy grace, so I hope Thou wilt
+hereafter crown me with glory, and receive me into the fellowship of
+angels and saints in the blessed inheritance purchased for me by my most
+merciful Redeemer, who is at Thy right hand, I trust preparing a place
+for me, and is ready to receive me, into whose hands I commend
+my spirit!"
+
+It is of Lady Russell, the wife and the worthy partner of this good man,
+that we are about to give a brief memoir in our gallery of
+_Excellent Women_.
+
+
+
+
+II.
+
+Rachel Wriothesley, born in 1636, was second daughter of Thomas
+Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton, by his first wife, Rachel de Ruvigny,
+of an ancient Huguenot family. Her mother died during her infancy. An
+elder sister, Lady Elizabeth, married Edward Noel, son of Viscount
+Campden, afterwards Earl of Gainsborough. Lord Southampton married twice
+after his first wife's death, but he had only one surviving daughter by
+his second marriage, who being heiress of Sir Francis Leigh, afterwards
+Earl of Winchester, the whole of the Southampton property was left to
+the children of his first marriage, who thus became considerable
+heiresses. Lady Rachel, when yet young, married Francis, Lord Vaughan,
+eldest son of the Earl of Carberry, but it was an alliance rather of
+acceptance than of choice on either side, and the early death of Lord
+Vaughan left her free to marry again. All we know is that she possessed
+the love and attachment of her husband and the respect of his family.
+They had one child who died in infancy.
+
+In 1667, on the death of her father, she inherited the estates of
+Stratton, but she passed most of her time with her beloved sister, Lady
+Elizabeth Noel, at Tichfield, in Hampshire. There she became engaged to
+Mr. Russell, younger son of the Earl of Bedford. They were married in
+1669, but she still retained the name of Vaughan till in 1678, on the
+death of his elder brother Francis, William succeeded to the courtesy
+title of Lord Russell, when she assumed that of Lady Russell.
+
+Lord Southampton, her father, was a man of high character and great
+influence. During the civil troubles he took no very decided part until
+after the misfortunes of Charles I., when his loyalty overmastered all
+other feelings. In the first disputes between the king and the
+parliament he disapproved of the high-handed measures of the Court, and,
+disliking the government of Strafford and the principles of Archbishop
+Laud, he was considered to be one of the peers attached to the popular
+cause. But, like Lord Falkland, he could not heartily join the party
+opposed to the king, whom he accompanied to York and to Nottingham. He
+was at the fight at Edgehill, and thence went to Oxford, where he
+remained with the Court during the rest of the war. He was hopeless all
+along of the success of the royal cause, and was ever the strenuous and
+unwearying advocate of accommodation and peace. When the execution of
+the misguided king took place, he was one of the four faithful servants
+who obtained permission to pay the last sad duty to his remains. From
+that time he retired to his seat at Tichfield, taking no further part in
+public affairs. When Cromwell rose to supreme power he greatly wished
+to meet Lord Southampton, but the meeting was avoided by the earl, and
+he continued in retirement. His daughter was educated on strict
+Protestant lines, with every predilection for the doctrines which her
+mother's family, professing a faith persecuted in their own country,
+were likely to encourage. Southampton, though attached to the Church of
+England, was most tolerant towards Dissenters, so much so that Clarendon
+in his History, while describing him as "a man of exemplary virtue and
+piety, and very regular in his devotions," says, "He was not generally
+believed by the bishops to have an affection keen enough for the
+government of the Church, being willing and desirous that something more
+might be done to gratify the Presbyterians than they thought right."
+This spirit of her father was probably the source of the Christian
+charity as well as piety of Lady Rachel's life, appearing in her letters
+and animating her whole conduct. Or rather we may say, that both father
+and daughter were influenced by the old Huguenot principles and
+connection.
+
+
+
+
+III.
+
+The Marquis de Ruvigny, head of an old family in Picardy, had long been
+the leader of the Protestant cause in France; in fact, he was almost the
+minister plenipotentiary of the Huguenots at the Court of Louis XIV. As
+"Deputy-General of the Reformed Church," he well served the interests of
+that body, both in getting a patient hearing of their grievances, and
+obtaining knowledge of the designs of their enemies. He possessed the
+personal favour and the support of Cardinal Mazarin, and the king
+himself put confidence in Ruvigny. He was several times employed in
+services of a confidential kind to the English Government, but was given
+to understand that any military position or further advancement must be
+purchased by a change of his religion. To this he never could consent,
+being a man of sincere and enlightened piety, as well noted for his
+ability, courage, and conduct. On the recall of Colbert in 1674, he was
+minister plenipotentiary in England, and remained so for two or three
+years, when a more pliable tool was found in a M. Courtin. He still
+retained the good opinion of the French king and his advisers, for on
+the revocation of the Edict of Nantes he had permission to emigrate to
+England with his family, a permission granted to no other Protestant
+noble. His estates, however, were confiscated, as were those of all the
+_émigrés_. It was the sister of this Marquis, Rachel de Ruvigny, who
+became the wife of Lord Southampton. For the family of the Ruvignys Lady
+Russell always retained a warm affection.
+
+
+
+
+IV.
+
+During the fourteen years of her happy married life with William
+Russell, she was seldom parted from her husband. Their only moments of
+separation were during his visits of duty to his father at Woburn, and
+short absences on private or political business. The longest absence was
+when Lord Russell attended a meeting of parliament summoned by the king
+at Oxford. Her letters during this period are such as would be written
+by a loving wife and a tender mother--happy, cheerful messages of
+personal or domestic interest; yet even in these familiar epistles
+displaying a character of good sense and deep piety as well as womanly
+affection. "They are the most touching love-letters I have ever read,"
+says the editor of the published selection from her correspondence. Two
+or three short bits out of many letters will suffice to show the spirit
+in which she then wrote. August 24, 1680. "Absent or present, my dearest
+life is equally obliging, and ever the earthly delight of my soul. It is
+my great care (or ought to be so) so to moderate my sense of happiness
+here, that when the appointed time comes of my leaving it, or its
+leaving me, I may not be unwilling to forsake the one, or be in some
+measure prepared and fit to bear the trial of the other. This very hot
+weather does incommode me, but otherwise I am very well, and both your
+girls. Your letter was cherished as it deserved, and so, I make no
+doubt, was hers, which she took very ill I should suspect she was
+directed in, as truly I thought she was, the fancy was so pretty. I have
+a letter about the buck, as usual, from St. Giles's [the seat of the
+Earl of Shaftesbury, in Dorsetshire]; but when you come up I suppose it
+will be time enough to give order. Coming so lately from St. Giles's, I
+am not solicitous for news for you, especially as Sir Harry Capel is to
+see your lordship to-morrow. The greatest discourse we have is (next to
+Bedloe's affidavit) Tongue's accusing of Lord Essex, Lord Shaftesbury,
+and Lord Wharton, for the contrivers of the plot, and setting his father
+and Oates to act their parts. This was told me by a black-coat who made
+me a visit yesterday, but I hear it by nobody else. My sister and Lady
+Inchiquin are coming, so that I must leave a better diversion for a
+worse, but my thoughts often return where all my delight is. I am,
+yours entirely, R RUSSELL."
+
+In a letter sent to Oxford in March, 1681, she says: "The report of our
+nursery, I humbly praise God, is very good. Master [her son] improves
+really, I think, every day. Sure he is a goodly child; the more I see of
+others, the better he appears; I hope God will give him life and virtue.
+Misses and their mamma walked yesterday after dinner to see their
+cousin Alington. Miss Kate wished she might see the new-born son, so I
+gratified her little person. Unless I see cause to add a note, this is
+all this time,
+
+"From yours only entirely, R. RUSSELL."
+
+The postscript of this letter conveys a curious idea of the suspicion
+and insecurity of the times: "Look to your pockets. A printed paper says
+you will have fine papers put into them, and then witnesses to swear."
+
+A later letter, October 20,1681, written on Saturday night, begins: "The
+hopes I have, my dearest life, that this will be the concluding epistle,
+for this time, makes me undertake it with more cheerfulness than my
+others." And it thus closes: "I pray God direct all your consultations;
+and, my dearest dear, you guess my mind. A word to the wise. I never
+longed more earnestly to be with you, for whom I have a thousand kind
+and grateful thoughts. You know of whom I learned this expression. If I
+could have found one more fit to speak the passion of my soul, I should
+send it you with joy; but I submit with great content to imitate, but
+shall never attain to any equality, except that of sincerity; and I will
+ever be, by God's grace, what I ought and profess,
+
+"Thy faithful, affectionate, and obedient wife,
+
+"R. RUSSELL.
+
+"I seal not this till Sunday morning, that you might know all is well
+then. Miss sends me word that she is so, and hopes to see papa quickly;
+so does one more."
+
+
+
+
+V.
+
+In October, 1680, Lord Russell moved in the House of Commons a
+resolution that they ought to take into consideration how to oppose
+Popery and prevent a Popish successor to the throne. A Bill was
+accordingly brought in for excluding the Duke of York from the crown,
+which passed the House of Commons, but was thrown out by the Lords, to
+whom it was carried up by Lord Russell, attended by nearly the whole of
+the Commons. About the same time Lords Shaftesbury, Russell, and
+Cavendish presented the Duke of York to the grand jury for Middlesex at
+Westminster Hall, as indictable, being a Popish recusant. In January,
+1680-1, the Commons resolved that "until a Bill be passed for excluding
+the Duke of York, they could not vote any supply, without danger to His
+Majesty and extreme hazard to the Protestant religion."
+
+Things had come to this crisis after years of arbitrary power, and the
+humiliation of England in its king being a pensioner of Louis XIV. As
+far back as 1669 a secret treaty was made with France, Charles engaging
+to declare war against Holland, France to pay the king £800,000 annually
+and make a division of the conquests, of which France would have the
+largest share. In 1670 Colbert mentions Charles's ratification of this
+treaty, having the king's seal and signature, and a letter from his own
+hand. This treaty was kept secret from his ministers, and a pretended
+treaty _(un traité simulé)_ was to be promulgated, to which the
+Protestant members of the Cabinet were to be parties. Colbert further
+states that he was told in confidence by the Duke of York that the king
+was ready to declare himself a Catholic, and that he was determined to
+rule independently of any parliament. The object of Charles was mainly
+to obtain money from the French king, but the Duke of York had deeper
+and more dangerous plots to carry out. The marriage of the Princess Mary
+to the Prince of Orange in 1677 somewhat disturbed the understanding,
+but a renewal of the treaty in 1678 brought England again to lie at the
+mercy of the French king. The impeachment of Lord Danby, Lord Treasurer,
+for the part taken by him in these disgraceful transactions, showed that
+there were still many Englishmen prepared to act for the honour and
+freedom of their country. To Lord Russell most men looked as the leader
+of the patriotic party, and it was determined to get him out of the way
+as the chief opponent of the arbitrary power of the king and the Popish
+designs of his brother, who showed the most unrelenting hatred of
+Russell. It was resolved that he should be brought to trial for treason,
+as compassing the overthrow of the government of the king. He was
+arrested on January 26, 1683; after examination was committed to the
+Tower the same day, and afterwards removed to Newgate.
+
+Lord Russell was found sitting in his study, neither seeking to conceal
+himself nor preparing for flight. As soon as he was in custody, he gave
+up all hopes of life, knowing how obnoxious he was to the Duke of York,
+and only thought of dying with honour and dignity. The Earl of Essex was
+at his country house when he heard of the arrest of his friend. He could
+have made his escape, and when pressed by his people to fly, he answered
+that "his own life was not worth saving if, by drawing suspicion on Lord
+Russell, it might bring his life into danger." He was taken to the
+Tower, where, it was announced, he killed himself on the morning of Lord
+Russell's trial. It is more probable, as was generally believed, that he
+was murdered, and the report of suicide was spread in order to
+strengthen the charges against Russell. Monmouth had disappeared, but,
+actuated by the same generous motive with Essex, he sent a message to
+Russell, on hearing of his arrest, that "he would surrender himself and
+share his fate, if his doing so could he of use to him." Russell
+answered in these words: "It will be of no advantage to me to have my
+friends die with me."
+
+
+
+
+VI.
+
+The trial of Lord Russell is one of the darkest events in the annals of
+our courts of law, while it is also one of the most important in the
+history of England. He was tried at the Old Bailey on the charge of
+conspiring the death of the King's Majesty, and of raising rebellion in
+the kingdom. Every point in the legal indictment was strained, and every
+artifice resorted to, in order to obtain a verdict of guilty. When it
+was objected that the jury were not freeholders, the objection was
+overruled, although in a recent trial, when made in the king's behalf,
+it had been admitted without any difficulty. The evidence of two or
+three false witnesses was received, and was made to weigh against a mass
+of testimony borne by the noblest and best men of the time. Nothing
+could be proved against him, except that he had been seen in the company
+of Monmouth, Shaftesbury, Algernon Sidney, and others known to be
+opposed to the measures of the Government. Lords Anglesey, Cavendish,
+and Clifford, the Duke of Somerset, Doctors Burnet, Tillotson, Cox,
+FitzWilliam, and many others testified to his mild and amiable
+character, his peaceable and virtuous life, and the improbability of his
+being guilty of the charges brought against him. His public services in
+defence of freedom and of the Protestant religion were the real causes
+of the resolution to get rid of him. Towards the close of the trial, one
+of his enemies, the notorious Jefferies, made a violent declamation, and
+turned the untimely end of Lord Essex in the Tower into a proof of
+Russell's being privy to the guilty conspiracy. This base insinuation
+evidently had effect on the jury, who brought in a verdict of guilty.
+The sentence was considered by all right-minded persons as a shameful
+injustice. Burnet afterwards spoke of him as "that great but innocent
+victim, sacrificed to the rage of a party, and condemned only for
+treasonable words said to have been spoken in his hearing."
+
+Among the incidents of the trial, one of the most memorable was when the
+prisoner asked for somebody to write, to help his memory. "You may have
+a servant," said the Attorney-General, Sir Robert Sawyer. "Any of your
+servants," added the Lord Chief Justice Pemberton, "shall assist you in
+writing for you anything you please." "My wife is here, my Lord, to do
+it." "If my Lady please to give herself the trouble," was the civil
+reply of the Lord Chief Justice. So the noble wife sat by his side
+throughout the trial to assist and support her husband.
+
+After the condemnation she drew up and carried to the king a petition
+for a short reprieve of a few weeks; but this was rejected, though the
+king saw at his feet the daughter of the Earl of Southampton, the best
+friend he ever had. His answer was, "Shall I grant that man a reprieve
+of six weeks, who, if it had been in his power, would not have granted
+me six hours? Besides," he said, "I must break with the Duke of York if
+I grant it." Seeking the king's life had never been made a charge, far
+less attempted to be proved, though something had been said about
+attacking the king's guards. But Russell denied with his last breath any
+design against the person of the king. All considerations were weak
+against the passion of revenge with which the king and the Duke of York
+were actuated. The Duke of York descended so low in his personal
+animosity that he urged that the execution should take place before
+Russell's own door in Bloomsbury Square, but the king would not consent
+to this. An order was signed for his being beheaded in Lincoln's Inn
+Fields, a week after the trial. It is said that at that time Southampton
+House, on the north side of Bloomsbury Square, was visible from the
+place where the scaffold was erected.
+
+Lord Cavendish generously offered to manage his escape, and to stay in
+prison for him while he should go away in his clothes; but Russell would
+not entertain the proposal. It was then planned that Cavendish, with a
+party of horse, should attack the guard on the way to the scaffold, and
+rescue the innocent victim; but this, too, was overruled, as Russell
+refused to allow any lives being endangered to save his own. He prepared
+to receive the stroke with meekness, and with a dignity worthy of
+his name.
+
+On the Tuesday before his execution, when his wife had left him, he
+expressed great joy in the magnanimity of spirit he saw in her, and said
+that parting with her was the worst part of his pain. On Thursday, when
+she left him to try to gain a respite till Monday, he said he wished she
+would cease from seeking his preservation, but he did not forbid her
+trying, thinking that these efforts, though unavailing, might bring some
+mitigation of her sorrows. On the evening before his death he suffered
+his young children to be brought by their mother for the final parting.
+In this trying time he maintained his constancy of temper, though his
+heart was full of tenderness. When they had gone he said that the
+bitterness of death was passed, and then spoke much of the noble spirit
+of her whom he had so loved, and who had been to him so great a
+blessing. He said, "What a misery it would have been to him if she had
+not that magnanimit of spirit, joined to her tenderness, as never to
+have desired him to do a base thing for the saving of his life. There
+was a signal providence of God in giving him such a wife, where there
+was birth, fortune, great understanding, true religion, and great
+kindness to him; but her carriage in his extremity was beyond all. He
+was glad she and his children were to lose nothing by his death; and it
+was a great comfort to him that he left his children in the hands of
+such a mother, and that she had promised to him to take care of herself
+for their sakes."
+
+[Illustration: PARTING OF LORD AND LADY RUSSELL. _Copied, by permission,
+from the fresco in the Palace of Westminster_.]
+
+It should be stated that when they partook of the Communion together for
+the last time, she so controlled her feelings, for his sake, as not to
+shed a tear; although afterwards she wept so much that it was feared she
+would lose her sight.
+
+The scene of the parting in prison is not only memorable in history, but
+has been a favourite theme in art, and one of the frescoes in the new
+Houses of Parliament commemorates it. Many poets have written about the
+death of Lord Russell, among them Canning, in a supposed letter to his
+friend Lord Cavendish, in which the noble character of his wife is
+celebrated as well as the virtues of her husband.
+
+The execution took place not on Tower Hill, as usual with persons of
+high rank, but in Lincoln's Inn Fields, in order that the citizens of
+London might be humbled and terrified by the sight, as he was carried in
+a coach to the scaffold through the City. The effect was very different
+from what was intended. The death of this one man made many enemies to
+the king, and though the triumph of liberty and religion was delayed for
+a few years, the execution of Lord Russell did much to secure the
+overthrow of arbitrary power, and the defeat of Popery in England at no
+distant time. The trial took place July 13 and 14, and the execution on
+July 21, 1683.
+
+
+
+
+VII.
+
+Lord Russell died for the civil and religious liberties of his country.
+All men, even those who were far from agreeing with his political
+principles, agreed in regarding him as a man of probity and virtue, and
+the model of a patriot. He passed through this world with as great and
+general a reputation as any one of the age, and his memory will be held
+in everlasting remembrance.
+
+     "Bring every sweetest flower, and let me strew
+      The grave where Russell lies, whose tempered blood
+      With calmest cheerfulness for thee resigned,
+      Stained the sad annals of a giddy reign;
+      Aiming at lawless power, though, meanly sunk
+      In loose inglorious luxury."
+
+So sang of him the poet of the Seasons, Thomson, in his famous
+apostrophe to Britannia as the land of liberty.
+
+One of the first Acts of King William III. after the Revolution, was to
+reverse the attainder of Lord Russell. In the preamble of this Bill,
+which was the second that passed in his reign, after receiving the Royal
+assent, his execution was called a murder: and in November of the same
+year, 1689, the House of Commons appointed a committee "to inquire who
+were the advisers and promoters of the murder of Lord Russell." In the
+year 1694 his father was created Marquis of Tavistock and Duke of
+Bedford. The reasons for bestowing these honours were stated in the
+preamble of the patent in these terms: "And this, not the least, that he
+was the father of Lord Russell, the ornament of his age, whose great
+merits it was not enough to transmit by history to posterity, but they
+(the King and Queen) were willing to record them in their royal patent,
+to remain in the family as a monument consecrated to his consummate
+virtue, whose name could never be forgot, so long as men preserved any
+esteem for sanctity of manners, greatness of mind, and a love of their
+country, constant even to death. Therefore, to solace his excellent
+father for so great a loss, to celebrate the memory of so noble a son,
+and to excite his worthy grandson, the heir of such mighty hopes, more
+cheerfully to emulate and follow the example of his illustrious father,
+they entailed this high dignity upon the Earl and his posterity."
+
+The first Duke of Bedford (fifth Earl) lived till September, 1700. He
+had six sons and three daughters, besides the martyred son. William,
+married to the daughter of the Earl of Southampton. They had one son,
+Wriothesley, who succeeded his grandfather as Duke of Bedford in 1700,
+and died of small-pox, in 1711, in the 31st year of his age. Of two
+daughters, the elder married William Lord Cavendish, afterwards Duke of
+Devonshire, and the second married John Manners, Lord Ross, afterwards
+Duke of Rutland. A third daughter died unmarried.
+
+A striking anecdote is recorded of King James II. addressing himself in
+the time of his extremity, in 1688, to the aged Earl of Bedford, saying,
+"My Lord, you are an honest man, have great credit in the State, and can
+do me signal service." "Ah, sir," replied the Earl, "I am old and
+feeble, I can do you but little service; but I had a son once that could
+have assisted you, but he is no more." James was so struck with this
+reply, that he could not speak for some minutes, and it is to be hoped
+that he felt remorse for the death of Lord Russell.
+
+When the attainder on Russell was removed by King William III., the
+same justice was done to his friend Algernon Sidney, who is united with
+him in the famous lines of Thomson's patriotic remembrance:
+
+                               "With him
+     His friend the British Cassius, fearless lad,
+     Of high determined spirit, roughly brave,
+     By ancient learning to the enlightened love
+     Of ancient freedom warmed."
+
+Algernon Sidney, unlike Russell, was in theory not averse to
+Republicanism, but the accusations are false as to his being a sceptic
+or a deist, as his own dying apology attests. He says: "God will not
+suffer this land, where the Gospel has of late flourished more than in
+any part of the world, to become a slave of the world. He will not
+suffer it to be made a land of graven images; He will stir up witnesses
+of the truth, and in His own time spirit His people to stand up for His
+cause, and deliver them. I lived in this belief, and am now about to die
+in it. I know my Redeemer liveth; and as He hath in a great measure
+upheld me in the day of my calamity, I hope that He will still uphold me
+by His Spirit in this last moment, and giving me grace to glorify Him in
+my death, receive me into the glory prepared for those that fear Him,
+when my body shall be dissolved. Amen." These were the last words of
+Algernon Sidney. It is noteworthy that the Duke of Monmouth, in his
+Declaration against James II, among other things, accuses him of
+ordering the barbarous murder of the Earl of Essex in the Tower, and of
+several others, to conceal it; and he gave as a reason for his appeal to
+arms, in his unhappy rebellion, the unjust condemnation of Sidney and
+of Russell.
+
+
+
+
+VIII.
+
+It has been remarked that the incidents in the life of Lady Russell,
+apart from the one memorable public event of her husband's trial and
+death, are so few and her merits confined so much to the domain of
+private life and feminine duties, that her character, unlike that of
+most heroines, deserves to be held up more to the _example_ than the
+_admiration_ of her countrywomen. Few of her sex have been placed in
+such a conspicuous situation, but fewer, after behaving with unexampled
+fortitude and dignity, have shrunk from public notice, and in the sight
+of God only have led unobtrusive, quiet lives in the daily performance
+of domestic duties as a careful and conscientious mother and guardian of
+her children.
+
+It is this that makes the record of her life so valuable for all time.
+If she, who had such an unusual and terrible affliction, was enabled,
+by the grace of God in the exercise of reason and religion, to show such
+complete submission to the Divine will, and such patient continuance in
+well-doing, her example is well fitted for the comfort and succour of
+all who in this transitory life are in trouble, sorrow, need, sickness,
+or any other adversity.
+
+One of the earliest letters, written to a friend who sought to comfort
+her in her deep sorrow, reveals the noble spirit and wise resolution of
+a true Christian. She says: "Fresh occasions recalling to my memory the
+dear object of my affections must happen every day, I may say every hour
+of the longest life I can live. But I must seek such a victory over
+myself that immoderate passions may not break forth, and I must return
+into the world so far as to act that part incumbent upon me, in
+faithfulness to him to whom I owe as much as can be due to man. It may
+be that I may obtain grace to live a stricter life of holiness to my
+God, who will not always let me cry to Him in vain. On Him I will wait
+till He hath pity upon me, humbly imploring that by the mighty aid of
+His Holy Spirit He will touch my heart with greater love to Himself.
+Then I shall be what He would have me. But I am unworthy of such a
+spiritual blessing, who remain so unthankful a creature for those
+earthly ones I have enjoyed, because I have them no longer. Yet God, who
+knows our frames, will not expect that when we are weak we should be
+strong. This is much comfort under my deep dejections." And in a letter
+to Doctor Tillotson she said: "Submission and prayer are all we know
+that we can do towards our own relief in our distresses. The scene will
+soon alter to that peaceful and eternal home in prospect."
+
+It is interesting to know that one who helped to bring her to this state
+of mind was the Rev. John Howe, a man noted for wisdom as well as piety,
+who had been chaplain to Oliver Cromwell and to his son Richard
+Cromwell. Although too long to insert in full, some sentences selected
+from the letter are worthy of quotation.
+
+"The cause of your sorrow, madam, is exceeding great. The causes of your
+joy are inexpressibly greater. You have infinitely more left than you
+have lost. Doth it need to be disputed whether God is better and greater
+than man? Or more to be valued, loved, and delighted in? And whether an
+eternal relation be more considerable than a temporary one? Was it not
+your constant sense, in your best outward state, 'Whom have I in heaven
+but Thee, O God, and whom can I desire on earth, in comparison of Thee?'
+(Psalm lxxiii. 25). Herein the state of your ladyship's case is still
+the same, if you cannot with greater clearness and with less hesitation
+pronounce these latter words. The principal causes of your joy are
+immutable, such as no supervening thing can alter. You have lost a most
+pleasant, delectable earthly relation. Doth the blessed God hereby cease
+to be the best and most excellent good? Is His nature changed? His
+everlasting covenant reversed or annulled, which is ordered in all
+things, and sure, and is to be all your salvation and all your desire,
+whether He make your house on earth to grow or not to grow? (2 Samuel
+xxiii. 5).
+
+"Let, I beseech you, your mind be more exercised in contemplating the
+glories of that state into which your blessed consort is translated,
+which will mingle pleasure and sweetness with the bitterness of your
+afflicting loss, by giving you a daily intellectual participation
+through the exercise of faith and hope in his enjoyments. He cannot
+descend to share with you in your sorrows; but you may thus every day
+ascend and partake with him in his joys."
+
+After much devout reasoning of this kind, the good and wise preacher
+makes a practical appeal: "Nor should such thoughts excite over-hasty,
+impatient desire of following presently to heaven, but to the endeavour
+of serving God more cheerfully on earth for your appointed time, which I
+earnestly desire your ladyship to apply yourself to, as you would not
+displease God, who is our only hope; nor be cruel to yourself, nor
+dishonour the religion of Christians, as if they had no other
+consolations than the earth can give, and earthly power can take from
+them. Your ladyship, if any one, would be loth to do anything unworthy
+of your family and parentage. Your highest alliance is to that Father
+and family above, whose dignity and honour are, I doubt not, of highest
+account with you."
+
+Mr. Howe wrote to Lady Russell without revealing his name, but she laid
+to heart the excellent counsel he gave. The style of the letter, and
+some special phrases in it, discovered who was the author, and Lady
+Russell, as we learn from Dr. Calamy, Howe's biographer, wrote to him a
+letter of warm thanks, and told him he must not expect to remain
+concealed[1]. She promised to endeavour to follow the excellent advice
+he had given. She often afterwards corresponded with him, and the
+friendship lasted during Howe's life.
+
+[Footnote 1: Cf. _John Howe_, Biographical Series, No. 94 (R.T.S.).]
+
+
+
+
+IX.
+
+In the great public affairs of the time she could not but feel interest,
+and her letters abound in references to the most striking events as they
+occur. Her sister, Lady Elizabeth Noel, was in Paris at the time of the
+Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, and describes the terrible scenes of
+which she heard or witnessed. Hundreds of thousands were driven into
+exile, their property seized by their persecutors; those who remained
+being exposed to the cruelty of the dragonnades. Then there were the
+excitements at home, following the Monmouth rebellion and the bloody
+assizes where Judge Jefferies obtained his notoriety. The trial of the
+seven bishops; the overthrow of the Stuart cause; the glorious
+revolution of 1688 and the accession of King William and Mary; the war
+in Ireland, where the de Ruvignys served under William and the Mareschal
+Schomberg; the reign of Queen Anne and the Hanoverian succession under
+George I.; all these historical events are referred to in Lady Russell's
+correspondence which she carried on with the most notable persons of the
+time. A letter of hers to King William about the King's favourable
+designs for the Duke of Rutland and his family was found in his pocket
+when he died. Several letters are addressed to Queen Mary. The great
+Duke of Marlborough told her that if ever there appeared a chance of
+Popery getting again the upper hand, he would retire from public
+affairs. Even the proud Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, regarded Lady
+Russell with marked deference and respect. In reference to the accession
+of King William she wrote, "Regard for the public welfare carried me to
+advise the princess to acquiesce in giving William the crown. However,
+as I was fearful about everything the princess did while she was thought
+to be advised by me, I could not satisfy my own mind till I had
+consulted with several persons of wisdom and integrity, and particularly
+with the Lady Russell of Southampton House, and Dr. Tillotson,
+afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury. I found them all unanimous in the
+opinion of the expediency of the settlement proposed, as things were
+then situated."
+
+Her friends and her country shared with her own family the heart and the
+correspondence of Lady Russell. Her children she lived to see well
+provided for in honourable and influential positions. Her second
+daughter was married to the son of her husband's dearest friend, Lord
+Cavendish, and she became the Duchess of Devonshire. The eldest daughter
+was unmarried, but the third became the Duchess of Rutland. Her only
+son, afterwards Duke of Bedford, was in high favour in the reign of
+William and Mary, and acted as High Constable of England at the
+coronation of Queen Anne. His education and training was carefully
+directed by his mother. One of her letters is to his grandfather, then
+Earl of Bedford, interceding with him for one of the errors of her son's
+early life. He had been tempted, as many young Englishmen still are, to
+gamble when on his travels, but his debt taught him a lesson which saved
+him from ever after getting into trouble in this way. Lady Russell,
+while pleading for his forgiveness, undertook to be answerable for the
+whole loss which had been incurred. It is a sensible and
+motherly letter.
+
+To give adequate idea of the whole correspondence would occupy much
+space, and we can only briefly refer to a few of the letters at
+different periods of her long life of widowhood. To Burnet, the Bishop
+of Salisbury, she writes, in 1690: "When anything below is the object of
+our love, at one time or other it will be a matter of our sorrow. But a
+little time will put me again into my settled state of mourning; for a
+mourner I must be all my days on earth, and there is no need I should be
+other. My glass runs low: the world does not want me nor do I want it:
+my business is at home and within a narrow compass. I must not deny, as
+there was something so glorious in the object of my biggest sorrow, I
+believe that in some measure kept me from being overwhelmed."
+
+At one time Lady Russell was in danger of losing her sight, but being
+couched for cataract, she recovered sufficiently to continue her
+correspondence.
+
+In the early years of her great loss, while at first overwhelmed in
+spirit, she yet resolves, in submission to the will of God, to bear her
+calamities with patience and courage. "My yet disordered thoughts," she
+writes to Dr. Fitzwilliam, "can offer me no other than such words as
+express the deepest sorrows, and confused as my yet amazed mind is. You,
+that knew us both, and how we lived, must allow I have just cause to
+bewail my loss. Who can but shrink at such a blow, till, by the mighty
+aid of His Holy Spirit, we will let the gift of God, which He hath put
+into our hearts, interpose. That reason which sets a measure to our
+souls in prosperity, will then suggest many things which we have seen
+and heard to moderate us in such sad circumstances as mine." "Can I
+regret his quitting a lesser good for a bigger? Oh! if I did steadfastly
+believe, I could not be dejected; for I will not injure myself to say I
+offer to my mind any infirm consolation to supply this loss. No, I most
+willingly forsake this world, this vexatious troublesome world, in which
+I have no other business but to rid my soul from sin; secure by faith
+and a good conscience my eternal interests with patience and courage
+bear my eminent misfortunes; and ever after be above the smiles and
+frowns of it. And when I have done the remnant of the work appointed me
+on earth, then joyfully wait for the heavenly perfection, in God's good
+time, when by His infinite mercy I may be accounted worthy to enter into
+the same place of rest and repose where he is gone, for whom only
+I grieve."
+
+Many letters in similar strain are preserved, to Dr. Burnet, Dr. Patrick
+and other pious friends who like Dr. Fitzwilliam had sent messages of
+sympathy and consolation. She often refers to the refreshment and
+satisfaction she had in "endeavouring to do that part towards her
+children, which their most dear and tender father would not have
+omitted. These labours, if successful, though early made unfortunate,
+may conduce to their happiness for the time to come and hereafter."
+Attendance to these children, through childhood till they were settled
+in life, she ever reckoned, "her first and chief business," but she
+gradually undertook various matters of business for relatives and
+friends, many of whom had recourse to one so wise, unselfish, and
+sympathetic.
+
+[Illustration: RACHEL, LADY RUSSELL.]
+
+As an example of the interest she took in passing affairs, part of a
+letter to Dr. Fitzwilliam, in 1689, may be quoted. After replying to
+some inquiries about the Cambridgeshire clergy, which she could not
+learn from Lord Bedford, "the parliament houses being so exacting of
+time," she says: "You hear all the new honours, I suppose: not many new
+creations, but all are stepping higher; as Lord Winchester is Duke of
+Bolton; Lord Montague an Earl, still Montague; Falconbridge, who married
+Mary, daughter of Oliver Cromwell, an Earl called the same; Mordaunt,
+Earl of Monmouth (afterwards Earl of Peterborough); Churchill an Earl
+(afterwards Duke of Mailborough); Lumley (Scarborough) made a Viscount,
+Bentinck is an Earl (afterwards Duke of Portland); Sidney, a Viscount
+(afterward Earl of Romney). Those that saw this and the last coronation
+tell me this was much finer and in better order; and if the number of
+the ladies were fewer, yet their attendance was with more application
+near the Queen all the time, and with more cheerful faces by a great
+deal. By what is heard from Scotland, they mean to take the example from
+England. The last reports from Ireland say, that King James was moving
+with his army towards the north. And yesterday Lord Burlington said,
+Coleraine, a great town, was besieged by 6000 men, but that Lord Blaney
+had sallied out, and so behaved himself that they had raised the siege.
+D'Avaux who was the French ambassador in Holland, would not speak in
+council till all the Protestants were put out. So they were, and, as
+they say afterwards, discharged altogether....
+
+"Lord Devonshire is to be installed at Windsor on St. George's day. My
+young folks have a longing desire to see the ceremony, and they cannot
+do it without a night's lodging at Windsor. If I can have that
+accommodation of your house I will think it a great favour, and will go
+with them, and look to your house while everybody is gone to the show. I
+doubt the post can't bring me a return time enough so I am put in hopes
+this may come to you by a coach; if it does, I do not question your
+order to your housekeeper to let us in. In confidence of it, I think to
+send to her, that I believe I shall come and ask your beds for
+the night."
+
+
+
+
+X.
+
+The following letter to her son (afterwards second Duke of Bedford),
+written from Stratton in July, 1706, is throughout so wise and good,
+that we give it without any curtailment. She was then past seventy years
+of age, and no words could be more fitly pondered by the young, than
+these from an aged and tried and experienced Christian woman.
+
+"When I take my pen to write this, I am, by the goodness and mercy of
+God, in a moderate and easy state of health--a blessing I have
+thankfully felt through the course of a long life, which (with a much
+greater help), the contemplation of a more durable state, has maintained
+and upheld me through varieties of providences and conditions of life.
+But all the delights and sorrows of this mixed state must end; and I
+feel the decays that attend old age creep so fast on me, that, although
+I may yet get over some more years however, I ought to make it my
+frequent meditation, that the day is near, when this earthly tabernacle
+shall be dissolved, and my immortal spirit be received into that place
+of purity, where no unclean thing can enter; there to sing eternal
+praises to the great Creator of all things. With the Psalmist, I
+believe, 'at His right hand there are pleasures for evermore:' and what
+is good and of eternal duration, must be joyful above what we can
+conceive; as what is evil and of like duration, must be despairingly
+miserable.
+
+"And now, my dear child, I pray, I beseech you, I conjure you, my loved
+son, consider what there is of felicity in this world, that can
+compensate the hazard of losing an everlasting easy being; and then
+deliberately weigh, whether or no the delights and gratifications of a
+vicious or idle course of life are such, that a wise or thoughtful man
+would choose or submit to. Again, fancy its enjoyments at the height
+imagination can propose or suggest (which yet rarely or never happens,
+or if it does, as a vapour soon vanishes); but let us grant it could,
+and last to fourscore years, is this more than the quickest thought to
+eternity? Oh, my child! fix on that word, eternity! Old Hobbes, with all
+his fancied strength of reason, could never endure to rest or stay upon
+that thought, but ran from it to some miserable amusement. I remember to
+have read of some man, who reading in the Bible something that checked
+him, he threw it on the ground; the book fell open, and his eyes fixed
+on the word eternity, which so struck upon his mind, that he, from a bad
+liver, became a most holy man. Certainly, nothing besides the belief of
+reward and punishment can make a man truly happy in his life, at his
+death, and after death. Keep innocency, and take heed to the thing that
+is right; for that shall bring a man peace at the last--peace in the
+evening of each day, peace in the day of death, and peace after death.
+
+"For my own part, I apprehend, I should not much care (if free from
+pain) what my portion in this world was,--if a life to continue, perhaps
+one year or twenty, or eighty; but then, to be dust, not to know or be
+known any more,--this is a thought that has something of horror in it to
+me, and always had; and would make me careless, if it were to be long or
+short; but to live, to die, to live again, has a joy in it; and how
+inexpressible is that joy, if we secure an humble hope to live ever
+happily; and this we may do, if we take care to live agreeably to our
+rational faculties, which also best secures health, strength, and peace
+of mind, the greatest blessings on earth.
+
+"Believe the word of God, the Holy Scriptures. What most hinders faith,
+I am persuaded, is ignorance of God's true nature. Look up to the
+firmament, and down to the deep, how can any doubt a divine power? And
+if there is, what can be impossible to infinite power? Then, why an
+infidel in the world? In His Gospel the terrors of God's majesty are
+laid aside, and He speaks in the still and soft voice of His Son
+incarnate, the fountain and spring whence flow gladness. The idolatrous
+heathen perform their worship with trouble and terror; but a Christian,
+and a good liver, with a merry heart and lightsome spirit: for, examine
+and consider well, where is the hardship of a virtuous life? (when we
+have moderated our irregular habits and passions, and subdued them to
+the obedience of reason and religion). We are free to all the innocent
+gratifications and delights of life; and we may lawfully, nay, further I
+say, we ought to rejoice in this beautiful world, and all the
+conveniences and provisions, even for pleasure, we find in it; and
+which, in much goodness, is afforded us to sweeten and allay the labours
+and troubles incident to this mortal state, nay, inseparable, I believe,
+by disappointments, cross accidents, bad health, unkind returns for good
+deeds, mistakes even among friends, and what is most touching, death
+of friends.
+
+"But in the worst of these calamities, the thought of a happy eternity
+does not alone support, but also revive the spirit of a man; and he
+goeth forth to his labour with inward comfort, till the evening of his
+day (that is, his life on earth), and, with the Psalmist, cries out, 'I
+will consider the heavens even the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the
+stars which Thou hast ordained. What is man, that Thou art mindful of
+him? or the son of man, that Thou shouldest so regard him?' (Psalm
+viii.) 'Thou madest him lower than the angels, to crown him with glory.'
+Here is matter of praise and gladness. 'The fool,' as the Psalmist
+expresses it, 'hath said in his heart, There is no God.' Or, let us
+consider the man, who is content to own an invisible power, yet tries to
+believe, that when man has done living on this earth he lives no more:
+but I would ask, if any of these unhappy creatures are fully persuaded,
+or that there does not remain in those men at times (as in sickness or
+sober thoughtfulness) some suspicion or doubt, that it may be other than
+they try to think. And although they may, to shun such a thought, or be
+rid of such a contemplation, run away from it to some unprofitable
+diversion, or, perhaps, suffer themselves to be rallied out of such a
+thought, so destructive to the way they walk in; yet, to be sure, that
+man does not feel the peace and tranquillity he does who believes a
+future state, and is a good man.
+
+"For, although this good man, when his mind may be clouded with some
+calamity very grievous to him, or the disorder of vapours to a
+melancholy temper, I say, if he is tempted to some suspicion, that it is
+possible it may be other than he believes (pray observe) such a surmise
+or thought, nay, the belief, cannot drive him to any horror: he fears no
+evil, because he is a good man, and with his life all sorrow ends too:
+therefore, it is not to be denied, he is the wisest man who lives by the
+Scripture rule, and endeavours to keep God's laws. His mind is in peace
+and tranquillity; he walks sure who keeps innocence, and takes heed to
+the thing that is right. He is secure, God is his friend, that Infinite
+Being; and He has said, 'Come unto Me, ye that are heavy laden, My yoke
+is easy.' But guilt is, certainly, a heavy load; it sinks and damps the
+spirits. 'A wounded spirit who can bear!' And the evil subtle spirit
+waits (I am persuaded) to drive the sinner to despair; but godliness
+makes a cheerful heart. Let not past errors discourage; who lives and
+sins not? God will judge the obstinate, profane, unrelenting sinner, but
+is full of compassion to the work of His own hand, if they will cease
+from doing evil and learn to do well, pray for grace to repent, and
+endeavour with that measure which will be given, if sincerely asked for;
+for at what time soever a sinner repents (but observe, this is no
+licence to sin, because at any time we may repent), for that day we may
+not live to see; and so like the fool in the parable, our lamps be
+untrimmed when we are called upon. Remember, that to forsake vice is the
+beginning of virtue; and virtue certainly is most conducive to content
+of mind and a cheerful spirit. He (the virtuous man) rejoiceth with a
+friend in the good things he enjoys; fears not the reproaches of any; no
+evil spirit can approach to hurt him here, or accuse him in the great
+day of the Lord, when every soul shall be judged according as they have
+done good or evil. Oh, blessed state! fit for life, fit for death! In
+this good state I wish and pray for all mankind; but most particularly,
+and with all the ardour I am capable of, to those I have brought into
+the world, and those dear to them. Thus are my fervent and frequent
+prayers directed,--that you may die the death of the righteous, and to
+this end, that Almighty God would endue you all with spiritual wisdom,
+to discern what is pleasing in His sight."
+
+
+
+
+XI.
+
+On May 28, 1716, she wrote to her kinsman, the Earl of Galway the second
+son of the old Marquis de Ruvigny. The elder son was killed at the
+battle of the Boyne; King William created the brother Earl of Galway. To
+him the aged lady thus wrote: "'Tis our duty to pray for and trust in
+the merciful providence of God; then it shall be well in the end, in
+this world or a better. I beseech God to give the consolation of His
+Holy Spirit to enable you to struggle with bodily pains; your
+resignation I have no doubt of, yet Nature will shrink, when the weight
+is heavy, and presses hard, which will not be imputed, because it
+is natural.
+
+"I also pray to God to fortify your spirit under every trial, till
+eternity swallows all our troubles, all our sorrows, all our
+disappointments, and all our pains in this life. The longest, how short
+to eternity! All these ought to be my own care to improve my weak self,
+as the fortitude of your mind, experiences, and knowledge does to you.
+And I pray for such a portion of them in mercy to me, as may secure an
+endless glorifying, to so feeble, so ignorant, so mean a creature as
+myself, that I cannot be too little in my own sight.
+
+"If there be a regency, the intended journey to Chatsworth must be laid
+aside, as I must now lay aside my pen for want of the day. I am certain
+of this being a truth, that I am,
+
+"Faithfully and affectionately yours,
+
+"R. RUSSELL."
+
+Later letters to Lord Galway are couched in the same way, the last one
+thus ending--
+
+"God, for the good you do mankind, grant you some easy years to do good
+upon earth before you change for a happy eternity. So does desire and
+pray Lord Galway's truly affectionate cousin, and faithfully such to
+gratify to the utmost of her ability, R. RUSSELL."
+
+The dear old lady speaks in this letter of "evening creeping upon her,"
+but she lingered to an extreme old age, dying on September 29, 1723, in
+her 87th year. She lived to see the Protestant rule firmly secured by
+the Hanoverian succession. In public affairs she continued to take
+interest, but always in subservience to the higher cause of moral and
+spiritual advancement. In one of her last letters she says of the son of
+the king, "I have inquired from Doctor Sloane how the Prince is to-day.
+He says, 'In a way to do well.' I trust, in the mercy of God, all our
+divisions shall be so with time."
+
+One of her latest letters is dated September 4, 1716, addressed to her
+second daughter, the Duchess of Devonshire: "It is to no use to murmur
+that you could not be satisfied with taking the journey; the rather also
+because I believe I should have done the same. It is so fine a season I
+trust your return to Derbyshire will be easy; your mind would not have
+been such had you not done as you did. I shall be easy with a line or
+two from Lady Mary [her eldest daughter, who died unmarried in 1719] how
+you got to Chatsworth. At your first coming you will have a great deal
+to do, and so for the short time you can stay. I see no cause to fear,
+but that all will be, as we are, quiet; it is the temper of most to
+fear, or seem to do so." (She referred to the public tranquillity, of
+which the rebellion of the year before had left doubts.) "The season is
+exceedingly fine, not much burnt up; but the farmers, for talk's sake,
+ever wishing for what they have not; but it is good walking, and that is
+my best diversion. I cannot easily add any words to make this more a
+diversion to you, than that I thank God I have as much health as my
+years can have; and memory as yet enough to take a pleasure when I hear
+of what I love most, and desire all good may be their portion; which
+will afford content, while any thought whatever of good or ill remains
+in the head or heart of
+
+"Your ever-affectionate mother, R. RUSSELL."
+
+The spirit in which she bore the first overwhelming passion of grief may
+be best seen in the letters written by her to Doctor Fitzwilliam, who
+had been chaplain at Woburn, and who afterwards returned them to Mr.
+Solwood, the librarian there, by whom they were published. In 1819
+another volume of letters was published, from the originals in the
+possession of the Duke of Devonshire. These range from her early married
+life down to her extreme old age; and contained greater variety of
+reference to the passing events of her time than are found in the Woburn
+letters, which are chiefly occupied with personal feelings and
+experiences. From them may be obtained as perfect a portraiture of Lady
+Russell as can be desired.
+
+"Her letters," says Bishop Burnet, "are written with an elegant
+simplicity, with truth and nature, which can flow only from the heart.
+The tenderness and constancy of her affection for her murdered lord
+presents an image to melt the soul." Horace Walpole says, "I have now
+before me a volume of letters of the widow of the beheaded Lord Russell,
+which are full of the most moving and impressive eloquence." In fact it
+would be difficult to find a combination of so much good sense, tender
+affection, womanly fortitude, and deep piety in any collection of
+letters. It is observable also that in the whole course of these letters
+there is not to be found a trace of resentment or of reflection upon any
+person who had caused her husband's death. When James II. was no more
+king, but a fugitive in a foreign land, she utters no word of triumph
+over him, nor says that he was justly punished for his cruel crimes.
+Even the inhuman Jefferies, whose violence helped to get her husband
+condemned, is passed over in silence, and no reference is made to his
+disgrace, and his shameful end. She had attained to such moderation of
+spirit that no trace of anger appears against the unworthy instruments
+that had brought overwhelming grief upon her. In nothing more than this
+is the excellence of her Christian character conspicuous.
+
+JAMES MACAULAY, M.A., M.D.
+
+
+
+
+Frances Ridley Havergal
+
+I.
+
+HER EARLY LIFE.
+
+     "Oh, 'Thine for ever!' What a blessed thing
+        To be for ever His who died for me!
+      My Saviour, all my life Thy praise I'll sing,
+        Nor cease my song throughout eternity."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Such were the words penned by Frances Ridley Havergal on an important
+day in her history; and they seem to be a fit expression of the purpose
+of one, the strains of whose songs shall reverberate through all ages.
+
+Frances Ridley Havergal was born at Astley in Worcestershire on December
+14, 1836. She was the youngest daughter of William Henry Havergal, who
+was rector of Astley. Her second Christian name she got from her
+godfather, Rev. W.H. Ridley, and rejoiced in the fact that he was
+descended from the godly martyr, Bishop Ridley.
+
+Her eldest sister Miriam gives a glowing description of Frances:[1]
+
+[Footnote 1: The quotations, when not otherwise acknowledged, are made,
+and the chief of the facts taken, by kind permission of Messrs. Nisbet &
+Sons, from _Memorials of Frances Ridley Havergal_.]
+
+"My recollection of Frances begins with the first day of her life; a
+pretty little babe even then, and by the time she reached two years of
+age, with her fair complexion, light curling hair, and bright
+expression, a prettier child was seldom seen. At that age she spoke with
+perfect distinctness, and with greater fluency and variety of language
+than is usual in so young a child. She comprehended and enjoyed any
+little stories that were told her. I remember her animated look of
+attention when the Rev. J. East told her about a little Mary who loved
+the Lord Jesus. We were all taught to read early and to repeat by our
+dear mother, but as I had now left school I undertook the charming
+little pupil, teaching her reading, spelling, and a rhyme (generally one
+of Jane Taylor's), for half an hour every morning, and in the afternoon
+twenty or thirty stitches of patchwork, with a very short text to repeat
+next morning at breakfast. When three years old she could read easy
+books, and her brother Frank remembers how often she was found hiding
+under a table with some engrossing story. At four years old, Frances
+could read the Bible and any ordinary book correctly, and had learned to
+write in round hand; French and music were gradually added; but great
+care was always taken not to tire her or excite the precocity of her
+mind, and she never had a regular governess."
+
+In the year 1859 she began to write an autobiography, commencing with
+her recollections of herself and her surroundings when she was four
+years old. She thus writes: "Up to the time that I was six years old I
+have no remembrance of any religious ideas whatever. Even when taken
+once to see the corpse of a little boy of my own age (four years) lying
+in a coffin strewn with flowers, in dear papa's parish of Astley, I did
+not think about it as otherwise than a very sad and very curious thing
+that that little child should lie so still and cold.... But from six to
+eight I recall a different state of things. The beginning of it was a
+sermon preached one Sunday morning at Hallow Church by Mr. (now
+Archdeacon) Phillpots. Of this I even now retain a distinct impression.
+It was to me a very terrible one, dwelling much on hell and judgment,
+and what a fearful thing it is to fall into the hands of the living God.
+No one ever knew it, but this sermon haunted me, and day and night it
+crossed me. I began to pray a good deal, though only night and morning,
+with a sort of fidget and impatience, almost angry at feeling so
+unhappy, and wanting and expecting a new heart and have everything put
+straight and be made happy, all at once."
+
+All this time she could not bear being "talked to," or prayed with,
+though she kept up a custom of going by herself every Sunday afternoon
+to a quiet room, and after reading a chapter in the New Testament would
+kneel down and pray; after that she "usually felt soothed and
+less naughty."
+
+She appears even as a child to have appreciated very keenly the beauties
+of nature, and in the spring of 1845 she was most anxious to be made "a
+Christian before the summer comes" so that she might enjoy God's works
+as she believed a Christian alone could do.
+
+Another soothing influence upon her spirited nature was the presence of
+any one whom she felt to be more than commonly holy, "not among those
+nearest and dearest to me at home," she confesses: "how perversely I
+overlooked them!--but any very pious clergyman or other manifest and
+shining Christian." "All this while," she continues, "I don't think any
+one could have given the remotest guess at what passed in my mind, or
+have given me credit for a single serious thought. I knew I was 'a
+naughty child,'--never entertained any doubts on the subject; in fact I
+almost enjoyed my naughtiness in a savage desperate kind of way because
+I utterly despaired of getting any better, except by being 'made a
+Christian,' which as months passed on, leaving me rather worse than
+better, was a less and less hoped-for, though more and more
+longed-for change."
+
+When she was nearly nine years old, Mr. Havergal was appointed to the
+rectory of St. Nicholas, Worcester, and thither the family removed. Soon
+after their arrival, a sermon by the curate upon the text, "Fear not,
+little flock," aroused her from the feeling of self-satisfaction into
+which she had drifted. Having a favourable opportunity, she unburdened
+her heart one evening when alone with the curate, but he did not help
+the young seeker after peace. He said the excitement of moving and
+coming into new scenes was the cause most likely of her feeling worse,
+and that would soon go off; then she was to try and be a good girl and
+pray. So after that her lips were utterly sealed to all but God for
+another few years or rather more.
+
+In 1848 her mother became seriously ill, and feeling that she was soon
+to leave her little girl, she said to her one evening: "Fanny dear, pray
+to God to prepare you for all that He is preparing for you." The sad
+event which the mother thus anticipated Frances could not or would not
+understand.
+
+But what God had prepared for her she did in some measure realise when,
+a few weeks later, outside the house a funeral procession passed from
+the rectory to the churchyard, and inside a little girl flung herself on
+her bed with the lonely cry of a motherless heart, "Oh, mamma, mamma,
+mamma!" Her bright and apparently thoughtless manner led to the idea
+that she was heartless, but all the while she was heavy and sad for her
+loss, and weary because she had not yet received pardon of her sins.
+
+Thus she went on, longing and trying to find peace, until she was
+fourteen years of age.
+
+
+
+
+II.
+
+RECEIVING "LIFE."
+
+On August 15, 1850, Frances went to school at Belmont. The night before
+she left, her sister Ellen spoke to her of God's love, and she gave to
+her the first indication of her real feelings in the words, "I can't
+love God yet, Nellie!" But it was not to be so for long, however.
+During the first half-year at school a "revival," as she calls it, took
+place among the school girls, and she began to be more in earnest about
+her soul. One night she got into conversation with a Christian
+companion, and bursting into tears told her in French that she wished to
+love Jesus but could not. Her companion begged her to go to Jesus and
+tell Him this. Of this advice she says, "The words of wise and even
+eminent men have since then fallen on my ear, but few have brought the
+dewy refreshment to my soul which the simple loving words of my little
+Heaven-taught schoolfellow did." But peace had not yet come into
+her soul.
+
+At length, in February, 1851, Frances made a confidante of Miss Cook,
+who in July, 1851, became her stepmother, and confessed that she desired
+pardon of her sins above everything else. She thus writes in her
+autobiography: "'Then, Fanny,' said Miss Cook, 'I think, _I am sure_, it
+will not be very long before your desire is granted, your hope
+fulfilled." After a few more words, she said, "Why cannot you trust
+yourself to your Saviour at once? Supposing that now, at this moment,
+Christ were to come in the clouds of heaven, and take up His redeemed,
+could you not trust Him? Would not His call, His promise be enough for
+you? Could you not commit your soul to Him, to your Saviour, Jesus?'
+Then came a flash of hope across me which made me feel literally
+breathless. I remember how my heart beat. 'I _could_ surely,' was my
+response; and I left her suddenly and ran away upstairs to think it out.
+I flung myself on my knees in my room, and strove to realise the sudden
+hope. I was very happy at last. I could commit my soul to Jesus. I did
+not and need not fear His coming. I could trust Him with my all for
+eternity. It was so utterly new to have any bright thoughts about
+religion that I could hardly believe it could be so, that I really had
+gained such a step. Then and there I committed my soul to the Saviour--I
+do not mean to say without _any_ trembling or fear, but I did--and earth
+and heaven seemed bright from that moment--_I did trust the
+Lord Jesus_."
+
+In August, 1851, she went to school at Powick Court, near Worcester;
+but, owing to severe erysipelas in her face and head, she soon had to
+leave, and was ordered by the doctor to discontinue all study. She spent
+some time in Wales, and learnt Welsh very quickly. In November, 1852,
+she went with her parents to Germany, and attended school, standing
+alone as a follower of the Saviour among one hundred and ten girls. She
+progressed very rapidly in her studies. Though as a rule no girl was
+numbered in order of merit unless she had learnt everything (and she,
+through lack of time, had not done so), yet at the end of the term on
+the prize-giving day, when the names were called out, she heard with
+unspeakable pleasure the words, "Frances Havergal, _numero eins_!"
+(number one). The "Engländerin's" papers and conduct were so good that
+the masters agreed in council assembled to break through the rule for
+once and give her the place she deserved.
+
+Her German master at Obercassel, Pastor Schulze-Berge, thus wrote of
+her: "She showed from the first such application, such rare talent, such
+depth of comprehension, that I can only speak of her progress as
+extraordinary. She acquired such a knowledge of our most celebrated
+authors in a short time as even German ladies attain only after much
+longer study."
+
+She returned to England with her parents in December, 1853. On July 17,
+1854, she was confirmed in Worcester Cathedral. In her case this public
+profession was a very real act. When asked by the bishop the solemn
+question to which all have audibly to answer, "I do," the reply of her
+heart was, "Lord, I cannot without Thee; but oh, with Thy almighty help,
+I do." In the cathedral she composed the lines with which this sketch
+begins. She always kept very solemnly the anniversary of this day.
+
+She continued her German, French and English studies, and wrote many
+small pieces of poetry, the proceeds of which she gave to the Church
+Missionary Society. In the summer of 1856 she studied Hebrew very
+diligently; her knowledge and remembrance of the words of Scripture were
+very remarkable; she learnt the whole of the Gospels, Epistles,
+Revelation, the Psalms, and Isaiah, and later she added the Minor
+Prophets to the list.
+
+While she thus grew in knowledge she grew also in grace. In August,
+1859, she wrote: "I have lost that weary bondage of doubt and almost
+despair which chained me for so many years. I have the same sins and
+temptation as before, and I do not strive against them more than before,
+and it is often just as hard work. But whereas I could not see why I
+_should_ be saved, I now cannot see why I should not be saved if Christ
+died for all. On that word I take my stand, and _rest_ there. I still
+wait for the hour when I believe He will reveal Himself to me more
+directly; but it is the quiet waiting of present _trust_, not the
+restless waiting of anxiety and danger." That hour, in God's good
+time, did come.
+
+In 1860 Canon Havergal resigned the rectory of St. Nicholas, Worcester,
+and Frances had to give up a class of unruly lads which she had taught
+with much success, one of the class becoming a minister of the Church of
+England, and another a Scripture-reader. The family removed to the
+country parish of Shareshill.
+
+In 1861 Frances K. Havergal made her home at Oakhampton, the residence
+of her sister, and undertook the instruction of her two nieces. Her aim
+in teaching them was to fit them for eternity, but she did not fail to
+throw herself into their amusements and recreations, which she took up
+with her accustomed earnestness.
+
+In the winter of 1865-66 F.R. Havergal visited her friends in Germany,
+and spent some time with her parents at Bonn. In 1806 her nieces went to
+school, and Frances left Oakhampton to reside at home.
+
+Once again she confesses the presence of clouds on the horizon of her
+faith. "In reading, when one's heart leaps at some precious promise made
+to the children of God, a cold check comes, 'Am _I_ one of them? what is
+my title?' Answer: 'Ye are all the children of God by faith in Jesus
+Christ.' Have I faith? Once introduce that _I_, and you get bewildered
+between faith and feeling. When I go on and grapple with the difficulty,
+it comes to this. As far as I know, I have come to Jesus, not once but
+many times. I have knelt and literally prostrated myself before Him, and
+told Him all, I have no other hope but what His _written_ word _says_ He
+did and said, that I know it is true, that the salvation it tells of is
+just _what_ I want, and _all_ I want, and that my heart goes out to it,
+and that I do accept it; that I do not fully grasp it, but I _cling_ to
+it; that I want to be His only and entirely, now and for ever."
+
+On September 23, 1867, she joined the Young Women's Christian
+Association, and found great benefit from her membership. She showed her
+practical interest in the Church Missionary and Irish Societies by
+wishing to give lessons in singing and German, the proceeds of which
+these societies were to have.
+
+On April 19, 1870, she was called upon to part with her beloved father,
+after a short illness. In one of her poems she speaks of his
+
+     "Valiant cry, a witness strong and clear,
+      A trumpet with no dull uncertain sound."
+
+Soon after his death she prepared for the press _Havergal's Psalmody_,
+which was afterwards largely used in the compiling of the Rev C. B.
+Snepp's hymn-book, called _Songs of Grace and Glory_, for which, she
+herself wrote several hymns. In June, 1871, she accompanied her friend
+Elizabeth Clay on a visit to Switzerland; there she thoroughly enjoyed
+the Alpine climbing, and revelled in the grand scenery of Mont Blanc and
+other snow mountains. On a subsequent visit Mont Blanc was ascended as
+far as the Grand Mulets. Here her delight in the exhilarating exercise
+of glissading landed her in a danger which, but for the presence of mind
+of Mr. Snepp, must have ended fatally to herself and one of the guides.
+
+
+
+
+III.
+
+LIFE MORE ABUNDANTLY.
+
+We have now reached a time when Frances Ridley Havergal made a marked
+advance in spiritual life. It was the close of 1873. She received one
+day by post a little book entitled _All for Jesus_. She thus wrote about
+it to the clergyman who sent it to her: "_All for Jesus_ has touched me
+very much.... I know I love Jesus, and there are times when I feel such
+intensity of love to Him that I have no words to describe it. I rejoice
+too in Him as my 'Master' and 'Sovereign;' but I want to come nearer
+still, to have the full realisation of John xiv. 21--['He that hath My
+commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me; and he that
+loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and manifest
+Myself to him']--and to know the power of His resurrection,' even if it
+be with 'the fellowship of His sufferings;' and all this, not exactly
+for my own joy alone, but for others."
+
+In reply to a letter from the clergyman, she wrote:[1] "I know I am not
+standing where I was two or three years ago. I think I first came to
+Jesus when I was only fourteen years of age, and I have been 'on the
+Lord's side' ever since. But of late, life has been a totally different
+thing to me, unspeakably brighter; Jesus so infinitely more precious:
+His service so infinitely sweeter and freer." But with this happiness
+she felt that there was a fuller consecration to God's service, to which
+she had not yet been able to yield herself. In a further communication
+her correspondent reminded her of the truth that Jesus is able to keep
+us from falling, and abiding in Him, His blood cleanseth, _i.e._ goes on
+cleansing from all sin. "For conscious sin there is instant confession
+and instant forgiveness."
+
+[Footnote 1: _Such a Blessing_, p. 13.]
+
+These words, though so simple, were made by the Holy Spirit a great
+comfort and help to her spiritual life. She replied,[1] "I see it all,
+and I _have_ the blessing. But I cannot write about it yet, not even to
+you. I want first to test my gold and to count my new treasure. In two
+or three weeks (b.v.) I will write and tell you all about it."
+
+[Footnote 1: _Ibid_., p. 15.]
+
+The promised letter was duly sent, and in it she says,[1] "Your words,
+'His blood _goes on_ cleansing from unconscious sin,' and 'for conscious
+sin there is instant confession and instant forgiveness,' seem to
+include every need, and to settle all doubts and fears. Only one wants
+the holiness to be deep, inner _reality_: and so, I pray to be kept from
+unconscious, as well as from conscious sin. I do not want only to
+_think_ I am not sinning. It is so sweet to look up to Jesus, in the joy
+of His keeping, and to tell Him how one longs, not merely not to grieve
+Him any more, but to please, really and truly _please_ Him, all the days
+of my life. I had no idea there was such a blessing linked with being
+led into this truth." In a further letter she writes, "I never hated sin
+as I do now; and though I honestly thought I had given myself without
+reserve to Christ in full consecration, yet I see that there was an
+unconscious reserve of many little things."
+
+[Footnote 1: _Ibid_., p. 20.]
+
+The practical effect of this fuller insight into the blessings to be had
+by those who yield themselves up to Jesus Christ in simple faith, "was
+evident," remarks her sister, "in her daily true-hearted, whole-hearted
+service for her King, and also in the increased joyousness of the
+unswerving obedience of her home life, the surest test of all. To the
+reality of this I do most willingly and fully testify."
+
+In 1874 F.R. Havergal went again to Switzerland. The first month of the
+visit was spent in quietly enjoying the scenery, and becoming braced up
+by the invigorating air. During the second month she began working at
+various literary projects, the chief being the writing of her poem
+"Thoughts of God." The composition of this was often, however,
+interrupted by little acts of ministry, cheerfully undertaken on behalf
+of the spiritual needs of the Swiss around her.
+
+She returned from Switzerland in good health, and resumed her active
+work at home. At one time it was helping a young friend into light and
+peace; at another, it was making an appointment to break her journey at
+Willesden Station, to talk with some one in trouble. For "it will be
+worth ANY fatigue if I can comfort her," was her unselfish remark. Amid
+so much activity, little could she have anticipated what was so soon to
+befall her.
+
+
+
+
+IV.
+
+TRIED IN THE FURNACE OF PAIN.
+
+The journey was broken as arranged, though Frances R. Havergal was by
+that time very ill. Through some mistake she waited an hour and a half
+before the friend came, and then took her with her some miles so that
+they might not lose the longed-for interview. When home was reached, she
+was seized with shivering, fever set in and was pronounced to be typhoid
+fever. In the middle of November, 1874, it was thought her end was near.
+But prayer, continued and earnest, was made that her valuable life might
+be spared, and God graciously heard and answered, and brought her back
+from the gates of death. When asked afterwards if she had any fear of
+dying, her answer was, "Oh no, not a shadow." "Then was it delightful to
+think you were going home, dear Fan?" "No, it was not the idea of going
+home, but that _He_ was coming for me and that I should _see my King_.
+I never thought of death as going through the dark valley, or down to
+the river; it often seemed to me a going up to the golden gates and
+lying there in the brightness, just waiting for the gate to open for
+me.... I never before was, so to speak, face to face with death. It was
+like a look into heaven, and yet when my Father sent me back again, I
+felt it was His will, and so I could not be disappointed."
+
+In January, 1875, she was removed to Winterdyne, where she heard of the
+sudden death of her brother Henry. After a few days a relapse set in,
+and her stepmother was sent for. After the fever had passed away she
+suffered very severe pain. She remarked to her sister once, "Oh, Marie,
+if I might but have five minutes' ease from pain! I don't want ever to
+moan when gentle sister Ellen comes in. How I am troubling you all!"
+
+Health gradually returned to her, and with it she recommenced her active
+work for the Master.
+
+
+
+
+V.
+
+COMING FORTH AS GOLD.
+
+The Refiner's work in F.R. Havergal was very evident. Of this year's
+illness and slow convalesence she speaks: "It has been the most precious
+year of my life to me. It is worth any suffering to prove for oneself
+the truth of 'when thou passest through the waters I will be with thee,'
+and worth being turned back (as it seemed) from the very golden gates if
+one may but 'tell of all His faithfulness.' It is so real."
+
+"For two or three weeks [during my illness]," she writes again, "I was
+too prostrate for any consecutive prayer, or for even a text to be given
+me; and this was the time for realising what 'silent in love' meant
+(Zeph. iii. 17). And then it seemed doubly sweet when I was again able
+to 'hold converse' with Him. He seemed too so often to send answers from
+His own word with wonderful power. One evening (after a relapse) I
+longed so much to be able to pray, but found I was too weak for the
+least effort of thought, and I only looked up and said, 'Lord Jesus, I
+am _so_ tired!' and then He brought to my mind 'rest in the Lord' with
+its lovely marginal reading, 'be silent_ in the Lord;' and so I just was
+silent to Him, and He seemed to overflow me with perfect peace, in the
+sense of His own perfect love."
+
+When she was at length well enough to resume her literary work again,
+she busied herself in preparing an Appendix with music to _Songs of
+Grace and Glory_. She had completed it and sent it to the printers, and
+was hoping to be able to commence a book which she had contemplated
+writing, when she had the disappointing news that a fire at the
+printers' had destroyed the stereotype plates and paper as well as the
+MS.; and as she had kept no copy of the tunes, all her work had to be
+done over again. This "turned lesson," as she regarded it, was accepted
+with beautiful patience.
+
+After a visit to Newport, Monmouth, followed by one to Ashley Moor, she
+spent some time in Switzerland. Here her quiet work went on among
+tourists and invalids, as well as Swiss. It was on this visit to
+Switzerland that she began the friendship with Baroness Helga V. Cramm,
+whose painted cards blend so beautifully with her words.
+
+Towards the end of August, symptoms of her illness recurred, and she had
+not strength to return to England until October. It was on her journey
+back that the idea of her book _My King_ came to her. It was, says her
+sister, at Oxford station on the way to Winterdyne. "I thought Frances
+was dozing when she exclaimed, with that herald flash in her eye,
+'Marie! I see it all; I can write a little book, _My King_;' and rapidly
+went through divisions for thirty-one chapters."
+
+The writer of this short biography may here refer to a
+never-to-be-forgotten hour that he spent with Frances R. Havergal. He
+had sent her some lines suggested by this little book, of which she most
+kindly expressed her approval, and naturally the book _My King_ formed
+the subject of conversation, and she expressed her gratitude that she
+had been led to write this and other of her books in chapters for each
+day in the month; "for," said she, "they are read through in many cases
+twelve times a year instead of being perused once and thrown aside."
+
+The year 1877 was passed uneventfully in paying various visits to
+relatives. But though uneventfully spent, not by any means idly or
+unprofitably, for her time was fully occupied with literary work.
+
+A little later on we get a glimpse of this busy worker in another
+sphere. She had gone to Mildmay Park for rest.
+
+"68, Mildmay Park, October, 1877.
+
+"I was going away on Saturday, but caught cold at the quarterly meeting
+of the Association of Female Workers, ... so I resigned myself to an
+extra week here; and verily, they _do_ know how to nurse, _and_ what's
+more (!) how to keep you quiet. Also, they do know how to pray! I have
+learned a little, I hope, on _that_ subject this last week. What I hear
+and see here is quite a new light on intercessory prayer. I thought I
+knew something of its power and reality, but I see I did not know much.
+
+"Mrs. Pennefather took me (before my cold) to Clapton House. I only wish
+every girl I care for was there; such a beautiful Christian school. I
+got any amount of bright looks (as it seems they knew my books), and I
+wanted exceedingly to go among them. Hearing the Principal say she would
+be prevented taking their Bible class, I ventured the proposal to take
+it. Afterwards, I had about a dozen all to myself in the drawing-room
+for a talk with any that wanted special help. They were told to get
+chairs. 'Oh!' I said, '_don't_ sit all in a row a long way off; come up
+close and cosy; we can talk ever so much better then, can't we?' You
+should have seen how charmed they were, and clustered niece-fashion all
+round me. We did have such a sweet hour; it was rather after the
+'question-drawer' manner; but all their little questions and
+difficulties seemed summed up by one of them, 'we do _so_ want to come
+closer to Jesus.'"
+
+As a help to her reading of the Bible, Frances R. Havergal joined the
+"Christian Progress Scripture Reading Union," conducted by her friend
+Rev. Ernest Boys, for whose magazine she acted, on one occasion, as
+editor during his absence. An amusing letter details her difficulties as
+editor, and she came out of them having formed this conclusion, "Never,
+except as an act of sheer mercy and pity, will I be an editor." This
+Reading Union was a great help to her own spiritual life, and also to
+her dealing with others, as the following sentences in a letter to the
+writer bears witness. "Not long ago I got five of my elder sister's
+servants to join, all Christians, but easy-going ones, and the result
+astonished me! It led to quite a revival of their spiritual life, and to
+reading together and speaking together, and to others; and I have since
+had a most beautiful letter from them full of gratitude for the _great_
+blessing which God had given them through joining. _Anything_ to get
+people to read His Word! I find it continual help in corresponding with
+or meeting those who have joined, and any to whom God has let me be
+spiritually helpful are invariably delighted at the idea of reading with
+me. It is training many young Christians into _regular_ reading."
+
+On May 26, 1878, F. R. Havergal's stepmother passed away. This event
+broke up their Leamington home, and Frances and her sister spent some
+time in the quiet of the Mumbles near Swansea. They then went to stay at
+a farmhouse in Herefordshire, where, among other forms of work for the
+Master, she, ever thoughtful of others, interpreted on her fingers to
+the man of the house, who was quite deaf, the sermons she heard. It was
+here that she wrote her poem entitled _Zenith_.
+
+The breaking up of the Leamington home she thought afforded a good
+opportunity of practically carrying out her dedication of her silver and
+gold to God's service. She had hoped to devote _herself_ to missionary
+work, but her health prevented this being realised, so she sent off all
+her ornaments, including a valuable jewel-case, to the Church Missionary
+House in London, to be disposed of for missionary work. "I retain," she
+says, "only a brooch or two for daily wear, which are memorials of my
+dear parents; also a locket with the only portrait I have of my niece
+in heaven, my Evelyn; and her 'two rings' mentioned in _Under the
+Surface_. But these I redeem, so that the whole value goes to the Church
+Missionary Society. I had no idea I had such a jeweller's shop, nearly
+fifty articles are being packed off. I don't think I need tell you I
+never packed a box with such pleasure."
+
+Towards the end of the year she joined her sister at the Mumbles. Here
+she could be quiet in her "workshop," the walls of which were adorned
+with pictures she had arranged herself. On her bookshelf stood her few
+choice books; the last she read were, _The Earth's Formation on
+Dynamical Principles_, by A.J. Ritchie, _Goodwin's Works, The Life and
+Letters of Rev. W. Pennefather, The Upward Gaze_ by her friend Agnes
+Giberne, and books by Rev. G. Everard. On her table was her American
+typewriter; her desk and table-drawers were all methodically arranged.
+It was at her study table that she read her Bible at seven o'clock in
+summer and eight in winter, her Hebrew Bible, Greek Testament and
+Lexicon being at hand. "Sometimes on bitter cold mornings," says her
+sister, "I begged that she would read with her feet comfortably to the
+fire, and received the reply, 'But then, Marie, I can't rule my lines
+neatly; just see what a find I have got! If one only searches, there are
+such extraordinary things in the Bible.'"
+
+On Christmas-day, 1878, her last Christmas upon earth, she awoke in
+severe pain, and was ill for some days; but during the time she compiled
+a set of Christmas and New Year mottoes, which she called _Christmas
+Sunshine_ and _Love and Light for the New Year_. She was ordered rest
+and felt she needed it. One remark as to her unceasing work is very
+touching:--"I do hope the angels will have orders to let me alone a bit
+when I first get to heaven." She was learning to use as her daily
+petition the prayer her mother taught her, "O Lord, prepare me for all
+Thou art preparing for me;" and this He was doing. By weakness and
+sickness and by unwearying trust and unwearied labour was she being
+prepared for that better rest above.
+
+
+
+
+VI.
+
+THE MINISTRY OF SONG
+
+We may turn aside for a short time before we consider the last eventful
+weeks of Frances Ridley Havergal's sojourn upon earth, to deal with a
+subject that has been but lightly touched upon, namely, her ministry
+of song.
+
+She had inherited from her gifted father a great talent for music. She
+was a remarkably skilful performer upon the pianoforte. So retentive
+was her memory that she could play without notes a large portion of the
+works of Handel, Beethoven and Mendelssohn.
+
+[Illustration: F.R. Havergal]
+
+Her musical compositions were of a very high order. When she was thirty
+years of age she went, while at Cologne, to show some of her
+compositions to Ferdinand Hiller. After looking through them and
+learning that she had had no instruction in harmony, he expressed his
+surprise and delivered his verdict, the worst part first.
+
+He said her melodies bore the stamp of talent, not of genius. "But as to
+your harmonies," he said to her, "I must say I am astonished. It is
+something singular to find such a grasp of the subject, such power of
+harmonisation except where there has been long and thorough study and
+instruction; here I can give almost unlimited praise." She told him her
+question was, had she talent enough to make it worth while to devote
+herself to music as a serious thing, as a life-work? He answered,
+"Sincerely and unhesitatingly I can say that you _have_."
+
+How spontaneous was her musical and poetical genius will be seen from
+the account of the genesis of her well-known missionary hymn and tune,
+"Tell it out among the heathen." She was unable to go to church at
+Winterdyne one snowy morning in 1873. She asked for her Prayer-book
+while still in bed, as she always liked to follow the services for the
+day. On Mr. Shaw, her brother-in-law, returning from church, he heard
+the piano sounding. "Why, Frances," he said, "I thought you were
+upstairs." "Yes, but I had my Prayer-book, and in the Psalm for to-day I
+read, 'Tell it out among the heathen that the Lord is King.' I thought
+what a splendid first line; and then the words and music came rushing on
+to me. There, it's all written out." She had written it out, the words
+and music and harmonies complete. And her sister remarks: "Only those
+who heard her could imagine the brisk ringing tone with which she sang
+this tune."
+
+In her "Consecration Hymn" occurs the couplet--
+
+"Take my voice and let me sing Always only for my King."
+
+And to her these were no mere words of a song. She tried to consecrate
+all her singing to God's service. It was a real ministry. She strove
+always to sing the very words of the Bible, as she observed that persons
+could not with decency object to them, though they might have done so to
+her own words.
+
+During a sojourn in Switzerland she was anxious to reach the people she
+saw wending their way to early mass. On learning that she would sing to
+them, many promised to come to her pension. She says, "First I sang to
+them, and then got the girls to join in the hymn which they had
+[previously] copied out. Then I read some passages.... A few went away
+when I read.... You will wonder what I sang! Well, I had been singing
+snatches of hymns to myself and especially 'Only for Thee,' and found
+this gave immense gratification in our little pension; so I thought God
+could as well give me French as English if He would, and I set to and
+wrote 'Seulement pour Toi!' (as they had liked the tune so much). Only
+it is quite a different hymn, making prominent the other side, He and He
+_only_ is and does all for us." This hymn thus written was of good
+service on another occasion. On the way from Chamounix to Great St.
+Bernard Hospice, some of the passengers in the diligence sang French
+songs remarkably well. Her sister says: "We listened and commended, and
+then asked if they would join us in a new tune, 'Seulement pour Toi!'
+Finding the driver took up the chorus in bass, Frances went outside that
+he might see the words, and most heartily was it sung by all!"
+
+The following Sunday was spent at the hospice; and once again was her
+musical talent used in proclaiming the Master's message. Her brilliant
+touch upon the piano attracted the attention of the "fathers" in the
+monastery, and they begged her to sing after dinner. She asked her
+sister to join in prayer that the King's message might be given, and
+that it might search some hearts. As there were different nationalities
+present, she very simply but gracefully said she was going to sing from
+the Holy Scriptures, repeating the words in German and Italian, and then
+sang Handel's "Comfort ye," "He shall feed His flock," and afterwards,
+"Rest in the Lord." An Italian professor of music, with many others,
+thanked her, and were expressing their admiration to her sister, when
+Frances bade them "good night," remarking to her sister, "You see,
+Marie, I gave my message, and so it is better to come away."
+
+An instance illustrating the singing powers and also the friendliness of
+this sweet singer is recorded by Rev. S.B. James, D.D., in his _Frances
+Ridley Havergal, a Lecture Sermon_.[1] "After a garden-party in
+Somersetshire where she had almost exhausted herself, she happened to
+overhear her hostess's regret that the servants had not been present.
+'Oh, if it is work for the Master,' she exclaimed, 'of course I can do
+it.' And though she had been just stung by a bee upon the hand, and was
+suffering intense pain, she threw off hat and gloves, took her seat
+eagerly at the piano, and ... impressed a whole retinue of servants with
+the beautiful piece from the _Messiah_, 'Come unto Me, all ye that
+labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.' And when it was
+all done she stood up and said, 'Now I am going to tell you what _you_
+must do when you have yourselves accepted the invitation,' and she sang
+out before that humble spell-bound audience, 'Tell it out among the
+heathen that the Lord is King.' ... One person at least was turned to
+righteousness on that musical afternoon."
+
+[Footnote 1: Quoted in _The Sisters_. Charles Bullock, B.D., p. 100.]
+
+The ministry of song of F.R. Havergal will chiefly be remembered,
+however, by the goodly heritage of poetry which she has left to the
+Church of Christ, and in which she being dead yet speaketh. Here it is
+that her great influence is still felt. She had the happy gift of
+expressing the deep breathings of the consecrated soul in whole-hearted
+loyalty to the blessed Master. She strove to regard the Lord Jesus as a
+real living and personal Friend. She longed to be entirely yielded up to
+His service, and she put the thoughts of her heart, which had been
+warmed by the indwelling Spirit, in real and genuine expressions of love
+to and praise of her Master.
+
+She began writing verses when she was only seven years of age.
+
+In 1860 her poetry was so much appreciated that she received
+applications from the editors of various religions magazines to supply
+poetical contributions. In 1803 she received her first cheque of £10
+17s. 6d. This she sent to her father: £10 for anything he liked to
+employ it on, 10s. for the Scripture Readers' collection, and 7s. 6d.
+for any similar emergency.
+
+Her hymn "I gave my life for thee" first appeared in _Good Words_. It
+was written in Germany in 1858. She had come in weary and sat down
+opposite a picture with this motto. At once the lines flashed upon her
+and she wrote them in pencil on a scrap of paper. Reading them over,
+they did not satisfy her. She tossed them into the fire, but they fell
+out untouched. Showing them some months after to her father, he
+encouraged her to preserve them, and wrote the tune "Baca"
+especially for them.
+
+The origin of the well-known hymn, 'Take my Life,' she thus
+describes--"I went for a little visit of five days. There were ten
+persons in the house, some unconverted and long prayed for, some
+converted, but not rejoicing Christians. He gave me the prayer, 'Lord,
+give me _all_ in this house.' And He just _did_! Before I left the
+house, every one had got a blessing. The last night of my visit I was
+too happy to sleep, and passed most of the night in praise and renewal
+of my own consecration, and these little couplets formed themselves, and
+chimed in my heart one after another, till they finished with '_Ever_,
+ONLY, ALL, for Thee.'"
+
+Some six months before she died she wrote thus about this hymn, "I had a
+great time early this morning, renewing the never-regretted
+consecration. I seemed led to run over the 'Take my Life,' and could
+bless Him verse by verse for having led me on to much more definite
+consecration than even when I wrote it--voice, gold, intellect, etc. But
+the eleventh couplet--"
+
+     'Take my love--my Lord, I pour
+      At Thy feet its treasure store'--
+
+
+"that has been unconsciously _not filled up_. Somehow, I felt mystified
+and out of my depth here; it was a simple and definite thing to be
+_done_, to settle the voice, or silver and gold; but 'love?' I have to
+love others, and I do; and I've not a small treasure of it; and even
+loving _in Him_ does not quite meet the inner difficulty.... I shall
+just go forward and expect Him to fill it up, and let my life from this
+day answer really to that couplet. The worst part to me is that I don't
+in practice prove my love to Him, by delight in much and long communion
+with Him; hands and head seem so full of other things' (which yet are
+His given work), that 'heart' seems not 'free to serve' in fresh and
+vivid love."
+
+In writing her hymns, F.R. Havergal looked up to God to give her the
+ideas and words, and they were often produced very rapidly. Mr. Snepp of
+Perry Bar left her leaning against a wall while he went in to visit the
+boys' school, and on his return ten minutes afterwards she handed him
+the well-known hymn "Golden harps are sounding," pencilled upon an
+old envelope.
+
+A remarkable fact is recorded in connection with another hymn entitled,
+"Reality, Reality, Lord Jesus Christ, Thou art to me." She was
+much struck with the expression used by a working man in a
+prayer-meeting--"Father, we know the reality of Jesus Christ." This
+thought took hold of her and found expression in this hymn on a stormy
+night at Whitby, after she had seen the life-boat put forth to a wreck,
+hence the expressions, "Pilot," "Lifeboat," and "Haven." The very night
+she wrote the hymn, a young Christian four hundred miles away was
+pleading at a prayer-meeting, "Lord Jesus, let Thy dear servant write
+for us what Thou art, Thou living, bright Reality, and let her do it
+_this very night_." "While they are yet speaking, I will hear."
+
+Space does not permit any detailed account of her poetry. Her's were
+specially songs of the inner life. She revealed in her poetic works her
+own inner experience, and a perusal of them will give indications of her
+own growth in holiness.
+
+A reader is impressed not only with the ease and brightness of her
+style, but with her firm grasp of things unseen. Her poetry was not just
+stringing together words, but it was the very expression of her heart.
+She thus writes on this point in _The Ministry of Song_:
+
+     "Poetry is not a trifle,
+        Lightly thought and lightly made;
+      Not a fair and scentless flower,
+      Gaily cultured for an hour,
+        Then as gaily left to fade.
+
+     'Tis not stringing rhymes together,
+        In a pleasant true accord;
+      Not the music of the metre,
+      Not the happy fancies sweeter
+        Than a flower-bell honey-stored.
+
+     'Tis the essence of existence,
+        Rarely rising to the light;
+      And the songs that echo longest,
+      Deepest, fullest, truest, strongest,
+        With your life-blood you must write."
+
+So did the sweet singer herself write from her own experience.
+
+Her hymns, which are very numerous, no less than seventy being in common
+use, have been the means not only of arresting the undecided and helping
+the saint, but of consoling the suffering and the doubting. So many of
+her poems were the expressions of a bright faith and simple trust
+shining out through storm and cloud, that others, storm-tossed and
+beclouded, catch the rays and are cheered thereby.
+
+Although many of the poems are in a plaintive minor tone there are
+occasional bursts of more cheerful strain, as in the lines on "A Merrie
+Christmas," which appeared in the _Sunday at Home_.
+
+     "A Merrie Christmas to you!
+        For we serve the Lord with mirth.
+      And we carol forth glad tidings
+        Of our holy Saviour's birth.
+
+      So we keep the olden greeting,
+        With its meaning deep and true,
+      And wish a Merrie Christmas
+        And a Happy New Year to you.
+
+      Oh, yes! 'a Merrie Christmas,'
+        With blithest song and smile,
+      Bright with the thought of Him who dwelt
+        On earth a little while,
+
+      That we might dwell for ever
+        Where never falls a tear:
+      So 'a Merrie Christmas' to you,
+        And a Happy, Happy Year!"
+
+The beautiful and aptly chosen titles alone in many cases are most
+suggestive and refreshing. Yes, Frances R. Havergal's power of giving
+expression to holy aspiration and Christian loyalty and heartfelt praise
+will live as long as English Hymnology lives.
+
+
+
+
+VII.
+
+"SEEING THE KING."
+
+We come now to describe the closing months of this devoted life. Her
+sister recalls that the New Year's greeting given to her on January 1,
+1879. was, "'He crowneth the year with His goodness,' and He crowneth me
+'with loving-kindness and tender mercies.' You, dear Marie, are one of
+my mercies; and I do hope He will let me do something for you up
+in heaven."
+
+The following subjects of prayer for 1878-79, found in her Bible, will
+not only illustrate her method of petition, but will be helpful to other
+Christians longing to excel in supplication.
+
+"I have greatly enjoyed the regular praying of the Lord's Prayer, and
+take a petition each morning in the week. Intercession for others I
+generally make at evening. I take the fruits of the Holy Spirit in the
+same way and find this helpful."
+
+
+_GENERAL_.
+
+MORNING.
+
+For the Holy Spirit.
+Perfect trust all day.
+Watchfulness.
+To be kept from sin.
+That I may please Him.
+Guidance, growth and grace.
+That I may do His will.
+That He may use my mind, lips, pen, _all_.
+Blessing and guidance in each engagement and interview of the day.
+
+EVENING.
+
+For forgiveness and cleansing.
+Mistakes overruled.
+Blessing on all said, written and done.
+For conformity to His will and Christ's likeness.
+That His will may be done _in_ me.
+For a _holy_ night.
+Confession.
+For every one for whom I have been specially asked to pray.
+
+
+_SPECIAL SUBJECTS_.
+
+SUNDAY.
+
+That I may make the most of Sabbath hours and gain much from the Word.
+
+Deliverance from wandering thoughts. _Pure_ praise. Blessing on services
+and choir.
+
+_Hallowed be Thy name_.
+
+Intercessions. (Initials of many clergymen, of her brother, her
+god-children, and "our servants.")
+
+MONDAY--"For joy and peace."
+
+That the life of Jesus may be manifest in me.
+
+_Thy kingdom come_
+
+Intercession for Church Missionary Society and Irish Society. (Initials
+of her eldest sister, _all_ her family, and "Oakhampton servants.")
+
+TUESDAY--"For longsuffering"
+
+That my unconscious influence may be all for Him.
+
+_Thy will be done_.
+
+Intercession for Mildmay (and initials of her brother Henry's children and
+many Leamington friends).
+
+'WEDNESDAY--"Gentleness."
+
+For spirit of prayer and shadowless communion.
+
+_Give us this day our daily bread._
+
+Intercession for the universities and public schools, for many friends, for
+M.V.G.H., and E.C.
+
+THURSDAY--"Goodness."
+
+For much fruit to His praise. Soul-winning. Spirit of praise.
+
+_Forgive us our trespasses_.
+
+Local work. Swansea and Mrs. Morgan. For my sister Ellen, all at
+Winterdyne, "and the servants."
+
+FRIDAY--"Faith."
+
+Wisdom to be shown more of His will and commands.
+
+_Lead us not into temptation_.
+
+For my brother and all at Upton Bishop.
+
+SATURDAY--"Meekness and Temperance."
+
+That the Word of Christ may dwell in me richly, open treasure of Thy
+Word to me, fill my seed-basket.
+
+_Deliver us from evil._.
+
+For the Church of England and the Queen. (Initials of many friends.)
+
+A plan of work for 1879--"If the Lord will"--was sketched out, but it
+was not the Lord's will that it should he accomplished, and many
+subjects were not even attempted.
+
+On her return from London in the early part of the year, her friends
+noticed the peculiar gladness of her service. She said one morning to
+her sister, "Marie, it is really very remarkable how everything I do
+seems to prosper and nourish. There is my 'Bruey Branch' growing and
+increasing, and now the temperance work, and so many letters tell me
+that God is blessing my little books."
+
+The "Bruey Branch" here mentioned was an effort to get children to
+interest themselves in the Irish Society, and met with signal success.
+It had been started two years previously with eight collectors--now
+hundreds of collecting cards had gone out.
+
+Of her temperance work she writes a little later: "May, 1879. I haven't
+taken up teetotal work, but teetotal work has taken up me! Morgan and
+Scott made me accept a big handsome pledge-book in February, and somehow
+the thing has fairly _caught fire_ here. One led to another, and
+yesterday boys were coming all day to sign. I had twenty-five recruits
+yesterday alone, and a whole squad more are coming this evening! and we
+are going in for getting EVERY boy in the whole village! and now
+'Please, miss, mayn't girls sign?' So I've got to open a girls' branch
+as well! So work grows!" Again, "Really a wonderful little temperance
+work here; all the rising generation have joined the pledge except about
+twelve, and now the men want to speak to me and I am to meet them
+to-night at the corner of the village (open air, having no place else)
+with my pledge-book. I have got 118 pledged, and each with prayer over
+it and personal talk about better things." On May 21 she met these men,
+carrying with her her Bible and temperance book. While standing, heavy
+clouds came up, and she was obliged to return home, wet and chilly,
+though some men were still waiting to speak to her. The next day
+(Thursday) she managed to get to church and received the Lord's Supper.
+She was very tired with the service, and rode home on a donkey. As she
+passed through the village, quite a procession of her boys followed her.
+She urged her donkey boy to "leave the devil's side and get on the safe
+side; that Jesus Christ was the winning side; that He loved him, and was
+calling him, and wouldn't he choose Him for his Captain?" Arrived at
+home, she ran in for her temperance book, and the boy signed it on the
+saddle. That evening she spoke to several persons with intense
+earnestness and pleading.
+
+The next day she was to have attended a temperance meeting and have
+presented 150 cards to those who had signed her book; but the chilliness
+increased, and the doctor forbade her to go out. Unable to be present
+herself, she sent two messages by her sister: one to those who had
+signed--"Behold, God Himself is ... our Captain;" [1] to those who had
+not signed--"Come thou with us and we will do thee good." [2]--While
+the meeting was going on she was busy at home stitching strong paper
+tract-bags for sailors at sea, till she felt ill and had to be assisted
+to her room.
+
+[Footnote 1: 2 Chron. xiii. 12.]
+[Footnote 2: Num. x. 29.]
+
+On May 26 she was able to correct the proof of _Morning Stars_, on the
+text, "I am the bright and morning Star;" and then, as her sister says,
+the pen so long used in the service of her King was laid down. The last
+passage she looked at in her Bible was the _Christian Progress_ chapter
+for May 28.[1] She asked that it might be read to her, and dwelt on "Be
+thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." On the
+29th fever and internal inflammation rapidly came on, and she exhibited
+all the symptoms of peritonitis. She suffered very severe pain; but
+though the outward man was perishing, the inward man was being renewed.
+On May 30, speaking of justification by faith, she said, "Not for our
+own works or deservings; oh, what vanity it seems now to rest on our own
+obedience for salvation, any merit of our own takes away the glory of
+the atoning blood. 'Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins
+in His own blood'--_that's it_." When asked if she had any fear, she
+replied, "Why should I? Jesus said, 'It is finished;' and what was His
+precious blood shed for? _I trust that_."
+
+[Footnote 1: Rev. ii. 1-10.]
+
+On Whit-Sunday she was better, and able to converse a little with her
+brother and sister. On the following day at early dawn she made the
+remark, "'Spite of the breakers, Marie, I am so happy. God's promises
+are so true. Not a fear." At 8 A.M. it was thought she was departing.
+The Lord's Supper was administered at her request, and when it was over
+she whispered to her brother, "Frank dear, it is not the performance of
+the rite, _no safety in that_; but it is obedience to His command, and
+as a _remembrance_ of His dying love." When the doctor told her she
+would soon be going home, she exclaimed. "Beautiful! too good to be
+true!... Oh! it is the Lord Jesus that is so dear to me, I can't tell
+how precious! how much He has been to me!" Afterwards she asked for "How
+sweet the name of Jesus sounds!"
+
+To the vicar of Swansea, who visited her, she said, "Oh! I want all of
+you to speak _bright, bright_ words about Jesus, oh, do, _do_! It is all
+perfect peace. I am only waiting for Jesus to take me in."
+
+Her sufferings were very acute, and when told how patient she had been
+that even the doctors noticed it, she replied, "Oh! I am so glad you
+tell me this. I did want to glorify Him every step of the way, and
+especially in this suffering. I hope none of you will have five minutes
+of this pain."
+
+On Tuesday, June 3, she was evidently worse. Among the words she uttered
+were these: "I am lost in amazement! There hath not failed one word of
+all His promise!" Mentioning the names of many dear ones, she said, "I
+want _all_ to come to me in heaven; oh! don't, _don't_ disappoint me;
+tell them, 'Trust Jesus.'" When one of her sisters repeated the words of
+the hymn, "Jesus, I will trust Thee," she sang the verse right through
+to her tune "Hermas." Violent sickness ensued, and when it was over she
+folded her hands on her heart, saying, "There, now it is all over!
+Blessed rest!"
+
+Her sister thus describes the glorious sunset of her life on June 3,
+1879, at the age of 42: "And now she looked up steadfastly as if she saw
+the Lord; and surely nothing less heavenly could have reflected such a
+glorious radiance upon her face. For ten minutes we watched that almost
+visible meeting with her King, and her countenance was so glad, as if
+she were already talking to Him. Then she tried to sing, but after one
+sweet high note--'HE--,' her voice failed, and as her brother commended
+her soul into her Redeemer's hand, she passed away. Our precious sister
+was gone, satisfied, glorified, within the palace of her King." And so
+she fell asleep, and her eyes saw the King in His beauty--that King of
+whom she sung so sweetly and wrote so loyally. On June 9 they laid her
+body to rest in the quiet churchyard of Astley Church in Worcestershire.
+
+And thus within sight of the room which saw her birth, her body lies
+"until the day dawn."
+
+
+
+
+VIII.
+
+"UNDER THE SURFACE."
+
+_Upon_ the surface you saw a bright, accomplished lady. She had marked
+ability as a linguist. She acquired a great deal of German as a child by
+carefully attending while present at the German lessons given to her
+sisters. She learnt enough Greek and Hebrew to read her Hebrew Bible and
+to enjoy her Greek Testament, and often brings out in her letters the
+fact that she had been studying it. As we have seen, she was an
+accomplished musician, and she was untiring in her literary productions.
+Her books of poems comprise _Life-Chords,_ consisting of "Under His
+shadow,"--"Her last poems"--"Loyal Responses," and "Her earlier poems;"
+_Life Mosaic_, comprising "The Ministry of Song," and "Under the
+Surface;" _Swiss Letters and Alpine Poems_, written during several tours
+in Switzerland.
+
+Her chief prose works _Kept for the Master's Use, The Royal Invitation,
+My King, Royal Commandments, Royal Bounty, Starlight through Shadows,
+Morning Stars, Morning Bells, Little Pillows, and Bruey, a little Worker
+for Christ_.
+
+_Upon_ the surface, too, you saw a woman of sound-common sense. This was
+evidenced both in her writings, and her daily life. For example, she
+writes thus one day: "I felt as if I rather wanted a little intellectual
+bracing, as if something of contact with intellect were necessary to
+prevent my getting into a weak and wishy-washy kind of thought and
+language. I like intellects to rub against and have no present access to
+books which would do it, so I bethought myself of seeing what
+Shakespeare would do for me and I think my motive was really that I
+might polish my own instruments for the Master's use."
+
+Again, as regards dress her sensible comment was, "If the King's
+daughter is to be 'all glorious within,' she must not be outwardly a
+fright! I must dress both as a lady and a Christian. The question of
+cost I see very strongly, and do not consider myself at liberty to spend
+on dress that which might be spared for God's work; but it costs no more
+to have a thing well and prettily made."
+
+Yes, _on_ the surface you saw an accomplished lady, and on the surface
+you saw also beaming out the fact that _under_ the surface she was a
+whole-hearted Christian. This was the most marked feature in her
+character. No one could be in her company five minutes without
+recognising Whose she was and Whom she served. A clergyman, who knew
+perhaps more of her inner life than any one else, in a letter to the
+writer, says, "The two most prominent characteristics of the last five
+and a half years of her life seemed to me to be her unreserved
+consecration and her absolute confidence in the Lord and His Word." The
+preceding chapters will have shown the reader how true an estimate this
+is. The business of her life was to glorify God and enjoy Him for ever.
+Of delicate health, she might have spent a large portion of her time in
+fretful complainings; but she looked to her Heavenly Father to
+consecrate even her sicknesses to His service.
+
+Her standard of Christian life was a very high one. She thus writes of a
+friend: "I write to you as one who is really wanting to follow Jesus
+altogether, really wanting to live and speak _exactly_ according to His
+commands and His beautiful example; and where this is the standard, what
+seems a little thing or nothing at all to others, is sure to be sin,
+because it is disobeying His dear Word and not 'following, _fully_.'"
+Her intimate knowledge of Scripture, her sound common-sense kept her
+from falling into many of the errors into which some who have aimed high
+in holy things have fallen.
+
+In a letter to her sister on this subject, she thus expresses herself:
+"As to 'perfectionism' or 'sinlessness,' I have all along, and over and
+over again, said I never did and do not hold either. 'Sinlessness'
+belongs _only_ to Christ now, and to our glorified state in heaven. I
+believe it to be not merely an impossibility on earth but an actual
+contradiction of our very being, which cannot be 'sinless' till the
+resurrection change has passed upon us. But being kept from falling,
+kept from sins, is quite another thing, and the Bible seems to teem with
+commands and promises about it. First, however, I would distinctly
+state, that it is _only_ as and while a soul is under the full power of
+the blood of Christ that it can be cleansed from all sin; that one
+moment's withdrawal from that power, and it is again actively, because
+really, sinning;... one instant of standing alone is certain fall."
+
+While magnifying the Saviour's power to save, she had a just estimate of
+her own condition; only about two years before her death she thus
+expresses herself: "I can say for myself that I feel I have deserved the
+very suffering of hell for my transgression of the first great
+commandment of the law ('Thou shalt love the Lord thy God,' etc.), and
+for my sin of unbelief." While she aimed high, she knew full well that
+she had not attained, neither was already perfect.
+
+"As to sanctification, that it is the work of the Holy Spirit, and
+progressive, is the very thing I see and rejoice in. He has brought me
+into the 'highway of holiness' up which I trust every day to progress,
+continually pressing forward, led by the Spirit of God."
+
+The simplicity of her trust in God and His Word comes out strikingly in
+her writings. She seems to have grasped the fact that Jesus Christ was
+"a living bright reality," pledged to uphold and help and comfort all
+who go to Him as little children. Another marked feature in her life was
+her deep sympathy with others in their trouble and anxieties. And this
+spirit of unselfishness enabled her in her prose writings and her hymns
+to inspire something of her simple trust into those who read them with
+receptive minds.
+
+To see under the surface of Frances Ridley Havergal's character, look
+into her works, and you find the humble servant of Jesus Christ
+revealed. She "walked with God," and by the attraction of a life bright
+with the beauty of holiness revealing itself in her writings, she has
+exercised and still exercises a great power upon Christians by lifting
+them up to a higher walk with God. And many singers will doubtless join
+hereafter in the song of "Moses and the Lamb" whose souls were on earth
+attuned to heavenly music through the pleading words or holy example of
+Frances Ridley Havergal.
+
+John P. Hobson, M.A.
+
+
+
+
+HANNAH MORE.
+
+I.
+
+EARLY II
+
+Amongst the staunchest supporters of Presbyterianism in the days of
+Charles II. were the Mores of Harleston, Norfolk. Glorying in the risk
+incurred of proscription and imprisonment, they turned their dwelling
+into a conventicle. Here the faithful gathered stealthily at midnight to
+hear the Gospel preached, whilst one of the house, with drawn sword,
+stood at the threshold prepared to defend with his life both minister
+and congregation. From this sturdy stock sprang Jacob, the father of
+Hannah More. He married a sensible, high-principled farmer's daughter. A
+family of five girls was born to them, the fourth being Hannah, whose
+birth occurred on the 2nd of February, 1745.
+
+Hannah displayed remarkable precocity. Before she was four she could
+repeat the Catechism, much to the astonishment of the parish minister;
+whilst startling questions about matters far beyond her age were put to
+those around her. At eight her thirst for knowledge increased. Sitting
+on her father's knee she listened eagerly to his recital of the brave
+deeds of Greeks and Romans and the wise sayings of Plutarch. Sometimes
+her father repeated orations of classic heroes, first in the original
+tongue, and then in English. The interest thus excited led the child to
+crave for a knowledge of Latin. Her father, although averse to girls
+exceeding the limits of the three "R's" and a few accomplishments,
+yielded at length to his promising daughter's desire. This early
+introduction to the classics paved the way to a diligent study of Latin
+in later years and of the best Latin models, which greatly helped in the
+formation of her literary style. She also gained a little knowledge of
+mathematics; but Euclid had to retire in favour of the less intricate
+study of French. The proficiency which she afterwards acquired in this
+language she owed to the assiduous tuition of her eldest sister, Mary.
+
+Before the age of twelve she began to scribble short essays and poems.
+Her systematic education commenced on her becoming a pupil of her
+sisters' boarding-school at Bristol. Here she made rapid progress, often
+giving convincing proof of intellectual gifts, and before long becoming
+qualified to assist in tuition.
+
+In her sixteenth year she was one of Sheridan's most delighted auditors
+during his delivery of a course of lectures on Eloquence. She expressed
+her admiration in a chaplet of verses which, finding their way into the
+orator's hands, so impressed him with the fair promise they contained,
+that he secured an introduction to the author. Thus originated one of
+Hannah's numerous warm friendships of after life.
+
+Ferguson, the astronomer, was another of Hannah's early acquaintances.
+From him she gained a knowledge of science; whilst he, prompted by his
+high estimate of her abilities, took counsel with her respecting the
+style of his literary productions.
+
+Her intellectual tastes were encouraged and directed, to a large extent,
+by a somewhat notable Bristol man, of the name of Peach. Although a
+draper by trade, his cultivated mind and excellent literary judgment
+were of distinct service to his young friend. He was entrusted by Hume
+with the revision of the proof-sheets of the famous History of England.
+
+A humorous story is related of the interest which Hannah's conversation
+created in the minds of her elders. When laid aside by illness she was
+attended by a noted physician, Dr. Woodward, who one day became so
+absorbed in his patient's intellectual discourse that he forgot to make
+the usual inquiries about her health. "Bless me!" he exclaimed, as he
+went downstairs, "I forgot to ask the girl how she was!" He returned to
+the bedside, and rather awkwardly put the formal question to the amused
+invalid, "How are you to-day, my poor child?"
+
+Hannah's training in the highest principles of morality and in religion,
+begun by her devoted parents, received the careful attention of her
+eldest sister as long as she remained under her care; when out of her
+teens, she commenced the study of theology under the guidance of Dr.
+Stonhouse, a clergyman of Bristol.
+
+At the age of seventeen, finding that the young people in her circle
+were in the habit of learning passages from plays which frequently
+savoured of unhealthy sentiment, she conceived the idea of providing a
+harmless substitute, and thereupon wrote a pastoral drama, _The Search
+after Happiness_. A little later she produced another drama, _The
+Inflexible Captive_, founded on Metastasio's opera of _Regulus_.
+
+Encouraged in various ways by numerous friends, on whose judgment she
+could safely rely, she appears to have taken pains to qualify herself
+for a literary career. She studied Latin, Italian, and Spanish,
+translated from the best compositions, wrote pieces in imitation of
+celebrated authors, and thus tried to cultivate her mind, and to form
+the groundwork of a good and pleasing style.
+
+Such literary prospects, however, seemed likely to be exchanged for
+those of a rural domestic life; for at the age of twenty-two she
+received and accepted an offer of marriage from a country gentleman of
+wealth and high character. The wedding-day was fixed, but was postponed
+more than once, owing to the bridegroom's indecision. At length he lost
+his chance; for the bride, yielding to the advice of friends, declined
+to be trifled with any longer, and broke off the engagement. To make
+some amends for his treatment, and to compensate for her resignation, at
+the prospect of marriage, of her interest in the school which she and
+her sister were conducting at Bristol, he settled upon her an annuity,
+and at his death bequeathed her a thousand pounds. The settlement was
+made without her knowledge; and it was not without the utmost difficulty
+that her friends prevailed in persuading her to agree to the
+arrangement. From this time forward she seems to have set her face
+against matrimony, for she firmly declined other offers.
+
+A few years afterwards, on arriving at the age of twenty-eight, a
+long-cherished wish was realised. Since childhood she had longed to
+visit London. As a child her favourite amusement was to make a carriage
+of a chair, and invite her sisters to ride with her to London "to see
+bishops and booksellers." Through girlhood to womanhood the desire
+gathered strength. In 1773 she set off with two of her sisters to pay
+her first visit to the Metropolis.
+
+
+
+
+II.
+
+IN "VANITY FAIR."
+
+In order to estimate the complex influences surrounding Hannah More in
+London, and to appreciate the manner in which she stood the ordeal of
+passing through "Vanity Fair," it is necessary to bear in mind the
+social, moral, and religious aspects of the people about the middle of
+the eighteenth century.
+
+What are now considered flagrant vices were either unnoticed or tacitly
+sanctioned. Of social refinement, as we now understand the term, there
+was comparatively little. Coarse jokes, swearing, and profanity were
+almost as common in "polite society" as in the back streets now. The
+literature of the day, excepting the writings of Addison, Johnson,
+Steele, and a few others, ministered to the low tastes prevalent amongst
+both the upper and the lower classes. Religion had well nigh lost all
+vitality. With the majority of people it had become the subject either
+of jest, sceptical hostility, or the utmost indifference.
+
+One of Archbishop Seeker's charges contained the following startling
+statement:--"In this we cannot be mistaken, that an open and professed
+disregard of religion is become, through a variety of unhappy causes,
+the distinguishing character of the present age.... Indeed, it hath
+already brought in such dissoluteness and contempt of principle in the
+higher part of the world, and such profligate intemperance and
+fearlessness of committing crimes in the lower part, as must, if this
+torrent of impiety stop not, become absolutely fatal.... Christianity is
+now ridiculed and railed at with very little reserve; and the teachers
+of it without any at all." [1]
+
+[Footnote 1: Charge to clergy, 1738. See vol. v. of _Works_, Dublin,
+1775.]
+
+The great lawyer, Blackstone, says he went from church to church to hear
+noted London preachers, and it was impossible for him to tell from their
+discourses whether these luminaries were followers of Confucius,
+Mahomet, or Christ. George III. felt compelled to address a letter of
+expostulation to Archbishop Cornwallis for giving balls and routs at
+Lambeth Palace on Saturday nights, so that they ran into Sunday
+morning.[2] The Church had given hardly a thought to either the
+religious or secular education of the masses. Gross ignorance pervaded
+the ranks of the poor all over England. Although the English Bible was
+in the people's hands, it was almost a dead letter.
+
+[Footnote 2: This letter may be found in _The Life and Times of Lady
+Huntingdon_.]
+
+But the voice of awakening had been heard in the land. George Whitfield,
+John Wesley, and a few other brave men, whose hearts were roused by the
+Spirit of God, went up and down the country proclaiming the glad tidings
+of the cross, which for so long had been as an idle tale to the
+English people.
+
+The wave of religious awakening had touched the highest circles of
+London society; and when Hannah More received her flattering welcome
+from fashion, wit, and genius in 1773, the spirit of indifference and
+neglect had given way in a slight degree to a spirit of inquiry and
+anxious concern. There was, however, no perceptible change as yet in the
+utter worldliness of the times, or in the low standard of morals.
+
+It was a perilous thing for a young woman like Hannah More, with her
+enthusiasm, talents, and general attractiveness, to be suddenly launched
+in the turbid though fascinating current of London society. But the
+admirable training in strict moral principles with which she had been
+privileged furnished weapons of defence against the more specious
+temptations which presented themselves; whilst her quick discernment
+easily penetrated the thin shell of external polish covering
+worthlessness of character. It was also fortunate for her that at the
+outset of her London experience she became acquainted with such a
+sterling man as Dr. Johnson.
+
+A few days after her arrival she was introduced to David Garrick and his
+wife. The famous actor had seen a letter of hers to a mutual friend,
+extolling one of his theatrical performances. He forthwith secured an
+interview, which resulted in favourable impressions on both sides, of
+amiability and intellectual powers. A very cordial friendship ensued.
+
+Garrick's social circle was now thrown open to Miss More. At his house
+she first met Mrs. Elizabeth Montague, the authoress of an _Essay on the
+Writings and Genius of Shakespeare_, a work which brought around the
+writer the best literary men of the time.
+
+Miss More's introduction to Dr. Johnson took place at the house of Sir
+Joshua Reynolds. This event, though much desired, was not without dread,
+lest the great man should happen to be in one of his querulous moods.
+All fear vanished on her seeing the Doctor approach with a smile on his
+rugged countenance, and Sir Joshua's macaw perched on his hand. Her
+surprise may be imagined when he greeted her with a verse from a Morning
+Hymn of her own composition.
+
+The following extracts are from letters written by one of Hannah's
+vivacious sisters. "Since I last wrote, Hannah has been introduced by
+Miss Reynolds to Baretti and to Edmund Burke (the 'Sublime and
+Beautiful' Edmund Burke!). From a large party of literary persons
+assembled at Sir Joshua's she received the most encouraging compliments;
+and the spirit with which she returned them was acknowledged by all
+present, as Miss Reynolds informed poor us. Miss R. repeats her little
+poem by heart, with which also the great Johnson is much pleased." "We
+have paid another visit to Miss Reynolds. She had sent to engage Dr.
+Percy (Percy's collection,--now you know him), who is quite a sprightly
+modern, instead of a rusty antique, as I expected. He was no sooner
+gone, than the most amiable and obliging of women (Miss Reynolds)
+ordered the coach to take us to Dr. Johnson's _very own house_; yes,
+Abyssinia's Johnson! Dictionary Johnson! Rambler's, Idler's, and Irene's
+Johnson! Can you picture to yourself the palpitation of our hearts as we
+approached his mansion? The conversation turned upon a new work of his
+(the Tour to the Hebrides), and his old friend Richardson ... Miss
+Reynolds told the doctor of all our rapturous exclamations on the road.
+He shook his scientific head at Hannah, and said, 'She was a _silly
+thing_.' When our visit was ended, he called for his hat, as it rained,
+to attend us down a very long entry to our coach, and not Rasselas could
+have acquitted himself more _en cavalier_. We are engaged with him at
+Sir Joshua's, Wednesday evening. What do you think of us?"
+
+A second visit to London took place in the following year, and a
+third--prolonged to six months--in 1776. From this period down to about
+1789 Miss More usually spent some time every year amongst her London
+friends, but chiefly with Mrs. Garrick, either at the Adelphi or at her
+country residence at Hampton.
+
+Her "Life," written by Mr. Roberts and others, is rich with letters,
+which of themselves form a striking autobiography, revealing the
+writer's prominent phases of character, her steadfast adhesion to high
+principles, her progress in the path of literary fame, her wearying of
+fashionable society, and the gradual consecration of all her powers to
+the service of God. Besides these personal matters, we get glimpses of
+the notable people with whom she was brought into contact, and of the
+moral and religious condition of the higher classes. These letters
+conform to Hannah More's own idea of what epistolary effusions between
+friends should be. "What I want in a letter," she once wrote, "is the
+picture of my friend's mind, and the common course of his life. I want
+to know what he is saying and doing; I want him to turn out the inside
+of his heart to me, without disguise, without appearing better than he
+is." We can therefore obtain a more lifelike portraiture by making
+extracts from her correspondence than by attempting the task in any
+other way.
+
+Describing her feelings in associating with persons of rank and wit, she
+says:--"I had yesterday the pleasure of dining in Hill Street, Berkeley
+Square, at a certain Mrs. Montague's, a name not totally obscure. The
+party consisted of herself, Mrs. Carter, Dr. Johnson, Solander, and
+Matty, Mrs. Boscawen, Miss Reynolds, and Sir Joshua (the idol of every
+company); some other persons of high rank and less wit, and your humble
+servant,--a party that would not have disgraced the table of Laelius or
+of Atticus. I felt myself a worm for the consequence which was given me,
+by mixing me with such a society; but as I told Mrs. Boscawen, and with
+great truth, I had an opportunity of making an experiment of my heart,
+by which I learnt that I was not envious, for I certainly did not repine
+at being the meanest person in company...Dr. Johnson asked me how I
+liked the new tragedy of Braganza. I was afraid to speak before them
+all, as I knew a diversity of opinion prevailed among the company:
+however, as I thought it less evil to dissent from the opinion of a
+fellow-creature than to tell a falsity, I ventured to give my
+sentiments, and was satisfied with Johnson's answering, 'You are
+right, madam.'"
+
+Her conscience was uneasy from visiting the opera, and also from
+attending Sunday parties, which were greatly in vogue.
+
+She thus wrote on this subject:--
+
+                                           "London, 1775.
+     "'Bear me, some god, oh, quickly bear me hence,
+       To wholesome solitude, the nurse of--'
+
+"'Sense' I was going to add, in the words of Pope, till I recollected
+that _pence_ had a more appropriate meaning, and was as good a rhyme.
+This apostrophe broke from me on coming from the opera, the first I ever
+_did_, the last I trust I ever _shall_ go to. For what purpose has the
+Lord of the universe made His creature man with a comprehensive mind?
+Why make him a little lower than the angels? Why give him the faculty of
+thinking, the powers of wit and memory; and, to crown all, an immortal
+and never-dying spirit? Why all this wondrous waste, this prodigality of
+bounty, if the mere animal senses of sight and hearing (by which he is
+not distinguished from the brutes that perish) would have answered the
+end as well? and yet I find the same people are seen at the opera every
+night--an amusement written in a language the greater part of them do
+not understand, and performed by such a set of beings!... Conscience had
+done its office before; nay was busy at the time; and if it did not dash
+the cup of pleasure to the ground, infused at least a tincture of
+wormwood into it. I _did_ think of the alarming call, 'What doest thou
+here, Elijah?' and I thought of it to-night at the opera."
+
+The attractions of wealth and fame had not blinded her to the need of
+seeking satisfaction from a higher source. "For my own part, the more I
+see of the 'honoured, famed, and great,' the more I see of the
+littleness, the unsatisfactoriness of all created good; and that no
+earthly pleasure can fill up the wants of the immortal principle
+within."
+
+She was much troubled by the extravagances of fashion in dress and
+adornments; and, although conforming to some extent to prevailing modes
+in order to avoid singularity, which she abhorred, she always dressed
+neatly and decorously, and never, through the whole of her life, wore an
+article of jewellery simply for ornament.
+
+The following extract from a letter written by one of Hannah's sisters
+shows the cordial relationships with Dr. Johnson, and his interest in
+the five sisters. "Tuesday evening we drank tea at Sir Joshua's with Dr.
+Johnson. Hannah is certainly a great favourite. She was placed next him,
+and they had the entire conversation to themselves. They were both in
+remarkably high spirits; it was certainly her lucky night! I never
+heard her say so many good things. The old genius was extremely jocular,
+and the young one very pleasant. You would have imagined you had been at
+some comedy had you heard our peals of laughter. They, indeed, tried
+which could 'pepper the highest,' and it is not clear to me that the
+lexicographer was really the highest reasoner."
+
+
+
+
+III.
+
+CHARACTERISTICS, FRIENDSHIPS, AND EARLY LITERARY WORK.
+
+Hannah More's flattering reception in London society, and the lively
+impression which she so quickly created, will give rise to some
+astonishment in the minds of many readers. She had not yet won
+reputation as an authoress; she did not possess the influence of wealth
+or of noble family; she was not remarkable for physical beauty; and she
+had none of the brazen ingenuity of patronage-hunters, by which
+admission is secured into the houses of distinguished people. She came
+to London a stranger, a plain schoolmistress from Bristol, and yet in a
+marvellously short time she was one of the best known characters in the
+ranks of the wise and great.
+
+The causes of her rapid rise to distinction are not far to seek. Her
+wonderful talent for conversation at once proved an attraction to both
+men and women. But she was not merely a fluent talker, never at a loss
+for a word, a phrase or a metaphor; had this been her crowning
+recommendation, Dr. Johnson's long-standing friendship would never have
+been gained. Her talk was always sensible--the outcome of a
+well-furnished, retentive mind. Her judgment was sound, her
+discrimination delicate, and her grasp of fundamental truths
+consistently firm. She did not accommodate her opinions to meet the
+exigencies of different coteries, nor was she addicted to compromise.
+She was equally at ease in discussing the merits of _Rasselas_ with Dr.
+Johnson, the curiosities of art with Lord Orford, Roman history with
+Gibbon, and the state of the Church with Bishop Porteus. Not that she
+pretended equality of learning with such men, but she had just
+sufficient knowledge of various subjects to provoke a conversation, and
+enough cleverness to sustain it by "drawing out" the scholar who might
+be seated at her side. But this was not all. Her conversation sparkled
+with wit and repartee. "The mind laughed," says her friend Zachary
+Macaulay, "not the muscles; the countenance sparkled, but it was with an
+ethereal flame: everything was oxygen gas and intellectual champagne:
+and the eye, which her sisters called 'diamond,' and which the painters
+complained they could not put upon canvas, often gave signal by its
+coruscation, as the same sort of eye did in her friend Mr. Wilberforce,
+that something was forthcoming which in a less amiable and religiously
+disciplined mind might have been very pretty satire, but which glanced
+off innoxiously in the shape of epigrammatic playfulness."
+
+[Illustration: ]
+
+Her genial disposition and good temper disarmed difference of opinion of
+anything harsh or unpleasant, and formed another credential for the
+prominence she attained in society. The absence of all artificiality in
+sentiment and manners, when contrasted with the straining after effect
+acquired by fashionably-bred ladies, also added to her attractions in
+the eyes of thoughtful men.
+
+But whilst to these causes may be attributed her rapid rise into favour,
+it was undoubtedly owing to her unswerving and unassuming piety that she
+retained for so long the respect, confidence, and affection of varied
+orders of mind in London society.
+
+At first she appears to have done little to enforce religious teaching
+amongst her acquaintances. Her moral and religious principles were known
+by the firm stand she took against common incentives to dissipation and
+irreligion--such as card-playing and Sunday entertainments--against the
+introduction of questionable topics, unseemly language, and vacuous
+frivolity into conversation. Her religious influence, thus far, was
+almost a silent or negative one; but it had its effect on others, and
+laid the foundation of that direct searching and far-reaching influence,
+which, under the Divine blessing, she wielded in later years.
+
+Her interest in young people was notably illustrated by her efforts to
+foster the intellectual tastes of Lord Macaulay when a lad. She supplied
+him with standard books, which formed the nucleus of an excellent
+library, and advised him in his studies. To the child of six she thus
+writes:--"Though you are a little boy now, you will one day, if it
+please God, be a man; but long before you are a man I hope you will be a
+scholar[1]."
+
+[Footnote 1: See _Life and Letters of Lord Macaulay_, by George Otto
+Trevelyan, M.P., vol. 1. pp. 35, 36]
+
+When Hannah More began to produce books her reputation rose to literary
+fame. In 1775 she wrote a romantic poem, entitled _Sir Eldred of the
+Bouer_, with which was published another poem, written earlier, _The
+Bleeding Rock_. In the first the element of religion was not forgotten;
+and both works met with a flattering reception. Though, as we have seen,
+a woman of high Christian tone, with what we should consider strange
+inconsistency, she both wrote plays, which were acted, and attended the
+theatre herself.
+
+In 1777 her tragedy, _Percy_, was brought out at Covent Garden Theatre.
+One of the results of this venture was a shower of invitations to the
+author of the play from a new circle of titled and distinguished people.
+The play was afterwards translated into German, and performed at Vienna
+with notable success.
+
+On the death of Garrick in 1779, Hannah More broke off attendance at the
+theatre. Garrick's widow sought relief and solace in Hannah's company,
+and for many years a close friendship was kept up between the two
+ladies, although there could be but little intercourse on religious
+matters, Mrs. Garrick being a Roman Catholic. Before the actor's death
+Miss More had completed another play, _The Fatal Falsehood_, which was
+afterwards performed, and which elicited almost as much applause
+as _Percy_.
+
+Miss More's experience of fashionable life had now lasted about six
+years. As her fame increased, her taste for society declined. The
+constant round of dinner-parties, conversation-parties, and assemblies
+of intellect and wealth, though at first full of attraction to one of
+her disposition, had begun to lose its charm. Her depth of character
+and her recognition of the claims of religion demanded a more
+satisfactory mode of spending her time and utilising her talents. For
+the next five years we find her often the guest of Mrs. Garrick, but
+gradually detaching herself from fashionable circles, studying theology,
+history, and science, writing poems, and engaged in other literary work.
+
+Her chief literary work during this period consisted of _Sacred
+Dramas--Moses in the Bulrushes, David and Goliath, Belshazzar_, and
+_Daniel_. She was prompted to this undertaking by a desire to provide,
+not plays for the stage, but a substitute for some of the pernicious
+literature of the day which fell into the hands of young people, and
+also to afford instruction in the common facts of Scripture, The gross
+ignorance of the Bible amongst fashionable people astonished her one
+day, when Sir Joshua Reynolds told her that on showing his picture of
+Samuel to some great patrons they asked him who Samuel was? The work
+answered the purpose for which it was intended, and passed through
+nineteen editions, receiving high commendation from Bishop Lowth and
+others. Her poem _Sensibility_ was also included in this
+successful volume.
+
+A poem, _The Bas Bleu, or Conversation_, written in a lively and
+facetious strain, owed its origin to the mistakes of a foreigner who
+gave the literal designation of the _Bas-Bleu_ to a party of friends who
+had been humorously called the "Blue Stockings."
+
+At the King's request a manuscript copy of the poem was sent to him; and
+Dr. Johnson went so far in his praise of the effusion as to say that
+there was no name in poetry that might not be glad to own it. A little
+later Miss More wrote _Florio_, a poem describing the occupation of a
+young man of fashion, and his final escape from a life of pleasure to
+one of usefulness.
+
+By the death of Dr. Johnson in 1784, Miss More lost the best friend she
+ever had in London. She had been with the Doctor at his last communion
+at St. Clement's Church, and saw too plainly his altered condition.
+Bound to each other by strong intellectual and stronger religious
+sympathies, the separation caused a void in Miss More's life which was
+never afterwards filled. Theirs was a friendship born at first sight.
+For more than ten years it grew and flourished, with mutual benefit and
+happiness to the stern moralist and his promising _protégé_. Whilst the
+rugged common-sense and sound literary judgments of the Doctor imparted
+increasing accuracy and insight to his friend's views of the world and
+of literature, it was the sparkle, freshness, and wit of Miss More's
+conversation, and her light-heartedness of character, that often
+dispelled the clouds of depression from the mental horizon of her sage
+and trusty adviser, and smoothed the rough edges of his outspoken
+opinions. In religion, it was probably the Doctor's uncompromising
+fidelity to first principles, and to a fearless practice of truth, that
+helped to fortify his "dear child," as he called Miss More, in
+maintaining her integrity amidst the bewildering voices and garish
+scenes of Vanity Fair.
+
+
+
+
+IV.
+
+COWSLIP GREEN.
+
+About the time of Dr. Johnson's death, in 1784, Hannah More became the
+possessor of a rural spot, called Cowslip Green, some ten miles from
+Bristol. Here she built herself a cottage, intending to make it her
+place of retirement for a large portion of each year. In the cultivation
+of her garden she found leisure for reflection as well as an opportunity
+to pursue a favourite occupation.
+
+The inroads which death had made in her circle of intimate friends, a
+growing dissatisfaction with the enjoyments of London life, and
+especially a keener sense of her responsibility, as a professed
+Christian, than she had hitherto experienced, led to a close
+self-examination, and to a scrutiny of the real motives of her life.
+
+The result of this testing process showed itself in various ways. During
+occasional visits to London and attendance at parties she lost no
+opportunity of enforcing the truths of religion. Her silent witnessing
+was now exchanged for active exertion. The manners and practices of
+people who were amongst her most effusive admirers sometimes met with
+her indignant rebuke. Ladies of title, society beauties, and leaders of
+fashion, who were unapproachable by other religious influences, she
+urged in private to consider their spiritual interests. The method she
+adopted was not, usually, to start religious topics, but "to extract
+from common subjects some useful and awful truth, and to counteract the
+mischief of a popular sentiment by one drawn from religion." Perhaps a
+message which John Wesley once sent to her through a sister may have
+weighed considerably in deterring her from an entire severance from the
+fashionable world. "Tell her to live in the world; _there_ is the sphere
+of her usefulness; they will not let _us_ come nigh them."
+
+Not content with personal and private reproof, advice, and entreaty, she
+now devoted her pen to the denunciation of folly and vice in high
+places. In her work, _Thoughts on the Importance of the Manners of the
+Great to General Society_, whilst protesting against prevalent
+irreligious practices and habits of dissipation, which even good people
+sanctioned, she sought to arouse a sensitive regard for mutual
+responsibility as set forth in the New Testament.
+
+In 1788 the slave trade formed a burning question in Parliament. Miss
+More, intensely aroused by the descriptions presented of the horrible
+traffic, found vent for her feelings in a poem on the subject. About the
+same time a close friendship began with Wilberforce, which lasted to the
+end of life.
+
+A yet more important friendship commenced at this period--one that was
+destined to work a powerful influence on Miss More's life. The Rev. John
+Newton, one of the leaders amongst the evangelical clergy, held the
+incumbency of St. Mary Woolnoth. Attendance on his ministry led to a
+correspondence and a deep friendship. John Newton was precisely the kind
+of man whom Hannah More needed to assist her in spiritual progress, and
+to direct her steps into paths of settled peace. Her letters to Mr.
+Newton, stating her difficulties and seeking counsel, breathe the spirit
+of the humble and sincere scholar of Christ. Her willingness to obey the
+Master whom she professed to serve, and her earnest desire to be brought
+into closer relations with God, although checked, had never been stifled
+by the claims of intellect or by the attractions of the world. From this
+time the work of the Holy Spirit in deepening her love for the Saviour
+became more and more prominent. Turning for a time from Christian work
+amongst the rich, Miss More now devoted her efforts to the improvement
+of the moral and religious condition of the poor.
+
+About ten miles from Cowslip Green was the picturesque village of
+Cheddar, the population of which was sunk in ignorance and depravity.
+The incumbent lived at Oxford, and the curate at Wells, twelve miles
+off. There was but one service a week, and no pastoral visitation
+whatever. There were thirteen parishes in the neighbourhood without even
+a resident curate. Drunkenness and utter inefficiency prevailed to a
+terrible extent amongst the clergy in this district; whilst education
+was a question that never troubled either the clergy or the people.
+
+At Cheddar Hannah and her sister Patty opened a school; and in a short
+time nearly 300 children attended regularly. The sisters had to combat
+strong prejudices amongst the farmers. By dint of much persuasion and
+flattery the opposing forces were at length won over, even to hearty
+concurrence.
+
+Masters and mistresses were procured for teaching reading, seeing,
+knitting, and spinning, and giving religious instruction on Sundays. A
+second school was shortly opened in an adjoining parish, the
+vicarage-house, which had remained uninhabited for a hundred years,
+having been put into repair for the purpose.
+
+During 1790 Miss More published a volume entitled, _An Estimate of the
+Religion of the Fashionable World_. The book was quickly bought up, and
+within two years reached a fifth edition. The prevailing indifference to
+vital religion, the corruptions of society, the decline of domestic
+piety, and the absence of religion from the education of the upper
+classes were the themes treated by the writer with unsparing candour and
+convincing force.
+
+Encouraged by her success at Cheddar, Miss More, with her sister Patty,
+went further afield, and selected two mining villages on the top of the
+Mendip Hills as the next scene of her labours. The difficulties here
+were even greater than those at Cheddar. The neighbourhood was so bad,
+we are told, that no constable would venture to execute his office
+there. Friends warned the Misses More that their lives would be in
+danger if they persisted in their project. The people imagined that the
+sisters had come to make money by kidnapping their children for slaves.
+
+Undaunted by obstacles and perils, the workers persevered, until in no
+less than ten parishes schools were commenced, which, before long, were
+attended by 1200 children. In every parish the acquiescence of the
+incumbent was first obtained before proceeding to open a school. At the
+evening meetings, to which adults were invited, a simple sermon was read
+by one of the sisters, and also a printed prayer and a psalm. Few
+mistresses could be found who had not owed their religious impressions
+to Wesleyan influence; and thus Hannah More was subsequently, though
+mistakenly, thought to be a Methodist. Although influenced by the
+Methodist revival, she always considered and professed herself to be a
+member of the Episcopal Church.
+
+Whilst immersed in her village work, she was earnestly solicited to
+write a popular tract that might help to counteract the baneful
+influence of Jacobin and infidel publications, and infamous ballads,
+which were now scattered broadcast over England. She declined the task,
+doubtful of her efficiency to produce a pamphlet equal to the occasion.
+On second thoughts, however, she tried her powers in secret, and issued
+anonymously a lively dialogue called _Village Politics_, by "Will
+Chip." The success was phenomenal. Friends ignorant of the authorship
+sent her copies by every post within three or four days of publication,
+begging her to distribute the pamphlet as widely as possible. In a short
+time copies were to be found in all parts of the kingdom. Hundreds of
+thousands were circulated in London. Such was the enthusiasm that
+private persons printed large editions at their own expense, whilst the
+Government sent off quantities to Scotland and Ireland. At last the
+secret came out; and the author was deluged with congratulations and
+thanks. Some persons of sound judgment declared that _Village Politic_
+had essentially contributed, under Providence, to prevent a revolution,
+whilst others went so far as to allege that Miss More had "wielded at
+will the fierce democratie of England, and stemmed the tide of
+misguided opinion."
+
+A little later Miss More wrote another pamphlet, by way of reply to the
+atheistical speech of Dupont to the National Convention, and devoted the
+profits, amounting to £240, towards the relief of the French
+emigrant clergy.
+
+In 1794, or early in 1795, she commenced the issue of tracts. This was a
+form of literary work not much used in those days. The founders of the
+Religious Tract Society, realising the value of this kind of work, but
+considering that Miss More's tracts needed supplementing with some which
+should in every case contain the simple communication of the Gospel,
+began in 1799 to undertake the dissemination of religious knowledge.
+Sunday schools, through the energy of Mr. Raikes, were rising in various
+parts of the country; the poorer classes were learning to read; and
+nothing in the shape of cheap literature was provided to meet their new
+craving, except mischievous broadsheets and worthless doggerel. Hannah
+More set to work to supply something healthy to amuse, instruct, and
+edify the new order of readers. She produced regularly every month for
+three years, three tracts--simple, pithy, vivacious, consisting of
+stories, ballads, homilies, and prayers. She was sometimes assisted by
+one of her sisters and two or three friends; but the burden of the work,
+including heavy correspondence with local committees in almost every
+district of England, fell upon her shoulders. In order to issue the
+brochures at a cheap rate and to undersell pernicious publications, she
+found it necessary to raise a subscription. Her appeal met with a
+liberal response; and very shortly the lively tracts, with a rough
+woodcut on the title-page, came by thousands from the printer's hands.
+In the first year no less than two millions were sold. Amongst the
+tracts were _The Shepherd of Salisbury Plain, Black Giles the Poacher,
+History of Mr. Fantom, The Two Shoemakers, History of Tom White the
+Postilion, The Strait Gate and the Broad Way;_ and amongst the ballads
+_Turning the Carpet, King Dionysius and Squire Damocles, The Honest
+Miller of Gloucestershire, The Gin-Shop, or A Peep into a Prison_.
+
+It would be difficult to over-estimate both the direct and secondary
+value of the Cheap Repository Tracts. Their beneficial influence must
+have been incalculable; and for this reason they should be placed
+amongst the greatest and best work of Hannah More's useful life.
+
+By 1798 Miss More had withdrawn almost entirely from London society,
+contenting herself with a yearly visit of two months, which she divided
+between Mrs. Garrick, Bishop Porteus, Lord Teignmouth, and one or two
+others. Her schools occupied the best part of her time; but frequent
+attacks of illness often interfered with her duties.
+
+In 1799 her active pen was at work again. Her third ethical publication,
+_Strictures on Female Education_, came out, forming yet another
+counterblast to the corrupt systems in vogue amongst the
+wealthy classes.
+
+It would have been marvellous had Miss More escaped persecution in her
+work amongst rural populations. Combating prejudices, introducing
+unheard-of innovations, adopting plans which rumour stated were deeply
+tainted with Methodism (and therefore bad, according to clerical and
+general opinion in those days), she had to encounter at last a pitiless
+storm of hostility. This violent and prolonged attack, whilst it showed
+to what infamous lengths the tongues of slander, envy, and bigotry could
+go in attempting to destroy a noble woman's reputation, tested to the
+utmost Hannah More's fine qualities of Christian forbearance
+and courage.
+
+
+
+
+V.
+
+BARLEY WOOD, CLOSING YEAES AND DEATH.
+
+In 1802 Miss More removed from Cowslip Green to a house which she had
+built at Barley Wood, about a mile distant. Soon afterwards her sisters,
+having disposed of their house at Bath, came to live with her. For the
+next twenty years, or more, friends from all parts sought her society,
+and strangers of all ages and of all ranks came for advice, sympathy,
+and help. Her immense correspondence occupied a very large portion of
+her time. There was scarcely a person at all prominent in the religious
+world who was not brought into association with her.
+
+Miss More's prolonged life did not close until 1833, when she had
+arrived at her eighty-ninth year. The thirty-one years that remained to
+her after quitting Cowslip Green was as full of work and usefulness as
+the previous part of her life. It will be impossible within the space
+now left to do more than indicate the chief events of this period, which
+was not remarkable for any fresh departure either in educational or
+religious work. Miss More had already marked out for herself two
+distinct and definite lines of usefulness--the education of the poor,
+and the improvement of morals and religion amongst the rich. By her
+active exertion and by her busy pen she continued to pursue these two
+lines of work down to the year of her death. It must be remembered that
+she was a martyr during these latter years to long attacks of illness,
+one of which almost completely prostrated her for two years; and when
+upwards of seventy she was unable to leave the house for more than seven
+years. At this period she stated that she had never been free from pain
+for long together since she was ten years old. Such physical hindrances
+render her persistent activity and the great work she accomplished all
+the more remarkable. When not entirely incapacitated she still worked
+with her pen, attended to business connected with her schools, and
+received visitors in the sick room. It used to be said amongst her
+friends that when she was laid aside they always expected a new
+book from her.
+
+In 1805 she published _Hints towards forming the Character of a Young
+Princess_. It was undertaken, at the request of a bishop, with reference
+to the education of the Princess Charlotte.
+
+In 1809 her religious novel, _Coelebs in Search of a Wife_, issued
+anonymously, roused universal attention. In twelve months as many
+editions came out; and during the author's lifetime thirty editions of a
+thousand copies each were printed in America. This was followed shortly
+by _Practical Piety_, which soon ran to the tenth edition, and which
+brought the author to the end of her life numerous gratifying
+testimonies of its results. As a sequel to this work, _Christian Morals_
+was published in 1812, and was also widely circulated. Three years
+later, when the author had entered her seventieth year, she wrote an
+_Essay on the Character and Writings of St. Paul_, in two volumes,
+which, notwithstanding absorbing political events, was received with the
+same eagerness which greeted her former works. _Moral Sketches of
+Prevailing Opinions and Manners, Foreign and Domestic_, was published in
+1819, being chiefly directed against the rage for copying French customs
+and manners. At the age of eighty-two she collected from her later works
+her _Thoughts on Prayer_ and re-issued them in a little volume, with a
+short preface. This was her last literary effort. She said to a friend
+that the only remarkable thing which belonged to her as an author was
+that she had written eleven volumes after the age of sixty.
+
+Between 1813 and 1818 her four sisters died. The last to go was Martha,
+Hannah's trusty helpmeet and lieutenant in all her benevolent schemes,
+and her tender consoler in many a season of sickness. Soon after this
+event Miss More's long illness of seven years occurred. Unable to give
+proper supervision to her servants, she was victimised in household
+matters in various ways. Extravagance and misconduct at length gave rise
+to scandal; and at the representation of friends Miss More reluctantly
+decided to break up her establishment, and remove to another and smaller
+residence at Clifton. It was with a sad heart that she left her charming
+dwelling; and as she glanced back into the beautiful garden, with its
+shady bowers, she exclaimed, "I am driven, like Eve, out of Paradise;
+but not, like Eve, by angels."
+
+She lived five and a half years at Clifton, tranquilly waiting for the
+end, and attending, as far as failing strength would permit, to the
+distribution of her charities, the work of her schools and the
+entertainment of friends.
+
+Almost to the last she retained unimpaired the use of her faculties. The
+intellectual vivacity of early days often reappeared. During one of her
+illnesses some one remarked, in allusion to the struggle of the remnant
+of sin in a person recently awakened to the truth, "The old man dies
+hard!" "The old woman dies hard!" exclaimed the invalid. At eighty-three
+she said, "I have too many petty cares at that age when the grasshopper
+is a burden. I have _many_ grasshoppers, and seem to have less time and
+more labour than ever."
+
+Her last days were spent almost entirely in prayer, invoking blessings
+on those around her and on the village work which lay so near her heart.
+She said to a friend during her last illness, "To go to heaven, think
+what _that_ is! to go to my Saviour who died that I might live! Lord,
+humble me, subdue every evil temper in me. May we meet in a robe of
+glory! Through Christ's merits alone can we be saved... Lord, I
+believe--I _do_ believe with all the powers of my weak, sinful heart.
+Lord Jesus, look down upon me from Thy holy habitation; strengthen my
+faith, and quicken me in my preparation. Support me in that trying hour
+when I most need it! It is a glorious thing to die!" No vanity or
+self-praise on the ground of her life's labours ever found a place in
+her thoughts. Some one began to speak of her good deeds. "Talk not so
+vainly," she exclaimed; "I utterly cast them from me, and fall low at
+the foot of the cross." She sank gradually, and without pain, and on
+September 7, 1833, quietly passed away.
+
+There are few thoughtful students who will hesitate to rank Hannah More
+with the leading religious and educational reformers of the eighteenth
+century. In essential matters she was a kindred spirit with Whitfield,
+Wesley, Raikes, and others, and worked, in the way marked out for her by
+God, for the regeneration of her country.
+
+With regard to her books, she believed they would be little read after
+her death. To a considerable extent her judgment has been verified. Her
+writings were a continual seed-sowing, which later workers fertilised,
+and brought to maturity.
+
+They were republished in eleven volumes in 1830. Besides the prominence
+given to their religious or moral purpose, most of them are remarkable
+for sustained fervour, persuasiveness of tone, and practical common
+sense. We give a few extracts from some of the principal works, to
+illustrate Hannah More's methods of appealing to the conscience and
+awakening spiritual concern.
+
+"There are two things of which a wise man will be scrupulously
+careful--his conscience and his credit. Happily, they are almost
+inseparable concomitants; they are commonly kept or lost together; the
+same things which wound the one usually giving a blow to the other; yet
+it must be confessed, that conscience and a mere worldly credit are not,
+in all instances, allowed to subsist together....
+
+"Between a wounded conscience and a wounded credit, there is the same
+difference as between a crime and a calamity. Of two inevitable evils,
+religion instructs us to submit to that which is inferior and
+involuntary. As much as reputation exceeds every worldly good, so much,
+and far more, is conscience to be consulted before credit--if credit
+that can be called, which is derived from the acclamations of a mob,
+whether composed of 'the great vulgar or the small'"--_Christian Morals_
+(chapter xxiv.).
+
+"One cause, therefore, of the dulness of many Christians in prayer, is
+their slight acquaintance with the sacred volume. They hear it
+periodically, they read it occasionally, they are contented to know it
+historically, to consider it superficially; but they do not endeavour to
+get their minds imbued with its spirit. If they store their memory with
+its facts, they do not impress their hearts with its truths. They do not
+regard it as the nutriment on which their spiritual life and growth
+depend. They do not pray over it; they do not consider all its doctrines
+as of practical application; they do not cultivate that spiritual
+discernment which alone can enable them judiciously to appropriate its
+promises, and apply its denunciations to their own actual case. They do
+not use it as an unerring line, to ascertain their own rectitude, or
+detect their own obliquities."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"The discrepancies between our prayers and our practice do not end here.
+How frequently are we solemnly imploring of God that 'His kingdom may
+come,' while we are doing nothing to promote His kingdom of grace here,
+and consequently His kingdom of glory hereafter."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"Prayer draws all the Christian graces into its focus. It draws Charity,
+followed by her lovely train, her forbearance with faults, her
+forgiveness of injuries, her pity for errors, her compassion for want.
+It draws Repentance, with her holy sorrows, her pious resolutions, her
+self-distrust. It attracts Faith, with her elevated eye,--Hope, with her
+grasped anchor,--Beneficence, with her open hand,--Zeal, looking far and
+wide to serve,--Humility, with introverted eye, looking at home. Prayer,
+by quickening these graces in the heart warms them into life, fits them
+for service, and dismisses each to it appropriate practice. Cordial
+prayer is mental virtue; Christian virtue is spiritual action."--_The
+Spirit of Prayer_ (chapters iii., viii., and xi.).
+
+     "If good we plant not, vice will fill the place,
+      And rankest weeds the richest soils deface.
+      Learn how ungoverned thoughts the mind pervert,
+      And to disease all nourishment convert.
+      Ah! happy she, whose wisdom learns to find
+      A healthful fancy, and a well-trained mind.
+      A sick man's wildest dreams less wild are found
+      Than the day-visions of a mind unsound.
+      Disordered phantasies indulged too much.
+      Like harpies, always taint whate'er they touch.
+      Fly soothing Solitude! fly vain Desire!
+      Fly such soft verse as fans the dang'rous fire!
+      Seek action; 'tis the scene which virtue loves;
+      The vig'rous sun not only shines, but moves.
+      From sickly thoughts with quick abhorrence start,
+      And rule the fancy if you'd rule the heart:
+      By active goodness, by laborious schemes,
+      Subdue wild visions and delusive dreams.
+      No earthly good a Christian's views should bound,
+      For ever rising should his aims be found.
+      Leave that fictitious good your fancy feigns,
+      For scenes where real bliss eternal reigns:
+      Look to that region of immortal joys,
+      Where fear disturbs not, nor possession cloys;
+      Beyond what Fancy forms of rosy bowers,
+      Or blooming chaplets of unfading flowers;
+      Fairer than o'er imagination drew,
+      Or poet's warmest visions ever knew.
+      Press eager onward to these blissful plains,
+      Where life eternal, joy perpetual reigns."
+
+                          _The Search after Happiness_.
+
+                                HENRY JOHNSON.
+
+
+
+
+SUSANNA WESLEY.
+
+I.
+
+PARENTAGE AND EDUCATION.
+
+The mother of John Wesley was the daughter of Dr. Samuel Annesley, an
+eminent minister of the Church of England at the period of the great
+Civil War. He resigned his charge, being one of the two thousand who,
+after the Restoration, declared for Nonconformity, and preached their
+farewell sermons in the Established Church, on the 17th of August, 1662.
+He found his sphere in the meeting-house of Little St. Helen's,
+Bishopsgate.
+
+Dr. Annesley's second wife, the mother of Susanna, was a woman of
+eminent piety, and beloved of all who knew her. "How many children has
+Dr. Annseley?" was a question asked of the eminent Puritan preacher
+Manton, who had just been officiating at the baptism of one of the
+number. "I believe it is two dozen, or a quarter of a hundred," he
+replied. Such was the family into which the mother of the Wesleys was
+born on the 20th of January, 1669. Of this crowded household, the
+majority were daughters, and Susanna was the youngest of these. In her
+own Journals, which form the only account of her childhood, we read of
+several instances of her "preservation from accidents," and once from a
+"violent death." The method of her education is not clearly stated, but
+"the tree is known by its fruits." There is evidence that it was sound
+and liberal, and up to the best standard of the day in any rank of
+society. French and music were evidently among her attainments, while in
+her letters and treatises there are abundant tokens that logic and
+philosophy were also held in effective possession and use. She tells us
+that which might have been expected when she says that she "was early
+initiated and instructed in the first principles of the Christian
+religion;" and in after days we find her giving to her son a rule which
+had proved to be a blessing to her own girlhood--"Never to spend more
+time in any matter of mere recreation in one day, than I spend in
+private religious duties."
+
+The thoroughness of her own "private religious duties" is shown by the
+fact that in the year 1700 she made a resolution to spend one hour
+morning and evening in private devotion. This practice she kept up
+through life as far as circumstances would admit.
+
+
+
+
+II.
+
+THEOLOGICAL STUDIES.
+
+Soon we find Susanna Wesley studying the works of Jeremy Taylor, of the
+early Puritan Divines, and the immortal Bunyan, till at length her
+vigour of intellect and enterprise in reading led her into danger. By
+reading Arian and Socinian authors of the period, her faith was shaken.
+This, however, was not to be for long, and the manner of her recall was
+marked by interesting circumstances.
+
+It is at this juncture that Samuel Wesley, her future husband, first
+appears in the story as the friend of her soul. This young student,
+seven years her senior, had himself made "proof" of Socinianism. In the
+course of some literary work, he had been specially well paid for the
+translation of Socinian writings from the Latin; but his strong mind
+revolted from their principles, the task was resigned, and his faith
+became more firmly rooted in Christ as the eternal Son of God. In this
+frame of mind Mr. Wesley met Susanna Annesley, and by God's help,
+succeeded in accomplishing her complete extrication from the meshes of
+doctrinal error and distress.
+
+It can be gathered from her writings, about this time, that the salutary
+change proceeded not out of complaisance to the lover, but by reception
+of a fulness of light from heaven. Clearness, zeal, and love mark her
+_Meditations and Disquisitions on the Holy Trinity; the Godhead and
+Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ; the Personality and Work of the
+Holy Spirit_.
+
+Another epoch in the girlhood of this remarkable young lady was the
+engagement, somewhat previously, of her mind in the controversy between
+the Church and Nonconformity. Here she had ample opportunity of being
+well-informed, for her father's house was the resort of many able men on
+both sides of the question. The result was that, with all due respect
+toward her beloved parent, she, renounced his ecclesiastical views and
+attached herself to the Established Church. "I was educated among the
+Dissenters," she writes, "and because there was something remarkable in
+my leaving them at so early an age, not being full thirteen, I had drawn
+up an account of the whole transaction, under which I had included the
+main of the controversy between them and the Established Church as far
+as it had come to my knowledge." Clearly, Susanna Wesley is not to be
+considered as having merely accepted the ecclesiastical situation,
+turning "Churchwoman" by marriage.
+
+
+
+
+III.
+
+
+MARRIAGE.
+
+Dr. Annesley's daughters were remarkable for their personal beauty, and
+from all accounts it would seem that the subject of this narrative
+shared this "dower." She was of average stature and slight frame.
+
+"Some time, late in 1689 or early in 1690," Susanna Annesley was married
+to Samuel Wesley. Mr. Wesley was at that time a curate at a salary of
+£30 a year, and with his newly-wedded wife, took lodgings in London till
+the autumn of 1690, when he received the living of South Ormsby, in
+Lincolnshire, through the presentation of the Marquis of Normanby.
+
+While exercising, in his pastoral duties, a diligence and faithfulness
+such as to put him for the most part above censure, the young husband
+toiled hard in literary work for the support of his household, and by
+various publications of a theological character in verse and prose--at
+one time a metrical _Life of Christ_, at another a treatise on _The
+Hebrew Points_, and chiefly by articles in Dunton's _Athenian
+Oracle_--he earned the means of keeping his family at least
+above distress.
+
+About the close of 1696 Samuel Wesley was presented to the parish of
+Epworth--a place destined to be irrevocably associated with his name.
+This promotion is said to have been awarded him by special desire of the
+Queen, to whom he had dedicated his _Metrical and Illustrated Life
+of Christ_.
+
+
+
+
+IV.
+
+EPWORTH.
+
+Mr. and Mrs. Wesley, with their family of four children--one son and
+three daughters, the youngest of these being an infant in arms--duly
+took possession of their new sphere. The promotion proved to be a hard
+parish and a humble abode. The landowners were comparatively poor, and
+of small culture in mind or morals. The people were proportionately
+subject to hardships in their mode of life, and were rude and even
+"savage" in character, as events were soon to prove.
+
+There were seven rooms in the straw-roofed parsonage requiring new
+furniture, which had to be procured with borrowed money--a beginning of
+things that formed a grievous burden for many a day. The trade of the
+place consisted chiefly in the dressing of flax, which was extensively
+grown in the fields of the river-island of Axholme, in-which the village
+of Epworth stood, with its population of two thousand. The parsonage
+shared in this trade; but misfortunes soon came thickly.
+
+A fire broke out (not the one that has become so celebrated) in 1702,
+and destroyed a third part of the house. Mrs. Wesley and the children
+were in the study when the alarm was raised, and "the mother, taking two
+of them in her arms, rushed through the smoke and flame;" another was
+with difficulty saved, and happily none were lost. A year later the
+rector's whole crop of flax was consumed.
+
+The famous fire took place in 1709. According to Mrs. Wesley's
+account--"When we opened the street door, the strong north-east wind
+drove the flames in with such violence that none could stand against
+them. But some of our children got out through the windows, the rest
+through a little door into the garden. I was not in a condition to climb
+up to the windows, neither could I get to the garden door. I endeavoured
+three times to force my passage through the street door, but was as
+often driven back by the fury of the flames. In this distress I besought
+our blessed Saviour for help, and then waded through the fire, as I was,
+which did me no further harm than a little scorching my hands and my
+face." The sequel is of undying interest to the Church and the world.
+One sweet child, six years of age, had been left sleeping upstairs: the
+father made frantic attempts to reach him by the burning staircase, but
+in vain, and finally fell on his knees in the passage, solemnly
+committing the child's soul to God.
+
+The boy, awaking after some bewilderment with the glare that looked to
+him as daylight, climbed upon a chest at the window, and was seen. Men,
+rightly guided, did not lose the last chance by waiting for a ladder,
+but, mounting one upon the other's shoulders, some two or three in this
+way saved the child, who became the famous John Wesley.
+
+When John had been saved, the father turned to the men who had saved the
+boy, with the words: "Come, neighbours, let us kneel down; let us give
+thanks to God; He has given me all my eight children. Let the house go;
+I am rich enough."
+
+This terrible occurrence was attended by consequences which made the
+noble Christian mother anxious for her children, in another way. Being
+now dispersed among various households of the village for sleeping
+accommodation, the little ones were, for a time, in danger of those evil
+communications that corrupt good manners. From this the kindness of the
+few who sheltered them could scarcely defend them, for the malice of the
+many was great against their parish minister. The grounds of ill-will
+and persecution were political rather than personal. It is strongly
+suspected that these fires were, in every instance, the deed of
+incendiaries. The rector's cattle had been mutilated. The children had
+curses flung at them in the street, and on occasion of Mr. Wesley's
+absence at Lincoln to record his vote, many cowardly devices were
+resorted to by way of alarming the family at all hours of the night. One
+new-born child had been, owing to Mrs. Wesley's exhaustion and danger,
+committed to the care of a nurse. This poor woman, losing sleep by the
+cruel noises purposely raised outside, at last, far in the night, fell
+into a heavy slumber and "overlaid the child." Cold and dead, they
+brought it to the poor mother.
+
+It was political spite, also, that was at the bottom of the conduct of a
+creditor, who caused the rector to be arrested for debt, at the church
+door, after a baptismal service, and hurried off to Lincoln Castle,
+"leaving his lambs among so many wolves." In prison Mr. Wesley engaged
+in an earnest work of evangelising his "brother jail-birds," as he
+called them; his conduct at this period more than realising the
+world-renowned picture which Goldsmith has drawn of his incarcerated
+Vicar of Wakefield. Susanna Wesley now strove to support herself and her
+children by means of the diary, but, fearing lest her husband should be
+pining in want, she sent to him her wedding-ring, beseeching him by this
+to get a little money for his comfort. He returned it with words of
+tender gratitude, saying that "God would soon provide." Indeed, being by
+this time regarded as a martyr to his political principles, he was
+approached by some brethren of the clergy seeking to deliver him, and an
+arrangement was made, after three months, by which he was liberated.
+
+
+
+
+V.
+
+THE SCHOOL IN THE HOME.
+
+It would appear that, ultimately, the family of Susanna Wesley was
+almost as numerous as that of her father had been. A singular want of
+accuracy characterises all the records, but it is safe to say that her
+children were some eighteen or nineteen in number. Death came often
+during those years of persecution. John Wesley speaks of the serenity
+with which his mother "worked among her thirteen children;" but ten was
+the number of those who were spared to enjoy the blessing of that
+enlightened, affectionate, and admirable training on her part, which has
+been so fully recorded, and of which the fruits were witnessed
+especially in the eminence of her sons Charles and John. She paid the
+utmost attention to physical training. Punctuality in the hours of
+sleep was carefully carried out from infancy through the years that
+followed. The rules regarding food were all admirable, and the younger
+children were early promoted to a place at the parents' own table. Mrs.
+Wesley has committed all these matters to writing, and her own words are
+valuable for their wisdom. "In order to form the minds of children, the
+first thing to be done is to conquer the will. To inform the
+understanding is a work of time, and must, with children, proceed by
+slow degrees as they are able to bear it. But the subjecting the will is
+a thing which must be done at once, and the sooner the better." "Then a
+child is capable of being governed by the reason and piety of its
+parents, till its own understanding comes to maturity."
+
+Again she writes: "Cowardice and fear of punishment often lead children
+into lying," and accordingly, to save her own from temptation, the rule
+was--"whoever was charged with a fault of which they were guilty, if
+they would ingenuously confess it and promise to amend should not be
+beaten." The most careful discrimination was made between inadvertent
+and deliberate falsehood.
+
+"If they amended, they were never upbraided afterward." Kindly
+commendation was regularly awarded to obedience evidently done at a
+sacrifice. "When the thing crossed the child's own inclinations, and
+when any of them performed an act of obedience, or did any thing with an
+intention to please, though the performance was not well, yet the
+obedience and intention were kindly accepted, and the child with
+sweetness directed how to do better for the future."
+
+Recreation was liberally allowed, and outdoor physical amusements
+encouraged. "High glee and frolic," so notably appearing in the
+narrative that, in after days, some writers thought to turn this matter
+against John Wesley, remarking that he had himself been indulged by his
+mother at home in amusements which he was now prohibiting to the
+students under him at college. He made the difference of age and the
+demands of duty his defence, rather than any difference of principle.
+
+Here, surely, the motherly instinct of this remarkable woman may be of
+use to-day, in clearing the line of duty in the question of amusements.
+
+"Your arguments against horse-races do certainly conclude against
+masquerades, balls, plays, operas, and all such light and vain
+diversions. I will not say it is impossible for a person to have any
+sense of religion who frequents these; but I never, throughout the
+course of my long life, knew as much as one serious Christian that did;
+nor can I see how a lover of God can have any relish for them."
+
+"Take this rule--whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness
+of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, or takes off the relish
+of spiritual things--in short, whatever increases the strength and
+authority of your body over your mind--that thing is sin to you, however
+innocent it may be in itself."
+
+She fixed the age of five for the teaching to a child the letters of the
+alphabet; and tells us that in all cases except two, the first day saw
+the conquest of the alphabet. The birthday festivities over, next
+morning the child went to the schoolroom of the house, where no one must
+come into the room from "nine till twelve or from two till five," while
+the teacher devoted herself entirely to that one pupil. Another feature
+of the method was the abolition of the study of syllables, and the
+immediate and usually successful advance into words and sentences, such
+as the opening verses of the Bible, "In the beginning God created the
+heaven and the earth."
+
+"It is almost incredible," said Mrs. Wesley, "what a child may be taught
+in a quarter of a year." To this period belongs the well-known
+incident--when one day Mr. Wesley said to his wife while engaged in
+repeating a lesson to a dull child, "I wonder at your patience: you have
+told that child twenty times that same thing," and the mother
+replied--"Had I satisfied myself by mentioning the matter only nineteen
+times, I should have lost all my labour; you see, it was the twentieth
+time that crowned the whole."
+
+
+
+
+VI.
+
+THE CHURCH IN THE HOME.
+
+The children at Epworth were well grounded in the observance of Divine
+worship. We may look in vain in the records of many families for
+anything so deep and so beautiful as that one thing which is told of
+them--that before they could kneel or speak the little ones were taught
+to ask a blessing on their food by appropriate, signs. Repeating, as
+soon as they were able to articulate, the Lord's Prayer morning and
+evening, they were encouraged to add sentences of prayers of their own
+conceiving, petitions for their parents, and requests for things of
+their own earnest desire. From this period, in each case, the parental
+eye was already carefully looking forward, to the time when the mind
+should begin to think for itself; and to help them in this important
+matter, Mrs. Wesley, remembering her own mental struggles, prepared for
+her children a book of Divinity, written for their special edification.
+
+In due time, as the children grew a little older, days of the week were
+allotted to each of them, for special opportunity of conversation with
+their mother, as distinct from being catechised by her. This was for the
+purpose of dealing with "doubts and difficulties." Of the well-recorded
+list of days and names the "Thursday with Jacky," and "Saturday with
+Charles," will mostly arrest the reader now. These days came to be
+fondly treasured in the memory of all the children.
+
+Twenty years after John Wesley had left home, it is touching to hear him
+say---"In many things you have interceded for me and prevailed. Who
+knows but in this too--a complete renunciation of the world--you may be
+successful?" "If you can spare me only that little part of Thursday
+evening which you formerly bestowed upon me in another manner, I doubt
+not it would be as useful now for correcting my heart, as it was then
+for forming my judgment."
+
+Yet one more feature of Mrs. Wesley's plan of education was that of the
+children's appointed conversations with one another, the eldest with the
+youngest, the second eldest with the next in age, and so on. To this
+good purpose was devoted the better space available in the rooms of the
+"New Rectory," built after the fire.
+
+
+
+
+VII.
+
+STRUGGLES WITH POVERTY.
+
+All this work of education, intellectual and spiritual, was conducted
+under severe pressure of poverty. When Mr. Wesley received the living of
+Epworth, it cost him fifty pounds to have the great seal affixed to his
+title, and to remove his family to the place. This unfortunately was but
+a specimen of the hard conditions under which he held his cure.
+
+Lord Oxford wrote to the celebrated Dean Swift, soliciting his name as a
+subscriber to Mr. Wesley's book on Job--"The person concerned is a
+worthy, honest man; and by this work of his, he is in hopes to get free
+of a load of debt which has hung upon him some years. This debt is not
+owing to any folly or extravagance of his, but to the calamity of his
+house having been twice burnt, which he was obliged to rebuild. This is
+in short the case of an honest, poor, worthy clergyman, and I hope you
+will take him under your protection."
+
+A wealthy brother of Mr. Wesley professed himself quite "scandalised" at
+the constant struggles of the family, and did a little for the wiping
+away of the reproach, but no more. "Tell me, Mrs. Wesley, whether you
+ever really wanted bread?" said the good Archbishop Sharp one day, by
+way of preface to a very generous donation on the spot. "My Lord," was
+the reply, "I will freely own to your grace that, strictly speaking, I
+never did want bread. But then I had so much care to get it before it
+was eat, and to pay for it after as has often made it very unpleasant to
+me. And I think to have bread on such terms is the next degree of
+wretchedness to having none at all."
+
+"All this, thank God," said Mr. Wesley, "does not in the least sink my
+wife's spirits. She bears it with a courage which becomes her, and which
+I expected from her."
+
+Mrs. Wesley's meditations on the matter carry with them an unchanging
+serenity of mind. "That man whose heart is penetrated with Divine love,
+and enjoys the manifestations of God's blissful presence, is happy, let
+his outward condition be what it will. This world, this present state of
+things, is but for a time. What is now future will be present, as what
+is already past once was. And then, as Pascal observes, a little earth
+thrown on our cold head will for ever determine our hopes and condition.
+Nor will it signify much who personated the prince or the beggar, since,
+with respect to the exterior, all must stand on the same level
+after death."
+
+In a very dark hour she writes: "But even in this low ebb of fortune I
+am not without some kind interval...I adore and praise the unsearchable
+wisdom and boundless goodness of Almighty God for this dispensation of
+His providence towards me. For I clearly discern there is more of mercy
+in this disappointment of my hopes than there would have been in
+permitting me to enjoy all that I desired, because it hath given me a
+sight and sense of some sins which I had not before. I would not have
+imagined I was in the least inclined to idolatry, and covetousness, and
+want of practical subjection to the will of God.... Again, the furnace
+of affliction which now seems so hot and terrible to nature, had nothing
+more than a lambent flame, which was not designed to consume us, but
+only to purge away our dross, to purify and prepare the mind for its
+abode among those blessed ones that passed through the same trials
+before us into the celestial paradise.... How shall we then adore and
+praise what we cannot here apprehend aright! How will love and joy work
+in the soul! But I cannot express it; I cannot conceive it."
+
+
+
+
+VIII.
+
+A NEW DEPARTURE.
+
+Where the great religious movement of the last century in England is to
+be traced to any human influence, the mother of John and Charles Wesley
+must have a large share of the sacred honour. This will be found to
+fall to her by right, not only on account of that profound religious
+education she imparted to her children, but also by reason of the
+peculiar direction which she gave it. Even in respect of their first
+institution of assemblies for the preaching of the Gospel outside the
+walls of churches or any stated places of worship, Susanna Wesley may be
+discovered to have led the way.
+
+In the year 1711, during one of the protracted sojournings of Mr. Wesley
+in London attending Convocation, and also doing business with his
+publishers, his place at the parish church was supplied by a curate
+whose ministrations were not particularly efficient, although, as may be
+judged from things already told, the people of Epworth were not likely
+to be very exacting.
+
+However, a notable reaction of feeling in favour of their minister had
+set in since the days of the fire, and the parishioners were, many of
+them, quietly attentive to Divine ordinances. Mrs. Wesley, without any
+pronounced hostility on her part toward the curate, felt a deep echo of
+the popular complaint in her own soul. Divine service at church had been
+cut down to one diet in the morning, and hence, to save her children and
+servants from temptation of mere idleness, the gifted mother felt
+herself called to set up a kind of service at the parsonage. Of this
+step she duly apprised her husband, saying: "I cannot but look upon
+every soul you leave under my care as a talent committed to me, under a
+trust by the great Lord of all the families of heaven and earth; and if
+I am unfaithful to Him or to you in neglecting to improve those talents,
+how shall I answer unto Him when He shall command me to render an
+account of my stewardship?"
+
+As yet, all she had done was reading to, and instructing her own family.
+But the news of this spread in Epworth, and a hunger for the Word arose.
+The parents, brothers, and sisters of the servants dropped in till the
+audience was about thirty or forty. The services consisted of praise,
+prayer, and reading of a short sermon. At this time Mrs. Wesley's mind
+was greatly stimulated by the accounts she had been perusing of the
+devoted labours of two Danish missionaries in India. She felt impelled
+"to do somewhat" for Christ.
+
+Conversation with the neighbours who had come to the parsonage-meetings
+shaped itself into meetings of inquirers. She now fell back upon the
+library, in quest of "more awakening sermons," which were found among
+her husband's stock of Puritan authors.
+
+The attendance at the services now increased so as completely to fill
+the rooms. At length some three or four persons, headed by the curate,
+wrote to the rector in London concerning the doings of his wife and the
+danger of a "conventicle." Mr. Wesley was sufficiently interested and
+apprehensive to write to her and ask what had been done, and whether it
+did not look "particular." To this his wife, rather glad to be
+challenged, lost no time in replying; and her written explanation to the
+head of the house and parish has resulted in our possessing an ample
+account of the movement. "As to its looking particular," she said, "I
+grant it does, and so does almost everything that is serious, or that
+may any way advance the glory of God or the salvation of souls, if it be
+performed out of a pulpit or in the way of common conversation." After
+giving various reasons for her action, she proceeds: "Now, I beseech
+you, weigh all these things in an impartial balance.... If you do, after
+all, think fit to dissolve this assembly, do not tell me that you desire
+me to do it, for that will not satisfy my conscience; but send me your
+positive command in such full and express terms as may absolve me from
+all guilt and punishment for the neglecting this opportunity of doing
+good, when you and I shall appear before the great and awful tribunal of
+our Lord Jesus Christ."
+
+[Illustration: S Wesley]
+
+No wonder that all opposition on the part of the rector from this
+moment disappeared, and on returning to his charge he found many signs
+of a happy change, and that all things were as if freshened under the
+dew of the blessing of God.
+
+
+
+
+IX.
+
+RELATION TO HER SONS.
+
+Susanna Wesley was the life-long counsellor of her children.
+
+Amid those interesting conversations which were held with each member of
+the family on appointed days and hours, and which are frequently noted
+in Mrs. Wesley's private meditations, we are arrested by the heading of
+one of them--"Son John"--and we learn that he became a communicant at
+the Lord's table at eight years of age, this important step being taken
+by reason of his great seriousness and of the signs of grace that were
+seen in him.
+
+His mother gives us another striking glimpse of him, in April 1712, when
+the scourge of small-pox attacked five of the children--"Jack bore his
+disease bravely like a man, and indeed a Christian without any
+complaint."
+
+On recovering he was, through the influence of the Duke of Buckingham,
+to whom his father was known, sent to Charterhouse School; but at this
+period there is little or nothing recorded of correspondence with his
+mother. It is tolerably clear that the reason of this was that the boy
+was studious to a degree, and needed his father's injunction to see to
+it that he took regular exercise in the garden. The letters of Mrs.
+Wesley to her sons are best represented by those addressed to Samuel,
+now twenty years of age. After having distinguished himself at
+Westminster School, and won the special regard and friendship of those
+two eminent men, Bishops Sprat and Atterbury, Samuel repaired to Oxford.
+Following the fashion of the time, the youth had hitherto addressed his
+mother as "Dear Madam." His mother disliked the phrase, but had waited
+till the change should be made spontaneously to "Dear Mother," which
+instantly evoked the response, "Dear Sammy,---I am much better pleased
+with the beginning of your letter than with that you used to send me,
+for I do not love distance or ceremony; there is more of love and
+tenderness in the name of _mother_ than in all the complimentary titles
+in the world... You complain that you are unstable and inconstant in the
+ways of virtue. Alas! what Christian is not so too? I am sure that I,
+above all others, am most unfit to advise in such a case: yet since I
+love you as my own soul, I will endeavour to do as well as I can."
+
+Admirable advice is then given as to choice of company, with strictness
+yet with charity, for "we must take the world as we find it;" and the
+wholesome caution to beware "lest the comparing yourself with others may
+be an occasion of your falling into too much vanity," and "rather
+entertain such thoughts as these, 'Though I know my own birth and
+advantages, yet how little do I know of the circumstances of others!'
+'Were they so solemnly devoted to God at their birth as I was?' You have
+had the example of a father who served God from his youth; and though I
+cannot commend my own to you, for it is too bad to be imitated, yet
+surely my earnest prayers for many years and some little good advice
+have not been wanting.... If still upon comparison you seem better than
+others are, then ask yourself who it is that makes you differ: and let
+God have all the praise.... I am straitened for paper and time,
+therefore must conclude. God Almighty bless you and preserve you from
+all evil. Adieu.
+
+"SUSANNA WESLEY."
+
+It is a striking fact that Mrs. Wesley's letters to her son John are for
+the most part concerning his secular affairs; the inference is not
+remote that, as regards his spiritual welfare, John Wesley appeared to
+his mother at all times to be in a satisfactory condition. At one time
+he presses her for an opinion on Thomas à Kempis, and receives an
+elaborate answer, at once philosophical and theological, in the course
+of which the remark is made--"I take à Kempis to have been an honest
+weak man, with more zeal than knowledge, by his condemning all mirth or
+pleasure as sinful or useless, in opposition to so many plain and direct
+texts of Scripture. 'Tis stupid to say nothing is an affliction to a
+good man; nor do I understand how any man can thank God for present
+misery, yet do I know very well what it is to rejoice in the midst of
+deep afflictions. Not in the affliction itself, for then it would cease
+to be one; but in this we may rejoice, that we are in the hand of a God
+who has promised that all things shall work together for good, for the
+spiritual and eternal good, of those that love Him." Evidently it is
+from an unshaken soul the concluding words of the letter proceed--"Your
+brother has brought us a heavy reckoning for you and Charles. God be
+merciful to us all!"
+
+Much earnest and deeply discriminative advice is given to John on
+occasion of his entering the holy ministry. The letter then written to
+him abounds with traces of the fact that he had been in the habit of
+confiding much of his mind to his mother through those years. In 1727
+she writes to him a profound and beautiful epistle, in terms which
+indicate that he had made her his _confidante_ at the time, in his love
+for a young lady whom he had lately met in Worcestershire.
+
+"What then is love? Oh, how shall we describe its strange, mysterious
+essence? It is--I do not know what! A powerful something; source of our
+joy and grief, felt and experienced by every one, and yet unknown to
+all! Nor shall we ever comprehend what it is till we are united to our
+first principle, and there read its wondrous nature in the clear mirror
+of uncreated love:"
+
+Another letter belonging to the same year is solemnly prospective the
+topic being evidently the "cares of the world."
+
+     "'Believe me, youth (for I am read in cares,
+      And bend beneath the weight of more than fifty years).'
+
+"Believe me, old age is the worst time we can choose to mend either our
+lives or our fortunes. Ah! my dear son, did you with me stand on the
+verge of life, and saw before your eyes a vast expanse, an unlimited
+duration of being, which you might shortly enter upon, you can't
+conceive how all the inadvertencies, mistakes, and sins of youth would
+rise to your view; and how different the, sentiments of sensitive
+pleasures, the desire of sexes and pernicious friendships of the world
+would be then from what they are now while health is entire and seems to
+promise many years of life."
+
+
+
+
+X
+
+WIDOWHOOD.
+
+The Rector of Epworth had been slowly mastering his difficulties with
+the world. The circumstances of the family seem to have taken a
+favourable turn from the year 1724, when the small living of Wroote,
+four miles distant, and valued at £50 a year, was added to that of
+Epworth. The family removed to Wroote, and many of Mrs. Wesley's most
+interesting letters are dated from the parsonage there. Her husband
+continued to toil for some years at what he meant to be his great
+work--his commentary on the Book of Job--but the outer man was visibly
+perishing. His now palsied hand required the services of an amanuensis.
+"My eyes and my heart," he said, "are now almost all I have left; and
+bless God for them!" He died on the 25th of April, 1735, in the 72nd
+year of his age.
+
+His death was marked by many utterances of faith and of joy in God, and
+by his memorable saying to his sons--"Be steady! The Christian faith
+will surely revive in this kingdom. You shall see it, though I
+shall not."
+
+It was Samuel who was now for the most part charged with the support of
+his mother; but in this duty there was a generous rivalry among-her
+children. The name of John appears in discharge of the last of his
+father's liabilities that had been cruelly pressed upon the very day of
+the funeral; and Charles writes to Samuel--"My mother desires you will
+remember that she is a clergyman's widow. Let the Society give her what
+they please, she must be still, in some degree, burdensome to you. How
+do I envy you that glorious burden, and wish I could share it with you:"
+
+Mrs. Wesley having now left the "old place," settled for a little in the
+neighbouring town of Gainsborough, and afterwards resided with Samuel at
+Tiverton from September, 1736, till July, 1737.
+
+Her sons John and Charles had now set out upon their well-known Gospel
+enterprise to the State of Georgia in America. Their mother signalised
+the hour by a letter full of solemn and ennobling thought, in which she
+allows herself but slightly to touch upon the fact of separation, and
+gives her own personal version of the apostle's "strait betwixt
+two"--"One thing often troubles me: that notwithstanding I know that
+while we are present with the body we are absent from the Lord;
+notwithstanding I have no taste, no relish left for anything the world
+calls pleasure, yet I do not long to go home, as in reason I ought to
+do. This often shocks me. Pray for me that God would make me better, and
+take me at the best."
+
+The Georgian mission of her sons having ended, to her joy, in their
+return home, a great work immediately opened for them in England. It now
+became apparent, in their consultations with their mother, that the
+views of Divine truth and even of the mode of propagating the Gospel,
+which were taking possession of their minds, had to her been long and
+deeply familiar as the desire of her heart. Her testimony was all the
+more valuable that it was given with much caution.
+
+Samuel wrote to her complaining of the new ideas of his brothers John
+and Charles, and appealing confidently to her verdict in the matter. He
+found that she mainly coincided with the returned missionaries in those
+convictions regarding the Gospel doctrines of faith and instantaneous
+conversion that were so soon to move the world.
+
+At the same time she shared his apprehensions regarding certain things
+in the work that bore an aspect of extravagance. "I should think that
+the reviving these pretentious to dreams, visions, etc., is not only
+vain and frivolous as to the matter of them, but also of dangerous
+consequence to the weaker sort of Christians. As far as I can see, they
+plead that these visions, etc., are given to assure some particular
+persons of their adoption and salvation. But this end is abundantly
+provided for in the Holy Scripture's, wherein all may find the rules by
+which we must live here and be judged hereafter. And if, upon a serious
+review of our state, we find that in the tenour of our lives we have or
+do now sincerely desire and endeavour to perform the conditions of the
+Gospel covenant required on our parts, then we may discern that the Holy
+Spirit hath laid in our minds a good foundation of a strong, reasonable,
+and lively hope of God's mercy through Christ."
+
+To the communications of John and Charles regarding the fresh baptism of
+the Spirit that had come upon them, she wrote expressing her
+thankfulness for the glad tidings, only remarking to Charles that she
+thought he had surely fallen into an "odd way of thinking," in stating
+that till within a few months he had no spiritual life nor any
+justifying faith. "Blessed be God, who showed you the necessity you were
+in of a Saviour to deliver you from the power of sin and Satan, for
+Christ will be no Saviour but to such as see their need of one. Blessed
+be His holy name, that thou hast found Him a Saviour to thee, my son!
+Oh, let us love Him much, for we have much forgiven."
+
+
+
+
+XI.
+
+THE FOUNDRY AT MOORFIELDS.
+
+Susanna Wesley came to London in April, 1739, to spend the rest of her
+days in a place that had been well prepared for her. John had found a
+centre at Moorfields for his work in the metropolis. Out of a disused
+Government foundry had been constructed a chapel, a house for the
+lay-preachers, and apartments for himself, where he wished to have his
+mother come and live with him. The new home, though but scantily
+furnished, proved to her a little paradise in the communion she now
+enjoyed with her son, in the easy access of all her children to her, and
+in the pleasure of seeing the great work and increase of the Gospel.
+Here also she received in her own soul a wonderful increase of
+blessing--so much surpassing all her experience hitherto as to cause her
+to make the reflection that "she had scarce heard, till then, such a
+thing mentioned as the having God's Spirit bear witness with our
+spirit." "But two or three weeks ago, while my son Hall was pronouncing
+these words in delivering the cup to me, 'The blood of our Lord Jesus
+Christ which was given for thee,' the words struck through my heart, and
+I knew God for Christ's sake had forgiven me all my sins."
+
+It caused her no apparent pain a little after to receive a letter from
+her son Samuel, saying: "It was with exceeding concern and grief I heard
+you had countenanced a spreading delusion, so far as to be one of
+Jack's congregation. Is it not enough that I am bereft of both my
+brothers, but must my mother follow too? I earnestly beseech the
+Almighty to preserve you from joining a schism at the close of your
+life, as you were unfortunately engaged in one at the beginning of it.
+It will cost you many a protest, should you retain your integrity, as I
+hope to God you will." The new joy of his mother evidently so abounded
+in charity as to drown all bitterness and take away all fear of any real
+separation between them.
+
+Samuel died in the autumn of the same year, during an illness of his
+mother, and John Wesley left the house that day rather than break the
+sad news to her, and one of his sisters was commissioned to do it with
+all gentleness. We find nothing but sweetness and hope in the letter
+which Susanna Wesley was enabled to write to her son Charles:--"Your
+brother was exceedingly dear to me in this life, and perhaps I have
+erred in loving him too well. I once thought it impossible to bear his
+loss, but none know what they can bear till they are tried. I rejoice in
+having a comfortable hope of my dear son's salvation. He is now at rest,
+and would not return to earth to gain the world. He hath reached the
+haven before me, but I shall soon follow him. He must not return to me,
+but I shall go to him, never to part more."
+
+Many Christian friends continued to visit her at Moorfields; her
+conversation was prized by all, and her presence on the scene and at the
+centre of evangelism was a power for good. In true consistency with the
+memorable season at Epworth, and her own institution of the Church in
+the Home, Mrs. Wesley was privileged to give her testimony in favour of
+lay-preaching. To John Wesley the field was now indeed "the world," and
+his labours were multiplying past his strength. While he went from place
+to place, Mr. Thomas Maxfield, "a young man of good sense and piety,"
+took charge of the work at Moorfields. His appointed duty extended to
+"the reading and explaining of the Scriptures to bands and classes;" but
+Maxfield soon went the length of public preaching, which he did with
+much ability and unction. John Wesley lost no time in coming home to
+check this "irregular proceeding." But his mother urged:--"John, you
+know what my sentiments have been. You cannot suspect me of readily
+favouring anything of this kind. But take care what you do with respect
+to this young man, for he is as surely called to preach as you are.
+Examine what have been the fruits of his preaching, and hear him
+yourself." This was done; and John Wesley said, "It is the Lord; let Him
+do what seemeth Him good. What am I that I should withstand God?"
+
+Thus fitly, as became her already historic part in it, Susanna Wesley
+may he said to have launched the important institution of lay-preaching
+in the Church that bears her name.
+
+
+
+
+XII.
+
+LAST DAYS AND DEATH.
+
+The life at Moorfields, which had been, to this venerable mother in
+Israel, of the character of a peaceful haven after a rough voyage, was
+now drawing rapidly to a close. Her bodily illnesses much resembled
+those of her husband's later years, and were, no doubt, to be in some
+measure attributed to the penury and hardship she had shared with him
+so long.
+
+But we do not hear so much about her maladies us of the many signs of
+triumph over them, till by the month of July, 1742, the vital power is
+ebbing low, and her daughters gather round her. The sons were out in the
+field. Charles had bent over her with filial attentions, till,
+concluding in his own mind that her strength would hold out for a few
+days, he departed to his work, hoping soon to return.
+
+John Wesley was at Bristol on Sunday evening the 18th of July, and had
+just ended preaching to a large congregation, when the message came that
+his mother was apparently near death.
+
+He rode off immediately for London, which he reached on the 20th, and,
+as he says in his Journal, "I found my mother on the borders of
+eternity; but she has no doubt or fear, nor any desire but, as soon as
+God should call her, to depart and be with Christ." She enjoyed a quiet
+sleep on the evening of the 22nd, and awoke in the morning in a joyful
+frame of mind. Her children heard her say, "My dear Saviour, art Thou
+come to help me in my extremity at last?"
+
+Utterances of praise at intervals filled the hours that remained, At
+four o'clock in the afternoon her son had left her for a little, that he
+might snatch some hasty refreshment in the adjoining room, when he was
+called back again to offer the commendatory prayer. "She opened her eyes
+wide and fixed them upward for a moment. Then the lids dropped, and the
+soul was set at liberty, without one struggle or groan or sigh, on the
+23rd of July, 1742, aged seventy-three. We stood round the bed and
+fulfilled her last request, uttered a little before she lost her speech,
+'Children, as soon as I am released, sing a psalm of praise to God.'"
+
+There was a vast crowd at the funeral, at Bunhill Fields, on the 1st of
+August. John Wesley's voice faltered as he pronounced the words, "The
+soul of our dear mother here departed"--and the grief of the multitude
+broke out afresh. A hymn was sung, and he then stood forth and preached
+one of the most moving sermons that ever came from his lips, turning not
+upon the pathos of the funeral, but upon the Bible picture of the last
+judgment. Of the occasion he himself has said--"It was one of the most
+solemn assemblies I ever saw or expect to see, on this side eternity."
+The stone at the head of her grave was inscribed with her name, and with
+verses from the pen of her son Charles:--
+
+          HERE LIES THE BODY
+                 OF
+          MRS. SUSANNA WESLEY,
+     YOUNGEST AND LAST SURVIVING DAUGHTER OF
+          DR. SAMUEL ANNESLEY.
+
+     In sure and stedfast hope to rise,
+     And claim her mansion in the skies,
+     A Christian hero her flesh laid down,
+     The cross exchanging for a crown;
+
+     True daughter of affection she,
+     Inured to pain and misery;
+     Mourned a long night of grief and fears--
+     A legal night of seventy years.
+
+     The Father then revealed His Son;
+     Him in the broken bread made known
+     She knew, and felt her sins forgiven,
+     And found the earnest of her heaven.
+
+     Meet for the fellowship above,
+     She heard the call, "Arise, My love!"
+     "I come," her dying looks replied,
+     And lamb-like, as her Lord, she died.
+
+
+
+
+XIII.
+
+CONCLUSION.
+
+The title "Founder of Methodism," humanly speaking, must be shared
+between mother and son. To many minds this will seem to have been a
+question settled by the action of Mrs. Wesley at Epworth.
+
+But her part in the matter shows a deepening beauty from the first in
+fulfilment of the words of her Journal concerning John, with special
+reference to his remarkable rescue from the fire, "I do intend to be
+more particularly careful of the soul of this child, that Thou hast so
+mercifully provided for."
+
+When, at college, he and his brother, with their young companions,
+owing to their living by rule, first won the name of "Methodists," amid
+sneers and persecutions, his mother cheered him on. At that juncture,
+subsequently, when he was in a state of hesitancy as to entering the
+holy ministry, and his father had encouraged the idea of delay, his
+mother said, "The sooner you are a deacon the better"--and broke the
+spell of what might have been a fatal backwardness. On that evening, at
+Aldersgate Street, 24th May, 1738, so memorable in the spiritual history
+of Methodism, when John Wesley stood up in his newly-found fulness of
+the assurance of grace, and encountered much sharp rebuke on the spot,
+he had been well fortified beforehand with his mother's sympathy,
+saying, "She was glad he had got into such a just way of thinking." She
+also saw eye to eye with him in his position in the controversy between
+Calvinism and Arminianism.
+
+The beginning of lay-preaching dates, as we have seen, from her support
+of Thomas Maxfield, and the leading features of the mode of preaching
+which John Wesley recommended to his followers may be found, long
+before, in his mother's counsels to himself--"to avoid nice distinctions
+in public assemblies"--to exalt Christ and the work of the Spirit. "Here
+you may give free scope to your souls," and "discourse without reserve,
+as His Spirit gives you utterance." Well does her son call her "in her
+measure and degree a preacher of righteousness."
+
+So shines the bright light of Susanna Wesley all along the upbuilding of
+that great Christian society which bears the name of her sons. Her
+example must surely also be of special value at the present day, when,
+alike in the Church and in the world, the place of woman rises in
+importance, and the demand is for further opportunity of usefulness. For
+the life of this gifted and saintly woman is characterised by a modesty
+that is above criticism, and, at the same time, shows no lack of the
+greatness of power and achievement in the work of the Lord.
+
+JAMES CUNNINGHAM, M.A.
+
+
+
+
+MRS. HEMANS.
+
+Mrs. Hemans is fully entitled to a place in the ranks of Excellent
+Women, not only on account of her personal character, but also on
+account of the work she did--a work removed from the "stunning tide,"
+but not the less effectual.
+
+There is no doubt that Mrs. Hemans exerted a distinct influence and made
+a distinct impression on the national character. She left the world
+unmistakably better for her having lived in it. Many do not realise what
+great abiding results flowed from her work. And one chief way in which
+she was productive of so much good to her race was this: she raised the
+standard of popular poetry, raised it at a time when it sadly needed
+raising, to a higher level and tone. "Though she wrote so much and in an
+age when Byron was the favourite poet of Englishmen, not a line left her
+pen that indicated anything but a spotless and habitually lofty mind."
+It was no mean achievement to establish the popularity of a poetry which
+was by its purity a rebuke to much that had hitherto passed current and
+received applause.
+
+How well she succeeded in accomplishing the ends which, as we learn in
+that beautiful piece of hers, "A Poet's Dying Hymn," she had set before
+herself and others who gave expression to their thoughts in verse!
+
+     "And if Thy Spirit on Thy child hath shed
+        The gift, the vision of the unsealed eye,
+      To pierce the mist o'er life's deep meanings spread,
+        To reach the hidden fountain-urns that lie
+      Far in man's heart--if I have kept it free
+      And pure, a consecration unto Thee,
+             I bless Thee, O my God!
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+      Not for the brightness of a mortal wreath,
+        Not for a place 'midst kingly minstrels dead,
+      But that, perchance, a faint gale of Thy breath,
+        A still small whisper, in my song hath led
+      One struggling spirit upwards to Thy throne,
+      Or but one hope, one prayer--for this alone
+             I bless Thee, O my God!"
+
+Many a straggler in life's perplexities found sympathy and help in the
+sweet verses of this poetess. They felt that there was one struggling by
+their side, one who could rest on God's promises, and could almost
+insensibly "weave links for intercourse with God."
+
+
+
+
+I.
+
+EARLY DAYS.
+
+Felicia Dorothea Browne was born in Duke Street, Liverpool, on the 25th
+of September, 1793. She was the second daughter and the fourth child of
+a family of three sons and three daughters. Her father, who was a native
+of Ireland, was a merchant of good position. Her mother, whose maiden
+name was Wagner, was the daughter of the Venetian consul in Liverpool.
+The original name was Veniero, but as the result of German alliances it
+had assumed this German form. Three members of the family had risen to
+the dignity of Doge. The first six years of Felicia's life were spent in
+Liverpool. Then commercial losses compelled her father to break up his
+establishment in that city and remove to Wales. The next nine years of
+her life were spent at Gwyrch, near Abergele, in North Wales. The house
+was a spacious old mansion, close to the seashore, and shut in on the
+land side by lofty hills. Surely a fit place for the early residence of
+a poetess of Nature. Besides this advantage of situation, she had the
+privilege of access to the treasures of a large library. The records of
+her early days show her to have been a child of extreme beauty, with a
+brilliant complexion and long, curling, golden hair. But her personal
+beauty was not the only thing that arrested attention. Her talents and
+sweetness of disposition retained the notice which her attractiveness
+had obtained. The old gardener used to say that "Miss Felicia could
+'tice him to do whatever she pleased." And he was not the only one who
+fell under her gentle constraint. She was a general favourite.
+
+This girl of many hopes had no regular education. She was never at
+school. Her mother's teaching and her own avidity for information were
+almost her only means of instruction. Mrs. Browne was a woman of high
+acquirements, both intellectual and moral, eminently adapted for the
+training of so sensitive a mind. For a time the child was taught French,
+English grammar, and the rudiments of Latin by a gentleman who used to
+regret that she was not a man, to have borne away the highest honours at
+college! A remarkable memory was of great benefit to her. Her sister
+states that she could repeat pages of poetry from her favourite authors
+after having read them over but once. On one occasion, to satisfy the
+incredulity of one of her brothers, she learned by heart the whole of
+Heber's poem of "Europe," containing four hundred and twenty-four
+lines, in an hour and twenty minutes. She repeated it without a single
+mistake or a moment's hesitation. Long pieces of both prose and poetry
+she would often recite after having twice glanced over them. This power
+of memory stood her in good stead in her later life, when physical
+weakness prevented her from writing down what she had composed. Her
+thoughts had to be retained in her mind, and then dictated.
+
+When Felicia Browne was about eleven years old she spent the winter in
+London with her father and mother. But this visit had not the charm for
+her that it has for most young people. She saw nothing in the metropolis
+to compensate for the loss of the country. The sights and scenes of the
+busy throng were not so congenial as the sights and scenes of the quiet
+little Welsh home. "She longed to rejoin her younger brother and sister
+in their favourite rural haunts and amusements--the nutting wood, the
+beloved apple-tree, the old arbour, with its swing, the post-office
+tree, in whose trunk a daily interchange of letters was established, the
+pool where fairy-ships were launched (generally painted and decorated by
+herself), and, dearer still, the fresh, free ramble on the seashore, or
+the mountain 'expedition' to the Signal Station, or the Roman
+Encampment." Town parties and town conventionalities had little in them
+to gain favour in the eyes of this bonnie free country lass. Not that
+she did not sometimes derive pleasure from the sights she was taken to.
+Especially was she impressed by her visits to some of the great works of
+art. On entering a gallery of sculpture, she involuntarily exclaimed,
+"Oh, hush:--don't speak!"
+
+
+
+
+II.
+
+FIRST POEMS.
+
+The first appearance in print! What an event in life is this! What a new
+world it seems to open out to the writer! Felicia Browne was fourteen
+years old when a collection of her poems was published. The earliest of
+these early compositions was written when she was only eight years
+of age.
+
+The volume of poems appeared in 1808. Perhaps it would have been a more
+judicious course on the part of her friends if they had prevented them
+from appearing. The young girl of fourteen years was by her youth
+ill-fitted to face the criticisms of the literary world.
+
+At this time there came across her path the person whose name she was
+afterwards to bear--Captain Hemans, of the King's Own Regiment. He was
+on a visit in the neighbourhood of Gwyrch, and soon became an intimate
+friend in the family which contained Felicia amongst its members. Before
+he was called upon to embark with his regiment for Spain, an impression
+had been created which three years' absence did not efface on either
+side. The friends of both parties hoped that it might be otherwise, and
+that nothing would come of this attachment. But their hopes were not to
+be realised.
+
+
+
+
+III.
+
+MARRIAGE.
+
+In 1809 the Browne family removed to Bronwylfa, near St. Asaph. Her
+self-education and her literary work went on side by side.
+
+Captain Hemans returned to Wales in 1811, and in the following year he
+was married to Miss Browne. His appointment as adjutant to the
+Northamptonshire Militia caused them to take up their residence at
+Daventry, a neighbourhood by its tameness strangely contrasting with her
+"own mountain-land." But she was not to be long away from her old home.
+The next year, on the reduction of the corps, a return was made to
+Bronwylfa. Mrs. Hemans was never again, until death parted them, to
+leave her mother, "by whose unwearied spirit of love and hope she was
+encouraged to bear on through all the obstacles which beset her path." A
+period of domestic privacy in association with literary occupation and
+study followed. Five children, all sons, were given to her. One can
+easily understand how many calls there were now on her, as, her marriage
+being not altogether a happy one, she had to arrange the education of
+her children. How well she trained them, not only in temporal wisdom,
+but in the highest of all wisdom, many evidences show. We may anticipate
+and insert an anecdote of one of her boys at the age of eleven. She had
+been reading to him Lord Byron's magnificent address to the sea:--
+
+"Roll on, thou deep and dark-blue ocean, roll."
+
+He listened with breathless attention, and at the close broke out with
+these words--"It is very grand indeed!--but how much finer it would have
+been, mamma, if he had said at the close, that God had measured out all
+those waters with the hollow of His hand!" On another occasion she was
+explaining to her eight-year-old boy the meaning of the title of a story
+he was reading, "The Atheist." His argument was real and ready: "Not
+believe in a God, mamma? Who does he expect made the world and his
+own body?"
+
+
+
+
+IV.
+
+WORK AND FRIENDS.
+
+The plentiful contributions from her pen were becoming increasingly
+popular, and it may be added increasingly useful. There is no doubt that
+she was a distinct moral power for good.
+
+As almost every one thinks that he or she can compose poetry, and that
+better than others, it often happens that in a prize poem competition
+there is no lack of persons ready to enter the lists. So it was when a
+patriotic Scotchman offered a prize of £50 for the best poem on "The
+meeting of Wallace and Bruce." The number of competitors was astounding,
+and the mass of matter sent in overwhelming, one production being as
+long as "Paradise Lost." Quality prevailed over quantity, and the award
+was made to Mrs. Hemans. This was not the only occasion on which she was
+adjudged the prize in a competition. In 1821 she obtained that awarded
+by the Royal Society of Literature for the best poem on "Dartmoor."
+
+One of her poems, which was destined to be almost more useful than any
+of the others, was "The Sceptic." A reviewer's testimony to the
+elevating influence of the work, after complaining of the grave defect
+in some of the most popular writers of the day, in that "they are not
+sufficiently attentive to the moral dignity of the performances,"
+concludes with this encomium on Mrs. Hemans' work:--"With the promise of
+talents not inferior to any, and far superior to most of them, the
+author before us is not only free from every stain, but breathes all
+moral beauty and loveliness; and it will be a memorable coincidence if
+the era of a woman's sway in literature shall become co-eval with the
+return of its moral purity and elevation." A more gratifying testimony
+to the worth of "The Sceptic" was given in a visit of a stranger to Mrs.
+Hemans. It occurred many years after "The Sceptic" was published;
+indeed, a very short time before her death. The visitor was told that
+she was unable to see him, as she was only just recovering from an
+illness. He entreated for a few minutes' interview with such importunity
+that it was granted to him. On his admission he explained with the
+utmost feeling that the object of his visit was to acknowledge the
+deepest debt of obligation; "that to her he owed, in the first instance,
+that faith and those hopes which were now more precious to him than life
+itself; for that it was by reading her poem of 'The Sceptic' he had been
+first awakened from the miserable delusion of infidelity and induced to
+'search the Scriptures.'" This was not the only time she received a
+comforting assurance of this kind with regard to the poem.
+
+The warm friendship of the Bishop of St. Asaph, Dr. Luxmoore, was a
+great boon to Mrs. Hemans. He was always ready with his advice and his
+support; and she found them of singular benefit in her comparatively
+lonely position. The bishop's palace was like a second home. There she
+and her children were always welcome. Of like value was the friendship
+of another who was also destined to have a place on the episcopal bench.
+Reginald Heber was a frequent visitor at the residence of his
+father-in-law, the Dean of St. Asaph. He soon became deeply interested
+in the welfare of Mrs. Hemans. She found in him one whose counsel,
+especially in literary matters, was of the utmost value. His suggestions
+and encouragement supplied just what she wanted. Any one who reads his
+hints with regard to her contemplated poem "Superstition and Revelation"
+will know how full and painstaking was the trouble he took to assist
+his friend.
+
+The design of the poem to which reference has just been made was a grand
+one. It is best described in her own words: "Might not a poem of some
+extent and importance, if the execution were at all equal to the design,
+be produced, from contrasting the spirit and tenets of Paganism with
+those of Christianity? It would contain, of course, much classical
+allusion; and all the graceful and sportive fictions of ancient Greece
+and Italy, as well as the superstitions of more barbarous climes, might
+be introduced, to prove how little consolation they could convey in the
+hour of affliction, or hope in that of death. Many scenes from history
+might be portrayed in illustration of this idea; and the certainty of a
+future state, and of the immortality of the soul, which we derive from
+revelation, are surely subjects for poetry of the highest class." The
+poem was commenced, but never completed. It was pressed out by other
+undertakings.
+
+
+
+
+V.
+
+THE HOME IN WALES.
+
+Mrs. Hemans found peculiar pleasure in reading and speaking German. "I
+am so delighted," she wrote, "when I meet with any one who knows and
+loves my favourite _scelenvolle_ (full of soul) German, that I believe I
+could talk of it for ever." Her sister remarks that her knowledge of the
+language seemed almost as if it had been born with her.
+
+The poetess could write humorous prose as well as serious verse. Some of
+her letters written in 1822 give a very amusing description of the
+inconveniences she had to put up with whilst certain alterations were
+being made at Bronwylfa. She describes how at last she was driven to
+seek refuge in the laundry, from which classical locality, she was wont
+to say, it could be no wonder if sadly _mangled_ lines were to issue. "I
+entreat you to pity me. I am actually in the melancholy situation of
+Lord Byron's 'scorpion girt by fire'--her circle narrowing as she
+goes--for I have been pursued by the household troops through every room
+successively, and begin to think of establishing my _métier_ in the
+cellar; though I dare say, if I were to fix myself as comfortably in a
+hogshead as Diogenes himself, it would immediately be discovered that
+some of the hoops or staves wanted repair." "There is a war of old
+grates with new grates, and plaster and paint with dust and cobwebs,
+carrying on in this once tranquil abode, with a vigour and animosity
+productive of little less din than that occasioned by 'lance to lance
+and horse to horse.' I assure you, when I make my escape about 'fall of
+eve' to some of the green quiet hayfields by which we are surrounded,
+and look back at the house, which, from a little distance, seems almost,
+like Shakespeare's moonlight, to 'sleep upon the bank,' I can hardly
+conceive how so gentle-looking a dwelling can continue to send forth
+such an incessant clatter of obstreperous sound through its
+honeysuckle-fringed windows. It really reminds me of a pretty shrew,
+whose amiable smiles would hardly allow a casual observer to suspect the
+possibility of so fair a surface being occasionally ruffled by storms."
+
+The lyric "The Voice of Spring" was written in 1823. It was followed by
+"Breathings of Spring." The season of spring had a marked influence upon
+her. It was, with all its joy and beauty, generally "a time of
+thoughtfulness rather than mirth." It has been well observed that autumn
+in one way is a more joyous time than spring. It reminds us that "we
+shall go to them," while in spring everything seems to say "they will
+not return to us."
+
+     "But what awakest thou in the _heart_, O Spring!
+        The human heart, with all its dreams and sighs?
+      Thou that givest back so many a buried thing,
+        Restorer of forgotten harmonies!
+      Fresh songs and scents break forth where'er thou art--
+        What wakest thou in the heart?
+
+      Too much, oh, then too much! We know not well
+        Wherefore it should be thus, yet, roused by thee,
+      What fond, strange yearnings, from the soul's deep cell,
+        Gush for the faces we no more may see!
+      How are we lamented, in the wind's low tone,
+        By voices that are gone?"
+
+In 1825 there appeared one of her principal works--the one she
+considered as almost, if not altogether, the best--_The Forest
+Sanctuary_. It related to the sufferings of a Spanish Protestant in the
+time of Philip II., and is supposed to be narrated by the sufferer
+himself, who escapes with his child to a North American forest. The
+picture of the burial at sea was the passage of whose merits she had the
+highest opinion.
+
+
+
+
+VI.
+
+MOTHER AND DAUGHTER.
+
+Another change of home took place in 1825. The new home was not more
+than a quarter of a mile from the old one. Rhyllon could be seen from
+the windows of Bronwylfa. It was a very different house. The former is
+described as a tall, staring brick house, almost destitute of trees; the
+latter as a perfect bower of roses, peeping out like a bird's-nest from
+amidst the foliage in which it was embosomed. The contrast is playfully
+depicted in a dramatic scene between Bronwylfa and Rhyllon. The former,
+after standing for some time in silent contemplation of Rhyllon, breaks
+out into the following vehement strain of vituperation:--
+
+     "You ugliest of fabrics! you horrible eyesore!
+      I wish you would vanish, or put on a vizor!
+      In the face of the sun, without covering or rag on,
+      You stand and outstare me, like any red dragon."
+
+And so on through many amusing and spirited lines, showing the lighter
+side of the authoress's character. Her sister describes this part of her
+life as perhaps the happiest of all, and this was produced to a great
+extent by her seeing the happiness of others, especially that of her
+boys. She was always ready to join them in their rambles and their
+sports. The mornings were spent in the instruction of her children, then
+in answering countless letters and satisfying the demands of impatient
+editors. And this done, she would revel in the enjoyment of fresh air.
+"Soft winds and bright blue skies," she writes, "make me, or dispose me
+to be, a sad idler." For this reason she delighted in the rigour of
+winter, as being most conducive to literary productiveness.
+
+A heavy sorrow was overshadowing this happy home. Between Mrs. Hemans
+and her mother there was the strongest bond of affection. In her poems
+there may be traced the intensity of this love. It is found in the
+simple lines, "On my Mother's Birthday," when the child was only eight
+years old, and, after incidentally appearing in many a poem, it is shown
+in all its intensity in the "Hymn by the Sick-bed of a Mother."
+
+     "Father, that in the olive shade,
+        When the dark hour came on,
+      Didst, with a breath of heavenly aid,
+        Strengthen Thy Son;
+
+      Oh, by the anguish of that night,
+        Send us down blest relief;
+      Or to the chastened, let Thy might
+        Hallow this grief!"
+
+And if the flame of passionate affection shone out in the time of fear
+and impending sorrow, no less was it seen after the dread hour had come.
+What beauty there is in the lines entitled "The Charmed Picture":--
+
+     "Sweet face, that o'er my childhood shone,
+        Whence is thy power of change,
+      Thus ever shadowing back my own,
+        The rapid and the strange?
+
+      Whence are they charmed--those earnest eyes?
+        I know the mystery well!
+      In mine own trembling bosom lies
+        The spirit of the spell!"
+
+[Illustration: Edna Hemans]
+
+This mother patiently bore sickness for eight months, and then passed
+away. Something of what this blow meant to the loving daughter may be
+gathered from her letters. But she knew where true comfort was to be
+found, and in alluding to the words of another setting forth the Divine
+consolation, she says, "This is surely the language of real consolation;
+how different from that which attempts to soothe us by general remarks
+on the common lot, the course of Nature, or even by dwelling on the
+release of the departed from pain and trial."
+
+It was not surprising that her health, for a long time delicate, now
+showed signs of an alarming nature. She often had a complete prostration
+of strength, succeeded by a wonderful reaction.
+
+
+
+
+VII.
+
+REMOVAL FROM WALES.
+
+The place of Mrs. Hemans in the literary world was established. As might
+be expected, friendships were formed with those who had tastes in
+common. Amongst the number were Miss Baillie, Miss Mitford, Mrs. Howitt,
+Miss Jewsbury, and Dean Milman. From her friends she sought sympathy
+rather than praise. Always appreciative of words of encouragement, she
+gave back good exchange in the artless way into which she entered into
+the pursuits of her correspondents.
+
+Her health continued to give great anxiety to her friends, and matters
+were not improved by the unconquerable dislike of the patient to the
+adoption of the necessary precautions and remedies. But in the midst of
+all her suffering her imagination was busy. Compositions were dictated
+to friends who sat by her bedside. Her amanuensis record--how the little
+song "Where is the Sea" came to her like a strain of music whilst lying
+in the twilight under the infliction of a blister.
+
+In 1828 she published the _Records of Woman_, the work into which she
+said she had put her heart and individual feelings more than in anything
+else she had written. One verse amongst many others indicates the
+pressure put upon her feeble frame by the intensity of her activity
+of mind.
+
+         "Yet I have known it long;
+          Too restless and too strong
+      Within this clay hath been the o'ermastering flame;
+          Swift thought that came and went,
+          Like torrents o'er me sent,
+      Have shaken as a reed my thrilling frame."
+
+A severe trial was at hand. The home must again be changed and the
+beloved Wales left. The marriage of her sister and the appointment of
+her brother to an official post were the immediate cause. In which
+direction should she turn her steps with most advantage? The choice was
+determined by the consideration that at Wavertree near Liverpool she had
+several attached friends, that there she would meet with advantages for
+the education of her boys and also with more literary communion
+for herself.
+
+The wrench from the "land of her childhood, her home, and her dead," was
+a hard one. She wrote, telling her friends how she literally covered her
+face all the way from Bronwylfa until her boys told her they had passed
+the Clwyd range of hills. Then she felt that something of the
+bitterness was over.
+
+     "The sound of thy streams in my spirit I bear;
+        Farewell, and a blessing be with thee, green land!
+      On thy hearths, on thy halls, on thy pure mountain air,
+        On the chords of the harp, and the minstrel's free hand,
+      From the love of my soul, with my tears it is shed,
+      As I leave thee, green land of my home and my dead."
+
+Her love for the people of Wales was not an unreciprocated love. Many of
+them rushed forward to touch the posts of the gate through which the
+poetess had passed; and when, three years later, she paid a visit to St.
+Asaph, came and wept over her, and entreated her to make her home among
+them again.
+
+
+
+
+VIII.
+
+WAVEETEEE.
+
+Wavertree had its advantages, but it certainly had its disadvantages
+too. She was brought into a scene where all her precious time might have
+been absorbed in the trivialities of society. She was overwhelmed with
+offers of service and marks of courtesy. All the gaiety of a large town
+was open to her. Gladly would she, as one who had made her mark, have
+been received on all hands. But consideration of both time and
+inclination demanded that her life should be spent in a more retired
+way. She had a great distaste to "going out." And so the frivolous soon
+gave her up, and went their own way. Her dress was not rigorously
+correct; she seemed to have motives and pursuits unlike theirs. And so
+they did not desire her company any more than she found satisfaction in
+theirs. In the society of those with whom she had no interest in common
+she well describes her state as feeling herself more alone than _when_
+alone. There was much to try her in the curiosity which prompted so many
+to call upon the strange poetess; but she treated this experience in a
+cheerful manner. She was pursued by albums, their possessors all anxious
+to have something written on purpose for themselves. We can understand
+her humorous appeal to a friend "to procure her a dragon, to be kept in
+her courtyard."
+
+The life at Wavertree was very different from that in Wales in many
+respects. She had to face the cares and vexations of domestic life, now
+that she lived alone in her own house. She had to bear her part in
+general society. The change was not a palatable one. "How I look back
+upon the comparative peace and repose of Bronwylfa and Rhyllon--a walk
+in the hayfield--the children playing round me--my dear mother coming to
+call me in from the dew--and you, perhaps, making your appearance just
+in the 'gloaming,' with a great bunch of flowers in your kind hand! How
+have these things passed away from me, and how much more was I formed
+for their quiet happiness than for the weary part of _femme célèbre_
+which I am now enacting."
+
+A visit to Scotland in 1829 was a great event in her life. She seemed to
+gain fresh energy and vigour. Edinburgh was ready with a hearty welcome.
+Admiration was in danger of degenerating into adulation; as, for
+example, when a literary man, on his introduction to her, asked "whether
+a bat might be allowed to appear in the presence of a nightingale." On
+another occasion a man of eminence in the book world was honoured with a
+visit from her. Afterwards he was asked whether he had chanced to see
+the most distinguished English poetess of the day. "He made no answer,"
+continued the narrator, "but taking me by the arm, in solemn silence,
+led me into the back parlour, where stood a chair in the centre of the
+room, isolated from the rest of the furniture: and pointing to it, said,
+with the profoundest reverence, in a low earnest tone. 'There _she_ sat,
+sir, on that chair!'" One of the brightest parts of this bright tour was
+that spent with Sir Walter Scott. The recollection of her walks and
+talks with the great man was always a treasured memory. And so were the
+words with which he parted from her. "There are some whom we meet, and
+should like ever after to claim as kith and kin; and _you_ are one
+of these."
+
+In 1830 Mrs. Hemans published her volume of _Songs of the Affections._
+The principal of the poems, "A Spirit's Return," was suggested as the
+result of a favourite amusement--that of winding up the evenings by
+telling ghost stories. A discussion arose as to the feelings with which
+the presence and the speech of a visitant from another world would be
+most likely to impress the person so visited. Mrs. Hemans contended that
+the predominant sensation would partake of awe and rapture, and that the
+person visited must thenceforward and for ever be inevitably separated
+from this world and its concerns--that the soul which had once enjoyed
+so strange and spiritual communion must be raised by its experience too
+high for common grief to perplex or common joy to enliven.
+
+     "The music of another land hath spoken.
+      No after-sound is sweet; this weary thirst!--
+      And I have heard celestial fountains burst.
+      What _here_ shall quench it?"
+
+
+
+
+IX.
+
+HOME IN THE LAKE COUNTRY.
+
+A visit to the Lakes of Westmoreland in 1830 was a source of great
+enjoyment to Mrs. Hemans. The beauty of the district was one attraction,
+but the prospect of sharing the society of Mr. Wordsworth was a greater
+attraction. Wearied out with the "glare and dust of celebrity," she was
+longing for the hills and the quiet peacefulness of the Lake country. It
+is needless to say that the first poetess of Nature was charmed with the
+first poet of Nature, and the poet with the poetess. Her letters were
+full of expressions of delight and keen appreciation of the privilege
+she was enjoying. Wordsworth was kindness itself. "I am charmed with Mr.
+Wordsworth, whose kindness to me has quite a soothing influence over my
+spirits. Oh! what relief, what blessing there is in the feeling of
+admiration when it can be freely poured forth! 'There is a daily beauty
+in his life,' which is in such lovely harmony with his poetry, that I am
+thankful to have witnessed and _felt_ it."
+
+Mrs. Hemans, after staying a fortnight at Rydal Mount, took a little
+cottage called Dove's Nest near the lake. Here she was joined by her
+children, into whose pursuits she heartily threw herself. This was a
+season of grateful rest to her. "How shall I tell you of all the
+loveliness by which I am surrounded, of all the soothing and holy
+influence it seems shedding down into my inmost heart! I have sometimes
+feared within the last two years, that the effect of suffering and
+adulation, and feelings too highly wrought and too severely tried, would
+have been to dry up within me the fountains of such peace and simple
+enjoyment; but now I know--"
+
+     'Nature never did betray
+      The heart that loved her.'
+
+"I can think of nothing but what is pure, and true, and kind; and my eyes
+are filled with grateful tears even whilst I am writing to you." But
+even to this sweet retirement she was pursued by curious tourists,
+"hunting for lions in doves' nests," and by letters which threatened "to
+boil over the drawer to which they were consigned."
+
+She had made up her mind that it was a wise step to leave Wavertree. At
+one time Edinburgh was thought of as a fit place for her residence. But
+finally Ireland, and not Scotland, became the home of her latter days,
+one reason for this choice being that her brother would be near to give
+his advice and guidance as to her sons. In 1831 she took up her abode in
+Dublin, where, whilst entering very little into general society, she
+much enjoyed intercourse with many kindred spirits whom she gathered
+around her. Amongst her most valued friends were the Archbishop of
+Dublin and Mrs. Whately, from whom she met with marked kindness. These
+years in Dublin have been described as the happiest as well as the last
+of her life. Heading was perhaps more than ever a delight to her,
+especially of works of religious instruction and consolation. Bishop
+Hall, Leighton, and Jeremy Taylor, and other old divines afforded her
+great strength and refreshment, whilst the Scriptures were her daily
+study and delight. Wordsworth was the poet she loved best and read
+oftenest, never a single day during the last four years of her life
+being passed, unless sickness prevented, without her reading
+something of his.
+
+
+
+
+X.
+
+ASPIRATIONS DURING FAILING HEALIH.
+
+"Nervous suffering" is a phrase that describes Mrs. Hemans' state of
+health. But still her mind was busy and her pen active, especially on
+subjects of a religious character. "I now feel as if bound to higher and
+holier tasks which, though I may occasionally lay aside, I could not
+long wander from without some sense of dereliction. I hope it is not
+self-delusion, but I cannot help sometimes feeling as if it were my true
+task to enlarge the sphere of sacred poetry, and extend its influence."
+In 1834 _Hymns for Childhood_ and _National Lyrics_ appeared in a
+collected form, and soon after the long-contemplated collection of
+_Scenes and Hymns of Life_. The aim of these may be best expressed in
+her own words. It was to enlarge the sphere of sacred poetry "by
+associating with its themes, more of the emotions, the affections, and
+even the pure imaginative enjoyments of daily life, than had hitherto
+been admitted within the hallowed circle."
+
+Two last works were to issue from her mind and heart. The lyric
+"Despondency and Aspiration" was hoped to be her best production, as it
+was certainly her most laborious effort. On it she was anxious to
+concentrate all her powers. It was meant to be the prologue to a
+poetical work which was to be called _The Christian Temple_. It was her
+purpose, "by tracing out the workings of passion--the struggle of human
+affection--through various climes, and ages, and conditions of life, to
+illustrate the insufficiency of any dispensation, save that of an
+ill-embracing Christianity, to soothe the sorrows, or sustain the hopes,
+or fulfil the desires of an immortal being whose lot is cast in a world
+where cares and bereavements are many." She was never to carry out
+this design.
+
+She dictated _Thoughts during Sickness_ in the intervals of sickness,
+when concentrated thought was possible. Their shortness tells of the
+shortness of those intervals. Who is not better for thinking over these
+sonnets, recalling as they do a peaceful spirit of resignation and
+calmness at the approach of the last hour?
+
+             "Let others _trembling_ bow,
+     Angel of Death, before thee;--not to those
+     Whose spirits with Eternal Truth repose
+     Art thou a fearful shape. And, oh, for _me_,
+     How full of welcome would thine aspect shine,
+     Did not the cords of strong affection twine
+     So fast around my soul, it _cannot_ spring to thee."
+
+The last of the series is entitled a "Sabbath Sonnet." It was composed
+by Mrs. Hemans a few days before her death, and dictated to her brother.
+It ends in these words---fit words for the last utterances of a
+Christian poet:
+
+                        "I may not tread
+     With them those pathways--to the feverish bed
+     Of sickness bound; yet, O my God, I bless
+     Thy mercy, that with Sabbath peace hath filled
+     My chastened heart, and all its throbbings stilled
+     To one deep calm of lowliest thankfulness."
+
+But we are anticipating. At the end of 1834 Mrs. Hemans was recommended
+to try change of air. Most kindly Archbishop Whately placed at her
+disposal his country seat of Redesdale, where she had every comfort. But
+there was a comfort she had that was not of man's making or man's
+giving. "Far better than these indications of recovery is the sweet
+religious peace which I feel gradually overshadowing me with its
+dove-pinions, excluding all that would exclude thoughts of God."
+
+All around her delighted to ease her suffering and to minister to her
+comfort. Especially thoughtful was her faithful attendant. And well was
+that attendant repaid in hearing the words which fell from her
+mistress's lips. How bright was the testimony of the dying poetess! "I
+feel like a tired child wearied, and longing to mingle with the pure in
+heart! I feel as if I were sitting with Mary at the feet of my Redeemer,
+hearing the music of His voice, and learning of Him to be meek and
+lowly." "Oh, Anna, do not you love your kind Saviour? The plan of
+redemption was indeed a glorious one; humility was indeed the crowning
+work. I am like a quiet babe at His feet, and yet my spirit is full of
+His strength. When anybody speaks of His love to me, I feel as if they
+were too slow; my spirit can mount alone with Him into those blissful
+realms with far more rapidity."
+
+
+
+
+XI.
+
+"THE BETTER LAND" REACHED.
+
+Mrs. Hemans left Redesdale to return to Dublin, so as to be near her
+physician. She could only leave her bed to be laid upon a couch. The
+sufferings were great, but there was no complaint. She would never allow
+those around her to speak of her state as one calling for pity. She
+seemed to live partly on earth, partly in heaven. "No poetry could
+express, nor imagination conceive, the visions of blessedness that
+flitted across her fancy, and made her waking hours more delightful than
+those even that were given to temporary repose." She would ask to be
+left perfectly alone, in stillness and darkness, to commune with her own
+heart and reflect on the mercies of her Saviour. Her trust in the
+atonement was entire, and often did she speak of the comfort she derived
+from dwelling upon that central fact. She assured a friend that the
+tenderness and affectionateness of the Redeemer's character, which they
+had often contemplated together, was now a source not merely of
+reliance, but of positive happiness to her--"_the sweetness of
+her couch_."
+
+As is often the case under such circumstances, her thoughts were busy
+with the haunts of her childhood, the old home and the old walks. Her
+memory appeared unweakened. Its powers, always so great, seemed to be
+greater than ever. She would lie hour after hour, repeating to herself
+chapters of the Bible and pages of Milton and Wordsworth. When delirium
+came upon her, it was observed how entirely the beautiful still retained
+its predominance over her mind. The one material thing that gave her
+pleasure was to be surrounded with "flowers, fresh flowers."
+
+Often did she thank God for the talents He had entrusted to her, and
+declared how much more ardently than ever her powers would have been
+consecrated to His service had life been prolonged. On March 15th she
+received the Holy Communion for the last time, one of her sons being a
+partaker of that feast for the first time. But the end was not to come
+at once. There was another flicker of life. The days that remained were
+spent in pious preparation, one of her favourite occupations being the
+listening to the reading of some of her most valued books. The _Lives of
+Sacred Poets_ and the _Lives of Eminent Christians_, in both of which
+her life was soon to be worthy of a place, were especially enjoyed. In
+the latter book she earnestly recommended the perusal of the account of
+the death of Madame de Mornay, as showing in bright yet not exaggerated
+colours "how a Christian can die."
+
+On the 26th of April she dictated to her brother the last strain, the
+"Sabbath Sonnet," to which reference has already been made. From this
+time she began to sink slowly but steadily. On the 12th of May she was
+able to read part of the 16th chapter of St. John, her favourite among
+the evangelists, which was the Gospel for the day, and also the Collect
+and Epistle. She delighted to hear passages from a book she dearly
+loved--a selection from the works of Archbishop Leighton. "Beautiful!
+beautiful!" she exclaimed. To her faithful attendant she said that "she
+had been making her peace with God; that she felt all at peace within
+her bosom."
+
+On Saturday the 16th May, 1835, she slumbered nearly all the day: and at
+nine o'clock in the evening, without pain or struggle, her spirit passed
+away to the "Better Land."
+
+     'I hear thee speak of the better land,
+     Thou callest its children a happy band;
+     Mother, oh, where is that radiant shore?
+     Shall we not seek it, and weep no more?
+     Is it where the flower of the orange blows,
+     And the fire-flies glance through the myrtle boughs?'
+        'Not there, not there, my child!'
+
+     'Is it where the feathery palm-trees rise,
+     And the date grows ripe under sunny skies?
+     Or 'midst the green islands of glittering seas,
+     Where fragrant forests perfume the breeze,
+     And strange, bright birds, on their starry wings,
+     Bear the rich hues of all glorious things?'
+        'Not there, not there, my child!'
+
+     'Is it far away, in some region old,
+     Where the rivers wander o'er sands of gold?
+     Where the burning rays of the ruby shine,
+     And the diamond lights up the secret mine,
+     And the pearl gleams forth from the coral strand?
+     Is it there, sweet mother, that better land?'
+        'Not there, not there, my child!'
+
+     'Eye hath not seen it, my gentle boy,
+     Ear hath not heard its deep songs of joy;
+     Dreams cannot picture a world so fair--
+     Sorrow and death may not enter there:
+     Time doth not breathe on its fadeless bloom,
+     For beyond the clouds, and beyond the tomb,--
+        It is there, it is there, my child!'
+
+Her remains were laid to rest in a grave within St. Anne's Church,
+Dublin. A tablet records her name, her age--forty-one years--and the
+date of her death. There are added the following lines of her own:--
+
+     "Calm on the bosom of thy God,
+        Fair spirit, rest thee now;
+      E'en while with us thy footsteps trode,
+        His seal was on thy brow.
+      Dust to its narrow home beneath,
+        Soul to its place on high;
+      They that have seen thy look in death,
+        No more may fear to die."
+
+
+
+
+XII.
+
+ABIDING WORDS.
+
+Though many of the productions of the gifted poetess will soon be
+forgotten, there is no doubt that some will live. The subjects are those
+which gain an admittance to the hearts of all classes. We have already
+given in full that beautiful poem "The Better Land." There is no danger
+of "Casabianca" passing into oblivion. Children delight to commit it to
+memory, and are all the better for the lesson of devotion to duty they
+have learnt.
+
+     "Yet beautiful and bright he stood,
+        As born to rule the storm;
+      A creature of heroic blood,
+        A proud, though childlike form.
+
+      The flames rolled on--he would not go
+        Without his father's word;
+      That father, faint in death below,
+        His voice no longer heard."
+
+Mrs. Hemans was at her best in treating of such matters as those dealt
+with in "The Homes of England" and "The Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers."
+Any one is to be pitied who can read without admiration these lines from
+the former:--
+
+     "The merry homes of England!
+        Around their hearths by night
+      What gladsome looks of household love
+        Meet in the ruddy light!
+      There woman's voice flows forth in song,
+        Or childhood's tale is told,
+      Or lips move tunefully along
+        Some glorious page of old.
+
+      The blessed homes of England!
+        How softly on their bowers
+      Is laid the holy quietness
+        That breathes from Sabbath hours!
+      Solemn, yet sweet, the church bell's chime
+        Floats through their woods at morn;
+      All other sounds in that still time
+        Of breeze and leaf are born."
+
+There is little danger of "The Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers" being
+forgotten. How well the poetess indicated the, motive which led them
+from their native country to the unknown land!--
+
+     "What sought they thus afar?
+        Bright jewels of the mine?
+      The wealth of seas, the spoils of war?
+        They sought a faith's pure shrine!
+
+      Ay, call it holy ground,
+        The soil where first they trod!
+      They have left unstained what there they found--
+        Freedom to worship God!"
+
+As an example of Mrs. Hemans' treatment of sacred subjects, we may quote
+the concluding verses of "Christ's Agony in the Garden":--
+
+     "He knew them all--the doubt, the strife,
+        The faint perplexing dread,
+      The mists that hang o'er parting life,
+        All darkened round His head;
+      And the Deliverer knelt to pray,
+        Yet passed it not, that cup, away.
+
+      It passed not--though the stormy wave
+        Had sunk beneath His tread;
+      It passed not--though to Him the grave
+        Had yielded up its dead.
+      But there was sent Him from on high
+        A gift of strength for man to die.
+
+      And was _His_ mortal hour beset
+        With anguish and dismay?--
+      How may _we_ meet our conflict yet,
+        In the dark, narrow way?
+      How, but through Him, that path who trod?
+        Save, or we perish, Son of God!"
+
+We are thankful to find that the poetess had such clear views of the
+atonement as those to be met with in her _Sonnets, Devotional and
+Memorial,_ for example, in "The Darkness of the Crucifixion."
+
+The last quotation shall be one from "The Graves of a Household," the
+opening and the closing verses of a literary gem which will never lack
+appreciation:--
+
+     "They grew in beauty side by side,
+        They filled one home with glee;--
+      Their graves are severed far and wide.
+        By mount, and stream, and sea.
+
+      The same fond mother bent at night
+        O'er each fair sleeping brow;
+      She had each folded flower in sight--
+        Where are those dreamers now'?
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+      And parted thus they rest, who played
+        Beneath the same green tree;
+      Whose voices mingled as they prayed
+        Around one parent knee!
+
+      They that with smiles lit up the hall,
+        And cheered with song the hearth!
+      Alas, for love! if _thou_ wert all,
+        And nought beyond, O Earth."
+
+The lyrics of Mrs. Hemans will ever keep her memory fresh. "In these
+'gems of purest ray serene,' the peculiar genius of Mrs. Hemans
+breathes, and burns, and shines pre-eminent; for her forte lay in
+depicting whatever tends to beautify and embellish domestic life, the
+gentle overflowings of love and friendship, home-bred delights and
+heartfelt happiness, the associations of local attachment, and the
+influences of religious feelings over the soul, whether arising from the
+varied circumstances and situations of man, or from the aspects of
+external Nature."
+
+S.F. HARRIS, M.A., B.C.L.
+
+
+
+
+MADAME GUYON
+
+I.
+
+HER BIRTH AND BRINGING-UP.
+
+[Illustration:]
+
+Jeanne Marie Bouvières de la Mothe, afterwards Madame Guyon, was born at
+Montargis, about fifty miles south of Paris, on April 13, 1648. Her
+father, who bore the title of Seigneur de la Mothe Vergonville, was a
+man of much religious feeling. Although Jeanne was a child of delicate
+health, her mother does not seem to have bestowed much trouble upon her,
+sending her, when only two years and a half old, to an Ursuline seminary
+a short time, and then committing her almost entirely to the care of
+servants, from whom, as a matter of course, her mental and moral culture
+at that highly-receptive age did not receive much attention. 'When four
+years old, she was transferred to the care of the nuns in a Benedictine
+convent. "Here," she says in her autobiography,[1] "I saw none but good
+examples; and as my natural disposition was towards the good, I followed
+it as long as I met with nobody to turn me in another direction. I loved
+to hear of God, to be at church, and to be dressed up as a nun."
+
+[Footnote 1: _La Vie de Madame J.M.B. de la Mothe-Guyon, écrite par
+elle-même,_ première partie, ch. ii., 6. The edition from which I quote
+was published at Paris, in three volumes, by the "Associated
+Booksellers," in 1791. See also Life by J.C. Upham (Sampson Low &
+Co., 1872).]
+
+Now, as her opening mind drank in such instruction as came to her, she
+deeply felt the claims of God upon her love and service. Under the
+influence of a remarkable dream, she openly expressed her determination
+to lead a religious life; and one day, with unguarded frankness, she
+avowed her readiness to become a martyr for God. Her fellow-pupils at
+the convent, like Joseph's brethren, did not appreciate either her dream
+or her avowal. With girlish jealousy they laid her devout aspirations at
+the door of pride, and proceeded to test her professions in a cruel
+manner. They persuaded her that God had taken her at her word and called
+her suddenly to undergo the martyrdom for which she had declared her
+readiness. Her courage did not give way at their summons. So, after
+allowing her a short time for preparatory prayer, they led her into a
+room made ready for the purpose, where a cloth was spread on the floor,
+and an older girl stood behind her, lifting a large cutlass, and
+seemingly prepared to chop off the child's head. Who can wonder that at
+this too realistic sight the little girl's valour gave way? She cried
+out that she must not die without her father's leave. The girls
+triumphantly asserted that this was a paltry excuse, and let her go,
+with the scornful assurance that God would not accept as a martyr one
+who had so little of a martyr's courage.
+
+Poor little Jeanne Marie! This unjust ordeal had a painful effect on her
+joyous spirit. Child though she was, she saw clearly that, like Simon
+Peter, she had been too ready and bold in her avowals of devotedness to
+her Lord. She thought that by her cowardice she had offended God, and
+that now there was little likelihood of winning His favour and enjoying
+His support. Her health, always delicate, could not but be injured by
+this unpleasant episode, and after a while she was taken home and again
+left to the care of the servants. Placed a second time at the Ursuline
+convent, she was happy in being under the care of her half-sister,--a
+good creature, who devoted her excellent abilities to the loving
+training of Jeanne in learning and piety. While here, the little girl
+was often sent for by her father; and at his house, on one occasion, she
+found Henrietta Maria, the widowed queen of England, who was so much
+pleased with her pretty ways and sprightly answers that she tried to
+induce M. de la Mothe to place his daughter in her care, intimating that
+she would make her maid of honour to the princess. The father, much to
+the queen's annoyance, declined the honour, and Madame Guyon, in after
+years, considered that perhaps she owed her salvation to his
+judicious refusal.
+
+At this Ursuline seminary she remained, under her sister's care, until
+she was ten years old, when she was taken home again, and then placed in
+a Dominican convent, where she stayed eight months. Here she was left
+much to herself, but was so happy as to find an abiding companion, a
+heaven-sent gift, in a copy of the Bible, which had been
+"providentially" left in the apartment assigned to her. "I read it," she
+says, "from morning to night; and having a very good memory, I learnt by
+heart all the historical parts." Whatever were the immediate results of
+this close acquaintance with the Book of books, it is certain that in
+after years, when the true light had shined into her soul, her early
+intimacy with the Bible was of great service to her progress, and helped
+to qualify her in some measure for writing her _Explanations and
+Reflections_ on the sacred volume. On her return home once more her
+religious state seems to have fluctuated considerably. Family
+jealousies and jars deadened the fervour of her devotion. Preparations
+for her first Sacrament under her sister's guidance, and the actual
+participation in that ordinance, had for a time a beneficial effect. But
+the solemnity of the Supper passed away without permanent influence on
+her heart.
+
+She was now growing up a fine tall girl, of remarkable beauty and of
+equal fascination of speech and manner. Her mother became proud of her
+loveliness, and took great interest in her dress and appearance.
+Accomplished and attractive, she was welcome in every circle, and her
+wit and gaiety made her company much sought after. Her serious
+impressions passed away, and her heart was hot in the chase after
+pleasure. That it was still tender and susceptible we learn from a
+little incident at this period. She had gone for a walk with her
+youthful companions, and during her absence a young cousin, De Toissi,
+who was going as a missionary to Cochin China, called for a short time
+at her father's house. On her return home she found that he had already
+departed, and she heard such an account of his sanctity and of his pious
+utterances that she was deeply affected and was overcome with sorrow,
+crying all the rest of the day and night. Once more she sought earnestly
+"the peace of God, which passeth all understanding," but sought it by
+deeds of charity and by bodily austerities, instead of by the simple way
+of faith. At this time, in the fervour of her devotion, she resolved to
+enter a convent and become a nun. Her father, however, believed that his
+daughter, whom he tenderly loved, might be truly religious without
+taking such an irrevocable step. But soon--whether through some juvenile
+attachment or not we cannot tell--her good desires and resolves grew
+faint, she left off prayer, and lost such comfort and blessing as had
+been granted her from above. "I began," she says, "to seek in the
+creature what I had found in God. And Thou, O my God, didst leave me to
+myself, because I had first left Thee, and Thou wast pleased, in
+permitting me to sink into the abyss, to make me feel the necessity I
+was under of maintaining communion with Thyself in prayer."
+
+In 1663 her father removed his household to Paris, and Jeanne Marie was
+transferred to a larger and more brilliant arena for the display of her
+beauty and accomplishments. Louis XIV. was on the throne, and Paris was
+at the very height of its gaiety and celebrity. The influence of its
+dissipation and distraction on the spirit of Mademoiselle de la Mothe
+was of course unfavourable to religion. Her parents found themselves not
+merely in a fashionable circle, but in a highly-intellectual centre. The
+_grand monarque_ posed as the great patron of literature and the arts;
+and society presented splendid opportunities for the exercise of the
+young lady's conversational powers. She tells us that she began to
+entertain extravagant notions of herself, and that her vanity increased.
+In such surroundings it could hardly be otherwise. Her faith and love,
+such as they were, had died away, and her devotion had dwindled down to
+nothing. The dazzling world before her was in her eyes something worth
+conquering; and she set herself to gain its acclamation, and was to a
+great extent successful. From this high state of worldly gratification,
+and low state of religious principle and enjoyment, she was aroused and
+rescued in a very rough and painful manner.
+
+
+
+
+II.
+
+MARRIED LIFE.
+
+Early in 1664, when not quite sixteen, Jeanne Marie de la Mothe was
+given in marriage to M. Jacques Guyon, a man of thirty-eight, possessed
+of great wealth, whom she had seen for the first time only a few days
+before the ceremony took place. Many ladies no doubt envied her, but for
+her it was an unhappy change. Several suitors had appeared, with whom
+she felt she could have been content and happy; but M. Guyon's riches
+and perseverance had carried the day with her parents, and marriage, to
+which she had looked forward as the period of liberation from restraint,
+and of freer enjoyment of the gay Parisian life, proved but the
+commencement of a dreary spell of dulness and misery. Her friends, who
+came to congratulate her the next day after the wedding, were surprised
+to find her weeping bitterly, and, in answer to their raillery, were
+told by her, "Alas! I used to have such a desire to be a nun: why, then,
+am I married now? and by what fatality has this happened to me?" She was
+overwhelmed with this regret, this longing to be a _religieuse_. The
+sudden transition from being the admired of all beholders, "the cynosure
+of neighbouring eyes," the witty belle whose every word and look were
+treasured up, to the hopeless condition of a bird pining in a gilded
+cage, was very hard to bear.
+
+The details of the poor girl's sufferings in her new home are painful to
+read; but as Madame Guyon relates these early trials, she devoutly
+regards them as the means employed by her Heavenly Father to wean her
+affections from the world and turn them towards Himself. Beset with sore
+afflictions, guarded and illtreated by a servant devoted to her
+mother-in-law, cut off from the innocent pleasures of friendly
+intercourse, perpetually thwarted and misrepresented, she bethought
+herself of the possibility of getting help from above, and once more
+turned her mind towards God and heavenly things, doing her best,
+according to her imperfect light, to propitiate the Divine favour. She
+gave up entirely the reading of romances, of which formerly she had been
+passionately fond. The _penchant_ for them had already been deadened,
+some time before her marriage, by reading the Gospel, which she found
+"so beautiful," and in which she discerned a character of truth which
+disgusted her with all other books. She resumed the practice of private
+prayer; she had masses said, in order to obtain Divine grace to enable
+her to find favour with her husband and his mother, and to ascertain the
+Divine will; she consulted her looking-glass very seldom; she regularly
+studied books of devotion, such as _The Initiation of Jesus Christ_, and
+the works of St. Francis de Sales, and read them aloud, so that the
+servants might profit by them. She endeavoured in all things not to
+offend God.
+
+Her mind, shut off from all earthly comfort, was now driven in upon
+itself. Her lengthy meditation, though it helped to give her some degree
+of resignation, did not produce true peace and joy Though quite natural
+under the circumstances, it was an unhealthy habit, and doubtless tended
+to foster the mystic dreaming which grew upon her in riper years.
+Changes of circumstances now came to her relief. Soon after the birth of
+her first child, a heavy loss of property called her husband to Paris,
+to look after his affairs; and she, after a while, was permitted to join
+him there. This made a pleasant break in the dreary round of her married
+life. She cared nothing for losses, so long as she could gain from her
+stern and surly mate some token of affection and acknowledgment; and
+this, though in very small fragments, she had now occasionally the
+satisfaction of getting. While at Paris she had a severe illness, and
+the learned doctors of the city brought her to death's door by draining
+her of "forty-eight pullets" of blood.
+
+Sad to say, as she regained her health, her husband resumed his
+moroseness and violent tempers, and her feeble strength was tried to its
+utmost. But she records, "This illness was of great use to me, for,
+besides teaching me patience under very severe pains, it enlightened me
+much as to the worthlessness of the things of this world. While
+detaching me to a great extent from myself, it gave me fresh courage to
+bear suffering better than I had done in the past." When at last she
+regained her health, the loss of her mother and the crosses of every-day
+life served still further to solemnize her mind, and to turn her
+aspirations heavenwards. She followed strictly her plan for private
+prayer twice a day; she kept watch over herself continually, and in
+almsgiving and other ways endeavoured to do as much good as she could.
+
+
+
+
+III.
+
+LIGHT BREAKS IN.
+
+About this time a pious lady, an English exile, came to reside at her
+father's house; and though she could but imperfectly understand her
+devout conversation, Madame Guyon saw in her face a sweet satisfaction
+which she herself had not as yet attained. Then her cousin De Toissi
+arrived from the East, and, with sincere concern for her welfare,
+encouraged her in her search after happiness in God. To him she
+unburdened her soul, giving him a full account of all her faults and all
+her wants. He tendered the best counsel he could. She now tried to
+meditate continually on God, saying prayers and uttering ejaculatory
+petitions. But all was in vain. The advice of these excellent persons
+led her to look too much inwardly upon her own heart, instead of upward
+to the Saviour as revealed in His word. So she still laboured along in
+deep darkness and depression.
+
+It was with a sudden brilliance that light and joy broke in upon her
+spirit. In July, 1668, she was once more at the parental home, to nurse
+her father, who was dangerously ill. Knowing well his daughter's
+unhappiness, M. de la Mothe recommended her to consult his confessor, an
+aged Franciscan, who had been of service to himself. This good man,
+after listening for some time to the story of her restless wanderings
+after peace, said, "Madame, you are seeking outside what you have
+within. Accustom yourself to seek God in your heart, and you will find
+Him there." These few and simple words turned her gaze from her own
+efforts and feelings to see that peace was a thing to be found not in
+outward deeds but in a heart right with God; and so she was enabled to
+realise the bounteous love of God, which at that instant was broadening
+her heart by the Holy Spirit. The next morning when she told the old
+Franciscan of the effect of his words, he was much astonished.
+
+"These words," she observes, "brought into my heart what I had been
+seeking so many years; or rather they made me discover what was there,
+but what I had not been enjoying for want of knowing it. O my Lord, Thou
+wast in my heart, and didst require of me only a simple turning inward
+to make me perceive Thy presence. O Infinite Goodness, Thou wast so
+near, and I went running hither and thither in search of Thee, and did
+not find Thee. My life was wretched, yet my happiness lay there within
+me. I was poor in the midst of riches, and I was dying of hunger close
+by a table spread and a continual feast. O Beauty, ancient and new, why
+have I known Thee so late? Alas! I sought Thee where Thou wast not, and
+did not seek Thee where Thou wast. It was for want of understanding
+these words of Thy Gospel, where Thou sayest, 'The kingdom of God is not
+here or there; but the kingdom of God is within you.'" [1]
+
+[Footnote 1: _La Vie_, première partie, ch. viii., 7.]
+
+There can be no doubt that her heart now realised something of the great
+fundamental truth that "God is Love." She had been trying to propitiate
+Him, as a Being of awful majesty and purity, by good works, strict
+conduct, severe penances. Now she saw at a glance the mistakes of her
+former conceptions of the Divine Being, and all her faculties drank in
+the grand verity of the boundless love of God.
+
+Her own account of this vital change is as follows: "I told this good
+father that I did not know what he had done to me; that my heart was
+totally changed; that God was there, and I had no more difficulty in
+finding Him; for from that moment was given me an experience of His
+presence in my soul; not by mere thought or intellectual application,
+but as a thing which one really possesses in a very sweet manner. I
+experienced these words of the spouse in the Canticles: 'Thy name is as
+ointment poured forth: therefore do the virgins love thee.' For I felt
+in my soul an unction which like a healing balm cured in a moment all my
+wounds, and which even spread itself so powerfully over my senses that I
+could scarcely open my mouth or my eyes. That night I could not sleep at
+all, because Thy love, O my God, was for me not only as a delicious oil,
+but also as a devouring fire, which kindled in my soul such a flame as
+threatened to consume all in an instant. I was all at once so changed as
+not to be recognisable either to myself or to others. I found neither
+the blemishes nor the dislikes (which had troubled me): all appeared to
+me consumed like a straw in a great fire." [1]
+
+[Footnote 1: _Ibid_., ch. viii., 8.]
+
+These extracts from her autobiography are important as giving a key to
+her subsequent life. We see here the intensity of her affections and
+emotions, the excitability of her temperament, the tendency to wander
+into regions of spiritual imagination, the liking for strong dramatic
+expression, which, though not in themselves blamable, yet gave to the
+outside world, and even to those about her who were open to adverse
+prepossessions, false impressions as to the depth and reality of her
+religion. They, close at hand, could not make the allowance which we can
+easily make for the extravagances of a soul which had just emerged from
+the prison gloom of depression and distrust into this realisation of the
+Divine love and favour. When her enthusiastic spirit led her to subject
+herself to the severest penances, she joyed in their infliction and
+could not make them severe enough. And here at once comes out
+prominently a primary error of judgment in this good woman at the very
+outset of her Christian life. She gives us details of a specially
+disgusting penance which she inflicted on herself. In this, as in the
+rest of her self-imposed tortures and degradations, the impulse
+manifestly came not from above, but from the mistaken imaginings of an
+over-wrought mind encased in a frail and delicate frame; and these
+morbid fancies were based on her intense passion for self-abasement. We
+must remember that at this critical time, when she most needed counsel,
+she had really no one to guide her--no one, that is, who possessed
+spiritual wisdom and common sense.
+
+Though Madame Guyon was much absorbed in a mystical ecstasy, which she
+describes as prayer without words or even thoughts, she was no mere
+visionary. Her love to God, her intense devotion to her Saviour, led her
+to earnest endeavours to do good to those around her. The poor and the
+sick, young girls exposed to temptation, all who needed temporal or
+spiritual help, were the special objects of her care and benevolence. In
+leading others to Christ she was remarkably successful. She had indeed
+exceptional qualifications for this missionary work. Just over twenty
+years of age, her youthful beauty and grace, the tender, yearning love
+which lit up her expressive features, the ready utterance and sweet
+voice, and the charm of manner which never left her, were no unfitting
+media to convey the tidings of mercy to many a benighted seeker after
+rest and peace.
+
+
+
+
+IV.
+
+AFFLICTIONS AND GLOOM.
+
+At this time she found great benefit from the counsel of her friend
+Geneviève Granger, the prioress of the Benedictine convent, who
+encouraged her in her determination to avoid all conformity to the
+world, and to live wholly to God. She once more made progress in the
+Divine life, and the trials which now came thickly upon her were the
+means of blessing her soul with increase of purity and peace. Hers were
+no light trials. Besides the constant annoyance from her implacable
+mother-in-law and the ill-tempered behaviour of her husband, heavy
+afflictions befell her. The terrible small-pox attacked her, and spoilt
+her beautiful face, though it left her alive. Her cruel mother-in-law,
+instead of tenderly nursing her, basely neglected her, debarred her from
+medical attendance, and imperilled her life. The loss of her beauty
+alienated her husband's affection--such as it was--from her, and he
+became still more open to unfavourable influences. Burdened as she was
+with these troubles, yet another was added. Her younger son, a lovely
+boy four years of age, was carried off by the same fearful disease. Yet
+in all these afflictions she showed a spirit of holy resignation.
+
+In the summer of 1671 she made the acquaintance of Father La Combe, who
+came with an introductory letter from her half-brother Father La Mothe.
+He was in search of inward peace, and Madame Guyon's counsels, the
+outcome of deep thought and Divine enlightenment, were of great service
+to him. The next year was marked by other trying losses. Her little
+daughter, who latterly had been her one source of human comfort, died
+rather suddenly. This was probably the severest trial of her life. In
+the same month she lost her affectionate father. Yet in these
+bereavements also she charged not God foolishly, but took them as a part
+of the discipline wisely ordered to knit her soul in closer union
+to Him.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+On July 22, 1672, the fourth anniversary of the day on which she first
+found peace, at the suggestion of her correspondent Geneviève Granger,
+she put her signature and seal to a covenant which that lady had drawn
+up. "The contract," she says,[1] "ran thus: 'I N. promise to take as my
+husband our Lord Jesus Christ, and to give myself to Him as His spouse,
+although unworthy.' I asked of Him, as the dowry of my spiritual
+marriage, crosses, contempt, confusion, disgrace, and ignominy; and I
+prayed Him to give me grace to entertain dispositions of littleness and
+nothingness with regard to everything else." Though we cannot consider
+such covenants in general as wise in themselves, nor this one in
+particular as appropriate in its language, yet for a time it seemed to
+give greater strength to her holy resolutions and increased stability to
+her pious frame of mind. But about eighteen months afterwards she fell
+into a state of depression, or absence of joy, which lasted nearly
+six years.
+
+[Footnote :1 _La Vie de Madame Guyon_, première partie, ch. xix., 10.]
+
+Probably this state of "privation," as she terms it, was in great
+measure the result of physical causes. She had for many years tried her
+bodily strength to the utmost by her severe self-denying treatment of
+herself. And now the death of her intimate friend, the above-mentioned
+Geneviève Granger, no doubt exercised a lowering effect on her spirits.
+It was a testing time for her faith, and it is a signal proof of the
+depth and reality of her piety that through all this trying season she
+held fast her trust in God, and kept on her way, though uncheered for a
+time by the joyous emotions with which she had so long been favoured. It
+was well that her mind, which had been overtaxed and strained by the
+intensity of her religious fervour, and by its unbroken continuity of
+introspection, should be brought into a more healthful state by this
+bitter tonic of joylessness.
+
+In 1676 her husband's health, never very good, completely broke down,
+and after a long illness he died, leaving her, at the age of
+twenty-eight, a widow, with three children. As the solemn hour of
+parting drew near, she swept away all the wretched interference which
+had helped to cloud the happiness of their married life, and, kneeling
+by his bed, she begged him to forgive anything she had done amiss. The
+better nature of the man now at length prevailed, and he said--what he
+had never said before--"It is I who ask pardon of you. I did not deserve
+you:" which was perfectly true. He left a large amount of property, but
+his affairs were in a perplexing state of entanglement, and his young
+widow, unused to business, had to do her best to make all straight. She
+proved equal to the occasion, and soon, with her quick perception and
+uncommon powers of direction and persuasion, she reduced the complicated
+tangle to order, and then retired to a house of her own, where she was
+free from the annoying devices of her irreconcilable mother-in-law, and
+could devote herself to the education of her children, the perfecting of
+her own education, and the visitation of the sick and poor.
+
+It was in 1680, after nearly seven years of comparative darkness and
+depression, that her spiritual gloom was broken in upon by a letter
+from Father La Combe, in which he took the sensible view that by this
+sore deprivation God was teaching her not to lean on her state of
+feeling, but to look to Him alone for comfort and strength. On the 22nd
+of July--a day several times marked in her history as one of signal
+blessing--her prayers were heard, and God again lifted up the light of
+His countenance upon her. "On that happy day," she writes, "my soul was
+fully delivered from all its distresses. It began a new life," a life of
+steady peace and joy, guarded from dependence on the joy itself by the
+painful experience from which she had just emerged.
+
+From this time forth she devoted her life to the spread of the knowledge
+of the love of God. After much deliberation and consultation with
+others, she left Paris in July, 1681, to commence work in the south-east
+of France. The preceding winter had been passed in making necessary
+preparations, in relieving the necessities of the famished poor of
+Paris, and in other works of charity.
+
+
+
+
+V.
+
+HER PUBLIC WORK.
+
+On that July morning, when Madame Guyon embarked on the Seine secretly,
+for fear of the interference of her half-brother, she was really
+embarking on the chief business of her life, the work of spreading the
+doctrine of inward holiness. She had felt drawn to the district of
+Geneva by a desire to give temporal and spiritual help to the poor
+people at the foot of the Jura range. And now, having consulted at Paris
+the Bishop of Geneva, she was making her way, in company with her little
+daughter, a nun, and two servants, to the little town of Gex. Passing
+through Annecy and Geneva, she reached her destination on July 23, and
+took up her residence at the house of the Sisters of Charity. This was
+for a time the centre of her labours of love. Besides her works of
+charity, she felt impelled to tell others of the spiritual blessings
+which she herself enjoyed.
+
+Situated as she was, a Protestant without herself suspecting it, and
+that in the very heart of the Roman Catholic Church; a devout reader of
+the Bible, and one who valued the ministrations of priests as advisers
+and "confessors," rather than as transacting the penitent's own work for
+him, her superior intelligence, and her happy art of carrying conviction
+to the listeners, raised the jealousy of the clergy, just as her pure
+life was a silent rebuke to all lax livers, whether monk, nun, or
+priest. D'Aranthon, the bishop, had welcomed her to his diocese, and at
+first received her doctrines with appreciative favour. But he was a man
+easily persuaded, swayed by the last person who talked to him, and as
+her opinions became more pronounced, he began to perceive that they were
+dangerous to the stability of the corrupt, priest-ridden Church of which
+he was an "overseer." He had appointed Father La Combe as Madame Guyon's
+"director," her spiritual guide and instructor. But in practice the
+position was reversed, and it was she who led La Combe into higher
+regions of thought and experience, of which he soon became the
+eloquent exponent.
+
+La Combe's preaching attracted great attention at Thonon, on the other
+side of the Lake of Geneva; and the bishop was anxious lest these new
+doctrines should spread, and he himself should get into trouble at Rome
+on their account. He now wanted to circumscribe Madame Guyon's sphere of
+influence by getting her to become prioress of a convent at Gex. He
+evidently thought that by having her here under some restraint, and by
+keeping her close to the duties of the cloister, he would be able to put
+a stop to the propagation of her heretical opinions. But though she gave
+a little too much heed to visions and dreamy imaginings, she had lost no
+whit of the practical common-sense and clearness of sight which had
+distinguished her in many mundane emergencies. She absolutely refused to
+make over her property for the good of the sisterhood, and would not
+undertake an office which would shut her up from her mission of
+proclaiming far and wide, as the Divine Hand opened the way, the message
+of the Saviour's love and the Holy Spirit's sanctifying power. This
+refusal brought much persecution and annoyance both to herself and to
+Father La Combe, who had manfully refused to obey the bishop when he
+ordered him to use his influence in making Madame Guyon comply with his
+expressed wishes.
+
+A party was now formed at Gex specially for the persecution of Madame
+Guyon, and after much annoyance and suffering she felt she was
+providentially called to leave a town where she had many disciples,
+whose lives she had been the means of brightening and elevating. In the
+spring of 1682 she crossed the Lake of Geneva to Thonon, where she
+pursued the same missionary career, and was the means of raising up a
+little church of believers in the midst of dense bigotry and
+superstition. She never "preached" in public, but in private she
+conversed and prayed with individual seekers after salvation, and at
+times had conferences with several together in a small room. By these
+means, and by her excellent letters, she effected an amazing amount of
+good in all that region. For a time, a short and happy time, all went
+rightly; but she knew only too well that persecution must ensue. It
+could not but come to this good woman, who devoutly fulfilled what she
+esteemed to be the lawful commands of her Church, but who took as her
+highest authority and director the open Bible, explained not by priest
+or friar, but by the Holy Ghost working upon her own acute intellect and
+devout heart. It is worthy of notice that under her guidance several
+small societies or communities were formed by poor girls who had become
+decided Christians. These young people helped each other in secular
+matters, and held little meetings for reading and prayer and loving
+fellowship. Their associations were soon broken up by the priestly
+party, as, indeed, was to be expected; the girls were deprived of
+ordinary church privileges, and some of them were driven out of Thonon
+altogether. Another indication of the rising tide of persecution was
+that the dominant party ordered all books relating to the inner life to
+be brought to them, and publicly burnt in the market-place the few which
+were given up.
+
+At length, through the influence of her enemies, Madame Guyon received
+from the bishop notice that she must go out of his diocese, and Father
+la Combe was similarly warned to depart. All espostulation was in vain,
+and leaving Savoy, in which her labours had been so much blessed, she
+set out on a wearisome journey into Piedmont, crossing the perilous Mont
+Cenis on a mule, and came to Turin.
+
+In spite of many annoyances, she had spent two happy years at Thonon in
+work for her Divine Master; and she would have been more than human if
+she had not felt, though in a spirit of sweet resignation, the wrench
+which these frequent changes of habitation inflicted. No wonder that she
+called to mind the pathetic words in Matthew viii. 20: "The foxes have
+holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man hath not
+where to lay His head." "This," she writes,[1] "I have since experienced
+to its full extent, having had no sure abode where I could remain more
+than a few months, and every day in uncertainty where I should be on the
+morrow, and besides, finding no refuge, either among my friends, who
+were ashamed of me and openly renounced me just when there was an outcry
+against me, or among my relations, most of whom have declared themselves
+my adversaries and been my greatest persecutors, while the others looked
+on me with contempt and indignation."
+
+[Footnote 1: _La Vie_, seconde partie, ch. xiv., 1.]
+
+At Turin she found temporary refuge and rest in the house of the
+Marchioness of Prunai, but appears to have spent only a few months of
+1684 in that city. She longed to return to evangelistic work in France.
+Accordingly in the autumn she went to Grenoble, and had great success in
+her labours, but, through the hatred of her enemies, was obliged to quit
+the place secretly, leaving her little daughter in charge of her
+faithful maid La Gautière. She had already commenced authorship, at
+Thonon, by writing, during an interval of much-needed rest, her book
+entitled _Spiritual Torrents_. At Grenoble she began her commentaries on
+_The Holy Bible_, and here she published her famous work, _A Short and
+Very Easy Method of Prayer_, which speedily ran through several
+editions. So, by word of mouth, and by pen, she taught, and "the new
+spirit of religious inquiry," as she calls it, spread and prevailed. It
+was indeed the _old_ spirit of inquiry, as old as the days of the
+apostles, and its basis was the principle which she clearly enunciates,
+"that man is a sinner, and that he must be saved by repentance and faith
+in Christ, and that faith in God through Christ subsequently is, and
+must be, the foundation of the inward life." Such a bold proclamation of
+Gospel truth could not but rouse the anger of the clerical party at
+Grenoble. The persuasive missioner was soon the centre of a storm of
+wrath and indignation, which the friendly Bishop Camus, afterwards a
+cardinal, was unable to allay. Early in 1686 she left Grenoble for
+Marseilles, where she hoped to find refuge for a while. But her fame had
+preceded her. "I did not arrive in Marseilles," she records, "till ten
+in the morning, and it was only a few hours after noon when all was in
+uproar against me."
+
+In this excitable city she remained only eight days; but in that short
+space some good was effected. Now began a series of wanderings in search
+of a home. Arriving at Nice, she felt acutely her desolate state. "I saw
+myself without refuge or retreat, wandering and homeless. All the
+artisans whom I saw in the shops appeared to me happy in having an abode
+and refuge." After a stormy voyage to Genoa, she reached Verceil, on the
+Sessia, and after a stay of a few months amongst kind friends, but
+precluded from public work by ill-health, she decided to return once
+more to Paris, and there pursue her labours.
+
+Unaware of the king's despotic intolerance, she arrived in the French
+capital on July 22, 1686, after an absence of five years, and soon
+became the centre of an enlightened circle of friends, of high rank, who
+were glad to listen to her teaching and to learn the way of the Lord
+more perfectly. For a while all was quiet. But her enemies--among whom
+her half-brother, Père La Mothe, was ever the most virulent--were
+meantime very busy, and at length a charge was laid against her before
+the king. She was seized by warrant of a _lettre de cachet_, and
+consigned to solitary imprisonment in the convent of Sainte Marie, in
+the suburb of St. Antoine. Louis XIV. was now posing as a defender of
+the faith, and was glad to show his Catholic zeal in the punishment of a
+lady who was said to hold opinions similar to those of Molinos, whom he
+had recently induced the Pope to condemn. Nearly four months previously
+her eloquent disciple, Father la Combe, had been committed to the
+Bastille for life.
+
+
+
+
+VI.
+
+IN PRISON.
+
+On January 29, 1688--the first month of a year specially dear to English
+lovers of civil and religious liberty--Madame Guyon was taken to her
+cell in Sainte Marie. It was a room in an upper story of the convent,
+with a barred door, and an opening for light and air on one side. Here
+she was shut up from her friends; her gaoler, a crabbed, hard-hearted
+nun, who treated her with the greatest rigour, regarding her not only as
+a heretic, but as a hypocrite and out of her senses as well. Feeble in
+body and in bad health, her mind was much troubled about her beloved
+daughter, whom interested persons were trying to force into a marriage
+of which Madame Guyon strongly disapproved. But though, under harsh
+treatment, she became very ill, and was nigh unto death, her peace and
+joy proved their heavenly origin by unbroken continuance in this trying
+season. As she recovered, she found occupation in writing her
+autobiography, and in composing hymns and sacred poems. Amongst the
+latter is the charming _cantique_ given at the end of her Life, and
+beginning--
+
+     "Grand Dieu! pour Ton plaisir
+      Je suis dans une cage,"
+
+which has been happily Englished as follows:--
+
+     "A little bird I am,
+        Shut from the fields of air;
+      And in my cage I sit and sing
+        To Him who placed me there;
+      Well pleased a prisoner to be,
+      Because, my God, it pleases Thee.
+
+      Nought have I else to do,
+        I sing the whole day long,
+      And He whom well I love to please
+        Doth listen to my song.
+      He caught and bound my wandering wing,
+      But still He bends to hear me sing.
+
+      Thou hast an ear to hear,
+        A heart to love and bless,
+      And though my notes were e'er so rude.
+        Thou would'st not hear the less,
+      Because Thou knowest, as they fall,
+      That love, sweet love, inspires them all.
+
+      My cage confines me round,
+        Abroad I cannot fly;
+      But though my wing is closely bound,
+        My heart's at liberty.
+      My prison walls cannot control
+      The flight, the freedom of the soul.
+
+      Oh, it is good to soar
+        These bolts and bars above,
+      To Him whose purpose I adore,
+        Whose providence I love,
+      And in Thy mighty will to find
+      The joy, the freedom of the mind."
+
+Her liberation from this imprisonment came from a remarkable quarter.
+Madame de Miramion, a pious lady, often visited the convent with
+charitable intent. Having heard much about Madame Guyon, she asked to
+see her; and having seen her and conversed with her, she soon became her
+warm friend, and pleaded her cause with Madame de Maintenon, who was now
+at the height of her power and possessed supreme influence with the
+king, whose wife she had become, by a private marriage, in 1685. Madame
+de Miramion, having in this way procured Madame Guyon's release from her
+convent prison, took her to her own house. It was a happy change for
+this much-tried woman. She was once again among friends, and had the
+society of her daughter. She went to St. Cyr--a royal institution for
+the education of the daughters of the poorer aristocracy, in which
+Madame de Maintenon took interest--to thank the great lady for her
+kindness. The latter was charmed with the bright, saintly ex-prisoner,
+whose devout spirit shone out in her countenance and breathed in her
+fascinating speech. She had many conversations with her, and begged her
+to give instruction to the girls of St. Cyr.
+
+It was at this time that Madame Guyon first met the great Fénelon, who
+was a director of St. Cyr, as well as one of the most noted characters
+of the age. She won his lasting regard. He was cheered by the warmth of
+her piety and her unwavering faith, while his more logical and better
+disciplined mind would no doubt moderate and tone down her excess of
+introspection and rapt emotion. She spent three happy years in Paris,
+consulted by many persons on religious matters, admired and honoured by
+several distinguished people, and sheltered from storm in the house of
+her daughter, now married to the Count de Vaux. But the sunshine was not
+to last long. Godet, Madame de Maintenon's confessor and one of the
+directors of St. Cyr, was possessed with a jealous hatred of his
+co-director, Fénelon, and also disliked Madame Guyon. Breathing into the
+mind of the great lady--who, though of Huguenot descent, was nothing if
+not "orthodox"--doubts as to Madame Guyon's correctness of belief, he
+caused Madame de Maintenon to withdraw her countenance from her
+_protégée_, and to discontinue her own visits to St. Cyr. Now was the
+time for Madame Guyon's enemies to attack her, when they saw the court
+favourite's countenance withdrawn. An attempt was made to poison her,
+and so far succeeded that her health was impaired for many years.
+
+Then Bossuet appeared on the scene. In September, 1693, he came to see
+her in Paris, feeling, doubtless, that he was the man to settle all
+these Pietistic commotions. At Madame Guyon's request he consented to
+examine her numerous writings; and when, in the course of some months,
+he had performed this task, and had also perused her MS. autobiography,
+he had another long conversation with her, which brought out fully the
+peculiarities of her doctrine. In this interesting discussion he seems
+to have adopted a bullying tone somewhat incompatible with his
+remarkably mild Christian name, Jacques _Bénigne_, and to have forgotten
+the courtesy due to a lady who, whatever her errors might be in his
+eyes, was one of the brightest lights and purest saints in the Roman
+Catholic Church of that day. Finally, the matter became an affair of
+State, and the king appointed a commission to sit, at Issy, upon her
+orthodoxy--Bossuet, De Noailles, and Tronson. The two latter were
+charmed with her mild and teachable spirit. But the fierce Bossuet was
+not yet satisfied; and as she put herself under his special direction
+for a time, he consigned her to a convent at Meaux, and at length
+required her to sign certain doctrinal articles, and a decree condemning
+her books. To this last, however, a qualifying clause was appended, to
+the effect that she had never intended to say anything contrary to the
+spirit of the Church, not knowing that any other meaning could be given
+to her words. In fact, while conceding to her Church the right to
+condemn whatever it did not approve in her tenets, she held much the
+same position as Galileo when his theory as to the movements of our
+planet was condemned as heretical, and he capped his enforced
+retractation with the quiet protest, "_E pur si muove_." In her letter
+to her three ecclesiastical judges, dated "in August, 1694," she
+courageously tells them, "I pray you, my lords, to remember that I am an
+ignorant woman; that I have written my experiences in all good faith,
+and that if I have explained myself badly, it is the result of my
+ignorance. As regards the experiences, _they are real_." [1]
+
+[Footnote 1: _La Vie_, troisième partie, ch. xvi., 6.]
+
+Bossuet at length appeared to be satisfied, and gave her a certificate
+of her filial submissiveness to the Roman Catholic faith, and she
+thought herself free to return to Paris. It was not perhaps the wisest
+step to take; the bishop was displeased at it, as was also the bigoted
+Madame de Maintenon. Madame Guyon went to live in privacy in a small
+house in the Faubourg St. Antoine, where she hoped to be left in peace.
+But her enemies got scent of her hiding-place, arrested her, and shut
+her up in the Castle of Vincennes, whence, after a few weeks at
+Vaugirard, she was transferred to the Bastille.
+
+Of her life in this famous prison we have little or no detail. Like all
+its unfortunate inmates, she was forbidden to reveal its secrets; but we
+gather from her own words that, amid sickness and the many hardships of
+her prison life, one of her severest trials was found in the rumours
+which reached her of "the horrible outcry," outside the walls, against
+herself and her sympathisers. But in this dark season she held fast her
+confidence in God, and her spirit found utterance and relief in some of
+those songs, full of love and trust, which are included in the four
+volumes of her poetical works.
+
+
+
+
+VII.
+
+LAST YEARS.
+
+She was confined in the Bastille for four years, and when at last, in
+1702, she was released, her health was completely ruined by the
+privations she had suffered, the bitter cold of winter, and in the
+warmer weather the poisonous exhalations from the stagnant waters of the
+moat. When once more she issued into the sweet air of liberty, "My
+afflicted spirit," she says, "began to breathe and recover itself; but
+my body was from that time sick and borne down with all sorts of
+infirmities." Even now, however, she was not free to go where she liked.
+After a brief visit to her daughter in Paris, she was required to take
+up her residence at Blois, a hundred miles south-west, and there, in
+complete retirement, she spent her remaining days, still writing cheery
+words of counsel to her disciples in France and other lands, and
+enjoying spells of happy converse with the steadfast friends who sought
+her out in her exile.
+
+She lived on in peace and quiet, though often in pain and weakness, for
+fifteen years after her release from the Bastille. Her final release
+from all earthly trials and sorrows took place on June 9, 1717, when she
+had entered about three months into her seventieth year. That her
+beautiful spirit of resignation was maintained to the last, and that her
+faith was pure and steadfast, we have proof in these expressions in her
+will, written a short time before her death: "Thou knowest that there is
+nothing in heaven or in earth that I desire but Thee alone. In Thy
+hands, O God, I leave my soul, not relying for my salvation on any good
+that is in me, but solely on Thy mercies and the merits and sufferings
+of my Lord Jesus Christ."
+
+We find here no trace of that reliance on the Virgin Mary, or that
+frequent clamouring for her interest and intercession, which then formed
+and still forms so integral a portion of the daily routine of Romish
+worship. It is a remarkable feature of Madame Guyon's religious life
+that, in an idolatrous age, her faith constantly soared straight up to
+God, ignoring the mediation of the Virgin and the saints, and regarding
+the priests themselves, not as intermediaries between Christ and her
+soul, but simply as her appointed counsellors and guides on the road to
+heaven. We need not wonder that such bitterness was shown towards her,
+and that no effort was spared to suppress teaching so dangerous to the
+very foundations of the ancient edifice of error.
+
+
+
+
+VIII.
+
+HER TEACHING.
+
+On a previous page I have given extracts from her autobiography which
+show pretty plainly the mistakes into which Madame Guyon fell at the
+outset of her Christian career. They had their root in the idea that her
+communion with God was so close and intimate that all her thoughts were
+not merely devout and God-ward, but even Divine, coming direct from God.
+So she fell into the Quietist error of intense introspection, looking
+for guidance, not solely to the written Word, but chiefly to her own
+inward impressions, or "inspirations," as she considered them to be.
+
+But was it at all wonderful that this good woman, brought up in the
+bondage of corrupt doctrine and deeply-incrusted prejudices, should
+entertain some theological errors? The only wonder is that she attained
+so much of the truth, and, in that age of mingled intolerance and
+licentiousness, lived a life of purity and charity, of holy aspirations
+and devout performance. And though her excessive introspection is not at
+all to be imitated, and many of her views are such as we with our
+greater light cannot, of course, endorse, yet her mistakes in
+metaphysics and in theology did not affect the beauty of her life, which
+was chiefly spent in acts of charity and earnest endeavours to spread
+the knowledge of her Lord and Saviour. If her benevolent efforts at
+evangelisation did not always show the successful results she desired,
+if disappointments crowded some of her later years, yet to her case we
+can rightly apply the words of the poet:
+
+     "Yet to the faithful there is no such thing
+      As disappointment; failures only bring
+      A gentle pang, as peacefully they say,
+      'His purpose stands, though mine has passed away.'"
+
+Her Works, amounting in all to forty volumes, were published in Paris in
+several editions. Her _Poems and Spiritual Songs_ occupy four volumes.
+Some of these simple utterances of a devout heart were beautifully
+translated by Cowper, and with one of the most characteristic of these
+renderings this sketch may fitly be concluded:--
+
+     "THE ENTIRE SURRENDER.
+
+     Peace has unveiled her smiling face,
+     And woos thy soul to her embrace,
+     Enjoyed with ease, if thou refrain
+     From earthly love, else sought in vain.
+     She dwells with all who truth prefer,
+     But seeks not them who seek not her.
+
+     Yield to the Lord with simple heart
+     All that thou hast and all thou art;
+     Renounce all strength but strength Divine,
+     And peace shall be for ever thine.
+     Behold the path which I have trod,
+     My path till I go homo to God."
+
+     WILLIAM NICHOLS.
+
+
+
+
+ANN JUDSON.
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+EARLY YEARS.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Ann, a daughter of John and Rebecca Hasseltine, was born in Bradford,
+Massachusetts, on December 22, 1789. The quiet daily life of the simple
+New England people from whom she sprang, and amongst whom she was
+brought up, was as beneficial a training for her future career as could
+have been found for her. The feverish activity and never-ceasing
+struggle to be first, which have now taken possession of the American
+people, were then almost unknown, and the descendants of the Puritan
+fathers spent their days in peaceful toil. Most of the New Englanders
+were engaged in farming or small manufactures, and there was a deeply
+religious spirit throughout the whole of the Northern States.
+
+Of the early life of Ann Hasseltine we know comparatively little. Her
+family was evidently in moderately easy circumstances, and the
+Hasseltine household was a happy and closely-united one. The parents,
+with wise foresight, were careful to give their children as good an
+education as could be obtained in the neighbourhood, and kept them at
+school till well advanced in their teens. Ann was distinguished among
+her sisters for her gay, joyous, and somewhat emotional temperament.
+There was no half-heartedness about her, and whatever she took up she
+would throw her whole soul into. As was to be expected in a community
+where religious matters occupied so prominent a place, the urgent need
+of a personal faith in Christ was placed before her at an early age. She
+could not suppress a vague longing after something, she knew not what;
+and every now and then her conscience would be aroused, and she would
+quicken her efforts to be good.
+
+When she was sixteen, affairs reached a crisis. A series of religious
+conferences had been held in Bradford during the early months of 1806,
+and she regularly attended them. Each meeting deepened the impression
+on her mind as to the need of a higher life. Her old amusements seemed
+now utterly distasteful to her, and the fear of being for ever lost
+weighed heavily on her soul. She was invited to a party by an old
+friend; but her heart was too sad to care for such things, so on the
+morning of the party she stole off to the house of one of her aunts,
+who, she thought, might be able to help her in her trouble. Her aunt
+spoke seriously to her of the necessity of obtaining salvation while she
+could, and the poor girl became more downcast than ever. "I returned
+home with a bursting heart," she afterwards said, "fearing that I should
+lose my impressions with the other scholars, and convinced that if I did
+so my soul was lost."
+
+She shut herself in her bedroom, refused to touch any but the plainest
+food, and for some days pleaded with God for pardon. Gradually the light
+came in her soul. "I began to discover a beauty in the way of salvation
+by Christ," she said. "He appeared to be just such a Saviour as I
+needed. I saw how God could be just in saving sinners through Him. I
+committed my soul into His hands, and besought Him to do with me what
+seemed good in His sight. When I was thus enabled to commit myself into
+the hands of Christ, my mind was relieved from that distressing weight
+which had borne it down for so long a time. I did not think that I had
+obtained a new heart, which I had been seeking, but felt happy in
+contemplating the character of Christ, and particularly that disposition
+which had led Him to suffer so much for the sake of doing the will and
+promoting the glory of His Heavenly Father."
+
+With so deep an experience it was only natural that the whole course of
+her outward life should be completely changed. She soon made an open
+profession of religion by becoming a member of the Congregational Church
+at Bradford; and her friends could see the reality of her conversion by
+her consistent daily walk.
+
+She now threw herself with greater zeal into her ordinary studies, and
+this soon resulted in her being requested to take temporary charge of a
+small school at Salem. When the work there was done, a teachership was
+found for her in another place near at hand, and it was while thus
+engaged that she became acquainted, with her future husband,
+Adoniram Judson.
+
+Mr. Judson, who was some sixteen months her senior, was the eldest son
+of a Congregational minister at Malden, near Boston, and had from his
+youth been noted for possessing intellectual powers far above the
+average. When a boy, he diligently read every book that he could get
+hold of, and at Brown University he graduated head of his class. For a
+time during his college course he became affected with the sceptical
+views which were then fashionable; but the death of a friend brought
+him back to the old faith, and as an outcome of his conversion he became
+a student at the Theological College at Andover.
+
+While at college, Judson and three fellow-students had their interest
+deeply aroused in the conversion of heathen nations. They petitioned the
+General Assembly of their church on the matter, and solicited its advice
+as to whether "they ought to renounce the object of missions as
+visionary or impracticable;" and if not, what steps they should take to
+translate their longings into action.
+
+The importance of this appeal was at once recognised by the churches,
+and as an immediate consequence the "Board of Commissioners for Foreign
+Missions" was formed, a society which has grown until it is now one of
+the greatest missionary organisations in the world. Judson went on a
+visit to England in order to expedite matters, and to consult with the
+officials of the London Missionary Society. After some delay, caused by
+the capture of the vessel in which he was sailing by a French privateer,
+he reached London and saw the directors. They agreed to support him and
+his companions should the American Board be unable to do so, and with
+this assurance Judson returned to America.
+
+He now made Miss Hasseltine a formal offer of marriage, and she knew
+that if she accepted she must of course accompany him abroad. For a time
+she not unnaturally hesitated. She was asked to do what no American
+woman had before attempted, and the life of a foreign missionary seemed
+full of unknown horrors. It meant to leave home and probably never to
+see friends or native land again, to be worn out in the unhealthy
+climate of some tropical land, to suffer "every kind of want and
+distress, degradation, insult, persecution, and, perhaps, a violent
+death." Friends, with few exceptions, advised her to decline, and public
+opinion was strongly opposed to such a "wild, romantic undertaking" as a
+woman going out to the heathen. "O Jesus," she prayed in her perplexity,
+"direct me, and I am safe; use me in Thy service, and I ask no more. I
+would not choose my position of work or place of service; only let me
+know Thy will, and I will readily comply!"
+
+After some weeks of hesitation she definitely made up her mind. "I have
+at length come to the conclusion," she wrote, on October 28, 1810, "that
+if nothing in Providence appears to prevent, I must spend my days in a
+heathen land. God is my witness that I have not dared to decline this
+offer that has been made me."
+
+Her decision surprised many of her acquaintances. "I hear," said one
+lady to another, "that Miss Hasseltine is going to India. Why does she
+go?" "Why, she thinks it her duty. Would you not go if you thought it
+your duty?" "But," replied the first speaker emphatically, "_I would not
+think it my duty_."
+
+On February 6, 1812, an ordination service was held at the Tabernacle
+Church in Salem, when Adoniram Judson and four others were set apart for
+foreign missionary work. On the previous day he and Ann Hasseltine had
+been made man and wife at Bradford; and a few days later Mr. and Mrs.
+Judson, accompanied by Mr. Newell and his wife, set out in the brig
+_Caravan_ for Calcutta.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+THE ROAD TO RANGOON.
+
+After a four months' voyage the missionary party reached Calcutta, and
+there they received a warm welcome from Dr. Carey and his
+fellow-workers. They were invited to the missionary headquarters at
+Serampore, a spot some few miles from Calcutta, in possession of the
+Danish Government, where the Baptist missionaries resided in order to
+avoid the interference of the English authorities. At that time the
+British rulers of India were opposed to all missionary work, and
+discouraged it by every means in their power. Foreign preachers were not
+allowed to reside in India even for a few weeks, and English
+missionaries were not suffered to remain unless they could obtain
+special permission from the East India Company. The American
+missionaries had not been many days in India before they discovered
+this. They were summoned from Serampore to Calcutta, and there formally
+commanded, in the name of the Company, to leave India at once and return
+to America. To do this would have ruined all their plans, so they asked
+and obtained permission to go instead to the Isle of France (Mauritius),
+whither a vessel was about to sail. But as it would only accommodate Mr.
+and Mrs. Newell, the Judsons perforce remained in Calcutta waiting for
+another ship.
+
+They were allowed to stay in peace for a couple of months; but when the
+authorities learnt that they had not yet departed, an urgent order was
+issued, commanding that they should be immediately sent to England in
+one of the East India Company's vessels. There seemed no possibility of
+their evading the order this time, but they learned that another vessel
+was just going to set out for the Isle of France. Unfortunately it was
+impossible for them now to obtain permission to go there; but the
+captain of the vessel, on hearing the circumstances, offered to take
+them without leave. So they quietly got on board. But on the second day
+of their journey down the river a Government dispatch arrived, ordering
+the pilot to stop the vessel, as it had among its passengers persons
+who had been ordered to go to Europe. In consequence of this demand Mr.
+and Mrs. Judson were at once hurried on shore, and the ship went on
+its way.
+
+They were landed at the village of Fultah, and here they remained for
+four days, not knowing what to do. If they returned to Calcutta they
+would be at once sent to England, and they could not remain where they
+were for any time without discovery and arrest. Every day their
+perplexity increased. The sight of a boat coming down the river or a
+stranger entering the village would fill them with alarm, for they
+expected at any moment to be seized by Government agents sent after
+them. At the end of the fourth day relief came in a most unexpected way.
+A letter was handed to Mr. Judson containing an official permit for them
+to go on to the Isle of France in the vessel from which they had a few
+days before been removed. How this permit was obtained, or who had sent
+it to them, they could never discover; and there was no time then to
+speculate on the matter. The ship was now at least seventy miles away,
+in the Saugur Roads, and had probably already set out to sea. In the
+hope that it might possibly have been delayed in starting, and that they
+might catch it, they at once started down the river in boats. After
+being rowed all night and all next day, they found on reaching the roads
+that they were in time, as owing to the absence of some of the crew the
+vessel had been delayed. It may be imagined how thankfully they found
+themselves once more on board.
+
+Before leaving Calcutta an important change had taken place in Mr. and
+Mrs. Judson's views about the question of infant baptism. While on the
+voyage from America, Mr. Judson, knowing that he would come in contact
+with the Baptist missionaries at Serampore, had studied the subject in
+order to be able to defend his position to them. The result had been
+that doubts had gradually arisen in his mind as to the correctness of
+his own point of view, and he spoke on the subject to his wife. She
+deprecated any hasty action, but they both resolved to give careful
+attention to the matter. Every consideration of human interest would
+have led them to cling to their old belief, for, as Mrs. Judson pointed
+out, "If her husband should renounce his former sentiments he must
+offend his friends at home, hazard his reputation, and, what was still
+more trying, be separated from his missionary companions."
+
+"I hope that I shall I be disposed to embrace the truth," she wrote,
+"whatever it may be. It is painfully mortifying to my natural feelings to
+think seriously of renouncing a system which I have been taught from
+infancy to believe and respect ... We must make some very painful
+sacrifices. We must be separated from our dear missionary associates,
+and labour alone in some isolated spot. We must expect to be treated
+with contempt and cast off by many of our American friends--forfeit the
+character we have in our native land, and probably have to labour for
+our support where we are stationed."
+
+After prayerful consideration they both applied to Carey for baptism,
+much to the surprise of the great English missionary, who had known
+nothing of their struggles. This step necessarily involved their
+separation from the Congregational Board of Commissioners who had sent
+them out, and there was then no American Baptist Missionary Society to
+which they could look for help; but Mr. Judson wrote to the American
+Baptist churches stating what he had done, and appealing to them to
+support him in his labours. The Baptists soon afterwards responded to
+his appeal by forming a Missionary Union, and they appointed Mr. and
+Mrs. Judson two of their agents. Thus was Mr. Judson an important though
+indirect instrument in causing another great American denomination to
+throw itself into the work of evangelising the world.
+
+The first news that Mrs. Judson heard on reaching the Isle of France was
+that Mrs. Newell, her companion from America, had died a few weeks
+previously, before even being allowed to commence the work to which she
+had dedicated her life. The governor of the island had been warned about
+the coming of the Americans, and advised "to keep an eye on them;" but
+he gave them a warm welcome, and expressed a hope that they would settle
+in the place and work among the natives and the soldiers. But the Isle
+of France hardly seemed to offer a sufficiently extensive field for
+their energies, and there were other places more in need of their
+services. Mr. and Mrs. Judson specially wished to go to Burmah, where,
+with a population of many millions, there was hardly a single Christian
+teacher. But the character of the people and of the government was such
+that any strangers going among them must take their lives in their
+hands, Notwithstanding this they determined, after due inquiry, to go to
+Penang, and thence to attempt to find access to the country. It was
+necessary first to go to Madras, in order to find a vessel which would
+take them eastwards. But on arriving at Madras they found that it would
+be impossible to procure a passage to Penang; so they took passage in a
+ship that was going to Rangoon, and after some adventures reached the
+field of their future work in July, 1813. "We cannot expect to do much
+in such a rough, uncultivated field," wrote Mrs. Judson, "yet if we may
+be instrumental in clearing away some of the rubbish and preparing the
+way for others, it will be sufficient reward."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+PREPARATION TIME.
+
+Mr. and Mrs. Judson might well have been excused had they hesitated to
+settle in Rangoon, for the prospects before them in that place were
+anything but hopeful. The Emperor of Burmah was an absolute monarch, and
+rumour gave him the credit of being unjust, tyrannical, grasping,
+capricious and cruel. The people were described as "indolent,
+inhospitable, deceitful and crafty;" and in spite of the natural wealth
+of the land the majority of the inhabitants were miserably poor. This
+was largely due to the fact that all property was held on the most
+uncertain tenure, everything being liable to be seized at any time by
+the emperor or by some of his officials.
+
+More than one unsuccessful attempt had been made to form a missionary
+settlement in Rangoon previous to the arrival of the Judsons. Preachers
+had been sent out from Serampore, and by the London Missionary Society;
+but none of them had been able to occupy the field for any length of
+time. When the Judsons arrived there was only one other Christian
+teacher in Burmah, Mr. Felix Carey, who was then at Ava, the residence
+of the emperor. Mrs. Carey, a native of the country, was staying at
+Rangoon, in a house built by the Serampore Baptist missionaries, and she
+welcomed the new-comers to her home, where they stayed for some months.
+
+The first work to which the Judsons set themselves was the study of the
+Burmese tongue. This was a task of extreme difficulty, for the only part
+of the language put into writing which would help them was a small
+portion of a grammar and six chapters of St. Matthew's Gospel, which had
+been translated by Mr. Felix Carey. Even with all the aids at present in
+use, Burman is anything but easy to acquire. It has been called the
+"round O language," on account of each word being made up of a number of
+small circles; and to an untrained eye the words seem almost exactly
+alike. "The letters and words are all totally destitute of the least
+resemblance to any language we have ever met with," Mr. Judson wrote to
+a friend in Salem, "and these words are not fairly divided and
+distinguished as in Western writing by breaks, and points, and capitals,
+but run together in one continuous line, a sentence or paragraph seeming
+to the eye but one long word; instead of clear characters on paper, we
+find only obscure scratches on palm leaves, strung together and called a
+book. We have no dictionary and no interpreter to explain a single word,
+and must get something of the language before we can avail ourselves of
+the assistance of a native teacher.... It unavoidably takes several
+years to acquire such a language in order to converse and write
+intelligibly on the truths of the Gospel."
+
+Mr. and Mrs. Judson obtained a native teacher, and settled down to a
+daily struggle with their task. The man was at first unwilling to have
+Mrs. Judson as a pupil, thinking it below his dignity to instruct a
+woman: but when he saw that she was determined to persevere he abandoned
+his opposition. As the teacher knew no English and the pupils knew no
+Burman, progress was of necessity very slow. "Our only mode of
+ascertaining the names of objects which met our eye," wrote Mrs. Judson,
+"was by pointing to them in the presence of our teacher, who would
+immediately speak the names in Burman; we then expressed them as nearly
+as possible by the Roman character, till we had sufficiently acquired
+the power of the Burman."
+
+In order to get more in contact with the people, they left Mr. Carey's
+hospitable roof and took up their residence in the centre of the town.
+This obliged Mrs. Judson to commence housekeeping on her own account,
+and consequently she had less time to devote to study; yet to her
+surprise she made faster progress now than she had ever done before. She
+thus described her daily life, in a letter home: "We are busily employed
+all day long. Could you look into a large open room, which we call a
+verandah, you would see Mr. Judson bent over his table covered with
+Burman books, with his teacher at his side, a venerable-looking man in
+his sixtieth year, with a cloth wrapped round his middle and a
+handkerchief on his head. They talk and chatter all day long with hardly
+any cessation.
+
+"My mornings are busily employed in giving directions to the servants,
+providing food for the family, etc. At ten my teacher comes, when, were
+you present, you might see me in an inner room at one side of my study
+table, and my teacher the other, reading Burman, writing, talking, etc.
+I have many more interruptions than Mr. Judson, as I have the entire
+management of the family. This I took on myself for the sake of Mr.
+Judson's attending more closely to the study of the language; yet I have
+found, by a year's experience, that it is the most direct way I could
+have taken to acquire the language, as I am frequently obliged to speak
+Burman all day. I can talk and understand others better than Mr. Judson,
+though he knows more about the nature and construction of the language."
+
+It was impossible to do any direct evangelistic work until the language
+had been more fully mastered, and Mrs. Judson was continually spurred on
+in her studies by the desire to speak to the natives about the Lord
+Jesus Christ. "O Thou Light of the world," she prayed, as she realised
+more fully the ignorance of the people, "dissipate the thick darkness
+which covers Burmah, and let Thy light arise and shine!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+A HEAVY AFFLICTION.
+
+[Illustration: Ann Hasseltine Judson]
+
+When Mrs. Judson had been in Rangoon six months she was taken somewhat
+seriously ill, and it was deemed advisable that she should go to Madras,
+both for the sea voyage and in order to obtain skilled Medical advice,
+which could not be had in Rangoon. She met with nothing but kindness all
+the way. The Viceroy granted her special permission to take a native
+woman as her attendant, a thing which was deemed a very great favour
+indeed, as no native woman was usually allowed to leave the country. The
+captain of the vessel in which she sailed refused to accept any money
+for the passage; and when she sent the physician who attended to her
+seventy rupees in payment for his advice, he returned them with an
+expression of pleasure in having been of any service to her. She went
+back to Rangoon renewed in health, and a few months later she became the
+mother of a little boy.
+
+For a short time the baby was the treasure of the mission-house. In
+their loneliness and separation from all friends, the hearts of the
+father and mother went out to their little one, and he became even more
+to them than an only child usually is to its parents. The Burmans
+regarded him as quite a curiosity, for he was the only purely white
+infant in the place. The baby would lie quietly for hours on a mat in
+the study, while his parents were poring over their books, and when work
+was done they would throw the palm leaves on one side, take up the boy,
+and carry him in state around the house and garden. His presence seemed
+to light up the home with a new and sacred joy; but he was not to be
+there long. When he had completely twined himself around his parents'
+hearts he was taken away, for after a few days' illness he died when
+only eight months old.
+
+This sore affliction was the means of drawing out much sympathy from
+many of the natives. The chief wife of the Viceroy had been greatly
+attracted by the little lad when he was alive, and on hearing of his
+death she paid a visit of condolence to his parents, accompanied by her
+official attendants, numbering some two hundred people. "Why did you not
+send me word, that I might come to the funeral?" she asked, smiting her
+breast and showing every sign of sorrow. The heart-broken mother replied
+that her grief was so great that she did not think of it, and the Burman
+lady then did her best to comfort her, and strove with warm, womanly
+sympathy to make her forget her loss.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+SOWING TIME.
+
+For three years Mr. and Mrs. Judson devoted themselves solely to the
+study of Burman, and did not even attempt any directly evangelistic
+work, beyond the opportunity afforded by casual conversation with a few
+individuals. They well knew that any impatient attempts to push forward
+the work would probably result in closing the country against
+Christianity for many years to come.
+
+It was not without heavy hearts that they saw the years passing away and
+nothing apparently being done. They had half expected, before leaving
+America, that it would require little more than a plain proclamation of
+the Gospel to win converts; but a short experience of the reality of
+missionary life showed them that the work was not so easy as had been
+imagined. The people were careless and indifferent, and no permanent
+impressions seemed to be produced upon their minds. They would listen
+politely while the missionaries pleaded with them for Christ, and then
+would lightly dismiss the matter with the remark that all religions
+were good.
+
+One reason why preaching had not been attempted was because Mr. and Mrs.
+Judson felt it would be well at first to devote their energies more
+especially to the printing and circulation of Christian literature. In
+Burmah almost every man could read, and it would be possible to reach
+far more through the printed page than by public speaking. A portion of
+a gospel had been translated by Mr. Felix Carey, but this was lost in a
+wreck, so Mr. Judson started a fresh translation of the New Testament,
+and prepared one or two tracts. In 1815 he wrote to Dr. Carey, asking if
+he could print some Burmese tracts at the Serampore press; the doctor
+replied that it would be far better for Judson to start a press of his
+own in Rangoon, and in order that he might do so he sent him a complete
+outfit, including a press, a supply of type, and other necessary stock.
+
+When the printing press reached Rangoon, there came with it two new
+helpers, Mr. and Mrs. Hough, sent out by the American Baptist Missionary
+Society. Mr. Hough had been a printer before leaving America, and so he
+was able to render practical assistance almost from the day of his
+arrival, by taking charge of the printing department. Two small tracts
+were issued as quickly as possible, one a Summary of Christian Doctrine,
+and the other a catechism; and Mr. Judson hurried on with his
+translation of the New Testament. The printing of these was the first
+thing of the kind that had ever been done in Burmah, and the
+missionaries rejoiced that the art of printing should be introduced into
+the country directly through Christianity.
+
+Their first serious inquirer was brought to them through these tracts.
+One day in March, 1817, a man, evidently of good position, came to the
+mission-house and astonished Mr. Judson with the question, "How long a
+time will it take me to learn the religion of Jesus?" The surprised
+missionary replied that it all depended on whether God gave him light
+and wisdom, and asked how he came to know anything of Jesus. Had he been
+there before? "No." Had he seen any writings concerning Jesus? "I have
+seen two little books." "Who is Jesus?" Judson asked, to test his
+knowledge. "He is the son of God who, pitying creatures, came into the
+world and suffered death in their stead." "Who is God?" "He is a being
+without beginning or end, who is not subject to old age or death, but
+always is."
+
+Mr. Judson was delighted beyond measure to hear these words proceed
+from the lips of a Burman. He handed him a tract and catechism, but
+these the man had read, and specially wanted another book. Judson had
+told him that he was preparing another book, but had not got it ready
+yet. "Have you not a little of that book done which you would be
+graciously pleased to give me?" the man asked; and Judson, thinking it
+better not to let the opportunity pass by, gave him two half sheets
+which had been already printed, and which contained the first five
+chapters of Matthew.
+
+The man did not come again to them for some time, but they learned that
+he was appointed governor of some villages a distance away. The
+following January he had to visit Rangoon, and once more called at the
+mission-house. Mr. Judson was away just then, having gone for a short
+time to India, but Mrs. Judson had a long talk with him, and asked him
+if he had yet become a disciple of Jesus. "I have not yet," he replied,
+"but I am thinking and reading in order to become one. I cannot yet
+destroy my old mind, for if I see a handsome cloth or handkerchief I
+still desire them. Tell the great teacher when he returns, that I wish
+to see him, though I am not a disciple of Christ." He requested more
+books and then left.
+
+Up to this time the rulers had been most friendly, but in 1818 a little
+event occurred which indicated to the missionaries what might at any
+time happen. The former Viceroy had left, and a new one was appointed in
+his stead. It was the time when Mr. Judson was away in India, and one
+morning Mr. Hough received a command, written in most threatening
+language, ordering him to at once appear at the court-house to give an
+account of himself. He went, and was ordered to come next day for
+examination, and the officials assured him that, "If he did not tell all
+the truth about his situation in the country, they would write it with
+his heart's blood."
+
+For two days he was subjected to a severe cross-examination, and the
+officials seemed to delight in annoying and threatening him in every
+possible way. He could not appeal to the Viceroy, for he was not
+sufficiently acquainted with the language; so the native teacher drew up
+a petition, and Mrs. Judson herself presented it to the Viceroy. He
+received it kindly, and at once gave orders that Mr. Hough was not to be
+troubled further. They afterwards found out that the thing had been
+arranged by the minor officials, in order to extort money from the
+missionaries.
+
+Before Mr. Judson returned a severe epidemic of cholera broke out in
+Rangoon, and Mr. Hough was very anxious to take his wife and Mrs. Judson
+out of the place and go back to India. It was a trying and troubled
+time, and all missionary-work was necessarily at a standstill. Mrs.
+Judson was very reluctant to leave Burmah, and for long refused to
+depart; she had not heard from her husband for many months, and did not
+know on what day he might return. But Mr. Hough was so persistent that
+she at last consented, and allowed her luggage to be taken on board a
+vessel, she herself following. But at the last moment, when the ship was
+on the point of sailing, she felt that she could not leave, and ordered
+her things to be taken back to the city again. Mr. and Mrs. Hough went
+on, and she was left alone, but within a few days her husband returned,
+and her greatest trouble was over.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+INQUIRERS AND CONVERTS.
+
+Soon after the retirement of Mr. Hough, two other missionaries and their
+wives came out to Rangoon, and the Judsons felt it was time to commence
+a more aggressive work. A little house of public worship, or zayat, was
+erected in one of the main roads and opened to all who liked to come in.
+The work had to be done very quietly, in order not to arouse the
+opposition of the Government, for there was much uncertainty at the time
+about the course the officials would take should any converts be made.
+When the zayat was finished, Mr. Judson called together some of the
+people living around, and held his first public service in the Burmese
+tongue. From this time meetings were held several times a week, and
+during the day Mr. Judson would sit in the house, talking and arguing
+with all who chose to come in to him.
+
+Every Wednesday evening, at seven o'clock, Mrs. Judson met a class of
+women, numbering generally from twelve to twenty. To these she would
+read the Scriptures and talk in a simple way about God. "My last meeting
+was very animating," she said when describing one of these classes, "and
+the appearance of the females (thirteen in number, all young married
+women) very encouraging. Some of them were inquisitive, and after
+spending two hours seemed loth to go. One said she appeared to herself
+like a blind person just beginning to see. And another said she believed
+in Christ, prayed to Him daily, and asked what else was necessary to
+make her a real disciple of Christ. I told her she must not only say
+that she believed in Christ, but must believe with all her heart. She
+again asked what were some of the evidences of believing with the heart.
+I told her the manner of life would be changed, but one of the best
+evidences she could obtain would be when others came to quarrel with her
+and use abusive language, if, so far from retaliating, she felt a
+disposition to bear with, to pity, and to pray for them. The Burman
+women are particularly given to quarrelling, and to refrain from it
+would be most decided evidence of a change of heart."
+
+During the daytime, while Mr. Judson was talking with any man who
+called, Mrs. Judson would sit in another part of the place and see all
+the women visitors. By this plan she was enabled to preach the Gospel to
+many. What time she could spare from this work she now devoted to a
+study of Siamese. A number of people in Rangoon knew only that language,
+so she learned it sufficiently well to be able to converse with them,
+and to translate a gospel and several tracts into their tongue.
+
+In 1819 the hearts of the missionaries were cheered by a native, Moung
+Hau, coming out and openly professing Christianity--the first fruit
+gathered after seven years of labour. Many had partly accepted their
+teachings, and had been evidently impressed by their message; but up to
+that time no real, definite converts had been made.
+
+Moung Hau soon showed that a real work of grace was progressing in his
+heart. He told the missionaries that he had found no other Saviour but
+Jesus Christ, from all the darkness and uncleanness and sins of his
+whole life, that he could look nowhere else for salvation, and that
+therefore he proposed to adhere to Christ for ever. "It seems almost too
+much to believe that God has begun to manifest His grace to the
+Burmans," the members of the little mission band said one to another;
+but the sincerity of Moung Hau was such that they could not doubt it,
+and after a time of probation he was publicly baptized.
+
+There were signs that this convert was only the first of an abundant
+harvest. In the autumn of the same year, two more men requested baptism,
+but this time the rite had to be performed privately, for the Viceroy
+had begun openly to avow himself hostile to Christianity. Dark rumours
+of persecution were heard, and one inquirer was summoned before the
+authorities and warned to beware of what he did. So serious did matters
+become that public preaching had for a time to be abandoned, and many
+inquirers ceased their visits to the mission-house, and were heard of
+no more.
+
+The missionaries thought that if they could only appeal to the Emperor,
+and obtain his permission to carry on their work, all might be well
+again; so after much deliberation Messrs. Judson and Colman went on a
+journey to the royal city of Ava, and obtained an audience of the
+Emperor. They humbly requested that his subjects might be permitted to
+become Christians without incurring the wrath of the authorities; but
+when the monarch heard their petition he treated it with open disdain,
+and they had to return to Rangoon saddened and disappointed
+beyond measure.
+
+The news that nothing must be expected from the Government but
+persecution seemed to give strength to the three converts and to several
+really earnest inquirers. When the missionaries spoke of going to
+another part of Burmah, where they could have more liberty, their
+disciples implored them to remain. "It is useless to remain under
+present circumstances," Mr. Judson said. "We cannot open the zayat; we
+cannot have public worship; no Burman will dare to examine this
+religion, none can be expected to embrace it." "Teacher," one of the
+converts replied, "my mind is distressed; I can neither eat nor sleep
+since I find you are going away. I have been around among those who live
+near us, and I find some who are even now examining the new religion. Do
+stay with us a few months. Do stay till there are eight or ten
+disciples; then appoint one to be teacher of the rest." Many others said
+the same, and at last it was decided that Mr. and Mrs. Judson were to
+remain in Rangoon, while Mr. and Mrs. Colman, the other missionaries
+there at the time, should move to Chittagong, a place near at hand under
+British protection, and try to form a station there.
+
+Within a few weeks after this, several who had long been inquirers came
+and requested baptism, although they were well aware that by doing so
+they were making themselves liable to death by most horrible torture.
+One man, a prominent native in good circumstances, and well known as a
+great orator and metaphysician, who had for a long time been arguing
+with Mr. Judson about Christianity, now openly declared himself a
+follower of Jesus. Others did the same, and God seemed to reward His
+servants by showing them such results from their labours as they had
+hardly hoped ever to obtain.
+
+The threats of persecution for a time ceased, and the prospects of the
+mission improved in every way. By early in 1821 the number of baptized
+disciples had increased to nearly twenty, and among them were several
+professional men of great influence in the city and some women. Many
+others, although not professed disciples, showed by their acts that they
+sympathised with the Christians and would do what they could for them.
+
+In December, 1821, Dr. Price, a medical missionary, arrived with his
+wife from America, and soon afterwards Mr. and Mrs. Hough returned.
+Though the missionaries were left in comparative peace, they well knew
+that severe measures might at any time be taken against them. Every now
+and then there came rumblings of the threatened storm, and one of the
+chief converts was obliged to flee from the city on account of
+proceedings being started against him for his change of faith.
+
+A few months before the arrival of Dr. Price, Mrs. Judson had so broken
+down in health that her husband decided to send her to America for the
+long sea voyage. She first went to England, where she received a warm
+welcome from many Christians, and then she proceeded to the United
+States, where she spent the winter. Medical men in America were
+unanimous in advising her not to return to the East, as they said her
+state of health was such that she would probably die before long if she
+went there. But nothing could keep her back from what she felt to be the
+post of duty. "I cannot prevail on myself to be any longer from Rangoon
+than is absolutely necessary for the preservation of my life," she said;
+so in June, 1823, she started on the return journey, accompanied by
+another missionary and his wife.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+PRISONERS OF WAR.
+
+When Mrs. Judson reached Calcutta on her return voyage to Rangoon, she
+was informed that war might break out at any time between England and
+Burmah, and was strongly advised not to attempt to go on. But she was
+determined to rejoin her husband at once, and finding that a vessel
+would start for Rangoon in a few days, she took a passage in it. She was
+not to stay long in Rangoon, however, for the Emperor had ordered Dr.
+Price and Mr. Judson to take up their residence in Ava. Dr. Price was
+already there, and Mr. Judson had only stayed at Rangoon to meet his
+wife, on the understanding that he should set out for the capital as
+soon as possible.
+
+The missionaries attempted to carry on their work at Ava in the same way
+as they had previously done at Rangoon, but the public mind was in too
+excited a state just then to permit of much progress being made. The
+Emperor had for some time treated the English Government with open
+disdain, and had collected an army together for the avowed purpose of
+invading Bengal. He even caused a pair of golden fetters to be made, to
+bind the Governor-General of India when he should be led as captive to
+Ava. But before the Emperor could carry out his plan, the English took
+the initiative and invaded his country. He was confident of victory, but
+information was soon brought to him that the English had captured
+Rangoon, and this was followed by news of various other English
+victories.
+
+The foreign residents at Ava naturally felt that their position there
+was somewhat precarious. At first the Emperor assured them that "as they
+had nothing to do with the war, they should not be molested;" but when
+tidings of English triumphs followed one another in rapid succession,
+the attitude of the natives grew more and more menacing.
+
+Some Englishmen formerly in the employ of the Court were seized, and
+their belongings examined. In the account book of one of them were
+items recording certain sums having been paid to Mr. Judson. This money
+had been given to him in exchange for circular bankers' orders, sent
+from America; but the Emperor did not understand this. He concluded that
+Judson had been paid to be an English spy, and at once gave orders for
+the arrest of both the missionaries.
+
+The scene can best be described in Mrs. Judson's own words. "On the 8th
+of June, just as we were preparing for dinner, in rushed an officer
+holding a black book, with a dozen Burmans, accompanied by one whom,
+from his spotted face, we knew to be an executioner, and a 'son of the
+prison.' 'Where is the teacher?' was the first inquiry. Mr. Judson
+presented himself. 'You are called by the King,' said the officer--a
+form of speech always used when about to arrest a criminal. The spotted
+man instantly seized Mr. Judson, threw him on the floor, and produced
+the small cord, the instrument of torture. I caught hold of his arm.
+'Stay,' said I, 'I will give you money.' 'Take her too,' said the
+officer, 'she also is a foreigner.' Mr. Judson, with an imploring look,
+begged they would let me remain till further orders. The hardened
+executioner drew tight the cords, bound Mr. Judson fast, and dragged him
+off I knew not whither. In vain I entreated the spotted face to take the
+silver, and loosen the ropes; but he spurned my offers and immediately
+departed."
+
+Mr. Judson was hurried away to the death prison, and his wife found
+herself a captive in her own house. She was exposed to many insults from
+the guard of soldiers set over her, and for three days she was unable to
+go out. Then, by a judicious bribe, she obtained a certain measure of
+liberty. She at once went to the governor of the city and sought to
+obtain the release of her husband. This could not be gained, but she
+purchased permission to see him. He crawled to the door of the prison,
+as fast as his trebly-bound limbs would allow, and spoke for a minute to
+her; but before they could exchange many words Mrs. Judson was
+peremptorily ordered away by the jailer.
+
+The Government officials came again to the mission-house and seized all
+the silver they could find in it; but Mrs. Judson had received warning
+of their visit, and before they arrived had hid as much money as she
+could. Had she not done this, she and her husband must inevitably have
+starved during the following months. As it was, she had something now
+with which to mollify the officials, and she succeeded in getting her
+husband and Dr. Price taken out of the common prison for a time, and
+placed in an open shed.
+
+Day by day she worked incessantly, petitioning every one of influence,
+from the Queen downwards, for her husband's release. Many sympathised
+with her, but one and all declared themselves unable to do anything. The
+governor of the city, who had chief control of the prison, happily
+became their friend, and did all he dared for them. Three times he was
+informed by a near relative of the Emperor, that if he would cause all
+the white prisoners to be privately put to death it would be pleasing to
+the monarch; but every time he managed to avoid doing it.
+
+For seven months Mrs. Judson strove daily on her husband's behalf, and
+spent what time she could with him in the gaol. "Sometimes," she said,
+"I could not go into the prison till after dark, when I had two miles to
+walk in returning to the house. Oh, how many times have I returned from
+that dreary prison at nine o'clock at night, solitary and worn out with
+fatigue and anxiety, and endeavoured to invent some new scheme for the
+release of the prisoners."
+
+After her husband had been in prison for some months, she gave birth to
+a little daughter, and for a few weeks was unable to get about to look
+after the captives as before. During this time news came to Ava of
+further great defeats of the Burmese troops, and the treatment of the
+captives was at once made harsher. They were again shut in the inner
+prison, among all the common malefactors of the place, and were each
+bound with five pairs of fetters. The hottest season of the year had now
+arrived, and the situation of the prisoners was far more terrible than
+any words can describe. The room in which they were confined was
+occupied by about a hundred native criminals; there was no ventilation
+beyond that afforded by the cracks in the walls, and the continual
+stench and heat were almost unbearable. As soon as she could get about,
+Mrs. Judson built herself a small bamboo hut by the gate of the prison,
+and lived there, to be as near as possible to her husband. After he had
+been a month in this black hole Mr. Judson was taken ill with fever, and
+after much entreaty she was permitted to move him to a little bamboo
+cell by himself, and to go in daily to feed him and to give
+him medicine.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+"THROUGH MUCH TRIBULATION."
+
+The darkest hour had not yet come! Two or three days after she had
+secured the removal of her husband from the common prison, he and all
+the white men were suddenly seized and hurried out of the city. Mrs.
+Judson was engaged elsewhere at the time, and for some hours she was
+unable to learn where the prisoners had been taken; but a servant who
+had seen them leave gave her a clue, and she at once followed it up. She
+deposited her books and medicines with the friendly governor, and set
+out with her babe on her arm, and two orphan children she had adopted by
+her side, seeking her husband. After a wearisome journey she found him
+in a wretched prison at Oung-pen-la, almost dead from weakness and the
+torture he had undergone on his forced march, and was greeted with the
+pathetic words, so illustrative of Adoniram Judson's utter
+unselfishness, "Why have you come? I hoped you would not follow, for you
+cannot live here." The prison was placed in a lonely spot, far away from
+any village. There was no accommodation for Mrs. Judson, and no food
+could be obtained near at hand. She was refused permission to build
+herself a little hut, but the jailer found her a small, dirty store-room
+in his own house, and here she and the three children lived for the next
+six months. Day by day she searched for food, not only for her husband,
+but for the other white prisoners; and though worn out with pain and
+sorrow, cheered them, looked after their every want, and continually
+applied to the officials for some improvement in their lot. The untold
+privations she was suffering soon told on a frame that had never been
+very strong. Her two adopted children were taken with small-pox, and
+when they had partly recovered the baby was also attacked. Mrs. Judson
+had now to look after them in addition to her other work, and would
+often spend the day attending to the prisoners, and the night in nursing
+the children. The watchings and fatigue at last broke her down, and for
+two months she was unable to leave her bed. She had for most of the time
+no attendant except a common Bengalee cook, but this man proved an
+invaluable aid. He worked almost without ceasing, nursing Mrs. Judson,
+searching for provisions, and feeding the prisoners. The little baby was
+in a most deplorable state. It had no nurse, Mrs. Judson could not feed
+it on account of her fever, and the only way it existed was by her
+husband obtaining permission from the jailer to go out for a short time
+each day, carry the child around the village, and beg a little
+nourishment for it from those mothers who had young children. "I now
+began to think the very afflictions of Job had come upon me," wrote Mrs.
+Judson. "When in health I could bear the various trials and vicissitudes
+through which I was called upon to pass; but to be confined with
+sickness, and unable to assist those who were so dear to me, when in
+distress, was almost too much for me to bear; and had it not been for
+the consolations of religion, and an assured conviction that every
+additional trial was ordered by infinite love and mercy, I must have
+sunk under my accumulated sufferings."
+
+Meanwhile the English army was daily coming closer and closer to the
+capital, and Mr. Judson was taken out of prison and sent down to the
+Burmese camp, to act as translator in the negotiations which were going
+on between the two forces. The victorious British general, Sir Archibald
+Campbell, ordered the Burmese to pay a heavy war indemnity, and to cede
+a large part of their territory to the English; and he also stipulated
+that all foreign prisoners who wished should be handed over to him.
+Consequently the Judsons found themselves once more free, after a year
+and seven months' imprisonment, and were made the honoured guests of the
+English general.
+
+But the relief came too late, for Mrs. Judson's constitution was
+completely undermined by the privations she had endured. She and her
+husband settled in Amherst, a new town in British Burman territory, and
+hopefully looked forward to carrying on a useful work there. They had
+not been many months in the place before Mrs. Judson had a bad attack of
+fever, at a time when her husband was away helping the English general.
+She seemed temporarily to get better, but she had no strength left to
+resist the disease, and gradually sank. "The teacher is long in coming,
+and the new missionaries are long in coming," she murmured in a moment
+of relief from her delirium. "I must die alone, and leave my little one;
+but as it is the will of God I acquiesce in His will. I am not afraid of
+death; but I am afraid I shall not be able to bear these pains. Tell the
+teacher the disease was most violent, and I could not write; tell him
+how I suffered and died; tell him all that you see; and take care of the
+house and things until he returns." For most of the time she lay
+unconscious, and on October 24, 1827, after about sixteen days of
+illness, and at the age of thirty-seven, she passed away before her
+husband could return. Soon afterwards her baby followed her.
+
+And so went home one of the noblest women who have laboured in the
+mission field. Her brave spirit, her undaunted trust in God and in the
+power of prayer upheld her, when the courage of the bravest men would
+have failed. Not a little of the remarkable success of the work of God
+in Burmah is due to the indomitable perseverance and the wise devotion
+to God and to her husband of Ann Judson; and wherever the Gospel is
+preached, that also which this woman hath done shall be spoken of for a
+memorial of her.
+
+Was her life thrown away? Were the labours and sufferings she had bodily
+undergone wasted? Not so. The story of her life has been and still is a
+precious heritage for the whole Church militant, a lesson which ever
+appeals to Christians to rouse themselves from self-seeking and
+apathetic lives, and consecrate their talents to the Master's use.
+Though she was taken up higher, the work in Burmah did not stop, and
+before many years had passed, hundreds and thousands of the people among
+whom she had laboured were professing to serve the true God; so true is
+it that "the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church."
+
+FRED. A. McKENZIE.
+
+
+
+
+MARY LOUISA WHATELY.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+I.
+
+PARENTAGE AND CHILDHOOD.
+
+Mary Louisa Whately came of a distinguished family. Her father, Dr.
+Richard Whately, for many years Archbishop of Dublin, was one of the
+most remarkable and prominent men of the first half of the nineteenth
+century, a voluminous writer, a strenuous thinker, and a statesmanlike
+ecclesiastic. Her mother, Elizabeth, daughter of Mr. W. Pope of
+Uxbridge, was, says Miss E.J. Whately, a woman of "grace and dignity of
+character, delicacy of mind and sensitive refinement, which were united
+with high powers of intellect and mental cultivation and a thirst for
+knowledge seldom exceeded." [1] She was an ardent Christian, and devoted
+herself to works of beneficence and Christian service among the poor, as
+far as her delicate health would allow.
+
+[Footnote 1: _Life of Archbishop Whately_, by his daughter, vol. 1. p.
+43.]
+
+Mary was born at Halesworth in Suffolk, of which parish her father was
+then the rector, on August 31, 1824. The following year her father was
+appointed Principal of St. Alban Hall, and removed with his family to
+Oxford. In 1831 he accepted the Archbishopric of Dublin, and thus at the
+age of seven Dublin became, what it remained for thirty years, Mary
+Whately's home. She was the third of a family of five, four girls and
+one boy, who all inherited something of their mother's delicacy of
+constitution and a good share of their father's strength of intellect
+and character. They were near enough to each other in age to share one
+another's studies and games, and, living a very retired life, depended
+largely on each other for companionship. For a portion of the year they
+resided in the archiepiscopal palace in Dublin. But on account of the
+many social demands made on him in the city, the place became
+distasteful to Dr. Whately, and he engaged a charming country residence
+called Redesdale, some four or five miles out of town. Here he resided
+the larger portion of the year, living a quieter life than was possible
+in the city, and driving into Dublin on most mornings to attend to his
+official duties. In the intervals of study and the discharge of public
+duty he devoted himself to his garden, in the cultivation of which he
+displayed much skill and ingenuity. Redesdale was the children's home,
+though the life there was occasionally varied by a stay in London (where
+their father usually spent a few weeks each spring to attend the House
+of Lords), at Tunbridge Wells, where they had relatives, or at the
+seaside, and later by visits to the Continent.
+
+The Archbishop had very decided views on the training and education of
+children, and his wife also, as her _English Social Life_ shows, had
+thought much on the subject. One of the Archbishop's rules was that
+children should never learn anything by rote. "When Mrs. Whately and I
+first married," he observed on one occasion, "one of the first things we
+agreed on was, that should Providence send us children, we would never
+teach them anything they did not understand. 'Not even their prayers, my
+lord?' asked the person addressed. 'No, not even their prayers,' he
+replied." [1] Mary's education was conducted mainly by a governess, under
+the superintendence of her parents. Her brother, Archdeacon Whately,
+thus refers to her early life: "Our life in Ireland was on the whole a
+very retired one. For the greater part of our sojourn there we saw very
+little society, nor had my sisters a sufficient vent for a craving,
+which in some of them was very strong, for social intercourse and active
+work.... In early life she showed the germs of that vigour and energy of
+character for which she was afterwards so distinguished. In all our
+youthful games she was fond of taking the lead, and generally succeeded
+in obtaining it.... Like most young persons of a sanguine and
+imaginative temperament, she lived very much in an ideal future of her
+own creation.... It was well for my sister that we were not allowed in
+our younger days to read any unwholesome trash in the way of fiction. We
+were not indeed unduly restricted in works of imagination, but we read
+nothing which was foolish or sensational, and a higher taste than the
+taste for mere stories was cultivated in us. Mary Whately had a strong
+predilection for works of travels, history, and adventures. Perhaps
+these tastes were a foreshadowing of her future destiny, and prepared
+her for it." [2] Her sister adds, "Mary was from her earliest years
+ardent and impulsive, hot-tempered and generous. She was quick at
+lessons, and possessed of a retentive memory, though the active brain
+and lively imagination made schoolroom routine somewhat irksome
+to her." [3]
+
+[Footnote 1: _Life of Archbishop Whately_, by his daughter, vol. 1. p. 62.]
+[Footnote 2: _The Fireside_ for 1889, pp. 817, 818.]
+[Footnote 3: _Life of Mary J. Whately_, by E.J. Whately, p. 10.]
+
+
+
+
+II.
+
+THE BEGINNINGS OF CHRISTIAN LIFE AND SERVICE.
+
+Dr. and Mrs. Whately gave their children a careful religious and moral
+training, and sought to instil into their minds the highest motives for
+right doing, and to set before them a high standard of conduct. Mrs.
+Whately early associated her daughters with herself in visiting among
+the poor in the village of Stillorgan, which adjoined the grounds of
+Redesdale, and in teaching in the village school. The poor of Dublin
+also were not forgotten, and especially at Christmas time Mary shared
+with her mother in the distribution of gifts among the deserving poor in
+the city, and in the entertainment of many of them in the servants' hall
+of the palace.
+
+It is not known, perhaps she could not herself tell, exactly at what
+period the light of the Gospel first dawned upon her heart, but a
+subsequent time at which her spiritual life was much deepened and
+intensified was very marked. In 1849 the health of her brother broke
+down, and he was ordered by the physicians to spend the winter on the
+Continent. Mary accompanied him. They went first to Nice, but the
+climate disagreeing with them, they passed on to Florence and Pisa, and
+subsequently spent some time among the Waldensian valleys. This tour was
+in many ways a preparation for Mary's future life. She took lessons in
+painting, which was to be the chief recreation of her later years; she
+attained some proficiency in Italian, which led her a few years
+afterwards to engage in mission work among the poor Italians in Dublin;
+and her visit to the Waldensian valleys gave her her first insight into
+evangelical work abroad. But most important of all, she became
+acquainted with M. Meille, a young Waldensian pastor, and his wife,
+through her intercourse with whom her religious convictions became
+intensified and her spiritual horizon widened. When she returned to
+Dublin the great Irish famine was still continuing. The distribution of
+food and other efforts to relieve the distress were occupying the
+attention of all philanthropic persons. Mrs. Whately had become actively
+engaged in this work, and she and her daughters henceforward took a more
+prominent part in aggressive Christian work than they had hitherto done.
+Famine relief paved the way for greatly extended effort to spread Gospel
+knowledge among the Roman Catholic population. Industrial and Bible
+schools, refuges, and other Christian institutions sprang up in various
+parts of the country. Protestant missions to Roman Catholics were
+greatly extended. In this work Mary Whately found opportunity for the
+expression of her deepened spiritual experience. She taught in the
+adult classes at the Townsend Street Mission Hall joined her sisters and
+other ladies in founding a ragged school for boys--the first in
+Ireland--and afterwards in instituting a work among destitute girls,
+which issued in the Luke Street Girls' Home where hundreds of poor girls
+were taught to live respectable and Christian lives. These various forms
+of Christian service gave her tact and experience in dealing with the
+poor, which proved invaluable in her subsequent work in Egypt. As her
+sister says, "The Irish Church Mission work was the preparatory training
+to which she always especially looked back with thankfulness. The
+admirable manner of teaching and explaining Scripture employed in their
+schools she felt to have been the most valuable education for her
+subsequent life-work." [l]
+
+[Footnote 1: _Life of Mary L. Whately_, by E.J. Whately, p. 15.]
+
+In 1856, as she was in ill health, it was recommended that she should
+spend the winter in a warmer climate. Egypt was chosen, and, accompanied
+by a friend, she landed at Alexandria and proceeded to Cairo, where she
+remained several months. This was her first acquaintance with what was
+to be the land of her adoption. Before returning home in the spring of
+1857 she made a prolonged tour in Syria and Palestine. She took much
+note of the mission work carried on in various places, and so greatly
+interested was she in the work among Jewesses then carried on in
+Jerusalem that she had some thoughts of giving it for a time her
+personal assistance.
+
+
+
+
+III.
+
+FIRST EFFORTS IN CAIRO.
+
+The year 1860 was one of sorrow and bereavement to Mary Whately. She
+lost first her youngest sister, then her mother. Under the strain of
+nursing and sorrow her own health was seriously affected, and she was
+ordered by the doctors to spend the winter in a warmer climate. Her
+thoughts recurred to Egypt and her former pleasant sojourn there;
+accordingly she selected Cairo as her residence, purposing in her heart
+to make an attempt to bring the Gospel within reach of the Moslem women
+and girls. Egypt was then very different from what it is now. Railways
+were but just beginning to make their appearance, the Suez Canal was not
+yet cut, European customs, now so prevalent, had scarcely begun to
+invade the age-long usages of the upper classes. English residents in
+Cairo and tourists up the river were alike few in number. Few outside
+influences had been brought to bear on the Mohammedan population to
+moderate their extreme bigotry and hatred of anything called
+_Christian_--a word which they invariably associated with the picture
+and image worship of the members of the Greek or Roman Church with whom
+they had come in contact, or with the irreligious pleasure-seeking of
+tourists, or travellers by the overland route to India. The Copts, or
+descendants of the early Egyptian Christians, were almost without
+exception buried in the profoundest ignorance of the Scriptures and of
+Christian truth, given over to superstitious beliefs and practices, and
+destitute of any real spiritual life. Education for boys was of the most
+primitive character; for girls it was never thought of, nor had any
+educational effort ever been made for them during the twelve centuries
+which had elapsed since the rise of Mohammedanism. Christian missionary
+operations were almost non-existent. The American Presbyterians had
+recently commenced missionary effort, but their work was mainly, as it
+still is, among the Copts, and they had not yet opened a station in
+Cairo. Since 1827 indeed the Church Missionary Society had maintained a
+missionary--sometimes two--in Cairo, but their work had not issued in
+the formation of a Protestant Christian Church.
+
+"It was laid on my heart," says Mary Whately, "to try and do something
+for the girls and women of the land, especially those of the Moslem
+poorer classes, far the most numerous, of course. The only schools
+hitherto opened for the children of the land had no scholars except from
+the Copts or native Christians; others were considered quite out of
+reach, and many of my friends endeavoured to dissuade me from an attempt
+which was sure to end in failure, as they said. However, it seemed best
+to make an effort, at all events. But it was begun in prayer, and
+therefore difficulties and delays did not greatly discourage me." [l]
+
+[Footnote 1: _Life of Mary L. Whately_, pp. 21, 25.]
+
+Mary Whately, accompanied by a cousin, resided for a time with Mrs.
+Lieder, of the Church Missionary Society. But in order to open a school
+she had to engage a house for herself; and after great difficulties one
+was secured in a suitable position. It was but a comfortless abode, and
+only rude furniture and inefficient domestic help were obtainable. But
+Miss Whately held outward comforts in light regard. Even in later days,
+when she had built for herself a capacious and comfortable house, it was
+furnished in the simplest, even rudest fashion, and all her personal
+expenses were cut down to the lowest possible point, that she might have
+the more to spend the work to which she gave both her heart and her
+life. As as she was settled in her new house she endeavoured to make
+acquaintance of her neighbours.
+
+Miss Whately was but just beginning to learn Arabic, and the only
+assistants she could get for starting her school were a Syrian
+matron--who could speak but a few words of English and read with
+difficulty the New Testament--and her daughter of thirteen. Accompanied
+by the Syrian matron, Miss Whately went out into the surrounding lanes
+and invited the women to send their little girls to her to be taught to
+read and sew. She met with many curt refusals and received many
+fallacious promises; but when at last, in February 1861, a start was
+made, nine little girls were present the first morning "No recruiting
+sergeant," she says, "was ever so pleased with a handful of future
+soldiers, for it was beating up for recruits for the Lord." [1] The
+numbers gradually increased, though from time to time they were
+seriously affected by the spreading of malicious reports and the
+opposition of bigoted relatives and the only way to keep up the
+attendance was to go round visiting to obtain recruits, and to cultivate
+an acquaintance with the parents of the old scholars. In three months
+the children had been reduced to some sort of order, taught the alphabet
+and the way to sew; they could repeat a few texts, and sing a few hymns
+with some approach to sweetness. But perhaps of more importance still,
+they had learned to love and obey their teacher. Before her return to
+England for the summer she took them for an early morning feast in the
+public gardens of Cairo: and when the simple repast was finished, while
+"the little ones danced and waved boughs in a perfect ecstacy of
+merriment," the elder girls, she says, "seemed to find no pleasure so
+great as following us about, pointing to the flowers, and frequently
+throwing their arms round us, exclaiming, 'I love thee! I love thee
+much!' with eyes really overflowing with affection. How often had it
+been said 'You can make nothing of Moslem girls!' but the key of love is
+wonderfully powerful, and equally so in every land in opening the doors
+of young hearts." [2]
+
+[Footnote :1 _Bagged Life in Egypt_, new ed., p. 29.]
+[Footnote :2 _Ibid_., p. 110.]
+
+Meanwhile the beginnings of other Christian work had been made by Miss
+Whately. In the early mornings she would drive or ride a few miles out
+of the city, and seating herself near to some hamlet would enter into
+conversation with the women and girls, and seek to instil into their
+dark minds some drops of divine truth. Much of her time also was spent
+in visiting the poorer women of the city.
+
+When, at the end of May, both the heat of the climate and family claims
+necessitated her return home, she placed her little school under the
+care of a teacher whom the Society for Promoting Female Education in the
+East provided.
+
+The following winter was passed with some friends at Pau. After a trip
+to the north of Spain she spent another summer at home. In the autumn
+of 1862 she again arrived in Cairo, to re-open her school, which had for
+some time been suspended through the departure of the teacher. Many of
+her former scholars, hearing of her return, came to give her a very
+hearty greeting, and were willing to come back to school, bringing their
+younger sisters with them. They had, however, forgotten nearly all they
+had learned, and were at first very unruly. No assistance beyond that of
+an ignorant woman to help keep order and teach a little sewing was
+obtainable, while Miss Whately's still imperfect acquaintance with
+Arabic increased the difficulties which are everywhere experienced in
+the conduct of a ragged school. The younger children were especially
+difficult to deal with. The parents of the Mohammedan children objected
+to the use of pictures, being accustomed to see them the objects of
+reverence on the part of the Copts and other Eastern Christians, while
+the Coptic children were inclined to worship them. Amusing songs in
+Arabic, suitable for young children, there were none; and when a little
+marching about was attempted for the sake of variety, the mothers said,
+"We send our children to _learn_, and you teach them to _play_! If that
+is what they go to school for, they may as well be at home." [1] After a
+time a young woman was found who could do a little teaching. Miss
+Whately had to continue to give all the religious instruction herself.
+Yet, despite the many difficulties, the school was firmly established
+and continued to make slow but steady progress.
+
+[Footnote 1: _Among the Huts_, p. 269.]
+
+When her scholars were about to start for the "school-treat" to which
+reference has been made, a little boy, looking on with envious eyes, had
+exclaimed in a piteous voice, "I wish I were a girl." [1] "It was indeed
+a triumph," says Miss Whately, "to the little school that it caused an
+Egyptian boy even for a moment to wish himself a girl." Other boys had
+expressed their desire to come to school; so, as the 'girls' school did
+not meet on Sundays, Miss Whately started a Sunday class for boys. This
+was all it was possible for her to do by herself. But just at that time
+she became acquainted with one who, with other members of his family,
+was henceforth to be closely associated With all her work in Egypt. This
+was Mansoor Shakoor, a young Christian Syrian of good family and
+education, who, after working for some years as teacher and evangelist
+in Syria, had become agent in Cairo for the Moslem Mission Society,
+recently established in England. First of all Yousif Shakoor, brother of
+Mansoor, came to help her in work.[2] Later Mansoor also entered her
+employ, and she maintained both the brothers from her private resources.
+Thus she was provided with devoted and efficient helpers. Under their
+superintendence a regular school for boys was established, and when in
+1863 she again returned to England she left the charge of all her work
+in their hands. On the 8th of October in that year Archbishop Whately
+died, and Mary Whately's Irish home being broken up, she determined
+henceforth to fix her permanent abode in Cairo. She now hired another
+house near to her own residence for the accommodation of the
+increasing schools.
+
+[Footnote 1: _Ragged Life in Egypt_, new ed., p. 167.] [Footnote 2:
+_Life of Mansoor Shakoor_, pp. 58, 59.]
+
+Very few English people can stand the intense heat of the Egyptian
+summer, and Mary Whately being disinclined in 1864 to come so far as to
+England, spent a short time instead in Syria. When she returned to Cairo
+she took with her to educate and train Fereedy Naseef, the young cousin
+and betrothed of Mansoor Shakoor. For this young girl there sprang up in
+Mary Whately's heart a deep and warm affection; she called her and
+treated her as her daughter, and both before and after her marriage in
+the summer of 1868 she resided under Miss Whately's roof. When in 1872
+her husband died, she still remained, and Miss Whately shared with her
+the care and training of her young son and daughter, while she in return
+gave great assistance in the conduct and work of the mission.
+
+
+
+
+IV.
+
+MISSION WORK IN CAIRO AND ON THE NILE.
+
+Is it possible to convert Moslems to Christianity? are they ready to
+receive it? No one perhaps is more competent to answer these questions
+than Mary Whately, and this is what she says: "To say, as has been
+sometimes rashly declared, that the Moslems are ready to receive
+Christianity, and that the faith of the false prophet is crumbling away,
+is what I would not venture for a moment to assert. But I can state as a
+fact, that in the neighbourhood of Cairo the peasant population both men
+and women, are willing, and many of them eager to _listen_ to the Word
+of God when it is brought before them judiciously and discreetly, as
+well as with kindness and zeal." [1]
+
+[Footnote 1: _More about Rugged Life in Egypt_, p. 210.]
+
+Subsequent experience confirmed this view, and more than twenty years
+later she remarks "It is necessary to be discreet in dealing with
+Mohammedans, for if the spirit of bitterness is once aroused, the door
+is shut, for the time at least, against good influences." [1] To awaken
+to an experience of vital religion the ignorant, superstitious, and
+spiritually lifeless Copts is a difficult task; to bring to personal
+faith in Christ the bigoted Moslems is more difficult still. "A Moslem's
+religion," she says, "is twined up with his political, social, domestic
+life so minutely, that the whole rope, as it were, has to untwisted
+before he can be free from error, and the very admixture of truth in
+their book makes it harder in some respects to refute than if, like the
+heathen doctrines, it was all wrong throughout. Perhaps the intense
+self-righteousness of Moslems is after all the hardest point about them;
+their notion that in the end all who are Islam are safe strengthens
+them in this belief." [2] Nevertheless, the points of contact between the
+Mohammedan faith and the Christian a wise teacher can use as pegs to
+hang Christian teaching upon; and this Mary Whately's previous
+experience among the ignorant and bigoted Roman Catholics of Ireland
+enabled her to do with much tact. When peasants said to her, "Your book
+is Christian--we don't like Christian books," she would explain that it
+was God's book, and that the Koran did not forbid it to be read; and
+that she wanted to tell them about Seidna Eessa (the Lord Jesus), whom
+Mohammed acknowledged to be a prophet. In this way many an initial
+difficulty would be overcome, and the reading, with simple explanation,
+of stories from the Gospels would elicit the response, "The words are
+good," and the request for the gift of a New Testament.
+
+[Footnote 1: _Life of Mary L. Whately_, p. 109.]
+[Footnote 2: _A Glimpse behind the Curtain_, p. 117.]
+
+[Illustration: Mary L. Whately]
+
+As soon as Miss Whately had settled in Egypt she began visiting the
+poorer women of Cairo. Usually she was received with courtesy, and when
+she became known, with gratitude; and though this work was arduous and
+consumed much time, through it an entrance was made for the Gospel into
+many homes. Into the houses of the rich she penetrated but seldom,
+partly because her work lay in other directions, and partly because
+these were occupied by numerous slave-wives, who, being chiefly
+Circassians or Georgians, spoke Turkish, and did not understand Arabic.
+In earlier years Miss Whately did all the visiting herself, and her
+books bear abundant testimony to the skill with which she could turn the
+conversation to spiritual matters; in later years she was much assisted
+in it by Mrs. Shakoor and by a Bible-woman whom she employed.
+
+Mansoor and Yousif Shakoor engaged in similar work among men. They often
+found men at the coffee-houses willing to listen to the reading of the
+Scriptures. When this was put a stop to through the opposition of the
+Moslem priests, a book depot was opened, which did good service for some
+years. Evening meetings were also established, but these were attended
+almost exclusively by Copts, though occasionally a Moslem would brave
+the real danger of being present at a Christian service.
+
+Beside the early morning rides to which reference has been made, which
+afforded opportunities for religious conversation, Miss Whately would
+occasionally stay for a week or two at some farmhouse or by the seaside,
+and find opportunities of teaching the people around something of the
+Gospel. The following is an incident connected with this work in the
+country: "At an open spot just outside the village a barber was shaving
+a peasant's head, and, as usual, a group were assembled near him
+chatting and smoking. Mr. Shakoor took advantage of this and resolved
+to join the party of men, and get into conversation, while I went a
+little further in search of some women. I soon found four or five with
+some little girls, all sitting upon a dust-heap! They looked very dirty,
+as well they might, but I remembered 'who can raise up the beggar from
+the dung-hill and make him to sit among princes.' I saluted the poor
+women in a friendly way, and though looking astonished they replied
+civilly. After a little chat and a few questions on both sides, I asked
+if they had ever heard about our first parents, Adam and Eve, and how
+sin came into the world. They just knew the names, but no more, and were
+pleased to listen while I related the story. Before I had finished, an
+old woman who had come up interrupted me. A young man who was standing
+near and listening, desired her not to interrupt the lady, for he could
+see she was learned, and 'thou art ignorant,' he added, with more truth
+than politeness. 'But you are not well placed here,' he said, pointing
+to the heap on which they were seated. 'Come to the roof of my house, my
+mother will show you the way, and these women can come too if they
+like.' I acceded to this courteous invitation, and followed the mother
+and son up the mud-brick steps leading to the rude terrace; and though
+anything but clean, it was a great improvement on what we had left, and
+with genuine kindliness the old woman brought out an old but
+well-preserved carpet and spread it for me. The others had followed, and
+sat round to hear what the stranger could have to read to them. They
+really seemed interested, though sometimes interrupting me with remarks
+not at all to the purpose. I managed to bring them back to the stories I
+read, of course choosing the simplest possible, and trying to explain a
+little as we went." [1]
+
+[Footnote 1: _Among the Huts_, pp. 181-184.]
+
+Miss Whately would occasionally make an excursion into the desert,
+making the acquaintance of the wild Bedouin tribes, and reading to them
+the Scriptures. "Lady," once said a Bedouin, lifting the curtain of a
+tent in which she and her sister were seated, "I saw your horse at the
+water, and my comrade and I are come to hear some of your book." They
+listened attentively while she read to them the ninth chapter of
+John's Gospel.
+
+An important part of her work was the missionary tours which she made
+each year in the winter or early spring. The first of these journeys was
+in 1861, the last within a few weeks of her death. The spiritual
+condition of those she visited is thus described by Miss Whately: "The
+mass of the peasants are little, if at all, different from what they
+were in the days of Pharaoh. Instead of praying to gods of stone and
+revering brutes, it is true they now call on the Almighty, but know
+scarcely anything about Him, neither His Word nor His laws. Much of the
+religion of the _fellah_ consists in prostrations, and his _spontaneous_
+prayers are usually invocations to dead men, as we see with Nile boatmen
+and other labourers; when in a fatiguing work, they call on the 'Lord
+Hosseen or Zeid,' &c. to 'stretch out a hand and help.' Buffaloes and
+sheep are frequently sacrified at the shrines of sheiks of reputed
+sanctity, or at the mosque dedicated to Lady Zeynab. A pilgrimage to
+Mecca and the performance of certain ceremonies there are supposed to
+cleanse the pilgrim from sin. The Copts (who form the minority of the
+population) have always preserved their veneration for Scripture, but
+neglected it, and were extremely ignorant, till in some degree aroused
+by the efforts of missionaries to seek more after education, and to read
+more of the Word of God." She proceeds thus to describe the work among
+these people: "On our yearly Nile excursion we had great cause for
+encouragement, both among the Copts and the far more numerous Moslems.
+The coast of the river is dotted with numbers of villages--some almost
+large enough to be considered towns, boasting a few houses with windows,
+a mosque, and a small primitive school; others are mere hamlets,
+consisting of mud huts crowded closely together, and built in and out of
+the palm-trees. We brought to several of these places both medicine for
+the sick and books for those who desired them, and were heartily
+welcomed as the peasants' friends; indeed every year the welcome grows
+warmer. Dr. Azury, the skilful medical man of the Mission, has always
+numerous patients; and after their bodily ailments have been attended
+to, they and their friends and neighbours assemble on the shore to hear
+him read from the Bible. Mrs. Shakoor and myself are at the same time
+occupied in visiting the poor women in their homes or in reading and
+speaking to troops of both men and women in the open air. When we are
+going to leave, the boat is besieged by men and lads asking for Bibles
+or portions of Scripture, which are given to those only who can read.
+The last sight as we sail away is often that of a circle gathered round
+one who reads aloud to those who cannot read for themselves." [1]
+
+[Footnote 1: _Report of the English-Egyptian Mission_ for 1887.]
+
+
+
+
+V.
+
+PROGRESS OF THE SCHOOLS.
+
+The boys' school, which had begun with a few ragged Moslem children in a
+room which was little better than a stable, increased rapidly. In 1870
+the pupils numbered one hundred and sixty in daily attendance. About
+half were Moslems, the rest Copts and Syrians, with one or two little
+negro slaves or bronzed Nubians. Many were very poor, but some belonged
+to the middle classes, and there were even a few from wealthy families,
+who would ride to school on donkeys from distant quarters of the town.
+The two brothers Shakoor devoted much of their time to the
+superintendence of the school, and taught all the higher branches, being
+assisted in writing, spelling, &c., by several native teachers. The
+girls' school advanced less rapidly, because of the early marriages,
+which usually withdrew the pupils about the age of twelve, and because
+girls were more wanted at home than boys. In 1870 there were about a
+hundred names on the roll, with an average attendance of seventy
+or eighty.
+
+It was long Miss Whately's desire to acquire a piece of land on which to
+build suitable school premises. Her desire was gratified when in 1869
+the Khedive, Ismail Pasha, at the kind suggestion of the Prince of
+Wales, made her a grant of the freehold of nearly an acre of land, just
+outside the old wall of Cairo, the only condition being that the
+building erected on it should have a handsome front, as it would face a
+main road. Considerable delay was experienced in getting the necessary
+papers for making the possession secure, and it was not till 1871 that
+the building was erected. Mansoor Shakoor, who had considerable
+knowledge of architecture, designed it, and superintended all the
+details of its erection. By its side, and separated from it only by a
+garden, Miss Whately put up a house for herself, that she might be
+always close to her work. About one fourth of the cost was contributed
+by those who in Cairo and in England took an interest in the work of the
+school, but Miss Whately herself contributed the remainder of the
+outlay, amounting to about four thousand pounds.[1]
+
+[Footnote: 1 Letter from Mary L. Whately, _The Christian_, June 15,
+1882.]
+
+In consequence of the extension of the work, and because this large
+outlay had seriously diminished her resources, Miss Whately depended
+largely on the gifts of others for means to carry on her work. After the
+addition of a medical mission in 1879, the expenses of the work amounted
+to some £1200 or £1300 a year, a sum which, of course, it was quite out
+of her power personally to provide. £200 of this was derived from an
+annual grant from the Egyptian, Government, and about £150 from paying
+pupils, while occasionally grants were received from several English
+societies. The new schools soon became one of the "sights" of Cairo, and
+the English and American tourists who visited them contributed
+considerably to the funds, while the rest of the money required was
+collected in England, mainly through the efforts of members of Miss
+Whately's family and the honorary secretary of her English committee.
+But the difficulty of securing sufficient funds to carry on her work
+efficiently was always one of Mary Whately's chief burdens, and she was
+often obliged to make up deficiencies herself. During her occasional
+visits to England, which latterly occurred only once in two or three
+years, she was largely occupied in addressing public and drawing-room
+meetings on behalf of her work.
+
+But to return. The new school buildings were opened in January 1872.
+"All the friends and acquaintances who took any interest in education,
+whether natives or Europeans, were invited to be present. The school
+hall, a large and beautiful room, though very simple and without any
+architectural ornaments, was adorned for the occasion with wreaths of
+green leaves, berries, and flowers, such as an Egyptian winter offers in
+abundance; and a table spread in an inner room with fruit and sweets to
+regale the children, while coffee and sherbet were handed among the
+visitors. Mr. Shakoor then spoke to the parents and friends of the
+scholars, telling them how the building had been made for God's glory
+and the good of the children in time and in eternity, and that with a
+good secular education the knowledge of God's revealed Word in the Old
+and New Testament was given to all of them." [1] Four months later
+Mansoor Shakoor died, an irreparable loss to the mission, and four years
+later his brother Yousif followed him.
+
+[Footnote 1: _Life of Mansoor Shakoor,_ p. 98.]
+
+From the opening of the new buildings the schools advanced rapidly. It
+was soon found that the simple teaching of reading and writing to the
+boys would not attract scholars, but to secure the advantage of
+instruction in English and French, geography, history, and accounts,
+many parents would send their boys, who were thus brought under
+Christian influence. The extent to which this prevailed may be judged
+from the testimony of the schoolmaster, that "of the boys brought up
+under his tuition, not one had, so far as he could find, taken more than
+one wife," which showed a great breaking away from the traditions of
+Mohammedanism.[1]
+
+[Footnote 1: _The Christian_, June 29, 1888.]
+
+The girls received a simpler education, but with both boys and girls the
+daily reading and explanation of the Scriptures in Arabic held a
+prominent position, the Bible being the principal reading book in use.
+"Nor is the teaching of those things that concern salvation confined
+strictly to the time spent in reading Scripture. A few questions, or a
+remark in the course of a secular lesson, often shows them what is the
+most important of all matters in our minds. Nothing positively
+controversial is taught; that is to say, no contemptuous expressions
+about the religion of any of the children are allowed, and the plainest
+truths of the Gospel specially set forward; but occasionally something
+comes into the lesson which shows to an intelligent learner the vanity
+of the superstitions around them." [1]
+
+[Footnote 1: _Among the Huts_, p. 116.]
+
+The policy of employing Egyptians or Syrians as teachers was frequently
+challenged by people in England, and vigorously defended by Miss
+Whately. "The schools are under my personal superintendence," she wrote
+in 1885, "receiving not only daily supervision, but examination from me,
+and I never gave up the teaching of any part of Scripture into other
+hands, until I had truly converted as well as educated teachers as
+assistants." [1]
+
+[Footnote 1:_The Times_, Aug. 15, 1885.]
+
+In 1879 pupils had to be refused for want of room, and from that time
+till her death the scholars numbered nearly seven hundred.
+
+The period of the Arabi rebellion in 1882 was a severe testing time.
+Though deliverance came at the eleventh hour, and Cairo was spared, "the
+inhabitants," writes Miss Whately in her report for that year, "lived
+for months in a sickening anxiety which can hardly be realized by those
+who only know the general facts from the papers." Not only Jews and
+Christians, but Moslems who remained faithful to the Khedive were
+threatened with torture and death. Miss Whately stayed at her post long
+after nearly all the Europeans had fled, and only left when the English
+Consul informed her that he would be no longer responsible for her
+safety. "The superintendent of the Mission Boys' School remained in
+Cairo at great personal risk, to keep things together as much as
+possible. The schools were not closed till the bombardment of
+Alexandria, when the excited mobs in the streets made it unfit for
+children to be abroad, and it soon afterwards was necessary to take away
+the board with the notice of the 'British Schools,' &c." The school
+buildings were used as a refuge for the homeless and persecuted, both
+foreigners and Egyptians. A list of buildings doomed to pillage included
+the Mission House. "The second day after the entrance of the victorious
+army, the superintendent opened the school. The pupils flocked back by
+degrees. At first some of the children of _Arabists_ hung back, but
+began to follow the rest after a time." Miss Whately had the joy of
+knowing that in the time of extremest danger many young Coptic girls,
+formerly her pupils, when urged to pretend to turn Moslems to save their
+lives, had replied, "No! if we die, we die in the faith of the
+Messiah." [1]
+
+[Footnote 1:_Report of English Egyptian Mission for_ 1882.]
+
+Yet the same year a night school for youths of the better classes was
+established. Several years previously Miss E.J. Whately had founded in
+connection with the school a branch for the education of the children of
+European parents in Cairo. After the rebellion these were much less
+numerous, and the branch, henceforth known as the Levantine School, was
+chiefly attended by Jewesses, Armenians, Syrians, and others of Eastern
+race, who paid for the education they received. Among them it did good
+service. Subsequently small branch mission schools were established in
+Gizeh and other places.
+
+
+
+
+VI.
+
+THE MEDICAL MISSION.
+
+Sympathy with the sick poor around her for whom no medical aid was
+available, early led Mary Whately to dispense simple remedies and
+especially to distribute medicine to relieve the terribly prevalent
+ophthalmia. In this she attained considerable skill, and though her
+nerves were more susceptible than others often thought, she bore bravely
+the contact with dirt and the sight of suffering which these labours
+entailed. "She loved to relate," says her sister, "what affectionate
+gratitude was called out by these acts. The Egyptians are very sensible
+to kindness, and she never forgot how a poor mason, whose hand, injured
+by the fall of some part of a wall, she had daily dressed, afterwards
+recognising her as he passed by her garden railing, saluted her with the
+words, 'May Allah ever hold your hand, O lady!' This kindness it was
+that won her a way among the poor of the city. In lanes and streets
+where she had been met by pelting with dust and cries of 'Cursed
+Nazarene!' she was now met by the salutation, 'Blessed be thy hands and
+feet, O lady!' or similar words of welcome. 'Sitt Mariam' (literally
+Lady Mary) became a household word in many mouths." [1]
+
+[Footnote 1: _Life of Mary L. Whately_, p. 62.]
+
+Miss Whately perceived that medical mission work--of which none whatever
+had been attempted in Cairo--would form an excellent introduction to
+Christian work among the adult population. In 1878 therefore she engaged
+Dr. Azury, a skilful Syrian doctor, who had been trained in the American
+Medical College at Beyrout, and who had lately married Mrs. Shakoor's
+sister. Almost before the necessary premises could be secured numerous
+sufferers applied for treatment. At first a small wooden room was built
+by Miss Whately on her premises as a waiting room for the patients and
+dispensary for the doctor; and during the first three years over four
+thousand patients were cured or relieved, and many operations performed,
+some of which restored sight to the blind. In 1881 a suitable building
+for this branch of the Mission was erected, containing two airy waiting
+rooms, one for women and children and the other for men, a consulting
+room in which the doctor saw his patients, and two separate rooms, each
+containing a bed or two for the reception of cases that needed constant
+care. In the waiting rooms Mary Whately might be found almost any
+morning reading the Bible and talking to the patients waiting their
+turn to see the doctor. No compulsion was used, but an attentive hearing
+was usually obtained, while a psalm or some story from the New Testament
+was read and explained. As the same people would often come every day or
+two for several weeks, something like continuous teaching could be
+given. In this work Mary Whately greatly delighted. In any difficult
+case, says a friend (_Sunday at Home_, 1889, p. 406), "'Sitt Mariam'
+would take her place in the surgery, ready with a kind word and
+practical assistance." An instance of the good done by the mission is
+given by the same writer. "A young woman came one day weeping bitterly;
+she was one of the wives of a sheik of a village some miles away, and
+she was almost blind. Her husband had told her that she was no longer of
+use to him, and he should divorce her. She was in a pitiable state of
+distress. The doctor, by God's help, was able to cure the poor young
+wife completely. She returned to her village in deepest thankfulness,
+and was taken back into favour by her lord and master. Some time
+afterwards she returned again, this time bringing a tall turbaned man
+with her, who proved to be her husband; he was the sufferer this time,
+and the good and forgiving wife had persuaded him to come and see the
+doctor to whom she owed so much. After some time the man was cured, and
+during his bodily treatment we may be sure that his soul was not
+forgotten. He showed his gratitude by sending many from his village to
+the Medical Mission; so that the seed was sown broadcast."
+
+
+
+
+VII.
+
+LITERARY EFFORTS.
+
+Mary Whately, though she belonged to a book-writing family, aspired to
+no literary fame. Her ten books were all the outcome of her work in
+Egypt, and were written to awaken interest in it, and in some cases to
+secure funds for it. She was, as a girl, the "story-teller" of the
+family, and among her companions secured a reputation for her powers of
+narration. This gift she turned to good account.
+
+"It was at her father's suggestion and by his advice that her first
+book, _Ragged Life in Egypt_, was published. A friend staying in the
+house had been reading to him a series of letters Mary had written her,
+describing her first settlement for the winter in Cairo, the
+commencement of her school, her visits among the poor, etc. He listened
+with much pleasure and attention, and on his daughter entering the room
+a few minutes afterwards, he said, 'Mary, you ought to publish these
+papers!' Her first answer was, 'Oh! people are tired of Egypt! they have
+had so many books of travels there and so many details!' 'Yes,' he
+rejoined, 'but yours will be new; you have reached a stratum lower than
+any foreign visitor has yet done.' This determined her to publish; and
+the book was finished and brought out immediately. In 1863 the same
+friend read to the Archbishop during his last illness the manuscript of
+the second part, _More about Ragged Life in Egypt_. On the morning on
+which the reading was finished, he took his gold pen from his pocket,
+and giving it to her said, 'I shall never use this again, Mary; take it,
+and go on.'" [1]
+
+[Footnote 1: _Life of Mary L. Whately_, pp. 55-57.]
+
+In 1871 she published a further account of Egyptian life and of her
+mission work, under the title, _Among the Huts in Egypt_. Meanwhile in
+1867 she had contributed to the _Leisure Hour_, and afterwards issued as
+a volume, _The Story of a Diamond_. Another story, _Lost in Egypt_, was
+written in 1881. In 1873 Miss Whately published a biography of Mansoor
+Shakoor, and in 1881 she wrote _Letters from Egypt for Plain Folks at
+Home_. In 1878 she published a story called _Unequally Yoked_,
+illustrating the miserable lives of English women who have been
+persuaded to marry Mohammedans, and in 1872 she wrote _A Glimpse Behind
+the Curtain_, a story of life in the harems of Cairo. Her last book
+appeared in 1888 with the title, _Peasant Life on the Nile_. With
+changed names and in a slightly veiled form, it recounts the history of
+some who received spiritual blessing through her mission work. All her
+books are written in a simple unaffected style, and reveal an unrivalled
+acquaintance with Oriental character and the Egyptian mode of life. Most
+of them are illustrated by engravings from her own sketches.
+
+
+
+
+VIII.
+
+RESULTS.
+
+Writing in 1861 Miss Whately said, "The reaping time is not yet." [1] Ten
+years later she writes: "It is a missionary's duty to sow beside all
+waters, and to lose _no_ opportunity, even if his chance of doing good
+be but small. The sower of the seed has need of much patience; and
+though he need not actually be _expecting_ and looking for
+disappointment, as that would paralyse his efforts for good, he must yet
+be prepared for it." [2] In this spirit of patience and perseverance Mary
+Whately carried on her work, and though her work was largely pioneering,
+she was not without encouragement. Her hand was the first to begin to
+break down the wall of ignorance, prejudice, and bigotry which had for
+centuries shut in the people of Egypt. She convinced thousands that the
+Christian book is a good book, and Christian men and women good people,
+despite the evidence to the contrary of so many in Egypt who bear the
+Christian name but do not live the Christian life. The sentiments of the
+people are leavened by thousands among them who in youth passed through
+her schools, and there acquired an acquaintance with Scripture truth.
+"Youths employed under Government, on the railways or in mercantile
+houses, who have received with the secular education which has secured
+their positions, a thorough knowledge of the Bible as its condition,
+continually greet her after they have quite outgrown her
+recollection." [3] The teachers in later years were chiefly composed of
+those who had been pupils in the schools, and of whose conversion she
+had no doubt. Thousands of poor sufferers were relieved by the Medical
+Mission, thousands of homes made happier by the visits of herself and
+her assistants. Many of the Scriptures distributed on her Nile journeys
+were kept and read, and found afterwards in most unlikely places.
+
+[Footnote 1: _More about Ragged Life_, p. 199.] [Footnote 2: _Among the
+Huts_, p. 151.] [Footnote 3: _Lost in Egypt_, preface.]
+
+In 1870 Miss Whately was able to tell of the first of her scholars of
+whose conversion she could feel sure. In 1878 she writes of two little
+boys, pupils in her school, who read the Bible at home to their old
+nurse, a slave woman, during the illness which terminated in her death.
+So simply did she receive the truth, that she declined to see the Mollah
+or reader of the Koran, saying, "No, no, I want no one but Him whom the
+boys tell me about; the boys' Saviour is my Saviour." [1] In _Peasant
+Life on the Nile_ Miss Whately gives several instances of Copts who
+through her efforts refused to turn Moslems, and of others who became
+Christians in deed and in truth.
+
+[Footnote 1: _Letters from Egypt_, pp. 117, 118.]
+
+Instances of blessing on the work of the Mission might be multiplied.
+Nevertheless the difficulty of bringing a Mohammedan to an open avowal
+of Christianity always remained extremely great. Converts to
+Christianity always incurred the risk of secret poisoning. Yet in the
+report for 1888, penned by Miss Whately only a few weeks before her
+death, she says, "The seed sown in past years is evidently taking root;"
+and the accounts for that year contain the significant entry, "Clothes
+for poor convert on his baptism, £2." She also gratefully acknowledged
+that the reading of the books of her lending-library, largely supplied
+by the Religious Tract Society, had reached more Mohammedans than any
+other Christian agency.
+
+
+
+
+IX.
+
+TWILIGHT.
+
+Like the twilight in the land of her adoption, the twilight of Mary
+Whately's life was very brief. Her sun went down while it was yet day.
+Her last years were among her busiest. She would rise very early, often
+watching from her balcony the dawn break, and then would take a ride in
+the fresh morning air, or go out into her garden, for, as with her
+father, gardening was her delight. After a simple breakfast she would be
+usually found in the dispensary by nine o'clock, reading and talking to
+the patients. When they had all been cared for, she would teach her
+Scripture class in the Levantine school, and afterwards visit the other
+schools, or attend to some of her domestic duties. After a short rest in
+the heat of the day, the remainder of the afternoon would be occupied
+with receiving or paying visits, and the short evening before retiring
+early to rest, when free from various forms of mission work, with
+painting or reading. When burdened with the difficulties of the work,
+she would often exclaim, "Why tarry the wheels of His chariot?" and the
+coming of the Lord was ever the object of her lively anticipation.
+
+In the summer of 1888 she paid her last visit to England, taking also a
+tour in Switzerland, which she greatly enjoyed. Early in the autumn she
+returned to Cairo, where she was joined by her elder sister, who
+frequently spent the winter with her. In February she made preparations
+for her usual Nile trip. After the boat had been engaged and paid for,
+she caught a cold, and was urged to defer the journey; but as this would
+have caused extra expense, she declined. The excitement of the work,
+which, on account of the doctor being unable through ill health to
+accompany her, was unusually heavy, kept her up for the time, but on her
+return to Cairo she had to retire to bed. Bronchitis set in, and in a
+few days the gravest was feared. A relapse discovered weakness of the
+heart, and on the morning of Saturday, March 9, 1889, her spirit fled.
+Then was there, as of old, "a grievous mourning" among "the Egyptians."
+No need was there to employ professional mourners to make a wailing; the
+teachers and scholars, and the hundreds of poor men and women who had
+learned to love her, wept aloud for her. Her body was laid to rest in
+the English cemetery in Cairo, but she herself rested from her labours
+among those of whom she wrote:--
+
+     "Oh! they've reached the sunny shore
+          Over there;
+      They will never hunger more;
+      All their pain and grief is o'er;
+          Over there.
+
+      Oh! they've done the weary fight
+          Over there;
+      Jesus saved them by His might;
+      And they walk with Him in white;
+          Over there."
+
+      W.R. Bowman
+
+
+
+
+AGNES JONES[1]
+
+[Footnote 1: The extracts are made, by kind permission of Messrs.
+Nisbet & Co., from _Agnes Jones_, by her sister.]
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+YOUTHFUL DAYS.
+
+A chance visitor to the Liverpool Workhouse on Brownlow Hill might be
+lost in wonder at its vastness, as he looked at its streets of large
+buildings and was told of its more than four thousand inhabitants. He
+would scarcely imagine that those bare-looking groups of buildings
+possess an historic interest. Yet to the Christian philanthropist it is
+holy ground, for there, in willing sacrifice for others, were spent the
+last years of the life of that saintly woman who gave the death-blow to
+the old system of pauper nursing and all its attendant evils. But we are
+looking at the stream as it enters the limitless ocean of eternity. We
+can do that again by-and-by. Let us turn now rather to the beginning of
+that stream of life and trace it onwards.
+
+Agnes Elizabeth Jones was born at Cambridge on the 10th of November,
+1832, the 12th Regiment, of which her father was the lieutenant-colonel,
+having arrived there only a few days before.
+
+When Agnes was about five years of age, her father's regiment, which had
+previously been quartered at Cork, was ordered to Mauritius. The
+wonderfully varied and beautiful scenery of this little island--a tiny
+gem set in the heart of the Indian Ocean--with its curiously shaped
+mountains, and tropical trees and plants, made a wonderful impression on
+the mind of the child, and although she was only eleven years old when
+she left, she always cherished the memory of it.
+
+But it was not only that her mind was roused to a keen appreciation of
+the beauties around her during her residence in Mauritius. The higher
+part of her nature, chiefly through the faithful teaching of one of the
+French pastors on the island, was also touched, and in the young heart
+there arose the longing to be safely folded in the arms of the Good
+Shepherd. A sentence in one of his sermons haunted her night and
+day:--"And now, brethren, if you cannot answer me, how will you at the
+last day answer the Great Searcher of hearts?" An arrow shot at a
+venture, it pierced her heart, and although she did not yet yield
+herself fully to God, she never entirely lost the desire to be His, even
+when apparently outwardly indifferent. We may well thank God for His
+servant's earnest ministry, for had he been less faithful, the whole
+course of that life, which was to prove so valuable in the service of
+the Lord, might have been changed.
+
+From Madagascar, five hundred and fifty miles from Mauritius, yet its
+next-door neighbour westwards in the silver sea, there came, when Agnes
+was yet but seven years old, the tidings of a fearful persecution of the
+Christians. The letters received at that time told of indescribably
+dreadful sufferings for Christ's sake, and the sight of the Malagasy
+refugees who fled to Mauritius, fired her young soul with the desire to
+become a missionary. This desire, however, in her exceeding reserve, she
+kept to herself. God had other purposes for her, and it was amongst her
+own country people, and not in the foreign field, that He called her
+to labour.
+
+After the return of her parents from Mauritius, the greater part of four
+years was spent in a beautiful spot at the foot of the hills of the
+Donegal Highlands on the banks of Lough Swilly, one of the loveliest of
+the Irish lakes. This period is spoken of by her sister as one in which
+she appeared utterly indifferent to spiritual things, yet some entries
+in her journal indicate an intense longing after a higher life. They
+certainly show that she knew the sinfulness of her own heart and the
+weakness of her resolutions, and that, in common with so many reserved
+natures, while hiding the true state of her feelings from others, she
+was much given to introspection and inclined to magnify her faults. Such
+reserved natures do not "wear their heart on their sleeve," and it
+should be a comfort to parents and teachers who are anxiously watching
+children to know that "things are not always what they seem," and that
+many a child who seems altogether careless is in reality not far from
+the kingdom.
+
+In January, 1848, when a little over fifteen, she was sent to school at
+Stratford-on-Avon, and remained there until her father's death in 1850.
+The good discipline of this school and the wise guidance of her teachers
+had a most wholesome effect on the development of her character, and the
+steady, indomitable perseverance in the face of difficulties which so
+marked her after-life distinguished her then. By her painstaking and
+close attention she made up for her want of quickness in learning. Hence
+she never forgot what she had once learned.
+
+The actual time of her conversion seems to have been during the period
+that she resided with her mother and sister in Dublin. To the earnest
+man of God whose ministry they attended, the preparation of the younger
+members of his flock for admission to the Lord's Supper was no
+perfunctory task. He introduced her, with others of his candidates, to
+one of his helpers as "anxious inquirers." So shy and reserved was Agnes
+that she said but little, yet this lady remarked of her:--"In the class
+her intense appetite for the living bread was so apparent, that I often
+felt myself speaking to her only, her calm gentle eyes fixed on me, as
+God helped me to speak."
+
+It is impossible for those who have definitely accepted Christ's
+salvation, and who truly realise His love to perishing sinners, to be
+idlers in His vineyard. We are therefore not surprised to find her soon
+at work, her own particular plot being in the ragged school. Her needy
+little scholars were a great interest to her. She always showed the
+greatest sympathy and devotion to them, and while caring for their souls
+did not forget their bodily needs. Even when on a holiday she sought and
+found work amongst the poor. Indeed, distress of any kind always
+appealed to her heart.
+
+There are some Christians who are very active in the outside world, but
+who forget that the first duty of a child of God is to "show piety at
+home." It was not so with Agnes Jones, for it was in the home that the
+beauty of her life was most visible, and it was in the family circle
+that the affection and unselfishness of her character shone most
+conspicuously. Others, indeed, could plainly see the development of the
+Christ-life in her, but she herself, dwelling as she did in the presence
+of her Lord, was prone to judge herself harshly. Thus, with every moment
+occupied, she charged herself with being lazy and negligent.
+
+The first step towards the great work of her life was taken while on a
+visit to the Continent in 1853. During the May meetings in Paris, there
+was one held on behalf of the Oeuvre des Diaconesses, one of the
+branches of the Institution at Kaiserswerth on the Rhine, founded by
+Pastor Fliedner. This she attended, and was then first made acquainted
+with that work, which became of great interest to her, an interest which
+was much strengthened by a visit to Kaiserswerth itself about two months
+later. "As we drove away," she writes, "my great wish was that this
+might not be my last visit to Kaiserwerth.... That visit was, I believe,
+a talent committed to our care; may it not be buried."
+
+So full was she of the conviction that by seeing more of the work at
+Kaiserswerth she would be the better fitted for her beloved work in
+Ireland, that she proposed that she should go there for a week. To her
+great joy her mother concurred in the proposal, and earnestly did Agnes
+pray that this visit might be blessed and sanctified by God to
+His glory.
+
+She was charmed with all that she heard and saw at Kaiserswerth, with
+the love which was so manifest in all, with the intensity of purpose,
+the perfect obedience, the beautiful order, the incessant work without
+fuss or bustle, and above all with the spirit of prayer, which pervaded
+the whole institution. Her journals show how strong was her desire to
+return there for training, for she believed that "as we use means to fit
+us for any earthly profession, so are we bound to use every means which
+will enable us to adorn our Christian profession." Her friends, however,
+knew nothing of her wishes. They were told only in the ears of her God.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+AT WORK IN THE VINEYARD.
+
+For some time after her return from the Continent, Agnes Jones resumed
+her former work in Dublin, labouring more energetically than ever. In
+1856, however, she and her mother returned to Fahan, the old home on the
+shore of Lough Swilly, always a favourite spot with her, not only
+because of the beauty of its scenery, but also because her beloved
+father was there laid to rest.
+
+To the Christian who is ever on the watch opportunities for service are
+never lacking, and Agnes soon found her hands full. Did a child fall
+into the fire--a very common accident in that district--she must be
+fetched, for so gentle yet so firm was her touch in dressing wounds that
+the fame of her skill had spread for miles, and she was sent for from
+far and near, to Protestants and Roman Catholics alike. Was some one
+dying, still it was she who must come to smooth the pillow and speak the
+words of life.
+
+The spiritual side of her work she never lost sight of, but made the
+rest subservient to this, as a means to an end, always reading the Bible
+if allowed, and following the reading by a simple but practical and
+faithful explanation. She was indeed "instant in season" and out of
+season. In all weathers she might be seen speeding along the lonely
+mountain roads, setting off soon after breakfast, to be at work the
+whole day, with the exception of the early dinner-time, and often not
+returning until after dark. She was tempted, as every other worker is,
+to relax her energies and to stay at home if the weather were bad, or if
+she were not feeling well; but instead of yielding, she would, if a bad
+headache came on, start off the earlier, that she might not lose the
+chance of a visit through the pain increasing. Yet her duties at home
+were never neglected. Rather than omit them, she would rise at five,
+that she might anticipate the wants of others, and save her
+mother trouble.
+
+Agnes herself, in her intense humility, considered that she was an
+unsuccessful worker, and was inclined to condemn herself for lack of
+zeal and earnestness. But her work was a great joy to her, and
+especially did she love her happy talks with some of the aged Christians
+amongst the sixty families she regularly visited.
+
+He is a rash soldier who ventures into the battle without a weapon tried
+and proved, and he can only be an unsuccessful Christian worker who does
+not make the Word of God the rule and guide of his life. To Agnes Jones
+the Bible was a constant study. She was a most earnest student of God's
+Word, and delighted to meditate upon it. In her journal she
+writes:--"What should I be without my Bible?" And again, realising the
+truth of the promise, "He that watereth shall be watered also himself,"
+she says:--"God's Word often comes home more strongly to my own heart as
+I read to the poor, and try to make a few simple remarks." Little wonder
+is it that, knowing and loving His Word as she did, Christ was to her a
+very personal Saviour and Friend. Her one longing was for more and more
+likeness to Him.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+FOREIGN TRAINING.
+
+However strong and good our wishes may be, it is never safe to force on
+their accomplishment. They are never the losers who wait God's time, and
+the wisest course of all is the one which Agnes Jones pursued, of
+telling her wishes to God, and then, in perfect submission to His will,
+leaving the issue with Him.
+
+It was not until seven years after her visit to Kaiserswerth that the
+way was made open for her to return there. This step had been suggested
+by her mother five years previously, but the filial spirit was so strong
+in her that, although she eagerly desired a more thorough training for
+God's service, she felt that her mother stood first, and refused to
+leave her alone. Now the case was different, and she gladly seized the
+opportunity. Still she was nervously fearful lest after all she should
+not be following the guiding pillar.
+
+It was in the autumn of 1860 that she arrived at Kaiserswerth, where she
+immediately entered heartily into the work. Her intention was to stay
+for only a month, or at the most six weeks; but after she had been there
+but a short time, the pastor so strongly represented the great advantage
+it would be to her to spend the whole winter in the institution, that
+she felt constrained to write for her mother's permission to do so. As
+ever, she was full of prayer for God's guidance, and that whatever was
+done might be only for His glory. Her mother leaving the choice entirely
+with her, she decided to remain, believing that the training would be
+of inestimable use to her in her future work.
+
+The Deaconesses' Institution at Kaiserswerth had a very small beginning.
+Pastor Fliedner, having heard of Mrs. Fry's work amongst female
+prisoners, was filled with longing to follow her example, and received
+two discharged prisoners, whose friends had refused them, with the
+object of giving them the chance of retrieving their character. He set
+them to work under the personal supervision of himself and his wife. The
+work soon increased, and assistance was needed. To the penitentiary were
+added an orphanage, a training-school, a hospital, and a lunatic asylum.
+More and more workers were drawn in, and at the time of Agnes Jones's
+first visit there were fifteen branches of the institution in different
+parts of the world. This number by the time of her second visit had
+increased to fifty.
+
+The deaconesses as novices passed through every department of the work,
+and received a thorough training in both nursing and household work, the
+pastor wisely considering that if, when in visiting the poor, they could
+render them practical help, their words would prove far more effective.
+Much was made of Bible study, both public and private, and this, as well
+as the _Stille Stunde_ (quiet hour), a half-hour daily set apart for
+prayer and meditation, could not but tend to give a spiritual tone to
+the whole work. Agnes revelled in all this, and found great happiness in
+the daily routine, in spite of much which was, perhaps, somewhat
+needless drudgery, such as sweeping and dusting her room, washing up
+after meals, and even black-leading stoves. She had, however, well
+learned the lesson that no action can be mean to the Christian if it
+come in the way of duty. Sometimes, indeed, it seemed a waste of
+strength to spend so much of the day in manual work, especially work
+which so injured her hands that for some time she was obliged to keep
+them poulticed, and was thus unable to assist in the hospital. Still she
+was, as she said herself, "as happy as the day is long, and it does not
+seem half long enough," in spite of a longing sometimes "for home sights
+and voices."
+
+Soon after her arrival at Kaiserswerth, fourteen sick boys were given
+into her care for twelve hours a day. This was no easy task,
+particularly when she was left in sole charge of them, some being too
+far recovered to lie in bed, and needing to be kept at lessons or work.
+As the weeks rolled by, her work was changed, and in addition to other
+employment, she instructed a number of classes in English, both in the
+training-school and among the deaconesses. As for herself, she was daily
+becoming more proficient in German, and in a very short time was able
+easily to follow the sermon. This was a great enjoyment to her, as she
+much valued the truly evangelical teaching at Kaiserswerth.
+
+At the end of three months of steady work, she spent a few days with an
+uncle and aunt who were staying at Bonn, but the gay boarding-house life
+contrasted so unfavourably with the happy Christian fellowship at
+Kaiserswerth, that she was thankful to return to her duties, playfully
+writing:--"The nun will not soon again leave her cell, for it was with
+very nun-like feelings she met the world again." Yet she was no
+misanthrope. She did not bring to God a heart which had tried earth's
+pleasures and had found them wanting, nor a life jaded with pursuing
+them. From the first, she had cast aside the love of worldly things, and
+had chosen to be wholly the Lord's.
+
+During the latter part of her stay at Kaiserswerth, her duties lay
+entirely in the hospital. In January she wrote:--"My duties are in the
+children's hospital, all ages from two to twelve. It is a new life for
+me in a nursery of sick children, and a busy one too, for every moment
+they want something done for them."
+
+A month or so later she was appointed superintendent of the boys'
+hospital, a post of peculiar responsibility and difficulty. It was one,
+too, from which she shrank, holding the mistaken idea that she possessed
+no powers of government. Certainly it was a position to tax the
+patience, for the children were not too ill to be noisy and disobedient,
+or even sometimes to unite in open rebellion, while the task was not
+rendered easier by the necessity of speaking in a foreign tongue.
+
+Altogether she had a very busy life. She rose at 5.O A.M. every day, and
+kept hard at work, with the exception of the intervals for meals and the
+_Stille Stunde_ (quiet hour), until night. "The cleaning and keeping my
+dominion in order is such a business," she writes. "Sweeping and washing
+the floor of the three rooms every morning, two stoves which must be
+black-leaded weekly, each taking an hour, weekly cleaning of windows,
+tins, dinner-chests, washing-up of bandages, &c., besides the washing-up
+after each of our five meals, keeps one busy." She must have been strong
+in those days, for she wrote:--"I come over from the other house every
+morning at six, the ground white and windows frozen over; often at three
+in the afternoon the water outside is still frozen, yet night or morning
+I never put on bonnet or handkerchief, unless when I go out for a walk."
+
+From the first the hospital patients with their varied needs were a
+great interest to her. Now it is a dying man, beside whom she has to
+watch, longing to minister words of comfort, yet unable to do so,
+fearing that her then want of fluency in the language might trouble him
+in his weakness. Yet as she heard the poor man's cry, "Lieber Heiland,
+hilf mir" (Dear Saviour, help me), her prayers, too, rose for him to the
+compassionate Saviour. Now it is a little boy with a bad back, terrible
+sores, and a racking cough, who would let no one else touch him. "Every
+night," she says, "I used to pray with Otto after they were all in bed,
+and he used to put his poor little arm round my neck as I knelt beside
+him; but last night (the night before he died) he said of himself, 'I
+will only now pray that Jesus may take me to heaven, and that I may soon
+die,' and as I had put my face near him to hear, he said, 'Lay your
+cheek on mine, it does me so much good.'"
+
+We have seen quite enough of Agnes Jones by this time to know that she
+never shrank from a duty, however repulsive. Her love for her Master,
+and her desire to serve others for His sake, preserved her from any
+fastidiousness. In spite of her sensitive and sympathetic nature she
+could bear to witness the most painful operations without flinching, for
+she kept before her mind the ultimate good which would accrue from the
+present suffering.
+
+One day news reached Kaiserswerth of the deplorable condition of one of
+the English hospitals in Syria. Sick and well, it was stated, were
+crowded together in a place where rubbish of every kind was thrown, an
+insanitary condition anywhere, but especially so in an Eastern climate.
+Helpers, they said, were much needed. Agnes longed to step into the
+breach, and in a letter to her mother she says:--"The English send
+plenty of money, but hands are wanting. It is no new thought with me
+that mine are strong and willing; I would gladly offer them. Could my
+own mother bear to think of her child for the next few months as in
+Syria instead of Germany? It is but temporary, and yet an urgent case.
+My favourite motto came last Sunday, 'The Lord hath need;' if He has
+need of my mother's permission to her child He will enable her to give
+it. This is but the expression of a wish, and if my own mother were to
+be made too anxious by the granting it, let it be as if unasked by her
+own Agnes."
+
+Her standard of filial obedience was indeed a high one, though no higher
+than the standard of God's Word. Before this, in asking permission to
+remain longer at Kaiserswerth, she had written to her mother:--"Your
+wishes shall be my guide, now and for the future, as long as I am
+blessed with such a loving counsellor. I trust my present training in
+obedience will not be lost in reference to home."
+
+Although she thought the whole training at Kaiserswerth invaluable she
+wrote long after:--"I believe all I owe to Kaiserswerth was comprised in
+the lesson of unquestioning obedience." Those who would rule must first
+learn to obey, and certain it is that she would never have been fitted
+to be afterwards the head of a large institution hundreds to care for
+and govern, had she not so truly imbibed the spirit of obedience.
+
+While she had a profound admiration for Kaiserswerth, she could still
+see that the life of a deaconess, shielded though it is from the world,
+is not exempt from danger. Some fancy that the life of a deaconess, or
+of any one similarly set apart, must be much more free from temptation
+than that of any ordinary person. "I think," she wrote, "every one is as
+much called on as a deaconess is to work for Him who first loved us; but
+if this does not constrain us as Christians, neither will it as
+deaconesses, and certainly the 'Anstalt' (Institution) is a world in
+which the Martha-spirit may be found as well as in the outer world.
+There are many most deeply taught Christians here, many whose faces
+shine, but I should say, comparing my home life (but few have such a
+home) with that of the deaconesses here, I should say that, in many
+positions here, there are more, not only daily but hourly temptations."
+
+The fact that nursing was her vocation had for a long time been dawning
+on her mind, but the way to go to Syria did not seem open, and the Lord
+had other work for her. Almost by the same post there arrived two
+letters, one from Mrs. Ranyard, so well known as the originator of the
+London Bible Mission, suggesting that she should go and help her in the
+great work of superintending and training the Bible women, the other
+from a philanthropic gentleman, unfolding a plan for a proposed nurses'
+home in connection with an infirmary, and asking if she, after a few
+months' special training, would become its superintendent. Thus, while
+one door was shut, two others unexpectedly opened to her.
+
+But which should she enter? This was the question which she prayerfully
+debated. She wished to lay out her life to the best interest for God,
+and both schemes had special attractiveness to her; the one, because of
+its intensely spiritual work; the other, because of her love for
+nursing, and the boundless possibilities for good there might be in
+training nurses. She feared, however, that as superintendent of the
+nurses' home she might be fettered in more definite Christian work. She
+felt she must be left in no uncertainty on this point. In her letter
+replying to the gentleman who had written to her, she said:--"You sent
+me the ground plan of the building, but I would ask, is its foundation
+and corner stone to be Christ and Him crucified, the only Saviour? Is
+the Christian training of the nurses to be the primary, and hospital
+skill the secondary object? I ask not that all should be of one
+Christian denomination, but what I do ask is that Jesus, the God-man,
+and His finished work of salvation for all who believe on Him, should be
+the basis, and the Bible the book of the institution. If this be your
+end and aim, then will I gladly pass through any course of training to
+be fitted to help in your work."
+
+Soon after writing this letter she bade farewell to Kaiserswerth. Her
+plan was to go first to London to consult with Miss Nightingale and
+other friends as to her future. The seven months in Germany had been
+most happy ones, and she was ever thankful for the time she had spent
+there. She fully saw the great need of Christian training institutions.
+In those days the Evangelical Protestant churches, unlike the Romanists,
+who for many centuries had largely availed themselves of it, were not
+alive to the importance of the ministry of women. There were no
+institutions in England where Christian women could be trained to work
+for Christ, that work of all others the most important, and some, to
+secure the training they longed for, and could not get elsewhere, had
+even entered Roman Catholic sisterhoods. Times are changed now, thank
+God, and although there is still the need of more, there are many
+institutions where Christian women can be thoroughly and efficiently
+trained for service of different kinds at home and abroad.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+IN LONDON SLUMS.
+
+As we have already seen, Agnes Jones distrusted her power to rule. This
+fact, added to her mother's dislike to her entering a hospital
+determined her, for the present at least, to join Mrs. Ranyard in the
+work of the Bible Mission, for she knew that while she would be
+relieving her friend of some of the burden of her work she would have
+ample opportunities of discovering whether she were fitted to govern.
+
+She was soon busy in many ways, in mothers' meetings, Bible classes,
+industrial kitchens, dormitories, refuges, and in visiting with the
+Bible women. In every department of that varied work she was most
+helpful to Mrs. Ranyard, even taking the whole charge of the mission for
+two months while the latter was absent in Switzerland. She found her
+knowledge of German very useful, and turned it to the best account on
+several occasions when she met with German immigrants.
+
+In the narrow courts and lanes of London, unthought of and unheeded by
+the busy throng, she found many of the Lord's jewels who, though poor in
+this world's goods and sick in body, were yet rich in faith and strong
+in soul. One of these, a woman who for thirty-two years had been a
+terrible sufferer, would whisper, "Blessed Jesus, in everything
+suitable. Just the Saviour suitable for me." Another, whom she several
+times mentions in her letters, and to whom she delighted to minister as
+a nurse, a poor cripple who had only the use of her thumb, and who from
+lying eighteen years in one position had terrible bed-sores, could yet
+say, "I am ashamed to talk of my suffering when I think of all Jesus
+suffered for me."
+
+[Illustration:]
+
+Her happy work in London was brought to a premature conclusion by a
+telegram announcing that her sister was ill of fever in Rome, followed
+by another begging her to go to her at once. A journey thither was not
+such an easy one then as it is now, but, after arranging all her work so
+as to give Mrs. Ranyard as little trouble as possible, Agnes bravely
+undertook it. A heavy storm was encountered at Marseilles, where she
+embarked for Italy, and this delayed her arrival in Rome, so that on
+reaching there she found her sister out of danger. A cousin, however,
+who had formed one of the party, had fallen ill of the same fever, and
+needed careful nursing, so that she found her hands full, and, as the
+recovery of both invalids was slow, she determined to give up her London
+work, and devote herself to them.
+
+Some months were spent in Italy; but her strength, which had been
+greatly tried by the work in London, again becoming enervated, and her
+nursing duties being at an end, she proposed that she should go to
+Switzerland and visit the deaconesses' institutions there. This plan she
+carried out, and visited several of the Swiss institutions, which she
+considered compared unfavourably with Kaiserswerth, both in organisation
+and spiritual tone. She visited besides some of those in Germany, and at
+Mannedorf had the joy of spending several days with that wonderful woman
+of faith, Dorothea Trudel.
+
+All her experience had now gone to prove that her special gift was
+hospital work, and on rejoining her mother she definitely laid before
+her her wish to devote herself to the work of nursing, and with her
+consent entered into a correspondence with Miss Nightingale with the
+idea of entering St. Thomas's Hospital as a Nightingale probationer.
+
+It is very clear that all through her life she was satisfied to be doing
+the "next thing," whatever that next thing should be which was pointed
+out to her by the guiding of God's Holy Spirit. She never ran counter to
+her mother's wishes, knowing that no blessing could be expected when the
+command, "Honour thy father and thy mother," was not observed; but when
+home no longer needed her, she was glad to enter the larger field to
+which God had opened the way.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+HOSPITAL WARDS.
+
+It has been said that "every woman is by nature more or less a nurse,"
+but like most sayings it is by no means always true. Many who possess
+the gentleness and sympathy which are so necessary in nursing the sick,
+yet lack the ready nerve, deftness, and promptitude. Who has not beheld
+the sad spectacle of women anxious to help, yet helpless because of
+their ignorance and want of training? That will be a happy day when a
+course of training in nursing, though it be but a short one, is
+considered a necessary part of every woman's education. Miss Nightingale
+truly says, "There is no such thing as amateur nursing ... Three-fourths
+of the whole mischief in women's lives arises from their excepting
+themselves from the rule of training considered needful for man."
+
+Agnes Jones was a "born nurse;" but although she had had many
+opportunities both at Fahan and at Kaiserswerth of developing her
+talent, she would not attempt to teach others what she had not
+thoroughly grasped herself. The post in Liverpool, of Superintendent of
+the Training School of Nurses for the Poor, was still open to her and,
+in spite of her fear that she lacked the capacity to govern, had many
+attractions for her, and so she said, "I determined at least to try, to
+come to St. Thomas's Hospital, and to see whether in so great a work as
+that of training true-hearted, God-fearing nurses, there were not some
+niche for me. If every one shrinks back because incompetent, who will
+ever do anything? 'Lord, here am I, send me.'"
+
+Let no one think that the resolve cost her nothing. As a matter of fact
+it meant giving up a great deal, but to follow in the steps of Him who
+freely gave up all for us, she cheerfully surrendered her lovely Irish
+home for the dreary walls of a London hospital, where her companions
+were, as a rule, neither Christians in the true sense of the word, nor
+her equals in society. Yet who that knows the Lord Jesus as "a living
+bright reality" can talk of sacrifice? To know the need of the Lord's
+poor was sufficient for her, and she counted nothing too much to give up
+joyfully for Him and His. Nor was this choice, which she felt to be a
+life-choice, a thought but of yesterday. Not long after she went to
+Kaiserswerth she had, as she herself writes, "much watching of a poor
+dying man; sitting alone by him in that little room, day after day, it
+went to my heart to hear some of his requests refused, and to see the
+food given him, so unfitted to his state. And I sat there and thought,
+'If these be the trials of the sick in an institution conducted on
+Christian principles, oh, how must it be in those institutions in our
+own land, where no true charity is in the hearts of most of the heads or
+hands that work them!' and I then and there dedicated myself to do what
+I could for Ireland, in its workhouses, infirmaries, and hospitals." She
+felt too, that although she could do good service for her Lord in
+ordinary Christian work, she could do still better if, possessing as she
+did a God-given talent for nursing, she could, like her Master, both
+speak a "word in season" and minister to the needs of the body.
+
+So St. Thomas's was entered, entered with the hope and prayer that both
+amongst nurses and patients God would use her. And use her He did, as He
+does all who cry, "Lord, what wilt Thou have me do?" and then watch for
+the opportunity to do it. It was not long before she sought and gained
+permission to establish a Bible class for the other Nightingale nurses,
+which proved a great blessing to several of them. In her ward, too, she
+was often able to speak a word for Christ to the patients.
+
+She was very happy in her busy life, writing, "I am so growingly happy
+in it, and so fond of nay work." Of its importance she became more and
+more convinced, and in a letter written from Barnet, where she was
+spending a few happy days with her friends, Mr. and Mrs. Pennefather,
+she says:--"_My work_, I more and more feel it, for the worst things
+only make me realise how Christian and really good nurses are needed."
+
+But it was to Ireland that her thoughts ever turned, and it was of work
+in Ireland that she was thinking even while training in London For by
+this very training she hoped to be the better fitted for work in her own
+beloved country. "Ireland is ever my bourn," she wrote. And again:--"My
+heart is ever in Ireland, where I hope ultimately to work."
+
+After a year at St. Thomas's, and a short visit home, she returned to
+London to take the superintendence of a small hospital in connection
+with the Deaconesses' Institution in Burton Crescent. Here she had all
+the nursing to do, as there were but few patients, and she had great joy
+in ministering to them. "I trust," she writes in a letter to her aunt,
+"I am gaining a quiet influence with my patients; they are my great
+pleasure." And again: "I am very happy here among my patients, and often
+feel God has sent me here; I have two revival patients; one had found
+peace before she came, the other is seeking it, and to both I can talk.
+Then I have a poor woman with cancer, who likes me to speak of Jesus,
+whom I believe she truly loves; so you see I am not without work."
+
+A short time at this hospital, and a few months as superintendent at the
+Great Northern Hospital, ended her work in London. The work at the
+latter tried her much both in body and mind, for not only did the whole
+responsibility of it rest upon her shoulders, but owing to the
+inexperience of her assistants, most of the nursing devolved on her as
+well. One patient who was critically ill she was obliged for six weeks
+to nurse entirely both by night and day. Nervous debility was the
+natural consequence of such overwork, and a deafness from which she had
+suffered at Kaiserswerth so much increased that the doctor ordered her
+to rest. That was not immediately possible, as there was no one to take
+her place, and when at last a successor had been found, and she was able
+to return home, she was so weary both in body and mind that she failed
+to find her usual delight in the loveliness of Fahan. A few weeks' stay,
+however, in the bracing air near the Giant's Causeway restored her to
+her wonted health.
+
+The winter was passed at her home, resting quietly in preparation for
+the work in Liverpool, of which the offer has been already mentioned. In
+the spring of 1865 she left for ever the old familiar spot with its
+beautiful hills and glens, and its cottages, to many of whose inmates
+she had been the means of bringing comfort and peace; Liverpool, with
+its needy poor and its many difficult problems, claiming her for the
+last three years of her life.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+AMONGST THE PAUPERS.
+
+In the year 1698, William III. stated in a speech that:--"Workhouses,
+under a prudent and good management, will answer all the ends of charity
+to the poor, in regard to their souls and bodies; they may be made,
+properly speaking, nurseries for religion, virtue, and industry." But
+could the good king who anticipated so many advantages from workhouses
+have only seen our poor law institutions a hundred and fifty or sixty
+years later, he would have been pained to learn how far they had fallen
+short of his sanguine expectations. The sick and helpless were entrusted
+to the care of women who, being paupers themselves, and of a low class,
+and being for the most part in the workhouse through loss of character,
+were found to be almost incapable of training. Rough they were, and in
+many cases brutal as well, while their roughness and brutality were
+intensified by the free use of intoxicants. Their language was terrible,
+and not only did they quarrel constantly amongst themselves, but fights
+were of frequent occurrence.
+
+To endure such treatment and to witness such scenes was the daily lot of
+a sick pauper, who knew also that when dead he would have little better
+than the burial of a dog, since it was the common custom in many
+workhouses to bury corpses naked, with no covering but a few shavings
+thrown over the body. Little wonder was it that the poor, when overtaken
+by age or disease, shrank from the thought of entering a place which to
+them seemed worse than a prison, choosing rather to die without
+attention than to be treated in such a barbarous manner.
+
+It seems strange that it was so long after a great reformation had been
+wrought in the management of our prisons that any one was found to lift
+up a voice in behalf of the much enduring inmates of our workhouses.
+There seemed to be no one who could spare a thought for the thousands of
+sick and poor in these institutions. But it was the old story of "out of
+sight, out of mind," for if only the evil had been apparent our English
+nation with its love of justice would have seen it righted long before.
+Workhouses were to be found all over the land, yet the public seemed not
+at all curious, much less interested, in the question whether they were
+properly managed or not. The guardians were often ignorant men, and were
+very slow to admit visitors, perhaps from a foreshadowing suspicion of
+the exposure which was in store for them, and the consequent necessity
+and expense of change, so that we need not wonder that the opposition
+which was called forth when first the evils of the workhouse system were
+exposed was tremendous, and that the task of awakening real interest
+seemed well nigh hopeless.
+
+In the Liverpool Workhouse the state of things was no worse than in many
+others, and in many respects it was not so bad. There was a good
+committee, and therefore there was nothing like the wholesale starvation
+and cruelty which existed in too many other workhouses There was also
+some measure of thoughtful care for the sick ones, for Agnes Jones in a
+letter written after her first visit, says:--"There seemed care for the
+patients too; a few plants and flowers, _Illustrated News_ pictures on
+the walls, and a 'silent comforter' in each ward, not the utterly
+desolate look one often meets in such places." Still, there were no
+trained nurses, and it was impossible for any committee, however
+zealous, to counteract all the evils of pauper nursing. The need for
+reform was great, and happily for Liverpool and for the country at
+large, there were not only eyes to see the need, but a mind which had
+grasped the only solution of the difficulty, and a large and sympathetic
+heart which prompted the hand to open wide the purse to accomplish it,
+for Mr. William Rathbone, ever foremost in all schemes for ameliorating
+the condition of the poor and needy, had long been alive to the
+necessity of substituting for pauper nurses trained paid ones. He it was
+who not only suggested the change, but offered himself to bear the whole
+expense of the scheme for three years, feeling assured that by that time
+the guardians would be so convinced of its practical good that they
+would adopt it permanently.
+
+Having obtained the committee's consent to the trial of his plan, Mr.
+Rathbone offered the post of lady superintendent to Agnes Jones, then at
+the Great Northern Hospital in London. After consultation with Miss
+Nightingale and Mrs. Wardroper, the Lady Superintendent of St. Thomas's
+Hospital, and receiving their approval and also the promise of twelve
+Nightingale nurses from St. Thomas's for her staff, she accepted it.
+Still there was a delay of some months, which was partly due to the
+nurses' need of further training, and partly to the imperative necessity
+that she should have entire rest in order to recruit the strength which
+had been so sorely overtaxed at the Great Northern Hospital. She did not
+therefore enter on her duties until March 31, 1865. Even then she began
+her new and untried work in much trembling and with great distrust of
+herself, though her trust in her Saviour never failed. "It often seems
+strange," she wrote, "that I, who have so little self-reliance, and
+would like every step directed, am obliged to take such an independent
+position; and yet I have been so led that I could not help it, and I
+only trust I may be more and more led to look to the guidance of the
+ever-present and all-wise Heavenly Friend."
+
+After her arrival she was still obliged to wait some weeks for the
+advent of her staff, consisting of twelve Nightingale nurses and four
+probationers. But although she was not yet in possession of the reins of
+government, and so was debarred from doing anything in the way of
+nursing, she was yet allowed free access to the wards, being only
+prohibited to speak on religion to the Roman Catholic patients. So the
+intervening time was not lost, for she found many opportunities of
+bringing cheer and comfort to sad and weary hearts and of pointing lost
+ones to the sinner's Saviour. Agnes Jones was not one of those who
+are always
+
+     "Seeking for some great thing to do,"
+
+and ignoring the many small opportunities of service which lie ready to
+hand. She was quite content, since the larger field was not yet open to
+her, to occupy a smaller one. In a letter to her aunt she wrote very
+characteristically:--"I am trying and succeeding more and more in fixing
+my eyes on all the little things we shall be able to do. I believe in
+this is our safety, doing the daily _littles_ as opportunity is given,
+and leaving the issue with God. It is the _individual_ influence we
+shall have, the individual relief and the individual help for mind and
+body, that will be ours. If it is His will, He can make others see the
+many littles as one great whole, or they may see nothing done, while we
+have the comfort of the littles we know have been done."
+
+The nurses and probationers arrived in the middle of May, and then work
+began in good earnest. The post of lady superintendent was by no means a
+sinecure. At 5.30 every morning she might have been seen unlocking the
+doors for the kitchen-women. She was often round the wards at 6.0, and
+all through the busy day until 11.0 at night she was kept fully
+employed, giving out stores, superintending her nurses, presiding at
+meals, and visiting patients, besides all the hundred-and-one duties and
+calls which fall to one in the like position. Her unselfishness was as
+conspicuous as ever, and she never thought of sparing herself in any
+way, her joy being to make the lives of others bright and happy.
+
+The patients were quick to discover the benefits of the new _régime_.
+Instead of the old system of roughness and neglect, they found now a
+very different order of things, as nurses, perfectly trained, with soft
+voice and gentle footfall, passed from bed to bed, ministering to the
+sick and dying. Interesting and helpful books for those who were well
+enough to read found their way into the wards. Flowers--for Agnes
+Jones, who loved intensely all God's works in Nature, had great faith in
+the ministry of flowers--were there to give brightness in the midst of
+depressing surroundings. Visits from friends were rendered more easy.
+Christmas was made happy with special festivities. Indeed, she seemed
+always to be planning something to cheer the sick under her care. She
+very soon began Sunday evening Bible readings in the wards where there
+were only Protestant patients. Many crowded in, even Romanists, whom she
+was not allowed to invite, and listened with rapt attention, the
+late-comers slipping off their shoes, lest they should disturb her.
+After nearly two years' work, she commenced daily evening Bible
+readings, having an attendance of from twenty to thirty, while on the
+Sunday evening there were often more than a hundred.
+
+It was no wonder that such devotion met with a ready response from the
+sad and friendless, and that her loving sympathy evoked love from the
+seemingly unloving.
+
+Let us follow her as she passes through the wards. A thorough lady,
+quiet and self-possessed, she commands respect from even the roughest,
+and all look up with eager expectancy, hoping for just one word from
+her. Here is an old man, whose brightening face shows how welcome are
+her visits. As she stops we hear him murmur, "I never had a friend in
+all my life till I came here. You are my only friend." Another, who is
+drawing very near to the gates of death, taking her hand in his,
+says:--"I want to take leave of you--I never told you before, but do you
+remember speaking of the 'Gift of God is eternal life through Jesus
+Christ our Lord?' I got that gift then." And when she has gone, a poor
+man may be heard saying to the nurse:--"The lady can never know what she
+has done for me ... I think I am in heaven when she comes."
+
+Her nurses were thoroughly one with her. How could they be otherwise
+when she was so thoughtful and considerate for them? Before introducing
+them to their wards, she commended them to God in prayer, asking His
+blessing on them and their work. She had a Bible reading for them, but,
+not content with speaking to them collectively, she would frequently
+talk to them individually of the Saviour she so loved. Although she
+never passed over their faults, they were sure of her ready sympathy in
+their troubles, and as they poured them into her ear she would say,
+"Have you told Jesus so?"
+
+The success of the work was an astonishment to all. The patients could
+at first scarcely understand why the nurses did not swear at them like
+their former ones. The police wondered as they saw women able to deal
+with those whom they had found utterly untameable; while the committee
+were so pleased with the success of the experiment, that, a year before
+the specified time, they decided permanently to adopt the system of
+trained nurses.
+
+But such work was not without its trials. During the first year there
+was great difficulty with the ex-pauper women who were being trained,
+many who seemed to be doing well returning to their drunken habits.
+Dirt, disorder, insubordination, and grumbling had to be contended with.
+The vilest sins were practised even by children, and so shameful was the
+conduct of many of the inmates that Agnes Jones said, "I can only
+compare it to Sodom, and wonder how God stays His hand from smiting."
+
+The isolation from home and friends was a trial in itself, while her
+anxiety about her work was so great that she scarcely allowed herself a
+holiday. A further trouble was that from morning till night she was
+never alone. It is small cause for wonder that with such a terrible
+strain, overtaxed nerves and strength should result in depression, a
+fact only revealed by her journals, for to others she was ever bright,
+and it was often said of her, "She is like a sunbeam."
+
+A life lived at high pressure cannot long continue without failing
+partly or altogether, and the end came at last. In the beginning of 1868
+there was much fever and sickness of various kinds, there being three
+hundred patients above the normal number, while the nursing staff was
+reduced by illness. A nurse, who had been ill with bronchitis, developed
+symptoms of typhus, and Agnes Jones, fearing that her life might be
+sacrified, were she removed to the fever wards, gave up her bedroom to
+her, sleeping herself on the floor of her sitting-room. She was soon
+attacked by the same disease. For a week she progressed very favourably.
+Then dangerous symptoms showed themselves, and finally inflammation of
+both lungs.
+
+Many were the touching inquiries from the patients of "How is the lady?"
+Nurses and friends watched anxiously the terrible progress of the
+disease. Much prayer was made, but the Lord had need of His servant, who
+had been so faithful to the trust committed to her here, for a more
+perfect service; and at the age of thirty-five she passed away
+peacefully into the brightness of His presence in the early morning of
+February 19, 1868, the beginning to her of a glorious day which should
+know no twilight gloom.
+
+On the following Friday, when the coffin was carried into the hall, and
+placed in its case ready for removal across the Irish Channel, the
+landing and stairs were filled with patients who had crept there from
+the wards to see the last of one who had brought so much happiness into
+their wretched lives. And when she was carried to her last resting-place
+in the picturesque churchyard of Fahan, within sound of the rippling
+waters of Lough Swilly, she was followed, as was fitting, by nearly the
+whole population, many of whom could thank God for blessing which she
+had been the means of bringing to them.
+
+Until the resurrection morning she might be hidden from the eyes of
+those who loved her; but none who knew her could ever forget her. Hear
+the testimony of one of the workhouse officials to the writer, more than
+twenty-five years after, when the question, "Do you remember Miss
+Jones?" was asked. "Remember her? I should think I do. I could never
+forget her. She used to have a Bible class on Sunday afternoons and on a
+week-day evening in that little vestry belonging to the church. She
+began it for the nurses, but there were only about fifteen of them then,
+and so she used to let us officers go as well if we liked. I used to
+love it, for it was beautiful to see her sitting there so homely and
+nice, and then she used to pray with us and expound the Scriptures. Oh,
+it was a real help, I can tell you! But it was a wonder to me how she
+lived those last few weeks of her life. You see the cholera broke out,
+and there was a lot of fever besides, typhus and different sorts, and
+she could never rest for looking after and caring for them all. Why,
+I've seen her in those wards there myself between two and three o'clock
+in the morning. Ah! she was a Christian, she was. Saint was the word for
+her, for if ever there was a saint upon this earth, it was Miss Jones.
+She seemed to me to live in heaven, and heaven was in her and about her
+and all around her."
+
+     "Only a tender love,
+        Stilling the restless moan,
+      Soothing the sufferer,
+        Cheering the lone.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+      Only a woman's heart;
+        Yet she forgot her care,
+      Finding on every side
+        Burdens to bear.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+      Humbly she walked with God,
+        Listening to catch His voice,
+      And 'twas His work for her,
+        Not her own choice.
+
+      And when that work was done,
+        Life's quiet evening come,
+      What then awaited her?
+        Only a tomb?
+
+      Nay, but a mansion fair
+        Near to the great white throne,
+      And the dear Master's word
+        Saying, 'Well done.'"
+
+      ELLEN L. COURTENAY.
+
+
+
+
+ELIZABETH, DUCHESS OF GORDON.
+
+I.
+
+EARLY DAYS.
+
+Just a hundred years ago there was born one who in a marked degree
+endeavoured to do her duty in that state of life to which it had pleased
+God to call her. That state of life was a very exalted one, with many
+opportunities of doing good. The Duchess of Gordon had many talents
+given to her for improvement, and she was not unmindful of the
+stewardship with which she was entrusted. Her rank and wealth were held
+as trusts for her Master's use.
+
+Dr. Moody Stuart tells us in his interesting and graphic memoir of the
+last Duchess of Gordon[1], from which the following incidents are taken
+(by kind permission of both author and publishers), that Elizabeth
+Brodie was born in London on the 20th of June, 1794. Her father was
+Alexander Brodie, a younger son of Brodie of that ilk. Amongst her
+ancestors there were many remarkable men, some remembered for their
+faithful service of their heavenly as well as of their earthly King. The
+memory of one has passed down to posterity in the phrase "the Good Lord
+Brodie." His diaries reveal a life lived in great humility and special
+nearness to his Lord. Those around him found in him not only a
+benevolent neighbour but also a faithful instructor in the highest
+learning. His delight was to visit the sick, and to declare the love of
+Christ whenever he had the opportunity. He longed for his children to be
+great in grace, rather than in worldly distinction. His wish for them is
+expressed in the words he left on record, that he would not be detained
+"one hour from glory, to see those come of him in chief honour and place
+in the world."
+
+[Footnote 1: _Life and Letters of Elizabeth, last Duchess of Gordon_, by
+Rev. A. Moody Stuart, D.D. Messrs. J. Nisbet & Co., London.]
+
+The mother of Elizabeth Brodie was a member of the family of Wemyss, a
+granddaughter of the Earl of Wemyss. Her father had acquired a large
+fortune in India, and returned home to the large estates in
+Kincardineshire which he had purchased. The little girl had soon to
+experience the greatest loss that can befall a child. When she was only
+six years old her mother died, leaving her alone with her father. The
+next two years were spent with maiden aunts at Elgin, where she enjoyed
+a liberty which was bracing to both mind and body. School life began
+early. When she was only eight years old, she was sent to a boarding
+school in London, one special object being to eradicate the broad Scotch
+from her lip and thought. At school she became a great favourite with
+both teacher and companions, already exercising that power of winning
+attachment which was a feature all through her life. At the same time
+she is described as having "a very independent spirit." In matters
+indifferent she was ever yielding in her disposition; but it was
+impossible to move her from any principle she had deliberately adopted.
+Courage was another characteristic that early manifested itself. Her
+groom, who had served her forty years, delighted to recall instances of
+her fearlessness. On one occasion, when her party were crossing the Spey
+in a pony-chaise in a boat, the bridge having been carried down by the
+floods, her companion asked, "Isn't this dangerous, duchess?" "I never
+see danger," was the quiet reply.
+
+When she was about sixteen Miss Brodie left school. The winters were now
+spent in Bath, the summers in Scotland. She had launched into the
+society of the world, and to a great extent she did as they did. One
+reproof she received made a lasting impression. It was from the lips of
+a little child who was exceedingly fond of her. Miss Brodie had joined
+others in playing cards on the Sabbath. The next day, contrary to all
+custom, the child kept away from her, and when asked to sit on her knee,
+gave a flat refusal, adding the reason, "No, you are bad; you play cards
+on Sunday." Her answer and resolution were ready: "I was wrong, I will
+not do it again." And those who heard her and knew her character were
+quite sure she would not do it again.
+
+
+
+
+II.
+
+MARCHIONESS OF HUNTLY.
+
+Elizabeth Brodie was still very young when she entered upon the duties
+and trials of married life. Between the house of Brodie and the house of
+Gordon there had been a standing feud. About the middle of the
+seventeenth century the youthful and impetuous Lord Lewis Gordon had
+made a raid upon the property of the Laird of Brodie. He burned to the
+ground the mansion and all that was connected with it, the family
+escaping to the house of a cousin. This Lewis Gordon became third
+Marquis of Huntly, and was the ancestor of one who made a better
+conquest, the gallant Marquis of Huntly, who sought and won the hand of
+Miss Brodie. They were married at Bath on the 11th of December, 1813.
+The union thus formed was never afterwards regretted. When, fifteen
+years later, he experienced great losses of property, his sorrow found
+expression in these words, "All things are against me: I've been
+unfortunate in everything, except a good wife." What that wife did for
+him in spiritual as well as temporal comfort, the sequel will show.
+
+The Marquis of Huntly was a thorough man of the world at the time of his
+marriage. And for a time his wife joined him in the fashionable circle
+in which he found his chief pleasure. Both in London and in Geneva,
+where they spent the greater part of the first portion of their married
+life, she became very popular. But she soon realised that true joys were
+not to be found in the mere attractions of society. For some years her
+life cannot be described otherwise than as unprofitable. One instrument
+used by God for her awakening was a Highland servant. This girl was
+grieved to see that the interest of her mistress was absorbed by the
+things of time, which left no room for the contemplation of the things
+of eternity. She ventured to make a wise and well-weighed remark. It was
+a word fitly spoken, and did not fail in its purpose. The young lady's
+eyes were further opened by what she saw of the sins of the worldly
+circle in which she moved. She began to realise the sentiment of her
+ancestor, the good Lord Brodie:--"God can make use of poison to expel
+poison: in London I saw much vanity, lightness, and wantonness." His
+aspiration was also soon echoed from her own heart--"Oh, that the seeing
+of it in others may cure and mortify the seeds of it in myself!" She
+could not help observing the shameless vice that passed unrebuked, by
+many hardly noticed. The observation gave a shock to her sensitive soul.
+Her distress was great, and in her distress she turned to the right
+quarter. She sought solace in the Bible. That hitherto neglected Book
+enchained her attention, and she became a most diligent searcher into
+its hidden truths. Some of the gay friends of the society in which she
+moved found her occupied in this Bible reading. It supplied them with a
+new amusement, telling how the attractive marchioness had become a
+"Methodist." Hers was not the nature to be turned aside from its purpose
+by a taunt. "If for so little I am to be called a Methodist, let me have
+something more worthy of the name." Such was her reflection, and her
+Bible reading was continued with renewed earnestness.
+
+In the course of that reading the work of the Holy Spirit was impressed
+upon her attention. The promise met her eyes, "If ye, being evil, know
+how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your
+Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?" "From that
+time," she records, "I began to pray for the Holy Spirit." To the end of
+her life she increasingly realised and brought others to realise the
+paramount importance of the personal work of the Holy Spirit. Lady
+Huntly could not now join in the pursuits of the world as she had
+formerly done. Her husband did not fully sympathise with the change in
+her views, but he saw enough of the sinful emptiness of mere gaiety to
+make him refrain from insisting upon her taking part in its pursuits.
+More than this, he gave every facility to her for carrying out her
+wishes, even when he could not understand the spirit which was
+their motive.
+
+When in Geneva, after her Bible reading had begun, she found a very
+helpful friend in Madame Vernet. "If any one is to be called my
+spiritual mother," she said, "it is Madame Vernet of Geneva." That good
+Christian unfolded to her plainly the plan of salvation, showing her
+first her lost condition, and then the way of redemption by Jesus
+Christ. Lady Huntly was also helped by her intercourse in Paris with
+Lady Olivia Sparrow and others who frequented her house for the sake of
+the religious society.
+
+On her return from Paris the winter was passed at Kimbolton Castle, the
+seat of her brother-in-law, the Duke of Manchester. That place was
+memorable in her spiritual history. "I knew Christ first," she
+afterwards said, "if I really know Him, at Kimbolton; I spent hours
+there in my dressing-room in prayer, and in reading the Bible, and in
+happy communion with Him." Lady Huntly referred to this period of her
+spiritual life in these terms, some one having made the remark that deep
+conviction of sin is almost invariably the beginning of the work of God
+in the soul: "I did not quite agree with that statement, and do not
+think it is by any means always the case. In my own case I believe that
+for two years I was a saved sinner, a believer in Jesus Christ, and yet
+that during all that time I did not see the exceeding sinfuluess of sin.
+I believed in a general way that I was a sinner, who deserved the
+punishment of a righteous God; I believed that whosoever came to Jesus
+Christ should he saved; but I had no deep sense of sin, of my sin. Since
+then I believe that I have passed through almost every phase of
+Christian experience that I have ever read or heard of; and now I have
+such a sight of my own utter vileness and unworthiness, that I feel that
+the great and holy God might well set His heel on me, so to speak, and
+crush me into nothing." This sense of absolute unworthiness was always a
+feature of her life. "A useless log" was the term she applied
+to herself.
+
+One means of profit which Lady Huntly much enjoyed was her intercourse
+with a friend of bygone days, Miss Helen Home. They were now both
+walking in the same way. The Bible readings at the house of Miss Home
+were felt to be of great service.
+
+Lady Huntly soon introduced family prayer in her home. She felt that if
+God was to be heartily served, His altar must be set up in the house. At
+first she gathered together her servants and any lady visitors in the
+house. But later, as we shall see, the whole establishment took part.
+
+
+
+
+III.
+
+DUCHESS OF GORDON.
+
+The old Duke of Gordon, Lord Huntly's father, died in the summer of
+1827. The subject of this biography became Duchess of Gordon, a title
+which involved increased responsibilities and increased anxieties.
+Happily she realised her position, and determined, by the help of God,
+to show more clearly that, in whatever rank of life she was, she was
+striving to be a faithful servant of her Heavenly Master. She felt that
+she must confess Christ more boldly, that she must be more decided for
+Him, however much this profession might appear singular in her
+recently-acquired rank.
+
+A short time before leaving Huntly for Gordon Castle, she explored the
+old Huntly Castle with a party of friends. The duchess was at the time
+greatly bowed down by a sense of the responsibility of her changed life.
+There were certain inscriptions round the ceiling of a great hall in the
+old castle. No one could make them out. But whilst the duchess was
+standing alone in deep thought, her companions having gone off to
+examine other curiosities, the sun burst out from a cloud through one of
+the broken window mullions and shone brightly on the opposite wall, and
+in the light of his rays she read:--
+
+     TO. THAES. THAT. LOVE. GOD. AL. THINGIS. VIRKIS. TO THE. BEST.
+
+"It was," she used to say, "a message from the Lord to my soul, and came
+to me with such power that I went on my way rejoicing." Ever after this
+text was a favourite one. She always looked upon it as peculiarly her
+own. Very practical was her reading of God's Word. She, indeed, expected
+to find in it a word from Him. Just at the time of her setting out for
+her new home she read as usual her daily portion in Bogatsky's _Golden
+Treasury_. Through two leaves of the book being stuck together, she had
+missed the portion appointed for the day before. But now it presented
+itself to her eye--and no less surely to her heart: "Have not I
+commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither
+be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou
+goest." Her comment was, "That was another message from the Lord, that
+put strength into me."
+
+Many years afterwards she wrote: "It was this day sixteen years that the
+text in Bogatsky was given to me from Joshua 1. 9, and truly I have
+found the goodness of the Lord with me, and everything temporal that I
+committed to Him He has indeed kept. It is really most wonderful when I
+see trials and trouble all around me, to see how everything I prayed for
+regarding my own home has been accomplished; and shall I not trust Him
+for my soul, and for all that guidance I so greatly need in all that He
+would have me to do? Surely He will guide me in spiritual as well as in
+temporal things; and the more I cease from man, and from any child of
+man, the more I shall be enabled to live simply to His glory." Another
+sixteen years passed. The duchess was within a few days of her death.
+She heard that a young man was in anxiety about his preparation for the
+ministry. "He looks to difficulties; give him for a New Year's message
+from me, Joshua 1. 9: 'Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a
+good courage; neither be thou dismayed.' These words were given to me
+after Duke Alexander's death, and from that day onward they have been a
+help to me."
+
+
+
+
+IV.
+
+GOOD WORKS AT GORDON CASTLE.
+
+The duchess did not write a regular diary. But for one week in the first
+year of her residence at Gordon Castle such a record was kept. Extracts
+from it may serve to give some insight into her thoughts and life. The
+reader will be struck with the marked self-humiliation which was so
+characteristic of this child of God. "I desired to have resolution to
+commence and continue a journal, that I might obtain a clearer view of
+my own heart, which I know, alas! to be deceitful above all things and
+desperately wicked. Well may I say with Job, 'I abhor myself and repent
+in dust and ashes.'" "A day lost though well begun; more peace, more
+clear belief, but, alas! not less indifference, not less hardness of
+heart; great idleness; after breakfast little or nothing done. O Lord,
+deliver me from pride and vanity, and make me a humble and devoted
+follower of the meek and lowly Jesus. He indeed is our peace." "Another
+unprofitable day; but when, alas! is any day otherwise with me?" "Sins
+of the week: unbelief proceeding from pride of reason, selfishness,
+carelessness, hardness of heart, vanity, evil speaking." These extracts
+are sufficient to show that there was a very severe introspection--a
+very real shrinking from sin, and sense of unworthiness. Some of the
+faults she lamented seemed to others remarkably absent in the duchess
+Evil speaking, for example, was about the last thing she could be
+accused of. There was no one more careful of the character of those with
+whom she had to do.
+
+This short diary also shows her busily occupied in attending to members
+of her household, ministering to one maid, who was sick, instructing
+another in the _Shorter Catechism_. Happy was the household that had
+such a mistress at its head!
+
+In 1830 William IV. came to the throne. The Duchess of Gordon was
+selected by Queen Adelaide as Mistress of the Robes at the Coronation.
+The Queen bestowed upon her many marks of favour and friendship. But the
+promotion to the highest honours of the Court was not allowed to
+militate against her soul's welfare. The service of the King of kings
+was always put first.
+
+It is needless to say that the duchess was always a regular attendant at
+God's house. For thirty years she made a practice of taking copious
+notes of the sermons. The notes were copied out carefully during the
+week. This note-taking--sometimes a slight embarrassment to the
+preacher--was a great help to the hearer. As at least two sermons a week
+were thus noted, there must have been a great mass of manuscript before
+the thirty years were expired. Amongst those whose sermons she much
+enjoyed were Mr. Howels of Long Acre, Mr. Harington Evans, and Mr.
+Blunt, of Chelsea.
+
+Good works were promoted by the duke and duchess at the cost of much
+self-denial. The duke's predecessor had left the estates heavily
+burdened. The consequence was that they were put under trust, only a
+limited income being allowed to the duke. This made contributions to
+charitable objects less ample than they would otherwise have been. But
+generous help was bestowed that cost the givers something to give. The
+duchess set her heart on building and endowing a chapel in connection
+with the Church of England. To render this possible the duke proposed to
+sell some of his horses. For the same purpose the duchess left a golden
+vase valued at £1200 to be sold. To quote her own words to explain what
+resulted from this charitable idea: "The Duchess of Beaufort, hearing of
+my vase, thought of her diamond ear-rings, which she got me to dispose
+of for a chapel in Wales, and her diamonds made me think of my jewels;
+and as the duke had always been most anxious for the chapel, he agreed
+with me that stones were much prettier in a chapel wall than round one's
+neck, and so he allowed me to sell £600's worth, or rather what brought
+that, for they cost more than double. The chapel is going on nicely, and
+I have still enough jewels left to help to endow it, if no other way
+should open. I do think I may with confidence hope for a blessing on
+this. It is no sacrifice to me whatever, except as it is one to the
+duke, who is very fond of seeing me fine, and was brought up to think
+it right."
+
+The strict observance of family prayer has already been referred to. A
+room had been fitted up in the castle as a little chapel. The duke was
+always present, and now, in the absence of the chaplain and the duchess,
+used to conduct the prayers himself. In later years, when the widow
+returned to Huntly Lodge, exactly at half-past nine in the morning and
+evening the household assembled for prayers. Both indoor and outdoor
+servants were first gathered together. The butler then came to the
+duchess, and in words which we are assured were never varied by one
+syllable or accent during the twenty-seven years of her grace's
+widowhood and his own stewardship, announced, "They're all assembled." A
+brief blessing was asked, a psalm or hymn read, the organ led the voice
+of praise, a passage of Scripture was read and frequently explained. A
+prayer followed, in which the duchess wished that the Queen should never
+be forgotten.
+
+Very faithfully the duchess sought to do her duty in bringing the
+interests of religion before those with whom she had to do, especially
+those of her own household. "But you do not know the difficulty I have
+in speaking to any one who does not meet me half way. I think if I could
+see my way clearly, I might get over this painful shyness, which I then
+know would be want of faith. But I cannot see that, situated as I am, it
+is my duty; and moreover, I _fancy_ I have not the talent, and it is not
+one which I have to account for; for I have so often done more harm than
+good, even when I have prayed to be directed; indeed, I trust I have not
+often had to speak without that prayer.... Oh! I do pray for more zeal
+for souls, more true sense of their infinite value; for I think if I
+felt it as I _see_ it, I should do more."
+
+
+
+
+V.
+
+THE HEAVY BLOW.
+
+In the summer of 1835 the duke and duchess made a tour on the Continent.
+Even amidst all the movements and difficulties connected with hotel
+life, family prayers were not neglected. Every morning before starting
+they assembled together to ask God's blessing. The duchess on this tour
+had daily opportunities of reading the Bible with her husband. She was
+very anxious about his soul's welfare. His testimony to his old friend,
+Colonel Tronchin, at Geneva, was very significant. "Tronchin, I am a
+very changed man to what you once knew me, and I owe it all to my dear
+wife." She herself writes with reference to the duke--"He has done and
+said many things since he came here which almost give me hope that the
+Spirit of God is really at work, and that he begins to experience
+something of the blessedness of those who fear the Lord."
+
+The greatest trial in her life was now approaching the duchess. He who
+had been her support and joy for so many years was to be taken from her.
+On the 27th of May, 1836, she was told by the doctors that the duke had
+only a short time to live. The terrible news was of course overwhelming,
+but she knew whither to turn. "I had not realised till then the
+hopelessness of the case. I retired to another room and fell on my
+knees; and as if they had been audibly uttered, these words were
+impressed upon my heart, 'Thy Maker is thy Husband; the Lord of hosts is
+His name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; the God of the whole
+earth shall He be called,' and I rose up to meet the trial in His
+strength." The next day the duke died. Full proof was given of the
+sufficiency of God to support His servants in their darkest hours. Two
+days afterwards she wrote--"I must tell you of the blessed consolation I
+have in thinking of the perfect peace which my beloved husband enjoyed
+uninterruptedly, and the presence of the Comforter from the Father and
+the Son to my own soul. Pray for me. Although I feel indeed in the
+wilderness, yet like her who was led there, I would desire to lean on
+the arm of the Beloved One, who has truly given to me 'the valley of
+Achor for a door of hope,' and who is a very present help in time of
+trouble. The comfort I have is at present almost without alloy. It is
+only when earthly things pull me from my resting-place that I see the
+desolation of all earthly joys; and yet I am not excited, out as the
+Lord has enabled me to stay my mind on Him, He has kept me in perfect
+peace." When the beloved remains were removed into their last
+resting-place in Elgin Cathedral, she dedicated herself afresh to God.
+"When the coffin was lowered into that vault, I felt as if God had
+shoved under my feet all that was most dear to me, the only one on earth
+to whose love I was entitled, and that now I must live to
+Himself alone."
+
+After her husband's death her wish was to return at once to Huntly
+Lodge, where she had spent the first years of her married life, and
+which was now hers by the marriage settlement. But a lease which the
+tenant was unwilling to resign prevented this for a time. Accordingly
+she made up her mind to travel abroad for some months. During the
+winter of 1836 she lived at Pau. The return home was made the following
+summer. Naturally she dreaded coming back to the now desolate home--the
+same place, but all so changed. But God was good, and the grace
+sufficient for the day was given. "_Huntly Lodge, 31st August_,
+1837.--The Lord has been better to me than all my fears. Wagstaff (the
+duke's factor), accompanied by both Mr. Bigsby (of the English Chapel at
+Gordon Castle) and Mr. Dewar (minister of Fochabers), received me. My
+heart was so full of the Lord's goodness, that there was no room for
+bitterness; and after a few moments alone, I could not rest till we had
+thanked our tender Father; Mr. Bigsby was the organ of our thanksgiving.
+The three gentlemen, Annie (Sinclair), and I joined in prayer then, and
+at night with all the people of house, stable, and farm; this morning
+Mr. Dewar's prayer was very much what I needed. My blessed Lord Jesus is
+very present, and I know I cannot come to my Father without Him. Oh,
+pray that I may be more and more awakened, and never fall asleep again.
+Oh, for the quickening grace of the Holy Spirit to realise continually
+that blessed presence! 4th _Sept_.--My heart is full of thankfulness and
+wonder as to myself. I dreaded above all things the bitterness of
+desolation on my return here; and behold the Lord made His presence so
+manifest that I am now, as in times past, rejoicing in His
+unmerited love."
+
+
+
+
+VI.
+
+WIDOWHOOD AT HUNTLY LODGE.
+
+The arrangements at Huntly Lodge were now, of course, entirely in the
+hands of the widowed duchess. Essentially the motto which was the
+principle of the establishment was, "As for me and my house, we will
+serve the Lord." It was a matter of some doubt with her whether she
+should keep up the style natural to her rank, or let the Lodge and
+retire into a humbler life. After carefully and prayerfully weighing the
+matter, her decision was that "position is stewardship," and that it was
+her duty not to despise the high estate to which God had been pleased to
+call her, but to consecrate it to His service. This determination was a
+wise one. Her light was placed so that many could see its steady and
+bright burning.
+
+The whole house was ruled in strict order, marked quietness and
+simplicity prevailing. We are told that everything throughout the day
+was conducted with the exactness of clockwork. The duchess rose soon
+after six o'clock. The family met at breakfast at nine. Exactly at
+half-past nine, as we have seen, both morning and evening, the house
+assembled for family prayers. After breakfast one of the first
+occupations of the duchess was to visit her old bedridden maid, to
+minister to her in things both temporal and spiritual. At noon she had a
+daily reading of the Bible in her room. The reading was interspersed
+with conversation, and followed by prayer. She seemed to be never tired
+of these spiritual exercises. The later hours of the day were occupied
+with reading and other pursuits until five o'clock, when she would again
+visit her invalid maid. In dealing with the poor the duchess was not
+only generous but discriminating. She spared no trouble in inquiring
+into the eases of distress before her. We are told that the list of two
+hundred persons whose families she regularly relieved had before her
+death increased to three hundred. The post was also often used as the
+means of dispensing her anonymous charity. One reason why she was so
+anxious to have a thoroughly capable chaplain was that he might
+thoroughly examine into the deserts of applicants for help. It was not
+pecuniary assistance only that was sought from the duchess. Her kindly
+counsel was much valued. To quote her own words, "Though I do so need
+advice and wisdom in my own matters, the most extraordinary people think
+proper to consult me about the most extraordinary things, and I cannot
+lose the opportunity of giving the only Christian advice they may be in
+the way of receiving. May the Lord help me; oh, how constantly do I
+need help!"
+
+The Sabbath day was indeed a holy day at Huntly Lodge. Everything that
+could be done the day before was done. No fire was lighted in the
+drawing-room on the Sunday, with, as we are informed, the double object
+of saving unnecessary labour, and "to present no inducement for visitors
+to meet together for idle conversation." The doors of the house were
+locked during the hours of service, one, or at most two, servants
+staying at home. No letters were received or posted on the Sabbath.
+There were no arrivals nor departures of guests on that day. On a
+certain Sunday morning at breakfast the duchess was surprised to hear a
+carriage-and-four brought round to the door. Her immediate "What is
+that?" was answered by the appearance of a young English nobleman who
+had come to bid her good-bye. "Oh no," she said, "not on the Sabbath."
+Affectionately she persuaded him to remain until the next day. Away from
+home, on the Continent and elsewhere, she was careful that the day
+should be strictly observed. So great was her interest in Sabbath
+observance that she wrote a little tract on the subject.
+
+The duchess used to delight in surrounding herself at Huntly Lodge with
+those who were specially set apart for the service of God. The ministers
+from time to time assembled there, first gathering together for prayer
+and conference, and then in a more open meeting, at which the duchess
+and her friends were present, and finally at family worship.
+
+Schools for the poor were munificently founded by the Duchess of Gordon.
+The schools at Huntly, which were commenced in 1839, were finished in
+1843. They consisted of infant schools, schools for older boys and
+girls, and also an industrial school for training fifty girls for
+service. When living in Edinburgh, she built large schools in the
+destitute district of Holyrood. The lady of Huntly was indeed a worthy
+precursor in the great work of general education. One excellent plan of
+religious instruction she adopted in her own household. A weekly class
+was formed of her female domestics, She had prepared a large number of
+questions. To each of the class she gave each week a slip of paper
+containing one question. This was to be answered before the next
+meeting. There was no one in the establishment who could help feeling
+that the mistress took the deepest interest in him or her.
+
+
+
+
+VII.
+
+ANXIETIES AND REST.
+
+The Duchess of Gordon had been brought up an Episcopalian. But when in
+May, 1843, the great Disruption took place, when four-hundred and
+seventy-four ministers of the Church of Scotland took up their cross for
+Christ, resigning their earthly livings for conscience sake, the duchess
+was deeply moved by this heroic act of self-denial, and eventually,
+after much thought and prayer, she joined the Free Church, becoming a
+member of Free St. Luke's Church. She had left the Church of England,
+but she loved and honoured it to the end of her life. "I have not time
+for entering into my reasons for separating from the Church of England,
+but they were purely conscientious; and I believe I could never be a
+blessing to the little body of English Episcopalians, if acting against
+my conscience. They want God's blessing, not man's help; the latter
+without the former is a curse. Put not your trust in any child of man.
+But I am not against those dear friends, and can feel myself more at
+liberty to help them now than before, because I am now acting openly in
+all things. May the Lord Jesus enable you to look to Him, and to feel
+and say with Luther, 'Lord, I am Thy sin, Thou art my righteousness.'"
+
+The first occasion on which the duchess partook of the Communion in
+connection with the Free Church at Huntly was a memorable event. The
+people assembled in large numbers. By the kindness of the Lady of
+Huntly provision was made for the visitors within the precincts of the
+old castle, military tents being erected for the purpose. Her own
+account of the scene may well be given. "_Huntly Lodge, Aug_. 5,
+1847.--Now to tell of a time I hope never to forget. Friday was the fast
+day; Professor M. Laggan preached in the morning, and Mr. Moody Stuart
+in the evening. For Sabbath, Dr. Russell, who arrived on Friday
+afternoon, assisted to arrange a pulpit and two tents in the court of
+the old castle, one for the elements, the other for our party. Oh! it
+was indeed a communion: the Lord was there evidently set forth before
+us, and not only set forth, but present. God the Sovereign and Judge,
+God the Creator, without whom nothing was made that is made, is God the
+Saviour, Immanuel, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
+There seemed truly nothing of man's making between us and the living
+God; a realisation of being God's creatures, God's redeemed children,
+formed for Himself, for His own glory. Mr. Dewar preached the
+action-sermon, after which Mr. M.S. fenced the tables, and addressed us,
+and served the first table. He told me he never so realised the oneness
+of Jehovah in Three Persons. If we had seen the Heavenly Dove
+overshadowing us, and heard the voice saying, 'This is My beloved Son,
+hear ye Him,' we should have been doubtless overwhelmed; but could
+hardly have had a more real sense of the presence of Him who made the
+heavens and the earth, the trees, the grass, and the new creature in
+Christ Jesus. Mr. Dewar served two tables and gave the concluding
+address; and Mr. Moody Stuart again preached in the evening on Isa. 1.
+18: 'Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.'
+Many were much affected, and the place was so beautiful! I hope the
+weather will permit our having the tents pitched again."
+
+
+
+
+VIII.
+
+GOOD WORKS ABROAD.
+
+After the duke's death, his widow paid frequent visits to the Continent.
+Pau was a specially favourite resort. There she found both English and
+French Protestants worshipping in places utterly inadequate for the
+purpose. She generously purchased a site for a church to be used by both
+congregations, the lower storey being fitted up for a French Protestant
+school. She also liberally subscribed towards the erection of the
+church. Her good works at this place were not few. Having heard that a
+man living near had broken his leg, she drove off at once to visit him,
+and repeated her visits weekly. A Bible was given to him, and the result
+was that his first journey on his crutches was to the Protestant service
+at Pau. He was convinced that in the teaching of the Protestants alone
+there was safety. The next day the children were withdrawn from the
+Roman Catholic school. The excitement was great, and no little
+persecution and pecuniary loss ensued to the new converts. The duchess
+began her Protestant school at Pau with eight pupils. She also had Bible
+classes from time to time, one being for Roman Catholic girls. A Sabbath
+evening service was held by the duchess for her French servants.
+
+The story of Manuel Fuster, a Spanish refugee, is an interesting one. He
+had been destined by his parents for the priesthood. But having fallen
+into destitute circumstances, the duchess's butler had shown him
+kindness and given him some work to do for the house. Full of gratitude,
+when her grace passed through the courtyard, he fell down on his knees
+to thank her. She told him that that homage should be paid only to the
+Most High. At this interview and at many others she spoke to him about
+his soul's salvation. A French Bible was given to him before she left.
+On her return to Pau the next year, he was found breaking stones by the
+roadside, a conversation proving that he was quite a changed man. In the
+end he did good Christian service as a colporteur in France.
+
+In 1847 the duchess was advised to winter in the south of Europe.
+Frequent attacks of bronchitis had made this course advisable. She took
+up her residence at Cannes, having prospects of being useful there. And
+her hope of being useful was very substantially realised. "_Cannes,
+Dec_. 1847.--Constant occupation, and many, many new opportunities of
+meeting with the Lord's people, and speaking of the glad tidings of
+great joy, have caused the delay in writing. I now know what fine
+climate is, and the country and views are beautiful; but above all there
+is a field of usefulness that we could not have at Nice, and an open
+door for the Gospel. Altogether, no tongue can tell the goodness of the
+Lord to us. He is letting me get glimpses both of His love and His glory
+in the face of Jesus Christ, such as I have never had before; and all
+this with such peace in outward circumstances! Is it not marvellous? You
+need not be alarmed about my 'exposition' on Saturday; I feel too deeply
+my own incapacity to attempt anything beyond what I should say to an
+infant school at home. The people who come to it are either the families
+of the servants I employ, or of the children taught by Annie Sandilands.
+We live as quietly as possible; Lord Brougham sends me the newspaper and
+bouquets of flowers; other friends lend Caroline their ponies, and do
+all kind things. Some young English girls come here once a week to a
+Bible class, and we have meetings every other evening at the chapel at
+home." The parting from her little flock at Cannes was a painful
+experience. "Our children were first broken-hearted, and after we were
+gone were roaring so that nothing could pacify them but Monsieur Bettets
+taking them all into the drawing-room and praying with them. Those
+chiefly affected were little Italians, and indeed they seem to have much
+warmer feelings."
+
+The course of events in the life of the duchess in Scotland seems to
+have been very even and not very full of startling incidents during the
+last years of her life. Her personal piety was matured, and her works of
+usefulness were multiplied. She much delighted in the ministry of Dr.
+Rainy, who left Huntly in 1853, after a sojourn there of four years. "I
+wish much you had heard our three last sermons from Mr. Rainy; I never
+heard any more useful, striking and impressive. I was particularly
+struck by the way he brought out the necessity of taking up the cross in
+these days, in a real giving up of self, self-love, self-righteousness,
+self-pleasing."
+
+
+
+
+IX.
+
+QUICKENED SPIRITUAL LIFE.
+
+The year 1859 is remembered as a season of remarkable quickening of
+spiritual life in America and Ireland, and later in Scotland. Such a
+movement could not fail to attract the attention of the Duchess of
+Gordon who, living so entirely in the presence of the Spirit, was able
+to realise the workings around her. Huntly Lodge was always ready to
+receive any who were busied with the spread of the good tidings. Mr.
+MacDowall Grant, Mr. Brownlow North, and Mr. Reginald Radcliffe were
+amongst the evangelists who were welcome visitors, as they went about
+their work of love. In January, 1859, and in the following months, there
+were impressive gatherings of ministers who met to bring themselves to
+the attainment of a nearer walk with God, and to strive for the
+awakening of their people. In January, 1860, there was a conference on a
+still larger scale, twenty-four ministers staying at the Lodge, whilst
+others found hospitality elsewhere. There was an unmistakable quickening
+on all sides. It was suggested to the duchess by Mr. Duncan Matheson,
+who had been her missionary in the district for some years, that a great
+assembly might be gathered together for two or three days in one of her
+parks. The matter was carefully weighed by one who shrunk from anything
+like undue novelty or unsound sensationalism. But when once she was
+convinced that it was God's way she hesitated no longer. What the world
+would think was a light consideration with her. Invitations were sent by
+the duchess to ministers and laymen of all denominations in England
+and Scotland.
+
+The spot chosen was the Castle Park; the date, the Wednesday and
+Thursday of the third week in July. There was provision made for
+accommodating the expected guests in the Lodge itself and all the
+adjoining houses. The duchess filled her schools with stores for the
+ministers and their families, and all whom they might choose to invite.
+No expense of thought or labour was spared. But there was one thing that
+might have rendered all the careful arrangements of no avail. The rain
+had been falling for weeks, and there seemed no prospect of its
+cessation. Happily the fears were disappointed. From the time the people
+began to assemble until after the forenoon train on the last day had
+carried away the last of those who had lingered to the close of the
+assembly, there was not a drop of rain. The great day of the gathering
+was especially bright. It seemed as if God the great Creator were
+specially smiling on this effort for His glory and the everlasting
+welfare of His creatures. The place chosen for the gathering was most
+suitable, there being two or three places like amphitheatres on which
+the hearers could sit. Everything had been arranged so carefully by
+those whose hearts were thoroughly in the work that the duchess was able
+to note after the great gathering was over--"Truly there was not one
+thing out of place or unseemly." Eternity will unfold the results. The
+assembly was characterised "by much freedom and power in the speakers,
+by refreshing and lively joy and thanksgiving in the Lord's people, by
+the awakening of many of the dead, and by holy liberty granted to those
+that were bound." The number at this meeting in 1860 was about 7000.
+Meetings of a similar character were held in the three following years.
+In one or more of these the number reached 10,000. About the last of the
+great assemblies, the duchess wrote--"_ August_, 1863. I cannot but
+wonder to see these meetings increasing in numbers and interest every
+year; not as a rendezvous for a pleasant day in the country, but really
+very solemn meetings, where the presence of the Lord is felt, and the
+power of His Spirit manifested. I trust that I have been somewhat
+awakened by the preaching of our own minister, which has been very
+striking indeed."
+
+
+
+
+X.
+
+THE END IS PEACE.
+
+At the beginning of 1861 the duchess was brought almost to death's door.
+To use the words of her biographer, "She was visited with a severe and
+all but fatal illness, which was inscribed by the Lord's own hand with
+all the characters of the believer's death-bed, except that He brought
+her up again from the gates of the grave, and prolonged her precious
+life for three years more." So alarming was the illness that she made
+all arrangements for her departure hence. Various remembrances were set
+aside for her relatives and friends, and directions were given that
+certain letters should be written for the promotion of the welfare of
+some whose interest she had at heart.
+
+On the evening of her attack she asked her friend to repeat the hymn
+
+     "One there is above all others,
+            Oh, how He loves!"
+
+She then observed that she had been depressed for some time with a sense
+of her many sins, but that the Lord was now giving her tranquil and
+joyful rest. She often spoke of the manner in which her soul was
+comforted, and that never-forgotten night. It is thus described by Dr.
+Moody Stuart, who was for many years her close friend: "There was
+nothing of the nature of a dream or trance; but as she lay sleepless,
+there appeared as if really before her eyes a white scroll unrolled,
+glistening with unearthly brightness, and with floods of vivid light
+ever flowing over it. Written at the head of the scroll, in large bright
+letters of gold, she read this inscription:--'THE LORD OUR
+RIGHTEOUSNESS.' All her darkness was dispelled in a moment; with the
+glorious words, the Spirit imprinted on her heart and conscience the
+fresh seal of the pardon of all her sins; she believed and knew that the
+Lord Jesus Christ was of God made unto her 'righteousness,' and that His
+blood had made her whiter than snow. Her soul entered in a moment into
+perfect rest; the peace of God that passeth all understanding now kept
+her heart and mind through Christ Jesus; and she rejoiced in the full
+assurance that for her to die that night was to depart and be for ever
+with the Lord."
+
+Day after day passed on, and she still lived. All her thoughts and words
+were about her Lord and the spiritual welfare of those around her. Her
+servants were a special care to her. As she was not allowed to see them
+individually, she sent them a message that they must not be content with
+trusting in a general way to the mercy of God, but that each of them
+must be found in the Lord our Righteousness if they would be saved.
+Throughout the illness her mind was kept in perfect peace, being
+emphatically stayed upon her Lord. One can well understand how prayers
+would be offered up for her by many that the valued life might be
+spared, if it were God's will.
+
+During the time of her slow and partial recovery she occupied herself
+with learning hymns. She laid up a store which became in later months a
+great source of comfort to her. The hymn which she first committed to
+memory was one of her chief favourites:--
+
+     "A mind at perfect peace with God."
+
+The second verse she specially valued:--
+
+     "By nature and by practice far,
+        How very far from God;
+      Yet now by grace brought nigh to Him,
+        Through faith in Jesus' blood."
+
+As we have said recovery was only slow and partial. She tried to learn
+the lesson designed in this lengthening out of her earthly sojourn. "I
+thought my life was spared," she said, "to give the opportunity of
+devoting for a longer period my influence and substance to the cause of
+Christ, but I see now a deeper meaning in it. There is more personal
+holiness to be attained, more nearness to Christ, and more joy hereafter
+through a deeper work here in my heart."
+
+Her old habit of early rising had of course to be abandoned. But the
+hours of the early morning were well spent, especially in meditation and
+intercessory prayer. As an example of the things that occupied her mind,
+we may quote words spoken to her maid as she entered the room: "I awoke
+very early this morning, and have been very happy and busily engaged. My
+thoughts have been much occupied with three things all so different, yet
+each needing God's help to-day. The first is the Queen's visit to
+Aberdeen to inaugurate the Prince Consort's memorial; the second is Mr.
+M.'s prayer meeting in London in a hall that had been a dancing-saloon
+in his parish; and (referring to a young man formerly in her service,
+but then studying for the ministry) the third is John's College
+examination."
+
+At the end of 1863 the duchess expressed a strong wish that the
+ministerial conference at Huntly Lodge should be resumed. A meeting was
+held on the 13th of the following January. As she heard what had
+transpired she remarked, "I liked the meeting, and had only one thing to
+find fault with: some of the gentlemen prayed for me as if I was
+something, and I am nothing. I must speak about that before the next
+meeting." She invited all to meet again on the 10th of the following
+month. She little thought that they would indeed meet on that day, but
+only to lay her remains to rest. The 10th of February was to be her
+funeral day.
+
+The fatal illness was of very short duration, and gave her little
+opportunity of thought. She was sorrowing over her inability to think
+when the words were given to her: "I am poor and needy yet the Lord
+thinketh upon me." "Yes, that's it," was her reply; "In Thy strong arms
+I lay me down." She was quoting from the following hymn, which she
+frequently repeated to her friends, and which she said more than any
+other expressed the present state of her feelings:--
+
+     "I only enter on the rest,
+        Obtained by labour done;
+      I only claim the victory
+        By Him so dearly won.
+
+      And, Lord, I seek a _holy_ rest,
+        A victory over sin;
+      I seek that Thou alone should'st reign
+        O'er all, without, within.
+
+      In quietness then, and confidence,
+        Saviour, my strength shall be,
+      And '_take_ me, for I cannot _come_,'
+        Is still my cry to Thee.
+
+      In Thy strong hand I lay me down,
+        So shall the work be done;
+      For who can work so wondrously
+        As an Almighty One?
+
+      Work on, then, Lord, till on my soul
+        Eternal Light shall break;
+      And in Thy likeness perfected,
+        I 'satisfied' shall wake."
+
+On the evening of the 29th of January the duchess attempted to ask for
+something. Miss Sandilands repeated the words, "My Beloved is mine, and
+I am His." "Yes," she answered. This emphatic token of assent to a truth
+which was essentially her own by appropriation was the last attempt she
+made to speak. She fell asleep at half-past seven on the Sabbath
+evening, the 31st of January, 1864. She went to the land where time is
+no more, in her seventieth year, just reaching the allotted term of
+life, as she had certainly in no ordinary degree performed its
+allotted work.
+
+There was no need of hired mourners at her funeral. The depth of real
+grief was unprecedented. The sad procession was composed of many
+hundreds of mourners, and of nearly seven hundred children from her
+schools. The whole district was desolate and bereaved. The man was only
+speaking what many another was thinking when he said, "This is the
+greatest calamity that ever befell this district; of a' the dukes that
+reigned here there was never one like her; there's none in this
+neighbourhood, high or low, but was under some obligation to her, for
+she made it her study to benefit her fellow-men; and what crowds o' puir
+craturs she helped every day. And then for the spiritual, Huntly is
+Huntly still, in a great degree, but the gude that's been done in it is
+a' through her."
+
+All that was mortal of this mother in Israel was laid to rest in Elgin
+Cathedral. That noble fane contained the remains of no one more loved
+than she. "I can't understand how people should love me," she used to
+say. Others could understand it. And now that they could love her in
+person no longer, they love her memory.
+
+S.F. HARRIS, M.A., B.C.L.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Excellent Women, by Various
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 10129 ***