Part 29 (2/2)

Why shouldst thou fear, if God be on thy side, Man's cruel anger, or malicious pride?

Be thou content

We know for us a rest reive us sweet release Fros into peace

Sooner or later death will surely come To end our sorrows and to take us home

Be thou content

Home to the chosen ones, who here Served their Lord faithfully and well, Who died in peace without a fear, And there in peace for ever dwell; The Everlasting is their joy and stay, The Eternal Word Himself to them doth say Be thou content!

PAUL GERHARDT, 1670

For weeks together during her illness Bessie was at tiht She was too considerate to her nurses to disturb them for mere sleeplessness She would then, as we have said, recall to memory music and books which she had heard, and at these tireat resource to her The characters she admired lived for her, and she would try to picture to herself how they would act in circue of English history was also a source of interest, and often astonished those around her One evening in 1884 a young niece preparing for an examination asked in vain for information as to the ”Salisbury assize” until the question was put to ”Aunt Bessie,” who at once explained it

There were long lapses, as it were, in her life After the sleepless nights she had to sleep when she could, and her room in the daytime was hushed and silent, all external life and interest excluded At night she was again fully awake, but it was to find herself alone in the ”chaery”

One of the two sisters ere her constant co devotion for fifteen years, writes as follows:

All through her illness, with the occasional exceptions when she suffered from deafness, her cheerfulness was , and her consideration and thoughtfulness for those around her very wonderful and touching

She had a special name of her own for each of her nurses, all of them loved her, and upon several of thelyendurance Her first sick-nurse came in 1872 and stayed two years

She often afterwards visited her She came to see us after Bessie's death, and said with tears, ”Oh, I did not do enough for her I wish I had done e little surprises and pleasures for us and give us flowers She was anxious we should have all the variety we could, and took the greatest pleasure in hearing an account of e had seen and done whilst away froh, but was often nervous about it, fearing lest the excitement should do her harm, and interfere in any hat little she could do for the Institution

Perhaps few realised how ht, so sympathetic that it was difficult to do so The last few months of her life were full of pain

No record of Bessie's illness would be adequate which did not speak of the love that lightened every burden laid upon her Sisters and brothers bound by so strong a bond of family love as the Gilberts are even more closely united by affliction No day passed without its tribute of affectionate remembrance from absent members of the family Her eldest brother, Mr Wintle, always spent the afternoon of Sunday with her, when she was able to receive him The Vicar of Heversham, the beloved ”Tom”

of her youth, saw her in London whenever it was possible Married sisters visited and wrote to her, and a whole cloud of nephews and nieces hovered around her

She valued highly the friendshi+p as well as the skill of Mr Sibley, the surgeon who for many years attended her She depended upon him for almost daily visits Very little could be done to arrest the progress of her

Alleviation, not cure, was all that could be looked for, and he was always ready to atteation of the ills she had to endure

A many others ere kind and helpful, ready to aid her work and so to give her almost the only pleasure she could receive, were the Duke of West, ould so to her, and the old and dear friends of the family, Dean and Mrs Hook No word can here be said of the two sisters, whose whole life was given up to her; none would be adequate They knew, and they were known That is enough We may not lift the veil under which they passed so ony

FOOTNOTE:

[9] From _Lyra Germanica_, second series

CHAPTER XXIII

THE END

”In Thy light we shall see light”

The su In Bessie's helpless condition excessive heat caused her real suffering; for she was fixed ied for cool breezes, the scent of flowers and song of birds, she uttered no nised with sowas not pere” she anticipated was at hand ”I feel as if there would be a change,” she had said

The auturound