Thou comest in calm majesty To thy bowers in the west; And weary nature blesseth thee, For she knows thou bringest rest, She waits thy coming anxiously, And all the lovely flowers Droop their leaves in thanks to thee, For life-renewing showers. 9. Well may they bless thee, for I trow When the joyous morn doth wake, And with its beams their slumbers break, All fresh and bright their leaves shall glow; And to the deep feeling heart, That which can love thee best, How beautiful thou art! Cradle of peace and rest. 10. It loves thy presence, and to thee By chains of deepest thought is bound. Such thought as sets the spirit free Hallowing all around. 11. Then wakes in man his nature high, He feels his immortality; And in the peace at evening given Bethinks him he is heir of heaven. CHAPTER XVI THE FIRST LOSS "The thought of our past years in me doth breed Perpetual benediction."--WORDSWORTH. In August 1861 Bessie was removed to Bognor for the benefit of sea air, and began to show signs of complete recovery. Some of the sisters were her constant companions and devoted nurses; she received visits from her parents, and loving letters from many friends. She returned to Chichester in the late autumn, restored to her usual average of health; and in December the Bishop wrote to her, the eldest daughter at home, as he had done in the old days when she was a girl, to prepare for the return of the family from Brighton. Christmas was spent as usual at the palace, and with the new year Bessie began gradually to resume her work for the Institution. Her first frame letter was written in March 1862 to her father, and has been preserved: PALACE, CHICHESTER, _1st March 1862_. MY DEAREST PAPA--I had long ago settled that my first letter with the frame should be to you, and most thankful I am to be able to be at the "stocking making" again, though very likely I shall not make a very good workwoman; but please take the work, such as it is, as a little sign that Bessie has not forgotten all the love shown her while she was ill, how you used to come and sit with her in the midst of all you had to do. I am very very thankful to be so much stronger, and to have been brought through the suffering as I have been.