Mr. Levy never spared himself when your interest was at stake, and
now that he is taken from us, and I am left alone, I feel that I
must ask you all to give me all the help in your power, and you can
help me by giving me your confidence, by showing me that you feel I
will do the best I can for you, and, above all, by trying, with
God's help, to become the men and women He would have you to be.
Nothing gives me greater joy than for the Association to be the
means of helping you, by God's blessing, to lead really Christian
lives. This means that you should have in your hearts the love of
God and the love of your neighbour, which love will prevent you
hurting anybody by word or deed, make you true and just in all your
dealings, and temperate and sober in your living. My earnest desire
is that the Association should help you to learn and labour truly
to get your own living; but you know that this must be a work of
time. If I could prevent it there should not be one blind person
begging, but all should have the blessing of earning their living;
but, as I say, it will take a long time to bring this to pass. Had
I been asked I should have said, "You would do better without me
than without him who is taken from us; but God does not ask us, and
does what He sees and knows to be best, and He has taken Mr. Levy
to his rest and reward, and has left me."
If it is His will that I should have strength, I will, with His
help and with the aid of the friends engaged in the work, do the
best I can. Many of you I have never seen; I wish this were not so,
but I cannot help it; but to you all I earnestly say: please think
of me as of one who has your truest interest at heart, who is, like
yourselves, without sight, and who tries, to the best of her power,
to understand what it is to be poor as well as blind, and who longs
for your help and co-operation in the work of endeavouring to help
you to help yourselves. You will help me, will you not?--Believe
me, my dear friends, to be most sincerely yours,
ELIZABETH GILBERT.
_P.S._--I have signed my name with the pen which Mr. Levy invented
for us. You and I must pray that God will help me to do what will
be best for you. I know God will not leave us, for He loveth the
blind, as He doth all human beings, more than we can possibly
understand or know, so that we must try and trust in Him fully in
all our trials. May God bless you all!
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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