All we actually know is that he showed no indication of wishing to draw
back; and at least one public meeting in support of the scheme was duly
held and reported at length in the local papers. Public opinion,
however, on the subject, needed more fundamental education than Mr.
Morse had allowed for, and—although S. J.-B.’s budget was characterized
by the splendid economy that was one of her most striking talents—the
project failed for want of adequate financial support.
“Feb. 22nd. Manchester scheme obiit. R.I.P.! I must be really in a bad
way to be able to find so few mental tears for this! It does
practically close up my foreground again. Heu mihi! Why mayn’t useless
people be smothered out of the way if there’s no possibility of being
or doing or having?
‘Because you’ve got to _learn_’, as that good Miss Harry said last
night.”
In the midst of these varied personal interests, S. J.-B. did not lose
touch with her old girls at Queen’s College. Indeed, when one realizes
the intensity of her own experiences, it is rather refreshing to see how
whole-heartedly she could enter into those of others.
“Feb. 23rd. 1864.
Brighton.
MY DEAR LUCY,
I feel rather guilty in not having written to you before this,
but I do not think that you will attribute the omission to any want of
interest in one of my dear old ‘children’.... I have to send you my
hearty congratulations and good wishes for the life that seems opening
so happily before you. Happiness is a wonderfully solemn thing,—a
thing to go down on one’s knees and thank God for....
‘So pray they, bowed with sorrow down,—
While we whom love and gladness crown
Bend lower yet in prayer;
With hearts so full we need to pray,
“Oh, make us worthy, Lord, alway,
This weight of love to bear....”’
Don’t be too self-distrustful, dear child,—I don’t believe that you
are at all ‘unfit to be a help to anyone’.... Send me as long a letter
as your indolence will admit of, and tell me all about your prospects,
and whether your engagement is likely to be a short or long one.”
“Dec. 13th. 1864.
... Having heard from E. B. of your marriage last month, I was not
quite so bewildered as I might have been at receiving an epistle from
a certain mysterious ‘Lucy Unwin’—
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account