labors, and their works do follow them." She dwelt on the
purposes of affliction, on the utter weakness and infirmity of the
flesh, and then tenderly exhorted the young. She urged the need of
devotedness of heart and steadfastness of purpose; she raised a tribute
of praise for the eternal hope offered to the Christian, and concluded
with these words from Isaiah: "Thine eyes shall see the King in His
beauty; they shall behold the land that is very far off." Prayer was
afterwards offered by her in a similar strain, and then the meeting
ended. Shortly after this, a removal to Walmer was effected, in the vain
hope that the footsteps of death might be retarded.

From one of her letters, written at this date, we quote the following
passage:--

I walk in a low valley, still I believe I may say that the
everlasting arms are underneath me, and the Lord is very near. I
pass through deep waters, but I trust, as my Lord is near to me,
they will not overflow me. I need all your prayers in my low
estate. I think the death of my sister, and dear little Gurney, has
been almost too much for me.

But Mrs. Fry was to pass through still deeper waters of affliction and
trial while in her suffering state. A visitation of scarlet fever
attacked the family of her son William, and, in spite of all medical
attentions, he and two of his daughters fell beneath the destroyer's
hand. A scene of desolation ensued; the servants, as they sickened, were
taken to Guy's Hospital, and the Manor House was deserted, for those
members of the household who had escaped the infection had to flee for
their lives. For a time, the dear ones who ministered to Mrs. Fry were
too terror-stricken and crushed by the trial to venture on telling their
mother all; more than that, they feared for her life also. But the
"Christian's faith proved stronger than the mother's anguish. She wept
abundantly, almost unceasingly; but she dwelt constantly on the unseen
world, seeking for passages in the Bible which speak of the happy state
of the righteous. She was enabled to rejoice in the rest upon which her
beloved ones had entered, and in a wonderful manner to realize the
blessedness of their lot." Her other children gathered around her at
Walmer, anxious to comfort her, and be themselves comforted by her in
this succession of bereavements. She had been such a tower of strength
to all her family, in the years which had gone, that they almost
instin