LIFE IN THE SICK-ROOM
"They also serve who only stand and wait."--MILTON.
During the last few years of life Bessie Gilbert never left her invalid
couch and bed. In addition to blindness she was liable to distressing
attacks of deafness, to sleeplessness, agonising pain, and weary
exhaustion. Her throat was often affected, swallowing was difficult. She
had lost power in the upper limbs, could only use her hands for a few
seconds to read the raised type for the blind, or to do a few stitches
of chain work for those she loved; even that became impossible before
the end. The record of work for the Institution dwindles down during
these years, but she lived for it as completely as she had ever done.
She would deny herself the one pleasure that remained--a visit from some
one she loved, because it would exhaust her and render her incapable of
the little she could now do.
For three or four years she received almost daily business letters from
Colonel Fyers, and dictated replies to them when her health allowed,
but this uncertain interposition was of little value, and by degrees
matters of business ceased to be submitted to her. When any question on
which she entertained a strong opinion was brought forward, she would
occasionally explain her view in a letter to the Committee, but these
letters also diminished in number. Her interest in individuals never
decreased; the blind workpeople and their affairs occupied her to the
very last.
In 1878 she heard that one of the workmen was about to marry a
workwoman, since dead, who was blind, deformed, and very much out of
health. She could not approve of such a marriage, and did her utmost to
prevent it. She wrote to express her views, and sent a favourite
sick-nurse to the Institution to emphasise them. The result was that she
received the following letter, informing her that the engagement was at
end:
INSTITUTION OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR THE WELFARE OF THE BLIND.
28 BERNERS STREET, LONDON, W., _3d August 1878._
MADAM--I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your very kind letter of
the 2d inst., and to express to you how deeply I feel the very
great interest you on all occasions have shown towards me, and
especially now. I know you must have my welfare at heart, otherwise
you would not have favoured me with this communication, for which I
sincerely thank you. I, as well as L. W., have, through the means
of your kind letter, seen the matter of our proposed marriage from
a different point of view, and have therefore decided to act in
harmony with your wishes, which no doubt are for our best.
I regret very much that any uneasiness should have been caused you
by this affair, and trust that in future nothing on my part will
occur to cause it again.--I am, madam, your obedient servant, C. C.
Miss Elizabeth Gilbert.
Bessie warmly approved of marriage for the blind, and was sometimes
charged with promoting it injudiciously. In this case she would have
been very glad if C. could have found a healthy, capable wife, who would
have made him happy. She used to say that blindness was the strongest
possible bond of sympathy between husband and wife; and as she did not
for herself witness the untidiness and discomfort in the homes where man
and wife are both blind, and the almost unavoidable neglect of young
children, she could not share the objection of many members of the
Committee to marriage between the workpeople.
In 1879 her widowed sister, the Hon. Mrs. Elliot, was married to Mr.
Childers. Mr. Childers had not previously known Bessie personally, but
he saw her several times afterwards, and was greatly impressed by her
marvellous patience and resignation.
In one of her early interviews with him she had asked for information as
to the Blind and Deaf Mute Education Bill, which Mr. Wheelhouse, member
for Leeds, Mr. Mellor, and others, had introduced into the House of
Commons, but had been unsuccessful in passing. She wished to see any
papers Mr. Wheelhouse could send, and was much interested in his efforts
and in the correspondence which followed her request.
Many letters received at this time have been preserved, and they show
the influence which, from her bed of pain, she exercised on all around
her.
The following is from her old friend, Mr. Coxe, librarian of the
Bodleian. It is his last letter to her; he died in the following July:
NORTHGATE, OXFORD, _S. Stephen's Day, 1880_.
MY VERY DEAR BESSIE--How much I thank you for thinking of me on my
sick-bed, and sending me such a welcome Christmas gift to perfume
my existence. My wife immediately seized upon one (as owing, or
due, to her) and carried off the rest to some secret store-room,
unknown to me as yet, in my new house. I have been now nearly three
months in my bed and bedroom; how dare I speak of it to you in a
spirit other than of deep thankfulness that I have been allowed to
brave all weathers, and to work unscathed even to my 70th year.
Dear Fan ("old Fan!" it was such a pleasure seeing her!) will have
told you what nice quarters we have fallen on wherein to end our
days. It was one of the two houses I used in days gone by to covet;
the other was old Mr. Parker's, now young Fred Morrell's. Well,
dear Bessie, this season has had its message of peace too for you.
I am sure that you have received and welcomed it; that simple
message in these sad days of rebuke and blasphemy becomes more and
more precious. I am not likely to be again a traveller, tho' I
should like to see Hilgrove in his new home, only fifteen miles
away, so that I am not likely to see you again in this life. May it
be granted that we may enjoy a happy reunion in that which shall
be. Best love to the "Duchess" and Nora, with much to yourself
from yours, dearest Bessie, ever affectionately, H. O. COXE.
The year 1881 brought to Bessie a long fit of depression, due mainly to
an attack of deafness; but she had also much anxiety with regard to the
Association. She heard of custom diminishing, a manager dismissed for
dishonesty, heavy losses upon Government contracts undertaken in order
to give work to the blind throughout the winter, diminished income and
subscriptions, and increased demands for aid. In the old days she would
have stirred up her friends, made appeals through the press, organised a
public meeting, and surmounted all difficulties.
The utmost she could now do was to draw up a short circular, asking all
those interested in her work to become Associates, and to subscribe a
sum of not less than one shilling a year. Such Associates were to pledge
themselves to promote the sale of goods made by the blind. She submitted
her scheme and circular to the Committee, and was advised to make the
minimum subscription half a crown. In this form it was issued, but,
lacking the energy with which she would in former time have launched it,
there was no appreciable result.
On the 2d of May 1882 a concert in aid of the Association was held, by
the kindness of the Duke of Westminster, at Grosvenor House. Bessie did
what she could, but by far the greater part of the work connected with
it fell upon her sisters. The Duke wrote directly it was over to
congratulate her upon a very successful result; and Bessie was greatly
cheered to learn that when all incidental expenses were paid, there
would remain the sum of L326: 17: 6.
The Committee endeavoured as far as possible to save her the distress of
knowing the difficulties in which they were involved. Sir E. Sotheby was
untiring in his zealous endeavours to promote the interests of the
Association, and to shield Bessie from anxiety. Colonel Fyers, though in
failing health, never lost sight of the object he had so long worked
for. But all efforts were unavailing. Every fact and figure connected
with the undertaking had been impressed upon an inexorable memory.
Nothing now escaped her. She detected every financial error, and every
departure from her original aims and objects. She saw what grave
difficulty lay in the fact that since the death of Levy no manager had
been appointed who had any special interest in the blind. She feared
that the work of her whole life would be ignored; and that there would
be no higher aim than to keep open a shop and carry on a trade.
Oppressed by this fear, she made one last appeal, one final effort, on
behalf of those whom she had loved and served for so long.
The address to the Committee, bearing date Whit Monday 1882, may be
looked upon as her last will and testament. Internal evidence shows that
it was in that light she herself looked upon it, and that she
endeavoured to sum up in one short statement, which recapitulates the
most important points in the early rules of the Association, the result
of a lifetime of work, thought, experience, and devotion.
THE ASSOCIATION FOR PROMOTING THE GENERAL WELFARE OF THE BLIND
WHITMONDAY, _29th May 1882._
This title should always be borne in mind by those managing the
Association, as it clearly indicates the scope of the undertaking.
Trade is a most necessary and essential part of the work; and the
more sure the foundation upon which the trade is carried on the
better will be the security for its prosperity; but trade is by no
means the most important part of the undertaking, and indeed it is
my earnest desire that the Association should never under any
circumstances become a mere trading institution. This would be a
great falling off from the original scope and object with which
this Association was founded. I wish those who may be at any time
entrusted with the management of the Association always to remember
that it is open to them to do everything they can, that is likely
to promote the welfare of the blind. The particular directions in
which this may be done will often be clearly indicated by the
circumstances of the Association, and by opportunities which may
arise at any given time. Still, certain fixed principles should
always be kept in view, as laid down in our rule No. 2, "That the
immediate objects of this Association shall be to afford employment
to those blind persons who, for want of work, have been compelled
to solicit alms, or who may be likely to be tempted to do so. To
cause those unacquainted with a trade to be instructed in some
industrial art, and to introduce trades hitherto unpractised by the
blind. Also, to support a Circulating Library consisting of books
in various systems of relief print, to the advantages of which the
indigent blind shall be admitted free of charge, and others upon
payment of the subscription required by the Committee. To enable
blind musicians to show that the loss of sight does not prevent
their being efficient organists and scientific musicians. To
collect and disseminate information relative to the physical,
mental, moral, and religious conditions of the blind; and to
promote among individuals and institutions seeking to ameliorate
the condition of the blind, a friendly interchange of information
calculated to advance the common cause."
Rule 16 also provides, "That with a view to increase the funds and
extend the utility of the Association, the Committee shall have
power to receive into connection with the Association other kindred
institutions, and shall seek to form auxiliaries in various parts
of the kingdom."
The Association will probably never be called upon to undertake
anything with regard to music, as the field is now so well and
fully occupied by the Royal Normal College; but the rule is quoted
exactly as it stands in order to show the breadth of the original
design, which design should be kept steadily in view. It is most
desirable that among those who may direct the Association there
should always be some persons who should make it their special
object to study the condition of the blind, and in this study the
knowledge of the following facts will be found of service, viz.--
_1st._ That many blind persons after leaving the schools are,
although instructed in some trade, reduced to begging or driven to
the workhouse, not through their own fault, but simply for the want
of any regular employment in their trade.
_2d._ That children constitute but a small proportion of the blind;
as about nine-tenths of the 30,000 blind in the United Kingdom
become so above the age of twenty-one, and are then ineligible for
admission to most blind schools.
_3d._ That about half the sightless population live in rural
districts.
The address ends here abruptly. Probably the writer's strength was
exhausted with the effort to think and to dictate.
During 1882, 1883, 1884 Bessie carried on at long intervals a
correspondence with Mr. Wood, Superintendent of the School for the
Blind, Sheffield. She learns that his pupils are taught to read embossed
type on Braille's system, which her own experience had shown to be
unsuited to those who have hard manual labour to perform. In every
letter she requests information on this point: "Can the workpeople still
read Braille's type?" she asks. The opening up of fresh trades, the
establishment of workshops for the benefit of those who leave the
school, are questions which she suggests for the serious consideration
of the Sheffield Committee, and she asks Mr. Wood for information, at
any time he can send it, as to work in any way connected with the blind.
About this time Bessie heard that John Bright had spoken at the Normal
College, Norwood, and appealed to him on behalf of Berners Street. He
replied:
132 PICCADILLY, _26th July 1883._
DEAR MADAM--I thank you for your letter and for the volume you have
sent me. My engagements are so many and so constantly pressing that
I cannot hope to do much for the cause you have at heart. I hope,
however, the cause is making progress, and it is not unlikely that
some general inquiry into the condition of the blind will be made
before long, and that good may come from it. My presence and
speech at Norwood were accidental. I must leave more practical work
to others.--I am, very truly yours,
JOHN BRIGHT.
Miss Gilbert, 5 Stanhope Place, Hyde Park, W.
The volume sent was most probably Levy's _Blindness and the Blind_.
During 1883 Bessie received frequent letters from the Chairman of her
Committee, Sir E. Sotheby, and the Hon. Secretary, Captain Hume Nicholl.
They referred to her the different appeals from blind men, women, and
boys which reached them; these she carefully investigated and reported
upon. During her illness, as throughout her whole life, the utmost help
and best advice she could give were always at the disposal of the blind.
Farrow, who had worked twenty-eight years at the Institution, loses no
opportunity of sending her cheering news. He writes at this time with
respect to the brushmakers:
During the last six months orders have poured in from all quarters,
and I can say that all the years I have been connected with the
Institution we have not done so much before in the same time.
Brushes manufactured indoors in 1882 amounted to L3200. The present
year, from the 1st January to the 1st of June, amounted to L1471:
6: 4 in twenty-two weeks.
There was an Industrial Exhibition in the Agricultural Hall, Islington,
in 1883, and the blind stall from Berners Street was always crowded.
Farrow writes:
If the manager of the Agricultural Hall had given us a better
position in the body of the hall no doubt we should have done more
than we did. The sales amounted to about L110. The donation boxes
yielded L15. The cost of the undertaking about L29. The profits of
the sale and [contents of] boxes included came to L50, leaving a
balance of L21. I superintended the arrangements of the benches as
two years ago. The workpeople who represented the different
branches are as follows.... I visited the hall several times for
the purpose of examining the machinery, to see if there was
anything to be learnt for the benefit of the Association.... This
year we have the whole of the work of the L. S. W. Railway, and we
have also obtained that of St. Mary's Hospital, Paddington. For the
future I will not send in any tender unless I see the samples
first, as it was often done before without my seeing them.
This blind man who "examined the machinery" and must "see the samples"
is one after Bessie's own heart, and there was always a merry laugh of
approval when she spoke of his letters.
A conference was held at York in 1883 on the condition of the blind. It
was followed in 1884 by a meeting at Sheffield on the same subject, and
presided over by Lord Wharncliffe.
Bessie had, at Lord Wharncliffe's request, furnished suggestions and
information. He writes as follows:
WORTLEY HALL, SHEFFIELD, _12th January 1884_.
MADAM--I have taken the liberty of sending to you a copy of the
_Sheffield Daily Telegraph_ containing the report of our meeting on
Thursday last, and have to express to you my warm thanks for the
kindness with which you answered my letter, and for the valuable
suggestions contained in your reply. I can only hope that you will
be interested with the report of our proceedings, and will approve
of what was then said.--I remain, yrs. faithfully, WHARNCLIFFE.
Miss Gilbert.
The paper of suggestions referred to, travels over much of the ground
familiar to Bessie for so many years, and never, as she thought,
adequately explored by those who were working for the blind.
She writes to Lord Wharncliffe:
"It is almost impossible for a blind man, singlehanded, to cope with all
the difficulties with which he has to contend, and the result has often
been begging or the workhouse. Happily there are many more industrial
institutions than there were."
One can imagine with what a thrill of satisfaction she would write this,
as she remembered the little cellar in Holborn and the humble origin of
all her subsequent work. She continues:
It would be most desirable that the ordinary schools and such
institutions should play into one another's hands, so as to shorten
as far as possible the interval between the pupils leaving [school]
and their being employed. Sometimes the blind might be taught some
special branch of a trade, and might perhaps even be employed by
masters among their sighted workpeople. This would answer the
double purpose of lightening the work of the Institution, and also
of drawing attention to the blind and to what they are able to do,
which is a very important point.
As industrial institutions must depend to a very great extent upon
custom for their support, it is well to bear in mind that some
persons without sight can both help themselves and the institution
employing them by acting as travellers. People are often very much
interested by this means, and look forward to the regular
recurring calls of the blind travellers. Besides which it saves
people trouble in dealing with an institution if they happen to
live at some distance.
It is almost needless to say that all the capabilities of the blind
should be brought out as much as possible, as the more this is done
and the more their highest interests are cared for, the more will
their whole condition be elevated and improved. The problem of
enabling the blind to earn their own living is by no means an easy
one, and is well worthy of the attention of loving hearts and wise
intellects for its solution.
The whole tone of these wise and thoughtful remarks shows that Bessie
had never lost touch with her work. Her interest is as fresh, her
expectation as vigorous as ever. She throws out a new suggestion--that
of the employment of the blind in special branches of a trade--which may
even yet bear fruit. She pleads for "the elevation of the whole
condition of the blind," in contradistinction to the administration of
charitable doles to degrade them. She had a wide experience of both
systems, and could now speak with authority. The letter indeed marks a
recrudescence, and has a ring of hope about it. It is not the utterance
of one who speaks on the other side of a closed door. You feel that the
door is open and she may enter and resume work. There was, in fact,
throughout 1884 an indefinable improvement and amelioration in her
condition which led her, not perhaps to hope, but to entertain a thought
of the possibility of such a measure of recovery as might once more
enable her to take an active share in the work of the Institution. It
is not likely that this expectation was entertained either by her
doctors or nurses; but Bessie had a distinct feeling that a change, an
improvement, was before her. "Would it not be wonderful," she said to
the present writer in the early summer of 1884, "if I should recover?"
And in reply to a question suggested by this remark, she added, "I feel
as if there would be a change."