'And now, in this solemn hour, and in the presence of death, I come again
to Thy footstool, and make this covenant with Thee.'
Then all who had made the covenant from their hearts rose and sang
together:--
Just as I am Thou dost receive,
Dost welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve,
Because Thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come!
It was just such an ending to the wonderful service as our Army Mother
would have chosen had she been still on earth with us.
* * * * *
The next morning was dry and bright. 'I shall ask God to give you a fine
day for my funeral, Emma, so that you mayn't take cold,' our Army Mother
had said, for she was ever thoughtful for others; and her prayer was
answered, for though the white mist crept up from the river to the
Embankment, where the procession was forming up, there was no rain nor
wind.
Tens of thousands of our dear Soldiers would gladly have sacrificed a
day's work in order to follow in the funeral procession of one they so
dearly loved; but, so as not to gather too large a crowd, only Officers
were allowed in the march, which passed through countless throngs of
people from International Headquarters to Abney Park Cemetery, a distance
of about five miles.
All along the route the crowds stood in dense masses, and roofs, windows,
and every nook and corner were packed with human beings. Nothing had been
seen like it, said the police, since the Duke of Wellington's funeral,
forty years before.
It was a wonderful march. I wish you could have seen it! Sometimes it
seemed as if every one was weeping; and when the open hearse, with its
plain oak coffin, crowned by The Army bonnet and well-worn Bible, passed,
all heads were bared, all voices hushed, and tears filled all eyes.
The General, standing alone in his open carriage all along the long, sad
way, must have felt that he had the people's sympathy and love with him
in his grief, for scores of heartfelt 'God bless you's!' came from lips
that are unused to such words.
And at last the yellow evening sun shone out as the great procession
reached the gates of Abney Park Cemetery and wound towards the open
grave.
Only a part of the mighty throng could hear The General's beautiful
words, so strong and yet so tender, from which I have already quoted, but
all joined in the song, 'Rock of Ages,' which seemed to roll up to the
heavens themselves.
Several leading Officers and members of The General's own family prayed
and spoke, wonderfully upheld in spite of their deep grief and the strain
of the last days. And then by the open grave the present General led all
hearts to make a fresh consecration, the whole assembly promising, with
God's help, that they would be
'Faithful to Thee, faithful to one another, and faithful to a dying
world, till we meet our beloved Mother in the Morning. Amen.'
* * * * *
If ever you are in Abney Park Cemetery you should visit her grave. It is
very simple. Around the little piece of earth runs a grey stone, with
these words carved on it:--