Page:The life of Charlotte Brontë (IA lifeofcharlotteb02gaskrich).pdf/118

This page has been validated.
100
Life of Charlotte Brontë.
v.
"With secret labour to sustainIn humble patience every blow;To gather fortitude from pain,And hope and holiness from woe.
vi."Thus let me serve Thee from my heart,Whate'er may be my written fate;Whether thus early to depart,Or yet a while to wait.
vii.
"If Thou should'st bring me back to life,More humbled I should be;More wise—more strengthened for the strife,More apt to lean on Thee.
viii.
"Should death be standing at the gate,Thus should I keep my vow;But, Lord, whatever be my fate,Oh let me serve Thee now!"

I take Charlotte's own words as the best record of her thoughts and feelings during all this terrible time.

"April 12th.

"I read Anne's letter to you; it was touching enough, as you say. If there were no hope beyond this world,—no eternity,—no life to come,—Emily's fate, and that which threatens Anne, would be heart-breaking. I cannot forget Emily's death-day; it becomes a more fixed, a darker, a more frequently recurring idea in my mind than ever. It was very terrible. She was torn,

This article is issued from Wikisource. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.