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 Jane Elliott.
 
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 BY 
 
 A LADY- MANAGER. 
 
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 LONDON : 
 
 SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE 
 
 SOLD AT THE DEPOSITOKIES : 
 
 77 GREAT QUEEN STREET, LINCOLN'S INN FIELDS; 
 
 4, ROYAL exchange; 48, PICCADILLY; 
 
 AND BY ALL BOOKSELLERS. 
 
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 UIUC 
 
 ''■*cn0i\
 
 PEEFACE, 
 
 T HAVE been asked, as Head of the As- 
 sociation under which Jane EUiott's 
 work was carried on, to write an intro- 
 duction to the following narrative. Very 
 few words are needed for the purpose. 
 It is the perfectly truthful account of 
 an uneventful life ; but it is hoped that 
 it may interest many, by showing what 
 noble and holy service to God and man 
 can be rendered by a simple poor woman 
 under the guidance and training of the 
 Church of England. 
 
 The story of Jane Elliott's life could not 
 be told without frequent allusions to the 
 system of the Parochial Mission- Women 
 Association, her connection with which had,
 
 VI PREFACE. 
 
 no doubt, a great share in moulding her 
 character; and it is feared that some of 
 these details may prove rather unintelligible 
 to those who are unacquainted with the 
 system of the Association, but more detailed 
 explanation seemed out of place in such 
 a narrative. 
 
 The office of the Association is at 54, 
 Parliament Street, S. W. And reports and 
 full details of its working can be obtained 
 thence by any one who may desire it. 
 
 C. S. Talbot. 
 Basfer, 1874. 
 
 i
 
 A SEEVANT OF THE POOR 
 
 ^WENTY years ago Bow Common was in the 
 -^ fields, here and there a footpath crossed it, 
 very little frequented by day, and considered so 
 unsafe by night that respectable persons going 
 from Limehouse to Bromley waited, like East 
 Indiamen, for a convoy to pass a spot the resort 
 of robbers and footpads. Gradually London 
 spread in this as in other directions. Most of 
 the Common belonged to the rope-manufacturing 
 firm known as Stoddart and Co., of which the late 
 Mr. Cotton was the last survivor, and on the 
 dissolution of the firm the land was laid out for 
 building purposes. Happily the owner of the 
 property was one of those who recognise the duty 
 of landlords to provide for the spiritual wants of 
 their work-people and tenants. God had not only 
 intrusted him with great wealth and power of in- 
 fluence, but had granted him the still greater 
 blessing of wise and holy friendships. His ex- 
 perience of the use of fortune can be given in his
 
 8 A SERVANT OF THE POOR. 
 
 own words at seventy-three : "I have found that 
 the greatest real pleasure from wealth is to be 
 secured, not by accumulation, but by spending it 
 to advance the glory of God, and the good of our 
 fellow-creatures." As one of the founders of the 
 National Society and the Diocesan Church Build- 
 ing Society, his name .will always be associated 
 with those valuable institutions, and from his 
 intimate friendship with Bishop Blomfield, his 
 memory will be cherished as the great lay-helper 
 of that eminent prelate. 
 
 In 1858, Mr. Cotton's idea of forming a new 
 ecclesiastical district at Bow Common was put 
 into practice, by taking portions of the older 
 parishes of Limehouse, Bromley, and Stepney. A 
 church, parsonage, and schools were built, and the 
 former was consecrated on the 30th of October. 
 Several circumstances combine to give a peculiar 
 and touching interest to this church. It was 
 chiefly built with the fortune of Mr. Cotton's third 
 son, whose short life had been rich in promise of a 
 glorious eternity, while his fourth and youngest 
 son became the first incumbent. Bishop Blom- 
 field, with whom Mr. Cotton had been associated 
 in the building of ten churches in Bethnal Green, 
 had previously to its consecration retired from 
 active life, but on his death-bed he sent for Mr. 
 Cotton, and, to show his interest in the work, 
 handed over to him, for use in the church in Bow
 
 A SERVANT OF THE POOR. 9 
 
 Common, a service of gold commnnion-platej be- 
 queathed to the bishop by good Queen Adelaide. 
 The population, which in 1858 was estimated at 
 1,400^ has so grown and multiplied round the new 
 church, that it has reached 9,000 — this rapid 
 growth having been stimulated by the building of 
 new factories, each furnishing employment to a 
 large number of persons. Still, though the 
 Common has disappeared, or rather been covered 
 by shops and houses, the general appearance of 
 the place to a stranger is that of a prosperous 
 suburb rather than a part of London, itself. Many 
 of the houses have gardens, and look like rows of 
 tiny villas, and there is very little squalor or over- 
 crowding among the people. The more thrifty 
 artisans rent a whole house, and let the upper 
 floors to less well-to-do comrades. Unhappily the 
 existence of a church does not always secure the 
 attendance of a congregation, nor do high wages 
 and regular work necessarily promote comfort and 
 providence. Here, as elsewhere, too many families 
 live as wholly without religion as if England were 
 still a heathen nation, and large numbers of the 
 women are ignorant of the management, cleanli- 
 ness, and order necessary for the right fulfilment 
 of the duties of wives and mothers. For these 
 reasons Rev. Arthur Cotton applied for help, in 
 July 1864, to the Lady-Managers of the Parochial 
 Mission- Women Fund. The object of this Associ-
 
 10 A SERVANT OF THE POOR. 
 
 ation, which has no connection with almsgiving, 
 is the improvement of the homes and habits 
 of the poor by the employment of one of them- 
 selves, who, as a model poor woman, shall serve as 
 a living proof of the powers of happiness and 
 comfort which lie within their reach. 
 
 Each of these Mission-women is placed by the 
 Incumbent mider a Lady- Superintendent, who is 
 herself under the guidance of the Managers of the 
 Association in carrying on her work.. In adding 
 these two agents to his parochial machinery, Mr. 
 Cotton hoped to win many hitherto unreached, 
 and to make them better, happier, and holier. 
 Miss K and her Mission-woman were ap- 
 pointed by him in January 1865, and in February 
 1869 it was found necessary to place a second 
 Parochial Mission-woman, under this excellent 
 and energetic Lady-Superintendent. 
 
 It is dangerous as well as difficult to attempt to 
 estimate results, especially where, as is happily the 
 case at St. Paul's, the mission-workers form part 
 of an extensive organization ; but the subject of 
 this brief memoir is proof enough, if any be needed, 
 of the nature of the work attempted, as well as of 
 the success sometimes granted to the agents. 
 
 Jane Elliott was born at Leicester in 18 1 7, but, 
 as her parents removed to Exeter while she was 
 still an infant, she always spoke of herself as a 
 West-country woman. Her early life was em-
 
 A SERVANT OF THE POOR. 11 
 
 bitter ed by the misconduct of her father^ a small 
 farmer, who not only wasted his property, but 
 frequently deserted his wife and seven children for 
 weeks together. Jane's mother was a pious and 
 sensible person, who took great pains to give her 
 children a good education, and sent the little girl 
 to a day school in Exeter, of which she spoke 
 gratefully in after life, as having learnt two things 
 of daily use — viz., plain needlework and the 
 Church Collects. When Jane was fifteen her 
 mother died, but though her father was fetched 
 from a public-house to his wife^s dying bed, the 
 sad sight failed to produce any good effect on his 
 character. The home was broken up, and Jane 
 sent to London to an aunt, who obtained for her 
 the place of nurserymaid in a Dissenting family, 
 where she remained until her marriage, being 
 greatly beloved and respected by both parents and 
 children for her conscientious and unselfish devotion 
 to her duties. Jane was married at St. Margaret's 
 church, Westminster, on the 17th of October, 1841. 
 Her husband was a blacksmith. But their union 
 was not a happy one, as he was often unsteady, 
 and, though never positively unkind to his wife, 
 would frequently get drunk. Their first married 
 home was in Southwark ; but, after several moves, 
 they settled in St. Paul's, Bow Common, where 
 Elliott obtained good and regular work. They 
 rented a whole house there, letting two furnished
 
 12 A SERVANT OF THE POOE. 
 
 rooms, which were always occtipied, as the wife 
 was an excellent manager as well as an honest 
 landlady. Having no children, she adopted a 
 nephew of her husband's and a niece of her own. 
 The boy was a source of constant anxiety, and 
 finally ran away from home, and died in 1860. 
 On the education of her niece and namesake, Jane, 
 she bestowed great pains, teaching her to be neat 
 and orderly in her habits, and obedient to her 
 commands. The little girl never missed saying 
 her morning and evening prayers with her aunt, 
 and as she got older she read a few verses from 
 Holy Scripture before going to Sunday school. 
 
 It is one of the privileges of a strong and un- 
 selfish character that it inspires strong affection in 
 others. It will be seen how remarkably this was 
 the case with Mrs. Elliott, whose memory is 
 cherished wherever she was known by persons of 
 all classes. A lady, who was the Visitor in her 
 district many years ago, still speaks with warm 
 affection of the straight-forward, kind-hearted 
 woman, whose house was so well ordered, and 
 character so excellent, that she could only regret 
 her being such a bigoted Dissenter. 
 
 Mrs. Elliott's house was amongst the first 
 visited by the Parochial Mission- woman, who 
 began to work in St. Paul's, Bow Common, in 
 1865, and a great deal of discussion passed between 
 them on religious questions, in the course of which
 
 A SERVANT OF THE POOR. 13 
 
 Mrs. Elliott would express in strong terms her 
 dislike to the Church, and her contempt for the 
 forms and ceremonies, in which she maintained 
 Church worship alone consisted. As this dislike 
 was shown with equal plainness to Church agents, 
 it required considerable patience and courage in 
 the Mission-woman to continue her visits. She 
 was rewarded at last by the remark, "I wonder 
 you don't get tired of calling on me." " No, I 
 shall never get tired," was the reply. ^' Then I 
 will belong to the mission, for you seem one of my 
 sort; I never thought to find such in the cold, 
 proud Church." She began by depositing, but 
 soon afterwards attended the weekly meetings, 
 where she became acquainted with the Lady- 
 Superintendent. Not long after this her husband 
 was brought home dead. 
 
 " God's finger touched him, and he died." 
 
 He had been seized with spasms of the heart when 
 walking along the street, had been taken into a 
 chemist's shop, and expired there almost immedi- 
 ately. The sympathy shown to his widow by her 
 clergyman and his lay-helpers still further removed 
 her prejudices. After a very short time Mrs. Elliott 
 told the Mission-woman that she had left the chapel 
 and returned to church. Her attendance at the 
 weekly Mothers' meetings became more frequent, 
 and a marked change began to appear in her
 
 14 A SERVANT OF THE POOR. 
 
 manner and address. The payment from the club 
 to which her husband belonged enabled her to meet 
 his funeral expenses ; she had no debts, and re- 
 solved to continue to take in lodgers, and to go out 
 nursing, by which means she was enabled to earn 
 a comfortable livelihood, and to continue that habit 
 of bestowing both time and money on others which 
 always distinguished her character. During her 
 connection with the Dissenters she had taken an 
 active part in their bazaars and tea-drinkings, it 
 was not therefore unnatural that she should now 
 desire a share in the organized Church-work which 
 she saw around her. She had reaped so much 
 benefit from the visits of the Mission-woman and 
 the teaching of the Lady-Superintendent, that she 
 
 sent a message to Miss K , expressing a strong 
 
 wish to help her, and adding, ^' If she will only 
 give me a trial I will spend myself in Church- 
 work." The Divine Master heard this prayer. 
 The opportunity came. The wish was granted, 
 and after four years of work and one of suffering, 
 Jane Elliott's short, bright service ended — for 
 
 " Home she's gone, and ta'en her wages." 
 
 In October 1867 one of the former curates of 
 St. Paul's, Bow Common, accepted the charge of 
 the Mission District of St. Augustine's, within the 
 parish of St. Philip's, Stepney, where Edward 
 Denison was at that time living and labouring,
 
 A SERVANT OF THE POOR. 15 
 
 and writing those letters (recently published), 
 which contain so accurate a description of this 
 parish and its inhabitants as to leave little room 
 for further comment from those far less qualified to 
 judge of either. 
 
 One of the most frequent remarks of the day is 
 the growing size of London. The great city 
 spreads itself in every direction, and may now be 
 said to be divided into three distinct towns — viz., 
 the East of London, the West-end^ and the south 
 side of the river ; representing labour, wealth, and 
 degradation, and combining to form what may be 
 called the City of Contrasts. For every variety of 
 human life may be found within the limits of the 
 metropolis — utter luxury and deep poverty, real piety 
 and brutal vice. Nor is it necessary to go from 
 one to another of the above-named divisions to be 
 struck with the extreme differences existing in 
 different parts of the capital. The London of the 
 present day includes what were formerly separate 
 villages or suburbs, many of which retain some 
 portion of their original character. Two neigh- 
 bouring parishes will vary with the occupations of 
 their inhabitants. Factories gather round them a 
 certain number of " hands," whose food, clothing, 
 and general habits of life are regulated by the 
 nature of the work done, the hours during which 
 they labour, and the fact whether women, as well 
 ' as men, are employed. Particular vices seem to
 
 16 A SERVANT OF THE POOR. 
 
 cling" to certain localities, like a plague-spot on a 
 wall, iDfecting" all who dwell within its shadow, 
 while the adjoining parish maybe almost free from 
 that form of sin. Some trades practise such a 
 sub-division of labour as to make it necessary that 
 the several workers should live near each other. 
 Foreign revolutions have frequently sent skilled 
 workmen to teach a new manufacture to English 
 people, and give at the same time a special 
 character to the locality. Thus the Jews in 
 Whitechapel, the French in Spitalfields, the Swiss 
 in Clerkenwell, and the Germans in Stepney, have 
 each a large settlement, and while employing 
 English labour and English capital, influence the 
 English people in the details of daily life to a 
 great extent. Perhaps the chief employment of 
 the inhabitants is what determines the ruling 
 characteristic of a district. Whether the work- 
 men are skilled or casual labourers ; whether the 
 women work at home or out of doors, singly, or 
 together in a factory; these are questions which 
 have a vast influence for weal or for woe, not only 
 on their lives, but on their final destiny. In going 
 from St. Paul's, Bow Common, to St. Philip's, 
 Stepney, Mr. Cartwright made practical experience 
 of the varieties contained in neighbouring parishes. 
 Instead of a flourishing suburb, with its beautiful 
 new church, parsonage, and schools, St. Augustine's 
 is situated in the midst of a narrow street of old
 
 A SEEVANT OF THE POOR. 17 
 
 and ill-built houses, with a whole family in every 
 room, and that lack of light, air, and water which 
 marks the low quarters of the town. A colony of 
 Germans had gathered round the sugar factory, 
 and another rough set found work in the docks, or 
 as hawkers and costermongers. The mechanics at 
 Bow Common frequently earned 305. and 40*. a- 
 week. At St. Philip's, Stepney, Mr. Denison 
 gives an average of from 155. to 205. a-week. Two 
 houses had been thrown together, upon the site of 
 which a temporary school-chapel was built, where 
 Divine Service was conducted. The parish church 
 of St. Philip's — of which St. Augustine's was only 
 a Mission district — was in a deplorable condition. 
 The rain streamed in through the roof, and oozed 
 in through the windows, and there were no means 
 of warming it. In the truest sense of the word, 
 it was a Mission to which the three workers from 
 St. Paul's devoted their Lives at St. Augustine's. 
 Among the many difficulties which beset the 
 commencement of the new clergyman's work at 
 St. Augustine's, was the disorganized state of that 
 portion of it in connection with the Parochial 
 Mission- Women Association, which had been sus- 
 pended for a few months by the Lady- Managers, 
 but which he desired to restart with thoroughly 
 efficient agents. 
 
 Accordingly, when he had arranged with the 
 Managers for a renewal of the grant for the main- 
 C
 
 18 A SERVANT OP THE POOR. 
 
 tenance of a Parocliial Mission- woman in St. 
 Augustine's, the next work of the clergyman was 
 to find a person whom he could recommend to the 
 Association as fitted for the duties of that position, 
 and a Lady- Superintendent, capable both of guid- 
 ing the Mission- woman, and of dealing with the 
 various cases to be reached by her. He was happy 
 in ultimately finding both in the parish where he 
 had formerly been, and of bringing both to that 
 
 to which he had gone. Miss J. L ■'s first 
 
 experience as a Superintendent was unsatisfactory, 
 for the person selected as a Mission-woman proved 
 a failure. Application was then made to Miss 
 
 K to recommend a successor, and as the 
 
 application was received shortly after Mrs. Elliott's 
 message, she was suggested for the vacant post. 
 The rule of the Association is that, when an in- 
 cumbent has selected the agent he wishes to em- 
 ploy, she must be seen and approved by one of 
 the Managers before she is finally appointed. 
 The lady who undertakes this duty, in her con- 
 versation with Mrs. Elliott was soon satisfied 
 that she was a poor woman, accustomed to earn 
 her own living by the labour of her hands, and 
 whose own life had given her full experience of 
 the trials and temptations of the poor to whom 
 she was to be a model and a friend, and for whose 
 benefit she would gladly undertake the various 
 kind ofl[ices suggested to her. Nor was there any
 
 A SERVANT OF THE POOR. 19 
 
 difficulty on tlie money question. One of tlie 
 charms of Mrs. Elliott's character was its rare 
 disinterestedness, which enabled her fully to grasp 
 the principle of payment adopted by the Society. 
 The Managers do not look upon their Mission- 
 women as undertaking a paid service, in which so 
 much labour is to be rewarded by so much money. 
 They believe that amongst the working women of 
 England there are hundreds whose love to God 
 and His poor is as true, as deep, and as self- 
 sacrificing as that of the rich can be — women 
 whose very poverty fits them for that special work 
 among the poor which can only be accomplished 
 by persons on their own level. To such volunteers 
 they offer a maintenance proportionate to their 
 individual needs, thus freeing them to live for 
 others, but not rewarding them for doing so. 
 Their circumstances differ, and so therefore do their 
 allowances. One candidate is a widow with several 
 children dependent upon her exertions. The next 
 may be the wife of a well-to-do mechanic, and 
 does not therefore require or receive so much 
 from the Association. It was settled with Mrs. 
 Elliott that she should receive ten shillings a- 
 week, out of which she would pay her own rent, 
 as well as her board and clothing. The only point 
 of doubt was the absence of real Church principle ; 
 for though, as has been related, Mrs. Elliott had 
 entirely left the Dissenting chapel, she seemed 
 c3
 
 20 A SERVANT OF THE POOR. 
 
 ignorant of the claim which the Church has upon 
 all her members, nor was she at that time a com- 
 municant. The Managers therefore called atten- 
 tion to this, and suggested that the Incumbent or 
 Lady-Superintendent should undertake to instruct 
 her on this important subject. The sequel will 
 show what a faithful daughter of the Church of 
 England she ultimately became. Her work began 
 by a great sacrifice on her part, for she gave up 
 her little house, sold a good deal of her furniture, 
 and removed from Bow Common to small apart- 
 ments in a close street in St. Augustine's. It is 
 believed by those who knew her best that this 
 sacrifice was made deliberately on her part from 
 love to that Saviour Who has commanded us to 
 lay down our lives for the brethren. Having 
 made it to Him, and for His dear sake, she never 
 boasted of her sacrifice to men, and it was not till 
 after her death that the facts were fully known 
 even to the Managers. Can we wonder that work 
 undertaken in such a spirit should have prospered 
 in her hands ? 
 
 It was in May 1868 that Mrs. Elliott became 
 the Parochial Mission-woman of St. Augustine's, 
 Stepney. She went about her work with great 
 energy, going from top to bottom of every house, 
 and trying to promote the happiness and comfort 
 of every individual with whom she came in contact. 
 Generally the acquaintance began by her begging
 
 A SERVANT OF THE POOR. 21 
 
 them to save their pence for the purchase of some 
 useful articles, of which she saw them to be in 
 want. But though she promised to call again 
 regularly for their weekly deposits, she also told 
 them to send for her in any sudden illness — 
 " Never mind calling me up at night. "Whenever 
 you want me only send, and I'll come as fast as 
 feet can carry me." She had a special love for 
 children, which they soon discovered, and would 
 run to meet her in the streets or on the stairs, 
 and at the meetings would cling to her dress or 
 climb her knee, sure of a smile and kiss from their 
 friend. Poor little people ! The rough tones and 
 harsh complaints with which they were surrounded 
 gave to that kind face and cheery voice a double 
 charm. How often, when a mother was ill or in- 
 capable, would Mrs. Elliott fetch the water, light 
 the fire, and wash the neglected baby ! How 
 many little creatures would she dress and lead off 
 to school,, or guide back to their homes ; and what 
 nice hot dinners would she teach the women to 
 buy and cook for a very small cost ! Gradually 
 the circle of her influence spread. Those who at 
 first shut the door in her face, or even greeted her 
 with abuse, heard of her kindness to others, and 
 learnt to their astonishment that a wise, good 
 friend was living in their midst, one of themselves 
 in means and station, but living only for their 
 good, going oftenest where most needed, and
 
 22 A SERVANT OF THE POOR. 
 
 working hardest for those who seemed the most 
 wretched and degraded. My own personal acquaint- 
 ance with her began in the following manner : — 
 
 On several occasions Lady C has most 
 
 kindy invited all the Parochial Mission- women to 
 spend an afternoon at her villa at Roehampton. 
 It is impossible to describe the pleasure given by 
 these entertainments, when the working women 
 leave the close alleys and crowded streets, where 
 their lives are so well spent, to walk on smooth 
 lawns, sit under green trees, look at bright flowers, 
 and take away with them to every part of London 
 a store of happy recollections, of the welcome given 
 them for their work's sake. It was at one of these 
 delightful parties, in July 1868, that I first saw 
 Mrs. Elliott, who had been only at work a few 
 weeks, and I can never forget the impression 
 made by her on my mind. She wore a black 
 alpaca gown, made quite plainly, and a bonnet 
 trimmed with mauve ribbon, the extreme neatness 
 and simplicity of her dress making her quite a 
 model Mission-woman in appearance. The face 
 was a marked one, from its combination of strength 
 and sweetness, and the quiet straight-forward 
 manner quite harmonized with the truthful eyes 
 and firm mouth. We had a long talk, in which 
 she told me a great deal about her poor people, 
 but very little about her own doings for them. 
 She was sorrowfully impressed with their improvi-
 
 A SERVANT OF THE POOR. 2Z 
 
 dence and intemperance, by the brutal habits of 
 the men, and the sloth and ignorance of house- 
 hold duties shown by the women. I can recall 
 her earnest face and voice as she said,, " It isn't 
 ffifis these poor creatures want, it's knowledge." 
 I pointed to the party of nearly one hundred 
 Mission-women, and said she had given the reason 
 which had induced the founders to start our 
 Association; to which she replied, *^'I wish that 
 we did not cost so much, for then there could be 
 more of us.'' At this very time Mrs. Elliott was 
 allowing 85. a-month to her late husband's mother 
 out of the 10^. a- week which she received from 
 the funds of the Parochial Mission- women Society. 
 The following letter from Mr. Cartwright, 
 written a few months afterwards, gives an in- 
 teresting account of the progress of the Mission : — 
 
 " St. Augustine's Mission, 
 Gkeenfield Street, E. 
 
 October 21, 1868. 
 
 " I have paid into your office the sum of 51., as 
 I guaranteed. I am very happy to be able to give 
 you in many respects a satisfactory report of the 
 working of the Parochial Mission-woman in this 
 district. I feel the less hesitation in speaking 
 favourably of the work, because its progress is due 
 almost entirely to the Lady- Superintendent, Miss 
 I. L , and not to myself. 
 
 " You are aware that the Mission restarted last 
 January under circumstances of great disadvantage.
 
 24 A SERVANT OF THE POOH. 
 
 Many of the people complained that formerly they 
 had been robbed, that the thing's were not good, 
 and they nsed many abusive words to the Mission- 
 woman when she called upon them. Time, how- 
 ever, has wrought a change in this respect. Un- 
 fortunately the first Parochial Mission- woman 
 whom we employed was not entirely a suitable 
 person. Although she went about her work 
 regularly and faithfully, yet she was above her 
 employment. I have been very fortunate in the 
 selection of the present Mission- woman. She was, 
 as you perhaps may be aware, a Dissenter ; but I 
 had known her for some years as an honest. God- 
 fearing woman, and I felt sure that if I could 
 persuade her to become a Church-woman she would 
 be exactly the person I required. I have no hesi- 
 tation in saying that Mrs. Elliott's whole heart is 
 in her work, and that therefore it has prospered 
 in her hands. Soon after she was appointed the 
 Mission took a fresh start. The number of de- 
 positors has now equalled the 200 leaves which 
 are bound up in her book, and I am informed that 
 she is weekly obliged to refuse new depositors. I 
 hope, therefore, that if a book of 300 leaves be 
 given to her at Christmas, she will be able in the 
 course of next year to bring the depositors up to 
 that number. I find her very much respected in 
 the district. She is spoken of as a motherly kind 
 of person, who knows how to bring up children. 
 She is no gossip, which in this district is an over- 
 whelming recommendation. She has brought a 
 few persons to church, which the first Mission- 
 woman never did, and would, I believe, have 
 brought more, but for causes which I cannot 
 explain, but which I hope in the commencement
 
 A SERVANT OF THE POOR. 25 
 
 of next year will be removed. The attendance at 
 the meetings is not what it should be, and I regret 
 to say it does not seem to be much on the increase. 
 In this building I am cramped for room in every 
 direction. There is a German Baptist chapel in 
 the next street, which I think might be hired to 
 hold the meetings on Mondays from two to four 
 o'clock. I shall not be afraid of any of the people 
 going there, because the services on Sunday are 
 always held in German, the minister lives a long 
 way off, and never visits any, not even Germans, 
 who do not belong to his congregation. 
 
 " In conclusion, allow me to ask you if you 
 could induce some lady to take an interest in your 
 work in this district as a Supplemental Lady^? 
 The district is very poor ; the calls upon my own 
 pocket are as heavy as I can possibly bear ; so that 
 there are many little things in which I cannot 
 
 help Miss L as I would wish. Nor have I 
 
 any one to whom I can go for help. Above all, 
 both to her and myself, sympathy alone would be 
 a great boon ; for none but those who have worked 
 an absolutely poor district can tell the discourage- 
 ments which they have to bear." 
 
 This letter was gladly received and laid before 
 the Committee of the Society. A book ruled for 
 a larger number of depositors was provided, an 
 allowance of two shillings a-week was offered to- 
 wards the expense of hiring the German chapel. 
 
 ^ The title of Supplemental Ladies has been adopted by- 
 ladies, who wish to "supplement" the work of a district in 
 various ways for which it has no sufficient resources within 
 itself.
 
 26 A SERVANT OF THE POOR. 
 
 Meanwliile the daily work was steadily grow- 
 ing. With regard to the weekly savings collected 
 by Mrs. Elliott in the houses of the poor, at all 
 hours, and with indefatigable earnestness, the fol- 
 lowing table will be interesting, as showing the 
 gradual progress of thrift among the proverbially 
 thriftless : — • 
 
 
 £ s. d. 
 
 Total deposited during year ending Dec. 31, 1868 
 
 62 17 31 
 85 4 81 
 
 1869 ' 
 
 1870 
 
 97 8 9 
 
 « » » >t 1871 
 
 117 6 10| 
 
 The rule of the Association is that the deposits 
 are to be collected by the Mission-woman in the 
 homes of the poor, and not brought by them to 
 the meeting. Having thus a reason for going 
 from cellar to garret, and for repeating the visit, 
 tact and devotion are shown by the use made of 
 these opportunities. 
 
 The following instances will explain how Mrs. 
 Elliott dealt with some of the people to whom she 
 thus introduced herself — 
 
 An elderly couple^ whose extreme poverty but 
 evident respectability much interested her, had a 
 grown-up daughter in good service. Suddenly 
 the girl came home, but refused to state her reason 
 for doing so. Mrs. Elliott contrived to get her 
 alone, and then asked her if she were not likely to 
 become a mother. At first the girl denied the
 
 A SERVANT Or THE POOR. 27 
 
 fact ; but after a little wise and kindly talk she 
 broke down^ and told her new friend the sad story 
 of a long engagement and a sudden fall. The 
 man was out of work, and could not afford the 
 money necessary for their marriage ; but there 
 was reason to believe in the reality of the sorrow 
 expressed by both parties for their sin. A portion 
 of the money was therefore given, and Mrs. 
 Elliott,, having made all the necessary arrange- 
 ments, accompanied the parents and daughter to 
 St. Philip's church, Stepney, where they were 
 met by the man, and the young pair married. 
 As they were leaving the church the old father 
 was so overcome with thankfulness, that he knelt 
 down, and with tears besought a blessing on the 
 Mission -woman and the Lady- Superintendent, 
 whose united help had rescued his child from 
 degradation. Mrs. Elliott would often speak of 
 that wedding-day as one of the happiest Sun- 
 days in her life. In another somewhat similar 
 case she watched over the poor young mother with 
 the tenderest care, got her a small place, visited 
 her frequently in it, and kept up the mother's love 
 for the baby, who had been sent to a Home. The 
 girl did so well, that after a time she had made 
 herself a new character, and is now in respectable 
 service, maintaining her child by her earnings. 
 During Mrs. Elliott's last illness she never missed 
 an opportunity of going to see her dying friend,
 
 28 A SEUVANT OP THE POOH. 
 
 to whom she owed the greatest debt one woman 
 can to another. 
 
 Many of the persons ultimately won to the 
 Mission first received Mrs. Elliott with such rude- 
 ness and abuse as to make great demands on her 
 patience and perseverance. One strange-tempered 
 woman was for a long time silent and surly, but 
 yielded at last to the kind interest taken in her 
 solitary life by the Mission- woman. Her early 
 home had been in the country, where she had been 
 carefully brought up and confirmed ; but, like too 
 many others, after settling in London had gradu- 
 ally given up all religious habits. Like the piece 
 of silver mentioned in the Gospels, she had been 
 " lost " in the neglected crowd of the great 
 '' house," but was now " found '■* by a diligent 
 woman. She was first persuaded to go to a 
 meeting by Mrs. Elliott, which she so enjoyed 
 that she became a regular attendant. The little 
 concluding services were greatly blessed to her, 
 and after a while Mrs. Elliott had the happiness 
 of accompanying her country friend to church and 
 the Holy Communion. 
 
 To return to the scheme mentioned in the letter. 
 The plan for hiring the German chapel had to be 
 abandoned, because the women unanimously said 
 they could not attend if the meetings were held 
 in the afternoons; and in its stead that of a 
 Mission-house was proposed, in which Mrs. Elliott
 
 A SERVANT OF THE POOR. 29 
 
 could also reside. The great difficulty of finding a 
 suitable house at a moderate rent, however, pre- 
 vented the execution of this plan for nearly three 
 years. Mrs. Elliott's home was always daintily 
 clean and neat ; in fact she was a model housewife, 
 and so good and economical a cook, that it was a 
 common saying among the poor, " Mrs. Elliott 
 can make 6d. go as far as anybody else could 9d" 
 She often went to the market with the wives_, and 
 having shown them what to buy, would return to 
 their homes and teach them how to cook it. 
 
 It is the custom of the Association to endeavour 
 to secure to every Mission- woman a fortnight's 
 holiday in the year, when she may have the benefit 
 of change of air and rest. In July 1869 Miss I. 
 L wrote that Mrs. Elliott appeared over- 
 worked, and added that she thought she needed an 
 entire change. The Sisters of St. Peter's Home 
 had taken temporary charge of a small Convales- 
 cent Cottage at Dorking, and there Mrs. Elliott 
 spent a fortnight, returning to London full of 
 praise of the kindness of the Sisters, and of thank- 
 fulness for the renewed strength gained under 
 their care. It was not surprising that she was 
 overdone, for she was often up a whole night with 
 a sick person, without in any way diminishing her 
 ordinary work the next day, which included every 
 sort of kindness. She would accompany women 
 going to be measured for instruments provided by
 
 30 A SERVANT OP THE POOH. 
 
 the Surgical Aid Society, lest they should feel 
 nervous at being" alone. She would go to the 
 Dispensary to fetch medicines for those too infirm 
 to go themselves. Nor would she lose sight of 
 her patients when removed into the London 
 Hospital; where she might generally be found on 
 the visiting days, cheering the sick with her kind 
 and cheery presence, telling them how all was 
 going on in their homes, carrying away their 
 soiled linen, either to wash herself or get washed 
 for them, according to the circumstances of each 
 case, but taking good care that the clean articles 
 should return to the patient at the proper time. 
 One poor victim to the brutality of a profligate 
 husband used to watch for these visits with the 
 keenest anxiety, for from the Mission-woman she 
 could hear of the man she still loved, notwithstand- 
 ing his ill-usage. But Mrs. Elliott did not confine 
 her interview with the husband to giving him the 
 affectionate messages of his long-suffering wife. 
 To use her own words, " she told him her mind 
 quite plainly," and the result was that he provided 
 tea, sugar, and butter for his wife during the many 
 weeks she was confined to the hospital. It is to be 
 hoped that the fulfilment of one small duty may 
 have led to the acknowledgment of others. 
 
 Gradually these labours began to tell very 
 favourably on the poor, and many who would 
 have turned a deaf ear to good words, were forced
 
 A SERVANT OF THE POOR. 31 
 
 to believe in the reality of a religion which brought 
 forth such good deeds. The preceding instances 
 will in some measure explain the influence she 
 exercised, and which is thus described by the Vicar 
 of St. Philip's, Stepney, in a letter from which we 
 venture to make the following extract : — 
 
 " Perhaps, if you were to ask me what was 
 special in Mrs. Elliott's relation to the poor among 
 whom she laboured, I should say it was her power 
 of inspiring them with trust in her judgment and 
 respect for her character. She was not a mere 
 agent or functionary in the district, she was a 
 friend and counsellor. Whether the circumstance 
 that, though latterly straitened in means, she ori- 
 ginally belonged to a class somewhat higher in 
 social level than that which is generally to be 
 found in St. Augustine's, had anything to do with 
 her rare influence among the poor, I will not here 
 discuss. Certainly she was a presence and a power 
 of remarkable virtue. Doubtless this influence 
 was immensely strengthened by her entire self- 
 sacrifice."" 
 
 Now and then her niece would remonstrate with 
 her aunt for the disturbed nights which followed 
 these active days, but Mrs. Elliott's usual answer 
 was, " I will gladly spend and be spent for Christ." 
 Bishop Jeremy Taylor's prayer seemed made for her 
 ■ — " Feed us till we be quite spent in Thy Service." 
 
 In 1870 Lady B undertook to give to 
 
 St. Augustine's that supplemental help for which
 
 32 A SERVANT OP THE POOR. 
 
 Mr» Cartwright had asked in his letter of 
 October 1868. By her aid the following 
 plans for a Loan Mangle and a Loan Se wing- 
 Machine were set on foot, and two widows with 
 large families of small children were among the 
 earliest benefited by them. In both cases a de- 
 posit was paid before the bread-winning article 
 was removed to the widow's room, and a weekly 
 sum promised by her for its use. If the latter 
 w^as regularly paid, the hire and the deposit w^ere 
 counted as purchase-money, and on a given day 
 the mangle or machine became the property of the 
 hirer. But if the widow failed to pay the promised 
 contribution, the article lent could be claimed by 
 the Lady- Superintendent (acting on behalf of the 
 Supplemental Lady), and in that case all the 
 money paid for its hire would be forfeited and 
 employed in repairs. Happily the necessity has 
 never yet arisen, in Stepney or elsewhere, of putting 
 this part of the scheme into practice. The plan 
 was one which much interested Mrs. Elliott. She 
 took great pains both to help the widows to get 
 work and to keep them up to making their weekly 
 payments, which were generally collected by her. 
 It was the same with regard to the weekly 
 contributions from those parents whose children 
 
 Lady B helped to board out or to place at 
 
 Industrial Schools, Orphanages, or Homes. In 
 all such undertakings Mrs. Elliott's hearty and
 
 A SERVANT OF THE POOR. 3S 
 
 sensible co-operation could be relied on ; and tbese 
 are some of the many occasions on wbicli the 
 influence of a Mission- woman and her knowledge 
 of character are tested. She ought to know whose 
 promise may be trusted, whose efforts are likely to 
 be steady, and whose work will probably succeed. 
 It is no exaggeration to say that Mrs. Elliott's 
 sagacity was seldom at fault, and her kindness 
 never failed. 
 
 I asked a poor needlewoman who was sewing 
 for me why she spoke so affectionately of Mrs. 
 Elliott. ^' Me and mine would have been in the 
 workhouse if it hadn't been for her,'^ was the 
 immediate reply, explained by her history. The 
 husband was a sugar-baker, and in regular work. 
 They had seven children, and would . have been 
 comfortably off if he had not been a determined 
 drunkard — fixing beforehand the time for "a lark," 
 when he would be for several days in a state of 
 intoxication, during which time he would kick, 
 beat, and ill-use his family. On more than one 
 occasion he attacked his wife with a knife, and she 
 had to get under the table to escape from his 
 drunken fury. Disease of the brain came on, and 
 after a time he was taken to the Infirmary, leaving 
 a ruined home, which his vices had emptied of 
 furniture and clothes. " I thought there was no- 
 thing for my children but the workhouse ; but 
 Mrs. ElUott came and put new spirit into me." 
 
 D
 
 34 A SERVANT OF THE POOR. 
 
 She got a little work for tlie woman. Miss I. 
 
 L found places for the two sons, and, to use 
 
 the mother's own words, "They kept my heart 
 alive in me." When a good situation had been 
 
 found for Mrs. in the country, Mrs. Elliott 
 
 took charge of one of the lads, allowing him for 
 six weeks to sleep on the floor of her sitting-room, 
 
 and to share her own meals. Mrs. is now an 
 
 hospital nurse. It is three years since her husband 
 left her, and for more than two she has paid two 
 shillings a-week towards the maintenance of her 
 two girls at the Industrial School in the country, 
 
 where Lady B placed them, supplementing 
 
 the mother's contribution^ and thus giving the 
 children the best chance of success in future life. 
 
 Mrs. Elliott's love for children dated from the 
 hour of their birth; in fact, she was frequently 
 their first, and certainly their best friend. Visitors 
 to the weekly meetings were often struck with one 
 little fellow in particular, whose tiny arms were 
 held out, as he trotted as fast as baby feet could 
 carry him from his mother to Mrs. Elliott. The 
 latter would gladly catch him up, and cover her 
 godson with kisses, keeping him in her arms as 
 long as possible, and when obliged to part with 
 him for a few moments, enthroning him on the 
 flannels and calicoes, where he sat in solemn 
 silence^ waiting till she could snatch him up 
 agaiuj with a '' Bless you, my darling ! " It was
 
 A SERVANT OF THE POOR. 35 
 
 a pretty sight to watch the Mission-woman, in her 
 dark dress, snow-white cap and apron, with her 
 nursling" clinging so tightly to her neck, or sitting 
 so happily on her knee. They are together again 
 now, and for ever ; for some childish ailment ended 
 little " Dottie's " life before he had completed his 
 third year. 
 
 *' There is a reaper whose name is Death, 
 And with his sickle keen 
 He reaps the bearded grain at a breath, 
 And the flowers that grow between." 
 
 The parents were among her firmest friends. 
 The man was a cobbler ; and when first Mrs. 
 Elliott became acquainted with them they were 
 living in one room, in which the husband and 
 another man were at work during the confinement 
 of the wife. The Mission-woman attended the 
 poor thing, who had no other female friend, and 
 washed and dressed an older child as well as the 
 new-born infant, repeating her kind offices until 
 the mother was well enough to fulfil her own 
 duties, when she accompanied her to be churched 
 and stood sponsor for her boy. Some time after- 
 wards the husband obtained regular work in one 
 of the suburbs, and there Mrs. Elliott kept the 
 Christmas of 1870 as their dear and honoured guest. 
 
 The rules which are best obeyed are gene- 
 rally those to which the exceptions are dis- 
 tinctly recognised, and therefore in that which 
 d2
 
 36 A SERVANT OF THE POOR. 
 
 forbids that a Parochial Mission-woman should be 
 a bearer of alms, the Managers have always made 
 the one exception^ that she may carry food, either 
 cooked or uncooked, to the sick^ lut to the sicJc only. 
 Many a light pudding, or cup of soup, or bit of 
 fish, is thus enjoyed by those who have neither 
 the means to procure nor the skill to prepare such 
 dainties. Some of the Supplemental ladies, de- 
 sirous of providing additional nourishment to poor 
 women after their confinements, have found the 
 best way of doing so to be that of letting the 
 Parochial Mission- woman fetch a dinner three 
 days a week for one month from the eating-house. 
 In most parts of London a plate of slices from a 
 hot joint and potatoes may be thus procured for 
 fourpence. Besides the economy^ this plan secures 
 its being eaten by the patients and not shared by 
 their family. Unfortunately no such eating-house 
 was to be found near enough to St. Augustine's 
 to allow of this plan being carried out, without 
 making too great demand on Mrs. Elliott's time 
 and strength in goiug and coming. She therefore 
 begged her Superintendent to allow her to under- 
 take the matter at her own house, assuring her 
 that she could provide similar dinners at the same 
 rate, and would gladly do so. The question was 
 referred to the Managers of the Association, who 
 consented to this being done, when necessary, 
 twice a-week ; and this Mission-woman accord-
 
 A SERVANT OF THE POOR. 37 
 
 ingly added to her various other functions tliat 
 of purveyor to lying-in depositors ! Of course the 
 number of dinners varied with the frequency of 
 these events, no woman being allowed more than 
 one dozen such meals; but the first account sent 
 
 to Lady B shows that from April 14 to 
 
 May 26 Mrs. Elliott had provided and cooked 
 sixty hot meat dinners for the sum of one pound, 
 all of which she had carried herself to her 
 patients. It was not till some time after that 
 
 it came to Miss L 's knowledge that her 
 
 Mission-woman was using her own fuel in pre- 
 paring these dinners for others. The kindly 
 feeling called out by this help at a time of special 
 need was very great ; and the Superintendent 
 relates that, going one " dinner-day " to visit a 
 woman whose husband was out of work and her- 
 self very ill after a bad confinement, the poor 
 creature told her that she had had such a longing 
 for a bit of mutton that she could not help telling 
 her husband of it. After the man had started on 
 his search for employment, suddenly Mrs. Elliott 
 appeared at her bedside^ and told her to cheer up, 
 
 for that Lady B had sent her a nice hot 
 
 dinner. " And," added the poor woman, with tears 
 in her eyes, ^' it was a piece of roast mutton, Miss." 
 Early in 1871 the affection of the rough but 
 warm-hearted poor, among and for whom she lived, 
 made them desirous of giving Mrs. Elliott a present.
 
 38 A SERVANT OF THE POOR. 
 
 Afterwards two of their number were selected by 
 
 the others to get from Miss I. L the name 
 
 and address of every depositor, on whom one of the 
 deputed pair would call and ask if she was willing 
 to contribute to the united love-token. There 
 were only two real refusals ; for those who had no 
 moneyj when first asked, brought their pence a day 
 or two later. The strictest secrecy was observed, 
 and no one but members of the Mission were 
 allowed to contribute. When the money had been 
 
 thus collected, Miss L was again consulted as 
 
 to the best present that it would procure. She 
 most wisely suggested a silver watch ; and, as her 
 idea was deservedly popular, she kindly procured 
 one at wholesale price, had it engraved, and kept 
 in readiness for an Easter Tea-drinking on a vast 
 scale, when, on their behalf, it was presented to 
 their Mission-woman. A lady resident in the 
 East of London, and of large experience among 
 the inhabitants, to whose best interests her whole 
 life is devoted, was present on this occasion, and 
 describes it as one never to be forgotten. She was 
 particularly struck with the universal feeling of 
 respect as well as love manifested to Mrs. Elliott 
 by the whole assembly, in their manner and 
 language no less than by their gift. One woman 
 with an infant in her arms, said to the stranger, 
 " I have reason to bless Mrs. Elliott, if anybody 
 has." Being asked why, she replied, "When I
 
 A SERVANT OF THE POOR. 39 
 
 was confined she came to me^ did everything for 
 me — for I was so poor I couldn't get things ready. 
 She sat up with me four nights running, and 
 came in every day for a fortnight to wash baby 
 and set me to rights. I couldn't have been better 
 cared for if I had been a lady with money to pay 
 a nurse." The watch was an excellent one, and 
 bears the following inscription : — 
 
 " From 
 
 The Depositoes in the Parochial Mission Fund 
 
 To 
 
 MRS. ELLIOTT, 
 
 Their Mission-woman. 
 St. Augustine's Mission. Easter 1871.'* 
 
 On the morning of the day fixed for the presen- 
 tation a very poor German woman took a large 
 
 cake to Miss L , with a bunch of flowers in 
 
 the centre, and begged her to give it to Mrs. 
 Elliott after the tea, but on no account to disclose 
 the name of the donor, who was also the maker, of 
 the cake. No suspicion of these gifts had occurred 
 to the Mission- woman, and her surprise and delight 
 in them may be imagined. 
 
 In September the Incumbent made an earnest 
 application to the Managers for a grant towards 
 the maintenance of a second Parochial Mission- 
 woman, of whom " we are in terrible want." The 
 same application described the need of a better 
 room for the meetings, and urged the taking of a
 
 40 A SEEVANT OF THE POOR. 
 
 Mission-liouse. Unfortunately want of means 
 frequently obliges tlie Managers to refuse such 
 entreaties from devoted and hard-working clergy, 
 the sympathy of the public not having kept pace 
 with the growth of the Association. But, just as 
 the difficulty in this instance seemed likely to be 
 overcome, Mrs. Elliott's health gave way. The 
 following letter will show the feeling this illness 
 
 excited :-— 
 
 "CoYNANT House, 
 
 Globe Road, Mile End, 
 November 6, 1871. 
 
 *' What I desire to accomplish is to cut my 
 district exactly in half, and have a Mission-woman 
 working in each moiety. The two poorest streets 
 in the district, though there are one or two de- 
 positors from them, are not worked at all, and I 
 feel sure that a Mission-woman would do much 
 good in them apart from the mere collecting of 
 
 the pence. Miss I. L would be pleased to 
 
 undertake the superintendence of a second Mission- 
 woman, and as we have now another lady to help 
 her in the meetings, I do not think it would be too 
 much for her. With regard to Mrs. Elliott I am 
 in very great grief. Although the medical man will 
 not say, and I should be extremely sorry to hint 
 my opinion to her, yet I am afraid that she is 
 suffering from cancer. I most sincerely hope that 
 this is not the case, and it mai/ not he ; but from 
 what nurse tells me, there is only too much fear. 
 I do not think she will be able to accept Lady 
 
 B 's kind offer for the next six weeks. I 
 
 cannot express to you the sorrow which I feel at
 
 A SEHVANT OF THE POOR. 41 
 
 Mrs. Elliott's illness, nor the esteem in which I 
 hold her. It is wonderful to see the way in which 
 she manages to obtain the respect of all who have 
 to do with her. There is but one universal feeling 
 concerning her. She is rather sharp in her manner, 
 and quick in her temper ; but she is so ready to 
 deny herself for others, and at the same time so 
 strictly honest and truthful, that, as she is known, 
 she draws both respect and love. To give you 
 an instance of this. Some twelve months ago, a 
 family who had been for some considerable time in 
 great distress in this district, moved away to 
 Enfield, the man having got most excellent and 
 permanent employment in the Government fac- 
 tories there. Their first act was to go to Mrs. 
 Elliott and offer to keep her entirely if she would 
 only live with them and manage the house. 
 
 " Yesterday a young man, a shoemaker, came to 
 me, and proposed to get up a concert on her behalf, 
 knowing that her expenses must be great. Poor 
 nurse, who lives in the same house with her, and 
 takes the greatest care of her, is heart-broken 
 about her. It is quite a relief thus to write to 
 you about her. I have never praised her, never 
 given her the slightest reason for thinking that I 
 esteem her as I do ; but now that she is ill, and 
 her illness brought on by over-work, I feel sure 
 that you will excuse my expressing to you how 
 strongly and warmly I regard her. Fortunately, 
 during her illness, her niece can occupy her place. 
 She is twenty-eight years of age, and very respect- 
 able. Miss L says she does very well at the 
 
 meetings ; and she has her aunt's instructions 
 every morning. I see I forgot to state what I 
 could offer to contribute towards a second Mission-
 
 42 A SERVANT OF THE POOH. 
 
 woman, if the Fund will be kind enough to grant 
 me one. You know that your brother has been 
 kind enough to offer me 10/. a-year for two years 
 for that object, and I would guarantee another 10/. 
 besides the 5/. which I now subscribe. I only 
 wish that I could offer more.^' 
 
 Mrs. Elliott rallied however after a few weeks, 
 and seemed so much relieved by rest and treat- 
 ment, that hopes were entertained that the disease 
 was of a less malignant character than had at first 
 appeared to be the case. And the new year began 
 brightly, with the prospect of increased work at 
 St. Augustine's. The second Parochial Mission - 
 woman was started, and at last a suitable Mis- 
 sion-house found, large enough to furnish an ex- 
 cellent ground floor room for the weekly meetings, 
 as well as to accommodate the two Mission-women, 
 and the nurse. In January 1872 Mrs. Elliott was 
 present at a small tea-party given to enable the 
 mothers of the boys boarded out at Minchin- 
 Hampton to meet the Rector, and her interest 
 in every detail of the plan, as well as in the report 
 read of the progress of each boy, was as keen as 
 ours. She considered herself much better, and 
 
 spoke very gratefully of a hamper Lady B 
 
 had sent her from the country during her illness, 
 enumerating its contents with great exactness. 
 But neither the chicken, the wine, nor the tea 
 had delighted her so much as the fresh vegetables
 
 A SERVANT OF THE POOR. 43 
 
 and herbs. They were the special dainties, for 
 they reminded her of " dear Devonshire." In 
 March the Mission gained another worker in the 
 
 Hon. Miss S , who undertook to give frequent 
 
 help at the weekly meetings, as well as in the 
 management of special cases. Her first acquaint- 
 ance with Mrs. Elliott was formed in the Mission- 
 room, where she was much impressed with the 
 affectionate relationship which evidently existed 
 between the Mission-women and the poor people, 
 with her knowledge of their histories^ and their 
 reliance on her judgment. The pleasure felt in 
 the acquisition of a new friend was needed to 
 mitigate the grief experienced in the loss of an 
 
 old one ; for Miss S had hardly begun her work 
 
 before the Curate of St. Augustine's resigned his 
 parochial work for an appointment upon the staif 
 of the Additional Curates^ Society, The loss of the 
 minister, whose friendship and kindness had been 
 so great, so unvarying, and to whose teaching 
 and guidance she owed, under God, so much of 
 her spiritual life and power of work, was a heavy 
 blow to Mrs. Elliott. His successor, the Kev. W. 
 Langhorne, having formally applied for a continu- 
 ance of the work of the Association, no change 
 took place in its organization, beyond that necessi- 
 tated by the increasing illness of Mrs. Elliott. 
 Some doubts still existed as to the nature of the 
 disease from which she was sufiering such constant
 
 44 A SERVANT OF THE POOR. 
 
 agony. Lady S therefore arranged for her 
 
 going to St. Peter's Home, Kilburn, where she had 
 all the advantages of great medical skill, combined 
 with trained and tender nursing. During her 
 stay there she was cheered by visits from fellow- 
 workers. Miss S says, that even when in such 
 
 suffering that she could hardly speak, she loved 
 to hear details of her poor friends at St. Augus- 
 tine's. Her one wish seemed to be, that she 
 might recover sufficiently to return to her work 
 among them ; and she would say again and again, 
 '' My dear people, if God would only permit me 
 to go back to them; — poor dears, I know they 
 must want me." It was the wish of the doctors 
 that Mrs. Elliott should go into the new Hospital 
 for Women in Soho Square. She shrank from this 
 at first very much, but had learnt obedience in the 
 school of suffering, and went there early in June. 
 Before leaving St. Peter^s I had a long and quiet 
 talk with my dear friend, and heard her warm 
 praises of the kindness and consideration which 
 had been shown her in that beautiful Home. I 
 said that she must enjoy the society of the Sisters, 
 and the sight of their devotion to the suffering 
 poor. To my surprise she was silent, but after a 
 pause, told me their presence was almost more 
 than she could bear, it made her feel her own in- 
 activity so keenly. For that as our blessed Lord 
 came not to be ministered unto but to minister,
 
 A SERVANT OF THE POOR, 45 
 
 she felt so "^put back" from likeness to Him, by 
 thus sitting still to be waited on by His servants. 
 I tried to remind her of other points of resem- 
 blance we were called upon to cultivate, especially 
 patience under suffering, and can never forget the 
 earnestness with which she listened and then said, 
 " God only knows how much I want to be like 
 Jesus." 
 
 The Sisters quite understood the beauty of the 
 Mission -woman's character, and one of them 
 writes : — 
 
 " I remember Mrs. Elliott well ; she was for some 
 weeks under my care at St. Peter's, but the 
 natural reserve and unobtrusiveness of her cha- 
 racter prevent my being able to help you much 
 towards a memoir. She suffered intense pain, for 
 which there was no relief by anything we could 
 do, yet I never heard her murmur, or saw the 
 least fretfulness or impatience. She so dreaded 
 giving trouble, or disturbing the other patients 
 that it required watching, and cross-questioning to 
 discover when she needed fomentations or other 
 means to alleviate her pain. She was always 
 grateful and thankful, and tried to lead those near 
 to feel as she did. She certainly valued Church 
 teaching most highly, and made great efforts to 
 communicate frequently, getting up early in spite 
 of her pain and weary nights, that she might come 
 into the chapel, declining to remain in the ward 
 for the communion of the sick, until actually un- 
 able to leave her bed. She said she wished to do
 
 46 A SERVANT OF THE POOR. 
 
 all in her power to show her love and reverence 
 to Him, Who had done so much for her, and Who 
 had provided so great a gift. She spoke so ear- 
 nestly and decidedly about it, that her example 
 and words had much influence on some of the 
 other patients. She seemed to love her work, and 
 spoke of it with great reality, never with the 
 boastful spirit one too often hears, nor did she ever 
 begin to talk about herself. She left St. Peter's 
 Home for the Hospital in Soho Square, when she 
 hoped an operation might be the means of curing 
 her; this she dreaded greatly, but accepted it 
 quietly as her Master's will, praying constantly that 
 it might be of use to her, and asking the Sisters' 
 prayers for its success. We all took a great 
 interest in Mrs. Elliott, and were very sory when 
 she left the Home, she had such a nice influence 
 in the ward." 
 
 At Soho she was again visited by Miss S , 
 
 and cheered by news of St. Augustine's. Her 
 whole heart was in her work, but the humility 
 with which she spoke of herself was very touching. 
 " If God permits me to return to them, there are 
 many things I should like to do differently ; I 
 hope that I have learnt a great deal since I have 
 been ill, and I would try to do better than I have 
 done." The Hospital doctors gave hopes of her 
 finding relief, and perhaps cure, from an operation, 
 if only her general health were strong enough to 
 bear the trial ; and with a view to restoring its 
 tone, Lady S arranged for Mrs. Elliott's spend-
 
 A SERVANT OF THE POOE. 47 
 
 ing- a few weeks at Blackmoor, in the cottage set 
 apart for tlie Parish Nurse. She was much pleased 
 with the idea, but timid about the journey. The 
 undaunted spirit which, while in health, had braved 
 difficulty and conquered fatigue, now quailed be- 
 fore any effort, and it was not till Lady S 
 
 suggested taking her down herself with her own 
 party, that Mrs. Elliott could summon courage to 
 meet the unknown dangers of the railway journey 
 
 into Hampshire. Unfortunately, Lady S 
 
 and her family were at Geneva during the whole 
 of Mrs. Elliott's stay at Blackmoor, so that she 
 missed the comfort which that lady's thorough 
 knowledge of Mission work, and love for the 
 Mission poor, would have been to the invalid, 
 whose whole heart was in St. Augustine's. She 
 wrote gratefully of the kindness shewn her, and 
 only wished her Stepney friends could share the 
 new cottages built at Blackmoor. The Nurse^s 
 account of her guest shall be given in her own 
 words : — 
 
 "I don't think any one ought to judge of a 
 person in such suffering as she was, except by 
 their previous life ; but she seemed to me to 
 be naturally impatient, and as time went on she 
 got much, much more patient, but her pain was 
 so bad that it was terrible to have to bear. She 
 could never sit quiet for a minute together because 
 of it. She was very fond of reading, and would
 
 48 A SERVANT OF THE POOR. 
 
 go and lie down on her bed of an afternoon with 
 the Monthly Packet, or some other book which 
 had been lent her. She got to church whenever 
 she could and received Holy Communion. ... It 
 was all so quiet, so respectable here, no drunkenness, 
 nothing of that kind, and then she would discourse 
 on the riots and fights etc. that went on under her 
 window till past midnight in London. The quiet 
 and stillness struck her very much here, and at 
 the end of her time she used to say how she 
 would like to be buried here, in such a sweet, 
 clean, uncrowded churchyard. She hated being 
 sent away from London at first. She yearned so 
 to be back, as she knew that she must die, but she 
 always talked heartily of her work, as if she would 
 lovingly go back to it to-morrow, did she think 
 she could ever recover. ... She was not talkative. 
 Sometimes the very smell of cooking made her so 
 ill, that she could eat and do nothing. She was 
 fondest of talking about her troubles, and her bad, 
 drunken husband, and the nephew she brought up 
 that turned put so badly, and she used to say it 
 was this personal knowlege of suffering helped her 
 so with the poor she had to do with. She did not 
 think any one could get on with them as she did, 
 who had not had her bitter experience. It made 
 her know so well how to get round drunkards. 
 . . . One day I got her out to the hop-fields, and 
 she was so anxious to see what that low work was 
 like. I told her every body did it here, and it was 
 not considered at all low j but she said the lots that 
 went regularly from Stepney to hopping, were so 
 low she always thought it must be dreadful. Well 
 when she saw Master J and every body pick- 
 ing away, she was that surprised and so amused
 
 A SERVANT OF THE POOR. 49 
 
 that slie said, ' Well, when I go back, I shall tell 
 them it is quite respectable work, and, as the 
 minister's son was hop-picking, no one need 
 mind."' 
 
 But neither change of air nor skill were of any 
 permanent good. Nothing could arrest the pro- 
 gress of the terrible malady, and on her return to 
 London, in September, it was evident to Mr. 
 Lanffhorne, that she would never be able to resume 
 work in his parish. For many months Mrs. 
 Elliott's niece had acted as deputy, but this was 
 an arrangement which could not be continued, 
 nor could either remain in the Mission-house, 
 when no longer doing Mission-work. It was 
 most painful thus to part with one for whom both 
 clergy and managers felt so deep a respect and 
 affection, but duty to the work itself required the 
 appointment of a successor to Mrs. Elliott. No 
 change was however made before Christmas, when 
 the marriage of the niece enabled her to receive 
 her aunt into a home of her own. 
 
 The reader of the preceding pages will have 
 formed his own estimate of the merits of the 
 subject of them. He has seen how much her 
 character and work were valued by her own 
 class, by her clergy, and by the Lady-managers 
 of the Association to which she belonged. One 
 other testimony is added, viz. that of Edmund 
 Holland, Esq., a friend of Edward Denison's, a 
 
 E
 
 50 A SERVANT OF THE POOR. 
 
 sharer of his work, and like himself a resident in 
 the district in which Mrs. Elliott worked, and from 
 his position an impartial judge of its results : — 
 
 '' It may be stated that her principles of work- 
 ing* were entirely in accordance with those of the 
 Charity Organisation Society. She worked well 
 in a particular line, in which Mission-women will 
 not always work heartily, viz. that of depauperi- 
 sing the people. Mr. Cartwright, as well as of 
 course Denison, soon became convinced of the evil 
 of doles to the poor. In fact there were a coterie 
 of us then, who a long time ago worked together 
 on this point. We did so, not as some accuse us, 
 mainly and principally upon economical theories, 
 but first of all, because we saw the moral evil 
 of the system, how it encouraged vice, crime, 
 and recklessness, and bred misery, hypocrisy, 
 and unreality. A population attracted to the 
 parson by doles of relief cared little for his in- 
 structions, and soon got accustomed to use the 
 proper words expressive of its faith, when mani- 
 festly it had no faith at all. Nor were churches 
 filled under this system, though the clergyman 
 was besieged for alms. Mr. Cartwright soon gave 
 out that he gave relief only to the sick. Then he 
 got up a flourishing Penny-Bank. Mrs. Elliott 
 threw herself heartily into the movement. To 
 her having, as she had, considerable insight into 
 character, and knowing much of the life of the 
 people, it was no good coming with whining notes 
 of complaint, when she knew how they were living, 
 and how their evil was brought upon themselves. 
 They must suffer then — sad, heart-rending it was,
 
 A SERVANT OF THE POOR. 51 
 
 but it was God's way of bringing men to repent- 
 ance — and besides it was useless^ if not positively 
 wrong, for us to give tbat which would simply be 
 wasted, while the misery would be recurrent week 
 after week. She had grasped the great truth, 
 that we can abolish poverty, misery, and crime, 
 only by cutting at their roots. That we cannot 
 be strong for our neighbour, but can only try 
 and make him strong for himself. Now the ten- 
 derness of heart that is required to work out these 
 principles is a fact which is wholly overlooked 
 by ordinary district visitors and distributors of 
 charity. It is for ever easier to give oneself, 
 or recommend others to give, to the suffering 
 upon pleas of future amendment. Mrs. Elliott 
 never did this. She had got to know what those 
 pleas meant, and waited, as God waits, for His 
 own way of repentance first. I am no adulator of 
 departed friends merely because they are good, 
 but I give my observations for what they are 
 worth, and I say, that women like Mrs. Elliott 
 read in this most clearly the doings of God, and 
 suffer in spirit after the manner in which Jesus 
 Himself suffered, for ills they as He have to look 
 upon, and cannot with all their energies cure. 
 Well then, it is these people whom the poor 
 ultimately respect and love, just as mankind 
 ultimately get to love the Just. How many 
 people have been saved by quiet, unmarked words 
 of that poor woman going about, as the Great 
 Teacher did before her, from house to house, with 
 here a word about providence, a suggestion there 
 about care, a warning against sin, a sympathetic 
 word for weakness, a help towards strength, 
 E 2
 
 53 A SERVANT OF THE POOR. 
 
 telling them all the time that she could not do 
 for them, that they mtist do for themselves^ now 
 and then a stern rebuke of vice, the stopping of 
 the mouth of hypocrisy ere the full extent of its 
 lies is told — of course we cannot tell. But I 
 am bound to say this, that her way of going about 
 among the poor is the true way ; and that in her 
 I not only lost a most valuable co-operator, but a 
 true friend." 
 
 Little more remains to be told. She never 
 left the rooms into which she was carried on her 
 departure from the Mission-house, and in which 
 she spent six months of ceaseless suffering. 
 Her sole income had been derived from the 
 Parochial Mission-woman fund, and when that 
 ceased^ she became entirely dependent on the 
 kindness of her friends. To add to these afflic- 
 tions, Miss L 's illness prevented her visiting 
 
 Mrs. Elliott, and this parting from her beloved 
 Superintendent was a sore trial to her faithful 
 Mission-woman. She might have said with the 
 Patriarch of old — '^AU these things are against 
 me." But ever by her side, and in the midst 
 of the fiery furnace, she was comforted and sus- 
 tained by the presence of the Son of God. She 
 had devoted time, strength, and heart to the 
 service of the greatest and best of Masters, and He 
 never forsook His servant during one hour of 
 her long passage through the valley of the Shadow 
 of Death. She had glorified Him by her quiet
 
 jl servant of the pooh. 53 
 
 work^ and now she was permitted to do so by 
 her quiet patience. Mr. Langhorne visited her 
 regularly during her illness ; she frequently told 
 him that she " was devoid of fear, and full of 
 peace." She was entirely free from cant and 
 talk about religion, but she had a sincere faith 
 in God, and a living hope of acceptance with Him 
 through the merits of our Saviour. She partook 
 with great reverence and thankfulness of the 
 Holy Communion on more than one occasion, 
 and devoutly joined in the prayers which were 
 offered on her behalf. Another time, by her own 
 request, he used the beautiful Office for the Visita- 
 tion of the Sick, to which she attended very 
 devoutly. Besides these special services, Mr. Lang- 
 horne would read passages from Holy Scripture, 
 offering prayers suited to her condition, and was 
 always welcomed by her, and he too testifies to 
 the great patience and resignation with which 
 she bore her illness, which, though most trying 
 and painful, never now provoked a murmur or 
 complaint. Her interest in St. Augustine's con- 
 tinued until her malady seemed to consume her 
 strength, and her advice was very frequently 
 asked, until it became difficult for her to rouse 
 herself. Mr. Langhorne adds, that the advice she 
 gave was always sound and clear, and bespoke a 
 Christian spirit. In his last interview, a few days 
 before her death, he was struck with the humility
 
 54 A SEKVANT OF THE POOR. 
 
 of her mind and the quietness of her spirit. 
 Although suffering agonising pain for many 
 months, she was evidently supported in her mind 
 by the present help of God, and said so. 
 
 Through the kindness of a private friend of 
 the Managers, Mrs. Elliott obtained a pension 
 of five guineas per annum, from a Society called 
 "The Association for giving help to Poor In- 
 curables/' The first payment was in February, 
 and it was continued till her death. The system 
 adopted by this excellent Society is that in every 
 case a lady undertakes to receive the quarterly 
 cheques, and to expend them in the purchase of 
 additional comforts for the invalid, giving an 
 account to the Honorary Secretary of the Society. 
 The money is not an allowance, nor does it there- 
 fore interfere with parish or other relief. Mrs. 
 Elliott received with her usual gratitude, the 
 information of her immediate appointment to this 
 little pension, and Miss S undertook the man- 
 agement of it. Being unexpectedly detained in 
 Scotland,, her duties were kindly fulfilled by 
 
 Mrs. M , whose residence in the city enabled 
 
 her to be a frequent visitor to the dying woman, 
 and from whose letters many of the following 
 details are gathered. These visits were the more 
 
 interesting because Mrs. M had just begun 
 
 work as a Lady Superintendent in a newly started 
 mission in St. Philip's, Stepney. Mrs. Elliott de-
 
 A. SERVANT OF THE POOR* 55 
 
 lighted in hearing and talking about this fresh 
 branch of the old work, and greeted the new 
 Parochial Mission-woman thus — ^' And so you're 
 in the work, my dear ; I hope it will prosper with 
 you ; it did with me !" and cautioned her always 
 to remember that the greatest poverty is often 
 
 the least apparent. Mrs. M adds, ^' She was 
 
 always bright and cheerful, aye even full of fun, 
 and I used to delight her greatly by praising her 
 capacity for mirth. I never saw her' without her 
 Bible, Prayer-book, and Manual of Devotions for 
 the ^ick close at hand, and she used to say, 
 that as long as her pain would permit her to read, 
 it was very bearable. Her real living faith in God 
 never failed, though she herself used to say, '^ there 
 are times when I get thoroughly down, but next 
 day something always happens to make me 
 ashamed of myself." It was a particular instance 
 of this, that when she had spent her last available 
 money on her necessary cordial, and the medical 
 man was urging her to get some more (it being 
 the only sustenance she could take for days together), 
 she told me she had said, " The door is shut ; God 
 wills that I shall want it; and all the while," she 
 
 added, " Mrs. P v/as on her way to me, with a 
 
 store of it, and Mrs. C ^s promise that it 
 
 never should fail me ! " I shall never forget the 
 joy with which she told the story. The glimpse 
 of God's hand in the gift gave it double value.
 
 56 A SERVANT OF THE POOR. 
 
 To the last she retained her love of flowers, and 
 used to enjoy those sent her. Nor had long sick- 
 ness made her selfish. She would often express 
 the fear that she was indulging herself too much. 
 The intense thirst, which was one of her many- 
 trials, made fruit particularly grateful to her parched 
 
 mouth. Yet on Mrs. M taking her some 
 
 grapes^ she said, "You are getting me into bad 
 habits." She was much afraid of injuring her 
 niece by her long attendance, and used to tell with 
 much pleasure how kindly that niece's husband 
 would go long distances to procure some little 
 dainty with which he hoped to tempt her failing 
 appetite. 
 
 It was not till June that Miss S and I were 
 
 able to go down to Stepney to see her once more. 
 She was sitting up in bed, and looked so haggard, 
 so worn, and so thin, that hardly a trace remained 
 of her former self, and, though glad to see us, she 
 was too ill for real conversation. She was pleased 
 with our bright flowers, and held them in her 
 wasted hands. The clotted cream brought back 
 her old love of Devonshire, and she said two or 
 three times over, '' There's no place like the West- 
 country." In answer to some remark on the 
 length and severity of her illness, she said that her 
 sickness had brought many evil actions which she 
 had forgotten back to her memory, and that she 
 had prayed for forgiveness ; and, folding her hands
 
 A SERVANT OP THE POOR. 57 
 
 together, she said most reverently, " God has for- 
 given me for all my sins." Perceiving how great 
 her sufferings were, we asked if we could in any 
 way relieve her ; hut she answered that she wanted 
 for nothing, excepting a softer cushion : and we 
 sent a water-pillow that night on which she 
 died. Dropsy was in her feet and legs. She 
 could eat nothing solid, and had had no sleep for 
 some time. But her warm heart was unchilled ; 
 and the messages she bade us deliver showed that 
 her memory was unaffected by her bitter pain. 
 
 '^Give my duty to Lady S and the other 
 
 ladies. Tell them I pray God so often to bless 
 them, for they do love His poor. May He bless 
 them all, and that dear creature who gave us the 
 teas. . . . My love to the Mission-women, and beg 
 them to be kind to the sick. Some of them say 
 that they don't care about sick people. That^s 
 wrong. They should love them, for Christ did." 
 There was a pause ; and, remembering our conver- 
 sation at St. Peter's Home, I took up the large 
 copy of the Office for the Visitation of the Sick, 
 which was lying on the bed, and read those beauti- 
 ful words, " For He Himself went not up to joy, 
 but first He suffered pain ; He entered not into 
 His glory before He was crucified. So, truly, our 
 way to eternal joy is to suffer here with Christ ; 
 and our door to enter into eternal life is gladly to 
 die with Christ, that we may rise again from
 
 58 A SERVANT 01' THE POOR. 
 
 death, and dwell with Him in everlasting life.'' 
 Her whole face brightened at the sound of these 
 familiar words ; she turned towards us, and said in 
 a loud, clear voice, " We know those words by 
 heart, but we love to hear them over and over 
 again." It was the momentary flicker of an 
 expiring flame, and after a little silence we bade 
 her farewell. A few more days and nights of 
 suffering passed slowly by, and on June 21, 1873, 
 Jane Elliott entered into her rest, her last articulate 
 words being the expression of her tender affection 
 towards her niece. 
 
 The feelings called out by her death, and shown 
 at her funeral, were fresh proofs of the love and 
 respect inspired by her life. They are described 
 by her old clergyman, who came up from Leicester 
 to take part in the service ; and his letter has the 
 additional interest of containing a history of the 
 friendship with which he regarded his former 
 Mission- woman : — 
 
 " Leicester. 
 
 July 8, 1873. 
 
 " I had the melancholy pleasure of committing 
 Mrs. Elliott's body to the grave, and of saying a 
 few words in St. Augustine's before she was taken 
 to the cemetery. I first knew Mrs. Elliott when 
 I was curate to Arthur Cotton, at Bow Common. 
 She did not live in that part of the parish where 
 I was accustomed to visit, and possibly I should 
 never have known her had it nut been for a curious
 
 A SERVANT OP THE POOR. 59. 
 
 circumstance. A young* milkman brought up his 
 sweetheart from Devonshire to be near him in 
 London. He came to me to ask me to get her a 
 place. I happened to be in want of a servant at 
 the end of a month's time from that date, and she 
 went to live with Mrs. Elliott until I was ready 
 to have her. There she was taken ill with the 
 measles ; and it was from visiting her during that 
 illness that I first became acquainted with Mrs. 
 Elliott and with her character. When the first 
 woman I had at St. Augustine^s failed, Miss 
 
 K recommended to me Mrs. Elliott. Soon 
 
 after she came to live in the district, and some- 
 how or other I think wound herself round all 
 our hearts. I can truly say that I was never 
 more attached to any person of her class ; and 
 when I performed the last offices for her, al- 
 though I was thankful that she had been re- 
 lieved of her pain, I felt the most genuine 
 sorrow for her loss. Nor was I singular. The 
 chapel was full of women, all of whom had put 
 on mourning for the occasion, and who testified 
 by their sobs and expressions of grief, to their 
 appreciation of the few remarks which I made 
 upon her manner of life and conversation. In the 
 street the same expressions of sorrow were to be 
 heard. I spoke to a great many persons, and not 
 one but expressed their regret at her death. I 
 saw her some three weeks before she died, and she 
 spoke to me then concerning the kindness with 
 which her old women remembered her. She 
 smiled as she told me of one who, after express- 
 ing her regret that it was not in her power to 
 bring her anything, added, ' But if you should
 
 60 A SERVANT OF THE POOR. 
 
 want to put anything away, I will come at any 
 time and go to the pawn-shop for you.' Poor 
 woman ! her last words to me, as I bid her good- 
 bye, were, ' I can^t hope to see you again ; ' and 
 then, baring her arm, which was reduced to nothing 
 but skin and bone, she said, ' I should not be of 
 much use at a tea now, sir.' The affection which 
 she obtained was not won by any external charm 
 of manner or of appearance. She was blunt and, 
 after her illness began to come upon her_, irritable. 
 She always expressed her mind freely, and, if she 
 knew or believed herself to be in the right, would 
 at once contradict. I don't think that I am doing 
 her an injustice, when I say that her success was in 
 a large measure due to her being pre-eminently 
 suited to the district which she had to work, and 
 to the clergyman with whom she had to do. I 
 can well imagine that with some clergymen she 
 would never have got on, and that in some 
 districts she might not have suited. I took to her 
 because she was thoroughly fearless, truthful, and 
 unconventional. I found in her a person on whom 
 I could rely, and who never modified nor withheld 
 her opinion because it was contrary to my own. 
 And the same qualities made her popular in the 
 district. The people knew that she was not to be 
 taken in, and they respected her accordingly. All 
 their excuses availed nothing with her. She was 
 as well acquainted with the circumstances of the 
 people, with the way in which their money was 
 spent, with their troubles, and with their vices as 
 they were themselves, and they knew it. And she 
 was no tale-bearer. But I have been speaking so 
 far only of the surface of her character. The
 
 A SERVANT OF THE POOR. 61 
 
 principle of her life was duty ; and I never came 
 across a person in any situation of life who was 
 more thoroughly governed by this principle. She 
 was not what some persons would call a devout 
 woman. I do not suppose that she ever felt that 
 pleasure which some feel either in private or in 
 public worship ; but whatever she saw to be her 
 duty, at whatever cost to herself, she never shrank 
 from performing. And I don't think that I can do 
 better on this point than repeat to you what I said 
 over her body at St. Augustine's, that often when 
 I have felt depressed or wearied from my own 
 work, I have had my spirit revived and my energies 
 braced from observing the quiet devotion with 
 which she went about her work. I honestly 
 believe that some little good was done whilst I 
 was at St. Augustine's, but I am equally certain 
 that that little would never have been effected if 
 it had not been for Mrs. Elliott. This devotion 
 to duty on her part led to the great charm of 
 her character, which was its utter unselfishness. 
 Neither pain, nor weariness, nor hunger stood in 
 her way of doing kindness to others. Often, I 
 believe, has she stinted herself that she might do 
 something for a neighbour. As to the pain which 
 she suffered, and the manner in which she did her 
 work whilst suffering that pain, the nurse of the 
 district will tell you better than I can. I don't 
 think that I can express to you how much I was 
 attached to her. Beyond my own immediate family 
 I have never grieved for any one as for her." 
 
 At her own request she was buried by her 
 husband in the Victoria Park Cemetery, where her
 
 62 A SERVANT OF THE POOR. 
 
 poor friends at St. Augustine's have subscribed 
 to erect a stone cross over her grave. Three of 
 the Managers of the Parochial Mission-women's 
 Fund have also placed a memorial tile in St. 
 Paul's, Bow Common, in memory of Mrs. Elliott, 
 in whose life, work, and death they thankfully 
 acknowledge a rather special share. 
 
 The present condition and future prospects of 
 England are subjects of the deepest and widest 
 interest to her children. During the last fifty 
 years her wealth and her population have enor- 
 mously increased. But are her homes happier? 
 Are her people more godly ? The answers to such 
 questions should not only be sought of the upper 
 ten thousand, but of her working millions. What 
 are the poor doing for the poor? They can 
 combine for higher wages or longer holiday. Can 
 they form a holy union to promote Christian 
 civilisation among themselves ? The working-men 
 subscribe large sums for the employment of those 
 who sow sedition and teach intimidation. How 
 many of them are ready to sacrifice time, ease, and 
 amusement that they may help their neighbours to 
 help themselves? They are familiar with the 
 words, " To the poor the Gospel is preached." 
 But the Gospel contains commands as well as 
 promises. Obedience to the one is the condition 
 of enjoyment of the other. The twelve apostles 
 were poor people, and it was to them, as well as to
 
 A SERVANT OF THE POOR. 63 
 
 the rich of future ages, that the Saviour addressed 
 the words, "If ye love Me, keep My command- 
 ments.'^ '' This is My commandment, that ye 
 love one another, as I have loved you. Greater 
 love than this hath no man, that a man should 
 lay down his life for his friends." If we are, then, 
 exhorted by Oar Lord Himself to be willing to 
 die for one another, shall we hesitate to devote all 
 that makes life precious to His service ? Dare we 
 think of His Blessed Life of toil, hunger, thirst, 
 weariness, disappointment, and solitude, and then 
 offer Him the cold benevolence that gives what it 
 can spare without inconvenience, and reckons up 
 the hours spent for God, while it takes no count 
 of the whole days devoted to the world ? Shall 
 we be afraid of fatigue, or trouble, or self-sacrifice ? 
 Shall we shrink from small means, bad smells, 
 close air, rude words, or disagreeable people, and 
 call ourselves followers of Him " Who pleased not 
 Himself?" It is so easy to talk eloquently, so 
 difficult to work earnestly, to submit humbly, to 
 endure patiently. But Jane Elliott's life shows 
 that even this is all possible. She gave herself a 
 " lively sacrifice " to God for the service of His 
 Church. She gave all she had, and counted not 
 her life dear unto her for His sake. And the 
 proof of His acceptance of that offering was the 
 work He wrought we as well as that He wrought 
 hy her. For by nature she was proud, hasty, and
 
 64 A SERVANT OF THE POOR. 
 
 insubordinate. By Grace she became obedient to 
 every rule, patient under exquisite suffering, and 
 so sweet and bright in manner that those who only 
 knew her in the latter part of her life could hardly 
 believe that she had ever been otherwise. The 
 road by which she trod is open to all of us. Reader, 
 are you striving after likeness to Christ, are you 
 labouring for the glory of God ? 
 
 CLAKENDON PKESS, OXFOKD. 
 f OR THE SOCIETY TOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE.