LIBRARY 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 RIVERSIDE 
 
 From JONES' 
 BOOK STORE, 
 
 IN ANIELES, CAL
 
 o 

 
 Ip 
 MEMORIALS 
 
 OF 
 
 CHRISTINE ' MAJOLIER ALSOP. 
 
 Hi 
 
 COMPILED BY 
 
 MARTHA BRAITHWAITE. 
 
 " How does my soul crave that I may be replenished with this 
 living faith, this holy love; producing a readiness to do all the 
 Lord's commandments, and to suffer all His will." 
 
 Extract from her Journal, 1859. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA : 
 
 HENRY LONGSTRETH, 
 
 738 SANSOM STREET. 
 1882.
 
 A? 5 A3 
 
 FERQUSON BROS. It CO., 
 PHILADELPHIA.
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 T N attempting to give a record of the life of our 
 - late beloved Friend, Christine M. Alsop, I 
 deeply feel that it is only as the Lord is pleased 
 to help fne that I can faithfully portray a 
 character of no common kind. Many years her 
 junior in age, it was only during the latter years 
 of her life, that I was privileged with an intimate 
 acquaintance with her. The friendship that sub- 
 sisted between us, was founded on the love of God 
 in Christ our Saviour. It was the same in joy or 
 in sorrow, a deep, rich, full tide of blessing. My 
 children used, for many years, to call her "grand 
 mere" 
 
 Her own Autobiography furnishes the record of 
 her early life, and has been largely used. Letters, 
 journals, and papers supply the rest. 
 
 From so large a mass of material the task of 
 selection has been difficult. I have aimed at con- 
 densation; and have endeavoured to avoid tha 
 which had ceased to interest, or which was without
 
 iv PREFACE. 
 
 its lesson. In the details of her many journeyings, 
 persons rather than places have been brought the 
 most prominently forward. 
 
 If the little volume prove of interest to her many 
 friends ; and above all if it be made instrumental in 
 winning any precious soul to the love of that Re- 
 deemer in whom she rejoiced to believe; and if 
 any of the Lofd's dear children be thereby encour- 
 aged to follow her as she sought to follow Christ, I 
 shall feel amply repaid for the labour of compilation. 
 
 I am not without the hope that the retrospect of 
 her life and labours may tend to awaken and 
 strengthen an interest in France, and in the pro- 
 gress of Gospel truth in that great country, so 
 influential for good or for evil among the nations of 
 Europe. 
 
 In sending the memoir to the press, I have had 
 the help of my beloved husband, who has kindly 
 looked over what was already prepared and made a 
 few valuable additions. 
 
 MARTHA BRAITHWAITE. 
 312, CAMDEN ROAD, LONDON. 
 Fourth Month, 1881.
 
 PREFACE. v 
 
 P. S. An interesting narrative, illustrating and con- 
 firming the account given by C. M. Alsop in her Auto- 
 biography (p. 3) as to the manner in which the little 
 company in the South of France first became acquainted 
 with English Friends will be found in the Appendix. It 
 is the reprint of a tract published at Manchester care- 
 fully compiled from authentic materials. 
 
 M.B.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGB 
 
 Preface * . . iii 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Birth Connection of her ancestors and family with the early 
 Protestants of France French prophets The Camisards 
 Anecdotes of persecution Her father gives up the law 
 Becomes acquainted with Friends Visits London 
 Troubles of the Revolution His Christian kindness and 
 disinterestedness He becomes a Minister of the Gospel 
 amongst Friends I 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Visit to her sister at Sauve Earliest remembrance of meetings 
 of Friends at Congenies Remarkable preservation of 
 Pierre Rabinel Declaration of Peace Old animosities 
 renewed Visits from Friends 19 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 First visit to England Home at William Allen's Impressions 
 of new country Friends, Elizabeth J. Fry, etc. Plough 
 Court Learns English Attends Yearly Meeting Re- 
 turns to France in company with her father Narrow 
 Escape Feelings on return home 32 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Life in the South of France Second visit to England Inter- 
 esting time on the way with the " Beguins " at St. 
 Etienne 50 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 Life with Mary Hanbury Her illness and death . . . 56 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Life at Stoke Newington Wilberforce Clarkson Open 
 
 house for foreigners 65 
 
 (vi)
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. PAGB 
 William Allen's third marriage Change in his establishment 
 Christine Majolier visits her parents, and afterwards re- 
 turns to England Closer union with Friends Journey 
 on the Continent with Thomas and Elizabeth Robson 
 Visit to the Queen of France and the King and Queen of 
 Wurtemburg Review of the journey Increased settle- 
 ment in her religious views 73 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 Residence at Lindfield Illness, and retum to France . . 88 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Residence at Nimes in Dr. Pleindoux's family Description of 
 
 Nimes State of Religion in France . . . -97 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Visit of Elizabeth Fry to the South of France Christine Ma- 
 jolier again comes to England Final parting with Wil- 
 liam Allen Returns to Nimes Death of her pupil, Adele 
 Jalaguier 114 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 Journey on the Continent with Lindley Murray Hoag . . 122 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Her marriage "Acknowledgment" as a Minister of the 
 Gospel Removal from Chelsea and settlement at Stoke 
 Newington ......... 131 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Accompanies Eliza P. Gurney in a visit to the Vaudois Valleys, 
 and other parts of the North of Italy, and to Friends in 
 the South of France Interview with the widow of the 
 Duke of Orleans at Sestri, and with the Dowager Empress of 
 Russia Decease of Justine Benezet Accompanies Eliza 
 P. Gurney in a visit to Friends of Pyrmont and Minden 
 Interview with the King and Queen, and his sister, the 
 Dowager Empress of Russia Xahneebaweequay . . 138
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. PAGB 
 
 Quiet reflections ; Death of her niece, Marie L. Dixon Remi- 
 niscences by her niece, Louisa M. Dixon (now Pierson),of 
 her residence with her Aunt ; and of her Aunt's associ- 
 ation with some members of the Royal Family . .153 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 Journey on the Continent with John Henry Douglas Distress 
 
 in the East-end of London Children's Hospital . . 162 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 Labours in France after the Franco-German War . . . 177 
 
 CHAPTER XVIL 
 Justine Dalencourt Sewing Meeting established at Boulogne- 
 
 sur-Seine Labours in France continued . . . 192 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Brief reflections on her labours in France Her life at Home 
 Her Husband's alarming illness Last Journey on the 
 Continent of Europe 210 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Decease of Robert Alsop Letters and Journal Illness and 
 Death . 221
 
 MEMORIALS 
 
 OF 
 
 CHRISTINE MAJOLIER ALSOP. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 Birth Connection of her ancestors and family with the early 
 Protestants of France French prophets The Camisards 
 Anecdotes of persecution Her father gives up the law 
 Becomes acquainted with Friends Visits London Troubles 
 of the Revolution His Christian kindness and disinterested- 
 ness He becomes a Minister of the Gospel amongst Friends. 
 
 /CHRISTINE MAJOLIER (who, by her subse- 
 ^~s quent marriage, became Christine M. Alsop) 
 was born at Congenies in the Department du Card, 
 in the South of France, on the loth of the Sixth 
 Month, 1805. Her father, Louis Antoine Majolier, 
 was a native of Calvisson, a large village, situated 
 two miles to the east of Congenies. Her mother, 
 whose maiden name was Marie Brun, was born at 
 Fontanes, a little village almost at the foot of the 
 Cevennes. 
 
 My grandparents (writes C. M. Alsop in her Auto- 
 biography) were, on both sides, descended from persons 
 who were known by the name of the French Prophets,
 
 2 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. 
 
 who were themselves descended from the Camisards of 
 the Cevennes, Protestants who had never embraced 
 the errors of Rome, and who long defended them- 
 selves against the attacks of Louis XIV., after the 
 revocation of the Edict of Nantes, in 1685, and 
 were in consequence almost entirely exterminated or 
 driven into exile. Those who escaped remained con- 
 cealed in the fastnesses of the rocky districts in which 
 they were born. The sufferings they had undergone, 
 the remarkable deliverances they had experienced, the 
 wrongs they had endured, all tended to foster the 
 spirit of enthusiasm, so natural to a warm-hearted 
 people, living in a tract of country so romantic, and in 
 a climate so genial. They met in small companies in 
 retired dwellings, or in caverns in the rocks, for divine 
 worship ; and the rocks often re-echoed the sound of 
 their psalm-singing without its being possible for their 
 pursuers to find them ; one person being generally on 
 the watch on some eminence to warn the others of 
 the near approach of the enemy, who, on their arrival 
 on the spot, found all still, and were unable to find the 
 objects of their search. The relation of the marvellous 
 escapes, and other wonderful stories of these moun- 
 taineers amongst whom my ancestors lived, were the 
 evening pastimes of my childhood. With what in- 
 terest have I listened to the tales, so often repeated, 
 which my dear mother would relate to us in the winter 
 evenings, how their meetings were sometimes broken 
 up by those assembled hearing extraordinary sounds 
 like the clanking of arms in the air over their heads, 
 while the enemy were at a sufficient distance to allow 
 them all to disperse; how young children were made
 
 FRENCH "PROPHETS: 
 
 the instruments not only of warning those assembled 
 of the approach of their pursuers, but also of encou- 
 raging them to trust in the invincible arm of " the 
 Eternal" ; or how some found safety in lofts and stables 
 where the eyes of the soldiers, who were in search of 
 them, were so holden that they could not see them. 
 
 The preachers among these people, who were called 
 the Prophets, used to declaim against a hireling 
 ministry and the ordinances so called, against every 
 kind of oppression, and pronounced woes upon their 
 oppressors, and all those who did evil. One story in 
 particular we delighted to hear. One of these Pro- 
 phets, whose name was Auziere, used often to go to 
 the house of one of our relatives to hold meetings. 
 He kept his store of written discourses in a box, 
 which was hidden in the hay-loft. Some of these 
 discourses still exist, and are in the possession of my 
 cousin, Samuel Brun ; they are curious, very neatly 
 written, but they do not contain much Gospel truth ; 
 they are chiefly denunciations against the ungodly, 
 and encouragements to hold fast in the faith. This 
 poor man, being pursued on account of his writings and 
 preaching, often took refuge at Fontanes, and when the 
 soldiers were near he used to hide himself in the loft 
 together with his papers. On one occasion, the house 
 being about to be searched, he effected his escape and 
 went into the neighbouring wood; he had no sooner 
 gone than he remembered the writings in the old box, 
 and fearing lest they should bring the persons who 
 had so generously protected him into trouble, he fell 
 on his knees under a tree and prayed fervently that 
 they might not be found, or, if found, he prayed that
 
 4 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSO P. 
 
 \ 
 
 the eyes of those who discovered them should be so 
 holden that they might not be able to read them ; for 
 he thought that he had been very cowardly to escape, 
 and thus endanger the safety of his benevolent host. 
 His prayer was answered ; for when the soldiers went 
 into the loft and searched amongst the hay for the 
 man, they found the box of manuscripts, and, thrusting 
 their spears into them and tossing them about, they 
 said, " Here is plenty of paper prepared for writing, 
 but there is nothing written," and they left the house 
 without doing any harm. I can never forget the so- 
 lemnity with which my dear mother related this story, 
 and the impression it made on my mind when I was a 
 child, of the power of the Almighty, and of His good- 
 ness displayed by the care He takes in time of danger 
 of those who love Him. My father and mother's 
 parents belonged to a sect which had sprung from 
 the " Prophets." Less visionary than these, though 
 holding some of their views, and more spiritually- 
 minded than the Protestants who surrounded them, 
 they had adopted principles as to the spirituality of 
 the Christian dispensation, ministry, and worship, very 
 similar to those of Friends, before they knew of the 
 existence of such a religious body. They met in 
 silence to worship God and waited for the influence 
 of the Holy Spirit before they expressed anything in 
 their assemblies ; and they considered that as the gift 
 of the ministry is freely received it should be freely 
 exercised. Contrary to the practice of their forefathers, 
 who had so desperately defended themselves against 
 the armies of Louis XIV. and XV., they held the 
 unlawfulness of war.
 
 LOUIS ANTOINE MAJOL1ER. 
 
 By an advertisement which appeared in the Paris 
 papers, February 24th, 1785, respecting the restitution 
 of some prize property by a Friend named Edward 
 Long Fox, they became acquainted with the existence 
 of the Society of Friends in England. They wrote 
 to Edward L. Fox a letter signed by five out of their 
 number, of whom my dear father was one ; he was then 
 about twenty-one years of age. Thus began the inter- 
 course- which, except the interruption occasioned by 
 the long war, has continued ever since. During a 
 short interval of quiet at the Peace of Amiens even 
 this disastrous period was availed of, and one of their 
 number, a poor illiterate man of Congenies, named 
 Paul Codognan, was sent to England to print the 
 writings of Auziere ; but his ignorance of the English 
 language, and I might say of the French, for he spoke 
 the patois of the district, rendered this visit of little 
 use. However, a few books were given to him, which 
 he concealed on his person, and he returned to Con- 
 genies, having performed the journey, I believe, chiefly 
 on foot, a distance of about sixteen hundred miles. 
 
 My dear father was then quite a young man. An 
 attachment to the views of Christian doctrine held by 
 this little society had inclined him to give up the pro- 
 fession for which he was educated, that of the law, 
 which, in the state of affairs at that period, he thought 
 he could not follow without compromising his prin- 
 ciples, or at least without having his attention diverted 
 from those things which are of greater importance 
 than the acquisition of worldly honours and posses- 
 sions. As he was an only son, his parents, though not 
 rich, had been able to give him a good education, far
 
 6 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. 
 
 beyond those about him, and he had been some years 
 with a notaire of considerable reputation and great 
 respectability at St. Ambroix. This gentleman had 
 three daughters but no son, and he had frequently 
 delicately hinted to my father, that he would leave him 
 his business, if he married one of his daughters, who 
 were well brought up ; two of them being about my 
 father's age, and very pleasing ; but, to his great sur- 
 prise, my father informed him that he thought it right 
 to leave him for the reason I have mentioned. His 
 kind patron, although unable to understand his motives, 
 respected his intentions, and they parted on very 
 friendly terms Soon after this my dear father married 
 Marie Brun, of Fontanes, the eldest daughter of Samuel 
 and Marie Brun, who. were amongst the most promi- 
 nent of the new sect. They first settled at Calvisson, 
 which was the most central place for the meetings, 
 which were then held somewhat after the manner of 
 Friends, and were numerously attended by persons 
 who lived in the neighbouring villages ; they met in 
 private houses. There was also a meeting held at 
 St. Gilles, and they had many ministers amongst them, 
 both men and women. 
 
 On his marriage, my father took his wife to his 
 parents' home, where he learnt weaving, to maintain 
 his family thus evincing his willingness to give up 
 what he thought was required of him by his divine 
 Master. But he had many difficulties to contend with, 
 particularly on account of the strange notions and 
 conduct of many of those with whom he was in pro- 
 fession ; and I have heard him say that he had almost 
 given up all hope of being of any use to his fellow-
 
 FIRST VISIT OF FKZEXDS. 
 
 professors, when some English and American Friends 
 came to visit them in the year 1788. These were 
 George and Sarah Dillwyn, Robert and Sarah Grubb, 
 Mary Dudley, Ady Bellamy, and John Eliot. Mary 
 Dudley thus notices the first meeting they attended 
 at Congenies, 25th of Fifth Month, 1788: "The 
 meeting this morning was attended by between eighty 
 and ninety persons. Soon after sitting down, several 
 of them appeared strongly agitated, and no less 
 than five spoke, one after another, in testimony 
 or supplication, all sitting, except one man, who 
 stood up and expressed a little in humility and 
 tenderness. ' ' This was, I suppose, Pierre Rabinel ; 
 and on the 4th of Sixth Month she says: "Since 
 the 26th ult., we have sat with twelve families in this 
 village one at Fontanes, six miles distant ; two at 
 Quissac, nine miles further ; and two at Calvisson, one 
 and a-half miles from hence. At this last-mentioned 
 place resides Louis Majolier, who has been our atten- 
 tive companion in the family sittings, and at 
 our lodging, since we first came ; he is a sensible, 
 intelligent young man, evidently under the tendering 
 visitation of truth, and humbly desirous of right 
 instruction." Mary Dudley thus describes the little 
 company at that time : " Their appearance, manner 
 of behaviour, &c., are certainly such as bear little 
 resemblance to our Society; but the honest simplicity 
 there is among them, the apparent consciousness of 
 their deficiencies, and tenderness of spirit, confirm our 
 hope of a clearer prospect opening in due season." 
 Even then they held meetings for discipline ; for Mary 
 Dudley remarks: "In the afternoon they held their
 
 8 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. 
 
 Monthly Meeting, the business whereof is only the 
 care of their poor, and oversight of each other's moral 
 conduct; but our men friends, who understand the 
 language, observed that their method far exceeded 
 their expectations." 
 
 It appears from Mary Dudley's account that they 
 held their meetings with the outer doors locked. Some 
 time after the return of these Friends to England, 
 my dear father visited that country and became better 
 acquainted with the principles and discipline of Friends 
 there, and from that time felt himself called to the 
 ministry, and he also devoted himself to the education 
 of the children of his fellow-professors. He opened a 
 school at Congenies, where he came to reside, as that 
 village was the centre of the rising Society; but his 
 task was a difficult one. There were many errors to 
 be eradicated among those with whom he felt called 
 to labour. He was often discouraged ; but, to use his 
 own expression, an irresistible power impelled him, 
 and he received strength to persevere ; and although 
 young at that time he was the instrument of a favour- 
 able change amongst the Friends being greatly 
 helped by his correspondence with the Friends in 
 England, who also partly supported his school. He 
 was thus employed when the troubles of the Revolution 
 totally changed the face of things; the school was 
 suspended, and they were no longer permitted to meet 
 for worship. He had then to suffer from privations of 
 all kinds ; he saw himself frequently without the 
 means of supplying the wants of his increasing family, 
 but he always acted with the greatest disinterested- 
 ness ; still thinking of .those who were worse off than
 
 TROUBLES OF THE REVOLUTION. 9 
 
 himself, and contributing to their relief by dividing 
 with them the little that his great industry procured 
 him. Among the many circumstances which largely 
 called forth the deep sympathy of my parents, and 
 which I have often heard them relate, of this disastrous 
 period, I must mention one of great interest. The 
 notaire at St. Ambroix, with whom my father had 
 formerly studied, being a suspected aristocrate, though 
 an honest, respectable man, was, under some slight 
 pretext, arrested, taken to Paris, and his property con- 
 fiscated ; his poor wife and three daughters followed 
 him thither on foot, and had the inexpressible anguish 
 of witnessing his public execution. Their emotion 
 at the spectacle betrayed them ; they were seized, 
 reconducted to the South, and imprisoned in the 
 tower of the Castle of Sommieres, about three miles 
 from Congenies. The youngest daughter was a mere 
 child, so she was allowed to go in and out of the 
 prison ; they had thus the means of making their 
 situation known to my father, and he alleviated the 
 trials of their position as much as lay in his power. 
 Many months were these delicate women, well brought 
 up, and accustomed to many of the luxuries of life, 
 kept in this prison, with the worst accommodation, 
 and, had it not been for the assistance of their friends, 
 with scarcely a sufficiency of the coarsest food ; for, 
 as it was a time of great scarcity, those who were 
 imprisoned were kept on very scanty fare. 
 
 When the storm began to subside, and they were 
 
 set at liberty, they had only the clothes with which 
 
 they had entered the prison, tattered with wear, and 
 
 no home to go to ; their once comfortable home having 
 
 B
 
 10 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. 
 
 been ransacked, and all they had possessed being now 
 in the possession of others. By that time my dear 
 father had been able to build himself a small house, con- 
 sisting of four rooms and some outbuildings ; but, with 
 an increasing family he was struggling amidst many 
 difficulties ; yet his grateful heart could not bear to leave 
 his former kind mistress (now a helpless widow with 
 her fatherless children) unbefriended. He generously 
 offered her one of his three rooms, that they might share 
 equally with his family until means should be devised 
 for their help. As they were in a state of such destitu- 
 tion that they could not go to Nimes to procure work, 
 my father went himself and obtained for them, from 
 houses and persons that he knew, muslin embroidery, 
 at which they were e'xpert, and by great industry they 
 were able in a short time to earn enough to buy cloth- 
 ing and partly to support themselves. They lived in our 
 family, until, by their own earnings and the help of their 
 friends, they were able to furnish an apartment and 
 open a school for girls at Nimes, where they main- 
 tained themselves respectably for many years. The 
 mother retained a very warm affection for my father 
 to the day of her death, and the eldest daughter, who 
 as I write is still living, can scarcely speak of him 
 without tears. They were Roman Catholics, but she 
 told me when I last saw her, that the thought of my 
 dear father made her disbelieve one of the doctrines 
 of her Church (" hors de 1'Eglise point de salut"); 
 he had taught her both by example and precept to 
 value the Bible. 
 
 Although during this time of trial and difficulty my 
 father could not derive from England the help which
 
 WILLIAM SA VER Y AT CONGENIES. 1 1 
 
 he so much needed for carrying on the school, yet he 
 and those about him persevered in their attachment 
 to and profession of the principles they had adopted, 
 and as soon as the horrors of the Revolution were over 
 they resumed their meetings and reopened the school. 
 In the year 1797 they received a visit from William 
 Savery and David Sands from America, who were 
 allowed to travel in France on the ground of their 
 being Americans. 
 
 William Savery thus describes his arrival at Con- 
 genies, i3th of Third Month, 1797: "We hired a 
 voiture at Nimes to take us to Congenies, about three 
 and a-half leagues. The country between Nimes and 
 Congenies, though sometimes mountainous, is fine; 
 the people seemed pleased at seeing us, and imme- 
 diately judged we were Friends, having seen those 
 who were here eight or nine years ago. We went 
 to Louis Majolier's to lodge, and, several of the Friends 
 being there, they received us with strong marks of 
 affection and joy." 
 
 My father had by this time enlarged his house; it 
 contained two large rooms, besides the part occupied 
 by his family; one was used as a schoolroom and 
 place of meeting, and the room over it was a bedroom 
 for the boys who boarded in the house. It appears 
 that there were at Congenies, at the time of William 
 Savery's visit, seventeen families of those professing 
 with Friends, and he describes the aspect of things 
 pretty rrwch as they were when I was a child. The 
 meetings were then held in the large room I have 
 mentioned, which we called "/a Salle ;" it had a 
 separate entrance to it from the terrace raised from
 
 12 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. 
 
 the road, but with no wall as it is now. The room 
 was used as a schoolroom when I was about nine or 
 ten years old ; but there must have been some inter- 
 ruption, for I remember that the first school I attended 
 was- one held by an old woman, who was cunning 
 enough to have her two goats in the schoolroom at 
 the hour of our lunch ; we of course fed them, and thus 
 returned home hungry, to the surprise of our parents, 
 who thought they had abundantly supplied us with 
 food. 
 
 As a maintenance for his family, my father accepted 
 employment as a land surveyor in the new taxation 
 directed by Bonaparte, and in the parcelling out of the 
 confiscated estates of the nobility. He had then a 
 very favourable opportunity for enriching himself, as 
 many did, who worked with him ; but he conscien- 
 tiously objected to buy any land for himself, except 
 one field opposite our house, for which he paid the 
 full value. Always bent on improving the condition of 
 those by whom he was surrounded, he was eminently 
 useful among them, both by pecuniary assistance 
 (often beyond the bounds of prudence) and by adopting 
 and encouraging improvements in agriculture. He was 
 the means of introducing the culture of the potato into 
 that part of the country. 
 
 This was of incalculable benefit at a time that corn 
 was so dear that it was quite unsafe to keep any con- 
 siderable quantity in the house, for fear of having it 
 stolen. I well remember the heap of potatoes in 
 the large room over "la Salle" which was chiefly 
 used at that time for such things; and to which I was 
 often sent, when a very little girl, to fill a small basket
 
 l8u.] HER PARENTS KINDNESS TO SUFFERERS. 13 
 
 to give to some person or other, who would have been 
 ashamed to beg, but who nevertheless received this 
 little help with gratitude, and carried the treasure 
 home carefully hid from view.* One year, it might 
 be 1811, as that was a year of greater scarcity than 
 even the others my father had sown the field oppo- 
 site the house (which still bears the name of "la 
 terre de Clastre") with buckwheat. The crop was 
 unusually abundant, and it proved the means of re- 
 lieving many of the poorer inhabitants of the village. 
 I have now clearly before my memory the little brown 
 loaves as they were brought home on a donkey's back, 
 in the long trough used in the place to take the 
 dough to the bakehouse and bring back the bread, 
 followed by half-a-dozen or more women and children 
 coming for their portion. I remember how sorrow- 
 fully my dear mother turned the poor things away 
 when the weekly baking was exhausted. I have the 
 recollection of the effects only of the Revolution, and 
 of the sad tales which my mother used to relate to 
 us of what she had witnessed. Of the calamities of 
 war I have a clear remembrance, and though it was 
 never my lot to be near the seat of war, we saw 
 
 * It is of this time of Christine Majolier's life that one of her 
 sisters writes : "From a very tender age she manifested a desire 
 to contribute to the welfare of others. How often between school 
 hours might we search in vain in the village for the happy fair- 
 haired child, thinking to find her at play, when she was all the 
 while busy doing some little service of love for her neighbours ! 
 Thus the finger of God marked her out from her early years 
 as one who should scatter widely around her the seeds of that 
 kindness which makes life bright and beautiful."
 
 14 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1811. 
 
 at different times a great number of prisoners, and 
 one day, in a deep snow, 1,800 passed by our house, 
 and many of them were relieved, the large room over 
 the meeting-place accommodating, for the night, many 
 who were foot-sore; and as long as memory lasts, I 
 shall not lose the impression of sympathy which my 
 childish heart often felt with the mothers who were 
 obliged to part with' their sons for the conscription, 
 particularly the levy en masse of 1811, when boys of 
 sixteen and upwards were torn from the parental roof, 
 with almost the certainty that they would never 
 return. Congenies being on the high road from 
 several towns and villages to Nimes, I have often 
 witnessed the anguish of the poor disconsolate rela- 
 tives, who accompanied their children as far as our 
 house, which stood at the end of the village, and 
 there parted never to meet again. My dear mother 
 used often to invite these poor creatures into our 
 home to endeavour to soothe them, but it may 
 truly be said that, "they would not be comforted;" 
 and what has fixed itself the most in my memory are 
 the screams, and the wringing of hands, which I have 
 often witnessed, and which gave to my young and 
 warm heart a thorough hatred of war and Napoleon 
 (whose name I then understood to be the same as 
 Apollyon, whose picture I had seen in a French trans- 
 lation of "Pilgrim's Progress"). From what I have 
 known of the sorrow which is almost universally 
 felt by parents when their children are drawn for sol- 
 diers, I feel persuaded that the French are not the 
 war-loving people that they are supposed to be. In 
 general before the time of the conscription arrives, and
 
 iSii.] THE CONSCRIPTION IN FRANCE. 15 
 
 this is when a young man attains his twenty-first year, 
 no pains are spared by the parents to be in a position 
 to bring forward everything that may procure an 
 exemption from service, should the individual draw a 
 number that would expose him to it ; and when, as it 
 mostly happens, there is no hope from this quarter, 
 the parents are willing, if at all able, to pay large 
 sums of money to ensure their sons from the liability ; 
 and I have known many who have had several sons; 
 who have mortgaged their little estates to so great 
 an extent as to be irrecoverably poor to the end of 
 their lives. During the time of war many com- 
 paratively rich families were quite ruined, to pay 
 substitutes for their sons, and even now, in time 
 of peace, it costs about .^30 to ensure ; but if a 
 young man takes his chance and draws his lot with- 
 out ensuring, he will have to pay more than ^100 for 
 a substitute. 
 
 When I was a very little girl, perhaps six or eight 
 years of age, a circumstance occurred in our neigh- 
 bourhood which greatly influenced my after-judgment 
 on the subject of the punishment of death for murder. 
 A young man named Bastide, who had lived respect- 
 ably, was accused of having poisoned his uncle and 
 aunt, who lived at the Vigan. These individuals had no 
 children, they were much attached to the young man 
 in question, who used to visit them frequently, and it 
 was generally known they had made their will in his 
 favour. A day or two after one of these visits, the 
 uncle and aunt were found dead in their house from 
 the effect of poison. Another relative directed the 
 accusation towards this young man ; he brought
 
 16 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1811. 
 
 fonvard witnesses to his having procured poison, 
 and the evidence appeared so clear against him, and 
 he could bring so little to disprove the charge, that, 
 although he protested his innocence, he was found 
 guilty and condemned to be beheaded. He was 
 imprisoned and judged at Nimes, but, as the crime 
 had been committed at the Vigan, he was sentenced 
 to be beheaded there. My cousin, now my brother-in- 
 law, Antoine Clavel, of Codogan, was then a soldier 
 stationed at Nimes. He was one of the guard com- 
 missioned to convey the poor fellow to the place of 
 execution ; they brought him through Congenies in a 
 cart, with a tilt over it, and as they came up to our 
 house the sad procession stopped. There were several 
 gendarmes on horseback, and a few soldiers on foot. 
 My cousin came into the house and had a glass of 
 wine, and a bottle and glasses were taken out for the 
 other soldiers. My dear father went up to the cart, 
 which was soon surrounded by the inhabitants of the 
 village. I went up close to my father, who was 
 speaking to the poor man ; he lifted me up and set 
 me on the cart, so that I plainly saw him. He was 
 lying on a mattress, almost lifeless ; we were told that 
 from the time he had been sentenced, he had refused to 
 take food, and that he obstinately persisted in protesting 
 his innocence, although no one seemed to doubt his 
 guilt. My father offered him something to take, but 
 he refused, and said he hoped to die before he came to 
 the place of execution ; and I suppose he was en- 
 deavouring to persuade him to confess, and to show 
 him the necessity of repentance, for he suddenly roused 
 and raising his hand said, as nearly as I can remember,
 
 iSii.] CAPITAL PUNISHMENT. 17 
 
 " Je suis innocent, et le Dieu des cieux ne laissera 
 point ce crime impuni." These words had evidently 
 an effect on all that heard them, and there was a 
 murmur of horror and sympathy in the crowd. The 
 gendarmes, however, ordered the cart to be put in 
 motion. As I was taken off the cart I felt as though 
 my little heart would break. I begged of my father, 
 whom I then thought most influential, to intercede for 
 him ; I cried out that he should not be killed, and I 
 greatly wondered that the Mayor of the village, and 
 many other persons there assembled, and particularly 
 my father, who was so kind to everybody, should thus 
 allow an innocent young man (I believe he was only 
 about twenty-two) to be taken to execution. In a few 
 days we heard that he had been beheaded, but that he 
 was all but dead when taken to the place of execution, 
 and that as long as he could speak he made the same 
 protestation of innocence. The scene haunted me for 
 days, and very often I wept over the fate of this poor 
 victim of the law. Still, as everyone thought he must 
 be guilty, like many other sad events it was almost 
 forgotten, until the relative who had accused this 
 young man, and had inherited the uncle's property, 
 was brought to his death-bed, eight or ten years I 
 think after the melancholy execution ; and before he 
 died he confessed that he had committed the crime 
 through the agency of the person whom he had brought 
 forward as a witness against the innocent sufferer. I 
 have heard my father say that when the judge who 
 had passed the sentence heard of this circumstance, he 
 was so distressed that he retired from the bench, and 
 that his hair suddenly turned white with sorrow.
 
 18 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSO P. [1811. 
 
 Whenever I think of the subject of the punishment 
 of death, this instance of the fallibility of human 
 judgment, by which the life of an innocent victim 
 was sacrificed, comes also before me with vividness ; 
 and I can imagine I see the almost lifeless young 
 man lying on his mattress, mustering his little re- 
 maining strength to say, " I am innocent."
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY CONTINUED. 
 
 Visit to her sister at Sauve Earliest remembrance of meetings 
 of Friends at Congenies Remarkable preservation of Pierre 
 Rabinel Declaration of Peace Old animosities renewed 
 Visits from Friends. 
 
 ABOUT this time my father was much from home 
 on business. He had to struggle with many 
 difficulties to maintain a large family of eight children, 
 and my dear mother had very poor health. 
 
 It was, I think, when I was about six years old, 
 that my eldest sister, Alix, married Louis Roux, of 
 Sauve, just at the foot of the Cevennes. I stayed with 
 her several months after her marriage. My dear 
 mother's state of health had prevented her from 
 extending to my sister Lydie and myself that degree 
 of care that her maternal solicitude would have 
 prompted, and we were very much under the care of 
 my eldest sister till her marriage. As Sauve was the 
 first place from home at which I stayed, I will endea- 
 vour to describe it. The situation of the little town is 
 most romantic ; and even at that early age I remember 
 being struck with the contrast which it presented to 
 Congenies, where the country is comparatively plain 
 and richly planted with vines and olives, although 
 in the neighbourhood of stony, barren hills. Before 
 we come to Sauve we pass for a considerable distance
 
 20 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1811. 
 
 along the banks of a river called the Vidourle, one of 
 those mountain streams which, although apparently 
 insignificant sometimes, are most terrific after a 
 season of rain, carrying everything before them in an 
 awful manner. The Vidourle takes its rise in the 
 mountains, just above Sauve, and rushes through into 
 a basin at the foot of the town. As I have not seen 
 this basin since that early period, I may be per- 
 mitted to consider it a remarkable place, when com- 
 pared with our little "Jacob's Well" at Congenies, 
 which till then I had looked upon as a very wonderful 
 supply of water. Near the town, the banks of this 
 river are richly cultivated as vegetable and fruit 
 gardens, in spite of the many disappointments which 
 are so often occasioned by the inundations which 
 frequently take place. A little further from the shore 
 are groves of mulberry trees, and up the sides of the 
 rocky mountains every nook is availed of, at great 
 labour and pains, to plant vines or fruit trees; and 
 where nothing else will grow, in the very clefts of the 
 rock, a tree called the Alizicr, which there appears 
 only as a shrub, is cultivated for the purpose of making 
 hay forks, which are articles of considerable com- 
 merce in the place. The shoots grow from a stump, 
 whose roots run into the interstices of the rock ; 
 they have three twigs from the same point ; these form 
 the three prongs of the fork ; and these forks are the 
 nicest things of the kind I ever saw. The town is 
 built on the side of the mountain. My sister's house 
 was about the middle of the town : from the road we 
 had to cross the river on an old bridge, and then go 
 up a great number of steps under an archway. Enter-
 
 l8ii.] VISIT TO HER SISTER AT SAUVE. 21 
 
 ing the house from the street, we had to go down stairs 
 to the kitchen and sitting-room, which seemed to be 
 cut out of the rock, with a wall on one side, and a 
 window, at a great height from the road below, looking 
 towards the river. Everything seemed to be different 
 from what I had been accustomed to the utensils used, 
 the washing by the river side, the form of the water 
 pitchers, and the manner of carrying them on the side, 
 instead of the head. 
 
 I remember to this day the varied impressions 
 which I received in this new temporary home. Even 
 the plates made near the place were different. They 
 had three compartments; one for the meat, one for 
 salad, the third for some variously dressed vegetable ; 
 and were used by the men, who were mostly stocking- 
 weavers, in taking their meals either in the streets, for 
 the sake of the fresh air, or at each other's houses, for 
 the sake of company. Everything pleased and sur- 
 prised me, and moreover I was made much of. But 
 nothing delighted me so much by contrast as attend- 
 ing the Roman 'Catholic worship. My sister's near 
 relatives were Protestants, but her husband had a 
 cousin, also named Christine, who was a Roman 
 Catholic, and almost grown up, who took a great 
 fancy to me. I was much with her, and as there 
 was no Friends' meeting, she regularly took me to the 
 Roman Catholic church. This was a high treat to me ; 
 and when I returned home, although I missed many 
 other indulgences, I missed nothing more than the 
 church ; and the first time I was taken to our meeting 
 on my return, after sitting a little while, I burst into 
 tears, sobbing out that I wished to go to church.
 
 22 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSO P. [1811. 
 
 Whether it was this early-formed taste, or my frequent 
 intercourse with the children of a Roman Catholic 
 family at Congenies, where the priest used sometimes 
 to visit, I know not ; but I became very fond of him, 
 and he used to take much notice of me. He was a 
 man of a retiring disposition, and his house "was 
 almost a sealed house ; but he was fond of flowers 
 and so was my brother Christophe, who was then an 
 invalid, as was also the daughter of the family I have 
 mentioned, and as I was a fearless child, they used to 
 send me to him on little errands, to make exchanges, 
 &c. My dear mother also sometimes sent me to him 
 with little presents of fruit and vegetables, as she did 
 to the other neighbours. One day I well remember 
 taking a basket of figs ; his mother introduced me 
 to him while he was at breakfast in his little parlour; 
 he spoke kindly to me, but he soon saw that my 
 attention was riveted on an image in a niche, of the 
 Virgin and child surrounded with little flying angels. 
 He took the opportunity to endeavour to raise in my 
 mind a feeling of reverence for these images, and to 
 excite the desire to have them, by saying, "You have 
 nothing like that in your meeting; would not you 
 like to have such?" I told him I certainly should. 
 "But," he added rather tauntingly, "you do not 
 believe in Jesus and the angels." Here I suppose I 
 felt called upon to defend my faith, and very innocently 
 said, "Oh, yes, I think we do! but we do not believe 
 in those which are made of wax." I remember that 
 here the conversation ended, and I should probably 
 never have known that my answer was any way fitting 
 or clever had not the priest repeated it to our neighbour,
 
 i8ii.] IMPRESSIONS OF EARLY CHILDHOOD. 23 
 
 who used to amuse himself by asking me, why I did not 
 believe in wax angels. I have mentioned these circum- 
 stances to show what Protestant children are exposed to 
 in a Roman Catholic country, and how necessary it is 
 that they should be early taught to give some reason for 
 their faith. 
 
 I must not leave the subject of my early childhood 
 without mentioning the vivid impressions which were 
 made on my mind by reading the Scriptures. Living 
 as I did where the customs of the people as well as the 
 aspect of the country are so similar to those described 
 there, the Bible assumed a reality which I scarcely think 
 possible in the case of children to whom such manners 
 and customs are not familiar. The vines, the fig-trees, 
 the pomegranates and the olives ; the wheel broken at 
 the cistern ; the watering of the earth with the foot ; the 
 ox treading out the corn ; the shepherd going before 
 the sheep ; the leading of the horse or of the ass to 
 watering; the treading of the winepress alone; the 
 figure of the man sitting down under his own vine and 
 his own fig-tree, where none should make him afraid ; 
 all these and many other beautiful allusions, which 
 must be lost on English children and all those inhabit- 
 ing northern countries, were completely intelligible to 
 me, and for each scene mentioned in the Bible I had a 
 clear representation in my mind's eye. Our famous 
 fountain at Congenies furnished me with more than 
 one. There, when I used to be sent to fill my little 
 pitcher with water, I used to fancy I saw Rebekah 
 going down to draw water for the camels of Eleazar ; 
 not that I had seen camels there ; but very often on a 
 summer's evening I had seen flocks of sheep supplied
 
 24 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1811. 
 
 in the same manner ; and there also I fancied I could 
 see our Saviour, sitting on the well, conversing with 
 the woman of Samaria, whom I clearly pictured to 
 my imagination with her pitcher in her hand, just such 
 a one as I had myself. The fountain is situated a 
 quarter of a mile from the village, at the foot of a rocky 
 hill. The crystal spring issues from the rock a little 
 below the surface, and a flight of eight stone steps 
 leads to a well of about 3 feet by 6 inches, part of which 
 is covered by a broad flat stone. On one side of the 
 steps is a parapet to rest the pitchers on, and on the 
 other a trough cut out of a single stone, communicating 
 with smaller ones, used for watering the sheep. The 
 water of this spring is excellent, and when, as it often 
 happens, all the wells of the village are dried up, it 
 affords the inhabitants an abundant supply, and has 
 never been known to fail, or remain many hours below 
 a certain level. . This can scarcely be appreciated to the 
 full, except in a country which is so subject to droughts 
 of many months ; but the inhabitants speak of it with 
 something amounting to veneration. 
 
 One more subject of interest to me during my early 
 childhood I will record. My earliest remembrance of 
 the meeting at Congenies was its being held in "La 
 Salle." My father and Pierre Rabinel, with an old 
 blind friend, Madelaine Benezet, whom my father 
 called "Aunt," sat at the top, and used to preach; 
 and sometimes we had visits from Jacques Brun, a 
 lame friend from St. Gilles. Pierre Rabinel was a 
 great favourite with us ; he was an amiable, kind- 
 hearted man, and for many years worked for my 
 father, and attended to his affairs to the best of his
 
 REMARKABLE PRESER VA TION OF P. RABINEL. 25 
 
 ability when my father was so much from home. Of 
 an evening he used to come in sometimes and amuse 
 us with interesting tales. One in particular used to 
 interest us much, and, like all children who never 
 seem to tire of an often-told tale, we frequently asked 
 him to relate it to us, which he used always to 
 do with so much seriousness, that I have never 
 forgotten the emotions which it produced on my 
 mind ; both as to the danger and the remarkable pro- 
 tection which he experienced, and which he attributed 
 to God in direct answer to his prayer. This dear old 
 Friend, who, I should think, had a very small share of 
 moral courage, was accustomed to employ his over- 
 hours in cultivating a vineyard in a very retired part, 
 amongst the rocky hills above the village, and he 
 used to relate that often when there by himself, at the 
 approach of night, he would pray to be preserved 
 from harm. Once, being later than usual on a bright 
 moonlight night, he heard a noise of something step- 
 ping amongst the loose stones. He looked up and 
 saw a large wolf close to him, gnashing at him with 
 his teeth. He saw that there was no hope for him 
 but in Divine protection. " I raised my voice to 
 God," he would say, assuming an impressive attitude, 
 " and I asked Him to protect me by giving me courage 
 and strength to withstand this furious beast. I im- 
 mediately felt my soul fortified and calm." All this 
 time he was motionless, and the hungry beast stood 
 at bay, showing his teeth and howling at him ; but 
 how he should move from the spot he did not know. 
 He had, however, a pickaxe in his hand, and turning 
 his back in the direction of the village he presented 
 C
 
 26 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1814. 
 
 his pickaxe towards the wolf, more as an instrument 
 of defence than of attack. As he moved backwards, 
 the wolf moved also, and thus they went on together 
 over loose stones, having at times to get over walls, 
 and along little paths, which can be imagined only by 
 those who know the country, until they came very 
 near the village, a distance of nearly a mile, when the 
 wolf, hearing a noise, grinned at him and turned 
 off, leaving the dear Friend, as he said, with his 
 heart full of gratitude to that God who had so sig- 
 nally protected him, and answered his prayer by 
 keeping his mind perfectly calm during the time he 
 Was thus exposed. 
 
 I well remember the Declaration of Peace which 
 followed the overthrow of Napoleon after the Russian 
 campaign ; the Catholics especially rejoiced at the 
 return of the Bourbons; but the Protestants felt that 
 some of their liberties were in danger ; and many old 
 animosities produced by the sufferings all had under- 
 gone during the Revolution revived, now that the all- 
 engrossing excitement was past. Party spirit ran very 
 high, and well did I know what was meant by Royalist 
 and Bonapartist. There was not an individual, even in 
 our village, who did not warmly espouse one party ; 
 though here, the majority being Protestants and for 
 Napoleon, we did not witness quarrels between the 
 two parties such as took place at Nimes and some 
 of the neighbouring places, where the Bonapartists 
 were exposed to much suffering. Those who would 
 not wear the white cockade were taken and publicly 
 whipped, and some lost their lives. This was done 
 by a lawless rabble. This state of things did not
 
 1814.] OLD POLITICAL ANIMOSITIES. 27 
 
 last long, for suddenly we heard that Napoleon had 
 escaped from Elba, that he had passed close to us, 
 and that he was again at the head of affairs. The 
 Bonapartists now unwisely retaliated ; and although 
 they did not commit the same atrocities, yet when 
 they had the power, those among them who were 
 the most unprincipled returned evil for evil, and 
 thus kept alive that malice which was afterwards 
 so abundantly reeked upon them, when, after " the 
 hundred days," Napoleon was defeated at Waterloo. 
 Never can I forget those times of pillage, of murder, 
 and of every kind of ill-treatment, which the Pro- 
 testants particularly, and all those who were con- 
 sidered to be attached to Napoleon, received from 
 the opposite party ; represented by a band of wicked 
 men, headed by one surnamed Trestaillon, because 
 he said he would cut all the Bonapartists in three 
 pieces.* 
 
 Many houses were pillaged and the inhabitants 
 murdered. Well do I remember the signal-fires which 
 were made on the hills, when the inhabitants of some 
 neighbouring village called others to their help, at the 
 approach, real or supposed, of the lawless band, which 
 was allowed thus to infest the country for many 
 weeks, and with which most of the low population 
 took part. 
 
 My dear father's love of peace had induced him 
 rather to rejoice at the overthrow of Napoleon, and 
 many others were of the same opinion, though they 
 
 * Some interesting details of this reaction will be found in 
 Browning's History of the Huguenots, chapter Ixvii.
 
 28 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1814. 
 
 were far from having any sympathy with the Royalist 
 party, such as it manifested itself. As my father was 
 known to be a man who would take no part in any com- 
 motion, he was wonderfully preserved from harm from 
 either party ; and notwithstanding the frequent changes 
 of Mayor in two communes in which he served as Re- 
 corder and Registrar, he retained his situation under the 
 different Governments until he resigned. Once during 
 the heat of the persecution he was obliged to go to 
 Nimes. He had never worn the national cockade. 
 Before he arrived at the barrier he was stopped by a 
 lawless troop, and questioned as to the reason of his 
 having no cockade. He answered that he was not a 
 soldier, and that he did not see but that he could be a 
 very loyal subject without that badge. One of the 
 company said, "Well, let him go; if he is one of 
 them, he is not a bad one." When he arrived at the 
 house of a friend of his, who was a Royalist, he was 
 very strongly remonstrated with ; his friend telling 
 him that he had greatly exposed his life by refusing 
 what would do him no harm, and he insisted on giving 
 him a cockade, wishing to fix it on his hat. My 
 father consented to take it, but he put it in his pocket. 
 When he was about to leave the town, he was again 
 stopped, and the same question was put to him, to 
 which he gave a similar answer, adding, "And perhaps 
 you may find that I am a better Royalist than you 
 all, if this is to be the proof; for I never wore the 
 tri-coloured cockade, and probably none among you 
 can say the same." At this they laughed and let 
 him go. 
 
 As I have mentioned, our friends had no commu-
 
 i8i4-] VISITS OF ENGLISH FRIENDS. 29 
 
 nication with England during the war; but in 1814 
 Evan Rees, from Neath, came to France for the 
 benefit of his health. He stayed several months in our 
 house, and he began to teach my brothers English. 
 He was the first English Friend I had seen ; we were 
 all very fond of him, and he very kindly interested him- 
 self in the school which was kept by my uncle Antoine 
 Brun, and in our studies. But the return of Napoleon 
 and the consequent declaration of war, obliged him to 
 hasten home. My brother George went with him, but 
 the authorities would not permit my brother to embark 
 at Bordeaux. However, an Englishman who had just 
 brought his sister to France and was returning without 
 her, offered to take him under the same passport, if he 
 could put on women's clothes. These were lent him by 
 the wife of a Dutch captain, and they all embarked 
 together. They had, however, a very narrow escape, 
 for the vessel being bound for Amsterdam, the English 
 passengers were transferred to an English ship they fell 
 in with, and the same night the Dutch vessel was 
 wrecked and most of the crew perished. 
 
 In 1815 we had the first religious visit from Friends 
 that I can remember. This was from Elizabeth 
 Coggeshall and Sarah Hustler, accompanied by Joseph 
 Marriage and Benjamin Seebohm. J. S. Mollett, who 
 then resided at Marseilles, was also with them as 
 interpreter. This dear Friend often visited us. I have 
 no other impression of the visit of these Friends than 
 the great novelty of the scene altogether. The dress, 
 and the language, amused and interested us, and for 
 a long time we children used to hold little meetings ; 
 and my sister, Lydie, who was then about seven years
 
 30 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1815. 
 
 of age, used to try to preach like Elizabeth Coggeshall, 
 dressed up in a mob cap, such as was often worn at 
 that time. We all had, however, a very exalted idea 
 of the English Friends, and thought we could never 
 be as good as they were. At this time my three 
 eldest sisters had left the parental roof, and, though 
 young, I was useful to my dear mother, who had very 
 poor health ; but my father often expressed the wish 
 to send me to school in England, and the next year 
 his wish was nearly accomplished, but my mother 
 could not make up her mind to part with me. This 
 was on the occasion of a visit from Priscilla Gurney,* 
 who, on her way from Nice, accompanied by her 
 cousin, A. R. Barclay, stayed about a week at Con- 
 genies. Never shall I forget this visit. The attractive- 
 ness of Priscilla Gurney's person, her truly winning 
 manners, her kindness, the sweetness of her voice, 
 and, more than all, her likeness to the Master whom 
 she loved and served, drew me to her in a way that 
 words cannot convey ; and when she kindly took 
 me into her room to read the Scriptures to her, 
 the explanations which she gave, and her manner of 
 directing my attention to the love of our blessed 
 Saviour, had a great effect on me. I could have fol- 
 lowed her anywhere, for I thought that if I was with 
 her I must be good. I think they attended only two 
 meetings; Priscilla Gurney spoke in both, and in 
 French; in one she repeated a part of the i3th chapter 
 of Corinthians, on Charity. This seemed to me appli- 
 
 * A younger sister of Elizabeth Fry. (See " Memoir of J. J. 
 Gurney," vol. i., p. 188.)
 
 1815.] PRISCILLA GURNEY. 31 
 
 cable to herself, and when she said, " Now we see 
 through a glass darkly, but then face to face," I 
 thought her face could not be more beautiful in 
 Heaven than it looked then. She expressed the wish 
 to take me to England, and I was even placed in the 
 carriage between A. R. Barclay and herself a few days 
 before they left, to try if there would be room for me. 
 It was, however, ordered otherwise. They left us, and 
 I understood from herself, that if at any time my father 
 and mother should be willing to send me to England, 
 she would be willing to have me. A short time after 
 this her uncle and aunt, Joseph and Jane Gurney, paid 
 us a short visit on their way from Nice, where they had 
 lost one of their daughters. Joseph Gurney spoke i 
 the meeting in French.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY CONTINUED. 
 
 First visit to England Home at William Allen's Impressions 
 of new country Friends, Elizabeth J. Fry, &c. Plough 
 Court Learns English Attends Yearly Meeting Returns 
 to France in company with her father Narrow Escape 
 Feelings on return home. 
 
 I Twos in the Seventh Month, 1817, that William Allen 
 and his daughter came to France, accompanying 
 Hannah Field and Elizabeth Barker from America. 
 Josiah Forster and Daniel Hanbury were also of the 
 party, and they brought with them my brother George, 
 who had gone to England three years before. Wil- 
 liam Allen and his daughter Mary took much interest 
 in the school. They re-organized it and introduced 
 the Borough Road lessons. These were pasted on 
 boards, and Mary Allen, with Daniel Hanbury, laboured 
 hard to do them. I considered it a great privi- 
 lege to be allowed to help, my mind being at that 
 time very seriously impressed with the kindness of 
 these Friends coming so far to visit us, and to toil as 
 they did to do us good. I was forming good reso- 
 lutions for my future conduct in the school, when it 
 was suddenly concluded that I was to accompany 
 them to England, William Allen having offered to 
 take me, as I thought, to be with Priscilla Gurney, 
 but I believe now that he intended to place me at 
 (32)
 
 1817.] FIRST VISIT TO ENGLAND. 33 
 
 some school. My delight was so great that during 
 all the preparations, which were heart-rending 'to my 
 poor mother, I continued cheerful and buoyant, in- 
 creasing the distress of my most tender parents, 
 whom I, however, ardently loved ; but I was full of 
 pleasing anticipations of the many places I should 
 see, and particularly of the great delight of riding all 
 day in the handsome English coach William Allen 
 had brought ; the like of which I had then not beheld. 
 My spirits kept good to the last. Child-like, or at least 
 French child-like, the present pleasure prevented me 
 from at all realising the pain I should feel at parting 
 from those who were most dear to me, and in find- 
 ing myself entirely thrown among strangers, whose 
 language I did not understand, and whose habits and 
 manners were totally different from what I had been 
 accustomed to. The Friends left Congenies on the 
 25th of Seventh Month, 1817, for Montpellier. Wil- 
 liam Allen thus notices their departure: "Many 
 tears were shed by these poor affectionate people. 
 L. and M. Majolier have agreed to let their little 
 daughter Christine go with us to England." I did 
 not leave Congenies with them ; but two days after, 
 my father and mother took me to Montpellier ; and it 
 was not till I actually stepped into the carriage, and 
 saw my dear parents endeavouring in vain to con- 
 ceal their emotion, that the reality of my situation 
 presented itself. I saw what I was doing. The 
 thought that I might never see those beloved ones 
 again rushed into my mind. I remembered the 
 anxious entreaties of my beloved mother, repeated 
 only the night before, that if I would tell her that I
 
 34 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1817. 
 
 felt the least misgiving on the subject there was 
 yet time to retreat. In, as it were, the twinkling 
 of an eye, everything that might have been brought 
 forward against my thus venturing on a thoroughly 
 unknown path came before my view, and my heart 
 sank within me when I thought of my mother's 
 distress. As the carriage drove off I wept aloud, 
 entreating my kind, but untried, friends to allow 
 me to get out of the carriage ; I knew I could find 
 my way back if they would. The first day of this 
 long journey was one I can never forget. I had no 
 pleasure in seeing the towns and villages, nor in 
 riding in the beautiful carriage ; my friends, though 
 truly kind to me, spoke to one another in a language I 
 did not understand, and I had no peace till I had cried 
 myself to sleep. Many such days, though, perhaps, 
 with a little decreasing sorrow, did I pass during this 
 memorable journey, which had such an important 
 bearing on my future life ; and I have often thought 
 what an exercise of patience it must have been for my 
 friends, and particularly for dear Mary Allen, who had 
 the chief charge of me. But through all I had a 
 grateful sense of their kindness, and my sense of 
 loneliness made me cling to them, and particularly to 
 this sweet devoted creature, and I repaid her with 
 love. The American Friends did not speak French, 
 but Hannah Field was very warm-hearted and kind, 
 and as she nursed me on her knee, both in the carriage 
 and at other times, I felt there was a language of the 
 heart which needed no words. I had learned a few 
 words of English before I left home, and on the 
 journey I added perhaps half-a-dozen more to my
 
 iSiy.] FIRST VISIT TO ENGLAND. 35 
 
 little stock. D. B. Hanbury was particularly kind to 
 me in talking French ; and I was very fond of riding 
 with him outside. On one occasion I heard the 
 two postilions speaking the patois of our country. 
 I was delighted, and soon entered into conversation 
 with them, and it was a trial to part with them at the 
 end of the stage, and glad should I have been if I 
 could have gone back with them. The only thing 
 which made me try to make the best of my position 
 was the consideration that I should be in the way 
 of improvement, and particularly that I should learn 
 to be good ; for I often felt desires after what I con- 
 sidered true excellence in every respect. But I was 
 very volatile, and had often to feel that I did not suc- 
 ceed in becoming what I thought was to be attained to 
 by my own efforts. We travelled on the west side of 
 France, and visited many places I have not seen 
 since, proceeding from Montpellier, Beziers, and Car- 
 cassonne, by way of Montauban, at which place I first 
 became acquainted with my long-esteemed friend 
 Emilien Frossard. He and his sisters called to see 
 the Friends at the inn. He was then a young man 
 about seventeen years of age. Thence by Bordeaux, 
 Agen, Poitiers, Tours, Versailles, and so to Paris. 
 When I was not too much absorbed by the recol- 
 lection of all I had left behind I enjoyed the 
 travelling, and I have now as vivid a recollection 
 of many of the incidents that occurred and of the 
 variety that I saw, as of any journey I have taken 
 since. 
 
 We arrived in England in the Eighth Month, 1817, 
 and landed at Dover. At this distance of time I can
 
 36 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1817. 
 
 look back with a very vivid recollection of the impres- 
 sions I had at finding myself a stranger in a strange 
 land. A most forlorn little thing, unable to sympathise 
 with anything around me, I was fond of play, and 
 yet the first children I saw increased my feeling of lone- 
 liness, for I could not understand them. I was taken to 
 the house of our friends Thomas and Elizabeth Beck, 
 and their two daughters, Deborah and Eliza who were 
 living with their grandfather, John Lister, at Stoke 
 Newington became my playmates. The first English 
 words I learnt in England were "How much?' 1 at the 
 turnpikes. 
 
 William Allen and his family at that time passed 
 half the week at Plough Court, in the city, and the 
 other half at Stoke Newington. At the latter place 
 William Allen's second wife, Charlotte Allen, had, 
 previously to her marriage, resided with her sister, 
 Anna Hanbury, who continued to form part of the 
 family; the establishment at Newington being under 
 her control. The family there consisted of William 
 Allen, his daughter Mary, Anna Hanbury, and 
 Daniel and Cornelius Hanbury. I cannot suffi- 
 ciently express the kindness which they all showed 
 me; and yet, at first, I was certainly unhappy, 
 unaccustomed to the usages of polished society, 
 lively and fond of romping play, my life was 
 now one of constant constraint ; and as Anna 
 Hanbury was unused to children, and very anxious 
 to make me all that could be desired, I was con- 
 stantly an object of attention, and my little faults 
 were never overlooked. This often excited wrong 
 tempers, and I believe I was often very troublesome
 
 l8i7-] LIFE WITH WILLIAM ALLEN. 37 
 
 to my kind care-takers. Dear Mary Allen most dis- 
 interestedly gave up the greater part of her time to my 
 studies, of which I now became very fond, and I was 
 most affectionately attached to her. The little troubles 
 I had, were inseparable from the position in which I 
 was placed, which may be better understood than I can 
 describe. 
 
 Soon after I arrived in England, William Allen 
 received into his family Emilien Frossard, from Mon- 
 tauban, and thus strengthened an acquaintance which 
 has afforded me comfort through life. He was rather 
 older than myself, of a lively and amiable disposition, 
 and as neither he nor I could speak English, we had 
 much pleasure in each other's society, and I often got 
 into disgrace with Aunt Anna (as I called Anna Han- 
 bury), for going to Emilien Frossard's room to have a 
 chat with my lively countryman. 
 
 This was a period in William Allen's life in which 
 his time was much occupied ; the days were spent in 
 Plough Court. First-, Second-, Third-, and part of 
 Fourth-days days were taken up by meetings, many 
 of which were held at Plough Court. I had thus an 
 opportunity of becoming acquainted with the leading 
 philanthropic characters of the day, who very kindly 
 took notice of me; "the little French girl" was the 
 name I generally went by, though William Allen himself 
 used to call me "Criss," and I called him "Father." 
 Being lively and good-tempered I now became a 
 plaything in the family, and was reconciled to my 
 new position as soon as I could understand a little 
 English ; indeed I was very happy, for I enjoyed my 
 lessons, and my attachment to my kind care-taker was
 
 38 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1818. 
 
 most warm and affectionate, and, as far as I can judge 
 at this distance of time, her management of me must 
 have been judicious and wise, as she insensibly 
 made me like all that she considered excellent. I 
 have never known, as far as I am able to judge, a 
 more humble and self-denying Christian than she 
 was, and I desire that the effect of her pious example 
 may never pass from my memory, nor her deep 
 concern for my good every way, from my heart. 
 To her and to her beloved father I owe much. 
 Indeed what do I not owe them, under a kind 
 Providence ! 
 
 Nothing very particular occurred during the first 
 year of my being in England ; I was kept diligently 
 at my lessons and soon acquired a knowledge of the 
 English language, which I was able to speak fluently 
 before the end of that first year. In 1818 I attended 
 the Yearly ' Meeting, and was able to understand a 
 great deal that passed, as far as the knowledge of 
 English went. I was much interested, and enjoyed 
 the meetings, but I think it was a good deal on account 
 of the notice that was taken of me, "the little French 
 girl," by the good Friends, such as Mary Proud, Mary 
 Alexander, Rebecca Byrd, Ann Crowley, Mary Stacey, 
 and Mary and Elizabeth Dudley. The latter were par- 
 ticularly kind ; they were the more interested about 
 me, as Mary Dudley had been in France and was well 
 acquainted with my father. Both Hannah Field and 
 Stephen Grellet were in attendance at the Yearly 
 Meeting. My usual seat was a hassock on the gallery 
 steps, and there I stood when the meeting broke up, 
 ready and desirous for the pat and the kiss of those
 
 I8i8.] ASSOCIATION WITH FRIENDS. 39 
 
 whom I thought so eminently good, and for whom 
 I had a sort of veneration which I cannot describe. 
 During this year I became acquainted with Elizabeth 
 Fry; she used then to be sometimes at Mildred's 
 Court and to attend Gracechurch Street Meeting. I 
 was perfectly charmed with her; she was so kind, so 
 considerate, so playful with children, so condescending, 
 and so dignified at the same time, that I shall never 
 forget the impression she made upon me. The meet- 
 ing at Gracechurch Street was then very large ; on 
 First-day morning the body of the meeting-house 
 was quite full.* The Friends that sat in the gallery 
 were William Allen and Thomas and Rebecca 
 Christy, Ann Capper, Mary Savory, Dorcas Coventry, 
 Rebecca Christy, Elizabeth Fry (and part of the time 
 Katherine Capper, now Backhouse, and Mary Sander- 
 son, afterwards Mary Fox). At that time I think there 
 were many more religious visits from Friends than 
 we have now. I remember thinking what interesting 
 .meetings we had when strangers came. Mary and 
 Elizabeth Dudley used frequently to come ; they then 
 lived in Nelson Square, in the Borough. The ministry 
 of the former had a powerful effect on my mind, 
 though I do not now remember whether it was the 
 words used or the manner. She was a tall, dignified 
 woman, elegant in form, with a fine open countenance, 
 expressive of great benignity and power of mind; her 
 voice was commanding and yet soft, much exempt 
 
 * This it will be remembered was before the establishment of 
 the Meeting at Stoke Newington.
 
 40 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1818. 
 
 from tone, except towards the end. The few last 
 sentences were uttered in a melodious voice which 
 seemed to go to the heart ; but no preaching that I re- 
 member had so much effect upon me as Elizabeth Fry's 
 and, a little later, Sylvanus Fox's. 
 
 In the Eighth Month, 1818, William Allen under- 
 took his long journey with Stephen Grellet in Norway, 
 Sweden, Russia, Greece, &c., so that there was less 
 variety in the manner of spending our time, and his 
 daughter Mary was more at liberty to attend to me. 
 Most assiduously did she pursue the task, and now 
 that I could understand English, I took pleasure in 
 my learning. She often turned my attention to that 
 which was good, and she used to read the Bible to me 
 after I went to bed. 
 
 In 1820 William Allen returned home. The part of 
 the week which was spent at Plough Court was very 
 amusing to me by its bustle. Many strangers came 
 there,*both English and foreign, and I was delighted 
 to do little errands for the different committees, such 
 as fetching pens, ink, or paper, from the counting- 
 house. I remember, as often being at Plough Court, 
 Joseph Foster (of Bromley), Michael Gibbs, and some- 
 times Robert Owen, T. F. Buxton, Samuel Hoare, 
 and William Crawford ; besides these the Committees 
 on Capital Punishment, and for the Improvement of 
 Prisons, used to meet there. Elizabeth Fry used 
 also to come, and Joseph John Gurney, the latter 
 of whom I saw for the first time when he attended 
 Gracechurch Street Meeting, about a year after I 
 came to England. He bat at the end seat of the first 
 cross form, and both preached and supplicated. I
 
 1820.] J. J.GURNEY; W. ALLEN' S BUSY LIFE. 41 
 
 was very much struck with him. His fine person, 
 his beautiful dark, glossy hair, his intelligent, benign, 
 and truly amiable countenance, made a deep impres- 
 sion upon me. And as he noticed me most kindly 
 as I was introduced to him by Elizabeth Fry, as the 
 little girl his sister Priscilla wanted to bring to Eng- 
 land, I felt myself greatly honoured. Now that many 
 of those whom I then loved are no more, I like to 
 remember the first impression I received respecting 
 them. And this first remembrance of one whom I 
 have loved through life, and from whom I have 
 received so many marks of interest and affection, is 
 very pleasant. I have also a very sweet remembrance 
 of Mary and Elizabeth Dudley, and Martha Savory 
 I became acquainted with at this time. William 
 Allen's time was much occupied with his lectures. 
 I took great interest in some of the experiments, and 
 often have we (his daughter and myself) been out with 
 him, on a cold night, to look at the moon and stars 
 through the telescope. It was a great delight to me 
 to be allowed to go with him to his observatory to 
 count the seconds of his clock as he observed the 
 passage of the stars through his circular instrument, 
 by which he took the time. His life was one of con- 
 tinual engagements ; he rose early and lighted his 
 own fire. The early hours were generally devoted 
 to his correspondence, and during the time he was 
 shaving, c., his daughter used to read to him in 
 Latin from Livy, and immediately after breakfast he 
 would hear his sister, Anna Hanbury, read French 
 he seemed literally to have time for everything. The 
 affairs of the British and Foreign School Society 
 D
 
 42 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1820. 
 
 occupied a large portion of his time, and he had 
 much correspondence with France on the subject 
 of the schools he had been the means of estab- 
 lishing. 
 
 It was during the year 1820 that my father came to 
 the Yearly Meeting with the intention of taking me 
 back with him ; and soon after the Yearly Meeting was 
 over I began to prepare for my departure. Many of 
 my friends came to take leave of me, and brought me 
 little keepsakes, principally books, all of which I have 
 to this day. I felt more than I could well express, 
 and I scarcely venture to think of all I was leaving 
 behind. I endeavoured to look forward to everything 
 which would give me pleasure; seeing my beloved 
 mother again, my brothers, and sisters the pleasant 
 home of my childish days ; yet I think that which 
 gave me the most delight, was the prospect of un- 
 packing my trunk and displaying my many treasures. 
 Never shall I forget those last days of preparation for 
 the journey. 
 
 A day or two before the final parting M. and E. 
 Sanderson, who had been most kind to me, and whom 
 I often used to visit, came to take leave of me. There 
 was a religious opportunity, during which Mary San- 
 derson engaged in supplication for me, and committed 
 me to the care and keeping of my Heavenly Father. 
 R. Christy affectionately addressed me. My heart 
 seemed almost ready to burst at the time, but the effect 
 was helpful to me, as I think it enabled me to look to 
 the parting with more calmness, desiring to act with 
 conformity to the Divine will. 
 
 About the middle of the Sixth Month, 1820, we
 
 iS2o.] REMARKABLE PRESERVATION 43 
 
 left London by the coach for Dover. William Pryor 
 went with us to Paris. I knew very little of him, and 
 yet I was pleased I was not leaving everything that was 
 English. We stayed a few days there, as my father had 
 business to transact, and I was a little diverted from my 
 trouble at parting, by being William Pryor's guide and 
 interpreter. 
 
 At Paris we parted, and my dear father and I pursued 
 our journey south by diligence ; a long journey then it 
 was. My father was most affectionately kind, and I was 
 amused by many incidents of the journey, and particu- 
 larly by the people being unwilling to believe that I was 
 French. One man tried to persuade my father that his 
 daughter must have been exchanged for another, for it 
 was impossible that I could have had no knowledge of 
 English only three years before. 
 
 On this journey an incident happened which I have 
 all my life looked upon with serious feelings, and 
 I hope with gratitude. From Lyons we went by 
 the Rhone in a large boat which they called "Le 
 Coche;" it was before steam navigation, and the 
 accommodation was very bad. The boat went only 
 by the force of the current; it was bound for Avig- 
 non, but some of the passengers, who, like our- 
 selves, were going to Nimes, desired to be put in 
 a small boat to be landed at St. Esprit, just below 
 the bridge, as by that means we save time and dis- 
 tance. There were six of us in the boat, besides the 
 luggage, and two strong men at the oars; altogether 
 more than was prudent for the size of the boat and 
 the strength of our men, considering the force of 
 the currerxt of that rapid stream, just then at its
 
 44 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSO P. [1820. 
 
 greatest height from the melted snows of Switzerland. 
 We passed under the old bridge, and were frightfully 
 tossed, so that I feared we should have been engulfed 
 by the larger boat ; we were at last set loose, and our 
 men rowed hard to stem the torrent, and make for the 
 shore. For a time they seemed to toil in vain; the 
 resistance was so great that our boat turned round 
 three times. Our boatmen made a sign that we should 
 be perfectly still. I pressed close to my father, he 
 clasped me in his arms. I looked in his face and saw 
 in it the marks of deep anxiety, but calmness. I 
 endeavoured to compose my thoughts. Not a word 
 was spoken, though I believe the struggle as between 
 life or death lasted five or ten minutes. Our boatmen 
 were pale with terror, large drops of perspiration 
 stood upon their foreheads, while the people were 
 fast collecting on shore, to witness the sinking of 
 the boat. I could scarcely bear to see their agitated 
 look ; never before or since have I felt so near the 
 confines of eternity. After awhile, however, the eddy 
 was stemmed, and we all began to breathe ; my 
 father then shed a few tears, and so did I, but 
 our hearts were too full to say much. The people 
 on the shore shouted at our approach, and received 
 us with joy, many of them embracing us, saying that 
 they never witnessed so narrow an escape; and 
 they as well as the boatmen considered that it was 
 partly owing to the quietness that had been preserved 
 by all ; this I think was greatly promoted by the 
 remarkable composure which attended my dear father, 
 and which seemed to be communicated to the whole of 
 our little company. I have heard my father often say that
 
 1 820.] IMPRESSIONS ON RETURN TO FRANCE. 45 
 
 he had no idea but that we should be engulfed, and he 
 was evidently engaged in prayer. This preservation 
 made a deep impression on my mind at the time, and 
 I have never forgotten it. The circumstances of the 
 case can be best understood by those who know the 
 place, the rapidity of the Rhone, and the swell there 
 is just above the bridge of St. Esprit when the river is 
 high. 
 
 When we arrived at Nimes, I could not but be 
 struck with the changed appearance of everything; 
 the roads and the streets looked narrower, the build- 
 ings lower and more insignificant than when I had 
 last seen them, they scarcely seemed the same, for 
 now my scale of comparison was wholly changed. I 
 felt very anxious to get to Congenies, and as we drove 
 from Nimes every object that met my eye was 
 recognized, but diminished in size and beauty; how- 
 ever the drive was one of uncommon pleasure and 
 throbbing emotion. My dear mother was overjoyed 
 to see me; she would scarcely have known me, so 
 grown and altered was I. The whole of the village 
 was in commotion at the arrival of " little Christine," 
 and I should think that more than a hundred persons 
 visited us. The next day it was the same, and the 
 next ; and a few days after I had to go round, and 
 return the visits of the most respectable of the neigh- 
 bours and friends. This, irksome as it was, kept 
 up a sort of excitement, that prevented my fretting 
 much after those that I had left. I had much pleasure 
 in seeing my dear mother again, my brothers and 
 sisters, relations and friends, who were all very kind 
 to me; but after the first few weeks of novelty and
 
 46 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1820. 
 
 excitement, I began to feel how thoroughly I was 
 unfitted for those pursuits in which I had before 
 taken pleasure, and which occupied those by whom 
 I was surrounded. I own I was a little flat at times. 
 My dear mother had made up a nice bed for me 
 in a large room in which my sisters, Elizabeth and 
 Lydie, slept; but on my intimating that I should 
 like to have a room to myself, a little room which was 
 over the staircase was given up to me, and I had the 
 great pleasure of fitting it up, and furnishing it ac- 
 cording to my fancy. I mention this to show how 
 ready my dear parents were to do all in their power 
 to make my return to them agreeable ; and for all this 
 none of my brothers or sisters ever evinced the least 
 jealousy, but all endeavoured to do their part in 
 adding to my comfort. 
 
 Soon after my arrival at home, Samuel Cousins, of 
 Guernsey, who had been an inmate in my father's 
 house some time before, again formed part of our 
 family. He was an interesting young man, of a most 
 romantic mind, and he and my brother Christophe, who 
 then kept the school, spent much time in attending 
 to the little garden in front of the house, and I found 
 I could join them in many of their pursuits. But 
 other English Friends came to reside amongst us, 
 and my home was altogether a very happy one. 
 Priscilla Scales first, and then Martha Savory, and 
 Christiana Price spent many months at Congenies 
 and the neighbourhood, and they often asked me to 
 visit them. 
 
 But the circumstance which added the most to my 
 comfort at this time was the residence of James and
 
 1820.] INTERNAL CONFLICTS. 47 
 
 Elizabeth Charleton, with their three sons, Robert, 
 James, and Edward, in a part of my father's house 
 which was fitted up for them ; they came some time 
 after the other Friends. They requested me to give 
 their sons lessons in French, &c. This was a very 
 nice occupation for me. It helped me to keep up 
 what I had learned, and supplied me with money, so 
 that I was able to buy my own clothes. I have often 
 looked upon this circumstance as peculiarly favourable 
 to me, proving that there has been in a striking manner 
 a providing, as well as a protecting care over me in the 
 different stages of my life. But, though this is the 
 sense that now attends me, and has often attended me 
 since ; so as to raise in my heart a feeling of gratitude 
 to the Lord for His preserving mercy, yet on looking 
 back to the time, I feel constrained to acknowledge, 
 that this was not the feeling of my heart at that 
 period. It was rather a time of lukewarmness and 
 indifference, in which various temptations were pre- 
 sented to my mind, some of which I fell into ; and had 
 not again a rescuing power been manifested on my 
 behalf, I might have been altogether led astray. How 
 can I sufficiently magnify the name of the Lord for his 
 marvellous love ! 
 
 My situation again fostered that pride and love of 
 approbation from which I had before suffered. I 
 was very fond of the society of those who flattered me, 
 but still I was fond of good people, and I tried to make 
 myself good. I read good books, and I struggled hard 
 against that which was considered wrong, and at 
 times I thought I had the victory and felt a degree of 
 aomfort ; but I made but little, if any, progress. I had
 
 48 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1820. 
 
 not a clear view of the Gospel, I had not come to the 
 sense of my need of a Saviour, to the necessity of 
 knowing that my sins were forgiven for His name's 
 sake, and therefore my religion was not of the heart. 
 I needed the experience of the love of Jesus, through 
 whom we become reconciled to God whom we have 
 offended, and whom we can love only because he has 
 first loved us. This description may answer for 
 much of my life between the ages of sixteen and 
 twenty-four. But through all I was not forsaken, and 
 a desire to be preserved from openly offending my 
 Heavenly Father was maintained in my soul, and as far 
 as I knew my Saviour, I desired to confess Him amongst 
 men. Our friend Priscilla Scales was a minister, 
 and she was the first person for whom I interpreted. 
 About this time I had to perform the same office 
 for Martha Savory, and once or twice for Deborah 
 Stephenson, who paid us a short visit, being in the 
 South with her sister on account of her health. Thus 
 early was I brought into that engagement which has 
 afforded me so much satisfaction during so great a 
 part of my life. 
 
 I remained at home from Sixth Month, 1820, to 
 Tenth Month, 1822. It was a favoured time for the 
 little Church under our name in France, for we had 
 the company almost all that period, and after I left, of 
 the Friends I have mentioned. The Society numbered 
 more then than it does now. The diminution has been 
 chiefly from the death of several promising young 
 people, and of many valuable members in the prime 
 of life ; but several causes have operated, and still 
 operate, against the increase by convincements. First,
 
 1822.] "FRIENDS" IN FKANCE. 49 
 
 the want of a real concern for religion in many of the 
 members of the body ; and, secondly, the strong pre- 
 judice which obtains in a population whose ancestors 
 suffered so much from persecution, against changing 
 the religion of their fathers ; for it is only from the 
 Protestants that these " convincements " can be ex- 
 pected.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY CONTINUED. 
 
 Life in the South of France Second visit to England Interesting 
 time on the way with the " Beguins " at St. Etienne. 
 
 THE mode of living in the villages in the South of 
 France has many charms for those who love 
 simplicity and ease, and who are imbued with 
 the poetry of primitive life. It approaches more to 
 having all things in common than anything I know. 
 You can go in and out .of each other's houses without 
 the least restraint. If one person has fruit, the other 
 partakes of it. It is a constant interchange of kind 
 offices, which is little understood elsewhere. All sorts 
 of implements for domestic use or for agriculture even 
 looms are constantly lent and borrowed ; and it not 
 unfrequently happens, rather inconveniently sometimes, 
 that things are taken without ceremony and without 
 leave : and although a person who has been accustomed 
 to highly civilised life may feel the want of refinement, 
 and of intellectual society, yet there is so much of real 
 kindness, of devotedness in affliction, and of readiness 
 to oblige, that there is not a little to give up when an 
 exchange is made for a life more artificial and refined. 
 This I was soon to feel. I had been more than two 
 years settled at Congenies, and had but little idea of 
 again leaving it, when an invitation was sent for me 
 from William Allen. 
 (So)
 
 1822.] SECOND VISIT TO ENGLAND. 51 
 
 Since I had left England my dear friend Mary Allen 
 had been united in marriage to Cornelius Han bury ; 
 and although she was still much with her father, other 
 claims deprived him of her help in many ways, and 
 he was in want of some one, as far as possible to take 
 the place of his daughter. From our first acquaintance 
 I had called him my English father, and it was very 
 natural that I should be thought of. The invitation was, 
 however, at first only for a year. It was thus easier for 
 my dear parents again to part with me, and for me to 
 leave them. I knew, as I thought, what I was going to, 
 but I felt deeply the approaching separation, and was 
 at times almost ready to flinch from it. Many were 
 the tears I shed, and great the struggle of conflicting 
 feelings which I had to pass through. My dear father, 
 however, encouraged me, and the attractions I had in 
 England were great. Little did I then foresee how 
 much it involved. It is well for us that the future 
 is hidden from us ; otherwise how could beings such 
 as we are, take a single step? Martha Savory (after- 
 wards Yeardley) was then on the point of returning to 
 England, after a residence of nearly a year at Con- 
 genies. My dear father had for some time wished to 
 visit a company of serious persons, who resided at and 
 near St. Etienne, in the Department de la Loire ; a sect 
 who were called " Beguins," who had separated from 
 the Roman Catholics. They had for many years 
 existed in the neighbourhood of that place, where 
 no Protestants resided. They were accustomed to the 
 reading of the Bible, which they held in high venera- 
 tion ; and were distinguished by a great hatred of 
 priestcraft, and by a feeling of equality and fraternity
 
 52 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1820. 
 
 among themselves but they had no form of public 
 worship. About the time of which I am writing, 
 some individuals amongst them had been brought 
 to clearer views of the Gospel than those who sur- 
 rounded them. It was these interesting persons 
 that my father wished to visit, and Martha Savory 
 feeling the same desire, it was decided that they 
 should go on her way to England. I was therefore 
 of the party ; Elizabeth Charleton also ; and Priscilla 
 Scales, who had some months before left France 
 for England, again returned, and met us at Lyons, 
 to which place we went by diligence, and from 
 thence we set off together in a bad carriage, and 
 after a fatiguing ride of many hours, over a rough 
 mountainous road, a distance, I believe, of only thirty 
 English miles, we arrived at St. Etienne the Shef- 
 field of France ; not, however, nearly so important then 
 as it is now. This was really a missionary adventure, 
 and although I was young, and as it were acci- 
 dentally of the party, I was deeply interested, and shall 
 never forget the impressions I then received. We first 
 went to the inn, and the next day drove to St. Jean de 
 Bonne Faud, a mining village, in the neighbourhood 
 of which J. T. Price had set up a steam-engine the 
 first I ever saw. My father acquainted them with the 
 intention of himself and the Friends to settle down 
 for a little time amongst them, for the purpose of 
 becoming acquainted with them, and of having some 
 religious intercourse together. This information was 
 received with joy; and finding that most of those 
 they wished to see resided in that neighbourhood, it 
 was concluded to hire a furnished house, which was
 
 1822.] THE "BEGUINS." 53 
 
 then vacant, and to remove our luggage to it. I took 
 the post of housekeeper and provider. My time was a 
 good deal occupied, so that I felt that I was of some use 
 in this mission of love. 
 
 I had lime, however, to accompany the Friends in 
 some of their visits to these simple people, many of whom 
 had strange notions, it is true, and had much that was 
 visionary in their manner of comprehending the Gos- 
 pel, while, however, there were many simple, believing 
 Christians. 
 
 There was in the house where we lodged a large room 
 which was used as a place of meeting, and almost every 
 day large companies congregated, and meetings were 
 held, in which much was communicated by my dear 
 father, Martha Savory, and sometimes by Priscilla 
 Scales, for the latter of whom I interpreted 
 
 I shall never forget the interest which was excited 
 amongst the people, nor how eagerly they came to 
 the meetings. We stayed two or three weeks with 
 them, and they seemed quite prepared to hold meetings 
 after the manner of Friends; that is, those who had 
 been enlightened to see the simplicity and spirituality 
 of the Gospel. A meeting was then established, and 
 held for a considerable time at St. Etienne: and at 
 other places they met in their own homes. They were 
 in regular communication with my father, and I believe 
 he visited them more than once. I have several letters 
 in my possession from my father to Pierre Brossi, one of 
 their number, and an epistle to the company, written a 
 short time after we were there, bearing the date 5th of 
 Fourth Month, 1824. 
 
 On leaving St. Etienne my father accompanied 

 
 54 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1820. 
 
 Martha Savory and myself from Lyons to Macon by 
 the boat, and here we parted, my father returning home. 
 We proceeded to Chalons by boat, and thence by 
 diligence to Paris. Here we were detained some time 
 before I could obtain a passport. After going from 
 one office to another for three or four days without 
 success, we found that the difficulty arose from a sus- 
 picion that I was running away without my parents' 
 consent, and that both Martha Savory and I were dis- 
 guised. (These were the days of the Bourbons under 
 the Restoration.) 
 
 When the difficulty was at -last surmounted the 
 season was far advanced for such a journey. The 
 weather was very rough, and when we arrived at 
 Calais we found that the packets had not gone for 
 several days, and that it was doubtful when the next 
 would leave. It was, in fact, two days before we em- 
 barked. The packet boat was named the Arrow. It 
 was crowded with passengers ; we could not find a 
 place downstairs and had to stay on deck in heavy 
 rain. The weather, which seemed calm when we left, 
 soon became very stormy; the wind rose and tossed 
 our little bark in a way that I had not before witnessed, 
 nor have I since. It seemed at times as though it 
 would either break to pieces or be swallowed by the 
 next wave. For a little time I admired the grandeur 
 of the scene, as our vessel plunged, as though it 
 could never rise again, and then rode on the wave as 
 if it had been a piece of cork ; but soon I became so 
 ill that I was quite overpowered. The passengers were 
 lashed to the masts, and the men who worked the 
 ship were tied with ropes. It was a steamer, but the
 
 1822.] DANGEROUS VOYAGE TO ENGLAND. 55 
 
 engine was stopped. At first we felt our awful situa- 
 tion. My companion was very ill and yet she could 
 play on the name of our vessel, saying to me " Oh, 
 my poor Christine, our 'arrow' is not rightly shot." 
 Soon I became so overpowered with sea-sickness, so 
 wet and cold with the dashing of the waves which 
 frequently went over our heads, that I almost lost 
 all sensation of fear. We were both carried down and 
 laid on the cabin floor, and I believe I should not have 
 cared if I had been thrown overboard. We were in 
 very great danger of being dashed on the English 
 shore, and though bound for Dover could not land 
 there, and had to go to Ramsgate. Our friends, the 
 Horsnaills, who expected us, were on the shore wit- 
 nessing with the greatest anxiety the distress of the 
 vessel without being able to give any assistance ; how- 
 ever, after beating about for ten hours, we safely entered 
 the harbour of Ramsgate. It was late at night, rainy 
 and dark, and we had no one there to meet us ; and it 
 was midnight before we could take off our wet clothes. 
 We had to wait two hours at the Custom House, but we 
 felt thankful that our lives had been preserved, with 
 those of the many who were with us. Next day we 
 went to Dover, as we were expected there, and thence 
 to London. 
 
 NOTE AS TO THE " BEGUINS. " It would be an interesting sub- 
 ject of inquiry whether these persons were connected with the 
 "Beguins" of the Middle Ages, who appear to have been numer- 
 ous in the South of France. (See Gieseler's Text Book of Ecclesi- 
 astical History, vol. ii., p. 305, and vol. iii., pp. 91, 92; also Lim- 
 borch's History of the Inquisition, pp. 103-110.)
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY CONTINUED. 
 Life with Maty Hanbury Her illness and death. 
 
 I COME now to an important time of my life. 
 When I first came to England I was a mere 
 child, looked upon as such by the whole family ; now, 
 though only two years and a half had elapsed, I was 
 to take the charge of William Allen's family as 
 regarded the establishment at Newington. Anna 
 Hanbury was in feeble health and could have no 
 responsibility upon her. The charge would have been 
 heavy indeed, had not dear Mary Hanbury been likely 
 to pass part of her time at Newington, and be always 
 ready to advise me, and to take the serious responsi- 
 bility. I arrived at Plough Court about the end of 
 the Eleventh Month, 1822. William Allen was then 
 on the Continent with Daniel Hanbury, whither 
 he had gone to attend the Congress of the Sove- 
 reigns at Verona; but they returned home about a 
 month after. 
 
 In her journal Christine Majolier writes : 
 First Month, 2gth, 18.13. I hope I am thankful for 
 my return to England. I have often thought lately 
 that the opening was rather remarkable, as no one 
 knows but myself the temptations I was under, and 
 it has seemed to me, as if I saw the hand of a kind 
 (56)
 
 1823.] LIFE WITH MARY HAN BURY. 57 
 
 interposing Providence. How loudly does this call for 
 thankfulness on my part ! I have been astonished in 
 considering how remarkably way has been made for me, 
 but I feel thoroughly unworthy of it. My desire has 
 been of late, and particularly to-day, that I might fully 
 surrender my will and myself into the hands of Him 
 who careth for us, even when we may be wandering far 
 from Him, as has been my case. 
 
 Second Month, gfh, 1823, First-day, Went to Devon- 
 shire-house Meeting. Elizabeth Fry was there, and 
 spoke beautifully. William Allen also, as well as 
 dearest Mary. I thought what she said was very 
 sweet. I was, I hope, favoured with a little feeling of 
 good this morning, but I did not keep enough under 
 it. I was very much impressed during the meeting 
 with the necessity of watchfulness and a fear of being 
 lukewarm. May I more and more seek for help and 
 direction, for it is those only who .seek who can expect 
 to find ; but there is a danger of my being too active 
 and seeking in my own will and way, and of relying 
 on my own strength. I earnestly desire to be pre- 
 served from it, seeing that of ourselves we can do 
 nothing. 
 
 To return to the Autobiography: 
 
 The house at Plough Court looked very different 
 from what it did when I was there before. The two 
 parlours, which had been more like committee rooms, 
 were refurnished and looked very comfortable. My 
 beloved friend, Mary Han bury, as the wife of Cornelius 
 Hanbury, was now the mistress of it. I cannot 
 describe the sensation I had when I found myself in 
 E
 
 58 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M, ALSOP. [1823. 
 
 the same place with everything about me so altered, 
 and, as it were, so changed myself. Soon, however, I 
 felt the greatest pleasure at being again with my 
 beloved Mary : changed in some respects she was, but 
 more angelic if possible. There was less constraint 
 about her and more true enjoyment ; she seemed set 
 free from some of the bonds which had been about 
 her ; she was much less held by little things, and had 
 more true joy and peace in believing ; this she ac- 
 knowledged to me more than once. She received me, 
 not as her little pupil, but as her friend and sister ; and 
 in every respect she treated me as such. She installed 
 me at Stoke Newington, telling the servants that she 
 was no longer the mistress of that family, the care of 
 which was to devolve on me. 
 
 The few months which were thus spent were a 
 period of true enjoyment. Seldom have I seen one 
 who looked forward with more pleasure to the prospect 
 of becoming a mother. Once or twice only did she 
 allude to the subject with any degree of apprehension 
 as to the result. She said that the circumstance of 
 her mother having died soon after her own birth had 
 made her father anxious respecting her; "but," she 
 added, "I do not feel anxious; the result is in better 
 hands than our own, and I do not see why I should not 
 do very well ; but should it be otherwise, and should 
 it be the Divine will that I should leave a helpless 
 infant behind me, I shall leave it to thee." She said 
 this with some emotion. I believe it was at the 
 same time that she added, " But, my dear, should I 
 live to have ten children thou wilt always seem like 
 the eldest." And bright indeed were the prospects of
 
 1823.] LIFE WITH MARY HANBURY. 59 
 
 future happiness which she seemed to have ; too bright, 
 it often appeared to me, to be natural. Thus truly was 
 her path smoothed to the tomb j her work was accom- 
 plished, and there was nothing to sadden the few 
 months that it was my privilege to be with her, except 
 now and then, when the thought came over me that 
 possibly she might not be long with us. She left to 
 my taste and judgment all the necessary preparations, 
 and often said, " Now that thou art here I have no 
 more anxiety." My home was now at Stoke Newing- 
 ton, but my dearest Mary spent a good deal of time 
 there. 
 
 William Allen went regularly to town directly after 
 breakfast, and returned to a 3 o'clock dinner, often 
 bringing company with him. The afternoon he spent 
 in his study, writing letters, &c. The letters which he 
 wished to write to France I translated for him ; but he 
 always copied them afterwards himself, and he would 
 send the English also. For anything of importance he 
 used the oiled and black paper, so as to produce two 
 copies at a time. He was very neat in all he did. 
 
 But I must return to my dear Mary. We spent much 
 time together while her husband and her father were 
 otherwise engaged ; and never shall I forget the loveli- 
 ness of her character, more than ever evinced during 
 the last few months of her life. It seemed all through 
 a season of happiness, and often of playful cheerful- 
 ness, beyond what I had thought she was capable of. 
 Her countenance, which was always sweet and inter- 
 esting, but which was previously sometimes marked 
 with a degree of gravity which seemed unnatural in 
 one so young, had now assumed a cheerful and
 
 60 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTIXE M. ALSOP [1823. 
 
 heavenly aspect, which, as I sometimes watched her, 
 unobserved, thrilled me with a sensation which I 
 cannot describe, under the impression that such 
 sweetness scarcely belonged to earth ; and yet her 
 health was so good that I could not encourage the 
 thought, that in a few short weeks we should all be 
 plunged in the deepest sorrow. Her attentions to her 
 father were most assiduous and tender. When I 
 was in England before, he was often weighed down 
 by sorrow at the loss of his wife, who had died 
 at Geneva the previous year. He needed all her 
 sympathy, and she made everything give way to 
 his wishes. The moment she heard his footsteps she 
 would leave whatever she was doing to run with a 
 sweet, smiling countenance, to attend upon him ; 
 and even those things which were not exactly to 
 her own taste she would do with so much cheer- 
 fulness, that he never knew but that she enjoyed 
 them as much as he did ; whereas her enjoyment in 
 them was the pure delight of pleasing him. This was 
 the case with her readings from Latin authors, in 
 which she persevered with so much industry. After 
 she married, her circumstances were a little altered, 
 though much less so than might have been expected ; 
 and she was always studying how she might contrive 
 to make him feel the change as little as possible ; 
 at the same time she was always glad when any 
 opportunity was afforded of my services being substi- 
 tuted for her own ; as though she was endeavouring by 
 degrees to wean him from those endearing attentions 
 which were so soon to cease. What the loss of such 
 a child was to such a man, no one can fully appreciate
 
 1823 ] MAR Y HAXBUR Y'S ILLNESS. 61 
 
 but those who had the opportunity of knowing his 
 character so dependent on the little attentions of a 
 tenderly loved object. Not only was she an efficient 
 helper in his every need, but even a wise counsellor 
 in the difficult and important path which he had to 
 tread. 
 
 On the 7th of the Fifth Month, 1823, she gave 
 birth to a son. I had accompanied her to Plough 
 Court the day before, and was with her till the evening 
 of the day the dear child was born. William Allen 
 expected company at Stoke Newington, and Anna 
 Hanbury was not in a state to remain long without 
 me, and as my services were more wanted there than at 
 Plough Court, dear Mary cheerfully gave me up, though 
 it was reluctantly that we parted; but she said, "Oh, 
 thou must go, for my dear father wants thee ; but come 
 again soon, perhaps the day after to-morrow, when 
 my dear father comes to town. Farewell, precious /" 
 That was the term she generally used in addressing 
 me. Little did I think that I then heard her speak 
 for the last time. Very soon after this, fever came 
 on. I came to town, but it was thought best I should 
 not see her, as it was necessary she should be 
 kept very quiet. It was considered advisable that 
 the nurse and the dear child should go to Stoke 
 Newington. That precious . treasure was committed 
 to my care when he was only five days old, and then, 
 for the first time, I remembered her words: "If I 
 should leave a helpless infant, I will leave it to thee." 
 Her medical attendant, though aware of her great 
 danger, entertained some hope of her recovery, which 
 seemed to depend on perfect quiet and freedom from
 
 62 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1823. 
 
 excitement. William Allen promised to take me to 
 see her as soon as this was no longer necessary ; but 
 the fatal symptoms came too soon to allow of my 
 seeing her again ; and she was so peaceful and quiet, 
 such a heavenly atmosphere pervaded her room, that 
 everything that might have tended at all to disturb it 
 was carefully avoided. When asked by her husband 
 if she was happy, she said, "Yes, very; I have nothing 
 to make me otherwise." No description can give an 
 idea of what I went through, during those few days of 
 agonising anxiety. A report was sent several times 
 in the day, and on the day of her death, the lyth of 
 Fifth Month, the sorrowful intelligence was brought 
 down to me by Peter Bedford. Even now, when nearly 
 thirty years of uncommon vicissitudes of joy and sorrow 
 have passed over my head, I cannot forget the pang 
 of final separation -from one so tenderly loved, nor 
 recall without the deepest emotion the worth of my 
 beloved friend ; all that I owed her, her uncommon 
 affection for me, the joy of my young and glowing 
 heart, for I believe I loved her more than I did any 
 one else. Neither can I forget the heavenly support 
 which was then mercifully granted to those most 
 nearly concerned to her dear father and husband ; 
 a support which powerfully acted upon me : for how 
 could I give way to useless sorrow when they were 
 meekly endeavouring to bow submissively under the 
 stroke ? 
 
 William Allen soon came to Stoke Newington ; he 
 looked calm, but distressed ; and for some time was 
 unable to speak. He then said, with deep emotion, 
 "The last thing she said to me, when I was offering
 
 1823.] DEA TH OF MAR Y HANBUR Y. 63 
 
 her a little wine, was, ' No more, dear father, until 
 I go home,' and now," added he, "she is drinking 
 it new in the heavenly kingdom." He could say 
 no more, and we sat silent for a time. He asked 
 after the child and wished to see him, but was much 
 affected. 
 
 Dear Rebecca Christy came to Stoke Newington 
 and was affectionately kind to me ; she was the 
 particular friend of Mary's mother, and had been like 
 a mother to her, and so she was to me. I felt as though 
 I could never be happy again, and as though my heart 
 would break. 
 
 The day of the funeral, which took place at 
 Winchmore Hill, on the 23rd, was a very solemn one 
 to me, never to be forgotten. It being just at the 
 beginning of the Yearly Meeting the attendance 
 was very large ; but I was too much absorbed in my 
 own feelings to notice much, besides the touching 
 thanksgiving and prayer of her afflicted parent and 
 bereaved husband. To this William Allen thus 
 alludes in his journal : " I felt bound to offer my 
 thanksgiving for the belief mercifully granted, that 
 the dear deceased had been admitted into the man- 
 sions of rest and peace, and to intercede earnestly 
 on behalf of those young people who stood around 
 the grave, for whom her soul had often travailed, 
 that their steps might be directed in the way of 
 peace, praying that in the end they might unite with 
 her in the everlasting 'Hallelujah.'' Who amongst 
 those present was more strikingly of this class than 
 myself? Often, indeed, had she laboured with me, 
 and I could not doubt had often prayed for me. I
 
 64 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1823. 
 
 then felt as though I had done nothing for her, though 
 I had loved her with all my heart ; and now that every 
 opportunity for evincing my love to her was past for 
 ever, I felt bound to do all I could for the treasure she 
 had left behind, and for the comfort of those she had so 
 tenderly loved.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY CONTINUED. 
 
 Life at Stoke Newington Wilberforce Clarkson Open house for 
 foreigners. 
 
 TO find myself at the head of so large a family, with 
 the care of William Allen's aged and infirm sister- 
 in-law devolving partly upon me, as well as that of the 
 precious infant, made me often feel as though I must 
 give up. But in this great extremity help was graciously 
 vouchsafed, and were I to enumerate the many bless- 
 ings of which I was an unworthy partaker, all would 
 be astonished who read these lines. I trust I was 
 preserved from bringing any reproach on the cause, 
 which was even then most precious to me, though there 
 was a vagueness and obscurity in my religious opinions 
 which greatly impeded my progress in best things. I 
 loved what was good, but I was in a great degree a 
 stranger to that peace which proceeds from a sense of 
 forgiveness of sin, through repentance towards God, and 
 faith in the Lord Jesus Christ ; and of that love, through 
 which by a crucified and risen Lord our ways are estab- 
 lished. In short, I did not understand the Gospel as a 
 message of " glad tidings * l I went heavily on my way, 
 often going backward rather than forward ; but through 
 infinite mercy I was never quite left without a desire 
 after better things, and a degree of thankfulness for the 
 many blessings of which I was a partaker. Rebecca 
 
 (65)
 
 66 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1823. 
 
 Christy was a faithful and kind friend to me, and a great 
 help in some of my difficulties ; and Isabella Harris was 
 also most kind in aiding me with her advice in the charge 
 of the dear infant. 
 
 The many subjects of interest which had previously 
 occupied William Allen's mind required close attention; 
 and he entered into them again with activity, though his 
 ardour was somewhat subdued by bitter sorrow. Hannah 
 Kilham's concern for Africa ; .the British and Foreign 
 Schools ; the Greeks ; his agricultural experiments ; and 
 the establishment of a "school for boys in the Lordship 
 Road, Stoke Newington, were the prominent objects. 
 He often .had interviews with leading men, in which I 
 frequently went with him, that he might not be alone in 
 his long drives. Sometimes we took the dear child and 
 his nurse, as he became, by degrees, an object of great 
 interest to his grand-father. 
 
 Soon after dear Mary's death I became acquainted 
 with William Wilberforce, when he and his wife dined 
 at Stoke Newington for the first time. I was greatly 
 interested and pleased with this remarkable man. 
 His vivacity was such that he seemed unable to speak 
 on any interesting subject without rising from his 
 seat, and before he had finished his speech he would 
 be at the other end of the room. On the day of his 
 visit we walked to the cottages in the Lordship Road, 
 where William Allen was conducting his agricultural 
 experiments. I had the honour of walking with the 
 great man, who, however, took little notice of me, but 
 hummed a tune most of the way, except when he 
 wished to say something to William Allen ; upon 
 which he would leave me, say what he had to say, and
 
 1823.] WILBEKFORCE AXD CLAKKSOX. 67 
 
 then almost mechanically offer me his arm", and go on 
 singing his hymn. At the cottages he was weighed in 
 the scale, and though many have had the opportunity 
 of recording the talents of Wilberforce, few have been 
 able to tell his weight ; and this, insignificant as it is, 
 may give some idea of his person, and confirm the 
 saying, that the mind is the standard of the man. He 
 weighed, including the 5 Ibs. for the iron stays which 
 he wore, 76 Ibs. 
 
 Thomas Clarkson was, I think, that year in London. 
 I had seen him many times when I was in England 
 before, as he used generally to be at Plough Court 
 during the time of the Yearly Meeting; but I could 
 not then appreciate his character. He then seemed 
 only like an absorbed old man, who was too much 
 taken up with grave concerns to take notice of me, and 
 who seldom spoke to me, unless it was to ask me to do 
 something for him. He was very precise, and always 
 gave his orders in very explicit terms, with a good 
 deal of emphasis. " Now, you French girl, go down 
 into the shop, or into the counting-house, and ask 
 Daniel, or Cornelius, or John Barry, for two or tftree 
 sheets of paper, on^ good pen, and two or three 
 wafers." But now as I understood more what and who 
 he was, my attention was directed to him ; and I have 
 often enjoyed hearing him relate to a large company the 
 different adventures he had met with in his researches 
 into the evils of the slave-trade and slavery. This 
 he would always do with his head down and his eyes 
 shut, until aroused by the recital of something very 
 atrocious. Then his whole frame would become ani- 
 matedj his countenance, which was not remarkably
 
 68 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1823. 
 
 striking, would be lighted up, and that noble enthu- 
 siasm, which enabled him to go through so much self- 
 denying labour, became visible in every feature, and the 
 indignation of his heart at the wrongs inflicted on his 
 fellow-men would give to his voice a sort of hollow tone, 
 which could but raise the same feelings in his auditors. 
 He was extremely minute and particular in all that he 
 did, generally preferring to wait on himself, and doing 
 everything that required to be well done with his own 
 hands. He never allowed anyone to put his letters into 
 the post when it was possible for him to do it himself. 
 At Plough Court he felt thoroughly at home. There 
 was one room only in which he liked to sleep. It was 
 called the study, over the kitchen, and he had to 
 go up and down to it by a very dark staircase ; but he 
 preferred being in his own room. I used to fancy 
 that he went about the house with his eyes shut, for I 
 have often had to get out of his way, so as not to be 
 stumbled over, when I was a child ; but this might be 
 because he was very near-sighted. He never used spec- 
 tacles, and when he read or wrote his nose almost 
 touched the paper. He was tall and large, and always 
 stooped unless he was animated in speaking. 
 
 Henry Brougham (afterwards Lord Brougham) used 
 often to be with William Allen, and sometimes came 
 to Stoke Newington to dine. He did not make much 
 impression on me ; perhaps because I had not much 
 opportunity of knowing him in private. His person 
 was plain, and until I had heard him as a public 
 speaker there was little about him that I admired. It 
 was not so with Wilberforce, Clarkson, T. F. Buxton, 
 or Dr. Lushington.
 
 1824.] LIFE AT WILLIAM ALLEA' S. 69 
 
 As my time was necessarily much occupied with 
 domestic affairs, company, &c., I could not be of so 
 much use to William Allen as I should have been, had 
 his dear daughter lived : he therefore took* a young 
 man to act for him- as secretary, though I still 
 helped him in his foreign correspondence. He used 
 to bring the shop books down to Stoke Newington to 
 post. He seemed to enjoy that almost mechanical 
 employment ; and often in fine weather they were 
 carried to him in the summer-house by his faithful 
 "Black Tom," whom he had rescued from slavery; 
 the dear child and his kind attendant going also. We 
 used to spend the afternoon most pleasantly. William 
 Allen liked to be read to while he was resting, and he 
 
 much enjoyed having his grandson near him. 
 
 t 
 From her Journal : 
 
 ist of Second Month, 1824. Sometimes I am ready 
 to say, "What shall I do? What will become of me 
 if I remain in my present state?" But there is One 
 who can break the stony heart and save even " to the 
 uttermost;" and this thought sometimes gives me a 
 little hope. But I am afraid of taking up a rest short 
 of the true rest. Oh, may I press after an increase of 
 watchfulness over my words, thoughts and actions. 
 My faith is at a very low ebb ; much seems to be want- 
 ing to make me what I ought to be. 
 
 Referring to the attendance of the Yearly Meet- 
 ing, she writes : 
 
 Fifth Month, 2Qth, 1824. A sweet testimony was 
 read on behalf of our precious Mary. My feelings
 
 70 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSO P. [1824. 
 
 were such as it is impossible to describe; it was 
 like opening a wound which was not healed ; it 
 renewed every pang. I felt the loss that I and many 
 others had sustained ; but I also felt her great 
 gain. I shed tears all the time of the meeting, and 
 yet did not feel distressed. May her sweet example 
 be constantly in my view, and may it please my 
 Heavenly Father to bring me to a nearer acquaint- 
 ance with Himself, and to give me strength to 
 walk in that narrow way which only brings peace ! 
 Oh, for a clean heart ! May it please Thee, O Father, 
 to purify it and make it fit for thyself. I feel that of 
 myself, I can do nothing ; but to Thee all things are 
 possible. 
 
 Autobiography continued : 
 
 Susanna Corder's school for girls was established at 
 Stoke Newington about this time. Before they were 
 settled with a master I gave the young people lessons 
 in French ; and afterwards had the advantage of taking 
 lessons with the masters employed. This brought me 
 into contact with many whose friendship I have cher- 
 ished through life. 
 
 The establishment of this school was a blessing for 
 me. I much enjoyed the pleasant intercourse with the 
 young people, mostly younger than myself. It was a 
 relaxation for which I was grateful, considering the 
 serious responsibility which rested upon me, as well as 
 the real labour I had to perform. 
 
 In the summer of 1824 we formed a German class, 
 William Allen, J. J. Lister, Edward Harris, Cornelius 
 Hanbury, Lucy Bradshaw, and myself. We used to
 
 1824.] LINDFIELD. 71 
 
 have the lesson at seven in the morning ; and, with all 
 that William Allen had upon him, it was astonishing 
 how earnest he was and how industriously he laboured. 
 We were some of the first upon whom the Hamil- 
 tonian plan was tried. William Allen entered with 
 much interest into all that related to improvement in 
 teaching, and he was very sanguine in everything he 
 undertook. 
 
 It was in the summer of the same year that the 
 establishment at Lindfield began. William Allen took 
 me, with dear Willie and his nurse, and Charlotte 
 Christy (afterwards the wife of Edmund Ashworth) went 
 with us. We lodged at the Norfolk Hotel, and from 
 thence went to Lindfield. This was my first visit to that 
 place. 
 
 William Allen called on many of the inhabitants. He 
 remarks in his journal : " The people here are half 
 a century behind some other places in intelligence." 
 He had many difficulties and discouragements to con- 
 tend with, only known to those who were intimately 
 connected with him. 
 
 During the period of which I am now writing, Wil- 
 liam Allen Was in what might be called " the strength 
 of his day," and he most zealously gave it to the 
 service of his Master, and to the good of his fellow- 
 creatures. His house, to its full extent, and often 
 beyond it, was ever open to receive all the strangers 
 who required his aid and protection ; and as memory 
 glances over the scenes of that period I feel bewildered 
 by the motley assemblage which presents itself. I 
 see men of all countries and of all shades of colour ; 
 Russians, Germans, Frenchmen, Swedes, Greeks,
 
 72 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1824. 
 
 Italians, and Spaniards, North American Indians, 
 West Indians, and many of the. suffering sons of 
 Africa partaking of that hospitality which he knew so 
 well how to bestow without the least ostentation ; very 
 little difference being made between their entertain- 
 ment and the dinners given to Lord Brougham, Dr. 
 Lushington, Wilberforce, John Smith (of Dale Park), 
 or to Gautier, or Alexander Vinet (of Geneva), or other 
 distinguished foreigners. Many a stranger in a strange 
 land has indeed found in him a true friend. His 
 journeys on .the Continent had been the means of 
 his becoming acquainted with a great number of inter- 
 esting persons, and these often recommended their 
 friends to him, and they ever found an open door. 
 This may give a little insight into the kind of life which 
 I led at Stoke Newington. It was now to undergo a 
 great change ; one of those changes which but few have 
 to pass through even once, but which, with some varia- 
 tion of circumstances, have not been unfrequent in my 
 life. Bitter have been some of the draughts which I 
 have had to drink, and yet most gracious has been the 
 Hand which in administering them has still crowned me 
 with blessings, unworthy as I have been.
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 William Allen's third marriage Change in his establishment 
 Christine Majolier visits her parents, and afterwards returns 
 to England Closer union with Friends Journey on the 
 Continent with Thomas and Elizabeth Robson Visit to the 
 Queen of France and the King and Queen of Wurtemburg 
 Review of the journey Increased settlement in her religious 
 views. 
 
 THE marriage of William Allen to his third 
 wife, Grizell Birkbeck, in the Third Month, 
 1827, naturally led to a change in the position of 
 Christine Majolier. 
 
 It would be difficult to express (she writes) what I felt 
 when I was called, by this most beloved friend and 
 adopted father, to render the last service as the female 
 head of his family. This was to break up the establish- 
 ment at Church Street, to furnish his house at Lindfield, 
 and to dispose of his remaining furniture. William 
 Allen wished that the change should be as little felt 
 by me as possible j and kindly arranged that his dear 
 grandchild, the nurse, and myself should continue in 
 his family. 
 
 Soon after this event Christine Majolier paid a 
 visit to her parents at Congenies. Referring to 
 this, she writes : 
 
 The sweet affection of my dearest father and mother 
 I most gratefully remember ; and the few months then 
 spent amongst those so dear to me have left very 
 F (73)
 
 74 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1827. 
 
 pleasant recollections. I felt, however, that although 
 I enjoyed for a little while the simple rusticity of my 
 native place, and might perhaps after my first stay in 
 England have become reconciled to it for a continu- 
 ance; yet now I was quite spoilt for it; and I was 
 anxiously looking forward to the future, when I re- 
 ceived a letter from William Allen wishing for my 
 return. 
 
 One of her brothers accompanied her to Paris. 
 Young as she was, with her religious character not 
 yet fully established, the following incident, which 
 occurred during this journey, may serve to illus- 
 trate the variety of influences to which she was 
 exposed. Two gentlemen (their travelling com- 
 panions in the diligence] went with them to the 
 same hotel at Paris, and, being anxious to give 
 Christine Majolier and her brother a treat, proposed 
 to take them to the Theatre Franyais. At first 
 Christine Majolier declined to accept the invitation, 
 knowing how much all her friends would disap- 
 prove of her going to such a place ; but the next 
 day she reluctantly yielded to their earnest solicita- 
 tions ; when, on taking her seat in one of the boxes 
 which the gentlemen had hired, and observing the 
 dissipated looks of those around her, she felt a sort 
 of horror at being in such a place. 
 
 I durst not ask to go out (she says), but I was very 
 unhappy. I felt ashamed that any one should see my 
 Friends' bonnet, so I took it off, and put it under the 
 seat. The dresses, both of the men and women, were
 
 1828.] CLOSER UNION WITH FRIENDS. 75 
 
 such as I was ashamed to see. Then followed one of 
 the worst of the representations. I shut my eyes and 
 dared not look, and at my solicitation our friends left 
 the place. I have never forgotten the circumstance 
 or my impressions at that time ; and I have often 
 felt glad that the scene was of such a description, 
 because my judgment was then quite settled ; and 
 though some who are in the practice of attending 
 such places have often tried to persuade me to go, 
 telling me that my judgment was formed on the worst 
 example possible, I have never felt at liberty to do so, 
 persuaded as I am that if those who attend these places 
 are not shocked, it is because they have been led to it 
 by degrees, and that if a woman's modesty can be thus 
 blunted, the influence must be unfavourable on her 
 mind. 
 
 On her return to England, Christine Majolier 
 went to reside at Paradise Row, Stoke Newington, 
 where William Allen lived after his marriage, assist- 
 ing as before in the charge of his little grandson, 
 and in other ways. 
 
 Although, as we have seen, Christine Majolier 
 had been connected with the little body of Friends 
 in the south of France, she was not yet in actual 
 membership with Friends in England ; and it was 
 not until the latter end of the year 1828 that she 
 thought it right to apply to be admitted into closer 
 religious fellowship with them. In her journal she 
 writes : 
 
 Twelfth Month, $\st, 1828. I hope that it is with 
 fervent desires that I may be preserved from doing
 
 76 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1829. 
 
 anything that may dishonour the high profession I am 
 making, that I have at length thought it right to apply 
 to be received as a member of the Society of Friends 
 in this country. Although I feel how much I have 
 come short of what their principles would lead to, I am 
 convinced that they are the principles of truth ; and 
 whether Friends think it right to receive me or not, I 
 trust it will always be my desire to be brought nearer 
 and nearer to them. 
 
 The application was made at the last Monthly 
 Meeting. The Friends appointed to visit me were 
 Dorcas Coventry, Elizabeth Pryor, and Thomas Beck. 
 We had a comfortable little opportunity, in which I was 
 favoured to feel that the step was not a wrong one ; 
 and my present desire is, that it may have the effect 
 of bringing me nearer to what is good. I hope that 
 of late I have felt the subject of my best interest of 
 more importance than at some other times ; but I have 
 so often fallen again into a state of indifference, after 
 what appeared to me good impressions, that I am ready 
 to fear. 
 
 Fifth Month, 6th, 1829. While I sat at the meet- 
 ing this morning under a feeling of my insensibility 
 as to the things that belong to my peace, accompanied 
 with a desire to see more clearly what is my best 
 interest, I was comforted with the recollection that 
 the poor blind man who had his eyes opened by our 
 Saviour, at first saw so indistinctly that men appeared to 
 him as trees walking. Yet this was light ; and after 
 a second touch he saw clearly. May I then, if my 
 present feelings are produced by the touch of the 
 heavenly finger, so dwell under them, that in due time
 
 l%$l.]JOUNEY WITH ELIZABETH R OB 'SON. 77 
 
 I may have more distinct views of my Heavenly 
 Father, and of His will respecting me. What I fear 
 most of all is, lest I should fall into a state of indiffer- 
 ence, and take up a rest short of the true rest. 
 
 In allusion to a religious visit from two Friends, 
 Christine Majolier says : 
 
 Fifth Month, iy//;, 1829. Last Second-day I had 
 my visit. The Friends were led to recommend 
 humility and self-devotedness. Indeed, do I not feel 
 how much this is wanting? Am I not constantly 
 prone to self-exaltation? I am, I hope, thankful in 
 being made to see how little I can do of myself, unable 
 even to suppress an evil desire, or keep down an evil 
 thought. 
 
 In 1831 Christine Majolier accompanied Thomas 
 and Elizabeth Robson as interpreter in a religious 
 visit to the South of France and Germany. It 
 was a comparatively new service, in which she 
 had much to learn. She entered upon it with 
 her accustomed ardour, " more," she says, " as if 
 it was to be a journey of pleasure, than one of so 
 serious a character." 
 
 They left London for Paris Sixth Month, 8th, 
 1831, and whilst waiting there for arrangements 
 about a carriage, Elizabeth Robson felt that she 
 ought to see the Queen. This brought a great 
 weight upon Christine Majolier, as upon her chiefly 
 devolved the necessary arrangements ; but they 
 were most kindly received at the Palace at St.
 
 78 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1831. 
 
 Cloud, and had an interview of rather more than 
 an hour with the Queen. Christine Majolier 
 writes : 
 
 The Queen was standing when we went in, but she 
 most kindly came forward, and, taking Elizabeth Rob- 
 son's hand, asked us to sit down by her on the sofa. 
 Though my heart had beat a little at the prospect of 
 being ushered into the presence of the wife of my 
 Sovereign, I had no sooner sat down and witnessed 
 her kind, open, and really affectionate manner, than 
 all idea of royalty seemed to vanish, and I could have 
 fancied we were sitting with an old acquaintance. 
 
 The Queen asked several questions; whence we 
 came ; what was the object of our journey ? &c. She 
 speaks English tolerably well. She told Elizabeth 
 Robson that she understood it perfectly, and that she 
 wished her to speak in English. This was a great 
 relief to me. Elizabeth Robson explained that her 
 husband and she were English, but that I was French. 
 She looked surprised, and turning to me said, " O 
 done vous etes Francaise, ma chere." I told her that 
 I was glad to be able to say that I was one of Louis 
 Philippe's subjects, at which she bowed her head and 
 smiled. She then asked me what part of France I 
 came from, and was surprised to find that there 
 were any "Friends" there. She wished to know how 
 many there were, and also what number there were in 
 England. I had in the morning translated Elizabeth 
 Robson's London certificate ; and after having ex- 
 plained the order of our discipline in granting certi- 
 ficates to our ministers for any religious engagement, 
 with which she seemed interested, I read it to the
 
 1 83 1 . ] IXTER VIE W WITH THE FRENCH Q UEEN. 79 
 
 Queen. Soon after she had heard it, she asked Eliza- 
 beth Robson in English if she preached. Seeing our 
 friend rather embarrassed, I said that if the Queen 
 would be pleased to sit a few minutes in silence, I 
 thought that Elizabeth Robson might have something 
 to say to her. She immediately complied, and both 
 she and the Marchioness Dolomen (lady-in-waiting 
 to the Queen) sat as if they had been accustomed to 
 receive "family visits." Elizabeth Robson then ad- 
 dressed her at some length. 
 
 The Queen heard her with deep attention, and was 
 much affected. Directly Elizabeth Robson had done 
 speaking, the Queen took hold of her hand in both hers 
 and affectionately expressed how much she was obliged 
 to her for her visit, saying she felt that what had been 
 said was true. The Queen then, looking at me, said in 
 French that as she could not satisfactorily to herself ex- 
 press what she had to say in English, she wished I would 
 translate it. Little did I think, when I left England as 
 Elizabeth Robson's interpreter, that my first trial in 
 that office would be for the Queen ! 
 
 She then concisely commented on all that Eliza- 
 beth Robson had said, in the same order as she had 
 heard it, in a manner which quite astonished me. She 
 expressed her accordance with everything ; and I 
 translated it sentence by sentence. It was a fearful 
 office, particularly as I knew that she understood all 
 I said. Amongst other things she remarked that 
 everything that had a bearing on religion was precious 
 to her, and that it was her earnest desire to use her 
 influence to promote the glory of God and the advance- 
 ment of His holy religion on the earth. Alluding to
 
 8o MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSO P. [1831. 
 
 her present exalted position she very feelingly said : 
 " Je sais que c'est Dieu qui m'a place ou je suis. Je ne 
 le desirais pas. Je sais aussi que c'est lui seul qui 
 peut me soutenir dans cette situation, et m'aider a en 
 remplir tous les devoirs." She then expressed her 
 desire that when the time should come for her to have 
 done with this world it might be a season of joy and 
 not of sorrow. In alluding to what our friend had said 
 respecting the King she said, " Vous avez bien raison ; 
 il est un bien honnete homme qui ne desire que ce qui 
 est juste et droit pour son peuple." Referring to the 
 non-observance of the Sabbath the Queen said she con- 
 sidered it a sad thing, but that it was difficult to do any- 
 thing, except by example; adding, "C'est Dieu seul 
 qui peut changer les cceurs." 
 
 After another short pause ' Elizabeth Robson knelt 
 down and prayed for the King and those in power, for 
 the Queen, and for the Princes and Princesses. When 
 she arose the Queen again thanked her repeatedly, 
 holding her hand in both hers ; telling her she should 
 never forget her, requesting her to remember her in 
 her prayers, and very feelingly expressing how much 
 she was obliged to her for remembering her husband 
 and children. 
 
 The day after the visit to the Queen they left 
 Paris for the South of France, where they spent 
 about a week at Congenies, visiting the Friends, 
 and holding meetings there, and in the neighbour- 
 ing towns and villages. They next proceeded to 
 Geneva, where their time was fully occupied in 
 religious work. Amongst other engagements was
 
 1831.] MEETINGS AT GENEVA. 81 
 
 a meeting " with some of the serious inhabitants 
 of Geneva," of which Christine Majolier writes : 
 
 Seventh Month, 2gth, 1831. When we arrived I was 
 surprised to see about 300 people ; many persons of 
 influence, and several clergymen. Knowing the state 
 of things with respect to religion at Geneva it looked 
 very formidable to me, especially as I knew I must be 
 the organ of communication should anything be said. 
 We were shown up to the platform, where chairs 
 were provided for us. The girls were made to sing 
 a psalm. It seemed a curious mixture, and, thinking 
 Elizabeth Robson would like a little silence, they 
 were asked to stop ; and soon she rose, and spoke for 
 nearly two hours. The communication was striking, 
 and the people were all quiet and attentive. Before 
 the close of the meeting Elizabeth Robson appeared 
 in solemn supplication. Many expressed their satisfac- 
 tion. Two other meetings at Geneva were held, but 
 they were not nearly so large. W T e also had an inter- 
 esting opportunity with the female prisoners in the 
 Maison de la Force. 
 
 At Lausanne and Berne they visited the prisons, 
 Elizabeth Robson addressing the prisoners at both 
 places, and at Zurich they had a striking inter- 
 view with the inmates of the Hospital. Proceed- 
 ing through Strasburg and Carlsruhe to Stuttgart, 
 Elizabeth Robson thought it right to endeavour 
 to obtain an interview with the King and Queen of 
 Wurtemburg. They had no previous expectation 
 of visiting Stuttgart, and had no letters of intro-
 
 82 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1831. 
 
 duction. The language spoken was German, and 
 Christine Majolier felt that she could no longer 
 make herself fully understood. " Never," she 
 writes, " did we feel so discouraged in the whole 
 journey as on our arrival here." But way was 
 opened for them ; and, through a merchant who 
 had known William Allen, they were able to obtain 
 the wished-for interview. 
 
 Ninth Month, yd, 1831. At about a quarter before 
 twelve we went to the Palace. Knowing that much 
 responsibility devolved on me, on account of my 
 being the only one who could speak French and 
 German, I felt very anxious, particularly as we had 
 been told that the King did not speak English, and 
 that it was necessary I should speak to him in German. 
 After a little difficulty in making our business known 
 to the servants in waiting, who, owing to our appear- 
 ance, seemed scarcely to understand it, we were 
 introduced to the King and the Royal family. We 
 were received in the dining-room, where the cloth was 
 laid, I suppose, for luncheon. The King, who was in a 
 blue uniform trimmed with red, was standing near the 
 window. I was going up to him, preparing myself to 
 address him in German ; but he very politely came 
 forward, and, taking Elizabeth Robson and myself by 
 the hand, began to speak in French, saying he was very 
 glad to see us I was, therefore, able to speak to him 
 in my own language, which was a great relief. I told 
 him that my dear friends and myself were very much 
 obliged to him and to the Queen for the leave they had 
 granted us of visiting them, and for the kind manner
 
 1831.] A'L\'G AXD QUEEN OF WURTEMBURG. 83 
 
 in which they had received us ; adding that my dear 
 Friends could not speak anything but English, or they 
 would have said as much themselves. 
 
 The King then presented us to his wife and his chil- 
 dren, saying: " Void la reine et voici mes enfants " 
 (five in number, four daughters and one son). 
 
 The King then said : '' You are friends of Mr. 
 Allen's!" I told him that we knew him very well, 
 and that I had lived with him many years. The King 
 and the Queen entered freely into conversation with 
 me on the subject of our journey. As the Princesses 
 spoke English, Elizabeth Robson was conversing with 
 them. I was beginning to fear that she would think I 
 was forgetting the object of our visit ; but I was obliged 
 to answer their questions, and it was no easy matter 
 to introduce the other subject. The King, however, 
 opened the way for it, by kindly saying, " If I can be 
 useful to you in anything I shall be very glad to do it." 
 I thanked him, but said that I was not aware there 
 was anything we need trouble him about ; that our 
 reason for wishing to be introduced to him was 
 a strong desire for the welfare of himself and the 
 Queen. This had induced my friend to visit them, 
 and I believed that, if they would allow her, she might 
 have something to say to them, which I could trans- 
 late into French. They both said that though they 
 did not speak it, they understood English sufficiently 
 to render that unnecessary. This was a great relief 
 to me. We all stood still for a few minutes ; the King 
 was remarkably serious. Elizabeth Robson began 
 with these words, "Grace, mercy and peace be with 
 you, from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus
 
 84 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1831. 
 
 Christ." She then addressed them at some length, 
 urging upon them their responsibility in ruling and 
 judging the people; as ministers of God, acting under 
 Him who is the blessed and only Potentate, King of 
 Kings and Lord of Lords. The King and Queen, 
 particularly the former, heard her with deep attention. 
 She then addressed a few words to the Princesses, after 
 which the King, in a very impressive manner, desired 
 me to thank Elizabeth Robson for all the good advice 
 she had given him and his family Before we separated 
 Elizabeth Robson prayed very impressively for the 
 King, the Royal family and the country, returning 
 thanks also for the many past favours bestowed upon 
 them. We took leave, all affectionately shaking hands 
 with us. The King, having hold of my hand, desired 
 me to give his compliments to William Allen ; to which 
 the Queen added, "And give him my compliments also; 
 and tell him we shall be very glad to see him when he 
 comes here." 
 
 The Queen told us that her mother, the Grand 
 Duchess Louise, of Wurtemburg, and one of her 
 sisters were in the palace and wished to see us, so 
 we were conducted to their apartments The Duchess 
 is a very pious, interesting woman ; her daughter 
 also is very amiable and pious. We soon entered 
 into interesting conversation, I interpreting, as they 
 did not understand English. The Duchess seemed 
 delighted to meet with those with whom she could 
 talk on religious subjects. She asked us to pray 
 for her, that she might be preserved steadfast in the 
 faith, as she felt that there was no safety but in 
 keeping firm hold of Christ. "And not for me only,"
 
 1 83 1 . ] RE VIE W OF HER O WN POSITION. 85 
 
 added she, "but also for those whom the Lord has 
 given me" (taking hold of the hand of her daughter, 
 who was in tears), "in order that I may appear before 
 Him, saying, ' Here am I, with those whom Thou hast 
 given me.' ' 
 
 In the review of this her first " missionary 
 journey," which proved to herself a time of so 
 much lasting instruction, Christine Majolier 
 writes : 
 
 We had many conversations with persons eminent 
 for piety, as well as with others who were ready to 
 bring forward objections. In all these I was Elizabeth 
 Robson's sole interpreter, and I was myself often called 
 upon to defend what, at that time, I but very imper- 
 fectly understood. No one knows the deep provings 
 into which I was thus brought. Add to this, that I 
 had the greater part of the care of travelling neces- 
 sarily devolving upon me, as neither of my friends 
 understood either French or German. But, notwith- 
 standing all, I have since looked upon this journey as 
 one of my greatest blessings, as it led me to a minute 
 scrutiny, not only of my own heart, but also of those 
 doctrines of the Christian religion on which our faith 
 as Christians must rest, and which, till then, I had not 
 thoroughly examined. Deep seriousness attended my 
 mind, and I was led to inquire whether I was prepared 
 to accept the salvation of my soul as a free, unmerited 
 gift ; whether I really loved God, because he had first 
 loved me ; and whether I felt my sins as indeed a 
 burden, or whether I looked upon them with indifference. 
 It was a time of deep searching of heart, and I took
 
 86 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1831. 
 
 opportunities of retiring alone in the evening at Plough 
 Court, where we spent the winter of 1831-32. I used 
 to go upstairs into the laundry, which we had fitted up 
 for a schoolroom, and there I poured out my heart 
 before the Lord, desiring to be led in the right way. 
 I studied the Bible, and light seemed to spring on 
 every page. "Scott's Essays on Christianity" were 
 greatly blessed to me ; and the one on the Atonement 
 seemed very convincing. I felt much doubt as to 
 whether it would be right for me to remain a Friend ; 
 a doubt which was much increased by a proposal of 
 marriage with a person whom I respected and admired, 
 whom I had met on the Continent. He was the pastor 
 of an extensive parish, and if I was united to him a very 
 wide field of labour lay before me. Nothing seemed 
 more inviting than a life spent in doing good in bring- 
 ing souls to the Saviour, whom I felt that I had found. 
 I thought nothing could be too hard for me. I could 
 have gone to the end of the world if I could have 
 felt sure that it was the will of my Heavenly Father. 
 O, then indeed was His love shed abroad in my 
 heart. 
 
 My dear friends, William Allen and Cornelius and 
 Elizabeth Hanbury, were aware of the consideration 
 which I had before me. They could not take upon 
 themselves to discourage me. Many weeks I was in 
 this state of suspense. I could scarcely bear to leave 
 the society in which I lived, and I hardly knew whether 
 it was right to give up the prospect alluded to. No 
 way, however, seemed to open for me to decide. The 
 subject was first dismissed for a time, and afterwards 
 relinquished by mutual consent. I felt relieved when
 
 1832.] TRANSLATES "PORTABLE EVIDENCE." 87 
 
 this decision was come to, and fully believed that it was 
 a right one ; but it was not followed by a full relief as 
 to my remaining among Friends. At this time J. J. 
 Gurney's little work, " The Portable Evidence of Chris- 
 tianity," appeared. I read it with attention, and found 
 it most suited to my need. Its perusal led me to think 
 of those on the Continent who had charged Friends 
 with not holding the doctrines of the Bible in their 
 fulness, and I immediately conceived and executed the 
 idea of translating it into French. Thus was com- 
 menced an intercourse with that dearly-loved friend 
 which lasted with great advantage to myself till he died. 
 I have never begun or gone through a work of any 
 kind with so much satisfaction and spirit ; for I felt as 
 though every line would go to convince those who 
 doubted the soundness of our Christian views. This 
 bopk was the means of fixing me among Friends ; and 
 I have ever since been settled in the full belief that the 
 views which have been held by our Society with respect 
 to the immediate guidance of the Holy Spirit, the nature 
 of Christian ministry, and the full end made to outward 
 rites and ceremonies in the new dispensation, are those 
 which are most in accordance with the Scriptures of 
 truth ; based as they must ever be on the alone founda- 
 tion, which is, Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY CONTINUED. 
 Residence at Lindfield Illness, and return to France. 
 
 IN the spring of 1832, I had a great trial in being 
 obliged to give up the charge of my little pupil ; 
 his grandfather thinking it best to send him to school 
 at Stoke Newington. The desire to care for him as 
 long as it should be in my power, and thus to fulfil 
 the wish expressed by his dear mother, had greatly 
 influenced me to remain at my post : but now that he 
 was taken from me, I felt as though I could no longer 
 be of any use to William Allen. I will not attempt 
 to describe what I felt, and the trial to my dear little 
 charge was very great also. On his account and on 
 my own, it was thought best that I should leave 
 Stoke Newington for a few months. I went to Broom- 
 field, near Chelmsford, to my kind friends Thomas and 
 Rebecca Christy, and I had their near sympathy. As 
 William Allen had always said that I should remain 
 with him, I did not like to be the first to propose to 
 leave so kind a friend. It almost seemed as though 
 I was dissatisfied with the position which he was dis- 
 posed to give me in his family; and yet I had lost, 
 one by one, the objects which had fully occupied my 
 attention, and every interest seemed passed into other 
 hands. Whilst at Broomfield, I had a letter from 
 William Allen, telling me that he was likely to go 
 (88)
 
 1832.] RESIDENCE AT LINDFIELD. 89 
 
 on the Continent with Stephen Grellet, and it would 
 be a great relief to him if I could take up my abode 
 at Lindfield, and superintend his concerns" there 
 during his absence. There seemed no ground for 
 hesitation, and I left my dear and kind friends at 
 Broomfield with a heavy heart, but determined to do 
 my very best. Under date Sixth Month, 8th, 1832, he 
 says in his journal : " I have left dear Christine Majolier 
 in commission." I took up my residence in his house 
 at Gravely, under the care of George Bentley and his 
 wife ; she acting for me as servant. I found much to 
 occupy my time. I went every morning and after- 
 noon to the schools, about a mile off, attending also 
 to the printing office, which was worked by the elder 
 boys of the school, under William Bade. The cor- 
 recting of the proofs was a work of patience indeed, 
 as there were often as many mistakes as words. The 
 schools were not then on so good a footing as they 
 acquired afterwards ; the masters and mistresses were 
 inefficient, and yet I had to keep everything going, 
 and send as fair an account as I could to William 
 Allen. 
 
 The summer passed pretty comfortably, as we had 
 now and then visits from Brighton Friends, and I 
 used sometimes to go there to meeting. It was at 
 this time that I experienced so much kindness from 
 my friends, Grover and Susanna Kemp, the latter of 
 whom, with her children, had for some time lodgings 
 at Lindfield. As winter drew on, I felt the lone- 
 liness of my abode ; but the interest I took in my 
 translation of J. J. Gurney's " Portable Evidence," and 
 in studying Greek (which I had undertaken for the 
 G
 
 90 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1832. 
 
 express purpose of reading the New Testament), to- 
 gether with keeping the accounts, and sending and re- 
 ceiving the weekly despatches to and from London, kept 
 me agreeably occupied ; and although some of my 
 friends thought it almost a banishment, I had some real 
 enjoyment. I felt interested also about some of the 
 cottagers. One man I taught to read, to his great de- 
 light ; and one poor woman I had the opportunity of 
 frequently visiting in her last illness, and enjoyed the 
 privilege of conveying to her mind some religious 
 instruction, which, being blessed by the Spirit, seemed 
 the means of bringing her to a sense of her condition, 
 and of enabling her to rejoice in the assurance of the 
 forgiving mercy and love of her Redeemer. Her name 
 was Elizabeth Wood. 
 
 I must not omit to. mention the kindness of my dear 
 friends, Banks Farrand and his wife and daughter, 
 who were residing in one of the cottages. The 
 winter of 1832-33, which I spent at Lindfield, was 
 cold and damp. I was now for the first time exposed 
 to the severities of an English climate. In the early 
 part of the winter I took cold ; but not considering it 
 of much importance I continued my exertions, not- 
 withstanding the exposure to which my occupations 
 subjected me. With a constant cough, I still went to 
 the schools daily, and stood for hours in the school- 
 rooms and the printing office; took my dinner with 
 S. Farrand by the side of the school fire; returned 
 home to tea through rain, mud, frost, or snow ; and 
 spent a great part of the evening in correcting damp 
 proofs from the printing office, which had to be read 
 over a great number of times. For half-an-hour in
 
 1833.] LIND FIELD. 91 
 
 the evening I had one or two adult pupils. I afterwards 
 attended to the accounts. It was no wonder that my 
 health gave way, and that a foundation was then laid 
 for the delicacy of chest to which I have ever since 
 been subject. It was, I own, through imprudence 
 on my part, for I am sure William Allen would have 
 been the last person to wish me thus to injure my 
 health; but I was then young, buoyant, and ex- 
 tremely desirous to serve my beloved friend. I had no 
 doubt I should lose my cough in the spring, and I 
 thought I should soon be well again when I had time for 
 a little nursing. 
 
 Spring came, and I had no relief. I applied blisters 
 to my chest, but still went to the printing office and 
 read the proofs. At last some of my kind friends, 
 particularly Susanna Kemp, of Brighton, urged me 
 to inform William Allen of the real state I was in. I 
 did so, and left Lindfield for medical advice, expecting 
 to return after the Yearly Meeting to resume my post; 
 but it was ordered otherwise. The means resorted to 
 were ineffectual in removing the cough, and I rapidly 
 lost strength. Serious apprehensions were entertained, 
 and intimated to me by the medical men who were 
 consulted, that my lungs were in a diseased state, and 
 that a return to my native air, at least for a time, was 
 the only thing from which I could expect relief, so 
 that my life might be preserved a few years longer. 
 It was undesirable to go during the heat of summer, 
 and, moreover, I was too ill to undertake the journey 
 in the usual way by night travelling in diligences. 
 For the present, therefore, I took up my abode with 
 my beloved friends, Cornelius and Elizabeth Hanbury,
 
 92 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1833. 
 
 who were indeed like a brother and sister to me, and 
 whose sweet children seemed almost as my own. I 
 cannot sufficiently express my sense of the kindness 
 I experienced in my time of need from these loved 
 friends. I was brought to a very low ebb, bodily and 
 mentally. There appeared nothing before me but a 
 life of suffering and uselessness. It seemed as though 
 I could be no other than an object of anxiety and care, 
 either to my friends in England, or to my dear parents. 
 And although I was, as it were, driven to the "strong- 
 hold," and was made mercifully sensible at times in my 
 sorrow that the supporting Arm was underneath, yet 
 I had seasons of deep proving, and I may say that I often 
 watered my couch with my tears. I desired to be sub- 
 missive to the Divine will ; but I had not come to that 
 sense of joy and peace in believing, by which alone the 
 yoke becomes easy and the burden light. 
 
 It seemed, however, desirable to try a little change ; 
 and I wrote to an old friend of my father's, Nathaniel 
 Casens, who was then residing at Southampton, to 
 propose paying him a little visit to try the change of 
 air. He most cordially invited me to come and stay 
 as long as I liked. He lived a little out of the town, 
 in a large airy house; and with his kind welcome, and 
 the motherly care of his housekeeper Harriet Gavet, 
 of Guernsey I felt a little revived ; but he was an 
 uncommonly serious man, with manners solemn and 
 austere, and though he was extremely kind, I felt very 
 dull, and spent my time alone with but little employ- 
 ment. I took walks by the seaside, my kind friend, 
 Harriet Gavet, carrying a little camp stool, that I 
 might now and then rest ; and I went out sometimes
 
 I833-] PREPARES TO RETURN HOME. 93 
 
 on a donkey. But I seemed to have lost all my 
 elasticity of spirits. I was completely broken down, 
 and could scarcely speak without shedding tears. 
 Here I stayed between two and three weeks, long 
 enough to prove that the sea air was too stimulating. 
 I knew not what my " next step was to be, when I 
 very unexpectedly received a letter from my friend 
 Clara Cox, informing me that her husband and herself 
 were going to undertake a journey on the Continent ; 
 that she had heard of my indisposition ; and that, as 
 they always liked to blend usefulness with pleasure, 
 they would take me home if I could meet them in 
 Paris, as she had heard of my circumstances too 
 late to enable me to fall in with their plans for 
 leaving London. 
 
 Thus was a way opened in a remarkable manner, 
 where, indeed, I could see none, and a renewed hope 
 was raised in my heart that I was not forgotten by 
 my Heavenly Father, though I did not at the time 
 sufficiently feel that this signal deliverance came from 
 Him. In the retrospect of those days of trial my 
 heart is now humbled in the remembrance of the luke- 
 warmness and indifference which had come over me, 
 when my Heavenly Father had been pleased to with- 
 draw some of his blessings. How often do we look 
 upon these blessings as our own, enjoying them 
 without gratitude, and murmuring when they are 
 withdrawn ! 
 
 With a little fresh courage I left Southampton and 
 my kind friends, and spent a few days at Stoke New- 
 ington, in active preparation for the journey. The 
 short notice was a blessing to me. It left me but little
 
 94 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSO P. [1833. 
 
 time to reflect on having to part with many so dear 
 to me, as I thought for the last time ; and yet the 
 remembrance of what I then felt, as I had to make 
 the necessary preparations for that journey, affects me 
 now, even to tears. My brother George accompanied 
 me to Pans; where I joined my kind friends R C. and 
 Clara Cox and their travelling companions, William 
 Daniel, the water-colour painter, and his widowed 
 daughter Sophia Gent. R C. Cox had two travelling 
 carriages ; and I was provided with the very best 
 accommodation and the kindest nursing the whole of 
 the journey, which occupied about a month ; as we 
 stopped at most of the principal places on the road. 
 My health improved a little during the journey, and I 
 enjoyed the change of scene. 
 
 On my arrival amongst my dear relatives, it .was a 
 relief to feel that I was in my father's house among 
 my own friends, and under the care of my tenderly 
 loved and loving mother, where I knew that all they 
 could do for me would be cheerfully performed. This 
 feeling at first overbalanced every other ; it was what 
 I had earnestly desired, when there seemed much 
 difficulty in the way of its being accomplished, and 
 now I was thankful that it was realized. Yet I could 
 not forget that I was going to put my dear parents to 
 additional expense, instead of having the pleasure of 
 assisting them. This threw a shade over my mind, 
 but, under- the full persuasion that I should never get 
 well, I had a sort of hope that it would not be for 
 very long. It .was not without sadness that I parted 
 with my kind travelling companions. R. C. Cox 
 had been an invalid during the journey ; he and I
 
 1833-] TARRIANCE AT COXGEXIES. 95 
 
 had spent much time together; he felt for me, and 
 drawing me aside in the parlour at Congenies, he 
 said: "I know that you will be dull here if you 
 have nothing to do. I advise you to have a little 
 plan for occupying your time ; and as you have 
 been in the habit of seeing after the poor, it will, I 
 think, be a nice thing for you to have a little money 
 at your disposal for that object ; I will, therefore, give 
 you a trifle." He gave me ^5 for the poor of Con- 
 genies, and ;io for those of Sommieres ; the latter 
 sum to be disposed of conjointly with some friends of 
 his wife's, as she had lodged there before her mar- 
 riage. I have never forgotten that truly benevolent 
 thought. It was indeed a comfort to have some- 
 thing to draw me out of myself. I was, however, 
 often low and discouraged, and although my time was 
 so portioned out that it was pretty fully occupied, 
 nothing of what I did seemed necessary to be done. 
 My dear father and mother enjoyed having me, 
 and it was a pleasure to add to their comfort. 
 My father was still strong and bright. He rose 
 very early, and was occupied in writing, &c., during 
 the earlier hours of the day ; part of the afternoon he 
 took a nap, and the rest of the afternoon and evening he 
 spent at the fountain garden, where I used often to join 
 him after my daily ride on the donkey. I fancy I can 
 now see that loved parent, with his beautiful patriarchal 
 countenance, beaming with intelligence and holy sere- 
 nity, bringing home the produce of his labours in the 
 garden, and enjoying showing us how fine were his 
 lettuces, his cabbages, his peas, and his haricots. Pain- 
 ful as was the dispensation at the time, which forced me
 
 96 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSO P. [1833. 
 
 to relinquish what I was engaged in, I have often felt 
 thankful that it thus afforded me the opportunity of 
 being so much with my beloved parents in their declin- 
 ing years, to add to their comfort and to witness the 
 serenity of the evening of their day ; and although I had 
 some privations, yet I enjoyed many comforts, and, to a 
 high degree, the " comfort of love."
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY CONTINUED. 
 
 Residence at Nimes in Dr. Pleindoux's family Description of 
 
 Nimes State of Religion in France. 
 
 
 
 BUT my health did not seem to alter. I was too 
 much absorbed by the idea that I should not 
 recover for it- to improve much. I was, however, 
 kept calm, endeavouring to look forward steadily to 
 the end ; and although I was not favoured with a sense 
 of assurance, I had, at times, a humble hope in the 
 mercy of my Saviour. I took much interest in the 
 printing of the translation, which I had made of the 
 "Portable Evidence." Emilien Frossard, with whom 
 I had been acquainted when we were both young, 
 at William Allen's, had married an English wife, and 
 was residing at Nimes as one of the pastors of the 
 place. I wished to submit the translation to him, and. 
 he and his wife kindly invited me to their house, both 
 for the change of air and the more easily to obtain 
 his help in looking over and correcting the little 
 work ; which was then printed and put into circulation. 
 Many copies were distributed gratis, and some were 
 sold. I have known several instances in which the 
 reading of it was blessed ; and to a cousin of mine in 
 particular it was made the means of his conviction of 
 the truths of Christianity, after he had long lived in 
 doubt and scepticism. 
 
 During one of my visits to my friends, Emilien and 
 
 (97)
 
 98 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1833. 
 
 Isabella Frossard, at Nimes, they persuaded me to 
 consult their medical friend, Dr. Pleindoux. He did 
 not take the serious view of my case which had been 
 taken by the English physicians. It is true that I was 
 better when he saw me than I was when I left Eng- 
 land. The lungs, he considered, were affected, but not 
 so as to lead him to think the complaint beyond the 
 reach of tcure ; but it was impossible for him to 
 persuade me that this was the case. The strong 
 impression I had to the contrary remained with me, 
 although I could but be sensible of some improvement. 
 He one day told me that he believed he had tried 
 every means which he thought would be beneficial ; 
 and that now there remained nothing to be done but 
 to turn my attention to some kind of employment by 
 which I might be taken more out of myself; for it was 
 not in the power of medicine to help me as long as I 
 entertained the idea that I could not recover. This 
 rather amazed me, for I felt that I could not undertake 
 any kind of employment at Congemes; and whither else 
 could I go? I told him my difficulty. He said, 
 " Well, I will consider about it ; perhaps I can suggest 
 something that may suit you." Shortly afterwards he 
 proposed that I should spend a few months in his 
 family, and teach English to his only daughter who 
 was then about eleven years old. The proposal was 
 unexpected. I was surprised that any one should 
 think of making it to a person far gone in consump- 
 tion ; and that it should come from my medical man 
 was certainly extraordinary. It acted on me power- 
 fully, and for the first time conveyed to my mind the 
 thought that perhaps Dr. Pleindoux was right, and
 
 I834-] DR. PLEINDOUX. 99 
 
 that my apprehensions were incorrect. At least, I saw 
 that he was sincere in his expressed opinion. Had any 
 one else made the proposal, I should have refused it 
 without hesitation ; but now I looked upon it in a 
 different light ; and the more I thought of it, the more 
 it struck me as a Providential interposition in my 
 behalf. My dear father and mother were very doubtful 
 as to the desirableness of the undertaking. My father 
 feared^he effect it might have on my " Friendliness." 
 My mother was anxious about my health. I was 
 again perplexed. The proposal had not been sought 
 by me. I had not in any way promoted it ; it had 
 come to me. I knew not, however, how I could main- 
 tain my character as a " Friend " in its essential parts, 
 and reside in a Roman Catholic family, and instruct 
 a Roman Catholic child. Revolving the subject in 
 my mind, and feeling anxious to do that which was 
 right ; it occurred to me that I must at once represent 
 myself as one who desired to act without com- 
 promising any of the important views entertained by 
 "Friends." If Dr. Pleindoux were willing to accept 
 me as a Friend, I would accede to the proposal ; if not, 
 it must be left. 
 
 In my next interview I told the Doctor that he was, 
 perhaps, not aware that I was a Protestant. It was true 
 that I did not belong to the Church which goes under 
 that name in France ; but that the principles of our 
 Society were those of the Reformation, and that we 
 carried them further than even the Protestants of the 
 National Church ; and that, therefore, we were at a 
 greater distance than they from Roman Catholicism. 
 And, seeing that the most powerful motive of action
 
 ioo MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1834. 
 
 is a religious sense, founded on the responsibility 
 of man in the sight -of his Creator, I felt that I 
 could not undertake the education of a child with- 
 out having it in my power to make use of this power- 
 ful incentive to duty. To my surprise the Doctor 
 answered that he was quite of the same mind ; and that 
 as he wished his daughter to be brought up with reli- 
 gious views and obligations, whilst at the same time 
 he desired her education to be exempt from the errors 
 and superstitions of popery, his eye had been fixed on 
 me, as being the person most likely to answer his 
 purpose on many accounts, and particularly because 
 I seemed to stand on rather neutral ground between 
 the Catholics and the Protestants. On account of the 
 priests he could not well have a Protestant. He 
 wished to know how far I should think it right to carry 
 out my views. I told him that I had no desire unduly 
 to influence any one, or to force my own views on 
 his child should she be entrusted to me ; but, as both 
 Catholics and Protestants professed to take their reli- 
 gious views from the Bible, I should be quite satisfied, 
 if I was allowed to read it with her. He made not the 
 slightest difficulty as it regarded himself; but he said 
 his wife, who was more under the influence of the 
 priests, might make some objection ; but that she 
 would be less likely to object if the subject were pro- 
 perly put before her ; and as she was not acquainted 
 with me, if I was willing to pay them a friendly visit, 
 he would ask her to send me an invitation. At the 
 time of this negotiation I was staying with my very 
 dear friend, Jenny Jalaguier, to whom I had been intro- 
 duced by Emilien Frossard and his wife, and who has
 
 1 834.] INTERVIEW WITH THE ABBE. 101 
 
 ever since been like a beloved sister to me. The wife 
 of Dr. Pleindoux called on me, and it was fixed that I 
 should go on a visit of a few days to the Doctor's. It 
 seemed altogether strange ; and yet so providential, so 
 unlocked for, and so opportune, that I felt it would be 
 a serious thing lightly to set it aside. My dear father 
 thought the same. I therefore went some time in the 
 summer of 1834. 
 
 The first thing that I was anxious to ascertain 
 during this visit was the point I had discussed with 
 the Doctor. He proposed that he himself should 
 consult the confessor of his wife and daughter ; but it 
 occurred to me that it was better for me to do it in his 
 presence. The Abbe of the Cathedral was therefore 
 invited to dinner. When I saw a tall, fine man, 
 very dignified and commanding in his appearance, 
 evidently a man of learning and thought, I own that I 
 felt rather to shrink from the encounter ; but he was 
 thoroughly well bred and most polite. The dinner 
 passed off without much being said but what was com- 
 monplace ; and I did not feel quite at my ease. When 
 we retired from table the Doctor introduced the subject 
 of his daughter's education ; how he had hitherto been 
 disappointed in the attempts he had made for accom- 
 plishing it ; and after saying that now he believed he 
 had found the right person, he introduced me as the 
 individual whom he wished to persuade to take charge 
 of it. Now, I thought, must be the time to express the 
 grounds which led me to hesitate. I knew that the 
 Abbe had been concerned on a large scale in the work 
 of education as Proviseur (Principal) of the large college 
 at Nimes.. I could therefore appeal to him as a man of
 
 102 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSO P. [1834. 
 
 experience, and was relieved by finding that he fully 
 agreed with me that, in order to carry out any plan 
 of education satisfactorily, and- be instrumental in the 
 right formation of character, the great truths of the 
 Gospel must be brought to bear on any such plan. I 
 told him that I was a Protestant, and mentioned those 
 common grounds of faith and of practice in which I 
 was sure we were agreed. These I desired that it 
 might be my endeavour to inculcate on my young 
 pupil as she might be able to bear it ; without at- 
 tempting either to bring forward peculiar views of my 
 own or to refute those that she might otherwise be 
 taught. And as there was one book to which we could 
 both appeal, as containing the rule of our common 
 faith, what I thought to be indispensable was, to be 
 allowed to read the Bible with my pupil ; containing as 
 it does, the truths which, in their essential bearing, 
 are the same for the Catholics and the Protestants. 
 I believed that he would see the propriety of my 
 request ; and I further added, that although I should 
 not seek unduly to influence the judgment of the child, 
 yet if any explanations of the portions we read were 
 required, I could only give them according to the 
 understanding I had of the sacred text. He heard 
 me patiently, and at my different appeals he nodded 
 assent. When I had done, he said my request was a 
 very fair one ; he approved of my frank and open 
 statement ; and saw no objection to the child reading 
 the Bible, provided it was a right translation. I men- 
 tioned De Saci's translation. He agreed that it was 
 an approved version, but he would wish to see it. As 
 there was no Bible in the house, I procured one from
 
 I834-] LIFE AT DR. PLEINDOUX'S. 103 
 
 the depot of the Bible Society, and made a present of 
 it to the child. The priest had it for some time, and 
 then returned it to my pupil with the permission to read 
 it. From that time I had full liberty, and during the 
 time I lived in the family, a period of six years, I was 
 never interfered with ; and we read the Bible daily. 
 
 It was in the summer of 1834 that I came to live at 
 Nimes, and entered on this new mode of life. Dr. 
 Pleindoux was a very able man, in full practice ; and 
 although my principal employment was with my little 
 pupil, I saw a great variety of interesting persons, 
 and again led a life though totally different from 
 that in William Allen's family of constant activity. 
 There was not, at that time, any Friends' meeting at 
 Nimes. My cousin, Justine Benezet, had been for some 
 years the superintendent of the Protestant Orphan 
 Asylum ; and for a long time she and I regularly sat 
 down together, and held a little silent meeting in the 
 committee room of that Institution, which was granted 
 to us by the committee. After a while two of my sisters 
 joined us, together with Justine's sister, Eugenie. The 
 latter had lately been left a widow, and was kindly 
 taken in with her child into the Orphan Asylum, where 
 she acted as housekeeper. Notwithstanding these 
 associates my lot was very lonely. I was in a Roman 
 Catholic family, the head of which, an intelligent, 
 warm-hearted man, absorbed by the duties of his 
 profession, was living without any observance of reli- 
 gion whatever ; as most men do in France. The only 
 appearance of religion in his wife was her going to 
 mass on First-day morning, and to confession when 
 it was required. I had little other outward help than
 
 104 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1834. 
 
 reading my Bible and attending the little meeting on 
 a First-day ; and now and then spending a First-day 
 at Congenies. But I had some intercourse with pious 
 Protestants at Nimes, and I took a class in the First- 
 day school at the Protestant " Temple," which led 
 to my sometimes attending the afternoon worship there. 
 I took much interest in my little pupil, who became 
 closely attached to me. She was bright and intelligent, 
 though not very fond of work. It was agreed that 
 she should at once receive her religious instruction 
 for her first " communion," and that then she would be 
 entirely confided to me. I had frequently to go to 
 fetch her home from the Convent, where one or two of 
 the nuns with whom I came in contact tried hard to 
 convert me by kindness ^ and persuasion. I was 
 several times invited to walk in the garden, to see their 
 chapel, their altars, and ornaments. One of them, in 
 particular, urged me to consider the great responsibility 
 of refusing to hear the call that was made through her 
 to me. I endeavoured, in my turn, to give her my 
 reasons for differing from heron some points ; and at 
 last she left me to my disbelief. 
 
 One day they gave Theolinde a little box carefully 
 wrapped up. The child brought it to me, and, cautiously 
 opening it, she displayed the inside, all glittering and 
 bespangled, and shut in with glass. She told me to 
 look in the centre, and on my taking the box out of her 
 hand she looked terrified, and said, "Oh, you must not 
 touch it ! It is only for a very particular purpose : for 
 you to see, but not to touch." In the centre com- 
 partment I saw a tiny piece of wood, not as large as 
 a pin's head. This, she told me, was a piece of the
 
 1840.] " RELICS." 105 
 
 true cross, which had been sent as a present to their 
 convent by some one who had brought it from Rome. 
 I think they hoped that it would have some wonder- 
 ful effect on me, if I were not too much hardened in 
 unbelief. The child said, "It is such a precious relic 
 that they never would have given it to me if they had 
 not thought of you. It is so sacred that whilst the 
 priests are allowed to touch it with their hands, 
 the nuns only do so with a piece of cotton." Saying 
 all this, she looked at me very attentively, and ap- 
 peared surprised that I did not wonder more. I read 
 an inscription on the lid of the box, purporting that 
 the saying of a certain number of prayers in view of 
 the relic would free the soul from the penalty of so 
 many mortal sins, and so many venial sins. The child, 
 watching my countenance all the time, penetrated 
 my thoughts, and said, " I see that you do not believe 
 it." I told her that I fully believed in the goodness 
 of the Almighty in forgiving us our sins, if, under a 
 feeling of true repentance, we prayed that they might be 
 forgiven ; that the Bible taught us this, as we had seen ; 
 but that I could not find anything in the Bible about 
 pieces of the true cross. "Then," said she, "you do 
 not think that this will make any difference ?" I did 
 not answer ; but she added, " Neither do I. I will take 
 back their box" I was afraid I should hear more of 
 this little box; but I did not It was evident that, as 
 the child's mind opened, she was less and less under 
 their superstitious influences ; and in a few months her 
 attendance at the convent ceased. 
 
 Nimes, the ancient Nemausus, is in many respects a 
 very remarkable city. First, as containing so many 
 H
 
 106 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSO P. [1834. 
 
 proofs of its early possession by the Romans. Its Am- 
 phitheatre, on which I had looked with some surprise 
 when I was a child, more and more astonished me 
 when I considered its antiquity of the time of Augus- 
 tus Caesar its extent, the massiveness of its construc- 
 tion, and its preservation. The Maison Carree of 
 about the same period, the Porte de France and the 
 Porte d'Augusta, with the ruins at the Fontaine, and 
 the antique Tour Magne ; all tell of times long gone by; 
 and of generations of men who have long since had to 
 give up their account. 
 
 But to those who are interested in the religious wel- 
 fare of the people of France, Nimes is remarkable, as 
 being, perhaps, the only large city in France which con- 
 tains so large a proportion of Protestants. 
 
 As early as 1557 a Protestant Church was founded at 
 Nimes, and from that period to the present time there 
 has existed a constant conflict between the Protestants 
 and the Catholics. Being a manufacturing place there 
 is a numerous population of poor people, particularly 
 amongst the Catholics, whose character is hot and 
 impetuous. Old animosities are treasured up until 
 a fitting opportunity for venting them offers. Hence 
 the conflicts and the bloodshed that have taken 
 place at every change in the political affairs of the 
 country. At the time of my going to Nimes, and all 
 the time I resided there (from 1834 to 1840), the 
 Protestants were in favour with the Government. 
 During the reign of Louis Philippe, especially during 
 the administration of Guizot, they filled the most 
 prominent offices. There were many opulent families 
 amongst them. The Mayor was a Protestant. The
 
 1840.] N1MES, 107 
 
 first President of the Court was also a Protestant, as 
 was the first Judge. Many of the lower offices were 
 also filled by Protestants ; and the principal bankers 
 were members of the Reformed Church. Most of 
 them were members of their Consistory or Synod. 
 But I own, as it appeared to me, there was not much 
 spirituality in their Church Two or three of their 
 pastors held Evangelical views; others were sadly tainted 
 with the errors of rationalism ; and for a time there 
 was much division amongst them. I mixed much more 
 with the Protestants than with the Roman Catholics, 
 even while I was with Dr. Pleindoux. Indeed I visited 
 very little amongst the Catholics ; all I knew of them 
 was by their coming to his house. 
 
 It was soon after I went to Nimes that I paid a visit 
 to an old friend of mine, a friend of my childhood, 
 whose family lived at Congenies when we were both 
 children ; and who had since gone through deep afflic- 
 tion by the loss of her husband and her only daughter, 
 a lovely child of eight or ten years of age. She was 
 a strict Roman Catholic, and was now living with 
 her mother at a small village called Manduel. I found 
 her thoroughly under the dominion of her religious 
 ideas Her house was close to the " church," to which 
 she had built an addition over her daughter's grave. 
 To this portion of the building, which communicated 
 with the upper part, near the altar, she had easy 
 access from her house by merely crossing the road; 
 and here she spent much of her time. The rest was in 
 great part spent in embroidering dresses for the priest, 
 altar-cloths, making artificial flowers for different orna- 
 ments, &c. She found in these occupations some solace
 
 io8 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTIXE M. ALSOP. [1834. 
 
 for her sorrows, and she really appeared happy. She 
 had always been good looking, and now the melancholy 
 and at the same time serene expression of her counte- 
 nance was truly striking. 
 
 How I did regret, in being with her, that at so early 
 an age scarcely thirty so much of sincerity, so much 
 of real piety and devotedness of heart, should be thus 
 wasted , and life spent to so little purpose. She, on the 
 contrary, commiserated my want of religious sensibility, 
 in not being able to sympathize with her in her con- 
 solations. In the evening we used to have the company 
 of the priest and one or two ladies of the village. At 
 these times the conversation would cften turn on the 
 miracles of different saints, on the furniture of the 
 church, or on the vestments of the priests, &c., &c. I 
 give the following as an illustration. 
 
 It was an evening on which the medical man was 
 also present The conversation turned on an approach- 
 ing festival the anniversary of lt Les Saintcs Maries ;" 
 and arrangements were proposed for attending it. 
 But in order to give an idea of the subject, and of 
 what occurred, I must endeavour to explain what 
 seems to be the generally received tradition respecting 
 that place and another in the neighbourhood. It is 
 reported that at the time of the crucifixion of Peter, 
 at Rome ; Lazarus, who was with him, and his sisters, 
 Martha and Mary, with Mary Salome, fled to the coast, 
 and embarked on the Mediterranean in an open boat. 
 They were sadly beaten about for many days, and 
 at last were shipwrecked on the coast of France. 
 Lazarus escaped, and found his way to Marseilles, 
 where he built a church, which bears his name, and
 
 1840.] STRANGE LEGENDS. 109 
 
 also one on the other side of the port ; a communi- 
 cation being established between them by means of 
 a tunnel. Martha, by some very remarkable provi- 
 dential interposition, escaped also, and went up by 
 the mouth of the Rhone, to Tarascon. That place, 
 so runs the legend, was, at that time, infested by a 
 sea-monster, which lived in the Rhone, and destroyed 
 men, women, and children, and was the terror of the 
 neighbourhood. It went by the name of the Tarasque. 
 (I have heard it asserted that crocodiles were at one 
 time found in the Rhone ; and it is a fact that a 
 crocodile is emblazoned on the arms of the town of 
 Nimes. There are two stuffed ones in the town hall, 
 which are said to have been caught in the Rhone.) 
 But to my story. Martha is said to have delivered the 
 neighbourhood from this monster by miraculously 
 charming it, and leading it to the town tied with her 
 apron-string. She is buried in the crypt of the church, 
 and there are candles always burning on her tomb, as 
 the deliverer and patron saint of the place ; and until 
 quite recently, the yearly festival of this deliverance 
 was kept up. A French writer, M. Raux Ferrand, 
 after describing the monster, and the manner in which 
 it was vanquished by the exhibition of the cross 
 says: '-To perpetuate the remembrance of this great 
 event a procession -and a fete were instituted. They 
 take place on the day of Pentecost, the day after the 
 fair of Beaucaire. The procession is very imposing. 
 All the clergy follow it. The congregation bear, on a 
 litter, an effigy of the Tarasque, and as soon as the 
 procession is over the fete begins. The Tarasque is 
 brought forth surrounded by guards called Taras-
 
 I to MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1834. 
 
 quaries. These are young men dressed in red serge and 
 white cambric vests, trimmed with lace. They wear 
 white stockings and shoes with red tops and heels ; a 
 cocked hat and a red cockade. The congregation fol- 
 low; and the procession is accompanied by an innum- 
 erable company of the faithful. During the march the 
 tail of the monster is agitated on all sides; and, as his 
 tail is no other than a beam, woe to the curious who 
 come near it, especially if they happen to be Protes- 
 tants ; for the Tarasque, converted by Martha, does not 
 pardon them their heresy." After giving a description 
 of the absurdities that took place at this fete, the writer 
 continues, "These are all in harmony with the fdte 
 and the procession ; it is the tenth century in the nine- 
 teenth, and that in France ! " 
 
 But to return to the other part of the legend, which 
 bears most on what occurred to me during this visit 
 to my friend. The two "Maries " were drowned ; their 
 bodies being found on the sand on a little tongue of 
 land or sand between the 'Etang de Thau and the sea. 
 Their bones were collected in a box, and a little chapel 
 was built on the spot. The place is inhabited only 
 by a few fishermen. In the little chapel is a well, the 
 water of which is always salt. But on the occasion of 
 the annual festival called "/ Saintes Maries,'" the box 
 containing the bones is let down into it ; and the water 
 is said to become sweet, and whoever drinks of it at 
 that time, and has faith to perceive that it is so, is 
 healed of whatever disease he may have. The porch of 
 the little chapel is hung round with the testimonials 
 which individuals who have thus been healed have left 
 as proofs of the efficacy of the transformed water.
 
 18.40.] CONVERSATION WITH THE PRIEST. m 
 
 Such was the strange legend which formed the 
 subject of conversation as we sat together on that 
 evening. I was one of seven. Feeling that my com- 
 panions would overpower me by their numbers, I 
 thought it most prudent to hold my peace and listen 
 to their discussion. They talked of going to spend a 
 week on the shore near the little chapel, either under 
 tents or in the fishermen's huts ; quite a party of 
 pleasure. They mentioned many cases which had 
 been wonderfully helped. Amongst others, the priest 
 spoke of a girl who had been quite blind ; who the year 
 before had partially recovered her sight, and who said 
 she intended to go again, when she expected to be 
 quite cured. At this mention of a miracle, half done 
 at one time and completed a year after, I suppose that 
 I betrayed a sort of incredulity by the expression of 
 my countenance ; for the priest, who had been watch- 
 ing me, as he knew I was a heretic, said, with a sort 
 of disdain, ''You do not believe in miracles?" I 
 answered that he was quite mistaken in thinking so 
 that I had quite as firm a belief in miracles as probably 
 he had ; and that I had never called in question the 
 possibility that He by whose power all things were 
 ordered and directed in the natural creation, could, if 
 it were His will, change the order and the arrange- 
 ment which He had given them. At this he seemed 
 surprised ; and the rest of the company listened with 
 attention. He said, " You are not, then, like the other 
 Protestants; for they do not believe in miracles." I 
 told him I thought that what I had expressed would 
 be agreed to by most Protestants. He inquired what 
 miracles I believed in. I said that I believed in all
 
 112 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE -M. ALSOP. [1834. 
 
 those mentioned in the Old and the New Testament. 
 Then said he. " Do you not believe that the Power 
 which performed those miracles remains the same and 
 can now perform miracles?" I acknowledged my 
 full belief that this was the case ; adding that if I 
 could see the same reason now that there was then for 
 such a disturbance of the order of nature; as, for 
 example, the establishment of a new dispensation 
 and the proving of the divinity of the Saviour of men : 
 both of which required an extraordinary manifesta- 
 tion of power: and if, moreover, a miracle wrought 
 for such a purpose was fully authenticated, 1 should 
 not withhold my belief of it ; knowing that N we must 
 be careful not to limit Almighty Power, whilst, at the 
 same time, we guard against the mistakes and the 
 deceptions of men. He looked at me rather sharply 
 and said " Then you do not believe, for instance, 
 that when the relics are let down into the water, its 
 nature is changed or that it becomes sweet ? ' ' Being 
 still desirous not to lay myself open to the imputa- 
 tion of heretical unbelief, I quietly put the question 
 to him ; asking him if he believed it. This was unex- 
 pected; and the poor man proved at least that he 
 was sincere. Assuming a very serious air, he said, 
 "It is with sincere sorrow for my want of faith that 
 I acknowledge it ; for many whom I can depend upon 
 have assured me of the contrary: but when I have 
 tasted the water I have perceived no difference. I at- 
 tribute this, however, to my lamentable want of faith." 
 The conversation ended here ; and I felt glad that it 
 was the priest, and not I, who had been convicted of 
 disbelief.
 
 1840.] STATE OF RELIGION IN FRANCE. 113 
 
 I often met this priest afterwards at Dr. Pleindoux's ; 
 and we were always good friends. I remember dining 
 with the family, when he displayed, as he thought to my 
 wondering gaze, all his gorgeous vestments and the 
 riches of his church. When he asked me what I thought 
 of all this whether I did not think it indicated the 
 great piety of his parishioners I said No ; for I be- 
 lieved many of these things were given to churches, to 
 cover a multitude of sins ; and I regretted that so much 
 property should be doing no good when it might defray 
 the expenses of a school. He appeared amused at my 
 replies, for he was a good-natured man ; and he finally 
 gave me up as an incorrigible heretic. 
 
 It is very affecting to consider that if there be any 
 religion at all amongst the Roman Catholics in the 
 South of France, it is so often of the character that I 
 have described as the religion of my poor friend. I 
 suppose there is not one family in a hundred of the 
 Roman Catholics in Nimes who possess the Bible ; and 
 a very small number of the men, whether Roman Catho- 
 lics or Protestants, attend any place of worship. This, 
 with the sad appropriation of the First day of the week, 
 affected me at first very sorrowfully. By degrees, how- 
 ever, I became accustomed to it ; so that I minded it 
 less. Placed as I was at this period in the midst of so 
 much that tended to dry up every feeling of devotion, I 
 have been often led to consider that young persons can- 
 not be sufficiently thankful when it has pleased a kind 
 Providence to place them in an atmosphere which tends 
 to encourage their efforts towards an advancement in the 
 Christian life.
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Visit of Elizabeth Fry to the South of France Christine Majolier 
 again comes to England Final parting with William Allen 
 Reiurns to Nimes Death of her pupil, Adele Jalaguier. 
 
 DURING the first four years of Christine 
 Majolier's residence at Nimes, she pursued 
 with interest the education of her little pupil. 
 
 The Countess de Sellon, with whom she had 
 become acquainted during her journey with Eliza- 
 beth Robson, continued to correspond with her; 
 and at one time was very anxious that she should 
 reside in her family, and assist in the education of 
 her younger daughters. Tempting as was the pro- 
 posal Christine Majolier writes : 
 
 Many reasons induced me to decline it. I felt 
 attached to my pupil and grateful to Dr. Pleindoux, 
 and wished to accomplish what I had undertaken. At 
 Nimes, too, we had a little meeting of Friends, and 
 the opportunities I had had of attending the Protestant 
 Temple made me feel the value of even our poor little 
 meetings, and of our simple mode of worship. I was 
 also near my beloved parents; and though my situa- 
 tion was not in all respects congenial, I thought it 
 best to wait till an opening might clearly present for 
 leaving it. 
 
 In the Fifth Month, 1839, Elizabeth Fry. accom- 
 panied by her husband, and their son and daughter.
 
 1 839-40.] ELIZA BE TH FRY. 115 
 
 with their friend, Josiah Forster, paid a visit to the 
 South of France. Christine Majolier accompanied 
 them to Congenies and the villages in the neigh- 
 bourhood, acting as interpreter at all the meetings, 
 as well as at those held at Nimes ; her young pupil 
 being with her on many of these occasions. Chris- 
 tine Majolier writes : 
 
 This dignified and highly-gifted handmaid of the 
 Lord was greatly favoured during this Gospel errand. 
 The message of Redeeming love flowed freely from 
 her lips ; many who heard her were contrited before 
 the Lord, and brought to the inquiry, " What must I 
 do to be saved? " And though it is to be feared that 
 some of the seed, which was then abundantly sown, 
 fell where there was not "much depth of earth," yet 
 "other fell into good ground;" and many who have 
 since proved the emptiness of the pleasures of this 
 world, and have given in their names to serve the 
 Lord, can trace their first awakening to her tender 
 yet powerful exhortations. To me her visit was one of 
 renewed help, and of a fresh stirring up to diligence; 
 and greatly did I enjoy being able to afford her a little 
 assistance. I accompanied her not only to the meet- 
 ings, but also in her visit to the families of Friends, 
 and to the Hospital, and the large prison, Maison 
 Centrale. 
 
 Dr. Pleindoux was much struck with Elizabeth Fry, 
 and invited her to meet at his house some of the prin- 
 cipal inhabitants of the city; when her simple and 
 Christian conduct was very striking. He was so 
 impressed with the desirability of reading the Holy
 
 u6 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1840. 
 
 Scriptures in the morning, that he wished to establish 
 a morning reading at his house in the country among 
 his workmen ; but it was soon found that the Roman 
 Catholics would not attend, and the plan had to be 
 given up. 
 
 My own health had improved during my residence 
 at Ximes, and my dear pupil had now grown a serious 
 and interesting young person ; and as her education 
 was completed, it was decided that I should leave Dr. 
 Pleindoux. 
 
 In the Fourth Month, 1840, Christine Majolier 
 again came to England. Many changes had taken 
 place during the six years she had been absent ; but 
 her loved friends, Cornelius and Elizabeth Hanbury, 
 again opened their house to her ; and she had the 
 great pleasure of spending a few days with Eliza- 
 beth Fry at her house in Upton Lane. Christine 
 Majolier thus describes her visit : 
 
 I slept in a little room near her own. She used 
 to come in the morning in her dressing-gown and sit 
 on my bed before I was up, to tell me a little of her 
 plans for the day, and sometimes of her cares and of 
 her sorrows. One morning she looked very serious, 
 and said she had received a note from the Duchess of 
 Sutherland, making an appointment to see her that 
 day ; and she thought it was to go to the Queen. She 
 added, "Thou canst not imagine what I feel; howl 
 shrink from the flattery I am exposed to, when I think 
 of the possibility that the creature should be elated by 
 it ; " and, raising her hand and looking earnestly at me, 
 she added, "Pray for me, that I may be kept, that
 
 1840.] LAST INTERVIEW WITH WILLIAM ALLEN. 117 
 
 this may never be the case." So much did this 
 devoted servant of the Lord feel that if she was 
 enabled to do anything that was good, it was only of 
 the ability that God giveth, and from nothing that was 
 her o\vn. 
 
 Christine Majolier continues: 
 
 My beloved friend William Allen was much en- 
 feebled every way, but still most kind and loving, and 
 occupied for the good of others. The change at 
 Broomfield (near Chelmsford) was most affecting ; dear 
 Rebecca Christy and her daughter Ann both gone to 
 their long home. These and other changes that had 
 taken place seemed too much for me ; and I had a re- 
 currence of my nervous cough and of the pain in my 
 chest. I felt that I must return to France. 
 
 A committee had been appointed to visit Friends in 
 the South of France ; and I left London, vid Southamp- 
 ton, in company with them, on the 2oth of the Eighth 
 Month, 1840. Peter Bedford, George Stacey, Josiah 
 Forster, Samuel Fox, and Thomas Norton, Jun., formed 
 our party ; and at Southampton we met William Allen 
 and Lucy Bradshaw, who were to accompany us as far 
 as Paris. Thus I had the pleasure of a little more 
 of dear William Allen's company. Before he left 
 the hotel in Paris, he told me that he wished to give 
 me a trifle to get something in remembrance of him. 
 I felt that we were parting probably for the last time. 
 My heart was too full for utterance. He was affected, 
 too. It was indeed the last time that I saw this be- 
 loved friend, who had for so many years been like a 
 father to me."
 
 Il8 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTIXE M. ALSO P. [1840. 
 
 On her return to France, she again settled at 
 Nimes; and at the urgent request of Emile 
 Jalaguier, a friend of her parents, she undertook 
 the care and education of his little daughter Adele. 
 It was an occupation which afforded Christine 
 Majolier peculiar satisfaction, and in which there 
 is reason to believe that she was made an instru- 
 ment of much blessing. The life of this beloved 
 child, so full of promise, was to be of short con- 
 tinuance. Her health soon began to give way. 
 But, in watching her gradual decline, her friends 
 had the unspeakable comfort of knowing that her 
 young heart had been given to her Saviour; and 
 that the beauteous flower was thus early gathered 
 to flourish eternally in the Paradise of God. 
 
 Adele Jalaguier died at Louis A. Majolier's 
 house at Congenies, whither she had been removed 
 for the benefit of the country air. 
 
 Christine Majolier writes : 
 
 The night but one before she died, she took leave 
 of her father and aunt ; but as if fearing that the 
 emotion, which she could not entirely conceal, should 
 lead us to think that her faith in Jesus was shaken, 
 she said to her father, in a firm voice, " There are 
 bright and beautiful promises, my father, and I be- 
 lieve in them ; but I feel the pain of leaving so good 
 a father." Then calling her aunt to her, and taking 
 her hand and putting it into her father's, she said, 
 "Aunt, here is my father; I recommend him to you; 
 take care of him ; do all you can for him. I had
 
 1845.] AD&LE JALAGUIER. 119 
 
 hoped to have done it myself." A deep silence reigned 
 in the room. Her father was deeply affected, and 
 seemed unable to give utterance to his sorrow. The 
 dear child noticed this, and looking at him with a 
 smiling countenance said, " Now, my father, once more 
 smile upon me. Although in much pain, I can still 
 smile upon you." Then turning to me, she said, "And 
 what can I say to you? nothing but Thank you." 
 
 Although evidently gradually sinking, there was no 
 apprehension of immediate dissolution ; and the next 
 day, the 24th of Sixth Month, she spent about two 
 hours in the lovely little garden. She seemed to take 
 leave of the pretty flowers, making some remark upon 
 each of them as they were brought to her to examine. 
 Never can we forget her heavenly appearance that after- 
 noon as we sat round her couch, surrounded by the 
 most lovely blossoms, especially pinks and carnations 
 which scented the air, and which a few hours after 
 served to adorn the peaceful remains, when the spirit 
 had fled to the Paradise of unfading flowers above. 
 The night of the 24th was a restless one. She did not 
 express much ; but not a murmur escaped her. On the 
 morning of the 25th her father left as usual for the day, 
 as there seemed no particular indication of approaching 
 death, and he was scarcely able to bear witnessing 
 for long together the gradual decline of his dying 
 child. She was dressed and carried down stairs, 
 and asked me to rest at her feet, and soon after went 
 off into a doze. Awaking suddenly she said, in a 
 hurried manner, "I have such a pain in my chest ; I 
 am dying. Send an express to Nimes; send for a 
 doctor." She asked for something to take, but found
 
 120 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1845. 
 
 she could not swallow. Then, turning her beautiful 
 eyes upward and joining her hands before her, she 
 uttered this short, but comprehensive prayer, "My 
 God, pardon my sins ; Christ, rny Saviour, I have 
 faith, I have confidence in Thee, and I am Thine for 
 ever." From this time a heavenly serenity seemed to 
 cover her mind ; the bitterness of death was past, 
 though she was still upon earth. The first thing she 
 said after this was to ask us not to send any one to 
 Nimes, as it was useless. During the few hours which 
 preceded her death a holy stillness pervaded the room. 
 Her uncle arrived, and at long intervals she told him 
 what she wished done with the little things she pos- 
 sessed. Having nothing to give him, she turned to- 
 wards him with a smile and said, " To you, my uncle, 
 my love." Then added, "Now I am dying; pray." 
 After a short prayer she added, "I die happy." Her 
 aunt asked her, if she died in the faith of that good 
 Saviour who came into the world to die for us; she 
 answered very earnestly, "Oh, yes, aunt, nothing else." 
 She moved her hand towards us and said, " Farewell 
 all." Seeing that the servant was not in the room, she 
 wished her called, and said, "Jeannette, thank you." 
 I was standing by her, supporting her on my right arm, 
 while my head sustained hers. She felt my tears falling 
 on her cheek, which was already made cold by the hand 
 of death, and raising her eyes towards me with an ex- 
 pression of gentle reproof, she said, "Do you weep for 
 me? Weep not forme." I fondly hoped she might 
 survive till her father arrived, as he was expected in 
 about an hour ; and I proposed strengthening frictions, 
 which had at times proved reviving. She quietly said,
 
 I845-] ADELE JALAGUIER. 121 
 
 "Oh, no, it is useless," and then, " No\v, Christine, 
 you may close my eyes." Soon after her loving spirit 
 took its flight to Heaven, and the sweet smile which 
 remained on her lips, with the beautiful serenity of her 
 countenance, clearly showed the peace and the joy with 
 which she left this mortal scene for one of eternal 
 happiness. She died on the 25th of Sixth Month, 1845, 
 aged sixteen. 
 
 Her father arrived about an hour after the close. He 
 was perfectly calm, and sitting down by the sofa on 
 which she was laid, he was so impressed with the peace- 
 fulness of the scene and the joyful expression on her 
 countenance, that he said, "If any one had told me, 
 even a few days ago, that I could sit down by the re- 
 mains of the last treasure I had on earth and feel happy, 
 I could not have believed it, and yet it is the case." 
 Her remains were taken to Nimes, where they rest in 
 the cemetery by the side of her mother's. 
 I
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Journey on the Continent with Lindley Murray Hoag. 
 
 IT was about this time that Lindley Murray 
 Hoag, a native of Maine, in the United 
 States, North America, came over to this country 
 as an accredited minister of the Gospel. His father 
 and mother, and many members of the family, were 
 also ministers of the Gospel. He had been brought 
 up in great simplicity, but was a man of consider- 
 able natural talent, which was sanctified by Divine 
 grace. He was young and ardent ; his preaching 
 was impressive and attractive, and he had exten- 
 sive service both in the British Islands and on 
 the Continent of Europe.* He was accompanied 
 to the south of France by the late Joseph Tre- 
 gelles Price and Robert Alsop; and whilst there 
 Christine Majolier was invited to join them as 
 interpreter. 
 
 The journey occupied several months. The 
 following extracts from Christine Majolier's memo- 
 randa will give some idea of its varied interests : 
 
 * Lindley Murray Hoag subsequently settled in Iowa, and died 
 there, at his residence in Rocksylvania, Hardin County, Eleventh 
 Month, 25th, 1880. 
 
 (122)
 
 1846.] JOURNEY WITH L. M. HO AC. 123 
 
 We left Nimes the i4th of Fourth Month, 1846, and 
 that evening reached Alais ; the weather very wet. I 
 felt rather dull, not knowing how things might turn out. 
 The track appeared wholly untrodden, as regards 
 Friends ; and much devolved upon me. 
 
 \$th. In the morning we went to call on the persons 
 to whom we were recommended. The two first were 
 out, so we had to knock at another door the Methodist 
 missionary, Combe. He kindly offered his meeting- 
 place, and, though small, we accepted it. The meeting 
 was held at half-past seven. The place was full, nearly 
 200 persons present. It was the first Friends' meeting 
 which had been held there, and it proved a satisfactory 
 opportunity. L. M. Hoag spoke for some time, and 
 the people were pretty quiet. 
 
 i6th. Left Alais at ten o'clock, and reached St. 
 Ambroix about one. We had a letter for the pastor 
 there named Collive. J. T. Price and I called on him ; 
 but we soon found that he could be of no use to us for 
 getting a meeting. He would not give the use of his 
 "Temple" to any other denomination than his own, 
 neither would he encourage private meetings. Still I 
 was not disheartened, but inclined to try all the means 
 in our power before we gave up. We therefore called 
 on a lady of the name of Chante. We found her a 
 pious and amiable woman, very desirous to aid us. 
 She mentioned that private reunions were sometimes 
 held at the house of one of her acquaintances named 
 Servier, a widow. This she considered the most likely 
 place to hold the meeting. She also sent for one 
 of her friends, whom we found a valuable helper. 
 He went with us to the widow Servier, and arrange-
 
 124 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1846. 
 
 ments were made for the meeting, he undertaking to 
 give notice. At half-past seven we had a larger com- 
 pany than we expected, and it was really satisfactory. 
 Lindley Murray Hoag appeared first in supplication, 
 pouring out his soul in most touching language, 
 imploring the unmerited mercy of our Heavenly 
 Father towards His rebellious children, that for Jesus 
 Christ's sake their sins might be blotted out as a 
 cloud, and their transgressions be remembered no 
 more. My heart went along with his fervent prayer, 
 and I thought I felt something like comfort in a sense 
 of forgiving love. He afterwards spoke largely on the 
 work of the Holy Spirit ; on silent worship ; and on 
 the need of repentance and justification before the soul 
 can be made meet for an inheritance in Heaven. We 
 heard the next day from a notaire, named Redares, that 
 he and several other Roman Catholics had stood in the 
 yard and heard all that had passed. They were well 
 satisfied ; and he said that it was the Gospel they had 
 heard preached. 
 
 \1th. We left St. Ambroix about nine, and arrived 
 at St. Jean about twelve o'clock. The inn there was 
 very poor. I could not make up my mind to stay ; and, 
 hoping we might find something better, we went over 
 to Rochegade to see a person who had expressed a wish 
 to see Friends. He received us with great kindness. 
 He was busily occupied with his silkworms ; but would 
 not be satisfied without our taking dinner ; offering us 
 the best he had with a heartiness that could not be 
 withstood. 
 
 After this, it seemed best to go back to St. Jean to 
 see the Pastor, to whom we had been recommended.
 
 1846.] JOURNEY WITH L. M. HOAG. 125 
 
 We found him well disposed. He could not promise 
 the use of the "Temple" without consulting some 
 members of the Consistory ; but offered to have the 
 meeting in his own house, and to give ample notice. 
 About eight, his house was completely besieged. The 
 meeting was held in a large hall and school-room, and 
 the staircase was so full that he Avas greatly afraid it 
 would break down. Many of the people stood, and 
 yet the meeting was quiet and solemn. L. M. Hoag 
 first poured forth a beautiful supplication, which, 
 though the words were not understood, appeared to be 
 felt by many. He then rose with the text "The love 
 of Christ constraineth us, because we thus judge," &c. 
 He strikingly set forth the doctrine of the fall of man, 
 and the means appointed for his recovery ; and how 
 those means are available for all; describing the offices 
 of the Holy Spirit as the Reprover for sin, &c. The 
 people were very quiet and attentive, and many appeared 
 impressed. 
 
 i8//t. At Vallon, I felt quite at home, from knowing 
 our kind friend, Henry Blune, who is the pastor. He 
 received us with an open heart, and not only willingly 
 made way for our meeting, but wished very much that 
 we should stay over First-day, that we might have a 
 larger congregation. We met in a neat chapel at 
 half-past seven. The meeting soon gathered into 
 solemn silence, more like a Friends' meeting than any 
 other we had had ; the appearance of the people evi- 
 dently evincing the care of their good pastor. After a 
 solemn time in prayer, and a few words expressed 
 with much weight by Robert Alsop, L. M. Hoag rose 
 with the words : " Of a truth I perceive that God is no
 
 126 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1846. 
 
 respecter of persons; but in every nation he that 
 feareth God, and worketh righteousness, is accepted 
 with him." 
 
 The next day, Lindley Murray Hoag felt anxious to 
 proceed on our journey, with the prospect of holding 
 a meeting at Vals, near Aubenas. Vals is the only 
 Protestant Church in a very extensive neighbourhood ; 
 and the inhabitants resort to it for miles round. It 
 has only existed as a Church about twenty years. 
 When L. M. Hoag and I went to the meeting we found 
 the people singing psalms, which they continued to do 
 until it was fully gathered. They were very attentive to 
 what was said, and many appeared much interested and 
 touched. 
 
 The next day they went to Privas, which had 
 specially attracted L. M. Hoag's attention, even 
 before he left England. Christine Majolier writes : 
 
 We found that a meeting of from twenty to thirty 
 serious and seeking people meet at the house of one of 
 their pastors, M. Gregoire, two or three times a week to 
 read and expound the Scriptures, and to pray and sing 
 hymns and psalms. Our friends very affectionately 
 pressed us to stop amongst them ; and it was fixed that 
 the same evening we should meet this little company 
 with all they could invite. 
 
 At eight o'clock we met about fifty in M. Gre- 
 goire' s parlour. Soon after we came together I felt 
 inclined to give them a little explanation of our 
 mode of Divine worship ; bringing into view our faith 
 that where two or three are gathered in the name of 
 Jesus r He is in the midst of them. L. M. Hoag soon
 
 1846.] JOURNEY WITH L. M. HOAG. 127 
 
 after spoke on the same subject, describing how it was, 
 that our Saviour could be present with us ; and beau- 
 tifully bringing before us the ground of true Gospel 
 ministry, and the exercise of prayer in Divine worship. 
 There seemed much openness to receive the Gospel 
 preached ; and after the meeting all our friends 
 expressed their wish that we should remain longer with 
 them. 
 
 At Fluviac, a village situated in the mountains, 
 surrounded by little hamlets, they had a good 
 meeting of 400 people. On the 22nd, they pro- 
 ceeded to Valence, Annonay, and St. Etienne. 
 Their road lay part of the way along the banks of 
 the Rhone, commanding a distant view of the 
 mountains of the Dauphine, still covered with 
 snow. At each place meetings were held. From 
 St. Etienne they proceeded by way of Lyons to 
 Geneva. At Geneva meetings were appointed at 
 their hotel, and at the Salle of the Casino ; about 
 400 attended the meeting at the latter place. 
 L. M. Hoag preached the Gospel with power from 
 the words, " Other foundation can no man lay 
 than that is laid, which is Christ Jesus." After a 
 brief visit to Lausanne, they came to Aigle, where 
 the journal thus describes a meeting in the 
 Salle a manger of the hotel in which they were 
 staying. 
 
 At seven o'clock about 100 persons were collected, 
 amongst whom were many respectable persons. Al- 
 though we had at different times been induced to fear
 
 128 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1846. 
 
 a disturbance of our meetings in this canton, we none 
 of us had any apprehension of what was going to 
 happen. I hoped we should have a good meeting, as 
 *the feeling attending us seemed particularly sweet and 
 solemn. Dear L. M. Hoag appeared beautifully in sup- 
 plication ; and soon afterwards rose with the passage, 
 " Whosoever will save his life shall lose it : and who- 
 soever will lose his life for My sake shall find it." He 
 powerfully and clearly showed what that life is, which 
 must be lost, before the life which we have in Christ is 
 to be obtained. The people were deeply interested and 
 affected : but he had not proceeded far before some 
 noise was heard in the passage. We were, however, 
 preserved in much quietude ; the persons in the room 
 being very still while L. M. Hoag proceeded with his 
 powerful address ; and I was unusually helped in the 
 interpreting. But the talking in the passage became 
 louder. J. T. Price, who had gone out, was insulted. 
 He found that some children had brought tin kettles, 
 on which they were striking to make as much noise as 
 possible. Still the meeting was quiet, whilst L. M. 
 Hoag made an appeal to those who lived without God 
 in the world ; bringing into view the hour, which was 
 not far distant for any of us, in which all would have 
 to appear before the judgment seat of Christ. He had 
 scarcely pronounced the passage relating to the separa- 
 tion of the sheep from the goats, and uttered the words, 
 " Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire pre- 
 pared for the devil and his angels," when the uproar 
 increased ; and it was whispered through the room that 
 hundreds of persons were collected about the house, and 
 that they had brought a fire-engine. The house was
 
 1846.] TUMUL TUOUS MEETING A T AIGLE. 129 
 
 completely in the possession of the populace. They 
 guarded every outlet, so that none of those who had 
 attended the meeting might go out without being 
 drenched by the fire-engine, which, amid the vocifera- 
 tions of the crowd, was worked by half a dozen men 
 against the windows of the room in which we had met. 
 The terror of many of the poor women who surrounded 
 us was such as to excite our deepest sympathy. We 
 had no fear for ourselves. The fury of the people 
 seemed directed rather against those who had attended 
 the meeting than against us. Our landlord insisted 
 that we should leave the meeting room and retire to a 
 bed-room upstairs; for he thought the ruffians would 
 soon come into the house, and that, perhaps, they 
 would sooner leave off their acts of barbarity when they 
 saw the meeting was quite broken up. We reluctantly 
 retired. I twice attempted to go down to them ; but it 
 was impossible to penetrate the crowd of roughs who 
 had invaded the house ; and we had only the additional 
 distress of seeing them drag down the poor women 
 in order to submit them to the drenching of their fire- 
 engine. The tumult lasted about two hours, until 
 nearly ten o'clock. 
 
 The landlord behaved very well on the occasion ; 
 presenting himself to the mob and threatening them 
 with the damages which might be done to his house ; 
 and telling them to do what they wanted with him but 
 to spare the strangers whom he had in his house. He 
 afterwards went to the magistrates. The Syndic being 
 absent, our landlord tried to induce the others to come 
 to protect his house, which they at last did, though not 
 without reluctance. It almost seemed as though magis-
 
 130 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1846. 
 
 trates and people were agreed in this diabolical work. 
 If the meeting had been held in the place where the 
 Methodists assemble, probably things would have been 
 a great deal worse, for there we should have had no one 
 to protect us. 
 
 We had intended to return to Vevay that evening ; 
 but it was eleven o'clock before the house was quite 
 cleared of our disturbers, and it was not considered safe 
 to set off at night after such an event. We therefore 
 went to bed, but it was long before I went to sleep. I 
 believe we all felt thankful for our preservation, and I 
 hope the event, trying as it was, will do good rather 
 than harm. 
 
 Returning to England by way of Berne, Stras- 
 bourg, Manheim, and Cologne, Christine Majolier 
 writes : 
 
 In the parting opportunity at Ostend, L. M. Hoag 
 returned thanks for the many favours we had experi- 
 enced. He prayed for all those who had been visited 
 in different parts, that they might be brought more fully 
 into the liberty of the Gospel, their dependence being 
 drawn from outward things to the living substance. He 
 also supplicated for himself and his fellow-labourers, that 
 they might be kept and preserved in a state of humble 
 dependence, and that imperfections and shortcomings in 
 the work might be forgiven ; concluding with fervent 
 intercession for our beloved Society, both in England 
 and America.
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 (18471856.) 
 
 Her Marriage "Acknowledgment " as a Minister of the Gospel 
 Removal from Chelsea and settlement at Stoke Newington. 
 
 r I "WO events must now be recorded which 
 JL had an important influence upon Christine 
 Majolier's future life : her marriage, and her 
 "acknowledgment" as a minister of the Gospel. 
 
 The name of Robert Alsop has already been 
 several times mentioned in connection with her 
 recent journey with Lindley Murray Hoag. Robert 
 Alsop was a much esteemed member of the Society 
 of Friends. He had been long known as a Phar- 
 maceutical Chemist in Sloane Square, Chelsea, 
 and in connection with the late Jacob Bell had 
 rendered essential service as one of the founders 
 of the Pharmaceutical Society, in which he long 
 acted as an honorary Examiner. He had been now 
 for some years a widower, his first wife having 
 died in the year 1841. The association into which 
 he and Christine Majolier had been brought during 
 their journey with Lindley M. Hoag, gradually 
 ripened into a closer intimacy, resulting in a union 
 in which they were richly blessed together for nearly 
 thirty years. They were married at the Friends' 
 Meeting-house, Stoke Newington, on the 28th of
 
 132 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1847. 
 
 First month, 1847. By this event Christine M. 
 Alsop as we must now call her became, for a 
 few years, a member of Westminster " Monthly 
 Meeting," within the limits of which her husband 
 then resided. 
 
 The Society of Friends, as is well known, recog- 
 nise the ministry of women, in subjection to the 
 government of Christ under the guidance of His 
 Spirit. They conceive that the Gospel is not, 
 in this or in any other respect, a dispensation 
 narrower than the Law. They believe, with the 
 Prophet Joel and the Apostle Peter, that it is a 
 dispensation under which " daughters," as well 
 as "sons," are to "prophesy."* Accepting the 
 apostolic definition, that to " prophesy " is " to 
 speak unto men to edification, and exhortation, 
 and comfort,"t they do not overlook the fact that 
 the Apostle Paul himself gives directions as to the 
 exercise by women of this gift ;| that he freely 
 recognised the services of Priscilla as well as of 
 Aquila, and that he was a guest at Csesarea in 
 the House of Philip the Evangelist, who had " four 
 daughters" who all "prophesied."]] It was not, 
 they are persuaded, the design of the Apostle to 
 nullify, by words of seeming restriction employed 
 by him on two occasions, the great principle thus 
 authoritatively asserted and acted on. The seem- 
 
 * Joel ii. 28-32; Acts ii. 16, 17. f I Cor. xiv. 3. J i Cor. xi. 5. 
 Acts xviii. 26 ; Rom. xvi. 3. || Acts xxi. 8, 9.
 
 I854-] "ACKNOWLEDGMENT" AS A MINISTER. 133 
 
 ing restriction is rather, in their view, to be itself 
 interpreted and limited in harmony with the general 
 principle. Christine M. Alsop had seen the exer- 
 cise of this gift at once powerfully illustrated and 
 vindicated in the examples of Priscilla Gurney and 
 Elizabeth Fry. Her duties as an "interpreter" 
 had brought her into close sympathy with many 
 labourers in the Gospel; and as she became more 
 and more established in the love of Christ, she was 
 constrained to believe that she had herself received 
 a commission from Him to declare to others the 
 riches of His grace. Her first public utterances 
 as a minister were amongst her own friends in the 
 little meeting at Nimes. After her marriage she 
 was often similarly engaged in the Meeting at 
 Peter's Court, near Charing Cross, which she 
 usually attended, as well as in other meetings of 
 " Friends " in and about London. Her public 
 addresses were acceptable and edifying to her 
 friends, and her gift as a minister of the Gospel 
 was solemnly recognised by Westminster Monthly 
 Meeting on the 24th of Seventh Month, 1854. 
 Her ministry was marked by simplicity, and by an 
 earnest yet tender concern that all might accept 
 the rich blessings offered to fallen man in the 
 Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ ; 
 and that, under the sanctifying power of the Holy 
 Spirit, their daily walk might be worthy of their 
 high vocation. 
 
 The following memorandum sweetly illustrates
 
 134 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSO P. [1854. 
 
 the state of her mind amidst these added respon- 
 sibilities : 
 
 Third Month, 1854. What a good Master we serve ; 
 and He is wise as well as good ! He knows what we 
 can bear, and lays no more upon us than He enables us 
 to perform. He has much to give, and He gives in pro- 
 portion to our desire to receive. 
 
 The summer of 1854 was spent by Christine M. 
 Alsop and her husband, in company with their 
 friends Eli and Sybil Jones (from the State of 
 Maine, in North America), in a visit of Christian 
 love to various parts of Germany, Switzerland, 
 and France. The particulars of this journey have 
 not been preserved. Its close was marked by the 
 decision at which Robert Alsop had at length 
 arrived, finally to relinquish his business at 
 Chelsea. 
 
 The change was not made without some conflict 
 of feeling. The occupation was one exactly suited 
 to Robert Alsop's habits and tastes. It was not 
 easy to sever the bond which had so long united 
 him to a large circle of loved friends. But the 
 business involved both pecuniary risk and serious 
 moral responsibility ; and now that his frequent 
 absence from home obliged him to leave it so 
 much under the care of others, he thought it his 
 duty to retire. It is true that the competency 
 which he had been able to acquire would appear 
 to most persons a very moderate one ; but with 
 a wife like-minded with himself their wants ex-
 
 1855.] QUIET REFLECTIONS. 135 
 
 tended not to superfluities. In that which had 
 been given them they felt that they were per- 
 mitted to " have all and to abound." At once 
 satisfied and thankful, they became a bright ex- 
 ample of the true enjoyment granted to those 
 whose desires are limited by the will of God ; and 
 whose delight is in His service. Thus liberated 
 from business cares, and with these views, they 
 removed, in the autumn of 1855, to Stoke Nevv- 
 ington, where they continued to reside till their 
 death. 
 
 Referring to these changes, Christine M. Alsop 
 writes in her journal : 
 
 We were mercifully permitted to feel that we were 
 not acting against the will of our Heavenly Father. 
 Yet we were often led to reconsider the rectitude of our 
 steppings in leaving the home in which we had been 
 favoured with so much peaceful enjoyment ; particularly 
 as this change must remove us from our own Meeting 
 (Westminster) ; and, as it regarded my husband espe- 
 cially, from the district where he had been so many 
 years usefully engaged and greatly beloved. We passed 
 several months of anxious thought ; and the trial of 
 our faith was not a little increased by the visitation of 
 cholera in some parts of the metropolis. Our part of 
 the town, though not among the worst districts, was 
 fearfully visited. My dear husband and I remained at 
 Chelsea during the continuance of the epidemic, unable 
 to do much more than attend to the increased claims of 
 business ; with our minds impressed with the uncertainty 
 of earthly things.
 
 136 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1856. 
 
 Since our removal I feel it a great blessing to have a 
 comfortable and quiet home, in the midst of most kind 
 and affectionate friends. The field before us is wide, 
 and the question often arises, "Who is sufficient for 
 these things?" Were it not that sometimes the dear 
 Saviour is pleased to breathe into the soul the gracious 
 assurance, " My grace is sufficient for thee, for My 
 strength is made perfect in weakness," how could we 
 hope to bear any of the burden which, as we advance in 
 years, seems to devolve upon us? May I look unto 
 Jesus, humbly desiring to serve Him from a sense of 
 love and gratitude for all His marvellous love ; for His 
 forgiveness ; and for His truth. 
 
 Third Month, i6/A, 1856. Keep alive, O Lord, in my 
 soul a humble but full reliance on Thy atoning mercy 
 for all my past transgressions ; and preserve me, I pray 
 Thee, from sinning against Thee. Grant me ability 
 and an increasing willingness to speak well of Thy 
 Holy name. We are not always permitted to live as in 
 the sunshine, in the sense of God's love to a fallen 
 world and to our individual souls. Many are the hin- 
 drances to our spiritual enjoyments ; and many are the 
 sins of unbelief, of negligence, of forgetfulness, of 
 want of fervour in the pursuit of heavenly things, which 
 prevent our discerning with clearness of vision those 
 glorious things which are held out in the Gospel as the 
 experience of the true believer in Jesus ; and when feel- 
 ing that they are not our undisturbed possession we are 
 sometimes tempted to lower the promises down to our 
 experience. The Lord grant that I may more and 
 more highly appreciate the inestimable blessings of the 
 Gospel of peace; and seek through living faith to
 
 1856.] PREPARATIONS FOR FURTHER SERVICE. 137 
 
 become increasingly a partaker of those blessings ; so 
 that I may truly abound in love towards Him, earnestly 
 coveting the best gifts as well as the graces of the Holy 
 Spirit. 
 
 When I reflect on the salvation which is offered to 
 our acceptance, the full pardon of our sins for the sake 
 of Him who was made sin for us, though He knew no 
 sin, I confidingly believe that my many sins are forgiven 
 me, and for this assurance my heart is at times melted 
 into gratitude and love ; but when I look back on many 
 past sins, in which my example of carelessness as to 
 things of the greatest importance must have influenced 
 many ; as well as on the many, very many, opportunities 
 in which I might have adorned the doctrine of our 
 Lord, and have been through His blessing made instru- 
 mental in bringing souls unto Christ, I am humbled ; 
 and my soul is made sad that so much of my precious 
 life and of the few talents which have been committed 
 to me should have been so little improved. I desire 
 that these retrospects may not tend to impede, but that 
 they may rather stimulate my present walk. May I keep 
 truly on the watch so as to embrace every opportunity 
 the Lord may put in my way of magnifying His exceed- 
 ing grace. 
 
 Such was the preparation going on in the heart 
 of Christine M. Alsop for the further important 
 service which was now opening before her. 
 
 J
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 (1856-1857.) 
 
 Accompanies Eliza P. Gurney in a visit to the Vaudois Valleys, 
 and other parts of the North of Italy, and to Friends in 
 the South of France Interview with the widow of the 
 Duke of Orleans at Sestri, and with the Dowager Empress of 
 Russia Decease of Justine Benezet Accompanies Eliza P. 
 Gurney in a visit to Friends of Pyrmont and Minden Inter- 
 view with the King and Queen, and his sister, the Dowager 
 Empress of Russia Nahneebaweequay. 
 
 SOON after their removal to Stoke Newington, 
 Robert and Christine M. Alsop accompanied 
 Eliza P. Gurney, (the widow of our late beloved 
 friend, Joseph John Gurney,) in an extensive visit 
 on the Continent, and they were with her again the 
 next year. The first journey, in 1856, embraced a 
 visit to the Vaudois Valleys ; where they often found 
 themselves in the track of William Forster, who 
 had previously laboured there in the year 1853. 
 It included also the north of Italy, Turin, Milan, 
 Genoa, and Nice. Near Genoa, Eliza P. Gurney 
 and her companions had an interview with " that 
 lovely Princess," the widow of the Duke of Orleans, 
 at Sestri. They afterwards had a similar inter- 
 view with the Dowager Empress of Russia (the 
 widow of the Emperor Nicholas), at Nice. Both 
 these visits were of a memorable and interesting 
 (138)
 
 1856.] JOURNEY WITH E. P. GURNEY. 139 
 
 character. From Nice they proceeded to Nimes 
 and Congenies. In the following year 1857 
 they paid a visit to the Friends at Pyrmont and 
 Minden, and afterwards proceeded to Berlin, where 
 they were permitted to have two interviews with 
 the King Frederick William, one of which was in 
 company with his Queen and his sister, the Dowager 
 Empress of Russia, whom they had seen at Nice the 
 previous year. The Grand Duke Michael and his 
 intended bride, the Princess Cecile, of Baden, were 
 also present. 
 
 Some extracts from Christine M. Alsop's Journal 
 may be interesting to the reader : 
 
 Tenth Month, ith, 1856. Left London. Remained 
 in Paris one day to rest, and on the gth went by railway 
 to Lyons. The day was fine and the country beautiful. 
 We followed the windings of the rapid and picturesque 
 Arc rolling down among rocks ; the road, often encased 
 between high ridges of rocks, in other places presenting 
 beautiful green slopes, surrounded by forests of trees just 
 now presenting a charming aspect by the various tints 
 of the autumn foliage. 
 
 We dined at Aiguebelle, and afterwards walked out to 
 see the river and the railroad. The latter is much ad- 
 vanced, and likely to be opened from Aix to St. Jean de 
 Maurienne at the end of this month. We gave a few 
 tracts. Arrived at St. Jean de Maurienne about six. 
 The situation of St. Jean is very picturesque. 
 
 Foil r/k- Jay, i$t/i. Set off early for Lanslebourg, 
 and dined at Modane. The drive most beautiful ; 
 stupendous rocks often on both sides, with the river
 
 140 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1856. 
 
 Arc tumbling and foaming as it goes. The autumnal 
 tints adding much beauty to the scenery. The country 
 picturesque, but very poor, nothing growing besides 
 a little rye. It was curious to watch the gradual 
 disappearance of vegetation. At Modane only pota- 
 toes and rye ; higher still these disappear ; and at 
 last nothing but a very few firs. The evening was 
 beautiful The bright moonlight, the high moun- 
 tains, the roaring of the waters of the Arc, which we 
 are now going to leave, rendered the scene uncommonly 
 fine. 
 
 Fifth-day, i6th. Set off about half-past eight, and 
 were able to enjoy the beautiful views. Lanslebourg 
 lay for a long time at our feet as we wound up the 
 road on the Mont Cenis, the stupendous work of the 
 Imperial road maker. We ascended for five hours and 
 a-half, drawn by two strong mules ; our two horses 
 walking behind. At the summit we felt very cold. 
 We got out to warm our feet. There was a little 
 drizzling snow, and a cold wind, and we were glad of 
 the shelter afforded by our little carriage. No vegeta- 
 tion but a little grass. Before we come to the Hospice, 
 there is a small lake. Behind the Hospice a few 
 larch trees make a little break in the desolate appear- 
 ance. We stopped for a couple of hours to rest at a 
 comfortless, dirty house We could scarcely find a 
 place to sit down in, but went at last to the large 
 kitchen. There were four or five fine young women ; 
 and we heard there were six sisters and two brothers in 
 the family. Gave them some tracts and a Testament ; 
 they seemed to value the Testament, although Roman 
 Catholics. Alas ! who knows how long they will keep
 
 1856.] ARRIVAL AT LA TOUR. 141 
 
 it. They attend mass at the Hospice. They look for- 
 ward with pleasure to reading it in their long winter 
 evenings, and as they cannot go to church they will not 
 " confess " till they have read it. 
 
 The descent of Mont Cenis to Susa is very grand ; 
 first the larch trees make their appearance , then beech, 
 cabbages, turnips, and then the chestnut trees ; then 
 vines near Susa. The sun was shining beautifully, cast- 
 ing a beautiful rainbow on the drops of rain which 
 descended on the sides of the opposite mountain. 
 
 The little town of Susa is picturesque ; the appear- 
 ance quite Italian. We stayed there several hours, 
 waiting for the train. The inn comfortable and not 
 very expensive. 
 
 A journey of about two hours by railway brought us 
 to Turin. A bright moonlight night. 
 
 From Turin they proceeded, the next day, by 
 way of Pignerol, to La Tour (Torre Pellice) in the 
 Vaudois Valleys. Christine M Alsop writes: 
 
 Our arrival at La Tour was certainly damping, as it 
 rained in torrents, and continued to do so the whole of 
 Seventh-day, First-day, and Second-day. I never wit- 
 nessed such continuous heavy rain ; three days and 
 three nights I think without ceasing. Water pipes 
 from the roofs of the houses discharged themselves 
 by one projecting a couple of feet from the roof into 
 the street below ; so that there was a continual 
 tremendous patter ; and the roaring of the mountain 
 torrents rendered our arrival and first stay here any- 
 thing but bright and encouraging. Nevertheless, 
 on First-day evening, in spite of the rain, we had
 
 142 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1856. 
 
 a meeting with about thirty-eight persons at our 
 hotel. 
 
 Adele Revel, the wife of the moderator, has been 
 most kind. She called to welcome us on our arrival, 
 and has since been most attentive. She and her hus- 
 band were present at the meeting, as well as several 
 other pastors and their wives. Pastor Tron and his wife 
 are very agreeable persons. E. P. Gurney addressed 
 us very sweetly. Robert and I added a few words. 
 Pastor Revel said that he had been reminded of the 
 saying of the Apostle, "Paul planteth, and Apollos 
 watereth, but God alone giveth the increase." "Our 
 friend William Forster," he added, " now with God, 
 came to sow amongst us precious seed , our dear sister 
 is now come to water it ; let us pray that the Lord may 
 be pleased to give it the increase in our hearts, to bear 
 much fruit to his praise." Dear Robert said, "And 
 neither is he that planteth anything, nor he that 
 watereth, but God that giveth the increase." Immedi- 
 ately after this, dear E. P. Gurney supplicated, begin- 
 ning with the words, " Not unto us, O Lord, not unto 
 us," &c. It was a solemn time. The prayer was not 
 translated. 
 
 On the 2ist we visited the Orphanage, established 
 at the suggestion of William Forster. The mistress 
 is a sweet person, a Deaconess from Switzerland. 
 There are twenty-two girls. We took tea in the even- 
 ing at the Revels Adele Revel is very pleasing. She 
 had invited the Trons and Geymonats to meet us. A 
 few others came in afterwards, and we had our cer- 
 tificate read by Pastor Revel. They expressed their 
 satisfaction in warm terms. We then had a very sweet
 
 1856.] LA TOUR. 143 
 
 religious opportunity. In the morning we had also 
 walked to the Hospital ; a fine commodious building. 
 They have beds for sixteen, and are generally full. 
 
 On Fourth-day, the 22nd, we visited the Ragged 
 School, established by Pastor George Appia for the 
 poorest children ; some of them are entirely cared for, 
 others bring their dinner with them. A lady of the 
 name of D'Espine devotes a great deal of time to it. 
 The responsibility for funds rests on Pastor Appia. We 
 also visited the boarding and day school of his sister. 
 It is an excellent institution. We had a religious oppor- 
 tunity with the girls, about sixty in number. Louisa 
 Appia seems well qualified for the post ; many of the 
 girls are very pleasing. The children are gentle and 
 submissive as well as intelligent; but they appear 
 somewhat wanting in power and in strength of char- 
 acter. Dear E. P. Gurney's address to them was 
 particularly sweet, and they seemed to feel it to be so. 
 Several of them were in tears as she addressed those 
 who might be able to adopt the language, " When my 
 father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will 
 take me up," 
 
 On the 23rd E. P. Gurney attended a meeting held 
 in Louisa Appia's schoolroom. It was an important 
 day for the pastors. They had assembled from various 
 parts to elect two Professors of Theology ; Pastors Revel 
 and Geymonat being only there for a time. About 100 
 came to the meeting; and some of the pastors amongst 
 them. E. P. Gurney spoke at some length on the ex- 
 perience of Peter ; his denying his Lord after so much 
 self-confidence. 
 
 On the 25th we wrote letters, rested, and visited
 
 144 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSO P. [1856. 
 
 Professor Tron in the evening. He and his wife are 
 very kind, and appear earnest Christians. They live 
 in one of the pretty row of houses built by General 
 Beckwith for the Professors of their college, which is 
 close by. 
 
 E. P. Gurney and Robert and Christine M. Alsop 
 had meetings at most of the other places in the 
 valleys. Describing their visit to Angrogna, Chris- 
 tine M. Alsop writes : 
 
 I felt so stiff and in so much pain that it seemed 
 almost like presumption to think of attempting to go 
 up the mountains on a donkey. I stayed in bed till 
 late in the morning. But when the time came, I did 
 not feel inclined to be left behind ; although our friend 
 Revel had offered to interpret for E. P. Gurney; so I 
 mounted my little donkey and started ; E. P. Gurney 
 and Fanny in the vehicle I cannot call it a carriage. 
 Robert walked by the side, stick in hand ; one man 
 leading the horse, another minding me and my donkey. 
 How I wish a good photographer could have taken us 
 as we began our ascent ; especially if he could have 
 given an adequate view of the magnificent mountains. 
 The morning was splendid. E. P. Gurney walked 
 up all the steep parts. I kept close to my steed, who 
 toiled up with his burden pretty comfortably. Many 
 times did we stop to admire the scenery. We arrived 
 at Angrogna in good time ; E. P. Gurney less tired 
 than she expected. 
 
 Charles and Caroline Gay received us very warmly, 
 and made E. P. Gurney most comfortable. We lodged 
 at the schoolmaster 's, which was also very comfort-
 
 1856.] ANGROGNA. 145 
 
 able. I was truly glad to rest a little on the bed, 
 which we were told had not been slept in since 
 last year. About seven, the schoolroom was full of 
 people. It was with some difficulty we could pass 
 through the crowd which filled the place ; many were 
 standing. It was the most animating sight we have 
 had since we have been here ; they seemed the real 
 sort; true mountaineers, and glad to see us amongst 
 them. 
 
 After a little explanation of our views on worship, 
 and a time of solemn silence, E. P. Gurney rose with 
 the words, "The voice said, Cry, and I said, What 
 shall I cry?" &c. She spoke on the uncertainty of 
 time ; on the state of roan by nature ; on the rich 
 mercy of God in Christ Jesus ; of the necessity 6f 
 believing what is declared in the sacred volume con- 
 cerning the Saviour of the world ; and that there must 
 be, with this faith, a submitting to the sanctifying 
 power of the Holy Spirit, in order that this great 
 salvation may be ours. She spoke in very encouraging 
 language to those who loved the Lord Jesus in sin- 
 cerity, and who counted nothing too dear or too near 
 to part with, that they may win Christ and be found 
 in Him; believing that many then present were of this 
 number. In conclusion, she expressed her fervent 
 desire that, as in all probability we should never 
 meet again upon earth, we might, through the fulness 
 and freeness of the mercy of God in Christ Jesus, 
 meet before His throne and each hear the blessed 
 language, " Well done, good and faithful servant, enter 
 thou into the joy of thy Lord." Robert and I added a 
 little to this exhortation ; after which I expressed a few
 
 146 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1856. 
 
 words in prayer. It was striking to observe the great 
 stillness, and to see with how fixed an attention these 
 inhabitants of the mountains, some of whom had come 
 from two or three hours' distance, were drinking in the 
 truths that were declared. At the close, the pastor 
 expressed his thankfulness for the visit, which he be- 
 lieved was united in by the congregation. He then 
 gave out a hymn, which was sung most earnestly at the 
 highest pitch of their voices by the men and women ; 
 reminding me of what I have often heard respecting 
 the poor persecuted Protestants of the Cevennes ; who, 
 although this psalm-singing exposed them to the sever- 
 est persecution by indicating the place of their meeting, 
 did not desist. As we left, we had to shake hands with 
 all ; sometimes two or three grasping our hands at the 
 same time ; and two women kissing dear E. P. Gurney 
 most earnestly. The affection of all and the tears of 
 some were quite touching \ and I felt very thankful that 
 I had been there. 
 
 This description will give some idea of the 
 general character of the meetings. At one place 
 the pastor and his wife, who had eight children, 
 were very anxious to lodge them all for the night. 
 " The pastor's wife said she would make a very 
 warm fire, and put on one of the largest pieces of 
 wood she could find ; have nice clean linen : get 
 another bed, &c. in fact, she would do every- 
 thing in her power to serve us." During this visit 
 they had much Christian association with Pastor 
 Lantaret (who still survives, the present venerable 
 Moderator of the Synod), and with some of the
 
 1856.] THE DUCHESS OF ORLEANS. 147 
 
 other pastors. Altogether about a month was 
 spent in these valleys. 
 
 Proceeding to Genoa, on their way to Nice, they 
 visited the widow of the late Duke of Orleans, who 
 was staying at Sestri. Her popular husband, the 
 eldest son of the late King, Louis Philippe, had 
 died, as will be recollected, from the effects of an 
 accident, in the summer of 1842. She remembered 
 the previous visit of E. P. Gurney and Elizabeth 
 Fry, and expressed much pleasure that she had not 
 been forgotten. Her circumstances had much 
 changed since their last interview. Her pallid, 
 worn, and subdued countenance told that she had 
 been a woman of sorrow ; yet there was in her de- 
 portment the evidence that she was supported ; and 
 no murmur escaped her lips. Christine M. Alsop 
 writes : 
 
 After a time of silence, E. P. Gurney addressed her 
 very sweetly, beginning with the passage, "In the 
 Lord's hand there is a cup; it is full of mixture." She 
 alluded to the many afflictions which had been her por- 
 tion, but encouraged her to believe that the Lord 
 afflicteth in mercy, and that it is only the wicked who 
 have to drink of the dregs of this cup. They that feared 
 the Lord would be preserved even in the midst of sore 
 tribulation. This E. P. Gurney believed had been the 
 case with the Duchess ; and she expressed the trust that 
 it would be so to the end, if there were a keeping close 
 in faith unto Him who is able to heal every wound. 
 The Duchess thanked us warmly for the visit, and ex- 
 pressed hei wish that we should visit the widowed ex-
 
 148 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1856- 
 
 Queen of the French at Claremont on our return to 
 
 England. 
 
 On their arrival at Nice, they found that the 
 Dowager Empress of Russia, (the widow of the 
 Emperor Nicholas), who was in poor health, was 
 passing the winter there ; and as E. P. Gurney did 
 not feel easy to leave without attempting an inter- 
 view, one was at last obtained, though with some 
 difficulty ; as they were told that up to that time 
 the Empress had lived incognito. The visit seemed 
 much appreciated. She referred with much interest 
 to the visit of Joseph Sturge, Robert Charleton, 
 and Henry Pease, who had gone to Petersburg to 
 address the Emperor Nicholas previously to the 
 Crimean War. As they parted the Empress said, 
 " I hope a blessing will attend your being in this 
 room." 
 
 Before E. P. Gurney entered upon the visit to 
 the Friends in the South of France, Robert Alsop 
 was summoned home to the dying bed of his 
 mother. She was a valued minister of the Gospel 
 among Friends. He was in time to receive her last 
 loving recognition, and to witness her peaceful 
 close. He afterwards joined his wife and E. P. 
 Gurney at Congenies, continuing with them till 
 their return home. 
 
 It was a little before this time, in the winter of 
 1855, that Christine M. Alsop's cousin, Justine 
 Benezet, who had become the wife of Jules Paradon, 
 was called to her Heavenly rest.
 
 I857-] INTERVIEW WITH KING OP PRUSSIA. 149 
 
 When we were in France last winter (Christine M. Alsop 
 writes in her journal), she appeared failing as to bodily 
 health, though bright and lively in spirit. She soon 
 became alarmingly ill ; and, after many weeks of excru- 
 ciating suffering, which she was enabled to bear with 
 exemplary patience, joy, and resignation, she died in 
 the peace of her Lord, leaving a sorrowing husband and 
 a little boy two years old. She will be much missed by 
 the scattered few under our name in the South 
 of France, amongst whom she had been for many 
 years a faithful labourer. She was a truly humble, 
 devoted Christian, sound in doctrine and exemplary in 
 life. 
 
 In the summer of the following year, 1857, 
 Robert and Christine M. Alsop accompanied E. P. 
 Gurney on a visit to the Friends in Germany. 
 They afterwards went to Potsdam, in the hope of 
 seeing the King of Prussia, partly from a feel- 
 ing of religious interest, and partly to represent 
 to him the case of a poor prisoner they had visited, 
 named Miiller, who was subjected to great suffer- 
 ing for refusing to bear arms. On the day fixed 
 for the interview E. P. Gurney was ill in bed, and 
 quite unable to go. Robert and Christine M. 
 Alsop were therefore obliged to go alone. On 
 their explaining to the King the cause of her 
 absence, he said he should much have liked to 
 have seen her, as he had a sweet remembrance of 
 Elizabeth Fry Madame Fry, as he called her. 
 They told him of the religious interest E. P. 
 Gurney had felt about him, and of the sufferings
 
 i$o MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1857- 
 
 of the young man, Miiller. The King said, in 
 French, " Oh, that is too bad ; I am so glad that 
 you can tell me that it is really a case of con- 
 science ; for there is the difficulty." Another inter- 
 view was arranged on the 23rd of Seventh Month ; 
 when they had an interesting opportunity with 
 the King and Queen, and his sister, the Dowager 
 Empress of Russia. Her son, the Grand Duke 
 Michael, and his intended bride, the Princess 
 Cecile, of Baden, were also present. The King 
 told them, that all was arranged with regard to 
 the young man, Miiller; and that he believed he 
 was going to England. E. P. Gurney addressed 
 the whole company very impressively. The King 
 was very serious, and the Queen appeared much 
 touched. The Grand Duke had his eyes fixed on 
 E. P. Gurney during the whole time she spoke. 
 " They came forward " writes Christine M. Alsop, 
 " to shake hands with us as we parted ; and I 
 doubt whether we shall ever see such a company 
 again." 
 
 At one of the German watering places E. P. 
 Gurney remained a short time for the benefit of 
 the baths. Whilst there, they had a religious 
 meeting in the assembly room of the establish- 
 ment at which they were staying. They also em- 
 braced opportunities of religious intercourse with 
 several of the visitors. Thence they proceeded 
 to Basle, Neufchatel, and Lausanne : concluding 
 their labours by a few days' rest at Chamounix
 
 1 860.] NAHNEEBA WEE QUAY. 151 
 
 previously to returning home. In the retrospect of 
 this journey Christine M. Alsop writes : 
 
 We have much to be thankful for in the experience 
 which has been granted of the protecting and forbearing 
 mercy of the Shepherd of Israel. He has graciously 
 preserved us both in heights and in depths. To Him 
 alone be the praise. 
 
 Once more settled at their peaceful home, other 
 objects crowded upon them. The welfare of the 
 aboriginal races in various parts of the world had 
 long been an object of deep interest to Robert and 
 Christine M. Alsop. Nahneebaweequay, the daugh- 
 ter of a chief of one of the aboriginal tribes of British 
 North America, from the neighbourhood of Owen's 
 Sound, Lake Huron, Canada West, came over to 
 England in the early part of the year 1 860, with 
 the object of pleading* the cause of her people in 
 this country, and of representing it to the Queen ; 
 more especially as regards the Indian reservations 
 in Canada. She was alone and unprotected, and 
 without pecuniary means. 
 
 Robert and Christine M. Alsop entered warmly 
 into her case, and received Nahneebaweequay into 
 their house, where she remained four months ; dur- 
 ing which time she obtained an interview with the 
 Queen, Christine M. Alsop accompanying her. The 
 Queen was pleased to manifest her deep interest in 
 Nahneebaweequay ; but as the question of the lands 
 had been previously settled, by giving them over to 
 the local government, nothing very important could
 
 152 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP [1860. 
 
 be accomplished for her people. But the effort was 
 not altogether in vain. Much private interest was 
 elicited, and substantial help afforded to not a few 
 of them. 
 
 Nahneebaweequay was, by descent, a pure Indian. 
 She was a true Christian woman, having been con- 
 verted in early life. Her husband, William Sutton, 
 was an Englishman, rather older than herself, who, 
 she used to say, " had gone over to Canada, when 
 in his teens, from a sense of duty towards the In- 
 dians, and had become an Indian that he might be 
 useful to them." During her stay with Robert and 
 Christine M. Alsop she gave birth to a son, who 
 was named Alsop Albert Edward. 
 
 The morning on which they left Liverpool on 
 their return to America, it was touching to see 
 Christine M Alsop, carrying this little one in her 
 arms on board the large steamer ; evidently feeling 
 the parting from him as from a loved and cherished 
 object of her affection. Nahneebaweequay lived 
 only about three years after her return home, and 
 died in great peace. Her husband still survives. 
 They had a large family, of whom "Alsop " is the 
 youngest but two. He is now grown up, and is 
 a young man of great promise ; some of the money 
 which was given to his mother having been used 
 for his education, with the hope that he would be- 
 come what his mother so ardently desired a Chris- 
 tian missionary among his people.
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 (1859-1876.) 
 
 Quiet reflections ; Death of her niece, Marie L. Dixon Remi- 
 niscences by her niece, Louisa M. Dixon (now Pierson), of 
 her residence with her Aunt ; and of her Aunt's association 
 with some members of the Royal Family. 
 
 HOW sweet and full of profit are those seasons 
 when the humble believer is permitted to 
 be alone with God, How gladly, amidst the pres- 
 sure of manifold occupation, does he avail himself 
 of the precious opportunity, not for indolent musing 
 or inaction, but to " rest in the Lord " ; and in 
 waiting upon Him, to renew his strength. 
 
 Such an opportunity was now given to Christine 
 M. Alsop. 
 
 First Month, 'jfh, 1859. For the last few days I 
 have been confined to the house with indisposition 
 and have had much time for quiet meditation. My 
 eyes being affected, I have not read much, but my 
 whole life has been as it were unrolled before me. 
 How varied the picture ! Some spots deeply marked 
 by trial ; others abounding in unmerited favours. What 
 shades cover the recollection of the many opportunities 
 which might have been embraced for doing good, for 
 winning souls to Christ, which have been, alas ! either 
 wholly neglected ; or, at best, very feebly used. As 
 I look back upon my many mercies and multiplied
 
 154 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSO P. [1859. 
 
 opportunities, and recall the tender and often-repeate/i 
 pleadings of that loving Saviour, who willeth not that 
 any should perish ; I have only to confess that to me 
 nothing belongs but blushing and confusion of face. I 
 am ready to marvel at the long-suffering mercy of my 
 Heavenly Father in preserving me to this hour; and 
 in still condescending to put His praise into my mouth, 
 and, as I believe, commissioning me from time to 
 time to speak unto others of the riches of His grace. 
 How comforting are the. words of Jesus, " Her sins 
 which are many are forgiven her, for she loved much," 
 and He said to the woman, "Thy faith hath saved 
 thee, go in peace." In the full persuasion that the 
 same mercy has been displayed towards me, how does 
 my soul crave that I may be replenished with this 
 living faith, this holy love, producing a readiness to do 
 all the Lord's commandments, and to suffer all His 
 will. 
 
 For the last year home has been, as I believe, our 
 right allotment. It is about two years since I was 
 summoned to attend my dear niece Marie L. Dixon 
 on her death-bed. My husband and I were in Paris, 
 with our beloved friend E. P. Gurney. I at once 
 returned to England, and hastened to Whitehaven. 
 But it was too late. On my arrival all was over. Poor 
 Marie had not had her wish, to see her loved aunt. I 
 felt the event deeply, as she was more like a daughter 
 to me than a niece. I have reason to believe that she 
 fell asleep in Jesus. The bereaved husband and three 
 helpless children became objects of my sympathy and 
 solicitude ; and after staying a month with them it 
 was concluded that I should take charge of the eldest
 
 1859-] HER NIECE 1 S REMINISCENCES. 155 
 
 little girl, my sweet little Louisa ; my dear husband 
 kindly agreeing to the plan. Her father brought her 
 to us in the Third Month, 1857, and she has since been 
 under our charge. The step appeared a right one, as 
 the dear child seemed to come so naturally to our share; 
 there being no one else to take the place of a mother. 
 At the same time it has been my earnest desire that the 
 care of this precious charge may not in any way hinder 
 the fulfilment of other duties. 
 
 This beloved niece (now by her marriage Louisa 
 M. Pierson) has herself given some account of her 
 early life thus spent with her uncle and aunt at 
 Stoke Newington ; and of the intercourse which 
 Christine M. Alsop was, from time to time, per- 
 mitted to enjoy with members of the Royal family. 
 She has kindly allowed me to place the following 
 extracts at the disposal of the reader : 
 
 In the review of the time spent with my aunt I feel 
 what a privilege it has been to have lived under such 
 an influence. My mother, Marie Louise Majolier, with 
 her two brothers, was left motherless at an early age. 
 She was educated in England, and the house of Mr. and 
 Mrs. Alsop in London became her home for some 
 months previously to her marriage. 
 
 When my mother married, her new home was in 
 the North of England, in Cumberland. It was a trial 
 to my aunt, who loved her dearly, that she was obliged 
 to settle so far away. After five years of married life, 
 my mother died; leaving three children, myself the 
 eldest, and two brothers. Mrs. Alsop was thus a 
 second time called upon to act a mother's part ; and I,
 
 156 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1857- 
 
 in turn, received that tender love and watchful care 
 which had made my mother's life so happy. I was 
 between four and five years of age when my father 
 took me to London, and left me with my dear aunt ; 
 and thenceforth, till I was of age to take charge of my 
 father's house, most of my life was spent with her. 
 During those years I accompanied my uncle and aunt 
 in many delightful visits to their friends in different 
 parts of England, to which I can now trace the begin- 
 ning of many a lasting friendship. I also travelled 
 with them when they went to France and Switzerland ; 
 our chief destination being Congenies, where my 
 grandfather lived. 
 
 Her visits to her native village were always times of 
 great rejoicing ; and the warmest of French welcomes 
 awaited her, both there and also at Nimes, where she 
 was well known. Indeed, wherever she went she won 
 the love and respect of all with whom she came in 
 contact. 
 
 The Countess de Selon was one of my aunt's dear 
 friends, whom she frequently visited. It was at her 
 house that my aunt became intimate with Count 
 Cavour, and acquainted with his private life and 
 family troubles. At home, the life of two earnest 
 workers like my uncle and aunt, was full of occupation, 
 and their house was the resort of people of the most 
 varied conditions. 
 
 One of my greatest treats, the full value of which 
 I did not realize as a child, was to go with my aunt 
 to Buckingham Palace, or Windsor ; where she had 
 the extreme pleasure of seeing the young princes 
 and princesses from time to time. She had become
 
 1876.] INTERCOURSE WITH THE ROYAL FAMIL K 157 
 
 known to them in this way. Madame Rollande, a 
 great friend of my aunt, became French governess to 
 the Royal family. My aunt often visited her ; and, in 
 consequence, often saw the Royal children. Her sweet 
 manners won their love ; and they very early gave her 
 the name of "La Bonne Dame." They wrote and 
 spoke to her chiefly in French. It was natural that 
 Her Majesty the Queen should often hear her children 
 speak of "La chere Bonne Dame;" and that the 
 Queen should inquire of Madame Rollande who the 
 lady was. Her Majesty was informed that Mrs. Alsop 
 had spent most of her early life as the adopted child 
 of William Allen, who had been a kind friend and one 
 of the executors of the Duke of Kent. The Queen 
 remembered his name, and wished my aunt to be told 
 that Her Majesty was graciously pleased to allow the 
 continuance of intercourse between the Royal children 
 and Mrs. Alsop. 
 
 From that time many were the interesting visits 
 paid by my aunt to Buckingham Palace. I accom- 
 panied her in most of them, and was most kindly 
 received. I should have forgotten many details had 
 not my aunt liked to tell me of things I had said as a 
 child. One of these occasions was a most special 
 visit, when the Queen herself had expressed a wish to 
 see her. Being myself unable to accompany my aunt, 
 Mrs. Ashby, of Staines, went with her. The interview 
 that followed was deemed the most rare privilege. 
 The conversation was carried on in French, a gracious 
 courtesy to a French woman. Incidentally the Queen 
 expressed her approval that my aunt still retained her 
 "pretty costume," as she termed it /. <?., that of the
 
 158 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1857- 
 
 Friends. These visits were looked upon by my aunt as 
 involving a grave responsibility a responsibility which 
 increased as the Royal children grew up. She accepted 
 them as an opportunity given her by God of interesting 
 those in high position in the welfare of the poor and 
 suffering. They indeed always showed the greatest 
 sympathy for all good works ; and were ever ready to 
 give their support to efforts made to promote the well- 
 being of suffering humanity. 
 
 This intercourse was much aided by the courtesy of 
 the different ladies who held the position of governess to 
 the Royal family; and between them and my dear aunt 
 the kindly feeling deepened into lasting friendship. 
 
 As time passed on, and the Royal marriages took 
 place, it was, on each occasion, a great pleasure to my 
 aunt to give something of her own work. This was 
 always accepted with the kindest acknowledgment. 
 So much was her work admired that she had the 
 honour of knitting a couvre-pied for the Queen. My 
 aunt was very clever with her fingers, and was an adept 
 in knitting, which she called her "play-work." Of 
 her skill the Crown Princess of Prussia says, in thanking 
 her for some baby shoes: "They are so beautifully 
 worked that the best knitters here cannot succeed in 
 copying them." 
 
 In times of special joy and sorrow my aunt 
 always wrote to express such true and kindly sym- 
 pathy as could not but touch a chord in loving 
 hearts, such as theirs are known to be. One sad 
 occasion, which called for the deepest sympathy, was 
 the death of the Prince Consort; for whose noble 
 character she had the greatest regard. To one having
 
 1876.] INTERCOURSE WITH THE RO YAL FAMIL Y. 159 
 
 these feelings of loyalty the "Life of the Prince Con- 
 sort " was made doubly interesting by coming as a gift 
 from the Queen, with the following message, sent 
 through Mademoiselle Norel, in French: "The Queen 
 sends you the first volume of the Life of the Prince 
 Consort, which Her Majesty thinks you have not 
 perhaps got ; and which will interest you, more espe- 
 cially from the attachment you have always felt towards 
 the Royal family, by which Her Majesty has been much 
 touched." 
 
 The death of the beloved Princess Alice was very 
 deeply felt by my dear aunt. She had received, bat a 
 few days before, "a most kind letter from the Princess 
 herself, through her secretary the Baroness de Grancy, 
 expressing thanks for a letter relating to the loss of 
 her child, whom she was so soon to follow. With the 
 letter came also a very sweet photograph of the Prin- 
 cess. 
 
 Mrs. Alsop received many little gifts from the Royal 
 family chiefly photographs ; the most valuable being 
 one cabinet size of the Queen, from Her Majesty 
 herself, with her autograph upon it. Another gift was 
 Her Majesty's book " Our Tour in the Highlands." 
 
 At the time of my aunt's greatest bereavement, when 
 she lost her dear husband, the heartfelt Royal sympathy 
 was very precious to her. The Queen at once sent a 
 message of condolence ; and of the kind letters received 
 from the Princesses, one from the Princess Christian was 
 full of the sweetest comfort. The Queen's message, 
 again sent through Mademoiselle Norel, ran thus: 
 " Her Majesty deeply shares your sorrow, and has 
 charged me to express all her regrets, and the hope that
 
 160 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1857- 
 
 you will be sustained in this affliction by the One that 
 you and good Mr. Alsop have always served with so 
 much zeal. The Queen desires to have the photographs 
 of you both, if you have any." On receiving this mes- 
 sage my aunt, amid her own overwhelming sorrow, felt 
 the consideration due to the Queen, and asked me to 
 fetch her writing materials. I raised her in bed, and 
 supported her whilst she wrote a letter of grateful ac- 
 knowledgment, and enclosed photographs of herself 
 and her husband : the latter I put in the envelope for 
 her. 
 
 My uncle's decease was indeed a sorrow from which 
 she never wholly recovered. Not that she gave way to 
 her grief. She continued her work, feeling that he 
 would have it so ; and to the end interested herself in 
 the well-being of others. Those who knew her best, 
 however, noted that her pleasures now lay in the future. 
 I feel that others will say so much about the beautiful 
 affection and qualities which seemed so well balanced 
 between the husband and wife, that I should occupy too 
 much space were I to enlarge on the subject. My home 
 was with them for nearly fifteen years, and afterwards 
 I saw them for some part of each year. During that 
 time their devotion to each other was most touching. 
 The one seemed to have the qualities most needed by 
 the other ; and the work of each was full of interest to 
 both. A more perfect union in this life I cannot im- 
 agine. 
 
 It grieved me to be living so far away from her after 
 her loss ; as it would have been a great happiness to see 
 her oftener in her time of loneliness. She was not, 
 however, without near relations to brighten her days ;
 
 1876.] HER NIECE'S REMINISCENCES. 161 
 
 for within a few minutes' walk lived her nephew, Edward 
 Majolier, with his wife and family, who were constant in 
 their attentions. In her house she had the great com- 
 fort of a tried and trusted attendant, who had given her 
 many years of devoted service, and who had become 
 additionally endeared to her from having nursed my 
 uncle through a dangerous illness in Paris. 
 
 After my marriage, I stayed with my aunt some time 
 every year ; and during my last visit in the early spring 
 of 1879, my husband became known to her. He is so 
 thankful to have done so. When we parted from her, 
 it was with her blessing. He saw her once again, just 
 after the "Yearly Meeting," little thinking that it was 
 the last time. I was not so fortunate. The great shock 
 came upon me suddenly, when all was over, and I could 
 no longer see the aunt I so dearly loved, and who had 
 been to me all that a mother could be. 
 
 But we are anticipating ; and must, in the next 
 chapter, once more resume the thread of the narra- 
 tive.
 
 CHAPTER XV, 
 (1857-1867.) 
 
 Journey on the Continent with John Henry Douglas Distress in 
 the East-end of London Children's Hospital. 
 
 BUT little had occurred since her last journey 
 with E. P. Gurney, in 1857, to interrupt the 
 ordinary current of Christine M. Alsop's life. En- 
 gagements at home, where, with her husband, she 
 appeared ever active in doing good ; with occasional 
 visits to their friends in England, and in the South 
 of France and Switzerland, fully occupied their time. 
 With an equal horror both of slavery and of war, 
 they had watched with mingled emotion the awful 
 conflict in the United States ; and had rejoiced 
 together in the great result the final extinction of 
 American Slavery. 
 
 Like other friends of the anti-slavery cause, they 
 had taken a lively interest in the mission of Levi 
 Coffin to this country,* and in the efforts of the 
 Freedmen's Aid Association, and of other kindred 
 societies, on behalf of the Freedmen. 
 
 An interval of several years had elapsed since 
 any Friend from the United States had paid a 
 visit to Europe. The spring of 1865 was made 
 
 *See "Reminiscences of Levi Coffin," p. 659. 
 (162)
 
 1 866.] JOHN HENR Y DO UGLAS. 1 63 
 
 memorable by the close of the civil war, and the 
 assassination of President Lincoln. The hearts of 
 Friends in America had once more leisure to think 
 of their brethren in the mother country; and in the 
 autumn of that year, John Henry Douglas, from 
 Western Ohio, was liberated by the Yearly Meet- 
 ing of Indiana for a Gospel Mission to Friends and 
 others in these islands, and on the Continent. 
 He was then in the prime of early manhood, 
 though in somewhat feeble health ; and was 
 accompanied by his friend, Murray Shipley, of 
 Cincinnati, Ohio, who proved a truly generous and 
 efficient helper. They arrived in England in the 
 early part of the year 1866, and after the attend- 
 ance of the Yearly Meeting in London, Robert 
 and Christine M. Alsop thought it right to unite 
 with them in their journey on the Continent in 
 the autumn of that year. Besides the little com- 
 panies of Friends, their labours embraced many 
 other places in the South of France, in the valleys 
 of Piedmont, and in Switzerland and the North of 
 Italy. 
 
 The following are from Christine M. Alsop's let- 
 ters and memoranda : 
 
 (To Mary Sophia Pace.} 
 
 ZURICH, Eighth Month, izth, 1866, 
 First-day. 
 
 . . . Till now we have had no day of rest ; and 
 the demands on my small stock of health and strength
 
 1 64 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSO P. [1866. 
 
 have seemed almost greater than could be supplied ; but 
 " hitherto the Lord has helped us." 
 
 At Basle or rather about three miles from Basle 
 we called upon Christopher Frederick Spittler, the 
 venerable founder of so many institutions for the poor. 
 We found him in a small upper room, with everything 
 about him very homely, but clean and comfortable. 
 He is eighty-four years of age ; still alive to everything 
 that is good, and even now meditating the establish- 
 ment of a home for the education of coloured mis- 
 sionaries, of whom he has already five from Africa in the 
 Chrischona, two. miles off, at the top of the hill above 
 Richen. He remembers, with much affection, William 
 Allen, Stephen Grellet, and William and Josiah Forster. 
 He told me that William Allen gave him the first sub- 
 scription he received for the Institution for Poor 
 Children at Beuggen. His daughter and son live with 
 him ; the latter, Marcus Spittler, has been in England, 
 and speaks English well. He acted as our interpreter. 
 We afterwards visited the Chrischona, an establishment 
 for training missionaries from the humbler walks of 
 life in practical labour. There is a farm of seventy 
 acres attached to it, and at this time of the year the 
 inmates are occupied in agriculture. They also learn 
 carpentering, shoemaking, and all sorts of household 
 work. The situation of the house is very picturesque, 
 on the Western edge of the Black Forest, command- 
 ing a panoramic view of great extent and beauty. 
 After a homely repast with them, the inmates of 
 the house remained, and our friends, John Henry 
 Douglas and Murray Shipley, both addressed them as 
 they sat around the table. We afterwards spent about
 
 1866.] IXSTITUTION AT BEUGGEN. 165 
 
 an hour at the school at Beuggen. It is in an old 
 baronial hall, with a moat and battlements all around. 
 Murray Shipley proposed collecting the children in 
 the court-yard at the foot of the stone steps at the 
 front door. This was no sooner said than done ; and, 
 at a very slight intimation from the Master, they all 
 came flocking around us ; eager to listen to what- 
 ever should be communicated. The teachers also, 
 and students preparing for teachers, together with the 
 female part of the household, all assembled. Murray 
 Shipley spoke a few words to the children in a very 
 telling and interesting manner. John Henry Douglas 
 followed, addressing the teachers and other persons 
 present on the blessedness of being called to the work 
 of the Lord ; and on the supreme importance to the 
 Gospel minister of " knowing nothing save Jesus 
 Christ and Him crucified." All this in the dim 
 twilight of an autumnal evening, under the canopy 
 of Heaven with the stars coming forth in their ap- 
 pointed courses to their nightly watch, presented a 
 striking scene. 
 
 The Chaplain of the Institution, Reinhardt, is a 
 brother of N. Zeller, the former principal. Seldom 
 have I seen a more heavenly countenance. Every fea- 
 ture seemed to speak of the feeling within ; and as he 
 took hold of both my hands at parting, he said in Ger- 
 man, "We shall probably never meet again on earth; 
 let us take comfort in the thought that we shall meet 
 above where partings are no more."
 
 166 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1866. 
 
 VEYTRAUX, Eighth Month, iqfh, 1866. 
 first-day. 
 
 We four have just had our little meeting. It was a 
 time of comfort and refreshment ; in which prayer was 
 offered both for our little band and the many loved 
 ones, who, like ourselves, were seeking to worship God 
 in spirit. We are now at a quiet boarding house, at a 
 considerable height above the Chateau de Chillon, with 
 the peaceful lake of Geneva at our feet, the rocky moun- 
 tains of the Diablerets in front, and the beautiful Dent 
 du Midi on our left; the latter covered with snow. 
 The scene last evening as we arrived just at sunset was 
 lovely beyond anything that I can describe. 
 
 Arrangements are made for two meetings to-day ; one 
 in this house, and the other at the little town of 
 Villeneuve. 
 
 TURIN, Eighth Month, zWi, 1866. 
 \_Rcferring to the cholera in London.~\ 
 
 We have thought much of you all during this time of 
 trial. Sometimes I have wished that I could have 
 laboured with you for the benefit of the poor sufferers ; 
 though I feel that my bodily health would not have 
 allowed of much personal service; but glad should I 
 be to encourage others and hold up their hands. If, 
 in infinite mercy, our concern for the souls and bodies 
 of men is answered in even a few of those for whom 
 we labour; will not that be a full and all-sufficient 
 reward ? How condescending is the mercy of God, 
 thus to accept our poor service and to crown it with 
 success. He who knew what would be the greatest 
 enjoyment of the renewed soul, has thus been pleased
 
 I866.J MILAN. 167 
 
 to give His children work to do for Him in the earth. 
 May we thankfully receive it as a great privilege, and 
 labour on, each in the sphere allotted us, in the full as- 
 surance of faith that, "the day will declare it," and 
 that our labour will not be in vain in the Lord. 
 
 At Milan we called upon G. D. Turin, the Pastor of 
 the Vaudois Church, and a hearty, simple Christian. 
 My husband and I met him at Nice ten years ago. He 
 readily agreed to give up his First-day evening meeting, 
 and to interpret what might be said. About sixty 
 persons assembled, most of them converts from Roman- 
 ism. J. H. Douglas addressed them from the passage, 
 " If any man be in Christ he is a new creature." Yes- 
 terday evening we had a meeting in the Church of the 
 Italian Converts, to which the attenders of other 
 churches were invited. It proved an animating and 
 comforting time. 
 
 Their visit amongst the pastors and their con- 
 gregations in the Vaudois Valleys was a time of 
 deep interest ; though they had often much anxiety 
 in consequence of John Henry Douglas's feeble 
 state of health. Of the last meeting there Christine 
 M. Alsop writes : 
 
 It was held in the chapel adjoining the largest 
 Vaudois Church, and was attended by between one 
 and two hundred persons. J. H. Douglas was 
 so poorly that it had seemed doubtful whether he 
 could go. He was, however, able to be present, 
 and was greatly helped ; Auguste Meille beautifully 
 interpreting.
 
 168 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSO P. [1866. 
 
 Having next accomplished their service amongst 
 the Friends in the South of France, Christine M. 
 Alsop writes : 
 
 We left Congenies last Third-day, but it was not 
 till Seventh-day that I parted with the last of my 
 beloved relatives dear Lydie having accompanied us 
 to Annonay and Valence. Dear sister ! she is so 
 devotedly attached to me, so kind, so indefatigable, 
 that we all greatly miss her; and at every parting I 
 cannot but feel that our next meeting is more and more 
 uncertain. J. H. Douglas's visit has been a remark- 
 able one ; and I feel no doubt that, under the Divine 
 blessing, it will be productive of much good. His 
 Master has been near to help ; and often, to our and to 
 his astonishment, out of weakness he has been made 
 strong, and has been enabled to preach the unsearchable 
 riches of Christ, in the demonstration of the Spirit and 
 with power. 
 
 In the winter of 1866-67, Robert Alsop accom- 
 panied John Henry Douglas throughout his visit 
 to Friends in England and Ireland ; and again in 
 the summer of 1867, in his visit to Norway and 
 Sweden, and the little meetings of Friends in Ger- 
 many. This was not the first time that Christine 
 M. Alsop's faith had been proved by the trial of 
 parting with her beloved husband. Soon after 
 their marriage he had spent several weeks in at- 
 tendance upon his valued friends John and Martha 
 Yeardley, in Belgium; and in 1850 he had been 
 engaged for a much longer period, as the com-
 
 1850.] POETICAL EFFUSION. 169 
 
 panion of William Forster in his visit to Switzer- 
 land and the North of Italy, in connection with the 
 presentation of the Address on Slavery on behalf 
 of the Yearly Meeting.* 
 
 During these intervals of lengthened separation, 
 Christine M. Alsop endeavoured to rise above her 
 own present feeling of loneliness, and cheerfully 
 to lend her husband to what she believed to be 
 the Lord's service. Nor was her self-sacrifice 
 unrequited. He wrote to her almost daily; his 
 thoughts occasionally clothing themselves in verse, 
 to which the reality of truth gave its own charm. 
 It is thus that he greets her from Milan, during 
 his absence in Italy with William Forster, in 
 1850: 
 
 TO MY DEAREST C . 
 
 More swift than bird of swiftest wing, than eagle seen 
 
 from far, 
 E'en as the rays of silver light from yonder beauteous 
 
 star; 
 Such is the viewless speed of mind, from space and 
 
 matter free, f 
 
 So, quickly do my thoughts reach home my home, my 
 
 love and thee. 
 For though Italia spreads her charms, her hills, and air 
 
 and sky, 
 Her mornings fair, and glowing eve of gold and purple 
 
 dye; 
 
 * See " Memoirs of the Life of William Forster," vol. ii., pp. 283- 
 
 288. 
 
 L
 
 170 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1850. 
 
 Cities of fame, and rivers old, that murmur as they flow, 
 
 And Alpine crags that tower above unmeasured wastes 
 of snow; 
 
 Bright be the mimic sculptor's art, and pleasant to the 
 eye, 
 
 Those graceful forms I might enjoy, if thou wert stand- 
 ing by, 
 
 As wrought in gold and chisell'd stone with such sur- 
 passing skill, 
 
 That they whose semblances they bear, seem all but 
 breathing still ; 
 
 And though Milania's lofty dome, into the clear blue sky, 
 
 A marble forest richly rears its pyramids on high ; 
 
 'Tis not the love of things like these, or change that 
 bids me roam ; 
 
 'Tis duty points my cheerful path, and yet I sigh for 
 home. 
 
 I see amidst these very things, which claim the wonder- 
 ing eye, 
 
 That which in words admits the truth, but doth its 
 power deny. 
 
 I feel these things are not of Him, whose life He for us 
 gave; 
 
 They are not of His simple truth, nor of His power to 
 save. 
 
 Of oldest, loftiest earthly things, how far are they less 
 high 
 
 Than yon ethereal vault of blue the ancient, solemn 
 sky; 
 
 How pale before the altar burns the sickly taper's ray, 
 
 How bright the light those walls exclude of Heaven's 
 free gift of day.
 
 1850.] POETICAL EFFUSIOX. 171 
 
 Just so the systems built by man, the Gospel to adorn, 
 While priestly mediators rise, the Saviour's glory 
 
 shorn, 
 Till names of blasphemy are writ and shamelessly 
 
 unfurled, 
 Of many gods and many lords, as in the Pagan 
 
 world. 
 There is a power of pride hath bowed the nations to her 
 
 name, 
 With lying wonders mixed with truth, and arts, and 
 
 pomp, and fame ; 
 And thus great Babylon hath raised her mystic throne 
 
 on high, 
 And they who would not bear her mark have borne 
 
 their doom to die. 
 Albeit, pure and holy thoughts His Spirit breathes e'en 
 
 there, 
 And they who truly seek His face may know " the house 
 
 of prayer." 
 In temples made with human hands He dwelleth not 
 
 again, 
 
 Nor can the higher heaven of heavens His Majesty con- 
 tain ; 
 
 But in the humble mind He bids a living temple rise, 
 One Holy Priest, and only He, for ever in the skies, 
 Whose watchful and unslumbering ear attends our 
 
 feeblest call, 
 Himself our Sacrifice, our Life, our Light, our Hope, 
 
 our All.* 
 
 * Other verses from Robert Alsop's pen may be found in the 
 Appendix to his wife's " Tribute " to his memory.
 
 i?2 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1867. 
 
 The following are from her correspondence with 
 her husband during his journey with John Henry 
 Douglas : 
 
 Twelfth Month, 3O///, 1866. I hope that you will 
 both be encouraged and strengthened. Though 
 tarrying at home, and often feeling lonely, I rejoice 
 to know that I have some interest in the work of 
 faith and labour of love in which you are engaged. 
 May the Lord bless you and establish the work of 
 your hands! Thy account of the state of things in 
 our Society where you have been is encouraging. 
 May we not hope that we are at the dawn of a 
 brighter day? Sometimes I seem to see it coming; 
 and then clouds intervene ; but we must hope on and 
 hope ever. As long as we are endeavouring to do our 
 part our little part we must trust to the all-availing 
 power of the Holy Spirit, without which all our puny 
 efforts are vain. 
 
 First Month, ist, 1867. The clock strikes twelve, and 
 I hear the firing of the guns ushering in the new year. 
 To think that 1866 is now to be remembered with the 
 years that are past for ever ; with all its interests, all its 
 trials, all its shortcomings, all the sins which have 
 clung to us, all the wonderful events which have dis- 
 tinguished it, and also with all the mercies which have 
 followed us and for which we cannot be sufficiently 
 thankful. O God, our merciful Father, wilt Thou for- 
 give us for the past for Jesus' sake, and help us to love 
 Thee more, and to serve Thee better for the future. If 
 Thou permittest us to work for thee a little longer, grant 
 the blessing o'f Thy grace, that we may do it with more
 
 1867.] LETTERS TO HER HUSBAND. 173 
 
 zeal, more willingness, more joy. On looking back on 
 the year that has just closed upon us, there is much to 
 cause blushing and confusion of face. We would bring 
 all to the foot of the cross, and beseech Thee to forgive 
 for Jesus' sake. Hear, Lord, the petition of Thy hand- 
 maid, on behalf of herself and her dearest treasure upon 
 earth. Be with us now as we approach the decline of 
 life ; sustain us by the good hope through grace unto 
 the end ; and give us some work to do for that Saviour 
 who hath loved us and given Himself for us. 
 
 They who walk in the light of that love which 
 " thinketh no evil," will know how to understand 
 and appreciate the following, as an illustration of 
 her habit of thinking aloud : 
 
 STOKE NEWINGTON, 
 
 Fourth Month, $th, 1867. 
 
 We who have been brought up under a different 
 order of things are naturally afraid lest some of the 
 gallant barks should get into the shallows and become 
 entangled in the weeds. We must pray that He whom 
 we desire to serve may order all things for His own 
 praise. May we have no other will but His, and, whilst 
 holding the truth without wavering, may He enable us 
 to give up all that may be merely the result of preju- 
 dice and education, if it be not according to His truth. 
 We cannot but rejoice at the increase of earnestness 
 and zeal, if it be according to knowledge. Thy report 
 of the ministry in the meetings which you have visited 
 rejoices my heart. Oh, that there were more amongst 
 us truly brought under the Lord's preparing hand for 
 this work. What a difference would this produce in
 
 174 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1867. 
 
 our meetings for worship. It would be a blessed 
 change. We should not, I think, need the formal 
 reading of the Scriptures in these meetings. Unless 
 there be life, everything of an outward character may 
 become, and does become, a form. Still I do so feel 
 the importance of the close study of the Scriptures, as 
 the volume graciously designed for our " instruction in 
 righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect and 
 thoroughly furnished unto all good works," that I am 
 always afraid to say anything like discouraging their 
 being read at any time. 
 
 {To her Husband, returning from Norway. .) 
 
 2^th of Seventh Month, 1867. 
 
 . . Truly the Lord has been better to me than 
 all my fears ; and now thy letter brings the glad news 
 that I may hope soon to have you here. It is indeed a 
 joy to think that, if all be well, this letter will meet thee 
 once more in old England. 
 
 These feelings are much sobered down by the 
 thought of having so soon to part from our loved 
 "son."* I sometimes think of this with real sorrow. 
 At the same time I feel that we must not wish to keep 
 him from the dear ones at home, if his work is done ; 
 and the fact of thy being restored to me will make the 
 parting easier. 
 
 John Henry Douglas returned to America in 
 the autumn of 1867 ; and Robert and Christine 
 M. Alsop were once more set at liberty for their 
 
 * J. H. Douglas the affectionate designation which she often 
 applied to her younger Christian brother.
 
 1867-70.] MOTHERS' MEETING. 175 
 
 more immediate duties at home. These were now 
 becoming urgent. The winter of 1867-68 will be 
 long remembered as a time of great distress in the 
 East-end of London. Christine M. Alsop was 
 well aware of the vast importance to the poor of 
 good habits, of order and cleanliness, of domestic 
 and social economy ; and at once gave her mind 
 to co-operate with others in a work already initiated 
 the establishment of a " sewing-class" for mothers 
 on the premises of the "Bedford Institute," in 
 Spitalfields. This was afterwards carried on for 
 several years with the co-operation of the East- 
 end Relief Committee. About 500 women were 
 thus enabled to keep their families from starvation. 
 They came five days in the week, for five hours a 
 day, 250 at a time ; each receiving twopence an 
 hour. The whole was under the care of a Com- 
 mittee of " Friends." The arrangements were very 
 simple. The Scriptures were regularly read, and 
 an opportunity was afforded for the giving of Chris- 
 tian counsel, and the manifestation of sympathy and 
 love. 
 
 The influence thus exerted was, it is believed, 
 greatly blessed to many. Some, who entered the 
 classes in a state of great ignorance and degrada- 
 tion, became changed both in their conduct and 
 appearance, and greatly improved in their work. 
 Not a few, who had never been in the habit of at- 
 tending a place of worship, were brought to the 
 knowledge of their Saviour, and to a desire to live
 
 176 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1867-70. 
 
 according to His will. The effort was kept up, to 
 the extent above-mentioned, during two winters and 
 part of one summer; and afterwards for several 
 years on a smaller scale. In this work Christine 
 M. Alsop was an active assistant, not only as 
 Treasurer of the Committee, whilst her health ad- 
 mitted, but by personal attendance two or three 
 times a week at the sewing-class ; seeking in the 
 love of Christ to gather the poor women who at- 
 tended to His fold of rest. 
 
 The " Children's Hospital " at the East-end, under 
 the care of " Friends," was another favourite object 
 of her Christian solicitude, where her labours were 
 greatly valued. The inmates of the alms-houses, 
 near the meeting-house at Stoke Newington, were 
 also often visited. Her home work continued un- 
 remitting ; and, as we shall see, the interval that 
 had now passed since her last Continental journey 
 had been fraught with many valuable lessons for 
 the future, which she had not been slow to learn.
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 (18701871.) 
 
 Labours in France after the Franco- German War. 
 
 THE breaking out of the Franco-German war 
 in the autumn of 1870, was an event which 
 deeply afflicted the mind of Christine M. Alsop. 
 Though England was the land of her adoption, she 
 could not forget her native country : and it was 
 with feelings akin to anguish that she watched the 
 progress of the awful struggle. 
 
 The Society of Friends were not behindhand in 
 the manifestation of their practical sympathy. Their 
 representative Committee in London acted in a 
 manner worthy of its time-honoured name, " The 
 Meeting for Sufferings." At its first monthly ses- 
 sion after the taking of Sedan, the subject was 
 introduced to the meeting, under deep feeling, by 
 our late dear friend John Hodgkin. His earnest 
 appeal was warmly responded to, and a committee, 
 under the name of the " War Victims' Committee," 
 was at once organized for the relief of the peasantry 
 and other non-combatant sufferers in France and 
 Germany. The appointment involved patient and 
 continuous effort.* Large sums of money were 
 
 * The following are the names of the executive committee in 
 London, upon whom much of the home-labour necessarily de-
 
 178 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSO P. [1870. 
 
 collected and carefully administered. Altogether 
 640 packages of bedding and clothing were dis- 
 tributed, together with 850 sacks of seed-corn. 
 A steam plough and oxen were also taken over 
 to help to lighten the labour. Many Friends, 
 amongst whom the late Thomas Whitwell, of 
 Stockton-on-Tees, will be long remembered, went 
 over to Paris, Metz, and other places, personally 
 to aid in this mission of love. Several were 
 attacked by fever or small-pox at Metz ; one of 
 whom Ellen Allen, a niece of Richard Allen^ 
 of Dublin, who was himself dangerously ill with 
 erysipelas ultimately fell a sacrifice to her zeal 
 and devotion.* Others, besides members of the 
 Society, assisted in the blessed work ; among whom 
 it is only right to enumerate the names of Augusta 
 Fry (a granddaughter of Elizabeth Fry), and Eliza- 
 beth Barclay; the latter of whom nursed Ellen 
 Allen throughout her illness, and saw her remains 
 placed in the coffin, at the imminent risk of her 
 
 volved : Arthur Albright, Joseph Beck, Thomas Gates Darton, 
 Charles Hoyland, Eliot Howard, Edwin R. Ransome, Edmund 
 Sturge and John Taylor. 
 
 *"Out of twelve of our number," writes John Bellows, in his 
 interesting pamphlet, " The Track of the War around Metz," " who 
 were at Metz when I arrived, or who came while I was there, eight 
 have been ill, five of them with small-pox." (p. 74.) See also 
 " The Villages around Metz," by Robert Spence Watson, another 
 of the earnest labourers ; and the thrilling narrative by James Hack 
 Tuke, entitled, "A Visit to Paris in the Spring of 1871, on behalf 
 of the War Victims' Fund."
 
 1871.] THE "COMMUNE" IN PARIS. 179 
 
 own life. James Long, also, throughout the work, 
 rendered essential service by his assiduous and 
 wisely-directed labours. 
 
 In the Fifth Month of 1871, occurred the 
 fearful outbreak of the " Commune." The news 
 that Paris was in flames reached London during 
 one of the early sittings of the Yearly Meeting 
 
 of the Society of Friends ; in which, as will be 
 
 J / 
 
 remembered, the men and women occupy separate 
 
 apartments for the transaction of their respective 
 business. Christine M. Alsop was deeply affected. 
 She loved the land of her birth with all the devo- 
 tion of the French character. Rising amongst 
 her sisters, with undisguised emotion, she asked 
 for a pause in the business of the Women's 
 Meeting, in order that her friends might unite 
 with her in prayer for her " poor country." 
 Very impressive was the opportunity that fol- 
 lowed ; and many fervent petitions ascended to 
 the throne of grace that this awful calamity might 
 be over-ruled for the good of the French na- 
 tion. 
 
 Before the Yearly Meeting closed, three Ad- 
 dresses were prepared and issued. One of them 
 was a loving letter of sympathy and warm appeal to 
 Christians. The second was addressed to the more 
 educated classes of the French people in general, 
 and contained an exposition of the fundamental 
 truths of the Gospel, as the one remedy which 
 France needed. The third was a short and simple
 
 i8o MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1871. 
 
 appeal to the people at large, which might be dis- 
 tributed, as it were, broadcast.* 
 
 * The following are the copies of the Addresses above referred 
 
 tot- 
 No. I. 
 
 FROM THE CHRISTIAN SOCIETY OF FRIENDS, COMMONLY CALLED 
 
 QUAKERS, AT THEIR ANNUAL ASSEMBLY IN LONDON. 
 TO ALL IN FRANCE WHO LOVE THE LORD JESUS CHRIST IN SIN- 
 CERITY. 
 
 DEAR FRIENDS, During the course of the late dreadful war, 
 with all its attendant calamities, our sympathies for you have often 
 been called forth ; and especially have they been awakened by the 
 intelligence reaching us, during the last few days, of the fearful 
 events passing in your capital. But what must have been your dis- 
 tress and anguish of spirit in actually witnessing horrors, the report 
 of which, even at our distance from the scene of them, has so filled 
 our hearts with sorrow ? 
 
 In view of these things, our prayers as a Church have been 
 offered up for you that, in this your deep affliction, you may find help 
 and comfort in realising that " God is our refuge and strength, a very 
 present help in trouble." Overwhelming as are these calamities, let 
 us confidingly trust that, through the wonder-working power of the 
 Most High, they will be overruled for the good of those who truly 
 love and fear Him. May the number of these be largely increased ! 
 And seeing that, " when the Lord's judgments are in the earth " it 
 is mercifully designed that "the inhabitants of the world" should 
 " learn righteousness," we pray that, even by these things, the hearts 
 of many may be turned to the Lord. 
 
 The sad fruits of man's depravity in the fall, which are seen all 
 around us, and which have been so fearfully manifested in your 
 capital, should lead us all more fervently to cherish the Gospel of 
 Christ as the only and all-sufficient remedy for the sins and sorrows 
 of our fallen world. Precious alike to you and to ourselves is that 
 Gospel in its wondrous adaptation to the needs of all. It is the 
 message of a Father's love, inviting all to be reconciled to Him 
 through the death of His Son ; and assuring us that whe r e sin
 
 1871.] ADDXESSES TO THE FRENCH PEOPLE. 181 
 
 Robert and Christine M. Alsop offered to be the 
 bearers of these Addresses. The offer was accepted 
 by the Yearly Meeting ; and, followed by the prayers 
 
 abounded, grace doth much more abound. In a spirit of Christian 
 affection, we desire that your hands may be strengthened in labour- 
 ing for the salvation of the multitudes around you who are still sit- 
 ting in darkness and the shadow of death, and living, as it were, 
 without God in the world. 
 
 In singleness of love to the Saviour, and to those for whom He 
 died, let us seek to be animated by the same spirit which led the 
 apostle to say, " We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, 
 and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake ! " And we desire to 
 unite with you in the fervent prayer that, under the gracious influence 
 of the Holy Spirit, you may be the honoured instruments in bring 
 ing many to repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord 
 Jesus Christ. 
 
 In the love of Christ we would conclude by addressing you in the 
 words of the apostle, " The God of all grace, who hath called us 
 unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered 
 awhile, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. To Him 
 be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen." 
 
 No. II. 
 
 TO THE FRENCH NATION, AND ESPECIALLY TO THE INHABITANTS 
 OF THE CITY OF PARIS, THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS, OTHERWISE 
 CALLED QUAKERS, IN GREAT BRITAIN, SEND THESE WORDS OF 
 BROTHERLY GREETING. 
 
 We have watched with deep sympathy the terrible calamities 
 through which you have been recently passing; and when the last 
 awful catastrophe of your civil war, with the burnings and devasta- 
 tion in Paris, came upon us as we were sitting in our Annual 
 Assembly, we felt ourselves impelled to address you, in order to 
 assure you how deeply we are penetrated with your sorrow, and 
 how impossible it is for us to remain unmoved at the sight of your 
 affliction.
 
 182 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1871. 
 
 of the Church, they left London early in the Sixth 
 Month, 1871, accompanied at first by their young 
 friends, Annie Maria Whiting (now Annie Maria 
 
 These sentiments, indeed, we share with the great mass of our 
 fellow-countrymen ; but there are two reasons which make us feel 
 them with peculiar intensity 
 
 First, because the Christian Society to which we belong has, for 
 more than two centuries, continually proclaimed the great doc- 
 trines, as shown forth in the New Testament, of the brotherhood 
 of mankind, and the unlawfulness of all war, so that these doc- 
 trines have become part of the very fibre of our own minds ; and, 
 secondly, because during the past six months our hearts have been 
 wrung by the narratives of suffering and horror which have been 
 brought back to us by the delegates whom we deputed to carry 
 such assistance as we could render would that it had been a hun- 
 dredfold more ! to the suffering townspeople and peasantry in your 
 land. 
 
 Believing as we do that God governs in the kingdoms of men, 
 and overrules even their wild and wayward passions to the work- 
 ing out of His own great purposes of love, we are compelled to 
 recognize that, not without His permission could all these calami- 
 ties have come upon you. Far be it from us to seek to explain 
 His unsearchable counsels. But the history of our own and 
 other lands, teaches us, that he judges the nations for their sins, 
 and that if they forget Him, and seek to banish Him from His 
 own world, He recalls Himself to their thoughts even by sharp 
 and terrible afflictions, and that this must be done, because the 
 knowledge of Him, and reverence for His law, is the vital atmos- 
 phere of the soul, without which neither men nor nations can truly 
 live. 
 
 But if the sin of some have drawn down this punishment on 
 your unhappy nation, multitudes of comparatively innocent vic- 
 tims have been involved in the same dreadful catastrophe; 
 and to these our words of deepest and tenderest sympathy are 
 addressed. Oh ! let not the thought, " God has forgotten us, 
 God has cast us off," find footing in your hearts. He does not
 
 1 87 1.] FIRST VISIT TO PARIS AFTER THE WAR. 183 
 
 Harvey) and Josephine de Broen. Their friend 
 Edmund Pace also joined them in Paris, sharing 
 their labours at the outset, and giving much valu- 
 
 Tvillingly afflict nor grieve the children of men. But with 
 unwearied patience He follows them through the journey of life, 
 using correction or encouragement as He sees fit, but seeking 
 before and beyond all other aims to bring them back again to Him- 
 self. 
 
 We cannot express to you in words the strength of our conviction 
 that God is a God of love, and that He so loved the world that He 
 gave His own Son Jesus Christ, that whosoever believeth in Him 
 should not perish, but have everlasting life. 
 
 Many among us, who in the days of their darkness were the ser- 
 vants of sin and of the world, and found that to be a weary bondage, 
 have discovered a joyous freedom in the service of Jesus Christ, 
 and in working for the good of their fellow-men whom He died to 
 save. 
 
 In this same Lord Jesus Christ we find the true centre and 
 meeting-point of the whole family of man the remedy for all 
 those discords and strifes which the spirit of the world breeds 
 among them. In Him, rich and poor, master and servant, citizen 
 and countryman, learned and unlearned, Frenchman and English- 
 man, may meet together and form one harmonious body of which 
 He is the Head. This faith comforts us in all the trials and 
 adversities of life : when we stand by the graves of those whom we 
 have loved : when we ourselves are stretched upon the bed of pain. 
 When this faith is strong within us, it brings heaven itself into our 
 daily lives : without it, man would be more to be pitied than the 
 beasts that perish. 
 
 Speaking to so large and varied an audience, we know that we 
 must be addressing many to whom our words will seem but as idle 
 tales. We pray that God's Holy Spirit may lead them to prove for 
 themselves whether they are not true, and that they may come, taste, 
 and see how good the Lord is. 
 
 But we rejoice in the knowledge that we speak to many others 
 to whom these great facts of our spiritual life are as well known and
 
 1 84 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSO P. [1871. 
 
 able help in making the needful arrangements for 
 the translation and distribution of the Addresses. 
 The " material " aid and sympathy which had 
 
 as precious as to ourselves. We pray that these may be enabled to 
 hold fast the beginning of their confidence in Christ steadfast unto 
 the end. 
 
 And may all in your land labour together in the fear and love of 
 our Almighty Father at the rebuilding of a new and happier France ; 
 the corner-stone of her foundation being faith in Jesus Christ, the 
 only begotten Son of God, and the top-stone bearing the inscription, 
 " Glory to God in the highest." 
 
 No. III. 
 
 FROM THE CHRISTIAN SOCIETY OF FRIENDS, COMMONLY CALLED 
 QUAKERS, AT THEIR ANNUAL ASSEMBLY IN LONDON. 
 
 TO THE PEOPLE OF FRANCE. 
 
 The smoke of the great city of Paris has risen as a thick cloud to 
 heaven in the sight of God and of the world, and the calamities that 
 have fallen upon it have made even your own countrymen to ex- 
 claim, " How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people." 
 The love we have for you has made us mourn for your desolations ; 
 but there is One in heaven who loves you much more. He does 
 not willingly afflict the children of men. He looks down and be- 
 holds your sorrow. He is moved with compassion towards man as 
 He sees the low estate to which we have all fallen, and even in 
 wrath He remembers mercy. His Fatherly care is over all His 
 works. He is no respecter of persons ; but the same Lord over all 
 is rich unto all that call upon Him. 
 
 People of France! there is One hope for you, One refuge in 
 the midst of your calamities. God, in his love for lost man, sent 
 His own well-beloved Son into this world to ransom the lost 
 by the shedding of His own blood for us outside the gates of 
 Jerusalem. Salvation is His free gift, without money and with- 
 out price. Jesus tasted death for every man. " He was wounded
 
 1 87 1.] FIRST VISIT TO PARIS AFTER THE WAR. 185 
 
 been given by the Society of Friends, during the 
 Jate war, to suffering non-combatants, had won 
 the hearts of the French people, and had done 
 much in preparing the way for the reception of the 
 Addresses. 
 
 It is instructive to mark how through a long 
 course of years the Lord prepares His children 
 for those services, in which He is graciously 
 pleased to permit them to glorify Him. Such 
 had been, in a remarkable degree, the experience of 
 Christine M. Alsop. A native of France, speaking 
 the language, she had already travelled there ex- 
 tensively, and had become intimately acquainted 
 both with the country and with many persons of 
 influence. She never forgot how much she owed, 
 under the Divine blessing, to the friendship of 
 William Allen. Even her recent engagements at 
 
 for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The 
 chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we 
 are healed ! " 
 
 The Spirit of Jesus Christ is a Spirit of peace and of love, of 
 gentleness and forgiveness ; and if we dwell in Him, the fruits 
 of His Spirit will be brought forth in us. It is His Spirit that 
 shows us our sins, and opens our eyes to behold Jesus as the sin- 
 bearer. This Spirit guides into all truth : it is the Comforter to 
 comfort them that mourn, to give us a joy and peace the world 
 can never give, and to teach us patiently to endure unto the end, 
 considering Jesus who endured such contradiction of sinners 
 against Himself. May that Holy Spirit so enlighten your souls in 
 this day of distress that with faith you may turn to the Lord in 
 prayer, crying, " God be merciful to me a sinner ! " "And it shall 
 come to pass that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord 
 shall be saved." 
 M
 
 186 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1871. 
 
 the Bedford Institute, during the destitution at the 
 East End of London, were not altogether without 
 use, as part of that training which had been so long 
 gradually fitting her for the somewhat new line of 
 service on which she was now entering in Paris and 
 other parts of France. In this we must now en- 
 deavour to follow her. 
 
 It would be difficult (she writes) to describe the 
 condition of Paris as we found it. Smoke was still 
 issuing from the ruined buildings. Some of the streets 
 which had been unpaved to form the barricades, had 
 served as bury ing-places for the slain, in the conflict 
 with the Commune, and were not yet paved over ; 
 and those parts of the public gardens which had also 
 become the receptacles of the dead, were being levelled 
 and sown with grass seeds. The atmosphere itself 
 was charged with heavy effluvia ; food was so scarce, 
 that it was difficult to obtain enough to eat ; and as 
 the horses had been killed for food, and but few had 
 yet come to the city, we found it often necessary to 
 Walk long distances, and that in a most suffocating 
 heat. 
 
 HOTEL BERGERON, PARIS. 
 
 Seventh Month, nth, 1871. 
 
 We have now been here since the 23rd of last 
 month. Owing to the pressure of engagements I 
 have been able to write very little ; but there has been 
 already much to commemorate of the lovingkindness 
 of the Lord, and also much to remember of toil, and 
 of our want of faith. First we called on a few of the 
 pastors and others to ascertain whether there would
 
 1 8j i.] AT PARIS AFTER THE WAR. 187 
 
 be any impediment to the circulation of the three 
 Addresses of the Yearly Meeting. Guillaume Monod 
 was very cordial. He approved of the addresses, and 
 at his suggestion we went to see the Pastor Paumier, 
 who welcomed us warmly, and made way for us to 
 speak at the meeting, to be held at the Oratoire on 
 First-day evening, over which he had to preside. The 
 meeting was attended by about 120. They were much 
 touched with what was said respecting the origin of 
 the Addresses, and the feelings which had brought us 
 amongst them. The Pastor read the Address No. I., 
 and expressed very fully his cordial acceptance of 
 all the sentiments contained in it, desiring us to 
 convey to our friends at home the high appreciation 
 with which they received this fraternal salutation. 
 "They had indeed suffered much, and those words of 
 sympathy and Christian love were very acceptable to 
 them." We called upon several other persons during 
 the week ; and arrangements were made for the circu- 
 lation of the addresses. Packets were sent through the 
 post to the pastors and ministers of all the Protestant 
 churches throughout Paris ; and parcels made up, with 
 a proportionate number of copies, for each church. 
 These latter were all delivered by hand, to be distri- 
 buted on First-day the pth, the day fixed for public 
 prayer and humiliation throughout the Protestant con- 
 gregations in France. We have had many interesting 
 responses to these appeals from the pastors and others ; 
 in several instances asking for more copies. The distri- 
 bution was very faithfully made. In some cases the 
 Address No. I. was read from the pulpit, and in all 
 they were commended to the serious perusal and
 
 188 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSO P. [1871. 
 
 attention of the recipients. The two were folded 
 together, that those who received them might discri- 
 minate themselves as to which was most applicable 
 to them, and hand the other to some one else. Besides 
 this, two copies were sent to each member of the 
 Assembly, and two to M. Thiers ; the latter we know 
 were received and read. Four copies, with a litho- 
 graphed letter, were posted to each of the Protestant 
 ministers in France, including those of Alsace and 
 Lorraine; in all nearly 1,000 packets. These were all 
 folded, banded, directed, and stamped in this room, 
 and were most of them sent off so as to reach the 
 Provinces in time for the day of public prayer. Alto- 
 gether about 1,500 of these two addresses have already 
 been put into circulation throughout the length and 
 breadth of the land. Besides which, many of No. III. 
 have been distributed in Paris. Hitherto, we have 
 not attempted any systematic distribution amongst 
 the Roman Catholics; though many of No. II. and 
 No. III. have been given away by our active young 
 friends, A. M. Whiting and Josephine de Broen and 
 others ; and we now and then have requests for some 
 from willing helpers. 
 
 First-day the gth, as I have said, was the day of 
 public prayer. In the morning there was a meeting 
 for prayer and exhortation, in which all the Protestant 
 communities of Paris were invited to unite. We 
 thought it right to go ; and found it a very large and 
 interesting convocation. The large "Temple" of the 
 Oratoire was very nearly full. The addresses given 
 by members of different denominations, both pastors 
 and others, were very earnest; all tending to induce
 
 1871.] AT PARIS AFTER THE WAR. 189 
 
 the laying aside of everything likely to lead to 
 disunity, and to encourage them to cleave to that 
 in which all could unite the love of the Saviour 
 and His cause ; that so all might be fellow-labourers 
 in that wide field which lay before them, in this 
 city, where they had so lately seen written in 
 characters of blood the awful condition of a nation 
 where Christ is forsaken, or suffered to be unknown. 
 The prayers, also, were very fervent. At the close 
 we were invited to another meeting, at which a new 
 Society was to be inaugurated (to take the place of 
 the former one), for the relief of the sick and wounded. 
 It is now to assume the name of the "Societe pour 
 les Victimes de la Guerre." We made a point of 
 attending it. It was composed of ladies and gentle- 
 men a small, but influential, company, presided over 
 by one of the pastors of the Eglise Libre, M. Bersier, 
 a very able man. In calling the meeting, he had 
 made the arrangements so perfectly that, though 
 some of his proposals were followed by a little 
 discussion, they were adopted with but very slight 
 alteration, and the different sub-committees were 
 formed and officers elected with very little difficulty; 
 many (both ladies and gentlemen) offering their 
 names. The object of the Association is to inquire 
 into the needs of those who are suffering as victims of 
 the war. 
 
 When the business of the committee was over, 
 the President introduced us as the delegates of the 
 Society of Friends, who had come hither to bring them 
 the assurance of their sympathy and Christian love \ 
 which was expressed not only through the Address, but
 
 igo MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1871. 
 
 also by our making this personal effort to show our in- 
 terest in their welfare. He then told the audience that 
 "Madame Alsop " had a communication to make to 
 them on some subjects which would be interesting to 
 the company. The kind consideration with which this 
 was said and received quite broke me down. It was 
 some time before I could speak, and then I failed to say 
 half of what was in my heart ; but it was enough to 
 touch them, and at least to prove that I was a woman 
 and a weak woman, too. I told them, amongst other 
 things, what might be done in the way of evangeli- 
 zation by actual contact with those we wished to 
 influence. I mentioned our sewing-classes and the 
 benefit they had conferred materially, morally, and 
 spiritually, and the good such work was likely to do to 
 those who engaged in it. But, I added, it must be a 
 missionary work not secondarily, but primarily. The 
 President spoke, in the name of the company, in the 
 kindest manner of what had been expressed; adding 
 that, though this was not the time to discuss the sub- 
 ject, he believed the useful suggestions which had 
 been made would not be lost. He also wished us to 
 express to our Society at home their gratitude for this 
 proof of their interest in their poor country, and in 
 their work for the good of those around them. The 
 task was a great and important one, and the sympathy 
 of such a body of Christians as the Society of Friends 
 was very helpful and encouraging to them. My dear 
 husband had a little to say, which he managed very 
 well in French. At this meeting, at which about 
 seventy were present, of the zlite of the Protestants 
 of Paris, we became personally acquainted with
 
 1871.] AT PARIS AFTER THE WAR. igi 
 
 several very interesting individuals ; amongst the rest, 
 that dear lady who is a true helper in the Church, 
 Madame Andre, a fine, intelligent person, who looked 
 like a mother amongst them all, and was listened to 
 with the greatest respect. We also met with Pastor 
 Robin, the minister of Belleville. He had written very 
 warmly to thank us for the Addresses, and we have 
 found him a truly evangelical man and an earnest 
 worker.
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 (1871.) 
 
 Justine Dalencourt Sewing Meeting established at Boulogne-sur- 
 Seine Labours in France continued. 
 
 IT was at the time of the Franco-German war 
 that Christine M. Alsop first made the ac- 
 quaintance of Justine Dalencourt, who became her 
 valued coadjutor during the last years of her labours 
 in France ; and who has ever since been connected 
 with the work begun by her in Paris, and still car- 
 ried on there under the care of Friends. Justine 
 Dalencourt was born at Rochefort-sur-Mer. Her 
 parents were members of the Roman Catholic 
 Church, and she herself was educated in a convent 
 as a strict " Catholic." 
 
 I cannot (she says) recall the time when I did not 
 love the things of God. When I was preparing for my 
 first " Communion," I used often to retire alone, to ask 
 God rather to permit me to die than to take it un- 
 worthily. At the age of sixteen I wished to become 
 a nun, in order, as I then thought, to live nearer to 
 God. My mother objected on account of my youth ; 
 and the death of my brother, Lieutenant Bellot, who 
 was drowned in one of the expeditions sent in search 
 of Sir John Franklin, and whom I had tenderly and 
 enthusiastically loved, turned my thoughts towards Eng- 
 land. 
 
 (192)
 
 1871.] JUSTINE DALENCOURT. 193 
 
 I went to England in 1858, and was engaged there as 
 a teacher, in a school at Highbury New Park, when I 
 became acquainted with Lady Barrow. She was a dear 
 child of the Lord, and I soon loved her with all my 
 heart. 
 
 After awhile, I removed to a boarding-school in 
 Kensington, near her own dwelling, and frequently 
 went to spend the evening with her. She used to 
 speak to me of the Holy Scriptures, of the Virgin 
 Mary, and of the saints, whose worship at that time 
 filled my life. I prayed to them that she might be 
 brought to the Roman Catholic faith, and often even 
 wept over her. She prayed for me before the only 
 One who can enlighten. One day she pressed me to 
 read the Bible. My father was ill, and I was ar.xious. 
 Lady Barrow, taking advantage of the opportunity, 
 said to me : " Suppose, dear Justine, your good father, 
 believing that he was going to die, and not wishing to 
 leave you without his counsel, wrote a letter for his 
 children ; and suppose that after his death some of the 
 elder brothers should take possession of the letter, and 
 say to the others, ' We will not let you read it all, but 
 we will read you some extracts ' would you be satis- 
 fied?" 
 
 I was indignant, and said that no brother could have 
 the right to do so, because my father would assuredly 
 write so that we might all understand it. "Ah well," 
 she said, "your priests do that; they keep from you 
 your Heavenly Father's Letter." I did not want to 
 appear much concerned, but I had received a very 
 serious impression ; and during the rest of that 
 evening, which I spent with her, I seemed only
 
 194 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1871. 
 
 to hear those words, "Your Heavenly Father's let- 
 ter." 
 
 This was, as it were, the first dawn of light upon my 
 soul. In 1860 I became the wife of Eugene Dalencourt ; 
 but it was not till the year 1863 that I publicly left the 
 Church of Rome. "Lucile," by Adolph Monod, was 
 the book, next to the Bible, most blessed to me. In 
 1868 my husband removed to St. Denis, near Paris, and 
 soon afterwards we lost our eldest beloved child, who, at 
 the age of eight and a-half, was taken back to God. 
 But I was tenderly sustained by my " Heavenly Father's 
 letter," and I sighed for the possibility of teaching those 
 around me about this Divine letter, which reveals the 
 love of the Father to His children. 
 
 The Franco-German war broke out in 1870, and I was 
 compelled to leave my home in great haste, with my little 
 boy Rene. I subsequently came to England, where I 
 became acquainted with Christine M. Alsop, through my 
 being/ made the instrument of sending, for any one who 
 wished it, little slips of paper, with my own, to their 
 friends in Paris, during the time of the siege. The re- 
 membrance of her makes my tears flow even now. I 
 loved her directly ; her warm welcome, and her kind- 
 ness to my little Rene comforted my heart. I went with 
 her to some of the Mothers' Meetings in London, and 
 longed that I could work in the same way in my own 
 country. I also attended some of the meetings of 
 Friends, and felt quite at home with them. Their prin- 
 ciples did not come upon me like a new thing. They 
 seemed, if I may so say, to have already existed in my 
 mind in a kind of latent state. 
 
 After the close of the war I returned to France ;
 
 1871.] JUSTINE DALENCOURT. 195 
 
 and after we were settled at Boulogne-sur-Seine, my 
 husband, out of sympathy for the poor, kindly allowed 
 me to receive some women into one of the rooms of 
 our own house. This was the commencement of our 
 Mothers' Meetings, the first of which was held on the 
 26th of June, 1871. Christine M. Alsop was there, and 
 some idea may be formed of the ignorance of these poor 
 women, from the fact that they thought that it was she 
 who had written the Bible which she recommended them 
 to read.* 
 
 To recur once more to Christine M. Alsop's own 
 journal : 
 
 Seventh Month, \2th, 1871. This afternoon Annie M. 
 Whiting and I went to Boulogne-Sur-Seine to see the 
 women of the sewing-class, and found eighteen nice re- 
 spectable women there, all looking happy and comfort- 
 able, listening to the instructions of Justine Dalencourt. 
 The more I see of the latter, the more I am struck with 
 her tact, her order, and her capacity for the work. 
 They have already finished several articles of clothing. 
 The work is really first-rate, and all so clean and beau- 
 tifully kept. I have agreed that this work shall go on 
 for one year. 
 
 Seventh Month, $oth. More than two weeks have 
 passed since I have been able to add anything to this 
 little history. An attack of illness, which greatly pros- 
 trated me, made it necessary for us to leave Paris on the 
 22nd, and to come to Rouen, where we stayed a week, 
 
 * Further interesting particulars of Justine Dalencourt's work may 
 be found in Dr. Horatius Bonar's recent book, " The White Fields 
 of France," pp. 184-185 and 217-220.
 
 196 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1871. 
 
 and distributed many Addresses, gospels, and other 
 books and tracts. We arrived at Rouen the evening 
 before the departure of the Prussians. One regiment 
 passed our hotel at three o'clock in the morning on 
 their way out of the town, and on the same morning the 
 French soldiers entered. Almost every window had a 
 tri-coloured flag, and it was a day of great rejoicing. 
 The feeling of retaliation is very strong on account of 
 the loss of Alsace and Lorraine. 
 
 We paid a visit to Mrs. Waddington, the widow of an 
 English cotton manufacturer. She, with her daughter- 
 in-law, received us most kindly, and entered with warm 
 sympathy into the concern I have at heart to en- 
 deavour to do something to help the poor French 
 women. The daughter-in-law had begun a mother's 
 meeting before the war. Since then it has dropped, like 
 other things ; but I hope she may take courage to begin 
 again. They live at a beautiful country house out of 
 the town, at St. S6ger. The same evening we called 
 on one of the pastors. He is a very agreeable man, 
 truly evangelical/ His wife is a daughter of Henri 
 Monod. Wherever we find the influence of a Monod 
 we find true evangelical religion. How happy a thing 
 for Protestantism in France that they have been so 
 large a family. 
 
 We were advised not to give the Addresses to the 
 concierges for distribution, for fear it should not be 
 done well ; so we went ourselves and gave many at the 
 doors about 900 I think before we got home. These 
 Addresses are very much liked. Yesterday one was 
 given to a priest at the station. He read it very atten- 
 tively (it was No. IIJ and told me it was excellent, just
 
 I87I-] HAVRE. 197 
 
 the thing wanted. " C'est bien, tres-bien." He came 
 to ask for the two others, as he had seen them in the 
 hands of other persons. He first said, " C'est une 
 propagande." I said " Oui, pour Dieu et pour Jesus 
 Christ, non pas pour nous." "Oh! C'est bien, tres- 
 bien ; " and he again said, " I do not see but that it is 
 intended as much for the Catholics as for the Protes- 
 tants." I said, "That is just what we wish to an- 
 nounce, the Gospel of peace and joy which is for all 
 people without exception. There is but one God, but 
 one Saviour, let us all love Him with sincerity. I must 
 believe there are such amongst the Roman Catholics 
 who seek to show the simple truth of His salvation to 
 all people." The poor priest looked rather surprised, 
 but agreed to what I said, and we parted. We gave 
 away many Addresses and some gospels in the station. 
 Altogether I hope our visit to Rouen will not be in 
 vain. 
 
 Eighth Month, 2nd. Havre. Yesterday we sent off 
 several hundred packets of Addresses to the mayors, and 
 have also given several ourselves. The presentation of 
 the Addresses gives a very good opportunity for conver- 
 sation, and we find much response to the sentiments 
 expressed. We have done so in this hotel. Yesterday 
 a gentleman and lady at the table d'hote, to whom I 
 gave one, came to me afterwards. The gentleman took 
 hold of my hand and pressed it, and his wife's eyes 
 filled with tears while she said, with much emotion, 
 " Nous avons bien souffert, merci de vos paroles de 
 sympathie Chretienne ; nous en avons bien besoin. 
 Vous ne voyez le mal que dans son ensemble, mais ce 
 serait impossible d'approfondir toutes les miseres indi-
 
 198 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTIXE M. ALSOP. [1871. 
 
 viduelles. Nous avons bien besoin de mettre notre con- 
 fiance en Dieu." 
 
 First-day, Eighth Month, 6th, 1871. This morning 
 we attended a meeting at the American Chapel, held by 
 the Evangelical Protestants. This meeting takes place, 
 when the service is held, at their " Temple," with a 
 rationalistic minister to preach. It was a very consider- 
 able congregation, and the sermon preached by a 
 young pastor named Charles Vernes, whose wife is a 
 daughter of Adolph Monod we could fully agree with. 
 "A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love 
 one another." It was a beautiful address and appeared 
 so much under the Divine Anointing that it did me 
 good to hear it. " If Christ is preached I do therein 
 rejoice." It has been edifying and comforting to know 
 that the simple Gospel, with all the fulness of blessing 
 appertaining to it, is preached in France, as was the 
 case this morning. 
 
 Second-day, "jth of Eighth Month. Had many things 
 to arrange this morning before going to luncheon 
 at Madame Dolfas'. This was a very pleasant visit, 
 calling forth from her the expression of much sym- 
 pathy. The great heat of the weather renders exertion 
 trying. Madame Dolfas is a lady of affluence, living 
 in a beautiful home, with splendid garden, green- 
 houses and hothouses, as in England. After luncheon 
 we went over the grounds: such a kitchen garden, 
 and a profusion of fruit. I thought of my little home, 
 and longed for the quiet of it. Yet I prize these 
 opportunities, as they open the way for me to relieve 
 my mind of a little of the burden which rests upon 
 it. We met several persons of this lady's family
 
 1871.] HAVRE. 199 
 
 whom it did my heart good to become acquainted 
 with. Amongst others, her sister and her son-in- 
 la\v, M. Friedel, a very interesting man, under the 
 weight of what seemed to me sanctified sorrow. He 
 lost his wife during the siege of Paris. He was in 
 Paris, she in Alsace. On arriving at home as soon 
 as the capital was opened, intensely longing to be 
 reunited with those he loved, he found that his wife 
 had been buried two weeks ; he not having even heard 
 that she Jiad been ill ! He is left with three sweet 
 children. We hope to see him in Paris, where he 
 resides. 
 
 In the afternoon we all adjourned to Madame du 
 Pasquier's, and found a room full of ladies and two or 
 three gentlemen ; amongst them the young Pastor 
 Charles Vernes. I proposed the reading of a portion 
 of Scripture, upon which he kindly read the fifteenth 
 of John, and said a few words very feelingly .on the 
 necessity of abiding in the Vine in order to bear fruit ; 
 and that the bearing of fruit was the consequence of 
 being in Christ and abiding in Him. He then offered 
 a short and simple prayer. I had afterwards an op- 
 portunity of giving a short explanation of the origin of 
 our Addresses (our certificates having been previously 
 read.) I was also able to express my own individual 
 desires for the promotion of the Lord's cause in the 
 earth, and particularly in my own native land. I urged 
 upon all to do what the Lord might enable them for 
 the multitudes around them. I also gave them an 
 account of what we had been able to commence in 
 Paris as a means of evangelization the sewing-class, 
 and told them what we were wishing to do on our
 
 200 MEMORIALS Of CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1871. 
 
 return thither. It was an interesting time. We hope 
 they will see their way to do something of the kind in 
 Havre. But the work is great, and we must be very 
 patient. Many of the Roman Catholics themselves see 
 that the population are in a very sad and ignorant state, 
 and that what is needed to bring them out of this con- 
 dition is the very thing which they are not allowed 
 to do, the reading of the Scriptures. May there be 
 indeed a yielding to the work of the Spirit of the Lord, 
 who assuredly works, to convince of sin and to break 
 every false rest ; that so there may be a coming to 
 Jesus the only rest of the soul, and a learning of 
 Him, learning His marvellous teachings through the 
 written word and through that Spirit who still takes of 
 these teachings of the Lord and shows them unto 
 us. 
 
 Third-day, Eighth Month, 8th. We were much en- 
 gaged making up parcels of Addresses and other publi- 
 cations for various persons whom we wished to have 
 them to distribute ; when to our surprise and great com- 
 fort, we had a little visit from dear Edmund Pace. It 
 was delightful to see him ; and we were truly helped by 
 his sympathy, and also by the messages he brought us 
 from our friends in England. 
 
 We came to Caen by the boat. Left our dear friend 
 Edmund Pace on the shore at Havre, who watched us as 
 we steamed away. We reached this place (Caen) about 
 five o'clock ; having enjoyed the passage, except that I 
 felt very much overdone, almost too tired to appreciate 
 the rest. 
 
 Yesterday we had our letters a rich feast. We were 
 much interested by one from Madagascar. I had a very
 
 1871.] PARIS MOTHERS' MEETINGS, &c. 201 
 
 long and sweet communication from dear Elizabeth 
 Hanbury, and one from my dear niece, Louisa. 
 
 On the evening of Fifth-day we called at Pastor 
 Melon's and saw his wife, an old acquaintance of mine. 
 He was very cordial, and undertook the distribution of 
 the Addresses to his congregation, and also to some of 
 the neighbouring churches, so that we feel the work 
 pretty much concluded in this part of Normandy. On 
 Second-day we propose to go to Beuzeville-sur-Mer, a 
 small Protestant bathing place, where we expect to find 
 some persons from various parts, to whom we wish to 
 give the Addresses. 
 
 Eleventh Month, tfh, 1871. We attended two meet- 
 ings at the church at Beuzeville, and paid various 
 visits. We all felt better for the change, and re- 
 turned to Paris with renewed vigour for the work 
 there. Soon after our arrival we were joined by 
 our friends Henry Hipsley, Esther Tuke, and M. A. 
 Marriage (now Allen). We laboured together for 
 another month in the capital. M. A. Marriage and 
 Henry Hipsley, with Esther Tuke, had several small 
 meetings, where they read the Addresses, and also the 
 Scriptures, and distributed the former very widely. 
 We were more particularly engaged in the estab- 
 lishment of the sewing-classes at La Villette and 
 Belleville, and also at Le Vallois Ferret ; visiting 
 several times that of Boulogne-sur-Seine, under the 
 care of Justine Dalencourt. We were comforted in wit- 
 nessing the remarkable success of this undertaking, not 
 only in the rapid increase of the numbers, but also in 
 the marked effect produced by the care bestowed on 
 these poor women, who were previously so completely 
 N
 
 202 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1871. 
 
 in ignorance of the truths of the Gospel. This part 
 of the work is so satisfactory, that it repays me for any 
 amount of trouble we may have had in Paris. We 
 hope for much also from the other centres of mission 
 work under our care, though they have not been 
 established so long as that at Boulogne. It appears 
 from the accounts we have received from the different 
 points, that there are now not less than 200 women 
 and girls brought under the influence of our devoted 
 workers. 
 
 During this stay in Paris we attended several meetings 
 held at the Wesley an chapels at Les Ternes and Rue 
 Roquepine, and two also at the Eglise de la Rue Saint 
 Esprit (Guillaume Monod's). One large meeting was 
 also held at Cluny, at the mission establishment of 
 Madame Andr6 ; at which more than 200 of the poor 
 of that neighbourhood were present. 
 
 From Paris they went forward to Orleans, and 
 other important places in the Valley of the Loire, 
 where the efforts of the War Victims' Committee 
 had caused the Society of Friends to be widely 
 known and respected. They arrived at Orleans on 
 the 1 3th of Eleventh Month. Here an important 
 change was made in their hitherto somewhat 
 cautious method of procedure. 
 
 It was at Orleans (writes Christine M. Alsop) that 
 we first attempted to call a meeting by public invita- 
 tion ; and finding how well it was attended by the 
 Roman Catholics we continued the plan in other 
 places. From that time we had large audiences, to 
 the great astonishment of our Protestant friends. We
 
 1871.] MEETING AT NANTES. 203 
 
 visited Mer and Tours, where some of our party left 
 us. We then went to Blois, Angers, and Nantes. At 
 the latter place, after holding several meetings, both 
 in private houses and at the " Temple," we could not 
 persuade the pastors to call a larger meeting in their 
 "Temple" by general invitation. My dear husband, 
 therefore, took the responsibility upon himself, with a 
 little advice as to the manner of setting to work. He 
 obtained the use of a large hall at the "Mairie," the 
 authorities granting it out of gratitude for the material 
 help which had been sent by Friends through that port. 
 They did all they could to fit it up with seats, &c., 
 and notices of the meeting were distributed through 
 the city. The room was soon filled by a highly 
 respectable company; the Maire and his secretary 
 both attending. Many stood. But a somewhat severe 
 ordeal awaited my dear husband. We could not pre- 
 vail upon any one to take the chair. He was, there- 
 fore, obliged to come forward. It was the first time 
 that he had read the Address to so large a company. 
 There was at first a little agitation amongst the 
 people, and one man called out in a loud voice, asking 
 whether we had come in a peaceable spirit a spirit 
 of Liberte, Egalite, et Fraternite. To this my dear 
 husband answered, in a pleasant tone, that he had 
 come amongst them in a feeling of fraternity and of 
 " enteinte cordiale" for which he was sure they would 
 give him credit when they knew that he had had the 
 happiness to marry a French wife, who, if they would 
 allow her, would speak to them in their own language. 
 This information was enthusiastically received ; and 
 a way was thus opened for me to preach the Gospel
 
 204 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTIXE M. ALSOP. [1871. 
 
 to that large assembly, taking as a text the words, 
 Liberty Egatite, et Fratcniitc. This seemed all new 
 to the audience, who appeared much impressed, and 
 after the meeting a large distribution of the Addresses 
 and portions of Scripture was made, some of the 
 people helping in handing them to others. The 
 secretary of the Maire was very much interested, and 
 asked us to give him a Bible, as he had never seen 
 one. As we had only copies of the New Testament 
 with us, we sent him a Bible afterwards, and received 
 from him the most grateful thanks. Here we found 
 that the Addresses which had been sent by post to 
 the M-iire had been received, and placed among the 
 archives ! 
 
 Meetings such as these, publicly called, and 
 largely attended, were a somewhat novel experi- 
 ence in a country like France, and required a great 
 amount of faith and courage in the " greyheaded 
 old lady " on whom the chief part of the service 
 devolved. But she was always listened to with 
 respectful attention, and probably many were 
 reached in this way who could not have been in 
 any other. 
 
 The audiences at these meetings (writes Christine M. 
 Alsopl were composed of both Protestants and Roman 
 Catholics ; more especially of the latter. The meetings 
 were usually commenced by the reading of a portion 
 of Holy Scriptures, followed by that of one of the 
 Addresses, as the case might seem to require ; after 
 which there was a full opportunity of speaking to the 
 people upon the simplicity of the truth as it is in Jesus ;
 
 1871.] POICTIERS. 205 
 
 commending the Scriptures as containing that which it 
 is all-important for such as profess the Christian name, 
 not only to know, but to practise. Allusion was also 
 frequently made to some of our distinguishing views. 
 Deeply did we feel the importance of the work ; but in 
 the retrospect of the help mercifully granted, we are 
 constrained to say, "It is the Lord's doing." It was 
 touching to witness the quietness and attention with 
 which we were listened to, and the hearty, grateful re- 
 sponse, which we often received, and were requested to 
 convey to our Friends at home. 
 
 The following extracts from Robert and C. M. 
 Alsop's letters or journals will give some idea of 
 their further labours: 
 
 The meeting at Poictiers was a remarkable one. 
 There was then no Protestant "Temple," and we 
 were obliged to hold it in a hired hall in the market 
 place. It was a formidable assembly ; all men, with 
 one or two exceptions. Poictiers being a city of 
 learning, with a large Jesuit seminary, is the seat of 
 superstition and infidelity. A row of Jesuit priests 
 occupied the first bench opposite to us ; but strength 
 was given for the occasion. We were aided by our 
 venerable friend, Thomas Arbousset, of St. Sauvant. 
 A large number of portions of Scripture, with the Ad- 
 dresses, were distributed at the close of the meeting j 
 and the next day, as we left the place, our little box, 
 which contained about five hundred of these portions, 
 was emptied at the railway sjtation as we were waiting 
 for the train; many priests looking on, and some of 
 them accepting the gifts.
 
 206 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1871. 
 
 From St. Sauvant, where we were most kindly 
 entertained at the house of Thomas Arbousset, we 
 proceeded, by way of La Rochelle and Rochcfort, to 
 Bordeaux, where William Smithe joined us. Thence 
 we went forward to Orthez, Bagneres, Montauban, 
 Saverdun, Toulouse, Cette, Montpelier, and Nimes. 
 At all these places large distributions were made, 
 and in most of them meetings were held, often 
 more than one in each place, some especially for 
 women. 
 
 At Bordeaux we visited the schools, distributed our 
 papers, visited the asylum for the aged, the hospital, 
 &c., and had a large meeting in the Protestant Temple. 
 The aged pastor and president of the Consistory had 
 given us no encouragement as to having a meeting 
 so entirely out of their usual order. He thought the 
 proposition could not be at all entertained ; he, how- 
 ever, attended the meeting, as well as the other 
 pastors, and at the conclusion expressed in the 
 warmest terms his gratitude, giving us his blessing. 
 We had afterwards a sweet meeting at the house of a 
 Christian friend and brother, who threw open his two 
 rooms to between thirty and forty of the more serious 
 members of the community at Bordeaux ; at which, as 
 in other places, we had the opportunity of more inti- 
 mate communion, and of mentioning some of those 
 encouraging circumstances which have marked our 
 progress. Truly it has been the Lord's doing. It was 
 a sweet meeting, and we parted from them in much 
 love. 
 
 Passing on from Orthez to Bagnieres de Bigorre, in 
 the Hautes Pyrenees, we had the pleasure of once
 
 1871.] TOULOUSE. 207 
 
 more meeting our old friend, Emilien Frossard,* a 
 most excellent evangelical man, who is the means 
 of much good in these parts. He told us that he had 
 ceased to preach sermons in the usual way, but that 
 he addresses the people as the matter arises in his 
 own mind. "The older I grow," was his remark, 
 "the more like a Friend I am; I no longer preach 
 now, I speak." From this place we had a tolerably 
 near view of the magnificent peaks of the Pyrenees, 
 now covered with the first snow of winter. We had 
 a meeting in the "Temple" with the few resident 
 Protestants. 
 
 Thence to Toulouse, where we called on a very in- 
 teresting young man (the banker), the son of one of the 
 three eminent Brothers Courtois, who have for many 
 years been prominent in the work of the Gospel and 
 of general benevolence. He is now the only representa- 
 tive of his family. We were very kindly welcomed by 
 him as well as by the Pastors Laforgues, Castel and 
 Audra. A meeting in the "Temple" was readily ac- 
 corded. The invitation, given in four of the public 
 papers, was well responded to, and it proved a good 
 meeting. We had also a more private one at the house 
 of our friend Courtois, which was a time of sweet fellow- 
 ship. In this part of the journey, since leaving Poictiers, 
 we had Ellen Clare Miller (now Pearson) as an addi- 
 tional companion and helper. From Toulouse we went 
 forward to Saverdun, the great Protestant Industrial 
 Asylum ; where 1 20 boys are excellently instructed, with 
 whom we had a meeting. 
 
 * See page 37, Chapter IV.
 
 208 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1872. 
 
 At Montauban, the Protestant Theological Institution 
 for these parts of France, the students were not in 
 session ; but we had much brotherly intercourse with 
 the Professors Bois, Bonifas, Jean Monod, c., and a 
 large meeting in the "Temple" of the Faculty, which 
 proved quite satisfactory. We had also an important 
 small private meeting at the house of Professor Monod, 
 several of the other Professors being present. Thence, 
 by way of Cette and Montpelier, to Nimes, where we 
 had a good meeting with the dear Friends on First- 
 day morning; Daniel and Samuel Brun and others 
 from Fontanes, J. Vally, J. Benoit, and several others 
 from St. Giles, with our sister Lydie, being with us. 
 It was a time of favour. In the afternoon we had a 
 public meeting at the Maison de Sante ; quite full, 
 and a warm response expressed by one of the pastors 
 present 
 
 At all these places we distributed not only the Ad- 
 dresses of the Yearly Meeting and Scripture portions, 
 but also many tracts, several thousands of that on "War 
 and Christianity," and a very large quantity I was 
 going to say hundredweights of the French illustrated 
 papers, involving much hard labour. About 70,000 of 
 the Addresses were distributed, and more than 10,000 
 Scripture portions. 
 
 Christine M. Alsop and her husband returned 
 home in the First Month, 1872; resuming their 
 labours in the spring, this time more particularly in 
 the South-West of France. M. A. Marriage (now 
 Allen) and Martha Braithwaite, Jun., were their 
 helpers in this journey. They spent some time
 
 1872.] MOTHERS* MEETING MARSEILLES. 209 
 
 both at Lyons and Marseilles, and in the latter 
 city were enabled to establish a sewing-class for 
 mothers; which, with some other Christian work, is 
 still carried on under the care of Christine M. 
 Alsop's widowed niece, Lea Trial. The work in 
 this important city was an object which, to the end 
 of her life, continued to be very near the heart of 
 Christine M. Alsop.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Brief reflections on her labours in France Her life at Home 
 Her husband's alarming illness Last Journey on the Con- 
 tinent of Europe. 
 
 /CHRISTINE M. ALSOP had been now, with 
 ^^ but little interruption, labouring for nearly 
 three years in France ; and in that period had 
 visited most of the important cities and districts 
 in that great country. It was the crowning service 
 of her life, for which she had been so long prepar- 
 ing ; and the accomplishment of which, so far as 
 she was permitted to accomplish it, was to her a 
 cause of thankful rejoicing. 
 
 Our beloved friend had often felt called to urge 
 the claims of the Roman Catholic population 
 upon those who were so much more favoured 
 in the possession of Gospel truth. Many must 
 remember how earnest were her pleadings with 
 members of the various Protestant Churches to 
 yield themselves freely to the call of their Lord 
 for this blessed service. She assuredly believed 
 that He would direct and open the way for the 
 willing-hearted to go forth and evangelize in 
 districts where the name and principles of Pro- 
 testantism were alike unknown. Greatly as she 
 loved and honoured many of her Protestant 
 
 (210)
 
 1872.] FRANCE READY FOR THE GOSPEL. 211 
 
 brethren and sisters in France, she had observed, 
 not without serious apprehension, almost amount- 
 ing to foreboding, to how great an extent the ter- 
 rible persecutions through which the Reformed 
 Churches of France had passed during the seven- 
 teenth and eighteenth centuries had seemed, in 
 many places, almost to have crushed out the evan- 
 gelising spirit ; and how many under the name of 
 Protestants appeared to have settled down with the 
 idea that their peace and freedom were only to be 
 secured by keeping in the shade, and carefully ab- 
 staining from everything which might seem like 
 propagandism, or which might in any way tend to 
 draw on them the resentment and suspicion of their 
 Roman Catholic neighbours. 
 
 She well knew that a light hidden thus carefully 
 under a bushel was in danger of becoming extin- 
 guished. She clearly saw that the Cathol.cism of a 
 great portion of the French people was merely 
 nominal and traditional ; and that the proclamation 
 of the simple Gospel message would be received 
 with joy by thousands of hungering souls. The 
 wonderful success of the labours of Robert McAll, 
 amongst the working men of Paris and Lyons ;* 
 and the blessing that has attended similar missions 
 in other places, and the evangelising tours of pastors 
 and laymen organized by the Mission Interieure, 
 
 * See "The White Fields of France," by Dr. Horatius Bonar, al- 
 ready referred to. London: Nisbet Co., 21 Berneis Street.
 
 212 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1872. 
 
 have proved during the last few years the truth of 
 her views. It may not be permitted to us to trace 
 the effect of the seed sown by her amidst the abun- 
 dant harvest which is still being reaped; but the 
 fact remains that she was one of the early and most 
 faithful sowers in that harvest-field, where, during 
 the last years of her life, she so often rejoiced that 
 others were gathering in the sheaves. 
 
 In a life so devoted to the interests of others as 
 was that of Christine M. Alsop, the less exciting 
 concerns of every-day duty are sometimes apt to be 
 overlooked. But trained as she had been in the 
 school of the best of Masters, she had been taught 
 that in Christianity, no less than in mathematics, 
 the greater must necessarily include the less ; and 
 that it is only a mistaken judgment, fraught with 
 serious danger, that would allow the pressure of 
 extraordinary engagements to interfere with the 
 discharge of ordinary duty, however simple or un- 
 pretending. Amidst her many occupations, Chris- 
 tine M. Alsop was an example of diligence in the 
 attendance of her religious meetings ; both on the 
 First-day of the week, and at other times. She was 
 loving and watchful in the exercise of her gift as a 
 Minister of the Gospel ; and her public approaches 
 to the throne of grace were often attended with pe- 
 culiar unction and acceptance. 
 
 Ever the ready and sympathising friend, her 
 quick discernment of the character and feelings of 
 Others, proved of admirable service in her visits to
 
 1874.] ROBERT W. DOUGLAS. 213 
 
 those under trial and suffering; many of which 
 were occasions long to be remembered by those 
 who received them. 
 
 Well did she know, not only how to " rejoice 
 with those who do rejoice," but also to " weep with 
 those who weep." As life advanced, it became 
 more and more her habitual desire to be found 
 daily exemplifying the language of the Apostle, 
 " Pure religion and undefiled before God and the 
 Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in 
 their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from 
 the world " (James i. 27). Her cheerful disposition 
 made her a pleasant companion to the young. 
 Few indeed were they, who did not enjoy and 
 highly value her company ; and how many can 
 now recur with grateful delight to the hours passed 
 under her roof, or to opportunities when they were 
 privileged to have her as a visitor in their own 
 homes. 
 
 Inviting as a period of repose might have seemed 
 after their late extended labours in France, yet, 
 faithful to their ministry as servants of the Church, 
 they thought it right to accompany their friend 
 Robert Walker Douglas in his visit to some parts 
 of the Continent, in 1874. He was a brother of 
 John Henry Douglas, whose name has already been 
 before the reader, and was then in Europe, as an ac- 
 credited minister of the Gospel from Indiana Yearly 
 Meeting. After having seen the little companies of 
 Friends in the South of France, Robert Alsop went
 
 214 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1875. 
 
 forward with him into Germany, whilst his wife pro- 
 ceeded to Paris. During his absence in Germany, 
 Robert Alsop became alarmingly ill. It was his 
 first serious illness, and at his age, now upwards of 
 seventy, naturally occasioned great anxiety. He 
 was removed to Paris in a dangerous state, where 
 he remained for some time. He afterwards pro- 
 ceeded by slow stages, as his strength permitted, to 
 the South of France and North Italy, until his 
 health was sufficiently restored to allow of their 
 return to England. 
 
 The circumstances in which we were placed (writes 
 C. M. Alsop) were extremely trying, but not a com- 
 plaint or murmur ever escaped him ; he was calm and 
 quiet throughout. I am glad of the opportunity of 
 acknowledging the loving kindness of our Lord, who 
 condescended to be near to us by His immediate com* 
 forting and upholding presence, and also by permitting 
 that we should have the help and sympathy of many 
 dear Friends in Paris, and especially the invaluable 
 assistance of our friends Henry and Elizabeth 
 Newman, who were our travelling companions, to- 
 wards whom I have a debt of gratitude such as I 
 cannot express. We had also the advantage of a 
 most kind physician in Doctor Morice, whose wife 
 is a daughter of the late Adolphe Monod. Our kind 
 attendant, Myra, was also unremitting in her atten- 
 tions. 
 
 It was in the autumn of 1875, that our beloved 
 friend, now in her seventy-first year, paid her
 
 1875.] LAST JOURNE Y ON THE CONTINENT. 215 
 
 last visit to the Continent of Europe. She had for 
 some time past felt drawn, in the love of the Gospel, 
 to visit some places in France and Italy ; and on 
 rinding that my dear husband and myself had a 
 similar prospect, she and her husband kindly con- 
 sented to accompany us, though scarcely willing to 
 acknowledge their own share in the service. 
 
 It was a journey (she writes, in the Memoir of her 
 husband,) of intense interest. He enjoyed it much, 
 and was of essential service to our dear friends. It oc- 
 cupied many weeks, and involved much fatigue ; but it 
 was a great satisfaction to him to visit his friends in the 
 Vaudois Valleys, now for the third time ; and those who 
 remained there, whom we had known before, were 
 much pleased to see him. 
 
 These last remarks apply equally to both our 
 beloved friends. They were true and efficient 
 helpers in every sense of the words. Our hearts 
 were closely united in the love of Christ; and 
 they were enabled to accomplish this, their last 
 service abroad, to their own comfort, and to the 
 comfort and edification of those amongst whom 
 they laboured. 
 
 It was on the 3<Dth of the Eighth Month, 1875, 
 that our little party left London for Paris; our 
 daughter Anna being also with us, with a view to 
 the personal comfort of Christine M. A.lsop. 
 
 We left Paris (writes Christine M. Alsop in her jour- 
 nal) on the ist of Ninth Month for Tonnerre, where
 
 216 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1875. 
 
 a good meeting was held, attended by not less than 200 
 all " ouvriers " and their families, and all come out 
 from Popery. It was a serious, earnest congregation. 
 Ten men had walked from the country five kilometres 
 to attend the meeting, and were going back after- 
 wards. J. B. Braithwaite joined us at Basle. The next 
 morning we visited the Institution at the Chrischona, 
 and had a meeting in the chapel with the students ; about 
 sixty present. J. B. Braithwaite's address was inter- 
 preted into German by the superintendent, and seemed 
 to find entrance into the hearts of those addressed. 
 Martha Braithwaite and myself said a few words ; and 
 the superintendent, C. Henry Rappard, prayed very 
 sweetly. His wife, Dora Rappard, is a daughter of 
 Bishop Gobat. An interesting meeting was also held 
 that afternoon with the students (about eighty in num- 
 ber) at the Basle Institute. Proceeding by way of 
 Zurich to Lausanne, we met at the latter place a con- 
 siderable company of serious people, who were strik- 
 ingly addressed by J. B. Braithwaite. Christ, the living 
 Saviour, requires a living Church ; and in order to 
 have a living Church, there must be living members. 
 This is the subject which is uppermost in his heart, in 
 connection with an unfaltering faith in the necessity of 
 an Atonement for sin ; and that this Atonement is only 
 possible through the sacrifice of One, who was God 
 and man man to suffer, God to save who now ever 
 liveth to give and to sustain this life in His people. I 
 interpreted for him. 
 
 On the 6th we left for Geneva ; thence to Aix-les- 
 Bains and Chambery. At the latter place about twenty 
 serious persons met us in the little chapel. It was, I
 
 X875-] VAUDOIS VALLEYS. 217 
 
 believe, the first meeting held by Friends in this dark 
 country of Savoy. 
 
 From Chambery we proceeded to Turin on Sixth- 
 day, the loth, passing through the famous Mont Cenis 
 Tunnel. We were half-an-hour in the tunnel. It 
 seems well ventilated ; and, with the help of lamps, 
 we did not feel that oppression and total darkness 
 which I expected. After we leave Modane, the road 
 winds up the mountains to a considerable height, as 
 we saw by watching a train that was slowly ascending 
 the slope. How powerful and how powerless is man ! 
 What a contrast from the first time I crossed the 
 Mont Cenis, when we slept two nights on the road, 
 and laboured up the slopes eight or ten hours. At 
 Turin we visited the Schools and the Bible Depot, 
 going forward to La Tour on the nth. A meeting 
 was arranged for First-day in the old "Temple" at 
 Chabas, a mile from La Tour. They also gave up 
 their evening service in the large "Temple" to our 
 men Friends. We had satisfaction in taking a little 
 part in the interesting meeting at Chabas. It was a 
 large gathering. The " Temple " is quite in the coun- 
 try, on a beautiful slope ; several of the ministers and 
 professors from La Tour, with their families, were 
 present. J. B. Braithwaite unfolded the glorious plan 
 of salvation the work. of redeeming love in a striking 
 manner, bringing powerfully into view the doctrine of 
 the Atonement, wherein God has been pleased to reveal 
 Himself as just, and the justifier of him who believeth 
 in Jesus ; and then the no less precious truth that since 
 while we were yet enemies God had reconciled us 
 unto Himself by the death of His Son, how much 
 O
 
 218 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1875, 
 
 more, being reconciled, we should be saved by His life 
 the life of a living Saviour, who must have a living 
 people; those who are to be the light of the world, 
 and who, from Him the Fountain of Light, have light 
 in their dwellings. Thus would they whom he was ad- 
 dressing, become indeed the true "Israel of the Alps." 
 Our friend, J. D. Charbonnier, the Moderator, feel- 
 ingly expressed his sense of gratitude, and that of the 
 congregation, for the visit, and afterwards prayed very 
 beautifully for us. The meeting in the evening was 
 equally satisfactory. We were afterwards at Bobby and 
 Villars. 
 
 Here Christine M. Alsop's narrative somewhat 
 abruptly breaks off. It may be sufficient to add 
 that our little party visited most of the Vaudois 
 churches in the Valleys, and in Italy, as far as 
 Rome; besides some of the other Protestant 
 communities, and the depots of the British and 
 Foreign Bible Society. An open door was every- 
 where set before us, and our cordial reception at 
 Turin, Milan, Florence, and Rome will be long 
 remembered. It was Christine M. Alsop's first 
 and only visit to the two latter cities. At her age, 
 and with her comparatively enfeebled health, it 
 was instructive to mark the unabated and almost 
 youthful ardour with which she was enabled to 
 enter into the various objects which engaged our 
 attention as we passed on from place to place. 
 The hearty welcome with which she was every- 
 where greeted proved how widely she was known,
 
 1875.] RETURN HOME. 219 
 
 and how much she was esteemed and loved by the 
 evangelical Protestants in France and Italy. She 
 threw herself into their varied work, with almost as 
 much of interest as though it had been the sole 
 object of her life. 
 
 At Marseilles we had the satisfaction, in which 
 Christine M. Alsop especially shared, of witnessing 
 the success attending the work of her niece Lea 
 Trial in that important city. Our visit to Con- 
 genies and Nimes was one of deep and touching 
 interest ; proving, as it afterwards did, to be her 
 last farewell to the scenes and friends of her earlier 
 days. At Nimes, as we took our departure for the 
 railway, the parting between her and her two sisters, 
 Fanny Benezet and Lydie Majolier the elder of 
 whom, then nearly eighty-six, she never saw again 
 was very affecting. 
 
 On our return we spent more than a week in 
 Paris, enjoying much valuable intercourse with 
 our Christian friends in that city ; and holding 
 meetings and visiting the work under the care of 
 Friends. We reached London on the nth of the 
 Eleventh Month, under a sense of deep thankful- 
 ness for the help and guidance graciously granted, 
 and for the Lord's preserving care. 
 
 How calm and peaceful was that happy home 
 to which Robert and Christine M. Alsop now re- 
 turned for the last time. They had been married 
 for nearly thirty years. Theirs had been a union 
 hallowed by the love of Christ. With one heart
 
 220 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1875. 
 
 and with one mind their diversified gifts had been 
 remarkably blended in the joy of a peculiarly 
 varied and extended service for the spreading 
 of the Redeemer's Kingdom. But the end was 
 hastening on. It was nearer than, perhaps, they 
 were aware.
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Decease of Robert Alsop Letters and Journal Illness and 
 Death. 
 
 BRIEF was the interval of two months between 
 Christine M. Alsop's return home and the 
 decease of her beloved husband, on the nth of 
 First Month, 1876. The summons was sudden 
 and unlooked-for, but her consolation was that he 
 was " ready." They had together attended the 
 " Quarterly Meeting " of Friends at Devonshire 
 House but a few days previously, and had taken 
 part in the simple account then given of some of 
 the details of their late journey. There had been 
 no premonitory symptoms of illness. 
 
 On the very morning of the day on which he 
 died, Robert Alsop, with his wonted thoughtful 
 sympathy for others, had accompanied his wife in 
 several calls on aged and invalid friends, one of 
 them thought to be near her end. They had spent 
 the evening together at their own peaceful fireside ; 
 the conversation turning upon their abounding 
 mercies, and on some contemplated arrangements 
 for relieving the necessities of their poorer neigh- 
 bours. Robert Alsop made no complaint of in- 
 disposition, and there was nothing to indicate the 
 approaching end. As he was about to enter upon 
 
 (221)
 
 222 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M, ALSOP. [1876. 
 
 the evening family reading of Holy Scripture (in 
 which the ninth chapter of the Acts, on the conver- 
 sion of the Apostle Paul, occurred in usual course), 
 he said, " I am now going to read to you of a 
 most remarkable change ; " little thinking that his 
 own great change was so near. He retired to rest, 
 apparently in usual health. His wife soon per- 
 ceived a difficulty in his breathing. She was with 
 him alone; and, after calling for help, exclaimed, 
 "Oh, Robert, Robert, speak to me!" He turned 
 to her with a loving look, and then, closing his eyes, 
 before help could be obtained, the spirit had quitted 
 its earthly tabernacle. 
 
 " The summons came ; the accepted hour was given ; 
 His sainted spirit smiled, and sprang to Heaven." 
 
 The event was a great shock to Christine M. 
 Alsop; but the Lord was her stay. From the 
 Queen* downwards assurances of sympathy were 
 poured in. For these she felt deeply grateful ; and 
 it was her earnest desire not to sit down and 
 selfishly brood over her own sorrow, but diligently 
 and faithfully to accomplish the portion yet remain- 
 ing of her earthly course. 
 
 From the house of her nephew, Edward Majolier, 
 she writes, a few days after the funeral, to a widowed 
 sister-in-law : 
 
 * See extracts from letters at the end of C. M. Alsop's Memoir 
 of her husband.
 
 1876.] WIDOWHOOD. 223 
 
 HIGHBURY NEW PARK, 
 
 First Month, z^th, 1876. 
 
 I am a wonder to -myself. Here, surrounded by 
 the kindest attentions, I am not so far out of the way 
 as not to see some of my friends. But I need not tell 
 thee that with all the alleviations, on which I would 
 gratefully dwell, the great fact remains I am a widow ; 
 and those who know what that is, can feel for me. 
 Few have had so much to lose. He was so patient, 
 so kind, so loving, so untiring a helper and com- 
 panion ; I cannot always refrain from the most heart- 
 felt sorrow when I think of myself. This I am wont 
 to do at times, although at others I can rejoice in 
 his joy. He is now out of the reach of all sorrow and 
 pain, and of the evil which grieved him. Yet his life 
 was not a sad one. He looked upon everything 
 through the bright medium of his own happy spirit, 
 and, clothed with that charity which " thinketh no 
 evil," he saw light and brightness in a way that made 
 him happy in hope, the hope of the trustful Christian 
 believer; but my dear sister I need not enlarge. The 
 quieting sustaining help of our dear Lord is not with- 
 held. 
 
 From her Journal : 
 
 Second Month, \oth, 1876. I am indeed a WIDOW. 
 After a union of uncommon happiness of uninter- 
 rupted oneness of heart both in service and enjoy- 
 ment for twenty-nine years, it has pleased our Heavenly 
 Father to sever the outward bond which united us. 
 One is taken and the other left : taken without the 
 pains of death, without the pang of separation ; trans-
 
 224 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1876. 
 
 lated as in a moment from his faithful, lowly, but 
 joyous service on earth to the higher and holier 
 service in heaven. I am left oh ! how sorrowful ! 
 ho\v touchingly bereft ! yet at times enabled to hope 
 in that mercy which has been permitted to follow me 
 from early life, and which has forgiven me so much 
 that indeed I ought to love much. On the nth of last 
 month, at about a quarter past eleven, my beloved one 
 was taken from me. After retiring to"~rest at my side, 
 and giving me the parting kiss, he breathed his last, 
 with scarcely a struggle ; and his pure, humble, rejoicing 
 spirit entered into the joy of his Lord, leaving me for a 
 little longer to travel alone. It may be only for a little 
 time that I may have to "go softly " before the Lord. 
 May the time, whether longer or shorter, be spent to 
 His glory, and for the further preparation of my soul 
 for a reunion with my beloved husband in the com- 
 panionship of that Saviour, whom he so faithfully served 
 on earth, and whom I trust we both loved. He has 
 left me an example which I desire to follow. In him 
 the beatitudes of our Lord were remarkably illustrated. 
 The blessing on the poor in spirit ; on the meek ; on 
 them that hunger and thirst after righteousness ; on the 
 merciful ; on the pure in heart, and on the peace-makers, 
 were eminently his. 
 
 And now, Lord, what wait I for? My hope is in 
 Thee. Give me to know Thy preserving care ; the up- 
 holding of Thy fatherly hand. Grant that this affliction 
 may be for the furthering of Thy blessed designs con- 
 cerning me, by making me more and more meet for the 
 heavenly inheritance.
 
 1876.] CORRESPONDENCE. 225 
 
 {To Martha Braithwaite.} 
 
 143, HIGHBURY NEW PARK, 
 
 24/A of Second Month, 1876. 
 
 . . . I hope, after a little while, if it pleases the 
 Lord to spare me, to continue my interest in the work 
 in France, and to give to it the strength bestowed. It 
 is the desire of my heart to work while it is day ; and 
 though now it must be with much less vigour, yet may 
 it be with an increasing desire to do all as unto the 
 Lord. 
 
 From her Journal : 
 
 Fourth Month, %th, 1876. On the last day of the 
 Third Month I returned to this now very changed home, 
 after nearly eleven weeks' absence. Much did I shrink 
 from the effort, but, as so often before, the Lord has 
 been better to me than all my fears. A return to all the 
 familiar scenes of so large a part of our most happy 
 union, has been inexpressibly touching ; and many are 
 the tears which I have shed at the remembrance of a 
 past which can never be recalled, and at the view of a 
 future, in which I shall be henceforth deprived of the 
 loving companionship which was so precious, and so 
 helpful and strengthening to me. Yet I have thankfully 
 to record that strength has been given, and I desire to 
 bless the Lord for this one more precious proof of His 
 love. 
 
 {To Martha Braithwaite.~) 
 74, CLISSOLD ROAD, 
 
 Fourth Month, i2th, 1876. 
 
 . . . I am quite sure of thy love and that of thy 
 dear husband, and it comforts me to know that you feel
 
 226 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1876. 
 
 and pray for me. I have spent a touching and sorrowful 
 week, though not without a peaceful sense' of the un- 
 bounded mercy of my Saviour, who, with all my un- 
 worthiness, does condescend to uphold me and to sur- 
 round me with blessings. 
 
 (To Robert Also/ 's Sister, Christiana Alsop.} 
 74, CLISSOLD ROAD, 
 
 Fifth Month, 4//fc, 1876. 
 
 I turned from the window as I saw your cab drive 
 off, sad and sorrowful as I afresh felt that I was indeed 
 the lone possessor of this comfortable home, made so 
 happy by the presence of the loved one who never liked 
 anything better than to enjoy it with me always satis- 
 fied and pleased with the modest enjoyments it afforded. 
 My heart seemed to sink within me at the thought that 
 this happiness could be mine no longer. But then 
 came the sweet sense of his happiness, and also of the 
 good hope through grace which is still an anchor to the 
 soul. The re-union in Heaven is a precious reality. 
 May our faith be such as to grasp it, in its fulness of 
 blessing. 
 
 From her Journal : 
 
 Seventh Month, iith, 1876. Pour out, O Lord, of 
 Thy Spirit into my heart that I may know more of 
 that communion which is with Thee, the Father, and 
 with Thy Son Jesus Christ. In this there is sweet 
 fellowship with all who are Thine, both in heaven and 
 on earth, in which I may still be permitted to hold 
 communion with my beloved one, in Thee the centre 
 of all our joy and peace, through Jesus the Mediator
 
 1876.] CORRESPONDENCE. 227 
 
 of the New Covenant by the Eternal Spirit. Trem- 
 blingly, Lord Jesus, I would say, "I give myself to 
 Thee : and if Thou hast yet any little service for me in 
 my declining years, give me strength to do it." 
 
 (To Mary Milner.} 
 
 LlNETHWAITE, CUMBERLAND, 
 
 Eighth Month, 26th, 1876. 
 
 I left you all yesterday with a heavy heart, and a 
 warm sense of all your kindness. The afternoon was 
 bright, and the mountains beautiful ; the ai.r pleasant 
 and bracing, so that with a feeling of returning health 
 after my indisposition I went on comfortably, though 
 under a touching remembrance of the last time, and 
 others too, that I had gone through those scenes. May 
 the hope of enjoying brighter and more enduring scenes 
 with the loved one who has already reached them, sus- 
 tain me from day to day. Thankfully would I 
 acknowledge that it has been so hitherto ; and even 
 this morning, when sitting in this room and feeling 
 sweetly sustained and almost wondering at it, I seemed 
 to hear a voice saying, "It is I, even I, who comforteth 
 thee." 
 
 ( To Martha Braithwaite. ) 
 
 LlNETHWAITE, 
 
 Ninth Month, znd, 1876. 
 
 It is indeed cause for thankfulness that your two dear 
 ones got thus safely over the ocean, and may we not 
 now believe that thy dear husband, in America, will be 
 helped from day to day in his labour of love. Our 
 journeyings together have so identified me with you and
 
 228 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M, ALSOP. [1876. 
 
 the remembrance of the close intimacy of my beloved 
 Robert with thy husband, as well as our journey with 
 you, in which he was so deeply interested, having been 
 his last religious engagement, all makes me feel you and 
 your dear children as very closely connected with my 
 tenderest feelings. 
 
 (To the same.) 
 
 WISBECH, Ninth Month, 26th, 1876. 
 Indeed I can say, " Hitherto the Lord hath helped 
 me," and I desire that even through the cloud which 
 has been permitted, my little light may be kept burning, 
 so that a brother or a sister may here and there be 
 enabled to put on fresh strength in the name of the 
 Lord. 
 
 From her Journal: 
 
 Twelfth Month, 2$th, 1876. Many are the proofs of 
 loving interest from my numerous friends which I 
 might record, for which my heart overflows with 
 gratitude to them and to Him who has put it into 
 their hearts to love me and to try to comfort me. 
 One sweet token which came this morning I must 
 notice. It is from dear Ellen Clare Pearson; a little 
 bouquet of ferns and flowers, from Palestine : from 
 Bethlehem, Sidon, Jerusalem and Lebanon, with the 
 reference to Rev. xxii. 3, 4, "And there shall be 
 no more curse ; but the throne of God and of the 
 Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve 
 Him, and they shall see His face, and His name shall 
 be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night 
 there, and they need no candle ; neither light of the
 
 1877-] JOURNAL. 229 
 
 sun ; for the Lord God giveth them light, and they 
 shall reign for ever and ever." Sweet and precious 
 thought ! 
 
 Ninth Month, i$fh, 1877. . . . Truly the proofs of 
 my Heavenly Father's love, manifested many ways by 
 putting it into the hearts of my friends to sympathize 
 most lovingly with me, have not been wanting , and my 
 heart overflows with gratitude to Him from whom every 
 good comes. ... So many circumstances remind 
 me of what I have lost, and open a wound which is not 
 healed ; and, indeed, which I do not wish to be healed, 
 except by the touch of that Saviour who alone can bring 
 the poor afflicted soul into acquiescence to the Divine 
 will and keep it from murmuring, and, more than this, 
 who is ever ready to pour into the soul the consolations 
 of that hope which entereth into that which is within 
 the veil. . . . 
 
 After our Yearly Meeting, but little of which I was 
 able to attend, my dear sister Lydie came to see me. 
 We had not met before since my great loss; it was 
 touching to be thus brought together, and she deeply 
 shares in my sorrow. She has been with me now for 
 more than three months, and is wishing to return 
 to her home and friends. I shrink from this parting, 
 which may be a final one for this world ; and she is the 
 dearest relative I now have. I should like to keep her 
 with me, but she cannot give up her home, and I 
 cannot feel it right to give up mine ; and as we each 
 believe that it is the Lord who has set the bounds of 
 our habitations, it is the safest for us both at present 
 to abide where we are, endeavouring to fill up the 
 measure of service for our Lord, if indeed He will con-
 
 230 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSO P. [1877. 
 
 descend to use us. We together paid some visits to our 
 relatives and friends, and on our return home found that 
 our dear friend, J. B. Braithwaite, was visiting the 
 families in our meeting. On Sixth-day he paid us a 
 very sweet and encouraging visit, reminding us both 
 of all the promises contained in the thirteenth, four- 
 teenth and fifteenth chapters of John as being just meant 
 for such as we. I could but marvel at the thought of 
 so much being for me ; but remembering that it is not 
 that we loved God, but that He loved us, and that all 
 these things are a free and unmerited gift, I find a door 
 of hope. 
 
 A little later Tenth Month, 4th, 1877 she 
 writes : 
 
 " I must most gratefully acknowledge the favour 
 I have felt it to have my dear sister so long with 
 me. Her cheerful, loving spirit, her love to her 
 Saviour and to all men, especially to those of the 
 household of faith, have been helpful and encouraging 
 to me." 
 
 (To Mary Milner.'} 
 
 74, CLISSOLD ROAD, 
 
 Twelfth Month, \st, 1877. 
 
 Thy little note of loving sympathy is very acceptable, 
 and I wish to lose no time in sending thee a line, to 
 tell thee, that although I am passing through deep 
 waters, I am not overwhelmed, but am kept calm and 
 trustful calm in being able to look at the uninter- 
 rupted happiness of our beloved one and trustful 
 that ere long I may, through unmerited and unbounded
 
 1878.] JOURNAL. 231 
 
 mercy, be permitted to be reunited to him, never more 
 to part. Still we must feel that here we see through a 
 glass darkly, and that as long as this separation lasts, the 
 blank must be keenly felt. Last night was passed with 
 very little sleep. I thought in the night of the passage, 
 " He giveth His beloved sleep," and asked for this proof 
 of my dear Saviour's love to me. I like to think, as I 
 write, that it was given, for I felt refreshed, and, after 
 several hours' refreshing sleep, got up better perhaps 
 than for some time. 
 
 From her Journal : 
 
 First Month, i3///, 1878. Two years have elapsed 
 since I was left to tread the journey of life alone as 
 to outward companionship and for the past few 
 weeks I have had to pass through serious indisposi- 
 tion, when my great loss has been all the more felt 
 the loss of one so untiringly kind on such occasions. 
 But this calling off from the usual duties of my quiet 
 life has given me the opportunity of dwelling much 
 on the happiness of my beloved departed one, and of 
 stirring myself up, to lay hold on the consolations of 
 the Gospel, as it regards my own soul, that in the end 
 I may be united with him in the abodes of blessedness. 
 Many have been the humiliations I have had to pass 
 through as, in the stillness of my chamber, the different 
 periods of my life have been unfolded before me ; the 
 sins, the temptations, the dangers, the omissions, the 
 deceitfulness of the heart, the pride, the carelessness 
 and indifference, on the one hand ; and on the other, 
 the wonderful preservation, the unutterable conde- 
 scension, the forgiving mercy of my God who in
 
 232 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSO P. [1878. 
 
 Christ hath reconciled me unto himself, and hath been 
 willing to accept the poor returning prodigal who has 
 remembered the Father's house. Amidst all this 
 humiliation He has been pleased to grant a fresh sense 
 of His mercy, and has at times made my poor heart 
 overflow with gratitude for the outward blessings which, 
 from early life to the present time, have been so largely 
 bestowed and now so tenderly continued that on look- 
 ing around me I can acknowledge that every outward 
 want is supplied. As I look back on that period of 
 my life which has been the happiest, I can rejoice and 
 give thanks for having been permitted for the space 
 of about thirty years to enjoy the companionship and 
 the help of one so pure, so devoted, and so heavenly, 
 whose example had so elevating an effect. The Lord 
 grant me His all-sufficient grace that this example may 
 still be acting upon me, that so he being dead may yet 
 speak. 
 
 In reflecting upon his character and on that of some 
 others whom I have known and loved, who have been 
 prominent in their labour for their Lord, I have thought 
 that true religion consists more in the condition of the 
 soul than in devoted Christian labour. It is true 
 that from a heavenly condition of soul good works 
 must flow, but good works may be performed without 
 this heavenly condition ; so we have to pray for the 
 fresh and repeated anointing of the Holy Spirit, 
 that by His grace we may be enabled to use all the 
 gifts bestowed in a manner which may be pleasing 
 to our dear Lord, and promotive of His glory. I 
 am persuaded that it is when the actions have become 
 the natural outflow of the new nature that they have a
 
 1878.] JOURNAL. 233 
 
 leavening influence on those around au influence 
 which is real, though often unperceived by those who 
 exert it. Hence the necessity of what, alas ! in a long 
 life of much activity I have been deficient in, of seek- 
 ing more earnestly to be rather than to do. I write this 
 fully believing that the doing will follow the being, and 
 that most effectively, and in a deep sense that we are 
 indeed unprofitable servants, if servants at all, and that 
 our only rest is in the mercy of our God in Christ Jesus. 
 These days of most touching reminiscences have been 
 additionally saddened by serious accounts respecting 
 the health of my dear sister Lydie Majolier. I am still 
 anxious, and ask the Lord, if it be His will, to spare 
 me from the trial of losing her ; but His will be done. 
 I know she is ready and willing to go, but to me it 
 would be like drinking the cup of bereavement to the 
 very dregs. 
 
 (To Christiana 
 
 Sixth Month, i<)th, 1878. 
 
 . . . Though I have said I was alone, it was 
 not to complain, for I need to be alone sometimes, 
 and a few days' quiet will help me rather than other- 
 wise. Still there is that one place which no created 
 being can ever occupy, either in the house or in my 
 heart, the daily and hourly privation which causes 
 many a heartache, and the starting of the ready tear. 
 With all this there is the underlying peace arising 
 from the full assurance of his happiness, and I trust 
 also of my own acceptance in the Beloved ; which 
 does tend to keep the heart and mind through Jesus 
 Christ. 
 P
 
 234 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1878. 
 
 From her Journal : 
 
 Ninth Month, zith, 1878. A few days since I 
 returned from a visit of two weeks to my dear 
 friend, Daniel Pryor Hack and his daughters, where I 
 have enjoyed in a large degree the comfort of love and 
 been animated and helped by witnessing the gracious 
 help granted to dear D. P. Hack, and his quiet and 
 even cheerful submission to his great bereavement. 
 May I not only take comfort in this, but also endeavour 
 to follow the prayerful example of this dear aged 
 friend, who, after fifty-nine years of the closest union, is 
 the one left, while the other is taken to her heavenly 
 home to await his coming, which cannot be very far 
 distant. 
 
 (To Martha Braithwaite.*) 
 
 STAINES, Tenth Month, i6tk, 1878. 
 There are times of unwonted pressure to be passed 
 through, when we stand peculiarly in need of the calm- 
 ing influence of our Heavenly Father's love, giving us 
 to feel that as we abide in the faith of our Lord, and in 
 His love, all things shall work together for our good. 
 This is sometimes a hard lesson to learn. 
 
 (To Christiana Alsop.} 
 
 First Month, $th, 1879. 
 
 I believe this is my first letter to thee in this new 
 year, and these dates one after the other are marked 
 by very touching recollections ; I could but feel at 
 meeting this morning that this day three years ago 
 my dear husband sat for the last time by my side. 
 Now he has reached and enjoyed during those three
 
 1 879.] CORRESPONDENCE. 235 
 
 years his place in the Church above. Oh ! may it be 
 mine to be reunited to him when the Lord sees meet. 
 In the meantime to feel that we are united in the one 
 Lord, is the great bond of union which is not severed 
 by time. 
 
 Christine M. Alsop's love for children was very 
 great. Instead of abating, it seemed to deepen and 
 brighten with advancing years. The following is 
 addressed to one of her nephews : 
 
 CLISSOLD ROAD, First Month, $th, 1879. 
 I have been very glad to hear that you all liked my 
 cards, and to think of you all at home together, enjoy- 
 ing your holidays. I am sure you have been happy 
 together, if, as I hope is the case, you are all endeavour- 
 ing to follow that Saviour who has loved you and given 
 Himself for you. Even children can say, "We love 
 Him because He first loved us;" and from this love 
 will proceed our desires to please Him, and all our hap- 
 piness here and hereafter. 
 
 (T0 Christiana Alsop.) 
 
 Second Month, 2nd, 1879. 
 
 We are, many of us, among the weak of the flock in 
 some respects ; may we be of the strong in faith for 
 then our strength will be of that nature which is truly 
 strength in weakness ; for our Saviour is a very present 
 help in every needful time. I cannot dwell on the con- 
 tents of thy note, which are all acceptable. It is a 
 precious experience to have nothing to do but cheerfully 
 to make ready for the last journey the end whereof is 
 joy and peace for evermore.
 
 236 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSOP. [1879. 
 
 From her Journal: 
 
 First Month, i2//t, 1879. I have just passed anothei 
 anniversary of widowhood. Yesterday three years my 
 dearest earthly treasure was taken from me. The 
 time seems long to have had to walk alone, after nearly 
 thirty years of the closest union. Everything is sc 
 fresh before me, and the sense of loss so keen, that 
 I can scarcely imagine the time has been so long. 
 Were I to note all the proofs of continued unmerited 
 regard from my Heavenly Father, even since my last 
 entry in this book, I might fill many pages; and how 
 many more, were I to trace the many failures in com- 
 mission as well as in omission. Oh ! the constant 
 need of undeserved mercy. I have so often to deplore 
 a want of gratitude, the absence of a full apprecia- 
 tion of the blessed consolations of the Gospel, the 
 sense of sin and of shortcoming, that at times it seems 
 to shut out " the good hope through grace . " that in- 
 exhaustible grace of which dear Rachel Forster used 
 to speak. Oh ! for a fuller unquestioning acceptance 
 of that mercy through which our sins are blotted out 
 and removed "as far as the east is from the west." 
 It is one thing to believe this, as an abstract truth, 
 as an unquestioned fact ; and it is another thing to 
 know it for ourselves, and to say : " My Redeemer is 
 mine and I am His:" and yet at times, when I consider 
 the way in which I have been led hitherto, I feel that I 
 ought not only to trust and not to be afraid, but to 
 rejoice in the Lord's mercy, with a sure and certain 
 hope. May the increase of this assurance, with the love 
 consequent upon it, be my experience to the purifying 
 of my heart from all that is displeasing in my Re-
 
 1879-] NEARING HOME. 237 
 
 deemer's sight, that I may indeed be fitted, even here, 
 for that communion with my Lord which is the portion 
 of the believer. 
 
 How soon were these aspirations to be fulfilled. 
 Early in the Second Month, 1879, Christine M. 
 Alsop had a serious attack of influenza and erysip- 
 elas, which confined her to her bed for several days, 
 and to the house for some time afterwards. As the 
 end drew near, she was more evidently breathing, 
 the atmosphere of heaven, delighting especially to 
 dwell on the love of Christ in His atoning sacrifice 
 for the sins of the whole world. 
 
 During the period of her widowhood, Christine 
 M. Alsop did not feel called to engage in much ex- 
 tensive religious service ; but she continued dili- 
 gently to attend meetings, as far as health permitted, 
 and man}' of her friends can look back with comfort 
 to her sweet and acceptable ministrations at these 
 times, as well as to the enjoyment they had in her 
 animated social companionship. 
 
 The Yearly Meeting occurred only a fortnight 
 before her decease. She attended every sitting, 
 and three large public meetings ; and it was several 
 times noticed how remarkably bright were her 
 communications. Once she spoke very feelingly 
 about France, and several times she addressed her 
 younger friends. On one occasion she quoted the 
 words of a noted servant of the Lord, that " when 
 he was first convinced of what the Lord had done 
 for him, it was not so much a question with him to
 
 238 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. ALSO P. [1879. 
 
 know how much the Lord required of him, but how 
 much he would permit him to do," adding, " We 
 are here to be useful one to another ; but after all, 
 our usefulness consists more in what we are than in 
 what we do, and if we are watchful for the oppor- 
 tunity, the Lord will give us something to do for 
 Him." 
 
 Her sister, Lydie Majolier, and her two sisters- 
 in-law were with her during the Yearly Meeting. 
 It was a great pleasure to them to be together 
 once more, a pleasure which they had not en- 
 joyed since Christine M. Alsop had been left a 
 widow. 
 
 The evening which they all spent with J. B. and 
 M. Braithwaite, at the close of the Yearly Meeting, 
 is amongst the hallowed recollections of the past. 
 Christine M. Alsop was, as usual, bright and inter- 
 esting. She brought for them a copy of the little 
 memoir of her late husband, which she had just 
 completed ; in the compilation of which, she said, 
 she had seemed to live the past over again, enjoy- 
 ing, as it were, sweet communion of spirit with this 
 beloved one. 
 
 Soon after this, her sister Lydie Majolier and 
 Anna Vally being with her, they spent a few days 
 very pleasantly with her dear friend, Rebecca 
 Pryor, at Reigate. Thence they went to Welling- 
 ham, near Lewes, to visit Rachel Rickman and 
 her sister. Christine M. Alsop was a good deal 
 exhausted by the journey, but on First-day, the
 
 1879.] ILLNESS AND DEATH. 239 
 
 1 5th of Sixth Month, attended Lewes Meeting, 
 when both the sisters were acceptably engaged in 
 ministerial service. 
 
 Feeling afterwards weary, and " wanting rest," 
 she was conveyed back to Wellingham, where she 
 had a brief and almost painless illness, during which 
 she was enabled to rest with humble and confiding 
 trust in the mercy of God in Christ Jesus. 
 
 On one occasion her sister said to her, " Thou 
 art going to thy beloved," when the reply was 
 " Yes ! Jesus is my Beloved ; " and, again, " I am 
 my Beloved's, and my Beloved is mine ; I am going 
 to my Beloved." After an interval " I am the 
 Good Shepherd ; the Good Shepherd giveth His 
 life for the sheep." . . . "I know my sheep, 
 and am known of mine." " I give unto them 
 eternal life," adding "And that life is in His 
 Son." 
 
 Near the close, her sister remarked, " I believe 
 tliou art happy, and that He whom thou hast loved 
 is near thee." " Yes," she rejoined, " I feel it, and 
 I can say, ' I am my Beloved's, and my Beloved is 
 mine. ' ' Then, with- a heavenly smile, she ex- 
 claimed three times, " I am on the banks of deliver- 
 ance," adding " How sweet ; I am so happy." 
 Her end was peace. 
 
 She died at Wellingham, on the igth of Sixth 
 Month, 1879 I a g e d seventy -five years. Her funeral 
 was largely attended, and it was remarked as an 
 interesting coincidence, that all the members of her
 
 240 MEMORIALS OF CHRISTINE M. AL^OP. [1879. 
 
 own family of the name of Majolier were present. 
 Her remains rest in the Friends' Burial-ground at 
 Stoke Newington, in the same grave with her be- 
 loved husband, and near the last earthly resting- 
 place of her long-loved friend William Allen. 
 
 The friend at whose house her decease took place 
 remarked that she seemed to have been brought 
 thither to show them how a Christian could die. 
 May we not add, in the retrospect of her course, 
 the tribute of thanksgiving to Him under whose 
 loving guidance she was led to make England her 
 adopted country, and by whose grace alone she was 
 enabled to give us so bright an example of how a 
 Christian should live.
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 THE RESTORED PRIZE-MONEY AND 
 WHAT CAME OF IT. 
 
 IN the struggle of the American colonies for inde- 
 pendence, in 1776, they received sympathy and aid from 
 France. This produced a war between France and 
 Great Britain. 
 
 There was at that time living at Falmouth, in Corn- 
 wall, a surgeon named Joseph Fox, a member of the 
 Society of Friends, who, both by education and con- 
 viction, regarded War, in every shape, as forbidden by 
 the precepts of the Gospel. He was part owner of the 
 Greyhound and the Brilliant, two luggers or cutters 
 which traded along the Cornish coast. 
 
 It was then the barbarous practice for the owners of 
 such vessels, in time of war, to arm their ships and take 
 out Letters of Marque, giving them license to waylay 
 and capture the merchant-vessels of the enemy. In no 
 part of England was this practice more general than in 
 the south-western counties ; and the other owners of the 
 two luggers proposed to fit them out for this purpose. 
 Joseph Fox of course objected, and remonstrated stren- 
 uously with his partners on the injustice of such an act. 
 Being one alone, however, his protest was disregarded ; 
 
 (240
 
 242 APPENDIX. 
 
 the vessels were armed ; and the partners refused at the 
 same time either to purchase his share or to allow him 
 to dispose of it to any other. All he could do was to 
 declare that he would never be a partaker in gains so 
 acquired. 
 
 The war broke out so unexpectedly that many French 
 craft fell an easy prey to the English cruisers ; and the 
 Greyhound and Brilliant succeeded in capturing two 
 valuable merchantmen, r Aimable Fran^aise and r As- 
 surance, together with some small coasting vessels. 
 Joseph Fox's partners, taking advantage of his declara- 
 tion, made a great effort to retain all the profit of 
 the adventure for themselves ; but he believed it to be 
 his Christian duty to claim his share and hold it in 
 trust to be, when occasion should permit, restored to 
 the rightful owners ; and with much difficulty he suc- 
 ceeded in obtaining from them a sum of money, which 
 he placed at interest in the public funds. This was 
 in 1778. 
 
 In 1783 peace was restored; and the next year, a 
 delay having occurred from the refusal for a time of 
 the partners to give up the bills of lading, Joseph Fox 
 sent his son, Dr. Edward Long Fox, to Paris, to adver- 
 tise for the owners of the plundered property. A 
 proceeding so unheard of was naturally looked upon 
 with suspicion ; and before the doctor could obtain 
 leave to insert his advertisement in the Gazette de 
 France, he had to communicate with the Count de 
 Vergennes, one of the French ministry, who required 
 a formal declaration that his real object was such as 
 he professed it to be, and who added a threat of severe 
 punishment in case of deception. Joseph Fox died
 
 243 
 
 of pleurisy, after a short illness, a few days after the 
 appearance of the advertisement. 
 
 In consequence of the public notice thus given, 
 applications were made by numerous parties, as pro- 
 prietors or insurers ; all the claims were proved to be 
 well founded ; and the chief part of the money was 
 proportionately distributed amongst the owners of the 
 two merchantmen arid their cargoes. Those who had 
 been sufferers by the capture of r Assurance made an 
 acknowledgment through the Gazette of this rare act 
 of restitution, stating their desire "to give the publicity 
 which it merits to this trait of generosity and equity, 
 which does honour to the Society of the Quakers, and 
 proves their attachment to the principles of peace and 
 unity by which they are distinguished." It is related 
 that this partial restoration of what was looked upon as 
 irrecoverable, was of especial value to the widow of one 
 who had died of a broken heart in consequence of his 
 losses. 
 
 After restoring the proportion due to the two prin- 
 cipal vessels (about ^1,470, including expenses), there 
 remained a balance of 120 on the proceeds of the 
 coasting vessels, which could not be refunded, the 
 owners being numerous and widely scattered in various 
 parts of France and Holland. It was concluded to 
 appropriate this sum to the relief of decayed seamen 
 in the French mercantile service, but no way could be 
 found for doing this before the year 1793, when war 
 again broke out between the two countries. Hostilities 
 continued with little interruption till 1814, when Dr. 
 Edward Long Fox proceeded again to Paris and had 
 an audience of Louis XVIII., and sevt" i l interviews
 
 244 APPENDIX. 
 
 with his ministers. Napoleon's return from Elba the 
 next spring caused a fresh delay ; and it was not till 
 1818 that the matter was finally settled. The money 
 (which had been invested at compound interest) had 
 increased to 600; and this sum was deposited in "the 
 treasury of the Invalid Seamen of France," for the re- 
 lief of " non-combatants of the merchant service." 
 
 But this is not the end of the story. 
 
 What has been related was not the only result 
 which followed from the advertisement of 1784. 
 Besides the applications for the restored property, 
 Dr. Fox received at the same time a reply of a very 
 different and unexpected character. It was a letter 
 with this address, "The Quakers of Congenies-Cal- 
 visson* to the virtuous Fox." The writers describe 
 themselves as a little flock of about a hundred persons, 
 and express the joy it had given them to hear of the 
 efforts used by the advertiser to fulfil the commands 
 of Christ. They represent themselves as opposed to 
 war on Christian principle, and as being in conse- 
 quence an object of hatred and contempt to their 
 fellow-citizens, both Protestants and Catholics. Espe- 
 cially do they condemn the wars engaged in by the 
 former in previous ages to keep possession of their re- 
 ligious liberties. 
 
 This letter led to further correspondence, and to a 
 journey to London by De Marsillac, one of their 
 community. From his account the English Friends 
 discovered to their surprise, that there had existed in 
 the South of France for sixty or seventy years a 
 
 * A village ten miles west of Nimes in the Department of Gard.
 
 APPENDIX. 245 
 
 Christian Church, which, besides its testimony against 
 war, held spiritual views regarding worship and the 
 ministry identical with their own. When inquired 
 of concerning their history, and how they came to 
 entertain such views, the Congenies Friends said that, 
 according to the traditions preserved amongst them, 
 they sprang out of the Camisards, or Protestants of 
 the Cevennes, who from 1702 to 1705, defended them- 
 selves against all the armies sent by Louis XIV. to 
 compel them to abjure their faith. How their fore- 
 fathers came to adopt such a manner of worship anu 
 such religious, views they could not say ; only on one 
 point, their testimony in regard to war, had they pre- 
 served any clue as to the means by which th^ light may 
 have come to them. In the heat of the fierce and 
 vindictive struggle just mentioned, in the year 1703 an 
 epistle, believe4 to be written by some faithful poitors 
 of Geneva, was received and circulated through the 
 Cevennes.* It was an appeal, strong and warm with 
 Christian love, calling on their persecuted brethren in 
 the faith to cease from incendiarism and murder, and to 
 throw away the sword. 
 
 * The historian who has preserved this letter, a Roman 
 Catholic, says he received it from a Protestant lawyer, and that 
 it was " originated, digested and issued by a synod abroad." 
 Louvreleuil, Le Fanatisme renouvele. Avignon, 1 868. Tom. i., 
 p. 127. And when Stephen Grellet was at Congenies in 1807, 
 he was shown a copy of it in manuscript. Another Romanist 
 historian says, " The ministers at Geneva in their sermons loudly 
 protested against the massacres committed by the Camisards." 
 De Brueys, Hist, du Fanatisme de notre temps. Utrecht, 1737. 
 Vol. i., pp. 372, 373.
 
 246 APPENDIX. 
 
 We have only space here for one or two paragraphs. 
 
 " Dear Christian Brethren," so runs the epistle, " \ve 
 are grieved to hear that after having begun in the Spirit 
 you should finish by the flesh, and so expose yourselves 
 to lose all the fruit of your sufferings. We know the 
 violent measures which have been used to compel you 
 to attend mass, and to send your children to the 
 Romanist schools; how soldiers surround you and 
 pounce upon you, like wolves on lambs, when you 
 assemble in secret to worship God. We know the 
 cruelties which are inflicted upon you, pitilessly, in- 
 cessantly, the loss of your goods and the maltreatment 
 of your persons ; how chains, imprisonment, torture and 
 the gibbet have at length broken down your patience 
 and filled your hearts with despair and rage. We con- 
 fess that under such protracted and bitter trials it is 
 hard to withstand the impulses of nature, which, in 
 spite of ourselves, spring up in the depths of the 
 heart, bidding us render evil for evil. We pity and 
 sympathize with you in this fiery trial ; but you are 
 Christians, Reformed Christians ! . . . Perhaps you 
 flatter yourselves that the disorders you commit will 
 rid you of the evils which crowd upon you. Perhaps 
 you imagine that those among you who burn churches 
 and massacre priests in cold blood, are overthrowing 
 superstition and idolatry. Blind and mistaken men ! 
 Have you forgotten that it is never permitted to do 
 evil that good may come? that you are not now under 
 the old law, by which it was commanded to extermi- 
 nate idolators and destroy their high places, but under 
 the new commandment whose Author willeth not the 
 death of a sinner, but that he should be converted and
 
 APPENDIX. 247 
 
 live? It must be the Lord's arm, and not yours, which 
 shall put an end to your captivity. Do all you can to 
 obtain the desired object by a holy life, and not by the 
 works of darkness." 
 
 The Romish historian of the times observes, that for 
 several days after the reading of this letter the Camisards 
 refrained from their accustomed acts of cruelty and 
 reprisal ; but no more permanent effect on the body of 
 the people appears to have followed. 
 
 Amongst the Camisards were a number of persons, 
 men and women, who laid claim to the gift of prophecy, 
 and who were accustomed to stand up in th? assemblies 
 and declare, as if by divine direction, in what \vay 
 attack or defence against the enemy was to be made. 
 One of these, a young woman named Lucretia, excited 
 the jealousy of the leaders by the influence she had 
 acquired over the people. They attempted to silence 
 her; she arose and cried, "Let those who love me, 
 follow me." A crowd of admirers accompanied her to 
 her dwelling, which became a place for religious meet- 
 ings. From this company, says tradition, the Friends 
 in Congenies are descended. For some years we know 
 nothing further of their history. When the veil begins 
 to lift, we see a community of God-fearing persons at 
 Fontanes, Congenies, St. Hippolite, and other places at 
 the foot of the Cevennes, who met in private to perform 
 their simple manner of worship.* 
 
 * The writer, in 1869, was shown at Fontanes, in an ancient 
 house with massive stone walls, a wine-vault where the Friends 
 used to meet in the earlier half of the last century. A nick-narne 
 was given to them, indicative of their manner of sitting in silence 
 with their heads bowed in worship.
 
 248 APPENDIX. 
 
 The Friends in this country were warmly interested 
 in the sister-church in France, thus unexpectedly made 
 known to them ; and the intercourse which was then 
 begun has been sedulously maintained ever since. The 
 soil of France, however, with its revolutions, conscrip- 
 tions, priestcraft, and infidelity, has not been favourable 
 to the growth of simple, spiritual Christianity ; and it 
 is a source of deep regret that the Friends of Congenies 
 are now less numerous than they once were. Printed 
 by permission of the Manchester District Friends' Tract 
 Association.
 
 DATE DUE 
 
 GAYLORD 
 
 "RINTEO IN U.S.A.
 
 A 000 646 734 4