Elizabeth Fry | Page 8

in moderation is pleasant and useful in
society. It is among the things that produce the harmony of society; for
the truth must not be spoken out at all times, at least not the whole truth.
Perhaps I am wrong--I do not know if I am--but it will not always do to
tell our minds.... I am one of those who try to serve God and Mammon.
Now, for instance, if I wish to say anything I think right to anyone, I
seldom go straight to the point, but mostly by some softening,
round-about way, which, I fear, is very much from wishing to please
man more than his Maker!
It is evident that Elizabeth Fry dared to be singular; very possibly only
such self-renouncing singularity could have borne such remarkable
fruits of philanthropy. It required some such independent, philosophical
character as hers to strike out a new path for charitable effort.
During the continuance of the Yearly Meeting in London, the home in
St. Mildred's Court was made a house of entertainment for the Friends
who came from all parts of the country. It was a curious sight to see the
older Friends, clad in the quaint costume of that age, as they mingled
with the more fashionably or moderately dressed Quakers. The
sightseers of London eighty years ago must have looked on amused at
what they considered the vagaries of those worthy folks. The old
Quaker ladies are described as wearing at that date a close-fitting white
cap, over which was placed a black hood, and out of doors a
low-crowned broad beaver hat. The gowns were neatly made of drab
camlet, the waists cut in long peaks, and the skirts hanging in ample
folds. For many years past these somewhat antiquated garments have
been discarded for sober "coal-scuttles," and silk dresses of black or
gray, much to the improvement of the fair wearer's appearance. These
Friends were entertained at Mr. Fry's house heartily, and almost
religiously. And doubtless many people who were of the "salt of the
earth" were numbered among Mr. Fry's guests, while his young wife
moved among them the embodiment of refined lady-like hospitality
and high principle. Doubtless, too, the quiet home-talk of these worthy
folks was only one degree less solemn and sedate than their utterances

at Yearly Meeting.
Mrs. Fry followed up her chosen path in ministering to the sick and
poor among the slums of London. She visited them at their homes, and
traversed dirty courts and uninviting alleys in the quest of individuals
needing succor. Sometimes she was made the instrument of blessing;
but at other times, like all philanthropists, she was deceived and
imposed upon. One day a woman accosted her in the street, asking
relief, and holding an infant who was suffering evidently with
whooping-cough. Mrs. Fry offered to go to the woman's house with the
intention of investigating and relieving whatever real misery may have
existed. To her surprise the mendicant slunk away as if unwilling to be
visited; but Mrs. Fry was determined to track her, and at last brought
her to earth. The room--a filthy, dirty, poverty-cursed one--contained a
number of infants in every conceivable stage of illness and misery.
Horror-stricken, Mrs. Fry requested her own medical attendant to visit
this lazar-house; but on going thither next morning he found the
woman and her helpless brood of infants gone. It then turned out that
this woman "farmed" infants; deliberately neglected them till she
succeeded in killing them off, and then concealed their deaths in order
to continue to receive the wretched pittances allowed for their
maintenance. Such scenes and facts as these must have opened the eyes
of Mrs. Fry to the condition of the poorest classes of that day, and
educated her in self-denying labor on their behalf.
She also took an interest in educational matters, and formed an
acquaintance with Joseph Lancaster, the founder of the Monitorial
system, and quickly turned her talents to account in visiting the
workhouse and school belonging to the Society of Friends at Islington.
About this time, one sister was married to Mr. Samuel Hoare, and
another to Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton. Other members of her family
passed away from this life; among them her husband's mother, and a
brother's wife. Some time later Mr. Fry senior, died, and this event
caused the removal of the home from St. Mildred's Court to Plashet, in
Essex, the country seat of the family. Writing of this change, she said:
"I do not think I have ever expressed the pleasure and comfort I find in

a country life, both for myself and the dear children. It has frequently
led me to feel grateful for the numerous benefits conferred, and I have
also desired that I may not rest in, nor too much depend