WORK AT THE SEASHORE. 265 



The romantic caverns of the island of St. Catherine 

 were still the main, and on the whole the happiest, hunt- 

 ing-grounds ; but sometimes the entire class was conducted 

 to Monkstone and Sandersfoot, or even so far as to Scot- 

 borough. For the first time Mrs. Gosse was unable to 

 take part in these rambles, and her days would be spent, 

 in the long warm September, in sitting on the sands, writ- 

 ing, or chatting to one of those improvised friends whom 

 her sweet and dignified cordiality created wherever she 

 went. She had always possessed an unusual power of 

 attracting the confidence of strangers, and those who were 

 sad, poor, and forlorn could seldom resist the temptation 

 of pouring the burden of their sorrows into her ear. As 

 she herself grew more and more the confidant of pain 

 and weariness, instead of her temper becoming fretful, her 

 sympathy took a deeper colouring, her interest in the 

 griefs of others grew more patient and sincere. All this 

 time she was growing worse, and when they returned to 

 London on October 2, neither could conceal from the 

 other their secret sense of dismay at the change in her 

 power of enduring the fatigue of travel. 



More drastic methods were now recommended by the 

 doctor, and to carry them out it was necessary that 

 the patient should be close to him. My mother and her 

 little seven years' old son, therefore, moved into bleak and 

 comfortless lodgings in Cottage Road, Pimlico, the only 

 advantage of which was the fact that they were next door 

 to the doctor's house. My father could only be with us 

 from Saturday night to Monday morning. During the 

 rest of the week we two supported and comforted each 

 other as well as we could ; through dreary days and still 

 more dreary nights, which have left their indelible impres- 

 sion on the temperament as well as the memory of the 

 survivor, we were alone together. This prolonged illness, 



