77 
Tn 1855 was published “ North and South,” a story which 
shews Mrs. Gaskell’s knowledge of, and ready sympathy with, 
the poor. 
Mrs. Gaskell made the acquaintance of Charlotte Bronte 
at the Lakes in 1850, and later wrote her biography. 
In 1863 she wrote “ A Dark Night’s Work,” and this was 
followed by “ Cousin Phyllis,” a story well worth reading, 
for it contains a combination of the sunniest humour with 
the tenderest pathos. The Lecturer eulogised this book in 
particular, and said that for absolute perfection in execution 
there is strong weight of testimony that Mrs. Gaskell never 
surpassed, if ever she even approached, “ Cousin Phyllis.” 
“ This prose idyll,” says Dr. Ward, “ is, beyond dispute, 
the most perfect of her works.” A lantern view was shewn 
of the Hope Farm of " Cousin Phyllis,” where Mrs. Gaskell’s 
grandfather lived and died, and this was followed by some 
interesting pictures of old Knutsford, including one of the 
town before the railway was constructed in 1862. 
Brief reference was made to some of Mrs. Gaskell’s shorter 
stories — publications which were at once very popular — the 
choicest, in the Lecturer’s view, being “ Mr. Harrison’s Con- 
fessions,” “ A Dark Night’s Work,” and " The Grey Woman.” 
Apart from the novels, Mrs. Gaskell wrote for Charles 
Dickens in the “ Cornhill Magazine,” and was also a con- 
tributor to the “ Daily News.” Edna Lyall declares Mrs. 
Gaskell to be her favourite writer of fiction, and this is only 
one of the many tributes from writers who have spoken in 
the warmest terms of Mrs. Gaskell’s works. 
No one, concluded the Lecturer, ever came near her in the 
gift of telling a story. “ In her harids the simplest incident — 
a meeting in the street, a talk with a factory girl, a country 
walk, an old history — becomes vividly picturesque and interest- 
ing. Her fun, her pathos, her graphic touches, are inimitable. 
When all the world was admiring her novels, it was felt that 
what she had actually published was a mere fraction of what 
she might have written, had her life been less complex. Fine 
as her literary work was, it scarcely gave an adequate idea 
of her highest powers ; her other occupations left her little 
time for writing.” 
Her untimely death on the 8th of February, 1865, was 
deplored by all, because she was one of our most popular 
writers whose influence was always good and wholesome. 
