"My father's fortunes appear to have begun to wane soon after his
marriage. At that time he would have passed, I suppose, for a rich
man, according to the estimate of riches in those days. But bad
times came, and very bad times they were, such as we know little
about, despite all the grumbling of this modern era. Nottingham,
where the family was then located, suffered heavily, a large
proportion of its poorer classes being reduced to the verge of
starvation. My father, who had invested the entire savings of his
lifetime in small house property, was seriously affected by these
calamitous circumstances; in fact, he was ruined.

"The brave way in which my mother stood by his side during that
dark and sorrowful season is indelibly written on my memory. She
shared his every anxiety, advised him in all his business
perplexities, and upheld his spirit as crash followed crash, and
one piece of property after another went overboard. Years of heavy
affliction followed, during which she was his tender, untiring
nurse, comforting and upholding his spirit unto death; and then she
stood out all alone to fight the battles of his children amidst the
wreck of his fortunes.

"Those days were gloomy indeed; and the wonder now in looking back
upon them is that she survived them. It would have seemed a
perfectly natural thing if she had died of a broken heart, and been
borne away to lie in my father's grave.

"But she had reasons for living. Her children bound her to earth,
and for our sakes she toiled on with unswerving devotion and
unintermitting care. After a time the waters found a smoother