THE EARNEST PHILANTHROPIST. Church to which she was now so deeply attached; loss of property ; undeserved and bitter censure ; any one of these things would have been an excuse with others to relinquish toils so heavy; but with her, even illness was made subservient to benevolence. In 1824, during an attack at Brighton, the sleeplessness occasioned by pain causing her to sit by the window watching for the first streakof sunlight, she observed, with the quickness of her compassionate nature, the utter seclusion in which the coast guards passed their days. The result of her quiet observations was that libraries were formed, through her unceasing exertions, on all the numerous coast guard stations throughout Great Britain ; and upwards of 52,000 volumes were disseminated amongst the coast guard and their families. This object, however, was not finally accomplished until 1833, after the most arduous trouble. In 1827, Elizabeth Fryundertook a more extended mission, in visiting Ireland. In this she was accompanied by her brother, J. J. Gurney, and her sister in-law, Elizabeth Fry, an interesting, young, and beautiful Quakeress. In her letters, we find not only a vivid account of her journey, but the history of her natural fears and difficulties, and her noble unwavering courage and trust. A great variety of duties devolved on her in the course of this journey ; for not only was she engaged in largely attended meetings,; but she inspected numerous prisons, hospitals, asylums, and houses 37
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