During his illness, Mrs. Opie used to play on the piano, and sing the hymns and psalms of Dr. Watts to her father, at his request; he appeared to find great consolation in listening as she sung, and often called to have the hymn repeated; and that music was like a medicine that soothed him to rest, when any other might have been administered in vain.
Shortly before his death, he was visited by Mr. Gurney, and, in reply to an observation made by him, expressed, with great feeling, his humble confidence in the atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
So died the father of Amelia Opie. As she gazed upon his lifeless countenance, she was able to entertain a hope that supported her soul, and preserved her from sinking under the blow. How deeply and enduringly she lamented him, and how tenderly she cherished his memory, was evident in every day of her after life. Dr. Alderson’s record was written upon his daughter’s heart. And is not Carlyle right when he says, “Oh! great, or little one, according as thou art loveable, those thou livest with will love thee?”
| [24] | The Friends have no tombstones, and the field for the graves is usually green.—A. O. |
| [25] | The unfinished MS. was found among her papers. |
CHAPTER XIV.
CONSOLATION IN SORROW; LETTER TO A FRIEND; JOURNAL FOR THE YEAR 1827.
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