Let us be like her, and, like her, not conceited with it all. She was too brave to be conceited: too brave not to be humble. She had trained herself for the battle.
“With a nice, genial, respectful manner, which never left her, great firmness in duty, and steadiness that rendered her above suspicion”: “happy and interested in her charge.”
More above all petty calculations about self, all paltry wranglings, than almost any. How different for us, for her, had it not been so! Could we have mourned her as we do? The others of the small Montreal staff who miss her so terribly will like to hear how we feel this. They were all with her when she died. Miss Machin sat up with her every night, and either she or Miss Blower never left her, day or night, during the last nine days of her illness. She died of typhoid fever: peritonitis the last three weeks; but, as she had survived so long, they hoped against hope up to Easter Day.
About seven days before her death, during her delirium, she said: “The Lord has two wills: His will be done.” It is when we do not know what God’s will is to be, that it is the hardest to will what He wills.
Strange to say, on Good Friday, though she was so delirious that there was difficulty in keeping her in bed, and she did not know what day it was, Christ on the Cross was her theme all the day long. “Christ died on the Cross for me, and I want to go and die for Him.” She had indeed lived for Him. Then on Easter Day she said to Miss Blower: “I am happy, so happy: we are both happy, so very happy.” She said she was going to hear the eighth Psalm. Shall we remember Martha’s favourite psalm? She spoke often about St. Thomas’.
She died the day after Easter Day. The change came at 7 in the evening, and she lived till 5 o’clock the next morning, conscious to the last, repeating sentences, and answering by looks when she could speak no more. Her Saviour, whom she had so loved and followed in her life, was with her thro’ the Valley of the Shadow of Death, and she felt Him there. She was happy. “My best love,” she said, “tell them it is all for the best, and I am not sorry I came out.”
Her parents have given her up nobly, though with bleeding hearts, with true submission to our Father’s will: they are satisfied it is “all for the best.”
All the Montreal Hospital shared our sorrow. The Doctors were full of kindness in their medical attendance. Mr. Redpath, who is a principal Director, and Mrs. Redpath were like a real father and mother to our people. Martha’s death-bed and coffin were strewed with flowers.
Public and private prayers were offered up for her at Montreal during her illness. Who can say that they were not answered?
She spoke of dying: but without fear. We prayed that God would spare the child to us: but He had need of her.