Her tenth child was born on the 18th of April, 1816, for whom she thus prayed with thanksgiving—­“Be Thou pleased, O Lord God Almighty, yet to look down upon us, and bless us; and if Thou seest meet, to bless our loved infant, to visit it by Thy grace and Thy love; that it may be Thine in time, and Thine to all eternity.  We desire to thank Thee for the precious gift.”

After a visit to Norfolk, in consequence of the death of the only surviving son of her uncle Joseph Gurney; and to North Runcton, where her elder daughters were residing; and having placed her sons at school, she came to London, to commence the great work to which she now felt she must devote her life.

X.

Prison work.

Three years had passed since the first visit to Newgate in 1813.  The determination then formed to devote her life to prison-work had been cherished ever since, though hindrances delayed the carrying out of her purpose.  Nothing but the constraining love of Christ could have thus induced a woman of Elizabeth Fry’s position and character, a woman delicate and in feeble health, to devote herself to labours so arduous and painful, sacrificing personal ease and domestic comfort, for the sake of rescuing from destruction those who were sunk in vice and in wretchedness.  But she was following the example of Him who came to seek and to save the lost.  Her labour was not in vain in the Lord, for she succeeded not only in greatly lessening the sum of human misery, but was enabled to bring many to the knowledge and the love of the Saviour.

[Illustration:(From the picture by J. Barrett.) Mrs Fry addresses the female prisoners in Newgate [Engraved by Barlow.]]

In the years of preparation for her work, she made herself acquainted with what had been done by others.  At the suggestion of her brother-in-law, the late Samuel Hoare, she accompanied him to Coldbath Fields House of Correction, the neglected state of which much shocked him.  She had also visited different prisons with another brother-in-law, the late Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, at that time occupied, with other philanthropists, in forming a Society for reformation of juvenile criminals.  The interest was thus kept alive in her mind about the women in Newgate, whom she again went to see about the end of 1816.  On this her second visit she asked permission to be left alone among the women for some hours.  As they flocked round her, she spoke to those who were mothers, of the miserable state of their children, dirty and almost naked, pining for want of proper food, air, and exercise.  She said she would like to get a school for the children, to which they gladly assented.  Then, after talking kindly to many of the women, she read to them aloud the parable of the Lord of the vineyard, in the 20th chapter of Matthew, making a few simple comments about Christ coming, and being ready to save sinners even at the eleventh hour, so wonderful was His pity and mercy.  A few of the listeners asked who Jesus Christ was, so ignorant they were; others feared that their time of salvation was passed.