s in a short time as even German ladies attain only after much
longer study."

She returned to England with her parents in December, 1853. On July 17,
1854, she was confirmed in Worcester Cathedral. In her case this public
profession was a very real act. When asked by the bishop the solemn
question to which all have audibly to answer, "I do," the reply of her
heart was, "Lord, I cannot without Thee; but oh, with Thy almighty help,
I do." In the cathedral she composed the lines with which this sketch
begins. She always kept very solemnly the anniversary of this day.

She continued her German, French and English studies, and wrote many
small pieces of poetry, the proceeds of which she gave to the Church
Missionary Society. In the summer of 1856 she studied Hebrew very
diligently; her knowledge and remembrance of the words of Scripture were
very remarkable; she learnt the whole of the Gospels, Epistles,
Revelation, the Psalms, and Isaiah, and later she added the Minor
Prophets to the list.

While she thus grew in knowledge she grew also in grace. In August,
1859, she wrote: "I have lost that weary bondage of doubt and almost
despair which chained me for so many years. I have the same sins and
temptation as before, and I do not strive against them more than before,
and it is often just as hard work. But whereas I could not see why I
_should_ be saved, I now cannot see why I should not be saved if Christ
died for all. On that word I take my stand, and _rest_ there. I still
wait for the hour when I believe He will reveal Himself to me more
directly; but it is the quiet waiting of present _trust_, not the
restless waiting of anxiety and danger." That hour, in God's good
time, did come.

In 1860 Canon Havergal resigned the rectory of St. Nicholas, Worcester,
and Frances had to give up a class of unruly lads which she had taught
with much success, one of the class becoming a minister of the Church of
England, and another a Scripture-reader. The family removed to the
country parish of Shareshill.

In 1861 Frances K. Havergal made her home at Oakhampton, the residence
of her sister, and undertook the instruction of her two nieces. Her aim
in teaching them was to fit them for eternity, but she did not fail to
throw herself into their amusements and recreations, which she took up
with her accustomed earnestness.

In the winter of 1865-66 F.R. Havergal visited her friends in Germany,
and spent some time with her parents at Bon