t Christmas upon earth, she awoke in
severe pain, and was ill for some days; but during the time she compiled
a set of Christmas and New Year mottoes, which she called _Christmas
Sunshine_ and _Love and Light for the New Year_. She was ordered rest
and felt she needed it. One remark as to her unceasing work is very
touching:--"I do hope the angels will have orders to let me alone a bit
when I first get to heaven." She was learning to use as her daily
petition the prayer her mother taught her, "O Lord, prepare me for all
Thou art preparing for me;" and this He was doing. By weakness and
sickness and by unwearying trust and unwearied labour was she being
prepared for that better rest above.

VI.

THE MINISTRY OF SONG

We may turn aside for a short time before we consider the last eventful
weeks of Frances Ridley Havergal's sojourn upon earth, to deal with a
subject that has been but lightly touched upon, namely, her ministry
of song.

She had inherited from her gifted father a great talent for music. She
was a remarkably skilful performer upon the pianoforte. So retentive
was her memory that she could play without notes a large portion of the
works of Handel, Beethoven and Mendelssohn.

[Illustration: F.R. Havergal]

Her musical compositions were of a very high order. When she was thirty
years of age she went, while at Cologne, to show some of her
compositions to Ferdinand Hiller. After looking through them and
learning that she had had no instruction in harmony, he expressed his
surprise and delivered his verdict, the worst part first.

He said her melodies bore the stamp of talent, not of genius. "But as to
your harmonies," he said to her, "I must say I am astonished. It is
something singular to find such a grasp of the subject, such power of
harmonisation except where there has been long and thorough study and
instruction; here I can give almost unlimited praise." She told him her
question was, had she talent enough to make it worth while to devote
herself to music as a serious thing, as a life-work? He answered,
"Sincerely and unhesitatingly I can say that you _have_."

How spontaneous was her musical and poetical genius will be seen from
the account of the genesis of her well-known missionary hymn and tune,
"Tell it out among the heathen." She was unable to go to church at
Winterdyne one snowy morning in 1873. She asked for her Prayer-book
while still in bed, as she always liked to follow the services