Chapter Fifteen: Conclusion
Chapter XV.
Conclusion.
Mrs. Spurgeon has gone, but her work remains. Her last thoughts were for the Book Fund, and for the poor ministers who are benefited by its aid; and by her will she left a sum of money for the assistance of the work which owed its inception and its continued success to her untiring zeal. Further, she had expressed a wish that her friend and companion of forty years, Miss E. H. Thorne, should carry on the Book Fund with its various branches, in conjunction with Pastor J. S. Hockey. Miss Thorne has willingly agreed to do this, and her enthusiasm for the work being second only to Mrs. Spurgeon's, it will be a matter for satisfaction to all Christian people who followed with interest the efforts of the deceased lady, that there will be no cessation in the conduct of the Book Fund. C. H. Spurgeon once wrote: "This good work of providing mental food for ministers ought never to cease till their incomes are doubled. May 'Mrs. Spurgeon's Book Fund' become a permanent source of blessing to ministers and churches!" The work must not flag for lack of funds, and as the demand has always been so much greater than the supply, the wherewithal to. provide the books cannot be received too quickly. That the devoted woman who originated the Fund, who conducted it with such splendid success for so long, and who gave so generously in her lifetime of her services and substance, has left some money for the Fund, will doubtless only act as an incentive to other "stewards of the Lord" to give liberally, so that this important effort may more and more cope with the need which led to its institution. As a tribute to the memory of Mrs. Spurgeon, what could be better than a gift to the Book Fund which will still bear her name ?
If greatness depends upon the amount of good which one does in the world, if it is only another name for unselfish devotion in the service of others—and surely true greatness is all this—then Mrs. C. H. Spurgeon will go down to posterity as one of the greatest women of her time.