In this sudden avalanche of sorrows Sterling,weak and worn as we have seen,bore up manfully,and with pious valor fronted what had come upon him.He was not a man to yield to vain wailings,or make repinings at the unalterable:here was enough to be long mourned over;but here,for the moment,was very much imperatively requiring to be done.That evening,he called his children round him;spoke words of religious admonition and affection to them;said,"He must now be a Mother as well as Father to them."On the evening of the funeral,writes Mr.Hare,he bade them good-night,adding these words,"If I am taken from you,God will take care of you."He had six children left to his charge,two of them infants;and a dark outlook ahead of them and him.The good Mrs.Maurice,the children's young Aunt,present at this time and often afterwards till all ended,was a great consolation.
Falmouth,it may be supposed,had grown a sorrowful place to him,peopled with haggard memories in his weak state;and now again,as had been usual with him,change of place suggested itself as a desirable alleviation;--and indeed,in some sort,as a necessity.He has "friends here,"he admits to himself,"whose kindness is beyond all price,all description;"but his little children,if anything befell him,have no relative within two hundred miles.He is now sole watcher over them;and his very life is so precarious;nay,at any rate,it would appear,he has to leave Falmouth every spring,or run the hazard of worse.Once more,what is to be done?Once more,--and now,as it turned out,for the last time.
A still gentler climate,greater proximity to London,where his Brother Anthony now was and most of his friends and interests were:these considerations recommended Ventnor,in the beautiful Southeastern corner of the Isle of Wight;where on inquiry an eligible house was found for sale.The house and its surrounding piece of ground,improvable both,were purchased;he removed thither in June of this year 1843;and set about improvements and adjustments on a frank scale.By the decease of his Mother,he had become rich in money;his share of the West-India properties having now fallen to him,which,added to his former incomings,made a revenue he could consider ample and abundant.Falmouth friends looked lovingly towards him,promising occasional visits;old Herstmonceux,which he often spoke of revisiting but never did,was not far off;and London,with all its resources and remembrances,was now again accessible.He resumed his work;and had hopes of again achieving something.