A Cyclopaedia of Female Biography/Darling, Grace
DARLING, GRACE,
Whose name, by an act of heroic daring, has rebounded through the civilized world, was born November 24th., 1815, at Bamborough, on the coast of Northumberland. She was the seventh child of William Darling, a steady, judicious, and sensible man, who held the responsible office of keeper of the Longstone Light-house, situated on one of the most distant and exposed of the Fame Islands, a rocky group extending some seven or eight miles beyond this dangerous coast. In this isolated position, where weeks sometimes elapsed without communication with the mainland, the greater part of Grace's existence was passed, with no other companionship than that of her parents and brother, who resided at the Lighthouse. She benefited by the advantages of a respectable education, suited to one in her sphere of life, and her time was principally occupied in assisting her mother in household affairs. Grace had reached her twenty-second year, when the incident occurred which has given her so wide-spread and just a fame. The Forfarshire steamer, proceeding from Hull to Dundee, with sixty-three persons on board, was wrecked upon one of the fearful crags of the Farne group, on the night of the 6th. of September, 1838. The vessel, which subsequent inquiry proved to have been utterly unseaworthy, was broken in two pieces, the after part, with many souls upon it, being swept away instantly, while the fore part remained upon the rock. The captain and his wife were among the number of those who perished. Nine persons survived the horrors of that night upon the remaining fragment of the wreck, exposed, amid rain and profound darkness, to the fury of the waves, and expecting momentarily to be engulphed by the boiling surge.
At daybreak on the morning of the 7th., these poor people were discovered from Longstone by the Darlings, at nearly a mile's distance, by means of a glass, clinging to the rocks and remnants of the vessel. Grace, the moment she caught sight of them, perceiving their imminent danger—for the returning tide must wash them off—immediately determined to save them; and no remonstrances of her father, who, in the furious state of the sea, considered it a desperate and hopeless adventure, had any power in dissuading her. There was no one at the Lighthouse but her parents and herself, her brother being absent on the mainland; and she declared if her father did not accompany her, she would go alone; that, live or die, she would attempt to save the wretched sufferers.
Her father consented to the trial. The boat was launched with the assistance of the mother; and the father and daughter, each taking an oar, proceeded upon their errand of mercy. They succeeded; and in no instance has lowly virtue and unobtrusive heroism met with more prompt acknowledgment or just reward. The highest enthusiasm prevailed throaghout Great Britiain as the adventure became known, and distant nations responded with hearty sympathy. To reward the bravery and humanity of Grace Darling, a subscription was raised in England, which amounted to £700, and she received besides numberless presents from individuals, some of them of distingiushed rank. Her portrait was taken and multiplied over the kingdom; the Humane Society sent her a flattering vote of thanks and a piece of plate; dramatic pieces were performed representing her exploit; her sea-girt home was invaded by steamboat loads of wonder-seeking admirers, and offers of marriage, not a few, flowed in upon her.
Amid all this tumult of applause, so calculated to unsettle the mind, Grace Darling never for a moment swerved from the modest dignity which belonged to her character. She continued, notwithstanding the improvement in her circumstances, to reside at the Lighthouse with her parents, content to dwell in the secluded and humble sphere in which her lot had been cast; proving by her conduct that the liberality of the public had not been unworthily bestowed.
Grace Darling, as is too often the case with the noble and good, was not destined to enjoy long life. She survived only a few years to enjoy her well-earned fame. In 1841, symptoms of declining health exhibited themselves, and, on the 20th. of October, 1842, she died of consumption.
Grace Darling is described as a woman of middle size, comely, though not handsome, but with an expression of mildness and benevolence most winning. Her disposition was always retiring and reserved, the effect, no doubt, of her solitary mode of life; a life which unquestionably fostered and concentrated the quiet enthusiasm of her character, and made her the heroine of one of the most beautiful episodes that ever adorned the history of woman.