Page:Heroines of freethought (IA cu31924031228699).pdf/295

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FRANCES POWER COBBE.
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to look upon the Christ as an Exemplar, rather than as a Mediator, and to dare to believe in God as all-powerful, and to see that Devil and Hell were words only, having no basis in reality.

For this teacher of morals, whom she had never seen, Miss Cobbe conceived a deep and worshipful reverence and tender regard. She sought by correspondence with him to understand and define more fully his broad, liberal, loving views, concerning the relations between God and man. This correspondence was continued at intervals for several years, and was only broken by the death of Mr. Parker.

Although a meeting with Theodore Parker was greatly desired by Miss Cobbe, and she was traveling through Europe about the same time that he was, yet circumstances constantly thwarted this desire until he was on his deathbed. Miss Cobbe arrived in Florence, Italy, just a few days previous to his death. She, however, ventured to call on him. Their meeting was, under the cir-