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 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 the 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.
