Edith Gilling Cherry

CHERRY, Edith Gilling. b. Plymouth, Devon, 9 February 1872; d. Plymouth, 29 August 1897. Edith Cherry’s poems were published after her death as The Master’s Touch: and other Poems, edited by her mother, Matilda S. Cherry, and published in London and Cheltenham (n.d.). Its title poem,‘The Master’s Touch’, is based on Matthew 8: 15: ‘He touched her hand, and the fever left her; and she arose and ministered unto Him.’ This is given additional poignancy by the fact that Cherry was an invalid for her sad and short life: she developed infantile paralysis (polio) at the age of 16 months, with a second stroke at 12 and a fatal third at 25. The account of her life is given at the end of The Master’s...