We may recall that Bessie always hated "sums," and found them bewildering. She was, however, very accurate in mental calculation. She knew what money she had advanced, on what occasions and to whom. No amount was omitted or entered twice over in her memory. It was only by slow degrees that she learnt the value of written records, the nature of them, and the necessity of absolute accuracy in matters of business. Ledgers and cash books and journals at first indicated merely a certain incapacity in _the sighted_; but time and experience taught her that they were indispensable.
The work of the Repository had engrossed much of her time, but in the summer she accompanied her parents and other members of the family on a tour in Scotland. She was in very good health, and walked with a brother and sister from Stirling to Bannockburn and back. Her love of early Scottish history gave her a special interest in the places visited. As they drove through Glencoe it was carefully described to her. Inverness, as being near Culloden, was specially attractive. At Oban she heard of the taking of Sebastopol, and this recalled her to the interests and anxieties of that time. She enjoyed staying at Scotch hotels; but on the whole she had derived less pleasure from the Scotch than from the Irish tour. She found nothing so beautiful as the Killarney echoes, and missed the warm-hearted sympathy and genuine interest of the Irish peasantry and guides.
The one point that stood out pre-eminent as the outcome of her visit to Scotland was her inspection of the School for the Blind in Edinburgh. The work done there gave her many ideas, inspired many hopes and plans. But she saw more clearly than ever that her scheme was a new departure, and returned with confidence in her own power, and that of her blind workmen, to carry it forward.
... "From the cheerful ways of men Cut off, and for the book of knowledge fair Presented with a universal blank Of nature's works."...--MILTON.
We must remember that Bessie's scheme was at first a private matter, and that there is no reason why a blind lady's accounts should be kept like a tradesman's books. Bessie Gilbert had arranged that her weekly bills should be copied by members of her family rather for their information than for her own. So far as she was concerned she could remember what she gave, and had only to take care not to exceed her income. This seemed at first a simple matter, but before long the increased expenditure in connection with "the Repository" began to be a source of anxiety. The sale of goods entailed very serious loss. The workmen received the full selling price of articles minus the cost of material, and Bessie bore all charges and expenses, so that any considerable development of the trade would have left the promoter of it penniless.