"When morning came, for the first time in many months the fire was out, Jo's place was empty, and the room was very still. But a bird sang blithely on a budding bough, close by, the snowdrops blossomed fresh at the window, and the spring sunshine streamed in like a benediction over the placid face upon the pillow - a face so full of painless peace that those who loved it best smiled through their tears, and thanked God that Beth was well at last."

From Louisa May Alcott'sLittle Women. Drawing of Elizabeth Alcott's grave in Concord's Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. Elizabeth was the model for Little Women's Beth March.

Drawing and background: ©1998 Kristina Joyce.