I think its: But what else could we do? We could not give her those glib assurances that naive souls make so easily to others concerning their after state.
The sentence of the essay "Gone" that reflects John Galsworthy’s view about the afterlife is: "But what else could we do? We could not give her those glib assurances that naive souls make so easily to others concerning their after state." Because the author means that they, unlike others, would not be able to make some kind of insincere or shallow affirmations about what might happen afterlife.
Edgar Allen Poe's novel is known as dreadful and horrific because of its Aesthic Impact, he is a well known gothic writer and his novels could be considered dreadful or horrific because its themes are centered on Mystery, the Supernatural, and Death.