letters," and which gave melancholy indication of the lurking malady which was so soon to declare itself. She never complained, but what she felt may, perhaps, be traced from her picture of disappointed tenderness in her own Properzia Rossi.” 66 "Tell me no more, no more, Of my soul's lofty gifts! are they not vain Records of Woman.' In the Biographical Memoir, the subject is slurred over by the statement that, unfortunately, Captain Hemans's health, having been undermined by the hardships he had endured in the disastrous retreat to Corunna, and in the Walcheren expedition, was so broken up as to render it necessary for him, a few years after ' their marriage, to exchange his native climate for the milder sky ' of Italy, leaving his wife, as it should seem, to bring up and educate their five boys as she could. We are no friends to the too common practice of exposing domestic details to the public eye but if biography is to answer any worthy purpose, no facts ought to be withheld by a false delicacy, the knowledge of which is necessary to place the character delineated in a just light, and to give a monitory force to the tale of misfortune. Better that public curiosity should remain altogether ungratified, than that what purports to be a biographical memoir should be given, in which the main and governing circumstances of the individual's history are concealed. 6 The literary pursuits of Mrs. Hemans rendering it, in the smooth phrase of her Biographer, ineligible for her to leave England,'-that is, to accompany her husband to Italy,—as if she could not have pursued them as well in that country as in North Wales! - she continued to reside with her mother and sister at a quiet and pretty spot near St. Asaph. There, in the bosom of her family, entirely devoted to literature, and to the education of five interesting boys, in whose welfare centered all the energies of her mind and heart, she "Trod in gentle peace her guileless way," and won more and more on public regard and estimation.... From this studious seclusion were given forth the two poems which first per manently elevated her among the writers of her age; the "Restoration of the Works of Art to Italy," and "Modern Greece."' Memoir, pp. xiii., xiv. The latter of these appeared anonymously in 1817, but had the advantage of being put forth by the fashionable Albemarle Street publisher, and immediately attracted the favourable notice of Lord Byron, of Shelley, and of Bishop Heber. It was noticed at the time in this Journal *, with cordial praise as a production of 'genuine talent and feeling'; and had the sex of the Author been detected by the Reviewer, it is probable that a still warmer tribute of commendation would have been awarded to the skill and vigour of genius which could impart a sustained interest to the simple and obvious reflections suggested by the trite, though stirring theme, and pursued through a hundred and one stanzas of descriptive and sentimental verse. In 1819, appeared her "Tales, and Historic Scenes," in Verse; to which the name of the Author was attached; a volume which was described, in the notice given of it in our pagest, as highly creditable to the taste, and fancy, and extensive literary information of the accomplished Writer,' whose talents, it was remarked, were certainly of no common order, and had been successfully cultivated. Other productions now flowed from Mrs. Hemans's pen in rapid succession. Besides the volume just mentioned, The Translations from Camoens; The Prize poem of Wallace, as also that of Dartmoor; The Sceptic, The Welsh Melodies; The Siege of Valencia; and the Vespers of Palermo; may all be referred to this epoch of her literary career, and are characterized by beauties of a high and peculiar stamp. With reference to the two last, it must be owned, that if the genius of Mrs. Hemans was not essentially dramatic, yet they abound with high and magnificent bursts of poetry.' Memoir, pp. xv., xvi. The period to which these publications belong, her Biographer supposes to have been probably the happiest period of her life.' Cheered and animated by the applause now unequivocally bestowed upon her poetical efforts, she continued to occupy herself with literary pursuits, in an uninterrupted domestic privacy. Her talent for acquiring languages was remarkable. She was well versed in German, French, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese, and had some knowledge of Latin. Her preference for German literature has already been mentioned, as well as that she considered her intimacy with the treasures of that language as having imparted an entirely new impulse to the powers of her own mind. 'About this time were composed some of those inimitable lyrics,— more especially "The Treasures of the Deep," "The Hebrew Mother," "The Voice of Spring," and "The Hour of Death"... which will find a response in the human bosom till the end of all time.'-Memoir, p. xviii. Mrs. Hemans's fame had now spread across the Atlantic; and a Reviewer in the Boston Christian Observer (supposed to be Professor Norton) thus speaks, in 1828, of the estimation in which her poems were held in America. «« The writings of Mrs. Hemans have been so justly estimated in this country, that any praise now, can be little more than an echo of the public voice. Her poetry, so full of deep sentiment, so pure and elevating, calls up images and emotions like those with which we view the brilliancy of the evening star in the stillness of the summer night. It allies itself to every thing belonging to the better part of our na ture. Professor Norton visited England, with his lady, in 1828; and one object which he had in view, was to become personally acquainted with Mrs. Hemans. On his return to America, he exerted himself generously and effectually to secure to her the copyright of the edition of her poems then about to appear. From 'the immense number of copies previously circulated there, she had never derived any advantage. His and Mrs. Norton's 'steady and essential kindness has been continued to her son Claude, now in America.' We transcribe with pleasure this statement from Mrs. Lawrence's "Recollections," as honourable alike to our accomplished country woman and to the American Professor, and reflecting honour on both countries, whose literature and religion are one. * The death of Mrs. Hemans's mother in 1827, and the marriage of her sister in the following year, added to the necessity of obtaining additional facilities for the education of her boys, induced Mrs. Hemans to leave St. Asaph, and to fix her residence at Wavertree near Liverpool. Whilst at that place, a favourable opportunity occurred for her visiting Scotland, with the scenery of which she was delighted; and the remembrance of the friends she had made, and the courtesy she had experienced there, was never effaced from her memory. In her journeyings on this occasion, she had the pleasure of forming a personal acquaintance with Sir Walter Scott, Lord Jeffrey, Wordsworth, the * It was, we presume, this sister, Mrs. Hughes, who set so many of her songs to music, with a happiness of effect which so completely 'echoes their feeling, that it seems to be the result of a kindred unison, such as is sometimes so pleasing in the voices of sisters.' Author of Cyril Thornton, and other distinguished literary characters.... While in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh, her principal sojourn was at Milburn Tower, the seat of the venerable Sir Robert Liston.' Mrs. Lawrence has given some fragments of letters received from her gifted friend during this excursion, expressive of the gratification she derived from the visit to Abbotsford, Ridal Mount, and Winandermere. They are brief and unstudied, and evidently meant only to convey her feelings to a friend who would sympathize with them. During her stay at Sir Robert Liston's, near Edinburgh, she formed an acquaintance with Mr. and Mrs. Greaves, which induced her to visit Dublin, and eventually to settle there. One inducement was, we are told, to escape from the continual succession of visiters to which she was liable at Wavertree, and to enjoy something more like retirement. At Dublin, her Hymns for Childhood, and her National Lyrics and Songs for Music, were published. Her constitution, never very strong, now began to shew the effects of the feverish excitement attendant upon a life of unremitted mental exertion and deep anxiety; and the hectic changes which passed over her countenance, too clearly indicated to her friends the insidious disease which was at work within. In Dec. 1834, Mrs. Hemans removed to Redesdale, about seven miles from Dublin, the vacant summer residence of the Archbishop of Dublin, in the hope of deriving benefit from change of air and quiet. She was accompanied by her youngest son, who watched over her with the most devoted affection. Here she remained three months, but without deriving any benefit; and at length, her malady assuming an alarming character, she wrote to Mrs. Whately, expressing a deep sense of their kindness, but stating that she could not conceal from herself that her strength was sinking, and that she had consequently determined upon returning to Dublin, to be nearer her physicians. The following extract from one of her latest letters will be read with deep interest. It is dated Feb. 10, 1833. After referring to Sir Robert Peel's unexpected kindness to her son Henry, in appointing him to a situation in the Navy Office, which, she says, filled my mind with joy and thankfulness, and lifted a weight of aching anxiety from my heart,' she continues: "Well, my dear- I hope my life, if it be spared, may now flow back into its native course of quiet thoughtfulness. You know in how rugged a channel the poor little stream has been forced, and through what rocks it has wrought its way; and it is now longing for repose in some still valley. It has ever been one of my regrets, that the constant necessity of providing sums of money to meet the exigency of the boys' education, has obliged me to waste my mind in what I consider mere desultory effusions. 6.66 "Pouring myself away, As a wild bird, amidst the foliage, turns That which within her thrills, and beats, and burns, My wish ever was, to concentrate all my mental energy in the production of some more noble and complete work, something of pure and holy excellence, (if there be not too much presumption in the thought,) which might permanently take its place as a work of a British poetess. I have always, hitherto, written as if in the breathing times of storms and billows. Perhaps it may not even yet be too late to accomplish what I wish, though I sometimes feel my health so deeply prostrated, that I cannot imagine how I am ever to be raised up again. But a greater freedom from those cares of which I have been obliged to bear up under the whole responsibility, may do much to restore me; and though my spirits are greatly subdued by long sickness, I feel the power of my mind in full maturity. . . . . I have of late * * unkindness, but I shall never despond for these things. The very idea of possessing such friends as and your dear, noble brother, is a fountain of strength and hope. *** I am very, very weary of writing so long; yet still feel as if I had a thousand things to say to you. * * .... " With regard to my health, I can only tell you that what I now feel is a state of sinking languor, from which it seems impossible I should ever be raised. I feel greatly exhausted with this long letter, ** so farewell! my dear, dear Your most affectionate FELICIA HEMANS.' After this, she rallied a little,-the treacherous nature of the disease often inducing the most flattering appearances to the very last. On Sunday, April 25th, she dictated to her brother, Major Browne, her last composition,-a SABBATH SONNET. How many blessed groupes this hour are bending Through England's primrose meadow-paths their way, Pour their fair children forth; and hamlets low, Like a freed vernal stream. I may not tread |