such as she preferred, and in which she was most happy.

"I pass over in silence a time in which we had no home of our own, and when, from the deranged state of our affairs, we were indebted for one to the kindness and generosity of a friend; nor do I speak of the time spent in Ireland, when following the regiment with my husband, because the want of a settled abode interrupted those studies in which my daughter most delighted. Books are not light of carriage, and the blow which deprived us of Piercefield, deprived us of a library also. But though this period of her life afforded little opportunity for improvement in science, the qualities of her heart never appeared in a more amiable light. Through all the inconveniences which attended our situation while living in barracks, the firmness and cheerful resignation of her mind, at the age of nineteen, made me blush for the tear which too frequently trembled in my eye, at the recollection of all the comforts we had lost.

"In October, 1800, we left Ireland, and deter mined on seeking out some retired situation in England; in the hope that, by strict economy, and with the blessing of cheerful contented minds, we might find something like comfort; which the frequent change of quarters, with four children, and the then insecure state of Ireland, made it impossible to feel, notwithstanding the kind and generous attention we invariably received from the hospitable inhabitants of that country. We passed the winter in a cottage on the banks of the lake of Ulswater, and continued there till the May following, when we removed to our present residence at Coniston. This country had many charms for Elizabeth. She drew correctly from

nature, and her enthusiastic admiration of the sublime and beautiful, often carried her beyond the bounds of prudent precaution, with regard to her health. Frequently in the summer she was out during twelve or fourteen hours, and in that time walked many miles. When she returned at night she was always more cheerful than usual; never said she was fatigued, and seldom appeared so. It is astonishing how she found time for all she acquired and all she accomplished. Nothing was neglected. There was a scrupulous attention to all the minutiae of her sex; for her well regulated mind, far from despising them, considered them as a part of that system of perfection at which she aimed; an aim which was not the result of vanity, nor to attract the applause of the world. No human being ever sought it less, or was more entirely free, from conceit of every kind. The approbation of God and of her own conscience, were the only rewards she ever sought.

"Her translation from the book of Job was finished in 1803. During the two last years of her life, she was engaged in translating from the German, some letters and papers, written by Mr. and Mrs. Klopstock.

"In the summer of the year 1805, Elizabeth was seized with a cold, which terminated in her death; and I wish the cause was more generally known, as a caution to those whose studious turn of mind may lead them into the same errour.. f will give the account as she herself related it, a very short time before she died, to a faithful and affectionate servant, who at first came into the family when my daughter was only six weeks old."

"One very hot evening in July, I took a book, and walked about two miles from home, where I seated myself on a stone beside the lake. Being

much engaged by a poem I was reading, I did not perceive that the sun was gone down, and was succeeded by a very heavy dew, till in a moment I felt struck on the chest, as if with a sharp knife. I returned home, but said nothing of the pain. The next day being also very hot, and every one busy in the hay-field, I thought I would take a rake and work very hard, to produce perspiration, in the hope that it might remove the pain; but it did not."

"From that time a bad cough, with occasional loss of voice, gave me great apprehension of what might be the consequence, if the cause was not removed; but no entreaties could prevail on her to take the proper remedies, or to refrain from her usual walks. This she persisted in, being sometimes better and then a little worse, till the beginning of October."

About this time Miss Smith accompanied her mother on a visit to Bath, and thence to Sunbury; but finding no amendment in her health, they returned to Coniston, where Miss Smith expired, on the 7th of August, 1806, aged twenty-nine, and was interred at Hawkshead.

The character of Miss Smith, is thus briefly summed up by Mrs. Bowdler, in a letter to Dr. Mumsen:

"Her character was so extraordinary, and she was so very dear to me, that I hope you will forgive my dwelling a little longer on my irreparable loss. Her person and manners were extremely pleasing, with a pensive softness of countenance that indicated deep reflection; but her extreme timidity concealed the most extraordinary talents that ever fell under my observation. With

scarcely any assistance, she taught herself the French, Italian, Spanish, German, Latin, Greek,

and Hebrew languages. She had no inconsiderable knowledge of Arabic and Persic. She was well acquainted with geometry, algebra, and other branches of the mathematics. She was a very fine musician. She drew landscapes from nature extremely well, and was a mistress of perspective. She showed an early taste for poetry, of which some specimens remain, but I believe she destroyed most of the effusions of her youthful muse, when an acquaintance with your great poet, and still more when the sublime compositions of the Hebrew bards gave a different turn to her thoughts. With all these acquirements she was perfectly feminine in her disposition; elegant, modest, gentle and affectionate. Nothing was neglected which a woman ought to know; no duty was omitted, which her situation in life required her to perform. But the part of her character on which I dwell with the greatest satisfaction, is that exalted piety, which seemed always to raise her above this world, and learnt her, at sixteen years of age, to resign its riches and its pleasures almost without regret; and to support with dignity, a very unexpected change of situation. For some years before her death, the Holy Scripture was her principal study, and she translated from the Hebrew the whole book of Job, &c. &c. How far she succeeded in this attempt I am not qualified to judge; but the benefit which she herself derived from these studies, must be evident. to those who witnessed the patience and resignation with which she supported a long and painful illness; the sweet attention which she always showed to the feelings of her parents and friends, and the heavenly composure with which she looked forward to the awful change which has now removed her to a world where,' as one of her

friends observes, her gentle, pure and enlightened spirit will find itself more at home, than in this land of shadows,'" &c. &c.

To this Dr. M. replies in a letter, from which we select the following paragraph:

"The account you gave me in the extraordinary character of your late angelic friend, has filled my breast with admiration and awe. I have read your letter with tears. So many accomplishments, natural and moral; so much of science, erudition and eminence of rare talents, combined with grace, with gentleness, and all the virtues that adorn the female mind! It is wonderful, and cannot be enough admired. Great indeed, must have been your happiness in the possession of this treasure! Alas! the gentle spirit that moved her tender limbs is soon divested of its mortal garment, and gone to join its kindred angels.

'Vattene in pace, Alma beata e bella!'

But I think her happy in this our period; for what can be more fortunate on earth, than to fall into the hands of the virtuous, and, free from contact of a corrupt race, to make her passage over our unlucky planet pure and immaculate, and with the robe of innocence to appear before her creator? To taste all the sweets of science and. art, and having satisfied all honest desires, remove from the feast of life with gratitude-Tis a consummation devoutly to be wished.''

ANNA MARIA SCHURMAN.

THE learned and ingenious Anna Maria Schurman, was born at Cologn, Nov. 5th, 1607. Her parents were descended from noble protestant fa

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