knowledge of the truths of the gospel on the poor. She was considerate and liberal to that class during her lifetime, and at her death, the sums bequeathed by her to relig. ious and charitable institutions were on the most inunificent scale. But perhaps the truest and most touching proof of her generosity and kindness to the poor, was that given on the day of her funeral, when, each with some semblance of mourning, they came crowding from village and hamlet to pay a last tribute to their benefactress, and give "all they had to give-a tear."

In reading the life of this celebrated person, we can not fail to be struck with the large amount of good that she effected; and yet she was but a "lone woman;" and, in addition to the disadvantages pertaining to her sex, Mrs. Hannah More was at all times delicate in health, and subject to very frequent illnesses. In consequence of this, she was deeply impressed with the evil of procrastination, and has recorded in her diary how necessary she felt it to be to prosecute her work assiduously during her intervals of freedom from sickness. This goes to prove what we have already stated, that greatness in general, as well as success, arises less from the possession of great talents, or from favorable circumstances, than the selection of a proper aim, and the resolution to follow it unswervingly. There are multitudes of examples in the world, of a stern and successful resistance of circumstances more overwhelming than any we are likely to encounter, and exciting us to emulation. We are disposed to lay too much stress on the force of circumstances, forgetting that we are to some extent the originators of them. Then we consider this a capital excuse for our indolence, it is this that is keeping us inactive, we are waiting for an opening, instead of making an opening. As for a favorable opportunity, it is vain for us to plead the want of that; we must not be too scrupulous, but seize the best that happens to come within our reach.

In perusing any work, we almost insensibly form ideas of the personality of the author; we become acquainted not only with his mind, but we "have a vision of our own," and can describe his appearance even when unaided by the engraver's art. Our childish notions of the subject of this sketch were unfavorable enough. We regarded her as an old lady who wrote good, but uncommonly dry books, and our prepossessions against her were in no degree ameliorated as we gazed on the uncouth personage depicted in

the frontispiece, that large truthful-looking characters beneath assured us was Hannah More. Some years subsequently, her collected works were procured for our especial edification; unfortunately, the exterior of the volumes was not calculated to make them find favor in our eyes, and after dipping into one, and skimming another, the whole were pronounced by ourselves, and some equally judicious critical companions, to be excessively egotistical and uninteresting. As years increased," a change came o'er the spirit of our dream," we read the life and works of Hannah More with extreme pleasure, being then more capable of appreciating her excellences of character, as well as her merits as a writer; and when we saw two fine steel engravings, the one representing her as a blooming girl with flowing hair; the other from Pickersgill's painting, in which she appears as the most amiable, loveable, and benignant-looking of all old ladies, we scorned the libellous old woodcut of former days, and a complete rev. olution was effected in our opinion.

Hannah More was the youngest of five sisters, and was born at Stapleton, in Gloucestershire, in the year 1745. Her father, having lost his money by the unfavorable termination of a lawsuit, lived here in a secluded manner. He was the son of the former master of an endowed school in the neighborhood, who not being encumbered with a superabundance of pupils, had plenty of leisure to "rear the tender thought" of his son. He, in his turn, "kept the ball moving," as Franklin says of kindness, and devoted his time to the education of his daughters; and as he brought a highly-creditable amount of talents and learning to the task, and had good materials to work upon, it is not surprising that he was very successful. This was particularly the case with Hannah, who was a somewhat precocious child, and her aptness in the acquisition of the first principles of geometry, and the rudiments of Latin, must have delighted the old man, and transformed the labor of instruction into a pleasant relaxation. The bias of her tastes very early displayed itself; one of her childish amusements was riding on a chair, accompanied by the announcement that "she was going to London to see booksellers and bishops.' It was a darling object of her ambition to attain to the possession of a whole quire of paper, and when some friend gratified her wish, it was speedily filled with letters to imaginary personages.

The talents of the whole family were so much above the average, that they soon at

tracted attention, and under the auspices of Dr. Stonehouse and others, the Misses More established a day school in Bristol; this shortly after gave place to a boarding-school, which long maintained the character of being one of the best and most flourishing in that part of England. To this school Hannah was removed when twelve years of age, and eagerly availed herself of the means of extending her knowledge, now placed within her reach. She acquired a perfect idiomatical knowledge of the French, and afterwards of the Italian and Spanish languages.

Even at this early period, her conversational powers were so fascinating, that Dr. Woodward, an eminent scholar, when attending her in his medical capacity, under their influence on one occasion so far forgot the object of his visit that he was proceeding down stairs, when, suddenly recollecting himself, he returned to the room, exclaiming, "Bless me! I forgot to ask the girl how she is ?"

In the year 1762, she gave her first literary composition to the world, in the shape of a pastoral drama, entitled "The Search after Happiness." Having met with the approval of Garrick, Dr. Stonehouse, and other persons of literary taste, it was issued from the Bristol press, and its popularity was so great that in a few months it passed through three editions. The poem, as the authoress informs us, had for its object "an earnest wish to furnish a substitute for the very improper custom, which then prevailed, of allowing plays, and these not always of the purest kind, to be acted by young ladies in boarding-schools."

About this time, a proposal of marriage was made to her by a landed proprietor in the neighborhood, and, though Mr. Turner was many years her senior, his offer was accepted, and she resigned her share in the management of the boarding-school. Owing to various circumstances, however, the engagement was broken off, and although the gentleman soon after sought to renew it, the lady would not give her consent. Her feelings had undeniably been trifled with, and she made a resolution to eschew all such overtures in future. It is but due to Mr. Turner to state that he settled an annuity on her, and bequeathed her at his death the sum of one thousand pounds. Perhaps, if we knew it, the lives of many of the tea-bibbing, scandal-mongering class, denominated old maids, contain a little episode of such a vexation, and such a determination; and perhaps the secret of their railing at the world in general is, that "there is a cross in their heart."

When in her twenty-second year, Hannah More paid her first visit to London, and returned the following year, to reside for a short time with the Garricks at their beautiful retreat at Hampton. Here she became acquainted with Johnson, Burke, Reynolds, and others of the elite of the literary world. The great moralist, in particular, had a most affectionate regard for her, terming her "Child," "Little Fool," "Love," and "Dearest." One of her sisters, in writing home, gives the following interesting account of a conversation between herself and Johnson: "After much critical discourse, he turns round to me, and with one of his most amiable looks, which must be seen to form the least idea of it, he says, 'I have heard that you are engaged in the useful and honorable employment of teaching young ladies;' upon which with all the same ease, familiarity and confidence as we should have done, had only our own Dr. Stonehouse been present, we entered upon the history of our birth, parentage, and education, showing how we were born with more desires than guineas, and how, as years increased, our appetites increased also, the cupboard at home being too small to gratify them; and how, with a bottle of water, a bed and a blanket, we set out to seek our fortunes; and how we found a great house with nothing in it; and how it was like to remain so, till, looking into our knowledgebox, we happened to find a little larning,— a good thing when land is gone, or rather when there is none, and so at last, by giving a little of this little larning to those who had less, we got a good store of gold in return, but how, alas! we wanted the wit to keep it. 'I love you both,' cried the inamorato; I love you all five. I never was at Bristol-I will come on purpose to see you. What! five women live happily together! I will come and see you. I have spent a happy evening-I am glad I came. God for ever bless you; you live to shame duchesses.' He took his leave with so much warmth and tenderness, we were quite affected at his manner." In what an amiable light does the great moralist appear in such an anecdote as this; and Madame D'Arblay, another of his pets, has many similar in her gossiping diary; and with all his faults, can we help loving him still?

In the midst of the adulation which was now lavished on the youthful authoress, it is most gratifying to find her writing thus to one of her sisters: "For my own part, the more I see of the honored, famed, and great, the more I see of the littleness, the unsatisfactoriness of

all created good, and that no earthly pleasure can fill up the wants of the immortal principle within." After her return to Bristol, she produced two short poems-"The Bleed ing Rock," and "Sir Eldred of the Bower;" the latter a moral tale in two parts, in the ballad style. A handsome sum was paid for these pieces by Mr. Caddell, and their success was so great that a thousand copies were sold in a fortnight. She now plumed her wing for a higher flight, and the direction which it took was no doubt influenced by her intimacy with the Garricks, as well as the success of her pastoral drama. "The Inflexible Captive," a regular piece in five acts, appeared in 1774, and on its perform ance in the theatre at Bath was favorably received. It is founded on the well-known classical story of Regulus, the Roman ambassador to Carthage, and displays considerable power. There are many fine passages, and the interest is sustained throughout.

Within the three following years, the two tragedies of "Percy" and the "Fatal Falsehood" were produced; the former was deservedly the most popular of Miss More's dramatic works. It greatly exceeds "The Inflexible Captive" in point of dramatic interest; the various characters are brought out with much clearness and precision; and that of Elwina is a particularly fine sketch.

In the year 1780, Miss Hannah More paid another visit to London, during which she resided at the house of the amiable and accomplished widow of Dean Delany, and had the privilege of enlarging the number of her literary acquaintances, which, in addition to many distinguished prelates, now included the names of Walpole, Jenyns, Pepys, Mrs. Boscawen, Mrs. Chapone, and Mrs. Carter. About this time she published a small volume in prose, entitled "Essays for Young Ladies," now very scarce, and a volume of "Sacred Dramas." These dramas were greatly esteemed, and a specimen of a translation of one of them into the Cingalese language was presented to the authoress, writ ten on a Palmyra leaf, and enclosed in a beautifully-painted wooden ease. Nor was this the only instance of her works being read in countries where one would little expect them to have found their way, for a Russian princess, who had procured some of her short tracts, translated them into Russ, and wrote a complimentary letter to the authoress.

We have hitherto traced the career of Hannah More merely as a popular authoress, who was gradually gaining favor in the eyes

of the public; but the time was now come when the results of her careful education in the truths of the Christian religion, and the influence which those principles possess over every well-constituted mind, were to be more broadly manifested. The death of her friend Garrick severed the strongest link between her and the dramatic world, and the sense of the hollowness of worldly enjoyments pressed upon her mind with ever-increasing force. She had all along retained her native simplicity of character, and the adulation that was lavished on her had left as little trace as water on the plumage of a bird; she had never suffered herself to be intoxicated by the pleasures of the world; and what a testimony it is to their unsatisfactoriness, that they palled upon the taste of one who had enjoyed those of the most refined description, and always with a due regard to moderation. The cast of her mind was eminently practical this was evidenced as early as the time that her juvenile pastoral, "The Search after Happiness," was produced, for, as we have said, it sprung from a nobler wish than a youthful love of notoriety. Even the three most ambitious effusions of her dramatic muse were not written as mere passports to fame. Her own reading, and the society in which she mingled at that period, gave her thoughts a strong bent towards the stage; but she viewed it not only as an entertainment, but as a powerful lever of the heart, and one which she hoped to enlist on the side of virtue. Her plays were written under that impression, though in after years she abandoned the hope of metamorphosing the theatre into a school of virtue, and became convinced that "this utopian good could not be produced, until not only the stage itself had undergone a complete purification, but until the audience was purified also."

In conformity with her desire of withdrawing more from the world, Hannah More in 1786 purchased a neat cottage in the neighborhood of Bristol, called Cowslip Green. Nought of asceticism, however, entered into her ideas of retirement; she who had tasted wisely and temperately of the pleasures of society, partook in equal moderation of the sweets of seclusion. Her annual visits to her friend Mrs. Garrick in London were still continued, and from time to time she indulged in intercourse with the most eminent literary characters of the day.

Theology had even in early life been one of her favorite studies, and she gladly embraced the opportunity now afforded her of