When a hero shall rise in his godlike youth To champion the right, or to die for the truth, A patriot, generous, peerless, and brave, The sword will be brought from its guardian wave. “The hero will grasp it in his knightly hand, "This night,” cried the boy, "I will ask the deep sea She looked at the grace of the strong, slender form, And the mother's heart thrilled with wild, vague alarm. "Not so, dearest boy," then the pallid lips say; is His- and 'the Lord will repay.' “For vengeance is His The thought of that sword like a strong magnet draws; The boy learns to brood o'er the lost "Southern Cause," Till his young brow is stern and his fair cheek is thin With the tumult and strife of emotion within. His ardent soul thrills with a passionate flame To win for himself such a glorious name. 66 "O thou mystical ocean! O bounteous sea! Heed the prayer that alone can be granted by thee; "Do thou send a nymph from the Nereid's band In a dream by the sea thus the young sleeper cried; "The wave shall uplift, and the free winds shall waft "Unsurrendered forever!" now thundered the sea; The sword of the Admiral Raphael Semmes." The authorship of this poem has been accredited to several other writers; but we publish it with Miss Anderson's poems, where it properly belongs. It was written on the occasion of Admiral Semmes' visit to Harrodsburg, and was read by Col. Chenoweth, of the late C. S. Army, at the dinner given to the distinguished stranger by Gov. Magoffin. MRS. CHAPMAN COLEMAN AND DAUGHTERS. MRS. COLEMAN is more widely known as a woman of society, and as the daughter of the late John J. Crittenden, of Kentucky, than as an author. She was born at Frankfort, the capital of the State. Her educational advantages in early life were not such as are now enjoyed by the young ladies of the present day; but they were the best that Kentucky at that time afforded. At her father's house she met with the most distinguished men of the State, and grew up among the thinkers and talkers of the day. In 1830, Miss Crittenden married Mr. Chapman Coleman, of Louisville, and resided in that city, the centre of a gay and brilliant circle, until her husband's death, in 1850. Mrs. Coleman is a most brilliant conversationalist. Says a friend, who has been intimate with her for over thirty-seven years: "She has always been ambitious of attaining to distinction and the highest degree of excellence in everything she attempted. Her duties as a daughter, a wife, a mother, a sister, a friend, have always been performed in the most conscientious and admirable manner." Mrs. Coleman has been the mother of seven children, and from their birth she ever devoted herself to their education. After her husband's death she went to Europe, and lived in Germany for the purpose of educating her children. She studied with them, and mastered the French and German languages, with what success, the clever translations from both languages, given to the world by herself and daughters, best testify. Eugenia, Judith, and Sallie Coleman assisted the mother in these translations, of which the series of romances of Mrs. Mühlbach, relating to "Frederick the Great," are best known. The Misses Coleman are lovely, refined, and charming young ladies, full of grace and culture; how could the daughters of such a mother fail of being otherwise? Mrs. Coleman's knowledge of literature is extensive and accurate. She has a prompt and bright judgment, and her industry and energy are invincible. Could she be induced to give her own thoughts to the MRS. CHAPMAN COLEMAN AND DAUGHTERS. 181 world of readers, they could not but be delighted with their originality, cleverness, and her piquant style. Since her return from Europe, Mrs. Coleman has resided principally in Baltimore. She was one of the select committee sent from Baltimore to petition President Johnson in behalf of Mr. Jefferson Davis, then in prison. Mrs. Coleman has in contemplation a Life and Times of her father, the Hon. J. J. Crittenden, one of the distinguished men of the country,—as she is, and has always been, regarded as one of the most distinguished among the brilliant women of Kentucky. S. ROCHESTER FORD. RS. FORD, whose maiden name was Rochester, was born at Rochester Springs, Boyle county, Kentucky, in 1828. She was the eldest of three daughters, and only in her fourth year when her mother died. "This loss was providentially supplied by the judicious supervision of her maternal grandmother, a woman of great mental and physical vigor, who devoted herself to her grandchildren with true motherly interest. Accustomed herself to out-door exercise, the management of a farm, and the superintendence of a large family, and being withal a woman of highly religious character, she appreciated and enforced the kind of training which is now apparent in the strong characteristics of our writer.” * From the same authority we get the following: "Her advantages for acquiring Biblical knowledge were rather unusual. She was a lover of books and a close student. Her uncle, Rev. J. R. Pitts, occupied an adjacent farm, and gave her free access to his library and counsel. She cultivated the acquaintance of clergymen, especially those of her own denomination, and took an intelligent and deep interest in the study of the distinguishing principles of their theology. In this way she laid the foundation of the skill with which she has since defended the faith of her people." She married the Rev. S. H. Ford in 1855, who was at that time pastor of a Baptist church in Louisville, Ky. A short time after his marriage, Rev. Mr. Ford became proprietor of a religious monthly, called the "Christian Repository," which he conducted with success until the "war-cloud burst.” Mrs. Ford commenced her literary life by contributing to this magazine, in the pages of which first appeared "Grace Truman; or, Love and Principle." This work was published in 1857, by Sheldon & Co., of New York, and gracefully dedicated to "Elizabeth T. Pitts, my loved and venerated grandmother, who, beneath the weight of eighty years, still * "Women of the South," by Mary Forrest. |