ceptible to her friends. At the close of the year 1834 her health became very precarious, and the following spring brought symptoms of her approaching dissolution. The closing scene has been impressively described by one of her friends:—
"Mrs. Hemans was now too ill to leave her room, and was only laid upon a couch during the daytime, occasionally suffering severely. But all was borne with resignation and patience, and when not able to bear even the fatigue of reading, she had recourse to her mental resources, and as she lay on her sofa, she would repeat to herself whole chapters of the Bible, and page after page of Milton and Wordsworth. Her thoughts reverted frequently to the days of her childhood—to the old house by the sea-shore—the mountain rambles—the haunts and the books which had formed the delight of her childhood. She was wont to say to those who expressed pity for her situation, that 'she lived in a fair and happy world of her own, among gentle thoughts and pleasant images;' and in her intervals of pain she would observe, that 'no poetry could express, nor imagination conceive, the visions of blessedness that flitted across her fancy, and made her waking hours more delightful than those even that were given to temporary repose.'" Indeed her sister observes, "At times her spirit would appear to be already half-etherealized, her mind would seem to be fraught with deep and holy and incommunicable thoughts, and she would entreat to be left perfectly alone, in stillness and darkness, 'to commune with her own heart,' and reflect on the mercies of her Saviour."
On the 15th of March, after receiving the holy sacrament, she became extremely ill, but a temporary improvement took place, and on the 26th. of April, she dedicated to her brother, (for she had for some time been constrained to employ an amanuensis,) her "Sabbath Sonnet," the last strain of the sweet singer of the hearth, the home, and the affections.
On Saturday, the 26th. of May, she sank into a peaceful slumber, which continued all day, and at nine o'clock in the evening her gentle spirit passed away without pain or struggle.
Her remains were deposited in a vault beneath St. Anne's Church, Dublin, almost close to the house where she died. A small tablet has been placed above the spot where she is laid, inscribed with her name, her age, and the date of her death, and with some lines from a dirge of her own.
HENDEL-SCHÜTZ, HENRIETTA.
This celebrated woman, in whom her native country recognises one of its first tragic actresses, and her age the greatest pantomimic artist, was the daughter of the eminent tragedian, Schüler. From her fourth year, she received instruction in declamation and dancing. In the latter art she was so accomplished, even when a child, that she was engaged for the ballet of the Berlin Royal Theatre, of which her father was a member. The celebrated Engel, at that time director of the Berlin Theatre, seems to have duly appreciated her rare talents, for he took her to his house, and instructed her in history, mythology, versification, languages, and declamation. In her sixteenth year, she united herself to the excellent tenor-singer, Eunike, in Berlin, and both were engaged, first at the Prince's Theatre, at Maintz, then at Bonn. There she was undoubtedly
