Women -- Biography; Women -- Social and moral questions
In 1831, Mrs. Hemans finally quitted Liverpool for Dublin. After
spending several weeks among kind friends, she passed on to the
residence of her second brother and his wife, and then visited all the
remarkable places around Kilkenny. In the spring and summer of 1832,
when cholera was devastating the city, her letters express the solemn
composure of her soul, her childlike dependence upon the care of God,
and her unreserved submission to His will. In the autumn of 1833, the
Rev. Mr. and Mrs. Hughes, the brother-in-law and sister of Mrs. Hemans,
whom she had not seen for five years, came to Dublin. Her sister saw
with pain the worn and altered looks which time, care, and sickness had
wrought. In 1834, referring to the brightening of heart and soul into
the perfect day of Christian excellence, she remarks; “When the weary
struggle with wrong and injustice leads to such results, I then feel
that the fearful mystery of life is solved for me.” Reading one evening
in the gardens of the Dublin Society, a chill fog imperceptibly came
on, and she was seized with a violent fit of shivering. For many weeks
she had periodic attacks of ague. Aware that her time was short, she
sedulously employed her genius and talents for the glory of God.
On Sunday the 10th of May, 1835, she was able, for the last time, to
read to herself the appointed Collect, Epistle, and Gospel. During that
week a heavy languor oppressed her, and sometimes her mind wandered,
but always in sunny scenes. On the evening of Saturday the 16th, at
nine o’clock, while asleep, her happy spirit passed away. Life, and
this admirable woman, had not been long together; she was only in her
forty-second year.
Her remains were interred in St. Anne’s church, Dawson Street, Dublin;
and over her grave were inscribed eight lines from one of her own
dirges:—
“Calm on the bosom of thy God,
Fair spirit, rest thee now!
E’en while with us thy footsteps trod,
His seal was on thy brow.
Dust to its narrow house beneath!
Soul to its place on high!
They that have seen thy look in death,
No more may fear to die.”
The memorial erected by her nearest relations in the cathedral of St.
Asaph, is very expressive, and records that—
“THIS TABLET,
PLACED HERE BY HER BROTHERS,
IS IN MEMORY OF
FELICIA HEMANS;
WHOSE CHARACTER IS BEST PORTRAYED
IN HER WRITINGS.
SHE DIED IN DUBLIN, MAY 16, 1835.
AGED 41.”
_REVIEW OF HER WORKS._
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account