“I come! I come!—Ye have called me long: I come o’er the mountains with light and song! Ye may trace my steps o’er the wakening earth, By the winds that tell of the violet’s birth, By the primrose stars in the shadowy grass, By the green leaves opening as I pass.” There is diffused over all her poetry a yearning desire to associate the name of England with every sentiment and feeling of freedom and patriotism. “The Homes of England” shows that she knew wherein consisted the glory and strength of kingdoms. “The stately homes of England, How beautiful they stand Amidst their tall ancestral trees, O’er all the pleasant land. The deer across their greensward bound Through shade and sunny gleam And the swan glides past them with the sound Of some rejoicing stream.” Her “Graves of a Household” illustrates how well the graphic and pathetic may be made to set off each other. “They grew in beauty, side by side, They filled one home with glee; Their graves are severed, far and wide, By mount and stream and sea.” With what exquisite tenderness and beautiful imagery does she express in “The Hour of Death” the emotions of every heart. “Leaves have their time to fall, And flowers to wither at the north wind’s breath, And stars to set—but all, Thou hast _all_ seasons for thine own, O Death!” Mrs. Hemans’ poetry has four characteristics, viz., the ideal, the picturesque, the harmonious, and the moral. There may be “too many flowers for the fruit;” yet a large portion of it possesses perennial vitality. The best edition extant of the works of Mrs. Hemans has been published recently by Messrs. Blackwood. The poems are chronologically arranged, with illustrative notes and a selection of contemporary criticisms. Besides an ample table of contents, there is a general index, and an index of first lines. _CHARACTER OF MRS. HEMANS._ Her personal appearance was highly attractive. The writer of her memoir describes her in early womanhood as radiant with beauty. The mantling bloom of her cheeks was shaded by a profusion of natural ringlets of a rich golden brown; and the ever-varying expression of her brilliant eyes gave a changeful play to her countenance, which would have made it impossible for any painter to do justice to it. She was of middle stature and slight of figure. Her air was graceful, and her manner fascinating in its artlessness. From the crown of the head to the sole of the foot she was touched with elegance.