I've left upon mortality's estate.

And thou didst suffer all this ruin, thou Whose office was to warn me; 'tis too late

For me to give thee these reproaches now, For I am growing cold—my deeds are done, And thou shouldst blush for them, thou guilty one.

"I tell thee, thou shalt hear;

For, Guardian Angel of the years, I swear
Thou art a traitor to thy God. And fear
A traitor's fate, if thou again shall dare
Neglect thy task. Then aid him who shall bear
The sceptre I resign-to quench all wrong,
And kindle right-or, when I meet thee where
None may evade the truth, my oath, as strong
As aught, except thy brother Lucifer's curse,
Shall drag thee down to share his doom, or worse!
I go.

"Mortals, I go,

Yet, though we part, it is to meet again;

My ghost will come with noiseless step, and slow, Along the twilights, whispering of my reign;

And, in the night-times, oft a mystic strain

Shall strike your sleep, and ye shall know my tone, Singing remembered airs, not all in vain,

And chorus them with an unconscious moan

And I must witness of you in the day

When earth and heaven shall melt, in fire, away."

His ghastly face

He drew the dark around

the nations sigh'd farewell;
He stagger'd from his throne an awful sound
Rolled down from every system's, every bell,
That toll'd together once to make his knell;
And the resplendent crown-star, that had flash'd
On the lone angel's brow, grew black, and fell
Shattering among six thousand more it crash'd.
I asked, “How many stay for him to wear?”
I woke, and midnight's silence filled the air.

THE

MRS. JANE T. H. CROSS.

childhood of Jane Tandy Chinn was passed in or near Harroldsburg, Kentucky, where she was born in 1817. She was educated in Shelbyville, Kentucky, at a school of which Mrs. Tevis was principal.

In our sketch of this true, noble-hearted woman, we do not profess to give a complete portrait, for "words" can illy express to strangers what Mrs. Cross is to those who know her and love her. We only desire to present a sketch of the "literary" life and works of this 'writer," whose claims as an author are surpassed by her private virtues.

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At an early age she was married to James P. Hardin, of Kentucky. In 1842 he died, and Mrs. Hardin, at the age of twenty-five, was left a widow with three children. In 1848 she was married a second time, to Rev. Dr. Cross, of the Methodist Church.

To the request for "A sketch of her literary life," Mrs. Cross thus responds in her graceful and cheerful style :

"A sketch of my literary life!' That fairly puts my modesty to the blush. I am ready to exclaim with the knife-grinder, Story? la, bless you! I have none to tell.' And yet your request has awakened a curious question in my own mind: when did I first learn to love letters, books, the creations of the imagination? I rather think it was in listening, when a child, to the stories of 'Cinderella,' "Little Red Ridinghood,' 'Beauty and the Beast.' These were followed by the sentimental sorrows of 'The Children of the Abbey,' and the delightful horrors of Mrs. Radcliff. Walking through these shadows, I came to the great living forest of Sir Walter Scott, where the pure air and the sunshine brought me better health; where the trees, and birds, and gurgling water were real things; where men and women walked, and talked, and acted, and felt. In the meantime it is not to be supposed that I did not occasionally indulge in stanzas from Byron, and feel, at sixteen, that I had not loved the world, nor the world me.' Oh, certainly ! and was not 'Lalla Rookh' charming too, in those days? Then came the gentle Mrs. Hemans, whom I read to satiety; and Mrs. Sherwood, and Hannahı More, and Miss Edgeworth, and Mrs. Opie, Bulwer, James, Dickens - plays, sermons, epic poems, philosophical treatises, history - anything that a girl

could lay her hands upon in a country village. When but a little child I had a great fancy for writing rhymes, which I called poetry; and when the exciting times of a Kentucky election would come on, I would sometimes give vent to my enthusiasm for some favorite candidate by a most declamatory handbill, written on a half-sheet of foolscap, to be read by the members of our own family. The thought of writing a novel would sometimes cross my girlish mind, but in a very indefinite, far-off way, as I might now contemplate undertaking a railroad or a bridge across the Mississippi."

With the exception of an occasional New Year's Address, a little story, or something of that kind, Mrs. Cross wrote nothing for publication until about the year 1851, when she commenced writing for a Sunday-school paper, edited by Dr. Summers, in Charleston, S. C. For that journal she wrote "Heart-Blossoms," "Bible-Gleanings," "Way-Side Flowerets," "Drift-Wood." These were afterwards published in book-form, by Dr. Summers, and make four Sunday-school volumes.

While in Europe, some ten years ago, she published a series of letters under the title of "Reflected Fragments," in the Nashville Southern Advocate, and in the Charleston Courier.

Since her marriage to Rev. Dr. Cross, her life has been a roving one from South Carolina to Texas; yet her home is in the State where she first saw the light. She is, essentially, a Kentuckian.

A friend thus alludes to the "home" style of the lady author under consideration: "In the writings of Mrs. Cross I find peculiar delight; her calm eyes seem to be looking into mine telling me every word, and I listen completely captivated. Ah! around her name cluster many sweet memories !"

As a translator, Mrs. Cross ranks high- with Mrs. Coleman, of her own State, and Mrs. Chaudron of Alabama, and Mrs. M. B. Williams of Louisiana. Her translation from the Spanish of Florian's thrilling romance of "The Conquest of Granada," alone should give her preeminent rank as a writer of talent and genius.

The latest published volume of Mrs. Cross, in part an Art story, was published in Nashville, 1868, entitled, "Azile."

A " Southland writer," well known as one of the most clever and clear-sighted reviewers we have, in alluding to this volume, says in a friendly letter: "I have read 'Azile.' The book strikes me as very unequal. It evinces talent, but a want of method. Taken in detail, there is much to praise. Her views on the Incomprehensibility

of Woman to Man, are admirably well depicted; her description of the Chocolate Girl is graphic, and the Funeral of the Young Musician very touching and tender. But, as a whole, I think the work fails in its design and effects. There is no magnetism in the story, no force in the delineation of characters; they are all automatic, and the scenes mere sketches that pass the eye, but leave no impression, no sense of their reality; it is a mere mirage that vanishes away with the shifting sunlight."

Says Dr. Blackie, a most accomplished critic:

"Mrs. Cross has been for some time favorably known to the Southern people as a gifted and charming magazine writer. She has now attempted a more ambitious work, and has been successful in presenting us with a very sweet and thoughtful tale, containing many passages of exquisite picturewriting and criticisms on literature and art of a very high order. The story is a slight but entertaining one. The charm of the work consists in those gems of thought, careful descriptions, and sparkling pearls of criticism on art which abound in its pages. It is the work of genius, the careful, elaborated product of an educated head, an observing eye, an acute judgment, and a warm, womanly heart. We are proud to have an artist so true and author so accomplished, to rank among our countrywomen."

And the following is taken from an article prepared by the editor of the "Home Monthly," Prof. A. B. Stark:

"To those who know Mrs. Cross, it is useless to say that her book is free from improprieties and vices, but is pure, elevated, ennobling. It contains the mature thoughts of a pure, cultivated, Christian woman. The story is quiet, straightforward, and grows in interest to the close. The scene in the first part is laid in Dresden. This gives the authoress an opportunity to use her rich stores of information gathered in her travels in Europe. There is some fine art-criticism. There is a vast deal of information about the customs and habits of the German people, their amusements, and their recreations. We are introduced into the private circle of a German family, and see how they live. Afterward, the scene is transferred to the Southern States, at the beginning of the war, and ends with the first battle of ManasThis affords occasion for showing the feelings and thoughts of a true Southern woman on the Union, Secession, and War. In this picture, she is wonderfully true in her conception of that time of revulsions, upheaval, and enthusiasm.

sas.

"It is a book of interest and value. It deserves a generous reception by Southern readers.

"The style is smooth, clear, and lively. Mrs. Cross knows Jean Paul, and is, of course, an enthusiastic admirer of him."

A Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church reads " Azile"-and

says:

"Azile Damaron lets us into German every-day life, not only in the atelier, but into the home of the artist; we see how those people live, and eat, and cook, and take their fun, and soup, and spend their holidays, and do their festivals and funerals; we visit their beer-gardens and galleries, and hear their music.

"Mrs. Cross does not advertise us on this wise: 'I have travelled; I have resided in the capital of art, with the best opportunities for observation, and with eyes to see and ears to hear; now follow me through. I am going to give you an account of things characteristic, artistic, and domestic, so that you shall feel as if you had eaten at the table of those Germans, partaken of their broad merriment and cheerful feasts, looked at their pictures, and seen all yourself.'

"One likes this incidental benefit. It is getting more than you bargained for-while following a noble, piquant, but somewhat perverse heroine, in whom you have become intensely interested, through her life-story — to come out somewhat of a traveller and a critic yourself.

"We like 'Azile.' It is not in the line, and is quite above the range of ordinary fiction, novels, romance. The allusions to foreign customs and art-life have the air of being accurately descriptive, and as such are singularly interesting. The 'characters' are good company. Those that are not fit for imitation are not admirable, save in the delineation and dissection. A sound and hearty Christianity asserts itself, but not in the way of preaching. The heroine is a Christian woman, as all women must be that are truly lovely. "The beauty of holiness' is so becoming to woman, we doubt if any master of fiction ever did or could draw a lovable female character without it. In beauty, 'Azile' is not one of your smooth insipidities; she is a heretic in her style of it, which interests us at once, more than any correct, facial angles, or orthodox features could do. In such a case, there is something for the outbeaming of the informing soul to do and to overcome, and the attainment of a success puts an indefinite credit on the soul side of the account. She is resolute, spirited, pure — a very woman; a trifle too contrary in her love-matters.

"The home scene is laid in Louisiana, among the magnolias, and all the local allusions are well carried out."

Mrs. Cross is a contributor to the "Home Monthly" and "Christian Advocate" of Nashville, and various other journals. Long may she be spared to charm and instruct us with her pen.

As has been said of another, so say we of Mrs. Cross's verse.

"Her poems, while they charm the ear and heart, aid to educate the taste, and to preserve a love for refined poetry, and a pure and classic use of our mother-tongue."