AGUILAR, GRACE, WAS born at Hackney, England, June, 1816. Her father was Emanuel Aguilar, a merchant descended from the Jews of Spain. Grace was the eldest child; and her delicate health, during infancy and early youth, was a source of great solicitude to her parents. She was educated almost entirely at home, her mother being her instructor till she attained the age of fourteen, when her father commenced a regular course of reading to her, while she was employed in drawing or needlework. At the age of seven she began keeping a regular journal; when she was about fifteen she wrote her first poetry; but she never permitted herself the pleasure of original composition until all her duties and her studies were performed. Grace Aguilar was extremely fond of music; she had been taught the piano from infancy; and, in 1831, commenced the harp. She sang pleasingly, preferred English songs, invariably selecting them for the beauty or sentiment of the words. She was also passionately fond of dancing; and her cheerful, lively manners, in the society of her young friends, would scarcely have led any to imagine how deeply she felt and pondered the serious and solemn subjects which afterwards formed the labour of her life. She enjoyed all that was innocent; but the sacred feeling of duty always regulated her conduct. Her mother once expressed the wish that Grace would not waltz; and no solicitation could afterwards tempt her. Her mother also required her to read sermons, and study religion and the Bible regularly; this was done by Grace cheerfully, at first as a task, but finally with much delight; for evidence of which we will quote her own words in one of her works, "Women of Israel." "This (reading the Bible and studying religion) formed into a habit, and persevered in for life, would in time, and without labour or weariness, give the comfort and the knowledge that we seek; each year would become brighter and more blest; each year we should discover something we knew not before; and, in the valley of the shadow of death, feel to our heart's core that the Lord our God is Truth." delicate constitution. She went abroad for her health, and died in Frankfort, in 1847. She was buried there in the cemetery, one side of which is set apart for the Jews, the people of her faith. The stone which marks the spot bears upon it a butterfly and five stars, emblematic of the soul in heaven; and beneath appears the inscription"Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her own works praise her in the gates." Her works do indeed praise her. She died at the early age of thirty-one, and was never at leisure to pursue literature as her genius would have prompted, had not her spirit been so thoroughly subjected to her womanly duties. She seems always to have striven to make her life useful. She shows this in writing chiefly for her own sex; and her productions will now be stamped with the value which her lovely character, perfected and crowned by a happy death, imparts. She could not speak for some time before her decease; but having learned to use her fingers, in the manner of the deaf and dumb, almost the last time they moved, it was to spell upon them feebly-“ Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him." Since her decease, a work which she left in manuscript has been published, entitled "Woman's | Friendship." The following poem is from her Magic Wreath." Its subject will be found in the biography of Ingeborge. 66 "He clasp'd that slight and faded form, Unto a heart that bled; The monarch's tears fell thick and warm Upon that drooping head. Her long fair hair, long as a veil Of faint and shadowy gold, I cannot, cannot bid thee go; My liege, my husband, heed me not, And thou' she could no more, The first published work of Miss Aguilar was "The Magic Wreath," a little poetical work. Soon afterwards, Home Influences" appeared; and then, the "Women of Israel." All of these works are highly creditable to the literary taste and talents of the writer; and they have a value beyond what the highest genius could give-the stamp of truth, piety, and love, and an earnest desire to do good to her fellow-beings. The death NIECE of the Cardinal de Richelieu, was the of her father, and the cares she took on herself in first lady of high rank whose house was opened to comforting her mother, and sustaining the exer- all men of letters. There men of talent were retions of her brothers, undermined, by degrees, herceived, together with the greatest noblemen of the AIGUILLON, DUCHESS D', court. These assemblies had much influence on the manners of the French. The duchess was a woman of intelligence, piety, and the greatest generosity. After the death of Richelieu, under the direction of the devout Vincent de Paul, she united in all benevolent works. She endowed hospitals, bought slaves to set them free, liberated prisoners, and maintained missionaries in France and distant countries. She died in 1675. ture. AIKIN, LUCY, AN English writer, was the only daughter of Dr. Aikin, the brother of Mrs. Barbauld. Like her father and aunt, she devoted herself to literaHer principal works are, "Epistles on the Character of Women," "Juvenile Correspondence," "The Life of Zuinglius, the Reformer," and a "History of the Court of Queen Elizabeth." She lived in the latter part of the eighteenth and the early part of the present century. Her "Memoir" of her father, Dr. John Aikin, is a beautiful tribute of filial affection. She was enabled, by the careful education he had given her, to enjoy the pleasures of mental intercourse with him; and how well she repaid his care, this monument she has constructed to the memory of his genius and goodness is a touching and enduring proof. At the close of the Memoir, she describes the feebleness which oppressed his body, while yet his mind could enjoy, in a degree, the pleasures of intellect; and in such a way as necessarily made him entirely dependent on female care and society. Thus it invariably is at the close of man's life, as well as at its beginning, that he must rely for his enjoyment, comfort, life even, on the love, the care, and the sympathy of woman. The more faithfully he cherishes his wife, and educates his daughters, the happier and better will he be through life, and at his dying hour. and tender impressions to mingle with the anxieties and fatigues of our long and melancholy attendance. "His literary tastes were another invaluable source of comfort; long after he was incapacitated from reading himself, he would listen with satisfaction during many hours in the day to the reading of others; poetry, in particular, exercised a kind of spell over him; Virgil and Horace he heard with delight for a considerable period, and the English poets, occasionally, to the very last. The love of children, which had always been an amiable feature in his character, likewise remained; and the sight of his young grand-children sporting around him, and courting his attention by their affectionate caresses, had often the happy effect of rousing him from a state of melancholy languor, and carrying at least a transient emotion of pleasure to his heart." The writings of Miss Aikin are attractive from the quiet, good sense, refined taste, and kind spirit always exhibited. Her last work, "The Life of Addison," was somewhat severely criticised in regard to the accuracy of dates, and some other matters, of minor importance when compared with the value of this contribution to the memory of a good man and an accomplished scholar. The character of Mr. Addison was never before set in so favourable a light; and Miss Aikin deserves to have her memory revered by all who love to see the works which genius has left made themes of affectionate study, by one who could sympathize with the literary tastes, and benevolent feelings of the philanthropist and the author. AÏSSÉ, DEMOIS, Was born in Circassia, 1689, and was purchased by the count de Ferriol, the French ambassador at Constantinople, when a child of four years, for The following are the remarks to which we al- 1500 livres. The seller declared her to be a Cirluded: "That life may not be prolonged beyond the power of usefulness, is one of the most natural, and apparently of the most reasonable wishes man can form for the future;-it was almost the only one which my father expressed or indulged, and I doubt not that every reader will be affected with some emotions of sympathetic regret on learning that it was in his case lamentably disappointed. To those whose daily and hourly happiness chiefly consisted in the activity and enjoyment diffused over his domestic circle by his talents and virtues, the gradual extinction of this mental light was a privation afflictive and humiliating beyond expression. But in all the trials and sorrows of life, however severe, enough of alleviation is blended to show from what quarter they proceed; and there were still circumstances which called for grateful acknowledgment. The naturally sweet and affectionate disposition of my dear father; his strictly temperate and simple habits of living, and the mastery over his passions which he had so constantly exercised, were all highly favourable circumstances; and their influence long and powerfully counteracted the irritability of disease, and caused many instructive, and many soothing cassian princess. She was of great beauty. The count took her with him to France, and had her taught all the accomplishments of the day. She sacrificed her innocence to her benefactor, but she resisted the splendid offers of the duke of Orleans. Of her numerous suitors she favoured only the chevalier Aidy, who had taken the vows at Malta. Aidy wished to obtain a release from them, but his mistress herself opposed the attempt. The fruit of this love was a daughter, born in England. Aïssé became afterwards a prey to the bitterest remorse; she tried in vain to resist her passion, and sank under the struggle between her love and her conscience. She died 1727, at the age of thirty-eight. Her letters were published, first with notes by Voltaire, and afterwards, in 1806, with the letters of Mesdames de Villars, Lafayette, and de Tencin. They are written in a pleasant, fluent strain, and contain many anecdotes of the prominent persons of her time. AIROLA, ANGELICA VERONICA, A GEONESE lady of high rank, who lived in the seventeenth century. She learned the art of painting from Dominico Fiasella; after which she executed some good pictures on religious subjects, most of them for the churches and convents of her native city. At the close of her life she became a nun of the order of St. Bartholomew della Olivella, at Genoa. ALACOQUE, MARIE, A NUN in the convent of the Visitation, at Paraile-monial, in the province of Burgundy, who was born about the middle of the seventeenth century, was celebrated for her sanctity throughout all France. She, in conjunction with Claude de la Colombiére, a famous Jesuit, and confessor to the duchess of York, wife of James, afterwards James II. of England, gave a form to the celebration of the solemnity of the heart of Christ, and composed an office for the occasion. The renowned defender of the bull Unigenitus, John Joseph Languet, afterwards archbishop of Sens, was an ardent admirer of this holy fanatic, and published, in 1729, a circumstantial account of her life. She imagined that Christ appeared to her in a vision, and demanded her heart, which, when she gave him, he returned enclosed in his own, saying, "Henceforth thou shalt be the beloved of my heart." With such wild imaginings the book of the visions of Marie Alacoque is filled, but at the time they were written they had an astonishing effect. In 1674, she declared that her divine bridegroom had showed to her his heart, and told her that he was determined, in these last days, to pour out all the treasures of his love on those faithful souls who would devote themselves to an especial adoration of it; and commanded her to acquaint father la Colombiére, his servant, that he should institute a yearly festival to his heart, and promise, to such as should dedicate themselves to it, eternal happiness. The Jesuits immediately complied with this celestial mandate, and in all parts of the world, fraternities were formed, and passionmasses, and nine-day devotions, were instituted to the honour of the heart of Jesus. In all Spain there was not a nun who had not a present from the Jesuits of a heart, cut out of red cloth, to be worn next the skin. The display of a burning zeal for making proselytes was regarded as the peculiar characteristic of the true worshipper of the heart. ALBANY, or ALBANI, LOUISA, COUNTESS of, daughter of prince Stolberg-Gedern, in Germany, was born in 1753, and married in 1772 to Charles James Edward, called the young Pretender, grandson of James II. They resided at Rome, and had a little court, by which they were addressed as king and queen. In 1780, Louisa left her husband, who was much older than herself, and with whom she did not agree, and retired to a convent. She afterwards went to France; but on her husband's death in 1788, she returned to Italy, and settled in Florence. She was then privately married to count Victor Alfieri, the Italian poet, who died at her house in 1803. She, however, still went by the name of countess of Albany, widow of the last of the Stuarts, up to the time of her death. She was fond of literature and the arts, and her house was the resort of all distinguished persons in Florence. She died there January 29th, 1824, aged seventy-two. Her name and her misfortunes have been transmitted to posterity in the works and the autobiography of Alfieri. This famous poet called her mia donna, and confessed that to her he owed his inspiration. Without the friendship of the countess of Albany, he has said that he never should have achieved anything excellent: "Senza laquella mon aurei mai fatta nulla di buono." The sketch of his first meeting with her is full of sentiment and genuine poetry. Their love for each other was true, delicate and faithful; and their ashes now repose under a common monument, in the church of Santa Croce, at Florence, between the tombs of Machiavelli and Michael Angelo. ALBEDY HL, BARONESS D', a Swedish writer, authoress of Gefion, an epic poem, published at Upsala, in 1814, has been called the Swedish Sévigné, from the elegance of her epistolary style. ALBEMARLE, ANNE CLARGES, ner. DUCHESS of, was the daughter of a blacksmith; who gave her an education suitable to the employment she was bred to, which was that of a milliAs the manners are generally formed early in life, she retained something of the smith's daughter, even at her highest elevation. She was first the mistress, and afterwards the wife of general Monk. He had such an opinion of her understanding, that he often consulted her in the greatest emergencies. As she was a thorough royalist, it is probable she had no inconsiderable share in the restoration of Charles II. She is supposed to have recommended several of the privy-councillors in the list which the general presented to the king soon after his landing. It is more than probable that she carried on a very lucrative trade in selling offices, which were generally filled by such as gave her most money. She was an implacable enemy to Lord Clarendon; and had so great an influence over her husband, as to prevail upon him to assist in the ruin of that great man, though he was one of his best friends. deed, the general was afraid to offend her, as her anger knew no bounds. Nothing is more certain than that the intrepid commander, who was never afraid of bullets, was often terrified by the fury of his wife. ALBRET, CHARLOTTE D', In DUCHESS de Valentinois, sister of John D'Albret, king of Navarre, and wife of Cæsar Borgia, son of Pope Alexander VI., whose misfortunes she shared, without reproaching him for his vices, was pious, sensible, and witty, and had much genius for poetry. She died in 1514. ALBRET, JEANNE D', DAUGHTER of Henry d'Albret, king of Navarre, and his wife, the illustrious Margaret of Navarre, sister of Francis I. of France, ranks high among women distinguished for their great qualities. In 1500, when Jeanne was only eleven, she was mar ried, against her own and her parents' wishes, to the duke of Cleves, by her uncle Francis, who feared lest her father should give her in marriage to Philip, son of the emperor of Germany, Charles V. The nuptials were never completed, and were soon declared null and void by the pope, through the intercession of the king of Navarre. In October, 1548, Jeanne was again married, at Moulins, to Antoine de Bourbon, duke de Vendome, to whom she bore two sons, who died in their infancy. Her third son, afterwards Henry IV. of France, was born at Pau, in Navarre, December 15th, 1553. The king of Navarre, from some whimsical ideas respecting the future character of the child, had promised his daughter to show her his will, which she was anxious to see, if, during the pangs of childbirth, she would sing a Bearnaise song. This Jeanne promised to do, and she performed her engagement, singing, in the language of Bearn, a song commencing "Notre Dame du bout du pont, aidez moi en cette heure." On the death of her father, May 25th, 1555, Jeanne became queen of Navarre. Like her mother, she was the protectress of the reformed religion, of which, it is believed, she would, with her husband, have made a public profession, but for the menaces of Henry II. of France, and the pope. In 1558, in consequence of the dangers that threatened them, they were compelled to make a visit to the court of France, leaving their son and their kingdom under the joint care of Susanne de Bourbon, wife to Jean d'Albret, and Louis d'Albret, bishop of Lescar. About this time, Jeanne, young, gay, and lovely, began to display less zeal than her husband in the cause of the reformers. Fond of amusements, and weary of preaching and praying, she remonstrated with her husband respecting the consequences of his zeal, which might prove the ruin of his estates. Eventually, however, Jeanne became the protectress of Calvinism, which her husband not merely renounced, but persecuted the reformers, gained over by the stratagems of Catharine de Medicis, and by advantages proposed to him by Philip II. and the court of Rome. Jeanne resisted the entreaties of her husband, and, resenting his ill-treatment of the reformers, she retired from France. In Nov. 1562, the king of Navarre died of a wound he received at the siege of Rouen, regretting, on his death-bed, his change of religion, and declaring his resolution, if he lived, of espousing more zealously than ever the cause of the Reformation. On the following Christmas, the queen made a public proclamation of her faith, and abolished popery throughout her dominions. At the same time, she fortified Bearn against the Spaniards, who, it was reported, were plotting to surprise the city. The offices of the Roman Catholic church were prohibited throughout Bearn, its altars overthrown, and its images destroyed. Twenty ministers were recalled to instruct the people in their own language, academies were established, and the affairs of the state, both civil and ecclesiastical, were regulated by the queen. In 1563, Jeanne had been cited to Rome by the pope; the Inquisition, in case of her non-appearance, declared her lands and lordships confiscated, and her person subjected to the penalties appointed for heresy. But the court of France revoked the citation, conceiving it militated against the liberties of the Gallican church. By the insurrections of her Roman Catholic subjects, Jeanne was kept in continual alarm; but, holding the reins of government with a vigorous hand, she rendered all their projects abortive. In 1568, she left her dominions to join the chiefs of the Protestant party. She mortgaged her jewels to raise money for the troops, and going, with her young son, Henry, devoted from his birth to the cause of the Reformation, to Rochelle, she assembled and harangued the troops; and addressed letters to the foreign princes, and particularly to the queen of England, imploring their pity and assistance. In the meantime, the Roman Catholics of Bearn, assisted by Charles IX., taking advantage of the absence of the queen, seized on the greater part of the country, of which, however, the count de Montgomery dispossessed them, and violated the articles of capitulation, by causing several of the leaders of the insurrection to be put to death. This breach of honour and humanity admits of no excuse. An alliance was proposed, by the court of France, between Henry of Navarre and Margaret of Valois, sister of Charles IX., to which, by specious offers and pretences, Jeanne was induced to lend an ear; having taken a journey to Paris for the preparation of these inauspicious nuptials, she was seized with a sudden illness, and, not without suspicions of poison, expired soon after, June 10th, 1572, in the forty-fourth year of her age. She was accustomed to say, "that arms once taken up should never be laid down, but upon one of three conditions-a safe peace, a complete victory, or an honourable death." Her daughter, Catharine, wife of the duke de Bar, continued a Protestant all her life. Jeanne possessed a strong and vigorous understanding, a cultivated mind, and an acquaintance with the languages. She left several compositions in prose and verse. The following extemporary stanzas was made by her, on visiting the printingpress of Robert Stephens, May 21st, 1566: "Art singulier, d'ici aux derniers ans, Que j'ai suivi des craignants Dieu la trace, Que mériter on ne puisse l'honneur De leurs grands faits les rares anciens Les faire vivre, et pour tels je les tiens Ou qu'un Bellay de leur temps eust été. Le papier gros et l'encre trop espesse, Le temps, les ans, d'armes me serviront Mais quand cent ans sur mon chef doubleront a history of Venetian commerce; it was his society and guidance which determined the literary bent of her mind, and gave the first impetus to her studious habits; but his existence was prematurely terminated, and her subsequent union with the count Albrizzi placed her in a situation where her talents and tastes obtained complete development. Her house at Venice became the resort of all the noted characters resident in Italy, or visiting its storied land. Lord Byron, Cuvier, Canova, Denon, Foscolo and Humboldt, were the habitués of her saloon. Byron called her the Venetian De Stael. She possessed that fine tact that belongs to a feeling heart, combined with the courtesy which a life passed in good society bestows. It was observed, that amid the concourse of strangers, artists, authors, and notable persons of every sort and nation-and even Chinese have been seen at her conversazione-nobody, however obscure, was ever neglected; nobody left her house without an agreeable impression. She has written one very interesting work, "Life of Vittoria Colonna," in which simplicity and elegance are remarkably combined. A little work, in which she has defended the "Mirza of Alfieri" against the attacks of a celebrated critic, has been highly praised. The "Portraits of Celebrated Contemporaries," from the subject, the author, and its intrinsic merits, became justly popular. "The Observations upon the Works of Canova," a book inspired by friendship, manifests a judicious taste for the arts; is full of instruction for strangers, and interest for philosophic and poetic minds. As a mother, her devotion was complete and her intelligence admirable. She gave unwearied pains to the moral and intellectual education of her children, and administered their property with consummate ability. Nor did these loving cares go unrewarded; she had the happiness of possessing in her sons, tender and congenial friends, in seeing them partake with her, the general esteem, and in her last painful malady, their assiduity and filial affection softened the pangs of death, and smoothed her passage to the tomb. ALOYSIA, SIGEA, Or Toledo, a Spanish lady, and celebrated for her learning, who wrote a letter to Paul III., the pope of Rome, in 1540, in Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, and Syriac. She was afterwards called to the court of Portugal, where she composed several works, and died young. ALTOVITI, MARSEILLE D', A FLORENTINE lady, who settled at Marseilles, and devoted herself to writing Italian poetry. She died in 1609. AMELIA, ANNA, ALBRIZZI, TEOTOCHI ISABELLA. THIS lady, of much celebrity for her talents, was born on the island of Corfu, of one of the most illustrious families of that island. Her father, count Spindosi Teotochi, was for many years pre- DUCHESS of Weimar, was a German princess, sident of the senate of the Ionian islands. At a highly distinguished for her talents and virtues, very early age, Isabella was married to Carlo whose patronage was powerfully exerted for the Marino, a Venetian nobleman, whom she accom- improvement of taste and learning among her panied to Italy, which she never left again during countrymen. She was the daughter of the duke her life. of Brunswick, and the niece of Frederick II. of Marino was a man of letters, and the author of Prussia. Her birth took place October 24th, |