Year: 1879

erson, Clarke and Claiming, perhaps the
most distinguished trio that ever engaged in
such a task The book is now obtainable on
ly in public libraries, but richly deserves to
be reprinted. It is monument which should
perish only with the language.


Miss Fuller arrived in Rome in May 1s47,
and in December following was married to
the Marquis Giovanni Angelo Ossoli. This
union was brought about, we think, more by
political sympathy than by anything else,
though the mutual affection was rs strong as
unselfish Margaret was an ardent champion
of the Italian republic, and converted her fu-
ture husband to the same faith notwith-
standing his personal connection with the pa
pal government, and the fortune which de-
pended upon his allegiance to it, During
the siege of Rome he served in the republi-
can army, while she was equally active and
efficient in the hospitals. A hild-Angelo
Eugene Philip-was born to them in 1915
The capture of Rome carried with it the de-
struction of the short-livod republic, aud left
the little family almost penniless Remov-
ing to Florence in the autumn of 1s49 they
spent the winter there, and then determined
to visit America; partly to meet the loved
ones anXiously awaiting them, and partly to
publish n history of the Italian revolution
and the siege of Rome which Margaret had
written on the spot. But she hesitated, and
in these extracts from private letters tells
why


Il am absurdly fearful, and various oincns
have combined 20 give me a dark feeling.
am become indeed miserable coward for
the sake of Angelina | fear heat and cold
fear the voyage, fear biting poverty. | hope
| shall not be forced to be as brave for him as
| have been for myself, and that if / succeed
to rear him he will be neither weak nor
bad man. But ! love him too much In
case of mishap, however, | shall perish with
my husband and child and We may be trans
ferred to some happier scene. !
feel perfectly willing to stay my three score
years and ten, if it be thought | need so
much tuition on this planet, but it seems to
me my future on earth will soon close 1t
may be terribly trying, hut it will not be so
very long now. God will transplant the root
if he wills to rear it into fruit bearing :
| have Il vague expectation Of some crisis-I
know not what But it has long seemed that
in the year 1880, | should stand on plateau
in the ascent Of lifr, where l should be allow
ed to pause for a while and take more clear
and commanding views than ever before
Yet my life proceeds rs regularly AS the fates
of Greek tragedy and l can but accept the
pages as they turn


They sailed from Leghorn, May Il, 1880,


in the bark Elizabeth, loaded with marble for
New York The omens soon begin to verify
themselves. The commander was seized with
smallpox and died before reaching Gibraltar
The second day after leaving that port, An
gclino was attacked by the same dread dis
ease, but was saved by weeks Of careful nurs-
ing. Then all went well until the 10Th of
July, when the ship was off the Jersey coast
some where between Cape May and Barnegat
The weather then became thick and speedily
brought on a heavy gale, which increased to
Il hurricane at midnight. No fears were felt
however, and before retiring the passengers
mad all praparatinns fnr landing ~ Naw
York the next day. But the landing was
never to be- About four o'clock in the morn
ing Of the 10th the Elizabeth struck on Fire
island beach. The main and mizzen masts
were at once cut away, but the marble in the
hold broke through aud the vessel bilged. the
bow holding fast in the sand, the stern swing
ing round and the waves making clean
breach over her at every swell. The inmates
Of the cabin remained there until seven
o'clock, and then, as the frail shelter showed
signs of yielding, were with great difficulty
and peril transferred to the forecastle The
shore, only q few hundred yards distant,
promised no rescue from that quarter though
a life-boat was brought down-and left there
At noon the storm had sensihlv abatei lint
the tide lad turned and the experienced eye
Of the captain saw that the wreck must soon
break up altogether. He begged Margaret
to try and escape the impending doom, but
she refused-as she had repeatedly done be-
fore--to be separated from husband and
child Young Sumner, a brother of the late
senator, had already been lost in an attempt
to reach the shore by swimming. Others
who trusted to spars were equally unfortu-
nate and only few were finally saved. A
little after three o'clock the awful moment
came. The forcmast-at the foot of which
Margaret had been sitting clad only in her
white night-dress, with her hair fallen loose
upon her shoulders fell with mighty crash,
carrying away the deck and everything with
it. She sank at once and never rose again,
Ossoli and the nurse, caught for an instant
by the rigging, went with her to the depths
Angelina the darling boy, was washed ashore
in the arms of the steward-bo dead. The
bodies of the father and mother were never
recovered; the child's corpse, now sleeping
in Mount Auburn cemetery was the sole rel
ic of Margaret the hungry sea gave up,