the city of his adoption afforded; whilst his prominent editorial and social position brought her into frequent and close association with many of the best and most cultivated intellects and distinguished statesmen of the country, to whom his house was a familiar resort. Thus she early imbibed a decided and earnest love, not only of modern, but of ancient and classic literature. Her pen, meanwhile, was not suffered to lie idle, though in general confined to local subjects of interest, or some special object or occasion. Hence, to the public, and beyond her own private or social circle, is she so little known as an author. The scant notice of her in Griswold's "Female Poets of America" is due to her aversion to any claim of literary rank. In 1825 she was married to Mr. I. R. St. John, - then partner in an eminent banking-house in New York and Augusta, Ga., to which latter city she immediately accompanied him. There they remained till 1836, when her husband was called to the New York office of his firm; and, after its dissolution, they removed to Brooklyn, in 1842, where they are still living. The tastes and the convictions of Mrs. St. John go together in her devotion to the Unitarian faith, from her childhood at once consistent and zealous. In the earlier and later ministry of the lamented Rev. William Ware in New York, and from the very start of the Church of the Saviour in Brooklyn, she has laid upon its altars the offering of her fine and cultured mind, her ardent and sincere affection, her long life of active benevolence and unostentatious piety. Of her poetical effusions we select a few that are specially adapted to our present purpose. DEDICATION HYMN. Written for the consecration of the Church of the Saviour, Brooklyn, N.Y., MAN in his might and worldly skill A temple rears to thee; Joy's echoing hymns its arches fill The "grain of mustard-seed" has sprung And o'er thy gathering flock has flung Its arms of majesty. The last stone laid, the work well done, Whilst the full soul yields at thy throne Its homage, praise, and prayer. These walls, great God, all-powerful, wise, We consecrate to thee, Grand Architect of earth and skies, And world's sublimity. Beneath the cross, in Jesus' name, Thy blessing we implore; Light with thy grace our altar's flame, INSTALLATION HYMN. Written for the installation of Rev. F. A. Farley, D.D., as pastor of the Church of the Saviour, Brooklyn, N.Y., April 25, 1844. ALMIGHTY Power, whose word and will sustain Unnumbered worlds by some mysterious chain, Whose links of air, unseen, we know to be GOD of the millions who, with one accord, GOD of our Saviour! Source of light and life! We would, O Father! that thy grace may shine May its pure beams illumine every word, Let his pure life a mirror ever be, And when the sands of Time their grains have spent, may be! The following hymn was written for the consecration of a Unitarian chapel at Bridgeport, Conn., in 1849. The allusion in the last stanza is to the death of Mr. Van Polanen, whose stanch faith had founded the church, and to Madame Van Polanen, who, after her husband's decease, erected the edifice as a memorial of his worth and services. THE CHAPEL AT BRIDGEPORT. WE come, a pilgrim band, to kneel, Almighty Power, to thee; Though dearer to our souls we feel As children of thy grace and love, We crave thy blessing on this shrine, And may its light with truth divine Oh, wilt thou bless the heart that gave, This seed of faith, sown on the grave, THE MOTHER. AS wandering o'er Life's weary way, Through tangled brake and shadowy fen, The sunlight plains of Fortune's day, And Pleasure's fairy, moonlit glen, On the gulf's brink of Hope's despair A mother cheered her soul with prayer. Kneeling beside a shivered tree, Scathed by the storm-cloud's blighting power, Whose one branch green still seemed to be Faith's triumph-badge in life's dark hour, She to her God her heart laid bare, Thinking some piteous prayer to hear From lips where truth alone could speak, Where sorrow's chill and memory's tear Had chased their furrows down her cheek, – I paused: a bright, seraphic smile Brief was the plaint of earthly ill, — None 'gainst her woes of Heaven's decree: "Father, submissive to thy will, I know that it is meet for me; My lowly lot in world's estate "Of titles, fortune, power bereft, A dead note in the trump of Fame, Still are my dearest treasures left, My husband's smile beams still the same! "Father, my soul in reverence breathes My spirit's strength, its hopes and fears, - Then as deep silence closed around, - To break Faith's stillness did not dare, - Leaving behind a jewel bright, That trembled in the misty light. Oh, through my startled, humbled soul, Like notes from cherub-anthems caught! Her joyful prayer, her low estate : WILLIAM PARSONS LUNT. REV. WILLIAM PARSONS LUNT, D.D., was the son of Henry and Mary Green Lunt, and was born in Newburyport, Mass., April 21, 1805. He received his early education in Boston, whither his parents removed while yet he was an infant. At the age of ten, he was placed at the Academy in the neighboring town of Milton, where his preparatory studies were pursued with marked diligence and success, and where his conscientious and blameless conduct gave beautiful promise of his stainless and consecrated manhood. Having entered Harvard College in 1819, he graduated in 1823. He then taught school for a year in Plymouth, where he was married in 1829 to Ellen Hobart, daughter of Barnabas Hobart, of that town. Leaving Plymouth, he returned to Boston to study law, but soon found that another profession had greater attractions |