ANNA CREER.

ANNA CREER was born of respectable parents in the Isle of Man, and received a good plain education. Her natural disposition and abilities were good, and she is spoken of as a young person "whose excellent principles, undeviating propriety, and real superiority of mind and manner, would have done honour to any station; while they made her a perfect treasure in the one of which she fulfilled the duties so admirably."

Anna Creer became the servant and personal attendant of the amiable Mrs. Hemans, the distinguished poetess; and it would be difficult to say whether the mistress were more fortunate in the maid, or the maid in the mistress.

In the autumn of 1834, Mrs. Hemans, then resident in Dublin, caught a cold which settled on her lungs, and the consequence was her falling a victim to a rapid consumption, which terminated her life in the following May. During the painful course of this illness, she was tenderly and unwearyingly nursed by Anna, whose cheerful assiduity by night and by day was felt by her most gratefully. Nor was Anna without much reason for gratitude; we all insensibly imbibe something of the manners, thoughts, and feelings of those with whom we associate; and servants might in many instances acquire much more than they do of the refinement of manner, thought, tone, and expression of those whom they are attending. This kind of polish is constantly acquired by persons in the upper ranks, who attend on royalty, are familiar with courts, the army, the navy, &c., and why should it not be more cultivated

by those beneath them? True, outward polish is very inferior to inward worth, but it is as the frame to the picture, or the becoming dress to the beautiful woman; and Dr. Johnson truly said that elegant manners incline us to think well of a stranger, till we are forced to think ill of him: whereas rude manners incline us to think ill, till we are forced to think well of him.

Anna Creer had both inward worth and outward refinement. Her kind mistress had taken great pains to improve her; and, from the force of grateful attachment, Anna had acquired something of the tones, expressions, thoughts, and feelings of her mistress.

Two years after the death of Mrs. Hemans, Anna married the owner of the house her mistress had occupied; who had probably had opportunities of seeing the admirable manner in which she had conducted herself during that trying period. This marriage took place in the year 1837; and, in the May of the following year, having had a premature confinement and fallen into a decline, she died, and was buried in the same vault with Mrs. Hemans.

The following letter, written by Anna a few months after the death of her mistress, will give some idea of her superior turn of mind.

"It is a continual source of thankfulness to me, that I was so wonderfully supported, even to the last sad hour; sad it must ever be to me! it cannot wear off. Oh, no! with me it seems to deepen daily— remembrances grow,dearer. My thought of her is like some hidden treasured thing, which no power would win from me. I feel it would be downright selfishness to wish her back; it may well be said this was not her rest. She ever seemed to me as a wanderer from her Heavenly Father's mansion, who knew too much of that home to seek a resting-place here! She often said to me, 'I feel like a tired child-wearied, and

longing to mingle with the 'pure in heart!' At other times, she would say, 'I feel as if I were sitting with Mary at the feet of my Redeemer, hearing the music of His voice, and learning of Him, to be "meck and lowly." And then she would say, 'Oh, Anna! do not you love your kind Saviour? The plan of redemption was, indeed, a glorious one; humility was the crowning work. I am like a quiet babe at His feet, and yet my spirit is full of His strength. When anybody speaks of His love to me, I feel as if they were too slow; my spirit can mount alone with Him into those blissful realms with far more rapidity.'

"My heart gets too full for utterance, when I think of her affectionate manner to me. She often told me, that she believed I had been sent to her in answer to her earnest prayer; and said that, whatever might be her fate, I might always feel that my being with her had not been in vain. These were her words; and the Searcher of Hearts only knows how thankful, yet humbled, I feel for such an inestimable blessing! It is one for which I feel I shall have to render an account.

May it prove a blessed one! I wish I could tell you more of what she said; but my language is so poor, so weak, that, when I would try, it seems as if I were robbing her words of their brightness; but then, I know that none can speak as she did. These are not words of course. No! I can truly say, my ties to earth are weakened, because she is no longer here!"*

And soon they were re-united in that kingdom, where there is neither bond nor free, master nor servant, mistress nor handmaiden. After three short years of separation from her beloved mistress, Anna died of the same disease, in the same house.

* Memoir of Mrs. Hemans, by her sister.

D

TOM PURDIE AND PETER MATHIESON.

Ir must have been a pleasure and a privilege to serve such a master as Sir Walter Scott, who kept up the good old custom of personal intercourse with his faithful domestics to a degree rarely witnessed, without the least want of dignity in the master or of respectfulness in the servant. If he sat by his coachman on the box, which was frequently his custom, he always conversed with him; or, if in the rumble, with his footman: and, when there was any very young lad in the household, he made a point of seeing that his employments were so arranged as to leave time for advancing his educationmade him bring his copy-book once a week to him in his library, and examined him as to all that he was doing. With all this, Sir Walter was a steady enforcer of discipline-contrived to make it thoroughly understood by all about him, that they must do their duty by him, as he did his by them; and the result was happy. "I never," said his son-in-law, "saw any man served so well as he was; so carefully, so respectfully, and so silently."

It will be best to put the notices of his two servants, Thomas Purdie, and Peter Mathieson, together. Sir Walter Scott was sheriff of the county of Selkirk, in Scotland; and in his capacity of magistrate first made his acquaintance with Tom Purdie, who was brought before him for poaching. This was not a very promising introduction; nor was Tom's appearance very engaging.

He was forty years of age, square made, hard fea

tured, with sunken eyes, jet black hair, and a wide mouth furnished from ear to ear with a range of teeth of uncommon whiteness. He was rather under the middle size, but had very broad shoulders, and all his movements denoted strength and activity. He looked as downright a poacher as ever was seen; and when to this personal description we add that he spoke the broadest Scotch, it will be owned that there was not much about him to engage the sheriff's favour.

The poor fellow, however, in his defence, gave such a melancholy account of his distressed circumstances, and the temptation the father of a large family had to prevent his children from starving, that the kindhearted Sir Walter softened towards him; and-after pointing out to him, that he had been clearly wrong in seeking such a mode of maintenance, when, by application to himself, he might have been sure of employ-he, instead of sending Tom Purdie to jail, took him into his service as a shepherd, and, at length, promoted him to be a kind of bailiff, and jack-of-alltrades. In this capacity, Tom was, for twenty-two years, one of the best of servants to one of the best of

masters.

"When I came here first," said Tom, afterwards, "I was little better than a beast." But he gradually took a rough kind of polish, and even his rugged features became softened by good feelings. As for his dress, it usually consisted of a cast-off white hat, green jacket, and drab trowsers of his master's.

About the same time, 1804, Sir Walter took into his service as coachman, Peter Mathieson, brother-in-law of Thomas Purdie, another faithful servant, who never afterwards left him, and who survived his master. Peter, like most of the Scotch, was of the Presbyterian persuasion; he was a truly devout man, a good husband and father. Sir Walter gave him a neat little cottage to live in, which he called Peterhouse; near