A year and a half after the death of Lewes, May 6, 1880, she was married at the church of St. George’s, Hanover Square, to John Walter Cross, the senior partner in a London banking firm, whom she had first met in 1867, and who had been a greatly valued friend both to herself and Lewes.  Though much younger than herself, he had many qualities to recommend him to her regard.  A visit to the continent after this ceremony lasted for several months, a considerable portion of the time being spent in Venice.  On their return to London in the autumn after spending a happy summer in Surrey, they went to live in the house of Mr. Cross at 4 Cheyne Walk, Chelsea.  The old habits of her life were taken up, her studies were resumed, a new novel was begun, her friends came as usual on Sunday afternoons, and many years of work seemed before her, for her health had greatly improved.  On Friday, December 17, 1880, she attended the presentation of the Agamemnon of Aeschylus, in the original Greek, with the accompaniments of the ancient theatre, by the undergraduates of Balliol College, Oxford.  She was very enthusiastic about this revival of ancient art, and planned to read anew all the Greek dramatists with her husband.  The next day she attended a popular concert at St. James Hall, and listened with her usual intense interest.  Sitting in a draught, she caught cold, but that evening she played through much of the music she had heard in the afternoon.  The next day she was not so well as usual, yet she met her friends in the afternoon.  On Monday her larynx was slightly affected, and a physician was called, but no danger was apprehended.  Yet her malady gained rapidly.  On Tuesday night she was in a dangerous condition, and on Wednesday the pericardium was found to be seriously diseased.  Towards midnight of that day, December 22, after a period of unconsciousness, she quietly passed away.  She was buried on the 29th, in the unconsecrated portion of Highgate Cemetery, by the side of George Henry Lewes.  The funeral services were conducted by the Rev. Dr. Sadler, a radical Unitarian minister, who spoke of her great genius, and quoted her own words about a future life in the life of humanity.  His address contained many references to her personal characteristics, such as could only come from an intimate friend.  He said,—­

“To those who are present it is given to think of the gentleness, and delicate womanly grace and charm, which were combined with ’that breadth of culture and universality of power which,’ as one has expressed it, ’have made her known to all the world.’  To those who are present it is given to know the diffidence and self-distrust which, notwithstanding all her public fame, needed individual sympathy and encouragement to prevent her from feeling too keenly how far the results of her labors fell below the standard she had set before her.  To those who are present too it may be given—­though there is so large a number to whom it is not given—­to