Part 16

When I am here, I do not fast on Saturday; when at Rome, I do fast on Saturday.

"Epistle 36, To Casulanus,"--_Saint Augustine_.

SAINT AUGUSTINE, the most famous of the Latin fathers of the Church, and of patristic writers, was born in Tagasta, Numidia, November 13, 354, and died at Hippo, August 28, 430. His most noted works are: "City of God," "Grace of Christ," "Original Sin," and his "Confessions."

Viking gains are deep wounds, and right well they adorn if they stand on the brow or the breast. Let them bleed!

--_Tegnér_.

ESAIAS TEGNÉR, an illustrious Swedish poet, was born at Kyrkerud, Wermland, Sweden, November 13, 1782, and died at Wexiö, November 2, 1846. He wrote: "Frithiof's Saga" (epic ballads), "Axel," "Nattvärdsbarned," and his celebrated poem, "Svea," crowned by the Swedish Academy.

To be honest, to be kind, to earn a little, and to spend a little less, to make upon the whole a family happier for his presence, to renounce when that shall be necessary and not to be embittered, to keep a few friends, but these without capitulation; above all, on the same condition, to keep friends with himself, here is a task for all a man has of fortitude and delicacy.

--_Robert Louis Stevenson_.

ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON, a Scotch novelist, poet and essayist, of great renown, was born in Edinburgh, November 13, 1850, and died at Apia, Samoa, December 3, 1894. Among his publications are: "Familiar Studies of Men and Books," "An Inland Voyage," "Edinburgh: Picturesque Notes," "New Arabian Nights," "Treasure Island," "Prince Otto," "A Child's Garden of Verses," "Kidnapped," "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," "Underwoods," "Memoirs and Portraits," "Ballads," "The Merry Men and Other Tales," "The Black Arrow," "The Ebb Tide," "A Foot-Note to History: Eight Years of Trouble in Samoa," "David Balfour," "Island Nights' Entertainments," "Essays and Criticisms," etc.

"Comedies and novels end with the wedding of the hero," he says in his autobiography; "for only the struggle, not the acquired position, lends itself to their treatment."

--_Adam Gottlob Oehlenschläger_.

ADAM GOTTLOB OEHLENSCHLÄGER, a noted Danish poet, was born near Copenhagen, November 14, 1779, and died January 20, 1850. He has written: "The Life of Christ Annually Repeated in Nature," "Poems," "First Song of the Edda," "Palnatoke," "A Journey to Langeland," "Earl Hakon," "Axel and Valborg," "The Little Shepherd Boy," "Socrates," "Hamlet," etc.

Mutual love brings mutual delight,-- Brings beauty, life;--for love is life, hate, death.

"The Dying Raven,"--_Richard Henry Dana_.

RICHARD HENRY DANA (THE ELDER), an American poet and essayist of great fame, was born at Cambridge, Massachusetts, November 15, 1787, and died February 2, 1879. His poetical works include: "The Dying Raven," "The Buccaneers," "The Change of Home," etc. Among his short stories are: "Edward and Mary," and "Paul Fenton."

The great artist ... is he who guides us into the region of his own thoughts, into the palaces and fields of his own imagination, and while there, speaks to us the language of the gods.

--_Charles Blanc_.

CHARLES BLANC, a distinguished French art critic, was born November 15, 1813, and died in 1882. He wrote: "A History of Painters of All Schools," "The Treasure of Curiosity," "Grammar of the Arts of Design," "The Dutch School of Painters," "Grammar of Painting and Engraving," etc.

High office is like a pyramid; only two kinds of animals reach the summit--reptiles and eagles.

--_D'Alembert_.

JEAN BAPTISTE LE ROND D'ALEMBERT, an eminent French philosopher, mathematician and man of letters, was born in Paris, November 16, 1717, and died there, October 9, 1783. Among his works are: "Literary and Philosophical Miscellanies," "Elements of Philosophy," etc. He also wrote the "Preliminary Discourse," or introduction to the great French Encyclopedia.

In seeking to represent the working classes, and in standing up for their rights and liberties, I hold that I am also defending the rights and liberties of the middle and richer classes of society.

From the "Speech on the Corn Laws" (1843),--_John Bright_.

JOHN BRIGHT, a distinguished English statesman, was born near Rochdale, in Lancashire, November 16, 1811, and died March 27, 1889. His "Public Letters," appeared in 1885, and his speeches and addresses were published in the years 1867-69-79.

If my early friend, Dr. Thirlwall's "History of Greece," had appeared a few years sooner, I should probably never had conceived the design of the present work at all; I should certainly not have been prompted to the task by any deficiencies, and as those which I felt and regretted in Mitford. The comparison of the two authors affords indeed a striking proof of the progress of sound and enlarged views respecting the ancient world during the present generation. Having studied of course the same evidence as Dr. Thirlwall, I am better enabled than others to bear testimony to the learning, the sagacity, and the candour which pervades his excellent work.

"A History of Greece,"--_George Grote_.

GEORGE GROTE, a famous English historian, was born in Clay Hill, Kent, November 17, 1794, and died in London, June 18, 1871. He is best known by his celebrated work, "History of Greece."

The Law is the true embodiment Of everything that's excellent. It has no kind of fault or flaw, And I, my Lords, embody the Law.

"Lord Chancellor's Song,"--_Gilbert_.

WILLIAM SCHWENCK GILBERT, a celebrated English librettist and comic-poet and prose-writer, was born in London, November 18, 1836, and died in 1911. He wrote: "The Bab Ballads," and several famous comic operas, among which are: "Pinafore," "Patience," "The Mikado," "Ruddygore," and "The Pirates of Penzance."

And so I penned It down, until at last it came to be, For length and breadth, the bigness which you see.

"Pilgrim's Progress: Apology for his book,"--_John Bunyan_.

JOHN BUNYAN, a renowned English author, was born in Elstow, Bedford, November 19 (?), 1628, and died in London, August 31, 1688. He wrote numerous works, the most famous being: "The Pilgrim's Progress," "Grace Abounding," and the "Holy War."

What is love, It is nature's treasure, 'Tis the storehouse of her joys; 'Tis the highest heaven of pleasure, 'Tis a bliss which never cloys.

"The Revenge," Act I, Sc. 2,--_Thomas Chatterton_.

THOMAS CHATTERTON, the famous young English poet, was born in Bristol, November 20, 1752, and died at London, August 25, 1770. He wrote numerous poems and plays, but he is best remembered as the author of the so-called "Rowley Poems," which were collected and published by T. Tyrwhitt in 1777.

The first who was king was a fortunate soldier: Who serves his country well has no need of ancestors.

"Mérope," Act I, Sc. 3,--_Voltaire_.

FRANÇOIS MARIE AROUET DE VOLTAIRE, the illustrious French writer, was born in Paris, November 21, 1694, and died there, May 30, 1778. Among his famous works are: "Artemire," "Mariamne," "Letters on the English," "History of Charles XII," "Philosophical Letters," "The Temple of Taste," "Elements of Newton's Philosophy," "The Maid of Orleans," "The Prodigal Son," "Mérope," "Discourse on Man," "Poem on Natural Law," "Candide," "Semiramis," "Amélie," "Republican Ideas," "Tales," "Catechism of the Honest Man," "Irene," "Tancrède," "Socrates," "Century of Louis XV," "The Bible at Last Explained," "Zaïre," "The Ingenuous One," etc., etc.

Touch us gently, Time! Let us glide adown thy stream Gently,--as we sometimes glide Through a quiet dream.

"Touch Us Gently, Time,"--_Bryan W. Procter_.

BRYAN WALLER PROCTER, an eminent English poet and man of letters, was born in Wiltshire, November 21, 1787, and died at London, October 4, 1874. Among his works are: "A Sicilian Story," "Dramatic Scenes and Other Poems," "Mirandola" (a tragedy), "English Songs," "The Flood of Thessaly," "Essays and Tales," "Charles Lamb: a Memoir," and the "Life of Edmund Kean."

There are certain people whose biographies ought to be long; who could learn too much concerning Lamb.

"Adventures in Criticism,"--_A. T. Quiller-Couch_.

SIR A. T. QUILLER-COUCH, a celebrated English writer of fiction, was born in Cornwall, November 21, 1863. He has written: "The Astonishing History of Troy Town," "Dead man's Rock," "The Splendid Spur," "The Blue Pavilions," "The Delectable Duchy," "Wandering Heath," "Adventures in Criticism," "Poems and Ballads," "The Ship of Stars," "The Westcotes," "The White Wolf," "From a Cornish Window," "Sir John Constantine," "True Tilda," "Brother Copas," "The Vigil of Venus and Other Poems," "Lady Good-for-Nothing," "News from the Duchy," "The Oxford Book of Ballads," "Poison Island," "Corporal Sam and Other Stories," "Nicky-Nan Reservist," "On the Art of Writing," "Hocken and Hunken," etc.

He who loves God and his law must hate the foes of God.

"Spanish Gypsy, Bk. I,"--_George Eliot_.

MARY ANN EVANS ("GEORGE ELIOT"), the great English novelist, was born at Arbury Farm, Chilvers Coton, Warwickshire, November 22, 1819, and died in London, December 22, 1880. Among her many works are: "Scenes of Clerical Life," "Adam Bede," "The Mill on the Floss," "Romola," "The Spanish Gypsy," "Agatha" (a poem), "Felix Holt," "Daniel Deronda," "Middlemarch," "Jubal and Other Poems," etc., etc.

Peel was, undoubtedly, as Lord Beaconsfield has said, a great member of Parliament; but he was surely much more than that, he was a great statesman, a great Minister. He must always rank among the foremost of English Ministers. The proud boast of Heine is that, if any one names the best half-dozen of German poets his name must be brought among them. If we name the best half-dozen of modern English Prime Ministers, we can hardly fail to bring in the name of Peel.

"Life of Sir Robert Peel,"--_Justin McCarthy_.

JUSTIN MCCARTHY, an eminent Irish politician, journalist, historian, novelist and miscellaneous writer, was born at Cork, November 22, 1830, and died April 24, 1912. He has written: "A History of Our Own Times," "History of the Four Georges," "A Fair Saxon," "Lady Judith," "The Story of Gladstone's Life," "Modern England," "The Reign of Queen Anne," "Reminiscences," "The Story of an Irishman," "Irish Recollections," etc. Also the biographies of Sir Robert Peel, Pope Leo XIII, and W. E. Gladstone.

Spinoza was truly, what Voltaire has with rather less justice called Clark, a reasoning machine.

--_Hallam_ on _Spinoza_.

BENEDICT SPINOZA, a renowned philosopher, was born at Amsterdam, November 23, 1632, and died at The Hague, February 21, 1677. He wrote: "Tractate on God and Man and Man's Felicity," "Theologico-Political Tractate," and his most famous work, "Ethics Demonstrated Geometrically."

Courtship consists in a number of quiet attentions, not so pointed as to alarm, nor so vague as not to be understood.

--_Laurence Sterne_.

LAURENCE STERNE, an English novelist of great fame, was born at Clonmel, Ireland, November 24, 1713, and died in London, March 18, 1768. His most noted works are: "Tristram Shandy," "The Sermons of Mr. Yorick," and "A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy."

Since the seventeenth century, we have had no poet of the highest order, though Shelley, had he lived, would perhaps have become one. He had something of that burning passion, that sacred fire, which kindles the soul, as though it came fresh from the altar of the gods. But he was cut off in his early prime, when his splendid genius was still in its dawn.

"History of Civilization in England," Vol. II, p. 397 (1861),--_Henry Thomas Buckle_.

HENRY THOMAS BUCKLE, a distinguished English historian, was born in Lee, Kent, November 24, 1821, and died in Damascus, May 29, 1862. He is best known for his great work, "The History of Civilization in England" (2 vols. 1857-61). His "Miscellaneous and Posthumous Works" were edited by Helen Taylor in 1872, and a new edition by Grant Allen in 1880.

How oft my guardian angel gently cried, "Soul, from thy casement look, and thou shalt see How he persists to knock and wait for thee!" And, O! how often to that voice of sorrow, "To-morrow we will open," I replied, And when the morrow came, I answered still, "To-morrow."

"To-morrow," Longfellow's Trans. L. 9,--_Lope de Vega_.

LOPE DE VEGA, "TOME BURGUILLOS," a renowned Spanish dramatist, was born in Madrid, November 25, 1562, and died August 21, 1635. Among his many works may be mentioned: "Jerusalem Conquered," "Angelica," "King and Peasant," "Circe," "Andromeda," "Philomela," "Orpheus," "Proserpine," "San Isidro," "The Dragon," "The Maid of Almudena," "Journey Through My Country," besides numerous sonnets, etc.

Oh for a lodge in some vast wilderness, Some boundless contiguity of shade, Where rumour of oppression and deceit, Of unsuccessful or successful war, Might never reach me more.

"The Task," Book ii: "The Timepiece," Line i,--_William Cowper_.

WILLIAM COWPER, an illustrious English poet, was born in Great Berkhamstead, Hertfordshire, November 26, 1731, and died at East Dereham, Norfolk, April 25, 1800. His works include: "Homer's Iliad and Odyssey," "The Task," "Poems" (1798), etc.

What shall I do with all the days and hours That must be counted ere I see thy face? How shall I charm the interval that lowers Between this time and that sweet time of grace?

"Absence,"--_Frances Anne Kemble_.

FRANCES ANNE KEMBLE, a noted English actress, was born in London, November 27, 1809, and died there, January 16, 1893. She wrote: "Recollections of a Girlhood," "Recollections of Later Life," "Journal of a Residence on a Georgia Plantation," and her "Journal."

I was angry with my friend; I told my wrath, my wrath did end. I was angry with my foe; I told it not, my wrath did grow.

"Christian Forbearance,"--_Wm. Blake_.

WILLIAM BLAKE, a celebrated English poet and artist, was born in London, November 28, 1757, and died there, August 12, 1827. He has published: "Poetical Sketches," "Songs of Innocence," "Songs of Experience," etc. His "Prophetic Books," including: "Book of Thel," "Marriage of Heaven and Hell," "Book of Urizen," "Book of Los," "Book of Ahania," "Jerusalem," and "Milton," are famous. His greatest artistic work is in "Illustrations to the Book of Job."

What is philosophy? It is something that lightens up, that makes bright.

--_Victor Cousin_.

VICTOR COUSIN, a distinguished French philosopher, was born in Paris, November 28, 1792, and died at Cannes, January 2, 1867. He wrote: "Mme. de Longueville," "Mme. de Hautefort," "Jacqueline Pascal," "French Society in the 17th Century," "History of Philosophy," etc. His translation of "Plato," also won for him great fame.

Of gifts, there seems none more becoming to offer a friend than a beautiful book.

"Concord Days" (June Books),--_Amos Bronson Alcott_.

AMOS BRONSON ALCOTT, a noted American philosophical writer, and educator, was born at Wolcott, Conn., November 29, 1799, and died at Boston, March 4, 1888. His principal works are: "Orphic Sayings," "Tablets," "Concord Days," "Table-Talk," "Sonnets and Canzonets," "Ralph Waldo Emerson: His Character and Genius," "New Connecticut," etc.

What the Puritans gave the world was not thought but action.

Speech, December 21, 1855,--_Wendell Phillips_.

WENDELL PHILLIPS, an American social and political reformer of great fame, was born at Boston, November 29, 1811, and died there, February 2, 1884. Among his writings are: "Can Abolitionists Vote or Take Office?" "The Constitution a Pro-Slavery Compact," "Defense of the Anti-Slavery Movement," "Review of Webster's Speech of March 7th," "Speeches, Lectures, and Letters," "Addresses," etc.

They are never alone that are accompanied with noble thoughts.

"Arcadia," Book I,--_Sir Philip Sidney_.

SIR PHILIP SIDNEY, a famous English courtier and man of letters, was born at Penshurst in Kent, November 30, 1554, and died at Arnheim, October 17, 1586. His best known works are: "Arcadia," "Sonnets," "Apology for Poetry," and a versified translation of the "Psalms."

I've often wish'd that I had clear, For life, six hundred pounds a year; A handsome house to lodge a friend; A river at my garden's end; A terrace walk, and half a rood Of land set out to plant a wood.

"Imitation of Horace," Book ii, Sat. 6,--_Jonathan Swift_.

JONATHAN SWIFT, the celebrated English prose satirist, was born in Dublin, November 30, 1667, and died there, October 19, 1745. He wrote: "Advice to the October Club," "Tale of a Tub," "Meditation upon a Broomstick," "Battle of the Books," "Project for the Advancement of Religion," "Public Spirit of the Whigs," "A Modest Proposal," "Drapier's Letters," "Remarks on the Barrier Treaty," "Sentiments of a Church of England Man," and "Gulliver's Travels," his most important work.

Forth we went, a gallant band-- Youth, Love, Gold and Pleasure.

"Last Song,"--_Mark Lemon_.

MARK LEMON, a noted English playwright, was born in London, November 30, 1809, and died at Crawley in Sussex, May 23, 1870. Among his comedies and dramas are: "Hearts Are Trumps," "Lost and Won," "Arnold of Winkelried," "Domestic Economy," etc.

There are two times in a man's life when he should not speculate; when he can't afford it, and when he can.

--_Mark Twain_.

SAMUEL LANGHORNE CLEMENS, ("MARK TWAIN"), the distinguished American humorist, was born in Missouri, November 30, 1835, and died in 1910. He has written: "The Innocents Abroad," "Huckleberry Finn," "A Tramp Abroad," "The Jumping Frog," "Old Times on the Mississippi," "Roughing It," "Tom Sawyer," "The Prince and the Pauper," "The Gilded Age," "Pudd'nhead Wilson," "Following the Equator," "A Double-Barreled Detective Story," etc.

FOOTNOTES:

[1]

Man, think of thine end, whatever thou doest, That will be counted as wisdom the truest.

DECEMBER

DECEMBER

What is the greatest bliss That the tongue o' man can name? 'Tis to woo a bonnie lassie When the kye comes hame!

"When the Kye Comes Hame," st. 2,--_James Hogg_.

JAMES HOGG, a famous Scotch pastoral poet, was born in Ettrick, December 1, 1770, and died at Eltrive Lake, November 21, 1835. He wrote: "Poems and Songs," "The Mountain Bard," "Scottish Pastorals," and "The Queen's Wake," his most famous work.

In the soul of Keats, if ever in a human soul at all, there was a portion of the real poetic essence--the real faculty divine.... His most obvious characteristic, I repeat, is the universality of his sensuousness. And this it is, added to his exquisite mastery in language and verse, that makes it such a luxury to read him.

"Wordsworth, Shelley and Keats,"--_David Masson_.

DAVID MASSON, a noted Scottish author, was born at Aberdeen, December 2, 1822, and died in 1907. He wrote: "The Life of Milton in connection with the History of His Time," "Essays, Biographical and Critical," "British Novelists," "Recent British Philosophy," "Carlyle Personally and His Writings," "Edinburgh Sketches and Memories," etc.

Strange to the world he wore a bashful look, The fields his study, nature was his book.

"The Farmer's Boy: Spring," L. 31,--_Bloomfield_.

ROBERT BLOOMFIELD, a celebrated English poet, was born at Honington, December 3, 1766, and died in Shefford, in 1823. Among his poetical pieces are: "The Milk Maid," "The Sailor's Return," and his most famous poetical work, "The Farmer's Boy."

In books lies the soul of the whole Past Time; the articulate audible voice of the Past, when the body and material substance of it has altogether vanished like a dream.

"Heroes and Hero-Worship: The Hero as a Man of Letters,"--_Thomas Carlyle_.

THOMAS CARLYLE, a Scotch biographer, historian, and miscellaneous writer of great fame, was born at Ecclefechan, December 4, 1795, and died in London, February 4, 1881. Among his celebrated works may be mentioned: "Life of Schiller," "Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship," a translation; "The French Revolution," "Life and Letters of Oliver Cromwell," "German Romance," "Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History," "Chartism," "Past and Present," "Life of Sterling," "Friedrich II," "Latter-Day Pamphlets," "Inaugural Address at Edinburgh," etc.

Give me the lowest place: or if for me That lowest place too high, make one more low Where I may sit and see My God, and love Thee so.

"The Lowest Place,"--_Christina G. Rossetti_.

CHRISTINA GEORGINA ROSSETTI, a renowned English poetess, was born in London, December 5, 1830, and died December 29, 1894. Among her works are: "The Prince's Progress," "Sing-Song: A Nursery Rhyme Book," "Seek and Find," "Speaking Likenesses," "A Pageant, and Other Poems," "Letter and Spirit," "Annus Domini: A Prayer for Each Day in the Year," "Verses," and her most celebrated work, "Goblin Market."

Right as a trivet.

"The Ingoldsby Legends, Auto-da-fe,"--_R. H. Barham_.

RICHARD HARRIS BARHAM, a famous English poet, was born in Canterbury, December 6, 1788, and died in London, June 17, 1845. Under the nom de plume of "Thomas Ingoldsby," he wrote the celebrated "Ingoldsby Legends." He also wrote: "Life of Theodore Hook," "My Cousin Nicholas," etc.

What is worth doing is worth doing well; and with a little more trouble at first, much trouble afterwards may be avoided.

Max Müller, "Letter to John Bellows," July 18, 1866, from "Life" (by His Wife) I. XV,--_Max Müller_.

FRIEDRICH MAX MÜLLER, an eminent German-English Sanskrit scholar and comparative philologist, was born at Dessau, December 6, 1823, and died in 1900. He has written: "History of Ancient Sanskrit Literature," "Science of Language," "Chips from a German Workshop," "Science of Religion," "Essays on Language, Mythology, and Religion," "Science of Thought," "My Autobiography," "Last Essays," appeared after his death, also, "Life and Letters of the Right Honorable Friedrich Max Müller," by his wife.

Liberty of the imagination is the most precious possession of the novelist.

--_Joseph Conrad_.

JOSEPH CONRAD, a renowned English author, of Polish parentage, was born December 6, 1857. Among his works are: "An Outcast of the Islands," "The Nigger of the Narcissus," "Typhoon," "The Mirror of the Sea," "The Secret Agent," "Under Western Eyes," "Some Reminiscenses," "Chance," "Within the Tides," "Victory," "The Shadow Line," "The Arrow of Gold," "Rescue," "Notes on Life and Letters."

A wet sheet and a flowing sea, A wind that follows fast, And fills the white and rustling sail, And bends the gallant mast. And bends the gallant mast, my boys, While like the eagle free Away the good ship flies, and leaves Old England on the lee.

"A Wet Sheet and a Flowing Sea,"--_Allan Cunningham_.

ALLAN CUNNINGHAM, a noted Scotch poet and miscellaneous writer, was born in Keir, Dumfriesshire, December 7, 1784, and died in London, October 30, 1842. His best known works are: "Lord Roldan," "Paul Jones," "Sir Marmaduke Maxwell," and his most famous work, "Critical History of the Literature of the Last Fifty Years."

Out in the lonely woods the jasmine burns Its fragrant lamps, and turns Into a royal court with green festoons The banks of dark lagoons.

"Spring,"--_Henry Timrod_.

HENRY TIMROD, a famous American Southern poet and author, was born at Charleston, S. C., December 8, 1829, and died at Columbia, S. C., October 6, 1867. His "Poems" appeared in 1860.

You k'n hide de fier, but w'at you gwine do wid de smoke?

"Plantation Proverbs,"--_Joel Chandler Harris_.

JOEL CHANDLER HARRIS, a noted American journalist and story writer, was born at Eatonton, Georgia, December 8, 1848, and died July 3, 1908. He has written: "Daddy Jake, the Runaway," "The Folk-Lore of the Old Plantation," etc. He is best known, however, by his famous "Uncle Remus" sketches.