Part 6

ALGERNON CHARLES SWINBURNE, an eminent English poet, was born in London, April 5, 1837; and died April 10, 1909. His publications include: "Poems and Ballads," "The Queen Mother and Rosamond," "Bothwell," "Songs of the Springtides," "A Century of Roundels," "The Sisters," "Studies in Song," "Songs of Two Nations," "Chastelard," "Ode on the Proclamation of the French Republic," "Songs Before Sunrise," "Atalanta in Calydon," "Under the Microscope," "Tristram of Lyonesse and Other Poems," "Marino Faliero," "A Midsummer Holiday and Other Poems," "Locrine," a tragedy, a third series of "Poems and Ballads," "Astrophel and Other Poems," "The Tale of Balen," "Rosamund, Queen of the Lombards," a tragedy, etc.

From every place below the skies The grateful song, the fervent prayer,-- The incense of the heart,--may rise To heaven, and find acceptance there.

"Every Place a Temple,"--_John Pierpont_.

JOHN PIERPONT, a well-known American clergyman and poet, was born in Litchfield, Conn., April 6, 1785, and died in Medford, Mass., August 27, 1866. He wrote: "Airs of Palestine, and Other Poems," also, his famous poem "Warren's Address at the Battle of Bunker Hill."

It came upon the midnight clear, That glorious song of old, From angels bending near the earth To touch their harps of gold: "Peace on the earth, good-will to men, From Heaven's all-gracious King!" The world in solemn stillness lay To hear the angels sing.

"The Angels' Song,"--_Edmund Hamilton Sears_.

EDMUND HAMILTON SEARS, a noted American clergyman, religious writer and poet was born in Sandisfield, Mass., April 6, 1810, and died at Weston, Mass., January 14, 1876. He wrote: "Regeneration," "Pictures of the Olden Time," "Athanasia," "Christian Lyrics," "The Fourth Gospel: the Heart of Christ," "Sermons and Songs of the Christian Life," "Christ in the Life," etc.

Dreams, books, are each a world; and books, we know, Are a substantial world, both pure and good. Bound these, with tendrils strong as flesh and blood, Our pastime and our happiness will grow.

"Personal Talk," Stanza 3,--_William Wordsworth_.

WILLIAM WORDSWORTH, the great English poet, was born at Cockermouth, Cumberland, April 7, 1770, and died at Rydal Mount, April 23, 1850. Among his noted works are: "The Excursion," "Lyrical Ballads," "The Prelude," "Peter Bell," "The Waggoner," "Sonnets," "Yarrow Revisited and Other Poems," "Poems," "An Evening Walk," etc.

I sing New England, as she lights her fire In every Prairie's midst; and where the bright Enchanting stars shine pure through Southern night, She still is there, the guardian on the tower, To open for the world a purer hour.

"New England,"--_William E. Channing_.

WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING, a distinguished American theologian, was born at Newport, R. I.; April 7, 1780, and died at Bennington, Vt.; April, 1842. His works were published in 1848, and comprise the following: "Youth of the Poet and Painter," "Thoreau the Poet-Naturalist," "Conversation in Rome Between an Artist and Catholic, and a Critic," etc.

There came a new poet who, to the science of rhythm, the resources of expression, the gift of epic narration, the deep feeling for nature, to all the caprices of a delightful fancy, to all the favorite ideas, noble or morbid, of modern thought, knew how to join the language of manly passion. Thus, as it were summing up in himself all his forerunners, he touched all hearts; he linked together all admirations; he has remained the true representative, the last expression and final, of the poetic period to which he belongs. Tennyson reigns to-day almost alone in increasing and uncontested glory.

"Taine's History of English Literature," _Essays on English Literature_, tr. Saintsbury, p. 87,--_Edmond Scherer_.

EDMOND SCHERER, a celebrated French essayist and critic, was born in Paris, April 8, 1815, and died at Versailles, March 16, 1889. Among his writings are: "Miscellanies of Religious Criticism," "Letters to my Pastor," "Criticism and Belief," "Miscellanies of Religious History," etc.

I consider biennial elections as a security that the sober second thought of the people shall be law.

"On Biennial Elections," 1788,--_Fisher Ames_.

FISHER AMES, a famous American statesman and orator, was born at Dedham, Mass., April 9, 1758, and died there, July 4, 1808. He wrote many essays and orations.

Music should strike fire from the heart of man, and bring tears from the eyes of woman.

--_Beethoven_.

LUDWIG VON BEETHOVEN, a renowned German composer, was born at Bonn, April 9, 1770, and died at Vienna, in 1827. Besides his numerous musical productions, he won literary fame by his "Correspondence" and "Brentano Letters."

Indolence is a delightful but distressing state; we must be doing something to be happy. Action is no less necessary than thought to the instinctive tendencies of the human frame.

--_Hazlitt_.

WILLIAM HAZLITT, a celebrated English prose-writer and critic, was born in Maidstone, Kent, April 10, 1778, and died in London, September 18, 1830. He wrote: "The Spirit of the Age," "Characters of Shakespeare's Plays," "Lectures on English Poets," etc.

Riches take wings, comforts vanish, hope withers away, but love stays with us. Love is God.

--_Lew Wallace_.

LEWIS WALLACE ("LEW WALLACE"), a famous American general, lawyer, and novelist, was born at Brookville, Ind., April 10, 1827, and died in 1905. Among his notable works are: "The Fair God," "Ben Hur," "The Life of Gen. Benjamin Harrison," "Commodus: a Tragedy," "The Boyhood of Christ," "The Prince of India," etc.

Bend low, O dusky Night, And give my spirit rest, Hold me to your deep breast, And put old cares to flight. Give back the lost delight That once my soul possest, When Love was loveliest.

"To-night,"--_Louise Chandler Moulton_.

LOUISE (CHANDLER) MOULTON, a noted American poet, story-writer, and critic, was born in Pomfret, Conn., April 10, 1835, and died August 10, 1908. She wrote: "The True Flag," "This, That and the Other," "Juno Clifford," "Bed-Time Stories," "Firelight Stories," "Stories Told at Twilight," "In the Garden of Dreams," "Poems," etc.; also, "Miss Eyre from Boston and Other Stories," "Lazy Tours in Spain," etc.

Thus, when a barber and a collier fight, the barber beats the luckless collier-white; the dusty collier heaves his ponderous sack, and big with vengeance, beats the barber-black. In comes the brick dust man, with grime o'er spread, and beats the collier and the barber-red; black, red, and white, in various clouds are tost, and in the dust they raise the combatants are lost.

"The Trip to Cambridge" in "Campbell's Specimens of the British Poets," Vol. vi, p. 185,--_Christopher Smart_.

CHRISTOPHER SMART, a famous English poet, was born at Shipbourne, Kent, April 11, 1722, and died May 21, 1771. His works include: "Translation of the Psalms of David," "The Hilliad: An Epic Poem," "Song to David," "Power of the Supreme Being," "Poems," "Poems on Several Occasions," etc.

Give me the avowed, the erect, the manly foe, Bold I can meet,--perhaps may turn his blow! But of all plagues, good Heaven, thy wrath can send, Save, save, oh save me from the _candid friend_!

"New Morality,"--_George Canning_.

GEORGE CANNING, an English statesman, orator, and writer of great distinction, was born in London, April 11, 1770, and died at Chiswick, August 8, 1827. He wrote: "The Needy Knife-Grinder," "The Rovers," etc.

When I am dead, no pageant train Shall waste their sorrows at my bier, Nor worthless pomp of homage vain. Stain it with hypocritic tear.

"Alaric the Visigoth,"--_Edward Everett_.

EDWARD EVERETT, a famous American statesman, was born at Dorchester, Mass., April 11, 1794, and died January 15, 1865. Among his writings were: "Mount Vernon Papers," "Defense of Christianity," "Orations and Speeches," etc.

The gentleman [Josiah Quincy] cannot have forgotten his own sentiment, uttered even on the floor of this House, "Peaceably if we can, forcibly if we must."

"Speech," Jan. 8, 1813.--_Henry Clay_.

HENRY CLAY, an eminent American orator and statesman, was born in Hanover, Va., April 12, 1777, and died at Washington, D. C., June 29, 1852. His "Complete Works," were edited in 1857.

Coquetry whets the appetite; flirtation depraves it. Coquetry is the thorn that guards the rose,--easily trimmed off when once plucked. Flirtation is like the slime on water-plants, making them hard to handle, and when caught, only to be cherished in slimy waters.

"Reveries of a Bachelor,"--_Ik Marvel_.

DONALD GRANT MITCHELL ("IK MARVEL"), a famous American novelist and essayist, was born at Norwich, Conn., April 12, 1822, and died in 1908. He wrote: "Dream Life," "My Farm of Edgewood," "Doctor Johns," "Bound Together," "Wet Days at Edgewood," "English Lands, Letters and Kings," and his most noted work, "Reveries of a Bachelor."

Every white will have its blacke, And every sweet its soure.

"Sir Cauline," from "Reliques of Ancient Poetry,"--_Thomas Percy_.

THOMAS PERCY, a noted English poet, was born at Bridgenorth in Shropshire, April 13, 1728 or 1729, and died at Dromore, Ireland, September 30, 1811. He wrote: "The Hermit of Warkworth," the song, "O Nanny, Wilt Thou Gang Wi' Me?" and published a collection of old ballads and songs under the title "Reliques of Ancient English Poetry."

No creature lives that must not work and may not play.

"Work and Play,"--_Horace Bushnell_.

HORACE BUSHNELL, an eminent American clergyman, was born near Litchfield, Connecticut, April 14, 1802, and died at Hartford, Conn., in 1876. Among his numerous works may be mentioned: "Christian Nurture," "God in Christ," "Christ in Theology," "The Vicarious Sacrifice," "Nature and the Supernatural," "Moral Uses of Dark Things," "The Age of Homespun," "Forgiveness and Law," "Work and Play," "The Character of Jesus," "Christ and His Salvation," etc.

Monuments! What are they? The very pyramids have forgotten their builders, or to whom they were dedicated. Deeds, not stones, are the true monuments of the great.

--_Motley_.

JOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY, a famous American historian and diplomatist, was born at Dorchester, Mass., April 15, 1814, and died in Dorsetshire, England, May 29, 1877. Among his works are: "Rise of the Dutch Republic," "History of the United Netherlands," "Causes of the Civil War in America," "Life of John of Barneveld," etc.

Not much talk--a great, sweet silence.

"A Bundle of Letters," Letter IV,--_Henry James_.

HENRY JAMES, a distinguished American novelist and miscellaneous prose-writer, was born in New York, April 15, 1843, and died in February, 1916. Among his numerous works may be mentioned: "Roderick Hudson," "A Passionate Pilgrim and Other Tales," "The American," "French Poets and Novelists," "Daisy Miller: a Study," "A Bundle of Letters," "The Diary of a Man of Fifty," "Washington Square," "A Little Tour in France," "The Portrait of a Lady," "The Bostonians," "The Tragic Muse," "Partial Portraits," "The Real Thing and Other Tales," "The Private Life," "The Wheel of Time," "The Princess Casamassima," "Essays in London and Elsewhere," etc.

There paused to shut the door, A fellow called the Wind, With mystery before, And reticence behind.

"At the Granite Gate,"--_Bliss Carman_.

BLISS CARMAN, a celebrated Canadian poet, was born at Fredericton, N. B., April 15, 1861. He has written: "Low Tide on Grand Pré: A Book of Lyrics," "Songs from Vagabondia," "Behind the Arras: A Book of the Unseen," "A Winter Holiday," "Christmas Eve at St. Kavin's," "Ode for the Coronation," "Pipes of Pan No. I," "Pipes of Pan No. II," "The Kinship of Nature," "The Friendship of Art," "The Poetry of Life," "The Making of Personality," "Sappho," "Daughters of Dawn," "Oxford Book of American Verse," "Earth Deities," "April Airs," etc.

Le roi règne et ne gouverne pas.[3]

"In the National Newspaper," July 1st, 1830.

LOUIS ADOLPHE THIERS, a renowned French statesman and author, was born at Marseilles, April 16, 1797, and died at St. Germain, September 3, 1877. He wrote: "History of John Law," "Man and Matter," "On Property," "History of the Consulate and the Empire," and his most famous work, "History of the French Revolution."

To be frank, the critics should say: "Gentlemen, I intend to speak of myself apropos of Shakespeare, Racine, Pascal, or Goethe."

--_Anatole France_.

ANATOLE FRANCE (JACQUES ANATOLE THIBAULT), a celebrated French critic, poet and novelist, was born at Paris, April 16, 1844. He has written: "The Yule Log," "Our Children: Scenes in Town and in the Fields," "The Garden of Epicurus," "Abeille," "Poems," "The Crime of Sylvester Bonnard," "The Wishes of Jean Servien," "Balthazar," "Thais," "My Friend's Book," "Le Jongleur de Notre Dame," "Histoire de Jeanne d'Arc," "La Revolte des Anges," etc.

When that my mood is sad, and in the noise And bustle of the crowd I feel rebuke, I turn my footsteps from its hollow joys, And sit me down beside the little brook; The waters have a music to mine ear It glads me much to hear.

"The Shaded Water,"--_William Gilmore Simms_.

WILLIAM GILMORE SIMMS, a distinguished American poet and novelist, was born in Charleston, S. C., April 17, 1806, and died there June 11, 1870. His publications include: "The Wigwam and the Cabin; or, Tales of the South," "Atalantis: A Tale of the Sea," "Castle Dismal," "The Maroon, and Other Tales," "The Yemassee," and "War Poetry of the South."

Many a genius has been slow of growth, Oaks that flourish for a thousand years Do not spring up into beauty like a reed.

"The Spanish Drama: Life of Lope De Vega." Ch. II,--_Geo. Henry Lewes_.

GEORGE HENRY LEWES, a celebrated English historical and miscellaneous writer, was born at London, April 18, 1817, and died there November 28, 1878. Among his writings are: "The Life and Works of Goethe," "History of Philosophy from Thales to Comte," "The Physiology of Common Life," "Seaside Studies," "Studies in Animal Life," "Aristotle: A Chapter from the History of Science," "Problems of Life and Mind," "The Physical Basis of Mind," "Ranthorpe," "The Noble Heart," etc.

Friendship! mysterious cement of the soul! Sweetener of life, and solder of society.

"The Grave,"--_Robert Blair_.

ROBERT BLAIR, a noted Scottish poet, was born at Edinburgh, April 19 (?), 1699, and died February 4, 1746. His reputation as a poet rests solely on his famous poem, "The Grave," written in blank verse.

If any man can convince me and bring home to me that I do not think or act aright, gladly will I change; for I search after truth, by which man never yet was harmed. But he is harmed who abideth on still in his deception and ignorance.

"Meditations," VI, 21,--_Marcus Aurelius_.

MARCUS AURELIUS, the great Roman emperor, was born in Rome, April 20, A.D., 121, and died in Pannonia, March 17, 180. His "Meditations" have been handed down to posterity.

Immortality alone could teach this mortal how to die.

"Looking Death in the Face,"--_Dinah Maria Mulock Craik_.

DINAH MARIA MULOCK CRAIK, a famous English novelist, was born in Stoke-upon-Trent, April 20, 1826, and died at London, October, 1887. The best known of her works are: "The Ogilvies," "John Halifax, Gentleman," "Two Marriages," "A Brave Lady," and "A Noble Life."

No maid is near, I have no wife; But here's my pipe And, on my life; With it to smoke, And woo the Muse, To be a king, I would not choose.

--_William H. Davies_.

WILLIAM HENRY DAVIES, a noted Welsh poet, was born in Monmouthshire, April 20, 1870. He has written: "The Soul's Destroyer," "New Poems," "Nature Poems," "Farewell to Poesy," "Songs of Joy," "Foliage," "The Bird of Paradise," "Child Lovers," "Collected Poems," "The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp," "A Pilgrim in Wales," "A Poet's Pilgrimage."

The first groundwork of religious life is love--love to God and man--in the bosom of the family.

"Aphorisms,"--_Friedrich Froebel_.

FRIEDRICH FROEBEL, an eminent German educator, was born at Oberweissbach, April 21, 1782, and died at Marienthal, June 21, 1852. He won fame by his celebrated work, "The Education of Man."

From Greenland's icy mountains, From India's coral strand, Where Afric's sunny fountains, Roll down their golden sand.

"Missionary Hymn."--_Reginald Heber_.

REGINALD HEBER, a famous English hymn-writer and clergyman, was born in Cheshire, April 21, 1783, and died at Trichinopoly, India, April 2, 1826. His prose writings include the Bampton lectures on "The Personality and Office of the Christian Comforter," "Life of Jeremy Taylor," "Journey Through India," etc. His fame rests, however, on his hymns, "From Greenland's Icy Mountains," and "Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty!"

Life, believe, is not a dream, So dark as sages say; Oft a little morning rain Foretells a pleasant day!

"Life,"--_Charlotte Brontë_.

CHARLOTTE BRONTË, a famous English novelist, was born in Thornton, April 21, 1816, and died in Haworth, March 31, 1855. She wrote: "Shirley," "Villette," "The Professor," and "Jane Eyre," her most famous work.

There are four varieties in society,--the lovers, the ambitious, observers, and fools. The fools are the happiest.

--_Taine_.

ADOLPHE HIPPOLYTE TAINE, an illustrious French historian and critic, was born at Vouziers (Ardennes), April 21, 1828, and died at Paris, March 5, 1893. Among his publications are: "Essay on La Fontaine's Fables," "Essay on Livy," "Journey to the Pyrenees," "French Philosophers in the Nineteenth Century," "Essays in Criticism and History," "Notes on England," "Contemporary English Writers," "History of English Literature," "English Idealism," "New Essays in Criticism and History," "Philosophy of Art," "Philosophy of Art in Italy," "Tour in Italy, Naples, Rome, Florence, and Venice," "Notes on Paris," "The Ideal in Art," "Philosophy of Art in Greece," "On the Understanding," "The Old Régime," "The Revolutionary Governments," etc.

When I'm not thank'd at all, I'm thank'd enough; I've done my duty, and I've done no more.

"Tom Thumb the Great," Act. i, Sc. 3,--_Henry Fielding_.

HENRY FIELDING, a celebrated English novelist, was born at Sharpham Park, Somersetshire, April 22, 1707, and died at Lisbon, October 8, 1754. His most famous works are: "Tom Jones, or the History of a Foundling," "The Adventures of Joseph Andrews," "Amelia," and "The History of Jonathan Wild."

Sincerity is the indispensable ground of all conscientiousness, and by consequence of all heartfelt religion.

--_Emmanuel Kant_.

EMMANUEL KANT, an eminent German philosopher, was born at Königsberg, April 22, 1724, and died there, February 12, 1804. His three famous works are: "Critique of the Practical Reason," "Critique of Pure Reason," and "Critique of the Power of Judgment."

And all the bustle of departure--sometimes sad, sometimes intoxicating--just as fear or hope may be inspired by the new chances of coming destiny.

"Corinne," Book X, Chap. VI,--_Madame De Staël_.

ANNE LOUISE GERMAINE (NECKER), BARONESS DE STAËL-HOLSTEIN, a celebrated French writer, was born in Paris, April 22, 1766, and died there July 14, 1817. She wrote: "Letters on the Character and Writings of J. J. Rousseau," "Corinne," "Delphine," "Literature in Relation to Social Institutions," etc.

We live in deeds, not years; in thoughts, not breaths; In feelings, not in figures on a dial. We should count time by heart-throbs. He most lives Who thinks most, feels the noblest, acts the best. Life's but a means unto an end; that end Beginning, mean, and end to all things,--God.

"Festus," Scene V, A Country Town,--_Philip James Bailey_.

PHILIP JAMES BAILEY, a noted English poet, was born in Basford, Nottinghamshire, April 22, 1816, and died in 1902. He wrote: "The Universal Hymn," "The Age," "The Mystic," "The Angel World," and his great poem, "Festus."

Friendship is constant in all other things Save in the office and affairs of love: Therefore all hearts in love use their own tongues; Let every eye negotiate for itself And trust no agent.

"Much Ado about Nothing," Act ii, Sc. i.--_William Shakespeare_.

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, the great English poet, was born at Stratford-on-Avon, April 23, 1564, and he died there April 23, 1616. Among his famous works may be mentioned: "Henry VI," "Richard III," "Taming of the Shrew," "Love's Labour's Lost," "Comedy of Errors," "Two Gentlemen of Verona," "Romeo and Juliet," "The Merchant of Venice," "A Midsummer Night's Dream," "Henry V," "All's Well That Ends Well," "The Merry Wives of Windsor," "As You Like It," "Julius Cæsar," "Much Ado About Nothing," "Twelfth Night," "Hamlet," "Othello," "King Lear," "Macbeth," "Measure for Measure," "Antony and Cleopatra," "Cymbeline," "A Winter's Tale," "The Tempest," etc., etc.

Our thoughts and our conduct are our own.

"Short Studies on Great Subjects: Education,"--_James A. Froude_.

JAMES ANTHONY FROUDE, a celebrated English historian, was born at Dartington in Devonshire, April 23, 1818, and died in London, October 20, 1894. Among his works are: "Luther: A Short Biography," "Shadows of a Cloud," "Nemesis of Faith," "History of England from the Fall of Wolsey to the Death of Elizabeth," "The English in Ireland in the Eighteenth Century," "Influence of the Reformation on the Scottish Character," "Thomas Carlyle," "Short Studies on Great Subjects," "Spanish Story of the Armada," etc.

Bowed by the weight of centuries, he leans Upon his hoe and gazes on the ground, The emptiness of ages in his face, And on his back the burden of the world.

"The Man with the Hoe,"--_Edwin Markham_.

EDWIN MARKHAM, a noted American poet, was born at Oregon City, Oregon, April 23, 1852. He is best known by his famous poem, "The Man with the Hoe."

But as some muskets so contrive it As oft to miss the mark they drive at, And though well aimed at duck or plover, Bear wide, and kick their owners over.

"McFingal," Canto i, Line 93,--_John Trumbull_.

JOHN TRUMBULL, a famous American lawyer, poet, and wit, was born in Westbury, Conn., April 24, 1750, and died at Detroit, Mich., May 10, 1831. He wrote: "The Progress of Dullness," "McFingal," which won for him his greatest fame, and several other works. His "Poetical Works" were published in 1820.

Whatever Thackeray says, the reader cannot fail to understand; and whatever Thackeray attempts to communicate, he succeeds in conveying.

"Life of Thackeray,"--_Anthony Trollope_.

ANTHONY TROLLOPE, an illustrious English novelist, was born in London, April 24, 1815, and died there, December 6, 1882. Among his numerous publications may be mentioned: "The Kellys and the O'Kellys," "La Vendée," "The Warden," "Barchester Towers," "Doctor Thorne," "The Bertrams," "Castle Richmond," "Orley Farm," "Tales of All Countries," "The Struggles of Brown, Jones and Robinson," "North America," "Rachel Ray," "Hunting Sketches," "Traveling Sketches," "The Claverings," "British Sports and Pastimes," "He Knew He Was Right," "Mary Gresley," "Ralph the Heir," "The Golden Lion of Granpère," "Phineas Redux," "South Australia and Western Australia," "Lady Anna," "The Prime Minister," "The American Senator," "South Africa," "John Caldigate," "Cousin Henry," "The Duke's Children," "Life of Cicero," "Ayala's Angel," "Marion Fay," "The Fixed Period," "Kept in the Dark," etc. His "Autobiography" appeared in 1883.

Come and see her as she stands. Crimson roses in her hands; And her eyes Are as dark as Southern night, Yet than Southern dawn more bright. And a soft, alluring light, In them lies.

"Fanny, A Southern Blossom," St. I,--_Anne Reeve Aldrich_.