• - r ' - { ■ 1 4 ' '' ''i"''i'#ft'' I .. . ■ ,'^^^ '^■'1'^ -V'- / 5 .i;['i i?«fe. ' V, ii' / GoByiiglitS?. COPYRIGHT DEFOSm I ^/3^/,C- MANUAL OF ^^^ AMERICAN LITERATURE: BY JOHN S. HART, LL.D., raOFESSOR OF RHETORIC AND OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE IN THE COU.£fi£ Of «EW JERSEY, AND LATE PRINCIPAL OF THE NEW JERSEY STATE NORMAL SCHOOL. q^^.^^ PHILADELPHIA: ELDREDGE & BROTHER, No. 17 North Seventh Street. 1873. STANDARD EDUCATIONAL WORKS: BY JOHN S. HART, LL.D. First Lessons in Composition. Composition and Ehetoiic. English Literature. American Literature. A Short Course in Literature. In Preparation. -Si- Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1872, by (t ELDREDGE & BROTHER, in the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. X^ ^^ J. FAGAN & SON, *^% ELECTEOTTPERS, PHILAD'A. ^^ ^ ^,.^ r— V^ 9 CAXTON PRESS OF SHERMAN & CO. ^ r: Preface npHE systematic study of English Literature, as part of the course of ordinary English education, has been introduced almost entirely within the last thirty years. The reader who will take the trouble to look over the old catalogues of our Colleges and Schools, will find no vestige of such a study prior to 1844. The Class Book of Poetry and the Class Book of Prose, issued in 1844, by the author of the present volume, were a feeble begmning in this line. Though intended primarily for reading-books, they were to some extent studies in literature. The selections from the various authors were in each case prefixed by a brief critical and biographical notice of the author, and were arranged in chronological order, so as to furnish the teacher and the scholar with something like an outline of the general course of English Literature. In the works of Prof. Cleveland which followed, a few years later (1848- 1858), this feature became more marked. The books were still in the main reading-books, but the space allotted to literary history and criticism was considerably enlarged. Other works have followed, from time to time, approaching more and more to the character of a simple text-book on the subject, until now, when selections are for the most part remanded to the reading-book, and the text-book is occupied almost exclusively with criticism and literary history. Any one who will compare the Class Books of Poetry and Prose of 1844, already referred to, with the present volumes on English and American Literature, by the same author, will have a means of measuring the growth of this study in a single generation. A comparison of the School cata- Vlll PREFACE. logues of 1844 and 1872 will show a like result. Hardly a school of any standing is now to be found that does not include the systematic study of English Literature in its ordinary curriculum. The study has come to he considered almost as necessary as that of Grammar and Geography, and fully as necessary as that of History. The study of Literature is in fact a part of the study of History. The latest step in this onward movement is that which recognizes the propriety of giving a full and adequate treatment to the literature of our own country. The volume now in the hands of the reader furnishes ample proof, if any were needed, that American Literature is abundant in mate- rials, and that it is growing with unexampled rapidity. In preparing this work the author has been indebted, at every step, to those who have gone before him. No one can write intelligently on the subject, without a feeling of thankfulness for the labors of Dr. Allibone, Dr. Griswold, and the brothers Duyckinck. Besides these general sources of information, the author acknowledges with pleasure his obligations to " Southland Writers," by Mrs. Mary T. Tardy (" Ida Eaymond ") of Mobile, Ala., and to " Living Writers of the South," by Prof. James Wood David- son of Washington. The work, however, is not a mere compilation. It is not only original in its conception, form, and structure, but it has, in its materials also, to a much greater extent than is usual in such works, the character of origi- nality. Fully one-third of the matter here presented has been gathered by the author himself and is an original contribution to the subject of which he has undertaken to treat. J. S. H. College of New Jerset, Princeton, August, 1872. PAGE PREFACE, 7 TO TEACHERS, 23 CHAPTER I. The Early Colonial Period. Introductory Remarks, . , . . . . . . . .25 TVhitaker's Good Newes, Sandys's Ovid, ....... 26 Vaughan's Golden Fleece, ......... 27 Morrell's Nova Anglia, Wood's New England's Prospect, .... 28 The First Printing Press, The Bay Psalm Book, . . . . . .29 Nathaniel Ward, " The Cobbler of Agawam," ...... 30 John Cotton, 31 Thomas Hooker, Samuel Stone, ........ 32 John Norton, Thomas Shepard, . . . . . . . .33 Governor Winthrop, Governor Bradford, Thomas litartin, .... 34 Nathaniel Martin, .......... 35 Governor Winslow, Roger Williams, ....... 36 President Chauncy, John Clark, John Davenport, . . . . . .37 John Eliot, The Indian Bible, ........ 38 Richard Mather, Daniel Gookin, Roger Clap, Edward Johnson, William Hubbard, . 39 Anne Bradstreet, .......... 40 Peter Folger, Michael Wigglesworth, . . . . . , . .41 Samuel Willard, Joshua Mather, ........ 42 Cotton Mather, 43 Minor Authors, .......... 45 President Blair, Colonel William Byrd, . . . . . . .46 James Logan, Robert Beverly, ........ 48 Thomas Chalkley, ........... 49 John Woolman, Aquila Rose, ........ 50 Samuel Keimer, Cadwallader Golden, Thomas Prince, Samuel Mather, Solomon Stod- dard, 51 Samuel Johnson, John Seccomb, Father Abbey's Will, ..... 52 President Clap, John Callender, James and Ebenezer Farell, C. Chauncy, . . 53 Presidents Dickinson, Burr, and Edwards, ...... 54 Presidents Davies and Finley, . . . . . . . . .56 ix X CONTENTS. CHAPTER II. The Revolutionary Period. PAflB Introductory Remarks, .......... 57 Benjamin Franklin, .......... 58 Apothegms from Franklin, . . . . . . . . .60 George Washington, James Otis, ........ 62 John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, . . ... . . « .63 Madison, . . . . . . . . . . .65 Monroe, . . . . . . . . . . . .66 Alexander Hamilton, .......... 67 John Jay, Dr. Witherspoon, . . . . . . . . .69 Rivington, . . . . . . . . . . .70 Freneau— The Sabbath-Day Class, ........ 71 Freneau's May to April, ......... 73 Brackenridge, ......... i . Ti Francis Hopkinson, .......... 75 The Battle of the Kegs, .......... 76 John Trumbull, Joel Barlow, ........ 77 Presidents Stiles and Dwight, ......... 78 Mather Byles, Jacob Duche, Samuel Curwen, ...... 80" Joseph Green, . . . . . . . . • . .81 Samuel Peters, . . . . . . . . . . . 82 The Frogs of Windam, B. Young Prince, . . . . . . .83 Governors Livingston and Hutchinson, Charles Thomson, . . . .84 Fisher Ames, John Winthrop, Benjamin Rush, . . . . . .85 John Dickinson, Anthony Benezet, Thomas Godfrey, Pelatiah Webster, . . 86 David Ramsey, Joseph Reed, W. H. Drayton, J. Drayton, . . . . .87 Henry Lee, Arthur Lee, Josiah Quincy, James Sullivan, David Humphreys, Bishop White, ............ 88 Jonathan Mayhew, Bishop Seabury, William Smith, ..... 89 Samuel Hopkins, Jeremiah Learning, Nathan Strong, Jonathan Edwards, Jr., . . 90 Phillis Wheatly, J. Belknap, Isaac Backus, E. Winchester, J. Heckelwelder, Mrs. Fer- guson, ............ 91 Susanna Rowson, Mercy Warren, St. George Tucker, ..... 92 J. McClurg, The Belles of Williamsburg, . . . . . . .93 J. M. Sewell, E. Fitch, N, Evans, B. Church, J. and W. Bartram, ... 94 Elias Boudinot, W. Linn, G. R. Minot, J. Bellamy, . . .95 CHAPTER III. ^ From 1800 to 1830. Introductory Remarks, . . . . . . . . . .96 SECTION 1.— The Poets. Robert Treat Paine, 97 Adams and Liberty — A Song, ........ 98 Fessenden, . . . . . . . . . . . ' . 99 J. Hopkinson, J. B. Linn, C. P. Sumner, Francis S. Key, Wm. Mumford, . . 100 W. AUston, C. C. Moore, 101 A Tisit from St. Nicholas 102 CONTENTS. XI PAGE Dinsmore, R. Alsop, . . . . . . . . . .103 Levi Frisbie, Samuel Woodworth, ........ 104 Old Oaken Bucket, Hillhouse, B. Wain, , . . . . . .105 J. Rodman Drake, R. Dabney, J. M. Harvey, ...... 106 The American Flag, . . . . . . . . . . 107 Robert C. Sands, C. Wilcox, J. G. C. Brainard, G. Mellen, . . . .108 Maria del Occidents (Mrs. Brooks), J. W. Eastburn, M. P. Flint, J. A. Stone, F. E. Brooks, 109 Lucretia and Margaret Davidson, . . . * . . . . 110 SECTION 2. — Miscellaneous Prose Writers. Charles Brockden Brown, ......... Ill Robert Walsh, Joseph Dennie, ........ 112 William Wirt, W. Duane, Mrs. E. Hall, P. H. Nicklin, . ... . .113 The Blind Preacher, .......... 114 William Dunlap, W. Crafts, W. Elliott, S. L. Mitchill, A. Greene, . . . .115 Irving Brothers, Mrs. T. Tenney, Lucy Hooper, R. Tyler, H. E. Dwight, E. Wood, G. Watterston, E. B. English, . . . . , . . . .116 Timothy Flint, Captain Symmes, ........ 117 SECTION 3. — Scientific \Vriters. Wilson the Ornithologist, . . . . . •• . . . 117 The Mocking Bird, 118 The Bald Eagle, .119 Audubon, . . . . . . . . . . .120 The Humming Bird, .......... 121 Duponceau, Noah Webster, ......... 122 Pickering, Leverett, Godman, ......... 123 SECTION IV. — Writers on Political Economy. Matthew Carey, ........... 123 Albert Gallatin, T. Coxe, W. M. Gouge, C. Raguet, R. Vaux, C. W. Peale, . . 124 Dr. Cooper, Alex. R. Johnson, . . . * . . . . . . 125 SECTION v. — Legal and Political Writers. Chancellor Kent, ........... 125 Judge Story, ........... 126 H. G. Otis, J. Sullivan, T. A. Emmet, W. Rawle, A. J. Dallas, H. N. Brackinridge, J. Taylor, 127 SECTION VI. — Biography and History. Chief Justice Marshall, Weems, Aaron Bancroft, Abdiel Holmes, .... 128 Hannah Adams, S. L. Knapp, T. M. Harris, ...... 129 T. Pitkins, A. Bradford, J. B. Felt, A. Graydon, C. Miner, J. Armstrong, J. L. Bosman, 130 Isaiah Thomas, J. Morse, W. C. Woodbridge, R. C. Smith, .... 131 SECTION VII. — Theological Writers. Samuel Stanhope Smith, . , . . . . . . . 131 Ashbel Green, H. Kollock, S. Kollock, . . . . . . .132 Dr. John Mason, Dr. J. H. Rice, . . . . . . . .133 Dr. Nott, T. C. Henry, A. M. Proudfit, A. McLeod, S. B. Wylie, . . .134 President Day, J. P. Wilson, S. Whelpley, J. Mitchell, L. Withington, Dr. Emmons, . 135 Leonard Woods, S. West, S. Williston, E. Porter, ..... 136 Bishop Hobart, Bishop Griswold, N. Worcester, S. Worcester, Dr. Pay son, . . 137 Xll CONTENTS. PAGU! Dr. Ware, J, Bowden, G. P. Bedell, T. Dehon, F. Dalcho, J. Sherman, S. C. Thacher, J. Tuckerman, .......... 138 Dr. Bangs, B. Whitman, W. Austin, A. Abbot, J. Summerfield, E. Hicks, D. Wheeler, 139 CHAPTER IV. From 1830 to 1850. Introductory Remarks, .......... 140 SECTION I.— The Poets. Poe, . 140 The Bells, 142 Halleck, 144 Marco Bozzaris, . . . . . . . . . . 145 Richard Henry Dana, .......... 147 Edmund Kean's Lear, . . . . . . . . . 148 Pierpont, . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 Percival, J. Howard Payne, ........ 151 Charles Sprague, ........... 152 Fairfield, J. H. Bryant, ......... 153 Gallagher, McDonald Clarke, Finley, Cranch, Eastman, J. Brown, . , . 154 Hosmer, C. W. Everett, H. B. Hirst, George Lunt, . . . . .155 J. McClellan, J. Nack, R. Hoyt, J. M. Legar^, Coates Kinney, . . . .156 T. H. Stockton, T. Ward, J. W. Ward, 157 Mrs. Osgood, To My Pen, . . . . . . . . .158 Hannah F. Gould, The Snow Flake, . . . . . . .160 Elizabeth Bogart, ........... 161 Anna Drinker, " Edith May," ........ 162 Mrs. Esling, Mary A. H. Dodd, Mrs. L. J. Hall, 164 Amelia Welby, Mrs. Jane L. Gray, Mrs. Nichols, Sirs. Gage, Mrs. E. Lee, . . 165 Mrs. Shindler (late Mrs. Dana), . . . . . . . .166 SECTION II. — Writers of Novels, Tales, etc. Cooper, ............ 168 The Panther Scene, .......... 169 Miss Sedgwick, Susan Fenimore Cooper, ....... 170 Miss Mcintosh, Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Sedgwick, John P. Kennedy, . . 174 James K. Paulding, .......... 175 Randolph of Roanoke, ......... 176 Quarrel of Bull and Jonathan, ........ 177 John Sanderson, . . . . . . . , . , 178 Joseph C. Neal, . . . . . . , . . . , 180 John Neal, 183 Charles Fenno Hoffman, .......... 184 Willis, 185 George P. Morris, ........... 187 P. M. Wetmore, T. S. Fay, ......... 189 J. Hall, F. S. Cozzens, R. P. Smith, R. T. Conrad, . . . . . .190 J. R. Orton, W. S. Mayo, L. Osborne, R. H. Wilde, . . . . .191 H. W. Herbert, C. W. Webber, 192 B. Tefft, A. W. Thatcher, A. Pike, P. Miles, E. Flagg, J. H. Ingraham, J. B. Jones, 193 CONTENTS. Xlll PAGE J. Judd, J. A. Scoville, H. Wikoff, W. C. Wallace, C. W. Thompson, W. J. Snelling, E. Maturin, C. Matthews, ......... 194 G. Lippard, W. A. Cairuthers, G. H. Calvert, W. E. Burton, C. Burdett, A. S. Roe, J. Very, F. W. Thomas, . . . . . . . . .195 L. F. Thomas, M. M. Thomas, E. S. Thomas, T. H. Shreve, F. C. Woodworth, L. M. Sargent, S. M. Schmucker, . . . . . . . . 196 Daniel P. Thompson, Miss Leslie, ........ 197 Mrs. Kirkland, . . . . . . . . . . 200 Lydia Maria Child, . . . . ... . . . 203 Mrs. Emily Judson, " Fanny Forrester," . . . . . . . 205 Mrs. Alice B. Haven, . . . . . . . . . .207 Mrs. Caroline Lee Hentz, Mrs. Embury, . . . « • . • . 208 Mrs. F. M. Whitaker, Mrs. Horsford, Mrs. S. C. Mayo, Mrs. J. H. Scott, Mrs. M. E. Hewitt, Susan Pindar, Mrs. L. Payson, Mrs. E. H. Whitman, . . . 209 Mrs. L. J. Pierson, Mrs. S. L. Little, Mrs. J. L. Dumont, Mrs. H. F. Lee, Mrs. Eliza Lee, 210 SECTION III. — History and Biography. Washington Irving, .......... 210 Jared Sparks, .......... 212 J. G. Palfrey, Miss Palfrey, Rev. C. Francis, John W. Francis, C. S. Henry, . . 213 William L. Stone, W. L. Stone, Jr., F. Hunt, M. L. Davis, . . . .214 G. Thorburn, C. J. lugersoU, H. D. Gilpin, R. S. Field, . . . . .215 W. C. Rives, S. M. Janney, A. S. MacKenzie, J. C. Fremont, C. S. Eastman, Mrs. Eastman, ........... 216 L. Sabine, G. W. Kendall, C. E. A. Guyarre, B. Mayer, P. Oliver, . . .217 E. R. Potter, R. Robbins, E. Robbins, J. D. Rupp, J. Savage, S. Swett, B. R. Thatcher, E. Thompson, .......... 218 R. Webster, J. W. Barber, S. Hazard, J. S. Jenkins, W. Allen, J. L. Blake, . . 219 W. Grimshaw, J. Frost, J. W. Thornton, J. F. Watson,. S. Willard, J. Willard, , 220 W. Willis, R. C. Winthrop, S. Spooner, J. McMackie, C. A. Goodrich, B. Drake, G. Copway, C. Campbell, . ... . . . . . .221 Louis and Willis Gaylord Clark, C. A. Logan, R. Dawes, C. G. Lester, [. . 222 SECTION IV.— Writers on Literature and Criticism. Ralph Waldo Emerson, .......... 222 Margaret Fuller, Marchioness D'Ossoli, ....... 227 Horace Binney Wallace, Henry Reed, ....... 228 W. B. Reed, Verplanck, .229 R. W. Griswold, W. A. Jones, 230 Park Beiyamin, 0. D. Cleveland, ... .... 231 SECTION v. — Political \Vriters. Alexander H. Everett, .......... 231 Edward Everett, 232 Daniel Webster, .234 John Quincy Adams, ......... 236 Benton, Clay, ...... 237 Calhoun, LegarS, .......... 238 Choate, Mrs. McCord, T. R. Dew, B. Tucker, . . . . . .239 E. Tucker, De Bow, Wheaton, 240 W. B. Lawrence, ........... 241 W. Whitney, W. Jay, 242 2 XIV CONTENTS. PAGE F. L. Olmsted, J. Paxker, T. Lieber, C. Gushing, ...... 243 L. Spooner, H. A. S. Dearborn, T. Dwight, T. Lyman, VT. J. Duane, S. Colwell, G. M. Dallas, J. R. Tyson, . , . . . . . . . _ 244 D. P. Brown, D. B. Warden, ........ 245 SECTION VI. — Scientific V/riters. Benjamin Sllliman. Denison Olmsted, ........ 245 Joseph Henry, Alexander Dallas Bache, ....... 246 r. Bache, R. Dunglison, 0. M. Mitchel, . . . ■ . . . .247 Robert Dale Owen, D. D. Owen, Richard Owen, S. G. Morton, G. R. Gliddon, . 248 J. C. Nott, J. Eachman, E. Hitchcock, D. Drake, J. Cassin, .... 243 J. Espy, J. K. Townsend, W. S. W. Ruschenberger, J. L. D. Comstock, J. Renwick, J. Bell, J. Thacher, T. Sewell, . . . . . . . ,250 J. Bigelow, W. Hooker, W. F. Lynch, Dr. Kane, S. W. Williams, . . .251 S. Tyler, H. Vethake, C. Davies, J. B. Thompson, T. Ewbank, J. E. TTorcestef, . 252 C. A. Goodrich, •••••..... 253 Prof. Marsh, W. C. Fowler, C. C. Felton, J. W. Gibbs, . . . . . 254 Dr. Tajlor, C. Anthon, E. A. Andrews, ....... 255 J. J. Owen, Prof. Follen, Mrs. Follen, P. Bullions, G. Brown, J. Rush, W. Russell, . 256 A. Comstock, R. G. Parker, ••••.... 257 SECTION VII. — Theological V/riters. Archibald Alexander, . , . . . . . , . . 257 James Alexander, .......... 258 Addison Alexander, .......... 259 S. D. Alexander, Samuel Miller, . . . . . . . . 264 President Carnahan, .......... 265 Albert Barnes, . . . . . , . . , , 266 Robert J. Breckinridge, .......... 267 J. Breckinridge, S. H. Cox, ........ 268 T. H. Skinner, G. Duffield, . . . . . . . . .269 J. Parker, Dr. Tbornwell, Dr. Junkin, G. Bush, J. W. Yeomans, . . . 270 E. D. Yeomans, J. Janeway, ......... 271 J. Wood, Dr. Sprague, Dr. Spring, N. Murray, S. G. Winchester, J. B. Waterburj', 272 L. Coleman, J. M. Olmstead, Joel Jones, J. H. James, .... 273 0. C. James, I. S. Spencer, J. M. Krebs, R. W. Dickinson, L. W. Green, H. Reed, J. G. Wilson, J. L. Wilson, . . . . . . . . .274 Lj-man Beocher, N. S. Prince, J. B. Walker, W. M. Lowrie, W. M. Thomson, . 275 Moses Stuart, L. A. Sawyer, F. D. W. Ward, H. P. Tappan, . . . .276 Edward Robinson, I. W. Stuart, ........ 277 Bela B. Edwards, Eli Smith, . . , . . . . . .278 Prof. Upham, C. C. Upham, L. Woods, ....... 279 N. W. Taylor, J. Murdock, H. A. Roland, H. Newcomb, I. N. Tarbox, W. B. Tappan, . 2S0 President Woolsey, Myron and Hubbard Winslow, T. T. Stone, J. Hawes, J. O. Dwight, 281 H. G. 0. Dwight, J. B. Dods, A. B. Cliapin, H. Humphrey, A. Nettleton, B. Tyler, G. B. Cheever, H. T. Cheever, . . . . . . . . .282 Dr. Bethune, C. G. Finney, . . ' . . . . . .283 W. C. Brownlee, J. F. Berg, D. Abeel, J. Scudder, C. P. Krauth, . . . .285 J. G. Schmucker, S. S. Schmucker, B. Kurtz, L. Mayer, P. F. Mayer, T. Stork, H. Har- baugh, ............ 286 J. W. Nevin, W. G. Chauning, W. F. Chauning, W. H. Channing, E. T. Channing, 287 CONTENTS. XV W. Clianning, W. E. Channing, Jr., N. N. Frothingham, A. Norton, G. B. Noyes, W. Fnrness, .......... 0. Dewey, G. "W. Burnap, S. G. Bulfinch, A. A. Livermore, W. Mountford, J. Whitman, T. R. Sullivan, C. Robbins, T. B. Thayer, T. Parker, Bishops Hopkins, Onderdonk, and Potter, .... Bishops Meade, Brownell, and Doane, ...... P. Beasley, J. M. Wainwright, . . . . ... Dr. Hawks, J. A. Clark, B. Dorr, H. Hooker, H. D. Evans, S. P. Jarvis, W, D. Wilson, W. Berrian, S. H. Turner, S. Seabury, . Dr. Wayland, B. Stow, H. Malcom, E. L. Magoon, J. G. Pike, W. Hague J. S. C. Prey, J. 0. Choules, I. Chase, J. N. Brown, . J. Belcher, J. P. Durbin, S. Olin, H. B. Bascom, Le Roy Sunderland, . Dr. Raphall, J. Leeser, H. Ballou, ..... Alexander Campbell, Thomas Whittemore, ..... pAaB H. 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 300 SECTION VII. — Miscellaneous ^Vriters. Mrs. Sigourney, ........... 302 Mrs. Willard, 304 Mrs. Phelps, ........... 306 Mrs. Gilman, Mrs. Parrar, Madame D'Arusmont (Panny Wright), . . . 307 Anne Royall, ........... 308 Mrs. Hale, Mrs. Parnham, ......... 309 Mrs. Tuthill, Mrs. Green, Harriet Parley, . . . . . . . 310 President Quincy, Henry and William Ware, ...... Slt Horace Mann, 0. W. B. and W. B. 0. Peabody, G. B. Emerson, P. C. Gray, S. M. Worcester, 312 D. P. Page, D. M. Reese, C. C. Jewett, P. Saunders, H. R. Schoolcraft, . . .314 G. Catlin, C. Wilkes, J. L. Stephens, J. Stryker, T. H. Pefkins, T. B. Thorpe, . 315 M. M. Noah, R. A. Wilson, J. T. Buckingham, C. P. Briggs, J. A. Dix, . . 316 J. G. Cogswell, J. R. Bartlett, W. A. Alcott, A. J. Downing, J. Bristed, . . 317 J. P. Schroeder, P. W. Taylor, C. Colton, W. Colton, S. Robinson, T. P. Hunt, D. Hoff- man, R. Baird, ••........ 318 C. S. Stewart, T. H. Gallaudet, H. P. Peet, . . . . . .319 J. Wilson, J. K. Mitchell, P. A. Packard, R. Peale, . . . . . .320 J. D. Nourse, J. C. Passmore, N. Biddle, J. R. Chandler, R. Sears, E. Williams, . 321 S. S. Goodrich (Peter Parley), P. B. Goodrich, . . . . . .322 CHAPTER V. From 1850 to the Present Time. Introductory Remarks, .......... 323 SECTION I.— The Poets. Longfellow, •••........ 323 Whittier, . . . . . . . . . , , 329 Bryant, ............ 333 Boker, 336 Buchanan Read, ........... 339 Saxe, . . . . . . . . . . . .340 Holland, Aldrich, . . , . , , . . . . , 343 Pields, C. T. Brooks, W. A. Butler, ........ 346 W. H. Burleigh, A. J. Duganne, T. D. English, C. Gayler, T. Powell, A. B. Street, . 347 XVI CONTENTS. PAOB Sydney Dyer, . . . , . . . . . . .348 R. H. Stoddard, Mrs. E. D. Stoddard, S. D. Phelps, S. W. Duffield, . . . .349 E. S. Miller, S. M. Hagerman, Ray Palmer, F. W, Shelton, .... 350 M. F. Bigney, H. M, Clarkson, L. Fontaiue, . . . . . . .351 H. L. Flash, ........... 352 Mrs. M. E. Tucker, Mrs. M. S. Homes, Mrs. J. P. Creswell, Mrs. M. J. Preston, . . 353 Mrs. A. P. Dionies, Mrs. R. V. Jeffrey, . . . , , . .356 Agnes Leonard, Mrs. F. M. Downing, ........ 357 Mrs. L. V. French, Mrs. C. J. M. Jordan, Mrs. M. B. Clark, Mrs. C. 0. Donnelly, Mrs. C. Cole, Miss M. E. Moore, ......... 358 Miss A. R. Blount, Miss S, A. Brock, Mrs. M. E, Bryan, Mrs. C. A. Ball, . . 359 Miss S. A. Talley, Miss C. B. Sinclair, Miss A. C. Ketchum, Alice and Phoebe Cary, . 360 Mrs. E. C. Kinney, .......... 364 E. C. Stedman, . . . , . . . . . . .366 Mrs. E. S. Smith, Mrs. A. C. Botta, Mrs. T. Bolton, ..... 367 Miss Pollard, Mrs. (Akers) Allen, . . 368 Mrs. M. S. Sangster, T. MacKellar, W. Baxter, . . . . . . 369 E. D. Smith, R. Furman, T. H. Hill, J. B. Hope, A. M. Keiley, S. Y. Levy, H. R, Jackson, E. Marks, P. H. Hayne, ......... 370 G. H. Miles, J. D. Bryant, E. Young, J. T. Humphreys, . . . . .371 A. J. Requier, B. Shipp, J. R. Randall, A. D. F. Randolph, . . . .372 E. W. Ellsworth, 373 R. W. Wright, 374 Walt Whitman, . . . 376 Bret Harte, 378 Joaquin Miller, ........... 382 American Hymnody, Psalm and Hymn Writers, ...... 383 Psalm and Hymn Books, ......... 385 SECTION II.— Writers on Literature and Criticism. Lowell, 386 Tuckerman, Whipple, 389 Kate Field, Mrs. Putnam, Delia Bacon, M. C. Tyler, 390 E. S. Gould, F. J. Child, R. G. White, 391 H. N. Hudson, J. P. Quincy, H. Corson, . 392 A. Gilman, Duyckinck brothers, ........ 393 S. A. Allibone, J. W. Davidson, . . . 394 Mrs. M. T. Tardy, 395 SECTION III. — Magazinists. Holmes, 395 Parton, ' . • .397 Fanny Fern, ........... 398 Gail Hatnilton, G. W. Curtis, . 400 Howells .401 Higginson, ........... 402 Trowbridge, . . . . . . . . . . .403 J. W. Palmer, Mrs. Palmer, Gen. Hill, ....... 406 SECTION IV. — Journalists. Bennett, 407 Greeley, Raymond, .......... 409 CONTENTS. XVll Hurlbut, Godkin, . Parke Godwin, ...... John R. Thompson, ..... Prentice, Ripley, Dana, Bowles, .... J. Bigelow, II. C. Watson, C. H. Sweetser, C. Nordhoff, C McMichael, Forney, Mackenzie, . . . . Albert D. Richardson, .... George Alfred Townsend, .... Alexander Wilson, Whitelaw Reid, . James W. Simonton, ..... New York Associated Press, .... C. C. Coffin, ...... R. B. Coffin, I. Pray, ..... Curtis Guild, ...... E. Eggleston, S. I. Prime, .... E. D. G. Prime, W. C. Prime, T. Tilton, Mrs. Swisshelm, J. Biddle, PAGE .411 413 . 414 416 . 417 418 . 419 420 . 421 423 .425 428 429 430 431 SECTION v.— The Humorists. C. F. Browne,— "Artemus Ward," . . . . . . . .433 S. L. Clemens, — " Mark Twain," ........ 437 C. H. Webb, — "John Paul," • .442 B. P. Shillaber, — " Mrs. Partington," H.W. Shaw, — "Josh Billings," ....... Charles G. Leland, — " Hans Breitmann," . . . * . H. P. Leland, M. H. Thompson — " Doesticks," G. H. Derby- "John Phoenix," . Seba Smith, — "Major Jack Downing," ...... G. W. Bagby, — " Mozis Addums," ....... Judge Longstreet, W. T. Thompson, . . . . . . 444 446 447 449 450 451 454 SECTION VI. — Miscellaneous ^Vriters. Bayard Taylor, . . . . . . . . . . .456 D. H. Strother, — " Porte Crayon," . 457 J. R. Browne, J. J. Jarves, J. C. Fletcher, ....... 459 R. Serames, E. J. Lewis, R. Roosevelt, ....... 460 C. A. Bristed, E. S. Gould, H. H. Weld, W. Elder, E. Sargent, . . . .461 Henry Giles, 462 S. S. Cox, 463 T. S. Kirkbride, E. C. Wines, J. B. Gough, . . . . . . . 464 R. G. Pardee, E. Parrish, Mrs. C. H. Dall, C. L. Brace, W. W. Story, . . .465 W. C. Dana, A. G. Mackey, Madame Le Yert, W. W. Hillard, . . . .466 Prof. La Borde, S. T. Wallis, Holcombe Brothers, . . . . . .467 H. Barnard, F. A. Barnard, ......... 468 C. Northend, C. H. Wiley, 469 John Ogden, 470 I. Mayhew, J. P. Wickersham, . . . . . . . . .471 S. S. Randall, W, Swinton, 472 Joseph Alden, ........... 473 John S. Hart, 474 A. Holbrook, 475 2* B xvui CONTENTS. SECTION VII. — Novels and Tales. PAGE Hawthorne, ........... 475 Theodore Winthrop, .......... 476 Thoreau, R. H. Dana, .......... 477 Donald Mitchell, R. B. Kimball 478 J. R. Gilmore, — "Edmund Kirke," ....... .479 Henry Morford, .......... 480 W. H. Peck, W. G. Simms, . . . . . . , . .481 C. A. Lanier, J. S. Holt, W. W. Turner, F. R. Goulding, C. Dimitry, J. Esten Cooke, . 482 Philip Pendleton Cooke, . . . . . . . . .483 R. M. Bird, C. J. Peterson, 485 H. Peterson, H. Melville, J. V. Huntingdon, . . . . . . -486 C. Barnard, E. E. Hale, . .487 J. De Mille, E. Kellogg, T. S. Arthur, 488 H. A. Wise, F. Ludlow, J. L. McConnel, J. H. Robinson, H. E. Scudder, E. Bennett, J. Brougham, W. M. Turner, . . . . . . . . . 489 E. H. Stauffer, S. Cobb, G. M. Baker, W. T. Adams, ..... 490 W. I. Bradley, P. Carter, W. M. Thayer, 491 Z. A. Mudge, J. Abbott, J. S. C. Abbott, ....... 492 Abbott Brothers, R. J. Parvin, Mrs. H. B. Stowe, . . . . . .493 The Warners, Mrs. A. S. Stephens, ........ 495 Mrs. Southworth, ........... 496 Mrs. Cora Mowatt Ritchie, , . . . . . . . . 497 Mrs. S. J, Lippincott, Mrs. A. P. Spofiford, Mrs. L, C. Moulton, .... 498 Miss Alcott, . . . . . . . . . ... 499 Olive Logan, Anna Dickinson, ......... 500 Mrs. E. Oakes Smith, .......... 501 Caroline Chesebro, .......... 502 Mrs. M. J. Holmes, Mrs. Terhune, — " Marion Harland," .... 503 Mrs. S. P. King. Mrs. M. E. Whitaker, Mrs. C. H. Jervey, Mrs. R. M. Murphy, Miss C. V. Dargan, Miss Louise Elenjay, ........ 504 Mrs. M. H. Robinson, Miss S. J. C. Whittlesey, Mrs. L. P. Cutler, Miss M. J. Upshur, Miss M. T. Magill, Mrs. A. E. Wilson, . . . . . . .505 Mrs. E. W. Bellamy, Miss M. A. Cruse, Miss C. W. Barber, Mrs. C. A. Warfield, Mrs. E. P. Lee, Mrs. M. L. Clack, 506 Mrs. E. M. Wynne, Mrs. E. L. Pugh, Mrs. S. A. Dorsey, Mrs. K. A. Dubose, Miss E. A. Dupuy, ........... 507 Mrs. Georgiana McLeod, Mrs. Anne M. Seemuller, Miss Nellie Marshall, Mrs. Sallie R. Ford, Mrs. Jane T. Cross, ........ 508 Mrs. Julia C. R. Dorr, Maria Cummings, Mr. and Mrs. Denison, .... 509 Maria J. B. Browne, Sara H. Browne, Mrs. Julia McNair Wright, . . . 510 Mrs. Metta Victoria Victor, Mrs. Frances Fuller Barritt, Miss Lucy Larcom, . . 511 Amanda Douglas, Mrs. A. D. T. Whitney, Estelle Anna Lewis, Adeline Trafton, Mrs. J. E. McConaugby, 512 Mrs. H. M. Baker, — " Madeline Leslie," ....... 513 A. R. Baker, D. D., Mrs. Vienna G. Ramsay, ...... 515 Mrs. Mary H. Seymour, Mrs. Sarah T. Martyn, Rev. W. Carlos Martyn, . . . 516 Mrs. Sadlier, . . . . . . . . . . .517 C. F. Orne, Mrs. Caroline Orne, Lucy Ellen Guernsey, ..... 518 Clara G. Guernsey, Kate Hamilton, Mrs. A. K. Dunning, .... 519 Catherine M. Trowbridge, Mary Halloway, Harriet B. McKeever, Mrs. A. C. Chaplin, . 520 CONTENTS. XIX PAGE Mrs. Jane D. C. Chaplin, Mrs. Anna Bache. Mrs. C. E. K. Davis, Mrs. Margaret Hosmer, Mrs. Helen Conant, ......... 521 Mrs. M. L. Peebles, Mrs. Mary J. Hildeburn, Mrs. Sarah A. Myers, Mrs. Mattie D. Britts, 522 Julia A. and Joanna H. Matthews, Martha Fiuley, Mrs. Jenny M. Parker, Mrs. Mary H. Pike, Margaret M. Robertson, ........ 623 Julia C. Thompson, Mrs. Frances J. B. Smith, Annie M. Mitchell, Mrs. H. V. Cheney, Mrs. Gushing, Mrs. Foster, Mrs. A. L. Wister, Mrs. M. L. Clark, Mrs. M. C. "VYeston, 524 SECTION VIII. — Historical. Prescott, Hildreth, .......... 525 Bancroft, ............ 526 Ticknor, 527 Motley, J. E. Wilson, . . . . ... . . . .528 J. F. Kirk, G. M. Towle, W. D. Willard, C. Campbell, ..... 529 J. F. H. Claiborne, J. H. Logan, J. D. McCabe, E. A. Pollard, J. H. Wheeler, W. Allan, F. H. Alfriend, .......... 530 Mrs. J. P. McGuire, R. H. Howistou, W. J. Rivers, F. Vincent, J. G. Shea, . . 631 J. A. Shea, R. McSherry, J. McSherry, . . . . . . . .532 W. H. Foote, J. B. Dillon, W. J. Tenney, 533 G. S. Hillard, A. D. White, . . 634 Francis Parkman, Winthrop Sargent, ....... 535 John D. Baldwin, Henry C. Lea, . . . . . . . .536 Vinceuzo Botta, John R. Brodhead, William. A. Whitehead, M. T. Walworth, . 537 B. F. DeCosta, T. Buckingham Smith, . . . . . . . ,538 S. G. Drake, Francis S. Drake, Samuel A. Drake, Joseph Thomas, Reuben A. Guild, 539 John Savage, Henry Stevens, W. H. Whitmore, J. T. Headley, George G. Ellis, . 540 S. Eliot, B. Perley Poore, Mrs. EUet, Frank Moore, ..... 541 J. 0. Noyes, R. Tomes, J. W. De Peyster, B. J. Lossing, S. P. Bates, . . .542 J. R. Sypher, ........... 543 J. J. Anderson, ........... 544 SECTION IX. —Writers on Political Economy. Henry C. Carey, F. Sheppard, ......... 544 E. J. Morris, J. W. Webb, C. F. Adams, Charles Sumner, ..... 645 George Sumner, Wendell Phillips, ........ 546 Charles Lanmau, .......... 647 Alex. H. Stephens, Geo. Fitzhugh, H. Middleton, . . . . . .548 W. H. Prescott, H. R. Helper, ........ 649 SECTION X. — Scientific Writers. Agassiz, ........... Mrs. Agassiz, Isaac Lea, ........ S. D. Gross, A. Winchell, S. H. Dickson, J. W. Draper, A. Gray, J. D. Dana, R. Pumpelly, Com. Maury, ...... E. G. Squier, J. Brockelsby, W. J. Rolfe, J. Johnston, .... Le Roy C. Cooley, J. Dorman Steele, Sanborn Tenney, S. A. Norton, J. C. Dalton, H. J. Osborn, D. A. Wells, W. H. Wells, B. Sears, E. A. Sheldon, Dio Lewis, W. W. Hall, E. Burritt, E. Bowen, A. L. Gihon, Catherine E. Beecher, H. M. Bouvier, Elizabeth P. Peabody, Elizabeth Blackwell, Benjamin Greenleaf, J. Dodd, H. N. Robinson, A. Schuyler, Edward Brooks, 550 . 551 552 . 553 554 . 555 556 . 557 558 XX CONTENTS. E. E. "White, J. Raj', W. D. Whitney, M. Scheie De Vere, ........ Horatio Hale, Prof. March, President Hill, ...... Prof. Mcllvaine, J. Bascom, J. R. Boyd, ....... Prof. Bledsoe, Prof. H. N. Day, ........ H. Coppee, R. H. Tyler, W. A. Wheeler, F. Bowen, R. H. Rivers, T. Wharton Collens, B. L. Gildersleeve, Thomas Chase, George Stuart, Howard Crosby, Alpheus Crosby, W. S. Tyler, J. H. Hanson, .... George R. Crooks, N. C. Brooks, W. Bingham, M. Willson, .... Prof. McGuflfey, J. M. Watson, Miss Berard, R. Sterling, Profs. Newell and Creery, G. P. Quackenbos, G. Vandenhofif, S. P. Andrew PAQE . 659 561 562 563 664 565 566 567 568 SECTION XII.— Theological and Religious. Charles Hodge, . . . . . . ... A. A. Hodge, W. H. Green, J. C. Moffat, John Maclean, .... James McCosh, L. H. Atwater, . . . . , . , . , C. W. Shields, H. A. Boardman, T. Edwards, ...... R, Davidson, J. M. Macdonald, J. Hall, S. J. Baird, W. E. Schenck, J. W. Dulles, M. W. Jacobus, G. Burrowes, .,,.... J, A. Collier, R. F. Sample, J. E. Rockwell, Dr. Shedd, H. B, Smith, A. D. Smith, N. L, Rice, W. Adams, T. L. Cuyler, . ... T. DeWitt Talmage, A. Taylor, Tayler Lewis, M. Hopkins, J. Haven, E. N. Kirk, D. X. Junkin, W. P. Breed, W. M. Blackburn, D. Baker, . . . . W. M. Baker, W. S. Plumer, ........ T. V. Moore, R. L. Dabney, H. Ruffner, W. H. Ruffner, . . . . . G. D. Armstrong, T. Smyth, J, Leyburn, ....... Stuart Robinson, W. A. Scott, ......... C. P. Krauth, M. L. Stoever, E. A. Schweinitz, . . . . S. Philips, J. H. Seiss, C. F. Schaeflfer, C. W. SchaeflFer, P. Schaff, . . . . J. P. Thompson, A. C, Thompson, N. G. Clark, I. P. Warren, M. H. Smith, G. P. Fisher, B. W. Dwight, W, A. Hallock, . . . Mrs. M. A. Hallock, Henry Ward Beecher, Edward Beecher, Charles Beecher, Calvin E. Stowe, . R. S. Storrs, H Bnshnell, L. Bacon, H, C. Trumbull, , . . . . E. Pond, N. Adams, P. A. Chadbourne, E. F. Burr, H. M. Dexter, Prof. Park, Austin Phelps, Mrs. Phelps, ....... Miss Phelps, J. Todd, A. Mahan, J. H. Fairchild, ...... H. W. Bellows, F. H. Hedge, A. P. Peabody, C. C. Everett, W. R. Alger, John Weiss, . E. H. Chapin, R. Colly er, Theophilus Parsons, Henry James, A. J. Davis, H. J. Ripley, H. B. Hackett, A. Hovey, J. T. Champlin, . . . . . J. Chaplin, G. W. Samson, T. J. Conant, ....... W. R. Williams, H. C. Fish, J. Dowling, D. C. Eddy, W. W. Everts, P. Church, . Robert Turnbull, John J. Butler, Joseph Banvard, James M. Pendleton, J. B. Jeter, John L. Dagg, P. H. Mell, Robert Fuller, John McClintock, James Strong, . George Peck, William Nast, J. T. Crane, Abel Stevens, ..... Daniel Wise, J. H. Vincent, W. P. Strickland, R. S. Foster, D. P. Kidder, D. D. Whedon, J. Cross, C. F. Deems, D. W. Clark, C. Collins, L. M. Lee, D. R. NcAnally, E. 0. Haven, H. N. McTyeire, R. Abbey, S. D. Baldwin, J. 0. Andrew, T. 0. Summers, .......... L. Rosaer, J. Challen, W. J. Barbee, W. T. Moore, Isaac Errett, 570 571 572 573 674 575 576 577 578 579 580 581 582 583 584 585 586 587 588 589 590 591 592 593 594 597 601 602 604 606 CONTENTS. XXI Bobert Milligan, J, T. Barclay, ... S. Barclay Johnson, R. Richardson, Bishops Mcllvaine, Eastbnrn, and Kip, Bishops "Williams, Lee, Odenheimer, Stevens, Huntington, Coxe, Southgate, John S. Stone, ...... I". Wharton, R. Newton, W. R. Hnntington, J. A. Spencer, E. E. Beardsley, S. H. Tyng, Dudley A. Tyng, S. Osgood, George Jones, N. S. Richardson, J. Swett, W. M. Reynolds, R. A. Hallam, R, Archbishop Kenrick, .... Archbishops Hughes, and Spalding, Archbishop Purcell, Bishop England, Archbishop Bayley, Bishop Ives, Xavier D. McLeod, Fathers Preston, Hecker, Hewitt, Stone, . C. C. Pise, P. I'redet, 0, A. Brownsou, J, McGill^ R. H. Clarke, J. M. Finotti Lowell PAGE . 607 610 . 611 612 . 613 614 . 615 616 . 617 618 . 619 To Teachers. rpHE author of ttese volumes, on English and American Literature, -^ ventures to make a suggestion as to the method of using them as text-hooks. It is obvious, on a hare inspection of the pages, or of the table of Con- tents, that much of the matter here contained is not meant to be studied for the purpose of recitation. Such a use of the books would be to mistake entirely the design of the author, and to waste unwarrantably the time of the scholar. It is important, indeed, that the scholar should have by him, in cheap and convenient form for reference, information, so far as practi- cable, in regard to aU those writers who have contributed in any consid- erable degree to the body of our literature, and to have this information properly classified and brought together under suitable heads. Besides the convenience of having these details in this form for reference, there is another consideration not to be overlooked. The mere inspection of the authors thus epitomized and classified, gives the student general ideas which he can get in no other way, in regard both to the magnitude and comprehensiveness of the subject as a whole, and to the proportions and relations of the several parts. But it by no means follows that all these minutiae are to be regularly studied. A proper use of either of these books in the class-room would include attention to the following particulars : 1. Study carefully the Introductions of the several Chapters, including the subdivisions into Sections. 2. Study carefully, in full, one leading author, in each Chapter or Sec- tion, either taking the author who is named in the book as standing at the XXIV TO TEACHERS. head of that Section, or selecting some other, at the discretion of the teachi^, 3. In connection with this exhaustive study of one author in each Sec- tion, learn the portion in coarse print in regard to the other associated authors in that Section, 4. Name merely, without giving any other particulars, some of those authors who are presented in fine print. How many of these minor authors should be named, must be left to the judgment of the teacher. The better way is to require only a few, and leave the selection to each student. By observing these four conditions, the teacher may take a class intelli- gently and profitably through the entire book, in the shortest time allotted to the study in any school that makes a pretence of studying the subject at all. Having given this geateral survey of the whole subject, if more time is allowed, the process may be repeated, again and again, taking each time one additional author in each Section for special study, and a few additional minor authors for mere mention. Scholars, while passing through the book, should be advised and encour- aged to read all the matter in its connection. Curiosity of itself wiU lead them in many cases to read about authors in whom they are interested. But in no case is it deemed advisable that a larger amount than that already indicated should be required for recitation. American Literature. CHAPTER I. The Early Colonial Period. American Literature, strictly speaking, is that part of Euglish Literature wMcli has been produced upon American soil. Note. — A Literature is denominated from tlie language in which it is written. As Latin Literature is that written in the Latin language, and Greek Literature is that written in Greek, so English Literature is that written in the English language. It includes works written by Americans, as well as those written by Englishmen. It includes the works of foreignei's even, provided those works are written in the English tongue. For convenience of treatment, however, the subject is divided into two parts. The works in English v/ritten in England have been considered in a separate volume, under the title of English Literature ; those works in English written in the United States aie now to be considered, under the title of American Literature. American Literature dates from the first settlement of the American Colonies. Nearly all the leaders in these enterprises were men of education, gradu- ates of the English Universities. They came to the New World quite as much in defence of opinions as in quest of fortune. The pen and the print- ing-press shared from the first with the mupket, the axe, and the plough, in the work which the early American colonists set before them. The first period of this literature is distinctly marked. It includes all that was produced in the Colonies down to the time when the political fer- ment began which ended in the separation from the mother country. 3 25 J 26 AMEKICAN LITERATURE. The works of this penod, thongh from the first racy of the soil, are yet not so distinctly American as those produced afterwards. Those early colonists were still Englishmen at heart, and most of what they wrote saw the light first in England. The type?!, theprinting^resses, the paper were still mostly there ; the audience to which they appealed was quite a^ much English as American. The first works in English written on American soil came from Virginia. Whitaker's Good Nev/es. Good Newes from Virginia, publislied in 1613, was the work of Alexander Whitaker, one of the settlers of the town of Henrico, on the James Biver. Wbitaker was of good English family, his father being the distinguished theologian, Dr. William Whitaker, Master of St. John's College, Cambridge. Young Whitaker came to America in a tnily missionary spirit, and engaged earnestly in his vocation as a Christian minister. It was he who baptized Pocahontas, and who also married her to Rolfe. The exact title of Whitaker's work was "Good Newes from Virginia, Sent to the Council and Company of Virgiuia resident in England." The dedication by W. Crashawe contains the following eulogium upon the author : " I hereby let all men know that a scholar, -a grad- uate, a preacher, well horn and friended in England ; not in debt nor disgrace, but compe- tently proTided for, and liked and beloved where he lived ; not in want, but (for a scholar as these days be) rich in possession, and more in possibility ; of himself, without any persua- sion (but God's and his own heart), did voluntarily leave his warm nest ; and to the wonder of his kindred and amazement of those who knew him, undertook this hard, but, in my judgment, heroical resolution to go to Virginia, and help to hear the name of God unto the Gentiles." William Strachet, the first Secretary of the Virginia Colony, wrote a work called History of Travaile into Virginia Britannia. It is not certain, however, that this work was written in America, though sometimes so credited. Strachey resided in the colony three years, 1610- 1612, and then returned to England. The earliest date assigned to his work is 1618. Sandys's Ovid. The first purely literary work produced on American soil was the Trans- lation of Ovid's Metamorphoses, by George Sandys, in 1621. Sandys was, at the time, Treasurer to the Virginia Colony, and the work referred to was penned on the banks of the James Eiver. Though written in America, this work was printed in London, being issued there in folio, with a dedication to King Charles I. In the dedication, Sandys apologizes for any want of scholarly finish in his poetry by referring to the rude and unsettled kind of life in which his verses had been produced. He tells the king that the poem "had been limned by that imperfect light which was snatched from the hours of night and repose. For the day was not his own, but dedicated to the service of his father and himself; and had that service proved as fortunate, as it was faithful in him, as Avell as [in] others more worthy, they had hoped, before the revolution of many years, to have presented his Majesty witli a rich and well-peopled kingdom. But as thiijgs had turned, he had only been able to bring from thence himself and that composition, which needed more than a single denization. For it was doubly a stranger, being sprung from an ancient Roman stock, and bred up in the New World, of the rudeness whereof it could not but participate ; especially as it was produced among; wars and tumults, instead of under the kindly and peaceful influence of the muses." THE EAKLY COLONIAL PERIOD. 27 For further particulars in regard to Sandys, see "English Literature," p. 107. Sandys's poem was held in high respect by Dryden and Pope. Dryden pronounced him the best versifier of his age. A few lines from the description of the Golden Age are quoted as " a pleasing memorial of this classic theme, pursued amidst the perils and trials of the early colonial settlement." — Duyckinck. . . . . In firm content And harmless ease their days were spent, The yet-free Earth did of her own accord (Untoru with ploughs) all sorts of fruit afford. Content with nature's unenforced food, They gather wildings, strawb'ries of the wood, Some cornels, what upon the bramble grows, And acorns which Jove's spreading oak bestows. 'Twas always Spring; warm Zephyrs sweetly blew On smiling flowers, which without setting grew. Forthwith the earth corn unmanured bears; And every year renews her golden ears : With milk and nectar were the rivers filled ; And yellow honey from green elms distilled. Vaughan's Golden Fleece. Another work written about the same time, but in a remote northeastern settlement, was The Golden Fleece, by Sir William Vaughan. The Golden Fleece was a small quarto, partly in prose and partly in verse, humorous and satirical, intended to set forth the general degeneracy of manners in England and the ad- vantages of emigrating to America. The Golden Fleece was written at Cambrioll, the author's plantation in the southern part of Newfoundland, and was sent to London for publication, with a view of inducing other settlers to join him. The author himself was a native of "Wales, a physician and a poet, who had emigrated to America and had purchased a tract of land in Newfoundland. He signs himself Orpheus, Jr. The work is a curious specimen of Puritan thought mixed up with the old classic machinery of Apollo and the Muses. Parts of it are an irreverent parody of the litany, put into the mouth of Florio, a pedantic Italian then much in vogue in London. The following specimen will give some idea of the author's manner in this part of his work : From blaspheming of God's name, From recanting words with shame, From damnation eternal. From a rich soul internal. From a sinner will not mend. From a friend that will not lend, From such sins as do delight us. As from dreams that do affright us, From parasites that stroke us, From morsels that will choke us. From false sycophants that soothe us, As from those in sin do smooth us, From all profane discourses, From all ungodly courses. Sweet angel free Deliver m9. 28 AMERICAN LITERATURE. The full title of this work is as follows: "The Golden Fleece, divided into three parts, under which are discovered the errors of religion, the vices and decay of the kingdom, and, lastly, the way to get wealth and to restore trading, so much complained of. Transported from CambrioU Colchos, out of the southernmost part of this Island, commonly called The New Found Land, by Orpheus Junior, for the general and perpetual good of Great Britain. 1626." Vaughan was the author of several other works, written in England. Morell's Nova Anglia. Another literary production of this early period was a poem by Rev. William Morell, entitled Nova Anglia, or New England. The Nova Anglia was composed in Latin hexameters, and afterwards translated by the author into English heroics. It is occupied mainly with a description of the aborigines and of the animals of the country. The author came to America in 1623, and after spending a year in Plymouth, returned to England. The poem was published in England after his return. It is not clear whether the poem was written in America or in England. Wood's New England's Prospect. New England's Prospect was the title of a descriptive work by William Wood, and was printed in London in 1634. Wood was a resident of the Plymouth Colony. After spending four years there, he went to London and published the work just named. The full title is : " New England's Prospect ; a true, lively, and experimental description of that part of America commonly called New England — discovering the state of that country, both as it stands to our new-come English planters, and to the old native inhabitants — laying down that which may both enrich the knowledge of the mind-travelling reader, or benefit the future voyager. By William Wood, London, 1631." In his preface, he says, "I have laid down the nature of the country without any partial respect unto it, as being my dwelling-place, where I have lived these four years, and intend, God willing, to return shortly again." The work is written in a cheerful strain, and some parts of it are in verse, in the common heroic couplet. The author's poetry, though giving frequent reminders of his English birth and training, has an unmistakable American flavor. In the lines quoted below, the imita- tion of Spenser is too obvious to escape notice, and yet no one could have written the de- scription who was not personally familiar with the American forest-trees : Trees, both in hills and plains, in plenty be, The long-liv'd oak, and mournful cypris tree, Sky-tow'ring pines, and chesnuts coated rough, The lasting cedar, with the walnut tough : The rosin-dropping fir, for masts in use. The boatmen seek for oares light, neat, growne sprewse, The brittle ash, the ever-trembling aspes. The broad-spread elm, whose concave harbours wasps, The water-spungie alder, good for nought. Small elderne, by the Indian fletchers * sought, The knottie maples, pallid birch, hawthornes. The horne-bound tree that to be cloven scorues ; Which from the tender vine oft takes his spouse, Who twines embracing arms about his boughs. * Makers of bows and arrows. THE EARLY COLONIAL PERIOD. 29 Mr. Wood, after returning to Massachusetts, represented the town of Lynn in the General Court in 1636; he was the principal founder and the Town Clerk of Sandwich, in the Ply- mouth Colony, in 1637 ; and be died there in 1639. The First Printing-Press. — The first printing-press in America was at Harvard College, Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was set up in the Presi- dent's house, in 1639. The First Printed Book. — The first book printed was the celebrated Bay- Psalm Book, Cambridge, 1640. Note. — Some small pamphlets had appeared before, as the Freeman's Oath, and an Almanac, but the Bay Psalm Book was the first book issued. The Hay Psalm JBooJc. — Before coming to New England the colonists had been accustomed to use the version by Sternhold and Hopkins, and that by Henry Ainsworth. (See English Literature, pp. 132, 184.) Ainsworth's Book of Psalms was published in Am- sterdam in 1612. The Puritans brought it with them to New England. But neither this version nor that of Sternhold and Hopkins was suflBciently literal to satisfy the scruples of the colonists. They had doubts, not only whether anything should be sung in public wor- ship except the very words of Scripture, but also whether any one except " church mem- bers" should join in the service, it being an act of religion. Even of the church members, women were supposed by some to be excluded from the service, on the ground that it is forbidden to a woman to speak in church. To meet these scruples, a number of the minis- ters undertook the preparation of a new version, which accordingly was extremely literal, and the Rev. John Cotton, of Boston, a man of great influence 'and authority, published a treatise, " The Singing of Psalms a Gospel Ordinance," to show the propriety of this part of public worship. The men who were chiefly engaged in preparing the new version were the Rev. Richard Mather, of Dorchester, the progenitor of a race of great scholars, and himself a scholar and a leading man in the colony; tlie Rev. John Eliot, of Roxbury, of world-wide celebrity as the "apostle to the Indians ; " and the Rev. Thomas Welde, also of Roxbury, and a man of influence and standing. They were selected with reference, evidently, to their authority in church matters and their reputation as theologians, rather than for their poetical abilities. Under some apprehension, apparently, that the work might be found wanting in its literary character, the Rev. Tliomas Shepard, a brilliant preacher of Cambridge, addressed them a note of warning in the following significant rhymes : You Roxbury poets, keep clear of the crime Of missing to give us a very good rhyme. And you of Dorchester your verses lengthen, And with the text's own word your verses strengthen. The work was begun in 1639, and was completed and published in 1640, with the follow- ing title : " The Whole Book of Psalms, faithfully translated into English Metre. Where- unto is prefixed a Discourse declaring not only the Lawfulness, but also the Necessity of the Heavenly Ordinance of singing Scripture Psalms in the Churches of God." It being found necessary to employ "a little more art" upon the work, it was committed a few years later to the Rev. Henry Dunster, the first President of Harvard College, to be revised. Thus revised, the book found its way into general use. It was adopted and used almost exclusively in all the New England colonies, down to the period of the Revolution. Twenty-seven editions of it had been printed before 1750. It was also reprinted several times in England and Scotland, in both of which countries it was much used in dissent- ing congregations. The following specimen is from Dunster's revision : 3* 30 AMERICAN T^ITERATURE. PSALM CXXXYII. The rivers on of Babilon, There when wee did sit downe, Yea, even then, -vvee mourned when , Wee remembered Sion. Our harp wee did hang it amid, Upon the willow tree, Because there they that us away Led in captivitee, Eequir'd of us a song, and thus Askt mirth us waste who laid, Sing us among a Siou's song. Unto us then they said. The Lord's song sing, can wee, being In stranger's land ? then let Lose her skill my right hand if I Jerusalem forget. Let cleave my tongue my pallate on If mind thee doe not I, If chiefe joj'es o'er I prize not more Jerusalem my joy. Remember, Lord, Edom's sons' word ; Unto the ground, said they, It rase, it rase, when as it was Jerusalem her day. Blest shall he be that payeth thee, Daughter of Babilon, Who must be waste, that which thou hast Rewarded us upon. happie hee shall surely bee That taketh up, that eke Thy little ones against tlie stones Doth into pieces breake. Nathaniel V/ard. Nathaniel Ward, 1570-1653, acquired considerable notoriety, both in the Colonies and in England, by a work called The Simple Cobler of Agawam. Ward was born and educated in England, and was one of those clergymen who were silenced by Laud for non-conformity. lie thereupon emigrated to Massachusetts, and in 1634 became pastor of Ipswich, or Agawam, as it was then called. ITo returned to England in 164.5, and remained there until his death. While in Massachusetts he published the piece already named, which was written in a very conceited, pedantic style, but contains some home thrusts at the way in which colonial matters were managed. The full title of the piece is: "The Simple Cobler of Agawam, in America, Willing to help Mend his Native Country, lamentably tattered, both in the Upper-leather and the Sole, with all the honest THE EAULY COLONIAL PERIOD. 31 stitches he can take," etc. After returning to England, he wrote another piece of a similar kind, Mercurius Anti-3Iechanicus, or The Simple Cobler's Boy with his Lap-full of Caveats, etc. Ward, though a preacher, was originally bred to the law, had travelled considerably, and was well vei-sed in political affairs. He prepared the first code of laws established in New England, that, namely, which was adopted in 16il, and which was called The Body of Liberties. Ward was an inveterate punster, and remarkable for his coinage of new words. A few extracts are given in illustration of his peculiarities: " Many men, woodcoclv-like, live by their long bills." "Too much diet-bread will bring a man to a diet-drink ; mack-roones will make room for (no good) luxury. . Marmalade may mar my lady, me it shall not. March pane shall not be mj arch-bane." "It is a most toilsoroe task to run the wild-goose chase after a well-breath'd opinionist: they delight in vitilification : it is an itch that loves a life to be scrub'd ; they desire not satisfaction, but satisdiction, whereof themselves must be judges." "I honour the woman that can honour herself with her attire; a good text always de- serves a fair margent : I am not much offended if I see a trim far trimmer than she that wears it: in a word, whatever Christianity or civility will allow, I can afford with London measure; but when I hear a nugiperous gentledame inquire what dress the Queen is iu this week ; what the nudiustertian f;ishion of the Court, I mean the very newest ; with egg to be in it in all haste, whatever it be ; I look at her as the very gizzard of a trifle, the pro- duct of a quarter of a cypher, fitter to be kickt, if she were of a kickable substance, than either honour'd or humour'd." John Cotton. Eev. John Cotton, 1585-1652, is known by his Eloody Tenent Washed, in reply to Boger Williams, Milk for Babes, Meat for Strong Men, and sun- dry other publications suited to the times. Cotton was a native of Derby, in England, and a graduate of Cambridge. He was a zeal- ous Puritan, and a man of great and varied learning. He emigrated to America in 1633, an:l settled in Boston, where he exercised his ministry until his death, in 1652. He had a sharp controversy with Roger Williams, on the subject of the interference of the civil magistrate in the support of religious truth. Cotton contending for such interference, and Williams pro- testing against it. Pamphlets flew thick and fast between them, that being the mode of civil warfare in those days. He is known in the early colonial history as "the great Cotton.*' His learning, pastoral fidelity, and general amiability of character gave him great and do- served political influence in the young theocratic commonwealth. He was appointed by the General Court, in 16.36, to prepare a scheme of laws for the government of the colony. His work, made in pursuance of this appointment, and called An Abstract of the Laws of New England, though printed, was not adopted, the General Court preferring the Body of Liber- ties, prepared for the same purpose by Nathaniel Ward of Agawam, already noticed. Cot- ton's thencratical views of government were indeed of the strictest kind. Among his other publications are the following: Set Forms of Prayer; Keys of the King- dom of Heaven and the Power thereof, giving his views of church government; Meat fur Strong Men. containing his views of civil government: Milk for Babes, being a catechism for instructing young children in the elements of Christian doctrine. The piece last named, though small, was of great influence and importance. It was one of the documents which composed the famous New England Primer, and as such was for many generations stored in the memory of almost every New England child. 32 AMERICAN LITERATURE. The general New England custom of beginning the Sabbath on Saturday CTening origi' Dated with Mr. Cotton. He published arguments, before leaving England, in favor of, such an observance, and his authority in Boston and throughout the colony was such that his view of the matter obtained general acquiescence. Cotton Mather gives the following char- acteristic anecdote of Mr. Cotton. " At another time, when Mr. Cotton had modestly replied unto one that would much talk and crack of his insight into The Revelation, 'Brother, I must confess myself to want light in those mysteries,' the man went home and sent him a pound of candles; upon which action this good man only bestowed a silent smile. He would not set the beacon of his great soul on fixe at the landing of such a little cock-boat." Thomas Hooker. Eev. Thomas Hooker, 1586-1647, better known in his OTrn day as " Minister Hooker," was another of the great lights of the early colonial settlements in New England. Hooker was a zealous Non-confoi'mist preacher in London, and being silenced by Laud, went to Delft, Holland, where he preached for some time to the English Puritans who had taken refuge there. In 1633 he emigrated Avith a large number of others to New England, and with his fellow-emigrants founded New Town, now Cambridge. A few years later, with a part of his congregation, he went to Connecticut and settled Hartford, where he ended his days. *^ Hooker was an exceedingly zealous preacher, and a man of untiring energj', and he ex- erted a controlling infl.uence in the colony. Nearly one himdred of his sermons were pub- lished after his death. His principal works are : A Survey of the Sum of Church Disci- pline; The Soul's Implantation; The Application of Redemption by the Effectual Work of the Word and Spirit of Christ, a small quarto of seven hundred pages, containing a sj'stem of practical divinity ; The Poor Doubting Christian drawn to Christ, of which the seventh edition was published in Boston in 1743. Hooker, Cotton, and Stone, all ministers of note, came over in 1633, in the same ship, and were the means of drawing many other colonists. " Such multitudes," says Cotton Mather, "flocked over to New England after them that the plantation at Newtown [Cambridge] be- came too strait for them." In another place, he speaks of "Mr. Cotton, Mr. Hooker, and Mr. Stone, which glorious triumvirate coming together made the poor people in the wilderness, at their coming, to say, that the God of heaven had supplied them with what would in some sort answer their then great necessities : Cotton for their clothing. Hooker for ihtiiv fishing, and Stone for their building.^^ Samuel Stone. Rev. Samuel Stone, 1663, was born at Hartford, England, and educated at Cambridge. He came over in the same ship with Hooker and Cotton, and was associate pastor with Hooker, first at New Town or Cambridge, and then at Hartford. Mr. Stone published, A Congregational Cliurch is a Catholic Visible Church, and some other things, and left in man- uscript A Confutation of the Antinomians, and A Body of Divinity. Bancroft the historian says, " We know of no cardinals of that day so worthy of reverence as Hooker and Stone." Tlio following lines on the occasion of his death are wortliy of note, both as a specimen of the literature of the times, and as an evidence of the estimation in which Mr. Stone was held. THE EARLY COLONIAL PERIOD. 33 A stone more than the Ebenezer fam'd; Stone splendent diamond, right orient named; A cordial stone, that often cheered hearts With pleasant wit, which Gospel rich imparts; Whetstone, that edgify'd th' obtusest mind ; Loadstone, that drew the iron heart unkind ; A pond'rous stone, that would the bottom sound Of Scripture depths, and bring out Arcan's found ; A stone for kingly David's use to fit. As w^ould not fail Goliah's front to hit; A stone, an antidote, that brake the course Of gangrene errour, by convincing force ; A stone actxte, fit to divide and square; A squared stone became Christ's building rare. John Norton. Eev. John Norton, 1606-1663, a colleague of Ward in the church at Agawam or Ipswich, was the author of several works both in English and Latin. Norton was a graduate of the University of Cambridge, in England, and came to America in 1635. Wlien the churches in Zealand sent over to the clergy in New England, through Apollonius, various questions on church government, Norton wrote a reply in Latin, which gained him great applause. Fuller the church historian says of it: "Of all the authors that I have perused concerning the opinions of those Dissenting Brethren, none to me was more informative than Mr. John Norton (one of no less learning than modesty), minister in New England, in his answer to Apollonius." Of his English works, the best known is his Life of John Cotton. The titles of some of his other works are : The Doctrine of Godliness ; The Sufferings of Christ ; The Orthodox Evangelist; The Heart of New England Rent (about the Tuckers), etc. He also left in manuscript A Body of Divinity. Thomas Shepard. Eev. Thomas Shepard, 1605-1649, was one of the shining lights of the Massachusetts Colony. His best known work is The Parable of the Ten Virgins Opened. Mr. Shepard was educated at Cambridge, and took orders in the Church of England, but being silenced by Laud for non-conformity, emigrated to Boston, Mass., in 1635, and suc- ceeded Rev. Thomas Hooker as pastor at New Town, now Cambridge, where he remained until death. He was in high repute in the colony for his learning and piety. His Works, and a Memoir of his life, were published in Boston, in 1853, in 3 vols. The following are the titles of some of his treatises : New England's Lamentation for Old England's Errors ; Some Secret Cases Resolved ; The Clear Sunshine of the Gospel Breaking forth upon the Indians of New England; Parable of the Ten Virgins Opened and Applied; Liturgical Considerator Considered ; First Principles of the Oracles of God, etc. " Various testimonials have been tendered, on both sides of the Atlantic, to Mr- Shepard's excellence as a writer. President Edwards's estimate of him in this respect may be gathered from the fact that out of one hundred and thirty-two quotations which he makes from various authors, in his Work on the Affections, more than seventy-five axe from Mr. Shepard." — Sprague's AnndU. c 34 AMEEICAN LITERATURE, Governor Winthrop. John Winthrop, 1588-1649, the first Governor of Massacliusetts, found time amid the exacting cares of oflB.ce to make some valuable contribu- tions to the literature of his period. Winthrop was chosen as leader of the Massachusetts colonists before they left England. No one man probably did more towards strengthening and moulding and giving character to the infant colony. He was of good family, son of Adam Winthrop, a lawyer of some dis- tinction, and was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge. He was the author of two works : A Model of Christian Charity, written on board the Arabella, on the Atlantic Ocean ; and A Journal of the Public Occurrences in the Massachusetts Colony. The latter, after lying a long time in manuscript, has been carefully printed by Mr. James Savage, the antiquary, with: annotations, under the title of The History of New England, from 1630 to 1649. Its Talue as an original historical document is extremely great. It is entitled to consideration also for its literary merits. " For years, Winthrop, the leader of this first great enterpirise, was the chief magistrate of this infant metropolis. His prudence guided its councils. His valor directed its strength. His life and fortune were spent in fixing its character or improving its destinies. A bolder spirit never dwelt, a truer heart never beat, in any man. Had Boston, like Rome, a conse- crated calendar, there is no name better entitled than that of Winthrop to be registered as its patron saint." — President Quincy. Governor Bradford. William Bradford, 1590-1657, the second Governor of the Plymouth Colony, though not having the advantage of a university education, as most of the colonial leaders had, was yet not wanting in culture or in literary productiveness. He published nothing of any mo- ment, but left some valuable manuscripts, which, after many narrow escapes from destruc- tion, have at length been brought to light by the persevering vigilance of the Massachusetts Historical Society, and have been printed. His chief work was A History of the Plymouth Colony, from the formation of their church, in 1602, to 1647. Bradford wa^ himself one of the original band that came over in the Mayflower, in 1620, and on the death of Carver was elected the second Governor. Thomas Morton. Thomas Morton, 1646, published, in 1632, a book called The New English Canaan, describing that country and its inhabitants. This Morton, who signs himself *' of Clifford's Inn, Gent.," was not in sympathy with the Puritan notions, either on social or on religious questions. He was a free liver, a lover of sports and public carousals. In company with a set of roistering fellows like himself, he established a settlement at Mount Wollaston, which he named "Ma-re Mount." There they set up a May pole, brewed a barrel of beer, besides obtaining a case of other liquors, and had a grand carouse, with singing of songs and other revels. Morton was arrested for these scandalous proceedings, and sent out of the colony, but returned, and jiersisted for many years in his irregularities, to the great annoyance of the other colonists, who regarded him as a " troubler of Israel." His book is written with decided ability, and has many fine touches of humor. An extract is given : "The inhabitants of Pasonagessit (having translated the name of their habitation from that ancient savage name to Ma-re Mount ; and having resolved to have the name Confirmed THE EARLY COLONIAL PERIOD. 35 for a memorial to after ages), did devise amongst themselves to have it performed in a sol- emn maimer witli Revels, and merriment after the old English custom, and prepared to set u^) a May-pule npon the festival daj' of Philip and Jacob ; and therefore brewed a barrel of excel- lent beer, and provided a case of bottles to be spent, with other good cheer, for all comers to that day. And liecause they would have it in a complete form, they had prepared a song fitting to the time and preseut occasion. And upon May-day they brought the May-pole to the place appointed, with drums, guns, pistols, and other fitting iiistrumeuts, for that pur- pose; and there erected it with the help of savages, that came thither of purpose to see the manner of our Revels. A goodly pine-tree of 80 feet long, was reared up, with a pair of buck-horns nailed on, somewhat near the top of it ; where it stood as a fair sea-mark for di- rections, how to find out the way to mine Host of Ma-re Mount " There was likewise a merry song made, which (to make their Revels more fashionable) was sung with a corns, every man bearing his part; which they performed in a dance, hand in hand about the May-pole, whiles one of the company sung, and filled out the good liquor like Gammedes and J upiter. THE SONG. Drink and be merry, merry, merry boys, Let all your delight be in Hymen's joys, If to Hymen now the day is come, About the merry May-pole take a roome. Make green garlons, bring bottles out; And fill sweet nectar freely about. Uncover thy head, and fear no harm, For here 's good liquor to keep it warm. " This harmless mirth made by young men (that lived in hope to have wives brought over to them, that would save them a labour to make a voyage to fetch any over) was much dis- tasted of the precise Separatists ; that keep much ado, about the tithe of mint and cummin, troubling their brains more than reason would require about things that are indifferent ; and from that time sought occasion against my honest Host of Ma-re Mount to overthrow his undertakings, and to destroy his plantation quite and clear." Nathaniel Morton. Nathaniel Morton, 1612-1685, Clerk of the Colonial Court of Ply- mouth, made a valuable contribution to the literature of the period by his New England's Memorial. Morton with the rest of his father's family emigrated to America and settled in Plymouth in 1623. He was Clerk of the Colonial Court from 1645 to his death in 1685. His work was the first regular history, that was published, of the New England Colonies. It was in the form of annals, beginning with the departure of the Pilgrims from England, and coming down to the date of its publication, 1669. Much of the materials was drawn from Governor Bradford's manuscript, already described. The full title of his book is : "New England's Memorial; or, a brief Relation of the most memorable and remarkable Passages of the Provi- dence of God, manifested to the Planters of New England in America ; with special reference to the First Colony thereof, called New Plymouth, published for the use and benefit of pres- ent and future generations.'" The work is one of extreme value on historical grounds, and is not wanting in literary merit. He gives, among other things, a minute narrative of the irregular proceedings of that " lord of misrule," Thomas Morton, already noticed. A short extract is given : "After this, they fell to great licentiousness of life, in all profaneness ; and the said Morton became lord of misrule, and maintained, as it were, a school of atheism ; and after they had got some goods into their hands, and got much by trading with the Indians, they spent it 36 AMERICAN LITERATURE. as vainly in quaffing and drinking both wine and strong liquors in great excess, as some have reported ten pounds within a morning, setting up a Maj-pole, drinking and dancing about it, and frisking about it like so many fairies, or furies rather, yea, and worse prac- tices, as if they had anew revived and celebrated the feast of the Eoman goddess Flora, or the beastly practices of the mad Bacchanalians." Governor Winslow. Edwaed Vv'ixslow, 1595-1655, who in 1633 succeeded Bradford as Gov- ernor of the Plymouth Colony, was the author of Good News from New England and of several other publications, historical and controversial. Governor Winslow was born in Worcestershire, and emigrated in the first band of pilgrims in 1620. Like most of the sturdy race of settlers to whidi he belonged, he could wield with equal vigor the axe, the sword, or the pen. His publications are Hypocrisy Unmasked, a true relation of the proceedings of the Governor and Company of Massachusetts against Samuel Gorton; New England's Salamander, a continuation of the sharp controversy begun by " Hypocrisy Unmasked ; " Good News from New England, a true relation of things very remarkable at the Plantation of Plymouth ; The Glorious Progress of the Gospel amongst the Indians in New England. Roger "Williams. EoGEE Williams, 1606-1683, famous as the aj)ostle of civil and religious liberty, and as the founder of a State established on that principle, is favor- ably known also by his writings, especially by his Bloody Tenent of Perse- cution, and other pieces growing out of it, in liis controversy with John Cotton on that subject. Williams was a native of Wales. He was educated at Oxford, and was ordained as a min- ister of the Church of England. In 1631 he emigrated to Massachusetts, in search of religious liberty, and preached for a time at Salem, but was banished from the colony in 1635 on account of his doctrines in regard to religious liberty. In 1636 he laid the foundations of the city of Providence, in which men of all creeds might enjoy full religious liberty; and going to England in 1643, he obtained a charter for the Province of Rhode Island, of which he was himself afterwards President. He lived at peace with the Indians, and exerted a great and beneficial influence over them. The main feature of Roger Williams's system was the doctrine that the State ought not to punish for breaches of the first table of the law. In this he was in advance of all his contemporaries, being the first bold advocate of entire and absolute toleration in matters of religion. He wrote the following works : The Bloody Tenent of Persecution for Cause of Conscience Discussed; The Hireling Ministry None of Christ's; George Fox digged out of his Burrows, being an attack upon the Quakers; Letters from Roger Williams to John Winthrop; Key into the Language of America, containing much curious information iu regard to the Indian languages, customs, etc. " Hoger Williams asserted the great doctrine of intellectual liberty. It became his glory to found a State ui)on that princi])le, and to stamp himself upon its rising institutions in characters so deep that the impress has remained to the present day, and can never be erased without the total destruction of the work. He was the first person in modern Christendom to assert, in its plenitude, the doctrine of the liberty of conscience, the equality of opinions before the law; and in its defence he was the harbinger of Milton, the precursor and supe- rior of Jeremy Taylor." — BancrojL THE EARLY COLONIAL PERIOD. 37 " If ever a Welsh Fuller should write the Worthies of Wales, Roger Williams will deserve, if not the first place, a place among the first ; for he began the first civil government upon eurth that gave equal libei'ty of couscience. His history belongs to America rather thaa England; but we must not even casually mention his name Avithout an expression of respect and reverence, for he was one of the best men who ever set foot upon the New World, — a man of genius and of virtue, in whom enthusiasm took the happiest direction and produced the best fruits." — Southey, Lon. Quar. Review. John Clarke, 1609-1676, was a friend of Roger Williams, and one of the founders of Rhode Island. Clarke was educated a physician, but after his settlement in New England, he be- came a preacher, and the pastor of the Baptist Church at Newport. Yisiting his friends at Lynn in 1651, and preaching there, he Avas arrested and imprisoned. His principal work Avas 111 NcAvs from New England, published in London in 1652. It contains an account of the discussion going on in the Colonies in regard to the question of toleration. President Cliauney. Charles CHAUisrcY, 1589-1672, second President of Harvard College, was a man of extensive literary and theological attainments, and of good repute as a writer. Chauncy was educated at the Westminster School, and at Trinity College, Cambridge. He was a man of learning, and was for a time Professor of Hebrew and Greek in Cambridge, but left England for the Ncav World on account of the persecutions under Laud. He Avas sixty years old when appointed President. He published a volume on Justification ; Antisynodalia, against the proceedings of the Synod held in Boston, in 1662 ; and some occasional Sei-mons. John Davenport, 1597-1670, the first minister of New Haven, celebrated as a pulpit orator, had some reputation also as an author. He published A Discourse about Civil Government in a NcAV Plantation, and The Saints' Anchor Hold. Davenport was educated at Oxford. Becoming a Non-conformist, he went in 163-3 to Holland, where he preached for some years to an English congregation. In 1637, he emigrated to Boston, and in 1638 was one of the company that settled NeAV Haven. He Avas minister of the church in New Haven for thirty years, and was mainly instrumental in the passage of the rigid laws on church-membership which prevailed in that colony. In 1661, he concealed the regicides, Whalley and Goffe, in his own house, and Avhen their pursuers were expected in Ncav Ha\en, he preached from the text, Isa. xvi. 3, 4, " Hide the outcasts ; bcAvray not him that wandereth. Let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab; be thou a covert to them from the face of the spoiler." John Eliot, the Apostle to the Indians. John Eliot, 1604-1690, distinctively known in colonial annals as The Apostle to the Indians, has a place in literature by numerous religious works written in English, but chiefly by his translation of the Scriptures into the Indian tongue. There is no more beautiful picture in Ncav England colonial history than that of John Eliot, the saintly apostle to the Indians. Eliot, like most of the Massachusetts leaders, Avaa educated at Cambridge. Before leaving England, he was for a time engaged as usher in a classical school under Hooker, already noticed, Avho became so famous afterAvards in the annals of Connecticut. Eliot emigrated in 1631, and formed in Roxbury a settlement and church consisting of persons to whom he had preached before leaving England. His labors 4 38 AMERICAN LITERATURE. in behalf of the ludians were conducted in connection with his duties as pastor of the church at R"xbury. He was first led to take a special interest in the Indians from a belief that they were the long lost Ten Tribes of Israel. Ue began preaching to the Indians in the neigh- borhood as early as 16-!6, and with such good effect that several settlements of "praying Indians'" were established, and the greatest hopes were entertained of converting and civil- izing the entire body of the natives. But the outbreak of King Philips war interrupted the good work, and brought it nearly to an end. Eliot lived to the age of eighty-six, and continued his pious and self-denying labors to the end. Among his latest efforts was an attempt to promote education among the negroes who had beeu imported into the colony. Eliot" s labors in behalf of the Indians led to the formation of the venerable Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in New England, in the maintenance of which the Hon. Robert Boyle took a prominent part. The works which Eliot prepared in the Indian tongue, a dialect of the Mohegan, were an Indian Grammar, and translations of The Bible, The Bay Psalm Book, two Catechisms (one for children and one for adults), Baxter's Call, The Sincere Convert, The Sacred Believer(two tracts by Thomas Shepard), and The Practice of Piety. Eliofs works in English were, The Christian Commonwealth, a treatise on government, framed for the Indian converts; The Communion of Churches; and The Harmony of the Gospels. He was also one of the three ministers who prepared the Bay Psalm Book. Eliot's Indian Bible was printed in 1658-1663, on the press which had been set up in the President's house at Cambridge in 1639, and was the first Bible printed in the Kew World. Cotton Mather gives the following specimen of Eliot's style of preaching. It is on the text, " Our conversation is in heaven :" " Behold, said he, the ancient and excellent character of a true Christian ; 'tis that which Peter calls ' holiness in all manner of conversation;' you shall not find a Christian out of the way of godly conversation. For, first, a seventh part of our time is all spent in heaven, when we are duly zealous for, and zealous on the Sabbath of God. Besides, God has written on the head of the Sabbath, Remember, which looks both forwards and backwards, and thus a good part ot the week will be spent in Sabbatizing. Well, but for the rest of our time! ■\Vhy, we shall have that spent in heaven, ere we shall have done. For, secondly, we have many days for both fasting and thanksgiving in our pilgrimage ; and here are so many Sab- baths more. Moreover, tliirdly, we have our lectures every week ; and pious people won't miss them, if they can help it. Furthermore, fourthly, we have our private meetings, wherein we pray, and sing, and repeat sermons, and confer together about the things of God ; and being now come thus far, we are in heaven almost every day. But a little further, fifthly, we perform family duties every day ; we have our morning and evening sacrifices, wherein having read the Scriptures to our families, we call upon the name of God, and ever now and then carefull}' catechize those that are under our charge. Sixthly, we shall also have our daily devotions in our closets ; wherein unto supplications before the Lord, we shall add some serious meditation upon his word : a Daniel will be at this work no less than thrice a day. Seventhly, we have likewise many scores of ejaculations in a day ; and these we have, like Nehemiah, in whatever place we come into. Eighthly, we have our occasional thoughts and our occasional talks upon spiritual matters ; and we have our occasional acts of charity, wherein we do like the inhabitants of heaven every day. Ninthly, in our callings, in our civil callings, we keep up heavenly frames ; we buy and sell, and toil, yetu, we eat and drink, with some eye both to the command and honor of God in all. Behold, I have not now left an inch of time to be carnal ; it is all engrossed for heaven. And yet, lest there should not be enough, lastly, we have our spiritual warfare. We are always encountering the enemies THE ExlRLY COLONIAL PERIOD. 39 of our souls, which continually raises our hearts unto our Helper and Leader in the heavens. Let no man say, ' "lis impossible to live at this rate; ' for we have known some live thus ; and othei-s that have written of such a life have but spun a web out of their own blessed experiences. New England has examples of this life ; though, alas ! 'tis to be lamented that the distractions of the world, in too many professors, do becloud the beauty of an heavenly conversation. In fine, our employment lios in heaven. In the morning, if we ask, ' Where am I to be to-day ? ' our souls must answer, ' In heaven.' In the evening, if we ask, 'Where have I been to-day? ' our souls may answer, 'In heaven.' If thou ait a believer, thou art no stranger to heaven while thou livest; and when thou diest, heaven will be no strange place to thee ; no, thou hast been there a thousand times." Daniel Gookin, 1 612-1687, wrote a valuable work. Historical Collections of the Indians in New England. Gookin settled originally in Yirginia, but finding himself more in sympathy with the Puritans, he removed to Massachusetts, and settled in Cambridge. He held several important civil oSSces, but is chiefly known by his services as Superintendent of all the In- dians who acknowledged the authority of Massachusetts. He was in warm sympathy with Eliot in the movements for Christianizing the natives. Richard Mather. Richard Mather, 1596-1669, eminent as a religious leader in tlie infant settlement, published several controversial treatises, and was one of the three ministers who prepared the famous Bay Psalm Book. Mather studied at Oxford, and took orders iu the Church of England. Being silenced for Non-conformity, he emigrated to Massachusetts in 1 €35, and became pastor of the new church at Dorchester. He was the father of the celebrated Increase Mather, and grandfather of the still more celebrated Cotton Mather. Capt. Roger Clap, 1609-1691, who emigrated in 1630, and settled in Dorchester, wrote an interesting volume of Memoirs. It was intended primarily for the benefit of his children, but has been found to be of public value, and has been five times reprinted. It has consid- erable literary merit, and being a record of events in which the writer was himself an actor and an eye-witness, has special historical value. Edward Johxsox, 1682, wrote a work called The Wonder Working Providence of Sion's Saviour, in New England, being a history of the country "from the English plant- ing in the year 1628 until the year 1652." Johnson was one of the emigrants who came over with Gov. Winthrop in 1630. He was a prominent man in the settlement of the town and church of Woburn. Johnson begins his book in the following pithy style: '"Good Reader : As large gates to small edifices, so are long prefaces to little books ; therefore I will briefly inform thee that here thou shalt find the time lohen, the manner how, the cause w}iy, and the great success which it hath pleased the Lord to give to this handful of his praising saints in New England." William Hubbard, 1621-1704, a member of the first graduating class of Harvard, 1642, wrote A Narrative of the Troubles with the Indians, and A History of New England. Mr. Hubbard was minister of the chuixh at Ipswich. The " Narrative " and several Ser- mons were published during his life. The State paid him £50 for his " History," which was used by Mather, Hutchinson, and others, and was pi-inted by the Mass. Historical Society in 181o. 40 AMERICAN LITERATURE. Anne Bradstreet. Mrs. Anxe Bradstreet, 1612-1672, daughter of one and wife of another Governor of Massachusetts, published in 1640 a vokime of poems which were for the time in high repute, and won for her in England the title of the Tenth Muse. If a critic at this day finds it difficult to become euthusiastic over the poems of this lady, he can without trouble place her at the head of the American poets of her own time. The most distinguished men in the Colonies were her friends and the admirers of her genius. The title of her volume is worthy of being quoted, in illustration of the fashion of the time in such matters. Nowadays it would have been called The Four Elements and Other Poems, or some such fancy name. But in those stately days, a title-page was a serious matter. Mrs. Bradstreefs volume begins thus: "Several Poems, Compiled with great variety of Wit and Learning, full of Delight ; wherein especially is contained a Complete Discourse and Descrip- tion of the Four Elements, Constitutions, Ages of Moons and Seasons of the Year, together with an Exact Epitome of the Three First Monarchies, viz.. The Assyrian, Persian, and Gre- cian : and the Beginning of the Roman Commonwealth to the end of their last King; with Divers Other Pleasant and Serious Poems ; By a Gentlewoman of New England." Mrs. Bradstreet worthily stands at the head of the women writers of America. One of the descendants of Mrs. Bradstreet is Richard H. Dana, the well-known author. "The formal natural history and historical topics, which compose the greater part Of her writings, are treated with doughty resolution, but without much regard to poetical equality. The plan is simple. The elements of the world, fire, air, earth, and water; the humors of the constitution, the choleric, the sanguine, the melancholy, and phlegmatic ; childhood, youth, manhood, and age; spring, summer, autiunn, and winter, severally come up and say what they can of themselves, of their powers and opportunities, good and evil, with the ut- most fairness. The four ancient monarchies are catalogued in a similar way. It is not to be denied, that, if there is not much poetrj- in these productions, there is considerable in- formation. For the readers of those times they contained a respectable digest of the old historians, and a fair proportion of medical and scientific knowledge." — Duyckinck. The specimens quoted by Mr. Duj'ckinck fully sustain his rather disparaging judgment. Yet passages of a more pleasing kind are not wanting. FROM THE PROLOGUE TO "THE FOUR ELEMENTS." I am obnoxious to each carping tongue That says my hand a needle better fits; A Poet's pen all scorn I should thus wrong, For such despite they cast on female wits ; If what I do prove well, it won't advance — They '11 say, It 's stolen, or else it was by chance. But sure, the antique Greeks were far more mild, Else of our sex why feigned they those Nine, And Poesy made Calliope's own child? So, 'mongst the rest, they placed the arts divine. But this weak knot they will full soon untie — The Greeks did naught but play the fool and lie. Let Greeks be Greeks, and women what they are; Men have precedency, and still excel ; It is but vain unjustly to wage war. Men can do best, and women know it well; THE EARLY COLONIAL PERIOD. 41 Pre-eminence in each- and all is yonrs, Yet grant some small acknowledgment of oura. And oh, ye high-flown qnills that soar the skies, And even with your prey still catch your praise, If e'er you deign these lowly lines your eyes, Give thyme or parsley wreath : I ask no bays ; This mean and unrelined ore of mine Will make your glistering gold but more to shine. Peter Folger. Peter Folger, 1618-1690, one of the settlers of Nantucket, wrote a poem called A Looking-Glass for the Times, which has acquired some celebrity. Folger came to America in 1635, and settled first at Martha's Vineyard, but finally in Nantucket. He made himself proficient in the language of the Indians, and was serviceable to the missionary Mayhew, both as an interpreter and a catechist. He acquired considera- ble knowledge also of surveyiog, and was one of the commissioners for laying out land. His chief distinction, however, is that he was grandfather on the mother's side to Benjamin Franklin. Franklin thus refers to this fact in his Autobiography : " I was born in Boston, in New England. My mother, the second wife, was Abiah Folger, daughter of Peter Folger, one of the first colonists of New England, of whom Cotton Mather makes honourable mention in his Ecclesiastical History of that province, as a pious and learned Englishman, if I rightly recollect his expressions. I have been told of his having written a variety of little pieces; but there appears to be only one in print, which I met with many years ago. It was published in the year 1675, and is in faipiliar verse, agreeably to the tastes of the times and the country. The author addresses himself to the governors for the time being, speaks for liberty of conscience, and in favour of the Anabaptists, Quakers, and other sectaries, who had suffered persecution. To this persecution he attrib-' utes the wars with the natives, and other calamities which afflicted the country, regarding them as the judgments of God in punishment of so odious an offence, and he exhorts the government to the repeal of laws so contrary to charity. The poem appeared to be written with a manly freedom and a pleasing simplicity." — Fi-anklin's Autobiography. Michael Wigglesworth. Michael Wigglesworth, 1631-1705, was the author of two poems, — The Day of Doom, and Meat out of the Eater. Wigglesworth was graduated at Harvard in 1651, and was for nearly fifty years pastor of the church at Maiden. He was always in delicate health, " a little feeble shadow of a man," and his poems were written at times when by reason of bodily weakness he was obliged temporarily to discontinue his pastoral labors. The " Day of Doom " is a poetical description of the last Judgment ; " Meat out of the Eater " is a series of meditations showing the bene- fits of afBictions. Both poems went through several editions. 4* 42 AMEEICAN LITERATUEE, Samuel Willard. Saimtjel WiXLAKD, 1640-1707, who held a conspicuous position in the Boston churches and in the affairs of Harvard College, was the autlior of sundry religious works, including a Complete Body of Divinity, Willard was born at Concord, Massachusetts, and graduated at Harvard, in the class of 1659. lie was one of the co-pastors of the Old South Church, Boston. On the retirement of Increase Mather from the presidency of Harvai'd, in 1701, Willard succeeded to the gov- ernment of the institution, being nominally Vice-President, but virtually President, from 1701 to 1707. Willard displayed much boldness in stemming the torrent of persecution during the witchcraft delusions. His published works are numerous. The following are a portion : A Complete Body of Divinity, in two hundred and fifty lectures on the Assembly's Shorter Catechism, folio, 914 pp.; Ne Sutor Ultra Crepidam, animadversions upon a publication of, the Anabaptists ; Peril of the Times Displayed; Covenant Keeping the Way of Blessedness ; The Mourner's Cordial against E.\.ce5sive Sorrow. Willard's Body of Divinity was the first regular and full treatise on theology, as well as the first folio volume, published in America. Willard was twice married, and he had twenty children. Willard was celebrated for his tact, accompanied occasionally with a touch of humor. The following instance is given. His son-in-law, Mr. Neal, on one occasion preached for him. The sermon was so poor that several of the congregation asked Willard not to invite the man to preach again. Willard some time afterwards borrowed the sermon and preached it himself, giving it the benefit of his fine delivery. The same persons who had asked that Mr. Neal should not preach to them, were so delighted with Mr. Willard's sermon that they asked a copy for publication ! Increase Mather. Increase Mather, D. D., 1639-1723, one of the most prominent figures in the early history of Massachusetts, was the author of a large number of works, among which may particularly be named that on Remarkable Provi- dences, and A History of the Wars with the Indians. Dr. Mather was born at Dorchester. He graduated at Harvard in 1656, and became pi'eacher in the old North Church in Boston. He died in his eighty-fifth year, and in the sixty-sixth of his ministry. He was President of Harvard during sixteen years of that time, I680-I7OI, and he exerted a commanding influence both in Church and State. Though mingling much in aff"aii-s, he was indefatigable as a student, passing two-thirds of the day among his books, and he left behind him no less than eighty-five publications, nio.stly religious and theological. The Essay for the Recording of Illustrious Providences, sometimes quoted by its other title of Remarkable Providences, is a collection of remarkable c:ises bearing upon witchcraft, domouology, marvellous escapes at sea, etc. The phenomena therein de- scribed are attributed to the agency of the Devil. The work is interesting from its showing that many of the phenomena of spirit-rapping and the like were known and studied before their reappearance two centuries later. The latest work from his hand was Agathangelus, a preHxco to the Coelestiuus by his son Cotton Mather. The following passage will be read with interest : "The landscape of heaven here exhibited is drawn by one who, for two-and-forty years, has, as a son with a father, served me in the gospel. It will be much if these forty-two THE EARLY COLONIAL PERIOD. 43 periods do not finish onr peregrinations together through the wilderness. For my ovrn part, I am everj- hour looking and longing for the pleasant land, where I am sure I shall not find things as I do here this day. And having been somewhat comforted and strength- ened by the prospect, which is here, as from the top of Mount Pisgah, taken of it, and en- tirely satisfied in it, I commend it as one of my legacies to the people of God, which I must leave behind me in a w^orld which has things come and coming upon it, Avhich blessed are they that are escaped from." Cotton Mather. Cotton Mather, D. D., 1663-1728, the greatest of the famous Mather family, is also in some respects the most conspicuous fig- ure in the early history of New England; and the Magnalia Christi Americana is, on the whole, the greatest, and the best known, of his almost interminable list of works. If there is anything in blood and breeding, Cotton Mather would peem to have had an hereditary right to be, as in fact he was, a theologian and a scholar. His father, Dr. Increase Mather, preacher of the Old North Church in Boston, and for sixteen years President of Harvard, while a sturdy champion of church prerogative and an ever busy manager of public affairs, was yet evidently a man of books, spending usually two-thirds of the day in his library. The grandfather, old Kichard Mather, the founder of the family in New England, though less conspicuous than some of his de- scendants, was yet a man of mark for his scholarly habits and attainments. The same is true, but in a still higher degree, of the grandfather on the mother's side, the " great John Cotton " of the infant colony. Cotton Mather was fitted for College with special care by Ezekiel Cheever, a pedagogue famous in New England annals, and was so precocious in his studies that at the age of twelve he " had read Cicero, Terence, and Tii-gil, the Greek Testament, and had entered upon Soc- rates [qr. Xenophon's Memorabilia] and Homer, and the Hebrew Grammar." He graduated with distinction at Harvard, at the age of fifteen. After spending some years in teaching, he was ordained at the age of twenty-one, preaching the first Sunday for his grandfather, Richard Mather, at Dorchester, the second Sunday for his father, and the third Sunday for his maternal grandfather, John Cotton, in Boston. Mather is said to have beerfc a divine almost from his cradle, and he early formed a habit, which adhered to him through life, of making a religious "improvement " of all the ordinary incidents of life. " This quaintness suited the genius of Mather. Every incident in life afforded him a text. He had a special consideration for the winding up of his watch. As he mended his fire, he thought of rectifying his life; the act of paring his nails warned him to lay aside 'all super- fluity of naughtiness;' while drinking a dish of tea 'he was especially invited to fragrant and grateful reflections.' He appropriated the time while he was dressing to particular speculations, parcelling out a diff"erent set of questions for every day in the week. On Sun- day morning he commented on himself, as pastor ; on Monday, iis husband and father; on Tuesday he thought of his relations, taking a catalogue which began with his parents and extended as far as the children of his cousin-germans, and by an odd distribution, inter- changing them sometimes with his enemies ; Wednesday he gave to the consideration of the 44 AMERICAN LITERATURE. church throughout the world ; on Thursday he turned over hia religious society efforts ; Fridaj' he devoted to the poor and suffering, and Saturday he concluded with his own spir- itual interests. To these devout associations he added the most humorous turns, not merely improving — a notion readily entertained — such similes of mortal affairs as the striking of a clock or the dying flame of a candle, but pinning his prayers on a tall man, that he might have high attainments in Christianity ; on a negro, that he might be washed white by the Spirit; on a very small man, that he might have great blessings ; upon a man on horseback, that as the creature served him, so he might serve the Creator." — Duyckinck. The one great blot in Cotton Mather's character was his infatuation on the subject of witchcraft, and the excessive zeal with which he defended and urged the persecution of those suspected of being witches. The error in his case seems to have grown out of his habit, already described, of carrying to excess the doctrine of a special providence. No one doubts, however, that he was thoroughly sincere and honest in what he wrote on this subject. Mather gives the following account of his literary and scientific attainments. The state- ment is fully borne out by what is known of him from other sources. " I am not unable, with a little study, to write in seven languages. I feast myself with the secrets of all the sciences which the more polite part of mankind admii-ingly pretend unto. I am entertained with all kinds of histories, ancient and modern ; I am no stranger to the curiosities which by all sorts of learning are brought to the curious." The list of his printed works, given by his son Samuel, numbers three hundred and eighty- two. Even this does not complete the list, several of his publications having been brought to light afterwards. Many of these, of course, were only tracts, or occasional sermons. But a large number of them were elaborate and stately volumes. Besides his published works, he left in manuscript one which has never been printed, and which is now to be seen in the library of the Massachusetts Historical Society, in six volumes folio, " written in the author's round, exact hand, in double columns." It is called Illustrations of the Holy Scriptures, Portions of his Diary also are there, including the torn leaf, from which, according to his declaration, au invisible hand plucked a piece, before his eyes ! Mather's greatest work was his 3Ia(jnalia Christi Americana, purporting to be an ecclesiastical history of Kew England, from its first planting in 1620 to the year 1698, but including also civil history, an account of Har- vard College, of the Indian wars, and the witchcraft troubles, and a large number of biograpliies. New England's worthies are indeed largely indebted for their perpetuity of fame to the embalming influence of Cotton Mather's genius and kindness of heart. These pen-portraits of his contemporaries are now among the most precious of all his writings. The poet Hal- leck thus refers to them : Genius ! powerful with thy praise or blame, "When art thou feigning? when art thou sincere? Mather, who banned his living friends with shame, In funeral sermons blessed them on their bier, And made their death-beds beautiful with fame — Fame true and gracious as a widow's tear To her departed darling husband given; Him whom she scolded up from earth to heaven. Thanks for his funeral sermons, they recall The sunshine smiling through his folio's leaves That makes his readers' hours in bower or hall Joyous as plighted hearts on bridal ovea; THE EARLY COLONIAL PERIOD. 45 Chasing, like music from the soul of Saul, The doubt that darkens, and the ill that grieves; And honoring the author's heart and mind, That beats to bless, and toils to ennoble human kind. Mather's dying charge to his son Samuel, "Remember only that one word, Fructuosus" gives a key-note to an important part of his character. If ever a man was " fruitful," it was Cotton Mather. His industry was prodigious, and Avas almost continually occupied in something intended to benefit others. His "Essays to do Good" are mentioned by Franklin as among the few books that gave to his own mind its remarkable bent towards the useful. Franklin accompanies the statement with the following characteristic anecdote : "The last time I saw your father was in the beginuing of 1724, when I visited him after my first trip to Pennsylvania; he received me in his library, and on my taking leave, showed me a shorter way out of the house, through a narrow passage, crossed by a beam overhead. "NVe were still talking as I withdrew, he accompanying me behind, and turning partly to- wards him, when he siiid hastily, 'Stoop, stoop ! ' I did not understand him till I felt my head hit against the beam. He was a man who never missed any occasion of giving instruc- tion ; and upon this he said ta me, ' You are young, and have the world before you; stoop as you go through it, and you will miss many hard thumps.' This advice, thus beat into my head, has frequently been of iise to me ; and I often think of it when I see pride mortified, and misfortunes brought upon people by their carrying their heads too high." — Franklin. "Mather was always exercising his ingenuity to contribute something useful to the world. He was one of the first to employ the press extensively in the dissemination of tracts ; he early lifted his voice in favor of temperance; he preached and wrote for sailors; he in- structed negroes ; he substituted moral and sagacious intellectual restraints with his chil- dren for flogging; conversation he studied and practised as an art; and he was a devoted historiographer of his country for posterity — besides his paramount employment, accord- ing to the full measure of his day and generation, of discharging the sacred duties of his profession." — Duyckinck. After the Magnalia, Mather's next most important works are Memorable Providences relating to Witchcraft ; and The Wonders of the Invisible World, being an Account of the Trial of Several Witches. Mather published also a new literal version of the Psalms, in metre, but "without the jingle of rhyme," and intended as an improvement upon the old Bay Psalm Book. Minor Authors. Certain minor authors of this period deserve a brief passing notice. Robert Calef, 1719, a Boston merchant, is known chiefly by his book against Cotton Mather and other believers in witchcraft. When Mather published his Wonders of the In- visible World, Calef replied by More Wonders of the Invisible World. The reply excited great indignation, and was burned in the college-yard of old Harvard, by order of the Presi- dent.— Benjamin Thompson, 1640-1714, a graduate of Ilaiward, of the class of 1062, and Mas- ter, first of the public school in Boston, and afterwards of that in Cambridge, was, according to the inscription on his tombstone, a " learned schoolmaster " and " the renowned poet of New England." His chief production was a poem entitled "New England's Crisis." — John JossELTN, who first visited Boston in 1G3S and spent a year there, and afterwards, in IGGo- 1071, spent eight years and a half there and elsewhere in New England, published several works descriptive of the country and its inhabitauta : New England's Rarities Discovered ; 46 AMERICAN I. 1 T E K A T U K E . An Account of Two Yoyages to New England ; Chronological- Observations of America. — John Williams, 166i-1729, a native of RoxLury and a graduate of Harvard, was pastor of the church at Deerfield at the time that it was burnt by the French and Indians in 1704. Mr. Williams and abuut one hundred of his people were carried away captive to Montreal in midwinter. On his return from captivity, two or three years later, Mr. Williams published a narrative of the sufferings of himself and his companions. This work, callod The Re- deemed Captive, has been frequently reprinted, and is one of the most graphic pictures of simple-hearted heroism and constancy to be found in the early literature of New England. — Roger Wolcott, 1879-1767, a native of Windsor, Connecticut, had not the advantage of a liberal education, but rose to distinction, and filled various important offices in the colony, being at one time Governor of Connecticut. He wrote a volume of poems, called Poetical Meditations, and also a narrative and descriptive poem, being A Brief Account of the Agency of John Wintiirop in obtaining the Charter of Connecticut. — Captain Benjamin Church, 1639-1718, the leader of the colonists in King Philip's war, dictated in his declining years an account of the memorable transactions in which he had been engaged. This is called The Entertaining History of King Philip's War. It is an important historical document, and has been several times reprinted. President Blair. James BiiAin, D. D., 1656-1743, the first President of AVilliam and Mary College, Virginia, published in 1722 an extended work with the title, Oiir Saviour's Sermon on the Mount. This work of President Blair's consisted of one hundred and seventeen sermons, in 5 vols., 8vo, on texts in the Sermon on the Mount. It was reprinted in 1740, in 4 vols., with a pref- ace and high commendation by Dr. Waterland. ■' Blair's Commentary on Matthew v.-viii. is the best extant. He appears to have been a person of the utmost candor, and has solicit- ously avoided all unkind and contemptuous reflections on his brethren. He has an excel- lent way of bringing down criticism to common capacities, and has discovered a vast knowl- edge of Scripture in the aijplication of them." — Doddridge. "The best exposition of this discourse." — Biclccrsteth. President Blair was born and educated in Scotland, and took ordei's in the Scottish Epis- copal Church. Going to England, he was persuaded by the Bishop of London to emigrate to Virginia. He appears to have been a man of unusual ability, of great pui'ity of charac- ter, and of untiring perseverance. It was mainly by his continued and persistent efforts that the College of William and Mary was established and put on a permanent footing. He raised £2500 by subscription for its endowment, and was sent to England in 1692 by the General Assembly to obtain a charter. He was named as President in the charter itself, and held the ofBce until his death. He died in 1743, in his eighty-eiglith year. He was Com- missary of the Bishop of London for Virginia and Maryland, and in virtue of this office Avas a member of the Council of State. He was a clergyman over sixty years. Commissary fifty- four years, and President fifty j'ears. He was bui'ied in the churchyard at Jamestown. Col. William Byrd. . William Byrd, 1674-1744, a wealthy and accomplished Virginia gen- tleman, was the author of a number of narratives and descriptive pieces known as The Westover Manuscripts. Col. Byrd, being born to ample fortune, was sent to England to be educated. There ho became the intimate friend of Charles Boyle, the Earl of Orrey, and of other eminent per- Bous,-and wa« elected Fellow of the Royal Society. On returning to Vii-ginia, he took au THE EARLY COLONIAL PERIOD. 47 active part in public affairs, and was one of the leading men in the colony. In 1728, he set out with a party of commissioners to meet a party of commissioners from North Carolina, to survey and settle the boundary between North Carolina and Virginia. The other Tir- ginia commissioners were AVilliam Dandridge and Richard Fitz-William. The surveyors were William Mayo and Alexander Irvin, the Mathematical Professor of William and Mary. They had with them, also, Rev. Peter Fountain as chaplain, and seventeen woodsmen and hunters. Col. Byrd took notes of the journey, and from them wrote out a Narrative. He wrote also Sketches of Travel in Old Virginia, on two other occasions. These important documents remained in manuscript until 1841, when they were printed by Edward Ruffin of Petersburg, under the title of The Westover Manuscripts, being so called from the estate of Westover, on the north branch of the James River, where the author lived. These journals of Col. Byrd are remarkable for the freshness and vividness of their de- scriptions, the quiet, gentlemanly air that pervades them, showing the author to be one equally at home among books and men, and for a continual undeixurrent of good-natured humor worthy of Irving or of Fielding. He is particularly fond of indulging in a bit of fun at the expense of the North Carolinians. The journals abound in stories illustrative of Natural History. A passage is quoted, giving some of his experiences with Bruin. ABOUT BEARS. " Our Indian killed a bear, two years old, that was feasting on grapes. He was very fat, as they generally are in that season of the year. In the fall, the flesh of this animal has a high relish, different from that of other creatures, though inclining nearest to that of pork, or rather of wild boar. A true woodsman prefers this sort of meat to that of the fattest venison, not only for the haul gout, but also because the fat of it is well tasted, and never rises in the stomach. Another proof of the goodness of this is, that it is less apt to corrupt than any other with which we are acquainted. As agreeable as such rich diet was to the men, yet we who were not accustomed to it, tasted it at first with some sort of squeamishness, that animal being of the dog kind ; though a little use soon recon- ciled us to this American venison. And that its being of the dog kind might give us the less disgust, we had the example of that ancient and polite people, the Chinese, who reckon dog's flesh too good for any under the quality of a Mandarin. This beast is in truth a very clean feeder, living, while the season lasts, upon acorns, chestnuts, and chinquapins, wild honey and wild grapes. They are naturally not carnivorous, unless hunger constrain them to it, after the mast is all gone, and the product of the woods is all exhausted. They are not provident enough to lay up any hoard, like the squirrels ; nor can they, after all, live veiy long upon licking their paws, as Sir John Mandevil and some other travellers tell us, but are forced in the winter months to quit the mountains, and visit the inhabitants. Their errand is then to surprise a poor hog at a pinch, to keep them from starving. And to show that they are not flesh-eaters by trade, they devour their prey very awkwardly. They do not kill it right out, and feast upon its blood and entrails, like other ravenous beasts, but hav- ing, after a fau- pursuit, seized it with his paws, they begin first upon the rump, and so de- vour one collop after another till they come to the vitals, the poor animal crying all the ■while for several minutes together. However, in so doing, Bruin acts a little imprudently ; because the dismal outcry of the hog alarms the neighbourhood, and it is odds but he pays the forfeit with his life, before he can secure his retreat. But bears soon grow weary of this unnatural diet, and about January, when there is nothing to be gotten in the woods, they retire into some cave or hollow tree; where they sleep away two or three months very com- fortably. But then they quit their holes in March, when the fish begin to run up the rivers, on which they are forced to keep Lent, till some fruit or berry comes in seiison. But bears are fondest of chestnuts, which grow plentifully towards the mountains, upon very large trees, where the soil happens to be rich. We were curious to know how it happened that 48 AMERICAN LITERATURE. many of the outward branches of those trees came to be broken off in that solitary place, and were informed that the bears are so discreet as not to trust their unwieldy bodies on the smaller limbs of the tree, that would not bear their weight ; but after venturing as far as it is safe, which they can judge to an iuch, they bite off the end of the branch, which fall- ing down, they are content to finish their repast upon the ground. In the same cautious manner they secure the acorns that grow on the weaker limbs of the oak. And it must be allowed that, in these instances, a bear carries instinct a great way, and acts more reason- ably than many of his betters, who indiscreetly venture upon frail projects that will not bear them." — From Tlie Westover Manuscripts. Robert Beverly, 1716, was a native of Virginia and clerk of the Council when Andros was Governor, He wrote A History of the Present Slate of Alrginia, 1705. James Logan. James Loga>5", 1674-1751, a man of note in the early settlement of Penn- sylvania, was the founder of the Loganian Library in Philadelphia, and the author of several valuable works, both literary and scientific. Logan was an Irishman by birth. He distinguished himself in youth by his attainments in classics and mathematics, and was engaged for a time in teaching. Logan was a member of the Society of Friends, and in 1699 he came to America as Secretary to William P.enn, on the occasion of the second visit of the latter to his proviuce. Logan became Chief Justice of the colony and President of the Council. He was held in great respect, both by the colonists and the aborigines. The celebrated Indian chief, Logan, whose speech is given by Jefferson, was so named in honor of this'friend of William Penn. Logan communicated to learned men and societies abroad valuable scientific papers, mostly in Latin, which were published in London, Amsterdam, and Leyden. Besides these, he wrote in English The Duties of Man as they may be deduced from Nature ; A Defence of Aristotle and the Ancient Philosophers (unfinished) ; Essaj-s on Languages and the Antiqui- ties of the British Isles ; and several translations fi'om the Greek and Latin classics. Logan passed the closing years of his life in retirement, at Stanton, his country-seat near Germantown. While there he wrote a translation of Cicero's essay On Old Age, with numerous explanatory notes. This was printed in 1744 by Franklin, with the following characteristic preface : THE PRINTER TO THE READER. "This version of Cicero's tract De Senectute was made ten years since, by the honorable and learned Mr. Logan, of this city ; undertaken partly for his own amusement (being then in his sixtieth year, which is said to be neaily the age of the author when he wrote it), but principally for the entertainment of a neighbor, then in his grand climacteric ; and the notes were drawn up solely on that neighbor's account, who was not so well acquainted as him- self with the Roman history and language. Some other friends, however (among whom I had the honor to be ranked), obtained copies of it in MS., and, as I believed it to be in itself equal at least, if not far preferable, to any other translation of the same piece extant in our language, besides the advantage it has of so many valuable notes, which at the same time they clear up the text, are highly instructive and entertaining, I resolved to give it an im- pression, being confident that the public would not unfavorably receive it. "A certain freedman of Cicero's is reported to have said of a medicinal well, discovered in his time, wonderful for the virtue of its waters in restoring sight to the aged, that it was a gift of the bountiful gods to man, to the end that all might now have the pleasure of read- ing his master's works. As that well, if still in being, is at too great a distance for our use, I have, gentle reader, as thou seest, printed this piece of Cicero's in a large and fair char- THE EARLY COLONIAL PERIOD. 49 acter, that those who begin to think on the subject of Old Age (which seldom happens till their sight is somewhat impaired by its approach), may not, in reading, by the pain small letters give to the eyes, feel the pleasure of the mind in the least allayed. " I shall add to these few lines my hearty wish, that this first translation of a classic in this Western World may be followed with many others, performed with equal judgment and success ; and be a happy omen that Philadelphia shall become the seat of the American muses." Franklin was mistaken in calUng this " the first translation of a classic in this Western World," Sandys's Ovid having been written on the banks of the James River, in Virginia, more than a century before. Logan's work may have been, however, the first translation of a classic printed in America. Logan's translation is spoken of in high terms, and is consid- ered the best before that of Melmoth. Thomas Chalkley. Thomas Chalkley, 1675-1749, another eminent Friend, was the author of a series of religious Tracts, and of a Journal containing an account of his experiences as an itinerant preacher. Chalkley was born in Southwark, London. Coming to America, he made Philadelphia his headquarters, but spent the greater part of his life in travelling through New England, the Southern States, the West Indies, and elsewhere, as a voluntary missionary, preaching the gospel. His writings are remarkable for their unpretending simplicity, and often for an un- afi"ected pathos and beauty. On one occasion, at sea, provisions became scanty, and there began to be ominous talk among the crew " about eating one another," and Chalkley, to whom the vessel had been consigned, was upbraided for their distress. " To stop this murmuring," he says, " I told them they should not need to cast lots, which was usual in such cases, which of us should die first, for I would freely offer up my life to do them good. One said, ' God bless you ! I will not eat any of you.' Another said, ' He would die before he would eat any of me ; ' and so said several. I can truly say, on that occasion, at that time, my life was not dear to me, and that I was serious and ingenuous in my proposition : and as I was leaning over the side of the vessel, thoughtfully consider- ing my proposal to the companj', and looking in my mind to Him that made me, a very large dolphin came up towards the top or surface of the water, and looked me in the face ; and I called the people to put a hook into the sea, and take him, for here is one come to re- deem me (I said to them). And they put a hook into the sea, and the fish readily took it ; and they caught him. He was longer than myself. I think he was about six feet long, and the largest that ever I saw. Tliis plainly showed us that we ought not to distrust the providence of the Almighty. The people were quieted by this act of Providence, and murmured no more. We caught enough to eat plentifully of till we got into the capes of Delaware." The following are the titles of some of his Tracts : God's Great Love unto Mankind through Jesus Christ our Lord; Observation on Christ's Sermon on the Mount ; Youth Per- suaded to Obedience, Gratitude, and Honor to God and their Parents, etc. The first of these Tracts is introduced with the following hues, which give an idea both of his style and of his true and loving spirit. "In sincerity and unfeigned love, both to God and man, were these lines penned. I de- sire thee to peruse them in the same love, and then, pcradventure, thou mayst find some sweetness in them. Expect not learned phrases, or florid expressions ; for many times heav- 6 D 60 ' AMERICAN LlTETwlTUIlE. enly matter is hid in mean sentences, or To-apped up in mean expressions. It sometimes pleases God to reveal the mysteries of his kingdom (through the grace of his Son our Lord Jesus Christ) to babes and sucklings ; and he oftentimes ordains praise out of their mouths ; one of which, reader, I desire thou mayst be. My intent in writing these' sheets is that they, through the help of God's grace and the good spirit of Christ, may stir up true love in thee ; first to God and Christ, and then to man ; so thou wilt be fit to be espoused to him, who is altogether lovely, (that is Christ,) which is the desire of him who is thy friend, more in heart than word." John Woolman. John WooiiMAN, 1720-1772, a native of New Jersey, and a noted preacher among the Friends, is favorably known in letters by his Essays and Epistles, but more particularly by his Journal. TVoolman was bom in Northampton, Burlington Co., New Jersey. After exercising for some time his craft as a tailor, he travelled on religious visits to various parts of America, and finally died of the small-pox at York. England, where he was attending a Quarterly Meeting of the Friends. He wrote Essays and Epistles on various religious and moral sub- jects, but is most known by his Journal, which is admirable equally for its spirit and its style. It has lately been republished, being edited with pious and loving care by the poet Whittier. Charles Lamb says, in one of the Essays of Elia, "Get the writings of John Wool- man by heart, and learn to love the early Quakers." Aquila Rose. Aqtjila Kose, 1695-1723, who was Clerk of the Assembly of Pennsyl- vania, was the author of a volume called Sundry Poems, and seems to have been a man of more than ordinary promise. Rose was born and educated in England. Although be died when only twenty-eight, he seems to have made a profound impression upon the Philadelphians of that day, by his poet- ical abilities and his scholarly attainments. The following lines by Rose, written "for the boys who carried out the weekly newspaper," and bearing date 1720, give some evidence of his style, and also show that the American custom of Carriers' Addresses on New Year's day goes back to a very respectable antiquity. Full fifty times have roul'd their changes on, And all the year's transactions now are done; Full fifty times I've trod with eager haste, To bring you weekly news of all things past. Some grateful thing is due for such a task, Tho' modesty itself forbids to ask ; A silver thought, expressed in ill-shaped ore, Is all I wish ; nor would I ask for more. To grace our work, swift Mercury stands in view I 've been a Living Merc'ry still to you. The happy day, Dear Sir, appears ag'in. When human nature lodg'd a God within. THE EARLY COLONIAL PERIOD. 51 Yet whilst with gen'rous breath, you hail the day, And like the shepherds, sacred homage pay, Let gen'rous thought some kindly grace infuse, To him who brings, with careful speed, your News. Samuel Keimer. Samtjel Keimer, who flourished in Philadelphia about the years 1720- 1730, wrote several pieces, half poetical, half doggerel, which are note- worthy as a feature in the literature of the day. Keimer came from England to Philadelphia, and was about establishing himself as a printer there at the time of Franklin's arrival on the same errand. Keimer was an odd genius, with more ability than discretion. After plying his trade for some time in Philadel- phia, he went to the West Indies, where he is found in 1734 as the printer of The Barhadoes Gazette. He got himself into hot water among the planters, and finally returned to England. Cadwallader Golden. Cadwallader Golden, M. D., 1688-1776, was the earliest author of note in the city of New York, of those at least who wrote in English. Golden was a Scotchman by birth. He was graduated in 1705 at the University of Edin- burgh, and then spent three years in studying medicine. He emigrated to America in 1708, and settled in Philadelphia, where he practised medicine with success for several years. In 1715, he visited London, where he made the acquaintance of Halley the astronomer, who read before the Royal Society a paper of Colden's with great applause. In 1718, he settled in New York, and quitting his profession gave himself up to public affairs, holding at differ- ent times various important ofiBces. He was lieutenant-governor from 1760 until his death in 1776. Colden's chief work was A History of the Five Indian Nations, which has been several times reprinted, both in England and Amei-ica. He wrote also a philosophical treatise, On the Principles of Action in Matter, and numerous scientific papers. He was much devoted to Botany, and was a correspondent of Linnaeus, Buffon, and other eminent scientists. He took an active part in the formation of the American Philosophical Society. Thomas Prince, 1687-1758, was a native of Sandwich, Massachusetts, and a graduate of Harvard, of the class of 1707. He was one of the pastors of the Old South Church, Boston. He made a valuable collection of documents in regard to the early history of New England. The manuscripts, which were deposited in the tower of the Old South Church, were de- stroyed by the British during the revolutionary war. Prince wrote A Chronological History of New England in the Form of Annals. It was not completed, coming down only to 1633. Samuel Mather, D. D., 1706-1785, a son of Cotton Mather, was educated at Harvard, and was pastor of the Old North Church in Boston. He published a number of sermons, tracts, etc. The most curious of his works is An Attempt to Show that America was known to the Ancients, maintaining that the posterity of Japhet by Magog were the primary inhabitants of the continent. He was also the author of a Life of Cotton Mather. Solomon Stoddard, 1643-1729, was born in Boston, and graduated at Harvard, in the class of 1662, He was a divine of high repute, and was settled for many years at Northampton, Mass. He wrote a work, The Doctrine of Instituted Cliurches, intended to show that the Lord's Supper is a converting ordinance. Some of his other pieces were, An Appeal to the 52 AMERICAN LITERATUKE. Learned ; A Guide to Christ ; Answer to Cases of Conscience ; Questions on the Conversion of the Indians, etc. Samuel Johnson, D. D., 1696-1722, is styled by Dwight the father of Episcopacy in Connecticut. Johnson was a native of Guilford, in Connecticut, and a graduate of Yale College, in the class of 1714. Becoming a convert to Episcopacy, he went to England for Episcopal ordina- tion in 1722, and returned the next year as a Missionary of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, at Stratford. Here he was instrumental not only in build- ing up a parish, but in extending Episcopacy throughout the colony. He was a man of distinguished attainments and ability, and upon the establishment of lung's (now Columbia) College, New York, he was chosen President, — but ret'redfinally to his original charge in Stratford. He published several works, among them, A System of Morality ; a Compendium of Logic ; an English and a Hebrew Grammar ; and various con- troversial tracts in favor of Episcopacy. John Seeeomb. John Seccoiveb, 1708-1792, gained considerable notoriety by a witty poem, called Father Abbey's Will. Seccomb was a native of Medford, and a graduate of Harvard, of the class of 1728. He was minister of the town of Harvard for more than twenty years. In 1757, he became minister of a congregation in Nova Scotia, where he remained until his death, at the age of eighty- four. Father Abbey's Will was published in 1732, soon after the author's graduation. Governor Belcher sent a copy of the poem to England, where it was published in the Gentleman's Magazine. It has been often reprinted, and is one of the best comic poems of that day. The real name of the hero was Matthew Abdy, who was for many years " Bedmaker and Sweeper " to Harvard College, and whose wife succeeded him in that vocation. She died in 1762, at the advanced age of ninety-three. Besides this poem, part of which we quote, Seccomb wrote another of the same sort, purporting to be a letter from the " Bedmaker and Sweeper " of Yale to the heiress, the widow Abbey, and begging her to unite her fortunes with his. FATHER ABBEY'S WILL. Cambridge, December, 1730. Some time since died here, Mr. Matthew Abbey, in very advanced age. He had for a great number of years served the College in quality of Bedmaker and Sweeper. Having no child, his wife inherits his whole estate, which he bequeathed to her by his last will and testa- ment, as follows, viz. : To my dear wife, Two painted chairs. My joy and life. Nine warden pears, I freely now do give her A large old dripping platter, My whole estate, This bed of hay. With all my plate, On which I lay. Being just about to leave her. An old saucepan of batter. My tub of soap, A little mug, A long cart rope, A two-quart jug, A frying-pan and kettle, A bottle full of brandy. An ashes pail, A looking glass, A threshing-flail. To see your face. An iron wedge and beetle. You '11 find it very handy. THE EARLY COLONIAL PERIOD. 53 A musket true This is my store, As ever flew, I have no more, A pound of shot and wallet, I heartily do give it; A leather sash, My years are spun, My calabash. My days are done. My powder-horn and bullet. And so I think to leave it. Thus Father Abbey left his spouse As rich as church or college mouse, Which is suflBcient invitation To serve the college in his station. Charles Chatinct, t). D., 1705-1787, a great-grandson of the Charles Chauncy who was the second President of Harvard, was a native of Boston, and was for sixty years minister to the first church in that city. He entered college at twelve, and graduated with high honor at sixteen. Dr. Chauncy had a great reputation as a theologian, but was opposed to all orna- ment in writing or speaking. He bitterly opposed the preaching of Whitefield, as being what would now be called "sensational," and wished some one would translate Paradise Lost into prose, that he might understand it. He was a man of the most uncompromising integ- rity and independence, and made no hesitation in openly rebuking the General Court, for its political delinquencies. His principal publications were : On the Various Gifts of Minis- ters ; On Enthusiasm ; On the Outpourings of the Holy Ghost ; An Account of the French Prophets ; Seasonable Thoughts on the State of Religion in New" England; The Validity of Presbyterian Ordination; Remarks on a Sermon of the Bishop of Llandafif; The Mystery Hid from the Ages ; The Fall of Man and its Consequences, etc. John Callender, 1706-1748, is a man of some note, as being the first historian of Rhode Island. He published in 1739 A Centennial Discourse, giving a history of the civil and re- ligious affairs of Rhode Island, from its first settlement, in 1638, to 1738, or the end of the first century. Callender was a native of Boston, and a graduate of Harvard. He was a Bap- tist minister, and a man of fine literary tastes. He was connected with Berkeley in the formation of a Literary and philosophical society at Newport. Mrs. Jane Turell, 1708-1735, who was noted for her extraordinary precocity of intellect, left in manuscript a number of poems, which were collected and published by her husband. These pieces show a refined taste and varied reading, and no little of genuine poetic fire. — Rev. Ebexezer Turell, 1702-1778, husband of the lady just named, and pastor of Medford for over fifty years, published Memoirs of Mrs. Turell, A Life of Benjamin Coleman, D. D., Mrs. Turell's father, and left in manuscript an ingenious work on witchcraft. President Clap. Eev. Thomas Clap, 1703-1767, one of the early Presidents of Yale Col- lege, eminent for his attainments in science and letters, was the author of several valuable works. President Clap entered upon the Presidency in 1739, and continued to discharge its duties with signal ability for twenty-seven years, resigning the office in 1766, a few months before his death. His published works are An Essay on the Religious Condition of Colleges ; A Vindication of the Doctrines of New England Churches; An Essay on the Nature and Foun- dation of Moral Virtue and Obligation ; A History of Yale College ; Conjectures on the Nature and Motion of Meteors above the Atmosphere, etc. 6* 54 AMERICAN LITERATURE. President Dickinson. Key. Jonathan Dickinson, 1688-1747, first President of the College of New Jersey, was an eloquent preacher and a writer of acknowledged ability. President Dickinson was for forty years pastor of tlie first Presbyterian Chuich in Eliz- abethtown, which place was then the chief town in New Jersey. The College was first chartered in 1746, and was organized and opened at Elizabethtown in 1747. Dickinson was a leading man in getting the charter, and in the movement which led to the establishment of the College. He was a native of Hatfield, Massachusetts, and a graduate of Yale, in the class of 1706. He published many sermons and theological treatises, and a volume of Familiar Letters upon Important Subjects in Religion. President Burr. Aaron Bubr, 1716-1757, second President of the College of New Jersey, was a man of no little note as a writer. President Burr's chief publications were A Treatise on the Supreme Deity of Our Lord 'Jesus Christ ; A Fast Sermon on the Encroachments of the French ; The Watchman's Answer to the Question, " What of the Night ? " A Funeral Sermon on Governor Belcher, and some other occasional sermons. President Burr was a native of Fairfield, Connecticut, and a graduate of Yale, of the class of 1735. He was a son-in-law of Jonathan Edwards, and father of the Aaron Burr who fig- ured so largely in political affairs. He was celebrated as a preacher, but was still more dis- tinguished for his executive ability. President Edwards, when elected afterwards to the same office, expressed great reluctance to accept, on account of having to come after a man of such great and varied ability ; and Governor Livingstone pronounced a glowing eulogium upon him. All the contemporary accounts show that he was a man of extraordinary abil- ities. President Ed^wards. Rev. Jonathan Edwards, 1703-1758, third President of the College of New Jersey, is considered the greatest metaphysician that America has produced, and one of the greatest that has ever lived. His works are nu- merous and varied, but that by which he is most known is his essay on The Will. President Edwards was born in East Windsor, Connecticut ; and graduated at Yale, at the age of sixteen, and in the class of 1720. Before completing his nineteenth year he began preach- ing in New York city, to a congregation of Presbyterians. He was next tutor for two years in Yale, and then settled as pastor in Northampton, Massachusetts. There, after minister- ing for twenty-three years with great zeal, he was involved in difficulties by attempting to carry out the views which he held in regard to the religious character of those who approached the Communion. At a meeting of his church to decide this question, he was out-voted by a large majority. He went then to Stockbridge, in the western part of the State, and preached as a missionary to the Indians who occupied that part of the country, and to the whites that lived among them. While thus engaged, he was elected President of the College at Princeton, New Jersey, to which place he went in January, 1758. He died there of small-pox, after a residence of about two months. THE EARLY COLONIAL PERIOD. 55 President Edwards's greiitest work, On the Freedom of the Will, was written during the time that iie was ineacliiiig to the Stockbridge Indians. His other works are exceedingly numerous, and several of them are second in value and importance only to that on the Will. Many of them still remain in manuscript. The best edition of those published is in 10 vols., 8vo. Those with which the public are most familiar are: The lleligious Affections; The History of Redemption ; The Doctrine of Original Sin ; The True Nature of Christian Virtue ; The End for which God Created the World ; A Narrative of the Work of God in the Conver- sion of Many Hundred Souls in Northampton ; Thoughts on the Revival of Religion ; Life of David Brainerd, etc. The fervor of Edwards's piety was equal to the profoundness of his intellect. Those abstruse speculations of his, on the deepest questions of logic and metaphysics with which the human mind is ever called to grapple, were wrought out in the midst of abounding pas- toral labor and the excitements of a great religious revival ; and the ablest and subtlest of them all was produced in the midst of a mission among savages, and while so straitened for the means of living that his wife and daughters had to help out his scanty income by send- ing their delicate handiwork to Boston for sale. "This remarkable man, the metaphysician of America, was formed among the Calvinists of New England, when their stern doctrine retained its rigorous authority. His power of subtile argument, perhaps unmatched, certainly unsurpassed among men, was joined, as in some of the ancient mystics, with a character which raised his piety to fervor." — Sir James Mackintosh. "I consider Jonathan Edwards the greatest of the sons of men. He ranks with the high- est luminaries of the Christian church, not excluding any country, or any age, since the Apostolic." — Robert Had. " The Inquiry into the Will is a most profound and acute disquisition. The English Cal- vinists have produced nothing to be put into competition with it." — .Sir James Mackintosh. " In all the branches of theology, didactic, polemic, casuistic, experimental, and practical, he had few equals, and perhaps no superior. The number and variety of his works show the intenseness of his industry and the uncommon strength of his intellectual powers. The Inquiry into the Will is a masterly work, which, as a specimen of exact analysis, of pro- found or perfect abstraction, of conclusive logic, and of calm discussion, will long support its high reputation." — Lowndes. " He was commanding as a pulpit teacher, not for grace of person ; he was slender and shy ; not for elocution ; his voice was thin and weak ; not for any trick of style ; no man more disdained and trampled on it : — but from his immense preparation, long forethought, sedu- lous writing of every word, touching earnestness and holy life. He was not a man of com- pany; he seldom visited his hearers. Yet there was no man whose mental power wius greater. Common consent set him at the head of his profession. Even in a time of rapture and fiery excitement he lost no influence. The incident is familiar of his being called on a sudden to take the place of Whitefield, the darling of the people, who failed to appear when a multitude were gathered to hear him. Edwards, unknown to most iu person, with un- feigned reluctance, such a.s a vainer man might feel, rose before a disappointed assembly and proceeded with feeble manner to read from his manuscript. In a little time the audience was hushed ; but this was not all. Before they were aware, they were attentive and soon enchained. As was then common, one and another in the outskirts would arise and stand ; numbers arose and stood; they came forward, they pressed upon the centre; the whole assembly rose; and before he concluded, sobs burst from the convulsed throng. It was the power of fearful argument." — Dr. James Alexander, 56 AMERICAN LITERATURE President Davies. Key. SAMUEii Davies, 1723-1761, fourtli President of the College of New Jersey, was in his day the most famous preacher in America. The traditions in regard to the power of President Davira as a pulpit orator fully equal those in regard to the popular and forensic eloquence of Patrick Henry. Davies was a native of Newcastle County, Delaware, but his preaching was chiefly in Virginia. A collec- tion of his Sermons was published in London, in 5 vols., 8vo. They have been frequently reprinted. The latest edition, New York, 1851, in 3 vols., contained a Memoir on the Life and Times of the Author, by Albert Barnes. Davies's Sermons are to this day among the most popu- lar to be found in that class of literature. He was only about eighteen months President of the College, being cut off by death in the midst of his career of usefulness), yet even in that short time he did considerable to elevate the standard of scholarship in the College. President Davies was the author of a number of excellent Hymns, some of which hold their place in the hymnals of the present day. President Finley. SAjyiUEL Finley, D. D., 1715-1766, fifth President of the College of New Jersey, did not publish much, but had the reputation of being a man of superior ability, both as a scholar and a writer. President Finley was a native of Armagh, Ireland. He emigrated to Philadelphia in 1734, and was ordained by the Presbytery of New Brunswick, in 1740. He was actively engaged with Whitefield and Gilbert Tennent in the great revival of that day. After preaching for some time in Philadelphia and in different parts of New Jersey, he was settled for seven years in Nottingham, Maryland, where he established an Academy, and was held in high estimation. From Nottingham, he proceeded to the Presidency in 1761. He published a considerable number of Sermons, one of which, on the character of President Davies, is pre- fixed to the works of the latter. The Tennents. — Gilbert Tennent, 1703-1764, was bom in Ireland, and emigrated to America in 1718. He was settled from 1726 to 1743 over a Presbyterian church in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and from 1743 to 1764 over the Second Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, the one gathered by the preaching of Whitefield. He published three vol- umes of Sermons, and some separate discourses. — William Tennent, 1705-1777, a brother of Gilbert, and a native of Ireland, emigrated to America at the same time with his brother. William \v;is settled over the Presbyterian church at Freehold, New Jersey. He published some separate Sermons, but no volume. He is chiefly noted for having been three days in a trance, and for the many speculations among theologians, to which his trance gave rise. Both the Tennents were connected with the revival movements of Whitefield. CHAPTER II. The Revolutionary Period. The political ferment which ended in the war for independence and the establishment of a separate nationality gave a peculiar type to the literature of the time. The agitation spoken of be- gan as early as 1760, and did not end before the close of the cen- tury. This period, therefore, from 1760 to 1800, forms the limits of our Second Chapter. The battle of the Eevolution was fought by the pen as well as by the sword. The leaders in the fight against the mother country had, not only to argue their case before the tribimal of the world, but to educate their own countrymen up to the point of armed resistance, and to hold them there during a long an4 gloomy contest. After the war was over, there was the not less grave and difficult task of guiding the opinions of the nation and of moulding the political elements into form and symmetry. In the accomplishment of this great and varied work, the political writers of the period used freely almost every variety of style that could be made available for the purpose. They made grave and formal argument ; they employed also warm and patriotic appeal. The philippics of Patrick Henry, Otis, and the elder Adams were ably seconded by wit and song from Freneau, Brackenridge, and Hopkinson. They roused their own side by patriotic ballads, they stung the enemy with squibs. The wit of the revolutionary period, though not perhaps of a very high order of literature, was yet no insignificant part of the moral force by which the war of independence was brought to a successful termination. In treating of the literature of this period, it is not practicable to divide it into distinct sections, for the reason that most of those wlio wrote much wrote in a great variety of cliaracters ; grave and lumiorous, " prosing and versing." In the main, however, those writers will be mentioned first wlio 58 AMEKICAN LITERATURE. by their pens engaged actively in the political struggle. After them -will come those who during the same period contributed to the general current of literature, but who did not engage directly in political and partisan dis- cussions. Benjamin Franklin. Benjamin Franklin, 1706-1790, may be viewed under three aspects, — as a sage, a statesman, and a man of science; in each aspect, hie stands among tlie first men of all time. Franklin's writings, which are numerous, filling 10 octavo volumes, consist, 1. Of his Autobiography and of Essays on Moral and Eeligious Subjects and the Economy of Life ; 2. Of Essays on Politics, Commerce, and Political Economy ; 3. Of Papers on Electricity and other Scientific and Philosophical Subjects. The following is a more detailed enumeration of the subjects, as given in the edition of his works by Mr. Sparks : 1. Autobiography ; 2. Essays on Moral and Religious Subjects and the Economy of Life; 3. Essaj^s on General Politics, Commerce, and Political Economy; 4. Essays and Tracts, Historical and Political, before the American Revolution; 5. Political Papers during and after the American Revolution ; 6. Letters and Papers on Electricity : 7. Letters and Papers on Philosophical Subjects ; 8. Correspondence. Franklin was born in Boston. His schooling was limited to the common English branches. At the age of ten, he was taken from school, and placed in the shop of his father, a tallow- chandler, and set "at cutting wicks for the candles, filling moulds for cast candles, attend- ing the shop, going of errands, etc." The occupation was so distasteful that he formed the design of going to sea. To prevent such a result, he was apprenticed to learn the trade of a printer of an older brother, who had a printing-office in Boston. This employment was congenial to Franklin's tastes, and he acquired a knowledge of the art with great rapidity. The work brought him also into communication with books, and he spent his leisure hours in eagerly reading whatever he could find that was suited to his tastes. Among the books which he thus read, and which exerted a powerful influence over him were Pilgrim's Prog- ress, Plutarch's Lives, an odd volume of The Spectator, and Cotton Mather's Way to Do Good. The brother and he not getting on pleasantly together, Benjamin, at the age of seventeen, left Boston and went to Philadelphia. At the latter place he found employment as a jour- neyman printer. Meeting with some encouragement, he determined, when about twenty- one years of age, to open a printing-oflBce on his own account, and proceeded to London to procure the type and other necessary materials. Not being able to effect the purchase, he remained nearly two years in London, practising his trade as a journeyman printer. While there, he published a Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity, which attracted some attention. On returning to Philadelphia, Franklin, by the aid of some friends, established a printing- office, and at the same time bought out a newspaper, The Pennsylvania Gazette, which he continued for many years to publish, and which by his business sagacity and his talents as a writer he made a source both of profit and of influence. Franklin began about the same time the publication of an annual almanac, purporting to be written by Richard Saunders, and commonly known as Poor Richard's Almanac. It con- tained, besides the matters customary in such publications, a series of pithy sayings in regard to economy and thrift and the minor morals of life. The Almanac was exceedingly popular, and waa continued for twenty-six years. Some of the best things that Franklin THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD. 59 ever wrote, and that have since become proverbs among all English-speaking people, ap- peared first in this Ahnanac. By his paper and his other publications, and by his personal character, Franklin acquired a great and constantly growing influence, both social and political. He was mainly instru- mental in founding, in 1731, the Philadelphia Library ; in 1743, the American Philosophical Society; and in 1749, the Academy out of which grew the University of Pennsylvania. Franklin held various important public ofiices, both in Pennsylvania and under the general government, and was one of the leaders of public opinion in all the controversies between the Colonies and the mother country ; and he was, on different occasions, sent to England as agent for the colonial Assembly. He was a prominent member of the Continental Congress, and was one of a committee of five to draft the Declaration of Independence ; he negotiated the Treaty with France, which contributed largely to the achievement of inde- pendence ; he was one of the three commissioneitj who negotiated the Treaty of Peace, in 1783 ; and, finally, he was a delegate to the Convention by whom the Constitution of the United States was drafted, after the war was over. During all the time that Franklin was thus engaged in public affairs, he found the leisure to pursue the philosophical investigations which have made his name famous, and also to write those numerous essays on familiar subjects which by their simplicity and wisdom have excited the marvel of mankind. In his youth, while following his trade as a printer, Franklin one day amused himself by composing the following Epitaph, which has often been quoted :; The Body of Benjamin Franklin, Printer. (Like the cover of an old book, Its contents torn out, And stript of its lettering and gilding,) Lies here, food for worms. Yet the work itself shall not be lost, For it will, as he believed, appear once more, In a new And more beautiful edition. Corrected and amended By The Author. During the sessions of the Convention which framed The Constitution of the United States, Franklin made the following brief, but memorable speech, on the propriety of public prayer by bodies engaged in the affairs of state : PRAYER IN PUBLIC COUNCILS. In the beginning of the contest with Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayers in this room for the Divine protection. Our prayers, sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered. All of us who were engaged in this struggle must have observed frequent instances of a 60 AMERICAN LITERATURE. superintending Providence in our favour. To that kind Providence we owe this happy opportunity of consulting in peace on the means of establishing our futui-e national felicity. And have we now forgotten this powerful friend ? or do we imagine we no longer need His assistance ? I have lived, sir, a long time, (eighty-one years;) and the longer I live the more convinc- ing proofs I see of this truth, that God governs in the affairs of man. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid ? We have been assured, sir, in the sacred writings, " that except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it." I firmly believe this ; and I also believe that without His concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel : we shall be divided by our little partial local interests ; our projects will be confounded ; and we ourselves shall become a reproach and a byword down to future ages. And what is worse, mankind may here- after, from this unfortunate instance, despair of establishing government by human wisdom, and leave it to chance, war, or conquest. I therefore beg leave to move that henceforth prayers, imploring the assistance of Heaven, and its blessing on our deliberations, be held in this assembly every morning before we proceed to business ; and that one or more of the clergy of this city be requested to officiate in that service. The following apothegms are culled from Poor Richard's Almanac : APOTHEGMS. God helps them that help themselves. Sloth, like rust, consumes faster than labour wears; while the used key is always bright. Dost thou love life, then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of. The sleeping fox catches no poultry. There will be sleeping enough in the grave. If time be of all things the most precious, wasting time must be the greatest prodigality. Lost time is never found again ; and what we call time enough always proves little enough. Sloth makes all things diflBcult, but industry all easy. He that riseth late must trot all day, and shall scarce overtake his business at night. Laziness travels so slowly that Poverty soon overtakes him. Drive thy business, let not that drive thee. Early to bed, and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise. Industry need not wish ; and he that lives upon hopes will die fasting. He that hath a trade hath an estate ; and he that hath a calling hath an oflBce of profit and honour. Industry pays debts, while despair increaseth them. Diligence is the mother of good luck. God gives all things to industry. Plough deep while sluggards sleep, and you will have corn to sell and to keep. One to-day is worth two to-morrows. Never leave that till to-morrow which you can do to-day. The cat in gloves catches no mice. iConstant dropping wears away stones. By diligence and patience the mouse ate in two the cable. Little strokes fell great oaks. THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD. 61 Employ thy time well, if thou meanest to gain leisure ; and, since thou art not sure of a minute, tlirow not away au hour. A life of leisure and a life of laziness are two things. Three removes are as bad as a fire. Keep thy shop, and thy shop will keep thee. If you would have your business done, go ; if not, send. He that by the plough would thrive, Himself must either hold or drive. The eye of a master will do more work than both his hands. Want of care does us more damage than want of knowledge. Not to oversee workmen, is to leave them your purse open. If you would have a faithful servant, and one that you like, serve yourself. A fat kitchen makes a lean will. If you would be wealthy, think of saving as well as of getting. What maintains one vice would bring up two children. A small leak will sink a great ship. Fools make feasts, and wise men eat them. Silks and satins, scarlet and velvets, put out the kitchen fire. Always taking out of the meal-tub, and never putting in, soon comes to the bottom. If you would know the value of money, go and try to borrow some; for he that goes a borrowing goes a sorrowing. When you have bought one fine thing, you must buy two more, that your appearance may be all of a piece. It is hard for an empty bag to stand upright. " Antiquity would have raised altars to this mighty genius, who, to the advantage of man- kind, compassing in his mind the heavens and the earth, was able to restrain alike thunder- bolts and tyrants." — Miraheau. "A singular felicity of induction guided all his research, and by very small means he established very grand truths. The style and manner of his piiblication on electricity are almost as worthy of admiration as the doctrine it contains. He has endeavored to remove all mystery and obscurity from the subject. He has written equally for the uninitiated and for the philosopher; and he has rendered his details amusing and perspicuous ; elegant as well as simple. Science appears in his language in a dress wonderfully decorous, best adapted to display her native loveliness. He has in no instance exhibited that false dignity by which philosophy is kept aloof from common applications ; and he has sought rather to make her a useful inmate and servant in the common habitations of man, than to preserve her merely as an object of admiration in temples and palaces." — Sir Humphrey Davy. "This self-taught American is the most rational, perhaps, of all philosophers. He never loses sight of common sense in any of his speculations ; and when his philosophy does not consist entirely in its fair and vigorous application, it is always regulated and controlled by it in its application and results. No individual, perhaps, ever possessed a juster under- standing, or was so seldom obstructed in the use of it by indolence, enthusiasm, or authority. The distinguished feature of his understanding was great soundness and sagacity, combined with extraordinary quickness of penetration. He possessed also a strong and lively imagi- nation, which gave his speculations, as well as his conduct, a singularly original turn. The peculiar charm of his writings, and his great merit also in action, consisted in the clearness with which ho saw his object, and the bold and steady pursuit of it by the surest and the shortest road. He never suffered himself, in conduct, to be turned aside by the seductions of interest or vanity, or to be scared by hesitation and fear, or to be misled by the arts of his adversaries. Neither did he, in discussion, ever go out of his way in search of ornament, or stop short in dread of the consequences. He never could be caught, in short, acting ab- surdly, or writing nonsensically : at all times, and in everything he undertook, the vigor of an understanding at once original and practical was distinctly perceivable." — Lord Jeffrey. 62 AMERICAN LITERATURE. George Washington. George Washington, 1732-1799, was so immeasurably great in other respects, tliat it seems almost a profanation to speak of him as a writer. Yet his writings fill twelve octavo volumes, and are a valuable part of the political literature of the time. Most of Washington's writings are official papers. Some are diaries or journals, some are agricultural essays, yet all are distinctly Washingtonian. He had formed for himself a style, the unconscious outgrowth of his character, which is as distinctly marked as his hand- writing. Even in his Farewell Address, in which he invited the co-operation of Madison, Hamilton, and Jay, the document, in its final form, gives unmistakable evidence of the moulding hand of its original author. "It is unlike any composition of Madison or Ham- ilton, in a certain considerate moral tone which distinguished all Washington's writings. It is stamped by the position, the character, the very turns of phrase of the great man who gave it to his country." " The handwriting of Washington, large, liberal, and flowing, might be accepted as ... . a capital index of the style" of the writer, "and may help us to what we would say of its characteristics. It is open, manly, and uniform, with nothing minced, affected, or con- tracted. It has neither the precise nor the slovenly style which scholars variously fall into ; but a certain grandeur of the countenance of the man seems to look through it. Second to its main quality of truthfulness, saying no more than the writer was ready to abide by, is its amenity and considerate courtesy. Washington had, at different times, many unpleasant truths to tell ; but he could always convey them in the language of a gentleman. He wrote like a man of large and clear views. His position, which was on an eminence, obliterated minor niceties and shades which might have given a charm to his writings in other walks of life. This should always be remembered, that Washington lived in the eye of the pub- lic, and thought, spoke, and wrote under the responsibility of empire. Let his writings be compared with those of other rulers and commanders, and he will be found to hold his rank nobly, as well intellectually as politically. There will be found, too, a variety in his treat- ment of different topics and occasions. He can compliment a friend in playful happy terms on his marriage, as well as thunder his demands for a proper attention to the interests of the country at the doors of Congress. Never vulgar, he frequently uses colloquial phrases with effect, and, unsuspected of being a poet, is fond of figurative expressions. In fine, a critical examination of the writings of Washington will show that the man here, as in other lights, will suffer nothing by minute inspection." — Duyckinck. James Otis. James Otis, 1725-1783, the Patrick Henry of New England, was one of the earliest, boldest, and most eloquent advocates of the rights of the Colo- nies, in the dispute with the mother country. Otis was a native of West Barnstable, Massachusetts, and a graduate of Harvard, of the class of 1743. He was a fine classical scholar, and, among other things, published a work on Latin Prosody, and a dissertation on The Power of Harmony in Prosaic Composition. His chief publications, however, were of a political character, namely, A Vindication of the Con- duct of the House of Representatives of Massachusetts Bay ; The Rights of the British Colonies Asserted and Proved ; Considerations on behalf of the Colonists ; A Vindication of the British Colonies. THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD. 63 As a speaker, Otis was fiery and vehement, and often carried his hearers with him to an almost uncontrollable pitch of enthusiasm. His first great speech was in 1761, when he argued against an application for "writs of assistance." Of this speech, John Adams says : " Otis was a flame of fire ; with a promptitude of classical allusions, a depth of research, a rapid summary of historical events and dates, a profusion of legal authorities, a prophetic glance of his eyes into futurity, and a rapid torrent of impetuous eloquence, he hurried away all before him. American independence ivas then and there bom. Every man of an im- mense crowded audience appeared to me to go away, as I did, ready to take up arms against writs of assistance." In 1769, ill an altercation in a coffee-house, Otis received a severe blow on the head, which led to insanity, and incapacitated him from taking any further part in public affairs. He passed the remainder of his life in retirement, at Barnstable and Andover. At the latter place, in 1783, while leaning on his cane, in the door of the house, he was struck by light- ning, and his soul instantly released from its shattered tenement. "Extraordinary in death, as in life, he has left a character that will never die, while the memory of the American Revolution remains ; whose foundations he laid with an energy and with those masterly abilities which no other man possessed." — John Adams. The Elder Adams. John Adams, 1735-1826, one of the originators and leaders of the American Bevolution, and the second President of the United States, was a political writer of great ability, and by his writings contributed largely to the success of the American cause. Adams embarked in the controversy between the Colonies and Great Britain as early as 1765, and continued to discuss the subjects at issue until the close of the war. His writings have been collected and edited by his grandson, Charles Francis Adams, in 10 vols., 8vo. His Letters to his Wife have also been published in 2 vols. The following are some of his larger works: A Dissertation on the Canon and Feudal Law ; Novauglus, A History of the Dispute with America, from its origin in 1754 to the Present Time (1774); Defence of the Constitu- tions of Government of the United States of America (published in England, in 1787) ; Dis- courses on Davila, a Series of Papers on Political History. Adams weis a native of Braintree, Mass., and a graduate of Harvard, of the class of 1755. He was a member of the first Continental Congress, in Philadelphia, in 1774 ; he first nomi- nated George Washington as Commander-in-Chief of the American forces ; he was one of the committee of five to draft the Declaration of Independence ; he went in 1777 as commis- sioner to France, and again in 1779, to negotiate a peace ; he was one of those who made the treaty of peace in 1783; and in 1785, he became the first American minister to England. He was Vice-President during Washington's two terms, and in 1797 succeeded to the Presi- dency. Mrs. Abigal Adams, 1744-1818, the wife of the preceding, was a woman of fine literary culture. A collection of her Letters has been published by her grandson, Charles Francis Adams. Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson, 1743-1826, third President of the United States, in addition to all his other merits^ won for himself an imperishable name, as the author of the Declaration of Independence. 64 AMERICAN LITERATURE. Jefferson was born at Shadwell, Albemarle County, Virginia, and studied at William and Mary. He was admitted to the bar in 1T67 ; and soon afterward entered upon political life, not to leave it until his final retirement in 1809, Jefferson was successively a member of the State Legislature, of the Continental Congress, Governor of the State, Secretary of State under Washington, Minister to France, Yice-President and President of the United States. As a political leader, Jefferson's merits and demerits are too well known to need more than a brief recapitulation. His name is the most conspicuous, next to those of Washington and Franklin, in American history ; his services are great and manifold, although less pro- found perhaps than those of Hamilton. It was Jefferson who first reduced party strife to a system, and originated, if he did not fully develop, the plan of ejecting oflBce-holders in favor of the victorious political party — a system that has done more to degrade American politics than all other causes combined. Jefferson was also the chief organizer of what was then the Republican (now the Demo- cratic) party, in opposition to the Federalists under the lead of Hamilton. The former sought to weaken, the latter to strengthen the power of the general government. On the other hand, Jefferson has won for himself an imperishable name through his au- thorship of the Declaration of Independence. It is now generally conceded that the Decla- ration, aside from a few slight alterations, was the exclusive work of Jefferson. What the character of the Declaration is, and what its effects upon the political history of the world have been and still are, is known to all. Jefferson is also the author of the Yirginia Statute for Religious Freedom, and the father of the University of Tirginia. In 1784, while residing in Paris, he published his celebrated Notes on the State of Virginia, a work which attracted great attention at the time, and which still has its value as an important collection of facts and statistics. Jefferson is also the author of a Manual of Parliamentary Practice, which is regarded as authority in Washington and elsewhere. Jefferson's Correspondence was pub- lished in 1829, and, in 1854 appeared, in 9 vols., 8vo, a complete edition of his letters, auto- biography, messages, etc., etc., published from the original manuscripts then in the Depart- ment of State at Washington. These papers form a most valuable contribution to the history of the United States, covering, as they do, the most critical military and political period prior to 1860. Jefferson made no pretensions to oratory, and seldom engaged in debate. But as a skilful writer, he had no superior among his contemporaries and associates. Some of his messages are models of political eloquence. The first of the following extracts reminds us of Frank- lin ; the second will compare favorably with the character-paintings of Brougham. A DECALOGUE. 1. Never put off till to-morrow what you can do to-day. 2. Never trouble another for what you can do yourself. 3. Never spend your money before you have it. 4. Never buy what you do not want, because it is cheap : it will be dear to you. 5. Pride costs us more than hunger, thirst, and cold. 6. We never repent of having eaten too little. 7. Nothing is troublesome that we do willingly. 8. How much pain have cost us the evils that have never happened. 9. Take things always by the smooth handle. 10. When angry, count ten before you speak ; if very angry, a hundred, CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. I think I knew General Washington intimately and thoroughly ; and were I called on to delineate his character, it should be in terms like these : — His mind was great and powerful, without being of the very first order ; his penetration THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD. 65 strong, though not so acute as that of Newton, Bacon, or Locke ; and as far as he saw, no judgment was ever sounder. lie was slow in operation, being little aided by invention or imagination, but sure in conclusion. Hence the common remark of his ofBcers, of the advantage he derived from councils of war, where, hearing all suggestions, he selected what- ever was best; and certainly no general ever planned his battles more judiciously. But if deranged during the course of the action, if any member of his plan was dislocated by sud- den circumstances, he was slow in a re-adjustment. The consequence was, that he often failed in the field, but rarely against an enemy in station, as at Boston and York. He was incapable of fear, meeting personal dangers with the calmest unconcern. Perhaps the strongest feature in his character was prudence, never acting until every circumstance, every consideration was maturely weighed; refraining, if he saw a doubt; but, when once decided, going through with his purpose, whatever obstacles opposed. His integrity was the most pure, his justice the most inflexible I have ever known ; no motives of interest or con- sanguinity, of friendship or hatred, being able to bias his decision. He was, indeed, in every sense of the word, a wise, a good, and a great man. His temper was naturally irritable and high-toned ; but reflection and resolution had obtained a firm and habitual ascendancy over it. If ever, however, it broke its bonds, he was most tremendous in his wrath. In his ex- penses he was honorable, but«xact; liberal in contributions to whatever promised utility; but frowning and unyielding on all visionary projects and all unworthy calls on his charity. His heart was not warm in its affections; but he exactly calculated every man's value, and gave him a solid esteem proportioned to it. His person, you know, was fine ; his stature ex- actly what one would wish ; his deportment easy, erect, and noble ; the best horseman of his age, and the most graceful figure that could be seen on horseback. Although in the circle of his friends, where he might be unreserved with safety, he took a free share in con- versation, his colloquial talents were not above mediocrity, possessing neither copiousness of ideas nor fluency of words. In public, when called on for a sudden opinion, he was un- ready, short, and embarrassed. Yet he wrote readily, rather diffusely, in an easy and correct style. This he had acquired by conversation with the world, for his education was merely reading, writing, and common arithmetic, to which he added surveying at a later day. His time was employed in action chiefly, reading little, and that only in agriculture and English history. His correspondence became necessarily extensive, and, with journalizing his agri- cnltural proceedings, occupied most of his leisure hours within doors. On the whole, his character w£is, in its mass, perfect; in nothing bad, in few points indifferent; and it may truly be said, that never did nature and fortune combine more perfectly to make a man great, and to place him in the same constellation with whatever worthies have merited from man an everlasting remembrance. For his was the singular destiny and merit, of leading the armies of his country successfully through an arduous war for the establishment of its independence ; of conducting its councils through the birth of a government, new in its forms and principles, until it had settled down to a quiet and orderly train ; and of scru- pulously obeying the laws tlirough the whole of his career, civil and military, of which the history of the world furnishes no other example. James Madison. James Madison, 1751-1836, fourtli President of the United States, con- tributed to the political literature of the country two works of great impor- tance, namely, a considerable portion of The Federalist, and A Keport of the Debates of the Convention which framed the Constitution. Madison was a native of King George County, Virginia, and a graduate of Princeton, of the class of 1771. He was a diligent student, enjoying in a higli degree the confidence of President Witherspoon, and remained in Princeton some time after graduating, engaged la 6* E 66 AMERICA]!^ LITERATURE. a course of reading under the President's direction. His health, always delicate, was im- paired by excessive study. Though a life-long invalid, yet by care in husbanding his resources he accomplished an unusually large amount of work, and he survived to the age of eighty-five. Madison was, in 1776, a member of the Convention which framed the first Constitution of Virginia ; in 1780, a member of the Continental Congress, many of whose most important State papers were written by him; in 1787, a member of the Convention that framed the Constitution of the United States. He not only contributed largely to the formation of that document, but did the inestimable service of taking notes daily of the debates of the Con- vention, and writing them out carefully at night. Such a labor, performed by one in his habitually feeble health, shows both his high sense of duty and his clear and prophetic apprehension of the gravity of the labors in which they were engaged. Madison's character as a statesman is well known. In breadth of view and in depth of character he was surpassed by Jefferson and Hamilton ; on the other hand, he was distin- guished for his calm good sense and his ready tact in carrying out political measures. Judge Story speaks of him in the following language : " I entirely concur with you in your esti- mate of Mr. Madison, — his private virtues, his extraordinary talents, bis comprehensive and statesmanlike views. To him and Hamilton, I think, we are mainly indebted for the Con- stitution of the United States ; and in wisdom I have long been accustomed to place him before Jefferson." As a writer, Madison is chiefly known by his contributions to The Federalist — twenty- nine in number — and his Reports of the Debates of the Convention which framed the Con- stitution of the United States. The manuscript of these reports was purchased by Congress and published in 1840, in 3 vols. The great bulk of his manuscripts, however, still remains unpublished, and would probably fill twelve or thirteen volumes. It is to be regretted that this collection is inaccessible to the public. His political writings are second only to those of Hamilton in ability and influence. His style has not the intense nervous energy of Jef- ferson's, but his argumentation is considered sounder. James Monroe. James Monboe, 1758-1831, fifth President of the United States, though not so distinguished in authorship as some of the early Presidents, was yet a scholarly man, and made some valuable contributions to the political lit- erature of the period. Monroe was a native of Westmoreland County, Virginia, and a graduate of William and Mary. Though only eighteen at the outbreak of the Revolution, he entered at once and with characteristic earnestness into the service of the country as a soldier. After the war was over, he engaged actively in public affairs, state and national, and rose by degrees through various offices until in 1817 he reached the Presidency. Though much of his political career belongs to the present century, an important part of it is connected with the organization and settlement of the government after the war of the Revolution. For this reason, he is usually classed with the men of that generation. Monroe wrote some works worthy of note : A View of the Conduct of the Executive in the Foreign Affairs of the United States, published by him in London in 1798, in vindication of his public conduct while he was resident minister in Paris; A Tour of Observation through the North-Eastern and North-Western States in 1817. The inscription on the tomb of Monroe, in the Hollywood Cemetery, at Richmond, is sin- gularly beautiful, and deserves to be transcribed as a specimen of good taste in such compo- sitions. The inscription is these simple words: "James Monroe; born in Westmoreland THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD. 67 County, 28th April, 1768 ; died in the city of New York, 4th July, 1831. By order of the General Assembly, his remains were removed to this cemetery, 5th July, 1858, as an evidence of the affection of Virginia for her good and honored son." I wish I knew the author of this remarkable inscription. Nothing in Greek or Roman letters is more beautiful. Alexander Hamilton. Alexander Hamilton, 1757-1804, was the ablest of all the political writers of the Revolution. The Federalist, which was mainly his work, is not only an important national treasure, but an enduring monument of intellectual and literary greatness. Hamilton was a native of St. Kitts, in the West Indies, being of Scotch blood on the father's side, and of Huguenot blood by his mother. Though his mother died when he was but a child, he cherished her memory " with inexpressible fondness." At twelve years of age he was entered as a clerk in the counting-house of Nicholas Cruger, a West India mer- chant having dealings with New York. Cruger took a special interest in his young clerk, and the kindness thus shown made a lasting impression on the mind of the susceptible boy. When, on the death of Cruger, his affairs were in litigation, Hamilton, then in the height of his practice as a lawyer, put forth his professional abilities to protect the interests of the family, but steadily refused all compensation for his services ; and when, after the death of Hamilton, a compensation was offered to his widow, a paper was found, written by Hamilton, in which he enjoined upon his family " never to receive money from any of the name of Cruger." Hamilton's father had not been successful in business, but the indications of superior talent shown by the boy induced his friends to make special exertions for his education, and in 1772 he was sent to the United States for this purpose. He studied for a time at Eliza- bethtown. New Jersey, with Francis Barber, a Princeton man, and while there enjoyed the intimacy of Governor Livingston. He presented himself for admission to the College at Princeton, with a view of passing from class to class as rapidly as his attainments would permit. But Dr. Witherspoon not acceding to this plan, Hamilton went to King's (now Col- umbia) College, New York. He had already caught the popular enthusiasm in regard to liberty, and he began while in College taking an active part, both by the pen and with the tongue, in the political discussions of the day. He published when only seventeen a series of essays on the Rights of the Colonies. His first attempt to address a popular assembly is thus described by his biographer : "It has been related to have been his habit to walk several hours each day under the shade of some large trees which stood in Batteau, now Dey street, talking to himself in an under tone of voice, apparently engaged in deep thought, a practice he continued through life. This circumstance attracted the attention of his neighbors, to whom he was known as the "young West Indian," and led them to engage in conversation with him. One of them remarking the vigor and maturity of his thoughts, urged him to address this meeting, to which all the patriots were looking with the greatest interest. From this seeming intru- sion he at first recoiled ; but after listening attentively to the successive speakers, and find- ing several points untouched, he presented himself to the assembled multitude. The nov- elty of the attempt, his youthful countenance, his slender and diminutive form, awakened curiosity and arrested attention. Overawed by the scene before him, he at first hesitated and faltered ; but as he proceeded almost unconsciously to utter his accustomed reflections, his mind warmed with the theme, his energies were recovered; and after a discussion clear, cogent, and novel, of the great principles involved in the controversy, he depicted in glow- ing colors the long-continued and long-endured oppressions of the mother country; ho in- sisted on the duty of resistance, pointed to the means and certainty of success, and described 68 AMERICAN LITERATURE. the waves of rebellion sparkling with fire, and washing back on the shores of England the wrecks of her power, her wealth, and her glory. The breathless silence ceased as he closed ; and the whispered murmur, ' It is a collegian ! it is a collegian ! ' was lost in loud expres- sions of wonder and applause at the extraordinary eloquence of the young stranger." Hamilton's remarkable powers and.services as a writer have rather thrown into the shade his abilities as a soldier. It should not be forgotten, however, that he did conspicuous ser- vice in the field. By the advice of Washington, when war with France was threatened, Hamilton was placed second in command, and he became commander-in-chief on the death of "Washington. No one of the great men of those times stands forth more conspicuous than Hamilton, and no one certainly has had a greater influence than he in shaping the destiny of his country. This influence is due, first to his labors as a member of the Constitutional Convention and his essays in The Federalist, and next to his success in organizing the national credit and treasury at a time when the finances of the country seemed in a hopeless condition. Hamilton's fame as a writer and thinker rests chiefly upon his contributions to The Fed- eralist. Out of the eighty-five essays contained therein, fifty-one are by him, twenty-nine by James Madison, five by John Jay. These essays appeared in the interval between the pub- lication and the adoption of the Constitution, and were designed to explain its merits to the people at large. Hamilton's contributions are easily distinguished from the others " by their superior comprehensiveness, practicalness, originality, and condensed and polished diction." The leading feature in Hamilton's character was genius, but genius turned un- ceasingly to useful ends. The precocity of his development, his unerring insight, the ease and the energy with which he labored, as well as his early and tragic death, have all com- bined to make his name second to that of Washington alone in the annals of his country. To this day the arrangement of the Treasury Office remains substantially as Hamilton left it, and The Federalist is still the best manual for the student of the Constitution. " Hamilton must be classed among the men who have best known the vital principles and fundamental conditions of a government, — not of a government such as this, [France,] but of a government worthy of its mission and its name. There is not in the Constitution of the United States an element of order, of force, or of duration, which he has not powerfully contributed to introduce into it and caused to predominate." — Guizot. " No constitution of government ever I'eceived a more masterly and successful vindication. I know not, indeed, of any work on the principles of free government that is to be com- pared, in instruction and intrinsic value, to this small and unpretending volume of the Fed- eralist; not even if we resort to Aristotle, Cicero, IMachiavel, Montesquieu, Milton, Locke, or Burke. It is equally admirable in the depth of its wisdom, the comprehensiveness of its views, the sagacity of its reflections, and the fearlessness, patriotism, candor, simplicity, and elegance, with which its truths are uttered and recommended. Mr. Justice Story acted wisely in making The Federalist the basis of his Commentary."— CfeawceWor Kent. " He smote the rock of the national resources, and abundant streams of revenue gushed forth. He touched the dead corpse of the Public Credit, and it sprung upon its feet. The fabled birth of Minerva from the brain of Jove was hardly more sudden or more perfect than the financial system of the United States as it burst forth from the conception of Alex- ander Hamilton." — Daniel Webster. " He was capable of intense and effectual application, as it abundantly proved by his pub- lic labours. But he had a rapidity and clearness of conception in which he may not have been equalled. One who knew his habits of study said of him, that when he had a serious object to accomplish, his practice was to reflect on it previously ; and, when he had gone through this labour, he retired to sleep, without regard to the hour of night, and, having slept six or seven hours, he rose, and, having taken strong coffee, seated himself at his table, whore ho would remain six, seven, or eight hour8>and the product of his rapid pen required little correction for the press." — William Sullivan, THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD. 69 John Jay. John Jay, 1745-1829, another conspicuous political writer of the Revo- lutionary period, was associated with Hamilton and Madison in the produc- tion of The Federalist. Jay wrote only five of the papers in The Federalist, being prevented from writing others by an injury received in the interim. He is, however, universally accepted as one of the great men who contributed powerfully by his pen to the achievement of national indepen- dence and to the organization and settlement of the new government. Jay was a native of New York city, of Huguenot descent, and a graduate of Columbia College, After filling many important positions, he was appointed by Washington, in 1789, Chief Justice of the United States. Besides his contributions to The Federalist, he was the author of a number of State papers, the most celebrated of which is the Address to the People of Great Britain, in 1774. This gained for him the reputation of being one of the most eloquent writers of the times. Dr. Witherspoon. JoHK Witherspoon, D. D., LL. J)., 1722-1794, sixth in the line of illus- trious Presidents of the College of New Jersey, contributed largely to the literature of the period, and was in various ways one of the leaders of pub- lic opinion, both political and religious. Witherspoon's works have been published in numerous editions, and in a variety of forms, chiefly in 4 vols. 8vo, and 9 vols. 12mo. They embrace, among others, the following : Con- siderations on the Nature and Extent of the Legislative Authority of the British Parlia- ment ; An Essay on Money ; Thoughts on American Liberty ; The Druid, a collection of essays on literary and social topics ; Lectures on Moral Philosophy ; Lectures on Eloquence; Ecclesiastical Characteristics ; The History of a Corporation of Servants ; A Serious Enquiry into the Nature and Effects of the Stage ; Practical Discourses on the Leading Truths of the Gospel, etc. Witherspoon was born at Yester, Scotland, a lineal descendant from John Knox, and waa educated at the University of Edinburgh. He was a minister at Paisley, at the time of hia election to the Presidency of the College. He was President from 1768 to his death, 1794, twenty-six years. He took an active part in Provincial affairs ; and represented the Province of New Jersey in the Continental Congress, from 1776 to 1782. He was one of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence. Witherspoon was a ready debater, and carried great weight, both in ecclesiastical and political assemblies. He was remarkable for his wit, and often used it to the discomfiture of his opponents. He was through life active in the use of his pen, and his writings, though less known now than formerly, exerted an important influence upon the men of his generation. One of the works which he published before leaving Scotland, Ecclesiastical Character- istics, created a decided breeze. It was written to expose the character of what was known as the Moderate party in the Church of Scotland, including such men as Blair, Robertson, Campbell, and Gerard, and by its racy wit as well as by its solid argument gained for the author great applause. Under the form of a defence of the worldly spirit and practices of the Moderates, he assailed them with a merciless irony which penetrated between the very joints of the harness. It was a species of attack to which there could be no reply, and from which there was no escape. The following sentence is a specimen : 70 AMEEICAN LITERATURE. " Sometimes, indeed, it may happen, by a concurrence of circumstances, that one of us may, at bedtime, be unequally yoked with an orthodox brother, who may propose a little unseasonable devotion between ourselves, before we lie down to sleep: but there are twenty ways of throwing cold water upon such a motion ; or, if it should be insisted upon, I could recommend a moderate way of complying with it, from the example of one of our friends, who, on a like occasion, yielded so far, that he stood up at the back of a chair, and said, ' Lord, we thank thee for Mr. Bayle's Dictionary. Amen.' This was so far from spoiling good company, that it contributed wonderfully to promote social mirth, and sweet- ened the young men in a most agreeable manner for their rest." The Characteristics passed through five editions. The History of a Corporation of Servants was a disguised narrative of the church history of Great Britain. The essay on the Stage originated in the publication of Home's Douglas. Both these were written before he left Scotland. When the invitation from America came, a rich bachelor friend offered to make Wither- spoon heir to a large property if he would remain in Scotland. But he had already imbibed those sentiments on religious and civil affairs which made him feel that America was his true home ; and from the day of his entrance into the New World until his death, he em- barked with all his wealth of wit and wisdom and eloquence, in the cause of his adopted country. No one thought, or " thinks, of Witherspoon as a Briton, but as an American of the Americans : as the friend of Stockton, the counsellor of Morris, the correspondent of Washington, the rival of Franklin in his sagacity, and of Reed in his resolution ; one of the boldest in that Declaration of Independence, and one of the most revered in the debates of Congress." — Dr. James Alexander. During the latter part of his life, Witherspoon lived in a small country-seat, called Tuscu- lum, a little out of Princeton, on the slope of Rocky Hill. For the last two years of his life he was blind. He retained the office of President until his death, but for several years his duties in that connection were merely nominal, his son-in-law and successor, Dr. Smithy being the acting President. James Rivington. James Eivington, 1725-1802, publisher of the New York Eoyal Gazette, though not himself a literary man, occupies a conspicuous but rather unenviable position in our Revolutionary'literature. New York city being, during most of the time, in the possession of the British, Riving- ton's Gazette was the channel through which British officers and partisans carried on the war of squibs against the " rebels." The paper, though noted for lying, was conducted with ability, and the Americans, stung to the quick by Rivington's wasps, replied with equal sarcasm. The literature thus engendered is one of the notable features of the times. Some of the best effusions of Witherspoon, Freneau, and Hopkinson, were caused in this way. Rivington was originally a bookseller iu London, where he amassed a fortune by trade, but lost it by gambling. Failing in business, he came to America in 1760, and settled first in Philadelphia and afterwards in New York. In connection with his paper, he kept a book- store. He had, before the war, made himself so obnoxious to the Americans, that in 1775 a company of the " Sons of Liberty " broke up his press and converted the type into bullets, and he was at one time held under duress by order of the Continental Congress. Rivington made himself so obnoxious, both to the Government and the people, that when the British withdrew from New York, it was thought as a matter of course that he would escape. Instead of that, he remained in the city and continued his business unmolested. The circumstance excited some surprise, but the fact leaked out gradually that during the latter days of the war, while Rivington was filling his paper with his most virulent attacks upon the American cause, he was secretly acting as a spy for Washington. THE EEVOLUTIONAKY PERIOD. 71 Philip Freneau. Philip Freneau, 1752-1832, was the ablest and most versatile of the political humorists of the Revolutionary period. His contributions, both prose and verse, to the newspapers, during and after the Revolution, were very numerous, and were held in high repute. They included social and literary topics, as well as those which were political ; and many of them were reprinted, from time to time, in book form. Freneau was of French descent, a native of New York, and a graduate of Princeton, of the class of 1771. Being a resident of New York in the years 1774-'75, he wrote poetical satires of the Tory leaders, which were an important aid to the popular cause. "While at Princeton, he was the room-mate and classmate of James Madison, who con- tinued to be his warm friend. He enjoyed also the friendship of Adams, Franklin, Jeffer- son, and Monroe. In reward for his services as a political writer during the war of Inde- pendence, he received an appciintmeut from Jefferson as translator in the Department of State. In the beginning of the war, Freneau was captured by the British, and suffered in the horrors of one of the infamous prison-ships in New York harbor. After the war he com- manded for a time a vessel sailing out of Charleston, and he is often spoken of as Captain Freneau. As a political writer, after the war, Freneau took sides with Jefferson and the Republican party, and against Hamilton and the Federals. He edited for a time the Daily Advertiser, New York ; then the National Gazette, Philadelphia, 1791-1793. Afterwards, he retired to Mount Pleasant, near Middletown Point, New Jersey, where, in 1795, he started a small paper of his own, the Jersey Chronicle, which continued about a year. His next venture was in New York, where, in 1797, he began the Time-Piece and Literary Companion. Among Fretieau's prose writings may be mentioned The Philosopher of the Forest, Essays by Robert Slender, etc. Poetry, however, was the chief resource of his pen, and the pieces which he wrote would, if collected, fill several large volumes. Much of this was designed for mere temporary effect, and passed away with the occasion which called it forth. Others of his efforts had the genuine poetic afflatus, and deserve a permanent place in letters. SeveraJ collections have been made at different times: The Poems of Philip Freneau, written chiefly during the late war, 12mo, Philadelphia, 1786 ; The Miscellaneous Works of Philip Fre- neau, containing his Essays and Additional Poems, 12mo, 429 pp., Philadelphia, 1788 ; Poems written between 1768 and 1794, by Philip Freneau, of New Jereey, 8vo, 456 pp., Middletown Point, N. J., 1795. This was a reprint of the two previous volumes, with additions, and was issued from his own press. A similar reprint, with still further additions, appeared in Philadelphia in 1809, in 2 vols. Another collection appeared in New York, in 1815, in 2 vols., 12mo, being A Collection of Poems on American Affairs, and on a Variety of Other Subjects, chiefly Moral and Political, written between 1797 and 1815. Freneau lived to an advanced age, his last years being spent in retirement, at Mount Pleasant, Monmouth County, New Jersey. He perished in a snow storm, near Freehold, in that county, in 1832, in the eightieth year of his life. THE NEW ENGLAND SABBATH-DAY CHASE. On a fine Sunday morning I mounted my steed. And southward from Hartford had meant to proceed; My baggage was stow'd in a cart very snug, Which Ranger, tiie gelding, was fated to lug; 72 AMERICAN LITERATURE. With his haruess and buckles, he loomM very grand. And was drove by young Darby, a lad of the land — On land or on water, most handy was he ; A jockey on shore, and a sailor at sea; He knew all the roads, he was so very keen, And the Bible by heart, at the age of fifteen. As thus I jogg'd on, to my saddle confined. With Ranger and Darby a distance behind ; At last in full view of a steeple we came, With a cock on the spire, (I suppose he was game; A dove in the pulpit may suit your grave people. But always remember — a cock in the steeple.) Cries Darby — "Dear master, I beg you to stay; Believe me, there's danger in driving this way; Our deacons on Sundays have power to arrest And lead us to church — if your honour thinks best: Though still I must do them the justice to tell, They would choose you should pay them a fine — full as well." "The fine (said I), Darby, how much may it be — A shilling or sixpence ? Why, now let me see, Three shillings are all the small pence that remain, , And to change a half joe would be rather profane. Is it more than three shillings, the fine that you speak on? What say you, good^Darby, will that serve the deacon?" " Three shillings ! " (cried Darby) " why, master, you 're jesting ! — Let us luff while we can, and make sure of our westing — Forty shillings, excuse me, is too much to pay. It would take my month's wages — that's all I've to say. By taking this road that inclines to the right. The squire and the sexton may bid us good night: If once to old Ranger I give up the rein, The parson himself may pursue us in vain." " Not I, my good Darby (I answer'd the lad), Leave the church on the left ! they would think we were mad I would sooner rely on the heels of my steed, And pass by them all, like a Jehu indeed. As long as I'm able to lead in the race. Old Ranger, the gelding, will go a good pace ; As the deacon pursues, he will fly like a swallow, And you in the cart must undoubtedly follow." Then approaching the church, as we pass'd by the door, ' The sexton peep'd out, with a saint or two more. A deacon came forward and wav'd us his hat, A signal to drop him some money — mind that! "Now, Darby, (I whispered) be ready to skip, Ease off the curb bridle — give Ranger the whip:' While you have the rear, and myself lead the way, No doctor or deacon shall catch ub to-day." THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD. 73 By this time the deacon had mounted his pony, And chased for the sake of our so-ils and — our money: The saint, as he followed, cried — -'Stop them, halloo 1" As swift aa he followed, as swiftly we flew. **Ah, master! (said Darby) I ■" ?ry much fear We must drop him some mo'.i^>y to check his career; He is gaining upon us, and \Vaves with his hat — There 's nothing, dear master, will stop him but that. Since fortune all hope of escaping denies. Better give them a little than lose the whole prize." But scarce had he spoke, wheu we came to a place. Whose muddy condition concluded the chase. Down settled the cart, and old Ranger stuck fast. Aha! (said tlie saint,) ha>'^. I catcKd ye at last/ The following is in a very diflferent vein : MAY TO APRIL. I. Without your showers I breed no flowers, Each field a barren waste appears; If you don't weep. My blossoms sleep. They take such pleasure in your tears. II. As your decay Made room for May, So I must part with all that's mine; My balmy breeze. My blooming trees, To torrid suns their sweets resign. HL For April dead My shade I spread. To her I owe my dress so gay; Of daughters three It falls on me To close our triumphs on one day. IV. Thus to repose All nature goes; Month after month must find its doom; Time on the veing. May ends the Spring, And Summer frolics o'er her tomb. In his Essays by Robert Slender is one giving Directions for Courtship, another contain- ing Advice to Authors, etc. These various pieces are full of quiet satire, sharp as Wither- spoon and practical as Franklin. Take the following : 7 74 AMERICAN LITERATURE. "Nerer make a present of yonr works to great men. If they do not think them worth purchasing, they will not think them worth reading." Hugh Henry Braekenridge. Hugh Hexry Beackex ridge, 1748-1816, was one of the abl'^st humor- ists of the Kevolutionary period. His chief work, Modern Chivalry, is worthy of a permanent place in literature. Its satire is keen and trench- ant, and its sketches of life and manners in Western Pennsylvania give an admirable picture of society in that region at the close of the last century. Braekenridge was boru in Scotland. He came at the age of five to America, and settled with the rest of the family in York County, Pennsylvania, near the border of Maryland. His opportunities for learning were meagre. A clergjTnan of the neighborhood gave him some help in making his first acquaintance with Latin and Greek. All the rest he had to pick up as he could. Books were few, schools there were none. He thought nothing of a tramp of twenty or thirty miles to secure the loan of a book or a newspaper. By teaching a district school he gained the means of taking himself to Princeton, where he was kindly re- ceived by Dr. Witherspoon. "While in college he sustained himself in the upper classes by acting as tutor to the lower classes, and he graduated in 1771, in the same class with Madi- son and Freneau. Among the Commencement exercises, on the occasion, was a poem on the Bising Glory of America, the joint work of Braekenridge and Freneau. The poem was in the form of a dialogue, between Acasto and Eugenic, and was afterwards published. Braekenridge, after graduation, taught an academy for several years in Marj'land. TThile thus engaged, he wrote for his pupils a dramatic piece, called Bunker's Hill, in five acts. This was published in Philadelphia, in 1776, with a dedication to Kichard Stockton of New Jersey. Appended to this drama are two other patriotic poems, one An Ode on the Battle of Bunker's Hill, the other A Song on "Washington's Victorious Entrj' into Boston. In 1776, Braekenridge went to Philadelphia, and supported himself by editing the United State* Magazine. "At one time the magazine contained some severe strictures on the cele- brated General Lee, and censured him for Ids conduct to "Washington. Lee, in a rage, called at the oflice, in company with one or two of his aids, with the intention of assaulting the editor ; he knocked at the door, while Mr. Braekenridge, looking out of the upper story window, inquired what was wanting. 'Come down,' said Lee, 'and I '11 give you as good a horse-whipping as any rascal ever received.' ' Excuse me, general,' said the other, ' I would not go down for two such favors.' " Braekenridge studied for the ministry and was licensed to preach, but was never ordained. He acted as chaplain in the Revolutionary army, and preached political sermons in the camp. Six of these sermons, printed in pamphlet form, had a large circulation. Finding after a time that his inclinations and tastes were for a different kind of life, and not being entirely satisfied on some points of doctrine, he declined ordination, and engaged in the practice of the"law. He settled himself, in 1781, in Pittsburg, and took an active part in the politics of "Western Pennsylvania. In 1799, he wa-s appointed Judge of the Supreme Court of Penn- sylvania, and he filled the office until his death in 1S16. Braekenridge was mixed up to some extent with what was known as the "Whi.skey Insur- rection, in 1794, and he published, in the following year, an account of the affair, under the title of Incidents of the Insurrection in the "Western Parts of Pennsylvania. The full title of his chief work was Modem Chivalry, or the Adventures of Captain Far-. rago, and Teague O'Regan, his Servant. The materials of the story are taken from his own political experience. Captain Farrago was the author himself. Teague is a creation of his THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD. 75 own, in which some elements of the Irish character are used as a means of hitting off soma of the follies of the day. The first part of Modern Chivalry was published at Pittsbtirg, in 1796. The second part appeared after an interval of ten years. The whole with the author's last corrections was issued in Pittsburg, in 1S19, in 2 vols. A Philadelphia edition, with illustrations by Darley, appeared in 1S46. CAPTAIN FARRAGO'S REPLY TO A CHALLENGE. Sir : I hare two objections to this duel matter. The one is, lest I should hurt you ; and the other is, lest you should hurt me. I do not see any good it would do me to put a bullet thro' any part of your body. I could make no use of you when dead for any culinary pur- pose, as I would a rabbit or turkey. I am no cannibal to feed on the flesh of men. Why then shoot down a human creature, of which I could make no use? A buflfaloe would be better meat. For thougli your flesh may be delicate and tender, yet it wants that firmness and consistency which takes and retains salt. At any rate, it would not be fit for long sea- voyages. You might make a good barbacue, it is true, being of the nature of a raccoon or an opossum; but people are not in the habit of barbacuing anything human now. As to your hide, it is not worth taking off, being little better than that of a year old colt. It would seem to me a strange thing to shoot at a man that would stand still to be shot at, inasmuch as I have been heretofore used to shoot at things flying, or running, or jumping. Were you on a tree now, like a squirrel, endeavouring to hide yourself in the branches, or like a raccoon, that after much eyeing and spying, I observe at length in the crutch of a tall oak, with boughs and leaves intervening, so that I could just get a sight of his hinder parts, I should think it pleasurable enough to take a shot at you. But as it is, there is no skill or judgment requisite either to discover or take you down. As to myself, I do not like to stand in the way of anything harmful. I am under appre- hensions you might hit me. That being the case, I think it most advisable to stay at some distance. If you want to try your pistols, take some object, a tree or a barn-door, about my dimensions. If you hit that, send me word, and I shall acknowledge that if I had been in the same place you might also have hit me. J. F. Francis Hopkinson. FRAifCis Hopkinson, 1737-1791, was the author of many humorous pieces, both prose and verse, which did good service to the popular cause. Some of his productions, like The Battle of the Kegs, and his squibs on Eivington, set the whole country in a roar. Hopkinson was born in Philadelphia, and educated at the University of Pennsylvania. After graduating, he spent two years in England. On returning to America, he settled in Bordentown, New Jersey, and married there. He represented New Jersey in 1776 in the Continental Congress, and was one of the signers of the Declaration. He was made Judge of the Admiralty of Pennsylvania in 1779, and a Judge of the United States District Court in 1790. The best known of Hopkinson's poems are : The Battle of the Kegs, The Treaty, A Camp Ballad, The New Roof; of his satirical pieces, The Typographical Method of Conducting a Quarrel, Essay on Whitewashing, Modern Learning; of his political pieces. The Pretty Story, The Prophecy, The Political Catechism. Hopkinson's wit and audacity made him one of the chief agents in educating the minds of the American people for independence. " A poet, a wit, a patriot, a chemist, a mathematician, and a judge of the admiralty ; his character was composed of a happy union of qualities and endowments commonly supposed to be discordant ; and, with the humor of Swift and Rjxbelais, he was always found on the side of virtue and social order." — Thcntvxa J. Wharton. 76 AMERICAN LITERATURE The following extract from the Political Catechism will give some idea of Hopkinson's style in serious prose : FROM THE POLITICAL CATECHISM. " Who has the chief command of the American army ? — His Excellency General Wash- ington. " What is his character ? — To him the title of Excellency is applied with peculiar propriety. He is the best and tlie greatest man the world ever knew. In private life he wins the hearts and wears the love of all who are so happy as to fall within the circle of his acquaintance. In his public character he commands universal respect and admiration. Conscious that the principles on which he acts are indeed founded in virtue and truth, he steadily pursues the arduous work with a mind neither depressed by disappointment and diflBculties, nor elated with temporary successes. He retreats like a General, and attacks like a Hero. Had he lived in the days of idolatry, he had been worshipped as a God." The humorous ballad of The Battle of the Kegs originated in the following incident. Cer- tain machines, in the form of kegs, charged with gunpowder, were sent down the river to annoy the British shipping then at Philadelphia. The danger of these machines being dis- covered, the British manned the wharves and shipping, and discharged their small arms and cannon at everything they saw floating in the river during the ebb tide. THE BATTLE OF THE KEGS. Gallants attend and hear a friend Trill forth harmonious ditty, Strange things I '11 tell which late befell In Philadelphia city. 'T was early day, as poets say, Just when the sun was rising, A soldier stood on a log of wood, And saw a thing surprising. As in amaze he stood to gaze, The truth can't be denied, sir. He spied a score of kegs or more Come floating down the tide, sir. A sailor, too, in jerkin blue, This strange appearance viewing, First damn'd his eyes, in great surprise. Then said, "Some mischief's brewing. •' Those kegs, I 'm told, the rebels hold, Pack'd up like pickled herring ; And they 're come down t' attack the town, In this new way of ferrying." The soldiers flew, the sailors too, And scar'd almost to death, sir. Wore out their shoes to spread the news, And ran till out of breath, sir. Now up and down throughout the town Most frantic scenes were acted ; And some ran here, and others there, Like men almost distracted. Some fire cry'd, which some denied, But said the earth had quaked ; And girls and boys, with hideous noise, Ran thro' the streets half naked. Sir William he, snug as a flea. Lay all this time a snoring. Now in a fright he starts upright, Awak'd by such a clatter ; He rubs both eyes, and boldly cries, " For God's sake, what 's the matter? ' At his bed-side he then espy'd Sir Erskine at command, sir, Upon one foot he had one boot. And th' other in his hand, sir. " Arise, arise ! " Sir Erskine cries, " The rebels — more 's the pity, Without a boat are all afloat, And rang'd before the city. " The motley crew, in vessels new, With Satan for their guide, sir, Pack'd up in bags, or wooden kegs, Come driving down the tide, sir. " Therefore prepare for bloody war, These kegs must all be routed. Or surely we despised shall be, And British courage doubted." THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD 77 The royal band now ready stand, All rang'd in dread array, sir, With stomach stout to see it out, And make a bloody day, sir. The cannons roar from shore to shore. The small arms make a rattle ; Since wars began I 'm sure no man E'er saw so strange a battle. The rebel dales, the rebel vales, With rebel trees surrounded ; The distant woods, the hills and floods. With rebels echoes sounded. The fish below swam to and fro, Attack'd from every quarter ; Why sure, thought they, the devil 's to pay 'Mongst folks above the water. The kegs, 't is said, tho' strongly made Of rebel staves and hoops, sir, Could not oppose their powerful foes, Tho conq'ring British troops, sir. From morn to night those men of might Display'd amazing courage ; And when the sun was fairly down, Retir'd to sup their porrage. An hundred men, with each a pen Or more, upon my word, sir. It is most true, would be too few Their valor to record, sir. Such feats did they perform that day. Against those wicked kegs, sir. That years to come, if they get home. They '11 make their boasts and brags, sir. John Trumbull. John Trumbttll, LL. D., 1750-1831, the author of numerous works, is chiefly known by his poem of McFingal, a work in the style of Hudibras, and intended to hold the British up to ridicule. Trumbull was born in Woodbury, Ct., and graduated at Yale, in the class of 1767. He studied law for a time with John Adams, in Boston, and afterwards returned to Connecticut to practise. In 1781 he settled in Hartford. He was a member of the Legislature in 1800, and a Judge of the Superior Court from 1801 to 1819. He went to Detroit in 1825, and died there. He published many humorous articles, prose and verse, and three extended works of humor. The Progress of Dulness, a satire on the prevailing mode of education ; An Elegy on the Times ; and McFingal, an Epic Poem. The work last named is his chief poem. It is Hudibrastic in metre and style, and is intended to lash the Tories. McFingal was published in 1775, and was immensely popular. More than thirty editions of it were published. John Adams predicted that it would " live as long as Hudibras." Its popularity, however, has proved to be temporary. "It owes its decadence, not to a deficiency in genuine wit and humor of the Hudibrastic school, but to the lack of picturesqueness in the story, and of all elements of permanent interest in its heroes." — Dr. Peabody, in the I^.A. Eeview. Joel Barlow. Joel Barlow, 1755-1812, gained a rather unenviable notoriety by his ambitious attempt at a great American epic. The Columbiad. Barlow was a native of Connecticut, and a graduate of Yale, of the class of 1778. He engaged actively in the war of Independence, part of the time as a soldier and part of the time as chaplain. At the close of the war he engaged in the profession of the law, and edited for a time a weekly newspaper, The American Mercury, at Hartford. He was em- ployed, in 1785, by the General Association of Connecticut to revise and supplement Watts's version of the Psalms, adapting them for tho use of the churches. He was afterwards em- ployed by the general government in various foreign negotiations; and in 1811 was minister plenipotentiary to the French Court. Barlow was the author of several literary works, but his chief performance was Tho Co- 7* 78 AMERICAN LITERATURE. lumbiad, an epic poem of great length. It is composed of a senes of Visions, in which Hesper, the genius of the western continent, reveals to Colnmbus in prison the future his- tory of the new world. The work was published in 1808, in a style of great elegance, and ushered into notice with due heralding ; but it failed to live. Its merits were so far short of its pretensions that it only provoked ridicule. " In sketching the history of America from the days of Manco Capac down to the present day, and a few thousand years lower, the author, of course, cannot spare time to make us acquainted with any one individual. The most important personages, therefore, appear but once upon the scene, and then fall away and are forgotten. Mr. Barlow's exhibition accordingly partakes more of the nature of a procession, than of a drama. River gods, sachems, majors of militia, all enter at one side of his stage, and go off at the other, never to return. Rocha and Oella take up as much room as Greene and Washington ; and the rivers Potowmak and Delaware, those fluent and ven- erable personages, both act and talk a great deal more than Jefferson and I'ranklin." — Jtf- frey, in Edinburgh Review. The most popular of Barlow's works was a poem, called Hasty Pudding, written while he was abroad, and containing a good deal of genuine humor. President Stiles. Ezra Stiles, D. D., LL. D., 1727-1795, President of Yale College, pub- lished among other things A History of Three of the Judges of King Charles I., — Whalley, GofFe, and Dixwell. President Stiles was a man of extraordinary intellectual activity, as well as of great purity of character, and his administration of Yale College was one of distinguished success. He was born at North Haven, and graduated at Yale, in the class of 1746. He became Presi- dent in 1777. Besides the work in regard to the three regicide Judges, he published numer- ous Discourses, both English and Latin, and he left unfinished an Ecclesiastical History of New England, and a great many other manuscripts. " Take him for all in all, this extraor- dinary man was undoubtedly one of the purest and best-gifted men of his age." — Chancellor Kent. President Dwight. Timothy Dwight, D.D., 1752-1817, President of Yale College, was almost equally distinguished as a theologian and a man of letters, while for skill and ability in the administration of the afiairs of the College, he is justly regarded as a model President. Dr. Dwight seems to be on the border line between the last century and the present. But as the larger part of his intellectual activity is connected with the affairs of the last century, he has been included in the present chapter. Dwight was a native of Northampton, Mass., and a grandson, on the mother's side, of the famous Dr. Jonathan Edwards. He entered Yale College at the age of thirteen, and gradu- ated with distinction in the class of 1769. lie was a chaplain in the army during the war of Independence, and after several years of pastoral service, became President of Yale College. He continued in that oflBce from 1795 till the time of his death ; and by his learning and his abilities as a preacher, a lecturer, and an administrator, acquired a reputation coextensive almost with the civilized world. Dwight's principal work is his Theology, 5 vols., 8vo. He published Travels in New Eng- land and New York, 4 vols., containing notes of things which he had observed during a course of years in his sunmier vacations. He published also Sermons and Addresses on Special Occasions, 2 vols. In addition to his theological works, Dr. Dwight published sev- THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD. 79 er;i1 poems: America, a poom ia the style of Pope's Windsor Forest ; The Conquest of Ca- naan, an epic in eleven books; Greenfield Hill, a poem ; The Triumph of Infidelity, a satire. Among his literary labors should be mentioned his revision of Watts's Psalms. The revision by Barlow not being satisfactory, the General Association committed the work of further revision to Dr. Dwight. In this work, he added translations of his own, of such Psalms as Watts had not attempted, and annexed a selection of Hymns. The work wiis ap- proved and adopted, not only by the Association, but also by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church. Dwight's versioD of the 139th Psalm, beginning with the words, I love thy kingdom. Lord, has been a general favorite. Dwight's satirical poem. The Triumph of Infidelity, 1788, was occasioned by the rampant infidelity then prevalent, particularly in France. It is dedicated very appropriately to the arch infidel of that age. DEDICATION TO VOLTAIRK " Sir, your Creator endued you with shiniug talents, and cast your lot in the field of action where they might be most happily employed. In the progress of a long and industrious life, you devoted them to a single purpose, the elevation of your character above His. For the accomplishment of this purpose, with a diligence and uniformity which would have adorned the most virtuous pursuits, you opposed truth, religion, and their authors, with sophistry, contempt, and obloquy : and taught, as far as your example or sentiments ex- tended their influence, that the chief end of man wjis, to slander his God, and abuse him forever. To whom could such an effort as the following be dedicated with more propriety than to you ?" The following passage from this satire would make a good companion picture to some of the sketches in Witherspoon's Ecclesiastical Characteristics: THE SMOOTH DIVINE. There smil'd the smooth Divine, nnus'd to wound The sinner's heart with hell's alarming sound. No terrors on his gentle tongue attend; No grating truths the nicest ear offend. That strange new-birth, that methodistic grace. Nor in his heart nor sermons found a place, Plato's fine tales he clumsily retold, Trite, fireside, moral seesaws dull as old ; His Chiist, and Bible, plac'd at good remove. Guilt hell-descrviug, and forgiving love. 'Tvvas be^t, he said, mankind should cease to sin; Good fame requir'd it; so did peace within: Their honours, well he knew, would ne'er be driven. But hop'd they still would please to go to heaven. Each week he paid his visitation dues; Coax'd, jested, langh'd ; rehears'd the private news; Smok'd with each goody, thought her cheese excell'd; Her pipe he lighted, and her baby held. Or plac'd in some grcjit town, with lacquer'd shoes. Trim wig, and trimmer gown, and glistening hose. He bow'd, talk'd politics, learn'd manners mild; Most meekly question'd, and most smoothly smil'd ; At rich men's jests laugh'd loud, their stories prais'd; Their wives' new patterns gaz'd, and gaz'd, and gaz'a; 80 AMERICAN LITERATURE. Most daintily on pamper'd tnrMes din'd; Nor shrunk with fasting, nor with study pin'd ; Yet from their churches saw his brethren driven. Who thunderd truth, and spoke the voice of heaven, Chill'd trembling guilt in Satan's headlong path, Charm'd the feet back, and roused the ear of death. "Let fools," he cried, "starve on, while prudent I Snug in my nest shall live, and snug shall die." Jacob DuchjI, D. D^ 1739-1798, was a native of Philadelphia, and rector of Christ's Church and of St. Peter's in that city. His pulpit oratory was greatly admired, and two volumes of his Sermons have been printed. He deserted the cause of Independence, and wrote a Letter to Washington urging him to do likewise. He went over to England during the war, but returned to Philadelphia afterwards. Samuel CcBYrEW, 1715-1802, was a native of Salem, Mass., and a graduate of Harvard, of the class of 1735. He became Judge of the Admiralty. Not sympathizing with the popular cause, he was obliged to take refuge in England, but returned after the war ajid lived unmolested in his native town until his death. While in England, he kept a journal, giving an account of his experiences. He appears to have been something of a gossip, seeiqg with insatiable curiosity whatever was to be seen, and recording with diligence what be saw. Besides chatty interviews with the facetious Joseph Green, ex-Governor Hutchinson, and other refu- gees, we have lively sketches of "John Wesley's Preachment," of Charles James Fox, and various other English celebrities. His work, sent in detached pieces to his nieces, was printed in 1842, with the title. Journal and Letters of the late Samuel Curwen, Judge of Admiralty, an American Refugee in England, from 1775 to 1784. Mather Byles. Mather Byles, D. D., 1706-1788, an eloquent preacher of Boston, had a great reputation as a wit and a poet. Byles was descended on the mother's side from old Richard Mather and John Cotton. He was a man of rare eloquence as a preacher, and some of his sermons have gone through repeated editions. In the earlier part of his life, he published several poems, which were well received, and he was throughout life celebrated for his wit. In punning and lively repartee, he especially excelled. Byles was a loyalist, but does not seem to have been active on the Tory side. Neutrality, however, was not tolerated in those times, and Byles was obliged to give up his church. He was put under arrest, and ordered to go to England. The order, however, was not carried out, and Byles died in Boston in retirement. Byles was well known in England in his day, among his correspondents being Pope, Watts, and others. He received from Pope a handsome copy of his Odyssey in quarto. He published the following poems: On the Death of Lady Belcher; On the Death of the Queen ; An Elegy on the Death of Daniel Oliver ; The Comet ; The Conflagration ; The God of Tempest, etc. Some contemporary verses by one of the wags of the day show Byles's reputation for pun- ning and repartee. There's punning Byles provokes our smiles, A man of stately parts ; He visits folks to crack his jokes. Which never mend their hearts. THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD. 81 With strutting gait and wig so great, He walks along the streets ; And throws out wit, or what's like it, To every one he meets. In 1780 occurred a day known as " the dark day." A lady sent her sou into his house to inquire the cause of the darkness. " My dear," said the Doctor, " tell your mother that I am as much in the dark as she is." When the British troops, or "red coats," marched into Boston, "Ah," said Byles, " now our grievances will be red-dressed." Joseph Green. JosiEPH Greex, 1706-1780, is associated with Byles, as one of the humor- ists of the day. Green was a native of Boston and a graduate of Harvard. He was a distiller by trade, and amassed a large fortune. He did not en- gage actively in politics, but used his pen freely on social subjects, for the amusement of the town. His writings were mostly in verse, and of the humorous kind. His satire, so far as it touched on political affairs, was used on the side of freedom, but he was disinclined to turmoil, and in 1775, when it was evident that hostilities were about to begin, he went to England for repose, and remained there until his death. Some brother wag, in 1743, wrote a humorous epitaph on Green, which shows the popular estimate of him : Siste, Viator : here lies one Whose life was whim, whose soul was pun. And if you go too near his hearse, He '11 joke you, both in prose and verse. Byles and Green had many a friendly tilt. One of Green's best essays In this line was a mock heroic poem on the death of Byles's favorite cat. Tliis pet of the good Doctor's was called his Muse, and it was said he never felt the inspiration of song unless Pussy was some- where about his chair. The Poet's Lamextation for the loss of his Cat, which he used to call his Muse. Felis q.nedam deliciura erat ciyusdam Adolescentis. — JEsop. Oppress'd with grief, in heavy strains I mourn The partner of my studies from me torn. \ How shall I sing? what numbers shall I chuse? For in my fav'rite cat I 've lost my muse. No more I feel my mind with raptures fir'd, I want those aira that Puss so oft inspir'd; No crowding thoughts my ready fancy fill. Nor words run fluent from my easy quill ; Yet shall my verse deplore her cruel fate. Anil celebrate the virtues of my cat. F 82 AMERICAN LITERATURE She never thirsted for the chickens' hlood ; Her teeth she only used to chew her food ; Harmless as satires which her master writes, A foe to scratching, and unused to hites. She in the study was my constant mate ; There we together many evenings sate. Whene'er I felt my tow'ring fancy fail, I stroked her head, her ears, her back, her tail ; And as I stroked improved my dying song From the sweet notes of her melodious tongue : Her purrs and mews so evenly kept time, She purr'd in metre, and she mew'd in rhyme. But when my dulness has too stubborn prov'd. Nor could by Puss's music be remov'd, Oft to the well-known volumes have I gone. And stole a line from Pope or Addison. Ofttimes when lost amidst poetic heat. She leaping on my knee has took her seat: There saw the throes that rock'd my lab'ring brain, And lick'd and claw'd me to myself again. Then, friends, indiilge my grief, and let me mourn, My cat is gone, ah! never to return. Now in my study all the tedious night Alone I sit, and unassisted write ; Look often round (0 greatest cause of pain), And view the num'rous labors of my brain ; Those quires of words array'd in pompous rhyme, Which brave the jaws of all -devouring time. Now undefended and unwatch'd bj' cats. Are doom'd a victim to the teeth of rats. Samuel Peters. Samuel Peters, 1735-1826, a clergyman of Connecticut who was obliged to leave the country on account of his Tory opinions, retaliated on his per- secutors by publishing a pretended General History of Connecticut. Peters is the man referred to in McFingal as " Parson Peters." His work has all the ap- pearance of a veritable history, and by many was received as such. It is not certain, indeed, whether he intended it as a piece of waggery, like Knickerbocker's History of New York, or whether it was written in a fit of spleen. If the latter, his misrepresentations are so patent as to have no effect except to turn the laugh upon himself. The work altogether is a curi- osity. Two short extracts are given. The first is a scrap of physical geography that will probably be new even to Prof. Guyot. NARROWS IN THE CONNECTICUT RIVER. " Two hundred miles from the Sound is a narrow of five yards only, formed by two shelving mountains of solid rock, whose tops intercept the clouds. Through this chasm are com- pelled to pass all the waters which in the time of the liouds bury the northern country. At THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD. 83 the upper cohos the river theu spreads several miles wide, and for five or six weeks ships of war might sail over hinds that afterwards jjroduce the greatest crops of hay and grain in all America. People who can hear the sight, the groans, the trcmhiings, and surly motion of water, trees, and ice through this awful passage, view with astonishment one of the greatest phenomenons in nature. Hex-e water is consolidated, without frost, by pressure, by swift- ness, between the pinching, sturdy rocks, to such a degree of induration that an iron crow floats smoothly down its current: — here iron, lead, and cork have one common weight: — here, steady as time, and harder than marble, the stream passes, irresistible, if not swift as lightning: — the electric fire rends trees in pieces with no greater ease than does this mighty water. The passage is about four hundred yards in length, and of a zigzag form, with obtuse corners." The following piece of natural history is equally remarkable : THE FROGS OF WINDHAM. " Strangers are very much terrified at the hideous noise made on summer evenings by the vast number .of frogs in the brooks and ponds. There are about thirty different voices among them; some of which resemble the bellowing of a bull. The owls and whippoor- wills complete the rough concert, which may be heard several miles. Persons accustomed to such serenades are not disturbed by them at their proper stations ; but one night in July, 1758, the frogs of an artificial pond, three miles square, and about five from Windham, find- ing the water dried up, left the place in a body, and marched, or rather hopped towards Winnomantic River. They were under the necessity of taking the road and going through the town, which they entered about midnight. The bull frogs were the leaders, and the pipers followed without number. They filled a road forty yards wide for four miles in length, and were for several hours in passing through the town, unusually clamorous. The inhabi- tants were equally perplexed and frightened ; some expected to find an army of French and Indians ; others feared an earthquake, and dissolution of nature. The consternation was uni- versal : old and young, male and female, fled naked from their beds with worse shrieking than those of the frogs. The event was fatal to several women. The men, after a flight of half a mile, in which they met with many broken shins, finding no enemies in pursuit of them, made a halt, and summoned resolution enough to venture back to their wives and children ; when they distinctly heard from the enemy's camp these words : Wight, Hilderken, Dier, Tete. The last they thought meant treaty, and plucking up courage, they sent a triumvirate to capitulate with the supposed French and Indians. Those three men approached in their shirts, and begged to speak, to the general ; but it being dark, and no answer given, they were sorely agitated for some time betwixt hope and fear ; at length, however, they discov- ered that the dreaded inimical army was an army of thirsty frogs going to the river for a little water." Peters was a native of Hebron, Connecticut, and a graduate of Yale, of the class of 1757. He was ordained in England, and returning to Connecticut, preached in Hebron and other places. As he was opposed to the Revolution, and was suspected of being in correspondence with the enemy, he was obliged to flee to England. He returned to America in 18U5, and settled in New York, where he lived until his death, in his ninety-first year. He was an odd genius, and he wrote many things, both in England and Americiv. But the History of Connecticut, whatever may have been his design, was the most remarkable, Benjamin Young Prime, M. D,, 1733-1791, was a native of Huntington, Long Island, and a graduate of Princeton, of the cbiss of 1751. He studied medicine at Leyden, and was versed in French and Spanish, as well as in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. He had the pen of a ready writer, and during the Revolutionary period helped to uphold his country's cause by patri- otic songs and balUuls. Dr. Prime's first poetical works were produced before the war of Independence. The Patriot Muse, published iu Loudon in 176-1, is a collection containing 84 AMERICAN LITERATURE. poems on Braddock's D?feat, on the taking of Quebec, on Gov. Belcher of New Jersey, and on President Burr of Princeton, etc. The ode on the capture of Quebec is called Britain's Glory, or Gallia's Pride Humbled. In 1791, he published a long poem of 1441 lines, intended in part as a parody of this, and called Columbia's Glory, or British Pride Humbled. Dr. Prime was the grandfather of the gentlemen of that name who publish the New York Observer. The men of that family for five generations have been college-bred men, and nearly all of them have been ministers. Governor Livingston. William Livingston, LL.D., 1723-1790, Governor of New Jersey, was one of the most effective writers of the times. He wrote a poem, called Philosophic Solitude, and several series of Essays on political and social questions. These Essays were modelled in some respects after The Spectator. One series bore the name of The Independent Reflector ; another was called The Watch Tower ; another. The Sentinel; another, The American Whig ; still another. The Primitive Whig. Livingston was born in Albany, and was graduated at Yale, in 1741, at the head of his class. He studied law in the city of New York, and remained there until 1772, when he retired to a country-seat at Elizabethtown, New Jersey. During his long residence in New York, he took an active part in nearly all public measures. He published, in 1757, A Review of the Military Operations in North America, being intended as a defence of Gov. Shirley. He published in the same year A Funeral Eulogium on Aaron Burr, President of the College of New Jersey. One of his essays that made some stir was entitled A New Sermon on an Old Text, " Touch not Mine Anointed." Livingston undertook to show that the "anointed " spoken of are not monarchs, but the people. When the Jerseymen had sent Governor Franklin out of the State, Livingston was in 1776 elected Governor of New Jersey, and continued to be elected annually until the time of his death. He was a brother of the Philip Livingston who signed the Declaration of Independ- ence as a delegate from New York. Governor Hutchinson. Thomas Hutchinson, 1711-1780, royal Governor of Massachusetts at the time of the outbreak of the Eevolution, contributed to the literature of the day A History of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay. Hutchinson's History begins with "the first settlement in 1628," and is brought down to the year 1774. It is in 3 vols., of which two were published during his life, and the third, left in manuscript and containing the history from 1750 to 1774, was printed in England, in 182'<. Hutchiuson was a descendant from the celebrated Ann Hutchinson. He was a native of Boston, and a graduate of Harvard, of the class of 1727. He took an active part in all colo- nial affairs, rising gradually to the office of Governor. In consequence of his leaning to the English side, in the controversy between the Colonies and the mother country, he became very unpopular, and was obliged finally to take refuge in England, where he received a pen- sion, but was treated otherwise with neglect. Charles Thomson, 1729-1824, the patriot Secretary of the Continental Congress, was born in Ireland. He emigrated to America oem8 relating to Indian life. Two stanzas are quoted from October : OCTOBER. Black walnuts, in low meadow ground, Are dropping now their dark green balls, And on the ridge, with rattling sound, The deep brown chestnut falls. When comes a day of sunshine mild, From childhood, nutting in the wild, Outbursts a shout of glee ; And high the pointed shells are piled Under the hickory tree. In piles around the cider-mill The parti-coloured apples shine. And busy hands the hopper fill, While foams the pumice fine — The cheese, with yellow straw between Full juicy layers, may be seen, And rills of amber hue Feed a vast tub, made tight and clean, While turns the groaning screw. George Lunt, 1807 , is a native of Newburyport, Massachusetts, and a graduate of Harvard. He is a lawyer by profession, settled in Boston, and was at one time United States District Attorney for that city. He has given considerable time to the profession of letters, 156 AMERICAN LITERATURE. and has published several works, chiefly poetical : The Age of Gold and Other Poems ; Lyric Poems, Sonnets, and Miscellanies ; Eastford, a Novel ; Julia, a Poem. Isaac McClellan, 1810 , is a native of Portland, Maine, and a graduate of Bowdoin. After practising law for a few years in Boston, he embarked io agricultural pursuits. He gave some time also to literature : The Pall of the Indian, with Other Poems ; The Year and Other Poems ; Miscellaneous Poems ; Journal of a Residence in Scotland and of a Tour through England, Prance, etc. James Nack, 1807 , though deaf from an injury received in childhood, overcame the dlflSculties of his condition, and acquired some note as a poet. Several volumes of his have bfeen published : The Legend of the Rock and Other Poems ; Earl Rupert and Other Poems ; The Immortal, a Dramatic Romance, and other Poems ; Poems. Ret. Ralph Hott, 1810 , was born in the city of New York, where he has gained repu- tation both as a poet and as a Christian minister. He has published The Chant of Life and Other Poems ; Sketches of Life and Landscape. Mr. J. M. Legak£, of Charleston, South Carolina, a relative of the distinguished publicist, Hugh S. Legare, published in 1848 a volume, called Orta-Undis and Other Poems. The pieces show scholarship, a cultured ear, and delicacy of sentiment. CoATES KixNET, 1826 , was bom on Crooked Lake, near Penn Yan, New York. At the age of fourteen he went West, ready for whatever might turn up. He educated himself, taught school, edited newspapers, and finally practised law. He has published a volume, Keuka, an American Legend, and Other Poems, besides contributing to magazines. One of his minor poems, Rain on the Roof, has been very popular, and well deserves the favor it has received. RAIN ON THE ROOF. When the humid shadows hover Over all the starry spheres. And the melancholy darkness Gently weeps in rainy tears, What a joy to press the pillow Of a cottage-chamber bed. And to listen to the patter Of the soft rain overhead 1 Every tinkle on the shingles Has an echo in the heart; And a thousand dreamy fancies Into busy being start, And a thousand recollections Weave their bright hues into woof^ As I listen to the patter Of the rain upon the roof. Now in fancy comes my mother, As she used to, years agone, To survey her darling dreamers, Ere she left them till the dawn; Oh! I see her bending o'er me, As I list to this refrain FROM 1830 TO 1850. 157 TThich is played upon the shingles By the patter of the rain. Then my little seraph sister, With her wings and waving hair, And her bright-eyed cherub brother — A serene, angelic pair ! — Glide around my wakeful pillow, With their praise or mild reproof, As I listen to the murmur Of the soft rain on the roof. And another comes to thrill me With her eye's delicious blue; And forget I, gazing on her, That her heart was all untrue: I remember but to love her With a rapture kin to pain, And my heart's quick pulses vibrate To the patter of the rain. There is naught in Art's bravuras. That can work vdth such a spell In the spirit's pure, deep fountains, Whence the holy passions well, As that melody of Nature, That subdued, subduing strain Which is played upon the shingles By the patter of the rain. Thomas H. Stockton, D.D., 1808-1868, a very eloquent Methodist preacher, was bom in Mount Holly, New Jersey. He was at different times Chaplain to the United States Senate, and to the House of Representatives, and had several important pastoral charges, chiefly in Baltimore and Philadelphia. Dr. Stockton published A A^olume of Sermons ; 2 vols, of Poems, one of them containing the ballad, Stand up for Jesus, in commemoration of Dudley A. Tyng; and Bible Tracts. Thomas Ward, M.D., 1807 , was bom in Newark, New Jersey, and educated at Prince- ton. He studied medicine at the Rutgers Medical School of New York, and afterwards in Europe. After practising for two or three years, having ample private means, he retired from the profession, occupying thenceforward some portion of his leisure hours in literary pursuits. He published in 1842 a volume of poems, entitled Passaic, a Group of Poems Touching that River, with Other Musings. He wrote under the name of Flaccus. James W. Ward, 1818 , is a native of Newark, New Jersey, the son of a bookseller of that city. He was educated in the Boston High-School, and going to Cincinnati, became a favorite pupil in chemistry of Professor Locke. Mr. Ward was one of the band of young men who thirty years ago gave so much of a literary character to Cincinnati. He wrote for The Mirror and The Hesperian, in 1838 published at Cleveland Yorick and Other Poems, the first volume of poems published in Northern Ohio. Among his poetical effusions was a very successful and amusing parody on Hiawatha, called Higher Water, describing a flood in the Ohio. 14 158 AMERICAN LITERATURE. Mrs. Osgood. Mrs. Frances Sargent Osgood, 1812-1850, holds deservedly a high place among the poetesses of America. She wrote no one great poem, but she was for nearly twenty years an industrious contributor to current liter- ature, her productions steadily improving to the last. Her collected poems, all short, fill a large octavo, and are a valuable addition to the literature of the period in which they were produced. Mrs. Osgood was a native of Boston, the daughter of Mr. Joseph Locke, a merchant of that city. Her early life was passed chiefly in the village of Hingham. She gave very early indications of poetical talent. Her abilities in this respect were first recognized by Mrs. Lydia M. Child, who was then editing the Juvenile Miscellany. Miss Locke became a regular contributor to this work, and subsequently to other works, under the name of " Florence." She was married in 1834 to Mr. Osgood the painter, and accompanied him soon after to London. They remained in the great metropolis for four years, Mr. Osgood acquiring repu- tation as an artist, and Mrs. Osgood as a writer. After their return to the United States, they resided chiefly in New York, although Mr. Osgood was occasionally absent on professional tours to different parts of the country. In 1841, Mrs. Osgood edited an Annual, " The Flowers of Poetry, and the Poetry of Flowers," and in 1847, " The Floral Offering." She published a collection of her poems in 1846, and in 1850 a complete collection of her poetical works in one large octavo volume. This work, which was issued in sumptuous style, contained, of her poems up to that date, all that ' she thought worthy of preservation. Her prose contributions to the magazines were numerous, and would make, if collected, one or two volumes. Though prose in name, they are all essentially poetical, far more so than much that goes under the name of poetry. Her whole life, indeed, as it has been well remarked, was a continual poem. " Not to write poetry — not to think it — act it — dream it — and be it, — was entirely out of her power." " Of none of our writers has the excellence been more steadily progressive. Every month her powers have seemed to expand and her sympathies to deepen. With an ear delicately susceptible to the harmony of language, and a light and pleasing fancy, she always wrote musically and often with elegance ; but her later poems are marked by a freedom of style, a tenderness of feeling, and a wisdom of apprehension, and are informed with a grace so unde- finable but so pervading and attractive, that the consideration to which she is entitled is altogether different in kind, as well as in degree, from that which was awarded to the playful, piquant, and capricious improvisatrice of former years." — Griawold. TO MY PEN. Dost know, my little vagrant pen. That wanderest lightly down the paper, "Without a thought how critic men May carp at every careless caper ? Dost know, twice twenty thousand eyes, If publishers report thee truly. Each month may mark the sportive lies That track, oh shame ! thy steps unruly ? Now list to me, my fairy pen. And con the lessons gravely over; Be never wild or false again, But "mind your Ps and Qs," you rover I FROM 1830 TO 1850. 159 While tripping gayly to and fro, Let not a thought escape you lightly, But challenge all before they go, And see them fairly robed and rightly. You know that words but dress the frame, And thought 's the soul of verse, my fairy : So drape not spirits dull and tame In gorgeous robes or garments airy. I would not have my pen pursue The "beaten track" — a slave forever; No! roam as thou wert wont to do In author-land, by rock and river. Be like the sunbeam's burning wing, Be like the wand in Cinderella — And if you touch a common thing, Ah, change to gold the pumpkin yellow J May grace come fluttering round your steps. Whene'er, my birds, you light on paper. And music murmur at your lips. And truth restrain each truant cai>er. Let hope paint pictures in your way. And love his seraph-lesson teach you ; And rather calm with reason stay. Than dance with folly — I beseech you I In faith's pure fountain lave your wing, And quafif from feeling's glowing chalice; But touch not falsehood's fatal spring. And shun the poisoned weeds of malice. Firm be the web you lightly 'spin. From leaf to leaf, though frail in seeming. While Fancy's fairy dew-gems win The sunbeam Truth to keep them gleaming. And shrink not thou when tyrant wrong O'er humble suffering dares deride thee: With lightning step and clarion song. Go ! take the field, with heaven beside thee. Be tuned to tenderest music when Of sin and shame thou 'rt sadly singing ; But diamond be thy point, my pen. When folly's bells are round thee ringing I And so, where'er you stay your flight. To plume your wing or dance your measure, May gems and flowers your pathway light. For those who track your tread, my treasure I But what is this? you've tripped about. While I the mentor grave was playing; And here you 've written boldly out The very words that I was saying I 160 AMERICAN LITERATURE. And here, as usual, on you've flown From right to left — flown fast and faster, Till even while you wrote it down, You've missed the task you ought to master. Hannah F. Gould. Hannah F. Gould, 1789-1865, wrote many charming pieces in verse, which were general favorites with the public, and some of which will prob- ably hold a permanent place in literature. She excelled in the quiet themes of home life, such as The Snow- Flake, and The Frost. Miss Gould was a native of Lancaster, Vermont, but removed early to Newburyport, Mas- sachusetts, and continued to reside there until her death. Her mother dying when Hannah was young, the latter led a quiet, secluded life, devoting herself mainly to the care of her father, to whom she was housekeeper, nurse, companion, and chief source of earthly hap- piness. Miss Gould began her literary career by contributing fugitive pieces to the periodicals, and had in this way already achieved considerable celebrity as early as 1830. A volume of her Poems appeared in 1832, another in 1836, and a third in 1841. A collection of prose pieces, called Gathered Leaves, was published in 1846; Diosma, or Poems selected and original, in 1850 ; and in the same year, The Youth's Coronal, a book of poems for children. THE SNOW-FLAKE. "Now, if I fall, will it be my lot To be cast in some lone and lowly spot, To melt, and to sink unseen, or forgot? And there will my course be ended?" 'Twas thus a feathery Snow-flake said, As down through measureless space it strayed, Or as, half by dalliance, half afraid. It seemed in mid air suspended. " Oh, no ! " said the Earth, " thou shalt not lie Neglected and lone on my lap to die, Thou pure and delicate child of the sky ! For thou wilt be safe in my keeping. But then, I must give thee a lovelier form — Thou wilt not be a part of the wintry storm. But revive, when the sunbeams are yellow and warm, And the flowers from my bosom are peeping! " And then thou shalt have thy choice, to be Restored in the lily that decks the lea, In the jessamine bloom, the anemone. Or aught of thy spotless whiteness ; To melt, and be cast in a glittering bead With the pearls that the night scatters over the mead. In the cup where the bee and the fire-fly feed, Regaining thy dazzling brightness. FROM 1830 TO 1850. 161 "Or •wouldst thou retrirn to a home in the skies, To shine in the Iris I'll let thee arise, And appear in the many and glorious dyes A pencil of sunbeams is blending ! But true, fair thing, as my name is Earth, I'll give thee a new and vernal birth, When thou shalt recover thy primal worth. And never regret descending ! " "Then I will drop," said the trusting Flake; "But, bear it in mind, that the choice I make Is not in the flowers nor the dew to wake; Nor the mists, that shall pass with the morning. For, things of thyself, they will die with thee ; But those that are lent from on high, like me, Must rise, and will live, from thy dust set free. To the regions above returning. " And if true to thy word and just thou art, Like the spirit that dwells in the holiest heart. Unsullied by thee, thou wilt let me depart, And return to my native heaven ; For I would be placed on the beautiful bow. From time to time in thy sight to glow; So thou mayest remember the Flake of Snow, By the promise that God hath given." Elizabeth Bogart. Elizabeth Bogaet, , wrote much for the literary magazines of the last generation, and was a general favorite with the public. Her pieces appeared under the name of Estelle. Miss Bogart was a native and for the most of her life a resident of New York. She was of Huguenot descent, the daughter of the Rev. David S. Bogart. She was at one lime well known to the reading public by her poetical contributions to the New York Mirror, and some of her pieces were much quoted. But it is now many years since she has written for the public, and her poems have never appeared in a collected form, so that in the crowd of younger competitors for distinction she is pretty much forgotten. But she wrote some things well worthy of living, and she was a great favorite with a former generation. Her first pieces appeared in 1825. Among them may be named I Knew Men Kept no Promises, He Came too Late, Give Me back My Letters, An Autumn View from My Window, GIVE ME BACK MY LETTERS. Give back thy letters? — take them — there, I 've done with them, and thee ! They 're hollow as the empty air, And worthless, now, to me. I prized them only when I deemed Thy heart was in each line ; I worshipped truth, and never dreamed f I bowed at fjilsehood's shrine. 14* L 162 AMERICAN LITERATURE. Like roses scattered on the wind. The poisoned draught to hide, So did each written page of thine Conceal deception's tide. Then take thy letters back again, And read them if thou wilt, And let them shame the treacherous pen. Which love's felse fabric built. Take back the memory of the past! I have abolished all — 'Tis sealed within thy packet, fast, That thou may'st it recall. I cast it from me, and am free. For now, I know thee not! Unmasked, I find thou art not ho Whom I had ne'er forgot. The semblance oniy thou dost wear, The inteUectual face. From Nature stolen, or elsewhere It must have found its place. And thou dost ask thy letters, now. The missives of thy art! A scornfal smile is on my brow, And lightness in my heart- Take back — take back thy written words 1 They have no power for me! Troth only has the strength that girds A lasting memory. Anna Drinker— ''Edith May." Anna Deinkeb, -, better known by her assumed name of " Edith May," contributed, about twenty-five years ago, a number of poems of extraordinary merit to Sartain's Magazine and other periodicals. Miss Drinker is a native of Philadelphia, though she has resided chiefly at Montrose, Pa. Her poetical contributions to Willis's Home Journal and to Sartain's Magazine, about 1848- 50, attracted much attention by their beauty and finish, and a handsome edition of her Poetical Works, in 4to, was published in 1851. She published afterwardfl Tales and Poems for Children. THEODORA. Since we knew her for an angel. Bearing meek the common load, Let us call her Theodora, Gift of God! • i FROM 1830 TO 1850. 163 still so young, that every sximmer Is a rose upon her brow, AH her days are blooms detaching From a bough. She is very slight, and graceful As the bending of a fern; As the marble figure drooping O'er an urn. In her eyes are tranquil shadows Lofty thoughts alone can make, Like the darkness thrown by mountains O'er a lake. If you speak, the slow retnming Of her spirit from afar To their depths, is like the advent Of a star. No one marvels at her beauty; Blended with a perfect whole, Beauty seems the just expression Of her soul. For her lightest word, or fancy, Unarrayed for human ear. Might be echoed by an angel Watching near. Be a theme however homely, It is glorious at her will. Like a common air transfigured By a master's skill. And her words, severely simple, As a drapery Grecian-wrought, Show the clear, symmetric outline Of her thought. To disguise her limbs with grandeur Would seem strange as to dispose Gold and velvet round a statue's Pale repose. But a robe of simplest texture Should be gathered to her throat, And her rippled locks, part braided. Part afloat. While a pendent spray of lilies In their folds should be arrayed. Or a waxen white camelia Lamp their shade. 164 AMERICAN LITERATURE. UNREST. Rest for a while ! I 'm tempest-tossed to-day. Bar out the sunshine. Let importunate, life, Beating forever with impatient hand My soul's closed portals, only rouse within Dim, dreary echoes. In a forest calm Builds Sleep, the white dove. As a bird she rides The lulled waves of the soul. To-day my thoughts Hunt me like hounds ; the very prayer for peace Scares peace away ; my senses, wide awake, Watch for the touch that thrills them; every sound Falls through the listening air unscabbarded ; And if sleep comes, 't is but a transient dream That flits betwixt me and the light of life, Alighting never. Oh, sweet chrism of God ! Baptismal font from whence our bodies rise Regenerate, cool wayside shadow flung Over the paths of toil, I am athirst ; Strengthen me with thy strength! Lo! where she stands, Sleep, the beloved, and mocks me with her beauty! Her hands lie clasped around a lamp alight, Burning faint incense ; from her zone unbound Dark robes trail silently; the poppies wreathed Above her temples, bursting, over-ripe, Drop with her motion. She is fair and calm, But dreams, like cherubs, with bright restless winga, Cling to her sweeping robes. Let her draw near, Laying her dewy lips upon my brow, Twining me with soft movement in her arms. And then shall pass a fluttering through my sense, Leaf-like vibration, and my soul, as one Who drifts out seaward, seeing the dim shore Receding slow, hearing the voice of waves Call to him fainter, shall float guideless on Rocked into slumber; dream eff^acing dream, Thought widening around thought, till all grows vague. Mrs. Catherine H. (Waterman) Esling, 1812 , is a native and resident of Philadel- phia. She published in 1850 The Broken Bracelet and Other Poems. " Her poems are the expressions of a true woman's soul ; she excels in portraying feeling, and in expressing the warm and tender emotions of one to whom home has ever been the loadstone of the soul." — Mrs. Hale's Woman''s Record. Mart Ann Hanmer Dodd, 1813 — , a native and a resident of Hartford, Connecticut, published in 1843 a volume of poems. Mrs. Louisa Jane Hall, 1802 , a daughter of Dr. James Park, of Newburyport, Massa- chusetts, where she was born, and the wife of Rev. Edward B. Hall, a Unitarian minister of Providence, Rhode Island, is the author of the following works : Miriam, a Dramatic Poem, illustrative of the early conflicts of the Christian church ; Joanna of Naples, an FROM 1830 TO 1850. 165 historical tale ; and A Life of Elizabeth Carter. Her Miriam, at the time of its publication, received very warm commendation. Mrs. Jane L. Gray, 1800 , was born at Castle Blayney, Ireland, and was daughter of William Lewers, of that place. She became the wife of the Rev. James Gray, D.D., and came with him to Easton, Pennsylvania, where she continued to live, and where all her poems were written. She has written Sabbath Reminiscences, Two Hundred Years Ago, and many others. She is one of the sweetest singers among our second-class lyrists. Amelia Welby. Mrs. Amelia Welby, 1821-1852, of Louisville, Kentuckv, was for many years " the bright, particular star" in the western horizon. Mrs. Welby, whose maiden name was Coppuck, was born at St. Michael's, Maryland. Her father removed in 1835 to Louisville, Kentucky, where in 1838 she was married to Mr. Welby, a merchant of that city. She began at an early age to write for the Louisville Journal under the signature of " Amelia," and acquired considerable reputation as a poet. Edgar A. Poe praised her in very high terms. " She has nearly all the imagination of Maria del Occidente [Maria Brooks], with a more refined taste ; and nearly all the passion of Mrs. Norton, with a nicer ear and (what is surprising) equal art. Very few American poets are at all comparable with her in the true poetic qualities. As for our poetesses (an absurd but necessary word) few of them approach her." — Poe. A volume of Mrs. Welby's poems was published in Boston, in 1844, of Avhich four editions were published. An enlarged and illus- trated edition appeared in New York in 1850. Mrs. Niclnols. Mrs. Rebecca S. Nichols was one of the writers who gave lustre to Cincinnati thirty years ago. Mrs. Nichols was born at Greenwich, New Jersey, the daughter of Dr. E. B. Reed. Dr. Reed removed to the West while his daughter was yet a child, and that region became thence- forth her home. She was married in 1838 to Mr. Willard Nichols, in Louisville, Kentucky. She and her husband lived for a time in St. Louis, and then settled in Cincinnati. Her first poems were published in the Louisville News Letter, and Louisville Journal. In 1844, she published a volume, Berenice, or The Curse of Minna, and Other Poems. In 1846, she under- took a literary periodical in Cincinnati, The Guest. She contributed also to Graham, and The Knickerbocker. Her most brilliant success was a series of papers in the Cincinnati Herald, under the name of Kate Cleveland. In 1851, an elegant volume of her later poems was pub- lished, Songs of the Heart and of the Hearth-Stone. Mrs. Gage. Mrs. Frances Dana Gage, 1808 , who is chiefly known as a public lecturer, has written some very clever poetry. Mrs. Gage was born at Marietta, Ohio, daughter of one of the original settlers of that place, Mr. Joseph Barker. She was married at the age of twenty to Mr. James L. Gage, of McCon- elsville, where she resided twenty-five years. In 1853 the family removed to St. Louis. In 1859, Mrs. Gage visited the West Indies, and after her return home began her career as a public lecturer, in which she was very successful. She has published many fugitive poems remarkable for the vividness of their home pictures. Mart Elizabeth Lee, 1813-1849, was a native of Charleston, South Carolina. A volume of her Poems was published in 1851. She contributed to Graham's Magazine, Godey's Lady's Book, and other periodicals. Social Evenings, a volume of historical tales for youth, was published in the Massachusetts School History. 166 AMERICAN LITERATURE. Mrs. Shindler (late Mrs. Dana). Mrs. Mary S. B. SnEiTDLER, 1810 , better known to the reaxiing public as Mrs. Dana, is the author of numerous works, both prose and verse, chiefly the latter. The poems by which she first gained celebrity appeared in 1840, in a volume caUed The Southern Harp. Mrs. Shindler was bom in Beaufort, South Carolina. Her maiden name was Mary Stanley Bunce Palmer. She was the daughter of the Rev. Benjamin M. Palmer, D.D., who at the time of her birth was pastor of the Independent or Congregational church at Beaufort. In 1814, the family removed to Charleston, Dr. Palmer having been called to a church in that city. Mrs. Shindler was educated chiefly by the Misses Ramsay of Charleston, daughters of the historian. In 1835, she became the wife of Mr. Charles E. Dana. The first years of their married life were passed in New York city. In 1838, they went out West, and settled in Bloomington, Iowa. But a fever then prevailing in that region cut off in the same week Mr. Bana and their only child. Mrs. Dana also was near to death, but recovering made her way back by slow and painful journeys to her parents and her old home in Carolina. The anguish of these domestic sorrows found voice in song, and thus originated her first and best volume. The Southern Harp. This was followed by The Northern Harp, The Parted Family and other Poems. She published also several other works : Charles Morton, or The Young Patriot; The Young Sailor; and Forecastle Tom. Mrs. Dana was bred a Calvinist. In 18J4, she began to entertain doubts on the doctrine of the Trinity, and finally went over to the Unitarians. In 1845. she published a volume, Letters to Relatives and Friends, stating the process through which her mind had passed. In 1848, she was married to Rev. Robert D. Shindler, a clergyman of the Episcopal Church ; and her views on the Trinity having again changed, she was received into the communion of the Episcopal Church. Mr. Shindler was for a time Professor in Shelby College, Kentucky, They are now living in Texas. PASSING UNDER THE ROD. I saw the young bride, in her beauty and pride, Bedeck'd in her snowy array; And the bright flush of joy mantled high on her cheek. And the future looked blooming and gay: And with woman's devotion she laid her fond heart At the shrine of idolatrous love, And she anchor'd her hopes to this perishing earth, By the chain which her tenderness wove. But I saw when those heart-strings were bleeding and torn. And the chain had been sever'd in two. She had changed her white robes for the sables of grief, And her bloom for the paleness of woe. But the Healer was there, pouring balm on her heart, And wiping the tears from her eyes. And he strengthen'd the chain he had broken in twain And fasten'd it firm to the skies! There had whispered a voice — 't was the voice of her God, "I love thee — I love thee — pass under the rod/" I saw the young mother in tenderness bend O'er the couch of her slumbering boy, FROM 1830 TO 1850. 167 And she kissed the soft lips as they murmur'd her name, While the dreamer lay smiling in joy. Oh, sweet as a rose-bud encircled with dew, When its fragrance is flung on the air, So fresh and so bright to that mother he seemed. As he lay in his innocence there. But I saw when she gazed on the same lovely form, Pale as marble, and silent, and cold. But paler and colder her beautiful boy, And the tale of her sorrow was told! But the Healer was there who had stricken her heart And taken her treasure away, To allure her to heaven he has placed it on high, And the mourner will sweetly obey. There had whispered a voice — 't was the voice of her God, "I love thee — I love thee — pass under the rod!" I saw the fond brother, with glances of love. Gazing down on a gentle young girl. And she hung on his arm, and breathed soft in his ear As he played with each graceful curl. Oh, he loved the sweet tones of her sil/ery voice, Let her use it in sadness or glee ; And he'd clasp his brave arms round her delicate form, As she sat on her brother's knee. But I saw when he gazed on her death-stricken face. And she breathed not a word in his ear; And he cla.sped his brave arms round an icy cold form, And he moisten'd her cheek with a tear. But the Healer was there, and he said to him thus — "Grieve not for thy sister's short life," And he gave to his arms still another fair girl, And he made her his own cherished wife! There had whisper'd a voice — 't was the voice of his God, "I love thee — I love thee — pass under the rod!" I saw where a father and mother had leaned On the arms of a dear gifted son, And the star in the future grew bright to their gaze, As they saw the proud place he had won : And the fast-coming evening of life promised fair, And its pathway grew smooth to their feet. And the starlight of love glimmered bright at the end, And the whispers of fancy were sweet. But I saw when they stood, bending low o'er the grave, Where their heart's dearest hope had been laid, And the star had gone down in the darkness of night, And the joy from their bosoms had fled. But the Healer was there, and his arms were around. And he led them with tenderest care; And he showed them a star in a bright upper world, 'Twas Iheir star shining brilliantly there I They had each heard a voice — 't was the voice of their God, "I love thee — I love thee — pane under tlie rod!" 168 AMERICAN LITERATURE. II. WRITERS OF NOVELS, TALES, ETC. Cooper. James Fenimoee Cooper, 1789-1851, was the first American novelist tliat gained a national reputation. He was also the first American writer that obtained general recognition in Europe, and until lately was the most widely known abroad of all Americans, excepting only Washington and Franklin. His tales of pioneer life threw a glamour over the American landscape, not unlike, and hardly inferior, to that which Scott had thrown over Scotland. His sea tales are still imequalled in their kind, on either side of the Atlantic. Cooper was born at Burlington, New Jersey, his ancestors having been among the early settlers of West Jersey. Cooper's father, however, bought extensive tracts of land in the interior of New York, where he founded Cooperstown, on Otsego lake, and with that place chiefly the author is connected. He entered Yale College in 1802, at the age of thirteen, and after remaining three years lett college without graduating, and entered the navy. He continued in the naval service for six years, and by his experience there acquired that familiarity with sea-life which was of so much value to him in a portion of his romances. At the end of the six years, he resigned from the navy, and married Miss De Lancey, a sister of Bishop De Lancey. Cooper's first venture in authorship was a novel, called Precaution, and its success was very moderate. His second work, The Spy, contained nearly all his strong characteristics, and was immediately successful. From that time onward, he continued to the end of life to pour forth novel after novel, with amazing fertility of invention. Cooper's strong point as a novelist is his power of description. His scenes stand before the eye with the most perfect and absolute distinctness. Another feature, equally marked, is his nationality — not so much the nationality of feeling, which often leads its posses- sor into saying what is absurd, but that which led him to write about the scenes and things that he was familiar with and had seen in his own land. American scenerj', manners, customs, and ideas, first stood forth in distinct relief in the pages of Cooper. He was equally happy in depicting sea-life, which never had a truer or more vivid painter than in the author of The Pilot. Cooper's novels number no less than thirty. They are divisible mainly into two classes, one consisting of sea-stories, of which The Pilot and The Red Rover are the most notable exam- ples, and the other called his Leather-Stocking tales, descriptive of pioneer life, and named from the hunter-hero, Leather-Stocking, who appears in several of them. Besides these, he wrote several novels on European subjects, and several also of a political character. The best example of the latter is Tlie Bravo, the scene of which is laid in the Gulf of Venice; the object of the story is to vindicate popular institutions in the eyes of Europe. Three others, Satanstoe, Chainbearer, and Red Skins, were in like manner meant to rouse the American people to the injustice and wickedness of the anti-rent agitation in the State of New York. The following is believed to be a complete list of his novels: Precaution, The Spy, The Pioneer, The Last of the Mohicans, The Prairie, The Pathfinder, The Deer-Slayer, The Pilot, The Red Rover, The Bravo, The Water- Witch, The Two Admirals, The Wept of Wish-ton-Wish, Homeward Bound, Home as Found, Headsman of Berne, Ileidenmauer, Mercedes of Castile, The Monikins, Wing and Wing, Wyandotte, Ned Myers, Ashore and Afloat, Miles Walling- ford, IsJete of the Gulf, Ways of the Hour, Autobiography of a Pocket Handkerchief, Satans- FROM 1830 TO 1850. 169 toe, Thfi Chainbearer, The Red Skins. The ten first named are the ones most known, and except Precaution are by far the best. After publishing some of his most celebrated novels, Mr. Cooper went abroad, where he was most kindly received. He spent several years in Europe, chiefly in France, and while there continued his work as a novelist. Besides his works of fiction, Mr. Cooper wrote A History of the Navy of the United States, 2 vols., and Lives of American Naval Officers, 2 vols. He wrote also a series of sketches of travel, including works on England, France, Switzerland, and Italy, and filling 10 vols. The complete edition of his works occupies 34 vols. Mr. Cooper appears to have had a not very amiable temper, and all the latter part of his life he was in hot water, quarrelling- first with one set of people, and then with another. His writings, too, are of very unequal merit. It would be difficult to name an author of such very high merit, who has written so much that is absolutely worthless. Fully one- half of what he wrote was a dead weight and a drag upon the other half. With all these drawbacks, however; he was one of the greatest and most original writers of his day, and he divided with Washington Irving the general recognition which was awarded them in Europe. THE PANTHER. By this time they had gained the summit of the mountain, where they left the high- way, and pursued their course under the shade of the stately trees that crowned the emi- nence. The day was becoming warm, and the girls plunged more deeply into the forest, as they found its invigorating coolness agreeably contrasted to the excessive heat they had experienced in the ascent. The conversation, as if by mutual consent, was entirely changed to the little incidents and scenes of their walk, and every tall pine, and every shrub and flower, called forth some simple expression of admiration. In this manner they proceeded along the margin of the precipice, catching occasional glimpses of the placid Otsego, or pausing to listen to the rattling of wheels, and the sounds of hammers, that rose from the valley to mingle the signs of men with the scenes of nature, when Elizabeth suddenly started, and exclaimed — " Listen ! there are the cries of a child on this mountain ! is there a clearing near us ? or can some little one have strayed from its parents? " "Such things frequently happen," retvuned Louise. " Let us follow the sounds: it may be a wanderer starving on the hill." Urged by this consideration, the females pursued the low, mournful sounds, that proceeded from the forest, with quick and impatient steps. More than once, the ardent Elizabeth was on the point of announcing that she saw the sufferer, when Louise caught her by the arm, and pointing behind them, cried — " Look at the dog ! " Brave had been their companion, from the time his young mistress had lured him from his kennel, to the present moment. His advanced age had long before deprived him of his activity ; and when his companions stopped to view the scenery, or to add to their bouquets, the mastiff would lay his huge frame on the ground, and await their movements with ej'es closed, and a listlessness in his air that ill accorded with the character of a protector. But when, aroused by this cry from Louise, Miss Temple turned, she saw the dog, with his eyes keenly set on some distant object, his head bent near the ground, and his hair actually rising on his body, through fright or anger. It was most probably the latter, for he was growling in a low key, and occasionally showing his teeth, in a manner that would have terrified his mistress, had she not so well known his good qualities. " Brave ! " she said, " be quiet, Brave ! what do you see, fellow ? " At the sound of her voice, the rage of the mastiff, instead of being at all diminished, waa very sensibly increased. lie stalked in front of the ladies, and seated himself at the feet of his mistress, growling louder than before, and occasionally giving vent to his ire, by a short, Burly barking. 16 170 AMERICAN LITERATURE. "What does he see? " said Elizabeth : " there must be some animal in sight." Hearing no answer from her companion, Miss Temple turned her head, and beheld Louise, standing with her face whitened to the color of death, and her finger pointing upwards, with a sort of flickering, convulsive motion. The quick eye of Elizabeth glanced in the direction indicated by her fi-iend, where she saw the fierce front and glaring eyes of a female panther, fixed on them with horrid malignity, and threatening to leap. " Let us fly," exclaimed Elizabeth, grasping the arm of Louise, whose form yielded like melting snow. There was not a single feeling in the temperament of Elizabeth Temple that could prompt her to desert a companion in such an extremity. She fell on her knees, by the side of the inanimate Louise, tearing from the person of her friend, v>iih instinctive readiness, such parts other dress as might obstruct her respiration, and encouraging their only safeguard, the dog, at the same time by the sounds of her voice. " Courage, Brave ! " she cried, her own tones beginning to tremble, "courage, courage, good Brave ! " A quarter-grown cub, that had hitherto been unseen, now appeared, dropping from the branches of a sapling that grew under the shade of the beech which held its dam. This ignorant, but vicious creature, approached the dog, imitating the actions and sounds of its parent, but exhibiting a strange mixture of the playfulness of a kitten with the ferocity of its race. Standing on its hind legs, it would rend the bark of a tree with its fore paws, and play the antics of a cat ; and then, by lashing itself with its tail, growling, and scratch- ing the earth, it would attempt the manifestations of anger that rendered its parent so terrific. All this time Brave stood firm and undaunted, his short tail erect, his body drawn back- Avard on its haunches, and his eyes following the movements of both dam and cub. At every gambol played by the latter, it approached nigher to the dog, the growling of the three becoming more horrid at each moment, until the younger beast, overleaping its intended bound, fell directly before the mastiff. There was a moment of fearful cries and struggles, but they ended almost as soon as commenced, by the cub appearing in the air, hurled from the jaws of Brave, with a violence that sent it against a tree so forcibly as to render it completely senseless. Elizabeth witnessed the short struggle, and her blood was warmed with the triumph of the dog, when she saw the form of the old panther in the air, springing twenty feet from the branch of the beech to the back of the mastiff. No words of ours can describe the furj' of tlie conflict that followed. It was a confused struggle on the dry leaves, accompanied by loiid and terrific cries. Miss Temple continued on her knees, bending over the form of Louise, her eyes fixed on the animals, with an interest so horrid, and yet so intense, that she almost forgot her own stake in the result. So rapid and vigorous were the bounds of the inhabitant of the forest, that its active frame seemed constantly in the air, while the dog nobly faced his foe at each successive leap. When the panther lighted on the shoulders of the mastiff, which was its constant aim, old Brave, though torn with her talons, and btained with his own blood, that already flowed from a dozen wounds, would shake off his iurious foe like a feather, and rearing on his hind legs, rush to the fray again, with jaws distended, and a dauntless eye. But age, and liis pampered life, greatly disqualified the noble mastiff for such a struggle. In everything but courage, he was only the vestige of what he had once been. A higher bound than ever raised the wary and furious beast far beyond the reach of the dog, who was making a desperate but fruitless dash at her, from which she alighted in a favorable position, on the back of her aged foe. For a single moment only could the panther remain there, the great strength of the dog returned with a convulsive effort. But Elizabeth saw, as Brave fastened his teeth in the side of his enemy, that the collar of brass around his neck, which had bed The Prince of the House of David, or Three Years in the Holy City ; Pillar of Fire; Throne of David. JOSN B. Jones, 1810-1866, was born in Baltimore. He has written a considerable number 17 N 394 AMERICAN LITERATURE. of books, some of which have been very popular : ATild "Western Scenes, two series ; The "Winkles, cT, humorous tale ; Eural Sports, a Poem ; Book of Visions ; The "Western Merchant ; Life and Adventures of a Country Merchant ; The Rival Belles ; The Monarchist ; Adven- tures of Colonel Vanderbomb ; The War-Path; A Rebel "War Clerk "-s Diary. Stltester JtTDD, 1813-1853, was a native of Massachusetts. He studied at Tale nzid in the Divinity School at Harvard, and was a pastor of the "Unitarian church in Augusta, Maine. Mr. Judd was the author of Margaret, a Tale of the Real and the Ideal, an illus- trated edition of which appeared in 1856. The outline drawings in this volume — by Darley — are declared to be the best of their kind that America has ever produced, while the story itself has been pronounced by Lowell to be "the most emphatically American book ever written." Besides Margaret, Mr. Judd has also published Philo, an Evangeliad, 1850; Richard Edney, 1850 ; The Church, a series of discourses, 1854; and he left in MS. a drama in five acts, called The "White Hills. Joseph A. Scoville, 1815-1864, Clerk of the Common Council of New York, was corre- spondent of the London Herald and of the London Standard, under the signature of " Man- hattan." He wrote Adventures of Clarence Bolton, or Life in New York ; The Old Merchants of New York City ; Yigor, a Novel, etc. Henry "Wikoff, , is a native of Philadelphia, and a lawyer by profession. He has published Napoleon Louis Bonaparte, biographical and personal sketches, including a visit to the Prince at the castle of Ham ; My Courtship and its Consequences ; The Adven- tures of a Rising Diplomatist. "William C. "Wallace, 1819 , a lawyer of New York city, was bom in Lexington, Ken- tucky, and educated at South Hanover College, Indiana. Besides contributing to Harper and other magazines, he has published Alban, a poetical romance ; The Saved and Lost, a prose and poetical work ; Meditations in America, and Other Poems ; The Liberty Bell, a poem. Charles "W. Thompson, 1798 , an Episcopal clergyman, born in Philadelphia, pub- lished several volumes of poems : The Phantom Bays, EUiner, The Sylph, The Love of Home ; and a volume of prose sketches. The Limner. "William J. Snelling, , besides contributing to the North American Review and other periodicals, has written Polar Regions of the "Western Continent ; and Truth, a New Year's Gift for Subscribers, (a satirical poem.) Edward Maturin, , son of Charles Robert Maturin, is a resident of New York, and the author of several novels, among which are Montezuma, the Last of the Aztecs; Bianca, a Tale of Erin and Italy; Benjamin, the Jew of Granada. Cornelius Mathews, 1817 , a native of New York, and a graduate of the New York University, is the author of many miscellaneous works. The most prominent of these are : Behemoth, a Legend of the Mound-Builders ; The Politicians, a comedy ; "Witchcraft, a tragedy; Moneypenny, a romance. Mr. Mathews has also contributed a number of articles to the New York Review, The American Monthly, Knickerbocker, and was a co-editor of Arcturus. Mr. Mathews is a strong advocate of an international cojjyright law. James McHenrt, M. D., , a resident of Philadelphia, was a contributor to the American Quarterly, and the author of several novels and volumes of poems, as. The "\Tilder- ness, The Insurgent Chief, The Pleiisures of Friendship, The Antediluvians. His poema were severely criticized in Blackwood'a Magazine and in the London Athenaeum. FROM 1830 TO 1850. 195 George Lippard, 1822-1854, a native of Chester, Pennsylvania, wrote a number of sensa- tional novels: Bel of Prairie Eden ; The Monks of 'Wissahickou ; Blanche of Brandywine ; Paul Ardenheim, etc. "William A. Carruthers, M.D., 1800-1850, was a native of Virginia, and was educated in Washington College of that State. He wrote for the Knickerbocker of New York, and for the Magnolia and other Southern magazines. He published The Cavaliers of Virginia, The Kentuckians in New York, The Knights of the Ilorse-Shoe, and a Life of Dr. Caldwell. The latter part of his life was spent in Savannah, Georgia, where he practised medicine. George Henry Calvert, 1803 , was born in Prince George's County, Maryland. He is a great-grandson of Lord Baltimore, and also a descendant on the mother's side from the painter Rubens. " Mr. Calvert is a scholar of refined tastes and susceptibilitj', educated in the school of Goethe, who looks upon the world, at home and abroad, in the light not merely of genial and ingenious i-eflection, butwith an eye of philosophical, practical improvement." — Literary World. "Works: Schiller's Don Carlos, translated; Correspondence between Schiller and Goethe, translated ; Scenes and Thoughts in Europe; Count Julian, a Tragedy ; A Volume from the Life of Herbert Barclay; Illustrations of Phrenology; Cabiros, 4 cantos; Social Science; First Years in Europe; Goethe, his Life and Works, an Essay; Dante and his Latest Trans- lators ; St. Benve, the Critic ; College Education ; Ellen, a Poem, etc. Mr. Calvert for several years edited the Baltimore American. Since 1843 he has resided at Newport, Rhode Island. "William E. Burtox, 1804-1860, was a distinguished comedian, of English birth, but an American by residence. He wrote a good deal for the magazines, both as contributor and editor, and published several volumes. The chief was Cyclopaedia of Wit and Humor, 2 vols., large 8vo. Charles Bcrdett, 1815 , was a Xew York journalist, and the author of several works : Emma, or The Lost Found ; Adopted Child ; Trials and Triumphs ; Never Too Late ; Chances and Changes ; Marian Desmond ; The Gambler. AZEL Stevens Roe, 1798 , born in the city of New York, has written a considerable number of novels which have had a large sale. The following are the titles of some of them : I 've Been Thinking ; To Love and To Be Loved ; Time and Tide ; A Long Look Ahead ; The Star and the Cloud; True to the Last; How Could He Help It? Woman our Angel, etc. Jones Vert, 1813 , is a native and resident of Salem, Massachusetts. Ilis father was a sea captain, with whom he made several voyages. Mr. Very, on the death of his father, prepared himself for college, and was graduated at Harvard, in the class of 1836, and after- wards became Greek tutor there. " While he held this office, a religious enthusiasm took possession of his mind, which gradually produced so great a change in him, that his friends withdrew him from Cambridge, and he returned to Salem, where he wrote most of the poems in the collection of his writings." — Griswold. He published, in 1839, a volume of Essays and Poems. The Essays are on Epic Poetry, Shakespeare, and Hamlet. The poems are chiefly Sonnets. Frederick W. Thomas, 1811-1864, was bom in Charleston, South Carolina, where his father then published the City Gazette. In 1816, the father sold the Gazette and removed to Baltimore, in which city Frederick was educated, and where he began the practice of tho law. In 1S29, the father emigrated to Cincinnati, and established Tho Commercial. In 1830, Frederick also wei.t to Cincinnati, and engaged with several other young men, Gallag- her, Shrevc, Perkins, and others, in literary pursuits. He wrote for the daily papers, and 196 AMERICAN LITERATURE. for the Mirror, Hesperian, and other magazines. His separate publications were The Emi- grant, or Reflections when descending the Ohio, a poem; Clinton Bradshaw, a novel, describing the career of a young lawyer ; East and West, and Howard Pinckney, also novels ; The Beechen Tree, a tale told in rhyme ; John Randolph of Roanoke and Other Public Characters. In 1841, he took oflBce in tlie Treasury Department, in Washington, under Ewing. In 1850, he returned to Cincinnati, and entered the ministry of the Methodist Church. He was afterward Professor of Rhetoric and English Literature in the Alabama University. In 1860, he took charge of the literary department of the Richmond Enquirer, Virginia. Lewis F. Thomas, 1815 ,- brother of the preceding, was born in Baltimore. He removed to Cincinnati with the other members of the family, and studied law. He contributed to the Mirror and other periodicals ; engaged in editing several papers ; and in 1842, published Inda and other Poems, the first volume of poems issued west of the Mississippi. He wrote Osceola, a drama, and during the Mexican war published Rhymes of the Routes. Martha M. Thomas, , a sister of these two brothers, published a novel. Life's Lesson, in 1855, and has contributed to several magazines. E. S. Thomas, 1847, the father of Frederick, Lewis, and Martha, was a printer by trade. He settled in Charleston, S. C, where he opened a bookstore, and also published The Gazette. In 1816, he removed to Baltimore, and in 1829 to Cincinnati, in which city he established The Daily Commercial. Towards the close of his life, he published Reminiscences of the Last Sixty-five Years, a work in two volumes, containing sketches of men and things in the West. He was brother of Isaiah Thomas, mentioned in a previous chapter. Thomas H. Shreve, 1808-1853, was born in Alexandria, D. C, and was educated in the academy at that place. He received his business training in Trenton, N. Jersey, and after- wards engaged in merchandise in Louisville, Kentucky. In 1830, he removed to Cincinnati. In 1834, he was associated with Gallagher and Perkins in The Cincinnati Mirror. He con- tributed numerous articles to The Mirror, and afterwards to The Hesperian, the Western Monthly, and also to The Louisville Journal, and The Knickerbocker. In 1838, he removed to Louisville. There he engaged for a time in merchandise, but finally abandoned it for literature, and became assistant editor of the Journal. In 1851, he published Drayton, an American Tale, which was well received. Francis C. Woodworth, 1812-1859, noted for his children's books, was born in Colchester, Conn. He labored eight years as a printer, three years as a minister, and then devoted him- self to juvenile literature, writing a large number of pleasant and profitable story-books: Uncle Frank's Home Stories, 6 vols. ; Uncle Frank's Boys' and Girls' Librarj', 6 vols. ; Uncle Frank's Picture Gallery, 2 vols. ; Theodore Thinker's Stories for Little Folks, 12 vols.; Eng- land as it is; Scotland as it is; The World as it is ; and several other books for the young. Lucius Manlius Sargent, 1786-1867, was a native of Boston, and a graduate of Harvard, class of 1804. He was one of the earliest and most earnest advocates of the temperance movement. Most of his writings were on that subject. He published Temperance Tales, which had a wide circulation; several Temperance Addresses; Dealings with the Dead; Hubert and Ellen, and other Poems. Samuel M. Schmucker, LL.D., 1823-1863, son of Dr. Schmucker the theologian, was a lawyer by profession. He was born at New Market, Ya. ; graduated at Washington College, Pa.; studied theology at Gettysburg; but afterwards applied himself to tlie law. His pub- lications are numerous, and are considerably varied in character: Errors of Modern Infidel- ity ; The Spanish Wife, a Play ; Court and Reign of Catherine II., Empress of Russia ; Life and FROM 1830 TO 1850. 197 Reign of Nicholas I. of Russia ; Public and Private History of Napoleon III. ; Memorable Scenes iu French History; History of the Four Georges; History of the Modern Jews; History of all Religions ; History of the Mormons. Daniel P. Thompson. Daniel P. Thompson, 1795-1868, has thrown a glamour over the his- tory of Vermont by a number of historical novels descriptive of life as it was in that State two or three generations back. « Mr. Thompson wrote the following works : May Martin, or The Money Diggers, a prize Btory ; The Green Mountain Boys, a story embodying some of the most interesting traditions of Vermont ; Locke Amsden, or The Schoolmaster, giving a picture of his own experience " boarding round ; " The Rangers, or The Tory's Daughter, a story giving a picture of Vermont in the times of the Revolution. Mr. Thompson was born in Charlestown, Massachusetts. His father, not succeeding in Charlestown, withdrew to a wild farm in the town of Berlin, Vermont, where the family lived as pioneers, remote from schools, churches, and books. When Daniel was at the age of sixteen, a spring freshet, which brought down upon the flood the wrecks of mills and other buildings, brought among the floating timbers a chance volume, thoroughly soaked. The young pioneer, thirsty for knowledge, seized the prize, carefully dried the leaves, and after- wards eagerly devoured the contents. It was a volume of poetry, and was his first intro- duction to English literature. It only increased the longing which he already felt to get an education. By self-denial and thrift as a youngfarmer, and as a teacher of the district school, he gradually laid up money to pay his expenses in college, and entering Middlebury, grad- uated in 1820. After graduation, he taught for some time as private tutor in a family in Virginia. After three or four years pleasantly spent in this manner, he returned to Ver- mont, and opened a law oflBce in Montpelier. He held several public oflaces, and was much respected. Miss Leslie. Eliza Leslie, 1787-1857, was the sister of Leslie the artist, and was by birth and social position brought into terms of intimacy with Adams, Jef- ferson, and the other men of note who lived in the early part of the pres- ent century. She held a conspicuous rank as a writer, and was particularly happy as a satirist of social affectations and of pretence and vulgarity of every kind. Her story of Mrs. Washington Potts is worthy of Dickens. For further information in regard to Miss Leslie, and as a specimen of her style of writing, I give below a sketch of her life, written by herself, at my request, in 1851, for my work on " The Female Prose Writers of America." AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY. I was born in Philadelphia, at the corner of Market and Second Streets, on the 15th of November, 1787, and was baptized in Christ Church by Bishop White. Both of my parents were natives of Cecil County, Maryland, also the birthplace of my grandfathers and grandmothers on each side. My great-grandfuthor, Robert Leslie, was a Scotchman. He came to settle in America about the year 1745 or '46, and bought a farm on North-East River, nearly opposite to the insulated hill called Maiden's Mountain. I have been at the place. My maternal great-grandfather was a Swede named Janseu. So I have no English blood in mo. My father was a man of considerable natural gcniiis, and much self-taught knowledge; particularly in natural philosophy and iu mechanics. Ho wan also a good draughtsman, 17* 198 AMERICAN LITERATURE. and a ready writer on scientific subjects ; and in his familiar letters, and in his conversation, there was evidence of a most entertaining vein of humor, with extraordinary powers of description. He had an excellent ear for music ; and without any regular instruction, he played well on the flute aud violin. I remember, at this day, many fine Scottish airs that I have never seen in print, and which my father had learned in his boyhood from his Scot- tish grandsire, who was a good singer. My mother was a handsome woman, of excellent sense, very amusing, and a first-rate housewife. Soon after their marriage, my parents removed from Elkton to Philadelphia, where my father commenced business as a watchmaker. He had great success. Philadelphia was then the seat of the Federal government ; and he soon obtained the custom of the principal people in the place, including that of Washington, Franklin, Jefferson, the two last becom- ing his warm personal friends. There is a freemasonry in men of genius which makes them find out each other immediately. It was by Mr. Jefferson's recommendation that my father was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society. To Dr. Franklin he suggested an improvement in lightning-rods, — gilding the points to prevent them i-usting, — that was immediately, and afterwards universally adopted. Among my father's familiar visitors were Robert Patterson, long afterwards President of the Mint ; Charles Wilson Peale, who painted the men of the Revolution, and founded the noble museum called by his name ; John Vaughan, and Matthew Carey. When I was about five years old, ray father went to England with the intention of engag- ing in the exportation of clocks and watches to Philadelphia, having recently taken into partnership Isaac Price, of this city. We arrived in London in June, 1793, after an old- fashioned voyage of six weeks. We lived in England about six yeai-s and a half, when the death of my father's partner in Philadelphia obliged us to return home. An extraordinary circumstance compelled our ship to go into Lisbon, and detained us there from November till March ; and we did not finish our voyage and arrive in Philadelphia till May. The win- ter we spent in our Lisbon lodgings was very uncomfortable, but very amusing. After we came home, my father's health, which had long been precarious, declined rap- idly ; but he lived till 1803. My mother and her five children (of whom I was the eldest) were left in circumstances which rendered it necessary that she and myself should make immediate exertions for the support of those who were yet too young to assist themselves, as they did afterwards. Our difficulties we kept uncomplainedly to ourselves. We asked no assistance of our friends, we incurred no debts, and we lived on cheerfuUj', and with such moderate enjoyments as our means afforded; believing in the proverb, that "All work and no play make Jack a dull boy." My two brothers were then, and still are, sources of happiness to the family. But they both left home at the age of sixteen. Charles, with an extraordinary genius for painting, went to London to cultivate it. He rapidly rose to the front rank of his profession, and maintains a high place among the great artists of Europe. He married in England, and still lives there. My youngest brother, Thomas Jefferson Leslie, having passed through the usual course of military education, at West Point Academy, was commissioned in the Engineers, and, •with the rank of Major, is still attached to the army. My sister, Anna Leslie, resides in New York. She has several times visited London, where she was instructed in painting by her brother Charles, and has been very successful in copying pictures. My youngest sister, Patty, became the wife of Henry C. Carey, and never in married life was happiness more perfect than theirs. To return now to myself. Fortunate in being gifted with an extraordinary memory, I was never in childhood much troubled with long lessons to learn, or long exercises to write. My father thought I could acquire sufllcient knowledge for a child by simply reading "in book," without making any great eff"ort to learn things by heart. And as this is not the plan usually pursued at schools, I got nearly all my education at home. I had a French master, and a music master, (both coming to give lessons at the house ;) my father himself FROM 1830 TO 1850. 199 tanght me to write, and overlooked my drawing ; and my mother was fully competent to instruct me in every sort of useful sewing. I went three months to school, merely to learn ornamental needle-work. All this was in London. We had a governess in the house for the younger children. My chief delight was in reading and drawing. My first attempts of the latter were on my slate, and I w'as very happy when my father brought me one day a box of colors and a drawing-book, and showed me how to use thera. There was no restriction on my reading, except to prevent me from " reading my eyes out." And, indeed, they have never been very strong. At thiit time there were very few books written purposely for children. I believe I obtained all that were then to be found. But this catalogue being soon exhausted, and my appetite for reading being continually on the increase, I was fain to supply it with works that were considered beyond the capacity of early youth — a capacity which is too generally underrated. Children are often kept on break and milk long alter they are able to eat meat and potatoes. I could read at four years old, and before twelve I was familiar, among a multitude of other books, with Gold- smith's admirable Letters on England, and his histories of Rome and Greece (Robinson Crusoe and the Arabian Nights, of course), and I have gone through the six octavo volumes of the first edition of Cook's Voyages. I talked much of Tupia and Omiah, and Otoo and Terreoboo — Captain Cook I almost adored. Among our visitors in London was a naval officer who had sailed with Cook on his last voy.age, and had seen him killed at Owhyliee — I am sorry the name of that island has been changed to the uuspcllable and unpronounce- able Hawaii. I was delighted when my father took me to the British Museum, to see the numerous curiosities brought from the South Sea by the great circumnavigator. The Elegant Extracts made me acquainted with the best passages iu the works of all the British writers who had flourished before the present century. From this book I first learned the beauties of Shakespeare. My chief novels were Miss Bumey's, Mrs. RadclifiFe's, and the Children of the Abbey. Like most authors, I made my fii-st attempts in verse. They were always songs, adapted to the popular airs of that time, the close of the last century. The subjects were chiefly soldiers, sailors, hunters, and nuns. I scribbled two or three in the pastoral line, but my father once pointed out to me a real shepherd, in afield somewhere in Kent. I made no further attempt at Damons and Strephons, playing on lutes and wreathing their brows with roses. My songs were, of course, foolish enough ; but in justice to myself I will say, that having a good ear, I was never guilty of a false quantity in any of my poetry — my lines never had a syllable too much or too little, and my rhymes always did rhyme. At thirteen or fourteen, I began to despise my own poetry, and destroyed all I had. I then, for many years, abandoned the dream of my childhood, the hope of one day seeing my name in print. It was not till 1827 that I first ventured " to put out a book," and a most unparnass'an one it was — " Seventy-five receipts for pastry, cakes, and sweetmeats." Truth was, I liail a tolerable collection of receipts, taken by myself while a pupil of Mrs. Goodfellow's cook- ing-school, in Philadelphia. I had so many applications from my friends for copies of these directions, that mj" brother suggested my getting rid of the inconvenience by giving them to the public in print. An off^er was immediately made to me by Munroe & Francis, of Boston, to publish them on fair terms. The little volume had much success, and hiis gone through many editions. Mr. Francis being urgent that I should try my hand at a work of imagination, I wrote a scries of juvenile stories, which I called The Mirror. It was well received, and was followed by several other story-books for youth — The Young Ameri- cans, Stories for Emma, Stories for Adelaide, Atlantic Tales, Stories for Helen, Birthday Stories. Also, I compiled a little liook called The Wonderful Tnivellor, l>eing an abridg- ment (with essential alterations) of Munchausen, Gulliver, and Sinbad. In 18;$! Miuiroe & Francis published my American Girls' Book, of which an edition is still printed every yciir. Many juvenile tales, written by me, are to be found in the anniuils called The Pearl and The Violet. 200 AMERICAN LITERATURE. I had but recently summoned courage to write fiction for grown people, when my story of Mrs. "Washington Potts obtained a prize from Mr. Godey, of the Lady's Book. Subse- quently I was allotted three other prizes successively, from different periodicals. I then withdrew from this sort of competition. For several years I wrote an article every month for the Lady's Book, and for a short time I was a contributor to Graham's Magazine ; and occasionally, I sent, by invitatiun, a contribution to the weekly papers. I was also editor of The Gift, an annual published by Carey & Hart; and of TheTioIet, a juvenile souvenir. My only attempt at anything in the form of a novel, was Amelia, or a Young Lady's Yicissitudes, first printed in the Lady's Book, and then in a small volume by itself. Could I begin anew my literary career, I would always write novels instead of short stories. Three volumes of my tales were published by Carey & Lea, under the title of Pencil Sketches. Of these, there will be soon a new edition. In 1838 Lea & Blanchard printed a volume containing Althed Yernon, or the Embroidered Handkerchief, and Henrietta Harrison, or The Blue Cotton Umbrella. Several books of my fugitive stories have been published in pamphlet form, — the titles being Kitty's Relations, Leonilla Lynmore, The Maid of Canal Street {Maid is a refined and accomplished young lady), and The Dennings and their Beaux. All my stories are of familiar life, and I have endeavored to render their illustrations of character and manners as entertaining and instructive as I could ; trying always to " point a moral," as well as to " adorn a tale." The works from which I have, as yet, derived the greatest pecuniarj' advantage, are my three books on domestic economy. The Domestic Cookery Book, published in 1837, is now in the forty-first edition, no edition having been less than a thousand copies ; and the Bale increases every year. The House Book came out in 1840, and the Lady's Receipt Book in 1846. All have been successful and profitable. My two last stories are Jemigan's Pa, published in the Saturday Gazette, and The Ray- mounts, in the Saturday Evening Post. I am now engaged on a Life of Jolm Fitch, for which I have been several years collecting information from authentic sources. I hope soon to finish a work (undertaken by partic- ular desire) for the benefit of young ladies, and to which I purpose giving the plain simple title of The Behavior Book. Charles R. Leslie, 1794-1859, brother of the preceding, was born in London, but of American parents, and passed the greater part of his life in England. He rose to distinc- tion as a painter. Besides his works of ai-t, he is also the author of two valuable publica- tions : Memoirs of John Constable, and A Hand-book for Young Painters, in which latter he takes occasion to controvert many of Ruskin's views. Mr. Leslie's style as an art-critic is very agreeable. Mrs. Kirkland. Mrs. Caroline M. (Stansbuky) Kirkland, 1801-1864, held in her day a high place among the writers on domestic and social topics. She was a shrewd observer, and she expressed her observations with singular clearness and point. Among her works deserving of special commenda- tion is one called Fireside Talks on Morals and Manners. She wrote also, under the name of " Mrs. Mary Clavers," several works descriptive of pio- neer life in the West, in which she gave full play to the sense of humor with which she was largely gifted. Mrs. Kirkland was born and bred in the city of New York. After the death of her father. FROM 1830 TO 1850. 201 Mr. Samuel Stansbury, the family removed to the western part of the State, where she was married to Mr. 'William Kirkland, an accomplished scholar, at one time Professor in Ham- ilton College. After her marriage she resided several years in Geneva, and in 1835 removed to Michigan; lived two years in Detroit, and six months in the woods sixty miles west of Detroit. In 1843 she returned to New York, where she lived till the time of her death, with the exception of a visit abroad in 1849, and another in 1850. Mr. Kirkland died in 184G. Mrs. Kirkland was first prompted to authorship by the strange things which she saw and heard while living in the backwoods. These things always presented themselves to her under a humorous aspect, and STiggested an attempt at description. The descriptions, given at first in private letters to her friends, proved to be so very amusing that she was tempted to enlarge the circle of her readers by publication. A New Home — Who'll Follow? appeared in 1839 ; Forest Life, in 1842 ; and Western Clearings, in 1846. These all appeared under the assumed name of " Mrs. Mary Clavers," and attracted very general attention. For racy wit, keen observation of life and manners, and a certain air of refinement which never forsakes her, even in the roughest scenes, these sketches of Western life were entirely without a parallel in American literature. Their success determined in a great meastzre Mrs. Kirkland's course of life, and she thenceforth became an author by profession. An Essay on the Life and Writings of Spenser, prefixed to an edition of the first book of the Fairy Queen, in 1846, formed her next contribution to the world of letters. The accomplished author appears in this volume quite as shrewd in her observations, and as much at home, among the dreamy fantasies of the great idealist, as she had been among the log cabins of the far West. In July, 1847, the Union Magazine was commenced in New York, with Mrs. Kirkland as sole editor. After eighteen months the magazine was transferred to Philadelphia, its name changed to Sartavis Magazine, and Mrs. Kirkland retained as a monthly contributor. This engagement she fulfilled for a period of two years and a half. Of all ihe brilliant array of contributors to that periodical, there was not one whose articles gave such entire and uniform satisfaction as those of Mrs. Kirkland. These articles were mostly in the form of essays on familiar topics, such as Yisiting, Conversation, Growing Old Gracefully, etc., and form really her best claim to a permanent place in literature. Among her later volumes may be named Holidays Abroad ; The Evening Book, or Fireside Tallcs on Morals and Manners ; A Book for the Home Circle, or Familiar Thoughts on Yarious Topics, Literary, Moral, and Social, etc. CONVERSATION. Conversation is a pleasure for which all men have a taste ; one which is never relinquished except by compulsion, or some motive almost as potent. The silence of monastic life is the highest triumph of asceticism; that of prison existence the utmost cruelty of the law. The sage loves conversation even better than the child, for the very desire of acquiring makes him anxious to impart. Joy prattles ; grief must talk or die ; both are eloquent, for passion is alwaj's so. A feeling too strong for words is agony ; if they be long withheld it becomes madness. The chattering of youth is the overflow of animal spirits by the stimulus of new ideas; the garrulity of age seems an effort to excite the fainting animal spirits, by recalling the ideas which once stimulated them. Letter-writing is an effort at conversation ; so indeed is essay-writing. Let us then have a little talk about talking. Our object shall be to show that we do not give it a due share of attention, or at least to inquire whether we do or not. Goethe advises that we shall at least " speak every day a few good words." Do we concern ourselves about this when we are making up the day's account? Did we begin the day with any resolves about it, as if it were a thing of consequence, or have wo inaundi-red on, drop- ping tinkling words about trifles, or evil words like firebrands, or words of gloom and re- pining, insulting Providence, or words of hatred, piercing hearts that love us ? Each day's 202 AMERICAN LITERATURE. talk is surely no trifle ; we can hardly help sowing the germs of many thoughts in a twelve hours' intercourse with our co-mates, in the ordinary duties of life ; and allowing our words a negative value, we rob our friends of all the good and pleasure that we might bestow and do not. There are those who have never even entertained the idea that under certain circum- stances it may become a duty to talk. They talk when they like, and when not moved by inclination, they sit mum, leaving the trouble to others. That it is sometimes a trouble to talk is very true ; the French have a proverbial saying which expresses thia : they say of such an one, that he " bore the expense " of the conversation. Two young girls together are said to be like the side-bones of a chicken, " because they al- ways have a merry thought between them." And truly the giggling which generally ensues when a few young ladies get together, would seem to justify the old riddle. It is hard to say ■whether what is said on these occasions is conversation or not. To settle the point it would be necessary to go into an analysis of conversation, which were foreign to our pres- ent purpose, as well as diflScult for want of material, since no one has ever reported what is said under cover of so much laugh. To count the bubbles on the surface of boiling water beneath a cloud of steam, were perhaps as easy, and as useful. But every age has it pleas- ures, and we must not quarrel with this. Sober days do not await our bidding. Ball-room talk is equally beyond our pale. Its ineffable nothingness defies us. Fortu- nately, conversation is not the characteristic pleasure of the ball-room. The West Indian lady understood this, who exclaimed impatiently to a friend of ours, who had wearied her by trying to find a subject on which she would open her lips — " Cha, cha ! I come no here for chatter, I come here for dance ! " Happy were it if her notion were generally adopted. The harp and violin discourse more excellent music than can be expected from unhappy beaux, who, not very well furnished with ideas at the outset, must belabor their beseeching brains for something to say to tea young ladies in succession, all of different disposition, character, and education, and probably no better fitted for extempore conversation than their partners. The faults and follies of our neighbors and friends afford, perhaps, the most fertile of all subjects for conversation, when it is at all spontaneous. The study of character is one of the pleasures of life, but we are not particularly fond of exercising it upon ourselves, or at least of divulging the results of our practice. As surgeons choose the lifeless body for their demonsti'ations, so we try our skill upon the absent, and, as he can neither resist nor reply, this is very pleasant and advantageous — to the operator, who, not being forced to defend his positions, may expatiate at will, and having set out with a general theory or proposition, may easily, by the aid of a little imagination, make out a consistent view of the whole case. One inconvenience attending the use of this class of material for conversation, is the danger that the person dissected may not relish our view of his case as reported to him by some good-natured friend. His vanity may hinder his appreciating our discernment ; he may mistake for spite or envy or unkindness the keen perception on which W3 pride ourselves; he may not be able to consider himself as an abstraction, in which light, of course, we con- sider him when we demonstrate upon him, and we may thus lose his friendship just as we flattered ourselves we understood him thoroughly. Then again the habit of discussing character in ordinary conversation is apt to be a little chilling, all around. It is hardly possible to feel q»iite at ease and to l)ehave unconstrain- edly, if we know that as soon as we depart we shall be coolly analyzed for the benefit of those who remain. We are not quite so confident of the impartiality and discernment of others as of our own, and we would rather not feel that every word and action of ours is being treasured up as material for future sketches of character. So that this style of con- versation, while it exercises the intellect, is likely to harden the heart, and instead of dif- fusing an affectionate confidence through social intercourse, will probably end in putting each individual secretly on the defensive. Some frigid soul devised the maxim, "Live FROM 1830 TO 1850. 203 always with your friend as if he might one day be your enemy ; " and those must have kin- dred notions of the spirit of society, who consider tho peculiarities and shades of character of their friends matter for habitual discussion. There is indeed one way of avoiding the obvious danger of this theme, — that of giving offence to the absent, — namely, by making our discussion the vehicle of praise only. But is not this apt to become a little tiresome? In some families most of the conversation with visitors — we can judge of nothing further — consists in eulogies upon absent members of the household or connections. Unhappily there is hardly enough disinterested sympathy in human nature to make this agreeable to persons who have not the advantage of belonging to these exemplary races. The perfections of those we love are a most fascinating subject for private contemplation, but they are hardly tho topic for entertaining our guests withal. Nor are the individuals eulogized in all respects gainers by this enthusiastic enumeration of their excellencies. Being human, they have probably still some remains of human im- perfection, and these will be very apt to come up in full size before the memory or imagina- tion of the listener, who is driven to seek a refuge for his self-love from the painful contrast suggested by so much virtue. On the Mhole, then, we conclude that personal discussion, even in this honeyed phase, is not very advantageous to the main end of conversation, as a sweetener of the soul and a cultivator of the social affections. Touchy people are to be dreaded in conversation. Their propensity is to find out, in the discourse of those about them, points of offence wholly impalpable to all but themselves, by a power like that of a magnet, which will cover itself with particles of steel where no other aflBnity could detect their presence. Woe to the good-natured, unsuspicious sayer of noth- ings, in such company. It will be hard to convince him that terrible insinuations have been discovered by unwrapping his gentlest meanings. Does he speak of somebody's kind- ness to the poor? Mrs. Sensitive is suddenly beclouded, for she remembers (what he does not) that she has just been inveighing against indiscriminate charity. Does he wish for rain? It is because he knows Mrs. Sensitive is depending upon fair weather for a party of pleasure. Does he express indignation at some instance of dishonesty? Why need he go otit of his way to bring to mind the defalcation of Mrs. Sensitive's cousin twenty years ago? If he venture upon any subject of interest, he is sure to touch upon a tender spot ; if he carefully adhere to generalities, he is reserving his better things until he has more agree- able company. It is astonishing to hear with what bitterness some people will dwell upon these constructive offences — crimes made by the law, as it were. A disposition of this sort is a fatal bar to the flow of conversation. Our ordinary ideas will not endure such sifting and weighing. By the time we have turned a thought round and round, to be sure that it has no ridge or corner of offence, whatever point it had is sure to have been worn off. We must leave the touchy person out of our select conversational circle, and we do it with the less regret, because he is almost sure to be found deficient in other requisites for compan- ionship besides good-humor. Intelligence, cultivation, and acquaintance with society are sure antidotes of touchiness, which is only one phase of egotism. Mrs. Lydia Maria Child. Mrs. Lydia Maria Child, 1802 , has been for nearly fifty years one of our leading literary celebrities. She has written chiefly on social topics, dividing her attention between the instruction of the young and the discussion of the vexed question of domestic slavery. Mrs. Child was the daughter of Convers Francis, and was born at Medford, Mass. Sho was Bister of Rev. Convers Francis, D. D., Profi!s.s()r in Harvard University. She was cilucated chiefly in the public schools of her native town, and afterwards taught a private school in 204 AMERICAN LITERATURE. "Watertown, Mass., -where she was the friend and fellow-stndent of Margaret Fuller. In 1828 she was married to David Lee Child, a lawyer of Boston. Both survive, without children, and reside at Wayland, Mass. The beginning of her authorship was in this wise : She had been residing several years in Maine, remote from all literary associations, but was now on a visit to her brother. Rev. Convers Francis, minister of the Unitarian church in Watertown. "One Sunday noon, °oon after her arrival there, she took up a number of The North American Review, and read Dr. Palfrey's article on Yamoydeu, in which he eloquently describes the adaptation of early New England history to the purposes of fiction. She had never written a word for the press, — never dreamed of turning author, — but the spell was on her, and seizing a pen, before the bell rang for the afternoon meeting, she had composed the first chapter of the novel [Hobomok], just as it is printed. When it was shown to her brother, her young am- bition was flattered by the exclamation: 'But, Maria, did you really write this? Do you mean what you say, that it is entirely your own? ' The excellent Doctor little knew the effect of his words. Her fate was fixed : in six weeks, Hobomok was finished." — Griswold. From that time, 1824, now nearly fifty years, Mrs. Child has been known to the public aa one of our leading and most acceptable writers. Her publications have been numerous, and have been marked with great beauty and power. A desire to instruct and to inculcate truth is a prominent feature in her writings. She has accordingly written much for the young, and she began in 1827 The Juvenile Miscellany, the first monthly periodical for chil- dren issued iu the United States. Another feature of her writings is her happy talent for observation, by which she is enabled to clothe the common every-day occurrences with interest. Among her works may be named the following: Hobomok, a Tale of Early Times; The Rebels, a Tale of the Revolution; Philothea, a Romance of Greece in the Days of Pericles; A History of the Condition of Women of All Ages and Nations ; The Mother's Book; The Girl's Book ; The American Frugal Housewife ; Biographies of Good Wives ; The Family Nurse ; The Coronal ; Appeal in favor of tliat class of Americans called Africans ; Pieces in Prose and Verse ; Flowers for Children ; Fact and Fiction ; Memoirs of Madame De Stael and Madame Roland; Isaac Hopper, a True Life ; Letters from New York; Progress of Re- ligious Ideas through the Ages ; Autumnal Leaves ; Looking towards Sunset ; A Romance of the Republic. In 1841, Mr. and Mrs. Child assumed the editorship of The Anti-Slavery Standard, and after that time the subject of slavery engrossed a large share of her attention. '•Mrs. Child has a large acquaintance with common life, which she describes with a genial sympathy and fidelity, a generous love of freedom, extreme susceptibility of impressions of beauty, and an imagination which bodies forth her feelings in forms of peculiar distinctness and freshness." — Griswold. A STREET SCENE. The other day I was coming down Broome Street. I saw a street musician, playing near the door of a genteel dwelling. The organ was uncommonly sweet and mellow in its tones, the tunes were slow and plaintive, and I fancied that I saw in the woman's Italian face an expression that indicated suflScient refinement to prefer the tender and melancholy, to the lively " trainer tunes " in vogue with the populace. She looked like one who had suffered much, and the sorrowful music seemed her own-appropriate voice. A little girl clung to her scanty garments, as if afraid of all things but her mother. As I looked at them, a young lady of pleasing countenance opened the window, and began to sing like a bird, in keeping with the street organ. Two other young girls came ami leaned on her shoulder; and still she sang on. Blessings on her gentle heart! It was evidently the spontaneous gush of human love and sympathy. The beauty of the incident attracted attention. A group of gentlemen gradually collected round the organist: and even as the tune ended, they bowed respectfully towards the window, waving their hats, and calling out, " More, if you please l" FROM 1830 TO 1850. 205 One, ■whom I knew well for the kindest and truest soul, psissed round his hat; hearts were kindled, and the silver fell in freely. In a minute, four or five dollars were collected for the poor woman. She snoke no word of gratitude, but she gave such a look ! " Will you go to the next street, and play to a friend of mine? " said my kind-hearted friend. She an- swered, in tones cipressing the deepest emotion, " No, sir, God bless you all — God bless you all," (making a curtsey to the young lady, who had stept back, and stood sheltered by the curtain of the window,)"! will play no more to-day; I will go home now." The tears trickled down her cheeks, and as she walked away, she ever and anon wiped her eyes with the corner of her shawl. The group of gentlemen lingered a moment to look after her, then turning towards the now closed window, they gave three enthusiastic cheers, and de- parted, better than they came. The pavement on which they stood had been a church to them ; and for the next hour, at least, their hearts were more than usually prepared for deeds of gentleness and mercy. Why are such scenes so uncommon? "Why do we thus repress our sympathies and chill the genial current of nature, by formal observances and restraints. UNSELFISHNESS. I found the Battery unoccupied, save by children, whom the weather made as merry aa birds. Everything seemed moving to the vernal tune of "Brignal banks are fresh and fair, And Greta woods are green." To one who was chasing her hoop, I said, smiling, " You are a nice little girl." She stopped, looked up in my face, so rosy and happy, and laying her hand on her brother's shoulder, exclaimed earnestly, "and /je is a nice little boy, too!" It was a simple, child- like act, but it brought a warm gush into my heart. Blessings on all unselfishness ! on all that leads us in love to prefer one another. Here lies the secret of universal harmony; this is the diapason, which would bring us all into tune. Only by losing ourselves can we find ourselves. How clearly does the divine voice within us proclaim this, by the hymn of joy it sings, whenever we witness an unselfish deed, or hear an unselfish thought. Blessings on that loving little one! She made the city seem a garden to me. I kissed my hand to her, as I turned off in quest of the Brooklyn ferry. The sparkling waters swarmed with boats, some of which had taken a big ship by the hand, and were leading her out to sea, as the prattle of childhood often guides wisdom into the deepest and broadest thought. Mrs. Emily Judson — '^ Fanny Forrester.'* Mrs. Emily Judson, 1817-1854, became widely known, first by her contributions to polite literature, under the familiar name of "Fanny Forrester," and then by her self-denying labors as the wife of the veteran missionary, Adoniram Judson. Mrs. Judson's maiden name was Emily Chubbuck. She was born in the pleasant town of Morrisville, in the central part of New York. This is the " Alderbrook " so familiar to her readers. From Morrisville she went to Utica, to engage in teaching. While living at Utica, she made her first essays at authorship. These consisted of some small volumes of a religious character published by the Baptist Publication Society, and poetical contribu- tions to the Knickerbocker. None of these, however, attracted any special attention. The first production of her pen that was at all noticeable was a light article which, without any very definite design, she wrote under the us8ume 210 AMERICAN^ LITERATURE. returned to Providence. Mrs. Whitman has considerable reputation as a poetess. She has published Hours of Life and Other Poems ; Edgar A. Poe and His Critics. Being proficient in the chief languages and literatures of Europe, she has contributed to Magazines and Reviews critical articles on European literature. Mrs. Ltdia Jane Peibson, , a daughter of William Wheeler, and a native of Mid- dletown, Ct., but for many years a resident of Tioga County, Pa., has contributed both in prose and verse to the Southern Literary Magazine, The New Realm, and other periodicals. Two volumes of her poems have appeared, Forest Leaves, and The Forest Minstrel. Her prose pieces have not been collected. Mrs. Sophia L. Little, 1799 , was daughter of Ashur Robbins, of Newport, and wife of William Little, of Boston. She was at one time a large contributor to periodical litera- ture. Her separate publications were, The Last Days of Jesus ; The Annunciation and Birth of Jesus ; the Betrothed and the Branded Hand ; Poems ; Pilgrim's Progress in the Last Days. Mrs. Julia L. Dumont, 1794-1857, whose maiden name was Corey, was bom at Waterford, Ohio. While she was still an infant, her parents, who were from Rhode Island, returned there, and her father died. The mother then moved to Greenfield, Saratoga County, N. Y., and there Julia grew up. She attended the Milton Academy, and taught school in 1811 and 1812. In the latter year she was married to Mr. John Dumont, and went with her husband to Ohio, and thence in 1814 to Vevay, Indiana, where she remained the rest of her life. She published a large number of poems and prose stories in the Western periodicals, chiefly the Ladies' Repository, Cincinnati Mirror, and Western Literary Journal. A volume of these ■was published by the Appletons, in 1856, called Life Sketches from Common Paths. Mrs. Hannah F. Lee, 1780-1865, was a native of Newburyport, but a resident of Boston. She published a number of tales and other pieces, which were A-ery popular. The following are the chief: Grace Seymour, a Novel; Three Experiments in Living; Elinor Fulton; Familiar Sketches of the Old Painters; Familiar Sketches of Sculpture and Sculptors; Luther and his Times; Cranmer and his Times; The Huguenots in France and America; Rosanna, a Scene in Boston; Rich Enough ; The Contrast, a Different Mode of Education; Stories from Life for the Young, etc. Mrs. Eliza (Buckminster) Lee, 1794 , was a native of Portsmouth, N. H., and a daughter of the famous preacher, Joseph Buckminster, D. D.. She wrote Sketches of a New England Village ; Naomia, or Boston Two Hundred Years Ago, a tale of the Quaker Perse- cution ; Walt and Valt, or The Twins ; Florence, the Parish Orphan ; Life of Jean Paul Frederick Richter; Memoirs of Rev. Joseph Buckminster and of his son Rev. Joseph Stevens Buckminster. III. HISTORY AND BIOORAPHY. Washington Irving. Washington Irving, LL. D., 1783-1859, is on the whole the brightest and the dearest name in the annals of American literature. He is almost equally known as a historian, and as a writer of tales and sketches, and in both departments he stands clearly in the first class. Irving was a native of New York city. He studied law, and was ad- FROM 1830 TO 1850. 211 mitted to the bar, but abandoned the profession and engaged with his brothers in commercial business. living's first publications of note were his contributions to Salmagundi, a semi-monthly sustained by himself, his brother William, and James K. Paulding. In 1809 appeared Diedrich Knickerbocker's History of New York, the sketch of the first part of which was in part the work of his brother Peter. In 1819, Irving, then in England, was led to take up literature as a pro- fession by the failure of the commercial firm in which he and his brothers were partners. The result was the appearance of The Sketch Book, soon followed by Bracebridge Hall, and Tales of a Traveller. In 1826, at the request of Alexander H. Everett, then United States Minister to Spain, Irving went to that country and remained there until 1829. During his stay in Spain he published The Life of Columbus, and The Chronicle of the Conquest of Granada. In 1829 he returned to Lon- don as Secretary of the United States Legation, and soon afterwards pub- lished The Voyages of the Companions of Columbus, and The Alhambra. In 1832 Irving returned to America after an absence of seventeen years, and was welcomed with an ovation such as none of his predecessors had re- ceived. In 1839 appeared the Legends of the Conquest of Spain ; in 1849, Mahomet and his Successors. His subsequent productions are nearly all upon subjects connected with America : Astoria, 1836 ; "VYolfert's Roost, 1855 ; Life of Goldsmith ; Life of Washington, 1855-9. From 1842 to 1846, Irving was United States Minister at Madrid. The remainder of his life was passed in quiet retirement at his residence, Sun- nyside, near Tarrytown, on the Hudson. Irving's character as a man and a writer is too well known to call for any but the briefest notice. As a man his geniality of disposition has be- come proverbial. Probably no other American ever met witli such a hearty welcome abroad from men of all classes and nationalities. During the twenty odd years that he passed in Europe, he had for his warm friends such men as Scott, Moore, Campbell, Byron, in fact nearly all the leading literary characters of the day. In his own country he was no less the idol of his times. As a writer, Irving may be safely pronounced to be the most popular of all American authors. His works are known and read by every one. Died- rich Knickerbocker, Sleepy HoUow, Dolf Ilcyliger, Ichabod Crane, Rip Van Wrinkle, have become household names and forms. No other creations of the imagination have taken such prominence in American literature. They are not so grand or so subtle as Hawthorne's, but they are more life-like, more genial, more generally comprehended. Irving as a historian is sub- ject to one grave criticism. He is too diffuse in hia treatment of the sub- 212 AMERICAN LITERATURE. ject, and his style is at times altogether too florid. The descriptions of scenery and incidents are too highly colored for the sober pages of history. Taken all in all, however, he is still, as already said, the brightest and the dearest name in the annals of American literature. A uniform edition of Irving's Avorks has been published, in 15 vols. To these should be added A Memoir of Irving, with his Letters, in 5 vols., by his nephew, Pierre M. Irving. Jared Sparks. Jared Sparks, LL. D., 1794-1866, is justly considered one of the most eminent contributors to American history. His labors were partly edito- rial, and partly those of original authorship, and in both respects he is en- titled to a high rank. He is chiefly known by his American Biography and his editions of the works of Washington and Franklin. Mr. Sparks was a native of Connecticut. He was educated at Harvard, both in the colle- giate department and the divinity school, and was ordained a clergyman in the Unitarian church. In 1821 he was Chaplain to the House of Representatives. He was editor of the North American Review from 1823 to 1830, Professor of History at Harvard from 1838 to 1849, and Prei?ident of the University from 1849 to 1853. At the time of his death (1866) he had in preparation a History of the American Revolution. Sparks's principal publications are the following : American Biography, 25 vols., 12mo (the Lives of Ethan Allen, Arnold, Marquette, De la Salle, Pulaski, Ribault, Charles Lee, and Led- yard, by Sparks himself, the others written by various parties at his solicitation and edited \)y him) ; Life and Writings of Washington, 12 vols., 8vo. ; Life and Writings of Franklin, 10 vols.; Life of Governeur Morris, 3 vols.; Diplomatic Correspondence of the Revolution,. 12 vols, (published under the authority of Congress) ; Correspondence of the American Revo- lution, i vols. ; Essays and Tracts in Theology, 6 vols. The faithfulness and accuracy with which Mr. Sparks's historical works were carried out have made his name famous in Europe as well as in his native country. His Washington alone cost him nine years of labor, including researches in the archives of London and Paris, and a personal examination of the Revolutionary State Papers of the United States and of the original thirteen States. Nor was he a mere collector and collator. Although not aiming at the high art of the classical historian, like Bancroft and Prescott, he has an hon- ored place among those who have written upon American history. His merits as an author would probably stand out in higher relief were they not to some extent overtopped by hia Btill greater merits as a dispassionate, laborious, and judicious investigator. THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. The acts of the Revolution derive dignity and interest from the character of the actors, and the nature and magnitude of the events. It has been remarked, that in all great politi- cal revolutions, men have arisen, possessed of extraordinary endowments, adequate to the exigency of the time. It is true enough, that such revolutions, or any remarkable and con- tinued exertions of human power, must be brought to pass by corresponding qualities in the agents ; but whether the occasion makes the men, or the men the occasion, may not always be ascertained with exactness. In either case, however, no period has been adorned with examples more illustrious, or more perfectly adapted to the high destiny awaiting them, than that of the American Revolution. FROM 1830 TO 1850. 213 John G. Palfrey. John Gorham Palfrey, D. D., LL. D., 1796 , is the author of various works, chief among which is, A History of New England under the Stuart Dynasty. Dr. Palfrey is a native of Boston, and a graduate of Harvard. He was for many years pastor of a church in Boston, and Professor in the Divinity School of Harvard. Since his resignation, in 1839, he has taken an active part in state and national politics, holding various state oflBces, and writing for the press. For a number of years he was editor of the North American Review, and contributed many valuable articles. He has published a large number of sermons and addresses. He has published in book-form. Lectures on the Jewish Scriptures, and Lectures on the Evidences of Christianity. He is chiefly known, however, by the work first named, The History of New England under the Stuart Dynasty, in 3 vols^ 8vo. This is a valuable contribution to American history, and is exhaustive of the ground that it covers. His articles in the North American Review are considered among the best that have appeared in that periodical Miss Sarah H. Palfrey, , daughter of the preceding, has published several interesting volumes, under the assumed name of E. Fonton. These are, Premices, a volume of poems; Herman, or Young Knighthood: Agnes Wentworth; Sir Pavon and St. Pavon ; and a story of some length in the Atlantic Monthly, called Katharine Morne, or First Love and Best. Rev. Coxvers Francis, D. D., 1796-1863, was a native of West Cambridge, Mass., and a graduate of Harvard, of the class of 1815. He was Parkhara Professor of Pulpit Eloquence in Harvard from 1S43 to 1863. His chief publications are the following: Errors of Educa- tion ; Dudlean Lectures at Cambridge ; Historical Sketch of Watertown ; Discourse at Ply- mouth ; Life of John Eliot, the Apostle to the Indians; Memoirs of John Allyu; Gamaliel Bradford, and Judge Davis. Dr. John W. Francis. John W. Francis, M.D., LL.R, 1789-1861, was a native of New York city, and for more than half a century one of its most distinguished ornaments. Dr. Francis was a leading Professor, first in the College of Physicians and Surgeons of that city, and afterwards in the Rutgers Medical College. As the colleague and equal of such men as Mott and Hosack, his position made him one of the celebrities of the city. Besides his professional eminence, he was a man of general culture, and his Discourses on various occa- sions were noteworthy specimens of literary taste and finish. Besides these, and numerous biographical sketches published in the public journals, he wrote an entertaining volume of historical recollections. Old New York, or Reminiscences of the Past Sixty Years. His medical writings were numerous and are in high estimation. Caleb Sprague Henry, D.D., 1804 , was born at Rutland, Ma-ss. He graduated at Dartmouth in 1825, and studied theology in New Haven. He was appointed Professor of Intellectual Philosophy in Bristol College, Penn., in 1835, and moved to New York in 1837 and established the New York Review, which he conducted until 1840. From 1840 to 1852, he was Professor of History, etc., in the University of the city of New York ; also, 1847-1850, Rector of St. Clement's. Dr. Henry has contributed a number of articles to the Church 214 AMERICAN LITERATURE. Review and to the periodicals, and has also translated from the French Consin's Critique on Locke, Guizot's General History of Civilization, and an Epitome of the Philosophy of His- tory, and was associated with Dr. Taylor in the preparation of A Manual of Ancient and Modern History. He removed to Poughkeepsie in 1857, and afterwards was rector of an Episcopal church in Newburgh. His latest publications are a volume of essays, and a work published anonymously in 1860, called Dr. Oldham at Graystones, and his Talk there. William L. Stone. Coii. William Leete Stone, 1793-1844, for a long time one of the most conspicuous journalists in the United States, made several valuable contributions to the colonial history of New York, particularly that relating to the border wars between the whites and the Indians. His chief works in this line were A Life of Sir "William Johnson, A Life of Joseph Brandt, A Life of Eed Jacket, and The Poetry and History of Wyoming. Col. Stone was born at Esopus, N. T. He began at first as a printer, and then, at the age of seventeen, as a contributor, for a country newspaper. He edited various political papers, from 1813 to 1821, in Hudson, Albany, and Hartford, but from 1821 to 1844 he was editor and proprietor of the New York Commercial Advertiser, and in that paper he did the chief work of his life. Besides his labors as a journalist. Colonel Stone bestowed a good deal of time upon the study and elucidation of local colonial history, and the several works which he published on this subject are of great value as repositories of many now extinct traditions of Indian and border warfare. His other works, also, like those on the impostures of Matthias and Maria Monk, and similar temporary excitements, are more valuable now than at the time when they were written, for the reason that to the present generation these works are almost the only accessible soui'ces of information on the subjects named. Works : Life of Joseph Brandt, including the Border Wars of the American Revolution, 2 vols., 8vo ; Life and Times of Red Jacket, being a Sequel to the History of the Six Nations ; A Life of Sir William Johnson, 2 vols., 8vo, completed by the author's son, W. L. Stone, Jr. ; The Poetry and History of Wyoming ; Uncas and Miantonomeh ; Letters on Masonry and Anti-Masonry; Letters on Animal Magnetism; Matthias and his Impostures; Maria Monk and her Awful Disclosures; Tales and Sketches ; Tips and Downs in the Life of a Distressed Gentleman, etc. William L. Stone, Jr., 1835 , son of the preceding, was born in New York, and grad- uated at Brown University, in the class of 1857. Besides completing the Life of Sir William Johnson, which Col. Stone had left unfinished, Mr. Stone has written a Life of his father, and re-edited several of his works ; he has also written A History of New York City ; Saratoga Springs, being a guide to the Springs, Hotels, etc. He is said to be engaged in A History of the Six Nations. Freeman Hunt, 1804-1858, was a native of Quincy, Mass. He removed in 1831 to New York, where he continued to reside until his death. While still a resident of Boston, he established The Ladies' Magazine, The Weekly Traveller, The Juvenile Miscellany, and pub- lished two volumes of American Anecdotes, Original and Selected. In 1839, Mr. Hunt pub- lished the first number of his famous Merchants' Magazine, destined to have a great and permanent success. In 1856-7, appeared The Lives of American Merchants. Both the Magazine and The Lives are invaluable repositories of statistical and financial information. Matthew L. Davis, 1766-1850, one of the intimate friends of the celebrated Aaron Burr, FROM 1830 TO 1850. 215 published, in 1837, a Life of Burr, 2 vols., 8yo; and afterwards, The Private Journal of Aaron Burr, 2 vols. Grant Thorburn, 1773-1863, was famous as a seedsman in New York city. He was born in Dalkeith, Scotland, and emigrated to New York in 1794. He was a man of marked pecu- liarities, and not addicted to hiding his light under a bushel. He first gained notoriety as the hero of Gait's novel, Laurie Todd. Thorburn could sow words as well as seeds, and wrote several books worthj' of remembrance. The most thoroughly characteristic was his autobiography, entitled, Forty Years' Residence in America, or The Doctrine of a Particular Providence Exemplified in the Life of Grant Thorburn, Seedsman, written by Himself. Some of his other publications are Life and Writings of Grant Thorburn, prepared by Him- self; Fifty Years' Reminiscences of New York, or Flowers from the Garden of Laurie Todd ; Laurie Todd's Hints to Merchants, Married Men, and Bachelors ; Laurie Todd's Notes on Tirginia; Men and Manners in Great Britain, by Laurie Todd. Charles J. Ingersoll. Charles Jared Ingersoll, 1782-1862, wrote much on historical and political subjects, his chief work being A History of the War of 1812-15, between Great Britain and the United States, in 4 volumes. Mr. Ingersoll was a native and resident of Philadelphia, where for half a century he was a man of mark as a political leader. He was by profession a lawyer, but gave considerable attention to literature. His chief publications are the following: Chiomara, a Poem ; Edwy and Elgiva, a Tragedy, acted at the Chestnut Street Theatre ; The Rights and Wrongs, Power and Policy of the United States ; History of the War of 1812-15, between Great Britain and the United States, 4 vols.; and a large number of political and other pamphlets. To Mr. Ingersoll is conceded, on all sides, intellectual abilitj' of no common order. But the force of what he had to say was sadly weakened by his vicious style of writing, or rather by his utter neglect and contempt of style. "The quotations that we have made suggest a con- cluding remark as to Mr. Ingersoll's style. It is a rough, energetic style, not deficient in happy and vivid expressions; but we have rarely met with American writing more con- temptuous not only of English rules, but of the reader's respiratory convenience — the book is hard to read because of the uncouthuess of its forms." — London Athenarum. Henry D. Gilpin, 1801-1860, was a lawyer of Philadelphia. He ranked high in his profes- sion, and was the author of several valuable law works. He found time also to cultivate liteniture. Among his services in this line it may be mentioned that he wrote a considerable number of the Biographies of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence ; he edited The Madison Papers, published by authority of Congress ; he contributed to the American Quar- terly Review, North American Review, and Democratic Review; and he edited for several years, 1826-32, the first literary annual published in America, the Atlantic Souvenir, writing numerous articles for it. Richard Stockton Field, LL. D., 1803-1870, was a native of Whitehill, N. J. He was edu- cated at Princeton, and resided there all the latter part of his life. He was a lawyer, and rose to eminence at the bar; he was for a short time a Senator of the United States, and was Judge of the United States District Court of New Jersey. He took an active part in advo- cating and organizing a system of common schools for the State, and was President of the Trustees of the State Normal School from its organization, in 1855, to the time of his deiith. He published: The Provincial Courts of New Jersey; Contributions to the Collections of the New Jersey Historical Society ; and numerous valuable Addresses and Orations. 216 AMERICAN LITERATURE. William C. Rives, 1793-1868, was a native of Virginia, and a graduate of Hampden Sidney College. He studied law with Mr. JeflFerson. He took a conspicuous part in national poli- tics, as well as those of his own State; was for a long time a Member of Congress, both in the House of Representatives and in the Senate, and was twice sent as American Ambassador to France. He was a member of the " Peace Congress " of 1861, and, after the secession of Virginia, became a member of the Confederate Congress. Mr. Rives was a gentleman of liberal culture, and possessed the ability to have distinguished himself in the field of letters, if affairs of State had not called him elsewhere. He wrote The Life and Character of John Hampden ; The Life and Times of James Madison ; Discourse on the Uses and Importance of History; Ethics of Christianity; On Agriculture, &c. Mrs. Rives, wife of the preceding, was an author of considerable merit. She wrote Tales and Souvenirs of a Residence in Europe; Home and the World; The Canary Bird; Epitome of the Holy Bible. Samuel M. Jannet, 1801 , is a native of Loudon County, Va. He is a member and preacher of the Society of Friends, and besides preaching has given his attention a good deal to literature. He was appointed by President Grant in 1869 one of the superintendents of Indian affairs. He has written The Country School-House, a Poem ; The Last of the Lenape and Other Poems ; Conversations on Religious Subjects ; A Teacher's Gift ; Historical Sketch of the Christian Church during the Middle Ages ; Life of William Penn ; Life of George Fox ; and a History of the Religious Society of Friends, from its Rise to the year 1828, 4 vols., 8vo. This is his latest and most matured work, and is one of original research, constituting his chief claim to a permanent place in literature. ALEXANDER Slidell MacKenzie, 1803-1848, was a native of New York, and a son of John Slidell. In 1837, by act of legislature, Alexander added his mother's family name, MacKenzie, to that of his father. Mr. MacKenzie is the author of several works, the most prominent of which are: A Year in Spain, M'hich attracted much attention at the time of its appear- ance, and was warmly praised by Washington Irving; the Life of John Paul Jones; the Life of Commodore Decatur; and the Life of Commodore Perry. He assisted Washington Irving in the latter's Life of Columbus, hy examining Columbus's route, and contributing other nautical information. MacKenzie's biographical works are able, and the one on Commodore Perry has a decided historical value in settling the question of Perry's claims to the chief honors of the naval victory on Lake Erie. John C. Fremont, 1813 , was born in Savannah, Ga. He distinguished himself by his explorations in the extreme western regions of the United States, and he is familiarly known as "The Pathfinder of the Rocky Mountains." His Narrative of the Exploring Expedition to the Rocky Mountains, and to Oregon and North California, was published in various forms ; and constitutes an important part of the literature of scientific exploration under- taken by the United States Government. Capt. Seth Eastman, U. S. A., 1808 , is a native of Brunswick, Me. He graduated at West Point in 1829. He was stationed at Fort Snelling and other places on the north-west- ern frontier, and came much into contact with Indian life and scenery. He made the Illus- ti-ations for the work published by Congress, on The History, Condition, and Future Prospects of the Indian Tribes. Mrs. Mary (Henderson) Eastman, 1818 , is a native of Warrington, Va. She is a daughter of Dr. Thomas Henderson, and the wife of Captain S. Eastman, both of the U. S. A. She accompanied her husband in his various services at Fort Snelling and other frontier sta- tions, and thus had the opportunities of studying the Indian character and customs, which FROM 1830 TO 1850. 217 she has employed to much advantage in her works. These are the following: Dacotah, or Life and Legends of the Sioux; Romance of Indian Life; American Aboriginal Portfolio, with illustrations by Captain Eastman; Chicora, and other Regions of the Conquerors and the Conquered ; Aunt Phillis's Cabin, a novel, intended as a reply to Uncle Tom's Cabin, by Mrs. Stowe. Of all the portraitures of Indian life and character that have been given to the public, none, probably, have come more nearly to the truth than those by Mrs. Eastman. Lorenzo Sabine, 1803 , a native of Lisbon, N. H., and a Member of Congress from Mas- sachusetts, has made some valuable contributions to historical literature: The American Loyalists, biographical sketches of adherents to the British Crown in the War of the Revo- lution; Report on the Principal Fisheries of the American Seuis, prepared for the Treasury Department at Washington; Notes on Duels and Duelling; Life of Edward Preble, written for Sparks's American Biography. Mr. Sabine has written also numerous articles for The North American Review, Christian Examiner, etc. George Wilkins Kendall, 1810 , a native of Vermont, removed in 1835 to New Or- leans, where he was editor foi-anumber of years of The New Orleans Picayune. In 1844 he pub- lished an account of the Texan Santa Fe expedition, 2 vols., 8vo. This book has had a wide sale and been highly commended on both sides of the Atlantic. In 1851 he also published a large volume, entitled The War between the United States and Mexico, with colored illustra- tions. Mr. Kendall was on General Taylor's staff during the entire campaign. Charles E. A. Guyarre. Charles E. Arthur Guyarr:^, 1805 , an eminent lawyer of New Orleans, has acquired distinction by his various contributions to the history of Louisiana. Mr. Guyarr6 is a native of New Orleans, and a descendant of one of the old historical fam- ilies of the State. He is by profession a lawyer, but has given much of his time to the cul- tivation of letters. He has held various civil offices, and was for several years Secretary of State for Louisiana. His works are : History of Louisiana (French Domination), 2 vols., 8vo; History of Louisiana (Spanish Domination), 1 vol., 8vo ; Romance of the History of Louisiana; School for Politics, a Dramatic Novel; Influences of the Mechanic Arts on the Human Race, etc. Mr. Guyarrfi has also written several works in French on the history of his native State. Brantz Mater, 1809 , a native of Maryland, and a prominent lawyer of the State, ■was one of the founders of the Maryland Historical Society. He was for two years United States Secretary in Mexico, and has published several valuable works upon that country : Mexico As It Was and As It Is; Mexico. Aztec, Spanish, and Republican ; and Observations on Mexican History and Archaeology. He is also the author of Captain Canot, or Twenty Years of an African Slaver, a scathing exposure of the horrors of the slave-trade, which attracted much attention at the time of its publication. Peter Oliver, 1821-1855, was a native of New Hampshire. During his brief lifetime he contributed numerous articles to the Church Review. After his death there was published from his MS., A Historical Review of the Puritan Government in Massachusetts, etc. The work was intended to show, in the greatest fulness of detail, the dark side of the Puritan regime. The style is clear, concise, and forcible. The author's views and statements, how- ever, have been severely criticized. He has been accused of prtyudico and inaccuracy. The controversy may be conuidered as not yet fully decided. 19 218 AMERICAN LITERATURE. Ellsha R. Potter, 1811 , a native of Kingston, R. I., and a graduate of Harvard, of the class of 1830, has done good sei-vice in the work of popular education, and also as a prosecutor of historical research. His publications are The Early History of Narragansett ; A Brief Account of the Emissions of Paper Money made by the Colony of Rhode Island; Questions on the Adoption of the Constitution and the Extension of Suffrage in Rhode Island ; Reports on the Condition and Improvement of the Public Schools of Rhode Island ; The Bible and Prayer in the Public Schools, etc. Rev. ROTAIi Robbixs, 1787-1861, was a native of Wethersfield, Conn., and a graduate of Yale, in the class of 1806. He was pastor of the church in Kensington, Conn., from 1816 to 1861. He wrote Outlines of Ancient History ; The World Displayed ; and American Contri- butions to the English Language and Literature, being an addition to Chambers's History of the English Language and Literature. EuzA RoBBi>fS, , has written a considerable number of excellent school-books: Elements of Mythology ; Grecian History ; English History ; Scripture History ; Classic Tales ; Tales from American History ; Popular Lessons, etc. J. Daniel Rtipp, 1803 , was bom near Harrisburg, Penn. He has been an industrious writer on the subject of local history, and has translated many works from the German and the Dutch. The following are some of his original works : An Original History of the Re- ligious Denominations in the United States ; Histories of Lancaster, Bsrks, Lebanon, York, Northampton, Lehigh, Monroe, Carbon, Schuylkill, Dauphin, Cumberland, Franklin, Bed- ford, Adams, Perry, Northumberland, Huntingdon, Mifllin, Centre, Union, Columbia, Juni- ata, and Clinton counties ; Early History of Western Pennsylvania, etc. James Savage, LL. D., 1784 , is a native of Boston, and a prominent member of the Massachusetts Bar. He contributed largely to the North American Review, and The New England Magazine, and was for a number of years President of the Massachusetts Historical Society. In 1825 he published, with notes, John Winthrop's History of Massachusetts, from the MS. continuation discovered in Boston in 1816. His chief work, however, is a Genea- logical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England, in 4 vols., 8vo. Upon this work the author expended twenty years of careful labor. The difficulties and obscurities to be over- come in its preparation justify the North American Review in pronouncing it "the most stupendous work on genealogy ever compiled." CoL. Samuel Swett, 1782-1866, was born in Newburyport, Mass., and graduated at Har- vard, in the class of ISOO. Col. Swett made a special study of the Bunker Hill battle, and most of his publications are on that subject: Sketches of the Bunker Hill Battle ; Who was the Commander at Bunker Hill? Defence of Col. Timothy Pickering against Bancroft's His- tory ; Original Planning and Construction of Bunker HUl Monument; Sketches of a Few Distinguished Men of Newbury and Newburyport. Benjamin B. Thatcher, 1809-1840, was born in Warren, Me., and graduated at Bow- doin, in the class of 1826. He studied law, but did not practise much on account of ill health. He published Indian Biography, 2 vols. ; Traits of the American Tea Party ; Indian Traits ; and wrote a good deal for the periodicals. Zadock Thompson, 1796-1850, was born at Bridgewater, Vt., and graduated in the University of Vermont, in which he was afterwards Professor of Natural History, etc. He published a Gazetteer of the State of Vermont; A History of Vermont; Geography and Geology of Vermont, etc. FROM 1830 TO 1850. 219 Rev. Bichard Webster, 1811-1856, was born in Albany. He studied theology at Prince- ton, and was settled in the Presbyterian church at Mauch Chunk, Pa. He wrote a History of the Presbyterian Church in America, with biographical sketches of its early ministers. John W. Barber, 1798 , a native of "Windsor, Conn., has been an industrious historical collector. His principal publications are History and Antiquities of New Haven ; Connec- ticut Historical Collections; Massachusetts do. ; New York do.; New Jersey do. ; Virginia do.; Ohio do.; European do.; Religious Events from the Commencement of the Christian Era; Religious Emblems and Allegories ; Elements of General History; Incidents of Ameri- can History; Historical, Poetical, and Pictorial American scenes. In some of these works he has had the assistance of H. Howe, and of Elizabeth E. Barber. As may be inferred from the list here given, Mr. Barber's works do not belong to a very high order of literature. Samuel Hazard, 17S4-1870, a native and resident of Philadelphia, deserves honorable men- tion for his laborious services as a local historian and annalist. He published, 1828-18.36, sixteen octavo volumes of the Pennsylvania Register; 1839-1842, sLx volumes of the United States Commercial and Statistical Register; also. Annals of Pennsylvania, from 1609 to 16?2, an 8vo of 800 pages. By appointment of the Legislature, he printed the Pennsylvania Archives, from 1682 to 1790, twelve volumes. John Stilwell Jenkins, 1818-1852, a native of Albany, wrote several works of a biographi- cal character: Generals of the Last War with Great Britain; Lives of Patriots and Heroes of the Revolution; The Heroines of History; Lives of the Governors of New York ; Life of James K. Polk ; of Silas Wright ; of Andrew Jackson ; Political History of New York ; His- tory of the Mexican War; Pacific and Dead Sea Expeditions, etc. William Allen. William Allen, D. D., 1784-1868, President of Bowdoin College, is widely known to the reading public by his American Biographical and Historical Dictionary, the first work of the kind published in the United States. Dr. Allen was a native of Massachusetts and a graduate of Harvard, and was President of Bowdoin College from 1820 to 1829. His Dictionary appeared originally in 1809. It has been revised and enlarged from time to time. The first edition contained notices of 700 Americans. The last, 1857, contains notices of 7,000. Dr. Allen assisted Dr. Bogue, of London, in his History of Dissenters, 1809, preparing for it the lives of the American ministers noticed in the work. Among his services to literature, one of special value, was a collection of more than 10,000 words not previously found in any English Dictionary. Of these, 1,500 were contributed in 18-16 to Worcester's Dictionary, 4,000 to Webster's in 1854, and 6,000 to the Revised Webster of 1864. Some of his other publications are Baccalaureate Addresses, Junius Unmasked, and numerous commemorative discourses. His chief claim to a place in literature, however, is his Biographical Dictionary, already mentioned, a careful and scholarly performance, which for half a century was almost our only representative in that department of letters, and which laid the foundation for the more finished structures which have succeeded it. John L. Blake, LL.D., 1788-18.57, a graduate of Brown University, was known chiefly aa the Principal of a Young Ladies' Seminary, and as the author of a series of popular school- books. During the latter years of his life, he devoted his attention to general literature, the results of which were given in his Family Encyclopa-dia, OCO ]>p. royal 8vo, and General Biographical Dictionary, 1100 pp. royal 8vo, both of which had a large sale. He wrote also 220 AMERICAN LITERATURE. eeveral small volumes for school libraries : Book of Nature Laid Open ; Wonders of the Earth ; Wonders of the Ocean ; Wonders of Art, &c. William Grimshaw, 1782-1852, was a native of Greencastle, Ireland. He emigrated to America in 1815, and lived the remainder of his days in Philadelphia and its vicinity. He wrote a number of school histories, which attained a good deal of popularity. History of England; of France; of Greece; of Rome; of the United States; of Mexico and South America, &c. John Frost, LL. D., 1800-1859, was born in Kennebec, Me., was graduated at Harvard, and appointed Master of Mayhew School, Boston. In 1828, he went to Philadelphia and opened a private school for young ladies. On the opening of the High-School, in 1838, he was appointed one of the original Professors, and he held the position until 1845, when he resigned. He made books almost without number, though he did little in the way of authorship. He was merely a compiler, and used the paste and scissors more than the pen. Yet some of his works had a large sale, and the number of them was prodigious. Tliose best known are Pictorial History of the United States, and Pictorial History of the World. He was a good scholar, and a man of very decided ability, and he might have attained high rank as a writer, but he deliberately preferred cheap compilation to original authorship. John W. Thornton, 1818 , was born at Saco, Me. He is a descendant in the seventh generation from the Rev. Thomas Thornton, of Yarmouth, Mass., who was a de- scendant in the seventh generation from John Thornton, Lord Mayor of York, England. Mr. Thornton has given considerable attention to genealogical studies and to the early colo- nial history of New England; Genealogical Memoirs of the Gilbert Family, in both Old and New England; Mementos of the Scott Family; Lives of Isaac Heath and John Bowles; The Landing at Cape Anne ; Ancient Pemaquid, an Historical Review ; The First Records of Anglo-American Colonization ; Colonial Schemes of Popham and Gorges. John F. Watson, 1780-1860, the annalist of Philadelphia, was born in Burlington, N. J. He was for some years a bookseller in Philadelphia, then cashier of the Bank of German- town, then Treasurer of the Germantown and Norristown Railroad. Ilis Annals of Phila- delphia, 2 vols., 8vo, are acknowledged on all hands to be a valuable work, showing careful original research. Besides this he published Historic Tales concerning the Early Settlement of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania; Historic Tales of the Olden Time concerning the Settle- ment of New York City and State ; Annals and Occurrences of New York City and State in the Olden Time. Samuel Willard, B.D., 1775-1859, a nephew of President Joseph Willard, was born at Petersham, Mass., and graduated at Harvard, in the class of 1803. After preaching for some years at Deerfield, he lost his sight and resigned his pastorate. Ho published The Deerfield Collection of Sacred Music ; Original Ilj-mns; Sacred Poetry and Music Reconciled, a collec- tion of hymns ; and several school-books. Joseph Willakd, 1798-1865, son of President Joseph Willard, was born in Cambridge, Mass., and was educated at Harvard. He published, besides several pamphlet addresses, The Willard Memoir, or The Life and Times of Major Simon Willard ; Topographical and His- torical Sketchesof the Town of Lancaster; Naturalization in the American Colonies, &c. Sidney Willard, 1780-1856, also son of President Joseph Willard, was born at Beverly, Mass., and graduated at Harvard, in the class of 1798. He was Librarian of the College, from 1800 to 1805, and a leading Professor from 1807 to 1831. He was Mayor of Cambridge from 1848 to FROM 1830 TO 1850. 221 1850, and frequently a member of the Legislature. He published Memoirs of Youth and Manhood ; also, A Hebrew Grammar. He contributed largelj- also to periodical literature. "William Willis, 1794-1S70, was bom at Haverhill, Mass., and graduated at Harvard, in the class of 1S1.3. He studied law, and settled in Portland, Me., for the practice of his pro- fession. He published The History of Portland from its First Settlement; A History of the Law, the Courts, and the Lawyers of Maine; Genealogy of the McKinstry Familj-, with a preliminary essay on the Scotch-Irish emigration to America; also, several Addresses and Reports on historical subjects. RoBEUT C. WiNTHROP, LL. D., 1809 , a descendant in the sixth generation from the first Governor of Massachusetts, old John "SVinthrop, was born in Boston, and graduated at Harvard, in the class of 1828. He studied law with Daniel Webster; was a member of the Massachusetts Legislature from 1834 to 1840, and Speaker of the House for the last two years ; was a member of Congress from 1840 to 1850, and Speaker during the last two years ; and United States Senator in 1850-ol. He is President of the Massachusetts Historical Society, and has published a large number of historical Addresses, delivered on various public occasions ; A Volume of Addresses and Speeches ; and Life and Letters of John Win- throp, the old Colonial Governor. Shearjashtjb SP0OirER,M.D., 1809-1859, was born at Brandon, Yt., and graduated at Middle- bnry College, in the class of 1830. He practised dentistry with great success in the city of New York. Besides some professional works, he published A Biographical and Critical Dic- tionary of Painters, Engravers, Sculptors, and Architects, 2 vols., imp. 8vo ; Anecdotes of Painters, etc., 3 vols., 18mo. JoHX McMackie, 1813 , is a native of Wareham, Mass., and a graduate of Brown Uni- versity, in which institution he was tutor from 1834 to 1838. He has written A Life of Leibnitz; Life of Samuel Gorton; Life of Schamjl and Narrative of the Circassian War of Independence; Life of Tai-Ping-Wang, chief of the Chinese Insurrection. He has also teen a contributor to the North American Review, American Whig Review, etc. Rev. Charles A. Goodrich, 1790-1862, a clergyman of Hartford, Conn., wrote Lives of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence ; History of the United States ; Geography of the Chief Places mentioned in the Bible ; Family Sabbath Day 3Iiscellany, etc. BENJAMiy Drake, 1794-1841, was a native of Kentucky, and a resident of Cincinnati. Be- sides publishing a weekly family paper, Mr. Drake wrote several separate works: Life of Black Hawk; Life of Tecumseh; Life of Harrison; Tales and Sketches from the Queen City; Cincinnati in 1826; The Western Agriculturalist. George Copwat, 1820 , an Indian of the Ojibway tribe, was born in Michigan. He has been connected for several years with the press of New York city, and he has lectured extensively. Among his publications are the following: Recollections of a Forest Life; Traditional History of the Ojibway Nation ; Ojibway Conquest, a poem ; Copway's American Indian ; Running Sketches of Men and Places in Europe. Charles Campbell, 1807 , a native of Petersburg, Ya., and a graduate of Princeton College, has written Tl>e Bland Papers ; Introduction to the History of the Colony and Ancient Dominion of Virginia; Memoir of John Daly Burke ; Genealogy of the Spotswood Family. Louis Gatlord Clark, 1810 , gained considerable popularity as literary caterer for the New York Knickerbocker. He published a volume, Kuick-Knacks from an Editor's 19* 222 AMERICAN LITERATURE. Table, which was much admired for its wit and racy humor. — "Willis Gatlord Clark, 1810- 1841, was twin brother of the preceding. They were born at Otisco, N. Y. Willis settled in Philadelphia, where he edited the Philadelphia Gazette. He contributed many articles, prose and verse, to the Knickerbocker. His poems have been published in a separate volume. His writings were once in high repute. A volume of his literary remains has been pub- lished, containing Ollapodiana, and other magazine articles. Cornelius A. Logan, lSOO-1853, was born in Baltimore, and educated at St. Mary's College, in that city. He had a roving disposition, and made several voyages as supercargo of mer- chant vessels. Becoming tired of this kind of life, he turned his attention to literature. He assisted for three years in the editorial department of the Baltimore Morning Chronicle, and then joined William Leggett in an attempt to establish a penny paper in New York. This failing, he went to Philadelphia, and adopted the profession of an actor, and met with decided success as a comedian. He wrote many plays : The Wag of Maine ; The Wool Dealer ; Yankee Land ; Removing the Deposits ; An Hundred Years Hence, etc. He wrote also many poems and prose tales for the periodicals. The last thirteen years of his life were spent in Cincinnati. RuFUS Dawes, 1803-1859, was a native of Boston, and a lawyer by profession, though he never practised. He published: The Yalley of the Nashaway and other Poems; Athenia of Damascus; Geraldine; Nix's Mate, an Historical Romance, etc. Mr. Dawes was a Swe- denborgian, and frequently preached in the pulpits of that denomination. Charles Edward Lester, 1815 , is a native of New London, Conn. He was for a time United States Consul at Genoa. He has written My Consulship; Samuel Houston and his Republic; Biographical Sketches of American Artists; Condition and Fate of England ; Glory and Shame of England ; The Artist, Merchant, and Statesman ; The Mountain Wild Flower, a Memoir of Mary Ann Price, etc. He has also translated several works from the Italian. IV. WRITERS ON LITERATURE AND CRITICISM. Ralph Waldo Emerson. Ealph WAiiDO Emerson, 1803 , is a conspicuous figure in the literature of the period now under consideration. Mr. Emerson is a native of Boston, and a graduate of Harvard. He was ordained as a minister to a Unitarian church in Boston, but in conse- quence of the peculiarity in his views he in 1832 sundered the connection, and has since that time given himself up to the investigation of metaphys- ical and moral questions. Mr. Emerson is an independent thinker, and is remarkable equally for the originality and the subtlety of his thoughts, and for his power of expression. In the latter respect he is indeed an enigma. Nobody can express himself more clearly than Mr. Emerson, when he chooses. But when he does not choose, nobody can more successfully hide his meaning, if he has any, under a show of plain words and'simple constructions. The Sphinx is not a greater mystery than are some of Mr. Emerson's delphic J\y{/\/a^<^ (^^ ^V\y Reproduced by permission of Houghton, Mifflm & Co. Publishers of Ennerson's Works. FROM 1830 TO 1850. 223 sayings, though clothed in words and plirases as plain as Blair's Sermons, or Murray's English Grammar. Mr. Emerson is a transcendentalist of the most advanced school; and hLs views on the higher subjects of mind and spirit are so far removed from the common apprehension, that it is not easy to formulate them, or to say precisely what he does think and teach. As an essayist and a lecturer on more familiar subjects, he is singularly attractive. His method is, not to reason, in the ordinary sense of the term, but to utter truth oracularly, leaving it to make its own appeal to the in- tuitions of the reader or hearer. Mr. Emerson has visited various parts of the United States on invitation to deliver lectures or addresses, and he has visited England twice, the second time on a professional lecturing tour. But for the most part he has lived in seclusion at Concord, Mass., to wliich phice his admirers have resorted, as devotees to a shrine. Most of his peculiar views were given to the world in The Dial, a magazine begun in 1840 and continued for four years, and devoted to the discussion of disputed points in religion, philoso- phy, literature, and history. A uniform edition of his works has been printed in 6 vols., as follows : Essays, 2 vols. ; Eepresentative Men, 1 vol. ; English Traits, 1 vol. ; Lec- tures and Addresses, 1 vol. ; Poems, 1 vol. The English Traits was published after his return from his lecturing tour in England, and contains his impressions of the country and its people. It has been one of his most popular books. The volumes of Essays and of Lectures are exceedingly various in style and subject, but contain in frag- mentary form all those peculiarities of his style, as a thinker and a writer, which have given him such a wide celebrity. The same is true to a certain extent of his Poems. Some of these have, in form and fiuLsh, all the brilliance and the exactness of the diamond, — hard, bright, and cutting. It would be difficult to find, outside of the Greek Anthology, anything more absolutely faultless than some of these little gems. Others again belong to the order of the Sphinx, and may be safely commended to those who are fond of rid- dles. The most important volume in the series is that which contains Rep- resentative Men. In this, under six great heads, Mr. Emerson, more nearly than in any of his other works, gives expression to his system jus a whole. The topics are, 1. Plato, the Philosopher; 2. Swcdenborg, the Mystic; 3. Montaigne, the Skeptic; 4. Shakespeare, the Poet; 5. Napoleon, the Man of the World ; 6. Goethe, the Writer. The mental portraits sketched under these six heads give us Mr. Emerson himself, so far ;is lie is capable of being formulated at all. "A more independent and original thinker can nowhere in this ago bo found." — Blackwood, 224 AMERICAN LITERATURE. "It is better for a man to tell his story, as Mr. Irving, Mr. Hawthorne, or Mr. Locgfello-w does, than to adopt the style Emeisouian — in which tlioughts may be buried so deep that common seekers shall be unable to find them." — London Alhensemn. THE MOUNTAIN AND THE SQUIRREL. The mountain and the squirrel Had a quarrel, And the former called the latter " Little Frig." ^ Bun replied — "You are doubtless A'ery big; But all sorts of wind and weather Must be taken in together, To make up a year. And a sphere ; And I think it no disgrace To occupy my place. If I 'm not so large as yon. You are not so small as I, And not half so spry. I'll not deny you make A very pretty sq\iirrel-track. Talents differ: all is well and wisely put: If I cannot carry forests on my back. Neither can you crack a nut."" THE SPHINX. The Sphinx is drowsy. Her wings are furled. Her eye is heavy. She broods on the worldL "Who'll tell me my secret The ages have kept? I awaited the seer WhUe they slumber'd and slep^ "The fate of the man-child, — The meaning of man, — KnowTi fruit of the unknown, Daedalian plan. Out of sleeping a waking. Out of waking a sleep. Life death overtaking, Deep underneath deep. "Erect as a sunbeam Upspringeth the palm; The elephant browses Undaunted and calm; In beautiful motion The thnish plies his win-gs^ Kind leaves of his covert! Your silence he sings. FROM 1830 TO 1850. 225 "The waves unashamed lu difference sweet, Play glad with the breezes, Old playfellows meet. The journeying atoms, Primordial wholes, Firmly draw, firmly drive, By their animate poles. "Sea, earth, air, sound, silence. Plant, quadruped, bird, By one music enchanted. One deity stirred. Each the other adorning, Accompany still. Night veileth the morning, The vapor the hill. "The babe, by its mother Lies bathed in joy. Glide its hours uncounted, The sun is its toy; Shines the peace of all being Without cloud in its eyes, And the sum of the world In soft miniature lies. "But man crouches and blushes, Absconds and conceals; He creepeth and peepetb, He palters and steals ; Infirm, melancholy. Jealous glancing around, An oaf, au accomplice, lie poisons the ground." Outspoke the great mother, Beholding his fear; — At the sound of her accents Cold shuddered the sphere; — "Who has drugg'd my boy's cup, Who has mixed my boy's bread? Who, with sadness and madness. Has turned the man-child's head?' Uprose the merry Sphinx, And crouched no more in storm : She hopped into the baby's eyes. She hopped into the morn, She spired into a yellow flame. She flowered in blossoms red, She flowed into a foaming wave. She stood Monadnoc's head. P 226 AMERICAN LITERATURE. Thorough a thousand voices Spoke the universal dame, " Who telleth one of my meanings, Is master of all I am." GREAT WORKS A GROWTH. It is easy to see that what is best written or done by genius, in the world, was no man's work, but came by wide social labor, when a thousand wrought like one, sharing the same ' impulse. Our English Bible is a wonderful specimen of the strength and music of the Eng- lish language. But it was not made by one man, or at one time ; but centuries and churches brought it to perfection. There never was a time when there was not some translation ex- isting. The Liturgy, admired for its energy and pathos, is an antlaology of the piety of ages and nations, a translation of the prayers and forms of the Catholic Church, — these, collected, too, in long periods, from the prayers and meditations of every saint and sacred writer, all over the world The nervous language of the Common Law, the impressive forms of our courts, and the precision and substantial truth of the legal distinctions are the contri- bution of all the sharp-sighted, strong-minded men who have lived in the countries where those laws govern The world takes liberties with world-books. Vedas, JEsop's Fables, Pilpay, Arabian Nights, Cid, Iliad, Robin Hood, Scottish Minstrelsy, are not the work of single men. In the composition of such works, the time thinks, the market thinks, the mason, the carpenter, the merchant, the farmer, the fop, all think for us. Every book supplies its time with one good word ; every municipal law, every trade, every folly of the ^ day ; and the generic catholic genius who is not afraid or ashamed to owe his originality to the originality of all, stands with the next age as the recorder and embodiment of his own. SHAKESPEARE BIOGRAPHY. Can any biography shed light on the localities into which the Midsummer Night's Dream admits me ? Did Shakespeare confide to any notary or parish recorder, sacristan, or surro- gate, in Stratford, the genesis of that delicate creation? The forest of Arden, the nimble air of Scone Castle, the moonlight of Portia's villa, "the antres vast and deserts idle," of Othello's captivity, — where is the third cousin, or grand-nephew, the chancellor's file of ac- counts, or private letters, that has kept one word of those transcendent secrets ? In fine, in this drama, as in all great works of art, — in the Cyclopasan architecture of Egypt and In- dia; in the Phidian sculpture; the Gothic minsters; the Italian paintings ; the Ballads of Spain and Scotland, — the Genius draws up the ladder after him, when the creative age goes up to heaven, and gives way to a new, who see the works, and ask in vain fur a history. Shakespeare is the only biographer of Shakes])eare ; and even he can tell nothing, except to the Shakespeare in us ; that is, to our most apprehensive and symjiathetic hour. lie can- not step from off his tripod, and give us anecdotes of his inspirations. Read the auti(iuo documents extricated, analyzed, and compared, by the assiduous Dyce and Collior; and now read one of those skiey sentences — aerolites — which seem to have fallen out of heaven, and which, not your experience, but the man within the breast, has accepted as words of fate; and tell me if they match; if the former account in any manner for the latter; or, which gives the most historical insight into the man. Hence, though our external history is so meagre, yet, with Shakespeare for biographer, instead of Aubrey and Rowe, we have really the infqrmati(m which is material, that which describes character and fortune, that which, if we were about to meet the man and deal with him, would most import us to know. We have his recorded C(mvicti(ms on those questions which knock for answer at every heart, — on life and death, on love, on wealth and poverty, on the prizes of life, and the ways wliereby we come at them ; on the charac- ters of men, and the influences, occult and open, which alfect their fortunes ; and on those FROM 1830 TO 1850. 227 mysterious and demoniacal powers which defy our science, and which yet interweave their malice and their gift in our brightest hours. Whoever read the volume of the Sonnets, without fimling that the poet had there revealed, under masks that arc no masks to thi; in- telligent, tlie love of friendship and of love; the confusion of sentiment in tlxe most sus- ceptible, and at the same time, the most intellectual of men? What trait of his private mind has he hidden in his dramas? One can discern, in liis ample pictures of tlie gentle- man and the king, what forms and humanities pleased him ; his delight in troops of friends, in large hospitality, in cheerful giving. Lot Timon, let Warwick, let Antonio the merchant, answer for his great heart. So far from Shakespeare being the least known, he is the one person, in all modern history, knoM-n to us. What point of morals, of manners, of economj-, of philosophy, of religion, of taste, of the conduct of life, has he not settled? What mys- tery has he not signified his knowledge of? What office, or fimction, or district of man's work has he not remembered? What king has he not taught state, as Talina taught Napo- leon? What maiden has not found him finer than her delicacy? What lover has he not outloved? What sage has he not outseen? What gentleman has he not instructed in the rudeness of hia behavior ? Margaret Fuller, Marchioness D'Ossoli. Sajrah Margaret Fuller, Marchioness D'Ossoli, 1810-1850, is asso- ciated, in history and in her modes of thinking and writing, with her friend and biographer, Ealph Waldo Emerson. Her writings were chiefly criti- cal, her Papers on Literature and Art being her best volume. She was while living noted also for her conversational power, in which particular she is thought to have been fully equal to the celebrated Madame de Stael. Margaret Fuller was born in Cambridge, Mass. She was the daughter of the Hon. Timothy Fuller, a lawj^er of Boston, but nearly all his life a resident of Cambridge, and a Represen- tative of the Middlesex District in Congress from 1817 to 1825. Mr. Fuller, upon his retire- ment from Congress, purchased a farm at some distance from Boston, and abandoned law for agriculture, soon after which he died. Margaret from a very early age evinced the possession of remarkable intellectual powers. Her father regarded her with a proud admiration, and was from childhood her chief in- structor, guide, companion, and friend. Ho was accustomed to require of her, at eight years of age, the composition of a number of Latin verses every day. Iler studies in phi- losophy, history, general science, and current literature were in after years extensive and profound. After her father's death, she applied herself to teaching as a vocation, first in Boston, then in Providence, and afterwards in Boston again, where her "Conversations" were for several seasons attended by classes of women, some of them married, and including many from the best families of that city. In the autumn of 184:4, she accepted an invitation to write for the New York Tribune, in the department of llevievs and Criticisms on current Literature and Art, a position which she filled with eminent ability for nearly two years. She had previously found " fit audience though few," for a series of remarkable papers in The Dial, of which she wius at first co-editor with Emersim, but which Wiis afterwards edited by him only, though she contiu- ued a contributor to its pages. The subjects discussed in these papers wore the following: Lord Herbert of Cherbury ; Woman ; The Great Musicians, etc. In 1843, Miss Fuller accompanied some friends on a tour by Niaga^^ Detroit, and Mack- inac to Chicago, and across the prairies of Illinois. The resulting volume, entitled »Sum- mer on the Lakes, is considered one of her besi works in this department. Her Womou 228 AMERICAN LITERATURE. in the Nineteenth Century — an extension of her essay in The Dial, was published early in 1315, and a moderate edition sold. The next year a selection from her Papers on Litera- ture and Art was issued by Wiley and Putnam, in two volumes of their Library of American Books. These Papers embody some of her best contributions to The Dial, The Tribune, and perhaps one or two which had not appeared in either. In the summer of 1845, Miss Fuller accompanied the family of a friend to Europe, visiting England, Scotland, France, and passing through Italy to Rome, where they spent the ensuing winter. She accompanied her friends next spring to the north of Italy, and there stopped, spending most of the next summer at Florence, and returning at the approach of winter to Rome, where she was soon after married to Giovanni, Marquis d'Ossoli, who had made her acquaintance during her first winter in the Eternal City. They afterwards resided in the Roman States until the summer of 1850, when they, deemed it expedient to migrate to Florence, both having taken an active part in the Republican movement. In June they set sail at Leghorn for New York, in the Philadelphia brig Elizabeth, which was doomed to encounter a succession of disasters. They had not been many days at sea when the captain was prostrated by a disease which ultimately exhibited itself as confluent small-pox of the most malignant type, and terminated his life soon after they touched at Gibraltar, after a sickness of intense agony and loathsome horror. The vessel was detained some days in quarantine by reason of this affliction, but finally set sail again just in season to bring her on our coast on the fearful night between the 18th and 19th of July, 1850, when darkness, rain, and a terrible gale from the south-west conspired to hurl her into the very jaws of destruction. She struck during the night, and before the next evening was a mass of drifting sticks and planks, while the passengers and part of the crew were buried in the boiling surges. Among those drowned in this fearful wreck were the Marquis and Marchioness d'Ossoli, and their only child. Horace Binney Wallace. Horace Binney Wallace, 1817-1852, was a man of remarkable abili- ties and character. His posthumous volumes on Art and Scenery in Europe, and Literary Criticisms and Other Papers, though fragmentary and incomplete, give on every page evidence of the very highest abilities as a literary and art critic. His early death occasioned profound regret. Mr. Wallace was a native and resident of Philadelphia, and a nephew of the distinguished jurist, Horace Binney. After studying for two years in the University of Pennsylvania, he entered Princeton, graduating in the class of 1835. He studied both medicine and law, but practised neither. He travelled in Europe in 184:9 and '50, and again in 18.52, dying in the year last named, at Paris. After his death were published : Art and Scenery in Europe ; Literary Criticism and Other Papers. He had been engaged, with Mr. J. I. Clarke Hare, in the preparation of a series of volumes on Civil and Canonical Law, which received the high- est commendations of the profession. Mr. "Wallace's first publication was a novel, Stanley, or The Recollections of a Man of the World, written at the age of twenty. " I doubt whether history displays, at thirty years of age, a loftier nature, or one more usefully or profoundly cultivated." — Daniel Webster. Henry Reed. Henry Eeed, LL. D., 1808-1854, grandson of General Joseph Keed of Revolutionary memory, and Professor of Rhetoric and English Literature in the University of Pennsylvania, is widely and most favorably known by his Lectures on English Literature and other works of a like character. FROM 1830 TO 1850. 229 Prof. Reed was born in Pliiladelphia, and graduated at the University of Pennsylvania, in the class of 1825. He studied law and was admitted to tlie bar, but afterwards devoted him- self to the more congenial pursuits of literature. He was lost on the steamer Arctic, Sept. 27, 1854. Prof. Reed was a man of fine literary culture, an accomplished writer, lecturer, and critic; and his sudden death iu the midst of his ye