Oh, dinna ask me gin I lo’e ye:Troth, I daurna tell!Dinna ask me gin I lo’e ye,—Ask it o’ yoursel’.“Dinna Ask Me,”—John Dunlop.
Oh, dinna ask me gin I lo’e ye:Troth, I daurna tell!Dinna ask me gin I lo’e ye,—Ask it o’ yoursel’.
“Dinna Ask Me,”—John Dunlop.
John Dunlop, a noted Scottish song-writer, was born March 25 (?), 1755, and died at Port Glasgow, September 4, 1820. His Most famous song is, “Oh, Dinna Ask Me Gin I Lo’e Ye,” which won for him great fame.
The stately ship is seen no more,The fragile skiff attains the shore;And while the great and wise decay,And all their trophies pass away,Some sudden thought, some careless rhyme,Still floats above the wrecks of Time.“On an Old Song,”—William Edward Hartpole Lecky.
The stately ship is seen no more,The fragile skiff attains the shore;And while the great and wise decay,And all their trophies pass away,Some sudden thought, some careless rhyme,Still floats above the wrecks of Time.
“On an Old Song,”—William Edward Hartpole Lecky.
William Edward Hartpole Lecky, a distinguished English historian, was born in Dublin, Ireland, March 26, 1838, and died in 1903. Among his works may be mentioned: “History of the Rise and Influence of the Spiritof Rationalism in Europe,” “The Leaders of Public Opinion in Ireland,” “A History of England in the 18th Century,” “A History of Ireland in the 18th Century,” “Democracy and Liberty,” “A History of European Morals from Augustus to Charlemagne.”
When I was one and twentyI heard a wise man say:“Give crowns and pounds and guineasBut not your heart away.”“A Shropshire Lad,”—Alfred Edward Housman.
When I was one and twentyI heard a wise man say:“Give crowns and pounds and guineasBut not your heart away.”
“A Shropshire Lad,”—Alfred Edward Housman.
Alfred Edward Housman, a noted English poet, was born March 26, 1859. Among his poetical pieces are: “A Shropshire Lad,” “The Recruit,” “The Street Sounds to the Soldiers’ Tread,” “The Day of Battle,” “On the Idle Hill of Summer,” “Loveliest of Trees,” etc.
The army is a good book to open to study human life. One learns there to put his hand to everything, to the lowest and highest things. The most delicate and rich are forced to see living nearly everywhere poverty, and to live with it, and to measure his morsel of bread and draught of water.—Alfred de Vigny.
The army is a good book to open to study human life. One learns there to put his hand to everything, to the lowest and highest things. The most delicate and rich are forced to see living nearly everywhere poverty, and to live with it, and to measure his morsel of bread and draught of water.
—Alfred de Vigny.
Alfred Victor, Comte de Vigny, a celebrated French writer, was born in Loches, March 27, 1799, and died in Paris, September 17, 1863. His works include: “Cinq-Mars,” “Consultations of Dr. Noir,” etc. He also wrote several plays, “Chatterton” being the most famous.
But the sunshine aye shall light the sky,As round and round we run;And the truth shall ever come uppermost,And justice shall be done.“Eternal Justice,” Stanza 4,—Charles Mackay.
But the sunshine aye shall light the sky,As round and round we run;And the truth shall ever come uppermost,And justice shall be done.
“Eternal Justice,” Stanza 4,—Charles Mackay.
Charles Mackay, a noted Scottish poet, journalist, and miscellaneous writer, was born at Perth, March 27, 1814, and died in London, December 24, 1889. He wrote: “Voicesfrom the Mountains,” “Voices from the Crowd,” “The Salamandrine, or Love and Immortality,” etc.
The school is the manufactory of humanity.—Comenius.
The school is the manufactory of humanity.
—Comenius.
Johann Amos Comenius, an illustrious theologian and educator, was born at Nivnitz (?), Moravia, March 28, 1592, and died at Amsterdam, November 15, 1670. He has written: “Gate of Languages Unlocked,” “World of Sense Depicted,” “Great Didactics, or the Whole Art of Teaching Everything,” etc.
We shall be judged, not by what we might have been, but what we have been.—Sewall.
We shall be judged, not by what we might have been, but what we have been.
—Sewall.
Samuel Sewall, a distinguished American jurist, was born in Bishopstoke, England, March 28, 1652, and died in Boston, January 1, 1730. He wrote: “The Selling of Joseph,” “The Accomplishment of Prophecies,” “A Memorial Relating to the Kennebec Indians,” “A Description of the New Heaven,” His “Diary” was published in the “Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society.”
I have lived long enough to know what I did not at one time believe—that no society can be upheld in happiness and honor without the sentiment of religion.—La Place.
I have lived long enough to know what I did not at one time believe—that no society can be upheld in happiness and honor without the sentiment of religion.
—La Place.
Pierre Simon, Marquis de Laplace, a renowned French mathematician and physical astronomer, was born at Beaumont-en-Auge, March 28, 1749, and died at Paris, March 5, 1827. His works include: “Exposition of the System of the Universe,” “Mechanism of the Heavens,” “Analytic Theory of Probabilities,” “Philosophical Essay on Probabilities,” etc.
The love of truth is the stimulus to all noble conversation. This is the root of all the charities. The tree which springs from it may have a thousand branches, but they will all bear a golden and generous fruitage.—Orville Dewey.
The love of truth is the stimulus to all noble conversation. This is the root of all the charities. The tree which springs from it may have a thousand branches, but they will all bear a golden and generous fruitage.
—Orville Dewey.
Orville Dewey, a noted American clergyman and man of letters, was born in Sheffield, Mass., March 28, 1794, and died there, March 21, 1882. Among his works are: “Discourses on Human Nature,” “Discourses on the Nature of Religion,” “The Problem of Human Destiny,” etc.
One thing only in this world is certain—duty.“Selected Essays,”—James Darmesteter.
One thing only in this world is certain—duty.
“Selected Essays,”—James Darmesteter.
James Darmesteter, a distinguished French Orientalist, was born at Château-Salins, March 28, 1849, and died October 19, 1894. Among his writings may be mentioned: “Ormazd and Ahriman,” “Iranian Studies,” “Origins of Persian Poetry,” and “Selected Essays.”
You’d scarce expect one of my ageTo speak in public on the stage;And if I chance to fall belowDemosthenes or Cicero,Don’t view me with a critic’s eye,But pass my imperfections by.Large streams from little fountains flow,Tall oaks from little acorns grow.“Lines written for a School Declamation,”—David Everett.
You’d scarce expect one of my ageTo speak in public on the stage;And if I chance to fall belowDemosthenes or Cicero,Don’t view me with a critic’s eye,But pass my imperfections by.Large streams from little fountains flow,Tall oaks from little acorns grow.
“Lines written for a School Declamation,”—David Everett.
David Everett, a noted American journalist and miscellaneous writer, was born at Princeton, Mass., March 29, 1770, and died at Marietta, Ohio, December 21, 1813. He wrote: “Common Sense in Deshabille or the Farmer’s Monitor,” “The Rights and Duties of Nations,” and “Darenzel, or the Persian Patriot.”
I am but a gatherer and disposer of other men’s stuff.“Preface to the Elements of Architecture,”—Sir Henry Wotton.
I am but a gatherer and disposer of other men’s stuff.
“Preface to the Elements of Architecture,”—Sir Henry Wotton.
Sir Henry Wotton, a famous English diplomatist, poet, and miscellaneous writer, was born at Boughton, Malherbe, Kent, March 30, 1568, and died at Eton, December, 1639. He wrote: “State of Christendom,” “Poems,” “Elements of Architecture,” etc.
From the very beginning Freeman’s historical studies were characterized on the one hand by philosophical breadth of view, and on the other hand by extreme accuracy of statement, and such loving minuteness of detail as is apt to mark the local antiquary whose life has been spent in studying only one thing. It was to the combination of these two characteristics that the pre-eminent greatness of his historical work was due.“A Century of Science and other Essays,”—John Fiske.
From the very beginning Freeman’s historical studies were characterized on the one hand by philosophical breadth of view, and on the other hand by extreme accuracy of statement, and such loving minuteness of detail as is apt to mark the local antiquary whose life has been spent in studying only one thing. It was to the combination of these two characteristics that the pre-eminent greatness of his historical work was due.
“A Century of Science and other Essays,”—John Fiske.
John Fiske, a renowned American historian, was born at Hartford, Conn., March 30, 1842, and died at Gloucester, Mass., July 4, 1901. He has written: “Outlines of Cosmic Philosophy,” “The Unseen World,” “Darwinism,” “American Political Ideas,” “The Critical Period of American History,” “The Idea of God,” “The American Revolution,” “The Beginnings of New England,” “The Discovery of America,” “Dutch and Quaker Colonies in America” (1899), “Civil Government of the United States,” “The Mississippi Valley in the Civil War,” “Old Virginia and her Neighbors,” 2 vols., etc.
(Et) le malheur est bien un trésor qu’on déterre.[3]“Amour,”—Paul Verlaine.
(Et) le malheur est bien un trésor qu’on déterre.[3]
“Amour,”—Paul Verlaine.
Paul Verlaine, a celebrated French poet and story writer was born at Metz, March 30, 1844, and died at Paris, January 8, 1896. He wrote: “Saturnine Poems,” “Gay Festivals,” “Memoirs of a Widower,” “Stories Without Words,” “Love,” “Dedications,” “Good Luck,” “My Hospitals,” etc.
When anyone has offended me, I try to raise my soul so high that the offence cannot reach it.—Descartes.
When anyone has offended me, I try to raise my soul so high that the offence cannot reach it.
—Descartes.
René Descartes, the illustrious French philosopher, was born at La Haye, Touraine, March 31, 1596, and died at Stockholm, February 11, 1650. His works include: “Discourse on Method,” “Meditations in Elementary Philosophy,” “Philosophical Beginnings,” “Dioptrique,” “Meteors,” “Geometry,” “Treatise on the Passions,” and “Letters to the Princess Elizabeth.”
The world in all doth but two nations bear—The good, the bad, and these mixed everywhere.“The Loyal Scot,”—Andrew Marvell.
The world in all doth but two nations bear—The good, the bad, and these mixed everywhere.
“The Loyal Scot,”—Andrew Marvell.
Andrew Marvell, a famous English poet and satirist, was born at Winstead, Yorkshire, March 31, 1621, and died in London, August 18, 1678. He wrote: “The Nymph Complaining,” “The Rehearsal Transposed,” “Horatian Ode on Cromwell’s Return from Ireland,” and his well-known “Poems on Affairs of State.”
Whether we wake or we sleep,Whether we carol or weep,The Sun with his Planets in chime,Marketh the going of Time.“Chronomoros,”—Edward Fitzgerald.
Whether we wake or we sleep,Whether we carol or weep,The Sun with his Planets in chime,Marketh the going of Time.
“Chronomoros,”—Edward Fitzgerald.
Edward Fitzgerald, a renowned English poet, was born at Bredfield House, near Suffolk, March 31, 1809, and died June 14, 1883. Among his writings are: “The Mighty Magician,” “Six Dramas from Calderon,” and “The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám.” These are all translations of foreign poems.
There’s a joy without canker or cark,There’s a pleasure eternally new,’Tis to gloat on the glaze and the markOf China that’s ancient and blue.“Ballades in Blue China,”—Andrew Lang.
There’s a joy without canker or cark,There’s a pleasure eternally new,’Tis to gloat on the glaze and the markOf China that’s ancient and blue.
“Ballades in Blue China,”—Andrew Lang.
Andrew Lang, a noted English poet, story-teller and literary critic, was born at Selkirk, Scotland, March 31, 1844, and died in 1912. Among his works are: “Letters to Dead Authors,” “Helen of Troy,” “Ballads and Lyrics of Old France,” “Custom and Myth,” “Myth, Ritual, and Religion,” “Ballades in Blue China,” etc.
[1]God sends His highly favored onesInto the wide, wide world to roam.
[1]
God sends His highly favored onesInto the wide, wide world to roam.
[2]Bear ye! Bravely endure;Just one short hour—And thy dark room with sunshine glows.
[2]
Bear ye! Bravely endure;Just one short hour—And thy dark room with sunshine glows.
[3]Misfortune is in truth a treasure we unearth.
[3]Misfortune is in truth a treasure we unearth.
APRIL
Dis moi ce que tu manges, je te dirai ce que tu es.[1]“Physiologie du Goût,”—Brillat-Savarin.
Dis moi ce que tu manges, je te dirai ce que tu es.[1]
“Physiologie du Goût,”—Brillat-Savarin.
Anthèlme Brillat-Savarin, a distinguished French author, was born April 1, 1755, and died in 1826. His fame rests on the noted work: “Physiology of Taste.”
Wir Deutschen furchten Gott, sonst aber nichts in der Welt.[2]“Speech in the Reichstag,” 1887,—Prince Bismarck.
Wir Deutschen furchten Gott, sonst aber nichts in der Welt.[2]
“Speech in the Reichstag,” 1887,—Prince Bismarck.
Otto Edward Leopold Von Bismarck, the renowned German statesman, was born at Schonhausen, April 1, 1815, and died in 1898. “Bismarck’s Letters” won for him a place in literature.
Without doubtI can teach crowing: for I gobble.“Chantecler,” Act. i, Sc. 2,—Edmond Rostand.
Without doubtI can teach crowing: for I gobble.
“Chantecler,” Act. i, Sc. 2,—Edmond Rostand.
Edmond Rostand, a noted French dramatist, was born in Marseilles, April 1, 1868, and died in 1918. His notable plays include: “Les Romanesques,” “La Princesse Lointaine,” “La Samaritaine,” “Cyrano de Bergerac,” “L’Aiglon,” “Poems,” “Les Musardises,” “Pour la Grèce,” “Un Soir à Hernani,” “Les Mots,” “Chantecler,” “Le Cantique de l’Aile,” “Le Printemps de l’Aile,” etc.
The God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time.“Summary View of the Rights of British America,”—Thomas Jefferson.
The God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time.
“Summary View of the Rights of British America,”—Thomas Jefferson.
Thomas Jefferson, a distinguished American statesman, was born at Shadwell, Va., April 2, 1743, and died at Monticello, Va., July 4, 1826. He wrote: “Notes on Virginia,” “Autobiography,” “Correspondence,” etc. The Declaration of Independence was also written by him.
Michael Angelo has expressed in colors what Dante saw and has sung to the generations of the earth.(Miserere) “In the Sistine Chapel,” from “The Improvisatore” (Translation by Mary Howitt),—Hans Christian Andersen.
Michael Angelo has expressed in colors what Dante saw and has sung to the generations of the earth.
(Miserere) “In the Sistine Chapel,” from “The Improvisatore” (Translation by Mary Howitt),—Hans Christian Andersen.
Hans Christian Andersen, a renowned Danish poet and story writer, was born at Odense, April 2, 1805, and died August 4, 1875. He wrote: “The Poet’s Bazar,” “Only a Fiddler,” “The Picture Book Without Pictures,” “The Improvisatore,” and his celebrated “Wonder Tales” for children. Among his dramatic compositions are: “Raphaella,” “The Two Baronesses,” “The Flowers of Happiness,” etc.
Genius and its rewards are briefly told:A liberal nature and a niggard doom,A difficult journey to a splendid tomb.“Dedication of the Life and Adventures of Oliver Goldsmith,”—John Forster.
Genius and its rewards are briefly told:A liberal nature and a niggard doom,A difficult journey to a splendid tomb.
“Dedication of the Life and Adventures of Oliver Goldsmith,”—John Forster.
John Forster, a noted English biographer and historical writer, was born in Newcastle-on-Tyne, April 2, 1812, and died in London, February 2, 1876. He wrote: “Life of Charles Dickens,” “Statesmen of the Commonwealth of England,” “Life of Oliver Goldsmith,” “Biographical and Historical Essays,” etc.
Sweet day, so cool, so calm, so bright,The bridal of the earth and sky.“Virtue,”—George Herbert.
Sweet day, so cool, so calm, so bright,The bridal of the earth and sky.
“Virtue,”—George Herbert.
George Herbert, a celebrated English poet, was born in Montgomery Castle, Montgomeryshire, April 3, 1593, anddied at Bemerton, Wiltshire, in 1633. His most noted poems are: “Sweet Day, So Cool, So Calm, So Bright,” “Virtue,” “Life,” “Love,” “Discipline,” “Holy Baptism,” etc.
The almighty dollar, that great object of universal devotion throughout our land, seems to have no genuine devotees in these peculiar villages.“The Creole Village,”—Washington Irving.
The almighty dollar, that great object of universal devotion throughout our land, seems to have no genuine devotees in these peculiar villages.
“The Creole Village,”—Washington Irving.
Washington Irving, the renowned American historian, biographer, and man of letters, was born in New York, April 3, 1783, and died at “Sunnyside,” near Tarrytown, N. Y., November 28, 1859. His principal works are: “The Alhambra,” “Mahomet and His Successors,” “Conquest of Granada,” “The Sketch Book,” “Bracebridge Hall,” “Life and Times of Christopher Columbus,” “Companions of Columbus,” “Life of Washington,” “A Voyage to the Eastern Part of Terra Firma,” a translation; “Life of Oliver Goldsmith,” “Astoria,” “History of New York, by Diedrich Knickerbocker,” “The Poetical Works of Thomas Campbell,” “The Rocky Mountains: Journal of Captain B. L. E. Bonneville,” etc.
To look up and not down,To look forward and not back,To look out and not in, andTo lend a hand.Rule of the “Harry Wadsworth Club,” from “Ten Times One Is Ten,” 1870,—Edward Everett Hale.
To look up and not down,To look forward and not back,To look out and not in, andTo lend a hand.
Rule of the “Harry Wadsworth Club,” from “Ten Times One Is Ten,” 1870,—Edward Everett Hale.
Edward Everett Hale, a distinguished American divine and prose-writer, was born in Boston, Mass., April 3, 1822, and died June 10, 1909. Among his writings are: “The Man Without a Country,” “My Double and How He Undid Me,” “Ten Times One is Ten,” “The Skeleton in the Closet,” “In His Name,” “Ups and Downs,” “Philip Nolan’s Friends,” “The Kingdom of God,” “East and West,” “Ralph Waldo Emerson,” “Memories of a Hundred Years,” “We, the People,” “Prayers in the Senate,” “Foundations of the Republic,” etc.
Ah, happy world, where all things liveCreatures of one great law, indeed;Bound by strong roots, the splendid flower,—Swept by great seas, the drifting seed!“The Story of the Flower,”—Harriet P. Spofford.
Ah, happy world, where all things liveCreatures of one great law, indeed;Bound by strong roots, the splendid flower,—Swept by great seas, the drifting seed!
“The Story of the Flower,”—Harriet P. Spofford.
Harriet Elizabeth (Prescott) Spofford, a noted American poet and novelist, was born in Calais, Me., April 3, 1835, and died August 15, 1921. Among her noted works are: “New England Legends,” “Poems,” “Ballads about Authors,” “The Marquis of Carabas,” “A Master Spirit,” “In Titian’s Garden,” “The Thief in the Night,” “The Amber Gods, and Other Stories,” “In a Cellar,” etc.
No surer does the Auldgarth bridge, that his father helped to build, carry the traveller over the turbulent water beneath it, than Carlyle’s books convey the reader over chasms and confusions, where before there was no way, or only an inadequate one.—John Burroughs.
No surer does the Auldgarth bridge, that his father helped to build, carry the traveller over the turbulent water beneath it, than Carlyle’s books convey the reader over chasms and confusions, where before there was no way, or only an inadequate one.
—John Burroughs.
John Burroughs, a famous American essayist, was born in Roxbury, N. Y., April 3, 1837, and died in 1921. He has written: “Winter Sunshine,” “Fresh Fields,” “Wake-Robin,” “Birds and Poets,” “Locusts and Wild Honey,” “Sharp Eyes,” “Signs and Seasons,” “Riverely,” “The Light of Day,” “Ways of Nature,” “Camping and Tramping with Roosevelt,” “Under the Apple Trees,” etc.
There must always be, we presume, however age and experience may modify nature, a certain inability on the part of a woman to appreciate the more riotous forms of mirth, and that robust freedom in morals which bolder minds admire. It is a disability which nothing can abolish.—Mrs. Oliphant.
There must always be, we presume, however age and experience may modify nature, a certain inability on the part of a woman to appreciate the more riotous forms of mirth, and that robust freedom in morals which bolder minds admire. It is a disability which nothing can abolish.
—Mrs. Oliphant.
Margaret Wilson Oliphant, a well-known Scotch novelist, was born April 4, 1828, and died in 1897. Among her numerous works may be mentioned: “Zaidee,” “The Story of Valentine and His Brother,” “In Trust,” “A House Divided Against Itself,” “Sir Tom,” “The Cuckooin the Nest,” “English Literature at the End of the Eighteenth and Beginning of the Nineteenth Century,” “Victorian Age of English Literature,” “Makers of Florence, Venice, and Rome,” “The Reign of Queen Anne,” “The Makers of Modern Rome,” “William Blackwood and His Sons,” etc.
For words are wise men’s counters,—they do but reckon by them; but they are the money of fools.“The Leviathan,” Part i, Chap. iv,—Thomas Hobbes.
For words are wise men’s counters,—they do but reckon by them; but they are the money of fools.
“The Leviathan,” Part i, Chap. iv,—Thomas Hobbes.
Thomas Hobbes, a renowned English philosopher, was born in Malmesbury, April 5, 1588, and died at Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire, December 4, 1679. A few of his many works are: “De Cive,” “Human Nature,” “De Corpore Politico,” and “Leviathan, or the Matter, Form, and Power of a Commonwealth,” considered his masterpiece.
For blessings ever wait on virtuous deeds,And though a late, a sure reward succeeds.“The Mourning Bride,” Act V, Sc. xii.—Congreve.
For blessings ever wait on virtuous deeds,And though a late, a sure reward succeeds.
“The Mourning Bride,” Act V, Sc. xii.—Congreve.
William Congreve, an eminent English dramatist, was born in Bardsley, near Leeds, April 5, 1670, and died at London, January 19, 1729. Among his comedies are: “The Double Dealer,” “The Mourning Bride,” “The Old Bachelor,” and “Love for Love.”
It is a zealot’s faith that blasts the shrines of the false god, but builds no temple to the true.—Sydney Dobell.
It is a zealot’s faith that blasts the shrines of the false god, but builds no temple to the true.
—Sydney Dobell.
Sydney Thompson Dobell, a famous English poet, was born at Cranbrook, in Kent, April 5, 1824, and died in 1874. He wrote: “England in Time of War,” and two noted poems, “The Roman” and “Balder.” “Thoughts on Art, Philosophy and Religion,” appeared after his death.
I think it will be generally conceded that, at the time of his death, Mr. Lowell occupied the position of the foremost American citizen. In public regard, at home and abroad, his name naturally headed the list of prominent Americans. Looked upon as a man of letters, as a representative of our country in foreign lands, or in any of the various positions in which he appeared before the public, there was no one to whom it was the custom to name James Russell Lowell as second. Without occupying the highest rank in any of his vocations, he stood in front of his fellow-citizens, because he held so high a rank in so many of them.“Personal Tributes to Lowell, the Writer,” Vol. 5, p. 187,—Frank R. Stockton.
I think it will be generally conceded that, at the time of his death, Mr. Lowell occupied the position of the foremost American citizen. In public regard, at home and abroad, his name naturally headed the list of prominent Americans. Looked upon as a man of letters, as a representative of our country in foreign lands, or in any of the various positions in which he appeared before the public, there was no one to whom it was the custom to name James Russell Lowell as second. Without occupying the highest rank in any of his vocations, he stood in front of his fellow-citizens, because he held so high a rank in so many of them.
“Personal Tributes to Lowell, the Writer,” Vol. 5, p. 187,—Frank R. Stockton.
Frank Richard Stockton, a celebrated American author, was born in Philadelphia, April 5, 1834, and died April 20, 1902. Among his popular works may be mentioned: “Rudder Grange,” “The Lady or the Tiger,” “The Casting Away of Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine,” “The Dusantes,” “Tales Out of School,” “Adventures of Captain Horn,” “The Great Stone of Sardis,” “The Watchmaker’s Wife and Other Stories,” “Pomona’s Travels,” “Mrs. Cliff’s Yacht,” “Kate Bonnett,” etc.
Pleasure with pain for leaven,Summer with flowers that fell,Remembrance fallen from heaven,And Madness risen from hell,Strength without hands to smite,Love that endures for a breath;Night, the shadow of light,And Life, the shadow of death.“Atalanta in Calydon,” Chorus,—Swinburne.
Pleasure with pain for leaven,Summer with flowers that fell,Remembrance fallen from heaven,And Madness risen from hell,Strength without hands to smite,Love that endures for a breath;Night, the shadow of light,And Life, the shadow of death.
“Atalanta in Calydon,” Chorus,—Swinburne.
Algernon Charles Swinburne, an eminent English poet, was born in London, April 5, 1837; and died April 10, 1909. His publications include: “Poems and Ballads,” “The Queen Mother and Rosamond,” “Bothwell,” “Songs of the Springtides,” “A Century of Roundels,” “The Sisters,” “Studies in Song,” “Songs of Two Nations,” “Chastelard,” “Ode on the Proclamation of the FrenchRepublic,” “Songs Before Sunrise,” “Atalanta in Calydon,” “Under the Microscope,” “Tristram of Lyonesse and Other Poems,” “Marino Faliero,” “A Midsummer Holiday and Other Poems,” “Locrine,” a tragedy, a third series of “Poems and Ballads,” “Astrophel and Other Poems,” “The Tale of Balen,” “Rosamund, Queen of the Lombards,” a tragedy, etc.
From every place below the skiesThe grateful song, the fervent prayer,—The incense of the heart,—may riseTo heaven, and find acceptance there.“Every Place a Temple,”—John Pierpont.
From every place below the skiesThe grateful song, the fervent prayer,—The incense of the heart,—may riseTo heaven, and find acceptance there.
“Every Place a Temple,”—John Pierpont.
John Pierpont, a well-known American clergyman and poet, was born in Litchfield, Conn., April 6, 1785, and died in Medford, Mass., August 27, 1866. He wrote: “Airs of Palestine, and Other Poems,” also, his famous poem “Warren’s Address at the Battle of Bunker Hill.”
It came upon the midnight clear,That glorious song of old,From angels bending near the earthTo touch their harps of gold:“Peace on the earth, good-will to men,From Heaven’s all-gracious King!”The world in solemn stillness layTo hear the angels sing.“The Angels’ Song,”—Edmund Hamilton Sears.
It came upon the midnight clear,That glorious song of old,From angels bending near the earthTo touch their harps of gold:“Peace on the earth, good-will to men,From Heaven’s all-gracious King!”The world in solemn stillness layTo hear the angels sing.
“The Angels’ Song,”—Edmund Hamilton Sears.
Edmund Hamilton Sears, a noted American clergyman, religious writer and poet was born in Sandisfield, Mass., April 6, 1810, and died at Weston, Mass., January 14, 1876. He wrote: “Regeneration,” “Pictures of the Olden Time,” “Athanasia,” “Christian Lyrics,” “The Fourth Gospel: the Heart of Christ,” “Sermons and Songs of the Christian Life,” “Christ in the Life,” etc.
Dreams, books, are each a world; and books, we know,Are a substantial world, both pure and good.Bound these, with tendrils strong as flesh and blood,Our pastime and our happiness will grow.“Personal Talk,” Stanza 3,—William Wordsworth.
Dreams, books, are each a world; and books, we know,Are a substantial world, both pure and good.Bound these, with tendrils strong as flesh and blood,Our pastime and our happiness will grow.
“Personal Talk,” Stanza 3,—William Wordsworth.
William Wordsworth, the great English poet, was born at Cockermouth, Cumberland, April 7, 1770, and died at Rydal Mount, April 23, 1850. Among his noted works are: “The Excursion,” “Lyrical Ballads,” “The Prelude,” “Peter Bell,” “The Waggoner,” “Sonnets,” “Yarrow Revisited and Other Poems,” “Poems,” “An Evening Walk,” etc.
I sing New England, as she lights her fireIn every Prairie’s midst; and where the brightEnchanting stars shine pure through Southern night,She still is there, the guardian on the tower,To open for the world a purer hour.“New England,”—William E. Channing.
I sing New England, as she lights her fireIn every Prairie’s midst; and where the brightEnchanting stars shine pure through Southern night,She still is there, the guardian on the tower,To open for the world a purer hour.
“New England,”—William E. Channing.
William Ellery Channing, a distinguished American theologian, was born at Newport, R. I.; April 7, 1780, and died at Bennington, Vt.; April, 1842. His works were published in 1848, and comprise the following: “Youth of the Poet and Painter,” “Thoreau the Poet-Naturalist,” “Conversation in Rome Between an Artist and Catholic, and a Critic,” etc.
There came a new poet who, to the science of rhythm, the resources of expression, the gift of epic narration, the deep feeling for nature, to all the caprices of a delightful fancy, to all the favorite ideas, noble or morbid, of modern thought, knew how to join the language of manly passion. Thus, as it were summing up in himself all his forerunners, he touched all hearts; he linked together all admirations; he has remained the true representative, the last expression and final, of the poetic period to which he belongs. Tennyson reigns to-day almost alone in increasing and uncontested glory.“Taine’s History of English Literature,”Essays on English Literature, tr. Saintsbury, p. 87,—Edmond Scherer.
There came a new poet who, to the science of rhythm, the resources of expression, the gift of epic narration, the deep feeling for nature, to all the caprices of a delightful fancy, to all the favorite ideas, noble or morbid, of modern thought, knew how to join the language of manly passion. Thus, as it were summing up in himself all his forerunners, he touched all hearts; he linked together all admirations; he has remained the true representative, the last expression and final, of the poetic period to which he belongs. Tennyson reigns to-day almost alone in increasing and uncontested glory.
“Taine’s History of English Literature,”Essays on English Literature, tr. Saintsbury, p. 87,—Edmond Scherer.
Edmond Scherer, a celebrated French essayist and critic, was born in Paris, April 8, 1815, and died at Versailles, March 16, 1889. Among his writings are: “Miscellanies of Religious Criticism,” “Letters to my Pastor,” “Criticism and Belief,” “Miscellanies of Religious History,” etc.
I consider biennial elections as a security that the sober second thought of the people shall be law.“On Biennial Elections,” 1788,—Fisher Ames.
I consider biennial elections as a security that the sober second thought of the people shall be law.
“On Biennial Elections,” 1788,—Fisher Ames.
Fisher Ames, a famous American statesman and orator, was born at Dedham, Mass., April 9, 1758, and died there, July 4, 1808. He wrote many essays and orations.
Music should strike fire from the heart of man, and bring tears from the eyes of woman.—Beethoven.
Music should strike fire from the heart of man, and bring tears from the eyes of woman.
—Beethoven.
Ludwig Von Beethoven, a renowned German composer, was born at Bonn, April 9, 1770, and died at Vienna, in 1827. Besides his numerous musical productions, he won literary fame by his “Correspondence” and “Brentano Letters.”
Indolence is a delightful but distressing state; we must be doing something to be happy. Action is no less necessary than thought to the instinctive tendencies of the human frame.—Hazlitt.
Indolence is a delightful but distressing state; we must be doing something to be happy. Action is no less necessary than thought to the instinctive tendencies of the human frame.
—Hazlitt.
William Hazlitt, a celebrated English prose-writer and critic, was born in Maidstone, Kent, April 10, 1778, and died in London, September 18, 1830. He wrote: “The Spirit of the Age,” “Characters of Shakespeare’s Plays,” “Lectures on English Poets,” etc.
Riches take wings, comforts vanish, hope withers away, but love stays with us. Love is God.—Lew Wallace.
Riches take wings, comforts vanish, hope withers away, but love stays with us. Love is God.
—Lew Wallace.
Lewis Wallace (“Lew Wallace”), a famous American general, lawyer, and novelist, was born at Brookville,Ind., April 10, 1827, and died in 1905. Among his notable works are: “The Fair God,” “Ben Hur,” “The Life of Gen. Benjamin Harrison,” “Commodus: a Tragedy,” “The Boyhood of Christ,” “The Prince of India,” etc.
Bend low, O dusky Night,And give my spirit rest,Hold me to your deep breast,And put old cares to flight.Give back the lost delightThat once my soul possest,When Love was loveliest.“To-night,”—Louise Chandler Moulton.
Bend low, O dusky Night,And give my spirit rest,Hold me to your deep breast,And put old cares to flight.Give back the lost delightThat once my soul possest,When Love was loveliest.
“To-night,”—Louise Chandler Moulton.
Louise (Chandler) Moulton, a noted American poet, story-writer, and critic, was born in Pomfret, Conn., April 10, 1835, and died August 10, 1908. She wrote: “The True Flag,” “This, That and the Other,” “Juno Clifford,” “Bed-Time Stories,” “Firelight Stories,” “Stories Told at Twilight,” “In the Garden of Dreams,” “Poems,” etc.; also, “Miss Eyre from Boston and Other Stories,” “Lazy Tours in Spain,” etc.
Thus, when a barber and a collier fight, the barber beats the luckless collier-white; the dusty collier heaves his ponderous sack, and big with vengeance, beats the barber-black. In comes the brick dust man, with grime o’er spread, and beats the collier and the barber-red; black, red, and white, in various clouds are tost, and in the dust they raise the combatants are lost.“The Trip to Cambridge” in “Campbell’s Specimens of the British Poets,” Vol. vi, p. 185,—Christopher Smart.
Thus, when a barber and a collier fight, the barber beats the luckless collier-white; the dusty collier heaves his ponderous sack, and big with vengeance, beats the barber-black. In comes the brick dust man, with grime o’er spread, and beats the collier and the barber-red; black, red, and white, in various clouds are tost, and in the dust they raise the combatants are lost.
“The Trip to Cambridge” in “Campbell’s Specimens of the British Poets,” Vol. vi, p. 185,—Christopher Smart.
Christopher Smart, a famous English poet, was born at Shipbourne, Kent, April 11, 1722, and died May 21, 1771. His works include: “Translation of the Psalms of David,” “The Hilliad: An Epic Poem,” “Song to David,” “Power of the Supreme Being,” “Poems,” “Poems on Several Occasions,” etc.
Give me the avowed, the erect, the manly foe,Bold I can meet,—perhaps may turn his blow!But of all plagues, good Heaven, thy wrath can send,Save, save, oh save me from thecandid friend!“New Morality,”—George Canning.
Give me the avowed, the erect, the manly foe,Bold I can meet,—perhaps may turn his blow!But of all plagues, good Heaven, thy wrath can send,Save, save, oh save me from thecandid friend!
“New Morality,”—George Canning.
George Canning, an English statesman, orator, and writer of great distinction, was born in London, April 11, 1770, and died at Chiswick, August 8, 1827. He wrote: “The Needy Knife-Grinder,” “The Rovers,” etc.
When I am dead, no pageant trainShall waste their sorrows at my bier,Nor worthless pomp of homage vain.Stain it with hypocritic tear.“Alaric the Visigoth,”—Edward Everett.
When I am dead, no pageant trainShall waste their sorrows at my bier,Nor worthless pomp of homage vain.Stain it with hypocritic tear.
“Alaric the Visigoth,”—Edward Everett.
Edward Everett, a famous American statesman, was born at Dorchester, Mass., April 11, 1794, and died January 15, 1865. Among his writings were: “Mount Vernon Papers,” “Defense of Christianity,” “Orations and Speeches,” etc.
The gentleman [Josiah Quincy] cannot have forgotten his own sentiment, uttered even on the floor of this House, “Peaceably if we can, forcibly if we must.”“Speech,” Jan. 8, 1813.—Henry Clay.
The gentleman [Josiah Quincy] cannot have forgotten his own sentiment, uttered even on the floor of this House, “Peaceably if we can, forcibly if we must.”
“Speech,” Jan. 8, 1813.—Henry Clay.
Henry Clay, an eminent American orator and statesman, was born in Hanover, Va., April 12, 1777, and died at Washington, D. C., June 29, 1852. His “Complete Works,” were edited in 1857.
Coquetry whets the appetite; flirtation depraves it. Coquetry is the thorn that guards the rose,—easily trimmed off when once plucked. Flirtation is like the slime on water-plants, making them hard to handle, and when caught, only to be cherished in slimy waters.“Reveries of a Bachelor,”—Ik Marvel.
Coquetry whets the appetite; flirtation depraves it. Coquetry is the thorn that guards the rose,—easily trimmed off when once plucked. Flirtation is like the slime on water-plants, making them hard to handle, and when caught, only to be cherished in slimy waters.
“Reveries of a Bachelor,”—Ik Marvel.
Donald Grant Mitchell (“Ik Marvel”), a famous American novelist and essayist, was born at Norwich,Conn., April 12, 1822, and died in 1908. He wrote: “Dream Life,” “My Farm of Edgewood,” “Doctor Johns,” “Bound Together,” “Wet Days at Edgewood,” “English Lands, Letters and Kings,” and his most noted work, “Reveries of a Bachelor.”
Every white will have its blacke,And every sweet its soure.“Sir Cauline,” from “Reliques of Ancient Poetry,”—Thomas Percy.
Every white will have its blacke,And every sweet its soure.
“Sir Cauline,” from “Reliques of Ancient Poetry,”—Thomas Percy.
Thomas Percy, a noted English poet, was born at Bridgenorth in Shropshire, April 13, 1728 or 1729, and died at Dromore, Ireland, September 30, 1811. He wrote: “The Hermit of Warkworth,” the song, “O Nanny, Wilt Thou Gang Wi’ Me?” and published a collection of old ballads and songs under the title “Reliques of Ancient English Poetry.”
No creature lives that must not work and may not play.“Work and Play,”—Horace Bushnell.
No creature lives that must not work and may not play.
“Work and Play,”—Horace Bushnell.
Horace Bushnell, an eminent American clergyman, was born near Litchfield, Connecticut, April 14, 1802, and died at Hartford, Conn., in 1876. Among his numerous works may be mentioned: “Christian Nurture,” “God in Christ,” “Christ in Theology,” “The Vicarious Sacrifice,” “Nature and the Supernatural,” “Moral Uses of Dark Things,” “The Age of Homespun,” “Forgiveness and Law,” “Work and Play,” “The Character of Jesus,” “Christ and His Salvation,” etc.
Monuments! What are they? The very pyramids have forgotten their builders, or to whom they were dedicated. Deeds, not stones, are the true monuments of the great.—Motley.
Monuments! What are they? The very pyramids have forgotten their builders, or to whom they were dedicated. Deeds, not stones, are the true monuments of the great.
—Motley.
John Lothrop Motley, a famous American historian and diplomatist, was born at Dorchester, Mass., April 15,1814, and died in Dorsetshire, England, May 29, 1877. Among his works are: “Rise of the Dutch Republic,” “History of the United Netherlands,” “Causes of the Civil War in America,” “Life of John of Barneveld,” etc.
Not much talk—a great, sweet silence.“A Bundle of Letters,” Letter IV,—Henry James.
Not much talk—a great, sweet silence.
“A Bundle of Letters,” Letter IV,—Henry James.
Henry James, a distinguished American novelist and miscellaneous prose-writer, was born in New York, April 15, 1843, and died in February, 1916. Among his numerous works may be mentioned: “Roderick Hudson,” “A Passionate Pilgrim and Other Tales,” “The American,” “French Poets and Novelists,” “Daisy Miller: a Study,” “A Bundle of Letters,” “The Diary of a Man of Fifty,” “Washington Square,” “A Little Tour in France,” “The Portrait of a Lady,” “The Bostonians,” “The Tragic Muse,” “Partial Portraits,” “The Real Thing and Other Tales,” “The Private Life,” “The Wheel of Time,” “The Princess Casamassima,” “Essays in London and Elsewhere,” etc.
There paused to shut the door,A fellow called the Wind,With mystery before,And reticence behind.“At the Granite Gate,”—Bliss Carman.
There paused to shut the door,A fellow called the Wind,With mystery before,And reticence behind.
“At the Granite Gate,”—Bliss Carman.
Bliss Carman, a celebrated Canadian poet, was born at Fredericton, N. B., April 15, 1861. He has written: “Low Tide on Grand Pré: A Book of Lyrics,” “Songs from Vagabondia,” “Behind the Arras: A Book of the Unseen,” “A Winter Holiday,” “Christmas Eve at St. Kavin’s,” “Ode for the Coronation,” “Pipes of Pan No. I,” “Pipes of Pan No. II,” “The Kinship of Nature,” “The Friendship of Art,” “The Poetry of Life,” “The Making of Personality,” “Sappho,” “Daughters of Dawn,” “Oxford Book of American Verse,” “Earth Deities,” “April Airs,” etc.
Le roi règne et ne gouverne pas.[3]“In the National Newspaper,” July 1st, 1830.
Le roi règne et ne gouverne pas.[3]
“In the National Newspaper,” July 1st, 1830.
Louis Adolphe Thiers, a renowned French statesman and author, was born at Marseilles, April 16, 1797, and died at St. Germain, September 3, 1877. He wrote: “History of John Law,” “Man and Matter,” “On Property,” “History of the Consulate and the Empire,” and his most famous work, “History of the French Revolution.”
To be frank, the critics should say: “Gentlemen, I intend to speak of myself apropos of Shakespeare, Racine, Pascal, or Goethe.”—Anatole France.
To be frank, the critics should say: “Gentlemen, I intend to speak of myself apropos of Shakespeare, Racine, Pascal, or Goethe.”
—Anatole France.
Anatole France (Jacques Anatole Thibault), a celebrated French critic, poet and novelist, was born at Paris, April 16, 1844. He has written: “The Yule Log,” “Our Children: Scenes in Town and in the Fields,” “The Garden of Epicurus,” “Abeille,” “Poems,” “The Crime of Sylvester Bonnard,” “The Wishes of Jean Servien,” “Balthazar,” “Thais,” “My Friend’s Book,” “Le Jongleur de Notre Dame,” “Histoire de Jeanne d’Arc,” “La Revolte des Anges,” etc.
When that my mood is sad, and in the noiseAnd bustle of the crowd I feel rebuke,I turn my footsteps from its hollow joys,And sit me down beside the little brook;The waters have a music to mine earIt glads me much to hear.“The Shaded Water,”—William Gilmore Simms.
When that my mood is sad, and in the noiseAnd bustle of the crowd I feel rebuke,I turn my footsteps from its hollow joys,And sit me down beside the little brook;The waters have a music to mine earIt glads me much to hear.
“The Shaded Water,”—William Gilmore Simms.
William Gilmore Simms, a distinguished American poet and novelist, was born in Charleston, S. C., April 17, 1806, and died there June 11, 1870. His publications include: “The Wigwam and the Cabin; or, Tales of the South,” “Atalantis: A Tale of the Sea,” “Castle Dismal,” “The Maroon, and Other Tales,” “The Yemassee,” and “War Poetry of the South.”
Many a genius has been slow of growth,Oaks that flourish for a thousand yearsDo not spring up into beauty like a reed.“The Spanish Drama: Life of Lope De Vega.” Ch. II,—Geo. Henry Lewes.
Many a genius has been slow of growth,Oaks that flourish for a thousand yearsDo not spring up into beauty like a reed.
“The Spanish Drama: Life of Lope De Vega.” Ch. II,—Geo. Henry Lewes.
George Henry Lewes, a celebrated English historical and miscellaneous writer, was born at London, April 18, 1817, and died there November 28, 1878. Among his writings are: “The Life and Works of Goethe,” “History of Philosophy from Thales to Comte,” “The Physiology of Common Life,” “Seaside Studies,” “Studies in Animal Life,” “Aristotle: A Chapter from the History of Science,” “Problems of Life and Mind,” “The Physical Basis of Mind,” “Ranthorpe,” “The Noble Heart,” etc.
Friendship! mysterious cement of the soul!Sweetener of life, and solder of society.“The Grave,”—Robert Blair.
Friendship! mysterious cement of the soul!Sweetener of life, and solder of society.
“The Grave,”—Robert Blair.
Robert Blair, a noted Scottish poet, was born at Edinburgh, April 19 (?), 1699, and died February 4, 1746. His reputation as a poet rests solely on his famous poem, “The Grave,” written in blank verse.