FOOTNOTES:

Life is mostly froth and bubble;Two things stand like stone:—Kindness in another’s trouble,Courage in our own.Ye Weary Wayfarer. Finis Exoptatus.—Adam Lindsay Gordon(Lionel Gordon).

Life is mostly froth and bubble;Two things stand like stone:—Kindness in another’s trouble,Courage in our own.

Ye Weary Wayfarer. Finis Exoptatus.—Adam Lindsay Gordon(Lionel Gordon).

Adam Lindsay Gordon (Lionel Gordon), a noted Australian poet, was born October 28, 1833, and died June 24, 1870. His volumes of verse include: “Sea Spray and Smoke Drift,” “Ashtaroth: A Dramatic Lyric,” “Bush Ballads and Galloping Rhymes.”

A man ought to read just as inclination leads him; for what he reads as a task will do him little good.“Life of Johnson,” Vol. II, Chap. VI (1763),—Boswell.

A man ought to read just as inclination leads him; for what he reads as a task will do him little good.

“Life of Johnson,” Vol. II, Chap. VI (1763),—Boswell.

James Boswell, a famous Scottish biographer, was born in Edinburgh, October 29, 1740, and died in London, May 19, 1795. He wrote: “An Account of Corsica and Memoirs of Pascal Paoli,” “Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides with Samuel Johnson,” etc. His “Life of Dr. Samuel Johnson” is considered the most interesting biography that has ever been written.

N’est-on jamais tyran qu’avec un diadème?[1]“Caius Gracchus,”—Chénier.

N’est-on jamais tyran qu’avec un diadème?[1]

“Caius Gracchus,”—Chénier.

André Marie de Chénier, a renowned French poet, was born at Constantinople, October 30, 1762, and died July 25, 1794. Among his writings were: “Liberty,” “Invention,” “Dithyrambic on the Tennis Play,” and a beautiful elegy, “The Girl Captive.”

Moan, O ye Autumn Winds!Summer has fled,The flowers have closed their tender leaves and die;The lily’s gracious headAll low must lie,Because the gentle Summer now is dead.—Adelaide A. Procter.

Moan, O ye Autumn Winds!Summer has fled,The flowers have closed their tender leaves and die;The lily’s gracious headAll low must lie,Because the gentle Summer now is dead.

—Adelaide A. Procter.

Adelaide Anne Procter, an English poetess of great fame, was born at London, October 30, 1825, and died February 3, 1864. Her celebrated “Legends and Lyrics,” went through many editions.

A studious decliner of honours and titles.“Diary,” Introduction,—John Evelyn.

A studious decliner of honours and titles.

“Diary,” Introduction,—John Evelyn.

John Evelyn, a renowned English diarist, was born at Wotton, in Surrey, October 31, 1620, and died February27, 1706. His writings are: “A Parallel of Ancient and Modern Architecture,” “Sculptura, or the History and Art of Chalcography and Engraving on Copper,” “Sylva,” etc.; also his famous “Diary.”

A thing of beauty is a joy forever;Its loveliness increases; it will neverPass into nothingness.“Endymion,” Book i,—John Keats.

A thing of beauty is a joy forever;Its loveliness increases; it will neverPass into nothingness.

“Endymion,” Book i,—John Keats.

John Keats, an eminent English poet, was born in London, October 31, 1795, and died in Rome, 1821. He wrote: “Endymion, a Poetic Romance,” “Lamia, Isabella, the Eve of St. Agnes, and Other Poems,” including, also, the unfinished epic, “Hyperion.” “The Letters of John Keats to Fanny Brawne” appeared in 1878, and the “Letters to His Family and Friends” in 1891.

O Mother dear, Jerusalem,When shall I come to Thee?When shall my sorrows have an end?Thy joys when shall I see?—William Cowper Prime.

O Mother dear, Jerusalem,When shall I come to Thee?When shall my sorrows have an end?Thy joys when shall I see?

—William Cowper Prime.

William Cowper Prime, a distinguished American man of letters, was born at Cambridge, N. Y., October 31, 1825, and died in 1905. He wrote: “Owl Creek Letters,” “The Old House by the River,” “Later Years,” “Tent Life in the Holy Land,” “Boat Life in Egypt and Nubia,” “The Holy Cross,” “Pottery and Porcelain of All Times and Nations,” etc. He also wrote the famous hymn, “O, Mother Dear, Jerusalem.”

[1]Is there no tyrant but the crowned one?

NOVEMBER

Every age has its pleasures, its style of wit, and its own ways.“The Art of Poetry,” Canto iii, Line 374,—Boileau.

Every age has its pleasures, its style of wit, and its own ways.

“The Art of Poetry,” Canto iii, Line 374,—Boileau.

Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux, an eminent French critic and poet, was born in Paris, November 1, 1636, and died March 13, 1711. A few of his noted works are: “The Art of Poetry,” “The Farewell of a Poet to the City of Paris,” and his masterpiece, “The Reading Desk.”

I am dying, Egypt, dying;—Ebbs the crimson life-tide fast;And the dark Plutonian shadowsGather on the evening blast.Let thine arms, O Queen, enfold me;Hush thy sobs and bow thine ear;Listen to the great heart-secretsThou, and thou alone, must hear.“Antony to Cleopatra,” St. I,—William Haines Lytle.

“Antony to Cleopatra,” St. I,—William Haines Lytle.

William Haines Lytle, a distinguished American general and poet, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, November 2, 1826, and was killed at the Battle of Chickamauga, Tenn., September 20, 1863. His best-known poems are “Antony to Cleopatra,” and “Jacqueline.”

All men of whatever quality they be, who have done anything of excellence, or which may properly resemble excellence, ought, if they are persons of truth and honesty, to describe their life with their own hand; but they ought not to attempt so fine an enterprise till they have passed the age of forty.—Benvenuto Cellini.

—Benvenuto Cellini.

Benvenuto Cellini, a famous Italian sculptor, metal-worker, and writer of memoirs, was born in Florence, November 3, 1500, and died there, February 13, 1571. His“Autobiography” won for him an important place in letters.

So live, that when thy summons comes to joinThe innumerable caravan which movesTo that mysterious realm where each shall takeHis chamber in the silent halls of death,Thou go not, like the quarry-slave at night,Scourged to his dungeon, but sustained and soothedBy an unfaltering trust, approach thy graveLike one that wraps the drapery of his couchAbout him, and lies down to pleasant dreams.“Thanatopsis,”—William Cullen Bryant.

“Thanatopsis,”—William Cullen Bryant.

William Cullen Bryant, the celebrated American poet, was born in Cummington, Mass., November 3, 1794, and died in New York, June 12, 1878. His poetical works include: “The Yellow Violet,” “Poems,” “To a Water-fowl,” “The Ages,” “The West Wind,” “June,” “The Fountain and Other Poems,” “Death of the Flowers,” “The White-Footed Deer and Other Poems,” “The Flood of Years,” and his famous “Thanatopsis.” He also wrote: “Letters of a Traveler,” “Letters from the East,” “Letters from Spain,” etc.

Rock of Ages, cleft for me,Let me hide myself in thee.“Salvation through Christ,”—A. M. Toplady.

Rock of Ages, cleft for me,Let me hide myself in thee.

“Salvation through Christ,”—A. M. Toplady.

Augustus Montague Toplady, a distinguished Anglican divine, was born November 4, 1740, and died August 11, 1778. He is chiefly known as a writer of hymns and poems including: “Rock of Ages,” and the collections entitled, “Poems on Sacred Subjects.”

Beyond this vale of tearsThere is a life above,Unmeasured by the flight of years;And all that life is love.“The Issues of Life and Death,”—James Montgomery.

Beyond this vale of tearsThere is a life above,Unmeasured by the flight of years;And all that life is love.

“The Issues of Life and Death,”—James Montgomery.

James Montgomery, a noted English poet and hymn-writer, was born at Irvine, Ayrshire, Scotland, November4, 1771, and died at Sheffield, England, April 30, 1854. He wrote: “The World Before the Flood,” “The West Indies,” “Greenland,” “Original Hymns,” “Prose by a Poet,” etc.

Mensch, was du thust, bedenk das End,Das wird die hochst Weisheit genennt.[1]—Hans Sachs.

Mensch, was du thust, bedenk das End,Das wird die hochst Weisheit genennt.[1]

—Hans Sachs.

Hans Sachs, the famous German meistersinger, was born at Nuremberg, November 5, 1494, and died January 19 or 20, 1576. A complete collection of his works has never been published.

Make no man your idol; for the best man must have faults, and his faults will usually become yours in addition to your own. This is as true in art as in morals.“Lectures on Art and Poems,”—Washington Allston.

Make no man your idol; for the best man must have faults, and his faults will usually become yours in addition to your own. This is as true in art as in morals.

“Lectures on Art and Poems,”—Washington Allston.

Washington Allston, a renowned American painter, poet, and romancer, was born at Waccamaw, S. C., November 5, 1779, and died at Cambridge, Mass., July 9, 1843. He wrote: “The Sylph of the Seasons and Other Poems,” “Monaldi,” “Lectures on Art and Poems,” etc.

Laugh and the world laughs with you,Weep, and you weep alone;For this brave old earth must borrow its mirthBut has trouble enough of its own.“The Way of the World,”—Ella Wheeler Wilcox.

Laugh and the world laughs with you,Weep, and you weep alone;For this brave old earth must borrow its mirthBut has trouble enough of its own.

“The Way of the World,”—Ella Wheeler Wilcox.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox, a popular American poet, was born at Johnstown Centre, Wis., November 5, 1845, and died October 31, 1919. Among her volumes are: “Maurine,” “Poems of Passion,” “Poems of Pleasure,” etc. She is best known for her poem, “The Way of the World.”

As good be out of the world as out of the fashion.“Love’s Last Shift,” Act ii.—Colley Cibber.

As good be out of the world as out of the fashion.

“Love’s Last Shift,” Act ii.—Colley Cibber.

Colley Cibber, a noted English dramatist, was born in London, November 6, 1671, and died there, December 12, 1757. Among his dramatic works are: “Love’s Last Shift,” “She Would and She Would Not,” “The Careless Husband,” and “Love Makes a Man.”

“Innocently to amuse the imagination in this dream of life is wisdom.” So wrote Oliver Goldsmith; and surely among those who have earned the world’s gratitude by this ministration he must be accorded a conspicuous place.“Life of Goldsmith,”—William Black.

“Life of Goldsmith,”—William Black.

William Black, a celebrated Scottish novelist, was born November 6, 1841, and died in 1898. Among his popular novels are: “Love or Marriage,” “In Silk Attire,” “A Daughter of Heth,” “Madcap Violet,” “Three Feathers,” “Yolande,” “The Strange Adventures of a Phaeton,” “Macleod of Dare,” “White Heather,” “Donald Ross of Heimra,” “Highland Cousins,” “Wild Eelin,” and his most famous work, “A Princess of Thule.” He also wrote a “Life of Goldsmith.”

The great deep ground out of which large historical studies may grow is the ethical ground,—the simple ethical necessity for the perfecting, first, of man as man, and secondly, of man as a member of society; or in other words, the necessity for the development of humanity on one hand and society on the other.—Andrew Dickson White.

—Andrew Dickson White.

Andrew Dickson White, a distinguished American scholar and diplomat, was born at Homer, N. Y., November 7, 1832, and died in 1918. He has written: “Outlines of Lectures on Mediæval and Modern History,” “The Plan of Organization for Cornell University,” “The New Education,” “Report on Co-Education of the Sexes,” “The Warfare of Science,” “Seven Great Statesmen in the Warfare of Humanity with Unreason,” “The Work ofBenjamin Hale,” “Lecture on the Problem of High Crime in the United States,” etc.

The man who is so conscious of the rectitude of his intention as to be willing to open his bosom to the inspection of the world is in possession of one of the strongest pillars of a decided character. The course of such a man will be firm and steady, because he has nothing to fear from the world, and is sure of the approbation and support of heaven.—Wirt.

—Wirt.

William Wirt, a renowned American lawyer and author, was born at Bladensburg, Md., November 8, 1772, and died at Washington, D. C., February 18, 1834. He wrote: “Letters of a British Spy,” “The Rainbow,” and his best known work, “Sketches of the Life and Character of Patrick Henry.”

How little know they life’s divinest bliss,That know not to possess and yet refrain!Let the young Psyche roam, a fleeting kiss;Grasp it—a few poor grains of dust remain.—Owen Meredith.

How little know they life’s divinest bliss,That know not to possess and yet refrain!Let the young Psyche roam, a fleeting kiss;Grasp it—a few poor grains of dust remain.

—Owen Meredith.

Edward Robert Bulwer, Earl of Lytton (“Owen Meredith”), an English poet and novelist of great fame, was born in London, November 8, 1831, and died in Paris, November 24, 1891. His writings include: “The Wanderer,” “Clytemnestra, the Earl’s Return, and Other Poems,” “Fables in Song,” “Glenaveril,” “King Poppy,” “The Ring of Amasis,” and his famous novel in verse, “Lucile.”

Such and so various are the tastes of men.“Pleasures of the Imagination,” Book iii, Line 567.—Mark Akenside.

Such and so various are the tastes of men.

“Pleasures of the Imagination,” Book iii, Line 567.—Mark Akenside.

Mark Akenside, a noted English poet, was born at Newcastle-on-Tyne, November 9, 1721, and died in London, June 23, 1770. His most famous work, “Pleasures of the Imagination,” won for him great fame.

Emotional effusions are like licorice root. When you take your first suck at it, it doesn’t seem so bad but it leaves a very bad taste in the mouth afterward.—Turgenev.

Emotional effusions are like licorice root. When you take your first suck at it, it doesn’t seem so bad but it leaves a very bad taste in the mouth afterward.

—Turgenev.

Ivan Sergeyevitch Turgenev, a celebrated Russian novelist, was born in Orel, November 9, 1818, and died in Bougival, near Paris, September 3, 1883. Among his numerous works may be mentioned: “Improvidence,” “Poems,” “The Conversation,” “Two Friends,” “Quiet Life,” “First Love,” “On the Eve,” “Hamlet and Don Quixote,” “Fathers and Children,” “Visions,” “The Brigadier,” “A Strange Tale,” “The Watch,” “Some One Knocks,” “The Dream,” “Song of Triumphant Love,” “The Old Portraits,” “A House of Gentlefolk,” “Poems in Prose,” etc., etc.

Every great book is an action, and every great action is a book.—Luther.

Every great book is an action, and every great action is a book.

—Luther.

Martin Luther, the illustrious church reformer, was born at Eisleben, in Saxony, November 10, 1483, and died there, February 18, 1546. Among his works may be mentioned: “The Babylonian Captivity of the Church,” “The Slave Will,” “Letters,” “Table Talk,” and the treatise, “Against Henry, King of England.”

Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey,Where wealth accumulates, and men decay.Princes and lords may flourish or may fade,—A breath can make them, as a breath has made;But a bold peasantry, their country’s pride,When once destroy’d, can never be supplied.“The Deserted Village,” Line 51,—Oliver Goldsmith.

“The Deserted Village,” Line 51,—Oliver Goldsmith.

Oliver Goldsmith, the renowned English-Irish poet, novelist, and dramatist, was born in Pallas, County Longford, Ireland, November 10, 1728, and died at London, April 4, 1774. Among his celebrated works may be mentioned: “The Traveller,” “The Citizen of the World,” “The Good-Natured Man,” “She Stoops to Conquer,” “The Deserted Village,” and “The Vicar of Wakefield.”

Against stupidity the very godsThemselves contend in vain.“The Maid of Orleans,” Act III, Sc. 6,—Schiller.

Against stupidity the very godsThemselves contend in vain.

“The Maid of Orleans,” Act III, Sc. 6,—Schiller.

Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller, the great German poet and dramatist, was born in Marbach on the Neckar, November 10, 1759, and died at Weimar, May 9, 1805. His greatest works are: “Inquiry into the Connection Between the Animal and Spiritual Nature of Man,” “Don Carlos,” “The Robbers,” “Fiesco,” “History of the Revolt of the Netherlands from Spanish Rule,” “History of the Thirty Years’ War,” “The Ghost Seer,” “Love and Intrigue,” “The Piccolomini,” “Maria Stuart,” “The Bride of Messina,” “The Maid of Orleans,” “William Tell,” etc.

Where did you come from, baby dear?Out of the everywhere into the here.“Baby” (Song in “At the Back of the North Wind”)—George Macdonald.

Where did you come from, baby dear?Out of the everywhere into the here.

“Baby” (Song in “At the Back of the North Wind”)—George Macdonald.

George Macdonald, a famous Scottish poet and novelist, was born at Huntley, November 10, 1824, and died in 1905. Besides his numerous poems, he has written: “Annals of a Quiet Neighborhood,” “Robert Falconer,” “David Elginbrod,” “Wilfred Cumbermede,” “Malcolm,” “Sir Gibbie,” “What’s Mine’s Mine,” “Lilith,” “Unspoken Sermons”; also, “The Princess and the Goblin,” “At the Back of the North Wind,” etc.

I saw the lightning’s gleaming rodReach forth and write upon the skyThe awful autograph of God.“The Ship in the Desert,”—Cincinnatus Heine Miller.

I saw the lightning’s gleaming rodReach forth and write upon the skyThe awful autograph of God.

“The Ship in the Desert,”—Cincinnatus Heine Miller.

Cincinnatus Heine Miller (Joaquin Miller), a noted American poet, was born in Wabash District, Ind., November 10, 1841, and died in 1912. Among his works are: “The Baroness of New York,” “The Danites,” “Songs of the Soul,” “Songs of Mexican Seas,” “Collected Poems,” “’49, or the Gold Seekers of the Sierras,” etc.

Men have dulled their eyes with sin,And dimmed the light of heaven with doubt,And built their temple-walls to shut thee in,And framed their iron creeds to shut thee out.“God of the Open Air,”—Henry Van Dyke.

Men have dulled their eyes with sin,And dimmed the light of heaven with doubt,And built their temple-walls to shut thee in,And framed their iron creeds to shut thee out.

“God of the Open Air,”—Henry Van Dyke.

Henry Van Dyke, a distinguished Presbyterian clergyman and diplomat, was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania, November 10, 1852. Among his numerous works are: “The Story of the Psalms,” “The Poetry of Tennyson,” “The Christ Child in Art,” “The Friendly Year,” “The Ruling Passion,” “The Blue Flower,” “The Open Door,” “Select Poems of Tennyson,” “Music and Other Poems,” “Out of Doors in the Holy Land,” “The Spirit of America,” “The Story of the Other Wise Man,” “Poems in War Times,” “The Red Flower,” “Collected Poems,” “The Sad Shepherd,” “The Mansion,” “The Unknown Quantity,” “The Grand Canyon and Other Poems,” “The Lost Boy,” etc.

The rattling, battering Irishman,The stamping, ramping, swaggering, staggering, lathering, swash of an Irishman.The Irishman and the Lady, st. I, 3,—William Maginn.

The rattling, battering Irishman,The stamping, ramping, swaggering, staggering, lathering, swash of an Irishman.

The Irishman and the Lady, st. I, 3,—William Maginn.

William Maginn, a famous Irish scholar, poet and journalist, was born at Cork, November 11, 1793, and died at Walton on Thames, August 20, 1842. With Hugh Fraser, he foundedFraser’s Magazinein 1830. A partial collection of his writings is found in “Miscellanies” (1855-57), edited by R. Shelton Mackenzie. His best stories are “Bob Burke’s Duel with Ensign Brady” and “The City of Demons.”

As all the perfumes of the vanished dayRise from the earth still moistened with the dewSo from my chastened soul beneath thy rayOld love is born anew.“Remembrance,” translated by George Murray,—Alfred de Musset.

As all the perfumes of the vanished dayRise from the earth still moistened with the dewSo from my chastened soul beneath thy rayOld love is born anew.

“Remembrance,” translated by George Murray,—Alfred de Musset.

Louis Charles Alfred de Musset, one of the greatest of French poets, was born in Paris, November 11, 1810, and died there, May 1, 1857. Among his writings are: “Tales of Spain and Italy,” “A Night of May,” “A Night of December,” “A Night of August,” “A Night of October,” “Letter to Lamartine,” “Hope in God,” “Nights,” “Emmeline,” “Titian’s Son,” “Frederick and Bernerette,” “A Play in an Arm-Chair,” etc.

The Angel of Death is the invisible Angel of Life.“A Study of Death,”—Henry Mills Alden.

The Angel of Death is the invisible Angel of Life.

“A Study of Death,”—Henry Mills Alden.

Henry Mills Alden, a celebrated American editor, poet, and prose-writer, was born at Mt. Tabor, Vt., November 11, 1836, and died October 7, 1919. Among his works are: “God in His World,” “The Ancient Lay of Sorrow,” “A Study of Death,” “Magazine Writing and the New Literature,” and “Harper’s Pictorial History of the Civil War” (with A. H. Guernsey).

This is my youth,—its hopes and dreamsHow strange and shadowy it all seemsAfter these many years!Turning the pages idly, so,I look with smiles upon the woe,Upon the joy, with tears!—Aldrich.

This is my youth,—its hopes and dreamsHow strange and shadowy it all seemsAfter these many years!Turning the pages idly, so,I look with smiles upon the woe,Upon the joy, with tears!

—Aldrich.

Thomas Bailey Aldrich, a renowned American poet, author, and essayist, was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, November 11, 1836, and died in 1907. His works include: “Marjorie Daw and Other People,” “Prudence Palfrey,” “Complete Poems,” “The Queen of Sheba,” “The Stillwater Tragedy,” “The Story of a Bad Boy,” etc.

I preached as never sure to preach again,And as a dying man to dying men.“Love breathing Thanks and Praise,”—Richard Baxter.

I preached as never sure to preach again,And as a dying man to dying men.

“Love breathing Thanks and Praise,”—Richard Baxter.

Richard Baxter, an eminent English divine and author, was born at Rowton, Shropshire, November 12, 1615, and died in London, December 8, 1691. His literary fame rests chiefly on his celebrated work, “The Saints’ Everlasting Rest.”

Hail, Columbia! happy land!Hail, ye heroes! heaven-born band!Who fought and bled in Freedom’s cause,Who fought and bled in Freedom’s cause,And when the storm of war was gone,Enjoyed the peace your valor won.Let independence be our boast,Ever mindful what it cost;Ever grateful for the prize,Let its altar reach the skies!“Hail, Columbia,”—Joseph Hopkinson.

“Hail, Columbia,”—Joseph Hopkinson.

Joseph Hopkinson, a noted American jurist and composer of the famous patriotic song, “Hail Columbia,” was born at Philadelphia, November 12, 1770, and died there, January 15, 1842.

My faith looks up to Thee,Thou Lamb of Calvary,Saviour divine!Now hear me while I pray;Take all my guilt away;Oh, let me from this dayBe wholly Thine!“My Faith Looks Up To Thee,”—Ray Palmer.

My faith looks up to Thee,Thou Lamb of Calvary,Saviour divine!Now hear me while I pray;Take all my guilt away;Oh, let me from this dayBe wholly Thine!

“My Faith Looks Up To Thee,”—Ray Palmer.

Ray Palmer, a distinguished American clergyman, and hymn-writer, was born at Little Compton, R. I., November 12, 1808, and died at Newark, N. J., March 29, 1887. He published: “Spiritual Improvement,” “Hymns and Sacred Pieces,” “Hymns of My Holy Hours,” etc. His best known hymn is, “My Faith Looks up to Thee,” which has been translated into twenty languages.

When I am here, I do not fast on Saturday; when at Rome, I do fast on Saturday.“Epistle 36, To Casulanus,”—Saint Augustine.

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

“Epistle 36, To Casulanus,”—Saint Augustine.

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

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

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

—Tegnér.

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

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

—Robert Louis Stevenson.

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

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

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

—Adam Gottlob Oehlenschläger.

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

Mutual love brings mutual delight,—Brings beauty, life;—for love is life, hate, death.“The Dying Raven,”—Richard Henry Dana.

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

“The Dying Raven,”—Richard Henry Dana.

Richard Henry Dana (The Elder), an American poet and essayist of great fame, was born at Cambridge, Massachusetts, November 15, 1787, and died February 2, 1879. His poetical works include: “The Dying Raven,” “The Buccaneers,” “The Change of Home,” etc. Among his short stories are: “Edward and Mary,” and “Paul Fenton.”

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

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

—Charles Blanc.

Charles Blanc, a distinguished French art critic, was born November 15, 1813, and died in 1882. He wrote: “AHistory of Painters of All Schools,” “The Treasure of Curiosity,” “Grammar of the Arts of Design,” “The Dutch School of Painters,” “Grammar of Painting and Engraving,” etc.

High office is like a pyramid; only two kinds of animals reach the summit—reptiles and eagles.—D’Alembert.

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

—D’Alembert.

Jean Baptiste le Rond d’Alembert, an eminent French philosopher, mathematician and man of letters, was born in Paris, November 16, 1717, and died there, October 9, 1783. Among his works are: “Literary and Philosophical Miscellanies,” “Elements of Philosophy,” etc. He also wrote the “Preliminary Discourse,” or introduction to the great French Encyclopedia.

In seeking to represent the working classes, and in standing up for their rights and liberties, I hold that I am also defending the rights and liberties of the middle and richer classes of society.From the “Speech on the Corn Laws” (1843),—John Bright.

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

From the “Speech on the Corn Laws” (1843),—John Bright.

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

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

“A History of Greece,”—George Grote.

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

The Law is the true embodimentOf everything that’s excellent.It has no kind of fault or flaw,And I, my Lords, embody the Law.“Lord Chancellor’s Song,”—Gilbert.

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

“Lord Chancellor’s Song,”—Gilbert.

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

And so I pennedIt down, until at last it came to be,For length and breadth, the bigness which you see.“Pilgrim’s Progress: Apology for his book,”—John Bunyan.

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

“Pilgrim’s Progress: Apology for his book,”—John Bunyan.

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

What is love, It is nature’s treasure,’Tis the storehouse of her joys;’Tis the highest heaven of pleasure,’Tis a bliss which never cloys.“The Revenge,” Act I, Sc. 2,—Thomas Chatterton.

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

“The Revenge,” Act I, Sc. 2,—Thomas Chatterton.

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

The first who was king was a fortunate soldier:Who serves his country well has no need of ancestors.“Mérope,” Act I, Sc. 3,—Voltaire.

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

“Mérope,” Act I, Sc. 3,—Voltaire.

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

Touch us gently, Time!Let us glide adown thy streamGently,—as we sometimes glideThrough a quiet dream.“Touch Us Gently, Time,”—Bryan W. Procter.

Touch us gently, Time!Let us glide adown thy streamGently,—as we sometimes glideThrough a quiet dream.

“Touch Us Gently, Time,”—Bryan W. Procter.

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

There are certain people whose biographies ought to be long; who could learn too much concerning Lamb.“Adventures in Criticism,”—A. T. Quiller-Couch.

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

“Adventures in Criticism,”—A. T. Quiller-Couch.

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

He who lovesGod and his law must hate the foes of God.“Spanish Gypsy, Bk. I,”—George Eliot.

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

“Spanish Gypsy, Bk. I,”—George Eliot.

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

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

“Life of Sir Robert Peel,”—Justin McCarthy.

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

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

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

—HallamonSpinoza.

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

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

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

—Laurence Sterne.

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

Since the seventeenth century, we have had no poet of the highest order, though Shelley, had he lived, would perhaps have become one. He had something of that burning passion, that sacred fire, which kindles the soul, as though it came fresh from the altar of the gods. But he was cut off in his early prime, when his splendid genius was still in its dawn.“History of Civilization in England,” Vol. II, p. 397 (1861),—Henry Thomas Buckle.

“History of Civilization in England,” Vol. II, p. 397 (1861),—Henry Thomas Buckle.

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

How oft my guardian angel gently cried,“Soul, from thy casement look, and thou shalt seeHow he persists to knock and wait for thee!”And, O! how often to that voice of sorrow,“To-morrow we will open,” I replied,And when the morrow came, I answered still,“To-morrow.”“To-morrow,” Longfellow’s Trans. L. 9,—Lope de Vega.

“To-morrow,” Longfellow’s Trans. L. 9,—Lope de Vega.

Lope de Vega, “Tome Burguillos,”a renowned Spanish dramatist, was born in Madrid, November 25, 1562, and died August 21, 1635. Among his many works may be mentioned: “Jerusalem Conquered,” “Angelica,” “King and Peasant,” “Circe,” “Andromeda,” “Philomela,” “Orpheus,” “Proserpine,” “San Isidro,” “The Dragon,” “The Maid of Almudena,” “Journey Through My Country,” besides numerous sonnets, etc.

Oh for a lodge in some vast wilderness,Some boundless contiguity of shade,Where rumour of oppression and deceit,Of unsuccessful or successful war,Might never reach me more.“The Task,” Book ii: “The Timepiece,” Line i,—William Cowper.

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

“The Task,” Book ii: “The Timepiece,” Line i,—William Cowper.

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

What shall I do with all the days and hoursThat must be counted ere I see thy face?How shall I charm the interval that lowersBetween this time and that sweet time of grace?“Absence,”—Frances Anne Kemble.

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

“Absence,”—Frances Anne Kemble.

Frances Anne Kemble, a noted English actress, was born in London, November 27, 1809, and died there, January 16, 1893. She wrote: “Recollections of a Girlhood,” “Recollections of Later Life,” “Journal of a Residence on a Georgia Plantation,” and her “Journal.”

I was angry with my friend;I told my wrath, my wrath did end.I was angry with my foe;I told it not, my wrath did grow.“Christian Forbearance,”—Wm. Blake.

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

“Christian Forbearance,”—Wm. Blake.

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

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