and his Oriental poem, Prince Adeb, and the Ballad of Sir John Franklin, are justly popular.

BONAR, HORATIUS, D. D., was born in Scotland in 1810. His writings are principally of a religious character.

BOSTWICK, HELEN BARRON, is a native of Charleston, New Hampshire. Of her writings, W. D. Howells—an acute critic― remarks: “I bestow upon Mrs. Bostwick a sincere praise that need not waste itself in compliment. Her choice of words is rich and felicitous; her rhyme is rich and full; her verse is always sweet and harmonious. With extreme warmth and color of style, her thought is always delicate and womanly. Her poems betray the study of the best authors in our language, without being the less original. She is a favorite contributor for many literary journals; her only published books as yet being charming bouquets for the little folks, whom she has the happiest faculty of interesting." Mrs. Bostwick's present home is Cleveland, Ohio.

BOSWELL, REV. JAMES I., is a native of Philadelphia, a graduate of Dickinson College, and a member of the New Jersey Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

BROWNING, ELIZABETH BARRETT, was born in England in 1809. She was educated with great care, and gave very early proofs of genius, beginning to write, both in prose and verse, at ten years of age. She was married in 1846 to Mr. Robert Browning. She resided for several years in Italy. In 1848, Mrs. Browning witnessed the revolutionary outbreak, and this furnished the theme for her poem Casa Guidi Windows. She was greatly interested in the unification of Italy, but died in 1861, nearly ten years before its accomplishment. She is buried at Florence.

BROWNING, ROBERT, born at Camberwell, England, in 1812. He was educated at the London University, and is one of the most eminent poets of the day.

BRYANT, WILLIAM CULLEN, our unrivaled poet of nature, was born at Cummington, Massachusetts, November, 1797. With wonderful precocity he published translations from the Latin poets at ten years of age; and, when only thirteen, wrote The Embargo, a political satire, which was so successful that a second edition was called for in a few months. He was educated at Williams College, and for some years practiced law, relinquishing his profession, finally, to engage his time more fully in literary pursuits. Perhaps nothing more beautiful than Thanatopsis and the Forest Hymn have been written. When more than seventy-five years of age, he prepared a translation of the Iliad of Homer, which is said to be the best made in the English language. Mr. Bryant has been editor of the New York Evening Post for nearly fifty years.

BUCHANAN, ROBERT, was born in Scotland in 1835.

BYRON, GEORGE GORDON, LORD, was born at London on the 22d of January, 1788. He studied at Cambridge, but was an irregular student, eagerly devouring all sorts of learning except what was prescribed for him; preparing himself thoroughly, however, upon whatever subject he wished to write. Childe Harold, his greatest work, was the result of foreign wanderings. He died at Missolonghi, Greece, April, 1824.

CAMPBELL, THOMAS, was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1777. He was educated in his native city, and distinguished himself in classical studies. He witnessed the battle of Hohenlinden, December 3d, 1800, and commemorated the terrible scene in those lines with which every schoolboy is familiar. He should be especially admired by Americans for his Gertrude of Wyoming, in which he sketches, with the pencil of a true artist, pictures of Pennsylvania scenery, throwing a new halo over the beautiful valley in which the scenes are laid. He died in 1844, and his remains lie in Westminster Abbey.

CARY, ALICE, was born at Hamilton, Ohio, in 1820. She began to write for the press at eighteen years of age, contributing principally for Western periodicals. Her first volume, which was a joint production with her sister, was published in 1849. She removed to New York in 1850, and, until a short time previous to her death, wrote for the Atlantic Monthly, The New York Ledger, The Independent, and many other periodicals. She died February 12th, 1871. She was the first president of Sorosis, and the society attended her funeral in a body.

For funeral address, by Dr. Deems, see page 76.

CARY, PHEBE, was born in Ohio in 1825. She had genuine wit, which came sparkling from her tongue and flashing from her pen. Though her writings were principally of a humorous character, she wrote many very beautiful hymns. Nearer Home is sung by Christians of all denominations, and will be one of the enduring hymns of the ages. She died in 1871, a short time after her sister Alice.

CHOATE, RUFUS, was born at Ipswich, Massachusetts, in 1799. He was an eminent lawyer, and his orations have been greatly admired. He was elected to the United States Senate in place of Daniel Webster, resigned. He is buried at Mount Auburn, near Boston.

COWPER, WILLIAM, was born at Berkhamstead, England, November 15th, 1731, and was one of the most popular poets of his generation. For several years he lived the life of a religious recluse, and for a time his mind was clouded by insanity. He recovered sufficiently, however, to write his best poems; and the success which met his efforts restored him to comparative cheerfulness; but he sank again under the shadow of religious despondency, and died April 25th, 1800.

DEEMS, CHARLES F., D. D., was born at Baltimore in 1820. He graduated at Dickinson College, and was afterward professor in the University of North Carolina. His greatest literary work is Jesus, published in 1872. He is a fine pulpit orator, and is now the pastor of the Church of the Strangers in New York city.

DEMOSTHENES was a Greek orator, who died 320 B. C.

DICKENS, CHARLES, was born in Landport, Portsmouth, in 1812. His father was first a paymaster in the navy department, and afterward a reporter for the daily press. The young man was induced to study law, but the confinement of the attorney's office proving irksome, he adopted his father's profession, that of parliamentary reporter. His first sketches appeared in the Morning Chronicle and the Monthly Magazine. They were republished in book form in 1836 and 1837, and were entitled Sketches by Boz. His Pickwick Papers followed soon after, and were not only immensely popular in England and America, but were translated in many languages. David Copperfield, Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby, etc., were no less enthusiastically received. Dickens made a visit to America in 1842, after which he published a caustic account of his trip, under the title of American Notes for General Circulation. He came to this country again in 1867, giving a tour of "Readings" from his own works, drawing large crowds and reaping a fine profit in money. His last literary work, the Mystery of Edwin Drood, was left unfinished at the time of his death. He died, suddenly, on the 9th of June, 1870, and is buried in the "Poets' Corner" of Westminster Abbey.

DIEHL, ANNA RANDALL (Mrs. Randall), is a native of Oswego County, New York. She is the author of Reading and Elocution and The Choice-Reading Series.

DOBELL, SIDNEY, was born at Peckham Rye, England, in 1824. He wrote a dramatic poem, The Roman, England in Time of War, etc. He was for many years associated in a literary copartnership with Mr. Alexander Smith.

EASTMAN, CHARLES G., was born at Burlington, Vermont, in 1849. He has been highly successful in delineating rural life in New England.

FROUDE, JAMES ANTHONY, the historian, was born at Totness, Devonshire, England, in 1818. He was the son of R. H. Froude, Archdeacon of Totness, and was educated at Westminster and Oxford, where he early developed abilities which forecast his future brilliant career. He has written The Lives of the English Saints, Shadows of the Clouds, The Nemesis of Faith, Short Studies on Great Subjects, and other works. He is now engaged upon a History of Ireland. In 1872 he lectured in this country under the auspices of the American Literary Bureau. His statements concerning Ireland and the Irish pro34*

2 A

voked much controversy, and he was very ably opposed by Father Tom Burke, an eloquent Irish divine.

GAGE, FRANCES DANA, is a native of Ohio, but has been for several years a resident of New York city. She has published a volume of poems, The Old Distillery, and Steps Upward, and has contributed for most of the best periodicals of the day. Her “Aunt Fanny" stories have made thousands of children happy. Though somewhat advanced in years, and in feeble health, she has not laid down the pen.

GOUGH, JOHN B., was born at Sandgate, in Kent, England, in 1817. He is the greatest temperance orator in the world.

GRAY, THOMAS, was born at Cornhill, London, November 26th, 1716. He was educated at Eton and Cambridge, and upon leaving college traveled through France and Italy. He was fond of classical study, and his devotion to the Greek poets was such that his compositions seemed tinged with their spirit. The Elegy in a Country Church-Yard, written in 1751, is one of the finest poems which the English language furnishes. He died July 30th, 1771.

HARTE, FRANCIS BRET, was born in 1837. He resided for many years in California, and his descriptions of mining and border life first made him famous. In his lecture, "The Argonauts of 1849," he gives a vivid picture of the modern golden-fleecers who flocked to California in search of wealth.

HAWTHORNE, NATHANIEL, was born in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1807. He was an unique writer, displaying a remarkable power of mental analysis and vivid portrayal.

HEMANS, FELICIA, (Felicia Dorothea Browne,) was born at Liverpool, England, on the 25th of September, 1793. She published her first volume at fifteen. This childish attempt at poetry was not successful; but the young author did not despair, and the next publication placed her upon a firm literary footing. In 1812 she was married to Captain Hemans; but the union was far from being a happy one, and in 1818 he removed to Italy, while his wife remained in England, and they never met again. Mrs. Hemans died May 16, 1835, and was buried at St. Ann's Church, Dublin.

HOOD, THOMAS, who was born in 1798, and who died in 1845, was chiefly known as a comic writer and satirist, but he excelled also in sentimental and pathetic poetry, thus showing a versatility of talent seldom seen. Hood's works are published in four volumes: Poems, Poems of Wit and Humor, Hood's Own, or Laughter from Year to Year, and Whims and Oddities in Prose and Verse.

HOGG, JAMES, better known as the "Ettrick Shepherd," was born in December, 1776, at Selkirkshire, Scotland. In childhood he spent his

days as a shepherd boy, wandering with staff and crook among his native hills and glens, while his evenings were most delightfully occupied in listening to his mother as she recited old romances and legendary stories. In this manner were the materials gathered for those wild lyrics which have made his name so famous. In 1801 his first volume of songs was published, and shortly after he assisted Sir Walter Scott in collecting old ballads for the Border Minstrelsy. He died on the 21st of November, 1835, regretted throughout the world of letters, and deeply mourned in his dear Ettrick vale.

HOLMES, OLIVER WENDELL, was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1809. He was professor of anatomy and physiology at Harvard University for many years. His poetry sparkles with humor, and his prose is quaint and witty. The Autocrat at the Breakfast Table and The Poet at the Breakfast Table are his best prose works.

HUGO, VICTOR, is a French writer of great dramatic power.

IRVING, WASHINGTON, was born in New York, in 1783. He wrote voluminously. Books upon travel, history, and romance poured from his pen. He took great interest in studying the manners and customs of the original Dutch inhabitants of New York. The Tappan Zee, Sleepy Hollow, and the Kaatskills are made classical by his tale of Rip Van Winkle. This story has been dramatized, the inimitable Joe Jefferson taking the part of the poor old Dutch sleeper. Irving was very popular in England, and his works have been translated into many languages. His house at Sunnyside, where he lived for many years and where he died, can be seen by travelers over the Hudson River Railroad, or from the steamers which ply up and down the river.

JAMESON, MRS. ANNA, is an English lady who writes upon taste, art, biography, etc. She has received warm praise from Professor Wilson, who says "she is one of the most eloquent of female writers; full of feeling and fancy; a true enthusiast with a glowing soul." She has an intense love for the beautiful, cultivated taste, and rare attainments in knowledge.

JENKINS, J. JOSHUA, (Mr. E. D. Taylor,) was born in Euclid, Ohio. He became local editor of the Utica Herald in 1869, and his racy descriptions and droll illustrations soon attracted attention. His humor is free from coarseness, exhibiting itself in unexpected turns of expression and grotesque associations. He is also achieving success as a public lecturer.

KEY, FRANCIS SCOTT, was born in Frederick County, Maryland, in 1779. The Star-Spangled Banner, which is the best known of his poems, was inspired by the author's position as prisoner with the British in 1814, and was v ritten during the bombardment of Fort McHenry, which guards the entrance to Baltimore. He died in 1843.