Book I

, Fable 10,--_Jean de La Fontaine_.

JEAN DE LA FONTAINE, the great French fabulist and poet, was born at Château-Thierry, in Champagne, July 8, 1621, and died in Paris, April 13, 1695. His principal works were: "Stories and Novels," "Adonis," "The Loves of Psyche," and his celebrated "Fables."

They love their land because it is their own, And scorn to give aught other reason why; Would shake hands with a king upon his throne, And think it kindness to his Majesty.

"Connecticut,"--_Fitz-Greene Halleck_.

FITZ-GREENE HALLECK, a celebrated American poet, was born in Guilford, Conn., July 8, 1790, and died there, November 19, 1867. His most important poems were: "Fanny," and "Marco Bozzaris."

Time softly there Laughs through the abyss of radiance with the gods.

"The Fire-Bringer," Act i,--_William Vaughn Moody_.

WILLIAM VAUGHN MOODY, a noted American poet, was born at Spencer, Indiana, July 8, 1869, and died at Colorado Springs, October 17, 1910. He is best known by his famous poem, "An Ode in Time of Hesitation," which won for him lasting fame. Among his dramas are: "The Masque of Judgment," "The Great Divide," and "The Faith-Healer." With R. W. Lovett, he wrote: "History of English Literature," etc.

A manufacturing district ... sends out, as it were, suckers into all its neighborhood.

"View of the State of Europe during the Middle Ages," Ch. IX,--_Hallam_.

HENRY HALLAM, a distinguished English historian, was born at Windsor, July 9, 1777, and died at Pickhurst, Kent, January 21, 1859. His noted works are: "Constitutional History of England," "Introduction to the Literature of Europe During the Fifteenth, Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries," and "A View of the State of Europe During the Middle Ages."

I have not so great a struggle with my vices, great and numerous as they are, as I have with my impatience.

--_Calvin_.

JOHN CALVIN, a renowned reformer and theologian, was born at Noyon, in Picardy, France, July 10, 1509; and died in Geneva, May 27, 1564. He wrote: "Commentaries on the New Testament," and "Institutes of the Christian Religion," the latter his most famous work.

Man was formed for society; and, as is demonstrated by the writers on the subject, is neither capable of living alone, nor indeed has the courage to do it. However, as it is impossible for the whole race of mankind to be united in one great society, they must necessarily divide into many, and form separate states, commonwealths, and nations, entirely independent of each other, and yet liable to a mutual intercourse.

"Comment: Of the Nature of Laws in General,"--_Blackstone_.

SIR WILLIAM BLACKSTONE, an eminent English jurist and writer on law, was born in London, July 10, 1723, and died in 1780. He won great celebrity by his famous "Commentaries on the Laws of England."

All lies disgrace a gentleman, white or black, although I grant there is a difference. To say the least of it, it is a dangerous habit, for white lies are but the gentleman ushers to black ones. I know of but one point on which a lie is excusable, and that is, when you wish to deceive the enemy. Then, your duty to your country warrants your lying till you are black in the face; and, for the very reason that it goes against your grain, it becomes, as it were, a sort of virtue.

--_Captain Marryat_.

FREDERICK MARRYAT (CAPTAIN MARRYAT), a celebrated English novelist, was born in London, July 10, 1792, and died at Langham, Norfolk, August 9, 1848. His best known works are: "The King's Own," "Frank Mildmay," "Peter Simple," "Mr. Midshipman Easy," "Japhet in Search of a Father," "Masterman Ready," etc.

Chance is blind and is the sole author of creation.

"Picciola," Ch. III,--_J. X. B. Saintine_.

JOSEPH XAVIER BONIFACE SAINTINE, known as Saintine, the renowned French littérateur and dramatist, was born in Paris, July 10, 1798, and died there, January 21, 1865. He wrote numerous plays, but his story, "Picciola," won for him world-wide fame.

This hand, to tyrants ever sworn the foe, For Freedom only deals the deadly blow; Then sheathes in calm repose the vengeful blade, For gentle peace in Freedom's hallowed shade.

Written in an Album, 1842,--_John Quincy Adams_.

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, an illustrious American statesman and publicist, and sixth President of the United States, was born at Braintree, Mass., July 11, 1767, and died in Washington, D. C., February 21, 1848. He published: "Letters on Silesia," etc. The "Diary of J. Q. Adams," and his "Memoirs" appeared after his death.

It is better in some respects to be admired by those with whom you live, than to be loved by them; and this not on account of any gratification of vanity, but because admiration is so much more tolerant than love.

--_Arthur Helps_.

SIR ARTHUR HELPS, a noted English essayist, historian and miscellaneous writer, was born at Streatham, Surrey, July 11, 1813, and died in London, March 7, 1875. Among his best works are: "Friends in Council," "Companions of My Solitude," "Realmah," "Spanish Conquest in America," "Casimir Maremma" (a romance), etc.

That man is blessed who every day is permitted to behold anything so pure and serene as the western sky at sunset, while revolutions vex the world.

--_Henry D. Thoreau_.

HENRY DAVID THOREAU, an eminent American writer, was born in Concord, Mass., July 12, 1817, and died there May 6, 1862. His works include: "Familiar Letters," "Summer," "Winter," "Autumn," "A Week on the Concord and Merrimac Rivers," "Early Spring in Massachusetts," "Poems of Nature," "The Maine Woods," "A Yankee in Canada," "Excursions," "Letters to Various Persons," and "Cape Cod."

And what is true of a shopkeeper is true of a shopkeeping nation.

Tract (1766),--_Tucker_ (Dean of Gloucester).

JOSIAH TUCKER (DEAN TUCKER), a noted English economist and divine, was born at Laugharne, Carmarthenshire, July 13, 1712, and died November 4, 1799. His "Important Questions on Commerce" (1755), won for him great fame.

Fixed in a white-thorn bush, its summer guest, So low, e'en grass o'er-topped its tallest twig, A sedge-bird built its little bendy nest, Close by the meadow pool and wooden brig.

"The Rural Muse. Poems: The Sedge-Bird's Nest,"--_Clare_.

JOHN CLARE, a celebrated English poet, was born in Helpstone, near Peterborough, July 13, 1793, and died at Northampton, May 20, 1864. His "Poems, Descriptive of Rural Life and Scenery," won for him great fame.

Busy, curious, thirsty fly, Drink with me, and drink as I.

"On a Fly drinking out of a Cup of Ale,"--_William Oldys_.

WILLIAM OLDYS, a distinguished English biographer and antiquary, was born July 14, 1696, and died April 15, 1761. He wrote: "The British Librarian," "The Life of Sir Walter Raleigh," "The Universal Spectator," etc.

Rise up, rise up, Xarifa! lay your golden cushion down; Rise up! come to the window, and gaze with all the town.

The Bridal of Andalla,--_John G. Lockhart_.

JOHN GIBSON LOCKHART, a renowned Scotch biographer and son-in-law of Walter Scott, was born at Cambusnethan, Lanark, July 14, 1794, and died November 25, 1854. He wrote: "Reginald Dalton," "Adam Blair," "Valerius," "Matthew Wald," "Life of Robert Burns," a volume of translations of "Ancient Spanish Ballads," and his most celebrated work, "Life of Sir Walter Scott."

But when the sun in all his state Illumed the eastern skies, She passed through Glory's morning-gate, And walked in Paradise.

"A Death-Bed,"--_James Aldrich_.

JAMES ALDRICH, a noted American poet, was born at Mattituck, L. I., July 14, 1810, and died in New York, September 9, 1856. His most celebrated poem, "A Death-Bed," won for him great fame.

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house Not a creature was stirring,--not even a mouse; The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.

"A Visit from St. Nicholas,"--_Clement Clarke Moore_.

CLEMENT CLARKE MOORE, a distinguished American poet and educational writer, was born in New York City, July 15, 1779, and died in Newport, R. I., July 10, 1863. He is best known by his famous poem, "A Visit from St. Nicholas."

"The history of our land will hereafter record the name of John Henry Newman among the greatest of our people, as a confessor for the faith, a great teacher of men, a preacher of justice, of piety, and of compassion."

From Purcell's "Life of Manning," Vol. II,--_Cardinal Manning_.

HENRY EDWARD CARDINAL MANNING, a famous English Roman Catholic prelate, was born July 15, 1808, at Totteridge in Hertfordshire, and died in London, January 14, 1892. Among his publications are: "Petri Privilegium," "The True Story of the Vatican Council," "The Temporal Mission of the Holy Ghost," "The Catholic Church and Modern Society," "The Internal Mission of the Holy Ghost," "England and Christendom," "Sin and Its Consequences," etc.

Though all the bards of earth were dead And all their music passed away, What Nature wishes should be said She'll find the rightful voice to say.

"The Golden Silence,"--_William Winter_.

WILLIAM WINTER, a distinguished American journalist and dramatic critic, was born at Gloucester, Mass., July 15, 1836, and died in 1917. He has written: "Life of Henry Irving," "The Wanderers," "Stage Life of Mary Anderson," "The Queen's Domain," "Life of Edwin Booth," "The Convent, and Other Poems," "The Jeffersons," "English Rambles," "Life of Ada Rehan," "Thistle-down," "Poems," "Other Days, Being Chronicles and Memories of the Stage," "Life and Art of Richard Mansfield," "Vagrant Memories," etc.

A room hung with pictures is a room hung with thoughts.

--_Sir Joshua Reynolds_.

SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS, the great English painter, was born at Plympton Earls, Devonshire, July 16, 1723, and died in London, February 23, 1792. His fifteen addresses delivered at the Royal Academy constitute the well-known "Discourses of Sir Joshua Reynolds."

Whene'er I take my walks abroad, How many poor I see! What shall I render to my God For all his gifts to me?

"Divine Songs; Song iv."--_Isaac Watts_.

ISAAC WATTS, a celebrated English clergyman and hymn-writer, was born at Southampton, July 17, 1674, and died at Theobalds, Newington, November 25, 1748. He wrote many religious works, among them: "The Improvement of the Mind," "Logic; or, the Right Use of Reason in the Inquiry after Truth," and his famous "Psalms and Hymns."

There is a limit to enjoyment, though the sources of wealth be boundless. And the choicest pleasures of life lie within the ring of moderation.

"Proverbial Philosophy: Of Compensation," L. 15,--_Tupper_.

MARTIN FARQUHAR TUPPER, a famous English writer, was born in London, July 17, 1810, and died November 29, 1889. He published: "Geraldine and Other Poems," "My Life as an Author," etc. His fame, however, rests on his notable work, "Proverbial Philosophy," (1838-1867).

Novels are sweets. All people with healthy literary appetites love them: almost all women; a vast number of clever, hard-headed men. Judges, bishops, chancellors, mathematicians, are notorious novel-readers, as well as young boys and girls, and their kind, tender mothers.

--_Thackeray_.

WILLIAM MAKEPEACE THACKERAY, the renowned English novelist, was born in Calcutta, India, July 18, 1811, and died December 24, 1863. Among his celebrated works are: "Irish Sketch-Book," "The Book of Snobs," "Barry Lyndon," "Comic Tales and Sketches," "A Shabby-Genteel Story," "Men's Wives," "Our Street," "Mrs. Perkins's Ball," "English Humorists of the Eighteenth Century," "Dr. Birch and His Young Friends," "Vanity Fair," "The History of Pendennis," "The History of Henry Esmond," "The Newcomes," "The Four Georges," "The Rose and the Ring," "The Virginians," "The Adventures of Philip," etc.

Les grandes douleurs sont les serres chaudes de l'âme.[1]

"Noirs et Rouges," Chap. XXI, p. 319,--_Cherbuliez_.

VICTOR CHERBULIEZ, a distinguished French romancist, was born at Geneva, July 19, 1829, and died in 1899. Under the name of "G. Valbert," he wrote: "A Horse by Phidias," "A Political Spain," "Foreign Profiles," "Art and Nature"; also, "Romance of a Respectable Woman," "Prosper Randoce," "Miss Rovel," "Samuel Brohl & Co.," etc.

Taine liked to say, that what he most admired in the works of Renan, was "that one could not see how it was done"; and he was right, if he meant only the style or the "phrase," which gives the impression of being born spontaneously, without effort and without art, under the pen of Renan.

--_Ferdinand Brunetière_.

FERDINAND BRUNETIÈRE, a celebrated French critic, and man of letters, was born at Toulon, July 19, 1849, and died December 9, 1906. Among his publications are: "Études critiques," "Le Roman Naturaliste," "Histoire et Littérature," "Discours Académiques," "Discours de Combat," "L'Action Sociale du Christianisme," "Sur les Chemins de la Croyance," etc.

I know and love the good, yet, ah! the worst pursue.

Sonnet ccxxv, Canzone xxi, "To Laura in Life."

FRANCESCO PETRARCH, the greatest of Italian lyric poets, was born at Arezzo, July 20, 1304, and died at Arquà, July 18, 1374. He wrote: "Africa," "Memoranda," "Of Contempt of the World," "Of the Solitary Life," "Of the Remedies for Either Fortune," "Rime," "Of Illustrious Men," "Metrical Epistles," etc.

To sea! to sea! the calm is o'er, The wanton water leaps in sport, And rattles down the pebbly shore, The dolphin wheels, the sea-cows snort, And unseen mermaid's pearly song Comes bubbling up, the weeds among. Fling broad the sail, dip deep the oar: To sea! to sea! the calm is o'er.

"To Sea!"--_Thomas Lovell Beddoes_.

THOMAS LOVELL BEDDOES, a noted English poet and dramatist, was born at Clifton, July 20, 1803, and died at Basle, January 26, 1849. He wrote: "The Improvisatore," and "The Bride's Tragedy," "Poetical Works" (London, 1890), and "Letters" (London, 1894), were edited by Edmond Gosse.

Soft peace she brings; wherever she arrives She builds our quiet as she forms our lives; Lays the rough paths of peevish Nature even, And opens in each heart a little heaven.

"Charity,"--_Matthew Prior_.

MATTHEW PRIOR, an eminent English poet, was born at Wimborne in Dorsetshire, July 21, 1664, and died at Wimpole in Cambridgeshire, September 18, 1721. Among his noted works are: "Solomon," "Alma; or, the Progress of the Mind," and "Poems on Several Occasions."

How comes it to pass, then, that we appear such cowards in reasoning, and are so afraid to stand the test of ridicule?

"Characteristics," A Letter Concerning Enthusiasm, Sect. 2,--_Shaftesbury_.

ANTHONY ASHLEY COOPER, first Earl of Shaftesbury, a distinguished English statesman, was born in Wimborne, St. Giles, Dorsetshire, July 22, 1621, and died in Amsterdam, January 22, 1683. His notable work was: "Characteristics of Men, Manners, Opinions, and Times," a collection of his numerous writings.

Blithe wanderer of the wintry air, Now here, now there, now everywhere, Quickly drifting to and fro, A cheerful life devoid of care, A shadow on the snow.

"The English Sparrow,"--_George W. Bungay_.

GEORGE WASHINGTON BUNGAY, a noted journalist and poet, was born in Walsingham, England, July 22, 1818, and died July 10, 1892. The best known of his many poems are: "The Creed of the Bells," and "The English Sparrow." He also wrote: "Abraham Lincoln Songster," "Pen Portraits of Illustrious Abstainers," etc.

Resolve to be thyself; and know, that he Who finds himself, loses his misery.

"Self Independence,"--_Coventry K. D. Patmore_.

COVENTRY KEASSEY DEIGHTON PATMORE, a celebrated English poet, was born at Woodford in Essex, July 23, 1823, and died in 1896. He wrote: "The Unknown Eros," "Amelia," "The Rod, the Root and the Flower," "The Angel in the House," "Principle in Art, and Other Essays," etc.

Truth is liable to be left-handed in history.

--_Dumas_, (Père).

ALEXANDRE DUMAS, the Elder, an illustrious French dramatist and romancist, was born at Villière Cotterets, Aisne, July 24, 1803 (?), and died near Dieppe, December 5, 1870. A few of his great romances are: "The Count of Monte Cristo," "The Three Musketeers," "Twenty Years After," "The Knight of Maison-Rouge," "Viscount de Bragelonne," "Queen Margot," etc., etc. Some of his historical romances are: "Joan of Arc," "Michelangelo and Raffaelle," "Louis XIV and His Age," etc. His most famous plays were: "Henri III. and His Court," "Antony," "Charles VII with His Grand Vassals," "Napoleon Bonaparte," "Mdlle. de Belle-Isle," "Marriage under Louis XV," "The Misses St. Cyr," etc. He also wrote entertaining narratives of his travels in Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Spain, North Africa, Syria, Egypt, etc.

Heaven is not reached at a single bound; But we build the ladder by which we rise From the lowly earth to the vaulted skies, And we mount to its summit round by round.

"Gradatim,"--_-Josiah G. Holland_.

JOSIAH GILBERT HOLLAND, a famous American poet and novelist and editor, was born at Belchertown, Mass., July 24, 1819, and died in New York, October 12, 1881. Among his works are: "Letters to the Young," "Life of Abraham Lincoln," "Plain Talks on Familiar Subjects," "Nicholas Minturn," etc. Also poems under the titles: "Bitter Sweet," "Kathrina," "The Mistress of the Manse," "Garnered Sheaves," etc.

The energies of our system will decay; the glory of the sun will be dimmed, and the earth, tideless and inert, will no longer tolerate the race which has for a moment disturbed its solitude. Man will go down into the pit and all his thoughts will perish.

"The Foundations of Belief,"--_Arthur James Balfour_.

RT. HON. ARTHUR JAMES BALFOUR, a distinguished English author and statesman, was born July 25, 1848. He has written: "A Defence of Philosophic Doubt," "The Foundations of Belief," "Essays and Addresses," "Economic Notes on Insular Free Trade," "Speeches" (1880-1905), on "Fiscal Reform," "Criticism and Beauty," "Theism and Humanism," etc.

I remember, I remember How my childhood fleeted by,-- The mirth of its December And the warmth of its July.

"I remember, I remember,"--_Winthrop M. Praed_.

WINTHROP MACKWORTH PRAED, a celebrated English poet, was born in London, July 26, 1802, and died in 1839. Among his best known pieces are: "The Red Fisherman," "Private Theatricals," "Every-Day Characters," "School and Schoolfellows," "A Letter of Advice," "Our Ball," "My Partner," "My Little Cousins," etc.

The more things a man is ashamed of, the more respectable he is.

"Man and Superman,"--_George Bernard Shaw_.

GEORGE BERNARD SHAW, a famous British author and playwright, was born in Dublin, July 26, 1856. He has written, "The Quintessence of Ibsenism," "The Sanity of Art," "The Perfect Wagnerite," "The Common Sense of Municipal Training," "Socialism and Superior Brains," "Common Sense about the War," etc. Also: "The Admirable Bashville," "Man and Superman," "John Bull's Other Island," "How He Lied to Her Husband," "Major Barbara," "The Doctor's Dilemma," "Getting Married," "Misalliance," "Fanny's First Play," "Androcles and the Lion," "Pygmalion," "Overruled," "Great Catherine," "The Music-Cure," "O'Flaherty, V. C.," "An Unsocial Socialist," "The Devil's Disciple," "Cæsar and Cleopatra," "The Man of Destiny," "You Never Can Tell," "Back to Methuselah" (cycle of plays), etc.

'Tis distance lends enchantment to the view, And robes the mountain in its azure hue.

"Pleasures of Hope,"