Book iii

, Ode 29, Line 65,--_John Dryden_.

JOHN DRYDEN, the renowned English poet, was born at Aldwinkle, Northamptonshire, August 9, 1631, and died in London, May 1, 1700. His most famous works were: "The Hind and the Panther," "Alexander's Feast," and "Absalom and Achitophel," also a number of noted plays including: "Marriage à la Mode," "The Conquest of Grenada," "The Spanish Friar," "Don Sebastian," "All for Love," etc.

His temper was of that warm susceptible kind which is caught with the heroic and the tender, and, which is more fitted to delight in the world of sentiment than to succeed in the bustle of ordinary life. This is a disposition of mind well suited to the poetical character, and, accordingly, all his earliest companions agree that Mr. Home was from his childhood delighted with the lofty and heroic ideas which embody themselves in the description or narrative of poetry.... Mr. Home's favorite amusement was angling.

"Account of the Life of Mr. John Home," "Home's Works," Vol. I, pp. 6, 31,--_Henry Mackenzie_.

HENRY MACKENZIE, a noted Scotch novelist, essayist and miscellaneous writer, was born at Edinburgh, August 10, 1745, and died there January 14, 1831. He wrote: "The Man of the World," "Julia de Roubigné," "Works" (8 vols.), and "The Man of Feeling," his most famous work.

Yes, Walt Whitman has appeared. He has his place upon the stage. The drama is not ended. His voice is still heard. He is the poet of democracy--of all people. He is the poet of the body and soul. He has sounded the note of individuality. He has given the pass-word primeval. He is the Poet of Humanity--of Intellectual Hospitality. He has voiced the aspirations of America, and, above all, he is the poet of Love and Death.

"Liberty in Literature," In Re Walt Whitman,--_Robert G. Ingersoll_.

ROBERT GREEN INGERSOLL, a distinguished American orator, lecturer and lawyer, was born in Dresden, N. Y., August 11, 1833, and died at Dobbs Ferry, N. Y., July 21, 1899. He has published: "Some Mistakes of Moses," "Lectures, Complete," "Great Speeches," "Prose Poems and Selections."

Most women indulge in idle gossip, which is the henchman of rumor and scandal.

--_Octave Feuillet_.

OCTAVE FEUILLET, a celebrated French novelist, was born at St. Lô, August 11, 1821, and died at Paris, December 29, 1890. He wrote: "The Great Old Man," "The History of Sibylla," "Julie de Trécoeur," "A Marriage in High Life," "Story of a Parisienne," "La Morte," and his most notable work, "Romance of a Poor Young Man."

My mother says I must not pass Too near that glass; She is afraid that I will see A little witch that looks like me, With a red mouth to whisper low The very thing I should not know.

"The Witch in the Glass,"--_Sarah Morgan Bryant Piatt_.

MRS. SARAH MORGAN (BRYANT) PIATT, a noted American poet, was born at Lexington, Ky., August 11, 1836. Her best known works are: "A Woman's Poems," "A Voyage to the Fortunate Isles," "Dramatic Persons and Moods," "The Witch in the Glass," "An Enchanted Castle," etc.

How beautiful is night! A dewy freshness fills the silent air; No mist obscures; nor cloud, nor speck, nor stain, Breaks the serene of heaven: In full-orbed glory, yonder moon divine Rolls through the dark blue depths; Beneath her steady ray The desert circle spreads Like the round ocean, girdled with the sky. How beautiful is night!

"Thalaba,"