Book IV

, Line 598,--_John Milton_.

JOHN MILTON, one of the greatest of English poets, was born in London, December 9, 1608, and died there November 8, 1674. His most famous works were: "Paradise Lost," "Paradise Regained," "Comus," "Lycidas," "L'Allegro," "Il Penseroso," "Samson Agonistes," "Areopagitica," "The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates," and the "Defence of the English People."

And ne'er shall the sons of Columbia be slaves, While the earth bears a plant or the sea rolls its waves.

"Adams and Liberty,"--_Robert Treat Paine, Jr._

ROBERT TREAT PAINE, JR., a celebrated American poet, was born in Taunton, Mass., December 9, 1773, and died in Boston, November 13, 1811. He is best known as the author of two songs, "Rise, Columbia," and "Adams and Liberty." Among his poems are: "The Invention of Letters," and "The Ruling Passion."

Virtue often trips and falls on the sharp-edged rock of poverty.

--_Eugene Sue_.

EUGENE SUE, a famous French romancer, was born in Paris, December 10, 1804, and died at Annecy, July 3, 1857. He wrote: "Kernock the Pirate," "History of the French Navy," "History of the War Navies of All Nations," "The Seven Deadly Sins," "Martin the Foundling," "The Mysteries of the People," "The Jouffroy Family," "The Secrets of the Confessional," "The Mysteries of Paris," and "The Wandering Jew."

Jesus was the first great teacher of men who showed a genuine sympathy for childhood. When He said, "Of such is the kingdom of heaven," it was a revelation.

--_Eggleston_.

EDWARD EGGLESTON, a distinguished American historian and novelist, was born in Vevay, Ind., December 10, 1837, and died in 1902. Among his noted works are: "The Circuit Rider," "The End of the World," "Roxy," "The Hoosier Schoolmaster," "The Graysons," "The Faith Doctor," "Queer Stories for Boys and Girls," "The Hoosier Schoolboy," "Schoolmasters' Stories," "Mr. Blake's Walking-Stick," "School History of the United States," "Household History of the United States," "First Book in American History," "The Beginners of a Nation," "The Transit of Civilization," etc.

Oh the heart is a free and fetterless thing,-- A wave of the ocean, a bird on the wing!

"The Captive Greek Girl,"--_Julia Pardoe_.

JULIA PARDOE, a noted English historical and miscellaneous writer, was born at Beverly, Yorkshire, December 11 (?), 1806, and died in London, November 26, 1862. Among her many works are: "Traditions of Portugal," "City of the Sultan," "Louis XIV and the Court of France," "The Jealous Wife," "The Court and Reign of Francis I," "Marie de' Medici," "Episodes of French History During the Consulate," "A Life Struggle," and numerous lyrics.

A place in thy memory, dearest, Is all that I claim; To pause and look back when thou hearest The sound of my name.

"A Place in Thy Memory,"--_Gerald Griffin_.

GERALD GRIFFIN, a famous Irish novelist, poet and dramatist, was born at Limerick, December 12, 1803, and died at Cork, June 12, 1840. He wrote: "Tales of the Munster Festivals," "The Collegians," "Holland Tide: or Munster Popular Tales," "The Invasion," "Gisippus, or the Forgotten Friend," "Tales of My Neighborhood," etc.

"That Flaubert was one of the greatest writers who ever lived in France is now commonly admitted, and his greatness principally depends upon the extraordinary vigour and exactitude of his style."

GUSTAVE FLAUBERT, a renowned French novelist, was born at Rouen, December 12, 1821, and died there, May 8, 1880. Among his writings are: "Salammbô," "The History of a Young Man," "The Temptation of St. Anthony," "Three Stories," and "Madame Bovary," his greatest novel.

The nightingale appear'd the first And as her melody she sang, The apple into blossom burst, To life the grass and violets sprang.

"New Spring," No. 31 ("Book of Songs"),--_Heine_.

HEINRICH HEINE, an eminent German poet, was born at Düsseldorf, December 13, 1799, and died at Paris, February 17, 1856. Among his works are: "Pictures of Travel," "Almansor," "Radcliff," "Poems," "Book of Songs," "New Poems," "History of Recent Polite Literature in Germany," "The Salon," "Doctor Faust," "The Romantic School," "Shakespeare's Maids and Matrons," "The Romancers," "Miscellaneous Writings," etc.

Life comes before literature, as the material always comes before the work. The hills are full of marble before the world blooms with statues.

"Literature and Life,"--_Phillips Brooks_.

PHILLIPS BROOKS, a famous American clergyman of the Episcopal Church, was born in Boston, December 13, 1835, and died there, January 23, 1893. He published many volumes of sermons and lectures, including: "Letters of Travel," "Lectures on Preaching," and "Essays and Addresses."

The germs of all truth lie in the soul, and when the ripe moment comes, the truth within answers to the fact without as the flower responds to the sun, giving it form for heat and color for light.

--_Hamilton W. Mabie_.

HAMILTON WRIGHT MABIE, a celebrated American essayist, critic, and editor, was born in Cold Spring, N. Y., December 13, 1846, and died in 1916. His works include: "Norse Stories Retold from the Eddas," "My Study Fire," "Short Studies in Literature," "Nature and Culture," "Books and Culture," "Work and Culture," "Works and Days," "Backgrounds of Literature," "The Great Word," "What and How to Read," "Writers of Knickerbocker," "American Ideals, Character and Life," "Japan To-day and To-morrow," etc., etc.

Go, forget me! why should sorrow O'er that brow a shadow fling? Go, forget me, and to-morrow Brightly smile and sweetly sing! Smile,--though I shall not be near thee; Sing,--though I shall never hear thee!

"Go, forget me!"--_Charles Wolfe_.

CHARLES WOLFE, a distinguished Irish clergyman and poet, was born at Dublin, December 14, 1791, and died at Cove of Cork (now Queenstown), February 21, 1823. His literary fame rests wholly upon his "Burial of Sir John Moore."

Just to let thy Father do What He will; Just to know that He is true, And be still. Just to follow hour by hour As He leadeth; Just to draw the moment's power As it needeth. Just to trust Him, that is all! Then the day will surely be Peaceful, whatsoe'er befall, Bright and blessed, calm and free.

"The Secret of a Happy Day," St. I,--_Frances Ridley Havergal_.

FRANCES RIDLEY HAVERGAL, a noted English poet and religious writer, was born at Astley, Worcestershire, December 14, 1836, and died at Swansea, Wales, June 3, 1879. She wrote: "The Four Happy Days," "Under the Surface" poems; "Royal Graces and Loyal Gifts" (6 vols., 1879), "Under His Shadow," etc.

Then here's to the oak, the brave old oak, Who stands in his pride alone! And still flourish he, a hale green tree, When a hundred years are gone!

"The Brave Old Oak,"--_H. F. Chorley_.

HENRY FOTHERGILL CHORLEY, a famous English critic and miscellaneous writer, was born in Blackley Hurst, Lancashire, December 15, 1808, and died in London, February 15, 1872. He wrote a famous play, "Old Love and New Fortune," and several novels, among them: "Conti," "The Prodigy," and "The Lion."

Where an opinion is general, it is usually correct.

"Mansfield Park," Chap. II,--_Jane Austen_.

JANE AUSTEN, a renowned English novelist, was born in Steventon, Hampshire, December 16, 1775, and died in Winchester, July 18, 1817. Her most famous works are: "Mansfield Park," "Sense and Sensibility," and "Pride and Prejudice."

A sacred spark created by his breath, The immortal mind of man his image bears; A spirit living 'midst the forms of death, Oppressed, but not subdued by mortal cares.

"Written After Recovery from a Dangerous Illness,"--_Sir H. Davy_.

SIR HUMPHRY DAVY, an eminent English chemist, philosopher and man of letters, was born at Penzance, Cornwall, December 17, 1778, and died at Geneva, Switzerland, May 29, 1829. He wrote: "Consolations in Travel, or the Last Days of a Philosopher," "Chemical and Philosophical Researches," "On the Safety Lamp and on Flame," etc.

For of all sad words of tongue or pen, The saddest are these: "It might have been!"

"Maud Muller,"--_John Greenleaf Whittier_.

JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER, a renowned American poet, was born at Haverhill, Massachusetts, December 17, 1807, and died at Hampton Falls, New Hampshire, September 1892. Among his noted poems are: "Barbara Frietchie," "Skipper Ireson's Ride," "Snow-Bound," "Maud Muller," "My Playmate," "Laus Deo," "My Birthday," and "The Tent on the Beach."

A charge to keep I have, A God to glorify; A never dying soul to save, And fit it for the sky.

"Christian Fidelity,"--_Charles Wesley_.

CHARLES WESLEY, a famous English clergyman and poet, was born at Epworth, Lincolnshire, December 18, 1708, and died in London, March 29, 1788. He was called "the poet of Methodism," but many of his beautiful hymns are used in all denominations of the Protestant church.

'Tis noon;--a calm unbroken sleep Is on the blue waves of the deep; A soft haze like a fairy dream, Is floating over wood and stream; And many a broad magnolia flower, Within its shadowy woodland bower, Is gleaming like a lovely star.

"To An Absent Wife," St. 2,--_George D. Prentice_.

GEORGE DENISON PRENTICE, a distinguished American journalist, poet, and author, was born at Preston, Conn., December 18, 1802, and died January 22, 1870. He published in 1860, "Prenticeana" a collection of pointed paragraphs. His other works are: "Life of Henry Clay," and "Poems."

There is no to-morrow; though before our face the shadow named so stretches, we always fail to o'ertake it, hasten as we may.

--_Margaret J. Preston_.

MARGARET JUNKIN PRESTON, a celebrated American author, was born in Philadelphia, Pa., December 19 (?), 1825, and died in 1897. She has written: "Silverwood" (a novel), "Old Songs and New," "Cartoons," "Beechen-brook," "Colonial Ballads," "For Love's Sake," "Aunt Dorothy," etc.

Man is his own star; and that soul that can Be honest is the only perfect man.

Upon an "Honest Man's Fortune,"--_John Fletcher_.

JOHN FLETCHER, the renowned English dramatist, was born in Rye, Sussex, December 20 (?), 1579 and died in London, August, 1625. A few of his famous plays are: "The Wild Goose Chase," "The Loyal Subject," "Monsieur Thomas," "The Faithful Shepherdess," "A Wife for a Month," "Wit Without Money," "The Chances," "Bonduca," "The Mad Lover," and "Rule a Wife and Have a Wife." His name has always been associated with that of Francis Beaumont, and together they wrote many plays; but the beforementioned works were written by Fletcher alone.

Whenever a snowflake leaves the sky, It turns and turns to say "Good-by! Good-by, dear clouds, so cool and gray!" Then lightly travels on its way.

"Snowflakes,"--_Mary Mapes Dodge_.

MARY ELIZABETH MAPES DODGE, a noted American editor, poet and author, was born in New York City, December 20 (?),1838, and died in 1905. She has written: "Irvington Stories," "Along the Way" (poems), "Theophilus and Others," "The Land of Pluck," "Donald and Dorothy," "The Golden Gate," "Poems and Verses," and "Hans Brinker, or the Silver Skates," her most famous work.

Je crains Dieu, cher Abner, et n'ai point d'autre crainte.[1]

"Athalie," Act. i, Sc. I,--_Racine_.

JEAN BAPTISTE RACINE, the illustrious French dramatist, was born at La Ferté-Milon, December 21, 1639, and died at Paris, April 26, 1699. His greatest works were: "The Thebaid," "The Pleaders," "Alexander," "Berenice," "Bajazet," "Esther," "Athalie," "Mithridates," "Iphigenia," "The Chaplain's Wig," "Phædra," "Nymphs of the Seine," "Letters," and "Abridgment of the History of Port Royal," his last dramatic work.

The world is a wheel, and it will all come round right.

"Endymion," Chap. lxx,--_Benjamin Disraeli_.

BENJAMIN DISRAELI, Lord Beaconsfield, an eminent English statesman and novelist, was born in London, December 21, 1804, and died April 19, 1881. Among his celebrated works are: "The Young Duke," "Vivian Grey," "Venetia," "The Rise of Iskander," "Henrietta Temple," "The Revolutionary Epic," "Sibyl," "Tancred," "Lothair," and "Endymion."

To be really cosmopolitan a man must be at home even in his own country.

"Short Studies of American Authors: Henry James, Jr.,"--_T. W. Higginson_.

THOMAS WENTWORTH HIGGINSON, a distinguished American poet, essayist and novelist, was born in Cambridge, Mass., December 22, 1823, and died in 1911. Among his writings are: "Atlantic Essays," "Out-Door Papers," "The Afternoon Landscape," "Life of Margaret Fuller," "Short Studies of American Authors," "Young Folks' History of the United States," "Concerning All of Us," "Cheerful Yesterdays," "Old Cambridge," "Contemporaries," "Henry Wadsworth Longfellow," "Part of a Man's Life," "Life of Stephen Higginson," etc.

I have a liking old For thee, though manifold Stories, I know, are told Not to thy credit.

"Ode to Tobacco,"--_Charles Stuart Calverley_.

CHARLES STUART CALVERLEY, a noted English poet and humorist, was born at Martley, Worcestershire, December 22, 1831, and died February 17, 1884. He wrote: "Verses and Translations," and "Society Verses."

If I had a device, it would be the true, the true only, leaving the beautiful and the good to settle matters afterwards as best they could.

--_C. A. Sainte-Beuve_.

CHARLES AUGUSTIN SAINTE-BEUVE, the great French literary critic, was born at Boulogne-sur-Mer, December 23, 1804, and died at Paris, October 13, 1869. He wrote: "Literary Critiques and Portraits," "Literary Portraits," "History of Port Royal," "Contemporary Portraits," "Picture of French Poetry in the Sixteenth Century," "Meditations in August," "Consolations," "Poems," his celebrated "Monday Talks," etc.

We learn wisdom from failure much more than from success. We often discover what will do by finding out what will not do; and probably he who never made a mistake never made a discovery.

"Self-Help,"--_Samuel Smiles_.

SAMUEL SMILES, a famous British author, was born at Haddington, Scotland, December 23, 1812, and died, April 16, 1904. He wrote: "Lives of the Engineers," "Industrial Biography," "James Brindley and the Early Engineers," "Lives of Boulton and Watt," "Life of Thomas Telford," "Life of George Stephenson," "The Life of a Scotch Naturalist" (Thomas Edward), "Robert Dick," "George Moore," "Men of Invention and Industry," "Life and Labor," "A Publisher and His Friends," "Jasmin," "Josiah Wedgwood," "History of Ireland," etc. Also, "Self-Help," "Character," "Thrift," and "Duty."

Her air, her manners, all who saw admir'd; Courteous though coy, and gentle though retir'd; The joy of youth and health her eyes display'd, And ease of heart her every look convey'd.

"The Parish Register, Marriages,"