marked distinction as a scholar. He made some proficiency in Latin, ethics, and history, but he had no taste for Greek. He acquired a general, though not a critical knowledge, of the German, French, Italian, and Spanish languages. But from early youth he was an insatiable reader, and he stored his mind with a vast fund of miscellaneous knowledge. Romances were among his chief favorites, and he had great facility in inventing and telling stories. He became greatly distinguished as a poet before he commenced his career as a novelist. His first great poem, the Lay of the Last Minstrel, published in 1805, was received with enthusiastic admiration, and at once stamped him as a poetical genius. The appearance of Marmion, in 1808, greatly enhanced his reputation as a poet, and the Lady of the Lake, which came out two years later, was still more popular. Here he touched his highest point in poetical composition. His subsequent poems certainly added nothing to his reputation, if, indeed, they sustained it. 66 But, as the old mine gave symptoms of exhaustion," says Bulwer, the new mine, ten times more affluent, at least in the precious metals, was discovered. In 1814 he commenced that long and magnificent series of prose fictions, which, for seventeen years were poured out with an unprecedented prodigality, and which can only be compared with the dramas of Shakspeare, as presenting an endless variety of original characters, scenes, historical situations and adventures. In 1826, he became bankrupt, in consequence of a partnership with a printer and publisher, and, although fifty-five years old, he undertook the heroic task of discharging his heavy pecuniary liabilities by the productions of his pen. In six years of intense literary labor, he nearly accomplished his noble object, but before he reached the goal, he sunk exhausted on the course. 66 "In the portion of his life, from his bankruptcy to his death," says Mr. Hillard, Scott's character shines with a moral grandeur far above mere literary fame." 222. CLXIV. From the poem Marmion. 223. Tantallon's towers: the ruins of Tantallon Castle occupy a high rock projecting into the German Ocean, about two miles east of North Berwick, in the southeastern part of Scotland. DOUGLAS, ARCHIBALD, Earl of Angus, a man remarkable for strength of body and mind, who died broken-hearted at calamities which befell his house and country at Flodden. 224. CLXV. Pibroch, (pi'-brok). In Scotland, a Highland air played on the bagpipe before the Highlanders when they go out to battle. Doneuil Dhu, (donnil du): MacDonald the Black. 230 CLXIX. Parhasius, (par-ra'-zhius): Prometheus, (pro-me'-thuse): Caucasus, (caw'-că-sus): lame Lemnian: Vulcan, the artisan of the Olympian gods. 232. CLXX. MRS. FELICIA HEMANS, an admirable woman and sweet poetess, was born at Liverpool, England, September 25, 1793, and died May 16, 1835. Her maiden name was Browne. She was married to Captain Hemans, an officer in the British Army, but the union was not a happy one. Her imagination was chivalrous Page No. 232. and romantic, and she delighted in picturing the ancient martial glory of England. The purity of her mind is seen in all her works. Though popular, and in many respects excellent, her poetry is calculated to please the fancy rather than to make a deep and lasting impression. CLXX. A true story. Young Casabianca, a boy thirteen years old, son of the commander of the Orient, remained at his post, in the battle of the Nile, after the ship had taken fire and all the guns had been abandoned, and was blown up with the vessel when the flames reached the magazine. 259. CLXXXVI. The Royal George, of 108 guns, whilst undergoing a partial careening in Portsmouth Harbor, England, was overset about 10, A. M., August 29, 1782. The total loss was believed to be near 1000 souls. 263. 265. 274. CXC. THOMAS BABINGTON MACAULAY was born in the county of Leicester, England, October 25, 1800, and died December, 28, 1859. He was educated at Cambridge University. He was several times elected member of Parliament, and for several years he served the government in India as member of the Supreme Council. But his fame rests mainly on his literary productions, the principal of which is his History of England, whose popularity has never been exceeded by any other historical work in the language. His essays, which have been collected and published in six volumes, are remarkable for brilliancy of style and richness of matter. As a descriptive poet he has exhibited high genius in his "Lays of Ancient Rome." His "Battle of Ivry" has the true trumpet-ring which kindles the soul and stirs the blood. — Ivry, (ee ́-vree): a town in France where Henry IV. gained a decisive victory over Mayenne, 1590. - oriflamme, (or-e-flam): the ancient royal standard of France. Mayenne, Duke: commander of the army of the League. Remember Saint Bartholomew: the massacre on Saint Bartholomew's Eve, August 23, 1572. CXCI. Bingen, (bing-en). CXCVII. SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE, a man remarkable for his rich poetical imagination, his unrivalled colloquial eloquence, and his superior critical powers, was born in Devonshire, England, October 20, 1772, and died July 25, 1834. He was educated at Christ's Hospital, London, where he had Charles Lamb for a school-fellow, and at Jesus' College, Cambridge. He afterwards acquired a knowledge of the German language and literature at Ratzburg and Gottingen. In early life he was a Unitarian and a Jacobin, but he subsequently became a Trinitarian and a Royalist. Those who knew him thought him equal to any task; he planned great works in prose and verse which he never executed. His poetical works, of which his Ancient Mariner is the most striking and original, have been collected and published in three volumes. His language is often rich and musical, highly figurative and ornate. His Ode on France was considered by Shelley to be the finest Page No. English ode of modern times. His Hymn on Chamouni is equally lofty and brilliant. 274. cxcvII. Chamouni, (sha-mooʻ-ne): a valley in the Sardinian States, bounded on the south by Mont Blanc, the most remarkable for its picturesque sites and the wild grandeur of its glaciers. 277. 283. 287. 298. 303. 304 805. – Arve, (arve): a rapid river flowing into the Rhone. CCII. WILLIAM COLLINS, whose poems, though small in number, are CCX. THOMAS CAMPBELL was born at Glasgow, Scotland, July 27, 1777, and died at Boulogne, France, June 15, 1844. He was educated at the university of his native city, and afterwards studied Greek in Germany under the learned Professor Heyne. After travelling on the continent he took up his residence in London, in 1803, and devoted himself to literature as a profession. In 1799, at the early age of twenty-two years, he published The Pleasures of Hope, a poem of great merit, which captivated all hearts by its exquisite melody, its polished diction, and its generous and lofty sentiments. His second great poem, Gertrude of Wyoming, a Pennsylvanian Tale, was published in 1809. His genius shines most conspicuously in his shorter poems, his war-songs or lyrics, and his ballads, which have been said to form the richest offering ever made by poetry at the shrine of patriotism. Mr. Hillard says of him, — “ No poet of our times has contributed so much, in proportion to the extent of his writings, to that stock of established quotations which pass from lip to lip, and from pen to pen, without any thought as to their origin." CCXIV. This fine passage is from the Pleasures of Hope. — pandours, (pan dorz', the o as in move; the metre of the line re- – hussars, (hoozʼzarz): light-armed Hungarian horse-soldiers. CCXV. Hohenlinden: (hohen, high; linden, lime-trees,) the name of a village Page 305 No in upper Bavaria, twenty miles east of Munich, celebrated for the victory of the French and Bavarians, under Moreau, over the Austrians, under Archduke John, December 3, 1800. This battle was witnessed by the poet Campbell, from the monastery of St. Jacob. In a letter written at this time, he says: "The sight of Ingoldstadt in ruins, and Hohenlinden covered with fire, seven miles in circumference, were spectacles never to be forgotten.” He has immortalized that conflict in these inimitable stanzas which form one of the grandest battle-pieces that ever were drawn. ccxv. Iser, (ē'zer): the name of a river in the vicinity of Hohenlinder Frank: the ancient name of the French. - Hun: a name applied to the barbarous people of Scythia who 314. ccxxIII. This is considered one of the best martial lyrics in the language. Its author, Fitz-Greene Halleck, was born at Guilford, in Conn., August, 1795. He has written but very little, but that little is of such excellence as to make us regret that he has not written 815. more. - Marco Bozzaris, (bõt-sah'-ris): the most famous hero of modern Greece, fell in a night attack on the Turkish camp at Lapsi, the site of the ancient Platæa, August 20, 1823, and expired in the moment of victory. His last words were:- "To die for liberty is a pleasure, and not a pain." - Old Platœa's Day: B. c. 479, when the Greeks, under Aristides and Pausanias, defeated the Persians with great slaughter. 317. ccxxiv. JOSEPH RODMAN DRAKE was born at New York, August 7, 1795, and died September 21, 1820. The most popular of his poems is the spirited ode, The American Flag, though his fame rests chiefly on the Culprit Fay, a poem of exquisite fancy and artistic execution. 318. ccxvIII. Old Ironsides: the frigate Constitution. This poem was written when it was proposed to break her up and convert her into a receiving ship, as unfit for service. 321. CCXXVI. CHARLES WOLFE was born at Dublin, Ireland, December 14, 1791, and died February 21, 1823. Sir John Moore, a British general, was killed at Corunna, in Spain, in a battle between the French and English, January 16, 1809. He was wrapped in his military cloak and buried by night in a hasty grave on the ramparts of the town. 335. CCXXXVI. From the last canto of Childe Harold. Compare this with the splendid prose poem by Dr. Swain, page 396. 336. - Armada, (ar-mā'dah) : a naval or military armament, especially applied to the fleet sent by Spain against England, 1588, which was dispersed and shattered by a storm. - Trafalgar, (traf-al-gar'): a cape on the coast of Spain, memorable for the great naval victory of the English under Nelson, who was killed in the action, over the French and Spanish fleets, October 21, 1805. Page 355. No. 356. 357. 358. 360. 361. 365. 387. 388. 391. CCL. From a lecture on The Eloquence of Revolutionary Periods, delivered in Boston, before the Mechanic Apprentices' Association, February 19, 1857. CCLI. From the same as above. Mirabeau, (meʼ-rah-bo'): the greatest of French orators · Bema: a raised place in Athens whence the orators addressed assemblies of the people. CCLII. From an oration delivered in Boston, July 5, 1858, before the Boston Democratic Club, his last address on general political interests. CCLV. From a speech on Boston Common, in the autumn of 1861, on the occasion of presenting a flag to the 22d Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers, commanded by Senator Wilson. CCLVI. From a speech on Boston Common in 1861, at a grand rally of Union men to promote enlistments to put down the rebellion. CCLVIII. From an oration delivered on the 4th of July, 1861, before the municipal authorities of Boston. CCLXXIV. From an address delivered before the Norfolk County Agricultural Society, September, 1863. CCLXXV. From an oration delivered at Roxbury, before the municipal authorities of the city, February 22, 1864. CCLXXVI. From an address by Governor Andrew, to both branches of the Legislature, at the opening of the session, January, 1863. 392. CCLXXVII. From an address before both branches of the Legislature, at the opening of the session, January, 1864. 393. CCLXXVIII. From a speech delivered in 1861, on the occasion of presenting a flag to the Second Regiment of Volunteers. 396. CCLXXX. From a discourse recently delivered by the author, in his own pulpit, at Providence, on his return from a voyage to Europe. 404. CCLXXXVI. From the author's speeches in the memorable canvass with Douglas for the senatorship in Illinois. 423. 406. CCLXXXVII. This extract and the succeeding one, are from the author's last great speech delivered at Springfield, Illinois, in 1861. CCXCVIII. GEORGE THOMPSON, the great English agitator and antislavery leader, delivered numerous addresses in different parts of England, during the summer of 1863, in defence of the American cause. This extract, from one delivered at Carlisle, England, was written out by the author, especially for this book. 433. 440. 441. 449. 451. cccv. This extract and the two following were taken from an oration delivered July 4, 1863, before the municipal authorities of Boston. CCCXI. From a eulogy on Webster, delivered in Boston, September 17, CCCXII. From an oration delivered at the Dedication of the Soldiers' |