COOK, ELIZA, was born in London, England, in the year 1817, and was
the most popular poetess of her day. When a young girl, she gave herself
so completely up to reading that her father threatened to burn her
books. She began to write at an early age, and contributed poems and
essays to various periodicals. She is the author of many poems that will
live. She died in 1889.
COWPER, WILLIAM, is one of the most eminent and popular of all
English poets. He was born in the year 1731. His mother dying when he
was only six years old, the child was sent away from home to boarding
school, where he suffered so much from the cruelty of a bigger boy that
he was obliged to leave that school for another. At the completion of
his college course he expressed regrets that his education was not
received in a school where he could be taught his duty to God. "I have
been graduated," he writes, "but I understand neither the law nor the
gospel." His longest poem is "The Task," upon which his reputation as a
poet chiefly depends. He died in the year 1800.
DICKENS, CHARLES, one of the greatest and most popular of the
novelists of England, was born in 1812. By hard, persistent work he
raised himself from obscurity and poverty to fame and fortune. After
only two years of schooling he was obliged to go to work. His first job
was pasting labels on blacking-pots, for which he received twenty-five
cents a day! He next became office boy in a lawyer's office, and then
reporter for a London daily paper. He learned shorthand by himself from
a book he found in a public reading-room. In 1841, and again in 1867, he
lectured in America. He died suddenly in 1870, and is buried in
Westminster Abbey.
DONNELLY, ELEANOR CECILIA, began to write verses when she was but
eight years old. Her early education was directed by her mother, a
gifted and accomplished lady. Her pen has ever been devoted to the cause
of Catholic truth and the elevation of Catholic literature. Besides
hundreds of charming stories and essays, she has published several
volumes of poems. Her writings on sacred subjects display a strong,
intelligent faith, and a tender piety. She is a writer whose pathos,
originality, grace of diction, sweetness of rhythm, purity of sentiment,
and sublimity of thought entitle her to rank among the first of our
American poets. Miss Donnelly has lived all her life in her native city
of Philadelphia, where she is the center of a cultured circle of
admiring friends, and where she edifies all by the practice of every
Christian virtue and by a life of devotedness to the honor and glory of
Almighty God.
GOULD, HANNAH F., an American poetess, has written many pleasant
poems for children. "Jack Frost" and "The Winter King" have long been
favorites. She was born in Vermont in the year 1789, and died in 1865.
HAWTHORNE, NATHANIEL, was born in Salem, Mass., on July 4, 1804.
When still quite young he showed a great fondness for reading. At the
early age of six his favorite book was Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress." At
college he was a classmate of Longfellow. Among his writings are a
number of stories for children: "The Tanglewood Tales," "The
Snow-Image," "The Wonder Books," and some stories of American history.
His volumes of short stories charm old and young alike. His Book, "The
Scarlet Letter," has made him famous. It was while he lived at Lenox,
Mass., among the Berkshire Hills, that he published "The House of the
Seven Gables." He visited Italy in 1857, where he began "The Marble
Faun," which is considered his greatest novel. He died in 1864, and is
buried in Concord, Mass. Hawthorne possessed a delicate and exquisite
humor, and a marvelous felicity in the use of language. His style may be
said to combine almost every excellence--elegance, simplicity, grace,
clearness and force.
HAYNE, PAUL HAMILTON, an American poet, was born in South Carolina
in the year 1831. In 1854 he published a volume of poems. His death
occurred in 1886. He was a descendant of the American patriot, Isaac
Hayne, who, at the siege of Charleston in 1780, fell into the hands of
the British, and was hanged by them because he refused to join their
ranks and fight against his country.
HOLLAND, JOSIAH GILBERT, a popular American author who wrote under
the assumed name of _Timothy Titcomb,_ was born in Massachusetts in the
year 1819. He began life as a physician, but after a few years of
practice gave up his profession and went to Vicksburg, Miss., as
Superintendent of Schools. He wrote a number of novels and several
volumes of essays. In 1870 he became editor of _Scribner's Magazine._ He
died in 1881.
HUNT, LEIGH, editor, essayist, critic, and poet, and an intimate
friend of Byron, Moore, Keats, and Shelley, was born near London,
England, in 1784, and died in 1859.
JACKSON, HELEN HUNT, a noted American writer of prose and poetry,
and known for years by her pen name of "H.H." (the initials of her
name), was born in Massachusetts in the year 1831. She is the author of
many charming poems, short stories, and novels. Read her "Bits of Talk"
and "Bits of Travel." She lived some years in Colorado, where her life
brought to her notice the wrongs done the Indians. In their defense she
wrote "A Century of Dishonor," The last book she wrote is "Ramona," an
Indian romance, which she hoped would do for the Indian what "Uncle
Tom's Cabin" had done for the slave. Mrs. Jackson died in California in
1885.
"MERCEDES" is the pen name of an able, zealous, and devoted Sister
of one of our great Teaching Communities. She has written several
excellent "Plays" for use in Convent Schools which have met the test of
successful production. Her "Wild Flowers from the Mountain-side" is a
volume of Poems and Dramas that exhibit "the heart and soul and faith of
true poetry." A competent critic calls these "Wild Flowers sweet, their
hues most delicate, their fragrance most agreeable." Mercedes has also
enriched the columns of _The Missionary_ and other publications with
several true stories, in attractive prose, of edifying conversions
resulting from the missionary zeal of priest and teacher. Her graceful
pen is ever at the service of every cause tending to the glory of God
and the good of souls.
MOORE, THOMAS, was born in the city of Dublin, Ireland, in the year
1779, and was educated at Trinity College. His matchless "Melodies" are
the delight of all lovers of music, and are sung all over the world.
Archbishop McHale of Tuam translated them into the grand old Celtic
tongue. Moore is the greatest of Ireland's song-writers, and one of the
world's greatest. As a poet few have equaled him in the power to write
poetry which charms the ear by its delightful cadence. His lines display
an exquisite harmony, and are perfectly adapted to the thoughts which
they express and inspire. His grave is in England, where he spent the
later years of his life, and where he died in 1852. In 1896, the Moore
Memorial Committee of Dublin erected over his grave a monument
consisting of a magnificent and beautiful Celtic cross.
MOORE, CLEMENT C., poet and teacher, was born in New York in 1779.
In 1821 he was appointed professor in a Seminary founded by his father,
who was Bishop Benjamin Moore of the Protestant Episcopal diocese of New
York. He died in 1863.
MORRIS, GEORGE P., poet and journalist, wrote several popular
poems, but is remembered chiefly for his songs and ballads. He was born
in Philadelphia in the year 1802, and died in New York in 1864.
MCCARTHY, DENIS ALOYSIUS, poet, lecturer and journalist, was born
in Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary, Ireland, in the year 1871, and
made his elementary and intermediate studies in the Christian Brothers'
School of his native town. Since his arrival in America in 1886, he has
published two volumes of poems which he modestly calls "A Round of
Rimes" and "Voices from Erin." "His poetry," says a distinguished critic
who is neither Irish nor Catholic, "is soulful and sweet, and sings
itself into the heart of anyone who has a bit of sentiment in his
make-up." Mr. McCarthy is at present Associate Editor of the _Sacred
Heart Review_ of Boston. He lectures on literary and Irish themes, and
contributes poems, stories, essays, book reviews, etc., to various
papers and magazines.
NEWMAN, CARDINAL JOHN HENRY, was born in London in 1801, and
studied at Trinity College, Oxford. In 1824 he became a minister of the
Church of England, and rose rapidly in his profession. In 1845 he
abandoned the English ministry, renounced the errors of Protestantism,
and entered the Catholic Church, of which he remained till death a most
faithful, devoted, and zealous son. He was ordained priest in 1848, was
made Rector of the Catholic University of Dublin in 1854, and in 1879
was raised to the rank of Cardinal by Pope Leo XIII. Cardinal Newman's
writings are beyond the grasp of young minds, yet they will profit by
and enjoy the perusal of his two great novels, "Loss and Gain" and
"Callista." The former is the story of a convert; the latter a tale of
the third century, in which the beautiful heroine and martyr, Callista,
is presented with a master's art. Newman is the greatest master of
English prose. In this field he holds the same rank that Shakespeare
does in English poetry. To his style, Augustine Birrell, a noted English
essayist, pays the following graceful and eloquent tribute: "The charm
of Dr. Newman's style baffles description. As well might one seek to
analyze the fragrance of a flower, or to expound in words the jumping of
one's heart when a beloved friend unexpectedly enters the room." This
great Prince of the Church died the death of the saints in the year
1890.
O'REILLY, JOHN BOYLE, patriot, author, poet and journalist, was
born on the banks of the famous river Boyne, in County Meath, Ireland,
in the year 1844. In 1860 he went over to England as agent of the Fenian
Brotherhood, an organization whose purpose was the freedom of Ireland
from English rule. In 1863 he joined the English army in order to sow
the seeds of revolution among the soldiers. In 1866 he was arrested,
tried for treason, and sentenced to death. This was afterwards commuted
to twenty years' penal servitude. In 1867 he was transported to
Australia to serve out his sentence, whence he escaped in 1869, and made
his way to Philadelphia. He became editor of the Boston _Pilot_ in 1874.
He is the author of "Songs from the Southern Seas," "Songs, Legends and
Ballads," and of other works. He died in 1890. All through life the
voice and pen of Boyle O'Reilly were at the service of his Church, his
native land, and his adopted country. Kindness was the keynote of his
character. In 1896 Boston erected in his honor a magnificent memorial
monument.
RILEY, JAMES WHITCOMB, called the "Hoosier Poet," was born in
Indiana in the year 1852. In many of his poems there is a strong sense
of humor. What he writes comes from the heart and goes to the heart. He
has written much in dialect. His home is in Indianapolis.
RUSKIN, JOHN, one of the most famous of English authors, was born
in London in 1819, and educated at Oxford. He spent several years in
Italy in the study of art. He wrote many volumes of essays and lectures,
chiefly on matters connected with art and art criticism. In his writings
we find many beautiful pen-pictures of statues and fine buildings and
such things. His "Modern Painters," a treatise on art and nature,
established his reputation as the greatest art critic of England. He
died in 1900.
SANGSTER, MRS. MARGARET E., editor and poet, was born in New
Rochelle, N.Y., on the 22d of February, 1838, and educated in Vienna.
She has successfully edited such periodicals as _Hearth and Home,
Harpers' Young People, and Harpers' Bazaar,_ in which much of her prose
and poetry has appeared. She is at present (1909) the editor of _The
Woman's Home Companion._
SOUTHEY, ROBERT, an eminent English poet and author, was born in
the year 1774. He began to write verse at the age of ten. In 1792 he was
expelled from the Westminster School for writing an essay against
corporal punishment. He then entered one of the colleges of Oxford
University, where he became an intimate friend of Coleridge. While
residing at Lisbon he began a special study of Spanish and Portuguese
literature. In 1813 he was appointed poet-laureate of England, and in
1835 received a pension from the government. He died in 1843. Southey,
Coleridge and Wordsworth are often called "The Lake Poets," because they
lived together for years in the lake country of England, and in their
writings described the scenery of that beautiful region.
TENNYSON, ALFRED, is considered the greatest poet of his age, and
one of the great English poets of modern times. He was born in the year
1809, and educated at Cambridge University. In 1850 he gave to the world
"In Memoriam," his lament for the loss by death of his friend, Arthur H.
Hallam. In 1851 he succeeded Wordsworth as poet-laureate of England. His
poems, long and short, are general favorites. His "Idyls of the King,"
"The Princess," "Maud," and "In Memoriam" are his chief long poems.
These are remarkable for beauty of expression and richness of thought,
of which Tennyson was master. He died in 1892, lamented by the entire
English-speaking world, and was buried in Westminster Abbey. Tennyson
always loved the sea, the music of whose restless waves awakened an
answering echo in his heart.
WALLACE, WILLIAM R., was born at Lexington, Ky., in the year 1819.
As a poet he is best known as the author of "The Sword of Bunker Hill."
WESTWOOD, THOMAS, an English poet, was born in the year 1814, and
died in 1888. He wrote several volumes of poetry, one of which was
"Beads from a Rosary."
WHITTIER, JOHN G., called the "Quaker Poet," was born in
Massachusetts in the year 1807. His parents were Quakers and were poor.
When young he learned to make shoes, and with the money thus earned he
paid his way at school. He was a boy of nineteen when his first verses
were published. His poems were inspired by current events, and their
patriotic spirit gives them a strong hold upon the public. "Snow-bound"
is considered his greatest poem. Whittier loved home so much that he
never visited a foreign country, and traveled but little in his own. He
gave thirty of the best years of his life to the anti-slavery struggle.
While other poets traveled in foreign lands or studied in their
libraries, Whittier worked hard for the freedom of the slave. Of this he
wrote--
"Forego the dreams of lettered ease,
Put thou the scholar's promise by;
The rights of man are more than these."
Mr. Whittier died in the year 1892.
WISEMAN, CARDINAL NICHOLAS PATRICK, was born in the year 1802 in
Seville, Spain, of an Irish family settled there. His family returned to
Ireland, where he was educated. When he was sixteen he entered the
English College, Rome, and was ordained priest in 1825. In 1840 he was
appointed Coadjutor Bishop, and in 1850 the Pope named him Archbishop of
Westminster, and at the same time created him a Cardinal. He was a
profound scholar, an eloquent preacher, and a brilliant writer, and is
the author of many able works. He was one of the founders of the _Dublin
Review._ He died in 1865. His "Fabiola or the Church of the Catacombs,"
from which some selections have been taken for this Reader, is one of
the classics of our language. It was written in 1854.
WOODWORTH, SAMUEL, editor and poet, was born in Massachusetts in
1785, and died in 1842. With George P. Morris, he founded the _New York
Mirror._ "The Old Oaken Bucket" is the best known of his poems.
For sketches of other authors from whom selections are taken for this
book, see the Third and the Fourth Reader of the series.
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