CORNELL 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 FROM 
 
 "■nonjmous 
 
Cornell University Library 
 PR 87.W46 
 
 A digest of English and American literal 
 
 3 1924 013 357 003 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of tiiis book is in 
 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924013357003 
 
A DIGEST 
 
 OF 
 
 ENGLISH AND AMERICAN 
 
 LITERATURE. 
 
 BY 
 
 ALFRED H. WELSH, A.M. 
 
 AUTHOR OF "development OF ENGLISH LITERATURE AND 
 LANGUAGE," ETC., ETC. 
 
 CHICAGO: 
 
 S. C. GRIGGS AND COMPANY. 
 
 1890. 
 
Copyright, 1890, 
 By S. C. Griggs and Company. 
 
 John Wilson and Son, Cambridge. 
 
IV PREFACE. 
 
 events among which he wrote, and saturate ourselves 
 with the ideas and sentiments which gave substance 
 and quality to his mental life. 
 
 The present book is intended as an aid in this pro- 
 cess of self-transportation, presenting in summary form 
 the essential facts by means of which it is to be ef- 
 fected. It is a condensed parallel view of history and 
 literature in England and the United States from the 
 time of the Roman invasion down to the present ; and 
 it may be used by the student in connection either with 
 lectures by the teacher or with a text-book, such as 
 the author's Development of English Literature and 
 Language. 
 
 The plan of the book has made it necessary to leave 
 extended blank spaces in some of the columns. It is 
 suggested that these spaces may be used by the stu- 
 dent for entering notes and additional authors, charac- 
 teristics and events. What he thus does for himself, if 
 carefully and critically done, may have a greater educa- 
 tional value than all that the book itself can do for 
 him. 
 
 W. H. SCOTT. 
 
 Ohio State University, 
 July 22, i8go. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 iNTRODUCTORy I 
 
 Chapter 
 
 I. Anglo-Saxon Period 3 
 
 II. Anglo-Norman Period 15 
 
 III. Chaucerian Period 27 
 
 IV. Barren Period 37 
 
 V. Renaissance Period 51 
 
 VI. Puritan Period 83 
 
 VII. Restoration and Revolution 127 
 
 VIII. Critical Period 147 
 
 IX. A Creative Period 187 
 
 X. Victorian Age 235 
 
 Appendix 345 
 
 Index 353 
 
 Index to Appendix 377 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 Literature, in the highest sense, is the artistic expres- 
 sion of such thoughts and feelings as speak to our com- 
 mon human nature, in every country and in every age. 
 It deals not so much with what we know (facts or knowl- 
 edge) as with what we can do, what we can suffer, what 
 we are, and what we may become. That is more eminently 
 literature which gives power ; and that is most worthy 
 which, directly or indirectly, gives most power for good. 
 
 In a wider sense. Literature (from litera, a ' letter ') 
 would comprise all that can be conveyed by letters, all 
 that makes up the recorded life of a people, — its intel- 
 lect, its deeds, its appetites and passions, its soul-longings. 
 By general consent, however, there has come to be a divi- 
 sion in the world of books, and only those are called 
 ' literary ' that combine with merit of substance certain 
 beauty or excellence of form. 
 
 It will be found, too, that some writings which would 
 be excluded by either definition are accepted and hold 
 their ground merely because in the absence of better con- 
 ception and more pleasing workmanship they are neces- 
 
2 ANGLO-SAXON PERIOD. 
 
 sary illustrative evidence of the continuity of our literary 
 and linguistic development. Accident may preserve the 
 memory and the laurels of the untuned, maimed, or broken, 
 while on the finer-strung instruments of others. Destiny 
 puts ' the pressure of her silencing fingers.' 
 
 The history of English and American Literature, there- 
 fore, is an account of the best prose and poetry (best 
 relatively to the time in which they were produced) that 
 have been written by English-speaking men and women. 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 ANGLO-SAXON PERIOD, 449-1066. 
 
 
 
 800. Egbert. 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 836. Ethelwolf. 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 r 
 
 858. 
 
 1 1 
 860. 866. 
 
 1 
 871. 
 
 Et 
 
 HELBA 
 
 LD. Ethelbert. Ethelred. 
 
 Alfred. 
 
 
 901. Edward I. {ihe Elder). 
 
 
 
 
 959. Edgar. 
 
 
 
 
 975. Edward II. {the Martyr). 
 
 
 in 
 
 / 1016. 
 
 Canute. 
 
 
 r 
 
 } 1035. 
 
 Harold I. 
 
 
 (l040. 
 
 Hardicanute. 
 
 
 
 
 1042. Edward III. {the Confessor). 
 
 
 
 
 1066. Harold II. 
 
 
ANGLO-SAXON PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 C HAR ACTERISTICS. 
 
 1. Roman invasion of Britain, 55 
 B. c, at that time occupied by 
 the Celts, — a people who were 
 the first (or among the first) to 
 spread from Asia into Western 
 Europe. 
 
 2. Britain ascertained to be an 
 island, A. D. 84. 
 
 3. Roman dominion established ; 
 rapid growth of civihzation un- 
 der the conciliating and judi- 
 cious policy of Agricola, 78-84. 
 
 4. Christianity first taught in 
 Britain, about 64; preached 
 with some success, 156. 
 
 6. The celebrated Fingal, about 
 211. 
 
 6. The Scots from Ireland invade 
 Caledonia, 258. First recorded 
 appearance of Saxons in Eng- 
 land, 286. 
 
 7. Withdrawal of the Roman 
 troops, 410-426. 
 
 8. Vain appeal to Rome for mili- 
 tary aid against wild, unsub- 
 dued Britons and foreign in- 
 vaders, 446. 
 
 9. Invasion of Britain by the 
 Jutes, Angles, and Saxons, 
 from North Germany, 449. 
 
 1. The Gaelic Celt (now repre- 
 sented by the Irish and High- 
 land Scotch) was sprightly, 
 emotional, and artistic, having 
 love of bright color, joy in the 
 beautiful, skill in music, fer- 
 vency in religion. 
 
 2. The Cymric Celt (now repre- 
 sented by the Welsh) had like- 
 wise an emotional nature and 
 the gift of art, but was less 
 vivacious, slower, and inclined 
 to melancholy. 
 
 3. 'The true glory of the Celt 
 in Europe is his artistic emi- 
 nence.' 
 
 4. The Danes were a sea-roving, 
 piratical people. Beyond quick- 
 ening the maritime spirit, they 
 did not much influence the na- 
 tional life, being a Germanic 
 tribe similar in customs and 
 language to the Saxons. 
 
 5. Resemblance of language and 
 manners attested the kinship of 
 the various bands of warlike 
 adventurers who successively 
 arrived on the British shores. 
 
 6. The Saxons were a home-lov- 
 ing, earnest, matter-of-fact, and 
 aggressive people, with an ener- 
 getic sense of religion and duty. 
 
ANGLO-SAXON PERIOD. 
 
 Writers. 
 
 {Unknown.') 
 
 {Unknown.") 
 
 {Unknown.) 
 
 Writings. 
 
 Song of the Traveller, a proud cata- 
 logue of persons met and places 
 visited by a minstrel in his wan- 
 derings with the Goths.; proves 
 its remote origin by its bare 
 and prosaic rudeness. 
 
 The Fight at Finnesburg, telling of 
 the attacic on Finn's palace in 
 Friesland ; full of the fire and 
 ferocity of barbarian war. 
 
 Beownlf, an epic of six thousand 
 lines, the story of a Gothic 
 chief who sails for Denmark 
 to free the Danish king from 
 the attacks of a cruel monster 
 living in a neighboring marsh ; 
 is richly rewarded, goes home, 
 and is subsequently called to 
 the throne ; rules for fifty years ; 
 then sacrifices his life in de- 
 stroying a dragon. 
 
 Edited, with the introduction of 
 Christian elements, by a North- 
 umbrian poet, probably in the 
 eighth century. 
 
 Its characteristics are English to 
 the root, — Nature worship, 
 pride, melancholy, fatalism, 
 manliness. ' Let him who can, 
 work high deeds ere he die.' 
 'What is to be, goes ever as 
 it .must.' ' The Must-Be often 
 helps an undoomed man when 
 he is brave.' 
 
ANGLO-SAXON PERIOD. 
 
 Events, 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 10. Foundation of various petty 
 kingdoms and their loose union 
 under the collective name of 
 Heptarchy (454-586). 
 
 11. The dispossessed Celts take 
 refuge, for the most part, in 
 Wales and Cornwall, Ireland 
 and Scotland. 
 
 12. Formation of the kingdom of 
 Northumbria by the union of 
 Bernicia and Deira, 593. 
 
 13. Christianity adopted by the 
 Saxons, and first monastery 
 built, 597. 
 
 14. Saint Augustine, the first 
 Archbishop of Canterbury, 598, 
 
 15. Peter's pence granted, — atax 
 levied for the endowment of a 
 Saxon college at Rome, 725. 
 
 16. A law enacted prohibiting the 
 clergy from drunkenness, 741. 
 
 17. Birth of Charlemagne, 742. 
 
 7. ' The superior fame of the 
 Saxons . . . afforded a com- 
 mon appellation for all the con- 
 querors of Britain ; but the 
 people who formed the numer- 
 ical majority among the three 
 invading tribes, and who pos- 
 sessed themselves of the most 
 ample portion of the country, 
 have naturally been permitted 
 to perpetuate their title on the 
 nation and the land ; and from 
 the Angles — or Engles — have 
 been compounded the generic 
 term of Anglo-Saxons and the 
 dearer and more familiar name 
 of England.' 
 
 . The Anglo-Saxon tongue an 
 inflected language, much like 
 the German, but essentially 
 the same as the prose of the 
 Bible, — the plantlet of which, 
 with exotic contributions to its 
 strength, our English is the 
 fully developed tree. 
 
ANGLO-SAXON PERIOD. 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 Caedmon (—680), servant of a 
 Northumbrian monastery ; ' of 
 so lowly origin that he seemed 
 to rise out of the earth, and 
 to come to his great vocation 
 of song not by human training, 
 but by inspiration of God.' In 
 thought, expression, and char- 
 acter he was the prototype of 
 Milton. 
 
 Aldhelm (656-709), abbot, bishop, 
 skilled musician, and religious 
 poet. ' He was,' says Baeda, 
 ' a man of universal erudition, 
 and the master of an elegant 
 style.' 
 
 Baeda (672-735), a learned monk 
 of Northumbria, the. living en- 
 cyclopsedia of his age ; gen- 
 tle, beloved, unceasing in toil. 
 ' While attentive to the rule of 
 mine order, and the service of 
 the Church, my constant pleas- 
 ure lay in learning, or teaching, 
 or writing.' 
 
 Poems that paraphrase with rugged 
 and sombre power the Scrip- 
 tural accounts of the Creation, 
 the Revolt, the Fall, the Flood, 
 the Exodus, Christ, Future 
 Judgment, etc. Pervading all, 
 unrelieved by lyrical gayety and 
 melody, is a noble tone of sol- 
 emn imagination. 
 
 His Songs, still on the lips of the 
 people in King Alfred's day, 
 are lost to us. Only his letters, 
 his Latin prose and verse, 
 chiefly in praise of chastity, 
 survive. De Laudibus Virginita- 
 tis, Be Laudibus Virginum (hex- 
 ameter). 
 
 Ecclesiastical History of the English 
 Nation (731) in Latin; the 
 source of most that we know 
 about the Anglo-Saxons and 
 their church. ' It was the work 
 of a true scholar, breathing 
 love to God and man ; suc- 
 cinct, yet often warm with life ; 
 business-like, and yet childlike 
 in its tone ; suited admirably to 
 the wants and to the capabili- 
 ties of those for whom it was 
 written.' Translations of Saint 
 John's Gospel into English (lost). 
 Forty-five works prove the 
 industry of the Venerable 
 Baeda. 
 
ANGLO-SAXON PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 18. First recorded invasion of the 
 Danes, 787. 
 
 19. First Norman invasion of 
 France, 808. 
 
 B. The Christian era first used 
 in Britain by decree of a synod 
 held at Chelsea, 816. 
 
 21. ConsoHdation of kingdoms 
 under Egbert, 827. 
 
 23. General council convoked at 
 Winchester, at which the name 
 of 'England' (Engla-land, land 
 of the Angles) as applicable to 
 the whole island, is duly rati- 
 fied, 829. 
 
 23. Renewed attacks and ravages 
 of the Danes. 
 
 24. Drunkenness made a capital 
 offence in Scotland, 870. 
 
 25. King Alfred gives an estate 
 for a book on cosmography, 884. 
 
 9. The literature, like the char- 
 acter which it reflects, is straight- 
 forward, plain and concise, with- 
 out striking or exciting imagery, 
 without the refinements of art, 
 not wanting in pathos, and 
 marked by a tragic and fatal- 
 istic tone. 
 
 10. The prose is all symptomatic 
 of the practical and moral tem- 
 per, the work of the best in- 
 structed men of the times, who 
 desire thereby to enhghten their 
 countrymen and to improve the 
 condition of society. 
 
 11. The poetry, not without fond- 
 ness for heroic tales of war and 
 sea, is occupied chiefly (after 
 the sixth century) with ethical 
 reflections and religious doc- 
 trines or narratives. 
 
ANGLO-SAXON PERIOD. 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Alcnin (735-804), the most pel 
 ished and scholarly man of his 
 generation, educated at York, 
 instructor of Charlemagne and 
 his family, in whose dominions 
 he taught and wrote ; a theolo- 
 gian by profession, with a ten- 
 dency toward philosophy and 
 ancient literature, — the pride 
 of two countries. 
 
 Cynewnlf ( — about 780), a minstrel 
 at some Northumbrian court, 
 later an exile, frivolous and sin- 
 ful, converted in his old age, de- 
 voting himself thenceforward to 
 religious poetry. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 John Scotns Erigena (about 877), 
 an English school-master of 
 Irish descent, whose learning 
 procured for him a place at the 
 court of Charles the Bald ; 
 noted for his knowledge of the 
 Greek language and literature. 
 
 His Letters give a vivid picture of 
 the great events of the day, in- 
 cluding the inner life of Charle- 
 magne's court. He wrote also 
 a long metrical narrative of the 
 lives of the bishops and saints 
 of the church at York. Of his 
 extant poems, the best are an 
 address to his cell on quitting it 
 for the world, — Mea Cella, 
 and an elegy on the destruction 
 of Lindisfarne by the Danes. 
 He wrote much (in Latin) on 
 theology. 
 
 Elene, a poem on the finding of 
 the true cross by the mother 
 of Constantine, The Wanderer, 
 the Wife's Complaint, and the 
 Kuin (if we may allot this lovely 
 fragment to him) are full of re- 
 gret and yearning, in exile and 
 solitude, for the lost beauty and 
 happiness of his world ; while 
 the Seafarer breathes the same 
 fascination for the sea which 
 filled the veins of our fore- 
 fathers while they sung and 
 sailed. 
 
 Predestination, in which he ar- 
 gues that God has foreordained 
 all rewards for the good, and 
 that man has brought evil on 
 himself by the exercise of his 
 own personal will. The Eucha- 
 rist, in which he denies the 
 
10 
 
 ANGLO-SAXON PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 6. Wax time-candles invented 
 by Alfred — six to burn twenty- 
 four hours at the rate of three 
 inches per hour, 886. 
 
 27. Fairs and markets instituted. 
 
 28. Alfred invents lanterns, 890. 
 
 29. The Pope commands the ring- 
 ing of the bells to dissipate 
 thunder and lightning, 899. 
 
 12. The most conspicuous feature 
 of Anglo-Saxon verse is alliter- 
 ation, — three accented sylla- 
 bles in. each full line (which 
 includes two half-verses) begin- 
 ning with the same consonant 
 or with different vowels : 
 
 Flah mah Fliteth, 
 Flan man hwiteth. 
 
 The prevailing feet are the dac- 
 tyl and the trochee. 
 
 13. Culmination of prose under 
 King Alfred. 
 
ANGLO-SAXON PERIOD. 
 
 II 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 and for the bold and fearless 
 expression of original views. 
 ' Even modern thinkers,' says 
 Lecky, 'have not gone much 
 beyond him.' 
 
 Alfred the Great (849-901), applied 
 himself to the diffusion of edu- 
 cation and restoration of litera- 
 ture blotted out by the Danes. 
 The true father of English 
 prose. ' He was as eminent in 
 the cultivation of the arts of 
 peace as in the struggle of war- 
 fare. He consolidated the Sax- 
 on monarchy ; he built up and 
 restored cities and towns; he 
 organized the administration of 
 justice ; he was an indefati- 
 gable promoter of knowledge, 
 translating, himself, some valu- 
 able authors and portions of the 
 Holy Scriptures; he encouraged 
 the useful arts ; he patronized 
 travellers ; he was the friend 
 and correspondent of the most 
 eminent scholars. He did all 
 this with a feeble constitution, 
 and under the sufferings of a 
 chronic malady.' 
 
 doctrine of transubstantiation, 
 asserting that the Eucharist is 
 not the body of Christ, only 
 commemorative of the sacrifice 
 upon the cross. The Division of 
 Nature, in which he argues, 
 among other things, that intelli- 
 gence is an emanation from the 
 Supreme Being, that evil is not 
 eternal, and that reason is su- 
 perior to authority. 
 
 Translations (into English) of 
 moral precepts (from Boethius), 
 a history of England (from 
 Baeda), a religious hand-book 
 (from Pope Gregory), the Solil- 
 ocinies of Saint Augustine, an 
 epitome of ancient history (from 
 Orosius) ; also a copy of laws, 
 890. 
 
12 
 
 ANGLO-SAXON PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 30. The selling of children to 
 
 14. Shortly after the introduction 
 
 Irish and Danish traders pro- 
 
 of Christianity there arose a 
 
 hibited, 994. 
 
 clerical Latin literature. Latin 
 
 
 was the language of civilization, 
 and nearly all who cultivated 
 
 31. Danish Conquest of England 
 under Canute the Great, 1017. 
 
 Latin learning were ecclesias- 
 tics. ' Celtic monks first prac- 
 tised their awkward Latin pens 
 
 
 in England in composing le- 
 gends, theological treatises, and 
 fabulous chronicles, until their 
 
 
 Anglo - Saxon brethren out- 
 
 
 stripped them.' 
 
 32. Westminster Abbey begun on 
 the site formerly occupied by 
 a temple dedicated to Apollo, 
 
 
 1041. 
 
 
 33. Reversion of government to 
 
 
 the Anglo-Saxons, 1042. 
 
 
 
 18. Modification of Pagan fierce- 
 
 
 ness and fatalism by the new 
 
 34. Oxford University famous as 
 a seat of learning, 1045. 
 
 spirit entering with Christianity. 
 
 35. Macbeth slain at Dunsinane, 
 
 
 1056. 
 
 
 36. Legend of Lady Godiva about 
 this date. 
 
 
ANGLO-SAXON PERIOD. 
 
 13 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 Uonks in the various monasteries. 
 
 Alfrio( — 1006), surnamed Gram- 
 maticus, Archbishop of Canter- 
 bury, the first to translate into 
 English prose any considerable 
 portion of the Bible. 
 
 {Unknown.') 
 
 {Unknown.') 
 
 The Saxon Chronicle, an uncritical 
 but valuable record (some of it 
 in verse) of wars, events, and 
 phenomena, from 55 b. c. to 
 A. D. II 54, established in King 
 Alfred's time, the first history 
 of any Teutonic people in their 
 own language. 
 
 Latin C.oUoc[ny, in which the lan- 
 guage is taught by the conver- 
 sational method, pupils answer- 
 ing questions concerning their 
 respective trades. Homilies, com- 
 piled from the Christian Fa- 
 thers in two sets, each of forty 
 sermons. Also, translations in- 
 to English of a Latin Graimnar, 
 the Pentateuch, Judges, and 
 part of Job. His Latin Glossary 
 is a work of merit. 
 
 The Grave, a fine fragment show- 
 ing the sternness with which 
 our forefathers thought of 
 death. 
 
 Ezeter Book and Vercelli Book, two 
 collections of Anglo - Saxon 
 pieces, religious and secular ; 
 so named from the place where 
 each is now preserved. Per- 
 haps the most noteworthy of 
 these poems are ' The Phoe- 
 nix ' and several ' Addresses of 
 the Soul to the Body,' in which 
 the soul debates with the body 
 as to the chief cause of sin. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 ANGLO-NORMAN PERIOD, 1066-1350. 
 
 1066. William I. (^the Conqueror), 
 
 1087. William II. 
 {Rufus). 
 
 1100. Henry I. 
 
 1135. Stephen. 
 1154. Henry II. {Planiagenei), 
 
 1189. Richard I. 
 ( Casur-de-Lio7i) . 
 
 1199. John. 
 {Lacklatid). 
 
 1216. Henry III. 
 1272. Edward I. {Longshanks). 
 1307. Edward II. ^pf Caernarvon). 
 1327. Edward III. (of Windsor). 
 
i6 
 
 ANGLO-NORMAN PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 1. Norman Conquest, 1066. 
 
 . Reorganization of feudal ten- 
 ures, which are rendered more 
 slavish, 1067. 
 
 . Curfew bell introduced, the 
 object of which was to warn 
 the people to cover up their 
 fires and retire to rest. The 
 time for ringing the bells was 
 sunset in summer and about 
 eight o'clock in winter, 1068. 
 
 . Division of the kingdom into 
 baronies and fiefs, each of 
 which was charged with the 
 obligation of providing a man 
 at arms to attend the king in 
 his wars forty days annually, 
 1072. 
 
 5. Introduction of Norman- French 
 ideas, especially poetry. 
 
 6. Introduction of chivalry, the 
 system of knighthood, as a 
 positive institution. 
 
 1. Superiority of Normans to 
 Saxons in (i) refinement of 
 manners, (2) taste, (3) military 
 science, (4) intellectual culture : 
 polite, talkative, gay, sentimen- 
 tal, delighting in splendor, su- 
 perficial. 
 
 . Norman fondness for the songs 
 of the Trouvferes, — itinerant 
 minstrels of Northern France 
 who subsisted on the alms or 
 remuneration received for story- 
 telling and dancing, and a few 
 of whom rose to the rank 
 of Romancers, singing the ex- 
 ploits of the nobles in whose 
 service they were retained. 
 Such pieces — written in the 
 dialect which Ro?itan occupa- 
 tion of early France had caused 
 to grow up out of the gradual 
 corruption of the Latin lan- 
 guage and its mixture with for- 
 eign elements — are known as 
 romances. 
 
 3. Literature composed, for the 
 most part, by the clergy. Few 
 of the laity could read and 
 write. 
 
ANGLO-NORMAN PERIOD. 
 
 17 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 {Unknown.') 
 
 {Unknown ) 
 
 {Unknown^ 
 
 WilUamof Malmesbtiiy (1095-1142), 
 celebrated ecclesiastic, early 
 known in the monastery as an 
 enthusiast for books ; almost 
 rising by his improved method 
 from chronicler into historian. 
 
 Geoffrey of Monmouth ( — 1154)) a 
 Welsh bishop who opened a 
 poetical spring that will run 
 through the fields of our htera- 
 ture for all time. 
 
 Bichard Waee (1112-1184), read- 
 ing clerk, courtier, and poet. 
 
 Homilies (11 20), popular exposi- 
 tions of Scripture accompa- 
 nied by moral reflections and 
 exhortations. 
 
 Moral Ode 
 poem. 
 
 (1160), a rhyming 
 
 Sayings of Alfred (about 1200). 
 
 History of the Kings of England (in 
 Latin), from the arrival of the 
 first English, 449 to 1120. His- 
 tory of English Prelates (likewise 
 in Latin). 
 
 History of the Britons (11 47), pro- 
 fessedly rendered into Latin 
 from an ancienf Cymric manu- 
 script, recording the wonderful 
 deeds of an unbroken series of 
 British kings from Brut, the 
 founder, to the close of the 
 seventh century ; really a ro- 
 mance of history, in the form 
 of authentic chronicle : the 
 source from which the romance- 
 writers have drawn their mate- 
 rials about Arthur and the 
 Knights of the Round Table. 
 In it occurs the original story 
 of King Lear. 
 
 Le Brut d'Angleterre, in octosyl- 
 labic French verse, fifteen thou- 
 
ANGLO-NORMAN PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 7. Removal of natives from places 
 of dignity and trust, and the 
 degradation of the conquered. 
 
 8. English language displaced in 
 literature and polite society by 
 French and Latin. 
 
 9. Tower of London begun, 
 1078. 
 
 10. The Koran translated into 
 Latin, 11 43. 
 
 11. Last entry made in the 
 Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, 11 54. 
 
 12, Trial by jury formally recog- 
 nized in the Council of Claren- 
 don, 1 1 64. 
 
 4. Literature in the vernacular, 
 mostly poetical. Two main 
 streams, — religious and story- 
 telling ; the latter (romantic or 
 historical) .being chiefly imita- 
 tions or translations of Nor- 
 man-French pieces. Principal 
 subjects of the romances, — 
 Arthur and his knights, Charle- 
 magne and his followers, war- 
 riors of the crusades, and the 
 Grecian heroes. 
 
 . Near the end of the period are 
 found a few lyrics, tinged with 
 the color of French romance, 
 but having an English back- 
 ground. 
 
ANGLO-NORMAN PERIOD. 
 
 19 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 Walter Map (i 1 50-1 1 96), Archdea- 
 con of Oxford, poet and wit, 
 with a high and spiritual pur- 
 pose ; the first to put into the 
 King Arthur legends a Christian 
 soul. 
 
 Layamon (1150-1210), priest in a 
 rural district ; one of the 
 people ; to vernacular poetry 
 after the conquest what Caed- 
 mon was before it. 
 
 Onn (i 187-1237), an Augustine 
 monk who wrote for the spir- 
 itual improvement of his coun- 
 trymen. 
 
 sand lines ; the story of an 
 imaginary son of ^neas of 
 Troy, Brutus, who is repre- 
 sented as having founded the 
 State of Britain many cen- 
 turies before the Christian era ; 
 in part translated, in part para- 
 phrased, from Geoffrey, with 
 added legends and fresh inven- 
 tions. 
 
 Some Latin verses purporting to 
 be poems of a certain Bishop 
 Golias, a gluttonous dignitary, 
 and thus keenly satirizing the 
 corruptions of the Church. 
 Arthur Legends, arranged into a 
 harmonious whole in Latin, 
 with the addition of Quest of 
 the Graal and Morte cfArthjir. 
 
 The Brut (1205), a poem on Bru- 
 tus, the supposed first settler in 
 Britain, in Saxon alliterative 
 unrhymed measure, with an. 
 occasional rhyme ; translated 
 from the French of Wace, 
 with numerous additions from 
 fancy and tradition ; valuable 
 as opening up an immense 
 fabled past to the English 
 imagination, and as illustrating 
 the semi-Saxon stage of our 
 language. 
 
 Onnnlum (about 1215), a metrical 
 paraphrase of the portion of 
 the Gospel assigned to each 
 day of the year in the Church 
 
20 
 
 ANGLO-NORMAN PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 13. Death of Thomas k Becket, 
 1 1 70. 
 
 14. Glass windows in private 
 houses, 1 180. 
 
 15. Chimneys introduced, 1200. 
 
 16. Magna Charta, 1215. 
 
 17. First stone of the present 
 Abbey of Westminster laid, 
 
 18. First charter to Cambridge 
 University, 1230. 
 
 19. Fire and water ordeals abol- 
 ished, 1261. 
 
 SO. Birth of Dante, 1265. 
 
 C H ARACTERISTICS. 
 
 6. Prose, including monastic 
 chronicles, legendary histories, 
 theological and philosophical 
 works, was written almost 
 wholly in Latin. Much of it 
 was scholastic, — the reproduc- 
 tion of ancient philosophy in 
 subserviency to the Christian 
 articles of faith. 
 
 7. Narrowing of the mental hori- 
 zon by clerical dogmas, to 
 explain the mysteries of which 
 was the chief work of the 
 learned. 
 
ANGLO-NORMAN PERIOD. 
 
 21 
 
 Writers. 
 
 {Unknown^ 
 
 {Unknown.') 
 
 Boger Bacon (1214-1292), the 
 best scholar of the period and 
 an extraordinary man, so far 
 in advance of his age that he 
 communicated no stimulus and 
 found no imitators ; an illustri- 
 ous example of greatness born 
 out of its time. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 services, with metricnl com- 
 mentaries (nearly all lost). 
 The manuscript as preserved 
 comprises twenty thousand 
 lines of eight and seven syl- 
 lables alternately, without al- 
 literation and, except in a few 
 cases, without rhyme. It is 
 marked by a peculiar device of 
 spelling for the guidance of 
 priestly readers, — after every 
 short vowel the consonant is 
 doubled : — 
 
 ' Thiss bocc iss nemmned Ormulum, 
 Forrthi thatt Orrm itt wrohhte.' 
 
 Ancren Hiwle C'220), the rule of 
 the Anchoresses ; a code of 
 ■precepts (in prose) for the 
 guidance of a nunnery. 
 
 Genesis and Esodns (1250), biblical 
 poem of over four thousand 
 lines, which begins by saying 
 that men should be glad as 
 birds to have the story of sal- 
 vation turned out of Latin into 
 their own native speech. 
 
 Opus Majus, or Greater Work, 
 (1267), leading purpose, the 
 progress of knowledge and, 
 to this end, the reform of scien- 
 tific method s the encyclopedia 
 of the classic century of scholas- 
 ticism. He wrote numerous 
 other works, giving prophetic 
 glimpses of the future conquests 
 of science. 
 
22 
 
 ANGLO-NOKMAN PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 SI. Origin of the House of Com- 
 
 8. Zeal for learning as displayed 
 
 mons, 1265. 
 
 in the munificent endowments 
 
 
 for the erection of colleges at 
 
 22. Crusades, 1096-1270. 
 
 Oxford and Cambridge. 
 
 23. Death of Saint Thomas Aqui- 
 
 
 nas, 1274. 
 
 9. Movements of the English 
 
 24. Wales conquered by England, 
 1283. 
 
 mind in the direction of dra- 
 matic literature, arising from 
 the desire of the clergy to bring 
 
 
 facts and truths of the Bible 
 
 
 and lives of the saints home to 
 
 25. Tallow candles in general 
 use, 1290. (Splinters of wood, 
 
 the hearts of the illiterate. 
 Hence the miracls-play. 
 
 dipped in tallow, had been the 
 
 
 principal lights.) 
 
 
 26. First English parliament, 
 
 
 1295. 
 
 
 2T. Absorption of the Normans 
 into the substance of the Eng- 
 lish nation, 1300. 
 
 10. Growing taste for allegory, 
 encouraged by the monastics, 
 who, obeying the poet's law, 
 sing of love but mean Holy 
 
 
 Church, the Virgin, or some 
 
 28. Robert Bruce King of Scot- 
 
 virtue. 
 
 land, 1306. 
 
 
 29. Birth of Boccaccio, Itahan 
 
 
 story-writer, 1313. 
 
 
 30. Battle of Bannockburn, 1314. 
 
 11. English language, on re- 
 
 
 asserting itself at the close of 
 
 31. University of Dublin founded, 
 '1319- 
 
 the period) has acquired larger 
 capabilities by the loss of in- 
 flections and the addition of 
 
 
 French words. 
 
ANGLO-NORMAN PERIOD. 
 
 23 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Matthew Paris ( — about 1273), 
 chronicler and monk of St. 
 Albans. 
 
 {Unknown) 
 
 Nicholas of Gnildfoid. 
 
 {Unknown.') 
 
 Bobert of 
 a monk. 
 
 Gloucester (1255-1307), 
 
 Bobert Manning (1273- 1340), a 
 monk of Brunne. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 Historia Major, full of superstition, 
 but spirited, and liandling 
 Cliurch questions with a free- 
 dom that made it a favorite 
 with the early Reformers ; 
 Flores Historiamm, revision of 
 a previous work bearing the 
 same title. 
 
 Havelok, Sing Horn, and Romance 
 of Alexander, (i) and (2) stories 
 of Scandinavian origin, (3) of 
 Greek. All translated from the 
 French about 1280. 
 
 Owl and Nightingale, an idyl in 
 which two birds submit to the 
 writer their quarrel for prece- 
 dence. 
 
 Land ol Cockaygne (kitchen), a 
 satire descriptive of the grow- 
 ing luxuriousness and vices of 
 the monks. 
 
 Bhyming Chronicle (1297), a his- 
 tory of England from Brutus to 
 Edward I. Also, in rhyme. 
 Lives and Legends of the English 
 Saints. 
 
 Chronicle of England in rhyme. 
 Handlying Synne (1303), de- 
 signed for religious instruc- 
 tion through the medium of 
 attractive stories relating to 
 the seven deadly sins (Pride, 
 Luxury, Envy, Wrath, Avarice, 
 Sloth, Gluttony), the Ten Com- 
 mandments, etc. 
 
24 
 
 ANGLO-NORMAN PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 33. Independence of Scotland 
 acknowledged, 1328. 
 
 33. Hundred years' war begins 
 between France and England, 
 1337- 
 
 34. University of 
 founded, 1346. 
 
 Heidelberg 
 
 35. Massacre of 1,500,000 Jews 
 in Europe as the supposed 
 cause of_ pestilence, 1348. 
 
 36. Black death in England, 
 1349- 
 
 37. Fusion of the two languages, 
 as of the two peoples, into a 
 harmonious whole. 
 
 12. Highway robbery, on which 
 capital punishments, though fre- 
 quent, made little impression. 
 
 13. As a whole, a period of cre- 
 dulity and superstition, of blind 
 adherence to authority, and of 
 ecclesiastical dominance. 
 
 14. Of the tree of English life, 
 Saxon is the deep root and 
 strong stem ; Celt and Norman 
 the flower and the foliage. 
 
ANGLO-NORMAN PERIOD. 
 
 25 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 {Unkno-wn^ 
 
 Dans Scotns ( — 1308), monk and 
 schoolman, known as the 
 Subtle Doctor. 
 
 ELchard Bolle (1349), known also 
 as the Hermit of Hampole. 
 
 Balph Higden ( — 1363), a monk. 
 
 Lawrence Hinot, first 
 national song-writer. 
 
 English 
 
 Cursor Mundi. (about 1320), metri- 
 cal version of the Bible, inter- 
 spersed, like the Handlying 
 Synne, with legends of saints. 
 
 Scholastic treatises, comprising 
 twelve huge folio volumes in 
 Latin. Their germ idea is 
 Realism, the doctrine that uni- 
 versal (as age, beauty, etc.) 
 have an existence independent 
 of individuals. Opposed to 
 this was Nominalism, the doc- 
 trine that universals exist only 
 in name. 
 
 Fricke of Conscience (about 1340), in 
 Latin and in English. 
 
 Folychionicon, a Latin sketch of 
 universal history, with special 
 reference to England, contain- 
 ing, like the rest, a large pro- 
 portion of the purely fabulous. 
 
 War-lyrics (1352), celebrating the 
 deeds and battles of Edward 
 
 in. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 CHAUCERIAN PERIOD, 1350-1412. 
 
 1327. Edward III. 
 
 J 
 
 I I 
 
 Edward John 
 
 [Black Prince). {Lancaster). 
 
 1377. Richard II. 1399. Henry IV. 
 
28 
 
 CHAUCERIAN PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 C HAR ACTERISTICS. 
 
 1. Black Death, 1361, 1369. 
 
 2. First law pleadings in Eng- 
 lish, 1362. 
 
 3. First striking clock at West- 
 minster, 1368. 
 
 4. Death of the great Italian 
 poet, Petrarch, 1374- He 
 polished the sonnet, and made 
 it the European fashion of his 
 own and the two succeeding 
 ages. 
 
 . Death of Boccaccio, 1375, 
 whose Decameron (a collection 
 of one hundred tales) has had 
 an almost unequalled influence 
 on literature. 
 
 6. Thirty-five thousand inhab- 
 itants in London, 1377. 
 
 1. Chivalry at its height. 
 
 2. High life brilliant and tu- 
 multuous, eager for adventure, 
 adornment, and pleasure. War 
 on the right, riot on the left. 
 
 3. Only the clergy educated, and 
 they but relatively. 
 
 4. The masses poor and igno- 
 rant. An angry, fretful spirit 
 among the working classes. 
 Feudal bondage relaxing. 
 
 5. Misery of the people, owing to 
 the French wars. 
 
 6. Greed and scandal of papacy 
 and priesthood provoke popular 
 hatred. 
 
CHAUCERIAN PERIOD. 
 
 29 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 William Langland (1332-1400), a 
 priest and moralist who wrote 
 for social and Church reform ; 
 the Puritan of the fourteenth 
 century who sought to make 
 loathsome the things he wished 
 to see abolished, and to elevate 
 the depraved by energetic re- 
 proof and exhortation. ' Chau- 
 cer describes the rich more 
 fully than the poor, and shows 
 the holiday-making, cheerful, 
 genial phase of English life ; 
 but Langland pictures the 
 homely poor in their ill-fed, 
 hardworking condition, battling 
 against hunger, famine, injus- 
 tice, oppression, and all the 
 stern realities and hardships 
 that tried them as gold is tried 
 in the fire.' 
 
 {Unknown.^ 
 
 Vision of William concsnuug Piers 
 the Plowman, commonly called 
 the Vision of Piers Plowman , 
 an allegorical poem in old Eng- 
 lish alliterative metre ; a series 
 of eleven visions, representing 
 the corrupting influence of 
 wealth ('Lady Meed'), the 
 conversion of the Seven Dead- 
 ly Sins by repentance, the lives 
 of the honest and industrious 
 Do Well, Do Better (the better 
 life, the life of faith, hope, and 
 charity), and Do Best (the best 
 life), the besieged and all but 
 despairing Conscience, who, 
 grasping his pilgrim staff, sets 
 out to wander over the world in 
 search of that lowly son of the 
 soil who typifies the condescen- 
 sion of Christ to human nature, 
 — Piers Plowman, the poor 
 husbandman, hero, and favorite 
 ideal character. 
 
 It is in effect a stern moralist's 
 comparison of the actual with 
 what ought to be, full of fierce 
 scorn for wasteful idleness, and 
 of burning indignation against 
 oppression and neglect of the 
 weak. 
 
 Piers Plowman's Creed (1394 ?), an 
 imitation of the vision, bitterly 
 directed against all orders of 
 friars. An ignorant man, ap- 
 plying to them in vain for in- 
 struction, met a common 
 
30 
 
 CHAUCERIAN PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 
 7. Rivalry between the secular 
 
 7. Border war with the Scots, 
 
 priests and the monastic 
 
 1378. 
 
 orders. 
 
 8. Insurrection against the poll- 
 
 8. European movement for the 
 
 tax, under Wat Tyler. Fifteen 
 
 equal rights of man against the 
 
 hundred insurgents hanged, 
 
 class system of the Middle 
 
 1381. 
 
 Ages. 
 
 
 9. English language increased by 
 
 
 the great influx of French 
 
 
 terms, and almost devoid of 
 
 
 inflections, becomes, in the 
 
 
 form of the East Midland dia- 
 
 
 lect, the tongue of the court 
 
 
 and society, and is made by 
 
 
 Chaucer and Gower the stand- 
 
 
 ard in literature. 
 
 
 10. The -writings which exhibit 
 
 
 the language in its most fav- 
 
 9. First English version of the 
 
 orable state are decidedly those 
 
 whole Bible (Wiclif). 
 
 of Chaucer. 
 
 
 11, The taste for French manner 
 
 
 and matter declines, and poetry 
 
 
 becomes, in form and sub- 
 
 
 stance, correspondingly Eng- 
 
 
 lish. Story-telling seeks its 
 materials first in France, then 
 
 10. First law for the punishment 
 
 of heretics passed. William 
 
 in Italy. 
 
 Sawtree the first English mar- 
 
 tyr for heresy, 1401. 
 
 
CHA UCERIAN PERIOD. 
 
 Writers 
 
 Writings, 
 
 Sir John Handeville (1300- 1372), 
 physician and traveller ; often 
 styled our first prose-writer in 
 formed English. 
 
 John Barbonr (1316-1395), Arch- 
 deacon of Aberdeen, a Scottish 
 poet of some breadth and con- 
 siderable vigor. 
 
 John Wiolif (i324-i384),areformer 
 from the University, and fore- 
 most theologian of his time, 
 attacked abuses in Church 
 government, and the doctrine of 
 transubstantiation ; persecuted 
 as a heretic. 
 
 Geoffrey Chaucer (1328-1400), 
 poet, courtier, soldier, diplo-. 
 mat, controller of the customs, 
 clerk of the king's works, M. 
 P., man of letters and man of 
 the world ; tender, sympa- 
 thetic, and glad ; a lover of 
 humanity and of nature ; first 
 to establish a literary English ; 
 first to make poetry an elegant 
 art ; first to make the love of 
 
 plowman, who told him that the 
 friars, though their orders were 
 founded by good men, had all 
 become children of the Devil. 
 
 The Voyaige and Travaile, travels to 
 Jerusalem, Judea, and other 
 countries. Written in Latin, 
 French, and English (1356). 
 
 The Bmce (1376), a narrative poem 
 of more than thirteen thousand ■ 
 rhymed octosyllabic lines, the 
 knightly hero of which is 
 Robert Bruce, who about fifty 
 years before had waged suc- 
 cessfully the Scottish war of 
 independence. 
 
 Translation of the Bible from the 
 Latin version. Tracts and 
 pamphlets on ecclesiastical re- 
 form. 
 
 Parliament of Fonles (about 1382), 
 an allegorical debate between 
 birds to decide the claims of 
 three eagles as to the posses- 
 sion of a female. The concep- 
 tion is the exact representation 
 of the mediaeval Court of Love. 
 Perhaps the richest of his 
 smaller poems. House of Fame 
 (1384 ?), an allegory, the pur- 
 pose of which is to show 'how 
 
32 
 
 CHAUCERIAN PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 
 12. Chroniclers retain the appe- 
 
 
 tite for the marvellous. No 
 
 
 historical writings, as yet, that 
 
 
 rise to the truthfulness and 
 
 
 dignity of history proper. 
 
 
 13. Learned emulation, of which 
 
 
 Oxford and Cambridge are the 
 
 
 centres. 
 
 11. Tilts and tournaments pro- 
 hibited, 1401. 
 
 14. Science and philosophy inter- 
 woven with the interests of 
 theology. 
 
 12. Parliament asserted that the 
 
 15. Bitterness of theological con- 
 troversy. 
 
 income of the Church amounted 
 
 to five hundred thousand marks 
 
 
 and eighteen thousand ploughs 
 
 
 of land ; and they proposed that 
 
 16. What scholasticism, in the 
 
 this immense rental should be 
 
 midst of all its errors, did for 
 
 appropriated to the maintenance 
 
 us was to insist on the neces- 
 
 of a hundred hospitals, and a 
 
 sity of rigid demonstration and 
 
 certain number of earls, knights, 
 
 a more exact use of words, to 
 
 and squires, leaving a surplus 
 
 introduce a clear and methodi- 
 
 of ^20,000 for the King's use. 
 
 cal treatment of all subjects 
 
 Proposal rejected, 1404. 
 
 into discussion, and, above all, 
 
 
 to substitute an appeal to the 
 
 
 reason for unquestioning obedi- 
 
 
 ence to authority. 
 
 
 17. Tracts and books still circu- 
 
 
 late, as hitherto, only in manu- 
 
 
 script. 
 
CHAUCERIAN PERIOD. 
 
 33 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 nature a distinct element in our 
 literature. His love, however, 
 instinctive, like that of a child, 
 rather than interpretive like 
 that of Shelley or Wordsworth. 
 His first period (1366-1372) 
 represents the influence of 
 Frendi poetry ; his second 
 (l 372-1 384), the influence of 
 Italian literature, consequent 
 upon diplomatic missions to 
 Italy. His third period is en- 
 tirely English. 
 
 From Dante he learns the power 
 and range of poetry; from 
 Petrarch, the form of poetry ; 
 from Boccaccio, the art of 
 story-telling. 
 
 The greatest story-teller in Eng- 
 lish verse. 
 
 John Trevisa (- 
 Berkeley. 
 
 ■ 141 2), Vicar of 
 
 the deeds of all men and 
 women, be they good or bad, 
 are carried by export to pos- 
 terities.' Grandly suggestive, 
 too, of the transitoriness of 
 fame. Casterbory Tales, stories 
 professedly told to while away 
 the tediousness of a journey 
 from London to the shrine of 
 Thomas & Becket at Canter- 
 bury, by a merry company of 
 thirty-two pilgrims represent- 
 ing every rank of society, from 
 the noble to the ploughman. 
 Four stories were to be related 
 by each, — two going, and tv/o 
 returning. The series, not 
 carried farther than the twenty- 
 fourth, covers the whole range 
 of Middle-Age poetry. The 
 best is the Knight's Tale. The 
 most admirable part of the 
 whole is the Prologue^ giving 
 the portraits of the different 
 pilgrims, and showing, in its 
 life-like delineations, the clear- 
 eyed observer of men. Each 
 character is distinct in face, 
 costume, temper, sentiment, 
 and each tale is suited to the 
 teller. Two of the tales — the 
 Parson's and the Tale of Meli- 
 beus — are in rather splendid 
 prose. 
 
 Translation of Higden's Poly- 
 chionicon (1387), with additions 
 and emendations. 
 
34 
 
 CHAUCERIAN PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 13. University 
 founded, 1409. 
 
 14. University of 
 founded, 1411. 
 
 of Leipsic 18. Scotland, divided among 
 hostile and dissimilar peoples, 
 offered few encouragements for 
 
 St Andrews the cultivation of the arts of 
 
 peace. 
 
CHAUCERIAN PERIOD. 
 
 35 
 
 Writers. 
 
 John Gower (1325-1408), a country 
 gentleman, probably also a law- 
 yer, widely read, grave, and 
 didactic, called by Chaucer 
 ' the moral Gower ; ' by others 
 the ' old man tedious.' 
 
 Writings. 
 
 Speculum, Meditantis ('Mirror of a 
 Meditating Mind'), a didactic 
 poem on vices and virtues lost. 
 Vox Clamantis (' Voice of One 
 Crying,' or ' An Earnest Ap- 
 peal '), evoked by the rebellion of 
 Jack Straw. Confessio Amantia 
 (' Confession of a lover '), a dia- 
 logue between a penitent and 
 his confessor, the latter being a 
 priest of Venus, — substantially 
 a miscellany of tales, fantastic 
 love, philosophy, alchemy, as- 
 trology, and magic. He wrote 
 the first in Latin, the second in 
 French, and the third in Eng- 
 lish. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 BARREN PERIOD, 1412-1513. 
 
 ( 1413. Henry V. 
 Lancaster i | 
 
 (1422. Henry VI. 
 
 (1461. Edward IV. 
 York . . ] I 
 
 (1483. Edward V. 1483. Richard III. 
 
 f 1486. Henry VII. 
 Tudor . . 4 I 
 
 (1509, Henry VI 1 1. 
 
38 
 
 BARREN PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 1. Huss, of Bohemia, preaches 
 against the errors of the clergy, 
 and inveighs against the sale of 
 indulgences, 1413. 
 
 2. Suppression of one hundred 
 and ten monasteries, 141 4. 
 
 3. English language adopted by 
 the House of Commons, 1414. 
 
 4. Burning of Joan of Arc as a 
 witch, the clergy assisting, 
 143 1. 
 
 5. Invention of printing, 1438- 
 1445- 
 
 1. Culminationofmonasticwealth 
 and luxury. 
 
 2. Reduction of practical reli- 
 gion to the accomiDlishment 
 of ceremonies. 
 
 3. Superstition wide-spread and 
 dense. 
 
 4. ' We are apt to form romantic 
 and exaggerated notions about 
 the innocence of our ancestors. 
 Ages of ignorance and simpli- 
 city are taught to be ages of 
 purity. . Rude periods have 
 that grossness of manners which 
 is not less friendly to virtue than 
 luxury itself. In the Middle 
 Ages, not only the most flagrant 
 violations of modesty were fre- 
 quently practised and permit- 
 ted, but the most infamous vices. 
 Men are less ashamed as they 
 are less polished. Great refine- 
 ment multiplies criminal pleas- 
 ures, but at the same time pre- 
 vents the actual commission of 
 many enormities ; at least it pre- 
 serves public decency, and sup- 
 presses public licentiousness.' 
 
BARREN PERIOD. 
 
 39 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Thomas Ocoleve (1370-1430 ?), ad- 
 miring follower of Chaucer, 
 favorite among the frequenters 
 of taverns, unequalled in drink- 
 ing at night and lying abed 
 in the morning. His character 
 is more interesting than his 
 poetry. 
 
 John Lydgate (1374-1460), an in- 
 defatigable and facile versifier 
 without depth or refinement of 
 poetical feeling, but with an 
 abundance of poetical language ; 
 well read in ancient lore, apt 
 at the manufacture of such 
 moral verses as the public liked. 
 Chief excellencies, — narrative 
 vigor and gorgeous description. 
 The most celebrated of Chau- 
 cer's successors. 
 
 (^Unknown.') 
 
 Writings. 
 
 Latter of Cupid, in which Cupid 
 warns all his subjects of the 
 ladies' grievous complaints con- 
 cerning the guile and dissimu- 
 lation of men. De Eegimine 
 Principian (14 1 2), a didactic 
 poem on the duties of the king 
 in his domestic and foreign 
 relations. Perhaps Occleve 
 owes his place in literature to 
 his laments for his ' raaister 
 Chaucer.' 
 
 Chief poems ; The Storie of Thebes, 
 translated from the Latin ; The 
 Fall of Princes, from Boccaccio, 
 — an admonition to the mighty 
 to be humble, and to the lowly 
 to be content ; The Troye Book, 
 from the French. Also pa- 
 geants, masques, May -games, 
 and satirical ballads. The 
 best-known of his minor poems 
 are the Dance of Death and the 
 Loudon Lackpenny. An incom- 
 plete list of two hundred and 
 fifty-one of his productiong has 
 been enumerated. 
 
 Romannt of the Eose, an allegory 
 of love, translated from the 
 French, and the crowning ef- 
 fort of French genius. ' The 
 difficulties and dangers of a 
 lover, in pursuing and obtain- 
 ing the object of his desires, 
 are the literal argument of the 
 poem. This design is couched 
 under the allegory of a rose, 
 
BARREN PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 6 
 
 Excitement caused through- 
 out Europe by the discoveries of 
 Portuguese navigators, 1446. 
 
 
 7 
 
 Jack Cade's insurrection, 
 1450. 
 
 5. Decline of romance poetry, 
 which is gradually supplanted 
 
 B 
 
 University of Glasgow 
 
 by other species, and by the 
 
 
 founded, 1451. 
 
 rising taste for prose romance. 
 
 9 
 
 Capture of Constantinople by 
 
 6. Popularity of the ballad, — es- 
 
 
 the Turks, and the flight of the 
 
 pecially among the lower 
 
 
 Greek philosophers into Italy, 
 
 classes, — which exercises an 
 
 
 vifhence their influence spreads 
 
 important influence on English 
 
 
 over Europe, 1453. 
 
 literature by keeping alive the 
 national traditions. 
 
BARREN PERIOD. 
 
 41 
 
 W RITERS. 
 
 {Unknown.') 
 
 Writings. 
 
 which our lover, after frequent 
 obstacles, gathers in a delicious 
 garden. He traverses vast 
 'ditches, scales lofty walls, and 
 forces the gates of adamantine 
 castles. These enchanted 
 holds are all inhabited by vari- 
 ous divinities, some of which 
 assist, and some oppose, the 
 lover's progress.' 
 
 The riower and the Leaf, ' an ex- 
 quisite piece of fairy fancy,' 
 not to be more aptly described 
 Ihan in the words of the writer's 
 preface : ' A gentlewoman, out 
 of an arbour in a grove, seeth a 
 great company of knights and 
 ladies in a dance upon the 
 green grass ; the which being 
 ended, they all kneel down and 
 do honour to the Daisy, some 
 to the Flower, and some to the 
 Leaf. Afterwards this gentle- 
 woman learneth by one of these 
 ladies the meaning of the vis- 
 ion, which is this : They who 
 honour the Flower — a thing 
 fading with every blast — are 
 such as look after beauty and 
 worldly pleasure. But they 
 that honour- the Leaf, which 
 abideth with the root, notwith- 
 standing the frosts and winter 
 storms, are they which follow 
 virtue and enduring qualities, 
 without regard of worldly re- 
 spects.' [Assigned, like the 
 Rose, to Chaucer ; but the 
 
42 
 
 BARREN PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 C HARACTERISTICS. 
 
 10. End of the Hundred Years' 
 War, 1453. 
 
 11. Wars of the Roses begin, 
 I4SS- 
 
 12. Death of Thomas k Kempis, 
 France, 147 1. 
 
 13. Birth of Thomas Wolsey, 
 cardinal, prime minister, chan- 
 cellor, 1471. 
 
 14. Birth of Ariosto, one of the 
 greatest of Italian poets ; author 
 of Orlando Furioso, 1474. 
 
 15. Birth of Michael Angelo, un- 
 rivalled painter, sculptor, and 
 architect of Italy, 1474. 
 
 7. Bolder, more original, and 
 more intensely patriotic note of 
 Scotch poetry. The wild beauty 
 and revengeful spirit, in par- 
 ticular, of its Ballads of the 
 Border, commemorative of their 
 chieftains' exploits in the recent 
 war of freedom. 
 
 8. Plentiful use of rhyme and 
 metre for chronicles, moral 
 treatises (from the Latin), lives 
 of saints, and chivalrous ro- 
 mances (from the French). 
 
 9. 'The fifteenth century has 
 transmitted to us a large num- 
 ber of poetical compositions ; 
 but most of them are quite 
 valueless, unless as instructive 
 specimens of the rapidity with 
 which the language was under- 
 going the latest of the changes 
 that developed it into modern 
 English.' 
 
BARREN PERIOD. 
 
 43 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 Reginald Fecock (1390-1460), a 
 bishop. Sole advocate, in his 
 century, of ecclesiastical toler- 
 ance and freedom. 
 
 James I., poet-king of Scotland 
 (1394-1437), a prisoner in Eng- 
 land and educated there (1405- 
 1424); the star among Chaucer's 
 disciples. 
 
 {Unknown.') 
 
 {Unknown.') 
 
 best critics doubt or deny his 
 authorship.] 
 
 Bepressor of overmuch Blaming of 
 the Clergy (1449), the design of 
 which was to justify certain 
 practices then firmly estab- 
 lished in the church to which 
 the Lollards, or followers of 
 Wyclif, were vehemently op- 
 posed. The appeal was to rea- 
 son rather than to authority. 
 
 The King's Qizair (Book), a poem 
 of about fourteen hundred 
 verses, written in imitation of 
 Chaucer, in seven-line stanzas 
 (whence rhyme royal) ; the story 
 of his captivity and courtship, 
 inspired by the vision of Lady 
 Jane Beaufort; deficient in rich- 
 ness and delicacy, but the most 
 famous English poem of the 
 period. 
 
 The Cnckoo and the Nightingale, a 
 short allegory in which the two 
 birds dispute about the blessed- 
 ness of love, the former con- . 
 tending that it is full of misery, 
 the latter asserting triumphant- 
 ly that it is full of pleasure. 
 [Ascribed to Chaucer, but re- 
 jected by scholars.] 
 
 Conit of love (about 1470), an al- 
 legory done in imitation of the 
 Rose ; showing that all, what- 
 ever the impediments, are sub- 
 ject to love, and containing 
 
44 
 
 BARREN PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 16. Conviction and execution of 
 
 
 witches, 1478. 
 
 
 
 10. Many imitate Chaucer, but 
 
 
 none equal him. The best imi- 
 
 
 tations are Scotch. 
 
 17. Birth of Raphael, founder of 
 
 
 the Roman School of painting, 
 
 
 the leading principle of which 
 
 11. Disappearance of the spirit 
 
 was the study of nature and the 
 
 of metaphysical speculation, 
 
 antique, 1482. 
 
 and expansion of the curricu- 
 
 
 lum of study by the introduc- 
 
 
 tion of Greek and the growing 
 
 
 interest in ancient writers. 
 
 18. Birth of IMartin Luther, 1483. 
 
 
 
 12. Alchemy and astrology begin 
 
 
 to yield to the surer light of as- 
 
 
 tronomical science, now studied 
 
 19. Union by marriage of the 
 
 throughout Europe. 
 
 Houses of York and Lancaster, 
 
 
 terminating the Wars of the 
 
 13. A wide literary desert, due 
 
 Roses, which caused the un- 
 
 (i) to repression of inquiry; 
 
 timely death of one hundred 
 
 (2) to the discontent conse- 
 
 thousand persons and the ex- 
 
 quent upon the heavy taxation 
 
 tinction of many ancient fami- 
 
 caused by the Hundred Years' 
 
 lies, 1485. 
 
 War ; (3) to the Wars of the 
 
BARREN PERIOD. 
 
 45 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 Sii Thomas Ualory. Nothing 
 known of his life ; said by some 
 to have been a Welshman, and 
 not a knight, but a priest. 
 
 {^Unknown.') 
 
 (JJnkno'wn.') 
 
 Blind Harry, a Scotch rustic, blind 
 from birth, who obtained food 
 and clothing by singing or 
 chanting tales to the harp. 
 
 also ' those twenty statutes 
 which are to be observed in the 
 Court of Love.' [Attributed 
 to Chaucer, but wrongly, ac- 
 cording to such critics as Ten 
 Brink, Bradshaw, Skeat, and 
 Fumival.] 
 History of King Arthur (1470), a 
 spirited and graphic condensa- 
 tion, in prose, of the Arthurian 
 romances, beginning \^ith the 
 birth of Arthur and ending 
 with his death ; chief source 
 from which Tennyson has 
 drawn the materials for his 
 Idylls of the King. 
 
 Complaint of the Black Knight, a 
 professed record of what the 
 poet has heard of the complaint 
 of a knight whom false tongues 
 had hindered of his lady's 
 grace; a court poem of the 
 French conventional pattern. 
 [Said by Shirley, Chaucer's con- 
 temporary, to be Lydgate's.] 
 
 Testament of Love, a professed 
 prose imitation of Boethius ; in 
 substance a discourse on Love, 
 the Creator, Heaven, Necessity, 
 and Free- Will. 
 
 Wallace (about 1470), a compan- 
 ion epic to Barbour's Bruce, 
 but rougher and less trust- 
 worthy. It is written in ten- 
 syllable rhyming couplets, and 
 contains about twelve thousand 
 lines. 
 
46 
 
 BARREN PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 20. The Greek language taught 
 in England by Professor Gro- 
 cyn of Oxford, 1490. 
 
 21. Discovery of America, 1492. 
 
 22. Perkin Warbeck personates 
 the murdered Duke of York, 
 1492. 
 
 23. Discovery of Newfoundland, 
 1497. 
 
 Roses, which, being ambitious 
 struggles for power, thoroughly 
 unsettled the country, making 
 impossible the cultivation ot 
 the peaceful and enlightened 
 arts. 
 
 14. ' A brilliant sun [Chaucer] 
 enlivens the face of nature with 
 an unusual lustre ; the sudden 
 appearance of cloudless skies, 
 and the unexpected warmth of 
 a tepid atmosphere, after the 
 gloom and inclemencies of a 
 tedious winter, fill our hearts 
 with the visionary prospects of a 
 speedy summer; and we fondly 
 anticipate a long continuance 
 of gentle gales and vernal se- 
 renity. But winter returns with 
 redoubled horrors ; the clouds 
 condense more formidably than 
 before ; and those tender buds 
 and early blossoms, which were 
 called forth by the transient 
 gleam of a temporary sunshine, 
 are nipped by frost and torn by 
 tempests.' 
 
BARREN PERIOD. 
 
 47 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 Sir John Fortescue (1395-1483), 
 legal and political writer, Chief- 
 Justice of the King's Bench. 
 
 "WiUiam Caxton (141 2-1 492), mer- 
 cer, printer, and writer. His 
 printing-press gave an immense 
 impulse to writing in English. 
 
 The Fastons. 
 
 Stephen Hawes, groom of the 
 chamber to Henry VII. ; a 
 clever man, who, taking delight 
 in literature, wrote some doubly 
 dull and spiritless poems. 
 
 Eobert Fabian (—1512), opulent 
 citizen and politician and zeal- 
 ous churchman, of London. 
 
 A Latin work on the excellence 
 of the laws of England, and 
 an English work entitled Dif- 
 ference between an Absolute and a 
 Limited Monarchy. Perhaps the 
 first works whose titles avow 
 the strong English pride of 
 country. 
 
 The Game and Flaye of the Chesse, 
 translated from the French. 
 First English printed book 
 (1474). Pilgrimage of the Soul, 
 The Golden legend, and many 
 others. 
 
 Paston letters (1422-1505), corre- 
 spondence of a country family 
 from Henry VI. to Henry VII. 
 They afford some curious and 
 informing glimpses of the state 
 of society. 
 
 Temple of Glass (1500), an imitation 
 of Chaucer's House of Fame. 
 Pastime of Pleasure (1506), a 
 rough and untunable allegory, 
 the design of which is to entice 
 young men, by the promise of 
 pastime and pleasure, into a 
 course of valuable (?) instruc- 
 tion in the Seven Sciences and 
 in moral habits. 
 
 Concordance of Histories, narrating 
 the history of Britain (fact and 
 fiction) from the landing of 
 Brutus down to 1485. 
 
a8 
 
 BARREN PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 24. Canada discovered, 1499. 
 
 25. University of Wittenberg 
 founded, 1502. 
 
 26. Spinning by distaff intro- 
 duced into England, 1505. 
 
 27. Gunpowder changes the art 
 of war, and becomes the chief 
 agent in the destruction of feu- 
 dalism and the centralization of 
 government under Henry VII. 
 
 28. Gardening introduced from 
 the Netherlands, 1509. 
 
 29. Luther visits Rome, 1511. 
 
 30. Battle of Flodden, 1513. 
 
 31. Invention of the Camera Ob- 
 scura, 1515. 
 
BARREN PERIOD. 
 
 49 
 
 Writers. 
 
 William Snnbar (1460-15 15), a 
 jolly yet essentially earnest, 
 quick-witted friar and courtier 
 of Scotland; usually spoken of 
 as being, next to Burns, the 
 greatest poet that Scotland has 
 produced. His main impulse 
 came from Chaucer. 
 
 Gawyn Douglas (1474- 15 22), a 
 Scotch bishop, a- poet, a po- 
 litical intriguer, a dishonored 
 exile. 
 
 John Skelton (1460-1529), a spirited 
 but coarse satirist against civil 
 and ecclesiastical corruption ; 
 a scholar, pronounced by Eras- 
 mus ' the glory and light of 
 English letters ; ' the most origi- 
 nal of Chaucer's later imitators. 
 
 {Unknown!) 
 
 Writings. 
 
 The Daonce, a grimly humorous 
 description of the Seven Deadly 
 Sins celebrating their orgies on 
 the floor of hell. A departure 
 from the worn-out models of 
 Chaucer and the romance 
 poets. 
 
 Falace of Honour (ijoi), a court 
 poem in the conventional May- 
 morning style. Translation of 
 Virgil's JEneid (151 3) into heroic 
 couplets, — the first translation 
 of any Latin author into verse. 
 King Hart, an allegory of life, 
 the heart personified as man. 
 
 Why Come Ye Not to Court 1 — a bold 
 satire, pouring out his own 
 and the people's anger against 
 Wolsey. Principal poem, Colin 
 Cloat, an attack on the clergy, 
 with cudgel words, purporting 
 to retail what a countryman 
 hears as he passes among the 
 people. It represents the pop- 
 ular feeling of the time. 
 
 BaUads, popular tales sung to the 
 accompaniment of music and 
 dancing ; born of a jovial and 
 hardy yeomanry leading a per- 
 ilous existence ; full of sym- 
 pathy with the forest and the 
 outlaw. Many of them col- 
 lected around the legendary 
 Robin Hood (see, for illustra- 
 tions, Percy's Reliques of 
 Ancient English Poetry). 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 RENAISSANCE PERIOD, 1513-1625. 
 
 1509. Henry VIII. 
 
 fl547. Edward VI. 
 
 I 
 -i 1553. Mary I. 
 
 1558. Elizabeth. 
 
 1603. James I. (descended from Henry VII.). 
 
 1635. Charles I. 
 
52 
 
 RENAISSANCE PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 1. Wolsey, cardinal and chan- 
 cellor, 1515. 
 
 S. Luther's Theses against ' In- 
 dulgences ' nailed to the door 
 of the church of the castle of 
 Wittenberg, 151 7. 
 
 3. The London College of Physi- 
 cians founded, 15 18. 
 
 4. Rise of the art of knitting, 
 1520. 
 
 5. Conquest of Mexico, 1 52 1. 
 
 6. Discovery of Peru, 1524. 
 
 7. First attempt to discover a 
 North-West passage, 1527. 
 
 1. European patronage of Italian 
 universities. 
 
 2. Unusual activity of religious 
 polemic thought, the critical 
 study of the Scriptures, result- 
 ing in numerous ballads, pam- 
 phlets, and plays against the 
 old religious system, and in a 
 large amount of theological 
 writing. The Bible becomes 
 common property, is the direct 
 occasion of a large share of the 
 printed matter, and greatly in- 
 fluences the language of litera- 
 ture by its simple style and 
 pure diction. 
 
 • Introduction of Greek and 
 Latin literature, and revival of 
 old English tales and ballads ; 
 the former stimulating and 
 kindling the enthusiasm of writ- 
 
RENAISSANCE PERIOD. 
 
 S3 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 I. Non-dramatic. 
 
 Sir Thomas More (1480-1535), law- 
 yer, theologian, wit, lord chan- 
 cellor, theorist, seer, historian ; 
 possessed many opposite and 
 some inconsistent qualities, yet 
 ranks with Sidney as one of 
 the most popular characters in 
 English history. 
 
 William Tyndale (1484-1536), stu- 
 dent of theology and translator ; 
 strangled and burned, his last 
 words being : ' Lord, open the 
 King of England's eyes ! ' 
 
 Utopia (in Latin), a professed 
 transcription of what he has 
 heard a restless traveller say 
 who had met in his travels 
 with the ideal commonwealth 
 of Utopia (Land of Nowhere). 
 Its purpose was to suggest 
 needed reforms. Idleness, 
 caste, persecution, love of war, 
 selfish greed, cruel sports, the 
 worldliness of kings, and the 
 ambition of priests are all re- 
 buked by the state of things 
 existing in the ideal republic. 
 Principal English work, Life 
 and Beign of Edward V., — a 
 production which, according to 
 Horace Walpole, will nowhere 
 stand a critical examination. 
 Also controversial writings. 
 
 Translation of New Testament 
 (1525), and the Five Books of 
 Moses (1530). This translation 
 is the basis of the Authorized 
 Version. ' The most important 
 philological monument of the 
 first half of the sixteenth cen- 
 tury.' ' There is no book which 
 has had so great an influence on 
 the style of English literature 
 and the standard of English 
 prose.' Enchiridion, translated 
 from the Latin of Erasmus. It 
 argues that Christian life is a 
 
 • warfare against evil, sustained 
 
54 
 
 RENAISSANCE PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 8. Sir Thomas More, first lay 
 chancellor, 1529. 
 
 9. Reformation in England be- 
 gins, about 1534. 
 
 10. Nine clergymen hanged and 
 quartered for refusing to ad- 
 mit the spiritual supremacy of 
 Henry VIII., 1535. 
 
 11. Exhibition of a diving bell in 
 Spain in the presence of the 
 emperor and thousands of won- 
 dering spectators, 1538. 
 
 12, Suppression of five hundred 
 and forty-three monasteries, 
 IS39- 
 
 13. Birth of Tasso, Italian poet, 
 author of Rinaldo and Jertisa- 
 Icm Delivered, 1544. 
 
 14. Birth of Cervantes, one of the 
 greatest imaginative writers of 
 Spain, 1547. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 ers, the latter furnishing the 
 groundwork of English fiction, 
 and all filled with materials 
 and imagery fresh and new to 
 the English people. Middle 
 Age romance mingled with clas- 
 sical story, and was often the 
 weightier element of the two. 
 
 4. Italian literature, disclosing 
 itself in translations of Tasso 
 and Ariosto ; in themes {Arca- 
 dia, Romeo and Juliet) j in 
 measures (as that of Spenser) ; 
 in kind of poetry, as the 
 Amourist, — serial love-son- 
 nets mingled with lyrical 
 pieces. 
 
 5. The growth of physical sci- 
 ence, inducing under Bacon a 
 more cautious and critical habit 
 of mind. 
 
 6. Discovery, consequent upon 
 a new commercial activity. 
 Drake, Davis, and Raleigh lead 
 the world in maritime enter- 
 
RENAISSANCE PERIOD. 
 
 55 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 Sir David Lindsay (i49o-iSS7)i 
 Scotch poet of the type of 
 Gower, using verse for practi- 
 cal purposes, from a deep sense 
 of duty to man and God. 
 
 Hugh Iatimer( 1 49 1 - 1 555), a bishop, 
 a bold controversialist, one of 
 the most stirring and popular 
 of the Reforming preachers, 
 burned, after many vicissitudes, 
 at Oxford. 
 
 Sir Thomas Wyatt (1503-1542), a 
 man of culture and literary 
 taste, who travelled in Italy ; 
 Henry's favorite wit, — witty, 
 though not happy; initiator of 
 the new movement in English 
 poetry as represented by the 
 Amourist, sonnet and lyric ; 
 first in the long line of those 
 who have immortalized their 
 loves in English verse. 
 
 Boger Ascham (1515-1568), lecturer 
 on Greek at Cambridge ; tutor 
 to Edward VI., Queen Eliza- 
 beth, and Lady Jane Grey. ' An 
 honest man and a good shooter.' 
 
 by obedience to Christ rather 
 than by faith in scholastic 
 dogmas. . 
 
 The Bream (1528), The Complaint 
 (1536), etc. ; all didactic, all 
 aiming, without poetical grace, 
 at social and religious reform ; 
 frankly advising the king, free- 
 ly abusing courtiers and eccle- 
 siastics. 
 
 Sermons, homely, practical, and 
 straight to their purpose ; not 
 mere expositions of the Word 
 in the abstract, but addressed 
 to hearers by name, singling 
 out persons and classes, and 
 fearlessly instructing them how 
 to regulate their lives. 
 
 Sonnets and Lyrics ; full of gravity, 
 of mournful and bitter sweet- 
 ness ; the former of unequal 
 merit, faulty in rhyme, ques- 
 tionable in metre ; the latter, 
 however, flowing and musical ; 
 both, in large part, translated 
 or imitated from the Italian. 
 
 Toxophilus (1544), a treatise, in 
 dialogue form, on the use of 
 the national weapon, the bow. 
 The School-master (1570), in two 
 parts, — the first discussing the 
 
S6 
 
 RENAISSANCE PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 15. Discovery of New Mexico 
 
 prise. The wonderful stories 
 
 by the Spaniards, ISS3- 
 
 of the voyagers stir men to a 
 
 
 new kind of literary work. 
 
 16. Execution of Lady Jane Grey 
 
 
 and her husband, 1554. 
 
 7. Invention. Printing and gun- 
 
 
 powder, the two earlier inven- 
 
 
 tions, were now working their 
 
 
 eifects upon society and trans- 
 
 
 forming it. 
 
 17. Burning of Bishops Ridley 
 
 
 and Latimer for heresy, ISSS- 
 
 
 18. Cranmer, Archbishop of Can- 
 
 
 terbury, burned, 1556. 
 
 8. General security. The reign 
 
 
 of Elizabeth firm, peaceful, 
 
 
 and conservative, thus favoring 
 
 
 the activity of thought. 
 
 19. Great increase of crime. 
 
 
 Men of rank become robbers. 
 
 
 Fifty hanged at Oxford at one 
 
 
 time, 1556- 
 
 9. Chivalry, its beauty and re- 
 
 
 finement without its deformity, 
 
 
 as represented by Sidney and 
 
 
 Spenser. 
 
 20. Glass bottles first made in 
 
 
 England, 1557- 
 
 
RENAISSANCE PERIOD. 
 
 57 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey 
 (1516-1547), impetuous, sump- 
 tuous in tastes and habits ; af- 
 fable to inferiors, haughty to 
 equals. Chief feather in his 
 plume the introduction of blank 
 verse. 
 
 John Fox (1517-1587), a rampant 
 bigot, who gave himself up 
 wholly to the great religious 
 controversies of the day. 
 
 John Jewel (1522-1571), one of the 
 ablest of Elizabeth's bishops. 
 
 general principles for the gov- 
 ernment and training of chil- 
 dren ; the second the readiest 
 means of acquiring a knowledge 
 of Latin. 
 
 Sonnets and Lyrics, the style of 
 which is less original and 
 weighty, but more affluent and 
 joyous, than that of his friend 
 Wyatt. Also a translation of 
 the second and fourth books of 
 the .ffineid into unrhymed verse, 
 bald and repulsive. 
 
 Few gems in the poetry of either 
 Surrey or Wyatt ; yet because 
 ' they greatly polished our rude 
 and homely manner,' they have 
 been called ' the first reformers 
 of English verse and style.' 
 
 Book of Martyrs (1563), an histori- 
 cal sketch of the pure, uncor- 
 rupted Church of Christ, and 
 an account of the chief Protes- 
 tant martyrs ; often coarse, not 
 p.ltogether reliable, even slan- 
 derous, but vivid, interesting, 
 and effective in weakening the 
 hold of the Romish or ancient 
 Church on the general English 
 heart. 
 
 Apology, an elegant and much- 
 admired Latin defence of the 
 Church of England. 
 
RENAISSANCE PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 21. Calais retaken by the French, 
 1557. Mary Stuart marries the 
 Dauphin, 1558. 
 
 22. Act of Uniformity passed, 
 declaring the queen to be the 
 head of the Church, 1559. 
 
 23. Appearance of the ' Puritans,' 
 who desire to push the Ref- 
 ormation farther than the An- 
 glican clergy are prepared for, 
 
 1559- 
 
 34. Beginning of Enghsh slave- 
 trade, 1562. 
 
 35. Introduction of potatoes into 
 England from America, 1563. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 26. Knives first made in England, 
 1563. 
 
 10 The thorough development 
 of the language. 
 
 11. The social state. Advance- 
 ment in social comfort. Harri- 
 son (1580) noted the multitude 
 of chimneys, the use of feather- 
 beds and sheets, of carpets and 
 glass windows, of pewter ves- 
 sels instead of wooden platters. 
 Extraordinary fondness for 
 dress, and the gorgeousness of 
 apparel. 'It is a common 
 thing to put a thousand goats 
 and a hundred oxen on a coat, 
 and to carry a whole manor on 
 one's back.' 
 
 12. Style. In poetry fresh, im- 
 passioned, imaginative, and 
 with a great genius, like Shake- 
 speare or Spenser, at once 
 natural and artistic ; but with 
 second-rate poets extravagant 
 and unrestrained in the use of 
 
RENAISSANCE PERIOD. 
 
 59 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 Ralph Holinshed ( — 1580). 
 
 Thomas Wilson { — 1581), said to 
 have been Dean of Durham, 
 and to have held office under 
 Elizabeth. 
 
 George Puttenham (about 1533- 
 1600). 
 
 Sir Walter Ealeigh (1552-1618), 
 courtier, sailor, statesman, col- 
 onizer, historian ; the most daz- 
 zling figure of his age ; model 
 of a great Englishman as a 
 combination of the ideal and 
 the practical. 
 
 Chronicles, professing to be a com- 
 plete history of Great Britain 
 and Ireland ; known to most 
 readers from its being utilized 
 by Shakespeare in the prepa- 
 ration of half-legendary, half- 
 historical plays. 
 
 Rhetoric and Logic (1553), the first 
 systematic treatise on the Eng- 
 lish language. He insists on 
 simplicity, ridicules the taste for 
 alliteration and for ' far-fetched 
 colours of gay antiquity.' ' The 
 unlearned or foolish fantastical 
 will so Latin their tongues that 
 the simple think surely they 
 speak by some revelation.' 
 
 Arte of English Poesie (1589), the 
 most elaborate work of the 
 period on its subject; written, 
 says the author, 'to help the 
 courtiers and the gentlemen of 
 the court to write good poetry, 
 that the art may become vulgar 
 [common] for all Englishmen's 
 use.' 
 
 History of the World (1614), written 
 during the author's imprison- 
 ment in the Tower. Including, 
 in the story of man's life on 
 earth, such topics as fate, free- 
 will, magic, site of Paradise, 
 resting-place of the Ark, origin 
 
6o 
 
 RENAISSANCE PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 37. Exciting introduction of car- 
 riages into England, 1564. The 
 first was called by some ' a 
 great sea-shell brought from 
 China ; ' by others ' a temple 
 in which cannibals worship the 
 Devil.' 
 
 3. Massacre of St. Bartholo- 
 mew, 1572. 
 
 29. Death of Titian, head of the 
 Venetian school of painting, 
 1576. 
 
 30. Erection of first English 
 theatre, 1576. 
 
 31. Drake sails round the world, 
 1577- 
 
 32. Cambrics first worn in Eng- 
 land, 1580. 
 
 words and images. In prose, 
 rapid and opulent, combining 
 conciseness and flowing rhythm 
 with rambling length and over- 
 much repetition of poetical fig- 
 ures (Sidney) ; marked by 
 involutions and suspensions 
 (Hooker); cumbered with Latin 
 and Greek quotations ; full of 
 balance and point, with a more 
 modern flow, in Bacon. Preva- 
 lence of euphuism (aflTectation 
 of sententiousness, fanciful 
 antithesis, and word-play), in 
 harmony with the fantastic, 
 changeful life of the time. 
 
RENAISSANCE PERIOD. 
 
 6l 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 Thomas Sackville (1536-1608), earl, 
 diplomat, Lord High Treasurer, 
 pioneer of English tragedy ; 
 most distinguished contributor 
 to a sombre series of poems on 
 the mutability of fortune, en- 
 titled Mirror for Magistrates, 
 — a glass wherein rulers might 
 see the dangers that wait on 
 greatness ; designed as the con- 
 tinuation of Lydgate's Fall of 
 Princes. 
 
 Edmund Spenser (1552-1599), quiet 
 and unpractical, gentle and 
 pure, sincere and imaginative, 
 ' the Poet's Poet,' and one of 
 the greatest of his own or of 
 any age. ' No poet has ever 
 had a more exquisite sense of 
 the beautiful.' ' To Chaucer 
 a beautiful woman is a beauti- 
 ful creature of this good earth, 
 and is often nothing more. . . . 
 For Spenser behind each wo- 
 man made to worship or to love 
 
 of law and government. A 
 work of erudition rather than a 
 narrative. The preface and the 
 conclusion are among the finest 
 remains of Elizabethan prose. 
 The rest, however, has little 
 literary value. This incom- 
 parable genius wrote also some 
 beautiful and thoughtful poems, 
 notably The Lie and The Nymph's 
 Reply. 
 
 Induction, prefatory to the Mir- 
 ror for Magistrates, a vivid and 
 powerful allegory in Chaucer's 
 stanza, full of the images of 
 gloom and desolation, — 'a land- 
 scape on which the sun never 
 shines.' 
 
 Faerie ftueene, an allegorical poem 
 designed to shadow forth his 
 ideal of the perfection of human 
 character through trial and con- 
 flict. To every moral virtue 
 was to be assigned a knight ' to 
 be the patron and defender of 
 the same.' The hero. Prince 
 Arthur, was to stand for the 
 perfected excellences of all the 
 rest. The Faerie Queene her- 
 self represents Glory in general, 
 and Queen Elizabeth in partic- 
 
62 
 
 RENAISSANCE PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 33. First attempt to supply Lon- 
 don with ' water-works,' 1581. 
 
 34. Edinburgh University found- 
 ed, 1582. 
 
 35. Raleigh attempts to colonize 
 Virginia, 1584. 
 
 36. Essays of Montaigne (1533- 
 1592), pioneer of French philo- 
 sophical scepticism. 
 
 37. Birth of Richelieu, 1585. 
 
 38. Raleigh's introduction of po- 
 
 13. Rise and culmination of the 
 regular drama, — chief glory of 
 English literature. 
 
 14. A time of action in every de- 
 partment, full of the spirit of 
 conquest and the desire for 
 enlightenment. ' Englishmen 
 look back with pride and pleas- 
 ure on Elizabeth's reign, when 
 Old England shone once more 
 in all the romantic brilliancy of 
 the Middle Ages, while the 
 great future of the country was 
 shadowed forth in its relation 
 to the European continent and 
 to the New World beyond the 
 Atlantic' 
 
JiENAISSANCE PERIOD. 
 
 63 
 
 Writers. 
 
 rises a sacred presence, — wo- 
 manhood itself.' 'We must 
 not fear to assert, with the best 
 judges of this and former ages, 
 that Spenser is still the third 
 name in the poetical literature 
 of our country, and that he has 
 not been surpassed, except by 
 Dante, in any other.' 
 
 Sir Philip Sidney (1554-1586), 
 knight, courtier, general, poet, 
 romance-writer, and Christian ; 
 
 Writings. 
 
 ular. To have consisted of 
 twelve books, only six of which 
 were completed, allegories of 
 Holiness, Temperance, Chas- 
 tity, Friendship, Justice, Cour- 
 tesy, the first three published 
 in 1590, the others in 1596. 
 Borrows its framework from 
 the Celtic legends ; Christian- 
 izes the moral ideas of Plato ; 
 represents the refined senti- 
 ments of chivalry, the nobler 
 Puritanism of the time, the 
 new love of classical learning ; 
 the popular legends of fairies, 
 dwarfs, and giants, mingled with 
 the savages and wonders of the 
 New World. ' Music, paint- 
 ing, poetry, all in one,' The 
 style is marvellously affluent, 
 wide, expansive, dreamily me- 
 lodious. The Shepherd's Calendar 
 (1579)) a series of pastorals in 
 which the shepherds are expo- 
 nents of Spenser's artistic, mor- 
 al, and other theories. Amoretti, 
 sonnets commemorating his 
 love for the lady whom he 
 afterward married. Eplthala- 
 mion, celebrating the comple- 
 tion of the courtship. ' I know 
 no poem that realizes so directly 
 and vividly the idea of winged 
 words.' 
 
 Arcadia (1590), a pastoral romance 
 borrowed from the Italian ; 
 full of devotion and poetical 
 
64 
 
 RENAISSANCE PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 39. Mary Queen of Scots exe- 
 cuted, 1587. 
 
 40. Defeat of Spanish Armada, 
 1588, which gave a strong im- 
 pulse to public life. 
 
 41. Accession of the House of 
 Bourbon to the throne of 
 France, 1589. 
 
 43. Introduction of tea into Eng- 
 land, 1 591. 
 
 43. Spain reaches the zenith of 
 her power, under Philip II., 
 1556-1598. 
 
 15. To continue the simile by 
 which we characterized the 
 long period of sterility after 
 Chaucer's time, ' the age of 
 Elizabeth may be said to be 
 the month of May in English 
 literature, checked by no return 
 
RENAISSANCE PERIOD. 
 
 6S 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 a man of ' high-erected thoughts 
 seated in a heart of courtesy ; ' 
 sagacious in practical afiairs, 
 versatile and vigorous in intel- 
 lect, hopeful, gay with the gay, 
 serious with the serious ; exer- 
 cised a refining influence upon 
 society and literature by his 
 life and writings. His prose 
 style is nearer the present stand- 
 ard than any pro.se of r.nterior 
 date. 
 
 Eichafd Hooker (i 553-1600), dif- 
 fident, sensitive, of poor phy- 
 sique, but of capacious soul ; 
 champion of the Church of 
 England. 
 
 thought, also of confusing di- 
 gressions of sentiment spun too 
 fine, of description too diffuse. 
 Apologie for Poetrie (1581), a 
 defence of the nobler uses of 
 poetry against the attacks of 
 the Puritans, i. Nature and 
 value of poetry. 2. Answers to 
 objections. 3. Criticism of ex- 
 isting poetry. Within these 
 divisions various topics, with 
 little regard to order, are dis- 
 cussed. Points suggestive of 
 more solid power than the 
 Arcadia are, — (i) Psalms of 
 David are 'divine poems;' 
 (2) A poem may be written in 
 prose ; (3) Verse is but an or- 
 nament and no cause to poetry; 
 (4) To make vice attractive is 
 the abuse and not the use of 
 poetry. The book marks the 
 rise of dignified criticism. 
 Astrophel and Stella, a series of 
 sonnets immortalizing his love 
 for Penelope Devereux. As 
 sonnets, ' second only to Shake- 
 speare's ; ' as love-poems, ' per- 
 haps unsurpassed.' 
 
 Lavs of Ecclesiastical Polity (1594- 
 1600), defence of the Church of 
 England. Contains much solid, 
 dispassionate argument, but is 
 not always coherent, is occa- 
 sionally vague, tuned to Latin 
 rhythm at the expense of na- 
 tive idiom, stiff, and perplexing 
 
66 
 
 RENAISSANCE PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 44. A coach first seen in Scot- 
 land, 1598. 
 
 45. Origin of electrical science in 
 the publication of Dr. Gilbert's 
 treatise on Magneiisirl, 1600. 
 
 46. Nearly three hundred thou- 
 sand inhabitants in London, 
 1600. 
 
 of winter, and in whose genial 
 atmosphere the earth was clad 
 with grass and flowers. It has 
 been called the golden age of 
 English literature, and so far as 
 dramatic poetry is concerned it 
 well deserves the epithet ; but 
 many branches of literature 
 were much more highly devel- 
 oped in after-times.' 
 
 47. Act against witchcraft and 
 witches, 1 601. 
 
 48. Act forbidding men to ride 
 in coaches as being effeminate, 
 1601. 
 
 49. Australia discovered, i6oi. 
 
 50.* Emigration of Puritans from 
 England to Holland, 1593-1608. 
 
RENAISSANCE PERIOD. 
 
 67 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Joha Lyly (1554-1606). A book- 
 seller's puff describes him as 
 ' the witty, comical, facetiously 
 quick, and unparalleled John 
 Lyly, Master of Arts.' 
 
 Writings. 
 
 Thomas Lodge (1556-1625I, poet- 
 physician, of active intelligence, 
 well-stocked memory, and grace- 
 ful fancy; introducer of the 
 
 from the elaborate accumula- 
 tion of clauses. Important 
 scientifically, as showing a dis- 
 position to forsake the narrow 
 ground of Scriptural argument 
 and to base conclusions on 
 general principles, — law, grand 
 and beneficent in nature, mor- 
 als, politics, and theology. 
 
 Euphues, a moral romance in two 
 parts, — ' Euphues, the Anat- 
 omy of Wit '(1579) ; ' Euphues 
 and his England' (15S0). Eu- 
 phues, a gay young Athenian, 
 travels in the first to Naples ; 
 in the second, to England, — 
 the plot being made subservient 
 to his moral nature, and giving 
 occasion for discourses on re- 
 ligion, education, friendship, 
 and love. Style antithetical, 
 pithy, direct, lucid, the most 
 smooth and finished of that 
 time. Its faults are overdone 
 comparisons, excess of in- 
 stances, fanciful contrasts, 
 chiefly ' an eternal aifectation 
 of sententiousness.' The pecu- 
 liarity ot euphuism lay in the 
 sententious, pointed way of ex- 
 pressing superabundant com- 
 parisons and illustrations. 
 
 Rosalind ; Euphues' Golden Legacy 
 (1590), a romance in prose and 
 verse. Some of the love-songs 
 are of the first order of excel- 
 
6i 
 
 RENAISSANCE PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 51. Conference for translation of 
 Bible, 1604-1611. 
 
 52. Charter for colonizing New 
 England, 1606. 
 
 63. Settlement of Jamestown, 
 Virginia, 1607. 
 
 54. Forks introduced into Eng- 
 land from Italy, 1608. 
 
 55. Discovery of spots on the sun, 
 1609. 
 
 56. Invention of logarithms by 
 Napier, 1614. 
 
 57. Smilhfield market, London, 
 first paved, 1614. 
 
 58. Banks of the Hudson colo- 
 nized by Hollanders, 1614. 
 
RENAISSANCE PERIOD. 
 
 69 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 heroic satire and heroic epistle; 
 most noteworthy as a lyrist 
 and prose romancer. ' We are 
 often left to wonder that a 
 lyrist who was so thrilling a 
 moment ago can now be so 
 insipid.' 
 
 Francis Bacon (1561-1626), lawyer, 
 M. P., attorney-general, lord 
 keeper, lord chancellor, Baron 
 Verulam, Viscount of St. Al- 
 bans, philosopher, essayist. 
 ' His fall is notorious, his char- 
 acter disputed, his genius in- 
 contestable.' ' By indignities 
 men come to dignities.' 
 
 lance ; as ' With orient pearl, 
 with ruby red,' ' Love in my 
 bosom like a bee,' and ' Turn 
 I my looks unto the skies.' It 
 is from this tale that Shake- 
 speare borrowed the plot of one 
 of his most exquisite comedies, 
 As You Like It. Phillis(i593), 
 containing sonnets (rich in sin- 
 gle lines) and some of Lodge's 
 best lyrics. Fig for Momus 
 (iS9S)> verse epistles to private 
 persons, in heroic couplets, with 
 four or five satires, which led 
 the way to future efforts in this 
 vein. A Uargarite of America 
 (1596), a tragical love-narra- 
 tive, with poetical interludes. 
 Lodge's style is colored with 
 euphuism. 
 
 (i 597-1624), observations 
 and precepts on man and so- 
 ciety, ' counsels civil and mor- 
 al;' concise, forcible, weighty, 
 often stiff, rather plentifully 
 sprinkled with ' inkhorn terms,' 
 and showing little regard to 
 transitions. ' A little Bible of 
 earthly wisdom.' Advancement 
 of Learning (1605). Novum Or- 
 ganum (Latin, 1620), on methods 
 of inquiry into Nature. History 
 of. Henry VII., first work after 
 the author's banishment from 
 court in 1621. New Atlantis, an 
 unfinished philosophical ro- 
 mance in Latin, after the man- 
 
70 
 
 RENAISSANCE PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 59. Apothecary and grocery 
 trades separated ; incorpora- 
 tion of the former, 1617. 
 
 60. Transportation of criminals 
 to America, 1619. 
 
 61. Harvey announces his dis- 
 covery of the circulation of the 
 blood, 1619. 
 
 62. First Colonial Assembly in 
 Virginia, 16 19. 
 
 63. ' In the month of August, 
 1620, just fourteen months after 
 the first representative assem- 
 bly of Virginia, four months 
 before the Plymouth colony 
 landed in America, and less 
 than a year before the conces- 
 sion of a written constitution, 
 more than a century after the 
 last vestiges of hereditary sla- 
 very had disappeared from Eng- 
 lish society and the English 
 Constitution, and six years after 
 the communes of France had 
 petitioned for the emancipa- 
 tion of every serf in every fief, 
 
RENAISSANCE PERIOD. 
 
 71 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Samuel Daniel (1562-1619), a man 
 of refined feeling and amiable 
 disposition, who, under the 
 shelter of a noble patronage, 
 lived, for the most part, a quiet 
 and studious life. 'There is an 
 equable dignity in his thought 
 and sentiment such as we rarely 
 meet,' 
 
 Uichael Drayton (1563-163 1), eru- 
 dite, laborious, versatile, ar- 
 dently patriotic ; catching the 
 poetic frenzy of the time, and 
 writing because he was ambi- 
 tious. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 ner of the Utopia, the design 
 being to describe a college 
 fully equipped for the study of 
 Nature inductively. 
 Bacon's philosophical writings 
 exerted their influence chiefly 
 by insisting upon experiment 
 and methodical research as a 
 means of arriving at truth. 
 
 Sonnets {1592), smooth, felicitous, 
 and sweet, not moving, but en- 
 joyable ; said to be the first 
 body of sonnets written in the 
 English form, — three quatrains 
 and a couplet. Complaint of 
 Rosamond (1594), a delicate, 
 impassioned expression of be- 
 reaved love. Musophilus (i 599), 
 a verse-dialogue between a 
 lover of the world and a lover 
 of the Muses. A prosaic met- 
 rical history of the Civil Wars 
 (1604). Also some tragedies, 
 the most important of which is 
 Hymen's Triumph. ' His best 
 poems always remind me of a 
 table-land where, because all is 
 so level, we are apt to forget 
 on how lofty a plane we are 
 standing.' 
 
 Idea's Mirror (1594), a body of 
 love-sonnets of no great merit. 
 The Barons' Wars (1596), full of 
 action and strife, but prolix, 
 lacking the vital unity of imagi- 
 nation and fact, and incurably 
 
72 
 
 RENAISSANCE PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 a Dutch man-of-war entered 
 James River, and landed twenty- 
 two negroes for sale.' 
 
 64. Landing of 
 Fathers, 1620. 
 
 the Pilgrim 
 
 65. Birth of the French fabulist, 
 La Fontaine, 1621. 
 
 66. Death of King James, 1625. 
 He left his son engaged in war 
 with Spain, on bad terms ' with 
 his Parliament, and exposed to 
 the full current of that popular 
 tide which during more than 
 half a century had set strongly 
 against the monarchical pre- 
 rogative.' 
 
RENAISSANCE PERIOD. 
 
 73 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 n. Dramatic. 
 
 (i) The Theatre. — Originally a 
 movable stage on wheels, the 
 performance being given in 
 the open spaces of the towns. 
 No regular theatre till 1576, 
 plays being presented mean- 
 while in town-halls, the yards 
 of inns, cock-pits, and noble- 
 men's dining-halls. First Eng- 
 lish theatre built by Burbadge, 
 in London, 1576, The Globe 
 Theatre built for Shakespeare 
 in 1594, a type of the many 
 that were erected in quick suc- 
 cession. Hexagonal without, 
 circular within, and open to the 
 weather except above the stage. 
 The performance began at 3 
 P.M., the noble-born sitting on 
 the stage, and the people stand- 
 ing in the pit or yard ; dancing 
 and singing between the acts. 
 
 uninteresting. Heroical Spistles 
 (1598), imaginary letters be- 
 tween lovers famous in English 
 history. Polyolbion (1612-1622), 
 a versified description of Eng- 
 land, county by county ; a mira- 
 cle of misapplied industry, — 
 not without literary merits, but 
 possessing neither the accu- 
 racy of history nor the unity of 
 a work of art. Nymphidia, the 
 subject of which is the amours 
 of the court of fairyland. 
 
 The English drama is indigenous, 
 and faithfully reflects the moral 
 and mental life that forms 
 it. It began about mo with 
 the play of St. Catherine, the 
 subject-matter of which was 
 Bible history and the lives of 
 the saints, — whence the name 
 of Mysteries ; designed for the 
 religious instruction of the 
 masses and the popularity of 
 the Church. The composers 
 and actors were monks ; the 
 form, mixed prose and verse ; 
 Dramatis PersoncB, — Deity, 
 devils, angels, saints, mar- 
 tyrs ; continued to be popular 
 till the end of the fourteenth 
 century. 
 
 The Moralities are the next step. 
 The subject-matter, instead of 
 being purely religious, was mor- 
 
74 
 
 RENAISSANCE PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
RENAISSANCE PERIOD. 
 
 Writers. 
 
 and a comic song by a dancing 
 clown at the close. Wooden 
 imitations of animals, towers, 
 thrones, forests, etc., were the 
 scenery. A board bearing the 
 name of Athens, London, etc., 
 indicated the place of action as 
 the scenes changed, and black 
 drapery signified tragedy. Boys 
 acted the female parts. 
 
 (2) The Actors. — At first stroll- 
 ing companies, travelling from 
 place to place under the guise 
 of some nobleman's servants, 
 as protection against the laws 
 that branded strollers as rogues. 
 The profession, at first in dis- 
 credit, grew into respectability 
 after the erection of regular 
 theatres. The costumes were 
 rich ; the profits of successful 
 actors, from the newness and 
 increasing favor of the drama, 
 extraordinary ; and the stage 
 therefore became the common 
 focus of attraction for the mete- 
 oric genius of the age. 
 
 (3) The Dramatists. — Rapid 
 growth of the drama after the 
 appearance of the first tragedy 
 was mainly the work of a band 
 of contemporary poets, Greene, 
 Peele, Nash, and others, having 
 in outline one character and 
 one career ; of humble parent- 
 age and liberal culture, but of 
 
 Writings. 
 
 al. Dramatis Persona were 
 the Virtues and Vices, — first as 
 personified abstractions ; then 
 as typified by great histori- 
 cal characters. These were 
 brought together in a rough 
 story at the end of which Virtue 
 triumphed or some moral prin- 
 ciple was established. Exam- 
 ple, — Castle of Perseverance. 
 
 The Interludes grew out of a de- 
 mand for something more real 
 and concrete than the MoraU- 
 ties. Dramatis Personce were 
 drawn from real life. The In- 
 terlude was at first a short hu- 
 morous piece to be acted in the 
 midst of the Morality for the 
 amusement of the people ; after- 
 ward isolated from the Moral- 
 ity by John Heywood in Henry 
 VIII.'s time, and made a kind 
 of farce. Example, — The Four 
 Fs(xiM). 
 
 The Interlude marks the transi- 
 tion to the EegTilar Drama. A 
 representation of historical 
 events and social life. Begins 
 with the first English Comedy, 
 Ralph Royster Doyster, by 
 Nicholas Udall, 1551; a pic- 
 ture of London manners ; di- 
 vided into regular acts and 
 scenes, and written in rhyme. 
 First English tragedy is Cor- 
 boduc, by Thomas Sackville, 
 1562 ; subject borrowed from 
 British legends. 
 
76 
 
 RENAISSANCE PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 C HARACTERISTICS. 
 
RENAISSANCE PERIOD. 
 
 77 
 
 Writers. 
 
 dissolute habits ; first serving 
 an apprenticeship in copying 
 and revising plays, then rising 
 to original work. 
 
 George Peele (1552-1598), ' a hand- 
 some person with a thin woman- 
 ish voice ; of light and nimble 
 fancy, and smooth ingenious 
 execution ; without the faintest 
 desire to use honest means in 
 procuring a livelihood.' 
 
 Robert Greene (1560-1592), a man 
 of great talents and ready wit, 
 who, after vacillating in need 
 between the ministry and medi- 
 cine, adopted the profession of 
 letters, writing in debauchery 
 the most reckless pamphlets, 
 and in fits of short-lived re- 
 morse some of the sweetest 
 and most edifying things. He 
 burned himself out in fierce 
 labor and fiercer dissipation. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 Arraignment of Paris (1584), a pas- 
 toral play for private represen- 
 tation before the queen ; in 
 various rhymed measures, ex- 
 cept the orations of Paris and 
 Diana ; marked by delicate airy 
 wit and sprightly art. Love of 
 King Savid and Fair Bethsabe, in 
 blank ; remarkable for passages 
 of sweet versification and rich, 
 tender imagery. 
 
 A Looldng-Glass for London and Eng- 
 land (1594, written in conjunc- 
 tion with Lodge), in which the 
 corruption of Nineveh stands 
 as a figure for the sins of Brit- 
 ain. Friar Bacon and Friar 
 Bungay (1594), in which the 
 old man of science, vulgarly 
 supposed to be in league with 
 the Devil, is brought upon the 
 stage. Alpbonsns, King of Arra- 
 gon (1599), like Greene's other 
 dramas, of little excellence as a 
 whole, but with here and there 
 touches of incisive and vivid 
 power. Greene wrote a large 
 number of brief, euphuistically 
 embellished tales (then the 
 fashionable reading of ladies), 
 the best of which perhaps are 
 Fandosto and Uenaphon. The 
 
78 
 
 RENAISSANCE PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
RENAISSANCE PERIOD. 
 
 n 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Christopher Marlowe (1564- 1593) 
 made blank verse the fashion- 
 able form of the drama ; the 
 most powerful dramatic genius 
 among Shakespeare's prede- 
 cessors. Gathering into him- 
 self the contrasts and excesses 
 of the age, he lived and died 
 an atheistical, licentious, im- 
 passioned, imaginative poet. 
 
 William Shakespeare (1564-1616), 
 the thousand-souled, in whom 
 the Elizabethan Age rises to its 
 zenith. Others have equalled 
 or surpassed him in some par- 
 ticular excellence, but no man 
 ever had at once such strength 
 and variety of imagination. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 occasional verses in these sto- 
 ries are indeed the choicest of 
 him. 
 
 Marlowe's dramas each paint one 
 ruling passion in its growth, 
 its strength and its extremes, 
 — Tambnxlaine, the desire of 
 universal empire ; the Jew of 
 Malta, thQ passions of avarice 
 and hate ; Faustus (his best 
 work), the ambition and failure 
 of man to possess all knowl- 
 edge and pleasure without toil 
 and without law ; Edward II., 
 the misery of weakness, and 
 the agony of a king's ruin. 
 His poetry, full of unequal life, 
 savage and tender, immoderate 
 in its expression of passion, 
 turbulently magnificent in all 
 its words and images, reflects 
 his life and that of the crowd of 
 playwrights who passed their 
 lives between the theatres, the 
 wine-shop, and the prison, — 
 life a battle of unbridled pas- 
 sions, and death an eternal 
 sleep. 
 
 Thirty-seven plays and many 
 minor poems, chiefly Sonnets. 
 His first ;period (159^-1596) 
 produced Midsummer Night's 
 Dream, Bomeo and Juliet, Bichard 
 m., and Venus and Adonis, with 
 other poems, comedies, and his- 
 torical plays ; his second period 
 
8o 
 
 RENAISSANCE PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
KEATAISSAATCE PERIOD. 
 
 8l 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 His characters are legion, but 
 all are distinct, and each is rep- 
 resentative, — typical, rooted in 
 humanity, contemporary in its 
 thoughts, feelings, and fancy 
 with the mind of every genera- 
 tion. He used his predecessors 
 like stone-quarries, borrowing 
 from them the plots of his 
 plays, often and extensively the 
 very terms. His mission was 
 to organize, enrich, and vivify 
 the materials that awaited him. 
 The dominant feature of his 
 style is fresh and effective word- 
 combination. Vital generaliza- 
 tion, inexhaustible fertility of 
 thought and sentiment, power 
 to search out and exhibit the 
 workings of the human heart, 
 are the secrets of his pre- 
 eminence. 
 
 Thomas Nash (1567-1600), a dram- 
 atist of no marked talent ; 
 chiefly memorable as a. wriler 
 of scurrilous and spirited prose 
 satire. 
 
 (1596-160T), the sonnets, The 
 Merchant of Venice, As Yon lake 
 it, etc.; his third period (\6o^ - 
 1608), Julius Ceesar, Hamlet, 
 OtheUo, Lear, Macbeth, and some 
 others ; his fourth period 
 (1 608-161 3), Tempest, Cymbe- 
 line, Winter's Tale, Henry VIII. 
 ' Frequently failing in fineness 
 of workmanship, having, but 
 far less than the other drama- 
 tists, the faults of the art of his 
 time, he was yet in all other 
 points — in creative power, in 
 impassioned conception and 
 execution, in plenteousness, in 
 the continuance of his roman- 
 tic feeling — the greatest artist 
 the modern world has known.' 
 
 Summer's Last Will and Testament, a 
 rather dull masque in which 
 the seasons are the prominent 
 figures. Anatomy of Absurdity 
 (1589), a general attack on con- 
 temporary literature and man- 
 ners. ' The attacks which Nash 
 directed against the Puritans 
 and his rivals were the first 
 English works which shook 
 utterly off the pedantry and ex- 
 travagance of euphuism.' 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 PURITAN PERIOD, 1625-1660. 
 
 Charles 1 1625-1649. 
 
 Parliament 1649-1653. 
 
 Oliver Cromwell .... 1653-1658. 
 
 a 
 a 
 
 Richard Cromwell . 16S8-1659. 
 
 Charles II 1660. 
 
84 
 
 PURITAN P-ERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 1. Reintroduction of Christian- 
 ity into Greece, 1626. 
 
 2. Death of the father of French 
 lyric poetry, Malherbe, 1628. 
 
 3. No Parliament from 1629- 
 1640. 
 
 4. Emigration of fifteen hundred 
 Puritans, in seventeen ships, 
 1630. 
 
 . First importation of calico 
 cloth into England, 1631. 
 
 1. European movement for free- 
 dom of religious thought. 
 
 2. Strife in religion between the 
 Established Church and the 
 Puritans, owing to the insuffi- 
 ciency of the Reformation to 
 satisfy the severer views of the 
 latter. 
 
 3. Conflict between the despot- 
 isms of the Stuart dynasty 
 and the Germanic principle of 
 liberty. 
 
 4. Religious coloring of the pol- 
 icy of the Great Rebellion. 
 
PURITAN PERIOD. 
 
 85 
 
 Writers. 
 
 George Chapman (1557-1634), poet 
 and dramatist, who aspired to 
 stand out among tlie mob of 
 swift and passionate writers 
 as a heaven-sent genius. His 
 most marlced peculiarities were 
 mastery of sensuous expression 
 and vehement enthusiasm. His 
 two great aims seem to have 
 been to exhibit the gullibility 
 of men and the general frailty 
 of women. 
 
 Sir Henry Wotton (i 568-1639), 
 wit, poet, and diplomatist. 
 Walton speaks of him as lover 
 of his neighbors, and as an 
 ' enemy to wrangling disputes 
 of religion.' Cowley charac- 
 terizes him as large-minded. 
 His definition of an ambassador 
 is famous, — ' an honest man 
 sent to lie abroad for the good 
 of his country.' 
 
 Writings. 
 
 Ovid's Banquet of Sense (1595), ac- 
 count (luxurious in circumstan- 
 tial description) of an adventure 
 that procured the gratification of 
 all the senses. All Fools' (1605), 
 a comedy, the chief feature of 
 which is the clever deception 
 practised by one personage up- 
 on another. Revenge for Honor 
 (1654), a tragedy, the best of his 
 dramatic performances in ful- 
 ness of life and proportion of 
 moral reflection. Translation of 
 Homer, first complete version 
 from the Greek ; having, where 
 most successful, the fire and 
 swiftness, but lacking the di- 
 rectness and dignity, of the 
 original, — ' more an Eliza- 
 bethan tale, about Achilles and 
 Ulysses.'- 'He has made for 
 us,' says Lowell, ' the best poem 
 that has yet been Englished 
 out of Homer.' 
 
 Beliquiae Wottonianae ; thoughts 
 on the state of Christendom, 
 education, letters, poems, and 
 other pieces, collected and pub- 
 lished by his friend Izaak 
 Walton in 165 1. His Farewell 
 to the Vanities of the World 
 breathes the isolation of the 
 hermit and the idealism of 
 the Platonist. The Character of 
 a Happy Life illustrates the 
 change from a romantic to a 
 philosophical taste. 
 
86 
 
 PURITAN PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 6. Galileo's System of the World 
 published at Florence, 1632. 
 
 7. Clocks and watches coming 
 into general use, 1634. 
 
 8. The ' ballot-box ' substituted 
 for a show of hands by the 
 electors of Massachusetts, 
 1634. 
 
 . Supremacy of austere Puri- 
 tanism ; its determined efforts 
 to destroy the evidences of roy- 
 alty, — art, poetry, and worldly 
 enjoyment. 
 
 6. Prevalence of belief in witch- 
 craft. (From three to four 
 thousand ' witches ' were exe- 
 cuted during the Long Parlia- 
 ment.) 
 
 7. Irreligion as well as heresy 
 punishable by the civil magis- 
 trates in New England. 
 
PURITAN PERIOD. 
 
 87 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Thomas Middletou (1570-1627), a 
 versatile writer of comedy 
 whose characters are mostly 
 
 vile. 
 
 John Donne (i 573-1631), Dean of 
 St. Paul's, a famous preacher 
 and a fashionable poet ; founder 
 of the so-called metaphysical 
 school ; noted as the first 
 writer of satire in rhyming 
 couplets. 
 
 Ben Jonson (i 574-1 637), brick- 
 layer, soldier, actor, poet-lau- 
 reate, theatrical and social 
 censor ; a man of intellect, rea- 
 son, polemical t.ilenls, and 
 determined painstaking, but 
 deficient in feeling and creative 
 imagination ; a robust, morose, 
 and domineering dramatist, 
 whose compositions, based on 
 classical models (adhering to 
 the unities of time, place and 
 action, and excluding tragic 
 elements from comedy), display 
 learning, method, fierce satire, 
 and laborious art, but are want- 
 ing in tenderness and delicacy, 
 movement and ideality. He 
 was not very popular, but 
 strongly affected contemporary 
 practice by sheer force of 
 genius. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 He wrote, in whole or in part, a 
 large number of plays, of which 
 The ramilie of Love and The 
 Witch have been singled out for 
 praise. 
 
 An Anatomy of the World (1625), a 
 poem on mortality. Biathanatos, 
 a treatise on suicide ; his most 
 reputable prose work. 
 
 Style : singularly harsh and 
 abrupt, abstract and subtle, 
 abounding in whimsical com- 
 parisons and far-fetched senti- 
 ments. 
 
 Volpone the Fox (1605), which il- 
 lustrates the ' humor ' of legacy- 
 hunting. A wily Venetian 
 nobleman, assisted by a confed- 
 erate, feigns to be dying in 
 order to extract gifts from rich 
 acquaintances, each of whom 
 is made to believe that he is 
 named as sole heir in the sick 
 man's will. The Silent Woman 
 (1609), the story of a rich old 
 citizen who has such a horror 
 of noise that his servants, for- 
 bidden to whisper, must reply 
 by signs. He married a sup- 
 posed silent woman, who turns 
 out to be a very shrew, — no 
 other, indeed, than tlie witty 
 but penniless nephew whom he 
 meant to disinherit by marriage. 
 The Alchemist (1610), in which 
 Sir Epicure Mammon is the 
 
88 
 
 PURITAN PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 9. Death of Thomas Parr, a 
 
 8. Subjection of secular and in- 
 
 Shropshire laborer, in London, 
 
 tellectual pursuits to religious 
 
 aged 153 years (1635). 
 
 interests. 
 
 
 9. Apparent decline of poetic 
 
 10. Ejectment of clergymen for 
 
 genius and vitality. 
 
 refusing to read the Book of 
 
 
 Sports to their congregations, 
 
 
 163s. 
 
 
 
 10. Substitution in poetry of in- 
 
 11. Harvard College founded. 
 
 tellect and fancy for enthu- 
 
 1636. Establishment by Par- 
 
 siasm and passion, of prettiness 
 
 liament of a republican form of 
 
 - for vigor, of studied refinements 
 
 government under the title of 
 
 and dark conceits for natural 
 
 ' The Commonwealth.' 
 
 ideas and feelings. 
 
PURITAN PERIOD. 
 
 89 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 Joseph Hall (1574-1656), Bishop 
 of Norwich ; a strong preacher 
 and a voluminous writer, dis- 
 tinguished for his efforts to 
 reconcile Dissenters with the 
 Established Church. 
 
 Thomas Dekker (1576-1641), active 
 dramatist and pamphleteer, 
 joint author with, and assist- 
 
 dupe of Subtle the Alchemist, 
 by whom he really is being 
 ruined while thinking himself on 
 the verge of attaining enormous 
 wealth. Rugged and massive, 
 Jonson is most generally pleas- 
 ing in the light and graceful 
 work to which he could turn, 
 — his occasional songs, his 
 masques, and his Sad Shepherd, 
 an unfinished pastoral drama 
 written in his last days. 
 
 Satires (1597-1598), too rouah and 
 harsh to have much poetical 
 value, though Pope thought 
 them worthy of approval. 
 Epistles (1608-1611), moral and 
 religious discussions in the 
 epistolary form. Meditations, 
 covering ostensibly a period of 
 three centuries, each century 
 containing a hundrj^l.^s'^anU^ 
 essays or papers. The book 
 shows the influence of Bacon's 
 example in jotting down de- 
 tached thoughts on a variety of 
 subjects. Mundus Alter et Idem 
 (1643), an ingenious book in 
 which the author attempts to 
 satirize the follies of humanity 
 by giving them a kind of con- 
 crete existence in an imaginary 
 country. 
 
 The Shoemaker's Holiday (1600), 
 The Wonder of a Kingdom (1636), 
 etc.; also among other prose 
 
go 
 
 PURJTAIsr PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 13, Royal proclamation forbid- 
 ding furtlier emigration of Non- 
 Conformists, 1637. 
 
 13. Long Parliament (1640-1653). 
 
 14. Act of Parliament forbidding 
 all dramatic representations, 
 1642., 
 
 15. Division of the Puritans into 
 two factions, — the Presbyte- 
 rians and the Independents 
 (of whom Cromwell was the 
 leader). 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 11. Cultivation of the lyric by 
 brilliant courtiers, who sing 
 lightly and musically the praises 
 of love, beauty, and feminine 
 charms (Suckling, Carew, Love- 
 lace, Herrick). 
 
 12. Interest in sacred poetry kin- 
 dled by Puritan and Episcopal 
 agitation (Wither, Quarles, 
 Herbert, Crashaw, Milton). 
 
 13. Increasing partisanship 
 the poets. 
 
 of 
 
PURITAN PERIOD. 
 
 91 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 ant of, other playwrights ; way- 
 ward, frequently penniless and 
 miserable, but good-natured 
 and lenient, in sympathy with 
 the virtues. 
 
 Jolin Fletcher (i 576-1625), a drama- 
 tist of fertile and unscrupulous 
 humor ; a master of grace and 
 pathos remarkable for luxuri- 
 ance of fancy and invention. 
 His young men are the ' bloods ' 
 of the Stuart court ; even the 
 best of his older and graver 
 ones are indecent ; while his 
 women, good and bad, are be- 
 yond nature. Before he was 
 cut off by the plague, he had 
 written or co-operated in writ- 
 ing about sixty plays. 
 
 works. The Gall's Horn-hook 
 (1609), a satirical guide to the 
 follies of London life. 
 ' If with Hamlet, we take the pur- 
 pose of playing to be " to show 
 virtue her own feature, scorn 
 her own image, and the very 
 age and body of the time his 
 form and pressure,'' Dekker 
 must receive a high place among 
 the dramatists. There is none 
 of them that has preserved so 
 many lifelike intimations of the 
 state of the various classes of 
 society in that age. His plots 
 are loosely constructed ; but 
 occasional scenes are wrought 
 out with the utmost vividness, 
 and the most complete and 
 subtle exhibition of character 
 and habits.' 
 
 The Woman-Hater, coneeived -and-_ 
 executed in the mock-heroic 
 vein. There are two comic 
 heroes in the play, — Gondo- 
 rino, an old porcupine, to whom 
 a mischief-loving young lady 
 makes violent love ; and Laza- 
 ril'.o, who lives to eat, to get 
 dainty food without paying for 
 it, doing reverence to bills of 
 fare as his Holy Scriptures. 
 The raithful Shepherdess, a pas- 
 toral play in praise of maiden 
 innocence; pure in design but 
 faulty in construction, being, as 
 Hallam says, 'a mixture of 
 
92 
 
 PURITAN PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 
 14. Rise of satirical poetry (Mars- 
 
 
 ton, Hall, Donne, Wither). 
 
 16. Civil War, 1642-1648. Sup- 
 
 
 porters of the king were called 
 
 
 Cavaliers ; those of the Parlia- 
 
 
 ment, Roundheads, — the for- 
 
 
 mer to be known later as Tories, 
 
 
 the latter as Whigs ; the watch- 
 
 15. Censorship of the stage. 
 
 word of the one being Order, 
 
 
 and of the other Progress. 
 
 
 
 16. Tendency of the drama to 
 
 
 represent human nature in ex- 
 
 
 aggerated and unnatural a.s- 
 
 
 pects, — to paint characters, not 
 
 
 as built up by their natural bent 
 
 
 and free play of circumstances. 
 
 17. Richelieu aims to annihilate 
 
 but as mastered by a special 
 
 the Huguenots and to humiliate 
 
 bias of the mind, or hwnor. 
 
 Austria. Hence his aid to 
 
 ' The manners now called hu- 
 
 Gustavus Adolphus in the 
 
 mors feed the stage,' says 
 
 Thirty Years' War. 
 
 Jonson. 
 
PURITAN PERIOD. 
 
 93 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Bobert Burton (1576-1640), an Ox- 
 ford student who held prefer- 
 ment in the Church, but lived 
 a quiet scholar's life, like a 
 monk in his cell ; grave, ec- 
 centric, and origin:il ; reading 
 innumerable books on all con- 
 ceivable subjects, ' with small 
 profit,' he says, ' for want of 
 art, order, memory, judgment.' 
 
 Philip Massinger (1584-1640), a 
 man of broad, open, assimila- 
 tive, and versatile mind, widely 
 sympathetic and amiable ; shar- 
 ing Fletcher's exaggerations ; 
 seldom very elevated or very 
 profound ; capable of express- 
 ing fine thoughts finely and of 
 arranging situations effectively ; 
 failing of unity of impression in 
 his plots, and lacking the turns 
 and vacillations of humanity in 
 his statelier characters ; coarse, 
 but the most moral of the sec- 
 ond-rate dramatists. ' Nowhere 
 is his work so great as when he 
 represents the brave man strug- 
 gling through trial to victory, 
 the pure woman suffering for 
 the sake of truth and love, or 
 when he describes the terrors 
 that conscience brings on injus- . 
 tice and cruelty.' 
 
 Writings. 
 
 tenderness, purity, 
 and absurdity.' 
 
 indecency. 
 
 To utilize his labors, he wrote 
 the Anatomy of Melancholy (1621), 
 a treatise on the different forms 
 of that malady, their causes, 
 symptoms, and remedies ; itera- 
 tive, diffuse, bristling with Latin 
 terminations, crammed with 
 quotations ; a store-house of 
 raw material which has been 
 constantly pillaged. 
 
 The Virgin Martyr (1622) is his 
 ■ first dated play. The martyr is 
 a Christian maiden of the age 
 of Diocletian ; Antonius, her 
 lover, is well-drawn, but the re- 
 maining characters have little 
 reality. The Duke of Milan ( 1 623 ) 
 is the best of his tragedies. A 
 New Way to Pay Old Debts (1633) 
 .still holds its place on the stage, 
 for the sake of its masterly 
 character, Sir Giles Overreach, 
 thegreedy crafty usurer. Eigh- 
 teen of Massinger's plays are 
 preserved. 
 
94 
 
 PURITAN PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 18. Death of Richelieu, 1642. 
 
 19. Memorable reign of Louis 
 XIV. of France, 1643-1710. 
 
 20. Discovery of the barometer, 
 and improvements in micro- 
 scopes and telescopes, by 
 Torricelli (1608-1647), who 
 succeeded Galileo as Professor 
 of Mathematics in the Academy 
 of Florence, 1643. 
 
 81. ' The united Colonies of New 
 England,' consisting of Massa- 
 chusetts, Plymouth, Connec- 
 ticut, and Newhaven ; the first 
 confederated government in 
 America, 1643. 
 
 C H ARACTERISTICS. 
 
 17. Splendor of the masque prior 
 to the Commonwealth. 
 
 18. Revival of the overwrought 
 style originating in the Euphues 
 and the Arcadia. 
 
 19. Unprecedented vigor and 
 amount of prose, — most of it 
 polemical and therefore ephem- 
 eral. 
 
 20. The parade of learning in 
 prose style ; learned terms, 
 learned allusions, and excessive 
 quotation. 
 
PURITAN PERIOD. 
 
 95 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 John Selden (i 584-1654), scholar, 
 lawyer, politician, writer on inis- 
 cellaneous subjects ; learned, 
 prudent, polite, affable, re- 
 spected alike by Royalist and 
 by Puritan. 
 
 John Marston ( — 1634), a rougli 
 and vigorous satirist and dra- 
 matic writer, with an extreme 
 passion for shameless plainness 
 of speech. One of his mottoes, 
 taken from Juvenal, was : ' It 
 is difficult not to write satire.' 
 His characters, though often 
 overdrawn and coarse, are sel- 
 dom dull. 
 
 Fhineas Fletcher (1584-1650), 
 clergyman, disciple of Spenser ; 
 of somewhat lively fancy and 
 defective taste. 
 
 Selden is chiefiy known by his 
 Table-Talk, readable and instruc- 
 tive memoranda of conversa- 
 tions, not published till i68g. 
 History of Kthes (161 8), which 
 offended the clergy by impli- 
 citly denying; their divine right 
 to such revenue. Titles of Honor 
 (1614), a history, derived from 
 all ages and countries, but ap- 
 plied especially to England. 
 
 The Scourge of Villainy (1598), a 
 collective name for several 
 books of snarling and scoffing 
 satires. The most noted of his 
 eight plays is The Malcontent 
 (1604), the plot of which hinges 
 on the return to court of a ban- 
 ished Duke of Genoa, who in 
 the disguise of a reputed crazy 
 cynic denounces and derides in 
 direct terms the vices of the 
 people. Marston was also part 
 author, with Jonson and Chap- 
 man, of the comedy of Eastward 
 Ho! (1605), which contained 
 such stinging sarcasms on the 
 Scotch that the trio were 
 brought to prison, and nearly 
 to the pillory. 
 
 The Purple Island (1633), a versified 
 lecture on the human frame. 
 The 'island' is the body of 
 man, whose arteries figure as 
 rivers and whose veins are the 
 smaller streams. Intellect is 
 
96 
 
 PURITAN PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 22. Treaty of Westphalia, by 
 
 
 which the Protestant States of 
 
 
 the German Empire gained 
 
 
 religious independence, 1648. 
 
 21. Outburst of theological elo- 
 
 
 quence. 
 
 23. Puritans succeed to the gov- 
 
 22. Awakening of scientific in- 
 
 ernment; actors characterized 
 
 quiry by the impulse of Bacon's 
 
 as rogues, and every theatre 
 
 boolts. 
 
 ordered to be destroyed, 1648. 
 
 
 
 33. Positive, materialistic tem- 
 
 
 per of philosophy as illustrated 
 
 
 by the teachings of Thomas 
 
 24. Execution of Charles I. in 
 
 Hobbes. 
 
 the courtyard of his own palace, 
 
 
 1649. 
 
 
 25. Infusion of new life into 
 
 34. Growing dissatisfaction, to- 
 
 French speculative research by 
 
 wards the close of the pericM, 
 
 Descartes (1596-1650). 
 
 with the military government 
 
 
 and the moralizing zeal of the 
 
 
 Puritans. 
 
PURITAN PERIOD. 
 
 97 
 
 Writers. 
 
 William Dnunmond (i 585-1 649), 
 an ardent Royalist, living in 
 peaceful seclusion ; the finest 
 Scottish poet of his day, — the 
 first of that nation to write in a 
 pure English dialect. 
 
 John Ford (i 586-1639), lawyer and 
 dramatist ; reserved, indepen- 
 dent, haughty ; failing, for want 
 of geniality, in comedy, where 
 he was indecent and dull ; 
 strong in the imagination of 
 crime and agony, excelling in 
 the depicture of the pathetic 
 and terribly tragic ; great in the 
 conception and language, not 
 of the familiar and universal, 
 but the exceptionally horrible ; 
 
 Writings. 
 
 king, whose eight counsellors 
 are the five senses. Common 
 Sense, Fancy, and Memor}'. 
 The Vices attack the Human 
 Fortress, and a fierce contest 
 ensues for the possession of 
 the soul, during which an an- 
 gel appears and promises vic- 
 tory to the Virtues. George 
 Macdonald aptly likens the 
 poem to ' a well-shaped house, 
 built of mud, and stuck full of 
 precious stones.' 
 
 The Flowers of Zion (1623), medita- 
 tive poems, among which are 
 sonnets in the spirit of Spen- 
 ser's Hymns of Heavenly Love 
 and Beauty. He wrote a large 
 number of lyrics on almost 
 every variety of subject, and 
 Hazlitt thinks ' his sonnets 
 come as near as almost any 
 others to the perfection of this 
 kind of writing.' 
 
 Nine plays by Ford have sur- 
 vived, of which it will suflSce to 
 mention three : The Lover's Mel- 
 ancholy (1629), remarkable for 
 its powerful delineation of un- 
 happy love ; The Broken Heart 
 (1633), a tragedy that heaps hor- 
 rors upon horrors ; and Perkin 
 Warbeck (1634), a stirring his- 
 torical drama. 
 
98 
 
 PURITAN PERIOD. 
 
 Events 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 26. Chocolate first exported to 
 Europe from Mexico, 1650. 
 
 27. Maine purchased by the State 
 of Massachusetts for five thou- 
 sand three hundred and thirty- 
 four dollars, 1652. 
 
 28. Works on alchemy to the 
 date of 1654 numbered more 
 than four thousand. 
 
 29. Invention of the air-pump, 
 1654. 
 
 30. First Quakers arrive in Amer- 
 ica and are sent back to Eng- 
 land, 1656. 
 
 25. Steady progress of the coun- 
 try in industries, commerce, the 
 arts and sciences. 
 
PURITAN PERIOD. 
 
 99 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 a high and steadily erect figure 
 ' in that gallery of monumental 
 men and mighty memories.' 
 
 JFranois Beaumont (1586-1616). 
 The materials for forming an 
 estimate of this author are scant 
 and imperfect. His work — 
 what little is recognized as his 
 — is marred by the grossness 
 of thought and expression then 
 prevalent even in the highest 
 circlesof English society. Tra- 
 dition gives him credit for grav- 
 ity and critical judgment, and 
 the opinion was current in the 
 reign of Charles I. that he was 
 chiefly occupied in correcting 
 the exuberance of his literary 
 partner, Fletcher, who was 
 averse to the labor of revision 
 and correction. 
 
 Thomas Heywood ( — about 1648), 
 one of the busiest and most 
 prolific of the wonderful group 
 of playwrights. His plots are 
 carefully but not vigorously 
 elaborated. 
 
 It is known that he wrote a few 
 poems, a paraphrase of one 
 of Ovid's tales (1603), and a 
 masque on the marriage of the 
 Princess Elizabeth (1613). Of 
 the partnership plays the best 
 are The Maid's Tragedy (1609), 
 Philaster (1610), and the Knight 
 of the Burning Festle. 
 
 According to his own account, he 
 had, ' either an entire hand, or 
 at the least a main finger,' in 
 two hundred and twenty plays. 
 The most famous is A Woman 
 Killed with Kindness (161 7), in 
 which an unfaithful wife, over- 
 come by the inexhaustible good- 
 ness of her forgiving husband, 
 drops and expires in the rush 
 of contending emotions. The 
 best of his other writings are 
 An Apology for Actors and General 
 History of Woman. 
 
lOO 
 
 PURITAN PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 31. Provincial letters of the 
 French philosopher, Pascal, 
 1656. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 32. First pocket-watches made in 
 England, 1658. 
 
 33. Death of Cromwell, 1658. 
 
 34. Development of the French 
 national drama by Corneille 
 (1606-1684), who united the 
 romantic spirit of the Spanish 
 with the classical taste of the 
 Italian, 
 
PURITAN PERIOD. 
 
 lOI 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 Jolrn Webster ( — about 1654)^ a 
 gloomy and powerful genius, 
 with touches of profound senti- 
 ment and deepest pathos ; 
 bodying forth from the dark 
 abyss of his imagination crea- 
 tions of ghastly horror, re- 
 deemed from sensationalism by 
 the penetrating grasp of char- 
 acter that gives to the vices 
 and crimes which he delights 
 to paint an appearance of ter- 
 rible reality. The action is 
 vigorous ; and the characters, 
 sharply drawn, approach nearer 
 to the many-sidedness of nature 
 than those of any dramatist be- 
 fore or since Shakespeare. 
 
 Giles Pletcher (l 588-1623), clergy- 
 man, brother of Phineas 
 Fletcher, and cousin to the 
 dramatist ; in good repute for 
 poetry of a quiet but pure and 
 elevating character. 
 
 Thomas Hobbes (i 588-1679), schol- 
 ar, philosopher, and man of 
 science ; independent, hard- 
 working, long-lived, and per- 
 
 The White Devil (1612), a history 
 of moral putrefaction, the scene 
 of which is laid in Italy. ' Thou 
 hast led me,' says Brachiano, 
 to the heroine of baleful in- 
 fluence, ' like a heathen sacrifice, 
 with music and witty fatal yokes 
 of flowers, to my eternal ruin.' 
 
 The Duchess of Malfi (1623), the 
 plot of which turns upon the 
 virtuous affection conceived by 
 the Duchess for her steward, •— 
 an attachment that offends fam- 
 ily pride, and so involves the 
 lovers in common ruin. The 
 key-note is the reiining mission 
 of suffering. The Devil's Law 
 Case (1623), in which the char- 
 acters bring on themselves a 
 coil of trouble by combining 
 to deceive one another. 
 
 All of Webster's works abound 
 in lines and passages of pecu- 
 liar beauty. 
 
 Christ's Victory and Triumph (1610), 
 a sacred poem in an eight-lined 
 stanza suggested by Spenser's ; 
 contains passages of true lyri- 
 cal beauty, and some of imagi- 
 native power ; said to have 
 furnished Milton with hints for 
 his Paradise Regained. 
 
 Leviathan (1651). 'A covenant 
 between man and man origi- 
 nally created that great levia- 
 than called the commonwealth. 
 
I02 
 
 PURITAN PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 C HARACTERISTICS. 
 
 35. La Fontaine 
 (1621-1695). 
 
 the fabulist 
 
 36. Resignation of Richard Crom- 
 well and dissolution of the Pro- 
 tectorate, 1659. 
 
PURITAN PERIOD. 
 
 103 
 
 Writers. 
 
 sistent ; an upholder of absolute 
 monarchy, not upon the theory 
 of divine right, but upon the 
 incapacity of the masses for 
 self-government. . He taught 
 that self-interest and fear were 
 the chief of human motives. 
 His political system is ' fitted,' 
 says Hume, ' only to promote 
 tyranny, as his ethics only to 
 encourage licentiousness.' 
 
 George Wither (1588-1667), a Puri- 
 tan poet, who with hasty and 
 irregular pen, succeeded in pro- 
 ducing some beautiful songs, 
 and some religious poetry not 
 altogether free from quaint- 
 nesses and ' conceits.' 
 
 Thomas Carew (1589-1639), a bril- 
 liant courtier poet, who led a life 
 of thoughtless gayety and li- 
 cense. ' Among the poets who,' 
 says Campbell, ' have walked in 
 
 Writings. 
 
 or state, which is but an artifi- 
 cial man, though of greater 
 stature and strength than the 
 natural, for whose protection it 
 was intended.' Hobbes — the 
 first to deal with the science of 
 government from the side of 
 reason — teaches (i) that the 
 origin of power is in the people, 
 and (2) that the end of power 
 is the common weal. At the 
 age of eiglity he wrote Behemoth, 
 — a history of the civil war. 
 In his eighty-seventh year he 
 gublished a vigorous if not ele- 
 gant metrical version of Homer's 
 Odyssey, and in the year follow- 
 ing one of the Hiad. 
 
 Abuses Stript and Whipt (1613), 
 satires, inharmonious of metre 
 and rude of diction, but sufii- 
 ciently successful to secure the 
 author's imprisonment. Faire- 
 Virtue (1622), in which Virtue 
 ■ is described as a perfect woman, 
 mistress of Philareti, — lover of 
 Virtue. The poem is musical 
 with interspersed songs, includ- 
 ing the famous couplet, — 
 ' Shall I, wasting in despair, 
 Die because a woman 's fair i ' 
 
 Carew's poems are mostly of the 
 conventional amatory kind, — 
 brief, graceful, gallant ; none of 
 them very highly meretorious, 
 none wholly bad. They are not 
 
I04 
 
 PURITAN PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
PURITAN PERIOD. 
 
 105 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 the same limited path, he is 
 pre-eminently beautiful, and 
 deservedly ranks among the 
 earliest of those who gave a 
 cultivated grace to our lyrical 
 strains.' 
 
 Bobert Herriek (i 591-1674), poet 
 and divine, of amatory and 
 bacchanalian disposition. His 
 verse is of many moods, — 
 some of it reflecting the license 
 of the times, others including 
 deeply religious strains, and 
 much of it excelling in rhyth- 
 mic sweetness. ' His muse was 
 a goddess fair and free.' 
 
 Francis Quarles(i 592-1644), a Roy- 
 alist, with a tinge of the Puri- 
 tan melancholy; a man of 
 learning and ability, who wrote 
 poetry of admirable morality, 
 but of such bad taste that it 
 has fallen into general neglect. 
 
 George Herbert (i 593-1633), clergy- 
 man, younger brother of Lord 
 Herbert; cheerful and kind, 
 
 without similitudes and con- 
 ceits, but are less extravagant 
 than those of Donne. He that 
 Loves a Bosy Cheek and Give me 
 more Love or more Disdain are 
 good specimens. 
 
 Hesperldes (1648), a collection of 
 sacred songs, love-lyrics, epi- 
 grams, and scraps ; deriving 
 their collective name from the 
 fact that they were written in 
 the west of England {hesperis, 
 ' western '). He also published 
 a volume of devotional pieces 
 under the title of Noble Numbers. 
 Some of his effusions — as 
 Charry Eipe, To Blossoms, To 
 Daffodils, and Gather the Bose- 
 buds while ye may — are often 
 quoted. 
 
 The most important of his works, 
 which form an extravagant 
 specimen of the ' metaphysical ' 
 school, are A Feast for Worms 
 (1620), Job Militant (1624), Em- 
 blems Divine and Moral (1632). 
 The last, appealing to the 
 wide-spread taste for emblem 
 pictures, with ingenious inter- 
 pretation of them, was the most 
 popular, and is still occasionally 
 read. 
 
 The Temple (1631), a collection of 
 sacred poems. Priest to the 
 Temple, first printed in 1652. 
 
100 
 
 PURITAN PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics 
 
PURITAN PERIOD. 
 
 107 
 
 Writers. 
 
 pure and charitable, scholarly 
 and active. 
 
 Izaak Walton (1593-1683), a man 
 of meditative mind and quiet, 
 genial disposition, who, having 
 acquired a competence in mer- 
 cantile pursuits, lived in retire- 
 ment, piously enamoured of 
 fresh pastoral scenery, and de- 
 voted to angling and reading. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 His poetry is not without the 
 forced ingenuity of the time ; 
 but ' no writer before him,' says 
 Macdonald, ' has shown such 
 a love to God, such a child-like 
 confidence in him. The divine 
 mind of George Herbert was, 
 in the main, bent upon discov- 
 ering God everywhere. His 
 use of homehest imagery for 
 the highest thought is in itself 
 enough to class him with the 
 highest kind of poets. He has 
 an exquisite feeling of lyrical 
 art ; not only does he keep to 
 one idea in it, but he finishes 
 the poem hke a cameo.' 
 
 The Complete Angler (1653-1655), 
 in dialogue form. Three 
 speakers, Piscator, Venator, 
 and Anceps — Fisher, Hunter, 
 and Bird-Catcher — meet by 
 chance on Tottenham Hill one 
 pleasant May morning, and 
 agree ' each to commend his 
 favorite recreation.' The elo- 
 quence of Piscator prevails, and 
 the huntsman becomes the dis- 
 ciple of the fisherman. The 
 remainder of the book is taken 
 up with a great variety of 
 themes, technical, moral, reli- 
 gious. The book ' seems by 
 the title,' says Hallam, 'a 
 strange choice out of all the 
 books of half a century ; yet its 
 simpHcity, its sweetness, its 
 natural grace, and happy inter- 
 
io8 
 
 PURITAN PERIOD. 
 
 EvEiNTS. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
PURITAN PERIOD. 
 
 109 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 James Shirley (1594-1666), divine, 
 teacher, dramatist ; of less fire, 
 force, and originality than the 
 rest, but purer in thought and 
 expression, though his incidents 
 are not seldom coarse, and his 
 dialogue licentious. 
 
 William Chillingwortli ( 1 602-1 644), 
 a learned divine of the Church 
 of England ; a clear, close rea- 
 soner, and a man of excellent 
 temper in controversy, calm, 
 confident, and fearless. 
 
 mixture of graver strains with 
 the precepts of angling, have 
 rendered it deservedly popular, 
 and a model which one of the 
 most famous among our late 
 philosophers, and a successful 
 disciple of Izaalc Walton in his 
 favorite art (Sir Humphry 
 Davy), has condescended (in 
 his Salmonia) to imitate.' 
 
 Of his plays, which are numerous. 
 The Traitor (1635), a tragedy, 
 and The Lady of Pleasure (1635), 
 a comedy, may be considered 
 his best. Lamb says of him 
 that ' he was the last of a great 
 race, all of whom spoke nearly 
 the same language, and had a 
 set of moral feelings and notions 
 in common. A new language, 
 and quite a new turn of tragic 
 and comic interest, came in with 
 the Restoration.' 
 
 His chief work is The Beligion of 
 Protestants a Safe Way to Salva- 
 tion (1637). It breathes a bold 
 and liberal spirit. ' I will,' he 
 says, 'love no man the less for 
 differing in opinion from me. 
 ... I am fully assured that 
 God does not, and therefore 
 that men ought not, to require 
 of any man any more than this, 
 to believe the Scripture to be 
 God's Word, to endeavor to 
 find the true sense of it and to 
 live according to it.' 
 
no 
 
 PURITAN PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
PURITAN PERIOD. 
 
 Ill 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 Sir Thomas Browne (1605-1682), 
 contemplative, essentially de- 
 vout, with a passion for the 
 abstruse, supernatural, and im- 
 aginary ; a physician, who, in- 
 stead of being tempted to 
 materialism by the study of 
 physical phenomena and physi- 
 cal laws, regarded Nature as 
 ' the art of God,' and thought 
 that there were not impossibili- 
 ties enough in religion for an 
 active faith. 
 
 Sir William Savenant (1605-1668), 
 successor to Jonson as poet- 
 laureate, theatrical manager ; a 
 disciple of Hobbes, and a ne- 
 cessitarian. He had much more 
 fame when he wrote than he 
 has preserved. 
 
 Esligio Medici ( 1 643) , — ' Th e Reli- 
 gion of a Physician ; ' curiously 
 learned, philosophical and gen- 
 ial, tranquilly elaborated and 
 rhythmical. ' It is one of the 
 most beautiful prose poems in 
 the language ; its power of dic- 
 tion, its subtlety and largeness 
 of thought, its exquisite con- 
 ceits and images, have no par- 
 allel out of the writers of that 
 brilliant age when Poetry and 
 Prose had not yet divided their 
 domain.' Hydriotaphia (1658), 
 Urn Burial ; a discourse on the 
 funeral rites of the olden times. 
 Few passages in the language 
 equal the high and solemn elo- 
 quence of the concluding por- 
 tion on the brevity of life and 
 the transitoriness of fame. 
 
 He wrote as many as twenty-five 
 plays and some non-dramatic 
 poems. Gcndibert (1651), an 
 unfinished heroic of six thou- 
 sand verses, in four-line stanzas 
 of alternate rhymes, is his best- 
 known production. The scene 
 is laid in Italy, and the princi- 
 pal action is the courtship of a 
 Tuscan princess, in rivalry for 
 whose love her most powerful 
 suitors engage in internecine 
 strife. The poem shows con- 
 siderable intellectual power, and 
 contains passages of real beauty, 
 
112 
 
 PURITAN PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
I'URITAN PERIOD. 
 
 113 
 
 V/ritees. 
 
 Edmund Waller (1605-1687), bril- 
 liant courtier, inconstant politi- 
 cian, entertaining speaker in 
 Parliament, writer of smooth, 
 elegant, and polished verse ; 
 wanting true inborn dignity for 
 the heroic style, but imperisha- 
 ble in the lyric. 
 
 Thomas Fuller (i 608-1 661), a 
 clergyman of great wit and 
 originality, confident good spir- 
 its and astonishing memory ; of 
 active benevolence and cease- 
 less industry, ever using his 
 voice and pen in the cause of 
 truth. 
 
 John Milton (1608-1674), poet and 
 statesman, consistent champion 
 
 Writings. 
 
 but is without strong passion or 
 narrative interest. 
 
 His really good poems are the 
 language of graceful, airy com- 
 pliment, with here and there a 
 memorable pensive strain, and 
 some noble lines on the myste- 
 ries of death and personal ac- 
 countability. Go, Lovely Bose, 
 To Ghloris, the lines on a lady's 
 girdle, and those on the dwarfs, 
 are full of verbal sweetness and 
 exquisite play of fancy. 
 
 He is chiefly remembered for 
 two works, — Church History of 
 Britain (l6j6), good-humored 
 and witty, but well-studied ; 
 and the Worthies of England 
 (posthumous, 1662), containing 
 sketches of about eighteen hun- 
 dred persons, — among them 
 Chaucer, Spenser, Shakespeare. 
 The pleasant narratives are in- 
 woven with a vast amount of 
 gossip and reflection on every 
 conceivable subject. 
 
 Fuller is a master of the short, 
 pointed, and methodical style, 
 thickly interspersed with telling 
 figures drawn from his own ob- 
 servations of common life. His 
 simplicity has but one draw- 
 back, — pedantry. 
 
 L'Allegro (The Cheerful Man) 
 and II Penseroso (The Medita- 
 
114 
 
 PURITAN PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
PURITAN PERIOD. 
 
 IIS 
 
 WRrTERS. 
 
 of Republicanism and Puritan- 
 ism ; a man of majestic genius 
 and extensive acquirements ; 
 versed in history, in music, in 
 song, in the languages of 
 Europe ; religious, but inde- 
 pendent ; reserved, self-con- 
 tained, stern ; without dramatic 
 faculty or humor, not so natural 
 nor so intense as the Shake- 
 spearians, but purer, more pol- 
 ished, more sublimely dignified, 
 not sufficiently flexible and 
 sportive, living in times too 
 solemn and eventful for the 
 lighter forms of poetry ; conse- 
 crating himself rather to the 
 .praise of piety, duty, and heroic 
 force. 
 
 Wkitings. 
 
 live Man), written in 1633, — 
 two companion poems descrip- 
 tive of the aspects which the 
 world, with its scenery, various 
 occupations and amusements, 
 presents, (i) to a light-hearted 
 and vivacious spirit, (2) to an 
 habitually grave and serious 
 spirit ; the one joyous without 
 frivolity, the other thoughtful 
 without gloom ; both evenly 
 sustained, delicate in fancy, 
 rich in imagery, and perfect in 
 metrical art. Comns (1634), a 
 masque performed at Ludlow 
 Castle before the Earl of 
 Bridgewater, whose daughter 
 and two sons had lost their way 
 in the woods. The sister, acci- 
 dentally separated from her 
 brothers, is met by the enchanter 
 Comus, who stands for disor- 
 derly animal pleasure. She re- 
 sists him and is rescued; but 
 his spells have bound her to a 
 magic chair, from which she 
 can be released only by the 
 nymph of the Severn. The 
 poem, musical and stately, re- 
 plete with sweetest songs and 
 noblest sentiments, represents 
 the victory of virtue over sense 
 and appetite. lycidas (1637), 
 an elegy, in the form of a pas- 
 toral, celebrating the death of 
 a beloved friend. 'The mono- 
 tone of a deep sorrow is re- 
 placed by the linked musings 
 
ii6 
 
 PURITAN PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
PURITAN PERIOD. 
 
 117 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 of a mind which, once set in 
 motion by grief, pours forth 
 abundantly the treasures of 
 thought and imagination stored 
 up within it.' Paradise Lost (1658- 
 1665), a twelve-book poem on 
 the Biblical story of Satan's 
 struggle against God, the revolt 
 of Hell against Heaven, the 
 temptation and fall of the first 
 man, with a vision of the ulti- 
 mate triumph of the Redeemer. 
 Its declared purpose is to justify 
 the ways of God the Creator to 
 his creatures. The whole epic, 
 which of course is not without 
 faults, is conceived and exe- 
 cuted on a scale of unparalleled 
 nobleness and grandeur. Its 
 first three books are the best. 
 Samson Agonistes (Samson in 
 Struggle) (1671), a tragedy, 
 with choruses, after the Greek 
 model ; a dramatic paraphrase 
 of the sixteenth chapter of 
 Judges ; partly autobiographi- 
 cal, partly allegorical ; in tlie 
 former view, suggestive of Mil- 
 ton, blind, old, and fallen on 
 evil days, but mighty ; in the 
 latter, of the Royalists, who are 
 overthrown, and the Puritan 
 cause, which dies hopeful of 
 final triumph. Of Milton's 
 many prose works, the ablest 
 is Areopagitica (1644), a plea 
 for the freedom of the press, 
 directed against the Presbyte- 
 
ii8 
 
 PURITAN PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
PURITAN PERIOD. 
 
 119 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 Lord Clarendon (1608- 1 674), the 
 great historian of the period, a 
 penetrating observer, a saga- 
 cious statesman ; austere, dicta- 
 torial, unyielding, high-princi- 
 pled. 
 
 Sir John Suckling (1609-1641), a 
 richly dressed gallant, light 
 
 rians, who on succeeding to 
 power exercised a severe cen- 
 sorship of books ; eloquent, 
 copious, and comprehensive, 
 full of weighty thoughts since 
 adopted by the reason of the 
 civilized world. 
 Style : in poetry, musical and 
 fresh ; harmonious, involved 
 and organ-like ; rugged and 
 harsh ; cold and severe ; with 
 perhaps too much fondness, 
 now and then, for Latinisms, 
 and sometimes grammatically 
 faulty ; in prose, luxuriant and 
 weighty, but too stiffly Latin- 
 ized, too fantastic for modern 
 purposes, as well as too ornate, 
 too loose, and too vituperative. 
 ' The application is lost in the 
 gorgeous splendour of words 
 and imagery.' 
 
 History of the Bebellion (posthu- 
 mous, 1702); unequally written, 
 — here picturesque, glowing, 
 and terse, there dry, prolix, en- 
 tangled ; not in all things a 
 faithful picture, for the author, 
 though magnanimous and vir- 
 tuous, was a keen partisan on 
 the Royalist side ; but on the 
 whole, one of the epoch-making 
 books, generally esteemed for 
 its freshness and lively descrip- 
 tions of character. 
 
 In the quieter hours of his brief 
 but feverish life he produced 
 
I20 
 
 PURITAN PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
PURITAN PERIOD. 
 
 121 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 dramatist, light lyrist. ' Natu- 
 ral and easy Suckling' became 
 the type of literary elegance to 
 'the Lady Froths of Fashion.' 
 
 Jeremy Taylor (1613-1667), an 
 Anglican divine, the greatest 
 preacher of the seventeenth 
 century, the Spenser of English 
 prose; a man who to natural 
 grace, freshness, and activity 
 of mind added a wide-ranging 
 culture, true fervor of devotion, 
 and a pure spirit of Christian 
 charity ; liberal, warm-hearted, 
 fond of children, delightfully 
 open to the beauties and grand- 
 eurs of the outer world ; dis- 
 tinguished for opulence and 
 rapidity as a writer rather than 
 for accuracy and taste. 
 
 Sir John Denham (1615-1668), a 
 Royalist who gambled away, 
 with dissolute Cavaliers, the 
 
 some lyrics — as. Constancy, Bal- 
 lad on a 'Wedding, Tell me, ye 
 Jnster Deities — which are among 
 the gems of song. 
 
 Liberty of Prophesying (1647), the 
 ' first famous plea for tolerance 
 in religion, on a comprehensive 
 basis and on deep-seated foun- 
 dations.' It does not recom- 
 mend absolute freedom, but 
 urges that the State should tol- 
 erate all sects that receive the 
 Apostles' Creed as their com- 
 mon standard of faith. Several 
 years later appeared Holy Living 
 and Holy Dying, admirable for 
 fulness of thought, accumula- 
 tion of instances, wealth of 
 imagery, and justness of moral 
 perception ; ' a choral song in 
 praise of virtue, and a hymn to 
 the Spirit of the Universe.' 
 
 Style : disfigured by strange and 
 barbarous terms, heavy with 
 Latin and Greek scraps, care- 
 less and irregular in the struct- 
 ure of sentences, but not stiff, 
 nor periodic, nor involved ; 
 rhythmical, copious, richly em- 
 bellished with expressive meta- 
 phors and elaborate similes ; 
 strong, less from severity than 
 from speed and profusion. 
 
 Cooper's Hill (1643), a contempla- 
 tive poem on the view over the 
 Thames and toward London 
 
122 
 
 PURITAN PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
PURITAN PERIOD. 
 
 123 
 
 Writers. 
 
 fortune left him by his father, 
 but checked himself and began 
 to translate and write. Dr. 
 Johnson says : ' Denham and 
 Waller, according to Prior, im- 
 proved our versification, and 
 Dryden perfected it.' 
 
 Sir Bichard Lovelace (1618-1658), a 
 handsome Cavalier poet who 
 wrote ' much to charm the 
 reader, and still more to cap- 
 ture the fair.' 
 
 Abraham Cowley (161 8- 1667), a 
 poet who, conforming to the 
 favorite fashion, indulged in 
 wit-writing, in straining after 
 effect, and wrote galvanized 
 poetry of the extravagant or 
 professional type ; an essayist 
 whose work marks a distinct 
 advance in the art of prose 
 composition ; of quick and ap- 
 prehensive understanding, but 
 of languid disposition and fee- 
 ble character, great in design, 
 but imperfect in performance ; 
 uniting to brilliant talents an 
 acquaintance with the classics, 
 technical skill, personal charms 
 of an unusual order, and excep- 
 tional purity in a licentious 
 time. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 from an eminence near Windsor 
 Castle ; our first purely descrip- 
 tive poem of real merit. 
 
 His collected poems were pub- 
 lished in 1649. Some of these 
 are very pretty, and may be 
 found in most collections, nota- 
 bly To Althea, from Prison, which 
 contains the stanza begin- 
 ning, — 
 
 * Stone walls do not a prison make, 
 Nor iron bars a cage.' 
 
 The Mistress (1647), the author's 
 love cycle, ' a pocket compen- 
 dium of the science of being 
 ingenious in affairs of the heart.' 
 Pindaric Odes (i6j6), inflated 
 lyrics and occasional pieces in 
 unequal lines and broken stan- 
 zas, — a form that took firm 
 hold of our poetry until about 
 the middle of the next century. 
 ' The severity of Cowley's writ- 
 ings, their intellectual quality, 
 their cold elevation, and dry in- 
 telligence were as charming as 
 they were novel. But the 
 charm was not to last. A far 
 greater man, Dryden, with as- 
 similative genius of the most 
 marvellous kind, was to tarnish 
 the glory of Cowley by sheer 
 
124 
 
 PURITAN PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
PURITAN PERIOD. 
 
 125 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 George Fox (i 624-1 690), cobbler, 
 or shoe-mender, religious en- 
 thusiast, founder of the Society 
 of Friends, originator of lead- 
 ing ideas and usages of the 
 Quakers ; ' a grave, sober, reflec- 
 tive man, with no outgoings of 
 volatile imagination, buoyant 
 egotism, or healthy energy in 
 any shape ; as passive, unex- 
 cited, vacuous, as Bunyan was 
 active, excitable, teeming with 
 creative energy, — not pouring 
 out force, but letting the world 
 flow in upon him, judging and 
 measuring the traditions and 
 opinions floating about him, and 
 striving in a calm way to reduce 
 the bewildering mass to consis- 
 tent clearness.' 
 
 superiority of imitation.' Es- 
 says. — ' No author,' says John- 
 son, ' ever kept his verse and 
 his prose at a greater distance 
 from each other. His thoughts 
 are natural, and his style has a 
 smooth and placid equability, 
 which has never yet obtained its 
 due commendation. Nothing 
 is far sought or hard-labored; 
 but all is easy without feeble- 
 ness, and familiar without gross- 
 ness.' 
 
 Journal, an account of his life, 
 travels, sufferings, etc. ' It is,' 
 says Mackintosh, ' one of the 
 most extraordinary and instruc- 
 tive narratives in the world, 
 which no reader of competent 
 judgment can peruse without 
 revering the virtue of the 
 writer.' 
 
■ CHAPTER VII. 
 
 RESTORATION AND REVOLUTION, 1660-1710. 
 
 1625. Charles I. 
 
 \ 
 
 1 I I 
 
 1660. Charles II. 1685. James II. Mary 
 
 (married William II., 
 
 Prince of Orange) . 
 
 1689. 1702. 1689. 
 
 Mary II. Anne. James William III. 
 (married William III.). (The Pretender). 
 
128 
 
 RESTORATION AND REVOLUTION. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 1. Return of the indolent and 
 voluptuous Charles II. from 
 exile, 1660. 
 
 2. Reopening of the theatres. 
 
 3. Appearance ofthe first English 
 actress, 1661. 
 
 4. Introduction of stage scenery 
 and decorations, 1661. 
 
 5. Epithets of 'Whig 'and 'Tory' 
 substituted for ' Roundhead ' 
 and ' Cavalier.' 
 
 6. First standing army, 1661. 
 
 7. Royal society founded for the 
 advancement of science, 1662. 
 
 1. Conflict and constitutional re- 
 form. 
 
 S. Incredulity and scepticism. 
 
 3. Declining influence of eccle- 
 siastics in the conduct of civil 
 affairs. 
 
 4. Growing dissent in religion, 
 and multiplication of religious 
 sects, — at once the symptoms 
 and the agents of progress. 
 
RESTORATION AND REVOLUTION. 
 
 129 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Samuel Butler (1612-1680), son of 
 a farmer, knocked about from 
 one employment to another, 
 suffering deeply from the pangs 
 of hope deferred, and dying 
 obscurely. 
 
 Richard Baxter (1615-1691), most 
 eminent of the Non-Conformist 
 divines ; author of one hundred 
 and sixty-eight books. 'Weak- 
 ness and pain helped me to 
 study how to die ; that set me 
 on studying how to live.' 
 
 Ealph Cudworth (1617-1688), a lati- 
 tudinarian divine, Professor of 
 Hebrew in Cambridge Univer- 
 sity ; a shy, retiring man ; a 
 candid disputant ; an industri- 
 ous and profound scholar. 
 
 Andrew Marvell (1620-1678), Latin 
 secretary to Milton, his friend ; 
 
 Writings. 
 
 Hudibras (1663), a mock-heroic 
 poem of more than eleven thou- 
 sand tetrameter lines, intended 
 to satirize Puritans and Puri- 
 tanism ; famed for its wit, learn- 
 ing, sense, and drollery, yet 
 often trivial, coarse, and exag- 
 gerated. It may also be re- 
 garded as a burlesque on ro- 
 mances, the influence of Don 
 Quixote being apparent. 
 
 The Saints' Everlasting Best (1649), 
 'a volume of pious thoughts 
 that have a peculiar interest 
 when we view them as the as- 
 pirations of an infirm man turn- 
 ing wearily from the distrac- 
 tions of a time so utterly out of 
 joint.' A Call to the TIncoaverted 
 (1657), next to the preceding 
 in popularity. 'Concerning 
 almost all my writings, \ must 
 confess that my own judgment 
 is, that fewer, well-studied and 
 polished, had been better.' 
 
 Intellectual System of the TTniyerse 
 (1678), having for its general 
 purpose to prove, against 
 Hobbes and the atheists, the 
 existence and the goodness of 
 God. Eternal and Immutable 
 Morality, Both works are great 
 storehouses of speculative learn- 
 ing and wisdom. 
 
 Poems, miscellaneous, some of 
 which are marked by elegance. 
 
I30 
 
 RESTORATION AND REVOLUTION. 
 
 Events. 
 
 C HARACTERISTICS. 
 
 8. First newspaper in England, 
 1663. Appearance of London 
 Gazette, 1665, — a bi-weekly, 
 equivalent to about one column 
 of a modern large daily. 
 
 9. The first saw-mill in England, 
 erected by a Dutchman near 
 London, but abandoned through 
 fear of the populace, 1663. 
 
 10. Leibnitz, founder of the eclec- 
 tic system of German philoso- 
 phy, begins his literary career, 
 1664. 
 
 11. Plague of London, 1665 ; 
 fatal to ninety thousand peoijle. 
 
 5. Lawlessness and savagery ; 
 gibbets and gallows so numer- 
 ous as to be referred to in the 
 guide-books of the period as 
 road-marks. 
 
 6. The turning of men's thoughts 
 to material progress. 
 
 . Uni versali ly of cof fee-houses (th e 
 literary clubs of the day), their 
 popularity arising not from the 
 pleasure the beverage afforded 
 (which had come, into use at the 
 close of the Civil War), but 
 from the chat over the cups. 
 
RESTORATION AND REVOLUTION. 
 
 131 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 M. P. after the Restoration ; a 
 formidable political satirist, in 
 prose and verse, on the Whig- 
 Puritan side. ' The heart of 
 the poet was in everything he 
 did and there was not a purer 
 or a firmer one in the world.' 
 
 John Evelyn (1620-1706), a sweet- 
 spirited, patriotic, and scholarly 
 gentleman ; seeking in every 
 object its beauty and goodness; 
 more accomplished than Pepys, 
 but a less entertaining gossip. 
 An eye-witness of the Great 
 Fire. 
 
 John Btmyan (1628-1688), a man 
 of the people, a tinker, a travel- 
 ling preacher, poor in ideas but 
 rich in images ; ignorant, yet 
 impassioned and inspired by his 
 fervent belief in the spiritual 
 world, his active imagination 
 being besieged and absorbed by 
 the terrors of eternal fire and 
 the hope of salvation. 
 
 point, and pathos. The sat- 
 ires are very bitter, directed 
 principally against the Dutch, 
 the Scotch, and the Stuarts. 
 ' Sometimes, indeed, his little 
 plots of Parnassus are laid out 
 rather too much in the style of 
 old English gardening, square 
 and formal ; but they never fail 
 in possessing something good.' 
 
 Diary, covering with considerable 
 detail a period of more than 
 fifty years ; less graphic, less 
 explicit, than the similar work 
 of Pepys, but a perfect granary 
 of various kinds of knowledge, 
 and of much use in giving color 
 to history. 
 
 Pilgrim's Progress (1678), the jour- 
 ney of Christian, the Pilgrim, 
 from the City of Destruction to 
 the Celestial City; a record of 
 the soul's warfare in its stages 
 from conversion to glory ; the 
 most popular of English alle- 
 gories; simple, homely, earnest, 
 and vernacular ; belonging to 
 the spirit of the Elizabethan 
 times in its naturalness and 
 imaginative heat. Grace abonnd- 
 ing to the Chief of Sinners, mi- 
 nutely and vividly relating the 
 incidents of his early life and 
 conversion. Holy War, an ac- 
 count of the fall and redemption 
 of mankind under the figure of 
 
132 
 
 RESTORATION AND REVOLUTION. 
 
 Events. 
 
 C HAKACTERISTICS. 
 
 12. Great Fire, destroying two 
 thirds of London in four days, 
 1 665. 
 
 13. Lanterns hung before one 
 house in ten from six o'clock 
 till twelve for street-lighting. 
 
 14. Persecution of Non-Conform- 
 ists ; trial of William Penn. 
 
 15. Streets of Paris regularly 
 lighted for the first time, 1667. 
 
 16. Rediscovery of the Missis- 
 sippi by Father. ",§larquette, 
 1673. 
 
 17. Passage of the Test Act, 
 chiefly against Catholics, 1673. 
 
 8. Advancement in the sciences, 
 — astronomy, chemistry, medi- 
 cine, physiology. 
 
 9. Culmination of the military 
 glory of France. ' She had 
 vanquished mighty coalitions ; 
 she had dictated treaties ; she 
 had subjugated great cities and 
 provinces. . . . Her authority 
 was supreme in all matters of 
 good-breeding, from a duel to a 
 minuet. She determined how 
 a gentleman's coat must be cut, 
 how long his peruke must be, 
 whether his heels must be high 
 or low, and whether the lace on 
 his hat must be hroad or nar- 
 row. In literature she gave 
 law to the world. The fame of 
 her great writers filled Europe. 
 No other country could pro- 
 duce a tragic poet equal to Ra- 
 cine, a comic poet equal to 
 Molifere, a trifler so agreeable 
 as La Fontaine, a rhetorician so 
 skilful as Bossuet. The literary 
 glory of Italy and Spain had set ; 
 that of Germany had not yet 
 
RESTORATION AND REVOLUTION. 
 
 133 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Sir William Temple (1628-1699), 
 diplomatist, statesman, and mis- 
 cellaneous writer ; solid, pru- 
 dent, and sagacious ; grave, 
 dignified, and humane ; as a 
 writer, seeking tlie public good, 
 and studying tlie beauties of 
 order and finished rhythm, there- 
 by leading to better general 
 method and greater attention to 
 details of expression. 
 
 John TiUotson (1630- 1 694), edu- 
 cated at Cambridge, a preacher, 
 Dean of St. Paul's, Archbishop 
 of Canterbury ; a Royalist, but 
 a man of moderation and good 
 sense. 
 
 John Dryden (1631-1700), de- 
 scended from Puritan ancestors 
 and educated at Cambridge ; 
 poet-laureate (1670), collector 
 of customs (1683) ; a Crom- 
 wellite, then a Royalist ; a 
 Puritan, then art Anglican, then 
 a Catholic ; a dramatist, a satir- 
 ist, a lyrist ; amiable and kind ; 
 too convivial, always in debt. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 war waged by Satan for the 
 possession of the town of Man- 
 soul. 
 
 Essays (as ' Heroic Virtue,' ' Poe- 
 try,' < Cure of the Gout,' ' Gov- 
 ernment'). The style is 
 pointed, calm, and regular, com- 
 bining, like the man himself, 
 refinement with urbanity, dig- 
 nity with grace. ' If he does 
 not penetrate very deeply into 
 a subject, he professes a very 
 gentlemanly acquaintance with 
 it.' 
 
 Sermons, grave and temperate, suf- 
 ficiently refined, but not too 
 profound for a popular audi- 
 ence; simple and fluent in style, 
 but too diffuse, tautological, and 
 rambling. The author has httle 
 of the grandeur of expression 
 that distinguished Taylor, but 
 his oratory is more correct and 
 equable. 
 
 As dramatist, Dryden wrote first 
 in rhyme (Conquest of Granada, 
 1672), then in blank verse 
 (AU for Love, 1678), — all to- 
 gether some twenty-eight dra- 
 mas. While in parts unequalled 
 by any subsequent writer for the 
 stage, his plays as wholes are 
 bad. His comedies are as false 
 to Nature as they are offensive 
 
134 
 
 RESTORATION AND REVOLUTION. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 18. Population of New England 
 fifty thousand, 1673. 
 
 19. Boileau, 1636-1711, the auto- 
 crat of criticism during the age 
 of Louis XIV. 
 
 20. Greenwich Observatory built, 
 1675. 
 
 21., Construction of timber rail- 
 ways about 1676, — wagons the 
 cars, and horses the engines. 
 
 22. Violins introduced into Eng- 
 land, 1677. 
 
 dawned. The genius, there- 
 fore, of the eminent men who 
 adorned Paris shone forth with 
 a splendor which was set off to 
 full advantage by contrast.' 
 
RESTORATION AND REVOLUTION. 
 
 135 
 
 WlilTERS. 
 
 and forced to be sycophantic ; 
 in point of character and in his 
 literary worl<, representative of 
 the merits and defects of his 
 age ; his poetry founded on 
 intellect rather than feeling, his 
 best verse devoted to argument 
 and satire, clear, rapid, and 
 vigorous. He stands between 
 an age of imagination on the 
 one hand, and an age of reason- 
 ing and drawing-room conver- 
 sation on the other. Says 
 Voltaire of him : 'An author 
 who would have had a glory 
 without a blemish, if he had 
 only written the tenth part of 
 his works.' And Wordsworth: 
 ' The only qualities I can find 
 in Dryden that are essentially 
 poetical are a certain ardour 
 and impetuosity of mind with 
 an excellent ear. There is not 
 a single image from Nature in 
 the whole of his works.' 
 
 Writings. 
 
 to morality. His tragedies, 
 without depth of feeling or 
 consistency of plot, strive to- 
 ward superhuman ideals and 
 attain to bombast. As satirist, 
 he wrote Absalom and Achitopliel 
 (1681) against the Whigs, Hind 
 and Panther (1687) for the Church 
 of Rome and against the Church 
 of England. Both are allego- 
 ries, — the first portraying in 
 lively colors, under a poetical 
 paraphrase of the scriptural nar- 
 rative, the Duke of Monmouth 
 and the intriguing Shaftes- 
 bury, together with the writer's 
 own personal foes and rivals ; 
 the second symbolizing the dis- 
 pute between the Roman Cath- 
 olic and Anglican churches, 
 in which the former is typified 
 by the ' milk-white hind ' and 
 the latter by the panther, while 
 the fox, the wolf, etc., represent 
 other religious sects. As trans- 
 lator, Dryden rendered Virgil 
 into heroic couplets, — ' a noble 
 and spirited version,' says Pope. 
 As lyrist, his fame rests on the 
 brilliant ode of Alexander's Feast. 
 His prose consists mainly of 
 prefaces and dedications, — 
 elaborate pieces of writing upon 
 various topics of literature and 
 art. The Essay on Dramatic 
 Poesy raised him to the dignity 
 of chief critic in all matters of 
 literary taste. 
 
136 
 
 RESTORATION AND REVOLUTION. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 23. Growing use of tea, coffee, 
 and chocolate. 
 
 24, Three hundred thousand ne- 
 groes imported into America 
 by the English, 1680-1700. 
 
 25. Bossuet (1627-1704) and 
 F^nelon (1651-1-715), luminaries 
 of the French Church, flourish. 
 
 6. Hydraulic fire-engines in- 
 vented, 1682. 
 
 27. William Penn's celebrated 
 treaty with the Indians, 1682. 
 
 28. Philadelphia founded, 1683. 
 
 29. Estabhshment of charity 
 schools in England for extend- 
 ing and preserving Protestant- 
 ism among the poor, 1687. 
 
 10. Poetic style, at first fresh and 
 impassioned though wayward, 
 then colorless, strained, and 
 fantastic, now feels its want of 
 method, and stimulated by 
 French influence, attains under 
 Dryden greater neatness and 
 finish of expression. Poetic 
 subject, formerly man as influ- 
 enced by the passions, treated 
 comprehensively and naturally, 
 then partially and fancifully, 
 now changes from the emotional 
 to the intellectual. 
 
RESTORATION AND REVOLUTION. 
 
 137 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Samuel Pepys (1632-1703), secre- 
 tary to the Admiralty in tlie 
 reigns of Charles II. and James 
 II. ; a man of business and of 
 pleasure, essentially vain and 
 vulgar ; extraordinarily active, 
 and of such insatiable curiosity 
 that he became a universal 
 learner ; diligently and minutely 
 observant, making no scruple, 
 as daily chronicler, of commit- 
 ting to paper his most secret 
 thought. 
 
 John Locke (1632-1704), diploma- 
 tist, Commissioner of Trade, 
 philosopher ; an authority on 
 the subjects of medicine and 
 physical science ; an agreeable, 
 well-bred man, frugal and regu- 
 lar in his habits ; aiming as a 
 vifriter at popular simplicity ; 
 the first to give a scientific 
 foundation to the realistic 
 branch of philosophy. 
 
 Eobert South (1633-1716), a bril- 
 liant scholar, chaplain to the 
 
 Writings. 
 
 Diary (1660-1669), written in 
 short-hand and deciphered in 
 1825. A book of gossip, very 
 interesting as a memorial of the 
 domestic life of the times, and 
 of the vanity and faults of the 
 writer. The 'small-talk' that 
 amuses us — ranging from a 
 bull-baiting or change of fash- 
 ion to a court scandal or the 
 downfall of parties — is valua- 
 ble because it gives life to our 
 knowledge of the past. 
 
 Essay concerning the Human Under- 
 standing (i6go), the fruit of 
 nearly twenty years' thought. 
 Applies the Baconian method 
 to mind, and resolves all knowl- 
 edge into experience, which is, 
 however, of two kinds, — sensa- 
 tion and reflection. Civil Govern- 
 ment (1690), which adds to the 
 teaching of Hobbes (i) that 
 the ruler is responsible to the 
 people ; (2) that the people 
 can take from the ruler the 
 power which they gave him ; 
 (3) that legislative assemblies 
 as the voice of the people are 
 supreme. Thoughts on Educa- 
 tion (1693), which treats not 
 only of book-learning, but of 
 dress, food, accomphshments, 
 morality, health, etc. 
 
 Sermons, largely controversial, 
 showing a superlative command 
 
138 
 
 RESTORATION AND REVOLUTION. 
 
 EVE.NTS. 
 
 C HARACTERISTICS. 
 
 30. Revolution of 1688. 
 
 
 31. Execution in Massacliusetts 
 
 
 for witchcraft, 1688. 
 
 
 
 11. Satire the characteristic form 
 
 
 of poetry ; forged by the ruder 
 
 
 craftsmen — Gascoigne, Hall, 
 
 32. Toleration Act, 1 6S9, — a for- 
 
 Marvell, Butler — and polished 
 
 mal renunciation of the claim 
 
 into a formidable weapon by 
 
 of the State to impose religious 
 
 Dryden. 
 
 conformity. 
 
 
 33. The Grand Alliance against 
 France, 1689. 
 
 34. The population of the Eng- 
 lish-American colonies about 
 two hundred thousand, 1689. 
 
 35. Bayonets first used in Eng- 
 land, 1693. 
 
 36. Bank of England incorpo- 
 rated, 1694. 
 
 37. Birth of Voltaire, 1694. 
 
 12. Prose, in style, grows easier, 
 more correct, and intelligible ; 
 in character it is ratiocinative, 
 — mainly theological, political, 
 and philosophical. 
 
 13. Tragedy goes out in pompous 
 declamation and rhyme. Com- 
 edy, reflecting in word and in- 
 trigue the licentiousness of 
 capital and court, clothes its 
 
RESTORATION AND REVOLUTION. 
 
 139 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Earl of Clarendon, who intro- 
 duced him to a series of prefer- 
 ments ; one of the wittiest, and 
 by some said to be the last, of 
 the great EngHsh divines of 
 the century ; fervidly maintain- 
 ing the Stuart doctrines of pas- 
 sive obedience and divine right; 
 more zealous as a churchman 
 than as a Christian ; reputed 
 to have been intolerant in his 
 public, but good and charitable 
 in his private, relations. 
 
 Aphra Behn (1640-1689), visited 
 the West Indies, married a 
 Dutch merchant, and held some 
 ' dubious diplomatic appoint- 
 ments ; ' early a widow, and 
 fond of pleasure, soon acquir- 
 ing the reputation of a ' female 
 Wycheriy.' She is called the 
 pioneer of the English novel. 
 As novelist and dramatist she 
 wrote for the wits and ladies of 
 the corrupt court of Charles II. 
 to gratify the tastes created by 
 the works of Cervantes and the 
 French novelists. 
 
 Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727), dis- 
 coverer of gravitation and the 
 dispersion of light; Professor 
 of Mathematics at Cambridge ; 
 master of the mint ; President 
 of the Royal Society ; also a 
 writer on scientific and scrip- 
 tural themes ; ' cautious in ad- 
 
 Writings. 
 
 of homely, racy English, and 
 ' brilliantly lighted up with 
 flashes of ingenious mockery.' 
 Impressively strong in the de- 
 nunciation of prevailing vices, 
 they are stronger in the ridicule 
 of clerical brethren, and strong- 
 est in polemical attacks on 
 papists and dissenters. 
 
 Oroonoko ; or, The Royal Slave ; 
 account of an African prince 
 who was sold into slavery, and 
 whom rebellion against his 
 master's authority resulted in 
 causing to be brutally put to 
 death ; said to have been the 
 first book that stirred English 
 blood with a sense of the negro's 
 suffering in slavery. Comedies, 
 popular in tlieir day, but now 
 serving chiefly, like the author's 
 tales, as landmarks of an obso- 
 lete taste. 
 
 Principia (1687), or, ' Mathematical 
 Principles of Natural Philoso- 
 phy,' in Latin. It includes his 
 demonstration of the theory of 
 gravitation. Optics (1704), a 
 discussion of the phenomena 
 and laws of light. Observations 
 upon the Prophecies, etc. ' New- 
 
140 
 
 RESTORATION AND REVOLUTION 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 38. Censorship of the press abol- 
 ishedj 1695. 
 
 39. Furious legislation of the 
 English Parliament against the 
 interests of Ireland, 1697. 
 
 40. Birth of Hogarth, 1697. 
 
 41. Rise of Russia. Peter the 
 Great visits England, 1698. 
 
 42. Yale College founded, 1700. 
 ' Ten worthy fathers assembled 
 at Bradford, and each one lay- 
 ing down a few volumes on a 
 table, said, " I give these books 
 for the founding of a college in 
 this colony." ' 
 
 garbage of vulgarity in spark- 
 ling prose. 
 
 14. ' The victory gained by Prot- 
 estant and Whig principles in 
 the Revolution of 1688 caused 
 a remarkable change in public 
 morals, chiefly amongst the 
 middle classes, who returned to 
 the milder forms- of Puritan 
 tradition. The court of Wil- 
 liam and Mary was very pure 
 and exercisdl a corresponding 
 influence on society.' 
 
 15. Stage reform, due in a meas- 
 ure to Jeremy Collier's famous 
 attack (1698), but principally to 
 the growth of a higher tone of 
 society. 
 
RESTORATION AND REVOLUTION. 
 
 141 
 
 Writers. 
 
 mitting no principles but such 
 as were founded in experiment, 
 but resolute to adopt every 
 such principle, however new 
 and unusual ; from modesty, 
 ignorant of his superiority to 
 the rest of mankind; more anx- 
 ious to merit than to acquire 
 fame.' 
 
 Gilbert Bnmet (1643-1715), minis- 
 ter, Whig, politician, Professor 
 of Divinity, exile, bishop, and 
 author. ' Alone, among the 
 many Scotchmen who have 
 raised themselves to distinction 
 and prosperity in England, he 
 had that character which satir- 
 ists, novelists, and dramatists 
 have agreed to ascribe to Irish 
 adventurers. His Sigh animal 
 spirits, his boastfulness, his un- 
 dissembled vanity, his propen- 
 sity to blunder, his provoking 
 indiscretion, his unabashed au- 
 dacity, afforded inexhaustible 
 subjects of ridicule to the 
 Tories.' 
 
 Sir George Etherege (about 1635- 
 1691), scion of an ancient and 
 distinguished family, whose 
 wealth, wit, and charming man- 
 ners won him the general wor- 
 ship of society. He lost his 
 fortune in gallantries and gam- 
 bling, and ' spoiled all his coun- 
 tenance with drinking.' The 
 first to depict manners only. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 ton's marvellous insight into 
 the order of Nature increased 
 his reverence for the Creator.' 
 
 History of the Eeformation (1679), 
 written to vindicate the Church 
 of England against the Church 
 of Rome, and receiving the ap- 
 proval of both Houses of Par- 
 liament. History of My Own 
 Times, ill-arranged and inaccu- 
 rate, yet owing to its minute 
 and contemporary character, a 
 valuable source of information 
 for the period between the Res- 
 toration and 1713. Its charm 
 lies chiefly in its gossip from 
 behind the scenes and its vivid 
 delineation of men. 
 
 The Man of Mode (1676), his last 
 and best-known comedy, the 
 hero of which is one Sir Fop- 
 ling Flutter, monarch of beaux 
 and dandies, the froth of Pa- 
 risian vanity ; full of action, 
 wit, and spirit, but frivolous 
 and immoral. 
 
142 
 
 RESTORATION AND REVOLUTION. 
 
 Events. 
 
 C HARACTERISTICS. 
 
 43. Appearance of the Daily 
 Courant, first daily paper, 1702. 
 
 44. Birth of John Wesley, 1703. 
 
 45. Capture of Gibraltar by the 
 English, 1704. 
 
 46. First American newspaper, 
 the Boston News Letter, 1704. 
 
 47. Birth of Benjamin Franklin, 
 1706. 
 
 48. Union of England and Scot- 
 land, 1707. 
 
 49. Famine throughout France, 
 1709. 
 
 16. The literature of the period 
 was, on the whole, the product 
 of memory, judgment, and wit, 
 rather thnn of creative imagina- 
 tion. A prime object of study 
 was its form. The prevailing 
 immorahty (in part due to the 
 reaction against Puritanism, 
 and in part brought over with 
 the exiled court from Paris) in- 
 fected poetry and the drama. 
 
 17. ' Immorality in every sense 
 of the word is the chief charac- 
 teristic of the literature of the 
 Restoration. Another pecu- 
 liarity was itsspirit of negation, 
 of scepticism and criticism. 
 The poet who wished to excite 
 attention had to write satires 
 and lampoons.' 
 
RESTORATION AND REVOLUTION. 
 
 143 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 William Wycherly (1C40-1715), a 
 gay and careless man of fash- 
 ion, a polished wit, a court fa- 
 vorite, a society hero, and the 
 most immoral of the Restora- 
 tion dramatists. 
 
 Thomas Otway (1651-1685), a 
 clergyman's son, to whose credit 
 be it said that he attempted to 
 oppose the ruling fashion, but 
 died a wasted debauchee before 
 the maturity of his genius. 
 Still the greate^^t tragic drama- 
 tist of the period ; ' a gracious, 
 amorous person, with more wit 
 than wisdom, unfit to battle 
 with the world and fallen on 
 troublous times.' 
 
 Sir John Vanbmgh (1666-1726), an 
 architect and a witty but licen- 
 tious dramatist. He excelled 
 in comic invention, ' understood 
 light and shade, and had great 
 skill in composition.' 
 
 WiUiam Congreve (i 670-1 729), fore- 
 most comic writer of his day in 
 talent and success; asked Vol- 
 taire to look upon him only as 
 a gentleman; a genius who, 
 courted and idolized by minis- 
 ters and peers, prostituted his 
 gifts to ignoble ends. 
 
 Country Wife (1672), his best play ; 
 natural in plot, vigorous in dia- 
 logue, original chiefly in profli- 
 gacy. There is no perception 
 of the deeper truths and har- 
 monies of life, only surface re- 
 flection of the manners and 
 humors of an evil day. 
 
 Venice Preserved (1682), founded 
 on the famous abortive con- 
 spiracy against Venice in 1618 ; 
 a noble and solid masterpiece, 
 the play for which the author's 
 name is still honored on the 
 English stage. 
 
 The Provoked Wife (1698), charac- 
 terized by fertile invention and 
 general coarseness ; a faithful 
 reflectional of the conversa- 
 tional language of the time. 
 
 love for Love (1695), displays bril- 
 liant wit, well-bred ease, and 
 the refined corruption of worldly 
 habits. Besides comedies, he 
 wrote one tragedy. The Mourn- 
 ing Bride (1697), the most suc- 
 cessful of his pieces. 
 
144 
 
 RESTORATION AND REVOLUTION. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
RESTORATION AND REVOLUTION: 
 
 HS 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 George Farqnhar (1678-1707), an 
 Irishman, an actor, a military 
 officer, and a comedy-writer, 
 with a generosity of character 
 that humanized the persons of 
 his drama with many traces of 
 good feeling. 
 
 The Beaux' Stratagem (1707), nota- 
 ble for ready wit and coarse 
 strength, and the vividness with 
 which it reproduces the glitter- 
 ing and wicked life of courtiers 
 and fashionables. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 CRITICAL PERIOD, 1710-1784. 
 
 1702. Anne. 
 
 1714. George I. 
 
 [descendant of James /.). 
 
 I 
 1727. George II. 
 
 \ 
 
 i 1 
 
 Frederick. William 
 
 I (^Duke of Cumberland). 
 
 1760. George III. 
 
148 
 
 CRITICAL PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 1. The South Sea Bubble, accord- 
 ing to which the whole funded 
 debt, including exchequer bills 
 and all other debentures, was to 
 be thrown into one fund, leav- 
 
 1. Extension of trade, rise of man- 
 ufactures, increase of wealth, 
 and material prosperity. 
 
 ing an interest at six per cent, 
 and in addition to this boon, 
 the holders of stock were to 
 enjoy the monopoly of a trade 
 to the shores of South America, 
 which, it was hoped, would 
 prove not less lucrative than 
 the commerce to the East In- 
 dies, 1711. 
 
 2. Prevalence of club life and 
 taste for gambling. 
 
 3. Corruption in high places and 
 brutality in low, with a marked 
 improvement, however, in the 
 moral tone of society during 
 the last quarter of the period. 
 
 
 4. Eager debate of all subjects 
 pertaining to the natural rights 
 of man. 
 
 2. Peace of Utrecht; Gibraltar, 
 Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, 
 and Hudson's Bay fall to Eng- 
 land, 1713. 
 
 5. Vigorous discussion of scien- 
 tific problems, fostering a cool 
 and critical rather than a warm 
 and creative atmosphere. 
 
CRITICAL PERIOD. 
 
 149 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 Daniel Defoe (1661-1731), hatter, 
 printer, pamphleteer ; a journal- 
 ist who wrote a tri-weekly 
 ( The Review) wholly himself ; 
 founded, conducted, and wrote 
 for a number of other newspa- 
 pers ; a story-teller whose art 
 consisted in an astonishing 
 minuteness of detail and an 
 unequalled power of giving 
 reality to the incidents related. 
 He possessed an unparalleled 
 knowledge of human life in all 
 its ranks and conditions; said 
 to have written nearly two hun- 
 dred and fifty books. He 
 wrote as a reformer, with a 
 practical end ; supple, versa- 
 tile, energetic, but vain, im- 
 pulsive, boastful. He was a 
 powerful though unpolished 
 satirist in verse. 
 
 Eichard Bentley ( 1 662-1 742), Pro- 
 fessor of Divinity in Cambridge 
 
 Robinson Crusoe (1719), the experi- 
 ence of a shipwrecked seaman 
 in autobiographical form ; based 
 upon the history of Alexander 
 Selkirk, a seaman of Fife, 
 who, while engaged in a pirati- 
 cal enterprise in the American 
 seas in 1704, quarrelled with 
 his captain, by whom he was 
 put ashore on the solitary island 
 of Juan Fernandez. The moral 
 is : ' If a man in solitude, with 
 a few scraps from a wreck and 
 an occasional savage, dog, and 
 cat to help him, can lead a life 
 so civilized, what may we not 
 expect of good people in Eng- 
 land with abundance about 
 them ? ' Having no plot to the 
 working out of which charac- 
 ters and events contribute, it 
 forms the transition from Eliza- 
 bethan romance to the modern 
 novel. Journal' of the Plague 
 (1722), a description of London 
 sights, incidents, and persons, as 
 observed by an assumed shop- 
 keeper; so minutely circumstan- 
 tial and so natural that it has been 
 mistaken for genuine history. 
 
 Style : homely, clear, and vigor- 
 ous ; coarsely plain, too hur- 
 ried to be precise, sentences 
 long, loose, clumsy, and some- 
 times ungrammatical. 
 
 Dissertation on the Epistles of Fha- 
 laris (1697), considered the fin- 
 
ISO 
 
 CRITICAL PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 3 
 
 Death of Louis XIV., 1715. 
 
 
 4 
 
 New Orleans settled by the 
 French, 171 7. 
 
 6. Formal correctness. The arti- 
 ficial style, perfected by Pope, 
 displaces the natural. An age 
 of originality, in expending it- 
 self, naturally gives rise to one 
 of art. Writers, unable to cre- 
 
 5 
 
 Punishment of the directors 
 of the South Sea Company : 
 they are never to hold place 
 under the crown ; and their 
 estates, amounting to about 
 two million pounds, are confis- 
 cated for the benefit of suffer- 
 ers, 1 721. 
 
 ate, conceive the idea of in- 
 quiring into the method of 
 previous products, thence de- 
 riving the rules of more careful 
 and considerate work. 
 
 6 
 
 Administration of Sir Robert 
 Walpole, 1721-1742. 
 
 7. Classical influence. ' The 
 classical poets soon became his 
 [Pope's] chief study and de- 
 
CRITICAL PERIOD. 
 
 ISI 
 
 Writers. 
 
 University. He has been called 
 the greatest of English classi- 
 cal scholars. An original, bold, 
 and vigorous critic, whose faults 
 are found to be light when 
 weighed against his numerous 
 merits. 
 
 Matthew Prior (1664-1721), waiter 
 in his uncle's tap-room, poet, 
 ambassador to Paris ; noted for 
 his wit and ready repartee ; 
 ' his philosophy, his good sense, 
 his happy, easy turns and 
 melody, his loves and his epi- 
 cureanism, bear a great re- 
 semblance to that most delight- 
 ful and accomplished master 
 [Horace].' 
 
 Jonathan Swift (1667-1745), 
 clergyman. Dean of St. Pat- 
 rick's in Dublin, a Whig, later 
 a Tory ; excessively irritable ; 
 magisterial even to rudeness ; 
 fond of the exercise of power ; 
 
 Writings. 
 
 est piece of learned criticism in 
 the English language. It set- 
 tled the long controversy re- 
 specting the authorship of 
 Phalart's, by demonstrating that 
 the Epistles were the forgeries 
 of a later age. The critical 
 ability and amazing resources 
 displayed in the argument raised 
 the author to the highest pin- 
 nacle of fame for extensive 
 erudition and acute under- 
 standing. 
 
 He took his place among the 
 young wits of the Whig party 
 by the brightness of City and 
 Country Mouse, — a parody on 
 Dryden's Hind and Panther. 
 His last and most labored ef- 
 fort was Solomon, a soliloquy 
 representing the royal sage as 
 ranging through every province, 
 and to the utmost bounds of 
 knowledge, pleasure, and power, 
 only to find that 'all is vanity 
 and vexation.' Prior is most 
 successful in epigrams and 
 society-verses ; such as The 
 Lady's Looking-Glass and The 
 Padlock. 
 
 Sattle of the Books, a burlesque on 
 Temple's opponents in the con- 
 troversy of Ancient versus 
 Modern authors. Tale of a Tub 
 (1704). As to title, explained 
 to mean that as sailors throw 
 
IS2 
 
 CRITICAL PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 7. Last execution for witchcraft 
 in Scotland, 1722. 
 
 8. Sir Joshua Reynolds, the 
 great portrait-painter, born, 
 1723. 
 
 9. Voltaire's visit to England, 
 1 726-1 729. 
 
 10. Methodist movement by the 
 Wesleys, who with a few other 
 students formed at Oxford in 
 1727 a society for religious wor- 
 ship, and from their methodi- 
 cal mode of life were nick- 
 named 'Methodists' in 1729. 
 
 light, and he valued the mod- 
 erns in proportion as they had 
 drunk more or less deeply of 
 the classical spirit. The genius 
 of the Gothic or romantic ages 
 inspired him not at all.' 
 
 8. Poetry, uninspired by enthusi- 
 asm, is mainly satiric, didactic, 
 philosophic, and partisan (writ- 
 ten for Tory or Whig in con- 
 sideration of money or place) ; 
 combining closeness of thought 
 with elegance of phrase and 
 measured harmonies of sound ; 
 coldly critical in Pope, with an 
 added warmth and humanity in 
 Goldsmith. 
 
CRITJCAL PERIOD. 
 
 IS3 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 restless under authority ; mis- 
 anthropical, coarse, born with 
 the genius of insult ; without 
 an equal in irony, without a 
 superior in originahty and 
 strength ; discontented and un- 
 happy ; the most tragic figure 
 in English literature ; pre- 
 eminently a satirist. ' No Eng- 
 lish is more robust than Swift's, 
 no wit more gross, no life in 
 private and public more sad and 
 proud, no death more pitiable.' 
 
 out a tub for the amusement of 
 a whale, to prevent him from 
 running foul of their ship, so 
 the book is meant to divert the 
 followers of Hobbes from injur- 
 ing the vessel of the State. As 
 to substance, a satire on the 
 disputes between the Roman, 
 Anglican, and Presbyterian 
 churches, in the form of an 
 allegorical history of the adven- 
 tures of three brothers, — Peter, 
 Martin, and Jack. It is Swift's 
 most powerful work. Gulliver's 
 Travels (1726), narrative of a 
 ship-surgeon's four voyages, 
 told — however extravagant the 
 invention — with an air of sim- 
 ple, straightforward, prosaic 
 good faith. The work as a 
 whole is a sustained similitude. 
 How contemptible do we ap- 
 pear when represented by the 
 dwarfs of Liliput ; how insig- 
 nificant are we when tried by 
 the giant standard of Brob- 
 dingnag ; how false and chi- 
 merical are the pretenders to 
 science as seen in the phil- 
 osophers of Laputa ; how 
 vicious and loathsome are 
 we as mirrored in the vile 
 Yahoos ! 
 Style : simple, unadorned, me- 
 thodical, syntactically correct 
 (beyond any other writer before 
 Johnson). It has been com- 
 pared to 'cold steel.' His own 
 
154 
 
 CRITICAL PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 11. First attempt in England to 
 spin cotton by machinery, 1730. 
 
 12. Population of Philadelphia 
 twelve thousand five hundred, 
 173O' 
 
 13. Authorized disuse of the 
 Latin language in all law plead- 
 ings of the English courts, 1731. 
 
 14. Gentleman' s Magazine, 1731. 
 
 15. Birth of George Washington, 
 1732. 
 
 16. Rise of the English opera, 
 1732. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 , Prose, best represented by 
 Addison, Swift, Hume, Gold- 
 smith, Gibbon, and Johnson, 
 grows absolutely easy and clear, 
 developing, however, two dis- 
 tinct styles, — the colloquial 
 elegance of the first, and the 
 ponderous, stately manner of 
 the last. 
 
CRITICAL PERIOD. 
 
 155 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 Sir Eichard Steele (1671-1729), 
 courtier, soldier, M. P., drama- 
 tist and essayist ; frank, jovial, 
 good-hearted rattle-brain ; al- 
 ways loving to make people 
 happy, always in difficulties ; 
 spending much of his energy 
 in rollicking enjoyment, and 
 dying dependent on the bounty 
 of his creditors. 
 
 Joseph Addison (1672-1719), essay- 
 ist, poet, Secretary of State ; a 
 fine gentleman of leisure ; a 
 polite wit and satirist ; a pol- 
 ished rather than a profound 
 thinker ; of languid vitality, and 
 content to be superficial; a 
 virtuous and (for the most part) 
 happy man who lived wisely 
 and usefully. ' I have brought 
 philosophy out of closets and 
 libraries, scliools and colleges, 
 to dwell in clubs and assem- 
 blies, at tea-tables and in coffee- 
 houses.' The most elegant 
 prose-writer of the period. 
 
 definition of good style was 
 ' proper words in proper places.' 
 
 Essays in the society journals 
 which he founded, treating 
 mainly of literature and public 
 manners. They still interest, 
 though lacking the grace and 
 finish of Addison's, and consid- 
 erably alloyed with what must 
 now pass for dross and refuse. 
 Steele also wrote several come- 
 dies, the most successful of 
 which was The Conscious Lovers. 
 
 Style: fresh and natural; some- 
 what glowing and extravagant ; 
 irregular and careless, and 
 often ungrammatical in senten- 
 tial structure. 
 
 Essays in the Tatler, the Guardian 
 and (chiefly) the Spectator; 
 pleasant, chatty discoursings 
 about things in general, — some 
 of them nobly aesthetic and 
 ideal. Select papers : ' Use of 
 the Fan,' 'Vision of Mirza,' 
 ' A Lady's Library,' ' Westmin- 
 ster Abbey,' ' Dreams,' ' Cheer- 
 fulness,' ' Creation and the 
 Creator ; ' also those on Will 
 Wimble and Sir Roger de 
 Coverley. Cato (1713), a trag- 
 edy, constructed in accordance 
 with the classical unities ; with 
 so much more of art than 
 Nature in it that it has been 
 called ' an exquisite piece of 
 
156 
 
 CRITICAL PERIOD. 
 
 EVHNTS. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 17. Franklin begins his Poor 
 Richard's Almanac, lJ2,2. 
 
 18. Two French expeditions sent 
 out to ascertain the figure of 
 the earth, 1735. 
 
 19. Repeal of the laws against 
 witches, 1736. 
 
 30. Substitution of iron rails for 
 wood in the colliery railways of 
 Whitehaven, 1738. 
 
 21. Gas first evolved from coal, 
 • 1739- 
 
 22. First circulating library in 
 England, 1740. 
 
 10. Creation of the periodical 
 essay, a gay, light, and grace- 
 ful treatment of social, political, 
 and religious topics, begun in 
 the Taller by Steele, who is 
 joined by Addison, first in the 
 Taller, then in the Spectalor j 
 the purpose, diffusion of cul- 
 ture and spiritual health ; the 
 means, sugar-coated pills. 
 
 11. Birth of historical method 
 and elevation of history to the 
 rank of literature by Hume and 
 Gibbon. 
 
CRITICAL PERIOD. 
 
 157 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 Edward Tonng (1684-1 765), clergy- 
 man, man of society in London, 
 courtier, a disappointed place- 
 seeker ; a poet witli predilec- 
 tions for the sad and sombre. 
 ' He is, of all poets,' says Lord 
 Lytton, ' the one to be studied 
 by a man who is about to break 
 the golden chains that bind him 
 to the world; his gloom then, 
 does not appall or deject. . . . 
 The dark river of his solemn 
 genius sweeps the thoughts on- 
 wards to Eternity.' 
 
 Allan Eamsay (1685-1758), wig- 
 maker's apprentice in Edin- 
 burgh ; bookseller, poet ; of 
 cheery disposition and innocent 
 
 statuary.' Minor poems, includ- 
 ing several well-known hymns. 
 Style : smooth, melodious, ur- 
 bane ; full of delicate humor ; 
 dignified yet kindly ; easy 
 rather than vigorous ; equable, 
 without glow or contrast ; too 
 often tautological ; occasionally 
 careless in the disposition of 
 modifiers. 
 
 Night Thoughts (1742-1746), a 
 series of meditations, in nine 
 ' Nights,' blank verse, on Life, 
 Death, Immortality, The Chris- 
 tian's Triumph, etc. Moralizing 
 forms the staple, with tales in- 
 serted by way of episode. It 
 contains many excellent truths 
 and noble passages. Its style 
 fs, on the whole, too rhetorical, 
 but the work is valuable, not 
 only as an expression of the 
 general yearning for immortality 
 and as one of the first evidences 
 of the desire for something dif- 
 ferent from the regular couplet 
 which Pope had made the fash- 
 ion, but because its perusal will 
 richly reward the serious and 
 thoughtful. Bevenge (1721), a 
 tragedy. The TTniversal Passion 
 of Fame (1725-1728). 
 
 The work on which his reputa- 
 tion rests is The Gentle Shepherd 
 (1725), a genuine picture of 
 Scotch life in the form of a 
 
IS8 
 
 CRITICAL PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 23. Tennessee first explored, 
 1740. 
 
 24. Rise of the kingdom of 
 Prussia. Reign of Frederick 
 the Great, 1 740-1 786. 
 
 25. Conspiracy of negroes in 
 New York for the murder of 
 their white masters, 1741. 
 
 26. College of New Jersey 
 founded, 1746. 
 
 27. War of the Austrian Succes- 
 sion, 1741-1748, 
 
 28. Monthly Review, 1749. 
 
 12. Development of the novel as 
 a picture of society, a study of 
 character, and combination of 
 incidents by Richardson, Field- 
 ing, Smollett, and Sterne,. who 
 with Defoe, in his tales of ad- 
 venture, gave a common human 
 interest to fiction, which had 
 long been occupied with the 
 intrigues of aristocrats. 
 
 13. Unexampled outburst of Eng- 
 lish oratory as represented by 
 
CRITICAL PERIOD. 
 
 159 
 
 Writers. 
 
 pride in verse, delighting chiefly 
 in the ballads of his country. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 Samuel Bichardsoa (1689-1761), 
 printer and novelist, becoming 
 an author at fifty ; exemplary 
 in the duties of morality and 
 piety ; very fond of ladies' ad- 
 miration ; kind, benevolent, 
 idealizing. ' Nothing in human 
 nature,' he says, ' is so god- 
 like as the disposition to do 
 good to our fellow-creatures.' 
 Founder of a new school of fic- 
 tion, whose purpose was to de- 
 lineate every-day life under the 
 laws of poetic justice, by work- 
 ing out to a sad or happy close, 
 through the interplay of events 
 and characters, a regularly con- 
 structed plot woven around the 
 passion of love. 
 
 rhyming pastoral drama. The 
 characters are distinct ; the 
 sentiments are natural and 
 pure, and the story is clearly 
 told. Ramsay also deserves to 
 be remembered as the coadjutor 
 of Percy in his Evergreen and 
 Tea Table Miscellany, collections 
 of existing Scottish songs mixed 
 up with some of his own. They 
 are among the earliest signs of 
 the coming revival of nation- 
 ality and correction of false 
 classicism. 
 
 Pamela (1740), written in the 
 form of letters ; the domestic 
 history of a pretty peasant girl 
 who goes out to service, and 
 after enduring many mishaps, 
 and escaping many dangers, 
 becomes the wife of her rich 
 young master. Clarissa Harlowe 
 (1748), a novel of conflict be- 
 tween good and evil, teaching, 
 like the other, the importance 
 of virtue. Sir Charles Graudison 
 (1753)1 which paints in the 
 epistolary style, agreeably to 
 the author's conception, the 
 character of a perfect Christian 
 gentleman, — rich, handsome, 
 able, placid, statuesque, fault- 
 less. 
 
 All novels of sentiment, realistic 
 drawings of improbable or im- 
 possible people ; so long, so 
 heavily loaded with details and 
 
i6o 
 
 CRITICAL PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 29. Discovery of Herculaneum, 
 1749. 
 
 30. Franklin's discovery of the 
 identity of electricity and light- 
 ning, 1752. 
 
 31. Columbia College, New York, 
 founded, 1754. 
 
 33. First occasion of discontent 
 between the British-American 
 colonies and the mother coun- 
 try ; namely, duties levied upon 
 goods imported from foreign 
 countries, 1755. 
 
 33. University of Pennsylvania 
 founded, 1755. 
 
 34. Ninety thousand whites in 
 New York, 1756. 
 
 C HARACTERISTICS. 
 
 Chatham, Fox, Burke, Erskine, 
 Pitt, Sheridan, and others. 
 
 14. Dulness of dramatic compo- 
 sition. Goldsmith's Good-Na- 
 tured Man and She Stoops to 
 Conquer, Sheridan's Rivals and 
 School for Scandal, are the only 
 classic comedies. The drama 
 assumed a new form in The 
 Beggar's Opera of Gay (1728). 
 
 15. Reformation of the stage by 
 Garrick, who introduces a natu- 
 ral and impassioned style of 
 acting. 
 
CRITICAL PERIOD. 
 
 I6l 
 
 Writers. 
 
 John Gay (1688- 1732), a careless, 
 thoughtless, kindly-natured 
 poet ; aptly compared to a lap- 
 dog whose amiable tail-wagging 
 won and kept many friends ; 
 of superficial learning, little 
 strength of mind, and no dig- 
 nity of sentiment. 
 
 Alexander Pope (1688- 1 744), de- 
 formed, sensitive, irritable, 
 whimsical, exacting, delighting 
 in artifice ; amultifarious reader, 
 diligently selective ; a prodigy 
 from his birth, with a proneness 
 to satire ; the best embodiment 
 of the critical spirit of the time; 
 a writer born to a career of 
 cold, outside scrutiny, trained 
 for a career of brilliant and per- 
 fect art ; proposing at the start 
 to make correctness the basis 
 of his fame ; lukewarm in reli- 
 gion, indifferent in politics, stu- 
 dious of tranquillity ; the poet, 
 not of nature and humanity, but 
 of personality and high life. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 instruction that they can be 
 read now only in abridgment. 
 
 The Shepherd's Week (1714), a set 
 of pastorals burlesquing the af- 
 fected rusticity of one Ambrose 
 Philips, who had published a 
 series of six pastorals on the 
 model of the ShephercVs Cal- 
 endar. Gay's fame, however, 
 rests chiefly on his neat and 
 flowing Fables (1726), The Beg- 
 gar's Opera (only less glaringly 
 indecent than many other plays 
 of the Queen Anne period), 
 and his songs, in which, break- 
 ing through conventional re- 
 straints, he sings naturally and 
 sweetly. 
 
 Essay on Criticism (171 1), a collec- 
 tion of wise precepts drawn 
 largely from the ancient critics. 
 ' What judgments and fine re- 
 marks eternally true I gather in 
 reading it, and how they are 
 expressed in a form brief, con- 
 cise, elegant, and once for all.' 
 Eape of the Lock (1712-1714), a 
 mock-heroic poem commemo- 
 rating a quarrel between a 
 fashionable belle and a young 
 nobleman who had cut a lock 
 of hair from her head. De 
 Quincey declared it to be ' the 
 most exquisite monument of 
 playful fancy that universal lit- 
 erature affords.' Homer's" Iliad 
 
1 62 
 
 CRITICAL PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Cpiaracteristics. 
 
 35. Conquest of Canada by the 
 
 
 English, 1760. 
 
 16. High social position of writers 
 
 
 at the beginning of the century ; 
 
 
 their misery and neglect during 
 
 
 the ministry of Walpole ; their 
 
 36. Speech of James Otis, chief 
 
 reliance at last upon the patron- 
 
 orator of the Revolutionary 
 
 age of the people. 
 
 movement, on taxation without 
 
 
 representation, 1761. 
 
 
 37. Edgeware Road gibbets cut 
 
 17. Decline of ecclesiasticalpower 
 
 down, 1763. 
 
 in France. 
 
 
 18. Open advocacy of Deism in 
 
 38. First American Stamp Act 
 
 the first quarter of the period. 
 
 proposed, 1764. 
 
 ' A torrent of infidel publica- 
 
 
 tions was poured out upon the 
 
CRITICAL PERIOD. 
 
 163 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 displaying in all things the same 
 critical taste and exactness, — 
 in verse, in dress, in surround- 
 ings ; the foremost literary fig- 
 ure of his century, and the head 
 of the artificial school. 
 
 Joseph Butler (1692-1752), Bishop 
 of Bristol and Dean of St. 
 Paul's ; an able antagonist of 
 the Selfish System of morals, 
 and the unequalled defender of 
 revealed religion. 
 
 translated (171 5-1720), made 
 unique in English poetry by the 
 finish and melody of its versifi- 
 cation and the rapidity of its 
 movement. Dnnciad (1728), 
 ' Iliad of the Dunces,' a satire 
 on the numerous hack-writers 
 and hired defamers of the day. 
 It ' revealed to Pope where his 
 real strength lay, in blending 
 personalities with moral reflec- 
 tions.' Essay on Kan (1733), in 
 four epistles, treating of man 
 in relation (i) to the universe, 
 (2) to himself, (3) to society, 
 (4) to happiness ; unsound 
 and contradictory in some of 
 its teachings, but full of fine 
 thoughts expressed in perfect 
 form. Also some prose Essays 
 and a volume of Letters. 
 Style : condensed, compact, point- 
 ed, smooth, and polished. 
 
 Analogy (1736), appearing toward 
 the end of the deistical period. 
 The first part proves elaborately 
 that there is a moral Governor 
 of the universe who has placed 
 man in a state of probation. 
 The second part maintains that 
 Christianity is a divine republi- 
 cation of natural religion. A 
 work of sterling and perpetual 
 value, but ' the style, as a style 
 designed for general reading, 
 could hardly be worse.' 
 
164 
 
 CRITICAL PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 89. Brown University, Rhode 
 
 land, — an inundation which 
 
 Island, founded, 1764. 
 
 never fails to leave the most 
 
 
 desolating effects, even after its 
 
 
 shallow and turbid waters have 
 
 
 subsided. The chief writers 
 
 
 , of the infidel party were 
 
 
 Shaftesbury, Collins, Toland, 
 
 
 Bolingbroke, Tindal, Morgan, 
 
 
 Woolston, and Chubb, who 
 
 
 took various grounds of objec- 
 
 
 tion against Christianity.' 
 
 40. Visit of Mozart to England, 
 
 
 who, at the age of eight, played 
 
 
 at sight the most difficult com- 
 
 
 position, 1764. 
 
 
 41. First medical school in Amer- 
 
 
 ica founded at Philadelphia, 
 
 
 1764. 
 
 
 
 19. Reaction against Deism in 
 
 42. The Wesleyan preachers for- 
 
 the closing years of the period, 
 
 bidden the use of snuff and 
 
 and intense religious awakening 
 
 other indulgences, 1765. 
 
 among the people, especially 
 
 
 the lower classes. 
 
CRITICAL PERIOD. 
 
 i6s 
 
 Writers. 
 
 James Thomson (i 700-1748), a 
 Scotch poet ; first to lead the 
 English people into the new 
 world of poetry in Nature. His 
 rank is high in the second 
 order. 
 
 Benjamin Franklin (l 706-1 790), 
 candle-moulder, printer's ap- 
 prentice, ballad-monger, author ; 
 an experimental philosopher 
 whose discoveries form a nota- 
 ble chapter in the history of 
 physical science ; a sagacious 
 diplomatist, uniformly devoted 
 to the accomplishment of great 
 ends ; self-educated, cheerful, 
 hopeful, industrious ; ever plain 
 and simple, — simple in man- 
 ners, in habits, in style of 
 expression ; a man of large 
 practical piety, of solid, serene, 
 benign character, with a pas- 
 sionate instinct of the true and 
 the useful Franklin was the 
 first to make the American 
 mind felt as a force in Europe. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 The Seasons (1726-1730), descrip- 
 tion of the scenery and country 
 life of spring, summer, autumn, 
 and winter, with narrative epi- 
 sodes. Occasionally inflated 
 and heavy, often cold. Castle 
 of Indolence (1748), a mock- 
 heroic poem in the Spenserian 
 stanza ; a fine example of that 
 wonderful union of sound and 
 sense called onomatopcBia. 
 
 Poor Richard's Almanac, the first 
 number of which appeared in 
 1732. This most famous of 
 popular annuals continued for 
 twenty-five years to teach its 
 ten thousand readers how to be 
 'healthy, wealthy, and wise.' 
 Its tersely put sentences are 
 applicable to every age and 
 every state of society. Essays, 
 on religious, moral, and eco- 
 nomical subjects. Autobiogra- 
 phy, full of stirring details, ' as 
 romantic as the life of an un- 
 romantic person can be.' 
 
 Franklin endeavored to model his 
 style on that of Addison, and 
 his excellences are not less the 
 gift of Nature than the effect 
 of study. ' His thoughts flow 
 smoothly onward, and are con- 
 veyed in a language so lucid 
 and expressive that the read- 
 er's mind is never for a moment 
 embarrassed with obscurity or 
 doubt.' 
 
1 66 
 
 CRITICAL PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 C HARACTERISTICS. 
 
 43. Colonial Congress at New 
 York, 1765. Americans resolve 
 not to use British goods until 
 the Stamp Act is repealed. 
 
 44. Visit of Rousseau to Eng- 
 land as the friend of Hume, 
 1766. 
 
 45. Construction of the first 
 pianoforte in England, 1766. 
 
 46. Invention of the spinning- 
 jenny by Hargreaves, 1767. 
 
 47. Royal Academy of Arts 
 founded, 1768. 
 
 SO. Influence of French ideas as 
 distinguished from the French 
 spirit in the works of Voltaire, 
 Rousseau, Diderot, and the rest 
 of the liberal thinkers who were 
 called the Encyclopaedists. 
 
 21. Rise of Revolutionary opin- 
 ions ; the writings of Vol- 
 taire, Diderot, Rousseau, and 
 others, against arbitrary gov- 
 ernment and superstition, exert 
 an influence unfavorable to 
 existing institutions. 
 
CRITICAL PERIOD. 
 
 167 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Henry Fielding (i 707-1 754), law- 
 yer, comic writer, and painter 
 of national manners ; careless, 
 good-humored, improvident, 
 witty, boisterous. As a realist, 
 holding the mirror up to Nature, 
 showing to the age its own like- 
 ness without flattery or dis- 
 guise ; and as an artist — if we 
 hold the novelist's art to in- 
 clude ' wit, love, satire, humor, 
 observation, genuine pictures 
 of human nature without ro- 
 mance, and the perfect arrange- 
 ment of plot and incidents ' — 
 Fielding's place is doubtless in 
 the highest rank of English 
 novelists. He drew English 
 society — a society noted for the 
 low tone of its manners and the 
 looseness of its morals — with 
 a coarse, un-ideal pencil. 
 
 Dr. Samnel Johnson (1709- 1 784), 
 school-teacher, essayist, poet, 
 novelist, lexicographer ; an om- 
 nivorous reader ; the best talker 
 
 Writings. 
 
 Joseph Andrews (1742), begun in 
 ridicule of the virtuous lessons 
 inculcated in Pa?nela. The 
 caricature is in the picture of 
 a young footman virtuously and 
 triumphantly resisting the ad- 
 vmces of his mistress, Lady 
 Booby. The most striking 
 character, however, is the hero's 
 friend, Parson Adams, an esti- 
 mable scholar and Christian, 
 but with some external oddities, 
 and of unsuspecting simplicity. 
 Tom Jones (1749), the story of 
 which hinges upon the career 
 of two boys brought up for 
 charity's sake, — one of them 
 ' everybody's friend but his 
 own, the other nobody's friend 
 but his own.' The hero is not 
 admirable, and the standard of 
 moral rectitude is low ; but ' as 
 a picture of manners,' says 
 Thackeray, ' the novel is indeed 
 exquisite ; as a work of con- 
 struction, quite a wonder ; the 
 by-play of wisdom, the power 
 of observation, the multiplied 
 felicitous turns and thoughts, 
 the varied character of the 
 great comic epic, keep the read- 
 er in a perpetual admiration 
 and curiosity.' 
 
 London (1738), and the Vanity of 
 Human Wishes (1749), two sat- 
 ires on the manners of the 
 time, done in imitation of Juve- 
 
CRITICAL PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 
 23. Extension of the idea of na- 
 
 
 ture and liberty into literature 
 
 
 in the later years of the period, 
 
 
 disclosing the want of genial 
 
 
 life in the poetry of reason. 
 
 
 The forerunners of opposition 
 
 48. First great Shakespeare jubi- 
 
 to the conventional style were 
 
 lee at Stratford-on-Avoii, de- 
 
 the novelists, and such poets 
 
 signed by David Garrick, tlie 
 
 as Goldsmith, Gray, Thomson, 
 
 actor, 1769. 
 
 and Chatterton. 
 
 49. Watt's patent for the steam- 
 
 
 engine, 1769. 
 
 
 50. Napoleon and Wellington 
 
 
 born, 1769. 
 
 
 51, Dartmouth College founded, 
 1769. 
 
 52. Discovery of an old coal mine 
 at Ballycastle, County Antrim, 
 Ireland, 1770. There does not 
 exist the remotest tradition of 
 this mine, which proves beyond 
 doubt its great antiquity. Some 
 of the miners' tools and baskets 
 ■were found in the incrusted 
 galleries. 
 
CRITICAL PERIOD. 
 
 169 
 
 Writers. 
 
 of his time ; a kind of public 
 oracle; generous, humane ; fond 
 of dispute and of domineering ; 
 humble in prayer ; of bearish 
 manners, but of friendly mind ; 
 tinged with melancholy, averse 
 to regular work, but capable of 
 intense concentration : abigoted 
 Tory and Churchman ; a writer 
 of bold, comprehensive grasp ; 
 ' a mass of genuine manhood,' 
 says Carlyle. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 nal. Dictionary of the English 
 Language (1755), hailed with 
 great enthusiasm as the first 
 attempt to supply a long-felt 
 want. Its faults, for the most 
 part, are etymological ; its 
 chief merit, the skilful selection 
 of illustrative quotations. A 
 great, solid, square-built edi- 
 fice. Easselas (1759), story of 
 an Abyssinian prince, who, 
 educated in the seclusion of a 
 happy valley, and becoming 
 discontented with his surround- 
 ings as well as curious about 
 the outside world, escapes from 
 confinement with his sister and 
 an ancient sage. Having sur- 
 veyed life and manners, they 
 resolve to return, first pro- 
 nouncing the sentence, ' Vanity 
 of vanities, all is vanity!' It 
 is virtually a sermon on the 
 impossibiHty of finding perfect 
 happiness in this world Lives 
 of the Poets (1781), the best- 
 written and the most valuable 
 of Johnson's works. The criti- 
 cisms are ' the judgrnents of a 
 mind trammelled by prejudice 
 and deficient in sensibility, but 
 vigorous and acute.' Essays in 
 the Rambler and the Idler, — 
 attempts to revive the periodi- 
 cal miscellany, but without the 
 lightness and variety necessary 
 to make them popular. Irene, 
 a tragedy, coldly received. 
 
I/O 
 
 CRITICAL PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 23. Study of the Elizabethan 
 and earlier poets during the 
 second half of the period, as 
 shown in Warton's History of 
 English Poetry (1774-1781), 
 and in the editing of Shakes- 
 peare. 
 
 53. Cast steel first made at Shef- 
 field, 1770. 
 
 54. Exploration of Kentucky by 
 Daniel Boone, 1770. 
 
 24. Interest in the romantic past, 
 — the wild, natural stories of 
 ruder times, as evidenced by 
 the publication of Percy's 
 lieligues of Ancient English 
 Poetry, 1765. 
 
CRITICAL PERIOD. 
 
 171 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 David Hnme (1711-1776), a Scotch- 
 man, corpulent ; ' of happily- 
 balanced temper ; ' of simple 
 unaffected nature and kindly 
 disposition ; a profound and 
 fearless thinker ; as a philoso- 
 pher, the greatest in the mate- 
 rialistic school ; as a historian, 
 the first to treat the sequence 
 of events in a philosophical 
 manner, and to mix with the 
 history of public transactions 
 accounts of the condition of the 
 people and the state of the arts 
 and sciences. 
 
 Style : stately, measured, bal- 
 anced, seldom or never impas- 
 sioned, with a liking for strong 
 antithesis ; more Latinized in 
 his earlier productions than in 
 his later. 
 
 Treatise on Haman Nature (1738), 
 in which he upholds theoreti- 
 cally the dignity of man, and 
 asserts ' that the sentiments of 
 those who are inclined to think 
 favorably of mankind are much 
 more advantageous to virtue 
 than the contrary principles, 
 which give us a mean opinion 
 of our nature.' Essays Moral 
 and Political (1742), treating of 
 politics as a science, superstition 
 and enthusiasm, civil liberty, 
 the rise of arts and sciences. 
 Inquiry concerning the Human 
 Understanding (1748), in which 
 the author propounds his scep- 
 tical views. Says Sir William 
 Hamilton, ' I have no hesita- 
 tion in asserting of his philo- 
 sophical scepticism that this 
 was not only beneficial in its 
 results, but in the circum- 
 stances of the period, even a 
 necessary step in the progress 
 of Philosophy towards Truth.' 
 Inquiry concerning the Principles 
 of Morals (1751), in which he 
 traces the right and wrong, 
 goodness and badness, of hu- 
 man actions to considerations 
 
172 
 
 CRITICAL PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 C HARACTERISTICS. 
 
 55. Encydopasdia Britannica be- 
 gun, 1768; first edition com- 
 pleted, 1 77 1. 
 
 56. Birth and death of Sweden- 
 borg, a Swede, and a profound 
 religious mystic, 1688-1772. 
 
 57. Experiments in America for 
 working locomotives on com- 
 mon roads, 1772. 
 
 58. First partition of Poland, 
 1772. 
 
 59, The celebrated 
 of Boston, 1773. 
 
 Tea-party ' 
 
 25. Growth of a pleasure in ru- 
 ral things, seen in Thomson's 
 Seasons., Gray's Elegy, Gold- 
 smith's Traveller (1764), Beat- 
 tie's Minstrel. 
 
 26. Sympathy with the poor much 
 stimulated by the Methodist 
 
 re- 
 
CRITICAL PERIOD. 
 
 173 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 Thomas Gray (1716-1771), poet, 
 letter-writer, Professor of Mod- 
 ern History in the University 
 of Cambridge ; said to have 
 been the most learned man of 
 his time in Europe ; a great 
 stylist and a most careful work- 
 man. 
 
 William Collins (1721-1756), apoet 
 of genius and ambition, but of 
 irresolute mind (not wholly 
 
 of utility. History of England 
 (i 754-1762), from the earli- 
 est times to the Revolution. 
 Though not always trustworthy, 
 it ' differs as widely from the 
 previous annals and compila- 
 tions as a finished portrait by 
 Reynolds differs from the rude 
 draughts of a country artist.' 
 Dialogues on Natural Beligion 
 (published in 1779). 
 Style : perspicuous, neat, chaste, 
 flowing, and polished, and cold 
 as marble. 
 
 Elegy in a Country Churchyard 
 (1750), thirty-two stanzas, writ- 
 ten in seven years, on the fa- 
 vorite subject of man's mor- 
 tality ; a noble specimen of 
 grave, scholarly, and artistic 
 English. Progress of Poesy, a 
 poem giving a rapid and bril- 
 liant sketch of the progress of 
 poetry from the earliest times 
 to the days of Dryden. The 
 Bard, which finely weaves into 
 poetic form the chief facts of 
 English histor}'. Letters, some 
 of the best in the English 
 language. 
 
 Gray expressed himself as aiming 
 at a style extremely concise, 
 pure, perspicuous, and musical. 
 
 Odes (1747), polished and classical, 
 yet unaffected, of which the 
 most exquisite is ' Evening,' 'an 
 
174 
 
 CRITICAL PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 60. Patrick Henry's famous 
 speech before the Virginia 
 Convention, 1775. 
 
 61. War of the American Revo- 
 lution, 1776-1783. 
 
 62. Science of Political Economy 
 founded by Adam Smith's 
 Wealth of Nations., 1776 
 
 63. England declares war against 
 France for co-operating with 
 America, 1778. 
 
 vival, and illustrated by Gold- 
 smith's Deserted Village. 
 
 27. ' Up to the year 1745 or 1750 
 nothing had been done for 
 German literature, in order to 
 spread its reputation through 
 the world ; for scarcely any 
 German, since the time of 
 Luther, had, by the use of his 
 pen, acquired any wide influ- 
 ence over the minds of his con- 
 temporaries. There had been 
 doubtless many genial and 
 talented poets since the period 
 of the Minnesingers of the 
 twelfth and thirteenth centu- 
 ries ; these were scientific writ- 
 ers, classical scholars, and 
 historians ; but with regard to 
 belles-lettres the French school 
 prevailed.' 
 
CRITICAL PERIOD. 
 
 175 
 
 Writers. 
 
 sound), who did his work in 
 the spirit of the inspired musi- 
 cian, the imaginative scholar, 
 and the moralist. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 Mark Akenside (i 721-1770), phy- 
 sician, poet. ' A second-rate 
 Wordsworth.' 'The repast 
 which he lays before us, how- 
 ever grand, is served up cold.' 
 
 Oliver Goldsmith (1728-1774), poet, 
 essayist, historian, dramatist; 
 thoughtless, improvident, vain, 
 but merciful, generous, forgiv- 
 ing, full of love and pity ; a gay 
 
 ' and social liver, spending faster 
 than' he earned ; often melan- 
 choly and apprehensive, but 
 easily beguiled out of his sor- 
 row and anxiety ; desultory as 
 a child, and as a man, lacking 
 in his affections concentra- 
 tion, and in his pursuits unity. 
 ' The most beloved of English 
 authors,' says Thackeray. 
 
 orient pearl of tender loveli- 
 ness ; ' the most elaborate, ' The 
 Passions;' and the best-known, 
 ' How Sleep the Brave.' ' The 
 direct sincerity and purity of 
 their positive and straightfor- 
 ward inspiration will always 
 keep his poems fresh and sweet 
 in the senses of all men.' 
 
 Pleasures of the Imagination (1744), 
 a blank-verse, philosophical 
 poem on the pleasures of the 
 purified intellect ; belonging in 
 spirit to the time of Queen 
 Anne, and suggested by a series 
 of papers on the same subject 
 in Addison's Spectator. 
 
 The Traveller (1764), written in the 
 Popian couplet, carefully fin- 
 ished, yet delightfully easy and 
 graceful ; a description of the 
 scenery and manners of the 
 countries through which the au- 
 thor had travelled, as viewed 
 from an imaginary station on 
 the Alps, the moral purpose of 
 the picture being the reconcilia- 
 tion of man with his lot. Tho 
 Vicar of Wakefield (1766), an 
 idyllic story, descriptive of the 
 loves and simple lives of coun- 
 try people in country scenery, 
 and representing with exquisite 
 naturalness the reward of per- 
 severance in the right and the 
 final triumph of good over evil. 
 
I/O 
 
 CRITICAL PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 64. First umbrella introduced 
 from Spain into England, 1778. 
 
 65. The Sunday-school insti- 
 tuted by Robert Raikes, 1780. 
 
 3. Muslins first made in Eng- 
 land, 1781. 
 
 67. Establishment of great Eng- 
 lish journals, — Morning Post, 
 I'JTi; Morning Herald, 178 1. 
 
 68. Discovery of Uranus by Her- 
 schel, 1781. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 38. Rapid prosperity of the 
 American colonies from the 
 early part of this period. 
 
 9. American productive energy 
 absorbed in Indian warfare, in 
 the cares of existence, in the 
 
CRITICAL PERIOD. 
 
 177 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 Adam Smith (1723-1790), Profes- 
 sor of Logic (later of Moral 
 Philosophy) in the University 
 of Glasgow, Commissioner of 
 Customs, an important figure 
 in the history of Ethics, and 
 author of the first systematic 
 treatise on Political Economy ; 
 grave and preoccupied, frank 
 
 Its language is what ' angels 
 might have heard and virgins 
 told.' The Deserted Village (1770), 
 a mirror of his childhood's 
 home and happy hours. , The 
 main idea is the superiority of 
 agriculture to commerce as re- 
 gards both individual happiness 
 and national prosperity ; dis- 
 tinguished for its delicate finish 
 and natural character. The 
 description of Auburn, the por- 
 traits of the village preacher 
 and the school-master, are inim- 
 itable. She Stoops to Conquer 
 (7773), a prose comedy, drama- 
 tizing the author's blunder in 
 mistaking a gentleman's house 
 for an inn. Witty and graceful 
 Essays, contributions to periodi- 
 cals. Also, as hack-work, his- 
 tories of England, Greece, 
 Rome, Animated Nature, and 
 other writings. 
 Style: light, graceful, elegantly 
 simple. 'Whatever he touched 
 he adorned.' 
 
 Theory of Moral Ssntiments (1759), 
 which follows Hume in holding 
 sympathy to be the chief source 
 of our moral feelings and judg- 
 ments. The Wealth of Nations 
 (1776), the most striking doc- 
 trine of which is Free Trade, 
 or the abolition of commercial 
 restrictions. 
 
178 
 
 CRITICAL PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 69. Beginning of the younger 
 Pitt's long and eventful career 
 as prime minister, 1783. 
 
 70. Peace of Versailles, by which 
 the independence of the United 
 States of America is recognized, 
 1783. American debt, nine 
 million dollars. 
 
 71. Slavery abolished in Massa- 
 chusetts, 1783. 
 
 72. Excitement in Dublin for 
 Parliamentary reform, 1784. 
 
 diffusion of Christianity, in the 
 establishment of schools, and 
 in the creation of a virtuous 
 public spirit. 
 
 30. Habitual deference of colo- 
 nial American literature (1607- 
 1776;, promising, but of slight 
 intrinsic literary worth, and 
 written by those who inherited 
 or shared the intellectual life of 
 the mother-country. 
 
CRITICAL PERIOD. 
 
 179 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 and always teachable ; slow and 
 circumspect in forming and ex- 
 pressing his opinions. 
 
 Edmund Borke (1730-1797), Whig, 
 M. P. for nearly thirty years, 
 statesman, orator, writer on 
 sesthetical and political philoso- 
 phy; a man of noble presence 
 and prepossessing appearance, 
 of prodigious industry and wide, 
 ready knowledge, with an al- 
 most unparalleled command of 
 expression; described by Car- 
 lyle as ' a man vehement rather 
 than earnest ; a resplendent, 
 far-sighted rhetorician rather 
 than a deep, sure thinker;' yet 
 perhaps ' the greatest philoso- 
 pher in practice that the world 
 
 James Beattie (1735-1803), poet, 
 Professor of Moral Philosophy 
 and Logic. He reflects in his 
 work the disposition of the age 
 to dismiss the artificial poetry 
 and return to Nature. 
 
 Style : clear and copious, but 
 wanting in vigor. 
 
 Vindication of Natural Society (l 756), 
 intended as a parody of the 
 deistical Bolingbroke's rea- 
 sonings on religion. Essay on 
 the Sublime and Beautiful (1756), 
 an ingenious pleading in sup- 
 port of theory, and a wide 
 assemblage of striking illustra- 
 tions, rather than a profound 
 analysis of aesthetic emotions. 
 Thoughts on Present Discontents 
 {}n°)! on the side of conces- 
 sion to the irritated colonies 
 of America, — his best work in 
 point of style. Eeflections on 
 the French Revolution (1790), a 
 warning to the people of Eng- 
 land against the example of 
 revolutionary France. Letters 
 on the Proposals for Peace with 
 the Begicide Directory of France 
 (1796). 
 
 Style : multiform, splendidly 
 figurative, dignified, full, and 
 strong. 
 
 The Minstrel (1771), designed to 
 trace the progress of a poeti- 
 cal genius, Edwin, born in a 
 rude age, from the dawn of 
 fancy and .reason to the period 
 of his fitness for entrance into 
 the world as a minstrel (itiner- 
 
i8o 
 
 CRITICAL PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 73. Mail-coaches first established, 
 1784. 
 
 31. In New England during the 
 first half of the century the 
 sole intellectual interest of 
 the people was theological, and 
 the prominent figures were In- 
 crease and Cotton Mather. 
 From 1765 to 1787 politics took 
 the place hitherto occupied by 
 theology, and the great figure 
 in the literature of the Revolu- 
 tion was Benjamin Franklin. 
 In his deistical writings, as in 
 those of Jefferson and Tom 
 Paine, may be seen the eigh- 
 teenth-century rebound from 
 the religious tension of the 
 seventeenth. 
 
CRITICAL PERIOD. 
 
 Ibl 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 Edward Gibbon (i 737-1794), histo- 
 rian, M. P. In his early years 
 ' a thin little figure with a large 
 head ; ' of elegant and dignified 
 manners ; of kind and even 
 temper ; a voracious reader, of 
 sensuous imagination ; more 
 accurate, learned, and compre- 
 hensive than Hume, but less 
 philosophical. 
 
 James Uacpherson (1738-1796), 
 Scotchman, school-master, lit- 
 erary adventurer, poetical writer 
 in London. His may boldly 
 be affirmed to have been a true 
 and uncommon genius. 
 
 ant poet and musician). Its 
 principal defect is want of plot. 
 Edwin is ' a mere peg on which 
 to hang descriptive passages, 
 moral disquisitions, and digres- 
 sions of every kind.' 
 
 Decline and Fall of the Bomau Em- 
 pire (1776-1788), covering a 
 space of about thirteen cen- 
 turies (98-1453). Gibbon's 
 ' conception of the work was 
 that of an artist. Rome, east- 
 ern and western, was painted 
 in the centre of the world, dy- 
 ing slowly like a lion. Around 
 it and towards it he drew all 
 the nations and hordes and 
 faiths that wrought its ruin ; 
 told their stories from the be- 
 ginning, and the results on 
 themselves and on the world of 
 their victories over Rome.' 
 One of the great historical 
 works of universal literature. 
 
 Style : ' copious, splendid, ele- 
 gantly rounded, distinguished 
 by supreme artificial skill.' 
 
 Oasian (1762), consisting of two 
 epic poems, 'Fingal' and 'Ti- 
 mora,' which the author pro- 
 fessed to have translated from 
 manuscripts discovered in the 
 Highlands of Scotland. They 
 present in highly colored prose 
 stirring pictures of old Celtic 
 life. Received with intense 
 enthusiasm throughout Europe. 
 
1 82 
 
 CRITICAL PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
CRITICAL PERIOD. 
 
 183 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings.' 
 
 Jnnins, nom de plume of a writer 
 who, at a time of division and 
 disorganization in the Govern- 
 ment, growing out of opposite 
 policies, personal enmities, and 
 the conflict with the newspaper 
 press, created a great sensation 
 by attacking, with dismaying 
 knowledge of State secrets and 
 of the private life of his victims, 
 the conduct and character of 
 leading politicians. 
 
 William Paley (i 743-1805), lect- 
 urer at Christ's College, Arch- 
 deacon of Carlisle ; a man of 
 clear, steady, matter-of-fact in- 
 tellect. 
 
 Denounced by some as a for- 
 gery, by others held to be 
 genuine. ' The longer I have 
 studied the question,' says 
 Principal Shairp, ' the more I 
 have been convinced that Mac- 
 pherson was a translator.' 
 
 Letters (1769-1772), contributed 
 to the Public Advertiser ; re- 
 markable for splendor of dic- 
 tion and energy of sarcasm ; 
 marked mechanically by the 
 predominance of the balanced 
 structure. Who was the author 
 has never been quite satisfac- 
 torily ascertained, though the 
 evidence points strongly to Sir 
 Philip Francis. 
 
 Moral and Politioal Philosophy ( 1 785), 
 repudiating innate moral dis- 
 tinctions, and defining virtue as 
 ' the doing good to mankind, in 
 obedience to the will of God, 
 for the sake of everlasting hap- 
 piness.' View of the Evidences 
 of Christianity (1794)1 a stand- 
 ard text-book on the subject. 
 Natural Theology (1802), argu- 
 ment for the existence of an 
 intelligent Creator, drawn from 
 the numerous marks of design 
 (adaptation of means to end) 
 in the constitution of Nature 
 and of man. 
 
 Style : simple and homely, but 
 clear. 
 
1 84 
 
 CRITICAL PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
CRITICAL PERIOD. 
 
 I8S 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Thomas CSiatterton (1752-1770), a 
 youthful poetic genius, with 
 romantic tastes and a passion- 
 ate desire for fame ; said to 
 have suicided in London, in a 
 fit of despair. ' Young-eyed 
 Poesy,' says Coleridge, ' all 
 deftly marked in hoar antiquity.' 
 ' The marvellous boy that per- 
 ished in his pride,' says Words- 
 worth. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 L series of antique Foems (bal- 
 lads, pastorals, dramas, etc.), 
 ascribed to an imaginary monk 
 of the fifteenth century, and 
 purporting to have been found 
 among the contents of an old 
 chest in a Bristol church. 
 Picturesque description and 
 lyrical invention are their lead- 
 ing charms. Written in imita- 
 tion of the old spelling, on 
 discolored parchment, they 
 raised around them a great 
 controversy. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 A CREATIVE PERIOD, 1784-1837. 
 
 1760. George III. 
 
 \ 
 
 I III 
 
 1820. 1830. I I 
 
 George IV. William IV. Edward Ernest Augustus 
 
 ( Duke of Kent) . {JCing of Hanover) . 
 
 1837. Victoria. George V. 
 
 (^King of Hanover). 
 
 Presidents of the United States.— George Washington, 1789^1797. 
 
 John Adams, 1797-1801. 
 
 Thomas Jefferson, 1801-1809. 
 
 James Madison, 1809-1817. 
 
 James Monroe, 1817-1825. 
 
 John Quincy Adams, 1825-1829. 
 
 Andrew Jackson, 1839-1837. 
 
i88 
 
 A CREATIVE PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 1. John Adams, the first United 
 States ambassador to England, 
 1785. 
 
 . Federative democratic govern- 
 ment in America, 1787, the 
 legislature of which is vested in 
 a senate and house of repre- 
 sentatives. The members of 
 the latter are elected every two 
 years by the people ; the sena- 
 tors are appointed by the State 
 legislature, two being chosen 
 by each State for the term of 
 six years. The executive 
 power is intrusted to a presi- 
 dent, who holds his office for a 
 term of four years. The press 
 unshackled, trial by jury, right 
 of petition and to bear arms, 
 perfect freedom of religion. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 1. Exciting discussion of the 
 equality doctrines of the French 
 Revolution. 
 
 2. Social reform, including edu- 
 cation, prisons, hospitals, the 
 poor and their woes. 
 
 3. Political reform, including free- 
 dom and slavery, monarchical 
 and democratic government, 
 international intercourse, ex- 
 tension of suffrage. 
 
A CREATIVE PERIOD. 
 
 189 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 William Cowper (1731-1800), a 
 good man, sensitive, shrinking, 
 benevolent, devout ; loathing 
 from his soul all affectation; 
 subject to attacks of melan- 
 cholia, often in extreme misery, 
 depression, and despair; as a 
 poet, simple, sweet, and true ; 
 one who called poetry back 
 from conventionality to Nature 
 and religion, from profession to 
 practice ; forerunner of the il- 
 lustrious group that arose out 
 of the intellectual ferment of 
 the European Revolution. Not 
 so wide-ranging as Thomson, 
 who paints Nature in all her 
 moods, but more real and more 
 thoroughly English ; differing 
 from contemporaries in this, — 
 that while they copied other 
 poets, he copied Nature, and 
 did it directly, as he saw her, 
 with the affection of a child and 
 the observation of a man, not 
 by culling descriptive phrases 
 from books. 
 
 Olney Hymns (1779), written 
 jointly with his Calvinistic 
 friend, Rev. John Newton. 
 Moral Satires (1782), including 
 ' Table-Talk,' ' Conversation,' 
 ' Retirement,' and other poems 
 in heroic metre. 'There issome- 
 thing here,' says Franklin, 'so 
 new in the manner, so easy and 
 yet so correct in the language, 
 so clear in the expression, yet 
 concise, and so just in the sen- 
 timent, that I have read the 
 whole with great pleasure.' 
 The Task (1785), so called be- 
 cause imposed upon the author 
 by a lady friend who had long 
 urged him to attempt some- 
 thing in blank verse ; mainly 
 devoted to the praise of retire- 
 ment and country life as more 
 friendly to" piety and virtue than 
 the life of the city, with disqui- 
 sitions on political and social 
 subjects, and a closing proph- 
 ecy of the victory of the king- 
 dom of God. Some of its 
 topics are 'Nature,' 'Clerical 
 Coxcomb,' ' Fashion,' ' Vanity 
 of Human Pursuits,' ' The 
 Green-house,' ' The News- 
 paper,' ' Evils of Corporations,' 
 ' Foddering of Cattle,' ' Adapta- 
 tion of every Man to his own 
 Niche in Life,' ' Manifestations 
 of the Divine in Nature,' ' Man's 
 Personal Delight in Nature,' 
 etc. JolmGilpin(r785), a famous 
 
190 
 
 A CREATIVE PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 4. Taste for German literature, 
 German transcendentalism, 
 German modes of thought in 
 criticism and history. ' You 
 will be pleased,' wrote Carlyle 
 to Goethe, 'to hear that the 
 knowledge and appreciation of 
 foreign, and especially of Ger- 
 man, literature spreads with in- 
 creasing rapidity wherever the 
 English tongue rules.' 
 
 3. First debate on the abolition 
 of the slave-trade, 1788. 
 
A CREATIVE PERIOD. 
 
 191 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 Jeremy Bentham (i 748-1832), a 
 studious recluse of vigorous, 
 comprehensive, subtle, and fer- 
 tile mind ; founder of the sci- 
 ence of jurisprudence ; the 
 greatest critic of legislation and 
 government in his day ; a de- 
 structive and subversive phil- 
 osopher who never pulled down 
 without building up. His con- 
 tempt ' of all other schools of 
 thinkers, his determination to 
 create a philosophy wholly out 
 of the materials furnished in 
 his own mind, and by minds 
 like his own, was,' says J. S. 
 Mill, ' his first disqualification 
 as a philosopher. His second 
 was the incompleteness of his 
 own mind as a representative 
 of universal human nature.' 
 
 ballad, playful and humorous. 
 Homer's Iliad and Odyssey trans- 
 lated into blank verse (1791). 
 The Castaway, his most power- 
 ful poem. Letters, which, like 
 Gray's, are among the best in 
 the language. 
 Style : simple, clear, manly ; less 
 musical and brilliant than 
 Pope's, but more natural. He 
 says, ' A meaning . . that does 
 not stare you in the face is as 
 bad as no meaning.' ' My de- 
 scriptions are all from Nature. 
 . . . My delineations of the heart 
 are from my own experience.' 
 
 Fragment on Government (1776), 
 aud a number of books and 
 pamphlets on subjects con- 
 nected with ethics, law, and 
 politics. Their leading and 
 pervading principle is the doc- 
 trine of utility, — that the pur- 
 suit of pleasure and the recoil 
 from pain are the only motives 
 which influence human desires 
 and actions, and that these are 
 the sufficient explanation of 
 ethical and jural conceptions. 
 The favorite vehicle for its ex- 
 pression is the phrase, ' the 
 greatest happiness to the great- 
 est number.' 
 
 Style : much better in his earlier 
 than in his later writings, which 
 are intricate and involved. 
 
192 
 
 A CREATIVE PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 4. Beginning of the French Revo- 
 lution, 1789. Great excitement 
 in France. The Bastile stormed 
 and razed. 
 
 5. Acceptance of the American 
 Constitution by all the States, 
 1789. Election of George 
 Washington, first president ; 
 John Adams, vice-president ; 
 cabinet, — Jefferson, Hamilton, 
 Knox, Randolph) and Jay. 
 
 . Love of natural scenery for its 
 own sake ; interest in man as 
 man, — a universal brotherhood ; 
 re-entrance of fervent passion 
 into poetry ; reaction against 
 the formahsra that made litera- 
 ture cold and lifeless ; the val- 
 uation of Nature and soul as 
 the sources of true poetic in- 
 spiration and resuscitation of 
 the romantic past. 
 
A CREATIVE PERIOD. 
 
 193 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 George Crablie (1754-1832), sur- 
 geon, clergyman, the poet of 
 the poor, one of the noblest and 
 kindest of men, known as ' the 
 gentleman with the sour name 
 and the sweet countenance.' 
 ' Nature's sternest painter,' says 
 Byron. ' His great defect is 
 an incurable want of taste.' 
 Aiming to paint things just as 
 they are, he introduces vulgar 
 details without the slightest 
 attempt at generalization or 
 selection. 
 
 William Blake (1757-1827), artist, 
 poet, and one of the most genu- 
 inely spiritual of such ; one of 
 the prophets and leaders of the 
 future, representing in his work 
 the elements of the new poetry, 
 study of the Elizabethan poets, 
 of the old poetic passion, love 
 of animals, children, and home, 
 hatred of priestcraft, and war 
 with social wrongs. 
 
 Bobert Bums (1759-1796), farmer, 
 excise officer, greatest poet of 
 Scotland, one of the foremost 
 lyrists of the world ; an en- 
 thusiastic reader ; excitable 
 and emotional, warm-hearted 
 
 The Village (1783), the Parish 
 Register (1807), Tales in Verse 
 (1812), and Tales of the Hall 
 (1819), all treat, in the main, 
 of the scenery, characters, and 
 manners of humble life, — its 
 sacrifices, virtues, loves, tempta- 
 tions, crimes ; the miserable 
 cottage, the workhouse, the 
 prison, the hospital, the pau- 
 per, the barren heath, the 
 wretched lanes and by-ways; 
 showing the gloomy, hard, de- 
 spairing side. 
 
 Style : often pathetic and gener- 
 ally forcible ; a mixture of the 
 eighteenth and nineteenth cen- 
 turies. His poems are all in 
 the Popian couplet. 
 
 Songs of Innocence (1789), the chief 
 note of which is field-flower 
 freshness and grace, the beauty 
 of Nature, simple, childlike, and 
 sweet. The sombre reverse 
 side is given in Songs of Expe- 
 rience (1794). 
 
 The Cotter's Saturday Night, a noble 
 and pathetic picture of his 
 father's fireside happiness and 
 piety, including descriptive re- 
 flections, passages on love, 
 virtue, family worship, and an 
 
 J3 
 
194 
 
 A CREATIVE PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 C HARACTERISTICS. 
 
 6. Nails first made by machinery, 
 1790. 
 
 7. Fire-brigade of London first 
 formed, 1791. 
 
 6. Efflorescence of the lyric in 
 Burns. 
 
A CREATIVE PERIOD. 
 
 195 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 andliberal-minded; scorning the 
 selfish and mean ; loving and 
 adoring the gentle and beauti- 
 ful ; a self-respectful son of the 
 soil, claiming no rank above 
 the lowest, yet feeling himself 
 equal to the highest ; wanting 
 in force of will and unity of 
 aim, and living' in a state of 
 perpetual warfare with moods, 
 passions, and circumstances ; 
 a new and impassioned spirit 
 that, abhorring artificiality, drew 
 its music and themes from Na- 
 ture, which he loved simply and 
 directly, without subtilizings or 
 refinings. ' So substantially a 
 reformer,' says Emerson, 'that 
 I find his great plain sense in 
 close chain with the greatest 
 masters ; ' yet ' he has given 
 voice to all the experiences of 
 common life.' ' His candle,' 
 wrote Cowper, ' is bright, but 
 shut up in a dark lantern.' 
 ' Scarcely ever was seen to- 
 gether,' says Taine, ' more of 
 misery and talent.' ' It was 
 the strength of his passions and 
 the weakness of his moral will 
 which made his poetry and 
 spoilt his life,' says Brooke. 
 ' At the basis of all his power,' 
 says Shairp, ' lay absolute truth- 
 fulness, intense reality^ 
 
 apostrophe to Scotland. Tarn 
 O'Shanter, a serio-comic tale of 
 All-Hallow-Eve, when, accord- 
 ing to tradition, the demons 
 and witches are abroad. It 
 records the market-day carouse 
 and midnight adventures of a 
 rustic reprobate- 'A drunken 
 phantasmagoria, painted in all 
 vapors,' says Carlyle. The Vis- 
 ion, representing the poet as 
 moodily musing in a fit of mel- 
 ancholy on wasted time, and 
 resolving to rhyme no more, 
 when suddenly the muse en- 
 ters, reassures and enraptures 
 him, bidding him choose lowly 
 themes. To a Mouse and To a 
 Mountain Daisy, the one show- 
 ing his feelings of fellowship 
 with the lower creatures, and 
 the other his clear-eyed, open- 
 hearted love for the natural 
 world. To Mary in Heaven, a 
 poem of singular elevation and 
 sweetness, addressed to an 
 amiable girl who died a few 
 days before their intended mar- 
 riage. Many other Poems, 
 Songs, and Ballads. His songs 
 lay hold of, not the changing 
 aspects of society, but the 
 changeless and permanent in 
 human life, and so can never 
 be superannuated. 
 Style : melodious, natural, glow- 
 ing; full of light and fire. His 
 Letters, which are more ambi- 
 
196 
 
 A CREATIVE PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 8. Universityof Vermontfounded, 
 1791. 
 
 . Development of the novel, — 
 novel of passion (Mrs. Inch- 
 bald, 1791) ; novel of domestic 
 life (Mrs. Opie, 1806) ; novel 
 of national character and of 
 moral purpose (Miss Edge- 
 worth, 1801-1811). 
 
 9. Population of United States 
 about four millions, including 
 nearly eight hundred thousand 
 slaves, 1 791. 
 
 8. Culmination of the historical 
 novel in Sir Walter Scott and 
 James Fenimore Cooper. 
 
 10. Adoption of the guillotine by 
 the French Assembly, 1792. 
 
A CREATIVE PERIOD. 
 
 197 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 William Cobbett (1762-1835), field 
 laborer, private soldier, M. P.; 
 a fine type of the self-educated 
 Englishman, honest, pugna- 
 cious, self-opinioned, persist- 
 ent; under opposition warring 
 furiously against all forms of 
 corruption ; the most power- 
 ful political writer of the day. 
 Americans nicknamed him 
 Peter Porcupine. 
 
 Samuel Eogers(i763-i855), banker, 
 poet, a man of quiet tastes, of 
 never-failing kindness and un- 
 wearying benevolence, living 
 long and usefully in a courtly 
 region of culture. 
 
 William Wordsworth (1770-1850), 
 philosophical poet, laureate, a 
 thinker and dreamer, to whom 
 existence was moral and divine ; 
 a wise and happy man, to whom 
 Nature and mankind were ob- 
 jects of delight, of pure imagi- 
 nation and love; so intensely 
 spiritual that he saw poetical 
 elements in everything ; want- 
 ing in the stronger passions, 
 and hence not of the Shake- 
 spearian, but of the Miltonic 
 type ; an interpreter of Nature, 
 who, taking the step that poets 
 
 tious, are very readable, but 
 sometimes inflated and artifi- 
 cial. 
 
 Emigrant's Guide, English Grammar, 
 Cottage Economy, Sural Bides in 
 England, A Legacy to Parsons, A 
 Year's Sesidence in America, Ad- 
 vice to Young Hen, etc. 
 
 These books are remarkable for 
 their good sense and clear, 
 forcible, idiomatic style. 
 
 Pleasures of Memory, Human Life, 
 and Italy, works of a slow and 
 cultivated mind, filled with a 
 graceful and gentle spirit, and 
 containing along with many 
 just and fruitful thoughts some 
 fine though labored description. 
 
 Lyrical Ballads ( 1 798-1 800), a 
 joint work in which it was 
 agreed that the efforts of Cole- 
 ridge should be directed to 
 persons and characters super- 
 natural, while those of Words- 
 worth should give the charm of 
 novelty to the things of every 
 day. Most noteworthy of the 
 latter's contributions is ' We 
 are Seven.' Intimations of Im- 
 mortality, characterized by 
 Emerson as the high-water 
 mark of English thought in the 
 present century. The Excur- 
 
1 98 
 
 A CREATIVE PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 
 9, Literary excellence of dra- 
 
 11. Williams College, Massachu- 
 
 matic composition (Byron, 
 
 setts, founded, 1793. 
 
 Shelley, Coleridge, etc.), but the' 
 
 
 dearth of qualities requisite for 
 
 
 successful stage representation. 
 
 
 The Virginius of James Sheri- 
 
 
 dan Knowles forms a conspicu- 
 
 
 ous exception to the rule. 
 
 12. Reign of Terror in France, 
 
 
 1793- 
 
 
 13. Invention of the cotton-gin. 
 
 
 1793- 
 
 
 14. Bowdoin College, Maine, 
 
 
 founded, 1794. 
 
 
A CREATIVE PERIOD. 
 
 199 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 up to his time had not taken, 
 said that the world was alive, — 
 the material image of the Over- 
 Soul, the body of the immanent 
 God, to be loved therefore with 
 personal affection, as one hu- 
 man being may love another; 
 the revealer of things hidden, 
 the sanctifier of things com- 
 mon ; to be venerated for up- 
 rightness of heart, depth of 
 intuition, and loftiness of gen- 
 ius. He tells us that he wrote 
 ' to console the afflicted ; to 
 add sunshine to daylight by 
 making the happy happier ; to 
 teach the young and the gra- 
 cious of every age to see, to 
 think and feel, and therefore 
 to become more actively and 
 securely virtuous.' 
 
 sion (1814), a philosophical, 
 pastoral poem of nine books, 
 the subject of which is the con- 
 trast between a fiery, impatient, 
 misanthropical spirit calle{i the 
 Solitary, and a cheerful, con- 
 templative, optimistic soul called 
 the Wanderer, who, with the 
 aid of a mountain clergyman, 
 seeks to restore Solitary from 
 morbid unbelief to that health 
 of heart in which he shall be 
 open to the power of truth. 
 Little action, no dramatic art, 
 — defects, however, that are 
 overbalanced by the purity and 
 elevation of the thought and 
 the organ-like music of the 
 lines. ' What golden rounds 
 of verse do we not see striking 
 heavenward with angels as- 
 cending and descending? ' The 
 Prelude (1850), an autobiograph- 
 ical epic of fourteen books, 
 giving the history of the writer's 
 poetical growth from a child to 
 1806, inclusive of childhood 
 and early school-days (I.-II.), 
 college hfe (III.-VI.), residence 
 in London (VII.), education 
 from Nature (VI 11.), residence 
 in France (IX -XI.), and his 
 philosophy (XII.-XIV.). He 
 is the author of many other 
 poems, as well as some very 
 good prose, consisting chiefly 
 of prefaces and introductions. 
 Style : in his earlier productions 
 
200 
 
 A CREATIVE PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 15. Public procession in France 
 in honor of the God of Nature ; 
 Robespierre acts as high-priest, 
 1794. 
 
 16. Impeachment and trial of 
 Warren Hastings, 1788-1795. 
 
 17. Extinction of Poland as a 
 kingdom, 1795- 
 
 18. Napoleon commences his 
 victorious campaign in Italy, 
 1796. 
 
 10. Substantial and artistic merit 
 of miscellaneous literature, tak- 
 ing the form mainly of essays 
 and sketches first appearing in 
 periodicals. 
 
 11. Growing comprehensiveness 
 of view, carefulness of judg- 
 ment, and finish of style in 
 historical writing (Macaulay, 
 Hallam, and Prescott). 
 
A CREATIVE PERIOD. 
 
 201 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832), Scot- 
 tish barrister, poet, novelist ; 
 a devourer of ballads, ro- 
 mances, old plays, and epics ; 
 delighting in the movements, 
 pageantry, and events of war ; 
 of vigorous imagination, extra- 
 ordinary and well-stored mem- 
 ory ; of flowing and genial 
 humor, inclining to the comic 
 rather than the grave ; sincere 
 and honest, courteous and hos- 
 pitable ; of free and joyful sym- 
 pathy with all the creatures of 
 earth and sky ; a close observer 
 of Nature ; a graphic narrator ; 
 a skilful painter of scenery ; a 
 powerful delineator of charac- 
 ter, at once pictorial and dra- 
 matic ; of prodigious industry 
 and facihty in composition ; de- 
 ficient in spirituality, evincing 
 no perception of the great mys- 
 tery of existence. It has been 
 said that no man has written 
 so many volumes with so few 
 sentences that can be quoted ; 
 withal, a good, great, victorious 
 man. 
 
 The popularity of his works — 
 biographies, histories, poems 
 and novels — is waning, partly 
 from prolixity, partly from haste 
 
 simple, forcible, and melodious ; 
 in his later, austerely pure, 
 gravely harmonious, often mag- 
 nificent. 
 
 Lay of the Last Minstrel (1805), a 
 vigorous story (in iambic tetra- 
 meters) of the sixteenth cen- 
 tury, put into the mouth of an 
 ancient minstrel, and meant to 
 illustrate the Border customs 
 and manners of England and 
 Scotland. Marmion (1808), an- 
 other epic, illustrating still more 
 extensively, with greater diver- 
 sity of incident, feudal and 
 Border life. Lady of the Lake 
 (1810), a poetical romance 
 whose heroine is a stainless, 
 courageous Highland girl ; 
 superior to either of the others 
 in characterization and dramatic 
 incident, it marks the culmina- 
 tion of Scott's poetical reputa- 
 tion. Waverly (1814); or, 'T is 
 Sixty Years Since, illustrative of 
 Scottish history and society. 
 Guy Mannering (1815), a graphic 
 picture of life and manners 
 among the Scotch in the mid- 
 dle of the eighteenth century. 
 Striking character-portraits are 
 those of the scheming gypsy, 
 Meg Merrilies, the pedagogue 
 Sampson, and the smuggler 
 Hatteraick. OldMortaUty (1816), 
 a story of the rebellion of the 
 Covenanters, 1679. Heart of 
 
202 
 
 A CREATIVE PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 19. Fall of Venice, and partition 
 
 
 of the Venetian States between 
 
 13. Brilliancy and fulness of the 
 
 France and Austria, 1797. 
 
 literature of criticism as devel- 
 
 
 oped by Jeffrey, Wilson, Smith, 
 
 
 Macaulay, De Quincey, and 
 
 
 many others. 
 
 20. Irish Rebellion, 1798. 
 
 ' 
 
 21. The double and conflicting 
 
 
 interests of Germany are now 
 
 
 visible:, one part for war, the 
 
 
 other for neutrality ; Prussia 
 
 13. Disposition of critics to be 
 
 the leader of the northern, and 
 
 interpretative, — to emphasize, 
 
 Austria of the southern division, 
 
 not the outer form, but the 
 
 1799- 
 
 inner organic life. 
 
A CREATIVE PERIOD. 
 
 203 
 
 Writers. 
 
 in construction, and partly from 
 the revolution of taste. ' Are 
 they [the Waverly romances] 
 to amuse one generation only ? ' 
 asks Carlyle. 'One or more! 
 As many generations as they 
 can ; but not all generations, — 
 ah, no ; when our swallow-tail 
 has become fantastic as trunk 
 hose, they will cease to amuse.' 
 
 Sydney Smith (1771-1845), clergy- 
 man, reviewer, essayist ; a lib- 
 eral in politics, a utilitarian in 
 religion, and a humorist of the 
 robust and boisterous type, with 
 purposes prevailingly serious. 
 In society, ' the most agreeable, 
 sensible, and instructive guest 
 and companion that the oldest 
 person living could remember.' 
 
 Writings. 
 
 Mid-Lothian (1818), the main 
 action of which turns upon the 
 heroism of a Scotch girl who 
 walks from Edinburgh to Lon- 
 don to petition the Queen in 
 behalf of her sister, unjustly 
 convicted of child-murder. 
 Bride of lammermoor (1819), a 
 fateful and impressive tale of 
 society in 1700. Ivanhoe (1819), 
 a historical romance of the 
 time of the crusades and the 
 confusion that preceded the 
 welding of Norman and Saxon 
 elements. Kenilworth (1821), 
 a story of love and intrigue 
 and statecraft in the days of 
 Elizabeth. 
 Style : in poetry, neither deep 
 nor sublime, but picturesque 
 and bright ; in prose, sim- 
 ple, easy, and graphic, full of 
 grace and sparkle, careless 
 and incorrect, as of one in- 
 tent on general effects, more 
 studious of pictures than of 
 melody. 
 
 Peter Plimley's letters (1807), 
 written on behalf of the en- 
 franchisement of the Irish 
 Catholics. A fine example of 
 solid reasoning, in witty and 
 racy form. Sermons and Essays, 
 which prove that ' he could 
 combine purity and correctness 
 with force of language,' but 
 ' because he constantly aimed 
 
204 
 
 A CREATIVE PERIOD. 
 
 Events 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 22. Union of Great Britain and 
 
 
 Ireland, 1801. 
 
 
 23. Ohio, having seventy-six 
 
 14. Diffusion of scientific knowl- 
 
 thousand inhabitants, joins the 
 
 edge by the popular lectures 
 
 Union, mailing the seventeenth 
 
 of Sir Humphry Davy. In- 
 
 State, 1802. 
 
 troduction of the Development 
 
 
 Theory into English science. 
 
 
 incipient in the teachings of 
 
 
 Sir Charles Lyell, and first sys- 
 
 
 tematically stated by the un- 
 
 
 known author of Vestiges of 
 
 
 Creation. 
 
A CREATIVE PERIOD. 
 
 205 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Physically and mentally, one of 
 the race of giants. 
 
 Samuel Taylor Coleridge (l 772-1 834), 
 soldier, journalist, metaphysi- 
 cian, critic, poet ; good-tem- 
 pered, benevolent, high-minded, 
 irresolute ; too confirmed an 
 opium-eater to be a persistent 
 worker ; a magnificent dreamer ; 
 'eyes full of sorrow as of in- 
 spiration ; ' champion of the 
 German transcendental philoso- 
 phy ; one of the world's great 
 conversers. ' The only won- 
 derful man I have ever known,' 
 says Wordsworth. ' His writ- 
 ings are very unequal, and 
 mostly fragmentary. All that 
 he did excellently might be 
 bound up in twenty pages, but 
 it should be bound in pure 
 gold.' 
 
 Writings. 
 
 Lord Jeffrey (1773-1850), Scotch 
 barrister, Rector of Glasgow 
 
 at effect by startling contrasts, 
 . . . his humorous writings are 
 often deficient in ease, smooth- 
 ness, grace, rhythm.' 
 
 Ancient Mariner (1798), a weird 
 story of the sea, told by an old 
 sailor to a wedding guest in the 
 simple, picturesque manner of 
 the early ballad. Christabel 
 (1797), an unfinished tale of 
 witchcraft, — a picture of inno- 
 cence pursued and persecuted 
 by the powers of evil. Ode to 
 Dejection, ' instinct not only with 
 his own wasted life, but with 
 the sorrow of one who has had 
 golden ideals and found them 
 turn in his hands to clay.' Lec- 
 tures on Shakespeare, eloquent 
 and profound ; and Biographia 
 Literaria (1817), a history of 
 the development of his opin- 
 ions, containing a valuable re- 
 view of Wordsworth's poetry. 
 The Friend (1810) and Aids to 
 Eeflection (1825), combining his 
 own and the German philoso- 
 phies in the treatment of so- 
 cial, political, and theological 
 questions. 
 
 Style : in poetry, full of fine musi- 
 cal rhythms ; in prose, copious, 
 with something of the softness 
 and melody of verse. 
 
 Essays, the style of which is spir- 
 ited and flowing, embellished 
 
206 
 
 A CREATIVE PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 C HARACTERISTICS. 
 
 2i. Establishment of the Edin- 
 burgh Review, 1802. 
 
 25. Napoleon proclaimed Em- 
 peror of the French, 1804. 
 
 B. Battle of Trafalgar, by which 
 the navies of France and Spain 
 were annihilated for half a cen- 
 tury, 1805. 
 
 15. Explanation of psychological 
 phenomena on physiological 
 principles, first by David Hart- 
 ley, then by James Mill. This 
 school, utilitarian in morals 
 and politics, is continued in the 
 Victorian age by John Stuart 
 Mill and Herbert Spencer. 
 
A CREATIVE PERIOD. 
 
 207 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 University, Lord Advocate, Edi- 
 tor of Edinburgh Review from 
 1803 to 1829; a versatile writer 
 and a brilliant critic, lacking the 
 power to enter adequately into 
 the feelings of others and to 
 understand minds differently 
 constituted from his own. 
 
 Sobert Southey (i 774-1843), Quar- 
 terly Reviewer, historian, poet- 
 laureate. ' The most ambitious 
 and most voluminous author of 
 his age.' He wrote more than 
 a hundred volumes. 
 
 Charles LamT) (i775-i834). poet, 
 essayist ; of nervous tempera- 
 ment; of shy, melancholy air; of 
 warm and deep affections ; pre- 
 ferring quiet and repose ; loving 
 the old, the odd, the out-of-the- 
 way ; a penetrating observer, 
 one of the most appreciative of 
 critics. 'He will be remem- 
 
 with a copious felicity of illus- 
 tration. ' His memory ap- 
 peared to range the dictionary 
 from A to Z, and he had not 
 the self-denial to spare his 
 readers the redundance which 
 delighted himself.' 
 
 Thalaba (1801), which depicts in 
 blank verse the perils and 
 triumph of an Arabian hero 
 who encounters and vanquishes 
 the powers of evil. Madoo 
 (1805), a Welshman's sup- 
 posed discovery and conquest 
 of Mexico. Curse of Kehama 
 (18 10), in rhymed irregular 
 verse, a tale of the Hindoo 
 mythology. Boderiok, Last of 
 the Goths (18 14), a blank-verse 
 epic of early Spanish history. 
 Most famous prose work, life 
 of Nelson (1813). 
 
 Style : 'the most uniformly good 
 of any English writer who has 
 written on anything like the 
 same scale.' 
 
 Tales from Shakespeare (1807). 
 ' He threw more and newer 
 light upon the genuine meaning 
 of the great master-pieces of 
 the theatre than any other man.' 
 Essays of Elia, originally appear- 
 in <>■ in the London Magazine 
 and reprinted in 1823. Fanci- 
 ful and meditative sketches. 
 
208 
 
 A CREATIVE PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 27. Fulton's first successful trial 
 of steam power on the Hudson 
 River, 1807. 
 
 16. Predominance of practical 
 religion over the theology of 
 the intellect, with increasing 
 liberalism in matters of doc- 
 trine. Rise of Utilitarianism. 
 Reproduction of French infidel- 
 ity in Thomas Paine, and of 
 the French spirit in Byron and 
 Shelley. 
 
 28. Secret mission from England 
 to undermine the American 
 Confederation, 18 12. 
 
A CREATIVE PERIOD. 
 
 209 
 
 Writers. 
 
 bered in years to come,' says 
 Foster, ' with Rabelais and 
 Montaigne, with Sir Thomas 
 Browne, with Steele, and with 
 Addison.' 
 
 Walter Savage Landor (i 775-1 864), 
 poet and miscellaneous writer ; 
 a gentleman of wealth and leis- 
 ure, living an almost purely 
 intellectual life ; headstrong, 
 overbearing, and quarrelsome ; 
 a man of many loves and hates. 
 ' We do not recollect,' says 
 Emerson, ' an example of more 
 complete independence in liter- 
 ary history. He has no clan- 
 ship, no friendships that warp 
 him.' 
 
 Thomas Campbell (1777- 1 844), poet, 
 reviewer, Rector of Glasgow 
 University ; a Highlander, 
 dreamy and meditative ; of 
 sentiment, partly of the old 
 
 Writings. 
 
 showing on every page a sym- 
 pathy with human sorrows and 
 joys, a humor gentle as Addi- 
 son's and more subtle, wisdom,, 
 wit, and pathos. A few Poems. 
 ' His nosegay of verse,' says 
 Dowden, ' may be held by the 
 small hand of a maiden ; and 
 there is not in it one flaunting 
 flower.' 
 
 Gebir (1797), an epic poem de- 
 rived from a collection of Ara- 
 bian tales, and relating to the 
 mythical founder of Gibraltar. 
 Count Julian (18 1 2), tragedy of 
 the legendary traitor who intro- 
 duced the Moors into Spain. 
 Imaginary Conversations ( 1 824- 
 1829), in which a dialogue be- 
 tween literary men and state.s- 
 men serves as a vehicle for 
 Landor's views on a great 
 variety of subjects ; ' full of 
 thoughts which fasten them- 
 selves on the mind and are a 
 joy forever.' Pericles and Aspa- 
 sia (1836). 
 
 Style: in poetry, artistic, classi- 
 cal, reposeful ; in prose, re- 
 markable for grace and nervous 
 force. 
 
 Pleasures of Hope (1799); a contin- 
 uation of the lines of thouglit 
 marked out by Pope, Young, 
 and Rogers ; formal in its 
 rhetoric and rhythms, but a 
 
 14 
 
2IO 
 
 A CREATIVE PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 29. Sixth great coalition against 
 
 
 France, 1813- 
 
 
 
 17. Reassertion of the super- 
 
 
 sensual and divine in ethics and 
 
 
 philosophy (Dugald Stewart 
 
 
 and Sir William Hamilton). 
 
 30. Peace of Ghent, between 
 
 
 Great Britain and America, 
 
 
 1814. 
 
 
 31. Vrm^mgoiXht London Ti?7tes 
 by cylinders and by steam, 
 1814. 
 
A CREATIVE PERIOD. 
 
 211 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 school, partly of the new. ' The 
 structure of his fame rests on 
 the crystal columns of a pol- 
 ished imagination.' 
 
 WiUiam Hazlitt (1778-1830), 
 painter, critic, miscellaneous 
 writer ; of ' handsome and ea- 
 ger countenance worn by sick- 
 ness and thought ;' an acute 
 student of character, widely 
 read in literature and philoso- 
 phy ; of intense feelings, gen- 
 erous or splenetic ; with much 
 ideality and a keen sense of 
 
 ■ the beautiful ; one of the most 
 brilliant of English critics, but 
 ' too full of crotchet and parti- 
 sanship to be the most trust- 
 worthy.' 
 
 noble poem as a whole, con- 
 taining some exquisite pictures 
 (as the opening lines of Parts 
 I. and II.), and many fine 
 thoughts choicely expressed. 
 The lines on Poland are excel- 
 lent, and the sketch of the ma- 
 terialist's creed is masterly. 
 Gertrude of 'Wyoming (1809), a 
 tale of Pennsylvania, in the 
 Spenserian stanza ; first note- 
 worthy poem dealing with 
 American scenery and subject ; 
 more natural than the former, 
 but not nature. Lyrics, as 
 ' Battle of the Baltic,' ' Lord 
 Uilin's Daughter,' 'Ye Mari- 
 ners of England ; ' splendid 
 specimens of their kind, glow- 
 ing with passionate and fiery 
 eloquence. 
 
 Principles of Human Action (1805), 
 advocating the intuitive and 
 disinterested side of human 
 nature. Characters of Shake- 
 speare's Hays (181 7), A View of 
 the English Stage (18 18), Eng- 
 lish Foets (181 8), English Comic 
 Writers (1819), Dramatic litera- 
 ture of the Age of Elizabeth 
 (1821), Table-Talk (1821-1822), 
 Spirit of the Age (1825), a series 
 of criticisms on contemporaries. 
 Plain Speaker (1826), a collection 
 of essays, life of Napoleon 
 (1838-1830). 
 
 Style : often graphic and incisive, 
 
212 
 
 A CREATIVE PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 I. Stephenson's employment of 
 locomotive power on the Kil- 
 lingworth Railway, 1814. 
 
 33. Battle of Waterloo, 181 J. 
 
 34. Establishment of the London 
 Savings-Bank, 1816. 
 
A CREATIVE PERIOD. 
 
 213 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 Henry Hallam (1778-1859), histo- 
 rian. Byron calls him ' classic 
 Hallam, much renowned for 
 Greek.' 'An authority to be 
 cautiously differed with.' ' He 
 has great industry and great 
 acuteness. His knowledge is 
 extensive, various, profound.' 
 
 Thomas Moore (i 779-1 852), lawyer, 
 poet, biographer, historian ; 
 who, born in Dublin, lived a 
 brilliant and fashionable life in 
 London. He will live chiefly 
 in his songs. ' Beautiful speci- 
 mens of lyrical poetry may in- 
 deed be found from the earliest 
 times of our literature to the 
 days of Burns, of Campbell, 
 and of Tennyson, but no poet 
 can equal Moore in the united 
 excellence and abundance of 
 his productions.' 
 
 William Ellery Channing (i78d- 
 1842), apostle of Unitarianism 
 and perhaps the most eloquent 
 
 but ' wearing too much an ap- 
 pearance of effort, and strain- 
 ing too much at flashing 
 effects.' 
 
 Europe during the Middle Ages 
 (1818), Constitutional History of 
 England (1827), Introduction to 
 the literature of Europe (1839), — 
 all praised for their research 
 and freedom from prejudice. 
 
 Style : ornate, elegant, dignified. 
 
 Lalla Bookh (1817), a romance of 
 the East, consisting of four tales 
 in verse, — ' The Veiled Proph- 
 et,' ' The Fire Worshippers,' 
 ' Paradise and the Peri,' ' The 
 Light of the Harem.' These, 
 strung together by a thread of 
 prose narrative, are sung by 
 a professed poet for the enter- 
 tainment of the heroine who is 
 journeying to meet her be- 
 trothed. The enchanting sing- 
 er subsequently proves to be 
 her intended husband. Irish 
 Melodies (1834), occasionally 
 pathetic, but mostly fine speci- 
 mens of the light, gay, and musi- 
 cal. The Epicurean (1827), an 
 Oriental tale in poetic prose, 
 life of Byron (1830). 
 
 Discourses on the Evidences of Re- 
 vealed Beligion, chief theological 
 work. Among the subjects 
 
214 
 
 A CREATIVE PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 35. Six hundred petitions for re- 
 
 
 form in England, 1817. 
 
 
 36. Blackwood' s Magazine 
 
 
 founded, 1817. 
 
 
 37. Houses first warmed by 
 
 
 steam, 1818. 
 
 
 38. Franklin's expedition to the 
 
 
 Polar Sea, 1819. 
 
 
 
 18. The powerful impetus given 
 
 
 to American life by the victo- 
 
 
 rious War of Independence. 
 
 
 ' The nation was not satisfied 
 
 
 with its wonderful material pro- 
 
 
 gress, but began to pay serious 
 
 39. Population of England, sev- 
 
 ■ attention to the furtherance of 
 
 enteen million ; debt, eighteen 
 
 mental cultivation. With a 
 
 times the revenue, 1820. 
 
 quickness and energy unheard 
 
A CREATIVE PERIOD. 
 
 2IS 
 
 Writers. 
 
 of American essayists. A man 
 of generous and noble nature ; 
 many-sided in his life and work, 
 and worthy of study on all 
 sides. Ever a simple, true, and 
 brave follower of the Son of 
 Man. ' He has,' said Cole- 
 ridge, ' the love of wisdom and 
 the wisdom of love.' 
 
 Thomas Chalmers (l 780-1847), 
 Scotch Presbyterian, famous 
 pulpit orator. Professor of Di- 
 vinity in University of Edin- 
 burgh, author of thirty-four 
 volumes. 
 
 Daniel Webster (1782-1852), law- 
 yer, senator, orator, statesman ; 
 large-hearted, sweet in disposi- 
 tion, terrible in his power when 
 aroused ; great in intellect, 
 great in character. 
 
 Washington Irving (1783-1859), 
 author by profession, — essay- 
 ist, tale-writer, biographer, his- 
 torian ; Secretary of Legation 
 at London, Minister to Spain ; 
 placid, happy, optimistic, obser- 
 vant, philanthropical ; not pro- 
 found, somewhat obsequious to 
 English taste and opinion ; first 
 to make distinctly American 
 themes familiar to the world of 
 letters ; first to give American 
 literature a place in the Euro- 
 
 Writings. 
 
 that he wrote and lectured upon 
 are : National literature, Milton, 
 Napoleon, Self-Culture, Elevation 
 of the Laboring Classes, Emanci- 
 pation, War, etc. His are in- 
 deed thoughts that breathe and 
 words that burn. 
 
 Evidences of Christianity (1814), 
 
 Astronomical Discourses (181 7), 
 
 Commercial Discourses (1820), 
 
 Natural Theology, — all showing 
 
 the author to have been a 
 master of lucid and varied 
 exposition. 
 
 Speeches, distinguished for their 
 orotund, imposing, and weighty 
 manner. ' My style,' he says, 
 'was not formed without great 
 care and earnest study of the 
 best authors.' 
 
 History of New York (1809), an 
 elaborate and delightful pseudo- 
 veracious chronicle of old Dutch 
 and Swedish colonist life; The 
 Sketch-Book (181 9-1 820), one of 
 the choicest American classics; 
 Tales of a Traveller (1824), and 
 Tales of the Alhambra (1832), 
 original, readable, and artistic ; 
 Life of Goldsmith (1849), one of 
 the best and most entertaining 
 of biographies; Life of Wash- 
 ington (1855-1857), full, impar- 
 
2l6 
 
 A CREATIVE PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 40. Great distress in Ireland, 
 Subscription of tliree hundred 
 and fifty thousand pounds for 
 the relief of sufferers, 1822. 
 
 41. Visit of Lafayette to America. 
 He is voted by Congress a 
 township and two hundred 
 thousand dollars, 1824. 
 
 C HARACTERISTICS. 
 
 of and impossible in the Old 
 World, the new society culti- 
 vated commerce and industry, 
 applied Fulton's great inven- 
 tion on a colossal scale, spread 
 across the solitudes of the 
 Rocky Mountains to the Pacific, 
 brought wildernesses of enor- 
 mous extent under cultivation, 
 caused numberless cities to rise 
 from the virgin forests, and the 
 starry flag to wave on every 
 sea. At the same time colleges 
 and universities and schools of 
 all kinds were founded. The 
 printing-press was introduced 
 into the log huts of the West ; 
 political meetings were held 
 where a short time before the 
 wandering Indian was hunting 
 the bison ; newspapers were 
 published in numbers, and lit- 
 erary life began to awake.' 
 
A CREATIVE PERIOD. 
 
 217 
 
 Writers. 
 
 pean mind ; the Addison and 
 Goldsmith of the New World. 
 
 Thomas De ftuincey (1785-1859), 
 ' the shyest of children ; ' ' dedi- 
 cated to despondency,' he tells 
 us ; refined in his pleasures ; of 
 multifarious knowledge and 
 prodigious memory, intellectual 
 subtlety and vast power of ex- 
 pression ; of preternaturally ac- 
 tive imagination, with a keen 
 sense of the ridiculous and a 
 genius for the sublime ; of 
 strong self-assertion, but unaf- 
 fectedly open to conviction ; a 
 critic of unique catholicity of 
 spirit and comprehension of 
 view, who well knew that his 
 ' proper vocation was the ex- 
 ercise of the analytic under- 
 standing.' 
 
 Sir WiUiam Hamilton (1788-1856), 
 barrister ; Professor of Univer- 
 sal History, then of Logic and 
 Metaphysics, in the University 
 of Edinburgh ; the greatest 
 British philosopher of the a 
 priori school ; in intellect criti- 
 cal, in temperament polemical, 
 
 Writings. 
 
 tial and accurate, an enduring 
 work. 
 Style : seldom glowing, but even- 
 ly finished, smoothly-flowing, 
 seemingly spontaneous, with 
 the finest pathos and the most 
 delicate humor. 
 
 Confessions of an English Opium- 
 Eater (1821), detailing the au- 
 thor's experiences during eigh- 
 teen years' indulgence in the 
 opium-habit, with digressions 
 and reflections upon topics of 
 every variety. Murder considered 
 as one of the Fine Arts (1827), 
 Vision of Sudden Death (1849). 
 His writings fill twenty vol- 
 umes, including philosophy, 
 poetry, classics, history, poli- 
 tics, and many other subjects. 
 
 Style : Latinic in diction ; sen- 
 tences stately, crowded with 
 clauses and parentheses ; tran- 
 sitions explicit ; paragraphs of 
 subject in hand often separated 
 by long digressions ; liighly 
 metaphorical, exact, tolerably 
 perspicuous, majestically ca- 
 denced. 
 
 Dissertations and Discussions in 
 Philosophy, a collection of essays 
 contributed to the Edinburgh 
 Review. Lectures on Metaphys- 
 ics, a masterly example of clear 
 and orderly exposition. 
 
2l8 
 
 A CREATIVE PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 42. Westminster Review estab- 
 lished, 1824. 
 
 43. Resolution of the Southern 
 States to maintain slavery at 
 the risk of life, 1825. 
 
 44. First charter for London Uni- 
 versity, 1826. 
 
 45. Amelioration of the Criminal 
 Code, 1827. 
 
A CREATIVE PERIOD. 
 
 219 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 yet a man of lovable and ten- 
 der nature ; ' a monster of 
 erudition.' 
 
 Lord Byron (1788-1824), son of an 
 unprincipled father and a pas- 
 sionate mother ; proud, moody, 
 cynical, greedy of fame ; a man 
 whose life and works exhibit 
 him in many different aspects ; 
 portrayed by some as an angel, 
 by others as a demon ; undoubt- 
 edly the embodiment of contra- 
 dictory qualities and powers, 
 lofty and low, gay and sad ; a 
 master of vivid description, 
 subjective and objective ; a 
 dramatist whose characters are 
 screens for his own personality, 
 the most forceful of the revo- 
 lutionary poets ; a creature of 
 the revolution who knew not the 
 meaning of the revolt against 
 the ancient regime in art ; in- 
 exhaustibly fertile and creative, 
 but a rapid workman who never 
 recast anything ; wanting the 
 refinement of taste that marks 
 the consummate artist, as well 
 as the wide-ranging sympathy 
 and justness of moral percep- 
 tion that mark the poet of uni- 
 versal man. 
 
 'As various in composition,' says 
 Scott, 'as Shakespeare himself 
 [this will be admitted by all 
 who are acquainted with his 
 Don Juan'], he has embraced 
 
 Hours of Idleness (1807), short 
 poems seldom rising far above 
 the average level of juvenile 
 verse, the prevailing sentiment 
 being an affected misanthropy. 
 Childe Harold's Pilgrimage (1812- 
 181 7) ; in four cantos, repre- 
 senting the journal of his 
 travels tlirough Spain and Por- 
 tugal (1.), Albania and Greece 
 (II.), Belgium and Switzerland 
 (III.), and Italy (IV.) ; written 
 in the Spenserian stanza, with 
 an attempt — soon abandoned 
 — to imitate the archaic dic- 
 tion of the Faerie Queene ; a 
 series of musings and reflec- 
 tions on the poet's own bitter 
 memories, on political, reli- 
 gious, and social topics, with a 
 slight thread of narrative, and 
 relieved occasionally by pas- 
 sages of fine description. No 
 finished whole, but ' a string of 
 pearls of opinions and thoughts 
 ... in a highly poetical set- 
 ting.' With this ' was blended 
 the fascination of a mysterious 
 personality,' brooding over the 
 verse in splendid superiority. 
 That mysterious personage was 
 the self-exiled, cynical poet 
 himself, who, having exhausted 
 in revelry and vice the power 
 
220 
 
 A CREATIVE PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 46. Foundation of the Society for 
 Promoting the Diffusion of 
 Useful Knowledge, 1827. 
 
 47. Greek war 
 1821-1829. 
 
 of freedom. 
 
A CREATIVE PERIOD. 
 
 221 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 every topic of human life and 
 sounded every string on tlie 
 divine harp, from its slightest 
 to its most powerful and heart- 
 astounding tones. There is 
 scarce a passion or a situation 
 which has escaped his pen ; 
 and he might be drawn hke 
 Garrick, between the weeping 
 and the laughing Muse.' 
 
 of enjoying life, had grown into 
 that diseased state which leads 
 ■ a man to believe that it is a fine 
 thing to hate the world and 
 care for nothing. Giaour and 
 The Bride of Abydos (1813), Cor- 
 sair and Lara (1814), Siege of 
 Corinth and Farisina (181 5), 
 Prisoner of Chillon (18 1 7), Ma- 
 zeppa (1819), — all poetical ro- 
 mances, ' reproductions of one 
 phase of an ill-regulated mind,' 
 ' following one another like 
 brilliant fire-works.' Darkness 
 (1816), a powerful picture of 
 universal destruction. Manfred 
 (181 7), a dramatic poem repre- 
 senting the futility of feeling, 
 struggling, and loving, — the 
 disenchantment of human exis- 
 tence. Cain (1821), a drama 
 of rebellion and negation, grap- 
 pling with the problems of 
 original sin, final reprobation, 
 good and evil. Don Juan (1818- 
 1824), a picture of the author's 
 own large experience of the 
 world as he saw it, represent- 
 ing the natural effects on a 
 vicious and unprincipled charac- 
 ter of fashionable life, — a com- 
 pound of dirt and deity. ' The 
 Odyssey of Immortality,' says 
 one. 'Full of soul, bitterly 
 savage in its misanthropy, ex- 
 quisitely delicate in its tender- 
 ness,' says Goethe. 
 Style : remarkable for its energy. 
 
222 
 
 A CREATIVE PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 48. Catholic Emancipation, 1829. 
 
 49. Census of the Union in 1830: 
 freemen, 12,856,171 ; slaves, 
 2,010,436. 
 
 50. Seven hundred and seventy- 
 newspapers in the United 
 States, 1830. 
 
 19. Complexity of the American 
 problem, arising from the fact 
 that America is receptive of 
 elements from every clime and 
 of every origin. 
 
 20. Tendency of American race- 
 elements toward a uniform 
 type. 
 
A CREATIVE PERIOD. 
 
 223 
 
 Writers. 
 
 James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851), 
 a prolific novelist, of the roman- 
 tic type ; his favorite elements 
 and characters, the sea and the 
 forest, the sailor and the hunt- 
 er, the pioneer and the Indian ; 
 the Walter Scott of America. 
 
 Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822), 
 as a boy, shy and retiring, with 
 gentle looks and manners, but 
 fearless and nobly independent ; 
 as a man, sincere, devoted to 
 the truth, obedient to the right 
 as he understood it ; ideal, ever 
 upward-striving, intense, essen- 
 tially pious ; at war with tyr- 
 anny, superstition, and the 
 misconceptions of ancient re- 
 ligious teaching ; wanting in 
 patience and practicability ; a 
 most lovable soul, of varied 
 and swift-flighted genius ; called, 
 like Spenser, the poet's poet ; 
 ' the impassioned Ariel of Eng- 
 lish verse ; ' ' the master-singer 
 of our modern race and age, 
 for his thoughts, his words, and 
 his deeds all sang together;' 
 one of the mighty ' whose dawn- 
 
 Writings. 
 
 sweep, and brilliant illustration. 
 ' He set the anguish, doubt, and 
 desire of his age to a music 
 whose thunder-roll will continue 
 to arouse and delight the sons 
 and daughters of men.' 
 
 The Spy (1821), The Pioneers and 
 The Pilot (1823), Last of the Mo- 
 hicans and The Prairie (1827), 
 Pathfinder (1840), The Daerslayer 
 (1841), and many others of less 
 merit. 
 
 Queen Mab (1813), ' a wild phantas- 
 magoria of beautiful descrip- 
 tion and fervent declamation ' 
 against religious, political and 
 domestic oppression ; an intem- 
 perate exemplification of his 
 faith in the gospel of the Revolu- 
 tion, — liberty, fraternity, equal- 
 ity ; above all, of his passionate 
 belief in the perfectibility of man. 
 Alastor (1816), beautifully and 
 sadly descriptive of the life and 
 wanderings in Nature's soli- 
 tudes, the unrealized heaven- 
 ward aspirations, and death of 
 a lonely poet. Bevolt of Islam 
 (1817), a protest against mis- 
 government and the artificial 
 restraints of society, and the 
 glorification of love as the sole 
 law of the moral world. Pro- 
 methens Unbound (18 19), a lyric 
 
224 
 
 A CREATURE PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 51. Cholera in Paris, cutting off 
 eighteen thousand people in 
 one month, 1832. 
 
 52. The Reform Bill passed, 
 1832. 
 
 53. Abolition of colonial slavery, 
 1833- 
 
 54. Trades' Unions cause disturb- 
 ance in England, 1834. 
 
 55. Amendment of the poor-laws, 
 1834. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 21. Isolated position and peace- 
 able habits of the American 
 people favorable to home 
 development. 
 
 22. Post-Revolution oratory in 
 America, relative to the laws of 
 trade, the imposition of custom 
 duties, and the second rupture 
 with Great Britain, the conflict 
 of principle and interest in the 
 slavery question. ' The vital 
 history of the period is concen- 
 trated in the Abolition move- 
 ment in the North, represented 
 by Garrison, and in the elo- 
 quence and statesmanship of 
 the three great American ora- 
 tors of the first half of the 
 century, — Calhoun, Clay, and 
 Webster.' 
 
A CREATIVE PERIOD. 
 
 225 
 
 Writers. 
 
 ing gave the promise of a glori- 
 ous day, but who passed from 
 earth while yet the light that 
 shone in them was crescent.' 
 ' Some of the metaphysical and 
 ethical theories of Shelley were 
 certainly most absurd and per- 
 nicious. But we doubt whether 
 any modern poet has possessed 
 in an equal degree some of the 
 highest qualities of the great 
 ancient masters. His poetry 
 seems not to have been an art, 
 but an inspiration.' 
 
 Writings. 
 
 drama, which, in the victory of 
 Prometheus (who stands for 
 Humanity or the Spirit of Love 
 in Man) over Jove (who stands 
 for Evil), and the marriage of 
 the former to Asia (the Spirit 
 of Love in Nature) represents 
 the final triumph of good and 
 the regeneration of the uni- 
 verse. The Cenci (1819), deal- 
 ing not with visions, but with 
 the realities of life ; based on 
 the legend of Beatrice Cenci, 
 who, with her stepmother and 
 her brothers, was executed for 
 the murder (after hope of re- 
 dress in human justice was 
 gone) of her father, — a mon- 
 ster, bent on breaking her spirit 
 by imprisonment, torture, and 
 outrage ; the gravest and no- 
 blest tragedy since the Eliza- 
 bethans. Adonais (1821), an 
 elegy on the untimely death of 
 Keats ; a ' shimmer of beautiful 
 regret,' belonging in thought, 
 imagery, and expression to the 
 super-sensual world in which 
 Shelley habitually dwelt; pre- 
 senting the absorption of the 
 soul into primeval nature-forces, 
 the indestructibility of the per- 
 sonal self, and Death as the re- 
 vealer. lyrics, as ' The Cloud,' 
 ' Ode to a Skylark,' ' Ode to the 
 West Wind,' — forming togeth- 
 er 'the most sensitive, the most 
 imaginative, and the most musi- 
 
 iS 
 
226 
 
 A CREATIVE PERWD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 56. Further extension of the 
 Cruelty-to-Animals Act, 1835. 
 
 57. New York Herald estab- 
 lished, 1835. 
 
 5. Dispersion of the original 
 stream of Puritan faith, and the 
 development of North Ameri- 
 can rationalism in Parker, 
 whose 'words were battles,' 
 and in Channing a conspicuous 
 and beneficent power. 
 
A CREATIVE PERIOD. 
 
 227 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 Eobert Hall (1764-1831), eminent 
 Baptist preacher, whose pub- 
 lished writings do not measure 
 the reputation he held among 
 contemporaries, chiefly because 
 he was too discursive, throw- 
 ing the greater part of his en- 
 ergy, not into books, but into 
 profitless labors. 
 
 John Keats (1796-1821), a sensi- 
 tive, richly gifted soul ; a wor- 
 shipper of beauty, a lover of 
 loveliness ; less ideal than 
 Shelley, but more natural ; un- 
 moved by the stirring questions 
 of the period, seeking his sub- 
 jects in Greek and mediaeval life, 
 thus marking the exhaustion of 
 the revolutionary impulse and 
 the rise of the so-called liter- 
 ary poetry. ' One of those 
 sweet and glorious spirits who 
 descend like the angel messen- 
 gers of old, to discharge some 
 divine command, not to dwell 
 here.' 
 
 cal, but the least tangible, lyri- 
 cal poetry we possess.' 
 Style : eminently affluent and 
 spirituelle, spontaneous and 
 strong, 'thoroughly transfused 
 by pure imagination.' ' Rarely 
 has blank verse been written 
 with greater majesty and music' 
 
 Modern Infidelity (1799), Beflectious 
 on War (1802), and other tracts 
 and sermons. 
 
 Style : Latinized, balanced, with 
 general vigor and elevation, 
 and occasional bursts of splen- 
 did eloquence. 
 
 Endymion (18 18), four long books 
 of intricate and flowery narra- 
 tive, borrowing its subject from 
 Greek mythology, and shadow- 
 ing forth, in the quest of a 
 shepherd-prince after his love, 
 a soul's experience in its pas- 
 sionate pursuit of ideal Beauty. 
 ' In the main body of the work 
 beauties and faults are so 
 bound up together that a critic 
 may well be struck almost as 
 much by one as by the other.' 
 ' He outdoes even Spenser in 
 his proneness to let Invention 
 ramble and loiter uncontrolled.' 
 Hyperion (1820), the warfare of 
 the earlier Titanic dynasty with 
 the later Olympian dynasty of 
 the Greek gods, and in particu- 
 
228 
 
 A CREATIVE PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 58. First steam-ship from Britain 
 to America, 1835. 
 
 59. Formation of the Transcen- 
 dental Club, Boston, 1836. 
 
 60. Tithe disorders in Ireland, 
 1836. 
 
 24. Candor and straightforward- 
 ness of American statesman- 
 ship. Says a writer in the 
 Foreign Quarterly Review, ' In 
 her intercourse with foreign 
 countries, North America has 
 always conducted herself in a 
 way that commands our most 
 unquahfied praise. Her pohcy 
 has ever been straightforward 
 and undisguised ; and all at- 
 tempts at cunning and subter- 
 fuge have been utterly ban- 
 ished from her diplomatic 
 intercourse. ' 
 
A CREATIVE PERIOD. 
 
 229 
 
 Writers. 
 
 William Hickling Frescott (1796- 
 1859), '^he most 'brilliant' of 
 American historians, whose 
 talents — artistic rather than 
 philosophical — were employed, 
 after years of patient equip- 
 ment, on fresh and attractive 
 themes. Imaginativeandpoetic, 
 he excels in scenic description. 
 
 Lord Macanlay (1800-1859), bar- 
 rister, M. P., member of the 
 Supreme Council of India, 
 
 Writings. 
 
 lar the dethronement of the 
 sun-god Hyperion by Apollo ; 
 illustrating with great beauty 
 and force the supersession of 
 an older and ruder worship by 
 one more advanced and hu- 
 mane. The finest specimen 
 (as far as written) of blank- 
 verse epic in modern times. 
 Eve of St. Agnes, mediaeval in 
 subject ; story of the love of 
 an adventurous youth for the 
 daughter of a hostile house. 
 Everything is touched imagina- 
 tively. ' An unsurpassable in 
 pure color and clear melody.' 
 Also, unequalled and unrivalled 
 odes, such as those To Autuimi 
 and To a Grecian Urn. 
 Style : clear, sensuous, and fer- 
 vid. ' We may define it as the 
 endeavour after a continual 
 positive poetic richness and 
 felicity of phrase.' 
 
 Ferdinand and Isabella (1837), Con- 
 qnest of Uexico (1843), Conquest 
 of Pern (1847), Philip the Second 
 (1855-1858), and a volume of 
 Miscellanies. 
 
 Style : distinguished for strength, 
 grace, and ease, so highly 
 colored as sometimes to just 
 miss the tawdry and verbose. 
 
 Essays (1825-1844), including 
 some biographies contributed 
 to the Encyclopjedia Brit- 
 
230 
 
 A CREATIVE PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 61. Attempted insurrection of 
 Louis Napoleon Bonaparte at 
 Strasbourg, 1836. 
 
 62. Republic of Texas, 1836. 
 
 63. Morse patents his electro- 
 magnetic telegraph, 1837. 
 
 Charactertstics. 
 
 25. Abuse of patronage. Said 
 Quincy in 1811 : ' We hear the 
 clamour of the craving animals 
 at the treasury-trough here in 
 this capitol. Such running, 
 such jostling, such wriggling, 
 such clambering over one an- 
 other's backs, because the tub 
 is so narrow and the company 
 so crowded.' 
 
 26. The whole period remarkable 
 for the high flood-tide of new 
 forces and the outburst of tal- 
 
A CREATIVE PERIOD. 
 
 231 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 cabinet minister, peer, Lord 
 Rector of the University of 
 Glasgow, F. R. S., Foreign 
 Member of the French Acad- 
 emy, High Steward of Cam- 
 bridge ; orator, poet, essayist, 
 critic, historian ; appetite for 
 reading, omnivorous ; powers 
 of memory, extraordinary, com- 
 bined with a remarkable facility 
 of drawing parallels, analogies, 
 and comparisons ; of stirring 
 nature, confident, too rushing 
 for careful analytic thought ; a 
 man of strong utilitarian sense, 
 deficient in ideality and aes- 
 thetic culture. 
 
 Edgar Allan Poe (1811-1849), re- 
 served, isolated, self-absorbed, 
 proud, excitable, with a passion 
 
 anuica (1853-1859). Lays of 
 Ancient Borne (1842), the inter- 
 est of which, affording vivid 
 glimpses of Roman life and 
 Italian scenery, is mainly his- 
 torical. History of England 
 (1849-1855), an eminently popu- 
 lar work, gaining its place at a 
 leap ; skilfully arranged, per- 
 spicuous, with a large infusion 
 of scenical, social, personal 
 interest, and a tendency to the 
 dramatic. ' The chief work of 
 his imagination . . . was to 
 picture the scenes and person- 
 ages of ancient times and dis- 
 tant centuries as they really 
 were.' 
 Style : sparkling, lively, antitheti- 
 cal, with a rapid succession of 
 ideas and a great wealth of il- 
 lustration ; seldom stately, sen- 
 tences predominantly short and 
 light, often periodic; abound- 
 ing in rich similitudes ; perhaps 
 too abrupt in transitions and 
 carrying to excess the use of 
 pungent and striking artifices. 
 ' He could not rest until the 
 punctuation was correct to a 
 comma ; until every paragraph 
 concluded with a telling sen- 
 tence, and every sentence flowed 
 like clear running water.' 
 
 Annabel Lee, The Haunted Palace, 
 The Bells, The Kaven, and other 
 poems. ' The lonely separa- 
 
232 
 
 A CREATIVE PERIOD. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 ent and genius, — great states- 
 men, great generals, great 
 engineers, great essayists, great 
 poets, great philosophers, great 
 scientists, and great divines. 
 
A CREATIVE PERIOD. 
 
 233 
 
 Writers. 
 
 for cards and strong drink ; 
 fluctuant, wayward, and capri- 
 cious ; industrious, chaste ; 
 poor, at times solitary and de- 
 spairing ; his hfe full of con- 
 trasts ; dreamy, the imaginative 
 predominating over the percep- 
 tive ; a story-writer of analytic 
 reason, but of limited sympathy 
 and range, — his characters 
 phantoms and abstractions, 
 though distinct ; as critic, in- 
 tellectual rather than spiritual ; 
 as poet, like Coleridge in the 
 vividness of his imagination, 
 and like Keats in the omni- 
 present vision of beauty ; a 
 skilful literary artist ; a mas- 
 terly delineator of the horrible, 
 the unearthly, and the mysteri- 
 ous ; a genius of subtlety, force, 
 and fire ; change and death his 
 controlling ideas ; lacking in his 
 work ethical purpose and inter- 
 est in humanity. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 tion of his verse,' says Rich- 
 ardson, ' its melancholy imagi- 
 nation and its romantic fancy ; 
 its metrical originality and 
 beauty, and its mastery of as- 
 sonance and alliteration, — have 
 given it a place and fame, not- 
 withstanding its lack of the 
 moral might of the masters.' 
 ' Throbs of the heart of pain,' 
 says Woodbury, ' echoes of 
 ruin that float up from the deep 
 within the deep, the legend and 
 ritual and pasan of hopeless 
 death, married to music of the 
 most alluring charm.' Ligeia, 
 Fall of the House of Usher, and 
 numerous other tales. Like 
 his poetry, ' they deal with 
 weird and ethereal beauty ; with 
 the desolate sadness of a half- 
 despairing and half-hoping soul 
 before the iron gate of death ; 
 with the strange lights and un- 
 worldly sounds of the realm of 
 pure romance ; with the par- 
 able of shadow and the fable of 
 silence.' 
 Style : deliberately methodical, 
 clear, concise, and forceful. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 VICTORIAN AGE, 1837- 
 
 Presidents of the United States. — Martin Van Buren, 1837-1841. 
 
 William Henry Harrison, 1841. 
 
 John Tyler, 1841-1845. 
 
 jAMps K. Polk, 1845-1849. 
 
 Zachary Taylor, 1849-1850. 
 
 Millard Fillmore, 1850-1853. 
 
 Franklin Pierce, 1853-1857. 
 
 James Buchanan, 1857-1861. 
 
 Abraham Lincoln, 1861-1865. 
 
 Andrew Johnson, 1865-1869. 
 
 Ulysses S. Grant, 1869-1877. 
 
 Rutherford B. Hayes, 1877-1881. 
 
 James A. Garfield, 1881. 
 
 Chester A. Arthur, 1881-1885. 
 
 Grover Cleveland, 1885-1889. 
 
 Benjamin Harrison, 1889- 
 
236 
 
 VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 1. Rise of the Chartists, 1838 ; 
 demanding (i) universal suf- 
 frage, (2) vote by ballot, (3) 
 Annual Parliament, (4) electo- 
 ral districts, (5) abolition of 
 property qualification for mem- 
 bership in Parliament, (6) pay- 
 ment of Parliamentary mem- 
 bers. 
 
 1. Though the fire that burned 
 with such intensity in the pre- 
 ceding period is in ashes, the 
 industry and scholarship em- 
 ployed in storing and reproduc- 
 ing the knowledge of the world 
 has never been surpassed. 
 
 . Scientific stress, and the de- 
 termined conflict with tradition 
 (Darwin, Huxley, Tyndall). 
 
VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 237 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 James Henry Leigh Hunt (1784- 
 1859), journalist, essayist, and 
 poet ; precocious, lively, suave, 
 amiable, sentimental ; his aspi- 
 rations and pursuits purely lit- 
 erary ; without much originality; 
 a shining light of what was de- 
 risively called ' The Cockney 
 School ; ' beloved by the read- 
 ing public, and like Goldsmith, 
 viewed with a mixture of pity, 
 reverence, and affection. 
 
 John Wilson (1785-1854), poet, 
 novelist, essayist; a critic of 
 broad sympathies rather than 
 lof subtle power ; a literary ath- 
 lete, forceful, yet of gentle, al- 
 most feminine spirit. He had 
 strong pleasure in the peaceful 
 beauties of natural scenery. 
 
 Bichard Henry Dana (i 787-1 879), 
 barrister, novelist, poet, lecturer 
 on the Shakespearian drama ; 
 editor of a periodical miscellany 
 of the Addisonian type ; con- 
 tributor to the North American 
 Review; first-born of those 
 who initiated the home move- 
 ment in poetic art ; one of the 
 bygone and constantly fading 
 figures in our literature. 
 
 A Story of Kimini (18 1 6), an Italian 
 poem of love, crime, and retri- 
 bution ; Abou Sen Adhem, a 
 beautiful little allegory ; and 
 other poems. Also, Stories 
 from Italian Poets (1846) ; Men, 
 Women, and Books (1847), a col- 
 lection from his periodical es- 
 says ; Antobiography (1850) ; 
 Beligion of the Heart (1853) ; 
 and other prose. 
 
 His model was Addison. His 
 style, like himself, is light, 
 graceful, cheerful, and chatty. 
 
 Isle of Palms (18 12), City of the 
 Plague (1816), chief poetical 
 works. Trials of Margaret Lynd- 
 say, a novel ; Lights and Shad- 
 ows of Scottish life, a collection 
 of sweet pathetic tales. 
 
 Tom Thornton and Paul Felton, — 
 two novels illustrative of mon- 
 strosities of character on the 
 basis of improbable incidents, 
 and 'directed to a moral purpose 
 with such intensity that they are 
 said rather to have frightened 
 than amused their readers.' 
 The Buccaneer (1827), a fantas- 
 tic ghost story ; Thoughts on the 
 Soul; and other poems. 
 
 His verses are smooth, but lack- 
 ing in force. 
 
238 
 
 VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 2. Poor laws introduced into 
 Ireland, 1838. 
 
 3, Acts to discourage duelling, 
 1838. 
 
 3. Diffusion and extended appli- 
 cation of the idea of natural 
 law. 
 
 4. Imprisonment for debt abol- 
 ished, 1838. 
 
 5. Loss of the Forfarshire steam- 
 er : bravery of Grace Darling, 
 1838. 
 
VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 239 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Lydia Hnntly SigoTimey (1791- 
 .1865), one of the American 
 pupils of Mrs. Hemans ; a 
 pleasant versifier of pleasant 
 indifEerent thought. Her most 
 poetic touches are in her blank- 
 verse descriptions of Nature. 
 
 Felicia Hemans (1794-1835), a poet 
 of the sentimental class, whose 
 poems, without sickly sentimen- 
 tality, are a most beautiful ex- 
 pression of womanhood. Their 
 key-note is tender melancholy 
 tempered by godliness. Their 
 range, however, is not wide ; 
 color, tone, rhythm, music, are 
 always the same. 
 
 William Cullen Bryant (i 794-1878), 
 Jawyer, journalist, poet ; a ten- 
 der lover of man, with a truly 
 devout and interpretive soul 
 for field, river, and wood ; con- 
 templative and sombre, never 
 lively or strongly passionate ; 
 his writings a perpetual autumn, 
 set to the same slow music ; 
 occupying a high level, but cov- 
 ering a limited creative space ; 
 morally helpful, but wanting the 
 vision, the action, the breadth, 
 the music, and the ideality of 
 the greatest. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 The Dying Infant, The Emigrant 
 Mother, To-morrow, Pocahontas, 
 and other poems, — abounding 
 in the genuine tender love of 
 man and of Nature, but possess- 
 ing more sensibility than im- 
 agination, and expressed with 
 hurried facility. 
 
 The Song of Night, The Voice of 
 Spring, Graves of a. Household, 
 The Sunbeam, The Better land, — 
 'pearls among English lyrics.' 
 The Forest Sanctuary, a romance 
 descriptive of the solitary life 
 of a Spaniard who has tied 
 from religious persecution into 
 the forests of South America. 
 Vespers of Palermo, a dramatic 
 poem. 
 
 Thanatopsis (1817), a view of death, 
 full of Wordsworthian qualities, 
 — high imaginings, serene phil- 
 osophy, and stately music. 
 Wordsworth learned it by heart. 
 Forest Hymn, The Past, Death of 
 the Flowers, The Flood of Years, 
 etc., — life the avenue to death 
 being their pervading thought, 
 and justifying by their art the 
 author's claim to be considered 
 our meditative poet of Nature. 
 TheDiad and the Odyssey, trans- 
 lated into blank verse, — one of 
 the few worthy contributions 
 to Homeric translation. Also, 
 some poetry, including notes of 
 
240 
 
 VICTORIAN ACE 
 
 Events. 
 
 6. Death of Talleyrand, 1838 
 
 7. Riotous opposition to the anti- 
 slavery movement in America, 
 1838. 
 
 8. Mormon violence and fanati- 
 cism, 1838. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 4. Assertion by the working 
 clas.ses of their natural rights. 
 
 5. Materialistic drift of English 
 psychology (Mill, Spencer, Bain, 
 and Lewes) ; opposed by fol- 
 lowers of the spiritualistic 
 philosophy (Martineau, Lecky, 
 and Maurice in England ; Mc- 
 Cosh, Porter, and Bascom in 
 America). 
 
VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 241 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 George Grote (1794-1871), banker, 
 historian ; a man of extraordi- 
 nary attainments, and an earn- 
 est lover of truth. 
 
 James Gates Percival (1795-18 56), 
 a Connecticut poet, editor, and 
 geologist ; another of our pio- 
 neers in letters, whose relative 
 importance is ever diminishing. 
 
 Fitz-Greene Halleck (1790-1867). 
 ' A natural lyrist, whose pathos 
 and eloquence,' says Stedman, 
 ' were inborn, and whose sen- 
 timent, though he wrote in the 
 prevailing English mode, was 
 that of his own land.' 
 
 Thomas Arnold (1795-1842), the 
 celebrated head-master of Rug- 
 by, Professor of Modern His- 
 tory in Oxford University ; a 
 man of untiring, activity and 
 expansive benevolence, directed 
 in all his conduct by religious 
 principle and feeling. To be 
 just, honest, and truthful, he 
 held to be the first aim of his 
 being. 
 
 Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881), teach- 
 er, essayist, historian, Lord 
 
 travel, orations, and critical 
 prefaces. 
 
 History of Greece, from earliest 
 times to the death of Alexan- 
 der ; ranking in scholarship, 
 in philosophical method, in 
 strength of execution, among 
 the best modern histories. 
 
 Poems, miscellaneous and patriotic, 
 reflective and sentimental, fill- 
 ing some eight hundred pages, 
 and monotonously unreadable. 
 
 Burns, Bed Jacket, and Marco Soz- 
 zaris. He wrote little. 'Enough 
 for him that he first let loose 
 the Theban eagle in our song- 
 less American air.' 
 
 History of Borne, in three volumes ; 
 Historical Lectures, delivered to 
 Oxford students ; Sermons to 
 the Rugby boys ; and his col- 
 lected Essays. These works 
 attest his ability and industry, 
 but ' the story of his life is 
 worth them all.' 
 
 The French Bevolution (1837), the 
 root-philosophy of which is 
 
 16 
 
242 
 
 VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 9. Penny Postage Act, 1839. 
 
 10. Introduction of a national 
 system of education into Ire- 
 land, 1835-1840. 
 
 , Change of appeal in theology 
 from the terrors of damnation 
 to the beauty of holiness. 
 
 7. Multiplicity of denominations 
 and tolerant spirit of religion in 
 the United States. 
 
VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 243 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Rector of the University of 
 Edinburgh ; an indefatigable 
 student ; an incessant worker, 
 who wrought with the steadiest 
 concentration of endeavor ; a 
 preacher of manliness and the 
 stern gospel of work, living and 
 thinking, not to be happy, but 
 to produce ; sincere, reverent ; 
 a man of intense convictions, 
 with the courage of utterance ; 
 not an analytic, but an intuitive 
 soul, whose emotions were pro- 
 foundly stirred by thoughts of 
 human wrong and perplexity, 
 the solemn procession of life, 
 the illimitable past, the un- 
 known future, the irresistible 
 march of time, the mystery of 
 the world ; an admirably sug- 
 gestive painter of character ; a 
 narrator with the Shakespearian 
 faculty of striking imagery and 
 dramatic grouping; as a re- 
 former, too arrogant and vitu- 
 perative to be persuasive. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 that ' the history of what man 
 has accomplished in this world, 
 is at bottom the history of the 
 great men who have worked 
 there ; ' wonderfully picturesque 
 and dramatic, much like a revo- 
 lutionary epic. Sartor Eesartus 
 (1834), the main idea of which, 
 as of Swift's Tale of a Tub, is 
 that the visible universe is a 
 suit of clothes, — matter and 
 material things, man and all 
 that is cognizable by him, are 
 not illusions, but emblems, 
 vestures of the one Reality, 
 God. Heroes and Hero-Worship 
 (1840), which presents more 
 clearly and comprehensively 
 his philosophy of history, — 
 that the world has ever been 
 guided by inspired persons, 
 variously conceived of, but al- 
 ways great by divine grace, 
 'lightning out of heaven.' 
 Cromwell's Letters and Speeches 
 (1845), another offering to hero- 
 worship, and a monument 
 worthy of the great Protector. 
 Frederick the Great (1865), con- 
 sidered the best work written 
 on the subject. Essays, critical 
 and miscellaneous, in four vol- 
 umes, collected from various 
 reviews. 
 Style : marked by a consummate 
 mastery of words, rugged, dis- 
 jointed, profusely figurative, 
 vehement, stimulating ; not 
 
244 
 
 VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 11. Solemn interment of Napo- 
 leon's ashes in the H6tel des 
 Invalides, 1840. 
 
 8. Material activity (inventive, 
 constructive, and money-get- 
 ting), antagonistic to a devoted 
 pursuit of the ideal. 
 
 12. Introduction of the penny- 
 postage system, and the adop- 
 tion of a stamp impressed with 
 the head of the ruler of the 
 country, 1840. 
 
 9. Unprecedented quantity and 
 high finish of poetical produc- 
 tion, with a lack of spontaneity 
 and fire. 
 
VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 245 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Thomas Hood (1798-1845), humor- 
 ist, journalist, poet, fanciful 
 rather than imaginative ; a 
 healthful, manful singer who 
 led a toilsome, pathetic life ; 
 pronounced by Rossetti to be 
 the finest English poet between 
 Shelley and Tennyson. 
 
 Amos Bronson Alcott (1799-1888), 
 an idealist in the Platonic sense, 
 -J— a spiritualist as opposed to 
 a materialist. A devout re- 
 ligious free-thinker, who, along 
 with Emerson and other fellow- 
 transcendentalists, gave a pow- 
 erful impulse to thought by 
 issuing, in their gospel of intui- 
 tion, a new manifesto of intel- 
 lectual independence. 
 
 George Bancroft (1800 — ), histo- 
 rian, Collector of the port of 
 Boston, Secretary of the Navy, 
 
 Writings. 
 
 without harsh successions and 
 impurities of diction; sentences 
 often clumsily built, even in- 
 capable of grammatical analy- 
 sis. ' Perhaps,' he himself says, 
 ' not more than nine tenths 
 stand straight on their legs ; 
 the remainder are in quite an- 
 gular attitudes ; a few even 
 sprawl out helplessly on all 
 sides, quite broken-backed and 
 dismembered.' 
 
 A Parental Ode to my Son and Faith- 
 less Nellie Gray illustrate his 
 sportive vein ; Song of the Shirt 
 and The Bridge of Sighs, his 
 serious mood. 
 
 Tablets, Concord Days, Records of a 
 School, etc., — reported conver- 
 sations on men, books, duty, en- 
 vironment, philosophy, religion, 
 immortality. 
 
 History of the TTnited States (1834- 
 1884), in twelve volumes, bring- 
 ing the narrative down to 1789, 
 
246 
 
 VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 13. Establishment of the Dial, 
 organ of American transcen- 
 dentalism, 1840. 
 
 14. New York Tribune, 1841. 
 
 15. Afghan War, 1841. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 10. ' Not a little of our modern 
 poetry has trusted for success 
 to luxuriance of fancy, to a 
 multitude of individual beau- 
 ties of thought and expression, 
 rather than to grandeur of ac- 
 tion or unity of purpose in the 
 work taken as a whole.' 
 
VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 247 
 
 Writers. 
 
 American Minister in London 
 and Berlin. 
 
 Ealph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), 
 teacher, Unitarian minister, 
 lecturer, essayist, poet. A man 
 of remarkable force and eleva- 
 tion of character, built upon an 
 austere sense of the grandeur 
 of the moral sentiment ; like 
 Shelley in- his rapt devotion to 
 truth and beauty, which he 
 loved for themselves : ideal, 
 with a tendency to mysticism, 
 — the intellectual, however, 
 strongly predominating over 
 the emotional ; even-tempered, 
 non-combatant, less a reasoner 
 than a seer, announcing results 
 and suppressing the processes; 
 nobly aspiring, optimistic, be- 
 nignant ; a heroic champion of 
 the spiritual interests of hu- 
 manity ; a prose-writer who 
 drew from all quarters, reflected, 
 then wrou<rht his ideas into im- 
 
 WRrriNGS. 
 
 the beginning of the constitu- 
 tional period. The ' most suc- 
 cessful attempt yet made to 
 reduce the chaotic but rich 
 materials of American history 
 to order, beauty, and moral sig- 
 nificance.' Clear and, for the 
 most part, vigorous, at times 
 eloquent ; without the varied 
 learning of Macaulay's work or 
 the word-painting of Prescott's, 
 but with the special erudition 
 of either, and with the breadth 
 of view of Gibbon. 
 
 Nature (1836), a reflective prose- 
 poem, the leading thought of 
 which is that the visible world 
 is the symbol of spirit, and the 
 leading purpose of which is the 
 uplift of character through a 
 consciousness of identity with 
 the universal Soul ; divided 
 into eight chapters: (i) Intro- 
 duction, in which the writer 
 sees all, is nothing, loses him- 
 self in the surging sea of Being 
 and becomes ' part or particle 
 of God; ' (2) Commodity, or the 
 ministry of Nature to the senses ; 
 (3) Beauty, or the nobler ser- 
 vice of Nature to the aesthetic 
 instinct ; (4) Language, or 
 Nature as the first fresh source 
 of the vestments of thought ; 
 (5) Discipline, or influence of 
 Nature in educating the intel- 
 lect, the conscience, and the 
 
248 
 
 VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 16. The Shakespeare Society 
 founded, 1841. 
 
 17. Passage of the Copyright 
 Bill, 1842. 
 
 11. Culmination of artistic or 
 EBsthetic poetry in Tennyson 
 and Longfellow, conservative 
 and tranquil, portraying exter- 
 nal acts and conditions rather 
 than internal motives and pas- 
 sions ; of Neo-Romantic poe- 
 try (Arnold, Rossetti, and 
 Swinburne), taking its themes 
 largely from Greek and medie- 
 val past, and reuniting beauty 
 and passion in rhythmical art ; 
 of metaphysical poetry in 
 Browning and Emerson. 
 
VICTOKIAN AGE. 
 
 249 
 
 Writers. 
 
 perishable mosaics ; a poet 
 wliose work would give him a 
 high reputation without the 
 prose that overshadows, it ; a 
 rare genius who for more than 
 half a century led, in the ever- 
 present sense of divine com- 
 panionship, the patiently medi- 
 tative life of a man of letters ; 
 the firm pure star in the heaven 
 of American literature. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 will ; (6) Idealism, or Nature 
 viewed, not as a substance, but 
 as a phenomenon ; (7) Spirit, 
 or Nature considered as an 
 efHux from, or aspect of, Deity, 
 the all-pervasive All-Fair, on 
 whose bosom man rests as a 
 plant upon the earth ; (8) 
 Prospects, or the supremacy of 
 intuition, and the renewal of 
 man consequent upon the in- 
 flux of the spirit. Not without 
 obscurities and extravagances, 
 but, as a whole, poetical and 
 inspiring. Carlyle called it 
 'azure-colored.' Other volumes 
 of Emerson are Representative 
 Men (1850), Conduct of Life (i860). 
 Society and Solitude (1S70), Let- 
 ters and Social Aims (1875), etc. 
 Of these and other essays, the 
 student is recommended to read 
 ' Beauty,' ' Behavior,' ' Books,' 
 ' Character,' ' Fate,' ' Friend- 
 ship,' ' History,' ' Nature,' 
 ' Over-Soul,' ' Power,' Pru- 
 dence,' ' Self-Reliance,' ' Shake- 
 speare,' 'Spiritual Laws.' 
 
 The like high thought appears 
 in Emerson's poetry, which 
 ' moves in a world of universal 
 symbolism, the sense of the in- 
 finite filling it with its majestic 
 presence.' The Problem, Snow- 
 storm, Concord Hymn, Threnody, 
 Woodnotes, The World-Soul. 
 
 Style : in prose, idiomatic, terse, 
 trenchant, aphoristic, deficient 
 
250 
 
 VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 18. First illustrated paper, Lon- 
 don News, 1842. 
 
 19. Agitations in Ireland led by 
 Daniel O'Connell, 1841-1843. 
 
 20. Wordsworth appointed poet- 
 laureate, 1843. 
 
VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 251 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton (1805- 
 1873), novelist, poet, drama- 
 tist, essayist, politician. An 
 eloquent and accomplished 
 rhetorician, a versatile writer, 
 with unlimited capacity for 
 work, unwearied patience, and 
 intense self-confidence. ' A 
 comprehensive knowledge of 
 men, refined psychology, an ex- 
 traordinary power of grouping, 
 and a clear, spirited dialogue 
 combine to give his works a 
 lasting value.' A worldly 
 lyrist, who had a genuine love 
 for the beautiful and sublime, 
 but lacked the sacred fire of 
 poetic expression. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 James Martineau (1805 — ), Uni- 
 tarian minister in London ; a 
 brave, liberal, and true man, 
 whose eloquence, learning, keen 
 
 in constructiveness, but full of 
 noble imagery and flashes of 
 spiritual light ; in poetry, com- 
 pressed, sublimated, rich in de- 
 tail, but wanting in proportion, 
 defective in rhyme, irregular in 
 music, free-hand. fie called 
 himself, from ' very incapacity 
 of mechanical writing, ... a char- 
 tered libertine.' 
 
 Pelham (1828), wherein 'he at- 
 tempted to realize in a fictitious 
 character his notion of what a 
 man should be, and accordingly 
 produced an agglomeration of 
 qualities called Pelham, in 
 which the dandy, the scholar, 
 the sentimentalist, the states- 
 man, the rou'e, and the black- 
 guard were all to be included 
 in one many-sided man, whose 
 merits should win equal ap- 
 plause from the hearty and the 
 heartless, the lover and the 
 libertine.' Paul CUfford (1830), 
 Last Days of Pompeii (1834), 
 Last of the Barons (1843), The 
 Caxtons (1849), My Novel (1853), 
 etc. Also Miscellanies, lyrics, 
 satires, translations, and dra- 
 mas, — Richelieu, Cromwell, and 
 Lady of Lyons. 
 
 Essays Philosophical and Theologi- 
 cal, containing thoughts as help- 
 ful, in language as clear and 
 noble, as any meditation on 
 
252 
 
 VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 31. Tour of Horace Mann, Amer- 
 ican educational reformer, 
 through the German schools 
 and universities, 1843. 
 
 22. Invention of the electric tele- 
 graph by Professor Morse, 
 1844. 
 
 13. Scarcity of stage-dramas pos- 
 sessing literary merit (Bulwer'.s 
 Richelieu and Lady of Lyons., 
 Boker's Francesca da Rimini). 
 Substantial and formal excel- 
 lence of dramatic poems with- 
 out the qualities requisite for 
 successful presentation (Brown- 
 ing's Blot in the Scutcheon, 
 Tennyson's Queen Mary, Swin- 
 burne's Chastelard, Longfel- 
 low's Spanish Student). 
 
VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 253 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 observation, personal wisdom, 
 and enthusiastic affection for 
 human nature have vivified the 
 old body of speculative ideas, 
 and clothed it with precious 
 and enduring garments. All 
 his writings abound in fine out- 
 looks and mountain summits. 
 
 John Stuart Mill (1806-1873), one 
 of the first thinkers of the time ; 
 astute, patient, methodical; an 
 elevated and pure soul devoted 
 to the quest of truth ; best 
 known as a poHtical economist 
 and an advocate of woman's 
 rights. As a philosopher, he 
 stands in the materialistic suc- 
 cession of Hobbes, Locke, 
 Hume, Hartley, and Comte. 
 
 Nathaniel Hawthorne (i 804-1 864), 
 the greatest though not the most 
 popular of American novelists, 
 to whom Dr. Holmes wrote in 
 1851 : 'I think we have no ro- 
 mancer but yourself, nor have 
 had for this long time. The 
 Yankee mind has for the most 
 part budded and flowered in 
 pots of English earth ; but you 
 have fairly raised yours as a 
 seedling in the natural soil.' 
 
 Genial, gentle, humane, recluse, 
 retrospective, dreamy ; a per- 
 petual dweller among visions, 
 
 eternal things which this age 
 has known. Hours of Thought, 
 full of the uphfting power of 
 truth and beauty eloquently ex- 
 pressed. Types of Ethical Theory, 
 an admirable exposition of the 
 origin and nature of moral dis- 
 tinctions and the genesis of 
 virtue. 
 
 System of Logic (1843), Principles 
 of Political Economy (1848), Lib- 
 erty (1858), Utilitarianism (l86()i 
 The Irish Land Question (1870), 
 Autobiography (1873), Subjection 
 of Women, etc. In tl-.ese works 
 the author has left ' an example 
 of candor in investigation and 
 fearless moral purpose in action 
 such as might well leaven even 
 the most thoughtless and cyni- 
 cal generation.' 
 
 Mosses from an Old Manse (1846), 
 consisting of stories and 
 sketches, such as ' The Birth- 
 mark,' ' The Hall of Fantasy,' 
 ' Buds and Bird Voices ; ' all 
 rich in detail, spirituelle in sen- 
 timent, and carefully artistic. 
 The Scarlet Letter (1850), which 
 exhibits the blighting influence 
 of a single transgression upon 
 a weak minister of the Gospel, 
 an erring woman, an ice-hearted 
 avenger, a pure little child,— 
 ' messenger of anguish ' to her 
 parents, — and the Puritan so- 
 
254 
 
 VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 23. Texas annexed to the Union, 
 1844. 
 
 24, Worcester's Dictionary of 
 the English language, 1846. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 2S5 
 
 Writers. 
 
 in the ' moonlight of romance ; ' 
 a keen, deep-eyed observer and 
 restless recorder of the opera- 
 tions of spiritual laws ; a crea- 
 tive artist, whose field of study 
 and depicture was the human 
 heart, — its innocence and guilt, 
 its temptations and struggles, 
 the limitless consequences of 
 sin, the soul-effect of error, 
 misery, and remorse, the som- 
 bre and mysterious underlying 
 the currents of common hves ; 
 yet in no wise morbid, but an 
 optimist and a lover of exist- 
 ence, a painter of beauty and 
 sunshine, as well as of the night- 
 side of Nature. His fame has 
 been rapidly progressive, and 
 his place is with writers of the 
 first rank. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 ciety around these four strug- 
 gling souls ; his first sustained 
 romance, and his most power- 
 ful. The House of the Seven 
 Gablas (1851), a romance of 
 heredity and retribution, teach- 
 ing that personal character and 
 the effects of wrong-doing are 
 transmitted, sometimes with in- 
 creasing and blighting force, 
 even through centuries ; the 
 pleasantest of the author's 
 longer works. The Blithedale 
 Bomance (1852), a record of 
 Utopian vagaries, the central 
 idea of which is that philan- 
 thropy developed into a mania 
 ends in disaster, ■ — too much 
 purpose and too little purpose 
 are alike baleful. Marble Faun 
 (i860), the underlying truth of 
 which is that negative or in- 
 stinctive goodness is powerless 
 and pulpy, — that temptation 
 and conflict are the necessary 
 conditions, and the commission 
 of sin may be the occasion of 
 virtue, of strength of character, 
 soul-awakening. 
 Style : pure, clear, and strong ; 
 terse, yet full ; simple, yet artis- 
 tic ; harmonious, varied, and 
 suggestive. ' It is,' he once 
 said, ' the result of a great deal 
 of practice. It is a desire to 
 tell the simple truth as honestly 
 and vividly as one can.' 
 
256 
 
 VICTORIAN' AGE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 13. ■ Supremacy of prose in quan- 
 tity and quality. 
 
 25. Iowa admitted into the Union, 
 1846. 
 
 14. ' After the Restoration the 
 time had come when our nation 
 felt the imperious need of a fit 
 prose. So too the time had 
 likewise come when our nation 
 felt the imperious need of free- 
 ing itself from the absorbing 
 preoccupation which religion in 
 the Puritan age had exercised.' 
 
 26. Corn laws repealed, 1846. 
 
VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 257 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807- 
 1882), Professor of Modern 
 Languages and Literature in 
 Harvard University, poet and 
 prose-writer. Without Bryant's 
 depth of feeling for Nature, 
 or Emerson's moral idealism, 
 or Poe's inspiration, or the 
 ability to reach either the sen- 
 suous beauty of Keats or the 
 intellectual beauty of Shelley, 
 he had a fund of miscellaneous 
 culture, knowledge of many 
 nations and many languages, 
 broad sympathies, wide com- 
 mand of rhythms, exquisite 
 artistic sensibility, wondrously 
 fertile fancy, sweet beneficent 
 disposition, and power to sing 
 of the facts of ordinary homely 
 life with such a wealth of tender 
 and beautiful sentiment that his 
 verses have become household 
 favorites on both sides of the 
 Atlantic. 
 
 Hyperion (1839), ^ love-tale ; 
 somewhat gushing in sentiment 
 and redundant in imagery, but 
 abounding in beautiful descrip- 
 tions, criticisms of German 
 authors, translations of German 
 songs, and poetic pictures of 
 life. Evangeline (1847), a tale 
 in hexameter verse ; history of 
 a young Arcadian girl, who in 
 thfe deportation of some French 
 colonists from Nova Scotia, 
 1755, became separated from 
 her lover, wandered long and 
 far in search of him, once act- 
 ually passed him in the dark on 
 the Mississippi, and finally dis- 
 covered him in a Philadelphia 
 almshouse, dying ; a gallery 
 of pictures, a shrine of retreat. 
 ' Evangeline is so easy for you 
 to read, because it was so hard 
 for me to write.' Hiawatha 
 (1855), our American epic; a 
 poem on the Indians, weaving 
 their traditions into a series of 
 idyls around the life of a semi- 
 mythical brave miraculously 
 sent among the Red Men to 
 clear their forests and teach 
 them peaceful arts. The tro- 
 chaic tetrameter, so limpid and 
 brook-like, is well suited to the 
 theme. Also Dramas, which are 
 failures ; and numerous other 
 poems, which have been com- 
 mitted by rhillions to gladden 
 them for their work ; as ' Psalm 
 
 17 
 
2S8 
 
 VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 27. Famine in Ireland. Sultan 
 of Turkey subscribes one thou- 
 sand pounds, 1847. 
 
 28. Jenny Lind's first appearance 
 at Her Majesty's Theatre, 
 1847. 
 
 29. The house in which Shake- 
 speare was born sold to the 
 united Committees of Stratford 
 and London for three thousand 
 pounds, 1847. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 15. Enlarged and profounder 
 conception of the functions of 
 criticism (Arnold, Stedman, 
 Whipple, and Lowell). 
 
VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 259 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 John Greenleaf Whittier (1807 — ), 
 American ballad-writer ; lau- 
 reate of the anti-slavery strug- 
 gle ; said to have been kindled 
 to his first efforts by reading 
 Bums in the fields ; a poet of 
 whose inspiration the ethical is 
 a vital part ; whose prevailing 
 themes are domestic love, hu- 
 manitarianism, and piety ; much 
 of whose poetry is ' occasional,' 
 therefore ephemeral ; while 
 much is fatally impaired by the 
 haste that makes waste. His 
 hfe has been as noble and 
 beautiful as most of his verse. 
 
 Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1809- 
 1861), first among women in 
 fervor and splendor of poetic 
 genius. Wrote verses at 
 eight, and an ' Essay on Mind ' 
 at seventeen. Great-hearted, 
 great-souled, and humble in 
 her greatness ; patient, consid- 
 erate, forgiving, first to see 
 merit, last to censure faults ; 
 so charming that those who 
 
 of Life,' 'Resignation,' 'Excel- 
 sior,' ' The Bridge,' ' Building 
 of the Ship,' ' Weariness,' etc. 
 Longfellow most resembles Ten- 
 nyson in artistic workmanship. 
 Grace, polish, and unity are 
 the chief qualities of his style. 
 
 Maud Muller, his narrative master- 
 piece. Hogg Megone (1835), a 
 framework for sketches of New 
 England scenery and the early 
 inhabitants. Tent on the Beach, 
 descriptive of the recreations 
 of three friends, one of whom 
 relates a series of pleasant sto- 
 ries for the entertainment of the 
 company. Snowbound (1865)-, a 
 winter idyl, recalling The De- 
 serted Village, and The Cot- 
 ter's Saturday Night, in its 
 peaceful pictures, pure pathos, 
 and serene religious trust. 
 Numerous other poems, includ- 
 ing lyrics of freedom, labor, and 
 war. 
 
 The Seraphim (1838), presenting 
 the victory of Christ over evil 
 as consummated on the cross. 
 Drama of Exile (1844), which 
 seeks to penetrate into the spir- 
 itual meanings of the death of 
 Christ and all-conquering love. 
 Both deal with the fall and re- 
 demption of man, both bear the 
 impress of a sovereign imagina- 
 tion, and both are conspicuously 
 
26o 
 
 VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 C HARACTERISTICS. 
 
 30. Revolution in Greece, 1847. 
 
 16. Divergence of history into 
 three schools : the imaginative 
 or romantic, which seeks to 
 depict the past dramatically 
 (Carlyle and Froude) ; the 
 reahstic, which aims rather to 
 exhibit men and events simply 
 as they were (Freeman, Greene, 
 Bancroft) .; and the philosoph- 
 ic, which seeks to show that 
 historical phenomena have a 
 system and a sequence, deter- 
 mined by the operation of law 
 (Buckle, Lecky, Draper). 
 
VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 261 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 knew her were apt to lose sight 
 of her learning and genius ; 
 with more capacity to feel than 
 power to create, hence much of 
 her work is defaced by error or 
 extravagance, while, from her 
 love of dwelling on sublime 
 mystery, it lacks the clearness 
 and proportion essential to the 
 highest art. She sang to 
 purify, refine, and elevate. Her 
 last words fitly were, ' It is 
 beautiful.' 
 
 Oliver Wendell Holmea (1809 — ), a 
 versatile genius who has played 
 rather brilliantly many parts, — 
 poet, novelist, humorist, phy- 
 sician, teacher, scientist, biog- 
 rapher ; philosophical without 
 being dry or obscure, amusing 
 without being vulgar or sensa- 
 
 defective in simplicity. Lady 
 Geraldine's Courtship, a love-story 
 thrown into the form of a letter 
 from a poet to his friend. ' The 
 only poem of its author,' says 
 Poe, 'which is not deficient, 
 considered as an artistic whole.' 
 Sonnets, personal poems, — the 
 rapturous exquisite outpourings 
 of the heart in the wooing of 
 her poet-lover. Aurora Leigh 
 (1856), a verse-novel in nine 
 books, whose theme is social 
 amehoration, and whose cen- 
 tral figure is an aesthetical, im- 
 aginative woman who in many 
 points is doubtless a facsimile 
 of the author herself ; embody- 
 ing, with much intensity, power, 
 and beauty, her highest con- 
 victions on Life and Art ; 
 thronged with learned illustra- 
 tions and suggestive ideas. Its 
 defects are unevenness, incon- 
 sequence, incongruity, absence 
 of humor, lack of repose and 
 naturalness in the characters. 
 Mr. Whipple calls her style ' elab- 
 orately infelicitous.' 
 
 Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table 
 (1858) ; discursive, poetical, 
 vivacious ; a pot-pourri of 
 learning and wisdom, flavored 
 with smiles and laughter. The 
 Professor at the Breakfast-Table, 
 and The Poet at the Breakfast- 
 Table, — delightful and valuable 
 
262 
 
 VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 31. Third French Revolution, 
 1848. A general election held 
 on Sunday. 
 
 CHARACTERlSTrCS. 
 
 32. Girard College opened, \l 
 
 33. Discovery of gold in Califor- 
 nia, 1848 ; and in Australia, 
 1851. 
 
 17. Universality of the novel, 
 cheap editions of which have 
 placed it within reach of the 
 humblest ; its leading features 
 are realism, democracy, and 
 didactic earnestness. 
 
VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 263 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 tional, both without ever be- 
 ing monotonous ; always kindly, 
 healthy, and suggestive ; seek- 
 ing to gladden, not to blight, 
 to find the good and pleasing 
 rather than the evil and repel- 
 lent. ' Our typical university 
 poet.' 
 
 William Ewart Gladstone (1809 — ), 
 a scholarly and versatile orator, 
 perhaps in the rich combina- 
 tion of gifts — voice, manner, 
 reason, knowledge, passion — 
 unequalled by any member of 
 Parliament past or present; a 
 philanthropic and Christian 
 statesman, a leader of the peo- 
 
 books of essay-talk, abounding 
 in kaleidoscopic wit and wise 
 saws. Less punning, more 
 sparing and discriminating in- 
 vention of jokes, with greater 
 variety in the Professor and 
 Poet, might have improved 
 the quality of these three 
 pleasant volumes. Elsie Venner 
 (i86i), a psychological romance, 
 whose leading idea is that of 
 Destiny in transmitted quali- ■ 
 ties ; unequal m execution, but 
 asserting its right to exist, by 
 its depth of insight, genuine 
 sympathy, and humanizing ef- 
 fect. On the following charac- 
 teristic poems the dust and 
 shadows are not likely soon to 
 gather : My Aunt, Music Grind- 
 ers, Old Ironsides, The Last Leaf, 
 The Voiceless, Under the Violets, 
 Song of Other Days, Hearing the 
 Snow-Line (a sonnet), and The 
 Chamhered Nautilus. The last 
 two, in particular, sound the 
 graver, stateher, more inspiring 
 note of high poetic expression. 
 
 Studies on Homer and the Homeric 
 Age (1858), a great but unequal 
 work. ' The freshest and most 
 genial tribute to ancient litera- 
 ture,' says Freeman, ' which 
 has been paid even by an age 
 rich in such offerings.' Juventus 
 Mnndi (1869), a treatise on the 
 gods and men of the heroic age 
 
264 
 
 VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 34. Seventeen American magis- 
 trates dismissed for being con- 
 cerned in an address in favor 
 of the annexation of Canada to 
 the United States, 1849. 
 
VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 265 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 pie in the highest and truest 
 sense ; an author whose prose 
 is marked by intensity of lan- 
 guage, largeness of spirit, and 
 loftiness of moral purpose. 
 
 Alfred Tennyson (1809 — ), a sym- 
 pathetic, close observer of Na- 
 ture ; of exquisitely refined 
 artistic sense ; of keen, pas- 
 sionless vision, undisturbed by 
 political or religious agitation ; 
 not the poet of the ideal. ' He 
 climbs no mount of vision,' 
 says Emerson, ' to bring its 
 secrets to the people.' The 
 poet of sentiment, pure and 
 noble, wholesome and elevating, 
 in his conscious teaching ; de- 
 ficient in the combined action 
 and passion necessary for genu- 
 ine dramatic work ; but in the 
 combination of sweetness and 
 strength, melody, descriptive 
 beauty, culture, and intellect, 
 he is the greatest English poet 
 of the period, raised to his 
 high position, not by inspiration 
 alone, but by unrelaxing effort. 
 'He has enriched us with many 
 shapes of lasting loveliness won 
 
 in Greece. Gleanings of Fast 
 Years (1879), in seven volumes; 
 a collection of miscellaneous 
 writings, personal, literary, his- 
 torical, speculative. 
 His sentences are often vigorous 
 and trenchant, his phrases not 
 unfrequently happy and well- 
 turned; but 'a distinctive style, 
 such, for instance, as Lord 
 Macaulay's, he certainly has 
 not.' 
 
 Lotos-Eaters (1832), a poem of 
 marvellous art and nerveless 
 sentiment, embodying and ex- 
 pressing that mood of revery 
 in which the soul, enamoured of 
 dreamful ease, asks whether 
 the gains of existence are worth 
 its pains, and plaintively ac- 
 quiesces in the conclusion that 
 'there is no joy but calm.' A 
 Dream of Fair Women, commemo- 
 rative (in overburnished phrase) 
 of tlie beauty, love, and sorrow 
 of queen-like women. The 
 Palace of Art, allegorical of a 
 many-gifted soul in love with 
 beauty, knowledge, and (aesthet- 
 ically) with goodness, but for- 
 getful that all these should be 
 the ministers of charity. Looks- 
 ley Hall (1842), a story in fas- 
 cinating trochaic measure, of 
 desecrated affection, in which 
 the soldier-hero describes his 
 ardent youth with its glowing 
 
266 
 
 VICTORIA I^ ACE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 3S. The celebrated year of Papal 
 Aggression upon the ecclesias- 
 tical independence of Plngland, 
 — the Pope having estabhshed 
 a Roman Catholic hierarchy in 
 England, 1850. 
 
 18. Biography, at present a most 
 important branch of composi- 
 tion, ' consists in reducing to 
 the smallest possible compass 
 the heroes and sages of the 
 past, and in inflating the post- 
 humous reputations of the men 
 of yesterday by ransacking 
 their desks and publishing their 
 private letters.' 
 
VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 267 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 from the vague and formless 
 infinite.' 
 
 vision of the world, his love for 
 Amy, so humanizing and so 
 exalting, his anathemas against 
 the paternal worldliness which 
 puts them asunder, his bitter 
 upbraiding of the yielding girl, 
 his varying moods of rapture 
 and despair, his final decision 
 to plunge into the stimulating 
 activities of the world and press 
 forward. Aylmer's Field, a com- 
 panion picture of the sad and 
 tragic loves of a squire's daugh- 
 ter and a rector's son, cruelly 
 separated by pride of birth and 
 pride of gold, — she drooping 
 and dying, he suiciding, the 
 whole concluding with a fune- 
 ral sermon on the desolation 
 wrought by pride. The Vision 
 of Sin, whose central intention 
 is to body forth the conflict be- 
 tween the ' genius and the mor- 
 tal instruments,' — the higher 
 and lower principles of human 
 nature. The Princess (1847), 
 romance of a beautiful girl of 
 the South, who, affianced to a 
 prince of the North, rebels 
 against the rule of men, asserts 
 her equality and independence, 
 founds a university for girls, 
 whither comes the prince in 
 disguise, who mingles with 
 the fair students, is betrayed, 
 seized, and rescued ; he en- 
 gages in a conflict of fifty men 
 against fifty for a settlement 
 
268 
 
 VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 36. Harper's Monthly, 1850 
 
 37. California admitted into the 
 Union, 1850. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 19. Popular aesthetic passion, 
 manifesting itself in the founda- 
 tion of art schools and galler- 
 ies and in the development of 
 art literature (Ruskin). 
 
VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 269 
 
 Writers. 
 
 William Makepeace Thackeray (i 8 1 1 - 
 1863), novelist, painter, lect- 
 
 Writings. 
 
 of the quarrel, is wounded, and 
 then received into the palace 
 of the Princess, who learns 
 first to pity, then to love. In 
 Memoriam (1850), the greatest 
 of elegiacs, written in praise 
 and memory of a friend, and 
 voicing wisely much of the 
 ethical and theological specula- 
 tion of the time. Its true 
 poetic unity is life and its prob- 
 lems seen through the death- 
 shadow. Idyls of the King 
 (1859-1872), versified narra- 
 tives, — Geraint and Enid, 
 Merlin and Vivien, Lancelot 
 and Elaine, Guinevere, The 
 Coming of Arthur, The Holy 
 Grail, Pelleas and Ettarre, 
 The Passing of Arthur, The 
 Last Tournajnent, Gareth and 
 Lynette. Ostensibly an epic, 
 the series deals with the very 
 highest interest of man, shad- 
 owing sense at war with soul, 
 and surcharged with high im- 
 aginings, pathos, and power 
 Style: ornate, polished, smooth- 
 flowing, musical, reposeful, 
 showing, in perfect keeping 
 with the matter, a fine sense of 
 harmony, and an instinctive ap- 
 preciation of verbal beauties. 
 Its fault is over-attention to 
 details. 
 
 Vanity Fair (1847), telling the life 
 and adventures of a false, sel- 
 
2/0 
 
 VICTORIAN ACE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 38. Universal suffrage established 
 in France, 1851. 
 
 39. The World's Fair, London, 
 1851. 
 
 20. 'We have, indeed, only to 
 look around us to perceive that 
 
 — whether or not the condi- 
 tions of the modern world are 
 favorable to artistic excellence 
 
 — all the main forces of civili- 
 zation" are tending toward ar- 
 tistic activity. The increase 
 of wealth, the diffusion of edu- 
 cation, the gradual decline of 
 the military, the hieratic, the 
 aristocratic ideals, — each of 
 
VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 271 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 urer, humorist, and satirist. 
 Open-hearted, kindly, and gen- 
 erous ; unsteadfast, changeable, 
 self-distrustful ; in love with 
 the good and noble, hating the 
 worldliness and hypocrisy ex- 
 posed and satirized with such 
 power in his writings ; possess- 
 ing a refined knowledge of char- 
 acter and a subtile acquaintance 
 with the weakness and foibles 
 of human nature ; finding his 
 sphere as an artist in the man- 
 ners of the aristocracy and its 
 imitators ; inclined to view life 
 cynically, even pessimistically, 
 yet ethical by indirection, teach- 
 ing less by good example than 
 by bad, insinuatingly rather 
 than overtly ; a realist, to whom 
 it was given, not to soar heaven- 
 ward, but to walk upon the 
 earth and depict the natural 
 man. ' A sardonic melancholy 
 was the characteristic most 
 common to him, which, how- 
 ever, was relieved by an ever- 
 present capacity for instant 
 frolic' It was these attributes 
 combined which made him ' of 
 all satirists the most humorous 
 and of all humorists the most 
 satirical.' 
 
 fish, covetous young woman, 
 Becky Sharp, pushing and 
 scheming her way into fashion- 
 able society ; and the troubles 
 and final success of noble Cap- 
 tain Dobbin. The story lacks 
 progressive movement, but is 
 vividly real in persons and 
 scenes. There is more expos- 
 ing of vice than extolling of 
 virtue, but vice is painted so as 
 to disgust, not to allure. Pen- 
 deunis (1850), the history of a 
 ' fine gentleman,' but weak, 
 worldly, and untrustworthy. 
 The book seems to say : ' No 
 good is to be done by blinking 
 the truth ; let us have the facts 
 out, and mend what is baa if we 
 can.' Henry Esmond (1852), 
 a memoir of the lime of Queen 
 Anne in the language of that 
 time, written in the form of an 
 autobiography by the hero, 
 who, compounded of all good 
 gifts, has settled in Virginia. 
 The two heroines. Lady Castle- 
 wood and Beatrix, are mother 
 and daughter, the former in 
 love with Esmond, and the lat- 
 ter loved by him. ' Vanity of 
 vanities ' is the tone of the 
 book ; and its lesson is : We 
 reap as we sow, — glory, if we 
 have lived and done gloriously ; 
 meanness, if ,we have lived and 
 done meanly. The Newoomea 
 (1854), the hero of which — 
 
2/2 
 
 VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 
 tliese causes removes some ob- 
 
 
 stacle from the artist's path or 
 
 
 offers some fresh prize to his 
 
 
 endeavors.' 
 
 40. Coup (Pitat of Louis Napo- 
 
 
 leon, 1851. 
 
 
 41. Death of the Duke of Wel- 
 lington, 1852. 
 
 43. Empire established in France, 
 1852. 
 
VICTORIAN ACE. 
 
 VI 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 Harriet Beecher Stowe(l8i2 — ), the 
 anti-slavery novelist ; a writer 
 of juvenile stories, as well as 
 of stories for ' children of a 
 larger growth ; ' an essayist on 
 vital domestic topics ; an apt 
 delineator of New England 
 home-life, more successful in 
 the portrayal of typical Massa- 
 chusetts men and women than 
 in the creation of character ; 
 author, also, of some religious 
 poems ; versatile, philanthropic, 
 brave, and soulful, eminently 
 ethical in her aims. 
 
 — the idle and ambitious Clive, 
 whose father is ruined by spec- 
 ulation — runs through the ad- 
 ventures of his early life and is 
 ultimately bereft of happiness 
 by the abominations of his 
 mother-in-law. Replete with 
 satire. ' Every word of it 
 seems to have been written to 
 show how vile and poor a place 
 this world is ; how prone men 
 are to deceive, and how prone 
 to be deceived.' Also numerous 
 other works, including, with 
 fiction. The English Httmor- 
 ists, The Four Georges, and 
 Ballads. 
 Style : easy, lucid, and correct ; 
 sinewy, fine and yet strong ; 
 readily intelligible to the read- 
 er, and conveying accurately 
 what the writer has to give. 
 
 Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852), inspired 
 by the blighting evil of slavery, 
 and appearing on the eve of the 
 impending struggle; in harmony 
 with the sentiment and passion 
 of the winning side, as well as 
 of a philanthropic age ; hence 
 its immediate and wide popular- 
 ity. ' I forgot,' sneered Thack- 
 eray, ' to put a nigger into my 
 book.' Its internal strength 
 lies in its forceful portraitures 
 of St. Clair, Mi.ss Ophelia, and 
 Topsy ; in the dramatic humor 
 and pathos of its incidents, and 
 
 iS 
 
274 
 
 VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 C H ARACTERISTICS. 
 
 43. Death of Henry Clay, 1852. 
 
 44. Florence Nightingale's work 
 in hospital reform, 1853-1855. 
 
 SI. American literature non-sec- 
 tional and peculiarly expressive 
 of the ideas of freedom, home, 
 and the transcendental view of 
 thought and life. It has be^n 
 described as ' isolated inheri- 
 tance working freshly.' 
 
 45. Outbreak of the Crimean 
 War, 1854. 
 
VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 275 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Noah Porter (1811 — ), Congrega- 
 tional minister, Professor of 
 Moral and Mental Philosophy 
 in Yale University, and later 
 President. One of the most 
 scholarly metaphysicians in the 
 country, all of whose life-work 
 ministers to the higher forms 
 of human development. 
 
 James McCosh (181 1—), minister 
 of the Free Church of Scotland, 
 
 Writings. 
 
 in its broad yet earnest religion. 
 It has been said that more eyes 
 have moistened over the death 
 of Eva than over that of Lit- 
 tle Nell. This was followed 
 by a series of much less suc- 
 cessful works, including The 
 Minister's Wooing (1859), ^**y 
 Byron Vindicated (1869), My 
 Wife and I (1872), and We and 
 Our Neighbors. 
 
 The Human Intellect (186S), a 
 copious and well-digested trea- 
 tise that has given its author 
 high rank among European 
 scholars ; warm and stimulat- 
 ing in its discussion, yet fair 
 and temperate in its statement 
 of issues between opposing 
 schools ; thoroughly theistic 
 and spiritual, yet giving evi- 
 dence of close attention to the 
 leading writers on physiologi- 
 cal science ; clear, well-or- 
 dered, and complete. We know 
 of no similar work that can be 
 read with equal profit. Books 
 and Beading (1870), a valuable 
 work for the general reader. 
 Science of Nature versus the 
 Science of Man (1871), a review 
 of the doctrines of Herbert 
 Spencer. Elements of Moral 
 Science (1885); and other 
 works. 
 
 Method of the Divine Government 
 (1850). Intuitions of the Mind 
 
2/6 
 
 VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 46. Sebastopol taken by the forces 
 of Great Britain and France, 
 1855. 
 
 47. Death of Comte, French phi- 
 losopher, founder of Positiv- 
 ism, 1857. 
 
 22. Predominance of journalism 
 in America. 
 
 23. Increase of female authors 
 in America, and consequent 
 aptitude for writing children's 
 books. 
 
VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 277 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Professor of Logic in Queen's 
 College, Ireland, President of 
 the College of New Jersey. A 
 clear and profound thinker, sur- 
 veying the problems of life as 
 from some high, serene watch- 
 tower. The drift of his utter- 
 ances has been strongly adverse 
 to materialism. 
 
 Charles Dickens (18 iz- 1870), as 
 a boy, weakly, sensitive, an 
 eager reader of miscellaneous 
 books, ambitious of fame ; first 
 a journalist, then a novelist, — 
 soon the most popular of the 
 century; warm-hearted, impul- 
 sive, generous, of buoyant 
 spirits, free from all affectation ; 
 industrious, full of purpose, 
 firm, self-reliant; minutely fa- 
 miliar with the peculiarities of 
 the middle and lower ranks ; 
 possessing a keen sense of the 
 ludicrous in conjunction with a 
 mastery of the pathetic and a 
 rare descriptive power; not a 
 profound analyst of character; 
 working from the externals 
 inward; often extravagant and 
 too diffuse ; an idealist, born 
 into the world to tell, with 
 childlike method and benefi- 
 cent effect, the story of life 
 
 Writings. 
 
 (i860), explaining what intui- 
 tions are, which are moral, and 
 how they are related to the 
 sciences, particularly to meta- 
 physics and theology. Chris- 
 tianity and Positivism (1871), a 
 vigorous advocacy of the virtue 
 and power of the Christian 
 religion as against that com- 
 pound of atheism and stoicism 
 known as the Positive Philoso- 
 phy. The Scottish Philosophy 
 (1874), etc. 
 
 Pickwick Papers (1837), a loosely 
 strung narrative of the doings 
 of a set of original characters 
 from the middle and low hfe of 
 London, conceived with such 
 exuberance and novelty of hu- 
 mor, good-will, and chanty that 
 the public was captivated and 
 Mr. Dickens raised to fame ; 
 his most popular and charac- 
 teristic book, though not his 
 best. Oliver Twist (1838), his 
 first regular novel ; a picture 
 of the ' dregs of life,' the cloud 
 of which is not, however, with- 
 out its silver lining of redeem- 
 ing features. It is the story of 
 a child born in a workhouse, but 
 preserved through the scenes 
 of vice and misery by delicacy 
 and strength of natural senti- 
 ment. It exhibits for the first 
 time the author's tragic power. 
 The depicture of the ruffian 
 
2/8 
 
 VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 48. Indian mutiny, 1857. 
 
 49. Atlantic Monthly, 1857. 
 
 50. Laying of first Atlantic ca- 
 ble, 1858. 
 
 C HARACTERISTICS. 
 
 34. Divergence of American hu- 
 mor into two kinds: the one 
 subtle and artistic, allied to 
 dramatic imagination (Haw- 
 thorne and Holmes) ; the other 
 palpable and broad, inclining to 
 burlesque, relying on puns, hy- 
 perbole, antithesis, anticlimax, 
 bad grammar, and worse spell- 
 ing (Twain, Ward, Billings). 
 
VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 279 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 anew, carrying the wayworn 
 and footsore into a cheerier, 
 better world than that in which 
 they actually live, and saying 
 through his twenty thousand 
 pages: Be learned and illus- 
 trious if you niay, but be useful 
 certainly, and, above all, be 
 good ; exercise pity and for- 
 giveness, and do what you 
 can to brighten and sweeten 
 existence. 
 
 Sykes and of Fagan, the ab- 
 horred Jew, is Shakespearian. 
 Old Curiosity Shop (1840), the 
 central figure of which is Little 
 Nell, frail, trusting, and loving, 
 much-suffering, always patient, 
 one of the most exquisite crea- 
 tions in the whole range of fic- 
 tion. In contrast with such 
 genial products of observation 
 and humor as the shock-headed 
 Kit, Dick Swiveller (the tri- 
 umph of the serio-comic form 
 of art), and the itinerant show- 
 man, are the vicious dwarf 
 Quilp and the virago Sallie 
 Brass. Rarely has the author's 
 invention been more diversified. 
 Martin Chuzzlewit (1843), a sat- 
 ire, somewhat savage, but in 
 the main true, on American 
 manners. Its intention is to 
 exhibit under various forms 
 hypocrisy and tlie greed of 
 gain, — the evil and the folly of 
 selfishness Faulty in plot, but 
 as a whole, one of the master- 
 pieces of the author's maturity. 
 None of his books cost him 
 more hard work. Of the Eng- 
 lish characters, the immortal 
 Mrs. Gamp, the laughable and 
 loathsome Pecksniff, are the 
 most original and artistic, while 
 the description of Jonas before 
 and after his deed of blood re- 
 calls the tragic power of Oliver 
 Twist. David Copperfield (1850), 
 
28o 
 
 VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 51. John Brown's raid, 1859. 
 
 53. Insurrection in Italy under 
 Garibaldi, i860. 
 
 53. Secession ordinance passed 
 by South Carolina, i860. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 281 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 Eobert Brovming (1812-1889). 
 ' Very simple and agreeable in 
 manner, gently impulsive, talk- 
 ing as if his heart were upper- 
 most,' says Hawthorne. In 
 conversation, clear, full of 
 good sense and fine feeling, 
 full also of fun and harmless 
 satire, with some little affecta- 
 tions, if we are to believe Miss 
 Martineau. Ratiocinative as a 
 writer, without due regard to 
 the proper limits of a theme 
 or the relative importance of 
 topics ; delighting in the con- 
 ceivable, the unseen, the com- 
 plicated, the purely psycho- 
 logical ; successful in personal 
 studies and in the portrayal of 
 specific moods, but too subjec- 
 tive, too stilted, too discursive, 
 for true dramatic composition; 
 scornful of authority, eccentric 
 in expression, not to say per- 
 verse; harsh, untuneful, in- 
 
 the prime secret of the charm 
 of which is its autobiographical 
 element so thoroughly fused 
 with the mass filUng the writer's 
 mould tliat the result is ' an in- 
 tegral artistic whole.' Gener- 
 ally conceded to be the author's 
 greatest work, as it was his fa- 
 vorite, — the book into which 
 he put his life's blood, the glow 
 of youth, and the thoughtful- 
 ness of manhood. 
 
 Paracelsus (1835), a drama, or, 
 rather, a metaphysical dialogue, 
 full of fine thought and fine 
 diction; the story of a physi- 
 cist of the sixteenth century 
 who vainly aspires to knowl- 
 edge, — to some final revelation 
 of the secret of life to be at- 
 tained through solitary com- 
 munion with Nature, — is told 
 then to combine the aesthetic 
 or emotional with the intellec- 
 tual, strives for a fuller exist- 
 ence, — strives with a sinking 
 sense of waste, wearily, way- 
 wardly, — fails, and dies. The 
 King and the Book (1869), a 
 poem of twenty-one thousand 
 lines, whose theme is an Italian 
 murder and its retribution. 
 ' The thought, the vocabulary, 
 the imagery, the wisdom lav- 
 ished upon this story, would 
 equip a score of ordinary writ- 
 ers, and place them beyond 
 
282 
 
 VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 S4. Death of the Prince Consort, 
 1861. 
 
 55. American War of the Rebel- 
 lion, 1861-1865. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 283 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 volved; could be melodious if 
 he would, but chooses to neg- 
 lect the arts that please ; could 
 be intelligible as Shakespeare, 
 Milton, Wordsworth, Carlyle, 
 or Mill, but either thinks less 
 lucidly or prefers not to be so 
 easily understood. A great 
 poet, however, in spite of se- 
 rious defects, — great by origi- 
 nahty of conception, strength of 
 intellect, depth of passion, and 
 potency of moral sentiment. 
 
 danger of neglect.' A Death in 
 the Desert (1864), the record 
 of an imaginary last scene in 
 the life of Saint John, and ex- 
 pository of the doctrine that the 
 ordained mission of doubt is 
 to perfect character and to pre- 
 serve faith. Eabbi Ben Ezra 
 (1864), an expression of reli- 
 gious philosophy whose main 
 points are : that conflict, the 
 sigh for the impossible, the 
 blunders of endeavor, are well ; 
 that the joys of sense or brain, 
 felt as God-given, are right ; 
 that failure or success is to be 
 sought in the unseen life ; that 
 nothing dies or changes which 
 has truly been ; that the soul is 
 eternal, and death marks but 
 the climax of its earthly life. 
 Prospioe (1864), an exultant 
 look forward, through the death- 
 shadows, into the Unknown. 
 Mr. Browning's productive ca- 
 reer, thus meagrely represented, 
 has been remarkably active 
 and long. 
 Style : ' I am rather surprised,' 
 says Hawthorne, ' that Brown- 
 ing's conversation should be so 
 clear, and so much to the pur- 
 pose at the moment, since his 
 poetry can seldom proceed far 
 without running into the high 
 grass of latent meanings and 
 obscure allusions.' ' His style,' 
 says Stedman, 'is that of a man 
 
284 
 
 VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 C HARACTERISTICS. 
 
 
 25. Growth of a healthier and 
 
 56. Emancipation Proclamation, 
 
 more humane spirit in criminal 
 
 1863. 
 
 laws, in the management of 
 
 
 schools, and in the care of the 
 
 
 State for the working classes. 
 
 57. Battle of Gettysburg, 1863. 
 
 
 58. Assassination of President 
 
 
 Lincoln, 1865. 
 
 
 
 26. Legislative reform, founded 
 
 
 on a recognition of the prin- 
 
 
 ciples of humanity. 
 
VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 28s 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887), 
 clergyman, lecturer, author, 
 one of the foremost pulpit and 
 platform orators of the age ; 
 endowed with rare bodily 
 and mental vigor, extraordinary 
 range and readiness of faculty, 
 wealth of poetic sensibility, 
 all-sweeping insight, and sym- 
 pathetic heart, combined with 
 unique command of language ; 
 using his gifts uniformly in 
 the direction of reformed 
 thought, freedom, and equity;' 
 preaching with tireless energy 
 and frank independence the 
 core of all religions, — the 
 fatherhood of God and the 
 brotherhood of man; a great, 
 distinct, many-sided, and fruit- 
 ful nature. 
 
 John Lothrop Motley (1814-1877), 
 historian, novelist, diplomat ; 
 a man of wide culture, win- 
 some character, and stirring 
 vitality; loyal to political and 
 religious freedom ; intense, 
 yet judicial ; patient in re- 
 search, comprehensive iir 
 grasp ; more artistic than 
 
 caught in a morass of ideas 
 through which he has to travel, 
 — wearily floundering, grasping 
 here and there and often sink- 
 ing deeper until there seems no 
 prospect of getting through.' 
 
 Norwood (1867), a novel ; Star Par 
 pers (1855) ; Lectures to Yonng 
 Men (1844) ; Life Thoughts 
 (1859), compiled by Edna 
 Dean Porter; Notes from Ply- 
 mouth Pulpit (1859), compiled 
 by Augusta Moore ; Life of 
 Christ (1871). In all these 
 works and gleanings are strong 
 and beautiful thoughts, fresh 
 and apposite illustrations, and 
 largeness of manhood ; but for 
 the most part, like his sermons, 
 they lack the high art neces- 
 sary to insure their perpetuity 
 as living powers in print. Mr. 
 Beecher took no heed of form. 
 He will be remembered as one 
 of the ' master spirits,' but his 
 fame will not rest on his con- 
 tributions to literature. 
 
 The Dutch Republic (1856), the 
 best existing history of Hol- 
 land ; a dramatization (it might 
 be said) of that fierce and 
 memorable struggle against 
 temporal and spiritual des- 
 potism. The United Netherlands 
 (1868), virtually a continuation 
 of the former work, executed 
 
286 
 
 VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 59. Second Atlantic cable, iS66. 
 
 60. Austro-Prussian War, 1 866. 
 
 61. Purchase of Alaska by the 
 United States, 1867. 
 
 C HARACTERISTICS. 
 
 27. Title-hunting and office-seek- 
 ing tendencies, — exotics whiqh 
 are assiduously cultivated by 
 growing numbers of the Ameri- 
 can people. 
 
 28. ' It is evident, especially in 
 new countries, that a need is 
 felt of some kind of social 
 distinction, — some new aris- 
 tocracy, — based on differences 
 other than those of birth and 
 wealth.' 
 
VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 287 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Bancroft, more vehement than 
 Prescott, more strikingly origi- 
 nal than either. 
 
 Charles Beade (1814-1S84), sat- 
 irist, novelist, dramatist, law- 
 yer. A very unequal writer, — 
 at his best, great, worthy of 
 a place among the highest, 
 but to be estimated by the 
 value of splendid episodes 
 rather than the production of 
 a finished whole ; seldom ex- 
 celled for livehness and flu- 
 ency of narrative, of which 
 Swinburne thinks him the 
 greatest master that England 
 has produced since Scott ; 
 loving justice and mercy, and 
 doing good service as a cas- 
 tigator of social and legal 
 grievances calling for reform. 
 
 Anthony Trollope (1815-1882), 
 versatile, genial, abundant; a 
 man of strong, good sense and 
 hearty good-nature ; familiar 
 with affairs, and with all sorts 
 and conditions of men ; hold- 
 ing up the mirror to the life 
 
 Writings. 
 
 in the same masterly manner. 
 Life and Death of John of Bame- 
 veld (1874), introductory to his 
 intended Thirty Years' War. 
 ' Since the death of Lord Ma- 
 caulay,' says Nichol, ' no con- 
 tribution, in our tongue, to his- 
 toric literature, has been at 
 once so original, solid, and 
 popularly attractive as the 
 nine volumes of Mr. Motley.' 
 
 Peg Woffington (1852), a close 
 study of life and character be- 
 hind the scenes, almost perfect 
 in its symmetry and beauty. 
 Never too Late to Mend (1856), 
 the leading purpose of which 
 is the correction of abuses in 
 prison discipline. Put Yourself 
 in His Place (1870), which 
 grapples with the tyrannous 
 outrages of trades-unions. 
 
 All of Reade's novels are re- 
 markable for abundance of 
 incident and rapidity of move- 
 ment. 
 
 The Warden (1855), history of the 
 conscience of an old man who, 
 without means of his own, and 
 against the efforts of his 
 friends, resigns his post in a 
 hospital because persuaded 
 that the well-salaried office 
 
288 
 
 VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 62. Reform Bill for extension of 
 the right of franchise in Eng- 
 land, 1867. 
 
 63, Chaucer Society founded, 
 1867. 
 
VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 289 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 around him with the utmost 
 realism ; averse to the inflic- 
 tion of pain, and treating of 
 the agreeable with infinite 
 love of detail. ' His inesti- 
 mable merit,' says Henry 
 James, ' was his complete ap- 
 preciation of the usual.' With- 
 out the genius, fancy, or feeling 
 of Dickens, Thackeray, or 
 George Eliot, writing more 
 than any of them, but less 
 skilfully, sacrificing quality to 
 quantity ; not studious of or- 
 ganic completeness ; deliber- 
 ately inartistic, frequently 
 reminding the reader that the 
 story in progress is, after all, 
 only a make-believe. 
 
 Nathaniel Parker Willis (1807- 
 1867), journalist, poet, novelist; 
 of elegant tastes, fastidious in 
 the choice of acquaintances, 
 much of a ' lady's man,' with 
 something of the dandy in him; 
 of fertile fancy, quick wit, and 
 generous heart, with 'a fine 
 perception of beauty, a re- 
 markable facility in the choice 
 of words, and a subtile sense 
 of harmony in their arrange- 
 ment.' As a writer, unfortu- 
 nately, he was time-serving, 
 
 has become a sinecure. The 
 two capital portraits are those 
 of the worldly churchman. 
 Archdeacon Grantley, and the 
 gentle Mr. Harding. Barehes- 
 ter Towers (1857), which carries 
 on, with growing interest, the 
 history of Hiram's Hospital. 
 Mr. Quiverful, with a family 
 of fourteen children, becomes 
 a candidate for Mr. Harding's 
 vacant place. He Knew He 
 Was Eight (1869), a powerful 
 picture of the insanity of stifT- 
 neckedness generally, and es- 
 pecially between husband and 
 wife. The American Senator 
 (1877), and very many other 
 novels, as well as a great 
 number of short stories and 
 several biographies. Most of 
 the enormous mass is passing 
 into the shadows. 
 
 Of his many books, poetical and 
 prose, most have passed — 
 and more are passing — from 
 among the living, as the pen- 
 alty of affectation, hurry, and 
 industrious devotion to inferior 
 ends. There is something 
 of delicacy and vigor, high 
 thought and true imagination, 
 in such pieces as Absalom, Par- 
 rhasius, The Dying Alchemist, The 
 Wife's Appeal, Better Moments, 
 A Child's First Impressions of a 
 Star. 
 
 19 
 
290 
 
 VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 64. Completion of the Pacific 
 Railroad, eighteen hundred 
 miles long, 1869. 
 
 65. Disestablishment of the Irish 
 Church, 1869. 
 
 C HAR ACTERISTICS. 
 
 29. Heated and persistent con- 
 troversy excited by Darwin's 
 Origin of Species (1859) and 
 Descent of Man (1871). 
 
 30. Renaissance of American lit- 
 erature in the South (illustrated 
 by Cable's tales of Louisiana 
 life). 
 
VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 291 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 selecting his topics for their 
 immediate market-value, and 
 too often idealizing trivialities. 
 His nature permitted him to 
 be frequently flimsy, some- 
 times vulgar. 
 
 Henry David Thorean (1817-1862), 
 author, lecturer, magazine con- 
 tributor ; incidentally, gardener, 
 fence-builder, white-washer, 
 land-surveyor ; by habit, a 
 naturalist ; by constitution, a 
 moralist ; by force of ideality, 
 a poet ; rendering Nature in- 
 terpretatively as well as liter- 
 ally, not forgetting the soul of 
 things ; capable of friendship 
 and fond of sympathy, but 
 living isolated, averse to the 
 companionship of men, partly 
 from egotism, partly from 
 fandness for the inner life, 
 partly from scorn of frivolity. 
 ' Blessed are the young, for 
 they do not read the Presi- 
 dent's message. Blessed are 
 they who never read a news- 
 paper, for they shall see Na- 
 ture, and, through her, God.' 
 The prayer of his utterance 
 and conduct was the utmost 
 fulfilling of the interior law. 
 ' It was not possible,' his sis- 
 ter said, ' to be sad in his pres- 
 ence. . . . The memory of his 
 sweet and virtuous soul must 
 ever cheer and comfort me.' 
 
 Walden (1854), which sets forth 
 his theory of labor and leisure ; 
 replete, like all he wrote, with 
 charming descriptions and fine 
 ob.servations finely expressed; 
 so named from the woods in 
 which his hermitage stood. 
 Excursions (1863), pen-pictures 
 of New England scenery, at 
 once accurate and imaginative. 
 A complete collection of Tljo- 
 reau's poems would contain 
 many verses sure to survive ; 
 as. The Pilgrims, Smoke, and 
 Inspiration. Of his posthu- 
 mous publications, all aglow 
 with his loyal- affection for 
 Nature and natural history. 
 Cape Cod is perhaps the most 
 characteristic. 
 
292 
 
 VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 66. Opening of the Suez Canal, 
 1869. 
 
 67. Franco-Prussian War, 1870. 
 
 68. Unification of Italy, 1859- 
 1870. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 293 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Henry Wheeler Shaw (' Josh Bil- 
 lings ') (1818-1885), steamboat- 
 man on the Ohio River, farmer, 
 auctioneer, journalist, lecturer, 
 humorist ; sometimes coarse, 
 but predominantly witty; a man 
 of the people, who, adopting a 
 pseudo-illiterate garb, preaches 
 and philosophizes aphoristically 
 while he amuses. ' I enjoy life, 
 and love the funny side of all 
 things.' ' With me everything 
 must be put in two or three lines.' 
 The central principle of his art 
 was that ' humor must be based 
 on truth.' ' Genuine humor lasts 
 forever, because it is truth.' 
 
 Ciharles Eingsley (1819-1875), cler- 
 gyman, poet, novelist, Profes- 
 sor of Modern History in 
 Cambridge University ; widely 
 and variously informed, though 
 not profoundly learned; held 
 to the Broad Church theol- 
 ogy ; sat at the feet of Darwin, 
 and encouraged others to learn 
 of him, convinced that the Bi- 
 ble and science are intrinsically 
 at one ; of earnest piety, and in 
 close sympathy with the poor, 
 the weak, and the afflicted ; of 
 excitable temperament, but of 
 gentle and loving disposition; 
 a vigorous and versatile writer, 
 writing for a purpose, straight 
 from the heart, and exerting a 
 healthful and stimulating influ- 
 
 Writings. 
 
 His books present a homespun 
 and jocose American's view of 
 life ; a mixture, in their make- 
 up, of the shrewd, the ludicrous, 
 and the vulgar, — practical wis- 
 dom, genuine comedy, and stale 
 mountebankery. Josh Billings, 
 his Sayings (1866), Farmer's Al- 
 minaz (1870), Josh BUlings' 
 Spice-Boz (1881), etc. 
 
 Alton locke (1849), designed to 
 present, in the history of a 
 tailor-poet's life, the opinions, 
 the claims, the aspirations, and 
 immediate objects of the Chart- 
 ists; full of noble sentiment, 
 racy humor, and vivid depic- 
 ture. Hypatia (1853), which 
 traces, in the character of the 
 heroine (the foremost scholar 
 of the time), — in her aspira- 
 tions, her mental struggles, her 
 bitter disappointment, — the ca- 
 reer of the Neo-Platonism cf 
 the fifth century in conflict with 
 the Christian faith, the feeble- 
 ness and failure of philosophy, 
 however spiritual, to satisfy the 
 demands of the human soul. 
 Westward 5o ! (1855), which de- 
 
294 
 
 VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 9. Extension of the English pub- 
 lic-school system, 1870. 
 
 70. Abolition of religious tests 
 for admission to ofifice, 1871. 
 
VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 295 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 ence. One of the few since 
 Scott who have made the his- 
 torical novel readable. He 
 would have wrought better had 
 he been more concentrative 
 and done less. ' Touching 
 success at many points, he ab- 
 solutely mastered it at none.' 
 
 Josiah Gilbert Holland (1819-1881), 
 school-teacher, physician, jour- 
 nalist, editor of Scribner's 
 Magazine, essayist, poet, nov- 
 elist. A man of fine presence, 
 sensitive, independent, essen- 
 tially buoyant and joyous ; in 
 closest sympathy with the peo- 
 ple ; religious, but free from 
 creed restrictions ; sweet-tem- 
 pered, great-hearted, nourishing 
 in himself and others high and 
 generous ideals. The best and 
 compactest of him will live. A 
 portion has perished, and more 
 will do so ; but however this may 
 be, and whatever may be said of 
 his merits, he has rendered im- 
 mense service to the men and 
 women of his generation. ' I 
 am tlianltful for having enjoyed 
 the privileges of labor and in- 
 fluence, thankful for wife and 
 children. ... I have intention- 
 ally and consciously wronged no 
 man, and, if I know my heart, 
 I have forgiven all my enemies. 
 
 scribes with wonderful pictu- 
 resqueness the advance of the 
 Elizabethan adventurers on 
 South America, and their con- 
 flict with the Spaniards living 
 there. Kingsley's best lyrics 
 — as The Sands of Dee and The 
 Three Fishers — would be con- 
 spicuous in the work of the 
 great poets. 
 
 Timothy TitcomVs Letters (1858), 
 dealing in a familiar and attrac- 
 tive way with the questions of 
 practical moment to every 
 thoughtful person. The book, 
 compiled from the Springfield 
 Republican, of which the author 
 was then editor, was remarka- 
 bly popular from the start. 
 Bitter-Sweet (1858), partly nar- 
 rative, partly dramatic, partly 
 lyrical ; a kind of pastoral poem, 
 the scene of which is a New 
 England Thanksgiving, where 
 the gathered family talk far 
 into the night on theological 
 topics in connection with their 
 personal experiences of the 
 joys and sorrows of life. Its 
 main idea is that evil (or the 
 possibility of it) is part of God's 
 plan for the perfection of hu- 
 man character. Kathrina(i868), 
 the main lesson of which is 
 faith in God and humble sub- 
 mission to His dispensations. 
 Said to have outsold all other 
 
296 
 
 VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 71. Restoration of the German 
 Empire, 1828-1871. 
 
 72. Adoption of tlie ballot-vote in 
 Parliamentary elections, 1873. 
 
 73. New Shakespeare Society, 
 1874- 
 
VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 297 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 For the great Hereafter I trust 
 in the Infinite Love, as it is ex- 
 pressed to me in the life and 
 death of my Lord and Saviour 
 Jesus Christ' 
 
 Edwin Percy Whipple (1819-1886), 
 professional critic ; adopting, in 
 composition, the form of a popu- 
 lar lecture ; not profound, but 
 well-informed, keen, and skil- 
 ful ; free from prejudice and 
 passion ; witty without wound- 
 ing, severe without injustice; 
 sympathetic, yet discriminating; 
 never blind to faults, quick- 
 eyed for excellence ; putting 
 the stress on character, purpose, 
 and substance. A noticeable 
 landmark in American literary 
 history, and with the exception 
 of Lowell and Matthew Arnold, 
 the ablest critical essayist of 
 his time. 
 
 American poems except Hia- 
 watha. Holland, though one 
 of the most popular, is one of 
 the least poetical, of our poets. 
 No writer, however, has better 
 understood the average national 
 heart; and this fact, coupled 
 with his sincerity and common- 
 sense, explains the wide popu- 
 larity of his other books, — Les- 
 sons in life, Miss Gilbert's Career, 
 Seven Oaks, etc. 
 Generally speaking, his diction is 
 not always in good taste. It is 
 seriously marred by the frequent 
 use of catch-words and slang 
 phrases. Not seldom is he 
 heavy, even trashy, or worse, — 
 irreverent and extreme. 
 
 Essays and Reviews (1848), genial 
 and judicious in its estimates 
 of books and men. Literature 
 and Life (1849), slight but spir- 
 ited essays touching instruc- 
 tively upon many subjects, ex- 
 hausting none. Character and 
 Characteristic Men (1866), often 
 acute in its judgments, brisk, 
 nimble, and full of point in style. 
 Literature of the Age of Elizabeth 
 (1869), mainly a discussion of the 
 merits and defectsof the English 
 dramatists. This book displays 
 thetalentoftheauthoratitshigh- 
 water mark. American Litera- 
 ture (1887), conspicuous for its 
 condensation, apt criticism, and 
 felicitous expression. EecoUec- 
 
298 
 
 VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
 74. International Exhibition at 
 Philadelpliia, 1876. 
 
 75. Invention of the first practi- 
 cal telephone, 1876. 
 
VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 299 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 /f1^ 
 Walt Whitman (1819 — ), type-set- 
 ter, school-master, newspaper 
 editor, carpenter, hospital at- 
 tendant, clerk in the Depart- 
 ment of the Interior, poet, 
 prose-writer ; true-born of ex- 
 ternal Nature, lovingly apprecia- 
 tive, though rude and untama- 
 ble, professing himself indebted 
 only to inarticulate poets, — 
 drivers, pilots, fishermen, to 
 men and women of the markets 
 and wharves ; iconoclastic in 
 relation to aiistocracy and for- 
 malism ; choosing for his free 
 mind the freer medium of the 
 Hebrew prophets, the Gaelic 
 minstrels, and the chanting In- 
 dians ; optimistic, seeing prom- 
 ise of ultimate good in all that 
 is evil ; believing in individual 
 immortality, the perpetuity of 
 all excellence, the renewal of the 
 world and the eventual brother- 
 hood feeling of its dwellers ; 
 proposing to sing of the man 
 natural and the man spiritual, 
 but laying the stress coarsely 
 on the former, and only ending 
 his books with 'radiations from 
 thoughts ' on the latter ; at- 
 
 tions of Eminent Men, etc. 
 ' What works of Mr. Baxter 
 shall I read ? ' asked Boswell 
 of Dr. Johnson. ' Read any of 
 them,' was the answer, ' for 
 they are all good.' 
 
 Amid the fleshly and physical is 
 a deep spirituality ; amid the 
 tuneless and formless, much 
 noble thought fitly voiced. The 
 higher mood and the higher 
 work may be seen in O Cap- 
 tain ! my Captain ! Reconcil- 
 iation, Vigil on the Fields, 
 The City Dead-House, Song 
 of the Broad-Axe, Proud 
 Music of the . Storm, The 
 Mystic Trumpeter, Seashore 
 Memories, and the death- 
 carols of the Passage to India 
 (1870). Whitman's pioneer 
 volume bore the title of Leaves 
 of Grass (1855), since revised 
 and enlarged again and again. 
 He has also published Drum 
 Taps (1865), a series of war 
 lyrics full of burning fervor ; 
 Two Bivulets (1873), streams of 
 prose and verse running paral- 
 lel ; Specimen Days and Collect 
 (1883), consisting mainly of 
 prose writings old and new. 
 
 'Nothing,' says Whipple, 'is 
 more acceptable to minds jaded 
 with reading works of culture 
 than the sudden appearance of 
 a strong, rough book, express- 
 
300 
 
 VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 76. Invention of the phonograph, 
 1877. 
 
 C H A R ACTERISTICS. 
 
 77. Assassination of President 
 Garfield, 1881. 
 
 78. Egyptian War, 1882. 
 
VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 30 [ 
 
 Writers. 
 
 trading attention and arousing 
 interest by his violence as well 
 as by his touches of genius, by 
 his egotism as well as by his 
 perception of natural beauty, 
 by his naked animalism as well 
 as by his democratic philan- 
 thropy, by his contempt of art 
 as well as by his pathetic sym- 
 pathy with struggling, suffering, 
 and sorrowing men. Stedman 
 says of him truly that he ap- 
 peals most to those who long 
 for a reaction, a new beginning. 
 
 James Russell Lowell (18 19 — ), poet, 
 critical essayist. Professor of 
 Modern Languages in Harvard 
 University, editor of Atlantic 
 Monthly and of North Ameri- 
 can Review, ambassador to for- 
 eign courts ; a man of wide 
 variety and abundance, deepen- 
 ing with age in spirituality ; 
 preferring society to solitude ; 
 loving most, as a lover of Na- 
 ture, the birds, trees, meadows, 
 and wild flowers ; a religious 
 liberal, an abolitionist ; a hu- 
 morist whose strength lies in 
 satire and parody ; distin- 
 guished for richness of scholar- 
 ship, ideality, and wit ; as a 
 critic, our most brilliant and 
 learned, but not always consist- 
 ent, nor always knowing ' what 
 to leave in the inkstand,' occa- 
 sionally wanting in the requisite 
 
 Writings. 
 
 ing the habits, ideas, and ideals 
 of the uncultivated.' But what 
 does the inevitable reaction 
 suggest ? 
 
 Prometheus (1844), a massive and 
 time-honored theme, whose 
 thoughtful and cultured treat- 
 ment is here weakened by dif- 
 fuseness. Indian Summer Beverie 
 (T848), a delightful pastoral, 
 perhaps the most genuinely 
 poetical of all his graver poems. 
 Fable for Critics (1848), a rapid 
 and sparkling review of the lit- 
 erati of the United States. The 
 lines on Emerson, Longfellow, 
 Hawthorne, Cooper, Irving, and 
 Poe are conspicuous for their 
 merit. Vision of Sir Launfal 
 (1848), founded on a legend of 
 the search for the Holy Grail, 
 the moral of which is love for 
 our fellow-man. Its specific 
 features are the familiar June 
 lines and the wintry prelude to 
 Part Second. Biglow Papers 
 (1846-1867), two series, de- 
 
302 
 
 VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 79. War of the Soudan, 1884. 
 
 Chakacteristics. 
 
VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 303 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 sympathy (as in judgments on 
 Pope and Thoreau, arising 
 doubtless from antagonism of 
 dispositions). 
 
 voted as a -whole to political 
 subjects ; the first inspired by 
 the pro-slavery invasion of 
 Mexico, the second (less 
 meritorious) by the War of 
 Secession ; our first and best 
 presentation of Yankee charac- 
 ter and dialect, and a perma- 
 nent addition to serio-comic 
 literature. Its special features 
 are the parodied notices of the 
 press, the prose introductions 
 to each set of verses, the dra- 
 matic completeness of the 
 three characters, — Birdofre- 
 dom .Sawin, Wilbur the Puritan 
 parson, and Hosea Biglow the 
 rough and-ready New England 
 patriot. Commemoration Ode 
 (i86j), conceded to be the 
 greatest, most impassioned, 
 heroic ode that America has 
 yet produced. Among my Books 
 (1870), and My Study Windows 
 (1871), selected reviews and 
 studies only prevented by the 
 faults of discursiveness, entan- 
 glement, and conceits from 
 being masterpieces of their 
 kind. Of Lowell's shorter 
 poems, Irene, The Heritage, 
 The First Snow-Fall, The 
 Courtin\ and Pictures from 
 Appledore are admirable, if not 
 unique ; while the ages proffer 
 few more exquisite fantasies 
 than In the Twilight. 
 Style : animated, fluent, and rich, 
 
304 
 
 VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 305 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 John BosMn (1819 — ), art critic, 
 lecturer, Oxford professor, and 
 miscellaneous writer ; self-as- 
 sertive and peremptory (as per- 
 haps he has earned the right to 
 be) ; yet said to be the kindli- 
 est and most lovable of men, — 
 ' idolized by his neighbors,' 
 writes a lady ; passionately, 
 religiously devoted to Beauty 
 as the symbol of spirit ; believ- 
 ing all art to be founded in 
 moral character ; possessing a 
 brain that Mazzini called ' the 
 most analytic in Europe,' and 
 writing ' like a consecrated 
 Priest of the Abstract and the 
 Ideal ; ' communistic in the 
 Christian sense of thorough- 
 going adoption of the Golden 
 Rule of doing to your neighbor 
 as you would that your neigh- 
 bor should do to you ; too in- 
 tense to be invariably just, and 
 perhaps too fond of contrast ; 
 not always practical in theory 
 and conclusion, and sometimes 
 self-contradictory, as the result 
 of entering fields where he is 
 not fit to labor; withal, the 
 
 but often tautological and ver- 
 bose ; frequently marred by 
 pedantry and slang ; not duly 
 subordinating the minor to the 
 leading thought, as of one using 
 his resources too lavishly. 
 
 Uodem Painters (1843- 1860), in 
 five volumes ; a vindication 
 (with a world of knowledge and 
 imagination) of the superiority 
 of the greatest landscape paint- 
 ers of the English, the Italian, 
 and other schools, over the 
 old masters of the sixteenth 
 and seventeenth centuries. ' It 
 declares the perfectness and 
 eternal beauty of the work of 
 God, and tests all work of 
 man by concurrence with, or 
 subjection to, that.' This is one 
 of the monumental works of the 
 century.- Stones of Venice (1851- 
 1853), comprising, with a con- 
 siderable part of the history of 
 Venice, an accourit of its' archi- 
 tecture ; more symmetrical than 
 the Modern Painters, but not 
 equalling that in variety and 
 brilliance. King of the Golden 
 Biver (185 1), a charming story 
 for children, —a compound, as 
 the author said, of Grimm and 
 Dickens. Ethics of the Dust 
 (1865), lectures to 'little house- 
 wives' on the elements of crys- 
 tallization, embracing thoughts 
 
3o6 
 
 VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 C HARACTERISTICS. 
 
VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 307 
 
 Writers. 
 
 greatest living master of Eng- 
 lish prose. 
 
 George Eliot (Marian Evans Lewes) 
 (1820 -1880), novelist, poet, 
 essajrist ; a linguist, a copi- 
 ous reader, an earnest student 
 of history and philosophy ; 
 deep, strenuous-minded, with a 
 love of justice, truth, and light ; 
 of rich imagination, educated 
 conscience, and profound psy- 
 chological insight ; preoccupied 
 with the moral, intellectual, and 
 tragic aspects of the world, and 
 conceiving the true novel to be 
 not only a picture of life, but 
 philosophy, teaching by exam- 
 ple ; a subtle, powerful analyst 
 of character, the fault of most 
 of whose work is absence of 
 spontaneity and excess of re- 
 flection ; altogether one of the 
 
 Writings. 
 
 and conversations upon many 
 subjects, social and moral. Ses- 
 ame and LiUes (1865), relating 
 to books and reading. Queen 
 of the Air (1866), primarily a 
 study of the Greek myths of 
 cloud and storm. Elements of 
 Prosody (1880), Fiction Fair and 
 Foul (1881), and many other 
 books, including early poems. 
 The chief characteristics of Mr. 
 Ruskin's style are poetic feel- 
 ing, glowing eloquence, flowing 
 rhythm, splendor of imagina- 
 tion, aptness and wealth of dic- 
 tion, and opulence of ideas. 
 
 Adam Bede (1859), realistic and 
 fresh, humble in its characters, 
 faithful in its portraiture, ad- 
 mirable in its moral lone, — her 
 most popular work. Silas Mar- 
 ner (1861), a masterly picture 
 of village life, representing, as 
 the author was so fond of do- 
 ing, an intense and thirsting 
 spirit wasting itself on the base, 
 then finding worthier love, and 
 thereafter living nobly. Bomola 
 (1863), a study of conscience 
 in an historical setting, a ro- 
 mance of Florence at the close 
 of the fifteenth century, the 
 period of revival under Lorenzo 
 the Magnificent ; her most 
 elaborately executed book, — 
 the book which, as she said, 
 
3o8 
 
 VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 309 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 noblest, most beautiful souls of 
 any age. 
 
 she ' began a young woman and 
 ended an old one.' Uiddlemarch 
 (1872), a portrayal of English 
 provincial society ; remarkable 
 for the number and variety of 
 its characters strongly individu- 
 alized ; having for its key-note 
 spiritual grandeur ill-matched 
 with the meanness of oppor- 
 tunity, — the struggle to bring 
 into noble agreement with 
 deeds the thoughts and energies 
 that are dispersed among hin- 
 drances, yet bravely to persist 
 in right thinking and doing de- 
 spite sordid annoyance and lim- 
 itation. Perhaps her most pow- 
 erful and original work is Daniel 
 Deronda (1876), whose pur- 
 pose and outcome is to answer 
 affirmatively the question of a re- 
 pentant, beautiful, English girl 
 and a young Jewish aristocrat : 
 ' Is life worth living ? ' Skil- 
 ful in its reproduction of con- 
 temporary English life, rich and 
 realistic in characters, subtle, 
 warm, and loving in its art. 
 The Spanish Gypsy and The Legend 
 of Jubal, respecting which the 
 verdict is that they lack the 
 wealth of thought noticeable in 
 her prose, and though highly 
 poetic, fail in the gift of song. 
 Her best poem is the little one 
 beginning, ' Oh, may I join the 
 choir invisilile ' 
 Style : rhythmical and harmo- 
 
3IO 
 
 VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 311 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 Herbert Spencer (1820 — ), civil en- 
 gineer, magazine writer, natu- 
 ralist, and metaphysician ; 
 known principally for liis 
 elaborate attempt to apply the 
 doctrine of evolution to the 
 phenomena of mind and so- 
 ciety ; a great thinker, with an 
 immense capacity for work, 
 and a positive, persistent force 
 in modern thought. His works 
 have been widely translated. 
 
 John Tyndall (1820—), civil engi- 
 neer, teacher. Professor in the 
 Royal Institution, scientist ; 
 brilliant, progressive, and po- 
 lemical ; occupying, as an expo- 
 nent of scientific discoveries. 
 
 nious, the purest and most 
 vigorous English. 
 
 Principles of Fsyohology (1856), the 
 aim of which is to analyze the 
 relations between mind and 
 matter ; regarded as his great 
 contribution to philosophy. 
 First Principles (1862), which 
 deals with biographical prob- 
 lems generally. Education (186 1 ), 
 the influence of which has been 
 apparent in the changes made 
 in systems and methods of 
 school instruction on both sides 
 of the Atlantic. The book is 
 written in a more attractive 
 manner than is usual with the 
 author. The Coming Slavery 
 (1884), a bitter attack on the 
 follies of socialism. The above 
 are only a few of Mr. Spencer's 
 volumes. 
 
 His style is clear, strong, and 
 simple, concise and exact, but 
 dry, seemingly disdainful of the 
 arts that induce people to read 
 or listen. He has made, how- 
 ever, an important contribution 
 to the science of expression in 
 his Philosophy of Style. 
 
 Heat as a Mode of Motion (1863), 
 summarizing his researches in- 
 to the relations of radiant heat 
 to gases and vapors. Frag- 
 ments of Science (1871), a series 
 of detached essays, addresses, 
 
312 
 
 VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 C HARACTERI STICS. 
 
VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 313 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 the foremost place, and as an 
 influence in tlie modification of 
 the thought of the present gen- 
 eration, second perhaps to none 
 of his co-workers, from whom he 
 differs principally in regarding 
 matter — more ideally — as the 
 ' living garment of God,' some- 
 thing ' essentially mystical and 
 transcendental.' 
 
 Henry Thomas Buckle (1822-1862), 
 historian. He read, studied, 
 and lived solely for the purpose 
 of bringing history within the 
 domain of science, — of estab- 
 lishing his theory that the 
 movements of civilization are 
 regulated by fixed physical 
 laws. He wrote the introduc- 
 tion, — in itself a monument of 
 learning, courage, energy, — 
 then died, crying, ' My book ! 
 my book ! I shall never finish 
 my book ! ' His view of history 
 must be conceded to be in har- 
 mony with many of the tenden- 
 cies of the age. 
 
 and reviews. Belfast Address 
 (1874), which provoked bitter 
 controversy by its antagonism 
 to revealed religion. He also 
 wrote numerous other works. 
 Professor Tyndall is one of the 
 few who are literary as well as 
 scientific. His style is at once 
 energetic and elegant, warmed 
 and informed by the imagina- 
 tive and poetic. 
 
 History of Civilization in England 
 (1857-1861), a brilliant though 
 inadequate attempt to prove 
 that the chief causes of pro- 
 gress are climate, soil, food, 
 and similar natural agents, and 
 hence the advance of nations 
 depends upon a knowledge of 
 the laws of phenomena ; that 
 before these laws can be inves- 
 tigated a spirit of scepticism 
 must arise ' which, at first aid- 
 ing the investigation, is after- 
 ward aided by it ; ' that, as an 
 element of progress, intellect is 
 more powerful than morality ; 
 that progress increases directly 
 in proportion as the habit of in- 
 quiry takes the place of credu- 
 lity ; that the great enemy of 
 progress is the ' protective 
 spirit ' in which governments 
 undertake to watch over men 
 and direct what is to be done, 
 and in which churches and 
 teachers prescribe what is to 
 be believed. 
 
314 
 
 VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 31S 
 
 Writers, 
 
 Writings. 
 
 Eiohard Grant White (1822-1885), 
 magazine essayist, learned 
 Shakespearian editor ; a ser- 
 viceable critic of tlie austere 
 order, fond of the war of 
 words. 
 
 Matthew Arnold (1822-1888), Lay 
 Inspector of Schools, Profes- 
 sor of Poetry at Oxford, the 
 apostle of culture and spiritual 
 freedom ; as a poet, trained 
 and deliberate rather than im- 
 passioned ; predominantly ob- 
 jective, reposeful, coherent ; 
 wanting lightness of touch, 
 and least happy when lyrical ; 
 a Wordsworthian, without 
 Wordsworth's serene self- 
 poise amid the world's unrest 
 and bewilderment ; setting him- 
 self somewhat despairingly to 
 spiritualize the materialistic 
 age ; a maker of exquisite 
 and thoughtful, if not inspired, 
 verse. As a critic, analytical, 
 with a genius for definition ; 
 not without the insight and 
 sympathy necessary to a just 
 application of rigid canons ; 
 interested in the minds of au- 
 thors rather than in their pro- 
 ductions, — ranking, in his 
 critical faculty, with the best 
 in English literature. 
 
 Studies in Shakespeare, Words and 
 their Uses, Every-day English, etc. 
 ' Not a philologist himself,' says 
 Richardson, ' he promoted the 
 study of the forms and uses of 
 words ; and in general he per- 
 formed a sound service to 
 Ameriean criticism, by his very 
 cynicism and coldness.' 
 
 The Buried Life, and A Summer 
 Night, which Mr. Stedman 
 thinks the most poetical of his 
 efforts, because ' they are the 
 outpourings of his own heart, 
 and show of what exalted ten- 
 derness and ideality he is capa- 
 ble.' The Youth of Man and The 
 Future, expressive of the poet's 
 longings and his sense of limi- 
 tation. Essays in Criticism(i86s), 
 a collection of prose contribu- 
 tions to periodicals. On Trans- 
 lating Homer (1861), and The 
 Study of Celtic Literature (1868), 
 two series of lectures produced 
 in his professional capacity. 
 Literature and Dogma (1873), 
 God and the Bible (1875), P^* 
 forth as helps toward a bet- 
 ter apprehension of the Bible 
 through a more rational view 
 of the supernatural aspects of 
 Christianity. ' No longer able 
 to rest content with the earlier 
 dogma and interpretation, yet 
 sensitively shrinking from the 
 blundering assurances of an 
 
3i6 
 
 VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 C HARACTERISTICS. 
 
VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 317 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Frederick Max UiUIer (1823 — )i 
 Professor of Comparative Phil- 
 ology in Oxford University. 
 He has approached the great 
 question of civil and religious 
 development by the study of 
 speech, and so doing, has 
 quickened the dry science of 
 words into a living teacher of 
 history. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 Thomas Henry Huxley (182; — ), 
 naturalist, Lord Rector of 
 Aberdeen University, Presi- 
 dent of the Royal Society ; 
 one of the most distinguished 
 supporters of the Darwinian 
 theory. His fame is dup, for 
 the most part, to the popularity 
 
 unsympathetic rationalism, he 
 wanders, as he confesses, be- 
 tween two worlds, — the one 
 dead, the other powerless to 
 be born.' 
 Style : ' The needful qualities for 
 a fit prose,' says Mr. Arnold, 
 'are regularity, uniformity, pre- 
 cision, balance.' 
 
 on Comparative Mythology 
 (1858), a philological study of 
 myths and myth-malcing. It 
 drew general attention to a 
 neglected subject. The Science 
 of Language ( 1 861-1864), two 
 series of lectures ; and Chips 
 from a German Workshop, re- 
 printed articles, written with a 
 similar end in view, — to popu- 
 larize the principles of compara- 
 tive philology and the growth 
 of language. Sacred Books of 
 the East (1875-1885), a price- 
 less series of translations, of 
 which he is the founder and 
 editor, and as such, entitled to 
 the gratitude of all students of 
 comparative religion. 
 
 Man's Place in Nature (1863), lay 
 Sermons (1870), Critiques and Ad- 
 dresses (1873), etc. Professor 
 Huxley advocates, as he ex- 
 presses it, 'the hypothesis which 
 supposes that species living at 
 any time must be the result of a 
 gradual modification of pre- 
 
3i8 
 
 VICTORIAN, AGE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 319 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 of his lucid untechnical exposi- 
 tions of abstruse natural-Iiistory 
 questions. 
 
 Bichaid Henry Stoddard (1825 — ), 
 iron-moulder, custom-house 
 employee, contributor to pe- 
 riodical press, poet, editor 
 of many collections of verse 
 and of several volumes of lit- 
 erary reminiscence; reflective, 
 capable of truest pathos, 
 largely gifted with imagina- 
 tion, rising at moments into 
 grandeur. His messages of 
 the ideal are worthy illustra- 
 tions of the first century of 
 our national literature. 
 
 Bayard Taylor (1825- 1878), jour- 
 nalist, traveller, essayist, critic, 
 novelist, lecturer, poet, diplo- 
 mat ; industrious, persistent, 
 self-reliant ; a man of whole- 
 some wit, sweet temper, warm 
 personal friendships, and noble 
 ideals; notable in many lines 
 of effort, supreme in none. 
 He said, ' If I have any am- 
 
 existing species. . . . The doc- 
 trine of special creative acts is 
 an assumption,' he says, 'as un- 
 supported by tradition or reve- 
 lation as it is opposed to the 
 general analogy of Nature.' 
 His style is correct, clear, and 
 masculine, neater than Spen- 
 cer's, less elegant than Tyn- 
 dall's. 
 
 The King's Bell is a carefully elab- 
 orated narrative illustrating 
 the vanity of human existence. 
 Adsum and The Cotmtry Life ex- 
 hibit genuine feeling and po- 
 etic power. The Fisher and 
 Charon proves the gift of song 
 in an unusual degree. The 
 Hymn to the Beautiful is a fine 
 echo of Shelley, full-freighted 
 with the gold of poetry. Hymn 
 to the Sea embodies noble ideas, 
 uttered in words of force and 
 simplicity. His songs of Na- 
 ture are of the kind whose 
 season never dies. 
 
 El Dorado (1850), A Journey to 
 Central Africa (1854), Travels 
 in Greece and Eussia (1859), 
 with other volumes, rank him 
 with the most pleasing of 
 those who have written well 
 of the East and West. Han- 
 nah Thurston (1863), a story of 
 American life, written to illus- 
 trate types of character and 
 
320 
 
 VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
VICTOMAN AGE. 
 
 321 
 
 W RITERS. 
 
 bition, it is to enjoy as large 
 a store of experience as this 
 earth can furnish.' 
 
 George Sacdonald (1824 — ), poet 
 and noveh'st, grave and medi- 
 tative, inclined to melan- 
 choly, yet nowise morbid ; 
 religious and transcendental, 
 seeing in the woods the tree 
 of life, and in the fields the 
 flowers that are everlasting. 
 ' This world is the veil of the 
 next, and the form of that 
 other is partially discernible 
 in its folds.' 
 
 Writings. 
 
 phases of society. Among his 
 minor poems, the Bedouin Song, 
 The Quaker Widow, and Cama- 
 dera may be instanced as best 
 exhibiting his poetical gift. 
 The best of his longer poems 
 is The Masque of the Gods (1842). 
 His metrical version of the 
 two parts of Goethe's Faust 
 (1871) very successfully re- 
 produces not only the ideas, but 
 the melodies of the original. 
 
 Elginbrod (1862), the key-note of 
 which is the inability to see in 
 the Bible or the world any- 
 thing but an expansion or 
 interpretation of the sentence, 
 ' God is love,' and the reso- 
 lute acceptance of evil as the 
 shadow that gives complete- 
 ness to the victory of light. 
 The Portent (1864), a subtle 
 blending of the real and the 
 imaginary, the natural and the 
 preternatural, showing the 
 writer's strong affinity for the 
 marvellous. Annals of a Quiet 
 Xeighborhood (1866), in which 
 the essential connection be- 
 tween refusal to forgive and 
 the state of being unforgiven 
 is dramatically exhibited in 
 the mental history of Catherine 
 Weir. Bobert Falconer (1868), 
 the hero of which, unable to 
 see God through the obscuring 
 clouds of human misery, and 
 
322 
 
 VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 C HARACTERISTICS. 
 
VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 323 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Dante Gabriel Eossetti (i 828-1 882), 
 painter and poet ; a dominant 
 influence in the establishment 
 of the Pre-Raphaelite Brother- 
 hood, whose aim was ' to divest 
 art of conventionality, to work 
 with sincere purpose, and to 
 reproduce with scrupulous fidel- 
 ity all objects in animate and 
 inanimate Nature;' dealing, for 
 the most part, with subjects 
 of high interest; bringing to 
 their treatment a mind in 
 accord with the mystic and 
 
 Writings. 
 
 finding no sure centre to which 
 his impassioned enthusiasm for 
 the true, beautiful, and good 
 can cling, dies in hope, not 
 in faith. The portrait is one 
 of deep and pathetic interest. 
 Phantastes, a fairy romance, 
 rich in beauty and meaning. 
 Of his poems the following 
 give evidence of ' the vision 
 and the faculty divine ' : Light, 
 A Dream within a Dream, Story 
 of the Sea-shore, A Hidden Life. 
 The last, especially deserving 
 of a high place, is the story of 
 a peasant lad who studied at 
 college in the intervals of labor 
 on his father's farm, but who, 
 before going to the city, had a 
 seed of beautiful thought and 
 impulse cast into his bosom by 
 a casual meeting with a lovely 
 lady on horseback. 
 
 Hand and Soul (1850), a prose 
 allegory, supposed to have 
 something of a biographical 
 character. The hero from 
 early boyhood endeavors ' to- 
 ward the imitation of any 
 objects offered in Nature,' and 
 longs increasingly after the 
 visible embodiment of his 
 thoughts, until he begins to 
 ' feel paint in sunsets, and at 
 the sight of stately persons.' 
 At times, when he cannot 
 paint, he sits 'for hours in 
 
324 
 
 VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 325 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 transcendental ; with an ex- 
 ceptional faculty, as translator 
 or critic, of entering into the 
 soul of other men's work ; 
 bestowing upon all he did earn- 
 est thought and ceaseless re- 
 vision ; ' an artist who, both 
 by the very intensity of his 
 artistic vision, and by some 
 inborn bent toward symbol 
 and mysticism, stands on the 
 side of those who see in ma- 
 terial things a spiritual signifi- 
 cance, and utters words of 
 universal meaning from the 
 fulness of his own heart.' 
 
 Frederick William Farrar (1831— ), 
 Archdeacon of Westminster ; 
 distinguished scholar and di- 
 vine ; a writer of poetic 
 
 thought of all the greatness 
 the world has known from of 
 old, until he was weak with 
 yearning, like one who gazes 
 upon a path of stars." The 
 ' Early Italian Poets (1861), a 
 collection of poetic translations 
 that secured the immediate 
 recognition of scholars. The 
 Blessed Samozel, an essentially 
 religious poem, signalized by 
 its imaginative pictures of the 
 unknown world. A Last Con- 
 fession (1870), a powerful story 
 of retribution. The White Ship, 
 dramatically descriptive of the 
 calamity in which the son and 
 daughter of Henry I., with 
 three hundred souls, returning 
 from France to England, per- 
 ished in mid channel. love 
 Lily and The Sea Limits are per- 
 haps the most divine of Ros- 
 setti's short lyrics. The House 
 of Life (1870-1881), generally 
 pronounced to be his literary 
 masterpiece ; a series of son- 
 nets, which, for wealth of im- 
 agination, for the verbal and 
 intellectual treasures of re- 
 search, are unequalled by any 
 living sonneteer. 
 
 Life of Christ (1874), said to be 
 the most popular theological 
 work of the century. In the 
 Days of thy Youth (1877), ad- 
 
326 
 
 VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 327 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 temperament, superabundant 
 fertility, and elegant fluency. 
 
 Edmund Clarence Stedman (1833 — ), 
 journalist, poet, critic ; of 
 refined taste and liberal cul- 
 ture, uniting keenness of dis- 
 cernment with fluency of 
 expression, facility of mind 
 with artistic skill ; apparently 
 not a minute and loving ob- 
 server of Nature, not a pas- 
 sionate painter of her forms; 
 writing of her rather as one 
 who in the fields and woods 
 keeps his eye on the commer- 
 cial metropolis ; most success- 
 ful in light and essentially 
 lyrical verse, yet capable of 
 dramatic vigor and the heroic 
 touch ; in his critical function, 
 generous and appreciative, 
 conscientious and judicial ; 
 not forgetful of the informing 
 spirit and the thing signified, 
 but regarding closely the 
 technique. 
 
 William Morris (1834 — ), a Neo- 
 Romantic poet ; translator 
 
 mirable sermons preached to 
 college youth. Eternal Hope, 
 which, denying the probability 
 of everlasting damnation, cre- 
 ated a great controversy in 
 theological circles. 
 These and other works have 
 passed through many editions. 
 
 The Blameless Prince (1869), a 
 well-wrought idyllic romance, 
 interwoven with reflections on 
 love, marriage, and morals. 
 Hawthorne (1877), a verse crit- 
 icism or critical elegy, strong 
 and imaginative in passages. 
 Of Stedman's shorter poems. 
 Fan in Wall Street, The Doorstep, 
 and News from Olympia come 
 nearest to satisfying the desire 
 for perfection. Victorian Poets 
 (1875), a highly creditable 
 review of the works and lives 
 of English poets of the present 
 reign (not isolated, but in or- 
 ganic union with the total 
 development of English litera- 
 ture), with incidental discus- 
 sions of the aim, nature, 
 and forms of poetry. Poets of 
 America (1885), evenly pitched 
 in the same philosophical key 
 as the preceding work, happily 
 less technical, and forming an 
 important addition to the liter- 
 ature of criticism. 
 
 The Earthly Paradise (1868-1870), 
 a series of twenty-four narra- 
 
328 
 
 VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 329 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 from the Icelandic, and of 
 Virgil's JEneid ; reputable 
 designer in decorative art, de- 
 voted from youth, with a tinge 
 of the sombre and fatalistic, 
 to the service of the beautiful. 
 ' Over and above superlative 
 metrical, rhythmical, and other 
 technical excellences, and a 
 gift of language unsurpassed 
 in modern literaiture for native 
 vigor and purity, Mr. Morris 
 shows in all his works a rare 
 apprehension of the outward 
 show of things, and a power 
 of placing what he sees clearly 
 before the minds of others. 
 In the great bulk of his work, 
 his vision was cast longingly 
 and somewhat sadly back upon 
 the larger life of ancient days. 
 Perhaps he has not changed 
 his point of view so much as 
 superficial observers might 
 think ; ripened experience and 
 mature thought, increasing his 
 perception of the deadly dan- 
 gers with which our modem 
 civilization is fraught, have 
 taught him an optimist's 
 yearning for a state of society 
 in which all men might be 
 happy.' 
 
 Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834 — ), 
 celebrated Baptist minister, of 
 phenomenal activity and power ; 
 pastor, at present, of the Metro- 
 
 tives drawn from Greek myth- 
 ology and Norse mediaeval 
 romance, and told in most ex- 
 quisite verse by a company of 
 travellers who had sailed west- 
 ward from Norway to find the 
 earthly paradise. ' All these 
 tales are familiar,' says Swin- 
 burne, 'but never before did 
 they appear in more attrac- 
 tive shape, or fall so musically 
 from a poet's honeyed mouth.' 
 Sigurd (1878), a poem of great 
 ideal action, dealing with pro- 
 found spiritual matters in the 
 region of national mythology. 
 Its basis is the Icelandic. 
 Style : clear, copious, rich, and 
 easeful, often suggestive of the 
 Spenserian manner. 
 
 John Ploughman's Talk (1868), 
 brimful of wisdom for the con- 
 duct of life ; remarkable for its 
 simple, vivid Saxon, force and 
 
330 
 
 VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics, 
 
VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 331 
 
 Writers. 
 
 politan Tabernacle, London, 
 where he ministers to a con- 
 gregation numbering about six 
 thousand. 
 
 Samuel Langhome Clemens (' Mark 
 Twain') (1835—), type-setter, 
 pilot on the Mississippi, private 
 secretary to the Secretary of 
 Nevada Territory, editor, lect- 
 urer, a traveller of remarkable 
 observing power, a trenchant 
 satirist, who hates humbug and 
 cant, romance and sentiment; 
 a jester whoseabilities are great, 
 though often misused, whose 
 jests are fresh and original, 
 though often irreverent or vul- 
 gar and overdone ; a profes- 
 sional humorist of the broad, 
 low-comedy order, who has 
 worked his mine of incident 
 and situation to exhaustion, 
 and who has lost ' the power of 
 seeing the beauty of the uni- 
 verse, because he has come to 
 regard it as a mere text-book 
 
 Writings. 
 
 variety of illustration. It is 
 one of the books that cannot 
 be too widely circulated, and 
 can never be outgrown. The 
 Treasury of David (1872), an 
 exposition of the Psalms. 
 Numberless collections of ser- 
 mons : such as Trumpet Calls to 
 Christian Energy (1875), and 
 Farm Sermons (1882). 
 His work as a whole is marked 
 by freshness and originality of 
 form, concreteness, practical- 
 ity, mastery of simple, vivid 
 English. 
 
 Innocents Abroad (1869), an enter- 
 taining record of a pleasure ex- 
 cursion up the Mediterranean 
 to Egypt and the Holy Land, 
 embracing brief visits to France, 
 Italy, Greece, and Constantino- 
 ple ; on the whole, his master- 
 piece. Eonghing It (1873), the 
 humor of which consists in the 
 ludicrous exaggeration of the 
 sordid and grotesque side of 
 men and events. The GUded Age 
 (1874), chiefly a satire (in many 
 respects pertinent and just) on 
 American politics and adminis- 
 tration of law. Tom Sawyer 
 (1876), which, as a narrative 
 of adventures, possesses in an 
 eminent degree the merit of 
 naturalness. Its sequel, Huckle- ' 
 berry Finn (1885), is diffuse, la- 
 bored and sluggish. A Tramp 
 
332 
 
 VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics, 
 
VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 333 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 for his sadly incessant and ulti- 
 mately wearisome jests.' 
 
 Charles Farrer Browne (' Artemus 
 Ward') (1834-1867), printer, 
 humorous writer and lecturer, 
 of amiable disposition and re- 
 fined manners ; inclined to mel- 
 ancholy; shrewdly perceptive 
 of human foibles ; amusing 
 without irreverence, though not 
 without occasional coarseness ; 
 satirical without ill-nature or 
 vindictiveness ; popular on both 
 sides of the Atlantic ; imitated 
 by many, but in his own field 
 unrivalled. 
 
 Thomas Bailey Aldrich(i836 — ), edi- 
 tor of the Atlantic Monthly; a 
 writer of brief, polished lyrics, 
 jewelled and tinted ; a novelist 
 with the instinct of the ro- 
 mancer, whose tales are the 
 prose of the poet's native grace, 
 feeling for form, and love of 
 artistic purity. 
 
 Abroad (1882), another and ex- 
 cellent record of European 
 travel, the most amusing part 
 of which is the appendix on 
 the ' awful German language.' 
 
 Such of his sketches as have 
 been preserved were published 
 under the title of Artemus Ward, 
 his Book (1862), Artemus Ward, 
 his Travels, and Artemus Ward in 
 London. 
 
 ' His work is only the perfection 
 of a spurious art ; but he wins 
 our regard by the good-humor 
 that smiles alongside of the 
 satire that scathes ; disarms 
 censure by laughing at himself, 
 and eludes all suspicion of vul- 
 garity, by never pretending to 
 be other than he is.' 
 
 Beautiful Book is a narrative poem, 
 of much rhythmic excellence, 
 based on a monkish mediaeval 
 legend. Before the Eain, Name- 
 less Fain, and The Voice of the 
 Saa are worthy of praise and re- 
 membrance. Destiny and Iden- 
 tity have a deeper tone and a 
 higher reach. Of his well- 
 turned sonnets, perhaps the 
 most successful is Fursuit and 
 Possession. Mr. Aldrich has also 
 written several popular prose 
 stories : The Story of a Bad Boy 
 (1869), a genuine and healthful 
 boy-book ; Marjorie Daw, a ro- 
 mance of the kind that bases a 
 
334 
 
 VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 335 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Algernon Charles S winbnme (1837—), 
 poet and essayist, whose spe- 
 cial gifts are fertility of imag- 
 ination, command of poetical 
 diction, and extraordinary mel- 
 ody. ' The salient qualities of 
 Mr. Swinburne's works, in verse 
 as in prose, are intense enthu- 
 siasm of advocacy or attack, 
 impulsiveness in the widest and 
 highest sense, an absolute need 
 to sing or declaim, as if singing 
 and declaiming were a part of 
 his inmost nature, a generous 
 catholicity of praise for what- 
 ever may be good, a most un- 
 worldly hatred of all that is 
 mean, sordid, or stupid, and an 
 entire absence (perhaps an ut- 
 ter scorn) of reticence or re- 
 serve. The width and variety 
 of his reading, and the range 
 of his subjects, political, liter- 
 ary, social, and artistic, are as- 
 tonishing, and serve more than 
 aught else to mark his matur- 
 ity.' Less sensuous and flesh- 
 ly in parts, less lavish of sweet 
 sounds, less redundant in treat- 
 ment here and there, Mr. 
 Swinburne would have added 
 
 Writings. 
 
 superstructure of fancy on a 
 foundation of realism; The Still- 
 water Tragedy (1880), a strong 
 and life-like story of a New 
 England labor-strike, involving 
 murder, circumstantial evi- 
 dence, love, and marriage. 
 
 Atlanta in Calydon (1865), a trag- 
 edy on the Greek model, illus- 
 trating the futility of resistance 
 to the gods ; a work of flawless 
 art, by which the author made 
 his mark once for all. Chaste- 
 lard (1865), andBothwell (1874), 
 tragedies dealing with episodes 
 in Mary Stuart's career; great 
 historical epics cast in the 
 dramatic form. Hymn of Man, 
 By the North Sea, Off Shore, and 
 the Hynm to Proserpine are sin- 
 gle poems that display the very 
 bloom of beauty and power. 
 Essays and Studies (1875), Mis- 
 cellanies (1886), brilliant, in- 
 structive, And enduring addi- 
 tions to English prose. 
 
336 
 
 VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 337 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 to the unusual lustre of his 
 laurel-crown. 
 
 William Dean Howells (1837 — ), 
 journalist, an alert and obser- 
 vant traveller ; a writer of 
 promising but relatively unim- 
 portant verse; a trained and 
 self-possessed novelist, essen- 
 tially realistic, simply telling 
 his readers, as a keen and 
 passionless looker-on and ana- 
 lyst, what he has seen and 
 heard, and thus perhaps de- 
 lineating life without a due 
 regard for its deeper truths; 
 accused of inadequately por- 
 traying female character, and 
 of oscillating between a desire 
 to cater for the market and a 
 leaning to higher things. 
 
 William Edward Hartpole Lacky 
 (1838 — ), historian, devoting 
 
 A Clanoe Acquaintance (1873), one 
 of his most fehcitous produc- 
 tions ; the study of an abortive 
 love-affair between an aristo- 
 cratic Bostonian and a bright, 
 unconventional New England 
 girl whose acquaintance is 
 formed on a holiday journey. 
 The TlndiscoveTed Country (1880), 
 which deals with the spiritual- 
 istic aberrations of a visionary, 
 who imagines that he has 
 found in the alleged ' mani- 
 festations ' the one solid proof 
 of a future state of being, and 
 conceives it his mission to res- 
 cue the world from material- 
 ism; excellent in scenery and 
 portraiture. A Modem Instance 
 (1882), a clear and finished 
 study of the courtship and mar- 
 ried life of a young couple, of 
 whom the husband is non- 
 moral rather than positively 
 bad, while the wife, with little 
 interest in life generally, is 
 intensely given to jealousy ; 
 commonly pronounced the au- 
 thor's masterpiece. In addition 
 to other novels, Mr. Howells 
 has written some readable 
 biographies and a drama. 
 
 History of Eationalism in Europe 
 (1865), or the rise and influ- 
 
338 
 
 VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 339 
 
 Writers. 
 
 himself to the intellectual and 
 social development of civilized 
 peoples ; perhaps the most 
 comprehensive and judicial of 
 the philosophical school. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 Francis Bret Harte (1839 — ), 
 school-teacher, express mes- 
 senger, printer, editor, Pro- 
 fessor in the University of 
 California, United States con- 
 sul; the rollicking or pensive 
 poet of the vices and virtues 
 of wild pioneer life ; a novelist 
 of elemental human nature, 
 who is seen at his best in his 
 shortest pieces; a humorist of 
 the lower as well as of the 
 higher type; usually vigorous 
 and realistic, merely dyeing per- 
 sonal experiences in the colors 
 of fancy ; a writer who, having 
 known many men and many 
 lands, noting with keen yet 
 
 ence of the spirit of inquiry. 
 An able work, written in a very 
 attractive style. History of Euro- 
 pean Morals (i86g), remarkable 
 for breadth of view, calmness 
 of judgment, and the eloquence 
 with which he maintains the 
 intuitional nature of moral 
 ideas and the grandeur of the 
 stoical ideal. History of Eng- 
 land in the Eighteenth Century 
 (1878- 1 882), a performance of 
 high character, presenting, in 
 a non-partisan and luminous 
 way, the salient factors in the 
 career of the English nation. 
 One of its most valuable feat- 
 ures is the attention given to 
 social phenomena. 
 
 The Heathen Chinee (1869). ' In 
 the whole history of literature 
 it would be difficult to find 
 another case where so short a 
 poem, on a subject entirely 
 apart from the master passions 
 of the human heart, has made 
 an impression so extended and 
 so enduring.' Jim and In the Tun- 
 nel are serious poems worthy 
 of mention. Condensed Novels 
 (1867), a series of parodies on 
 fashionable fictions, — notably 
 those of Hugo, Dickens, Miss 
 Bronte, and Wilkie Collins. 
 The Luck of Soaring Camp (1868), 
 which portrays with creative 
 power a coarse and lawless life 
 
340 
 
 VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 C HARACTERISTICS. 
 
VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 341 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 charitable eye what he saw, 
 rejoicing in his strength and in 
 his feeling of fellowship with 
 the rough world of which he 
 was a laboring part, is able 
 to represent with force and ful- 
 ness ' the amalgam of nation- 
 alities of which the Union is 
 now composed.' 
 
 Henry James, Jr. (1843 — ), essay- 
 ist and novelist, equipped for 
 literary performance by a pure, 
 rich and fluent diction, instinc- 
 tive calmness of mind, carefully 
 trained taste, experiences of 
 foreign travel, and cosmopoli- 
 tan culture ; leader of the 
 American school of realism, — 
 one of those who profess to sit 
 beside their characters, and 
 untouched by personal sympa- 
 thy, note their qualities and ac- 
 tions photographically, ofEering 
 few or no reflections on the re- 
 sults of the chemical process. 
 His cold-steel manner is proba- 
 bly inborn ; but the want of 
 sentiment makes the artist and 
 his art fractional, intellectually 
 incomplete. 
 
 partly redeemed by its gener- 
 ous and humane instincts. The 
 Outcasts of Foker Flat (1869), 
 whose theme is likewise the 
 good that underlies evil, — the 
 helpful humanity that may be 
 found in disorderly or out- 
 lawed society. Thankful Blos- 
 som (1877), a pleasant story of 
 New Jersey in the days of the 
 Revolution. More examples 
 of Harte's multitudinous works 
 are Maruja (1885), and Snow- 
 bound at Eagle's (1886). 
 
 Boderick Hudson (1876), the most 
 powerful of the author's elabo- 
 rate works. The American (1877), 
 the charm of which lies in the 
 brilliant conversations of the 
 finely contrasted characters. 
 The Europeans (1878), which, 
 infected by pedantry and excess 
 of analysis, occupies a lower 
 level in art, interest, and verisi- 
 militude. An International Epi- 
 sode (1879), an entertaining so- 
 cial sketch. Daisy Miller (i 879), 
 a popular favorite. The Madon- 
 na of the Future (1880), a touch- 
 ing fragment embodying the 
 idea of unrealizable aspiration. 
 The Bostonians (1886), the best 
 illustrative type of the author's 
 ' rather wearisomely numerous ' 
 stories. 'Behind all his books,' 
 says Richardson,- ' stands the 
 author, never more visible than 
 
342 
 
 VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 Events. 
 
 Characteristics. 
 
VICTORIAN AGE. 
 
 343 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 Julian Hawthorne (1845 — )i ^ very 
 unequal, but often a charming 
 writer of single-act sketches, 
 and of more elaborate romances, 
 — usually tragical, and unlike 
 those of his father, seldom high- 
 ly finished. ' What is called 
 human interest in fiction, is 
 doubtless more absorbing than 
 any other ; but the marvellous 
 always possesses a fascination, 
 and justly. ... He who would 
 mirror in his works the whole 
 of man must needs include the 
 impossible along with the rest.' 
 With only a fraction of his 
 father's power of individualiz- 
 ing the morbid, and adopting 
 a somewhat sensational method, 
 but gifted with a similar fond- 
 ness for the psychological and 
 weird, the analysis of motives, 
 the blighting or regenerating 
 effects of sin. 
 
 the live man in Maelzel's auto- 
 maton chess-player. There 
 passes before him a procession 
 of people ; he notes and chroni- 
 cles their characteristics, and 
 he tells some of the things they 
 say and do, with fewer of the 
 things they think.' 
 
 Archibald Malmaison (1879), a tale 
 of terror, love, and mystery ; 
 the hero of which, destined 
 to pass through successive pe- 
 riods, seven years each, of 
 mental nights and days, always 
 waking to intelligence and 
 authority in critical moments, 
 kills the rival who, improving 
 the opportunity presented by 
 one of these comatose seasons, 
 has married his (Archibald's) 
 mistress ; establishes himself 
 with his liberated bride in a 
 secret chamber to which he 
 alone carries the key; leaves 
 her, returns in an hour (as he 
 thinks, but after the destined 
 sleep really), and finds her 
 dress covering a skeleton. Se- 
 bastian Strome (1880), a history 
 of crime, and of moral redemp- 
 tion through a series of vicissi- 
 tudes and calamities. Garth 
 (1877), history of a successful 
 struggle against the inherited 
 disposition to commit murder. 
 Prince Saroni's Wife (1882), a 
 collection of short stories, etc. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 Noted writers and writings not mentioned in the text, 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 Hannah More (174S-1833), drama- 
 tist, novelist, philanthropist. 
 
 Frances Bumey D'Arblay (1752- 
 1840J wrote the first realistic novel 
 in which characters are sketched 
 by a woman with vigor and fidelity. 
 
 Dugald Stewart (1753-1828), Profes- 
 sor in the University of Edinburgh. 
 
 William Godwin (1756-1836), politi- 
 cal writer and novelist. 
 
 Sir ^Tames Mackintosh (i 765-1832), 
 statesman, historian, philosopher. 
 
 Isaac D'Israeli (1766-1848), literary 
 historian. 
 
 Maria Edgeworth (1767-1849), author 
 of about a dozen stories illustrative 
 of Irish character. 
 
 John Foster (1770-1843), essayist. 
 
 Charles Brockden Brown (1771-1810), 
 novelist ; earliest man of letters, 
 in the professional sense, in 
 America. 
 
 Sacred Dramas (17S2), Strictures on 
 Female Education (1799), Ccelebs 
 in Search of a Wife (1809), Chris- 
 tian Morals (1813). 
 
 Evelina (1778), Camilla (1796). 
 
 Elements of the Philosophy of the 
 Human Mind (1792-1814), Philo- 
 sophical Essays (1810J. 
 
 Caleb Williams ( 1794), an attack upon 
 the existing social order. 
 
 History of the Revolution of 1688, 
 Dissertation on the Progress of 
 Ethical Philosophy (18 10). 
 
 Curiosities of Literature (1791), Mis- 
 cellanies (1796), Calamities of 
 Authors (18 1 3), Amenities of Lit- 
 erature (1841). 
 
 Belinda (1801), Helen (1834), etc. 
 
 Essays (1806), containing the re- 
 markable one on ' Decision of Char- 
 acter.' Popular Ignorance <i82o) 
 
 Wielaud, Edgar Huntly, Ormond, etc. 
 
346 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 James Mill {1773-1836), philosopher.. 
 Jane Austen (1775-1817), novelist 
 Jane Porter (1776-1850), novelist. 
 
 Henry, Lord Brougham (1778-1868), 
 statesman, essayist, orator ; at- 
 tempted too much to be more than 
 superficial. 
 
 Washington Allston (1779-1843), 
 American artist. 
 
 James Kirke Paulding (1779-1860). 
 
 Francis Scott Key (1780-1843). 
 Samuel Woodworth (178 5-1842). 
 Francis Parkmau (i 788-1852). 
 Sir Francis Palgrave (1788-1861), 
 historian. 
 
 Catherine Maria Sedgwick (1789- 
 1867). 
 
 Charles Knight (T791-1873), pub- 
 lisher and author, 
 George Ticknor (1791-1871). 
 John Howard Payne (1792-1852). 
 
 Sir Archihald Alison (1792-1867). his- 
 torian. 
 
 William Whewell ( 1 794- 1 866 ) , m athe- 
 matician, philosopher. 
 
 Joseph Eodman Drake (1795-1820). 
 Horace Mann (1796-1859). 
 
 History of India (18 18), Analysis of 
 
 the Human Mind (1829). 
 Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride 
 
 and Prejudice (1813). 
 Thaddeus of Warsaw (1803), The 
 
 Scottish Chiefs (18 10). 
 House of Lancaster, Statesmen of 
 
 the Time of George III., Speeches 
 
 (1838). 
 
 Lectures on Art, and Poems (1850). 
 
 The Diverting History of John Bull 
 and Brother Jonathan (1812), The 
 Backwoodsman (18 18), Life of 
 George Washington (1835), etc. 
 
 The Star-Spangled Banner (1814). 
 
 Old Oaken Bucket. 
 
 The Offering of Sympathy (1829) 
 
 History of England (1831), Bise and 
 Progress of the English Common- 
 wealth (1832). 
 
 A New England Tale (1822), The 
 Poor Bich Man and the Bich Poor 
 Man (1836), etc. 
 
 Popular History of England (1862), 
 Pictorial Shakespeare, etc. 
 
 History of Spanish Literature (1849). 
 
 Home, Sweet Home, and Brutus, a 
 tragedy. 
 
 History of Europe, from the French 
 Bevolution to the Fall of Napoleon. 
 
 History of the Inductive Sciences 
 (1837), Philosophy of the Inductive 
 Sciences (1840), Elements of Moral- 
 ity (1845), etc. 
 
 The Culprit Fay (1865), The Croakers 
 (1869). 
 
 A Few Thoughts for a Young Man 
 (1850), Powers and Duties of 
 Woman (1853). 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 347 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 Francis Wayland (1796-1865). 
 
 Anna Jameson (1797-1860). 
 
 Bobsrt Follok (1798-1827), theologi- 
 cal student, brought to an untimely 
 grave by overwork. 
 
 Mary Shelley (1798-1851), novelist, 
 second wife of the poet. 
 
 George Perkins Marsh (1801-18S2). 
 
 John Henry Newman (i8oi — ), car- 
 dinal deacon of the Holy Roman 
 Church. 
 
 Hugh Miller (1802-1856), geologist 
 and miscellaneous writer. 
 
 George P. Morris (1802-1864), lyrist. 
 
 George Benison Prentice (1802-1870), 
 
 American journalist and poet. 
 Horace Bashnell (1802-1876). 
 
 John Frederick Denison Maurice 
 (1805-1872), theologian and social 
 reformer. 
 
 Benjamin Disraeli (1805-1881), states- 
 man and novelist. 
 
 Charles Lever (1806-1872), Irish 
 novelist. 
 
 Sichard Cheneviz Trench ( 1807-1886), 
 theologian. 
 
 Sichard Hildreth (i8o7-i8'65). 
 
 Intellectual Philosophy (1854), Ele- 
 ments of Moral Science (1835), 
 Elements of Political Economy 
 ('837)- 
 
 Characteristics of Shakespeare's 
 Women {1832), Poetry of Sacred 
 and Legendary Art (1848). 
 
 Course of Time (1827), blank-verse 
 religious epic. 
 
 Frankenstein (i8i8), Lodore, The Last 
 Man, Falkner. 
 
 Origin and History of the English 
 Language (1862), Man and Nature 
 (1864). 
 
 Loss and 6ain(i848), Scope audNature 
 of University Education (1852), Es- 
 says Critical and Historical (1872). 
 
 Old Bed Sandstone (1841), Footprints 
 of the Creator (1850), Testimony of 
 the Books {1856). 
 
 Near the Lake where drooped the 
 Willow, We were Boys together, 
 Woodman, Spare that Tree, etc, 
 
 The Closing Year, and other poems. 
 
 God in Christ (1849), Nature and the 
 Supernatural (1858J, Moral Uses 
 of Bark Things. 
 
 Theological Essays (1853), Moral and 
 Metaphysical Philosophy (1861). 
 
 Vivian Grey (1827), Sybil (1845), 
 Lothair (1871), Endymion, etc. 
 
 Tom Burke (1844J, A Bay's Bide, 
 Lord Kilgobbin (1872). 
 
 Study of Words (1851), English, 
 Past and Present (1855], Mediaeval 
 Church History (1878). 
 
 Theory of Morals (1844), Theory of 
 Politics (1853), Bespotism in Amer- 
 ica (1854), Japan as it was and is 
 
348 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 William Eathbone Greg (1809-1881), 
 religious and economic essayist. 
 
 Charles Darwin (1809- 1882), biolo- 
 gist. 
 
 John Stuart BlacHe (1809 — ), Pro- 
 fessor of Classics and miscellane- 
 ous writer. 
 
 Margaret Fuller Ossoli (1810-1850), 
 an American writer of rare genius. 
 
 Theodore Parker (i 810-1860), one of 
 the most daring, learned, and elo- 
 quent of the transcendentalists. 
 
 Martin Farquhar Tapper ( 1 8 1 o-i 889), 
 
 poet and prose-writer. 
 Charles Sumner (1811-1874). 
 
 Henry Theodore Tuckerman (1813- 
 1871). 
 
 Henry Norman Hudson (1814-1886). 
 
 Charles Mackay (1814 — ), poet and 
 prose- writer. 
 
 Eichard Henry Dana, Jr. (181 5-1882). 
 
 John Godfrey Saxe (1816-1887), 
 American comic versifier. 
 
 (1855), History of the United States 
 (1849-1856). 
 
 The Creed of Christendom (1851), 
 Enigmas of Life (1872), Literary 
 and Social Judgments (1877), etc. 
 
 Origin of Species (1859), Descent of 
 Man (1871), Movement in Plants 
 (1881), etc. 
 
 Discourse on Beauty (1858), Self- 
 Culture (1874), Songs of Eeligion 
 and Life (1876), Four Phases of 
 Morals (1877), Natural History of 
 Atheism( 1877 ), Lay Sermons (1881 ), 
 The "Wisdom of Goethe(i883). 
 
 Woman in the Nineteenth Century 
 (1844), Art Literature, and the 
 Drama (1846), etc. 
 
 Sermons on Theism, Atheism, and 
 Popular Theology (1852), Historic 
 Americans (1870), Miscellaneous 
 and Critical Essays, etc. 
 
 Proverbial Philosophy (1839-1844), 
 Crock of Gold (1844), e**- 
 
 Complete works in fifteen volumes 
 published 1870-1883. 
 
 Thoughts on the Poets (1846), Char- 
 acteristics of Literature (1849), 
 Mental Portraits or Studies of 
 Character (1853). 
 
 School Shakespeare (1870), Shake- 
 speare, his Life, Art, and Charac- 
 ters (1872). 
 
 Love and Immortality (1842), Le- 
 gends of the Isles (1845), Sketches 
 from Nature (1864), Under the 
 Blue Sky (1871), etc. 
 
 Two Years before the Mast (1839- 
 1869). 
 
 New Eape of the Lock (1848), The 
 Money King (1859), My Familiar, 
 Wouldn't You Like to Know, etc. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 349 
 
 Wkiters. 
 
 Philip James Bailey (1816 — ), poet. 
 Samuel Austin Allibone (1S16 — ). 
 
 Parke Godwiu (1816— ), political 
 writer and novelist. 
 
 Sir Arthtir Helps (i8i7-i875),a man 
 of letters. 
 
 George Henry Lewes (1817-1878), 
 critic, biologist, novelist, historian. 
 
 James Thomas Fields (1817-18S1), 
 publisher and author. 
 
 Margaret Oliphaut (18 18 — ), novel- 
 ist and biographer. 
 
 Arthur Hugh Clongh (1819-1861), 
 
 poet and essayist. 
 John Campbell Shairp (1819-1885), 
 
 Professor of Poetry at Oxford, 
 
 Julia Ward Howe (1819 — ), author 
 and poet. 
 
 Alice Cary (1S20-1870), poet. 
 
 Octavius Brook Frothingham 
 (1822—)- 
 
 David Masson (1822 — ), man of let- 
 ters. 
 
 William Bonnseville Alger (1822 — ), 
 Unitarian minister. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 Festus (1839), The Mystic (1855), 
 The Age (1858). 
 
 A Critical Dictionary of English Lit- 
 erature and British and American 
 Authors (1871). 
 
 Constructive Democracy, A Handbook 
 of Universal Biography (1851), 
 History of France (1861). 
 
 Friends in Council {1847-1859), Com- 
 panions of my Solitude (1851), 
 etc. 
 
 History of Philosophy (1845-1867), 
 Life of Goethe (1855), Problems of 
 Life and Mind (1874-1878). 
 
 Poems ( 1 849J . Yesterdays with Authors 
 (1872), Hawthorne ( 1876). 
 
 The Primrose Path (1878), In Trust 
 (1882), The Literary History •of 
 England (18S2), Two Stories of the 
 Seen and the Unseen (1885). 
 
 The Bothie of Toper-Na-Fuosich 
 (1848), Dipsychus (1850). 
 
 Studies in Poetry and Philosophy 
 (1868J, CtUture andBeligion (1870), 
 Poetic Interpretation of Nature 
 (1877), Aspects of Poetry (1881). 
 
 Passion Flowers (1854), Words for 
 the Hour (1857), Modern Soci- 
 ety (188 1 ), Sex and Education 
 (1874). 
 
 Married, not Mated (1856), Lyrics 
 and Hymns (1866). 
 
 The Beligion of Humanity (1872), 
 Creed and Conduct (1877), Visions 
 of the Future (1879), ^t"- 
 
 Life of Milton(i859-i88o), Essays, Bi- 
 ographical and Critical (1874), The 
 Three Devils (1874) 
 
 The Poetry of the Orient (1856), The 
 Genius of Solitude (1861), The 
 School of Life (1881) 
 
350 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Writers. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 Donald Grant MitclieU ('Ik Mar- 
 vel') (1822—). 
 
 Edward Everett Hale (1822—), 
 American writer and philanthro- 
 pist. 
 
 Edward Augustus Freeman (1823 — ), 
 historian. 
 
 Thomas Wentworth Higginson 
 
 (1823-). 
 
 Thomas Starr King (1824-1863). 
 Phoebe Cary (1824-1871). 
 
 Adeline Button Train Whitney 
 
 (1824 — ), novelist. 
 
 Wilkie Collins (1824-1889), novelist. 
 
 Francis Turner Palgrave (1824 — ), 
 poet. 
 
 George William Curtis (1824 — ), 
 author and lecturer. 
 
 Margaret Junkin Preston (1825 — ), 
 poet and author 
 
 Dinah MariaMulock (1826 — ), novel- 
 ist. 
 
 Waiiam D wight Whitney {1827 —). 
 
 Fresh Gleanings (iS47),Beveries of a 
 Bachelor ( 1850), My Farm of Edge- 
 wood (1863). 
 
 If, Yes, and Perhaps (1868), History 
 of England (1853), The Kingdom 
 of God (1880), In His Name (1874). 
 
 History of the Norman Conquest 
 (1867-1876), Old EngUsh History 
 (i86g), Sketch of European History 
 (1872), Growth of the English Con- 
 stitution, etc. 
 
 Out-door Papers (1863), The Sympa- 
 thy of Eeligions (1871 ), Short Stud- 
 ies of American Authors (1879), 
 Translation of Complete Works 
 of Epictetus. 
 
 Patriotism and Other Papers (1865), 
 Christianity and Humanity (1877). 
 
 Poems and Parodies ( 1854), Poems of 
 Faith, Hope, and Love (1868). 
 
 Mother Goose for Grown Folks (i860), 
 Hitherto (1869), We Girls (1870), 
 Holy-Tides (1886). 
 
 The Dead Secret (1857), The Woman 
 in White (1859), The Moonstone 
 (1868). 
 
 Idylls and Songs (1S54), Lyrical 
 Dreams (1871), and The Golden 
 Treasury (1864), an excellent col- 
 lection of poetry. 
 
 Nile Notes of a Howadji ( 1851 ), Lotus 
 Eating (1852), Prue and I (1856), 
 
 Silverwood (1856), Beechenhrook 
 (1866), For Love's Sake (1887). 
 
 John Halifax, Gentleman (1856), A 
 Life for a Life (i860), etc. 
 
 On Material and Form in Language 
 (1872), Darwinism and Language 
 (1874), The Study of Hindoo Gram- 
 mar and the Study of Sanskrit 
 (1884), Compendious German Gram- 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 351 
 
 Writers. 
 
 John Bascom (1827 — ), clergyman 
 and philosopher. 
 
 Theodore Winthrop (1828-1861), 
 
 American novelist. 
 Jean Ingelow (1828 — ), poet and 
 
 novelist. 
 
 Paul Hamilton Hayns (1830-18S6). 
 
 Mary Abigail Dodge ('Gail Hamil- 
 ton") (1830—). 
 
 Leonard Woolsey Bacon (1830 — ). 
 
 Mary Virginia Terhune (' Marion 
 Harland') (1830 — ), novelist. 
 
 Edward, Lord Lytton (1831 — ), wrote 
 under the pseudonym of ' Owen 
 Meredith.' ^- //f/- /Tf**^. 
 
 Louisa May Alcott (1833- 1888), 
 American novelist. 
 
 Harriet Prescott Spofford (1835—), 
 American poet and novelist. 
 
 John Bichard Green (1S37-1883), his- 
 torian. 
 
 Joseph Cook (1838 — ), lecturer and 
 writer. 
 
 Writings. 
 
 mar (1859), Practical French 
 Grammar (1886). 
 
 .Esthetics (1862), Principles of Psy- 
 cology (1869), Ethics (1879), Sci- 
 ence of Mind (1881), Problems in 
 Philosophy (1885), etc. 
 
 John Brent, CecU Dreeme, Canoe and 
 Saddle, Love on Skates, etc. 
 
 Home Thoughts and Home Scenes 
 (1865), A Story of Doom (1867), A 
 Sister's Bye-Hours (i868), Fated 
 to be Free (1875). 
 
 Poems (1855), Avolio, a Legend of 
 the Island of Cos ( 1859), The Moun- 
 tain of the Lovers (1873). 
 
 Country Living and Country Thinking 
 (1862), Woman's Wrongs, a Coun- 
 ter Irritant (1868), The Insuppres- 
 sibleBook (1885). 
 
 The Vatican Council (1872), Sunday 
 Observance and Sunday Law ( 1S82). 
 
 Alone (1853), The Hidden Path 
 (1855), Eve's Daughters (i88i). 
 
 Lucile (i860), an elegant parlor 
 novel, full of the graces of lighter 
 verse. 
 
 Fairy Tales (1855), Little Women 
 (1868), An Old-Fashioned Girl 
 (1869), Little Men (1871), Eight 
 Cousins (1877), Under the Lilacs 
 (1878), Lulu's Library (1885), etc. 
 
 The Amber Gods (1863), Azarian 
 (1864), Ballads about Authors 
 (1888), etc. 
 
 Short History of the English People 
 (1874), A History of the English 
 People (1880), Making of England 
 (1882), etc. 
 
 Nine volumes of lectures published 
 under the titles of Biology,' ' Con- 
 science," Heredity,' 'Labor,' 'Mar 
 
352 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Writers. 
 
 John Addington Symonds (1840—). 
 
 Loiiise de la Bamee ('Ouida') 
 (1840 — ), English novelist. 
 
 William Black (1841 — ), novelist. 
 
 Cincinnatns Heine Miller ('Joaquin 
 Miller ') (1841 — ), American poet. 
 
 Eobert Buchanan (1841 — ), poet, 
 dramatist, novelist. 
 
 John Fiske (1842 — ), an acute and 
 versatile thinker, and an accom- 
 plished expounder of the philoso- 
 phy of Herbert Spencer. 
 
 Eichard Watson Gilder (1844 — ), 
 
 poet and critic. 
 Elizabeth Stuart Phelps (1844 — ). 
 
 Will Carleton (1845—). 
 
 Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849 — ), 
 novelist. 
 
 Charles Francis Bichardson (1851 — ). 
 
 Writings. 
 
 riage,' ' Orthodoxy,' ' Socialism,' 
 ' Transcendentalism,' and ' Occi- 
 dent.' 
 
 Renaissance in Italy (1S75-1886), In- 
 troduction to the Study of Dante 
 ( 1873 ) , Sketches in Italy and Greece 
 (1874), Shakespeare's Predecessors 
 in the English Drama ( 1884). 
 
 Puck (1870), Pascarel (1873), Two 
 little Wooden Shoes (1874), Moths 
 
 ■ (1880), Wanda (1883). 
 
 A Daughter of Heth (1871), The 
 Strange Adventures of a Phaeton 
 (1873), A Princess of Thule (1873). 
 
 Songs of the Sierras (1871), Life 
 among the Modocs (i873),Memorie 
 and Bime (1884). 
 
 London Poems (1866), The Shadow of 
 the Sword (1876J, God and the Man 
 (1881), Ballads of Life,Love,and Hu- 
 mor (1882), Alone in London (1885) 
 
 Myths and Myth-Makers (1872), Out- 
 lines of Cosmic Philosophy (1875) 
 The Unseen World (1876), Excur- 
 sions of an Evolutionist (1883) 
 The Destiny of Man (18S4). 
 
 The New Day, The Poet and his Mas- 
 ter, What is a Sonnet % 
 
 The Gates Ajar (1868), The Silent 
 Partner (1870), Poetic Studies 
 (1875), ''I* Maid's Paradise (1879), 
 Beyond the Gates (1883), The Gates 
 Between (1887). 
 
 Farm Ballads (1873), Farm Legends 
 
 (1875)- 
 Surly Tim's Troubles (1872), That 
 
 Lass 0' Lowrie's (1877), A Fair 
 
 Barbarian (1881), etc. 
 The Cross (1879), The Choice of 
 
 Books (1881), American Literature 
 
 (18S7-1888). 
 
INDEX. 
 
 In this Index the names of Authors will be found in small capitals, and the titles 
 of books and periodicals in Holies, 
 
 Abou Ben Adhem, 237. 
 
 Absalom, 289. 
 
 Absalom and Ackitophel, 135. 
 
 Abuses Stript and Whipt, 103. 
 
 Actors, the, 75. 
 
 Actress, first English, 128. 
 
 Adam Bede, 307. 
 
 Adams, John, ambassador, 188. 
 
 Addison, Joseph, 155, 156 
 
 Addresses of the Soul to the Body, 13. 
 
 Adonais, 225. 
 
 Adsum, 319. 
 
 Advancement of Learning, 69. 
 
 Advice to Young Men, 197. 
 
 ^■neid. Translation of, 49, 57. 
 
 Afghan War, 246. 
 
 Agricola, policy of, 4. 
 
 Aids to Reflection, 205. 
 
 Air-pump, invention of, 98. 
 
 Akenside, Mark, 175. 
 
 Alaska purchased, 2S6. 
 
 Alastor, 223. 
 
 Alchemist, The, 87. 
 
 Alchemy, works on, 98. 
 
 Alcott, Amos Bronson, 245. 
 
 Alcuin, 9. 
 
 Aldhelm, 7. 
 
 Aldrich, Thomas Bailey, 333. 
 
 Alexander' s Feast, 135. 
 
 Alfred the Great buys a book, 8 ; in- 
 vents time-candles and lanterns, 
 10; writings of, 11. 
 
 Alfric, 13. 
 
 Allegory encouraged, 22. 
 
 All Fools', 85. 
 
 All for Larue, 133. 
 
 Alphonsus, King of Arragon, 77. 
 
 Alton Locke, 293. 
 
 America, discovery of, 46 ; negroes 
 imported to, 136 ; population of 
 colonies, 138. 
 
 American, The, 341. 
 
 American Confederation, 208 ; life, 
 214; race elements, 222; devel- 
 opment, 224 ; oratory, 224 ; states- 
 manship, 228. 
 
 American Literature, ,2gij. 
 
 American Senator, The, 289. 
 
 Among my Books, 303. 
 
 Amoretti, 63. 
 
 Analogy, Butler's, 163. 
 
 Anatomy of Absurdity, 81. 
 
 Anatomy of Melancholy, 93. 
 
 Anatomy of the World, An, 87. 
 
 Ancient Mariner, 205. 
 
 Ancren Riwle, 21. 
 
 Angelo, Michael, birth of, 42. 
 
 Anglo-Saxon, name, language, 6 ; lit- 
 erature, 8, 10 ; verse, 9 ; govern- 
 ment, 12. 
 
 Annabel I^e, 231. 
 
 Annals of a Quiet A'eighborhood, 321. 
 
 Apollo, temple to, 12. 
 
 Apologiefor Poetrie, 65. 
 
 23 
 
354 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Apology, 57. 
 
 Apology for Actors, An, gg. 
 
 Apotliecary and grocery trades sepa-' 
 
 rated, 70. 
 Aquinas, Saint Thomas, death of, 
 
 22. 
 Arcadia, 63 ; style of, g4. 
 Archibald Malmaison, 343. 
 Areopagitica, 117. 
 Ariosto, birth of, 42. 
 Army, first standing, 128. 
 Arnold, Matthew, 315. 
 Arnold, Thomas, 241. 
 Arraignment of Paris, 77. 
 Artemas Ward, his Book, 333. 
 Artemas Ward, his Travels, 333. 
 Artemas Ward in London, 333. 
 Arte of English Poesie, 5g. 
 Arthur Legends, ig. 
 Arts, Royal Academy of, founded. 
 
 1 65. 
 AscHAM, Roger, 55. 
 Astrology yields to astronomy, 44. 
 Astron07nical Discourses, 215. 
 Astrophel and Stella, 65 . 
 As Yoit Like it. Si. 
 Atlanta in Calydon, 335. 
 Atlantic Cable, 278, 286. 
 Augustine, Saint, 6. 
 Aurora Leigh, 261. 
 Australia discovered, 66. 
 Austria, effort to humiliate, 92. 
 Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table, 261. 
 A Year's Residence in America, 197. 
 Ayliner^s Field, 267. 
 
 Bacon, Francis, 69 ; influence of, 
 
 96. 
 Bacon, Roger, 21. 
 B^da, 7. 
 
 Ballad on a Wedding, 121. 
 Ballad, The, 40. 
 Ballads, 49, 52. 
 Ballads, Lyrical, 197- 
 
 Ballads of the Border, 42. 
 
 Ballot-box, 86. 
 
 Ballycastle coal mine, 168. 
 
 Bancroft, George, 245. 
 
 Bank of England, 138. 
 
 Bannockburn, battle of, 22. 
 
 Barbour, John, 31. 
 
 Barchester Towers, 289. 
 
 Bard, The, 173. 
 
 Baror.ies, 16. 
 
 Barons' Wars, The, 71. 
 
 Bartholomew, St., massacre of, 60. 
 
 Battle of the Books, 151. 
 
 Baxter, Richard, 129. 
 
 Bayonets first used, 138. 
 
 Beattie, James, 179, 
 
 Beaumont, Francis, 99. 
 
 Beautiful Book, 333. 
 
 Beaux' Stratagem, The, 145. 
 
 Eecket, Thomas a, 20. 
 
 Bedouin Song, 321. 
 
 Beecher, Henry Ward, 2S5. 
 
 Before the Rain, 333. 
 
 Beggar's Opera, The, 160. 
 
 Behemoth, 103. 
 
 Behn, Aphra, 139. 
 
 Belfast Address, 313. 
 
 Bells, The, 231. 
 
 Bentham, Jeremy, igi. 
 
 Bentley, Richard, 149. 
 
 Beowulf, 5. 
 
 Better iMud, The, 239. 
 
 Better Moments, 289. 
 
 Biathanatos, 87. 
 
 Bible, The, 30, 31, 52, 63. 
 
 Biglcrw Papers, 301. 
 
 Biographia Litcraria, 205. 
 
 Bitter-Szveet, 295. 
 
 Black death, 24, 28. 
 
 Blackwood's Magazine, 214. 
 
 Blake, William, 193. 
 
 Blameless Prince, The, 327. 
 
 Blessed Damozel, The, 325. 
 
 Blind Harry, 45. 
 
 Blithedale Romance, The, 255. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 355 
 
 Boccaccio, birth of, 22 ; death of, 28. 
 
 Boileau, the critic, 134. 
 
 Bolingbrol<e, mentioned, 164. 
 
 Book of Martyrs, 57. 
 
 Book of Sports, 88. 
 
 Books and Reading, 275. 
 
 Books, manuscript, 32. 
 
 Boone, Daniel, 170. 
 
 Bossuet, 132, 136. 
 
 Bostonians, The, 341. 
 
 Boston 'Tea Party," 172. 
 
 Bothwell, 335. 
 
 Bottles, first glass, 56. 
 
 Bourbon, House of, 64. 
 
 Bowdoin College, 198. 
 
 Bride of Abydos, The, 221. 
 
 Bride of Lammermoor, The, 203. 
 
 Bridge of Sighs, The, 245. 
 
 Britain, 4. 
 
 Broken Heart, The, 97. 
 
 Brown, John, raid of, 280. 
 
 Browne, Charles Farrer, 333. 
 
 Browne, Sir Thomas, hi. 
 
 Browning, Elizabeth Barrett, 
 
 259. 
 Browning, Robert, 281. 
 Bruce, The, 31. 
 Brut d" Angleterre, Le, 17. 
 Brut, The, 19. 
 
 Bryant, William Cullen, 239. 
 Buccaneer, The, 237. 
 Buckle, Henry Thomas, 313. 
 BuNYAN, John, 131. 
 Buried Life, The, 315. 
 Burke, Edmund, 179; mentioned, 
 
 1 60. 
 Burnet, Gilbert, 141. 
 Burns, 241. 
 
 Burns, Robert, 193, 194. 
 Burton, Robert, 93. 
 Butler, Joseph, 163. 
 Butler, Samuel, 129. 
 Byron, Lord, 219, 208. 
 By the North Sea, 335. 
 
 Cade, Jack, 40. 
 
 C^DMON, 7. 
 
 Cain, 221, 
 
 Calico first imported, 84. 
 
 California admitted to Union, 268. 
 
 Camadera, 321. 
 
 Cambrics first worn, 60. 
 
 Cambridge, 22, 32. 
 
 Cambridge University, 20. 
 
 Campbell, Thomas, 209. 
 
 Canada, discovered, 48 ; conquest 
 
 of, 162. 
 Candles, 10, 22. 
 
 Canterbury, first Archbishop of, 6. 
 Canterbury Tales, 33. 
 Canute, conquest by, 12. 
 Cape Cod, 291. 
 Carew, Thomas, 103. 
 Carlyle, Tho.mas, 241. 
 Carpets, use of, 58. 
 Carriages, introduction of, 60. 
 Castaway, The, 191. 
 Castle of Indolence, The, 165. 
 Castle of Perseverance, 75. 
 Cast steel first made, 170. 
 Catholic emancipation, 222. 
 Catholics, test act aga'nst, 132. 
 Cato, 155. 
 Cavaliers, 92. 
 Caxton, William, 47. 
 Caxtons, The, 251. 
 Celtic monks, I2. 
 Celts, 4, 6, 24. 
 Cenci, The, 225. 
 Censorship of the press, 140. 
 Census of the Union, 222. 
 Cervantes, birth of, 54. 
 Chalmers, Thomas, 215. 
 Chambered Nautilus, The, 263. 
 Chance Acquaintance, A, j,yj. 
 Channing, William Ellery, 213. 
 Chapman, George, 85. 
 Character and Characteristic Men, 
 
 297. 
 Characters of Shakespeare' s Plays, 211. 
 
3S6 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 m 
 Charity schools established, 136. 
 
 Civil Wars, 71. 
 
 Charlemagne, birth, 6 ; instructor of, 
 
 Clarendon, Lord, 119. 
 
 9- 
 
 Clarissa Harlowe, 1 59. 
 
 Charles the Bald, 9. 
 
 Class system, movement against, 30. 
 
 Charles I., execution of, 96. 
 
 Clay, Henry, death of, 274. 
 
 Charles II., return from exile, 128. 
 
 Clemens, Samuel Langhorne, 
 
 Chartists, rise of the, etc , 236. 
 
 331- 
 
 Chastelard, 335. 
 
 Clergy alone educated, 28. 
 
 Chatham, mentioned, 160. 
 
 Clergymen and Book of Sports, 88. 
 
 Chatterton, Thomas, 185; men- 
 
 Clergymen, nine hanged, 54. 
 
 tioned, 168. 
 
 Clock, first striking, 28 ; coming into 
 
 Chaucer, Geoffrey, 31, 44, 46. 
 
 use, 86. 
 
 Chaucer Society founded, 288. 
 
 Coach, first in Scotland, 66; use for- 
 
 Chelsea, synod at, 8. 
 
 bidden, 66. 
 
 Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, 219. 
 
 CoBBETT, William, 197. 
 
 Child's First Impressions of a Star, 
 
 Coffee introduced, 136. 
 
 A, 289. 
 
 Cofiee-houses, 130. 
 
 Chillingworth, William, 109. 
 
 Coleridge, Samuel Taylor, 205. 
 
 Chimneys, introduced, 20; general 
 
 Colleges founded. Bowdoin, 198; 
 
 use of, 58. 
 
 Columbia, 160 ; Dartmouth, 168 ; 
 
 Chips from a Gertnan Workshop, 
 
 of New Jersey, 1 58 ; of Physicians, 
 
 V-1- 
 
 52 ; Saxon at Rome, 6 ; Williams, 
 
 Chivalry, 16, 28, 56. 
 
 198 ; Yale, 140. 
 
 Chocolate exported to Europe, 98 ; 
 
 Collier, Jeremy, 140. 
 
 introduced into England, 136. 
 
 Collins, William, 173 ; mentioned. 
 
 Cholera in Paris, 224. 
 
 164. 
 
 Christabel, 205. 
 
 Colonial Assembly, first, 70. 
 
 Christian era first used, 8. 
 
 Colonies, population of, 138. 
 
 Christianity, adopted by Saxons, 6; 
 
 Columbia College founded, 160. 
 
 effect of, 12 ; in Greece, 84. 
 
 Comedies (Behn), 139. 
 
 Christianity and Positivism, 277. 
 
 Comedy, T38. 
 
 Christ's Victory and Triumph, lOI. 
 
 Cotning Slavery, The, 311. 
 
 Chronicle, Anglo-Saxon, 18 ; monas- 
 
 Covimemoration Ode, 303. 
 
 tic, 20. 
 
 Commercial Discourses, 215. 
 
 Chronicle ofEfigland, 23. 
 
 Commonwealth established, 88. 
 
 Chroniclers, 32. 
 
 Complaint of Rosamond, 71. 
 
 Chronicles, 59. 
 
 Complaint of the Black Knight, 45. 
 
 Chubb, mentioned, 164. 
 
 Complaint, The, 55. 
 
 Church History of Britain, 113. 
 
 Complaint, The Wife's, 9. 
 
 Church, income of, 32. 
 
 Complete Angler, The, 107. 
 
 Circulation of the blood, 70. 
 
 Comte, death of, 276. 
 
 City and Country Mouse, 151. 
 
 Comus, 115. 
 
 City of the Plague, 237. 
 
 Concordance of Histories, 47. 
 
 Civil Government, 137. 
 
 Concord Days, 245. 
 
 Civil war in England, 92. 
 
 Concord Hymn, 249. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 357 
 
 Condensed Novels, 339. 
 
 Conduct of Life, 249. 
 
 Confessio Amantis, 35. 
 
 Confessions of an English Opiutn- 
 
 Eater, 217. 
 Congress, Colonial, 166. 
 CoNGREVE, William, 143. 
 Conquest of Granada, 133. 
 Conquest of Mexico, 229. 
 Conquest of Peru, 229. 
 Conscious Lovers, The, 155. 
 Constancy, 121. 
 
 Constantinople, capture of, 40. 
 Constitutional History of England, 
 
 213- 
 Cooper, James Fenimore, 223, 196. 
 Cooper's Hill, 121. 
 Copyright Bill passed, 248. 
 Corneille, drama developed by, 100. 
 Corn laws repealed, 256. 
 Cornwall, Celts in, 6. 
 Corsair, 221. 
 Cottage Economy, 197. 
 Cotter's Saturday Night, The, 193. 
 Cotton, first attempted to spin, 154. 
 Cotton-gin invented, 198. 
 Count Julian, 209. 
 Country Life, 7 he, 319. 
 Country Wife, 143. 
 Court of Love, 43. 
 Cowley, Abraham, 123. 
 CowPER, William, 189. 
 Crabbe, George, 193. 
 Cranmer burned, 56. 
 Credulity, period of, 24. 
 Crimean War, 274. 
 Crime, increase of, 56. 
 Criminal code, amelioration of, 218. 
 Criminals transported to America, 70. 
 Criticism, functions of, 258; litera- 
 ture of, 202. 
 Critiques and Addresses, 317. 
 Cromwell, Oliver, death of, 100. 
 Crofnwell (Lytton's), 251. 
 CromwelPs Letters and Speeches, 243. 
 
 Cromwell, Richard, 102. 
 
 Cruelty to Animals Act, 226. 
 
 Crusades, 22. 
 
 Cuckoo and the Nightingale, The, 43. 
 
 CuDwoRTH, Ralph, 129. 
 
 Curfew bell, 16 
 
 Curse of Kehama, 207. 
 
 Cursor Mundi, 25. 
 
 Cymbeline, 81. 
 
 Cymric Celts, 4. 
 
 Cynewulf 9. 
 
 Daisy Miller, 341. 
 
 Dana, Richard Henry, 237. 
 
 Dance of Death, 39. 
 
 Danes, characteristics of, 4; inva- 
 sion by, 8. 
 
 Daniel Deronda, 309. 
 
 Daniel, Samuel, 71. 
 
 Danish traders, sale of children to, 
 conquest under Canute, 12. 
 
 Dante, birth of, 20, 
 
 Darkness, 221. 
 
 Darling, Grace, 238. 
 
 Dartmouth College founded, 168. 
 
 Darwin, mentioned, 290. 
 
 Daunce, The, 49. 
 
 Davenant, Sir William, in. 
 
 David Copperfield, 279. 
 
 Davy, Sir Humphry, mentioned, 
 204. 
 
 Death in the Desert, A, 283. 
 
 Death of the Flowers, 239. 
 
 Debt, imprisonment for, abolished, 
 238. 
 
 Decameron (Boccaccio's), 28. 
 
 Decline and Fall of the Roman Em- 
 pire, 181 
 
 Deerslayer, The, 223. 
 
 Defoe, Daniel, 149, 158. 
 
 Deism, publications on, 162; reac- 
 tion against, 164. 
 
 Dekker, Thomas, 89. 
 
 De Laudibus Virginitatis, 7. 
 
3S8 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 De Laudibtts Vir^num, 7. 
 
 Dramatists (Greene and others), 75. 
 
 Denham, SmJoHN, 121. 
 
 Drayton, Michael, 71. 
 
 De Quincey, Thomas, 217. 
 
 Dream of Fair Women, A, 265. 
 
 De Regimine Principmn, 39. 
 
 Dream, The, 55. 
 
 Descartes, speculative research, 96. 
 
 Dream within a Dream, A, 323. 
 
 Descent of Man, 290. 
 
 Dress, fondness for, 58. 
 
 Deserted Village, The, 177. 
 
 Drummond, William, 97. 
 
 Despotism of Stuart dynasty, 84. 
 
 Drum Taps, 299. 
 
 Destiny, 333. 
 
 Drunkenness, laws against, 6, 8. 
 
 Devil's Law Case, The, loi. 
 
 Dryden, John, 133, 136, 138. 
 
 Dial, The, established, 246. 
 
 Dublin University, 22. 
 
 Diary (Evelyn's), 131 ; (Pepys'), 137. 
 
 Duchess of Malfi, The, loi. 
 
 Dickens, Charles, 277. 
 
 Duelling, acts to discourage, 238. 
 
 Dictionary of the English Language, 
 
 Duke of Milan, The, 93. 
 
 169. 
 
 Dunbar, William, 49. 
 
 Diderot, 166. 
 
 Dunciad, 163. 
 
 Difference between an Absolute and a 
 
 Duns Scotus, 25. 
 
 Limited Monarchy, 47. 
 
 Dtitch Republic, The, 285. 
 
 Discourses on the Evidences of Re- 
 
 Duties on goods imported into the 
 
 vealed Religion, 213. 
 
 colonies, 160. 
 
 Discoveries, by Portuguese, 40; by 
 
 Dying Alchemist, The, 289. 
 
 Drake and others, 54, 60. 
 
 Dyitig Infant, The, 239. 
 
 Dissertation on the Epistles of Phala- 
 
 
 ris, 149. 
 
 
 Dissertations and Discussions in Phil- 
 
 Early Italian Poets, The, 325. 
 
 osophy, 217. 
 
 Earthly Paradise, The, 327. 
 
 Diving-bell, exhibition of, 54. 
 
 Eastward Ho 1 95. 
 
 Division of Nature, The, 11. 
 
 Ecclesiastical History of the English 
 
 Dogmas, 20. 
 
 Nation, 7. 
 
 Don Juart, 221. 
 
 Ecclesiastical power, decline of, 162. 
 
 Donne, John, 87. 
 
 Edinburgh Review established, 206. 
 
 Doorstep, The, 327. 
 
 Edinburgh University founded, 62. 
 
 Douglas, Gawyn, 49. 
 
 Education, 311. 
 
 Drake, Sir Francis, 54, 6o. 
 
 Edward II., 79. 
 
 Drama, 92 ; development of French, 
 
 Edward III., mentioned, 25. 
 
 100; regular, 62, 75. 
 
 Egbert, consolidation under, 8. 
 
 Drama of Exile, 259. 
 
 Egyptian War, 300. 
 
 Dramas (Bulwer's), 252 ; (Longfel- 
 
 El Dorado, 319. 
 
 low's), 257. 
 
 Electrical science, origin of, 65. 
 
 Dramatic composition, r6o. 
 
 Electricity, identity with lightning 
 
 Dramatic Literature of the Age of 
 
 discovered, 160. 
 
 Elizabeth, 2ri. 
 
 Elegy in a Country Churchyard, 
 
 Dramatic poetry, 66. 
 
 173- 
 
 Dramatic representations, act for- 
 
 Elements of Moral Science, 275. 
 
 bidding, 90. 
 
 Elements of Prosody, 307. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 359 
 
 Elene, 9. 
 
 Elevation of the Laboring Classes, 
 215. 
 
 Elginhrod, 321. 
 
 Eliot, George, 307. 
 
 Elizabeth, reign of, 56, 62, 64. 
 
 Elsie Venner, 263. 
 
 Emancipation, 215. 
 
 Emancipation Proclamation, 284. 
 
 Emblems Divine and Moral, 105. 
 
 Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 247. 
 
 Emigrant Mother, The, 239. 
 
 Emigrants Guide, 197. 
 
 Enchiridion, 53. 
 
 Encyclopedia Britannica, 172. 
 
 Endymion, 227. 
 
 England, name ratified, 8 ; union 
 with Scotland, 142 ; population, 
 214; war against France, 174; 
 petition for reform, 214; Roman 
 Catholic hierarchy in, 266. 
 
 English Comic Writers, 2li. 
 
 English, displaced, 18 ; reasserts 
 itself, 22 ; tongue of the court, 30: 
 Chaucer's, 30 ; adopted by House 
 of Commons, 38; law pleadings 
 in, 28. 
 
 English Grammar, 197. 
 
 English Poets, 211. 
 
 Epicurean, The, 213. 
 
 Episcopal agitation, 90. 
 
 Epistles (Hall), 89. 
 
 Epithalamion, 63. 
 
 Equal rights, movement for, 30. 
 
 Erigena, John Scotus, 9. 
 
 Erskine, mentioned, 160. 
 
 Essay concerning the Human Under- 
 standing, 137. 
 
 Essay on Comparative Mythology, 317. 
 
 Essay on Criticism, 161. 
 
 Essay on Dramatic Poesy, 135. 
 
 Essay on Man, 163. 
 
 Essay on the Sublime and Beautiful, 
 
 179- _ . 
 
 Essay, periodical, 156. 
 
 Essays: Addison's, 155, Arnold's, 
 241 ; Bacon's, 69 ; Carlyle's, 243 ; 
 Cowley's, 125; Franklin's, 165; 
 Goldsmith's, 177; Hume's, 171; 
 Jeffrey's, 205 ; Johnson's, 169 ; 
 Macaulay's, 229 ; Pope's, 163 ; 
 Smith's, 203; Steele's, 155; Tem- 
 ple's, 133. 
 
 Essays and Studies, 335. 
 
 Essays in Criticism, 315. 
 
 Essays of Elia, 207. 
 
 Essays, Philosophical and Theological, 
 251. 
 
 Established Church, 84. 
 
 Eternal and Immutable Morality, 129. 
 
 Eternal Hope, ■yi-j. 
 
 Etherege, Sir George, 141. 
 
 Ethics of the Dust, 305. 
 
 Eucharist, The, 9. 
 
 Euphues, 67 ; style of, 94. 
 
 Euphuism, prevalence of, 60. 
 
 Europeans, The, 341. 
 
 Europe during the Middle Ages, 213. 
 
 Evangeline, 257. 
 
 Evelyn, John, 131. 
 
 Evening, 173. 
 
 Eve of St. Agnes, 229. 
 
 Evergreen, 159. 
 
 Every-day English, 315. 
 
 Evidences of Christianity, 215. 
 
 Excursion, The, 197'. 
 
 Excursions, 291. 
 
 Exeter Book, 13. 
 
 Fabian, Robert, 47. 
 Fable for Critics, 301. 
 Fables (Gay's), 161. 
 Faerie Queene, 61. 
 Faire Virtue, 103. 
 Fairs and markets instituted, 10. 
 Faithful Shepherdess, The,()\. 
 Faithless Nellie Gray, 245. 
 Fall of Princes, The, 39, Si- 
 Fa// of the House of Usher, 233. 
 
36o 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Fiime, The Universal Passion of, 157. 
 
 with England, 174; revolution in, 
 
 Familie of Love, The, 87. 
 
 192 ; Reign of Terror in, 198; sixth 
 
 Farmer's Alminax, 293. 
 
 coalition against, 210; third revo- 
 
 Farm Sermons, 331. 
 
 lution' in, 262 ; universal suffrage 
 
 Farquhar, George, 145. 
 
 in, 270 ; Second Empire, 272. 
 
 Farrar, Frederick William, 325. 
 
 Francis, Sir Philip, 183. 
 
 Faustus, 79. 
 
 Franco-Prussian war, 292. 
 
 Feast for Worms, A, 105. 
 
 Franklin, Benjamin, birth, 142; 
 
 Feather-beds, use of, 58. 
 
 his almanac, 156 ; discovery by, 
 
 Fenelon, 136. 
 
 160; biography and writings, 165. 
 
 Ferdinand and Isabella, 229. 
 
 Franklin's expedition to Polar Sea, 
 
 Feudal bondage relaxing, 28. 
 
 214. 
 
 Feudal tenures, reorganization of, 16. 
 
 Frederick the Great, zi,^- 
 
 Fiction Fair and Foul, 307. 
 
 Frederick the Great, reign of, 158. 
 
 Fiefs, division of kingdom into, 16. 
 
 French Revolution, The, 241. 
 
 p'rELDiNG, Henry, 167 ; mentioned, 
 
 Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay, 77. 
 
 158. 
 
 Friend, The, 205. 
 
 Fig for M'omus, 69. 
 
 Fuller, Thomas, 113. 
 
 Fingal, 4. 
 
 Fulton's successful use of steam 
 
 Finnesburg, The Fight at, 5. 
 
 power, 20S. 
 
 Fire brigade of London, 194. 
 
 Future, The, 315. 
 
 Fire engines invented, 136. 
 
 
 First Principles, 311. 
 
 
 Fisher and Charon, The, 319. 
 
 Gaelic Celt, characteristics of, 4. 
 
 Five Books of Moses, 53. 
 
 Galileo's system published, 86. 
 
 Fletcher, Giles, ioi. 
 
 Game and Playe of the Chesse, The, 47. 
 
 Fletcher, John, 91. 
 
 Garfield assassinated, 300. 
 
 Fletcher, Phineas, 95. 
 
 Garibaldi, 280. 
 
 Flood of Years, The, 239. 
 
 Garrick, reforms the stage, 160; 
 
 Flores Historiarum, 23. 
 
 mentioned, 168. 
 
 Flower and the Leaf, The, 41. 
 
 Garth, 343. 
 
 Flowers of Zion, The, 97. 
 
 Gas first manufactured, 156. 
 
 Ford, John, 97. 
 
 Gay, John, 161. 
 
 Forest Hymn, 239. 
 
 Gebir, 209. 
 
 Forest Sanctuary, The, 239. 
 
 Genesis and Exodus, 21. 
 
 Forks introduced, 68. 
 
 Gentleman's Magazine, 154. 
 
 Fortescue, Sir John, 47. 
 
 Gentle Shepherd, The, 157. 
 
 Four P's, The, 75. 
 
 Geoffrey of Monmouth, 17. 
 
 Fox, George, 125. 
 
 German Empire, gained religious in- 
 
 Fox, John, 57. 
 
 dependence, 96 ; restoration of, 296. 
 
 Fragment on Go^iernment, 191. 
 
 Gertrude of Wyoming, 211. 
 
 Fragments of Science, 311. 
 
 Gettysburg, battle of, 284. 
 
 France, military glory- and literary 
 
 Giaour, 221. 
 
 power of, 132; grand alliance 
 
 Gibbets, as road-marks, 130; cut 
 
 against, 138; famine in, 142; war 
 
 down, 162. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 361 
 
 Gibbon, Edward, 181 ; mentioned, 
 
 156. 
 Gibraltar, capture of, 142 ; ceded to 
 
 England, 148. 
 Gilbert, Dr , 66. 
 Gilded Age, The, 331. 
 Girard College, 262. 
 Give me more Love or more Disdain, 
 
 105. 
 Gladstone, William E., 263. 
 Glasgow, University of, 40. 
 Glass, windows, 20, 58 ; bottles first 
 
 made, 56. 
 Gleanings of Past Years, 265- 
 God and the Bible, 315. 
 Goethe's Faust, 321. 
 Gold, discovery of, 262. 
 Golden Age of English Literature, 66. 
 Golden Legend, The,i,-j. 
 Goldsmith, Oliver, 175 ; men- 
 tioned, 168, 172, 174. 
 Go, Lovely Rose, 113. 
 Gondibert, in. 
 Good-Natured Man, 160. 
 GowER, John, 35. 
 Grace abounding to the Chief of Sin- 
 ners, 131. 
 Grandison, Sir Charles, 159. 
 Grave, The, 13. 
 Graves of a Household, 239. 
 Gray, Thomas, 173; mentioned, 
 
 168, 172. 
 Greece, Christianity in, 84; revolu- 
 tion in, 260. 
 Greek, introduction of, 44; taught, 
 46 ; literature introduced, 52 ; use 
 of quotations, 60. 
 Greek war of freedom, 220. 
 Greene, Robert, 77. 
 Greenwich Observatory, 134. 
 Grey, Lady Jane, 56. 
 Grocery and apothecary trades sep- 
 arated, 70. 
 Grote, George, 241. 
 Guillotine, the, 196. 
 
 Gulliver'' s Travels, 153. 
 GulPs Horn-book, The, 91. 
 Gunpowder, influence of, 48, 56. 
 Gustavus Adolphus, mentioned, 92 
 Guy Mannering, 201. 
 
 Hall, Joseph, 89. 
 
 Hall, Robert, 227. 
 
 Hallam, Henry, 213; mentioned, 
 
 2D0. 
 
 Halleck, Fitz-Greene, 241. 
 
 Hamilton, Sir William, 217. 
 
 Hamlet, 81. 
 
 Hand and Soul, 323. 
 
 Handlying Synne, 23. 
 
 Hmnah Thurston, 319. 
 
 Hargreaves, inventor of spinning- 
 jenny, 166. 
 
 Harper's Monthly, 268. 
 
 Harte, Francis Bret, 339. 
 
 Harvard College founded, 88. 
 
 Harvey discovers the circulation of 
 the blood, 70. 
 
 Hastings, Warren, trial of, 200. 
 
 Haunted Palace, The, 231. 
 
 Havelok, 23. 
 
 Hawes, Stephen, 47. 
 
 Hawthorne, 327. 
 
 Hawthorne, Julian, 343. 
 
 Hawthorne, Natiianiel, 253. 
 
 Hazlitt, William, 211. 
 
 Heart of Mid-Lothian, 201. 
 
 Heat as a Mode of Motion, 311. 
 
 Heathen Chinee, The, 339. 
 
 Heidelberg, University of, 24. 
 
 He Knew He Was Right, 289. 
 
 Hemans, Felicia, 239. 
 
 Henry Esmond, 271 
 
 Henry, Patrick, famous speech of, 
 174. 
 
 Henry V/IL, 81. 
 
 Heptarchy, 6. 
 
 Herald, Morning, 1 76. 
 
 Herbert, George, 105. 
 
362 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Herculaneum, discovery of, 160. 
 
 Heresy punished, 86. 
 
 Heretics, first law against, 30. 
 
 Heroes and Hero- Worship, 243. 
 
 Heroical Epistles, 73. 
 
 Herrick, Robert, 105 ; mentioned, 
 90. 
 
 Herschel, 176. 
 
 Hesperides, 105. 
 
 He That Laves a Rosy Check, 105. 
 
 Hey wood, John, 75. 
 
 Heywood, Thomas, 99. 
 
 Hiawatha, 257. 
 
 Hidden Life, ^,323. 
 
 Higden, Ralph, 25. 
 
 High life, 28, 
 
 Highway robbery, 24. 
 
 Hind and Pajither, 135. 
 
 Historia Major, 23. 
 
 Historical Lectures, 241. 
 
 History, characteristics of, 260 ; ele- 
 vation of style, 156. 
 
 History of Civilization in England, 
 
 313- 
 History of England, 173, 231. 
 History of England in the Eighteenth 
 
 Century, 339. 
 History of English Prelates, 17. 
 History of European Morals, 339. 
 History of Greece, 241. 
 History of Henry VI L, 69. 
 History of King Arthur, 45. 
 History of My Own Times, 141. 
 History of New York, 215. 
 History of Rationalism in Europe, 
 
 337 • 
 History of Rome, 241 . 
 History of the Britons, 17. 
 History of the Kings of England, 
 
 17- 
 History of the Rebellion, 119. 
 History of the Reformation, 141. 
 History of the United States, 245. 
 History of the World, 59. 
 History of Tithes, 95. 
 
 HoBBES, Thomas, ioi ; teachings 
 
 of, 96. 
 Hogarth, birth of, 140. 
 HoLiNSHED, Ralph, 59. 
 Holland, Josiah Gilbert, 295. 
 Holmes, Oliver Wendell, 261. 
 Holy Dying, 121. 
 Holy Living, 121. 
 Holy War, 131. 
 Homer's Iliad, Pope's translation of, 
 
 161. 
 Homer''s Odyssey, 103. 
 Homilies, 13, 17. 
 Hood, Thomas, 245. 
 Hooker, Richard, 65 ; mentioned, 
 
 60. 
 Hours of Idleness, 219. 
 Hours of Thought, 253. 
 House of Commons, 22 ; adopts 
 
 English language, 38. 
 House of Fame, 31. 
 House of Life, The, 325. 
 House of the Seven Gables, The, 255. 
 Howard, Henry, 57. 
 Howells, William Dean, 337. 
 How sleep the Brave, 175. 
 Huckleberry Finn, 331. 
 Hudibras, 129. 
 
 Hudson, banks of, colonized, 6^. 
 Hudson's Bay ceded to England, 148. 
 Huguenots, 92. 
 Human Intellect, The, 275. 
 Human Life, 197. 
 Hume, David, 171 ; quoted, 103; 
 
 mentioned, 156. 
 Humor in the drama, 92. 
 Hundred Years' War, 24, 42. 
 Hunt, James Henry Leigh, 237. 
 Huss, John, 38. 
 
 Huxley, Thomas Henry, 317. 
 Hydriotaphia, III, 
 Hymen's Triumph, 71. 
 Hymn of Man, 335. 
 Hymn to Proserpine, 335. 
 Hymn to the Beautiful, The, 319. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 363 
 
 Hymn to the Sea, 319. 
 
 duced, 238 ; introduction of na- 
 
 Hypatia, 293. 
 
 tional system of education, 242 ; 
 
 Hyperion, 257. 
 
 agitations under O'Connell, 250 ; 
 
 
 famine in, 258. 
 
 
 Irene, 169. 
 
 Idea's Mirror, 7 1 . 
 
 Irish Church disestablished, 290. 
 
 Identity, 333. 
 
 Irish Land Question, The, 2 53. 
 
 Idyls of the King, 269. 
 
 Irish Melodies, 213. 
 
 Hiad and Odyssey, translated, 191. 
 
 Irish Rebellion, 202. 
 
 Iliad, Bryant's translation of, 239. 
 
 Irish traders, sale of children to, 12. 
 
 // Penseroso, 113. 
 
 Irreligion punished, 86. 
 
 Imaginary Conversations, 209. 
 
 Irving, Washington, 215. 
 
 Independents, 90. 
 
 Isle of Palms, 237. 
 
 Indians, Penn's treaty with, 136. 
 
 Italian literature, influence of, 54. 
 
 Indian Summer Reverie, 301. 
 
 Italian Poets, The Early, 325. 
 
 Induction, 61. 
 
 Italian universities, European pat- 
 
 Indulgences, Luther's theses against, 
 
 ronage of, 52. 
 
 52. 
 
 Italy, 197. 
 
 In Memoriam, 269. 
 
 Italy, insurrection in, 280; unifica- 
 
 Innocents Abroad, 331. 
 
 tion of, 292. 
 
 Inquiry concerning the Human Un- 
 
 Ivanhoe, 203. 
 
 derstanding, 171. 
 
 
 Inquiry concerning the Principles of 
 
 
 Morals, 171. 
 
 Jack Cade's insurrection, 40. 
 
 Inspiration, 291. 
 
 James, Henry, Jr., 341. 
 
 Insurrection under Wat Tyler, 30 
 
 James I., 43. 
 
 Intellectual System of the Universe, 
 
 James, King, death of, 72. 
 
 129. 
 
 Jamestown, settlement of, 68. 
 
 Interludes, 75. 
 
 Jefferson, mentioned, 180. 
 
 International Episode, An, 341. 
 
 Jeffrey, Lord, 205. 
 
 International exhibition, 298. 
 
 Jew of Malta, 79. 
 
 In the Days of thy Youth, 325. 
 
 Jewell, John, 57. 
 
 In the Tunnel, 339. 
 
 Jews, massacre of, 24. 
 
 In the Twilight, 303. 
 
 J'm, 339- 
 
 Intimations of Immortality, 197. 
 
 Joan of Arc, 38. 
 
 Introduction to the Literature of 
 
 Job, translation of, 13. 
 
 Europe, 213. 
 
 Job Militant, 105. 
 
 Intuitions of the Mind, 275. 
 
 John Gilpin, 189. 
 
 Invention, 56. 
 
 John Plowman's Talk, 329. 
 
 Iowa admitted into the Union, 256. 
 
 Johnson, Dr. Samuel, 167. 
 
 Ireland, Celts in, 6 ; potatoes intro- 
 
 JoNsoN, Ben, 87. 
 
 duced into, 62 ; adverse legislation, 
 
 Joseph Andrews, 167. 
 
 140 ; union with Great Britain, 
 
 Josh Billings, his Sayings. 293. 
 
 204; great distress in, 216; tithe 
 
 Josh Billings' Spice-Box, 293. 
 
 disorders, 228; poor laws intro- 
 
 Journal, Fox's, 125. 
 
3^4 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Journalism in America, 276. 
 Jjicriial of the Plague, 149. 
 Journey to Central Africa, A, 319. 
 Judges, translation of, 13. 
 Julius CcBsar, 81. 
 Juniits, 183. 
 Jury, trial by, 18. 
 Juvenal, motto from, 95. 
 Juventus Mundi, 263. 
 
 Kathriiia, 295. 
 Keats, John, 227. 
 Kenilworth, 203. 
 Kentucky explored, 170. 
 King Hart, 49. 
 King Horn, 23. 
 King Lear, 8i. 
 
 King of the Golden River, 305. 
 King's Bell, The, 319. 
 KiNGSLEY, Charles, 293. 
 King's Quair, The, 43. 
 Knight of the Bursting Pestle, 99. 
 Knight's Tale, 33. 
 Knitting, rise of the art of, 52. 
 Knives, first made, 58. 
 Knowles, James Sheridan, men- 
 tioned, 198. 
 Koran, 18. 
 
 Laboring Classes, Elevation of, 215. 
 Lady Byron Vindicated, i-jt^ 
 Lady Geraldine's Courtship, 261. 
 Lady of Lyons, 251. 
 Lady of Pleasure, The, 109. 
 Lady of the Lake, 201. 
 Lafayette, visit to America, 216. 
 La Fontaine, birth of, 72 ; men- 
 tioned, 102, 132. 
 Lalla Rookh, 213. 
 V Allegro, 113. 
 Lamb, Charles, 207. 
 Land of Cockaygne, 23. 
 Landor, Walter Savage, 209. 
 
 Langland, William, 29. 
 
 Language, English, displaced, 18; re- 
 asserts itself, 22 ; fusion of two 
 languages in, 24; law pleadings in, 
 28 ; development of, 58. 
 
 Lanterns for street lighting, 132. 
 
 Lara, 221. 
 
 Last Confession, A, 325. 
 
 Last Days of Pompeii, 251. 
 
 Last Leaf, The, 263. 
 
 Last of the. Barons, 251. 
 
 Last of the Mohicans, 223. 
 
 Latimer, Hugh, 55, 56. 
 
 Latin Colloquy, 13. 
 
 iMtin Glossary, 13. 
 
 Latin Grammar, 13. 
 
 Latin language, 12. 
 
 Latin literature, introduced, 52, 60 ; 
 disuse of in law pleadings, 154. 
 
 Law pleadings in English, 28. 
 
 Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity, 65. 
 
 Laws, spirit of criminal, 284. 
 
 Layamon, 19. 
 
 Lay of the Last Minstrel, 201. 
 
 Lay Sermons, 317. 
 
 Lays of Ancient Rome, 231. 
 
 Leaves of Grass^ 299. 
 
 Le Brut d'Angleterre, 17. 
 
 Lecky, WiLl lAM E. H , 337. 
 
 Lectures on Metaphysics, 217. 
 
 Lecttires on Shakespeare, 205. 
 
 Lectures to Young Men, 285. 
 
 Legacy to Parsons, A, 197. 
 
 Legend of Jubal, The, 309. 
 
 Leibnitz, begins his literary career, 
 130. 
 
 Leipsic, University of, founded, 34. 
 
 Lessons in Life, 297. 
 
 Letter of Cupid, 39. 
 
 Letters and Social Aims, 249. 
 
 Letters : Alcuin, 9 ; Burns, 195 ■ 
 Cowper, 191 ; Gray, 173 ; Pope, 
 163. 
 
 Letters of Junius, 183. 
 
 Letters on a Regicide Peace, 179. 
 
INVEX. 
 
 365 
 
 Leviathan, loi. 
 
 Liberty of Prophesying, 121. 
 
 Library, first circulating, 156. 
 
 Lie, The, 61. 
 
 Life and Death of John of Barneveld, 
 
 287. 
 Life and Reign of Edward V., 53. 
 Life of Byron, 213. 
 Life of Christ, 285, 325. 
 Life of Goldsmith, 215. 
 Life of Napoleon, 211. 
 Life of Nelson, 207. 
 Z//^ «/■ Washington, 215. 
 Z/)^ Thoughts, 285. 
 Z«;f«a, 233. 
 
 ■^'^•^A 323- 
 
 Z^V^/j and Shadows of Scottish Life, 
 
 _237- 
 Lincoln, assassination of, 284. 
 Lind, Jenny, 258. 
 Lindsay, Sir David, 55. 
 Literary desert, 44. 
 Literature, dramatic, 22 ; religious 
 and story telling, 18 ; clerical 
 Latin, 1 2 ; Greek and Latin, 52 ; 
 Italian, 54; German, 174, 190; 
 miscellaneous, 200 ; American, 274. 
 Literature and Dogma, 315. 
 Literature and Life, 297. 
 Literature of the Age of Elizabeth, 297. 
 Lives of the Poets, 169. 
 Locke, John, 137. 
 Locksley Hall, 265. 
 Lodge, Thomas, 67. 
 Logaritiims, invention of, (&. 
 Logic, System of, 253. 
 London, 167. 
 
 London, population, 28, 66; water- 
 works, 62 ; great fire, 132 ; fire 
 brigade, 194 ; University, 218. 
 London College of Physicians, 52. 
 London Lackpcnny, 39. 
 London Times, 210 ; News, 250. 
 Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, 
 257. 
 
 Looking-glass fr London and Eng- 
 land, A,-]T. 
 
 Lotos-Eaters, 2.(1^1. 
 
 Louis XIV., 94. 
 
 Love for Love, 143. 
 
 Lovelace, Sir Richard, 123 ; men- 
 tioned, 90. 
 
 Love Lily, 325. 
 
 Love of King David and Fair Beth- 
 sabe, 77. 
 
 Lover's Melancholy, The, 97. 
 
 Lowell, James Russell, 301. 
 
 Luck of Roaring Camp, The, 339. 
 
 Luther, Martin, 44, 52. 
 
 Lycidas, 115. 
 
 Lydgate, John, 39. 
 
 Lyell, Sir Charles, mentioned, 204. 
 
 Lyly, John, 67. 
 
 Lyric, cultivation of, 90. 
 
 Lyrical Ballads, 197. 
 
 Lyrics, 18, 55, 57, 211, 225. 
 
 Lytton, Sir Edward Bulwer, 251. 
 
 Macaulay, Lord, 229; mentioned, 
 
 200. 
 Macbeth, 81. 
 
 Macdonald, George, 321. 
 Macpherson, James, 181. 
 Madoc, 207. 
 
 Madonna of the Future, The, 41. 
 Magna Charta, 20. 
 Magnetism, 66. 
 Maid's Tragedy, The, 99. 
 Mail-coaches, first, 180. 
 Maine purchased, 98. 
 Malcontefit, The, 95. 
 Malherbe, death of, 84. 
 Malory, Sir Thomas, 45. 
 Mandeville, Sir John, 31. 
 Manfred, 221. 
 
 Mann, Horace, mentioned, 252. 
 Manners, grossness of, 38. 
 Manning, Robert, 23. 
 Man of Mode, The, 141. 
 
366 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Mali's Place in Nature, 317. 
 
 Manuscript books and tracts, 32. 
 
 Map, Walter, 19. 
 
 Marble Faun, 255. 
 
 Marco Bozzaris, 241. 
 
 Margarita of America, A, 69. 
 
 Marjorie Daw, 333. 
 
 Markets instituted, 10. 
 
 'Mark Twain,' 331. 
 
 Marlowe, Christopher, 79. 
 
 Marmion, 2ci. 
 
 Marston, John, 95. 
 
 Martin Chiizzlewit, 279. 
 
 Martineau, James, 251. 
 
 Martyr, first English, 30. 
 
 Maruja, 341. 
 
 Marvell, Andrew, 129. 
 
 Mary Queen of Scotts, 64. 
 
 Masque of the Gods, The, 321. 
 
 Massacre of St. Bartholomew, 60 ; of 
 
 Jews, 24. 
 Massikger, Philip, 93. 
 Mather, Increase and Cotton, iSo. 
 Maud Muller, 259. 
 Mnzeppa, 221. 
 McCosH, James, 275. 
 Medical School, first in America, 
 
 164. 
 Meditations, Joseph Hall's, 89. 
 Menafhon, 77. 
 
 Men, Wotnen, and Boohs, 237. 
 Merchant of Venice, 81. 
 Metaphysical speculation, 44. 
 Methodist movement, 152. 
 Method of Divine Government, 275. 
 Mexico, conquest of, 52. 
 Middlemarch, 309. 
 MiDDLETON, Thomas, 87. 
 Midsummer Night's Dream, 79. 
 Mill, John Stuart, 253 
 Milton, 215. 
 Milton, John, 113. 
 Mijtister's Wooing, The, 275. 
 MiNOT, Lawrence, 25. 
 Minstrel; The, 179. 
 
 Miracle Play, 22. 
 
 Mirror for Magistrates, 61. 
 
 Miscellanies, 229, 251, 335. 
 
 Miss Gilbert's Career, 297. 
 
 Missionaries in Britain, 4. 
 
 Mississippi, rediscovery of, 132. 
 
 Mistress, The, 123. 
 
 Modern Infidelity, 227. 
 
 Modern Instance, A, 337. 
 
 Modern Painters, 305. 
 
 Mogg Megone, 259. 
 
 Moliere, mentioned, 132. 
 
 Monastery, first in Britain, 6. 
 
 Monasteries, suppression of, 38. 
 
 Monastic wealth, 38. 
 
 Monks, Celtic, 12; in monasteries, 13. 
 
 Montaigne, 62. 
 
 Monthly Review, 1 58. 
 
 Moore, Thomas, 213. 
 
 Moral and Political Philosophy, 183. 
 
 Moralities, 73. 
 
 Moral Ode, 17. 
 
 Moral Satires, 189. 
 
 More, Sir Thomas, 53, 54. 
 
 Mormon fanaticism, 240. 
 
 Morris, William, 327. 
 
 Mosses from an Old Manse, 253. 
 
 Motley, John Lathrop, 285. 
 
 Mourning Bride, The, 143. 
 
 Movement for freedom of thought, 
 
 84. 
 Mozart, visit to England, 164. 
 MiiLLER, Frederick Max, 317. 
 Mundus Alter et Idem, 89. 
 Murder Considered as one of the Fine 
 
 Arts, 217. 
 Music Grinders, 263. 
 Muslins first made in England, 176. 
 Musophilus, 71. 
 My Aunt, 263. 
 My Novel, 251. 
 Mysteries, 73. 
 My Study Windows, 303. 
 My Wife and I, 2y^. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 1^7 
 
 Nails made by machinery, 194. 
 A^ameless Pain, 333. 
 
 Napier, Lord, 68. 
 
 Napoleon, birth of, 168 ; in Italy, 
 200 ; proclaimed Emperor, 206; in- 
 terment in Hotel des Invalides, 244. 
 
 Napoleon, Louis, 230, 272. 
 
 Nash, Thomas, 81. 
 
 National Literature, 215. 
 
 Natural Theology, 183, 215. 
 
 N'j.ture, 247. 
 
 A'eariitg the Snow Line, 263. 
 
 Negroes, taken to America, 136; 
 conspiracy of, 158. 
 
 Never too Late to Mend, 2S7. 
 
 Ne^o Atlantis, 69. 
 
 Newcomes, The, 271. 
 
 New England, charter for, 6S ; popu- 
 lation of, 134. 
 
 Newfoundland, discovery of, 46 ; 
 ceded to England, 148. 
 
 New Mexico, discovery of, 56. 
 
 New Orleans, settled by French, 150. 
 
 News from Olympia, 327. 
 
 Newspapers, first in England, 130 ; 
 first daily, 142 ; first American, 
 142 ; in United States, 222. 
 
 Nezo Testament, Tyndale's transla- 
 tion, S3. 
 
 Nevitton, Str Isaac, 139. 
 
 New Way to Pay Old Debts, A, 93. 
 
 New York, white population of, 160. 
 
 New York Herald established, 226. 
 
 Nicholas of Guilford, 23. 
 
 Nightingale, Florence, 274. 
 
 Night Thoughts, 157. 
 
 Noble Numbers, 105. 
 
 Non-Conformists, emigration of pro- 
 hibited, 90; persecution of, 132. 
 
 Norman conquest of England, 16; 
 treatment of natives, 18. 
 
 Norman invasion of France, 8. 
 
 Normans, characteristics of, 16, 24; 
 absorption into English nation of, 
 22. 
 
 Northumbria, kingdom of, 6. 
 
 Norwood, 285. 
 
 Notes from Plymmith Pulpit, 285. 
 
 Nova Scotia ceded to England, 148. 
 
 Novel, the, 262. 
 
 Novel, development of the, 158, 196. 
 
 Novum Organum, 69, 
 
 Nymphidia, 73. 
 
 Nymph's Reply, The, 61. 
 
 Observations upon the Prophecies, T39. 
 
 Observatory of Greenwich, 134. 
 
 OccLEVE, Thomas, 39. 
 
 Ode to Dejection, 205. 
 
 Odes, William Collins', 173. 
 
 Odyssey, 103 ; translation of, 239. 
 
 Off Shore, 335. 
 
 Ohio, admission to the Union, 204. 
 
 Old Curiosity Shop, 279. 
 
 Old Ironsides, 263. 
 
 Old Mortality, 201. 
 
 Oliver Twist, 277. 
 
 Olney Hymns, 189. 
 
 O Mea Cella, 9. 
 
 On Translating Homer, 315. 
 
 Opera, rise of English, 1 54. 
 
 Optics, 139. 
 
 Opus Majus, 21. 
 
 Oratory, English, 158. 
 
 Ordeals by fire and water abolished, 
 
 20. 
 Order, watchword of the Cavaliers, 
 
 92. 
 Origin of Species, 290. 
 Orm, 19. 
 Ormulum, 19. 
 Oroonoko, 139. 
 Ossian, 181. 
 Othello, 81. 
 Otis, James, 162 
 Otway, Thomas, 143. 
 Outcasts of Poker. Flat, The,li,\. 
 Overreach, Sir Giles, 93. 
 Ovid's Banquet of Sense, 85. 
 
368 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Owl and Nightingale, 23. 
 Oxford, 22, 32. 
 Oxford University, 12. 
 
 Pacific Railroad completed, 290. 
 
 Paine, Tom, mentioned, 180, 208. 
 
 Palace of Art, The, 265. 
 
 Palace of Honour, 49, 
 
 Paley, William, 183. 
 
 Pamela, 159. 
 
 Paiidosta, 77. 
 
 Pan in Wall Street, 327. 
 
 Papacy, greed and scandal of, 28. 
 
 Paper, first illustrated, 250. 
 
 Paracelsus, 281. 
 
 Paradise Lost, 117. 
 
 Parental Ode to my Son, 245. 
 
 Paris, Matthew, 23 
 
 Paris, streets lighted, 132. 
 
 Parish Register, 193. 
 
 Parisina, 221. 
 
 Parliament, first, 22 ; the Long, 90; 
 movement for reform of, 178 ; bal- 
 lot vote for members adopted, 296. 
 
 Parliament of Foules, 31. 
 
 Parrhasius, 289. 
 
 Parr, Thomas, 88. 
 
 Pascal, letters of, 100. 
 
 Passage to India. 299. 
 
 Passions, The, 175. 
 
 Past, The, 239. 
 
 Pastime of Pleasure, 47. 
 
 Paston Letters, The, 47. 
 
 Pastons, The, 47. 
 
 Pathfinder, 223. 
 
 Patronage, abuse of, 230. 
 
 Paul Clifford, 251. 
 
 Paul Felton, 237. 
 
 Peace of Ghent, 210. 
 
 Pecock, Reginald, 43. 
 
 Peele, George, 77. 
 
 Peg Woffington, 287. 
 
 Pelham, 251. 
 
 Pendennis, 271. 
 
 Penn, William, trial of, 132 ; treaty 
 with Indians, 136. 
 
 Penny-postage Act, 242. 
 
 Penny-postage system, 244. 
 
 Pentateuch, translation of, 13. 
 
 Pepys, Samuel, 137. 
 
 Percival, James Gates, 241. 
 
 Percy, mentioned, 159. 
 
 Pericles and Asfasia, 209. 
 
 Perkin Warbeck, 97. 
 
 Peru discovered, 52. 
 
 Peter Plymley's Letters, 203. 
 
 Peter's pence, 6. 
 
 Peter the Great, visit to England, 
 140. 
 
 Petrarch, 24, 28. 
 
 Pewter, use of, 58. 
 
 Phantasies, 323. 
 
 Philadelphia, founded, 136; popula- 
 tion, 154. 
 Philaster, 99. 
 Philip the Second, 229. 
 Phillis, 69. 
 
 Philosophy and theology, 32. 
 Philosophy of Style, 311. 
 Philosophers, flight of Greek, 40. 
 Phcenix, The, 13. 
 Phonograph invented, 300. 
 Physical science, growth of, 54. 
 Physicians,. London College of, 52. 
 
 Pianoforte, first made, i65. 
 Pickiaick Papers, 277. 
 Piers Plowman's Creed, 29. 
 Pilgrimage of the Soul, 47. 
 Pilgrim Fathers, landing of, 72. 
 Pilgrim's Progress, 131. 
 Pilgrims, The, 291. 
 Pilot, The, 223. 
 Pindaric Odes, 123. 
 Pioneers, The, 223. 
 Pitt, mentioned, 160; as Prime Min- 
 ister, 178. 
 Plague of London, 130. 
 Plain Speaker, 211. 
 Pleasures of Hope, 209. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 369 
 
 Pleasures of Memory, 197. 
 
 Prince Saroni's Wife, 343. 
 
 Pleasures of the Imagination, 175. 
 
 Princess, The, 267 
 
 Pocahontas, 239. 
 
 Principia, 139. 
 
 PoE, Edgar Allan, 231. 
 
 Principles of Human Action, 211. 
 
 Poet at the Breakfast-Table, The, 261. 
 
 Principles of Political Economy, 253. 
 
 Poetic genius, decline of, 88. 
 
 Principles of Psychology, 311. 
 
 Poetical productions, quantity, etc., 
 
 Printing, invention of, 38 ; effects of. 
 
 244. 
 
 S5. 
 
 Poetry, becomes English, 30 ; decline 
 
 Prior, Matthew, 151. 
 
 of romance, 40 ; fifteenth century. 
 
 Prisoner of Chilian, 221. 
 
 42 ; Scotch, 42 ; style of, 58 ; in- 
 
 Problem, The, 249. 
 
 terest in sacred, 90 j characteris- 
 
 Professor at the Breakfast Table, The, 
 
 tics of, 88 ; rise of satirical, 92, 
 
 261. 
 
 138; of critical period, 152; char- 
 
 Progress of Poesy, 173. 
 
 acter of modern, 246 ; artistic, 248. 
 
 Progress, watchword of the Round- 
 
 Poetry, Wharton's History of English, 
 
 heads, 92. 
 
 170. 
 
 Prometheus, 301. 
 
 Poets of America, 327. 
 
 Prometheus Unbound, 223. 
 
 Poets, partisanship of, go. 
 
 Prose, 20, 60, 138, 154, 256. 
 
 Poland, 172, 200. 
 
 Prospice, 283. 
 
 Policy of Great Rebellion, 84. 
 
 Protectorate dissolved, 102. 
 
 Political Economy founded, 174. 
 
 Protestant principles, influence of. 
 
 Poll Tax, 30. 
 
 140. 
 
 Polychronicon, 25 ; translation of, 33. 
 
 Provoked Wife, The, 143. 
 
 Polyolhion, 73. 
 
 Prussia, rise of kingdom of, 158. 
 
 Poor Laws amended, 224. 
 
 Psychological Phenomena, 206. 
 
 Poor Richard's Almanac, 156, 165. 
 
 Psychology, drift of English, 240. 
 
 Pope, Alexander, 161 ; style of 
 
 Puritans, appearance of, 58 ; emigra- 
 
 writings, 150. 
 
 tion of, 66, 84; strife with estab- 
 
 Pope, the, commands ringing of 
 
 lished church, 84; supremacy of. 
 
 bells, 10. 
 
 86 ; division of into Presbyterians 
 
 Population of London, 28, 66. 
 
 and Independents, 90 ; succeed to 
 
 Portent, The, 321. 
 
 the government, 96 ; in America, 
 
 Porter, Noah, 275. 
 
 226. 
 
 Post, Morning, 176. 
 
 Purple Island, The, 95. 
 
 Potatoes introduced into England, 
 
 Pursitit and Possession, 333. 
 
 58 ; into Ireland, 62. 
 
 PUTTENHAM, GEORGE, 59. 
 
 Prairie, The, 223. 
 
 Put Yourself in His Place, 287. 
 
 Predestination, by Erigena, 9. 
 
 
 Prelude, The, 199. 
 
 Quakers, first in America, 98. 
 
 Presbyterians, 90. 
 
 Quaker Widoiv, The, 321. 
 
 Prescott, William H, 229, men- 
 
 QuARLES, Francis, 105. 
 
 tioned, 200. 
 
 Queen Mab, 223. 
 
 Pricke of Conscience, 25. 
 
 Queen of the Air, 307, 
 
 Priest to the Temple, 105. 
 
 
 24 
 
370 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Rabbi Ben Ezra, 283. 
 
 Reynolds, Sir Joshua, 152. 
 
 Racine, mentioned, 132. 
 
 Rhetoric and Logic, 59. 
 
 Railways, of timber, 134; iron, 156. 
 
 Rhyme, use of, 42. 
 
 Raleigh, Sir Walter, 59, 54, 62. 
 
 Rhyming Chronicle, 23. 
 
 Ralph Royster Doyster, 75. 
 
 Richardson, Samuel, 159. 
 
 Ramsay, Allan, 157. 
 
 Richelieu, 62, 92, 94. 
 
 Rape of the Lock, 161. 
 
 Richelieu, 251. 
 
 Raphael, 44. 
 
 Ridley, Bishop, 56. 
 
 Rasselas, 169. 
 
 Ring and the Book, The, 281. 
 
 Raven, The, 231. 
 
 Rivals, The, 160. 
 
 Keade, Charles, 287. 
 
 Rivalry between priests and monks, 
 
 Rebellion, Irish, 202. 
 
 3°- 
 
 Recollections of Eviineiit Men, 297. 
 
 Robbers, men of rank become, 56. 
 
 Records of a School, 245. 
 
 Robert Falconer, 321. 
 
 Red Jacket, 241. 
 
 Robert of Gloucester, 23. 
 
 Reflections on the French Revolution, 
 
 Robespierre, mentioned, 200. 
 
 179. 
 
 Robinson Crusoe, 149. 
 
 Reflections on War, 227. 
 
 Roderick Hudson, 341. 
 
 Reform, social and political, 188. 
 
 Roderick, last of the Goths, 207. 
 
 Reformation in England, 54. 
 
 Rogers, Samuel, 197. 
 
 Reform Bill passed, 224. 
 
 RoLLE, Richard, 35. 
 
 Religio Medici, in. 
 
 Roman Catholic hierarchy in Eng- 
 
 Religion, lack of, punishable, 86; 
 
 land, 266. 
 
 ceremonial, not practical, 38 ; lib- 
 
 Romance of Alexander, 23. 
 
 eralism in doctrine, 208 ; spirit of 
 
 Romances, origin of, 16. 
 
 in United States, 242. 
 
 Roman invasion of Britain, 4 ; do- 
 
 Religion of Protestants a Safe Way to 
 
 minion established, 4 ; policy under 
 
 Salvation, 109. 
 
 Agricola, 4 ; withdrawal of troops. 
 
 Religion of the Heart, 237. 
 
 4- 
 
 Religious interests paramount, 88 ; 
 
 Roman School of Painting, 44. 
 
 polemic thought, 52; coloring of 
 
 Romaunt of the Rose, 39. 
 
 policy of Rebellion, 84; sects, 
 
 Romeo and Juliet, 79. j 
 
 128. 
 
 Romola, 307. 
 
 Religious tests, 294. 
 
 Rosalind: Euphues' Golden Legacy, 
 
 Religues of Ancient English Poetry, 
 
 67. 
 
 170. 
 
 RossETTi, Dante Gabriel, 323. 
 
 ReliquiiE WotlonianiB, 85. 
 
 Roundheads, 92. 
 
 Representative Men, 249. 
 
 Rousseau, visit to England, 166. 
 
 Repressor of over-much Blaming of 
 
 Roughing It, 331. 
 
 the Clergy, 43. 
 
 Royal Society, The, founded, 128. 
 
 Revenge, 157. 
 
 Ruin, The, 9. 
 
 Revenge for Honor, 85. 
 
 Rural Rides in England, 197. 
 
 Revolt of Islam, 223. 
 
 RusKiN, John, 305. 
 
 Revolution, American, 174; French, 
 
 Russia, rise of, 140. 
 
 192 ; third French, 262. 
 
 
INDEX. 
 
 371 
 
 Sackville, Thomas, 61. 
 
 Sacred Books of the East, 317. 
 
 Sad Shepherd, The, 89. 
 
 Saint's Everlasting Rest, The, 129. 
 
 Samson Agonistes, 1 17. 
 
 Sands of Dee, The, 295. 
 
 Sartor Resartus, 243. 
 
 Satires, 89. 
 
 Savings Bank, London, established, 
 212. 
 
 Saw-mill, first in England, 130. 
 
 Sawtree, William, 30. 
 
 Saxon, root of English life, 24. 
 
 Saxon College at Rome, 6. 
 
 Saxon Chronicle, The, 13. 
 
 Saxons, characteristics of, 4; inva- 
 sion by, 4 ; adopted Christianity, 
 6, fame and language of, 6. 
 
 Sayings of Alfred, 17. 
 
 Scarlet Letter, The, 253. 
 
 Scholasticism, 32. 
 
 Scholastic Treatises, 25. 
 
 School for Scandal, 160. 
 
 Schoolmaster, The, 55. 
 
 Schools, charitj', 1 36 ; English pub- 
 lic, 294. 
 
 Science, 32; physical, 54, 204. 
 
 Science, Royal Society founded, 
 128. 
 
 Science of Language, The, 317. 
 
 Science of Nature versus the Science 
 of Man, 275 
 
 Scotland, mdependence of, 24; char- 
 acter of people, 34; union with 
 England, 142; Celts in, 6; drunk- 
 enness in, 8. 
 
 Scott, Sir Walter, 201 ; men- 
 tioned, 196. 
 
 Scottish Philosophy, The, 277. 
 
 Scourge of Villainy, The, 95. 
 
 Seafarer, The. 9. 
 
 Sea Limits, The, 325. 
 
 Seasons, The, 165. 
 
 Sebastian Strome, 343. 
 
 Sebastopol, fall of, 276. 
 
 Secession of South Carolina, 280. 
 Selden, John, 95 
 Self- Culture, 215. 
 Seraphim, The, 259. 
 Sermons, 55, 133, 137, 203, 241. 
 Sesame and Lilies, 307. 
 Seven Oaks, 297. 
 Shaftesbury, mentioned, 164. 
 Shakespeare, William, 58, 79, 258. 
 Shakespeare Jubilee, 168. 
 Shakespeare Society, 248, 296. 
 Shaw, Henry Wheeler ('Josh 
 
 Billings '), 293. 
 She Stoops to Conquer, 160, 177. 
 Sheets, use of, 58. 
 Shelley, Percy B , 223 ; mentioned, 
 
 208. 
 Shepherd's Calendar, The, 63. 
 Shepherd's Week, The, 161. 
 Sheridan, mentioned, 160; his clas- 
 sic comedies, 160. 
 Shirley, James, 109. 
 Shoemaker's Holiday, The, 89. 
 Sidney, Sir Philip, 63 ; mentioned, 
 
 60. 
 Siege of Corinth, 221. 
 SiGOURNEY, LYDIA HUNTLEY, 239. 
 Sigtird, 329. 
 Silas Marner, yyj. 
 Silent Woman, The, 87. 
 Skelton, John, 49. 
 Sketch-Book, The, 215 
 Slavery, abolished in Massachusetts, 
 
 178, resolution to maintain, 218; 
 
 colonial, abolished, 224, mention 
 
 of, 240 
 Slaves, first in Virginia, 70. 
 Slave-trade, 58, 70, 190. 
 Smith, Adam, 177 ; mentioned, 174. 
 Smith, Sydney, 203. 
 Smithfield market paved, 68. 
 Smoke, 291 
 
 Smollett, mentioned, 158. 
 Snowbound, 259. 
 Snowbound at Eagle's, 341 
 
372 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Snow Storm, The, 249. 
 
 
 Stillwater Tragedy, The, 335. 
 
 Society and Solitude, 249. 
 
 
 Stoddard, Richard Henry, 319. 
 
 Society for Diffusion of 
 
 Useful 
 
 Stones of Venice, 305. 
 
 Knowledge, 220. 
 
 
 Storie of Thebes, The, 39. 
 
 Solomon, 151. 
 
 
 Stories from Italian Poets, 237. 
 
 Song of Other Days, 263. 
 
 
 Story of a Bad Boy, The, 333. 
 
 Song of Night, The, 239. 
 
 
 Story of Rimini, A, 237 
 
 Song of the Shirt, 245. 
 
 
 Story of the Sea-shore, 323. 
 
 Song of the Traveller, 5. 
 
 
 Story-telling, 30. 
 
 Songs, Aldhelra's, 7. 
 
 
 Stowe, Harriet Beeciier, 273. 
 
 Songs of Experience, 193. 
 
 
 Street-lighting by lanterns, 132. 
 
 Songs of Innocence, 193. 
 
 
 Studies in Shakespeare, 315. 
 
 Sonnets, 55, 57, 71, 79, 261. 
 
 
 Studies on Homer and the Homeric 
 
 Soudan, war of the, 302. 
 
 
 Age, 263. 
 
 South, Robert, 137- 
 
 
 Study of Celtic Literature, The, 315. 
 
 SouTHEY, Robert, 207. 
 
 
 Style in writings, 58. 
 
 Soutli Sea Bubble, 14S, 150. 
 
 
 Subjection of Women, 253. 
 
 Spain under Philip I., 64. 
 
 
 Suckling, Sir John, iig; men- 
 
 Spanish Armada, 64. 
 
 
 tioned, 90. 
 
 Spanish Gypsy, The, 309. 
 
 
 Suez canal opened, 292. 
 
 Specimen Days and Collect, 299, 
 
 Summer Night, A, 315. 
 
 Spectator, 156. 
 
 
 Summer's Last Will and Testament, 
 
 Speculum Meditantis, 35. 
 
 
 81. 
 
 Speeches, Webster's, 215. 
 
 
 Sunbeam, The, 239. 
 
 Spencer, Herbert, 311. 
 
 
 Sunday-school instituted, 176. 
 
 Spenser, Edmund, 61 ; mentioned, 
 
 Superstition, 38. 
 
 9S 
 
 
 Swedenborg, 172. 
 
 Spinning by distaff, 48. 
 
 
 Swift, Jonathan, 151 . 
 
 Spinning-jenny, invention of. 
 
 166. 
 
 Swinburne, Algernon Charles, 
 
 Spirit of the Age, 211, 
 
 
 335- 
 
 Spots on the sun, discovery 
 
 3f, 68. 
 
 System of Logic, 253. 
 
 Spurgeon, Charles Haddon, 329. 
 
 System of the World, 86. 
 
 Spy, The, 223. 
 
 
 
 St. Catherine, 73. 
 
 
 
 Stage, censorship of, 92 , reform of. 
 
 Table- Talk, 95, 2 n 
 
 140, 160 
 
 
 Tablets, 245. 
 
 Stage, A View of the English 
 
 211 
 
 Tale of a Tub, 151. 
 
 Stamp Act, 162 
 
 
 Tales from Shakespeare, 207 . 
 
 Star Papers, 285. 
 
 
 Tales in Verse, 193. 
 
 Steam used for warming 
 
 houses. 
 
 Tales of a Traveller, 215. 
 
 214. 
 
 
 Tales of the Alhambra, 215. 
 
 Steamship, first to cross ocean, 228 
 
 Tales, Old English, 52. 
 
 Steele, Sir Richard, 155, 
 
 156. 
 
 Tales of the Hall, 193. 
 
 Stephenson's locomotive, 212. 
 
 Talleyrand, death of, 240. 
 
 Sterne, mentioned, 1 58. 
 
 
 Tambtirlaine, 79. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 373 
 
 Tarn C Shantcr, 195. 
 
 Task, The, 189. 
 
 Tasso, birth of, 54. 
 
 Tatler, 156. 
 
 Taylor, Bayard, 3 [9. 
 
 Taylor, Jeremy, 121. 
 
 Tea, 64, 136. 
 
 Tea Table Miscellany, 1 59. 
 
 Telegraph, 230, 252. 
 
 Telephone, 298. 
 
 Tell me, ye Juster Deities, 121. 
 
 Tempest, 81. 
 
 Te7nple, The, 105 
 
 Temple, Sir William, 133. 
 
 Temple of Glass, The, 47, 
 
 Tennessee explored, 158. 
 
 Tennyson, Alfred, 265. 
 
 Tent on the Beach, The, 259. 
 
 Test Act, passage of, 132. 
 
 Testament of Love, 45. 
 
 Texas, Republic of, 230 ; annexed, 
 254. 
 
 Thackeray, William Makepeace, 
 269. 
 
 Thalaba, 207. 
 
 Thanatopsis, 239. 
 
 Thankful Blossom, 341. 
 
 Theatre, first English, 60; scenery 
 in, 128. 
 
 Theatres ordered destroyed, 96 ; re- 
 opened, 1 28 
 
 Theological controversy, 32. 
 
 Theology, 32 ; changes in, 242. 
 
 Theology, Natural, 215. 
 
 Theory of Moral Sentiments, 177. 
 
 Thirty Years' War, 92 
 
 Thomas a Kerapis, death of, 42. 
 
 Thompson, James, 165 ; mentioned, 
 168, 172. 
 
 Thoreau, Henry David, 291. 
 
 Thoughts on Education, 137. 
 
 Thoughts on Present Discontents, 179. 
 
 Thoughts on the Soul, 237. 
 
 Three Fishers, The, 295. 
 
 Threnody, 249. 
 
 TiLLOTSON, John, 133. 
 
 Timothy Titcomb's Letters, 295. 
 
 Tindal, mentioned, 164. 
 
 Titian, death of, 60. 
 
 Titles of Honor, 95. 
 
 To a Grecian Urn, 229. 
 
 To Althea from Prison, 123. 
 
 To a Mountain Daisy, 195. 
 
 To a Mouse, 195. 
 
 To Autumn, 229. 
 
 To Chloris, 113. 
 
 To Mary in Heaven, 195. 
 
 Toland, mentioned, 164. 
 
 Toleration Act, 138. 
 
 Tom Jones, 167. 
 
 To-morrow, 239. 
 
 Tom Sa'iVyer, 331. 
 
 Tojn Thornton, 237. 
 
 Tories, 92. 
 
 Torricelli, 94. 
 
 Tournaments prohibited, 32. 
 
 Tower of London begun, 18 
 
 Toxophilus, 55. 
 
 Trades Union disturbances, 224. 
 
 Trafalgar, battle of, 206. 
 
 Tragedy, style of, 138. 
 
 Traitor, The, 109. 
 
 Tratnp Abroad, A, 331. 
 
 Transcendental Club of Boston, 228. 
 
 Translation of Homer, 85. 
 
 Translations, Alfred's, 11 ; Alfric's, 
 
 13- 
 Traveller, The, 175. 
 Travels in Greece and Russia, 319. 
 Treasury of David, The, 331. 
 Treatise on Human Nature, 171. 
 Trevisa, John, 33. 
 Trials of Margaret Lyndsay, 237. 
 Tribune, New York, established, 246 
 Trollope, Anthony, 287. 
 Trouvferes, songs of, 16. 
 Troye Book, The, 39. 
 Trumpet Calls to Christian Energy, 
 
 331' 
 Tvio Rivulets, 299. 
 
374 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Tyler, Wat, 30 
 
 
 Village, The, 193. 
 
 Tyndale, William, 53. 
 
 
 Vindication of Natural Society, 179. 
 
 Tyndall, John, 311. 
 
 
 Violins introduced, 134. 
 
 Types oflLtkical Theory, 253. 
 
 
 Virgil's .^neid, Douglas's transla- 
 tion of, 49. 
 Virginia, attempt to colonize, 62; 
 
 Umbrella, first in England, 176. 
 
 
 colonial assembly, 70. 
 
 Uncle Tom's Cabin, 273. 
 
 
 Virginius, 198. 
 
 Under the Violets, 263. 
 
 
 Vij-gin Martyr, The, 93. 
 
 Undiscovered Country, The, 337. 
 
 
 Vision of Piers Plowman, 29. 
 
 Uniformity, Act of, 58. 
 
 
 Vision of Sin, The, 267. 
 
 United Netherlands, 7'he, 285. 
 
 
 Vision of Sir Launfal, The, 301. 
 
 United States, independence of. 
 
 1-78; 
 
 Vision of Sudden Death, 217. 
 
 government, 188; population, 
 
 1 96. 
 
 Voiceless, The, 263. 
 
 Universal Passion of Fame, 
 
 The, 
 
 Voice of Spring, The, 239. 
 
 157- 
 
 
 Voice of the Sea, The, 333. 
 
 Universities, founded; Dublin, 
 
 22; 
 
 Volpone the Fox, 87 . 
 
 St. Andrew's, 34; Leipsic, 34; Glas- 
 
 Voltaire, birth, 138, quoted, 135; in 
 
 gow, 40; Wittenberg, 48; Edin- 
 
 England, 152; mentioned, 166. 
 
 burgh, 62 ; Vermont, 196 ; Pennsyl- 
 
 Vox Clamantis, 35. 
 
 vania, 160; London, 218; Brown, 
 
 Voyaige and Travaile, The, 31. 
 
 164 
 
 
 
 Universities, patronage of Italiai 
 
 ,52- 
 
 
 Uranus discovered, 176. 
 
 
 Wace, Richard, 17. 
 
 Utopia, 53. 
 
 
 Walden, 291. 
 
 Utrecht, peace of, 148. 
 
 
 Wales, Celts in, 6; conquered by 
 
 England, 22. 
 Wallace, 45. 
 
 Vanbrugh, Sir John, 143. 
 
 
 Waller, Edmund, 113. 
 
 Vanity Fair, 269 
 
 
 Walpole, administration of, 150; 
 
 Vanity of Hitman Wishes, 167. 
 
 
 mentioned, 162. 
 
 Venetian States, partition of, 202. 
 
 Walton, Izaak, ic7- 
 
 Venice, fall of, 202. 
 
 
 Wanderer, The, 9. 
 
 Venice Preserved, 143. 
 
 
 War, 215. 
 
 Venus and Adonis, 79. 
 
 
 War • Hundred Years', 24, 42 ; Bor- 
 
 Vercelli Book, 13. 
 
 
 der, 30 ; of the Roses, begun, 42, 
 
 Versailles, treaty of, 178. 
 
 
 ended, 44 ; Thirty Years', 92 ; Aus- 
 
 Verse, Anglo-Saxon, 10. 
 
 
 trian Succession, 158; Afghan, 246; 
 
 Vespers of Palermo, 239. 
 
 
 American Rebellion, 282 ; Austro- 
 
 Vestiges of Creation, 204. 
 
 
 Prussian, 286. 
 
 Vicar of Wakefield, The, 175. 
 
 
 War beck. Per kin, 46, 97. 
 
 Victorian Poets, The, 327. 
 
 
 Warden, The, 287. 
 
 View of the English Stage, A, 21 
 
 I. 
 
 War-lyrics, 25. 
 
 View of the Evidences of Christianity, 
 
 Washington, George, birth, 154; 
 
 .83. 
 
 1 
 
 elected President, 192. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 375 
 
 Watches, Coming into use, 86; first 
 made in England, loo. 
 
 Waterloo, battle of, 212. 
 
 Water-works, first in London, 62. 
 
 Wiiverly, 201. 
 
 Wealth of Nations, The, 177. 
 
 We and Our Neighbors, 275. 
 
 Webster, Daniel, 215. 
 
 Webster, John, 101. 
 
 Wellington, birtli, t68 ; death, 272. 
 
 Wesley, John, 142. 
 
 Wesleyan preachers, indulgences for- 
 bidden to, 164. 
 
 Westminster Abbey, 12, 20. 
 
 Westminster Review founded, 218. 
 
 Westphalia, treaty of, g5. 
 
 Westward Ho! 293. 
 
 Whig and Tory substituted for 
 Roundhead and Cavalier, 128. 
 
 Whig principles, influence of, 140. 
 
 Whigs, 92. 
 
 Whipple, Edwin Percy, 297. 
 
 White Devil, The, loi. 
 
 White, Richard Grant, 315. 
 
 White Ship, The, t,2S- 
 
 Whitman, Walt, 299. 
 
 Whittier, John Greeni.eaf, 259 
 Why Come Ye Not to Court ? 49. 
 
 WicLiF, John, 31. 
 
 Wiclif's Bible, 30. 
 Wife's Appeal, The, 289. 
 
 William and Mary, 140. 
 
 William of Malmesbury, 17. 
 
 Williams College founded, 198. 
 
 Willis, Nathaniel Parker, 289. 
 
 Wilson, John, 237. 
 
 Wilson, Thomas, 59. 
 
 Winter's Tale, 81. 
 
 Witch, The, 87. 
 
 Witchcraft, act against, 66; belief 
 in, 86; executions for, 138, 152. 
 
 Witches, execution of, 44 ; laws 
 against repealed, 156. 
 
 Wither, George, 103. 
 
 Wittenberg, University of, 48. 
 
 Wolsey, birth, 42 ; cardinal, 52. 
 
 Woman-Hater, Thc,')\. 
 
 Woman Killed with Kindness, 99. 
 
 Wonder of a Kingdom, The, 89. 
 
 Woodnotes, 249. 
 
 Woolston, mentioned, 164. 
 
 Worcester's Dictionary, 254. 
 
 Words and their Uses, 315. 
 
 Wordsworth, William, 197 ; poet- 
 laureate, 250 ; quoted, 135. 
 
 World-Soul, The, 249. 
 
 World's Fair, 270. 
 
 WorroN, Sir Henry, 85. 
 
 Wyatt, Sir Thomas, 55. 
 
 Wycherly, William, 143. , 
 
 Yale College founded, 140. 
 Year's Residence in America, A, 197. 
 Young, Edward, 157. 
 Youth of Man, The, 315. 
 
 Zeal for learning, 22. 
 
 [For Index to Appendix, see page 377-1 
 
INDEX TO APPENDIX. 
 
 Alcott, Louisa May, 351. 
 Alger, William Rounseville, 349. 
 Alison, Sir Archibald, 346. 
 Allibone, Samuel Austin, 349. 
 AUston, Washington, 346. 
 Austen, Jane, 346. 
 
 Bacon, Leonard Woolsey, 351. 
 Bailey, Philip James, 349 
 Bascom, John, 351. 
 Black, William, 352. 
 Blackie, John Stuart, 348. 
 Brougham, Henry Lord, 346. 
 Brown, Charles Brockden, 345. 
 Buchanan, Robert, 352. 
 Burnett, Frances Hodgson, 352. 
 Bushnell, Horace, 347. 
 
 Carleton, Will, 352. 
 Cary, Alice, 349. 
 Gary, Phoebe, 350. 
 Clough, Arthur Hugh, 349. 
 Collins, Wilkie, 350. 
 Cook, Joseph, 351. 
 Curtis, George William, 350. 
 
 Dana, Richard Henry, Jr , 348. 
 D'Arblay, Frances Burney, 345. 
 Darwin, Charles, 348. 
 Disraeli, Benjamin, 347 
 D'Israeli, Isaac, 345. 
 
 Dodge, Mary Abigail, 351. 
 Drake, Joseph Rodman, 346. 
 
 Edgeworth, Maria, 345. 
 
 Fields, James Thomas, 349. 
 
 Fiske, John, 352. 
 
 Foster, John, 345. 
 
 Freeman, Edward Augustus, 350. 
 
 Frothingham, Octavius Brook, 349. 
 
 Gilder, Richard Watson, 352. 
 Godwin, Parke, 349. 
 Godwin, William, 345. 
 Green, John Richard, 351. 
 Greg, William Rathbone, 348. 
 
 Hale, Edward Everett, 350 
 Hayne, Paul Hamilton, 35:. 
 Helps, Sir Arthur, 349. 
 Higginson, Thomas Wentworth, 350. 
 Hildreth, Richard, 347. 
 Howe, Julia Ward, 349. 
 Hudson, Henry Norman, 348. 
 
 Ingelow, Jean, 351. 
 
 Jameson, Anna, 347. 
 
378 
 
 INDEX TO APPENDIX. 
 
 Key, Francis Scott, 346. 
 
 Paulding, James Kirke, 346. 
 
 King, Tliomas Starr, 350. 
 
 Payne, John Howard, 346. 
 
 Kniglit, Charles, 346. 
 
 Phelps, Elizabeth Stuart, 352, 
 
 
 Pollok, Robert, 347. 
 
 
 Porter, Jane, 346. 
 
 Lever, Charles, 347. 
 
 Prentice, George Denison, 347. 
 
 Lewes, George Henry, 349. 
 
 Preston, Margaret Junkin, 350. 
 
 Lytton, Edward, Lord, 351. 
 
 
 
 Ramee, Louise de la, 352. 
 
 Mackay, Charles, 348. 
 
 Richardson, Charles Francis, 352. 
 
 Mackintosh, Sir James, 345. 
 
 
 Mann, Horace, 346. 
 
 
 Marsh, George Perkins, 347. 
 
 Saxe, John Godfrey, 348. 
 
 Masson, David, 349. 
 
 Sedgwick, Catherine Maria, 346. 
 
 Maurice, John Frederick Denison, 
 
 Shairp, John Campbell, 349. 
 
 347- 
 
 Shelley, Mary, 347. 
 
 Mill, James, 346. 
 
 Spofford, Harriet Prescott, 351. 
 
 Miller, Cincinnatus Heiner, 352. 
 
 Stewart, Dugald, 345. 
 
 Miller, Hugh, 347. 
 
 Sumner, Charles, 348. 
 
 Mitchell, Donald Grant, 350. 
 
 Symonds, John Addington, 352. 
 
 More, Hannah, 345. 
 
 
 Morris,' George P., 347. 
 
 
 Mulock, Dinah Maria, 350. 
 
 Terhune, Mary Virginia, 351. 
 
 
 Ticknor, George, 346. 
 
 
 Trench, Richard Chenevix, 347. 
 
 Newman, John Henry, 347. 
 
 Tuckerman, Henry Theodore, 348. 
 
 
 Tupper, Martin Farquhar, 348. 
 
 Oliphant, Margaret, 349. 
 
 
 Ossoli, Margaret Fuller, 348. 
 
 Wayland, Francis, 347. 
 
 
 Whewell, William, 346. 
 
 
 Whitney, Adeline Dutton Train 
 
 Palgrave, Sir Francis, 346. 
 
 350- 
 
 Palgrave, Francis Turner, 350. 
 
 Whitney, William Dwight, 350. 
 
 Parker, Theodore, 348 
 
 Winthrop, Theodore, 351. 
 
 Parkman, Francis, 346. 
 
 Woodworth, Samuel, 346. 
 
 THE END.