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Napoleon.

HERE sunk the greatest, nor the worst of men,
Whose spirit antithetically mixed

One moment of the mightiest, and again
On little objects with like firmness fixed,
Extreme in all things! hadst thou been betwixt,
Thy throne had still been thine, or never been;
For daring made thy rise as fall: thou seek'st
Even now to reassume the imperial mien,
And shake again the world, the thunderer of the scene;

Conqueror and captive of the earth art thou!
She trembles at thee still, and thy wild name
Was ne'er more bruited in men's minds than now
That thou art nothing, save the jest of fame,

Who wooed thee once, thy vassal, and became
The flatterer of thy fierceness, till thou wert
A god unto thyself; nor less the same
To the astounded kingdoms all inert,

Who deemed thee for a time whate'er thou didst assert.

O more or less than man-in high or low,
Battling with nations, flying from the field;
Now making monarchs' necks thy footstool, now
More than thy meanest soldier taught to yield:
An empire thou couldst crush, command, rebuild,
But govern not thy pettiest passion, nor
However deeply in men's spirit skilled,

Look through thine own, nor curb the lust of war, Nor learn that tempted fate will leave the loftiest star.

Yet well thy soul hath brooked the turning tide

With that untaught innate philosophy,
Which, be it wisdom, coldness, or deep pride,
Is gall and wormwood to an enemy.

When the whole host of hatred stood hard by,

To watch and mock thee shrinking, thou hast smiled With a sedate and all enduring eye

When fortune fled her spoiled and favorite child, He stood unbowed beneath the ills upon him piled. Sager than in thy fortunes; for in them Ambition steeled thee on too far to show That just habitual scorn which could contemn Men and their thoughts; 'twas wise to feel, not so To wear it ever on thy lip and brow, And spurn the instruments thou wert to use Till they were turned unto thine overthrow; 'Tis but a worthless world to win or lose;

So hath it proved to thee, and all such lots who choose

If, like a tower upon a headlong rock,

Thou hadst been made to stand or fall alone,

Such scorn of man had helped to brave the shock; But men's thoughts were the steps which paved thy throne,

Their admiration thy best weapon shone;
The part of Philip's son was thine, not then
(Unless aside thy purple had been thrown)
Like stern Diogenes to mock at men;

For sceptered cynics earth were far too wide a den.

But quiet to quick bosoms is a hell,

And there hath been thy bane; there is a fire And motion of the soul which will not dwell In its own narrow being, but aspire

Beyond the fitting medium of desire;
And, but once kindled, quenchless evermore,
Preys upon high adventure, nor can tire

Of aught but rest; a fever at the core, Fatal to him who bears, to all who ever bore.

This makes the madman who have made men mad

By their contagion! Conquerors and Kings, Founders of sects and systems, to whom add Sophists, Bards, Statesmen, all unquiet things Which stir too strongly the soul's secret springs, And are themselves the fools to those they fool; Envied, yet how unenviable! what stings

Are theirs! One breast laid open were a school Which would unteach mankind the lust to shine or rule.

Their breath is agitation, and their life A storm whereon they ride to sink at last, And yet so nursed and bigoted to strife, That should their days, surviving perils past, Melt to calm twilight, they feel o'ercast With sorrow and supineness, and so die; E'en as a flame, unfed, which runs to waste With its own flickering, or a sword laid by, Which eats into itself, and rusts ingloriously.

He who ascends to mountain tops shall find The loftiest peaks most wrapt in clouds and snow; He who surpasses or subdues mankind Must look down on the hate of those below. Though high above the sun of glory glow, And far beneath the earth and ocean spread, Round him on icy rocks, and loudly blow Contending tempests on his naked head, And thus reward the toils which to those summits led. -Lord Byron.

Emmet's Epitaph.

[Robert Emmet, the celebrated Irish revolutionist, at his trial for high treason, which resulted in his conviction and execution, September 20, 1803, made an eloquent and pathetic defence concluding with these words. "Let there be no inscription upon my tomb. Let no man write my epitaph. Let my character and my motives repose in security and peace till other times and other men can do them justice. Then shall my character be vindicated; then may my epitaph be written. I have done." It was immediately upon reading this speech that the following lines were written:]

"L'

ET no man write my epitaph; let my grave

Be uninscribed, and let my memory rest Till other times are come, and other men,

Who then may do me justice."

Emmet, no!

No withering curse hath dried my spirit up, That I should now be silent-that my soul Should from the stirring inspiration shrink,

Now when it shakes her, and withhold her voice,
Of that divinest impulse nevermore.
Worthy and impious I withhold it now,
Hardening my heart. Here, here in this free Isle,
To which in thy young virtue's erring zeal
Thou wert so perilous an enemy,

Here in free England shall an English hand
Build thy imperishable monument,

Both to thine own misfortune and to ours,
By thine own deadly error so beguiled

Here in free England shall an English voice
Raise up thy mourning song. For thou hast paid
The bitter penalty of that misdeed;
Justice hath done her unrelenting part,
If she in truth be Justice who drives on,
Bloody and blind, the chariot-wheels of death.

So young so glowing for the general good,
O, what a lovely manhood had been thine,
When all the violent workings of thy youth
Had passed away, hadst thou been wisely spared,
Left to the slow and certain influences
Of silent feeling, and maturing thought!
How had the heart-that noble heart of thine,
Which even now had snapped one spell, which beat
With such brave indignation at the shame
And guilt of France, and of her miscreant lord,-
How had it clung to England! With what love,
What pure and perfect love, returned to her,
Now worthy of thy love, the champion now
For freedom,-yea, the only champion now,
And soon to be the avenger. But the blow
Hath fallen, the undiscriminating blow,
That for its portion to the grave consigned
Youth, Genius, generous Virtue. O, grief, grief!
O, sorrow and reproach! Have ye to learn,

Deaf to the past, and to the future blind,
Ye who thus irremissibly exact

The forfeit life, how lightly life is staked,
When in distempered times the feverish mind
To strong delusion yields? Have ye to learn
With what a deep and spirit stirring voice
Pity doth call Revenge? Have ye no hearts
To feel and understand how mercy tames
The rebel nature maddened by old wrongs,
And binds it in the gentle bands of love,
When steel and adamant were weak to hold
That Samson strength subdued!

Let no man write

Thy epitaph! Emmet, nay; thou shalt not go
Without thy funeral strain! O. young and good
And true, though erring here, thou shalt not go
Unhonored or unsung. And better thus
Beneath that undiscriminating stroke
Better to fall, than to have lived to mourn,
As sure thou wouldst in misery and remorse.
Thine own disastrous triumph; to have seen,
If the Almighty at that awful hour
Had turned away his face, wild Ignorance
Let loose and frantic Vengeance, and dark zeal
And all bad passions tyrannous, and the fires
Of persecution once again ablaze.

How had it sunk into thy soul to see

Last curse of all, the ruffian slaves of France
In thy dear country lording it!

How happier thus in that heroic mood
That takes away the sting of death, to die,
By all the good and all the wise forgiven!
Yea, in all ages by the wise and good

To be remembered, mourned and honored still!
-Robert Southey.

Sonnets to George Sands, a Desire.

HOU large-brained woman and large-hearted

THOU

man,

Self-called George Sand! whose soul amid the lions
Of thy tumultuous senses, moans defiance,
And answers roar for roar, as spirits can,
I would some mild miraculous thunder ran
Above the applauded circus, in appliance

Of thine own nobler nature's strength and science,

Drawing two pinions, white as wings of swan,
From thy strong shoulders, to amaze the place
With holier light! that thou to woman's claim,
And man's, might join beside the angel's grace
Of a pure genius sanctified from blame;
Till child and maiden pressed to thine embrace,
To kiss upon thy lips a stainless fame.

SHORT SKETCHES
SKETCHES OF GREAT WRITERS

Whose Productions Enrich these Pages.

Adams, Charles Follen.- Known as a humorous writer, particularly of poems in German dialect. Mr. Adams is a native of Dorchester, Massachusetts, where he was born April 21st, 1842. He served in the civil war, and began his literary pursuits in 1870.

Adams, John Quincy.-The sixth President of the United States, was the son of John Adams, the second President, and was born in Massachusetts in 1767. He was elected to the presidency in 1825. At the expiration of his term of office he retired to Quincy, Massachusetts, but was elected Representative to Congress in 1830. His first literary productions were letters from abroad, and were published in the Portfolio, a Philadelphia journal. Died in 1848.

Aldrich, Thomas Bailey.—Mr. Aldrich holds high rank among American authors, having been a frequent and popular contributor to leading periodicals. He was born November 11th, 1836, at Portsmouth, New Hampshire. During the three years of his connection with the mercantile house of his uncle in New York, he began his literary career. His writings comprise both prose and poetry.

Alexander, Cecil Frances.-Wife of William Alexander, Bishop of Derry, Ireland. She was born near Strathbane in 1823, and distinguished herself by her poems, many of which are of a religious character.

Alford, Henry, D. D.-Born in London 1810; died in 1871. In addition to his ecclesiastical position as Dean of Canterbury, he was a Biblical scholar of wide repute. His Greek Testament, completed in 1861, is a standard work. His poems are marked by scholarly refinement, and earnest Christian spirit.

Alger, Horatio.-A native of North Chelsea, Massachusetts, where he was born on January 13th, 1834. He graduated at Harvard College in 1851, and became pastor of a Unitarian congregation in 1864. Mr. Alger

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Allingham, William.-Born at Ballyshannon, Ireland, 1828. Published poems in 1850, again in 1854, and received an author's pension in 1864.

Allston, Washington.-Distinguished as an artist and author. He was born at Georgetown, South Carolina, 1779, resided at Cambridge, Massachusetts, during the latter part of his life, and died in 1843.

Ames, Fishe, LL. D.-A distinguished orator and statesman during the American Revolution and the period immediately preceding. His brilliant eulogy on Washington was pronounced in 1799. Mr. Ames was born in the ancient town of Dedham, Massachusetts, April 9, 1758, and died on the 4th of July, 1808, four years after he had declined, on account of failing health, the presidency of Harvard College.

Andersen, Hans Christian. -A gifted writer, born in Denmark, 1805. Having failed in his early efforts as actor and singer, he was placed at an advanced school through royal favor, and soon developed those remarkable gifts which have made his name known throughout the world, especially among the children for whom his fairy tales have a singular charm. On his seventieth birthday he was presented with a book containing one of his tales in fifteen languages. Died in 1875.

Arnold, Dr. Thomas.-Was born at Cowes, Isle of Wight, on the 13th of June, 1795. He received his preparatory education at Winchester School, and went thence, in 1811, to Corpus Christi College, Oxford. In 1814 his name was placed in the first class in classical

1 terature, and in the next year he was elected fellow of Oriel College, where he gained the chancellor's prize for the two university essays, Latin and English, for the years 1815 and 1817. In December, 1818, he was ordained deacon at Oxford. In 1819 he settled at Laleham, where he remained for the next nine years, taking seven or eight young men as private pupils in preparation for the universities In 1827 he was elected head master of the school at Rugby. On the 12th of June, 1842 he died, on the day that completed his forty-seventh year.

It is impossible, in the limits necessarily assigned to these biographical notices, to do justice to the intellectual, moral and religious character of this eminently great and good man. No other English scholar of the present century has exerted a wider or more happy influence on the literary and religious world. In whatever light we view him, either as a scholar, an historian, a schoolmaster, a theologian, or as a man, he commands our highest respect and warmest admiration.

Arnold, Matthew-A well-known English poet and essayist, the eldest son of the late Dr. Arnold, of Rugby. He was born in 1822, was appointed Inspector of Schools in 1851, and elected Professor of Poetry at Oxford in 1857. As a thinker and author his rank is high.

Bailey, Philip James.-Author of "Festus," "The Angel World," and other poems, was born in England 1816. "Festus" was published when he was twentythree years old, and was received with unusual favor.

Barton, Bernard.-A member of the Society of Friends, and author of "Bruce and the Spider," and other poems, was born in London, 1784, and died in 1849.

James Beattie, a much admired poet and a distinguished moral philosopher, was born in Lawrence Kirk, Kincardineshire, in the northeast of Scotland, on the 20th of October, 1735. His father, who was poor, died when the poet was only ten years old; but his elder brother kept him at school till he obtained a "bursary" (a kind of benefaction for poor scholars) at the Mareschal College, Aberdeen, where he remained four years. Having received his degree of A. M. in 1753, he took a small school at Fordoun, near his native village. Here he employed his time chiefly in studying the classics, and in composing various poetical pieces. Died 1803. Beecher, Henry Ward.-The foremost pulpit orator of America, and an author of remarkable versatility. A number of volumes have been issued, comprising Mr. Beecher's Sermons, Lectures to Young Men, Star Papers, one work of fiction, the Life of Christ, and Mis

cellanies. He was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, 1813, graduated at Amherst College in 1834, became pastor of Plymouth Church, Brooklyn, in 1847, and died in 1887

Bayley, Thomas Haynes.-Composer of popular songs; born in England 1799; died 1839.

Barbauld, Anna Letitia.-A distinguished English authoress, born in Leicestershire, 1743. She was the first to publish works especially adapted to children. Died in 1845

Barham, Richard Harris.-Wrote under the nom de plume of Thomas Ingoldsby, Esq., and by his fine humorous productions gained a wide circle of readers. Born in England 1788, and died 1845.

Bennett, William Cox.-Born at Greenwich, England, 1820. His poetry is characterized by deep feeling. and relates particularly to domestic life.

Blaine, James Gillespie.-Was born in Pennsylvania 1830, graduated at Washington and Jefferson College, 1847; was representative in Congress from Maine 1863-1875, filling the office of Speaker of the House from 1869. Elected to the United States Senate 1876; became Secretary of State in President Garfield's cabinet 1881, and in 1884 was defeated as the candidate for the presidency on the Republican ticket. Blaine's most celebrated oration is that on President Garfield.

Mr.

Bonar, Horatius.-The author of many beautiful hymns, the fame of which is world-wide, is a native of Scotland, and was born in Edinburgh, 1808. He had been for many years a minister of the Free Church, and has published several religious works which have had an enormous circulation. One of his best known pieces is entitled " Beyond the Smiling and the Weeping."

Bowles, William Lisle.-He may be regarded as the forerunner of that school of modern poets, such as Wordsworth, Southey and Coleridge, who have adopted a charming, easy manner, in contrast with the stilted, unnatural measures of many who went before them. Bowles was born in 1762, died in 1850, and was by profession a clergyman.

Brainard, John Gardiner Calkins.-A descriptive poet, born at New London, Connecticut, 1796; died 1828. His poem on "Niagara" is considered the best on that subject yet produced.

Brooks, Charles Timothy.-A Unitarian minister, born at Salem, Massachusetts, 1813; graduated at Harvard College in 1832, and settled as pastor at Newport, Rhode Island. He has published a number of translations from the German.

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