on the Parables, Synonyms of the New Testament, Lessons on the Proverbs, Lectures on the Study of Words and English, Past and Present; also a number of poems and other works. Rev. Arthur Penrhyn Stanley (1815-1881).-Dean of Westminster. Educated at Rugby and Oxford. His principal works are Life of Dr. Arnold, Commentary on the Epistles to the Corinthians, Sinai and Palestine, Lectures ot the Jewish Church, Historical Memorials of Westminster Abbey, etc. Henry Alford, D. D. (1810–1871).—Dean of Canterbury. Poet and critic. Author of Poems and Poetical Fragments, A Plea for the Queen's English, How to Study the New Testament, etc. Rev. F. W. Robertson (1816-1853).—A popular and eloquent clergyman. Educated at Edinburgh and Oxford. His chief work is four volumes of Sermons. Isaac Taylor (1787–1865).—Called “the greatest of English lay theologians since Coleridge." Author of Elements of Thought, The Natural History of Enthusiasm, History of Fanaticism, etc. Rev. C. H. Spurgeon (1834–1892).—An eloquent and popular English preacher. Author of a number of volumes of sermons, Morning by Morning, Evening by Evening, John Ploughman's Talks, etc. Nicholas Wiseman (1802–1865).—Born of Irish parents at Seville, in Spain. Educated in the English College at Rome. A man who possessed talents of a very high order. Was made a cardinal in 1850. His chief work is Twelve Lectures on the Connection between Science and Revealed Religion. TRAVELERS. A. H. Layard (1817——).—A famous traveler. Discovered a large number of specimens of Assyrian art at Nineveh. Published the results of his discoveries in Nineveh and its Remains. -).—Another traveler Author of Personal Nar Richard Francis Burton (1820– and explorer. Born in Ireland. rative of a Pilgrimage to El Medinah and Meccah, The LakeRegions of Central Africa, Ultima Thule; or, A Summer in Iceland and many other works. Sir Samuel White Baker (1821–1893).—A traveler in Africa, Ceylon, etc. Known as "the elephant-hunter." Author of The Rifle and the Hound in Ceylon, Eight Years' Wanderings in Ceylon, The Albert Nyanza, Great Basin of the Nile, The Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia. Dr. David Livingstone (1817-1873).—An African missionary and traveler who made many important discoveries in Africa. Author of Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa, Narrative of an Expedition to the Zambesi and its Tributaries, etc. AMERICAN LITERATURE. PREVIOUS to the late civil war the literature of America was to a great extent modeled after that of the English writers, but the literary productions of the last quarter of a century are strongly characteristic of American thought and progress. American literature has been divided into three periods: the Colonial, dating from 1640 to 1760; the Revolutionary, from 1760 to 1830; and the National, from 1830 to the present time. The Colonial Period has but few representatives, for the time and the attention of the people were taken up with clearing the forests, tilling the soil and fighting the Indians. The literature of this period is principally of a theological character, as the educated people belonged mainly to the clergy, and their writings are chiefly controversial, because they were contending for religious freedom. The Revolutionary Period suggests by its name the character of its literature. The country was at this time the scene of war, with all its hardships, and the writers were few in number, though patriotic in spirit. Their productions were therefore chiefly of such a po litical and patriotic character as made them of local or temporary interest only; and for this reason many of the writings have been but short-lived. The National Period marks the rapid growth and development of our country. Schools have multiplied, libraries have increased and newspapers and periodicals almost without number have aided in the spread of knowledge; literary taste has thus been cultivated; and, as a result of all this, the writers of the period represent nearly every department of literature, in both poetry and prose, and compare very favorably with the English writers of the Old World. THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 1640-1760. JONATHAN EDWARDS. 1703-1758. JONATHAN EDWARDS was born at Windsor, Connecticut, on the 5th of October, 1703. He entered Yale College at the age of thirteen and took the degree of A. B. when but seventeen, which is an evidence that his scholarship was remarkable, considering the age in which he lived and the meagre opportunities that were afforded to him. After leaving college he studied theology, and entered the ministry when he was only nineteen years old. In 1723 he became a tutor in Yale College, which position he resigned at the end of three years in order to assist his grandfather in his ministry at Northampton. He was Edwards was an earnest, active minister. particularly interested in revivals, and was successful in winning large numbers to the Church. In 1750 he became a missionary to the Indians then living in Massachusetts, and took up his residence in Stockbridge. It was about this time that he wrote his most important works, on The Freedom of the Will and The |