Inventress of the vocal frame: The sweet enthusiast, from her sacred store, And added length to solemn sounds, With nature's mother wit, and arts unknown before. Or both divide the crown: He raised a mortal to the skies; She drew an angel down. DRYDEN. JOHN DRYDEN, one of the great masters of English verse, was born at Old winckle, in Northamptonshire, August, 1631. He was educated at Westminster and Trinity College, Cambridge. He began his literary career by a set of heroic stanzas on the death of CROMWELL, which was a good precursor of his future excellence. The Restoration occurring when he was in his thirtieth year, excluded him for the time from government employment and patronage, and he at once devoted himself to literature for a profession. The stage now offered itself as the only means through which his pen could furnish a livelihood; and, in the course of twenty-five years, he wrote twenty-seven dramas, the most remarkable of which are his "Heroic Plays." From these rhymed dialogues arose that mastery of the English heroic couplet which he was the first to acquire, and in which no succeeding poet has nearly equaled him. The prefaces, dedications, and essays, with which he accompanied his dramas, exhibit him at once as the earliest writer of regular and elegant English prose, and as the first who aimed in our language at any thing like philosophical criticism. These prose fragments contain some of the most felicitous specimens of style which our tongue has ever produced. His engagement to write plays for the King's Theater gave him £300 a year: his circumstances were improved by his marriage, in 1665, with Lady ELIZABETH HOWARD, daughter of the Earl of Berkshire; and in 1670 he received, with a salary of £200 a year and the famous butt of wine, the joint offices of historiographer-royal and poet-laureate. "Absalom and Achitophel," the best of all his political satires, appeared in 1681. "The Medal" and "Mac Flecknoe," works of the same kind, followed soon after lu 1685, DRYDEN was received into the Church of Rome, the first public fruit of which was the "Hind and Panther," a rich allegorical poem, in which the main arguments of the Roman Church are stated. The Revolution, taking place in his fifty-seventh year, deprived the poet of his courtly patrons and pensions, and forced him to spend the last twelve years of his life in hard toil. Some of his best works were produced in this period. In 1690 appeared his tragedy of "Don Sebastian," the best of his serious plays. In 1697 he threw off at a heat his "Alexander's Feast," one of the most animated of all lyrical poems; and his spirited translation of Virgil appeared the same year. Lastly, in the spring of 1700, were published his "Fables," which prove that his warm imagination then burned as brightly as ever, and that his metrical skill increased organ, suffered martyrdom A. D. 220. She has been celebrated by several of the poets, and depicted on canvass by more than one of the great painters. RAPHAEL has presented her as the personification of heavenly devotion. the close of his life. These admirable poems shed a glory on the last days of the poet, who died on the 1st of May, 1700. For an extended description of DRYDEN'S poetical endowments, the reader is referred to the 63d Exercise, p. 228 160. THE STOLEN RIFLE. MACKENZIE offered to cross the river and demand the rifle, Not a if any one would accompany him. It was a hair-brained project, for these villages were noted for the ruffian' character of their inhabitants; yet two volunteers promptly stepped forward, Alfred Seton, the clerk, and Joe de la Pierre, the cook. The trī'ō soon reached the opposite side of the river. On landing, they freshly primed their rifles and pistols. A path winding for about a hundred yards among rocks and crags, led to the village. 2. No notice seemed to be taken of their approach. solitary being-man, woman, or child-greeted them. The věry dogs, those noisy pests of an Indian town, kept silence. On entering the village a boy made his appearance, and pointed to a house of larger dimensions than the rest. They had to stoop to enter it as soon as they had passed the threshold, the nărrow passage behind them was filled by a sudden rush of Indians, who had before kept out of sight. 3. Mackenzie and his companions found themselves in a rude chamber of about twenty-five feet long, and twenty wide. A bright fire was blazing at one end, near which sat the chief, about sixty years old. A large number of Indians, wrapped in buffalo robes, were squatted in rows, three deep, forming a semicircle round three sides of the room. A single glance sufficed to show them the grim and dangerous assembly into which they had intruded, and that all retreat was cut off by the mass which blocked up the entrance. 4. The chief pointed to the vacant side of the room opposite to the door, and motioned for them to take their seats. They complied. A dead pause ensued. The grim warriors around sat like statues; each muffled in his robe, with his fierce eyes bent on the intruders. The latter felt they were in a perilous predicament. 5. "Keep your eyes on the chief while I am addressing him," 'Ruffian (ruf yan).—' Indian (Ind'yan). said Mackenzie to his companions. "Should he give any sign to his band, shoot him, and make for the door." Mackenzie advanced, and offered the pipe of peace to the chief, but it was refused. He then made a regular speech, explaining the object of their visit, and proposing to give, in exchange for the rifle, two blankets, an ax, some beads, and tobacco. 6. When he had done, the chief rose, began to address him in a low voice, but soon became loud and violent, and ended by working himself up into a furious passion. He upbraided the white men for their sordid conduct, in passing and repassing through their neighborhood without giving them a blanket or any other article of goods, merely because they had no furs to barter in exchange; and he alluded, with menaces of vengeance, to the death of the Indians, killed by the whites at the skirmish at the Falls. 7. Matters were verging' to a crisis. It was evident the surrounding savages were only waiting a signal from the chief to spring upon their prey. Mackenzie and his companions had gradually risen on their feet during the speech, and had brought their rifles to a horizontal position, the barrels resting in their left hands: the muzzle of Mackenzie's piece was within three feet of the speaker's heart. 8. They cocked their rifles; the click of the locks for a moment suffused the dark cheek of the savage, and there was a pause. They coolly, but promptly advanced to the door; the Indians fell back in awe, and suffered them to pass. The sun was just setting as they emerged from this dangerous den. They took the precaution to keep along the tops of the rocks as much as possible, on their way back to the canoe, and reached their camp in safety, congratulating themselves on their escape, and feeling no desire to make a second visit to the grim warriors of the Wish-ram." IRVING.3 161. THE TOMAHAWK SUBMISSIVE TO ELOQUENCE. TWENTY WENTY tomahawks were raised; twenty arrows drawn to their head. Yet stood Harold, stern and collected, at bayparleying only with his sword. He waved his arm. Sinitten ' Vêrg' ing. —2 E môrg' ing.-- See Biographical Sketch, p. 114. with a sense of their cow'ardice, perhaps, or by his great dig nity, more awful for his very youth, their weapons dropped, and their countenances were uplifted upon him, less in hatred than in wonder. 2. The old men gathered about him he leaned upon his sa ber. Their eyes shone with admiration: such heroic deportment, in one so young-a boy! so intrepid! so prompt! so graceful! so eloquent, too!-for, knowing the effect of eloquence, and feeling the loftiness of his own nature, the innocence of his own heart, the character of the Indians for hospital'ity, and their veneration for his blood, Harold dealt out the thunder of his strength to these rude barbarians of the wilderness, till they, young and old, gathering nearer and nearer in their devotion, threw down their weapons at his feet, and formed a rampart of locked arms and hearts about him, through which his eloquence thrilled and lightened like electricity. The old greeted him with a lofty step, as the patriarch welcomes his boy from the triumph of far-off battle; and the young clave to him and clung to him, and shouted in their self-abandonment, like brothers round a conquering brother. 3. "Warriors!" he said, "Brethren !"--(their tomahawks were brandished simulta'neously, at the sound of his terrible voice, as if preparing for the onset). His tones grew deeper, and less threatening. "Brothers! let us talk together of Logan!' who have known him, ye agèd men! bear ye testimony to the deeds of his strength. Who was like him? Who could resist him? Who may abide the hurricane in its volley? Who may withstand the winds that uproot the great trees of the mountain? Let him be the foe of Logan. Thrice in one day hath he given battle. Thrice in one day hath he come back victorious. Who may bear up against the strong man-the man of war? Let them that are young, hear me. Let them follow the course of Logan. He goes in clouds and whirlwind-in the fire and in the smoke. Let them follow him. Warriors! Logan was the father of Harold!" They fell back in astonishment, but they 'LOGAN, an Indian chief of the Cayugas, murdered in 1781. He was remarkable for his attachment to the whites until cruelly treated by them, when he took an Indian's revenge. A speech of his, addressed to Lord DUNMORE, is an eloquent rebuke of the conduct of the whites. believed him; for Harold's word was unquestioned, undoubted evidence, to them that knew him. NEAL. JOHN NEAL was born in Portland, Maine, about 1794. He was brought up as a shop-boy, and in 1815 became a wholesale dry-goods dealer in Baltimore, with JOHN PIERPONT, the poet. The concern failed, and NEAL commenced the study of law, and with it the profession of literature, by writing a series of critical essays on the works of BYRON for "The Portico," a monthly magazine. In 1818 he published "Keep Cool," a novel, and in the following year "The Battle of Niagara, Goldau the Maniac Harper, and other Poems," and "Otho," a tragedy. He wrote a large portion of ALLEN'S "History of the American Revolution," which appeared in 1821. Four novels, “ "Logan,' Randolph," """Er rata," and "Seventy-six," some of which were republished in London, followed in quick succession. Meanwhile the author had studied law; been admitted, and was practicing as energetically as he was writing. Near the close of 1823 he went abroad; and, soon after his arrival in London, became a contributor to several periodicals, making his first appearance in "Blackwood's Magazine," in "Sketch of the Five American Presidents and the Five Candidates for the Presidency," a paper which was widely republished. After passing four years in Great Britain and on the Continent, in which time appeared his "Brother Jonathan," a novel, he came back to his native city of Portland, where he now resides. He has since published "Rachel Duer," "Authorship," The Down Easters," and "Ruth Elder;" edited "The Yankee," a weekly gazette, two years, and contributed largely to other periodicals. His novels are original, and written from the impulses of his heart, containing numerous passages marked by dramatic power, and brilliancy of sentiment and expression; but most of them were produced rapidly, and are without unity, aim, or continuous interest. Mr. NEAL's poems have the unquestionable stamp of genius. His imagination is marked by a degree of sensibility and energy rarely surpassed. But, having little just sense of proportion, he exhibits a want of skill in using his rich and abundant materials. 162. MARIUS IN PRISON. THE peculiar sublimity of the Roman mind does not express itself, nor is it at all to be sought, in their poëtry. Poetry, according to the Roman ideal of it, was not an adequate organ for the grander movements of the national mind. Roman sublimity must be looked for in Roman acts, and in Roman sayings. Where, again, will you find a more adequate expression of the Roman majesty, than in the saying of Trajan'-Imperatorem TRAJAN, one of the most illustrious emperors of Rome, was born near Seville, in Spain, in the year 53. By his great victories over the Dacians, Germans, and Parthians, he fixed securely the boundaries of the Roman empire on the banks of the Rhine and the Tigris. His internal administration was equally glorious, his reign being celebrated for its great clemency, and rigid discipline of justice, and for its human Ity to Christians. He died at Selinus, a town in Cilicia, August 117. |