and whilst there published in 1834 her Hymns for Childhood, and Scenes and Hymns of Life, with a few sonnets entitled Thoughts during Sickness. Mrs. Hemans's writings are extensively read. Her subjects are those which find a ready admission to the hearts of all classes. The style is graceful, but presenting, as Scott said, "too many flowers for the fruit." There is little intellectual or emotional force about her poetry, and the majority of it will soon be forgotten. A few of the smaller pieces will perhaps remain as English gems, such as The Graves of a Household and the Homes of England.

Rev. WILLIAM HERBERT (1778-1847), at first a lawyer, then Member of Parliament, finally entered the Church and died Dean of Manchester. He is the author of several translations from the Norse, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese the original poems, Helga, 1815, and Attila, 1838-besides tales, sermons, and scientific treatises.

THOMAS HAYNES BAYLY (1797-1839), a celebrated song-writer. The best known are The Soldier's Tear, She wore a Wreath of Roses, I'd be a Butterfly, Oh, no, we never mention her, and We met--'twas in a crowd.

FRANCIS WRANGHAM (1769-1843), Archdeacon of Chester, was author of translations from the classical poets, and other poetic and prose writings.

HENRY FRANCIS CARY (1772-1844), published in 1804 a translation of Dante's Inferno, and ten years later a translation of the Divina Commedia, in blank verse, &c.

WILLIAM STEWART ROSE (1775-1843) was also celebrated as a translator. His chief works were Amadis de Gaul, 1803, and the well-known translation of the Orlando Furioso of Ariosto, published in 1831.

WILLIAM TAYLOR (1765-1836), of Norwich, translated some of the works of Göthe, Schiller, and Lessing, and gave a great impulse to the study of German literature in England.

JAMES GRAHAME (1765-1811), a native of Glasgow, at first à barrister, then entered the English Church, where he became a well-known preacher. In 1801 he published Mary Queen of Scotland, a dramatic poem. This was followed by the Sabbath, Sabbath Walks, and other poems of a religious character. Grahame is not an easy, graceful poet; and though his verse is full of tender and devout feeling, it has little vigour or imagination. He has been compared to Cowper, but wants that poet's humour, force, and depth of poetic passion.

WILLIAM SOTHEBY (1757-1833), born in London and educated at Harrow, was for some time in the army; but retired about 1780, and devoted himself to literature. He was a man of great learning, and translated some classical works with much elegance and skill. His chief works were, Poetical Description of Wales, 1789; Translation of Virgil's Georgics, 1800; Constance de Castille, 1810, written after the style of Scott's romantic poems; translations of The Iliad, 1831; and The Odyssey, 1832. His translation from Wieland's Oberon has received great commendation.

JOHN HOOKHAM FRERE (1769-1846), a friend of Canning, whom he assisted in the paper called The Anti-Jacobin; was Chargé d'Affaires in Spain with General Moore, and afterwards Resident at Malta, where he died, aged 77. He was the author of the once celebrated satiric poem, published in 1817, entitled Prospectus and Specimen of an intended National Work by William and Robert Whistlecraft, &c. It was written in ottava rima, and was a clever burlesque of romantic writings, with here and there a touch of real poetry. It was the model on which Byron wrote his Beppo. He was also the author of the War Song of Brunnenburg, published by Ellis as a fourteenth century production, but really written by the author when at school at Eton during the great discussion on the Rowley poems by Chatterton. Frere also made an admirable translation into English verse of the Achar. nians, Knights, Birds, and Frogs of Aristophanes, which was printed at Malta.

Dr. REGINALD HEBER (1783-1826) was born at Malpas, Cheshire, educated at Brasenose College, Oxford, and successively Vicar of Hodnet and Bishop of Calcutta. He died at Trichinopoly, April 3, 1826. He was author of the Bampton Lectures, 1815: Life of Jeremy Taylor, 1822; miscellaneous prose writings; and many poems, chiefly religious, of great beauty and feeling.

ROBERT POLLOK (1799-1827), the author of a long poem in blank verse, called the Course of Time; a work of real value. A few passages have quite a Miltonic ring. The poem is a sketch of the life and end of man. The sentiments are Calvinistic. The tone and colouring are often too sombre. Sometimes the style becomes rather inflated. Robert Pollok was a native of Muirhouse, Renfrewshire, studied at Glasgow, and became a minister in the United Secession Church. He also wrote Tales of the Covenanters, in prose.

ROBERT BLOOMFIELD (1766-1823), the son

of a tailor at Honington, near Bury St. Edmund's, worked as a shoemaker in London, where he composed his poetry, which was rejected by London booksellers, but published at Bury, at the expense of Capel Lofft, Esq. He was patronised by the Duke of Grafton, and obtained a situation in the Seal Office. He died on the 19th of August, 1823, at Shefford, Bedfordshire. The chief poems are The Farmer's Boy (1798), Rural Tales (1810), Wild Flowers, &c. His style is descriptive. The rhythm is correct, and the language choice, but the gentle flow seldom bursts into the rush of passion. He never sinks, and never soars. JOHN LEYDEN (1775-1811), a native of Scotland, wrote a few poems and miscellaneous prose articles in the Edinburgh Magazine, entered the Church (1798), but afterwards became a surgeon in the East India Company's service (1802). In India he devoted himself to the study of the Oriental languages. He accompanied Lord Minto in the expedition against Java, where he died in 1811. His Poetical Remains were published in 1819, by Rev. James Morton. Sir Walter Scott has spoken in high terms of his poetry.

THOMAS NOON TALFOURD (1795-1854) was born at Reading, rose to distinction at the bar, and was made a judge in 1849. He died on the bench whilst addressing the Grand Jury at Stafford in 1854. He wrote the tragedies of Ion, The Athenian Captive, The Massacre of Glencoe, and The Castilian; and in prose, Vacation Rambles (1851), Life of Charles Lamb, and an Essay on the Greek Drama. He is best known by the tragedy of Ion, perhaps one of the most striking additions to tragic literature in modern times.

WINTHROP MACKWORTH PRAED (18021839), son of Mr. Serjeant Praed, entered the House of Commons, and became Secretary of the Board of Control. His early life and writings gave promise of future eminence. While at Eton he started The Etonian, and was one of the chief contributors to Knight's Quarterly Magazine. His poems, which have been recently pub. lished in a collected form, are some of the most remarkable which have appeared in modern times.

HARTLEY COLERIDGE (1796-1849) and SARA COLERIDGE (1803-1852) were the children of the great Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and themselves well known in the world of letters. The brother was author of Poems, Essays, Lives of the Northern Worthies, and other miscellaneous works. His poems were

| published, with a Memoir of his life, in 1851. The sister married in 1829 her cousin Henry Nelson Coleridge. The dissertations which she appended to many of her father's works, published after his death, are remarkable both for power of thought and of expression. Mrs. SOUTHEY [CAROLINE ANNE BOWLES] (1787-1854) was born at Lymington, Hants. Her early life was spent in retirement and literary pursuits. Several poems were published by her of much taste and sentiment. She was married to Southey on the 5th June, 1839. She completed the poem, Robin Hood, commenced by Southey. Her best known piece is the little lyric called The Pauper's Deathbed.

EBENEZER ELLIOTT (1781-1849), the son of an ironfounder of Masborough, Yorkshire, worked himself at his father's business. In 1823 he published some poems; but is best known for the Corn Law Rhymes, which appeared between 1830-36. His affection and advocacy of the working classes endeared his name to them; whilst his genius and pure poetic fervour, though sometimes leading him beyond the limits of good taste, claimed the recognition of Southey, Bulwer, Wilson, and Thomas Carlyle.

ROBERT MONTGOMERY (1808-1855), a popular preacher at Percy Chapel, Charlotte Street, Bedford Square. His poems passed through numerous editions; but they are stilted and unnatural in expression. Their religious subjects, and the clever puffing which they received, contributed to their success. The chief of them were the Omnipresence of the Deity, Satan, Luther, Messiah, and Oxford. He is perhaps best known by the scathing criticism which he received in the celebrated essay by Macaulay.

LETITIA ELIZABETH LANDON (1802-1838), best known by her initials L. E. L., under which her poems appeared in various periodicals, which have been collected and published separately. She was the daughter of an army agent, born at Chelsea, and married in 1838 Mr. Maclean, governor of the Gold Coast Colony, West Africa, where she died, October 15, 1839.

Rev. GEORGE CROLY (1780-1863), a native of Dublin, and rector of St. Stephen's, Walbrook, London. His style was gorgeous and his imagination fertile. He was the author of several works in poetry and prose. Paris in 1815, Angel of the World (1820), Pride shall have a Fall, Catiline, The Modern Orlando (1846), are his chief poems. In fiction he produced Salathiel

Tales of the Great St. Bernard, and Marston; the first of which is a romance of great power and eloquence.

Mrs. MARY TIGHE (1773-1810), a native of Wicklow County, Ireland, the authoress of Psyche, a poem founded on the story of Cupid and Psyche in Apuleius, and exhibiting much imagination and graceful fancy.

JAMES SHERIDAN KNOWLES (1794-1862), one of the principal modern tragic writers, was born at Cork in 1794. He went on the stage, and there distinguished himself as an actor and writer of plays. He afterwards retired from the stage, and occupied himself with teaching elocution, and sometimes preaching In the chapels of the Christian body to which he belonged, Caius Gracchus was performed in 1815; and was followed by Virginius, one of the most popular dramas that has appeared In recent times upon the English stage. The Hunchback and William Tell are perhaps his two best works. Two novels were written by him, George Lovell and Henry Fortescue. His plots are natural, and the characters well sustained,

as the "Ettrick Shepherd," a native of Ettrick Vale, Selkirkshire. His school was the mountain's side, where he kept the cattle and sheep. His education was scanty; but a quick and retentive memory, great natural gifts, and a fine appreciation of the wondrous scenes around him, called up the slumbering muse, and in 1801 he published a small volume of songs. The Mountain Bard followed in 1807. Soon afterwards he left his occupation and resided at Edinburgh, supporting himself entirely by his pen. The Queen's Wake (1813) brought him into very favourable notice. It was followed by Mador of the Moor, Winter Evening Tales, &c. Hogg's chief delight was in legendary tales and folk lore. Fancy rather than the description of life and manners is the prevailing character of the poet's writings. A modern critic says, " He wanted art to construct a fable, and taste to give due effect to his imagery and conceptions. But there are few poets who impress us so much with the idea of direct inspiration, and that poetry is indeed an art unteachable and

The poets of the latter part of the nineteenth century have been very numerous; but there are only four who stand out in any prominence worthy of comparison with that illustrious band which adorned the early years of the century. These are ALFRED TENNYSON, ROBERT BROWNING, Mrs. BROWNING, and THOMAS HOOD. The two former are excluded from the scope of this work. The other two must not be passed by without a short notice.

THOMAS HOOD (1799-1845) has unfortunately been regarded only as a humorist; and as the English reader would accept from him nothing but wit and humour, the most valuable of his writings are in danger of being forgotten. He was born on the 23rd of May, 1799; and in 1821 he became sub-editor of the London Magazine, where his poem on Hope appeared. He was associated with the brilliant circle who then contributed to the Magazine; among whom were Lamb, Hazlitt, the Smiths, De Quincey, and Reynolds. The latter of these was united with Hood in the publication of the Odes and Addresses, which appeared anonymously, and were ascribed by Coleridge to Lamb. These were followed by Whims and Oddities. Hood became at once a popular writer; but in the midst

of his success a firm failed which involved him in its losses. The poet, disdaining to seek the aid of bankruptcy, emulated the example of Scott, and determined by the economy of a life in Germany to pay off the debt which he had thus involuntarily contracted. In 1835 the family took up their residence in Coblenz; from thence removed to Ostend (1837); and returned to London in 1840. He subsequently became editor of the New Monthly in 1841, and held it until 1843, when the first number of his own Magazine was issued. A pension was obtained for him, with reversion to his wife and daughter, in 1844; and he died upon the 3rd of May in the following year.

Hood stands very high among the poets of the second order. He was not a creative genius. He has given little indication of the highest imaginative faculty; but his fancy was most delicate and full of graceful play. His appreciation of the beauties of nature was very vivid; and some of his descriptions are models of their class. His most distinctive mark was the thorough humanity of his thoughts and expressions. His poems are amongst the most valuable contributions to English literature of sympathy with, and insight into, human life

and character. Every reader is struck by the sadness and melancholy always present in his works. The author of the Comic Annuals can scarcely be conceived of as writing such a poem as the Bridge of Sighs. Yet it is true that humour is generally united with sadness. It has been well said by Hood himself, that

"There's not a string attuned to mirth, But has its chord in melancholy." Hood was without a doubt the greatest humorist and wit of his age. He possessed in a most remarkable degree the power of perceiving the ridiculous and the odd. Words seemed to break up into the most queer and droll syllables. His wit was caustic, and yet it bore with itself its remedy. It was never coarse. An impurity even in suggestion cannot be found in Hood's pages. With the humour was associated a most tender pathos. The Deathbed is one of the most affecting little poems in our language, and is equalled only by another of his ballads entitled Love's Eclipse. The deep melancholy that colours "I remember" is carried almost too far. The last verse of that little poem seems to contain the sorrows of a whole life. Amongst his larger works, the Plea of the Midsummer Fairies, and Hero and Leander, are the most sustained and elaborate. The descriptive pieces in both are full of the most careful observation of nature, and most musical expression of her beauties. The best known of his poems are The Bridge of Sighs, Eugene Aram, and the Song of the Shirt.

her death, which took place at the Casa Guidi, Florence, June 29th, 1861.

Mrs. Browning stands very high in the rank of English poets. The creative or imaginative faculty she possessed in the highest degree. Her Satan in the Drama of Exile is one of the finest creations in the whole range of our literature. So intense, however, was the subjective in this poetess, that all her writings are tinged by herself. We can see the woman of deep emotion, of high-toned thought, of devout spirit, with soul strong enough to have filled the body of a Joan of Arc, shut in her darkened chamber, reading almost every book worth reading in almost every language," mingling with a few friends, the smallness of which circle prevented a loss of emotional force by too great expanse, her heart going forth in sympathy with the wretched- and down-trodden, and at last finding a man and poet worthy of her best affection; and then, gathering up her strength, she seems to fling her own soul into her verse, now with all the passion which gleams through "Aurora Leigh," and now in the tenderer sonnets so full of pathos and love. It is not to be wondered at therefore that some of her writing has been called spasmodic. Mrs. Browning has not the calm unfailing flow of thought and feeling which we find in her only modern superior, the Laureate. But the woman

rises to heights on which the man has never stood, and finds deeps which he has never fathomed. Her style is therefore often rugged, unfinished, and at times utterly without rhythm. Some portions of Aurora

poetry.

In 1844 her poems were published in two volumes. After her marriage with Robert Browning, her failing health compelled them to reside in Italy, and they took up their residence first in Pisa, and afterwards in Florence. Here she sympathised warmly with the cause of her adopted and suffering nation. Her poem of Casa Guidi Windows appeared in 1851, where the Italian revolutions of 1848 and 1849 kindled her indignation at foreign oppression, and her longings for Italian liberty. Her greatest poem, Aurora Leigh, was published in 1856; and her Poems before Congress and Later Poems were not given to the public till shortly before

Her

The sadness which pervades all the writing of Mrs. Browning is what might be well expected from such a life as hers. Her ill health, the sudden loss of her younger brother, the long-continued confinement in that chamber where no sunbeam ever cheered, must all have deepened the sorrow in which she ever dwelt. verse is therefore but rarely sportive. She deals sometimes in satire; but satire is always sad. Her own idea of the poet's work seems to bear this view. "Poetry has been as serious a thing to me as life itself; and life has been a very serious thing. I never mistook pleasure for the final cause of poetry, nor leisure for the hour of the poet." From such a view of poetry and life, we cannot wonder at the moral purpose, the soul which is found in all her writing.