William born in Mas sachusetts, 1796; died, 1859. tary of the Navy, and as United States minister to Great Britain and Germany. The first volume of his "History of the United States" appeared in 1834, and the successive volumes followed at long intervals, during almost all his lifetime. He frequently revised, corrected, and enlarged his work; and it is a monument of painstaking accuracy. The style is clear, and the diction elegant. William H. Prescott was a student of history from the beginning of his active life, and early selected Spanish history as his special field, planning a course of ten years' investigation, to be followed by ten years of writing. He carried out his plan almost literally, and in spite of difficulties which many would have regarded as insuperable. Losing the use of his eyes, he was obliged to rely upon the services of a reader for his studies, and to devise some method of composition which should be practicable for him in his blindness. Instead of dictating to an amanuensis, he used a writing case, consisting of a frame crossed by brass wires, with a sheet of carbonized paper such as is used in duplicating. Guided by the wires, he would trace his sentence on the carbonized sheet, making indelible marks on the white paper below. In this manner Prescott produced the books which gave him a world-wide reputation. The "History of Ferdinand and Isabella " appeared in 1837. It was followed by "The Conquest of Mexico," in 1843; "Biographical and Critical Miscellanies," in 1845; "The Conquest of Peru," in 1847; "The Reign of Philip II," in 1855-1858. He also edited and republished Robertson's "Charles V," adding a supplement giving the life of Charles after his abdication. Prescott's works, taken together, constitute a history of Spain, in its relations to America and to the Reformation, during the whole period of its greatness. It was a neglected field of history, and of special interest to American readers. Prescott's works met with a hearty welcome in Europe as well as at home. They were widely translated; and praised for their thorough scholarship as well as for their charming style. With Bancroft's works, they placed American historical composition on the same established footing which Bryant, Poe, Cooper, and Irving had gained for other forms of Literature. Griswold We note here the beginning of the Juvenile Literature, which in recent times has attained such great proportions. Samuel Griswold Goodrich deserves Samuel to be called the Patriarch of this exceedingly useful Goodrich, sort of writing; which, however, has not in most 1793-1860. cases brought enduring fame to its authors. Under the pen name of "Peter Parley," he produced a series of works, mostly historical in their character, which were very widely read by the young people of the last generation. His immense volume "The History of All Nations," with its profuse illustrations, queer enough, from our present standpoint of criticism, had a great deal to do with the education of the fathers and mothers of the present generation of school children. Also during this period the brothers Jacob Abbot, Jacob and John Stephen Cabot Abbott began to M 1803-1879. John S. C. Abbott, 1805-1877. Richard 1815-1882. issue their long and useful series of juvenile writings. Jacob Abbott, in the "Rollo Books," the "Lucy Books," and others taught many useful lessons in many departments of knowledge and of good morals. With John S. C. Abbott he published a long series of biographies which helped to make the great men of the past familiar to a whole generation. These books were thoroughly wholesome in their tone; and were models of clear, simple, unpretending English. John S. C. Abbott was especially interested in the Napoleon family; and besides juvenile works on different members of the famous Bonaparte tribe, wrote an extended history of the first Napoleon, which is an interesting work albeit somewhat rosecolored in its portrayal. One of the most popular books of this period was "Two Years Before the Mast," by Richard Henry Henry Dana, Dana, Jr., published in 1840. Dana had, on account of trouble with his eyes, taken the voyage around Cape Horn, as a common sailor. His record of this experience made a book which was widely read at home and abroad, was translated into several languages, and has taken its place as a standard work of its kind. Exposition. Edgar A. Poe. In the second division of prose composition, Exposition, there are in this period many writers of essays and treatises whose works take rank as Literature. Here again we meet the name of that strange, brilliant, and unhappy genius, Edgar Allan Poe. Poe's theories as to the true principles of composition in prose and verse have been already mentioned. These he elaborated in a lecture, called "The Poetic Principle." He also wrote a semiphilosophical essay called "Eureka," in which he thought he had made a contribution to metaphysical discussion. But in this, Poe was undertaking work for which he was ill equipped, and the essay is valuable chiefly as illustrating the character and genius of the author. In his magazine work, whether as editor or contributor, he did valuable and interesting critical work. Some of his judgments were perhaps hasty and ill considered; but he was keen and incisive; and on the whole his critical work could ill be spared from the body of our Literature. Parker Willis, born in Maine, 1806; died in 1867. Nathaniel Parker Willis has already been mentioned Nathaniel among the poets. But his chief work, both in quality and quantity, belongs in this division. He was a charming essayist, writing delightful, gossipy papers New York, about men and things, at home and abroad. He loved the city and the country both. He liked society and he liked solitude - that is, a perfectly safe and comfortable solitude near home. Liking so many different things, he probably did not love any of them very intensely. At least there is nothing very intense in any of his work. He does not teach, or inspire, or disturb us with deep questionings; but he entertained, amused, interested, the people of his time, with bright, pleasant, witty, and withal pure and morally wholesome essays. "Sketches," "Pencillings by the Way," "Loiterings of Travel," "Rural Letters," "Hurry-Graphs," are titles of some of his volumes which suggest the character of his work. Of a very different nature was the literary work of George Ticknor. An accomplished scholar in the born in Mas- languages and literatures of Europe, he held for George Ticknor, sachusetts, 1791; died, 1871. many years the chair of "Modern Languages and Literature" at Harvard College. He made Spanish Literature his specialty, and published, in 1849, his "History of Spanish Literature." This is a monumental work, received by scholars as authoritative in its department, and written in a style which renders it attractive to the general reader. Two writers of this period gave their lives to scientific research, and recorded the results of their studies in such a manner as to be read by many, and to exert a great influence over later writers. Henry Rowe Henry Rowe Schoolcraft was an enthusiastic student Schoolcraft, born in New of men. He travelled extensively through the unYork, 1793; settled parts of America, and lived for months and Washington, years among the Indians. The results of his years died in 1864. John James born in 1851. of study appeared in a large number of Government Reports, and in other publications. Two of these, "The Myth of Hiawatha" and "The Indian Fairy Book," gave Longfellow the subject and a considerable part of the material of his famous poem "Hiawatha." One of the most interesting characters in American life is that of John James Audubon. He was devoted to animals, and especially to birds, as was Schoolcraft to Indians. His life was largely spent in in New York, tramping through the woods, collecting specimens and preparing them for preservation. He was an artist of genius, and made drawings of his specimens. |