nary genius as remarkable as the best of his contemporaries for that strong common sense and shrewd cleverness which have not always been attributes of the most gifted spirits. It may, in general, be remarked of his poetry, as of most of that of the present day, that it is not sufficiently elaborated. Many feeble, prosaic, and even unmeaning lines abound everywhere in his finest compositions. Nothing can be more powerful and pathetic than his poetry in his loftier vein-but the same objection lies here to the want of that critical labor which entitles a work of genius to be classed among perfect specimens of art. He threw off some, probably most of his compositions, with almost as much rapidity as a hackneyed writer for the daily press. Indeed, many of the greatest beauties of his poems were put in, as corrections and improvements, on second thought and with great care. 10. His literary reputation, however, has been established beyond all possibility of change or decay. We do not believenotwithstanding some apparent exceptions—that the opinions of contemporaries, in regard to the works of men of genius, have ever materially differed from those of posterity. But this is especially true of those writers who have addressed themselves more to the feelings of mankind than to the imagination. Byron wrote because he felt, and as he felt. He spoke to the hearts of men, and, however the spirit of most of his productions is to be censured, his voice, whether for good or for evil, has seldom failed to find an echo there. 11. In regard to his character and conduct, we apply to him, without changing a syllable, his own lines in relation to Manfred: "This should have been a noble creature: he A goodly frame of glorious elements, Had they been wisely mingled; as it is, It is an awful chaos-light and darkness— And mind and dust-and passions and pure thoughts, HUGH SWINTON LEGARE, an American statesman and man of letters, was born in Charleston, S. C., Jan. 2, 1797. His early education was conducted in his native city. He entered the South Carolina College at the age of 14, from which he graduated in December, 1814. He continued an industrious and earnest student, acquiring much of his varied and profound learning by the midnight lamp in solitary studies. In the course of a few years he not only became a fine classical scholar, but acquired a knowledge of the leading modern languages, and spoke and wrote French with the same freedom as English. He left home for Europe in 1818, where he devoted two years to observation and study. He was a member of the lower house of the General Assembly of South Carolina from 1820 to 1822, from which time he commenced his legal career. In 1830 he was elected attorney-general of his native State, and about that period became a frequent contributor to the "Southern Review." In 1832 he became chargé-d'affaires at Brussels. He was elected to Congress in 1836. In 1840 he began a series of brilliant papers in the " New York Review," and soon after was appointed attorney-general of the United States. He died in Boston, while taking part in the Bunker Hill celebration of that year, June 20, 1843. He was never married. A biography, with selections from his writings, was published at Charleston, in 1846, in 2 vols. 8vo. II. 66. ADDRESS TO THE OCEAN. DOLL on, thou deep and dark blue Ocean-roll! Man marks the earth with ruin-his control When, for a moment, like a drop of rain, 2. His steps are not upon thy paths-thy fields And shake him from thee; the vile strength he wields 3. The armaments which thunderstrike the walls These are thy toys, and, as the snowy flake, They melt into thy yeast of waves, which mar 4. Thy shōres are empires, changed in all save thee— Unchangeable save to thy wild waves' play— 5. Thou glōrious mirror, where the Almighty's form Calm or convulsed-in breeze, or gale, or storm, The image of Eternity-the throne Of the Invisible; even from out thy slime Of youthful sports was on thy breast to be And laid my hand upon thy mane—as I do here. BYRON. GEORGE GORDON BYRON, the descendant and head of an ancient and noble family was born in London, January 22, 1788. He entered Trinity College, Cambridge, 1805, 1 Ar mā'da, a fleet of armed ships; a squadron; specifically, the Spanish fleet intended to act against England, A. D. 1588. 2 Traf al gar', a cape of Spain, on the S. W. coast of Cadiz. In the memorable naval battle off Cape Trafalgar, Oct. 21, 1805, the English gained a complete victory over the combined French and Spanish fleets. Lord Nelson, the English commander, was mortally wounded. He died at the close of the battle, and his last words were, when told that the enemy were vanquished, "Thank God, I have done my duty." with a rare reputation for general information, having read an almost incredible list of works in various departments of literature before the age of 15. He neglected the prcscribed course of study at the university, but his genius kept him ever active. His first work, "The Hours of Idleness," appeared in 1807. It received a castigation from the "Edinburgh Review," to which we owe the first spirited outbreak of his talents, in the able and vigorous satire entitled, “English Bards and Scottish Reviewers," published in 1809. He took his seat in the House of Lords a few days before the appearance of this satire; but soon left for the Continent. He returned home in 1811, with two cantos of "Childe Harold," which he had written abroad. They were published in March, 1812, and were immediately received with such unbounded admiration, as to justify the poet's terse remark, "I awoke one morning, and found myself famous." In May of the next year, appeared his "Giaour;" in November, the "Bride of Abydos," written in a week; and, about three months after, the "Corsair," written in the almost incredible space of ten days. January 2, 1815, he was married to Miss Milbanke, the only daughter and heiress of Sir Ralph Milbanke; and his daughter, Augusta Ada, was born in December of that year. The husband and wife, for an unknown cause, separated forever, on the 15th of January of the next year. He quitted England for the last time on the 25th of April, 1816, and passed throug Flanders, and along the Rhine to Switzerland, where he resided until the close of th year. He here composed the third canto of "Childe Harold," the "Prisoner of Chillon," "Darkness," The Dream," and a part of "Manfred." The next year he went to Italy, where he resided several years, and where he wrote the fourth canto of "Childe Harold," "Mazeppa," "The Lament of Tasso," Beppo," "Don Juan," and his dramatic poems. In 1823 he interested himself in the struggle of the Greeks to throw off the Turkish yoke and gain their independence. In December of that year, after making his arrangements with judgment and generosity, he sailed for Greece, and arrived at Missolonghi on the 5th of January, 1824, where he was received with great enthusiasm. In three months he did much to produce harmony and introduce order; but he had scarcely arranged his plans to aid the nation, when he was seized with a fever, and expired April 19, 1824, soon after having celebrated, in affecting verses, the completion of his 36th year. 66 III. 9966 67. CAPTURE OF BREDA. Tslender stream, navigable for small vessels, which finds its `HE fair and pleasant city of Breda' lies on the Merk, a way to the sea through the great canal of the Dintel. It had been the property of the Princes of Orange, Barons of Breda, and had passed with the other possessions of the family to the house of Châlons-Nassau. Henry of Nassau had, half a century before, adorned and strengthened it by a splendid palace-fortress which, surrounded by a deep and double moat, thoroughly commanded the town. A garrison of five companies of Italian infantry and one of cavalry lay in this castle, which was under the command of Edward Lanzavecchia, governor bōth of Breda and of the neighboring Gertruydenberg.3 1 Breda (bra då'), a strongly fortified town of the Netherlands. 2 Italian (Ĭ tăl' yan). 2 3 Gertruydenberg (hår trål' den berg), a town of the Netherlands 9 miles N.N.E. of Breda. 2. Breda was an important strate'gical position. It was moreover the feudal superior of a large number of adjacent villages as well as of the cities of Osterhout, Steenberg, and Rosendaal. It was obviously not more desirable for Maurice' of Nassau to recover his patrimonial city than it was for the States-General to drive the Spaniards from so important a position. 3. In the month of February, 1590, Maurice, being then at the castle of Voorn in Zeeland, received a secret visit from a bōatman, Adrian an der Berg by name, who lived at the village of Leur, eight or ten miles from Breda, and who had long been in the habit of supplying the castle with turf. In the absence of woods and coal mines, the habitual fuel of the country was furnished by those vast relics of the antediluvian forests which abounded in the still partially submerged soil. The skipper represented that his vessel had passed so often into and out of the castle as to be hardly liable to search by the guard on its entrance. He suggested a stratagem by which it might be possible to surprise the stronghold. 4. The prince approved of the scheme and immediately consulted with Barneveld. That statesman at once proposed, as a suitable man to carry out the daring venture, Captain Charles de Heraugiere, a nobleman of Cambray, who had been long in the service of the States, had distinguished himself at Sluys and on other occasions, but who had been implicated in Leicester's nefarious plot to gain possession of the city of Leyden a few years before. The Advocate expressed confidence that he would be grateful for so signal an opportunity of retrieving a somewhat damaged reputation. Heraugiere, who was with his company in Voorn at the moment, eagerly signified his desire to attempt the enterprise as soon as the matter was communicated to him; avowing the deepest devotion to the house of William the Silent,' and perfect willingness to sacrifice his life, if necessary, in its cause and that of the country. 1 Maurice, count of Nassau and prince of Orange, stadtholder of the United Dutch Provinces, one of the greatest generals of his age, and founder of modern military tactics, was born Nov. 14, 1567, and died at the Hague, April 23, 1625. 2 William of Nassau, first prince of Orange of that name, surnamed "the Silent," was born at Dillenburg, in the duchy of Nassau, April 25, 1533, and assassinated at Delft, July 10, 1584. He was the father of Maurice. |