and nymphs, and by that hill,
       It pleased the gods to give a poet birth. 
     No favoring hand that comes of lofty race,
       No priestly unction, nor the grant of kings,
     Can on me lay such lustre and such grace,
       Nor add such heritage; for one who sings
     Hath a crowned head, and by the sacred bay,
     His heart, his thoughts, his tears, are consecrate alway.

     COMPENSATION

     The moth beholds not death as forth he flies
       Into the splendor of the living flame;
     The hart athirst to crystal water hies,
       Nor heeds the shaft, nor fears the hunter’s aim;
     The timid bird, returning from above
       To join his mate, deems not the net is nigh;
     Unto the light, the fount, and to my love,
       Seeing the flame, the shaft, the chains, I fly;
     So high a torch, love-lighted in the skies,
       Consumes my soul; and with this bow divine
     Of piercing sweetness what terrestrial vies? 
       This net of dear delight doth prison mine;
     And I to life’s last day have this desire—­
     Be mine thine arrows, love, and mine thy fire.

     LIFE FOR SONG

     Come Muse, O Muse, so often scorned by me,
       The hope of sorrow and the balm of care,—­
     Give to me speech and song, that I may be
     Unchid by grief; grant me such graces rare
       As other ministering souls may never see
     Who boast thy laurel, and thy myrtle wear. 
     I know no joy wherein thou hast not part,
       My speeding wind, my anchor, and my goal,
     Come, fair Parnassus, lift thou up my heart;
       Come, Helicon, renew my thirsty soul. 
     A cypress crown, O Muse, is thine to give,
       And pain eternal:  take this weary frame,
     Touch me with fire, and this my death shall live
     On all men’s lips and in undying fame.

WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT

(1794-1878)

BY GEORGE PARSONS LATHROP

Distinguished as he was by the lofty qualities of his verse, William Cullen Bryant held a place almost unique in American literature, by the union of his activity as a poet with his eminence as a citizen and an influential journalist, throughout an uncommonly long career.  Two traits still further define the peculiarity of his position—­his precocious development, and the evenness and sustained vigor of all his poetic work from the beginning to the end.  He began writing verse at the age of eight; at ten he made contributions in this kind to the county gazette, and produced a finished and effective rhymed address, read at his school examination, which became popular for recitation; and in his thirteenth year, during the Presidency of Thomas Jefferson, he composed a political satire, ‘The Embargo.’  This, being published, was at first supposed by many to be the work of a man, attracted much attention and praise, and passed into a second edition with other shorter pieces.