UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES T-' Sook is DUE on the last date stamped below OUTHERN BR/BNCH UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LIBRARY, OS ANOEtES, ALM^ THE CHIEF AMERICAN POETS Ctjief poets THE CHIEF AMERICAN POETS. Edited by Curtis Hidden Page, Ph.D., Professor of English, Dartmouth College. THE CHIEF ELIZABETHAN DRAMATISTS. EX- CLUDING SHAKESPEARE. Edited by William Allan Neil- son, Ph.D., President of Smith College. THE CHIEF MIDDLE ENGLISH POETS. Newly rendered and edited by Jessie L. Weston, Editor of " Romance, Vision, and Satire." THE CHIEF BRITISH POETS OF THE FOUR- TEENTH .AND FIFTEENTH CENTURIES. Edited with explanatory and biographical notes by William Allan Neilson, Ph.D., President of Smith College, and K. G. T. Webster, Assistant Professor of English, Har- vard University. HOUGHTON M1FFLIN COMPANY BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO THE CHIEF AMERICAN POETS BRYANT, POE, EMERSON, LONGFELLOW WHITTIER, HOLMES, LOWELL WHITMAN AND LANIER EDITED, WITH NOTES, REFERENCE LISTS AND BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES CURTIS HIDDEN PAGE, PH. D. DARTMOUTH COLLEGE BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO SAN FRANCISCO HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY Cbe KitoersHje Press 57848 COPYRIGHT IOOS BY CURTIS HIDDEN PAGE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED TWENTY NINTH IMPRESSION *** All rights on poems in this work are reserved by the holders of the copy- right. The publishers and others named in the subjoined list are the proprietors, either in their own right or as agents for the authors, of the works enumerated, and of which the ownership is thus specifically noted and hereby acknowledged. D. APPLETON & Co., New York. The Poetical Works of William Cullen Bryant. HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY, Boston. The Poetical Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, James Russell Lowell, John Greenleaf Whittier. CHARLES SCRIBNEIVS Sous, New York. Poems of Sidney Lanier. SMALL, MAYNABD & Co., Boston. Leaves of Grass, by Walt Whitman. Tilt &ibtrit>e iJrrsa CAMBRIDGE . MASSACHUSETTS PRINTED IK THE U. S. A. PREFACE THIS volume is in no sense an anthology. Mr. Stedman has collected, with complete knowledge of the field, and with all but unerring taste and judgment, the choicest ' flow- ers ' of our American verse from more than six hundred poets. His American Anthology must remain for many years without a rival. ' Yet still the man is greater than his song.' Many true lovers of literature care more for a few poets than for many poems, and would prefer to have always by them the best work of our few chief poets, rather than the few best poems of our many minor singers. The present volume, like my British Poets of the Nineteenth Century, attempts to give, for each one of the authors included, all the material needed to show his development and his achievement, and to give a first knowledge of him as man and poet. The selection has been made full and comprehensive. No poem has been omitted merely on account of its length, and every poem, even the longest, is given in full, with two exceptions only: Whitman's 'Song of Myself,' and Lowell's 'Fable for Critics.' The poems of each author are arranged in chronological order, and dated. Wherever possible, both the date of writing and that of first publication have been given. The brief ' Biographical Sketches ' at the end of the volume are designed only to give an easily accessible summary of the author's life, especially as related to his poetical work. They make no pretence of absolute completeness, or of presenting new facts based on original investigation ; nor do they attempt any critical estimate of the poet's work, except in a paragraph or two of brief summary at the end of each. In the reference lists, however, I have tried to furnish full material for a complete and thorough study of each author. Under the heading Editions in each list are named (1) the standard library editions of the author's complete works ; (2) the best library editions of his poetical works alone ; (3) the best one- volume editions of his poems; and (4) in some cases, the best books of selections from his work. Under the heading Biography and Reminiscences are named in -the first paragraph the most important biographies of the poet, and in the second paragraph other books or essays dealing chiefly with his life and personality. There follow sections devoted to Criticism and to Tributes in Verse. In this mass of material, I have indicated throughout the books, essays, or edi- tions which seemed to me of most importance, and have added a brief word of comment where it seemed desirable. I have not tried to give in these reference lists a complete bibliography of all that has been written on each author, and have omitted many titles which seemed to be of little or no importance. But I have wished to name everything that could be of value, and preferred to err on the side of inclusion rather than of omis- sion. It is probable, however, that some essential references may have been overlooked, and it is hardly possible that in giving so many titles and dates, all errors should have been avoided. I shall be grateful for any corrections or important additions. In the notes, I have planned to give only essential facts about the origin or circum- stances of composition of each poem, and to show its connection with the author's life, or with his other works. Critical comment has been excluded, except, in a few cases, that of the author himself or of contemporary poets. In the case of two poets, Emerson and Whitman, it has seemed worth while to give from their prose a good many passages which illustrate the ideas of the poems, while the poems illuminate the ideas of the prose. vi PREFACE The dates in italic figures, at the left, give the date of writing; those in Roman, at the right, the date of publication. To make these dates as accurate as possible has involved, in most cases, not only a thorough study of the biographies of the poets, but also a great deal of research among the files of periodicals to which they may have contributed. In a few cases, where I have felt that a poem had perhaps been published in a periodical before the year of its appearance in a volume, but have not been able to trace it, I have indicated this by placing hi parentheses the date of first publication in book form. In making the selections I have tried to follow not so much my individual taste as the consensus of opinion, now pretty well formed, as to which poems of our elder authors are the best and most representative. It is a pleasure to acknowledge the ready generosity with which so many critics and teachers have given me the help of their advice and have put their special knowledge at my service. I have to thank, in the first place, Professor Charles F. Richardson of Dartmouth, and Professors W. P. Trent and Brander Matthews of Columbia, three of the chief historians of American literature; and next Professor George R. Carpenter of Columbia, who has written the best biographies we have of more than one of our chief poets. The present volume was first thought of as a companion to Pro- fessor Carpenter's American Prose; and while I have departed considerably from the plan and method of that book, I have had throughout Professor Carpenter's generous approval and cooperation. I am also under special obligation to Mr. W. R. Thayer, to whose sure taste and thorough knowledge of our poets I have often appealed; to Mr. Ferris Greenslet, who has helped me with the selections and the reference-list for Lowell; and to Mr. Laurens Maynard, who has put at my service his remarkable collection of Whitman books, and given freely of his time and knowledge in helping me to trace each poem of Whit- man to its earliest publication, and to compare its text with that of the original edition. I gladly take this opportunity to thank also Professor Charles W. Kent, of the Uni- versity of Virginia, whose edition of Poe's poems in the Virginia Edition of the Complete Works is invaluable, and who has also generously given his personal help; Professor Edwin Mims, of Trinity College; Professors W. L. Phelps, F. C. Prescott, A. H. Quimi, Henry N. Snyder, Charles L. Young, W. C. Thayer, G. Herbert Clarke, Richard Jones, J. H. Chamberlin, William B. Cairns, A. B. Milford, Frank C. Lockwood, Arthur P. Hall, Enoch Perrine, Vernon P. Squires, and Benjamin Sledd; Mr. Clyde Furst, of Columbia; Miss Jeannette Marks, of Mount Holyoke; Miss Lucy Tappan, the author of an excellent manual, Topical Notes on American Authors; and others who have kindly made suggestions or gone over my lists of selections. I wish also to thank the authorities of the Columbia, Harvard, and Cornell libraries, especially Mr. T. J. Kiernan, who have shown me many courtesies; and others without whose help the volume could not have been begun or completed. For the use of copyrighted material, I am under obligation to Dr. Edward W. Emerson ; Messrs. D. Appleton & Co.; Messrs. Harper Sr- Bros.; Mrs. Sidney Lanier, and Messrs. Charles Scribner's Sons; Mr. Horace Traubel and Mr. Thomas B. Harned, the literary executors of Whitman, and Messrs. Small, Maynard & Co., his authorized publishers; and of course, most of all, to Messrs. Houghton, Mifflin & Co., without whose cooperation no book of selections from the chief American poets could be undertaken. CURTIS HIDDEN PAGE. COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, NBW YORK CITY. October 1, 1905. TABLE OF CONTENTS BRYANT PAGE 43 THANATOPSIS THE YELLOW VIOLET . INSCRIPTION FOR THE ENTRANCE TO A WOOD ... . 1 2 3 THE VALLEY OF UNREST . THE COLISEUM .... HYMN To ONE IN PARADISE To F . 44 45 . 45 45 . 46 GREEN RIVER 4 5 SONNET TO ZANTE .... . 46 HYMN TO DEATH . 7 THE HAUNTED PALACE . 46 47 MONUMENT MOUNTAIN . AUTUMN WOODS 9 11 12 THE CONQUEROR WORM DREAM-LAND THE RAVEN 47 . 48 48 JUNE 14 EULALIE A SONG .... . 51 51 THE PAST 15 To HELEN THE BELLS . 52 53 55 FOR ANNIE 55 SONG OF AIARION'S MEN 17 ANNABEL LEE . 56 57 THE BATTLE-FIELD .... THE ANTIQUITY OF FREEDOM . ' MOTHER OF A MIGHTY RACE ' THE PLANTING OF THE APPLE-TREE ROBERT OF LINCOLN .... 20 20 21 22 23 EMERSON GOOD-BYE . 58 OUR COUNTRY'S CALL . 24 24 THOUGHT THE RIVER 58 58 THE POET MY AUTUMN WALK .... THE DEATH OF LINCOLN . A LIFETIME THE FLOOD OF YEARS . POE 29 30 31 31 33 LINES TO ELLEN .... To ELLEN AT THE SOUTH To ELLEN THINE EYES STILL SHINED WRITTEN IN NAPLES WRITTEN AT ROME .... WEBSTER THE RHODORA 59 . 59 59 . 60 60 . 60 61 . 61 TAMERLANE 36 EACH AND ALL . . . . 61 . 62 TO (' I SAW THEE ON THY 39 CONCORD HYMN .... 63 63 SONG FROM AL AARAAF 39 40 URIEL 64 64 SONNET To SCIENCE .... To ('THE BOWERS WHEREAT, IN DREAMS, I SEE ') 40 41 WRITTEN IN A VOLUME OF GOETHE WOODNOTES I 65 . 66 67 TO (' I HEED NOT THAT MY EARTHLY LOT ') 41 THE SPHINX . 71 72 A DREAM WITHIN A DREAM . To HELEN 41 41 FABLE . 73 73 41 73 THE CITY IN THE SEA 42 73 THE SLEEPER 43 . 73 1 The poems of each author are arranged in chronological order. Exact dates will be found at the end of each poem. TABLE OF CONTENTS SAADI 74 76 rTHE BRIDGE lilt 1"0 NATURE ....... 77 ^3PHE ARROW AND THE SONG T'l) 77 I'M THRENODY ...... 77 pjBvANGELINE 11 To J W 80 14't ODE, INSCRIBED TO W. H. CHANNING . MERLIN THE WORLD-SOUL 80 81 THE BUILDERS U* RESIGNATION CHILDREN 1-4!) 14<> 1 5( i HAMATREYA FORERUNNERS GIVE ALL TO LOVE ..... THE DAY'S RATION .... MEROPS ...... 83 84 85 85 86 GASPAR BECERRA THE BUILDING OF THE SHIP THE LADDER OF ST. AUGUSTINE . DAYLIGHT AND MOONLIGHT . THE WARDEN OF THE CINQUE PORTS 15(1 151 155 15<> i r >i; MUSKETAQUID NATURE 86 87 THE Two ANGELS I^HE SONG OF HIAWATHA in- V"iS DAYS Two RIVERS .... 87 87 MY LOST YOUTH 210 'Ml BRAHMA ODE, SUNG IN THE TOWN HALL, CONCORD, JULY 4, 1857 SEASHORE WALDEINSAMKEIT FRAGMENTS ON NATURE AND LIFE FRAGMENTS ON THE POET AND THE POETIC GIFT . . 88 88 89 90 90 92 94 DAYBREAK SANTA FILOMENA THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH . THE CHILDREN'S HOUR . PAUL REVERE'S RIDE .... THE CUMBERLAND . . y - THE BIRDS OF KILLINGWORTH /K WEARINESS 212 212 213 232 23:; 235 235 2:i >>)<) THE BOHEMIAN HYMN .... PAN . . ' THE ENCHANTER k EROS Music .... 96 96 96 96 96 DlVINA COMMEDIA KILLED AT THE FORD .... GIOTTO'S TOWER . . FINALE OF CHRISTUS .... 240 241 242 242 'M3 THE TITMOUSE 96 CHAUCER ....... '41 98 >n VOLUNTARIES ..... 99 MILTON ....... '')i; 100 KEATS "Hi TERMINUS .... 101 "Hi LONGFELLOW THE SPIRIT OF POETRY .... BURIAL OF THE MINNISINK . .THE RETURN OF SPRING .... /ART AND NATURE 102 103 103 104 104 THREE FRIENDS OF MINE MORITURI SALUTAMUS .... THE HERONS OF ELMWOOD IN THE CHURCHYARD AT TARRYTOWN THE POETS NATURE VENICE VICTOR AND VANQUISHED THE THREE SILENCES OF MOLINOS 24 ti 24 S 251 252 252 252 253 253 253 THE LIGHT OF STARS .... HYMN TO THE NIGHT .... FOOTSTEPS OF ANGELS .... /THE BELEAGUERED CITY .... /THE WRECK OF THE HESPERUS . ^THE VILLAGE BLACKSMITH THE SKELETON IN ARMOR . 104 105 105 1C6 107 108 108 WAPENTAKE A BALLAD OF THE FRENCH FLEET . SONG : ' STAY, STAY AT HOME, MY HEART, AND REST' FROM MY ARM-CHAIR . ROBERT BURNS THE TIDE RISES, THE TIDE FALLS 253 254 255 255 251 i 25H "5< i DENT) ENDYMION THE RAINY DAY 111 111 111 THE CROSS OF SNOW . NIGHT L'ENVOI : THE POET AND HIS SONGS 257 257 "57 11 257 t/ExCELSIOR MEZZO CAMMIN THE SLAVE'S DREAM . THE ARSENAL AT SPRINGFIELD . 112 113 113 114 115 THE BELLS OF SAN BLAS . WHITTIER 25S NUREMBERG THE BELFRY OF BRUGES : CARILLON . DANTE 116 116 118 118 THE VAUDOIS TEACHER .... To WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON . RANDOLPH OF ROANOKE .... EXPOSTULATION 259 '_><50 200 262 TABLE OF CONTENTS THE FAREWELL OF A VIRGINIA SLAVE- MOTHER 263 THE MERRIMAC -'<>4 MKMORIES ....... 265 HAMPTON BEACH 266 CASSANDRA SOUTH WICK .... 267 MASSACHUSETTS TO VIRGINIA . . 270 THE CHRISTIAN SLAVE .... 272 THE SHOEMAKERS 273 THE PINE TREE 275 FORGIVENESS ...... 275 BARCLAY OF URY 275 THE ANGELS OF BUENA VISTA . . 277 THE HUSKERS . . . .- . .278 THE CORN SONG 280 PROEM 280 THE LAKESIDE 281 OUR STATE 281 ICHABOD 282 SONGS OF LABOR, DEDICATION . . . 282 WORDSWORTH . . . . . .283 BENEDICITE 283 APRIL 284 ASTR^A 285 FIRST-DAY THOUGHTS .... 285 THE POOR VOTER ON ELECTION DAY . 285 SUMMER BY THE LAKESIDE . . . 286 BURNS 287 MAUD MULLER 289 THE RENDITION 290 ARISEN AT LAST 291 THE BAREFOOT BOY 291 THE LAST WALK IN AUTUMN . . . 292 SKIPPER IRESON'S RIDE .... 296 THE GARRISON OF CAPE ANN . . 297 THE PIPES AT LUCKNOW .... 299 TELLING THE BEES .... 300 THE CABLE HYMN 301 MY PSALM 301 BROWN OF OSSAWATOMIE .... 302 MY PLAYMATE 303 To WILLIAM H. SEWARD . . . . 303 OUR RIVER 304 AMY WENTWORTH 304 THE WAITING 305 THE WATCHERS, 306 ANDREW RYKMAN'S PRAYER . . 307 BARBARA FRIETCHIE . ... 309 THE WRECK OF RIVERMOUTH . . 310 THE VANISHERS 311 BRYANT ON HIS BIRTHDAY . . .312 LAUS DEO ! 312 HYMN 313 THE ETERNAL GOODNESS .... 314 SNOW-BOUND 315 ABRAHAM DAVENPORT .... 323 THE DEAD SHIP OF HARPSWELL . . 324 OUR MASTER ...... 325 THE WORSHIP OF NATURE ... 327 THE MEETING 327 AMONG THE HILLS 330 MARGUERITE 336 IN SCHOOL-DAYS 337 MY TRIUMPH 337 MY BIRTHDAY 338 THE SISTERS 339 THE THREE BELLS 340 CONDUCTOR BRADLEY . A MYSTERY .... THE PRAYER OF AGASSI/ A SEA DREAM .... SUNSET ON THE BEARCAMP . LEXINGTON CENTENNIAL HYMN THE PROBLEM .... RESPONSE -. AT EVENTIDE .... THE TRAILING ARBUTUS OUR AUTOCRAT .... GARRISON THE LOST OCCASION . STORM ON LAKE ASQUAM THE POET AND THE CHILDREN AN AUTOGRAPH UNITY SWEET FERN .... SAMUEL J. TILDEN . THE BARTHOLDI STATUE To E. C. S THE LAST EVE OF SUMMER . JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL . To OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES 340 . 341 342 . 343 344 . 345 346 . 346 346* . 347 347 . 347 348 . 348 349 . 350 350 . 351 351 . 352 352 . 352 353 . 353 HOLMES OLD IRONSIDES 355 THE BALLAD OF THE OYSTERMAN . 355 THE HEIGHT OF THE RIDICULOUS . . 356 To AN INSECT 356 L'lNCONNUE 357 MY AUNT . . . . . .357 THE LAST LEAF 358 LA GRISETTE 358 OUR YANKEE GIRLS 359 ON LENDING A PUNCH-BOWL . . 359 THE STETHOSCOPE SONG . . . .360 THE STATESMAN'S SECRET . . . 362 AFTER A LECTURE ON WORDSWORTH . 363 AFTER A LECTURE ON SHELLEY . . 364 THE HUDSON 365 To AN ENGLISH FRIEND .... 365 THE OLD MAN DREAMS . . .366 BIRTHDAY OF DANIEL WEBSTER . . 366 FOR THE MEETING OF THE BURNS CLUB . 367 LATTER-DAY WARNINGS ... 368 THE CHAMBERED NAUTILUS . . .368 THE LIVING TEMPLE .... 369 THE DEACON'S MASTERPIECE, OR, THE WONDERFUL ' ONE-HOSS SHAY ' . 369 CONTENTMENT 371 PARSON TUBELL'S LEGACY . . . 372 THE VOICELESS ... i . 373 FOR THE BURNS CENTENNIAL CELEBRA- TION 374 THE BOYS 374 AT A MEETING OF FRIENDS . . . 375 THE Two STREAMS . . . .376 UNDER THE VIOLETS .... 377 HYMN OF TRUST 377 A SUN-DAY HYMN 377 PROLOGUE TO ' SONGS IN MANY KEYS ' . 378 BROTHER JONATHAN'S LAMENT FOR SISTER CAROLINE . . . 378 TABLE OF CONTENTS PARTING HYMN 379 UNION AND LIBERTY .... 379 J. D. R. . . . ' . . . 380 To MY READERS 380 VOYAGE OF THE GOOD SHIP UNION . 381 BRYANT'S SEVENTIETH BIRTHDAY . . 382 MY ANNUAL 383 ALL HERE 384 BILL AND JOE 385 NEAHING THE SNOW-LINE . . . 386 DOROTHY Q 386 EPILOGUE TO THE BREAKFAST-TABLE SERIES 387 PROGRAMME 388 GRANDMOTHER'S STORY OF BUNKER- HILL BATTLE .... 389 How THE OLD HORSE WON THE BET . 392 FOR WHITTIER'S SEVENTIETH BIRTHDAY 394 VERITAS 396 THE SILENT MELODY .... 396 THE IRON GATE 397 THE SHADOWS 398 AT THE SATURDAY CLUB . . . 399 THE GIRDLE OF FRIENDSHIP . . 402 To JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL . . .402 THE LYRE OF ANACREON . . . 403 AFTER THE CURFEW .... 404 LA MAISON D'OR 404 Too YOUNG FOR LOVE .... 404 THE BROOMSTICK TRAIN ; OR, THE RE- TURN OF THE WITCHES . . . 405 INVITA MINERVA 407 JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL, 1819-1891 . 407 IN MEMORY OF JOHN GREENLEAF WHIT- TIER . . 408 LOWELL 'FOR THIS TRUE NOBLENESS I SEEK IN VAIN ' 410 MY LOVE 410 ' MY LOVE, I HAVE NO FEAR THAT THOU SHOULDST DIE ' .... 411 ' I ASK NOT FOR THOSE THOUGHTS, THAT SUDDEN LEAP ' . . .411 ' GREAT TRUTHS ARE PORTIONS OF THE SOUL OF MAN ' . 411 To THE SPIRIT OF KEATS . . .411 'OUR LOVE IS NOT A FADING EABTHLY FLOWER' 412 ' BELOVED, IN THE NOISY CITY HERE ' 412 SONG : 4 O MOONLIGHT DEEP AND TEN- DER ' 412 THE SHEPHERD OF KING ADMETUS . 412 AN INCIDENT IN A RAILROAD CAR . . 413 STANZAS ON FREEDOM .... 414 WENDELL PHILLIPS 414 RHOSCUS 415 To THE DANDELION 417 COLUMBUS 418 THE PRESENT CRISIS . . . .421 A CONTRAST 423 AN INDIAN-SUMMER REVERIE . . .424 HEBE 428 THE CHANGELING 429 SHE CAME AND WENT .... 429 4 I THOUGHT OUR LOVE AT FULL, BUT I DID ERR' 430 THE BIG LOW PAPERS, FIRST SERIES: A LETTER FROM MR. EZEKIEL BIG- LOW OF JAALAM TO THE HON. JOSEPH T. BUCKINGHAM . . 430 WHAT MR. ROBINSON THINKS . . 433 THE Pious EDITOR'S CREED . . 435 A SECOND LETTER FROM B. SAWIN, ESQ 436 FROM ' A FABLE FOR CRITICS ' . . 440 THE VISION OF SIR LAUNFAL . . . 453 BEAVER BROOK 458 BlBLIOLATRES 458 THE FIRST SNOW-FALL .... 459 THE SINGING LEAVES . . . .459 WITHOUT AND WITHIN .... 461 AUF WlEDERSEHEN ..... 461 PALINODE 462 THE WIND-HARP 462 AFTER THE BURIAL .... 463 L'ENVOI : To THE MUSE . . . .463 MASACCIO 465 THE ORIGIN OF DIDACTIC POETRY . . 465 THE DEAD HOUSE 466 AT THE BURNS CENTENNIAL . . . 467 THE WASHERS OF THE SHROUD . . 469 THE BIGLOW PAPERS, SECOND SERIES: THE COURTIN' 472 MASON AND SLIDELL . . . 473 JONATHAN TO JOHN . . . 478 SUNTHIN' IN THE PASTORAL LINE 480 LATEST VIEWS OF MR. BIGLOW 484 MR. HOSEA BIGLOW .TO THE EDITOR OF THE ATLANTIC MONTHLY 486 ON BOARD THE '76 .... 489 ODE RECITED AT THE HARVARD COM- MEMORATION 490 THE MINER 496 To H. W. L 496 THE NIGHTINGALE IN THE STUDY . 497 AN EMBER PICTURE 498 IN THE TWILIGHT 498 FOR AN AUTOGRAPH 499 THE FOOT-PATH 499 ALADDIN 500 To CHARLES ELIOT NORTON' . . 500 AGASSIZ 501 SONNET SCOTTISH BORDER . . 508 THREE MEMORIAL POEMS : ODE READ AT THE ONE HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FIGHT AT CONCORD BRIDGE .... 509 UNDER THE OLD ELM . . . 512 AN ODE FOR THE FOURTH OF JULY 518 DEATH OF QUEEN MERCEDES . . . 522 PH03BE 522 To WHITTIER, ON HIS SEVENTY-FIFTH BIRTHDAY 523 To HOLMES, ON HIS SEVENTY-FIFTH BIRTHDAY 523 INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT . . . 524 SIXTY-EIGHTH BlRTHDAY . . . 524 INSCRIPTION PROPOSED FOR A SOLDIERS' AND SAILORS' MONUMENT . . 524 ENDYMION 524 AUSPEX 527 TABLE OF CONTENTS xi THE PREGNANT COMMENT TELEPATHY THE SECRET MONK A LISA THE NOBLER LOVER . 528 528 528 528 . 528 ' FRANCISCUS DE VERULAMIO sic COGITA- 529 . 529 530 . 530 VIT ' . . . . IN A COPY OF OMAR KHAYYAM TURNER'S OLD TEMKRAIRE . ON A BUST OF GENERAL GRANT WHITMAN THERE WAS A CHILD WENT FORTH . FROM THE 'SONG OF MYSELF' . SONG OF THE OPEN ROAD MIRACLES ASSURANCES CROSSING BROOKLYN FERRY OUT OF THE CRADLE ENDLESSLY ROCKING FACING WEST FROM CALIFORNIA'S I HEAR AMERICA SINGING POETS TO COME ME IMPERTURBE FOR YOU O DEMOCRACY RECORDERS AGES HENCE . WHEN I HEARD AT THE CLOSE OF THE DAY I SAW IN LOUISIANA A LIVE-OAK GROWING I HEAR IT WAS CHARGED AGAINST ME . THE PRAIRIE-GRASS DIVIDING WHEN I PERUSE THE CONQUER'D FAME I DREAM'D IN A DREAM . FULL OF LIFE NOW .... TO ONE SHORTLY TO DIE NIGHT ON THE PRAIRIES MAGNET-SOUTH MANNAHATTA MYSELF AND MINE . A BROADWAY PAGEANT . ' . PIONEERS ! O PIONEERS ! . FROM PAUMANOK STARTING i FLY LIKE A BIRD EIGHTEEN SIXTY-ONE . BEAT ! BEAT ! DRUMS ! . CAVALRY CROSSING A FORD BIVOUAC ON A MOUNTAIN SIDE . BY THE BIVOUAC'S FITFUL FLAME . 1 SAW OLD GENERAL AT BAY VlGIL STRANGE I KEPT ON . THE FIELD- ONE NIGHT COME UP FROM THE FIELDS, FATHER . A SIGHT IN CAMP IN . THE DAYBREAK GRAY AND DIM . ... As TOILSOME I WANDER'D VIRGINIA'S WOODS THE WOUND-DRESSER . GlVE ME THE SPLENDID SILENT SUN . LONG, TOO LONG AMERICA OVER THE CARNAGE ROSE PROPHETIC A VOICE OUT OF THE ROLLING OCEAN THE CROWD WHEN I HEARD THE LEARN'D ASTRONO- MER SHUT NOT YOUR DOORS .... TO A CERTAIN CIVILIAN .... 579 QUICKSAND YEARS 580 OTHERS MAY PRAISE WHAT THEY LIKE . 580 THICK-SPRINKLED BUNTING . . . 580 BATHED IN WAR'S PERFUME . . . 581 CAPTAIN ! MY CAPTAIN ! . . . 581 WHEN LILACS LAST IN THE DOOR-YARD BLOOM'D 581 HUSH'D BE THE CAMPS TO-DAY . . 585 OLD WAR-DREAMS 58(5 RECONCILIATION . . . . . 586 As I LAY WITH MY HEAD IN YOUR LAP, CAMERADO 586 ABOARD AT A SHIP'S HELM . . . 586 NOT THE PILOT 587 ONE'S-SELF I SING 587 TEARS 587 WHISPERS OF HEAVENLY DEATH . 588 THE SINGER IN THE PRISON . . . 588 ETHIOPIA SALUTING THE COLORS . . 589 DELICATE CLUSTER . . . . . 589 THE BASE OF ALL METAPHYSICS . . 589 ON THE BEACH AT NIGHT . . . 590 A NOISELESS PATIENT SPIDER . . 590 PASSAGE TO INDIA 590 DAREST THOU NOW SOUL . . . 595 THE LAST INVOCATION .... 595 JOY, SHIPMATE, JOY ! 596 STAR OF FRANCE 596 THE MYSTIC TRUMPETER . . . 596 VIRGINIA THE WEST . . . .598 THOU MOTHER WITH THY EQUAL BROOD 598 PRAYER OF COLUMBUS .... 601 COME, SAID MY SOUL .... 602 WHEN THE FULL-GROWN POET CAME . 603 To THE MAN-OF-WAR-BIRD . . .603 THE OX-TAMER . . . . . .603 To A LOCOMOTIVE IN WINTER . . 604 AFTER AN INTERVAL .... 604 To FOREIGN LANDS .... 604 WHAT BEST I SEE IN THEE . . . 605 SPIRIT THAT FORM'D THIS SCENE . 605 YOUTH, DAY, OLD AGE AND NIGHT . 606 A CLEAR MIDNIGHT .... 606 WlTH HUSKY-HAUGHTY LIPS, SEA . 606 OF THAT BLITHE THROAT OF THINE . 606 As THE GREEK'S SIGNAL FLAME . . 607 TO THOSE WHO 'VE FAII/D . . . 607 A CAROL CLOSING SIXTY-NINE . . 607 THE FIRST DANDELION . . . .607 THE VOICE OF THE RAIN . . .607 A PRAIRIE SUNSET .... 608 THANKS IK OLD AGE .... 608 MY 71 ST YEAR 608 OLD AGE'S SHIP AND CRAFTY DEATH'S 608 THE COMMONPLACE . . . ' . . 608 L. OF G.'s PURPORT .... 609 THE UNEXPRESS'D 609 GOOD-BYE MY FANCY ! . . .609 DEATH'S VALLEY 609 LANIER THE DYING WORDS OF STONEWALL JACK- SON . NIGHT ANP DAV Gil . 611 TABLE OF CONTENTS SONG FOR 'THE JACQUERIE' . MY SPRINGS THE SYMPHONY EVENING SONG THE WAVING OF THE CORN . SONNETS ON COLUMBUS. FROM 4 PSALM OF THE WEST' . To BEETHOVEN THE MOCKING BIRD TAMPA ROBINS FROM THE FLATS . . . THE STIRRUP-CUP SONG OF THE CHATTAHOOCHEE THE MARSHES OF GLYNN . . THE REVENGE OF HAMISH . How LOVE LOOKED FOR HELL . To BAYARD TAYLOR .. MARSH SONG AT SUNSET . . SUNRISE 611 612 612 616 . 617 THE .617 619 620 620 .621 621 . 621 .622 .623 . 626 . 627 .628 629 LIST OF REFERENCES BRYANT . ... ,635 POE ........ 636 EMERSON . . . . 638 LONGFELLOW ... . 641 WHITTIER HOLMES LOWELL , WHITMAN LANIER 643 . 645 646 . 647 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES BRYANT 655 POE 658 EMERSON 663 LONGFELLOW 667 WHITTIER 674 HOLMES 677 LOWELL 679 WHITMAN 685 LANIER . 691 INDEXES INDEX OF POETS INDEX OF FIRST LINES INDEX OF TITLES . 699 706 THE CHIEF AMERICAN POETS WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT [The poems from Bryant are printed by the kind permission of Messrs. D. Appleton & Co., the authorized publishers of his works.] THANATOPSIS 1 To him who in the love of Nature holds Communion with her visible forms, she speaks A various language; for his gayer hours She has a voice of gladness, and a smile. And eloquence of beauty, and she glides Into his darker musings, with a mild And healing sympathy, that steals away Their sharpness, ere he is aware. When thoughts Of the last bitter hour come like a blight Over thy spirit, and sad images 10 Of the stern agony, and shroud, and pall, And breathless darkness, and the narrow house, Make thee to shudder, and grow sick at heart; Go forth, under the open sky, and list 1 This, the first great poem written in America, was published in the North American Review for September, 1817, vol. v, pp. 338-aiO. Bryant's father had found it, together with the ' Fragment,' later known as ' In- scription for the Entrance to a Wood,' among other papers in a desk ; and had immediately taken it to Bos- ton and shown it to his friend Willard Phillips, one of the editors of the North -American Review. When Phillips read the poem to his fellow editors, one of them, Richard H. Dana, exclaimed, ' Ah, Phillips, you have been imposed upon ; no one on this side of the At- lantic is capable of writing such verses ; ' and though soon persuaded that the verses really were by an Amer- ican, the editors still believed that ' Thanatopsis ' must have been written by the young poet's father. Phillips says in a letter to Bryant, December, 1817 : 1 Tour " Fragment " was exceedingly liked here. . . . All the best judges say that it and your father's " Than- atopsis" are the very best poetry that has been pub- lished in this country.' As originally printed in the North American Review, the poem began with what is now line 17, Yet afewdayi, and ended with lines 65 and 66, shall come, And make their bed with thee. It was preceded by four stanzas of four lines each, which did not properly belong to the poem, but had been found with it. The beginning and ending of the poem as it now stands were first given in the volume of poems published by Bryant in 1821. See Mr. Godwin's account of the origin of the poem, in his Life of Bryant, vol. i, pp. 97-101 ; and of its first publication, pp. 148-155. To Nature's teachings, while from all around Earth and her waters, and the depths of air Comes a still voice Yet a few days, and thee The all-beholding sun shall see no more In all his course; nor yet in the cold ground, Where thy pale form was laid, with many tears, 20 Nor in the embrace of ocean, shall exist Thy image. Earth, that nourished thee, shall claim Thy growth, to be resolved to earth again, And, lost each human trace, surrendering up Thine individual being, shalt thou go To mix forever with the elements, To be a brother to the insensible rock And to the sluggish clod, which the rude swain Turns with his share, and treads upon. The oak Shall send his roots abroad, and pierce thy mould. 3 o Yet not to thine eternal resting-place Shalt thou retire alone, nor couldst thou wish Couch more magnificent. Thou shalt lie down With patriarchs of the infant world with kings, The powerful of the earth the wise, the good, Fair forms, and hoary seers of ages past, All in one mighty sepulchre. The hills Rock-ribbed and ancient as the sun, the vales Stretching in pensive quietness between; The venerable woods rivers that move 40 In majesty, and the complaining brooks That make the meadows green; and, poured round all, Old Ocean's gray and melancholy waste, CHIEF AMERICAN POETS Are but the solemn decorations all Of the great tomb of man. The golden s\m, The planets, all the infinite host of heaven, Are shining on the sad abodes of death, Through the still lapse of ages. All that tread The globe are but a handful to the tribes That slumber in its bosom. Take the wings S o Of morning, pierce the Barcan wilderness, Or lose thyself in the continuous woods Where rolls the Oregon, and hears no sound, Save his own dashings yet the dead are there: And millions in those solitudes, since first The flight of years began, have laid them down In their last sleep the dead reign there alone. So shalt thou rest, and what if thou with- draw In silence from the living, and no friend Take note of thy departure? All that breathe 60 Will share thy destiny. The gay will laugh When thou art gone, the solemn brood of care Plod on, and each one as before will chase His favorite phantom; yet all these shall leave Their mirth and their employments, and shall come And make their bed with thee. As the long train Of ages glide away, the sons of men, The youth in life's green spring, and he who goes In the full strength of years, matron and maid, The speechless babe, and the gray-headed man 70 Shall one by one be gathered to thy side, By those, who in their turn shall follow them. So live, that when thy summons comes to join The innumerable caravan, which moves To that mysterious realm, where each shall take His chamber in the silent halls of death, Thou go not, like the quarry-slave at night, Scourged to his dungeon, but, sustained and soothed By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave, Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch so About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams. 1811 ? 1817. 1 THE YELLOW VIOLET WHEN beechen buds begin to swell, And woods the blue-bird's warble know, The yellow violet's modest bell Peeps from the last year's leaves be- low. Ere russet fields their green resume, Sweet flower, I love, in forest bare, To meet thee, when thy faint perfume Alone is in the virgin air. Of all her train, the hands of Spring First plant thee in the watery mould, 10 And I have seen thee blossoming Beside the snow-bank's edges cold. Thy parent sun, who bade thee view Pale skies, and chilling moisture sip, Has bathed thee in his own bright hue, And streaked with jet thy glowing lip. Yet slight thy form, and low thy seat, And earthward bent thy gentle eye, Unapt the passing view to meet, When loftier flowers are flaunting nigh. 20 Oft, in the sunless April day, Thy early smile has stayed my walk; But midst the gorgeous blooms of May, I passed thee on thy humble stalk. 1 Figures at the left, in italics, give the date of writ- ing ; those at the right, in roman, the date of publica- tion. For Bryant's poems the dates are taken from Godwin's standard edition of the Poetical Works. Mr. Godwin states in his note to ' Thanatopsis ' that the poem was written in the summer of 1811, which would make Bryant only sixteen years old at the time, not seventeen, as Mr. Godwin himself elsewhere saye Bryant's own account of the matter is given in a lette. of 1855, which Mr. Godwin quotes : ' I cannot givt you any information of the occasion which suggested to my mind the idea of my poem " Thanatopsis." It was written when I was seventeen or eighteen years old 1 have not now at hand the memorandums [c] which would enable me to be precise and I believe it was composed in my solitary rambles in the woods.' WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT So they, who climb to wealth, forget The friends in darker fortunes tried. I copied them but I regret That I should ape the ways of pride. And when again the genial hour Awakes the painted tribes of light, 30 I '11 not o'erlook the modest flower That made the woods of April bright. M4. 1821. INSCRIPTION FOR THE EN- TRANCE TO A WOOD STRANGER, if thou hast learned a truth which needs No school of long experience, that the world Is full of guilt and misery, and hast seen Enough of all its sorrows, crimes, and cares, To tire thee of it, enter this wild wood And view the haunts of Nature. The calm shade Shall bring a kindred calm, and the sweet breeze That makes the green leaves dance, shall waft a balm To thy sick heart. Thou wilt find nothing here Of all that pained thee in the haunts of men, , And made thee loathe thy life. The primal curse Fell, it is true, upon the unsinning earth, But not in vengeance. God hath yoked to guilt Her pale tormentor, misery. Hence, these shades Are still the abodes of gladness; the thick roof Of green and stirring branches is alive And musical with birds, that sing and sport In wantonness of spirit; while below The squirrel, with raised paws and form erect, Chirps merrily. Throngs of insects in the shade 20 Try their thin wings and dance in the warm That waked them into life. Even the green crees Partake the deep contentment; as they bend To the soft winds, the sun from the blue sky Looks in and sheds a blessing on the scene. Scarce less the cleft-born wild-flower seems to enjoy Existence, than the winged plunderer That sucks its sweets. The mossy rocks themselves, And the old and ponderous trunks of pros- | trate trees That lead from knoll to knoll a causey rude 30 Or bridge the sunken brook, and their dark roots, With all their earth upon them, twisting high, Breathe fixed tranquillity. The rivulet Sends forth glad sounds, and tripping o'er its bed Of pebbly sands, or leaping down the rocks, Seems, with continuous laughter, to rejoice In its own being. Softly tread the marge, Lest from her midway perch thou scare the wren That dips her bill in water.* The cool wind, That stirs the stream in play, shall come to thee, 4 <7 Like one that loves thee nor will let thee pass Ungreeted, and shall give its light embrace. 1816. 1817. TO A WATERFOWL 2 WHITHER, midst falling dew, While glow the heavens with the last steps of day, Far, through their rosy depths, dost thou pursue Thy solitary way ? Vainly the fowler's eye Might mark thy distant flight to do thee wrong, As, darkly seen against the crimson sky, Thy figure floats along. Seek'st thou the plashy brink Of weedy lake, or marge of river wide, to 1 The poem, as first published in the North Ameri- can Review for September, 1817, under the title ' A Fragment,' ended at this point. The last lines were added in the first edition of the Poems, in 1821. 2 On the origin of this poem, see Godwin's Life oj Bryant, vol. i, pp. 143, 144. Hartley Coleridge onca called it ' the best short poem in the English lan- guage ; ' and Matthew Arnold was inclined to agree with his judgment. Se an account of the incident in Bigelow's Life of Bryant, note to pp. 42, 43. CHIEF AMERICAN POETS Or where the rocking billows rise and sink On the chafed ocean-side ? There is a Power whose care Teaches thy way along that pathless coast . The desert and illimitable air Lone wandering, but not lost. All day thy wings have fanned, At that far height, the cold, thin atmos- phere, Yet stoop not, weary, to the welcome land, Though the dark night is near. 20 And soon that toil shall end; Soon shalt thou find a summer home, and rest, And scream among thy fellows; reeds shall bend, Soon, o'er thy sheltered nest. Thou 'rt gone, the abyss of heaven Hath swallowed up thy form; yet, on mv heart Deeply has sunk the lesson thou hast given, And shall not soon depart. He who, from zone to zone, Guides through the boundless sky thy cer- tain flight, 30 In the long way that I must tread alone, Will lead my steps aright. 1815. 1818. GREEN RIVER i WHEN breezes are soft and skies are fair, I steal an hour from study and care, And hie me away to the woodland scene, Where wanders the stream with waters of green, As if the bright fringe of herbs on its brink Had given their stain to the waves they drink; And they, whose meadows it murmurs through, Have named the stream from its own fair hue. Yet pure its waters its shallows are bright 9 With colored pebbles and sparkles of light, 1 This was Bryant's favorite among his early poems. And clear the depths where its eddies play And dimples deepen and whirl away, And the plane-tree's speckled arms o'er- shoot The swifter current that mines its root, Through whose shifting leaves, as you walk the hill, The quivering glimmer of sun and rill With a sudden flash on the eye is thrown, Like the ray that streams from the dia- mond-stone. Oh, loveliest there the spring days come, With blossoms, and birds, and wild-bees* hum; 20 The flowers of summer are fairest there, And freshest the breath of the summer air; And sweetest the golden autumn day In silence and sunshine glides away. Yet, fair as thou art, thou slimmest t Ajid check'st him in mid course. Thy skeleton hand Shows to the faint of spirit the right path, And he is warned, and fears to step aside. Thou sett'st between the ruffian and his crime Thy ghastly countenance, and his slack hand Drops the drawn knife. But, oh, most fearfully Dost thou show forth Heaven's justice, when thy shafts Drink up the ebbing spirit then the hard Of heart and violent of hand restores 101 The treasure to the friendless wretch he wronged. Then from the writhing bosom thou dost pluck The guilty secret; lips, for ages sealed, Are faithless to their dreadful trust at length, And give it up; the felon's latest breath Absolves the innocent man who bears his crime; The slanderer, horror-smitten, and in tears, Recalls the deadly obloquy he forged To work his brother's ruin. Thou dost make 1 10 Thy penitent victim utter to the air The dark conspiracy that strikes at life, And aims to whelm the laws; ere yet the hour Is come, and the dread sign of murder given. Thus, from the first of time, hast thou been found On virtue's side; the wicked, but for thee, Had been too strong for the good; the great of earth Had crushed the weak for ever. Schooled in guile For ages, while each passing year had brought 1 1 q Its baneful lesson, they had filled the world With their abominations ; while its tribes, Trodden to earth, inibruted, and despoiled, Had knelt to them in worship; sacrifice Had smoked on many an altar, temple- roofs Had echoed with the blasphemous prayer and hymn : But thou, the great reformer of the world, Tak'st off the sons of violence and fraud In their green pupilage, their lore half learned Ere guilt had quite o'errun the simple heart God gave them at their birth, and blotted Out 130 His image. Thou dost mark them flushed with hope, As on the threshold of their vast designs Doubtful and loose they stand, and strik'st them down. 1 Alas ! I little thought that the stern power, Whose fearful praise I sang, would try me thus Before the strain was ended. It must For he is in his grave who taught my youth The art of verse, and in the bud of life Offered me to the Muses. Oh, cut off 139 Untimely ! when thy reason in its strength, Ripened by years of toil and studious search, And watch of Nature's silent lessons, taught Thy hand to practise best the lenient art To which thou gavest thy laborious days, And, last, thy life. And, therefore, when the earth 1 The poem was at first left unfinished, at this point. Its concluding lines were added after the death o* Bryant's father, in 1820, at the age of fifty-three. WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT Received thee, tears were in unyielding eyes And on hard cheeks, and they who deemed thy skill Delayed their death-hour, shuddered and turned pale When thou wert gone. This faltering verse, which thou Shalt not, as wont, o'erlook, is all I have To offer at thy grave this and the hope 151 To copy thy example, and to leave A name of which the wretched shall not think As of an enemy's, whom they forgive As all forgive the dead. Rest, therefore, thou Whose early guidance trained my infant steps Rest, in the bosom of God, till the brief sleep Of death is over, and a happier life Shall dawn to waken thine insensible dust. Now thou art not and yet the men whose guilt 160 Has wearied Heaven for vengeance he who bears False witness he who takes the orphan's bread, And robs the widow he who spreads abroad Polluted hands in mockery of prayer, Are left to cumber earth. Shuddering I look On what is written, yet I blot not out The desultory numbers; let them stand, The record of an idle revery. 1820. 1825.