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THE BURIAL OF SIR JOHN MOORE.

Not a drum was heard, not a funeral note,
As his corse to the rampart we hurried;
Not a soldier discharged his farewell shot
O'er the grave where our hero we buried.

We buried him darkly at dead of night,
The sods with our bayonets turning,
By the struggling moonbeams' misty light,
And the lantern dimly burning.

No useless coffin enclosed his breast,

Nor in sheet nor in shroud we wound him; But he lay like a warrior taking his rest, With his martial cloak around him.

Few and short were the prayers we said,
And we spoke not a word of sorrow;

But we steadfastly gazed on the face of the dead,
And we bitterly thought of the morrow.

We thought, as we hollowed his narrow bed, .
And smoothed down his lonely pillow,

That the foe and the stranger would tread o'er his head,
And we far away on the billow !

Lightly they'll talk of the spirit that's gone,
And o'er his cold ashes upbraid him;

But little he'll reck, if they let him sleep on,
In the grave where a Briton has laid him.

But half of our heavy task was done,

When the clock struck the hour for retiring; And we heard the distant and random gun That the foe was sullenly firing.

Slowly and sadly we laid him down,

From the field of his fame fresh and gory;

We carved not a line, and we raised not a stone
But we left him alone with his glory!

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111. Mrs. Hemans (1793-1835).- Felicia Dorothea Browne wrote much, and was highly praised. She indeed wrote many touching and beautiful things, but, as Sir Walter Scott said, there were too many flowers for the fruit; too much for the ear and fancy, and not enough for the heart and intellect.

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One sleeps where Southern vines are dressed

Above the noble slain :

He wrapped his colors round his breast,
On a blood-red field of Spain.

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112. William Hazlitt (1778-1830).- Hazlitt was one of the most prolific miscellaneous writers of the early part of the century. He wrote on metaphysical subjects, produced a "Life of Napoleon," and furnished notes of travel; but he is most noted as a literary critic. He possessed undoubted ability, and his style is fresh, if not brilliant. He was, however, too much affected by prejudices. Perplexities and opposition warped his judgment. As a consequence, his opinions, though clearly expressed, are not always reliable.

113. Henry Hallam (1778-1859).- Hallam was pre-eminently a historian, whether writing on literature, civilization, or the affairs of State. His works are remarkable for candor and accuracy. Lord Macaulay,

a contemporary historian, says, "Mr. Hallam is, on the whole, far better qualified than any other writer of our time for the office which he has undertaken. He has great industry and great acuteness. His knowledge is

extensive, varied, and profound. His mind is equally distinguished by the amplitude of its grasp, and by the delicacy of its tact. . . . His work is eminently judicial. The whole spirit is that of the bench, not that of the bar. He sums up with a calm, steady impartiality, turning neither to the right nor to the left, glossing over nothing, exaggerating nothing, while the advocates on both sides are alternately biting their lips to hear their conflicting misstatements and sophisms exposed. On a general survey, we do not scruple to pronounce the · Constitutional History' the most impartial book that we have ever read."

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114. Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800– 1859). This statesman, essayist, historian, and poet has a wide reputation. His popular work on the history of England was written later than that of Hallam, but is not superior to it, except in style. Macaulay is noted for his vigorous use of English. Milman, an eminent writer of a little later period, describes Macaulay's style in these words: "Its characteristics were vigor and animation, copiousness, clearness; above all, sound English, now a rare excellence. The vigor and life were unabating; perhaps in that conscious strength which costs no exertion, he did not always gauge and measure the force of his own words. . . . His copiousness had nothing tumid, diffuse, Asiatic; no ornament for the sake of ornament. As to its clearness, one may read a sentence of Macaulay twice to judge of its full force, never to comprehend its meaning. His English was pure, both in idiom and in words,-pure to fastidievery word must be genuine English,

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nothing that approaches real vulgarity, nothing that had not the stamp of popular use, or the authority of sound English writers, nothing unfamiliar to the common ear."

115. Henry Hart Milman (1791-1868).— This eminent writer is said to have had "one of the best-balanced and most highly-cultivated intellects." His chief works were "The History of the Jews," "The History of Christianity," and "The History of Latin Christianity." He wrote poetry as well as prose, and for years was Professor of Poetry at Oxford. It is as a historian, however, that he has achieved the greatest fame. had “a rare faculty of sifting and determining the exact value of evidence, a mind singularly free from prejudice, and almost unerring in its power of penetrating to the truth. He moves with the most perfect ease beneath the immense weight of his acquisitions, never allowing them to interfere with his independence of thought." Backus.

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116. Washington Irving (1783–1859).— One of the most agreeable, as well as one of the most excellent, prose-writers of the century was Washington Irving. His fame is world-wide. When a mere boy, he began to write, signing himself Jonathan Oldstyle. His articles attracted attention at once, and there was considerable speculation with respect to the identity of the writer. From this time on for more than half a century he continued to write, with ever-increasing delight to his readers. In the words of the poet Bryant: "Since he began to write, empires have risen and passed away; mighty captains have appeared on the stage of the world, per

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