The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1878-06-20
WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT.
A Sketch of the Long and Useful Life OF
the Deceased


William Cullen Bryant was born at |
Cummington, Hampshire county, Mass,
Nov. 3, 1894. His father, Peter Bryant,
was distinguished local physician, who |
had also travelled considerably, and de-
voted much time to the culture of his
mind. He took unusual interest in the
intellectual and moral development of
his children, and was rewarded in the
case OF all OF them, and particularly in
that of William, with early evidence of
their proficiency. The poet, in his beau
tiful 6 Hymn to Death,'' alludes feeling
~ to him in the lines beginning:
For he is in the grave, who taught my youth
The art of verse, and in the bud of life
Offered me to the muses.; atD
which was no poetic exaggeration, but
literal truth. There are few instances
of precocity more remarkable than that
of Bryant. He communicated lines to
the county gazette before he was 10
years of age, and in his 18th year his
friends caused to be printed two consid-
cradle poems, "The Embargo" polit-
ical satire, and ''The Spanish Revolu-
tion." These passed to second edition
the next year (1809), and in the preface
to that edition it was found necessary to
certify the production of them by per-
son so young, in order to remove the
skepticism of the public. In his 10Th
year he wrote "Thanatopsis," which
still holds it's place in general estimation
as one of the most impressive poems in
the language. He had in 1916 entered
Williams College, where he was soon
distinguished for his attainments in Ian
guage and in polite literature. At the
end of two years he took an honorable
dismission, and engaged in the study of
the law. Admitted to the bar in 1916,
he commenced practice in Plainfeld, and
afterward removed to Great Darlington.
He speedily rose to a high rank in
the local and State courts but his tastes
inclined him rather to letters than to
law. In 1917 his poem Thanatopsis :"
was published in the North american
Review, and introduced him to the &C.
quaintance of Mr.. Richard FL. Dana,
who was one of the club which then con-
Quoted the Rev5eaO. He contributed,
also, several prose articles to that peri
odical In 1921, he delivered before the
Phi Beta Kappa Society at Harvard Col
lege dldactlc poem on "The Ages"
and in that year several of his poems
were collected in avolume at Cambridge,
and obtained for him Immediate recog-
milton as writer of high merit He
removed to New York in 1925, and was
engaged as an editor Of the New York
ReUieaU, soon after merged in the Uni
ted States Review, to which he contrib
uted several criticisms and poems. In
1926 he connected himself with the
Evening Post newspaper, under the ed
itorial control of William Coleman. At
that time it was inclined to Federalism.
and Mr.. Bryant sought to give it more
and more a Republican character.
When he acquired an exclusive control
of it's columns, few years later, he rem
dered it decidedly democratic, +" taking
ground in favor of freedom of trade and
against all partial or class legislation.
From 1927 to 1880 Mr.. Bryant was asso-
ciated with Robert G. Sands and Gulian
G. Verplanck in the editorship of the
Zdlismo'a, highly successful annual,
and he contributed about the same time
the tales of "Medfeld and "The
Skeletons Cave" to book entitled
"Tales of the Glauber Spa.'' In 1882
a complete edition of his poems
was published in New York, and, a
copy Of it reaching Washington Irving
in England, he caused an edition to be
printed there, with laudatory preface.
1t was most generously reviewed by
John Wilson in BldckaOoods Magazine,
and from that time Mr.. Bryant's reputa-
ton in Europe has stood as high as it
does in his own country. Having asso-
ciated William Leggett with himself in
the management of the Evening Post, he
sailed with his family to Europe in the
spring of 1884, and travelled through
France, Italy, and Germany, charging
his knowledge of the languages and lit
eratures of the leading nations. His
poems bear witness to his familiarity
with the Spanish, Italian, German, and
French languages, which he had con-
tinued to cultivate. After returning to
his native country, and resuming his
professional labors for some years, he
went again to Europe in 1916. In 1849
he made third visit, and extended his
journey to Egypt and Syria. The let
tiers written to his journal during these
wanderings were published in book
called "Letters of Traveller" soon
after his last return. But in the inter-
walls of these foreign journeys he had by
no means neglected his own country,
and the same volume contains evidences
of his soiourn in nearly all parts of the
United States, from Maine to Florida,
and of trip also to the island of Cuba.
About 1916 he purchased San old-time
mansion" embowered in vines and
flowers, near the village of Ros-
Ign, on Long island, where he has since
resided. In 1857 and 1858 he made an
other journey to Europe, writing letters
to the EVening Post. which were col
lected under the title of Letters from
Spain and Other Countries A new
and complete edition Of his poems was
published in 1856, ana in 1868 small
volume of new poems appeared under
the title of Thirty Poems. y In 1864,
on the completion Of his 10th year, his