Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1879-02-07


Richard Henry Dana, the Oldest Of
American authors, died at his residence IN
Boston, Sunday. The son of Chief Justice
Dana of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts,:
he was born Nov. Is, 1851, graduated at iar-
ward in 1908 and was admitted to the bar
in 1911. He soon turned turned from law
to literature. and about 1914 Joined the
club of gentlemen by whom the NORTH
American Reuieip was conducted, and be-
camo associated with Edward 7. Claiming
in its editorial management In this con-
nection the true story of Mr.. Dana TREND
ship with the late William Cullen Bryant,
and more particularly of the circumstances
attending the first publication of "fhana-
topsis,' will be in order. Mr.. Willard
Phillips, who afterwsrd became Judge OF
Probate, was an occasional visitor at the
North American office at this time. and be
brought in several poetcal contributions,
some of which, he said, were written by
young friend of his in the country named
Bryant. One OF these was "Thanatopsis,
and another was 1.-THE Fragment" after
ward entitled The Entrance to a Wood"
Both Mr.. Dana and his cousin were greatly
struck with these poems-particularly with
the frst-named-ior their elegance OF style,
beauty of thong bit and maturity of ideas. Mr..
Dana, assuming that a writer OF experience
must have produced them. declared that no
author on this side of the water could have
written them. When questioned closely
Mr.. Phillips said that young Bryant wrote
'The FIR agment. and that the young mans
father was the author of "Thanatopsls >;
whereupon Mr.. Dana said that both were
admirable. but that the father was the
greater man of tho two. The poem was
published in November, 1917. and Bryant
received no compensation for it. nor did he
for any Of his early efforts. In 1922 Mr..
Dana published irreguIarly in numbers,
The Idle Man" to which his friends Bry-
ant and Allston also contributed. His first
poems wero The Dying Raven" and The
Husband and Wife's Grave" which ap-
feared in the New York Reuiep in 1926.
when Bryant wss its editor. In 1927 THE
Buccaneer and Other Poems" was brought
out in a small volume. and was received
with great favor. In 1850 no published in
two volumes, "Poems and Prose Writings"
which is now out of print. In 1884 he
wrote G series of ten lectures, nearly all on
characters in Shakespeare, which he de-
livered as course during the next ten
years in many Of the cities Of tho Eastern
huu NluuIo OthttS. dul hiSO btlOEc u uuui-
Der of colleges. These lectures were we'll
received, but have Fever been printed.
Mr.. Dana was a living link between the
literature Of the present and the best Amer
lean literature of tho past. a Boston ex-
change says of him: Until a short time
before his death he was erect Of form and |
firm OF step. with sight, hearing and diges-
ton unimpaired. His hair, full beard and |
moustache, each worn rather long. were of |
a silvery gray, bat his head was not bald,
at the top his hair was thin. In |
build he was rather below the medium |
height, slender, pale Of countenauce, but |
with handsome and regular features, and |
eye singularly expressive, and beamns |
with intelligence. Always modest aud re-
tirIng it was only with intimates that he |
freely conversed. When he did speak how
ever. he had at command an inexhaustlble |
fund OF anecdotes and "reminiscences of the |
poets and scholars of halt a century ago,
and i. seemed like investing the dead past |
with life to bear his racy comments Mr.. |
Dana's surviving family consists CT two |
the daughter previously mention
ed, and Richard Henry Dana, Jr., the
eminent LAWYER