The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1879-01-10

Tie last work of Bayard Taylor, con-
tanning the above lines, has hardly made
its appearance before the telegraph an
nounces the sad tidings of the death of its
writer. 1t is but few months ago that
the venerable William Cullen Bryant
presided at the banquet given to Mr.
Taylor upon the eve of his departure to
Berlin to assume his duties as minister
of the United States to Germay, and
delivered parting address full of kindly
feeling, to which Mr.. Taylor feeIingls..
responded Ssne5 MS departure
Bryant has passed away, and the January
number of the Atlantic Monthly contains
a poetical tribute to his memory from
Mr.. Tsylor's pen, and now the latter has
gone to join hi= friend, and great name
has dropped out of the list of our living
writers.
The story of his life is briefly told, for
it has been mainly spent in travel and
books, and the former has been largely
utilized in the service OF the latter He
was born in Chester county, Pennsylva
mia, January IL, 1925, and in 1912 COM
menced his life work as an apprentice in
printing Office in West Chester. Three
years afterward he made tour through
Europe on foot. and upon his return in
1876 published "Views Afoot, or Europe
Seen with Knapsack and Staff" which
aroused very general ambition among
tourists TO travel in the same pedestrian
style. During the next year be edited
newspaper in Ph@nixville, Pennsylvania,
and then went to New York, where he
became identified with the Tribune, TO
which journal he has contributed more
or less ever since, and in which many of |
his smaller works have made their first |
appearance. In 1S49 he made the tour |
of California, and returned by wsy of |
Mexico. The year 1851 was spent in the |
east, and during his tour ne ascended the |
Nile and also traversed large portion OF
Asia Minor. In 1852 he set out from |
England, crossing Asia to Calcutta,
thence going to China, where he joined |
Com. Perry's Japan expedi ion. In /
1923 he was secretary of legation at
St. Petersburg, Simon Cameron then
being minister.
After residing some time in Germa22n1
for which country lie had spe&N
fection, he returned to his -
and made several lectuI
------a no ahIv sI1rr--
turers ever had so much to-
that was new and entertaining,
he revisited Egypt, and in the SAM
went to Iceland to attend the Millennf-
celebration, where poem of his was reat-
He was sufficiently cosmopolitan by ma
ture to accommodate himself to all coun.
tries, and probably no traveller has been
more loved and respected by foreigners
than he. He had welcome access to
their homes, and, being a man OF close
powers of observation, he has not only
acquainted US with the general aspects
of countries, but with pictures OF home
life such as few men except Auerbach
have ever drawn-with this notable ex-
ception, that while Auerbach's observa-
tions have been limited TO a narrow re-
gion of his own country, Bsyard Taylor
was a citizen of the world and broke
bread with the people Of many strange
countries. His travels have enriched
our literature with many works.
His literary. work has not been con-
fined to books of travel. His busy pen
was almost constantly employed, and
his ambition and industry led him
through almost every department of
literary activity. Asa poet, he was
characterized by viger and force united
with purity of sentiment. rather than
by the imaginative faculty or by the
dreaminess and mystery that character
ize so many of our latter-day poets. In
translations his work is the most vaIua-
BILE, because it is the best that has ever
been done by an American writer, while
in the case of his splendid version O
Goethe's Faust" itmay be fairly ques
toned whether it is uot the oest trans
laticn of that great poem ever made in
any country.
His literary activity continued to I'll
very close of his life. If we are not M =
taken one of his strongest reasons fl
wishing the position to which PRESIDED
Hayes appointed him, was that he migH
be where he could easily secure materia
for his "Life of Goethe" upon which b
was at work when death suddenly inter1
vened and the pen dropped from b.
hands. Few American writers will
80 sincerely mourned, for few of then
are SO well known to the people. Hi
strong, rugged, vigorous nature, his ge.y
nial, hospitable, manly bearing, the pu-
rity as well as excellence of his works,
and his chivalrous character as a gentle
man, will commend bis memory TO his
countrymen. The story of his death
will be told and his memory will be ten
derly recalled in almost every part of
the world. Among the SHOWS OF Iceland,
in the shadow of The Pyramids, under
the palms of India, wherever his restless
feet have wandered, there will be friends
who will be panied to know that this
great, strong heart has ceased to beat
and that the wanderer is forever at rest.
The BarrOOm Bell Punch.
New York Herald Richmond Telegram.
The returns of the Mofet system OF
liquor taxation, embracing the whole
State, and covering the first fiscal year,
have just been made public. They shoYA
that the registers and licenses combineT