The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1893-11-15

! lone trips through the woods and in
dulged in still deeper meditations and
deeper and broader thoughts sprang up
in his mind.
Thus il was while one day roaming
through the woods over a heavy carpet
of dead leaves, through which little
streams of water were patiently cours-
ing their way, past old decaying logs,
moss-cOvered and centuries old, on their
way To the neighboring streams, that
he became lost In inner thought and
meditation and composed his beautiful
masterpiece of poetry, which has Gre
ated for him universal admiration and es>
/ TEEN.
! This production was "Thanatopsis,"
meaning a view Of death. and is the
most beautiful and perfect work OF the
kind known to the literary world
Concerning this poem it is said that
he had been reading Blair's poem THE
Grave and perhaps one Of Whites
"Odes." and that these had started his
thoughts along this line.
Laying il aside it was forgotten until
| his father while one day looking over
/ some old papers, found and read it and.
/ being much pleased with IT. sent it to
| the North American Review, I'm which
= il appeared In 1917
1t well received and laid the
| foundation of his literary career. And
| it can be said that American poetry
dates from the appearance Of this
poem.
About this time he began contributing
to small literary paper in which were
/ printed yellow Violets," "A Walk at
| Sunset" Green River" and several
| other short poems which were the pro-
| duction of his lone walks.
In 1921 by special invitation he COM
! posed one of his longest poems, 1.-THE
| Ages" which he delivered before prom
| inent society OF Harvard college and
| there forever established his name and
| fame a literary man.
Soon after leaving college he commenced
| the study of law under Judge Howe and
! after nearly three years of study was add
/ mitted to the bar at Plymouth in his
! twenty-first year and commenced prac-
ticing in Plainfeld, a town near his
\ home.
Leaving home late in the evening for
| his new field of labor and while walking
/ slowly along musing on the duty he was
I soon To commence. when on passing by
swampy, wet place he was aroused
| from his musings by a water fowl which
/ he had molested in its solitude and
which flew away through the landscape
toward the setting sun; stopping he
| watched its flight till it was lost in the
| dusk of evening.
From this occurrence he composed
THE Water Fowl" which is among one
/ of his best poems.
He continued the practice of law until
| 1925. when the damands of the literary
I world was so great that under pressing
Il
\ he gave up law and went to New York,
where he was given position as editor
/ Of the New York Review, but this enter
| prise having failed after few months
/ trial he was rendered temporary posi-
/ ton on the staff Of the New York Even
/ ing Post, a paper founded by Alexander
Hamilton and then under the control of
| William Coleman, which place he ac-
/ cepted.
| He was also at the same time made as
| adj Of 10 "a an xnsbf
appeared most of his best poems which
! We're written while still at home.
During his last four years at home he
wrote over thirty poems, and among
them was the Green River" a very
beautiful and simple poem written while
/ roaming along its banks.
! At the death of Mr.. Coleman in 1929
he was made chief manager and editor
( of the Post. Here he first became a
/ journalist and TO a great extent aban-
/ doned the muses..
1t is now he first shows himself as a
I politician, having been a federalist up
/ till this time, but now, by careful study
! and through the change American policy
/ was undergoing at this time, we find
/ him. through his editorials. supporting
( Andrew Jackson and his finance policy,
/ also defending Van Buren, and his adj
/ ministration during the panic which fol-
/ lowed this policy, and continuing a
/ democratic advocate for several years.
! abolition we find him defending their
/ idea Of free speech and petition.
! In 1915. during the Texas trouble. we
! find him strongly opposing the annex
/ alton Of Texas and the Mexican war
! and sided with the free-soilers.
Though a democratic advocate for
more than a quarter of a century he
was not so strong but that in 1856 at
/ the organization of the national repub-
/ lican party he changed his policy and,
/ deciding with them, he became a strong
! advocate against slavery.
He supported this party in 1861 and
/ was a member of the electoral college.
He was very sensitive and always true
/ to his sense of honor and justice and
slavery was the leading question that
/ brought him to this party.
AS an editor he was we'll known and
/ exercised a very marked influence upon
| society and the general public.
Though somewhat tickle in his adher-
! ence Of principles we find him always
acting according to his earnest convic-
tiOns. He dealt less in current news
and dwelt mostly on the leading ques-
tions of the day and endeavored in his
editorials to act and effect public
sentiment. His earnestness, straight
/ forwardness and independence won the
masses and secured respect even among
his enemies.
Though not an orator we find he de-
| livered numerous addresses on different
noted were his funeral eulOgies delivered
upon Irving, Cooper, Halleck, Cole and
others Of his contemporaries.
His addresses he had printed all in
one volume in 1873 under the title, Ora
tions and Addresses"
In his seventy-second year he COM
menced one of the most extensive and
elaborate works he had ever undertake
en-; that of translating the Greek poems
Of Homer. ''Iliad" he completed in 1870
and Odyssey" two years later, and it
is considered the best and smoothest
reading ever made into the English
Bryant Travelled much during his life
though he never remained away very
Icing at one time. He was we'll acquaint-
ed with New England and once took
trip into Illinois to see some friends
when il was but a wilderness and was
through the southern states and to Cuba
three times He went six times to Eu-
rope, spending most of his time In Eng
land, France. and Germany. On his
first trip he was in Spain and Italy. On
his fourth trip he went into Greece,