John Milton, one of the greatest of English poets, was born in London, December 9, 1608, and died there November 8, 1674. His most famous works were: “Paradise Lost,” “Paradise Regained,” “Comus,” “Lycidas,” “L’Allegro,” “Il Penseroso,” “Samson Agonistes,” “Areopagitica,” “The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates,” and the “Defence of the English People.”
And ne’er shall the sons of Columbia be slaves,
While the earth bears a plant or the sea rolls its waves.
“Adams and Liberty,”—Robert Treat Paine, Jr.
Robert Treat Paine, Jr., a celebrated American poet, was born in Taunton, Mass., December 9, 1773, and died in Boston, November 13, 1811. He is best known as the author of two songs, “Rise, Columbia,” and “Adams and Liberty.” Among his poems are: “The Invention of Letters,” and “The Ruling Passion.”
Virtue often trips and falls on the sharp-edged rock of poverty.
—Eugene Sue.
Eugene Sue, a famous French romancer, was born in Paris, December 10, 1804, and died at Annecy, July 3, 1857. He wrote: “Kernock the Pirate,” “History of the French Navy,” “History of the War Navies of All Nations,” “The Seven Deadly Sins,” “Martin the Foundling,” “The Mysteries of the People,” “The Jouffroy Family,” “The Secrets of the Confessional,” “The Mysteries of Paris,” and “The Wandering Jew.”
Jesus was the first great teacher of men who showed a genuine sympathy for childhood. When He said, “Of such is the kingdom of heaven,” it was a revelation.
—Eggleston.
Edward Eggleston, a distinguished American historian and novelist, was born in Vevay, Ind., December 10, 1837, and died in 1902. Among his noted works are: “The Circuit Rider,” “The End of the World,” “Roxy,” “The Hoosier Schoolmaster,” “The Graysons,” “The Faith Doctor,” “Queer Stories for Boys and Girls,” “The Hoosier Schoolboy,” “Schoolmasters’ Stories,” “Mr. Blake’s Walking-Stick,” “School History of the United States,” “Household History of the United States,” “First Book in American History,” “The Beginners of a Nation,” “The Transit of Civilization,” etc.