Henry Hugh Brackenridge, a writer and politician. Born near Campbellton, Scotland, 1748; died, 1816. From his "Rising Glory of America," a commencement poem.
This is thy praise, America, thy power,
Thou best of climes by science visited,
By freedom blest, and richly stored with all
The luxuries of life! Hail, happy land,
The seat of empire, the abode of kings,
The final stage where time shall introduce
Renowned characters, and glorious works
Of high invention and of wondrous art,
Which not the ravages of time shall waste,
'Till he himself has run his long career!
BRIGHT'S BEATIFIC VISION.
The Right Honorable John Bright, the celebrated English orator and radical statesman. Born at Greenbank, Rochdale, Lancashire, November 16, 1811; died, March 27, 1889. From a speech delivered at Birmingham, England, 1862.
I have another and a far brighter vision before my gaze. It may be but a vision, but I will cherish it. I see one vast confederation stretching from the frozen North in unbroken line to the glowing South, and from the wild billows of the Atlantic westward to the calmer waters of the Pacific main; and I see one people and one language, and one faith and one law, and, over all that wide continent, the home of freedom, and a refuge for the oppressed of every race and every clime.
BROTHERS ACROSS THE SEA.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning, one of the most gifted female poets. Born near Ledbury, Herefordshire, England, in 1807; died at Florence, Italy, in June, 1861.
I heard an angel speak last night,
And he said, "Write—
Write a nation's curse for me,
And send it over the western sea."
I faltered, taking up the word:
"Not so, my lord!
If curses must be, choose another
To send thy curse against my brother.
For I am bound by gratitude,
By love and blood,
To brothers of mine across the sea,
Who stretch out kindly hands to me."
"Therefore," the voice said, "shalt thou write
My curse to-night;
From the summits of love a curse is driven,
As lightning is from the tops of heaven."
THE GRANDEUR OF DESTINY.
William Cullen Bryant, an eminent American poet. Born at Cummington, Mass., November 3, 1794; died, June 12, 1878.