[122] Samuel Pepys (1633-1703). An English business man, office-holder and lover of books. For nine years he kept a most personal, self-revealing diary, which he wrote in shorthand. The diary gives an accurate picture of the age in which he lived.
[123] James Boswell (1740-1795). A Scotch advocate and author, noted especially for his Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D., a book that many pronounce the best biography ever written. The work makes one intimately acquainted with Samuel Johnson (1709-1784), a great essayist, poet, biographer, play-writer, and author of a famous dictionary of the English language. Dr. Johnson was a leader of the learned men of his time.
[124] Frances Burney D'Arblay (1752-1840). An English novelist, author of Evelina, and a friend of Dr. Samuel Johnson. Her Letters and Diary give an intimate account of her entire life.
[125] Henry Crabbe Robinson (1775-1867). An English war-correspondent and social leader. His Diary gives intimate information concerning the great men of his time, with nearly all of whom he was personally acquainted.
[126] Blackfriars and the Globe. London theaters in which Shakespeare's plays were first produced.
THE RHYTHM OF PROSE
By ABRAM LIPSKY
(1872- ). A teacher in the high schools of the City of New York. Among his works is a volume entitled “Old Testament Heroes.” Dr. Lipsky writes for many publications.
The Rhythm of Prose is a meditation on the music of language, on the “tune” that accompanies thought. The essay is not severe and formal,—as it would be if it were a treatise on prose rhythm,—but is easy-going and almost conversational. It is an interesting example of the didactic type of essay.
“Good prose is rhythmical because thought is: and thought is rhythmical because it is always going somewhere, sometimes strolling, sometimes marching, sometimes dancing.”