of the actual engagement, as the fires of Copp's Hill and the vessels of war in the harbor sped against the devoted work, as the smoke of burning Charlestown darkened the bright day, one and another came to the aid of the gallant Prescott, who awaited the attack in his redoubt. Stark brought his levies to the defence of the hill; Pomeroy and Warren came alone. The last arrived in the afternoon, shortly before the first assault. of Howe and his forces. He had been with the Provincial Congress, of which he was president, the day before, had passed the night in Watertown, and reached Cambridge indisposed in the morning. The news of the British attack shook off his headache; he consulted with the Committee of Safety, and hurried to that "gory bed" of honor, the redoubt on Breed's Hill. He was met by Putnam on the field, who requested his orders. He had none to give, only to ask, "Where he could be most useful." Putnam pointed to the redoubt, with an intimation that he would be covered. "I come not," was his reply, "for a place of safety, but where the onset will be most furious." Putnam still pointed to the redoubt as the main point of attack. Here Prescott tendered him the command; his answer again was in the same spirit: "I came as a volunteer, to learn from a soldier of experience." He encountered the full perils of that gallant defence, marked by its fearful anxiety in the failure of the scanty ammunition. He was the last, we are told, in the trenches, and at the very outset of the retreat fell, mortally struck by a ball in the forehead. So ended this gallant life, on the height at Breed's Hill, on that memorable June 17, 1775.-National Portrait Gallery. JONATHAN TRUMBULL. The personal qualities of Trumbull were rarely adapted to serve the cause in which his life was passed. The participant in three great wars, the experience of Nestor was added to a natural prudence and moderation which were seldom at fault. His simplicity of character was the secret of its greatness. He early fixed the principles of his life, and steadily ad hered to them to the end. So honors came to him, and were heaped upon him-the steady, persistent, useful devout citizen of Lebanon. There was his home, there was his armor, and he appears seldom to have travelled much beyond its rural precincts; but his influence knew no bounds, it was seen and felt in every vein of the public life, in the court, in the camp-we may almost say in the pulpit, for divinity never entirely lost, amidst the cares of business and of state, her early pupil. Connecticut may well honor his memory, and, in times of doubt and peril, think how her Revolutionary governor, Trumbull, would have thought and acted. If it be true that the origin of the term, "Brother Jonathan," familiarly applied to the nation, originated, as is sometimes said, with an expression of General Washington, in an emergency of the public service: "We must consult brother Jonathan on the subject," we may find a happy memorial of his fame in a phrase which bids fair to be more lasting than many a monument of stone or marble.-National Portrait Gallery. WASHINGTON IRVING. He was thrown upon authorship apparently by accident, a lucky shipwreck of his fortunes, as it proved, for the world. In this faculty, which he possessed better than anybody else in America, the most important ingredient was humor-a kindly perception of life, not unconscious of its weakness, tolerant of its frailties, capable of throwing a beam of sunshine into the darkness of its misfortunes. He loved literature, but not at the expense of society. Though his writings were fed by many secret rills, flowing from the elder worthies, the best source of his inspiration was daily life. He was always true to its commonest, most real emotions. In all his personal intercourse with others, in every relation of life, Mr. Irving, in an eminent degree, exhibited the qualities of the gentleman. They were principles of thought and action, in the old definition of Sir Philip Sydney, "seated in a heart of courtesy." His manners, while they were characterized by the highest refinement, were simple to a degree. His habits of living were plain, though not homely everything about him displayed good taste, and an expense not below the standard of his fortunes, but there was no ostentation. In public affairs, though unfitted for the duties of the working politician, his course was independent and patriotic. No heart beat warmer in love of country and the Union, and the honor of his nation's flag. This is worth mentioning in his case, for his tastes and studies led him to retirement; but he did not suffer it to be an inglorious ease, to which higher ends should be sacrificed.-From the Portrait Gallery of Eminent Men and Women. WASHINGTON'S WRITING. Second to its main quality of truthfulness, saying no more than the writer was ready to abide by, is its amenity and considerate courtesy. Washington had, at different times, many unpleasant truths to tell; but he could always convey them in the language of a gentleman. He wrote like a man of large and clear views. His position, which was on an eminence, obliterated minor niceties and shades which might have given a charm to his writings in other walks of life. This should always be remembered, that Washington lived in the eye of the public, and thought, wrote, and spoke under the responsibility of the empire. Let his writings be compared with those of other rulers and commanders, he will be found to hold his rank nobly, as well intellectually as politically. There will be found, too, a variety in his treatment of different topics and occasions. He can compliment a friend in playful, happy terms on his marriage, as well as thunder his demands for a proper attention to the interests of the country at the doors of Congress. Never vulgar, he frequently uses colloquial phrases with effect, and, unsuspected of being a poet, is fond of figurative expressions. In fine, a critical examination of the writings of Washington will show that the man here, as in other lights, will suffer nothing by a minute inspection.-From a Contribution of GEORGE LONG DUYCKINCK to the Cyclopædia of American Literature. DWIGHT, JOHN SULLIVAN, an American translator and musical critic, born at Boston, May 21, 1813; died there September 5, 1893. He graduated at Harvard in 1832, and studied at the Cambridge Divinity School. In 1838 he published Translations from the Select Minor Poems of Goethe and Schiller. In 1840 he became pastor of the Unitarian congregation at Northampton, Mass. Soon afterward he left the ministerial office and devoted himself to literature, especially in its relation to music. He contributed to literary periodicals, and delivered lectures upon Bach, Beethoven, Handel, Mozart, and other eminent musical composers. He was one of the founders of the Brook Farm Association. From 1852 to 1880 he published Dwight's Journal of Music, by means of which he did much to elevate the popular taste for music. He was a good literary critic, and a successful lecturer. He wrote History of Music in Boston, and arranged in its present form God Save the State. TRUE REST. Sweet is the pleasure itself cannot spoil! Thou that would taste it, still do thy best; Wouldst behold beauty near thee, all round? Rest is not quitting the busy career; 'Tis the brook's motion, clear without strife, Fleeing to ocean after its life. Deeper devotion nowhere hath knelt; 'Tis loving and serving the highest and best; 'Tis onward! unswerving—and that is true rest. VANITAS! VANITATUM VANITAS! I've set my heart upon nothing, you see : And so the world goes well with me: Hurrah! And who has a mind to be fellow of mine, I set my heart at first upon wealth : Hurrah! And bartered away my peace and my health : But ah! The slippery change went about like air, And when I had clutched me a handful here— Away it went there. I set my heart upon woman next: Hurrah! For her sweet sake was oft perplexed: Hurrah! The False one looked for a daintier lot, I set my heart upon travels grand; Hurrah! And spurned our plain old Father-land: But ah! |