During morning exercises, when the beauties of autumn were being discussed, the late woods, the turning of the leaves, the last wild flowers, the story was told of the poet who loved Nature, and his poems about the woods and the streams and the flowers were read. The poems, "The Death of the Flowers," "The Gladness of Nature," "Robert of Lincoln," learned in the lower grades, were reviewed and new selections were given for memory work. Then "To a Water-fowl" was studied, morning by morning, and "To the Fringed Gentian" and "The Yellow Violet."

The pupils became so interested in Bryant that they brought their nickels and dimes and bought a picture of the poet and had it framed and hung in the place of honor in the class

room.

On the morning of Bryant's birthday, Nov. 3rd, the picture was prettily decorated with evergreens, and on the blackboard, underneath the picture, was written in heavy letters:

William Cullen Bryant,

Born Nov. 3, 1794, at Cummington, Mass. Died June 12, 1878, at Roslyn, N. Y.

A border of gay autumn leaves adorned the boards, and also mottoes from Bryant's works, printed in Old English.

To add interest to the celebration of the birthday, two other grades were invited in to the exercises, which lasted about twenty minutes, and which consisted of the song "Our Country's Call," to the tune "Maryland, My Maryland," questions and answers on Bryant, and quotations from the poet.

The questions on Bryant were asked by a pupil and as the answers were given, one by one, they formed a complete sketch of the poet's life.

QUESTIONS

1. When and where was Bryant born? 2. From whom was he descended?

3. Tell something of his father.

4. Of his mother.

5. Tell something of Bryant as a child. 6. Where was Bryant educated?

7. What are some of his most famous poems?

8. How was "To a Water-fowl" written? 9. Tell of Thanatopsis.

10. In what poem is there allusion to a beloved sister?

11. What did he write of his mother? 12. What public position did Bryant hold?

13. How did Bryant, in later years, keep in touch with Nature?

14. How was Bryant honored during his lifetime?

15. How was his 80th birthday celebrated? 16. Tell of his last days.

ANSWERS

1. William Cullen Bryant was born Nov. 3, 1794, at Cummington, Mass.

2. His ancestors were the Pilgrims, and like and Priscilla, of Plymouth fame. Longfellow, he was descended from John Alden

3. Bryant's father was a country doctor. He was of a mild, quiet disposition, fond of books and music, and somewhat of a poet himself. He had a good library, for those days, more than 700 volumes.

4. Bryant's mother was a wonderful woman. She not only cared for her household, doing the spinning and the weaving and the sewing, helped with the cooking and the heavier household duties, taught the children to read and write, but she was a kind neighbor as well, often nursing the sick for days at a time, and she was a most public-spirited citizen. It was largely owing to her that the district schools were improved, the country roads worked and trees planted in waste places. Her motto was "Never be idle," and she lived it every day of her life.

5. When Bryant was 16 months old he knew the alphabet. At four, he was attending school. At five he was reciting Watts's hymns, and at eight writing verses himself. But of these early attempts at writing, his father said: "He will be ashamed of his work when he is grown up," and this proved true.

6. Bryant's early education was received at home, and in the district school. During his fifteenth year he studied Latin for eight months under his uncle. He then attended Rev. Mose Hallock's Preparatory School for a year. This school was quite famous in its day. The boys called it The Bread-and-Milk College, because of the plain fare. At this school Bryant began the study of Greek, and at the end of two months he knew his Greek Testament as if it had been English. In 1810 he entered the sophomore class of Williams College. But he remained in college only a short while.

7. Some of Bryant's most famous poems are: "Thanatopsis," "To a Water-fowl," "The Forest Hymn," "The Death of the Flowers," "To a Fringed Gentian."

8. Bryant was leaving his home for a new home in a village seven miles distant. He was

walking along the lonely road, feeling sad and desolate, when, from the frozen marsh, a bird flew up into the "brilliant, sunshiny sky." As he watched the bird disappear in "the abyss of heaven" he was comforted with the thought that He who guided the bird in its "pathless" course would direct his life, and that night he wrote "To a Water-fowl."

9. When Bryant was eighteen years old he wrote "Thanatopsis," which means a view of death. He hid the poem in his father's desk. Years afterwards, Dr. Bryant found it and saying nothing to his son, offered it to the North American Review for publication. The editor was delighted with the poem and said, "No one on this side of the Atlantic could have written such verses.' When he found out who did write the verses, he asked Bryant to write regularly for his magazine.

10. In "The Death of the Flowers."

And then I think of one who in her youthful beauty died,

The fair, meek blossom that grew up and faded by my side.

In the cold, moist earth we laid her, when the forest cast the leaf,

And we wept that one so lovely should have a life so brief:

Yet not unmeet it was that one, like that young friend of ours,

So gentle and so beautiful, should perish with the flowers.

11. When Bryant was fifty-three years old his mother died. He refers to her as "The gentle and the good, who once cropt the white blossoms of the spring with a fairer hand, and taught him to listen to the songs of birds in a far sweeter voice than their own."

The music of the early year

Brings tears of anguish to my eyes,
My heart aches when the flowers appear,
For then I think of her who lies

Within her grave,

Low in her grave.

12. For more than fifty years, Bryant was connected with one of the leading newspapers of the day. So absorbing were his editorial duties that for the first ten years of his editorship he wrote an average of only one hundred lines a year.

13. Bryant had a beautiful country home at Roslyn, Long Island. Here, during the last thirty-five years of his life, he spent several days every week, "keeping his friendships in repair," working among his flowers, entertaining his friends. He also bought the old homestead at Cummington, and every summer spent weeks in his childhood's home.

14. "Few men were ever more admired, reverenced and honored than Bryant." Once, upon visiting Governor Tilden, in Albany, N. Y., he was tendered a reception by the Legislature as

to "the most distinguished citizen in the country." He was an honorary member of more than one hundred college societies, and also of every learned society of the world.

15. His eightieth birthday was celebrated all over the country. A beautiful silver vase, of Greek form, entwined with American flowers, was presented to him.

16. On May 29, 1878, the aged poet delivered the oration at the unveiling of the statue to Mazzini in Central Park, New York. He was not well, and instead of going directly home after the exercises, he walked across the Park to the home of a friend. Upon entering the house he fell and struck his head. This caused concussion of the brain and he lived only two weeks. He was buried at Roslyn.

The celebration of Thanksgiving Day has a long and curious history. Days set apart for special thanksgiving to the Lord were known to the Israelites, and are mentioned thruout the Bible They were not uncommon in England before the Reformation and among Protestants afterwards. As recently as 1872 a day of thanksgiving was appointed on February 27th for the recovery of the Prince of Wales from typhoid fever.

The first thanksgiving held in North America was conducted by an English minister named Wolfall, in the year 1578, on the shores of Newfoundland. The reverend gentleman accompanied the expedition under Forbisher, which brought the first English colony to settle on these shores. The records of this day's observances are thus preserved in the ship's log: "On Monday morning, May 27, 1578, aboard the Ayde, we received the communion by the minister of Gravesend and prepared as good Christians toward God and resolute men for all fortunes and toward night we departed toward Tilberry hope. Here we highly praised God, and altogether upon our knees gave Him due humble and hearty thanks, and Maister Wolfall, a learned man appointed by Her Majesty's council to be our minister, made unto us a godlye sermon, exhorting especially to be thankful to God for His strange and miraculous deliverance in those dangerous places."

The earliest record of any observance of a similar service within the present territory of the United States was held by the Popham colony, settled at Sagadahoc, on the coast of Maine, in August, 1607.

The real origin of Thanksgiving, as a day specially set apart for prayer and rejoicing, must be attributed to Governor Bradford, the first governor of Massachusetts Colony. In gratitude for the plenteous harvest of 1621, following upon a period of great depression, he proclaimed a day of thanksgiving to be observed on December 13 (Old Style) of that year. In practical furtherance of his proclamation, he at once sent out four men in search of game. Thus early in the history of the day does our good friend the turkey make his appearance; for, successful in their quest, the four sportsmen returned, struggling under a burden of wild fowl, principally turkeys, sufficient to meet the wants of the little colony for a week. Then the thrifty housewives took the matter in hand and made all the goodies possible from their somewhat limited supply of material.

At the first gray dawn of that first Thanksgiving Day, one of the cannon that crowned the hill top thundered forth a salute. A solemn procession to the meeting-house was formed, the men marching three abreast. After the service followed the dinner, whose savory odors seem to have penetrated the forest's fastnesses; for, in the midst of the festivities, an Indian shout

was heard, and ninety friendly red men, under King Massasoit, appeared as if by magic, bearing as an addition to the feast huge haunches of venison. The day of Thanksgiving lengthened into three, the mere bodily feastings being varied with the singing of psalms and songs, with war dances by the savages, with exhibitions of military drill by Captain Standish's well-trained soldiery, and with other sports and pastimes.

The festival proved the prelude to frequent days of thanksgiving in the following years thruout the New England colonies. Sometimes it was appointed once a year, sometimes twice, sometimes a year or two were skipped. Now the reason was a victory over the Indians, then the arrival of a ship with supplies or "persons of special use and quality," and yet again a bountiful harvest. The frequent appointments for the last cause finally made August the customary month. Beginning with 1684, the festival became a formal and annual one in Massachusetts. Her example was soon followed by all the New England colonies.

During the Revolutionary War Thanksgiving lost some of its local New England character. The Continental Congress recommended no less than eight days of thanksgiving. They fell in April, May, July and December. The appointments were made in the form of recommendations to the heads of the various colonial governments. With one exception, Congress suspended business on the days appointed. Washington issued a proclamation for a general thanksgiving by the Continental Army, Thursday, December 18, 1777, and again at Valley Forge, May 7, 1778. A few days before the adjournment of Congress in September, 1789, Representative Elias Boudinot moved in the House that the President be requested to recommend a day of thanksgiving and prayer in acknowledgment of the many signal favors of Almighty God, and especially His affording them an opportunity of establishing a constitution of government for their safety and happiness. President Washington issued a proclamation appointing as Thanksgiving Day, November 26. Following Washington, several Presidents issued proclamations on special occasions; but usually it was left to the governors of the States to determine whether there should be a day of Thanksgiving and what that day should be.

Now, it happened that Mrs. Sarah J. Hale, coming down from Boston, to Philadelphia, to edit "Godey's Lady's Book," realized, as she had not done while in her New England home, how limited was the observance of the day. Wherefore she sat down and wrote letters to the governors of all the States and Territories, suggesting that they should, by proclamation, apnoint the last Thursday of November as a day for Thanksgiving, so that the celebration might

be given a national character. This she did year after year, and was so far successful that in 1859 the governors of all the States but two yielded to her request.

But as yet there was no very widespread attention from the people invited to keep the day. During the war the custom lagged in those States in which it had not firmly entrenched itself, especially in the South, where indeed it had always to combat the suspicion of being a Puritan substitute for Christmas. But most of the Northern governors continued to issue their proclamations, which were generally followed by great devastations among the flocks of turkey-gobblers.

Immediately after the battle of Gettysburg, in July, 1863, Mrs. Hale wrote to President Lincoln, enclosing a copy of Washington's Thanksgiving proclamation, issued from New York in 1789, and suggested that he, too, should proclaim a day of National Thanksgiving. Her suggestion was followed on July 15, when the President issued a proclamation "for the observance of Thursday, August 6, as a day for national thanksgiving, praise and prayer.' "Since then (with only one exception of date) the Presidents have appointed the last Thursday of November, exchanging the local and variable observance of early days for one truly national. [Adapted from Werner's Magazine.]