of Lee"; the "Song of the Mystic" is one of his most beautiful productions. WILLIAM GORDON MCCABE. 1841- WILLIAM GORDON MCCABE was born near Richmond, and educated at the University of Virginia. He was a captain in the Confederate service; and since the war he has had at Petersburg one of the best schools preparatory to the University. He is a poet, and has also edited several Latin authors for school use. WORKS. Ballads of Battle and Bravery Defence of Petersburg. DREAMING IN THE TRENCHES. * I picture her there in the quaint old room, Alone in the twilight's tender gloom With the shadows that dance on the dim-lit walls. Alone, while those faces look silently down From their antique frames in a grim repose- There are gallants gay in crimson and gold, And the roseate shadows of fading light Her hands lie clasped in a listless way On the old Romance-which she holds on her knee- And her proud, dark eyes wear a softened look Perhaps of the pictures that smile on the wall. What fancies I wonder are thronging her brain, But I'd give my life to believe it so! Well, whether I ever march home again Petersburg Trenches, 1864. SIDNEY LANIER. 1842-1881. SIDNEY LANIER was born in Macon, Georgia, descended from a line of artist ancestors, through whom he inherited great musical ability. He was educated at Oglethorpe College, being graduated in 1860. He and his brother Clifford entered the Confederate Army together in 1861 and served through the war; but the exposure and hardships and imprisonment developed consumption which finally caused his death. After the war he lived for two years in Alabama as a clerk and a teacher; but his health failed and he was forced to return home where he practised law with his father till 1873. Then deciding to devote himself to music and poetry, he went to Baltimore where he was engaged as first flute in the Peabody Symphony Concerts and in 1879 as lecturer on English Literature in Johns Hopkins University. His dread disease never relaxed and he was often obliged to quit work and go to Florida, North Carolina, Georgia, and Pennsylvania in search of strength. His death occurred at Lynn, Polk County, North Carolina, on his last quest for strength and life with which to continue the work he so much loved. His "Science of English Verse" is said to be a new and valuable addition to the study of poetry. His poems belong to the new order of thought and life. His "TigerLilies" is a prose-poem, written in three weeks just after the war and laid in the mountains of Tennessee and on the eastern shore of Virginia where he was stationed. "Beauty is holiness, and holiness is beauty," was his favorite remark on the subject of Art. His work and influence are growing in importance in the regard of students. In 1876 he was invited to write the poem for the Centennial Exposition; and the "Meditation of Columbia," composed with the musical expression always in mind, and so too it should be read,-was the grand Ode that graced the opening day at Philadelphia. See under Waitman Barbe. WORKS. POEMS: Edited by his wife, Mary Day Lanier, with a Memorial by William Hayes Ward, Tiger Lilies, [novel]. Florida: its Scenery, Climate, and History. English Novel and Principles of Its Development. Science of English Verse. Boy's Froissart. Boy's King Arthur. Boy's Mabinogion. Boy's Percy. SONG OF THE CHATTAHOOCHEE. Out of the hills of Habersham, I hurry amain to reach the plain, All down the hills of Habersham, The ferns and the fondling grass said Stay, Here in the valleys of Hall. High o'er the hills of Habersham, Veiling the valleys of Hall, The hickory told me manifold Fair tales of shade, the poplar tall Wrought me her shadowy self to hold, The chestnut, the oak, the walnut, the pine, Said, Pass not, so cold, these manifold Deep shades of the hills of Habersham, These glades in the valleys of Hall. And oft in the hills of Habersham, And oft in the valleys of Hall, The white quartz shone, and the smooth brook-stone And many a luminous jewel lone, * By permission of Mrs. Lanier, and Charles Scribner's Sons, N. Y. 1877. -Crystals clear or a-cloud with mist, Ruby, garnet, and amethyst Made lures with the lights of streaming stone In the clefts of the hills of Habersham, In the beds of the valleys of Hall. But oh, not the hills of Habersham, And oh, not the valleys of Hall Avail: I am fain for to water the plain, Downward the voices of Duty call Downward, to toil and be mixed with the main, And the lordly main from beyond the plain Calls through the valleys of Hall. WHAT IS MUSIC? Music is Love in search of a word. THE TIDE RISING IN THE MARSHES. (From The Marshes of Glynn.*) Ye marshes, how candid and simple and nothing-withholding and free Ye publish yourselves to the sky and offer yourselves to the sea! As the marsh-hen secretly builds on the watery sod, In the freedom that fills all the space 'twixt the marsh and the skies: |