[EDWARD ROBERT BULWER LYTTON, Son of the great novelist and poet, was born Nov. 8 183 Educated at Harrow, and afterwards at Bonn, in Germany. Entered the diplomatic service of the Crown in 1849, and has held important positions of trust at St. Petersburg, Constantinople, Vienna, and other European stations. Appointed in 1876 as the Viceroy of India, which office he resigned in 1880. His first work, Clytemnestra, The Earl's Return, and Other Poems, was published in 1855. The Wanderer; a Collection of Poems in Many Lands, appeared in 1859. This was followed in 1860 by Lucile, which has proved more popular than any of his works. Among his other works are Tannhauser, 1861; The Ring of Amasis, a prose romance, 1863; Fable in Song, 1874; and several volumes of prose writings, including a biography of his father, 1883-1884. In 1867, a collected edition of The Poetical Works of Owen Meredith appeared in two volumes, and were republished in the United States, where most of them had previously appeared.]

LEWIS MORRIS.

1833

[BORN in Carmarthen, Wales, in 1833; graduated at Jesus College, Oxford, in 1855 as first class in classics and chancellor's prize-man; called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn, 1861. Has held numerous positions of trust in Wales, where he resides. In 1871-4-5, appeared the three volumes of Songs of Two Worlds. In 1876-77 The Epic of Hades, Books I., II., and III., were pub lished. Gwin, a Drama in Monologue, appeared in 1878, and in March, 1880, The Ode of Life. The above have hitherto appeared anonymously as the work of "A New Writer," but a new edition is announced for publication under the author's name. His latest work, Songs Unsung, appeared in 1883.]

ONE DAY.

ONE day, one day, our lives shall seem
Thin as a brief forgotten dream:
One day, our souls by life opprest,
Shall ask no other boon than rest.

And shall no hope nor longing come,
No memory of our former home,
No yearning for the loved, the dear
Dead lives that are no longer here?

If this be age, and age no more
Recall the hopes, the fears of yore,
The dear dead mother's accents mild,
The lisping of the little child,

Come, Death, and slay us ere the blood
Run slow, and turn our lives from good,
For only in such memories we
Consent to linger and to be.

Ah, not the feeling, but the sky
We change, however far we fly;
How swift soe'er our bark may speed,
Faster the blessed isles recede.

Nay, let us seek at home to find
Fit harvest for the brooding mind,
And find, since thus the world grows
fair,

Duty and pleasure everywhere.

Oh well-worn road, oh homely way,
Where pace our footsteps, day by day,
The homestead and the church which
bound

The tranquil seasons' circling round!

Ye hold experiences which reach Depths which no change of skies can teach,

The saintly thought, the secret strife Which guide, which do perturb our life.

There through the sweet and toilsome day,

To labor is to pray;

There love with kindly beaming eyes
Prepares the sacrifice;

And voice and innocent smile

Of childhood do our cheerful liturgies
beguile.

There, at his chaste and frugal feast,
Love sitteth as a Priest;

And with mild eyes and mien sedate,
His deacons stand and wait;
And round the holy table

Paten and chalice range in order ser-
viceable.

And when ere night, the vespers said,
Low lies each weary head,

What giveth He who gives them sleep,
But a brief death less deep?

Or what the fair dreams given
But ours who, daily dying, dream a hap-
pier heaven?

Then not within a cloistered wall
Will we expend our days;

But dawns that break and eves that
fall

Shall bring their dues of praise.
This best befits a Ruler always near,
This duteous worship mild, and reason-
able fear.

WILLIAM MORRIS.

1834

[BORN near London in 1834. Educated at Forest School, Walthamstow, at Marlborough, and at Exeter College, Oxford. Studied painting, but did not succeed in that profession. In 1858, published The Defence of Guenevere, and Other Poems. In 1863, with several partners, he started in London an establishment for the artistic designing and manufacturing of various articles, especially wall paper, stained glass, tiles, and household decorations. At this business he has wrought as a designer, devoting his leisure to the composition of poetry. He published in 1867 The Life and Death of Jason; The Earthly Paradise, in 3 vols., 1868-1870. His later publications are The Eneid of Virgil done into English Verse, 1876; The Story of Sigurd, the Volsung, and The Fall of the Niblungs, 1877. He has also aided in the work of translating several volumes from the Icelandic.]

A samite cloth of white and red;

A rose lay on my face.

Many a time I tried to shout;
But as in dream of battle-rout,
My frozen speech would not well out;
I could not even weep.

With inward sigh I see the sun
Fade off the pillars one by one,
My heart faints when the day is done,
Because I cannot sleep.

Sometimes strange thoughts passthrough
my head;

Not like a tomb is this my bed,
Yet oft I think that I am dead;

That round my tomb is writ,
"Ozana of the hardy heart,

Knight of the Table Round,
Pray for his soul, lords, of your part;

A true knight he was found."
Ah! me, I cannot fathom it. He sleeps.