CONTENTS

WRITERS

HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW

PAGE

Early impressions. Aspires after eminence in literature.
"Wreck of the Hesperus,' " "The Belfry of Bruges.'
"Evangeline." To a sympathetic reviewer. Toil of
teaching at Harvard. Death of his mother. "The
cross of snow." On the death of a little child. On
translating. Bores. "The Divine Tragedy." Could
not poetise at will. At seventy. Co-education.
Table Talk. The shaping of "Excelsior."

EDGAR ALLAN POE

Youthful ambitions. What poetry is. On his Tales.

Literature as a profession. Poetry a passion, not a

study. Writing evokes thought. How he revised

"The Raven.'

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28

ALFRED TENNYSON

Suggestions for "The Princess."

Autobiographical sketch, sent to Dr. Moore. Boyhood.

ROBERT BURNS

Early reading.

Poverty at home.

Begins rhyming. A diligent reader.
New experiences. Begins his songs.
Farming and poetry. Publishes his poems. A poet to
excel must labor. In sorrow. Sources of inspiration.

His debt to literary societies. A backward glance at his

youth. Learned something from everybody. Enjoy-

ment of solitude. Fidelity as an observer. Wrote

best early in the day.

Moods in composition.

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43

65

NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE

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As a boy. A literary recluse. "Twice-told Tales."
His early reading. Concerning college and a career.
Not at one with New England practicalities. A retro-
spect at thirty-three: a letter to Longfellow. At
Brook Farm: a ploughman. Sympathy beneath his
reserve. A gift considered as a loan. "The Scarlet
Letter": its strict unity of theme. "The House of
the Seven Gables": its composition. Life in England:
an invitation to Longfellow. At fifty: a backward
look. Hawthorne as a lover; a letter to Miss Peabody.
Another letter to her. A letter to his wife.

74

CHARLES DICKENS

Hardships as a boy. A little gentleman. A friend in
need. Deliverance at last. His methods in author-
ship defended. Penalties as an author. Sketches his
career for Wilkie Collins. Criticism as editor. Beg-
gars all! Toil as an author. A fatherly word on
taking pains. Advice to a son leaving home.

CHARLOTTE BRONTË

Loneliness in Brussels. Self-sacrifice. Authorship
requires imagination. A book may in part write itself.
Originals of her characters. Where friendship may
disappoint. Novelty versus originality. An unhast-
ing worker.

GEORGE ELIOT

No self-denial in genuine virtue. Happiness as an art.
Love for Sara Hennell. A friendly expostulation.
Begins to write fiction. Her fidelity in creation.
Readers often guess wrongly. Reception of "Adam
Bede." Anxiety for truth in her art. Doing without
opium. Higher education for women.

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133

ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON .

"

PAGE

"Books which have influenced me.' Sketches his
career to 1887. A word on American writers.

HENRY GEORGE .

Goes to sea as a boy. Shipwreck threatens. Tries min-

ing. A printer once more. Begins writing. Writes

"Progress and Poverty." A prophecy regarding

"Progress and Poverty." A response to criticism.

Religion. The husband-lover.

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