PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.

The former edition of this work was prepared simply as a supplement to Shaw's "Choice Specimens of English Literature." Though it extended to a larger size than had been anticipated, and was therefore issued in a separate volume, it still proved so straitened in point of space as to be in some important respects defective and inadequate. The decision of the publishers to reprint it in an enlarged form furnishes to the editor a welcome opportunity to correct its deficiencies, and to make several important emendations.

When the work of collecting suitable extracts from the great body of our literature was fairly entered upon, it soon became apparent that little aid could be had from the earlier manuals. Besides being in great measure obsolete, they were from the beginning disproportionate, and geographically too local in subject and spirit; both of which may be deemed grave defects.

The last twenty years have made great changes in American authorship. Many new names must now be added to the older lists, and many formerly familiar ones must be dropped from them. Hence these extracts have for the most part been derived, with assiduous care, directly from the collected works of our standard authors. This part of my labor has been greatly facilitated by the courtesy of the gentlemen connected with the Society, the Mercantile, and the Astor, Library, whose constant kindness I gratefully acknowledge.

The principal alterations which will be found in this edition are the following.

1. The extracts, formerly, of necessity, brief and fragmentary, have given place to more extended and coherent passages.

2. A much larger space has been allotted to the more eminent authors. Such writers as Franklin, Jefferson, Calhoun, Webster, Wirt, Irving, Cooper, Hawthorne, Channing, Beecher, Prescott, Motley, Shea, Bryant, Poe, Emerson, and Lowell, have been much more adequately exhibited.

3. Many later writers have been added, so that the work more fully represents the rapid development of literary effort among us.

4. A few writers, formerly included, have been dropped from the list, not always as less deserving a place, but sometimes as having less adaptation to the purposes of the book.

Much care has been bestowed upon the dates of the several authors, and in bringing up details of information to the latest period. The same pains have been taken to furnish a just representation of the writers, too often overlooked in our manuals, of the Southern and Western portions of our country. Though often wanting in mere grace of style, they are apt to be original and vigorous; and often possessing valuable material, they are well worthy of perusal. In all these respects this collection has been carefully elaborated; and the editor hopes that it will be found to give a somewhat proportionate and complete view for its compass, of our best literature.

In adapting the selections to Mr. Tuckerman's interesting "Sketch of American Literature," specimens have generally been taken from several authors in each of his groups. Some names not found in his "Sketch," have been introduced, chiefly for the fuller illustration of the literature of the south and west. In this particular, Coggeshall's "Poets and Poetry of the West" has afforded great assistance. Among the more recent aids of the same kind, I must also mention Davidson's "Living Writers of the South," and Raymond's "Southland Writers." Especial acknowledgment is due to the "Cyclopedia" of the Messrs. Duyckinck; Appleton's "Annual Cyclopedia" has furnished many important dates; and I have occasionally been indebted to the works of Allibone, Cheever, Griswold, Cleveland, Hart, and Underwood. Not only the local literature however, but the several professions, and the great religious denominations, are also represented by prominent writers.

It seemed unnecessary to treat the female writers as a distinct class; they are, therefore, arranged under the departments to which they respectively belong, as Essayists, Novelists, Poets, &c.

I should be claiming a merit which does not belong to me, should I fail to say, that, for much of the labor which this treatise has involved, I am indebted to the co-operation of my brother, Mr. William T. Martin, whose acquaintance with our literature has not often been surpassed, and whose valuable aid and counsel have been freely afforded me.

The hours which have been spent in culling extracts from so many able and entertaining writers, though laborious, have been to the editor full of interest, and often of delight. He trusts that these fruits of his labor will be useful, in imparting, especially to his youthful readers, not only an acquaintance with the best of our national authors, but a taste for literature, and a good ideal of literary excellence, than which few things in intellectual education are more to be esteemed. If successful in these respects, he will be abundantly satisfied; and in this hope, he submits his work to the judgment of the public.

CHAPTER I.

=1.= RELIGIOUS WRITERS OF THE SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH CENTURIES.

Roger Williams, 1598-1683 1. True Liberty defined.

Cotton Mather, 1663-1728 2. Preservation of New England Principles.

Jonathan Edwards, 1703-1758 3. Meaning of the Phrase Moral Inability.

Samuel Davies, 1725-1761 4. Life and Immortality revealed through the Gospel.

Nathaniel Emmons, 1745-1840 5. Rule of Private Judgment.

=2.= HISTORICAL WRITERS OF THE SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH CENTURIES.

Cadwallader Colden, 1688-1776 6. The Five Nations assert their Superiority.

William Stith, 1689-1755 7. The rule of Powhatan. 8. Pocahontas in England.

William Smith, 1728-1793 9. Manners of the People of New York.

=3.= MISCELLANEOUS WRITERS OF THE SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH CENTURIES.

John Winthrop, 1587-1649 10. True Liberty defined. 11. Proposed Treatment of the Indians.

William Byrd, 1674-1744 12. The Ginseng and Snakeroot Plants.

Benjamin Franklin, 1706-1790 13. Good Resolutions.—The Croaker. 14. Franklin's Electrical Kite. 15. Motion for Prayers in the Convention. 16. The Ephemeron. An Emblem.

=4.= LATER RELIGIOUS WRITERS AND DIVINES.

John Woolman, 1730-1772 17. Remarks on Slavery and Labor.

John M. Mason, 1770-1829 18. Grandeur of the Bible Society. 19. The Right of the State to Educate.

Timothy Dwight, 1752-1817 20. The Wilderness reclaimed. 21. The Glory of Nature, from God.

John Henry Hobart, 1775-1830 22. The Divine Glory in Redemption.

Lyman Beecher, 1775-1863 23. The Being of a God.

William Ellery Channing, 1780-1842 24. Character of Napoleon. 25. Grandeur of the prospect of Immortality. 26. The Duty of the Free States.

Edward Payson, 1783-1827 27. Natural Religion.

Joseph S. Buckminster, 1784-1812 28. Necessity of Regeneration.

Nathaniel W. Taylor, 1786-1858 29. Proof of Immortality from the Moral Nature of Man.

Edward Hitchcock, 1793-1864 30. Geological Proof of Divine Benevolence.

John P. Durbin, 1800- 31. First Sight of Mount Sinai.

Leonard Bacon, 1802- 32. The Day approaching. 33. The Benefits of Capital.

James W. Alexander, 1804-1859 34. The Church a Temple.

Martin J. Spaulding, 1810-1872 35. Trials of the Pioneer Catholic Clergy in the West.

James H. Thornwell, 1811-1862 36. Evil tendencies of an act of Sin.

Charles P. McIlvaine, 1799-1873 37. Attestations of the Resurrection.

George W. Bethune, 1805-1862 38. Aspirations towards Heaven. 39. The Prospects of Art in the United States.

William R. Williams, 1804- 40. Lead us not into Temptation.

George B. Cheever, 1807- 41. Sin distorts the judgment. 42. Mont Blanc.

Horace Bushnell, 1804- 43. Unconscious Influence. 44. The True Rest of the Christian.

Alfred T. Bledsoe, about 1809- 45. Moral Evil consistent with the Holiness of God.

Richard Fuller, 1808- 46. The Desire of all Nations shall come. Haggai ii. 7.

Henry Ward Beecher, 1813- 47. A Picture in a College at Oxford. 48. Frost on the Window. 49. Nature designed for our enjoyment. 50. Life in the Country. 51. The Conception of Angels, Superhuman.

John McClintock, 1814-1870 52. The Christian the only true Lover of Nature.

Noah Porter, 1811- 53. Science magnifies God.

William H. Milburn, 1823- 54. The Pioneer Preachers of the Mississippi Valley.

=5.= ORATORS, AND LEGAL AND POLITICAL WRITERS, OF THE ERA OF THE REVOLUTION.

John Dickinson, 1732-1808 55. Aspect of the War in May, 1779.

John Adams, 1735-1826 56. Character of James Otis. 57. The Requisites of a Good Government.

Patrick Henry, 1736-1799 58. The Necessity of the War. 59. The Constitution should be amended before Adoption.

John Rutledge, 1735-1826 60. An Independent Judiciary the Safeguard of Liberty.

Thomas Jefferson, 1743-1826 61. Essential Principles of American Government. 62. Character of Washington. 63. Geographical Limits of the Elephant and the Mammoth. 64. The Unhappy Effects of Slavery.

John Jay, 1745-1829 65. An Appeal to Arms.

=6.= ORATORS, AND LEGAL AND POLITICAL WRITERS, OF THE ERA SUBSEQUENT TO THE REVOLUTION.

Alexander Hamilton, 1757-1804 66. Nature of the Federal Debt. 67. The French Revolution.

Fisher Ames, 1758-1808 68. Obligation of National Good Faith.

Gouverneur Morris, 1752-1816 69. Qualifications of a Minister of Foreign Affairs.

William Pinkney, 1764-1820 70. Responsibility for Slavery. 71. American Belligerent Rights.

James Madison, 1751-1836 72. Value of a Record of the Debates on the Federal Constitution. 73. Inscription for a Statue of Washington.

John Randolph, 1773-1832 74. Change is not Reform. 75. The Error of Decayed Families.

James Kent, 1763-1847 76. Law of the States.

Edward Livingston, 1764-1836 77. The Proper Office of the Judge.

John Quincy Adams, 1767-1848 78. The Right of Petition Universal. 79. The Administration of Washington.

Henry Clay, 1777-1852 80. Emancipation of the South American States. 81. Dangers of Disunion.

John C. Calhoun, 1782-1850 82. Dangers of an Unlimited Power of Removal from Office. 83. Peculiar merit of our Political System. 84. Concurrent Majorities supersede Force.

Daniel Webster, 1782-1852 85. Inestimable Value of the Federal Union;—Extract from the Reply to Hayne. 86. Object of the Bunker Hill Monument. 87. Benefits of the U.S. Constitution. 88. Right of changing Allegiance.

Joseph Story, 1779-1845 89. Chief Justice Marshall. 90. Progress of Jurisprudence.

Lewis Cass, 1782-1866 91. Policy of Removing the Indians.

Rufus Choate, 1799-1859 92. Conservative Force of the American Bar. 93. The Age of the Pilgrims the Heroic Period of our History.

William H. Seward, 1801-1872 94. Military Services of Lafayette in America.

Abraham Lincoln, 1809-1865 95. Obligation to the Patriot Dead.

Charles Sumner, 1811-1873 96. Prospective Results of the Kansas and Nebraska Bill. 97. Heroic Effort cannot Fail. 98. Our Foreign Relations. 99. Prophetic Voices about America.

Alexander H. Stephens, 1812- 100. Origin of the American Flag.

=7.= BIOGRAPHICAL WRITERS.

Benjamin Rush, 1745-1813 101. Life of Edward Drinker, a Centenarian.

John Marshall, 1755-1835 102. The Conquest of Canada.

John Armstrong, 1759-1843 103. Capture of Stoney Point.

Charles Caldwell, 1772-1853 104. A Lecture of Dr. Rush.

Thomas H. Benton, 1783-1858 105. The Character of Macon.

Alexander Slidell Mackenzie, 1803-1848 106. Recapture of the Frigate Philadelphia, at Tripoli.

I.F.H. Claiborne. About 1804- 107. Tecumseh's Speech to the Creek Indians.

George W. Greene, 1811- 108. Foreign Officers in the Revolutionary Army.

James Parton, 1822- 109. Career and Character of Aaron Burr. 110. Henry Clay and the Western Bar. 111. Western Theatres.

=8.= HISTORY, GENERAL AND SPECIAL.

John Heckewelder, 1743-1823 112. Settlements of the Christian Indians.

Jeremy Belknap, 1744-1798 113. The Mast Pine.

David Ramsay, 1749-1815 114. Feeling of South Carolina towards the Mother Country.

Henry Lee, 1756-1818 115. Indian Services of General Rodgers Clarke. 116. The career of Captain Kirkwood.

Peter S. Duponceau. 1760-1844 117. Character of William Penn.

Charles J. Ingersoll, 1782-1862 118. Calhoun Characterized. 119. Battle of Chippewa.

Henry M. Brackenridge, 1786-1871 120. Old St. Genevieve, in Missouri.

Gulian C. Verplanck, 1786-1870 121. The Profession of the Schoolmaster.

John W. Francis, 1789-1861 122. Public Changes during a Single Lifetime.

William Meade, 1789-1862 123. Character of the Early Virginia Clergy.

Jared Sparks, 1794-1866 124. The Battle of Bennington. 125. Services, Death, and Character of Pulaski.

William H. Prescott, 1796-1859 126. Moral Consequences of the Discovery of America. 127. Picture-writing of the Mexicans. 128. Ransom and Doom of the Inca.

George Bancroft, 1800- 129. Virginia and its Inhabitants, in early times. 130. Contrast of English and French Colonization in America. 131. Death of Montcalm. 132. Character of the Declaration of Independence. 133. The First Policy of Spain in the American Revolution.

J.G.M. Ramsey. About 1800- 134. The Military Services of General Sevier.

Charles Gayarré, 1805- 135. General Jackson at New Orleans.

Brantz Mayer, 1809- 136. Rekindling the Sacred Fire in Mexico.

Albert J. Pickett, 1810-1858 137. The Indians and the First Settlers in Alabama.

Charles W. Upham, 1803- 138. Defeat of the Indian King Philip.

John L. Motley, 1814- 139. Character of Alva. 140. Siege and Abandonment of Ostend. 141. The Rise of the Dutch Republic.

Alex'r B. Meek, 1814-1865 142. Exiled French Officers in Alabama. 143. The Youth of the Indian Chief, Weatherford.

Abel Stevens, 1815- 144. The Early Methodist Clergy in America.

Francis Parkman, 1823- 145. The Old Western Hunters and Trappers. 146. Marquette Exploring the Upper Mississippi.

John G. Shea, 1824- 147. Difficulties of the Catholic Indian Missionaries. 148. Exploration of the Mississippi.

John G. Palfrey, 1796- 149. Happiness of Winthrop's Closing Years.

CHAPTER II.

=1.= ESSAYISTS, MORALISTS, AND REFORMERS.

Joseph Dennie, 1768-1813 150. Reflections on the Seasons.

William Gaston, 1778-1844 151. The Importance of Integrity.

Jesse Buel, 1778-1839 152. Extent and Defects of American Agriculture.

Robert Walsh, 1784-1859 153. False Sympathy with Criminals.

Thomas S. Grimke, 1786-1834 154. Literary Excellence of the English Bible.

Henry C. Carey, 1793- 155. Agriculture as a Science.

Edmund Ruffin, 1793-1863 156. Improvement of Acid Soils.

Francis Wayland, 1796-1865 157. Superiority of the Moral Sentiments.

Horace Mann, 1796-1857 158. Thoughts for a Young Man.

Orestes A. Brownson, 1800- 159. The Duty of Progress. 160. Catholic Europe in the Seventeenth Century, despotic.

Theodore D. Woolsey, 1801- 161. Importance of the Study of International Law.

Taylor Lewis, 1802- 162. Unity of the Mosaic Account of the Creation. 163. Cruel Intestine Wars caused by National Division.

Horace Greeley, 1811-1872 164. The Problem of Labor. 165. The Beneficence of Labor-saving Inventions. 166. Literature as a Vocation;—the Editor. 167. Tranquility of Rural Life.

Theodore Parker, 1810-1860 168. Winter and Spring. 169. The true idea of a Christian Church. 170. Character of Franklin. 171. Character of Jefferson.

Wendell Phillips, 1811- 172. The War for the Union. 173. Character of Toussaint L'Ouverture.

Thomas Starr King, 1824-1864 174. Great Principles and Small Duties.

=2.= GENERAL AND POLITE LITERATURE.

William Wirt, 1772-1834 175. The Example of Patrick Henry no argument for Indolence. 176. Jefferson's Seat at Monticello.

Timothy Flint, 1780-1840 177. The Western Boatman.

Washington Irving, 1783-1859 178. Title and Table of Contents of Knickerbocker's History of New York. 179. The Army at New Amsterdam. 180. A Mother's Memory. 181. Columbus a Prisoner. 182. Arrival of Columbus at Court. 183. A Time of Unexampled Prosperity. 184. Death and Burial of General Braddock. 185. Baron Steuben in the Revolutionary Army.

Richard H. Wilde, 1780-1847 186. Interest of Tasso's Life.

George Ticknor, 1791-1871 187. The Design of Cervantes in writing Don Quixote.

James Hall, 1793-1868 188. Description of a Prairie.

H.R. Schoolcraft, 1793-1864 189. The Chippewa Indian.

Edward Everett, 1794-1865 190. Astronomy for all Time. 191. Description of a Sunrise. 192. The Celtic Immigration.

Hugh S. Legaré. 1797-1843 193. The Study of the Ancient Classics. 194. Disadvantages of Colonial Life.

Francis L. Hawks, 1798-1866 195. Japan interesting in many Aspects.

George P. Marsh, 1801- 196. Method of learning English. 197. The Evergreens of Southern Europe.

George H. Calvert, 1803- 198. Estimate of Coleridge.

Ralph W. Emerson, 1803- 199. Influence of Nature. 200. The power of Childhood. 201. Advantage of working in harmony with Nature. 202. Rules for Reading.

John R. Bartlett, 1805- 203. Lynch Law at El Paso.

Nat'l P. Willis, 1807-1867 204. The American Abroad. 205. Character and Writings of James Hillhouse.

H.W. Longfellow, 1807- 206. The interrupted Legend.

Henry Reed, 1808-1854 207. Legendary Period of Britain.

C.M. Kirkland, 1808-1864 208. The Felling of a Great Tree. 209. The Bee Tree.

Margaret Fuller Ossoli 1810-1850 210. Carlyle characterized.

Oliver W. Holmes, 1809- 211. Consequences of exposing an old error. 212. Pleasures of Boating. 213. The unspoken Declaration. 214. Mechanics of Vital Action.

John Wm. Draper, 1810- 215. Truths in the ancient Philosophies. 216. Future Influence of America.

James R. Lowell, 1810- 217. New England two Centuries ago. 218. From an Essay on Dryden. 219. Love of Birds and Squirrels. 220. Chaucer's love of Nature.

Edgar A. Poe, 1811-1849 221. The Chiming of the Clock. 222. The Philosophy of Composition.

H.T. Tuckerman, 1813-1871 223. The Heart superior to the Intellect.

H.N. Hudson, 1814- 224. Instructive Character of Shakespeare's Works.

Mary H. Eastman. About 1817- 225. Lake Itasca, the Source of the Mississippi. 226. A Plea for the Indians.

Mary E. Moragne, 1815- 227. The Huguenot Town.

Richard H. Dana, Jr., 1815- 228. A Death at Sea.

Evert A. Duyckinck, 1816- 229. Newspapers.

Horace B. Wallace, 1817-1852 230. Art an Emanation of Religious Affection.

H.D. Thoreau, 1817-1862 231. Description of "Poke" or Garget, (Phytolacca Decandra). 232. Walden Pond. 233. Wants of the Age.

Elizabeth F. Ellett, 1818- 234. Escape of Mary Bledsoe from the Indians.

James J. Jarves, 1818- 235. The Art Idea.

Edwin P. Whipple, 1819- 236. Poets and Poetry of America.

J.T.L. Worthington, 1847- 237. The Sisters.

Alice Cary, 1820-1871 238. Clovernook, the End of the History.

Donald G. Mitchell, 1822- 239. A Talk about Porches.

Richard Grant White, 1822- 240. The Character of Shakespeare's Style.

Thos. W. Higginson, 1823- 241. Elegance of French Style.

Charles G. Leland, 1824- 242. Aspect of Nuremberg.

Geo. Wm. Curtis, 1824- 243. Under the Palms.

John L. McConnell, 1826- 244. The Early Western Politician.

Sarah J. Lippincott. About 1833 245. Death in Town, and in Country.

Francis Bret Harte, 1837- 246. Birth of a Child in a Miner's Camp.

Wm. D. Howells, 1837- 247. Snow in Venice.

Mary A. Dodge, 1838- 248. Scenery of the Upper Mississippi.

=3.= LATER MISCELLANEOUS WRITERS.

George Washington, 1732-1799 249. Natural advantages of Virginia.

Matthew F. Maury, 1806-1873 250. The Mariner's Guide across the Deep. 251. The Gulf Stream.

O.M. Mitchell, 1810-1862 252. The Great Unfinished Problems of the Universe.

=4.= NATURAL HISTORY, SCENERY, ETC.

William Bartram, 1739-1813 253. Scenes on the Upper Oconee, Georgia. 254. The Wood Pelican of Florida.

Alex'r Wilson, 1766-1813 255. Nest of the Red-headed Woodpecker. 256. The White-headed, or Bald Eagle.

Stephen Elliott, 1771-1830 257. Completeness and variety of Nature.

John J. Audubon, 1776-1851 258. The Passenger Pigeon. 259. Emigrants Removing Westward. 260. Interest of Exploration in the Remote West.

Daniel Drake, 1785-1852 261. Objects of the Western Mound Builders.

John Bachman, 1790-1874 262. The Opossum.

J.A. Lapham, 1811- 263. The Smaller Lakes of Wisconsin. 264. Ancient Earthworks.

Chas. W. Webber, 1819-1856 265. The Mocking Bird.

Chas. Lanman, 1819- 266. Maple Sugar-Making among the Indians.

Ephraim G. Squier, 1821- 267. Indian Pottery.

=5.= WRITERS OF TRAVEL AND ADVENTURE.

Benj'n Silliman, 1779-1864 268. The Falls of Montmorenci.

John L. Stephens, 1805-1852 269. Discovery of a Ruined City in the Woods.