Cunningham, Allan (1784-1842).—Poet and miscellaneous writer, b. near Dalswinton, Dumfriesshire, in his youth knew Burns, who was a friend of his father's. He was apprenticed to a stonemason, but gave his leisure to reading and writing imitations of old Scottish ballads, which he contributed to Cromek's Remains of Nithsdale and Galloway Song, pub. in 1810, and which gained for him the friendship of Scott and Hogg. Thereafter he went to London, and became a parliamentary reporter, and subsequently assistant to Chantrey, the sculptor, but continued his literary labours, writing three novels, a life of Sir D. Wilkie, and Lives of Eminent British Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, besides many songs, of which the best is A wet sheet and a flowing Sea. He also brought out an ed. of Burns's Works. He had four sons, all of whom rose to important positions, and inherited in some degree his literary gifts.
Curtis, George William (1824-1892).—American essayist, editor, and journalist, contributed to New York Tribune, and to Putnam's and Harper's monthlies, in which most of his books first appeared. Among these are Trumps, a story of New York life, Prue and I, Lotus-eating, and the Potiphar Papers. G. was also one of the finest American orators of his day.
Cynewulf (fl. 750).—Anglo-Saxon poet. He was probably a Northumbrian, though sometimes thought to have been a Mercian. His poems, and some others, more or less doubtfully attributed to him, are contained in the Exeter Book and the Vercelli Book. The poems which are considered to be certainly his are the Riddles, from hints and allusions in which is derived nearly all that is known of him, or at least of the earlier part of his life, which appears to have been that of a joyous and poetical nature, rejoicing in the beauty of the world. His next poem, Juliana, the legend of a virgin-martyr, indicates a transition in his spiritual life; sorrow and repentance are its predominant notes, and in these respects another poem, St. Guthlac, resembles it. In the Crist (Christ), C. has passed through the clouds to an assured faith and peace. The Phœnix, and the second part of Guthlac, though not certainly his, are generally attributed to him. The Fates of the Apostles and Elene (the legend of St. Helena) are his; the Andreas and The Dream of the Roode are still in some respects the subject of controversy. In several of the poems the separate letters of C.'s name are introduced in a peculiar manner, and are regarded as an attesting signature. Juliana, Crist, The Apostles, and Elene are thus said to be signed. The Exeter and Vercelli Books are collections of ancient English poems, and they are named from the places where they were found.
Dalling and Bulwer, William Henry Lytton Earle Bulwer, 1st Lord (1801-1872).—Elder brother of Lord Lytton (q.v.), and a distinguished diplomatist. He represented England at Madrid, Washington (where he concluded the Bulwer-Clayton Treaty), Florence, Bucharest, and Constantinople, and was raised to the peerage in 1871. He was the author of a number of books of travel and biography, including An Autumn in Greece (1826), a Life of Byron (1835), Historical Characters (1868-70), and an unfinished life of Lord Palmerston.
