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BRYAN BRYANT 371 The soil is sandy. The surface on the banks of the river is undulating, and in other parts generally level. Much of the land is covered by pine forests. The Atlantic and Gulf rail- road passes through the county. In 1870 the principal productions were 38,909 bushels of Indian corn, 28,560 of oats, 30,834 of sweet potatoes, 412 bales of cotton, and 2,857,068 Ibs. of rice. There were 527 horses, 1,221 milch cows, 3,483 other cattle, 1,934 sheep, and 6,631 swine. Capital, Eden. BRYAN, or Bryant, Sir Francis, an English sol- dier and poet, died in 1550. In 1522 he served with credit in France, under the earl of Sur- rey; in 1528 was ambassador to France; and in 1529 was sent to Rome to settle the matter of the divorce of Henry VIII. Under Edward VI. he marched against the Scots, and in the battle of Musselburgh commanded the light- horse. In 1548 he was appointed governor of Ireland, where he married the countess of Or- mond. Some of his songs and sonnets were printed with those of Surrey and Wyatt. BRYAN, Michael, an English connoisseur in art, born at Newcastle in 1757, died in London, March 21, 1821. From 1781 to 1790 he trav- elled in Flanders, engaged in art studies ; and he here formed the acquaintance of the earl of Shrewsbury, whose sister he afterward mar- ried. In 1794 he was employed by the duke of Bridgewater, the marquis of Stafford, and the earl of Carlisle to purchase the celebrated Orleans gallery of paintings. This negotiation he conducted with such ability as to gain uni- versal approval. From this time he exercised the greatest influence in England as an art critic, and was looked upon as one of the first connoisseurs of the day. In 1816 he published his "Dictionary of Painters and Engravers," which has become a standard work. An edi- tion of this, edited and enlarged by George Stanley, appeared in 1853. BRYANT, Jacob, an English writer, born at Plymouth in 1715, died at Cypenham, near Windsor, Nov. 14, 1804. He graduated at Cam- bridge in 1740, and was tutor to the marquis of Blandford, subsequently duke of Marlbor- ough. In 1756 he became the dnke's secretary, and accompanied him during his command in Germany. After his return he received a lu- crative appointment in the ordnance, and re- fused the mastership of the Charterhouse. He published in 1767 "Observations and Inquiries relating to various parts of Ancient History," wherein he discusses the most abstruse and curious questions. In 1774 appeared the first two volumes, followed in 1776 by a third, of his most elaborate work, " A New System or Analysis of Ancient Mythology, wherein an attempt is made to divest Tradition of Fable and to restore Truth to its Original Purity." In order to "divest tradition of fable," he called to his aid etymological deductions, en- deavoring to glean historical facts from the af- finities of language. In 1775 he published " A Vindication of the Apamean Medals." In 1780 appeared his Vindicw Flavian, vindicating the testimony of Josephus concerning Christ. In the same year he entered upon a discussion with Priestley on the question of philosophical necessity; and in 1781 he published two vol- umes in which he endeavored to prove the au- thenticity of the Rowley poems of Chatterton. In 1796 lie published a " Dissertation concern- ing the War of Troy," maintaining that no such war ever took place, and no such city ever ex- isted. His last literary labor was preparing for the press a volume of " Dissertations on various Subjects in the Old Testament." BRYANT, William CnUen, an American poet, born at Cnmmington, Hampshire co., Mass., Nov. 3, 1794. His father. Peter Bryant, was a distinguished local physician, who had also travelled considerably, and devoted much time to the culture of his mind. He took unusual interest in the intellectual and moral develop- ment of his children, and was rewarded in the case of all of them, and particularly in that of William, with early evidence of their proficien- cy. The poet, in his beautiful " Hymn to Death," alludes feelingly to him in the lines beginning : For he is in his grave, who taught my youth The art of verse, and in the bud of hie Offered me to the muses; which was no poetic exaggeration, but a literal truth. There are few instances of precocity more remarkable than that of Bryant. He communicated lines to the county gazette be- fore he was ten years of age, and in his 14th year his friends caused to be printed two con- siderable poems, "The Embargo," a political satire, and " The Spanish Revolution." These passed to a second edition the next year (1809), and in the preface to that edition it was found necessary to certify the production of them by a person so young, in order to remove the skepticism of the public. In his 19th year he wrote " Thanatopsis," which still holds its place in general estimation as one of the most impressive poems in the language. He had in 1810 entered Williams college, where he was soon distinguished for his attainments in lan- guage and in polite literature. At the end of two years he took an honorable dismission, and engaged in the study of the law. Admitted to the bar in 1815, he commenced practice in Plainfield, and afterward removed to Great Barrington. He speedily rose to a high rank in the local and state courts ; but his tastes in- clined him rather to letters than to law. In 1817 his poem "Thanatopsis" was published in the "North American Review," and intro- duced him to the acquaintance of Mr. Richard II. Dana, who was one of the club which then conducted the "Review." He contributed also several prose articles to that periodical. In 1821 he delivered before the Phi Beta Kap- pa society at Harvard college a didactic poem on " The Ages ; " and in that year several of his poems were collected in a volume at Cam- bridge, and obtained for him immediate recog- nition as a writer of high merit. He removed