Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XVI.djvu/217

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UNITED STATES (Literature)
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guished by a charming style and a subtle and pleasant humor; and Julian Hawthorne, a son of Nathaniel (born 1846), who has attracted attention by novels of great promise, “Bressant,” “Idolatry,” and “Garth,” which in style and tone exhibit many of his father's characteristic qualities. The humorous writers are represented by Seba Smith (1792-1868), author of the well known letters of “Major Jack Downing,” Cornelius Mathews (born 1817), J. C. Neal (1807-'48), R. C. Sands (1799-1832), W. G. Clark (1810-'41), G. H. Derby (1824-'61), F. S. Cozzens (1818-'69), G. D. Prentice (1802-70), and C. F. Briggs; besides Irving, whose “Knickerbocker's History of New York” is perhaps the most elaborate piece of humor in the national literature; Paulding, who in conjunction with Irving produced the “Salmagundi;” and some others mentioned above. Holmes has a copious vein of original humor, which appears to the best advantage in his poems and miscellaneous prose writings. The list of American humorous writings would be incomplete without an allusion to that class of grotesque tales of which the “Big Bear of Arkansas” and the “Quarter Race in Kentucky,” by T. B. Thorpe, afford characteristic specimens. Among later humorists are Bret Harte, S. L. Clemens (“Mark Twain”), C. F. Browne (“Artemus Ward”), D. R. Locke (“Petroleum V. Nasby”), R. H. Newell (“Orpheus C. Kerr”), Charles G. Leland (“Hans Breitmann”), C. H. Webb (“John Paul”), and R. G. White (author of “The New Gospel of Peace”). Among other writers of prose fiction may be enumerated Sylvester Judd (1813-'53), author of “Margaret,” a tragic tale of New England life, and “Richard Edney;” T. S. Fay, G. P. Thompson, T. S. Arthur, J. V. Huntington, J. T. Trowbridge, L. M. Sargent, F. W. Shelton, George Wood, J. H. Ingraham, P. P. Cooke, J. E. Cooke, J. G. Holland, R. B. Kimball, X. Donald McLeod, G. W. Curtis, A. S. Roe, E. P. Roe, H. P. Myers, J. B. Cobb, Robert T. S. Lowell, Edgar Fawcett, W. D. O'Connor, Henry James, jr., W. H. Peck, Theodore Tilton, Charles Dimitry, E. E. Hale, James De Mille, J. W. De Forest, T. W. Higginson, Frank Lee Benedict, and T. B. Aldrich. The female writers of fiction of this period constitute a numerous and important body, and the works of some of them are not exceeded in popularity by any contemporary writings of their class. It will suffice to mention, in addition to works already referred to, the several series of “Pencil Sketches,” by Miss Eliza Leslie (1787-1858); the “Three Experiments of Living,” by Mrs. H. F. Lee; “The Wide, Wide World" and “Queechy,” by Miss Susan Warner; “Fern Leaves,” “Ruth Hall,” and other popular productions, by Mrs. S. P. W. Parton (“Fanny Fern”); “The Household of Bouverie,” by Mrs. C. A. Warfield; “Naomi,” by Mrs. E. B. Lee; “Charms and Counter-Charms,” by Miss M. J. McIntosh; besides numerous volumes by Mrs. Hale, Mrs. E. C. Embury, Mrs. C. L. Hentz, Mrs. A. S. Stephens, Mrs. E. Oakes Smith, Mrs. Ellet, Mrs. A. C. (Mowatt) Ritchie, Mrs. E. D. E. N. Southworth, Miss A. B. Warner, Mrs. E. S. Phelps (Trusta), Mrs. A. B. (Neal) Haven, Miss Alice Cary, Miss Caroline Chesebro', Mrs. E. Robinson (“Talvi”), Miss Maria S. Cummins, Mrs. Harriet (Prescott) Spofford, Mrs. Virginia Terhune (“Marion Harland”), Mrs. A. J. (Evans) Wilson, Mrs. Martha T. Lamb, Mrs. M. J. Holmes, Mrs. M. H. Eastman, Mrs. Elizabeth Stoddard, Mrs. M. A. Sadlier, Mrs. M. A. Denison, Mrs. M. C. Lawrence, Miss Amanda M. Douglas, Miss Frances C. Fisher, Miss Louisa M. Alcott, Miss Anna E. Dickinson, Mrs. A. M. Seemuller, Mrs. Mary Healy Bigot, Mrs. Jane G. Austin, Miss R. H. Davis, and many others.—In intimate connection with the departments already treated is that of juvenile literature, to which several authors have exclusively devoted themselves, and among the contributors to which are many of those previously mentioned. S. G. Goodrich's numerous little books for children, published under the pseudonyme of “Peter Parley," have had a prodigious circulation in Europe as well as America. Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote some delightful tales for children; Jacob Abbott (born 1803) is the author of the popular “Rollo,” “Lucy,” “Franconia,” and other series of stories, and of numerous juvenile histories; and W. M. Simonds, John Bonner, F. C. Woodworth, George Taylor, Charles Nordhoff, William T. Adams (“Oliver Optic”), Elijah Kellogg, Frank R. Stockton, Horatio Alger, jr., Mrs. E. C. Judson (“Fanny Forester,” 1817-'54), Mrs. Lippincott (“Grace Greenwood”), Mrs. Sigourney, Miss C. M. Sedgwick, Miss McIntosh, Mrs. L. C. Tuthill, Mrs. Parton, Mrs. L. M. Child, Mrs. A. B. (Neal) Haven, Miss L. M. Alcott, Mrs. H. C. Knight, Mrs. A. A. Carter, Mrs. E. S. Phelps and her daughter Miss E. S. Phelps, Mrs. Hubbell, Mrs. Helen Kendrick Johnson, Mrs. L. C. Moulton, Mrs. A. M. Diaz, Mrs. Mary Mapes Dodge, Mrs. Fanny Barrow, Miss Sarah C. Woolsey (“Susan Coolidge”), and many others have devoted a large portion of their time to this species of literature.—The poetry of this period has shown a remarkably healthy and abundant development; and it is probable that the number of writers is more numerous here than in any other country. Notwithstanding also the limited range of native subjects, which makes the imaginative literature of the country in some respects an imitation or rather a continuation of that of other lands, the characteristic features of national scenery, legend, and history have not failed of illustrators, while the familiar imagery of an older civilization has been often reproduced with force and originality. Among those who have made a felicitous use of native materials, one of the most eminent and thoroughly American is William Cullen Bryant (born 1794), whose poems, the fruits of meditation rather than of passion or imagination,