The Humane Poets. No. I. SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE, 1772-1834. THE POET'S KEN. The Poet in his lone yet genial hour, S AMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE was a critic, poet, and metaphysician. He was born at Ottery St. Mary, in Devonshire. He was the youngest son of the vicar of the place where he was born, and lost his father when only nine years of age. He was sent to Christ's Hospital, where Charles Lamb was a pupil at the same time. Coleridge says of himself at this period : At a very premature age, even before my fifteenth year, I had bewildered myself in metaphysics and in theological controversy. Nothing else pleased me. History and particular facts lost all interest in my mind." In 1791 he entered Jesus College, Cambridge, but did not stay to take a degree. At Bristol he associated with Southey, Burnett, and Lovell, to found a community in America, where selfishness was to be proscribed, and all goods were to be held in common -a scheme which, however, was abandoned. Through the frendship of Joseph Cottle, a bookseller of Bristol, Coleridge was first enabled, in 1794, to publish a volume of poems-the commencement, as is proved, of an eminent literary career. The Ancient Mariner " was written in 1797, and the first part of "Christabel " and the tragedy of "Remorse" at nearly the same period. Coleridge died at Highgate. soon The following description of Coleridge was written by his friend Wordsworth in a volume of Thomson's works :"A noticeable man with large grey eyes, And a pale face that seemed undoubtedly As if a blooming face it ought to be. Heavy his low-hung lip did oft appear Deprest by weight of brooding phantasy; Profound his forehead was though not severe." Coleridge's poems contain many references to animal life, and there is plenty of evidence that he fully appreciated their In unctuous cones of kindly coal, Or smoke upwreathing from the pipe's trim bole, His gifted ken can see Phantoms of sublimity.-COLeridge. "The worth and their beauty in Nature. Nightingale," a "conversation poem,' written in April, 1798, is redolent of tender feeling. But by far the most popular of his writings, and the one which appeals most, by reason of its moral, to humanitarians, is the following, extracted from the " Ancient Mariner ":Beyond the shadow of the ship, I watched the water snakes; I watched their rich attire; - Of quite another type was his "Address to a Young Ass," and we quote it as an example of the sympathy which, like his friend Wordsworth, he could entertain for even the most despised creatures :— Poor little foal of an oppressed race! I love the languid patience of thy face; And oft with gentle hand I give thee bread, And clap thy ragged coat, and pat thy head. But what thy dulled spirits hath dismay'd That never dost thou sport along the glade? And (most unlike the nature of things young) That earthward still thy moveless head is Do thy prophetic fears anticipate, "Which patient merit of the unworthy Or is thy sad heart thrilled with filial pain Chained to a log within a narrow spot, seen, While sweet around her waves the tempting green! Poor ass! thy master should have learnt to show Pity, best taught by fellowship of woe! For much, I fear me, that he lives like thee, T Half famished in a land of luxury! Innocent foal! thou poor despised for- I hail thee, brother-spite of the fool's scorn! And fain would take thee with me, in the dell Of peace and mild equality to dwell, Where Toil shall call the charmer Health his bride, And Laughter tickles Plenty's ribless side! And frisk about, as lamb or kitten gay! Our portrait is reproduced from one painted in 1795 by Peter Vandyke for Joseph Cottle, Coleridge's Bristol publisher, and was purchased by the Trustees of the National Portrait Gallery in March, 1865. The Dead Seal Ghildren. BY CANON RAWNSLEY. HE Americans claimed that owing to the killing at sea, of breeding females, vast numbers of seal pups were left to starve on the islands near Saghalien. They believed that as many as 30,000 perished in this way. The British Commissioners who have reported, state that on Robben Island and the Pribylof Isles 20,000 dead pups were counted. They think that 10,000 of these had been killed by overcrowding before the pelagic sealing commenced. They say the remaining 10,000 died later in the season; but one is not convinced by this statement. Dead seal-pups tell no tales. Round Robben Isle the happy sea-birds fly The very waves are red with shame and blood, Go home, too happy, warm, and blest to feel, H. D. RAWNSLEY. NOTICE.-A large number of letters and other communications are with great regret held over, but will appear in our next issue. Correspondents must be as brief as possible, and preference will always be given to letters for insertion which bear the writer's name. American correspondents will oblige by ensuring that their letters are not overweight.-ED. A. F. Adjidaumo-Friend and Squirrel. BY MRS. LAURENCE PIKE. [Illustrated with Original Photographs, by Mr. Laurence Pike.-Copyright.] Up the oak tree close beside him, Coughed and chattered from the oak tree. "On the boughs, with tail erected, O begin with, my squirrels are free as air! They are FRIENDS! not PRISONERS! They live in the trees surrounding the house, and they come daily to call on me of their own sweet wills. In the summer, when I sit out of doors, they climb up and sit on my shoulders, rubbing their soft furry cheeks against my face. In the winter they come into the house to look for me. There is nearly always a squirrel or two to be found on the doorstep or on the window-ledges, and as soon as a door or window is opened, in they patter. I am thankful to say that I have only known three captive squirrels. They, poor little beings, were much too sad and miserable to make friends with anyone. Two of these captives lived in a large cage. in a garden, where they were constantly teazed by flattened and rubbed, and his poor little hands, instead of being soft and smooth in the palms, as a baby's (as are my WILD squirrels' hands), are rough and scarred, with corns and sores, from constantly climbing about his rough galvanized-wire covered box. Poor little brown prisoner ! He was taken from his happy home in a tall pine tree in the New Forest, and now he is in prison, not even allowed water to drink, "because he makes his cage damp!" said his (kind?) gaoler, when I remonstrated. I was calling at the house, and asked to see the squirrel. So he was let out of his cage. He ran to the window, and where a single drop of water had fallen on the sill, lapped it crazily. I insisted on his having some water given him, and oh! it made my heart ache to see how madly thirsty he was, and then to hear that he was not allowed to drink! The last news I have heard of him is that he has had a paralytic stroke, so I suppose the end is not far off. ADJIDAUMO II. seeing their free brothers swinging and playing in the trees. One of these free ones used to come and tug at the wires, trying, I suppose, to release his companions; these unhappy ones were very fierce, and would bite anyone who tried to stroke them. Poor little creatures! All they wanted was freedom; and that being denied them, they would not make friends with their tormentors and gaolers. The third captive I knew is still alive, and is kept in a most wretched little box in a town house. His mistress is supposed to "love" him very much! but she keeps him in a tiny cage many sizes too small for him, so that his limbs are cramped, and his tail, once full and bushy, is It is only those who have become acquainted with these quaint little beings who can imagine how pretty their ways are and how affectionate. By becoming acquainted I do not mean penning these restless little spirits in a wretched cage; I mean going out into the woods and becoming friends with them there. This friendship can be begun in the summer, when it is a joy and refreshment to wander in the woods far from the haunts of men. If you make squirrel and bird friends in the woods in the summer you will find |