Thu hadst a Poet once; and he could tell, Could fill each pastoral reed upon thy shore Brainard Connecticut River: HARTFORD: HASE, TIFFANY AND BURNHAM. THE POETS OF CONNECTICUT; WITH BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. "Connecticut! thy name, Uncouth in song, too long concealed from fame, If yet thy filial bards the gloom can pierce, Shall rise and flourish in immortal verse. Inventive genius, imitative powers, And, still more precious, common sense is ours; HUMPHREYS. EDITED BY REV. CHARLES W. EVEREST. HARTFORD: CASE, TIFFANY AND BURNHAM. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1843, BY C. W. EVEREST, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Connecticut. ABMGORLIAD Stereotyped by RICHARD H. HOBBS Hartford, Conn. PRINTED BY HARTFORD. ( TO THE READER. FOR the design of "The Poets of Connecticut," we can claim little originality. Various literary collections, somewhat similar in character, have already appeared, as "The Boston Book," "The Rhode Island Book," "The New York Book," &c. These, however, for the most part, have been merely compilations, arranged without any principle of order, and furnishing no biographical particulars. In these respects, the plan of the present work differs materially from that of others which, like itself, embrace only the writers of one State or section. The publications which it most closely resembles, are the " Specimens of American Poetry," edited by SAMUEL KETTELL, and published some years since, at Boston, by S. G. GOODRICH, and the recent large volume of "The Poets and Poetry of America, "edited by RUFUS WILMOT GRISWOLD, and published at Philadelphia, by CAREY and HART. Yet the similarity of our volume to these, consists chiefly in its biographical sketches, and in the order of arrangement. In preparing our present work, the first difficulty which presented itself was to determine a true principle of admission. Who are the Poets of Connecticut? If we should select only those who were born in the State, and continued to reside within its limits, every reader would doubtless complain of the rigidness of the rule. Two other classes present a claimthose who are citizens by birthright only, and those who have become such by residence. To admit both were to encroach on the claims of other States; and we think it undoubtedly the fairest course to concede the place to those who prefer the right of nativity. "Seven mighty cities claimed great HOMER dead, Through which the living HOMER begged his bread." Here was no question of residence. The bard had maintained a vagabondresidence in each: and now the strife was to determine the question of birth. Let us illustrate our position by a familiar example, from our own class of writers. JAMES OTIS ROCKWELL, was born, and, for a few years, lived, in Connecticut; he next dwelt, for a time, in New Jersey; afterward, he resided in the State of New York; subsequently, he was a citizen of Massachusetts; and lastly, he was a resident of Rhode Island, where he died. Now, to which of these five States may he be said properly to have belonged; and to which does his poetical reputation, whatever it may be, 225810 |