USA > Pennsylvania > Encyclopedia of contemporary biography of Pennsylvania, Vol. II > Part 58
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Light Company, (electric). To each of these he gives personal attention, and with quick perception, wonderful capacity for work, stalwart physique, temperate habits and a cheerful philosophy that no care can ruffle, he contrives to get through his work with them all, and still find time for enjoying his luxurious home and the society of his wife. Mrs. Magee was Miss Eleanor L. Gillespie, the daughter of a well-known merchant, now dead. She is an ac- complished musician, a leader in social affairs and a charming and frequent entertainer. Their resi- dence, recently completed, is one of the handsomest in the city. Both are lovers of art and of books and of friends, and the interior furnishment of their home is designed with all three in remembrance. Mr. Magee has made his fortune by large enter- prizes, rather than by small economies. He is a generous liver, but a temperate one. He smokes a great deal, but is a total abstainer from the use of intoxicating liquors. He is the most approachable of men, and rarely denies anybody a hearing, whether it is a loan or an interview that is desired. His charities are large, unostentatious and continu- ous. He loves his family and his friends, likes as many people as he can, and hates nobody. He en- joys his own successes modestly, but thoroughly. He would rather remember having done one man a kindness than that he had triumphed over twenty. And so it is that the toil by which he has earned wealth has been lightened, and the cares and strug- gles through which he has risen to eminence have traced no furrows on his facc or on his heart.
BAYARD TAYLOR.
HON. JAMES BAYARD TAYLOR, the cele- brated author, poet, journalist, traveler and diplo- matist, was born upon a country farm at Kennett Square, Chester County, Pennsylvania, January 11, 1825, and died at Berlin, Prussia, on December 19, 1878, while representing the United States as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the German Empire. His parents were descended from the earliest settlers of Pennsylvania, and were per- sons of note in the quiet township where they always lived. The future author and traveler re- ceived the usual advantages of a common school education, and, like so many other men of eminence, obtained his first impulse to a literary career through his connection with the press. At the age of seven- teen years he was regularly apprenticed in a news- paper printing office, in West Chester, and employed
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his leisure in the study of Latin and French. His first published compositions were verses, which he wrote for the columns of the newspaper in question, and were probably " set up" by his own hand. The approval of his friends soon induced him to send specimens of his poetic skill to the two recognized autocrats of American criticism, Nathaniel P. Wil- lis and Rufus Wilmot Griswold, then respectively conducting the New York Mirror and Graham's Magazine. They were well received in the columns of those periodicals, and others of his compositions were accepted by metropolitan newspapers. In 1844 he collected his scattered verses into a small volume entitled "Ximena, or, The Battle of the Sierra Morena, and Other Poems" (Philadelphia, 1844, 12mo., pp. 84), which is now one of the scarc- est of modern American books. One of his objects in this early appearance as an author was to gain a sufficient status in literature to procure him an en- gagement as correspondent for some prominent journal during a tour in Europe which he was eagerly planning, although the expenses had yet to be provided. This bold project for a youth of nineteen succeeded in every respect. His local fame in Chester County reached the city of Phila- delphia, where his book had been printed, and he obtained from Mr. Joseph R. Chandler, of the United States Gazette, and Mr. Patterson, of the Saturday Evening Post, an advance of $100 for let- ters to be written from Europe. This sum, with the addition of $40 received from Graham's Magazine, for some accepted poems, was enough to pay his passage and his expenses for a few weeks abroad, and he was encouraged by Horace Greeley, who promised to pay for such letters as should prove readable. He took a steerage passage for England, traveled on foot through England, Scotland, Ger- many, Switzerland, Italy and France, for nearly two years, at an expense of only $500, a portion of which was sent by his parents, but the larger part was earned by his fresh and vivacious newspaper correspondence. On his return to America he had little trouble in arranging his materials into a vol- ume, which was published in December, 1846, at New York, under the title "Views-a-foot, or Europe Seen with Knapsack and Staff ; with a Preface by N. P. Willis." The volume had an immediate suc- cess, receiving the heartiest praise not only from R. W. Griswold, but from that sterner censor, the Lon- don Athencum. It passed through a dozen editions. For a year after his return Mr. Taylor edited and published a country paper at Phoenixville, Pennsyl- vania, with an unsatisfactory pecuniary result. In 1847 he came to New York to seek his fortune by literature, and a number of his sketches and poems
were accepted by the Literary World, which, under the management of the late Evert A. Duyckinck, was then the leading critical journal of the metropo- lis. His ambition was still chiefly directed to poetic fame, and at the Christmas season of 1847 he issued (with the date of 1848) a new volume of "Rhymes of Travel, Ballads and other Poeins," which did not meet the commendation of the Literary World, but was warmly praised by Edgar Allen Poe. In Feb- ruary, 1848, Mr. Taylor secured employment upon the New York Tribune, with which paper he continued, until his death, connected in some capacity. Early in 1849 he became owner of one share of the Tribune stock, and was advanced in rank upon its editorial staff. Just at that time, however, the Eastern States were agog with the California excitement, wand thither young Taylor proceeded by way of Panama, returning a few months later through Mexico. His letters to the Tribune, collected under the title " El Dorado; or Adventures in the Path of Empire" (2 vols., 1850), had within a few weeks a circulation of ten thousand copies, and of the Eng- lish reprint thirty thousand were sold. More than twenty editions have since been issued of this, the most profitable of all Mr. Taylor's works. The chief incentive to his longest series of journeys- those begun in 1851-was the death, from consump- tion, of a beautiful and amiable young lady to whom he was long engaged, and who had inspired many pathetic lyrics in his earlier verse. The mar- riage ceremony was performed alınost on her death- bed, and after her burial he felt the need of pro- tracted change of scene. In the summer of 1851 Mr. Taylor set out for a long tour in Eastern lands, leaving in the hands of his publisher a third volume of poems, "A Book of Romances, Lyrics and Songs," (Boston, 1851), which included "The Amer- ican Legend," a poem delivered the previous year before the Phi Beta Kappa Society of Harvard Uni- versity, and separately printed. Mr. Taylor's jour- ney conducted him by way of England, the Rhine, Vienna, Trieste and Smyrna to Egypt, reaching Cairo early in November. He spent the whole win- ter in a voyage up the Nile, penetrating through Nubia and the Soudan to the Kingdom of the Shil- look negroes, on the White Nile, and when he reached Cairo in April, 1852, he had traveled four thousand miles in Central Africa. He then made the usual Oriental tour of Palestine and Syria, visited Antioch and Aleppo, and crossed Asia Minor diagon- ally from Tarsus, through the passes of the Taurus range, the forests of ancient Phrygia and the Bi- thynian Olympus to Constantinople, visiting also the Troad. He then spent several months in Southern Europe, especially Malta and Sicily, where he wit-
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nessed the eruption of Etna, and returned to Eng- land by way of the Tyrol and Germany. After a brief sojourn in England, he took a new departure for the extreme East in October, 1852; tarried a month in Southern Spain, proceeded to Bombay by the "overland" route, and made a journey of two thousand two hundred miles, chiefly on horseback, in Central India, reaching Calcutta February 22, 1853. He soon proceeded to Hong Kong, by way of Penang and Singapore; resided some time at Shang- hai as an attaché of the American Legation, then in charge of Colonel Marshall, and, on May 17, em- barked for Japan on board the squadron of Commo- dore Perry. He was thus a witness of one of the most memorable events of modern times-the open- ing of Japan to intercourse with civilized countries -but his diary was not allowed to be separately published, it being used in preparing the official narrative of the expedition. Returning to Canton in August, Mr. Taylor sailed in September for New York and reached this port December 20, 1853, after an absence of two years and four months, during which he had traveled about fifty thousand miles. His letters to the Tribune furnished the materials of several volumes-" A Journey to Central Africa ; or, Life and Landscape from Egypt to the Negro Kingdoms of the White Nile" (New York, 1854); "The Lands of the Saracen ; or, Pictures of Pales- tine, Asia Minor, Sicily and Spain" (1854); and " A Visit to India, China and Japan in the Year 1853" (1855)-all of which were widely popular both in America and England and ran through numerous editions. Mr. Taylor had scarcely rested from is- suing these volumes of travels, when he returned to his first love with three volumes of verse, "Poems of the Orient " (Boston, 1854); " Poems and Ballads" (New York, 1854); and "Poems of Home and Travel" (New York, 1855) the latter work compris- ing a selection from his earlier lyrics. In July, 1856, he undertook a fourth tour through Northern and Eastern Europe and Iceland, resulting in three more volumes-" Northern Travel ; Summer and Winter Pictures; Sweden, Denmark and Lapland " (1857) ; "Travels in Greece and Russia, with an Excursion to Crete " (1859) ; and " At Home and Abroad; a Sketch Book of Life, Scenery and Men " (1859), of which work a second series was issued in 1862. Mr. Taylor settled down to quiet journalistic work for a few years, but the passion for novelty was still strong within him, and in 1862 he accepted the post of Secretary of Legation at St. Petersburg, where he resided nearly two years, acting for a short time in 1863 as Charge d' Affaires ad interim. At this time he pursued with earnestness his studies of German literature, commenced many years before, and mar-
ried Miss Marie Hansen, a German lady of distin- guished family, who is herself a linguist and author of rare talents. During his residence in Russia Mr. Taylor published " The Poets' Journal " (Boston, 1863) which has been called a poetical domestic au- tobiography, and "Hannalı Thurston, a Story of American Life " (1863) his first venture in fiction- a work which achieved considerable success and was translated by Mrs. Taylor into German. Soon after his return to America he issued a second novel -"John Godfrey's Fortunes, Related by Himself" (1864)-and two years later a third-"The Story of Kennett; a Tale of American Life " (1866)-dealing with historical incidents which occurred near his birthplace in Chester County, Pennsylvania. A poem, "The Picture of St. John" (1866) and two new volumes of travel, "Colorado; a Summer Trip " (1867) and "Byways of Europe " (1869) gave evidence of continued literary activity, as also of Frithiof's "Saga" (1867) and of Auerbach's " Villa on the Rhine" (1869) which he edited, with a bio- graphical sketch of the latter author. During the winter of 1869-'70 he delivered a course of lectures on "German Literature" at Cornell University. He was well beloved by all the students at Ithaca. His chief occupation for several years consisted in lec- turing, and his recreation in translating Goethe's "Faust," two volumes (1870-'71). He traversed in 1871 the entire route of the Northern Pacific Rail- way, making a by-visit to the British province of Manitoba, and in 1874 revisited Egypt and Iceland, publishing his letters thereupon in a single volume. Among his later publications were " The Ballad of Abraham Lincoln " (1869) delivered at the inaugura- tion of a monument at Gettysburg, July 4, 1869; another novel, "Joseph and His Friend" (1870); " The Masque of the Gods" (1872) ; "Lars, a Pas- toral of Norway" (1873); and " Home Pastorals, Bal- lads and Lyrics " (1875). He edited four volumes, comprising an " Illustrated Library of Travel, Ex- ploration and Adventure " (1872-'74) and was long engaged upon a biography of Goethe, which he in- tended to make the great work of his life. A com- plete account of his literary activity would comprise scores of uncollected contributions to miscellaneous publications, many unpublished lectures, and a vast number of literary reviews and general articles which were published in the columns of the New York Tribune. One of his frequent tours de force was in preparing for the Tribune, some years ago, within forty-eight hours a complete account of two new volumes of poems by Victor Hugo. This was done from advance sheets, by working day and night, and the account, which filled several columns, was largely composed of metrical translations from
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Hugo. Mr. Taylor was not an ardent politician, but he sympathized hcartily with the Union cause during the Civil War and was always identified with the fortunes of the Republican party. Though his literary headquarters were in New York, he was a resident and citizen of Pennsylvania, having a beautiful home near the spot of his birth. When it fell to the lot of President Hayes to fill the post of Minister to the German Empire, it was generally felt that it would be not merely a welcome tribute to literature and to journalistic success, but a fitting satisfaction of the joint interests of two great States, could the position be tendered to Mr. Taylor. The press of the country with great unanimity approved in advance the nomination, which he received with- out solicitation on his own part. The complimen- tary receptions which were given to Mr. Taylor at Philadelphia and in New York City, are well re- membered by all who had the pleasure of participat- ing in them. The most distinguished men of letters in both cities took pleasure in bidding God-speed to a gentleman of such eminence in many distinct lines, and the congratulations of the German resi- dents were not less hearty. The press in Germany and England were highly complimentary, and long biographical sketches of Mr. Taylor appeared in the Berlin papers. He arrived in Germany late in April, 1878, and his short diplomatic career was marked by more than one notable event. The two attempts upon the life of the German Emperor and the meet- ing of the Peace Congress at Berlin will suffice to show the character of the period in which it was his lot to represent his country at so important a Capital. It is highly probable that his zeal to perform his duties of courtesy to the venerable German Emperor, by tendering him the congratulations of our Gov- ernment, may have accelerated his death; but the immediate cause was a surgical operation to which he had submitted several weeks before. The tid- ings of his sudden death aroused universal grief and sorrow at the German Court, because the deceased gentleman, although only accredited a short time, was a universal favorite. The Emperor William, the Crown Prince and Prince Bismarck greatly
esteemed Mr. Taylor, whose appointment as Minis- ter to that Court was extremely welcome to them. Mrs. Taylor and her daughter devotedly nursed the deceased during his long illness. The fatal symp- toms came on suddenly. Mr. Taylor had been out of bed and was transacting business with the offi- cials of the American Legation the day before. His death was peaceful and painless ; he passed away from life as though sinking into restful sleep. No account of Mr. Taylor's later literary labors would be complete without reference to the fine poem which he delivered at the Centenary Celebration of American Independence, at Philadelphia, July 4, 1876,-an occasion, which in many respects, was the crowning moment of his life. In the same year he printed an unpretending little volume, "The Echo Club and Other Literary Diversions." One of his greatest works, perhaps his poetic masterpiece, was published only a few days before his decease, "Prince Deukalion," a philosophieal poem, which has been passed upon by the majority of our organs of literary criticism and has elicited the most diverse opinions. The untimely death of its author, which made " Prince Deukalion " his last literary bequest to his countrymen, gave it an extensive cir- culation, and the author's object, which was to popularize his views about the religion of the future, was thus attained. Like the majority of modern poets Mr. Taylor held philosophical views consider- ably at variance with the prevalent theological or- thodoxy, but he never sought to give distinct expression to those views, and the multitude of readers who are groping for a creed will doubtless find at least a consistent and coherent system in Mr. Taylor's poem. In his heart it was always poetic fame that he coveted-poetry was his first love and his last. The final verdict of criticism, however, will probably award a greater value to other of his works. He long enjoyed the honor of having both his prose and poetic works collected into uniform series, the travels, which now com- prise some ten volumes, having for many years stood as standard books on the catalogues of well known publishers.
his book belongs to
AUSTIN BOYER,
WHILEAO. IT PA.
Please Revuin
PROPERTY OF
WERSTORE Co. PA.
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Genea 974.8 En19c v. 2
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