BRUNTON, MARY (BALFOUR) (1778-1818).--Novelist, _dau._ of Col. Balfour of
Elwick, and _m._ to the Rev. Dr. Brunton, Prof. of Oriental Languages in
the Univ. of Edin., was the authoress of two novels, _Self-Control_
(1811) and _Discipline_ (1814), which were popular in their day.


BRYANT, JACOB (1715-1804).--Scholar, _ed._ at Eton and Camb., wrote
learnedly, but paradoxically, on mythological and Homeric subjects. His
chief works were _A New System or Analysis of Ancient Mythology_
(1774-76), _Observations on the Plain of Troy_ (1795), and _Dissertation
concerning the Wars of Troy_ (1796). In the last two he endeavoured to
show that the existence of Troy and the Greek expedition were fabulous.
Though so sceptical on these points he was an implicit believer in the
authenticity of the Rowley authorship of Chatterton's fabrications. He
also wrote on theological subjects.


BRYANT, WILLIAM CULLEN (1794-1878).--Poet, was _b._ at Cummington,
Massachusetts, the _s._ of a doctor. His ancestors on both sides came
over in the _Mayflower_. His first poem was _Thanatopsis_ (1817), which
was greeted as the best poem produced in America up to that time. After
being a lawyer for some time he was induced to exchange law for
journalism, and acted as ed. of various periodicals. Among his best known
poems are _Lines to a Water-fowl_, _The Rivulet_, _The West Wind_, _The
Forest Hymn_, _The Fringed Gentian_, etc. His muse is tender and graceful,
pervaded by a contemplative melancholy, and a love of solitude and the
silence of the woods. Though he was brought up to admire Pope, and in his
early youth imitated him, he was one of the first American poets to throw
off his influence. He had a high sense of duty, was a prominent and
patriotic citizen, and enjoyed the esteem and even the reverence of his