The poet needs no introduction and offers no apology on his entrance into the domain of history; for he is no intruder there, entitled indeed to a place of honor in the proudest capitol of that noble realm. Homer precedes Herodotus and makes his record doubly valuable. The poet is in fact the maker in large measure of the history of the world. Through his entrancing and inspiring voice the aspirations of humanity have been elevated, ideals lofty in thought and deed have been constantly upheld, and will to dare and do the utmost in the cause of liberty and righteousness has been imparted in the hour of need. In the poet's verse we read, as nowhere else, the inner throbbing life of man. High or low his ascent of Parnassus, his words have a charm for us, if the Muse has bidden him welcome; and the nearer he is to us the more apt he will be to express our peculiar griefs and joys in his melodious strains. Hence, it is with pleasure, that the claims of Mississippi's "Backwoods Poet" to our affection and appreciation are now presented. Perhaps he is not the greatest of the thirty or forty that might be named who in our State have as poets achieved more or less local distinction. He modestly disclaimed such honor, and assumed himself the title of "Backwoods Poet" which has been given him. S. Newton Berryhill, of Choctaw (now Webster) county, Mississippi, is his proper name. He was born October 22, 1832, and died Dec. 8, 1887. In the preface of his poems these significant facts are stated: "While I was yet an infant, my father with his family settled down in a wilderness, where I grew up with the population, rarely ever going out of the neighborhood for forty years. The old log school house, with a single window and a single door, was my _alma mater_, the green woods was my campus." Yet what he learned in the log school house and the woods and by subsequent private study would put to shame very many who have enjoyed far better educational advantages; especially, when the further disadvantage under which he labored is considered. Early in life he became the victim of a serious spinal affection, which rendered him a confirmed invalid, unable the remainder of his days to stand upon his feet. Despite all these, to an ordinary man, crushing limitations, he became fairly proficient in Latin, French, German, and music, in addition to a thorough knowledge of the usual high school course in English, science, and mathematics.