Poetry and Poets--Milton, Dante, Petrarch--Old-time Poetry in Scotland--Influence of Scenery on Literature--Lives that are Poems--Birth of Burns--Early Life and Education--Scotland Emerging from the Gloom of Calvinism--A Metaphysical Peasantry--Power of the Scotch Preacher--Famous Scotch Names--John Barleycorn vs. Calvinism--Why Robert Burns is Loved--His Reading--Made Goddesses of Women--Poet of Love: His "Vision," "Bonnie Doon," "To Mary in Heaven"--Poet of Home: "Cotter's Saturday Night," "John Anderson, My Jo"--Friendship: "Auld Lang-Syne"--Scotch Drink: "Willie brew'd a peck o' maut"--Burns the Artist: The "Brook," "Tam O'Shanter"--A Real Democrat: "A man's a man for a' that"--His Theology: The Dogma of Eternal Pain, "Morality," "Hypocrisy," "Holy Willie's Prayer"--On the Bible--A Statement of his Religion--Contrasted with Tennyson--From Cradle to Coffin--His Last words--Lines on the Birth-place of Burns. ABRAHAM LINCOLN. (1894.) I. Simultaneous Birth of Lincoln and Darwin--Heroes of Every Generation--Slavery--Principle Sacrificed to Success--Lincoln's Childhood--His first Speech--A Candidate for the Senate against Douglass--II. A Crisis in the Affairs of the Republic--The South Not Alone Responsible for Slavery--Lincoln's Prophetic Words--Nominated for President and Elected in Spite of his Fitness--III. Secession and Civil War--The Thought uppermost in his Mind--IV. A Crisis in the North--Proposition to Purchase the Slaves--V. The Proclamation of Emancipation--His Letter to Horace Greeley--Waited on by Clergymen--VI. Surrounded by Enemies--Hostile Attitude of Gladstone, Salisbury, Louis Napoleon, and the Vatican--VII. Slavery the Perpetual Stumbling-block--Confiscation--VIII. His Letter to a Republican Meeting in Illinois--Its Effect--IX. The Power of His Personality--The Embodiment of Mercy--Use of the Pardoning Power--X. The Vallandigham Affair--The Horace Greeley Incident--Triumphs of Humor--XI. Promotion of General Hooker--A Prophecy and its Fulfillment--XII.--States Rights vs. Territorial Integrity--XIII. His Military Genius--The Foremost Man in all the World: and then the Horror Came--XIV. Strange Mingling of Mirth and Tears--Deformation of Great Historic Characters--Washington now only a Steel Engraving--Lincoln not a Type--Virtues Necessary in a New Country--Laws of Cultivated Society--In the Country is the Idea of Home--Lincoln always a Pupil--A Great Lawyer--Many-sided--Wit and Humor--As an Orator--His Speech at Gettysburg contrasted with the Oration of Edward Everett--Apologetic in his Kindness--No Official Robes--The gentlest Memory of our World. VOLTAIRE. (1894.)