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ROBERT BROWNING
Browning Societies claimed too much for him, and created a wide impression that he was difficult. He had certain obscurities of style, it is true, but these were magnified
by the idea that they concealed a profundity of thought whose beauty could be comprehended only by the in-tellectually elect. This discouraged spontaneous reading. Now it is beginning to toe understood that B ro wning's message was simple and direct, and to all mankind that struggles and strives after moral good. Through the
Eoets that immediately preceded him we earned to look for God in nature, the spiritual solace and growth to be found in keeping close to simple, natural things. Browning spent a half century in teaching the uplifting power of human life and work— the beauty of sublime faith, dauntless courage and deathless love to lift us to heights unattained and give us thence the farther vision into the world beyond.
This subtlest seer of the soul, as he has been called, was born in a suburb of London, May 7, 1812, and was brought up in that human maelstrom, surrounded by it, a part of it,—conscious of the swarming millions with their problems and desires. The son of a man in banking and wealthy, he was almost as obscure as if he had been poor, for he was outside the aristocracy of birth, outside the established church, outside every thing that claims distinction in social and intellectual life in England. Where many men of sensitive imagination see only confusion and discouragement in such a hive of commercial activity, Browning saw hope and order. An optimist, he believed in the enthronement of man above time and circumstance. And this he taught in his earliest poems, Pauline and Paracelsus. At 33 he won an audience with Pippa Passes. The pretty little silk-winder of Asolo, with her simple faith and happy heart expressed in song, triumphed over the snarls of sin and selfishness. All the world understood her " God's in His heaven; all's right with the world/' Browning wrote other things as simple as that, like The Pied Piper of HameUn, Herve Kiel, How They Brought the Good News from Ghent to Aix and Home Thoughts. Saul is one long, sustained drama of optimism in a royal setting; Bells and Pomegranates and Men and Women contain matchless lyrics, sensuous, impassioned, dramatic,
The most tender of all Browning's poems were addressed to his wife, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, herself a poet of distinction. Their brief life together in Italy is one of the world's most precious love stories. He outlived her 28 years and wrote his greatest work, The Ring and the Book, after her death. The last poem he wrote expressed the belief that he should "clasp thee again, O thou soul of my soul, and with God be the rest." He died in Venice December 12, 1889, and was buried in Westminster Abbey, London. Professor Edward Dowden, one of his biographers says: "Much of Browning's work, as much of Wordsworth's, is below what is characteristic. Those things will survive that are inspired by the permanent passions and endearing interests of humanity. " William Sharp says: "It is as a poet that he will live, not as a novel thinker in verse. He had an enormous influence on the spiritual and mental life of his day, an influence that continually shapes itself to wise and beautiful issues." See Life and Works by Prof. Edward Dowden and The Poetry of Robert Browning by Rev. Stopford Brooke.
Browns'ville, Texas, a city, the county-seat of Cameron County and a port of entry, situated on the Rio Grande River, opposite Matamoros, Mexico. Brownsville was settled in 1848, and five years later incorporated as a city. It is in a busy stock-raising district, and has a large trade with Mexico. The region in which the city is situated was, after the year 1845, claimed by the Mexicans. This helped to bring on war with the United States, our government stationing a garrison at Fort Brown, adjoining the city, throughout the duration of the rupture with Mexico. Four miles from Brownsville the battle of Resaca de la Palma was fought in May, 1846, the issue being the flight of the Mexicans in a state of panic. In September, 1859, a Mexican raiding party captured Brownsville, but it was recovered by General Banks in November,, 1863. The city has grown since, and to-day has some fine public buildings, including the county court-house, United States custom-house, a Roman Catholic cathedral, college and convent. Population, (1910), 10,517.
Bruce, James (born 1730, died 1794), a famous Scottish traveler, called the Abyssinian, early gave up business to travel through Europe. In 1768 he went to Algiers as consul-general, and there studied the oriental languages and also the art of medicine. He traveled through Tunis and Tripoli, studied at Aleppo in Syria, spent some time at Alexandria, and finally set out from Cairo on foot to explore the headwaters of the Nile. In November, i77o> he reached the sources of the Abawi, therj supposed to be the main stream of the Nile. He spent about two years in Abyssiniat
