he great English poets. The youthful
Bryant was taught to memorize the noble hymns of Isaac Watts, and when he
was only five years old he would stand on a chair and recite them to
imaginary audiences.

Early in life Bryant came under the influence of the Unitarian doctrines
which were then sweeping through New England as a reaction against the
stern, harsh teachings of Puritanism. When he was only twenty-six years
old he was invited to contribute to a volume of hymns then in course of
preparation by the Unitarians. He responded by writing five hymns. Six
years later he wrote "Thou, whose unmeasured temple stands" for the
dedication of the Second Unitarian Church of New York City. He usually
attended the First Congregational Unitarian Church of that city.

About thirty years later, however, when Bryant was sixty-four years old,
a profound change occurred in his religious convictions. During a trip
abroad his wife became critically ill in Naples. At first her life was
despaired of, but when she finally was on the road to recovery Bryant
sent for a warm friend of the family, Rev. R. C. Waterston, who was in
Naples at the time. The latter tells of his meeting with the aged poet in
the following words:

"On the following day, the weather being delightful, we walked in the
royal park or garden overlooking the Bay of Naples. Never can I forget
the beautiful spirit that breathed through every word he (Bryant)
uttered, the reverent love, the confiding trust, the aspiring hope, the
rooted faith.... He said that he had never united himself with the
Church, which, with his present feeling, he would most gladly do. He then
asked if it would be agreeable to me to come to his room on the morrow
and administer the communion, adding that, as he had never been baptized,
he desired that ordinance at the same time.

"The day following was the Sabbath, and a most heavenly day. In
fulfilment of his wishes, in his own quiet room, a company of seven
persons celebrated together the Lord's Supper.... Previous to the
breaking of bread, William Cullen Bryant was baptized. With snow-white
head and flowing beard, he stood like one of the ancient prophets, and
perhaps never, since the days of the apostles, has a truer disciple
professed allegiance to the divine Master."

Twenty years after this experience, in the last year of the poet's life,
he made some contributions to the Methodist Episcopal hymnal. A revision
of one of the hymns which he ha