He  told  me  he  translated  from  the  Greek  on  an  average  forty
lines  a  day,  and  at  times  double  that  amount.  I  was  every
day  in  his  study,  and  saw  no  English  translation  among  his
many  books.  He  had  a  German  translation  to  which  he
might  occasionally  refer.  He  stated  that  he  had  always  been
fond  of  Greek,  and  that,  when  he  first  acquired  the  knowl
edge  of  that  language,  a  fellow-student,  who  has  since  risen  to
eminence  in  the  law,  wept  because  he  could  not  keep  up  with
him.  I  took  to  Mr.  Bryant  a  copy  of  Felton's  Lectures  on
Greek  Literature,  which  he  had  not  seen,  and  which  inter
ested  him.  His  translation  of  the  Iliad  was  completed  in
1869,  after  which  he  at  once  commenced  the  Odyssey,  which
h§  completed  in  1871,  making  six  years  in  which  he  was
engaged  upon  the  work.  Had  he  executed  nothing  else,  it
would  have  been  a  monument  to  his  ability  ;  an  achievement,
at  his  period  of  life,  which  under  the  circumstances  may  be
considered  unsurpassed.
Thus  did  Mr.  Bryant  continue  in  intellectual  vigor  to  the
last ;  with  every  faculty  in  full  strength  ;  and  even  his  poetic
genius  and  artistic  skill  unimpaired.  At  length,  on  a  beauti
ful  day,  June  12th,  —  the  very  month  in  which  he  had  most
desired  to  go,  —  he  was  suddenly  taken  from  us.  His  last
word  was  a  tribute  to  the  cause  of  Liberty ;  and  his  closing
effort  a  final  demonstration  of  the  exertion  he  was  ever  ready
to  make  in  behalf  of  others.
