ALFRED TENNYSON was born in the year 1810, at Somersby, in Lincolnshire, of which parish his father was rector. His literary career may be properly said to date from 1830, in which year a volume appeared of "Poems, Chiefly Lyrical," by Alfred Tennyson. It was not received with great favor by the public; but among much that was weak and immature, it contained pieces, which in no indistinct manner announced the advent of a true poet. Onward from this time, the reputation of the writer slowly but surely extended itself; and the publication in 1842, of "Poems," by Alfred Tennyson, in two volumes, raised him to the position of absolute superiority, which he continued to occupy. In 1847, appeared "The Princess, a Medley;" and in 1850, the series of elegies entitled "In Memoriam, A. H.," a tribute of affection to the memory of Arthur Haltam, a son of the eminent historian. On the death of Wordsworth in 1850, Tennyson succeeded him as poet-laureate. In 1855 appeared "Maud, and other Poems." The immediate reception of this little volume was not enthusiastic. While many of its lyrics instantly caught the public ear, "Maud," as a whole, at first rather puzzled the critics. But for any little falling off in Tennyson's popularity on this occasion, a noble amende was made him on his next appearance. "The Idylls of the King," published in 1859, were everywhere received with enthusiasm. This work at once took rank as one of the noblest poems in our language. In 1864, we had from Tennyson a volume containing "Enoch Arden," one of his most finished and successful works; "Aylmers Field;" a short piece, "Tithonus," consummate in its beauty and finish. In 1870, "The Holy Grail;" "Pelleas and Attare;" and "The Windows, or Songs of Wrens," set to music, which appeared the same year, and in 1872, "The Tournament," and "Gareth and Lynette." It is not an easy matter to criticise the poetry of Tennyson dispassionately, so deeply is one apt to become enamored of its beauties. His verse is the most faultless in our language, both as regards the music of its flow, and the art displayed in the choice of words. As a painter, no modern poet has equalled him. But the pleasure which his poetry gives, springs largely from the cordial interest he displays in the life and pursuits of men, in his capacity for apprehending their higher and more beautiful aspirations, and in a certain pervasive purity and strength of spiritual feeling.