WATTS, Thomas Hill, American politi cian: b. Butler County, Ala., 3 Jan. 1819; d. Montgomery, Ala., 16 Sept. 1892. He was grad uated from the University of Virginia.in 1840, established a law practice in Greenville, Ala., was elected to the State legislature in 1842, 1844-45, and to the State senate in 1853. He opposed the secession movement, but upon the secession of Alabama accepted the situation. Ile was appointed colonel in the Confederate army and fought at Shilo, but resigned shortly afterward to become attorney-general in the Confederate Cabinet. He was elected governor of Alabama in 1863, but was unseated by the Federal government at the close of the war. He was thereafter engaged in law practice at Montgomery, and with the exception of 1880 81, when he served in the legislature, held no further public office.
Theodore, English poet, critic and novelist: b. Saint Ives, Hunting donshire, 12 Oct. 1832; d. 17 June 1914. He was educated privately at Cambridge and for a time studied law, but had already gained a rep utation as a writer of sonnets when he joined the staff of the Examiner as literary and art critic. Later he joined the 44thencrunt staff, and for many years was one of the chief contributors to that review, his criticisms of poetry being of the most illuminating character. In 1897 he pub
lished a poem entitled 'Jubilee Greeting at Spithcad to the Men of Greater Britain,' which met with wide appreciation; and in the same year collected in 'The Coming' of Love, and Other Poems,' some of the more important of his poetical contributions. 'Aylwin,' a novel or romance published in 1898 (privately printed in 1883), forms a striking prose counterpart to the 'Corning of Love,' and contains excellent pictures of gypsy life. \Vatts-Dunton has also contributed largely to the Nineteenth Century and other periodicals. Several of the notices in \Vard's 'English Poets' are from his pen, and the valuable critical article on poetry in the Ency clopaedia Britannica' was written by him. He and Swinburne (q.v.) were intimate friends. Utter publications are 'The Christmas Dream' f loot), and 'The Renaissance of Wonder' 11'0112) On occasion Watts-Dunton makes free use of the Romany dialect, which he has care fully studied. His best work is probably the critical, especially that dealing with the prin ciples of verse. Consult Miles, 'Poets and Poetry of the Century,' (Vol. IV, 1901); also an article in the Idler (Vol. V), and one by Nicoll in the Contemporary (Vol. LXXIV).