He was a platform lecturer, speaking on education, hymnology, and his travels, which included tours in Europe, South America, Cuba, and Canada.

Most of his books were written for young readers, including several volumes of Zig-Zag Journeys, the Knight of Liberty, In the Boyhood of Lincoln, Great Composers, The Patriot Schoolmaster, Songs of History, The Wampum Belt; or, The Fairest Page of History (about William Penn and his 1682 treaty with the Lenape people), Poems and Ballads, and Boys of Greenway Court.

He wrote the Story of the Hymns for the American Tract Society in 1875, and won the George Wood Gold Medal for it.

He prepared several cantatas for George F. Root's music, and Under the Palms had a great popularity in England.

Hope Lands in Bristol, Rhode Island, and he had a cottage at Belleview, Florida.