Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1876-12-07
Gcssip about Living Poets.

From the Home Journal.
WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT recently
celebrated his eighty second birthday,
haveing been born Nov. 3, 1794, in
Cumington, Mass. lie looks little over
three. e.score-and-ten, having still all
erect figure and elastic step. lie shows
his vigor and fondness for exercise by
walking, as he quantity puts it, 'tevery
morning down to the Evening Post -
The poets head and face is covered
with a liberal supply of silvery locks,
and he rather takes a pride in seeing
his classic and venerable self as others
see him, for there is scarcely a ph0tog-
rapher in town who has not a fine
portrait of Bryant. At public dinners
he may often be seen, and at speech
making he is not at all backward. Al
though he is frequently to be met in
the streets Of the city, he rarely at
tends the opera or theatre. Mr. Bryant
writes so little poetry now he may be
said to have laid down the Tyre but
of general literary aid journalistic Ia
Dor he still performs a great deal of
work.
Mr.. Tennyson, now sixty.six years
old, is still in his prime of thought and
capacity for work. The only ill he's
heir to is an annual hay fever. He is six
feet high, broad-shoulde led and large
boned, but not stout. His hands and
feet arc large. His face is long, and
somewhat resembles that of Dante.
save that it has not the rigid mould
and expression of the great FlOrentine,
and the nose is not 50 aquiline. His
hair is long and black, his complexion
olive. Once upon time, in speaking
of Mr.. Tennyson's personal appearance,
Buchanan Read called him ''a delapit'
ated Jupiter piece of description
at once picturesque, acute and humOr'
Gus.
Whittier is sixty-eight years old and
most quaint, kindly, and refined per-
son, using habitulaly the Quaker
ssthee'' and ''thou''
Henry w. Longfellow is a year older,
and wears we'll the dignity of the gen.
tlenan and the poet.
Lowell is tifty-seven, and has the
looks of the critic rather than the poet.
Stoddard is Sc years old, about five
feet nine inches high. and wears full
iron-gray beard. This author looks
every inch a poet, and in conversation
is bright and witty. For fifteen years
he s.fed at the public crib in the Gus"
toms service; but now his Who'll: time
is occupied in contributing to the mag.
azines and newspapers. The right
hand being paralyZed, Mr.. Stoddard has
learned to write with his left. Stod-
dard's wife is writer of no mean
ability, and has made reputation for
herself in the literary world.
Thomas Bailey Aldrich, just 40 years
of age, was born in New Hampshire !;
laid the foundation for his reputation!
in New York; wrote "Babie Belle
while he was in his teens. and now re-
sides in Boston. Aldrichs reputation
as q poet and novelist is increasing
and improving, foreign critics OF high
authority placing him among the first
American writer's. lie has had some
experitnce rs an editor and literary
critic. having commenced his career in
the Office of the Home journal. Adj
rich has IL wife and several children.
William Morris, the poet. lives in i
charming house in London, frightened
nv the presence Of 4 wife and three
prettv children. His study is reached
by three flights of stairs, and is a bare
room. hung with Jumps of tobacco,
and having for writing purposes a Gu
rious hacked table and an ancient INK.
horn. Herein the ''Earthly Paradise
was written. The shaggy-halred, KIND
faced poet never looks handsomer than
when his little ones are dancing about
him and climbing over him.