Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1879-06-13
FAMILIAR POEMS.
How Longfellow Wrote Some of His
Best Known Poems.
National journal OF Education.

II.
Longfellow's poems are as familiar TO
all instructors as the language of the
school-room. Every schoolboy reads
and declaims them; every teacher, like
every preacher, quotes them. We
once passed an evening with Prof.
Longfellow, during which he gave us an
account of the origin of his most popu-
lar poems. We will give the history OF
those which are common to the
"readers" and speakers"
The psalm Of Life" is probably the
best known of these numerous school
poems. 1t was written on summer
morning in 1888. He was young man
then, full of aspiration and hope, and
the poem was merely an expression of
his own feelings. He regarded it as a
personal matter-like an entry in ones
journal-and for long time RETAINED
from publishing it. Mr.. Longfellow
related that, in returning from his visit
to the queen,an English laborer stepped
up to the carr age and asked to shake
hands with the writer of the psalm
OF Lie" at was one of the best COM
pllments | ever received" said the
democratic poet.
Longfellow's study is a repository Of
the beautiful things of the past; SOU
venirs, busts of noble friends, memen-
toes of departed poets-Tom Moore's
waste-paper basket, Coleridge's inkstand
a piece of Dantes coffin. In this study
stood an old clock, with the colorings
of age, rising from floor to ceiling. 1t
numbered the hours in which his best
poems We're written. 1t was the old
clock on the stairs.
The "Wreck OF the Hesperus" was
written in 1889, at midnight. A violent
storm had occurred the night before;
the distress and disasters at sea had
been great, especially along the capes
of the New England coast, The papers
of the day were full of the news of dis
aster. The poet was sitting alone in
his study late at night, when the vision
Of the wrecked Hesperus came drifting
on the disturbed tides of thought into
his mind. He went to bed, but could
not sleep. He arose and wrote tie
poem, which came into his mind by
whole stanzas, finishing them just as
the clock-the old clock on the stairs
was striking three.
Sir Walter Scott says he was led to
write the romance Of ''kenilworth" be-
cause the first stanza Of Mickle's famous
ballad of "Cumnor Half' haunted him:
The dews of summer night did fall,
The moon, sweet regent of the sky,
Silvered the towers of Gunner hall.
And many an oak that grew thereby.
Longfellow says that he was, as he
thinks, led to write the "Wreck of the
Hesperus" because the words "Nor-
mans VICE." which were associated
with the disaster at sea, seemed to him
50 indescribabIy sad.
Excelsior" was written after receiv-
ing letter from Charles Sumner full
of lofty sentiments.
"Hiawatha" owes much Of its story
and the establishment of musical In
dian names to the researchs of School,
craft. Abraham lie Fort, an 0nondago
chief, who was supposed graduate of
Geneva college, furnished Schoolcraft
with the Indian tradition Of Hiawatha.
You may find it in "Schoolcraft," part
III. page 314, and in the the same vol
ume you may find the Indian vocabu-
laries from which the poet enriched his
verse. The poet has added much to
the original tradition.