Saturday press. [volume] (Honolulu, H.I.) 1880-1885, 1882-11-11
IONGFETIOW.
ne origin og sos-s n ne e,ssi ss-f'
rceys.

two windows a, = small table in his
chamber. II WAS after the death Of his
wife, 10 whom he was devotedly al
tashed, and who was burned 30 death
despite his effort. TO save her The
Psalm came 10 his mind wi,hou, AP-
parent effort, for his heart WAS full OF
the subject aud II the affection for the
lie tina, had been ~ much 10 him and
hal gone ont
The fine ballad, THE Wreck Of the
Hesperus. was written IN 1889 A
storm hsd devastated the coast all day,
and the winds whis,lcd about his house
~ he smoked his pipe by the FIRE. He
wen, 10 bed, but 50 full Of the idea Of =
wreck VS. his mind that he arose and
wrote the celebrated poem. The
clock WAS striking 3. SAYS Jongtellow,
when finished the last stanEa"
The Skeleton IN Armor," which Is
one Of his strongest and certainly the
most weird q all his poems, was written
In ls4s short time before q skeleton
had been o1humcd at Fall River, and,
being clad in a broken aud rusty armor.
made deep impression upon the poet.
Near Fall River IS Newpor,, where stands
the old tower. said to have been erected
by the Norsemen about the year 900.
To connec, the two 10y the ballad was
the poets inspiration. His mind was
fall II the Wild romance Of Skadinsvian,
Danish, aud German literature. and
some Of !; was woven into the "Skele-
ton IN Armor. which il. so far as grand.
eur is concerned, the most noticeable of
al his poems.
The " Elected Knights is also Dan
bh in it, origin. and Mr. Longfellow
caught the idea from ballad Of tina,
country. The Tales of wsyside
Inn" were inspired by an old
New England tavern with which
the pos. Was familiar in his youth.
and many Of the scenes were real to him.
The "Song OF HiaNstha was, per-
hAps, the most studied of all his poems.
for be hoped to write an American lyric
that should endure. To portray the
romance Of tast-fading race and pay n
tribute TO the aborigines Of America WAS
fitting theme for the poet. The
legends were mostly taken from School
craft, whose love for adventure and
poetry had brought, him into contac,
with the indians, and he had drawn
from them the most romantic pictures
Of their life. The songs are strung
together upon the simple thread OF
everyday events into tale OF Indian
life, the charm of which is Irresistible.
In no poem does the poets wonderful
sr. in selecting words that both from
their meaning and sound fit them to
carry the thoughts he intends to convey
appear TO better advantage than in
Hissa;ha. He intended that his
fame as a poet should rest upon that
work, and to him il was what the "Idyls
Of the King is to Tennyson.
When Eysngeline was written, Mr..
Longfellow had never been i'll Nova
Scotia, the scene in which the charming
poem is laid. The accounts of the trou-
bles OF the early settlers in Acadia were
related to Hawthorne and LongfeIlow
by a mutual friend, who was anxious
that the former should make them the
subject Of romance. The legend was
repeated, and Grand Pre- was infinitely
described. LongtelloW iotted down the
words rs they fell from the narrator's
lips, aud asked that the subject be given
70 him alone for poem. The reques,
Vas granted and Eyangeline was the
result. II is simply surprising tina, 40
graphic and so perfec, descriptions
could have been given without a per-
sonAl inspection of the region, but the
poet never saw the spo, he so infinitely
describes.
The Hanging Of the Crane" il .
poem the origin Of which is suggested
by the lines themselves. 1t was pit b.
tshed in the New York Ledger, N,.
Donnsr paying $4,000 for the poem n
% inas.
4 greet many Of his poems, Ike 1.-THE
Bridge" and Beware, have been set
70 music and have become popular.
IIongfellov's prose reads like poem,
and no one who has not the "fine
hsnry could have written the poeticsl
prose OF KAvanagh." The homely
scsncs and events Of New England life
form the groundwork OF the story. into
which are woven such characters as
Alice and Cecile. which are drawn with
the skill OF an arts, and the grace Of q
poet. The sad death of Lucy and ths
Illness and death Of Alice are as touch
ing - anything m English literature.