The Portland daily press., 1882-02-28
was to place himself in the front rank Of tho

was to place himself in the front rank Of the
best writers in the English language
Cilley was young man Of great promise and
possessed qualitiesithat would have made him
eminent in civil and military life, had he not
been prematurely cut off at the. commencement
of his career.
AT commencement Iongfellow had one of
the three English orations orations assigned to
the class, Josiah S. Little from Portland hay
ing the yaledictory which was the first in rank.
AT that time and for Emore than thirty years
afterwards theAEnglish orations outranked the
Latin in old Bowdoin. / allude to this fact to
correct an error that occurred in biographical
notice of our worthy cass-mate Benson, in
giving to him rank he would never have
claimed for himself, because he had the Latin
salutatory at commencement.
find that must now close abruptly without
addinganything more, or I'shall fail to mail this
letter OF excuse in season to reach you. Please
make my apology to the society for failing to
furnish them with such letter as they ought
to have received, and believe me yours,
j. W. BRADBURY.
H. W. BRYANT, ESQ,
Sec'y M. IT. S.
Hon. Israel washburn sent the following
letter and accompanying poem.
Letter from Hon. Israel Washburn, Jr.
EUREKA SPRINGS, Ark, Feb 9, 1882.
1fy Dear lf,. Bryant;
received last evening your letter of the Sd,
instant from which L am happy to learn that
the Maine Historical Society will hold ON the
9th inst. being the anniversary OF the birth of
thespoet, Longfellow, meeting for the pur-
pose of testifying their appreciation of the gen.
ius character and works of the mos5 widely
known and illustrious Of all the natives Of our
State.
deeply regret that cannot be present on
that occasion to take part in its exercises
which your kindness has suggested. But am
here in attendance on an invalid brother who
has come to these waters to repair if it may be
his shattered health. see no prospect of being
able to leave him in season to be present at this
meeting.
Maine is exceptionally rich, think, in great
and celebrated names from the early provincial
days when the Americans first knighted by the
Crown Of Great Britain were those natives of
Maine-Sir William Phips, governor Of Mas
sachusetts, Sir William Pepperell, the hero of
Louisburg-to the present time. Among
these memorable men may be mentioned those
heroes upon land and sea, the Prebles; those
statesmen of the first quarter of the present
auarter-Rufus, William and Cyrus King, and
the statesmen of a later period-George Evans,
a Senator of the United States whom the
Senate was made august by such men as
Webster, Clay and Calhoun to the greatest OF
whom he was felt by his associates to be hard
| ly second; and William Pitt Fessenden, also
| Senator who in the most exciting debate of
| modern times, convinced his opponents that
| the Senate contained no member who welded
| a more dangerous or more polished blade. OF
| authors and men of letters the names Of
! Nathaniel P. Willis, John Neal, Seba Smith
| the original Jack Downing-Henry B. Smith
| and Nathaniel Deering will not be soon forgot
| ten. While, of lifetime residents or OF those
| who have lived long enough with us to take on
| local shapes and complexion, or who have con-
secrated our soil like Gen. Knox by leaving
! their ashes to be mingled with it, we point
| proudly to Knox, to Edward Payson, the
| theologian and preacher, whose fame has ex-
| tended to two hemispheres, and to Nathaniel
| Hawthorne whose boyhood was passed on the
| shores of Sebago, then wild and lonely lake,
| and whose later youth was occupied By his col
| lege course at Brunswick where he was the
contemporary of LoDgfellow.
But among all these names and all other
names we shall not, nor will posterity, hesitate
to assign the supreme place which will make
our state to be longest to remembered, to the
Poet, whose works, genius and life yoa will
mest to recognize and honor.
You speak of probable paper BY Mr.. Goold
on Gen. Wadsworth, the maternal grandfather
of the poet, and on such an occasion his father
will not be forgotten. You know that he was
one of the foremost men of the state in his day,
a member of Congress, learned lawyer, an
eloquent advocate, known by his contempora-
ries as the 'orator of the silver tongue and
particularly as Ouo
srWho bore without abnse
The grand old name of gentleman"
To this society the interest and enjoyment of
the occasion will be enhanced by the knowledge
that the poet has never lost his love for his
native state, and that he continues to take
lively interest in her people, her history. her
welfare and her honor.
Very truly yours,
n. ". BRYANT, Esq.
Sec. Nj. HIS.
TO HENRY W. LoNGFELLow ON HIS SEVENTY
FIFTH BIRTHDAY.
Lines suggested By his poem, "My Lost YOUTH
They err who say the poet dies,
Or suffers foul eclipse;
Old age is never in his eyes,
Nor palsy on his lips.
Nature and love and truth and faith
Know no black, biting frost:
The poet feels ne bated breath,
His youth is never lost. l. w. DR.
Prof. John S. Sewal sent regrets from Ban
gor that he should be unable to be present and
expressing his pleasure at the contemplated
celebration
Thanks were voted to Mrs. Annie L. Pierce
for the loan of the silver tankard and portraits
of Longfellow by Badger, and Stephen Long
fellow by King; to Mrs. j, T. Fields of Boston
for early editions of Longfellow's works and
manuscript poems; to Prof. Winsor of Har-
yard College for manuscript copy Of Excel
sior; and to Houghton, Mifiin & Co.. Cam
bridge, for the edition de lu1e of Longfellow's
poems.
1t was moved and voted to hold a meeting of
the society April 11th.