The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1882-04-28
STORIES ABOUT L0NGFELL0w.

STORIES ABOUT LoNGFELlow.
The Now York Times says that once
when he was entertaining some friends
in Cambridge thunder storm came up.
After fidgeting a while in his chair, he
excused himself and went about shutting
the windows all over the house. Coming
back he remarked by way Of explanation,
81 hate everything that is violent" A
little girl met Luigi Mont, the Italian
poet. who was on his way one Christ
mas to dine with Longfellow. and asked
him to show her where Longfellow lived.
So he took her along and told her to
look out for the white-haired gentleman
reading paper near the window. When
he entered he said TO Longfellow: 'Do
look out Of the window and bow TO that
little girl who wants to see you very
much" "A little girl wants to see me
very muchp Where is shep' He hast
ened to the door and, reckoning with
his hand. called out: Come here, little
girl. come here il you want to see mc.'
She needed no second invitation, and
after shaking her hand and asking her
name. he kindly took her into the house,
showed her the 'Old Clock on the Stairs"
the chair made from the village smithy's
chestnut tree. and the beautiful pictures
and souvenirs gathered in many years
Of forcig,, rasid,,nce T., c.,:.a m;ilscar-
ry all her life delightful memories Of her
Christmas call Mt Mr.. Longicllow's.
When professor ut Harvard College,
says the New York Post, "he was one
of the few professors who then addressed
their pupils rs Mr. his tone to them,
though not patcrnal or brotherly, was
always gentlemanly. On one occasion,
during an abOrtive movement toward
rebellion, some of the elder professors
tried in vain to obtain hearing from
crowd of angry students collected in the
college yard; but when Longfellow spoke
there was hush, and the word went
round. Let us hear Professor Longfel-
low, for he always treated us as gentle
men," Mr. Samuel Ward. famous lob
byist, and brother of Julia Ward Howe,
says that when about ten years ago Long
fellow was paying me his usual Christ
mas visit, he read me The Hanging of the
Crane. POO lines, for which Mr.. Robert
Bonner, of the New York Ledger, paid
him $4,000, having offered $1,000 when
l mentioned the existence of the poem.
MIR. Longfellow declined that price,
when the owner of Dexter, whom the
poet in his letters TO me called .Diomed,
the tame horse quadrlipled his bid and
obtained the prize. The Cornhill Maya
zine paid Mr.. Tennyson three guineas a
line for 'Tythonus, and il was reserved
for the New York Ledger to add a pound
to the laureate's price, l remember his
telling me that he had carried in his
thoughts for year scheme for the
Skeleton in Armor, which was suggested
by skeleton eXhumed believe, ut Taun-
ton, and exhibited at Fall River in
museum long since burnt to the ground.
1t was, believe, in 1899 that he rode
with my sister, Mrs. Howe, and a gay
party from Newport to Fall River. TO
inspect this curious relic, about which
he challenged my sister to make poem.
His translation of the Inferno was the
result of ten minutes daily work at a
standing desk in his library while his
coffee was reaching the boiling point on
his breakfast table" Longfellow sell
dom took part in politics, and rarely
ever said anything about them. Bnt a
Boston correspondent Of the New York
Htyuid says he was disguised at the
scheme to give Butler tho Republican
nomination as Governor in 1873, and
pronounced It a disgrace to Massachu-
sets. From this he drifted to the vote
of censurc passed by the Legislature on
Sumner for his battle flag resolution in
the Senate, and said that Massachusetts
had been falling pretty low of late years.
His blue eyes, so gentle usually, flashed
in the politics of the Commonwealth.
As the poet drained his cup of Mocha
he said, with more emphasis than he was
in the habit Of using. PUT me down as
an anti-Butlcr man."
William Winter tells some interesting
anecdotes about Longfellow. The poet
was boy when his first poem was print
ell He sent it to the editor of Portland
weekly paper. 1t did not appear. He
sent il to a rival weekly, and tho next
week it came out. He bought copy of
the paper fresh from the press, and walk
ell with it into side street. and then
for the first time saw poem of his own
actually in print II have never since had
such thrill of delight over any of my
publications" he said. A stranger was
once introduced to him, who said with
great fervor: "Mr. Longfellow, l have
long desired the honor of knowing you!
Sir, am one of the fe,c men who have
read your 'Evangeline.' An English
lady, on being introduced, said: "Why.
Mr.. Longfellow, l thought you were
deadr' mo, madam, you see | take
the liberty of living" ''Yes-but
thought at least you belonged to WASH
ington's time" One morning man
forced his way past the servant who had
opened the hall door, and burst in upon
the presence of the astonished author in
his library. .'Mr. Longfellow you're
a poet, l believer" "Well, sir, some
persons have said So" "All right, Mr..
Longfellow! Poet it is! Now, I've called
here to see if couldn't get you to write
some poetry, for me to have printed,
and stuck on to my medicine bottles.
You see go round sellin' this medicine,
and. if you'll do it, it'll help immensely;
and I'll just tell you right now, if you
give me the poetry, I'll give you bottle
Of the carminative-and it's 81 a bottle.