The Republican journal., 1882-04-06
Longfellow.
MORE ABOUT THE GREAT POET. HIS PER
SONAL VIRTUES.

| Inc personal virtues OF Mr. LODE1eilOW were
| great and lovely. He attracted and inspired
young men; he was true to his friends and his
convictions without violence or contention and
| he lived from day to day in the most open and
admirable manner. If poets before his exam
pie were held to be unsteady, capricous, sensu-
al, now servile and now bold in their relations
to society, Longfellow's life would have broken
up the tradition and justified the way Of genius
to man. He had definite task to perform and
he did it, and did it too, in the best manner. It
was irksome to many that he should be so sue
cessful in career which was closed against
them; but he succeeded by being more than
they. not less,-and such was the kndliness
that nobody could feel any ill-will He smooth
ed the path for Others by the very qualities fol
which he was sometimes reprOached even by
those whom he served. His estimate of litera
ture was high one, but still lofter was his
sense of moral duty and of human brotherhood
He made no pretentions and seldom aimed
higher than he could shoot. 1t could be said OF
him with a modification of Pope's old couple
which he wrote about himself
That though in Fancys maze he wandered long
| He stopped to Truth and moralized his song.
for he did pick up from the by-ways and OBJ
scure places the plebian truth that he wsheo
to adorn with the flowers of his fancy. He was
the poet of the common rather than of the com
| monpace,-yet he was too wise to disregard
theme or manner of treating it because either
was trite.
His topics sometimes came to him in strange
ways. There was an odd intimate of his class
mate-Hawthom of those strange tisl
which Salem used to find market tor--whc
happened upon the story of the Acadan peas
ants and offered it to Hawthorne as a subjec
for one of his romances. He could do nothing
with it and passed it along to the Cambridge
poet with whom he dined soon after taking hi,
Salem coMtr9e with him, and from the converse
tion at that dinner table in 1S40 or thcreabouts
| is said to have grown the beautiful legend OF
'.EVaOpplinp"-thp Dear amOOU IOnpfpoV
poems. Yet, in its metrcal form, "Evangeline'
was faulty, that it had to make its way by
the sheer force of its intrinsic beauty an(
| wealth.
Profound as will be the regret felt for Long
fellows death in all circles Of society, the mos
touching manifestations of public sorrow come
| from the persons who are the least critical ant
whose knowledge of the poet was that whicl
they have of the bird singing before their win
doWS. or the unknown friend who has bright
ened their daily life with thought of beauty
A scholar who had been indebted to LongfelloN
for friendly furtherance and instruction in Ger
man literature was thinking of his death a. h,
rode in sight of Mt. Auburn in the train. \
boy taking the seat beside him, said: Did yol
hear that the poet LongfellOWs dead: too bad
isn't it," 'Yes, did you read his poetry" "Oh
l read some of it-and like best about the
chair-the children you know evidently hav
ing in mind The Childrens Hour" Their,
Were million schoOl-children in America Sat
|
same childish lament no doubt,-and it is b,
such thvt the dead poet would have chosen /,
be remembered. springfield Republican.
THE FIRST MRS. LONGFELLOW.
Mrs. Longfellow died during his second 50
journ in Europe, at Rotterdam. November %
1885. How profound was the impression pro
duced upon him is evident from the ''Footstep
of Angels" and from the illusions in the earl,
| part of ''Hyperion." Mrs. LOngfelloW was, b'
the testimony of all who knew her, Il person o
| rare loneliness of person and mind. He
maiden name was Mary Storer Potter, she be
ing the daughter of Barrett Potter and Ann,
(Storer) Potter of Portland. Her father was
Judge of probate and man of strong character
holding very decided views as to education
i Although himself an old-faShioned clas>ca
scholar, be believed the study of Greek ant
Latin to be unsuitable for girls: all else wa
open to them-modem languages, literature
and mathematics. For all these especially tn,
last, his daughter Mary had strong taste; he
notebooks, preserved by her family, gave, 70
instance, ample and accurate reports. recorded
as being 'from memory" of Il series of Astro
nomlcal lectures; and she learned TO calculate
eclipSes, which must have been quite heyon,
the average attainmentS of young girls of he
day. She was several years a pupil at the eN
cellent school of Miss Cushing, at bingham
and all her school papers, abstracts. and com
positions show thoughtful and well-trane'
mind. Some exhibit metaphysical turn other
N,D
the love of literature is visible eyeryWhere il
copious extracts from the fayorite authors 0
that day-Cowper, Young. Mrs HemanS. Ber
nard, Barton and even Coleridge and Shelley
| Further on in the series of notebooks the hand
writing becomes firmer and maturer, and note
and translation appear upon the pages in th
unmistakable autograph of LongfelloW almoS
precisely the same at "A AS at a. Strange tha
while all else in and around us changes, thi
trivial accident called our handwriting. shoul,
so often be the one permanent and umaltertbl
trait,
THE POETS FINEST SONNET.
AS a fond mother, when the day is o'er
Leads by the hand her little child to bed
Half willing, half reluctant to be led,
And leaves his broken playthngs on the floor,
| Still gazing at them through the open door,
Nor wholly reassured and comfortcd
BY promises of others in their stead
Which, though more splendid, may not pleas
him more;
50 nature deals with us, an,ttakes away
Our playthings one by one, and by the hand
Leads us to rest so gently that we go
Scarce knowing if we wish to go or stay
Being too full of sleep to understand
How far the unknown transcendS the what W
know.
''MARY ASHBURToN.
Before leaving Europe in 1889 he had met il
very much the manner described in ''Hyper
ion" the lady who was destined to be his sec
ond wife, then Miss Fanny Appleton daughte
of the late Nathan Appleton, of Boston, an,
sister Of Thomas Gold Appleton. well-knowl
author and art critic Of that city. Those of Il
who can recall the second Mrs. LongfelloW will
never forget her distinguished and noble pres
cnce or the rare beauty of ''thosc deep unut
terable eyes" the poet sang. 1t is known tina
his suit was not at first acceptable to her, an,
that she was not entirely gratified at bein!
the recognized theme of a romance so highl
wrought. There certainly was some reluctan
delay about the matter, as the romance wa
published in 1880, and it was not till July, 1913
that the second marriage of MI l.ongfeloy
took place. 1t was to him the source of tn
most unmingled happiness for many years
ending at last in tragedy as intense and con
centrated as ever poet dreamed. On July 8
1861, his idolized wife was burned to death il
his very presence, by her clothing taking fire
in spite of all efforts to eNtinguish the flames
The shock to Mr.. Longfellow was great tina
for time it seemed as if reason itself was il
danger; and though he came gradually back t,
his accustomed life and pursuits, he seemed
thcncetorward an old man. Yet he tulne,
again to his work, and there was hardly al
abatement to his activity until within thre
months of his death. n. y. Evening Post.
LONGFELLOW INCIDENT.
1t is well known that Longfellow was borl
i'll wooden house, located at the corner 0
| Fore and Hancock streets. and now used as
boarding house. Yesterday morning in one O
the public schools, the teacher, after speakin!
about Longfellow and telling how beautiful hi
youth was, asked if there any one in tn
class who could inform her as to where Long
fellow was born.
Quicker than lightning little hand was lifte,
and the teacher said, 'Well Johnnie, wher
was it!''
''In Patsy Connor's bedroom" was the in
Simultaneous reply.
AS the Dutchman said, dot settled it.
Portland Press.
Oscar Wilde's criticism of Niagara Fals-h
first complained of their ''want of grandeu
and variety of line, but finally admitted thei
'majesty INSPIRED the muse of a London pa
per. We quote the concluding verse
Courage Americans! closed is the ordeal
Judged is the cause, and with sympathy corda
Hence announce my decision to YOU
Justly, yet kindly, can | in this matter act,
Lo. | approve of you, fortunate cataract:
Falls of Niagara! pass. you will do.
The carnival of crime pursueth the evil teno
| of itS in hp RI Of I,a,,