Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1883-03-03
THE SCHILLERBUND CELEBRATE
LONGEELLOW


ISntIul as TO make the hearers long LOT more
''Sandalphon" was read by the hostess, and
when Rev. Mr.. Patch arose to give a half-hour
talk about Longfellow, he found his audience In
thorough sympathy with his subject and with
him. No abridgement can be made Of the essay
of Mr.. Patch without injury, but we must con-
tent ourselves with an imperfect summary:
The eyes that were moistened around Long
fellows bier are scarcely yet dry, for he held a
place in the hearts Of the people not given to
any other American writer. From the loom Of
his muse he has shot golden threads through
the whole moral and intellectual fabric of the
present time. Whatever concerns his life and
work is fraught with living interest His boy
hood In Portland did not differ much from that
OF most boys with similar surroundings, save az
1t became to hin, storehouse of memories and
experiences from which he drew rich materials
Tor the work of his genius. s'~~@
81 remember the black wharves and the slips,
And the sea-tides tossing tree: - -: -
And Spanish sailors viii. ocarded ltrs, go.
anu .ne n.s.a,y and mystery OF the ships,
And the magic OF the sea" -
Portland in those days was thoroughly .Purt-
tanic. The public sentiment Of the town was
against dancing and theatrical exhibitions In
1881 the first theater was built, but not being sus-
tained 1t was sold few years later tor a church
The foremost American poets took root In Puri-
tan soil,-Bryant, Longfellow, Holmes, Elmer
son, Lowell, Whittier,-and this may account
for the high ethical tone of all their literary
work.
LongfellOw was married In 1881 to Mary s.
Potter. daughter of Judge Barrett Potter, Of
Portland. In 1885, at the age of %. he occupied
the chair OF modern languages at Harvard. Visit
ing Europe then for the second time, he studied
the languages of Scandinavia. While In ROtter-
dam his wife died. Some time after, In Swift
zerland, he met Miss Fanny Elizabeth Appleton,
of Boston, whom he introduced into Hyperion"
under the name of Mary Ashburton, and whose
hand ne finally won. Hyperion" sprung at
home to friend: 81 have just found Long
fellows Hyperion, and shall sit up all night to
read it," His married life with 'Mary Ashbur-
ton" as we may call her, was very. happy till
1851, when, her clothing having taken fire from
wax taper, she was burned to death in his
presence. He never fully recovered from this
shock, and ever afterward appeared unduly
Older and more pensive. Then came "voices of
the Night. which made great sensation in the
literary world. After "Ballads and Other
s1es and poe%s on Slavery" the Spanish
OF the spanish students" I'm this poem the
afauence of his imagination in images of grace,
grandeur and beauty is most strikingly mani
Fest None of his other pieces so we'll illustrate
all his poetical faculties. his imagination. his
fancy, his sentiment and his manner. 1t seems
to comprehend the whole extent of his genius"
"Evangeifne' placed LOngfelow in the first
rank of American poets. 1t filled the literary
world with enthusiasm. In very short time
51,000 copies were sold. 1t was translated into
German. Swedish, Danish, Polish. French, Ital-
ian, Spanish. and Portuguese. After this came
the sweet tale of "Kavanaugh," and soon '.The
Seaside and the Fireside, Containing ''The Build
ing OF the Ship, one of his most powerful pieces
The Golden Legend" followed in 1851, and
"Hawatha' in 1855. The success of the latter
was remarkable-SO.O 900 copies being sold-al-
though no other work of his ever drew forth so
much adverse criticism. 'sThe Courtship of
Miles Standfsh" sustained his reputation as q
story-teller. In 1868 began 'Tales Of Wayside
Inn, and the next volume was "Flower-de-
Luce"
The translation of the "Divina Commedia,"
published in 1867. was the great work of Long
fellows life He gave it more than twenty years
OF faithful labor let he ia thought by some
good judges not to be the best interpreter of
the great Italian. Completely master Of the
two LANGUAGES and of the art Of expression as
he was, he did not adequately reflect the deep
passionate nature of Dante
The Masque of Pandora" was produced on
the Boston stage, but proved complete failure
In theater The class poem for Bowdoin,
.Morituri salutamus," published at the same
time 10 one OF his most carefully written and
grand productions.
His volumes followed each other, from first
to last, at very short intervals. Like the strokes
OF musical bells, before the sound of one died
on the ear another came. There was a con-
slant and pleasing expectation. He said to q
brother poet: "People like books of poems
wnlcn they can read through at sitting. I
nave always aimed to have my books small"
Taine has observed that the character of the
literature of any epoch may be predicted from
the environment Of the time. Climate, the hue
OF civilization, the trend of speculation, NAV in
deed have their influence. but the appearance
OF q literary genius, with the orbit in which he
will move. cannot be calculated like the move
ments Of planet Genius is not evolved from
any combination Of physical or intellectual ele-
ments. 1t is a force (which comes from above
as the gift of God, and is governed by its own
laws. LongfellOw did not greatly reflect the
character of his surroundings Had he lived in
another country and another generation. he
could have produced much Of what he has left
us. His life spanned the most active period of
American history, but moved calmly and I'm
ruffaed by stirring events Though less
American than either Bryant or Whit
tier, he has come nearer the American
heart than either of them. Out of the contro-
versles OF his time he carved nothing. Though
patriot. keenly sensitive to the rights of man.
1t was not for him to strike the Tyre of Tyrtaeus
Longfellow Is not distinguished for depth or
great originality OF thought, or for strong emo
ton, but he is superior to all his American con-
temporaries in the art OF expression, which is
the characteristic element In all true literature
His verse Is clear and simple-a stream from the
mountains purified at the source gliding smoothly
through lOwlands so crystalline, that one aces at
q glance every silver sand and diamond pebble.
1t Is not shallOw-fOr shallow waters are either
stagnant or nOisy-but runs still and clear BY
reason Of depth and purity. His poetry is always
restful. II 1t rarely thrills, it never fails to
please
Though he composed with rapldity, there Is
no haste. His taste was faultiess and to this
every word was brought. He wrote the first
draft Of the Golden Legend" in four weeks, and
spent six months in correcting aud cutting it
down. He would let no line go before the pub
lie until 1t had received the finest touch The
managers Of the Boston Glo6s tried to induce
him to give them poem on the occasion of the
death OF Garfield. He was offered one thousand
dollars for 1t. He had a sonnet on Garfield In
his pocket ut the time, but 1t was not finished
to his liking, and 30 he let the generous offer
go by.
Genius often arrogates theright to be disagree
able In manner, but Longfell0w was always the
true gentleman. His spirit was as mellow. an
tender, as pure. and as noble as his best verse
He cannot, Of course. be ranked with Homer
and Dante and Shakespeare and Goethe, who.
like the loftiest peaks OF the Himalayas, tower
over all. There is a second class among whom
may benamed Virgil and Milton and Schiller--and
not with these will rank Longfellow. Rut there
is third c,ass. larger still, Of broad influence
including such as Wordsworth Tennyson
Byron and Burns. In this constellation will
iv1nI EAl1-