The morning call., 1893-07-09

Let me see. l first heard Emerson
when | was II years old. He was deliver
ing his lecture on Mohammed. | first spoke
to him in Harvard College chapel, when a
mutual acquaintance had just taken the
highest b0nors. Emerson said of him with
his keeneSt look:
81 didn't know he was so fine fellow.
Now If some misfortune can only happen
TO him; if he could be turned out of col
.ege, o. eoaiti lee Hn Unpopular in his class. or
his father could fai. in business, all would
be well with him.
This seemed at the time cynical. but
when l read of the hardships of Emer-
sons early life and heard of the unhappy
end of the man Of college honors | under
stood it and was astcunGed at his pene-
tration.
Il have letter of Emerson's land you
can take copy of it # you like which
cleared up an anecdote that was told Of
him at the time. 1t was said that on one
of his ocean trirs he committed 'Alaric'
or some other long poem to memory. in
order TO while away a few otherwise I'M
prof able days. 1t proved to be 'Lycidas.'
and never heard of any one else who has
committed Lycldas' osmemory on an
Emerson would have thought of it?'
CONCORD January %.
Ny dsGr Hale: l know by much experience
OF my own what it is 10 have Everett on the
brain. and you. who have it in the blood. may
easily believe that il could only be '.Alaric''
that | was grooming al sea. But il was no, that,
bnt Millions 'IycidaS' which ] told OF lect-
ure on memory, 10 which ! must think you re.
fer; though nothing of it was ever printed or
reported that | know, and tt must have been
read q. e.. the lecture) when you were very
young. l ought 10 be proud that The anecdoIe
could reach you, but the mystery OF the men,
ory interested me much.
/ wrote you yesterday about Strings pamph-
let, which hone Will come speedily to you.
do not recall the title. but it was perhaps, Re
marks on MIR. Huxley's Protoplasm.' Yours.
L. w EMERSON.
Heres another story of Emerson" con-
tnued my host. with twinkle, that re-
minds n,e Of the story of the man who said
he couldn't make speech like Henry Clay.
but he had once held his hat when Clay
was speaking, When Mr.. Emerson de-
livered his second Phi Beta address the
desk had been removed from the pulpit of
the church, so that he had at the beginning
10 hneel unc0mfortaby to read his manu-
script. l went back in the vestry and
found the desk, and in the first pause in
Elnerson's address placed it before him.
The audience, of course. apDlauded. When
the Grafton was over, Lowell, who presided.
congratulated Mr.. Emerson on his success.
and Emerson's first words were, Where's
That saint, Edward Hale p"
Have you any special "Reminiscences of
Hawthorne?"
Hardly any at all. Personally. Haw-
tnofDe was very .icent in society. My
own recollectons of him when first saw
MIN were that he hardly spoke word
To ANYBODY This little scrap of Haw-
thornes. which you may use. if YOU care
to, was sent to the Boston Miscellany.
magazine that my brother edited, and
to which ell Young America at that
time contributed. Lowell published his
first stories and articles in the MIS-.
ceiany. after those in Harvardania.
But Win LoWelI my relations were
singularly intimate. He was also intimate
with my brother Nathan. Our room in
college was convenient for him, as his
was at a distance from recitations He
was class III advance of me. Those
were the days when we lent Emerson's
volume of Tennyson's first poems
and copied the poems in our scrap
books. Lowell was deep in the old
dramarists then, and read papers on
them in the Alpha Delta, which was the
literary club to which we both belonged
The intimacy which was then begun
lasted through our lives. He edited the
Atlantic when | published my first stories
there.
by the way, it is reported that Ruskin
Will be made poet laureate! My candi-
date. however, is Jean Ingelow. The
Queen ought TO have named woman.
Talking on the subject, | have seen with
these eyes the original cores p0Ddence
with which Prince Albert offered the
laureateship to Samuel Rogers. Rogers
was greatly pleased. but after coDsidera-
ZION declined. because he was so old. The
fflnce then wrote to Rogers to ask him to
name the laureate. Rogers named Tenny-
son. Then came a letter from the Prime
minister, IL which be said: We are not
acquainted with the works of this gentle
man. and will you be good enough to let me
know whether he has ever written any,
lhihg winch would make it improper for
woman to name him for this post?
Mr. Hale stopped and laughed heartily
Just think OF thatl' he added with glee.