New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-12-17
LOWELLS LETTERS.
PROFESSOR NORTON'S EDITION OF THE
POETS CORRESPONDENCE.

POETS CORRESPONDENCE
LIGHTERS n OF n IAY Els, I EssE III, IS
portraits Royal octave PIP. viii, u.s. v ioi
Harper Brothers
The kcenness Of Lowell's intellect and the
flame of poetic feeling that played about his
thought find fascinating expression IN his cor
respondcnce Rare and lovable characteristics
go TO make M it's charm conservative, yet
very catholic and sensitive taste. and an un-
falling vein OF playful humor. blond IN these
letters with a quality quite as urusual-fnlt
quiet common sense which is I'm reality anything
but common Lowell had distinc ton. and ne had
n partly by virtue Of his commoa-scnse by virtue
Of his serene Wholesome habit Of nina. inns ~
only another way Of saying that he had the
poise which goes with genius. Ills thought ~
always as lucid as crystal. and so Is the poem
or essay or letter in which 1t is expressed. II
could never be said OF production Of his. how
ever. as he himself said II tho weather al Deer
foot Farm that IL was cold and clear as
crl,ioue Of Matt Arnold's" lie was too warm.
too merry. too much Of humorst for that; too
whimsical and tricksy. too much OF a critical
Ariel.
II was never possible FOR Lowell to put any
thing BADLY. He was epieramnatic because he
could not help himself. with a felicity that re-
calls Chamfort and Rivaroi. but with sweet
ness Of temper and n freedom from artihciality
which give him infinitely greater charm. Ills
compliments are not precisely courily. They
have not the SAVIOR Of grave formality which we
associate with gallnntry Of that description.
They are sufused instead by sincerity 81 feel
ing which anrms that they came from his heart
and they are too. the most spontaneously Ut
tered compliments in the world. The most tr1N-
al incidents he touches with the same charm OF
speech and the same enforced humor. often on
riching his talk with literary favor. but never
with any loss Of his perfect naturancas. for no
one could make classical alluson with loss
pedantry than he could. Playfuness Of spirit
was inherent in Lowcls nature and 1t never
tagged. as this mass Of correspondence tcrtl-
fes. because as he was fond Of saying now and
then. he never outgrew his youth. Thank
God. I am &C young as ever" IL an exclamation
occurring in a letter dated year or so before
his death There is an exhaustless fund OF In
expt<ience somewhere about me-" he goes on
"a Fortunatus purse that keeps me SO" When
he spoke OF himself he was apt 10 speak In this
strain OF gay modesty; but. like all men Of
gifts. he knew the value OF what the fairies had
brought TO his cradle. In a letter written from
Cambridge In his twenty-fourth year he said
Il feel more and more assured every day that
shall do something that will keep my name
land perhaps my body alive. Ny wings were
never 80 light and strong as now. So hurrah
for a niche and laurel. | have set about
making myself ambitious. II Is the only way TO
climb well Men yield more readily TO an am
bilious man. provided he can bear II out by
deeds Just as much as claim the world
gives ns and posterfty has enough TO do In
mailing the base coin to the counter. But only
I.t,t, at.f Los.
Of freedom and man. / will have power and
there's the end OF II. have n right 10 It, too.
and you see have put the crown on already"
He refers jauntily. az we have SEEM to his
fund Of inexpcrience" What really energies
conspicuously from these letters ia the fact Of
his rich experience. whether in his chosen field
OF labor in his literary vocation, or In the life
Of travel and social intercourse into which he
was thrown by his diplomatic appointments.
As man Of letters he came in living contact
with his authors. Sometimes this Is revealed In
the picture he draws OF himself reading old
French mctrical romances twelve hours day.
More often is 1t shown b. implication In the at
mosphcrc Of his ctters-lettcrs which exhalc not
the odor of the library. but that OF the essence
of literature itself. AS an observer OF life he
was bubbng over with sympathy and fun lie
had faculty for giving fanciful turn even
to the little things or lie. Inc pig III just
ripe" he says In an invitation 10 Mr.. Howes.
"and 80 tender that he would drop from his
tail II lifted BY It, like mature cantaloupe
from It's stem" 1t Is whimsical sentence
which Lamb would have enjoyed.
In Dresden. Lowell writes pleasantly Of meet
ing zone of those solemn ceremonials. a German
bed" under which he was accustomed 10 ZEN
grave himself at night and dream that he was
awaiting the last trump. The language struck
him somewhat as 1t struck George Eliot who
used to say that the end Of a German sentence,
like the end OF a German comedy. was reached
through no fault OF the author but through the
OF Providence. Il am reading"
Gays Lowell. for my own amusement (du llebe
GottD the aesthctische Forschungen Won Adolf
Zeislng. PIP. SOS. large ostavo. Then | overset
something aus German into English. -.
po;ztausend Donnerwetter! Wfat a Ian
guage IL is to be sure. with nom!natves sending
out as many roots as that witch-grass which Is
the pest Of all child-gardens. and sentences In
which one sets sail like an admiral with sealed
orders, not knowing where the devil he IL going
10 Til he is In mid-occan! Then after tea. we
sit and talk German--or what some Of W. take
10 be such and which ] speak already like a
Datiye-of some 9th country. The con-
founded genders. If de | will have engraved !
On my tombstone that Died Of der. die. DDS not
because l caught em. but because l couldn't
Underneath this persnage flowed the depth OF
scholarship which Is indicated In all Lowers