The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1896-02-20
TRINITY EpWoRTH LEAGUE.

The meeting Of Trinity League Iues--
day evening Mas an enjoyable 'hd
proitable one The attendance Wa
large showing an increased iilt<isa
the work The session W. "PS,iS"
with devotional exercises ieu ny KEY
~ Turnbuil, who read an appro-
pirate lesson, followed with a feeling
and touching prayer. After the lecture
Miss Annie Peay sang most beautiful
piece while her sister, Miss Ella, play
ed the accompaniment.
Prof. Flowers announced lecture
by Prof. Edwin Minis on Longfellow
The lecturer brought before the
minds OF the audience Longfellow at
the age of 80, setting sail for Europe
TO the sturdy manhood and deep piety
that came from several generations of
Puritans, was added a love of culture
that had so manifested itself, when he
was student at BoWdoin College, that
he had been elected Professor OF Mo
dern Languages of that institution
and had been given leave of absence
to study in Europe. lie had felt with
in him the pronptings of literary gen
JUS, and before his mind was a distant
ideal that meant the attainment of
poetic power. Going to Europe ut that
time meant more than it does now To
Longfellow, accustomed to the bare
life of a new country it meant the en-
richment of his life, the enlargement
of his vision. lie has left rs the inn
preston Of Europe in his "Outre Mer"
and Hyperion from which passages
were read to show Longfellow's great
reverence for the culture of the old
world--the cathedrals of France, the
luXuriant valley of the Loire, the ro-
mantle past of Spain, the ever impress
siye ruins of Italy, and the castles,
mountains and rivers of Switzerland
and Germany. No one can estimate the
value of his successive trips to Europe
to his own life and to the life Of Ameri-
ca. While to no one man can be attri-
buted the Introduction OF sweetness /
and light into New England, great
deal must be allowed to Longfellow
who,as Professor of Modern Languages
at Bowdon and afterwards Harvard |
and as the writer of prose works, did !
so much to arouse in the people of |
New England a love for romance and
the world of the beautiful. 1t was the |
time of New England, when
purity was supplemented by refine
ment, morality by culture, the good by
the beautiful.
Any one can see the defects in Long |
fellows poetry-a too great tendency |
to moralize, a lack of spontaiety and |
sweep Of vision, there is none of the |
passion of a great poet. Still his de- |
fects must not keep us from seeing the |
virtues. The fact that he has been so |
popular with the people, if not with |
the critics, shows that he struck some |
sympathetic chords in the heart Of |
man. He is the poet of domestic atfec-
tions. Poe and Longfellow might we'll |
be contrasted; the lover of real iitera
ture finds in each that which he may |
love. Genius manifests itself in many |
ways. OF his short poems the lectur-
err noted those on Hymn to |
Night" Light of Stars" April Day" |
Flowers" ETC.; the short stories, such |
as skeleton in Armor," paul Re- |
yere's," Wreck of the Hesperus:" the |
Sentimental Homilies," Psalm of |
Life" Reaper and Flowers Excel |
sior," etc.
The lecturer spoke at length Of
'Eyangeline" which had charmed not |
only the masses, but the cultured With |
Lowell we may say, "Tis a shrine of
retreat from earths hubbub and |
strife AS quiet and chaste as the au-
thor's own life" The beautiful descrip- |
tions Of landscapes, characters, etc,
were cited; some of LongfelloW's most |
successful lines in perameter verse |
were noted to show how well he had |
overcome the difficulties. Such scenes |
as the closing one make one believe in /
the immortality OF the soul. "Hiawa- /
thai lis the most unique of Hawthorne |
works. He had great difficulties to |
overcome in the metre and in the pow
err to comprehend the spirit Of Indian |
legends In each he had succeeded adj /
though there are parts Of
''Hiawatha" that are ver,5 inferior. The /
Indian legends embodied in this poem
were compared with some Of those OF
Morse mythology especially in the
idea Of a national hero and in the inn
personation of natural forces.
The speaker closed with picture OF
in his old age at Cam
bridge giving illustrations Of his
kindness OF heart, simplicity Of life,
etc. He suggested a comparison with
Tennyson in his old age. Both Of the
poets had closed their lives with
utterances. Tennyson in
crossing the Bar" Longfellow in the
.'Bells of San Bias
"Out Of the shadows Of night
The world rolls into light;
it is daybreak everywhere.