The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-12-10
Some Famous Love affairs.


length, the nSure lney cut III d Jaw WI -
o. from anything else out of the common
connected with them. Or they are IA
nous because they are or were the affairs
&C celebrated people. 1t is in this latter
sense that we use the phrase. If the
most commonplace wooing of the most
commonplace people possesses an ire
sstib!e interest, what shall be said when
the loves on which we look are the loves
of the immortals?
AMONG THE POETS.
And first let US think how some of those
whose especial study is love, that is to
say the poets, have managed their own
love affairs. 1t is true that poetasters
and pretenders to genius have always
had short tempers and wild, undomestic
ways, but what of real poets and those
who have the long patience of real
genius? 1t would seem that for good
family men who can love their wives
and bring up their children respectfully
they cannot be beaten. Men do not
make their homes unhappy because they
have genius" says Wordsworth, but be-
cause they have not enough genius A
mind and sentiment of higher order
feeling all the beauty of domestic ties"
OF this Wordsworth himself Is an eX-
ample. Miss Martineau, who was a
neighbor of his, describes how very hap
PLY he and his wife went down the hill
of life together. 'They seemed like low
ers counting, they were so tender and at
tentive to each other" Referring to the
Obscurity of Iluch of Browning's poetry,
Wordsworth said, when he heard that the
poet was about to marry Miss Barrett,
the pOetess, II hope they'll understand
one another" Certainly Mrs. Browning
did think that she understood her nus
band, for she wrote to a friend Nobody
exactly understands him except me, who
am in the inside of him and hear him
breathe" If 1T is a risk to marry any
poet, it seemed to Miss Barrett's friends
a tempting OF Providence, and doubling
of this risk for two of this irritable pro-
fessiOn to wed. Contrary to expectations,
the result was exceptional happiness. In
the biography of Robert Browning there
are the following words which ought to
be considered by all who would solve the
problem How to be happy though
married." 1.-The deep heart-loVe, the
many-sided intellectual sympathy, pre-
served their union in rare beauty to the
end" But to say that it thus maintained
itself as if by magic, without effort of
self-sacrifce on his part or of resignation
on hers, would be as unjust to the noble
qualities of both as 1t would be false to
assert that its compromising happiness
had ever failed them" The other great
master of song belonging to our time and
country was also conspicuous for conju-
gal felicity. In 1850 Tennyson married
Miss Emily Sellwood the daughter of
solicitor. The young couple lived for the
first two years at Twickenham. Their
first baby died, but in 1853 there was an
other, year old, CRAZY with laughter
and babble and earths new wine" In
= the same year Tennyson was described
by Charles Kingsley, with whom he was
staying, as Improved by the birth of his
child" In America, too, Longfellow and
Lowell were excellent husbands.
No more beautiful love OF man for wom-
an Is on record than that of Dante for
Beatrice, whom he saw first IN 1874 He
only met her once or twice.; nevertheless
Velen she married he fell seriously Ill;
and when she. died, as she did shortly
after, his life was in danger and he
E became "a thing wild and savage to look
upon" Throughout the cherries wander
ilIgs of q storm-beaten existence sReatrice
WIS the muse of his intellect and the
angel Of his soul.
On the 9Th of April, 1927, happened the
-mcst famous event in Petrarch's history.
He saw Laura for the ifst time Who
Laura was remains uncertain still We
NAV, however, reject the sceptfcal hypo-
thesis that she was mere tigment Of
the poets fancy; and, II we auCep. he
personal reality, the poems Of her lover
demonstrate that she was a married woIn-
an, with whom he enjoyed a respectful
and not very intimate friendship.
The poet and divine, John Dome who
became dean of st. Paul's in 1921 bad
married lady belonging 10 Il rich family
without the consent of her parents and
Ill consequence was treated with greet
esperity; in fact, he was told by his
father-in-law that he was not to expect
any money from him. The doctor won't
home and penned the pithy note, John
Donne, Annie Dome, undone" which he
sent to the gentleman in question. and
this had the effect of restoring them t.
favor. The couple were very poor at
hrSt but things soon got brighter, and
they lived most happily together until
Mrs. Dome, no had been married when
only sixteen years of age, died sixteen
years afterwards, at the birth of her
twelfth child.
Another poet and divine who was not
und0ne by his marriage, but greatly help
ed and comforted, was George Herbert
~ was an exception TO the marrying in
haste and repenttng at leisure rule. for
he and his wife married on the third dav
after their first interview, and there was
never any opposition betwixt them. I'M
less 1t were a contest which should most
incline to a compliance with the others
desires. Herbert made his wife his al
mcner and paid to her regularly tenth
or all he received as tithes, to be spent
on the poor of his parish
There was an exception, however. 10 the
rule OF marrying in haste and renentinp
al leisure In the case of Walter Savage
I4andor and his wife The poet met his
future wife at a ball, and determined
on the instant to marry her Not long
after he had done SO Mrs Lander came
10 mink that "a conversation with her
husband was incomplete without a quar-
rel. Even in the honeymoon she wound
ed the poor mans vanity Lander was
readlng some of his own verses to his
nClde-and who read more exquisitely?-
When all at once the lady, releasing her
sen from his arm, jumped I'D. saving
On 90 stop Walter. there's that dear,
oeAghtful Punch performing In the street.
must look out of the window"
FRAGRANT TESTIMONIES
And oh If there be an Elysium ON aor.h
It Is this, 1t Is this" IN
Thomas Moore, who wrote these words
old himself taste the Elysium of COW
5ugal happiness From 1911, the wear of
MS marriage, to 1852, that of his death
MS Bessy received from him the HOMAGE
of lover Whatever amusement Se