The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-04-19
HEARD A FINE LECTURE
THOSE WHO LISTENED TO DIR.
HALE's TALK AT PROPYLAEUM.
The Subject of the Lecture Wass
ell, Holmes and LOngfeIIOw."

yesterday from Lafayette and last night
delivered lecture at the Propylaeum on
"Reminiscences of Emerson, Holmes, Low
ell and Longfellow''
The lecture was attended by a large
audience eager for the opportunity of such
literary treat. DR.. Hale was introduced
to the audience by Miss Catherine Merrill
who said it was always pleasant to see
and listen to anybody who had done some
thing in the world. She said that many
years ago little book appeared called
''The Man Without a Country" that it
brought tears to the eyes of many who
read 1t and made the world better for hav-
ing been written. Since that time many
other books had been written by the same
author and all of them had tended towards
the betterment of the world. AT the be-
ginning of his lecture DR.. Hale said he
intended to speak of four men who in some
respects were similar. They had all been
intimate friends, Americans with great
love of country in their hearts and men
who had given the best they had to their
country and to the world. Said he: 81
speak of Emerson, Holmes. Lowell and
Longfellow. 1 will not speak of their
works. have not the Time-but of them
as real men. 1 want my young friends to
think of them in the future as men whom
you might have met in the streets of your
city. They were men of our times and all
Of them pre-eminent Americans. Three of
them grew up together, and Longfellow be-
came their intimate companion later in
life. Emerson, Holmes and Lowell were all
of the New England type, and you will
f,oI 80 81,
in all their lives 1 was on intimate terms
with all of these men, and 1 will try to
show not only their intimacy with each
other, but also the larger influence each
of them exerted for good during his life
time
DR.. Hale first spoke Of Emerson and told
many humorous and pathetic stories grow
ing out of his intimacy with him. He spoke
of Emerson's early childhood and said he
had been brought up by a widowed mother.
In his youth he was compelled to deny him.
self all but the barest necessities Of life,
and yet was of the sweetest disposition
and willing to accept that which the world
offered him Dr. Hale then pictured Elmer
son as the man you would meet on the
street every day. He said he liked to go
to the market places and meet the people
from the country; was always to be seen
mail time, where he liked to chat with his
neighbors and friends about just such
ordinary affairs of life as interested every
other citizen. He said he planted his gar
den just as badly as any one else and that
the garden always turned out just as badly
as any of the gardens planted by his neigh
bors. Said DR.. Hale: HE was just a COM
mon man like you or / despite the fact that
he was known as the modern Buddha or
the modern Plato. In one sense he was
million leagues above the world, yet in an
other sense he is of the world. He eats
and drinks with publicans and sinners.
LONGFELLOW AND HARVARD.
Longfellow, according to DR.. Hale. was
the means of bringing to Harvard Col
lege new regime. He came to Cambridge
at about the time the professors, students
and every one else connected with the
college had arrived at the very satisfac-
tory conclusion that Harvard represented
the sum total Of all that was good, and
that while other people were we'll enough
yet If man had not been through Har-
ward, he of course was of a different clay
Longfellow came to the college when he
was about thirty years old. Coming d.
rect from Paris he was about the best
dressed man that had even been in the
college. In substance, DIR. Hale said Long
fellow not only showed them how to dress,
but gave them clearly to understand that
lege. There is one characteristic of Long
fellow" continued Dr. Hale. that does not
appear in any Of his poems. 1 refer to
his extreme generosity. Why there was
not a tramp in the country but what was
sure to turn up at Longfellow's door, and
none of them ever went away hungry"
DR.. Hale told story of one of these
trampS who was sent to him by Long
fellow with a note of introduction. Said
the lecturer: when I asked him how 1
could serve him, he asked me for an old
pair of pantaloons / not only gave them
to him, but also gave him some cold NUT
ton. This man turned out to be a Hun
garian count and in 1873, after the restora-
ton of the nobility in Hungaria, received
an invitation to visit him on his own
estate"
Longfellow was at Cambridge from 1886
to 1899, and it during this time that
he became intimate with Holmes. In
speaking of Holmes, DIR. Hale said he used
to tell him that he was the first person
that ever acclaimed any of his verses. Said
DIR. Hale: Holmes was the delight of
every boy and young man who knew him.
He was loved for himself and his poetry"
The lecturer said that Holmes never in
suited an audience by printing or reciting
anything that was not the best that he
could do. He was always correct in his
language, a diligent student and a great
poet.
TALKED OF LOWELL.
Lowell was the youngest of the four by
several years, but grew up the intimate
companion of the other three Dr. Hale
said one of the things of which he liked
to speak was that, while all of them were
great poets and each the contemporary of
the other, yet they were the best of
friends, such thing as jealousy being un-
known TO them. When Lowell was three
years old the only way his sister could
get him to go TO sleep was to read Spen-
GERS Fairy Queen" to him. He was a
hard working fellow in college, but chafed
under it's rigid discipline. He was finally
suspended from college, Notwithstanding
the fact that he had been chosen class
poet by the graduating class. DR.. Hale
said that Lowell started to go into business
with his uncle, who was q merchant but
one day he happened to hear Mr.. Webster
making q speech in some law case, and
he thereupon decided to study law. At
forwards he threw himself into the
anti-slavery movement and wrote some Of
the most caustic articles Of the time He
was one of the electors who voted for Mr.
Hayes for President. and was afterwards
offered by the President the ministry 10
England, France. Germany, Russia. He
declined all of these, but accepted the min
istry TO Spain.
In his later life he frequently made trips
to England. and having met with the dis
favor of the lrish-Americans, he was
often accused OF catering TO the English
aristocracy. After his death IL was found
that the only part of the English arts
tocracy courted by Lowell was two old
ladies who owned a cottage which was so
pleasantly situated that he could not re-
sist the temptations of its environments
In conclusion DR.. Hale said he hoped
that he had in some degree shown that all
n those worked Them