Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1907-06-27
At BoWDoiN.
CONTINUED from Page One.)

CitNC Id N''tHoOtt' pat dI lthSNs VI
those whose feeling of reverence for
the poet is made tender, and in some
measure personal, by the strong and
subtle tie that binds together the sons
Of a common Alma Mater. 1t is a
fellow alumnus whose character and
work we commemorate, now that
hundred years have passed since his
life began, and twenty-five years since
ii ended.
1t Is true, OF course, that, like all
poets, he belongs to everyone that has
found pleasure. or comfort, or inspira-
ton. in his verse; and his fame is one
Of the cherished treasures Of the land.
Yet it seems to be our privilege, az it
certainly is our pride, to feel that, in
some sense, he belongs peculiarly to
US.
He was a student, a graduate, and a
professor Of BOwdoin, and, through all
the years that followed his residence
here, he cherished and expressed for
the college a deep and filial regard
He was still an undergraduate when
the phantom of fame" rose upon his
vision. and he wrote to his father,
Il most eagerly aspire after eminencc
In literature. My whole soul burns
most ardently for it, and every earthly
thought centres in it,"
As he has, himself, recorded, IL was
in No. q Winthrop Hall, the eastern
windows of which looked out upon the
grove of fragrant and mlIrmuring
pines, that he wrote the poems which.
appearing in the United States Liter
Gazette
tenti"n, and in many minds associated
the initials III. ". L." with tho most
hopeful verse produced at that time in
New England.
1t was here that he returned, after
three raptIrouS and fruitful ycarS in
the Old Verdi, to- begin his work as a
teacher amid the scenes which wit
messed his diligence as 4 student. ON
the hftieth anniversary of his gradual
ton, he did. in this place, what he
could scarcely be persuaded to do
elsewhere, he read a poem to a public
audience; in which, in his inimitablv
modest way. he laid a tribute, wrought
equally Of art and of affection, at the
proud feet of his Alma Mater. That
was memorable scene, as some who
are present today will recall The floor
and galleries. the pews, the aisles. and
even the window lodges of this histori,.
church. were crowded with people who
held their breaths to catch the snoI,an
music of his Salutation:
20 ye fan iiar acenos.-ve ;,royeg IF nina
1Ia' once were mine .land are no Iongcl.
mine
Thor river. widening thro' the meadow;
groom
To the vast sea 60 near and yet unseen
te balls. in whose E"ClISiou and rcpns.,
PhantoinS Of fame, lik" exhnIation@ ro,,
And vanished, we who are about to
die
Salute you N"
Do You suppose the college will ever
forget that salutation, or cease to claim
the poet as her own? Not her own in
any jealous or exclusive sense. but in
the proud and grateful sens" in which
mother claims as her own the son
whose achievements in tho world Of
men reflect glory upon the household
from which he went, and to which his
feet sometimes. and his affections
always. return.
IT was u characteristic and beautiful
trait of Longfellow that he cherished
an abiding interest in the ancestral
line which led him back to the cabin
OF the Mayhower, In the city Of his
birth and happy boyhood, and in the
college where he passed the years Of
his youth and early manhood: and he
has written of them all in words that
never lose their grace AMI beauty
more than does the familiar tapping of
the wave upon the beach. or the ever
recurring 1tyh nf hn
Many who have never visited his boy
hood home. or seen the "shadowy Iines
Of its trees the fort upon the HILL"
and the breezy dome Of behring's
woods. yet hear In the exquisite melody
of My Lost Youth-that song Of carly
memories-the elemental chant of the
human heart. singing to Itself in quiet
monotone Of the scenes and aSSoCia-
tions which are not SO much rcm"m-
bered. as wrought into the continuous
fabric of life of which the conven-
tional distinctions Of Yesterday, To-
day, and Tomorrow. are phases and
not fragments. Striking az is the
poem in form. and simple in substance,
no par"list has laid frivolous CIR pro-
fame hands upon it. Nature and art
are 40 welded in il that tho twain have
indeed become one: and ii will go on
singing to generation after generation
q song that will touch the hearts of
men and women everywhere.
The explanation Of Longfcllow's uni
Versal and unique appeal is to he
found. partly. i'll the essential nature
of his art. The truest art is that
which reflects, i'm its motives and
methods. the simplicity OF nature. and
lays upon the human spirit a spell not
unlike that which is wrought. in a
thousand familiar ways, by nature
herself. The sunshine is a glorious
birth" not only to Wordsworth. but,
or unconsciously. To men
the world over. The dun monotone Of
the sea. and the ripping song of the
brook. are soothing sounds to the ear.
but he who hears them finds that. in |
some mysterious way. they are forth
with changed to dreams and fancies i'm |
the soul. The plaintive or cheerful |
noe of n lone bird IN the still depths |
NJ the forest stirs in the listener a |
half-Conscious sympathy for what |