Newark post., 1913-02-19
With Lowell
At Elmwood

in 1870. 1t is a rare work of great in
terest. 1t was, probably, written at Elm
wood, which was then part of the coun
ty landscape of old Cambridge-the place
Of his birth-and was almost sacred to
him by long and hallowed association.
There in his childhood S home, amid
the singing of the birds in the old English
trees and shrubbery surrounding the old
fashioned mansion, we picture that mem
orable -Lowell-browsing in the
literary pasture, which his own excellent
library afforded. He, no doubt, felt the
inspiration which would naturally follow
the reading Of great works from master
minds.
q. Il. WoOdberry said in his brief de-
scription of Lowell s library, the books
filed the shelves upon the wall every
where, and library more distinctly
gathered for the love of literature is not
to be found. To tell it's treasures would
be to catalogue the best works Of man in
many languages. Perhaps its foundation
stone is beautiful copy Of the first
Shakespeare folio; Lord Vernon s Dante
is among the 'tallest'' volumes, and
there are many rare works in much small
or compass. The range in English is,
perhaps, the most sweeping, but the pre-
sious part to the bibliophilc is the col
lection, a very rich one, of the old French
and other romantic poetry. More inter
csting in personal way are the volumes
one picks up at random, which are emile
stones of an active literary life.'
In his instructive essay on Library
Of Old Authors he tells us that all
books acquired value in his eyes, that
there was a sacredness in a volume how
sver dull, through sympathy with the au-
thor s lonely labor. He gives us the
names of men who formed DR.. Young
excellent series of old English prose
writers. He tells us during the years
that the Retrospective Review was
published old English literature was
most appreciated and that its sixteen
volumes were so many tickets of admis-
teenth and seventeenth centuries. He
criticises unsparingly Smith s selection
for his series of authors and thinks that
ninete of the early English Poet
ryn had better never have been printed
at all. Mr.. Hazlitt and many others also
come in for their full share of criticism.
[ leave the discussion of so weighty a
subject to an abler pen than mine and
turn to more agreeable one, my Gar
den Acquaintance.
After spending hours of labor in his
much beloved study, Lowell delighted to
commune with Nature and rambls with
hi. bird-friends in his garden, and amid
the fine old shrubbery. He writes of the
~istics of various birds which af
----.,....-.,. = - - ple~~-lre. ON al
ortunltles tof oo4 .-nad se, 81
lhose ol us "lliioorning the trained ear Is
Iea.. ,msnoQu isure to catch some bird-note-it
may be only the distant cawing of crow
or the cry of blue jay, but it is quite
likely to be nearer sound and come
from the tree nearest to you. A sof
"ouonk- -uuonk'' of the nuthatch may at
tract your attention, and you will notlc
quaint, bluish-grey, whte-breasted, lon'
tailed, short billed bird, coming down
branch of a tree head foremost, talking
softly to himself and closely examining
tho bark as he searches for his breakfast
The return of the robing is announce
by the newspapers, like that OF eminen
or notorious people to watering-plact
rs the first authentic notification o
spring. This bird is very fond of chez
ries, grapes, green peas, and mulberrie:
And what music is sweter than choru
of robins1 Lowell says the birds alway
seemed to think that they were the righ
full owners and that he was only ter
ant: that the cumming birds, which
80 beautifully describes as winged en-
eralds,' have often chased him from h
flower beds. In one of his mornin
strolls, he found ose-breasted' gro
beak in his raspberry bushes and as :
had never seen one Of them on his prem
ises before he was greatly pleased, an
she was looking around with view
settling there. One thing was eviden
that she was enjoying his raspberri'
hugely and he thought he would plant a.
other bed, with pleasure, if that wou
induce her to make home at Elmwoo
These feathered creatures were so we
acquainted with Lowell that they we
not at all shy; they half forgave his b
ing human, but never forgave his ben
a lawyer.'' He tried to make amen'
by being with them as much as posslbl
Pets and birds may have much in commt
but lawyers and birds never!
Lowell S prose works are characte