The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1916-04-06
A First Meeting With Lowell.

In iarperS Magazine E.. S. NadaI
sets down his memories of James Rus
sell Lowell. under whom he served as
second secretary Of legation when
Lowell was minister to England.
The first time T saw Mr., Lowell ]
dined with him at Longfellow's house
IN cambridge. ! had brought a letter
70 Longfellow from Mr.. William Cullen
Bryant. | was somewhat surprised by
LongfeiloWs appearance. He was
shorter than / had expected, and in
ciined to s%toutness. But he was a
handsome man. one of the most at
tractive that l have ever seen. That
was what every one said of him.. I re-
member particularly his voice, which
was very musical. There was a GER
tain agreeable deliberation in his way
OF speaking. Then the poet and scholar
We're SO large a part of his nature. and
he had such a feeling for the romance
OF knowledge II of literature. l re-
memDe the charming voice and man
ner in which he told me that the
Italian wine which he gave me at din
ner was. he believed, the Massic of
Horace. The benignity and courtesy
winch We're his characteristics bore. /
fancy. some relation to his beauty
n world looks kindly upon a beau
uful person, and it is natural that such
a person should return the worlds
amiable regard. This beauty and
grace We're no doubt qualities which
mad always been Longfellow's. My old
Ir1ersa. George Ripley. the founder and
head of Brook farm. told me that he
once saw Longfellow. then a young
professor at Bowdoin, give some de-
grees to a class Of young men at a
Bowdoin commencement. and how i'm
pressed he was with the grace, and
especially with the good feeling, which
he showed.
AS came into the drawing room
at Longfellow's house, when / went to
dine with him. / saw a man sitting at
one end OF the room, whom I recog-
nized as resembling the photographs
OF Lowell had seen. He was a thick
set man rather under middle height,
with a heavy. red beard. OF course /
knew the Biglow Papers almost by
heart, as we all did in those days, and
admired the introduction to the Vision
of Sir LaunfaI.' n some Of his shorter
poems. But | could not like his prose
things. especially his critical writings.
They seemed to be statements Of trite
and generally accepted ideas, expressed
with an air of novelty and with much
arfectation. Until you got to know
him there was something Of this self
consciousness and af~fectation in his
appearance and names. ! never aft
erward saw him SO affected as !
thought he was at this dinner. That
may have been because 7 was expect
ing something of the kind. / renem-
Der he said to one of Longfellow,s
daughters, You should read Vergil;
he's the sweet fellow in what seemed
to me an affected and pedantic man
ner. although. of curse, the advice and
the sentiment were unexceptionable.
After dinner I went with Long
fellow and Lowell into the smoking
room. Longfellow was most agreeable
and entertaining. I remember his
telling this story: His brotherinlaw.
Tom Appleton, was a s~piritualist; he
was rich. and / presume did a good
deal for mediums and such persons.
and was, as a consequence. highly re-
garded by hem. Appleton had asked
Longfellow to go to see a medium of
whom he thought highly. Longfellow
did go to see him. and was invited TO
put some questions to the man. which
would test his ability as a medium.
Longfellow asked him Who was the
author Of a treatise written during the
Middle Ages upon the capacity Of
spirits to move material objects, such
as chairs and tables. 1t seems that
such q treatise was written by Thomas
Aquinas. AS the medium was not
very ready with his answer. Longfel-
low. in the goodness of his heart, tried
Il help him by pronouncing slowly the
letters T-n-o-m-a-s atom Apple
ton1 said the man. eagerly"