Sentence:  Cilley, his old college mate, was just elected to Congress from Maine, Pierce was just elected Senator from New Hampshire, and Longfellow had found the ways of literature as smooth as the <WSD>primrose path</WSD> to the everlasting bonfire. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  An easy and pleasant life; a self-indulgent or hedonistic life; such a life that leads to damnation.