Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

345 Pages·2016·10.53 MB·English

by  Higginson Thomas.

American open of Setter**
WADSWORTH
HENRY
LONGFELLOW
BY
THOMAS WENTWORTH HIGGINSON
BOSTON AND NEW YORK
HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY
1902
COPYRIGHT, 1902, BY THOMAS WENTWORTH HIGGINSON
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Published October,
1902
PREFACE
A of Longfellow has been from the bgei-nning
LIFE
included in the plan of the "American
Men of Letters " series, but it has been delayed
through variety of Like all memoirs
a causes.
of this poet, it must rest partly the material
on
amply furnished by the "Life" admirably
so
prepared by his brother sixteen yet it
years ago,
be well to explain that the present volume
may
will be found marked by three especial cahcatre-ristics
of its First, much additional
own.
material is here drawn from the manuscript
correspondence of the first Mrs. Longfellow,
received from her family and bearing the
upon
poet's early married and first visit to
years
Europe, during what undoubtedly the fmoart-ive
was
period of his life. Secondly, there is
a
good deal of material obtained from the
msacnrui-pt
volumes known the " Harvard Cloelg-e
as
Papers " and preserved at the University
Library, elucidating the academical side of
IV PREFACE
Longfellow's life. Thirdly, there is series of
a
extracts from his earlier writings, dating from
college days and not hitherto brought together,
but showing the origin and growth of his lliofneg-
desire to employ American material and to
help the creation of native literature the
a ;
desire which had its final fulfilment in " Evan-
geline " and " Hiawatha." These three
sources
will be found, if the author is not mistaken,
to have afforded distinct contributions to our
previous knowledge to Longfellow's cahcatre-r
as
and work.
T. W. H.
CONTENTS
CHAP. PAGE
I. LONGFELLOW AS A CLASSIC 1
....
II. BIRTH, CHILDHOOD, AND YOUTH 11
. . .
III. FIRST FLIGHTS IN AUTHORSHIP 21
...
IV. LITERATURE AS A PURSUIT 37
....
V. FIRST VISIT EUROPE 45
TO
VI. MARRIAGE AND LIFE AT BRUNSWICK 59
. .
VII. THE CORNER STONE 67
LAID
....
VIII. APPOINTMENT HARVARD SECOND
AT AND
VISIT EUROPE 81
TO
.....
IX. ILLNESS AND DEATH OF MRS. LONGFELLOW 107
.
X. CRAIGIE HOUSE 116
XI. HYPERION AND THE REACTION FROM IT 124
.
XII. VOICES NIGHT 137
OF THE
XIII. THIRD VISIT EUROPE 149
TO
....
XIV. ANTI-SLAVERY POEMS SECOND MRAIRA-GE
AND
163
XV. ACADEMIC LIFE CAMBRIDGE 176
IN
. . .
XVI. LITERARY LIFE CAMBRIDGE 188
IN
. . .
XVII. RESIGNATION PROFESSORSHIP DEATH
OF " TO
OF MRS. LONGFELLOW. 202
. . . .
XVIII. BIRDS OF PASSAGE 213
XIX. LAST TRIP TO EUROPE 219
XX. DANTE 225
....
vi CONTENTS
CHAP. PAGE
XXI. THE LOFTIER STRAIN CHRISTUS 236
:
. . .
XXII. WESTMINSTER ABBEY 248
XXIII. LONGFELLOW AS A POET 258
....
XXIV. LONGFELLOW MAN 278
AS A
....
APPENDIX 297
HENRY WADSWORTH
LONGFELLOW
CHAPTER I
LONGFELLOW AS A CLASSIC
THE death of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
made the first breach in that well-known
group
of poets which adorned Boston and its vicinity
long. The first to also the most
so go was
widely famous. Emerson reached greater depths
of thought Whittier touched the problems of
;
the nation's life deeply Holmes
more ; came pseorn-ally
before the public Lowell
more ; was more
brilliant and varied but, taking the English-
;
speaking world at large,it Longfellow whose
was
fame overshadowed all the others he also
; was
better known and translated the
more upon ctoinn-ent
of Europe than all the rest put together,
and, indeed, than other contemporary poet of
any
the English-speaking at least if bpihbileisogra-
race,
afford test. Add to this that his place
any
of residence accessible and histo'ric,his
was so so
2 HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW
personaldemeanor kindly,his life and
so so open
transparent,that everythingreallyconspiredto
givehim the highestaccessible degreeof cpoonrtaermy-
fame. There literarylaurel that
was no
not his,and he resolutelydeclined all other
was
laurels he had wealth and children and
; ease,
grandchildren,health and stainless conscience
a ;
he had also,in peculiardegree,the blessings
a
that belong to Shakespeare'sestimate of old age,
" honor, love, obedience, troops of friends."
"
Except for two great domestic bereavements, his
life would have been of absolutelyunbroken
one
sunshine in his whole he
; career never etnecroeudn-
serious rebuff,while such his
any were
personalmodesty and kindliness that
no one
could long regard him with annitsamg.o-
envy or
Among all the of there has
sons song
rarelybeen such instance of unbroken and
an
unstained
success.
Yet the fact that his death took placetwenty
justlyraise the questionhow far
years ago may
this of has followed his
wave success memory, or
how far the of time has impaired his
passage
traditional influence ; and here we must compare
varietyof tests and standards to ascertain the
a
result. Some analysisof this kind well
may pcreed-e
any new attempt to delineate his career.
The editor of of the great London wleieeks-
one
said to an American traveller not many years
LONGFELLOW AS A CLASSIC 3
"A stranger hardly have idea of
ago, can an
how familiar of working people,
many our ecsipael-ly
with Longfellow. Thousands
women, are
repeat of his who have
can some poems never
read line of Tennyson and probably
a never
heard of Browning." This I take from
passage
admirable recent sketch by Professor Ewdi-n
an
A. Grosvenor of Amherst College, of
one
the most cosmopolitanof Americans, who spent
professorof historyat Robert
seven years as
College,Constantinople.He goes on to tell
how, in the largestprivatelibraryin the Omtatno-
Empire,the grand vizier showed him his
as
favorite book largevolume of Longfellow,full
a
of manuscript comments in Turkish the
on mgairn-,
adding that he knew of the by
some poems
heart. Professor Grosvenor at time
was one
"
in 1879 travellinbgy steamer from Ctoinnsotpalne-
"
to Marseilles with Russian ladywho
a
had been placedunder his escort,and whose
ntai-onality
could have been detected only by her
marvellous knowledge of half dozen languages
a
beside her A party of had
own. passengers
been talkingin French of Victor Hugo, when
the Russian lady exclaimed in English to the
last speaker," How American, give
can you, an
to him the place that is occupied by
your own
Longfellow? Longfellowis the universal poet.
He is better known, too, foreignerst,han
among
4
HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW
any one except their own poets!" She then
repeated the verses beginning," I stood on the
bridgeat midnight,"and added, " I longto visit
Boston,that I stand the bridge." Then
may on
"Englishcaptain,returningfrom the Zulu
an
said," I give somethingbetter than
war, can you
that,"and recited in voice like trumpet,
a a
"
" Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream."
Presentlya gray-hairedScotchman began to rcei-te
the
poem,
"
" There is flock,however watched and tended,
no
But dead lamb is there !"
one
An American contributed " My Lost Youth,"
being followed by Greek temporarily
a young
livingin England,who " Stars of the Smuemr-
sang
Night." Finallythe captainof the steamer,
officer of the French detailed for that
an navy
whom nobody had suspectedof knowing
purpose,
word of English,recited,in accent hardly
a an
recognizablet,he first of " Excelsior,"and
verse
when the Russian lady,unable to understand
him, denied the fact of its being Englishat all,
he replied," Ah, oui,madame, c,a vient de votre
Longfellow" (Yes, madam, that is from
your
Longfellow). Six nationalities had thus been
represented,and the Russian lady said, they
as
rose from the table," Do you suppose there is
any other poet of any country, livingor dead,