IMttRttHM
THE HESPERIAN STUDENT.
T
opposite currents mnko up the warpnud woof of our every
day exl&tanco; if our lltcnituro weaves golden threads
Into till web the world Is brighter and wo aie strength
ened. A friend of Mr. Stunners once said "that Longs
fellows 'Psalm of Llfo' saved him from suicide." Wo
need moro of such poems; thoy appeal to the heroic in
man. Literature should bo the real idealized but possl.
able; something that lifts us up to a higher plain, some
thing that gives us noblu impulses, something that all
must feel In their best moments. On a summer evening
something over sixty years ago, in the town of Portland
Malno a little boy 'Went out cautiously from his fathers
door, to the letter box, of the newspaper ojllcc, on tlio
corner. After looking around to see that no one was in
sight, ho dropped something into the box a llttlo poem
Between hope and fear ho eagerly watched for the appear,
ance of the newspaper; when it came ho took it to a
secluded spot and there, looking Oh! so beautiful in
print, was his little poem. That little boy held the key to
human hearts, other poems followed and the world lis
tened. That boy was Henry Wadsworth Longfellow a
then destined to become a household word, a name that
all children love.
At an earley age Mr. Longfellow had mastered the lan
guages of northern Europe and traveled In
Germany, Prance, Spain, and Italy, He had
published "Outre Mer" and "Hvpc-riau" and
written essays on "Anglo Saxiou Literaure."Much
of his time was spent in translating into English
the works of foreign authors, ho was careful, patient'
exact; aside from the translation of Danta ho made in
all not less than forty. nine skillful vcrsons of some of
tlio finest German, Swedish, Spanish and Italion master
poems; inthiswoik he is unsurpassed if not uncqhelcd.
Yet notwithstanding his broad culture, liis growing
fame, he was a modest man: without affectations vanity:
he was kind, appreciative, tender.
Unlike Tennyson, Motely or Holmes, he would rather
be known as the man than the poet he was simply
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Ho was not only a mods
est man' but ho was also free from envy or jealousy.
Irrespective of nationality, party or creed, ho was a
great admiror of other men's genious; and especially
kind to thoso who had just mounted the first round of
the ladder. Catholic in his sympathies, generous in his
apprcciuton he did not weigh men in the scales of the
critic. We see this man who had "touched at all Adriatic
and Mediteranian ports" who "kuew all Spanish
and French coasts" this man so ripe in gracfnll learn,
ing and noble sentiment, sitting among the students
ut Harvard. Wo hear his voice, deep, melodious the
voice of a scholar and a gentleman. How eagerly the
students listened to the words that fell like jewels from
his lips; words that told of far brought learning, and
large experience. Oiil how much the' loved him, for
with a patience that could never be exhausted, combined
with simplicity, gentleness and sweet dignity he was
more than the professor and teacher, ho was an Inspec
tion, to those who loved the true, the beautiful and tlio
good.
The writings of our New England poets are all charac
terized by a moral purity. They reflect the stern religious
epirlt of the puritan. Self restraint was the first virtue.
Grand characters were formed and moulded by thoso
influences, such men as Emcrsom, Longfellow, Bryant,
Whltticr, Holmes and Lowell, among them however
there are none so pure, gentle, modest and uulverslally
loved, as our first poet. By birth and susroundlngs, as
well as by convictions, ho was a firm believer In repub
lican institutions. Of n gentle retiring .disposition, h
was not an agitator, not a conlrovcrsallsts; but ho was
loyal. Ho saw much In Europe to admire; ho was on
debted to the old world for a great part of his culture
In the new he found the picturesque "Untarnished by
the decay of error." In the prosaic bustling life of "those
born under tlio setting sun" we are apt to feel that ro
mance is lacking. Mr. Longfellow saw all the beauty
that lay under the struggling life of our prarlo world; he
had faith In our western empire. Hero he found the
children of the forest, the simplicity, the loyal trust and
the heroism. His best poems are based upon Amcricau
themes; "Evangeline," "Heawatha," "The cortshlp of
Miles Slandisli," "Building of the ship," and many
others. All through his writings wo find a tenderness
for country, and for homo. H? was an American, pre
emincnlly an American. Of all the poets of our genera
tion his poems have had the greatest popularity, at first
they were read more in England than in America, thirty,
thousand copies of "Evangeline" were sold in England
in one year. Of his longest poems "Heawatha" is pra
nounced the best. Hero we find a heart that thrills in
sensitive respnuce to the charms of nature
"Yo who lovo tho haunts of nature,
Lovo tho sunshine of thr meadow.
Lovo tho shnddow cf tho forest,
Lovo tho wind among the branches." . ,
wo find also kindly sympathy for the children of the
forest.
Yo whoso hearts are fresh and simple;
Who have faith In God and nature,
Who boliovo that in all ages
Every human heart is human,
That in every savage bosomo
Thero are longings, yoarnings, strivings
For the good they comprehend not,
That the fcoblo hand and helpless,
Groping blindly In tho darkness,
Touch Gods right hand in tho darkness
And are lifted up and strengthened:
Listen to the simple story.
Of the songof noawatha."
Mr. Longfellow loved Evangeline the best, this poem is
nearer akin to tho poets hearl. While Heawatha may be
the favorite of students and critic, Evangeline is the
most papular; it voices best our common human symp
athy The element that we find strongest in this poem and
also In "The courtship of Miles Standish" is pathos,
sometimes almost tragic yet always tender What a
grand type of "heroic womanhood" wo find in Evange
line, from a fair young girl, until she is faded and old
we anxiously follow her until at last she finds her lover
only to see him dio.
"All was onded now, tho hope, and the fear ano tho sorrow..
All tho aching of tho heart, the restless unsatisfied longing.
All the deep dull pain, and constaut anguish of patience.
Aan as she pressed once moro tho lifeless heda to her bosom
Meekly (she bowed her own, and murmmercd "Father I
thank thee.
No poet has had so many lovers among little people
as Mr. Longfellow. On the occasion of his seveuty second