lowest depths. But for half a century he continued to send forth, in simple, harmonious verse, messages of beauty, sympathy, and hope. 423. Parentage.-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was born in Portland, Me., Feb. 27, 1807. He sprang from a sturdy, honorable New England family, the founder of which came to Massachusetts toward the close of the seventeenth century. His father was a graduate of Harvard, a prominent lawyer in Portland, and at one time a member of Congress. The poet inherited the disposition and manners of his father, who has been described as a man "free from everything offensive to good taste or good feeling." On his mother's side the poet counted in his ancestral line John Alden and Priscilla Mullen, whom he has immortalized in "The Courtship of Miles Standish." While his ancestors on both sides were characterized by strong sense and sterling integrity, there was no indication of latent poetic genius. Its sudden appearance in the subject of our sketch is one of those miracles of nature that cannot be fully explained by any law of heredity. 424. Early Environment.-During the early years of his life, Portland possessed the charm of beautiful scenery and stirring incident. The city rises by gentle ascent from Casco Bay. Its principal streets are lined with trees, so that it has been not inaptly called "The Forest City." Back of the town are the stately trees of Deering's Woods. It was a place of considerable commercial importance, and foreign vessels and strangetongued sailors were seen at its wharves. In the War of 1812 defensive works were erected on the shore. In a naval combat off the coast between the British brig Boxer and the United States brig Enterprise, the captains of both vessels lost their lives. The deep impression made by these scenes and associations is reflected in the beautiful poem, "My Lost Youth." 425. College Career.-Longfellow entered Bowdoin College at the age of fifteen. He was courteous in his bearing, refined in his taste, and studious in his habits. A classmate, writing of him, a half-century later, says, " He was an agreeable companion, kindly and social in his manner, rendering himself dear to his associates by his disposition and deportment." He held a very high rank in a large and able class. His strong literary bent manifested itself early. During his college course he composed a number of poems of marked excellence, a few of which have been given a place in his "Complete Poetical Works." young writers are apt to be more or less imitative; and in the poems of this period, especially in those treating of nature, the influence of Bryant is clearly perceptible. 426. Strong Literary Bent.-He early showed a strong predilection for a literary career. In his eighteenth year he wrote to his father: "The fact is, I most eagerly aspire after future eminence in literature; my whole soul burns most ardently for it. There may be something visionary in this, but I flatter myself that I have prudence enough to keep my enthusiasm from defeating its own object by too great haste. ... Whether nature has given, me any capacity for knowledge or not, she has, at any rate, given me a very strong predilection for literary pursuits; and I am almost confident in believing that, if I can ever rise in the world, it must be by the exercise of my talent in the wide field of literature." 427. Professor of Modern Languages.-After his graduation in 1825, Longfellow began the study of law in his father's office; but, like several other American authors, he found his legal books exceedingly tedious. Soon the way was opened for him to enter upon the literary career for which he was eminently fitted by taste and talents. While at college his linguistic ability had attracted attention. Accordingly, when the department of modern languages was established at Bowdoin, he was elected professor, and granted leave of absence for travel and study abroad. He sailed for Europe in 1826, and spent the next three years in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Holland, and England. He studiously familiarized himself with the scenery, customs, language, and literature of those countries. Like Paul Flemming in "Hyperion," "He worked his way diligently through the ancient poetic lore of Germany, from Frankish legends of St. George and Saxon Rhyme-Chronicles, . . . into the bright, sunny land of harvests, where, amid the golden grain and the blue cornflowers, walk the modern bards, and sing." After his return, he taught five years in his Alma Mater with eminent success. 428. "Outre Mer."-One of the fruits of his stay abroad was a little work in prose entitled "Outre Mer," in which he gave some of the "scenes and musings" of his pilgrimage. It is made up of a series of pleasant sketches in the manner of Irving's "Sketch Book." It was written, as he tells us, when the duties of the day were over, and the world around him was hushed in sleep. "And as I write," he concludes, "the melancholy thought intrudes upon me,-To what end is all this toil? Of what avail these midnight vigils? Dost thou covet fame? Vain dreamer! A few brief days,-and what will the busy world know of thee? Alas! this little book is but a bubble on the stream; and, although it may catch the sunshine for a moment, yet it will soon float down the swift-rushing current, and be seen no more! 429. "Footsteps of Angels."—In 1831 he married Miss Mary Storer Potter of Portland, a lady of great personal attractions and of exceptional culture. Their married life was brief. She accompanied him on his second visit to Europe, where she died in Rotterdam in November, 1835. She is the "being beauteous" commemorated in the "Footsteps of Angels: " "With a slow and noiseless footstep Comes the messenger divine, Takes the vacant chair beside me, And she sits and gazes at me With those deep and tender eyes, |