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." All 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. 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." 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. 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!" 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 Takes the vacant chair beside me, And she sits and gazes at me With those deep and tender eyes, Uttered not, yet comprehended, Longfellow's reputation as a teacher and writer was not confined to Brunswick. He was generally recognized as a rising man; and hence, when the chair of modern languages and literature became vacant at Harvard by the resignation of Professor George Ticknor, he was called to Cambridge. But before entering upon his duties there, he again went abroad, and spent two years in study. In "Hyperion," his second prose work, he gave a poetic diary of his wanderings abroad. Its style is somewhat dainty and artificial, but in excellent keeping with its quaint scholarship. It repeats old legends, translates delightful lyrics, indulges in easy criticism, abounds in graphic descriptions, and admirably reproduces the spirit of German life. Now and then a serious reflection affords us a glimpse into the depths of thought and feeling beneath the facile narrative. The book is still eagerly bought, we are told, at the principal points it commemorates. In 1836 Longfellow returned to this country, and took up his residence in the Craigie house in Cambridge. Though it already possessed historic interest as at one time Washington's headquarters, it was destined to become still more illustrious as the home of the poet. The beauty of its surroundings rendered it no unfit abode for the Muses. With reference to its former majestic occupant, the poet says: "Once, ah, once within these walls, One whom memory oft recalls, The Father of his Country, dwelt. And yonder meadows broad and damp For seventeen years he faithfully discharged his duties as head of the department of modern languages at Harvard. His position was not a sinecure. Though his lectures were prepared with great care, they were seldom written out in full. He cared but little for the soulless, mechanical learning that consists in a knowledge of insignificant details. He wrought with profounder spirit. He introduced his students into the beauty of foreign literature, and awakened a desire for literary study and culture. He became a prominent figure in the remarkable group of Cambridge scholars and writers. His friendships were select and warm. His relations with Felton, Hawthorne, and Sumner were particularly close, as may be seen in the series of sonnets entitled "Three Friends of Mine." There is deep pathos in the concluding lines: "But they will come no more, Among his other intimate friends may be mentioned Lowell and Agassiz, both of whom find affectionate remembrance in his poems. In 1839, the year in which "Hyperion" appeared, Longfellow published a slender volume of poetry entitled "Voices of the Night." For the first time the public was able to form a fair idea of the qualities of the new singer. The key-note of the poems is given in the "Prelude : "Look, then, into thine heart, and write! Yes, into Life's deep stream! All forms of sorrow and delight, Be these henceforth thy theme." The poet struck a sympathetic chord, and several of the poems have since remained popular favorites. Every poem in the collection has a personal interest. "A Psalm of Life," so familiar for two generations, is the voice of courage that came into the poet's heart as he was rallying from the depression of bereavement. "The Reaper and the Flowers," which was the unlabored expression of a long-cherished idea, he wrote, as he tells us, "with peace in his heart, and not without tears in his eyes." The pathetic interest of "Footsteps of Angels" has already been mentioned. Two years later appeared another small volume with the title, "Ballads and Other Poems." It reveals an expansion of the poet's powers. "The Skeleton in Armor" rests upon an interesting historical basis. "The Wreck of the Hesperus" is written in the old ballad style, the spirit of which it successfully reproduces. After the wreck, for example, — “At daybreak, on the bleak sea-beach, A fisherman stood aghast, To see the form of a maiden fair, Lashed close to a drifting mast. The salt sea was frozen on her breast, The salt tears in her eyes; And he saw her hair, like the brown sea-weed, On the billows fall and rise." In "The Village Blacksmith," we catch the beauty and excellence of a life of humble, faithful labor “Toiling, — rejoicing, — sorrowing, Something attempted, something done, The little poem, "Excelsior," has a deeper meaning than appears on the surface. The poet's intention, as explained by himself, was "to display, in a series of pictures, the life of a man of genius, resisting all temptations, laying aside all fears, heedless of all warnings, and pressing right on to accomplish his purpose." In these two initial volumes we have the fundamental characteristics of Longfellow's verse. His poetry afterwards swept a wide range; he undertook more ambitious themes, and gained in amplitude of genius. But in its essential features, his po |