LOWELL 



3527 



LOWELL 



and almost failed to get his degree. That his 

 literary ability was recognized by his classmates 

 is shown by the fact that he was chosen to 

 write the class poem a thoughtless satire 

 upon the Aboli- 

 tionists which he 

 published for pri- 

 vate circulation. 



In 1840 he was 

 graduated from 

 Harvard Law 

 School, but his 

 profession never 

 really interested 

 him, and while 

 waiting for clients 

 he wrote poetry. 

 His genius was JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL 

 always somewhat indolent, requiring special 

 causes to stimulate it, and love proved the in- 

 spiration of his first volume, which appeared in 

 1841. This little collection of more than ordi- 

 nary lyrics was called A Year's Life, and was 

 dedicated to Maria White, to whom, he was be- 

 trothed. Her influence on him was strong, and 

 led, after their marriage, in 1844, to his cham- 

 pioning the cause of 'freedom. In 1843 he 

 helped to found The Pioneer, a magazine which 

 Poe, Hawthorne and other distinguished con- 

 tributors failed to make popular. During the 

 Mexican War he began his immortal Biglow 

 Papers, a satire in Yankee dialect. The sly 

 humor, the irony, the well-defined New England 

 characters and the political philosophy set forth 

 in trenchant form made the series immediately 

 popular, and the author famous. Such expres- 

 sions as "This goin' ware glory waits ye haint 

 one agreeable feetur;" "You've gut to git up 

 airly ef you want to take in God;" "I don't 

 believe in princerple, but oh I du in interest," 

 became household words. 



In 1848 came his best-known poem, The 

 Vision of Sir Launfal, which well shows the 

 inspiration which the poet drew from nature 

 and good deeds. The witty Fable for Critics 

 appeared the same year, and with all its puns 

 and satiric thrusts proved Lowell one of 

 America's foremost critics. A visit to Europe 

 in 1851, with his family, and one in 1855, after 

 his wife's death, helped to fit him to succeed 

 Longfellow as professor of modern languages 

 at Harvard. As an instructor he was notably 

 successful in making his students think and 

 awakening them to an appreciation of the 

 beauties of literature; and his teaching, to- 

 gether with his editorials, first in the newly 



founded Atlantic Monthly and, after 1864, in 

 the North American Review, occupied much 

 of his time. In 1857 he married Miss Frances 

 Dunlap, with whom he lived happily for many 

 years. In 1872 he again visited Europe, and 

 received' honorary degrees from Oxford and 

 Cambridge universities. 



Meanwhile he had published more Biglow 

 Papers, and in 1865 produced his Commemora- 

 tion Ode to the Harvard graduates who died 

 in the war. He himself lost eight relatives in 

 the conflict, and his heart was in the poem, 

 which probably never has been surpassed by 

 any of its kind. Under the Willows, issued in 

 1869, contains the verse of many years, includ- 

 ing that called forth by the death of his wife. 

 The Cathedral (1870) marks the height of his 

 thought, while his Memorial Poems (1877) 

 proved him the greatest American poet of 

 patriotism, and practically closed his poetic 

 career. 



Lowell's writings had supported the Repub- 

 lican party, and he was a Presidential elector 

 in 1876. In the following year President Hayes 

 appointed him minister to Spain, and three 

 years later transferred him to England. Lowell 

 possessed remarkable executive ability and 

 common sense, which might have won him 

 fame in some international crisis, but none 

 occurred, and he did little more than to 

 strengthen mutual good will. His uprightness, 

 learning, wit and brilliant oratory, however, 

 made him a prominent man in England. In 

 1885 his wife died, and in the same year he 

 was recalled to America. There he was still 

 a public figure, for his mind remained vigorous, 

 and no great occasion was considered complete 

 without a word from him. His health grew 

 more and more feeble, however, and on August 

 12, 1891, he died at Elmwood, where the greater 

 part of his life had been spent. Most of his 

 eminent friends had died before him, and he 

 was buried in Mount Auburn cemetery, near 

 Longfellow. 



Lowell was of medium height, broad-shoul- 

 dered and active. His hair and beard were of 

 a chestnut color. His conversation was de- 

 lightfully witty, yet always gave the impres- 

 sion, like his writings, of something still better 

 to come. He much preferred writing to revis- 

 ing, yet was far from careless with his work, 

 and never sacrificed future fame to temporary 

 advantage or wealth. 



His poetry is great because of its vigorous 

 expression, its witty sayings and its sound com- 

 mon sense. It lacks the grace, evenness and 



