JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL. His writings, numerous He LOWELL was more than a writer. and excellent as they are, do not fully represent him. tried to follow his own precept: — "The epic of a man rehearse; Be something better than thy verse." He None of our literary men were great in so many ways. ranks high as a poet. His critical papers are among the most elaborate and excellent produced in this country. He was a speaker of no mean ability, and a scholar of wide attainments. But overshadowing all these literary accomplishments stands his personality, a man of strong intellect, wide sympathies, and sterling integrity. He appeared among the earlier singers of the century. Though influenced for a time, as all young writers are apt to be, by favorite authors, Lowell is strikingly original. In his earlier verse we detect an occasional note from Tennyson or Wordsworth; but his strong intellect soon hewed out a course of its own. His mind was tumultuous with the interests of his day. He rushed to the combat for truth and freedom with abounding zeal. He proclaimed his message in verse distinguished, not for harmony and grace, but for vehemence and force. He was armed with heroic courage:· "They are slaves who dare not be He believed in bravely doing his part to right existing wrongs; for "God hates your sneakin' creturs that believe Lowell was a New Englander, not only by birth, but by spirit and affection. He was proud of his Puritan ancestry. He loved the landscape of New England and the character of its people. This affection gave him a keen insight into the strength and weakness of New England character, and made him delight in its peculiar dialect: "For puttin' in a downright lick 'Twixt Humbug's eyes, there's few can metch it, And then it helves my thoughts ez slick Ez stret-grained hickory doos a hetchet." Though a broad-minded patriot, he remained throughout life a doughty champion of New England. The Lowell name has an honored place in the history of Massachusetts. Each generation, since the first settlement of the family at Newbury in 1639, has had its distinguished representative. The city of Lowell is named after Francis Cabot Lowell, who was among the first to perceive that the prosperity of New England was to come from its manufactures. John Lowell was an eminent judge, and introduced into the Constitution the section by which slavery was abolished in Massachusetts. John Lowell, Jr., by a bequest of $250,000, founded Lowell Institute in Boston. As a family, the Lowells have been distinguished for practical sense, liberal thought, and earnest character. James Russell Lowell was born in Cambridge, Feb. 22, 1819. His father, as well as his grandfather, was an able and popular minister. The poetic strain in Lowell's character seems to have been inherited from his mother. She was of Scotch descent, had a talent for languages, and was passionately fond of old ballads. Thus Lowell's opening mind was nourished on minstrelsy and romance. He early learned to appreciate what is beautiful in nature and in life. He entered Harvard College in 1835; but no part of his fame rests on his record as a student. He had an invincible repugnance to mathematics; and he read everything else, it has been said, but his text-books. For irregularity in attending morning prayers, he was suspended for a time; but prayers were then held at sunrise! His genial nature and recognized ability made him a favorite among his fellow-students. When hé graduated, in 1838, he was chosen poet of his class. Then followed the study of law. He opened an office in Boston, but his heart was not in his profession. Various poets — By were more to him ron, Shelley, Keats, Coleridge, Tennyson than his law-books. In his abundant leisure he wrote a story entitled "My First Client," but it is doubtful if he ever got that far in a successful legal career. While waiting for the clients that never came, he found solace in poetry. Love touched his heart, and caused a copious fountain of verse to gush forth. In 1841 he published a little volume with the title "A Year's Life." Its motto, borrowed from Schiller, gave the key-note to the poetry: "Ich habe gelebt und geliebet." The verse was inspired by Miss Maria. White, a refined, beautiful, and sympathetic woman, whom the poet married three years later, and with whom for nearly a decade he lived in almost ideal union. This volume revealed the presence of poetic gifts of a high order. The next step in Lowell's career was to become an editor, -a calling in which he subsequently achieved enviable distinction. In company with Robert Carter, he established the Pioneer in 1843. It was a literary journal of high excellence. Among its contributors were Hawthorne, Poe, Whittier, Story, and Parsons, a galaxy sufficient, one would think, to insure success. But only three numbers appeared. The public of that time was not distinguished for literary culture. The Pioneer was in advance of its day; and, after a brief career, it may be said to have died a glorious death. In 1844 appeared a second volume of poems, in which the hand of a master is apparent. He aims to rise above the empty rhymer, "Who lies with idle elbow on the grass, And fits his singing, like a cunning timer, To all men's prides and fancies as they pass." He sings of love, truth, patriotism, humanity, religion, courage, hope — great themes which his large soul expands to meet. His verse may be at times exuberant and rhetorical, but it embodies virile power of thought and emotion. The fundamental principles, not only of all his poetry, but of his character, are found in this volume. In "An Incident in a Railroad Car" we see his sense of human worth, regardless of the accidents of fortune: "All that hath been majestical In life or death, since time began, And thus, among the untaught poor, He had unwavering confidence in the indestructible power In "A Glance Behind the Curtain," he says: of truth. "Get but the truth once uttered, and 'tis like A well-known passage in "The Present Crisis" reveals his faith in the watchful care of God: "Careless seems the great Avenger; history's pages but record His love of human freedom is revealed in the poem "On the Capture of Fugitive Slaves near Washington": "He's true to God who's true to man; wherever wrong is done, These are all characteristic themes; and because they came from the poet's heart, we find in subsequent poems the same truths presented again and again in richly varied language. With his strong, positive nature, it was natural for Lowell to take part in the slavery agitation of the time. When it cost. him unpopularity, he had the courage of his convictions. He acted as he wrote: "Then to side with Truth is noble when we share her wretched crust, Ere her cause bring fame and profit, and 'tis prosperous to be just." The first series of "The Biglow Papers" belongs to the period of the Mexican War; the second series, to the period of the Civil War. In these poems, written in what he calls the Yankee dialect, Lowell gives free rein to all his resources of argument, satire, and wit. He hits hard blows. truth is sometimes clothed in homely language: - "Laborin' man an' laborin' woman Hev one glory an' one shame. Ev'y thin' that's done inhuman A forcible The "pious editor," who reverences Uncle Sam, "partic' larly his pockets," confesses his creed : |