Preface. vii from other men who have fince rifen to celebrity) long furvive. The curious part of the affair is, that Longfellow, when iffuing his first collected volume of poems thirteen years later,1 thought it worth while to include five (by no means the best) of these early pieces, but did not care to rescue the other twelve (not only the larger, but by far the better portion of thefe juvenilia) from their oubliette. The pieces fo reprinted received a few unimportant verbal alterations; but they are here reprinted in the exact form in which they originally appeared. were "These poems," fays Mr. Longfellow in a short preface to this fection of earlier pieces, written for the most part during my college life, 1 "Voices of the Night." Bofton, 1839. 2 Bowdoin College, where Mr. Longfellow entered in 1821, and graduated in 1825. viii Preface. age and all of them before the of nineteen. Some have found their way into schools, and seem to be fuccessful. Others lead a vagabond and precarious existence in the corners of newspapers, or have changed their names and run away to seek their fortunes beyond the fea. I fay, with the Bishop of Avranches1 on a fimilar occafion: I cannot be difpleased to see these children of mine, which I have neglected, and almost exposed, brought from their wanderings in lanes and alleys, and safely lodged, in order to go forth into the world together in a more decorous garb.'" It is now more than half a century since the latest of these pieces saw the light, and the name of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is now known and honoured wherever the English language is spoken. We possess the mature fruits of his genius; but it will be a pleasant and profitable task to all lovers and 1 Peter Daniel Huet. ftudents of poetry, to have an opportunity of observing the first flights of fong of one who has fince become fo famous. And yet it must not be supposed that these early pieces, modeftly as the author seems to have confidered them, brought him no fame at the time. Years before he published any separate book, these ftray lyrics of his were quoted and admired in his own country. "Moft of Mr. Longfellow's poetry," writes George Cheever in 1831, "indeed, we believe nearly all that has been published, appeared, during his college life, in the United States Literary Gazette. It displays a very refined taste, and a very pure vein of poetical feeling. It poffeffes what has been a rare quality in the American poets-fimplicity of expreffion, without any attempt to startle the reader, or to produce an effect by far-fought epithets. There is much sweetness in his imagery and language; and fometimes he is hardly excelled by any one for the quiet accuracy exhibited in his pictures of natural objects. His poetry will not eafily be forgotten." 1 To fuch praise we need add little; nor is it our intention to enter into detailed criticism of these flight first-fruits of Longfellow's Mufe. If the favour of them is sweet, the reader will not be ungrateful to us for culling them from the tangled wilderness where they lay unheeded and in danger of perishing. R. H. S. "The American Common-Place Book of Poetry, with Occafional Notes." By George B. Cheever. Boston, 1831. |