. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow; a biographical sketch. fires of the besieging campEncircled with a burning belt. 106 HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW. Up and down these echoing stairs,Heavy with the weight of cares,Sounded his majestic tread ;Yes, within this very roomSat he in those hours of gloom,Weary both in heart and head. The grounds are large and set with finetrees, with open vistas intervening. Thechildren had a fresh country air and spacefor rambles. The house is at a suitable dis-tance from the street, and there is an atmos-phere of quiet seldom seen so near a greatcity. The poet had his roo
. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow; a biographical sketch. fires of the besieging campEncircled with a burning belt. 106 HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW. Up and down these echoing stairs,Heavy with the weight of cares,Sounded his majestic tread ;Yes, within this very roomSat he in those hours of gloom,Weary both in heart and head. The grounds are large and set with finetrees, with open vistas intervening. Thechildren had a fresh country air and spacefor rambles. The house is at a suitable dis-tance from the street, and there is an atmos-phere of quiet seldom seen so near a greatcity. The poet had his rooms and his hours,and while the family could enjoy their per-fect freedom, the size of the house and theadmirable domestic arrangements left themaster leisure and liberty to pursue his man-ifold studies and to fashion his poetical crea-tions. In this as in many other respects Long-fellow was exceedingly fortunate. Poverty,narrow accommodations, noise and illness, areenough at times to disenchant even a genius;and many an aspiration has been stifled,. A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 109 many a work of art injured in its progress,by the annoying surroundings in which itwas wrought. So far as human power canjudge, Longfellow was in the best possiblesituation for the development of his had had the best training which was pos-sible at the time, and he had used every op-portunity ; he had never known the distressof poverty or sickness ; he had been able toaccumulate rare books, and to feast upon theart of Europe. It has been previously mentioned thatCharles Sumner was a very intimate friendof Longfellow, and it may be pleasant to seethe references in his letters to the happymarriage. Writing to John Jay, at New York,May 25, 1843, Mr. Sumner says : — You will probably find Longfellow a marriedman, for he is now engaged to Miss FannieAppleton, the Mary Ashburton of 6 Hyperion,a lady of the greatest sweetness, imagination,and elevation of character, with striking personalcharms. 110 H
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