Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 4).djvu/35

Rh the beautiful poem " Morituri Salutamus." It ended with the characteristic verse — " i^ or age is opportunity no less Than youth itself, though in another dress, And as the evening twilight fades away, The sky is filled with stars, invisible by day." On his seventy-fourth birthday, 27 Feb., i881, he wrote in his diary ; " I am surrounded by roses and lilies. Flowers everywhere —

' And that which should accompany old age. As honor, love, obedience, troops of friends.' "

But he had had already warnings of declining health, and in the course of this year he suffered greatly from vertigo, followed by nervous pain and depression. The serenity of his spirit was un- affected. On the 18th he suffered a chill, and be- came seriously ill. On the 24th he sank quietly in death. The lines given in fac-simile were the last written by the poet, 15 March, 1882, and are from the closing stanza of the " Bells of San Bias."

No poet was ever more beloved than he ; none was ever more worthy of love. The expressions of the feeling toward him after death were deep, affect- ing, and innumerable. One of the most striking was the placing of his bust in the Poet's Corner in Westminster Abbey in March, 1884. It was the passing through various hands, it was purchased on 1 Jan., 179ci, by Andrew Craigie, who built the west wing. Mr. Craigie had made a fortune as apothecary-general to the Continental ai'my, and he entertained in the house with lavish hospitality. After his death his widow, whose income had be- come reduced, let rooms to various occupants, among whom were Jared Sparks and Edward Everett. Finally the house passed into Longfellow's hands, as is related above. It is now (1898) occupied by his eldest daugliter. His study remains unaltered as he left it. Mr. Longfellow had two sons and three daughters, by his second wife. His eldest son, Charles, entered the National service in 18(31, and was badly wounded at Mine Run. His daughters, as children, were the subjects of a cele- brated portrait group by Thomas Buchanan Read. — Henry Wadsworth's brother, Samuel, clergyman,

b. in Portland, 18 June, 1819 ; d. there, 3 Oct., 1892, was graduated at Harvard and at the divinity- school there. He first accepted a call to a ciuirch at Fall River in 1848, but in 1853 became the pastor of a Lnitarian congregation in Brooklyn, N. Y. In 1860 he resigned his charge and went abroad. On his return he resided at Cambridge, Mass., continu- ing to preach, but having no pastoral charge till in first instance of such an honor being paid to an American poet. His bust stands near the tomb of Chaucer, between the memorials to Cowley and Dryden. (See illustration on page 14.) On this occasion Mr. Lowell, then U. S. minister in Eng- land, said : " Never was a private character more answerable to public performance than that of Longfellow. Never have I known a more beauti- ful character." A bronze statue of Longfellow, by PVanklin Simmons, was erected in Portland in September, 1888. His "Life" has been written by his brother Samuel, in three volumes (Boston, 1886-7). This work, mainly compiled from the poet's diaries and letters, is a full and satisfactory jjieture of the man. In this life there is a bib- liography of his works. The meadow, across the street, in front of the poet's home, stretching down to the river Charles, so often commemorated in his verse, was given by his children shortly after his death to the Longfellow memorial association, on condition that it should be kept open for- ever, and properly laid out for public enjoyment. The view over the river, of the hills of Brigh- ton and Brookline, as seen from the windows of Longfellow's study, will thus be kept open, and associated with his memory.

The vignette on page 10 is from a portrait made in 1856 by Samuel Laurence ; the frontispiece on steel is a copy of one of the latest photographs of the poet. The illustration on page 12 represents Longfellow's home, Craigie House. It was built by Col. John Vassall in 1759, and on his flight to England, at the beginning of the Revolution, was confiscated. It served as Washington's headquar- ters till the evacuation of Boston, and then, after he became the minister of a church in Ger- mantown. Pa. In 1882 he again returned to Cam- bridge. In addition to writing several essays that appeared in the " Radical " (1866-'71), and many hymns that have a place in other collections than his own, he compiled, in association with Rev. Sam- uel Johnson, " A Book of Hymns " (Boston, 1846 ; revised ed., entitled " Hymns of the Spirit," 1864). He published " A Book of Hymns and Tunes," for congregational use (1859), and a small volume for the vesper service that he had instituted. He was also the editor, in connection with Thomas W. Hig- ginson, of " Thalatta, a Book for the Seaside," a col- lection of poetry, partly original (1853). His latest publications are the " Lite of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow " (2 vols., 1886), and " Final Memorials of Henry W. Longfellow" (1887).— Henry Wads- worth's "son, Ernest Wadswortli, artist, b. in Cambridge, Mass., in 1845, was a pujul of Couture at Paris in 1865, and painted in Italy in 1868. His studio was at first in Cambridge, but is now (1898) in New York. He paints with a firm hand and brilliant but harmonious scheme of color, and is favorably known for such effective landscapes and compositions as " Old Mill at Manchester, Mass." ; " Italian Pines " (1880) ; " Love Me, Love my Dog " ; " Misty Morning " ; and " John and Priscilla," one of his most popular works.

LONGINGS, Jose (lon-ge'-nos), Spanish naturalist, b. in Logrono, Spain, about 1750; d. in Campeche, Mexico, in 1803. In 1787 King Charles III. sent a botanical expedition to explore Mexico and Central America, and Longinos was appointed its chief. He explored Mexico and California, then travelled through Central America, and during his