James Russell Lowell, His Life and Work - Paperback

JARlES RUSSELL LOWELL - HIS LIFE AND WORK BY PERRIS GREENSLET - 1905 -l;'#o present within the space of a siilgle volurlie iL comprehensive view of the lifc of Lowell and n consistent interpretation of Iris wurlc is grounded largely upon printed sources. Chief of these is the admirable collection of liis letters edited by Mr. Charles Eliot Norto11. I have, indeed, endeavored to m l ie Lowell, so far as tell llis own story, and be his O I V in terpreter, in mnltitndinous short excerpts f ran his correspo1lde lce. I have quoted f roil1 tlie Letters with the permission of Harper L rothers, proprietors of the copyrigllt, iuy citations being from the augmented edition issued i i th ree volumes by IIoughton, MiHin tk Co. ulltler arrangeiilent with II rper Ihotliers. concl ollly to the Letters as a storehouse of E tvts 1i ts 1 een the elaborate Life in two volu lles p r c ar ccl by l Iornce E. Scuiltler. The reconls aid i l lwessiol o ls f Lowc, ll by Mr. IIo rrells, IIr. I lellry J nl lcs, Air. d. Lawre iche Lowell, Col. l. V, Ili, iilbvrl 3111 C. 12. oud berry, and Dr. E. E. Hale have all been of considerable service while the two volumes of memorabilia by F. H. Underwood have been specially helpful at many points. Other obligations will appear in the text and will be duly acknowledged in foot-notes. From these various and often discrepant sources I have endeavored to mould a just impression of owelis life, modifying it or am plifying it from fresh manuscript material when it could be found and Cantabrigian tradition when it could be trusted. I have everywhere tried to verify and vivify this impression by constant recourse to Lowells own writings in this respect Lowells commonplace books andnotebooks, which were placed in my hands by Mr. Norton, have been of the greatest assistance. As an exhaustive bibliography of Lowells writings by Mr. George Willis Cooke is soon to be forthcoming, I have not thought it necessary to burden this volun e with a necessarily less com plete one. I have to thaillr Mr. Cooke for aid in clearing up one or two doubtful points of Lowell bibliography. For permission to print a few letters which appear for the first time in this book, I am indebted to the kindness of Messrs. Thomns Bailey Aldrich, Prancis J. Garrison, and James Loeb. For tlle verses from Euiersons unpublished poem to Lowell, which have s place in Chapter 111, I ain obliged to the courtesy of Dr. Edward Emerson. It is a particular pleasure to express my obligation to Mr. Norton for much finely helpful talk and for other assistance of the lllost generous and painstaking nature. CONTENTS CHAPTER I. TIIE Y OUTH O FA POET. 1 819-1839 l. Influences of Childhood. 2. Education. 3. Storm and Stress. 11. POET AND ABOLITIONIST. 1840-1853 . 1. Early Ventures. 2. Annus Dlirabilis. 3. Change. 111. PROFESS AN O D R E DITOR. 1854-1860 1. Dresden and Harvrtrd. 2. The Atlantic Monthly. IV. PUE, I M C A N AND CRITIC. 1861-1876 . 1. Lowell and the War of the Re bellion, 2. The North American Review. V. DIPLOMATIST. 1877-1885 1. Spain. 2. England. VI. LAST YEARS. 1886-1891 . Lowell the Man. PAGE l X CONTENTS VII. LOWELLPSO ETRY . . 245 VIII. LOWELL P S R OSE . 266 1. His Talk. 2. His Letters. 3. His Essays. 4. Lowell as a Critic. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Jaares RUSSELLL OWELL IN 1868 Frontispiece CAXBRIDG I E N 1824 . . . . 12 MARIA WHITE LOWELL . . . 68 ELXWOOD . . . . 180 LOWEL A L X D SIR LESLIESTEPHEN IN THE STUDY A T ELMWOOD . . . 236 FACSIMI O L F EP ART O F A LETTER T O MR. NORTON . ...