[1839].
Gentlemen,—I respectfully beg leave to call your attention once more to the subject of my duties as Smith Professor in the University. You will recollect17 that when I entered upon my labors18 in the Department of Modern Languages, the special duties, which devolved upon me as Head of that Department, and Professor of Belles Lettres, were agreed upon by a Committee of the Corporation and myself. Native teachers having always been employed to instruct in the elements and pronunciation of the Modern Languages, the general supervision of the Department, instruction in some of the higher works of modern foreign literature, and certain courses of Lectures were assigned to me. This arrangement, so far as I know, proved satisfactory to all the parties concerned.
152
You will also recollect, that in the Summer of 1838, two gentlemen, namely the French and the German Instructors, for reasons which it is unnecessary to specify19, resigned. Another German teacher was immediately appointed; but as no suitable person occurred at the moment to fill the place of French Instructor9, the appointment of one was postponed20 for a season, and I consented to take charge of the Classes in that language. I would respectfully remind you of the distinct understanding at the time, that this arrangement was to be only a temporary one, and to be given up as soon as a suitable appointment could be made. It so happened, however, that I continued to instruct in the French language during the whole year.
At the commencement of the present academical year, I proposed the name of a French gentleman, and this nomination21 was laid by the President before your honorable body. No appointment, however, was made; but on the contrary a vote was passed, requiring the Smith Professor to instruct all the French classes for the future.
I do not, of course, Gentlemen, call in question your right to modify the duties of my Professorship; and I have proceeded to organize the classes, and commence the instruction in the Elements of the French language, agreeably to 153 your vote. But I still entertain the [hope] that a different arrangement, and one more in harmony with the intent of a Professorship of Belles Lettres, and more advantageous22 to the University, may yet be made. The symmetry and completeness of the Department are at present destroyed. The organization introduced by Mr. Ticknor, and continued successfully to the great honor of the University is broken up. The French language has no native teacher. And I submit to you, Gentlemen, whether depriving the Department of the services of such a teacher will not justly be regarded by the public as lessening23 the advantages of a residence at the University.
I have now under my charge 115 students in French, and 30 in German. Of course, with so many pupils my time is fully16 occupied. I can exercise but little superintendence over the Department; and have no leisure for the prosecution24 of those studies, which are absolutely requisite25 for the proper discharge of the duties originally prescribed to me. When the labor5 of mastering the Literature of even a single nation is considered,—the utter impossibility of my accomplishing anything, under the present arrangement,—in the various fields of Foreign Literature, over which my Professorship ranges, will be at once apparent. An object of greater importance is clearly sacrificed to one of less. I 154 am required to withdraw from those literary studies and instructions, which had been originally marked out for me, and to devote my time to Elementary Instruction. Now if my labors are of any importance to the College it is to the former class of duties, that the importance belongs. The latter can be performed as well, perhaps better, by an instructor, employed and paid in the usual way. In point of fact, my office as Professor of Belles Lettres is almost annihilated26, and I have become merely a teacher of French. To remedy this, Gentlemen, I make to you the following propositions:—
I. That I should be wholly separated from the Department of Modern Languages, and be only Professor of Belles Lettres.
II. That I should reside, as now, in Cambridge.
III. That I should not be a member of the Faculty.
IV. That my duties be confined to lecturing during the Autumn Term; and the rest of the year be at my own disposal, as in the case of the Professor of History.
V. In consideration of which I relinquish27 one half of my present income from the College, and receive only one thousand dollars per annum. Respectfully submitted, &c., &c.
Henry W. Longfellow.[56]
155
The committee to which was referred the memorial of Professor Longfellow reports:—
That in conformity28 with his wishes, one of two modifications29 of his existing duties may be admitted consistently with the interest of the University, both being predicated upon the plan of substituting a native of France as a principal teacher of the French language.
1. That Professor Longfellow’s services should be limited to public lectures and oral instruction & relief from all other teaching, & to continue the general superintendence of the Department and to continue his lectures both terms and receive a salary of One Thousand dollars.
2. That he perform the above and give instruction by hearing recitations of the advance Classes in French, in both terms, and also of all the surplus of the Students in French, when their numbers shall exceed One Hundred & to receive a salary of Fifteen hundred dollars.
The committee submit it to the wisdom of the board, which of these modifications is preferable.
For the Committee,
26 Oct. 1839.
Josiah Quincy.[57]
At a later period came the following:—
Gentlemen,—I am reluctantly compelled by the state of my health to ask leave of absence 156 from the College for six months from the first of May next. In this time I propose to visit Germany, to try the effect of certain baths, by means of which, as well as by the relaxation30 and the sea-voyage, I hope to re?stablish my health. My medical attendant advises this course as more efficacious than any treatment I can receive at home.
I shall be able, before leaving, to deliver all the lectures of the Spring Term; and on my return in November, those of the Autumn Term before its close; and it is in reference to the necessary arrangements for this, that I make thus early my application for leave of absence. The general supervision of the Department will be undertaken by Professor Felton, without any charge to the College;—the classes will lose none of their lectures;—and I trust the interests of the College will not suffer.
I would repeat in conclusion that the state of my health is the sole reason of my making this request.
I am, Gentlemen,
Your Obt. Sert.
Henry W. Longfellow.[58]
Harvard University, January 24, 1842. To the President and Fellows of Harvard University.
157
He sailed on April 23, 1842, and although his health gained during the summer, was yet obliged to ask for an extension of time, as follows:—
Marienberg, September 3, 1842.
My dear Sir [Hon. Josiah Quincy],—When I left you in the Spring, I thought by this time I should have recovered my health and be setting my face homeward. In this I have been disappointed. My recovery has been slower than I expected; and though considerably31 better than when I arrived here, I am yet far from being well. The Doctor urges me very strongly to remain longer. He thinks it of the utmost importance to my future health, for years to come, that I should do so. He says, that if I look forward to a life of intellectual labor, in his opinion “it is absolutely necessary I should give up all thought of returning home before next Summer, devoting the time to re?stablishing my health, and avoiding all severe study.” I quote these words from a written opinion which he gave me this morning; and in consequence of which I have determined32 to ask leave of absence until that time, unless the state of my department in College should absolutely demand my return.
I assure you, that I do this with the greatest reluctance33. I have no desire to remain here; on the contrary a very strong desire to be at home 158 and at work. Still I wish to return in good health and spirits, and not to lead a maimed life. I fear, and the physician positively34 asserts, that if I go back now I shall thwart35 the whole object of my journey, and that if I hope to be well I must go on with the baths.
I have therefore concluded to remain here until I receive an answer from you; promising36 myself that when I once escape from this hospital I will never enter another until that final one appointed for all the poets.
Will you have the goodness to say to your daughter, Miss Quincy, that I left her package for Mr. Graham at its address in Havre; and presume it reached him safely. In coming through France it was not in my power to go into Brittany, and avail myself of your letter of introduction to him; the place of his residence lying too far out of my route. From Paris I came through Belgium to this ancient city of Boppard, where I have remained stationary37 since the first of June.
With kind remembrances to Mrs. Quincy and your family,
Very truly yours
Henry W. Longfellow.[59]
It is interesting to note the manner in which this appeal was met by the economical college.
159
Henry W. Longfellow, Esq.
Sir,—I perceive with great regret, by your letter of the 3d Inst. that, although you have followed with due precision the prescriptions38 of the German Doctor who
corpus recenti
sparget aqua,
convalescence39 is not yet attained40, but that the water spirit has announced that another year is required in order to obtain the full benefit of his draughts41 and ablutions. The fact is a source of great sorrow to your friends and of no less embarrassment42 to the Corporation of the College. The granting the leave of six months’ absence was effected, not without difficulty. Doubts were expressed concerning the possibility of your realizing your expectations, within the period you specified43; and the objections were surmounted44 only on your assurance that you would return in October, and that the benefit of your instructions should not be lost, by any [class] of the college, according to the arrangements you made. It was on this fact, and on this assurance alone, that assent45 of the Corporation was obtained. By the proposition you now make the present Senior class will be deprived of the advantages, on which they have a right to calculate and have been taught to expect.
Under the circumstances of the case, the Corporation do not feel themselves willing absolutely 160 to withhold46 their assent to your protracting47 your absence as you propose; at the same time they are compelled by their sense of duty & I am authorized48 to state, that they, regarding themselves, not as proprietors49, but as trustees, of the funds under their control, cannot deem themselves justified50 in paying the salary of the Professorship to a Professor, not resident & not performing its duties. They value your services very highly, and are therefore willing, if you see fit to remain another year in Europe, to keep the Professorship open for your return; but I am directed to say that, in such case, your salary must cease, at the end of the current quarter—viz. on the 30 of November next.
The obligation thus imposed on the Corporation, it is very painful to them to fulfil, but they cannot otherwise execute the trust they have undertaken, conformably to their sense of duty.
And now, Sir, permit me to express my best wishes for your health; the high sense I entertain of your talents and attainments51 and the unaltered esteem52 & respect with which I am, most truly.
Your friend and
hle St.
Josiah Quincy.[60]
Cambridge.
30. Sep. 1842.
161
Longfellow spent his summer at the water-cure in Marienberg, with some diverging53 trips, as those to Paris, Antwerp, and Bruges. In Paris he took a letter to Jules Janin, now pretty well forgotten, but then the foremost critic in Paris, who disliked the society of literary men, saying that he never saw them and never wished to see them; and who had quarrelled personally with all the French authors, except Lamartine, whom he pronounced “as good as an angel.” In Bruges the young traveller took delight in the belfry, and lived to transmit some of its charms to others. At Antwerp he had the glories of the cathedral, the memory of Quintin Matsys, and the paintings of Rubens. His home at Marienberg was in an ancient cloister54 for noble nuns55, converted into a water-cure, then a novelty and much severer in its discipline than its later copies in America, to one of which, however, Longfellow himself went later as a patient,—that of Dr. Wesselhoeft at Brattleboro, Vermont. He met or read German poets also,—Becker, Herwegh, Lenau, Auersberg, Zedlitz, and Freiligrath, with the latter of whom he became intimate; indeed reading aloud to admiring nuns his charming poem about “The Flowers’ Revenge” (Der Blumen Rache). He just missed seeing Uhland, the only German poet then more popular than Freiligrath; he visited camps of 50,000 troops 162 and another camp of naturalists56 at Mayence. Meantime, he heard from Prescott, Sumner, and Felton at home; the “Spanish Student” went through the press, and his friend Hawthorne was married. He finally sailed for home on October 22, 1842, and occupied himself on the voyage in writing a small volume of poems on slavery.
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1
criticise
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| v.批评，评论；非难 | |
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ward
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| n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开 | |
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scrap
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| n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废 | |
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mariner
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| n.水手号不载人航天探测器，海员，航海者 | |
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labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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persistence
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| n.坚持，持续，存留 | |
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poetic
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| adj.富有诗意的，有诗人气质的，善于抒情的 | |
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instructors
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| 指导者，教师( instructor的名词复数 ) | |
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instructor
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| n.指导者，教员，教练 | |
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detailed
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| adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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belles
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| n.美女( belle的名词复数 )；最美的美女 | |
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construed
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| v.解释（陈述、行为等）( construe的过去式和过去分词 )；翻译，作句法分析 | |
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supervision
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| n.监督，管理 | |
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faculty
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| n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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recollect
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| v.回忆，想起，记起，忆起，记得 | |
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labors
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| v.努力争取(for)( labor的第三人称单数 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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specify
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| vt.指定，详细说明 | |
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postponed
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| vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发） | |
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nomination
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| n.提名，任命，提名权 | |
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advantageous
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| adj.有利的；有帮助的 | |
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lessening
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| 减轻，减少，变小 | |
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prosecution
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| n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营 | |
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requisite
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| adj.需要的，必不可少的；n.必需品 | |
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annihilated
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| v.（彻底）消灭( annihilate的过去式和过去分词 )；使无效；废止；彻底击溃 | |
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relinquish
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| v.放弃，撤回，让与，放手 | |
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28
conformity
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| n.一致，遵从，顺从 | |
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modifications
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| n.缓和( modification的名词复数 )；限制；更改；改变 | |
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relaxation
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| n.松弛，放松；休息；消遣；娱乐 | |
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considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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reluctance
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| n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿 | |
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positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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thwart
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| v.阻挠，妨碍，反对；adj.横(断的) | |
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promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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stationary
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| adj.固定的，静止不动的 | |
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prescriptions
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| 药( prescription的名词复数 )； 处方； 开处方； 计划 | |
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convalescence
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| n.病后康复期 | |
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attained
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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draughts
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| n. <英>国际跳棋 | |
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42
embarrassment
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| n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫 | |
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specified
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| adj.特定的 | |
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44
surmounted
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| 战胜( surmount的过去式和过去分词 )； 克服（困难）； 居于…之上； 在…顶上 | |
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45
assent
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| v.批准，认可；n.批准，认可 | |
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withhold
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| v.拒绝，不给；使停止，阻挡 | |
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47
protracting
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| v.延长，拖延（某事物）( protract的现在分词 ) | |
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authorized
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| a.委任的，许可的 | |
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proprietors
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| n.所有人，业主( proprietor的名词复数 ) | |
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justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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51
attainments
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| 成就，造诣； 获得( attainment的名词复数 )； 达到； 造诣； 成就 | |
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52
esteem
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| n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作 | |
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53
diverging
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| 分开( diverge的现在分词 )； 偏离； 分歧； 分道扬镳 | |
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54
cloister
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| n.修道院；v.隐退，使与世隔绝 | |
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55
nuns
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| n.（通常指基督教的）修女， （佛教的）尼姑( nun的名词复数 ) | |
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naturalists
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| n.博物学家( naturalist的名词复数 )；（文学艺术的）自然主义者 | |
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