CHAPTER IX

THE FIVE OF CLUBS

Now began the finest years of Longfellow’s life. It was in the early years at the Craigie House that he wrote the “Psalm of Life” and most of his other world-famous and world-loved poems, and it was here that he enjoyed his best friendships.

When he first came to Cambridge to see about accepting the professorship, he was introduced to Charles Sumner, the great lawyer, orator, and statesman, then a young man beginning to practice law in Boston. The introduction took place in Professor Felton’s rooms, who was also about the same age, that is, under thirty, and who as a Greek scholar and the writer of Greek textbooks has become famous. Felton was a big, good-natured fellow; and he and Charles Sumner at once took a fancy to Longfellow. As soon as the poet was settled in his new home a club was formed, consisting of Longfellow, Sumner, Felton, George S. Hillard (Sumner’s law partner), and Henry R. Cleveland, who was also a teacher. These five, who called themselves “The Five of Clubs,” met usually every Saturday afternoon in Longfellow’s room, sometimes in Felton’s, and occasionally in the law offices of Sumner and Hillard in Boston. They were all ambitious, all good fellows who met for a “feast of reason,” but who nevertheless knew how to have a royal good time. These meetings were kept up regularly for several years.

It was about this time that Longfellow’s friendship for Hawthorne began.

There were many other famous people here, too, with whom Longfellow formed life-long friendships. Holmes was becoming known as a young poet as well as medical professor in Harvard College, and Lowell, then a boy, was soon to come upon the scene, and at last to take Longfellow’s professorship when Longfellow should resign.

Charles Sumner was destined to be one of the great antislavery agitators, and it was chiefly to his influence that we owe Longfellow’s poems on slavery. Longfellow was not of a very fiery nature. He did not get excited even in those hot times before the war, and Sumner had to urge him a long time before he composed the poems entitled “The Slave’s Dream,” “The Slave in the Dismal Swamp,” and others on slavery.

Emerson was also one of his friends, and so were several others among those who started the Brook Farm experiment. These people had taken a farm, and all had gone to live together on it, each doing a little work, and all doing a great deal of talking. Some of Emerson’s friends rather disliked Longfellow because he took no interest in this scheme, which proved a terrible failure. While he was intimate with the Brook Farm people, and always friendly as far as listening to them was concerned, he kept on the even tenor of his ways quite unmoved by their arguments.