His early opportunities were in striking contrast to those of Whittier; for
Lowell, like his ancestors for three generations, went to Harvard. Because
of what the Lowell side of his family called "the Spence negligence," he
was suspended from college for inattention to his studies and sent to
Concord to be coached by a tutor. We know, however, that a part of Lowell's
negligence was due to his reading and imitating such poetry as suited his
fancy. It was fortunate that he was sent to Concord, for there he had the
opportunity of meeting Emerson and Thoreau and of drinking in patriotism as
he walked "the rude bridge that arch'd the flood" (p. 179). He was elected
class poet, but he was not allowed to return in time to deliver his poem
before his classmates, although he received his degree with them in 1838.
MARRIAGE AND NEW IMPULSES.--Like Irving and Bryant, Lowell studied law, and
then gave up that profession for literature. In 1839 he met Miss Maria
White, a transcendentalist of noble impulses. Before this he had made fun
of the abolitionists, but under her influence he followed men like Whittier
into the anti-slavery ranks. She was herself a poet and she wrote to Lowell
after they became engaged:--
"I love thee for thyself--thyself alone;
For that great soul whose breath most full and rare
Shall to humanity a message bear,
Flooding their dreary waste with organ tone.
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