Editing Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (section)

===European tours and professorships===
After graduating in 1825, Longfellow was offered a job as professor of modern languages at his alma mater. An apocryphal story claims that college trustee [[Benjamin Orr (Massachusetts politician)|Benjamin Orr]] had been impressed by Longfellow's translation of [[Horace]] and hired him under the condition that he travel to Europe to study French, Spanish, and Italian.<ref>{{harvp|Calhoun|2004|p=40|ps=.}}</ref>

Whatever the catalyst, Longfellow began his tour of Europe in May 1826 aboard the ship ''Cadmus''.<ref>{{harvp|Arvin|1963|p=22|ps=.}}</ref> His time abroad lasted three years and cost his father $2,604.24,<ref>{{harvp|Calhoun|2004|p=42|ps=.}}</ref> the equivalent of over $67,000 today.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.officialdata.org/us/inflation/1826|title=Value of 1826 dollars today &#124; Inflation Calculator|website=Officialdata.org|access-date=June 4, 2022}}</ref> He traveled to France, Spain, Italy, Germany, back to France, then to England before returning to the United States in mid-August 1829.<ref>{{harvp|Arvin|1963|p=26|ps=.}}</ref> While overseas, he learned French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and German, mostly without formal instruction.<ref>{{harvp|Sullivan|1972|p=186|ps=.}}</ref> In Madrid, he spent time with [[Washington Irving]] and was particularly impressed by the author's work ethic.<ref>{{cite book |last= Jones |first= Brian Jay |title= Washington Irving: An American Original |location= New York |publisher= Arcade Publishing |year= 2008 |page= 242 |isbn= 978-1559708364}}</ref> Irving encouraged the young Longfellow to pursue writing.<ref>{{cite book |last= Bursting |first= Andrew |title= The Original Knickerbocker: The Life of Washington Irving |location= New York |publisher= Basic Books |year= 2007 |page= [https://archive.org/details/originalknickerb00burs/page/195 195] |isbn= 978-0465008537 |url= https://archive.org/details/originalknickerb00burs/page/195 }}</ref> While in Spain, Longfellow was saddened to learn that his favorite sister Elizabeth had died of [[tuberculosis]] at the age of 20 in May of 1829.<ref>{{harvp|Calhoun|2004|p=67|ps=.}}</ref>

On August 27, 1829, he wrote to the president of Bowdoin that he was turning down the professorship because he considered the $600 (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US|value=600|start_year=1829}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US}}) salary "disproportionate to the duties required". The trustees raised his salary to $800 with an additional $100 to serve as the college's librarian, a post which required one hour of work per day.<ref>{{harvp|Calhoun|2004|p=69|ps=.}}</ref> During his years teaching at the college, he translated textbooks from French, Italian, and Spanish;<ref name=Williams66>{{harvp|Williams|1964|p=66|ps=.}}</ref> his first published book was a translation of the poetry of medieval Spanish poet [[Jorge Manrique]] in 1833.<ref>{{harvp|Irmscher|2006|p=225|ps=.}}</ref>

He published the travel book ''[[Outre-Mer|Outre-Mer: A Pilgrimage Beyond the Sea]]'' in [[Serial (literature)|serial form]] before a book edition was released in 1835.<ref name=Williams66/> Shortly after the book's publication, Longfellow attempted to join the literary circle in New York and asked [[George Pope Morris]] for an editorial role at one of Morris's publications. He considered moving to New York after New York University proposed offering him a newly created professorship of modern languages, but there would be no salary. The professorship was not created and Longfellow agreed to continue teaching at Bowdoin.<ref>{{harvp|Thompson|1938|p=199|ps=.}}</ref> It may have been joyless work. He wrote, "I hate the sight of pen, ink, and paper ... I do not believe that I was born for such a lot. I have aimed higher than this".<ref>{{harvp|Sullivan|1972|p=187|ps=.}}</ref>

[[File:Mary Storer Potter.JPG|thumb|right|Mary Storer Potter became Longfellow's first wife in 1831 and died four years later.]]
On September 14, 1831, Longfellow married Mary Storer Potter, a childhood friend from Portland.<ref>{{harvp|Calhoun|2004|p=90|ps=.}}</ref> The couple settled in Brunswick, but the two were not happy there.<ref>{{harvp|Arvin|1963|p=28|ps=.}}</ref> Longfellow published several nonfiction and fiction prose pieces in 1833 inspired by Irving, including "The Indian Summer" and "The Bald Eagle".<ref>{{harvp|Williams|1964|p=108|ps=.}}</ref>

In December 1834, Longfellow received a letter from [[Josiah Quincy III]], president of Harvard College, offering him the Smith Professorship of Modern Languages with the stipulation that he spend a year or so abroad.<ref>{{harvp|Arvin|1963|p=30|ps=.}}</ref> There, he further studied German as well as Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Finnish, and Icelandic.<ref>{{harvp|Sullivan|1972|p=189|ps=.}}</ref> In October 1835, his wife Mary had a miscarriage during the trip, about six months into her pregnancy.<ref>{{harvp|Calhoun|2004|pp=114–115|ps=.}}</ref> She did not recover and died after several weeks of illness at the age of 22 on November 29, 1835. Longfellow had her body embalmed immediately and placed in a lead coffin inside an oak coffin, which was  shipped to [[Mount Auburn Cemetery]] near Boston.<ref>{{harvp|Calhoun|2004|p=118|ps=.}}</ref> He was deeply saddened by her death and wrote: "One thought occupies me night and day...She is dead&nbsp;– She is dead! All day I am weary and sad".<ref>{{harvp|Sullivan|1972|p=190|ps=.}}</ref> Three years later, he was inspired to write the poem "Footsteps of Angels" about her. Several years later, he wrote the poem "Mezzo Cammin", which expressed his personal struggles in his middle years.<ref name=Arvin305>{{harvp|Arvin|1963|p=305|ps=.}}</ref>

Longfellow returned to the United States in 1836 and took up the professorship at Harvard. He was required to live in Cambridge to be close to the campus and, therefore, rented rooms at the Craigie House in the spring of 1837.<ref>{{harvp|Calhoun|2004|p=124|ps=.}}</ref> The home was built in 1759 and was the headquarters of [[George Washington]] during the [[Siege of Boston]] beginning in July 1775.<ref>{{harvp|Calhoun|2004|pp=124–125|ps=.}}</ref> Elizabeth Craigie owned the home, the widow of [[Andrew Craigie]], and she rented rooms on the second floor. Previous boarders included [[Jared Sparks]], [[Edward Everett]], and [[Joseph Emerson Worcester]].<ref>{{harvp|Brooks|1952|p=153|ps=.}}</ref> It is preserved today as the [[Longfellow House–Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site]].

Longfellow began publishing his poetry in 1839, including the collection ''Voices of the Night'', his debut book of poetry.<ref>{{harvp|Calhoun|2004|p=137|ps=.}}</ref> The bulk of ''Voices of the Night'' was translations, but he included nine original poems and seven poems that he had written as a teenager.<ref>{{harvp|Gioia|1993|p=75|ps=.}}</ref> ''Ballads and Other Poems'' was published in 1841<ref>{{harvp|Williams|1964|p=75|ps=.}}</ref> and included "[[The Village Blacksmith]]" and "[[The Wreck of the Hesperus]]", which were instantly popular.<ref name=Calhoun138>{{harvp|Calhoun|2004|p=138|ps=.}}</ref> He became part of the local social scene, creating a group of friends who called themselves the Five of Clubs. Members included [[Cornelius Conway Felton]], [[George Stillman Hillard]], and [[Charles Sumner]]; Sumner became Longfellow's closest friend over the next 30 years.<ref>{{harvp|Calhoun|2004|p=135|ps=.}}</ref> Longfellow was well liked as a professor, but he disliked being "constantly a playmate for boys" rather than "stretching out and grappling with men's minds."<ref>{{harvp|Sullivan|1972|p=191|ps=.}}</ref>