Show longfellow AS A LAD boyhood fr with chum con linued through life the boyhood friendship between longfellow and edward deering pre ble has received scant attention from the former s biographers et the two grew up together writes peter freneau in the delineator hand in hand they said good morning mis tress to the prim ma am who kept the dame s school in portland later at the academy on congress street they wielded under the watchful eyes of jacob abbot a gogue famed in his day the same fly ing wagon or stage coach that bore longfellow off to bowdoin college in brunswick took young creble damon longfellow and pythias preble it was a happy pair of bos that sat be neath the longfellow elms reading washington trying s sketch book and other delightful tales at an early age they both began to scribble verses when longfellow was thir teen years old he published a poem in the portland gazette entitled the bat tie of lovell s pond about which an amusing and half pathetic story I 1 told on the day of its appearance the lad read and reread it with increase ing satisfaction in the evening feel ing almost vainglorious he went to visit at the house of judge mellon whose son frederick was a fellow classmate there conversation drift ed to poetry and the judge indignant ly seized the morning s gazette and unconscious of the wounds inflicted called the battle of lovell s pond a remarkably stiff and unoriginal composition there were tears on long fellow s pillow that night and in the morning he no doubt confided his sorrow to his tr end |