t in the French capital.

"In private life," says one of his eulogists, "Mr. Barlow was highly
esteemed for his amiable temperament and many social excellences. His
manners were generally grave and dignified, and he possessed but little
facility of general conversation, but with his intimate friends he was
easy and familiar, and upon topics which deeply interested him he
conversed with much animation."

Another thus refers to his domestic relations: "The affection of Mr.
Barlow for his lovely wife was unusually strong, and on her part it was
fully reciprocated. She cheerfully in early life cast in her lot with
his 'for better or for worse'--and sometimes the worst, so far as their
pecuniary prospects were concerned. In their darkest days Barlow ever
found light and encouragement at home in the smiles, sympathy and
counsel of his prudent, faithful wife. No matter how dark and portentous
the cloud that brooded over them might be, she always contrived to give
it a silver lining, and his subsequent success in life he always
attributed more to her influence over him than to anything else."

Barlow lived a dual life--the life of a poet as well as of a
diplomatist--and this paper can scarcely be considered complete unless
it touches somewhat on his literary productions. It will be the verdict
of all who study his life carefully that he was a better statesman than
poet, and a better philanthropist than either; yet as a poet he
surpassed his contemporaries, producing works that fairly entitle him to
the distinction of being the father of American letters. His _Hasty
Pudding_ would be a valuable addition to any literature, and in his
_Advice to the Privileged Orders_ and his _Conspiracy of Kings_ much
poetic power and insight is apparent. It was on his epic of _The
Columbiad_ that he no doubt founded his hopes of fame, but, though the
book was extensively read in its day and passed through several editions
on both continents, no reprint has been demanded in modern times, and it
long since dropped out of the category of books that are read.

Barlow's private letters from abroad would have possessed undoubted
interest to the present generation, but, so far as is known, none of
them have been preserved--with one exception, however. There is in
existence a long letter of his, written to his wife while he was in
Algiers in imminent danger from the plague, and which was to be
forwarded to her only in case of his death. It was found