 After graduating in 1825 , he was offered a job as professor of modern languages at his alma mater . The story , possibly apocryphal , is that an influential trustee , Benjamin Orr , had been so impressed by Longfellow 's translation of Horace that he was hired under the condition that he travel to Europe to study French , Spanish , and Italian . Whatever the motivation , he began his tour of Europe in May 1826 aboard the ship Cadmus . His time abroad would last three years and cost his father $ 2 @,@ 604 @.@ 24 . He traveled to France , Spain , Italy , Germany , back to France , then England before returning to the United States in mid @-@ August 1829 . While overseas , he learned French , Spanish , Portuguese , and German , mostly without formal instruction . In Madrid , he spent time with Washington Irving and was particularly impressed by the author 's work ethic . Irving encouraged the young Longfellow to pursue writing . While in Spain , Longfellow was saddened to learn that his favorite sister , Elizabeth , had died of tuberculosis at the age of 20 that May while he was abroad . 
