 Over the years , Longfellow 's personality has become part of his reputation . He has been presented as a gentle , placid , poetic soul : an image perpetuated by his brother Samuel Longfellow , who wrote an early biography which specifically emphasized these points . As James Russell Lowell said , Longfellow had an " absolute sweetness , simplicity , and modesty " . At Longfellow 's funeral , his friend Ralph Waldo Emerson called him " a sweet and beautiful soul " . In reality , Longfellow 's life was much more difficult than was assumed . He suffered from neuralgia , which caused him constant pain , and he also had poor eyesight . He wrote to friend Charles Sumner : " I do not believe anyone can be perfectly well , who has a brain and a heart " . He had difficulty coping with the death of his second wife . Longfellow was very quiet , reserved , and private ; in later years , he was known for being unsocial and avoided leaving home . He had become one of the first American celebrities and was also popular in Europe . It was reported that 10 @,@ 000 copies of The Courtship of Miles Standish sold in London in a single day . Children adored him and , when the " spreading chestnut @-@ tree " mentioned in the poem " The Village Blacksmith " was cut down , the children of Cambridge had the tree converted into an armchair which they presented to the poet . In 1884 , Longfellow became the first non @-@ British writer for whom a commemorative sculpted bust was placed in Poet 's Corner of Westminster Abbey in London ; he remains the only American poet represented with a bust . In 1909 , a seated statue of Longfellow sculpted by William Couper was unveiled in Washington , D. C. 
