society known as "The Apostles," to which belonged some of the best men
in the University. Not one member of the "Apostles" at this time, but
afterwards made a name for himself, and made his influence felt in the
world of politics or letters. The society met at regular intervals, but
Alfred did not take much part in the debates, preferring to sit silent
and listen to what was said. All his friends had unbounded admiration
for his poetry and unlimited faith in his poetic powers. This faith was
strengthened by the award of the University Prize for English Verse to
Alfred in June, 1829. He did not wish to compete, but on being pressed,
polished up an old poem that he had written some years before, and
presented it for competition, the subject being _Timbuctoo_. The poem
was in blank verse and really showed considerable power; in fact it was a
remarkable poem for one so young.

Perhaps the most powerful influence on the life of Tennyson was the
friendship he formed while at Cambridge with Arthur Henry Hallam, the son
of the historian, Henry Hallam. The two became inseparable friends, a
friendship strengthened by the engagement of Hallam to the poet's sister.
The two friends agreed to publish a volume of poems as a
joint-production, but Henry Hallam, the elder, did not encourage the
project, and it was dropped. The result was that in 1830, _Poems,
Chiefly Lyrical_, was published with the name of Alfred Tennyson alone on
the title page. The volume was reviewed enthusiastically by Hallam, but
was more or less slated by Christopher North in the columns of
_Blackwoods' Magazine_. Tennyson was very angry about the latter review
and replied to the reviewer in some caustic, but entirely unnecessary,
verses.

In the same year Hallam and Tennyson made an expedition into Spain to
carry aid to the rebel leader against the king of Spain. The expedition