degrees from Oxford and Cambridge, and now many similar honors were
thrust upon him. He was acknowledged to be the best after-dinner
speaker in England, and no one was called upon so often for addresses
at dedications, the unveiling of tablets, and other civic occasions.
It is not strange that he became attached to England with an
increasing affection, but there was no diminution of his intense
Americanism. His celebrated Birmingham address on _Democracy_ is yet
our clearest and noblest exposition of American political principles
and ideals.

With the inauguration of Cleveland in 1885 Lowell's official residence
in England came to an end. He returned to America and for a time lived
with his daughter at Deerfoot Farm. Mrs. Lowell had died in England,
and he could not carry his sorrow back to Elmwood alone. He now
leisurely occupied himself with literary work, making an occasional
address upon literature or politics, which was always distinguished by
grace and dignity of style and richness of thought.

In November, 1886, he delivered the oration at the 250th anniversary
of the founding of Harvard University, and, rising to the requirements
of this notable occasion, he captivated his hearers, among whom were
many distinguished delegates from the great universities of Europe as
well as of America, by the power of his thought and the felicity of
his expression.

During the period of his diplomatic service he added almost nothing to
his permanent literary product. In 1869 he had published _Under the
Willows_, a collection that contains some of his finest poems. In the
same year _The Cathedral_ was published, a stately poem in blank
verse, profound in thought, with many passages of great poetic beauty.