is said, under the strain of the
awful suddeness and unexpectedness of the event, to have contemplated
suicide. But saner thoughts intervened, and he again took up the burden
of life, with the determination to do what he could in helping others.
From this time of storm and stress came _In Memoriam_.

From 1832 to 1842 Tennyson spent a roving life. Now at home, now in
London, now with his friends in various parts of England. He was
spending his time in finishing his poems, so that when he again came
before the world with a volume, he would be a master. The circle of his
friends was widening, and now included the greater number of the
master-minds of England. He was poor, so poor in fact that he was
reduced to the necessity of borrowing the books he wished to read from
his friends. But during all this time he never wavered in his allegiance
to poetry; he had determined to be a poet, and to devote his life to
poetry. At last in 1842 he published his _Poems_ in two volumes, and the
world was conquered. From this time onwards he was recognized as the
leading poet of his century.

In 1845, Tennyson, poor still, was granted a pension of 200 pounds,
chiefly through the influence of his friend Richard Monckton Milnes, and
Thomas Carlyle. There was a great deal of criticism regarding this
pension from sources that should have been favorable, but the general
verdict approved the grant. In 1847 appeared _The Princess_, a poem,
which, at that time, did not materially add to his fame; but the poet was
now hailed as one of the great ones of his time, and much was expected of
him.

In 1850 three most important events in the life of Tennyson happened. He
published _In Memoriam_, in memory of his friend, Arthur Henry Hallam; he
was appointed Poet Laureate, in succession to Wordsworth; and he married
Emily Selwood, a lady to whom he had been engaged for seventeen years,
but whom his poverty had prevented him from leading to the altar. From
this time onwards the life of the poet flowed smoothly. He was happily
married, his fame was established, his books brought him sufficient
income on which to live comfortable and well. From this point there is
little to relate in his career, except the publication of his various
volumes.

After his marriage Tennyson lived for some time at Twickenham, where in
1852 Hallam Tennyson was born. In 1851 he and his wife visited Italy, a
visit commemorated in _The Daisy_. In 1853 they remov