Longfellow's poem

In the Your Letters section of June 22, 1998, there is a glaring misquotation of the first verse of Longfellow's poem A psalm of life contained in Pak Djuana's letter titled Misfortune never comes alone.

I feel obliged to hereby quote the first two verses, especially as this happens to be one of my father's favorite poems: Tell me not, in mournful numbers, life is but an empty dream, for the soul is dead that slumbers, and things are not what they seem. Life is real, life is earnest, and the grave is not its goal, dust thou art, to dust returnest, was not spoken of the soul.

RASHID S. AKBANY

Jakarta