April 12.--Dr. Abram M. Shew, superintendent of the Connecticut Hospital for the Insane at Middletown, died suddenly at the age of 45. He was appointed assistant physician of the New York Asylum for Insane Convicts at Auburn in 1862; in 1866 he went to Middletown, to superintend the building of the Connecticut Hospital for the Insane, and had since remained in charge of that institution. He was a native of Watertown, N.Y. LITERATURE. It is with a much more than ordinary degree of expectancy that the literary public has awaited a complete and adequate biography of the poet Longfellow. It comes to us at last as the work[11] of the poet's own brother, Samuel, who has, however, modestly assumed to have only edited the elaborate volumes which have recently come from the publisher's hands. This is true to a large extent, for the Life is for the greater part composed of portions of Longfellow's voluminous diary and correspondence; but these are interspersed throughout with his brother's own narrative, full of reminiscences and charming comments. [11] Life of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. With extracts from his Journals and Correspondence. Edited by Samuel Longfellow. 2 volumes. Boston: Ticknor & Co. The work is not to hardly any degree analytical in its character; it is a vivid panorama of a most deeply and widely interesting career. We are made familiar by means of these volumes with the daily life of Henry W. Longfellow. Much of this insight is afforded, as has already been seen, through the published letters and diary. The interest of these is far greater than is usually the case with such compilations. Longfellow's life was to such a degree an intellectual one, that those who would know him best must find his own pen his best biographer. The comments in his journal are delightful, and the letters are highly interesting reading. They are from and to a host of friends, including Sumner, Hawthorne, Samuel Ward, Park Benjamin, Carlyle, and many others of equal note. Of course there is much in both letters and journal of personal matters, even such as regarding an invitation to dine, or some other passing slight event; but there is no apparent reason why anything should have been omitted that has been inserted in this work. Not only the poetry but the every-day life, the experiences, and the associations of Longfellow are worth knowing to those far beyond the pale of his own particular group of friends. Nothing has been inserted here, however, that seems to offend the sense of propriety, and the editor has certainly given evidence of the best of wisdom, care, and delicacy. Where he becomes the biographer he confines himself mostly to simple narrative; indeed, his final "summing up," after the last has been told that could be told of his illustrious brother's earthly career, is given in a single page.