Poet, Educator. He was best known for his poems written to show the beauty of the rural life in Lithuania. In 1883, he published his first poem, "Where the Nemunas River Surges", which was quickly turned into a favorite song. With encouragement, other poems followed: "The Wedding" in 1906; "Fool's Uncle", "Arbatnamyje", "Hairline Gentlemen", and "Town Onutė" in 1907; and "Men of God “and "Snake King" in 1908. Many of his poems were later set to music, which are today children songs. His poems were widely published in various magazines and newspapers including "Dawn"; the magazine "Light"; a Catholic magazine, Samogitian and Lithuanian Review; a newspaper, "Lithuanian"; weekly newspaper, "Nedėldienio Reading"; a Catholic weekly periodical, "Source”, and a political newspaper "Hope". Although written in 1913, his book of poetry, “Patterns", was published in 1921 after a more stable national economy. He was born in Alytus County, the most southern county in Lithuania. With his mother dying when he was only six years old, he lived his childhood in a merged family of ten with a step-mother. He was called "Xavier". Becoming bilingual, he learned at an early age to write, read and count in the Polish language. and He also played the violin. In 1884, he graduated from the only Lithuanian teacher's college available in the nineteenth century, Veiveriu Seminary. In an era when his Lithuanian culture was being eradicated by other ruling countries, there was a "press ban" to stop the use of the Lithuanian language; he supported the secret Lithuanian press and distributed books written in his native language to his countrymen. To promote his family's safety as the Russian Empire authorities became suspicious of his activities, he relocated, frequently teaching in one school and then another. Today, he is remembered for his patriotism. While in Warsaw, Poland, he became the chairman of the culture society, yet he never forgot his Lithuanian heritage. He was the organizer of the Lithuanian Theater and later recognized by the Lithuanian Literature and Folklore Institute in Vilnius, Lithuania. Dying suddenly in Warsaw, his body was put to rest in his beloved Lithuania. Married, he had a son, who died young, and a daughter, Aldona Malachovska, who became an opera singer and a noted author of her father's biography. The last song she sang publicly before retirement was a tribute to her father, "Where the Nemunas River Surges".