American poems. Longfellow: Whittier: Bryant: Holmes: Lowell: Emerson;

Front matter

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AMERICAN POEMS

LONGFELLOW: WHITTIER: BRYANT HOLMES: LOWELL: EMERSON

Preface

THIS volume of American Poems has been prepared with special reference to the interests of young people, both at school and at home. Reading-books and popular collections of poetry contain many of the shorter and well-known poems of the authors repre sented in this book, but the scope of such collections does not generally permit the introduction of the longer poems. It is these poems, and, with a slight exception, these only, that make up this volume. The power to read and enjoy poetry is one of the finest re sults of education, but it cannot be attained by exclu sive attention to short poems ; there is involved in this power the capacity for sustained attention, the remain ing with the poet upon a long flight of imagination,

PREFACE. V

the exercise of the mind in bolder sweep of thought. Moreover, the familiarity with long poems produces greater power of appreciation when the shorter ones are taken up. It is much to take deep breaths of the upper air, to fill the lungs with a good draught of poetry, and unless one accompanies the poet in his longer reaches, he fails to know what poetry can give him.

In making the selection for this volume a very sim ple principle has been followed. It was desired to make the book an agreeable introduction to the pleas ures of poetry, and, by confining it to American poetry of the highest order, to give young people in America the most natural acquaintance with literature. These poets are our interpreters. All but one are still living, so that the poetry is contemporaneous and appeals through familiar forms ; as far as possible narrative poems have been chosen, and, in the arrangement of authors, regard has been had to degrees of difficulty, the more involved and subtle forms of poetry following the simpler and more direct. Throughout, the book has been conceived in a spirit which welcomes poetry as a noble delight, not as a grammatical exercise or elocutionary task.

With the same intention the critical apparatus has been treated in a literary rather than in a pedagogical way. The editor has imagined himself reading aloud, and stopping now and then to explain a phrase, to clear an allusion, or to give a suggestion as to similar forms in literature. Since several of the poems are

VI PREFACE.

semi - historical in character, the historic basis has been carefully pointed out, and hints have been given for further pursuit of the subjects treated. Words, though obsolete or archaic, are not explained when the dictionary account is sufficient. A brief sketch of the author precedes each section.

It is strongly hoped that the book will be accepted by schools as a contribution to that very important work in which teachers are engaged, of giving to their pupils an interest in the best literature, a love for pure and engaging forms of art. If, with all our drill and practice in reading during the years of school-life, chil dren leave their schools with no taste for good reading, and no familiarity with those higher forms of litera ture that have grown out of the very life which they are living, it must be questioned whether the time given to reading has been most wisely employed.

August, 1879.

Contents

HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW.

EVANGELINE: A TALE OF ACADIE ... 4 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH ... 101 THE BUILDING OF THE SHIP .... 172 JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER.

SNOW-BOUND : A WINTEB IDYL .... 192

Appendix

IN THE LABOKATOBY WITH AGASSIZ . . 449

HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH.

HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW was born in Portland, Maine, February 27, 1807. He was a classmate of Haw thorne at Bowdoin College, graduating there in the class of 1825. He began the study of law in the office of his father, Hon. Stephen Longfellow; but receiving shortly the ap pointment of professor of modern languages at Bowdoin, he devoted himself after that to literature, and to teaching in connection with literature. Before beginning his work at Bowdoin he increased his qualifications by travel and study in Europe, where he stayed three years. Upon his return he gave his lectures on modern languages and litera ture at the college, and wrote occasionally for the North American Review and other periodicals. The first volume which he published, exclusive of text-books, was Coplas de Maftrique, a translation of Spanish verse, introduced by an Essay on the Moral and Devotional Poetry of Spain. This was issued in 1833, but has not been kept in print as a separate work. The introduction appears as a chapter in Outre-Mer, a reflection of his European life and travel, the first of his prose writings. In 1835 he was invited to succeed Mr. George Ticknor as professor of modern lan guages and literature at Harvard College, and again went to Europe for preparatory study, giving especial attention to Germany and the Scandinavian countries. He held his professorship until 1854, but continued to live in Cam bridge until his death, March 24, 1882, occupying a house known from a former occupant as the Czaigie house, and also as Washington's headquarters, that general having so used it while organizing the army that held Boston in siege at the beginning of the Revolution.

Everett, Sparks, and Worcester, the lexicographer, at one time or another lived in this house, and here Longfellow wrote most of his works. In 1839 appeared Hyperion, a Romance, which, with more narrative form than Outre-Mer, like that gave the results of a poet's entrance into the riches of the Old World life. In the same year was published Voices of the Night, a little volume containing chiefly poems and translations which had been printed separately in periodicals. The Psalm of Life, perhaps the best known of Longfellow's short poems, was in this volume, and here too were The Beleaguered City and Footsteps of Angels. Ballads and other Poems appeared at the close of 1841 and Poems on Slavery in 1842 ; The Spanish Student, a play in three acts, in 1843 ; The Belfry of Bruges and other Poems in 1846 ; Evangeline in 1847 ; Kavanagh, a Tale, in prose, in 1849. Besides the various volumes comprising short poems, the list of Mr. Longfellow's works includes The Golden Legend, The Song of Hiawatha, The Courtship of Miles Standish, Tales of a Wayside Inn, The New England Tragedies, and a translation of Dante's Divina Commedia. Mr. Longfellow's literary life began in his college days, and he wrote poems almost to the day of his death. A classification of his poems and longer works would be an interesting task, and would help to disclose the wide range of his sympathy and taste ; a collection of the metres which he has used would show the versatility of his art, and similar studies would lead one to discover the many countries and ages to which he went for subjects. It would not be difficult to gather from the volume of Longfellow's poems hints of personal experience, that biography of the heart which is of more worth to us than any record, however full, of external change and adven ture. Such hints may be found, for example, in the early lines, To the River Charles, which may be compared with his recent Three Friends of Mine, iv., v. ; in A Gleam of Sunshine, To a Child, The Day is Done, The Fire of Driftwood, Resignation, The Open Window, The Ladder of St. Augustine, My Lost Youth, The Children's Hour, Weariness, and other poems ; not that we are to take all sentiments and statements made in the first person as the poet's, for often the form of the poem is so far dramatic that the poet is assuming a character not necessarily his own, but the recurrence of certain strains, joined with personal allusions, helps one to penetrate the slight veil with which the poet, here as elsewhere, half conceals and half reveals himself. The friendly associations of the poet may also be discovered in several poems directly addressed to persons or distinctively alluding to them, and the reader will find it pleasant to construct the companionship of the poet out of such poems as The Herons of Elmwood, To William E. Channing, The Fiftieth Birthday of Agassiz, To Charles Sumner, the Prelude to Tales of a Wayside Inn, Haw thorne, and other poems.

The most complete biography of the poet is that in three volumes by his brother Samuel Longfellow ; this work con tains extracts from Journals and Correspondence, a biblio graphy, portraits, facsimiles, and other illustrations, and a very full index. The fullest edition of his writings is the Riverside Edition in eleven volumes, two being prose writ ings, six poetical, and three the translation of Dante. These volumes are fully furnished with introductions, notes, and indexes. The most comprehensive single volume edition of the poetical works is the Cambridge Edition, which is equipped with notes and indexes. All of these works are issued by the publishers of this volume.

EVANGELINE: A TALE OF ACADIE.

HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION.

[THE country now known as Nova Scotia, and called formerly Acadie by the French, was in the hands of the French and English by turns until the year 1713, when, by the Peace of Utrecht, it was ceded by France to Great Brit ain, and has ever since remained in the possession of the English. But in 1713 the inhabitants of the peninsula were mostly French farmers and fishermen, living about Minas Basin and on Annapolis River, and the English government exercised only a nominal control over them. It was not till 1749 that the English themselves began to make settlements in the country, and that year they laid the foundations of the town of Halifax. A jealousy soon sprang up between the English and French settlers, which was deepened by the great conflict which was impending between the two mother countries ; for the treaty of peace at Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748, which confirmed the English title to Nova Scotia, was scarcely more than a truce between the two powers which had been struggling for ascendency during the beginning of the century. The French engaged in a long controversy with the English respecting the boundaries of Acadie, which had been defined by the treaties in somewhat general terms, and intrigues were carried on with the Indians, who were generally in sympathy with the French, for the annoyance of the English settlers. The Acadians were allied to the French by blood and by religion, but they claimed to have the rights of neutrals, and that these rights had been granted to them by previous English officers of the crown. The one point of special dispute was the oath of allegiance demanded of the Acadians by the English. This they re fused to take, except in a form modified to excuse them from bearing arms against the French. The demand was repeatedly made, and evaded with constant ingenuity and persistency. Most of the Acadians were probably simpleminded and peaceful people, who desired only to live undis turbed upon their farms ; but there were some restless spir its, especially among the young men, who compromised the reputation of the community, and all were very much under the influence of their priests, some of whom made no secret of their bitter hostility to the English, and of their deter mination to use every means to be rid of them.

As the English interests grew and the critical relationg between the two countries approached open warfare, the question of how to deal with the Acadian problem became the commanding one of the colony. There were some who coveted the rich farms of the Acadians ; there were some who were inspired by religious hatred ; but the prevailing spirit was one of fear for themselves from the near presence of a community which, calling itself neutral, might at any time offer a convenient ground for hostile attack. Yet to require these people to withdraw to Canada or Louisburg would be to strengthen the hands of the French, and make these neutrals determined enemies. The colony finally re solved, without consulting the home government, to remove the Acadians to other parts of North America, distributing them through the colonies in such a way as to preclude any concert amongst the scattered families by which they should return to Acadia. To do this required quick and secret preparations. There were at the service of the English governor a number of New England troops, brought thither for the capture of the forts lying in the debatable land about the head of the Bay of Fundy. These were under the com mand of Lieutenant-Colonel John Winslow, of Massachusetts, a great-grandson of Governor Edward Winslow, of Plymouth, and to this gentleman and Captain Alexander Murray was intrusted the task of removal. They were in structed to use stratagem, if possible, to bring together the various families, but to prevent any from escaping to the woods.

On the 2d of September, 1755, Winslow issued a written order, addressed to the inhabitants of Grand-Prd, Minas, River Canard, etc., " as well ancient as young men and lads," — a proclamation summoning all the males to attend him in the church at Grand-Pre* on the 5th instant, to hear a communication which the governor had sent. As there had been negotiations respecting the oath of allegiance, and much discussion as to the withdrawal of the Acadians from the country, though none as to their removal and dis persal, it was understood that this was an important meet ing, and upon the day named four hundred and eighteen men and boys assembled in the church. Winslow, attended by his officers and men, caused a guard to be placed round the church, and then announced to the people his majesty's decision that they were to be removed with their families out of the country. The church became at once a guard house, and all the prisoners were under strict surveillance. At the same time similar plans had been carried out at Pisiquid under Captain Murray, and less successfully at Chignecto. Meanwhile there were whispers of a rising among the prisoners, and although the transports which had been ordered from Boston had not yet arrived, it was determined to make use of the vessels which had conveyed the troops, and remove the men to these for safer keeping. This was done on the 10th of September, and the men remained on the vessels in the harbor until the arrival of the transports, when these were made use of, and about three thousand souls sent out of the country to North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, and Mas sachusetts. In the haste and confusion of sending them off, — a haste which was increased by the anxiety of the officers to be rid of the distasteful business, and a confusion which was greater from the difference of tongues, — many families were separated, and some at least never came to gether again.

The story of Evangeline is the story of such a separation. The removal of the Acadians was a blot upon the govern ment of Nova Scotia and upon that of Great Britain, which never disowned the deed, although it was probably done without direct permission or command from England. It proved to be unnecessary, but it must also be remembered that to many men at that time the English power seemed trembling before France, and that the colony at Halifax regarded the act as one of self-preservation.

The authorities for an historical inquiry into this subject are best seen in a volume published by the government of Nova Scotia at Halifax in 1869, entitled Selections from the Public Documents of the Province of Nova Scotia, edited by Thomas B. Akins, D. C. L., Commissioner of Public Records ; and in a manuscript journal kept by Col onel Winslow, now in the cabinet of the Massachusetts His torical Society in Boston. At the State House in Boston are two volumes of records, entitled French Neutrals, which contain voluminous papers relating to the treatment of the Acadians who were sent to Massachusetts. Probably the work used by the poet in writing Evangeline was An His torical and Statistical Account of Nova Scotia, by Thomas C. Haliburton, who is best known as the author of The Clock- Maker, or The Sayings and Doings of Samuel Slick of Slickville, a book which, written apparently to prick the Nova Scotians into more enterprise, was for a long while the chief representative of Yankee smartness. Judge Halibur= ton's history was published in 1829. A later history, which takes advantage more freely of historical documents, is A History of Nova Scotia, or Acadie, by Beamish Murdock, Esq., Q. C., Halifax, 1866. Still more recent is a smaller, well-written work, entitled The History of Acadiafrom its

First Discovery to its Surrender to England by the Treaty of Paris, by James Hannay, St. John, N. B., 1879. W. J. Anderson published a paper in the Transactions of the Lit erary and Historical Society of Quebec, New Series, part 7, 1870, entitled Evangeline and the Archives of Nova Sco tia, in which he examines the poem by the light of the vol ume of Nova Scotia Archives, edited by T. B. Akins. The sketches of travellers in Nova Scotia, as Acadia, or a Month among the Blue Noses, by F. S. Cozzens, and Baddeck, by C. D. Warner, give the present appearance of the country and inhabitants.

The measure of Evangeline is what is commonly known as English dactylic hexameter. The hexameter is the mea sure used by Homer in the Iliad and the Odyssey, and by Virgil in the ^Sneid, but the difference between the Eng lish language and the Latin or Greek is so great, especially when we consider that in English poetry every word mast be accented according to its customary pronounciation, while in scanning Greek and Latin verse accent follows the quantity of the vowels, that in applying this term of hexa meter to Evangeline it must not be supposed by the reader that he is getting the effect of Greek hexameters. It is the Greek hexameter translated into English use, and some have maintained that the verse of the Iliad is better repre sented in the English by the trochaic measure of fifteen syl lables, of which an excellent illustration is in Tennyson's Locksley Hall ; others have compared the Greek hexameter to the ballad metre of fourteen syllables, used notably by Chapman in his translation of Homer's Iliad. The mea sure adopted by Mr. Longfellow has never become very popular in English poetry, but has repeatedly been at tempted by other poets. The reader will find the subject of hexameters discussed by Matthew Arnold in his lectures On Translating Homer ; by James Spedding in English Hexameters, in his recent volume, Reviews and Discus- Bions, Literary, Political and Historical, not relating to

Bacon ; and by John Stuart Blackie in Remarks on lish Hexameters, contained in his volume Horce Hell® niece.

The measure lends itself easily to the lingering melan choly which marks the greater part of the poem, and the poet's fine sense of harmony between subject and form ij rarely better shown than in this poem. The fall of the verse at the end of the line and the sharp recovery at the beginning of the next will be snares to the reader, who must beware of a jerking style of delivery. The voice nat urally seeks a rest in the middle of the line, and this rest, or caesural pause, should be carefully regarded ; a little practice will enable one to acquire that habit of reading the hexameter, which we may liken, roughly, to the climbing of a hill, resting a moment on the summit, and then descend ing the other side. The charm in reading Evangelins aloud, after a clear understanding of the sense, which is the essential in all good reading, is found in this gentle labor of the former half of the line, and gentle acceleration of the latter half.]

THIS is the forest primeval. The murmuring pines

and the hemlocks, Bearded with moss, and in garments green, indistinct

in the twilight, Stand like Druids of eld, with voices sad and pro

phetic,

1. A primeval forest is, strictly speaking, one which has never been disturbed by the axe.

3. Druids were priests of the Celtic inhabitants of ancient G aul and Britain. The name was probably of Celtic origin, but its form may have been determined by the Greek word drus, an uak, since their places of worship were consecrated groves of oak. Perhaps the choice of the image was governed by the suialogy of a religion and tribe that were to disappear before a stronger power.

Stand like harpers hoar, with beards that rest on their bosoms.

Loud from its rocky caverns, the deep-voiced neigh boring ocean 5

Speaks, and in accents disconsolate answers the wail of the forest.

This is the forest primeval; but where are the hearts that beneath it

Leaped like the roe, when he hears in the woodland the voice of the huntsman ?

Where is the thatch-roofed village, the home of Aca dian farmers, —

Men whose lives glided on like rivers that water the woodlands. ifr

Darkened by shadows of earth, but reflecting an image of heaven?

Waste are those pleasant farms, and the farmers for ever departed !

Scattered like dust and leaves, when the mighty blasts of October

Seize them, and whirl them aloft, and sprinkle them far o'er the ocean.

Naught but tradition remains of the beautiful village of Grand-Pre. w

Ye who believe in affection that hopes, and endures, and is patient,

4. A poetical description of an ancient harper will be found in the Introduction to the Lay of the Last Minstrel, by Sir Walter Scott.

8. Observe how the tragedy of the story is anticipated by this picture of the startled roe.

Ye who believe in the beauty and strength of woman's

devotion, List to the mournful tradition still sung by the pines

of the forest ; List to a Tale of Love in Acadie, home of the happy.