Evangeline Part 1

Evangeline.

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

NOTE.

The distinctive feature of this edition of Evangeline is the PLAN OF STUDY which forms the latter part of the volume.

This Plan for the study of "Evangeline" is the outgrowth of several years'

teaching of this delightful poem. It has proved successful in securing very satisfactory work from cla.s.ses varying greatly in ability. It has resulted, in a considerable majority of cases, in (1) in awakening an interest in and a love for good literature; (2) opening up the field of literature in a new way, and showing that much wealth may be gotten by digging below the surface; (3) developing a considerable power of discrimination; (4) enlarging the pupil's working vocabulary. See "Argument" on page 113.

THE AUTHOR.

INTRODUCTION.

THE AUTHOR.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was born in Portland, Maine, February 27, 1807.

His father and mother were of English stock, his mother being a descendant of "John Alden and Priscilla." Stephen Longfellow, his father, was a lawyer and statesman. Henry's school life began at the age of three. When he was six years old he could read, spell and multiply, and at the age of seven was half way through his Latin grammar. He early showed a taste for reading, and read not only his father's small stock of books, but frequented the Portland Library and book stores. "The Battle of Lovell's Pond" was his first poem, written when he was thirteen. He entered Bowdoin College at the age of fourteen, graduating in 1825. During the latter part of his student life there he began to show a considerable literary bent. Shortly after graduating from Bowdoin, Longfellow was elected Professor of Modern Languages in that inst.i.tution. Before entering upon his work, he spent three years in study and travel in Europe, returning to America in 1829. For five and one-half years he taught in Bowdoin, during which time he began serious work as an author. In 1834, Harvard called him to the chair of Modern Languages. He again made a trip to Europe for further study. Longfellow was connected with Harvard for nineteen years, resigning his position in 1854 to devote his whole time to literature.

His two princ.i.p.al prose works are "Outre Mer" and "Hyperion." The latter was followed by a volume of poems ent.i.tled "Voices of the Night." "Ballads and Other Poems" appeared in 1841, and showed much more talent. "Evangeline" was written in 1847; "Hiawatha" in 1855, and the "Courtship of Miles Standish"

in 1857. "Evangeline" and "Hiawatha" are considered the best of his longer poems. "The Building of the Ship" and "Excelsior" are perhaps the best known of his shorter poems.

Longfellow died at Cambridge in 1882.

THE POEM.

"Evangeline" is considered Longfellow's masterpiece among his longer poems. It is said to have been the author's favorite. It has a universal popularity, having been translated into many languages.

E.C. Stedman styles it the "Flower of American Idyls."

"Evangeline" is a Narrative poem, since it tells a story. Some of the world's greatest poems have been of this kind, notably the "Iliad" and the "Odyssey" of Homer, and the "Aeneid," of Virgil. It may be also cla.s.sified as an Idyl, which is a simple, pastoral poem of no great length.

Poetry has been defined as "impa.s.sioned expression in verse or metrical form." All modern English poetry has metre, and much of it rhyme. By metre is meant a regular recurrence of accented syllables among unaccented syllables. "Evangeline" is written in what is called hexameter, having six accents to the line. An accented syllable is followed by one or two unaccented. A line must begin with an accented syllable, the last accent but one be followed by two unaccented syllables, and the last by one.

Representing an accented syllable by O and an unaccented syllable by a -, the first line of the poem would be as follows:

O - - O - - O - - O - - O - - O - This is the forest primeval, the murmuring pines and the hemlocks,

"The measure lends itself easily to the lingering melancholy which marks a greater part of the poem."

"In reading there should be a gentle labor of the former half of the line and gentle acceleration of the latter half."--_Scudder_.

[Ill.u.s.tration: NOVA SCOTIA AND VICINITY.]

ACADIA AND THE ACADIANS.

Acadia, now known as Nova Scotia, was settled by the French in 1607. Many of the colonists settled in the fertile region about the Bay of Minas, an arm of the Bay of Fundy. One of these settlements was called Grand Pre, meaning Great Meadow. The people were industrious and thrifty and they soon attained a considerable prosperity.

During the early period of American History, France and England were almost continually at war with one another, and in these wars the colonists were concerned. At the close of what is known as Queen Anne's war, in 1713, France ceded Acadia to the English, and it has since remained in their possession. Some thirty-five years pa.s.sed before an English settlement was made at Halifax, the Acadians in the meantime remaining in undisturbed possession of the country. Soon after the settlement of Halifax trouble began between the rival colonists.

The Acadians were, as a whole, a quiet and peaceable people, content to till their farms and let the mother countries settle any disputes. Some of them were not thus minded and they succeeded in causing considerable trouble.

Frequent attacks were made upon Halifax by the Indians who were supposed to have been aided and encouraged by the Acadians. The Acadians had refused to take the oath of allegiance to the English and this caused them to be regarded with suspicion and fear. They had sworn fidelity on the condition that they should not be required to bear arms against the French, with whom they naturally sympathized, being of the same blood and religion. They persistently refused to go further and swear allegiance.

The English were not without blame since it must be admitted they had covetous eyes upon the rich farms of the Acadians and an opportunity to take possession of them would not be unwelcome.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Map of Annapolis and Kings Counties.]

The strife that had so long been going on between France and England to determine which should rule in the New World was now at a critical point.

England's power seemed to be trembling in the balance. Her defeat meant great disaster to the Colonies. Alarmed by Braddock's failure, the Colonists determined something must be done to prevent the Acadians giving a.s.sistance to the French. To send them to Canada would be to strengthen the enemy, while to transport them to any one of the Colonies would be equally unwise since they would there be a source of danger. It was finally decided to scatter them among the different settlements. An order was issued requiring all the males of Grand Pre and vicinity ten years old and upwards to a.s.semble in the church to hear a Proclamation of the King. Failure to attend would result in a forfeiture of all property of the individual. On the appointed day the men gathered in the church and heard the Mandate directing that all their property, excepting household goods and money, should be forfeited to the Crown and they with their families should be transported to other lands. They were held prisoners until the time of sailing, the women and the children gathering their belongings on the beach. The expected transports failed to arrive on time and fear of trouble led the English to hurry their prisoners aboard the few ships in the harbor. These were so crowded nearly all the goods had to be left behind, and in the haste of embarking many families, lovers and friends were parted, being carried aboard different ships bound for different ports.

On October 29th, 1755, the Acadians sailed away into exile, an "exile without an end, and without an example in story."

There is a considerable difference of opinion as to whether such extreme measures were justified. The English Colonists evidently felt that it was a necessary act, an act of self-preservation. It is, perhaps, no worse than many of the horrors of war. On the other hand the Acadians had, as a whole, committed no overt act of disloyalty, though a few of them had done so.

Should a whole community thus suffer for the wrong doing of a few? This is certainly a difficult question.

Those interested in the subject should read an article by Parkman in "Harper's Magazine" for November, 1884, where he justifies the action. For the opposite view, see "Acadia" by Edouard Richards, vol. I, chap. IV.

The following quotations will be found of interest. The first is from Edouard Richards; the second and third from two of contemporaries of the exiled Acadians, Moses de les Derniers and Brook Watson.

"All that vast bay, around which but lately an industrious people worked like a swarm of bees, was now deserted. In the silent village, where the doors swung idly in the wind, nothing was heard but the tramp of soldiery and the lowing of cattle, wandering anxiously around the stables as if looking for their masters....The total amount of live-stock owned by the Acadians at the time of the deportation has been variously estimated by different historians, or to speak more correctly, very few have paid any attention to this subject....Rameau, who has made a much deeper study than any other historian of the Acadians, sets the total at 130,000, comprising horned cattle, horses, sheep, and pigs."

Edouard Richard quotes the following from two contemporaries of the exiled Acadians. "The Acadians were the most innocent and virtuous people I have ever known or read of in any history. They lived in a state of perfect equality, without distinction of rank in society. The t.i.tle of 'Mister' was unknown among them. Knowing nothing of luxury, or even the conveniences of life, they were content with a simple manner of living, which they easily compa.s.sed by the tillage of their lands. Very little ambition or avarice was to be seen among them; they antic.i.p.ated each other's wants by kindly liberality; they demanded no interest for loans of money or other property.

They were humane and hospitable to strangers, and very liberal toward those who embraced their religion. They were very remarkable for their inviolable purity of morals. If any disputes arose in their transactions, they always submitted to the decision of an arbitrator, and their final appeal was to their priest."--_Moses de les Derniers_.

"Young men were not encouraged to marry unless the young girl could weave a piece of cloth, and the young man make a pair of wheels. These accomplishments were deemed essential for their marriage settlement, and they hardly needed anything else; for every time there was a wedding the whole village contributed to set up the newly married couple. They built a house for them, and cleared enough land for their immediate needs; they gave them live stock and poultry; and nature, seconded by their own labor, soon put them in a position to help others."--_Brook Watson_.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Village of Grand Pre. Rivers Gaspereau and Avon in the distance.]

EVANGELINE.

PRELUDE.

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 prophetic, Stand like harpers h.o.a.r, with beards that rest on their bosoms.

Loud from its rocky caverns, the deep-voiced neighboring ocean 5 Speaks, and in accents disconsolate answers the wail of the forest.