The Courtship of Miles Standish, Stanza 1
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Longfellow is drawing an early contrast between Standish, the mature heroic warrior, and his best friend Alden, the young, untested man of letters.
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Long at the window he stood, and wistfully gazed on the landscape, Washed with a cold gray mist, the vapory breath of the east-wind, Forest and meadow and hill, and the steel-blue rim of the ocean, Lying silent and sad, in the afternoon shadows and sunshine. Over his countenance flitted a shadow like those on the landscape, Gloom intermingled with light; and his voice was subdued with emotion, Tenderness, pity, regret, as after a pause he proceeded: "Yonder there, on the hill by the sea, lies buried Rose Standish; Beautiful rose of love, that bloomed for me by the wayside! She was the first to die of all who came in the Mayflower! Green above her is growing the field of wheat we have sown there, Better to hide from the Indian scouts the graves of our people, Lest they should count them and see how many already have perished!" Sadly his face he averted, and strode up and down, and was thoughtful. |
Yet Standish dearly misses his wife, who died soon after the journey to the new world and is buried in an unmarked grave.
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Fixed to the opposite wall was a shelf of books, and among them
| To calm his spirit, Standish picks up Julius Caesar's writings (bypassing the Bible). John is finishing a letter to send back to England tomorrow. Not only is he describing the terrible hardships they have survived, he is writing much about a young woman named Priscilla. |
Go to Stanza 2 Whether you make the reading of this poem a part of your Thanksgiving traditions or not, we hope that you can make every day a day of Thanksgiving. God grant you and your loved ones grace and a spirit of generosity and service this season. Paul D. Race, Family Christmas Online If you have any corrections, comments, or additions you would like to make about this article, please contact me and I will be glad to hear from you. God bless - Paul To return to the Christmas Musings page, click here. To return to the Family Christmas OnlineTM Home Page, click here. |
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