Part 5

There on the flowers of the meadow the warriors lay, and above them 810 Silent, with folded arms, stood Hobomok, friend of the white man. Smiling at length he exclaimed to the stalwart Captain of Plymouth: “Pecksuot bragged very loud, of his courage, his strength, and his stature,-- Mocked the great Captain, and called him a little man; but I see now Big enough have you been to lay him speechless before you!” 815

Thus the first battle was fought and won by the stalwart Miles Standish. When the tidings thereof were brought to the village of Plymouth, And as a trophy of war the head of the brave Wattawamat Scowled from the roof of the fort, which at once was a church and a fortress, All who beheld it rejoiced, and praised the Lord, and took courage. 820 Only Priscilla averted her face from this specter of terror, Thanking God in her heart that she had not married Miles Standish; Shrinking, fearing almost, lest, coming home from his battles, He should lay claim to her hand, as the prize and reward of his valor.

VIII.

THE SPINNING-WHEEL.

Month after month passed away, and in autumn the ships of the merchants 825 Came with kindred and friends, with cattle and corn for the Pilgrims. All in the village was peace; the men were intent on their labors, Busy with hewing and building, with garden plot and with merestead, Busy with breaking the glebe, and mowing the grass in the meadows, Searching the sea for its fish, and hunting the deer in the forest. 830 All in the village was peace; but at times the rumor of warfare Filled the air with alarm, and the apprehension of danger. Bravely the stalwart Miles Standish was scouring the land with his forces, Waxing valiant in fight and defeating the alien armies, Till his name had become a sound of fear to the nations. 835 Anger was still in his heart, but at times the remorse and contrition Which in all noble natures succeed the passionate outbreak, Came like a rising tide, that encounters the rush of a river, Staying its current a while, but making it bitter and brackish.

Meanwhile Alden at home had built him a new habitation, 840 Solid, substantial, of timber rough-hewn from the firs of the forest. Wooden-barred was the door, and the roof was covered with rushes; Latticed the windows were, and the window-panes were of paper, Oiled to admit the light, while wind and rain were excluded. There too he dug a well, and around it planted an orchard: 845 Still may be seen to this day some trace of the well and the orchard. Close to the house was the stall, where, safe and secure from annoyance, Raghorn, the snow-white bull, that had fallen to Alden’s allotment In the division of cattle, might ruminate in the nighttime Over the pastures he cropped, made fragrant by sweet pennyroyal. 850

Oft when his labor was finished, with eager feet would the dreamer Follow the pathway that ran through the woods to the house of Priscilla, Led by illusions romantic and subtile deceptions of fancy, Pleasure disguised as duty, and love in the semblance of friendship. Ever of her he thought, when he fashioned the walls of his dwelling; 855 Ever of her he thought, when he delved in the soil of his garden; Ever of her he thought, when he read in his Bible on Sunday Praise of the virtuous woman, as she is described in the Proverbs,-- How the heart of her husband doth safely trust in her always, How all the days of her life she will do him good, and not evil, 860 How she seeketh the wool and the flax and worketh with gladness, How she layeth her hand to the spindle and holdeth the distaff, How she is not afraid of the snow for herself or her household, Knowing her household are clothed with the scarlet cloth of her weaving!

So as she sat at her wheel one afternoon in the autumn, 865 Alden, who opposite sat, and was watching her dexterous fingers, As if the thread she was spinning were that of his life and his fortune, After a pause in their talk, thus spake to the sound of the spindle: “Truly, Priscilla,” he said, “when I see you spinning and spinning, Never idle a moment, but thrifty and thoughtful of others, 870 Suddenly you are transformed, are visibly changed in a moment; You are no longer Priscilla, but Bertha the Beautiful Spinner.” Here the light foot on the treadle grew swifter and swifter; the spindle Uttered an angry snarl, and the thread snapped short in her fingers; While the impetuous speaker, not heeding the mischief, continued: 875 “You are the beautiful Bertha, the spinner, the queen of Helvetia; She whose story I read at a stall in the streets of Southampton, Who, as she rode on her palfrey, o’er valley and meadow and mountain, Ever was spinning her thread from a distaff fixed to her saddle. She was so thrifty and good, that her name passed into a proverb. 880 So shall it be with your own, when the spinning-wheel shall no longer Hum in the house of the farmer, and fill its chambers with music. Then shall the mothers, reproving, relate how it was in their childhood, Praising the good old times, and the days of Priscilla the spinner!” Straight uprose from her wheel the beautiful Puritan maiden, 885 Pleased with the praise of her thrift from him whose praise was the sweetest, Drew from the reel on the table a snowy skein of her spinning, Thus making answer, meanwhile, to the flattering praises of Alden: “Come, you must not be idle; if I am a pattern for housewives, Show yourself equally worthy of being the model of husbands. 890 Hold this skein on your hands, while I wind it, ready for knitting; Then who knows but hereafter, when fashions have changed and the manners, Fathers may talk to their sons of the good old times of John Alden!” Thus, with a jest and a laugh, the skein on his hands she adjusted, He sitting awkwardly there, with his arms extended before him, 895 She standing graceful, erect, and winding the thread from his fingers, Sometimes chiding a little his clumsy manner of holding, Sometimes touching his hands, as she disentangled expertly Twist or knot in the yarn, unawares--for how could she help it?-- Sending electrical thrills through every nerve in his body. 900

Lo! in the midst of this scene, a breathless messenger entered, Bringing in hurry and heat the terrible news from the village. Yes; Miles Standish was dead!--an Indian had brought them the tidings,-- Slain by a poisoned arrow, shot down in the front of the battle, Into an ambush beguiled, cut off with the whole of his forces; 905 All the town would be burned, and all the people be murdered! Such were the tidings of evil that burst on the hearts of the hearers. Silent and statue-like stood Priscilla, her face looking backward Still at the face of the speaker, her arms uplifted in horror; But John Alden, upstarting, as if the barb of the arrow 910 Piercing the heart of his friend had struck his own, and had sundered Once and forever the bonds that held him bound as a captive, Wild with excess of sensation, the awful delight of his freedom, Mingled with pain and regret, unconscious of what he was doing, Clasped, almost with a groan, the motionless form of Priscilla, 915 Pressing her close to his heart, as forever his own, and exclaiming: “Those whom the Lord hath united, let no man put them asunder!”

Even as rivulets twain, from distant and separate sources, Seeing each other afar, as they leap from the rocks, and pursuing Each one its devious path, but drawing nearer and nearer, 920 Rush together at last, at their trysting-place in the forest; So these lives that had run thus far in separate channels, Coming in sight of each other, then swerving and flowing asunder, Parted by barriers strong, but drawing nearer and nearer, Rushed together at last, and one was lost in the other. 925

IX.

THE WEDDING-DAY.

Forth from the curtain of clouds, from the tent of purple and scarlet, Issued the sun, the great High-Priest, in his garments resplendent, Holiness unto the Lord, in letters of light, on his forehead, Round the hem of his robe the golden bells and pomegranates. Blessing the world he came, and the bars of vapor beneath him 930 Gleamed like a grate of brass, and the sea at his feet was a laver!

This was the wedding morn of Priscilla the Puritan maiden. Friends were assembled together; the Elder and Magistrate also Graced the scene with their presence, and stood like the Law and the Gospel, One with the sanction of earth and one with the blessing of heaven. 935 Simple and brief was the wedding, as that of Ruth and of Boaz. Softly the youth and the maiden repeated the words of betrothal, Taking each other for husband and wife in the Magistrate’s presence, After the Puritan way, and the laudable custom of Holland. Fervently then and devoutly, the excellent Elder of Plymouth 940 Prayed for the hearth and the home, that were founded that day in affection, Speaking of life and of death, and imploring Divine benedictions.

Lo! when the service was ended, a form appeared on the threshold, Clad in armor of steel, a somber and sorrowful figure! Why does the bridegroom start and stare at the strange apparition? 945 Why does the bride turn pale, and hide her face on his shoulder? Is it a phantom of air,--a bodiless, spectral illusion? Is it a ghost from the grave, that has come to forbid the betrothal? Long had it stood there unseen, a guest uninvited, unwelcomed; Over its clouded eyes there had passed at times an expression 950 Softening the gloom and revealing the warm heart hidden beneath them, As when across the sky the driving rack of the rain-cloud Grows for a moment thin, and betrays the sun by its brightness. Once it had lifted its hand, and moved its lips, but was silent, As if an iron will had mastered the fleeting intention. 955 But when were ended the troth and the prayer and the last benediction, Into the room it strode, and the people beheld with amazement Bodily there in his armor Miles Standish, the Captain of Plymouth! Grasping the bridegroom’s hand, he said with emotion, “Forgive me! I have been angry and hurt,--too long have I cherished the feeling; 960 I have been cruel and hard, but now, thank God! it is ended. Mine is the same hot blood that leaped in the veins of Hugh Standish, Sensitive, swift to resent, but as swift in atoning for error. Never so much as now was Miles Standish the friend of John Alden.” Thereupon answered the bridegroom: “Let all be forgotten between us,-- 965 All save the dear old friendship, and that shall grow older and dearer!” Then the Captain advanced, and, bowing, saluted Priscilla, Gravely, and after the manner of old-fashioned gentry in England, Something of camp and of court, of town and of country, commingled, Wishing her joy of her wedding, and loudly lauding her husband. 970 Then he said with a smile: “I should have remembered the adage,-- If you would be well served, you must serve yourself, and, moreover, No man can gather cherries in Kent at the season of Christmas!”

Great was the people’s amazement, and greater yet their rejoicing, Thus to behold once more the sunburnt face of their Captain, 975 Whom they had mourned as dead; and they gathered and crowded about him, Eager to see him and hear him, forgetful of bride and of bridegroom, Questioning, answering, laughing, and each interrupting the other, Till the good Captain declared, being quite overpowered and bewildered, He had rather by far break into an Indian encampment, 980 Than come again to a wedding to which he had not been invited.

Meanwhile the bridegroom went forth and stood with the bride at the doorway, Breathing the perfumed air of that warm and beautiful morning. Touched with autumnal tints, but lonely and sad in the sunshine, Lay extended before them the land of toil and privation; 985 There were the graves of the dead, and the barren waste of the seashore, There the familiar fields, the groves of pine, and the meadows; But to their eyes transfigured, it seemed as the Garden of Eden, Filled with the presence of God, whose voice was the sound of the ocean.

Soon was their vision disturbed by the noise and stir of departure, 990 Friends coming forth from the house, and impatient of longer delaying, Each with his plan for the day, and the work that was left uncompleted. Then from a stall near at hand, amid exclamations of wonder, Alden, the thoughtful, the careful, so happy, so proud of Priscilla, Brought out the snow-white bull, obeying the hand of its master, 995 Led by a cord that was tied to an iron ring in its nostrils, Covered with crimson cloth, and a cushion placed for a saddle. She should not walk, he said, through the dust and heat of the noonday; Nay, she should ride like a queen, not plod along like a peasant. Somewhat alarmed at first, but reassured by the others, 1000 Placing her hand on the cushion, her foot in the hand of her husband, Gayly, with joyous laugh, Priscilla mounted her palfrey. “Nothing is wanting now,” he said with a smile, “but the distaff; Then you would be in truth my queen, my beautiful Bertha!”

Onward the bridal procession now moved to their new habitation, 1005 Happy husband and wife, and friends conversing together. Pleasantly murmured the brook, as they crossed the ford in the forest, Pleased with the image that passed, like a dream of love through its bosom, Tremulous, floating in air, o’er the depths of the azure abysses, Down through the golden leaves the sun was pouring his splendors, 1010 Gleaming on purple grapes, that, from branches above them suspended, Mingled their odorous breath with the balm of the pine and fir-tree, Wild and sweet as the clusters that grew in the valley of Eshcol. Like a picture it seemed of the primitive pastoral ages, Fresh with the youth of the world, and recalling Rebecca and Isaac, 1015 Old and yet ever new, and simple and beautiful always, Love immortal and young in the endless succession of lovers, So through the Plymouth woods passed onward the bridal procession.

NOTES.

3. _Cordovan._ From the city of Cordoba, Spain, noted for the leather prepared there.

8. _Corselet._ A breastplate and backpiece forming a protection for the upper part of the body.

_Sword of Damascus._ Damascus in Syria is one of the oldest cities in the world. The swords made here were once famous not only for their remarkably fine temper, but for the artistic figures and mystic characters wrought in the blade. The secret of their make is now largely a lost art.

1-20. Miles Standish was at this time about thirty-six years of age, though the description seems to make him older. He had evidently left England for the Netherlands to fight with the Dutch against Spain. In Holland he had met his compatriots, the Puritans, cast his fortunes with them, and embarked as one of their number for the New World. John Alden, at this time about twenty-one, had joined the Pilgrims when their vessel touched at the port of Southampton.

19. “While yet an abbot, Gregory’s interest had been awakened by the fair faces and flaxen hair of a group of Saxon youths exposed for sale in the slave-market at Rome. ‘Who are they?’ he asked. ‘Angles,’ was the reply. ‘It suits them well,’ he said; ‘with faces so angel-like.’” (_Painter, History of English Literature._)

20. _The Mayflower._ The name of the vessel that carried the Pilgrims to America.

28. _Arcabucero._ A Spanish word, originally meaning archer, now generally equivalent to musketeer.

22-33. The pictures given of their personal appearance is completed and reinforced by the first words the two men speak. Compare the character indications of 25-30 and 32, 33.

52. _Sagamore_, _sachem_. These words are the titles of Indian chiefs, the former being a subordinate, the latter a principal chief.

_Pow-wow_, an Indian medicine-man.

53. Indian names.

61. _Rose Standish._ “In Young’s _Chronicles of the Pilgrims_, Boston, 1841, is a note thus: ‘Jan. 29, dies Rose, the wife of Captain Standish.’ In William Bradford’s _History of Plymouth Plantation_ is recorded: ‘Captain Standish his wife dyed in the first sickness, and he maried againe and hath 4 sones lieving, and some are dead.’” Cited by _Malfroy_.

69. _Barriffe’s Artillery Guide._ An early work on military tactics, written by a Puritan, William Barriffe.

83. The Mayflower started on her return voyage, April 5, 1621.

85. _Priscilla_. “Mr. Molines [Mullen] and his wife, his sone and his servant dyed the first winter. Only his dougter Priscilla survived, and maried with John Alden.” (Bradford’s _History of Plymouth Plantation_.)

100. _Iberian._ Iberia, Spain. This was, however, an Alpine village. As Cæsar and his companions were passing through the place, they were struck with its poverty and wretchedness. Some one mockingly asked whether there were any canvassing for offices there. To this Cæsar replied: “For my part, I would rather be the first among these fellows than the second man in Rome.” The account is given in Plutarch’s _Life of Caesar_.

104. _Flanders._ Allusion to Cæsar’s campaign against the Nervii, who occupied that part of the Netherlands known as Flanders.

113. This battle is depicted in Cæsar’s Commentaries, Book II, chapter 25.

136. _Since Rose Standish died._ See note on line 61.

140. The loss of her father, mother and brother is mentioned in Bradford’s _History of the Plymouth Plantation_. See note, line 85.

206. _Astaroth_, _Baal_. Divinities of ancient Syria, mentioned in the Old Testament. Milton refers to them:

“With these came they, who, from the bordering flood Of old Euphrates to the brook that parts Egypt from Syrian ground, had general names Of Baalim and Ashtaroth,--those male, These feminine.” --_Paradise Lost_, Bk. I, 419-423.

210. _Mayflowers._ In England this name is applied to the hawthorn; in America to a trailing plant “having white or rose-colored flowers.” “The trailing arbutus or mayflower grows abundantly in the vicinity of Plymouth, and was the first flower that greeted the Pilgrims after their fearful winter.” (_Whittier._)

212. _Children lost in the woods._ The pathetic story of the cruel destruction of two children by exposure and desertion is told in an ancient English ballad:

“No burial this pretty pair Of any man receives, Till Robin-red-breast piously Did cover them with leaves.”

--From Percy’s _Reliques of Ancient English Poetry_.

224. _The hundredth Psalm._ The music to which the words were being sung was the same as “Old Hundred.”

232. Many English books and translations were printed by the early Dutch printers of Amsterdam and Leyden, notably by the Elzivirs of the latter place.

245. Compare Luke ix: 62.

248. Jeremiah xxxiii: 11.

321. In Young’s _Chronicles of the Pilgrims_ we read that the ancestors of Miles Standish were of a warlike spirit, and that the family record can be traced back as far as to Ralph de Standish, 1221.

324. _Crest._ The distinguishing mark worn by a knight, usually upon the helmet or above the shield.

_Argent._ Silver, or resembling silver.

325. _Gules._ Of a red color.

344. Reference to Revelation xxi.

362. The account is given in 2 Samuel, xi and xii.

415. _Wat Tyler._ The leader of an insurrection in London, slain by Jean Standuich. This happened under Richard II., about 1381.

421. _You too, Brutus!_ Notwithstanding the friendship existing between them, Brutus conspired against the life of Cæsar. It is stated that when Brutus advanced to strike him, Cæsar said, “And you too, my son!”

442. _Elder of Plymouth._ William Brewster (1560-1644).

481. In this dramatic incident the poet has used the facts as they occurred, with very little change. The incident of the rattlesnake-skin and the challenge is historic; it took place in 1622.

496. The plot requires that the choleric Captain should at this stage be removed from the presence of Alden and Priscilla, leaving the issue in a state of suspense. For this purpose the author finds the material of the annals almost ready shaped. The only alteration required was to change the time when the expedition under Standish started to relieve the threatened Weymouth Colony. This took place in March, 1623, but in the poem it is made to happen in April, 1621.

559. Alden’s position with one foot on the gunwale and one on the rock is a striking visualization of a mood.

572. _Adamantine._ “By him forbidden to unlock these adamantine gates.” (_Paradise Lost_, Book II, 853.)

597. The shipmaster, like Standish, is not a devout Puritan.

601. _Songs._ Not songs, but rather a series of rhythmic sounds accompanying their work.

605. _Gurnet Point._ A headland at the entrance to Plymouth harbor, on the north side.

606. Before landing at Plymouth the Pilgrims had spent some time in looking for a suitable locality. A party of them had gone on shore and examined the environs here. They had then met some Indians; hence the name, “First Encounter.”

607. _Took the wind on her quarter._ Holding a course such that the wind struck the vessel at a point “between abeam and astern.” What must have been the exact course of the vessel?

626. _Like the spirit of God._ Reference to Genesis i: 2.

657. _Dissolves the spell of its silence._ Old superstition. So in Hamlet, (Act I, sc. 1, l. 44,) where Bernardo says, “It [the ghost] would be spoke to.”

665. _Havilah._ Genesis ii: 10-14.

755. _Goliath of Gath._ 1 Sam. xvii: 14.

_Og, king of Bashan._ Numbers xxi: 33.

815. The details of this expedition and the resulting encounter are taken from Winslow’s _Relation of Standish’s Expedition_ as given in Dr. Young’s _Chronicles_. Here we are informed that such an expedition took place in 1623, under command of Captain Standish. Other details worked into the poem are also mentioned here: the defiance of Wattawmat (771-781); Pecksuot (783-787); the observation of Hobomak (813-815); and the grim trophy placed by the Captain on the roof of the fort when he returned to the colony.

828. _Merestead._ “Meer” and “mear” are old terms, meaning boundary. Hence, the plot of ground inclosed by boundaries.

829. _Glebe._ Sod or turf.

846. The original homestead is still owned by the descendants of John Alden. It is in Duxbury, on the coast, a short distance southeast from Boston.

858-864. An almost literal rendering of verses 11, 12, 13, and 21 of Proverbs xxxi.