Enjoying ‘Evangeline’

We have a 1967 paperback of “Evangeline, A Tale of Acadia,” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and I am thoroughly enjoying reading it. I seem to remember the first lines – “This is the forest primeval, the murmuring pines and the hemlock” – but I’m sure we did not study it in our English classes. Longfellow was a Portland native, and Mainers are very proud of him

I wrote in the Feb. 14, 2008, Ramblings a short biography of Longfellow (1807-1882) and his works and I briefly wrote the sad plot of “Evangeline.”

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) is quoted on the back cover of my copy, praising the poem. He and Longfellow were classmates at Bowdoin College, in the class of 1825. This is what he said: “The story of Evangeline and her lover is of itself as poetical as the fable of the Odyssey, besides that it comes to the heart as a fact that has had actual place in human life. A young maiden is separated from the youth to whom she has been betrothed and conveyed to a different province; she spends her whole subsequent life in efforts to join him, unavailingly; till, in old age, she finds him on his deathbed, in an almshouse.

“This is a theme, indeed, not to be trusted in the hands of an ordinary writer, who would bring out only its gloom and wretchedness; it required the true poet’s deeper insight to present it to us, as we find it here, its pathos all illuminated with beauty…”

Mouse Tower II

I have just received more interesting news about the lines from Longfellow’s “Children’s Hour,” comparing his situation when his lovely daughters entered his chambers, hugging and kissing him often, to the ordeal of the Bishop of Binger being eaten by mice. But there was love involved in Longfellow’s situation

Four printed pages telling much about the Mouse Tower situation were sent to me by Gladys Pratt of Tampa, Fla., who was born in South Portland and comes back to visit relatives and friends. She found her information by checking “Mouse Tower” on the Internet, some at the site “hwlongfellow.org.”

Wasn’t she smart.

Renee redux

How pleasant it was to hear Renee Fleming sing again, after the wonderful concert she gave here in February with the Portland Symphony Orchestra.

On Saturday she had the female lead in “Rusalka,” an opera by Anton Dvorak, on the Metropolitan Opera radio broadcast from New York. Renee was Rusalka, a water nymph. This opera had a sad ending, as so many do. The applause was really prolonged after she sang an aria in the first act.

We here in Portland surely gave her great applause, too. She is outstanding in every way. I wondered how many of the hundreds who heard her here might have listened to the opera, also.

Bird bulletin

My sister Sally and her husband, Richard Vaughan, of Webster Road, Buxton, have a beautiful back acreage with many trees, and they have birdfeeders. Sal’s latest sightings included pine siskins, redpolls and a red-bellied woodpecker.

Last year they had flocks of turkeys come to the yard, but they have not appeared this year. How strange. I’m sure it was one of their favorite places to congregate and feed.

Pewter history

Thomas Madsen of Windham was a guest March 4 at the Westbrook Historical Society, speaking on American pewter. He is past president of the Pewter Collectors Club of American Inc.

The audience was appreciative of his display of pewter objects on a table in front of him. It included candle holders, teapots, candy dishes and more. Several of the people present brought pieces of Westbrook made or American pewter, which they owned. Ellie Saunders brought a porcelain and pewter teapot, which was in the Brackett home in Westbrook. That home was a building used in the 1800s in the Underground Railroad time.

Madsen’s talk focused on pewter made at Stevens Plains, then in Westbrook. That is now Stevens Avenue in Portland. A big part of Westbrook split off as the Town of Deering in the late 1800s, then merged with Portland.

No waste here

This recipe was one I used around 40 years ago, when our newspaper was at 820 Main St., Westbrook. I wish the size of the fruit can and also of the baking pan were included. But I imagine that many made it. It is so easy to assemble.

DUMP CAKE

“All the rage in Long Island, N.Y. is Dump Cake. Here is the recipe:”

Use a long glass baking dish. Dump a can of pie filling, apple, cherry, or crushed pineapple, in bottom of dish. Dump one box of yellow cake mix on top of fruit and spread. Cut 1?2 pound margarine or butter in cubes and put on top. Bake 1 hour in 350 degree oven.

I used a 20 ounce can of crushed pineapple, and a metal pan, which was 13 by 91?2 inches. The pineapple didn’t cover the whole pan, but the mix and butter fitted over the pineapple. (I left the juice in, too.) It wasn’t a total success, but the cake mix was old and maybe the pan was a little too big. We’ll try again, it’s easy.