Longfellow insights

I have just begun reading a 1911 edition of Brander Matthews’ “Introduction to American Literature.” It belonged to my father’s cousin, Adria Hutchinson Grimsley, born in Berlin, N.H. She was a librarian in Philadelphia for many years, before she retired in Portland.

I was particularly interested in the chapter on Longfellow (1882-1887). He was born in Portland and taught at Bowdoin and Harvard and, as we know, became a famous poet.

I had just started reading his poem “Evangeline, A Tale of Acadie,” and learned more about that famous poem in the American literature book. Longfellow was a schoolboy of 12 when Washington Irving’s “Sketch Book” appeared, and he read it with “ever-increasing wonder and delight.” When only 13, he began to write verses of his own, some of which were printed in the newspapers. He was only 14 when he passed the entrance exam at Bowdoin College, where he was to have another future author, Nathanial Hawthorne, as a classmate.

He taught modern languages at Bowdoin, with permission to spend several years in Europe, fitting himself for his duties. When he was called to a professorship at Harvard College, he again went to Europe for further study.

The American literature book said that “Evangeline,” which Longfellow published in 1847, was accepted at once as his masterpiece. It is one of the most beautiful love stories in all our American literature. Evangeline and Gabriel were a young couple in love, living in Acadie, a territory claimed by the French and located in the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and parts of Quebec. After the Queen Anne’s War (1702-1713), treaty terms required the French settlers of Acadia to take oath of allegiance to the crown of England. The Acadians refused. After the French and Indians War, the English determined to order out of the country all Acadians who refused to take the oath to the king of England.

In Longfellow’s poem on Sept. 5, 1755, the day of the wedding of Evangeline and Gabriel, all the Arcadian males over the age of 10 in the region were told to meet at the Grand Pre church, where they were surrounded by troops and given the news that all the French inhabitants were to be deported.

Gabriel was among the men deported, and young, lovely Evangeline began a lifelong search for him. Finally, when she was an old woman, she found him in a Louisiana almshouse on his death bed. The shock of this discovery killed her.

That’s the sad, sad story of this poem, beautifully written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Early birds

We’ve had three reports of flocks of robins appearing in our area last week. I’m always thrilled to see them return here in the spring.

Cathy Feeney reported seeing a flock of robins in her yard in Buxton last week.

Then on Friday, Cathy, who works at Southern Maine Newspaper Printing In Westbrook, saw something flicker outside the back window there. Looking out, she saw a flock of robins all over the branches of the box elder trees, some flitting down onto lower trees. She and co-worker Nancy Dacar investigated further and found robins all over all the trees around, another big flock in the tops of the maples behind LeClerc’s Citgo, more out on the island in the river, all told perhaps 200 birds together, maybe more. They were chirping merrily, sweet music to the ears this time of year, and many were busy stripping rose hips off the wild rose bushes. They were all puffed up against the cold, looking almost as big as pigeons, and their big, orange breasts stood out against the snow.

My son Ray’s friend Barbara Bell reported seeing a large flock of robins in downtown Portland that same day, stripping berries off the ornamental trees outside One Portland Square the TD-Banknorth offices.

What a surprise. Can they be enjoying our stormy winter here? We hope they headed south before Monday’s cold snap.

An heirloom

This is the way my grandmother, Mary Walker Overholser, of Wellseley Hills, mass., prepared parsnips. It is a favorite at our house.

FRIED PARSNIPS

After paring parsnips, slice them, then place the slices in a strainer over water, then simmer only for a short time. Then place them in a fry pan, with butter (or oil, if you prefer), until they are slightly brown, on both sides.

We think they are delicious, having just had a panful at supper, so prepared.

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