Chapter X: Introduction

By way of introduction, it might be well to tell the pupils something of Bret Harte--his residence in California, his experience as a prospector in the goldfields, his stories of the mining camps, and his admiration of Dickens. (See Manual on _The Ontario Readers_, p. 315.) These facts throw considerable light upon the poem, and will be useful in aiding the pupils to interpret it properly. This poem was written shortly after the death of Dickens. It might well follow the study of _David Copperfield's First Journey Alone_ and _The Indignation of Nicholas Nickleby_.

PREPARATION

When the poem has been read, the teacher should, before beginning the analysis, ask a few general questions, such as:

What has Dickens to do with the story related
in the poem? He was the author of the book read
in the camp, _Old Curiosity Shop_, of which
"Nell" is the heroine. (A brief outline of the
story, with special reference to the feelings
it arouses in the reader, might be given here.)

What kind of camp is referred to in the poem? A
mining camp. The last line of the second stanza
suggests this.

Where is the scene laid? Apparently in
California, among the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
This is indicated in the first stanza.

What is the leading idea of the poem? The
effect which the reading of a story by Dickens
produced in a Western mining camp.

What are the main sub-topics?

1. The scene of the incident. Stanzas I-III.
2. The reading of the story. Stanzas IV-VII.
3. A lament for the death of Dickens. Stanzas VIII-X.

MINUTE ANALYSIS

Stanza I

How does the description of the scene, as given
in stanza I, differ from that given in stanza
II? Stanza I gives the background and the
remote surroundings, while stanza II places us
in the midst of the camp.

What features give the story a romantic
setting? The stately "pines", the singing
"river", the "slowly drifting moon", the
snow-capped mountains.

From the description in the first stanza, give
as clear a picture of the location of the camp
as possible. It was situated on the edge of a
canyon in the Sierras, towering pines rising
round about, the river flowing noisily beneath,
and the mountains uplifting their snow-covered
peaks in the distance.

Explain the comparison suggested in the last
two lines. The mountain summits, with their
everlasting snows, resemble in the distance the
minarets, or lofty tapering towers, attached to
Mohammedan mosques.

Which is preferable, "minarets of snow", or
"snow-covered peaks"? The former, because it is
a more unusual expression and because of what
it suggests.

Stanza II

Why is the camp-fire represented as a rude
humorist? It causes faces and forms that are
haggard and care-worn to appear fresh and
healthy, thus playing a grim jest upon those
gathered round it.

Explain the significance of "fierce" in the
last line. In the mad rush for gold, all the
worst elements of man's nature are brought to
the surface--disregard for the rights of
others, contempt for law and order, and even
carelessness with regard to human life.

Consider the fitness of the words "rude",
"painted", "race", as used here.

Stanza III

What indicates the value that the owner places
upon this book? The words "treasure" and
"hoarded" suggest that it is one of his most
highly prized possessions.

What suggests that this is not the first time
the story has been read in camp? The word
"anew".

How does the poet indicate the absorbing
interest that the story has for these men? He
says the fascination is so great as to draw the
attention of these rough miners even from their
card-playing. Explain "listless leisure".

Stanza IV

Explain "the firelight fell". The fire
gradually died down, because, absorbed in their
interest in the story, the miners forgot to put
on fresh fuel.

Why is Dickens called the "Master"? A master is
one who attains the highest degree of skill in
some art. Dickens was master of the art of
story-telling, a master of vivid narration, a
master of pathos and humour.

Stanzas V and VI

Is there anything in these stanzas which might
throw light upon the identity of the reader? He
is probably the poet himself. His familiarity
with the fancies of the reader seem to indicate
this. Besides, the reader is kept very much in
the background--we are told only that he was
young--and this seems to be in keeping with the
modesty of the poet as shown elsewhere in the
poem. At any rate, we must admit that the
reader was a poet, for he indulges in fancies
of a highly poetical nature.

What are those fancies? Such is the absorbing
interest of the story that even the pines and
cedars seem to stand silent to listen, and the
fir trees gather closer in order that nothing
may escape their hearing.

What is the poetic element in these fancies?
Ascribing to inanimate objects the power of
human interest and sympathy.

What effect does the poet secure by picturing
the trees as listeners? It enhances our idea of
the absorbing interest of the story.

Mention any other illustrations of a poet's use
of this device of attributing human sympathies
to inanimate objects. Many might be given, for
example:

Byron's _Waterloo_:

And Ardennes waves above them her green leaves,
Dewy with Nature's tear-drops, as they pass,
Grieving, if aught inanimate e'er grieves,
Over the unreturning brave.

Longfellow's _Evangeline_ describing the song
of the mocking-bird:

Shook from his little throat such floods of delirious music,
That the whole air and the woods and waves seemed silent to listen.

Mrs. Hemans' _The Landing of the Pilgrim
Fathers_:

Amidst the storm they sang, and the stars heard, and the sea.

What experience of "Nell" is alluded to in the
last two lines of stanza V? She and her
grandfather had been lost on their journey from
London.

Why does the poet say that the whole camp "lost
their way" with "Nell" on English meadows? The
narrative was so vivid that the miners, in
spirit, accompanied her in her wanderings.

Stanza VII

What is meant by "Their cares dropped from
them"? They forgot themselves, their cares and
privations, and realized the hopes and fears,
the joys and sorrows of "Little Nell".

How was this result brought about? It was due
to the fascination of the story.

To what does the poet compare this? To some
"spell divine", some supernatural influence,
which causes their own troubles to disappear
for the time being.

Give, then, the meaning of "o'ertaken as by
some spell divine". They are brought, as it
were, under the influence of some magician,
who, by the exercise of his power, transports
them from their own world to that in which
"Nell" lives and moves.

Show the beauty of the comparison in the last
two lines of this stanza. As the needles of the
pine, through the action of the wind, fall
silently and almost unperceived, so the cares
of the miners were forgotten in the
all-compelling interest of the story.

Compare Longfellow:

The cares that infest the day
Shall fold their tents like the Arabs,
And as silently steal away.

Why is this comparison more appropriate than,
for example, like the leaves from the trees in
autumn, or, like snow-flakes from the clouds in
winter? Because it is drawn from the objects at
hand, not from more remote things--an example
of local colour.

Explain "gusty pine". A pine exposed to the
mountain blasts.

Stanza VIII

Who is referred to by "he" in the second line?
Dickens--not the reader of the story.

What is meant by "wrought that spell"? Produced
that magic influence.

State the question in full. Is "he who wrought
that spell" lost, too?

What tale has the "towering pine" to tell? That
the mining camp has disappeared.

And what the "stately Kentish spire"? That
Dickens has gone. (Dickens' home was at
Gadshill, in Kent.)

What is the one tale that both have to tell? A
tale of disappearance and death.

Is the question asked in the second line
answered? Not directly, though the answer is
implied.

State the substantial meaning of the stanza.
The "towering pine" of the Sierras tells of the
disappearance of the mining camp; the "stately
spire" of Kent tells of the death of Dickens;
both bear witness to the potent influence of
Dickens.

Stanza IX

What is the "fragrant story" of the Western
mining camp? The tribute that the incident
related in the poem pays to the magical power
of Dickens as a story writer.

Why is it called a "fragrant story"? The author
poetically conceives of it as being laden with
the fragrance of the fir, the pine, and the
cedar--a sort of "incense" to the memory of the
"Master".

What is incense? The odours of spices and gums
burned in religious rites.

What poetic idea does the author express in the
last two lines? The hopvines of Kent are
represented as uniting with the pine, fir, and
cedar in sending forth their fragrance as
incense.

What is the meaning, then, of the whole stanza?
Let the fragrance of the pine, the cedar, and
the fir, mingled with the odours of the Kentish
hopvines, be as incense to the memory of the
"Master".

Stanza X

Does the poet mean that the grave of Dickens is
literally adorned with oak, holly, and laurel
wreaths? No; he is speaking figuratively.

What do these typify? The tributes of
admiration, reverence, and love that are paid
to the memory of Dickens in his own country.

Of what is each emblematic? The oak is
emblematic of England, the life of whose people
he so vividly depicted; the holly suggests his
charming Christmas stories; the laurel
signifies his mastery of the art of writing.

What does the poet mean by "This spray of
Western pine"? This poem was written in the
Western World, as a tribute to the memory of
the great novelist.

What personal characteristic does the poet show
in the third line? A sense of humility, which
leads him to suggest that this poem is unworthy
of a place among the tributes paid to the name
and fame of the great artist.

Stripped of its figurative significance, what
is the meaning of the whole stanza? To the many
tokens of love and admiration that are offered
to the memory of Dickens, may I be permitted to
add this poem--a Western tribute to the
worldwide influence of the famous author.

RECONSTRUCTION

Tell the story of the poem in your own words.

In a canyon of the Sierras, a group of rough
miners were gathered about a camp-fire. Around
them stood the stately pines, above which the
moon was slowly rising; below, at the bottom of
the canyon, a river sang, as it threaded its way
among the boulders; and, far in the distance,
the mountains reared their snow-covered summits
to the evening sky. The flickering camp-fire
played strange tricks upon those gathered round
it, for it gave to the care-worn faces and bent
forms of the miners the appearance of freshness
and health.

One of the miners, a mere youth, opened his
pack, drew therefrom a copy of Dickens' _Old
Curiosity Shop_, and began to read aloud. At
once, all other occupations were suspended, and
everybody drew near to listen to the story. The
whole camp yielded itself to the fascination of
the tale, and in its absorbing interest they
forgot themselves and their surroundings, their
ills, their hardships, and their cares. One
might almost fancy that the very pines and
cedars became silent, and that the fir trees
drew closer to hear the story of "Little Nell".

Dickens, the "Master", has gone, but, among the
many tributes that are paid to his power as a
writer, let this little tale of the Western
camp be added, to illustrate the universal
nature of his influence.

DOST THOU LOOK BACK ON WHAT HATH BEEN

(Fourth Reader, page 289)

PREPARATION

This lesson should be preceded by a suitable preparatory lesson on the life of some man, for example, Peel, Disraeli, or Lincoln, who, in spite of all obstacles, rose to eminence in the nation and lived "To mould a mighty state's decrees".