Chapter III

A report comes to the settlement that Miles Standish has been killed in a fight with the Indians. John Alden, feeling that Standish's death has freed him from the need of keeping his own love for Priscilla silent, woos and wins her. At last the wedding-day arrives.

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.
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
Prayed for the hearth and the home, that were founded that day in
affection,
Speaking of life and 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?
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
Softening the gloom and revealing the warm heart hidden beneath them.
Once it had lifted its hand, and moved its lips, but was silent,
As if an iron will had mastered the fleeting intention;
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;
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,--
All save the dear old friendship, and that shall grow older and
dearer!"
Then the Captain advanced, and, bowing, saluted Priscilla,
Wishing her joy of her wedding, and loudly lauding her husband.
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,
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,
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;
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,
Friends coming forth from the house, and impatient of longer delaying.
Then from a stall near at hand, amid exclamations of wonder,
Alden the thoughtful, the careful, so happy, so proud of Priscilla,
Brought out his snow-white bull, obeying the hand of its master,
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,
Placing her hand on the cushion, her foot in the hand of her husband,
Gayly, with joyous laugh, Priscilla mounted her palfrey.
Onward the bridal procession now moved to the new habitation,
Happy husband and wife, and friends conversing together.
Down through the golden leaves the sun was pouring his splendors,
Gleaming on purple grapes, that, from branches above them suspended,
Mingled their odorous breath with the balm of the pine and the
fir-tree,
Wild and sweet as the clusters that grew in the valley of [v]Eshcol.
Like a picture it seemed of the primitive, pastoral ages,
Fresh with the youth of the world, and recalling Rebecca and Isaac,
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.

HENRY W. LONGFELLOW.

=HELPS TO STUDY=

Miles Standish was one of the early settlers of Plymouth colony. He came over soon after the landing of the _Mayflower_ and was made captain of the colony because of his military experience. The feeble settlement was in danger from the Indians, and Standish's services were of great importance. He was one of the leaders of Plymouth for a number of years. Longfellow shaped the legend of his courtship into one of the most beautiful poems of American literature, vividly describing the hardships and perils of the early life of New England.

I. Where is the scene of the story laid? At what time did it begin?
What is the first impression you get of Miles Standish? of John
Alden? Read the lines that bring out the soldierly qualities of the
one and the studious nature of the other. What lines show that
Standish had fought on foreign soil? Read the lines that show John
Alden's interest in Priscilla. What request did Standish make of
Alden? How was it received? Why did Alden accept the task?

II. What time of the year was it? How do you know? Contrast Alden's
feelings with the scene around him. What were Priscilla's feelings
toward Alden? Quote lines that show this. How did he fulfill his
task? With what question did Priscilla finally meet his eloquent
appeal in behalf of his friend? How did Standish receive Alden's
report? What interruption occurred?

III. What report brought about the marriage of John Alden and
Priscilla? Read the lines that describe the beauty of their
wedding-day. What time of year was it? How do you know? What custom
was followed in the marriage ceremony? Look in the Bible for a
description of the marriage of Ruth and Boaz. Find other biblical
references in the poem. Who appeared at the end of the ceremony?
How was he received? Contrast his mood now with the mood when he
left to fight the Indians. What adage did he use to show the
difference between his age and Priscilla's? Describe the final
scene of the wedding--the procession to the new home. Tell what you
know of early life in Massachusetts.

SUPPLEMENTARY READING

Gareth and Lynette--Alfred Tennyson.
The Courtin'--James Russell Lowell.
Evangeline--Henry W. Longfellow.

THE FRIENDSHIP OF NANTAQUAS

This story is taken from Mary Johnston's novel, _To Have and to
Hold_, which describes the early settlement of Virginia. The most
important event of this period was the Indian massacre of 1622. For
some years the whites and Indians had lived in peace, and it was
believed that there would be no further trouble from the savages.
However, Opechancanough, the head chief of the Powhatan
confederacy, formed a plot against the white men and suddenly
attacked them with great fury. Hundreds of the English settlers
were slain. The author of the novel, taking the bare outline of the
massacre as given in the early histories, has woven around it the
graphic story of Captain Ralph Percy and his saving of the colony.
Percy, unlike Miles Standish, is not a historical character.