Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1883-03-07

From the American.
If the poets dream OF an earthly
paradise was ever realized, it was in
the home OF Euangeline, the lovely
heroine of Longtellow's most pathetic
poem. This beautiful land of flowers
was truly the ''home of the happy =
''They dwelt together in love. tEe.e s'mn'c
-Aeadian iar.hers,
Dwelt in the love of God aud man.
Neither locks h ID they to their doors, nor bars
to their w.adJ.c>:
But their dwellings were open as day and thr
hearts of their owners;
There the richest poor, and the poore ::
lived in abundance"
1t is difficult to appreciate, amid the
splendid material progress of the nine
teenth century, community so scclud-
ed and yet so happy,-possessing SO
little, vet so contented. Theirs was
not II at state of nature so enthusias-
ticaly advocated by Rousseau, who
unnaturallv abandoned his children to
the mercy Of strangers. Theirs was
not the stern virtue of ancient Rome,
which applauded father for butcher
ing his sons. While not possessing
the peculiar" virtues of Rome, they
were also free from its atrocious vices.
Suicide, infanticide and avarice We're
unknown among the Acadians.
Pride, which caused the fall Of Adam;
the ruin of Greece, and the destruction
of Babylon and Rome, was unheard OF
in the happy Valley of Grand Pre-,
where
"All men were equal, and all were brothers and
sisters"
Imagine people living in peace and
plenty, free from all the cares and
anxieties of civilized life, while enjoy
ing all its misunderstanding to-
gether as in a common brotherhood,
but without the moroseness of Sparta,
bright, cheerful, lively, but without
the frivolity of Athens,-a people, so
good, so simple, so honest, that laws
were unnecessary and lawyers un-
known Plato never dreamed of re-
public so truly admirable as Acadia,
while the famous Arcadia of the
ancients did not approach it in the
sweetness, beauty and simplicity of its
pastoral life.
The Valley of Grand Pre- is the most
beautiful in British America. The
patient industry of the Acadians had
reclaimed it from marsh and sea, and
turned it into fertile meadows. They
led simple, pastoral and patriarchal
life, with no desire for wealth and no
ambitious aspirations their lovely
valyes were covered with hocks of
sheep and herds of cattle.
"This acas Acadia,-this the land
That weary souls have sighed for;
This was Acadia,-this the land
Heroic hearts have died for"
Our own Valley of Wyoming alone
can compare with the Valley of Grand
Pre- in beauty and sorrow.
The happy, pastoral life of this COM
munity must have suggested to Gold
smith some of tn, most touching scenes
in the Deserted Village" Young
men and women married early. As
soon as a young man was old enough
to marry, the community built him a
house, cultivated the lands about it,
and furnished him with all the neces.
sares of life for one year. Thither he
brought his chosen partner. who con-
tributed her portion in flocks.
By the Treaty of Utrecht, in 17l3,
the Acadians became subjects of the
English Crown; but it was expressly
stipulated that they should not be
compelled to fight against their French
countrymen, that they should retain
possession Of their lands, and be per-
mitted the free exercise of their religion.
From that time they were called the
neutral French" At first, they were
treated with some consideration for
the English wanted their valuable
services in the construction of roads,
dikes, forts, and in the cultivation of
the soil But in few years the con-
querors had established themselves
securely in Nova Scotia, and were not
long in showing that they not only
had the strength, but intended to use
it, The Acadans were excluded from
holding office, deprived of the right of
representation, and not allowed to ap-
peal to the courts for the redress of
wrongs. They were obliged to cut
wood for the building of English forts,
failing to do which they were told that
their houses would be pulled down for
the purpose. They were ordered to
furnish provisions, and threatened with
the destruction of their crops and cattle
if they refused All these injustices
were endured with unfailing patience.
When Charles Edward, l745, at
tempted to regain the throne of his
ancestors, George ii. insisted upon the
Acadians taking an oath by which
they were required to become loyal
subjects of Great Britain,-to bear
arms against their countrymen and the
Indians, to whom they were bound by
many ties of gratitude and affection.
The conscience of the Acadians rebeled
at requisition $50 repugnant to the
feelings of human nature" Three
hundred of the younger and more inn
pulsive of their number resolved to
fight rather than to submit to such
terms, and were found in arms at the
taking of Fort Beau Seour. This
offered the occasion which was wanted.
The whole of the twenty thousand
neutral French were made to suffer
for the act of the three hundred In
vain was their protest that this resist
ance was contrary to their wishes, their
habits, and beyond their control Their
entire destruction or dispersion was de-
creed. Colonel John Winslow planned
and carried out this wicked work. He
was soldier, trained to make war
upon armed men; but he engaged with
brutal zeal in an enterprise against
helpless women and children. He
wore the uniform of His Majesty, King
George H., but his actions disgraced
the service which had once been honor
ed by the peerless Sidney.
1t is melancholy story, so let us
tell il as briefly as possible. The de-