Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1904-12-13

! Imagination with considerable free
dom. Il faculty which he Should album
/ dainty possess, for he must re-people
the empty scenes of the past with liv-
ing characters, and make them play
their parts aCceptably to the most eX-
acting critics. for the writeJ of the 'Ro-
nance of History must perforce be ii
poet, and should possess the true
attia;us, for the poet. we all know. is
one who after the divine example is Il
creator, who gives to his creatures. no.
form and color alone, but the vital
spark.
The romance of our own history.
until within a few years. has been
| neglected, perhaps on account OF The
restrictive influences which Puritan
ism exercised upon it in it's early years
for the Puritan regarded the iInagina
ton as a dangerous faculty. which
should be figuratively consigned to the
stocks if it disported itself in any but
theological fields. fenced in with it's
| OK, pointed rickets. Not that the
| Puritan really lacked Imagination, as
we see in the case Of Anne Bradstreet
and even Cotton Mather. who lived al
together in an imaginary world: in
deed, Puritanism possessed ina gina
ton and all good qualities in ;.bun-
| dance, only it did not allow their cXer-
| else except on rare occasions. Haw-
| thorne has shown us the possibilities
! of the Puritan in fiction as Bouyh. oI
! has in painting. and Longfellow in
poetry: SO that we have recently be-
come aware that New England after
al MIC nj n;c
as full of romance as one could desire.
and VIXEN the author Of this book IN.
formed me that he PROPOSED to give 10
the world some of the romance of New
| England history. l told him that he
| would find as attractive a subject as
he could desire. and the work which he
| has produced proves it,
MIR. Sylvester divides his books into
Il landmarks of which there are clever
in the first volume viz: "Cascoe.'
''Stogummor. "A Relic" Harrow
House "Wayside-lnn.' An OLD Fish
Yard ''Mountjoy's Island THE Wizard
Of Casco.' "'rhc Troll Of Richmonds Is
| land" and The Passing of Bagnall."
The poetic spirit of the author, and his
ability to sound poetic depths. in metre,
at once musical rich in gerry. and full
OF feeling is shown in the prelude to this
volume:
The sea in the ofiiEg. white with foam
Breaks over the outer bar
Beyond the gray sand-dunes. nearing
home.
Is the CLINT of a ships tall spar
Above the surf. with the sea-birds scream,
Comes the sound of a loosened sail;
Through the slow dusk burns a ruddy
CLEAN
OF light from the starboard rail.
So in and out on the ebb and flow
OF the tide. the ships sail past
Till. with folded wings the winds drop
And the day is done at last.
But days that are dead are full of pain
So the reaper sings the song
The blossom falls with the ripencd grain
That swayed in the wind so long.
yet. now. as then. beyond the low
And the mists that overie
The ships sail over the azure shore
| And silently down the sky.
| And never the sunset mystery
But glimpses come with the sounding sea
| OF others so far away.
A considerable portion of the first
volume which lies before us is devoted
to the ancient lore of Cleeve's Neck
the historic old Falmouth or. as Mr..
PSylvester prefers to call 1t. old Cascoe,
the site of the present beautiful city OF
Portland. Naturally the historic Incl
dents which enter into these no
mances," are located to a considerable
extent along the shores Of the Casco or
Fore river. where many of the early
settlers had them homes.
| 1t is a vivid and inspiring picture
when Mr.. Sylvester has drawn of this
old-time community Of pioneer Maine
its people constantly menaced by hos
tile Indians. and the international dif-
ferences Of Great Britain and France
conflicts which. unfortunately. involved
the colonies of the mother countries
on the American side of the. Atlantic.
with vastly more disastrous and far