John Frederic Herbin

“ Loud from its rocky caverns, the deep-voiced neighbouring ocean5 Speaks, and in accents disconsolate answers the wail of the forest.
This is the forest primeval; but where are the hearts that beneath it Leaped like the roe, when he hears in the woodland the voice of the huntsman? Where is the thatch-roofed village, the home of Acadian farmers,— Men whose lives glided on like rivers that water the wood-lands,10 Darkened by shadows of earth, but reflecting an image of heaven? Waste are those pleasant farms, and the farmers for ever departed! ”

“ Sounds from unseen sources, voices of men and the crash of loading vessels, came to their ears with strange clearness and loudness.
"Shall we be able to get beyond the island before we anchor?" asked Winslow, surveying the enlarging head of the brown-colored bluff in the distance.
"Yes, sir," answered Len, with his hand on the useless tiller, and gazing ahead with thoughtful face. "The water is falling fast, and the tide is making inshore a little. We must make in behind the island for anchorage till the wind comes, or till the tide rises." ”

“ The blue of the sky gave of its glorious color to her being. The long stretch of bluff and cliff and wooded crest, and the magnificent sweep of the tide, though now fallen to its lowest ebb, and the dim blue line of Blomidon, and the rich, salty air, entered into her nature as an essence, and filled her with an exaltation of melancholy gladness, of happy intensity of feeling that almost led to tears. So is that intimate commingling of spirit and nature in the exquisite moments of pure physical existence. ”

“ Evangeline’s Land is romantic and beautiful at any time, but in apple-blossom time it is adorable; a riot of blossom everywhere, of purest white, cream and shell pink, and, in the midst of it all in a little hollow or dip in the road one comes upon the tiny village of Grand Pré—straggling down a gentle slope to the basin of Minas. ”

“ He was the highest type of the Acadian in form and feature, patriarchal in ripe old age, and calmly peaceful amid the conditions of a life removed from the bustling world, and faithful to the duties of his isolated existence. The sadness of his race he inherited as the only legacy bequeathed by an unfortunate people. This melancholy vein may be detected in the nature of the Acadians of to-day after a hundred and fifty years of transmission. This great inheritance of grief the generations must yet bear to mark their lives and to influence their living for another century. ”

“ And the soul of the maiden, between the stars and the fire-flies,1045 Wandered alone, and she cried, “O Gabriel! O my beloved! Art thou so near unto me, and yet I cannot behold thee? Art thou so near unto me, and yet thy voice does not reach me? Ah! how often thy feet have trod this path to the prairie! Ah! how often thine eyes have looked on the woodlands around me!1050 Ah! how often beneath this oak, returning from labour, Thou hast lain down to rest, and to dream of me in thy slumbers! When shall these eyes behold, these arms be folded about thee?” ”

“ Merry laughter and conversation were heard from every part of the boat. Under the morning sun that filled with glorious light the clear air, the whole blue sheet of the Basin spread before them, and the white fog-veil of Blomidon slowly melted away. The warm day lay open and [Pg 131] full of delightful repose, giving of its best everywhere. When at its best the glory of a Nova Scotia day on the Basin of Minas is not to be equalled anywhere for balmy freshness on the swelling flood of a Fundy tide fresh from the ocean. ”

“ Harvests were gathered in; and wild with the winds of September Wrestled the trees of the forest, as Jacob of old with the angel. All the signs foretold a winter long and inclement. Bees, with prophetic instinct of want, had hoarded their honey155 Till the hives overflowed; and the Indian hunters asserted Cold would the winter be, for thick was the fur of the foxes. Such was the advent of autumn. Then followed that beautiful season, Called by the pious Acadian peasants the Summer of All-Saints! ”

“ She was never without her on her walks about the shores of the island or mainland. Often Winslow accompanied them, but never did he find Miss Gaston alone. He sometimes wondered at this, but as Marie went among them as a quiet spirit, without intrusion, ever welcomed by them all, no restraint was ever put upon their conversation by her presence. Moreover, he as a man was outspoken, and while ever calm and deliberate in his manner, imparted a fearless and decided tone to each act of his life. ”

“ The wild luxurious beauty of the place to-day, its blossoms, its fruit, its vivid dunes, its picturesque water-ways, the daily romance of the rushing tide for which the little boats thirst on the sand hour by hour—bring back afresh the quaint pictures of its early days. The quiet grazing cattle might still be the hardy kine that lived through those early winters on the abundant after-feed of the settler’s dyked lands. ”

“ With her mental and moral growth was also the beauty of face and form which, never brilliant, was nevertheless of that high type which commands admiration and derives its strength from unaffected native loveliness. Her womanhood was of that pure quality seen only in the reposeful face and the half melancholy, languid relaxation of form utterly unconscious of itself.
To Grace Gaston every day that came found in her heart some hope for the change in the relations that existed between Winslow and her loved companion, Marie. ”

“ The memory of the courageous heart-high peasantry that first peopled and made home of a wilderness, remains fresh in the present-day Acadia.
The garden-plots cleared upon the uplands near their homes, their orchards laid out in rugged rows, still bloom for us who know that country. We still find the roads leading to the dykes by the rivers, even traces of the trails originally reaching back to the wild pastures; the dykes upon which so much time and labor were expended season after season—an arduous work when Acadia’s population was yet so small. ”

“ Then it came to pass that a pestilence fell on the city, Presaged by wondrous signs, and mostly by flocks of wild pigeons, Darkening the sun in their flight, with naught in their craws but an acorn.1300 And, as the tides of the sea arise in the month of September, Flooding some silver stream, till it spreads to a lake in the meadow, So death flooded life, and, o’erflowing its natural margin, Spread to a brackish lake the silver stream of existence. Wealth had no power to bribe, nor beauty to charm, the oppressor;1305 But all perished alike beneath the scourge of his anger;— Only, alas! ”

“ Tempered with a long life of labor, reared and trained within the sight and influence of the mighty changes of elemental nature, and in constant communication with its forces, and at last made wise at the shrine of sorrow, Pierre seemed to Winslow the embodiment of the highest qualities of ripe and noble old age. ”

“ Day with its burden and heat had departed, and twilight descending Brought back the evening star to the sky, and the herds to the homestead. Pawing the ground they came, and resting their necks on each other, And with their nostrils distended inhaling the freshness of evening.175 Foremost, bearing the bell, Evangeline’s beautiful heifer, Proud of her snow-white hide, and the ribbon that waved from her collar, Quietly paced and slow, as if conscious of human affection. Then came the shepherd back with his bleating flocks from the seaside, Where was their favourite pasture. ”

“ This chance did not occur, at least for some days after their stay, and then too late for the avoidance of that turn in the state of affairs which left for Miss Gaston the only unhappiness of her visit to Nova Scotia. It might be said that it was one of the regrets of her lifetime. She had found in Winslow a man of that quality which unites him to a woman of high nature in lasting affection. Such experiences are rare in practical life, but they have a force and quality which is only next to love in the highest sense between man and woman. ”

“ As to Marie, she was the same to him as she was when he left Pierre Island. He could not change the picture of her in his mind. Shy, gentle, and in the first blush of womanhood, wonderfully beautiful, he remembered, and with a strange light in her eyes which he had seen but a few times,—this was the recollection of the daughter of his friend Pierre, and this only when he gave her a thought.
So Grace Gaston was true to her trust and faithful to the charge she had placed upon herself. No mother more seriously considered the training and culture of her daughter. ”

“ Scattered like dust and leaves, when the mighty blasts of October Seize them, and whirl them aloft, and sprinkle them far o’er the ocean. Naught but tradition remains of the beautiful village of Grand-Pré.15
[Pg 24] Ye who believe in affection that hopes, and endures, and is patient, Ye who believe in the beauty and strength of woman’s devotion, List to the mournful tradition still sung by the pines of the forest; List to a Tale of Love in Acadie, home of the happy. ”

“ This is the compass-flower, that the finger of God has planted Here in the houseless wild, to direct the traveller’s journey1220 Over the sea-like, pathless, limitless waste of the desert. Such in the soul of man is faith. The blossoms of passion, Gay and luxuriant flowers, are brighter and fuller fragrance, But they beguile us, and lead us astray, and their odour is deadly. ”

“ On the right a strip of hardwood ran down the face of the cliff and shut off their view to the north-east, but on their left hand the rough formation extended for several hundred yards, patches of green shrubbery and woods alternating with rough stone broken off the cliff and sloping downward. Everything seemed to be clinging to the steep face of the mountain, and was apparently at any moment likely to lose its hold and go sliding and tumbling down into the sea. The wind often started a rock or slide of sand downward, and the noise of invisible movement often came to their ears. ”

“ Every aspect of the place, the almost hidden ruins here and there, Evangeline’s well, the rough stone cross that marks the grave of a village, the virility of the bronze Evangeline, make real the pathos of this people now scattered broadcast through America, in whose souls the love of their country, Acadia, is as potent now as then. Neither time nor the Deportation have caused them to lose [Pg 18] their identity as a distinct people, for a quarter of a million in America are the same Acadians who went into exile from Nova Scotia from 1755 to 1763. ”

“ When Marie did think of the possibility of seeing Winslow at Pierre Island, a fear and trembling seized upon her heart at times, and she longed for the presence of her friend, Miss Gaston, the woman she loved as only a woman can love who has no near relative in the world but a father.
She learned from her father that Len Lawson, her old playmate of the beach, whom she had now to drive from her life, had been away for several weeks, consulting skilful specialists, and trying to get a remedy for his malady. The curse was upon him. ”

“ Mute with wonder the Shawnee sat, and when she had ended Still was mute; but at length, as if a mysterious horror Passed through her brain, she spake, and repeated the tale of the Mowis; Mowis, the bridegroom of snow, who won and wedded a maiden,1140 But, when the morning came, arose and passed from the wigwam, Fading and melting away and dissolving into the sunshine, Till she beheld him no more, though she followed far into the forest. ”

“ The noise of a cart bumping over the rocks filled the cove with loud echoes, and the voice that guided them recalled Winslow to affairs about him. Marie ran to her father as he appeared in sight and spoke to him, in her anxiety expressing herself in the Acadian tongue.
Pierre came up towards the head of the cove and spoke encouragingly to Winslow.
"We will soon have you down now. The tide is well up, and when it is deep enough to save you from falling upon the rocks in case anything should happen to the rope or your strength should give out, you will be saved any more bruises." ”

“ At low tide there is very little river to be seen—it is reduced to a tiny stream that seems to trickle with difficulty through vast stretches of mud. But when the tide does come up it alters the whole appearance, and the place seems to come to life again as the strong current pushes its way up—running far up the little streams, and beneath the houses, which are built out over the river bed, at the bridge, on high wooden gates—giving a wonderfully picturesque effect, and reflecting all shades of color. ”

“ In an object outside herself were centred all the forces of her being. She realized herself no longer as the individuality of a few days previous. She reached out to something beyond her, and at the same time out of her reach, with all the passion her heart was capable of, suddenly strengthened into the full maturity of womanhood and conscious of the whole and single desire of her life.
Unfortunately for Marie, she was not made [Pg 64] happy by the sudden birth of love. Her nature's rapid development she was not prepared for. ”

“ But Evangeline’s heart was sustained by a vision, that faintly785 Floated before her eyes, and beckoned her on through the moonlight. It was the thought of her brain that assumed the shape of a phantom. Through those shadowy aisles had Gabriel wandered before her, And every stroke of the oar now brought him nearer and nearer. ”

“ No sign of human life met his eye along the whole stretch of shore. Out on the Basin the long trail of a steamer's smoke hung black in the summer morning air.
Winslow at last reached Amethyst Cove, where from the beach near the tide he examined the cliff carefully with his glass. He was curious to discover the secret of Kidd's diamond. Scattered veins of quartz ran in various parts of the perpendicular bluff, here and there showing the purple color peculiar to the amethyst of Cape Blomidon. ”

“ Welcome once more, my friends, who long have been friendless and homeless, Welcome once more to a home, that is better perchance than the old one! Here no hungry winter congeals our blood like the rivers ”

“ I reject it to-day as I see myself the last of the Pierre Gotros of the direct line. I look about me at Pierre Logis, and at the place of our labor for nearly a hundred and fifty years. Our pride was placed in a name. Our pride will die as our name will go out. The effect of so selfish an object and so personal a desire is manifest in our family now. The once despised and unconsidered female element of the name takes up the family line, and upon a woman depends the continuance of the Gotro blood, for the name is soon to be lost. ”

“ Still stands the forest primeval; but far away from its shadow, Side by side, in their nameless graves, the lovers are sleeping. Under the humble walls of the little Catholic churchyard, In the heart of the city, they lie, unknown and unnoticed. Daily the tides of life go ebbing and flowing beside them.1385 [Pg 84] Thousands of throbbing hearts, where theirs are at rest and for ever, Thousands of aching brains, where theirs no longer are busy, Thousands of toiling hands, where theirs have ceased from their labours, Thousands of weary feet, where theirs have completed their journey! ”

“ He had ample opportunity to learn that beneath the calm exterior, which always seemed unchanged in Winslow, was a great reserve of force and strength, and which he never attempted to trifle with. The one never took advantage of his position to work anything unmanly upon the other simply because he was in his employ. Nor would Len have submitted to imposition of any kind. One was perhaps as courageous as the other, but with the courage of Winslow was the strength of moral intelligence, the unobtrusive pride of a young manhood and a kind heart. ”

“ CHAPTER XII. THE BLUE VEIN.
"The wakened distance hears the falling rock
That gives to day thy treasure, as to greet
From the young world thou canst no longer hide."
Pierre welcomed Winslow heartily and with every evidence of pleasure. The old man had not returned home till he had been driven in by the tide, and Winslow came to the island, after spending a few hours with his friends, at high tide.
It should be understood, from the base of the cliff near the road boats could be rowed to the mainland, and on one of these Winslow had returned. ”

“ Len placed the glass to his eye, and the exclamation he made told how much of a surprise the glance gave him.
"Is that Pierre, the owner of the island?"
"Yes, sir."
"Who are the women?"
"The servant and his daughter."
"What is the daughter's name, and is she the older or the younger woman?" asked Winslow, making a mental surmise as to the cause of the interest evinced by the young master of the Marie in the people on the shore.
"The young woman with bare head is the daughter," replied Len, evasively. ”