Evangeline: Part The First. Ii. Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

Rhyme Scheme: ABCDAEFGHIJKLMJHNOJP QRS TUVAUAAJWXYGBAZIAIIJ IIIHA2IIF AIPB2IC2AD2IPIHAEE2A IAF2 HIG2PH2EGQUI G2WHI2J2 PK2IIHL2M2 IN2O2 G2K2EIQI AIJJQP2Q2J2G2J IJR2

NOW had the season returned when the nights grow colder and longerA
And the retreating sun the sign of the Scorpion entersB
Birds of passage sailed through the leaden air from the ice boundC
Desolate northern bays to the shores of tropical islandsD
Harvests were gathered in and wild with the winds of SeptemberA
Wrestled the trees of the forest as Jacob of old with the angelE
All the signs foretold a winter long and inclementF
Bees with prophetic instinct of want had hoarded their honeyG
Till the hives overflowed and the Indian hunters assertedH
Cold would the winter be for thick was the fur of the foxesI
Such was the advent of autumn Then followed that beautiful seasonJ
Called by the pious Acadian peasants the Summer of All SaintsK
Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light and the landscapeL
Lay as if new created in all the freshness of childhoodM
Peace seemed to reign upon earth and the restless heart of the oceanJ
Was for a moment consoled All sounds were in harmony blendedH
Voices of children at play the crowing of cocks in the farm yardsN
Whir of wings in the drowsy air and the cooing of pigeonsO
All were subdued and low as the murmurs of love and the great sunJ
Looked with the eye of love through the golden vapors around himP
While arrayed in its robes of russet and scarlet and yellowQ
Bright with the sheen of the dew each glittering tree of the forestR
Flashed like the plane tree the Persian adorned with mantles and jewelsS
-
Now recommenced the reign of rest and affection and stillnessT
Day with its burden and heat had departed and twilight descendingU
Brought back the evening star to the sky and the herds to the homesteadV
Pawing the ground they came and resting their necks on each otherA
And with their nostrils distended inhaling the freshness of eveningU
Foremost bearing the bell Evangeline's beautiful heiferA
Proud of her snow white hide and the ribbon that waved from her collarA
Quietly paced and slow as if conscious of human affectionJ
Then came the shepherd back with his bleating flocks from the seasideW
Where was their favorite pasture Behind them followed the watch dogX
Patient full of importance and grand in the pride of his instinctY
Walking from side to side with a lordly air and superblyG
Waving his bushy tail and urging forward the stragglersB
Regent of flocks was he when the shepherd slept their protectorA
When from the forest at night through the starry silence the wolves howledZ
Late with the rising moon returned the wains from the marshesI
Laden with briny hay that filled the air with its odorA
Cheerily neighed the steeds with dew on their manes and their fetlocksI
While aloft on their shoulders the wooden and ponderous saddlesI
Painted with brilliant dyes and adorned with tassels of crimsonJ
Nodded in bright array like hollyhocks heavy with blossomsI
Patiently stood the cows meanwhile and yielded their uddersI
Unto the milkmaid's hand whilst loud and in regular cadenceI
Into the sounding pails the foaming streamlets descendedH
Lowing of cattle and peals of laughter were heard in the farm yardA2
Echoed back by the barns Anon they sank into stillnessI
Heavily closed with a jarring sound the valves of the barn doorsI
Rattled the wooden bars and all for a season was silentF
-
In doors warm by the wide mouthed fireplace idly the farmerA
Sat in his elbow chair and watched how the flames and the smoke wreathsI
Struggled together like foe in a burning city Behind himP
Nodding and mocking along the wall with gestures fantasticB2
Darted his own huge shadow and vanished away into darknessI
Faces clumsily carved in oak on the back of his arm chairC2
Laughed in the flickering light and the pewter plates on the dresserA
Caught and reflected the flame as shields of armies the sunshineD2
Fragments of song the old man sang and carols of ChristmasI
Such as at home in the olden time his fathers before himP
Sang in their Norman orchards and bright Burgundian vineyardsI
Close at her father's side was the gentle Evangeline seatedH
Spinning flax for the loom that stood in the corner behind herA
Silent awhile were its treadles at rest was its diligent shuttleE
While the monotonous drone of the wheel like the drone of a bagpipeE2
Followed the old man's song and united the fragments togetherA
As in a church when the chant of the choir at intervals ceasesI
Footfalls are heard in the aisles or words of the priest at the altarA
So in each pause of the song with measured motion the clock clickedF2
-
Thus as they sat there were footsteps heard and suddenly liftedH
Sounded the wooden latch and the door swung back on its hingesI
Benedict knew by the hob nailed shoes it was Basil the blacksmithG2
And by her beating heart Evangeline knew who was with himP
'Welcome ' the farmer exclaimed as their footsteps paused on the thresholdH2
'Welcome Basil my friend Come take thy place on the settleE
Close by the chimney side which is always empty without theeG
Take from the shelf overhead thy pipe and the box of tobaccoQ
Never so much thyself art thou as when through the curlingU
Smoke of the pipe or the forge thy friendly and jovial face gleamsI
Round and red as the harvest moon through the mist of the marshes '-
Then with a smile of content thus answered Basil the blacksmithG2
Taking with easy air the accustomed seat by the firesideW
'Benedict Bellefontaine thou hast ever thy jest and thy balladH
Ever in cheerfullest mood art thou when others are filled withI2
Gloomy forebodings of ill and see only ruin before themJ2
Happy art thou as if every day thou hadst picked up a horseshoe '-
Pausing a moment to take the pipe that Evangeline brought himP
And with a coal from the embers had lighted he slowly continuedK2
'Four days now are passed since the English ships at their anchorsI
Ride in the Gaspereau's mouth with their cannon pointed against usI
What their design may be is unknown but all are commandedH
On the morrow to meet in the church where his Majesty's mandateL2
Will be proclaimed as law in the land Alas in the mean timeM2
Many surmises of evil alarm the hearts of the people '-
Then made answer the farmer 'Perhaps some friendlier purposeI
Brings these ships to our shores Perhaps the harvests in EnglandN2
By untimely rains or untimelier heat have been blightedO2
And from our bursting barns they would feed their cattle and children '-
'Not so thinketh the folk in the village ' said warmly the blacksmithG2
Shaking his head as in doubt then heaving a sigh he continuedK2
'Louisburg is not forgotten nor Beau S jour nor Port RoyalE
Many already have fled to the forest and lurk on its outskirtsI
Waiting with anxious hearts the dubious fate of to morrowQ
Arms have been taken from us and warlike weapons of all kindsI
Nothing is left but the blacksmith's sledge and the scythe of the mower '-
Then with a pleasant smile made answer the jovial farmerA
'Safer are we unarmed in the midst of our flocks and our cornfieldsI
Safer within these peaceful dikes besieged by the oceanJ
Than our fathers in forts besieged by the enemy's cannonJ
Fear no evil my friend and to night may no shadow of sorrowQ
Fall on this house and hearth for this is the night of the contractP2
Built are the house and the barn The merry lads of the villageQ2
Strongly have built them and well and breaking the glebe round about themJ2
Filled the barn with hay and the house with food for a twelvemonthG2
Ren Leblanc will be here anon with his papers and inkhornJ
Shall we not then be glad and rejoice in the joy of our children '-
As apart by the window she stood with her hand in her lover'sI
Blushing Evangeline heard the words that her father had spokenJ
And as they died on his lips the worthy notary enteredR2

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow



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