SO WHO WAS WILLIAM DAWSON LESUEUR, AND WHY BRACEBRIDGE AND GRAVENHURST SHOULD BE IMPRESSED BY THE HISTORIC CONNECTION
NOT QUITE THE POSTAL CLERK, HISTORIANS HAVE PREVIOUSLY OBSERVED OF DR. LESUEUR
Listening to world news, these days, we probably all feel a little guilty, living in such a democratic and safe country, where missiles aren't criss-crossing the azure sky, and explosions don't rock the solitude every few minutes. There are no ugly, unsettling plumes of black smoke caused by bombing attacks, and no long lines of stretcher-bearers, running down the debris-strewn streets, parading the human casualties and miseries of war. It does then, seem moot on my part, and almost disrespectful to crisis all around us, to take this column space, to write about some misconception of local history, that occurred one hundred and fifty years ago. Aren't there more urgent concerns to deal with? More demanding editorials to pen? But even at its weakest point, it is still a story about history, and its truthful accounting; its interpretations and misunderstanding. It can be applied, as a legacy, to parallel world events, of similar scale, that have, for time and memoriam, caused inherent confusion, and the collateral damage of ongoing misconception. An unchallenged error in the chronicle. Even something routine, clerical, and unassuming, as the stroke of a civil servant's pen, on a postal document in the 1860's, caused an inaugural tribute, to be misconstrued instead, as a slight of protocol. This, without any urgency, is the question I have tried to answer for the past fifteen years. This is how long I have tried to represent the facts of August 1864, as relates to the official naming of the newly granted post office, in North Falls, Ontario.
"There is no person whose statement on any point, can be absolutely accepted; and any one who supposes that he can write a final authoritative account, of any historical event, is likely to find himself disappointed." W.D. LeSueur.
Suffice then, that I have, at the very least, made this attempt, in July 2014, to correct a misconception, of town history, that needs now to feel the cool freedom of a new generation, that may be looking for something, or someone, to inspire the future. Maybe this is one of those forgotten gems from the past, that can be resurrected, into a positive, glittering reunion for all concerned. You be the judge. Have I convinced you, that it's worth another look?
"In April, 1871, an article on the French poet, and critic, Sainte-Beuve, appeared in the 'Westminster Review'. It was for the most part highly appreciative of Ste.-Beauve's life-long commitment to 'the critical spirit'. In 1830 Ste.-Beuve had written, 'It is the nature of the critical spirit to be quick, suggestive, versatile, and comprehensive. The critical spirit is like a large, clear stream, which winds and spreads out around the works and monuments of poetry." Quoting this passage, in the original French, the author of the Westminster Review article, added that 'No words could more happily or accurately describe what criticism was, in his hands, throughout the whole of his long career.' Moreover, the writer claimed, Ste-Beuve was important not simply because he was critical, but also because he was systematic about it'."
"The first thing that strikes us when we look in Ste.-Bueve's works is, that criticism with him is not a mere thing of rules and precedents but, so to speak, a living science.' Ste.-Beuve had been adverse to all rigid systems of thought, and therefore, was suspicious when criticism was subordinated to any preconceived idea, or pre-established authority. Nevertheless, his criticism was not without its own controlling idea; it should consist of systematic intellectual enquiry. 'One consequence of the effort which Ste- Beuve made, to pursue criticism in a scientific spirit, is that of all critics he is the least dogmatic. 'Indeed,' included the anonymous reviewer, he is 'less a judge than an enquirer who tells us of his discoveries, and invites us to verify them for ourselves'."
The above passages were taken from the book, entitled "A Critical Spirit, The Thought of William Dawson LeSueur," by A.B. McKillop, for this Carleton Library Original publication, circa 1977. A few readers might be surprised, the humble postal clerk, often referred to by regional historians, in the past, as the man who awarded the postal titles, "Gravenhurst," in August 1862, and "Bracebridge," in August 1864, would be the subject of a Carleton University biography. It's critical, in the spirit of this enquiry, that we know more about W.D. LeSueur; so that those nagging questions about his motives, for naming our two South Muskoka towns, can finally be put in a more revealing and truthful light. The we can judge based on enlightenment, not on the fictions that have dogged the story for all these years.
He (LeSueur) was serious about literature, with great interest in the classics, as author McKillop points out. (I purchased an extra copy of his book, to donate to the Gravenhurst Archives Committee).
A.B. McKillop writes, "The author of that essay, had also been an enquirer more than a judge. Exactly a year earlier he had appeared before the Literary and Scientific Society, of Ottawa, to deliver a shorter version of the Westminster Review piece. Then entitled 'The Greatest Critic of the Age,' this critical appreciation of the French poet-critic (who had died only a few months earlier), was by a young Canadian civil servant named William Dawson LeSueur. By the year 1871, LeSueur, born in 1840, had worked for the Post Office Department of the Canadian civil service for fifteen years. He had by then completed his formal education, which had taken him from the Montreal High School to the Ontario Law School, and the University of Toronto. There he graduated to Silver Medallion in Classics in 1863. In his career as a civil servant he remained with the Post Office until his retirement in 1902 (from 1888 to 1902 he was chief of the Post Office money order system). After his retirement he became the Secretary of the Dominion Board of Civil Service Examiners.
"W.D. LeSueur's connection with the Literary and Scientific Society of Ottawa, was also a long one. Almost every year from 1871 until the turn of the twentieth century, LeSueur held an executive position with the group, either as Librarian, Vice-President, or (most frequently) President. This long association with an organization dedicated to the joint study of literature, and science, indicates that while LeSueur's occupation was that of a civil servant, his preoccupations far transcended the normal concerns of the administrator. Much of his biography must therefore be seen as an inner one, for his significant life was primarily that of the mind."
Author McKillop continues, by noting, "LeSueur insisted throughout his life, that the essence of civilization lay in an individual's ability to exercise, in a responsible fashion, a critical enquiry that asked nothing more than honesty and sincerity, and sought nothing less than truth. His was a moral as well as an intellectual vision. The thought of William Dawson LeSueur, as set forth in scores of essays published over the last quarter of the nineteenth century, provides abundant evidence of a mind that knew no intellectual boundaries. The range of its interests and the sources of its concern, were those of its age. LeSueur deserves, then, the attention of anyone interested in the intellectual and cultural history of Canada. The modern student will not only re-discover the most diverse and pre-eminent Canadian intellect, of the age of Macdonald, and Laurier, but also enter into the trans-Atlantic nature of the controversies, in which those of LeSueur's generation engaged."
"The fact that history and criticism today, are continually at war with the myth-making, legend forming, tendencies of mankind. It is not what is true that takes the strongest hold on the popular mind; it is what is cast in a mould to fit popular needs; and when the people want to believe a thing, it is very hard to prevent them doing so." W.D. LeSueur, "History: Its Nature and Methods," 1913.
The above quotation, by Dr. LeSueur, is probably the most profound to me, working on this project. As a result of writing popular histories, like LeSueur openly accused author, Stephen Leacock, of compiling a text to appease sponsors, as a non confrontational, critical, Canadian history, Muskoka historians simply didn't follow through on their research requirements. If they had been critical in their enterprise, they would have found it strange and awkward, and somewhat troubling, that LeSueur refused names, democratically chosen for both the new post office facilities, in McCabe's Landing, and North Falls. What would give this civil servant the impetus to do such a thing, risking a polite revolt of the inhabitants, of those same South Muskoka hamlets. Why didn't these historians, who have become iconic in the years since, address the issue of two names, apparently pulled out of a hat; or as a number have written, taking the name(s) from a book he (LeSueur) was reading at the time. Whenever I read these references, I get this image of LeSueur, on coffee break in his office, his feet up on the desk, reading either William Henry Smith's book, "Gravenhurst; or Thoughts on Good and Evil," circa summer of 1862, or "Bracebridge Hall," by Washington Irving, in the summer of 1864; 150 years ago, this coming Friday. This is the simplistic view that was taken, and some historians still accept as the truth, and again, I am drawn to the above quotation. "It is what is cast in a mould to fit popular needs." It is a difficult task, to then break this mould, and the progression of historical inaccuracy.
"How can school children, it may be asked, attain to such convictions? They can investigate for themselves and boldly settle doubtful historical problems? Must they not receive some one version of history on authority? They should receive nothing on authority, I would reply. They should be distinctly told that in history there is no authority in the strict sense of the word; that there are simply authors, some better, some worse informed, some more, some less competent; some with clearer, some with obscurer vision; some more accurate in observation and statement, some less so; some with too little imagination, some with too much; some whose facts have no theory to hold them together; some radical in their views and some conservative; some who theorize to excess, some whose judgements are warped by party passion or private interest; some flatterers of power, some of the populace; some mere rhetoricians, some special pleaders, some servile copyists, some simple prevaricators; finally that no one at his best is able to do more than approximate to the truth, in his redaction or interpretation of facts."
As a matter of irony, LeSueur's own words have come back to haunt us, in Gravenhurst and Bracebridge, because of his own lack of clarity, when he named the new hamlet post offices, in 1862 and 1864. How would history have favored Dr. LeSueur, had he simply written down, in both cases, the reasons he selected those two names, taken from books he approved? He was young at the time he named the communities, and may not have fully appreciated, what historians down the road, would gather from the evidence, of his unwelcome interventions, in the refusal of the names chosen; being McCabe's Landing and North Falls. Clarity then and now, might have allowed for 150 years plus of celebration, of both William Henry Smith, and Washington Irving, and even for LeSueur himself, who was no slouch with anything he put his mind to create and improve upon. Instead of my droning on about these three chaps, of our past, I might be heading out now, to have lunch at the "Sleepy Hollow Restaurant" in Bracebridge, or the "William Henry Smith Pub," in Gravenhurst, for a cold pint of ale. In South Muskoka, there might well be familiar names like "Ichabod Crane Lane," or "Rip Van Winkle" parkette; "Headless Horseman Avenue," or a "Squire Bracebridge," ice cream shop. Bracebridge, Ontario, might now have a strong tourism relationship with Irving's restored home, at Sunnyside, in New York, (of which I was trying to establish in 2000), and there might be an annual literary gathering, to celebrate the work of William Henry Smith, his book, "Gravennhurst," still being used in university studies to this day. (Look it up on "googlebooks"). How would we have benefitted over the long term, if only we had known, even a hundred years ago, that LeSueur's meddling, was actually meant to be a preamble honor, and deep provenance, for two tiny, struggling hamlets, in South Muskoka? As it turns out, in 2014, the toughest assignment I have ever experienced, as a regional historian, is to convince both communities, that W.D. LeSueur had only the best intentions, when he took those names, and granted them to our first post office outlets. There is a huge difference, when his handiwork is seen in its true, historic light, as being an honor; not the unwelcome intrusion it has been interpreted as, for the past 150 years. For both towns, it is an important provenance, whether it is ever observed this way, by either town, or not. History is what it is!
I think that if there is one highly critical aspect, of this general non-acceptance of what, for all intents and purposes, is a golden provenance, full of potential for both towns, it's in this issue, of LeSueur's intentions, selecting both names, from books and author, whose work he approved. He would not have selected names of books he disliked. As I wrote earlier, there is nothing in his background, as a postal clerk, literary critic, or historian, that exhibits any evidence whatsoever, that he was capable of being a practical joker, or even light-hearted in his writing efforts; or most important, would have made fun of the pioneer hamlets, by giving them names that could, in the future, have burdened the blossoming communities with unwanted attention; or been any source of unflattering anecdote. It wasn't in his character. Possibly he was a practical joker at home, and out with his friends, but certainly not when his professional services were involved.
Both communities should be proud of their association with not only William Henry Smith, and Washington Irving, but Dr. William Dawson LeSueur, all gentlemen of considerable accomplishment in the world of literature, philosophy, history and criticism. Does honoring these writers, come at the cost of reducing the character of our own century and a half's heritage; the Muskoka legacy of community building? Absolutely not, although there will be a few critics out there, who will suggest to the contrary, that we would be compromising our history, to impose the character of two well known authors, one from Britain, and the other from the United States, upon our Canadian values. We have to keep in mind, that W.D. LeSueur, the man who created this situation in the first place, became a leading national historian, with many scholarly publications to his credit. Also considering the fact, that both Smith and Irving became part of our legacy, probably without many in the settlements knowing about it, except LeSueur, since those dates, of 1862 and 1864. It was part of our South Muskoka history before Confederation, yet many still consider it an imposition of a post office clerk, tampering with our right to govern according to democratic rule.
I guess the bottom line here, is if we have worn the names "Gravenhurst," and "Bracebridge," successfully well, for all these years, why then would we consider it an error caused by LeSueur. How would history have treated our towns, with names like "McCabe's Landing," and "North Falls"? Not that there is anything wrong with the names, and there are still "McCabe" family members in Gravenhurst today. But if those two names, have not destined our communities to hard times, and precarious centuries, then we do have to offer some thanks, at the very least, to Dr. LeSueur, for awarding titles that have stood the test of time, and vigorous competition, from other neighbor communities for long and long.
In tomorrow's blog, I will have a little party planned, in the literary sense, to recognize the first of August, as the 150th anniversary of Bracebridge's official naming. It will be a low key celebration, but as it is the last major anniversary I'm going to be around for, at least in this mortal coil, I want it to be a little bit memorable. I have no plan, at its conclusion, to make any formal submission to either town council, on the reasons I believe, the naming provenance should be celebrated, not ignored. I will undoubtedly get pissed off, when I read again, that a committee has been set up to study the proposal, to have a bronze statue of Santa Claus, created by a noted sculptor, to be set down somewhere on the main street; to acknowledge I suppose, the town's long relationship with Santa's Village, opened back in the 1950's. What makes me mad, more than anything else, is the fact it warrants a committee's attention, when for my submission, back in the late 1990's, I couldn't even generate a wee spark of interest; or get an invitation to talk to just a few curious councillors, about the positives of their name connection to Washington Irving. So to jump to attention now, to consider a $40,000 expense, to sculpt a main street Santa, does seem a little superficial; versus taking a closer look at what provenance the town already has, that it has never fully utilized. As far as tourism goes, I don't think it's going out on a limb, to suggest, a Washington Irving promotion, would draw lots of international attention. Bracebridge was named as both an honor to the memory of Washington Irving, author of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," and "Rip Van Winkle," and to the picturesque town, built along the shore of the Muskoka River.
Will it ever be seen this way, or not? It would be a shame, if not, but the historian is only, in this case, the messenger.
More on Washington Irving, in the coming days.
Note: Son Robert and Andrew, have helped me, by producing a short video clip, with companion music Robert created, to go with Friday's blog. Like the Gravenhurst video, done for their 150th anniversary, I wanted a simple, contemporary, short video to highlight what I have long believed, was the great, overlooked story, of our South Muskoka history. Hope you can visit my blog, for the continuation of this special collection of stories about Washington Irving, William Henry Smith and William Dawson LeSueur.
FROM THE ARCHIVES AUGUST 2012
LEASE TAKE TIME TO VIEW THE COMMEMORATIVE MUSIC VIDEO, CELEBRATING THE 15OTH ANNIVERSARY. YOU CAN CLICK ONTO THE IMAGE ABOVE TO SEE THE VIDEO. DEPENDING ON YOUR INTERNET SERVICE, YOU MAY HAVE TO WAIT FOR THE VIDEO TO LOAD, BEFORE IT COMMENCES.
THE UNSUNG HERO OF GRAVENHURST - OR THE UNSUNG WRITER WE NEVER KNEW
WHY WE SHOULD GET TO KNOW WILLIAM HENRY SMITH
ONE THING'S FOR SURE. WHEN IT COMES AROUND TO THE 200TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE OFFICIAL NAMING OF GRAVENHURST, I WON'T BE AS SPRY AS I AM TODAY. AND THAT'S HALF AS SPRY AS A FEW YEARS AGO, WHEN I COULD STILL PLAY THREE PERIODS OF HOCKEY, AND HOIST A PINT IN THE TAVERN AT THE HOT STOVE LEAGUE.....WITHOUT HAVING TO CALL PARAMEDICS.
IF YOU THOUGHT THERE WAS GOING TO BE A PARADE DOWN MUSKOKA ROAD, TO RECOGNIZE THE NAMING OF OUR FIRST POST OFFICE, IN AUGUST 1862, IN HONOR OF THE GENTLEMAN WHO PENNED THE NAME "GRAVENHURST," WELL, THEN YOU WOULD HAVE OBVIOUSLY BEEN LINED-UP FOR NOTHING. THERE WASN'T A "WILLILAM HENRY SMITH" DAY, LIKE THEY HAVE FOR ROBBIE BURNS, AND THERE WASN'T A MEMORIAL BASEBALL GAME OR SOCCER MATCH HELD IN HIS HONOR. WHY WOULD THERE BE? SMITH WASN'T ALL THAT ATHLETIC ANYWAY. JUST A REALLY GOOD WRITER.
THE FACT THE TOWN DECIDED TO CELEBRATE THE 125TH ANNIVERSARY OF ITS INCORPORATION, WHICH IS LARGELY A CLERICAL, MUNICPAL THING, INSTEAD OF RECOGNIZING THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF ITS NAMING, BY POSTAL AUTHORITY WILLIAM DAWSON LESUEUR, IS JUST ONE OF THOSE THINGS.......I CAN'T EXPLAIN BUT DON'T FEEL THERE IS ANY REAL NECESSITY TO PURSUE THE MATTER, OTHER THAN TO MAKE SURE THIS LOCAL HISTORIAN UPHOLDS THE HONOR AND TRIBUTE OF THAT OCCASION IN AUGUST 1862. IT WAS THE EVENT THAT LESUEUR INTENDED AS AN HONOR TO THE SMALL HAMLET IN SOUTH MUSKOKA, AND A TRIBUTE TO AN AUTHOR HE FOUND A KINDRED SPIRIT, IN THE PASSIONATE PURSUIT OF GOOD LITERATURE. IT JUST DIDN'T HAPPEN QUITE THE WAY LESUEUR INTENDED IT, BECAUSE HE NEVER FULLY EXPLAINED THE PROVENANCE HE HAD BESTOWED TO THE NEW CITIZENS OF FLEDGLING GRAVENHURST. MAYBE IT WOULD BE DIFFERENT NOW, IF HE HAD OFFERED THIS EXPLANATION, AND THERE WOULD BE "SMITH DAYS" WITH WINE TASTING, REGATTAS, FOOD FESTIVALS, AND QUARTETS PLAYING IN NOOKS AND CRANNIES ALL OVER THIS TOWN.
ADMITTEDLY, IT IS A LITTLE SAD, YOU KNOW, THAT OUR TOWN HAS FELT IT UNIMPORTANT TO PURSUE THIS WONDERFUL CONNECTION, AND EVEN AS I HAVE BEEN PROMOTING THIS ANNIVERSARY FOR THE LAST TWO MONTHS, THERE HASN'T BEEN A WHISPER OF A RESPONSE......EVEN IN RETROSPECT, OFFERING AT THE VERY LEAST, A MUNICIPALLY ENDORSED PRESS RELEASE, ACKNOWLEDGING THEIR OWN HISTORIC MILESTONE. SEEING AS THEY CAN'T RECLAIM THE NAME "MCCABE'S LANDING," THE NAME LESUEUR REJECTED IN FAVOR OF SMITH'S, "GRAVENHURST," IT WOULD SEEM LOGICAL AND PROPORTIONAL TO THE REALITY "TIME WAITS FOR NO MAN," TO FINALLY EMBRACE THIS HERITAGE WITH ALL ITS LITERARY AND INTERNATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE. OF COURSE THIS IS MY OPINION, AND I'M NEVER CONSULTED TO EXPRESS IT.....BEYOND WHAT I MIGHT POUND ONTO MY BLOG-SPACE HERE AND NOW.
I WANT TO CARRY ON TODAY, WITH A LITTLE MORE BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIAL ABOUT WILLIAM HENRY SMITH, AND SOME OF THE OVERVIEWS MADE BY HIS WIFE, IN THE PRIVATELY PUBLISHED, 1875 MEMORIAL SECOND EDITION OF HIS BOOK, "GRAVENHURST; OR THOUGHTS ON GOOD AND EVIL," ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN 1861 / 62. I WILL FINISH THE FOUR PART BLOG-CHAPTERS, BY TAKING A CLOSER LOOK AT LUCY SMITH'S OVERVIEW OF HER HUSBAND'S WRITING AND LOVE FOR LIFE.
A GENTLE AND KIND MAN, WHO CHALLENGED HIS READERS TO THINK CRITICALLY
(A small section repeated from yesterday for context) "A visit paid to a poor woman in distress, and a conversation held with a dear friend, who keeps alive in me the habit of philosophical discussion, had led my thoughts in this direction. It was the hour of sunset. As I paused upon the parapet of our little bridge, the distant Welsh hills were glowing in their purple splendour; the river ran gold at my feet; every branch of every graceful tree that hung silently in the air received and reflected a new beauty from that entire scene of enchantment, to which also it brought its own contribution. Such harmony there is in nature. The whole which is formed itself of separate parts, gives to each part its meaning and charm," writes Mr. Smith.
"Yet even here, in this scene of enchantment, I was compelled to recall to my imagination that poor woman whose desolate hearth I had lately visited - I was compelled to revive those discordant scenes of war, of carnage, of treachery, of famine, which my friend, an old Indian general, had been dilating upon. No harmony then, and little peace, in this other world of humanity. Is there truly some diabolic element amongst us? Has the beneficient harmony which human nature should disclose, been invaded, broken up, irrecoverably destroyed by some tyrannous spirit of evil? It seems so."
Smith responds to his own question, answering that, "I reflected within myself - since wherever science has penetrated, disorder and confusion disappear, and a harmonious whole is presented to us, it may happen that this sense of diabolic confusion in the arena of human life would vanish before light of a wider and clearer knowledge."
The passage above would have appealed to William Dawson LeSueur's philosophy of critical thought, and found the historical sensibility of attaining a "the light of a wider and clearer knowledge." LeSueur, a huge advocate of using as many resources as possible, to ascertain the truth of situations, and the stability of historic fact, would have had possession of Smith's book, in 1862, as he was a well known literary critic, and author of reviews, when not working as a federal civil service with the Post Office Department. It was in 1862 that LeSueur borrowed the name of Smith's book, and awarded it to the hamlet post office of the former McCabe's Landing. As LeSueur was not a practical joker, it must be assumed he found it an honor to the book, the author, and the community, when he selected this title, from a newly released, scholarly book, that by the way, is still in print and considerable demand to this day. You can read the entire book by visiting Google Books, and typing in the author's name and the title of the book.
"And now let me say a word or two of the Village of Gravenhurst, near to which I sit and write, and of the friends whose conversations I have here reported," writes Smith. "But, afterall, I cannot describe this Gravenhurst except by expressions which would serve equally well for hundreds of villages in England. (For Smith, the name is fictitious, even though there is an actual village of Gravenhurst in Bedfordshire). "It is a commonplace ordinary village. So much the better, perhaps, for me who have to treat what is common and general amongst mankind. It is well to have under my eye a specimen easily examined of our ordinary pleasures, afffections, miseries, errors and truths; and I think that the more carefully such a specimen were examined the more marvellous would human life appear. I think too, that such an examination would kindle in us a rational love of this human life."
He suggests, "Here is this village of Gravenhurst - now growing fast into a town - with its long straggling street, its church, its chapel, its bridge over the river, its green fields through which that river flows - what could be more commonplace? The country, we the inhabitants, think beautiful, but it boasts nothing to invite the stranger or tourist, and the villagers are certainly of a quite ordinary stamp. It has its outlying gentry, its clergy, its doctor, and here and there an exceptional character - a curiosity, as we say. If it had do curiosities of this kind it would not be an ordinary village, but a most rare and unexampled one. But this village of Gravenhurst - seated amongst its fields and its pastures, with its sky and the moving clouds above it, and its infinite horizon, and its births, marriages, and deaths of most ordinary people, would be an endless theme for poet or philosopher. To the man of genius this commonplace of nature and of man is inexhaustible.
"The poet wants nothing else; and of the philosopher the frequency or generality of a fact, or a passion, or a thought, augments its value incalculably. I only wish I had the power given me to represent this commonplace in the glory and the novelty it sometimes reveals itself to me. I wish I had the power given me to teach some men whom I could name - strong headed men perchance, but prone to ponder on the mere dust and dross of humanity - to look abroad with their hearts in their eyes, and note the beauty and wonder there is in the daily spectacle, and the daily passion of our lives."
"Commonplace! Look up! What is that apparition of dazzling brightness rising softly upon the blue sky from behind the those tall and massive elms? If you saw it for the first time in your life you would say it must be some celestial visitant. Is it light itself from heaven taking shape, and just softened and subdued to the endurance of mortal vision. It is nothing but a cloud! Mere vapour that the unseen wind moves and moulds, and that the sun shines on for a little time. And now it has risen above the massive and lofty tree, and throws light upward to the sky, and throws its pleasant shadow down upon the earth - pleasant shadow that paces along the meadows, leaving behind a greater brilliancy on tree and grass, and hedge, and flower, than what, for a moment it had eclipsed. It is all commonplace. Light and shadow, and the river, the meadow with its clover blossoms and childish buttercups," writes Smith so eloquently, of these taken-for-granted country scenes, we might observe in passing, but seldom spend much time contemplating, for the intracacies of their nature.
In tommorrow's blog, I will conclude this brief memorial / anniversary tribute to author / philospher William Henry Smith, quoting from his wife Lucy's final words, in the 1875 edition of "Gravenhurst," about his distinguished life and career. It won't be marked by the launch of an anniversary hot-air balloon, or the setting up of a William Henry Smith "petting zoo," for the day, or be the subject of a lecture at the Opera House. No, dear readers, it will be a simple, final tribute to both William Dawson LeSueur, the brilliant chap who gave us our name, and William Henry Smith, who so graciously gave us a wonderful life of literature, and literary review.
Don't forget to check out the music video, by clicking on the box, at the top of the page, to engage the You Tube connection.
Thanks for visiting today. Please join me for the conclusion of this four part series, tommorrow. Until then......
CONCLUSION -
PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO VIEW THE COMMEMORATIVE MUSIC VIDEO CELEBRATING THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE NAMING OF GRAVENHURST, ONTARIO. WHEN YOU CLICK ON BOX, YOU MAY HAVE TO WAIT SEVERAL MOMENTS FOR THE VIDOE TO LOAD.
COULD WE EVER FORGE A RELATIONSHIP WITH THE HERITAGE OF WILLIAM HENRY SMITH?
WHAT WE ARE MISSING, OF OUR LEGITIMATE LITERARY CONNECTION?
A FEW MOMENTS AGO, I WAS STUCK IN A LAWNCHAIR ON THE LAWN OF BIRCH HOLLOW, OUR TINY RESIDENCE ADJACENT TO THE BOG, AND FRANKLY, I HAD TWO CHOICES IN FRONT OF ME. ENJOY THE TRULY AMAZING SUMMER AFTERNOON, LISTEN TO THE BIRDS CHIRPING FROM THE LILAC BRANCHES, ENJOY THE AROMA OF THE SWEET GRASS GROWING SOMEWHERE CLOSE, AND WATCHING THE FAT CLOUDS FLOAT FROM ONE HORIZON TO THE OTHER. OR I COULD RISE AND CHALLENGE THIS FINAL CHAPTER, OF THE FOUR PART SERIES ON THE 15OTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE NAMING OF THE FIRST GRAVENHURST POST OFFICE, IN AUGUST 1862, AFTER THE TITLE OF BRITISH AUTHOR, WILLIAM HENRY SMITH'S BOOK, "GRAVENHURST; OR THOUGHTS ON GOOD AND EVIL."
I TRIED TO GET OUT OF THE COMFORTABLE ACCOMMODATION THREE OR FOUR TIMES, AND ON EACH OCCASION, I FOUND REASON TO SIT BACK DOWN, AND CONTEMPLATE FOR A FEW MOMENTS LONGER. THE SCENE IN FRONT OF ME, LOOKING OUT OVER THE BOG, OUR BEAUTIFUL LOWLAND HERE IN THE CALYDOR NEIGHBORHOOD, OF GRAVENHURST, AFFORDS THE WRITER EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO BE INSPIRED......IF SO DESIRED. I HAVE FOUND THIS SHADY SPOT, ON THE HOT DAYS OF THE SUMMER, A PERFECT RETREAT WITH PEN AND PAD, AND I MUST SAY, IT HAS BEEN NO WORK AT ALL, TO SPEND MOST OF A MORNING OR AFTERNOON, FINDING THINGS TO WRITE ABOUT WITH THIS SAME, EVER-CHANGING VENUE. THE MOOD OF THE LANDSCAPE CHANGES CONSTANTLY, AT THE WHIM OF A RISING BREEZE; OR THE SUDDEN EVENT OF ENCROACHING CLOUD COVER, THAT CHANGES SO DRAMATICALLY THE LIGHT AND SHADOW, WHICH CONTRASTS STARKLY, THESE IMPOSING TALL PINES, LEANING BIRCH AND WAVERING, ALMOST FLOATING CAT-TAILS DEEP IN THE BASIN. IT'S NOT HARD WHATSOEVER, FALLING GENTLY INTO THE WORK OF WILLIAM HENRY SMITH, AND HIS OWN COMPELLING OBSERVATIONS OF THE "FICTITIOUS" GRAVENHURST, AND ITS NATURAL ADORNMENTS. THERE IS NO FICTION HERE TODAY. THIS IS OUR WORLD. THIS IS OUR GRAVENHURST. THIS IS MY LAWNCHAIR, OF WHICH I MUST NOW VACATE, IN ORDER TO COMPLETE THIS FINAL BLOG-CHAPTER ON THE GOOD MR. SMITH.
INVIGORATED AS A WRITER, CONTENTED BY HIS CRAFT, ILLUMINATED BY TRUTH
"That must have been a happy home at North End, Hammersmith, into which, during the January of 1808, William Henry Smith was born, the youngest of a large family," wrote his wife Lucy, in 1873, a year after the author's death in England. "His father, a man of strong natural intelligence, having early made a fortune sufficient for his wants, early retired from business, in consequence mainly of an asthmatic tendency, which had harnessed him from the age of 30. The impression I gained of him from his son's description was that of one peculiarly fond of quiet and books, but whose will gave law to his household, and was uniformly seconded by the loving loyalty of his wife.
"Here is another glimpse of the enjoyments of those early days. The cheerful drawing room in the Hammersmith home had a window at both ends. Round the one that looked into the garden clustered the white blossoms or hung the luscious - a swan egg - the life of which was never met in later years. From the other window the children could watch the following spectacle, which my husband evidently enjoyed recalling in a notice of 'Mr. Knight's Reminiscences, published in 1864." In the words of William Smith, from his vantage point as a child, recalled:
"Very pleasant is this looking back over a period of history through which we have too lived. Give a boy a telescope, and if he is far enough away from home, the first or the greatest delight he has in the use of it, is to point it back, to the house he lives in. To see the pailings of his own garden, to see his father at work in it, or a younger brother playing in it, is a far greater treat than if you were to show him the coast of France or any other distant object. And so it is with the past in time. If the telescope of the historian brings back to us events through which we have lived, and which were already fading away in the memory, he gives us quite a peculair pleasure"
One of Smith's favorite childhood memories, addressed the matter of changing modes of transportation in England, and the wheels of progress that had brought forth, the steaming train engine, winding through the countryside on those silver rails.
"This great revolution in our mode of travelling, the substitution of the steam engine for the horse, will soon be matter of history, and older men will begin to record, with that peculiar zest which belongs to the recollection of youth, the aspect which the highway roads leading out of London presented in their time. The railway-train rushing by you at its full speed is sublime - it deserves no timid epithet. You stand perhaps in the country, on one of those little bridges thrown over the line for the convenience of the farmer, who would else find his fields hopelessly bisected. A jet of steam is seen on the horizon, a whir of a thousand wheels grows louder and louder on the ear, and there rushes under your feet the very realization of Milton's dream, who saw the chariot of God, instinct with motion, self-impelled, thundering over the plains of heaven. You look round, and already in the distant landscape the triumphal train is bearing its beautiful standard of ever-rising clouds, white as the highest that rest stationary in the sky, and of exquisitely involved movement.
"For an instant the whole country is animated as if by the stir of battle: when the spectacle has quite passed how inexpressibly flat and desolate and still, have our familiar fields become. Nothing seems to have a right to exist that can be so still and stationary." Smith continues, "Yet grand as this spectacle is, we revert with pleasure to some boyish recollections of the high road and to picturesque effects, produced by quite other means. We are transported in imagination to a bay window, that commanded the great western railroad - The Bath Road, as people at the time often called it. Every evening came, in rapid succession, the earth tingling with the musical thread of their horses, seven mail coaches out of London. The dark-red coach, the scarlet guard standing up in his solitary little dickey behind, the tramp of the horses - can one ever forget them? For some miles out of London, the guard was kept on his feet, blowing his horn, to warn all slower vehicles to make way for his Majesty's mails. There was a turnpike within sight of us; how the horses dashed through it! With not the least abatement of speed.
"If some intolerable blunderer stopped the way, and that royal coachman had to draw up his team, making the splinter bars rattle together, we looked upon it as almost an act of high treason. If the owner of that blockading cart had been immediately led off to execution, we boys should have thought he had but his just deserts. Our mysterious seven were still more exciting to the imagination when, in the dark winter nights, only the two vivid lamps could be seen borne along by the trampling coursers. No darkness checked the speed of the mail; a London fog which brought ordinary vehicles to a standstill, could not altogether subdue our Royal mails. The procession came flaring with torches, men shouting before it, and a man with a huge link at the head of each horse. It was a thrilling and a somewhat fearful scene." Smith, on reflection of what he had seen and witnessed, wrote, "The stream to the tree - I shine, you shade, and so the beauty of the world is made." And he penned the verse, "Rested or moved upon its brow, and lo, it softens into beauty now - Blooms like a flower. With us 'tis much the same, - from man to man, as the deep shadows roll, breaks forth the beauty of the human soul." (Taken from A Tourist's Notebook)
THE AUTHOR'S FINAL CHAPTER
"I was quite alone with my love. I got on the bed behind him, the better to prop him in what seemed an easy sleep -the hands and feet still warm. His head passed gradually from the pillow to my breast and there the cherished head rested firmly; the breathing grew gentler and gentler," wrote Lucy Smith, while caring for her gravely ill husband, in the year 1872.
She writes, "Never shall I forget the great awe, the brooding presence with which the room was filled. My heart leapt wildly with a new sensation, but it was not fear. Only it would have seemed profane to utter even my illimitable love, or to call upon his name. The head grew damp and very heavy; my arms were under him. Then the sleep grew quite quiet, and as the church clock began to strike ten, I caught a little, little sigh as a new-born infant might give in waking - not a tremor, not a thrill of the frame; and then Vi came back with Clara's nurse (who have a peculiar love and admiration for him, I said might come up). I told them he was gone, and I thanked God for the perfect peace in which he passed away. He was buried in the Brighton Cemetery, in a spot at present still secluded, and over which the larks sing joyously. There a plain grey granite headstone rises 'to his pure and cherished memory,' with just his name and two dates, and this one line, long associated with him in my mind, and which all who knew him have felt to be appropriate. 'His soul was like a star, and dwelt apart'."
William Henry Smith once wrote, "There comes a time when neither fear nor hope are necessary to the pious man; but he loves righteousness for righteousness' sake, and love is all in all. It is not joy at escape from future perdition that he now feels; nor is it hope for some untold happiness in the future; it is a present rapture of piety, and resignation, and love - a present that fills eternity. It asks nothing, it fears nothing; it loves and it has no petition to make. God takes back His little child unto Himself - a little child that has no fear, and is all trust."
I truly believe, if such a chance prevailed, William Smith might find our community here, in South Muskoka, to be an interesting, dynamic, and contenting place in which to live, and a friendly place to visit. If his ghost and William Dawson LeSueur's apparition, were found to be walking side by side, along our main street, one tuned to such things, might hear the two writers admit, to "nice place they've got here!" Of this then, we concur.
William Dawson LeSueur intended the name "Gravenhurst" to be a tribute to our town, a good book, and a British author, William Smith, who he had considerable respect and admiration. This is the final line. I can't prove this further than I have, at present, and it is ultimately up to the people of our town, to one day feel the honor and provenance of our shared history with biography......entitling us to use his name proudly, and frequently, when we are asked........"Where did the name Gravenhurst come from?" It would be so nice, to this historian's ears, to hear someone speak up and say, "We were named after a great book and an accomplished author, William Henry Smith, and his book, 'Gravenhurst, or Thoughts on Good and Evil." And oh yes, we were named by a great historian, author, literary critic, by the name of William Dawson LeSueur, a federal civil servant with a little bit extra.
Thanks so much for joining this blog-series commemorating the 150th anniversary of the naming of Gravenhurst, Ontario, Canada. Please join me again soon
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