Laura Secord, the heroine of 1812. - A Drama. and Other Poems.

Sarah Anne Curzon

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• Publié par: naching
• Publié le: 08 décembre 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 57
• Langue: English

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Title: Laura Secord, the heroine of 1812.
A Drama. And Other Poems.
Author: Sarah Anne Curzon
Release Date: January, 2005 [EBook #7228]
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[This file was first posted on March 28, 2003]
Edition: 10
Language: English
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LAURA SECORD, THE HEROINE OF 1812. ***
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LAURA SECORD, THE HEROINE OF 1812:
A DRAMA.A DRAMA.
AND OTHER POEMS.
BY SARAH ANNE CURZON


"And among them all move the majestic, white-robed bards, striking their
golden harps, and telling the tales of the days of old, and handing down the names
of the heroes for ever."—JUSTIN H. MCCARTHY
"The soul of the book is whatever beautiful and true and noble we can find in
it."—KINGSLEY'S "HYPATIA."




TO ALL TRUE CANADIANS,
OF WHATEVER DERIVATION,
THIS VOLUME IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED
BY
THE AUTHOR.




PREFACE.
The drama of "Laura Secord" was written to rescue from oblivion the name of a brave woman, and set it
in its proper place among the heroes of Canadian history. During the first few years of her residence in
Canada the author was often astonished to hear it remarked, no less among educated than uneducated
Canadians, that "Canada has no history;" and yet on every hand stories were current of the achievements of
the pioneers, and the hardships endured and overcome by the United Empire Loyalists. Remembering that,
as soon as she had conquered the merest rudiments of reading and grammar at school, she was set to learn
English History, and so become acquainted with the past of her country, it seemed to the writer that there
was something lacking in a course of teaching that could leave Canadians to think that their country had no
historical past. Determined to seek out for herself the facts of the case, it was with feelings of the deepest
interest that she read such of the contributions to the newspaper press as came in her way during the debate
with regard to the pensions asked of Government for the surviving veterans of 1812 in 1873-4. Among these
was incidentally given the story of Mrs. Secord's heroic deed in warning Fitzgibbon. Yet it could not pass
without observation that, while the heroism of the men of that date was dwelt upon with warm appreciation
and much urgency as to their deserts, Mrs. Secord, as being a woman, shared in nothing more tangible than
an approving record. The story, to a woman's mind, was full of pathos, and, though barren of great
incidents, was not without a due richness of colouring if looked at by appreciative eyes. Nor were the results
of Laura Secord's brave deed insignificant. Had the Americans carried Beaver Dams at that juncture, the
whole peninsula was before them—all its supplies, all its means of communication with other parts of the
Province. And Canada—Upper Canada, at least—would have been in the hands of the invaders until, by a
struggle too severe to be contemplated calmly, they had been driven forth. To save from the sword is surely
as great a deed as to save with the sword; and this Laura Secord did, at an expense of nerve and muscle fullyequal to any that are recorded of the warrior. To set her on such a pedestal of equality; to inspire other hearts
with loyal bravery such as hers; to write her name on the roll of Canadian heroes, inspired the poem that
bears her name. But the tribute to her memory would not be complete were it to omit an appeal to
Canadians, especially to the inhabitants of this Province, who, in their prosperity owe to her so much, to do
their part, and write her name in enduring marble upon the spot where she lies buried.
Nor does it seem asking more than a graceful act from the Government of the Dominion—a Dominion
which, but for her, might never have been—to do its share in acknowledgment. One of her daughters still
lives, and if she attain to her mother's age has yet nearly a decade before her.
The drama of "Laura Secord" was written in 1876, and the ballad a year later, but, owing to the inertness
of Canadian interest in Canadian literature at that date, could not be published. It is hoped that a better time
has at length dawned.
S. A. CURZON.
TORONTO, 1887.




CONTENTS
LAURA SECORD, THE HEROINE OF THE WAR OF 1812
A BALLAD OF 1812
THE QUEEN'S JUBILEE
THE HERO OF ST. HELEN'S ISLAND
OUR VETERANS OF 1812. (A PLEA)
LOYAL
ON QUEENSTON HEIGHTS
NEW ORLEANS, MONROE, MAYOR
THE SONG OF THE EMIGRANT
TO THE INDIAN SUMMER
IN JUNE
LIVINGSTONE, IN MEMORIAM
THE QUEEN AND THE CRIMEAN SOLDIERS
TO A CHILD
HOME
LOST WITH HIS BOAT
LIFE IN DEATH
INVOCATION TO RAIN
REMONSTRANCE WITH "REMONSTRANCE"
THE ABSENT ONESAWAY
POOR JOE
FRAGMENTS
THE SWEET GIRL GRADUATE. (A COMEDY)
FABLES: ORIGINAL AND FROM THE FRENCH.
THE CHOICE
INSINCERITY
THE TWO TREES Le May.
FABLE AND TRUTH Florian.
THE CALIPH Florian.
THE BLIND MAN AND THE PARALYTIC Florian.
DEATH Florian.
THE HOUSE OF CARDS Florian.
THE BULLFINCH AND THE RAVEN Florian.
THE WASP AND THE BEE Florian.
TRANSLATIONS.
IN MEMORY OF THE HEROES OF 1760 Le May.
THE SONG OF THE CANADIAN VOLTIGEURS Le May.
THE LEGEND OF THE EARTH Jean Rameau.
THE EMIGRANT MOUNTAINEER Chateaubriand.
FROM "LIGHTS AND SHADES" Hugo.
VILLANELLE TO ROSETTE Desportes.
NOTES
APPENDICES




MEMOIR OF MRS. SECORD
It is at all times an amiable and honourable sentiment that leads us to enquire into the antecedents of those
who, by the greatness of their virtues have added value to the records of human history. Whether suchinquiry increases our estimation of such value or not, it must always be instructive, and therefore inspiring.
Under this impression I have sought on every hand to learn all that could be gathered of the history of one of
Canada's purest patriots. As Dr. Ryerson aptly says in his U. E. Loyalists and their Times, "the period of the
U. E. Loyalists was one of doing, not recording," therefore little beyond tradition has conserved anything of
all that we would now like to know of the heroism, the bravery, the endurance, the trials of that bold army of
men and women, who, having laid strong hands on the primeval forest, dug wide and deep the foundations
of a nation whose greatness is yet to come. In such a light the simple records that follow will be attractive.
Laura Secord came of loyal blood. She was the daughter of Mr. Thomas Ingersoll, the founder of the
town of Ingersoll, and his wife Sarah, the sister of General John Whiting, of Great Barrington, Berkshire
County, Mass. At the close of the War of 1776, Mr. Ingersoll came to Canada on the invitation of Governor
Simcoe, an old friend of the family, and founded a settlement on the banks of the Thames in Oxford County.
On the change of government, Mr. Ingersoll and his struggling settlement of eighty or ninety families found
their prospects blighted and their future imperilled; Mr. Ingersoll therefore saw it necessary to remove to
Little York, and shortly afterward settled in the township of Etobicoke. There he resided until some time
after the War of 1812-14, when he returned with his family to Oxford County. Here he died, but left behind
him worthy successors of his honourable name in his two sons, Charles and James.
Charles Ingersoll, with that active loyalty and heroic energy which alike characterized his patriotic sister,
Mrs. Secord, held prominent positions in the gift of the Government and of the people, and was also a highly
respected merchant and trader.
James Ingersoll, though of a more retiring disposition than his brother, was a prominent figure in Western
Canada for many years. He was a magistrate of high repute, and occupied a foremost position in the militia,
in which he held the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel at the time of his death. This event took place on the 9th
August, 1886, at which date he had been Registrar for the County of Oxford fifty-two years.
That Mrs. Secord should be brave, ready, prompt in action, and fervent in patriotism is not surprising,
seeing that all the events of her childhoo