CANADIAN LITERATURE 



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CANADIAN LITERATURE 



Confederation. Among the best-known biogra- 

 phers and essayists are Sir William Dawson, 

 the geologist, Sir Daniel Wilson, T. Arnold 

 Haultain, John Castell Hopkins and W. D. 

 Le Sueur. Most distinguished of them all is 

 Goldwin Smith, a unique figure in Canadian 

 literature. As author, teacher and lecturer his 

 influence for progress was world-wide. His 

 views were often those of a small minority, but 

 his lofty principles won him the respect and 

 admiration of all. 



Fiction. For many years Canada lagged be- 

 hind the rest of the English-speaking world in 

 fiction. It had authoritative historians and 

 famous poets long before any of its novelists 

 were well known. With two exceptions there 

 were no Canadian novelists until after the 

 Dominion was formed; these were John Gait, 

 the founder of Guelph, Ont., who wrote Lawrie 

 Todd, or the Settlers in the Woods (1830), a 

 vivid account of frontier life, and Major John 

 Richardson, who wrote Wacousta, or the Proph- 

 ecy (1832), an exciting tale of Pontiac's con- 

 spiracy. The next novel of importance did not 

 appear until 1877, William Kirby's The Golden 

 Dog, a Legend of Quebec. James De Mille 

 wrote about thirty novels, including Helene's 

 Household, a story of Rome in the first cen- 

 tury of the Christian Era. 



Included in the list of recent authors are 

 Sara Jeanette Duncan Cotes, Grant Allen, Rob- 

 ert Barr, Lily Dougall, Catherine Parr Traill, 

 Norman Duncan, William Douw Lighthall, 

 Charles G. D. Roberts, Arthur Stringer, Ernest 

 Thompson Seton and Margaret M. Saunders, 

 whose autobiography of a dog, Beautiful Joe, 

 is a children's classic. A novelist of interna- 

 tional reputation is Charles W. Gordon ("Ralph 

 Connor"), and perhaps even better known is 

 Sir Gilbert Parker. Worthy of special mention 

 are the humorous sketches of Stephen B. Lea- 

 cock, sometimes called the successor of "Sam 

 Slick." The most notable of these authors are 

 given places in these volumes in their alpha- 

 betical order. 



Poetry. Perhaps the most remarkable long 

 poem ever written by a Canadian is the tragedy 

 Saul, by Charles Heavysege. He also wrote 

 numerous short lyrics, one of which, called 

 Night, begins with these lines: 



'Tis solemn darkness ; the sublime of shade ; 

 Night by no stars nor rising moon relieved ; 

 The awful blank of nothingness arrayed 

 O'er which my eyeballs roll in vain, deceived. 



Among other early poets were Robert 

 Sweeney, Oliver Goldsmith, a collateral de- 



scendant of the author of the Vicar of Wake- 

 field, and Susanna Moodie. The Canadian 

 Goldsmith wrote The Rising Village, which pre- 

 sents a picture of a prosperous community, in 

 contrast to The Deserted Village written by 

 his famous kinsman. Mrs. Moodie's work, in 

 poetry as in prose, gives vivid pictures of pio- 

 neer life in Upper Canada. The Canadian 

 Herd-Boy (A Song of the Backwoods) indicates 

 the character of much of her work. The follow- 

 ing familiar stanza illustrates its style: 



Through the deep woods at peep of day, 

 The careless herd-boy wends his way, 

 By piny ridge and forest stream, 

 To summon home his roving team ; 

 Cobos ! Cobos ! from distant dell 

 Sly echo wafts the cattle-bell. 



At a later date the number of Canadian 

 poets became larger, and works of many 

 of them are familiar not only in Canada 

 but throughout the English-speaking world. 

 Charles Sangster, sometimes called the "Cana- 

 dian Wordsworth," was inspired mainly by 

 Canadian scenery and history. The Rapid, 

 from which the following lines are quoted, is 

 one of his best-known poems: 



All peacefully gliding, 



The waters dividing, 

 The indolent batteau moved slowly along, 



The rowers, light-hearted, 



From sorrow long parted, 



Beguiled the dull moments with laughter and 

 song. 



But the last stanza tells the sad end of the 

 story : 



Fast downward they're dashing, 

 Each fearless eye flashing, 

 Though danger awaits them on every side; 

 Yon rock see it frowning ! 

 They strike they are drowning! 

 But downward they speed with the merciless 



tide; 

 No voice cheers the rapid that angrily, angrily 



Shivers their bark in its maddening play ; 

 Gaily they entered it heedlessly, recklessly. 

 Mingling their lives with its treacherous 

 spray ! 



Another poet of distinction is Charles Mair, 

 who was the founder of the Canadian classical- 

 nature school. His poetic drama, Tecumseh, 

 is noteworthy for its insight into Indian char- 

 acter and for its striking descriptive passages: 



There was a time on this fair continent 

 When all things throve in spacious peaceful- 

 ness. 



The prosperous forests unmolested stood, 

 For where the stalwart oak grew there it lived 

 Long ages, and then died among its kind. 

 The hoary pines those ancients of the earth 

 Brimful of legends of the early world, 

 Stood thick on their own mountains unsubdued. 



