“The Courtship of Miles Standish” deals with a supreme moment in the history of our nation, the moment when the harassed and thrice-winnowed little band of Puritans began to establish themselves and their institutions on these shores. In the belief that the poem will be better understood and appreciated both as poetry and as history if some of the traits and the struggles of this people are called to mind, a few words regarding them will here be given.

Though the sovereigns of England under whose auspices the movement known as the Reformation was carried through, severed connection with the Church of Rome, they did not bring about a thorough reform in matters of faith and church service. Hence there arose in England parties holding conflicting views regarding the correctness and propriety of the practices and ceremonies still in vogue. The Established Church still retained much that, in the opinion of the more radical element, should be removed. These differences of opinion exhibited various degrees of radicalism and conservatism. Those who were unwilling to conform to the regulations of the Church of England were styled “Non-conformists,” and, on account of their efforts in the direction of further purification, they became known as “Puritans.” There were still others who believed in carrying the reform so far as to separate the church from the state, and to reach independence in church government: these were the “Independents.”

The Established Church was supported by secular authority, so that in all disputes it had on its side the king and the arm of the law. In many cases it exercised its power in bitter persecution of those who showed a tendency to depart from its teachings. The Puritans were, as one historian says, “pursued into their hiding-places with relentless fury,” so that many individuals sought voluntary exile, and whole assemblages looked for some place in far countries where they could worship according to conscience and to the light they found in the Bible.

Such a party of persecuted Puritans chose as leaders one of their ministers, John Robinson, and their ruling elder, William Brewster, and resolved to seek refuge and religious liberty in Holland. This country was selected on account of its friendly attitude towards Calvinism, a view which harmonized with those of the Puritans; and also on account of the near relations which England as an ally of Holland sustained to this country.

Their first attempt at leaving England (1607) was anticipated and prevented by the magistrates; but the following spring they made a second attempt, which was so far successful that the officers of the crown succeeded only in seizing and detaining some helpless women and children. These were, however, later on set at liberty and permitted to embark. At first these Pilgrims, as they came to be called, settled in Amsterdam, but in 1609 they removed to Leyden, where their number was constantly increased by new arrivals from England. In Holland, though they gained the confidence and respect of the Dutch, their condition was not entirely satisfactory. Brought up as tillers of the soil, they could not become entirely reconciled to the trades and handicrafts which they were now necessitated to learn. Moreover, they felt that the Dutch language could not become a homelike speech to them. There was also, deep in their hearts, a devout patriotism, which first led them to think of establishing themselves in some of the colonies under English rule.

The first step, they saw, was to decide on a suitable locality in the New World. After making such investigations as they could, they planned to locate in the territory which King James granted to the Plymouth Company in 1606. But before they were ready to embark, two other grave problems confronted them, and it took years before these were solved.

Would they in the king’s dominions be allowed religious freedom and be undisturbed in their worship? Representatives of their congregation visited England for the purpose of trying to get the king’s guarantee to this effect. In presenting their request they stated they were willing to promise “obedience in all things, active if the thing commanded be not against God’s word, or passive if it be.” They were disappointed of obtaining the pledge they sought; and left with nothing more encouraging or definite than an assurance that so long as they gave no offense they should not be disturbed.

The other problem was that of finding the means necessary for the enterprise. After lengthy negotiations, during which several propositions were rejected as impracticable, they formed a compact with some London merchants that had become interested in the American fisheries. These merchants, in return for services to be rendered by the Pilgrims, furnished money for the passage, stipulating that all profits were to be “reserved till the end of seven years, when the whole amount, and all lands and fields, were to be divided among the share-holders according to their respective interests.”

The two vessels that had been provided could not carry the entire congregation, and so it was determined that “the youngest and strongest who freely offered themselves” should leave. Their head and leader was Brewster, the governing elder. Robinson, the spiritual elder, it was decided, should follow later with the others if the reports were favorable.

After solemn fasts and worship, in which they invoked the blessing of God and commended themselves to his guidance, the Pilgrims set sail from Holland. They touched at Southampton, England, and a fortnight later started westward for the shores of America. The two vessels on which they were embarked were the Speedwell, of sixty tons burden, and the Mayflower, of one hundred and eighty tons. After some distance at sea, the Speedwell was found to leak, and they were compelled to return to port at Dartmouth for repairs. After a delay of a week they were again under way, and once more the captain of the Speedwell signaled distress, claiming that his vessel was not in a seaworthy condition. This necessitated their return to Plymouth; the Speedwell was abandoned, and such of her passengers as could be accommodated were transferred to the Mayflower.

On the sixth day of September, 1620, the Mayflower with one hundred and two passengers besides her crew started alone. After a voyage of over two months they hove in sight of the sandy shore of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Filled with the responsibility of their enterprise, they met in the cabin, drafted and signed the following solemn compact before going on shore:

“In the name of God, Amen. We whose names are here underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread sovereign, King James, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, etc., having undertaken, for the glory of God and advancement of the Christian faith, and honor of our king and country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern part of Virginia, do, by these presents, solemnly and mutually, in the presence of God and of one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic for our better ordering and preservation, and in the furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute and frame just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and offices, from time to time as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the colony; unto which we promise all due submission and obedience.

“In witness whereof, we have hereunto subscribed our names at Cape Cod, the 11th of November, in the year of the reign of our sovereign lord, King James, of England, France, and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth, Anno Domini 1620.”

In order still further to perfect the arrangements for governing the colony, they unanimously chose John Carver as their governor for one year.

The season was already far advanced, so that it was about the middle of November before they had begun to explore the coast or to choose a place for the settlement. As the shallop was found to be in need of repair, Captain Miles Standish, Bradford and others, determined to explore the country by land. Their first attempts to “spy the country” were made during exceedingly severe weather. “It snowed and did blow all night, and froze withal.” Nothing of an encouraging nature could be found along the beach nor on the fields, which now lay half a foot thick with snow. A heap of maize which had been concealed by the Indians was discovered. It was a welcome find, as it helped to eke out the scanty stores of the Pilgrims. It must be added that, though Miles Standish took this, he scrupulously resolved to pay the owners as soon as they could be found; and six months later he found an opportunity to render payment.

On December 8, shortly after their morning prayers were finished, the party was attacked by a hostile tribe of the Nausites, “who knew the English only as kidnappers.” Fortunately, the Indians were driven off without doing any damage to the settlers. The exploring party spent four weeks in searching for a suitable place. During this time they suffered greatly from exposure to the rain, snow, and sleet. Sometimes their garments were frozen stiff like coats of mail. It was often difficult or impossible to kindle a fire on the snow-covered fields, where the fuel, whatever they found, was damp and soggy. At one time, in the midst of a violent snow-storm, the rudder of the shallop broke, and also the mast, so that they were in extreme danger of being dashed to pieces among the breakers. It was through these severe exposures that many of them contracted the diseases that carried away such a large part of them during the first winter.On December 11th the explorers landed on the historical spot of Plymouth Rock. The Mayflower, shortly afterwards, cast anchor in the harbor. The men went on shore, and set to work to build houses and to provide shelter against the winter. Their labor was made arduous by the inclement weather, and by the fact that about one-half of the settlers were sick, some of them wasting away with consumption and lung fever.

As protection against the Indians, who were occasionally seen hovering near, they formed themselves into a military organization, with Miles Standish as captain. Their relations with the Indians were, however, so fair and honest that even these must have observed some singular differences between the Pilgrims and earlier traders on the coast. Early in the spring, Samoset, an Indian, visited them with the view evidently of ascertaining whether they were disposed to form acquaintance and to establish friendship with his people. This led to a visit by the powerful chief Massasoit himself. He was received and entertained by the Pilgrims in a way that inspired his confidence, resulting finally in a sort of defensive alliance between the settlers and his tribe. He later on rendered valuable services, particularly by giving warning of the massacre planned by the Narragansetts against the settlers at Weymouth.

On the fifth of April, 1621, the Mayflower started on her return voyage to England. Notwithstanding the hardships suffered by the colonists that first and dreadful winter, not one of them returned. As spring and summer came on, conditions improved. The streams abounded with fish and the forests with game. In the autumn they were again visited by Massasoit, and feasted him and ninety of his men. The Narragansetts alone were not friendly. Their chief, Canonicus, sent over a bundle of arrows wrapped in the skin of a rattlesnake, thereby avowing his intentions of war. Bradford sent back the skin stuffed with powder and shot; and it appears that this prompt acceptance of the challenge made the chief hesitate, for he became willing to sue for peace. This incident, which Longfellow has used, took place in 1622. Another incident also used took place the following year. One of the London merchants, thinking to increase his profits, sent over sixty unmarried men, who formed a settlement which they called Weymouth. These people soon found themselves in want, and intruded for a considerable time upon the people of Plymouth. They were indolent; they plundered the Indians, and these formed a plot to destroy the entire colony. But Massasoit revealed their designs to the Puritan settlers. These sent a force under the intrepid Miles Standish, who succeeded in preventing the calamity.

The Plymouth Colony and its far-reaching results have been depicted by every writer of American history. This sketch requires only that we present the general traits of the people and the merest outline of the incidents that Longfellow has brought into the poem; it is therefore not necessary for the present purpose to follow the narrative further.

“The Courtship of Miles Standish” was published in 1858. Longfellow has in this poem again made use of the hexameter; but though it is the same metre as that of “Evangeline,” it presents some important differences. With the purpose of modifying the stern Puritan mood, he has given the metre a lighter movement, which also harmonizes with the touches of humor occasionally introduced. As to the content of the poem, the author has used the facts and incidents recounted in the old Puritan records, and faithfully woven them into a true historic picture, a picture none the less faithful because the poet has slightly deviated from the annals in the sequence of some events. Miles Standish, John Alden, and Priscilla are there giving it reality by acting out the story—an old human story; but when these are allowed to drop out of sight, that which remains is the realization of a people, the Puritans, a people of indomitable determination and of uncompromising loyalty to conscience and to God.