Then to widen the ranks, and give more room for their weapons;

So he won the day, the battle of something-or-other. That's what I always say; if you wish a thing to be well done,

You must do it yourself, you must not leave it to others!"

115

All was silent again; the Captain continued his reading.

Nothing was heard in the room but the hurrying pen of the stripling

Writing epistles important to go next day by the Mayflower,

Filled with the name and the fame of the Puritan maiden Priscilla;

Every sentence began or closed with the name of Priscilla,

120

Till the treacherous pen, to which he confided the

secret,

Strove to betray it by singing and shouting the name of Priscilla !

Finally closing his book, with a bang of the ponderous

cover,

Sudden and loud as the sound of a soldier grounding his musket,

125

Thus to the young man spake Miles Standish the Captain of Plymouth: "When you have finished your work, I have something important to tell you.

Be not however in haste; I can wait; I shall not be impatient!"

Straightway Alden replied, as he folded the last of his letters,

Pushing his papers aside, and giving respectful attention:

"Speak; for whenever you speak, I am always ready to listen,

130

Always ready to hear whatever pertains to Miles Standish."

Thereupon answered the Captain, embarrassed, and culling his phrases:

""Tis not good for a man to be alone, say the Scriptures. This I have said before, and again and again I repeat it; Every hour in the day, I think it, and feel it, and say it. Since Rose Standish died, my life has been weary and

dreary;

136

Sick at heart have I been, beyond the healing of friendship.

Oft in my lonely hours have I thought of the maiden Priscilla.

188 Look up Genesis ii. 18.

She is alone in the world; her father and mother and brother

Died in the winter together; I saw her going and

coming,

140

Now to the grave of the dead, and now to the bed of the dying,

Patient, courageous, and strong, and said to myself, that if ever

There were angels on earth, as there are angels in heaven,

Two have I seen and known; and the angel whose name is Priscilla

Holds in my desolate life the place which the other

abandoned.

145

Long have I cherished the thought, but never have dared to reveal it,

Being a coward in this, though valiant enough for the most part.

Go to the damsel Priscilla, the loveliest maiden of Plymouth,

Say that a blunt old Captain, a man not of words but of actions,

Offers his hand and his heart, the hand and heart of a

soldier.

150

Not in these words, you know, but this in short is my

meaning;

I am a maker of war, and not a maker of phrases. You, who are bred as a scholar, can say it in elegant language,

Such as you read in your books of the pleadings and wooings of lovers,

Such as you think best adapted to win the heart of a maiden."

155

When he had spoken, John Alden, the fair-haired, taciturn stripling,

All aghast at his words, surprised, embarrassed, bewildered,

Trying to mask his dismay by treating the subject with lightness,

Trying to smile, and yet feeling his heart stand still in his bosom,

Just as a timepiece stops in a house that is stricken by

lightning,

160

Thus made answer and spake, or rather stammered than answered:

"Such a message as that, I am sure I should mangle and mar it;

152 Maker of phrases: explain what this means.

156-159 Why is Alden disturbed by the Captain's request? What would have been the wisest thing for him to do under the circumstances?

160 Timepiece stops: a belief without much foundation in fact.

If you would have it well done, I am only repeating your maxim,

You must do it yourself, you must not leave it to others!"

But with the air of a man whom nothing can turn from his purpose,

165

Gravely shaking his head, made answer the Captain of Plymouth:

"Truly the maxim is good, and I do not mean to gainsay it;

But we must use it discreetly, and not waste powder for nothing.

Now, as I said before, I was never a maker of

phrases.

I can march up to a fortress and summon the place to

surrender,

170

But march up to a woman with such a proposal, I dare

not.

I'm not afraid of bullets, nor shot from the mouth of

a cannon,

But of a thundering 'No!' point-blank from the mouth of a woman,

That I confess I'm afraid of, nor am I ashamed to confess it!

So you must grant my request, for you are an ele

gant scholar,

175