What do you think?
Rate this book
Sam Lawson's Oldtown Fireside Stories
This collection of literature attempts to compile many classics that have stood the test of time and offer them at a reduced, affordable price in an attractive volume so that everyone can enjoy them.
- GenresHorror
86 pages, Paperback
Published October 30, 2015
1 person is currently reading
30 people want to read
About the author
Harriet Beecher Stowe
1,576 books1,442 followersGreat political influence of
Uncle Tom's Cabin
, novel against slavery of 1852 of Harriet Elizabeth Beecher Stowe, American writer, advanced the cause of abolition.
Lyman Beecher fathered Catharine Esther Beecher, Edward Beecher, Henry Ward Beecher, and Harriet Beecher Stowe, another child.
Harriet Elizabeth Beecher Stowe, an author, attacked the cruelty, and reached millions of persons as a play even in Britain. She made the tangible issues of the 1850s to millions and energized forces in the north. She angered and embittered the south. A commonly quoted statement, apocryphally attributed to Abraham Lincoln, sums up the effect. He met Stowe and then said, "So you're the little woman that started this great war!" or so people say.
AKA:
Χάρριετ Μπήτσερ Στόου (Greek)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harriet...
Lyman Beecher fathered Catharine Esther Beecher, Edward Beecher, Henry Ward Beecher, and Harriet Beecher Stowe, another child.
Harriet Elizabeth Beecher Stowe, an author, attacked the cruelty, and reached millions of persons as a play even in Britain. She made the tangible issues of the 1850s to millions and energized forces in the north. She angered and embittered the south. A commonly quoted statement, apocryphally attributed to Abraham Lincoln, sums up the effect. He met Stowe and then said, "So you're the little woman that started this great war!" or so people say.
AKA:
Χάρριετ Μπήτσερ Στόου (Greek)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harriet...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 19, 2021
I believe this was first published in 1867, but, because I am of limited resources, and there appears to be a few differing editions (some with more, some with less, stories contained therein), I cannot be certain on this point. In any case, I know it was written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, and that it has fallen far out of favor with modern readers, possibly because most of her work, aside from her most famous Uncle Tom's Cabin, has fallen into the gutter of time. One can only think that it shall be swept away by the next heavy rain.
Nevertheless, I think it is worthwhile reading this, if only for some of the better stories, and their interesting narration. It gives a glimpse of the past; it being a story of Oldtown, this could be intentional, like her novel, Oldtown Folks. Mostly, however, it is a book of children's stories, although I would caution reading them to such people, because some are absurdly violent. Perhaps, if I am congenial to you, you shall find my list of favorite stories helpful (one need just scroll down to see it). I would recommend hunting down a copy with the original illustrations (either online or in the real world, though the latter might be more difficult), for, if they are not indispensable, they do add to the work.
Favorites:
"The Ghost in the Mill" -- "Captain Kidd's Money" -- "'Mis' Elderkin's Pitcher'" -- "The Ghost in the Cap'n Brown House" -- "The Bull Fight" -- "How to Fight the Devil" -- "Tom Toothacre's Ghost Story" -- and "The Parson's Horse-Race". "'Laughin' in Meetin'" is not good enough to be named a favorite but it can be an honorable mention. It does have a certain charm.
Below are individual reviews of the stories:
"The Ghost in the Mill" -- Possibly the best story in the collection, but certainly the introductory chapter. There is some subtle racism when it comes to Ketury--she is a "wild" Native American, devilish, serpent-like, heathen, and connected in some way with the horrible, shrieking, and weird wind our narrators comment upon--but, despite this, Stowe portrays her with something of an ambivalent hand, considering she is the one who helps 'out' the murder of Jehiel Lommedieu. I appreciate the ability for the maligned Ketury--with her heathen jewelry and supernaturality--having been used as a means for good. Like much of Stowe's work, religious themes abound. The build up of both of these themes with the story and the story itself are basically immaculate, with recontextualization of what Lawson says or monologues concerning both seeming to complete the narrative. For example, Cack is described as drinking too much, and his dislike for going to church is in some way connected thereto. By the end, we realize that he stopped attending church ("meetings") because of his complicity with his father's crime, and thus we see the full picture through the somewhat surprising ending. (And, one must add, as an afterthought, that the falling of body parts through the "chimbley" is a fantastic motif and dramatically used here.) Like the rest of the collection, Christianity is pretty much emphasized as good and other religions as bad; Lawson, specifically, is a bit of a religious fanatic, tempered by his understanding of "human natur'" and general leniency. Finally, I must comment that this story is very old feeling, more so than many classics (in my humble opinion) and other stories in this collection, and I think this effect is added to by Lawson's accent and the quaintness of setting.
"The Sullivan Looking-Glass" -- The children hear from Lawson of the Sullivan family. Aunt Lois, one of the few non-credulous figures of Stowe's conjuring of old New England, seems to know and believe a supernatural story that happened to one Ruth Sullivan (although she says she doesn't know whether supernatural stories are true or not, to defend herself; despite this, she is clearly embarrassed). The main supernatural elements of the story come from the second sight, or, simply put, an ability to see deeper into things than ordinary people. Sam attributes Ruth's reticence to Jeff's courting to be one example of her ability, but the meat of this tale comes from a future event being shown to Ruth prematurely through a mirror--where she views herself finding a will secreted away by Jeff, giving her a large share of her (adopted) family's property. Thematically, we might say that Sam's intercourse on the nature of wealth, the powerful effect it can have on a person's motives, and the tentative wish not to have it, might be the long and short of its depth; however, we do see a continuation of that supernatural theme seen in the first story, with Ruth being beloved rather than hated, like Ketury. It might also be said that the ending of the story wraps up all equally--at least, well--so that we might think that Stowe's Christianity holds sway even here, when God rights wrongs and makes those who suffer happy. Looking at other tales, money is seen to be quite important; and here we see money-seeking as not-so-great, if done poorly.
"The Minister's Housekeeper" -- A love story, or something like that; maybe it is a story of a pragmatic marriage. In any case, it is a happy story about the mother's cousin of Sam Lawson marrying a preacher after having lived with him for a while, got talk rolling about them, and--in need of adequately shutting it up--fulfilling the prophecy of such talk (if also stopping the most scandalous, 'out-of-wedlock' rumors, I'm guessing). I shall here tentatively suggest some slight bit of anti-Semitism within this story. Mainly, I think this because of our author's use of dark black eyes and a hooked nosed on one widow hunting the preacher in connection with a line from the Psalms denigrating the Jews; however, it might be a false read, and the words used to describe this widow, aside from the nose, are used varyingly throughout the text. Seemingly, what is more interesting is the gender separation the story attempts to portray, especially during a scene where a tom-turkey (male turkey) is forced to sit upon eggs, like a female turkey would; this is done by the preacher instead of his soon-to-be wife, underscoring the joke of his inability to do it with the inability of the turkey to do it, because he is a boy. The general idea is that the wife should be the housekeeper--indeed, it is laughable that a man would do it--but the story could also be read in the sense that it is laughable that such a preacher would do it, and the sentimental lauding of Huldah throughout the story a consequence not of her position as a woman, per se, but as her position as a good housekeeper. A little humorous, not altogether the best story.
"The Widow's Bandbox" -- Here Sam Lawson becomes the sexist husband known to many a child of such a man, including the children who listen to this. He doesn't like women nagging, basically, and thinks they will cling to any information to taunt one with, like a cat will cling to a mouse; unluckily, his assumption that the Commodore's wife will nag him about the fake widow he attempts to help would've been far better treated if they grew more connected through it, and had what we term an inside joke. It seems perhaps even that Lawson might've mistaken such things for nagging. The story is pretty simple: some British soldiers dress up as a woman and a corpse (one in coffin, of course) and appeal to the Captain of an American vessel to take them to Boston; this Captain agrees, being a kind man, and they figure the plot out before it can ensnare them, have fun with the two intruders, and then it ends. The other moral--for we consider the nature of women a point Sam is attempting to make--is that good people are easily duped, though they are better people, I suppose.
"Captain Kidd's Money" -- This is a somewhat supernatural tale, but most of it takes place in the common world we all know. A few men are out searching for a burial place (both gloomily and deliciously) of a portion of Captain Kidd's gold; reputedly, however, if one speaks before taking the loot, the spirits of those killed and buried to guard the treasure will drag it back into earth to the detriment of the hearty adventurers who had almost grasped it. This happens to our party, but narrator Sam explains it was for the best: he doesn't like "hasting" for riches, thinks such stuff is devils work, and thinks clearly that the money attained by Kidd was devil-tainted, too. Aside from this plot, and defining the core of it, is racism. First, we get a bit of foreshadowing of what is to come, by the inclusion of a black man named Caesar. He is forever jolly and always has his fiddle, which is used here to narrate a portion of Kidd's story. I took this as foreshadowing because I have found through reading these stories that if something is mentioned at the beginning, it shall be thematic, or important to our friend the narrator (thus, in the previous tale, nagging wives become important throughout). After this, we hit the meat of the plot, which I already described. Suffice it to say, then, that two of the men on the expedition do not want to share the loot with one of the others, and this one the man who will do all the digging!, simply because he is black. But they know he'll want money, so they give him 20 dollars (around ~700$ today); and Primus, thinking fast, or cautiously, requires them to pay it up-front for his help. Thus he is ironically paid the most of all the men, and seems the most smart, too, considering his caution toward the fools' searching for gold. On top of this, he pays them back by leaving once he does his duty, thus forcing the remaining members to put the dirt back to where he originally dug it up.
"'Mis' Elderkin's Pitcher'" -- A fantastic little story about providence, or luck, or fate, or hope, or whatever it is that makes one hold out optimism and realize that seemingly negative events can become positive, or are positive of themselves. This is dramatically displayed when Miry Elderkins, nee Brown, throws the one item bequeathed to her by a mean father at the wall, assuming it a
calculated affront, considering she had mentioned her dislike for it numerous times, but finds--in the broken glass--many and many coins of gold, riches beyond any that her other family members were given. One must also really like Miry, because she is a muscly strong woman, not common, it seems, to this type of literature. (This seems to be a trait that Lawson likes about her too.) In addition, it seems that Lawson has gained perspective on the poor and desperate, even if he holds out his religious beliefs expounded upon in the previous story.
"The Ghost in the Cap'n Brown House" -- A fun ghost story, but I think I must disagree with Sam Lawson: with the two seemingly honest accounts, with little evidence to suggest both slept, we must use our reason to think what might fit with both accounts--kind-of like a detective in a mystery novel. Once we think this, we might ask ourselves to think of a reasonable scenario in which our friend Cinthy could have been spied upon, and our friend Sally to have seen a woman leave the house. First, we might think a secret woman to have a key to the house (perhaps a master key) for ease of hiding upon the intrusion of visitors. Second, we might say that women, like most people, get curious. Third, we might say that our friend with the master key got curious about a woman who was staying so long in the house which she lived within, and took, one dreary night, a glimpse of the lady. Viola! Here we see an explanation.
"Colonel Eph's Shoe-Buckles" -- This story. I shall begin with what I find good. The story allows for Native Americans to be people, in the sense that, if they were once savages, they have become Christian; in other words, if they were societally one way, that society changed. Stowe seems to credit the ability of cultural change to settlers, too, and, in this case, to the decline of women's strength; in the before-time, Sam says, women were taught to be strong, as it was necessary. In his lifetime, though, this is not the case; culture has changed, and women are coddled, as it were, or at least treated more gently. The rest of the story is demonization of Native Americans, with a common joke (common for how short the story is, I mean) being that, although they changed, it took faith to believe they could. That probably sums it up better than anything I could say: the story is vicious lamp-shading. The plot is thus: Col. Eph is abducted by Natives, one gets attracted to his shiny shoe, and, thinking why not him?, he reaches to take it, thus allows for Eph to grasp his weapon and split his skull. Eph runs, is chased, kills a few more Natives, and returns home safe. This is another story about God's fate--the Bible plays some role--but also a story about luck (or, perhaps this is the same thing), as signified by the Shoe-Buckle.
"The Bull Fight" -- A story about a jealous, annoying boy named Bill Moss and his hatred for Ike Sanders. The bull fight is a fight between bulls that Bill lets out, seeking to gain an upper hand on Ike. One of the bulls kills the other, and this bull rampages around until Bill kills it.
"How to Fight the Devil" -- An illustration of how to fight the devil, one might say. A converted Indian woman named Sarah is the hero of the story; we see here Stowe once more humanizing the Natives, although this story seems a better example than the other (meaning the Shoe-Buckle tale), considering how things happen afterward. Basically, she lives next to Black Hoss (Horse) John Brown's place (seen more thoroughly in "'Mis' Elderkins Pitcher'"), and, because she takes berries and other such things from his yard, and he is incapable of doing anything about it, considering his ownership is not recognized by the law insofar as this, he pesters her endlessly out of spite. One night, he bethinks himself to wrap up in the skin of a newly-gutted bull, and whilst the moon is up, appears before her. She, however, continues to garden, and when he announces himself as the devil, all she says is that she pities him. Thus, we see how to deal with the devil--don't mind him.
"'Laughin' in Meetin''" -- Seemingly, this is purely a farcical production. It starts with the children laughing at a squeaking-voiced preacher, and ends with a story from Sam's memory that gives another example of such sinning. To make a longish story short, we might say that a deacon falls asleep in church, a ram sees his head bobbing, takes it as a personal insult, and rams the man; the preacher was at that time praying, but, because he prayed with his eyes open, he saw this, and laughed out loud. Thus, even a preacher can disrupt a meeting! Sam takes a moral from the story in a rather circumspect way, thinking that it is best to know what to look at and what not; however, I think the moral most relatable is that even the best of people can make mistakes, and we shouldn't be too punishing, therefore.
"Tom Toothacre's Ghost Story" -- This story rivals the first one. I am somewhat partial to the idea of ghosts board ships, especially if they are sailing, because it fits very well with what one thinks of old vessels and their superstitious crews; this is a story like that. But it also has a heart: the ghosts are from a schooner Toothacre's ship downs, and all the ghosts seem to want is a warm fire. Here is the story in basic: a sudden fog comes down upon the ship, and, unable to see a small schooner in front of them, they run it down. All look for the bodies or a living soul, none find them, so they continue on their voyage. Soon, however, ghostly men begin to appear, with two added each night, until the whole crew is in an uproar, so desperately fear-full as to invent stories about mechanisms. They decide to take to shore never to sail that ship again, but the owners of it get it repainted, acquire a new crew, and set it off again; all goes well. Thus, as Sam concludes, ghosts cannot stand a new coat of paint!
"The Parson's Horse-Race" -- Cuff is a black man, servant or underlying of one Parson Williams. He is puffed up because of his position (Sam also tells us that he receives the second-hand clothing of his superior, Williams), and is so trusted by Williams that he is allowed to ride his special horse, Tamerlane (only he and the Parson ever did). Cuff is a somewhat stereotypical character, unfortunately, and not used as well as in Uncle Tom's Cabin, where similar black people lord themselves over those they deem lesser, in effect attempting to critique that frame of mind. Nevertheless, the ending of the story, where the Parson's intentions to stop a horse race lead to him participating therein, is amusing.
"Fireside Talks of the Revolution" -- Quite rambling, not all that great; seems to be patriotic.
"A Student's Sea Story" -- Probably the strangest of the collection, simply because it doesn't feature Sam Lawson. Otherwise, not that great. It is as rambling as the story previous to it and is about supernatural occurrences warning of a person's death or suffering. Two of these stories are odd, one being supremely racist (about a Malay murderer) and the other stereotypical (similar to the Shoe-Buckle story); the final one is about a mother being saved by her son and brought back home for a delightful Thanksgiving.
I have some space left and shall be able to add a final addendum of favorite quotations, lucky me:
"There are time and tones and moods of nature that the vulgar, daily real shadowy, vague, and supernatural, as if the outlines of this hard material present were fading into the invisible and unknown. outlines of material this present if were and unknown. So Oldtown, with its elm-trees, its great square white houses, its meeting-house and tavern and blacksmith's shop and mill, which at high noon seem as real and as commonplace as possible, at this hour of the evening were dreamy and solemn."
"In almost every New England village the personality of Satan has been acknowledged by calling by his name some particular rock or cave, or other natural object whose singularity would seem to suggest a more than mortal occupancy."
"To me, this spirit land was my only refuge from the dry details of a hard, prosaic life."
"Aunt Lois was gone to Boston on a visit; and, the smart spice ofher scepticism being absent, we felt the more freedom to start our story-teller on one of his legends."
"Come to hosses, there's where the unsanctified natur' comes out. Folks will cheat about hosses when they won't about 'most nothin' else."
"Aunt Lois generally spoke with a snap; but about Thanksgiving time it had a cheery ring, like the snapping of our brisk kitchen-fire."
Nevertheless, I think it is worthwhile reading this, if only for some of the better stories, and their interesting narration. It gives a glimpse of the past; it being a story of Oldtown, this could be intentional, like her novel, Oldtown Folks. Mostly, however, it is a book of children's stories, although I would caution reading them to such people, because some are absurdly violent. Perhaps, if I am congenial to you, you shall find my list of favorite stories helpful (one need just scroll down to see it). I would recommend hunting down a copy with the original illustrations (either online or in the real world, though the latter might be more difficult), for, if they are not indispensable, they do add to the work.
Favorites:
"The Ghost in the Mill" -- "Captain Kidd's Money" -- "'Mis' Elderkin's Pitcher'" -- "The Ghost in the Cap'n Brown House" -- "The Bull Fight" -- "How to Fight the Devil" -- "Tom Toothacre's Ghost Story" -- and "The Parson's Horse-Race". "'Laughin' in Meetin'" is not good enough to be named a favorite but it can be an honorable mention. It does have a certain charm.
Below are individual reviews of the stories:
"The Ghost in the Mill" -- Possibly the best story in the collection, but certainly the introductory chapter. There is some subtle racism when it comes to Ketury--she is a "wild" Native American, devilish, serpent-like, heathen, and connected in some way with the horrible, shrieking, and weird wind our narrators comment upon--but, despite this, Stowe portrays her with something of an ambivalent hand, considering she is the one who helps 'out' the murder of Jehiel Lommedieu. I appreciate the ability for the maligned Ketury--with her heathen jewelry and supernaturality--having been used as a means for good. Like much of Stowe's work, religious themes abound. The build up of both of these themes with the story and the story itself are basically immaculate, with recontextualization of what Lawson says or monologues concerning both seeming to complete the narrative. For example, Cack is described as drinking too much, and his dislike for going to church is in some way connected thereto. By the end, we realize that he stopped attending church ("meetings") because of his complicity with his father's crime, and thus we see the full picture through the somewhat surprising ending. (And, one must add, as an afterthought, that the falling of body parts through the "chimbley" is a fantastic motif and dramatically used here.) Like the rest of the collection, Christianity is pretty much emphasized as good and other religions as bad; Lawson, specifically, is a bit of a religious fanatic, tempered by his understanding of "human natur'" and general leniency. Finally, I must comment that this story is very old feeling, more so than many classics (in my humble opinion) and other stories in this collection, and I think this effect is added to by Lawson's accent and the quaintness of setting.
"The Sullivan Looking-Glass" -- The children hear from Lawson of the Sullivan family. Aunt Lois, one of the few non-credulous figures of Stowe's conjuring of old New England, seems to know and believe a supernatural story that happened to one Ruth Sullivan (although she says she doesn't know whether supernatural stories are true or not, to defend herself; despite this, she is clearly embarrassed). The main supernatural elements of the story come from the second sight, or, simply put, an ability to see deeper into things than ordinary people. Sam attributes Ruth's reticence to Jeff's courting to be one example of her ability, but the meat of this tale comes from a future event being shown to Ruth prematurely through a mirror--where she views herself finding a will secreted away by Jeff, giving her a large share of her (adopted) family's property. Thematically, we might say that Sam's intercourse on the nature of wealth, the powerful effect it can have on a person's motives, and the tentative wish not to have it, might be the long and short of its depth; however, we do see a continuation of that supernatural theme seen in the first story, with Ruth being beloved rather than hated, like Ketury. It might also be said that the ending of the story wraps up all equally--at least, well--so that we might think that Stowe's Christianity holds sway even here, when God rights wrongs and makes those who suffer happy. Looking at other tales, money is seen to be quite important; and here we see money-seeking as not-so-great, if done poorly.
"The Minister's Housekeeper" -- A love story, or something like that; maybe it is a story of a pragmatic marriage. In any case, it is a happy story about the mother's cousin of Sam Lawson marrying a preacher after having lived with him for a while, got talk rolling about them, and--in need of adequately shutting it up--fulfilling the prophecy of such talk (if also stopping the most scandalous, 'out-of-wedlock' rumors, I'm guessing). I shall here tentatively suggest some slight bit of anti-Semitism within this story. Mainly, I think this because of our author's use of dark black eyes and a hooked nosed on one widow hunting the preacher in connection with a line from the Psalms denigrating the Jews; however, it might be a false read, and the words used to describe this widow, aside from the nose, are used varyingly throughout the text. Seemingly, what is more interesting is the gender separation the story attempts to portray, especially during a scene where a tom-turkey (male turkey) is forced to sit upon eggs, like a female turkey would; this is done by the preacher instead of his soon-to-be wife, underscoring the joke of his inability to do it with the inability of the turkey to do it, because he is a boy. The general idea is that the wife should be the housekeeper--indeed, it is laughable that a man would do it--but the story could also be read in the sense that it is laughable that such a preacher would do it, and the sentimental lauding of Huldah throughout the story a consequence not of her position as a woman, per se, but as her position as a good housekeeper. A little humorous, not altogether the best story.
"The Widow's Bandbox" -- Here Sam Lawson becomes the sexist husband known to many a child of such a man, including the children who listen to this. He doesn't like women nagging, basically, and thinks they will cling to any information to taunt one with, like a cat will cling to a mouse; unluckily, his assumption that the Commodore's wife will nag him about the fake widow he attempts to help would've been far better treated if they grew more connected through it, and had what we term an inside joke. It seems perhaps even that Lawson might've mistaken such things for nagging. The story is pretty simple: some British soldiers dress up as a woman and a corpse (one in coffin, of course) and appeal to the Captain of an American vessel to take them to Boston; this Captain agrees, being a kind man, and they figure the plot out before it can ensnare them, have fun with the two intruders, and then it ends. The other moral--for we consider the nature of women a point Sam is attempting to make--is that good people are easily duped, though they are better people, I suppose.
"Captain Kidd's Money" -- This is a somewhat supernatural tale, but most of it takes place in the common world we all know. A few men are out searching for a burial place (both gloomily and deliciously) of a portion of Captain Kidd's gold; reputedly, however, if one speaks before taking the loot, the spirits of those killed and buried to guard the treasure will drag it back into earth to the detriment of the hearty adventurers who had almost grasped it. This happens to our party, but narrator Sam explains it was for the best: he doesn't like "hasting" for riches, thinks such stuff is devils work, and thinks clearly that the money attained by Kidd was devil-tainted, too. Aside from this plot, and defining the core of it, is racism. First, we get a bit of foreshadowing of what is to come, by the inclusion of a black man named Caesar. He is forever jolly and always has his fiddle, which is used here to narrate a portion of Kidd's story. I took this as foreshadowing because I have found through reading these stories that if something is mentioned at the beginning, it shall be thematic, or important to our friend the narrator (thus, in the previous tale, nagging wives become important throughout). After this, we hit the meat of the plot, which I already described. Suffice it to say, then, that two of the men on the expedition do not want to share the loot with one of the others, and this one the man who will do all the digging!, simply because he is black. But they know he'll want money, so they give him 20 dollars (around ~700$ today); and Primus, thinking fast, or cautiously, requires them to pay it up-front for his help. Thus he is ironically paid the most of all the men, and seems the most smart, too, considering his caution toward the fools' searching for gold. On top of this, he pays them back by leaving once he does his duty, thus forcing the remaining members to put the dirt back to where he originally dug it up.
"'Mis' Elderkin's Pitcher'" -- A fantastic little story about providence, or luck, or fate, or hope, or whatever it is that makes one hold out optimism and realize that seemingly negative events can become positive, or are positive of themselves. This is dramatically displayed when Miry Elderkins, nee Brown, throws the one item bequeathed to her by a mean father at the wall, assuming it a
calculated affront, considering she had mentioned her dislike for it numerous times, but finds--in the broken glass--many and many coins of gold, riches beyond any that her other family members were given. One must also really like Miry, because she is a muscly strong woman, not common, it seems, to this type of literature. (This seems to be a trait that Lawson likes about her too.) In addition, it seems that Lawson has gained perspective on the poor and desperate, even if he holds out his religious beliefs expounded upon in the previous story.
"The Ghost in the Cap'n Brown House" -- A fun ghost story, but I think I must disagree with Sam Lawson: with the two seemingly honest accounts, with little evidence to suggest both slept, we must use our reason to think what might fit with both accounts--kind-of like a detective in a mystery novel. Once we think this, we might ask ourselves to think of a reasonable scenario in which our friend Cinthy could have been spied upon, and our friend Sally to have seen a woman leave the house. First, we might think a secret woman to have a key to the house (perhaps a master key) for ease of hiding upon the intrusion of visitors. Second, we might say that women, like most people, get curious. Third, we might say that our friend with the master key got curious about a woman who was staying so long in the house which she lived within, and took, one dreary night, a glimpse of the lady. Viola! Here we see an explanation.
"Colonel Eph's Shoe-Buckles" -- This story. I shall begin with what I find good. The story allows for Native Americans to be people, in the sense that, if they were once savages, they have become Christian; in other words, if they were societally one way, that society changed. Stowe seems to credit the ability of cultural change to settlers, too, and, in this case, to the decline of women's strength; in the before-time, Sam says, women were taught to be strong, as it was necessary. In his lifetime, though, this is not the case; culture has changed, and women are coddled, as it were, or at least treated more gently. The rest of the story is demonization of Native Americans, with a common joke (common for how short the story is, I mean) being that, although they changed, it took faith to believe they could. That probably sums it up better than anything I could say: the story is vicious lamp-shading. The plot is thus: Col. Eph is abducted by Natives, one gets attracted to his shiny shoe, and, thinking why not him?, he reaches to take it, thus allows for Eph to grasp his weapon and split his skull. Eph runs, is chased, kills a few more Natives, and returns home safe. This is another story about God's fate--the Bible plays some role--but also a story about luck (or, perhaps this is the same thing), as signified by the Shoe-Buckle.
"The Bull Fight" -- A story about a jealous, annoying boy named Bill Moss and his hatred for Ike Sanders. The bull fight is a fight between bulls that Bill lets out, seeking to gain an upper hand on Ike. One of the bulls kills the other, and this bull rampages around until Bill kills it.
"How to Fight the Devil" -- An illustration of how to fight the devil, one might say. A converted Indian woman named Sarah is the hero of the story; we see here Stowe once more humanizing the Natives, although this story seems a better example than the other (meaning the Shoe-Buckle tale), considering how things happen afterward. Basically, she lives next to Black Hoss (Horse) John Brown's place (seen more thoroughly in "'Mis' Elderkins Pitcher'"), and, because she takes berries and other such things from his yard, and he is incapable of doing anything about it, considering his ownership is not recognized by the law insofar as this, he pesters her endlessly out of spite. One night, he bethinks himself to wrap up in the skin of a newly-gutted bull, and whilst the moon is up, appears before her. She, however, continues to garden, and when he announces himself as the devil, all she says is that she pities him. Thus, we see how to deal with the devil--don't mind him.
"'Laughin' in Meetin''" -- Seemingly, this is purely a farcical production. It starts with the children laughing at a squeaking-voiced preacher, and ends with a story from Sam's memory that gives another example of such sinning. To make a longish story short, we might say that a deacon falls asleep in church, a ram sees his head bobbing, takes it as a personal insult, and rams the man; the preacher was at that time praying, but, because he prayed with his eyes open, he saw this, and laughed out loud. Thus, even a preacher can disrupt a meeting! Sam takes a moral from the story in a rather circumspect way, thinking that it is best to know what to look at and what not; however, I think the moral most relatable is that even the best of people can make mistakes, and we shouldn't be too punishing, therefore.
"Tom Toothacre's Ghost Story" -- This story rivals the first one. I am somewhat partial to the idea of ghosts board ships, especially if they are sailing, because it fits very well with what one thinks of old vessels and their superstitious crews; this is a story like that. But it also has a heart: the ghosts are from a schooner Toothacre's ship downs, and all the ghosts seem to want is a warm fire. Here is the story in basic: a sudden fog comes down upon the ship, and, unable to see a small schooner in front of them, they run it down. All look for the bodies or a living soul, none find them, so they continue on their voyage. Soon, however, ghostly men begin to appear, with two added each night, until the whole crew is in an uproar, so desperately fear-full as to invent stories about mechanisms. They decide to take to shore never to sail that ship again, but the owners of it get it repainted, acquire a new crew, and set it off again; all goes well. Thus, as Sam concludes, ghosts cannot stand a new coat of paint!
"The Parson's Horse-Race" -- Cuff is a black man, servant or underlying of one Parson Williams. He is puffed up because of his position (Sam also tells us that he receives the second-hand clothing of his superior, Williams), and is so trusted by Williams that he is allowed to ride his special horse, Tamerlane (only he and the Parson ever did). Cuff is a somewhat stereotypical character, unfortunately, and not used as well as in Uncle Tom's Cabin, where similar black people lord themselves over those they deem lesser, in effect attempting to critique that frame of mind. Nevertheless, the ending of the story, where the Parson's intentions to stop a horse race lead to him participating therein, is amusing.
"Fireside Talks of the Revolution" -- Quite rambling, not all that great; seems to be patriotic.
"A Student's Sea Story" -- Probably the strangest of the collection, simply because it doesn't feature Sam Lawson. Otherwise, not that great. It is as rambling as the story previous to it and is about supernatural occurrences warning of a person's death or suffering. Two of these stories are odd, one being supremely racist (about a Malay murderer) and the other stereotypical (similar to the Shoe-Buckle story); the final one is about a mother being saved by her son and brought back home for a delightful Thanksgiving.
I have some space left and shall be able to add a final addendum of favorite quotations, lucky me:
"There are time and tones and moods of nature that the vulgar, daily real shadowy, vague, and supernatural, as if the outlines of this hard material present were fading into the invisible and unknown. outlines of material this present if were and unknown. So Oldtown, with its elm-trees, its great square white houses, its meeting-house and tavern and blacksmith's shop and mill, which at high noon seem as real and as commonplace as possible, at this hour of the evening were dreamy and solemn."
"In almost every New England village the personality of Satan has been acknowledged by calling by his name some particular rock or cave, or other natural object whose singularity would seem to suggest a more than mortal occupancy."
"To me, this spirit land was my only refuge from the dry details of a hard, prosaic life."
"Aunt Lois was gone to Boston on a visit; and, the smart spice ofher scepticism being absent, we felt the more freedom to start our story-teller on one of his legends."
"Come to hosses, there's where the unsanctified natur' comes out. Folks will cheat about hosses when they won't about 'most nothin' else."
"Aunt Lois generally spoke with a snap; but about Thanksgiving time it had a cheery ring, like the snapping of our brisk kitchen-fire."
October 2, 2023
This is not Stowe’s best-known work, but I was enticed to pick it up by my antiquarian predilections for supernatural tales. These stories involve the residents of Stowe’s fictional Oldtown, and most are told by Sam Lawson, who could be characterized as a well-meaning ne'er-do-well. Be advised that this book is heavily dialectic. Be further advised that while Stowe’s work as an abolitionist was an inciting event for the Civil War, some of the views presented in this book may be distasteful to modern audiences, particularly when stripped of their historical context.
About half of these stories have no supernatural element, but remained pleasing. For example, THE MINISTER'S HOUSEKEEPER has some amazing turns of phrase. “He was gret on texts, the doctor was. When he hed a p'int to prove, he'd jest go thro' the Bible, and drive all the texts ahead o' him like a flock o' sheep; and then, if there was a text that seemed gin him, why, he'd come out with his Greek and Hebrew, and kind o' chase it 'round a spell, jest as ye see a fellar chase a contrary bell-wether, and make him jump the fence arter the rest. I tell you, there wa'n't no text in the Bible that could stand agin the doctor when his blood was up." and "Huldy was jist like a bee: she always sung when she was workin'..." In THE BULL-FIGHT two brothers disagree over who has the best bull. The competition goes poorly and one runs through the house. And in LAUGHIN' IN MEETIN' a dog and a ram cause challenges to remaining solemn during the sermon in church.
Many of the other non-supernatural stories are quite somber, but full of wonderful details related to the conflicts starting with the Revolutionary War, as well as skirmishes with Native Americans. THE WIDOW'S BANDBOX is full of good details related to what I suspect is the War of 1812 (an oft footnoted conflict in the annals of history.) I was really hoping for a vampire, but this is a couple decades before Bram Stoker's famous novel. COLONEL EPH'S SHOE-BUCKLES is a study in colonial fears of the Native Americans. This is why the protestant roots of horror fear the woods. This would certainly have been a chilling horror story for the time, but is now probably best as an anthropological exhibit.
Now, to her supernatural stories. The first couple paragraphs of this book are a thesis statement on the genesis of American Horror. Protestants thrown into the wilderness to carve out a place to not just survive, but to call home while local and overseas forces also exert their ownership over the same land.
These distinctly American stories provide a nice contrast to the more common Victorian ghost story. There are some striking similarities and differences that warrant further rumination than a book review. I appreciate that the first story in the book THE GHOST IN THE MILL could serve as a template for this analysis by following the tradition of a ghost identifying what needs to be done so they can rest. While solidly delivered, modern readers will struggle with the portrayal of the Native American character in the story regardless of the achievements of the abolitionist writer. There’s a full range from the chilling to the humorous. For humor, CAPTAIN KIDD'S MONEY does this well by showing some of the upstanding citizens of Oldtown as fools, and THE GHOST IN THE CAP'N BROWN HOUSE is such a delightful satirical look at human nature. With ghosts.
As it is in the public domain, this book is available on Project Gutenberg for free: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/50129
About half of these stories have no supernatural element, but remained pleasing. For example, THE MINISTER'S HOUSEKEEPER has some amazing turns of phrase. “He was gret on texts, the doctor was. When he hed a p'int to prove, he'd jest go thro' the Bible, and drive all the texts ahead o' him like a flock o' sheep; and then, if there was a text that seemed gin him, why, he'd come out with his Greek and Hebrew, and kind o' chase it 'round a spell, jest as ye see a fellar chase a contrary bell-wether, and make him jump the fence arter the rest. I tell you, there wa'n't no text in the Bible that could stand agin the doctor when his blood was up." and "Huldy was jist like a bee: she always sung when she was workin'..." In THE BULL-FIGHT two brothers disagree over who has the best bull. The competition goes poorly and one runs through the house. And in LAUGHIN' IN MEETIN' a dog and a ram cause challenges to remaining solemn during the sermon in church.
Many of the other non-supernatural stories are quite somber, but full of wonderful details related to the conflicts starting with the Revolutionary War, as well as skirmishes with Native Americans. THE WIDOW'S BANDBOX is full of good details related to what I suspect is the War of 1812 (an oft footnoted conflict in the annals of history.) I was really hoping for a vampire, but this is a couple decades before Bram Stoker's famous novel. COLONEL EPH'S SHOE-BUCKLES is a study in colonial fears of the Native Americans. This is why the protestant roots of horror fear the woods. This would certainly have been a chilling horror story for the time, but is now probably best as an anthropological exhibit.
Now, to her supernatural stories. The first couple paragraphs of this book are a thesis statement on the genesis of American Horror. Protestants thrown into the wilderness to carve out a place to not just survive, but to call home while local and overseas forces also exert their ownership over the same land.
These distinctly American stories provide a nice contrast to the more common Victorian ghost story. There are some striking similarities and differences that warrant further rumination than a book review. I appreciate that the first story in the book THE GHOST IN THE MILL could serve as a template for this analysis by following the tradition of a ghost identifying what needs to be done so they can rest. While solidly delivered, modern readers will struggle with the portrayal of the Native American character in the story regardless of the achievements of the abolitionist writer. There’s a full range from the chilling to the humorous. For humor, CAPTAIN KIDD'S MONEY does this well by showing some of the upstanding citizens of Oldtown as fools, and THE GHOST IN THE CAP'N BROWN HOUSE is such a delightful satirical look at human nature. With ghosts.
As it is in the public domain, this book is available on Project Gutenberg for free: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/50129
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews