Produced by Larry B. Harrison, David E. Brown, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES: Text in italics is surrounded by underscores: _italics_. Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. On page 20, section III is missing in the original. In the Notes section, the entry for 559 was out of numerical order in the original; it has been moved to its proper place in this eBook. _THE CRANE CLASSICS_ THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH BY HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW WITH SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY AND NOTES BY P. H. PEARSON, A. M. Professor of the English Language and Literature In Bethany College CRANE & COMPANY, PUBLISHERS TOPEKA, KANSAS 1905 Copyright 1905, By CRANE & COMPANY, Topeka, Kansas. CONTENTS. PAGE. INTRODUCTION 5 SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY 14 THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH 27 NOTES 91 INTRODUCTION. “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.”