What part of Alden’s report was the main cause of the Captain’s wrath? Had Alden anticipated the effect that his report would have? How does the arrival of the messenger (426) affect the plot? Is the incident of the council a part of the main action, or merely an episode? Why was it necessary at this stage that the Captain should be removed from the presence of the other two (484)? What personal interests of the various characters are pending or threatened at this point of the story? In what way is the central action still in a state of suspense after the Captain’s departure? Show how the suspense is to be accounted for by the disposition and character of Alden. In what way are the occurrences that take place during the Captain’s absence invested with interest (824-900)? IV. What is the decisive moment in the story? Explain the effect it will be likely to have on Alden and his course of action. In what way is the preceding situation a preparation for this moment? How does the poet make plain to us Alden’s previous sense of restraint as well as his present sense of freedom? V. What is the purpose of the information given in 949--“Long had it stood there,” etc.? What difference would it have made to one of Alden’s disposition if the person had presented himself before the ceremony? Could the action be regarded as quite complete without the reconciliation of all the main characters? THE CHARACTERS. Miles Standish and John Alden are introduced together, for the reason, no doubt, that the traits of the one may serve to set off those of the other. Miles Standish is a soldier by nature; and a lifetime spent in camp and field has brought out the soldier spirit in him in all its completeness. The character of John Alden is less marked, though it is made sufficiently intelligible, first by his employment as scribe and correspondent of the colonists, which leads us to infer that he was better fitted for the occupation of the scholar than for the struggles of the pioneer; secondly, his youth and delicate complexion are mentioned, and we gather that his physique is not robust nor hardened. The Puritan predominates in John Alden as the soldier does in Miles Standish. The latter attributes the saving of his life to the good steel of the breastplate, while the former attributes it to a direct interposition of the Lord in slackening the speed of the bullet. We feel that if Alden had been left to spend an anxious hour or two alone, he would have turned for consolation to the Bible and not to “the ponderous Roman.”