Springfield (Ill.) -- Fiction; Springfield (Ill.) -- In literature; Utopias in literature
But as to Johnny Appleseed, which is more to the point of this chapter,
she is most uplifted of heart to find that he at last comes into his own
in our city and his name is whispered there perpetually.
In his name Springfield has developed the great Amaranth Apple Orchards;
it is said, from seeds he gave in his lifetime to a certain pioneer,
Hunter Kelly. And it is taught in his name, or with the mood he
engenders in our hearts, that he who eats of the Amaranth Apple is
filled with a love of eternal beauty, and it is used as the City’s
understood symbol of beauty.
Then there is a teaching in his name that he who, after certain prayers,
eats of certain acorns, or walks under the oak saplings that come from
them, accepts in some sense promptings toward eternal goodness. It has
come about that eating the acorn, is the city’s accepted metaphor for
the search for righteousness. The earlier devotees of the oak, planted a
notable group that have of late grown taller than the California
redwoods. They are in a complete circle of twelve, surrounding the very
edges of the city. The first two, which are the tallest, are by the
inside northwest gate, put there long before there was any gate, by
Hunter Kelly, of whom more hereafter. But these oaks, the pillars of
Springfield’s temple-cathedral-synagogue, whose roof is the sky, are
made the theme of many varieties of teaching, all of which goes back to
Johnny Appleseed, who gave to Hunter Kelly the original acorns that made
the trees of Oak Ridge, and these pillar oaks as well.
There is another teaching, abroad in Springfield, 2018, the teaching of
Democracy, of which the Symbol is the Golden Rain-Tree brought from New
Harmony, Indiana. It is said in Springfield, and taught with especial
emphasis by the devotees of the Flower Religion, that he who enters
under the shade of the Rain-Tree boughs and leaves and flowers, enters
the gate of eternal democracy, and so the trees are often called
Gate-Trees.
And then having told us so much, my friend speaks again and shows to our
spirit eyes an out-of-door statue of John Chapman, Johnny Appleseed,
near which she finds herself just before sunrise of All Saint’s Day,
Anno Domini, 2018. Roxana is there to watch for the dawn. She walks
alone, according to the discipline, saying certain prayers. The park is
on the edge of the Governor’s yard.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account