Songs of the Great Dominion

Songs of the Great Dominion was a pioneering anthology of Canadian poetry published in 1889. The book's full title was Songs of the Great Dominion: Voices from the Forests and Waters, the Settlements and Cities of Canada.William Douw Lighthall, Songs of the Great Dominion: Voices from the Forests and Waters, the Settlements and Cities of Canada (Walter Scott [Windsor Series], 1889), Google Books, Web, Apr. 30, 2011. The collection was selected and edited by William Douw Lighthall of Montreal. It was published in London, England by the firm of Walter Scott, as part of its "Windsor Series" of anthologies.Michael Gnarowski, "Songs of the Great Dominion", Canadian Encyclopedia (Edmonton:Hurtig, 1988), 2047.

The book introduced Canadian and English audiences to a new generation of Canadian writers. It marked the first publication in book form for several poets, including Bliss Carman, Pauline Johnson, and Duncan Campbell Scott.

History Lighthall was asked to put together an anthology for Walter Scott by poet William Sharp, who was working as an editor for the firm. Independently, freelance editor Ernest Rhys made the same proposal on behalf of Walter Scott to Canadian poet Charles G.D. Roberts. When the mixup was revealed, Roberts withdrew, but promised Lighthall "whatever assistance you might permit me to be." Roberts suggested several writers for inclusion, including his cousin Barry Straton and his sister Elizabeth (both of whom were included).John Coldwell Adams, "The Whirligig of Time," Confederation Voices, Canadian Poetry, UWO, Web, Apr. 30, 2011.

"Supplied with a ringing introduction which echoes with patriotic sentiment and lyrical praise for Canada," says the Canadian Encyclopedia, "this is a collection of confident poetry truly representative of the national and literary self-respect of the emergent Dominion."

In his introduction, Lighthall was lavish in his praise of Roberts. "The foremost name in Canadian song at the present day is that of Charles George Douglas Roberts," he declared. Immediately after Roberts Lighthall talked of Charles Sangster, whom he called Canada's "first important national poet" and "a kind of Wordsworth."

Lighthall was also lavish in praising the reputation of Isabella Valancy Crawford, whose one book of poetry had failed to sell in 1884, and who had died neglected in 1887 (a "sad story of unrecognized genius and death," as he put it). While gently mocking her title, Lighthall pronounced Crawford's book, Old Spookse's Pass, Malcolm's Katie, and Other Poems, to be "the most striking volume" of Canadian poetry after Roberts's, and "even more boldly new" than his. After her death, he added, "Miss Crawford's work was, in fact, seen to be phenomenal."

In a review of Songs of the Great Dominion in the September 28, 1889, Athenæum, Theodore Watts-Dunton singled out Pauline Johnson for special praise, calling her “the most interesting English poetess now living” and quoting her poem "In the Shadows" in full. Johnson (who had not yet published a book) considered this to be a big boost for her career, and felt herself "indebted" for the inclusion and the review.John Coldwell Adams, "Pauline Johnson," Confederation Voices, Canadian Poetry, UWO, Web, Apr. 30, 2011.

One person who was unhappy with the selection was William Wilfred Campbell. "I have been cruelly misrepresented by a willful choice of my poorest work," Campbell wrote to a friend."

"The anthology is noteworthy for its attempt to include some French Canadian poetry in the appendix as well as some folksongs in translation, and for its recognition of a distinct Indian element in Canadian writing."

Walter Scott republished the anthology in 1892 under the title, Canadian Poems and Lays: Selections of native verse reflecting the seasons, legends, and life of the Dominion."Canadian Poems and Lays," Internet Archive, Web, May 10, 2011.

Contents

Contents of the 1889 edition:

Introduction [William Douw Lighthall] /xxi Entry of the Minstrels (from Masque of the Minstrels), Arthur J. Lockhart /xxxix

I. The Imperial Spirit Hastings (from Merlin and Other Poems), John Reade /3 Advance of the Empire (from Jubilee Poems), Mary Barry Smith /5 Canada to England, Anonymous /7 Empire First, Jean-Talon L'Espérance ("Laclède") /10 The Canadians on the Nile (from Poems), William Wye Smith /11

II. The New Nationality Dominion Day, "Fidelis" / 15 Canada (from In Divers Tones), Charles G.D. Roberts /18 The Confused Dawn (from Thoughts, Moods, and Ideals), William Douw Lighthall /21 National Hymn (from Thoughts, Moods, and Ideals), William Douw Lighthall /22 From "'85", Barry Straton /24 Song for Canada, Charles Sangster /25 Here's to the Land (from Poems), William Wye Smith /27 Canada Not Last (from Thoughts, Moods, and Ideals), William Douw Lighthall /28 An Ode to the Canadian Confederacy (from In Divers Tones, Charles G.D. Roberts /30 Collect for Dominion Day (from In Divers Tones, Charles G.D. Roberts /32

III. The Indian A Blood-Red Ring Hung Round the Moon, John E. Logan ("Barry Dane") /35 The Departing of Clote Scarp (from In Divers Tones), Charles G.D. Roberts /36 Change on the Ottawa (from Marguerite), George Martin /38 From "Tecumseh" (Act I, Scene 2), Charles Mair /42 The Arctic Indian's Faith (from Poems), Hon. Thomas D'Arcy McGee /44 Taapookaa: A Huron Legend (from Hesperus), Charles Sangster /45 The Caughnawaga Beadwork Seller, William Douw Lighthall /49 The Indian's Grave, Bishop George Jehoshaphat Mountain /51 Wahonomin: Indian Hymn to the Queen (from Soul's Quest), Frederick George Scott /52 Wabanaki Song, tr. Charles G. Leland /59 Wabanaki Song, tr. Charles G. Leland /60 Caughnawaga Song, tr. John Waniente Jocks / 62

IV. The Voyageur and Habitant The Old Régime (from Song of Welcome), Mrs. J.F.W. Harrison ("Seranus") / 67 Malbrouck (Old Chanson), tr. William M'Lennan /71 A La Claire Fontaine (Old Chanson), tr. William Douw Lighthall /74 En Roulant Ma Boule (Old Chanson), tr. William M'Lennan /76 Gai le Rosier (Old Chanson), tr. William M'Lennan /78 Entre Paris et Saint-Denis (Old Chanson), tr. William M'Lennan /80 Marianson (Old Chanson), tr. William M'Lennan /83 The Resettlement of Acadia, Arthur Wentworth Eaton /87 At the Cedars, Duncan Campbell Scott /91 Rose Latulippe (A French-Canadian Legend), Mrs. J.F.W. Harrison ("Seranus") / 94 Adieu to France (from Roberval), John Hunter-Duvar /104

V. Settlement Life Song of the Axe (from Spooks's Pass), Isabella Valancy Crawford /107 Fire in the Woods; or, the Old Settler's Story, Alexander M'Lachlan /109 Burnt Lands, Charles G.D. Roberts /114 Acres of Your Own (from Poems and Songs), Alexander M'Lachlan /115 From "Malcolm's Katie" (from Old Spooks's Pass), Isabella Valancy Crawford /117 From "Malcolm's Katie" (from Old Spooks's Pass), Isabella Valancy Crawford /119 The Second Concession of Deer (from Poems), William Wye Smith /125 The Scot Abroad (from Spring Flowers), Sir Daniel Wilson /127 The Farmer's Daughter Cherry (from Old Spooks's Pass), Isabella Valancy Crawford /129 A Canadian Folk-Song, William Wilfred Campbell /133 The Pioneers (A Ballad), William Douw Lighthall /134 "Rough Ben" (North-west Rebellion Incident), Kate B. Simpson /136 "The Injun" (Incident of Minnesota Massacre), John E. Logan ("Barry Dane") /142 Shakespeer at Dead-Hos' Crick (A North-west Romance), John E. Logan ("Barry Dane") /148

VI. Sports and Free Life The Wraith of the Red Swan, Bliss Carman /157 Birch and Paddle (from In Divers Tones), Charles G.D. Roberts /163 The Nor-West Courier, John E. Logan ("Barry Dane") /166 The Hall of Shadows (from Poems and Songs), Alexander M'Lachlan /168 Canadian Hunter's Song, Mrs. Susanna (Strickland) Moodie /172 Canadian Camping Song, James D. Edgar /173 The Fisherman's Light (A Song of the Backwoods), Mrs. Susanna (Strickland) Moodie /174 The Kingfisher, Charles Lee Barnes /175 The Canoe (from Old Spooks's Pass), Isabella Valancy Crawford /177 Canoe Song (from Old Spooks's Pass), Isabella Valancy Crawford /178 The Walker of the Snow, Charles Dawson Shanly /181 In the Shadows, E. Pauline Johnson /184 On the Creek (from In Divers Tones), Charles G.D. Roberts /187 The Rapid (St. Lawrence), Charles Sangster /190 The Winter Spirit (Origin of the Ice Palace), Helen Fairbairn /192 Snowshoeing Song, Arthur Weir /195 Skating, John Lowry Stuart /197 The Winter Carnival, John Reade /199 The Spirit of the Carnival, "Fleurance" /203 The Football Match, Anonymous /209

VII. The Spirit of Canadian History Jacques Cartier (from Poems), Hon. Thomas D'Arcy McGee /213 L'Isle St. Croix, Arthur Wentworth Eaton /216 The Captured Flag (from Fleur de Lys) Arthur Weir /219 How Canada Was Saved, George Murray /222 Madeleine de Verchères, John Reade /228 The Battle of La Prairie (A Ballad), William Douw Lighthall /233 The Battle of Grand Pré, M.J. Katzmann Lawson /236 Spina Christi (from Canadian Idylls), William Kirby /240 The Loyalists (from Laura Secord), Sarah Anne Curzon /253 Brock (from Hesperus), Charles Sangster /254 Capture of Fort Detroit, 1812, Charles Edwin Jakeway /256 Tecumseh's Death (from Tecumseh), Major Richardson /260 A Ballad for Brave Women,Charles Mair /262 In the North-West, William Wilfred Campbell /267 The Veteran, J.A. Fraser /269 In Hospital, Annie Rothwell /270 In Memoriam (from The Soul's Quest), Frederick George Scott /275

VIII. Places The Tantramar Revisited (from In Divers Tones), Charles G.D. Roberts /279 Low Tide on Grand Pré, Bliss Carman /283 The Indian Names of Acadia, attributed to DeMille /285 On Leaving the Coast of Nova Scotia, George Frederick Cameron /287 The Fairies in Prince Edward Island, John Hunter-Duvar /288 The Vale of the Gaspereau (from Masque of Minstrels), Arthur J. Lockhart /290 In the Afternoon (from In Divers Tones), Charles G.D. Roberts /291 A Dream Fulfilled, Barry Straton /294 The Isle of Demons (from Marguerite), George Martin /297 The Secret of the Saguenay (from Fleur de Lys), Arthur Weir /303 Saguenay, L.H. Fréchette, tr. J.D. Edgar /306 Quebec (from St. Lawrence and Saguenay), Charles Sangster /307 Montreal, William M'Lennan /308 Montreal, William Douw Lighthall /309 The St. Lawrence, K.L. Jones /310 Night in the Thousand Isles (from St. Lawrence and Saguenay), Charles Sangster /312 Ottawa, Duncan Campbell Scott /314 At the Ferry, E. Pauline Johnson /315 Niagara, William Kirby /317 Lake Couchiching, W.A. Sherwood /320 The Heart of the Lakes (from Lake Lyrics), William Wilfred Campbell /321 Vapour and Blue (from Lake Lyrics), William Wilfred Campbell /322 Medwayosh (from Lake Lyrics), William Wilfred Campbell /323 Manitou (from Lake Lyrics), William Wilfred Campbell /324 To the Lakes (from Lake Lyrics), William Wilfred Campbell /326 The Legend of Restless River (from Lake Lyrics), William Wilfred Campbell /327 Morning on the Beach (from Lake Lyrics), William Wilfred Campbell /330 Dawn in the Island Camp (from Lake Lyrics), William Wilfred Campbell /331 Lake Huron (from Lake Lyrics), William Wilfred Campbell /332 Indian Summer (from Lake Lyrics), William Wilfred Campbell /333 Sault Ste. Marie (from Poems of the Heart and Home), Pamelia Vining Yule /334 Le Lac des Morts (from Songs of the Wilderness), Bishop George J. Mountain /337 The Buffalo Plains (from Tecumseh, Act IV, Scene 7), Charles Mair /339 The Last Bison, Charles Mair /342 A Prairie Year (from Eos: A Prairie Dream), Nicholas Flood Davin /349 The Laurentides (from Western Life), H.R.A. Pocock /352 The Legend of Thunder (from Western Life), H.R.A. Pocock /357

IX. Seasons Heat (from In the Millet), Archibald Lampman /369 To a Humming-bird in a Garden, George Murray /371 In the Golden Birch, Elizabeth Gostwycke Roberts /374 The Fir Woods, Charles G.D. Roberts /376 Clouds (from In the Millet), Archibald Lampman /377 Frogs, Charles G.D. Roberts /378 Twilight (from Jephthah's Daughter), Charles Heavysege /379 The Whip-Poor-Will, "Fidelis" /380 A Canadian Summer Evening (from Poems), Mrs. Leprohon /382