Loyola College - Review Yearbook (Montreal, Quebec Canada)

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26 LOYOLA COLLEGE REVIEW ourselves to his atmosphere. Possessed of a striking individuality, his masterpieces are comparable only to the works of Herodotus, Thucydides and Gibbon. More recently, Senator Lodge, speaking at the Centenary, said: ''He is ever new, he ranks among the greatest of historians. Any attempt to throw a new light on the subject has been rendered useless; in a word he has given us the essential atmos- phere.” Such unstinted praise from men who are recognized as worthy critics of literature would seem to show that Parkman was our foremost Canadian historian. But easy as it is to find those who eulogize his achieve- ments, it is equally easy to find at least mild detractors. He has been more than once subjected to the severe criticism of men well versed in the history of their country. Abbé Casgrain openly declares that despite Parkman’s many good quali- ties, the really true history of the French regime and the English conquest is still to be written; his writings give an untrust- worthy picture of the pioneer colonies and his characters closely resemble, not the real flesh and blood settlers of a new land but the rather fanciful figures of some romance of adventure. All these are statements which carry considerable weight since they come from a man who is known as a scholarly historian. Parkman set himself a great task in his attempt to relate the complete course of events which took place during two cen- turies of turbulence and strife. То attain his end, he required singular gifts—a marked ability for narration, strengthened by a deep love for his work; but, above all, that rare desire to be exact in his recordings and impartial in his conclusions. These are the essentials required of the historian. The slightest acquaintance with his work shows that his is imbued with a love of books and of nature; that he is a master of style and is innately literary. Further study reveals his wonderful power in the description of external life and surround- ings. He has made the picture of New · France part of himself in order to paint for us its true outward colour. He excelled in describing the forest, the Indian and the land itself. As gems of word painting, these descriptions are without parallel in our historical literature. The following short passage will illustrate clearly the manner in which he has caught the domin- ant notes of Indian life: “In the long winter evening, when, in the wilderness without, the trees crack with biting cold, and the forest pines were clogged with snow, then around the log fires of the Iroquois, warriors, squaws and restless naked children were clustered in groups, while with jest and laugh, the pipe passed from hand to hand. Perhaps some shriv- elled old warrior, the story teller of the tribe, recounted to attentive ears the deeds of ancient heroism, legends of spirits or monsters, or tales of witches and vampires.” If, on the other hand, we are to draw a distinction between science and literature in history—for we do know that this distinction exists, will our criticism of his work be favourable? Furthermore, if we maintain that this science consists in an exact recording of events with the circum- stances connected with them, narrated in a clear and impartial manner, will investi- gation show that Parkman exhibits this quality? Following this line of reasoning, it will appear that the question is not only open to debate, but that the decision will favour the negative side. In fact a devil’s advo- cate in a trial of this nature could say without fear of contradiction that Parkman made use of documents since proved to be doubtful and even false. For we are all well aware of the fact that the Government archives of his day were incomplete to such a degree that it was indeed a difficult matter to obtain precise information and practically impossible to form definite conclusions. Our archives, have since demonstrated clearly, оп more than one occasion, that Parkman's deductions are erroneous. Moreover, technical mistakes occur frequently with regard to dates and certain phases of transition. Epochs over- lap one another causing an inevitable repetition of the same incidents. This in particular, would help to destroy the

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LOYOLA COLLEGE REVIEW 25 Parkman ЕЛ N the present century we [д аге ехрегїепсїпр а соп- 1 tinual change of world- thought. Tendencies spring я рб 9 up from time to time fol- Хх lowing опе another in quick succession; political, religious, and economic subjects are constantly taking on a new aspect. There is generally a period of conservatism, a radical reaction to liber- alism, succeeded ultimately by a gradual return to a happier medium of opinion. Activities of the past few years have shown us clearly that there is still a state of unrest as a result of the World War. Опе of its effects, to be noticed in connection with our subject, is a marked trend towards sensa- tionalism, which seems to pervade the literary and intellectual sphere. This is reflected to a great extent by the numerous centenaries which have taken place during this time. Моге especially to be noticed were those in honour of Byron, Browning and Parkman. These celebrations are truly laudable, for an account of the space devoted to them in the press, they attract public attention and encourage an appreciation of the esthetic. The keynote of the Parkman Centenary was eulogy and homage at the shrine of his renown in the world of Belles- Lettres. He was placed in a niche in the Hall of Fame, as the most distinguished of American historians. Strangely, perhaps, there are some who are less whole-hearted in their praise, and itis therefore incumbent on the student of national history to delve more deeply into the matter, to determine Parkman's place as an historian, after an analysis of his qualities and defects. We would take for granted that the reader has had some acquaintance with Parkman and his works. Parkman made it his life work to present the history of pioneer Canada by the portrayal of forest life and the Indian character. Through careful perusal of manuscripts over a long period, he brought to light many seemingly unimportant events and private adventures which lent much local colour to enhance otherwise bare historical situations, and give them a romantic touch. For example, in the preface to his book on the Indian war after the conquest of Canada, he himself states that in present- ing his history to the world, he has made it his endeavour to write so as to rescue from oblivion what he terms “the yet unwritten history of that epoch, so crowded with scenes of tragic interest and marvels of suffering, heroism and endurance, which up till now has been buried in the archives of governments and the records of private individuals.” To obtain the true atmos- phere, which he deemed so necessary to the narration of history, he prepared to acquire knowledge other than that of the study by repeated journeys to the wild regions of the west among the primitive tribes of the Rocky Mountains. Searching out their remote haunts and mingling with them around their camp fires, he sought to familiarize himself with their customs and characteristics. Yet the question never- theless remains—is Parkman a true his- torian? With all his skill as a weaver of works, with his unequalled power of des- cribing the mountains, the plains, the forests, and the Indians who inhabited them, does he still deserve to be called the great American historian? Before proceeding further it would be well to hear an appreciation of Parkman by a noted man at letters, Dr. John Fiske, in his Preface to the Frontenac Edition of Parkman's Conquest of Canada. Dr. Fiske considers that Parkman was not only great in natural gifts, but that he has made the best possible use of them in the treatment of his subject. He was a profound analyst and pre-eminently cosmopolitan, Dr. Fiske continues: “His description of the events of pioneer days and of the decisive British political victory over the ideals of French colonial life, has all the qualities which will perpetuate his works for pos- terity. His charm increases as we adapt =

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LOYOLA COLLEGE REVIEW 27 A —————————————————— unity which we know is necessary to history. Such defects are not capital. His repu- tation suffers much more from the un- trustworthy documents on which he based his account of certain important events. As an example, Mr. Jusserand repudiates altogether Parkman's version of the Aca- dians' expulsion, stating that his narration of the circumstances was misleading, since he accepted in good faith unauthentic documents furnished by the archivist of Nova Scotia. This leads us to inquire with regard to his impartiality. Even а very slight know- ledge of his works reveals the fact that this is not one of his outstanding qualities. A pronounced hatred for the Catholic Church stands to this day as a stain on his reputa- tion as an impartial historian. If he is a detractor of Catholicism, of a Church which was the very creator and inspiration of pioneer life, how can he be the true historian of a colony which found its first birth and grew up under the shadow of the Cross? To cite one instance, he unjustly upholds the accusations brought by the enemies of the Church against the clergy of that time, namely that they offered no opposition to the corruption of the Inten- dant Bigot. This would imply that the Church did not only refrain from protest but by its silence even assisted in бөксе ing the machinations of a corrupt govern- ment. Abbé Casgrain has conclusively shown that the accusation is false by pro- ducing a pastoral letter of Monsigneur Pontbriand, decrying the abuses of that regime. Parkman paints a fantastic por- trait of Bishop Laval after the manner of a Bulwer-Lytton Richelieu. To Parkman Laval was unscrupulous and despotic. Fort unately, however, we can find an account of the true Laval in the books of Monsigneur Gosselin. Parkman romances with history, and history holds no place for romance. His agnosticism prevents him from realizing that if colonists and missionaries performed noble deeds of heroism it was nothing but their invulner- able faith that spurred them on. Nevertheless, if we set aside these de- fects, we have great cause to admire Parkman. He is the pioneer historian of New England and New France, for by first showing the light he has exerted a definite influence on historical research. There is a subtlety and a charm about his style that resembles the scent of the very forest he describes. Always realistic, col- ourful and spirited, he closely resembles Scott and Irving. While his cynicism might easily prove harmful to the young or to the untutored, the educated Catholic can ignore the misconceptions of an un- believer to afford himself excellent mental recreation, and revel in the wealth of beautiful descriptive passages typical of the historian in his true sphere. And although he has failed to give us a true concept of the interior life of the colony and while he is essentially exterior in the treatment of his subject, we may safely sa y that he has done some honour to our history. Monnis C. Davis '24. LAMENT When far from the land of my birth I have strayed And my loved ones are gone to their rest, Oh! then must I live where my hopes are not stayed And where life on this earth is not blest? Yes! live I must surely tho’ life may seem drear; This duty I owe and must pay; I have but to think of His life and a tear My faint heart will soothe and allay! D. McCrea, 726.