Anne of Green Gables, Chapters Eighteen and Nineteen

In which Anne redeems herself with Mrs. Barry, Marilla is badgered into allowing Anne to be mildly social, and an old lady is wildly accosted in her bed.



We get into some Canadian politics in these chapters, with references to "Grits" (the Liberal Party of Canada) and the Conservative Party of Canada, which is apparently not the same Conservative Party of Canada that currently holds the majority. They also refer to the Canadian Premier, "premier" officially only referring to the governmental head of a province or territory (like US governors), but informally can refer to the Canadian Prime Minister, which is how it appears it's being used here. Since it appears that Anne of Green Gables  takes place maybe in the late 1870s, and he's specifically mentioned as being a Conservative, that means the Prime Minister they're probably talking about is John Macdonald, PM from 1867-1873 and from 1878-1891, and considered one of the fathers of the Canadian Confederation. For more information about all things Canadian-historical, please check out "Hark, a vagrant."

We also get to see a case of croup, a swelling in the throat caused by some sort of an infection in the upper respiratory tract that causes a nasty cough and difficulty breathing. Like many diseases, it seems to be a little less dangerous now with modern medication. And no, I'm not entirely sure why the "French girl" looking after the Barry children is consistently called "Young Mary Joe."

The concert offers a plethora of forgotten poetry: "Curfew Must Not Ring Tonight," mentioned by Anne as to be read by Prissy Andrews, was one of Queen Victoria's favorites, one of the most popular poems of the 1800s, and perhaps more melodramatic than moral. Looking for "Far Above the Gentle Daisies" brings up pretty much only references to Anne of Green Gables, specifically the annotated version I wish I had, so I don't know what that's all about. Since it was sung by a choir, though, I'm sure we're all glad I didn't have to use the "Rob sings to you" tag. Sam Sloane recited "How Sockery Set a Hen," a short story written in Dutch dialect, which might actually mean German, about how the titular Sockery got stuck in a barrel while trying to put some eggs under a hen. I'm sure it was done with all taste and respect to our immigrant brethren. Gilbert Blythe's "Bingen on the Rhine" is a real knee-slapper about a dying soldier in Algiers telling a fellow soldier to deliver a last message to his friends and family in his hometown of Bingen am Rhein in Germany, with the quoted line "There's another, not a sister" referring, of course, to the soldier's sweetheart. Oh, and Mr. Phillips did "Mark Antony's oration over the dead body of Caesar," presumably meaning Shakespeare, that I'm sure needs no further explanation.

Phew! Lotta notes in this one, so not too much to say about today's cover up there, a neat semi-Impressionist one from a 2001 Polish edition entitled Ania z Zielonego Wzgórza.


If you would like to read along, the text can be found at Project Gutenberg. No reading ahead, though!