Gravenhurst and The Relationship With The Unknown Benefactor, Poet William Henry Smith

Birch Hollow Photos by Suzanne Currie

 

WHO WAS THIS WILLIAM HENRY SMITH ANYWAY - AND WHY SHOULD WE CARE?

SHOULD WE BE PROUD OF OUR ASSOCIATION - OR TUCK IT AWAY WITH THE OTHER DUST OF AGES?

     William Henry Smith had never visited Muskoka and from what we know of his biography, he never visited Canada. There isn’t any evidence that William Dawson LeSueur, had ever been to the shoreline of Muskoka Bay, or the hamlet of McCabe’s Landing, before he attached the title of the literary work of a British poet / philosopher, to the application for the new post office put forward by local citizens in 1862. It’s likely that Dr. LeSueur never met the poet, Smith, but it is certain that he knew and respected the author’s work. All very strange isn’t it? But here is some gospel for you, so that you can understand this story a little better. LeSueur was not a happenstance kind of post administrator, and he was most definitely of the scholarly class of Canadians even before Confederation, and his work as a literary critic and then of a national historian, showed no evidence of cavalier-anything. He was entirely serious, and thorough in his research and astute in his literary reviews of which he was highly popular. In two cases here in South Muskoka, being the naming of Gravenhurst and Bracebridge, from the titles of books he approved of, Dr. LeSueur was guilty of only one thing; that being the failure to, as they say, thread the needle, by providing written explanations on both counts, to explain more clearly to the citizens of each hamlet, why these names were selected, and their choices rejected. It would have made it a lot easier for this historian to sell his handiwork, and justify this early betrayal of citizen will, in favor of honors bestowed with few knowing exactly why. In the case of Gravenhurst, this has been a 159 year old sliver that still irritates some folks here, at home, simply because I apparently haven’t yet made a good enough case for its overall acceptance.

     The most difficult detail to sort out, from the tangle of previous editorials offered by a long list of historians, who didn’t exercise due diligence, when it came to answering a few basic questions. For example, how many postal authorities in the history of the Federal Postal Service have been authors, historians and literary critics? It’s rather hard for many to wrap their heads around a postal employee doing anything else but working, tending the needs of customers mailing and receiving mail,  and then recreating at home. But early in the postal history of this country, there he is……William Dawson LeSueur, who was one of those in federal employ, responsible for handling applications for new post offices in Canada. And yes, that involved approving, rejecting and even substituting names that he felt were better suited to the locale. Love him or hate him for this, but he did give our South Muskoka hamlets two pretty good names with the bonus of a literary provenance citizens couldn’t have expected; and really didn’t want anyway. I can appreciate why there is a nagging feeling that we were somehow ripped-off way back when, unless of course one realizes, as Suzanne and I have for quite a few years now, that being related by namesake with two exceptional authors for antiquity, who really did make their mark on society in their lifetimes, is really quite a remarkable resource. Being connected to a man whose work, “Gravenhurst,” is still being used in university level courses in United States, in particular, and that Washington Irving, in the case of the borrowed name “Bracebridge,” gives our northern neighbor, and my old home town, a very rich connection to one of the finest bodies of work in literary history. Even Charles Dickens very much approved the work of Washington Irving, as did, apparently, Tim Burton and Johnny Depp, working together to make the movie “Sleepy Hollow.” Gosh, what a most curious and delicious connectedness, despite the fact that LeSueur, in his wisdom, killed the name “North Falls,” back in August 1864, to afford the hamlet the title from the book “Bracebridge Hall.” Well, if no one else is interested in taking advantage of this provenance, Suzanne and I, as we have since the turn of this new century, are “all-in” to develop a closer literary relationship. We already tried to work with the town halls in both towns, and guess what? We got the “bum’s rush” and I suppose, we could relate to the citizen sentiment in the 1860’s, who didn’t get their way either. They just didn’t persist like us. It’s a cornerstone of our research and development adventures, so we are always pleased for any opportunity to present these tidbits of history that really deserve more exposure; and I dare say, celebration for what they represent that few acknowledge as having any merit at all. Please read on…..

     "HIS POEMS 'GUIDONE' AND 'SOLITUDE,' WERE PUBLISHED TOGETHER IN 1836, AND ABOUT THE SAME TIME HE REVIEWED BULWER AND LANDOR IN "THE QUARTERLY. IN 1839 HE PUBLISHED HIS 'DISCOURSE ON ETHICS OF THE SCHOOL OF PALEY,' WHICH, IN PROFESSOR FERRIER'S OPINION, 'WAS ONE OF THE BEST WRITTEN AND MOST INGENIOUSLY REASONED ATTACKS UPON CUDWORTH'S DOCTRINE THAT EVER APPEARED'. IN THE SAME YEAR HE BEGAN HIS CONNECTION WITH 'BLACKWOOD'S MAGAZINE,' CONTINUED TO NEARLY THE END OF HIS LIFE. HE CONTRIBUTED ALTOGETHER 126 ARTICLES ON THE MOST DIVERSE SUBJECTS, STORIES, POEMS, ESSAYS IN PHILOSOPHY AND POLITICS, BUT PRINCIPALLY REVIEWS AND CRITICISMS, ALL VALUABLE, AND ALL DISTINGUISHED BY ELEGANCE AND LUCIDITY OF STYLE."

     WILLIAM SMITH, WHILE WRITING FOR THE PUBLICATIONS SUCH AS THE "LITERARY GAZETTE," AND "ATHENAEUM," USED THE PEN NAME, "THE WOOL-GATHERER."

     YOU MIGHT ALSO WISH, AFTER READING THIS, TO LOOK UP THE TEXT OF "GRAVENHURST; OR THOUGHTS AND GOOD AND EVIL," ON GOOGLE BOOKS, WHERE IT HAS BE FULLY RE-PUBLISHED.    

     It might appear, from using this detailed, literarily complicated opening biography, first released in 'The Dictionary of National Biography,' published by the Oxford Press, that I'm actually trying to scare readers off. I'm pretty sure, this information won't stir the younger readers, and I can't imagine the hisses I'd get, if I had to present this to a high school history class. Those not hissing, would be snoring, or asking to go to the washroom.....repeatedly. It's a tough sell but then I've been doing this historical stuff since I was a kid.....so I've gotten used to people switching me off for self preservation; which does speak to my own rather boring existence mired in the archives of local history.

      I'm so positive about this particular story, and the connection we've never really made with William Henry Smith, that it's worth the risk, to keep plugging along, in this 150th anniversary month, of the official naming of the Town of Gravenhurst's first post office, by postal authority William Dawson LeSueur, after the title of the British author's book, "Gravenhurst; or Thoughts on Good and Evil." That date was August Ist, 1862, and one hundred and fifty years later, there is virtually no buzz, little interest, and no will to pursue much more knowledge than presently exists, about the historial and literary connection with old England. Well, that's never stopped me before. So here goes some more biographical information from the National Biography:

     "His novel 'Ernesto,' a story connected with the conspiracy of Fiesco, had appeared in 1835. It has considerable psychological but little narrative interest. Similar qualities and defects characterizes his tragedy of 'Athelwold,' (1842) although it was greatly admired by Mrs. Taylor, the Egeria of Stuart Mill, whose scrap of criticism is one of the very few utterances of hers that have found their way to print. Macready produced a curtailed version in 1843, and his and Helen Faucit's acting, procured it a successful first night; more was hardly to be anticipated. It was published in 1846 along with 'Sir William Crichton,' another tragedy,  and 'Guidone,' and 'Solitude.' From this time Smith lived chiefly at Keswick in the Lake District. In 1851, he unexpectedly received an offer from Professor Wilson to supply temporarily his place as professor of moral philosophy at Edinburg, but he was diffident, and had begun to write 'Thorndale,' and the tempting offer was declined. 'Thorndale; or the Conflict of Opinions,' was published in 1857, and, notwithstanding its length and occasional abstruseness, speedily gained acceptance with thoughtful readers. In the previous year he had become acquainted with his future wife, Lucy Caroline, daughter of George Cumming, M.D. whom he married at St. John's Church, Notting Hill, on the 5th of March, 1861," records the National Biography.

     "Gravenhurst; or Thoughts on Good and Evil,' was published the same year. It confirmed and extended the reputation acquired by 'Thorndale,' but Smith owes much more to his wife's beautiful and affectionate record of their married life, almost devoid of incident as it is. His health began to decline in 1869, and he died at Brighton on the 28th of March, 1872. Mrs. Smith survived until the 14th of December 1881. Apart from her memoir (which the Gravenhurst Archives possesses in its collection), her literary work had principally consisted of translations from the German, both in prose and verse.  Next after the biography, which has embalmed his name, Smith will chiefly be remembered by his philosophical dialogues, 'Thorndale,' and 'Gravenhurst'. The mutual relation of the books is indicated by the author himself, when he says that "Thorndale,' is a conflict of opinions, and 'Gravenhurst,' a harmony. No man was better qualified by inate candour and impartiality to balance conflicting opinions against each other, or by acuteness to exhibit the strong and weak points of all. The eclectic character of his mind aided the diffusion of the books; every one found much that commended itself to him, while less popular views were expressed with an urbanity which disarmed hostility, and the hesitation to draw definite conclusions was an additional attraction to a public weary of dogmatism. If these really charming compositions have become in a measure obsolete, the chief reason is the importation of physical science as an element in moral discussions, but their classic elegance will always secure them an honorable, if not influential place in the history of modern speculation.

     "Smith's dramatic gift was not inconsiderable; his personages are well individualised both in his dialogues and his dramas. Of the latter, 'Sir William Crichton,' a play of the story times of James II of Scotland, is the more effective. 'Athelwold,' is a clear immitation of the style of Sir Henry Taylor, and, like the latter's 'Edwin the Fair,' brings Dunstan upon the stage. Both plays are full of wisdom, beautifully expressed, but neither is very vital nor very real."

     "I call this somewhat irregular esssay on a very old subject by the name of the place in which it was written, because allusions to that place and its inhabitants, and some conversations with neighbouring friends, have crept into it," wrote William Henry Smith, in his book, "Gravenhurst; or Thoughts on Good and Evil," published in Edinburgh, originally in 1861. "One evening when returning from my walk through a village which, at least in these pages, bears the name of 'Gravenhurst,' I found myself meditating on the old problem of good and evil, and that apparently disproportionate amount of evil, which has often perplexed profoundest thinkers, and which has often startled into thought the most simple-hearted of men, when suffering themselves under any sharp calamity," wrote Smith of the community he used as the model for his study.

     "A visit paid to a poor woman in distress, and a conversation held with a dear friend who keeps alive in me the habit of philosophical discussion, had led my thoughts in this direction. It was the hour of sunset. As I paused upon the parapet of our little bridge, the distant Welsh hills were glowing in their purple splendour; the river ran gold at my feet; every branch of every graceful tree that hung silently in the air received and reflected a new beauty from that entire scene of enchantment, to which also it brought its own contribution. The whole which is formed itself of separate parts, gives to each part its meaning and charm,"

     More on the good Mr. Smith in tomorrow's post. Please join me for another in the series  recognizing the 159th anniversary of the naming of the Town of Gravenhurst, Ontario, on August 1st, 1862.