The Poems of Philip Freneau, Poet of the American Revolution. Volume 1 (of 3)

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Freneau Philip Morin. The Poems of Philip Freneau, Poet of the American Revolution. Volume 1 (of 3)

PREFACE

LIFE OF PHILIP FRENEAU

1752-1832. LIFE OF PHILIP FRENEAU

I

II

III

IV

V

VI

VII

VIII

PART I. EARLY POEMS. 1768 – 1775

THE HISTORY OF THE PROPHET JONAH29

Canto I

Canto II

Canto III

Canto IV

THE ADVENTURES OF SIMON SWAUGUM, A VILLAGE MERCHANT30

Preliminary Particulars

The Shop Described and the Merchant's Outset

His Journey to the Metropolis; and Mercantile Transactions

The Merchant's Return

The Catastrophe, or theBroken Merchant

The Puncheon's Eulogy

Epilogue31

THE PYRAMIDS OF EGYPT32

THE MONUMENT OF PHAON33

THE POWER OF FANCY35

THE PRAYER OF ORPHEUS

THE DESERTED FARM-HOUSE36

THE CITIZEN'S RESOLVE37

THE DYING ELM42

COLUMBUS TO FERDINAND43

THE RISING GLORY OF AMERICA45

Argument

A POEM ON THE RISING GLORY OF AMERICA

Argument

ON RETIREMENT46

DISCOVERY47

THE PICTURES OF COLUMBUS, THE GENOESE48

Picture I

Picture II.51

Picture III

Picture IV

Picture V

Picture VI

Picture VII

Picture VIII

Picture IX

Picture X

Picture XI

Picture XII

Picture XIII

Picture XIV

Picture XV

Picture XVI

Picture XVII

Picture XVIII

THE EXPEDITION OF TIMOTHY TAURUS, ASTROLOGER

To the Falls of Passaick River, in New Jersey59

Characters of the Poem

PART II. THE FIRST POETIC PERIOD. 1775-178160

A POLITICAL LITANY61

AMERICAN LIBERTY, A POEM69

Argument

GENERAL GAGE'S SOLILOQUY71

THE MIDNIGHT CONSULTATIONS;86

Epilogue

THE SILENT ACADEMY98

LINES TO A COASTING CAPTAIN99

TO THE AMERICANS101

On the Rumoured Approach of the Hessian Forces,Waldeckers, &c. (Published 1775)

THE VERNAL AGUE

GENERAL GAGE'S CONFESSION116

THE DISTREST SHEPHERDESS121

MARS AND HYMEN122

MAC SWIGGEN145

A Satire

THE HOUSE OF NIGHT157

THE JAMAICA FUNERAL158

1776

The Sermon

THE BEAUTIES OF SANTA CRUZ[A]159

1776

ON A HESSIAN DEBARKATION160

1776

THE JEWISH LAMENTATION AT EUPHRATES161

AMERICA INDEPENDENT

ON AMANDA'S SINGING BIRD166

ON THE NEW AMERICAN FRIGATE ALLIANCE170

ON THE DEATH OF CAPTAIN NICHOLAS BIDDLE171

CAPTAIN JONES'S INVITATION174

THE SEA VOYAGE176

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In the possession of the Freneau descendants there is an old French Bible, printed in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1587, which preserves an unbroken roll of the heads of the family back to the original owner of the book, Philip Fresneau, who on his death-bed in La Chapelle, France, in 1590, gave it into the hands of his eldest son. For five generations the book remained in the little suburban village, its possessors sturdy, industrious tradesmen, who stood high in the esteem of their community and yet who on account of their Protestant faith were often imposed upon and at times even persecuted. It was doubtless this feeling of insecurity, if not positive persecution, which compelled André Fresneau, like so many of his fellow Huguenots, to leave his native village and to seek a home in a more tolerant land.

He landed in New York in 1707. He was in his thirty-sixth year, an active, handsome man, almost brilliant in certain directions, of pleasing address, and skilled from his youth in the handling of affairs. He became at once a leader in the little Huguenot Colony whose center was the quaint old church "du St. Esprit" on Pine street. He was soon in the midst of a thriving shipping business, dealing largely in imported wines, and in 1710, three years after his arrival, he was able to furnish a beautiful home on Pearl street, near Hanover Square, for his young bride, Mary Morin, a daughter of Pierre Morin, of the French Congregation. Of the comfort and hospitality of this home there are many contemporary references. John Fontaine, the French traveller, was entertained here in 1716 and he speaks highly of his host and his entertainment.1

.....

The Forman family with which the poet allied himself was one of great respectability and even prominence in New Jersey. Its record during the Revolution had been a conspicuous one, and its connection included the Ledyards, the Seymours, and many other prominent families. Mrs. Freneau, in the words of her daughter, "was remarkable for her gentle, lady-like manners, amiable disposition and finely informed mind. She was affable and sprightly in her conversation, and there were, even when she had reached the advanced age of eighty-seven, few handsomer women." In her early years she dabbled a little in poetry herself, and there is a tradition in the family that the prenuptial correspondence was for a long time wholly in verse.

Freneau was now fairly settled in life, and for the next seven or eight years he was engaged almost continuously in newspaper work.

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