Side by side are we still, though a shadow
Between us doth fall;
We are parted, and yet are not parted,
Not wholly, and all.
Between us doth fall;
We are parted, and yet are not parted,
Not wholly, and all.
For still you are round and about me,
Almost in my reach,
Though I miss the old pleasant communion
Of smile, and of speech.
Almost in my reach,
Though I miss the old pleasant communion
Of smile, and of speech.
And I long to hear what you are seeing,
And what you have done,
Since the earth faded out from your vision,
And the heavens begun;
And what you have done,
Since the earth faded out from your vision,
And the heavens begun;
Since you dropped off the darkening fillet
Of clay from your sight,
And opened your eyes upon glory
Ineffably bright!
Of clay from your sight,
And opened your eyes upon glory
Ineffably bright!
Excerpt from ‘Entered
Into Rest’, Phoebe Cary
Last weekend, I made
my first visit to Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn. Founded in 1838, the burial
ground sprawls across nearly 500 acres and houses extravagant monuments and
mausoleums dating from the nineteenth-century.
Before the foundation
of Prospect Park in 1869, the cemetery was Brooklyn’s main green space and was used
as such, as well as for internments. It was also one of New York’s premier
tourist attractions, due to the dignitaries and notable men and women buried
there. Yet today it feels largely deserted. I saw only a handful of walkers
when exploring the cemetery, despite its beautifully manicured paths and lawns.
Without a doubt one
of the most beautiful places I’ve visited in New York, I’ll definitely be back
– to walk (there are even some hills there!), to enjoy the peaceful atmosphere,
and to read and investigate the names on the older gravestones.
In my research since
my visit I’ve already stumbled across some fascinating nineteenth-century female
writers you can find there:
Alice (1820-1871) and Phoebe (1824-1871)
Cary: Sisters from Ohio,
poets Alice and Phoebe enjoyed some celebrity from the late 1830s, when their
teenage writings were published in newspapers, and become even more prominent
after 1849 with the appearance of a joint collection of poetry. Key figures in
the New York literary scene up until their deaths, they died within five months
of each other and are buried side by side in the cemetery.
Elizabeth F. Ellet (1818-1877): Elizabeth Ellet (nee Lummis) was a New
York-born writer, best known for her involvement in a scandal concerning Edgar
Allen Poe and Frances Sargent Osgood in the mid 1840s. Her major works include
a tragedy, Teresa Contarini (1835),
which was performed on the New York stage, and The Women of the American
Revolution (1845) – the first work to document the role of women in the
American Revolution.
Laura Jean Libbey (1862-1924): Libbey was an extremely popular writer of
‘dime novels’ (similar to modern day romance fiction). I’m sorely tempted to
give one a read based on some of the titles alone! They include Daisy Brooks, or A Perilous Love (1883),
Pretty Madcap Dorothy, or How She Won a
Lover (1891), Jolly Sally Pendleton,
or The Wife who was not a Wife (1897), Mischievous
Maid Faynie (1899).
What other attractions would you recommend to a
Victorianist in Brooklyn? Let me know – here, on Facebook or by
tweeting @SVictorianist.
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