 | The bride of Fort Edward |  |
PREFACE.
—
I am extremely anxious to guard against any misconception
of the design of this little work. I therefore
take the liberty of apprising the reader beforehand,
that it is not a Play. It was not intended for the
stage, and properly is not capable of representation.
I have chosen the form of the Dialogue as best
suited to my purpose in presenting anew the passions
and events of a day long buried in the past, but
it is the dialogue in scenes arranged simply with
reference to the impressions of the Reader, and
wholly unadapted to the requirements of the actual
stage. The plan here chosen, involves throughout
the repose, the thought, and sentiment of Actual life,
instead of the hurried action, the crowded plot, the
theatrical elevation which the Stage necessarily demands
of the pure Drama. I have only to ask that
I may not be condemned for failing to fulfil the conditions
of a species of writing which I have not attempted.
The story involved in these Dialogues is essentially
connected with a well-known crisis in our National
History; nay, it is itself a portion of the historic record,
and as such, even with many of its most trifling
minutiæ, is imbedded in our earliest recollections;
but it is rather in its relation to the abstract truth it
embodies,—as exhibiting a law in the relation of the
human mind to its Invisible protector—the apparent
sacrifice of the individual in the grand movements for
the race,—it is in this light, rather than as an historical
exhibition, that I venture to claim for it, as here
presented, the indulgent attention of my readers.
| The bride of Fort Edward | |