Hezekiah Butterworth (1839–1905)

Hezekiah Butterworth unfolds two Christmas tales, both set in the New England region, in this brief work of holiday fiction for young people, first published in 1894.

In The Parson's Miracle, the tender-hearted Parson Pool, the minister of a small parish in the New Hampshire hills, finds himself unequal to the task of butchering the fine chicken given to him as a gift by one of his parishioners. Positioning the bird on the chopping block, he closes his eyes at the last minute, swings his axe, and is astonished to discover the bird has disappeared, when he opens his eyes again. Although the parson believes a miracle has occurred, his little grandson, a witness to the entire event, knows the truth...

In My Grandmother's Grandmother's Christmas Candle, a young girl narrates the story of one of her ancestors, who lived in the Pocasset settlement of the Plymouth Colony, in present-day Massachusetts, before and during King Philip's War (1675-1676). Coming into conflict with one of the warriors of Weetamoo, the female sachem or chief of the Pocasset tribe of the Wampanoag Confederation, the narrator's great-great-grandmother and her many Christmas Eve guests were saved by her Christmas candle—a special candle with gunpowder at the base of its wick, which was made to explode when the candle burned down—which went off at just the right time...

Although very familiar with the work of Hezekiah Butterworth, a 19th-century American author and lecturer, whose seventeen-volume ZigZag Journeys provided young people with travelogue fiction meant to introduce them to different parts of the world, this slim volume is the first of his books I have actually read. I picked it up because it is part of the Christmas in Many Lands series, which began with four similar volumes, set in England, France, Germany and Italy, that were produced by English sisters and author/illustrator team Florence and Edith Scannell. Originally published in Britain in 1888, these volumes were republished by the Boston-based publisher Estes and Lauriat (later Dana Estes & Company) in around 1892. It's worth noting that three of these original volumes were published in the states under different titles. Apparently deciding to expand the series, the American publisher released Butterworth's The Parson's Miracle and My Grandmother's Grandmother's Christmas Candle: Christmas In America in 1894. One of the stories included, My Grandmother's Grandmother's Christmas Candle, was previously published in the pages of the St. Nicholas magazine, in 1886. Whether the other, The Parson's Miracle, was written for this volume, is unclear to me. In any case, after releasing this fifth volume, the publisher went on to publish many more volumes in the series, written by various other authors, throughout the 1890s and into the early years of the twentieth century.

I found this an interesting addition to the series. I was surprised to see that it comprised two completely separate stories, as despite the title I would have assumed this brief 32-page book would contain one single short story, as the previous four volumes did. No illustrator is credited on the title page of the copy I read, however, a little digging online has revealed that the artwork—these books are heavily illustrated—were done by Frank Thayer Merrill and L.J. (Lewis Jesse) Bridgman. As with previous volumes, I enjoyed the visuals here, although perhaps not as much as I did Edith Scannell's work. The stories were entertaining—one humorous, the other suspenseful—and I was interested in the depiction of King Philip's War, as this is not a topic I see covered often, in children's fiction. The figure of Warmmesley-Squammaney, the medicine man figure with whom great-great-grandmother comes into conflict, is one stereotype after another—portrayed as a superstitious witch doctor, he speaks in broken English, is addicted to hard cider, and threatens revenge when balked of his objective. Great-great-great Grandmother is said to get on well with most of the Pocasset people—Weetamoo is even said to have brought her a gift—so it is only this character which is depicted this way. Still, it was on off-putting element in the tale, and likely to raise contemporary hackles.

On the whole, I don't think I liked this one as much as the preceding four volumes, whether because of some of the themes, or because I don't enjoy Butterworth's writing as much as Florence Scannell's, it would be difficult to say. Despite that fact, I am eager to read more in the series. I am going chronologically, so the next country to "visit" at Christmastime will be Norway, in Peter Christen Asbjørnsen 's 'Round the Yule-Log: Christmas in Norway.… (meer)