Eventide: A Series of Tales and Poems

In Short

This mid-nineteenth-century collection combines three melodramatic novella-length tales with a closing selection of sentimental verse. Through the tangled fortunes of New England orphans, Texan settlers, and sharp-tongued social reformers, Effie Afton constructs an earnest chronicle of antebellum American life. Characters navigate sudden reversals of wealth, hidden parental identities, and romantic misunderstandings across forests, boarding schools, and western prairies. The work endures as a vivid, unvarnished window into the popular literary tastes, domestic moralizing, and regional shifts of 1850s America.

The Story

The volume opens with "Wimbledon; or, The Hermit of the Cedars," set in a quiet New England village. Ellen Williams and her brother Ned assist the impoverished Willie Danforth and his mother, while nearby, a mysterious recluse named Ralph lives in a secluded forest hut with his sensitive, artistic nephew, Edgar Lindenwood. Edgar attends the local academy, where he forms an intense bond with Florence Howard, the spirited daughter of Major Howard. However, deep-seated adult animosities interpose. Major Howard detests the mysterious hermit, while the arrogant local aristocrat Colonel Malcome and his hypocritical associates look down on the lower-class villagers. Edgar is forced to avoid Florence, turning his attentions toward Colonel Malcome’s gentle daughter, Edith. Meanwhile, eccentric social reformers like Mrs. Judith Justitia Pimble sweep through town, issuing tracts and clashing with local figures like Deacon Allen.

As the academy exhibition approaches, romantic rivalries escalate. Misunderstandings drive Edgar and Florence apart; she attends local galas with Colonel Malcome’s crude son, Rufus. Seeking distraction, Major Howard takes Florence on an extended journey through Niagara Falls, the Green Mountains, and northern cities, where they repeatedly cross paths with Edgar and the Williams family. Over time, Edgar matures into an educated, worldly man, yet he remains devoted to his uncle’s humble forest retreat.

The narrative culminates in a dramatic public unmasking. Colonel Malcome is revealed to be Herbert Mervale, a ruthless bigamist who decades earlier abandoned Major Howard’s sister after stealing her fortune. Rufus is exposed as the secret child of an illicit affair with a servant, while the true identities of the local orphans are finally restored. With the villain dragged off to justice, Edgar and Florence reunite in marriage, establishing a stately home called "Summer Home," while the hermit blesses their union and retreats to his peaceful woods.

The subsequent prose tales shift focus across the rapidly expanding nation. "Scraggiewood" and "Alice Orville" trace young women—governesses, orphans, and displaced daughters—who suffer malice at the hands of status-obsessed guardians like Dr. Prague’s haughty wife and the ridiculous Mrs. Camford. Annie Evalyn faces false accusations from a deceitful suitor named Sumpter, fleeing through harsh wilderness coach routes before earning literary fame and vindication. In Texas, families struggle against bad roads, sudden "Northers," and financial ruin, dreaming of cotton fortunes while coping with shattered nerves. The book concludes with a suite of narrative poems reflecting on death, rural New England church bells, lost trinkets, and the burial of a young enslaved girl named Martha.

How It Unfolds

The river errand Ellen Williams delivers a basket of provisions to the impoverished Willie Danforth, confronting the boy's deep embarrassment over his family's squalid home.

The reformers arrive Mrs. Judith Justitia Pimble and her sister barge into Colonel Malcome's home, aggressively lecturing him on female equality while ignoring his quiet housekeeper.

Vows in the forest Inside a dark cedar hut, the weary hermit Ralph urges his sensitive nephew Edgar Lindenwood to prepare for the wider world, hiding his past sorrows.

Exhibition day rift Florence Howard refuses to perform alongside Edgar at the seminary Levee, choosing instead to dance with the arrogant Rufus Malcome as Edgar turns to Edith.

Scenery and sentiment Major Howard travels with Florence to grand mountain vistas, where she unexpectedly meets Edgar and reflects on the boundless, terrifying beauty of nature.

The villain unmasked Sheriff's officers expose Colonel Malcome as Herbert Mervale, revealing his past theft, bigamy, and false claims before a shocked courtroom gathering.

Retirement to the cedars Edgar and Florence settle into their new estate, but the old hermit declines their offer of a luxurious home, choosing to remain in his solitary woodland cabin.

Flight into the wilderness Accused of deceit by spiteful city patrons, the governess Annie Evalyn rides a jolting stagecoach through wolf-haunted forests toward an uncertain future.

Life on the prairie A displaced family arrives in a crude Texan log cabin, debating the hardships of southern life while waiting for cotton crops to yield a new fortune.

The People

Edgar Lindenwood A sensitive, poetic orphan raised in a forest hut by his hermit uncle. He desires intellectual achievement and the love of Florence Howard, but his low social standing and family secrets stand in his way. Through study and travel, he grows into a confident, wealthy young gentleman who ultimately reclaims his rightful heritage.

Florence Howard The proud, highly emotional daughter of Major Howard. She struggles between her affection for Edgar and her desire to obey her father's rigid prejudices against the mysterious hermit. After enduring social misunderstandings and long journeys, she marries Edgar and discovers her family's hidden past.

The Hermit of the Cedars (Ralph) A melancholic recluse living in a rustic woodland cabin. He seeks to protect his nephew Edgar from the world's betrayals while guarding his own tragic history. Once the true villains are exposed, he bestows a large inheritance on Edgar but chooses to spend his remaining years in forest solitude.

Colonel Malcome (Herbert Mervale) A haughty, tyrannical local gentleman who treats domestic workers as inferior beings. His respectable exterior conceals a criminal history of bigamy, theft, and desertion. His exposure at the hands of the sheriff shatters his family and resolves the story's underlying conflicts.

Annie Evalyn A gentle, resilient governess subject to the whims of wealthy, shallow employers like Mrs. Prague. Framed by a treacherous suitor, she flees into the western interior, where she supports herself through her writing and eventually achieves public praise and vindication.

In Its Own Voice

"O, that its pages might be read at that calm, silent hour,--their follies mercifully overlooked, their faults as kindly forgiven."

The author introduces her collection as an unpretending volume crafted during quiet evening hours for home firesides.

"The wide world over, every woman is a lady--(the colonel hemmed,)--every woman is a lady," repeated Mrs. P., "and every lady is a woman."

Mrs. Judith Justitia Pimble sternly lectures an aristocratic homeowner on the absolute equality of all women regardless of domestic station.

"I only wished to know if you thought of marrying Frank Sheldon to Annie Evalyn, in preference to your own daughter," she exclaimed, in a biting, sarcastic tone.

Mrs. Prague aggressively confronts her calm, orange-eating husband regarding their poor governess's romantic prospects.

What It's Really About

Beneath its sensational plots of hidden identities and sudden inheritances, Eventide examines the moral conflicts of nineteenth-century American social mobility. The book contrasts the pretentious arrogance of wealthy town elites with the quiet integrity of forest recluses, poor widowers, and working governesses. It frequently satirizes the hypocrisies of self-proclaimed social reformers who preach grand crusades while ignoring the immediate physical needs of their destitute neighbors. Throughout the tales and poems, true nobility is found not in high birth or urban sophistication, but in domestic fidelity, honest labor, and spiritual resilience in the face of poverty and slander.

Why Read It Today

Eventide offers readers a genuine, unvarnished artifacts of antebellum popular literature, capturing the melodramatic flair and regional flavor of mid-nineteenth-century storytellers. Readers fascinated by historical domestic fiction will enjoy its vivid glimpses into early American life—from village academy exhibitions and stagecoach journeys through wolf-inhabited forests to the chaotic, hopeful settling of the Texan frontier.

The collection does carry the specific literary habits of its time. Modern readers must navigate sudden plot coincidences, heavy-handed moralizing, and theatrical courtroom reveals. The author frequently steps directly into the text with self-deprecating commentary—joking about her ink-stained fingers and messy hair—which breaks the dramatic spell. Additionally, the dialect and period portrayals in the southern and western chapters reflect mid-nineteenth-century racial and social attitudes that are stark and unfiltered.

Yet for those willing to engage with its period style, the book possesses a distinct, historical charm. It feels like uncovering an old, forgotten volume from an attic trunk, offering a rich window into how nineteenth-century readers entertained themselves beside the evening fire.