The Books: “Along the Shore – ‘A Soul That Was Not at Home’” (L.M. Montgomery)

Daily Book Excerpt: YA/Children’s books:

Along the Shore – “A Soul That Was Not at Home” – by L.M. Montgomery

So this is the story of Paul and his Rock People in embryo. This story came out in 1909 (as did Anne of Avonlea) – so obviously this was a dress rehearsal. Many elements have changed once he appears in the Anne stories – but the character is exactly the same. And you know how Paul writes that letter to Anne and describes, in detail, his rock people? That shows up here in this story, word for word – only Paul is speaking it, rather than writing it. All of the Rock People are identical – Nora, the twin sailors … you will recognize all of them. Beautiful – I love Paul.

In this story however, his circumstances are a bit different. Paul is an orphan (doesn’t he have kind of an absentee father in the Anne books?) – and he is being raised by Stephen, a taciturn (that’s putting it mildly) fisherman who used to be a beau of Paul’s dead mother. So imagine THAT. Stephen may be taciturn – but his heart … oh. my. God. He was in love with Paul’s mother. But Paul’s mother fell in love with someone else – whom she married – and he took her away from the little seaside town where she lived. And apparently she pined so for the sea that she became ill. (It happens, you know.) Her husband died – and she returned to her hometown, with her baby of 2 – but it was too late. She died within a couple of months. There was no one to look after baby Paul … but Stephen, who had loved only one woman, and that was Paul’s mother – stepped up and took the boy. And the two have been living in quiet restful harmony for 6 years. Stephen plays the violin at night. Paul sits on the beach in the day and writes stories about his Rock People in his big foolscap book. They are everything to each other. (It’s a similar relationship to the one in “Each His Own Tongue” – that kind of intense unspoken bond between an older man and a young boy. It’s almost painful.)

Anyway – a Miss Trevor stops to stay in the town, during the summer. I can’t remember why she’s there – but she’s from the “city” (which probably means Charlottetown – not like Paris or anything like that). She comes, though, with the glamour of the outside world, and also artistic pretensions. She’s also alone in the world. Anyhoo – she meets Paul one day on the beach and is completely taken by him. By his guilelessness, his beauty, and also his obvious gift of imagination. He immediately divulges about the Rock People, et al. To Miss Trevor, he looks like a prince – and is shocked to find that he lives in the bleached fisherman’s shack over the dunes. Surely he should have better? (There’s snobbery in Miss Trevor. You can feel it. When she meets Stephen, she patronizes him a bit. And it just kinda makes you really mad, reading it.) But she does get it in her head that Paul needs to have better schooling than could be offered here – and she wants to take him to live with her in town. She also is kind of obsessed with Paul’s foolscap book and all the writing in it. She thinks Paul is a genius. A genius needs a better environment than a shack! (So she thinks.) So she asks Stephen if it would be all right … and Stephen says, taciturn, you just don’t know what’s going on inside of him, he’s too quiet and reserved – that she should ask Paul. If Paul wants to go, he can go. Paul is torn – he goes through some really bad moments. He loves Stephen. Loves him dearly … but … Stephen doesn’t seem to care one way or the other if he stays or goes … and Miss Trevor is so nice and so pretty … but … but … how could he leave the Rock People??? Needless to say – Paul ends up going with Miss Trevor. And Stephen shows no emotion when he says goodbye. We, the reader, know that it is because he feels too much – but Paul thinks he doesn’t care.

The excerpt below is from what happens when he gets to town. And goes to the end of the story. The Stephen moment that gets me in the throat is here.

Excerpt from Along the Shore – “A Soul That Was Not at Home” – by L.M. Montgomery

At first Paul lay very still on his luxurious perfrumed pillows. It was the first night he had ever spent away from the little seaward-looking loft where he could touch the rafters with his hands. He thought of it now and a lump came into his throat and a strange, new, bitter longing came into his heart. He missed the sea plashing on the rocks below him – he could not sleep without that old lullaby. He turned his face into the pillow, and the longing and loneliness grew worse and hurt him until he moaned. Oh, he wanted to be back home! Surely had had not left it – he could never have meant to leave it. Out there the stars would be shining over the harbour. Stephen would be sitting at the door, all alone, with his violin. But he would not be playing it – all at once Paul knew he would not be playing it. He would be sitting there with his head bowed and the loneliness in his heart calling to the loneliness in Paul’s heart all the miles between them. Oh, he could never have really meant to leave Stephen.

And Nora? Nora would be down on the rocks waiting for him – for him, Paul, who would never come to her more. He could see her elfin little face peering around the point, watching for him wistfully.

Paul sat up in bed, choking with tears. Oh, what were books and strange countries? — what was even Miss Trevor, the friend of a month? – to the call of the sea and Stephen’s kind, deep eyes and his dear rock people? He could not stay away from them – never – never.

He slipped out of bed very softly and dressed in the dark. Then he lighted his lamp timidly and opened the little brown chest Stephen had given him. It held his books and his treasures, but he took out only a pencil, a bit of paper, and the foolscap book. With a hand shaking in his eagerness, he wrote:

dear miss Trevor

Im going back home, dont be fritened about me because I know the way. Ive got to go, something is calling me. dont be cross. I love you, but I cant stay. Im leaving my foolscap book for you, you can keep it always but I must go back to stephen and nora

Paul

He put the note on the foolscap book and laid them on the table. Then he blew out the light, took his cap and went softly out. The house was very still. Holding his breath, he tiptoed downstairs and opened the front door. Before it ran the street which went, he knew, straight out into the country road that led home. Paul closed the door and stole down the steps, his heart beating painfully, but when he reached the sidewalk he broke into a frantic run under the limes. It was late and no one was out on that quiet street. He ran until his breath gave out, then walked miserably until he recovered it, and then ran again. He dared not stop running until he was out of that horrible town, which seemed like a prison closing around him, where the houses shut out the stars and the wind could only creep in a narrow space like a fettered, cringing thing, instead of sweeping grandly over great salt wastes of sea.

At last the houses grew few and scattered, and finally he left them behind. He drew a long breath; this was better – rather smothering yet, of course, with nothing but hills and fields and dark woods all about him, but at least his own sky was bove him, looking just the same as it looked out home at Noel’s Cove. He recognized the stars as friends; how often Stephen had pointed them out to him as they sat at night by the door of the little house.

He was not at all frightened now. He knew the way home and the kind night was before him. Every step was bringing him nearer to Stephen and Nora and the Twin Sailors. He whistled as he walked silently along.

The dawn was just breaking when he reached Noel’s Cove. The eastern sky was all pale rose and silver, and the sea was mottled over with dear grey ripples. In the west over the harbour the sky was a very fine ethereal blue and the wind blew from there, salt and bracing. Paul was tired, but he ran lightly down the shelving rocks to the cove. Stephen was getting ready to launch his boat. When he saw Paul he started and a strange, vivid, exultant expression flashed across his face.

Paul felt a sudden chill – the upspringing fountain of his gladness was checked in mid-leap. He had known no doubt on the way home – all that long, weary walk he had known no doubt – but now?

“Stephen,” he cried. “I’ve come back! I had to! Stephen, are you glad – are you glad?”

Stephen’s face was as emotionless as ever. The burst of feeling which had frightened Paul by its unaccustomedness had passed like a fleeting outbreak of sunshine between dull clouds.

“I reckon I am,” he said. “Yes, I reckon I am. I kind of – hoped – you would come back. You’d better go in and get some breakfast.”

Paul’s eyes were as radiant as the deepening dawn. He knew Stephen was glad and he knew there was nothing more to be said about it. They were back just where they were before Miss Trevor came – back to their perfect, unmarred, sufficient comradeship.

“I must just run around and see Nora first,” said Paul.