Miss Charlotte Roper lived in Dorchester, now the largest neighborhood within Boston, Massachusetts.
Dorchester was founded as an independent city within the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630.
It was named for the city of Dorchester in Dorset, England.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorchester,_Boston
Charlotte may have been a boarder or a domestic worker as she is addressed in care of Mr. S. O’Connell.
In August of 1910, Charlotte received a postcard from Margaret Durkin (possibly, Durheim or Dunheim).
The postcard was mailed from Grand Pre, a rural community founded by French emigrants (circa 1680) who built dikes within the lowlands between rivers and vastly increased agricultural production in this fertile area.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand-Pr%C3%A9,_Nova_Scotia
Grand Pre became a center of Acadia – the ethnic French enclaves in the maritime regions of New France (the colonial possessions of France in North America).
Because of its prosperity, Grand Pre was the site of numerous sieges by British and French forces for more than 75 years, and was also attacked by New England raiders during “Queen Anne’s War” (1702-1713).
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The face of the postcard displays a lovely drawing of a young woman walking on a tree-lined path.
The maid wears the modest dress of a French girl – a large white bonnet, white blouse with long-sleeves, and a crucifix at her neck.
Nothing disturbs the serenity of the girl and the peaceful countryside.
Beneath the artwork, a title identifies “Evangeline” -and a couplet from the famous poem by that name follows:
“Homeward serenely she walked with God’s benediction upon her.
When she had passed, it seemed like the ceasing of exquisite music.”
The postcard was published by Valentine & Sons Publishing Company of Montreal and Toronto.
The printing was done in Great Britain.
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It is probable that most contemporary readers are unfamiliar with this poetic romance of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow – although most school-children were likely to have learned portions of it by heart in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Wadsworth_Longfellow
During the Bay of Fundy Campaign of the French and Indian War (1755), British forces expelled Acadian peoples from Grand Pre.
This uprooting from a tidy, prosperous, traditional, and pious community inspired the romantic saga of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in 1847.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evangeline
The poem details the efforts of the faithful Evangeline to find her lost love, Gabriel.
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On the reverse, Margaret correctly identifies her location and the date.
She begins her message, “Greetings from Arcadia” – and adds a phrase I do not understand.
Margaret seems to enjoy Grand Pre; she reports, “This is a beautiful spot”.
The message ends with a nod to others, “Regards to your friends.
Charlotte seems to have been pleased by the poetic remembrance as she preserved the postcard in excellent condition throughout her life.
