Emily Dickinson Lexicon

Alden, proper n. [OE eald, old + denn, shelter, retreat, town.]

John Alden (c1598-1687); one of the founding fathers of the Plymouth colony; pilgrim who served in numerous public offices; last surviving signer of the Mayflower Compact; main character of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's short story, The Courtship of Miles Standish; proxy for Standish in his marriage proposal to Priscilla; [fig.] God the Son; Jesus Christ; (see ED letters).