whose poetical writings he so much admired, Fitz-Greene Halleck gave to the world but few poems—“heirlooms forever” to be prized and cherished by his countrymen through the coming ages and generations, with
“Earth’s and sea’s rich gems,
With April’s first-born flowers,
And all things rare.”
The arrangement of the poems, as made by the poet in the last edition of 1858, has been closely followed in this volume, without reference to their chronological order; and in other particulars the present publication has been made to conform to Mr. Halleck’s wishes, as expressed to the writer at their last interview, but a few weeks before
“He gave his honors to the world again,
His blessed part to heaven, and slept in peace.”
The share of the editor in this volume can scarcely be regarded too slightly. He cannot even claim the credit for the notes, as a portion of them were prepared by the poet himself. Among the notes to the Miscellaneous Poems, the first nine will be recognized as
