Gems, continued

By-Past Hours
by William B. Tappan

Go, dream of by-past hours;
In retrospect, once more,
Pluck fancy's gayest flowers,
And revel in thy store.
Go, seek thy native cot,
Scene of affection free,
Where pleasure cheered thy lot,
Where love was all to thee.

Do this, but never tell
The heartless world thy dream;
Its scorn would hope dispel,
Would crush the fairy theme.
Do this, but in thy breast
Let each fond wish expire:
For sorrows unrepressed
Are his who loves the lyre.

Gems, first poem: The Greeting

Sisters, we come from each rocky dale,
Each woodland home, and each fertile vale, --
From the mountain side, the city's hum,
The shores of each mimic lake, we come.
Your approving smile we meekly wait --
Accept the wreath from the Granite State.
For you we have come, with the laugh and song,
To each and to all our tributes belong.

As the lover twines a garland fair,
To deck the loved one's clustering hair,
What varied hues in the chaplet beam,
And each from contrast the lovlier seem;
Thus now, from among our granite-bound realms,
A chaplet we'll wreathe, bright-sparkling with GEMS --
A boquet culled from its gardens anew --
And twining with care, inscribe it "FOR YOU."

-- Myron.

ECD: This poet's first name is not given. I could find nothing more on him or Her anywhere online.

Gems for you by New Hampshire authors, preface

GEMS FOR YOU BY NEW HAMPSHIRE AUTHORS
[edited by] by F.A. Moore
Manchester, N.H.
[pub. by] William H. Fisk
1850

Preface:

The appearance of the present volume will occasion no surprise. It was thought well enough to attempt something of a readable and presentable kind,better suited to the popular tastes than any previous collection in this quarter. To this end, our efforts have been mainly directed, and we hope, too, not without a degree of success.

The materials employed have been such as came readily to hand, and no attempt has been made to embody a full selection from New Hampshire literature. A less imposing, less presumptuous task was ours. But while angling in our "waters," it may seem invidious, almost, that we have not drawn more variously from our New Hampshire writers; yet, in this respect, we were not unlike the fisherman who threw away his rod, not when he had drained the stream, but when he had obtained his "string-full."

Of the character and quality of the work, they will speak for themselves, and need no elucidation. The writers are all believed to partake of New Hampshire growth or origin; and as such, are presented to each other, and to their friends in the Granite State.
APRIL, 1850.

Introduction

As an incorrigible bibliophile, I have collected a number of specimens of very old books during my lifetime, the oldest so far dating back to 1773. Some are works by classic, well-known authors. Others have long been forgotten. In some cases, perhaps their obscurity is deserved, in other cases perhaps not.

Why not share these dusty voices with the world again?

That will be the purpose of this little blog, nothing more, nothing less.