Excerpt from Diana's Looking Glass, and Other Poems

If neither profit nor fame be gained by the publication of the following poems, yet shall I not be without a certain reward, for there is a pleasure in giving expression to that passion for truth and beauty which is the heritage of all. But this, it may be said, might be done, and be considered an adequate reward in itself, without an appeal to the public. True, but there is a craving for sympathy in every heart, and with this, a hope that others may be interested in what has been a source of intellectual or spiritual enjoyment to ourselves. This is the idea expressed by Akenside in his poem, "The Pleasures of Imagination, " when he speaks of

"The wish of Poets when their tongue
Would teach to other's bosom what so charms
Their own."

It is possible, without estimating it too highly, to hope that the poem which pleases ourselves, may also give pleasure to others. This, indeed, I have found to be the case.

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